Swings Built for 2

Today was a long day. Alex woke up at 4 AM, and he just couldn’t quite get back to sleep. Every 10-15 minutes he’d fuss, and at 5:30, he finally woke up his brother. Then, all three of us were awake until their 6:30 AM “wake-up” time. They did take a decent morning nap (around an hour and a half), and Mom got to catch some Zzzz’s too.

Alex and Papa having fun

Dom and Alex really enjoyed getting to chat with their dad over the Internet this morning. He had them smiling, laughing, and babbling when he would talk to them and make faces. They would also track him as he moved from side to side on the screen. I know the boys especially miss their daddy in the mornings and at bedtime, but he’ll be home tomorrow!

Dom snuggles with Papa.

The boys continue to enjoy the time with their Papa, and they are still working on crawling (the Twin-Daddy will be glad they didn’t suddenly master that while he was away). Alex has been very excited about sitting up on his own, and he has a lounging pose that he can reliably get into. This afternoon when I put the boys down for their nap, I peeked in on them after a little bit to find Dom sound asleep and Alex happily sitting up in his crib and waving his arms! I (of course) had to go get Papa to see him and snap a shot before resettling him in his crib for his nap.

Alex: Nap? I've got to practice sitting!

Alex: Oops!

Papa had a surprise for the boys today too. We had one swing for the boys that I had been hoping Papa would help us put up, and Papa brought home some supplies to do so along with a second swing. He got everything put together (a process involving saws, drills, hooks, etc.), and Dom and Alex got to try out their very own swings in the backyard. I’ll let the photos tell you what they thought of their new swings.

Alex: Yea!

Dom: Thanks, Papa!

Papa (my dad) arrived yesterday to visit for a couple weeks and help while Puck is away for a few days. Alex and Dom have been completely fascinated by him – his deep voice, his new games and his funny expressions. The boys have also enjoyed having more undivided attention during the day, and Mom has been thrilled to have the extra help and the time with her dad.

Alex loves his papa!

Dom and Papa have some fun!

Yesterday we fed the boys sweet potatoes again, but for some reason Dom decided that he absolutely, positively did not want to eat them (even though he had really liked them the past two times), so today we did rice cereal again. Dom ate a whole 3 tablespoons! Alex’s was a little runnier than his brother’s, and he was pushing at least half of every mouthful back out with his tongue. Still, he ate a good bit of his lunch. Kaitlynn and Alexis, a couple kids from the neighborhood, stopped by and helped feed the boys lunch. Kaitlynn often stops by to love on the boys, and they love her visits.

After their nap, Kaitlynn stopped by again, and we all strolled to the park. Dom and Alex got to meet a cute bulldog puppy named Dough Boy, and they had a lot of fun swinging and watching the sidewalk on the way home. This evening they played on some of their musical toys, got a little fussy as the day grew long, and babbled sweetly to me while I nursed them. After a good bellyful of milk, they like to take little breaks to smile at me, touch my face, and talk softly. It melts my heart every time.

Dom

Alex

Swinging

Wednesday afternoon I took the boys to the park for a little sunshine and time on the swings:

Alex

Dom

Alex

Dom

Sweet Potatoes

Dominic and Alexander tried sweet potatoes for the first time yesterday after Dad got home from work. Dom warmed up to them pretty quickly and was a regular little baby bird begging for more. Alex was less won over by the sweet potatoes.

Dom likes his first bite.

Tonight, our neighborhood friend Kaitlynn stopped by to visit, and she helped feed the boys sweet potatoes. Both Dom and Alex seemed to enjoy them today, and they ate even more than yesterday. Dom was very anxious for every bite and grunted at me whenever I fed Alex until Kaitlynn took over feeding Alex. Dom continues to do better at eating, though Alex is getting better at not pushing his food right back out.

Alex decides sweet potatoes are yummy.

24 Hours on My Own

This morning the boys and I drove the Twin-Daddy to the airport, and he and Eric flew off to Canada to teach fencing. They’ll be back on Monday. I have the twins to myself until tomorrow afternoon when my dad is arriving for a couple of weeks.

What was our day like? The boys fell asleep on the way home from the airport, so when we got home and I put them in their cribs, they couldn’t get back to sleep. They played quietly in their cribs for half an hour. I changed a number of diapers, including one out-of-diaper experience, and we all played together. The mid-morning nap went better – 2 hours of sleep for Dom and Mom and 3 hours for Alex. While Alex slept, Dom and I played together. Later in the afternoon we went shopping in Michael’s, and the boys flirted with the other customers. Dom fell asleep on the way home, and I let him finish his third nap in the car seat in the house while Alex and I played together. Then, Alex and I got their sweet potato dinner ready. After dinner, we all played some more and listened to Sesame Street songs. The boys had a few surprises for me:

Surprises

Alex sat up all on his own! I saw him starting to get his feet under him and turn his body, and I was able to grab the camera in time to catch a few shots of his very first time sitting up by himself. He repeated his feat a couple more times in the hour before bedtime. Dom has been practicing getting his feet under him too, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was sitting soon too.

Alex: Hey! Look at me!

Dom: Wow! This is fun!

Dom: I'll be sitting in no time!

Virtual Dad

Puck called tonight and got to see the boys sleeping, and later he got to see them after I nursed them at 10 PM. It was nice to chat with him. We miss him, and we are looking forward to having him home.

Sleep: Our beautiful, sweet lads are starting to go to sleep at night with very little to no fussing. We are still working on napping, but they are starting to go to sleep easier. Now, they need to take naps longer than 40-45 minutes. Some days that goes better than others.

Food: Dom and Alex seem to really enjoy their high chair adventures in tastes and textures, and the sippy cups are a big hit – though I’m not sure how much they’re actually drinking! Yesterday they had fun sitting in their chairs to watch and listen as I made their avocado and told them what I was doing. Tonight we’ll be introducing them to sweet potato.

Connection: Both boys love getting kisses all over and zuberts on their bellies. Often, they will smile, chat and laugh at each other too. Of course, they also pull on each other, grab each other’s ears, or push each other with their feet – in a good-humored way so far. I love their hugs, kisses, babbling and smiles. Alex especially likes to give hugs and kisses right now when you hold him. When Dad gets home, the boys smile and kick their feet in excitement, and he’s so good about making them laugh and smile.

Growing: They have almost grown out of their 3-6 month clothing, and we’ll soon be transitioning from Stage 2 to Stage 3 diapers.

An Excursion: Last night we took the boys to Barnes & Noble for a little bit after Dad got home from work. They had a wonderful time looking at the books and people, and they smiled and laughed the whole time. They were so adorable when we got home too that it made me want to not put them to bed but to just hold and cuddle them and soak up all those darling smiles. However, after putting them to bed, I have mornings to look forward to, and they are so cheerful and adventurous in the mornings!

Alex: Hey, Mom! This looks like fun!

Dom: I got the red one off! Oops!

Alex: So many colors to choose from!

Dom: Green is pretty tasty!

Today was absolutely gorgeous and sunny (77 degrees), so the boys and I walked to the Fort Natomas park where Dom and Alex played on the swings. A two-year-old girl named Savanna came over to ask questions about the boys and to help push them in the swings. She was very sweet.

This afternoon Dom and Alex tried a new and slightly thicker food – avocado (mashed and mixed with breastmilk). Dom really loved the avocado and was determined to help Mom give him each spoonful. Alex tended to taste the avocado and then push most of it right back out of his mouth.

In the photos, Alex is in green and Dom in blue. Click on the photos below to see a larger or more complete photo: