Eh...

Sorry for the lack of posts. I just haven't been feeling it. The girls are doing great though. This is a very funny age. Amelia has learned to make the Indian (Native American?) noise and Claire is still a jumping fool. We have hired a babysitter to help me for 4 hours a week so maybe our house will occasionally have groceries or a clean bathroom. Yipee! She starts tomorrow! The girls are getting their pictures made this weekend and its also my dad's birthday. That's it for now. Told you I wasn't feeling it.

Schedule: Unsynchronized

We have hit the dreaded unsynchronized schedule. Baby Claire is ready for 2 naps a day and Baby Amelia still needs three. I guess we will just be a little off-kilter for a while until Amelia catches up. At least they are taking their morning naps at the same time and (HALLELUJAH!) it has stretched to 1-1.5 hours most days! Remind me to thank the Naptime Gods.

Toddlers

I totally stole this from a friend's blog but I think it goes double for twins:

Why life with (two!) toddlers is like a Frat Party:

1. THERE ARE HALF-FULL, BRIGHTLY-COLORED PLASTIC CUPS ON THE FLOOR IN EVERY ROOM. THREE ARE IN THE BATHTUB.

2. THERE'S ALWAYS THAT ONE GIRL, 
BAWLING HER EYES OUT IN A CORNER.

 

3. IT'S BEST NOT TO ASSUME THAT THE PERSON CLOSEST TO YOU HAS ANY CONTROL OVER THEIR DIGESTIVE FUNCTION.

4. YOU SNEAK OFF TO THE BATHROOM KNOWING THAT AS SOON AS YOU SIT DOWN, SOMEONE'S GOING TO START BANGING ON THE DOOR.

5. PROBABLY 80% OF THE STAINS ON THE 
FURNITURE CONTAIN DNA.

6. YOU'VE GOT SOMEONE IN YOUR FACE AT 
3 A.M. LOOKING FOR A DRINK.

7. THERE'S DEFINITELY GOING TO BE A FIGHT.

8. YOU'RE NOT SURE WHETHER ANYTHING YOU'RE DOING IS RIGHT, YOU JUST HOPE IT WON'T GET YOU ARRESTED.

9. THERE ARE CRUMPLED-UP UNDERPANTS EVERYWHERE.

10. YOU WAKE UP WONDERING EXACTLY HOW AND WHEN THE PERSON IN BED WITH YOU GOT THERE.

11. YOU HAVE A TV THEME SONG STUCK IN YOUR HEAD, AND WHEN YOU START SINGING IT EVERYONE JOINS IN. 

12. SOMETIME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT SOMEONE SLURS, "I WANT MY MOMMY." 

13. YOU ARE SUBJECTED TO THE SAME STORY 20 TIMES. 

14. YOU REALIZE YOU ARE THE ONE TELLING 
THE SAME STORY 20 TIMES. 

15. YOU LIE TO YOUR PARENTS ABOUT WHAT'S 
GOING ON AT YOUR PLACE.

16. AT LEAST ONE PERSON IS LYING ON THE FLOOR, EITHER FACE UP OR FACE DOWN, SINGING AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS

17. OFTEN, FOR NO REASON, SOMEONE LAUGHS UNCONTROLLABLY FOR MINUTES ON END.

18. PEOPLE CAN'T CLIMB THE STAIRS 
WITHOUT USING THEIR HANDS.

19. NO ONE WALKS IN A STRAIGHT LINE 
AND THEY RANDOMLY FALL DOWN.

20. THERE ARE ALWAYS FIGHTS THAT NEED TO BE BROKEN UP. AND ARE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY "I LOVE YOU, BRO."

21. TRY AS YOU MIGHT, YOU CANNOT GET PEOPLE TO STOP DANCING ON THE FURNITURE.

 

22. SPINNING AROUND AND FLAPPING YOUR 
ARMS COUNTS AS DANCING.

23. AT LEAST ONE PERSON WILL BE DANCING 
AROUND TO IMAGINARY MUSIC.

24. AT ANY TIME THERE IS A CHANCE OF SOMEONE RUNNING NUDE THROUGH THE HOUSE.

 

25. WHEN THE INSIDE GETS TOO BAD, JUST HEAD OUTSIDE!

 

Mothering/Mother's Day

This is my mothering slogan. When things get tough around here I say it to myself about 10 times in a row. Because at this age, they don't know the difference. They don't know they are being bad. They're not trying to test me. But they will know if I'm a mean mommy. And I don't want to be a mean mommy. And I don't think it would do any good even if I was. I am trying to enjoy my babies instead of just survive them. And we are at a tough stage for enjoying. But there are lots of good, sweet, precious moments in every day. From this morning-

From her pictures, you would never know that Amelia is my fussy baby. I think they're both teething again but poor little Amelia just has a harder time dealing with it. Plus she still has her neck rash. And her eczema. Poor little angel.

The girls gave me a rocking ottoman for their room for Mother's Day. They said they wanted me to be able to put my feet up when I read them stories and sing them songs. The ottoman in the background was our old one. I didn't match our chair and it didn't rock. The new one is so much nicer!

They also gave me this necklace for Mother's Day. They said they wanted me to be able to remember them no matter where I went. I just love it. So far I have been able to wear it but Amelia is VERY interested in it. Claire plays with it a little but she doesn't care as much.

We really had a wonderful day yesterday. The girls got to go for a wagon ride and Daddy took them for a jog in the stroller too. Then we sat outside and blew bubbles and watched the animals. It was really a very nice day. We were supposed to interview a babysitter but she flaked out on us. Oh well...

A Plethora of Pictures

Last week when we were in Birmingham, the girls got to play with some new toys. Their cousin Leighton has a ball pit and they thought it was great. Or their dad did. Not sure which...

Claire and Amelia really enjoyed spending some time with their Paw-Paw. Once they warmed up to him. They are in a no-strangers mode right now. Luckily it doesn't take them too long to decide you're not a stranger. Little sweet peas!

I like to include these little "how do you do it" pictures from time to time. Mostly because people have NO idea how anyone with twins operates. They can't believe I can shower. Every day even! (I know, right?) This is our set-up. I put the girls in their bouncy seats and they kick each other and talk to each other and sometimes I sing to them. They love it and so do I! Sometimes I peek over the top of the shower door at them to see what they are doing and they are always smiling. Once they start crawling, I'm planning to baby-proof the crap out of the bathroom and close them in with me. Then we'll have a basket of toys that is just for shower time. I love hearing moms of one baby say they "just can't find the time" to shower. I will admit to being pretty judgmental of moms of singletons who can't get it together.

My mom made these balls for the girls and they love to play with them. I like them because they're soft so when they are flinging them around, no one gets hurt. Several times I have had to take toys away from Amelia because she is flinging them around so hard that she hits herself in the head.

See how Amelia's dress is kind of see-through? Its because she slobbers. All. The. Time. It is so bad that we have to change her clothes several times a day. Poor little thing. We found out earlier this week that she has eczema and I don't think the constant drooling is helping her any.

If you couldn't tell from previous pictures, we're unassisted sitters now! Yay girls! It is amazing how they can't do something and then they can kind-of do it and then WHAM! All of a sudden, they are just perfect at it. They are sitting up for so long and so well now! They hardly ever fall down.

Now that they are sitting up, Amelia and Claire always want to sit forward. I am constantly saying "lean back, lean back" when I'm feeding them. A funny story- Last week while I was feeding the girls breakfast, Claire was bent in half chewing on the leg divider. I would call her name and she would sit up for her bite. After the third time this happened, Claire actually sighed and sat up and looked at me like "Mom, can't you see I'm busy here?" So big.

My two wild children and Claire with wild hair! We got these outfits at Target. Unfortunately they shrunk a LOT when I washed them so I'm going to see if they'll take them back.

Amelia said we needed a close-up of her.

Big hirls in the tub. They love getting to sit up in the tub. I still think their favorite thing is getting to be Princess Towelly when they get out though. They love to wrap up in their big fluffy towels. They also love...

Their bathrobes! My friend Joanie got these for the girls when I was pregnant and they are finally fitting. They are so precious with their wet hair and robes!

Overall I think the girls are doing so great. Their doctor says you would never know they were preemies. Amelia weighed in at 20 pounds last week at the doctor and Claire was 17 pounds last month when she went. She may be up to 18 by now. They have gotten so heavy in their car seats that I have just started leaving the seats in the car all the time. It doesn't do much good to have a carrier if you can't lift the thing! The only time I take the seats out of the car is to put them in the stroller. Because that's still the easiest way for us to get out and about right now. I'm seeing another stroller in our future... We already have 3!

The girls are a little mood-swingy at times. I don't know if they are starting to teethe again or if its "I want to communicate but I'm a baby so I can't and I'm frustrated about it!" Also something new that has started is that the girls are fighting their naps now. They used to go down so peacefully and now they are just screaming. I don't know what has suddenly changed.