Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Tidbits

W absolutely insists on having the orange cup, the orange bowl, the orange fork, and the orange baseball bat. It's really pretty funny.

We continue with duct-taping their diapers at night and bedtime, because they keep trying to take them off before they go to sleep. I really don't like doing that, though, because they sometimes end up with bits of adhesive on their hips. I take it off with baby oil, but I still don't like it.

I've never mastered rinsing their shampooed hair during bathtime without getting water in their eyes and so I asked J to install a hand held sprayer attachment. I used it for the first time last night. I gave the boys a bath one at a time instead of our typical "both boys at once". G was wary of the sprayer at first, but after I let him touch it, hold it, and have it spray on his hand and his tummy, he was OK with using it on his head. And it worked great - no water in his eyes at all. W, on the other hand, wasn't as accepting of this new addition to bathtime and still struggled with getting his hair rinsed, even though the sprayer wasn't getting water in his eyes. Hopefully that will go away in time.

Still struggling against Grandpa wanting to give the boys (especially G) food when they're upset/crying and this is usually crackers & cheese spread or even on Sunday afternoon, he asked if he could give them ranch chip dip. I couldn't believe he'd even think that was an option. One of my biggest priorities is preventing eating/food/obesity issues for these boys. I don't want to go overboard and cause eating disorders/obsessions, but I really don't want them to struggle with being overweight or using food to manage their emotions. Childhood obesity is such a big problem and I'm always trying to learn everything I can about the best way to prevent it. Everything seems to say that it's at age 2 where you need to start being concerned about it and so if G's BMI at the 24 month well visit with the doctor is overweight/obese, I'm going to seek an appointment/advice from a dietician.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Happy Friday

J gets to stay home with the boys this morning, because Julie's worn out and tired - staying home. I don't think any 3 of my boys are complaining about that = lots of fun bonding time.

W has joined G on the loving-to-read-books train. They both were asking for laptime with their favorite books from Grandpa, Julie, and J yesterday. I didn't join in, because when I got home from work yesterday G was demanding to go, "Bye bye!". Meaning, he makes sure he gets my attention, looking right at me, and waving his little hand at me along with saying, "Bye BYE!". And I can't say no. So, after the boys ate a quick dinner, J and I took them to another park further from our house. They love this park. It has a lot more activity with lots and lots of little kids and their parents. They both enjoyed the swings and then W got hooked on climbing the big-kids-ladder and going down the big-kids-slide, over and over and over again, literally running from the bottom of the slide over to the ladder. I love his little run - he's got his whole body into it!  And G saw some older boys kicking a soccer ball around - and he walked right up to them, not really intimidated at all. They were nice enough to stop and kick it over to him and at first he tried to pick it up and take it away for himself, but I redirected him and he kicked it back to them. It was so cute.

I don't know what we're going to do this winter, when it's too cold to go outside - the boys LOVE running around and playing outdoors!

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

these days keep flying by

Oh, how I love these two little boys. Sometimes I think we should have another, because the days are flying by too quickly and they're going to be two soon and I won't have babies anymore. J and I talk all the time about how much we're going to miss these days and how sad we'll be when they leave the house in 17, 18 years. Anyway, some bullet points of recent moments I want to remember:


  • W woke up too early this morning (6:40) because his brother was awake and ready to loudly start the day. So after I got G out of his jammies & sent him to see daddy for breakfast, I got W out of his crib and asked if he wanted to snuggle. He nodded yes, so I got his blankie, wrapped him up, and snuggled him in the rocking chair in their room. He leaned into me and seemed so snuggly satisfied. I kissed him and told him how much I love him and just spent a few minutes memorizing his face. It was really only a 5 minute event, but I think it was really important. I don't spend enough one-on-one time with them and need to figure out a way to make that happen. (this bullet point turned into a paragraph!).
  • Julie texted me yesterday morning that she asked G if he loves his mommy and he said,"Yes", even though "No" is the much more common response to basically everything lately!
  • W has the cutest little run I've ever seen - I saw it in action last night when Grandpa & I took them to the indoor playland.
  • Also at playland last night: G was so excited about the bubble machine and kept saying, "Bubbles! Bubbles!", running around with his arms up & out.  So cute!
  • W has a big ORANGE fetish - he was very upset when G was dressed in "his" orange shirt a few days ago, to the point where I took it off G and gave it to W. He also wants the orange sippy cup and the orange bowl. He wanted the orange toy in the "soybean sand box" at the playland. Interesting...
  • G is in love with reading books lately. Grandpa says that they read 20 books in an afternoon and I believe it! On top of whatever they read together, he spends a lot of time bringing me books to read and sitting himself into my lap on the floor. He loves Goodnight Moon, Little Blue Truck, and My Mommy Loves Me.  
  • W likes to run up to me and give my leg a big bear hug.
  • They're both loving playdoh - they spent an hour with it yesterday with Daddy & Grandpa - which is amazing considering their very short attention span.

Monday, August 4, 2014

where are the words?

Yes, boys typically start talking later than girls.

And yes, twins often start talking later than singletons.

These facts dampen my worries that these 21 month olds aren't talking much yet. But this knowledge fails to lessen my extremely strong desire to communicate with them using words. I mean, obviously I talk with them (all the time, in hopes that this will help) - but I hear very little response through words.  They understand exactly what I'm saying and they easily follow 2-part directions. There's no problem with their comprehension.  But they don't use words to tell me what's going on inside those cute little heads. And I'm dying to know.  I yearn for that kind of relationship and it feels like I've been waiting forever. "Luv you, momma" is something I know will melt my heart and I just wish it would happen sooner than later. Instead, J and I express glee about the one word they both have started saying - "No".  Actually, it's really funny - G was very tired last evening, because he refused to take a nap after playtime at the park and he was kind of whiny. I told him, "I understand, you're tired", and he responded NOOOOO.  It's like, he understood not only what I was saying, but what I was implying (it would be bedtime soon).  Just these little glimpses of what 2-way communication can be like with them just whets my appetite and leaves me wanting more.

They're certainly working on their large motor & fine motor skills in lieu of the verbal skills, though!  They both can thread Cheerios onto dry spaghetti noodles stuck in play-doh. W can climb up the "big kids" playground equipment at the park and hang from a bar.  Both boys can throw the ball overhand, they're both running, and G is jumping.  W is trying to figure out how to throw things straight up into the air, since watching me demonstrate. It's fascinating to watch them learn new things and it's so fun to see how proud of themselves they are. So, I try to take great joy with their accomplishments rather than focusing on what we don't have (yet).

Friday, August 1, 2014

these fast-moving days

Went to the park near our house yesterday with Jan & the boys. As usual, they both took their shoes & socks off during the short drive to the park. I'm really looking forward to having that phase be a part of the past!

Keeping in mind what I've read about the possible routes of obesity inheritance, I decided to challenge G to run the bases with me. And he did!  We had lots of fun running (really, me jogging slowly, but he was doing his little run behind me) from base to base, jumping on each base when we got to it.  He laughed and had fun - and I kept hoping that maybe this kind of thing will activate a love of being active rather than sedentary.

A man with a remote-controlled airplane came to the park and the boys were enthralled, watching the plane swoop around through the air and down to land near his feet.

We also watched a couple playing tennis and they threw a couple of tennis balls over the fence to us so the boys could play with them. And wow, does W have an arm!  He's able to do overhand throwing of a tennis ball with seemingly very little effort.

Then after we came home & had dinner, I decided to test their ability/desire to "pretend play". I asked them if they wanted to "feed their baby". And they did!  We have a baby doll inherited from my sister and I got out 2 of their spoons and bowls - and both of them had lots of fun feeding the baby. And it was so cute!

They're both great with puzzles already, but G especially so. W gets frustrated when the piece needs to be "twisted/turned around" to fit and he gives up pretty quickly. G seems to have a natural talent with getting the pieces in correctly.

I'm so proud of these boys!