Christmas Cheer

Dinosaur potties from Santa!

Christmas breakfast at Grandshe's house

Feeding the reindeer the night before Santa arrived!

The boys loved getting into the holiday spirit this year. Here are a few highlights:

• Holden the Elf on the Shelf came back right after Thanksgiving. The boys had a blast trying to find him each day. It worked out great since everyone got a turn finding him first. While the Elf magic (aka me saying, "don't make me tell Holden!" didn't work as well on them as it did Josie) they loved reading the book and going on the hunt for Holden.
• Ornaments were very much a temptation for the boys, but they did a fantastic job resisting yanking them off the tree. Will's favorite ornament was a rocking horse with Santa on it. Ben's favorite was the "nut bitters" also known as nut crackers.
• This year the kids helped me make cookies for Santa. It was fun that they were all old enough to partake in this activity. Ben was patient and didn't eat anything unless it was given to him. Will stuck about 4 Rollos in his mouth while we unwrapped them. The last one he genuinely forgot and tried to give it back...don't worry to those who got our cookies, I let him keep it.
• They both enjoyed our annual tour of Holly Jolly Lights as well as setting out Reindeer food the night before Santa came.
• This year the boys got their first taste of Milk Nog and finished a few gallons the past month.
• They loved listening to the pre-recorded book of Frosty the Snowman from Grandshe. Every kid took a turn sleeping with it at night....we learned not to be alarmed if my mom's voice came thru intercoms at night.

It was definitely a Christmas to remember!

What we've been up to...

Story time with Grandshe....

Puzzles puzzles puzzles! We have a love for puzzles. This is Ben at Josie's basketball game.

Our first art class at Des Moines Art Center

Ben playing dress up at the library.

Monkey see...monkey do! Will strutting his worker man outfit.

Acting out the baby in the manger. (Boots and zebra gloves on since they are donkeys)

Brotherly love...and we still wrestle a lot. Will on the left.

Cheering on our sister at basketball. First Ben then Will

Quotes from the boys

Ben has changed his name. It happened two weeks ago. He is pretty positive about it too. He says over and over, "My name is John. Call me John. I'm John!" Ben says this with a large grin on his face. He isn't sure what John would say, other than his name. So he just repeats the above over and over till you acknowledge "John". The kid is a goof. It's funny because he was almost named John. We would have called him Jack. Whatever he says, I still think he is the perfect Benjamin Gleason Bemis.

Every morning when we go downstairs Will points to a saying we have on the wall and says "What's that say?" To which I respond, "Go confidentially in the direction of your dreams." This seems like such a confusing statement for a two year old so I always end up rambling afterwards about listening to your heart, be what you want to be, do what you

want to do. So this morning when Will asked "what's that say?" and I tell him, I was beyond thrilled to hear him say "Follow my heart, mom?" Yes Will follow your heart!

Will also likes to climb into the big kid seat next to his car seat. Every time he does I tell him he needs to sit in his car seat. Now he tells me, "Police man give you a ticket?" If he tries to climb in my seat I always tell him no. To which he will say, "I'm 16 mom!" Not yet buddy!

Will saying Cheese! Ben as John

Got your back...

Will has always needed less sleep than Ben. From day one he has been the one to wake up first. He is also the last man standing when it is time for bed. He fights sleep. Sometimes it's because he just wants to delay the process. Sometimes he seems genuinely afraid.

We started to say in our prayers at night, "Thank you for my comfy bed, my warm blankies, the stars above my head, and thank you for my brother who will keep me safe through the night." Ben takes that last line pretty serious. As soon as we leave the room it is a given Will will start to cry. When he does, Ben says in his softest sweetest voice "It's ok brudder. I'm here. Not cold. Not dark. I can see you, you see me?" The string of comments continue through the baby monitor. Pretty much anything we've ever told Will to help him calm down, Ben is now reciting.

While Ben is brave at bed time, he gets really scared at the doctor office. It makes sense. Between ENT visits for his ears, allergy appointments, and regular doctor appointments, he gets poked for blood and such a lot. This is where Will puts on his brave face for the sake of his brother. Will goes first almost always at each appointment. The last time we got their tubes checked at the ENT they had to do several hearing tests too. None of which hurt, but their ears are so sensitive. Ben was scared. Once Will went first he told Ben, "Your turn Benjamin!" With a big smile and a pat on the back. When Ben finished Will said, "You did it. Good job brudder!"

Watching these things all play out makes me so happy that for a life time I know my boys will have each others back.

Move over Beatles

All of our kids love The Beatles. We listen to them in the car, we sing "All my loving" when we tub (The first line is close your eyes, it's perfect for rinsing out shampoo!), we might have a little Beatle mania. Josie has a poster in her room with a matching blanket. I was impressed when she could tell the difference between the band members. But when the boys jump on her bed and point up to the poster and say "John mom. John is green." I think huh, my kids are smart! If you mention The Beatles, both Will and Ben will start dancing and singing "A hard day's night".

But all that changed on Sunday, when we started our nightly dance party. Billy played Jackson 5. The boys begged us to play it again and again. Will kept asking, "who's that mom?" to which I had to reply "Jackson 5!" each time.

After nap today, Will asked me to play "Twiddly dee-dee dee song". I couldn't understand at first. Finally I said "Do you want me to play Rockin' Robin Will?" Then Ben said clear as day, "Jackson 5 mom. please. Jackson 5".

Don't worry Beatles... you'll always have a special place in our hearts.

26 months today...

After 15months I've never been good at giving the exact age by months for the kids. Up until 15 months I feel like kids change so much each month that it is good to specify. After the 15 month mark, I've just done 1 year, 2 year, etc... But today when we went to the boys annual allergy check up, the nurse said "Well look at that, you boys are 26months today." So I figured this called for a blog update!

We will find out later this week if the boys are still allergic to eggs and peanuts. We will also find out if they officially have seasonal allergies and are allergic to dogs and cats. A year ago they told us the boys would have a 80% chance to out grow the egg allergy and a 20% chance to out grow the peanut. Our fingers are crossed that we can start serving eggs for breakfast soon. We were able to do the flu shot in one dose this time versus two smaller doses. (The flu shot has eggs in it). We still had to wait a half hour to make sure they didn't have a reaction, but lucky for us they didn't!

Other news for our 26month olds... Last Monday I FINALLY got to leave their classroom. The boys were having some major separation anxiety when school started. (I like to think it's because I am so fun). So I waited till they both were familiar with their friends and teachers and room. And last week, I said mommy will be back in a bit. Ben cried but was fine after a little bit. Will on the other hand, held strong. He cried for 18 long minutes. I know because I waited to make sure the teachers didn't want me to go back in. The next time they both cried for less than 2 minutes! Today Ben didn't even cry. Will did cry, but was done after a couple minutes. When I picked them up, they both yelled "Mommy comes back!" Which warms my heart.

The last update for the night... HALLOWEEN!

The boys are officially ready for one of our favorite holidays. After throwing around ideas of three little pigs, Wizard of Oz, or cowboy and horsey, the boys were sold on a monkey (Josie's old costume) and a penguin (our friend Zach's old costume). Ben will be the monkey, which is fitting since he wants to do everything Josie does. Will will be a penguin, which is also great since he prefers to waddle down the stairs to his preschool classroom.

Top picture - Ben and Will showing off their bandages for the blood draws today.

Bottom picture - Will the penguin, Ben the monkey

My funny boys

The boys are cracking me up lately....

If you compliment Will's outfit he will say, "Ohhhh thank you!" The ohhhh is higher pitched and he sounds so surprised to get the compliment. When we play hide-n-seek, when Will gets found he says, "Ah man! My turn!" Lastly, when we go over to Quinn's house, Will gets so excited. He'll say the whole way there, "Millie, best fwend! I love her." Millie is Quinn's dog. When we get to their house his tune changes. He still says she's his best friend but it is quickly followed up with a "hold you!" Which is how he asks to be held. I think he prefers his best friend from a distance for a bit, but he is so excited to see Millie every time.

Ben is just as funny. The other day I asked him a question and he walked up to me leaned his head down slightly to let me know he was serious, and said "I'm Spiderman mom". He did the exact same thing to his preschool teacher yesterday. Ben continues to love to sing. When we go into Josie's room he will start singing "It's been a hard days night, I've been working like a dog!" then points up to Josie's Beatles poster and says, "Beatles, mom, right here!"

Chug-a-chug-a-choo choo!

Big boy Will sitting by himself on Thomas.

Ben in his train sweatshirt getting ready to jump!

Thomas!

Ben, Mom, and Josie...

Will and Grandshe snuggling on the train

The boys have been yelling "all aboard!" for a week. They also have turned empty diaper boxes into train cars and take turns asking for "tickets please".

Grandshe and I took the kids up to see Thomas the Train in Boone Iowa last weekend. It was so cute to see them all in awe of the trains. Each kid gave the conductor their ticket. The boys thought they were so big and cool. While we don't watch the t.v. show, we did check out a few books from the library before our big adventure. The boys enjoyed the 25 minute train ride the best. We played with a few toy trains and jumped around in a hay maze.

Ben kept singing "Do-dit-do-do! I'm a super hero." Then he'd follow it up with "mama, help please!" as he'd try to jump off the hay stacks. Will loved waving to Thomas so much that he was the last kid out of the place because he would take one step, wave, one step, wave, till finally we got to the parking lot.

My babies are in preschool...

There are moments that I am in awe with how much the boys have grown. Like when they say 4to5 word sentence. Or when they point out shapes, colors, and animals in the car. Then within moments they will have a tantrum or trip and I am reminded that they are still so little. I am savoring both their want to be more independent (even though it means more messes for me to clean) and their need to snuggle and continue to be my little babies.

Will and Ben started preschool at the beginning of the month. With their second birthday just weeks before school they are definitely on the younger side. They are excited to go to school. When you ask them what their favorite part of school is Ben will say one teacher's name and Will will say the other teacher's name. They love being there...as long as I am right by their side. I knew they'd be apprehensive about me leaving, so I volunteered to be the classroom helper the first few days.

They've had regular babysitters since they were a few weeks old, but this is the first time I am leaving them somewhere besides their house and without big sister to comfort them. I know in time they both will be just fine and this will be a thing of the past. I'm just ready to have a smooth transition for all of us! I started to ask them when I leave to go anywhere "What does mommy always do?!" to which they respond "Mommy always comes back". Let's hope this little mantra gives them comfort. :)

Now here are some funny things they are doing:

Will -

• He likes to try and tell a knock knock joke. He doesn't have the punch line exactly right, but he does a lot of "knock knock...banana...knock knock...orange!!!" and starts to giggle.
• If you say "I love you Will." He'll get a huge grin on his face and say, "I love you most!!!"
• Today we were playing duck duck goose. I told him to sit in a circle and he insisted we sit in a triangle instead.
• Will learned that if you say freeze or stop and hold your hand up like a stop sign, Dad will stop in his tracks. Thus Will loves to yell "Stop dad. Freeze dad" all night long.

Ben -

• If you here someone apologize it's Ben. He says "Sorry mom," out of no where almost all day. It's great because he ducks his head and sounds so sincere. I assume it's because he's done something wrong and I just haven't figured out what yet...
• He changed the chant "Go Big Red" to "Go Big T-Rex!" and cheers on T-Rex all day.
• He loves to sing. He will sing his heart out and often times get the words right!
• Anything Josie does, Ben is her shadow. Josie tripped over a toy in the backyard and two seconds later Ben purposely tripped over the same toy. Then he jumps up and says "I'm Okay Mom. I'm Okay!"

Will and Ben outside their classroom!

Will and Ben posing at preschool orientation.

Ben and Will soaking it all in!

Ben first day of school!

Will (showing his muscles) on the first day of school.

2x2

The ants go marching on 2x2 and so do Will and Ben. Tomorrow the boys will be 25 months. As in, they have been two for a month and I can't figure out where the last month went let alone the last two years!

Here are a few pictures highlighting their 2 year old celebrations!

Will and Ben, 2 years old!
Ben, Will, and Josie singing the chicken song at the boy's birthday party.
Opening all the loot at their party.

Horsey ride!
Will in the duck hat on his birthday! Feeling better after medicine.

Will, Dad, Josie, and Ben on their birthday morning.

Ben eating his birthday donut!

Will drinking birthday milk...he woke up with a little fever :(

Josie belting out happy birthday to her brothers at their party.

Final flight

The boys turn two next week. Our goal was to get one more flight vacation in before we have to start paying for five tickets. After our trip to North Carolina, the boys can say they were on a total of 11 airplanes before they were two.

And thanks to the horrible airline experience we had on our final flights, we are definitely ready to become the Griswold's and start driving to future family trips! Long story short they cancelled our connection on the way to Wilmington, so we had to take three flights to get there and sprint across Atlanta's large airport. On the way home they cancelled our flight and we stayed an extra day to find out we weren't officially on our connection.

When the heat is on, I feel like we rise to the occasion as a family. It's moments like these that make me realize we are a great "team". The kids were amazing. They were so good that I had three businessmen from three separate flights stop me and tell me our kids are well behaved. Of course this made for one proud mama.

Besides the flights, it was a great family vacation. We explored the beach two days. The first day the boys were frightened by the noise of the waves. The second day, I wish they were a little apprehensive. They loved jumping into waves! We hit the pool up three different times. The kids are all getting to be little fish. The boys loved the boat rides and horse carriage. They loved oohing and ahhing over baby Addie...and playing with her toys.

The things I'll remember most about the boys on this trip would be...

• Ben attempting to sing "life is a highway" and shouting "Go Big Red" by the boat docks.
• Will insisting on galloping from the elevator to our hotel door.
• Ben saying, "I'm Okayyyy Mom!!!" as he gets plummeted by waves.
• Will taking Billy's debit card out of his wallet multiple times and saying, "Bear card, I charge it?!"
• Time outs in restaurants. One would get one, the other would ask for one so they could get out of their high chair too.

Coloring at the airport!

Fort Fisher Aquarium

Will walking like a crab

Ben the bathing beauty.

Will holding Addie!

The crew: Josie, Will, Billy, Ben, Addie, and Wiese

3rd year in a row...

The boys loved the bald eagle. They kept asking the panda bear to turn around.

What a view!

Like father like sons... Will and Dad have the same smile.

This is the boys 3rd year attending the Indianola Balloon Festival. The first year they were in my belly. Last year they just crawled around on the blanket and took it all in. This year, they loved it even more! Not only did they eat their weight in pizza and ice cream, but they also rode the train and danced they night away. We love this annual tradition!

Below is some of the dancing that took place. It starts with Josie, then Ben's run dance, then Will gets wiped out by his big sister.

Somewhere in the middle of America

That's right, we are talking about Omaha. Check out below for some fun times we had while we stayed there!

All Aboard! Durham Western Heritage Museum visit.

Annual trip to the zoo with the Entourage

Ben, Will, and Talia just swinging

Pool time with Aunt Danielle, Will, Ben, and Mom. Thanks Soby's for letting us swim!

Potty People!

We aren't two yet, but we go on the potty daily. Maybe we'll be potty training sooner than mom planned. We'll need to invest in some potty chairs, because when one siblings has to go, they all go! These pics were taken at the same time last week. Big Sister was on the potty downstairs while brothers were upstairs. This made for a mom who was running around to each bathroom!

Will prefers the monkey bathroom.

Ben is sophisticated and likes mom and dad's bathroom.

Little Chickie...

There is a song that my mom has sung to me since I was the boys age. It's now a song that my kids can all sing (for the most part). With the next generation, my mom stepped it up a bit. She now has little chickens that she gives each grandkid to use as a prop while singing the song. At the end, they squeeze the chicken to reveal the egg.

Take a look at the boys attempt to sing this little ditty! Ben is on the left... Will is the one who tries to act out the chickie laying the egg at the end.

Brotherly Love

The boys have always been close. Not just by proximity, but they are two tight friends. A couple times a week I'll look in my rear view mirror to them holding hands. Will always says "Nice to meet you" while Ben prefers to say "Peace be with you".

They always wrestle. It's a daily event. It makes me nervous that when they start preschool in the fall that one of them will pin a new friend down out of love. The other day I was tickling Will and saying "I'm gonna get you!" Ben ran over and said, "No! My brudder. I lobe him." Then gave Will a hug and (out of love) yanked him out of my lap.

My favorite song I hear now is a little ditty Josie taught the boys. Take a look below. I'm sure at some point in their lives, maybe when they are arguing over who gets to drive the car, we can play this for the boys and use it as a reminder of the brotherly love.