Being cute

Ross wearing monster jammies and frog boots.....a perfect combo!

Riley in his robot jammies, and in deep concentration.....watching a kid's documentary on how tractors work.  This is serious business.

Just wanted to check in and let you know that the boys are doing great at their new school!  They have settled into their new routine well, and are doing beautifully!

No major news, but a few people have emailed and asked for pictures, so I took these this weekend.  They certainly aren't the greatest photos....but that's what we are up right now!

Thanks for checking in with us!

Reid's Rockstars!!

I know that you have noticed that unbelieveably adorable curly haired cousin of ours that  shows up in lots of our pictures, right?  That's Reid - my most incredible and amazing nephew!  He is our inspiration as we prepare for our second year of participating in the Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech.  We are honored to walk as members of Reid's Rockstars!  Please consider donating to support Reid's walk team in the 2010 Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech! Or even better, consider walking with us on October 2nd!

Check out our website http://www.apraxia-kids.org/pittsburghwalk/reid for more general walk information...or to join the team and walk with us on October 2nd.   If are not able to walk with us, please consider making a donation to support the cause (if you do so without joining the team, please donate in Reid's name so they'll call his name as a top fundraiser...he'd think that was cool!)

They loved it!!

The boys loved their first day!

  Ross walked in to the classroom this morning which was super crowded (20 kids, all of their parents, teachers, therapists, assorted extra staff....really crowded!) and announced, "Hi, everyone!  Hello, everyone!  Welcome to the Ross and Riley Show!  I am so glad that you all came today!"  It was hilarious and pure Ross.   He is the embodiement of "all the world's a stage." 

Riley promptly got out all of the toy trains and cars, and arranged them all right in the doorway where everyone was trying to walk.  I was happy to see that they were both so relaxed and feeling comfortable and had to laugh.

They came home happy and tired, which is perfect for a first day of school!   I am feeling really good about the classroom and hopeful that it is going to be a great year!

Excited about our first day!

Ready to leave for school!

At our new school!

The day before the First Day of School

Tomorrow is the boys' first day of school, so tonight we had a Back to School party!  They each decorated a "party hat" and wore it during dinner and then had ice cream afterwards!  I had planned to do something more exciting and elaborate, but it was my first day with students and I got home late from work and barely even had time to get that together.  It was still a little fun and silly way to get them excited about going to school tomorrow and it worked!  Ross spent the rest of the evening talking about circle time and school and Riley was trying to decide if he was going to tell me everything fun when he gets home tomorrow or make me guess what happened.

I hope they have a wonderful day!

 

Back to School

The Twincredible Twosome and I have had a wonderful summer!  I have to go back to work tomorrow, so it feels like today is the end of our free and silly time for a while.  As much as I adore my job, and I really, truly do, it is so wonderful to be able to be with my own kiddos all the time.  I love waking up and lounging around with them and not having any schedule to follow.  Oh well, everyone is getting back into the school routine...we'll be back in the swing of things soon!  (Oh...and this fall, the boys are going to start playing SOCCER!!  I know you all can't wait to see those pictures!)

Here are some pics from the past few weeks, so you can all see what fun we've had!

We went to Round Hill Farm and checked out the animals.

We went to Moraine State Park and played in the sun and sand and water!

We went to Kennywood, of course!

And we were just plain old silly at home!  This is Riley deciding to see if he fit in a toy baby doll stroller....he did....

sort of......

And sometimes we had extra fun being silly when Reid came over to play with us!

What have you been up to this summer?  Please leave us a comment and let us know! 

The boys start school next week and I have all kinds of excitement and anxiety about that.  They are going to a new school (although it is the same elementary school that my sister, brother and I all went to!!!) and will have a new teacher this year.  I have heard absolutely fantastic things about the classroom and the teacher and am certain that the boys will do beautifully, but there I am always a bit nervous about any change.  The boys had such an incredible experience with school last year, and I just hope that their success continues. 

Last year, they were in a special ed. setting that was tailored to meet Ross' needs.  Typical kids, including Riley, were included as peer models.  (Even though Riley is considered "typical" he still receives PT and OT at school.  He just doesn't receive specialized academic instruction.)    This year, they are going to be in a regular early childhood classroom and some of Ross' academic instruction will be provided for him by a special ed. teacher who will come into the room.  The entire room won't be tailored for his needs, although the teacher will certainly make accomodations for him.  This time, he is being included, and last year, they were in a "reverse inclusion" program.  He will also receive PT, OT, speech, and vision therapy during school, just like he did last year.     I do think that he is ready and able to handle it, but I worry.  I worry as an autistic support teacher who perhaps knows a bit too much, and of course, I worry as his mommy.  Sigh......

It will be an adventure, that's for sure! 

Even more partying......

Today the Twincredible Twosome had their "real" birthday party with all of our family and friends!  We had a cooking and playing party.   First, the kids decorated their own chef's aprons, and then they made little pizzas, salad on a stick, and fruit scultpures with toothpicks.  Then,  I had planned to have all of the kids play in a wonderful enclosed, totally safe playground, so the parents could all relax and the kids could have a great time.   However, it rained all throughout most of the day and all of the playground equipment was wet and super slippery and dangerous.   So, we ended up having to play inside which wasn't as much fun, but I still hope that everyone had a good time!

Of course, we took lots of pictures!

Before the party even began, Riley grabbed a bagel and started enjoying himself!!

Ross was VERY serious about decorating his apron.  If you look closely, you will see that he has written 1-2-3-4-5 on it, and drew some monsters!!  He also wrote his name on the top of it.  Riley decorated his in about 22 seconds, declared it "all done," and went back to eating that bagel.

Twin pizza chefs...

Singing some songs while we wait for our pizza to cook.

It looks like everyone still had fun playing inside.

This cake was really cool.....half was decorated with musical notes for Ross and half was Thomas the Train for Riley!

This picture absolutely illustrates my boys' personalities perfectly.  We were singing "Happy Birthday" and Ross was lit up, smiling and excited about the music.  Riley was intently planning the most effective approach to blowing out the candles.   He's always thinking ahead.

Maybe it's a twin mom thing....but I can't get enough of seeing them blow out those candles together. 

Happy 4th Birthday!!!!

Ross and Riley are 4 years old!    They had a wonderful birthday and our thoroughly enjoying the excitement!    This was the first year that they actually asked for some specific gifts.  The expressions on their faces and their excitement when they opened up something that they had requested was just so much fun!   

  Ross is still totally into everything musical and all musical instruments, and now he is also really interested in orchestras and conductors.  So, one of his gifts was a real conductor's baton, which he was thrilled about:

Both boys asked for "Pillow Pets" and have been reciting the TV commercials that they have seen advertising them for the past month or so.  They love them already!

The entire day was filled with smiles and two beautiful happy boys! 

Ross in his new "Silly Scary Monster" Costume

Riley with his fire-breathing dinosaur

Ross loves his Pillow Pet!!

Bongo Drums!!!!

Riley checking out his new cement mixer

Rememember the piano in the movie Big?

And now.....for the most fun!!!  Aunt Lyssie gave the boys a super cool microphone so that they can be the rock stars that they are.  There is a button to push on the bottom that makes it sound like people are applauding for your performance!  Check out these 3 super short videos of my rock stars!! 

Ross rockin' out!

Riley shakin' his booty

The Twincredible Twosome singing a duet of "Kiss and A Hug" by Kelsey Friday and The Rest of The Week

 

Let the Festivities Begin....

Even though their actual birthday isn't until Wednesday, the Twincredible Twosome began their celebration a little bit early this weekend with their first gifts.   I got really lucky and found two Cozy Coupe cars on Craigslist for a great price.  My most wonderful friend, "The Crazy B Lady" went to pick them up for me since she has a van, and brought them over on Saturday morning.  Here is a picture of the boys' faces as they got their first glimpse of the cars...

They have spent most of our free time this weekend in their cars.  They have already figured out that it's way too hard to drive on grass and not safe to drive down our super steep driveway.  They have learned that the sidewalk in front of our house looks level, but actually slopes in one direction, so they make me push them when they are "driving" that way and then they coast the other way. 

Riley has been driving the car that looks like a police car and he keeps trying to stop people who are driving "too fast" so he can give them a ticket.  He can't figure out why people won't stop and listen to him.  It's hilarious! 

They love them! 

I hope that the rest of their birthday celebration is just as much fun!! 

The Crazy Lazy Days of Summer

The boys and I have been enjoying every second of our summer vacation.  Somehow, we have managed to strike just the right balance of jam packed full of fun and lazing around enjoying our new house.  Our first leg of actual vacation with no schedule is coming to an end tomorrow.  On Monday, the boys start day camp and I start back at work for summer school.   I think the boys are going to love camp, and my summer program is a shorter day with a laid back schedule, so we will still have lots of fun ahead! 

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks:

This is how the boys watch TV together.....brotherly love.

Seriously.....they just lie there like that and watch TV.

Ross is a pirate, and Riley is just silly.