38 Months Old!

**There's another entry below this one that I posted as well today for Nathan:  7 Months Old!**

I told myself that as soon as Matthew and Kayla turned three that I would only do updates on them every six months.  Unfortunately, I can't help myself.  They've grown up a lot!

Matthew is a Mommy's boy.  In a good way, in my opinion!  Jon might think otherwise.  Every time he is hurt or angry or upset and someone other than myself tries to tend to him, he says, "I want Mom!"  It drives Jon nuts.  When Matthew fell off of his bike during our recent camping trip at Cultus Lake, Jon tried to comfort him.  Matthew said, "I want Mom!".  When Jon asked why, he replied saying, "I don't like you, I like Mom."  Poor Jon.  I've tried to work with both Jon and Matthew so that their relationship can turn around...for Jon that's making sure that he's sensitive to Matthew's sensitive side/needs, and for Matthew that's not helping him if Jon is right there.

Every time I help him pull up his underwear and pants when getting changed or after going to the bathroom, Matthew hugs me and says, "I love you.  I want to stay with you forever."  He's recently started rubbing my back while he says it because he knows I like it.  It's the cutest thing ever.

Matthew continues to be such a fun kid to be around.  He has such a zest and joy for life.  He knows how to have a good time, and smiles and laughs with his whole body.

He loves funny cartoons and giggles while watching them.

He is still such a slow eater 90% of the time.  He's getting better at drinking his milk faster...half the time he's fast at it, and half the time it takes him a good 20 minutes.

Matthew loves playing with our Marble Works set and loves driving the kid tractor at my parents'.  According to Matthew, he always drives when its him and Kayla because, "Kayla not a good driver because shes hits stuff."  He has definitely mastered steering and shifting.  He effortlessly switches between first gear (slower), second gear (faster), and reverse.  Today he helped my Dad plant the vegetable garden by bringing the flats of potted vegetable plants from my Dad's truck to the garden using the tractor.

This month Matthew learned how to pump while swinging.

He loves to sing his ABCs (although he misses a few letters) and "Jesus Loves Me".

He still LOVES the vacuum.

While Nathan was napping on a Sunday, Matthew, Kayla, and I went for a walk in the rain.  

Kayla is such an easy child to parent, most of the time.  99% of the time she is very cooperative and understanding...but the 1% of the time when she's not...watch out!  When she throws a tantrum she collapses to the ground with tears falling from her eyes, boogers running from her nose, and drool dripping from her mouth.  It's disgusting!  :)  I'm working on teaching her to not drool while throwing a tantrum.  When she throws a tantrum she's placed in timeout until she stops crying, and then we discuss whatever caused the tantrum in the first place.  Other than that 1% of the time, she's amazing.

Kayla likes to follow the rules and have order.  She knows that toys have their certain places, and if she finds something out of place she'll come up to me and say, "This doesn't belong in that basket!".  After Oma and Opa (Jon's parents) babysat the kids this month and cleaned up all the toys before we came home Kayla had quite a few instances where she came and told me that Oma and Opa put toys in the wrong spot :).  She also reorganized a portion of my parents' toy room because it "wasn't perfect".

Kayla is a quick eater.  We seldom have any issues in getting her to eat or drink in a timely manner.

Kayla is proud of her ability to touch her nose with her tongue - just like her Dad!

Her hair is really starting to grow!  Yes, she still has balder patches behind her left and right temples, but with the right hairstyle, no one notices!  I often take pictures of her hair so that she can look at the picture to see what her hair looks like that day.

Kayla loves her baby (doll).  She received a new one for Christmas because her current baby's head is really starting to flop, but she seldom plays with it.  She just loves her original baby.  She enjoys putting her baby down for naps in the cradle, carrying her around (inside or outside), or feeding her Stove Top stuffing (so random, I know).  At least once a day I get an update on what her baby is doing at that exact moment.

 This past month Kayla has really started to use her imagination during play.  It's fun to watch her play with her Fisher Price Little People, making up stories and moving them around.  Her and Matthew still continue to "go shopping" with their strollers and Kayla is always telling me stories about which stores she went to, or which friends' birthday party she went to, etc.  She's very convincing!  If I didn't know any better, I would probably believe her about some of the things she says.  Kayla is usually the leader when her and Matthew play together...I imagine this will change in a few months when Matthew catches up to this developmental stage...although, maybe it's just a personality thing.  We'll see!

Over the past couple of weeks, as the days have become longer and thus the nights lighter, I've stopped napping Matthew and Kayla during the day.  It's bittersweet.  It was nice having the hour of time during the day when all of the kids were sleeping to do some work or nap myself, but Matthew and Kayla were fooling around for a good hour or so after being put to bed at night, coming out of bed several times each evening.  Since I've dropped their nap, they fall asleep almost instantly after being put to bed.  Their bedtime didn't change...just their exhaustion level.  I still will nap them if I think they're too tired during the day, because the last thing I need is for them to fall asleep during the late-afternoon or dinner.

They still love to colour, and when I have time to sit down with them, work in their 'workbooks' (from the Dollar Store.  As a young girl (and now, who am I kidding?!?!?), I always wanted to have workbooks.  I think my Mom only ever bought me one: I think it was summer after grade 2 or 3 and it was a math workbook.))

Kayla has really learned how to colour in the lines.

Matthew still prefers to cut his colouring paper into tiny snips, rather than colouring it.

Matthew and Kayla loved their first camping trip of the year.  They had completely forgotten what the inside of my parents' fifth wheel was like, and so it was liking going into it for the first time for them.  They are outside kids, and so camping for 3.5 days was so much fun for them.  Yes, we go in a fifth wheel, but we spend as much time outside as we can!  A little rain doesn't stop us from playing at the playground or taking walks!

 

Having twins as your first children, and especially twins as easy to parent as Matthew and Kayla is such a blessing.  They are each others' best friends and guaranteed playmate.  I never have to worry about them being bored because they have each other.  They are still so very much alike, but so very different.  I really hope they stay close because the bond they have right now is really special.  I love these two so much!  I couldn't have asked for two better kids for twins!