The Life and Times of Twin Mommies

Preschool

2009-03-21T09:59:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I wonder if I really am "that mom". My kids have been in 5 daycare situations so far. First, they were at an in-home daycare in our neighborhood. Second, they stayed at our house with their Aunt and their baby cousin who is 3 months younger. Third, we moved to CT and a friend watched them for a few weeks. Fourth, after a no-show nanny, we had a nanny who came to our house. Fifth, we moved to Hamden and put the girls in a nice daycare/preschool nearby. The daycare changed owners and went downhill this year. They are now enrolled in a new school starting in September. Is this too much turnover for my little girls?!?! I feel like they have made the changes well and are still able to attach. I didn't really want to move them again before Kindergarten, but I'm just too uncomfortable with the current setting. That being said, they will be starting at http://thealphabetacademy.com/ for the next school year.

That being said, they are just growing and getting funnier and funnier every day! They've physically grown about 3 inches in the past 4 months and are little eating machines... 6 pancakes each this morning!

They're starting to find things that are out of the ordinary very funny. Mya was in hysterics after she said she wanted to eat her leftover chicken from lunch "on the road". Originally she meant "in the car". This turned into a back and forth between the girls. "I'm going to eat chicken on a tree", "I'm going to eat chicken on the sun!", "I'm going to sit on the sun!", etc. There was about 2 minutes of hysterical laughter between each comment.

Good times, good times.

I'm really loving every minute of it... even when they're frustrated and break out the attitude, I still love it!

Sick, Sick, Sick

2009-02-22T09:43:00.003-05:00

For the past 3 weeks, the household has been battling the New England flu-like illness that has been going around. I am happy to say that the four of us are officially back in commission. We all still have a little remaining cough, but the energy is finally back. We were on vacation this week which gave us some much needed recovery time.

There is not much to update on at this point. Sylvia and Mya are still being the cuties they tend to be on a day-to-day basis. They also have a major attitude that cracks us up more than makes us upset. I mostly forget to write down the funny comments.

Here are the girls Valentine pictures from this year. Sylvia is on the left and Mya on the right in all pictures. Enjoy :)

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T21:23:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas to all!

Update

2008-12-06T08:56:00.003-05:00

Ah, the oft neglected blog. Anyway, here's the latest update. I love having potty trained children. But, I admit, I miss the days of not having to worry about when the last time they went to the bathroom was before we get in the car, the timing of the car ride, etc. Diapers were definitely more convenient. Sylvia will still have accidents occasionally at school during nap time, but she's fine at home. Mya has even been good at night, but we still put both of them in diapers for overnight.

They say the funniest things and I really need to start documenting them. I'm terrible at remembering exactly what it was they said. They constantly crack me up, though.

Their latest interests are hockey, snow, dinosaurs, animals, breakfast bars, oatmeal, waffles, christmas lights, counting, playing with "mommy and baby" toys, guinea pigs, clothes (skirts, scarves, tights, cozy pants, jammies), reading books and lots of music.

Here are a few recent pictures:

Poppi (my dad), Sylvia, me, Mya, Mendy w/ the Stanley Cup

Mya, Sylvia

Mya, Sylvia @ Strawberry Fields

Sylvia, Mya in Central Park

Potty Trained!

2008-09-11T20:43:00.002-04:00

I'm going to say this with a good amount of confidence... Sylvia and Mya are potty trained! At just over 3, I expect accidents here and there, but they have consistently napped and gone overnight with no accidents. They tell us when they have to go and they can hold it for a short period of time when we are out and have to find a bathroom! I'm so proud of them! It was WAY easier than I expected it to be. I guess since we didn't stress it, they didn't feel stressed out.

Now, if only stopping them from whining was so easy...

Hiking!

2008-08-22T10:25:00.002-04:00

We took a trip to Sleeping Giant the other day. I'm really surprised at how well the girls did. Sylvia loved hiking and I think Mya did well because she wanted to be with Sylvia! Ha! Anyways, here are a few pics from the trip:

Sylvia running up the trail

Mya in pink, wanting to rock climb:

Taking a drink break:

Mya walking Gaia:

Sylvia with Gaia:

At their 3 year well visit, Mya weighed in at exactly 27lbs and 36". Sylvia weighed in at 26lbs 12oz and 35 3/4". Just a touch smaller than Mya. They were both finally on the chart between the 5th and 10th percentile. My little pumpkins are minis! They go back to school on Thursday. And I go back on Monday. Mendy went all this week but then has off until Thursday, so she'll be with the girls until Wednesday. Another year begins for us.

3-year Update!

2008-07-25T22:34:00.003-04:00

Hi Everyone!

Sylvia, Mya Sylvia, Mya

Can you believe we just turned three? And we can show you on our fingers, too! We did quite a bit of growing this year, in all sorts of ways. This year, we went to daycare and socialized with our friends. We've really begun to play WITH our friends, not just next to them. When we went on vacation to Florida and Georgia last month, we even learned how to swim by ourselves (with our tube floats).

Mya, Sylvia

We love to repeat whatever our mommies say (whether good or bad!) and they think we come up with some pretty funny things on our own. We really like to discover the world around us. We have definitely started to develop different personalities. Sylvia seems to be more sensitive, but she is also the leader and likes things her way.

Sylvia

Mya tends to be more independent from her mommies, but she follows along with whatever Sylvia wants to do.

Mya

Both of us love attention, but we also really like to play by ourselves. Our imaginations have really started growing and that's fun when we play together, but sometimes it's a little scary because we've started having some bad dreams. Mama is pretty good at explaining shadows and things to us, so we're still comfortable going to sleep. Speaking of sleep, we finally sleep a good 10 hours at night and still take our afternoon nap. At naptime, Sylvia falls asleep very quickly, and Mya needs to move around A LOT before she gets comfortable enough to sleep. At bedtime, we fall asleep on our own, but we have to have all of our stuffed animals with us and Mommies have to read us a book or sing songs. We love how Mommy reads the "monster" book (about Grover) and we love books about trains and dinosaurs and families and well, really, we love any book.

Sylvia, Mya

We know our ABCs and can count to 10. We like to sing songs (especially the itsy-bitsy spider, twinkle twinkle little star, old macdonald, and the wheels on the bus) and even make up our own songs about things that are going on around us. We like to do yoga and forward rolls. Most of all, we love to wear underwear! Mommies are just starting to let us wear it out of the house because sometimes we still have accidents, but we're getting good at telling Mommies when we have to go!

Mya, Sylvia

Well, that's about it from us for this year... Mommy edited and realized we stepped into the third person on occasion, but it's hard to speak on behalf of both of us... she's smart like that. :D

Love,
Sylvia & Mya

Memorial Day '08

2008-05-26T14:51:00.004-04:00

We are having some gorgeous weather here this Memorial Day. This morning, we took out the backyard water park and the girls went nuts. They had fun splashing around and going down the slide (which really needed some baby oil or something... it was slow). This evening, we'll be going over to my parents' house for dinner and visiting with my sisters and their kids.

A few pictures of this morning's fun...

And yesterday, we went to Bassett Park. The girls had their first ice cream truck experience (as well as their first popsicle)! Needless to say, they enjoyed it.

Safety

2008-05-21T21:04:00.003-04:00

Setting: Doctor's office after an hour's wait. 6:10 pm Tuesday

Mommy (to Mya and Sylvia): Do you think the sun will still be up when we go outside or will it be dark?

Sylvia (to Mommy): It dark outside. It scare me.

Mommy (to Sylvia): Why does it scare you?

Sylvia (to Mommy): The monsters.

Mommy (to Sylvia): There's no monsters.

Sylvia (to Mommy): You save me?

Mya (to Sylvia): No, the moon save you.

Sylvia (to Mya): Oh, the moon. You save me?

Mya (to Sylvia): No, I not a mommy.

My kids know how the world works. And honestly, what can keep you more safe in your sleep than a pile of stuffed animals?

Gum

2008-05-06T22:02:00.003-04:00

Ok, who knew gum could be so cute? They were dying to chew it and they know how to spit it out, so I let them go for it (supervised because i'm nervous like that). They looked like little valley girls, so I had to get it on tape! I also love how they know the camera and were yelling "cheese" as if to say "take the dang picture already!"

Spring has Sprung

2008-04-27T17:53:00.004-04:00

If it wasn't official before, it is now. I'm no good at keeping up on here. But I won't give up! If for nothing else, I feel like I need somewhere to record all of the happenings with my little ones so that I don't forget in the "mommyhaze". It's really hard for me to believe that they will grow up to be women, independent of Mendy and me. At the same time, I know that day will come like a bullet train and before I know it, they'll be out on their own.

Here's a random aside for you: Why is it that experiences we share as human beings stay the same generation after generation and our human development stops it from becoming innate? I mean, every mother has this feeling at some point, but none know how to "handle" it until it's done... they try to pass on the knowledge to younger mothers, but they won't get it until they live through it themselves? What is so necessary about the actual experience?

Enough philosophy.

Cute things the girls do: they like to ride their bikes outside (which really means push off the ground, not the pedals), go to birthday parties (everytime they see a cake, they sing happy birthday to themselves), jump off of things, eat pizza, play in the big sandbox at the park, play "catch" (also known as "I throw, You chase"), pet animals, run, "swim", do yoga with me.

Cute things the girls say: well, they say a lot of cute stuff. Most of the time they have little conversations that mimic what Mendy and I say. They are starting to have more pretend play, so they get more in depth in their games of "kitchen" and "talking on the phone".

We haven't watched nearly as much TV lately now that the weather is nicer... THANK GOD. I really thought Connecticut was going to be the death of me this year. I was GA homesick quite a bit... thinking about all the Piedmont Park time the girls are missing!

Well, that's that and I hope I get better at posting (really).

ABCs

2008-02-21T21:44:00.002-05:00

I don't have a lot of time to post tonight, but I wanted to stop by with the latest accomplishement. Here it is!

Valentine's Day

2008-02-15T07:10:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all!
Love,
Mya and Sylvia

These girls have a blast whatever they do. I'm so proud of them. They're getting much more expressive and understanding of the world. It makes me so happy to watch them grow and become little people. Watch out world, here they come!

Update: long overdue.

2008-01-07T20:09:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been quite a while since I've updated the Mommyblog. I guess that's what happens when the lights of your life become increasing mobile and excited about every new opportunity! The girls have been a joy to watch in the past few months. They have become very attached to each other as friends and playmates, but will still play well with the other kids at their daycare. They seem to be happy any time they get to experience something new. Definitely my kids! They are having a difficult time handling all the indoor time here in Connecticut in the cold weather, but we try to make things as fun as possible. Lots of trips to the mall playgrounds and indoor playscapes. Trips to Grandma and Poppi's house and to see their cousins. They're learning to speak their minds and not give in. These are great qualities and ones I hope to foster as adults... but let me tell you, it kind of sucks when they're two and a half!!

Anyway, they absolutely enjoyed their Christmas this year. They really understood the whole "santa" thing this year. Every tree they saw, they said "Oooh! Presents... For me?!" Great, now I have little materialistic children! They got to fly in an airplane to see Papaw and Nana in Georgia. They were quite well behaved, especially for being off-schedule. As luck would have it, Sylvia ended up with a little stomach bug on our last day, but seemed to sleep it off pretty quickly and was okay for the flight home.

We spent New Year's Eve with their cousins and had fun wearing hats and blowing noise makers until all hours of the night... (which for me , lately, means 12:01).

Some of the cute things I've missed updating are the sayings they've come up with. They call ketchup, "kepitch". They tell you to "shhh! quiet, I'm on the phone" when they play with our cell phones. They tell you, "better go to sleep, the train is coming!" because if you're not sleeping, the Polar Express won't pick you up. They say, "listen, Mommy, no touch, it's hot... okay?" when they make food in their kitchen for us and they make very concerned faces... especially Sylvia.

Sylvia seems to be the serious of the two and Mya seems to be the jokester. But on the whole, they're both very silly girls. Mya is still the heavier of the two and I think they're pretty much the same height at this point.

I'll try to get on here more often to post... try being the operative word.

My life is good.

2-year Update!

2007-08-06T16:46:00.001-04:00

I had this posted on my other journal and totally forgot to post it on here... so a bunch of weeks late... here is the girls' 2-year-update.

We're two (as of July 18th)!!!! Terrible twos or Terrific twos? It depends on the day! I guess that makes us pretty normal two-year-olds. We love to get into trouble together. Moms know if it's quiet, they have to worry! We had our 2nd birthday party with an SPCA theme and asked everyone to donate things to unlucky doggies and kitties. Mom made our cakes look like dogbowls. She's weird.

We've had a huge couple of months! In a matter of a week (in June), we decided to go straight from having about 20 words ( + animal/transportation sounds) to speaking in sentences and questions and within the month have picked up between 50-100 words if not more. Moms were shocked at the rapid progress we made. Mommy Jody admits she was nervous we might have a delay, but she's over that feeling now!

We really like to play at the playground and climb. We love to climb the rope ladders to get to the swings rather than taking the stairs. Our other favorite is to hang on the zip line and have Mom push us across!

Our all time favorite passtime (other than watching the whale in Finding Nemo) is to read books! Moms are happy about that, but they're a little annoyed at having to read the same books over and over... and over again. Our favorite nighttimebook is "How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?". We love it when Mom RRROOOAAARRRS! We get so silly.

We really like trains, airplanes, and buses. We find them as much as we can when we go outside and we listen for them in the distance. We got to go on all three when we went to visit our family in Georgia. We were really excited! We're pretty glad we didn't get kicked off the plane like the other little boy from Georgia. We know how he felt... we were excited to say bye-bye, too!

Well, here are our stats from our two-year wellbaby doctors visit.

Mya: 24 1/2 lbs, 32 1/2 inches tall... that's up 2 1/2 lbs and 1 inch from 18 months. My chart shows I've picked up on weight a bit (20th %ile - I eat way more than Sylvia) and dropped down a bit in height (25th %ile). Mom thinks I'm about to shoot up.

Sylvia: 22lbs (same as last time, but Mom thinks last time was inaccurate), 32 1/8 inches tall (up 3/4 of an inch). I've followed my weight pattern pretty evenly at 5th %ile except for last time (Mom says it's an outlier... whatever that means). My height dropped to the 25th %ile, too.

sentences

2007-07-04T15:48:00.000-04:00

I don't want to make the big update until the 18th (or so), but I have to come brag on my little twinkies. In the past week while we were on vacation, they started consistently talking in full sentences! "Mama, I want more _____." "Will you help?" And my favorite is when they try to sing the last verse of the ABC's "Now I know my sea, Next I won't meeeeeeeeee"

Sigh... cute.

23 months!

2007-06-18T11:33:00.000-04:00

This won't be a long update, but Sylvia and Mya are 23 months old today! One month from today, they will turn 2 years old! Can you believe it? I can't! They are starting to talk like crazy, putting words together, practicing their twin talk, and giving the best hugs and kisses ever!

They're physically active little girls and I'm having a lot of fun keeping up with them. Though when they are tired, it's a fight! They can gang up on us like nothing you've seen! But then as soon as they hit the bed, all they want are hugs and their lovies. Such sweet independent little girls!

I'll be back with a longer update when the time arises!

Mother's Day

2007-05-14T21:34:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day was wonderful! My sisters and I (along with my mom's mom, the 5 cousins, Mendy and my dad) took my mother on the Thimble Island Cruises. It was actually pretty interesting and it was a gorgeous day to be out on the boat. My mom has the same connection to water as I do, so it was ideal for both of us. We all went to eat at The Chowder Pot III afterward. Yummy food. I was very proud of the girls. They did a great job on the boat, though they were intent on trying to play on the stairs to the lower deck the whole time. They also did REALLY well at a not-s0-kid-friendly restaurant and let us eat our whole meal in peace! I guess that was their mother's day gift to me. I liked it. Then we went over to my parents house and we all had ice cream cake and chilled out. The girls napped there for 3 HOURS. They were exhausted.

As a gift, Mendy got me a deep fryer. Not the most common Mommy's day gift, but hey, it's what I asked for! I really want to make tempura! And a great side benefit is that I can now make fried dough in the comfort of my own home... mmm.

Here's a pic of the girls on the boat from yesterday.

Long Time, No Post

2007-04-27T12:14:00.000-04:00

Well hello there! I haven't forgotten about this blog. Ok, I had, but now I've remembered and 2 months later, I am posting again! The girls have gotten so independent. They're *this* close to being able to open doorknobs which will make life a lot more interesting. Their vocabulary has exploded. They started preschool this past Monday and are loving it. They still give us a hard time in the mornings because they are testing us, but less than 5 minutes after we leave, they are happily playing. When I go to pick them up, I'll peek in at them first. They are usually completely engaged in whatever activity they are doing. Then when they see me, they turn on the tears like it was the worst thing that could have happened to them! Slick little kids, I tell ya!

They had a great Easter and were rabid egg hunters... yes, rabid. They would growl if another kid was going for their egg. Good times.

We took a trip to Vermont to meet one of my best friend's newborn. He is absolutely adorable. I can't wait for him to grow up and be able to play with the girls! He is 6 weeks old. In the morning, when we woke up at her house, the girls looked around, figured out where they were and started saying "baby! baby!" All they wanted to do was play with the baby. I guess I"ll have to get another one soon.... ;) *sigh*

Sicky Sick

2007-03-03T17:16:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a night. At around 11:30, I heard a cry from the girls room that was not just "adjusting". So I went in to find Sylvia puking the days menu onto the pillow, sheets and blankets. Lovely. Luckily it didn't hit Mya, so we changed the sheets and Mendy stayed in the girls room with Mya. I took Sylvia and a bunch of towels back to our room to tend to her. Every ten minutes with a rare 30 minute exception, she had a bout of vomiting. The poor thing was throwing up in her sleep at times. I felt awful for her. In the morning, she started to seem better, but was also showing signs of dehydration, so I was getting ready to bring her to the hospital. As I started to get her ready... Mya starts gagging and puking. She didn't puke up any food, though. I guess she had digested it all. Thank god. Anyway, I let Sylvia chill while we cleaned up and tended to Mya and Sylvia seemed to get a bit better so we let her drink some gatorade. In small sips, she was keeping it down, so we never had to go to the hospital. Mya didn't have it nearly as bad as Sylvia, but it took a while for her to be able to drink anything either. They both seem better and have held down some toast and cheerios, so I think we're on the mend. Unfortunately, Mendy now has whatever it is and has been in bed all day today.

Please keep your fingers crossed that I"m not next!

2007-02-08T13:26:00.000-05:00

The girls had their 18 month wellbaby visit on Tuesday. And they couldn't be more identical... no really.

Sylvia's stats: 22lbs, 31 1/4 inches, head circumference - 48".
Mya's stats: 22lbs, 31 1/4 inches, head circumference - 48".

That's 17th percentile for weight! They're on the charts!!!! 50th %ile for height and between 75th and 90th %ile in head circumference.

Yeah. Identical. Sylvia's speech has exploded in the past two weeks. She now has moon, star, shoes, socks, head, night-night, etc... I can't keep track anymore! Mya is still a little slower, but she'll do it when she's ready. She's was sick last week and she's not all too impressed with the new digs. I think being home for February break will help her out... AND MOMMY!

Ok, I must go, work beckons.

Moving and Sleeping

2007-01-31T08:37:00.000-05:00

Quick update. We moved. The girls are loving the new house. They have much more room to run around and play without being on top of each other. They have their own room and a playroom which is really nice. They have slept through the night for 3 straight nights, now. Which is good because we needed the rest, too. Last night, they wanted to crawl all over me as I was putting them to sleep, so I decided to try letting them stay on their own. Can you believe in 15 minutes they were sound asleep in their bed? When I left, I heard them follow me to the door and do their fussy cry (I would have went back had it been real crying). Then I heard them start "talking" to each other. Then I didn't hear anything for about 5 minutes. Then a few fussy cries. I stood by the door incase it turned into real crying so I could go in if need be. Then nothing. Twenty minutes later, I peaked in and they were sound asleep... IN BED. Which means they crawled back up into the bed together and put themselves to sleep. How cute is that?!?!?!

18 Month Update

2007-01-22T12:08:00.000-05:00

The girls turned 18 months old on the 18th of this month. I can't believe it... weren't they just born? I don't want time to go this quickly!!! Updatewise... I don't have their weights/heights because they don't go to the doctor until Feb. 6th. As for their development, they are running around like madwomen. They climb EVERYTHING in sight. They play "catch", color, use forks/spoons (occasionally), follow directions (when they want to), do yoga, are attempting forward rolls, can locate their body parts (the newest is "cho"=shoulder). Speech is on target... They can repeat a bunch of words, but they only USE 5 or 6 of them (star, Pablo, Mama, Gaia, cat, more). They're much more receptive than expressive at this point. Though, they do have a twintalk repetoire of words... the two I've picked up are "gibble-bah" and "ichi". Cute buggers. Ok, I'll update the percentiles after the doctor's appointment. I'm anxious to see if they've caught up at all.

Christmas and such things

2007-01-03T13:06:00.000-05:00

The girls had a wonderful Christmas. They really got into tearing apart the wrapping paper and opening boxes. They didn't necessarily play with all the toys, but they sure loved opening the boxes. Not even playing with the paper and boxes, but opening them and saying "ooooooh!" and then diving after the next box. It was quite cute.

Sylvia - "What's next?!?"

They got a matching pair of duck pjs from Santa Mendy and when they opened them, they started quacking. C.U.T.E.

Mendy, Sylvia & Mya (wearing their new pjs)

Their favorite gift was probably a set of strollers that my sister got for them. They push around their dolls and/or Pablo in them. Here is Mya with little Pablo.

They also got sing & spin Pablo which was a hit, but caused a few fights over sharing. They have since learned to share Pablo.

We travelled to Georgia to visit Mendy's family for 5 days. It was really nice to see them. I love how her family adores the girls and will do anything for them. The girls did great on the plane and even though their little routine was screwed up, they didn't seem too fazed by it. They were happy as always and just as outgoing.

They should be going for their 18 month well-baby visit later this month, so I will be back with the details.

Christmas planning

2006-12-13T12:06:00.000-05:00

This will be a relatively quick update since lunch break is almost over.

The girls are doing wonderfully. They had some sort of bug that lasted quite a while (that both M and I had forever as well) during the Thanksgiving Holiday and after. We've been getting out of the house more recently and were able to go to the park last week, NYC this weekend and even got to go meet my sisters new puppy. Hopefully after the excitement of the holidays dies down, we'll be able to start getting excited about a possible move out of our current living hell. Middle.Of.Nowhere. Yay for civilization!

The Christmas shopping is going well. We sent out our Christmas cards yesterday, so that's all done. We got some fun presents for the girls... though they already found one of them and keep trying to get into the bedroom closet to play with it. It's the Sing & Spin Pablo from the Backyardigans. They don't even watch the show, but they LOVE them some Pablo! We have all of our plans to shop set after I get paid on Friday. Gotta love living paycheck to paycheck! My father is dressing up as Santa on Thursday at the QC Christmas party, so we'll be visiting Santa tomorrow. It should be interesting to see if the girls freak out.

If I don't get on here to post on their 17 monthday, I'll try to update as soon afterward as possible. We have crazy plans for the rest of the month, so I'm not sure when I'll be back.

Pig Tails!

2006-11-30T08:30:00.000-05:00

So this isn't that exciting of a post, but I have to show off the new 'do. The girls finally have grown hair long enough to put in little pig tail puffs! Check 'em out!

Fall Update

2006-11-21T08:59:00.000-05:00

It's been quite a while since the last update, but I'm still good on my one a month! The girls turned 16 months old on Saturday. I still can't believe how big they've gotten. I definitely have the baby bug, but we are going to wait a while until the girls grow out of their carseats... a few years anyway. Not too long, though. Eh, if I can talk Mendy into it, we'll start tomorrow!

They are physically progressing faster than I want them to! They're already able to jump and kick a ball and throw a ball (semi-correctly) and able to climb EVERYTHING in sight. They're creative little buggers, too. They'll move chairs out from the table to climb on them and then manuever themselves onto the table. Or their favorite... scaling the side of the desk to get onto our laps while we're using the computer. They can stack 5 blocks and then push over the sister's tower. They're still obsessed with musical instruments. They follow simple directions (shut the door, go throw this in the garbage, come here, bring me your ___insert toy here___) Expressive speech, they have words that are intelligible by Mendy and myself. "uh-oh", "hi", and "cat" are clear as day. They have their own words for "grandma", "cheese", "shoes", "puppy", "yeah", etc. They sign for "all-done", "more", "eat", and "sleep". They love reading books and talking to each other in their "twin talk". It's pretty darn cute when they plot things.

Ok, since I'm AT work and not DOING work, I need to go.

Here's a picture from Grandma's house...

Hugs!

2006-10-16T22:18:00.000-04:00

So the nanny is working out wonderfully. And, she recently requested 2 days off in March, so I know she's at least planning to stick around until then! She said the past two days have been fun and they made fingerpaintings for us! Well, in 2 days, the girls will be 15 months old, so I'll save the big update for then. However, I did want to share this picture. This is what happened when I told them to "give hugs" while they were eating dinner. How freakin' cute is that? I never even taught them that. The only time I say anything close to that is when I say "come give mommy a hug!" Awww! *heart melts* And they did it about 4 or 5 times.

New Nanny

2006-09-20T14:01:00.000-04:00

I don't want to jynx it, but it looks like the new nanny is working out for now. She's WONDERFUL. She is young though, so who knows where her life will take her in the future. She has been at least 5 mins early every day, she takes the girls outside to play, doesn't let them watch tv, and the girls are so happy when I come home. In fact, Sylvia starting freaking out when she left the other day! She absolutely did NOT want her to leave. That makes me incredibly happy. Hopefully she'll last. It has only been 3 days, so obviously I don't trust the situation yet after my last 2 episodes. But, we're on the right track which is all I can ask for at the moment!

Everyone keep your fingers crossed for me!

Oh, and the girlies turned 14 months on Monday. They're running around like they own the place. Mya has a few words that are decipherable by Mendy and myself and Sylvia clearly says "iggleiggleiggle" which doesn't mean giggle... it means tickle. And it's freakin' cute.

Day Care Woes...

2006-09-11T12:20:00.000-04:00

I'm feeling like a terrible mom lately. I thought I had good kids. I have no trouble watching them at home. They are active, yes. They're twin 1 year olds with sharing issues. I'm pretty sure all 1 year olds have sharing issues. They are starting to hit/bite each other. I always thought all kids experimented with that around this age and that it got better once they started using language. I thought I was doing everything right. If anything, I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. But, it looks like my kids are too much of a handful for everyone else. Our first CT nanny lasted a week and a half. The second nanny lasted a day and then never showed up again. We are currently looking for number three. If any of my lovely readers have suggestions, throw them all at me or e-mail me. I am interviewing 2 more people tonight and 2 more on Tuesday. I'm at a loss. I can't afford to send them to a daycare and I obviously can't seem to find a nanny that fits my kids. *sigh*

On a good note, they are walking around like crazy and starting to run a little bit... they're very awkward when they run and it usually ends in a faceplant... but it's cute! Check out my LiveJournal for a video that I posted a few days ago if you haven't seen them walking yet. They're starting to get used to having shoes on their feet, but I hate putting shoes on them, so I don't do it often. It's so bad for their development and their arches. Mya is starting to talk and calls her favorite stuffed animal, Pablo - BAH-BO!

Good Timing...

2006-08-18T09:24:00.000-04:00

Good timing... I told myself I would try to get in at least one post per month. Looks like I'm right on time! The girls are 13 months old today. Sylvia is finally starting to talk. Mya isn't yet, but she's definitely a discoverer! They are extremely active and into everything! They are so cute to watch play together. I really don't want to go back to work tomorrow. That makes me so sad. I love having my time with them. But since there is no available commune right now, I still have to work. (That's a whole separate rant... do i want to be in debt or even MORE in debt). I don't want to leave them with anyone else for so long. Not that I don't trust their nanny... she's great, but I don't want to miss anything!

I have to brag on them though... they spent over 5 1/2 hours at the DMV yesterday. They didn't even begin to break down... not even a whimper! for about 3 1/2 hours! They did SO well. I took them out to sleep in the car while M finished up and then we went to eat at Applebee's... they didn't make a single fuss there either. I'm so proud of them!

I also found a cool new way to put them to sleep. Usually I would let one play on the floor and put the other to sleep. It took about 30 minutes to get both of them down that way. But the other day, they were just both so tired at the same time that I couldn't bear to make one of them stay up any longer... and how do you choose? So I wrapped them both up, cuddled one into the other (spoon style), layed (laid?) down with them, patted them both on the waist and they were out in 15 minutes. They fussed a little bit in the beginning just like they do when they are alone, but being that close to each other didn't make a single difference. And they slept incredibly well. So, for the next nap, I tried it again and voila, down without a fight. These are children who hate falling asleep for fear of missing something. Maybe they just needed to be closer. *sigh* I love my little girls.

Oh and I just found out my mom is a CIO advocate. That makes me sad. Now I don't want to leave the girls there overnight. Not that I'd be able to anytime soon. Two toddlers is too much for her since she can't get around easily.

Well, that's it for now. As soon as my insurance kicks in, the girls will be going to get their shots and i'll let you know the stats.

Here is a gratuitous cuteness picture.

1st Birthday...

2006-07-18T15:25:00.000-04:00

Well, the day has arrived. In a matter of minutes, my girls will be one year old. At this time last year, my epidural was starting to kick in and I was being prepped for my c-section. And like any blog-addicted mother should do, I will now reminisce and tell their birth story.

On July 8th, 2005, I had an appointment with Dr. Potter (the high-risk OB). I was sent straight from his office to the hospital to be monitored for pre-eclampsia. I was given drugs to make sure I didn't start contractions via IV. However, because I get sick when ANY medicine is given to be intravenously, I spent the next two days vomitting. They finally took my IV out and let me be... with the exception of blood work every 6 hours and vitals every 4 hours. I was on solid bedrest. I was having regular contractions, but nothing that was considered labor. Because I was pre-eclampsic, I retained a LOT of water. I literally could not see my toes, ankles, or knee caps. Towards the end, even my hips became swollen. But, surprisingly, other than having trouble getting back and forth to the bathroom and occasional vomitting, I wasn't feeling all that bad. Mendy kept me entertained by playing scrabble with me. I did a number of crossword puzzles, many friends came to visit me and bring me magazines and sat and talked to keep me company. I truly am blessed to have such wonderful people around me. I ordered the same meals over and over... "grilled cheese", "garden burger", "tater tots", and "the southern veggie sampler" from the hospital cafeteria. They had surprisingly good food.

Fast forward to 10 days later, July 18th, 2005. The nurses came in for my routine morning bloodwork. At around 2:45PM, the doctor came back with the results that my blood platelets were dropping. This is a sure sign that full blown eclampsia is about to set in (which could cause stroke amongst other things). The doctor gave me a choice to deliver "now" or at 8:00PM. I had to have a c-section because both girls were breech. So, of course, feeling the way I did, and having an overwhelming desire to meet my daughters, I said "now". Thus ensued a whirlwind of activity. My IV was put back in, I was hooked up to monitors, prepped for surgery, wheeled in to the OR, given an epidural (which they had to give me twice... worst shot ever) and adjusted for the surgery. Then, when I was ready to go, Mendy was allowed in to the OR in her scrubs. As Dr. Francis began the surgery, Mendy peeked over the curtain and promptly got sick. Not from the blood or anything, but from the fact that they were "being so rough" and because "my skin was smoking". Then at 3:35, Sylvia Eve Mirto was born. She was taken to get cleaned off and her vitals taken (all within my sight). Then I was able to give her a kiss before she was taken to the other room to keep her warm and have her breathing watched closely (because they were preemies). At 3:36, Mya Jane Mirto was born. Again, she was taken to get cleaned off and get vitals, etc. I gave her a kiss and they took her out to be with Sylvia. Mendy went with them. Dr. Francis finished stitching me up and I was wheeled into the OR recovery room where I was able to nurse my daughters for the first time. I couldn't believe how tiny they were... or how beautiful they were... and I never thought I'd ever feel such unconditional love as I did at that moment. My heart could not have contained any more emotion at the moment.

After they finished monitoring me post-surgery and deemed me well enough to go back to a regular recovery room, they sent me and my morphine drip away to spend time with my new family. It was truly a wonderful feeling.

However, remember how I don't tolerate IV drugs? Well, the morphine drip was IV. So, as the epidural wore off and I had to give myself the morphine, I, of course, got sick for the remainder of the night... which isn't a comfortable feeling after your stomach muscles have just been severed and restitched! The next day when I was off the drip, I felt much better. I did feel extreme pain for the next two days, but every day it got 200% better. Every ounce of pain I felt I would endure a million times over for my children.

It was the best experience of my entire life. I hope it continues to be the best experience of my entire life. I plan on learning every day, loving every day, and not missing a moment of their fragile lives. My world is now theirs and I give it willingly.

Happy First Birthday, Sylvia and Mya. I love you two with all my heart and soul.

Strange Birds

2006-06-22T10:12:00.000-04:00

Ok, my children are odd. Let me set this up for you... We co-sleep and since the girls are wiggle worms, we have our mattress on the floor. We set up little pallets (sp?) with blankets for them on either side of the bed so that each of us is in charge of one girl over the course of the night. Ok. So after we put the girls to sleep last night, one on each side, we went back down stairs to clean up and get ourselves ready for bed. We had the monitor on in case they woke up... which they occassionally still do. We heard a few little cries, but they seemed more like they were adjusting themselves and not actually waking up, so we let it go. Then, a few minutes later, we heard a full-fledged cry. So I went upstairs in the pitch black and followed the sound to who was crying. It was coming from Mya's side. So I picked Mya up (she was kind of stuck between the bedside table and the mattress) and put her back to sleep. By this time, my eyes had adjusted and I got up to go back downstairs. As I looked down, I noticed Sylvia was missing from her side. I looked back and saw that Mya was sleeping soundly where I had left her... it was Sylvia that had gotten stuck! She climbed up on the bed and over to the other side to her sister, but got stuck!!! They're so twinny!

In other news, they went on their first trip to the beach. They enjoyed it immensely. Both of them would crawl directly into the surf. When a wave came they would sit up so it didn't hit them in the face and as the water went back out, they would crawl after it. Very cute stuff. They liked the boat as well, but didn't quite love the life jackets. I don't blame them. I took lots of pictures, but I'm on dial-up here. As soon as I move, I'll definitely post some more. I mean, it has been almost a month since my last post!

Swimming and such...

2006-05-24T08:30:00.000-04:00

The girls have had busy Georgia weekends lately. A few weeks ago we went to the aquarium and the zoo. This past weekend, we went to the Renaissance Festival and also signed up for swimming lessons! The Ren Fest was SO much fun. The girls got their picture taken with Mother Goose:

That's Mya with Mendy and Sylvia with me.

They also went to the petting zoo which they loved... I definitely have some animal lovers on my hands. I think I know where they get that from!

They start swimming lessons next Thursday. I can't wait! I love sticking them in their bathing suits. We got them new ones because they grew out of their old ones. As soon as we take some pictures, I'll post them.

Hmm... thought there was more to post than that... well, I guess I could say that they both do "How big is Sylvia/Mya?" "Soooooo Biiiiiiiiiiig" pretty well now. It's quite cute.

Has it truly been 10 months?

2006-05-18T15:15:00.000-04:00

The girlies are 10 months old today. I can't even fathom that I have kids yet and they're almost a year old! As a co-worker told me when I came back from my maternity leave "motherhood suits you". I absolutely love this. I can't believe that people complain about it. I will NEVER be tired of it. I don't even get tired all that often. Perhaps I don't need much sleep, but I have to admit, I like waking up with the girls in the middle of the night. I love that time with them. And no, they are not sleeping through the night yet, so it's not like "I don't remember those days". The hormones did kick my butt for two or three months and made me irritable with Mendy, i'll admit that, but not the babies... the babies have been my saving grace.

At 10 months, their new tricks are popping out teeth like nobody's business, cruising around the furniture, standing for a few moments unassisted, being "soooo biiiiig", eating everything in sight (hummus is the big winner by far), trying to say and wave "bye-bye", and clapping and laughing at mommies.

Soon they'll be potty-trained and taking driver's ed... I dread the 1st birthday... I'm gonna be a wreck!

Here we are just a' swingin':

Sylvia:

Mya:

The Sound of Laughter

2006-05-04T08:27:00.000-04:00

Well, well... it's been quite some time since I posted. Not all that much has been going on in baby world other than major bouts of cuteness.

Both girls are pulling up on everything and anything and cruising around. Sylvia can stand for about 3 seconds on her own, but only if she REALLY feels like it. So while walking looks like it is around the corner {{{shreeeeeek}}} I think I have at least another few weeks... perhaps it'll be just in time for the end of school (17 days... not that I'm counting).

Another thing I should mention is that I could listen to the sound of my children's laughter for hours and hours on end. Because of a last minute babysitter cancellation (she had a sick daughter), I ended up taking the twinkies to work with me. Of course they had a fantabulous time crawling around and playing. However, if you've ever been in an elementary school that has uncarpeted floor, you will understand just how nasty the floor is. Well, I couldn't stop them from crawling around, so I just let them get nasty. And of course, afterward, I wiped them down with some sanitary lotion. But they were still nasty as all get out, so as soon as I got home, I threw them into the tub. Well, let me just tell you how funny a rubber duck is... This duck is about 4 inches big. It is your classic yellow rubber duck. I would dunk the duck under water, get some water inside the duck and then squirt it out on the girls. Well, Sylvia had a FIT! She laughed so hard, it was practically uncontrollable. She had to stop to take a breath every once in a while. Something really tickled her about the noise that duck made... it's not a squeaky duck or anything, but the water didn't even have to be in it and she would just crack up. It was so great. Mya basically just sat in the water and watched Sylvia crack up. It sort of looked like "what is wrong with you?" Very cute. I'm more in love every day.

Easter Fun

2006-04-17T12:23:00.000-04:00

The girl's first Easter was LOTS of fun. We woke up and they opened their Easter baskets. They got stuffed eggs (like stuffed animals, but they're eggs), wagon wheels, a GAP shirt that says "if you think i'm pretty, you should see my mom", a Build-a-Bear wearing a pink terry robe, the first season of Fraggle Rock on DVD, a huge bunny to share and a kiddie pool. After they played with their loot, we got their bathing suits on and went swimming in their new pool. Our friend Gwen came over with her son, Andrew and we all played outside for about an hour and a half. The girls also got a basket each from them... with a cute little easter outfit and "my first easter" bunnies. The girls had the BEST time playing... here is one pic from the outing:

That's Mya trying to catch water... you can see Sylvia's little back in there too.

Easter Pictures

2006-04-14T09:57:00.000-04:00

Do I not have the cutest children in the world? Ok, I'm bragging, but I'm supposed to, I'm the mommy! This was the outcome of their first professional pictures. Sylvia basically mauled the poor bunny, so we didn't have many to choose from... the bunny kept hopping away (and of course the girls would crawl after it). But, we only needed a few to get this cute one! Happy Easter, y'all!

TEETH!

2006-03-30T12:17:00.000-05:00

We have teeth! Sylvia has one big fang and one that just popped through yesterday. Both on the bottom. Mya has one tooth on the bottom. Baby teeth are sharp. Kind of like puppy teeth! I love them. Especially when they bite my clothes... it's funny!

They are both crawling now... on their knees and everything! They're all over the place. I was making bottles in the kitchen (left the girls to play in eyes view in the living room) and I looked down and there was Mya at my feet looking up at me with her big blue eyes. It was too cute!

Mya is on an apnea monitor and we've only had one scare that she self-corrected. They were supposed to come out and download it the other day, but I haven't heard from them. Which reminds me I need to call them back.

I'm never sure when this site will work or not so excuse the sporadic updates.

Here's a picture of Sylvia's tooth:

Mobility hurts.

2006-03-07T10:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, the mommy worry-wart rears her ugly head... be prepared.

The girls are mobile. I wouldn't say "crawling" necessarily, but definitely mobile. So yesterday, I was changing Mya on the couch when Sylvia started shrieking because in her attempt to go from a sit to a crawl got stuck between part of her toy. So I go to rescue Sylvia and CRASH. Mya crawled, fell off the couch into the coffee table and got a HUGE bruise and raised bump on the back of her head. I was so scared. I ended up waking her up after she went to bed just in case she had a concussion (and omg, she's so cute when she's wicked drowsy). She seemed just fine this morning and I think the fact that I put ice on her head was more traumatizing than the fall. This of course all occurred two days after Sylvia pulled a toy down on top of her and got a big bump and a cut over her eye from it. I'm not feeling like the best of mothers these days. I know these events are inevitable and the girls are hearty little ones... but I swear I'm buying helmets. My kids will NEVER ride bikes... okay, at least not while I'm there. I really have to learn how to handle both of them being mobile at the same time... and quickly! Here are some pictures for your amusement...

Me w/Mya and Mendy w/Sylvia on the top of Kennesaw Mountain

A little Sylvie-lovin' on the mountain

Aww, tiny twinsies!!!!! Remember when....

My friend Gwen with Mya on the mountain

Crawling?

2006-02-24T10:25:00.000-05:00

The girls are on their way to crawling. Sylvia starting pushing up onto her hands and knees 2 days ago and Mya started yesterday. They can only stay a few seconds, but they are so ready to crawl. Sylvia puts one hand out and collapses, but she wants to and she knows how to do it. It's so weird how they just know what to do.

They also started trying to stack the rings on their stacker toy. It's so precious to watch them "play".

They are just growing up so fast. The cry to be put BACK INTO their co-sleeper now. They don't need Mommy anymore! :( I'm pretty sure they're just too warm between us with their winter sleepers, but it's so sad.

At 7 months, Sylvia weighed 14.0 and Mya weighed 14.6. My big girlies! Ok, so they just grew into their 3-6 month clothes, but they're big to me!

We're working on growing!

2006-02-14T11:01:00.000-05:00

Quick picture update, etc.

Some new milestones the girls are trying for: Sylvia really wants to talk. She babbles in full sentences. She even has the eyebrow expressions going!
Mya is trying to crawl. If you put her in crawl position, she rocks.
They get to eat red oatmeal today for Valentine's Day! Awww, you can all die from cuteness now... :)

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Help, I'm caught in coffee table jail! Mya likes to roll under the table, now.

Here's Mya getting some lovin'...

Gettin' ready to go to a birthday party.... don't we look cute?

On Saturday, the girls went to their first birthday party! Here is a picture of myself, Mya and the birthday boy, Andrew.

Haven't forgotten!

2006-02-06T08:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, you spin next!

I haven't forgotten about this site, but when I can't get on here at work, I don't get on here at all! They filter this site into "adult" content once in a while.

We love our Drop & Roll Dinosaur!

Mendy and I took the girls to the viewing of Coretta Scott King at the Georgia State Capitol on Saturday. It was absolutely moving. The people in line all were friendly and banded together despite the cold.

Sittin' Pretty

The people standing behind us even offered up blankets for the girls (we didn't bring any because we didn't expect to be outside for as long as we were). It was very peaceful and very moving. Nice to be a part of history.

Hey, I want that ball!

The girlies are doing a great job sitting and playing on their own. They're starting to discover things more and more. Mya has figured out how to get the veggie puffs to her mouth. It's very cute!

6 Month Update... a few days late...

2006-01-25T14:49:00.000-05:00

So the girls went to the doctor on the 19th and they got an excellent report. Sylvia weighed 12lbs 8oz and Mya weighed 12lbs 14oz. My big girls! The doctor kept calling them "petite". It was so cute. Well, here are their milestones as of 6 months...

Both girls are sitting up for about 30 seconds, eating fun solids like apples and pears and squash and pumpkin and zucchini, rolling over from back to tummy and playing in their bouncy seat and exersaucer. The doctor gave them the okay to start veggie puffs and cheerios! It's fun to watch them try to eat the veggie puffs. They pick them up in a fist, bring their fist to their mouths and gum their hands! They haven't figured out to open their fists to get the veggie puffs out yet!

Sylvia is starting to babble consonants and rolls ONE direction. I think I got a giggle out of her yesterday.
Mya rolls BOTH directions and is starting to giggle.

After Holiday update

2006-01-17T16:04:00.000-05:00

I was going to do a photo-journal update, but I did that on my other journal, and now I'm lazy, so here goes the written version...

Well, let's see, where to start... Winter break was a BLAST. We flew up to CT on the 27th and the girls did AMAZING on the plane. I must have good plane kharma since I'm nice to kids on planes We had Christmas with my family that night. They got lots of cool toys and clothes and stuffed animals, etc. My dad got to meet them for the first time and fell in love with them (how could you not?!?! ). Same goes for my oldest sister (who couldn't visit when I had them because she has two boys of her own) and my grandparents. My nephews were really good with them with the exception of the two year old who seemed to think they were trampolines! He is the most rambunctious and yet endearing 2 year old I've ever met. I had a great time with them. It was so much fun to just play without worrying about the girls since they had 2 million babysitters while we were there.

We did some apartment hunting in Middletown and found a few things we liked, so I hope we'll be able to really get moving on that front. I think we're going to put up our house in February.

We brought the girls on the train to NYC and hung out in Manhattan and took them to Strawberry Fields where we took their picture on the Imagine stones. That was an incredible trip.

They also got to see their first snow. Sylvia was like "what is this cold stuff hitting me in the face?" and Mya just sort of sat there. It was pretty cute.

They also got to meet Mya's future husband Liam. He took an immediate and unrelenting interest in Mya. He just sort of ignored Sylvia! And he is absolutely adorable.

We just relaxed most of time and spent time with family. It was nice to hear my dad say that we were good parents and that he was impressed at how well DP and I worked as a team and took back earlier comments that being in a two-mom family would be bad for them. It really made myself as well as M feel much more "welcome".

Now it is January 17th and the girls have both learned how to sit! They can go for about 45 seconds before they get distracted and topple over. Very cute!

L'il Swimmers

2005-12-19T09:45:00.000-05:00

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

2005-12-15T09:26:00.001-05:00

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.

2005-12-12T14:51:00.000-05:00

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

2005-12-05T12:30:00.000-05:00

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

2005-12-02T12:33:00.000-05:00

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!

2005-11-28T13:17:00.000-05:00

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

2005-11-18T11:32:00.000-05:00

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

And

Happy 4 Month Birthday, Baby Girls!

Update from 11/14 and some new news.

2005-11-16T17:22:00.000-05:00

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

2005-11-13T22:19:00.000-05:00

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

2005-11-05T20:37:00.000-05:00

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!

2005-11-01T08:02:00.000-05:00

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!

2005-10-31T09:59:00.000-05:00

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.

2005-10-28T09:25:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-24T11:57:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-19T12:24:00.000-04:00

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...

2005-10-14T11:31:00.000-04:00

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

2005-10-13T10:51:00.000-04:00

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...

2005-10-12T22:56:00.000-04:00

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

They're swimmers!!

2005-10-10T07:50:00.000-04:00

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...

2005-10-03T13:44:00.000-04:00

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

2005-09-29T07:46:00.000-04:00

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

2005-09-25T21:12:00.000-04:00

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...

2005-09-21T12:44:00.000-04:00

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

2005-09-20T10:17:00.000-04:00

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 :)