Some cuteness

Kate
Today at the local Kid's Museum we were playing with these hollow tubes that are mostly designed for kids to roll balls through them. Kate and Maya were doing just that and having a grand time. I was getting a little bored, though, so put one of the tubes near my mouth and sang "helllooooo" into it. Kate thought that seemed like a good idea and decided to try herself. She grabbed a tube, put it near her mouth and then hesitated for a second.

I knew what she was thinking when she hesitated. Namely - "what do I say?". I was wondering this myself because I haven't heard her say "HELLO" yet. At the moment her favorite all purpose word by far is "this". "This" along with a finger point seems to cover just about everything a toddler needs or wants.

Anyways, Kate hesitated a brief moment and then said "THIS!" loudly into the tube. It didn't have quite the same effect as "HELLLOOOO" but Kate seemed satisfied by it nonetheless.

Maya
Even though we only let the girls watch one Baby Einstein or Wiggles video a day and no other TV or videos, Maya still loves TV. She has taken to pointing at the TV frequently during the day, looking at me and then saying "EINS, EINS, EINS" as in "Hey Mom, put on some Baby Einstein". I generally tell her that it's not time for Baby Einstein and to go do something else.

I wonder, though, if she thinks that I'm just not understanding her and today she clearly said "EINS-TEIN" (her first two syllable word!) instead of her usual "EINS". She said it slowly while looking at me as if to say "I know you're kind of slow, so I'm going to speak very slowly and enunciate..."

Ho Ho Ho

Ah, Christmas - it's fun while it's happening and nice when it's over! We had a very nice Christmas with the girls, my mom, dad, brother, plus some friends, two dogs and a puppy. There was quite a whirlwind of activity, and for the most part, Kate and Maya took it in stride.

Unfortunately, our poor, neglected dog got lost in the shuffle and chaos of Christmas and spent six hours in the car after Josh forgot to let her out after he let her ride along on a quick trip to the grocery store. Luckily it wasn't too warm or cold outside, so she was no worse for wear when we finally discovered she was nowhere to be found in the house. Who knows, she may have even enjoyed an afternoon away from the babies, puppy and other miscellaneous chaos.

OK, here are a few pictures from the last few days...

Uncle Jason playing the guitar on Christmas eve while we sang Christmas carols. (Yes, those are piles of laundry in the background. I never seem to get a break from the endless laundry - even on Christmas eve)


Kate sitting on a Christmas present.


The girls take after their mother and don't like reading the instruction manual. If they did, they would discover it's a "SIT and spin" - not a "stand and spin".


Luckily, the girls also seem to take after their dad and are fascinated by mechanical things - like gears. Maybe they'll be engineers like their daddy...


My best attempt at getting both girls sitting in one spot for a photo.


Immediately after the microsecond of sitting still for the camera...


Maya wearing one of my presents (thanks, Susan!)


The girls eating dinner at the post-Christmas lunch at my aunt and uncle's house. (We forgot a tray for one of the high chairs, so they had to share).

Friends...

Kate and Maya seem to finally be figuring out that it might actually be fun to have a twin sister. Up until now, most of their interaction has been of the fighting, jealous, "give me that toy or I'll knock you over" kind. It's so much nicer and cuter to see them interacting by doing something like brushing each other's hair rather than pushing and shoving and screeching.

Today I was in the loft folding laundry and Kate and Maya were in their nursery playing when I heard giggling. I peaked in and saw the girls sitting next to each other and handing a toy back and forth to each other using their mouths. It was just the cutest thing - luckily I actually had my camera nearby and was able to take a few photos of them before they noticed me.

Photos

I've been pretty busy with all sorts of holiday festivities and general business these days. I don't really feel like writing, so here are some pictures...

Kate and Maya REALLY, REALLY didn't like Santa Claus


Kate is really hard to take pictures of these days. As soon as she sees the camera she wants to grab it.


This one was okay except that she wasn't smiling


It's easier to take photos of toddlers from above


"Hey, mom, there's a tree in our house..."

Weekend Update

This weekend seemed to be all about Maya. Kate was feeling better, but mostly stayed home on Saturday to prevent spreading whatever germs she still was harboring around to the outside world. And, today she napped from 10:30 to 3:30 - I think she is just making up for the sleep she lost when she was sick.

So, while Kate was recovering and resting, Maya and I went out and had some fun adventures. Saturday morning we went to a new friend's house for a breakfast party. It was really relaxing and fun - Maya sat in a booster seat next to me and ate blueberries and eggs and impressed everyone with all her animal sounds. Then, after breakfast we all headed out to the local airport where Santa Claus was flying in to meet all the little kids. Yes, in our neck of the woods, Santa visits not on a sleigh, but in a small plane (Cessna, I think). This was quite a feat considering the airport was closed to all traffic except Santa due to blizzard and white-out conditions. (I did have a fleeting vision of hundreds of little kids being traumatized for life if Santa's Cessna skidded off the runway and he was somehow injured. Luckily Santa's pilot was very skilled and landed in snow and ice with no problems.) We skipped the photo with Santa because there was a huge line to see him and didn't want to spend an hour in line for a photo without little Kate. I'll have to find another Santa photo-op somewhere this week...


In the evening, we all went out in the blizzard with our friend, Claire, to visit "A Night in Bethlehem" at her church. This was an amazing event - they had transformed the church into a representation of Bethlehem back on the first Christmas. There was good food, dancing, dogs dressed as sheep, lots of people dressed in costumes, booths with traditional crafts, etc. Kate and Maya were really awestruck by it - I was, too! This will definitely be something that we'll want to go to every Christmas - I've never seen anything quite like it.

Today while Kate took her five hour nap, I got some cute pictures of Maya out in the snow and just toddling around the house. Maya really enjoyed sitting in (and eating) the three feet of snow we have on our deck - and being pulled around in her old infant bathtub. She thought it was hilarious when I got stuck in the snow trying to pull her around. I think I need to get a real sled instead of the bathtub.



Sorry for the long post - I guess I've been writing lots of long, boring posts these days...

The House O' Viruses

I thought we were home free with the latest mystery virus when Maya finally got over her fever and was back to her normal, happy self. We had a day or two of relative health in the house before Kate came down with what appears to be the same virus Maya had. (Well, I'm HOPING it's the same virus and Maya already has immunity to it). Poor Kate spiked a 104.5 fever last night and spent all night crying, whimpering - and not sleeping. I think last night might have been the least amount of sleep that we've had since the girls were colicky newborns. Luckily both girls took nice long naps this morning, so I was able to take a nap, too. Josh wasn't so lucky because he had to work, so he passed out in bed at 8:30.

I feel like we're missing a lot of the Christmas festivities because of this dumb virus. We've missed a few holiday parties, still don't have a tree, don't have Christmas pictures and, thus, don't have Christmas cards, etc. I'm thinking the Christmas cards may turn into President's Day cards this year.

So, I'm crossing my fingers that Kate gets some sleep - we all need it - and that she's feeling better in the morning. Also hoping that the new snow storm turns out to be a bust. I can't believe I just said that - I'm always the one hoping and praying for snow - but, I'd really like to not be stuck in the house all weekend!

Oh, and one thing about having back to back sick babies is that I've become very good at estimating a fever by feeling a forehead. I can generally guess within a decimal point or two now! How's that for a party trick?

Whoville

On snowy days like today I feel like we're living in Whoville from the "Grinch Who Stole Christmas" - with the snow blanketing everything, the cozy looking houses with smoke coming out of the chimneys and the Christmas lights. However, ours is a boring kind of Whoville where we can't (or shouldn't) leave the house because the roads haven't been plowed and it's dumping snow in town and the National Weather Service says that if you have to go out to be sure to pack blankets and food in case you're stuck in a snow drift for an extended period. Plus it's too cold to go out and play in the snow (the high was 18 at our house today), so we spent a lot of time looking out at our little Whoville and the snow falling and trying to keep ourselves occupied. We did have a nice visit from some friends who were also snowed in which helped break up the day.

The girls are still a little young for finger painting, but due to extreme boredom conditions in the house, I made some flour, water and food coloring paste and let them play with it. They were interested for about a minute - long enough to get some cute pictures.

Things that go "thud" in the night

In our household last night, the thud was Maya rolling off of our bed. Poor girl has been very sick with what the doctor called a "mystery virus" and has had fevers of between 103 and 104.5 with a snuffly nose. Since she's been so sick, I've been letting her sleep in bed with me both to keep an eye on her and also because she's so pathetic whimpering and crying when her fever spikes up at night. Unfortunately, Maya and I are not very experienced "co-sleepers" since the girls have slept in their cribs from the start and have rarely spent more than a few nap times in my bed. Around 3 AM last night I was trying to stay awake to keep her from rolling off the bed while she rolled and thrashed around, but got very tired and dozed off. I was awakened shortly thereafter by a loud "THUD" and then some hysterical crying. I'm not sure how she landed because it was too dark and I was too groggy to notice, but she appears to not have any permanent or even temporary damage from the fall. I made Josh move into bed after the fall to act as a human crib railing (he had been sleeping in the guest room so he could be rested for work).

Kate got a special treat today when her Grandpa came to her rescue and took her to the local "Kid's Museum" that has things like a full-size indoor jungle gym, nice books to read, and a whole room setup like a farm with toy animals, costumes, etc. Kate's been going a little stir crazy being stuck at home with her sick sister, so was very grateful to get out of the house. It was especially nice for her to get some one on one time with her Grandpa and for me to get one on one time with Maya. The dynamic is certainly different and calmer with just one baby in the house. Maya got to play with her toys without Kate stealing them and then got a nice two hour nap/cuddle with me. It makes me realize that I need to make it a priority to spend more one on one time with each kid.

Here's the little sicky convalescing in her bouncy chair with a blanket and a book...

Baby Einsteins

I haven't been posting much recently - mostly because I discovered that the last season of Desparate Housewives is available on Netflix streaming, so have been spending every evening watching that. I'm on episode 18 out of 25 or so, so I'm quickly running out of episodes to watch. I've also been watching "Dancing With The Stars" on Hulu.com two nights a week. This is also coming to an end, so I really have to discover a new show or two to get hooked on. Any suggestions?

Onto baby talk...

I know that every mother is sure her kid is a genius, and I'm certainly no exception I spend a good part of every day marvelling at how quickly Kate and Maya are learning about the world, language, the envirnonment - and even what makes me crazy. i'm realizing that I know very little about child development, and so it's amazing and a little startling to watch Kate and Maya make those brain connections on a minute by minute basis. (Actually, I really think all kids are geniuses. It's incredible how much children and babies have to learn in such a relatively short period of time - and do so effortlessly.)

Maya is impressively vocal already. If you count animal sounds - and who doesn't - she speaks probably 10 words already and understands many many more than that. In addition to various animal sounds, she can say ball, bath, dada, apple, up, dog, fish, mama (though Mama is way too infrequent for my taste). She also is picking up sign language quickly, too. I spent months and months trying to get her to learn the sign for "all done" and she just didn't seem to get it. Now, I can show her a sign a few times and she'll remember it and use it appropriately. She recently learned the sign for "eat" and today she was looking at a page in a book where puppies were eating and made the "eat" sign.

It surprises me that children this age can look at lots of different representations of one thing and know that all the representations mean that same thing. This seems like something that must require a lot of brain power to do. For example, Maya will look at various representations of an elephant (a stuffed elephant, a photograph of an elephant, a cartoon drawing of an elephant or even a cartoon drawing of Snuffalufagus) and show that she knows what this is by making her elephant sound. And, it's not that I've just trained her to make the sound for each of the representations. I brought home a new book of Sesame Street characters the other day and heard her making her elephant sound as she was paging through it. I looked over to see what she was looking at and it was Snuffalufagus - something she'd never seen before! Is she a genius or what?

It's also funny how certain characteristics are coming out in each of the girls. Kate, for example, loves to share and give stuff to people. She loves to give me her blankie, various toys, and even her food. She's so thoughtful that she'll even sometimes pre-chew the food for me. Yes, she'll be chewing some food and think that I might like it, so will remove it from her mouth and hand it to me. Maybe she thinks I look tired and don't have the energy to chew my own food. In any case, it makes me wonder if there is some gene or combination of genes that makes certain people, like Kate, predisposed to being generous. Both babies are being raised in the same environment by the same mom and dad at the same time, and Kate is super-generous while Maya is, well, not so much yet.

In addition to learning how to talk, making animal sounds and all that other intellectual stuff, they are also learning how much fun it is to squeeze themselves into a small space. Here's a picture of them both sitting in their old bouncy chair.


And here's one of Kate just chilling in her chair...

Preemie Awareness

November is prematurity awareness month. How lucky we are to live in a world and a country where many babies born at 28 weeks and earlier can survive and thrive. How lucky we are to have an organization like the March of Dimes who has done so much in making this into a reality in the United States. Hopefully you'll never experience seeing your baby or a baby of a loved one in a NICU, but if you do, you'll rest easier knowing the amazing technology and supportive care that is available - in part because of the March of Dimes.

Though I was traumatized by the birth and NICU experience, I also felt like I should brush it off like it was no big deal. Yes, we did get off easy - it could have been much, much worse. But, also, it was a big deal. Even though we didn't need the extraordinary life saving measures that a lot of preemies need, without the pre-natal steroid shots that helped developed their lungs, the gavage feedings, the IVs, and the extra care, Kate and Maya may not have been toddling around the living room and making elephant sounds like they do today. It was a big deal to hold my 4lb baby (that was the lowest weight Kate got to) in my arms and watch her struggle to eat one or two cc's from a bottle before getting too weak to continue. Thanks to the amazing support we got from the doctors and nurses in the NICU, we now have two healthy, strong, and smart babies who love to eat, play and give kisses (and sometimes knock each other down and steal each other's toys, but that's another story).

Here are a few links to posts about preemies from some of my favorite bloggers:
A little pregnant - make sure to read some of the stories in the comments section.

Twinfatuation

Mai tai dreaming

Some days it's hard to be a stay at home mom to twin one year olds. Most of the time, I enjoy it and, really, I'm always glad that I am able to stay home with the girls. However, there are those days when I wish I could just stop the world and get off for a few days - maybe sit on a tropical beach under a palm tree with a mai tai and a good book. Today I would even settle for just sitting on my couch under a blanket with a beer and a bunch of DVDs(something I'm planning on doing as soon as I'm done with this post).

There was nothing really specifically difficult about this day except for about 30 minutes around 2 PM when I was trying to give the girls their bottles, change two poopy diapers and keep two tired, cranky babies from injuring themselves at the same time. (The girls get very uncoordinated when they are tired and cranky). The rest of the day was the same as always - making dinner and cleaning during the girls' nap time, feeding them three meals plus snacks and trying not to mind that they throw most of the food on the floor or smear it in their hair, and then trying to entertain them without losing my own mind. I do love reading to them and playing with them, but somedays I feel like if I have to read "Jam Berry" (one berry, two berries, pick me a blueberry) one more time, I'm going to scream.

In any case, here are some cute baby pictures...

I know these are little past due, but I guess I haven't downloaded pictures from my camera in a while. Here are a few super cute ones of Kate on Halloween.




And how about some double chub in the tub?

Twin Comments

First of all damn that Benjamin Franklin and his crazy ideas. Yeah, I'll concede that the whole electricity and an independent United States are pretty good ones, but daylight savings time? Obviously he never had twin babies who like to go to bed early and get up early. Thanks to Mr. Franklin, the girls are back to wanting to go to bed at 7 PM and wanting to get up at 6 AM.

Now, on to my main topic - twin comments. Now, I'm sure all parents of adorable singleton babies get lots of comments, but parents of baby twins are constantly bombarded with the same inane comments from strangers day in and day out. I'm not saying that I mind the comments so much, but I have discovered that most folks aren't very original. Here are the biggies that I get all the time along with how I might respond if I were less polite, how I actually respond, and what I think the subtext of the comment/question is (if there is one).

Comment: You have your hands full*
What I'd like to say: Duh
What I do say: Ha, ha, yes, I do!

Comment: Were you surprised when you found out you were having twins?
What I'd like to say: Duh/None of your business
What I do say: Yeah, I guess so. Aren't twins always a surprise?
Subtext: Did you do fertility treatments?

Comment: Do twins run in your family?
What I'd like to say: None of your business
What I do say: Sort of.
Subtext: Did you do fertility treatments?

Comment: Are they identical?
What I'd like to say: Are you blind?
What I do say: No, they're fraternal.

Comment: How do you tell them apart?
What I'd like to say: Are you blind? Or maybe - how do you tell anyone apart? How do you tell your kids apart?
What I do say: Well, they're not identical. Sometimes I'll point out their differences, but it seems a bit ridiculous to point out to a complete (and obviouly unobservant) stranger that one baby has dark hair and the other doesn't.

Comment: Oh, how cute - a girl and a boy?
What I'd like to say: Umm, does the fact that both babies are wearing pink and are in pink, flowered carseats (this was when they were in their bucket seats) give you any clue?
What I do say: No, two girls. Though sometimes I do ask which one they think the boy is.

Comment: How do you do it?
What I'd like to say: I just do it.
What I do say: Umm, I just do it.
Subtext: I think you're awesome for raising two obviously brilliant and healthy babies at the same time.

Comment: My babysitter's boyfriend's aunt is having twins! (this was an actual comment I got from someone while in line at Costco).
What I'd like to say: Yay, we have so much in common. Would you like to be my BFF?
What I do say: Wow, that's great.

Comment: My kids are only 14 months apart, so it's just like having twins.
What I'd like to say: I'm sure having kids so close in age has it's own challenges and maybe even harder than having twins in some respects. Trust me, though, it's not like having twins.
What I do say: Yes, I'm sure it is.
Subtext: I have it rough, too, you know!


*This is the number one comment I get by far.

Food

Sometimes I feel like I spend a majority of my day thinking about, preparing, serving, eating, and cleaning up food. I guess this is the way it's been for parents - and usually mothers - since we were hunting and gathering. Though, I doubt the hunter/gatherer mothers had an internal dialogue quite like the one I have throughout the day. My internal dialogue goes something like this:

"Is salmon twice a week too much from a mercury standpoint? Probably the benefits of eating salmon outweigh any risk from mercury exposure. Now that they aren't drinking formula, I really need to focus on making sure they are getting enough Omega 3 fatty acids. Hmm, are the girls getting too much of their protein from animal sources? We should really eat more beans and legumes. Maybe they eating too much cheese and other dairy. Are they eating too much wheat? I should make quinoa for dinner so they are exposed to grains other than oats and wheat. Etc. Etc."

Am I a nutcase or what?

Anyways, the girls seem to be developing a discriminating palette, and are turning their noses up a single ingredient foods these days. They don't like plain steamed carrots - they want their carrots seasoned with a little rosemary, olive oil and baked until caramelized. I imagine they'll start asking for a little truffle oil on their mac and cheese when they get a little better at the whole talking thing.

Happy Halloween

There's not much new to write about since we all have colds and have basically been lying low recently. We did have a blast at the dinner/Halloween parade yesterday. Kate and Maya got a lot of attention because they were just too cute in their matching zebra outfits. We ran into lots of friends, neighbors and various acquaintances - the whole thing had an old school small town feel to it.

So, since there's not much new, I thought I'd write another "this time last year" post...

It was this time last year that I was released from the hospital and spent the first night at home in three weeks - without the babies. It was such a surreal experience to be released from the cocoon of the labor and delivery ward where I had been for almost three weeks into Halloween night. On the way home, we stopped at a burrito place to get dinner and the restaurant was filled with all sorts of strange looking becostumed folk, but at that particular moment I felt more conspicuous than all of them. I was still 40 pounds heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight, was wearing lose fitting maternity sweatpants, had a large incision still held together partly with tape and was walking bent over due to the incision - and I'm sure my hair wasn't nicely coifed either. I wouldn't have felt like such a freak except that I didn't have my babies with me. I felt like telling everyone that I just had two babies and they were in the NICU and I don't normally look this way.

The first night at home without the babies wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We were so busy unpacking the SUV load of crap I had accumulated at the hospital, doing a laundry, and packing up bags for our upcoming stay of undetermined length at the Ronald McDonald house that I didn't have time to think about it much. But, after all our chores were done and we were in bed, I remember propping up the little cards they had given us with the girls birth weight and measurements on the bedside table and feeling so sad that this was all we had of the girls. It was like the whole seven plus months had never happened and we were back at home all alone again.

I know we were actually very lucky in the way things turned out. I've met lots of other twin moms whose babies were born at 28 weeks and weighed only 2 pounds and who had to stay in the NICU for months. Another twin mom showed me the diapers her 28 week preemies wore when they were first born - diapers that look like they would fit on a Barbie doll. Our girls were in the NICU for 14 days, but in the low level "feed and grow" room - they never needed oxygen, they didn't need medicine (except for Kate who was hypoglycemic and needed an IV for a few days after she was born), and were really just in the NICU because they were too weak and small to eat.

However, even knowing how lucky we were did not mean the NICU experience was pleasant or fun. There were a lot of awful things about that experience, but in retrospect I think the one of the worst parts for me was that I couldn't just relax and hang out with my babies and recover myself. Instead, from the day after they were born until they came home, I spent my days shuttling back and forth from the NICU to my hospital room and then from the Ronald McDonald house to the NICU to the hospital cafeteria to the dreaded pumping room to the pharmacy, etc., etc. I felt like I was constantly in motion when all I wanted to do was sit and hold my babies. People kept telling me to make sure to find time to eat and to rest and to take care of myself - but between the girls feeding schedule (which was the only time I was allowed to hold the babies so I wanted to make sure to be there for each feeding) and my god awful pumping schedule, I was so scheduled that every day I wrote out a minute by minute schedule so I could cram everything in. No, things were not necessarily that much easier when we got home, but at least we were at home and always within a few feet of the babies and didn't have to go anywhere unless we wanted to.

So, a year later we are ALL at home together on a Halloween night. The girls played in their zebra costumes, we handed out candy to the trick-o-treaters and I held and cuddled each of my babies before they drifted off to sleep in their cozy nursery.

Our little zebra herd

12 month visit

Not much new to report from the girls' 12 month doctor's visit. They got their H1N1 and regular flu vaccines plus a Hib vaccine. I'm feeling lucky that we got the H1N1 vaccine without having to wait in long lines or go through any rigamarol.

The girls are doing great - they are still in 50th percentile for weight, 25th for height and 75th for head size. So, we have short, chubby babies with giant heads. Actually, I'm a little suspicious of the head size measurements because at one of the visits the nurse charted their heads at the 5th percentile and then the next visit they were up to the 50th. So, I'm taking it all with a grain of salt.

The girls were having a grand time at the doctors office chewing on tongue dispensers and wriggling around trying to get free until they got their shots. Poor Maya's was frozen with her mouth wide open in surprise and anger for about a minute after her shots until she gathered her wits about her enough to let out an ear piercing scream. But, she recovered soon enough and at least now she won't get the flu or Hib (a nasty disease).

We're off to dinner with friends and a Halloween parade soon. It's going to be baby chaos - three babies, one toddler and a kindergartener plus parents out to dinner.

ONE!

Today was the big day - my babies turned ONE!

I can't believe we've survived our first year with twins. It wasn't easy - in fact, I think this might have been the most challenging 365 days of my life so far. The first few months especially were difficult and I remember some days living in five minute increments - just get through the next five minutes and then the next and then the next. I learned that I can get by on not much sleep. I appreciate every night the girls sleep through these days - especially when I think back to when they were up every 2.5-3 hours round the clock.

So, in a year the girls have grown from 4lb6oz and 4lb9oz to almost 21 pounds each and had their first smiles, first laughs, first time rolling over (and then their second months later), first time sitting up, first time crawling, first steps, first words, first solid food, first ice cream, first time on a plane. They have each grown 10 teeth (and counting), have graduated to whole milk (yay - no more formula!), learned to give lots of wet kisses to people and toys they love, learned to "read" books, learned to dance. I could go on, but you get the point.

Now, what will the next year bring?

Birthday Party Pictures

Today we celebrated Kate and Maya's first year of life with our friends and family. I hope everyone had a nice time - I certainly did. Kate and Maya did great with all the commotion and had a lot of fun. I don't have much energy left to write much, but here are some pictures.

Here's a picture of the cake I made. I made two little blocks for Kate and Maya to eat/destroy and a big one to be shared among everyone else. I also made a little cake for Liam who turned four today.


Kate was in awe of the decorations. I put them up while she was napping and when she came downstairs after waking up her eyes got huge and she kept looking at the decorations and pointing.


Maya enjoying her first taste of birthday cake. I think she liked it


Kate examining her party hat


Josh, Kate, Maya and I


Opening presents

Wisdom

Since Kate and Maya have been out in the world for almost a year now, I've been reflecting on the last year and on both how difficult it was and on how far we've come in a year.

If I could go back in time and give my pregnant, bed resting, pre-eclampsic self, what would I say? I think the biggest thing would be "DON'T WORRY, IT WILL BE OKAY!" I spent so much of the first year worrying about things that I either didn't have any control over or that were just plain silly. Specifically (here come the numbered bullet points) I would tell myself that:

1. The babies will tell YOU when they are ready for certain things. For example, my stupid pediatrician asked me if I was reading to the babies at their 2 month appointment. I said yes because I didn't want her to think I was a bad mother and then tried to read to them everyday even though they had absolutely no interest in it and would scream every time I tried. Then, one day, around 8 months they suddenly became interested in books and now one of their favorite activities is "reading" and being read to. Now it's a pleasure to read to them and they actually enjoy it.

2. Don't worry about whether they are meeting their milestones exactly when the books say they should. I also spent a good amount of mental energy wondering and worrying about when the girls would roll over for the first time. When they were ready to roll over, they did.

3. Don't be so stressed and depressed if breastfeeding doesn't work out. I have beaten this dead horse over and over again and wasted months being depressed and stressed about it. I have contemplated telling that story on this blog, but I don't think anyone would be that interested and, to be honest, I'm just sick of thinking about it. In the end, despite being formula babies, somehow they are healthy (well, most of the time, anyways), happy and thriving. Yes, we all know "breast is best", but now I know that formula is pretty good, too.

4. Read more novels and fewer baby care books and websites about baby raising. I think I have Dr. Spock, What to Expect the First Year and the American Academy of Pediatrics books memorized. Reading these books somehow undermined my parental instincts and made me worry about things that I really didn't have to worry about (see bullet points 1-3). The AAP book said to contact your pediatrician if your baby isn't rolling over by 6 months, so I did. She took one look at my active, alert babies and laughed and said she wasn't worried about them. That didn't stop me from worrying, though, of course.

5. Don't think that there is some "I never get away from the babies" prize at the end of the year that you need to win. I was so worried that the babies wouldn't bond with me because I wasn't breastfeeding (see #3) and because I sometimes had to prop bottles which some of the books said was an absolute no no (see #4) that I have only been away from them a handful of times since they were born. Let's see - there was Josh's birthday dinner in December, a Christmas party, an afternoon away in March, a weekend away in April, an afternoon away a few weeks ago, and another afternoon away a few weeks ago. There were probably a few grocery shopping trips and doctor's appointments here and other such small trips there, but not much. So, do I win a prize? Nope, I didn't think so.

6. The babies are a lot tougher than you think. They can handle a cold or even the flu. They survived the swine flu with flying colors (well, at least we THINK it was the swine flu) and have had a few colds without slowing down much. I'm still washing my hands and their hands a lot, but am not as freaked out if they start getting a runny nose.

More Uncle J

As I mentioned yesterday, my brother, Jason, visited this weekend for the first time in many months. We had a very nice time cooking and baking - Jason loves to cook and is good at it. Plus, I've been minorly obsessed with cake decorating since I've been pouring over a cake decorating book in preparation for Kate and Maya's big birthday bash next weekend. So, we made a fancy chocolate/raspberry cake in honor of our Uncle Maury's birthday which we helped to celebrate today. The cake came out quite tasty and didn't look so bad either so I'm feeling good about my chances of the girls' birthday cake turning out okay, too.

The girls opened their first birthday gifts today because Jason, Uncle Maury and Aunt Bonnie won't be around for their birthday next week. Kate and Maya were very intrigued by the wrapping paper, loved the cards and were very happy to have cool, new toys to play with.

Jason took over my camera this weekend and when I downloaded the photos this evening, I found he took some different and interesting pictures. There are a few strange ones - like this closeup of the cake...


But, he also took some great and artistic shots of the girls like these.

The girls playing on their push bus toy (thanks, Laurel - that's their favorite toy!)

Kate and Maya opening presents.

Maya and I looking in opposite directions. I don't know why, but I love this picture!

Kate examining her birthday card

Oh, and can you tell the girls are feeling much better than last week? Thank goodness!

Uncle Jason

My brother, Jason, is visiting this weekend and Kate and Maya are in love with their uncle. It's funny because they haven't seen him since May, but they seemed to remember him. Or maybe it's because he reminds them of me or my dad. In any case, there was no stranger anxiety or shyness, they just toddled right up to him and asked him to play (well, in their own 1 year old way).

Here's a picture of Uncle Jason reading to the two girls. He started out reading to Maya, but of course, Kate had to get in on the action, too.

One year ago today?

This time last year I was already at the hospital on strict bedrest because of preeclampsia. The whole birth and post-partum experience was quite traumatic and depressing, but the hospital stay up until the delivery wasn't all that bad. In fact, I could take a few days of lying around in bed, watching TV and having people bring me food every few hours - and then taking away the dirty dishes without me having to do anything except roll them out of the way of my bed.

But then again, thinking about it again brings back memories of being woken up every day for two weeks at five am to have inept technicians take my blood in the semi-darkness with seemingly blunt needles. And memories of having to pee in a giant bucket for 24 hours at a time (at least three times). And having an amniocentisis to measure the development of the girls' lungs. And the worry of the results of my liver enzyme tests (I think that's what it was) moving close to the danger zone. And constant sharp pain in my right side which I was sure was the beginning of HELLP syndrome, but was probably just Kate kicking me in the ribs. And steriod shots, and watching my blood pressure spike to scary levels, and the constant fetal monitoring during which I couldn't move or the monitors would loose contact and the nurse would have to come back and readjust. And, don't even get me started on after the girls were born - the bedrest was a cake walk compared to that. But, besides all that - the hospital stay wasn't so bad. Really, I got a lot of napping in and watched a lot of baseball and Oprah.

Paying the Price

I think I'm paying the price for the "grateful" post I wrote recently. I wrote how happy I was that both girls were sleeping from 8 PM to 7 AM in the morning and literally the same night Maya came down with a cold and has been sleeping very poorly - waking up throughout the night and crying and wanting to be held. Kate now has the cold and both girls have had diarrhea for over 10 days. We've gone through a Costco size box of diapers in seven days - that's 200 diapers in a week or about 28 diapers a day. On occasion, I have changed five diapers in a row - literally. I'd change one baby and the other one poos and then change that one and the other one poos, etc. I'm so sick of changing diapers on squirmy, strong babies who do not want to lie on their backs for even a few seconds. Oh, yeah, both babies are getting in a few new molars, too.

So, I'm thinking that playgroups and music classes with so many snot nosed toddlers crawling and walking around may not be worth the hassles of dealing with two sick babies at the same time.

When people ask me if having twins is really difficult, I usually say no that it's not that bad. And, usually this is true. However, having twins with diarrhea and colds is actually THAT bad.

Despite all the snot, poo and general lack of sleep, the girls are actually making progress on the walking front. It's kind of hysterical to see both girls toddling around the living room like little baby Frankensteins. They still prefer crawling as their main source of locomotion, but are spending more and more time walking around.

Maya loves to dance

She started doing this silly shoulder dance in music class yesterday and continued it today when the music on one of her toys started playing...

Maya dancing

Grateful

A loyal reader has been asking when I'm going to post again, so here you go mom...

I've been feeling so overwhelmingly grateful for my life and family these days. There is so much to be thankful for - here are a few of the top ones...

-My two beautiful, smart and funny little girls
-My handsome, smart and funny husband
-Living in such a family-oriented community where there are lots of stay-at-home moms and dads to hang out with.
-My friend, Nicole, who has been passing on all her many, many adorable outfits to us. Just when the baby's closet is looking a little bare, Cole shows up with boxes full of the right sized clothing, toys and gear. Really - I've only had to buy a few things since the girls were born - mostly because of Nicole.
-My mom and dad who live close by and who let us invade their house when we're sick of cooking and cleaning and taking care of babies.
-My aunt, uncle and cousins who also live close by and who give me a warm, fuzzy feeling of an extended family - something I didn't have growing up on the opposite coast as the rest of my family.
-The Family Resource Center who has hosted a bunch of fun classes for babies and other little ones. We've met so many nice people through these classes and have so much fun at them. We just started a music class that is a blast - 50+ moms, dads and little kids dancing, crawling and running around while a talented guitar player plays and sings. So much fun!
-The girls' sleep habits these days - 8 PM to 7 AM plus two long naps. I love that extra hour of sleep in the morning, love that they can make it until 8 PM to go to sleep so we can actually participate in a few evening activities, and love the naps so I can get stuff done.

Toddlerhood on the horizon

Today was a very busy day as Saturdays around here always seem to be! Kate and Maya attended their friend's first birthday party which was loads of fun. The girls had a blast playing with all the new toys and exploring new environs. And, in very exciting news, Kate took her first "real" steps. She has taken little tiny steps before, but today actually took three big steps in what could almost be called walking.

I guess my girls really are reaching the end of babyhood and fast approaching toddlerhood. I know I probably should be, but I am not scared of the toddler stage (well at least not yet). I was worried about how it would be when Kate and Maya started crawling, how I would feed them solid foods three times a day (plus snacks), how I would deal with them outgrowing their Snap N Go stroller (and the portable infant carseats), etc. - but as each milestone comes and goes, I realize that it ends up not being as scary as I expected. I may change my mind when I have two little ones running in opposite directions - I'll keep you posted.

This week I discovered an amazing resource in our little town - a toy lending library. What a great idea, huh? I borrowed a really cool tumbling set which Kate and Maya have been loving. Here's a rather long video of them crawling and tumbling all around (I expect that only grandmas may watch the whole thing, but I'm too lazy to cut it down to size). Note around 2:30 Maya starts playing one of her favorite games - peekaboo.

Tumbling

Beach Days

The weather has continued to be quite hot here in the mountains and we've been trying to take advantage of it while it lasts (which can't be much longer since it's almost October). So, we had picnics on the beach at a lake with friends on Friday evening and this evening. Kate and Maya even crawled around in the water and were pretty happy about it despite the kind of chilly water temps. The girls had a great time "playing" with their friends and stealing everyone's food. I wish we had done more of the beach thing this summer, but it was too hot and sunny during the day and the girls were going to bed too early for us to do anything in the cool of the evening. We've successfully pushed their bedtime to 8 PM, so we actually have time to do stuff in the evenings now.

Here's Maya trying out her new teeth.


Close up of Kate


All four of us with the lake in the background

Cuteness

The girls are doing all sorts of cute new things these days.

-Kate likes putting things on her head and then giving me a goofy grin that seems to mean "look at me, I'm so silly". I know she's copying me because sometimes I'll put something goofy on my head like a book or a sock and pretend to be preening and say "how do you like my beautiful hat".

-Kate loves books these days and is frequently found deep in concentration trying to open the book to look at the page. She has the right technique - using both thumbs to open the book, but still isn't quite coordinated enough to get it right all the time. But, when she does, she's in heaven.

-Yesterday we were playing on a jungle gym in a local park and I was sitting on one side of a play tunnel and Josh was on the other side with Maya and Kate. Maya was looking down the tunnel and was kind of apprehensive about venturing into it until she looked up and saw me. She let out a loud "MAMA!" and crawled at full speed into my arms. Very sweet!

Maya breaking the rules by standing in the tub...


Kate and Josh reading a book


Three babies in a restaurant. We left a big mess and a big tip.