First Steps

Today Alex took his first solo steps! He took 2 steps all on his own in an effort to get from Mom to the Playzone wall. After plopping down, he stood back up, tried again and took another 2 steps. Wow! It was wonderful to have both the Twin-Daddy and me there for this first! While we’re not in any hurry for the boys to start walking, it’s still very exciting to see them learning new skills.

While Dom didn’t solo-walk today, he did push some of his toys around and walk with them as he pushed them.

Peek-a-boo!

While playing peek-a-boo using a blanket this afternoon, Dom helped Mommy by pulling the blanket off her head a couple times (a first!). Then, he used the blanket to play peek-a-boo. Go, Dom!

Reading

Grandma Myrtle asked what the boys have been reading lately. Our boys already love their books. Of course, right now they love to chew on them whenever they get the chance, but seriously, they really seem to enjoy story time. Plus, they think books are worth crawling for. We typically read at least 7 books a day, sometimes more – with three or more before each nap and “Goodnight, Moon” followed by 3 songs before bedtime.

Right now, I end the pre-nap reading sessions with the same books and rotate the other books. The final book for our morning nap is “Caterpillar Spring, Butterfly Summer.” The boys light up when we read it, and they have huge smiles at the end when they try to grab the butterfly that pops out. Our final afternoon nap book is “Friends for Calico” with accompanying dog, cat and duck sounds courtesy of their mom. We often read “Big and Little” (our boys usually smile at the twin boys on the last page) and “Peek-a-who?” (our boys especially like peek-a-choo-choo and the mirror for peek-a-you). Plus, we read our Winnie-the-Pooh board books, our books with various animals, and on days when the boys aren’t too tired, we sometimes read longer books like “The Mitten” or “Corduroy.” On a weekend, I’ll see if we can get some video of the boys during story time.

On Easter Sunday while the Twin-Daddy was watching them, our Mr. Grabby (Alex) managed to reach the bookshelves and pull a number of children’s books down. He then found one he wanted to look at. It just happened to be “Good Morning, Chick!” – an Easter story – and one of the books Grandma Myrtle would read to the boys when they were just tiny little monkeys.

We’ll have more Easter photos of the boys to share tomorrow, but for now:

Dom (left) & Alex

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This past week was marked by sleep-filled nights with a couple of full nights of sleep for the whole family plus others with minimal interruptions. However, such good fortune could not hold out indefinitely. Thursday night was a game of musical cribs (Alex was very congested, and Dom had a tooth coming in), and I had to wake the Twin-Daddy several times to help me switch out a sleeping baby for a crying one without waking the sleeper. Still, when morning finally came, our boys were cheerful and smiling, and Mom got lots of time with her babies snuggled up on her.

Brushing Teeth

I’ve started working on brushing the boys’ teeth. I typically brush my teeth in front of them. Then, I use their soft-bristled toothbrushes to brush their cute little teeth. Next, I turn them loose to explore the sensation of brushing their own teeth, tongues, lips, gums, etc. So far it has been fun for all.

Food

This week Dom and Alex loved pears (right up there with peas and carrots), and they decided yogurt mixed with other yummy food was acceptable. They’ve been working on their Cheerio-eating skills as well. Before almost every meal we give them a few Cheerios spread out on their tray so they can practice picking them up and feeding themselves. Last night, they really enjoyed munching on some Cheerios:

Mr. Gabby and an Evening on the Town

After my long night with the boys, the Twin-Daddy offered to take the boys out after getting home from work if I wanted some peace and quiet (or a nap), but I opted for a family excursion. When he got home, I had already fed the boys their dinner and packed the diaper bag with bottles of haffle (half apple juice, half water) and a little tub of Cheerios. We headed out and wandered around together with a son strapped to each of our chests (What will we do when they outgrow their Baby Bjorns?).

As usual, our little fellas got lots of attention. We met a double twin-daddy. Yes, that’s right – two sets of twins (9 and 5 years old), and we ran into one of the NICU moms who we had gotten to know while our boys were there. Before heading off to Target, we were starting to feel a bit peckish and decided to stop at the nearby Starbucks for a treat. However, that Starbucks is right next to our favorite Indian restaurant. Yes, you guessed it. We never made it to the Starbucks.

We indulged ourselves with a delicious Indian buffet – ah, it had been too long since we last feasted on curries, chai and mango ice cream. Since we hadn’t intended to dine out, we were somewhat unprepared, but we just took turns eating and entertaining Dom and Alex. Our boys were in a good mood even though it was soon past their bedtime. They are so good to us. Dom was soon babbling happily away, and he broke out one of the big syllables, “da” as in “dadadada.” Ah, I have a feeling our little Mr. Gabby (Dom) will be using “Dada” in context in no time. Mr. Grabby (Alex) also lived up to his name – making a grab for everything within reach on the table and taking advantage of a moment of distraction to make a break for the bowl of cheerios.

It was a delightful and rejuvenating family outing. My heart has been full of love and joy today – treasuring every moment with our sons and my wonderful husband. I love:

• crawling around on the floor of our bedroom playing peek-a-boo with our boys,
• attacking them with tickle spiders (their anticipation at the approach is the best part),
• watching their joy at all their daddy’s antics,
• listening to their laughter and conversations,
• being pinned to the floor by a baby puppy pile,
• seeing their faces light up when we read their favorite books,
• observing them as they explore their world – new spaces, new toys, new ideas,
• snuggling with our boys – each hug, zubert and smile is a precious gift

One of the greatest joys of raising twins is the sound of their shared laughter. Our little guys were delighted with each other during lunch today. We thought we would share the joy.

Our little guys just keep growing and surprising us. Dom continues to babble away, and “Mamamamama” has definitely become his vocalization of choice when he wants Mama/food (an easily blurred line at this point). The boys have been playing a lot with their toy “house” – opening and shutting the door, crawling through it, and checking out all the parts that move. They just recently learned to open the mailbox to get whatever is hidden inside, and this weekend Alex also started lifting the window up and down and turning the light switch on and off.

Yesterday we all had a lot of fun going into our bedroom with the boys and letting them crawl around. The Twin-Daddy played peek-a-boo with the boys by peeking around the side of the bed, and they gleefully crawled toward him, and after they got close, they “ran away” in the other direction – delighted when he chased them down. Dom checked out the dresser handles and managed to pull one of the drawers open just the tiniest bit. Our little guys love the hinges on the door, and if you aren’t watching they’ll start chewing on them. They are two little cuties.

A little laughter to share:

Pears!

The boys tried fresh pear sauce yesterday for the first time, and it was an instant hit. Dom ate it as quickly as he does peas, and Alex didn’t even make a yucky-face when he first tried them. We’ll give pears another go today.

Peek-a-boo

For some time now, we’ve been playing peek-a-boo with both boys at once using a blanket to cover them up and then pull off. Dom and Alex have really enjoyed it, and occasionally one or the other will squeal, kick and wave his arms in delight – pulling the blanket off in the process. Yesterday, Alex initiated his own game of peek-a-boo for the very first time:

The boys are calling, so off I go….