As it's the boys' birthday today and they turn 4, I found this old post I have not yet posted.  There are no pictures attached, but here is a description of life with 3-year olds.  More to come soon!

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The boys are 3 1/2 years old, and right in that stage where they do and say the cutest things.  Things that will likely be forgotten, if not recorded somewhere.  So here is the place I have decided to jot down some memories and moments to remember what having 3-year old twins is like.

I'll start with the "older" twin, RJ.  RJ is our spit and vinegar, wild and free. little rascal.  He is strong-willed, independent, and has to figure out everything for himself.  He is also our little lawyer.  He won't accept "no" for an answer, and unfortunately he spends most of his day asking for things that he can't have.  This must be very disappointing for him all day long.  When I say no, he has 3 regular responses.
1. First, he tries to argue why he should get what I am saying no to, and why I should change my mind and say yes.
2. Second, if he really can't get his own way, he attempts to come up with a solution as to when he will get his request fulfilled (ex. Maybe after I have a good nap today then I can have a jelly candy when I wake up)
3. Third, if the answer is a final no and he is not willing to accept it, he will either run full speed and try to attain/achieve what I have said no to... or he will just pull out his loudest voice and scream full-on in a tantrum over and over again.  This will happen despite where we are, or who we are around. He has no shame.
At the moment, the only way to calm him down out of a tantrum is to pick him up (through his flailing), or take his hands and drag him into a quiet space to help him calm down.  If I leave him for a few moments alone, he is actually good at calming himself down and will come out and say, "Mom, I'm okay now.  I'm calm."  And then he will usually go back to response number 2.

RJ is also still our entertainer, although he does get some stage fright at times.  Other times, he is completely free-spirited and wild and will express himself however he feels.  He loves to dance to good music, make up songs, play his guitar alongside his dad, and run around and do "tricks."  He practices yoga moves and exercises along with me, and hardly ever stops long enough to sit and eat a meal.  He is our wild child.

MJ is younger, but wise and sweet, and innocent.  So innocent.  MJ hates to get into trouble.  Almost always when he does get in trouble, he has an actual explanation as to what he was doing and why.  And probably 97% of the time it is unintentional (the 3% of the time is usually that his brother is bullying him and he is fighting back).  MJ is highly concerned with other people's emotions and will often ask us when reading books, why certain characters look angry or sad or upset (often times it is just the drawing has funny eyebrows or something).  He loves babies and will be gentle and bring toys for any little people to play with if he is around.  That is not to say that he is always cautious.  Oh no.  MJ LOVES rough and tumble play and wrestle-time.  His favorite "game" right now (both the boys love it), is a game they made up called "Gorilla Grodd," based off of one of their Batman books.  Basically, their dad is Gorilla Grodd (the bad guy) and RJ is Batman and MJ is Spiderman and they have to fight him off.  They wrestle on the bed and come up with different "tools" to impair him.  He plays along and they laugh and scream and wrestle like crazy.

The boys have actually made up a few "games" that they play that are hilarious right now.  One is called the "Muffin Man" and I have no idea what it is except that they dump out their stuffie toy bin and put it over their heads and walk around being the "Muffin Man."  Another one is mama and babies.  This started with their foxes but now they use their blankets (the big on is the mom and the small one is the baby).  In this game they basically just replay parts of our day, such as going to church and nursery, or having a nap, or going to the park.  They talk in different little voices and it is hilarious.  They certainly aren't short of imagination, and it must be a great perk to have a twin to play along with you!  In fact, I realized the other day that they don't have a lot of alone play time.  MJ is always asking Dan or I to play with him, and I think it is because RJ calls all the shots when they play together, and when MJ plays with us, he actually gets to play his own way. Haha!  The woes of being a "littler" sibling.

As far as what they say/talk about... it really is hard to keep track and remember.  I think we are just so used to it that we don't notice the cuteness of the phrases they use.  RJ still uses "them" instead of "they" so he sounds like a hick: "What will them do when they come over to play?"   MJ just has a really sweet-sounding voice and a little lisp where he can't say his "L's" and it makes him so cute: "Mommy, will you pway wif me?" At bedtime, they always ask for a lullabye (or 10) and often sing along, especially if we sing a worship song they know.  MJ has the purest voice when he sings.  As soon as they're asleep, no matter how hard the day, I am filled with so much pride and love for them!  They are so sweet when they're asleep.