Maddie enjoying her cherry-mango yogurt.
Izzie with her cherry-mango yogurt face.The last time I went to the grocery store, I bought steaks. I rarely buy steaks, I like to save them for a special treat. Well, John got an extra bonus this month at work so we decided to celebrate. Instead of trying to eat the steaks while holding fussy babies, our plan is to put them down tonight and then have a late dinner. It'll be really late for us, since we've started eating at 5:30-6 with the girls! It's our "at-home date night!" John has tomorrow off and we rented The Bucket List from Netflix. Of course, we may not have time for a movie. Our bedtime is 9:30p. Sometimes we are reckless and stay up until 10. If we don't go to bed at that time, we just don't have the energy to cope the next day. We've had offers for people to babysit so we can have a late night out. We'd love to take them up on it, but then they'd have to babysit the next day too so we can sleep in! I'm not too worried. I wouldn't trade a moment of this sleepless year. Every single day I look at my girls and think that I'm the luckiest Momma out there.
Daddy and Izzie
Momma and Izzie
Maddie and Momma
Maddie got really, really tired.
"This IS my smile." <<- The look Sammy gave me when I told him to "Smile!"We went over to John's parents house today for a Wisconsin Fish Fry. The whole gang was there. That's Grandma, Grandpa, Nanny, Chris, Julie, Sammy, Sabrina, Dana, Cody, John, Maddie, Izzie and I. When we got there we decided to jump in the pool. The water wasn't cold, but the sun was behind a cloud and there was a breeze so I was chilly. Maddie was already starting to get tired and a mouth full of water didn't help. I tried to put them down for a nap, but they both just started wailing on me. Izzie finally calmed down and was happy, but not sleepy. Maddie was exhausted, but not about to sleep. It took me 30 minutes to calm her down. As you can see, she finally fell asleep in the swing. She didn't look comfy, but we didn't dare touch her! Grandpa fried up a bunch of fish that they were given from the relatives up in Wisconsin. It was delicious. It was fun seeing the entire family around the table. We had to put up both leaves of the table and had three high chairs in the dining room. Next year when Dana and Cody's baby arrives, we just won't have room. Cody said we'll have to set up a table on the front lawn. It is nice that even in this day and age a whole family can get together and fill up a dining room. Sure, it was chaotic, Sammy was playing cars, Dana was playing the Nintendo Wii, Chris, Cody and John were watching football with Sabrina (an unwilling participant, I bet.) Maddie and Izzie were either happy playing on the floor or being carted around because they were crying. Grandma and Grandpa were frying fish. I was in the corner (when not holding a baby) trying to read the last chapter of my book. Nanny was just enjoying all the family being around. Julie was visiting with Dana a bunch. It was just an average Saturday hanging out. No agenda, just family. I'm truly lucky that I'm a part of such a group.
The strangest thing happened today. I was sitting at my computer and decided to check weather.com to see what the weather was supposed to be like this weekend. I had just clicked on the link when all of a sudden there was a huge clap of thunder outside. John and I looked at each other and were both confused. It was bright and sunny outside. We both just said, "Weird!" Then a few minutes later John exclaimed, "OH MY Goodess! It's POURING." I looked out the window and sure enough it was raining buckets but it was STILL bright and sunshiny! We've both seen that in College Station, but never here in Dallas.
Other news for the day... the girls decided to do opposite naps. Izzie took a short nap this morning, while Maddie took a long one, and then they switched for the afternoon nap. I wish they would discuss this nap thing and sync up a bit more. Izzie went to run errands with me this morning and Maddie went to the grocery store with me this afternoon. John took the day off so he'd have a four day weekend. (He's off Monday for Labor Day.)
The girls, Mom and I went on a field trip to Frisco today. One of the PAMOM mom's answered my ad from the PAMOM classifieds. I had listed that I would love to borrow someone's baby hiking backpack for a one week trip I was going on. Carey said that she had one she'd just give me. A fellow twin mom had given it to her. She lives in The Colony. I don't even know where that is, just not close. She told me she'd be in Frisco today. I at least knew where that was. It was about a 45 minute drive. We met at a Corner Bakery where she was meeting a friend for lunch. The girls did awesome today. They were sitting in their highchairs being such big girls. They didn't get fussy at all. Anyway, here's a picture of me trying on the backpack with Maddie in it.
My friends Robert & Audra Popp became parents today! Their son, Noah Raymond Popp, entered the world today at 12:47p weighing in at a whopping 9lbs 6oz and 21 inches long. I can't wait until I get to see him. He already must look like his dad who is 6' 4". Maddie and Izzie were 10lbs together in weight when they were born!
What can I say? Today has been a busy day for me! My spa day was awesome. I am now officially addicted to massages. John has created a monster. Mom watched the girls while I was gone and for once they didn't scream and cry the whole time I was away. She said it wasn't too bad, although they still were exhausting! I thought for sure they would go down for a nap right when I got home, but no such luck. They are really resisting their afternoon nap. So, to get some extra sleep in them I loaded them in the van and took them to Target. I wasn't out of the neighborhood before they were both sound asleep. While at Target, I had to buy the cutest shoes ever for the girls. We are going to Tahoe for vacation in about 2.5 weeks. The weather is a bit chillier there so I bought the girls some snow shoes. It won't be snowing, but they still needed some cold weather shoes. Here they are:
Spa Day is finally here! For mother's day, way back in May, John got me a gift card to Firewheel Day Spa. He purchased a manicure, pedicure and a one hour massage. I've been so busy, I haven't scheduled it. The other night I was begging John for a back massage and he said, "Use your gift card!" So, I called the place and made an appointment. I'm thrilled. I can't wait to get pampered. I'm trying to decide on nail colors. I haven't painted my fingers or toes since the girls were born.
The girls are sleeping in this morning. I of course woke up at 6:15 wanting to get some stuff done before they woke up at 7 like usual. They choose this morning to sleep in. Not that I'm complaining, I just wish they'd sent me the memo so I could have slept in too! I've been doing some laundry and reading my car manual. John laughs at me. He says NO one reads their car manual. I've read every single car manual I've ever owned. I'm just weird that way. I pretty much read the manual to anything I buy. It must be some sort of weird obsessive compulsive thing. But, I've uncovered features I didn't know I even had. Sounds like the angels are starting to stir...
My van is cool. I mean, really really cool. It's a breeze to drive. I was worried. I hate driving John's truck, so I was worried about the van. I did used to own a SUV, so I was hoping it was more like that than John's truck. It is. In no time at all I felt like I've always been driving a van. I love all the media features. I'm still trying to figure out how to program all the radio buttons. We also have satalite radio for a year. We have two tv's in the van and it comes with satalite tv for a year also. We won't be using those for a while though. Anyway, I've decided to name my van Lucy. It's a maroon van, so the family wanted me to name it Aggie. But that is just way too obvious. Plus, it is my 3rd maroon vechicle. My first was a VW Jetta, then I had an Izuzu Trooper. My Mazda 6 was dark grey, and back to maroon with this minivan. I can't remember what the Jetta's name was. It was a hand-me down from Mom, so she named it. I named the Trooper, but ended up always calling it Trooper. The Mazda 6 is named Charlie Zoom Zoom. And now I have Lucy. I love Lucy.
First time in our new ride. Not the best picture, I'll have to try to take another one. You can't really tell they are in the van!
August is filled with birthday's in our family and today is Sammy's 4 th birthday! Sometimes it seems like he's much older, but nope, he's a true four year old! Yesterday at his birthday party he got his very first bicycle. I bought him some toy food for his kitchen. That seemed to be a pretty big hit, he kept going back to it. He got a lot of trucks and cars. All right up a 4 year old boy's ally. He got some clothes which he promptly threw on the floor. He liked the truck on one of the t-shirts, but since it didn't have any moving parts, he was on to the next present. One of the most fun things was this was his first time to really "get" opening presents. He knew those were his and he knew how to open them. It was fun watching him tear into the wrapping paper.
The girls wanted to shout out a Happy birthday to Aunt Dana and their Popo.
As for other news today, it's D&D at the Dittlinger's again. Followed by Fantasy Football draft. So, John is preoccupied for most of the day. Maddie, Izzie and I are going to their cousin, Sammy's, birthday party this afternoon.
I think the girls have hit another growth spurt. Both of them wanted to nurse in the middle of the night last night. All I've got to say is I'm SO glad I stuck out breastfeeding in those early months or nights like last night would have been that much harder. They've been sleeping through the night for so long now, I wouldn't have had a bottle prepared and waiting for them if I had been formula feeding. Instead, I was able to nurse them quickly, quietly and they went back to sleep. Too bad I couldn't say the same for myself. I laid in bed for an hour trying to get back to sleep. Finally I turned on my bedside light and read myself to sleep for 30 minutes. How frustrating when every moment of sleep counts. But, I do have an excuse. I'm excited this morning. John's parents found another great deal on a mini-van. John and I looked it over on the internet and it seems perfect. He's going this morning to look at it and possibly buy it. So, I was thinking about it last night. Yesterday was a fun day. Margo, the girls and I all went over to my mom's house to "hang" and swim. Mom bought them a new toy to keep at her house for when they visit and both of the girls really liked it. It's this spinny thing, that when they bop it it sings and talks. I dove off the diving board when we went swimming. I dove straight in without testing the water first. It's chilly after all the rain we've been having. Anyone who knows me, knows I like to e-a-s-e into the water. So, it was quite a big deal that I just dove in. I think the Olympics had something to do with it. We've been watching all the diving competitions and they make it look so fun and easy! I even tried to do a flip off the board, but it ended up more of a flop. We went swimming while the girls were napping because the water was too cold for them. Margo has been so awesome with the girls. They really like being around her and she's very very patient and likes to cuddle with them. She flies back to San Antonio today. I'm going to miss her, but it's been a very fun time. It's nice to be able to spend hours visiting instead of 20 minutes here and there.
I've decided that breastfeeding is a symbiotic relationship. I need the girls as much as they need me. Last night around 12:30 am I woke up with a clogged duct. I didn't even know you could get them past the first month or so of breastfeeding. It hurt so bad! I was laying in bed trying to decide if I should get my pump out. The best way to get rid of a clogged duce is to nurse, the second best thing is to pump. Some of the pieces to my pump were downstairs. So, I was debating how much pain I was in. Somehow, I fell asleep trying to decide.
The next thing I know it was 2am and I heard a baby fussing over the monitor. I drag myself out of bed, now my clogged duct is hurting even worse, my breast feels beaten and bruised. Izzie was wide awake and wanting to nurse. She hasn't woken in the middle of the night to nurse in months. The timing was impeccable. I was all for it. Thankfully she cleared the clog. You have to be careful, because it's a lot like when you buy an oreo shake from Dairy Queen. You are drinking through the straw and an oreo gets stuck in the straw. So you are sucking really hard and then all of a sudden it clears and the oreo goes down your throat and you start to choke. Yep, it must be like that. Poor Izzie, trying to guzzle the milk down. But, she didn't mind too much. She ate, I layed her back in the bed and she fell asleep. Symbiotic relationship, I needed her, she needed me.
Izzie in her sleep sack.
Maddie in hers. (Notice how she turned herself sideways!)
Yum, toes! (Maddie)
Is that me or sissy??? (Maddie)
Izzie got dressed first and is waiting for Maddie to hurry up!For the past two nights the girls have slept unswaddled. Here I was thinking that they were going to have to go off to college swaddled. People kept telling me that they'd let us know when they were through with it. We tried pushing it a few months ago. But when it comes down to it, it worked and we figured we'd keep swaddling until it didn't work. Good plan. So I noticed that Maddie was having a horrible time getting comfy when we put her down. She would roll to the left, roll to the right, and then do a 180 in the crib, I thought to myself, I think she's ready for her other arm to be free. (We have been "swaddling" with just one arm down for about a month now.) I pulled out the sleep sacks, aka the potato sack. It sort of looks like a pillow case with arm holes. You put the girls in and zip them up. It's a blanket that they can roll around in, but can't wiggle out of. We've used those for the past two nights and they've slept like a charm. They are being less baby every single day. It's truly amazing how fast a person grows their first year of life.
Another amazing thing is that they are sleeping in today. It's after 8 am and they aren't awake yet. Doesn't bode well for nap time, but maybe they will only want one nap today. They did wake up at 6am for a nursing, but went right back to sleep. I wish I could drop that nursing, it usually is around 5am, but I guess they still need it.
Sammy and Sabrina were over at their grandparents house the other day. This is what Jackie said happened. Sam picked up the phone and "called" Izzie. Then he handed the phone to Sabrina so she could talk to her cousin! How cute. So last night when we were over there and Izzie picked up the toy phone, we thought she must be calling Sabrina again....
I learned a new term recently. It's crunchy. As an adjective. It sort of is the hippies of today. If you are a crunchy-earth-mama you are considered today's hippie. You want to raise your children as close to nature as possible. You believe in breastfeeding, cloth diapers, co-sleeping, making your own baby food, all organic (cleaning supplies, food, linens, etc.) You wear your baby in a cloth sling and you practice attachment parenting (don't believe in letting your baby "cry-it-out.") Another way to put it is "What's your Granola Factor?" As in, hippies used to sit around and eat granola so, how hippie (or crunchy) are you?
My granola factor is lower than some of the moms I know. I breastfeed, make my own baby food and don't believe in cry-it-out at all. I also carried my babies in a sling when they were small. Oh, and I believe in the no-tv before 2 years old rule. I like being part of the crunchy-earth-mama movement. My granola factor may be lower than some, but I'm still sorta crunchy and I like it that way.
Cody holding a goat up for Izzie.
Maddie really liked petting the goat too, even though her face was a bit surprised. She got into it.
Here am I on a four-wheeler. I LOVE riding these things!
Maddie and Izzie playing in Dana's living room... soon there will be a LOT more toys on the floor!
Charlotte holding Izzie and Dana holding Maddie at the farm.We just got back from a very busy day out. We were gone all day long. As soon as the girls woke up this morning we jumped in the car to spend the day with Dana and Cody, the girls Aunt and Uncle. Then we spent the evening with Grandma and Grandpa.
We had a blast at Dana and Cody's house. The girls seemed to enjoy themselves a bunch too. When we first got there, we put them in front of Dana's sliding glass window. They had front row seats to watch Gus, the dog. That was a blast. The girls then spent some time rolling around and playing on the floor. Oh, and when I say roll, I mean ROLL. Especially Maddie. She rolled across Dana's living room about 3 or 4 times. Then Dana wanted to take us out to Cody's parent's farm. That was the highlight of my day for sure. The girls got to pet goats, which was fun for them. Izzie reached over and grabbed the goat with both hands. I got to ride on one of the four-wheelers. Which is one of my favorite things to do from when I was a kid. I could spend a whole day out in a pasture just racing around on one of those things. Thanks Cody for taking me out!!! We went to the fish tank to feed the catfish. I looked over at Cody and said, "Somehow I mananged to marry a city slicker." Without missing a beat, he just said, "Yeah, me too." Now don't get me wrong, I'm a city girl, I just like to say I have a country heart. It truly was a fun day, I wish we could have stayed longer. I enjoyed visiting with Charlotte and Dale, Cody's parents. They have a wonderful 100 year old house with a Porch. Anyone who knows anything about porches knows what I'm talking about with a capital "P" porch. It was just made to sit on.
After the farm we headed back to Dana's and had a yummy lunch of steaks and salad. After some more visiting, it was time to hit the road. We thought we might drive home with a mini-van since John's parents had told us about a great deal they had heard about that morning. They went and checked it out while we were in Muenster and said it wasn't worth stopping at the dealer for. Oh well. Like I told John, we didn't wake up this morning thinking we'd buy a van, so not going to bed with one wasn't a big deal. Jackie made the most scrumptious fish dinner. I ate too much.
All in all, it was a great way to spend a nice Saturday.
Izzie, Maddie, Lila and Zella
Lila, Zella, Izzie and Maddie
(l,r) Izzie, Lila, Zella and MaddieOh what a day it has been!!! The girls having been super demanding today. Nothing makes them happy for more than 5 minutes and to top it off they've hardly had any naps. They just are fighting sleep lately, which is pecking away at my sanity. We've spent the day (when not holding babies) cleaning. I've cleaned the kitchen and bathroom and John vacuumed the whole downstairs. The house looks all sparkly. I also made acorn squash puree for the girls to try out in the next few days. Right now, they are on yogurt. For lunch they had apples, oatmeal and yogurt all mixed together. They really loved it. Chris came over during their second "nap" time to help me finish installing the handles on my kitchen cabinets. They look terrific! Actually, he did most of the work, but I did help some.
Tonight our friends Ashley and Dustin are coming over with Zella and Lila. I hope the girls aren't over tired for tonight. John and Dustin plan on having "guys night out." They are going to go watch Clone Wars at the theater. Meanwhile, Ashley and I are going to play with the four babies and probably order a pizza.
I just got off the phone with my sister-in-law Dana. She had some very interesting news to share. Apparently Maddie and Izzie are going to have another cousin sometime around April of next year! John and I are very excited to hear the news. Our family is growing and growing.
She called right as John and I were sitting down for dinner. We had just fed the girls (whirled peas and swirled sweet potatoes) and they were playing in their high chairs. When she told us she was pregnant, I screamed so loud that I scared Maddie!! Poor thing. After we hung up, I asked John what we had for dinner, since I didn't taste a thing, I was too excited to think about what I was eating. I said, I hope she has a girl, then all the girls will have such a blast. John said she should have a boy, so Sammy would have someone to play with. As it is right now though, we call Sammy the little King. Oh what fun times are ahead...
