Tuesday, November 06, 2007
I was talking to Kathy the other day and all of the sudden it dawned on her that the twins had turned one and she said, "Why didn't you blog it?" And I guess it has something to do with the fact that Mark's been away and the twins are one and Caleb's two and I have three other kids on top of that and mountains of laundry and piles of dishes and blah, blah, blah. But right now the babies are all asleep and the laundry is washing and the dishes are done and I'm here to tell you, the twins survived their first year of life and successfully turned one. Hurray!
 
First of all, I have to admit, having twins was not as bad as I thought it would be. The two of you little boys are quite a joy to have around. Yesterday your daddy said, "Just one of you alone couldn't be cuter if you were twins" and then surprise, you are twins and you are even cuter. Plus, there's just something extra fun about watching two babies interact with one another. On our way home from church yesterday, the two of you were sitting all grown up in your new forward facing carseats, holding hands. How often does anyone get to see two babies really holding hands? You both were totally aware that the other one was there and you definitely wanted to be holding hands. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. And a few days ago Justus was sitting in the living room drinking a bottle of milk. Jericho crawled into the room and straight over to Justus where he slapped the bottle out of Justus's mouth. But Justus didn't cry. He just picked up the bottle and stuck it right back into his mouth. And Jericho immediately slapped the bottle out of Justus's mouth again. This time Justus started laughing and all of the sudden the two of you were having the times of your lives, slapping the bottle and picking it up again, giggling together like someone had just cracked the biggest joke ever. Several times in recent weeks one of you (and you take turns doing this) has come peeling around the corner from one room into another, squealing and laughing, half excited, half panicked, racing towards us. And seconds later, the missing baby also comes peeling around the corner, in hot pursuit of his brother, laughing and sqealing also. And I didn't even know babies could play chase with other babies. I guess that's the neat thing--the two of you totally understand each other in a way most other babies never will. Jericho was crying the other day because I forced him to take his inhaler meds, which he hates. Justus doesn't like them anymore than Jericho does, but he seems to take it a little better. Anyway, Jericho was hysterical, crying on my lap and all of the sudden Justus crawled over and started kissing him, clearly trying to make him feel better. It really is the neatest thing and one of the funnest things, I think, to have the two of you. And to think I thought twins were the worst thing that could ever happen to me.
Of course not everything you do together is cute, like when you empty my kitchen cupboards all over the floor or go fishing together in the toilet. Jericho is our little Houdini and is very good at wriggling out of the high chairs. It doesn't matter how tight we pull the strap, you find your way out. And we almost always find you sitting on the table, handing food back to your brother and stuffing your own face. Jericho is also the climber and about a week ago I found you in the bathroom on top of the toilet. You had pushed the stepstool over to the toilet and had climbed up all by yourself. Then you handed my porcelain frog from Grandpa Stout down to Justus who was happily banging it on the toilet lid, while you returned to get the porcelain froggy vase for your own hammering pleasure. Just today Jericho climbed from the floor onto the couches and proceeded straight for the end tables where you were in a hurry to stand up and see just exactly how the lamp works. Luckily your big brothers have had some excellent training (thank you Mr. Hell on Wheels a.k.a. Caleb) and they know right when to sound the alarm and taddle on you. The two of you aren't always together. There are times when you go your separate ways and quite happily too. But it seems whenever there is trouble to be found, you find it together.
Your personalities are definitely different. Jericho is much quieter and more reserved. Your smiles are more stubborn and you are much more serious about things. Justus is louder, more outgoing and smiley. Today Jericho was sitting in our bedroom happily playing with a basketful of cables and various odds and ends. Justus crawled in and joined his brother, and as soon as he saw his reflection in the mirror he immediately started smiling and shouting and waving vigorously at the two of your reflections. Justus loves to swing. Jericho loves to slide. Justus is a little more social and seems to handle the passing around at church much better than Jericho. Justus has a soft spot for Grandma Gribble. Jericho can sing "Happy Birthday." Justus can walk. And it seems to me, that wherever one of you is lacking, the other one is strong. And together you make each other very, very complete. I hate to label you already. My family labeled me--I was supposed to be the barefoot and pregnant one living in a shack for the rest of my life--and look what happened. So I hesitate every time I tell people this because I don't want you to feel like this is the way it's gonna be and that you have no control over your fate. But the way your personalities are now I can totally see Justus becoming the high school jock with lots of girlfriends, struggling through school. And I can totally seeing Jericho being the brain behind both of you, whizzing through school but struggling to get a date--not because he's not handsome because we already know that's not going to be a problem but because I think Jericho will be a little shy and introverted, like his mama. And as a result, Justus will get the dates for Jericho and Jericho will help Justus ace his tests and just like I said, you'll balance each other out just fine and hopefully both of you will end up perfectly happy in every way.
 Everyone that's reading this will probably never believe me but you both can sing KT Tunstall's Black Horse & The Cherry Tree. Okay, maybe not all of it but you've definitely got the "no, no" bit down and you sing it to yourselves on a regular basis when you're about to get into trouble. Your other favorite phrase right now and your only other phrase right now (besides Jericho's ability to sing Happy Birthday) is uh-oh and you love, love, love to throw things on the floor or out of the bathtub and repeat it over and over and over again. But I have a feeling it won't be long before the two of you are chattering away just like the rest of your brothers.
I'd love to tell you more about yourselves but there's not much more to tell. I'm busy and most of our time together is spent putting out the various fires you and your brother Caleb start and feeding the three of you and changing the three of you and bathing the three of you and putting the three of you down for naps. And I only get to cuddle you for a few minutes at a time because then I've got to cuddle the next baby and the next and at least you've gotten really good at taking turns. But I think the one thing the two of you should know is that you are really, really loved. I cry sometimes because I feel bad for the two of you being the last and all attention deprived and stuff. There's certainly not enough of me to go around and sometimes I feel a little ripped off because I don't get to enjoy you as much as I want to. But Hunter and Noah and Denver think you two are the neatest thing since bubble gum and I think they make up sometimes for the parts where I'm lacking. They get up early in the mornings and put the two of you together in one crib and give you lots of toys. And they fight over who gets to take you down the slides at the park or carry you down the stairs when my hands are full of other things. And they love to sit and hold you and they are always looking out for you. And no matter how hectic things get around here and how busy things may be, the two of you will always have a lot of people just waiting around to love you and that is one constant that will never, not ever change. And my only prayer for the two of you is that you never, not ever forget how much you are loved. We love you Jericho. We love you Justus. Happy Birthday!
 
posted by Shana # 3:23 PM 
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