4-year interview

I started the whole birthday interview thing with the twins this year. Nothing too exciting, but I thought I'd record their answers here. (Kate's answers are in pink, Ethan's in blue)

Favorite color: pink Blue

toy: Princesses naughty mans and cars

fruit: strawberries blueberries

breakfast food: chocolate toast (Nutella) pancakes with chocolate chips

outfit: dress with orange dots motorcycle shirt

best friend: Avery Taylor

snack: muffin bars granola bars

game: Candyland hide and go seek

place to go: Hobby Lobby place with cinnamon butter (Texas Roadhouse)

book: 10 Apples up on Top Cars book that Ella gave me

movie: all the movies that Ethan likes Toy Story 2

dinner: cheesy pasta cheesy rice

outside activity: play basketball (we don't even have a basketball hoop) ride bikes

song: I am a Child of God Hello

What do you take with you to bed at night: kitty and doggie and my blankie (same for both)

what do you want to be when you grow up: a mommy pilot

What makes you happy: sharing making cookies

What do you like to do with daddy: watch Duke play hide and seek

What do you like to do with mommy: play candyland love her

Birthday Bikes

 

Their birthday gift from us this year was big kid bikes. They were getting too big for their balance bikes and we figured they were ready for bikes with actual pedals. Since their birthday was on a Monday and Greg wanted (needed) to be there for the maiden voyage, we gave them their bikes Sunday afternoon. Turns out these bikes are just a tad too big for them and they can't quite reach the ground, so they need help getting on and off. Didn't damper Ethan's spirits, though, he was all set and to no one's surprise, it took him about 20 seconds to figure it out before he was off and running. Okay, so he was off and we were running. Okay, so Greg was running. I had no idea I would be such a wuss about it. I just couldn't let go. So Greg did most of the running. Quite a work out. Two kids on bikes and one of them is a speed demon.

Kate was a trooper. She's definitely our timid child, but she was really brave and worked really hard. She got it figure out but sometimes she would get chatting and forget to pedal, so you have to run along side to listen to her chatter and constantly remind her to pedal. Funny girl.

They really had a fabulous afternoon. They'd get tired, sit down for a drink/snack, go back for more. Ethan was truly in heaven and would get going really fast. They fell, a lot, but would always get right back up.

There was a little mishap, though. After a few hours, Ethan had quite the spill. This next picture gives you a clue as to how he hurt himself. He, like his daddy, chews on his tongue when he's really thinking. Well, turns require thinking and...

 (I didn't want to gross anyone out, you can click the photos if you really care to see, but the poor little guy cut a hole in his tongue. Not all the way through, but pretty deep. We did check in with my sister-in-law/pediatrician to make sure we didn't need stitches and she assured us he will live to ride another day. I was also at my pediatrician's office yesterday with Drew and she again told me he'll be fine and said that it will likely form a "nasty ulcer looking thing and will probably start to stink." 

Some things to look forward to.)

 So, scratch that dinner in the oven and.... smoothies for dinner!

The next morning, right when he woke up, he was trying to tell us something without even opening his lips. He kept trying, and we obviously couldn't understand him. We were getting a little worried until he opened his lips, teeth clenched, and said, "can I go ride my bike now?"

And we were worried he wouldn't want to ride again...

Birthday kids

On their birthday, the twins wanted to go to the zoo. To see the elephants, meerkats, and komodo dragons, of course. 

 It was a good day.

 Drew was not so impressed.

 

 For dinner they wanted to go to the place with cinnamon butter (Texas Roadhouse). They got to ride the horse thing and get "yee-hah!"ed. What birthday is complete without that, really?

 

Ethan ordered steak. Love that kid.

Happy birthday, kiddos! Thanks for being a part of our family. We sure love you!

Drew- 1 year!

Sunday got away from me (I'll post about that later), but I wanted to put down a few things about this sweet  boy of mine.

• He likes to point things out and explain the world to me
• While he's definitely not lacking confidence in the ladies department, he is in the walking department. He'll stand until he realizes he's doing it, then he'll slowly squat down to sitting. Greg calls him crouching tiger.
• He cut his top 1-year molars while we were in California. Still only has 2 on the bottom and no canines yet. He's a little confused as to how this whole tooth thing works. Besides non-stop finger-chewing, teething hardly seems to bother him, so I won't complain.
• He loves him some pat-a-cake. His favorite part is rolling it and he'll "sing" along if he's in the mood.
• He can say mama, milk, more (I can finally distinguish these 3), clap, ball, and uh-oh (only he says, "uh-ah"). He also will hold things up to me and say, "wa-dis?" and I swear he means, "what's this?" although he probably has no idea.
• He waves, claps, gives fives, and my favorite... dances. Shakes his little head and shoulders.
• Still loves cars and while he's "driving" them around the room, he makes a vrooming sound.
• He still eats like a champ, although his love for fruit is waning. He'll eat veggies, though, and of course meat, pasta and cheese. 
• After months of throwing his sippy cup on the floor, he FINALLY learned that it makes his mama happy if he will place it in the cup spot on his high chair tray. He also has to make sure it is just so. 
• And speaking of that, he likes to set things down so that they are standing up, like little animals or plastic dolls. 
• He took his 1-year shots like a man. And like a man, I mean screamed for a minute, got his blankie, cuddled his mommy for a few minutes, and then smiled like nothing happened.

The real reason...

we went to California was for my youngest brother's mission farewell. He'll be leaving Wednesday for two years to serve a mission for our church in Charlotte, NC. He truly is the best littlest brother a family could ask for. I'm sure going to miss him.

Sister Kristen, Matt, Uncle Redman

 Jimmy and his family

 Gramps needed help grilling the Carne Asada. And by help, he meant eat nonstop for a few hours straight. When he's brought his A-game, there is no stopping this boy from eating. But I don't really blame him. That meat is by far the best Carne Asada out there. And believe me, I would know.

 The other real reason we went to California was to be there for baby Will's baby blessing. Sweetest little baby alive.

 The other real reason we went to California was to celebrate the twins' 4th birthday with my family. Like the cake? We have the twins to thank for that. I asked them what kind of cake they wanted and Ethan said, "white cake, with chocolate frosting, with strawberries on the inside" and Kate added, "yeah. And we want pirates, princesses and naughty mans* on top." Sounds like there was a planning meeting behind this.

*naughty mans= any superhero, action figure, or anything that fights. AKA all the stuff mom won't let us play with.

 The other real reason we went to California was to celebrate Drew's first birthday. 

He didn't even hesitate.

 The other real reason we went to California was to pick teams for the annual Secor family NCAA March Madness competition.

It's a very serious matter.

Great trip in honor of a great brother. He's going to be a wonderful missionary and I'm so proud of him. I'm going to miss him a whole lot.

Lessons learned in California

 1. Disneyland is every bit as wonderful as we remember.

 

2. Bring chapstick. It's dryer there. (We've learned this one a few times. Maybe writing it down will help)

 3. We need to teach Ethan how to smile for pictures without looking like a creeper.

  

4. Big, bouncy balls from Wal-mart are awesome.

 5. Even for adults.

 6. Kate needs to live in Houston all her life. Straight hair is not her thing.

 7. I didn't learn anything here. I just wanted to rub in one more time that my team won the kickball game. Yep, that's a victory lap.

 8. Uncle Jimmy and Drew are twins in looks and temperament.

 9. He also is a good tickler.

 10. This can be a 10-person hot tub.

 11. Drew likes swimming without a swimsuit. It's kinda his thing.

Motorcycles

You better believe that the first day we were in California, we went to visit my Uncle Shawn and his motorcycles. The twins were so nervous, at first, being in the presence of their hero and all. But they (Ethan, especially) warmed up quickly. This time, they even got to wear helmets.