Update: long overdue.

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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...

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...

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...

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

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!