Twinarazzi

December 6, 2010
I experienced a whole new level of attention and questioning when I met up with my new friends Katie and Kerstin and their sets of twins. Despite having the term "twinarazzi" come to life, it was wonderful to spend some time with women who are in the same boat!

Sophie Tea Party

December 5, 2010

The littles enjoyed some time in their Bumbos with their dog (thank you cousin Matthew). Each chomped away at their Sophies (thanks Corrados/Rosenthals) and discussed how much they loved having Godfather Phil and Melody visit.

Upside Down

December 4, 2010

Both Josie and Noah have reflux so one end of their beds are slightly elevated. Well, with her new found freedom, Josie turned so her feet were above her head...doesn't help so much with the reflux so tonight, the beds go flat.

Free at Last!

December 3, 2010
Sleeping like a champ! Josie took to her sleep sack quite well and Ben and I wondered why we hadn't done this a while ago.

Quit Swaddling Me!

December 2, 2010

The past few mornings we've woken up to find Josie had wiggled her hands up to her face while still swaddled, but this morning she broke free. I looked back at some of her newborn photos and she was even breaking free of the nurses swaddles...so tonight, no more swaddle.

5 Months Old

December 1, 2010

We've survived 5 months and the littles rewarded me with my favorite photo of the 2 of them!

Time to Baby Proof

November 30, 2010

Those of you who know Bennett will recognize this "up to no good" glimmer in Noah's eyes...I watched as he scooted and rolled his way across the room and under grandma's rocking chair. It's definitely time to baby proof the house!

On His Own

November 29, 2010

Not only is Noah attempting to get around on his own, but he's also learning to hold his own bottle. When I see other twin moms who can hand their babies bottles and allow them to drink on their own, I'm envious. Looks like there's hope! (This was a rare occasion when Josie was still asleep so I got to feed each one of them individually)

Three Photos

November 28, 2010

Photo #1 - Noah is giving me an anxiety attack as he makes his first attempts at crawling
Photo #2 - Noah is clearly proud of himself
Photo # 3 - Josie lives up to the souvenir t-shirt we bought her while in the city

In Good Hands

November 27, 2010

Thanks to Auntie Karina, Nonna and Nonno, Bennett and I went out for our first real date since the littles were born. We went down to the city, took a cruise of the bay and played tourist for the day. The littles didn't even miss us!

Black Friday

November 26, 2010

While we are crazy, we're not as crazy as Black Friday shoppers. We chose to spend a quiet day at home and were rewarded with a rare photo of both of the littles smiling.

1st Thanksgiving

November 25, 2010

Twice blessed and so much to be thankful for! The littles spent their first Thanksgiving in Berkeley where Henrie-Naffaas hosted a beautiful feast and we enjoyed time with the family.

Nonno's Here

November 24, 2010

Nonno arrived and couldn't get enough of the littles. I think he's particularly proud of the littles because he definitely sees his own genes in them. For those of you who don't know, Nonno is a faternal twin of a boy/girl pair.

Pinned Ya

November 23, 2010

For all of the times Noah has rolled over, kicked or grabbed Josie's ears, Nonna helped Jo get the upperhand.

Good Old Days

November 22, 2010

We were all very fortunate to have Nonna with us for the first month of the littles' lives. The times when they'd sleep on her were the times when Ben and I could actually get some sleep. Nonna was happy, the littles were happy and we were happy. Here, Nonna is reliving the good old days.

Another Triple Nap

November 21, 2010

Dad wanted to catch up on his zzz and what better way than to cuddle up with the littles.

More Cousins!

November 20, 2010

The littles enjoyed the day being passed around and celebrating with family. We can't wait for the upcoming arrival of Little Manns, Sabrina and Joe's baby.

Who's Afraid of a Little Color?

November 19, 2010

Woke up this morning to find Noah in his sister's sleep sack. This is a result of Noah having wet more than his diaper, the laundry being finished but not put away, and Bennett grabbing whatever was available in the middle of the night. I think he's sporting the floral print quite well and I'm grateful for a husband on night duty!

Two?!

November 18, 2010

One year ago today in the Kaiser Women's Clinic -
Mom: "What are we looking for?"
Nurse Practitioner: "Well, here's her bladder, here's her uterus, and here's one...and here's another one."
Me: "Another one, as in 2, as is twins???"
Nurse Practitioner: "Yes, exactly! As in twins."
Mom: "Yahoooo!!!!!!!"
Me: "Ooooh my god!"
Bennett: "Wha-wha-wha-what???"

Had to include this photo as well to document Noah's first attempts at crawling. At this point he's just scooting his legs under his butt and pushing himself backwards. We're going to have to baby-proof the house soon!

Seeing Double

November 17, 2010

Noah's new favorite past-time is reaching out and exploring faces. Another is blowing raspberries and I happened to catch one of his bubbles. Everyone says he's a little Bennett!

And while I'm sure Ben's made this face many times, it so reminds me of the Bennett from our college years!

Another Day

November 16, 2010

I missed another day...I've really got to be more conscientious about this!

Bibs

November 15, 2010

With twins it makes sense that we go through lots of bibs in one day. Twins with reflux = loads of laundry amounts of bibs. The good news is that the littles are really showing signs of wanting to sit up on their own and my understanding is the more sitting up, the less spitting up!

Church

 
November 14, 2010

Grand opening for the Community for Spiritual Living Petaluma's new location and first church service for the littles.

Jolly Holleys

November 13, 2010

Spent a wonderful day with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie and enjoyed lots of laughs!

Downtown Petalum

November 12, 2010

After lunch at our usual hang-out, Rachel convinced me to try something new, so we took the littles for a stroll in downtown Petaluma. I never wanted to maneuver the double stroller on my own downtown, but with Rachel at my side, Josie and Noah got to see a new corner of their hometown.

Working her Magic

November 11, 2010

While I was at campus packing up my office, Nonna worked her magic. Here they are napping at the same time and in the same pack-n-play no less. And the nap lasted over an hour!

Opposite Schedules

 November 10, 2010

Today Nonna came home from taking the littles on a walk. She told me, "as soon as Noah fell asleep, Josie woke up." And I told her "that's about right."

No Photo

November 9, 2010

Not sure why, but both Nonna and I didn't take any photos today.

Choo-choo

November 8, 2010

Playtime with Nonna! Both Josie and Noah are starting to want to sit up more and are eager to pull themselves up with help.

A Glimpse into the Future

November 7, 2010

I fear there will be quite a bit of this in the years to come. Something about this picture has Bennett and Abby written all over it!

Zouza

November 6, 2010

We had a visit from our local cousins today. Here, Marie Josette is holding our Josette Jean. Theresa and I chose to name our girls after our wonderful Godmother. We love you Zouza and know that you're watching over all of our kids!

Triple Nap

November 5, 2010

It's just about impossible to nap with both babies when I am alone, so with Nonna around I took the opportunity to cuddle up with both babies. They're growing so fast I don't want to miss any chances!

Baby Whisperer

November 4, 2010

Already working her magic...I think we'll all get more sleep now that Nonna is here!

Nonna's Here!

November 3, 2010

We are all THRILLED to have Nonna with us for the rest of the month! (Josie is too, it's just hard to capture her smile in a picture)

I Voted (updated)

November 2, 2010

Bennett and I each took the littles to our polling place today - have to teach them early about their civic duty! Josie also marked this day by rolling from her back to her tummy for the first time.

Update: I was going through old photos and realized I forgot to post an important milestone. Below, Josie is perfecting her back to tummy rolling.

4 Months

November 1, 2010

Four months old today.

Halloween

October 31, 2010

Champ and Tenderheart Bears joined their cousins in Berkeley to celebrate their first Halloween.

Halloween Eve

October 30, 2010

On Halloween Eve we took the littles to a Sonoma County Mothers of Multiples Club get together. There were 9 families with 18 littles running around. I got some great ideas for costumes for future years!

Just Say Mo

October 29, 2010

Another trip to SSU to have lunch with our friend Mo. Ben and I met Mo our freshmen year at SSU and we're looking forward to having her watch our littles grow the same way she watched us grow.

Cheeks

October 28, 2010

Josie's starting to fill out and her cheeks are edible. Twelve years ago, I was doing the same thing to her cousin - Jo had better get used to it!

The Twin Connection

October 27, 2010

Our friend Julie (in the hat) spent the day with us (she has twin nephews who are just a few weeks older than the littles) and we met Brynn (she's a fraternal twin) for lunch at Mr. Pickles. Josie decided that all of the activity made the perfect environment for a nap.

Laundry

October 26, 2010

Josie supervised while Mom sorted the laundry. (Noah was actually asleep.)

SSU Take 2

October 25, 2010

Enjoyed a quiet lunch with our friend Heather (above) before we met with Matthew (my boss). Had the littles in tow when I told him that my new official title for this next chapter in my life is "stay at home mom."

Tummy Time

October 24, 2010

Tummy time became nap time - if only the nap lasted longer than 20 minutes!

Reinforcement

October 23, 2010

When all else fails and the sleep boycott has lasted for almost a week, it's time to call in reinforcement. Thank God for Karina!

Bobbing for Pacifiers

October 22, 2010

Again, not the best photo, but another action shot. When I entered the room to check on Noah, he had rolled onto his side and was almost face down in what looked like an attempt to retrieve his pacifier. Since he was swaddled I was worried he'd end up face down in his crib without the use of his arms to right himself, so Noah officially graduated from the swaddle that night. I talked myself out of believing that he was actually trying to get his pacifier back in his mouth until Ben and I went in to check on him again, remove the bumper from his bed, and take a photo of the big boy in the sleep sack. That's when we saw him roll over, open his mouth, aim his head towards the mattress and come back up with his pacifer in his mouth. He was really bobbing for his pacifier and was successdful!