9 month update

The blogger is a slacking.  Here are the stats from the 9 month visit (2 weeks ago). 

Rafael
27.5" (21%)
19 lb 5 oz (26%)
the giant head: 18.3" (78%)

Sylvia
29" (89%)
19 lb 7 oz (58%)
head: 17.5 (63%)

twin fight

It doesn't take long for the twin play to go the other way...  As I discussed the day today with our nanny, she said with a smile, "We had a new development, today!  They started fighting!"  Rafael was playing with a little plastic toy mobile phone, which of course looks nothing like our mobile phones, but apparently the twins already understand the importance of always having a mobile phone nearby.  Sylvia watched him intently, and then snatched it.  Rafael, fed up with Sylvia always stealing his stuff, took it back.  I'm not entirely sure how often this went back and forth, but they started grabbing and then swatting their sibling to keep them away from the goods.  Sylvia prevailed and Rafa cried.  Poor guy.  Always pushed around by his big sister.  Our nanny said there were two such episodes.  And so it begins.

twin play

People often ask us if the twins enjoy playing together. They are still fairly oblivious of each other. Sure, they take toys from each other and want to explore the other's head or foot or other body part by grabbing or sticking in their mouth. But, for the most part, they are mostly just interested in entertaining themselves. They do take note when they hear the other crying, but it's hard to tell if it's more than a 'what's that sound?' face. We have been told by other parents of twins that they'll start entertaining each other and playing together when they're about 18 months. Nevertheless, it's pretty fun to watch them play 'together' (i.e. next to each other).

checking out the world

Rafael has now become interested in the big world around him. I have to remind myself of how fun it is for him to be more curious when he also doesn't want to nap because being awake is so much more interesting. When we put him in the cart for a family shopping outing, he kept turning all the way around in the seat to see where he was going. Ready or not, world, here I come!!

froggie

anything but the toys

I think we're going to stop buying toys. We have all these great toys, but the Vassariños only have eyes for household objects. And typically ones that can hurt them, like plastic bags and electrical cords.  To prove to us that we can quit spending money at Toys 'R Us, during one clothes changing, Rafa played with

An empty bottle...




A shoe...





And a suitcase.  The zippers are just so fascinating!

mama hen

I wrote this while on the trip, but apparently it didn't post.

A couple ladies were transfixed by the twinfants today. Sylvia, unfortunately, was über tired. So she was fussing. Rafa has started coming into his social self and charmed the ladies thoroughly. Then, one of the ladies started calling Sylvia a term that means she's a bad kid but doesn't have a good English translation. Bad in that she was crying and not going to sleep etc., but a little bit of a term of endearment as she tried to make Sylvia laugh and smile. I know she didn't really mean that Sylvia is a bad kid, but my protective heart went into overdrive. I wanted to explain that she was only crying because she was tired. And we weren't able to put her down for a nap. I wanted everyone to think that my baby is an angel and not have these even slightly negative thoughts. Mama hen instincts. I know this is just the beginning.

Finally, crying at home again

For two weeks and change, crying was not acceptable.  Crying was to be extinguished at almost all cost, including--almost nightly--at the cost of precious hours of sleep.  Whether we were in Hameln, where a sock-footed dash down wooden steps to the babies' room was in fact life-threateningly slippery, or in Wuppertal, where our floor-camping children (we have pea pods, or baby tents, for them) could wail within a few feet of our own bed, we reacted with uncharacteristically soft-hearted immediacy to every little whimper and cry that Sylvia and Rafael emitted.  We simply did not want to awaken our kind and generous hosts. And once we were staying in hotels rather than homes, we were likewise concerned about our neighbors.

Mind you, we never had an explicit conversation about this beforehand, but our typical approach of letting the kiddos cry themselves to sleep when necessary was abandoned about the time the wheels came up on the 767 that carried us across the pond.  Consequently, we only slept uninterruptedly through the night a couple of times during our vacation that took us to Germany, Austria, Italy, and Turkey.  By day, we experienced, bleary-eyed, all the family, sites, food, hiking, autobahn, cycling, boats, mosques, castles, and museums that we could handle.  I think that we remember most of it, and even enjoyed it, too.

But the nights were long, sob-filled, and draining.  And that was before the kids woke up.  Then the crying and hugging, and pacing, and shhooshhh-ing began.  We could always get them back down again, though it often took 15, 30 or 60 minutes, not to mention the stirring of the blood and the heightening of the senses that lead to a long trip back to sleep again.

So, you can imagine my delight as last night, for the first time in weeks, I listened, cold-hearted, to wails and watched impassively the four streams of tears.  The crying has returned, and with it, deep and joyful sleep will ensue.  For they rarely cry beyond what our hearts can bear, and in the end--now in the comfort and solitude of our dear home--both they and we shall return to our routines of sleeping, eating, playing, and yes, a bit of crying, that had hitherto provided us with such joy.

we're back

We crossed the Atlantic and returned to tell about it.  We survived.  Here are just a few pics from the trip.  More pics and details to come.  When we catch up on sleep.  So, in about 8 years...

Heidelberg, Germany

Basaldella, Italy

Istanbul, Turkey

The twinfants have now been to 5 countries!!

Sylvia practicing German

Grrrrrrrrrrrh.

speech development

Rafa has started the trumpet buzzing thing which Sylvia did weeks ago. As they say, girls develop faster. SHE has started bah-bah-ing. And I hope to catch it on camera or video. She makes the best frowny face when she does it. She started on Monday and it seems like she hasn't stopped since. Typical girl.

posin