First Christmas Montage

Christmas Morning Setup

We love our tricycles! Andrew, right; Patrick, left

Andrew

Patrick

Eating Blueberry Pancakes. Patrick, near; Andrew, far

Of course they got a Beatles shirt.

And a Grateful Dead one.

Opening presents

Yay! I got a Chica in my stocking! (Patrick, Andrew pushing his new truck in the back)

And now a video from Christmas morning. Kind of long, but we hope you enjoy!

First Christmas Thoughts

The holidays can be a very hard time on someone who has lost people close to them. I know in years past there have been many a tear shed over missing my mom and dad and wishing they could be here, especially as I've celebrated getting engaged, being married, getting pregnant with my amazing baby boys, and now, those baby boys' first Christmas.

I wouldn't feel right if I didn't address that because this year I definitely still miss them as always but it is different. In a few minutes I will be going to wake up my wonderful children and share with them a Christmas so very different from past years. They have brought happiness and meaning back to Christmas. Our family has been able to start new traditions and mix them with some of our old. This starting of new traditions is something so special it is hard to put into words how amazing it makes me feel. Sometimes it feels like I am living in a dreamworld because I thought it was just a fantasy that a life could be so full and complete. I am so incredibly grateful for the gift that my husband and boys give me every day by their mere presence in my life.

We took our inaugural trip to Freeport, ME and the LL Bean flagship store yesterday. Today, we will be watching "A Christmas Story" because shamefully, I have never actually watched the entire thing, and Dave has watched it almost every year. We still ate Chinese food for our Christmas Eve dinner, a must in my family growing up because cooking was a VERY rare occasion. I'm sure many more traditions will unfold!

More to come later, but MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Time to go show the boys the wonders of Christmas morning. :)

Typical Play Time

It's official, the boys can definitely walk! They absolutely love pushing around their little cars and are getting much better at steering them, even if they do push from the front of the car sometimes.

Tomorrow I am going to go more into depth on the amazing year it has been, but for now, enjoy this video taken this morning. Andrew is in the dark pants, and Patrick the light ones!

P.S. I got to skype with one of my closest friends, Morgan in Ethiopia this morning! Best start to the Christmas holiday :)

Brotherly Love

Patrick and Andrew both really really love their new push cars. They get very upset when they hit a road block and can't figure out how to keep it moving, so there is a lot of exercise involved for me too. Sprinting around trying to help keep them moving.

Here is a video of one of my favorite use of the cars from a couple of weeks ago. One twin pushing while the other takes a spin! In this case, Andrew pushing Patrick! 

Seriously Best Dog

Andrew in the black, and Patrick in the red cuddling with Sierra :)

A few days ago, I was trying to capture our boys new found love of trying to cuddle with one of our dogs, Sierra. I realized I would be better off taking a video of just how amazing Sierra is with our babies. Enjoy!

Also, I may have some future soccer players on my hands too (a soccer mom can dream). They both are starting to love trying to kick and move things with their feet. Here is Andrew trying to get to a ring.

Finally, Patrick is really starting to get the hang of walking. Andrew is too, but Patrick managed to walk across our entire living room yesterday without falling. I will try to get some video up within the next week. I can't believe my little boys are starting to become toddlers! How did that happen?!?!?!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

I know it has been awhile since I have posted, and to be honest it partially is because it has been an incredibly rewarding but also trying and exhausting last few weeks. Andrew and Patrick are beginning to figure out walking and they love trying to take more steps just as much as we love watching them, but they also have learned the art of the temper tantrum when I tell them no, as well as the fact that we still have meal time struggles. However, in light of the tragedy that occurred in Newtown, CT yesterday, it put my troubles as a mother in perspective.

I woke up this morning and my beautiful little boys are still here. I cannot even begin to imagine what that would feel like if that weren't the case. So today has become a hug my little men a little closer, strip them down to their diapers, feed them PB&J which necessitated a mid day bath for some huge laughs and big smiles kind of day.  A little bit of love and laughter from my children is the best medicine in light of everything that has happened.

Andrew, left; Patrick, right (clearly PB&J belongs on top of your head too)

Today my heart goes out to all of the families who lost their little blessed loved ones as well as those that lost the wonderful people who dedicate their lives to helping to raise and protect our children.

FIRST STEPS!!!!!

Today has been an incredibly crazy day. For a few days now, Patrick and Andrew have been fighting off their first cold. There is snot everywhere on everything and it's not exactly like they are enjoying not being able to breath as well so to say I'm exhausted right now may be a bit of an understatement.

Since the boys were around 6 weeks old, we have managed to get them on the same schedule. Eat at the same time, sleep at the same time, play at the same time, etc. to make our lives sane and give us an ability to do things like cook and clean and do laundry around the house. Today, as well as the past few days, however, due to the fact that they are feeling sick, there are times when one baby is napping while the other is awake.

In some ways, through all of the exhaustion, these have been some of the most rewarding days as a mom. It's the first time that I've really gotten to get down and play with my children one on one for more than a few minutes, and truly see how they interact and play without their brother by their side. It definitely is very different!

We recently got the boys some new toys. They were intended to be Christmas presents, but we realized that the little push car we bought would be better used now to help them with learning to walk since they really seem to be on the verge! Since we are still waiting on a second one to arrive in the mail, the only real time to be able to use it is when you are one on one with one of the boys.

With all of this said, this morning Andrew was awake while Patrick was sleeping. It took only a couple of tries of helping him toddle along while holding on to the back of the car before he started doing it himself.

Andrew with his push car!

Of course, after filming this, and giving Andrew another 5-10 minutes of practicing his walk with the push car, Dave and I decided to see what would happen if we stood him up in between us and let go. Sure enough, Andrew took his FIRST STEPS!!!!!!!! I cried, because I am definitely that mom that gets so emotional seeing my children grow up and change so rapidly. I just can't believe he took actual steps still. He's not really walking yet, but any day this is going to be a permanent change. He's going to actually choose to stand up and walk. I am still trying to process all of this!

Also of course, we didn't film it because we didn't realize that he would actually do it! We were so excited for Andrew to take a nap and have some one on one time with Patrick to practice, but that never ended up happening. Every time Patrick had a turn, Andrew came swooping in, so hopefully the second one shows up soon so we can get this walking party started! Stay tuned!

Yummy! PB&J!!

Andrew, left; Patrick, right eating blueberry pancakes!

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope it was as wonderful as ours was. We spent it down in Boston at my aunt's house which also happens to be where my father grew up and I have tons of my own childhood memories. Now, for some pics of the boys having PB&J for lunch today. I think it may be Patrick's new favorite!

Patrick

Andrew (although he gets tired of chewing the bread and pitches a fit when eating one of these)

Newest Frustration

I would say that one of the biggest frustrations with raising my twin boys is figuring out how to teach a couple of ten month olds how to properly play with one another. Sometimes they attack one another and laugh away like they are having the best time ever, as you have witnessed in a couple of the videos I have posted. However, other times they start crying and get very upset.

I have tried to start to teach them not to steal each other's toys and not to just crawl up and smack their brother in the face. However, apparently at ten months this is an incredibly difficult task to get your children to understand. UGH!!!

The hardest part is when one of the boys steals their brother's toy, and then I tell them no, and give it back to the original toy holder just to have the one who stole it in the first place break down in tears because they don't seem to understand why I gave it back to their brother. I try distracting them with a new toy, but this is definitely one of the rare times that I cannot wait for them to be old enough to start to understand me better!

Differences Are the Spice of Life

On a day to day basis, the most amazing and interesting thing to observe is the vast differences between my two identical little boys. While sometimes their personalities switch some (Andrew was more shy in the beginning, then Patrick started being more shy, but now Andrew seems to be back in the shy role), the ways they see the world and learn new things is very different.

Patrick

For example, Andrew has newly mastered the ability to stick his tongue out at us and finds it fascinating that he has that control over it. He also likes to shake his head in a 'no' motion a lot. Patrick does neither of these things. Then there's Patrick who has now figured out how to clap his hands and wave, things Andrew hasn't really done yet. Patrick also likes to make a clicking sound with his mouth. It's just amazing that they are in the same environment observing the same things on a daily basis, but pick up on different aspects of what it is they see.

Andrew

Then there are the things that the boys teach each other. Andrew started crawling around with toys in his mouth all the time, and shortly after, Patrick has decided it is very fun to do too. It is hilarious to watch them crawl around chasing each other with toys sticking out of their mouths.

Andrew, left; Patrick, right

It is going to be such a wonder and a joy to watch how these differences continue over their childhood. I am one lucky momma! :)

Andrew is a goofball! 

Ode to Our Animals

From the very first day we brought our baby boys home, our dogs instinctively knew that these two new little people were part of the family. They have always been just as happy to give the babies kisses when we come home from being away, as they are to welcome home Dave and I. It has been absolutely fantastic!

Andrew with Kaya, 6 weeks

Of course, now that our babies are crawling everywhere, the dogs tend to run scared whenever the boys start heading their direction. The dogs 100% would never do anything to them, but they do prefer to be far away from those grabby little hands. However, it seems they are learning. Sierra, our brown dog, is the first one to start coming around. While we are trying to teach Andrew and Patrick how to pet the dogs and not just attack them, Sierra has decided that it's okay by her if they grab her some. She even stays asleep through it occasionally.

Bruschi cuddling with the boys, 7 weeks

Also, we cannot be more thankful for our amazing cat, Layla. She lets them grab her and pretty much torture her and never even lifts a paw to them. Sometimes she lets out a very sad meow to let us know that she would like us to help her escape, but other than that, she is the world's best family cat. She is aware that harming our children is not an option, and when she has had enough she just stalks off to a different part of the house.

Sierra cuddling, 4 months

Don't worry, we always keep a close eye on everything, but we honestly could not be luckier to have our pets. I know having three dogs and a cat on top of having twin boys sounds a little crazy, but it keeps life that much more exciting and interesting! After all, our pets are our family too!

Andrew, green, Patrick, grey, with Layla, 9 months

Patrick grabbing Sierra, this morning :)

Favorite Time of Day

I have started to have a new favorite time of day with Andrew and Patrick. While it is still amazing when they wake up first thing in the morning and I can hear them interacting on the monitor, the time I now cherish most is after they wake up from their morning nap until they go down for their afternoon nap.

Patrick loves blueberry yogurt!

Andrew loves his spoon :)

Up until recently, Patrick and Andrew could rarely go more than three straight hours being awake. Now, during the afternoon they go closer to four hours, so I get an extra hour of laughter and play! Plus, this is now when I go for my jog with them, which is by far my favorite bonding activity. The peace and serenity of a nice long run, the endorphins it gives me, and getting to spend it with my little men is a fantastic combination!

Patrick reenacting Polamalu's latest Head & Shoulders commercial

As for a feeding update, Patrick seems to be over whatever it was that was causing his fuss for now. However, Andrew has decided that towards the end of a meal if he is tired of chewing, he refuses to finish his food. At least we make it almost through the entire meal before he fusses though! 

Andrew crawls everywhere with something in his mouth

Eating Issues

So far pretty much every single one of my posts has centered around how wonderful and amazing my children are. This is so very true, but sometimes motherhood can be incredibly trying and difficult.

For the past week or so, Patrick has decided that he will only eat the first few bites of his meal and then will fuss the rest of the way through it. The hard part is, it is obvious he still enjoys the taste of the food he is eating because the second we can find a way to trick another bite into his mouth, he immediately chews it up as if he was never fussy in the first place. Then, as a result of all of Patrick's fussing and taking longer to eat, Andrew starts getting very upset. He is so young, I think he believes that I am feeding Patrick more than him and so actual tears start to stream down his face in between his bites. It breaks my heart.

Needless to say, I am SO ready for this phase to be over. At least once the meal is over they both instantly return back to their smiley selves! Also lucky for me, I finally got a break from this horrible cycle at lunch a few minutes ago. I finally got through a meal with both of them happy the entire time!!! Keep your fingers crossed that this means Patrick might be over his issues!

Pictures

Here are some pics as promised of during the hurricane and their halloween "costumes".

No power! Andrew, left; Patrick, right

Andrew as a lumberjack (just like most days)

Patrick as a lumberjack

Storm Update

First of all, we survived the storm just fine up here. We lost power for a couple of hours in the late afternoon. Patrick and Andrew had a lot of fun playing with their light up toys in the darkness. As it got later they started getting fussy, but lucky for us, the power came back on just in time for their dinner and to get them ready for bed! As soon as power was back, the boys were so happy again. In their world, darkness usually means bed time so I think they were relieved it wasn't quite that time again yet.

We lost power again after they went to bed but it came back on as we were feeding them breakfast the next morning.

Now, I know two days ago was their first Halloween and everyone is probably hoping to see pictures of their costumes. However, after much discussion, in the end Dave and I decided it would be better to just skip it this year. Costumes are not cheap and with zero plans for trick or treating and zero trick or treaters that come to our street, we honestly didn't see the point in spending the money just for a picture. Plus, I haven't exactly had the free time this year to make them one! With that said, we did put them in red flannel and declare them lumberjacks.

I promise next year will be a lot more fun!

I will try to post some pictures later today, but I left the camera in their room last night where they are currently sleeping away!

Water Woes

Our house has well water. This means that when power goes out, our water stops working. In preparation for Hurricane Sandy and the chance that our power goes out, we filled our bath tub to the top last night to make sure we had water to be able to flush the toilet. Gross, I know, but essential when you live in a house with well water.

 Andrew

One of the first things Dave said to me this morning was that he filled the tub to the top but apparently some of it leaked out. I just said, oh well, it still has enough to get us through, thinking that the plug for the drain wasn't sealed enough and that it was just draining down our pipes. Of course, what was our fun surprise when Dave went down into the basement; apparently our bath tub leaks!! WOOHOO!!! Of course this is also the morning Dave has to rush off to take our cat to her vet appointment. Oh yeah, and we found a spot of black mold...I guess our basement remodel may take a little longer than expected! I see a bathroom remodel in our future now too!

Patrick

Our temporary fix, is to just keep the bath tub empty. I guess this means we are going to be spending the morning filling 5 gallon buckets with water!

So, to make us feel better, here are some adorable pictures of my children :)

Andrew, left; Patrick, right, helping put laundry away before their bath last night

I love these two!

Andrew and Patrick Playing

Andrew and Patrick were playing just a few minutes ago. Patrick went up to Andrew and tried to eat his face. Andrew did the same back and Patrick fell back and started crying about it. As I was thinking about swooping in, Patrick decided he would get his brother back by kicking him in the stomach. Boys will be boys! Enjoy! Andrew is the one in the blue stripes :)

Perfect Fall Morning

Andrew, front; Patrick, back; flannel is essential for fall!

Winter will be here in the blink of an eye, so this morning I finally dragged myself out the door for a jog with the boys. I'm so glad I did! I finally went over a full 5k in distance and enjoyed the cool fall weather with all the beautiful leaves that will soon be gone. The peak was probably last week for the leaf color, but I'm not complaining. New England in the fall this year has been amazing!

On a different note, we have come up with a temporary fix for our no gate at the bottom of the stairs issue. We have taken one of their neglect-o-saucers and removed the seat, so now it is just a step and play piano that they can crawl all over and stand up at. They love it, and it keeps them from being able to crawl up the stairs, which they have gotten quite good at. Supervised stair climbing usually accounts for some of our favorite daily moments because they are always so proud and excited when they reach the top.

Andrew, left; Patrick, right

Check Up Results

Andrew:

20 lbs 11 oz

28 3/4" tall

SUPER LARGE HEAD

Patrick:

20 lbs 9 oz

29 1/4" tall

SUPER LARGE HEAD

Basically this means our boys are still quite tall, about average-above average weight, but they are off the charts with their head sizes. When our pediatrician was explaining to us that there tends to be a correlation between head size and when babies walk (bigger heads walk later), he waved at the chart and the dots indicating where they are on the growth curve for their heads. Those dots were WAY above the 97th percentile. We all just chuckled.

With all of that being said, Dave and I may have to wait longer than we thought now for those first steps. They are showing all the signs of walking soon, but apparently because of their SUPER LARGE HEADS, they may not walk for another 2-3 months yet. Only time will tell!

9 months old!!!

Today Andrew and Patrick turned 9 months old. I can't believe that it was only 9 months ago that Dave and I became parents. It has been the most amazing journey, and we could not be more thankful for our two amazing little men.

Patrick

For breakfast, we gave them scrambled eggs with cheese for the first time which was really fun for us. They are eating less pureed food as they are learning to chew and pick up their food to feed themselves. Watch out for some fun pics of their first spaghetti experience soon!

Andrew

Tonight, we also decided it was time to try out giving them a bath at the same time. Up to this point we had been using a baby/toddler tub but they have pretty much outgrown it, so we decided we might as well try the two of them together. We were worried they would get upset because they seem to enjoy the one on one time they get with each parent at the end of the day, but it went really well. I think solo baths are going to be a thing of the past. I took some awesome shots that I will not post here. However, I'm sure they will resurface someday when I feel the need to embarrass them! :)

Andrew, left; Patrick, right, in action!

Family shot post bath! (Andrew, elephant; Patrick, hippo)

Tomorrow we go to their pediatrician for a 9 month checkup. I'll be sure to have an update on just how big my big fat baby twins are! :)

Trip to Virginia

Sorry for the long overdue post. We were in Virginia for a week, and it has taken a couple of days to get settled back into our normal routine. Here is a quick rundown of everything that happened while we were gone. 

Andrew, left on the way down; Patrick, right. They swapped at rest stops to get turns next to mommy.

Our trip to Virginia was full of so many amazing moments. I could have done without the screaming children for the last two hours of our drive down during Baltimore and DC rush hour traffic. I do not miss the awful traffic whatsoever, that's for sure. However, once we got to MeMaw and PePaw's house the boys had the best time crawling around the kitchen island chasing each other before passing out for the night. Chasing each other is now one of their favorite things to do and their laughter as they play is such a fantastic sound. Hopefully I can capture one of these chase sessions on video!

One of the not so fun parts of the trip was realizing that due to the fact Dave and I are the only two people they see most of the time, they 100% did not like being held by other people. This changed by the end of the week, but for the first half they wanted nothing to do with anyone else unless we were holding them or they were on the ground able to escape.

Patrick left, Andrew right out to dinner

During the week, we got to spend some time with their grandparents, my best friend, my brother, and of course my brother and sister-in-law and their new baby boy Logan! We also were able to celebrate our niece turning four! So much packed in to the week.

All I know is that seeing Logan I can't believe that my boys were ever that tiny. He is a handsome little man, but it definitely amazes me that I already forget Andrew and Patrick being that young and it was only 8.5 months ago!

Having fun at dinner

We went out to dinner for the first time with them able to sit in high chairs and they were so good! At first we sat them together, and then realized it may be better if I sit between the two. The rest of the evening was spent with me happily picking up their toys as they played one of their favorite games. Drop something and watch as mommy picks it up and gives it back to them. I think the waitstaff may have also learned not to put the extremely hot plate that they caution you not to touch directly in front of a baby (luckily Andrew didn't touch it before we moved it), as well as you can't give tiny glow sticks to babies that they could swallow or chew open and swallow the liquid inside. Fun for all!

Andrew

Patrick

One of my last favorite moments from the trip came from their sleeping arrangements. Andrew and Patrick's cribs at home are in opposite corners of the room, but their playards they sleep in when we travel are usually right next to each other. This is the first time we have travelled since they have discovered how to pull into a standing up position. Sometimes they'd wake up from a nap and I would think maybe they had gone back to sleep. I'd get to their room and then through a crack in the door see them playing with each other and holding hands and talking through their cribs. It was so awesome to see them interacting like that.

Andrew left, Patrick right

That's all for now, but I'm sure now that we're home I'll go back to updating all the time! :)

Bye Bye Infant Car Seats

For a little while now, Dave and I have been talking about the need for new car seats for the boys. We still thought of it as some distant need, and not a pressing issue that needed to be addressed immediately. Yesterday, as I put the boys in their car seats to take them out to the car I realized that there was no way we could possibly subject them to those for a road trip. They have 100% outgrown them.

Of course I panicked for a moment since we are leaving tomorrow morning. Luckily the local Babies 'R Us had the car seat we liked the best and we were able to run out last night and pick up two. They are already installed and we have been out on our first errands. We found great ones that will allow us to keep our babies rear-facing for longer as well as have 3 extra inches in height so our super tall babies can use them longer as they transition to forward-facing seats.

I guess my babies are quickly approaching toddlerhood! Ahh!!

Standing Up Already?!?!?!

For a couple of weeks now, both Andrew and Patrick have been pulling themselves into a standing position on anything and everything. However, today was the first time one of them decided to stand up without holding onto ANYTHING. Seriously, how are my babies growing up so quickly???

They really love those stairs (Andrew left, Patrick right)

I was playing with Andrew this morning, and Patrick had pulled himself to a standing position over on one of the chairs in our living room. The next time I looked back at him he was no longer holding onto anything and was plain old standing. I just stared with my jaw dropped as for the next 10-15 seconds he stood there with a huge smile on his face before he plopped down into a sitting position.

Patrick left, Andrew right

Of course, Andrew was not to be outdone. This afternoon he stood up by himself too, although not for as long. I thought I still had plenty of time before they start to walk, but I have a feeling I'm going to blink and that time will be here. It's just amazing how quickly this first year is flying by and how much they have changed in just the last couple of weeks, let alone the last 8.5 months! I can't believe I'm approaching the time when I have to start figuring out what to do for their 1st birthday.

Apparently Andrew doesn't like those bars as much!

In different news, we are leaving to visit our new nephew Logan on Friday so wish us luck on our long drive with the boys! I'm sure I'll have some fun stories to share.