Flint's Fist

I have been putting together a Treasure Box for the girls. I need to get some more stuff for it, but so far they love playing with it. Right now we have a good mix of plastic, wood and metal objects. I have some cloth things that were in the washing machine while I took the picture.

My favorite object so far is the big block of wooden cheese. That was my best find. I bought it for $.66 because I thought it was funny. When I got home I noticed it had a sticker on it with the company name and that it actually was a kid toy and not the completely random ugly cheese thing usually found in Wisconsin. I looked it up online and that block of wooden cheese is $17. Nice find!

The girls' favorite object is whatever the other one happens to be playing with.

Toddlers in Tiaras

I think we may have found the girls' calling. All they need now is a big makeup job, fake lashes and some bedazzled clothes.

Share and Share Alike

We had a very good day today. I took loads of cute pictures. We started by playing with a new toy. The girls' friend Lily has this and the girls seemed to like it, so I set it up for them after visiting Lily earlier this week. Arya is standing at it with my leg behind her butt to hold her up. Both girls love this toy as it lights up and plays music.
Then everyone got a little cranky, so they both got picked up. They love to be held all smooshed together.

Then they played on the ground. They are either learning how to share or steal, I'm not sure which. It doesn't matter if they both have pacifiers, they always want the one the other kid has.

They gave up on the pacifiers and played with Arya's shoes. So much fun!Eiley's hair is just a little bit longer than Arya's and it's starting to stand up.

I let them try my banana. After nursing the fruit part instead of actually eating it, Arya decided the peal was much more appetizing. She gnawed on it until I took it away from her. Apparently she prefers bitter over sweet foods.

They were not very fond of napping today. Eiley took a 30 minute nap after the gym from 10:30 to 11:00. She didn't take another nap until 4:00. I tried at 3:00 because she was very tired. She was making lots of noise, so I went to plug her pacifier back in. I walked in the room to her throwing the pacifier and giggling. I laughed, which probably ruined any chance of her sleeping then. I left her for a few more minutes, but could tell she wasn't going to sleep. I walked back in to her rocking herself back and forth by pulling on the crib bars. She is quickly figuring out how to move herself around.

Tea for Two

Little hands have learned to grab and they are very interested in cups. They want a drink of everything I'm drinking. They're pretty good at drinking out of a cup, but still dribble a little down their chins. I make sure any hot drinks I drink around them are not really hot, but are more lukewarm. Eiley dove her hand into my cup of green tea this morning. I thought it was funny, so I grabbed my camera and put my cup on the counter for her to grab. I should have known what the result would be. It was a lesson for both of us.

Doublemint

If Eiley didn't have a scratch, I'd have a hard time telling who was who in these pics. Yesterday I was looking at them thinking they look really different. Today I fed Eiley and put her in the jumper before grabbing the real Eiley to feed. Ooops. I'd fed Arya, not Eiley. From certain angles they look so much alike that they fool even me.

Crying Wolf

When Cork is watching the kids and I'm in another room, he loves to call me in to see things. Usually, it's something I've seen before. In his defense, I spend all day with them, so I usually see things first. But, usually the things he calls me in for are boogers, spit up, drool, farts and poop. He does call me in for other things, but there are far more booger beckonings than significant summonings.

The girls were both up at 5:00 am this morning making noise in their cribs. If we get them before they are too worked up, we can usually get them back to sleep without a feeding. It was early and we had both gone to bed late. I stayed up late finishing The Art of Racing in the Rain (an amazing book) and Cork stayed up late watching the Olympics. I grabbed Arya to reswaddle and Cork grabbed Eiley. We got them settled, headed back to our room and then Cork tells me that Eiley was on all fours in her crib. I would have loved to see it. I can't blame him though since my brain doesn't work that early when I've been up over and over and haven't slept much.

I don't have a picture of her on all fours, but she looks so cute reading her book, and it's the closest thing I have to her on all fours.

Kirby and Dyson

It amazes me how fast the girls are at eating now. They used to take forever. I lived on my couch. Everything we did was planned around their eating. I don't mind nursing in public, but it's much harder to discreetly nurse two at a time than it is to nurse one. Now, we can pick up and go at virtually any time. This stage is commonly called the honeymoon period for twins. We're out of the newborn stage, but they aren't mobile. They still fit in infant car seats and I don't have mess with buckles every time I get them in and out of the car. I can still carry their seats and don't always need a stroller. They're eating solids, but we can skip it if we're busy and I can just breastfeed them.All in all, breastfeeding is so much easier and faster now than bottle feeding would be for us. The only issue I have is that the girls often refuse to tandem nurse. I can still get them to tandem in the middle of the night. They must be starving when we get home from the gym, because that's usually the only time I can get them to tandem during the day. The rest of the day, when I try to tandem feed them, they scream and flail arms, hitting each other. I'm so glad they've upgraded from their Dirt Devil days or I would still be living on my couch.

We're Here to Pump (clap) You Up!

Arya and Eiley are getting big. They are now 13 lbs 4.5 oz and 13 lbs 12.5 oz. I have been lugging them both around in the seats since about 8 weeks after they were born. I will use my stroller(s) when I need to. I just carry the two of them in their seats if I'm running into a play group, the gym or any where like that. The car seats are each any where from 10-18 lbs according to online stats. I don't know for sure, but I think it's more than 10. Even if it's only 10, I'm lugging 23 lbs on each arm every time I walk somewhere. I get more comments about me carrying the seats than I do about them being twins, which is a good change of pace from when they are in the double stroller.

Mr. Mom

Cork does a great job helping me out at night and on the weekends. He rarely hears them in the middle of the night, but will get out of bed when I nudge him. Last night I got both girls, fed them and then asked him to put them back in their cribs. He grabbed Arya, swaddled her and this conversation followed:
C: Who do I have, Grace?
V: What?
C: Who do I have, Grace?
V: We don't have a child named Grace.
C: Yeah, we don't. Who do I have?
V: You have Arya.
C: Okay.
Cork left the room with her and came back a few seconds later to get Eiley.
C: Who did I have?
V: Arya!
C: Then she's in the wrong crib.

I was laughing and kept laughing as I laid back down to go to sleep. We have both done a few things in the middle of the night that are pretty funny, but neither of us has done anything for a while. It's easy to do strange things at the beginning when you are both up constantly with a baby and no one gets a break. By tonight Corky was calling the girls Grace and Faith.

The Call of the Wild

I don't know why, but Sikozu comes running whenever I turn on my breast pump. I was up pumping a lot when the girls were first born and we bottle fed at night. He would always visit me no matter where he had been when the pump turned on. I don't know if he likes the sound or if he knows that when I'm pumping my arms are kid free. Either way, he definitely knows the sound and hunts me down when I turn it on. I'm sure I've reinforced this as I always give him attention when he comes to visit.

The pump seems to travel around the house as it's been in our room, the kids' room, the office, the kitchen, the living room and the family room. I'm diligent about washing and sterilizing the parts, but obviously I wasn't too concerned about the case. I gave it a good bath after taking this picture because it was gross.

Seasons of Love

Five hundred twenty five thousand size hundred minutes is how long our winter feels. Okay, maybe not that long. We do get all the seasons here and I love watching things change. It's staying lighter longer at night and the sun is rising earlier each day. We won't actually get into Spring for a while yet, but the sun is high in the sky and we are warming up a bit.

The girls both have RSV, so I'm not taking them to the gym kidcare. That's probably where they picked it up, but we don't need to pass it on. Their doctor let me know at their six month check up that RSV was going around. She took one look at them and knew that's what it was. They even have a nice body rash to go with their other symptoms. She mentioned that alternating between the warm house and cold outside will help clear their chests. I decided to take advantage of the weather since it was 34 and sunny today. We got to chat with a bunch of neighbors since they were taking advantage of the nice weather as well.

Elementary My Dear

We had a really rough day today. I spent most of the day on the couch with one kid or another. They both have RSV and are not feeling well. Eiley is on the tail end of it and is doing okay. Arya just started getting symptoms of it last night and is feeling awful today.

We had their 6 month check up today, which was nice because the doctor could confirm their RSV without me making a special visit for her to just tell me to make sure they don't have a fever. Neither wanted to be put down once we got home and I had a few things to get done before spending the rest of the day sitting with them. This was my solution. I didn't get a work out in today, but going up and down the stairs over and over with them worked my legs enough. They enjoyed this and it was comfortable. I could easily go out in public like this. I think I may do this the next time I'm at the grocery store. I tried to wear Arya facing in, but she wanted nothing to do with it, so I turned her around. Eiley spent most of her time playing with my hair even though I put it in a pony tail so it would be out of her face.

If It Looks Like a Duck

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it must be one of my farting children. I had some coffee with cream yesterday for the first time since I stopped drinking milk. It was amazing. Better yet, it didn't seem to bother their stomachs or make them cranky. I don't know if it was that or something else I ate, but my two girls were audibly gassy today. At one point I picked them both up off of the ground at the same time to be serenaded by a duet of barking spiders. They were happy as could be and enjoyed my laughing at them. Based on my reaction, I'm sure they will be laughing at themselves soon and then everyone in public will know that I laugh when my kids fart.

Mad Eye Monday

Today I took a little trip to the eye doctor. The woman who dilated my pupils did a piss poor job. I could tell she'd done a bad job since I could continue reading my book with my left eye well after my right eye's vision was very blurry up close. I honestly don't know what she did, but the result made me laugh. I looked crazy. I should have been out on State Street in Madison singing song lyrics from a poster board or yelling at people like Scanner Dan.

To top it off, the doctor's office gave me this awesome pair of sunglasses to wear home under my normal glasses. Maybe I should make this my everyday sunglasses.

Happy as a Clam

Our adorable little girls were baptized today. Sixteen family members joined us for the church service and lunch at our place after. I lie a little when I say that the girls were happy as clams. They woke up early and barely napped before the service. They were tired and Eiley was still sick. Cork and I both ended up standing in the back of the service, each with a kid, before the baptism. The girls are usually really good in church, but we also usually have a few kids around us that keep them entertained. We weren't in our usual place and they got bored.

My mom, Nana, made their gorgeous dresses. I picked out the pattern, but she did all the work, so I can't take credit for the dresses at all. I can take credit for most of the food, including a great chocolate cake decorated with the design for the baptismal bulletin. I love cooking, especially for a crowd and had so much fun preparing things for today.

One Small Step for Arya, One Giant Leap for Arya-Cini

Six Months! I can't believe it. To celebrate her sixth month my little rice ball* decided to finally find her toes. She's known about Eiley's toes for awhile now, but hadn't found her own. Today she picked her little legs up and was amazed at what she found on the end of them. I love watching their little minds grow.

Eiley celebrated her birthday continuing her really bad cold. My poor child hasn't felt well in days. I feel so bad for her. I've been getting up in the middle of the night to the sound of her coughing. I pick her up even though she's not crying because I hate to hear that hacking cough and feel like she'd be more comfortable if she were up right.


*Arancini are delicious little fried balls of risotto, usually stuffed with a little meat, cheese and veggies. Arya got the nick name Arya-cini soon after birth. I don't know how it started, but it fits, especially since Arya is an Italian name.

Cake

Arya and Eiley will be 6 months tomorrow. They must be eating the same cake Alice ate because they are so much bigger than they were at birth. Next to them are the clothes they wore home from the hospital. The clothes were huge at the time and they fit in them for three and a half months. We could have easily used preemie sized clothes.

I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I barely remember the first two months as they were spent in a sleep deprived hallucinatory haze. I don't know how I would have survived those months without help from my parents. They cooked, cleaned and did lots of chores around my house so Cork and I could focus on the babies.

Ob-La-Di

Sometimes, life gives you very difficult decisions. Do you stick with something new, or do you go back to what you know and love?

Uncle Greg

The girls love their uncle Greg. I've been working with them for months to roll from back to front. I've tried toys, flipping them to show them and just about everything else I can think of. I was holding Arya this morning and Eiley was on the ground in front of us. Greg walked in the room and said "hi" to them. The girls got super excited and Eiley rolled so she could find him. It was so cute. Of course she wouldn't do it again, so there is no photo of that.

I've spent a few days at my parent's house this week since Cork is in meetings for work and is basically not home even though he didn't travel anywhere. It's been really nice to be here since I have help, especially since the kids both have colds and have been a bit cranky. We were all hanging out in the basement today when I snapped this.

Sit Ups?

We were practicing sitting today. As you can see, it wasn't going so well. This would be me dropping the camera and grabbing Eiley as the camera finally decided to snap the picture.


Actually, the kids are starting to sit really well. We do topple some times because it's hard to keep two kids sitting at once and play with them. I need a few more hands for that. They sit on carpet, so if they fall it doesn't hurt, or at least they don't act like it hurts. At least I have fast hands so they rarely make it to the ground before I catch them.

Artistic Flair

When I was little, I had this teddy bear named Teddy. Teddy was purple and smelly and not very cute. I still have Teddy and if I wasn't at my parent's house, I'd post a picture of the real Teddy. Since I don't have her, I'll post the next best thing. This is a portrait I drew of Teddy on my parent's wall. They were changing wall paper and allowed us to draw on the wall beneath. This time they are stripping the paper and painting instead, so my masterpiece will be painted over, never to be discovered again.

In another masterpiece, I drew what I think may be a man. I think I should be drawing for Family Guy.

Tummy Time

It's been almost 6 months since the girls were born. Which means I've been working out for almost 4 months. I had about 5 months of sitting on the couch when I count up the weeks before and after they were born when I either wasn't allowed to do much of anything or was nursing almost 24/7. Today's pics are shots of my belly. I got a couple tiny stretch marks around my belly button, but you have to look hard to see them IRL, I don't know if you can see them in the pics. My scar looks amazing. My stomach muscles are still about one finger width apart, but that's much better than the three they used to be. You can see how my belly button still will sink into my belly as I'm doing situps.