Eli and Roby are turning 4!

Eli and Roby have been asking for at least the last two months if tomorrow was their birthday.  I'm very relieved to finally answer yes.  These boys are so ready to be four.

At four Eli is gentle and very sweet.  He loves holding the chicks; I find him out their nearly every morning after breakfast with a chicken on his lap or sitting next to him.

 He is a notice-er, absorbing what's going on around him.  He loves trains though not as much as he used to.  He loves blue but is particular about the shade.  He does not love sweets and usually turns down offers of ice cream.  Occasionally Eli can get a bit stubborn and unresponsive.  This is a relatively new development and I'm sensing that four may bring some bumps.

Roby continues to twinkle.  He hops on one leg in a peculiar greeting which he and Eli both find hilarious.  For the record Eli hops too.  Roby finds most things hilarious.

Roby loves running, jumping off things, playing with trucks and trains (though not as much as he used to), Legos and reading books.  He's branched out from just red but is still sticking to the neighborhood.  He categorically refuses to eat fruit.  He mysteriously has developed a love for kale.  He will also munch on raw onion if given the opportunity.  He is less naughty than he used to be and no longer does the catatonic blank stare when you catch him doing something bad.

Both of the boys are full of love for the people around them. I get an unprompted "I love you mama"at least four times a day; straight into the joy bank.   We are so lucky to have them in our lives.

Below is an Eli/Roby interview:

Who did you play with at school today?
Eli - "Kylie, Leo and Daniel" or "Madeline, Leo and Kylie"
Roby - I played with everyone

What's your favorite song?
Eli - Let's go fly a kite (from Mary Poppins)
Roby - Boom Crash (aka Boom Clap) or Supercalifragilistic

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Eli - a BART train driver who will drive mommy to work
Roby - a train engineer on a steam train that has bunk beds and bathrooms and an elevator so you can brush your teeth

What do you want for your birthday?
Eli - a blue pedal bike
Roby - an orange pedal bike

What are your favorite clothes?
Eli - my bird shirt.  I wear it every day. And my blue Pumas (that are two sizes too big.)
Roby - red shirt and red pants

What is your favorite color?
Eli - Light blue, dark blue, pink and purple
Roby - every color in the whole wide world

Here's a day in the life of Eli & Roby: note, this is for posterity and not very entertaining...
One or the other usually comes into our room at around 3am, snuggles for a brief moment and then gets in his sleeping bag which is always laid out next to my side of the bed.  They alternate "being the peanut butter" aka the sleeping bag between mommy and the brother.  The peanut butter is the popular spot.  As soon as I have just started to drift back to sleep, the other one comes in and we repeat.  Lately we've been getting a few nights a week of "champion sleepers"; champion sleepers have to wake up in their own beds.  This is a big improvement.  Regardless of the night time movement, they crawl into bed with me in the morning for a morning snuggle.  This is my favorite moment of the day.

Post morning snuggle they are up and at it, picking out their own clothes, racing daddy to get dressed, playing school with their sisters and helping to make breakfast.  One gets to break the eggs and one gets to put the toast in.

We head off the work and they like to push me out the door.  Sometimes several times as it's good to have the last word.  We also blow and catch lots of kisses.

Then they are off to school, usually with Elizabeth, though once a week I deliver them.  There is never a moments hesitation on the steps, they dive right though if I catch them in time, they will give me a big hug.  Their teachers report they play separately at school but they are always aware when the other is in need.  Big games this year have usually involved being a baby dragon and/or playing dress up.

They are picked up at 1 by Elizabeth and then get Anna at Cragmont at 2:15 and Sarah Jane at 3:05. In the beginning of the year they had naps, we are no longer doing naps.  There is a lot of playing in the playground.

They have actively resisted any after school activities; we tried gymnastics but it was a dismal failure and they refuse any other suggestions.  As a result, they spend the afternoon split between ferrying the girls to their activities and ripping it up at the park.  On Fridays they have a play date with Vicky and usually their friend Isley, a favorite from the Teacher Bari days.

At six it's dinner time.  They are either just piling in the door or having wild fun through the secret door in the fence at Ava and Nico's. I don't know what they do there but it sounds really fun.  For dinner, they occasionally eat food.  But usually not.  Eli will eat some vegetables.  Roby will eat a bit of everything on his plate if you prompt him.  They will sit for about 5 minutes.  Then they ask very nicely to be excused, clear their plates and hurdle themselves back outside and through the fence.

Around 7 they do baths, we read books on the couch, they drink milk (warm for Roby and cold for Eli), brush their teeth upstairs and then snuggle into their beds where they read a few books to themselves and then, usually without being asked, turn out their light and pass out.  This is a HUGE improvement on bedtimes of days past.

And here is a flash back to four years ago!

Yes they are identical and How we are telling them apart and other updates

And here they are at three in case you are curious...