5 months!

I don't know about you, but I see baby Chris sitting next to baby Alex.  Either way, both of these fatsos are the cutest things I've created.  But I'm a little biased.

Check out those cheeks!

Orlando Bloom's baby might be ready for the next size pants.

Am I the only one that thinks this picture is hilarious?

This morning

Once again, Elliott woke up first.  We were behind this morning so I shot Milo at daycare. (Not comfortable with how I phrased that sentence.)  Anyway, that is Liz, their teacher.  She is awesome.  She gets spit up on and pooped on daily by the boys and still loves them tremendously.

More videos!

Chris is on a business trip so I decided to shoot the morning routine so that he could see the boys.  Elliott woke up but Milo wanted to sleep in.  I fed Elliott, then woke Milo up because we don't have all day.  We have stuff to do!  The crazy eyes are new.  They make me laugh.  I hope it's not permanent.

Milestones

Guess who can feed himself!  The video is a little dark, and Milo is whining in the background, but it's pretty cool!

Four months!

Turning a corner

First of all, Happy Birthday to my brother ALEX! Your gift is in the mail.  Enjoy, big guy!

Now...the past couple of weeks have sucked.  It started back on Halloween when Elliott got sick.  I picked him up from daycare and took him home, only to find out the next day that he (and Milo) had RSV.  Chris and I rounded out the week taking turns staying home from work and going to doctor visits.  They both were prescribed breathing treatments with a nebulizer, as well as antibiotics for an ear infection on the right ear for both of them. After about a week, they seemed to have gotten better.  Then last Monday, on their first day back to daycare, our refrigerator died.  Luckily we have an old one in the garage, and a mini fridge in the sunroom.  We were able to save all our food, but we have this monster mini fridge living on our kitchen island now.  A few days later, our water heater took a crap.  Thankfully this happened on the same day that Chris was running a fever.  He stayed home to rest, and get a plumber on the case.  Then he learned that it was going to be an expensive fix, so he went online and found out how to re-ignite the pilot light, so we are able to shower again!  Then on Friday, when we thought we were in the clear, I fell ill with the nasty stomach flu.  I had to attend a department lunch, which sucked.  I was gagging at the sight of the menu.  How does Ruby Tuesday sound when you're holding back chunks?  And all the food  pictured in their menus are so shiny. Yuck.  When we got back to the office I raised my white flag and went home to sleep.  I called Chris just before 5 to beg him to get the kids at daycare.  Daycare was very accommodating and had the boys ready in their car seats for Chris, when he arrived at 5:58.  He was such a champ and took care of the boys all night long while I made my trips back and forth from the bed to the bathroom.  On Saturday we were all looking much better, so we (Chris) cleaned the house and washed every article of clothing, blankets, etc.  Sunday was a good day, with more cleaning and listening to the boys chatter away and giggle like cute little babies.

Some good things occurred last week.  Last Sunday Chris and I marked our 7th anniversary by going out to dinner alone for the first time.  Thankfully Margie agreed to babysit the sleeping boys.  We figured that they're much easier to handle after bed time, and it seemed like she did a great job!  We are feeling more and more comfortable leaving them now.

We're still waiting on one more piece of news. It may become news, or it may not.  I am feeling more and more hopeful these days.  Stay tuned.

Happy Halloween!

First 3 Months

These kids keep growing!

Uh...what's wrong with this picture?

Daycare

The boys seem to be enjoying daycare.  One of my favorite things about daycare is that they just started sending out daily updates so that parents know what their kids are up to.  (I've secretly been counting diaper changes so I can tell if they really need diapers or not.)  Anyway, its super cute.  Here are some examples:

Buenos Dias!

Two things

First, all of my photos are gone because I deleted a file in Picasa labeled "Children of a Lesser Dog".  And I can't recover them!  A couple of years of photos in this blog down the terlet.

Second, Chris is home!  And the babies slept from 9 pm until 4:30 am!  I have to give credit where credit is due.  One book is called Happy Sleep Habbits, Happy Child (a baby shower gift from Lisa) and Moms on Call Guide to Basic Baby Care (recommended by Jeremiah). 

WTH

Where are all my pictures? They're all gone!  Like I have time to research this.  Ugh.

What a difference a day makes!

Chris has been out of town for business this week and returns tonight.  Normally, our routine is pretty easy.  The kids go to daycare during the day, I pick them up and feed them alone when we get home, and then they go to bed around 7pm.  Chris and I wake them up at 10 pm for their last feeding and he does the middle of the night feeding alone (usually around 2 am) while I do the first feeding of the morning (anywhere between 5:30 and 6:30 am).  We tag teamed Monday morning, and I got a hand from Margie on Monday evening.  That night I did 10 pm, the middle of the night and morning alone.  While the middle of the night stuff was routine, it did a number on my sleep schedule!  I was very tired on Tuesday, but managed to get to work 30 minutes late, and through the day unscathed.  I consumed ungodly amounts of coffee throughout the day and worried about possibly overodosing on caffeine.  Tuesday night came around, and it was horrible.  Elliott woke up early for the mid night feeding around 12:45 am.  I tried the pacifier, but it only bought me about an hour or less.  He woke up unconsolable at 1:30 am, so I fed them and went back to bed.  The monitor started going off again around 4ish and didn't let up for quite some time.  I was able to get to 5 ish in the morning and decided it had been long enough, and fed them.  I ended up sleeping in and got up 30 minutes later than usual.  That killed me! I ended up juggling coffee, lunch, Veronica, getting babies dressed and diapered, controlling crying, etc and decided to feed them again at 7 am to not throw off the feeding schedule at daycare.  I was 45 minutes late for work and SUPER tired.  

Yesterday I got desperate and read some books I have on babies and decided to try a new approach.  I found that feeding them more before bed and more often, and putting them to sleep earlier helps.  Also, it was advised to get rid of the night light and make it as dark as possible.  Quite possibly the most shocking was the revelation that running the swing that Elliott sleeps in (to aid in keeping his spit up to a minimum and to get him to fall sleep) actually keeps him from sleeping deeply.  Apparently we have the angle right, but he would sleep better if the swing was off.  I tried it all, and I slept from 10 pm - 2:30 am, and from 3 am until 6 am!  I only had to get up twice, once to move Elliott to the crib at 12:45 am (he was screaming and only stopped when I moved him) and again at 5 am to put Milo's pacifier in his mouth. So from 6:00 until 7 I took care of my stuff (coffee, lunch, Veronica, ect) and fed the babies together from 7 until 7:20 am.  I was able to get everything done and got to work only 20 minutes late but I stayed at daycare to chat with the teacher.  GOD I cannot wait to see Chris again!

Back to life, back to reality

This summer:

• finished the addition.  I was hoping that Chris would take photos of this but he was busy because...
• gave birth to Milo and Elliott. I realize that we owe photos, but I'm super busy because...
• I started work yesterday.  Maternity leave ended.  Where are the kids?  Funny you should ask, because they...
• started daycare last Thursday.  We love our new daycare.  Milo and Elliott are the tiniest babies there.  All the other babies are huge 4 month old babies who look like giant Godzilla babies who want to eat our little babies.  The first day was not emotional for me.  I was in a daze because I was so exhausted.  The night before we came home from our...
• Trip to Grand Rapids, MI.  We had a blast! It was a great time with Chris' family and a chance to escape the lack of power from...
• Hurricane Irene.  We lost the tip of our mailbox.  Our neighbors lost trees.  It was scary, but not quite as scary or confusing as...
• THE Earthquake.  WTF?! Oh crap.  I forgot I have work to do.  I'll try to keep posting, but I'm not making promises.  I'm busy.

Crack is not whack

Most of you already know that we're ripping our house apart to make room for some new tenants that are coming to live with us in the summer.  Chris has already begun blogging about it.  The construction team has been at it all weekend tearing the roof off on the north wing of the house which required us (Chris) to cover everything up with tape.  We haven't been able to access our kitchen.  On Saturday morning I sent Chris out for breakfast, and he came back with Tropical Smoothie Café's version of crack rock, the Breakfast Classic Ciabatta.  We also had it for breakfast yesterday.  Today is day 3.  Tomorrow will likely be day 4.  The great thing about it is that the bacon one is just as good as the sausage one, and they're already pre-cut so we just eat one half and trade for the other half.  That way we both get one of each.  Since they also give you coupons almost every time you go, I also grab a smoothie for lunch. 

BTW, if you haven't already heard, bin Laden's been found and taken care of.  Win-win.

Jake

By now most of you know that Jake went to doggie heaven a week ago today.  Long story short, he had a pulmonary edema and really only suffered for a day or two.  We feel very fortunate that he went quickly and that we didn't have to make the painful decision to put him down. He died in Chris' arms, his human soul mate.  The house and family feels his void, but as time moves on I know things will start to feel better.

We don't know where Jake came from.  He snuck into our backyard one day and stuck around.  He didn't like humans much in the beginning, and we often thought that perhaps his previous owners were abusive.  Eventually he let us near him to pet him, hug him and love him.  He wasn't much for company on most days and didn't really like men.  When I met Chris, he instantly fell for Ramona (because she wouldn't have it any other way) but wanted to know more about the dog who lived in the corner.  I told him not to take it personally, that he just didn't like guys.  Boy, was I wrong.  Jake instantly bonded with Chris, and that bond would be strong as ever until the end. 

When Ramona died, Jake took on a different personality.  We immediately began walking him daily (he was horrible on a walk) and brought his weight down to normal.  He became somewhat attached to us (sometimes exhibiting separation anxiety).  He began warming up to most people, including men, and even  came out to socialize when we had company.  Most people knew that it was special if Jake liked you, because he was so discerning.  We eventually got Veronica so that he wouldn't be alone.  He hated her instantly.   In his defense, she was really annoying.  After a few weeks, I noticed that she forced her way into his life and caught them snuggling more and more frequently.  She never quite got to canine-soulmate status like Ramona, but I know he still loved her. 

I know that death is part of life, and that Jake needed to leave this world so that he wouldn't have to suffer.  I also know that Jake was one of the best things that has happened to us.  We will love him forever...that fat little one-ear-up-one-ear-down, cat-hating champion.  LOVE HIM!

KICK

We felt our very first kick today, together.  Chris came over to wake me up and placed his hand on my belly, and I rested my hand on his.  Then all of the sudden we got kicked.  It was awesome. Then it happened about two or three more times.   :)

School

Chris will be graduating in May, but our unborn babies will be starting school in the fall.  Apparently there is high demand for child care in this town.  We think it's early to be thinking about child care, but from what I hear the waiting lists are quite long.  We started researching on Thursday, and by Friday afternoon we had visited three places. 

The first was a "Child Care Center" here on campus which is supremely convenient for me.  The only problem was that the waiting list was daunting, and we just didn't feel that dropping a deposit for two spaces that may or may not open up was not for us.  Also, while this place had a decent tuition, as well as a 1:3 teacher to infant ratio, they offer no discount for a second child.  Plus we discovered hidden fees, such as annual enrollment fees, activity fees, etc. per child. 

The second was a "Day Care" disguised as an "Academy" nearby, in between home an school, but nowhere near Chris' work route.  The teacher to infant ratio was 1:4.  I witnessed a teacher bottle feeding one infant while bouncing another baby in a bouncer on the floor with her foot, as another two infants slept in a swing and bouncer.  As she finished feeding the baby and about to change her diaper, the other two sleeping babies were waking up and ready to wail, I felt as though that extra baby was too much for her.  Between this baby overload, the fact that there were drop-down cribs with the screw-in attachments, and the fact that the only thing separating the place from the highway was a chain link fence, we cut the visit short.  The low tuition fee coupled with the 10% discount was a big draw for us, but not enough to make it worth our childrens' future.  The Director (ex high school cheerleader - VERY intense energy) was also a little much, but she understood when we told her that we had to be at another school in ten minutes.  She made sure to tell us that there were two spots that would open up in the fall if we were interested.  Right.

The third was a "Child Development Center", very conveniently located close to home and on my way to work, as well as Chris'. We had learned that the school had only been open for a month and a half.  The place was totally clean and organized.  I fell in love immediately.  The thing that I loved was the structure that they had, even with infants.  The teacher to infant ratio is 1:3, and all of the infants learn sign language.  By seven months, they already move to another class (7-12 months) with kids who are walking or close to walking, to motivate them to walk.  By 1-2 years, the classes take on another schedule that includes yoga and massage!  Bunch of spoiled....anyway, the rest of the school is awesome, complete with a library and extra soft playgrounds.  The 4-5 year-olds sit in a classroom to get them ready for kindergarten. We also learned that many of the teachers have Masters Degrees in Early Childhood Development.  The best part was that with the tuition very comparable to the other places we'd seen, they also offer the 10% discount for the second child.  We decided to sit down in the main office and they were able to hold our spaces for the fall, with the application fee good for both children.  Out of curiosity I asked if we were early, because I cannot imagine that most people were out securing a space for their child six months away from birth.  To my surprise, we had secured the last two spaces in the fall.  Booyah! 

So now we can cross child care off our list, we have to start looking for a Pediatrician.  Sigh.

Cat's out of the bag

I realize its been over a month, but my apprehension to blog comes from the fact that we've been keeping something to ourselves.  Mostly because you're not really supposed to talk about it until the right time, even though it's all-consuming.  It's really just that we're expecting children later this year. So maybe this weekend, while the Atlantas are in town (sans the tykes) we can snap some photos for evidence.  I'm not sure how a twin pregnancy is supposed to look (even though I have countless books with pencil sketches), but I feel huge.  I might be hiding under sweaters, scarves and coats.  It's going to be difficult to hide this thing in a couple of months.   So we'll see how the blogging goes.  I'm just tired all the time.  I might continue to do this thing half a$$ed.   So what else is new?