I decided to write this blog as a memoir of sorts. So - let's remember. Ella's 4th birthday was Saturday. Four years - I just can't believe it. Adam and I have a picture of each baby shortly after birth. Oh that picture from four years ago. We look so young, a little scared, but so young. I probably look my best in the picture after Calum was born. Ha - I knew what I was doing with baby #2. The birth was exquisite and I was relaxed. The difference in those pictures is simply in our confidence. Cut to the picture of us shortly after the twins arrived (via c-section.) I look beat. I was beat. Adam's smile is a little more tired. It's the same, happy smile, just through a thicker vale of tired. We look at those pictures and laugh...as we still repeat 'four' to one another before falling asleep at night. How far we've come in these four years.
So Ella had a princess themed party. Her choice, not ours. As much as Adam hoped she'd be his little tom-boy, she loves tappy shoes and skirts. She'll get them covered in mud but she wants to dress up like the best of them. I think she enjoyed herself at her party. It's difficult for Ella to be the center of attention --- don't laugh people. She is a girl, so there is some level of attention getting, but when the chips are down and the drama is weak, she'd rather you not pay attention to her...she gets away with more if we're not watching. I was proud of her though - she actually let everyone sing happy birthday. Last year she had us hum, and we couldn't clap. Seriously.
Moving on from all things Party --- Calum. Let's review Calum's activities of days past. Yesterday he knocked over a lamp, breaking the light bulb - one of those energy efficient bulbs...do those have mercury in them? I had the babies in my arms when this occurred so I quickly set them down to address the glass all over the carpet. I shoo'd the older kids away to pick up the pieces only to turn to see Calum pulling at his brother, Stretch Armstrong style. I finally had to put him in his room to keep him (and the rest of us) safe. And this is exactly how I explained it to him, 'You have to stay in your room for a few minutes while mommy makes the house safe again for you. You're not safe right now.' WHAT?! Why are these words even coming out of my mouth? How has it come to this? Oh yeah - 2-year old boy. After picking up glass shards, vacuuming, removing said lamp, and retrieving the ill-equipped babies, Calum was allowed out of solitary confinement, back to our general population. I'm not sure how these things happen. I'd say he's like a spinning top but he doesn't actually move that fast. A better description would be bowling ball. A bowling ball that never quite settles but just rumbles from room to room leaving a path of destruction, and saying sweetly 'Sorry, Mommy.'
Also on our docket yesterday was some painting for the kids. Calum lasted about 7 minutes. I was impressed with his focus and the limited mess. Only one swipe of the mop was necessary to wipe up the splattered paint. Ella enjoyed painting with her 'special' paints. She made about six different pictures before she discovered that she could 'layer' the pieces of paper. Lots of layering of art projects these days....I need to pull out some tissue paper and let her explore her need to glue/paint layer after layer after layer.
After the painting we headed outside. It took me some time to get the babies out the door.
In the meantime, Ella pulled out the hose and turned it on. This was fine as I needed to water the plants. I have pictures of the fun that ensued but they'd be pulled from the website as explicit. Just picture two sweet, naked babies (big babies, that walk and talk) filling up a large ceramic pot with tons of water and making mud soup. The clothes came off in an effort to make Calum more comfortable...water and diapers don't mix well. I pulled his bottoms off and this just opened the door for Ella to be naked. My kids just like to be naked. So - for the next three hours - yep, three - we played in the yard. Naked bodies, water, mud, slip & slide and mommy. The dishes weren't cleaned, the house was torn apart, there was some laundry in the dryer, dinner needed prepping and I needed a nap but the sweet sound of two happy kids squealing as I shot them down the slip & slide balanced out the days' trials. And this is why these days are precious.
We also visited a dairy farm this week. Kids enjoyed seeing the cows and the similarity between milking the cows and milking mommy were a little frightening. It's strange when you can relate your child's daily experiences of watching mommy feed the twins to the mass production of milk. Those cows were amazing though as was this large tractor that caught Calum's attention.And, at the end of the day - we sat out on the front porch, visited with our neighbors, tried to catch bugs, and cheered as Ella practiced her cartwheels. When the babies started to grump we brought everyone inside for 'vitamins, teeth-brushing, and milk' (our evening montage.) And a mere hour later this is the scene in the Levy house. Bliss...
