It Began with a BBFT

Figured I'd give an update on the girls latest adventures since this blog is really for posterity's sake, not to entertain the masses.

The twins have reached a new stage that so far is my favorite. They are real little people with their own personalities and quirks. They are learning about their world by leaps and bounds. I'm pretty versed in developmental milestones, but to see it in action is another thing. Both of the girls are learning new words every day, but Grace at this point is the word champion. She loves to just point at everything and exclaim it's title  "Bocce!"  "Shoes!" "Diaper!" "Pee-Pee" (to clarify: as in peeing, not referring to a body part. that one is funny because if she hears anyone going to bathroom she immediately stops what she is doing and runs to the bathroom door yelling pee-pee). She's excited about everything she can put a word with. Lydia is working on her words too, but she is more of a quiet thinker. I don't think she feels the need to prove herself :). She loves doing puzzles which Grace doesn't have as much patience for and she can figure out most of our childproofing gadgets.

They are interacting more with eachother which is a double edged sword. I have to go into their room at naptime some days multiple times to remind them it is 'nite nite time' and put all of the objects back into their cribs that they have chucked out. If Grace wakes up early she starts yelling over to Lydia's crib "Lydia, Lydia, Lydia" until Lydia wakes up. So great.

Quick blurb on Ryan's second father's day with some pics to go with it. The twins decided that we should start the day extra early and woke up in the 6 range which is rare so we hit a local popular playground before it got busy with starbucks in hand. As the morning unfolded, we made our way to Northstar Cafe for breakfast which is a weekend tradition for us anyhow, but Ryan got his own order of cloud nine pancakes (we are usually splitters to justify NS on a weekly basis) which I highly recommend to anyone in the Columbus area. The girls both had their "I heart my Dad" T's on which was adorable. Back home for a nap and then off to Cosi together (the museum, not the restaurant) for the first time and promptly became members.  in the evening we just relaxed at home together with a meal at home. What did we get him for a gift?  A plant. Not just any plant. A fancy tropical plant. Still sounds lame, I know but you have to understand Ryan's love of all plants, especially tropical and my aversion to lots of plants cluttering the house. It was an act of love from his girls (but not  unselfish love because I strongly suggested he take it to work and put it on his nice big desk!).

The girls wanted me to be sure to thank their dad for all of the things he's done for them this past year, such as: lots of baths and bedtime prep while mom is at work, throwing us up in the air dangerously high, making forts, feeding us costco pizza, showing us videos of animals on u-tube, coming into pick us up when we're crying at night even when mom says not to, changing our stinky diapers, singing silly songs, coming up with funny names for us (grizwald, professor click and snort, etc), taking us to work to see mom, taking us to the library and the park, and lots of other things!

Ryan went to San Francisco for a conference for a few days. So, naturally I high tailed it out of there to my parent's house since a zone defense against the girls is not pleasant for an entire week.  My mom's house is a place that has always been a mecca for kids. It has a big yard, lots of toys and a neverending supply of tasty treats (especially mom's homemade bread). The best part of the week was that their cousins were there too. At times it was chaotic (I am a little too neurotic about order and organization, I'll admit) but the girls (including bocce) had a great time playing in the yard, fighting over toys and stuffing their faces with 'mom's bread'.

**Warning, for those of you who know me well this rant is not new and you may want to skip it--it's just my way of processing as I like to tell Ryan**

I had about a 6 month streak going without anyone asking "are you pregnant?" and today it was broken--at the gym--when I was in my sleekest workout gear and heading to my spinning class. It was nice while it lasted I guess. So this is more of a ranting post and an educational post for those of you who are doing the asking. When the girls were first born it was pretty understandable that people might've thought I was pregnant--it's tough to bounce back from that I'll be honest. At the beginning I'd smile and tell them that I have newborn twins at home which would help to squelch some of their embarrassment and just the general awkwardness of the situation.  However, as the twins got older and older it got harder and harder to smile and work through the awkwardness. Usually it goes like this--I see the person's eyes bouncing down to my midriff and then they get a little twinkle in their eyes and they lean forward and say with supreme confidence "are you pregnant?" As soon as I say "no I have twins" that is when the embarrassing pauses and hems/haws start, then they eventually collect themselves and try to smooth things over by saying "oh, you had twins--but you look so good for having twins! (too late for compliments now buddy!). I am not necessarily a woman of low self esteem but this really started to get old. I tried telling myself that it's a compliment--that if they just thought I was fat then they wouldn't be asking anything at all, so clearly they have deduced that--no this woman is not fat so that bump in her middle must represent a baby.

Here's the education part . . . this is very important . . . DON'T ASK THAT QUESTION TO ANYONE!  unless there is a foot coming out or the person appears to be in labor and might need your assistance--DO NOT ASK IT. The outcome is just not good for everyone involved.  Here's a visual lesson with pics.

In this case you can ask. Clearly pregnant and the hospital gown should give you an extra boost of confidence.




Not appropriate to ask. Abdominal flaws does not = pregnant.



Most  women look forward to having another child so that they can again cuddle a sweet little newborn, but I when we decide to start jump back into this pregnancy thing again I will be so excited to say, 'why yes, I am pregnant'--and I'll get rid of any constricting underthings (even with those I get asked) and just let it all hang out even if it's minutes after the test turned positive.

And here's why it's all worth it in the end and if I did not have a shallow or vain component to my nature (which I definitely do) I'd say that I wouldn't change any of it, but 5 minutes after I eek out that last kid you better believe I'm going to be on the phone with the best plastic surgeon in town making my appointment!

I never watch sports but when the olympics are on I find myself trying to watch every minute I can. I can't get enough. I don't know if it is all of the human interest stories, the endless bits of trivia or the just the possibility of a good old fashioned crash that draws me in.  I think for me the Olympics also serve as little benchmarks every 2 years by which to mark my life by. When the Olympics roll around I often find myself thinking of what I was doing during the last winter Olympics (still suffering through medical school) or the last summer Olympics (enjoying my reign as the largest pregnant women in Columbus). I like to think ahead to what life might be like at the next opening ceremonies (2 nearly 4 year olds--I think I'll be lucky to get to watch it).  I remember during one of the Olympic ceremonies making my college roommates write down what they thought their life would be life the next time they sat down to watch the opening ceremonies in 4 years. They humored me and I promised we would read them in 4 years.  I don't remember what I did with those papers, but I bet they would be funny to read now. Even just the names of the athletes conjure up images of what my life was like at the time: Nancy Kerrigan, Dan Jansen,  Dave and Dan, Tanya Harding, Greg Luganis, of course Michael Phelps, etc.

So what will I remember about the 2010 Olympic games and what life is like now for our family?

-The tragedy of the Georgian luger (is that a word?) that the world watched again and again on utube

*The twins perfecting their cute little waddling walk

-Tearing up as I watched Joannie Rochette break down after her short program

*Lydia and Grace's new favorite pastime is pretending anything is a cell phone. 

-Numerous crashes on the ski slopes--and watching the girls just walk away after each one. ( I tried to encourage my urgent care patients to be so tough about their minor injuries but it didn't work)

*Ryan recording the Olympics for me and staying up late with me so I could after my urgent care shifts. 

-Apollo Ohno and his short track drama again.

*An exciting day for our family in the winter involves costco, target or the play area at the mall.

-Kim Yu Na's record breaking skating--I think Scott Hamilton is secretly in love with her.
 
-The palpable girl tension between Julia Mancuso and Lindsay Vonn

-Shawn white and his insane tricks.

There are many more but those are a few of the highlights.


I think Ryan is secretly happy it is all over so the obsession can subside until summer of 2012 but I'm already counting down the days until I can go through the ritual all over again. I can tell my 3 year old twins what life was like for them at the last summer Olympics :)

And of course some pics to capture some recent Battles family moments.