Toys, Toys & More Toys!

The boys loved all the toys at their friend Zoe's birthday party in Toronto. I am thinking that a great 1st birthday gift might be a slide and ball pit...and maybe a bigger house!

Bundled Up!

Climbing and Standing

Our world has gotten a lot bigger now that we can crawl and climb up on things!

Bottoms Up!

Its time for yoga with Little W!

Washing Machines Really Do Eat Socks!

Ever since I was a kid and my socks went missing, I was sure the washing machine was eating them. Well the verdict is in, washing machines really do eat socks! Today the service person came to fix our washing machine, and low and behold, one of the boys socks was trapped in the pump! $185.00 later...we have a working washing machine again. And hopefully the $4.00 laundry bag can prevent future incidents!

New Carseats!

Here we are in our new carseats. One step closer to toddlerhood!

Missing socks and broken washing machines...will there be a connection?

For the last 10 months we have been doing about 10 loads of laundry a week, sometimes more. Last week our washing machine stopped working, just before starting the spin cycle. We rung out the clothes, drained it and tried to find the issue. On the surface we couldn't see any problems, and we booked a service appointment. As the laundry accumulated and accumulated over the next few days, I decided that maybe it fixed itself, and gave it another try, only to have it start smoking.

After talking to a few friends at our weekly twin playdate, my guess is that we are going to find a little baby sock wrapped in one of the mechanisms, as we are missing a sock or two and I wouldn't be surprised if one got caught in there. I suppose I should have been using a laundry bag, but it never occurred to me, especially given we have been in the clear for 10 months.

I am not sure what the future has in store for our washing machine, or if a baby sock is the cause of the problem. Given that 2 of the families at the playdate had the same issue with their washing machine, my guess is that a sock is likely source of the problem. We will find out on Tuesday when the service person comes to check things out. In the interim, I have already purchased a laundry bag and have started filling it with socks.

The Convenience Factor

Things take a long time with kids in tow, especially kids who would rather roll across the room, sit up, stand or practice their crawling while I am trying to get them changed. Now that changing one diaper is taking 15 minutes, I am remembering back to this summer, when diapers were easy to change and I was able to take the boys out in only one layer of clothing instead of 3 or 4. Things were so much faster and so much easier.

With winter here, getting out of the house is an hour long endeavour, and once we are out, I always hope that we come home with the same number of hats and shoes that we left with.

I currently have the boys infant carseats and snap & go stroller listed on Craigslist. The Snap & Go has made my life so much easier over the last 10 months, that I'll be sad to see it go as the boys graduate to their convertible carseats. I loved the bucket seats too, perfect for restaurants and amazing for naps and travelling. But it is time for a new adventure, and I am sure the boys will love moving into their new roomy seats, as they already prefer the big stroller and the shopping cart, so they won't be crying over the change. But for me on the otherhand, I will miss the convenience of not having to unbuckle them from their carseats when running errands, and being able to load them into the carseats while inside, rather than loading them into their carseats outside in the cold.

Last week while on one of our weekly mall walks, we went to a mall north of us that I had never been to before. They had plenty of covered parking and they even had a Metro grocery store with an inside entrance. Not only that, the shopping carts all had two working seat belts. Once the carseat move happens, I could see the extra 15 minute drive being worthwhile this winter. What a mom won't do for a little convenience and the ability to keep her kids out of the cold, while still getting the household errands done.

Playing Hookie with Daddy!

Since Greg had the day off work, we went to the movies for the first time as a family. Appropriately we saw an action movie based on a comic book The Green Hornet - the ideal movie for the boys to see as their first movie with their dad.

The boys have been to the movie 5 times in their 10 months of life - The Back Up Plan, Despicable Me, The Social Network, Tangled and now The Green Hornet. Based on our movie going experience, I currently predict that Will is going to be our movie buff. He got mad at me if I blocked his view, and wanted to stay in his carseat to relax and enjoy the show without distractions. The only thing he let me do was feed him, and even then, he had his eyes on the show. Gray on the other hand was bouncing, looking around, staring at the potlights, standing on our laps. It is amazing how different these two little boys are sometimes.

10 Months Old!

I can't believe how fast time is flying. Today is Gray & Will's 10 month birthday. Unfotunately they both celebrated their monthly birthday with some major congestion and runny noses.

Dancing German Penguins?

The boys LOVE the iPad and LOVE watching YouTube videos. It is the perfect cure all to their fussiness and an easy distraction. There must be something about the iPad as they have zero interest in television unless it's a sport like golf, football, baseball or soccer.

Here are the current favourites. Who knew that Dancing German Penguins, Singing Hippos and Ducks could be so enthralling?

Penguins
Singing Hippo
Duck Story

Milestones...

As I watch Gray & Will's peers grow up, I am amazed at how different each one is in their development. Some are crawling across the room and pulling to a stand at 5 months, and others are immobile at 12 months, but have a vocabulary of 25 words - all in context. After hovering on all fours and slithering backwards for the last 6 -7 weeks, we finally have forward progression! I wouldn't exactly call it crawling yet, but it is purposeful forward movement which will likely develop into crawling over the next week or so.

I remember back in early December thinking they were going to crawl and any moment...and then I waited...and waited...and waited. I watched them get so frustrated as they did face plants on the floor...I blamed myself for letting them play in the exersaucer, jumperroo or jolly jumper rather then pushing them to crawl, and faulted myself for taking them out for walks rather than pushing them to have more tummy time.

Sometimes I think that Gray and Will chose to take their time in learning to crawl as they wanted to cut their mommy some slack, before they start running me off my toes. :)

At the end of the day, whether a child learns to crawl at 5 months, 12 months or skips crawling all together, as long as they are learning and growing, it doesn't really matter whether they are a few weeks or months behind or ahead of their peers. Milestones are milestones...and each child is on their own journey to reach those milestones. My job as a parent - to support them on the journey and give them the encouragement they need to succeed and the freedom they need to explore.

I'm a Big Boy Now!

Gray's favourite thing to do is stand. If he could stand all day, I think he would. He needs help to stand, or at least something to hold on to, but he is getting pretty good. Here he is...looking very proud!

Wordless Wednesdays

Serenity Prayer

Getting the boys to sleep through the night has been a challenge. When one wakes up, normally the other does too, and if by chance one sleeps through the night (which rarely happens), the odds are that the other one was up at least once or twice. I try not to complain, but nine months of only having broken sleep can be exhausting. Fortunately the wake ups are short, they don't get up to play, they get up to eat, have a cuddle and then go back to sleep.

We have done various forms of sleep training, but nothing has really stuck. We have success for a few days, and then end up right where we began. Letting them "Cry It Out" is painful, and when the results are only temporary, it makes it hard to continue with it.

The other night around 3 a.m. after having fed the boys, the first few lines of the Serenity Prayer came to my mind.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

My parents had this prayer on the wall at our house growing up. As I went through the line in my head, I thought to myself, this should be an anthem for parents, regardless of their childs age.

So...I have accepted that a full nights sleep is not in my future. I will continue sleep training efforts when appropriate and do what it takes to make sure my kids are well rested and happy when they wake in the morning. In 15 or 16 years when the boys are out with friends until the wee hours of the morning, I will be longing for the days when I sat holding them in my arms at 2:30 in the morning.

Jealousy

Having twins is a balancing act. Each of the boys has a distinct personality and different needs. Gray likes to be cuddled while I am standing and rest his head on my shoulder and Will likes to cuddle in my arms while I am sitting and play with my face.

Although they are not crawling yet, they are getting adventurous with their backwards crawling and attempts at standing which results in quite a few face plants and bumps on the head. Currently there is a disconnect between their confidence in their ability to do things, and their actual ability to do the things they would like to do, so there are plenty of spills and tears.

Lately I have seen the boys get jealous of each other. I knew it had to happen at some point, but I just hoped it would have been later. The hardest thing is that they are not jealous of things like toys which I could easily buy two of, they are jealous when one s being held and the other is not. Gray has mastered the quivering pouty lower lip and Will hangs his head on the floor and whimpers. It breaks my heart when I can't comfort both of them.

As their spirit of adventure continues to develop, I am sure they are going to need more comforting, and this is just the beginning of the jealousy I will likely see as they grow up. Now I just need to develop some tricks to give both boys the attention they need...or at least a distraction...

"Look Mom...I Got Him...maybe he won't steal my soother anymore"

Rub-a-Dub-Dub Two Boys in a Tub!

These little Pisces sure enjoy bathtime! In a matter of seconds we can take two cranky & crying boys and turn them into very happy campers ful of laughs and giggles.

First Snow

Friday Night Ramblings...

Ever since getting pregnant, I have been getting daily emails from a variety of sources on infant development. Some of them are very relevant, others are completely irrelevant, some make me feel like a horrible parent & others make me feel like a superstar parent. I don't know what it is like to be a parent without the internet - often I wish I did, but in such a connected world, 'Dr. Google' is always going to be my best friend and worst enemy when it comes to raising my kids. Today's email was on using puppets to develop imagination and encourage pretend play. Since Gray & Will had recieved a few puppets as gifts for Christmas (thanks Amy & Evan), I pulled one out and used it for some entertainment over breakfast this morning. The boys were very responsive to "Milk the Mealtime Moose", so perhaps he may show up again sometime.

Here are the boys and "Milk the Mealtime Moose"

The Moments I Live For....

As a parent we often stress about out children's sleep. Are they napping enough? Why are they not sleeping through the night? Why won't they sleep in their cribs? etc... When Will woke up still exhausted after only having napped for 15 minutes, rather than stressing over getting him back to sleep in his crib, I decided that a shower and chores could wait. I scooped him up, and less than a minute later he was sound asleep in my arms. I am cherishing this moment...and thanking Gray for napping in his crib and giving me some cuddle time with Will. This has been a great use of my 'me' time.

Twins & Malls

Ever since Gray and Will were a few weeks old, we have been mall walkers. They both love strolling around the mall, looking around and smiling at strangers. On an average mall outing we will be approached by at least half a dozen people who tell me how cute the boys are and ask me a variety of questions such as "are they twins?", "are they identical?", "double trouble", "you have your hands full", "two boys? Too bad you didn't have a boy and a girl", "how old are they?, "do twins run in your family" etc... I don't really mind people coming up to chat as sometimes I need the adult interaction, but I find it odd that people seem so fascinated by twins, especially when twins are not really that rare.

One of the oddest things is the number of people who "congratulate" me on the boys arrival. I really thought this would have ended months ago, but even with my babbling wide-eyed 9 month olds, I am still congratulated at least once or twice a week, even when I am with singleton babies who are several months younger - including newborns.

Although I normally dress the boys in similar or complimentary outfits, yesterday I took the boys out in outfits that did not match. You would think that would be acceptable, but I had 3 people ask me why my twins were not dressed as twins. Including one woman who said that I should always dress them the same when I take them out. Who would have thought that a stranger knows what is best for my kids?







Look...we are not dressed the same...and we are surviving!







I think this video sums up the multiples experience quite well. Sometimes I really do feel like a freak of nature.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT-lgB_HGEE

Dinner Time!

These kids love their food! Current favourites - cream cheese, hummus, flax bread, mandarin oranges, mangos, peaches, strawberries & sweet potato puffs.

It's amazing how quickly things change...

At our weekly twin playdate this morning I held twin boys who were almost five weeks old. As I looked at their squishy little faces while curled up in my arms, I couldn't even remember when Gray and Will were that small. Although it was great to hold a newborn again, I managed to steer clear of baby fever. Although it feels like an eternity since Gray & Will were that small, the memories of changing 20+ diapers a day and nursing for 10 hours a day are still very vivid!

Will & Gray - 4.5 Weeks.

Feeding Time at the Zoo!

A few days ago when I was eating lunch, the boys pulled themselves towards my feet and waited with their little mouths wide open hoping for a bite. Since it was easy and relatively clean way to feed the boys, Gray & Will now get to have a snack while sitting on the floor - mouths wide open in eager anticipation of the next bite. I wonder if this is what it feels like to be a Zookeeper?

Hello 2011!

Taking photos of the boys is so much fun. There are a lot of people who are more creative and better photographers than I am, but what matters is the memories the photos bring. Capturing a moment in time...and occasionally some potential blackmail for future use as well.

Here are Will & Gray looking out into the world...what will 2011 bring?