Sunday, February 27, 2011

11 Months!!!

Our babies are 11 months old today!

Wow...in a mere month they will be one year olds. I don't know how that is possible.


These pictures are from this morning, before Church, and they aren't that great. Well, at least they aren't that great of Luke. Our smiley boy just didn't have a smile in him this morning. We are still fighting the Colds That Will Not Die in our house, and Luke had it come back with gusto on Friday. We even went to the urgent care after a particularly nasty (and heart stopping for Momma) coughing fit. The doctor we saw thinks there is a chance he has developed a sinus infection, so he is on antibiotics. Plus two more doses of steroids. Plus a nifty little inhaler complete with baby mask. Good times. Luckily, Luke things the mask and inhaler are hilarious, and so far has done nothing but smile and say "dadadadada" when we put it over his mouth and nose. That friends, is grace.

Here's to hoping we are finally on the up swing of illnesses around here.

Anyways, while the verdict is still out as to if the steroids opened up his airways sufficiently, we do know for sure they made him irritable, fussy, and downright unpleasable. Hence the lack of smile on his face during our photo shoot...


So, what are you two up to at 11 months?

-Still wearing size 3 diaper
-Luke wearing 12 months clothes, Abbey wearing 9 month and even still squeezing into a few 6-9 month!
-Eating 3 meals of table food a day, and usually at least 1 snack, if not 2.
-Going to bed between 6:30-7:15pm each night.

One of the most interesting developments of this past month is I think we actually have a schedule down. I can't believe it has taken 11 months. Well, we've had schedules before, but they have been short lived before something changes. We've tried to put you both on the same set schedule a few times, and it just hasn't been what works for our family. You've had the same bedtime (and bedtime routine) for months and months, but that's been about it for set times of day. It's seemed like whenever we had what felt like a predictable schedule, you two would change your awake time, or need naps sooner in the morning, or need a later afternoon nap, or be able to tolerate a longer period of wakefulness, or whatever. It's crazy to me to read all these other blogs where the babies just fall into a predictable schedule early on and stick to it. That is SO not you two! We finally gave up trying to force anything many months ago, and we've just embraced the fact that we are lucky enough to have either one of us home with you at all times, or your caregivers come here to the house, so we have been able to accommodate each of your individual sleep needs. That being said, it's been SO nice to have you BOTH on the same, predictable schedule. It's made appointment scheduling and outings SO much easier to plan for! Here's how it's been the last month or so...

6:00am ish - wake up, nurse
7:30amish - Breakfast
9:00amish -nap (usually nurse first)
This nap is anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours
usually a snack after nap
12:15ish -lunch
2:00pm - nap (sometimes nurse first)
Same thing for this nap, anywhere from 45 min to 1.5 hours
nurse after nap
5:15pm -dinner
6:00pm- bath
Then lotion, jammies, nurse, family story and prayer time, and to bed. Depending on how tired you guys are, and how bath time goes, actual bedtime is anywhere between 6:30pm and 7:15pm.

I wondering if we would need to make your bedtime later as you moved into toddlerhood, but I checked in our book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins, and it states an appropriate bedtime for 12-15 month old is anywhere between 5:30pm-7:30pm. It's funny, 5:30pm seems crazy early to me, but Dr. Weissbluth preaches an early bedtime for better sleep, and for you two - so far- it's rang true. You guys sleep best and longest when we have you in your cribs by 6:30pm.


Of course, now that I have declared all this to all of blogland, it will probably be out the window tomorrow! Ha!



And, to each of you...

Lucas, my sweet son. Oh how miserable you were yesterday and today. It's hard for me to see you so unhappy, because normally you are the happiest, sweetest boy with such a pleasant, easy going disposition. We can tell you just don't feel well. Your poor little nose is all red from being wiped so much. Bless your little heart! We are praying that God heals your little body quickly. Thankfully, you are still eating and drinking just fine, and you are nursing just as well as ever. This one of the many times I am so glad I have been able to breastfeed you, because I love that I can comfort you and cuddle you in such a way.
When you aren't feeling crummy, you are so much fun! You love to smile and laugh so easily. Sometimes, all Daddy or I have to do is just look at you and you burst into giggles. It delights us! You are so content to just roll around and crawl around on the floor and play with toys. You are becoming much more "rough and tumble" these days...you love to be thrown on the couch, and you think it's the best thing ever when Daddy lets you wrestle with a pillow. You love playing with balls and you LOVE bouncing up and down while standing and holding on to something. Your legs are so strong! You are getting more and more brave each day. Daddy and I are going to be very busy chasing after you!
You are a really good sleeper right now, and that delights us too =) You have been going to bed easily and staying asleep until your sister wakes you in the morning. If you two didn't share a room, I just wonder how late you would sleep in the morning! A few of your naps have been disturbed lately due to coughing, and that's hard for all of us. But, you are usually pretty quick to rally and we love you for it. You still sing with us sometimes when we are rocking you before bed time, and just tonight we could hear you singing through the monitor after Daddy had left the room. It's so sweet!
You have such a tender heart. You are so sweet to your sister, always giving her kisses, and usually not throwing a fit when she outright steals your toys from you. You are a cuddlebug with Daddy and I on your terms. I say that because lately you'd rather be busy than be held! You love to explore and play and be free. But, when it's time, you are still an affectionate little guy.
Speaking of exploring, you sure are into everything these days! You love to crawl down the hall and push open doors and see what you can find behind them. You love to go into the kitchen and open up the one drawer for you kids and pull out all the tupperware. And your FAVORITE thing to do is open and close your dresser drawers. I swear, you could do that all day long!
You have started doing the most adorable thing lately: we introduced the word "no" a little bit ago, and you've got the hang of what are no-no's around our house. You will look at the remote on the coffee table and get a serious facial expression and shake your head back and forth. It's so hard for us not to bust out laughing!
You are a great little eater, and your favorites are cheese, green beans, cinnamon raisin bread, yogurt pancakes, eggs, and your very favorite is macaroni and cheese! (A boy after my own heart =) )
You are such a joy to be around, sweet boy, and your Daddy and I are so pleased God chose us to raise you.


And Abbey, my sweet little daughter, you have grown leaps and bounds this last month. Well, not in size, you are still such a little Peanut, but in development. You are moving all over and can pretty much get anywhere you want to be. Within a span of only a few days, you were pulling yourself up on everything and cruising all along the furniture. You look so adorable to me, because you are just so petite that at a glance you look too young to be doing all these things. But you've got big personality! =). You have such a strong will, my dear. Sometimes I totally dig it about you...like when I watch you refuse to give up on trying to do something you want to do. Sometimes I don't really dig it about you...like when you fight me because you don't want to do what I want you to do. You do not hesitate to let me know that you are NOT pleased with my plans for you, and you will twist and turn and wail in an attempt to get out of whatever it is. There are times I think it would be easier to try and diaper one of the cats. You have a flair for the dramatic to be sure =). I am trusting God will use it for His glory!!
You have been a pretty good sleeper too lately, although you are known to start chatting in your crib a little too early for the rest of us...sometimes around 4:30 or 5:00am we will hear you in there jabbering away, thinking it's time to get up. We wait to see if you'll fall back asleep on your own (which I think has only happened like twice) and then Daddy goes in and lays you back down (you are usually standing up) and gives you your binky back and tells you it's still night night time, and *usually* you will fall back asleep for a bit. We've been setting 6:00am as our limit for the earliest we will start our day around here. And although today it was 6:24am, it's usually like 6:01am that we hear you again =). That's okay, I've waited years to be awoken by the sounds of a babbling baby through the monitor.
It helps that you wake up SO happy. The other morning while I went and got settled on the couch to nurse you and your brother, Daddy went in to get you both up and changed, and as soon as he walked into the room you let out "HI DADA!" in the most cheerful voice. Melted him. And me.
Your favorite thing to do lately (besides steal whatever toy your brother has) is go sit and read books. You love to crawl over to your little shelf in our living room and you will look through book after book. You also sit so well when we read to you. I love this!
Your comprehension of verbal instructions is amazing us everyday! Just today we were playing in your nursery and I said "do you want to read 10 Little Ladybugs?" (your favorite book) and you said "da!" and I said "go get it then", and you got off my lap and started crawling to your bookcase!! Daddy and I were stunned!
You also love the toy remote that makes animal sounds and plays songs. You LOVE music. You almost always start to be-bop up and down when a tune starts to play!
You are still a great little eater, and your favorites lately have been cheese, yogurt pancakes, chicken nuggets, bananas, and spaghetti.
Your little smile is becoming even more precious as your teeth come in. You've got 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom.
Your little blonde hair seems to only want to grow right down the center, which would be perfect if I wanted you to sport a mohawk, but I don't. I am working on getting it to sweep to one side =).
You are so much fun, sweet girl, and Daddy and I are delighted God chose you to be our daughter.


We are ridiculously proud to be your parents.

Love,
Momma

Friday, February 25, 2011

Why you shouldn't feed your babies spaghetti when they are tired



Eye rubbing + spaghetti sauced stained fingers = big mess

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Three things

  1. Signing up -and subsequently paying in advance- to run a 5K in less than a month was one of the smartest things I have ever done in terms of motivation. Today it was so cold here that it snowed all morning. And then it just turned to cold rain. And I ran in it. Not because I wanted to. Oh man did I not want to. I hate being cold. And I really, really hate being wet in my clothes. And honestly, I don't really love running. Even back in the day when I was at my fittest I was never a runner. I could do Step class or Spin with the best of them, but never run. But a gym membership is not in the budget, and running is free. I am hoping as I get "better" at it I will start to enjoy it more. But I didn't run for any of those reasons today. I ran because I am committed to a deadline that is fast approaching. And so I ran. In the freezing cold rain. Yea me.

2. Have all you breastfeeding momma's out there heard about this? My Aunt sent me this link today and I am so grateful. You better believe we are claiming every deduction we can!


3. Dave and I were talking last night and both agreed life is feeling a little cluttered these days, so in an effort to simplify and slow down a bit, we are gonna have ourselves a little media fast. Very limited TV (just a handful of shows we like to sit down and watch together) and pretty much no internetting outside of a quick email check. Just for a bit.

Will be back soon.


But before I go, just a quick pic of the little one's to tide you over...



tee hee hee...=)

Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentine's Day

Dave and I really don't do much for Valentine's day, but we did attend our Church's Valentine's Day dinner on Saturday night. In fact, they asked us to speak at it this year! They told us they wanted a younger couple, a middle aged couple, and an older couple to speak on marriage. I told Dave we better take them up on their offer, since we won't be the "younger couple" much longer! Ha!

It was so nice because it was at our Church and it was at 5pm, AND they offered childcare. So we could go, drop the twins off downstairs, enjoy dinner, and then pick them up and still be home at a decent hour to put them to bed. We ended up getting home close to 8pm, which is LATE for Luke and Abbey, but, we have been very attentive to their sleep needs pretty much every single night for the last 10.5 months, and they weathered it well. Unfortunately, they were still wide awake and raring to go at 6am, and just fussier than usual until their morning nap. Oh well. =).

Not only was it a wonderful dinner and a great night of fellowship, but it felt like a "shift" in our life as parents. The babies did wonderful downstairs. They know the nursery, but because the childcare was for all ages they were in a different room on Saturday. We stayed for just a few minutes to help the babies acclimate, and then left. They didn't cry or fuss when we left, and they were playing happily when we went to pick them up.

I suppose we could have been doing this kind of thing all along, but here's the thing...I don't like to leave my babies. I don't do it well.

But, it's good for me. It's good for my marriage. And, it's good for them too!

And speaking of "good for my marriage", I guess that is what's on my mind this Valentine's day...making my marriage more of a priority. These last almost 11 months have been all consuming with the twins -as it should have been- but now that they are almost a year old, (and they don't need to nurse as often or for as long), a new chapter is unfolding.

And just like making time to take care of myself, making our marriage a priority isn't just going to happen. We must make it happen.

A few weeks ago my work hosted a party. We put the twins to sleep for the night, and my sister Natalie came over to sit at the house while we were gone. Dave and I had SO MUCH fun together. It was the first time we had been out just the two of us in months, and only the 4th time since the twins have come. It was like we had forgotten what it was like to get out just the two of us. He is my very best friend, and I just relished an evening out with him. It was good for us.

And truly, one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is parents with a happy, healthy marriage. I want them to see us making our marriage a priority too.

So, even though we don't really celebrate today...Happy Valentine's Day Davey...let's plan another date night soon...

This picture makes me smile for a lot of reasons, but one is because Lucas and Abbey are with us there too, we just didn't know it yet... =)

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Pictures

I guess when you share a womb, you get used to being on top of each other. Abbey and Luke are ALWAYS up in each others business like this, and it rarely phases either one of them!




Our smiley, toothy daughter...



The shirt says it all...



Silly girl...



Abbeygirl LOVES to make this toy sing...









Hooray for breakfast time!



Bath time is another favorite around here...


Happy boy...




Happy girl...

Sick and Tired of being sick and tired

Enough already.

Monday night both babies developed wicked coughs, so yesterday I took them to their doctor. Little did I know at that taking two busy, fussy 10 month olds to the doctor by myself would be one of the easiest parts of the day. Luckily, our doctor is WONDERFUL, and decided that ordering them steroids would hopefully help things and prevent anything further from happening. Yea.

Seems simple enough.

And in theory, it was. Actually getting our hands on the meds was another story. Three separate trips to the pharmacy across town (hard to find a place that can compound it into a liquid and without alcohol) and I finally had my hands on them. I literally cried tears of gratefulness as I drove away. I was (am) SO worried about my babies, and I hated that the doctor had said we needed to get this med in them as soon as possible, and it was nearly seven hours later that I finally could even pick them up.

And today I am finding that while my doctor did warn me the steroids were likely to make the babies "irritable", I believe a more accurate warning would have been "Satan himself is going to borrow your children for awhile". They fuss and cry and reach for me to pick them up, and I do, and they instantly fuss and cry and reach to be put down. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Oh. My. Word.

It's not even 11am, and they are down for their third nap of the day. The day started at 4:30am, and they've been tolerating less than 1.5 hours of wakefulness and then going down for 20-40 minute catnaps.



Oh, and to the creators of Airborne: You suck. You had me all hopeful last night that I was assaulting any bugs wanting to overtake me when I felt sniffly and chugged a class of your vitamins, only to wake up this morning all stuffy and hoarse myself.



Ahem.



In an effort to change my tone, I am going to take cues from Beth and Sarah, and focus on all that I have to be grateful for...


...I am grateful I only have to work 15 hours a week outside of the house, and that today is a day I am home all day, with no where to go and nothing to do except meet the needs of my babies...

...I am grateful I live in a country where I have easy access to doctors and medicine, for there are many mothers out there who have to watch their children needlessly suffer...

...I am grateful for the amazing health insurance our children have, for there are many, many, TOO MANY children out there without any insurance...

...I am grateful for my husband's job. Although it takes a leap of faith every single term trusting that God will provide, this term it allows him to not have to leave until 9:00am and to be home by 3:30pm most days...there are so many single parents out there, and I do not know how they do it. Lord, give them strength...

...although two tiny viles of medicine cost us $70 last night, I will not complain, but instead be very grateful God has provided the money to pay for that without hesitation. There are many in the world do not have that luxury...

...I am grateful that for the majority of their 10 months of life, Lucas and Abigail have been very healthy. Lord, please be with those parents who have chronically ill children...bring healing and peace and comfort and mercy...

...I am grateful for my sister, who was so gracious as we messed up her entire day yesterday. And who never once made us feel bad about all the work that she missed in an effort to allow both David and I to get to our jobs. Lord, be with those that don't have any family to help them...

...I am grateful for family and friends that will pray for us...

...I am grateful that I even have two unpleasable babies today. Lord, I can close my eyes and remember how much I longed to be a mother. Thank you for letting me be. There are many women out there who would give anything to be in my shoes...


Thank you, Father. I am truly blessed beyond measure.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Things happening on March 13th, 2011...


  • Our twins will be exactly two weeks away from their First Birthday.

  • I will turn Thirty Years Old.

And...

  • I will run my very first 5K.

The last bullet point has me freaked out the most.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Hours of entertainment

Dear Poppa Bruce,

When you installed the cat door for Lucy & Ruby...




...did you know how much fun it would be for me to play with?


It's one of my favorite toys in the house.

So thank you!

Love you!
Lucas

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Baby steps

One of Abbey's favorite things to do lately is take Daddy by the hands and walk around the house...



Our baby girl is growing pretty fast too...

Friday, February 4, 2011

Then & Now

Luke's first time in the exersaucer, July 2010




Luke, too cool to go into the exersaucer, but will now stand next to it and play, February 2011




Our baby boy is growing up fast...



Thursday, February 3, 2011

Well now this feels strange...

I'm home with the flu today. Fever, body aches, chills, general fatigue...etc. Luckily, today is David's day off, so he has been home all day. I called in sick to work and did not go in this afternoon.

Just now, in an effort to get some fresh air and give me a chance to rest, David bundled up the babes (it's cold here, but not blizzard cold like so many of you are dealing with) and took them for a walk.

And as he was heading out the door something occurred to me.

This will be the very first time I have been alone in our house since becoming a mother.

Crazy, huh?

There have been plenty of times where I have gone out by myself, and a handful of times where David has taken one baby with him to run an errand, but never in the last 10 months have I been alone inside this house.

And I am very aware of it.

It's neither good nor bad. Just...strange.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

One of those days...

Or a handful of them, really.

We've got teething and stomach bugs and fussiness and fitful sleep over here.

And my mind, body and soul are feeling worn thin.


But do you wanna know something about even the very hardest, most exhausting day of parenting?




It still beats any day of infertility.




As I crawl into bed at 8:37pm tonight, hoping to get more than the 4+ hours of sleep that I have logged the last 3 nights in a row, I am thinking of all the nights that I begged God to please let me be a Momma. And I can close my eyes and remember the emptiness and longing that accompanied that begging. And tonight I am thinking of all the women out there with that very same request on their hearts right now. If you wouldn't mind, would you say a prayer for some of my friends who are waiting to be exhausted by babies? Wonderful women, like Faith, and Amy, and Lianna, and Kelly. Women who will someday - please Lord, let it be soon - be amazing mothers.

Thank you.

And Good Night.