look, mom, new trick!

Rafael has started holding his own bottle from time to time. The nanny says he'll even do it with the big bottle! This one was just a little prune juice to get things moving...




And, as promised, fist eating.

our cultured kids

Rafa and Sylvia had some great cultural experiences today that they won't remember tomorrow. But, good times, nonetheless. We skipped church to attend a Simchat Bat, a baby naming ceremony in the Jewish tradition. It was a beautiful ceremony honoring some wonderful women in the families of the parents for whom the baby girl was named and celebrating the life and hope of the little sweet pea. Sylvia, of course had a ball. There were so many people to flirt with and smile at. Rafael was a little overwhelmed and preferred to just rest in D's arms. I was amazed at how many strangers came over to talk to us and treated us like family and friends and also a little saddened that the experience really stuck out to me that this is a rare thing. When I mentioned it to D, who agreed about the friendliness and kindness, he said, "maybe we should become Jewish!" If only this were the norm. I am now motivated to act accordingly when I have the opportunity.

After a nap and lunch, we watched the last couple innings of the Rice baseball game (undefeated) before strolling through campus and checking out the new Plensa installation.







Sylvia LOVED it! Of course she loves checking out anything and everything new, but that's beside the point.

little hands and feet

The Vassariños are making their transition from baby blobs to interactive infants. Rather than just flailing and kicking, they now move their arms and legs with purpose. Both kids like to scootch down in the bouncy chair so that they can put their feet up. (I must have taken the pic on D's phone, so you'll have to wait for the visual.). They also reach out an grab things. Like glasses. And earrings. And hair. And ears. And those suckers pull hard! Tonight Sylvia used her feet and wrapped them around my arm and pulled it near her!

It's incredibly fun to watch them gain control over their bodies. Of course, everything they touch goes instantly to their mouths. Including brother's arm.




Fingers, too.


I'll try to catch Rafa, he likes to gnaw on his whole fist. And he attacks it with vigor. It's hilarious.

playing some more

Ok, well maybe eating. Or trying to.

playing

mid-week fun

The nanny's daughter is in her first school musical today at 1pm, so I let her have the afternoon off to attend. Which means I've been able to play with these two!

more about sleep

The glory days of long hours of sleep are but a memory. Sylvia has sleep regressed. Hopefully it's just a growth spurt and will be over soon, but it could also be teething, her cold, poor naps, or a whole variety of things. She also is breaking out of her swaddle, but can't put herself back to sleep without it. Here is how I found her at one point tonight.




Which is why we're awake now since she woke up and couldn't go back to sleep until we reswaddled. Not a crutch we love but all attempts to wean her from it have been woefully unsuccessful. We'll try again at 6 months. Rafael, on the other hand, is starting to learn to sleep without it, although I have now found him sucking on his fingers since they're now available, which I was hoping to avoid. I might have to surrender that battle. At least he's sleeping well. That might be a tradeoff we are willing to make. Ok, she's now been quiet for 10 minutes, so I better catch a few more z's before dawn.

Late night snuggle

We've had some late night "opportunities" to spend with our children who, just 10 days ago were sleeping regularly through the night. Here is Claudia modeling good sleeping habits for Rafa:


Here are S and R attempting to snuggle, despite their recent move to separate cribs. They started each in the middle of their own beds...

get a little closer

I know I just posted, but this is too sweet to not share.

firsts

Pretty much everything Sylvia and Rafael do these days is a first for them, but we still find it exciting and noteworthy to think about their first this and their first that. I wonder when that will get old... This morning was their first time in a nursery. The ladies were all very excited about the new babies. And since they love love love being held, I'm certain they had a marvelous time. That allowed D and me to have a little date to worship.








This was also their first baseball weekend! Ok, so I cheated a little since they went to part of yesterday's game. They were not particularly impressed with the game even though the Owls swept FIU, but they loved all the people watching.

I exercised!

I finally went to the doctor for a physical. I hadn't had one since I was a kid and my mom took me to the pediatrician. I'm healthy, so why bother, I always thought. That and I have this thing about seeing doctors. Anyway, I went. The doc asked me if I find time to exercise. Do I find time to exercise? Does lifting two babies count? I'm still trying to find to sleep. It's not that I don't want to exercise. I like being fit. I like exercising. But my likes are no longer the driving force behind how I spend my time.

In any case, I suppose it was a bit of an inspiration because I found myself with 40 minutes before the nanny was scheduled to leave, so I decided to go for a run. I don't like running, either. But, I do crave getting back into shape, so run, I did. Ok, jog I did.

I felt great for about 5 minutes. Then I started slowing down. My gazelle-like bounded turned into duck-like feet smacking. I walked a little, cut the path short and stopped at a red light (rats). When I arrived home, the nanny came to the door and said, "That's it?!, just 15-20 min?! And I had been so proud of myself. Until then. I haven't exercised in a YEAR. Yes, that's it. Maybe next week it'll be 16-21 min. For now, that'll just have to do.

a big day (night)

Sylvia and Rafael spent their first night in their own cribs. Sylvia was a little fussy during the night, although I think it had more to do with her inability to breathe than anything else. She did roll so that her head was close to her brother, but perhaps just another coincidence. Probably I'm more sad about splitting them up than they are.

learning to share

Sylvia is definitely on the road to recovery. We have our little spitfire back. Her eyes are bright and she is interested in the world again. She still feels a little yucky, but I think she's at the tail end.

But, before her cold went away completely, she did share it with both Rafa and D. So far, Rafa's temperature hadn't gotten as high as Sylvia's, but he for sure is congested.

They're both still eating well. And, many people have asked if we've slept while they've been ill. Perhaps we're just really lucky, but they've slept much better since they've been sick. If we're really lucky, that will also mean they kick it faster since they're well rested. Here's hoping.

One of the best things about living where we do is that Gong-Gong comes to visit before and after meetings and games nearby. It's particularly good right now as the kids are starting to have some stranger anxiety. Rafa is also beginning to get more deliberate in his movements with his arms and legs. He loves to prop up his legs and push them against everything. He now reaches out and grabs things, too. It's fun to watch him turn into a little boy.




Gong-Gong is so much fun!!

poor baby

Poor little Sylvia had too much fun this weekend and is now under the weather. This is cold number 2, but it's worse than the first. I think due to my not being sick this time (so far), so I haven't been able to give her my germ fighting immunities.

Please pray for healing, comfort and rest. And that Rafa doesn't catch it (although I'm not holding my breath).

red egg party

In the Chinese culture, when a baby reaches a month old, the baby is introduced to friends and family at a red egg party.  This is a celebration of life and a reintroduction of the mother to society.  This is also when the baby is given its name.  Due to the timing of Sylvia and Rafael's twin cousins' red egg party and the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and football season, our red egg was a few months later, but cause for celebration nevertheless.  And what a celebration it was!  Sylvia and Rafael were incredible stars, who didn't fuss one bit, and happily traveled from one set of arms to the next.  And, of course, their outfits were super adorable.  Thanks to Aunt J for lending Sylvia her outfit (and Oma for picking it out in San Fran) and to Mark for bringing Rafael's outfit all the way from the motherland.

Family pics are a bigger challenge these days...

Oma with little Sylvia

a weekend of fun

This weekend was a blast! So many friends and family partying together and so much love showered on Sylvia and Rafael. We are incredibly grateful for so many wonderful people in our lives and the role each and every one will play in the lives of Sylvia and Rafael.

We didn't take many pictures, but fortunately others did and are sharing theirs. Here are a few we've received so far that capture some of the fun!

D playing with nephews and nieces and goddaughters.




The red egg celebration. I'll try to post a full family photo or one of Sylvia's adorable outfit soon.







And their baptism

cousins!

ah, weekend mornings

lesson learned

No more bragging about how great the babies are sleeping. We're now over a week into waking at 4:30am... We thought it was a fluke at first, but seems like a habit has now formed. Our attempts at breaking it have so far been fruitless. Maybe they're just excited about their big weekend. Whatever it is, we are no longer bragging about what great babies we have!

5 months

(Yesterday. I'm having technical difficulties posting again...)

Sylvia and Rafael celebrated by eating more avocado than they wiped on their faces, bibs, and clothes. They are figuring out what to do with food in their mouths. Big step.

They have also started rolling from belly to back. Every once in awhile anyway. Rafa does it more than Sylvia. Mobility is about to start. Yikes!!

Until then, we'll cherish these restful times:

Aguacate

Rafa is not convinced that he wants to like avocado, but we did give it the old college try...

First piano lesson

Laughing Buddha

18-20 inches

That's the length of a giraffe's tongue.

Sylvia is doing her best imitation with the famous Sophie the giraffe.

There's a longer video I'm having trouble uploading, so there might be Part II coming soon to a theater near you...