The Big 5...times 2 (does that make it 10?)

It is hard to believe that I would have all 4 of my kids near a major holiday - or major for us. Mother's Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving.  These two loves were born 3 days before Thanksgiving and this year their birthday fell 2 days before. One would think I would have planned that better.

And Thanksgiving at my house means getting prepared to host 40-50 people at my house, all whilst having some sort of birthday party. At 5, they know they are supposed to have a party, or think they are. 

I've decided to start calling Thanksgiving their birthday party until further notice.

BUT, this year - we used a local pizza joint that has 6,000 games to make them feel like I just did it up big :). It worked. I even remembered candles!

Because they didn't really care that the other 742 people there were NOT there for them. It seemed like a huge party, and really we only invited the grandparents, the godparents and the 16 year old son of the godparents. 

So, Happy Birthday Twins!!!

Monkey oh Monkey...the boy soothes my heart. He is so genuine and true, and let's be honest, he loves on me more than his sister..so there's that.  He is the hardest child to photograph. He makes a silly looking smile and usually looks somewhere else (as shown above-haha) He is his very own person who refuses to be rushed into anything. He is the child that keeps us from being most places on time.

The boy has distinct ideas about what he should wear. He is not concerned with matching. Ever.  He would like to wear basketball shorts, his 3 favorite t-shirts and flops. Every. Single. Day. He HATES any other clothes. Period.

You can imagine how hard it is when we go to church...the one place I require something a little nicer than basketball shorts. a shirt that in no way matches anything and flops.  There are a lot of tears..from both of us.

But he is a sweet and funny boy who loves trucks of all kinds. Dump trucks, semis, 4 X 4, fire trucks..you name it, he will love it.  He really loves Leg0s. He is finally learning how to read and it is a slow process. He loves to do math, which helps balance out his school stuff.  He loves music and singing, especially silly songs that make him laugh.

Mad because we wouldn't let her in the rip current at the beach.

My little Mini P...I think we should change her nickname to Miss Mama With Attitude. Oh that girl fits that name so well. She makes sure that we know everything that is going on and has no issues spouting off orders to all the brothers, even if we are standing right there. And when she is mad...we all know it.  The rule is "you break you take"...so if you 'break' her, you get her for the day. It's really a fun game. 

She is absolutely NOT generous with her affections (which I'm hoping will serve us well in the teenage years). If you get her first thing in the morning, she will let you hold her. If you try to get a hug later (10 minutes after she gets up), no dice. If you get a hug from her every other day, you need to count your blessings. If you get a kiss, well, I would ingrain it in your brain because you do NOT know when the next one will be.

Mini P is smart. She loves to read and many books she reads are well above her grade level. Even if she doesn't know the full meaning of the words, she can say them and she will ask what they mean.  She has good understanding of what she reads. Her favorites are the Fairy series by Daisy Me@dows - right now we have 10 from the library.

They are both playing soccer and one loves it more than the other. One (Monkey) can't stand the shirt (surprise) and says he never has fun (not true), Mini P is hard core. Sometimes Monkey is just kind of standing around watching. We have always said that he is more of a spectator than a participant, but he chose to play.

We are so lucky that we have this kind of entertainment in our life, without them it would be very dull. For 2 people raised near identically, they could not be farther from that. It amazes me each day how different they really are! 

Cheers!