Thursday, December 27, 2012
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Saturday, December 22, 2012
mom fashion translation
The next time you see a woman who doesn't look quite right, she's probably a mom of twoddlers. Or at least a mom. Here are a few tips as to what probably went down as she left the house, not that I'm speaking from experience or anything...
- Hair in a ponytail or bedhead or a day or two past washday - who has time for hair?!
- Something crusty on her sleeve, or mid-thigh on her pants - sweet snuggles from the twoddler who just had breakfast or a runny nose or both
- Flip-flops or other house shoes with work suit - rush to get kids ready, rush to get self ready, rush to get out the door and forgot to switch to big girl shoes.
- Mismatched jacket/skirt suit combo - accidentally grabbed the wrong one and didn't realize the mistake until after having said goodbye to the kids, causing them to wail, and switching out the jacket for the correct one would require "leaving" the twoddlers again, and who wants to experience that heartbreak TWICE in one morning?
- Stickers, marker stains, dried up Play-Doh on back or shoulder - managed to find 10 extra minutes this morning to play with the twoddlers and embraced the insanity that is twoddler playtime with reckless abandon.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
play dates!
The twoddlers are now starting to interact more with other children. This takes play dates to a whole other dimension. They still spend the majority of their time in individual play, but those little interactions are very fun. The following video and park swing are from 2 different play dates we had in the last week! And that doesn't count playing with cousin Bella. They might end up being social butterflies like their parents...
Sunday, December 16, 2012
happy birthday to me!
For my birthday, D fixed breakfast, let me nap and cleaned the kitchen and generally was the perfect husband. It's a good thing I like football, though, otherwise birthdays in December would be MUCH more difficult.
I decided that as my gift to me, I would be more present with the kids. I wouldn't let my brain wander to the 25 things that I need to get done to make it through the day (pack the diaper bag, change Sylvia's clothes AGAIN because of the blueberry mess, then while they nap I can..., then after the nap, quickly feed milk, load the car, rinse the dishes, move the laundry to the dryer, we're almost out of milk...). Yes, that's a little like what's going through my brain most always. But not today. Today, I sat with Sylvia in my lap while pokey worked on his breakfast (his mom was also always the last to leave the dining table). And while she sat there, I enjoyed her. I took in the scent of her hair--the few tufts she has. I burned in my memory the feel of her skin as I caressed her arm and wiggled her toes. I studied the look in her eyes as she drank up my description of the pictures in the book we were reading. And it was wonderful. And I did the same with Rafa. I nuzzled my face against his hair and let the joy of being with my child overcome any thoughts of anything else. I held him a little longer rather than wiping those crumbs off the countertop. Dressing him wasn't a quick task to be done to get out the door, but an opportunity to interact with him to name body parts and experiment with Velcro.
I know I won't be able to do this all the time every day. But I will do this a little bit every day. That's my promise to myself. Happy birthday to me!
I decided that as my gift to me, I would be more present with the kids. I wouldn't let my brain wander to the 25 things that I need to get done to make it through the day (pack the diaper bag, change Sylvia's clothes AGAIN because of the blueberry mess, then while they nap I can..., then after the nap, quickly feed milk, load the car, rinse the dishes, move the laundry to the dryer, we're almost out of milk...). Yes, that's a little like what's going through my brain most always. But not today. Today, I sat with Sylvia in my lap while pokey worked on his breakfast (his mom was also always the last to leave the dining table). And while she sat there, I enjoyed her. I took in the scent of her hair--the few tufts she has. I burned in my memory the feel of her skin as I caressed her arm and wiggled her toes. I studied the look in her eyes as she drank up my description of the pictures in the book we were reading. And it was wonderful. And I did the same with Rafa. I nuzzled my face against his hair and let the joy of being with my child overcome any thoughts of anything else. I held him a little longer rather than wiping those crumbs off the countertop. Dressing him wasn't a quick task to be done to get out the door, but an opportunity to interact with him to name body parts and experiment with Velcro.
I know I won't be able to do this all the time every day. But I will do this a little bit every day. That's my promise to myself. Happy birthday to me!
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Friday, December 14, 2012
15 months!
The twoddlers turned 15 months on the 6th. Which meant, more shots. And, an "official" weigh-in.
Here are the stats from the visit:
Sylvia:
Height: 31.25" (75%)
Weight: 22 lb 3.2 oz (39%)
Head: 18.3" (65%)
Rafael:
Height: 30.25" (23%)
Weight: 21 lb 9.6 oz (12%)
Head: 19" (80%)
Rafa's head continues to pull away disproportionately from his body. It's probably due in large part to the fact that he doesn't really like eating. We went out to dinner tonight with some friends and of course he refused to eat anything. We're not sure if he gets overwhelmed by the sights and sounds because he at least eats a little at home. In any case, when we got home, we wanted to be sure he didn't wake up at 5am (again), so we let him have pureed fruits/veggies. And he ate a lot. So, maybe we just need to go back to baby food and blend our meals, then add applesauce...
Here are the stats from the visit:
Sylvia:
Height: 31.25" (75%)
Weight: 22 lb 3.2 oz (39%)
Head: 18.3" (65%)
Rafael:
Height: 30.25" (23%)
Weight: 21 lb 9.6 oz (12%)
Head: 19" (80%)
Rafa's head continues to pull away disproportionately from his body. It's probably due in large part to the fact that he doesn't really like eating. We went out to dinner tonight with some friends and of course he refused to eat anything. We're not sure if he gets overwhelmed by the sights and sounds because he at least eats a little at home. In any case, when we got home, we wanted to be sure he didn't wake up at 5am (again), so we let him have pureed fruits/veggies. And he ate a lot. So, maybe we just need to go back to baby food and blend our meals, then add applesauce...
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
tradition...TRADITION!
Apologies in advance to our children who will often tire of how we break into song whenever we hear words from songs in conversation. Particularly because many of the songs they won't know and will think are "totally lame." I probably shouldn't admit this in public, but we once had an entire conversation in which pretty much every sentence contained sung song lyrics. Life is a musical.
So, I can't hear the word "tradition" in any context without thinking about this:
Because of our traditions, everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do.
I recently asked D what are his beloved family Christmas traditions and what does he want ours to be. It would be really easy for me to create a holiday experience for our kids that looks like what my holidays looked like growing up. But, while we're not exactly mashing two very divergent cultural backgrounds together, I do want to be sure that the memories he cherishes from his childhood can be passed on to our kids as well.
What are some of your favorite holiday traditions that you hope are passed on in your family?
So, I can't hear the word "tradition" in any context without thinking about this:
Because of our traditions, everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do.
I recently asked D what are his beloved family Christmas traditions and what does he want ours to be. It would be really easy for me to create a holiday experience for our kids that looks like what my holidays looked like growing up. But, while we're not exactly mashing two very divergent cultural backgrounds together, I do want to be sure that the memories he cherishes from his childhood can be passed on to our kids as well.
What are some of your favorite holiday traditions that you hope are passed on in your family?
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
hope
On the first Sunday of advent, we celebrated hope.
From Merriam-Webster:
From Merriam-Webster:
intransitive verb
1: to cherish a desire with anticipation
2 archaic : trust
transitive verb
1: to desire with expectation of obtainment
2: to expect with confidence : trust
It made me wonder, what is it that I hope for? Of course, there are all the really common ones, everlasting life, health, freedom from want, happiness and fulfillment, et cetera, et cetera. But, more specifically, what do I hope for today? I posted a shorter version of this on Facebook, but wanted to add this here with a little more color and where I can keep it with other random thoughts of mine that I or my kids might one day go back and enjoy.
- I hope my kids will grow up to have incredible empathy. -- I believe that they will be filled with more joy and peace if they can see the good in others and can view the world through lenses other than their own.
- I hope the Texans will win the Super Bowl this year. -- Aside from loving the hometown guys since day one, because of Andrew Luck, there is fear in our house that if we don't do it this year, we're going to struggle for many years being in the same division with Mr. Luck.
- I hope the amount of love people have for each other in this world will continually increase. -- OK, so this should probably be in the really common list. It's sort of my description of the creation of heaven on earth. Well, not originally mine, but embraced by me.
- I hope my house will one day be orderly and clean. -- I suffer from the unfortunate combination of a strong desire for order and the inability to maintain it.
- I hope diabetes and cancer will soon have a smaller impact. -- Probably also for the common list. It is amazing and sad to me how many people are impacted by these two diseases. Very recently, we've been watching a number of friends go through cancer themselves or one of their loved ones.
- I hope United gets its act together pronto. -- I really miss Continental.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
2 vs 1
Having twins elicits lots of sympathy. We routinely hear, "double trouble!" I haven't been shy about the fact that the first four months were hard. Very hard. Things have gotten easier a little at a time. I have been told that around 18 months, having twins will start being easier than a singleton because that's when thy can start playing together rather than always needing an adult to entertain them. We're keeping our eyes on the prize.
Truly, though, things had gotten to where two rather than one wasn't twice as hard, just a little harder sometimes. One of the main reasons things have been so manageable is because the twoddlers have been on the same schedule. Until now. We are in that weird stage between two naps and one. So, it's harder for us to just stick to our nap routines because they aren't tired at the same times that they have been for months. Well, one might be one day and the other the next. Which meant that for today, Sylvia took a long morning nap, Rafa took a long midday nap and Sylvia is down again for an afternoon snooze.
If they don't both take two naps, this is the more frequent scenario. Sylvia is a disaster when she's tired. And she seems to really still need two naps. We ha a backup nanny one day last week and she let the kid play and then tried to put them down for one midday nap. Well, Sylvia was overtired and couldn't settle down. Because she was wailing at the top of her lungs, Rafa couldn't sleep, so the nanny got them both up since thy screamed for (according to her) 15 minutes. I came home or my lunch break and it was clear that Sylvia was über tired. So, I helped put her down to sleep. She didn't like it and still screamed some, but eventually fell asleep. Rafa, on the other hand never looked tired, so the nanny never put him down! So, he went the whole day without a nap!!! And he was perfectly pleasant at the end of the day. Some kids are just easier, I guess. (At least on this point, let's not talk about eating...).
So, Rafa is probably ready to switch to one nap a day, but Sylvia's not quite there, yet. This is when 2 is much harder than 1. We either fight against their natural rhythms or we have one child or the other sleeping for 6 almost continuous hours during the day, which makes going out and doing anything or getting anything done, nearly impossible.
On the positive side, this has given us some one on one time with each kid and a little glimpse into what it would be like to not have to divide our attention all the time. We probably should be more intentional about splitting them up even when they're on the same schedule so that they can experience uninterrupted time with at least one of us.
Truly, though, things had gotten to where two rather than one wasn't twice as hard, just a little harder sometimes. One of the main reasons things have been so manageable is because the twoddlers have been on the same schedule. Until now. We are in that weird stage between two naps and one. So, it's harder for us to just stick to our nap routines because they aren't tired at the same times that they have been for months. Well, one might be one day and the other the next. Which meant that for today, Sylvia took a long morning nap, Rafa took a long midday nap and Sylvia is down again for an afternoon snooze.
If they don't both take two naps, this is the more frequent scenario. Sylvia is a disaster when she's tired. And she seems to really still need two naps. We ha a backup nanny one day last week and she let the kid play and then tried to put them down for one midday nap. Well, Sylvia was overtired and couldn't settle down. Because she was wailing at the top of her lungs, Rafa couldn't sleep, so the nanny got them both up since thy screamed for (according to her) 15 minutes. I came home or my lunch break and it was clear that Sylvia was über tired. So, I helped put her down to sleep. She didn't like it and still screamed some, but eventually fell asleep. Rafa, on the other hand never looked tired, so the nanny never put him down! So, he went the whole day without a nap!!! And he was perfectly pleasant at the end of the day. Some kids are just easier, I guess. (At least on this point, let's not talk about eating...).
So, Rafa is probably ready to switch to one nap a day, but Sylvia's not quite there, yet. This is when 2 is much harder than 1. We either fight against their natural rhythms or we have one child or the other sleeping for 6 almost continuous hours during the day, which makes going out and doing anything or getting anything done, nearly impossible.
On the positive side, this has given us some one on one time with each kid and a little glimpse into what it would be like to not have to divide our attention all the time. We probably should be more intentional about splitting them up even when they're on the same schedule so that they can experience uninterrupted time with at least one of us.
Friday, November 30, 2012
breath of heaven
D and I are not ones to go overboard with holidays. We were lucky to put out a few tiny pumpkins on our porch for Halloween that stayed outside until Thanksgiving (and then a few days). We used to decorate our house for Christmas, but probably in large part because we hosted a Christmas wrapping party and our friends generously brought gifts to wrap for a family in need that we adopted. We will one day resume hosting parties. Maybe when the twoddlers are twinagers.
We do love holidays, don't get me wrong. But probably mostly because it's an opportunity to be with family and friends. I don't know if we're just too lazy or too scroogy to really get into the rest of it. We'll try to step up our game when the kiddos are at the age of making memories.
As avid music lovers, though, I've tried to embrace the Christmas spirit by playing Christmas music around the house. I'm a big fan of the Pandora Christian Contemporary Holiday station. In general it's good, but what really makes it wonderful is that pretty much every time I turn it on, I get to hear someone's version of Breath of Heaven by Chris Eaton and Amy Grant. Sometimes, it's even Amy Grant herself. If you've never heard the song, I highly encourage you to.
The lyrics are at the end of this post.
As a mother, the words about Mary's journey are even more poignant than when I first fell in love with the song. As a mother, it is also my song--a powerful expression of the feelings I have had and continue to have about carrying and caring for my own children. If I pause from the world around me while listening to this song, I can't make it to the end without a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. But the good kind. The kind that come from the most powerful of emotions, love.
Breath of Heaven
I have traveled many moonless nights,
Cold and weary with a babe inside,
And I wonder what I've done.
Holy father you have come,
And chosen me now to carry your son.
I am waiting in a silent prayer.
I am frightened by the load I bear.
In a world as cold as stone,
Must I walk this path alone?
Be with me now.
Be with me now.
Breath of heaven,
Hold me together,
Be forever near me,
Breath of heaven.
Breath of heaven,
Lighten my darkness,
Pour over me your holiness,
For you are holy.
Breath of heaven.
Do you wonder as you watch my face,
If a wiser one should have had my place,
But I offer all I am
For the mercy of your plan.
Help me be strong.
Help me be.
Help me.
Breath of heaven,
Hold me together,
Be forever near me,
Breath of heaven.
Breath of heaven,
Lighten my darkness,
Pour over me your holiness,
For you are holy.
We do love holidays, don't get me wrong. But probably mostly because it's an opportunity to be with family and friends. I don't know if we're just too lazy or too scroogy to really get into the rest of it. We'll try to step up our game when the kiddos are at the age of making memories.
As avid music lovers, though, I've tried to embrace the Christmas spirit by playing Christmas music around the house. I'm a big fan of the Pandora Christian Contemporary Holiday station. In general it's good, but what really makes it wonderful is that pretty much every time I turn it on, I get to hear someone's version of Breath of Heaven by Chris Eaton and Amy Grant. Sometimes, it's even Amy Grant herself. If you've never heard the song, I highly encourage you to.
The lyrics are at the end of this post.
As a mother, the words about Mary's journey are even more poignant than when I first fell in love with the song. As a mother, it is also my song--a powerful expression of the feelings I have had and continue to have about carrying and caring for my own children. If I pause from the world around me while listening to this song, I can't make it to the end without a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. But the good kind. The kind that come from the most powerful of emotions, love.
Breath of Heaven
I have traveled many moonless nights,
Cold and weary with a babe inside,
And I wonder what I've done.
Holy father you have come,
And chosen me now to carry your son.
I am waiting in a silent prayer.
I am frightened by the load I bear.
In a world as cold as stone,
Must I walk this path alone?
Be with me now.
Be with me now.
Breath of heaven,
Hold me together,
Be forever near me,
Breath of heaven.
Breath of heaven,
Lighten my darkness,
Pour over me your holiness,
For you are holy.
Breath of heaven.
Do you wonder as you watch my face,
If a wiser one should have had my place,
But I offer all I am
For the mercy of your plan.
Help me be strong.
Help me be.
Help me.
Breath of heaven,
Hold me together,
Be forever near me,
Breath of heaven.
Breath of heaven,
Lighten my darkness,
Pour over me your holiness,
For you are holy.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
la playa
While visiting the sis, we took the twoddlers to the beach.
Gorgeous, right? But don't let that picture fool you, they didn't exactly spend the time enjoying the view. This was more like it:
I think I made the mistake of trying to put Rafa on the ground to walk in the sand. Once he felt the ground move under his feet, he wanted no more of it. So, he spent the rest of the time in my arms, just observing. I think the expanse of the beach and the ocean, the sounds of the waves, all that makes the ocean awesome to us, was overwhelming to him. Good thing we plan on visiting sis again many more times in the future and he'll have more opportunities to become enchanted with the sand and the sea.
Sylvia, on the other hand...
Sylvia couldn't get enough of it. She covered herself in sand. Raked the sand, filled sand forms with sand, tried to eat sand, let the waves run up over her feet. Our little adventurous girl loved it all.
While I think the beach is beautiful, going to the beach is not one of my favorite pastimes. As it seems with most things, though, it is incredibly wonderful to experience it with the twoddlers.
Gorgeous, right? But don't let that picture fool you, they didn't exactly spend the time enjoying the view. This was more like it:
I think I made the mistake of trying to put Rafa on the ground to walk in the sand. Once he felt the ground move under his feet, he wanted no more of it. So, he spent the rest of the time in my arms, just observing. I think the expanse of the beach and the ocean, the sounds of the waves, all that makes the ocean awesome to us, was overwhelming to him. Good thing we plan on visiting sis again many more times in the future and he'll have more opportunities to become enchanted with the sand and the sea.
Sylvia, on the other hand...
Sylvia couldn't get enough of it. She covered herself in sand. Raked the sand, filled sand forms with sand, tried to eat sand, let the waves run up over her feet. Our little adventurous girl loved it all.
While I think the beach is beautiful, going to the beach is not one of my favorite pastimes. As it seems with most things, though, it is incredibly wonderful to experience it with the twoddlers.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
primo time!
I have a lot of catching up to do with all our activities around the holidays... For thanksgiving, we went to visit my sister and her family. We always enjoy visiting with family and really hope that the kids have many opportunities to get to know their cousins as they grow up.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
love pats
Rafa's take on sweet love pats. He has watched the nanny cradle a baby doll and gently pat it while shushing. Now, every once in awhile he'll hold something to his chest and pat it, whether it's a doll, a book, a block, whatever.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
look out world!
The twoddlers prefer walking over crawling now. Which means we can go to the park! And other fun things. Our first trip to the park where they got to get around instead of just our pushing them in swings was super fun. As you would imagine, Sylvia was interested in everything. Rafa was a little more cautious, but still really enjoyed it. Sylvia's favorite part was the slide. She could not wait to do it over and over again. We had to fight to get her to sit down because she just tried to jump down as soon as she got to the top. Sylvia mostly went down lying down on the slide without anyone holding on to her. Giggling the entire way down. Rafa preferred to sit up, go down slowly, with a hand from an adult guiding him. He still enjoyed it. Just in his own way.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
i love the zoo
Actually, I used to love the zoo. Now I love, love, LOVE the zoo. Or, I love the zoo, but I love, love, LOVE watching my children enjoy the zoo.
Like most parents, half of our words with our kids are animal sounds. What does the cow say?... MOOOoooOOoooo! Pretty much every book we read has an animal in it. which necessitates making the sound that animal makes as we point to the picture. I guess we think that maybe our kids will learn to speak duck before Spanish or English. So far, Sylvia can speak fish, but that's about it. We'll work on a video of that because it's hilarious. Well, to us, anyway.
Saturday was one of those more rare than a blue moon kind if day that we had absolutely no plans. So, we took the kids to the grocery store in the morning, to the zoo after their morning nap and to the park with my brother's family and Oma and Gong-Gong before dinner, bath, bed. Whew. It was all spectacular, but the zoo was enchanting. I'm certain it's in part because I love going to the zoo. I love all the animals--even the birds and the hoofed animals. And as the zoo is so close to our house and I purchased a membership today, I'm certain my kids will be brainwashed into cherishing that place, too. We might improve our animal impressions, too.
I used to come home with pictures of giraffes and elephants and flamingos and seals and such. Now I apparently only take pictures of my children's intensely curious awe.
Like most parents, half of our words with our kids are animal sounds. What does the cow say?... MOOOoooOOoooo! Pretty much every book we read has an animal in it. which necessitates making the sound that animal makes as we point to the picture. I guess we think that maybe our kids will learn to speak duck before Spanish or English. So far, Sylvia can speak fish, but that's about it. We'll work on a video of that because it's hilarious. Well, to us, anyway.
Saturday was one of those more rare than a blue moon kind if day that we had absolutely no plans. So, we took the kids to the grocery store in the morning, to the zoo after their morning nap and to the park with my brother's family and Oma and Gong-Gong before dinner, bath, bed. Whew. It was all spectacular, but the zoo was enchanting. I'm certain it's in part because I love going to the zoo. I love all the animals--even the birds and the hoofed animals. And as the zoo is so close to our house and I purchased a membership today, I'm certain my kids will be brainwashed into cherishing that place, too. We might improve our animal impressions, too.
I used to come home with pictures of giraffes and elephants and flamingos and seals and such. Now I apparently only take pictures of my children's intensely curious awe.
Friday, November 9, 2012
first word
The twinfants are babbling up a storm. They love to experiment with sound. What Sylvia has in quantity, Rafa makes up for in volume. Sylvia has recently started playing with her tongue and I'm assuming she's learning how it shapes her sounds. She has been mimicking basic sounds for a little while, but without much recognition (if any) for their meaning. They understand quite a bit of what we say, though. Rafa mostly just does his own thing.
But, Sylvia now has her first word that means something an she uses it appropriately. Our home is mostly a Spanish speaking home. The nanny and D speak almost exclusively Spanish. I speak about 75-80% with the kids, but mostly English with D even if it's in front of the kids. As the kids babble along, we often pretend they said actual words that sound like their babbles and 'repeat' what it sounded like they said. So, "babah ohhhhf ay" becomes, "Daddy's home, yay!"
What's the first word, already? you ask?... Whenever I pick up the kids, I usually say, "arriba!" One day when I said that, Sylvia babbled something close to "ahb!" So I responded, "up!" And that's all it took. Now every time she want to be picks up and embraced, she crawls, walks, scoots over and proclaims, "UP!" And we happily oblige with arms, smiles, and giggles. I'm a little disappointed it's not in Spanish, despite all our efforts, but I suppose she needs to master rolling her R's first, anyway.
But, Sylvia now has her first word that means something an she uses it appropriately. Our home is mostly a Spanish speaking home. The nanny and D speak almost exclusively Spanish. I speak about 75-80% with the kids, but mostly English with D even if it's in front of the kids. As the kids babble along, we often pretend they said actual words that sound like their babbles and 'repeat' what it sounded like they said. So, "babah ohhhhf ay" becomes, "Daddy's home, yay!"
What's the first word, already? you ask?... Whenever I pick up the kids, I usually say, "arriba!" One day when I said that, Sylvia babbled something close to "ahb!" So I responded, "up!" And that's all it took. Now every time she want to be picks up and embraced, she crawls, walks, scoots over and proclaims, "UP!" And we happily oblige with arms, smiles, and giggles. I'm a little disappointed it's not in Spanish, despite all our efforts, but I suppose she needs to master rolling her R's first, anyway.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
toy joy
Rafa has been playing with this toy since the day we opened it. It didn't take him long to figure out he needed to smash the balls. Sylvia, though, mostly just tried to eat them. Finally, I decided to show her how it works and make her smash the balls. She seemed a little nervous at first, waving her hand up and down over the ball, not quite touching it until she got up the courage to smash it. And then she discovered the joy.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
step right on up
The breakfast bar is open. I guess one bowl of oatmeal, applesauce and blackberries wasn't enough. Daddy, please share yours. (This after he already helped me polish off mine.)
Saturday, November 3, 2012
are you ready for some football?!
(I uploaded this earlier this week, but forgot to post it. Rice also won today, hooray!!)
Rice's last game was conveniently (for us) a couple hours earlier, so it fell in between naps. This made for fun for the whole family. Oma and Gong Gong enjoyed extra time with the grands sharing one of their great passions--sports. The twinfants especially enjoyed all the sights and sounds and opportunities to clap along with so many others, since clapping is really fun for them these days. And they had many opportunities because the Owls enjoyed a rare blowout of their opponent. The Owls might need them to skip their nap next week!
Friday, November 2, 2012
happy halloween
Kids, I apologize for when you're old enough to read this that we're lame parents and didn't take the time to pick out adorable Halloween costumes, put you in them and take a picture or 10 before you got annoyed with the accoutrements, freed you from the weight and heat of the gear, then put you in bed. We also missed the opportunity to show you off to all the neighbors and fill you with chocolate.
We'll blame it on your colds and less than peak condition. Although it probably has more to do with our lack of creativity and boringness.
Just so you know, we did get into the festive spirit a little and attended a pumpkin carving party. You're too small to carve, not that you didn't want to. But we opted for stickers and paint instead. That would have been a good idea if you didn't want to eat the paint soaked sponge brush.
Hopefully, your fleece hoodie jumper things that we needed for the cold weather sort of count as costumes. I can always photoshop some black noses and whiskers on if it lessens your embarrassment of your lame parents.
We'll do better next year. Maybe.
We'll blame it on your colds and less than peak condition. Although it probably has more to do with our lack of creativity and boringness.
Just so you know, we did get into the festive spirit a little and attended a pumpkin carving party. You're too small to carve, not that you didn't want to. But we opted for stickers and paint instead. That would have been a good idea if you didn't want to eat the paint soaked sponge brush.
Hopefully, your fleece hoodie jumper things that we needed for the cold weather sort of count as costumes. I can always photoshop some black noses and whiskers on if it lessens your embarrassment of your lame parents.
We'll do better next year. Maybe.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
she's walking
Sylvia has taken steps for probably about a month now. Most of the time she prefers to crawl, though, and only walks when we stand in front of her and scoot backwards as she tried to reach us. Other than that, she rarely chooses to walk since she's a mean crawler and gets around quickly, which is her MO. Today, though, while I'm home sick (I can't remember the last time I've been sick. It stinks.), I got to watch her choose to walk around the play room. Multiple times while trying to get from one place to another, she did it walking!! She even turned around, so it wasn't just Frankenstein steps forward, but even a little graceful. It's so fun to see them growing up.
Rafa, our careful one, still isn't very interested, but I think once he sees her walking around, he won't be far behind.
I've been mostly hiding in my room all day, partly because I have no energy and partly because I don't want the kiddos to get sick. So, I'm glad I got that little treat during the 15 minutes I spent with the kiddos. Being home and not being able to play with the twinfants (soon to be twoddlers) has been the hardest part about being sick. Boo.
Rafa, our careful one, still isn't very interested, but I think once he sees her walking around, he won't be far behind.
I've been mostly hiding in my room all day, partly because I have no energy and partly because I don't want the kiddos to get sick. So, I'm glad I got that little treat during the 15 minutes I spent with the kiddos. Being home and not being able to play with the twinfants (soon to be twoddlers) has been the hardest part about being sick. Boo.
Friday, October 12, 2012
happy birthday papi!
Yesterday was D's birthday. Because of Rice's Centennial, I worked at home in between various events on campus. I did get to see D more than usual, but skipped having lunch with him to join my sister, sister-in-law, their kids and mine with our nanny at the children's museum. I'm so glad our kids have a chance to play together. Even if it sometimes feel like we notice that they're together more than they do, hopefully we're building a foundation for when they're older to enjoy each other more.
This is definitely our son. All the toys and fun kid stuff and he just wants to read the books.
This is definitely our son. All the toys and fun kid stuff and he just wants to read the books.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
it's not all sunshine and roses
Things seemed to really be rolling along smoothly for awhile there. We got in a consistent eat and sleep schedule that everyone was happy with. Kids love the nanny and weren't too sad when we left in the morning, but appropriately excited about our homecomings at night. Fun weekends together. Life was good.
And then, the vomit began again. Oh yeah, stop reading if you're on your lunch break. This post is not about sunshine and roses.
I guess we needed a reminder that this parenting thing isn't just a walk in the park. Lest we begin to judge other parents going through a more difficult stage.
Little miss Sylvia decided to bring us back to reality. Poor thing could not keep food down. So, we had to start her little tummy easy. A sip of pedialyte every 5 minutes and if she successfully kept it down for an hour, 2 oz every 10 minutes for an hour. She was NOT happy with Dr. Sari about that. She was so hungry that taking away the cup or it being empty over and over again gave her fits! But, as the nanny learned, if you give in to her desires, she's worse off because then she throws up again and is now more dehydrated and you have more disgusting cleaning to do.
Once she mastered the pedialyte, we moved her on to the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apples, and toast). Food, finally!! 24 hours on BRAT, then a slow transition to regular food.
While this craziness was going on with Sylvia, Rafa decided to go on a hunger strike. I don't know if it was an empathetic move, teething, just striving for independence, protesting our food offerings, trying to get attention or what. The main problem wasn't his starving. His chubs thighs have plenty of stores. But, he started waking up in the middle of the night and really early in the morning (5am) because he was hungry!! Not cool, dude.
The comical-if-it-didn't-drive-me-insane part was that Sylvia was hungry and wanted food and would cry when we put it on Rafa's plate and he didn't want to eat, so he would cry when we put food on his plate.
Sylvia went 24 hours on a regular diet, but then lost it again. So, back the beginning again. She never got a fever, nor any other symptoms. Just couldn't keep her food down. I've given up on trying to figure out the cause. Maybe if it happens again, I'll get curious, but for now, I'm okay living with the mystery.
We figured out Rafa will eat purées, fruit and bread. We're trying not to just spoil him so that he thinks he can just eat what he wants. (Trying to avoid the 3-year old who only eats lean cuisine pizza we were told about.). But, we also selfishly want some sleep and can only send him to be without dinner so often in a week. And, if we let him just cry until it's time to get up, then we have two crying babies and the other is sick and really needs her sleep. So many curveballs (excuses?) derailing the "plan."
To top it all off, somewhere in the middle of all that was their late 12-month appointment and since they're fighting 2 live viruses, we're being a little more lenient until that period is over. Unless of course, we then have another reason to be softies....
And then, the vomit began again. Oh yeah, stop reading if you're on your lunch break. This post is not about sunshine and roses.
I guess we needed a reminder that this parenting thing isn't just a walk in the park. Lest we begin to judge other parents going through a more difficult stage.
Little miss Sylvia decided to bring us back to reality. Poor thing could not keep food down. So, we had to start her little tummy easy. A sip of pedialyte every 5 minutes and if she successfully kept it down for an hour, 2 oz every 10 minutes for an hour. She was NOT happy with Dr. Sari about that. She was so hungry that taking away the cup or it being empty over and over again gave her fits! But, as the nanny learned, if you give in to her desires, she's worse off because then she throws up again and is now more dehydrated and you have more disgusting cleaning to do.
Once she mastered the pedialyte, we moved her on to the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apples, and toast). Food, finally!! 24 hours on BRAT, then a slow transition to regular food.
While this craziness was going on with Sylvia, Rafa decided to go on a hunger strike. I don't know if it was an empathetic move, teething, just striving for independence, protesting our food offerings, trying to get attention or what. The main problem wasn't his starving. His chubs thighs have plenty of stores. But, he started waking up in the middle of the night and really early in the morning (5am) because he was hungry!! Not cool, dude.
The comical-if-it-didn't-drive-me-insane part was that Sylvia was hungry and wanted food and would cry when we put it on Rafa's plate and he didn't want to eat, so he would cry when we put food on his plate.
Sylvia went 24 hours on a regular diet, but then lost it again. So, back the beginning again. She never got a fever, nor any other symptoms. Just couldn't keep her food down. I've given up on trying to figure out the cause. Maybe if it happens again, I'll get curious, but for now, I'm okay living with the mystery.
We figured out Rafa will eat purées, fruit and bread. We're trying not to just spoil him so that he thinks he can just eat what he wants. (Trying to avoid the 3-year old who only eats lean cuisine pizza we were told about.). But, we also selfishly want some sleep and can only send him to be without dinner so often in a week. And, if we let him just cry until it's time to get up, then we have two crying babies and the other is sick and really needs her sleep. So many curveballs (excuses?) derailing the "plan."
To top it all off, somewhere in the middle of all that was their late 12-month appointment and since they're fighting 2 live viruses, we're being a little more lenient until that period is over. Unless of course, we then have another reason to be softies....
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
fall is here
And since our nanny is cold natured and protective of our kids, they are always warmly dressed. So, when the weather turned, she broke out the warm clothes.
So cute!!!
So cute!!!
Saturday, October 6, 2012
girls
Sylvia caught a bug and was sick, more on that later, so at one point, I didn't just abandon her in her crib for her to go to sleep on her own for her nap, but cradled her in my arms, which was a special treat for both of us. After all the craziness, the sight of her sleeping was sweet indeed.
And then, my new niece, Natalia, came to town!! Oh, and her big bro Alex, Tia Sonja, and Tio Jose, but this is a post about girls, so here's a pic of the new baby girl. What a cutie!
And then, my new niece, Natalia, came to town!! Oh, and her big bro Alex, Tia Sonja, and Tio Jose, but this is a post about girls, so here's a pic of the new baby girl. What a cutie!
Friday, October 5, 2012
1 year checkup
The one year checkup is really a 13 month checkup...
In any case, here are the stats:
Sylvia:
Height: 30.75" (86%)
Weight: 21 lb 3.2 oz (44%)
Head: 18" (62%)
Rafael:
Height: 30.5" (62%)
Weight: 21 lb 3.2 oz (19%)
Head: 19" (90%)
From the numbers, our kiddos are skinny!!
The first year checkup is a fairly torturous event. They got 4 shots, but the worst was the blood test. They had their fingers pricked and then squeezed for the longest minutes ever as the nurse filled a tiny tube with drops of blood, one drop at a time. I'm not sure the pain was all that bad (although I hate finger pricks, so it might have been), but I definitely know that they hate being restrained that long. There were many tears and lots of lung exercises.
Fortunately,we did get a little fun time in while we waited for the torture. Here is how we proved to the doctor that Rafa has reached the developmental milestone of imitating us.
In any case, here are the stats:
Sylvia:
Height: 30.75" (86%)
Weight: 21 lb 3.2 oz (44%)
Head: 18" (62%)
Rafael:
Height: 30.5" (62%)
Weight: 21 lb 3.2 oz (19%)
Head: 19" (90%)
From the numbers, our kiddos are skinny!!
The first year checkup is a fairly torturous event. They got 4 shots, but the worst was the blood test. They had their fingers pricked and then squeezed for the longest minutes ever as the nurse filled a tiny tube with drops of blood, one drop at a time. I'm not sure the pain was all that bad (although I hate finger pricks, so it might have been), but I definitely know that they hate being restrained that long. There were many tears and lots of lung exercises.
Fortunately,we did get a little fun time in while we waited for the torture. Here is how we proved to the doctor that Rafa has reached the developmental milestone of imitating us.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
technology and kids
My sister-iu-law sent me this article that features one of her colleagues. It's a good read for parents today. http://www.houstonfamilymagazine.com/category-1/time-to-wean-off-the-screen/ We have certainly "heard" that we shouldn't let our kids watch TV for 2 years. It didn't occur to me that that also applies to other electronic devices. I certainly bought into the idea that good, educational apps would be beneficial to my kid. Aside from the general message of, zero tolerance for screen time before age 2, the things in the article that hit home to me were:
- Watching TV interferes with infants' sleep. And with all the current research about how important sleep is (and that includes my last year of empirical research), I've been trying to guard their sleep as much as possible.
- Even if my kids aren't using my phone, if I am, I'm not focusing on them (although, for about a month, I have tried to be strict about not being on my phone unless there's an emergency during the few hours I have with the twinfants, particularly because they already have to share their time)
- By the time the average person reaches age 70, he or she will have spent the equivalent of 7 to 10 years watching television.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
more sweetness
Our nanny and I chatted about how the twinfants like to bump heads, which we think is their way if nuzzling with each other. Since I hadn't been able to catch it on camera, I asked her to try, too. She didn't get the head bump, but did catch a few other sweet moments.
Sorry, Rafa, about the public pantless crotch shot, but at least you're wearing a diaper!!
Sorry, Rafa, about the public pantless crotch shot, but at least you're wearing a diaper!!
Monday, October 1, 2012
all in a weekend
We enjoyed hanging out with some DINKs (double income no kids) at the Texans game yesterday who made the mistake of asking us about our weekend. When I finished listing what we did on Saturday, she was exhausted just hearing about it! When you get up between 5:30 and 6, you can get a whole lot done in a day.
Here is a photo from our play date on Saturday with 3 other families. They had a ball pit in their pack n play!!
Sunday morning, we monopolized the swings, but since we were the only people at the park at sunrise, I think it's okay. The kids loved it.
I don't know why, but I love the way Rafa crosses his feet when he eats.
I also love seeing how Rafa and Sylvia are so different. Here is an example. We got some alphabet magnets. Both kids like taking them off the fridge. Sylvia throws them all over the floor. Rafa collects them in his little hand. Just like when he empties the Kleenex box or plays with toys. He likes to hold on to as many in one hand as possible.
And then there was tailgating with kids. A new experience. We learned we have to pay more attention to the weather when it's not just us...
Here is a photo from our play date on Saturday with 3 other families. They had a ball pit in their pack n play!!
Sunday morning, we monopolized the swings, but since we were the only people at the park at sunrise, I think it's okay. The kids loved it.
I don't know why, but I love the way Rafa crosses his feet when he eats.
I also love seeing how Rafa and Sylvia are so different. Here is an example. We got some alphabet magnets. Both kids like taking them off the fridge. Sylvia throws them all over the floor. Rafa collects them in his little hand. Just like when he empties the Kleenex box or plays with toys. He likes to hold on to as many in one hand as possible.
And then there was tailgating with kids. A new experience. We learned we have to pay more attention to the weather when it's not just us...