We love Elmo

The boys have recently fallen in love with a red furry little monster that goes by the name of Elmo. They've met Elmo in person by way of our tickle me Elmo and little stuffed Elmo as well as in multiple books. They had never seen Sesame Street or Elmo on TV up until last week. That's when I captured this picture. I love it, because even though it's been almost 16months I still grin from ear to ear when I see our twin boys. One of my favorite things is that I'll always see double the rest of my life.

We love our sister!

Will and Ben adore Josie. Ben wants to do everything she does. She laughs and puts her head back and two seconds later Ben is doing the same. Josie goes down the stairs like a big kid and Ben refuses to scoot. He wants to walk down. Will likes his sister too. He doesn't always mimic her, but he Will give her his best smile, belly laugh, and lots of claps too.

There favorite thing to do with their sister is climb on her and wrestle her to the ground. Like the picture above. Will is still in his pajamas. This tends to be a daily occurrence.

Yesterday, Billy said to Ben "Where is your sister, where is Josie?" He goes running over to her and gives her a close line that knocks her to her feet. After that we decided maybe pointing to who we are looking for is a better option.

My two men

The boys are growing up fast. Here are some fun things they are doing!

Ben started walking just before his first birthday. Now he runs! Everywhere. So fast that sometimes he can't slow down in time. He is still such a snuggle bug. In the morning he will finish his bottle and come running over for cuddle time. He loves to moo and roar at pictures of cows and lions. Ben is a sharer. If he has two binkies he will bring one to Will. He loves to shake his finger at Will and say "no-no". Ben is loud and just a little bit more sensitive then his big brother.

Will has just started to consider walking. For a bit, crawling was the way he could get there faster than Ben. But now that Ben is running he is getting to the finish line sooner. So last week, Will took 4 steps in a row. He's been doing the same about every day now. He finally seems interested in it! Will is a master climber. He can climb on the kitchen table faster than you can blink. When you tell him no he only gets more determined. He loves to steal Ben's binky and crawl away and giggle. He gets super excited when he sees balloons. Will loves to point and show you everything around you. From trees to buttons, the kid is very observant.

My boys might look alike, but they continue to show me they have their very own personalities. I love them more everyday!

The Before and After

We had the boys 3rd hair cut last month. They had them done at the same time to speed up the process. We told each stylist that we'd like them to go short. Well... their individual definitions of short were two different things. Ben's hair is like a little man haircut, longer on the top. And Will's haircut is pretty much a buzz! They both look adorable and it's been great being able to have everyone tell them apart at a glance.

The pictures above are the morning of the haircuts. Ben is hanging from the cabinet door, ready to swing. Will is laughing watching his brother. The after picture, Will is on the left :)

Ahhhh Nuts!

The Friday after the boys first birthday I had planned on making them a delicious tuna melt sandwich on warm biscuits. When I opened the tuna can I didn't like the way it looked. I thought, there is no way I am feeding this to the boys when they have their birthday party tomorrow! It is much too risky. I didn't want them to get sick from rotten tuna before their big event. So I gave them peanut butter. It seemed like such a good idea at the time. Until moments later I noticed they both were red in the face. When I cleaned them up they appeared uncomfortable and the redness turned into hives. Large white bumpy hives all over their face and anywhere the peanut butter had touched them. On the arm, on the knee, hives traced the peanut butter areas. (The pictures are from the beginning when I first noticed a little redness. Ben is on top, it looks like he is praying!)

I was scared! I called the doctor, I called Billy, and I started praying that my boys would be ok. Not just for their first birthday party, but be healthy again. They wouldn't let me put them down because the pain was no fun. With a little Benadryl and some hydrocortisone they started to look "normal" again. I was so relieved.

Since the PB incident we have gone to an allergist. The boys are both allergic to eggs. On a scale from 0-5 they both are a 2. Which means they can eat eggs in baked goods, but not plain eggs. So no scrambled eggs or french toast for breakfast. The allergist thinks they will out grow this. As far as peanuts go, Will is a 2 and Ben is a 3. Which means no peanuts or tree nuts of any kind as they tend to be packaged in the same manufacturing plant as peanuts. The goal is to not have any sort of reaction to nuts and avoid them all together for now. If the boy's numbers decrease then we'll do a peanut test in the office to see if they succeed.

So we now carry around 4 EpiPens where ever we go just to be safe. We need 4 because each boy needs 2. They may not respond well with just one dose, so then we'd have to poke them again.

Josie started helping us with the boy's allergies. If she gets a snack from someone at music class or on a play date she will ask if it has peanuts because her brothers cannot have nuts. We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday and this worker helped us load pumpkins into our car. Josie said, "These are my brothers. This is Will. This is Ben. But they can't have annnnnnyyyy nuts!" I was beaming. For the rest of your lives boys... your big sister will always be there to protect you.

The Big Day!

Happy Birthday Ben!
Will was so excited to see all the balloons he sat up to drink his bottle while Josie sang to him again.
Dad with the birthday boys dressed for the day!
The boys at their birthday breakfast!

Our boys turned one on Tuesday. I am still in denial. I think partially because the first 6months of their lives were such a blur. It was complete survival mode. Or maybe it's because they started off in the NICU for 12 long days. So maybe since we didn't bring them home for almost two weeks after they were born, I'll feel more like they are one in two weeks? Most likely it is because I just started and finished their first year photo album. Attempting to get a year's worth of pictures into one album all at once. Either way, some how I am in complete denial that the boys could possibly be one already.

They are starting to act more like one year olds... here is an update on each boy:

Will points to everything. He is very close to pointing with one finger every time I ask how old he is... I'm hoping by Saturday it clicks, perfect timing for the choo choo birthday party! He says mama, dada, ball, does so big, waves hi, signs more, and moves his little fists to the wheels on the bus. Oh and tonight for the first time he covered his face for peek-a-boo!

Ben waves hi, loves to clap and say yeah, picks up a cell phone puts it to his ear and says hi, does so big, and he says mama dada and ball too. He also gives one of the best hugs/snuggles ever.

Happy Birthday Boys!

Balloon Festival

Will showing Dad the balloons!

We took the kids to the Indianola Hot Air Balloon Festival on Sunday. It's the 3rd largest in the world! They have a bunch of carnival games, fried food, and ice cream. Not to mention the little train from the farmer's market is there oh and the balloons! It is a perfect family outing.

The best part was how much Will enjoyed the balloons. He would crawl over to Billy, pull up on him and point up to every balloon that came over us. He was in awe. It was so fun to watch him. Ben was having a hay day too. Ben was more into the people around us (such a flirt) and the funnel cake. I guess he takes after me (and my sweet tooth) after all.

First Family of Five Vacation!

We decided to take a big adventure over the 4th of July weekend. This was our very first family vacation! We decided to make the 5 1/2 hour drive to Chicago to celebrate Independence day in the Windy City. The kids were an amazing in the car, in the hotel, at restaurants, really everywhere they did a fantastic job. Maybe we had low expectations, but we were really amazed at how well it all went.

We only had to stop one time both ways. We found an adorable little park in Rock Falls, IL that was perfect. When we got into Chicago, we checked into our hotel than set off to Millennium Park with Aunt Carrie and Maeve. Josie loved the fountains. The boys loved the grass with the symphony playing. After that we met Uncle Jay and Uncle Danny back at our hotel for pizza.

Friday we ventured off to the Aquarium with Uncle Danny. It was very helpful to have an extra set of hands! After naps we walked over to go on a boat ride. The kids did a great job. Will napped on the way there and Ben napped on the boat. Then we walked over to Ed Debevics for an old fashion dinner with all the family.

Saturday we met Uncle Jay, Aunt Carrie, and Maeve at Foster's beach just north of the downtown area. The boys had their first sand experience and I think they only ate a minimal amount. After heading to the hotel for naps and baths, we drove to the Lincoln Park Zoo to walk around for a bit. Then Logan Square was our next place to go and we met everyone at El Cid for a delicious Mexican dinner on their back patio. Getting to the restaurant was probably our only hiccup. We got a little turned around then had to cross 3 streets with 3 kids and lots of crazy Chicago traffic. But we survived! If that was our only stressed part, it's safe to say it was a successful trip!

Will is on the left in every picture. The one on the boat is just Josie and Will. Ben was sound asleep on me by then.

Something Fishy...

Ben has figured out a few things this past weekend. For starters he started making a fish face. (See video below). Plus tonight (on his sister's birthday) he started to wave...sort of. He puts is whole arm into it really. But when you wave he definitely responds!

Will has a new trick of his own too. He started putting his hand over his mouth to mimic me. It's similar to old fashion indian noises.

Our boys are sure fun!

May 15th, 2010... Will's hospital stay

This post should have been updated last month... Poor Will spent two nights in the hospital. It started with Josie getting a two day flu bug. It didn't really slow her down a ton. But than Will got it on a Tuesday. The poor kid would puke than cha cha cha at least once a day. I took him to the doctor on Friday since he didn't seem much better and they said make sure he has three wets a day. Come Saturday he couldn't keep anything down and didn't have three wets. At Midnight I brought him into the ER. They tried all night to get him hydrated. He has an IV and they did three different fluid bolus thinking at least one would surely make him urinate. Then at 6am they admitted him into the Children's hospital. We ended up staying there Sunday night and getting to check out at 6pm on Monday. It was so scary. William has been healthy ever since!

The pictures above are the cage like crib he had in the hospital. The Monday he came home and his first night in the ER.

Wrestle Mania!

We've started a new habit at the Bemis' household. Every night before we put on pajamas, we wrestle! It was the boys' idea. They love crawling all over each other so the rest of us decided to join in. Josie even says, "Let's wrestle!"Here are some picture of one of our nightly events AND a video.

What's the difference?!

So the question we get asked the most, which I am sure all parents of identical twins is asked, is "How do you tell them a part?" Well my friends... I am about to disclose all of the tricks to distinguishing the Bemis Boys.

Will

• He has a big raspberry (or red marker as Josie calls it) on his tummy. But if the clothes are all on (which they not always are) then keep reading
• He is a little smaller than Ben
• He squints when he smiles. His nose scrunches up and he furrows his brow
• He is fast!
• He is more laid back like daddy. He gets that there are a couple other kids in the house so he is content waiting his turn.
• He has a higher laugh, like a squeal to be more honest.
• He may not greet strangers with a huge smile, but he is definitely more comfortable with them than brother.

Ben

• He has a little raspberry on his head, behind his left ear.
• He is a little bigger, only a couple of ounces.
• He has a small dimple on his left cheek when he smiles.
• He likes to be on the move, but takes his time getting there.
• He is more demanding, like mom :) If both boys are crying I will pick up Ben and put a hand on Will to calm them down. If I try to do this the other way around, it doesn't work well.
• He growls when he talks and when he eats. He just learned how to spit when he eats (joy!)
• He will greet a stranger with his best smile. He will make them think he is cool with them. Once they get closer, he isn't too keen on them being so close after all. He is a trickster that way.

Almost 8 months...

I checked and rechecked and sure enough, the boys will be 8 months on Saturday. Wow. I can't believe how fast these 8 months have gone. Billy and I will be married 5 years on Friday and if you ask Josie how old she is, well she will tell you "two and three quarters". So yes, time is getting away from us. And now I intend to write in here as well as Josie's Journeys at least once a month. That seems like a reasonable plan... hopefully.

To get everyone up to speed on the boys, here are the highlights:
-They both army crawl, sometimes even get up on those hind legs, everywhere. They move towards everything they shouldn't have. Put a glass of water or my phone on the floor and the are more likely to get that than the 800 toys all around them. They have good determination when they see something they want.
-Will has a tooth coming in! It's bumpy little guy and the one next to it is on it's way. Ben should be right behind him.
-Ben is still slightly bigger, but when they wrestle it doesn't seem to matter. Yes they wrestle. They get into each others personal space like there is no tomorrow. Sucking on toes, eating hair/pulling it too, and crawling over each other. They giggle when they do this and they have both left marks on each other from scratches/war wounds.
-They eat cereal, veggies, drinks of water, puffs cereal, biter biscuits, and cheetos. The last two are the messiest
-They share a swing at the park. One faces one direction and the other the opposite. It's fun to watch them laugh and laugh in the swing.
-They LOVE big sister. She walks in the room and they light up. Flap their arms and giggle all at once. It's awesome.

Attached is a video of the boys just to give an idea of how big they are getting.