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!

father's day love

j taking the boys on a tandem bjorn walk! abel shows off his guns.


ozzy delighting in his cobra. you should see his full-on up dog!


abie and dad

nanna nan

the boys spent a glorious week with their nanna nan who visited from chicago. nanna had them in stitches most of the day with her crazy antics, funny facial expressions, kissy noises and nursery rhymes. we took the boys out to eat a few times, went on lots of walks, did some shopping, but most of all we played, played, played! we were all very sad when nanna left.

summer fun!

the boys took to the pool in true aquarious fashion! now i just need to figure out how to take them swimming by myself. hmmm...whoever comes up with the best idea gets a snow cone!

rolly-poly

oz finally gave us a roll on his gym! when he gets on his belly now, he tries to get his knees underneath. uh oh, i wonder when this kiddo is going to figure the crawling thing out.

the nap easy solution

ozzy roles!

when i went in to check on them during their nap, i found ozzy sleeping on his stomach. he did it! way to go ozzy! now maybe you'll actually sleep during your naps, instead of being obsessed with getting to your tummy. i only wish i had seen the first one, but i know there will be lots of rolls for us to witness in the coming days.

out takes

call it the special features section of the blog! here's a handful pics that just didn't make the cut, but keep us roaring.

four month factoids

here are some basics about the boys at 4 months:

- ozzy weighs: 12lb 8oz abel weighs: 12lb 4oz
- amount of milk they get each feed: 4 - 5 oz
(i know this because i have been a paranoid freak when it comes to breastfeeding and them getting enough. we rented a scale this week that measures by the tenth of an ounce. i can even measure how much comes up with a spit up - gross i know, but this is what happens when you become a parent. btw, for all the parents out there w/ spituppy kiddos, a humungous spit up is about a 1/4 of an ounce, so you have nothing to worry about)
- number of times they eat each day: 6 or 7
- average length of time they nurse each feed: 10 minutes
(btw, nursing has become a pleasure for the three of us. we are back to tandem feeding and have become fast and efficient. i can't believe we made it to 4 months...it's going so well, i may have to revise my 6 mo. goal!)
- number of hours they sleep each night: 11
- number of hours they sleep each day: it's anybody's guess, these boys fight naps like it's their mortal enemy
- number of times we bounce them on the yoga ball to soothe them/help get them sleepy: at least 3 times
- number of times a day we get in the car to take an afternoon emergency power nap: 1

ozzy is "this close" to rolling from back to front. he arches hard and gets to his side with his hips all the way turned to the front. it's the arm that gets in his way, but i think he'll figure it out in a week or so. abie started the arch a while ago, but i guess lost interest in pursuing it the way ozzy has. oz practices in his crib, every time he's on the play gym, etc. it's a compulsive thing for him and he won't rest until he gets it!

abie had his first swim yesterday at deep eddy, a natural spring fed pool that's on town lake. the water was COLD, so i wasn't sure how he'd react. he loved it! i kept him close to my chest with arms around him and he wasn't fazed the least. and he looked super cute in his board shorts! ozzy napped the whole time we were there, which was a good thing because i wasn't sure how i would manage two in the pool. i actually had my mesh sling with me, thinking i could wear ozzy and hold abie...maybe another day.

they are both talking so much now, babbling to their hanging animals on the play gym for sometimes 15 minutes. they love to rough house with mom and dad and giggle up a storm when we "rawr" at them while tickling their tummies. they both are enchanted by the outdoors and immediately settle when we take a walk in the stroller, in the bjorn, go for a car ride, or just sit them in front of the window.

they also recognize each other all the time now, which has become a bit of a distraction for them while nursing. they stare at each other and then start smiling and cooing. ozzy seems particularly interested in abie and talks to him all the time, as well as grabs his hand and arm and pulls himself over to face him.

we think they are teething; they are drooling A LOT and naw on things, especially our knuckles, at every opportunity. we do sit ups and squat exercises throughout the day, where i pull them up by their hands to a sit position and then they push themselves up to a stand. they absolutely love to be on their feet and have really strong legs, but we're trying to emphasize belly time and sitting first.

we love our lives with these boys!!! i honestly can't imagine being any happier or more in love.

mack daddies part II

mack daddies

abel stylin' it with dad


oz-man


the boyz

abel cracks up

this was taken a few weeks back when my brother was here. mark had abel in stiches, which is not hard to do most of the time!

time

the boys will be four months old this sunday. well, that's four months to the date of their birth - the 27th. they already hit the 16 week mark last weekend, but calendar time and weeks old time (translated into months) don't quite coincide, and i never know which one to actually use. i guess it really doesn't matter, except when someone asks me how old they are and i accidentally say two weeks younger then they actually are. time certainly does fly.

i met a new friend in our neighborhood who has a 4 week old boy. it's great having a walking partner during the day, another adult companion to swap stories, laugh and kavetch about motherhood and other things. i love sqwaking to the boys about anything and everything during our walks, but it's nice to have a compadre. tonight we went for a walk and her boy had a melt down mid-way. it brought me back to 3 months ago, when motherhood felt a lot more uncertain - is he too warm/too cold? is he hungry? maybe a wet diaper? does he not like the stroller? too windy? and then desperation sets in and your heart breaks because your baby's cry has turned into a high pitched quivering wail. i felt like a seasoned pro during this episode, offering her my best suggestions and my calmest energy. and not that i am a seasoned pro by any means. it's just that so much happens in 3 months. you learn so much about your baby(ies), what makes them tick, how to soothe them, etc. you also learn so much about yourself and how best to handle situations. and they learn so much about being in this world. it seems like just yesterday, and yet an eternity away, that my boys were this young. and i loved the time that they were so small and precious. but it's a whole different ball game now that we smile and giggle at eachother, have coo conversations, go for long walks where they are mesmerized by the world around them, etc.

every day they do something that amazes me. today ozzy spent 10 minutes smiling and giggling at himself in the mirror while on his tummy (i think we finally found the key to making tummy time enjoyable for him!). he also grabbed the rattle with both hands and spun the rings around to make it sound. abel rolled from his back to his side yesterday and spins around each night in his crib so that his head ends up where his feet were. they both have been sleeping 11 hour nights for a week now and we can lay them in their cribs awake at bedtime and they put themselves to sleep within 10 minutes - no crying at all! the nursing challenges i struggled with seem like a distant memory, even though it's only been a week since the improvements started. i actually enjoy breastfeeding these munchkins now! my motto of "it changes as fast as it changes" never lets me down.

so at four months we find ourselves in a very good place and i look forward to every new day with my family - my incredible and loving husband, two healthy and happy boys, the sweetest dog in the world, and even a quirky cat i have grown to love. time is an amazing thing.