Thomas and Charles will be in California for three weeks. Since they will be around a lot of strange relatives they have lost contact with, we will require everyone to wash their hands, and to wear sterile clothing and latex gloves around them.
Here is all you need to know about hanging out with them in 2010:
FOOD
Charles and Thomas are big fans of breakfast. Most days they have either pancakes (w/peaches), oatmeal (w/toast) or cereal ("Os" as they call them or corn flakes). Sometimes they'll eat an egg.
In general, they eat almost everything. They both like chicken (dark meat prefered), pizza, pasta, burritos and other stuff.
Charles favorites: "Taco" which translates into beans and tortilla (often with a dollop of plain yogurt, tomato, guacamole and cheese). He prefers to roll his own; canned peaches, apples and bananas. He is known as a carb fiend and for getting into fruit bowls and taking a bite of every apple. Loves clams and crab.
Don't steal or touch Charles's food or mess with his plate or you will see him transform into the incredible hulk, no kidding. It's no joking matter and you will regret it.
Thomas favorites: He is much more of a diverse eater than his little brother. He has nonetheless never been the same since we've introduced him to "yogurt cups," aka sweetened yogurt. Peanut butter sandwiches have been a new favorite. He like most fruits, especially berries. He'll eat pretty much anything but at times he acts like a big old naughty brat and will say something he actually likes is "yucky." He loves clams, crab and lobster.
One of Thomas's problems at school was wandering. He would just get up and walk around in the middle of a lesson or activity. He does the same at meals, but he must be reigned in and told to stay still. He is also still a stuffer. It's disgusting, but also a problem that must be addressed because of his mouth weakness. He has to chew.
Simply, they're both little pigs and love snacking.
ACTIVITIES
Thomas has been eager to try out riding a real bike. He's never done it because he didn't have a bike, but he had a balance bike without pedals and outgrew it. He likes "football," that is, soccer, but he's not terribly good nor does he understand it. Nevertheless all his friends were obsessed with it and he likes it too.
MOVIES: He is a creative player and has a good imagination. Unfortunately, he has an ugly attraction to the television and if one is on, he'll turn into a freaky zombie. It's like he's been unplugged or the off switch it flipped. Still, he and his brother have watched some TV but mostly movies. He still loves Mary Poppins but has expanded a bit to other things.
They haven't been exposed to violent or scary stuff like the newer Batman or Spiderman movies, Indiana Jones or stuff with shooting and killing. No matter how much you might try to convince yourself, it's simply not appropriate for small children. Both have, however, been exposed to Spiderman cartoons, old Superman, and Ben 10. Pee Wee's Playhouse and most Disney movies are regulars in our house.
Music: They like kids music but are starting to break out a bit. Our household is stuck in a time warp, so they know Beatles, Elvis, and 70's hits. Once in a while we'll have a dancing extravaganza and Thomas surprised us when he spent an hour dancing on stage with other kids on the 4th of July, although really, he could use some lessons. Charles is obsessed with the song "Yellow Submarine."
Day to Day: Their lives are very structured. They get up, have breakfast, get dressed, brush their teeth, go to school, play or whatever activity they have for the day. Snacks come mid-morning and Charles should be reminded to go potty.
Lunch–when it's time, believe me they'll remind you or they'll just sit at the table and say I want lunch. Thomas no longer naps, but once in a while he'll be obviously overtired or super moody and need one, or he'll simply find a spot and sleep. Charles's naps are starting to go away but they shouldn't. He becomes an awful fit-throwing, mean and nasty monster when he doesn't nap - usually around dinner time or just before. He doesn't like having to nap but once he's down, he's fine.
In the afternoons they usually calm down a bit. Thomas often will want to read a book, color or watch a movie while his brother naps. They might play a bit before a bath (which they expect) and dinner.
Dinners are sit down and they're expected to have manners. Bedtime is 7:30 p.m. and they are pretty good about it. Sometimes they get 1/2 a movie before bed, a book or get to hang out a bit. They expect a prayer.
Parks and Outings: They love outings: parks, beaches, sand pits, jungle gyms, train stations, big green fields, picnics, museums, zoos-just about anything. For them, it's often that the journey is just as fun as the outing. Trains, plans, and buses are still extremely fascinating to them. It's tough to find new things to do in Maputo but there are things to do. They have play dates with friends riding "motos" (little push scooters), trampolines, swing sets, train sets, airplanes and dinosaurs.
Charles is a climber and has always been-it's scary. He must be watched. He also has run away in mercados (open air markets) and gotten lost-very scary. He literally just started running away from us randomly. When we turned our head, he was gone. Fortunately vendors easily figured it out and pointed his direction saying 'the little boy ran that way. In the end he was just near the exit toward heavy traffic.
Thomas is experienced on the playground. His only problem is once in a while he is bullied. He's somewhat passive in confrontations with others. His mother still won't allow martial arts training or weapons handling courses.
They are notorious for losing or forgetting shoes, hats, toys or whatever they bring. They expect snacks and water.
Quirks
Thomas and Charles are both still droolers. Thomas is getting better but must be reminded at times, especially when swimming or at the beach. For some bizarre reason he ends up with a disgusting beard of foamy spit. Tell them "babas" or point at your chin.
Both are allergic, but we've found that a lot of that has to do with where we live. If they have runny noses (which seems like always), they have to be told to go get some tissue. Charles has a nasty habit of letting them run, preferring to lap them up with his tongue instead of taking the trouble to go get a bit of toilet paper.
Charles still wears a diaper to bed and naps. He sometimes insists that he doesn't need one, but he does. We've found out the hard way. He's completely potty trained but sometimes if he's playing hard, will opt to poo or pee himself rather than stop or he'll wait until the last minute. You'll know when he has to go-he starts holding himself or doing funny dances.
Swimming: Thomas can go without floaties; Charles cannot. They both love the water and enjoy playing in the pool. Thomas has gotten pretty good. He took swimming lessons, but still can't really do a proper swim stroke, but can do laps. He has worn out a couple of times and went into a panic requring some help-once pretty dramatically. Still he is pretty good but nonetheless should not be left alone in the pool. Rough play or dunking with him might be a bit dangerous. He has learned how to dive and likes to do it. He must be reminded again and again not to dive in the shallow end of the pool or not at all.
Charles can't swim and requires floaties. He has been too excited and jumped in the pool more than once without them not realizing until he was in trouble that he forgot them. Once it was scary and his brother broke a rule and jumped in to save him. (Kids are never supposed to jump in to save other kids; they're supposed to get an adult or you may have two kids drown). The trouble is he likes to jump in and might jump in at the wrong time.
Charles is a wanderer, the one to get lost, the one to get in trouble, disappear, play in a drinking fountain, mud puddle, put a key in the socket, lock himself in the car, climb a bookcase, or simply do whatever it is he shouldn't be doing. Keep a sharp eye on him.
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