No greater gift

 It had to happen; Orion has hit the terrible part of his "terrible-two's." Apollo definitely hit his at an earlier age and so far, I think Apollo was much worse, or at least when he would throw a fit, it was a lot more intense. Orion, by contrast, seems to have more frequent fits, but at a lesser intensity. Orion is also more demanding in what he wants and a whole lot more stubborn. It is incredible how strong his will can be. Melanie will most likely not agree with my assessment as she is with the boys all day long, but I stand by my claim based on the "in-public" embarrassment factor, in which case, Apollo reins supreme.

  Orion is loud! Very loud. "APOLLO! NOOOO!" is one of the more common phrases heard in our house these days. Apollo absolutely relishes the fact that he can get his brother fired up. All it takes is that special way that Apollo says his name, "Oriiiiiion,"...and Orion is in full on defense mode. He knows what is coming next, "….I'm gonna get your…" And it doesn't matter what Apollo says next, Orion instantly is trying to protect that person or thing; "Don't get my mama! That's my mama!" "Don't get my truck!! That's my truck!" He can be shrill in his protest and like I said, Apollo can insert any word or words in there, i.e., dog food, chicken poop, it doesn't matter, Orion will freak out and claim it as his own.
  I must admit, that I do find it slightly enjoyable to see what Apollo will get Orion fired up about next, but by the 10th time in the space of an hour, I am done listening to Orion yelling and screaming. We try to correct Apollo's behavior by offering bribes, punishments, incentives, deterrents…but he just can't seem to find a way to stop himself. He thoroughly enjoys himself while putting his brother into a tirade. After all, what are big brothers for. I am sure I was equally relentless with my brother Gooch.
  With Christmas upon us, we have tried to use Santa as an incentive for Apollo to be on his best behavior. This tactic has failed miserably. He usually offers up his usually bargaining, negotiating, and reasoning; "Well, I will just be nice to my brother for a little bit just before Christmas, and Santa will take me off the naughty list." I am so tempted to fill his stocking full of coal.

  The magic of having your own children is that as much as they might make you crazy, they still make you fall in love with them over and over each day. Orion is the master of this. He is incredibly sweet and everything he does is adorable. Yes, even throwing a fit. He is so passionate about everything. His little heart will break just by telling him, "No."

  Apollo, in all his rottenness, can make me laugh quicker than anyone. His take on things is quite impressive to me and comical as well. Apollo has blossomed since school has started. He used to be shy and timid. Now, he is the kid that likes to be naughty when the teacher isn't looking. Melanie observed him starting a food fight by tossing food and trash into the air and then quickly acting like he didn't do anything. All the while his friends were laughing and squirming in discomfort as if they were involuntarily part of an evil plot. I couldn't be prouder.
Ultimately, his charm will earn him the rite to get off of Santa's naughty list.

Apollo is into unicorns lately and out of the blue one night he said, "Oh! Dada! I know how unicorns make babies!"
"Really?" I ask thinking to myself that this will be interesting, "how?"
"They use their horn because it is full of magic," he replies.
"Wow. How did you figure that out?" I reply.
"My brain told me," Apollo said confidently, "It sent me a message."

 On another occasion, Orion was sleeping in his car seat. Melanie, Apollo, and I were sitting in the car in front of a house looking at there Christmas light display while talking to one another. Orion began to stir in his sleep, whimpered a bit, then sobbed for a moment. We all held our breath and watched to see if he would awaken. After a moment, Orion fell back to sleep.
  Apollo announced, "He's okay. He just felt his dream and that's why he almost woke up."
I cant imagine the thought process in this kids head that brings him to his conclusions.

During the school week, I am usually the one that puts Apollo to bed. Melanie will stay up with Orion to give Apollo a chance to fall asleep. At least twice a week, I will hear Orion breakdown and start crying from the other room. I hear his foot steps and sobbing growing ever louder as he makes his way down the hall to find me. Orion will climb in bed and melt into my arms.
"Dada," he sobs, "mama mean…you spank mama's butt for Orion."
"Did mama tell you, no?" I asks with empathy in my voice.
"Yeah," he replies in his most pathetic voice, "mama tell me no…mama mean…I lock door." And yes, Orion did lock her out of our room.

  As Orion's voice slows, and his breath becomes long and regular, sleep takes him. I find the perfect moment of my day has arrived; both boys asleep, one in either arm. I am grateful for them and the love that they show me, for their health, humor, and well being. They may grow to not remember these moments; falling asleep next to me, or in my arms, but I will cherish them as a collection of precious jewels. There is no greater gift for me.

A thirst for the holidays

It has been exceedingly difficult to find some spare time to write this past month. Our agenda seems to always be overbooked. Yet so much happens on a daily basis that I would love to write about it to capture a priceless memory.
  The holidays have plowed into us full force. I love this time of year, if only for the holidays. It gives me a chance to spend extra time with my family, and also enjoy a few of my holiday guilty pleasures; pumpkin pie, Christmas lights, Christmas movies, cinnamon and spiced cider, and the smell of a fresh cut fir tree in my house. As an added bonus, I now get to enjoy watching the building excitement  emanating from Apollo and Orion as the house is transformed into a Christmas display of its own.
  With the passing of Thanksgiving, I am late in expressing my thankfulness and gratitude for my life and those that share in its adventure with me. It is easy to loose sight of how amazing life is and how much I have right in front of me, when I find myself chasing the day-to-day mundanities of career, family, and social obligations. My cup is full in so many ways. Of course I want more…for myself, and for my family. But I am eternally thankful for every moment I have with Apollo and Orion. I am thankful for their health, their bright minds, their passions, stubbornness, individuality, energy, humor, and affection.  I am thankful to be their father. These two boys have given me more than I can ever hope to give them in return. I am thankful for my wife, who tolerates me, loves me and believes in me. I am thankful for Ian and Aden even though their teenage years have been challenging. And I am thankful for my life and my health and that I am able to provide for my family.

  I watch Apollo and Orion and I am still absolutely amazed by them. By watching I mean really stepping back for a moment and watch how they approach a situation, analyze it, scrutinize it, and then find a solution on their own. It is fascinating to me because I can almost see the thought process unfolding in their young minds. In these moments, I can see how they are part of me, and also uniquely individual. They are so smart and intuitive. They both speak very well for their ages and both talk non stop.

  Apollo had his first school performance. His class sang three Christmas songs entirely in Spanish; Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, Frosty the snowman, and Oh Christmas tree. Although it was fun to watch him preform with his class, I am more thrilled when he sings these songs around the house or when we are in the car. Apollo is really grasping the spanish language and for the first time, translated something that he heard in spanish and then relayed it to me. We were at the store together and two hispanic boys were talking to one another, having a dispute. They were about 8 and 10, most likely brothers. The older one turned to the younger one and said something like (and I am guessing here), "Usted es un bebé." Apollo started laughing, turned to me and said, "He called that boy a baby! That's funny! Hahaha!"

  Orion is incredible in his own right. He is so cognizant and aware of everyone and everything in this house. He is so easy to engage in conversation. He will always answer everything that he is asked. He is a great communicator for 28 months old. He talks nonstop and is very demanding. On days that he is not feeling well, the only thing we can get him to consume is chocolate milk. Which is fine because we don't put much chocolate in it and it is something at least, however, we greatly discourage bedtime milk of any kind. We have let our guard down once or twice when he was sick and it becomes a nightly battle for the next few nights until we retrain him. This week we are fighting that battle again. This is a sample of how clever this little guy is. Keep in mind that he is 28 months old;
 "Dada," Orion begins, "I want chocolate milk."
"Sorry, Orion. Its too late. Its time for sleep." I reply.
"I WANT chocolate MILK!"
  This exchange goes back and forth for several minutes, then he turns to his mom and has a similar exchange. Finally, Orion gives in and is quite for a while.
"Mama," Orion breaks the silence, "I'm dying."
"Your dying," Melanie asked alarmingly.
"Yeah…dying," Orion says solemnly.
"Why do you think your dying?" Melanie inquired further.
"I'm scared. I'm dying,"
"What scared you?" Melanie asked with real concern, "Why do you think your dying? Do you want to say a prayer?"
"Yeah prayer," Orion says very solemnly, then folds his arms and bows his head, "I'm dying…thirsty."
"Your dying of thirst?" came Melanie's relieved and slightly condescending voice.
"Yeah," he says, "I dying thirsty!"