Articles by Mommy

We love hats.  And dressing up.  And saying “CHEESE”.

So silly.

It’s July in Kansas.  It’s hot.  It’s sticky.  It’s Kansas.  The girls, however, struggle to realize that once you move from the air-conditioned comfort of the house to the sticky, bug-ridden backyard–well, it gets miserable fast.  Nevertheless, throughout dinner last night Nora randomly exclaimed “BACK-YARD! BACK-YARD!”  Tessa chimed in, “PARK! PARK!”.  So we had to figure out something to do.

So, we settled on going to the bookstore at a nearby mall.  They love the kids section there and we can read books and play with the “CHOO CHOO TRAIN! CHOO CHOO TRAIN! CHOO CHOO TRAIN!”  ok ok ok…

Not only was the bookstore a great success but to top it off there was outdoor live music.  There were a lot of people there.  Mostly sitting in chairs, relaxing and taking in the music.  The girls really love music.  They were doing their routine of swaying and crooning back and forth, back and forth.  They really get into the music.  Sometimes I think it’s a fine balance to allow children to enjoy participating in an experience while not eclipsing the performance itself.  We stand to the side, out of the way, but close enough that that the kids can see and experience the joy of music.  Seeing one child singing and dancing is enough to draw a few smiles and approving glances, but seeing two little kids who are spitting images of each other (no matter how much I try to make them look like their own person) really starts to draw a crowd.  And so, a crowd started to gather.

Then some young woman, about my age, came up and asked if she could take some pictures of them.

Huh?

My best guess is that she was on staff at the mall or from one of the radio station sponsors and was getting pictures for marketing materials.  So, sure.  Take some pictures.  I’m proud.  The girls are cute.

So we continue to croon on and then another woman comes up to me and asks me if we go to the Oak Park farmer’s market.  Again–huh?

We did once.  I thought about blogging about the market, but it was rather uneventful.  Just a way to pass the time on a beautiful Saturday morning.  We pushed our way through the crowded market with the girls in our arms.  I remember that we stopped for just a moment to smell some pretty flowers at one stand.  “Fluwers!” Nora exclaimed.  Both girls scrunched up their noses and gave a loud snort of the various bouquets.   About 10 steps away from that stand a man called out to me, “Ma’am! Here are some flowers for your girls!” He handed me a neat, tight assortment of tiny flowers in an old glass bottle.  I thought it was strange that he went so far out of his way to give away flowers that he was selling at the market.  We pushed on and at the end of the market there were a couple of guys playing guitars and we stopped for a bit to sing and sway and sing and sway.  The girls made friends with a couple of other kids and they all started hopping, skipping and dancing to the music.   At one point one of the singers acknowledged Nora and Tessa and their enthusiastic participation.  I think performers appreciate it when they see such uninhibited joy coming from someone who is clearly enjoying the performance.  Later we had some lunch and packed up to go home.  It was fun, but rather uneventful.

“Is that Nora and Tessa?” the woman at the mall asked me.  “I remember them from the market–they were dancing at the market!  They were so fun to watch.”

Wow.  Seriously?  You remember my kids (and their names) who were dancing for 30 minutes at a market that we went to one time a month ago?  So, now not only do have we have an audience and a photographer, but we have groupies.

As a fond parent, I sometimes worry that I might overthink the impact of my children on the greater community.  Of course I think they are cute and fun to watch and they fill my life with such sheer happiness with their sense of humor and pure spirits.  But I try to adjust my view of the girls through my mommy-colored glasses and not exhault them.  While they are the world to me, I understand that my love and amazement of them is compounded by the fact that they are my kids.  I know that there are many people who love and admire the girls, but my mommy ego sometimes explodes upon the realization that complete strangers are giving them flowers, taking their picture and remembering them from momentary, and seemingly uneventful, episodes in time.  Sometimes I am struck by the impression that Nora and Tessa do make on other people.  While the initial allure of the girls may be their twinage, it is their explosive and engaging personalities that draw people in and make a lasting impression.  Their uninhibited song and dance and giggles and flirty glances at people around them bring those people joy and happiness.

And, for that reason, I am struck with awe and pride that I get to share in their lives.  To me they are wonderful.  But to others, they are also wonderful.  And for that, I give thanks.

My ability to blog has been eclipsed by my skyrocketing work level, but I still manage to make it home most nights for dinner and the bedtime routine (park, bath, books, milk and cuddles) only to pick up working again in the evenings.  There is a light at the end of this work tunnel that I think will come around the middle of this month…

Anyway, the girls are really into “labeling”.  I guess this is the phase where their vocabulary soars as they label each and every item around them and their memory for events is repeating in this “labeling” storytelling.  This past weekend Chad’s parents came over for lunch on Sunday and to wish Daddy Chad a Happy Birthday (shout out to Daddy!).  We had a great time, but there was a moment when we were sitting in the living room and Grandpa Chris leaned over in his chair and KABOOM! he fell.  He was alright and we helped him up.  But Nora was very very concerned and scared.  She insisted that I give him a hug at least twice.  And every day since then Nora has gone up to that chair and said, “Grandpa Chair.  Fall down!” 

Their little memories are amazing.  One time (only once) we saw two ducks in the little creek by the park by our house.  The girls were so excited.  Every time we go by the creek on the way to the park they say, “Quack quack duck!”  And when we don’t see them I ask them, “Where did they go?”  In Nora and Tessa’s minds there are only two responses to this question: 1) “Sleepytown nite nap!”, and 2) “Snack”. 

Everything thing that leaves has either gone to bed or is eating something.  It’s so cute.  They say this about everything–ducks, dogs, cars and even airplanes.  “Where did the airplane go?” I’ll ask after it passes overhead and flies far off.  Nora will say with certainty: “Snack”.  And Tessa will agree and say “Sleepytown nite nap”.

Last night at dinner we were sitting around the table talking about milk and water.  They love to see what everyone is drinking.  Mommy was having milk.  Daddy was having water with ICE.  Ice is a big deal.  They love ice.  Toward the end of dinner Tessa wanted to see if Daddy was done with his water.  “Almost.” She said when she saw the glass almost empty.  “Ice?” she asked?  ”No,” I said, “Daddy’s ice is all gone.  Where did it go?”  I thought this was a good opportunity to talk about melting.   Tessa disagreed, “Ice sleepytown,” she correct.  I laughed so loud.  True, I thought.  The ice probably went “sleepytown.”

These are the two pictures I have sitting on my desk at work right now:

Tess:

Nora:

I can’t even tell you how much I love these two people.  They make my day just smiling at me on my desk.

About once a week our daycare provider, Barb, calls me to say that the girls have brought her the phone (not sure how they are getting the phone, but whatever) and they are asking to talk to me.  It makes my day, every single time.

Here’s the sum of our conversation:

Me: “Hello?”

Nora: “HI MOMMY!”

Me: “Hi baby.  How are you?”

Nora: “FINE!”

Me: “What are you doing?”

Nora: “PLAY.  SNACK.”

Me: “Are you having fun?”

Nora: “LUV YOU!”

Me: “I love you, too, baby.  Let me talk to Tess.”

The same conversation ensues with Tessa except there is a lot more button pushing and beeping in my ear.  They both conclude by screaming “BYE BYE!” and then actually kissing and hugging the phone. Each. 

I am the luckiest person in the world.

On April 11, 2007, we welcomed our new cousin Lincoln to our family.

He is such a cute little bug. Everyone is doing great. Cousin Vance is enjoying being a new big “bro” to baby Lincoln. So happy and sweet…

We got to go see baby Lincoln at the hospital. It brought back all sorts of wonderful memories for Mommy.

The girls talked about baby Lincoln all day. “Baby baby baby!” they would say. Then they’d cry like a baby does and laugh like a baby does and say “goo goo ga ga” like a baby does.

They sure do love babies. I can see why.

Nora and Tessa are 20 months old–going on two years.  Nora likes to announce this fact by constantly declaring, “Nora do it! Nora do it!”.  Needless to say, she likes to do things for herself.

Tessa likes to try things out, but she often, and without hesitation, asks for help.

As a mother who has about 1,000,001 things to do all the time, you may be able to imagine how time consuming it can be to allow your daughters to “do” everything themselves.  And, sometimes, how it is frustrating.  This roaring independance, which sometimes ends up on the floor kicking and screaming and crying, is frustrating for me because I want to encourage Nora and Tessa to be confident, able people.  I want them to learn and grow and explore their world.  I love that at the age of 20 months they can mostly put on their own shoes and coats!  I love their determination to “do it” all for themselves because it makes them capable, self-sufficent, curious, intelligent human beings.

But, we all get frustrated when “do it” doesn’t work out…when the frustration of being almost two-years-old has limitations that are beyond their understanding.

It is frustrating for them and it is frustrating for me.  And, so, I am trying to learn that it is the journey that I should embrace, not the end result.  Nora and Tessa live in the present, not the future.  It is the walk to the park…the dilly-dallying over every rock…the challenge of holding hands while crossing the street…the feel of dirt and concrete on our hands and knees, not the park itself, in which we learn about life. 

It is the washing of the hands, not the clean hands, in which we learn about what it feels like to get your whole shirt wet and how the floor becomes slippery when there is water all over.

So, I’m learning to pick my battles lately.  And I’m learning patience (although it’s really really tough sometimes).  And I’m trying to embrace the reality that in order for Nora and Tessa to become confident, happy and helpful people there are many life lessons to be learned, albeit within the boundaries of love and guidance from Mommy.  And we’ll try to pepper in a few “please” and “thank you’s” along the way…

Time is getting away from me.  Free time, that is.  We did have a fun Easter weekend, though.  The eggs were a hit, although they were sometimes difficult to manage.  (Tessa on the left, Nora on the right.)

 What to do…what to do…

When we tried to pick them up…

even more spilled out!

But we still had a good time.

With all the frills upon it… 

 The other evening my mom was over playing with us while Chad was at church.  After some time of playing dress up…

and trying on hats…

 and riding our horse (with more hats)…

We were ready for dinner.

We like to play some games during dinner.  Our favorite game is called, “Whose milk is that?” whereby we ask the girls, “Whose milk is that?” and they identify it as “Mommy’s milk” or “Daddy’s milk” or “Tessa’s milk” or “Nor Nor’s Milk”.  It’s fun and we go around and around the table.  Since Grammy was sitting with us that night, we were able to practice “Grammy” which is just starting to sounds like “Gra”, but we’re working on it.  They also like to tell each person when they are “all done! all done!”

We made up a variation of this game called, “Boy, is this milk delicious” whereby a person takes a swig of their milk and they follow it with a loud and refreshing “AHHHHHH!!!” sound.  Everyone got multiple turns.  As I noticed that the girls were not eating their carrots, I decided to take this game one step further.  So, I took a carrot off of Tessa’s plate and made a big deal rubbing my tummy and saying, “Mmm Mmm DELICIOUS!”.   Then I pointed at Grammy–her turn!  “Mmm Mmm DELICIOUS!” she said.  Then I pointed at Tessa, who is not adverse to vegetables but chooses normally not to eat so many of them, and she popped one in her mouth and smiled, rubbed her tummy and said, “mmm mmm”.  Not totally convincing, but she DID eat a carrot.  Then, it was Nora’s turn, who also enthusiastically popped a carrot into her mouth.

Her face dropped.  Half gagging on the disgustingness that is a carrot, she thrust the half chews bits back out of her mouth with her tongue as Grammy and I roared with laughter and shrieked, “Don’t laugh! Don’t laugh!”

That kid genuinely does not like carrots.

Oh well.  Sorry baby.

Yes.  We are still here.  This blog is still alive.  It has just been crazy. Too crazy.  And the thoughts and the memories slip away and things change before I can post them…So, let’s get back on track. 

The girls turned 18-months-old on Valentine’s Day.  I love that.  It just seems so fitting that the two people who have their arms wrapped tightly around my heart have a 1/2 birthday on V-Day.  They are so sweet.

Right around Valentine’s Day we had a LOT of people asking us how many words they say.  As if I have the time (or the thought) to sit down and COUNT their vocabulary.  So, I started counting and here’s what we came up with as of 18 months.  And, in full disclosure, the girls have always seemed to progress through milestones at the same time or within a week or so apart.  Variances are otherwise noted herein (god–do I sound like a lawyer or what?).

I divided their vocabulary into three categories: words they can actually say, signs that they can make and animal noises (or object sounds).  I’m sure I missed some, but here’s the bulk in no particular order:

WORDS THEY CAN SAY:

Toe (this is their favorite song thanks to Cassie and Mackenzie!), Snow (they scream with enthusiam as it falls and falls and falls out our window), No (no comment) , Yes (mostly nodding, but they do say it when prompted), Nora (Both girls can say “Nora”, although Tessa has it down to an art-form.  Tess says, “Nora” ALL THE TIME.  She clearly knows that it’s her sister’s name, but she also uses it arbitrarily in other contexts.  It’s odd.  Nora can also say her name, but she calls herself, “Nor Nor”.   I think that’s adorable…)

Tessa (Again, both girls can say this although sometimes it sounds like “Da Da”, so you have to pay attention.  For awhile it sounded like Tessa was calling herself “NoraTet-Ta”, but I think I figured it out.  It’s goes like this:

Me: Tessa, what’s her name? [pointing at Nora]

Tessa: Norrr-A.

Me: Good.  What’s YOUR name? [pointing at Tessa]

Tessa: NoraTeta.

Me: No, you’re Tessa.

Tessa: No-you’re-Teta.

Get it?  NoraTeta and No-you’re-Teta.  I thought she was confused that her name was Nora also so I kept correcting her telling her “no, you’re Tessa,” so she’d repeat me saying “No-you’re Tessa”.  Oh geez.)…Now she just says “Tet-Ta”.

Shoes (sounds like “chews”), Barbara, Da-da, Ma-ma (although it’s usually in triplicate “Ma Ma Ma”)…

Baby (OBSESSED WITH THE BABIES LATELY), Elmo (with variations of Mo and Melmo), Big Bird (although they can only say Elmo and Big Bird, the can identify every single Sesame Street character by pointing.  We have these old books that have all the old characters and they know and LOVE all of them), Down, More, Oranges (Tessa only once said this, and she totally over enunciated it–which was hilarious), Ball, Pa (for paci), Go (they repeat this a million times when Grammy comes over because they think they get to “go” somewhere with Grammy), Bye bye, Balloon (although it sounds more like “Baoon”), Cracker (with a “gra-crack-car” being a variation on graham cracker), Pa Pa (for Papi Jerry), Cheese (for the food and the smile)…

Go dog go (their all-time favorite book thanks to Alex and Jacob), Zebra (Tessa only), Nite nite (mostly Nora), Coat (with a silent “t” for coat),  Water (really, wa-wa)…

 Dora (Tessa says this clearly and distinctly from “Nora”, and I think Nora calls her more like “Doe”).

SOUNDS THEY CAN MAKE:

Cat (all time favorite animal), Dog, Duck, Cow, Sheep, Snake, Rooster (this one is hilarious “ca-ca-doogle-do”), Witch (they’ve got a cackle down), Horse…

Bear/tiger, Fish face (fishes make faces, not sounds, sillies!), Elephant (we got a hand gesture down for the nose on this, too)…

 Owl, Frog (we do a side-to-side tongue thing, not “ribbit” because that’s what our books says), Monkey (with arm-pit scratching effects), Cookie monster (we can put away cookies like that dude), Seal (arf! arf!), Car, Burr (cold), Airplane (with sign), Microwave (boop boop boop boop boop! as they play on their toy microwave in their toy kitchen–also a variation on elevator buttons–I desperately wish I had a picture of them playing with their microwave).

SIGNS WE CAN MAKE:

Milk, Eat, Cookie (we get a little sound with this, “cuk”, but not really a word), All done (we do say “ah dun” with this), Dirty (so cute), More (ok, we say this CLEARLY, but it is a prominent sign), Diaper, Bath (Nora says “Ba” with this), Bed (Nora now says “nite nite”), Hug, Baby (we can say this, but we furiously sign for it, too), Sick, Help, Airplane, Book, Cold, Car, Please (we can say “peas”), Thank you, Clap (for good job), Brushing teeth, Wipe-nose (we scrunch up our nose and blow)…

Share (I made this sign up because we need a sign for it).

So, it was a pretty good vocabulary of words/signs/sounds for 18 months… 

But since February 14th, we’ve really seen an explosion of annunciations of new words.  They can repeat a lot of words when asked.  New words that they’ve never said before.  More than I can list.  Some require prompting, some are spontaneous.  It’s incredible to see them on the verge of something new, something exciting, something liberating.  I was really pleased with the signs that they knew before they were verbal.  I remember seeing the relief in Tessa’s face when she signed “milk” the first time and I handed her the cup of milk.  It was this expression of “Oh, lady, you totally know what I want.  Eureka!”  The animal sounds starting coming along and I would just make their sounds into sentences.  Nora would “meow” and I’d say, “Do you see a kitty-cat?  Kitty-cats say ‘meow.’ ” And then the words started to flow.

It’s fun.  And I’m so proud of them.  The next ride is about to begin… 

I do not like this time of year,

I do not like it in my ear;

[Read: we are all sick sick sick with crud]

I do not like the cold and snow,

I do not like it cause it blow(s);

[Read: we cannot go outside because the windchill is minus 30 everyday and we’re getting cabin fever]

I do not like the cold and flu,

I do not like it in my shoe;

[Read: did I mention illness?]

I do not like no pictures to post;

Because I ate them with my toast.

[Read: Illness + Cabin fever = Bad Photo Ops and Bad Blogging.]

Although these two pictures (Tessa and Nora, respectively), make me very happy every time I look at them–even if they date back to November:

One of my favorite things about the one-year-old crowd is that you never know what it is that they are going to find fascinating.  You could be in a warehouse of toys and somehow, I believe, my children would gravitate toward the used plastic food containers with lids.

Behold, the CoolWhip Free containers:

I’m not going to lie.  We eat a lot of CoolWhip Free.  Actually, I think I eat most of it.  Of course, it is consumed in the name of providing my children with life lessons of opening and closing containers and putting certain objects inside and outside of said containers until the cows come home–so it is a sacrifice I feel is worth the extra poundage.  Add eight fat crayons to these glorious buckets-o-fun and you’ve got yourself near 30 minutes of unfettered creative play.

We open them; we close them.  We shake them; we carry them.  We take the crayons out; we put the crayons back in.  Of course, like all things around Walmer Street–there are a few rules.  The crayons do not leave the picnic table unless they are in a closed container.  You may walk around with them in the closed container, but once the container is opened you must return to the table.  The other day a crayon inadvertently rolled off the table and Tessa reeeeached for it while still trying to keep her bottom on the bench.   Tess = rule-follower.

We grab our crayons by the fistful and scribble like mad.  We are mostly into the “dotting” method of coloring whereby we slam the fistful of crayons into the paper to get the most dramatic granular, broken, and flickering effect - qualities not unlike those found in the impressionist works.

The picnic table has taken a few hits that are a necessary consequence of the “dramatic” arts that is our coloring, but we like to think of it as an extension of our art.

We’re serious about this, you know.  Verrrry serious, indeed.

I was at work today (I have been at work a lot lately) and this partner (who has two small kids of his own) says to me, “How old are your girls now?”

“17 months today,” I replied without hesitation.

“Wow,” he said.  ”I can’t believe you still keep track of that stuff.”

“Well,” I thought silently to myself, “they are my world.  How could I not…”

I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.  I’ve been overwhelmingly busy at work.  The holidays, and all of the parties and food and stuff, seem to be upon me before I realize it.  I have not had much time to write, and, therefore, it all just starts getting crammed in my head and I need it out.  I need a break, a vacation.  I try to rest, but I always seem to have something pulling at me.  And so this weekend I sat down to make a list.

The other day I came upon an old list.  A really old list.  A list of stuff to do, things to buy, stuff to clean and organize.  I love lists.  Chad–not so big on the lists, but he understands my need to list.  It is the genesis of organization for me.  If I have a list, I know what needs to get done and then I can cross stuff off my list when its done.  It feels good. 

Just after having the girls, I remember writing a friend, a fellow mother of twins about how hard everyday was.  Those first few months are tough.  The three hour patterns of feedings, diaper changes, crying, rocking and trying to get some rest before starting it all over again and again–it starts to take a toll and it’s hard to do much in between for yourself or the house, much less think about anything outside of the four walls of your home.  And so I mentioned to my friend how hard it was.  And she said, it’s not that the work is hard, so much as it is constant.  She was right.  It is the constant-ness that makes it so exhausting.  It’s the same stuff over and over and over again.  Every day. Every week.  Every month.   It’s the laundry, the food, the clean-up, the naps, the tears, the games, the challenges.  Winter brings its own set of obstacles with the snow, the icy roads, the cold and the feeling of the inability to escape the constant work that needs to get done.  And then for me to work full time–work hard–on top of all this.  It’s a lot. 

Then, the other night Chad and I went to see a movie.  A break from the kids, from the holidays, from the rush.  The previews forecasted a new movie called The Bucket List.  The idea is that these two old guys are late into their life and they make a list of the things they want to do before they kick the “bucket”, thus–the Bucket List.  Love this idea.  Chad and I haven’t really had the chance to travel in the past few years since we moved here from Chicago, got pregnant, took another bar exam, had to work, had two babies, am raising two babies…so I thought it’d be fun to make a list of the things we still want to do as the girls get older, as we get more comfortable with our resources.  I mentioned this to Chad on the way home and he said, “We can do that, but I’ve already done everything I want to do on my ‘list’.  I married you.  We had the girls.  I’m set.”

As I look into the long stretch of 2008, I start to think of the things that need to go on a list, things that go beyond the everyday chores that need to get done.  And I get overwhelmed.  Because I am tired.  And when I come across an old list, a list that has been completed long ago, I think of all the energy that went into completing the tasks on that list and how the things on that list don’t matter to me anymore.  And I look at my new list and think, does this stuff matter?  Do I care enough to devote the little energy I have on the couple of days that I have off from work to do these things amongst taking care of the girls, and the feedings and washing and cleaning and holiday stuff?  What I like about lists is the organization it gives me–the tasks are concrete and achievable, and the satisfaction of crossing it off.  But when my list is constant, bottomless, perpetual, the list does not serve its purpose for me.  And when I see an old, useless list, I begin to realize that I need to remove myself from these burdensome feelings.  I need to break free of the lists. 

I think about Chad’s “bucket list”.  About its blankness, it’s freeness.  The void of Chad’s list is the very satisfaction in itself.  It does not need to exist because it is complete.

So, as I think about 2008 I try to imagine the feeling completeness, of satisfaction, of a life without lists.  And I resolve to embrace that feeling.  To give thanks for what I have.  To take some satisfaction in winging it and letting some things go.  To relax.  To enjoy.  To give thanks for all of the help and good health that we have. 

And while I cannot let go of my lists, I can make them shorter; I can prioritize what needs to be on that list and what doesn’t matter–what won’t matter–so I can focus my energies on the things that matter the most right now.

Happy New Year.

This is Tessa, one year ago, on Christmas morning 2006:

And this is Nora:

And this is us now, Tessa and Nora, respectively:

I would not believe it if the pictures were not right in front of me.

Our bottles are a thing of the past. We can run, not just walk. We talk and sign and hold our own spoons. We kiss and laugh and smile and chase each other around and around. We are best friends.

We sing and dance. We shake rattles. We ask for more.

We play together and apart. We have our own preferences, our own tastes, our own individual personalities.

We love animals and books and music. We love to ride in our wagon. We can color with crayons. We can put our baby dolls to sleep and kiss them good-night.

We shout and scream and giggle. We pre-brief at the beginning of each day and post-brief before we fall asleep. We wear our hearts on our sleeves.

We are warm and friendly and inviting. We love other kids. We are very, very busy.

We share. We apologize. We are gentle.

Sometimes we have bad days, or we are sick or sad.

But mostly we are happy and we have fun.

And we are in love…

We can’t wait to see what 2008 brings.

The girls love Elmo.  I don’t know why.  They call him “Mo”.  They also call all other Sesame Street characters “Mo.”  I think we’ve watched Sesame Street only about 5 times in our entire lives, but we do have lots of Sesame Street books and we read those every day.

 Yesterday when we were playing on the slide we were practicing taking turns.  But when Tessa went down the slide, she wanted to come back up the slide while Nora was trying to go down.  We told her to “go around” and she would stand up and run “around” in a circle.  It was hilarious.

The baby dolls get more kisses and hugs than anyone else.  I am often jealous.

Books are often read simultaneously and are frequently read upside down.  It’s a skill.

Nora loves to try on clothes (see below) and mix and match shoes and socks, but this morning when Daddy went into the nursery to get the girls up, Nora had somehow managed to take off her shirt and was giggling uncontrollably.

Tessa loves to hide in the tunnel.  The girls touch hands through the tunnel and giggle and giggle and giggle, like there is some mysterious creature on the other side.

Every day is a new adventure.

Read two different books to two different babies…

on a Saturday morning.

Congratulations Layne and Greg!

This past weekend we were honored to attend the wedding our cousin Layne, and her very strapping husband, Greg Potter. 

This weekend was a “first” of many things for us.  Our first airplane ride, our first night away from home, our first three-day-pass to pacifier heaven…

We got to play with so many of our family members.  And, I have to say, the girls were marvelous. 

We got to see our great Granny again and we made quick work of all her magazines and breakables.  She was so gracious to allow us to spend some time with her in her cozy home.

We got to eat cookies, cookies, cookies!  Tess:

Nora:

Tessa wanting a bite of Nora’s cookie:

The wedding was beautiful for so many reasons.  It was beautiful in its own right–as two people share their love for each other with their community of family and friends–and it was beautiful in the thoughtful details and the labor of love that it took to piece each part of it together.  Layne and Callie, Joyce and Mike, were all so gracious to us and so patient with us.  And we appreciate it and give thanks to them.  It seemed like such a whirlwind of a trip to us.

But I did take one moment to look over at Layne and Callie at the reception.  And in the midst of all of the excitment, I caught a glimpse of the future.  As the two of them leaned into each other to tell a story, to make a comment, to whisper a secret—I saw my girls. 

There is a unique bond between twins that is so incredible I cannot find the words to describe it.  But I can see it. 

And, as we raised our sippy-cups to Layne and Greg in celebration of the wonderful life that they will live together…

I was also reminded of the life that my girls will share with each other and allow us to be a part of.  We should be so lucky and blessed to have such beautiful, wonderful girls as Callie and Layne…And for that, I raise my glass.

At my house, when I say “Cheese” this is what I get:

Nora:

Tessa and me:

And…the best family photo to date…

One year ago, this week, I went back to work after the girls were born. Oddly, I remember that week quiet vividly. In particular, I remember writing my dear friend– and fellow-mother-of-twins–Amanda an email message about the shock of being back at work. I searched for that email message this morning and re-read it. Here’s how it started:

November 15, 2006:

I tried to write you Monday but I started to get teary so I stopped.

Yesterday I was swamped (welcome back!)

This morning I thought of you, too. Here’s what I was thinking…

Have you ever seen that McDonald’s commercial where the lady in the minivan goes through the drive through window and orders some breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee. She looks over at the passenger seat and there is her 12-year-old kid and two more in the back. The tag line is something like, “It wasn’t until Pam took her first sip of McDonald’s delicious coffee that she realized that she had three kids and was late for soccer practice.” I guess the coffee is so good that it shakes you out of the mind-numbing stupor that is your life to make you realize that your really a mother of three with motherly duties. That’s me. Except I haven’t had the coffee yet.

On Saturday night, unlike the “Saturday-nights-before-Nora-and-Tessa”, I went to to grocery store after the girls went to bed because it was going to be the only time that weekend that I could get the grocery shopping done and Chad stayed home to listen for the girls and worked on his sermon for Sunday morning. As I turned down the coffee aisle at the store, I was reminded of the terrible batch of coffee sitting in my pantry, and so I opted for something new–a Seattle’s Best something-er-another…I don’t know what it was. Over-priced, for sure, but it was coffee, it was already ground and we needed some. Badly.

So, today, this morning, I’m driving to work in the morning dark with my regular large mug of coffee. And I get to about halfway to work and it hit me.

I am so thankful for this life.

I am so thankful for Nora and Tessa and for our families who have been able to share with us the greatest joys of our lives.

I am so thankful for the laughter and the squeals and the tickle-times and the songs and the singing and the games of tag and the ring-around-the-rosy and the meals and the milk and the books and the air and the parks and the wagon-rides and the words and the hugs and the kisses and the endless endless endless love.

One year later and finally I feel like I’ve had my coffee–that I am awake to the life and the love around me. And so I give thanks.

Here’s to another year of thanks…and to good coffee.

There are some neat toys out there.  I can see how parents get caught up in the excitement of toys for their kids.  It’s so exciting to see your own children so amazed and wrapped up in all the neat toys and games and STUFF that is available.  It’s so fun to watch the girls play and play and play.  They do some amazing stuff, too, by making up their own games, imitating us in the kitchen, and working all the flips, switches and buttons on the toys that are constantly scattered across our family room floor.

I would have to say, though, of all the toys we’ve bought for the girls, the toy that is the most fun–hands down–is the beach ball.

When the beach ball comes out…(Nora in blue, Tess in pink)

It is GAME ON, BABY!

SMACKDOWN!

We need to get some video on the intensity and hilarity of the beach ball chase.  The girls get a hold of the beach ball and they start bouncing off the walls and floor and EACH OTHER–just like balls in a pinball machine–and they laugh and laugh and laugh hysterically.  Apparently, the goal of the game is to do a total face smackdown into the ball and bounce right off the top.  There have been a few close calls, I have to admit, and the thought of padding the walls of the family room have come to mind…  But the beach ball chase is just so much fun (and such a great way to burn some energy) that we have to break it out every so often.  And it only cost $0.99.

Don’t touch my beach ball, baby…

On Sundays, I’m home alone with the girls from the moment they wake up until Daddy gets home from church around 1:00 or 1:30–if there’s no after-church meetings or anything.  About every other week I manage to get the girls up and ready to get to church around 10:30 for some fellowship and then to the nursery during service.  So, I feed the girls at least two meals by myself on Sundays–breakfast and lunch.  It’s no big deal.  Actually, it’s pretty easy and fun and the girls are pretty good about eating most things.  We’ve figured out what they like and don’t like and are always trying new things and just trying to take it slow.  Mealtimes are busy and it is sometimes exhausting to be fetching the milk, making the meals, warming the food, picking up everything that gets chucked to the ground, helping with spoons, making something else cause they’re still hungry and/or refused to eat what you just spent 20 minutes making, retrieving the sippy cups from the floor again, trying not to cry over spilled milk, brushing teeth after every meal, general entertainment during mealtime consisting of songs, dancing, disappearing acts, and pretending like Mommy actually gets to eat too during mealtime, etc., etc.

So, a couple of Sundays ago, we got through a good breakfast and the girls were asking for more! more! more!  So, I open the fridge and think–”Hey! How about some yummy yogurt!”  Oh…the girls were so excited.  So, I dished it up, handed them each a spoon and here’s what happened…

Tessa…

Nora…

Say Cheese, Tess!

Love you, Nora!

Tessa…

Nora…

It took me a long time to clean up.  We’re not usually this messy.  But the smiles were worth it.  We love yogurt–just not the clean-up.

Look who is a member of the “Clean Plate Club”: Miss Norita.

We love sausage and corn chowder, peaches and carrots.  Yum.

Taken with Chad’s camera phone because we could not pass up this photo op:

God that was good!  We laughed until we cried.

We love you!

Sometimes…when you only get a couple of hours of sleep…you entire world gets turned on its head.

Or, maybe we should just do some yoga and call it a Friday…

Working on less than three hours today…no apparent explanation.

Hello, everyone!  Tessa the Ladybug here…

Just gearing up for Halloween over here on Walmer Street…

Here’s Nori the Bumblebee…

Ahhhh!  Attack of the killer Nori-bees!

Don’t worry…I’m safe in Grammy’s arms…

We thought Trick o’ Treating was lots of fun.

We’re too tiny to get any candy, but it was fun to get out and see all the other kids and just walk around.

I love this video Chad shot with his camera phone.

I’m not good at embedding so I’ll attach the link as well:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUeKJYgsBQM

Here, the girls are home with Daddy and he turns on the music–their favorite song “Toes”. What I love the most about this video is not just the sweet dancing that’s going on but how the girls connect in different ways with the music.

Tessa (in green) goes to get the rattles to dance to the music which is demonstrating her connection of the rattles to the music. And she starts dancing and bopping around the room with her rattles. How appropriate to get out the rattles to shake to the music–which Tessa vigorously engages in.

Nora (in pink), however, goes to get the pink capes. The capes are actually just blankets that we put on the girls (like capes) and then we fly around the room and sing. The girls love to wear the capes. She first hands one to Tessa. Sharing. Helping. Engaging. Tessa, however, is busy with her rattles, but Nora insists that Tessa takes the cape, which she balances in her mouth for a short time before it falls to the ground again. Nora then takes her cape to Daddy so he can help her put it on her back. You can hear her say, “Dad” before the sharp “uuuuh!”–the insistence that Daddy is not moving fast enough to put the cape on her. Then you see her swaying and “flapping” along with the music. Once Nora has her cape situated (and Tessa’s cape falls off) you see Tessa decide that she too wants to wear a cape like Nora and begins to petition Daddy for his help. But the video has to be put down to accommodate the “cape maintenance” responsibilities of Daddy.

I’m not sure why Nora connects the capes with the singing and dancing, although we do sing and coo when we wear our capes. I think she is initially prompted to go over to the toys (and capes) when she sees Tessa go over there to grab the rattles. This is an example of the “herding” that I see with the girls. We call it “monkey see, monkey do” around the house. It reminds me of the part in Jurassic Park with the dinosaurs are running in the field and run as a pack, a herd, following each other wherever the leader is leading them.

Anyway, I think this video is fascinating. And not too bad for a camera phone.

They’re not babies anymore…it makes me both happy and sad.

Tessa has a SILLY hat(s)…

…a SiLLy hat(s)… (sing it, girl!)…

…a SIL-eeeeey hat(s)…

…now, Nora hAs a silLy HAt(s)…(and some mysterious water-substance or probably lunch…)

…on her HeAD!

It’s hard to do justice to our “silly hat” song on a blog.  But those are the lyrics.  The song mostly applies to our friend “Pez”–a dead tree down the street carved into the shape of a Pez dispenser that (who?) has various “silly hats” on its (his?) head depending on the season of the year.   This is “Halloween Pez”…

We love pez.

Nora is far…

Tessa is near…

We could spend hours in our tunnel.  We chase each other round and round and round in the tunnel.  Sometimes daddy sticks the tunnel on his head and it looks like he got eaten by a giant rainbow worm!  So funny. 

Ring around the rosie…

Pocket full of posies…

Ashes, Ashes…

We all fall DOWN!

Look at Nora (in blue) already doing the “again again again” sign. 

It’s so much fun to play.  After they fall down they say, “down, down, down”.  The girls will even hold each others’ hands and play.  And they sing, “ooo oooo oooooo”.  Very cute.

Thanks daddy and poppie for the game!  So fun.

Our life is too busy.

Last week I got a card for my 32nd birthday and in the card was one simple phrase: “Enjoy every moment.”  I don’t think she meant the very fleeting moments of my 32nd year of life.

So, I am reminded, to enjoy these moments:

Tessa says, “Chuz”.  For “shoes”.  When I get home from work, both girls run frantically to the drawer where we keep their shoes.  I don’t know what this means.  But I do know they love their shoes and urgently want to put on mismatched variations of shoes and socks.

Both girls say, “down”.  They don’t say “no” yet but “down” is more like, “Let me down, lady, I’m outta here.”

When asked what sound does a kitty cat make, Nora says, “Mmmm…ow”.  There’s no long “e” sound.  Just a long, closed mouth “mmm” followed by “ow”.  Nora loves kitty cats.

We have the “oo oo oo” sound down for monkey, and it easily translates in the the sound also made by owls and ghosts.

“Mum mum mum” still comes in triplicate.  “Da da” for dad.  “Pa pa” or “poppie” sometimes for poppie Jerry.

We can point to everything.  We can point to specific people when named, our ears, our eyes (ouch!), mouth, sometimes to the song “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” our feet, where our hats go…our head, and we can point to my personal favorite, our bellybuttons.  Very cute.  We’re trying for “elbow” but that’s difficult to reach.

We can play “Ring around the rosy.” And if we can’t find a partner to make a circle, we just turn around and around by ourselves.  Falling randomly to the ground.

We can dance and sing.

When we go downstairs (feet first, facing forward–’cause the girls refused to turn arond and go down on their bellys), we say “schooch, schooch, schooch, DOWN” and drop to the next step.  The girls imitate us saying, “chu chu chu, DOWN”.   Cute.  They are very good at the schooch.

Tessa says, “All done” for everything and consistently gives the sign for it. 

“All dun. All dun.”

The most reliable, and universally applicable, word we use is “ball.”  Everything is a ball–particularly during the season of pumpkins.  “Ball. Ball. Ball.” Everywhere we go.  There are balls. 

And giggles.  Lots of giggles.

Happy Happy Happy Birthday.

To Aunt Mergana and Mommy.

Sharing a birthday is great.  Just hang out and enjoy it!

Do you remember Alexander and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day?  It all started off when he went to bed with gum on his bedpost and woke up with gum in his hair!  I can relate to that lately.  Not literally, but figuratively as it has not been a good run of events for us as of late.

Chad got into a car accident a few weeks ago, and while he, thank god, walked away unscathed, the car was totalled.  Also, work has not been going well for me.  Enough said on that front because this is not the forum for such discussions, but suffice it to say that I feel like I’m at the bottom of my game this last month.  Teething is amongst us again with big gnarly fat molars invading the delicate gums of my very young, non-verbal, and consequently cranky children.  We also have many friends facing illnesses, worries, sadnesses and they have monumental struggles in front of them, in front of all of us.  Worry and concern grip me at my throat as thoughts of them wander in and out of my mind every day and night.  And, last night, we went into the basement to get some paper towels and I realized that the carpet was wet.  We spent last night moving things out of the basement and ripping up the wet carpet.  Sigh.  It has been a hard couple of weeks for us.  It seems unrelenting.  And I am exhausted.

And then something happened last night–a gift from an angel.

Grammy and Gana were over helping me get the girls ready for bed as Daddy was at a church meeting.  The girls had eaten their dinner, played played played, taken a bath and they were in their jammies winding down, getting ready for bed.  Grammy was in the rocking chair singing a lullaby and my head was resting on her knee as the girls were busily playing, reading books and gabbing gabbing away.  Then, out of nowhere, Tessa walked over to me, looked me square in the eye and said, “I love you”, paused, and planted a kiss on my lips.

If I didn’t have Grammy as a witness, I would not have believed it.  It was a GOOD KISS, too.  Not one of those open, curled lips, licking sort of kisses.  It was really good baby pecking kiss!  And nothing sounding like “I love you” has ever crossed Tessa or Nora’s lips.  Of course, there was no repeating that incident as we were instantly swept up into our books and blocks and the slide and the sippy cups and could not be bothered to say it again…

I love you.

It was at that instant in time, a moment out of nowhere, that I knew that I had been given a gift to empower me to turn around my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  As these days are too fleeting and do not repeat themselves.  I cannot turn back time, I can only face what is in front of us.  We walked away from that accident.  This job allows me to buy a new car.  Out of sickness there is hope and peace.  The teething is almost over (I think we’re up to 16/20 or so now).  And, I don’t know what to say about the carpet.

But I do know that Tessa and Nora amaze me.  They inspire me.  They bring me hope with each and every new day.  I love you, too, Tessa.  I love you, too, Nora.

We love fall.  My goodness it is so cool and brisk.  We love it.  We love it so much that we are already gearing up for Halloween.  Even though there’s no chance that we will get any candy, we are trying to decide on the best costume to wear for all of October. 

 Right now the “Caped Royals Crusaders” are the obvious choice.

First, we get our capes and our hats on.  Thanks for the help, Poppie.

Then we buzz around the room with electric excitement!  Cheese Tessa!

Nora strikes a pose.

 Also in the costume running…

“Sock hands”

But it’s hard to grab candy with socks on your hands!

Ann, we will be thinking of you tomorrow. 

 Here is our cheer for you:

Go Ann!  Go Ann! 

Kick some bottom dollars and feel better!

Rah! Rah! Rah, Ann!  We love you!  Feel better!!!

We’re pulling for you AW!

Our sweet rescue dog, Frankie, came to live with us in October of 2001. At the time, he had been abandon on the streets of Chicago, picked up by animal control and placed in a doggie rescue shelter. He had a host of ailments, including an ulcerated eye and chemical burns on his belly due to the chemicals used to clean the cages at animal control. When Chad and I were looking for a dog we wanted a mature dog, preferably house-broken, who would cuddle up on our laps when we’d watch movies or go on walks in the park.

The doggie rescue shelter hosted a showing of the dogs at a local PetSmart. We looked at several dogs that day and were about to leave when the owner of the rescue pointed out Frankie–a sad little (actually very large for his breed) pup shivering at the back of his cage. At first glance he didn’t have the character I was expecting in a dog for us. He was big and kind of weepy from his eye problems. His coat needed grooming and was flaky from the chemical burns. We took him out of the cage and walked around with him. It was so interested in his surroundings and was sniffing everything in the store–paying very little attention to who was on the other end of the leash. After a few minutes I scooped him up and sat on the floor to get a closer look. Poor Frankie was so exhausted that he fell asleep in my arms almost instantly and started to snore. From that moment on we were hooked. Frankie “chose” us, as the rescue owner had put it.

Frankie was our first baby. He was a terrific, laid back dog–rarely barking and never biting. He loved anyone who would take the opportunity to give him a scratch behind the ears and he loved to have his hips rub–he’d do this funny little “butt scratch” dance when you found the right spot. His big puppy-dog eyes would melt your heart and we was so cuddly and fuzzy that we called him our “love sponge” because he would just soak you in.

Frankie, however, has more than his share of ailments. Everything from ruptured disks in his neck to Thrombocytopenia–this dog has had more lives than a cat. He was hardly house-broken and would often pee (or worse) in the kitchen or other parts of the house. The surgeries, medicines and vet visits have costs us thousands of dollars over the years we had Frankie, but given our resources it seemed hard, almost cruel, to ever deny him the medical treatment that he needed. Besides, only once did we truly take “heroic” measures to save him–and at the time we didn’t blink. He was our baby. I would do it again.

This past year Frankie entered the “geriatric” stage in his life.  It was sad to see Frankie’s rapid descent in our lives. He seemed okay with the babies, but you could sense his depression.  His health seemed to take a turn for the worse this past winter, starting with a skin infection that has spread to all parts of his body, including his sensitive eyes.  His liver was failing him and his body just wasn’t keeping up.  When the girls where about eight months old, Tessa reached out to touch Frankie and he snapped at her.  We were all there when it happened and we knew instantly that we couldn’t manage two babies with an unstable dog.  We found a wonderful new home for Frankie with our loving vet’s parents who have cared for Frankie for the past few months.  This week we got a call from our vet that Frank’s quality of life has taken a turn for the worse. He skin condition has returned and his liver is failing.  It is time.  So, yesterday we said good-bye to Frankie one last time.  It was not easy but it was time.

Frankie was our first baby. For years he gave us unconditional love–I think in gratitude for rescuing him from his old life. We gave Frank a good life and in return he has given us many moments of love and joy and laughter.

Frankie, we pray that your “trip to the rainbow bridge” is a peaceful one where you can run around and eat all the snausages your heart desires.  Say “hi” to Mookie for us.

Hope you have a great weekend…

We’re gonna go to the park!

Aunt Morgana got us these rockin’ fun balloons to play with for our birthday.  We loved them so much.  They helped mommy get some really good pictures.

 Rock on, Tess!

Such a sweetheart.

This is called the “Nora Squint”.  She makes this face a lot.  We don’t know where she got it but she’s being doing it for a long time.

This is the other Nora face, called the “Baby Nora Grimace”.  Again, don’t know where she gets these expressions–could it be from their overly theatrical mother?  Nah. 

Tessa is singing a lot these days…It’s like a owl call, “hoo hoo hoo”.

Here we got an “ah ah ah”.

Nora likes to sing too.  She’s also into the owl call.

Have I ever mentioned that the girls have very very blue eyes.  Wow.

See ya later alligator!