This Time Last Year and Bathtime for Babies

This time last year Lani was 16 months, and she was really becoming a true toddler. Here is a flashback to this day in 2008.

Bathtime for Babies

The twins getting their baths tonight. I bathe them in the sink, one at a time, of course. Enjoy!

Caryss http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RO2KjMQmdo

Arden http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-2n6MX1NWw

New Caps and Apple Purses

Thank you for Alana's new cap, Grammy Jean! We gave her the cap this morning, and she's been wearing it everywhere. She loves wearing a baseball cap just like Daddy. It is beyond adorable.

Grammy, Alana wants to say something to you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n78cUcY6h0

Some Alana Words and Their English Translations

Apple-purse = octopus

Pyuwer = computer

Ossi-cars = oscars (it's Oscar night, and Daddy loves to watch it)

Yeddow = yellow

Neg = leg

Nike = like

Trent's Party

Alana attended her friend Trent's 2 year birthday party with Chris. I stayed home with the babies so they wouldn't catch anything from the raft of kids at the party. Trent's grandparents, Lee and Tom, live a few houses down from us and have always been really great neighbors, and his parents, Marty and Diana, are also very nice people we'd love to see more of. The theme was rocket ships, and they had a great bouncy house. At first, Alana wasn't sure what to make of it, but she enjoyed it very much. Chris had to pull her out of it. I've included a few pictures along with some video clips on Youtube. I did ask Chris where were the pics of the birthday boy. Mysteriously absent? Hmmm, Daddy's a bit myopic when it comes to his girl. Note how in pic # 1 no braids, pic #2 braids? That's because they were whipping her head when she jumped. Oops! Why did I have to get fancy with her hair?

Click here for bouncy house video clips: Clip #1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqMnXCoM4cI and Clip # 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ceun8IUXZ6k

Recent Baby Pics

Don't thesebabies look good enough to eat?
(Warning! Achtung! Do NOT eat babies!)

Caryss - 16 weeks

Arden - 16 weeks

Great Day

The babies had a great day today. They ate well, napped well, and just seemed to feel really good. The public health nurse, Anna, came and checked the girls. Developmentally, they are on target for age-adjusted preemies (~2 month olds). They can lift their heads almost to 45 degrees, can hold it steady for a bit when being held upright, can bear their own weight on their legs, can follow an object, and find their hands fascinating. Physically, they are also doing well. Arden is 12lbs 6oz and 23 inches long. Caryss is 13lbs 10oz and (drumroll please) 25 1/2 inches long. She is actually off the preemie charts with her height! On a slightly negative note, the nurse did feel that C has infant torticollis. What is it? The cramped conditions inside the womb can cause muscle damage when a baby is born called infant torticolis. With infant torticolis babies have neck muscles that are too short and tight. This limits their free head motion. If this condition is not treated it can worsen over time. The shape of the skull and spine can change and this will put unneeded pressure on the eyes and brain. That, of course, is the worse case scenario, but I'm not taking any chances. Physical therapy has been recommended. :(

Caryss Dozing After Dinner

C has really gotten into the rhythm of her days and starts getting sleepy after 6pm. Most nights I follow a little sleep routine with the babies to get them ready for bed, but tonight C fell asleep in her chair as she was digesting her dinner. She never woke up, not when I picked her up, not even when I swaddled her and laid her down. Lordy, it was unbelievably sweet.

Froggy Blankets

Here the babies are swaddled in the sweet blankets Gramma Rose's dear friend, Rosemary, made for them. The blankets are just the perfect size for swaddling. Please say a prayer for Rosemary who has been in the hospital for several weeks now.

Natural History

Katelyn, our wonderful babysitter and a nursing student, watched the babies on Monday (President's Day) so that Chris and I could spend some time with Alana. It was a blustery, rainy day, so we decided to spend the day indoors and check out Fleet Science Center. Well, parking was no problem, but the line (in the rain!) for the Science Center was unbelievable. We realized that it would be insane (both to stand in line for 30 minutes with a toddler in the pouring rain) then to go inside with said toddler and thousands of other unruly kids sloshing about. So we spied the natural history museum only 100 yards away and decided a change of plan was in order. Wow. Can I tell you that we have been disappointed with the museums in SD? The art museum is just sad and this museum is no better. They had zero dinosaur skeletons and virtually not much of anything else! It was four floors of nothing in fact. Sure, I'm spoiled. I've been to natural history museums in NYC and DC. Both are fabulous, outstanding. But these museums don't even make an effort. Luckily, Alana is still easily amused. In fact, she thought the payphone was an exhibit and we played with that for a bit. (Actually, isn't that from the pre-cambric period? Have you even seen a payphone in years?) She also enjoyed this room with stuffed birds, rodents, and a mountain lion (think taxodermy) that had a cool magnetic wall with those words meant to form poems and profound thoughts. We did have fun, just because hanging with Alana is a blast...most of the time ;-)

I threw this pic in because it's so odd. This elevator button reads "Earthquake". What I want to know is, what happens if I push it?? Very strange.

Happy Valentine's Day video

This video of Alana speaks for itself. Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!

Click on this link to see the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R96_qlyR4aA

More recent photos of the big girl...Alana had her face "painted" at school, so that's why it looks like she's a little blotchy.

Daddy's Little Valentine

Aaargh! I've been stricken with a cold that I got from the babies who got it from Alana. So, the babies and I stayed home and rested, while Daddy and Alana had a Valentine's date. Chris took Miss Alana and Flat Stanley to the harbor, then followed up with lunch. Flat Stanley is a boy in a book who gets flattened by a bulletin board and goes on various travels in his new flattened state. Alana's cousin Lilly sent him to her as part of a class project. We're finally getting a chance to showing Flat Stanley around San Diego. Below are a few pics of Alana and Flat Stanley. [The babies slept a LOT today. I hope they (and I) feel better soon.]

Who is this big girl??!!

Lost Video Archives

This is from the lost video archives :)

In the Dentist's Chair

Playdate

Our friends Laurie and her adorable daughter Karleen stopped by for a playdate today. The last time we saw them, I was still on bedrest and Laurie brought us a fabulous homemade cheesecake (ummmm!). This time they had a ton of fun playing with toys and looking at books, while Laurie and I chatted away. We really spent a lovely morning together. In fact, we were so engrossed in our conversations and the girls that neither of us thought to take pics until Laurie and Karlene were leaving. So as the girls were hugging goodbye, I snapped this photo. Just a few seconds later, they tripped as a unit and Karleen fell headlong into the wall. Poor thing! She was crying pretty hard afterwards!! Anyway, we hope to see our friends again soon with less head bumping action next time.

Baby Weights

When the girls got their Synagis shots the other day, they also had a weight check. Caryss is 13lbs 1oz and Arden is 11lbs 11oz. It looks like Arden has slowed her growth rate, which makes sense since she eats less than her sister and also loses an ounce or two each day to spit-up. The size difference is readily apparent if you compare them. Just the day prior to the weigh-in, I commented that it looked like A had barely grown. C on the other hand feels as heavy as a rock and looks super long. I will update this posting with pics soon. UPDATED with pics. Sorry Arden was not too happy :(

Birch Aquarium

My original plan was a quick trip to the zoo with my big girl, but the rain changed my mind. We headed instead to Birch Aquarium. Little did I realize that the tidepools would be closed due to rain. Anyhow, we made the best of it, and Alana had a blast. She ran from exhibit to exhibit exclaiming "wow, that's pretty" or asking "what's this, mom?" However, the fish paled in comparison to the kiosk with the buttons. She was enamored and said to me repeatedly, "mom, I press buttons!" When I told her we were done, she refused to go. When I told her I was going on without her, she told me bye bye. When I physically pulled her off the machine, she pitched a fit on the floor.

The Irresistable Button Machine

Finally, we made our way to another exhibit area just made for children with buttons and levers and lights, oh my! The exhibit was about global warming, carbon footprints, conservation, and so forth, but I believe the message was lost on my baby :) One funny moment when she couldn't reach an item of interest, she said "Mom, I need my stool" and started looking around for it.

Lookin' Like Grammy Rose

She really does look like Grammy Rose in these pics.

Synagis Shots

The twins received their first round of Synagis shots. They will get one a month until the end of RSV season (April or May) to help them fight off RSV. I had to really hustle to get the insurance to approve the shots as they cost over a thousand dollars each, but I don't think I am being excessively cautious. The twins are fighting their 2nd cold in 13 weeks, once again brought home by sissy. If RSV is out there, Alana WILL bring it home.

Resourceful One

I gave Alana a stool to use as a little table next to her little chair. She also used it to look into the babies' crib. Well, in the last few weeks, she figured out that she can use it to reach anything she wants. Yeah, that's right! She's pushing it against the kitchen cabinets, the kitchen sink, the island, her dresser, you name it. The other day she pushed up to her highchair and climbed into it, but couldn't get down. I finally decided to lock the stool away for her own safety. Well, our little girl simply started using her airplane car. That's even worse than the stool! I told her not to do that anymore, and so now she's commandeering my nursing stool (actually it's a child's Elmo stool, but it's what I've always used) to climb! Ugh, I'm pleased that she's so resourceful, but worried that she'll hurt herself or get into something dangerous.

Climing Implement #1

Climbing Implement #2

Climbing Implement #3

Alana Pic Alert

Here are a couple of pictures. One shows her beautiful and ridiculously long eyelashes. The other reveals her dimples. And finally a picture of me and the twins...drum roll, please!

Our Day

This was our day...Today was Superbowl Sunday. I spent it in my jammies, unshowered. I woke up at 2:30am with Arden. I coaxed her to sleep for an extra half hour, then fed her, held her and put her back down. I next woke and fed Caryss. By then it was after 4am. I lay back down to Chris' snoring. I nudged him and asked him to turn over. He decided he would get more love on the couch. I napped until 4:40am when Arden started crying. I went in to soothe her, but it didn't work and she was soon wailing along with her sister whom she woke up. Stephen crept out of here to the airport around this time. I ended up tandem feeding both girls around 5:15am. (I had been hoping they'd sleep till 6am.) Chris crawled back to bed and turned on the sound machine. So after feeding was play time, tummy time, then back down. In the midst of this, Lani woke up early (at 6:30am). I gave her milk, pancakes and yogurt for breakfast (usually Chris takes care of Lani). Chris got up and fed the dogs then sat down on the couch looking haggard. I ate breakfast and pumped, then researched infant sleep issues on the computer. I usually feel good in the morning even after I do the overnight shift, but I was disgruntled that Arden kept getting up so early (usually it is 3am and 6am). I had trouble adjusting my expectations.

At 7:50am Arden woke again and I had to jiggle her in the bouncy until 8:45am or so. She had a VERY fussy day today. I fed her, then woke up Caryss and the cycle began again. Around 10:30am, Chris took Alana to the Harbor to play, then picked up lunch on the way back. Meanwhile, I pumped breastmilk. They came home and ate. Alana had a quesadilla. I was feeding the babies when they got home, so I ate a bit later. Chris put Alana down around 1pm, then headed out to Ralph's (grocery store) as he has every Sunday since I went on bedrest. He even uses coupons! What a good shopper.

Chris came back and put away the groceries. I don't remember but I think I was just putting the babies down at that point. Alana woke up shortly after he got home. A bit after that I screamed when I saw the large lizard relaxing in my foyer! Chris came rushing over to see who was killing me, chased and caught the little guy and released him out the front door. The babies slept for perhaps 30 minutes then the fussing began in earnest. It was off and on until I fed them around 6pm. During this time, I took a quick shower and changed into the new jammies. I mean, what was the point of putting on clothes at 4ish in the afternoon?? I also clipped my toenails (can you say "foot dracula?"). Ahhh, that was metime! Chris TRIED to watch the Superbowl (he LOVES the Steelers) but there was a lot of crying and he was helping to feed Arden who wouldn't eat. He thought the game would be a blowout, but apparently it was pretty intense. Chris had his meltdown at this point. What was Alana doing all day, you ask? Alana just played busily and happily as always.

A bit later, I went to put the babies down in the nursery and found a wet spot on the carpet. Thanks Blue. I got some old towels and sopped up the wet spot as best I could and had my meltdown. Threatened to get rid of both dogs. At this point, Arden was crying hard so I rocked her for awhile with Caryss rocking in the swing. I finally put them down a half hour later and cleaned the carpet. Then I pumped breastmilk. Whew! The day is over for now. Marily, our night doula, comes at 10pm tonight so she will do the late night feeding and everything else until 7am tomorrow morning. I still have to pump once more tonight but then it's beddy-bye. Woohoo!

Now for our day in pictures...Note that two of my girls had good days. I also included a smiling Arden. It was NOT representative of her day!

The lizard after he ran into the living room

And after being released back into the "wild"