This is an older picture saved on my phone. Laith was in tears every time I put the hat on him until in sad frustration of trying to make a little event fun, I slid it on his head backwards. The tears stopped and he ran around the house playing. He looks so much like his daddy working away on cars, the yard, going fishing - any time he wears a ball cap.
About a month ago, I heard a bunch of pushing & shoving and I peered over my desk to see the twins trying to determine whose turn it was on the truck. Somehow they squished themselves both on it and I pushed them around the kitchen in circles. It later ended with Laith pushing Vivienne off, then her pushing him out of the way for her to take a turn in front. We spun a few more circles much to their delight.
Vivienne loves Sesame Street. I caught her one time laying on her tummy, feet kicking in the air, singing along to the songs. Well, sort of, kind of singing. She lets out a small 'aaahing' noise that she inflects with rhythm and the occasional uptick in loudness. Her all time favorite episode is Build a Better Basket. Little Red Riding Hood comes to the street to get her basket of goodies for grandma and sings a rendition of a Kelly Clarkson song, which Vivienne bounces away to. She's graduated into swinging her arms back and forth, as well as stepping side to side on slower parts of the song. I think we have a future dancer growing up in our living room.
While I was making dinner a couple weeks back, Laith got one of the many kitchen utensils I've handed over to him stuck on the dining table. He loves to pretend to help me while I cook and was at a loss that I couldn't come to help. He quickly figured a way, rolling over his sister's shopping cart, tipping it over with a loud bump, then clambering atop it to grab his ladle. The smile on his face shined with pride at a job well done. My time of having 'high up' has ended.
Not long after this event, I had a strange chest pain accompanied with dizziness. I was pretty sure it was my continuing gall bladder pain yet the pain was weird enough combined with the dizziness to force me to instacare. The doc there didn't like my symptoms and sent me to the ER, worried I could have a blood clot. The ER had the equipment to order up x-rays and ultrasounds, and low and behold, I had gall stones. Exactly what I had tried to tell my family doctor in July but had been waved off as just acid reflux. My pain and dizziness was all from one stone that had decided the party was over and was trying to leave the building. He had gotten stuck and I ended up in emergency surgery as the complications of an infected gall bladder were too scary (the gall bladder lives by your liver, pancreas, stomach, and so on). My mom dropped everything and flew out to stay with me the required four weeks I'd need to recover. It's been two weeks now and I feel much better but I'm still not allowed to lift over 20 pounds. This creates a huge dilemma, as Laith, in the blue corner, weighs in at 29 lbs and Vivienne, in the red corner, weighs in at 26 lbs. It has been hard giving hugs, wiping away the ouchies, trying to read books, without just grabbing those cute babies and whirling them high in the air. Grammie has done a wonderful job and has worked herself into their trust and love. Although it isn't exactly the circumstances I would like, it's been great seeing them get to know their Grammie.
