October 2014

Today, the boys and I ventured out and had a little Sunday Funday!  Since it was such a nice day, we took a short drive out to the country to visit a local pumpkin patch, then the Nature Center, pizza for dinner and then called it a night.

While out at the pumpkin patch, I put the boys on horses for the first time and they loved it. They laughed and giggled the entire time. They talked about wanting a lasso and saying “YEEE HAWWW!”  And as I sat and watched my sons, I realized how much that they were growing up and growing up entirely too fast. They were on their own. They were sitting there on a horse and loving life. But after the horse rides, we took a hay ride over to the pumpkin patch and they listened, they played, they looked at pumpkins and they enjoyed every minute of being out there.

But what I realized, was that they were growing up. They were learning and putting things that we’ve taught them into practice. They were absorbing. They were learning. They were having fun.

When we got home, Baby B fell asleep 10 minutes after we left the restaurant and when we got home, Baby A helped me bringing in a small grocery bag, but what I didn’t realize, is that while I was getting Baby B changed and into bed, Baby A was downstairs putting the contents of the bag on the table for me. He said that he had seen me empty groceries and wanted to help. He was growing up!

What I’m learning about being a father of twins, is that no two days are alike, just like my sons. I’m learning that though Baby A has a HUGE vocabulary, Baby B can count from 0 – 30 and also in increments of 10s, from 10 to 100. I am learning that Baby A can adjust to things a lot easier than Baby B, especially if he is tired. I’m learning that you can’t compare twins, plain and simple, but what you can do, is realize that they are different individuals that just so happened were born 1 min and 30 seconds apart. I am learning that what works for one, may or may not work for the other in terms of discipline and also teaching them new things.

But what I’ve learned more than anything, is that they are becoming more and more independent and are growing up entirely too fast.

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It was one of those moments that I had to do a double take and actually move closer to my son and make sure that what I was hearing, was in fact Spanish. And it was. My son was singing a song in Spanish, just as I thought that I had heard.

And it wasn’t just one of the boys singing in Spanish, it was both and Baby B, who had the delayed speech, was the first one singing in Spanish. But the really cool thing, is that they are able to actually understand a few words in Spanish now.

There were two things that I really wanted to start the boys on at an early age, 1) martial arts and 2) speaking Spanish. Well, 1 of the 2 has already started, now we just need to keep them using it and engaged with it. Being bi-lingual will only help them in the long run.

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I have noticed that I use the phrase “it’s ok” a lot. When the boys fall and scrap their knee, when the boys are struggling with sharing, or like tonight when Baby A awoken with a night terror, I rocked him and tried to calm him down by saying “it’s ok”.

As a patent it is our job to provide and protect out kids. But there are times when it’s ok is a lie. Sometimes I think that we are trying to convince ourselves, in order for to  believe that things are going to be ok, when we aren’t necessarily sure or not?  Tonight was just another bad dream, but at some point it will be more serious, because after all they are children.  And at some point in time, I’ll keep telling my sons that “it’s ok”, to not only calm them down, but to calm myself down too.

But tonight, as the temperatures have started turning cooler and as Baby A and I rocked, life was more than ok.  I was able to hold and comfort him. I was able to just rock and hear him breathe. And for those few minutes, we were both ok. We were both at peace and we were both drifting off to sleep.

And as my boys grow up, they go through life, I hope that they realize this little life lesson. I hope that  at some point in time, when the roles will reverse and I am the one scared, they he will look at me and say that it’s ok.

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