Our Last Week

This post was written Friday before we moved...but I never ended up having enough time to post it! But I wanted to make sure it got posted to remember our final week in MA!

This blog was started when we moved to MA - to help our friends and family far away (because we knew no one here when we moved) feel connected and to keep people up to date. With that in mind I want to make sure (in all the last minute chaos of packing and cleaning) that I fully chronicle our last week here. I apologize for the long post...and the lack of pictures (I can't remember the last time I took so few pictures in a week...). But, in the theme of reminiscing, I have a lot of links to old posts :)

Saturday

We started the day with our family pancake breakfast - making pancakes without eggs & using soy milk for the first time. They were delicious! Now that my mom was here, Lucas and I hoped to really get a lot accomplished since this would be the only full day we would all be there before moving day. Unfortunately, I had to take the twins to get their 1 year blood draw. What I thought would be a quick trip turned into a couple hour ordeal as they had to have 2 people to do a pediatric blood draw, and we had to wait for another person to come.

Entertaining the babies in the hospital lobby while we waited...

On top of that, they weren't able to find Allie's vein so I was going to have to come back with her. This slightly traumatic event ate a huge chunk of my day and killed my productivity. However, I was lucky enough to end the day with pampering and chocolate in the form of an evening with the Kims. Oddly enough, 2 of my dearest friends in MA (who also attend our church) happen to share my name...and at one point we all lived in the same town! It was great to enjoy one more fun night with them before we leave MA. I will miss these dear friends.

Sunday

Sunday was hard because this was our last service at Westgate. I almost didn't want to go...maybe if I didn't actually say goodbye it wouldn't feel like we were leaving. But I did. We cried. The church gave us a very sweet send off (with cake, gifts, kind words, and even a song!). It was hard to say goodbye to so many people we love, and so many people that I felt I wanted to know more, but never got the time. Our church family has stepped in as our family here when we needed support, and we will miss the dear friends we have made.

Monday

I had to take Allie back to the hospital in the morning. I was prepared. I called ahead and got the hours for the lab so I could be the first patient in (to get it over with quickly). Unfortunately, they still couldn't find Allie's vein, so they sent me to another lab upstairs (that didn't open for another hour!) I did manage to get Allie to nap while we waited - which was crucial because we again ran into the problem of them needing another person to do a pediatric blood draw, and we had to wait another hour after the lab opened! Allie was an angel (all the people in the waiting room commented), which made it even more difficult when it took several more attempts before they finally got the blood they needed. In the end, Allie wasn't the only one with a tear-stained face. Thank goodness it was finally over!

Tuesday

Lucas and I drove to New Hampshire to sign the papers for the closing of the house! They worked it out for us to do the closing through the mail so that Lucas' parents could get in the house & clean before we got there (are we spoiled or what?!).

Wednesday

We managed to squeeze in one final play date with our neighbor and her little guy Nacho. He is 21 months, and the twins adore him. The twins have mimicked things he has done at past visits for days after he was here. This visit Ryan watched everything he did and then followed behind and did it too (like hugging the giant penguin). We will miss this sweet friendship, and I will miss the friendship of his mommy!

In the evening we got a wonderful surprise in the form of a last-minute visit from Seth & Cari! We thought that we had already said goodbye, but they decided to pop in one more time and bring us Papa Johns pizza! We enjoyed a couple of hours with them, and getting to squeeze in some quality time with friends who have basically been family since we moved here (they moved into our building at GCTS, a few doors down, 1 week after we did).

Thursday

Thursday we managed to squeeze in one last visit with one of our favorite NICU nurses. It was great to see her and show her how big our babies have grown! Unfortunately, we didn't have our GPS (we had forgotten it was in Lucas' car), and we had the adventure of trying to find our way back home completely blind (in an area with many one-way streets). It took us twice as long as we should have, but we made it! It seemed to be a fitting goodbye to driving in New England - getting lost one last time! And, the sellers signed the papers for the closing, so the house officially became ours!!!

The babies play with the pots & pans that are waiting to be packed...

Friday
Friday we had hoped to see our dear friends from seminary one last time. These were our neighbors at seminary, and we've stayed close over the last 5 years - vacationing with them annually, visiting them as often as possible, and they even housed Lucas when I got stuck in the hospital (while visiting them) in New York... We so hoped to see them one last time, but a giant snowstorm kept them from coming. So, instead we are packing...and cleaning...and packing...and cleaning! It will probably be a late night.


Tomorrow, Saturday, is moving day (provided the snow doesn't keep us here). A crew of friends are coming to help us load up the truck in the morning - and we're hoping to have the house loaded and cleaned early enough in the day that we can take off and chip away a few hours of the trip.


We are a mix of many emotions - excitement, sadness, exhaustion. The hardest part for me is leaving all of the baby memories - their first nursery, the people who helped when we first brought them home, the floors I walked to get them to sleep in the middle of the night, the yard we played (or more accurately sat) in during the summer, the neighborhood we walked (including the cemetery I used to walk them in when I couldn't get them to sleep - day and night), the park where they tried the swings for the first time... I'm a very sentimental person, and it is hard for me to leave the home of all these memories.

I ♥ faces: Hands on Fun!

I love I heart faces. I was introduced to this blog through my friend's blog (which is now no in use - big tear and huge pout), and I've become addicted. All my life I've wanted to be a photographer, to have that eye that catches the beautiful images and angles that always exist but are easily overlooked. I don't have that eye naturally, but I've been trying to learn and develop it.

I have always wanted to enter one of their weekly contest, but never have because I KNOW nothing I have would come close to the other photographers. BUT, I thought a long time ago that if they had a week that featured pictures of the hands, I would enter. Because I LOVE this photo.


Not because it is particularly fantastic (although I think my Little Man's little hand is adorable), but because of the moment it caught. The babies were just learning that the spaces in between the slats of their cribs and play yards were open and that things could be put through. On this particular day I looked over just in time to see little fingers peek out, and then a hand emerge, and then see him wiggle his fingers and twist his hand as he explored this open space. He was in awe, and I was happy that I had my camera nearby!

Head on over to I heart faces to see more (and more incredible) photos of hands!

Wrapping Up

This past week we've been doing a lot of "last things"... for example:

Sunday we left the babies with our friends Seth & Cari for an evening of delicious food, dancing, and celebration with friends from church. It was a wonderful evening, but it ended sadly as many of the people we spent the night with we were seeing for the last time before we leave (including Seth & Cari). There does not exist any sort of computer emoticon to show how sad that made me.

Monday we said goodbye to their old carseats...the ones in which we brought them home from the hospital. Ryan had just crossed over the weight limit (22 lbs.), and they both had pretty much grown out of them. They are very much enjoying their "big kid" car seats, and are much more comfortable (not that you can tell by the look on Allie's face...)! We also had a play date with a friend from seminary and her daughter. We went to Jordans. It was great to take the babies there again...unfortunatley we hadn't realized that our camera batter was dead so we have no pictures. It was great to see my friend (I hadn't seen her since I was in the hospital), but a bummer that it was to say goodbye.

Thursday Lucas and I left the babies with our dear friends from church so we could have a date night to see "Avatar" (2 date nights in one week!!!) The babies had a fabulous time with Bruce & Karen (I know this because they had so much fun they refused to sleep! Ryan was awake and ready to play when we get home...silly man). Lucas and I enjoyed an dinner at one of our favorite resaturants, watching the movie at Jordan's Imax (they have "butt kickers" which means your seats rumble with load noises in the movie - and Avatar was full of loud noises!). Although, I was a little sad as I walked out of Jordan's for the last time. We've enjoyed a LOT of good times at that place...and furnished half our home!

Friday we had the twins' last pediatrician appointment here in MA. I have to say that I LOVE our Pediatrician. He was a random find as I was laying in a hospital bed trying to figure out how to find a pediatrician before the babies were born, but he is a treasure. I tried talking him (and everyone in the office because they are all fabulous) into moving to MI, but had no success. The twins got a clean bill of health and we got a picture before we left (unfortunately, it was after their shots, so they weren't super smiley). My mom also came out to help as we pack up. The babies were thrilled to see Gigi (Ryan giggled every time he looked at her for the first few hours - we think he was so excited to see her outside of the "box" - a.k.a. the computer!). We had a fun-filled afternoon of playing before she helped me put them to bed...and then helped me clean up...and pack...before she went to bed (she had been up since 3 am)!

While many things this week have made me sad - very, very sad - there have been a few things that have made me very happy. One is the adorable things the babies have been doing this week (which you've seen in picture and video the last few days). They have always seemed to sense when I was sad about something and they always pull out the charm to cheer me up. They are so sweet. Another is the pre-move purge. I LOVE cleaning things out, giving (and throwing) things away, and feeling like we're moving a little lighter. When we moved here we didn't have a lot of time, and so we didn't purge as much as I would have liked...and since the twins we really have collected clutter. It feels so good to be getting rid of things! The thing that made me the most happy (drumroll please...) getting rid of our plants! I'm TERRIBLE with plants, and these were passed down to me from a friend who was moving. They came with about 4 other smaller plants (which went to plant heaven a long time ago), and somehow, despite a LOT of neglect, managed to keep surviving. In fact, we thought one plant was dead and then new shoots started coming up! Amazing! I posted them free on craigslist and immediately got dozens of responses. It is such a relief to get rid of them and know they are going someplace where they will actually be appreciated (and cared for...).

We are down to our last full week, which I know will be full of even more "lasts" and "goodbyes." I will say that babies help distract from the full impact of the impending move, but I worry that by not fully feeling the pre-move sadness now might make it more difficult when we actually pull away (I may find out if it is humanly possible to cry all the way to Michigan!).

Back & Forth

After a l-o-n-g day where babies wouldn't nap and wouldn't play (instead they would cry and cling to me...and then fight with each other because they wanted me to themselves)...I had just about had it. I fed them, gave them tylenol (thinking it might be teething?), and set them down to play while I watched from the couch (with a little chocolate). And they turned on the charm - doing things so cute that I not only had to catch it on video, I ended up on the floor playing with them until bedtime.

Note: We didn't have the software on the laptop to download videos from our video camera, so I've been using the laptop to take videos. We finally have the software on the laptop, and now I can't find our video camera! Soon, I will have both the software and the camera and will be able to put better quality videos on the blog. Bear with me until then...

Allie crawled across the stone hearth and loved it. Whether it was that the feel was different than what she was used to, or she loved the sound of her hands slapping against the stone, I don't know. But she went back and forth for about 15 minutes (Ryan got in on the action - sometimes following her and sometimes sitting in her way).



Both babies have started walking with their Walk 'N' Ride toy. Allie refuses to do this on command, but Ryan is more than willing to show off his new skill (which is why we have the video of him)! The only problem is that he hasn't figured out how to turn...so he goes as far as he can one way, and cries when he gets stuck. Then I turn him around and he repeats the performance. Below are several clips strung together so you can get the picture :)

Individual Tastes

They share a mother, a father, a birthdate, a bedroom...but they have VERY different tastes. For example, today at lunch:

Ryan ate all of his toast and left the plums...

...while Allie ate all of her plums and left the toast.

They did both eventually end up eating everything on their tray (which doesn't normally happen...).

We are also having a snow day and the twins enjoyed looking at the falling snow.

And tasting the window...

Isn't it delightful to see the world through fresh eyes? Everything (even cold windows) is so exciting!

P.S. I took these pictures with my phone so the quality isn't stellar...

Silly Beans

When the babies do something funny or silly I call them "silly beans." I don't know why...it just popped out one day and stuck. Anyways, lately the babies have been doing a lot of silly things:

They have been lifting up the corners of the rugs and looking underneath. I thought they just enjoyed having power to manipulate the floor. Then I noticed one day that they were both trying to lift up the rug and then reach underneath (to get something?) before it fell. A new game? I looked under the rug and discovered a flat toy underneath. Then I kept looking and discovered that there were a LOT of these toys under the rug! I'm not exactly sure why, but they seem to be stashing them there, and then going back later to try to get them!

Speaking of stashing toys...they also seem to be stashing toys underneath our couch and ottoman. I'll look over and see them lying flot on their stomach, reaching underneath to try to get a favorite toy out. They are surprisingly good at getting whatever is under there as well. I feel like I have a couple of squirrels around here!

There are a few items (not exactly toys...bowls, lids, etc.) that the babies love to play with and are not good about sharing. I try to always keep these items in duplicate in order to avoid the inevitable arguing. Lately I've noticed that when they both have them, they enjoy clinking them together. Sometimes it looks like a sword fight (with plastic bowls...), sometimes it looks like they are sharing a toast (To fun!). Sometimes Ryan is the only one who wants to sword fight/toast and Allie gets annoyed that he keeps hitting his toy against the thing she is chewing on.

They are back to sleeping in the same room, and after we lay them down at night, they stand in their cribs, facing each other, and talk and giggle before falling asleep. How do I know they are standing and facing each other? One night I discovered my cell phone had fallen out of my pocket and was in their room with the ringer on (oh, horror!). I popped back in to get it and there they were. They got really silent, watched me get my phone, waitied a safe amount of time after I left, and started talking again...apparently I was not allowed to hear what they were saying!

They are getting so helpful:

Allie helps daddy put the groceries away.

Ryan helps edit the blog.

Allergy Updates

So, I decided that it was time to try dairy again with Ryan (in hopes that I would have definitive evidence whether or not he did have an allergy). We gave them yogurt for breakfast, and within a few minutes Lucas noticed that Allie had a small rash on her cheek.

We were not convinced that it was related to the yogurt, so he kept feeding her. A little later the rash had spread to most of her cheek. So we stopped the yogurt and gave her Benadryl. Thankfully the rash was gone after about an hour...

Bummer.

On the BRIGHT side...one of Lucas' friends from college started Easy as Pie Recipes - a website where you put in your food allergies and find recipes that work! She is currently in the test kitchen preparing recipes, but you can find those at her blog. Plus, you can e-mail her, so I already have some great recipes ideas from her - including pancakes that don't use eggs or milk! I'm so excited!!!

Allergy Adventures

On Wednesday, Lucas and I decided to try another meal that we could all have as a family - scrambled eggs and toast. Now, the babies have had toast a million times, but not eggs. We had been given the go ahead from the pediatrician for eggs 2 months ago, but knowing that they are a highly allergenic food, and knowing that Ryan tends to be sensitive, I was afraid to try. However, Ryan has never officially been allergic to anything, and he had eaten a few things with eggs in them (with no obvious side effects), so I figured I needed to stop being so over-protective and try them already.

Very quickly I noticed that he started developing little, splotchy marks around his mouth. Unfortunately, my little vacuum cleaner had already devoured almost all of his eggs (he loved them, so there were only crumbs left...). Fortunately, I had some children's Benadryl on hand. Not knowing what would be a proper dosage, I gave him half of the amount I would give of tylenol. I kept an eye on him for the next 45 minutes - nothing seemed to have changed at all - and then put him down for his nap.

Around the usual time, the twins got up from their naps. Allie was up first, so I was a little distracted trying to corral her when I went in to get Ryan. I brought them to the kitchen, set them up playing on the floor, and got the bottles warming up. I had just put the bottles in the hot water, and turned to play with the babies when I noticed that Ryan had red, splotchy marks on his head (praising God for his lack of hair so I could see them!). He's had these before, but I had always assumed they were from getting worked up while he played. The odd thing was that he had been just sitting there - no chance to get worked up. What was going on? I got down closer, and about had a heart attack. He was covered, head to toe, in hives!

I immediately called the pediatrician (he was in with a patient, but they would have him call me as soon as he was done). Then I called Lucas (who was in the shower). Then I took pictures (not for the blog...I had read somewhere that if your child has a reaction to a food you should take pictures so that, even if the pediatrician doesn't feel the need to see you that day, you can show them the reaction at a future visit to confirm whether or not it was allergy related...I just decided later to use the pictures for the blog...). The pediatrician called me back and said that Ryan was most definitely allergic to eggs, and to avoid them and all foods with them from now on. He said there was a chance he could grow out of the allergy, and we could try eggs in the future, but that would be a discussion for a later date. And then he told me how much Benadryl I could give Ryan. Turns out I had given him 1/8 of an actual dosage - enough to slow the process down for the 45 minutes that he was awake, but not enough to stop the full blown allergic reaction. I gave him the rest of the amount of the recommended dosage and within 30 minutes his hives were almost completely gone!

You may be wondering, like I was, why he didn't have such a strong reaction to foods that contained eggs. Remember how I mentioned that he had gotten splotchy before? As I began to think back, the recent days that I noticed some splotchiness were the days that he had eaten foods that contained eggs. I think he was having a mild reaction, but it wasn't enough to trigger in my mind what was really happening (because I always noticed it after he was fussing, or had been rapidly crawling laps around the room, and had assumed it was because he was worked up and flushed).

We have survived our first allergy adventure...hopefully there will not be more in the future!

11 Months

Where has the time gone? I cannot believe that they are only a month away from their first birthday...and only a month away from being toddlers. Where did my little babies go?

For the record, here are some of the things they are currently doing/they currently love:

They are cruising. They can get around the room pretty quickly holding onto things. And lately they've been trying out letting go. They actually do better when they let go without realizing. The problem is that once they notice they are no longer holding onto anything they usually fall down...They are also both waving (I love it!). They make it obvious that they know general routines, and they listen to commands (when they want to...). There are already some things they know they cannot touch or places they cannot go (and there are some of those that they cannot resist...). They are trying to climb...on everything. I have caught Allie once successfully on top of an overturned laundry basket (intended to be a barrier) and grabbed her by the leg just before she dove off the other side. Ah, they keep mama busy!

Allie LOVES to eat: anything with blueberries, avacados, kiwi, squash. She usually is a very dainty, slow eater, but when she has any of these foods she shoves them in their mouth in record time. Unfortunately, I think she might be sensitive to the citrus in kiwi as it seems to cause a rash on her hands and mouth :(

Ryan is not a fan of: avacados or kiwi. In general, he is my little vacuum cleaner - he'll eat pretty much anything and do it in record time. But these two things he tends to squish around and drop on the floor...the good news is that he now eats chicken without any complaints! The bad news...he seems to be my food allergy baby (more on that later...)

Ryan LOVES "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" If he happens to see the book (on the couch, in the toy box, or under the ottoman), he refuses to do anything else until you read it to him. He grunts the entire time you read it. And he generally throws a fit when it's done unless you let him look through the pages again...and again...and again. He could look through the book endlessly I think. We've been having talks about how even things we enjoy have to end sometime...

Allie LOVES "Rainbow Rob's Touch & Feel." While the title sounds a little sketchy, the book is actually pretty fantastic. The rhyming is catchy (and I should know because I've read it enough times that I have it memorized), it has a nice contrast of black & white with bold colors, and it has a good message (being who you are created to be is cool). Mostly, Allie just likes to turn the pages & feel the textures though.

I LOVE that they love books! I also love that they have great taste in the books they have picked as favorites!

Both babies LOVE daddy. Allie has started to race toward the door when she hears his key in the lock. She'll stand at the gate and wait for him to come in. Then the two babies fuss and pull on each other, vying to be the first he picks up, while he takes off his coat and shoes. It is the sweetest thing.

I can't decide if I'm disappointed that the countdown to the move is slightly overshadowing the countdown to their first birthday (because it's taking away my focus), or if I'm thankful (because it takes my mind off the fact that my babies are growing up)...

Filling in the Gaps

As you may be able to tell, we are all healthy in our house once again (Knock on wood...). We are also getting more sleep (praise God!). For the past few days things have truly felt "normal" once again. You may wonder, if I have been healthy and well-rested, where are all the blog posts? The answer is: we were too busy!

Once we felt better, we hit the ground running! So many days cooped up and sick gave us all cabin fever, and as soon as I felt we were all well enough, we began to venture out (side note: once we started getting out again, the babies started sleeping better...I don't think this is a coincidence). It started out small with walks (a few l-o-n-g walks) where we visited our favorite routes and places in our neighborhood (like the park nearby). I'm getting very sentimental.

On Thursday we went and played at Miss Mimi's house. Some fun things we did there? Crawled laps around the expansive family room & kitchen. Tried cornbread for the first time (and LOVED it...and made a mess all over Miss Mimi's carpet). Saw a live bunny for the first time (their pet), chased him, and were almost chased by him... Unfortunately, I forgot to take the camera, and the battery was dead in their camera, so I have NO pictures to document this fun day. Bummer.

Saturday Miss Kim & Mr. Chris came over. We all had lunch together and then Chris & Lucas went to the Bruins game (sadly, the Bruins lost in overtime). Kim & I hung out and played with babies until the guys got back. It was a fun day with some of the babies' favorite people. Although, at first Ryan wasn't too sure about Miss Kim (who has always been one of his top 5 favorite girls). I think it's because she is 11 weeks from welcoming her own little guy into the world, and Ryan wasn't sure about how different she looked!

The babies pause to read the nutrition information on the box...




Sunday we were back at church for the first time in weeks. This made me happy as we only have 2 more Sundays left (tear, sigh), and I hated that we kept being too sick to go now that each Sunday is so precious. It was so good to see the people we were able to see, although there are so many more that I want to see before we go. We will miss the people in the church so much. Another big event was the arrival of our Girl Scout Cookies! Now, we live just a few miles from the Girl Scout store, and could technically buy cookies year-round. We haven't taken advantage of this - partly because we forget, but partly because there is something exciting about the arrival of the cookies that you ord er from a girl scout that you know. I am now in the midst of a love/hate relationship with these cookies. I love them, but hate how quickly they are disappearing...

...and then they dig in.

Note: we had to pry the box from Allie's hands as she tried to eat through the cardboard to get to the cookies...and then she cried. She is so like her mommy!

We have another big week ahead of us as we are trying desperately to cram in play dates (for them and me), while also packing, getting things set up in MI, and wrapping up things here...Hopefully I'll remember to take more pictures this week!

That About Which We Do Not Speak

I don't know a lot about sports. Football & Basketball were really the only sports I knew anything about until I got married (to the King of All Things Sports...seriously, I've seen him watch racquetball on tv and call it fascinating!), and started watching Sports Center (until I could somehow commandeer the remote and turn it back to HGTV!). Even then, baseball had no allure for me until we moved to the land of the Red Sox. There is such a love here for this game, for the tradition, for every tiny detail that it has seeped into my heart and taken hold on me as well.

I have recently become more and more familiar with this thing known as a Perfect Game. Unfortunately, not through baseball, but through tv shows drawing this allusion to a difficult baseball feat. "Scrubs" used the term in an episode where the characters tried to get through a full shift without losing anyone in the ICU. "How I Met Your Mother" used it in an episode where one character tried to hit on 7 girls in 7 days with no rejections. The main theme that struck me - when someone is going for a perfect game you do not talk about it. No matter how close they get you never say "I think they're going to make it," or "this is so exciting, everything is going so well!" You don't talk about it AT ALL.

You may wonder why this resonates with me, but it is because we have our own version of a perfect game here - a full night of sleep where babies don't wake up. Like baseball, we have an "un-official" perfect game where it counts if they wake up, but don't stay awake for an extended period of time (ex. the last 2 nights we've had to go in and lay Allie down during the middle of the night, but she cried for less than 5 minutes and we didn't really lose any sleep, so it counts!). And one thing we have learned is that no matter how guaranteed it may seem that we're going to have a "Perfect Game" you never, EVER talk about it while it is happening.

My brothers learned this while they were here. About the time someone said, "Wow, they've been really quiet for a long time. I think tonight's going to be an easy night," a baby woke up crying. It never failed. And so we began using the term "that about which we do not speak." Lucas quickly learned that if he comes home and asks, "How did bedtime go?" or "How has the night been?" and all I give him for an answer are hand signals the topic will not be addressed again for the rest of the night. While it is tempting to rejoice at how easily they have fallen asleep, or the fact that we are going to bed 4 1/2 hrs after they went to sleep and we haven't heard a peep, experience has taught us that this is a bad thing.

Please understand that we are not superstitious people. However, it often goes that if you celebrate your victory before the game is over...somehow you don't win. While you cannot talk about the possibility of a Perfect Game while it is happening, once it has happened it is cause for incredible celebration. It is no different for us. Once morning has arrived you will find us praising the babies for sleeping so well, offering prayers of thanks to God, high fiving each other, and (after a particularly wonderful night of sleep) possibly even doing a happy dance.

Speaking of celebration...lately we have had great cause to celebrate, and so, this is my "Happy Dance" in paragraph form:

One recent day, it seemed as though everything "clicked." I put Allie down for her nap, and instead of standing and screaming until I gave in and rocked her to sleep (and recently I had been caving consistently after less time) she talked and giggled until she fell asleep. I felt a thrill of excitement because this was the little sleeper I knew, but I tried not to get my hopes up too much. To date we're going on our 4th day of her going down for naps without a fuss (although she will play in her crib for a while before falling asleep). Even better? Last night was the second night in a row that Ryan slept through the night, and Allie went back to sleep within minutes when she did wake up (the VERY few times she woke up). Once not even needing us to come in and lay her back down (we usually wait a minute or two, go in and tell her it's night and still time to sleep, sing a little song, and lay her back down)! The last 2 mornings, when our sleep has been basically un- interrupted until roughly 6 am, I have done a little happy dance. My sleeping babies seem to be back. Granted, I'm still taking each night as it comes, knowing tonight can be different (and if you talk to me after they're in bed I won't tell you anything about how it is going because...well...you don't want to jinx a potentially perfect game). But, we've had rest, we've seen the light at the end of the tunnel, their wonderful sleep the past few nights has increased our hope. Perhaps soon the "Perfect Game" won't be as rare a feat as it once was!

So Darn Cute

Despite the illness, despite the sleepless nights, the babies have been uber-cute this past week. Before I forget any of the adorable antics I want to chronicle them here!

Ryan looking adorable. Seriously, I love him in these pj's!

Ryan LOVES balls. Any shape, any size, he loves them! In fact, I've noticed when he plays with a ball he goes, "Ba, ba, ba!" One of his favorite games of late is playing catch with the ball. You roll it to him (and he does a decent job of "catching" it), and then he throws it back. That's not the uber-cute thing though. Apparently thinks he needs significant height to throw the ball, so he lifts it up against his forhead and then throws it. I've even seen him practicing his throwing on his own, and he gets so proud when he "launches" the ball!

Allie loves waving. Ryan waves too, on occassion, but Allie consistently loves it. If she even hears the words "hi" or "bye" she starts to wave, and she will now wave back if she sees you do it. The uber-cute thing? This morning they were watching a baby einstein movie (I'm slowly weaning them off from our sick movie-fest). When it was over - and I was taking them to their rooms for a nap...Ryan first - I kept seeing Allie waving at the screen (which I've seen her do before...only for this particular movie...). "Yes, the movie went bye-bye," I kept saying, thinking that the reason she was waving was because the movie was over. As I picked her up she kept smiling at the screen and waving, and I finally turned to see what might be making her wave like that. There is an animated rhino at the menu that stands and waves, and Allie was waving back!

The babies are crawling, and no matter how clean I try to keep the floor (and keep in mind that I've been sick so they are not currently super clean) they find things to put in their mouth. Apparently, they think it is a really funny game to see me dive across the room screaming , "What's in your mouth?!" and then squeeze their cheeks to peek inside because both of them (especially Ryan) have started just sticking their fingers in their mouth and looking at me (until I notice, and do the usual dive). Then they giggle like crazy when I squeeze their cheeks to discover there is nothing inside. I always knew they would be practical jokers. They get it honestly...

We have a giant penguin (which I think has been mentioned and maybe featured in picture before) that stand guard in the babies' room...right next to Allie's crib. On more then one occassion I have laid her down for a nap and walked away to hear her giggling. What makes her giggle like that? I finally peeked in and there she was, standing at the corner of her crib, reaching over, pulling the penguin toward her, and giving it a kiss! Then she giggles like crazy, and then she does it again!

Today, when I put them down for a nap, I heard a loud banging. I immediately went to the room Allie was in to listen in (she has arms like gumby, and I'm always amazed at what she manages to get into from her crib), but quickly realized it wasn't coming from there. I followed the noise and realized it was coming from the room Ryan was in. He had been quiet for a while (I thought he was asleep), and so I peeked in surprised. There he was, lying in the pack n play, rythmically banging his foot (loudly) against the bottom of the pack n play! Apparently, he wanted me to know he wasn't asleep yet!

The babies have mastered standing, and sitting from a standing position. Now they have a tendency to squat. They like to go partway down and just hang out while playing. Sometimes they go up & down - never fully sitting or standing. Are they strengthening their muscles for walking? The uber-cute part is that if they're squatting behind something where their view of you is blocked, they like to play peek-a-boo - peeking over to see if you're watching and then "popping" up (their "pop" is slow, but still cute)!

Ryan - not quite up and not quite down...

This isn't something they do, but both of their hair has really started to grow (yay!). The cutest thing is that Allie has a little curl (yes, a curl!!!) that constantly peeks out from behind one ear. Originally, I thought she had moused it to lay like that with some applesauce (she frequently uses food as a hair product), but was thrilled to discover that is just how this one adorable piece of hair chooses to lay. It is so adorable to see her playing, smiling, talking with one little curl peeking out. I love it!

Allie's curl...it took forever for me to get a somewhat decent picture!

Just for kicks: Allie woke up from her morning nap and THIS is what her hair looked like! Talk about adorable bed-head!