Blessed Homecoming

A friend of mine from high school just had the sweetest twin baby girls (new lil' sissies to her older daughter, who is about the same age as A&B).

It's been so much fun to follow her pregnancy journey, and now see pictures and hear the first few anecdotes since the babies came home last week.

Seeing those teeny tiny fingers and toes was a sweet reminder of a couple of my favorite pictures from when our girls came home from the hospital.

I love this one as we were packing to take the girls home. You can see the pride in our faces (and maybe a little bit of fear, too!)...

And this is one of the first couple of pictures taken of the girls at home. I just remember a very overwhelming feeling of belonging...for us and for them. They were together at last, in their own little bed...side by side.

[I popped over to link up with Cheryl at Twinfatuation for "Way Back When-esday". I knew she'd had some storm damage, but the picture of the damage to her house is unbelieveable. Cheryl, we're so glad you and your family are OK...you're in our thoughts!]

Building Blocks of Knowledge Acquisition

The girls’ language skills started to really blossom around 20 months. It was about that time that they started being able to fill in the blanks in simple songs and rhymes, including the ABCs. I could say, “A…B…C…[pause]” and they would shout out “D!”

Over the next couple of months, they began singing their ABCs in earnest. They also learned their numbers to 10, and then to 15 (although they still often skip the number 13...despite any superstitious surrendering at our house).

My gut was to boast, “My girls know their ABCs! My girls can count to 10!” [because I was some kinda proud]. But something about saying that just didn’t quite sit right with me [beyond the fact that boastfulness is not always becoming]. :)

Yes, the girls could say their ABCs, but did they know what they were saying? They could recite their numbers, but I knew they weren’t counting.

Several months ago I read the book Einstein Never Used Flashcards. A big part of it talks about the process of knowledge acquisition. It’s just so fascinating to understand the building blocks…how children learn one skill set, and the next is built upon it.

One section of the book is devoted to numbers, and what skills precede a child being able to grasp more abstract concepts…from less versus more, to counting, to addition and subtraction.

At 2 ½, I can finally say that my girls can count. They now can recite their numbers to 20…but over the past week, Baby B counted four crayons, and Baby A counted five keys. It really felt like a major milestone!

One section of the book is devoted to language and reading skills. I found it so interesting that a major step is a child’s ability to realize that letters on a page tell us something…that combinations of letters form words, and the sequence of words communicates an idea.

I know our girls are there, as evidenced by the endless, “What this says?” questions at each and every turn.

And I finally feel comfortable saying they know their ABCs…they’re not just making sounds to the tune of a familiar song. They can identify their letters, and – although they sometimes need a little help – they can list a few words that start with each letter.

I don’t mean to suggest that I needed to have read that book to “teach” the girls, or that I’m “following” some lock-step approach. [The point of the book actually is to reinforce the importance of playing and reading and talking, citing that a “flash card approach” is not necessary.]

But reading the book has helped me to understand some of the milestones to look for…and appreciate. And the whole idea of the process of knowledge acquisition is pretty darn cool, if you ask me.

Nature Calls

I’m sure it’s no surprise that our girls – like most kids, I assume – are near obsessed with animals. Farm animals…zoo animals…fish…birds…butterflies and moths…even beetles…those are a few [hundred] of our favorite things, no doubt.

The girls’ books are a great source for animal appreciation. Particularly when they were smaller, we spent many an hour turning page after page, pointing to animals, Mommy making all sorts of noises and gestures.

Things really got fun when the girls started to engage in baby sign language, shortly after they turned a year old. They loved to flap their arms for “bird”, slap their knees for “dog”, and hold the imaginary reins of every “horse”.

It was about that time that we began spending a lot of time at the window, looking out into the backyard. We live in the ‘burbs, but in addition to lots of birds and butterflies, we’re also fortunate to have a few other furry creatures bounding by.

We spot bunnies on a regular basis. We think we even had a nest with two baby bunnies somewhere nearby this spring.

We also have our share of squirrels, including one of the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen…a stark white squirrel.


This picture was taken through the window, so it’s a bit cloudy, but I’m glad to have captured this majestic critter on film. He’s even more stunning against the bright green grass, or running through the deep dark mulch.

The girls go running to the window when one of us spots a bird or rabbit or squirrel…and you can usually find all of us with our noses pressed to the glass when the white squirrel graces our yard.

Fab 5 Friday...and ME!!!

Despite a little cold having worked its way through our house, this week was still pretty fabulous!

1) We’d gotten out of our summertime routine over the past few weeks, but we got back on track on Saturday. We strolled the farmer’s market for fresh fruits and veggies, and then had a late breakfast (for Mommy and Daddy / a snack for the girls) at Panera. It’s seriously the perfect start to the weekend.

2) I very rarely take the girls out for lunch...but we made an exception to join Aunt Shanda on Monday at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We hadn’t eaten with her since the girls’ birthday (in January), and it was pretty amazing to think about the differences in just seven months! Oh, and the food was delish, of course, too!

3) I taught the girls a new party trick this week…to fist bump and say, “Wonder Twin Power!” They have no idea what they’re saying, but it cracks me up every time.

4) Baby A is really making strides in her “artwork”. She can make a pretty decent “A” at times (although just as often it looks like an “H”)…and she shocked me by attempting to draw a cat! She had a circle with whiskers on either side, and a scribble of some sort in the middle. Of course I saved that as her first masterpiece!

5) Baby B said a couple of things I could hardly believe this week. “I realized Nana Audrey was coming because the door was closed.” Seriously???

And Daddy had to leave for a late meeting at work one night. B asked me if Daddy would see his “colleagues”. She didn’t say it perfectly, so I asked if that’s what she meant. She repeated it correctly. I asked if she knew what that meant. I gave her a fill-in-the-blank. “’Colleagues’ are the people that Daddy….” and she answered “teaches with”!

Oh, and I referred to my old pair of sunglasses as “ratty”, which both girls have now picked up…HA!

And what did I do for ME this week???

I had plans to get together with Aunt Shanda on Friday night in some form or fashion. I called her last minute and asked if she’d be up for making S’mores. I stopped by the store to pick up the fixins’, and on the way to her house, I glanced over to see Aunt Karen at the stop light beside me. I asked her if she wanted to join us…and she did! [We live in a small town, but it’s not seriously that small…that was quite a surprise to run into Karen!] So…an impromptu S’mores party…to a soundtrack of reggae music and a couple of great friends…good for the soul, it was!!!

Gettin' Crafty!

From the time I was a very little girl, I remember loving arts and crafts. From coloring and painting…to cutting and gluing…to basic needlework…I could entertain myself for hours. I lived for art class at school, art lessons in the afternoons, and craft day at Girl Scouts.

Over the past several years, I’ve dabbled in scrapbooking, and I really love it. It helps focus my need to preserve every ticket stub, and the creative possibilities are endless.

Before the girls were born, I bought a lot of “girly” scrapbook supplies…frilly pink paper, beautiful ribbon, adorable buttons and brads. One of my best friends swears I told her, “I’ll need something to do while the girls are sleeping…I don’t want to be bored.” [Insert crazy-person laugh here…as if!!!]

Sadly, I haven’t done much scrapbooking over the past three years. Although I did finally organize my supplies in a user-friendly system, it still seems like such a task to pull everything out and “scrap”. [Or maybe I’m just waiting to find myself “bored”…bwahahaha!!!]

For our MoMs meeting on Sunday, I asked one of my former colleagues to speak to us about scrapbooking. Nancy has a contagious enthusiasm, and such a clear passion for what she does.

We all had so much fun, sitting around in a circle…cutting, gluing, sharing pretty paper and buttons…and gabbing, of course. It definitely reminded me of a Girl Scout meeting (minus the S’mores).

During the meeting, Nancy stressed that you don’t have to spend a ton of money, or invest a ton of time, to scrapbook. She gave us some great organizational tips -- my favorite is keeping pictures you plan to scrapbook, grouped together by event, in a coupon wallet…genius!!!

So…newly energized and inspired, I broke out my scrapbooking supplies this week and put together a page. It’s not the most brilliant of masterpieces…I spent maybe 30 minutes in total…but I have to say, it was invigorating.

[For the flowers, I had the girls finger paint on cardstock. I then cut out ~1" circles, applied adhesive on the back, and had them glue the chips around a circle I'd drawn. I used ribbon for the flower stems and grass.]

Speaking of enthusiasm, passion, and energy…I’m linking up with Marcia’s Virtual Craft Day. Marcia says she’s not “crafty”, but she seems to put together some of the cutest little notebooks, pencil caddies, and party favors. (Enthusiastic, passionate, and energetic, she may be…but I think she’s a bit of a fibber!)

Marcia’s challenge is to set aside some craft time every week, and I think it’s a great idea. I need to sit back, relax, and not worry about creating The Perfect Piece of Art…but just enjoy. I know I will.

***

I have been anxiously awaiting the girls getting old enough to begin arts and crafts with them. They love to color and play with stickers. And their scribbles are ever-so-slowly becoming more intentional (at least here and there). I’m occasionally brave enough to dabble with the girls in finger paint, and we’ve even experimented with glue a time or two.

It won’t be long before they’re "artsing-and-crafting" right alongside me…and that’s gonna be some kinda fun!!!

A Bit About Me, August Edition

My birthday is February 23, and on the 23rd of each month, I’ve taken to sharing a couple of random things about me.

This month I’m writing as part of Holly’s What I Love About Me! link-up at Twins Plus One, Three Times the Fun.

23) I love that I love to cook.

I’m not a gourmet, by any stretch, but I really enjoy being in the kitchen. There’s just something about creating a dish from simple ingredients…and taking care of my family in the process…that is really fulfilling to me. I love trying new concoctions, and also making those tried-and-true dishes where I don’t need to crack open my recipe books. Since the girls were born, we go out to each much less often than we once did. I love that I can find joy in something I do every single day…might as well!

24) I love that I love doing things for other people.

Of course I love to be on the receiving end of good fortune, but I find a lot of joy in making other people happy. I love surprising my hubby with his favorite dessert, or making a plate of goodies for him to take to his students. I try to keep a little mental tally of my friends’ favorite cookies, flowers, colors…it’s so much fun for me to surprise someone with a little “happy”. I try hard not to focus on just material things, but showing people that I really know them in other ways…with an impromptu card or goody. I’m working hard to instill this same love in the girls, helping them find the joy in doing for others, too.

[I usually keep these posts a bit more random, professing my love for my measuring spoons, or my affinity for my favorite pen. This was actually kinda hard to write…it feels a little boastful…but I think that’s part of Holly’s point. We all need to step back and pat ourselves on the backs from time to time and appreciate the wonderful gifts that we all have to share. Thanks for the prompt, Holly!]

At 2 1/2, Are My Girls Too Big to Swaddle???

I was a big proponent of swaddling from Day 1. I could really sense the girls felt much more comfortable and secure when they were snug as a couple of little bugs in their blankets.

Although I considered myself a pretty proficient swaddle-maker, by eight weeks or so, the girls were able to wiggle out of even the most securely blanketed cocoon. And as soon as they’d startle themselves with a movement, they were awake.

I remembered a friend had suggested using a swaddle blanket with Velcro closures…like a little straight jacket, she’d said. Before the girls were born, that sounded like a perfectly horrific description…but desperate for more than two hours of sleep at a time, I found myself being much less horrified by the thought.

We finally invested in a couple of Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe blankets. It may have been a coincidence, but after using them for less than two weeks, the girls started sleeping through the night. [Cue the singing of angels!!!]

When I need to relax myself, I have a very peaceful scene I focus on in my mind. On an infant level, I equate the stillness encouraged by a swaddle blanket to that discipline. Based on our (miraculous?) experience, I have given swaddle blankets as part of almost every baby gift in the past two years.

I don’t know if I’m giving too much weight to the blankets we used, but I credit them with helping our girls achieve nighttime sleep…and with setting them up to be really good sleepers for a long time to come.

Fast-forward a couple of years, and I’ve found myself longing for the miraculous effects of our swaddle blankets. The girls still sleep very well at night (KNOCK softly ON WOOD), but we’ve had our share of naptime struggles as of late. I know the girls are tired, but one of them – in particular – seems to have trouble settling down to fall asleep.

Is she too big to swaddle??? I mean, if she would just hold still for three minutes, I know she’d be out like a light!

Since I don’t think they make swaddle blankets in size XXXL (short of an actual straight jacket, which would likely be considered child abuse, at least in some states), I finally invested in a white noise machine.

I am hoping the sound of falling rain will give Baby Numero Uno something to focus on and clear her mind…instead of winding herself up with the recitation of every nursery rhyme she’s heard in the course of the day, followed by a rousing chorus of songs and animal noises.

I’m linking up again this week with Julia at Pontifications of a Twin Mom, citing the swaddle blankets one of this mama’s true loves. And I can only hope that the sound machine will hold some of the same magic, such that I might link it up one day, too. Pleeeeeeeeeease???

Mirror-Image Twins

I usually say that our girls are *very* fraternal, as I don't think they favor very much physically.

Personality-wise, the girls are pretty different, too.

But in response to the question, "Do they get along?" I always answer to the affirmative. They complement each other so amazingly well, each moving seamlessly around the other.

They're not always playing together, but it seems there's always some level of awareness as to where Sissy is and what she's doing.

And oftentimes, I'll find the girls like this...me not having said a word, but the two of them, almost perfectly mirrored to the other...



They may not share the same DNA, but this twinship deal is certainly a beautiful thing.

Fab 5 Friday...and ME!!!

So thankful for another fabulous week!!!

1) At least during the first part of the week, we were loving the COOLER WEATHER!!! We got to enjoy some fantastic time outside, including walks and playing in the back yard. It just does a body good to breathe fresh air and soak up a bit of Vitamin D (through a thick layer of sunscreen, of course).

2) Daddy couldn’t have been more surprised when he drove home on Monday, seeing the girls coloring with chalk on the driveway. That was our first foray into that medium, and we all had such a good time. “We chalked,” Baby B kept saying. And for several days afterwards, the girls would exclaim, “Kitty cat! Rainbow! Boat!” every time we went outside.

3) We had not one – but TWO – play dates over the past week! On Friday, my friend Meridith came over with her three-year old little boy and five-week old little girl. A&B weren’t very interested in the three-year old, but they were so tickled to be up close and personal with a baby. And then we had a fantastic time playing with K&S on Wednesday.

4) Very recently, the girls have begun to hold real [albeit very short] phone conversations. Daddy calls us every day during lunch. I love holding the phone for the girls and hearing them answer questions about our day, smiling from ear to ear.

5) The girls have uttered some really grown-up phrases as of late, and it’s just too cute. B was talking to Daddy one morning, and she said, “That’s my point,” in perfect context. And A was explaining something to me. She said, “…sometimes, but not very often.” And A just cracks me up when I’ll ask her what she’s doing, and I’ll often get, “I’m just being silly,” in the sweetest little baby voice.

And what did I do for ME this week???

I feel like I’ve had to really stretch the past couple of weeks to name my “me” time, so I’m listing THREE things I can cite this week!

On Saturday I slipped out for an hour and checked out the grand opening of a new tea shoppe downtown. I indulged in a red velvet tea cake, my book my only company.

I bought myself some new sunglasses…nothing fancy…but it was time to invest in another pair.

And on Thursday, while Miss Jennifer was with the girls, I ran a couple of errands, and still made time to pick up a trashy [Star] magazine and enjoy a latte before I had to head home.



A fabulous week, all the way around!

Pardon Me While I Catch My Breath

Seeing them almost every minute of every day, I often find it hard to look at my own children and really gauge how big they are.

It usually hits me when I see my friends’ children. And sometimes when I remark, “They’re so big! I can’t believe how grown they are!” my one friend reminds me that my girls are, in fact, four months older than her girls.

We had a great time yesterday playing with our dear friends K and S, who are exactly one week older than A and B.

Of course seeing the four kiddos, leaping and bounding around the den, talking and interacting, it struck me how BIG K and S are. They’re not babies…they’re little kids! And I guess that means my girlies are BIG, too.

It seems like just yesterday the four of them were crawling around the den, not a word to their names.