It Began with a BBFT

This year was like their first halloween. Last year they were 6 weeks old and we stuffed them into peapod costumes (see below) but they of course didn't get any candy. This year we had a choice of several handed down costumes: a black cat, a monkey, a rooster or tinkerbell. Since it wouldn't be fair to put one in pretty little tinkerbell and another in an animal costume (that has therapy written all over it) we decided to go with the animal theme for both. We went with some of their cousins (Charlie, Bailey and Hudson) in Chagrin Falls.  The girls aren't quite walking independently yet but they were able to go down a couple of walks with our assistance. They learned quickly about grabbing goodies from the big bowls or buckets.  I felt weird carrying my infant/toddler up to people's doors and holding out a bag for candy so we didn't do a ton of houses, but it was fun. They'll be much better at it next year.  Bailey is 1 year older than the girls so she gives us a good idea of what it might be like next year--Bailey wanted to eat every piece of candy right on the spot. She didn't quite get the put it in the bag for later idea :)

The first birthday party for Lydia and Grace has come and gone. Kind of a let down now, like the day after Christmas :). It was so much fun. We had so many wonderful friends and family that attended. It felt like a mini version of our wedding day. On days like that I am floored by the love and generosity of the people we are surrounded  by.  The weather was perfect and Lydia only had a mini melt down in her highchair. Grace thoroughly enjoyed the cake while Lydia exercised a bit more caution. Today they had their one year doctor's appt and shots (they are both in the 18 pound range and doing well per their doctor and it's o.k that Lydia is slow to love solid food) so it's a big, big let down compared to the fun of Saturday :).

P.S. Lydia got her first tooth today too which we noticed right after I told the doctor that she is ' the toothless wonder'

Today is the girls actual birthday. How could I not blog on this important day? They are fast asleep in their cribs, Grace with her blanket and Lydia with her stuffed sneech (another story) hopefully having sweet dreams about their very first birthday. We started it off at Northstar, our favorite breakfast place that we've been taking them since they were a couple of weeks old. It was the only way we could get out in the beginning so it holds real memories for us. They had their first taste of their famous cloud nine pancakes and of course the obligatory sweet potato hash. Then hope for a nap (you can't totally abandon routine even on a birthday). After the nap Lydia woke up with a fever and was super duper fussy. I tried to look in her ears, but they were too waxy so I dragged her to the doctor and held her down while the doctor (the non-mom doctor ) cleaned out her ears and checked her out. Her first sick visit. Just wanted to be sure so her eardrum didn't rupture with pus during her upcoming party:). Usually I let them fester with their fever until they are truly lethargic and so far we haven't gotten to that point. Anyhow, next we went to the pool and splashed around which is really more work than it's worth right now (swim diapers can be hard to get off) but we wanted to do something out of the ordinary for their b-day. By then it was bedtime so we grabbed a pizza on the way home (their favorite food so far) and put them to bed. It was a monumental day for all of us. Feels weird to be on the other side--to be the mom now and to try to make them feel loved and special on their birthday in whatever way possible. Looking forward to many many many more birthday with my daughters.

This stuff is old news but still had cute pics to show so I'm sharing anyhow. A couple months ago they started pulling to stand. One of the pics shows them both standing in their cribs and it was the first time they both pulled to stand. . .that we witnessed anyhow. I heard laughing in their room towards the end of their nap, walked in and there they were just standing and laughing at each other. Grace loves to fling clothes (folded or unfoded) from laundry baskets, drawers, etc. They are crawling everywhere. We have a playroom that is essentially baby proofed that we put them in when we're feeling lazy but when we 'let them loose' there's so much exploring to do (wires, lamps, dog bowls, remotes) around our little house. I'm sure when they are older they'll ask me, "mom, which one of us crawled first" so just for the record here's the milestone tally so far:
first to roll over: lydia
first to pull to stand: lydia
first tooth: grace
first to babble: grace
first to wave: grace
first to crawl: lydia
first to pull to stand:lydia
First to walk:???, they are taking their time :)

Pics to to bottom:
twins first pull to stand
Mas giving Lydia her bottle
Grace and her Laundry

I'm trying to wind down from a busy shift so why not blog a little? Most of the time I love being home with the girls when I'm not working. The other day though I had a trying afternoon with one thing after another. it was all going well at first. the twins were sleeping the dogs were happily playing outside and I just sat down to get some studying done before I had to leave for work. Bocce came trotting over for some affection and she stunk like garbage or dead animal. It was terrible! She and widget had been wrestling so Widget was stinky too. First i sniffed around the backyard and couldn't find what she got into. So the studying came to a grinding halt and instead I had to bathe both of the dogs. I tried the hose, but bocce pretty much had a seizure (she barked at the hose for 10 minutes later that day) so I had to do it inside. Then the twins started to cry so I had to see what was up with them. Naptime was apparently over so I went to change Grace and realized she had had a blowout that soaked through 2 layers. I got Grace cleaned up and of course, Lydia was stinky too but she managed to keep it in her diaper. Ryan came home at the tail end of this , found the culprit of the smell and was holding it up for me to see--a fly trap that has putrid liquid in it to attract them and it had dripped onto bocce.

Baths aren't as frequent as they should be in our house (for the babies mostly) but when they do happen it's a lot of fun. Here's how we have to do it with two potential drownees:
1. Struggle to undress twin 1 and put in dry tub with toys
2. Struggle to undress twin 2 and add to dry tub with twin 1 and toys
3. Rinse pee out of tub from twin 1 while she was waiting for twin 2
4. Turn on water
5. Watch twin 1 and twin 2 climb over eachother to get to the faucet
6. Enjoy the surprised-blink-gasp-blink face that comes from putting their face under the faucet
7. Make twin 1 sit back down.
8. Pull twin 2 off of twin 1
9. lather, dump water over twin 1 and twin 2 to rinse. enjoy surprised-blink-gasp-blink face again
10. Drain tub
11. Remove twin 1, towel dry and diaper/dress
12. Go back for twin 2 (from dry tub), towel dry and diaper/dress
13. Put twin 1 and 2 down for a nap
14. Pour cup of coffee and blog about it.