I can't believe tomorrow starts August... In just about 6 weeks, my babies will turn 1. Aside from all the emotional implications of that statement, this fact stands out in my mind: it's time to start planning the birthday bash.
I say "bash" because we're going to include my and Barry's birthday as well. The twins were actually born on Barry's 30th birthday, and my 30th birthday is only 3 weeks before theirs. Needless to say, Barry didn't get a real party last year.
So we're going to have a big party. Hopefully we'll manage to keep the guest list to under 40 friends plus ourselves and both grandmas. Yes, both my mom and Barry's mom have plans to come here for the weekend, and that excites me beyond anything else. They were such a big help to me in the month after the twins were born that they deserve to share in the joy of the occasion.
Right now all we have is a tentative menu and guest list. I need to start putting together all my lists of stuff to do and buy...
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
not much
It seems that not much is going on in our lives right now. We don't have many places to go, or people to see. Yet, there are many decisions we have to make, and projects to finish around the house.
The main stress right now is that we have two beater cars (in addition to our nice '08 minivan), that we don't know what to do with. In October we'll be in a position to upgrade to one nicer used car, but they are both breaking down right now, and it's tough to sell them in that condition. So Barry is driving the minivan for the carpool this week, and we have to decide what to do for the next two months.
The good news is that it's been raining quite a bit here which leads to the bad news that the yard work just keeps piling up. We were pretty wiped after coming home from vacation last week, and then it rained heavily the night before Barry was going to mow. He got the back yard done, but didn't have time for the front yard before his shift started.
So it's the mundane adult issues that are getting to us right now. The twins are having fun playing and exploring the world, and are oblivious to the fact that the lawn isn't mowed. We feel blessed.
The main stress right now is that we have two beater cars (in addition to our nice '08 minivan), that we don't know what to do with. In October we'll be in a position to upgrade to one nicer used car, but they are both breaking down right now, and it's tough to sell them in that condition. So Barry is driving the minivan for the carpool this week, and we have to decide what to do for the next two months.
The good news is that it's been raining quite a bit here which leads to the bad news that the yard work just keeps piling up. We were pretty wiped after coming home from vacation last week, and then it rained heavily the night before Barry was going to mow. He got the back yard done, but didn't have time for the front yard before his shift started.
So it's the mundane adult issues that are getting to us right now. The twins are having fun playing and exploring the world, and are oblivious to the fact that the lawn isn't mowed. We feel blessed.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Recovering from vacation
It's often surprising how much we feel like we need a vacation when we get home from a vacation. Barry's next shift does not start until Monday, so we do have some breathing room after the long trip.
We spent 1 week in the Austin area at two different houses. The twins had fun playing with their uncles, aunts, and cousins. They also enjoyed getting used to 2 different dogs. Both dogs did really well around the babies once the initial hyper-welcome period ended.
We drove all night and arrived at Barry's brother's house on Wednesday morning at 7 am. We relaxed there for a few days, and did a little shopping. We ate a delicious lunch at Chuy's and the kids split the cheese quesadilla and mac 'n cheese of the kids menu.
On Saturday morning we packed everthing up and met my brother and his family at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Research Center. We looked at the pretty flowers and trees, and walked a trail. Then we headed to their house for the next few days.
The twins had their first time in the swimming pool and they both loved it. Ryan was a little hesitant at first because he got startled by some buckets in the kids play area that were loudly dumping water everywhere. They loved being in the water though. We took them out for a snack at one point, and both started crawling back to the water when they finished. Then Barry and I had a wonderful date night away from the babies bedtime routine.
The only real mishap was that they didn't sleep well on Saturday night because I bought a different brand formula at the local grocery store. Apparently it gave them an upset tummy all night. But we went to WalMart the next day and bought the brand they are used to, and they slept great the rest of the trip.
We left Austin Tuesday evening a little before 6 pm (CST) and arrived home at around 12:30 am (MST). The twins took a bottle at 6 am, but then slept until about 7:15.
Here's this week's update on the twins:
Alyna's new game is to push (walking) things across the room. She does this with our music table that has four plastic legs, so we bought a push/ride toy the other day.
Ryan is climbing higher areas every day. He can climb into your lap and sit on our legs all by himself. If there was a staircase in proportion to his height I think he could actually walk up it step by step. He's very strong. Barry likes to challenge his strength by picking him up by the wrists with his arms bent.
They are both now using the sippy cup on their own which is really nice. Sometimes they get it upside down so the drink won't come out, but they know how to tip it up for drinking now.
New foods they like are: teddy grahams, cheese quesadilla, grilled cheese sandwiches, noodle rings in chicken broth, and Ryan eats the turkey/chicken sticks made for toddlers
We spent 1 week in the Austin area at two different houses. The twins had fun playing with their uncles, aunts, and cousins. They also enjoyed getting used to 2 different dogs. Both dogs did really well around the babies once the initial hyper-welcome period ended.
We drove all night and arrived at Barry's brother's house on Wednesday morning at 7 am. We relaxed there for a few days, and did a little shopping. We ate a delicious lunch at Chuy's and the kids split the cheese quesadilla and mac 'n cheese of the kids menu.
On Saturday morning we packed everthing up and met my brother and his family at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Research Center. We looked at the pretty flowers and trees, and walked a trail. Then we headed to their house for the next few days.
The twins had their first time in the swimming pool and they both loved it. Ryan was a little hesitant at first because he got startled by some buckets in the kids play area that were loudly dumping water everywhere. They loved being in the water though. We took them out for a snack at one point, and both started crawling back to the water when they finished. Then Barry and I had a wonderful date night away from the babies bedtime routine.
The only real mishap was that they didn't sleep well on Saturday night because I bought a different brand formula at the local grocery store. Apparently it gave them an upset tummy all night. But we went to WalMart the next day and bought the brand they are used to, and they slept great the rest of the trip.
We left Austin Tuesday evening a little before 6 pm (CST) and arrived home at around 12:30 am (MST). The twins took a bottle at 6 am, but then slept until about 7:15.
Here's this week's update on the twins:
Alyna's new game is to push (walking) things across the room. She does this with our music table that has four plastic legs, so we bought a push/ride toy the other day.
Ryan is climbing higher areas every day. He can climb into your lap and sit on our legs all by himself. If there was a staircase in proportion to his height I think he could actually walk up it step by step. He's very strong. Barry likes to challenge his strength by picking him up by the wrists with his arms bent.
They are both now using the sippy cup on their own which is really nice. Sometimes they get it upside down so the drink won't come out, but they know how to tip it up for drinking now.
New foods they like are: teddy grahams, cheese quesadilla, grilled cheese sandwiches, noodle rings in chicken broth, and Ryan eats the turkey/chicken sticks made for toddlers
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Everything but the kitchen sink
I'm packing today for our week long vacation to Austin, TX. Both Barry's brother and my brother (and respective families) live there. They live an hour apart in suburbs on opposite ends of the city, so we're splitting the week between the two houses.
My packing list is 2 columns long on a Microsoft Word page, and aside from clothes and toiletries, includes the following (plus some):
Sleeping: 2 pack 'n plays, sheets, blankets, cuddlies, pacifiers, 1 swing (if it will fit)
Feeding: 2 booster chairs, Baby food, 8 spoons, 1 can formul, 8 bottles, bottle mixing container, 6 bibs, 6 washcloths, 4 burp rags, bottle brush, disposable bibs, bottle dry rack
Toys: music table, music ball, bucket of loose toys, see 'n say
Bath: soap, shampoo, bath toys, washcloth, kneeling pad
Diapering: 1 box diapers, wipes box, extra wipes package, 2 travel wipes, brown changing pad, Disposable changing pads, small diaper pail, trash bags
Misc: Baby gate, Diaper bags, Teething chillers, stroller, IPod – van cord, charger, IPOD Dock, book readers, camera, humidifier, 2 DVDs, night light
Add our suitcases, pillows, and snack foods... our van will be packed full. So much fun...
My packing list is 2 columns long on a Microsoft Word page, and aside from clothes and toiletries, includes the following (plus some):
Sleeping: 2 pack 'n plays, sheets, blankets, cuddlies, pacifiers, 1 swing (if it will fit)
Feeding: 2 booster chairs, Baby food, 8 spoons, 1 can formul, 8 bottles, bottle mixing container, 6 bibs, 6 washcloths, 4 burp rags, bottle brush, disposable bibs, bottle dry rack
Toys: music table, music ball, bucket of loose toys, see 'n say
Bath: soap, shampoo, bath toys, washcloth, kneeling pad
Diapering: 1 box diapers, wipes box, extra wipes package, 2 travel wipes, brown changing pad, Disposable changing pads, small diaper pail, trash bags
Misc: Baby gate, Diaper bags, Teething chillers, stroller, IPod – van cord, charger, IPOD Dock, book readers, camera, humidifier, 2 DVDs, night light
Add our suitcases, pillows, and snack foods... our van will be packed full. So much fun...
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Growing fast
The kiddos are growing like crazy now that they eat more solid foods. Alyna is 18 pounds, and Ryan is just under that. They reach the 10 month old point this week, and I'm happy that they seem to be on track to reach the 20 pound mark around their birthday. I'll be glad to turn their car seats around so I can see them better.
We measured them for a jumper my mom will make, and Ryan is 16 inches from the shoulder to the back of the knee while Alyna is only 13 inches. The oddest thing is that they have the same chest measurement yet clothes fit them so differently. Ryan reminds me of the praying mantis I saw the other day. He's so long and lanky.
Alyna's yoga pose
The nursery worker yesterday said Ryan crawled up in her lap and snuggled in so tight she thought for sure he was asleep. Nope, he was just cuddling.
We measured them for a jumper my mom will make, and Ryan is 16 inches from the shoulder to the back of the knee while Alyna is only 13 inches. The oddest thing is that they have the same chest measurement yet clothes fit them so differently. Ryan reminds me of the praying mantis I saw the other day. He's so long and lanky.
Alyna's yoga pose
Ryan cuddles with Grandma (or anyone who will hold him)
The nursery worker yesterday said Ryan crawled up in her lap and snuggled in so tight she thought for sure he was asleep. Nope, he was just cuddling.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Letting go
The past couple days, but yesterday especially, Alyna has been practicing maintaining her balance standing up when she lets go of the furniture. She's very proud of herself when she stands there for 5 or 6 seconds before squating down to sit. We applaud every time to encourage her.
Ryan did it today too for a couple seconds, but I think it was an accident. He's much too impatient to "practice" standing still. He just wants to go. He'll let go of something, turn and reach for something else, but he rarely just stands still even when he's holding on to something. I know that one day we'll turn around and he'll just be walking across the room.
Alyna and Ryan have a fun new game they play together. Alyna grabbed the plastic keys yesterday and held them out to Ryan. When he grabbed the other side, she didn't let go. She pulled back. They did this several times quietly playing their new game, and not really caring who ended up with the keys when the tugging gave way.
Nap time has been moved from 9 and 1 to 9:30 and 1:30 or 2. This has helped the evenings go smoother, and they've been napping longer again too. Sometimes 9 am comes and Ryan gets fussy because he thinks it's nap time, but if we can make it to 9:10 he is usually happy again until 9:30.
Alyna is starting to refuse to eat baby food (not that she ever liked it to begin with). They now have to have something to chew for their lunch and dinner or they just won't eat at all. The problem with this is that they still don't have any teeth so any food has to be soft enough to gum down. They love mac 'n cheese, cooked carrots, green beans, toast, graham crackers, rice rusks, diced pears, and cheerios (of course). Ryan will also eat diced bananas, and bites of cheese. Alyna is much more picky. Neither one likes peas, potatoes, or tomato sauce. We also have to be careful handing them anything whole, like graham crackers, because they'll stuff way to much in their mouth.
If anyone else has ideas of food for this stage I'd love to hear it.
Ryan did it today too for a couple seconds, but I think it was an accident. He's much too impatient to "practice" standing still. He just wants to go. He'll let go of something, turn and reach for something else, but he rarely just stands still even when he's holding on to something. I know that one day we'll turn around and he'll just be walking across the room.
Alyna and Ryan have a fun new game they play together. Alyna grabbed the plastic keys yesterday and held them out to Ryan. When he grabbed the other side, she didn't let go. She pulled back. They did this several times quietly playing their new game, and not really caring who ended up with the keys when the tugging gave way.
Nap time has been moved from 9 and 1 to 9:30 and 1:30 or 2. This has helped the evenings go smoother, and they've been napping longer again too. Sometimes 9 am comes and Ryan gets fussy because he thinks it's nap time, but if we can make it to 9:10 he is usually happy again until 9:30.
Alyna is starting to refuse to eat baby food (not that she ever liked it to begin with). They now have to have something to chew for their lunch and dinner or they just won't eat at all. The problem with this is that they still don't have any teeth so any food has to be soft enough to gum down. They love mac 'n cheese, cooked carrots, green beans, toast, graham crackers, rice rusks, diced pears, and cheerios (of course). Ryan will also eat diced bananas, and bites of cheese. Alyna is much more picky. Neither one likes peas, potatoes, or tomato sauce. We also have to be careful handing them anything whole, like graham crackers, because they'll stuff way to much in their mouth.
If anyone else has ideas of food for this stage I'd love to hear it.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
More new things
It seems that every week they learn new things. It's a mixed blessing at all they learned this week because Daddy is away on business, but Grandpa and Grandma (my parents) are here to see it.
Ryan: started clapping, started waving when he sees you, lets go of what he's holding onto and turns to grab something else to step to it, puts cheerios in his mouth himself
Alyna: walking along furniture (she'd taken a step or two last week but now she really goes), waves and says hi all the time, does her butterfly wings imitation every time we reach the butterfly page in their new book, stands up facing the back of the couch and lets go to fall back on the cushions Weeeeee! (with us right there of course), puts cheerios in her mouth herself, got upset when Grandma said they were going outside but then stopped to change her diaper
Since they've been doing so well feeding themselves cheerios this week we also gave them bite size pieces of green beans and broken pieces of graham cracker yesterday. They absolutely love mac 'n cheese. It's neat to have them eat more foods, but now they want that instead of their baby food. Another challenge in the never ending saga of parenthood.
Ryan: started clapping, started waving when he sees you, lets go of what he's holding onto and turns to grab something else to step to it, puts cheerios in his mouth himself
Alyna: walking along furniture (she'd taken a step or two last week but now she really goes), waves and says hi all the time, does her butterfly wings imitation every time we reach the butterfly page in their new book, stands up facing the back of the couch and lets go to fall back on the cushions Weeeeee! (with us right there of course), puts cheerios in her mouth herself, got upset when Grandma said they were going outside but then stopped to change her diaper
Since they've been doing so well feeding themselves cheerios this week we also gave them bite size pieces of green beans and broken pieces of graham cracker yesterday. They absolutely love mac 'n cheese. It's neat to have them eat more foods, but now they want that instead of their baby food. Another challenge in the never ending saga of parenthood.
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