Gramps is coming!

Gramps is coming for a visit today! Yay!

Update

I have been meaning to post for a couple of days now but have not had the time. There are so many things to talk about that I don't know where to begin! Last week I started weaning Thomas and Elizabeth from the breast. Just when I had decided I would nurse until they turn one they -- once again -- showed me things don't/won't always go as planned. My decision to start weaning was based on several things. E has become so busy that she is not interested in the breast. She might nurse for 10 minutes and then wants to talk or get on the floor and play. Also, the size of the twins has become an issue. They are getting so big that they seem uncomfortable after nursing for awhile and begin to fuss rather than eat. I suppose I could nurse them separately, but that would take ALL DAY. Besides E being so busy, and the twins getting so big, T and E have learned to aggravate each other -- not sure if it is intentional yet but the end result is the same. T likes to "play" with his sister's head by scratching it or pulling her hair. Needless to say it is not so much fun for E. On the other hand, E likes to try to put her hands in T's mouth while he is nursing. His usual response is a yell. Obviously, nursing has become quite an ordeal, and it is not as pleasant for the twins or mom as it should be. So, last week I took away their supper time feeding and gave them a bottle instead. I wasn't sure how it would go since E has been refusing to take the bottle. It went surprisingly well. After fighting me for a short time E took her bottle. I did this for five days and then this past Monday I took away their lunch time feeding and substituted a bottle. They seem to be adjusting fine -- probably better than I am. E is still pretty busy and not completely interested in the bottle, but at least now I know how much she is getting, which is comforting to me.

Besides weaning we have been working on "acceptable meal time behaviors". Both T and E have started throwing the BIGGEST fits during meal time. David and I have endured several of these episodes and have decided there is nothing wrong with them -- not in pain, not wet/dirty, etc. We both think the fits are behavioral issues. Anyway, I have tried using some sign (the sign for stop) along with my words to stop the fit. I also do not give them a bite while they are screaming. That is actually impossible -- they won't swallow it but just keep right on screaming. We will see how it goes. A wise man recently told me, "There is no right way to be a parent. What works for one child might not work for another. Some decisions you make will be right and some will be wrong. As long as your heart is in the right place at the time of the decision is all that matters."

On a lighter note, Thomas rolled over from his back to his stomach for the first time on Saturday! We were giving T and E some naked time, and they were loving it. In the heat of the moment, T rolled over but was immediately unhappy about it (he hates being on his stomach). I was so happy to see him finally roll to his belly!

I met with a photographer today to discuss having some professional pictures taken of the twins. She will come to the house for the session which will make it so much easier for me and the twins. We discussed some possible places in the yard and what times of the day will be best for the babies. She will come twice in one day if she needs to -- so flexible! I am really excited about it! I have seen her work on her website, and her pictures are phenomenal. She is young and seems to have a lot of experience with babies.

That is all for now. Nap time is almost over.

Dadada!

Happy Birthday!

Elizabeth and Thomas are 8 months old today! I can't believe it....really can't believe it. We had a good birthday...good play time, good naps. I took their swings to the back porch and gave them each a sippy cup of juice without the stoppers in them. I want to let them play with their cups so they can learn how to hold them and use them. Thomas did pretty well with his cup. He did eventually hold it after some hand over hand help. I'm not sure how much juice he drank vs. how much he spilled, but he enjoyed it. Elizabeth did much better than I thought she would. At first she did not want the spout in her mouth, but by the end she was putting it in her mouth by herself. I think most of her juice ended up on the front of her dress. It was lots of fun! We also had a nice late afternoon walk. It was in the low 80's here today....beautiful!

Our babies are growing so fast. Wow, how time flies!

Daddy's Day

Today I will be leaving the twins with their daddy for most of the day. I will be helping at a consignment sale that is put on by the area Moms of Twins Club. I will feed them breakfast (soon) and will come home to feed them lunch and should be home to stay late this afternoon. I am looking forward to being out of the house but already miss them. I do hate leaving them even if it is only for a little while. I never thought I would be "one of those moms", but it turns out that I am. I guess it is because I rarely leave them. I know it is good for me to have some mommy time, but I still hate leaving them.

Today will be good for David because since he has been sick he really has not gotten to see T and E much. He has kept his distance in hopes of not making them sick. I think they have missed him and will happy to have some Daddy time.

It is time for some morning "mama's milk."

Sick at our house

Elizabeth has her first cold since leaving daycare. Her nose is both stuffy and runny, and she is sneezing quite a bit. Yesterday she felt really bad and wanted to be held or at least have me in her sight. Whenever I left the room she would turn her bottom lip upside down and cry big tears. It is so heartbreaking to see her little face with such a big frown. Elizabeth didn't nap much either. In fact, she cried for about one hour while lying on my stomach. I thought about taking her to the ER, but she wasn't running a fever. It could have been her ears, I guess. I will see how she feels today and call the pediatrician Monday if I need to. My pediatrician seems hesitant about prescribing cold meds and has told me to just buy over the counter meds. I personally don't agree and feel prescription meds are safer when taken properly. That is where Poppy and Aunt JoJo come in (thank the Lord!). I have some good cold medicine for both Thomas and Elizabeth that seems to be working well on Elizabeth's nose. She was much happier this morning so maybe today will be a better day for her.

David has the flu, poor thing. It has to be impossible to rest in our house -- especially yesterday. When Elizabeth cries you can hear it throughout the entire house. Closed doors don't keep the sound out. I'm trying to be a nazi nurse and make him stay in bed. I've already told him no work tomorrow. Let's see if he listens.

RIght now Thomas and I are healthy. I hope it lasts!

A milestone for mommy

I have been meaning to write about my milestone for a little while but either I haven't had the time or haven't thought about it while on the computer. When the twins first came home we had their crib in our bedroom. Who knew newborns could be so loud while sleeping? Next we decided to take "sleeping shifts" where one of us stayed in our bedroom with the babies while the other slept on a mattress upstairs in the nursery. That went on for a week or so ( I think). Then we decided to move the twins into the nursery, and we moved our bed into the guest room upstairs and moved the guest bed downstairs into the master bedroom (make sense?) This worked out the best because I was just a few footsteps away from the twins when they needed me, but we were far enough away so as not to hear every single baby noise. David and I both slept better when the twins were sleeping. In December, David decided it was time for us to move back into our bedroom downstairs. However, I was not ready to make the move. The twins were still waking around 4 am for their first feeding of the day, and honestly, I wasn't ready to be that far away from them. Anyway, last week David asked if I was ready to move downstairs, and I decided I was. Last Friday night we moved our bed back into our room and moved the guest bed back into the guest room. That night was the first night we slept in our own room for months. It felt really strange, but I slept fine. Of course, we do have a baby monitor so we can hear the twins if they need us. Otherwise I would not have made the move back downstairs. Unfortunately, when we have guests they will have the pleasure of hearing E sing around 5 am. Starting around 5 (though it was 4 this morning) she will sing for 15 minutes or longer and then sleep for awhile. She goes back and forth between singing and sleeping until around 6:30 or 7:00 when I go in to feed her and T their morning "Mama's milk." Grandmother Jane was the first guest to hear E's sweet early morning voice last weekend.

Anyway, that has been my most recent milestone as a mother.