now that we have entered january '08, the countdown to the boys' numero uno is on! i have to admit, my mind has been focused on more practical matters of this milestone. should we go ahead and install the forward-facing car seats? the boys are over 20 pounds, so what's a few weeks? should i start giving them a spoon with their meals? they do great with finger foods, but the thought of them wielding spoons with oatmeal, yogurt, etc. is just too much! and while these are, for the most part, practical considerations, my ambivalence about them may illuminate something bigger. am i really okay with all of this? am i afraid to let go? where did my babies go?!
there are lots of things, big things, that come with the "big one." walking, words, one-less-nap, more independence, tantrums (which oz is already starting to display when being put in anything that straps him down, i.e. stroller, highchair, etc.). more succinctly put...toddler-dom. and i think that i am thrilled about this evolution. see, i'm the type of person that LOVES change. the more you stir it up, the better. i also look at the kiddos running around the playground, calling to their parents to come watch them, or pretend ordering ice cream cones through the cut-out window of the jungle gym, and i just can't wait until that is abie and ozzy. it just looks SO MUCH FUN!
so why am i finding it so hard to just go ahead and install the stupid forward facing car seats? for cripes sake, the poor kids have been looking at a boring grey seat back for the past 11 months! maybe i just need these last four more weeks of thinking that my boys are still my little babies; that my arms are the best place in the world to them; that...that...aw heck, what am i saying? i'm going to install these car seats right now. these boys will always be my little babies, no matter how old they get!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Saturday, December 29, 2007
planes, trains and automobiles
wow, our family has experienced quite a whirlwind in one week. we were all really looking forward to a fabulous eight day christmas visit to our hometown of chicago. one week ago today, we left a balmy 65 degree austin with a happy abel, an oskar who we thought had bounced back from a 103 fever that appeared the night before, three bulging suitcases, an overloaded diaper bag, our side-by-side stroller with two carseats and bases bungee strapped to it, and a "pump in style" backpack breast pump that WOULD NOT be returning with us (i was particularly excited about giving this piece of equipment back to my dear friend who loaned it to me).
the flight was uneventful and the boys did stellar as usual, but i couldn't help notice how sleepy oz was the whole time and how he felt increasingly hot to the touch. by the time we got settled in to my parents' house, i checked his temp and he was back up to 103. it was downhill from there - who wants to be in a strange house when they are sick?! abie was content, but i couldn't put oskar down. he desperately wanted to sleep, but was so uncomfortable. i know i don't need to explain the trials of a sick infant to you parents out there! we were able to get oz in to a doctor on christmas eve day and he thought it was just a virus, which we thought too. we just had to ride it out.
christmas day was actually really enjoyable. oz came out of his sick-funk to have a blast opening presents, ripping paper, playing peek-a-boo with uncle markey and exploring all his new toys with his bro. it was delightful and we all thought we were on the up-and-up. that was until oz woke up from his PM nap inconsolable, and then proceeded to wake up ever hour screaming hysterically after going down for bed. after four hours of this, j decided to check his temp, even thought his fever had broke that afternoon and he felt cool to the touch. it registered a frightening 95! we flipped and immediately packed up the boys for a trip to the emergency clinic down the street. that was at midnight and marked the beginning of some serious unraveling.
it's a really good thing that oz was ultimately just fine and this wasn't a true emergency, or else we would have been in big trouble. we got the boys loaded up but couldn't find the keys to the car. so j had to switch the carseat bases to my brother's car in freezing temps; it took the disgruntled woman 45 minutes to check us in to the clinic; and the orthodox jewish doctor wouldn't even look at me, let alone address me when pronouncing a 95 degree temperature on an infant to be "perfectly normal." that, in addition to having problems with the thermostat keeping a good temperature at my parents' house, jordan and i decided that we had enough. we all needed to get home as quickly as possible; to the comfort and warmth of our own home, where everything is familiar, and where we have all the tools we need to comfort a sick baby within an easy reach. my mom got us booked asap on the 9am flight back to austin, with a short layover in dallas.
now this is where the craziness gets really good. my dad, unknowing that we were packing it up and leaving the house at 7am, decides he needs to get away from the craziness and goes for a drive...with our stroller in the trunk! our travel system is completely reliant on the stroller and without it we wouldn't have the hands to roll our luggage. he hadn't come home by the time we needed to leave, so off we went with just a diaper bag, the carseats (w/ bases attached), and of course, our boys. the flight to dallas went off without a hitch, save for the fact that we were 40 minutes late leaving chicago. we arrived in dallas, ran to the gate for our austin flight, to find it has left 5 minutes earlier. off we went to find the next flight, which left in an hour, but by the time we got there we were number 20 and 21 on the standby flight and the guy behind the counter was much more interested in helping the other customer find a mcdonalds than helping out two parents with babies strapped to them. the next flight after that wasn't for another 3 hours, which is how long it takes to drive to austin, so we decided to complete our journey in the car. (and if some of you are wondering where the "trains" come into play in the title of the post, we were lucky to travel the new skylink train during our jaunt at DFW).
now we are at the car rental center and i scout a wonderful oasis of leather couches and caret at avis. granted, jordan was renting our car at advantage, but i thought if i could just be inconspicuous and nurse the boys on the couch, change their diapers, clothes, feed them solids and let them crawl around a bit...we'd all be a lot better for it. it turns out we had an angel watching over us at avis and margaret told us to make ourselves at home, made j and i coffee, got us bottled water, and gushed about the boys. despite the fact that we didn't give avis any business, she even got us a big luggage cart that fit the boys in their carseats, along with all our other stuff, so we could comfortably get to our other rental car! suffice it to say, we are loyal avis customers from now on!
cruising down I35 at an eighty mile an hour clip, we all took a deep sign of relief. the boys were snug in their seats snoozing away and jordan and i stole a glance - we had made the right decision, it felt so good to be back in texas and on our way home. it was a long crazy journey, but we could feel austin's closeness...that was until we hit bumper-to-bumper traffic 60 miles outside of dallas and were stuck there for the next 2 hours! ugh! the boys were major troopers through it all, especially as i took each of them out to nurse, fed them solids in their car seats, etc.
as we approached the austin city limits at 7pm, we realized neither of us had a key to the house. the last thing we wanted to do was trek to the airport, return the rental car and switch the boys to our car. we just wanted to be home! so i called anne who has a spare to the house and made a quick stop to pick up the key. saint anne had a bag of dinner goodies for us, but jordan quickly realized the keys she gave us were not our keys, and these were the only keys she had! resigned to go to the airport, i looked at jordan and said, "is there any window in the house that isn't locked, because if there is, i can get in!" thank god our house isn't burglar proof and our tiny, high bathroom window doesn't lock (don't worry - it does now!). so we sped home, popped the screen off, jordan hoisted me up over his head and i did thief gymnastics to get in our house. as soon as my toe hit the marble of our bathroom floor, my whole body relaxed and true relief washed over me. this was the end to one of our worst travel experiences ever. we were finally home and it never felt so good.
that night, after we put the boys to bed in their cozy cribs, we relaxed in front of the fireplace, strong drinks in hand, and relived the ridiculous hilarity of the past 24 hours. we marveled at how our boys were such exceptional travelers in every medium we encountered - given what preceded the day, oskar being sick, going to the ER, etc, these boys truly deserve a medal for being such great sports and holding it all together! and i have to say j and i maintained our cool and basically laughed through all the insane glitches we encountered. we couldn't help but think this would be a great sequel to the great john candy/steve martin holiday classic.
that being said, we learned some very valuable lessons from the experience that we will not soon let go of:
1) we will NEVER travel if one of our team members is down. it just wasn't fair to put oskar through the stress of traveling and staying in a strange place when he was sick. his temp had gone down to 98 before we left that morning, but we should have never chanced it (nor put any other children on the flight at risk).
2) we will NEVER let anything or anyone get in the way of the comfort of our children.
3) i will LISTEN to my husband's instincts and take them much more seriously in the future. j had major reservations about traveling with oz having a fever the night before and i really blew him off. sorry j - it won't happen again.
that about sums up our holiday tale. we hope you all had a much mellower, light and joyful christmas day! and to all our friends and family in the chicagoland area, we are so bummed we didn't get a chance to see you and have you meet our rascals. after this experience, you are all welcome to come visit us in austin! (that's a joke, i'm sure we'll get the gumption to trek back to the windy city in a few years! =)
the flight was uneventful and the boys did stellar as usual, but i couldn't help notice how sleepy oz was the whole time and how he felt increasingly hot to the touch. by the time we got settled in to my parents' house, i checked his temp and he was back up to 103. it was downhill from there - who wants to be in a strange house when they are sick?! abie was content, but i couldn't put oskar down. he desperately wanted to sleep, but was so uncomfortable. i know i don't need to explain the trials of a sick infant to you parents out there! we were able to get oz in to a doctor on christmas eve day and he thought it was just a virus, which we thought too. we just had to ride it out.
christmas day was actually really enjoyable. oz came out of his sick-funk to have a blast opening presents, ripping paper, playing peek-a-boo with uncle markey and exploring all his new toys with his bro. it was delightful and we all thought we were on the up-and-up. that was until oz woke up from his PM nap inconsolable, and then proceeded to wake up ever hour screaming hysterically after going down for bed. after four hours of this, j decided to check his temp, even thought his fever had broke that afternoon and he felt cool to the touch. it registered a frightening 95! we flipped and immediately packed up the boys for a trip to the emergency clinic down the street. that was at midnight and marked the beginning of some serious unraveling.
it's a really good thing that oz was ultimately just fine and this wasn't a true emergency, or else we would have been in big trouble. we got the boys loaded up but couldn't find the keys to the car. so j had to switch the carseat bases to my brother's car in freezing temps; it took the disgruntled woman 45 minutes to check us in to the clinic; and the orthodox jewish doctor wouldn't even look at me, let alone address me when pronouncing a 95 degree temperature on an infant to be "perfectly normal." that, in addition to having problems with the thermostat keeping a good temperature at my parents' house, jordan and i decided that we had enough. we all needed to get home as quickly as possible; to the comfort and warmth of our own home, where everything is familiar, and where we have all the tools we need to comfort a sick baby within an easy reach. my mom got us booked asap on the 9am flight back to austin, with a short layover in dallas.
now this is where the craziness gets really good. my dad, unknowing that we were packing it up and leaving the house at 7am, decides he needs to get away from the craziness and goes for a drive...with our stroller in the trunk! our travel system is completely reliant on the stroller and without it we wouldn't have the hands to roll our luggage. he hadn't come home by the time we needed to leave, so off we went with just a diaper bag, the carseats (w/ bases attached), and of course, our boys. the flight to dallas went off without a hitch, save for the fact that we were 40 minutes late leaving chicago. we arrived in dallas, ran to the gate for our austin flight, to find it has left 5 minutes earlier. off we went to find the next flight, which left in an hour, but by the time we got there we were number 20 and 21 on the standby flight and the guy behind the counter was much more interested in helping the other customer find a mcdonalds than helping out two parents with babies strapped to them. the next flight after that wasn't for another 3 hours, which is how long it takes to drive to austin, so we decided to complete our journey in the car. (and if some of you are wondering where the "trains" come into play in the title of the post, we were lucky to travel the new skylink train during our jaunt at DFW).
now we are at the car rental center and i scout a wonderful oasis of leather couches and caret at avis. granted, jordan was renting our car at advantage, but i thought if i could just be inconspicuous and nurse the boys on the couch, change their diapers, clothes, feed them solids and let them crawl around a bit...we'd all be a lot better for it. it turns out we had an angel watching over us at avis and margaret told us to make ourselves at home, made j and i coffee, got us bottled water, and gushed about the boys. despite the fact that we didn't give avis any business, she even got us a big luggage cart that fit the boys in their carseats, along with all our other stuff, so we could comfortably get to our other rental car! suffice it to say, we are loyal avis customers from now on!
cruising down I35 at an eighty mile an hour clip, we all took a deep sign of relief. the boys were snug in their seats snoozing away and jordan and i stole a glance - we had made the right decision, it felt so good to be back in texas and on our way home. it was a long crazy journey, but we could feel austin's closeness...that was until we hit bumper-to-bumper traffic 60 miles outside of dallas and were stuck there for the next 2 hours! ugh! the boys were major troopers through it all, especially as i took each of them out to nurse, fed them solids in their car seats, etc.
as we approached the austin city limits at 7pm, we realized neither of us had a key to the house. the last thing we wanted to do was trek to the airport, return the rental car and switch the boys to our car. we just wanted to be home! so i called anne who has a spare to the house and made a quick stop to pick up the key. saint anne had a bag of dinner goodies for us, but jordan quickly realized the keys she gave us were not our keys, and these were the only keys she had! resigned to go to the airport, i looked at jordan and said, "is there any window in the house that isn't locked, because if there is, i can get in!" thank god our house isn't burglar proof and our tiny, high bathroom window doesn't lock (don't worry - it does now!). so we sped home, popped the screen off, jordan hoisted me up over his head and i did thief gymnastics to get in our house. as soon as my toe hit the marble of our bathroom floor, my whole body relaxed and true relief washed over me. this was the end to one of our worst travel experiences ever. we were finally home and it never felt so good.
that night, after we put the boys to bed in their cozy cribs, we relaxed in front of the fireplace, strong drinks in hand, and relived the ridiculous hilarity of the past 24 hours. we marveled at how our boys were such exceptional travelers in every medium we encountered - given what preceded the day, oskar being sick, going to the ER, etc, these boys truly deserve a medal for being such great sports and holding it all together! and i have to say j and i maintained our cool and basically laughed through all the insane glitches we encountered. we couldn't help but think this would be a great sequel to the great john candy/steve martin holiday classic.
that being said, we learned some very valuable lessons from the experience that we will not soon let go of:
1) we will NEVER travel if one of our team members is down. it just wasn't fair to put oskar through the stress of traveling and staying in a strange place when he was sick. his temp had gone down to 98 before we left that morning, but we should have never chanced it (nor put any other children on the flight at risk).
2) we will NEVER let anything or anyone get in the way of the comfort of our children.
3) i will LISTEN to my husband's instincts and take them much more seriously in the future. j had major reservations about traveling with oz having a fever the night before and i really blew him off. sorry j - it won't happen again.
that about sums up our holiday tale. we hope you all had a much mellower, light and joyful christmas day! and to all our friends and family in the chicagoland area, we are so bummed we didn't get a chance to see you and have you meet our rascals. after this experience, you are all welcome to come visit us in austin! (that's a joke, i'm sure we'll get the gumption to trek back to the windy city in a few years! =)
Monday, December 17, 2007
groove on
abel has, for a while now, been channeling ray charles. when we sing or when he's particularly excited, he'll sway his head back and forth in a rhythmic fashion and even move his hands back and forth like he's playing the piano. well, he's taken it to a new level now-a-days and it's become his "move," so to say. he loves to do it when he's in his high chair and i start singing. i finally have captured a little slice of it on video, although fair warning, it's not half as good as it normally is because the boy gets all camera shy. as soon as he sees the camera he freezes (hence the funky angle of this video). so imagine seeing this for like 30 seconds long and with a big smile on his face!
communicators
both boys are now signing for milk. it took ozzy about two weeks to catch up with his bro in this department, but now that he's got it, he loves to use it! both guys equate the milk sign with any form of consumption and it's really cute to see them signing away as they gobble up their meals. and the other day was the first time abel "asked" to nurse with a sign. when i looked up at the clock, it was 5:30pm on the dot, their last meal of the day. smart boy!
all i want for christmas...
well, ozzy didn't have to wait 'til christmas to get his wish. santa delivered his top two front teeth a few weeks early! yesterday marked the arrival of no. 4 for the oz-man.
let's hope santa delivers for abie, too. and cross your fingers it's before we leave for chi-town on saturday!
the boys get in the christmas spirit with wintery pj's:
let's hope santa delivers for abie, too. and cross your fingers it's before we leave for chi-town on saturday!
the boys get in the christmas spirit with wintery pj's:
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Sunday, December 09, 2007
start 'em young
my cuz holly is in town from san fran so we had to introduce her to the famous salt lick bbq joint. of course, the boys were in tow as well. these boys are definitely native texans and took to the ribs like, well, a cow to the lick! abel was especially enamored with jordan's baby backs and at one point started screaming at the top of his lungs for more! we finished off our meal with a piece of the most amazing pecan pie ala mode, and the boys had their first taste of ice cream. it was like the nectar of gods. serious moaning and groaning!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
festival of light
happy hanukkah, y'all!
abie ripping into the boys' first hanukkah present:
it's a dreidel!
oz lets 'er rip:
our tradition of lighting the candles begins:
abie ripping into the boys' first hanukkah present:
it's a dreidel!
oz lets 'er rip:
our tradition of lighting the candles begins:
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
seeing double doubles
the boys had so much fun today playing with forest and logan (of the the joys of twins claim to fame). it's amazing when you get two sets of twins together. so much action and excitement! forest and logan turn one next week - what an awesome accomplishment - for them and especially for their mama, dawn! they are both walking so well and oz and abie were watching carefully. so much so that they both were practicing their hands-free balancing like mad when we got home from the playground. the boys were so tuckered from their non-stop playing that they went down for their afternoon nap immediately and have been snoozing for two hours now!
it wasn't easy getting them lined up for a photo shoot, but here are my best shots:
it wasn't easy getting them lined up for a photo shoot, but here are my best shots:
Monday, December 03, 2007
10 month boasts
we're all so proud of our kiddos, it's hard not to constantly wax about all the incredible things they do on a daily basis. abie picked lint up off the floor and studied it for a minute! ozzy blew raspberries with a big mouthful of oatmeal and it sprayed all over the wall!
i try to be low-key when it comes to talking about what the boys can, or can't, do. but lately i've noticed some pretty cool things happening that i want to mention for the sake of posterity, since this blog will more than likely become their baby book(s).
it seems like some major synapses are firing in our little abel. in the past week, abie is now signing for milk! go figure, i don't often nurse on demand, so i feel like i'm letting him down a little when he starts making the sign when he's, say, getting his diaper changed before his nap. can't begrudge him for trying, though! he is also doing "how big is abie?" and reaches his hands high in the sky before i can even get "so big!" out.
both ozzy and abie have been clapping like little maniacs for a while and wave to whoever they see. oz gets so excited when he sees his dad come home at the end of the day that he waves with so much force he nearly knocks himself over! they both also do "high five," which i started as a distraction when ozzy tries to whack my face...he gets a little rambunctious at times.
they both dance when you sing or put music on, but abie really gets his groove on in a major way. he does what we call the "ray charles," where he sways his head from side to side. when he really likes what he hears, or if he's super excited (like when i come into the room after their nap), he wiggles his entire body with so much verve! oz does his version of the white man's overbite - sticking his tongue out and bouncing up and down.
gross motor-wise, they are doing all the typical stuff. crawling around every where, going from room to room, standing on anything they can pull/push up on, cruising on furniture. they are both starting to experiment a bit with letting go and over the past few days they have both stood independently for several seconds. they absolutely love the playground and ozzy has garnered the nickname "the little escape artist." he'll high-tail it across the playground and stand up on the wrought iron gate where matilda is and bounce up and down. he's super adventerous and will just take off - sure, he'll throw me a few look backs as he's speed crawling away, just to make sure i've got my eye on him.
the boys are serious foodies. they just love everything about it! we took them to a brazilian churrascaria yesterday and they sampled everything that was safe and appropriate: fresh mozzarella, marinated shitake mushrooms, chicken, filet, fried plantains and mashed potatoes. oz loves to feed himself and is quite good at grabbing food and getting it in his mouth however he can. abie likes to be fed. he's a lay-on-the-couch-and-feed-me-grapes-as-i-recline kind of guy. they are boys after my own heart; their new fav food is mac and cheese (amy's brand).
in terms of play, the boys mostly love non-toy items. tupperware, balls, books, the formula can, the garbage can, and of course any knob or pull on any cabinet. a few weeks ago they started playing peek-a-boo with each other using their curtains. it sends them into hysterics. they also love playing peek-a-boo with us - when we change their diaper, they'll pull their blanket over their face and rip it down over and over and over again. they also love chasing us, matilda and ally (the cat).
our days are filled with all types of conversations. today, ozzy talked with his dad for about 5 minutes on the phone. here's the jist:
jordan: eh
ozzy: eh
jordan: eh
ozzy: eh
jordan: ahhhhh!
ozzy: eeeeahhh!
jordan: eh
ozzy: eh
they both love to scream at one another at the tops of their lungs. jordan eggs them on, especially when i'm feeding them. let's just say i've seen a lot of mashed up food in my kiddos' mouth' lately.
there's our boast-post. so what are your kids doing? hmmmm????
i try to be low-key when it comes to talking about what the boys can, or can't, do. but lately i've noticed some pretty cool things happening that i want to mention for the sake of posterity, since this blog will more than likely become their baby book(s).
it seems like some major synapses are firing in our little abel. in the past week, abie is now signing for milk! go figure, i don't often nurse on demand, so i feel like i'm letting him down a little when he starts making the sign when he's, say, getting his diaper changed before his nap. can't begrudge him for trying, though! he is also doing "how big is abie?" and reaches his hands high in the sky before i can even get "so big!" out.
both ozzy and abie have been clapping like little maniacs for a while and wave to whoever they see. oz gets so excited when he sees his dad come home at the end of the day that he waves with so much force he nearly knocks himself over! they both also do "high five," which i started as a distraction when ozzy tries to whack my face...he gets a little rambunctious at times.
they both dance when you sing or put music on, but abie really gets his groove on in a major way. he does what we call the "ray charles," where he sways his head from side to side. when he really likes what he hears, or if he's super excited (like when i come into the room after their nap), he wiggles his entire body with so much verve! oz does his version of the white man's overbite - sticking his tongue out and bouncing up and down.
gross motor-wise, they are doing all the typical stuff. crawling around every where, going from room to room, standing on anything they can pull/push up on, cruising on furniture. they are both starting to experiment a bit with letting go and over the past few days they have both stood independently for several seconds. they absolutely love the playground and ozzy has garnered the nickname "the little escape artist." he'll high-tail it across the playground and stand up on the wrought iron gate where matilda is and bounce up and down. he's super adventerous and will just take off - sure, he'll throw me a few look backs as he's speed crawling away, just to make sure i've got my eye on him.
the boys are serious foodies. they just love everything about it! we took them to a brazilian churrascaria yesterday and they sampled everything that was safe and appropriate: fresh mozzarella, marinated shitake mushrooms, chicken, filet, fried plantains and mashed potatoes. oz loves to feed himself and is quite good at grabbing food and getting it in his mouth however he can. abie likes to be fed. he's a lay-on-the-couch-and-feed-me-grapes-as-i-recline kind of guy. they are boys after my own heart; their new fav food is mac and cheese (amy's brand).
in terms of play, the boys mostly love non-toy items. tupperware, balls, books, the formula can, the garbage can, and of course any knob or pull on any cabinet. a few weeks ago they started playing peek-a-boo with each other using their curtains. it sends them into hysterics. they also love playing peek-a-boo with us - when we change their diaper, they'll pull their blanket over their face and rip it down over and over and over again. they also love chasing us, matilda and ally (the cat).
our days are filled with all types of conversations. today, ozzy talked with his dad for about 5 minutes on the phone. here's the jist:
jordan: eh
ozzy: eh
jordan: eh
ozzy: eh
jordan: ahhhhh!
ozzy: eeeeahhh!
jordan: eh
ozzy: eh
they both love to scream at one another at the tops of their lungs. jordan eggs them on, especially when i'm feeding them. let's just say i've seen a lot of mashed up food in my kiddos' mouth' lately.
there's our boast-post. so what are your kids doing? hmmmm????
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
adventures in eating
our boys love to eat. they love everything about it, from the mushy textures of soft tropical fruit, to creamy mac-and-cheese, to banging on the table with spoons (okay, so maybe i speculate a bit).
we're exposing them to as many safe foods as they are willing to try. abie continues to love everything we give him. oz has some speculation about things at first, but he's a good sport about trying, and most of the time he ends up liking things after a few bites. lately they've had chili, sag paneer, double baked potato, tortilla crusted catfish, cranberry sauce and queso.
we love taking them out to eat and lately we've been trying to meet jordan once a week for lunch. today we took them to shady grove, a fun eatery right by zilker park. it's old-timey trailer park kitschy and the boys loved it. they entertained all the tables around us, plus the wait staff, with their pterodactyl screeches, waves and claps. they truly are a hoot!
the boys:
we're exposing them to as many safe foods as they are willing to try. abie continues to love everything we give him. oz has some speculation about things at first, but he's a good sport about trying, and most of the time he ends up liking things after a few bites. lately they've had chili, sag paneer, double baked potato, tortilla crusted catfish, cranberry sauce and queso.
we love taking them out to eat and lately we've been trying to meet jordan once a week for lunch. today we took them to shady grove, a fun eatery right by zilker park. it's old-timey trailer park kitschy and the boys loved it. they entertained all the tables around us, plus the wait staff, with their pterodactyl screeches, waves and claps. they truly are a hoot!
the boys:
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
the honeymoon is over
in the words of my goddess yoga teacher, today i'm officially "on my moon." if you don't know what that means, you're probably of the male gender and wouldn't be interested in this post anyways. but i thought it was a nice sounding way of putting "it."
it's been a long time coming - 19 months to be exact. well, jordan would correct you and say 19 months and 4 days, since my LMP was on may 23 (2006!!!), a date we said so many times to various doctors that i don't think he'll ever forget it. it's also the boys' 10 month birthday today. and it's just three days off from the full moon. i have to say i'm kind of in awe of it all!
it came with little fanfare, thank goodness. i had a hunch about it yesterday after feeling mildly crampy. i feel rather lucky, actually. 19 months - with 10 months postpartum - is a pretty glorious stretch to not have to deal with it.
so, with that, the honeymoon is officially over. well, at least not until next time (did i just say that?!). or if jordan has his way, not until i hit menopause!
it's been a long time coming - 19 months to be exact. well, jordan would correct you and say 19 months and 4 days, since my LMP was on may 23 (2006!!!), a date we said so many times to various doctors that i don't think he'll ever forget it. it's also the boys' 10 month birthday today. and it's just three days off from the full moon. i have to say i'm kind of in awe of it all!
it came with little fanfare, thank goodness. i had a hunch about it yesterday after feeling mildly crampy. i feel rather lucky, actually. 19 months - with 10 months postpartum - is a pretty glorious stretch to not have to deal with it.
so, with that, the honeymoon is officially over. well, at least not until next time (did i just say that?!). or if jordan has his way, not until i hit menopause!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
level playing field
while we try hard not to "compare" the boys, as they quickly approach their 10 month birthday i can't help but notice how things are evening out. they have taken very different paths in terms of development - ozzy cruising through the gross motor stuff, and abie excelling in the fine motor arena.
we wondered as abie clapped, waved and gabbed about, when ozzy would join in. likewise, when oz-man was crawling from room to room of the house, we couldn't help but ask ourselves, "doesn't abie want to play follow the leader?"
the past few weeks have been all about the boys "catching up" to one another in these various skills. oz busted out his clapping and consonants one day, as if they had been there all along. and while abie had demonstrated he could crawl months ago, it wasn't until last week that he decided to use it for true mobility. the very next day he beat oz in a race to the empty can they were chasing.
they now stand in a place where their skills are more-or-less equally matched, and it's so much fun to see how this changes their interaction. new games of peek-a-boo have been discovered, chase and hide-and-go-seek are becoming staples. long conversations using every consonant in their repertoire take place during breakfast. and the unexpected meeting behind a door or around the couch that sends them into giggles and claps galore.
it's a fun time in the house right now as they explore and discover things together, and on their own. i can't help but marvel at how wonderful it is to witness how TWO babies walk their own path...and end up at the same destination with big smiles on their faces. how lucky and privileged we are to be a part of their journeys!
we wondered as abie clapped, waved and gabbed about, when ozzy would join in. likewise, when oz-man was crawling from room to room of the house, we couldn't help but ask ourselves, "doesn't abie want to play follow the leader?"
the past few weeks have been all about the boys "catching up" to one another in these various skills. oz busted out his clapping and consonants one day, as if they had been there all along. and while abie had demonstrated he could crawl months ago, it wasn't until last week that he decided to use it for true mobility. the very next day he beat oz in a race to the empty can they were chasing.
they now stand in a place where their skills are more-or-less equally matched, and it's so much fun to see how this changes their interaction. new games of peek-a-boo have been discovered, chase and hide-and-go-seek are becoming staples. long conversations using every consonant in their repertoire take place during breakfast. and the unexpected meeting behind a door or around the couch that sends them into giggles and claps galore.
it's a fun time in the house right now as they explore and discover things together, and on their own. i can't help but marvel at how wonderful it is to witness how TWO babies walk their own path...and end up at the same destination with big smiles on their faces. how lucky and privileged we are to be a part of their journeys!
Friday, November 23, 2007
daytripping
it was a gorgeous, brisk fall day in austin today so we took alex and the boys to zilker park and then for some shopping along south congress. sorry the pics are so crummy but we only had our phones with us. the boys loved the ducks, coots and egrets in barton springs, but the best part was the ultimate playground with enormous xylophones for the boys to bang on...okay, so we were the one's doing the banging and it was so much fun!
t-day with the silverboys
our friend alex came in from chicago to celebrate thanksgiving with us. he brought cool new "ugly" stuffed creatures, which abel immediately fell in love with. abie starts his thanksgiving binge by munching on uglydog's ear:
the boys are fascinated with standing at the french doors and looking at the backyard. here ozzy and dad play a game of "look but can't touch:"
we decided to buck tradition this year and have a particularly texas thanksgiving dinner. jordan get's ready to throw three racks of baby back ribs on the smoker. yummmmm....
the finished product. oz tries to grab and feed dad some ribs:
dinner was full of excitement! oz choked on a cheerio and i had to almost perform the heimlich. luckily it popped out when i put him way up over my shoulder and gave a good pat on the back. i've never taken action so quickly in my life (although, this isn't the first time i've had to come to a choking rescue. many years back i did the heimlich on a woman in a japanese restaurant who choked on some shabu-shabu). and of course, dinner activities wouldn't be complete without the boys' playing a rousing game of peek-a-boo with their trays. here is abel demonstrating:
the boys are fascinated with standing at the french doors and looking at the backyard. here ozzy and dad play a game of "look but can't touch:"
we decided to buck tradition this year and have a particularly texas thanksgiving dinner. jordan get's ready to throw three racks of baby back ribs on the smoker. yummmmm....
the finished product. oz tries to grab and feed dad some ribs:
dinner was full of excitement! oz choked on a cheerio and i had to almost perform the heimlich. luckily it popped out when i put him way up over my shoulder and gave a good pat on the back. i've never taken action so quickly in my life (although, this isn't the first time i've had to come to a choking rescue. many years back i did the heimlich on a woman in a japanese restaurant who choked on some shabu-shabu). and of course, dinner activities wouldn't be complete without the boys' playing a rousing game of peek-a-boo with their trays. here is abel demonstrating:
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
a new room with a view
last weekend we decided to overhaul the boys' environment. i'm a total believer in the socio-spatial dialectic - meaning our space shapes us, and we shape our space. i dig it on a grander scale in terms of how our cities are structured to facilitate (or not) our experience. i also know how important home space is to our overall well-being. we knew things weren't working for the boys and how they used (or didn't use) their room, and as well things just felt chaotic and haphazard with the "play area" we had designated on the rug in front of our couch.
so we recruited the help of our friend carrie contey (www.earlyparenting.com) and she did an evaluation of our house and how we can make it safer and friendlier (ala montessori-style) for the boys. so we jumped in head first and after a few days of planning, a massive IKEA shopping list, and a weekend full of power drilling and furniture lifting, we've made a brilliant shift.
so we recruited the help of our friend carrie contey (www.earlyparenting.com) and she did an evaluation of our house and how we can make it safer and friendlier (ala montessori-style) for the boys. so we jumped in head first and after a few days of planning, a massive IKEA shopping list, and a weekend full of power drilling and furniture lifting, we've made a brilliant shift.
we swapped the boys' room and the guest room, which boasts three huge windows where they can stand and watch the world go by. the colorful curtains have become the boy' favorite attraction where they sit and play peek-a-boo with each other for sometimes 15 minutes. and we installed some rad IKEA box shelves at the perfect height for standing and cruising (but that they'll also grow into), where we only put out a few toys at a time and swap 'em out every few days for a nice surprise.
in the living room, we created a similar play area with the box shelves. now when i put the boys down, they immediately crawl to their play "stations" and go to town. and their bedroom has become so much for them. a place to play, explore, hone their skills, but also rest. it's made diaper changes and getting ready for naps effective, fun and (best yet) fuss-free. we all are thrilled with our new spaces!
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