1,085th place!

it is hard to tell what he was more excited about--catching a glimpse of the lady he spends much of his time with or...

 ..seeing a boot on a jeep!

 and how do you cool off after 13.1 in 85-degrees? thankfully, the race coincided with the opening of our absolute favorite boston water attraction!

 nino the dog helped get everyone running.

 so call us "future dog owners." the three chased little nino and his ball for 30 minutes. good dog.

 and how do you pull three kids from the water on a hot summer day?

 thankfully the cupcake cart is strategically placed at the fountains.

don't worry, these guys got their fair share

so proud!

stretching his skinny legs...

 on your mark...

 and they're off!

 how do you celebrate your kid coming bringing up the rear in his first 1/4 mile road race?

(nic, it's warm. with butter. and 2 beers. come and get it!)

great clothes

no lying, a big reason i love summer is the clothes. our personal shopper (thanks mom) buys the boys the CUTEST outfits and it gets old covering them up with coats, scarves, mittens, hats and blankets.

another reason--the esplanade. so on our first hot day we loaded up with snacks and water and went for a bike ride (matt)/jog (mom)/ride (jack and ben). in adorable outfits.

 we stopped at the playground up the charles to play...

 and burn off some major energy.

 it's a good day when a fall off the swing does not cause major tears.

 these guys are in heaven exploring these new parks.

 seriously, does it get any better than this?

 we took the long way home. our adventure resulted in a 4.5 mile ride/run/nap (thank you walkjogrun.net).

 and his much deserved treat: chocolate milk of course.

stay tuned for pics from his first road race. he is sooooo excited! (so am i.)

what would you have done?

ahhhh. fast asleep. but...

 ..do you stick it back in and risk the wake up? or let him risk twisting it off in the middle of the night?

these guys are rapidly outgrowing the mini-cribs. what a great space-saver though for city babes.

(i did not fix the arm. he did not twist it off.) 

a swellesley day

i am missing the decorating gene. very apparent as we are 18 days from moving into our new home and i have only a dining room scheduled to be delivered. so we spent (another) saturday furniture store shopping and decided to stop by the wellesley police open house day to give the kiddies a break.

they locked him to the rail immediately.

siren? horn? flashing lights? no. all he wanted to do was watch the tires move when he turn the steer wheel. 

 ben liked the lights. and apparently the the horn that was being blasted non-stop by all the kids.

 see what i mean about the faces....he is so funny.

 my little skeptic was not interested in the exterior...

..but get him in the seat and he thought he was chief! they were the busiest things in here.

 the weather was almost 20 degrees warmer than boston (there has been a weird fog hovering over the city), a mere 12 miles away! and the force was grilling up hot dogs and handing out ice cream. matt ate two of each.

 they had badges and hats and trading cards with actual officers names. they opened the whole staion, letting kids run wild through the jail, command center and even the chief's office--where the screen saver was a picture of the police dog. what a great event! we did not stay for wonderful wellesley weekend, complete with parade and fireworks, but you can bet we will eat up that small town fun next may.

 and then we walked toward our almost home...through the city hall/town park. at the end is a stream where we have seen white geese waiting to be fed every time we pass.  

 and we don't have to mow it! (yards seem sooo overrated.) and it is steps from our place, the train, matt's school and the shops and restaurants of wellesley square. i am getting less and less nervous about these 'burbs, or "the country" as matty calls it*.

 and mom, the new overalls are a huge help (and really cute)!!!

after a beautiful time in our almost home, we drove back to a giant, freezing, hovering fog.

 i must say, i did not make up the swellesley nickname...it is the name of a local blog i love:

http://www.theswellesleyreport.com/

*matty came home from school wednesday and said "bradley is moving this summer too. to new york. not the city though, to new york country. you know, where daddy's parents live."

my break

the little ones love to ride and matt loves to pull. ahhh, the wagon. (although my arms feel like they are flopping uncontrollably without holding a little paw or pushing a stroller.)

 ben has been so playful. he makes the funniest, happiest faces. especially when he is a bit naughty.

 he is still the sweetest little thing.

 jack still smiles with his entire body. he cries a lot too lately. must be the major teething.

after climbing on many, he liked this sofa, but i was afraid to go with cream...

and is he a climber.

 the rock...

 the warrior...

 and a little nervous to try a yoga up there. he loves yoga at school. when i askedhim what sports he wants to play in our new town he said baseball and arts-n-crafts. he is my tenderheart.

 

on a year with twins

just some thoughts i hope to remember in twelve years when i start their baby books.

i've spent a lot of time thinking (and sometimes feeling guilty) that twins have it rough: you can not give them the attention (mainly snuggles) they deserve as babies, and now as little toddlers you can not (properly) comfort both at same time, feed them fast enough, and it is hard to really play with and stimulate one if the other is fussing. i truly thought they had it harder.

until this moment last week at lunch:

 when they high-fived each other.

again and again. and laughed and laughed.

 it is not a new trick, but they had never done it to each other. and they were laughing so much. and i realized, they have a forever friend.  

 someone who is a bit like them. and they will play sports together. and be in the same classes. and experience their "firsts" together. yes, i know it will not always be happy times, we already have some intense tug-of-wars over jack's lovey but for now i am going to relax on trying to stimulate them equally or split the meatball exactly in half. they have it really good.

i do not compare them to each other in terms of growth (and definitely do not worry that jack has 8 teeth and ben only 2), but really enjoy seeing how they are different. ben loves loves loves the swing. 

 jack tires of it after a few pushes. he prefers to climb all over the baby-death-trap playset.

ben wakes up screaming calling out for us, while jack will talk and snuggle his lovey for a while. jack's first word was tree. ben's was ball. ben said his first. jack walked first. ben walks like frankenstein. they are both super silly. they both need lots of hugs.

 they both adore this guy.

matty was always being held and snuggled and spent lots of time in the bjorn. all of our time was deovted to him. gosh, he still crawls in our bed some nights and never had to 'cry it out.'

and i know matty will forever have two best buddies. but for now, his mama is his best friend. and i feel like i have it best.