A little prayer

My wonderful husband has been trying to find time to run outside of time he can spend with the babies. So, tonight he went running after we put the Wonder Twins to bed.

It was 7:30 when he began. Dusk was fast on his heels. He saw a snake in the middle of the path. He ran right past it's head, thinking it was dead. As he passed he saw it move... it was a Copperhead. He was lucky not to get bit. He says he is too fast for snakes. God... PLEASE let him be right!!!!!

Initiation into the world of CDs

So, I received the box of mixed diapers to try out on Friday night. After washing them I decided to try them out right away. I chose Zane as the guinnea pig based on the fact that his poops are fewer and farther between the Bree's. He passed the day with a nice fluffy cloth diapered butt. He didn't seem to notice the difference.

At 6:45 Brett went to change him and get him ready for bed. He opened the wrap to find poo EVERYWHERE! I felt bad. So, I took over. It was so bad that with one arm behind his back and one grasping his ankles I rushed him to the tub for a full hosing.

Of course, Bree didn't poop all day... Oh well... it had to happen sometime! lol

A new leaf

We took the babies to see the in-laws today. It was a nice visit. However, the part I enjoyed the most was the trip to and back. With Brett's busy schedule... and all our focus on the babies, we don't get a whole lot of time to talk. So today, we spent the entire 2 1/2 hours each way doing just that.

Our main topic of conversation was our health and that of our children. I had read yesterday that the main vegetable of something like 64% of children under 2 was french fries. WHAT???!!!!! FRENCH FRIES????!!!!! Can that even be considered a vegetable? I believe it also said that over 50% of children under 2 watch at least an hour of TV a day. Is it any wonder to look around and see so many obese adults and CHILDREN?

I don't know about you, but all of this floored us! So, we decided really take a look at what we are doing for our own children. We decided to make a few changes...

1. Change from disposables to cloth (Yes, I am a twin mom headed for cloth! I will talk more about why this is so much better for the babies... and our pocket books later).
2. Make our own baby food (Again... better for babies and money)
3. Get rid of our large cable package (including DVR, which I will VERY MUCH miss!)
4. Get a YMCA membership

So, we turn a new leaf... I have already ordered a sample package of diapers. Zane passed the day with a fluffy cloth diapered bottom. Which leads to an interesting story... to be posted tomorrow.

Sharing skills

Yes, the trip went well. I will try to post about that later... For now I wanted to comment on the Wonder Twin's 4 month check up.

Both are right on schedule. Zane can help pull himself to standing. Bree can roll over. Both are growing well... both are learning to self soothe by sticking their hands in their mouth... Zane a few finger... Bree the WHOLE fist! Bree is 12 pounds... Zane is 13.2. Zane is now 24 1/2 inches (Oh NO!... our car seats only go up to 27.5!). Bree is 22 3/4. They got their shots and are now snoozing away.

When we were waiting I laid them down, facing each other. I am always giving them chances to see each other. Generally, Zane likes to watch Bree. He smiles and coos at her. He sometimes giggles if she burps or hiccups. Bree sometimes glances at him, but generally looks around at other things she finds more interesting.


Today he was making some noises at her. So, she reached out and stuck her hand in his mouth. He sucked for awhile... then she pulled it out.


He decided he should also share his and stuck his right in her mouth. It was the cutest thing!





It is so nice that they are already working on their sharing skills... and I LOVE that they are thinking about others already! lol :)

Adventure

Today the twins and I will venture on our first trip minus Daddy. We are only going about 2-3 hours... but, the thought of not being able to stop to run into the restroom without two babies... or any other stop without a hassle is a little unnerving. I am use to running around town by myself. I guess I can alway stop at a Wally world or someplace big where I could roll the stroller in easily.

Why are we going? Every year my husband and about 40 other BOYS take an extended weekend golf trip. It is always the 3rd weekend in July. They have been doing this for about 16 years. 6 years ago I came into my now husband's life. Lo and Behold... my birthday is on July 20th... which generally falls on that very weekend.

I guess I'm just a kid. I want that day to be MY day! I want to be pampered and loved... not left for a few days. SO... if I stayed at home I would be sad to be home, alone, taking care of babies.

So, now I am going to stay with a very good friend of ours. I am excited because this is the first time she will meet the babies. I am also excited to see her son who is now 6! I haven't seen him since last year... during this same weekend. Both of our husbands are on the trip... So, we have hung out the last 3 years.

Yes, I guess I'm a little bitter. I try not to be... but, a girl gets to be a little selfish every once in awhile.

I do give Brett credit though... he does try to make things extra special before and after his trip. For example, last Saturday I spent the day at a spa getting a pedi and a massage. Then, today I got to sleep until 7:10 (huge since he woke with Bree at 5:30).

Plus, I know that trips like this are important. As much as we love each other, it is healthy to get out and do things with your friends. Sometimes guys just need to get away with the guys... where they can drink, scratch, swear, gamble... and whatever else guys need to get out of the system.

So, we girls will have a little weekend with our beautiful children... and the guys will have a weekend with the big boys. Good luck to us all! lol

Twin Love

I can't get enough of this picture. It shows how much they love each other... and they know that their mommy is SO in LOVE with them too!

My Happy Boy!

Zane has become Mr. Smiley! He loves to smile at people. I can't help but feel a wave of happiness when I see him.

Bree learns to roll over

I decided to try to get some more pictures of the twins today. Bree was first. I laid her on her tummy and she rolled right over. She repeated the trick again and again. She is such a big girl!!!

Mommy=Zombie

Due to help from a book, we finally got the babies to sleep most of the night. Bree was still waking around 4-5 for a feeding, but that was doable. Since she has such bad reflux, I figured she must be starving! Zane was sleeping until about 6:30. This has been the way things were for the last month or so...

THEN, all of a sudden Zane started waking up... not once, but 3-5 times a night! He doesn't really cry... he just does this whiny noise. It started because he had moved himself to the side of the crib so his head was against the slats. (He is tightly swaddled, so this movement looks quite funny... like a big worm!) This has been going on the last 3 nights! I have been trying to soothe him and get him back to sleep. I don't want to feed him, because he has been going without feedings in the middle of the night. I don't want him to develop a bad habit of thinking night is for eating instead of sleeping.

Two nights ago the child did this for 2-3 hours straight. I think Brett and I got about 4 hours of sleep. I felt like I was going to fall over all day! But, one look at the little guy gives rewards of huge smiles... So, you can't be mad at him. Anyway, I finally unswaddled one hand. He sucked on his fingers and went back to sleep.

Last night, he still woke 3-4 times (notice I can't recall specifics as I was too tired to think!). After the first waking I unswaddled his hand... he sucked on it, whined a little and went back to sleep. A couple of times he woke, and acted like he not only didn't want his hand, but didn't seem to know what it was. However, the waking times were shorter than nights before.

Around 3 he woke again. Brett was getting up at 4 to get ready to go riding. I went in to reassure him a couple of times... and eventually he went back to sleep.

THEN, the little bugger slept until after 9!!!!! Of course I was up for a good while with Bree... and I really needed him to wake to nurse... oh well... I guess he will be a bit of a stubborn one... lol.

Ya just Gotta Love 'Em!

My FUNNY Girl!

Just chillin'

These babies are definitely ready for some time outside!

Brighten your day

Here are some fairly recent pictures of the Wonder Twins. They now smile and coo regularly.

Zane has giggled a few times when I blow bubbles on his belly.


Bree sticks out her tongue, mimicking her Daddy, when Brett sticks out his.


They are so much fun!

My race report

I can't believe a week has already passed!

So, Brett started feeling icky the night before our flight to Idaho. We hoped it was just something passing. The next morning we got up at 3, packed the Wonder Twins up, and headed to the airport. It was crazy how much stuff we took! Amazingly, I did good and really only packed the essentials (despite the fact that it took 5 check in bags and 2 carry ons)! We flew to Chicago, Salt Lake City, then Spokane. It was a long day. The twins did really well! They even got little certificates for their first time flying.

The next couple of days were preparation time for Brett. The twins and I did a lot of driving around and hanging out at the hotel. I enjoyed exploring the mountains... and the babies enjoyed sleeping. It was funny because I saw many firework stands out in the middle of nowhere and a coffee stand on every corner in town! I kept the babies on East Coast time. So, we woke at 5 and they went to bed at 4:30. This made the days fly by.

We wanted to give Daddy all the time he needed to prepare and rest up. It seemed like each day he started out feeling a bit better, but felt even worse as the afternoon approached. One morning I even went out at 2 a.m. to get Zycam, vitamin C, Cold FX, and Zinc. I just wanted him to get better before the race!

I told him I would understand if he backed out. It is a lot to expect a person to do an Iron Man with 3 month old twins... plus being sick! However, he was absolutely determined to do it. I tried to keep the twins and myself out of his way and give him the time to focus. I also packed some motivational pictures and notes from the twins and I in his race bags.


The morning of the race we all got up. It was so cold out! I had to put all the long sleeve clothes I had brought for the twins on. Then the twins and I put on the "Wonder Twins Power" shirts we had all gotten for father's day. Brett headed out with some other triathlon friends. I fed the kids and we headed out to try to meet up with Brett before he swam out.

It was so packed we parked over a mile away. I'm sure some people thought I must be crazy... I was sprinting down the sidewalk pushing the twins in the big double stoller... I was also wearing the only pants that somewhat fit that happen to be maternity (they are a big). Unfortunately, the elastic band doesn't make them stay up when jogging. So, I was hiking my pants up every once in awhile.

Anyway, we got there in time to see Brett. He came up to give us all a hug and kiss and get good luck wishes. I got all teary eyed thinking about how proud I was of him... he has come such a long way and has accomplished so much!

So, he headed off to join the other couple of thousand people ready to get in the water. The lake was so choppy they announced that people could do a duoathlon instead. I think this has never happened before.

The horn went off and everyone jumped in the water. It was crazy seeing all of those people jump in and start swimming. I can't imagine how tough that was... especially with the rough water!

We waited at the bike mount to see Brett, but never did. We did see one of his good training friends, Nasrin. In fact, she is one who qualified for Kona in this race! We also met a nice local native, Don. He took a picture of us and posted it on his blog.

The twins eventually got tired of waiting. They both started crying. So, we went to a less busy area to feed them. You can't imagine the surprised looks I got sitting at a picnic table breast feeding one baby and bottle feeding another!

After they ate we headed back to the hotel. I was starving. So, I decided to stop at Mc D's. Though it was after 1 for me, it was just after 10 in Coeur D'Alene. So, I had to wait until after 10:30 for lunch type food. Luckily, the race was just about to pass on the block nearby. So, the twins and I hung out on the corner for a couple of hours (I did go back and grab a burger in the middle). There we met a nice man named Allen who was watching for his wife. We saw a few friends and BRETT!!!! I was so happy to see him and cheer him on!

Once he had passed we went back to the hotel. We went about our normal routine... I washed some bottles... played with babies... etc. At 4:30 I got them ready for bed and put them in their car seats to sleep. I kept track of the race on the computer throughout the evening. In addition, there were some friends on site calling me with updates. I added about a 4-4:30 marathon time to his bike finish. I figured that would get us there before he crossed the finish line. Around 6:00 we headed out to go to the finish line.

We were able to park much closer, but had a difficult time getting to the actual finish chute. There were so many people! Both babies immediately woke up. Bree just laid there and looked around. Zane cried until I held him in the sling(he is such a momma's boy!). Amongst the thousands of spectators I actually ran into Allen again. He insisted on finding a space where I could be noticed by Brett and able to see him when he passed. I am ever so grateful for this.

Around 7:54 I saw Brett coming down the chute. He looked good, but tired. I had Zane strapped on tight... and Bree in the stroller. We jumped out into the street and met Brett. He pushed the stroller and we ran down to the finish line... the WHOLE family crossed together. It was amazing!

I will never forget that moment. I was so very proud of my husband. I couldn't stop smiling. He now holds a title that so very few have. I am now not only "Mommy to the Wonder Twins"... but also "Wife to an Iron Man"!