For those of you don’t have three boys aged five and under, or haven’t had the pleasure of dining with us (come on over, I’m making Daddy-Os!), it would be hard to describe the chaos that is dinner at our place. The energy and noise levels are, in a word, “high,” while the competency levels with basic eating skills such as use of a cup or spoon might best be described as “less high.” I have taken to announcing the time of the first spill, much like a doctor pronouncing a patient dead – “Time of first spill, 42 seconds into the meal.” Not a great analogy, I suppose, since if we actually had a dead patient for each spill, our license would have been yanked months ago and all three boys locked up in debtor’s prison for eternity, what with all the malpractice and wrongful death judgments against them. I suppose actually giving them glasses as opposed to sippy cups makes me contributorily negligent, so I would be on the hook as well, but they have to learn somehow. Thank God the only real casualties are our newspapers, work clothes, patience, etc.
Although pictures in this case are not worth a thousand words, and I should actually attach an audio file, I have no idea how to do that, so pictures it is.
Although pictures in this case are not worth a thousand words, and I should actually attach an audio file, I have no idea how to do that, so pictures it is.
Above you can see Cooper participating in a favorite dinnertime game developed by the twins. Hearing any mention of the word chicken, both twins will start flapping their arms like a chicken and squawking loudly. After a bit of this, they both loudly yell “BBAAAAAWWWWK!!!” and throw their arms skyward. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat. Cute the first time, less cute the 187th time. Any fellow diner who sets them off by use of the word chicken is severely punished.
Here we see another popular dinner pastime: Monster. Rarely does a dinner pass without all three boys pretending they are monsters. One will start to growl in an appropriately menacing manner while extending his arms forward like Frankenstein. Soon the others join in the Monster chorus, and all three continue to make monster sounds simultaneously until we are able to restore order or something spills, whichever comes first. Although Cooper actually does the best Frankenstein face, I haven’t been able to effectively capture it on film (rarely daring to bring the camera to the table for fear of spills, fittingly). In the background you can see Deanna is quite enjoying this particular game.
You know, as a closing thought, as chaotic as things sometimes are these days, I am not so naive as to think I won’t someday miss all of this. When we are sitting around a quiet house years from now, with the boys long ago moved away to Canada (Owen), California (Cooper) and Prague (Hayden), these are the memories that will make us smile, and maybe even toss a glass of milk on the floor for old times sake.
You know, as a closing thought, as chaotic as things sometimes are these days, I am not so naive as to think I won’t someday miss all of this. When we are sitting around a quiet house years from now, with the boys long ago moved away to Canada (Owen), California (Cooper) and Prague (Hayden), these are the memories that will make us smile, and maybe even toss a glass of milk on the floor for old times sake.
2 comments:
Oh you will miss them, but you will also enjoy your dinner, a second cup of coffee, a nice conversation (uninterrupted) with your wife. Then when they call you from Canada or Prague or California to ask if you think they should take the baby to the doctor with a high fever and you hear the wailing in the background you will be grateful that it is a distant memory. Believe me. This is Betsey's Mom - loved the photos of your boys. Owen is so handsome, too bad Paige has decided never to marry.
Hey Betsey's mom! An uninterrupted conversation with my wife is indeed an intriguing concept, although she would probably settle at this point for an uninterrupted bathroom visit. Sorry to hear about Paige's change of heart, as Owen is still set on marrying her, as of only a couple of days ago. I suggested to your daughter recently that Owen and Paige send each other letters, so maybe there will be a declaration of love heading her way that will change her mind. Or maybe just a drawing of a fast car that won't. We'll see.
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