It's pretty tough to tell them apart even when they aren't dressed alike, so don't worry. Caleb is on the left and Elijah is on the right. They have slightly different smiles, and their eyes both sparkle differently. Caleb often wears his hat crooked and low, while Eli will wear it crooked but high. It's in the details. And being their mom who sees them every single day, I tend to pick up on it without even noticing. I don't dress them exactly the same often. As a matter of fact, I tend to dress them similarly, but not the same. So, if one is wearing a green striped shirt the other one will be wearing the same thing, but in blue. They know which clothes are theirs based on the color...Elijah will wear anything with green in it and Caleb will wear anything with blue. If there isn't a green item and only a blue item, then Eli takes whatever isn't blue. It's very funny how they know their colors.
For this particular day, it was requested that they be dressed the same. Brittany and her boyfriend Dan asked to take the twins out to Charmingfare Farm for the day. So, I chose red so they'd be easy to spot. They wore these shirts for the 4th of July, so I figured I'd get some more use out of them.
The boys were thrilled to be going not only to the farm, but to be going there with Brittany. They have known her since they were 4 months old, and pretty much consider her a part of our family. They LOVE her, and get very excited when they know she is coming over. In addition, they were getting the chance to ride in her truck...a very big deal!
The twins recognize a lot of animals, and love to make the noises they know. But they tend to enjoy them better from a distance. Their curiosity gets the better of them, and they will slowly make their way closer, but I think they are each waiting for the other one to "go first". Sometimes Caleb is the brave one, and other times it's Eli. I never know which one will be the one to do it first, but generally if you can get one to do it, the other one will follow.
Not the case here. Brittany couldn't get either one of them to touch the baby groundhog. You can tell they really wanted to...each picture shows them getting closer and closer, but neither one of them could muster the courage to do it. Finally they decided it was time to move on.
And that brings them right to snack time. Eli is such a clown, Caleb being much more reserved. They switch rolls...often. It's hard to keep up. If you had one pegged as the outgoing and the other one as the more reserved...chances are pretty good they've switched rolls by the time you see them again.
After snack time, they were walking up the path when Dan spotted a very tiny, itty-bitty, brown frog. (At least I think it was Dan, I'm trying to remember everything Brit told me!) In any case, Dan caught it to show the boys. Eli was apparently very interested in the little frog and even dared to hold it in his hand for sometime. He tried to convince his brother that it was okay to hold it, but Caleb wasn't buying it this time and wanted nothing to do with touching the frog. You can see how very tiny it was, as it looks like a little blotch in the middle of his hand.
I didn't hear any stories about this play set area, but seeing the pictures tell me the boys enjoyed themselves. This was their first adventure out without any of their siblings OR mom and dad. So, I'm sure they loved the freedom that came with being the "only ones" to do everything. No getting pushed around, or waiting. For them, having the twin their to wait for isn't the same thing as having another sibling. So, they could figure things out themselves and help each other without a well-meaning, but overbearing sibling doing it for them.
THE tractor ride. It's all my kids have talked about since they went on it last year. This is our third year for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at Charmingfare Farm and last year they gave the kids free tractor rides. Naturally, it's all the kids ask about every Wednesday when we go to pick up our veggies. They haven't done it yet this year, and I think it's because it's been too hot. Anyway, part of the admission to the farm covers the tractor ride. Caleb was less than thrilled about riding on the tractor and had to sit with Brit for a bit to settle into it.
Eli on the other hand...no problem. Bring it on. He was all about sitting on the seat like a "big boy" all by himself. Eventually, Caleb decided it would be okay to sit with his brother, but you can see that he still wasn't all that comfortable with it. I believe he eventually warmed up to it and was fine, but that's usually how Caleb operates.
They left our house around 10:30am and didn't return until 3pm. As you can see they had such a good time, they fell asleep within moments of leaving the farm.
We can't thank Brit and Dan enough for taking the time to make this memory with the twins. It was so great for them to have special time without their other siblings around. But, it was also nice for us to have several hours of only four kids to take care of. The twins were numbers four and five for us, so we've never had just 4 kids...it was very quiet! :)
One year ago today, our sweet little Sarah came into this world so fast that if it weren't for the fact that it was labor we would have wondered where she came from. One moment I was pregnant, in pain, and uncomfortable beyond words, and the next I was holding my precious little girl. Nothing compares to the first time you look into those beautiful little eyes and say "Hello my sweet baby, it's so nice to finally meet you!" Now, here we are and I'm caught up again in the speed of things. No physical pain this time, unless you count my heart. For the first time, I'm sad that my little one is growing up. Where did the time go? I can't quite put my finger on why this birthday is so bittersweet for me. Sarah is growing up so fast and hitting milestones like she knew what she was doing the whole time. She is weaning herself and nurses only 2-4 times a day now, and will only eat food she can stuff into her little mouth...no more baby food. She wants to be right in the thick of the chaos and craziness that is the Ouellette household, and even though she gets stepped on, knocked over, and overlooked, she is loved so intensely by every single person in this house. Nothing compares to the love her older sister has for her. That's why Bekah is in the picture, she wants to do everything Sarah does and go everywhere Sarah goes...you know, just the girls. It's awesome!
