Peaceful Play

From what I can tell, these two adore each other. But they don't always play sweetly together. It's mostly their ages, but there is generally a fair amount of tussling, bumps and screeching.

Thus I was a bit surprised today when they played together for two hours straight without a single incident. They shared (SHARED!) a coloring book, had breakfast together and formed a marching band. I'm suspicious, what are they up to?

Portraits

My kids won't pose. I guess this is okay. It means that the moments I do capture are genuine(ish—I do have Photoshop). But it also means that I don't get a lot of cute brothers-in-matching-pjs shots. Apparently Zeke thought that Lincoln was attacking him, and would have none of it. And, to be fair, I have been telling him that he needs to be nice to his little brother, because they do have a habit of outgrowing you.

Lincoln was all sweetness and smiles though, so we tried some self portraits while Zeke ran around happily in the background.

The Importance of Being Ezekiel

Sorry, people. I can't resist posting these little sketches of Zeke's. He tells me that the face in the middle of the page is Ezekiel. And his conjoined twin (to the right) is dada. Which was sweet, and cute and I'm all proud.

Then he points to the little round scribble to the left of those two and says, "brother."

Bow Tie Boys

Corren and Cheris gave the boys the cutest little bow ties for Christmas. Zeke wore his for the first time last week, but today we put Lincoln's on and dad wore one of his favorites as well. I thought that they looked so cute that I made everyone stop and pose for these pictures before we headed out the door. I'm glad I did, because things got pretty interesting at church and Sabbath school.

Actually, church was great. The baby had a bottle, Ezekiel colored in his coloring book, filled out the children's bulletin and ate some goldfish. And we heard a sermon! We've been hearing only snatches of them for the last few months, so this was a treat.

Then Sabbath school. I took Lincoln to the nursery for the first time and he enjoyed watching Uncle Johannes teach. But he did have a giant spit up all over both of us and got pretty grouchy by the end. Apparently things were much worse over in the next room. Zeke had way too much energy. Robb ended up taking him out in the hallway and running him. That's where I found them.

Hungry Honu

Lincoln chills in his bouncy seat while everyone else enjoys solids.

Really, I don't know what sparks an obsession with a two-year-old. Zeke has had this large sea turtle, named Honu, his entire life. And suddenly, this week, Honu has become his new best friend. I mean, Honu has to go in the car with us, sleeps in Zeke's bed and "samples" everything Zeke eats.

The great part of it is that he will do just about anything if you tell him that Honu wants to. This morning he had four bowls of Robb's amazing oatmeal because he was sharing with Honu.

Leapin' Lincoln

We've tried the Johnny Jump-up a few times before, and Lincoln could only handle it for a few minutes before becoming really frustrated. But he has been kicking off of us so much lately that we decided it was time for another go.

Success! He spent all of Ezekiel's bath time chillin' in the doorway. He did do some bouncing, but he was really more focused on trying to get that delicious red strap into his mouth.

Shoes!

Ezekiel thinks that our shoes are endlessly funny. Especially if we are all getting ready to go somewhere and we tell him to put his shoes on. Inevitably, he come shuffling along wearing either a pair of Robb's or my shoes.

Today he decided to compromise a bit by wearing Robb's shoes on his feet and his own shoes on his hands. He even walked around on all fours for awhile to show us how convenient it was to have two pair of shoes.

Balanced Nutrition

More from the Gabby Files. I left a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies out on the counter when I headed for work this afternoon. Because she is awesome, Gabby texted to makes sure it was okay for Zeke to have one.

After his snack of popcorn, sprinkles (look closely) and cookies, he pulled a book of the shelf and asked for her to read it. Which book? Ellen White's Counsels on Diet and Foods.

Sweet and Sour

The boys are having way too much fun with their new sitter. She loves coloring and doing art with Zeke and chasing him around and tickling. Which are, of course, his favorite things the the world. And Lincoln gets lots of teething toys and cuddles. Which are, of course, HIS favorite things in the world.

But it would seem that Zeke probably got to go down for a nap sometime directly following the last photo...

Hanging With Gabby

Today Lincoln was being a sleepy little fella for Gabby. When he finally woke up, she got him to take his new mustache binky. Just a little preview of the facial hair he'll probably be growing by eighth grade.

Mommy and Me

I'm loving how Lincoln will hold his head up now. He used to be all scrunched chin in photos. And if he catches sight of himself in a reflective surface, he smiles and flirts.

Doodles

It has been so much fun watching Zeke's drawings develop. Tonight, he and Robb were drawing together (Zeke's work is in red colored pencil) and he started doing faces. I love how the have Yoda ears and tall red mohawks.

New People Are Good

The boys have a new woman in their lives. Today was their first day with a new sitter, and she was a big hit. She also loves Instagram, so you'll likely be seeing more of her pilfered photos here.