The Parenthood Experiment

Conversations with 2.9 year olds

2011-04-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

I am so far behind on my blogging it isn't even funny. It's not that I don't have anything to write about, believe me the last year has been full to the brim with stories, happy and sad. But if I wait until I have time to catch up, I may never post again....

So here are some snippets of conversation with the boys (the older ones, anyway!)

After reading in Baby Center email that my 2 year old(s) should know their last name:
Mommy: Luke, do you know your last name? Do you know when you are in trouble, and I call you "Luke B..." sometimes?
Jenson: Yeah, B...
Mommy: Yeah, you are a B... Luke are you a B...?
Luke *looking at me with wide smirk*: I not B...! I KID!!
Sigh....

Jenson: I not trouble...
Mommy: What Jenson, what's the matter? You aren't in trouble...
Jenson: I not DOUBLE TROUBLE...
Awww...

Dropping the big boys off at back up daycare the other day:
Mommy: OK, guys...I am going. Have a good day!
Jenson *cuts me off without looking up from toys*: You LOVE me!
YUP...I DO love you, very much!

How is Oliver, you ask?
PLENTY to write about there, but the quick answer, is good...see for yourself!

Meet Oliver

2011-01-30T06:24:00.001-08:00

Hi,
My name is Oliver...

I finally made my appearance at 40.5 weeks at a hearty 9 lbs and 6 oz!! I am just about the sweetest baby you will ever meet. I don't like to be cold, wet, or hungry..but other than that I like to snuggle and hang out in my bouncy seat and I am a nursing superstar!
Well that is 7AM to 7PM anyway...
After 7PM my name is HUGH HEFNER...

I wear pajamas and I like boobs. In fact, I would be happy to nurse ALL NIGHT LONG. I do not want to be held, swung, vibrated, swaddled, and even though my mom and dad have gotten desperate and tried, I do NOT want formula!
But I am only two weeks old...give me a break!
And if you are getting to the end of your rope...look at my super cute cheeks and remember 7AM is (at most) only 12 hours away!

Inspiring Creativity

2010-10-10T17:44:00.000-07:00

The latest blog giveaway from Cotton Babies (the makers of BumGenius) is for answering the question: how do you inspire creativity and a free spirit in your kids?

My question is with twin 2 year olds, how do you not? With two like minded little people, every flat surface is a train track/highway for crashing vehicles...carrying a bucket around the house is "going shopping", if you pick up keys or bang* on something you are "going to work" like daddy!

* They know that daddy "bangs" on stuff on the weekends, but obviously have no clue that during the week he is a chemist...but my guess is I don't want to see how they would imitate "doing chemistry" anyway :)

All you really have to do, is shelf the "Type A" every now and then and let the creativity come out! Sure it isn't always convenient, but the results can be down right hilarious!

Personally, I keep things interesting by letting my guys have little choices:
What color diaper do you want to wear...green or yellow? (color choices: one of the bonuses of cloth diapering!!)

Or where do you want to go today: the park or the Y?
Don't get me wrong, routines are nice (and potentially necessary) but we keep some of our days unscheduled so we can find little adventures. I can't say our strong point has been arts and crafts, but I am getting braver...

So, in the name of allowing some free spirit to grow, maybe it's OK if they get muddy or wet while playing or wear airplane pajama pants and monkey rainboots today :)

**Sorry bumgenius, I would love to have a cute CD pic to show here, but my guys have been potty trained during the day for months (another bonus of cloth diapering!) But those new diapers would sure be nice for #3 arriving soon :)

The Second Year

2010-09-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

These slideshows are getting done later and later...:) But it is so much fun to go back through a full year in photos with perspective. So if you have 15 minutes to spare, ENJOY!

Today's post nap rukus

2010-09-20T13:46:00.001-07:00

And I quote:
"Nukie IS climbing...Nukie IS LOOKING!"

How much longer do you think we have in cribs? :)

"A healthy baby"

2010-08-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

You hear people say this all the time...all I want is "a healthy baby." When I was pregnant with the twins, this used to rub me the wrong way. I never really could put my finger on it, of course I wanted healthy babies. Maybe, after many early scares, and a breech extraction, we were in "want them to be born alive" mode**. A normal pregnancy seemed out of reach...something for other people. Maybe that is why, I knew, even as I packed up my maternity cloths, that I wanted to try again.

**The twins were obviously born alive and were healthy enough to come home right away, and looking back, I know my pregnancy wasn't even THAT difficult...a few interesting complications including gestational diabetes and whopping case of PUPPS (go ahead, google that), but they were di/di and we made it to 35 weeks. What more could you ask for?

I sure you know where this post is headed...

I'm pregnant!!

With ONE baby!!!

But the "healthy" part has been a little more complicated. We really didn't see it coming. You get through the first few weeks without a miscarriage...check! Do and ultrasound and see a heart beat (ONE HEART BEAT)...check! Pass the "Early Risk Assessment" with flying colors and finish the first trimester with no issues and you think you are home free. Well, apparently those fun 18 week ultrasounds are done for a reason...and it isn't so you can tell the gender of your baby :)

At the end of ours, they flipped on the lights and informed us that our baby has unilateral multicystic dysplastic kidney or MCDK. Essentially, one of the kidneys did not develop properly in the first trimester and instead of forming a "kidney" it has only managed to become a large cluster of cysts. The good news is, that it was only one kidney, and you only need one kidney to live a normal life. If both kidneys had been affected, there would be no urine production = no amniotic fluid = no lung maturation = no baby. Fast forward a few weeks, an amnio, a meeting with a pediatric urologist, and a followup structural ultrasound and we are getting used to the idea and are optimistic that this "apparently isolated congenital birth defect" won't have a huge effect on our child's life.

But, you won't hear me saying..."I just want a healthy baby". Nope, but I do want MY baby...and if HE gets here and needs a little extra help...I can't think of a better place for HIM to be :)

That's right....Baby BOY #3 EDD is Jan 14, 2011!

22 Weeks here and looking exactly like my big brothers!

Building the swingset

2010-07-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

The best present ever took 3 men 3 days to build. Maybe it would have been worth it to pay the $350 to have some professionals build it for us, but we wouldn't have had nearly as much fun. The Instructions weren't terrible, but the parts are not labeled in any way....leading you to take your piece over to the "key" to determine if it is the right dimensions. They did give you the box in which each piece was located, but there were five boxes and as you search for stuff, you pull more and more out of the box. We tried to keep the pieces together by marking them with a piece of chalk from which box they came...but with three men and five helpers (including two small ones, you don't listen to directions very well)....we did our best!

This was all happening graduation weekend, so there was a certain amount of pressure to finish the playset: a) because all the help was leaving after the weekend and b) As a post graduation celebration, I had invited a bunch of friends and their kids over for a backyard BBQ...9 children had RSVP'd yes....we needed that playset done!

Poor Simon picked up the toddler monster virus du jour and was, of course, out there building with a 102 fever...so he gets extra credit! I think they all agreed the roof was really the most difficult part and after three tries, they got it right. Totally worth the effort since we have since been trapped out there in the rain and stayed completely dry!

At the time, the boys were a month shy of two, so they had pretty well mastered the local neighborhood playsets, but they had NEVER been on a big kid swing before. Imagine my shock when I caught this on video...

My BIG boys!

And finally: a photo of the final product, being throughly enjoyed!

Totally worth it!
We love you,too!

A Crazy to..and a Crazy NOT to

2010-06-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

CRAZY TO
Potty Train two TWO year olds
The day before the boys turned two:
I was insisting to my Mom, "they are nowhere near being ready...they have never once peed on their potties and seem to think they make great scooters for riding around the house!"
The day after they turned two:
Luke: "Pee Pee on da potty...YEAH!" Jenson: Peering in over the edge..."YEAH...Peepee!".
Fast forward a few VERY hot weeks and the boys were near 100% at getting everything into the potty completely on their own....when naked (that is key). When they made it, I gave lots of praise (and later a dumdum for #2's), when they didn't, no big deal... I just said, "oh no, don't pee on the floor, it's messy!" and they helped me clean up the mess. Fast forward a few weeks, I let them get on with it, and know I need to go clean out the potty when I hear "YEAH!". This worked in the house, on the back deck, in the backyard....you name it. I still put them in a diaper to go out, because I am not crazy, right? After awhile, we decided to up the anti...and put them in big boy underwear at home. Accidents galore. That's when I realized how confusing it must be. Pee on the potty when you are naked, pee in a diaper when its on, but don't pee in underwear....hummmm?
So we are doing away with diapers (naps and nighttime excluded....they really will be 6 years old before they can hold it all night! This may have something to do with the 8 oz sippy cup of water they demand to take to bed every night...working on that!).
This is day 4 and counting. We had one accident yesterday, but other than that, it is going really well!
So...I guess you were right, Mom! Thanks!

I got pee pee, you got pee pee?
CRAZY NOT TO
Get a Professional Photographer
My friend Ellen (ellen@ebrphoto.com) gave us a wonderful gift for the boys second birthday. She took us all out to the Arnold Arboretum and did a photo shoot. I am typically (over) frugal....and can never justify paying a professional photographer. We have a really nice camera and don't do too bad on our own, but then the photos sit around in photoshop unedited and never get printed. And worse...someone typically is taking the picture so we rarely get fun shots of the whole family. Well, Ellen converted me...it was so much fun and the final product speaks for itself!! I actually don't know how I could have justified NOT getting a photographer in for the boys first year.....oh well!

Graduation and the best present ever!

2010-06-04T18:37:00.000-07:00

We have been busy over here! Graduation weekend has come and gone! In preparation, I had to make two trips up to Kenmore square: once to get my cap and gown (and got swindled into the premium graduation package...total racket btw!). I got home and realized that my diploma frame said "Boston University School of Law".....so BACK to Kenmore square. With twins, enough said!
My mom and dad and aunt and uncle came up for the big event!

One happy graduate

It was a strange ceremony. The PhD's (a ragtag party of 20) sat in the front of the 150 strong class of 2010 medical students. Our experiences could not have been any more different. As a class (from what I gather), the medical students go through two years of uniform classes followed by two more years of grueling rotations, all of which serve to form a class solidarity and cement lifelong friendships.

Of the graduating PhD's, I knew one other girl. In fact the others didn't even look familiar. I was there for 6 years, often working 12-14 hour days. But we all started at different times, took different classes, and did research in various labs or even different campuses.

The commencement speaker told us about how "AWESOME" it was to practice medicine...a lovely speech (followed by the Hippocratic oath), but didn't really apply to the first two rows....

My long time advisor did the honor of hooding me and in about three minutes I was back in my seat and had to sit there while the other 150 names were called out. My only saving grace was that the girl next to me had smuggled in some lifesavers! The procession was pretty boring except for the occasional person who went across the stage with their baby, like a bade of honor, "I finished medical school WITH a baby!". I had a good chuckle to myself of what it might have been like to walk across the stage with Luke and Jenson in tow...they probably would have started crying and both demanded to be picked up (something better not done in a skirt in front of thousands of people). Maybe I would have gotten a huge applause like "Damn, she did it with twins?!" But then again, how many people know how hard that really is?

Super Mom moment

Anyway, it was so chaotic afterwards that I ditched the cap and gown on my way out the door ($98) and we headed home for a backyard BBQ.

Not before someone snapped this gem

And what was the best present ever?

Mimi and Pawpaw bought the boys a playset! It took three men two days to put it together...very impressive! The boys have been loving it! But that is a whole new post..complete with photos and video!

2010-04-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

This video was taken at a Gymnastics birthday party the boys were invited to the other weekend. In addition to the last post, this video should seal our fate as "the worst parents of the year"! I am pretty sure the instructor told us parents to only let one child jump at a time...but to my credit, while they were going over the rules for a 10 minute obstacle course they set up, I was attempting to keep my kids contained in a gymnasium full of death traps! But I grew up on America's Funniest Home Videos...so I can't help but see the funny side here.

I am sure our material will only get "better and better" as these little monkey's get older :)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

** I could get used to these posts!

Bedtime Antics

2010-04-11T17:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a peak into what bedtime looks like at the zoo :)

Believe it or not....they do settle down on their own :)

Here is a link to the prequel to this video if want more:

You know you have reached the "terrible two's" when...

2010-04-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

-In a parking lot, a stranger asks you if you need "help" getting two floppy screaming toddlers to your car.

-Your toddlers hit the floor screaming before you finish saying "No"...or "yes" for that matter.

-You can't get out of the door because your twins are throwing a fit that they "want to go"...

-Making a swift exit from just about anywhere, a fellow mom (doing the same thing) says "just another day in paradise?"

-At the end of a bad tantrum, your child says "I no-no WANT to cry"....Amen, kid!

-You keep dum-dum's in your diaper bag....just in case of "emergency"!

- Oh dear...we haven't even turned 2 yet....it's going to be a LONG year!

But, at the same time, there is something incredibly raw and sweet about this age. Yes, they may be crying because I gave them the wrong color spoon for their yogurt...but the tears are big "alligator" tears. When I hug them, they bury their faces in my neck and tuck their little arms in and go completely limp. It's like the last little vestige of the babies they were just a few short months ago.

Time really does fly...my babies are becoming little boys!

What is your funniest/favorite part of the terrible two's?

Jenson living up to his namesake
Luke really wants Jenson's red car...my they start early!

Making the two's look easy :)

Words and Snippets

2010-02-15T16:37:00.000-08:00

Well, we are plodding along through our first winter with two toddlers...I am doing my best to adjust to being a SAHM and keep the boys busy (a whole other post, to be sure).
Aren't we cute?
But for this post (20 months, this week) I thought I would record some of their latest words:

NO...

Yes, this word comes up a lot. I would say they are still pretty agreeable to my requests but they tell each other "No" alot. Actually, if you aren't too strict about articulation. They actually say whole sentences like: "No, don't touch it!" and "No, stop it!" This gets an A+ in my book because although it comes out as bossy, it is an improvement over the typical escalation to hitting and biting that normally occurs with the "disagreements" that come up ..oh, let's say...every ten minutes! But it also makes it painfully obvious that "No, don't touch!" is the #1 phrase I use during the day.....sigh

There are a lot of new words for food:

nana (banana)

grrr cacker (graham cracker)

ish (goldlfish)

bapple (apple)

beckest (breakfast)

Nice sharing, right?

pee-pee-Used to both happily point out the body part and to announce its functioning! We recently bought some potties to play with and I encourage them to "make pee-pee" before bed...with huge heaps of praise if they can make things happen on demand (so to speak).

ba-bytes- You got it....bite. Usually announced after the fact so more correctly "bitten". The funny thing is, I have never heard either kid ever say Luke's name (I hear L's are hard?). And I have a funny feeling that when Jenson says ba-bytes as two syllables it is because he is actually calling Luke "Ba-bytes". You know, like ma-ma, da-da and jen-jen....and ba-bytes. Luke, on the other hand, occasionally refers to himself as "duck-dog" (taken from Dr. Suess ABC book)...I have no idea why!

ba (ball)

ca (car)

mon-key

nau-ghty (that British gem is from Simon....and I know you want to know if we've gotten them to say "naughty monkey" and the answer is no! ...not yet, anyway! But Luke did say "No,

No...nau-ghty ma-ma" when I had to clip his toe nails the other morning...and that gave me a serious LOL!

Just keeping it real, folks...

Snow Day!

2010-02-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

One of the few perks of New England winters: snow days!

PS. How do you like the flip? I wasn't happy with the quality of our last camcorder and it was excessively difficult to do all the file conversions to get clips online. The flip isn't fancy, but oh my....is it easy!!

All in one morning

2010-01-12T08:48:00.000-08:00

We are all settling into our routines coming back from the Christmas holiday. This morning was a "home day":

We started off with our "ba-ba"s and some cheerios:

Luke (Left) "multi-tasking"...I suppose he might need to text his little playgroup friends about his new ikea potty.

Jenson (Right)..."Whassup ma? I got my milk and I got my cheerios...I'm good!"

Next we pulled ALL of our toys out, we then moved on to accessorizing...

Luke: "What? Haven't you seen a toddler who fell down the stairs before...no pictures, please!"

They both HAD to have their hat on...so much for promoting individual identity!

And finally: This is what really happens to those cute little foam mats!

I had to stop them before they disassembled the whole thing...

"That's it, there's nothing else to trash...it's naptime!!"

Now Mommy gets to put the toys away, sweep up the cheerios and spattered milk, and re-assemble the foam mat before they wake up and do it again!

What's new with you...??

2009-12-03T19:34:00.000-08:00

So I obviously fell off the posting bandwagon for the last few months. But I do have several good excuses, I swear!

Back in July we put our (lovely) condo on the market. This was an insane move on so many levels. One, we have twin toddlers who don't like to keep the house clean for showings and second with the housing market the way it is, there was very little chance we could get a high enough offer to pull off a sale and purchase. But, being the insane and optimistic individuals that we are, we thought we would give a shot.
In the meantime we started looking for houses just to see if we would even like what we could afford. After a few weeks of broad searching we focused on the town we wanted to live in and started attending open houses every weekend. One Sat morning we viewed 10 houses WITH THE BOYS...shudder! The first house we saw that day was one we could never afford. The right size, the right neighborhood, huge backyard, walking distance to good schools and a library. I stood in the driveway and said: "I don't even want to look at this house...we will never be able to afford it!" But Simon insisted we see it "just for comparison"...and as we walked around the back of the house and saw the backyard my heart just sank... This house was PERFECT...and we were no where near being able to buy it!! Turns out there was an offer that was accepted that day. (What? you can't see it??...OK it needs some work!! Consider this a BEFORE picture)

In an interesting twist of fate, after a few weeks the competing offer on the dream house fell apart upon inspection (actually the second to fall through in a year on the market...cue foreshadowing music) and because we are insane and optimistic people we put in a low ball offer. Our lowball was the very most we could afford contingent on us selling our condo (which was not likely to happen anyway...) and crossed our fingers and waited. As Simon put it "I don't know why you're worried, basically the moon needs to turn red and EXPLODE for this deal to go through..." Well they accepted (contingent on no better offers coming along), and were happy to put off the closing as long as we needed....or longer as we eventually found out.

Meanwhile, my stipend at school ran out and I was home writing my dissertation while caring for the boys FT (yeah, I know...how is that even possible? See my wonderful copy editors right...).

Thankfully after two months of keeping the condo spotless and accepting every single showing we got an offer that just barely made it possible for us to pull of the sale and purchase.

The day finally came when we moved out of the (lovely) condo and in with a friend (a very dear and patient friend, who has twins and a singleton) while we got the new house ready for two toddler boys (did I mention it is a "fixer-upper"?). I was prepared for a 3 day layover...but things went quite badly and we ended up staying for three weeks (I basically owe her and her family FOREVER!) popping the boys randomly into every form of backup daycare I could scrounge: Bright Horizons, Parents in a Pinch, any random friend who half heartedly offered to help. I was a mess, Simon was a mess (and still had to get up and go to work everyday) the boys were a mess...think: regressing back to sleepless nights, bottles and pacifiers!

Meanwhile our things got moved in and work got done: specifically in about two weeks we replaced all the windows, the roof, and the boiler (included removing asbestos)...pulled wallpaper and carpet from every single room and had blown in insulation (from the interior...shudder). We scrubbed and primed two rooms: the dining room and the boys bedroom....and moved in.

And because I am an insane and optimistic person, this was all happening as my six and half year stint as a bitter graduate student was coming to an end.... on November 24... at 11 AM. Leading into that week I got Strep throat and fell down the stairs (and the boys had two rounds of ear infections). Despite that, the day I had been dreading came..and the talk went really well (I rocked it, actually! Thanks to Simon for helping practice OVER and OVER again!). But at the end, I cracked and burst into tears when I was thanking people for supporting me over the years specifically through this last, MOST challenging year of my life! So a Big Thank You to my friends and family!!!

The committee's private grilling following the talk was brutal...but sadly nothing I'm not used to and then suddenly it was DONE! "Congratulations, Dr. Bushell..." Music to my ears...

I spent the next week in my PJ's avoiding all calls and emails!
For this family, the moon really did turn red and explode! Although, I think we will have some battle scars...we pulled it off! And don't even think about asking me what I plan on doing next!

Baby Signs

2009-11-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

One of my first gifts (from Simon) as a newly pregnant MOT-to-be was a book on baby sign language including flash cards! I had grand plans of being able to communicate with my infants from an early stage....the book reccomends starting at 6 months.
Well, the reality is that 6 months came and went and we never got around to baby sign language. I started to half heartedly try a few out around 1 year. Mainly the obvious ones: "all done" and "more". And what do you know...a little bit of practice and they were both reliably able to tell me if they were done eating...or at least done sitting in their high chair.

So we have been plodding along adding signs wherever we pick them up. I haven't brought out the book but whenever someone more motivated than me shows us a sign that seems useful I try and use it a few days and like magic they figure it out and repeat it back to me. Of course it is never perfect, they always modify it...make it simpler or add a grunt to go with it. But still, it makes me feel like the baby whisperer or something. "WAAAAAAH" "Aw, what's the matter sweetie?" "Oh, you're thirsty and want your sippy?...OK, let me go make one for you!" Problem solved!

It is so funny to see them go up to a climbing structure at the park and insteead of having a meltdown becuase they're frustrated...turn around to be and sign "help". Maybe not so funny when you put your cup of coffee out of reach and they sign "help" to play with it. Sorry, guys...just because you know the word doesn't mean you get your way!

But let's say around 17 months I noticed they were doing some signs I hadn't taught them. How awesome is that?! They (I am pretty sure Luke is the mastermind here) have made up signs for "bathtime" and "want". I have also seen Luke translate Jenson's incomprehensible modified sign...(duh, mommy!)

I know...call MENSA, right? Just kidding...but it is a fun little game to take up with your toddler(s). In the past few weeks I have noticed slightly less signs and more "attempts" at the word. If I don't understand them they go back to the sign (duh, mommy!) so I know that this phase will soon be over and in a few months I will have two little chatterboxes.

Let's see if I can list the words they currently say (and I recognize) as we approach 18 months:

MORE
meow
kitty
woof woof
doggie
button
push
duck
quack
Jenson
Momma
DaDa
whassat?
I see you
good job
breakfast
please (under duress)
bottle (ba ba)
yes/yeah
Hi
Byebye
I do

.... certain words that are going around our play group...such as "no" and "mine" haven't caught yet, but I am sure they are coming! :)

We have been quite busy during my lapse in posting...so stay tuned!:) For now here is a Halloween Pic

Figuring it out...

2009-09-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

At the end of August, my stipend at work ran out and as I am so close to being done it made sense to take the boys out of daycare and look after them during the day...and make any changes to my thesis at night!
Well...where do I begin...
1) it is a lot harder to be home with twins than to "work"!
2) I really had to come to terms with having no idea how to take care of my guys without Simon. What is their nap schedule? What are we going to do everyday?
3) I am loving it!! (although I could do without the "working" on my thesis on top!)

So, as you would imagine, th first week wasn't so great. My first (mis) adventure was taking two walking toddlers to the park. We had scoped out one that had a fence all around and a small toddler structure for them to climb. But unfortunately, they headed for the "big" kid structure and like any twin mom's nightmare split... Jenson went straight for the open drawbridge (yikes) and Luke went straight down th 6 ft swirly slide (see picture below)!!

I know I heard at least one pfump bump...so I know he did at least one flip on his way down. I jumped down and caught him at the bottom...and wouldn't you know...the kid LAUGHED at me!

I almost packed them up right then but thanks to some very kind (and brilliant) people for donating some push toys to the park we salvaged the trip until Simon got there!

Beep Beep!

So what have I learned? I may need to start with a shot of whiskey (just kidding!...maybe?) Dress them in bright easy to spot cloths so you can do a head count (have had SEVERAL mini heart attacks already!) The fence needs to be ALL the way around the park. AND the big kid structure needs to be in a separate gated area or be raised up on ladders so that the boys can't climb...yet, anyway?!!!

Oh yeah, and when you're at the park with a bunch of toddlers and you break out the snacks (to stop the whining)...ALL the Mom's have to break out the snacks...Ooopps...sorry, ladies!

One Year on...

2009-08-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

(a little behind schedule but sent out with love none the less!)

Giving IS awesome

2009-08-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

Back in December a local photographer (whose work I LOVE) posted a advertisment for a free photo shoot for a deserving family. I knew in a millisecond who would be the perfect recipient of this kind of gift and I wrote to nominate my very good friend Karen. Well, she won and the pictures came out awesome!
I am so thrilled that I could do something nice for them!

...OK, and I'm a little "GO ME", too!

Because I couldn't resist...

2009-08-17T14:12:00.001-07:00

We were over at IKEA the other day aimlessly wondering around, as you do...when we saw something that really made my day: Miniature-Poang chairs! Obviously, I couldn't help myself...Have you ever seen anything so cute!?*

Of course...boys + chairs = more fun (for them) and more excitment (for us)...and we had to do some crisis mediation for things like this...

this...

and this...
(Gatwick wholeheartedly believes that if he blends in, closes his eyes, and stays really still the "grabby" toddlers can't see him. Judging by the fact that their first real word was an excited screech "tit-tee"!! It's just not so, my friend...

*Yes...my kids still get morning bottle...and I am OK with it!! As my friend says: "Don't judge me!!"

Our Own Formula One Track

2009-08-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

This snippet was taken over the weekend: The boys have turned our dining room into a racetrack! I especially like that this clip captures how Jenson goes out of his way to run over Luke on more than one occasion, and Luke intentionally blocks Jenson and cuts him off! Ahhhh...boys!

It must be Daddy's banana pancakes!
Zoooommm Zoooommmmm!

PS. By the time I post this Jenson is already trying out his feet without the walker!

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2009-08-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

Well...today is the beginning of a new era!

Jenson has been hard at work the last few days! Over the weekend, while at the beach, he was quite determined to figure out how to stand up entirely on his own. He practiced OVER and OVER again....falling on his bum and getting right back up! By Sunday he was taking one step...Monday came three steps...and today Simon and I watched in amazement as the kid made it halfway across a field at the park! It was a beautiful momwnt...and we kind of held our breath and savored the feeling of not knowing what comes next and then said "OK, somebody better go get him before he makes it to the splash park!"

I am sure Luke will follow suit in a week or two, but in the meantime he appears to be working on new words and signs. He sometimes (emphasis on sometimes) repeats words like "thank you", "water", and this morning after I said "gimme a kiss", he said "akiss, akiss"! I wouldn't say he knows how to use his new words yet but you can tell he likes to try new sounds out! He also has made up a sign that I have yet to interpret. He sort of puts his fingers together and touches the side of his forehead....maybe a confused "eat"? I am sure Mommy will figure it out eventually!

Grandma's Trick

2009-08-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

This video is was taken awhile back but I am working my way back through the blog backlog, so bare with me!

Grandma Mary takes great pleasure in teaching the boys new little tricks. She started working on this one when they were 5 months old. Now, at 11.5 months, this is one of their finest achievements!

These days, most mornings I can hear them bobodooing back and forth from their cribs over the monitor...endless entertainment!

How Do YOU Eat Your Vegetables?

2009-08-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

This video was taken last month!

Waffles are turning out to be food of the gods around this house. Mash anything into the mix and it's an instant hit. I will say for the record...if it wasn't so funny, there is no way I would be encouraging bad table manners. But, we really couldn't help ourselves...and I am just pleased they eat vegetables at ALL!

Stay tuned for video with Jenson walking...any day now!

post nap crazies

2009-05-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

By popular demand...more video! Just a little snippet of the boys playing after waking up from their afternoon nap.

Of particular note we have Luke's high five and Jenson doing his best "crazy baby".

Good Report Card

2009-05-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

So after our EI evaluation today I am happy to report they thought both boys looked "really good"...in fact if you take into account their prematurity they are right where they need to be! Surprisingly (based on the steady rate of ear infections we have had since starting daycare) both boys scored a month ahead on language skills! After talking awhile about the eating solid foods issues they decided that they were not "behind" but rather struggling with the transition to table food a little more than average...if that makes any sense? They think it is a sensory issue and we could work on getting them used to the mouthing more things and exposing them to weird textures as a game...like whipped cream, ect. They suggested I read a book...which of course I can't remember the name now! (Maybe "Just two more Bites"??)

One other thing I really wanted help with is their increasingly aggressive behavior towards each other. For lack of a better way of putting it...the boys really get under each other's skin! This leads to frustration, screaming and lots of biting. Last weekend Jenson was on the receiving end of about 20 bites and ended up looking quite bad! Not that he didn't having it coming as he actively antagonizes Luke! But I guess EI doesn't specialize in twin interactions and they didn't really have any suggestions. Oh well!

PS. I am guessing this has officially sealed my fate as a neurotic helicopter mom....

Training Mommy

2009-04-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

One thing you hear about a lot in the twin mommy circles is "Early Intervention." It is a state run service for evaluating and corrdinating help for kids who are falling behind on developmental milestones. The idea being, if you recognize and develop the skills early you can make a big impact on the child's development. Luke and Jenson have been bringing up the rear of "normal" since they were born (at least as far as I can tell). Usually just when I get worried they pick up the skill and I put it at the back of my mind. But some recent things have been niggling me enough to schedule an early intervention evaluaion. Mostly the excessive vomiting when they are trying to eat table food. But also some behavioral issues like rocking and biting and Luke is certianly lagging behind in gross motor skills. I wouldn't say we have a lot going on in the language department either...but seriously as soon as I made the appt. Luke stood up in his crib and attempted to crawl on hands and knees! I was holding him yesterday morning when he started to fuss. In my typical way, I grabbed the nearest toy (his favorite stacking cup) and handed it to him. "Here, do you want this?" and he took it and started studying the cup and saying "dis dis dis!" And something clicked....he IS saying words....I just haven't been descriptive enough! If you listen closely he also calls objects "Dat" I can only assume because I say stuff like "Luke let go of that!"

As Uncle Brian put it: it's really about training the Mommy here!

Anyway, I have decided to keep the appointment just in case....stay tuned!

Thursday Theater: More playtime

2009-04-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

I knew I HAD to participate in this week's challenge of setting your video to music! So here is an older clip of the boys playing at 9 months. I don't have any new video because we have been plagued with a constant stream of viruses this month! Seriously...I can only hope that there is some sort of upside to getting sick this many times in your first year....like during their first year of school they better be germ free!

Anyway....enjoy! If you want to check out other people's video creations check out Goddess in progress

The first of many

2009-04-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

...Busted lip...that is!
Jenson is pulling himself up on anything and everything this week! I guess it's been waiting to happen...this morning I turned around to him in face plant position screaming! I picked him up and I noticed some red on his onsie and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I checked all of his fingers and then I noticed his mouth was filled with blood (OK filled is an exaggeration...but there was BLOOD in my baby's mouth!) I feel we should mark this occasion as the end of the perfect beautiful baby stage and the beginning of the scrapped, bumped and bruised bouncing baby boy stage.
Look closely to see Jenson's Booboo
Luke, always a couple weeks behind (stupid placenta), has really been mastering the "cheese" this week. So you pull out the camera and this is the face you get!
Luke's Large with extra CHEESE face
Honestly...where do they learn this? Because I have NEVER gotten the camera out and said : "SAY CHEESE!!" It's like they just KNOW!! Maybe they're just pretending to be babies at this point! Watch out...I'm on to you!

Thursday Theater: Morning Time (a week later)

2009-04-09T06:32:00.000-07:00

I am chronically late these days! This bothers me because I am was Type A (having twins may have knocked that right out of me!), but in the spirit of practice not perfection this is a major achievement! Look, Ma...I got video off my camera and posted it on the internet!

So here we have a little clip of the morning time giggles. Probably my favorite part of the day. I think I definitely lucked out getting mornings, as when bedtime rolls around they tend to be VERY cranky babies!
Recovering Type A Disclaimer: Please excuse my unfinished nursery, lack of cute PJ's and snotty noses!
Thanks to Goddess in Progress for the weekly video challenge!

Makes my Monday: Hop on Pop

2009-04-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

I love LOVE playing on the floor with our boys! They have no sense of personal space and will just attack you with their little giggly slobbery snotty faces! LOVE it!
But do you want to know what makes my Monday? Watching my husband play on the floor with our boys!

And just because I can't resist...this is what happened about a minute later. Luke's idea of birth control!...Poor Daddy :)

If you want to see what makes other people's Monday, check out Twinfatuation

And we're BACK...

2009-04-03T05:56:00.001-07:00

My children are decendants of alligators

2009-04-03T05:32:00.000-07:00

I know this because early on they mastered the alligator death roll. Usually while I am holding their ankles in the middle of a poopy diaper change. Recently, they have taken to biting. A couple of weeks back Luke finally got fed up with Jenson getting to the good toys first and decided to even the playing field by biting his butt. Jenson hardly noticed since he was wearing a diaper...and although this all happened in about 10 seconds, I could see Luke's cogs turning and he coiled up to strike again only this time on the foot. That showed him!! I have since learned to intervene when I see this situation arising...but because it was the first time I just sat there watching it happen, thinking..."what's he going to do now?...OH....that's not good!" This has been happening a lot, recently. The other day I was watching Luke crawl (slither) and he made it from our lounge to our dining room and over to the gate (which I didn't really feel like we needed to lock yet because the boys weren't really getting very far) well anyway, I was sat there thinking..."Would you look at that he can really get around, now....look he made it all the way to the gate...and he knows how to open it and go through, what a clever kid....HEY WAIT, that's not good...get back here!!!"

Anyway, back to my current story...so now we have the baby jail set up with the nice kid friendly foam mats. But, this week Jenson has really figured out how to take up the foam pieces and because he is part alligator actually ripes the pieces apart...sending mommy to fish little pieces of foam out of his mouth.

He gags and vomits with the smallest bit of texture when it comes to his food but foam pieces are apparently edible! This isn't just a case of soft foam...at daycare, the lady who watches them has four older boys of her own. The other day she was remarking that toys that have BEEN "baby-proof" for all of her children are an issue with these two! I couldn't help but feel a little pride...my little terrors are shaping up nicely!

U R G8

2009-03-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

So this post is both a cute story and an apology for lagging in my blog!

A couple of weeks ago we made a baby purchase and I saw this fun bath alphabet set...sure a little above the boys intellectual level but I was looking for ways to make our guest bathroom a more kid friendly place! Anyway....the letters stick to the wall when they are wet and you can spell stuff out Like LUK3 JEnSON.

Simon and I swing our shifts to cover the non-daycare hours with our FT+ jobs: So I stay home with them in the morning and drop them off at daycare and come home late while Simon goes to work early and comes home early to pick them up. I get them feed and dressed in the AM and he does the bath and bedtime. We are like a well oiled machine at this point (you have to be really!). This crazy life doesn't always leave a lot of time for us to spend together before we have to prepare to do it all again. Anyway...here is where the bath letters come in....Simon started by leaving me a little message in the bathroom one morning: I LOVE U. So cute...so I dig through the letters to reply: I LOVE U 2 then came the U R MY HErO and 1 DAD, 1 MOM and U R Gr8 (I know...it's a bit sappy but it is our little way of staying connected!) Well, for the last several days it has been the same message to express our mutal exhustion: ARrgH

I have loads of fun video I need to post....so stay tuned!

Can you say epigenetics?

2009-03-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

Last weekend (after my furious work in the lab was done, of course!) we went to the park. Sounds boring, right? But we have NEVER been to the park with our kids. We are first time parents and last summer we were doing good if we made it to the front porch! Anyway, FINALLY we get to do the fun things you think about when you dream of starting a family...go to the park...yeah! So we load the boys up in the stroller and head to our local park. As we are getting settled I hear the woman on the bench turning to her friend saying "My sister-in-law's brother has twins...blah blah blah." Thankfully the random mutterings of total strangers when they see us doesn't make me cry anymore....I AM AT THE PARK WITH MY KIDS, DAMMIT! So we fit the boys in one baby swing back to back. I figure it is one of those funny incredibly cute twin things that you must do. CHECK!

Then a little girl comes over and leans on the swing next to us and calls to her mom on the bench: "Mom...can two people ever be exactly EXACTLY the same?" Here we go again...It was all I could do not to turn to her and say: "Have you ever heard of epigenetics?"

But that is no way to make friends on the playground, is it?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2007/0711-identical_twins_identical_problems.htm

Meet Mr. Sockman

2009-03-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

I am not even sure how he did it...but the other day, while Jenson was scooching around in the living room floor, he managed to cut his finger...on the hard wood floor!? It was one of those little cuts that just doesn't stop bleeding, too! So by the time I noticed, the blood had gotten EVERYWHERE...the play mat, his face, his onesie, the toys...EVERYWHERE! I swooped in and picked Jenson up and, after a quick survey, tried to stop the bleeding by compressing the cut with a tissue and holding it up...but he obviously didn't like this plan and just tried to eat the tissue and wiggle away! In a slight panic I called Simon at work..."I can't stop the bleeding"..."WHAT...is everything OK??" I explained and Simon's blood pressure went back down... He suggested I put a bandaid on it. Sure. Why didn't I think of that? So since it was almost naptime I just got the guys ready for bed and tucked them into their cribs...I decided I would wait for Jenson to fall asleep so he wouldn't eat the bandaid and choke. But Jenson knew exactly why I was still there and just stared at me knowingly and ficked his (bandaged) fingers across his chest as if to say "She is going to look away and then I AM GOING TO EAT this weird thing." Sure enough he turned away from me and as fast as I could run over to his crib he had the bandaid off and was chewing on it!! So that is how Jenson became MR. SOCKMAN!

But it didn't really slow him down...and was kind of funny! Next time I will skip the bandaid part and go straight for the sock!

And here is poor Luke (the reason we were all home that day) recovering from a double ear infection that ruptured both ear drums and still being a sweetie!