Family time in the family room

Last night the twins got their workout chasing and being chased by big brother Sebastian. It was pretty funny for close to 45 minutes as he was on his hands and knees chasing them around the family room. The twins took turns running and crawling from him in some tight quarters, working around me and some toys strewn about the area.

Jacqueline with a huge smile on her face would get so excited as she tried to elude her brother. She would high step away from him like she was a showboat on the last 20 yards of a touchdown run, or maybe even leading the marching band in a parade with her shoulders back and her knees coming up high on each step. She would then throw herself at the cushions on the couch as this was her safe place to hide in plain sight. When that didn’t work she would seek out the tightest, smallest area she could squeeze through as to rid herself of her brotherly pursuit. This usually meant she would hide behind me as I laid on my side and parallel to the couch so the twins had a little channel to crawl or run through.

Theodore upon seeing his brother crawling, chose to crawl primarily. Theodore was excited about being chased but he was far less worried about getting away. He just wanted to crawl around, cover as much ground as he could, and fidget with some things along the way. He often times came face to face with his big brother and shyly took what ever tackle, hug, or kiss that was being handed down; so long as he could continue towards the toy or location he was headed. As time went on, Theodore started placing toys behind him as he fled his brother. This would surely slow Sebastian down. Of course this led to him boxing himself in with toys, and then ultimately crawling under their plastic play table where he thought he was safe. He burst into giggles when he picked his head up to see his big brother face to face, smiling at him. I think he then realized he wasn’t actually invisible.

The twins and Sebastian were huddled under or around the play table when the twins ganged up on big brother and starting tipping the table. This happens everyday when either one of them decide to display their feats of strength and turn the table upside down. The table is upside down more than it isn’t. That’s the way they like it I guess. They cling to it upside down like it’s their life raft on a turbulent river. Anyway, they were tipping the table over and on top of Sebastian who of course was playing it up a bit. They were so happy and proud of themselves for this unified revolution. They acted as if this overturning of the table was payback and that the chase was over. It was pretty funny to see their pride and enjoyment of the moment.

These were simple, spontaneous moments that we shared while my wife was working on some things required of her, for her youth hockey board position. Even so, she too was in the family room with us, together, as it should be. We don’t have many of these nights during hockey season, but I am glad we had last night, together.

I remember so many times as a kid we would eat dinner together, as a family, and then just goof off together, as a family, anywhere in or out of the house. There were many times when we would just sit at the table and joke around, tell stories, and usually go on some comical rant that would leave us all crying from laughing so hard. My dad would ignite that comical fuse, and my brothers and I would take it from there. Especially my two brothers, who, to this day, can spin a line or story into something hilariously magical in an instant.

So we had an enjoyable time last night. I didn’t get any pictures last night as I was part of the off-road course in the chase. I did add these pics from this morning though as the twins are in demand from what I hear. Yes, their pajamas are on backwards. That is on purpose. With the PJ’s on backwards, they can’t unzip them (yet) and get undressed, take their diapers off, and be sitting in their cribs naked. We are playing on the floor off and on this morning. They have their ‘shows’ on the DVD player which sets the backdrop for a wonderful morning at home with dad in the family room. The twins are exactly 18 months old today and I don’t want to miss a moment of these fast-fleeting months. We are going to have a good day together. I hope you all have a good day too.