4 Years, 5 Months

December was a strange month, to put it mildly. But time marches on, and kids keep growing.

One of our more successful crafts in the past month was "snow paint," which is made with shaving cream and glue. It turned out really well. The boys enjoyed painting scenes themselves, but were most interested in having me paint snowman shapes that they could then decorate with various beads and gems.

Jack gives great consideration to his bead placement:

Henry carefully adding more paint to help his embellishments stick better:

I got to paint and decorate one too!

Another highlight of the month, pajama day at preschool!

If anyone needs evidence that twins are not the same, these pictures should do the trick.

The director of the boys' preschool noted in an e-mail to me that "your boys are so sweet, loving and caring to their friends and us." We're proud of our kids... although if they could extend that sweetness to each other on weekends at home, that'd be great.

It was also extremely exciting that sewer work was required on our street (fortunately didn't impact our service any, so it was just fun to watch). The boys greatly enjoyed this pile of fill rocks that was deposited in front of our house:

In yet more excitement, my friend Kristi and her daughter Alexa sent us some wonderful board games and dress-up clothes (and stuffed animals Alexa selected) to help get us through a long holiday break stuck at home.

Henry especially loves the dress-up shoes and has been frequently clip-clopping through the house ever since their arrival:

Showing off colorful skirt and pink shark!

Jack has been delighted by the board games and Marshall is his new second favorite stuffed animal (no one can compete with Blue Bunny):

The boys' favorite thing to do last month was definitely go the beach.  

Just some boys building a sand castle at Natural Bridges State Beach:

Henry working hard to mix the sand:

The castle expands to a fortress complete with moat:

Taking a stroll with Dad:

Closer to home, back on main beach...

Jack loves his mask and frequently wears it even in places where we tell him it's not necessary (like a deserted beach):

No amount of running on the sand is too much running on the sand for Henry:

Jack is more interested in sand construction, and lacking sand toys on this particular trip, settled for digging lines with his hands and feet:

Not yet satisfied with the number of beach trips, we were back at Natural Bridges just a few days later.

Sand construction is serious business for Jack:

Satisfied builder Jack surveys the beach:

The boys are getting really big, it's amazing. They can grab things from the freezer and wash their hands at the bathroom sink without step stools. They are certainly of the opinion that they're big kids now. They recently asserted that Steve and I could leave them home by themselves. 

Jack: "The bunnies will keep us company!"

Henry, much less reassuringly than Jack: "I can get an ice pack if we need it!" 

Uh, no. But nice try kiddos.