Happy New Year, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, How are you?

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a good holiday season. Ours was crazy! E had a good time and did well in the gift department. Peanut and Squeakers were a little overwhelmed and cried when they saw Santa. The poor dears-so many people, all the presents, two different houses. They just really wanted to walk around.
We took E to NYC on Dec 26 for the day. The city is so magical all dressed up for the holidays. We packed a lot in one day: Rockefeller Center, American Girl store, FAO Shwartz, Central Park, handsome cab ride, Tiffany's to just name a few. We probably walked over 5 miles! E was mesmorized by the city. I did tell her about homeless people to give her a heads up. She kept asking me where they were--we really didn't see any. There was a guy sleeping on the steps at Port Authority but I don't think he was homeless.
The kids were sick over Christmas vacation. E had a cold and the babies had RSV. We had to get a nebulizer for the babies. They didn't like it at first but then after a few treatments they were alright.
E started ice skating lessons. Her first lesson was this past Monday. She fell and got a nice cut on her leg. But she got right back out there after I cleaned her up. I was very proud of her for doing that :-) Next lesson is bring a friend for free--I'm going!
I am going to start doing something for myself--working out. I ordered Brazil Butt Lift and I now have a beachbody coach. It's time to get back into shape. I believe working out first thing in the morning is the best time. However, I am not a morning person. I'll have to see how it works out. I'm also debating on whether or not to take before and after pictures. I have looked at myself in the mirror holding a little hand mirror and I don't like what I see.
We took down the gates in the living room. After baby proofing the downstairs the babies can walk around the kitchen and hallway now. I think I may have to order the magnets for the kitchen doors/drawers. I did give them a cabinet with plastic lids and containers. It's nice to open it and tell them they can play with the things inside.
M and E with Balto-the dog that saved Nome, Alaska

E read about him in one of her stories.

E, Me and M going for our handsome cab ride


Peanut and Squeakers with E's grocery cart. They loved pushing this around!




Peanut, Logan and Squeakers. I can't tell you how hard it is to take their picture! They are little whirlwinds! I couldn't even get one with all three kids for our holiday card. Hopefully next year!


That's me!


I'm not going to make any resolutions. I would like to lose weight, eat better, do more things with just E, see my friends more, organize the house and go to sleep a little earlier. That's not to much, is it?

Life

Hello! I haven't been blogging because I've been ordering Christmas presents online and trying to declutter the house so we can start decorating. M put up all the outside lights and hung wreaths on the windows. I just have to get started on the inside. We have to put the tree in the basement this year. We only have one living area on the main floor and that is Squeaker and Peanut's domain. I can only imagine what would happen to the tree if we put it in there.
I'm pretty much done shopping. Yay for T.arget and E.tsy online. I had everything shipped to my parents house as to keep the goods from being found. The only items left to get are some gift cards. I'm way ahead of the game this year. Last year I did everything in a scrambled sleep induced haze.
I'm hoping to get back into the swing of working out. I asked for Z.umba for the W.ii and E asked for J.ust Dance 1 & 2. My good friend is going to be taking pole dancing classes in Philly. I would love to take those! They look like so much fun and it tones/strengthens your whole body. In my neck of the woods we aren't up to speed on the latest fitness trends.
We are doing better eating. We have added more fruits/veggies to our meals. Plus lowfat yogurt and jello are now in our snacks. Trying to be good eggs. It would be easier if the babies slept through the night. Now we are in the throws of teething. They are each getting three teeth in the front. Broken sleep makes it hard to do the regular house/taking care of kids, etc. let alone adding regular workouts. Working out would increase my energy. But I have no energy to get started.
Here's a picture from this week:
It was so nice out we walked around the neighborhood for an hour. These hats I bought last year on E.tsy. I call them their baby bear hats.

Happy Halloween

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!! E was flapper. Peanut is a koala bear and Squeakers is a polar bear. Hopefully they will stay still long enough to get a picture.

Happy first birthday

Today Peanut & Squeakers are one year old! I am amazed that this year has gone by so quickly. We had a party with family and friends and they were so good. We've been practicing singing "Happy Birthday" and I think that helped. M made all the food yesterday and I got all my cleaning done too. So today it was put food in crock pots and vacuum (just because of our dogs). My Dad came up early to help watch the boys so we could get cleaned up ourselves. We had a beautiful party and they got so many wonderful presents. A good time was had by all.

Squeakers & Peanut


Squeakers

Peanut


Peanut




Squeakers

In the last two pictures the boys are wearing t shirts I purchased from E.tsy. I had Peanut's done with a monkey and his name. Squeakers has a giraffe with his name. I am so happy with how they turned out.

So lucky

Peanut & Squeakers--more please!

I am blessed to have a beautiful and healthy family. I have a wonderful job teaching reading to first graders and I have my health. I am so lucky :-)
Today the babies and I went for a walk for about an hour. We walked all over town taking in the reds, yellows and oranges that mark my favorite season. The air is so crisp peppered with someone burning leaves or doing laundry. It was a good time.
Peanut and Squeakers are eating so much now. For lunch they had: 1 banana, half of an acorn squash, tortellinis and chicken. I think when they get older we will have to get some cows and chickens. It's amazing what they can pack away.

Baby sign language

I have always been interested in sign language. I was even a deaf ed major in school before switching to elem ed. My ASL teacher was so wonderful I didn't even mind going on Saturday mornings for 3 hours. I don't remember how I came across it but I thought it was so cool to teach E sign language. She knew the signs for cereal (c.heerios), dog, cat, light, moon, stars, more, drink, and a bunch more. My Mom was amazed that E could tell her when she was hungry or tired. E could tell us what she needed before she could talk. I started teaching Squeakers and Peanut a couple of months ago. Peanut picks up on the signs quicker than Squeakers but I know constantly signing is the key. I also found these great websites that are a great resource:

ALS Pro

Baby Sign Language Basics

These books are great too. We also have the ones for bedtime and my first baby signs. These are nice because they have pictures of babies doing the signs.

D.isney for two please

After much talking M and I decided that it would be E and myself going to D.isney. It wasn't the added expense (we would have gotten a suite) of taking the babies but the general care of them. Feeding them, naps, etc. Plus they wouldn't remember going. We told E and she was upset. She was excited to have them see the characters but after explaining to her that she would be able to do so much more I think she began to understand. We are going to book our trip this week. I am also going to make our reservations for the luau, breakfast with W.innie, hair and make-up at the Bibbity Bobbity Boo salon and maybe C.irque du Soleil. U.niversal is also on our list. I think we will go for two days. H.arry Potter being our main destination. E saw the pirate rooms at the Caribbean so I'm going to check those out for her. It does simplify things but I know it's going to be hard to leave Peanut and Squeakers. If they want to go in a couple of years we will take them. I think everyone should experience D.isney once. I went when I was 4 for the first time (I don't remember much) and again when I was 21. I had so much fun the second time. I'm looking forward to seeing E experience D.isney. I think she's at a good age. She is tall enough that she can go on all the rides but young enough that D.isney is still magical.

Adventures

I come in from taking Kona and Logan outside early this morning. I see Peanut high tailing it through our baby gate and crawling underneath the kitchen table. M was just about out the door to go to D & D -we run on D.unkin ;-) - and I ask him, "Didn't you put Peanut in the exersaucer?" "Yes" Amazing. We don't know how exactly he got out. M said it was going to happen sooner or later. I would prefer the latter because I put them in there when I have to go to the bathroom.
I don't think Squeakers would do that. He's so happy and content where ever he is. He was pushing a book around the living room and Peanut is taking clothes out of the plastic drawers. We had to turn around said drawers because he shut the drawer on his fingers. Oh boy.
E has her cheerleading camp today. She told me she wants to do cheerleading next year. This is something I can see her doing. The cheering, routines and fancy uniforms are right up her alley. She went to her first football game last night and loved it. She went with one of her friends from class and met up with other friends. She made confetti, watched the cheerleaders and had red, white and blue stars on her face. Sparkly stars of course. After her camp the girls put on a routine for the parents.

Weaning

I was very determined to nurse both my babies. I really enjoyed nursing E even though we got off to a very rocky start. I did nurse Peanut and Squeakers in the hospital but also supplemented with formula. I just wanted them to gain weight so they could come home. M helped me with the babies for their first two weeks home. He would ask me who he could feed and more times than not I told him Squeakers. So I blame myself for him not nursing like Peanut did. I do wish I could go back and do things differently. It's affected me more than him. I continually tried to nurse him but after a few months he would turn his head away. He's very content to drink out of a bottle. And now so is Peanut. He's becoming so independent. He likes to hold his own bottle and take a swig. The only time he really nurses is at night. Then you have E who loved her boobies and nursed until 2 1/2 years old. I really thought my nursing relationship with my babies would be like that. My children are all their own person with their likes and dislikes. What makes them move.
As a parent you do the best you can for them. Even though they may not understand or like you for it at the time. E has a hard time understanding why we are more strict with her than the other kid's parents in our neighborhood. Why we don't tolerate being mouthy and having an attitude. It is my job to be the best parent I can be for them, not their best friend. I just want them to grow to be happy, healthy and respectful of people and their world. I think that's what any parent wants. Right?

Catching up

Squeakers

Peanut

Peanut & Squeakers


Peanut and Squeakers turned 11 months on Sept 29. Walking along furniture, standing for a few seconds at a time, pointing to things, doing sign language (for light and ball) and letting you know what they want. They both loving feeding themselves (Peanut loves drinking from a bottle--so different when he only wanted to nurse). Squeakers will play by himself for a while. He will sit and intently look at a toy, take it apart and play with it. Peanut meanwhile is scaling the gates and falling into the toy chest. They are so different. Not that I expected them to be exactly alike because they are twins. I really try hard not to dress them alike because they are two separate people. I took them to school last week to pick E up and one of the moms asked me if they are alike and I said no. That they are both their own person. Peanut is more outgoing and quickly warms up to people. Squeakers is my cuddle bug and takes some time to check things/people out before he lets loose.
E started karate about 2-3 weeks ago and now she wants to quit. M told her to think about it. It seems like she likes it but she told me she wants to play with her friends. The neighborhood kids aren't involved in anything now. So she sees them playing. I think it would be good for her. I let her play with them when we get home from karate. M told her she has to decide by Monday. We'll see.
We are currently planning a trip to D.isney for the end of March with M's sister and her family. I must be out of my mind to travel with two babies that will be almost 1 1/2 years old. We met with the travel agent today. We want a separate bedroom so that the babies could sleep in there without being disturbed. They call it a suite. None of the moderate resorts have it. So we have to go with the value resort or spend a lot of money on a villa. I think it's so silly that they can't make suites on all resort levels. When M gets home from the gym we're going to look at the rooms together. Do you have tips/suggestions for D.isney?
I was doing p90x but I stopped. I wasn't happy with the cardio and other workouts. I thought I would see changes but not so much. I'm still at my pre-pregnancy weight but I'm not where I would like to be with my body. I take the babies for a walk almost everyday. I know to lose weight I have to workout for about an 1 1./2. All in due time I guess. I wish I had a magic wand ;-)

Ten

Happy 10 months to Squeakers and Peanut! Big changes this month: standing up on their own, walking along furniture, each getting their first teeth (bottom two) and waving hello. They really notice each other now--they chase each other around the living room and stand up in their cribs and "talk" to each other. It's hard to believe their first birthday is just around the corner.
E is starting 3rd grade tomorrow. Holy smokes! She's getting so big too. Another good note--her cast comes off this Friday. Hooray!
I've also been working on getting back into shape. I started week 3 of P90x. It is hard but not as bad as I thought. I'm starting out slowly and taking my time.
The house is getting organized. One day at a time I take a room and organize and clean it. I do this during their afternoon nap. It feels good to see the house coming together.

8 months

E, Peanut and Squeakers (eating the 8 month sign)

Wow! I can't believe my babies are 8 months old. They have sure grown a lot. Peanut is spinning himself around and getting ready to crawl forward. Squeakers rolls all over the place and has discovered his voice. They both love the puppies and squeal with delight with Kona or Logan enter the room. They light up when they see E. Nothing is safe because they grab whatever is closest to them.

Squeakers

Peanut

Sunny days (update with pic)

We spend our afternoons strolling around town. It gets us out of the house and me much needed exercise. The babies enjoy it too. They look around and then usually take a nap. After our walk we pick E up at the bus stop which she loves. She enjoys showing her bus driver and the kids her brothers. She is very proud of them and is a great big sister to them.
Sleeping is something we are still figuring out. Naps are on the couch (our couch is super comfy). Sometimes they nap for 30 mins or as long as 1 1/2 hours. Night time they go down about 8-8:30. We put them in their cribs and basically it's anyone's guess how the night will go. Some nights are excellent with minimal waking or, like last night, it's get up and eat a couple of times-Peanut- or reposition Squeakers because he gets stuck in the corner. I would love to get a routine with sleeping until 7 am. That would totally rock because then I could get up and do the P90x dvds.
E had her assembly on Friday. It was a great show! She got to sing at the microphone and had a speaking part. Her and our neighbor made onesies for the babies to go with their costumes for the show. They are wearing them today. I'll try to take a picture and post it later.


E and Squeakers
Peanut and Squeakers wearing their surfer t's.

Squeakers turn

Peanut is doing well in the bassinet. So well in fact that I have started to put Squeakers in the bassinet. He had two naps yesterday and did just fine. I will do one more day of naps and then start putting him in there for the night. My goal is to move upstairs this weekend.
I had to get out of the house so E and I took both babies to w.almart and babies r us. If I do say so myself we did ok. Peanut doesn't mind his car seat so he slept most of the time. Squeakers started to cry towards the end of our trip. Next time I'm going to bring my M.oby wrap and put him in there. I really want to take them out during the day but I'm not brave enough to do that by myself. I think it will be easier when they start eating solid foods. That's the only thing I worry about is how would I feed them if they get hungry at the same time.
I'm ready for the warmer weather. It's supposed to rain today and it's cool out.
A year ago today we transferred two embryos that were Peanut and Squeakers. I can't believe it's been a year!!

Sleeping arrangements

Yes we are still sleeping in the living room. I really miss my bed and decided to make some changes to get us upstairs. Yesterday I started to put Peanut in his pack n play bassinet I put the F.isher Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium in there with him to help him fall asleep. It's the same one I used with E. I like that it has music, a soft light and bubbling water. E used to wake up at night turn it on for herself and go right back to sleep. We got one off of e.bay so each baby would have his own for their crib. Once Peanut is groovy with sleeping in the bassinet I will put Squeakers in. One baby at a time so I don't lose my mind. The naps went okay. I thought nighttime wouldn't be too bad. Yeah, not so much. He cried and I picked him up to comfort/soothe him. Lather, rinse, repeat. Peanut slept in his swing once again. I just got too tired to keep going. He's in his bassinet right now taking a nap. I wish I could ask him why the bassinet is okay for naps but not for sleeping during the night.
They had their 4 month check up Monday. Peanut-14 lbs 15 oz 24" long. Squeakers- 14 lbs 8 oz 24" long. The doctor was very happy with their progress. They have come so far. Both giggle, clasp their hands, are close to rolling over and do pretty well with tummy time.
I'm doing ok. I believe that all my years bartending/serving have given me the skills to multi task and juggle. What else can you do? You do the best you can.
I would like to get my body back. I started eating better to get started. It helps, also, that I gave up chocolate for Lent. I would love to start working out but that's not going to happen right now. We have no defined nap times. Later in the evening or early morning would work but I'm pooped and would rather sleep at this stage in the game. I do look forward to the warmer weather so we can go for walks in the stroller. I think that will be a big help.

4 months

Squeakers and Peanut

The babies are 4 months old now. It is amazing to see these two small creatures grow so much over the past few months. Especially considering how early they came and how small they were. Squeakers and Peanut smile, laugh, are trying to roll over and take in interest in their surroundings. They are doing well with eating--Squeakers just set a new personal record: 6 1/2 oz in one feeding! Bath time is getting better. Squeakers seems to be enjoying it and Peanut is crying less. Car rides put them to sleep and they like riding in their stroller (hurry up warm weather!).
I am so blessed and thank God everyday for my miracle babies. I am loving being their Mom and am enjoying them immensely.
They keep me hopping. I always feel so bad when I'm feeding one baby and the other baby starts crying. If only I had another set of hands. It's a constant juggling act that is performed here by all of us. We do our best and and the babies are doing really well.
We went looking for tile last night at two home improvement stores. It didn't take us long to get ready to go--I'm really impressed with that. We've got in down to a science.
Life with twins--not just a job, it's an adventure ;-)

Logan and Squeakers

Logan and Peanut

Cabin fever

Fall is my favorite season. I love the cool and crisp weather, the changing of the leaves and of course, my birthday. I thought it would be very special to have a baby during this time. Who knew that it meant being cooped up for months with two babies?
Squeakers and Peanut are becoming more awake and alert. They still sleep a lot but we spend a couple hours a day playing. Well, they look at stuff in their play gym really. And tummy time is still spent either crying or falling asleep. Lol.
We went out last Sunday to Weggies and T.arget. E, Peanut and myself. Squeakers stayed home with M because he takes a bottle more willingly. It was very nice to get out. Even though we had a baby--it was way easier to get one ready than two!
The weather here has been very cold and we've had a couple of snow/ice storms. E has already had 5 snow days and a couple of 2 hour delays. I look forward to warmer weather when I can put the babies in their double jogger-finally!-and head out for a stroll.
We are still residing in the living room. We attempted to sleep upstairs last Friday. Squeakers was up every 2 hours while Peanut slept pretty much the whole night. It was just to hard upstairs. We'll try again when Squeakers can sleep for longer periods of time.

Peanut and Squeakers


Peanut, Squeakers and E

Logan and the B.oppy. Who doesn't love a good B.oppy?

2 month visit

Peanut, E and Squeakers taken Nov 18 by my Mom. Everyone's favorite picture.


Peanut and Squeakers had their appointment this afternoon. Peanut measured in at 22" in length and 11 lbs and 6 oz. Squeakers stats are: a hair under 22" and 10 lbs 9 oz. Dr. P was very pleased with their progress. It's hard to believe that they were once so tiny. I remember wiping their bums and there was no padding! Now they are chunking up nicely.
It snowed early this morning. I didn't think it was too bad but E's school went from a delay to a closing. Some side roads were snowy but the main highways were fine. E wants to go sledding badly but we need a good snow for that. We really don't get too many snows like that.

Feeding

For reasons I don't understand I did not see my babies after delivery for hours after I had them. I saw them briefly after delivery. I was told that they were taken to the nursery for observation and evaluation. Both did very well with their Apgar exams and were healthy upon delivery.
I first saw Peanut around 2:30 am (he had been born first at 12:37am). I nursed him and then he was taken back to the nursery. I did not see Squeakers until 5:30 am (he was born at 12:50am).
Looking back I wish I would have asked to have them both with me until our room was ready (the hospital was doing a makeover of the entire ob dept). I'm reading information now that says the first hours are so important to breastfeeding and setting up your supply. They told us to supplement because their birth weights were so low. I did. I have such mixed emotions about that. I wanted them to gain weight and I knew that wouldn't happen with bf because my milk hadn't come in yet. (I did pump a few times during my stay and with nursing both of them my milk came in quicker with them than with E). I wanted them to gain weight so they could come home.
I wrote in the last post that M took care of Squeakers because he was taking the bottle more. I wish I had nursed him more. After the babymoon he is doing better. I do hope that by nursing him more he'll get better at it.
It's still early and I'm hoping nursing with Squeakers will get better. I still feel guilty and bad about not being more on the ball with nursing. Hindsight is 20/20.

Busy as a bee

I knew it would get crazy here but I just had no idea. My days are filled to the brim for the loving and caring of E and the babies. As a matter of fact I'm pumping while writing this. I've always been a pretty good multi tasker and now it's gone to extreme multi tasking.
I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Ours was wonderful. Finally having the babies made it even more special. We had Christmas Eve dinner at my parents with M being Santa and E playing the part of Elf. She loved being Santa's special helper and passing our presents. I enjoyed spending it with my good friend J and her family--my goddaughter N! My Dad made the traditional Wigilia dinner--mushroom soup, sauerkraut with peas, pierogies, coleslaw and desserts (my Mom made me anise cookies--soooo good!) It's my favorite holiday of the year. I like the food and I love spending it with my family.
Squeakers and Peanut are doing well. We just weighed them and Squeakers is 10 lbs (bw-4.3 lbs) and Peanut is 10 lbs 14 oz (bw-5 lbs 6 oz). I am trying to get Squeakers to nurse more. We just got done doing a "babymoon". I nursed Squeakers for 24 hours. No bottles. He ate quite frequently. I'm hoping after this he will be better with nursing (he loves the bottle. its easier. he does get breast milk and formula in the bottle.) and it will up my milk supply. I've started taking fenugreek hoping to increase my supply also. It's my fault he likes the bottle so much. I supplemented with both in the hospital to help with weight gain. I knew it was a necessary evil. When we got home I continued to supplement. M had taken two weeks off after they were born and he took care of Squeakers and hence bottles were given. It was easier to tag team the babies like that. Now I'm trying to make up for a poor start.
New Years Eve we had my Dad over for seafood. I went to Cooper's Restaurant for our dinner and they threw in free cole slaw because I told them I had twins! I thought that was funny. I was the only one up at midnight. I was nursing Squeakers and they say that whatever you do on New Years day you spend doing for the rest of the year. I hope it's true with the nursing part!
Our dreams came true in 2010. I keep everyone in my prayers that yours do too.
I wish you all a happy and healthy new year!