L'il Swimmers

My girls are naturals!!! They had their first big pool swimming outing on Friday. We stayed for almost 45 minutes and they didn't fuss a single minute. They absolutely loved it. When I was pulling Mya around the pool on her tummy, she actually flutter-kicked her feet! She's so talented! And Sylvia, also talented, did a near perfect breaststroke kick! Whee! I will live vicariously through my children! But, I hope I don't become "that mom". I'm so proud. *tear*

They also got their first taste of oatmeal for their 5 month birthday yesterday (also my 5 month breastfeeding milestone!). They ate it like they have never seen food before. I was impressed. Unfortunately, it didn't help them sleep at all, but at least they liked it and it didn't make them sick! I think it made them thirsty, though, because they guzzled breastmilk and formula all night afterwards! Or, perhaps, it's a growth spurt. I'm hoping it's a growth spurt because their sleeping habits went from almost sleeping through the night, to every 4 hours again. Oy!

I can't wait until Christmas break... Only 4 more days! Woot!

Pictures will be forthcoming when I develop the swimming pictures... it was a disposable camera, so I need to finish the roll.

Roly Polies

Mya is a roly poly bug! She decided last night that she would become mobile. Well, not really because it is a frustrating effort on her part. But she can now roll from belly to back and from back to belly! It's quite a sight to see when she goes back to belly. She throws her arm over to one side, then almost does a backbend where her head almost reaches her butt and then just flops over. She's really good at it! I've never even seen her TRY to do it until yesterday. Sylvia still hasn't tried, but I'm sure she's not far behind.

The nursing situation has gotten much better. I'm not sure what I did or what they did, but they're better now. Still a little bit of screaming, but I also realized now if I give them a little bottle first and then let them nurse, they'll still go until I'm empty. Hungry little babies.

I can't wait until Christmas Break. Seriously. I can't wait to just spend time with the girls non-stop! And let my family spend time with them. Paula and my dad will get to meet them for the first time and so will both my Mom's mom and my Dad's parents. I think Gram M. will be thrilled. She always wanted twins. She's in a home, so I hope it brightens her day.

Well, we had our Christmas party on Saturday. It went REALLY well. We did a white elephant gift exchange and it was fun to watch everybody eyeing everyone else's gifts. I got a Dr. Seuss trivia game stolen from me :( and I ended up with a box of candy... just what I DIDN'T need. I had a cooking mishap, though... In all the stress of getting ready (and fighting with M who decided it would be okay to leave me alone with both the girls while trying to cook and get the house ready for 25 people, but that's a story in it's own), I forgot to put foil over the pasta dishes that I made. So after 40 minutes when I went to check on it, you can imagine how dry and crusty the outsides were! Ugh! I was able to salvage enough of the middles of everything to feed everyone and it was all okay in the end (and I won the argument and only had one of the girls to watch!).

Sylvia started to giggle yesterday at church! They usually do a happy squeal when they laugh, but Sylvia let out an actual giggle. Which of course cracked me up which made her laugh more. It was a happy cycle. Mya still does the squeal, but she is starting to get a little more social. She was talking up a storm when we went to SILs house for the Survivor finale!

Mya also decided that she likes to stand. She'll put her butt against the couch and wiggle while she stands until her little knees give out. It's so cute to watch!


Here's a few pics to share...

Sylvia baking cookies


Mya standing (she can do it for about 15 seconds leaning her back on something)


Ok, I had more pics, but they're not working. WTF?

Sleeping, Growing and Some Pictures

Both girls slept for 71/2 hours last night at approximately the same time we were sleeping! Then they went straight back to sleep and I woke up to the alarm. I don't remember the last time I actually woke up to the alarm! Rock on.

They are now eating pears like there is no tomorrow and it doesn't make them gassy at all. Cool. Pears are fun. I'm not sure what I'll try next. Probably another vegetable. Maybe peas.

They love to hold their feet and they put anything they get their hands on in their mouths... including their feet!

They got three HUGE boxes of hand-me-downs from another set of identical twin girls whose mom was obviously well off. They now own Laura Ashley, Liz Claiborne, Tommy Hilfiger, and Ralph Lauren. My girls are stylin'. And they match! That woman is an angel! Not only clothes were in the boxes, but also some toys, shoes, bibs, etc. She may even be giving us two high chairs!


Jeans and Turtlenecks Mya posin'


Sylvia holding her feet

Munchkins

Mya the sleepy munchkin slept for 10... you read that right... 10 hours last night, uninterrupted. Way to go, Mya Munchkin! We went to dinner with M's faculty for their holiday gathering and the girls stayed awake from the time they got home until about 8:00 with a little catnap at the restaurant. They went to bed at 8:00. Sylvia slept until 2:05 for a total of 6 hours... pretty good for the little one. But Mya made it until 5:47!!!! Only 13 minutes before my alarm goes off! Perfect timing to feed her and get up at my normal time!

We are having their dedication ceremony at church on Christmas Eve. It should be a very pretty service.

I'm trying to find a digital camcorder that I like that will play on the TV. I want to have a record of the ceremony. But, I also sort of want to wait for all the good after Christmas sales! Doh!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. The girls got to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast with us. They had their first solid foods! They ate homemade pureed pumpkin. Sylvia was ready to go, knew to open her mouth and had a blast. Mya, we had to coax and teach her what to do with it... but once she got the hang of it, GO GIRL! Unfortunately, they get pretty gassy from the food. I wonder if that goes away if we keep at it or if it means they aren't ready yet... They slept all night long after their Thanksgiving parties at "Papaw's" and then at "YaYa's".

We also were able to take some really cute pictures. Go to http://photobucket.com/albums/a154/mkcuga10/ and type in the password: twins : to see.

There are also some pictures of our outing to get a Christmas tree and the following photo shoot! They had a great time helping Mommies decorate.

I feel like I have more to say, but I have mommy brain and I'm tired. Later!

4 months

Woo Hoo!!! We made it 4 months!!!!




And

Happy 4 Month Birthday, Baby Girls!

Update from 11/14 and some new news.

The girls would NOT nurse yesterday. *edit-Monday* It's totally freaking me out. I know one day won't hurt supply too much, but I don't want it to be a trend. They wouldn't nurse last night either. I'm wondering if it's because of the antibiotics I'm on. I had to give them mucho formula yesterday since they're also going through a growth spurt right now. UGH. And they're just not sleeping well either. Once in a while we'll get a great sleep out of them and then they go back to only sleeping for 3-4 hours. *edit - Wednesday* The girls ate well last night... I think I was partially dehydrated from the infection... I drank a lot and after I tried to put the girls to the breast and they freaked, I waited 5 minutes and tried again, and they were okay... not the best, but they did well. Of course, today I have to stay at work for a PTA meeting, so I'm hoping they'll be hungry when I get home and they can get a good nursing in. I wish I could pump.

I'm also kind of pissed at our nanny. I totally love how she interacts with the girls and plays with them and is a great care-giver, but every time I pick them up they're in disposable diapers. WTF? I understand if you run out of the cloth liners which does happen... that's why I gave her a stash of disposables, but she tells me, "oh I just got lazy when my kids got home (she has 3 kids of her own) from school". I comment on it politely, but it keeps happening. We'll see what happens when I pick them up today. *edit - Wednesday* They were in cloth yesterday... phew!

Exciting girls news... Sylvia is now officially rolling over on purpose. She sticks her little butt in the air, gets her arms over head, wiggles her butt and rolls. She's very precise about it. Mya, on the other hand, when we put her on her tummy, she wiggles her arm up to her face, sticks her thumb in her mouth and looks at us like "and you wanted me to do what?". Their personalities are definitely starting to shine through. Cute little babies.

In other news, it seems that I can't get on this blog during my lunch like I usually do, I can get on after hours. I wish they'd change that to BEFORE hours because that's when I'm here.

Greatest Day Ever

FYI, currently I can't post on this blog from work. Therefore, I will probably only update on here once a week.

I can't believe what a great day today was. I'm feeling much better since they flushed out my kidneys (yes, yet another bout of stones). And on top of that, last night, the girls slept for... get this... 8 HOURS!!!!!! Obviously, Mendy and I woke up quite rejuvenated.

We went to church this morning and they played in the nursery and didn't cry once (other than their regular "give me some food" cries). And they didn't cry in their car seats on the way there or on the way home! When we got home from church, we had some tummy time and Sylvia ROLLED OVER for the first time (stomach to back). It was so exciting! I'm pretty sure it was an accident, but she did it all on her own! Then they fell asleep for their nap and Mendy and I got some much needed cleaning done. Sylvia slept for about 2 hours and Mya slept for 4 hours!!! I made lasagne and we ate dinner before she woke up!! Then we played a little longer gave them baths and went to bed. Everyone was in an incredible mood today. That's what happens when you get tons of sleep! (Wow, did I just think 8 hours was TONS of sleep? I'm officially a Mom now).

Hands and Feet

The computer at my work is not letting me update this site. I'm not sure why. It works fine at home. Anyways, here goes the update:

As of Monday, Miss Mya weighs 10lbs 0oz. Miss Sylvia weighs 9lbs 14.5oz. She almost caught up to little sis! On Thursday night, they decided to let mommy fight a cold she's been trying to avoid by SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!! 6 hours long! I'm so proud! And I was rested on Friday! Unfortunately, it's not the trend, but hey, they did it! As of today, November5, Mya has been very interested in her hands and feet. Sylvia looks at them for a few seconds, but is not intensely interested like Mya yet. They finally let me read them books, but only if they're in a good mood.

Oh, and I don't like when strangers ask to hold my babies. That's just weird.

Halloween!

My babies are cute :)

So we went trick-or-treating last night with a few friends... two 3rd graders, and 3 babies! It was SO much fun! I haven't been trick-or-treating in ages and I racked up on the Kit-Kats! Rock on! Here's a picture of our family...

Cat in the Hat, Thing 1, Thing 2, and the goldfish (she had a fin in back)

Happy Hallowe'en!

I LOVE Halloween! I did my usual witch get-up for school... I'm wearing an orange skirt with a black shirt, a black witches' hat, halloween socks and black shoes. Tonight, I'll be going as "The Cat in the Hat" and the girls are going to be "Thing 1" and "Thing 2". I am trying to convince M to go as the gold fish. We'll see. I made their hats today out of a turquoise blue feather boa that M found at Target and glue gunned it to a hat. I didn't have quite enough boa, but I think it will be fine when they put them on. They have red long sleeve shirts that we are going to pin the white circle with 1 and 2 on them... Sylvia will be one since she is oldest :)

They are now smiling and laughing, Sylvia found her feet yesterday. Now they both know what feet are, but I'm not so sure they know they are theirs!! They both have started sticking their tongues out and I'm sure raspberries are soon on the way!

We went pumpkin picking on Saturday and got a pumpkin that we dressed in a diaper. I was completely over tired and it was REALLY amusing at the time. We took pictures of the girls in the pumpkin patch. Mya was being cooperative... Sylvia, not so much. I think she hates orange. I also realized it was the first time they ever sat in grass! Perhaps she didn't like the feeling.

My kids are cute.

Sylvia and Mya have been having some sleeping issues the past few nights. I think it's because it was cold. We put them in sleeper pajamas and then swaddled them on top of that. Mya slept through the night (9:30-4:00)!!! Sylvia was still up a lot, but it's much easier to share the load when only one kid is awake! Though I feel bad because as soon as Mendy was done feeding Sylvia and was going back to sleep, Mya woke up to nurse (around 4:00) and Gaia scratched to go out at the same time, so Mendy had to get up to take Gaia out. Stupid dog!

I am totally happy with my girls. I can't believe how much I love them. It's awesome. They look so cute in their winter clothes. I took some pictures, so I'll have to upload them soon. We are going to the pumpkin patch and I'll take pictures there, too.

We are aunts again... Mendy's stepbrother had a baby on Wednesday, on his birthday! She's a cutie patootie. Not as cute as my girlies, but I'm biased :)

Let's see if I added this picture correctly:

Baby nails and Winter

Ok, so the cold weather hit us like *woah*. A few days ago it was 80-something. Now, it's low 60's. I think it's just Wilma coming through, but WTF? Anyway, all that means is that we got to go WINTER CLOTHES SHOPPING!!!! We got the cutest little outfits (lots of good deals at Target). Matching terry sweatsuits, long sleeve shirt/pant sets, and the absolute cutest jeans/hoodie sets. My kids are awesome :)

On the other hand, I HATE cutting their nails! If I never had to do it again, I would be ecstatic. I'm always so worried I'm gonna chop their little fingers off! I once gave Mya a blood blister and I haven't let myself live it down yet!

They have decided that unswaddling themselves in the middle of the night and then getting pissed about it is funny. It's not.

We went out to dinner at Panera last night and I got a Jones' Diet Root Beer. Mya was FASCINATED with the black/white label. I mean this label was the funniest thing the girl has seen in her little lifetime. She was CRACKING UP just staring at the bottle. That's my girl. What a weirdo!

Sylvia thinks buttered bread tastes gross, but she likes blue popsicles (I let her lick my food, she doesn't get to eat anything). Again, that's my girl.

Little Tushies

Can I just say how much I love cloth diapers? They are so soft and fuzzy on the inside. I'd love to have underwear that cozy! Tee hee! And I love that they're just like the regular diapers... no folding and no pins! Not to mention how convenient they are. I thought they'd be tough, but they're really not. I think I'll start venturing out with them. I will still use the pampers for overnight, though. They are quite the "wee-ers" during night time.

Their 3 month birthday was yesterday! Their milestones are smiling, cooing, shrieking, staying alone for longer periods of time (about 5-10 minutes in a swing or bouncy seat without Mommy), and Mya is beginning to start checking out her feet. Neither have found their hands yet.

Yesterday was also MY 3 month breastfeeding milestone! Woo Hoo! They both had very good feeds last night. I have to remind myself to drink LOTS of water.

We are going to find a place to take the girls on a hayride. I can't wait! Pictures galore will follow that, I'm sure! Woo Hoo!

Croup and other assorted coughs...

The girls are sick again :( They didn't ever get really sick last time, they just lost their voices. The dr. said it was because of the thrush. The thrush is gone and they are all "croupy" again. I think they're actually sick. No fever whatsoever, though. Just sounds like they've lost their voices. They had a really hard night the other night trying to nurse and I'm wondering if that had an effect. They did GREAT last night and this morning, so I don't know what is going on with them (or my mommy-bottles... tee hee)! I hope they are doing okay at the nanny today. Poor little muffins!

Sleeeeeeeeep

I am sleeeeeepy. The girls did NOT want to sleep last night. They weren't cranky... they were AWAKE. And I mean every hour or half hour after I put them to sleep. They wanted to use me as a pacifier... the actual pacifier WOULD NOT DO. Oy! So tired today. I hope they don't have a bad day today since they were awake so often.

They are going to be off of their schedule all weekend. I love that they put themselves in a schedule and that I had nothing to do with it... perhaps they've already picked up on their other mom's OCD! They're going to "Survivor" night tonight, a football game tomorrow, a craft fair that I'm selling my jewelry at on Saturday, and the Atlanta AIDSwalk on Sunday. Oh boy oh boy!

Blinkieness...

My new blinkie is da bomb-diggity... check it out (under mommy blinkies)!

They're swimmers!!

Last night, the girls got to take their first "big girl bath". Mendy and I took them in the tub. We have a large garden tub, so even though it was cramped, the four of us did fit! The girls LOVED it. Mya started cooing and smiling and Sylvia was splashing around. They were both kicking their legs and staring at each other as well as their bath toys. I have never seen them so alert and happy before for such a long time. I would say bath time lasted about 15 minutes. It was pure fun. They're going to be little swimmers just like their mama!

Rambling...

Well, I don't have much to talk about, but I figured I'd post anyway...

The girls are still smiling away and making my heart melt. I get so stoooopid when they do it! I get that obnoxious baby voice and clap and giggle like a freak! But I love it. They've been a little cranky at night lately, but I think it's a growth spurt. They've been nursing better than they've ever nursed. However, now the little heathens won't tandem nurse! They get all irritated and start screaming. I think I need to try to reposition them, but by the time I try all that, they're screaming because they're hungry. Oy, we'll see what happens this afternoon. They slept for about 5 1/2 hours last night... that's pretty decent. They have to get evaluated for their RSV immunizations soon. The freakin' lady hasn't called me back yet. I'll try calling again this afternoon.

Hmm.. What else? Relationships... yeah. That's all I have to say about that. Not cryptic, just blah.

Sorry I've been boring today... perhaps something really exciting will happen soon... like, a picture post?

Smilies and such

The girls are smiling! It's official and on purpose! Oh, it's the most amazing thing ever. It melts my heart every time they do it. I just want to hug them and snuggle them and keep them this little and perfect forever! Even the cranky fussiness doesn't bother me like it used to. I know I just have to hold onto them and comfort them the best I can. It sort of teaches me that I can't keep them away from all harm, but I can always be there for them when something hurts. Does that make sense?

My other favorite thing about the girls is seeing them in the morning. It's like their little angelic faces are new all over again. And their skin is so soft, so when they grab on and lean against me while I'm feeding them, I can feel how innocent they are. Oh, they're just perfect.

Yesterday, I had an IEP meeting for one of my kids. I have all fourth graders this year. The mother of the student we met on still dresses and washes him before school. She doesn't make any of her children do chores because she's the mother and takes care of them. She also has a 22 year old son that lives at home and she washed his hands the other day because he "didn't do it well enough". Now, you may think, wow, she needs to let go. And I did think that. But then I also thought about how easy it would be to just spoil and pamper my kids the same way. So, someone watch out for me and make me instill some kind of work ethic in my kids!

Sick yuckiness

So, the girls are sick for the first time :(

Sylvia got it first and transferred it right over to her sister. They have thrush and a mild case of croup. Yuck. They sound like they've lost their voices.

Today, we went to a GLBT families picnic downtown Atlanta (I thought the fresh air would do them good as well). We had a great time and of course they were cooed over. Some friends of ours brought their 8-year old son and we played some football together. He's one heck of an athelete for an 8-year old. He has a perfect spiral and can throw the ball further than I can! Anyway, when we got back home, Mendy's dad and his new wife and kids came over to visit. They left around 5 and the girls were really cranky. They didn't get their nap in today... just a few little snoozes here and there. We had a really tough time getting them both down to sleep, but they are finally down and resting comfortably... I hope. I have a feeling I"m going to be checking them to see if they're breathing constantly tonight.

God, I love those girls.

The twinsies go to school...

Ok, so they're not starting school or anything, but I have PTA tonight and Mendy has class. So therefore, they're coming with me to PTA. It should be interesting. I hope they don't get too cranky! Well, really this update is just to say... check out my new blinkies! I'm a blinkie addict. This is what I do during lunch at work!

The New Blog

Hello lovelies...

I don't know how many people will actually read this, but I suppose it will be good for me to have in the future. This will be my blog that represents all that is mommyhood. Mendy and I are raising our two wonderful twin daughters in the southland of hate. Well, at least for a year, then we'll go where we're a bit freer! Back north to the progressive cold.

The most recent update I have regarding the girls is that they got their first immunizations yesterday! It was way more traumatic for me than it was for them. That needle is huge! It looks like it's going to go completely through their tiny little legs! Since they're twins they also are more at risk for a certain lung disease and therefore are going to have to get another series of vaccinations for that. Gross! Poor babies! They were a little out of sorts last night and cried a bit. Not the screaming cry that they need something, but just a sort of uncomfortable wailing. It hurt my heart.

Today, we're going to take them to vote for the first time :)