It's hard for me to believe that almost exactly two years ago, Travis and I were just finding out that we were pregnant. A couple of days later we found out it was twins. These last two years have been a whirlwind, to say the least. I look at the calendar today and it shocks me to see that Eli and Jude are 18 months old. It seems like they were just entering this world... but they've been here for a year and a half! I noticed earlier this week when they were both wearing "big boy jeans" with a snap and a zipper that they suddenly look like children. Where did my babies go?
It seems like their lives have been measured in numbers. 34 weeks pregnant. 14 days in the NICU. 24 teeth between two mouths. Hundreds of Bruises. Thousands of steps. Millions of smiles. Countless tears. Someone once told me that the days are long but the years are short. They were right.
So, a quick little video of the boys at play. Jude especially has become more fascinated by the leapfrog learning table, and it shows in his dancing and clapping to the thing as he plays with it too =) They're also beginning to respond to requests very well and can put away their toys into the proper places (most of the time)! Ahh.. life is exciting with the boys.
The day was pretty nice today, a bit hot but very sunny. I decided it would be a great time for a park trip! The boys have been mostly restless for the last couple of weeks with Alex recovering from surgery, especially when it was rainy and nasty outside, so I figured a trip to the park would be a wonderful excursion for the little guys to get some energy out.
So, we packed up the stroller and a little cooler full of snacks and drinks for our hour-long sojourn to the apartment complex's playground. I really can't stress enough how convenience this playground is for us; the boys love to go there every time, and I think they might even enjoy it more than swimming in the pool, which is good since Alex can't get in the water yet (shortly she'll be able to though)! As you can see in the video, the little explorers are into all of the environment, not just the playground equipment, so we were constantly having to run into the woods chasing after our little questers. They certainly have picked up on how we move as well; I rarely see them moving together, more often than not attempting to separate us in an attempt to break free and explore where we're not letting them go. Such is the life of a baby I suppose, but it certainly makes it much harder for us to keep tabs on them every second of the day!
As you can see by the second video, the boys are successfully starting to master stairs. This worries me a bit as well, mainly because i think it is giving them the idea that they can explore them by themselves, without any help from us. They are certainly enjoy expressing their independence: Alex gets frustrated at this because when she wants to hug them, they oftentimes don't want to hug and sometimes run up to her and then run back to whatever they are doing. Our little ones are starting to grow up right in front of our eyes.
I hope next week to take a video of the boys swimming with Skylar and Sydney, if they're able to come over for a dip in the pool. Our success with their swim training is limited at the moment; the last time we went swimming with them, the boys learned to kick their feet while being suspended in the water and are learning to blow bubbles more in the water. Next time, I'd like to get them to dunk their heads under water for a second and learn to hold their breath. If anyone has a suggestion for a good swim instruction book though, I'd be more than happy to take a read; leave a comment for me and I'll look up the book.
So, our photogenic babies seem to have a 6th sense on when they're being filmed. I was playing with my iPhone out in front of them for a couple minutes before I started filming this little video, and the boys only came up to me when I started the camera up! So Weird! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy; I've got to get back to playing with my iPh.... I mean making the boys' lunch ;-)
PS: The video is compressed for YouTube, so don't mind the quality; the phone takes GREAT raws.
So, tonight I went to my first "Mom's Night Out" gathering with some Moms of Multiples in North Austin and it was very fun. There was tasty Mexican food (though I skipped the margarita - liquor and pain meds would not be a good combination) and great conversation. I haven't left the house by myself since my back surgery last month so it was a welcome relief. It's nice to have an adult conversation without having someone interrupt me and tell me they have poop in their diaper. :)
Also at the dinner was a nice woman visiting from Los Angeles who recently wrote a book about raising multiples. I'm excited to read the book and I'll share my thoughts when I finish!
This week has been pretty low key otherwise. Travis is going to get up super early to grab a place in line for the new iPhone 4 release in the morning. I bought him some Mountain Dew Throwback (LOVE IT!) so he won't be a complete zombie. I've also been reading about waste-free lunches and am (temporarily? I hope...) obsessed with bento boxes. They're just too cute! Who wouldn't want to eat a lunch that was carefully thought out and decorated especially for you? I know Eli and Jude will probably be completely embarrassed but what else are Moms for???
I know that it's late in the day and Father's Day is almost over, but I still wanted to post this anyway. In an age when Mothers are given a lot of credit (and don't get me wrong, we certainly deserve it! : P) we seem to have forgotten about how important the Fathers are. After reading a book about the Male Brain, I have a new perspective about the importance of male role models in the lives of all children.
Did you know that the physical way Dads play with their kids stimulate their imagination and make them more creative? Did you know that when Dads improvise the words to songs or books, they are teaching their children to be spontaneous and think on their feet? Did you know that Dads are exceptionally good at teaching their children to problem-solve and be independent? Basically, Dads are pretty much awesome.
So thanks to all of the Dads, Step-Dads, Grandfathers, Uncles, and all other male caretakers for everything you do to populate the world with independent, creative, and witty people! You Rock! We love you! Have a very Happy Father's Day!
In honor of Father's Day, this upcoming Sunday, the festivities have begun! Today we spent the afternoon getting prepared for all of the fathers/grandfathers in our lives and then we came home and I finished up Travis's "surprise" cookies. They ended up not being a surprise because I can't drive myself to and from the house yet, so Travis knew I was baking something for him (the darn All-In-One Bakeshop gave me away!) and then I gave in and showed him the cookie cutters from Williams-Sonoma. I was planning to make them ON Father's Day but I got impatient. Aren't they super cute??? :)
The muscle relaxers have made my piping skills a little wonky (not to mention the Williams-Sonoma recipe for royal icing for cookie decorating was TOTALLY WRONG!!!) but I think they came out pretty well all the same. Travis requested a picture of the bad guys surrounding Yoda...
Yesterday we went to Extreme Fun near our house - an inflatable play-land for kids under 10 - with Auntie Skylar, Auntie Sydney, and Lolli. The boys had lots of fun running around the toddler area and sliding down the back of the fire engine. There was also a steering wheel in the police boat that they'd sit at for what seemed like forever! Auntie Skylar was very disappointed that she wasn't allowed in the toddler area but Auntie Sydney had a great time sliding and chasing Eli and Jude. We tried to take the boys into one of the bigger inflatables they had so Auntie Sky could bounce with them, but the poor little guys couldn't climb up the ladder to the top of the big slide so we pulled them out.
Literally. When Travis went to get Eli and Jude out of their cribs for the day, he (and I, in the other room) was surprised to find Jude on the floor, playing. Neither one of us heard him climb out so we have no idea when he did it and he seems to have not hurt himself. Travis put him back in the crib, thinking it was a fluke, but he climbed right out again. I'd be more impressed if I was less worried. We haven't completely baby-proofed their bedroom yet because they aren't allowed to play in there... that will not be the case after today. I'm just glad that nothing serious happened since he could have done all kinds of things.
As far as long term solutions, we're still considering our options. Travis just ordered the toddler bed conversion kits for our cribs but I feel like they're too young for them at only 17 months. But, the other option is a crib tent which I'm pretty sure won't fit correctly on our cribs - aside from the fact that I'm not sure I even like THAT idea. I think I'd feel like I was putting my poor little babies in prison every night. I don't know, we're thinking about every situation and trying to decide what's best for Eli and Jude. Their safety is our biggest concern.
The whole family is going to my follow up appointment from my surgery today, hopefully everything is healing correctly! : )
Today we drove back down to San Marcos to get the windshield replaced on the Odyssey. What could have been mind numbingly boring for Eli and Jude was actually a pretty fun (though probably still a little boring) afternoon at the Outlet Mall! We walked around and browsed a little bit in a couple of stores for me - it was torture tearing myself away from the Coach purses that were an additional 20% off today only - but mostly stores for Eli and Jude. We got them a couple of pairs of cheap Osh Kosh shoes because we seem to keep losing the right shoe to most of the pairs we have. We also dropped by the Sony outlet to try to see their new 3D televisions but the outlet didn't have one. Instead, Travis got himself a new PS3 game as a birthday present.
In the middle of the browsing, we stopped for lunch at Johnny Rockets! Travis loves the '50s diner and apparently has been disappointed that the one in Austin closed years ago. And who doesn't love a restaurant that gives the kids cute hats? We jammed out to oldies and ate some tasty burgers, shakes, and fries. I couldn't resist taking a few shots of the adorable paper hats either. Too bad Eli and Jude wouldn't keep them on their heads! Eli warmed up to it after a while but Jude was having none of it.
I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish my amazing, thoughtful, funny, and handsome husband a very happy birthday. A quarter of a century ago he entered this world and I am very thankful for that. I simply don't have the words to describe how much I love him and how great a father he is. So I will just say "Happy Birthday" and give you this photo that shows you all why I love him. :)
This is a disheveled me at approximately 11:oo PM, after a long day of work and culinary school, and my own personal Travis-Monster. Isn't he cute? Happy birthday, Travis!
Hello faithful blog-readers! Sorry to have not posted this week, I was planning to do a couple of posts but I was just too loopy from the pain meds to write anything coherent or worth reading. : )
For all who were curious, my surgery went very well. I am still recovering but the worst is over. Immediately after surgery, I did feel relief from the stabbing pain down my left leg that I've felt all day, every day for a couple of years. It has been very nice. Obviously, I am still in some pain but it's from the incision and also from my nerve recovering. I have some neuropathy (pins, needles, and numbness) in my left foot which is annoying more than painful, but the doctor says this is a normal symptom of the nerve healing. It should get slowly better and then go away in the next few weeks. The difficult parts are my restrictions - no lifting, bending, twisting, and sitting for more than an hour. I'm not the best patient, but I'm trying hard to follow my instructions and heal quickly.
Now for the fun stuff! Memorial day weekend was pretty low key for us. We went to a barbeque with friends on Monday and stayed for a couple of hours but I was having a hard time keeping up with Eli and Jude so we thought it would be best to head home early. We ended up having dinner at Plucker's Wing Bar and took their signature Fried Twinkies home for dessert. I thought for sure Eli and Jude would go to town on their halves (there's no way I would give them a full fried twinkie each, I don't think an ADULT even needs a full one) but they were pretty skeptical of them. I started taking a video of them while eating because I thought it would be hilarious to watch them try to scarf these delicious morsels down but little did I know that the REALLY good video would be the post-twinkie aftermath... See for yourself!
Eli and Jude at 2 weeks old - leaving the NICU
