Dentes

Most days are onesie days.  Then there are the afternoons I go overboard and decide that the twins must wear something better than just a onesie.  I remember buying this jean jacket while I was pregnant.  It was the last shopping trip I went on before the mandated bedrest blindsided me and I was stuck in the hospital (or at home) using only the internet to make my final purchases (and although the net is extremely useful, I much prefer shopping as an outdoor activity).

I absolutely love putting a flower in Vivienne's hair.  It was pure genius remembering I had a stash of scrapbook flowers, and with a jeweled rhinestone in the center, I can make it a 'flower-of-every-color' to match the occasion.

These are newborn size shoes that Vivienne only got to wear a couple times.  Her feet were too tiny in the beginning and when I remembered about them, I could barely stuff her foot in.  I hope I can find these out in the shopping world as I would definitely get a larger size for future appearances.

Laith is a breeze to dress.  Just a t-shirt and pants, and he's rocking it.  This particular night, I got Laith ready first, then laid him down to play while I got Vivienne ready.  He was screaming his head off and suddenly stopped.  I grabbed Vivienne up quickly, shouting we gotta go check on our little man!, and found him passed out on the blankie snoring away.  Vivienne rewarded me with a huge smile and then passed out herself.

 What the...?!  How did we...?!

 

 

 The last weekend Bryan had off, we got stir crazy enough to dress the kids, stick 'em in their car seats, pack up a lunch and drive 2 hours down the 84 to see Stonehenge...yep, you can see a finished version of Stonehenge in Maryhill.  The twins did surprisingly great.  They slept the entire way there, woke up to eat and check out the surroundings, even got to hear a train sound its long horn and watch a barge travel up the river, then fell promptly back asleep for the two hours back home.  Most amazing was they both were ready for bed at the regular time.  I got extremely lucky that day.  Key words being THAT DAY.

Then Monday started, and my lucky horseshoe ran out.  Laith was extra fussy all week.  The trick was finding the right order of operations.  Was it the bouncy chair, jumper, floor then pack n'play?  Or the jumper, pack n'play, bouncy chair and floor?  Should a nap been in there somewhere, a bottle?  Or a bowl of food?  Oh, I know!  It was jumper, bottle, bouncy, floor, bottle, nap, then pack n' play.  But each combo was wrong yet again.  Finally fed up with his stinky attitude, I shoved him in the pack n' play with a ton of pillows to keep him sitting up and he stopped!  The new set up took him by surprise and he happily played...for about ten minutes.  Vivienne has been a good sport all week, and played along with whatever her brother is up to.  Like this shot below where she's giving him the stink eye.  He shaped up for a moment after that, but then right back to his shenanigans.

Unfortunately, mommy had been wrong about his attitude all week.  I had been telling anyone I talked to (Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, oh and Bryan) that it wasn't because he was teething, he was just being fussy.  Then Friday night, while skyping with family, Bryan shrieked when Laith sunk a tooth into his hand.  Yep, that snaggle tooth had found it's way out of his gums and I'd missed it completely.  Bad mommy.  I tried to check Vivienne's mouth, but she pursed up her lips and gave me a look that said no way momma.  Later that evening when she fell asleep mouth hanging open, I checked and she has two teeth starting to poke!!  It's interesting to watch both go through the same development stages and see how far they differ.  Vivienne has just been extra sleepy, maybe a little grumpy at times, but overall, so sleepy it's been wonderful because Laith has been the opposite.  He stopped sleeping through the night entirely, isn't happy for more than 15 minutes at a time, and screams bloody murder any chance he can.  He obviously handles pain like the typical man cold.  Vivienne handles it so well, she even giggles her head off about it.

Sweaters the Second

My eyes always pop open about 7 am and I lay there wishing them to close and go back to sleep. It isn't long after I awake that I hear Laith wake up and start babbling away.  He tells stories to the ceiling as Vivienne is deep asleep.  I have to make sure and flip on the hall light and their bedroom lamp before I walk up to the crib because if I don't, I scare the begeebies out of him and he starts crying.  But since I'm careful, I get to walk up to him holding his hands, giving the most serious look possible, and telling a very important "Okay!" to his imaginary friend.  He then glances over and sees me and I'm rewarded with a ginormous grin.  I pick him up and we exchange a hug then get down to business, getting him ready for the day.  We wander out to the living room and he gets plopped in his easy chair, which he's about half a pound away from being too heavy for.  I switch on the TV, and pull up Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Mickey's face is humongous on our TV, and Laith gives him a big smile too, then starts to play with his blankie.  I go back to the crib for Vivienne who is cooing softly and waking up ever so carefully.  She takes a little longer to get the Sandman's sand out of her eyes.  We sing my version of "Good Morning" from Singing in the Rain as she gets ready for the day.  Then she's plopped down in her easy chair and starts kicking like mad playing with her blankie.  At this point Laith is ready to eat immediately.  He usually will go back in his chair, but not for long, as he wants to play badly, and is eyeballing the jumper.  He then gets jumping time and is happy for a good hour to two hours.  Vivienne is never ready to eat until being up for about an hour, so it gives me a good amount of time to put the house in some sort of order and get the dogs fed and out for the day.  We watch Disney Junior all morning now, as they seem to love the shows more...or at least they stay happier longer, so I've chalked it up to the channel change.  I get in as much work as possible during this time, as the rest of the day is helter skelter.  Sometimes they nap at the same time, but most days are Laith goes down for a small nap, then about thirty minutes later Vivienne will go down for a long nap and Laith wakes up within five minutes of me laying Vivienne down.  It's like this the rest of the day.  I balance work, housework and baby time as best as possible, and try to switch up their playtime between the chair, jumper, floor, pack-n-play and Mommy's lap.  By late afternoon it's a countdown until Daddy gets home, as Mommy so badly needs that extra adult to help bring some sanity back to the day.  Every day when he walks in the door, we laugh, clap and shout out "Dad's home!  Hooray!  Hooray!!"  The evening is much the same as the afternoon, one baby to the next.  Somehow though, they've both decided that between 8-9 pm they're ready for bed, which is glorious.  I realized finally why my parents sent us to bed at 8 pm for all our childhood.  It was the only time of day the both got to enjoy being adults and have peace, quiet, and their own time to do whatever.  I spend most of that time doing dishes and cleaning up from afternoon and evening festivities, but when I'm done, I know both babies will still be out, and it's finally time, time to relax.  Harry Potter has become my relaxation obsession.  There's no required thinking involved to read a Harry Potter book.  It's pure enjoyment.

What I could really use is an extra few sets of arms.  Looking at this picture reminds me of Thirty Minute Meals and how Rachael Ray tries to carry as much as she can in one go.  Can you name everything I'm holding?  I know of 9 items for sure.

The twins started holding their heads up more often just around their four month well baby check-ups.  In the past 6 weeks since then, they're both holding their heads at 90˚ most of the time.  Vivienne will last for about 5-10 minutes and then rolls to her back ready to play with toys.  Laith will scoot himself around in a circle looking for the best toy to play with, then become really angry that Mommy isn't one of those toys and screams until I come over.  He's gotten really good at pushing his legs under him and stretching his arms out.  It won't be long before he'll be army crawling around this house.

Vivienne discovered her feet about a week or so ago and would occasionally reach out to grab a toe.  Yesterday I caught her actually playing with her feet.  She grabbed both over and over and would stretch out her legs, giggling to herself at her new trick.  Today she stuck her toes in her mouth.  It's amazing how quickly both grow and learn from day-to-day right now.

The cold weather set in the beginning of October.  I can't truly say it's cold...nothing like Logan winters, but it's colder than it has been in a while.  We've had the most wonderful stretch of sunshine ever known to the northwest, a whole 3 months without rain!  The rain started in today, and we're meant to get a monsoon of 8 inches this weekend.  Winter has truly started, and with it the sweaters.  We went to visit a good friend last night, and when I got them all dressed up I had to take a billion photos as the two next to each other in hoodies for the first time was adorable.  Here's the slideshow of all the shots.

One Fish, Two Fish

Pink fish, blue fish.

Say! What a lot of fish there are.

Some are sleepy, some are glad

Some even hang with Dad.

Not one of them is like another.

 

Don't ask us why, go ask our mother.

Oh Dr. Seuss how I love you so!  Just wish I could grab the hands of time and keep this part slow.

I watched my babies fall fast asleep in my arms this afternoon...first time all day they've decided to sleep at the same time.  Vivienne screamed if my arms weren't cocooned around her and fell deeply asleep once I gave in.  Laith took his time, but just before he closed his eyes in slumber, he gave me a huge grin, then drifted off to Dreamland.  *Cli-eeeeeeee-ck* goes the camera of my heart.  And then a video of Vivienne's first giggles.  She confuses her emotions often and here she sounds like she's crying but the huge grin across her face tells a different story.  Enjoy!

Storytelling Duo

Finally, we can voice our opinions...well sort of.  At the moment, we both like to go to bed about 11pm and sleep peacefully until our tummies get hungry at about 5am.  We eat quickly then go straight back to sleep for another three hours.  We're nice to Mommy that way; but it's also because we like to wake up in time for...SESAME STREET!!  If we wake up about 8am, it gives Mommy just enough time to feed us, put new diapers and outfits on, and sit us in our bouncy chairs.  We sometimes watch the end of "Dinosaur Train" and then our favorite show finally comes on.  We kick our legs like crazy and smile when we hear "Sunny day sweepin' the clouds away.  On my way to where the air is sweet.  Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street."  Then Tully appears on the screen and we start telling him "We're here!  We're here!"  Mommy can't believe we love this show so much.  It's made it a little easier for her to work in the morning.  Daddy didn't believe her until his day off last week when she showed him how excited we got.  Laith loves talking, and really loud too.  He smiles anytime Mommy gets near and talks to her when she picks him up, telling her how much he loves her.  I'm not so carefree with my love, but it is hard to hide my smiles when Mommy smiles at me.  I like to sit on the couch next to her, propped in the corner, so I can see her and the TV.  I wobble back and forth, kicking my legs to show my happiness.  I blow raspberries too, and smile every time Mommy looks at me.  After a bit, I want Mommy to hold me, so I feign crying until she picks me up.  Then I settle in her lap with my head against her chest to watch Elmo and she rests her cheek on my head until I fall asleep.  We've got Mommy wrapped around our fingers if you couldn't tell.

Here's me talking to my lamb, and then Laith wanted to show off too by talking to Mommy.

In the Heat of the Night

About a month ago, I realized if I kept waking up the other baby during the night for a feeding, the twins would never learn to sleep through the night entirely.  I started only feeding the baby that woke up and soon realized Laith was able to sleep through the night.  Unfortunately, Vivienne could not.  She has severe acid reflux that was keeping her up at night.  It finally got to a point where she wasn't eating more than an ounce at a time.  After 3 straight feedings of just an ounce, we went to the doctor.  She was put on Zantac to help, but it didn't do much.  At her 10 day follow up, the pediatrician decided to try out Prilosec.  It took its time, but it has helped quite a bit.  For three weeks, I worked hard at getting her to eat full feedings, being persistent at keeping the bottle in her mouth and threatening her with the words "I can use the medicine dropper if you won't eat it on your terms".  Bryan's family came out the end of July and were a huge help.  The first night they were here they told me to go to bed and they each took turns taking care of the babies.  I had forgotten what it was like to sleep 6 hours, let alone in a row.  Poor Vivienne though kept struggling with her reflux.  Then my mom came out for another two weeks to help and we worked even harder at getting Vivienne to eat.  We succeeded eventually, and two days before my mom left, Vivienne slept through the night.  I chalked it up to being a fluke, but then she did it a second night, then a third, and now a whole week!  I'm crossing my fingers that this means we've figured out nights and days finally, and will only have an occasional relapse.

Kept Me Company in the Wee Hours

 


I saw the world's best Olympian swim in his final race; the first woman make history for Afghanistan; cheered for the US in almost every volleyball game; mesmerized by the grace of divers and gymnasts; astonished at how difficult and aggressive water polo is (did anyone else imagine "Meet the Parents" during matches?); watched history take place when Pistorius ran; and unfortunately missed one of my favorite summer sports, synchronized swimming.  I truly miss the Olympics now, as there's absolutely nothing on TV, even with 200 channels at my leisure.
 

 

 

It's Been a Long Time...Since I've Seen Your Smiling Face

One of my favorite moments is after feeding time when they fall asleep on the pillows I've surrounded us with to accomplish two baby feedings.  Sweet, precious...and quiet!

Laith gives grand smiles.  I love to take up his personal space and get within a few inches of his face and give him smiles too.  He's a lovable personality with tons of energy.  His legs are so strong and he loves when I bounce him while he's standing.  He sometimes helps and pushes with his legs and jumps quite high.

Vivienne is delicate and sensitive.  It took her a little longer to start smiling, but only because she loves to be thoughtful.  She takes her time at everything, as though she's truly trying to understand.  One of her favorite games is to watch Mommy and Daddy stick out their tongues and then mimic us.  She also watches intently when I roll my lips, so intent to learn how I'm making that sound and do it herself.  Daddy will ask for kisses, and she's actually tried to do so several times.  She'll open her mouth in a small o when you place her lips against his cheek. 

Laith had his frenulum clipped in the middle of July.  While he was in the NICU, the doctors mentioned it may need to be done.  At the time it wasn't too bad, and he could nurse and bottle feed just fine.  However, as he grew, his tongue was becoming forked and we decided it needed to be done.  I was an idiot and told the doctor Bryan and I wouldn't mind being in the room when the clip happened.  I wanted to be there for our little man.  Daddy got the task of holding his hands and head still while the doctor clipped.  Mommy sat in the corner and cried.  Vivienne slept through the entire ordeal.  His tongue is now shaping out nicely, and he's cooing like crazy.  I'm glad we got it done, especially at this young age, as I won't have to hear years from now "Mom, remember the time you got my tongue clipped..."

 

Every once in a while, I'll see Bryan in Laith.  This is one of these moments.  His profile is very much his father's face.  I love when these moments happen.  It makes my heart smile.

I started to take 3 month pictures with the bear, but Laith wasn't having it.  He whined and carried on, and this is the only decent shot I got.  By the time I finished with him, Vivienne was passed out.  So much for tracking growth...

And finally a smile captured on Vivienne's face!  She gives the sweetest smiles and melts my heart every time.  Laith and her are trying so hard to get the hang of giggling, and when they do, the tickle monster will forever hide out in our home.