Warm Days Ahead!

It got up to 75 degrees yesterday! I don't mean this as an ice breaker. I mean that we were able to open the doors wide, turn off the heat in the house, crack the windows, and take the kids - all of them - outside! (You can't imagine what life with LR is like when cooped up all day.) We spent hours outside yesterday. Grandma Nese, who is staying with us while Daddy is in the Philippines this week, bought LR a crab sandbox and six heavy bags of sand. LR had a ball. He helped pick a spot for it and set it up. He even "helped" me wheel the wheelbarrow full of sand. Then he helped Grandma Nese plant flowers for the deck. It was pretty easy to put him to bed last night.

Things I tell everyone over the phone, but forget to write in the blog:

Lady V loves the mobile and can even put herself to sleep under it if left long enough. She is the more content, easy going of the two. She rarely cries unless hungry, but recently has had a nasty bout with gas. She has super strong legs and likes to stand. Her cheeks are HUGE and get comments from passers-by.

Lord B loves to look around. Hold him over your shoulder to get him to stop crying so that he can see out a window. He's been able to hold his head up on his own since he was about 6 weeks. We still get head-butted on occasion, but he's pretty good now. He is far more sensitive about being changed, but has stopped screaming quite so much on the table. He collapses at the knees if you try to make him stand. He's more alert in general with wide-eyes whenever awake.

Wanna Play?

Warning: This post is all over the place.

Check out our very cool new stroller. (Actually, I bought it used, but it still kicks ass.) LR wants to ride in it and rarely asks to be let out. That's a first! The twins have lots of room to recline, so they tend to sleep in it every time we go out. When I talked to other moms with the same configuration of kids, they said this stroller helped to redirect attention from the twins to the toddler.

Every person who walks into our house is asked by LR, "wanna play?" It always makes me feel bad. I think I must be neglecting him... and I guess I am. Now that our grandparent help is gone, N and I are on our own. She and I do what we can with LR when the babies are sleeping, but they rarely go down at the same time. LR definitely has to play by himself sometimes, but it certainly won't harm him in the long run. I take him to gymnastics, playgroup, and music class during the week and every time we get back into the car to go home he announces, "I don't wanna go home." I know, Kiddo. Sorry about that.

On the plus side, the last few weeks they've started sleeping really well. They only get up once during the night. They were waking up every night between midnight and 1am, but now they wake up closer to 3am. Daddy and I get up to feed, burp, and re-swaddle them. Then we put them back to bed. Usually they stay there until at least 6am. It feels like a full night's sleep at this point, so I'm pretty rested. This is far better than LR was at this point.

So finally a bunch of pictures. Sorry for the delay in getting them out. They have, of course, changed a ton already. Enjoy!

Mommy cuddles with Lord B.








LR cuddles Lady V.









LR sports the latest in Easter accessories.












V chills out her own way in the swing. What would we do without those swings?






N holding Lord B the only way that keeps him from fussing.







LR hams it up.







Look, Ma! Smocking!

6 Shots and a Train Ride

Lord B and Lady V had their 2 month visit last Monday and got 3 shots each. He's 22 inches long and 10 lbs. 9 oz. She's 21 inches long and 10 lbs. 6 oz. We would all guess that she's heavier because she has such big cheeks, but I guess the extra length has him pulling ahead. I wasn't as worried about the shots as when LR had them. It was the first time I heard him cry in pain and it made my heart ache. This time I was better prepared. Lord B went first and his cry was identical to the one he gives when he gets his diaper changed. So either that's his only type of cry, or changing his diaper makes him feel like he's getting needles stuck in him. Her cry was definitely stronger than his and unfortunately she reacted the same way LR used to. Her right leg swelled up about 4 hours after the shots and she screamed for a while. Other than that, they slept it off over the next 2 days.

On Friday Daddy and I hopped on our bikes with LR in the trailer behind Daddy. It was 40 degrees with a 15 degree wind chill. We froze, but LR seemed to enjoy it. We stopped at the preschool that LR will be attending in the fall. He met the teachers and checked out the rooms. We had to drag him out.

Then we celebrated Easter with friends D & H and their son King J on Sunday. N and her friend joined us as well and we had a nice meal courtesy of Costco and Boston Market. On Monday Daddy used the last of his paternity days and we took LR on his first train ride. We drove to Alewife station and took the T to Harvard Square. It's been so long since I've ridden the T that it took me a while to figure out the new machines for tickets. We finally got on the T and although LR was thrilled, he also seemed slightly apprehensive when the T finally lurched out of the station. I had forgotten how loud it is in there. When we arrive in Harvard Square, we first located the elevator for the stroller and then went to the Curious George store. Then we hit the ice cream shop and took a rest. I nursed Lady V while Lord B continued to nap. He didn't wake up until we got into the car on the way home. Then it was scream, scream, scream! For the most part, LR loved the outing. He talked about it for the rest of the day and then wanted to go again this morning when he woke up.

Pics are from N's camera since forgot ours...

With 2 Hands

"Mommy? Wanna pick me up with two hands?"

This is what LR asks me every morning when he comes out of his room and is standing at the top of the stairs, waiting to go downstairs for his milk. Usually I have a baby in one arm, so I have to heft LR up with my free arm. This is the first of many moments during the day where I can feel LR's anxiety about sharing Mom and Dad with the babies. So, as often as I can during the day, I cuddle LR with both arms.

The pics are from our first walk with the twins. We stopped to talk to a neighbor for a little too long and had to run home in a snow squall.

This is how sleep deprived I am

I'm pretty sure I missed the fact that LR has been sick for a good 24 hours. I thought he was developing a cough as a result of the cold he had last week. In reality he was starting a new cold and when I cuddled him late this morning, I felt a very hot forehead against my cheek. He had a 100 degree fever and then it dawned on me that I noted yesterday that Lady V's head was hot. At the time I thought I had her too bundled with blankets. Stupid, stupid, stupid. A friend last weekend told me that parenting is 20% luck and 80% guilt. This one, once again, lands in the guilt category. Lady V was running a 99 degree temp and Lord B started one a few hours later. LR took some Motrin and slept for 4 hours. Poor kid. So, we're a house of sickies. Crossing my fingers that I don't catch it.

The pics are from some of our recent helper visits.

Latest Movie

LR plays a new game with Daddy. Lady V enjoys the mobile. Lord B has some quality time with N.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lDaHIvqH67I

Picture Post

Grandma W and "Grandma Dad" with Lord B and Lady V their first week home. LR was a little confused by all the Grandmas, so at one point he was calling Grandad "Grandma Dad."





Lord B's first bath with Grandad








Lady V's first bath with Grandma W












LR showing Lord B how this thing works

LR's Adjustment

LR has been amazing with the arrival of his 2 new siblings. I was worried that he'd be aggressive with them and try to poke at their eyes. Instead, he's super gentle. He's more defiant with us now, but he doesn't take any of the frustration of sharing his parents out on them. When they cry he goes over to them and says, "what's wrong, baby?" He tells them "it's okay," and he sings them lullabies. He does snatch their pacifiers from tables and runs around with them in his mouth, but since washing and sterilizing them is easy, I've decided that it's a battle I'm not willing to fight.

His conversation skills have improved and he's sleeping better at night. He's marking his territory a bit with the babies by claiming all the blankets in the house, even those made by Gigi, and Great Aunt BJ for the twins. He's still an amazing social butterfly. He loves gymnastics and our large town play group. He says "hi" to everyone on the street and preys other kids in stores, tracking them as potential playmates.

I promise to get more photos up. We have a ton, I've just been staying busy from feeding to feeding. It's amazing how little I can get done around the house. Laundry, dishes, paying bills, etc. is a challenge. I'm still only getting a broken 5 hours of sleep each night, but N and Grandma Nese are helping out, so sometimes I get a nap in during the day.

More next on our family outings. We finally made it out of the house!

Different From Head to Toe

(The first picture is from the level 2 nursery. Lord B has the oxygen tube in. The second picture is of them on their way home from the hospital. Lady V had already been home, but this was Lord B's first trip.)

Here's a snippet of the conversation both Daddy and I have each had when strangers ask us about Lord B and Lady V.

Stranger: What are they?
Daddy: A boy and a girl.
Stranger: Are they identical?
Daddy: Uh...

We've decided that the best possible response is, "Yes, except for the penis."

Actually, these two are as different as siblings can be despite Daddy's claim that they looked identical when they were on the warming tables. Lady V has a much bigger head than Lord B. Her hair is wavy as if she got a baby perm for her debut. His hair is darker than hers even though they both have brown hair right now. Neither have eyebrows, but she has my shape eyes and he has Daddy's. I know because when Lord B opens his eyes wide, you can see white over the top of the irises and only Daddy has eyes that do that. Right now they give Lord B a "crazy eyes" kind of look.

Lord B has a distinctly long, straight nose while Lady V has the same nose as Hudson. Presumably it's my pre-surgery nose. His lips are slightly more full than hers and he seems to have a tiny dimple in his chin suggesting that he'll have Daddy's small cleft. I also forgot to mention in the post introducing him that he was tongue-tied at birth which means his frenulum, the membrane that attaches the tongue to the bottom of the mouth, extended too far out and was potentially keeping him from nursing correctly. We had the doctor clip the membrane back to prevent any future problems. Luckily, the procedure is painless and bloodless.

As for the rest of their bodies, he has a divot in his sternum that she doesn't have. They both have round little bellies and sticks for legs and arms. I keep waiting for them to gain that chubby baby weight on their thighs, but I haven't seen it yet.

The C-section

C-sections are weird. It's hard to imagine staying awake during major abdominal surgery, so you just try to focus on the babies and not the cutting. I was a little worked up from the pre-surgery routine when they tried 7 times to get 2 IVs running, one in each hand. I couldn't plump up my crappy veins since I couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight before the surgery, so the veins just kept collapsing. They finally called in the anesthesiologist to get the last one. Actually, the last 4 sticks wouldn't have been necessary had they drawn enough blood from the first IV. *sigh*

After that I walked into the OR and Daddy stayed behind. The anesthesiologist was waiting and quickly administered the spinal. Then in a matter of seconds they had me down on the table being prepped for surgery. First thing they did was to haul my johnny up to my chest and all sense of modesty was gone. I was completely exposed to a room of a dozen people or more. There were 2 teams ready for the delivery, one for Lord B and one for Lady V. Then there were surgical nurses, my OB, a med student, and the anesthesiologist. When Daddy walked in he was surprised to see a dozen people around the room. I saw him come in and was still weepy from the episode with the IV. He sat in a chair strategically placed next to my head and behind the screen.

When they took the kids to the warming tables, Daddy went over to look at them. When he turned back, it was tough to avoid seeing part of the surgery, but it didn't phase him too much. I think his exact words were, "umm... gross." The head pediatrician came over to show me the babies and to tell me that they were doing exceptionally well for preemies. As he was finishing up, I started getting intense pain in my neck. I turned my head from the side to look back up at the ceiling while calling for the anesthesiologist to help me. He said it was reflexive pain from what was going on in the surgery. It was intense pain, but he eased it with some medication via the IV within a minute or two.

When I looked back, the pediatrician was gone. Daddy then left to go to the nursery with the kids while they put me back together. A little while later, I started to get queasy. I told the doctor and she said, "I was just putting your uterus back in place, so that's not a surprise. You don't miss a thing!" Weird. I thought the queasiness would go away, but it got worse, so I asked for a basin and started breathing faster to indicate that it wasn't an idle threat. The anesthesiologist administered another drug and the feeling went away. Later when we talked to Papa about it, he said that that anesthesiology is a "dark art," which seems funny, but definitely rings true.

Then it was off to recovery with my numb legs. The first couple of days recovering were rough, but I had the babies to focus on, so it was manageable. By the end of the first week I wasn't in pain anymore. Vivian and I went home on Monday Jan 21st and Beckett came home on Wednesday Jan 23rd.

Welcome, Lady V!

Lady V entered the world on Jan 17th at 9:39am, 2 minutes after her brother. She was not 10 seconds old when she reached up and grabbed the umbilical clamp being held by the surgical nurse. She wrapped her fingers around so that they were in danger of being clamped and the nurse announced that everyone should stop. My OB immediately stopped and then they pried her fingers off the clamp. Later the OB told me she didn't know how tiny baby fingers would fair if they were clamped. After that she grabbed the nurse's sleeve. The OB said at that point she banished Lady V to the warming table and told the staff to "get this brat out of my sterile field." (In a very sweet way, of course.) At the warming table she first grabbed the blanket and then scored an 8 at the one minute apgar and a 10 at the 5 minute apgar. The pediatrician said they don't usually give newborns 10s and especially not when they're preemies, so he was thrilled with how good they looked. She weighed 5 lbs. 3 oz. and measured 18.25 inches. They showed her to me while I was still on the table and then they took her to the nursery for her bath and evaluation.

She spent one day in an open crib in the level 2 nursery while they evaluated her and checked to make sure she could maintain her body temperature. After that she was moved to the regular nursery. I kept her in my room during the day so that I could nurse her and then they kept her during the night. By the fourth day I was taking her to the level 2 nursery to try tandem feeding with her brother. It worked fairly well and the nurses helped me get them latched on. Around the same time she hit a cold patch and needed a little Kangaroo Care. Then she warmed back up and was ready to go home with me on Monday.

Welcome to the family, Lady V!

Welcome, Lord B!

Lord B entered the world on Jan 17th at 9:37am. He emerged quietly thanks to a mouthful of amniotic fluid. At the warming table he scored an 8 at the one minute apgar and a 9 at the 5 minute apgar. He weighed 4 lbs. 13.4 oz. and measured 18 inches. They showed him to me while I was still on the table and then they took him to the nursery for his bath and evaluation.

Turns out that aspirated amniotic fluid kept him in the level 2 nursery in an incubator for 6 days. He came home on the seventh. The first day he was grunting and laboring to breathe, so they put in an IV for fluids and an oxygen tube to aid his breathing. They monitored his oxygen level with a little sensor taped to his foot. The oxygen tube broke my heart. It pulled at his skin where it was taped to his cheeks and I always thought I was hurting him when I held him. The second day he was still breathing quickly, but he wasn't grunting anymore. We used Kangaroo Care which is skin to skin contact to help him stabilize his body temperature during those first days. He couldn't stay warm outside the incubator.

I was finally able to nurse him on the fourth day when he came off the IV. Around the 5 day mark he was jaundiced, so they adding bili lights to the incubator and covered his eyes with a little mask. Eventually it irritated the bridge of his nose, so they tried variations on the mask to avoid skin breakdown. Then at the end of the 5th day he came off the oxygen and managed to keep his O2 stats at normal levels overnight. That was the end of the oxygen tube! On the 6th day he came out from under the bili lights and the next morning they were able to take him out of the incubator. We gratefully took him home shortly after.

Welcome to the family, Lord B!

Last Day as an Only Child

Since the twins won't be home for another 4 or 5 days at least, LR won't feel the pinch right away, but as of tomorrow he will officially cease to be an only child. N has been preparing him by playing with his baby doll we bought him almost a year ago to go with his stroller. He's never shown much interest in it, but after a couple of play dates with friends who have baby siblings now, LR is much more interested. He named his baby after his friend's baby brother, Cooper. I came home from the hospital yesterday and found N and LR playing with Cooper by counting his fingers and toes, classifying the fish on his stroller, and pointing out his eyes, ears, and mouth. Then LR took him out of the stroller and cuddled him on the couch. I'm really grateful to N for picking up on his interest and reinforcing it. She tries to make sure he's gentle with the baby, but he still sometimes flings Cooper out of the stroller.

This past weekend we had a nice, although quick, visit with Papa and Nese. LR got to go in Papa's airplane a couple of times. He was thrilled to just hang out at the airport a bit. It was a bright day, so the shadows are a little deep in the photos. I'll have to work on that. Before we got to the airport to pick them up, LR informed me that we needed to watch out for the propellers. I was impressed that he remembered the word and my warning from the last time they were here at Thanksgiving.

We also got another snow storm this week. Everything had finally melted from the last series of storms and now we have a fresh 6 inches on the ground. LR is starting to get better at walking through the snow. N likes to take him outside at least once a day and he loves having snowball fights with her.

At my OB's office yesterday, I measured at 44 weeks even though I'm only 35. The kids are still moving and my blood pressure seems to be holding steady. She double checked with me on whether or not I wanted to try an induction and I gracefully declined. I think "hell no" is what I said. She agreed that risking another long induction wasn't a good idea and that twin B, the girl, will be better off with a c-section.

It may be a while until I post again and hopefully by then I'll think of some nicknames to use on the blog for our new additions.

Crack Your Head

I keep forgetting the things I want to blog about, so pardon the random nature of this post. One thing that I find endlessly amusing is that LR has started to pick up some of N's South African phrases such as "you'll crack your head" when he does something dangerous. He's really taken to her and that makes all of us feel good about our new family. Tonight she's putting him to bed for the first time in preparation of next week's craziness. Despite protests from my nephrologist, we're still on for a Jan 17th c-section.

We've decided to get rid of LR's naps. We tried the 3pm naps and the 9pm bedtime, but it wasn't working well, so the past few days we've just skipped the nap. Last night he slept for 12 hours! This child has never slept for 12 hours, so I think we have a winning plan here. Just in time too! Last night he did wake up at 4am and come down the hall. Daddy intercepted him halfway and I heard LR say, "I'm looking for my mommy," as if I were playing hide-and-seek with him. It was cute enough to let him come to our bed and finish the night there. The new schedule has him nodding off at dinner, but he's quickly revived with a bath and then bedtime is smoother and faster.

Sleep has been difficult for me recently. Between the constant need to pee and the tossing and turning, I'm only getting a few hours at a time. Because of the constant interruptions, I've been having vivid dreams, but the one that I've now had 2 nights in a row is that I'm going on a trip with my family and I'm the only one not packed or ready to go. Wonder what that could mean? At least I'm not having the teeth-falling-out dream.

The pics for this post don't really relate to the text, they're just recent ones that I like. Actually, I don't like the one of me, but I've had lots of requests from family to see how big I am. That picture is from 32 weeks. I'll be 35 tomorrow and I'll take the final horrifying pics before the c-section.

I don't like this

LR has been eating a ton of new and different foods. Yesterday I went out to lunch with some ex-coworkers and brought home more than half of my chicken stir fry. LR has rejected most meats since he started solid foods, but for some reason, the chicken was a hit when I warmed up my leftovers for him for dinner. He was eating while standing in his tower at the kitchen island when N came up and was chatting with me about his day. When I turned away, he put a large piece of bok choy in his mouth. For whatever reason, taste, texture, or size, LR spit it back onto the plate and emphatically announced, "I don't like this!" At first N and I thought he was talking about us having a conversation and not focusing on him. Then I realized he meant the food. It's the first time he's said something other than, "no like!" I was worried that his cute phrase was gone for good, but I've heard him say it since then. I'm sure it'll be gone soon though.

He used another great phrase in the car the other day when we past a pond which had frozen over. N asked him if he saw all the ice on the pond and he replied, "much too icy for Hudson." I'm pretty sure he picked up the "much too" from N. He also makes "batteries" a 2 syllable word the way she does. He'll be speaking Afrikaans before we know it. 

New Teeth!

Last week we noticed that the pads of LR's thumb, index finger, and middle finger on both hands were getting so dry that the skin was cracking. For his thumb, we even had to moisturize it and put a band aid on it two nights in a row. (Actually for his hands we need band aids AND medical tape, otherwise, he just rips it off.) I thought it was the dry weather, but then I realized he was sticking his fingers in his mouth a lot. I thought it was awfully late to start sucking his thumb and then it hit me that his 2 year molars were probably coming through. I watched him stick his fingers all the way to the back of his mouth and not gag himself, so that night I asked him to open his mouth while he was in the bath and, sure enough, I saw molars creeping through on both sides. He even let me put my finger in his mouth to feel them and didn't bite me. It felt a little like putting my head in a lion's mouth. I didn't want to push my luck and try feeling the top, so I'm just assuming those are coming through too.

He hasn't complained about them hurting him, so I guess everything is going smoothly. We're moisturizing his hands as much as we can, but the skin is still cracking and last night the soy sauce from his sushi stung, so he ended up washing his hand in my water glass. (Listen people, I'm too big to be getting up just to get a wet paper towel to wipe his hands. I'll just drink water after dinner.)

Speaking of my big belly, the ultrasound yesterday revealed a huge weight gain by both kids. He put on a pound and 3 ounces and she put on a pound and an ounce in just 2 weeks. That puts her at 4 lbs. 11 oz. and him at 4 lbs. 4 oz. He even crept up from the 24th percentile to the 31st. By the time I deliver on the 17th, she should be just shy of 6 lbs. and he may be near 5.5 lbs. All the doctors have finally agreed to the 17th, so I'll be able to deliver at the same hospital at which LR was delivered. So, 14 days and counting!

ABCs

LR has been working on his ABCs for a long time now. He often gets all the way through, but if he's really fixated on something, he'll include whatever that thing is into the song. For example, if he's thinking about cars he'll sing it this way:

"A B C D cars E F G cars H I J K cars L M N O cars..."

It cracks me up when he does that. Here's a clip of him singing while watching himself in the video camera's screen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTADchglxgM = widescreen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7jJM6jzWBY = standard

(I'm still learning about how to create movies, so my first attempt today was widescreen.)

Sympathetic Little Guy

Yesterday LR wanted me to get off the couch to play cars with him, so I sat up. He grabbed my hands in his and said, "getting bigger and bigger!" Had it come from anyone else, it would have earned that person a serious kick to the shins. Instead, I laughed and gave LR a kiss. He's gotten very conversational recently. He'll tell me about his day or what just happened on TV. He's also a little more cuddly which is nice. Sometimes I get a random hug and Daddy always gets a running tackle-hug to the legs when he walks in the door from work.

Luckily, the snow has started to melt, so both Daddy and Noula have taken him for walks this week. Last week it was nearly impossible to go outside as you can see from the photos. His playhouse was half buried in snow. He peeked out just enough for me to snap a photo. The bulkhead was the only island he could get to. Otherwise, he was often waist-deep and struggled to follow Daddy around the yard. Daddy made a great, big snow family and LR helped me poke holes in one of the smaller snowmen.

You can't see how big I am in the photo, but you'll just have to trust me on this one. I'm HUGE. The doctors are debating a Jan 10th delivery vs. a Jan 17th one. The big difference is that if I go Jan 10th, I'll be just shy of 35 weeks which means I deliver at a hospital downtown with a NICU and the surgery will be performed by my high risk doctor. If I deliver Jan 17th, I can have my OB perform the surgery at the same hospital in Cambridge where we had LR. A few days make a huge difference here. They're debating bed rest despite the fact that the labs look fine and I'm feeling okay. (Okay is so relative when you're carrying twins.) I should find out the results of the latest set of labs on Monday.

Christmas Day

Well, we celebrated early, so it's actually the day before Christmas. Corbin and Yanni are with us for a few days and they've been amazing at helping us out around the house. The two new cribs are assembled and in place. Large pieces of furniture have been relocated to make room for the new stuff. LR is constantly entertained by someone and Corbin cooked a wonderful Christmas feast.

We started the day early and opened presents first thing. I wish I had opened my new MacBook (yes, I have officially joined the dark side) because I was able to have a video conference within an hour with Grandma W and Grandad B. Instead of being able to watch him open their presents, I've posted a movie of LR opening his first presents of the day from his stocking. His reaction to each present was pretty fun to watch. I'll get better at editing and uploading movies soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-lZgRvU2jY

Twin Update

Daddy and I went to the 32 week ultrasound yesterday. At the 28 week ultrasound, Baby Girl was 2 lbs. 11 oz. and Baby Boy was 2 lbs. 6 oz., putting them around the 60th and 40th percentiles respectively. Yesterday she measured at 3 lbs. 10 oz. and he measured at 3 lbs. 1 oz., putting them in the 44th and 24th percentiles. We started to worry about 1) the growing difference in their weight and 2) the drop in percentiles. When the high risk doc made his appearance, he assured us that he didn't see a problem on either count. 9 oz. isn't that big a spread especially since Baby Boy has always been behind Baby Girl and twins tend to slow down in their growth towards the end of the pregnancy. Regardless, Daddy has put me on a strict bacon and bon-bons diet from here on.

In other twin news, at 5am this morning Baby Girl decided to have a lightswitch rave while Baby Boy got the hiccups. I think she scared him into getting the hiccups. He gets them daily now. Haven't felt her hiccup once yet.

Sledding Fun

Because I grew up in a warm climate, I don't think I've really been able to appreciate winters in New England. As an adult, they've always meant lots of layers which meant extra laundry loads, cold fingers and toes, hours of shoveling, and cold car rides. But watching LR go sledding today with Daddy gave me a new appreciation for what it means to live where it snows (and snows, and snows).

First of all I learned not to walk in the sled path since there is an art to packing down the run. After searching in vain for a sled yesterday (and missing the last one at Target by moments), Daddy decided to construct his own out of a box and a heavy duty garbage bag. Oh and duct tape. Lots of duct tape. He put LR in the sled and sent him down a small slope behind our house a couple of times. On the third run LR got a little spray of snow in the face and decided he didn't want to do it again. Daddy did a run by himself which LR thought was pretty funny. Then LR was happy to go on a ride with Daddy and had a big smile on his face the whole way.

The rest of the time was spent getting to and from the house with LR stopping ever few feet and announcing, "I'm stuck!" and then making grunting noises as if he were trying to free himself. Daddy carried him a lot of the way because it honestly was about waist deep for the little kid.

I still miss the endless number of beautiful days in San Diego, but mornings like today make some of the frostbite worth it.

Foot of Snow

We had a big snow storm yesterday. Luckily N, LR, and I made it to the mall and back just before the snow started. I saw signs on the highway warning about the approaching weather, so I knew it wasn't going to be good. Luckily, Daddy had done an install the night before and was awake from 1:30-6am, so he was working from home and not out on the roads.

N tried to get LR down for a nap, but when that didn't work, she bundled him up and took him out into the snow. It was only a few inches deep at that point and he seemed pretty zoned when he was out there. I could tell he was tired and fighting it. I got a few decent pictures, but the snow got in the way of a bunch of them.

This morning the snow is at least a foot deep and I woke once last night to the sound of snow plows scraping the asphalt and then backing up with a loud "beep beep beep." LR would have loved to watch, but he's sleeping in since he missed that nap yesterday. I keep wondering if he's outgrowing his nap, but then I watch him on those days where he skips it and he's an absolute basket case in the evenings. Yesterday he almost fell asleep while eating dinner and he wiped out numerous times, hitting his head twice. There is no doubt that he should still be napping, but somehow I have to convince him of that.

Adventures in Shoveling

LR was thrilled this past weekend when Daddy let him help shovel the snow off the driveway. We could only find 2 shovels, but they were both light enough for LR to wield. He might have taken a swing at the bumper of the wagon with the metal one, but whatever, Saturns are meant to take abuse like that. It was a toasty 40 degrees which is why Daddy went out without a coat. I still made LR put on a sweatshirt and when the wind kicked up, I added a jacket on top of that.

For a while LR was content to shovel in our driveway, but eventually he decided the lawn needed shoveling and the neighbor's jungle gym should definitely be cleared off. He's a little tentative about his new snow boots because I accidentally let him into the garage on his own with them on for the first time. He tried to negotiate the 3 stairs and fell face first, banging his head (incidentally in the same spot he always seems to bang his head... do kids have a favorite injury spot? I'm going to have to teach him how to lead with his elbow earlier than I thought!) Since then he's been wary about walking in his boots. Can't say I blame him.

In other news, my blood pressure has started to creep up, but I'm hoping we'll control it with medication. It's earlier than I would have liked to see it happen, but since I look full term, it's not that big of a surprise either. The babies weigh about 3 pounds each now and are closing in on 16 inches. I'm crossing my fingers for 6 more weeks. By that point they should be about 6 pounds and 18-19 inches.

Christmas Tree

The first picture for this post is almost 2 weeks old, but it's been a while since I downloaded my CompactFlash card. Funny... it used to be a very big card, but with my new camera, it seems to be a little on the small size. 4 years of technology will do that. Anyway, love the smiles, guys!

N has been here just a week, but already things feel more relaxed around the house. LR is still pushing boundaries and doing his typical 2-year-old thing, but N is making it easier for us to get out the door to go to work or just get things done around the house. Unfortunately, there are many more extra errands we have to run to get her set up. There's the bank account, trip to the Social Security office, a cell phone, credit card, winter clothes (she arrived with a thin fleece during a brutal week of temperatures in the teens), and most importantly, her driver's permit. After we get the SSN, we should be all set to go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Then we can officially get her on the road - even if it is on the wrong side.

Today we went to pick out a Christmas tree. It was all very exciting. There were lots of small construction vehicles parked among the trees. 2 fork lifts and a front loader had LR's attention and he was upset that he couldn't climb on them. He wasn't so interested in the size, shape, color, and bushiness of the trees. The place we went had it all down to a science with an awesome "tree shaker" for lack of a better term. It violently vibrated the tree so that all the loose needless would shake free before they netted them and checked you out. It was very efficient and as parents of a toddler, we appreciated that. Unfortunately, when we arrived home I found the stand we had purchased had a broken bit which prevented us from being able to secure the tree. I made a trip back to the store after lunch and the teenager at the cash register was overwhelmed enough to skip the whole exchange and receipt check and just let me swap the stands. *phew* I also purchased some unbreakable balls for the tree, but LR just treated them like all his other balls and started throwing them around the house. Our tree has only the top 3 feet decorated now. Looks kinda funny, but oh well.

Zoo Lights, Papa's Plane, First Snow

The last night the family was here for the Thanksgiving holiday, we went to the zoo lights at our local zoo. LR loved all of it with the exception of a very large polar bear which needed a compressor to make it turns its head and blink its eyes every few minutes. He hid behind Papa's legs. Papa picked him up and you can see LR peeking at the ferocious polar bear from behind Papa's protective shoulder. We moved on pretty quickly, but he loved the rest of the night despite the cold temperatures. The mittens kept slipping off, but he was content to wear them for the most part.

At the end of the twinkling path was a little carousel. LR really wanted to ride, so we got tickets for Daddy and Grandma Nese to take him. They picked a friendly looking horse and tried repeatedly to get LR to sit on it. LR was game, but every time they sat him down he complained. Finally, they realized that the metal seat and pole were way too cold for LR. Daddy gallantly removed his jacket and put it on the horse's back. Then LR sat without a problem and the ride began. He loved every minute of the ride. You can see his immediate reaction to the jacket protecting his temperature sensitive bum in the second carousel picture.

When it was time to take the family to the plane, LR came with me and barely stayed awake on the way to the airport. It was near nap time, but he was glad he stayed awake because he got to see Papa's plane. Grandma Nese hopped into the cockpit with LR and let him put on a headset. From his seat he could see other planes and jets around him. He was in heaven. I'm surprised I got him out of there at all. Since that day, LR has asked to see Papa's plane every day. He tells me he wants to take a ride in the minivan to see Papa's plane. I tell him that we will the next time Papa comes to visit. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold him off though. We might have to make a trip to Logan just to watch the planes take off. It won't be the same as sitting in the cockpit though, kiddo!

This morning we woke up to our first decent snow of the season. When LR woke up, I brought him downstairs. He caught a glimpse of outside and said "snow!" I took him to the window and asked him, "what is that?" "It's Christmas," he said. I guess the books about Christmas are the ones where he sees snow most often. Cute kid. He also thought the neighbors' house was like a train because of the smoke coming out of the chimney.