Clarity

 We had a wonderful time with family and friends at the twins birthday party yesterday! Just wish we could've moved Monticello and Tallahasse, Florida to about where Marietta is so that all our family could've been with us! Ha ha! The little ones had a great time playing at Little Bears, an indoor playground! I can't believe they're two already. These days are so busy that they are gone in a blink! Seems like they're going even faster than when Darby and Shane were little! Wish I could just bottle all the laughter and little squeals we heard! Cade and Annabelle both were still trying to figure out why everyone was singing to them and how to blow out the candles! The sweet innocence of childhood! I do think they enjoyed it! Abigial napped during a good bit of it! That sweet baby will sleep anywhere!

Well, my little monkeys have been up to their usual tricks. I have to say that double trouble is definitely at play when weekend recovery includes repainting walls and steam cleaning carpets! Somehow, they came to possess an ink pen..my guess is that it was at Shane's computer desk upstairs. I was on the phone with my parents quickly and then Jamie for a minute. I could hear them playing and giggling on the landing/ open room upstairs. They have toys there and are allowed to be there. I did not realize that I had 2 little Picasso wanna be's on the midstair landing drawing their best circle scribbles all around on the walls! This was a time when I regretted how well they share! Clearly they were trying to top eachother's efforts! I kept thinking there had to be more than one pen..but no, only one. They were passing it back and forth!

Another evening last week...Cade was getting into trouble for some mess he had made on the floor in the den. I watched  from the kitchen as Jamie stood, bent over, pointing to the carpet, saying, "Cade , this is no! no no no! His face was turned more in my direction. He was so caught up in the moment that he didn't realize that Annabelle was on the other side of him, bent over, incessantly pointing at the carpet, saying "this is no, no no"! Jamie finally loudly stated, "unacceptable" ( because of course any 2 year old understands that word ,lol)  Without missing a beat, we heard an echoing  2 yr old version of "unacceptable' from the little female Jamie! It is very hard to remain composed when you see such a mirrored reflection. Expressions and all! We cracked up and reminded her that Daddy needed no back up! ;)

That girl has a mind of her own for sure. One afternoon, Shane was just getting home from football conditioning and came into the kitchen to say "hi" while I was cooking. He asked where the twins were. I told him they had gone into my bedroom and  that we needed to retrieve them as I had been waiting until I wasn't handling meat. He went to fetch them for me and came back with only one. Indicating that he would help me find Annabelle as soon as he got a restroom break, he opened the door to the guest bathroom off the foyer. (we have to keep the door shut so that the toilet doesn't call to the twins ). He jumped back, startled, and called me. I came to find a small little blond sitting on her potty seat holding a magazine and looking at us like we had barged in and stolen her privacy. Shane and I laughed so hard at her seriousness and at the fact that she was fully dressed, diaper and all. She didn't bother to move, but simply wanted the door shut again! oh my! I wonder how she got in there in the first place!

Shane and I get in more trouble trying not to laugh at her than for anything else! ha ha! Love that teenage fella! So proud of him! Can't believe he's almost 17. I still can't stop calling Cade, "Shane" on a daily basis! It was just yesterday that he was that size! I still get a goodnight kiss from him everyday too! Love those boys hearts for their mamas !

Annabelle also keeps me in line, no doubt! I had to unload all the babies and some groceries from one of the big race car buggies at Publix this week. I was in a hurry to get her strapped in her car seat as those buggies roll terribly and Cade was still in it and it was starting to move. I clipped the top part of the 5 point harness together and told her I would finish strapping her in in a minute. I ran after Cade and caught him only to see a smile emerging! I tickled him, plopped him in his seat, and made silly faces while I strapped him in. I chatted with an employee for a quick second as he came by and took my buggy back to the store. I got in the front seat, hit all the side door close buttons, and began to back up. Annabelle started frantically yelling "strap in , strap in, strap in". I started shushing her and then put together what she was saying. Wow! I told her sorry and once again remembered how she inherited her father's memory and logic! What will she be like at 5, or 16. Oh, I need a nap!

Just this morning, Jamie was planning on taking Shane to school  and only commented to me that my son was still upstairs. Annabelle started saying, Sha Sha..which is what she calls Shane. Lots of reasoning/processing going on in that 2 yr old little head.

Cade has been so much fun to watch. He has learned a bit how to push Annabelle's buttons. It doesn't happen often, but he gets this evil grin when it does. Thank goodness they still get along so well, but this terrible 2 thing may be blowing in from the North to aggravate that a bit!

He has really started trying to sing along with a few songs in lyrics other than his typical "lawrl, lawrl". It is so cute. He sways back and forth and grins along! I love it!

He still expects his toy remotes to work on the tv, and is a bit frustrated when they don't.  If you let him see the function of anything mechanical even one time, he's hooked and will tenaciously attempt to repeat it.

He still loves his books and puzzles on trucks, cars, firetrucks, etc. He will still go sit and look at his books alone by the window and ponder those amazing bulldozers and excavators! He crosses his little ankles and you can just tell he's thinking and enjoying it. The other day, he was in Shane's room and was drooling over the small ferraris and specialty cars in the closet that Shane had saved from his own childhood. While I wasn't looking, he swiped them all. Later that day when I went to tuck him in for a nap, I saw 6 or 7 little cars mixed in his crib sheets. He had stashed them there through the slats in the crib for safe keeping to play with at nap time. He can delay gratification for sure as that was several hours after the fact. He isn't as revealing about his planning as Annabelle, but oh the wheels are turning fast in that little mind. Ha ha! (there was no way he could've carried all the cars into his room from Shane's room in one trip..hmm)

He is still so affectionate. Annabelle tolerates my frequent kisses and hugs, but little Cade comes looking for them! That little guy knows how to give "good love squeezing" too while he's holding onto you! haha! Good thing I'll be the only woman in his life! LOL

Little Abigail is making so much progress! Therapy is going great! She's been sitting up so well for about 6 wks and is now working on trying to learn to crawl. Learning to crawl is harder for babies with Down's syndrome than learning to walk, per her therapist. But it's extremely connected to cognitive development and must be learned. The goal was originally to help her accomplish crawling by her 1st birthday in May. Her therapist told me last week it will most likely be before then. God is so good! I was just smiling, and then......I realized... that I will have 3 that will not stay where you put them. Wow!

She has started giggling more and it just melts me! She never seems to mind how ridiculously much I snuggle on her little neck and hold her tight to me! Really, one might think its just over the top, but she just feels so good! As her Aunt Sylvia once exclaimed, (with teeth clenched as I do)" How do you keep from just eating her"? I'm sure Abigail feels the same way about her Aunt! ;)

Some days are quite hectic and challenging although I would never trade it. I have fought so hard to keep the gift of clarity and wisdom from what I call "the other side"..the place where we were. With no toys in the house and no little feet pattering around, and no little giggles. We had tried for over 2 yrs to have the babies and it was so saddening to think it might not ever happen. Today was one of those days that the Lord brought someone across my path to shapen that clarity again. A manager at Toys R us walked me out with the twins and Abigail ( I think to really just play with them as I only had one puzzle to carry from an exchange). We chatted about how close in age they all were and about Abigail's Down Syndrome. (everyone says I never meet a stranger). After a few minutes, she blurted out that she had never been able to have children. She and her husband had tried for quite a while with no success. He then died. By the time she had remarried, she stated the time had passed and just shrugged her shoulders. She said that was why she worked there, to see children. We continued to have light conversation, but my mind had gotten stuck there. Big tears rolled down my cheeks as I pulled out. What a different hand life had dealt her. She seemed at peace with it, and I'm hoping she was blessed in other ways, but it pulled deeply at my heart.  I drove by the office and then on to the park for a quick playtime in the sunshine with the rest of the world. I usually strap Abigail to me and can corral the other two into a general area. The playground is large and fenced but with so many people there today, my comfort level was out of whack. After 15 minutes I had decided the twins were wanting to play too far apart and  it was becoming stressful. I had given them the 5 minute notice, but I knew they would kick in the turbo to run from me and want to stay. I try to give them at least 45 minutes to play, so this was going to be way too short. My plan was flawlessly executed. I grabbed Annabelle off the swing, threw her on my right hip, walked by an unexpecting Cade, swooped him up on my left hip (like in an old western where someone is pulled up on a horse ;), and kept walking. Whew, nobody was upset or crying. So there I was, (in a state normal to me) with Abigail strapped on my chest, a 2yr old twin on each hip and (as I put in on FB), a million eyes on my back, as I left. One fellow jumped up to get the gate for me as I headed to the van and I wasn't sure if I saw admiration of my skills or just a freakish pitying panic in his expression. Who cares, after my afternoon visit with that manager, I could've walked home with them hanging on me!

Love to all!
Rebecca

Soon I will blog about Miss Darby in Argentina. My heart has been too full of missing her to "go there" recently! ;)






We missed Darby terribly as she is in Argentina for her study abroad semester!