man's best friend

pictures really do say a thousand words...

enough said.

i heart costco

i used to HATE big-box stores. actually, capitals on the word hate doesn't even convey how much i despised these places. they're eye sores, they overconsume space, they hurt local economies, they perpetuate bad urban planning, they always have terrible florescent lighting that hurts my eyes, etc. several years back i vowed i would never shop at one of these atrocities.

i eat my words.

i love costco for so many reasons. their prices, their organics, their proximity to my house. but the best reason is because their carts have a spot for two kiddos! i no longer have to lug the snap-n-go out of the car and then somehow manuever it, plus an oversized shopping cart, through the gargantuan store. and the boys LOVE IT!

today we strolled in and i noticed ozzy put his arm around abie. it was adorable. he kept it there for like 3 minutes and before i knew it he was on to consuming my coupon book. i thought to myself, what a sweet, fleeting gesture...but then, low and behold, abie puts his arm around ozzy.

forget about i heart costco. ozzy hearts abie. abie hearts ozzy. but i heart my boys the most!

oskar in nana's shower cap

splendor in the trash

i thought it would be a nice start to the day to relax outside in the front yard with the boys. you know, we could lay on a big blanket, stare up at the clouds and listen to the birds and wind whistling through the leaves. i failed to remember that today was trash day, but that proved to be even better! the garbage and recycling trucks were making their rounds in front of our house just minutes after we got settled. the boys were enthralled! and an added bonus of being out front with your two babies when the garbage men come is that they bring your bins back to your garage for you!

sweet as abel

abel is pure sugar. he smiles with his sparkley eyes and your heart bursts. he's known to capture audiences with his smiles, laughs and chirps wherever we go - last weekend it was at banana republic and the store was circled around the stroller. of course it helps when his bro is smiling and talking like a teradactyl! we like to call abie our ham bone - social butterfly is more like it.

abie has a rather deep voice but he manages these sweet high pithed noises like a little bird. again...heart-busting. patient and understanding, abie will play quietly on his gym or in his exersaucer while i attend to other business. this boy LOVES his mobile and will often forego naps to tug at the hanging animals. he also is a happy boy in the kiddie pool and will bounce from one end to the other, delighted that he can touch the bottom and walk! i think abie might walk before ozzy because this boy is all about standing. he tries to use the arches of the play gym to pull himself up but is much more successful when he cruises on the outside of the exersaucer. abie sits well unassisted and is quickly catching up to ozzy on the crawling front.

abel is a total snuggle bunny. for awhile he was waking up around 4am to nurse in bed with me and then fall asleep snuggled in the crook of my arm. he has some interesting ways to soothe himself - who needs a binkie or a thumb when you've got dad's goatee or your own feet! abie is one tactile fellow. we often catch him lost in dreamland caressing the pillow, the grass or the blanket.



abie loves to eat and has an impressive "open wide." i do fun choo-choo train and airplane noises with the spoon just for the heck of it, but it's never necessary! abie is all about horsing around and is beside himself with joy when we do "super baby" with him and hold him upside down. in fact, he just likes being being upside down in general and will often hang out draped over my lap with his head dangling.

jordan discovered abie's most ticklish spot - his quads! we love to tickle this little monkey and just about any typical spot will get him going. and we love to get him laughing in anticipation. just looking at him and wiggling your fingers will set him off into hysterics.

we called this boy "stable abel" in utero as he was steadily head down, and while he certainly moved a lot, he never did the full-on somersaults and butt thrusts that his brother was known for. he continues to be our rock at seven months, always comforting ozzy when he's upset with a hand on his shoulder or head - he's just beyond sweet!

the land of oz

ozzy lounging around at 7 months


at seven months our ozzy has fully reverted back to the personality we witnessed in utero. squirmy, wiggly and always on the move, oskar knows what he wants and how to get it. he is always looking all around, wanting to know what is going on and how he can get in on the action. he loves whatever abie has, and grabs toys, blankets and binkies from him. good thing abie is pretty patient and rarely complains.

ozzy's favorite activity continues to be the bucking bronco. he gets on all fours and bucks away with a huge smile on his face. after about 5 minutes that smile turns to some frustration as he realizes all that bucking isn't transporting him anywhere! we definitely thought he'd be crawling by now, given the fact he's been doing the bronco for over a month now.

oz sits very well and doesn't need any assistance. we stay close by just in case he decides to flop over, but he can usually hang out and play with toys, etc. for a good 10 - 15 minutes before he gets tired. sometimes he cheats and hangs on to the arches of the play gym as he bats and pulls the hanging toys. at least we know our brawny boy has brains to match! we are also now bathing oz in a sitting position and he loves to splash. the more water he can get onto abie's face, the better!



from day one this boy has been an eating machine. he moans and groans and basically wants me to shovel food into his mouth. he takes huge bites and can finish off two bowls of oatmeal with some mango or squash in a flash. he likes just about everything, well, er, except for peas which made him gag...literally. he also wants to eat/drink anything that we are consuming at the moment. he MUST drink from the water glass when we have a glass in hand, and yesterday he tried to inhale my asian pear.



in juxtapose to all his gumption, ozzy also has a very soft, tender and mellow side. he sleeps so easily at night, probably due to all the horsing around during the day. he's out for a solid 11 hours and then typically will wake up to refuel and go down for another hour or so. he smiles and coos at me when he nurses, and sometimes bursts out with belly laughs - it's the best! and once oz gets going, then abie is soon to follow. then eating becomes, well, an afterthought. ozzy is super ticklish on his sides and it doesn't take much to get this guy roaring. even just looking at him in a funny way will do it!

i've noticed ozzy is a little bit clingy with me and slightly suspicious of strangers. he holds on tight to my shoulders and chest when i carry him around and he reaches for me all the time, even when his daddy is holding him. he loves to look at and play w/ books - it's definitely one of his favorite activities. he's also completely taken with matilda and reaches out for her all the time. when he's upset or fussy, it's mati to the rescue! she's become the best nanny for the boys...no one can distract them better.

this is a new one

i just put the boys down for their afternoon nap and they are in their cribs laughing hysterically! usually they just go down without much noise, maybe a little fussing or talking, and sometimes some crying. but laughing...now that's a new one. i wish i knew what is so funny!

ozzy and mati having a staring contest

abie hangin' out on his gym

abie in his polar bear towel after his bath

on the mat

ozzy contemplating his next move

and it happens to be a push up

abie hamming it up as usual

aerial view

goal!

it's hard for me to believe that i've been breastfeeding the boys for over 6 months now. originally i set short term goals - one month at a time - and once we got to 4 months i upped the ante to 6. breastfeeding was such a challenge for us all that i truly didn't think we would make it past 4 months. endless pumping, EBM supplements, unhappy feedings (sometimes i would have to nurse them while bouncing on an exercise ball!). but something clicked just as we met our first goal and since then, nursing them has been a pleasure. now it seems like old hat, we're all so good at it!

i was always constantly worried about how much they were taking in, how much i was producing, etc. it feels so good to not have to think about that anymore. i know they are thriving and that i am giving them/they are taking exactly what they need. we still give them a bottle of formula before bed, mainly because now it is part of our routine and, quite frankly, it gives me a little break from boob circus (anyone who has ever witnessed tandem feeding with, let's just say, less-than-focused 6 mo. olds, you'll know what i mean). and now i only pump once before going to bed!

the boys always hold onto each other when they nurse, either holding hands or grabbing each other's arms or face. they smile, laugh and talk to each other. they smile, laugh and talk to me (and j when he's in the room). it's truly one of the most endearing times to interact with them. and while i do nurse them separately on occasion, and i do enjoy the ease and simplicity of it, i have to say we all do a lot better together.

my new goal is a year...or whenever the boys naturally wean themselves. i can honestly say that nursing these guys has been one of the most challenging things i have every done...but now i am definitely feeling all the rewards!

weights & measures

the boys had their 6 mo. check up today (i know, we're a lil' late) and here's how they fared:

abie weighs in at 15lb 2oz and is 25.5 inches tall.
ozzy weighs in at 15lb 6oz and is 25 inches tall.

yay boys for breaking the 15 lb barrier and for tripling your birth weights! doc hudson pronounced the boys very healthy and noted their very muscular legs. all the boys wanted to do was grab his stethescope and eye/ear/throat light thingy. he was impressed with all the food that they eat (since our last post, we've added pears, apples, parsnips and butternut squash to their repertoire), and he suggested also feeding them some wild caught fish and whole grains. he basically equated feeding infants to what we would think a caveman would eat...interesting concept. they also got their shots and took 'em like troopers. i was pretty worried what adding shots to the teething mix would look like, but i have to say today was a great day! abie had a two hour nap and we spent the afternoon at the dell children's museum with rachel and anwen. fun, fun!

strange days

we have officially entered the land of teething.

this past week has proven to be amongst the strangest we've experienced so far. abie refused to eat anything for two days - no nursing, bottle, solids, nothing. he was really lethargic and sleepy and just generally zoned out. i guess the boy copes with pain by turning inwards.

we see his bottom front teeth making their way up and out; they look like two little specks of rice! his appetite is back now and voracious as ever, but he's now joined his brother in their boycotting of all things related to naps. after months of working with them to be better nappers, we had just gotten to a really good place. three solid naps a day, some of them up to 2 hours, no fussing going down. it was truly a beautiful thing. well now we're lucky to get 20 minutes out of them and they act like we're putting them in a torture device when we lay them in their cribs. yesterday they slept a whopping hour...total!

the good news is that they are generally in good spirits during the day as long as they are occupied w/ toys, outings, or me making silly noises. the bad news is that i no longer get those nice breaks during the day to rest and rejuvinate myself. ozzy is at least sleeping through the night still (6:30pm - 5:30am straight) - the boy is a machine! abie hasn't fared so well and is getting up anywhere from 2 to 4am to nurse and fall asleep snuggling with me.

this recent "situation" has me thinking a lot about teeth in general. i wonder if teeth are really that important after all? really - it hurts like the dickens to get them, once you've got them you have to take really good care of them or else they cause you a lot of pain and money, and then you end up losing them anyways! i realize from an evolutionary perspective how important they are - grinding grains with the molars, tearing meat apart with sharp incisors, etc. but since i've been making the boys yummy pureed conconctions, would it be so bad to have a diet of velvety mangos and squash? with the advent of the cuisinart and the new wave of "scientific" cooking (see alinea - my favorite is duck on a pillow of lavender air!), maybe we could avoid all of this teeth trauma and live gummily ever after?

nah! then we'd miss out on all those adorable bottom teeth grins!

When Mommy's away, the boys (and Dad) will play...

Hello everyone, this is Jordan... Yes, this is only my second contribution to the blog since Tra started it. On Saturdays and Sundays, I give her a break while she goes to yoga, and the boys and I get to create some trouble. Lately, Mr. Abel likes to make fart noises while Mr. Ozman enjoys imitating Teradacktyls. Anyway, the following clip is of Ozzy letting everyone know what is on his mind. Abel does get some air time with his killer smile. Anyway, enjoy our conversation (and I apologize ahead of time for the pitch of my voice... amazing what babies will do to you).

the more things change

abie and ozzy at just a few weeks. oz on left, abie on right:





the boys at 6 months and a week. abie on left:



and now ozzy on left:

and the winner is...

these past few weeks we've had more fun trying new taste delights. the boys eat about a half a cup of oatmeal each and then the real yummies begin. so far the boys love peaches, bananas and sweet potates. they hate avocado, which i was pretty bummed about but we'll try it again in a little while. by far their favorite, by a long shot, is mango. it's my favorite, too. who wouldn't love the sweet yet tangy flavor, the ultra rich/smooth texture, the beautiful bright orange color. and it's packed with vit a! it's the perfect baby food - and mama food, too. after all, it's two bites for them, one bite for me!

he's got legs

cousin holly in san fran sent the boys the coolest baby legs (aka leg warmers) and snoopy onesies in honor of their 1/2 birthday. here's abie sporting his new snoopy meets zz top outfit:

aunts

growing up, i had a few "aunts" (and "uncles") that weren't the blood-related variety, but rather very close friends of my parents. these folks were incredibly special to me as a child, and even more so now that i am an adult (is that what i am now?!). we are carrying on this tradition for our boys with four very special "aunts." auntie d came to visit from dallas this past weekend and auntie annie came over to celebrate the boys 1/2 year birthday (and her 36.5 year birthday - yes, they were all born on the same special day!).

oz with auntie annie:



abie with auntie d:



aunt brandy lives in chicago and the boys miss her and uncle e.d. very much. here they all are when the boys were a mere 3 months old:



aunt dana and uncle mark (and cuz jakey) haven't met the boys yet, but we can't wait for our trip to chicago over christmas to see them!

livin' free

we normally don't have our boys crawling around naked, but with the introduction of solids we've had some abnormally large "poosplosions" that we've had to change on the fly. today was one of those days where we had to immediately get ozzy's yucked-up clothes off. of course, before i could even get another diaper on him he was off and running. he was so ecstatic to be au natural, we let him go with it for a while. sorry oz, this one might come back to haunt you in, say, 15 years or so.

matilda

the boys are fascinated with matilda these days. they crack up at her when she catches her toy mid-air, when she gallop runs on our walks, or for no reason at all. when she comes within a few feet on them they immediately reach their arms out for her and they love to pet her face and grab her gums. we like to refer to her as the "gentle giant." she just sits or lays there and let's them pull, grab and pinch. yesterday, oskar moved himself off the mat and next to her and mati took the opportunity to snuggle up on his butt. so sweet!

so close!

the oz-man is sooo close to crawling. i really have to keep my eyes on him because i know it's going to happen any moment and i don't want to miss it! abie is content to hang out and watch his bro experiment with all this. he studies what works/what doesn't, and i know in a few weeks he'll whip out a technically perfect crawl (that's how it worked for the roll). so one's got the brains and one's got the brawn...until next month when they switch it up on us!

here's the evolution of oskar's crawl. it starts with the cobra/up dog:



then moves to a full push up position:



and finally the knees go underneath and he launches (i didn't catch the subsequent face plant!):

an affair to remember

today i was laying on the "mat" (i.e. quilt on the floor) with the boys and abie turned to face me and started giving me the sweetest smiles and coos. he then ever so gently started touching my lips with his little fingers, which of course i lavished kisses on. and then i looked over his shoulder to find ozzy on his hands and knees peering down on us, just smiling away. and part of me felt a little guilty. like i was having an affair with abel and oskar had caught us in the act. but the oz-man was so happy and gracious; he didn't mind at all. i still felt guilty though. i guess as a mom of twins, it's just something i'm going to have to get over.

laughing

today i was reading "polar bear, polar bear, what do you hear" and oskar nearly bust his gut laughing so hard. i have no idea what was so funny - animal sounds are definitely not my main talent. but for whatever reason, it was the funniest thing oskar had ever heard. abie and ozzy both crack up when i say "z-z-z-ZEBRA!" they just love how it sounds. the best, however, is when we do quick, repetitive kisses to their cheeks or behind their ears. we're talking insane belly laughs.

mmm...mmm...good!

we were going to wait until the boys officially turned 6 months next friday to start the solids adventure but, let's just say my impatience got the best of me. so today was the day and boy was it fun! we decided to start with oatmeal mixed w/ breastmilk, as we didn't want to introduce anything that might stop them up

we started with abie and he had the quintessential response to new food - "what the heck just landed in my mouth!" he kept opening wide, though, and even though most of the food was pushed right back out, he was terrific.



then came ozzy. this boy was born to eat! he was an old pro, opening wide, taking it all in and swallowing right away. he just wanted more and more and even tried to grab the bowl out of my hands. and oh, the smiles. eating was pure bliss for this lil' guy.




i was extremely excited to start feeding these guys food-food and they did not disappoint. i'm already planning for tomorrow and can't wait to do it again! just think...sweet potatoes, avocados, peaches...oh my!

rain or shine

it feels like it's been raining here in austin for the past two months straight (oh, wait...it has!). but the gods have always smiled on us when it is time for our morning walk. this walk has become, next to their bedtime routine, the most consistent daily activity for us. we start off around 6:30am after the boys are fed and changed and we walk for about an hour all around the neighborhood and on the trails. it's the coolest time of the day (which is very important because by 10am it's a blazing 90 degrees), the sun is just peeking up, we meet lots of deer and jack rabbits, and often we have nice foggy mornings that hang over the hills to the west and give austin the appearance of, say, marin county.

well, this morning it decided to pour as we were heading out, but no rain could foil our ritual thanks to our trusty BOB weather shield. granted our walk was a little shorter than usual, but it was still a delight. the pitter-patter on the stroller shield lulled abie to sleep within minutes and ozzy loved grabbing the plastic with his feet. matilda defintely got the short end of the stick, but she is always a trooper.

monkey business

one of the boys' favorite positions is to lay backwards draped across our legs with their heads dangling over. it must feel good to be upside down, after all that time spent head down in the womb. yesterday abie spent a good 15 minutes hanging out like this.

laguna glorious

the boys and i have made a pact to see as many of the cultural sites austin has to offer. being an art, architecture and history buff, i thought we'd start at laguna gloria, a wonderful 1916 italianate villa on lake austin. now operated by AMOA, laguna gloria houses small exhibits of texas art. it was the perfect foray to the world of art museums for the boys - small enough to do in less than an hour and colorful enough to hold their attention (although i think they liked the docent's aqua floral shirt the best!). i think we'll hit the botanical gardens next!

sarah

the boys (and me, more important!) have been lucky to have the help of sarah during the month of june. sarah is going into her sophomore year of college and is WONDERFUL with babies, in addition to being just an all-around sweetie. unfortunately she is now teaching at a sports camp and then goes back to school. she made my life sooo easy for a few hours each day, playing with the boys, putting them down for naps, helping with house chores, running errands, etc. we will all definitely miss her!

all in a day's work

like i said before, the boys seem to figure things out on a daily basis. it's so much fun to be witness to this and never ceases to amaze me. just a few days ago, abie tripod sat for over a minute several times and is now playing with his feet a lot. ozzy works the exersaucer like it his command station and his two bottom teeth are coming in (not so much fun - little things will set him off into screams like i've never heard!). they both are very motivated to crawl and are figuring out how to get their knees underneath them. abie will get his feet underneath him and stick his butt way up in the air, while ozzy has mastered the push up position with his whole body elevated and can balance for a few seconds on hands in knees. it will be beyond excitement when this all comes together!

8 to 5

no, these aren't work hours. this is how long j and i slept last night...straight! the boys have been sleeping from 6:30pm - 5:30am for a while now, but the lives of twin parents go on long after the boys go to bed (cooking, eating, cleaning, laundry...and of course some fun stuff like movies, etc.). and then the life of a twin mom goes on in the middle of the night with a pumping session to make sure the boobs don't explode. but last night we all must have needed some delicious sleep because there was nary a peep from the nursery and i must have forgot to set my alarm to pump. and even though my boobs were like petrified softballs in the morning, it was worth it!

meet me in st. louis

the boys took their first plane trip this weekend. we left on saturday for a wedding on sunday and returned to austin on monday - what a whirlwind! the boys did amazing. on the way out, they slept at take-off and woke up at landing. coming home was a little trickier, as our flight was delayed a few hours, which put us right at their bedtime (typically a fussy time). here's abie catching a snooze on dad at the gate:



they were troopers, though. abie managed to make the biggest poo of his life on the flight home, just as we were hitting weather and the pilot turned on the seatbelt sign. this one couldn't wait, though.

leelee and papa drove down from chicago to meet us in st. louis and they watched the boys for us while we went to the wedding. they couldn't believe how big the boys were and ozzy and abie wowed them with their rolls, updogs, standing, giggles and smiles. here's leelee and papa with ozman:



it was quite a production leaving home for 3 days. i can safely say that we overpacked - but better safe than sorry. the only thing we would have done different is had two small diaper bags - one for me and one for jordan - because the enormous one we were lugging around was a pain in the butt. all in all though, the trip was a huge success and we are very proud of our traveling troupe!

work

i was intent on going back to work after having the boys, however within minutes of giving birth, jordan and i started talking about how we could make it work for me to stay home. we own a rental property on the other side of town and have put it on the market to supplement my salary for a few years. hooray! i will dearly miss all my friends and colleagues at the texas historical commission, and hope to go back to work when the boys get a bit older and start school. at the beginning of the month, the wonderful folks at the agency threw me a delightful farewell party in the garden of the 19th century building we office out of. i think it was just an excuse to see the boys!

me and the boys with anne, amy and andy



my boss larry with ozzy (larry grabs a hold of these babies and just won't let them go - he's the grandfather of 1 year old twins, so has LOTS of experience!)

happy birthday boys!

the boys turned 5 months yesterday and in celebration we took them to get weighed (i know this won't cut the mustard for b-day celebrations in the future!). for posterity sake, ozzy weighs 13lb 7oz and abie is right behind at 13lb 4oz. i am getting so excited about the prospect of feeding them solids in just one month. we frequently talk about all the delicious things they will try - sweet potato, banana, fresh green peas, apricots, plums, pink lady applesauce - what a gastric delight!

growing up

i feel like every day the boys do something new - or something clicks inside their brains, and all of a sudden they are playing with a toy in a new way or doing something unexpected.

over the past few days, here's how our boys have been developing:

- both boys now mimic me when they see me eating. they make the cutest little mushing/munching motions with their mouth!

- ozzy has taken a keen interest in my glass of water! he watches intently and then grabs the glass and pulls it to his mouth. at first i spoon fed him some water. now i let him drink it right out of the glass and he loves it!



- we put together the exersaucer and the boys are enthralled. they love all the toys, especially pushing the buttons that make the animal noises. i didn't know if they were ready for it and they totally exceeded my expectations. i would show abie once how a toy worked and he would repeat my action immediately. so cool!



- the boys are really aware of matilda now and look for her and even pet/touch her face. they haven't started to laugh at her yet, but i hear from friends that this is soon coming...we can't wait (and neither can mati!). here's oz reaching out for matilda.



- the boys are also propping their feet up on the stroller "bar," which reminds me of being in grade school and wedging my feet up on the seat in front of me on the bus, or putting my feet up on the desk. it's hysterical!

- ozzy is seriously physical and only stays on his back long enough to flip to his tummy. he does push ups, up dogs and is intent on moving himself in all directions. he exclusively sleeps on his belly. abie is very non-chalant about rolling. it's very funny actually because when he does go for it, he'll fake a stretch and hang out munching on his hand. just in case he doesn't make it...he wasn't really trying, anyway!

- peek-a-boo is their absolute favorite game. they laugh their butts off every time. they are also super ticklish on their sides. their favorite sound is a high-pitched kissy noise. i think i am their favorite toy right now. they can amuse themselves forever grabbing my nose and lips, which is a perfect opportunity for me to kiss their hand!

adios

we did it! we officially eliminated the middle of the night feed for the boys. it was becoming ridiculous, waking them up at 2am to feed them a few ounces, all of us in a sleepy daze. so we decided to give cold turkey a try last night and low and behold...the boys slept right through it and continued to sleep until their usual 6am wake up time. now that's some glorious sleep!