Month 5, Week 3

We had an action packed Thanksgiving week! On Monday we had a playdate at a local mom's house. Per normal, we were the only ones that weren't sitting up yet. I think most other babies are in the 9mo to 10mo range, so some of them are even trying out crawling and pulling up. It makes our boys a little jealous. They'll try to copy what they see and end up doing face plants. hehe

The playdate went pretty well. At one point I needed to feed both boys, so we took over the couch. I'm sure we were quite the sight. It's hard to cover up much in that situation, especially when the boys like to turn any cover into a fun tent. Later I knew it was time to head home when Zach fell asleep sitting up in my lap. His little head just kind of leaned to one side against my arm.

On Tuesday I had a meet-up scheduled for Herdklotz Park, the one with the baby swings. We got there about 10min late and didn't see anyone else. It was a little cold to do anything outside, really, so the boys and I went to the mall instead. There weren't many people there at 10:30am, but the one I was counting on was - Santa. The boys sat on his lap and got their picture taken. Zach was nearly jumping for joy at the whole thing. I don't think he could have grinned any wider. Alex, on the other hand, would only stare blankly. There was no smile but there wasn't crying, either, so I took what I could get. Looking back on the situation, I think I went wrong at letting the picture lady put Alex on Santa's lap. That seemed to have thrown him and he wasn't going to be happy after that.

We met up with Jim for lunch at Don Pablos. We've been testing out eating in restaurants with the boys. So far it hasn't been too bad. They'll usually end up in our laps, playing with the table or Jim will walk them around to see things. I like when we're given a booth and we can set their car seats next too us, assuming there's enough room to slide them in. There's been a couple of tight fits.

Jim took Wednesday off to hang out with us. We went to Toys R Us to see what potential Christmas gifts were out there for the boys. I've also been trying to pay attention to what they play with and seem to like when we're at other houses. I think they're on the cusp of wanting things like block and balls. Zach was pretty entertained with the stacked ring toy, and both boys were mesmerized with a toy xylophone. Most of the toys they have right now are plush or for teething. There's not much that's fun to just hold and look at.

They've also started being interested in books. I bought one that you can insert pictures into. I thought it might be fun to fill it with photos of the family, especially faces. Tonight Jim and I were reading to them and the boys kept squealing with delight and trying to turn the pages. They only have two books that are safe for them to chew on, though.

Thursday we went to Jim's grandma's for Thanksgiving. It was the first time many of his extended family got to meet Alex and Zach. When we first got there, Zach got overwhelmed with all of the people and noise. He burst into tears. Alex was just silent and staring, like a deer in headlights. They were a bit fussy for the duration but seemed to do ok when others held them, at least for a little bit.

On Friday we went to Lowes. One of our baby proofing projects is to get doors for the fireplace. We got some information but there wasn't a very good selection on display. I picked up some lights to decorate the outside of the house, and some hooks to hang our stockings. Maybe not this year, but maybe for the next Christmas we'll replace our cheap bulb ornaments with shatter proof ones.

Saturday we went to Jim's Dad's house for Second Thanksgiving. Everything was going pretty well on the way down until we had to stop for gas. The boys woke up from their short nap and never really recovered. They were fussy the whole time we visited. It seemed like which ever I held was fine, but the other would start crying. Food and diaper changes didn't help. We managed to get them to sleep on us for about 30min but it wasn't enough.

On the way home, Zach refused to close his eyes and cried off and on. We even stopped to be sure he wasn't hungry (he wasn't). Of course, that caused Alex to wake up. I pulled out all of the stops on the entertainment front and that barely sustained them. Once we got home, I noticed Alex had a stuffy nose. He had a really hard time sleeping and woke up about an hour after we put him down. I tried the normal feeding and rocking. He decided to work on his diaper during this time, so I took him downstairs for changing. On the way he let out a HUGE burp. Once we got down there, I realized he was soaked over half his body and needed new clothes, too. So who knows what woke him up!

Alex's nose still ended up being the ultimate issue. He spent most of the night sleeping with us. I tried multiples times to put him back in the crib but every time his little eyes would pop open. Of course, when you don't get a good night's sleep, you wake up grumpy. It's a vicious cycle.

I'm not sure if it's the cold or teething, but Alex had a rough time today. He didn't want to take any naps, and when we made him lay down, he cried and cried until I would nurse him. He would fall asleep for maybe 15min at a time, then wake up rooting. If he didn't find what he wanted, he would burst into tears. This wasn't hunger - it was comfort nursing.

Tonight when we tried to put him to bed, it was the same thing. He just didn't want to go to sleep and unplugging him from me woke him up. We tried Orajel for the possible teething, and Vic's Rub for the nose. I gave him some Tylenol in case the Orajel wasn't working. He immediately projectile vomited his entire tummy all over the living room floor. That seemed to help and I was able to get him to sleep. He's been in his crib for about 2hrs now without waking.

For dinner tonight the boys tried some sweet potato. I steamed, mashed, and diluted it with water. The looks on their faces were hilarious! They weren't sure what to make of it. At one point, Alex had potato on his nose and Zach was wearing it on both hands. Zach would open his mouth and try chewing it. Alex, on the other hand, would see the spoon coming and close his mouth. He even went so far as to pull his lips in, like I would somehow use them against him. I'd slip bites in when he was grinning at Jim. He wouldn't spit it out, so I considered it a win.

The boys can really laugh now, not just grin and squeal. Jim can get them to do it when he gets their bellies. It's one of the best things I've ever heard. Alex can jump in the Jumperoo pretty well now but it's not his favorite toy. He still prefers the Exersaucers and uses both of them. Zach thinks that he can jump anywhere, not just in the Jumperoo. This includes when you're holding him up to stand.

They have discovered the cats and track them whenever they walk by. You'll see their little heads swivel and they'll strain to watch them. Frodo walked up to Zach once and Zach's face exploded into a HUGE grin. Of course, Frodo could care less and walked away. Later Furball hopped up on the end table. Zach and I were on the couch. I was holding him up to stand/jump. Well, he immediately started trying to take steps towards the cat. I held him as he essentially walked across the couch to get to her. Once he got there, he made a fist and totally clocked her in the jaw. hehe She didn't know what to do and backed away. I guess we'll have to work on the idea of "gentle with the kitty."

I can't believe the boys turn 6 months next week. The time has gone by so fast. It feels like yesterday we brought them home. They were so small and kind of boring compared to now. They just get more interesting and fun everyday.

Month 5, Week 2

On Monday we went to a Greenville Stay At Home Mom's playdate. For get togethers across town, I leave early and have them nap in the van on the way. This one was right down the road, so I figured it would be better if we took our nap here at home instead. Well, the boys didn't get the memo. We were in the van just long enough for them to get settled in for some shut eye. This resulted in sleepy, harder-to-please babies when we got there.

The playdate was at a om's house with 4 moms total. We were the only twins and all the rest of the kids could sit/crawl, but I expected that. We always bring our own toys to share with the group just in case. The hostess was nice enough to get out some of her baby toys for the boys to play with, though. Alex did some playmat playing while Zach flirted with one of the girls. He would shoot her grins and every time she crawled by, he'd reach out and try to grab her arm. She found him pretty entertaining, too, even after he clamped onto her sleeve, pinning her in place.

We only lasted an hour before the boys' fussiness had reached levels bordering on full-out crying. I started packing their things up and headed home before we ruined the fun for the rest. As soon as we got home, the boys were happy and excited to play. I don't know if they were just bored or what but it was a little frustrating.

On Wednesday we went to the Mother Goose On the Loose program at the local library. This was the thing we tried to go to last month but were too late to get in. Bound and determined not to let that happen again, we were a good 30 min early. Everything seemed to be going ok waiting for the story time to start and we ended up sitting on the floor next to a mom I knew. Each spot on the floor had a book, so the boys and I read through ours. It was a counting book and the boys loved it. I even had to wipe drool off of it a couple of times.

When it was time to start the stories and songs, the librarian went around and picked up all of the books. Alex and Zach got pretty upset when their book went into her bag. I sort of got them settled, but when they realized that her attention wasn't always going to be on them, there was no consoling in the world that would help. She's up there singing a song about "quiet and loud" and all you can hear during the soft parts is "WHAAAAAAA" in stereo. We lasted all of 10min before I was packing their things up.

A mom I didn't know came over and offered to help me take them out of the room. I really hope I wasn't rude or didn't have a look on my face, but all I could think was that I was fully capable of handling my boys and that didn't she have a kid somewhere unsupervised? I guess you could say I was offended. Yes, I had two crying babies. But wasn't it obvious that I could tell that we needed to leave and was doing just that? Of course, I'm sure she was just trying to help. I don't know why I was sensitive about it. If someone I knew had offered, it probably wouldn't have phased me.

So after 2 less than stellar outings, I was pretty scared for Friday's get together. I had invited over 4 moms - 3 with twins and 1 with a singleton. Jim and I worked on getting things ready all week (Halloween decorations are finally down!) and I even managed to make some cookies for the event. Well, the morning of, the boys woke up at 5am. I got them back down for their morning nap by 6:30am but their little eyes popped open at 8:15am. They were ready to par-tay and I could read disaster on their little faces. People weren't going to arrive until 9:30am, right when they were going to start getting tired again. Ugh!

Different scenarios started going through my head. Do I tell them all to just play without us while we go upstairs for a nap? Do I have them all leave? Do I just pretend that they're not fussy and wailing? Compounding things, Alex was already unhappy with things and he had just gotten up! I went to vacuum and he COMPLETELY freaked out. He started screaming at the top of his lungs while staring wide-eyed like he was beyond scared. Now, he's been around a ton of vacuuming, so I really don't understand, but I couldn't just stop. We were going to be playing on the floor.

I got the boys semi-calmed down when the doorbell rang. It was J with her 3 mo old daughter, Ana. I hear suspicious silence from the living room. We go in and the boys are just staring at Ana. The more people that arrived, the happier the boys got. The love people to begin with, and combined with all of their toys, they just didn't have the chance to get bored. Alex got a little fussy at one point, so I rocked him in the bouncy chair. He just closed his eyes and took a 30 min nap! Once he woke up, Zach did the same thing! Who were these babies?? Had aliens taken over their bodies??

Everyone seemed to have a good time. The 2 month olds played on the playmat or on the couch. Alex, Zach, and Ana tried out the exersaucers and jumperoo. The older 10 month olds practiced pulling up and generally had fun exploring the living room. The moms ate cookies and swapped war stories. I don't think it could have gone much better. It was the ego boost I needed after Wednesday.

On Saturday we stayed in and watched the Clemson game. Normally I don't allow any tv but we make an exception for football. They love watching the movement and will let out the random yell of glee. Jim sits down on the floor with them and tells them what's going on. They don't get to see an entire game due to naps, but seem to love what they can get.

Sunday it was cold and raining but we went out for a little bit. We drove over to see the Big Load, a power generator part that's slowly being transported across the state to NC. It was stopped in Greenville for the weekend. It was pretty big, although Jim expected it to look more massive. Afterwards we went to Swoozies and ordered Christmas stockings for the boys. We got them monogramed with their names. One of the girls behind the counter was at the last Moms of Multiples meeting. She's over 30wks pregnant with identical boys. I cannot imagine working at that point but she seemed to be doing just fine.

We got home, turned on the Christmas music, and put up the tree. Yes, it's a little early but we figured the boys would enjoy the lights. Naturally, they seem to have cared less about it. hehe They were much more interested in the cats walking by. They just discovered their furry friends a day or so ago, and stare them down whenever Furball or Frodo come near. The cats still don't have any interest in them, though.

Alex has almost gotten jumping figured out. He can bounce once or twice before stopping to stand in the jumperoo. Zach jumps like a mad man, but I'm not worried. I don't recall "Jumping" being on any of the developmental charts. Alex makes up for things in the exersaucer. He can work all of the toys and can get 99% of them in his mouth from brute force alone. He's also really good at standing and using his arms for balance.

We've stepped up things on the boys eating solid foods. They get rice cereal when we eat dinner at home. Alex tries to thwart me with his tongue but once it's in his mouth he'll eat it. Zach will open his mouth and let me shovel it in. They ate most of a bowl of cereal the other night. We're trying to decide if we should do oatmeal cereal next or just move on to something with taste, like sweet potato. Honestly, the cereal is pretty icky in my opinion.

We're looking forward to Thanksgiving this week and seeing the family. Hopefully everyone will be healthy.

Month 5, Week 1

It's been kind of a quiet week, especially compared to the craziness that was the last one. Last Saturday we went to the local apple farm with the Mothers of Multiples group. Who knew we had one about 15 minutes out the road? I guess not us! It was sunny but on the cool side. The boys seemed to have a good time looking at everything.

Jim and I have been working to come up with a schedule that works for us. This week was the first test. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday the boys and I have things to do during the day. Then on Tuesday and Thursday we would go out in the evening. That way the boys get their out-and-about time but things are kept in moderation. We also got them two new toys to keep them from getting bored: Jumperoo and a walker.

The Jumperoo has been a big hit with Zach. It took him a day or so to get the hang of jumping, but now he just bounces and bounces. His legs were a little short so I put a blanket underneath. Even when he's tired of being in it and complaining. he still doesn't stop jumping. It's rather funny to watch. I have to stand there, waiting to pick him up, until he holds still long enough for me to grab him.

Alex likes it well enough but seems to prefer the Exersaucer. He's happier much longer in it than the Jumperoo, which is just fine with Zach. Alex has been getting into shouting matches with the purple toy on the Exersaucer, though. I can't identify exactly what animal it's supposed to be - a purple hippo with leopard spots and a rhino horn? Either way, Alex wants to chew on it. Unfortunately it won't reach. So after getting frustrated, he started yelling at the top of his lungs, right in its face. He's done it a few times now and I have to hide in the kitchen so he doesn't see me laughing. Even Zach will stop jumping and stare at the spectacle.

The walker hasn't been an instant new favorite because our boys are too short to reach the ground. hehe

Jim got us a book about what it's like to grow up as an identical twin. It's a compilation of interviews by an author that's an identical twin herself. I'm about three-quarters through and it's not what I expected. It's much more of a cautionary tale than an optimistic take on things. I knew we had a challenge ahead of us, being sure to treat them as individuals, but I didn't realize the details.

One thing that has already rang true is to resist the urge to label them. Labels, like stereotypes, mean you feel like you know someone without actually getting to know them. We get it all the time from strangers. Zach is very social, so he tends to smile and coo a lot when getting attention. Alex does the same thing with us, but not with people he doesn't know. So we get "Oh he's the happy one and he's the serious one." I don't want either of them growing up trying to live up to a label, or trying to disprove it.

There's also an emphasis on doing things separately with the boys, be it one-on-one with a parent, or two-on-one while one boy stays with others. We need to get to know them as individuals, basically. We've done a little of that, but mostly we travel in packs. I think once they're a little older and can do things, it'll be easier. Right now I'm not sure they'd know the difference if we had one or both with us.

The boys played on their first playground on Friday. We went to a park that had little kid swings. Here's a picture of the extreme cuteness:



Jim and I got the H1N1 vaccine Saturday at the health department. Since the boys are under 6 months, we qualified for the nasal spray. That saved us about 2hrs of standing in line for the shot. The slight downside is the nasal spray contains a weakened live virus, instead of a dead version. Jim and I both ended up with "The Nose Flu", which is just a runny nose. I also got a mild headache and a bit of a sore throat, neither of which lasted long.

We arrived at the health department around 11am and people that had gotten there at 7:30am were just getting their shots. The line wrapped around the building and around the rear parking lot. Some people brought lawn chairs. Kids were climbing all over the decorative trees planted around the perimeter. We were given numbers 1005 and 1006 for the shot, but when we switched to the nasal spray line, our numbers were in the 245 range.

We mounted our megatron tv to the living room wall on Sunday. This is our first major step towards kid-proofing our house. We ended up doing the installation ourselves, saving about $400. It wasn't particularly difficult, just time consuming to be sure everything was done correctly.

In developmental news, the boys have started hugging around the neck. They also like to cup your face in their hands and plant kisses on your cheeks. We're all quite wet and slobbery by the time we're through.

They're going through a phase (I hope!) where they don't want to sleep as much. Naps this weekend were a struggle and even then they were only down for about 30min at a time. They're also getting up every 1.5hrs to eat during the night, and ready to start their day at 5:30am. It's been hard and a little discouraging since this obviously isn't the direction I was hoping we'd go in. I was really hoping by now they would only be getting up once or twice during the night.

Alex has decided that he still likes the playmats but Zach doesn't want much to do with them. They've ogtten really good at playing with Jacques and Freddie (the firefly version) in the car. I'll hear "Crinkle, crinkle crinkle." until they fall asleep - usually holding onto their toy. They have little difficulty grabbing things and sticking them in their mouths.

Not Pink, and the Social Babies

Apparently I still have more to say. I'd like to think you're surprised by this but I know better.

Having boys and 4 nephews has made me realize the amount of pink kids clothes at any given store is severely disproportionate to the amount of non-pink. I can easily find 5 pink, flower-encrusted, girly outfits that I just LOVE for every 1 boy one that I don't hate. My dreams of purchasing similar-but-not-identical clothes for the boys are gone. I'm lucky if they even have two of the same thing in the right size.

So, when Melissa posted about her husband's blog about resisting pinkification, I pretty much had to read it. Go team blue!

There were two developmental items I forgot to post about last night. The first is that Zach now likes to hug me around the neck. He'll just reach out and wrap his little arms around me. The downside is sometimes he likes to also grab on with his hands and gives me a good pinch or hair pull. I'll take what I can get, though.

The second thing is that the babies now expect people to stop and say hi to them when we're out. They have begun preemptively greeting strangers to help the process along. How, you might ask? They can say "Hi!" or "Hey!" No, really. I'm not making this up. We were in the grocery store the other day, walking down the pop and chips aisle. I had Zach in the baby carrier and a woman was coming towards us. Zach yells "Hi!" and the woman, without missing a beat, says "Hey!" and keeps on going. I'm not hearing things or reading into their baby babble if strangers think the same. The boys might not know what "hi" means specifically, but they know it's something you say to people to get attention.

Something similar happened on our Best Buy trip. We went to the customer service desk and Zach did his "Hey!" thing to the Geek Squad guy behind the counter. The guy responded in kind and Zach just grinned and grinned. Tonight Jim and I were talking about their desire for attention. Jim mentioned that he kind of feels bad when we don't get stopped, since the boys love it so much. I didn't realize it until he said it, but I feel the same way. I don't like sticking out in public or drawing notice to myself, but the boys just beam and chat up anyone they come across.

Month 5, Day 3

It's been an interesting week. Tuesday morning Zach came down with a fever and stuffy nose. I meant to check Alex's temperature but forgot before I put a new diaper on him. So I lay him in his crib, strip him back down, and start the temperature taking. He figures this is a good time to pee. Well, I've got one hand on his legs and the other holding the thermometer, so all I can do is watch as he does his best impression of a frantic fountain. He hit just about everything in a foot radius. Another new diaper and fresh clothes get applied and I start a load of laundry. On the bright side, he's fever free.

We went down for our usual morning nap. Zach woke up with a diaper leak. I take him downstairs to change him, then strip the bed. While trying to remove his clothes, I manage to smear poop clear up his back, into his hair. It's also all over the changing table. I give him a ghetto bath via some wipes and start my second load of laundry. It's not even noon yet.

The day got a little better until Alex also came down with a fever. Both boys were kind of sluggish and wanted to be held. We took a long afternoon nap together and that helped some. I wiped little noses and tried to baby them as much as possible. Tuesday night was more of the same. Both boys were up every hour or so. They HATE stuffy noses and wake up a ton every time they're sick. Finally around 5am I brought Zach into bed with me. Jim fetched Alex the next time he cried and I held him, too. Jim did what he could with a comforter and the floor.

Wednesday Chii-Wey came over to do their 5 Month Photo Shoot (pw: jma&z). Despite their colds, both boys were in really good moods and we got a bunch of smiles. Unfortunately Alex scratched his face the night before, so he has a red mark on his cheek in all of the pictures. Jim even came home for lunch so we could get an updated family photo (see left!). We got 40 pictures this time. I think that's a record! Happy babies equals good photos I guess.

Wednesday night was similar to Tuesday but worse. I couldn't get Alex to sleep by himself for more than 30min. So it was me and three boys in the bed again. By this point my neck, shoulders, and back aren't happy. I'm not designed to lay motionless all night, every night.

Thursday the boys and I met up with Melissa and Amber at the Swamp Rabbit Trail in downtown Greenville. It's a paved, mile long path that winds along the Reedy River. We ended up walking the entire thing and the boys were somewhat behaved. I ended up putting one in the baby carrier for half then swapping them out. Hopefully at some point they will love the stroller, but I'll take limited toleration over immediate crying any day. At the trail head is a children's garden. The boys and I plopped down on a blanket while Melissa and Amber fed their kids. Alex and Zach really loved looking at the tree overhead and the sky.

I put them back in the stroller (in prep to head back to the van) and looked around. Melissa and her girls were ridiculously cute, all piled up on a bench, nom nom'ing some bottles. Amber and her kids were having fun eating Cheerios and laughing. Then I look over at my babies. This is what I see.



Zach is trying to fit all of Jacques into his mouth and Alex is on the verge of a total meltdown. We weren't very cute - more like animalistic. This should have been a sign to not meet Jim for lunch. We went to Cracker Barrel where both boys had total and complete breakdowns. Jim stood outside with one wailing boy while I held the other and woofed down what food I could. Oh, well.

Friday I managed to catch the boys' cold. Yay. Jim came home from work at lunch so I could get a break and drown my sorrows in a box of tissues. It's amazing how well rested I was after only an hour nap WITHOUT THE BOYS! I love them with all of my heart but apparently 3.5 days attached at the hip with no break is my max.

We're in the early stages of toddler proofing our house. The first step is getting the megatron tv mounted to a wall. We went to Best Buy Friday night on a scouting mission. The boys LOVED that store. They were literally drooling all over the place, staring at everything with big eyes. They enjoy tv (even though I'm mean and they don't get to watch more than Clemson football), so their little minds nearly exploded with glee at a whole wall of them. They're definitely our kids.

Afterwards we decided to tempt fate and go to a Chinese buffet for dinner. After the previous day's experience, you'd think we'd be gunshy. You'd be wrong. hehe We only had one minor crying episode when I accidentally bonked Zach's head on his car seat handle. Other than that, both boys sat on our laps, bellied up to the table, reaching for plates and toys. Zach was totally busted flirting with some girls at another table, too. He'd shoot them smiles and they'd giggle and wave.

In developmental news, I sure hope they're teething. Otherwise, I don't want to see the amount of drooling that'll happen when they are. Both boys are voracious in the gnawing. They'll grab anything they can get their hands on and jam it in their mouth for chomping. This includes but is not limited to your arm while you're changing their diaper. They bite down pretty hard, too.

We sort of tried them out on rice cereal. They each got maybe one tiny baby spoon full total. The whole situation wasn't planned very well and they were really tired of being in their high chairs by the time I got the food ready. Zach did what I expected and ate most of what I gave him. Alex was really perplexed and you could tell he was trying to decide whether to spit it out or not. He chose the former, which was good. I'm planning on trying it again later this week and seeing how it goes.

I think we're pretty much done with the play mats. They're just not as fun as they used to be. Zach will take two toys and smash them together, but really they just lay there, looking around. I've tried changing out the toys, and we do have two mats, but none of it seems to peak their interest. They just want the exersaucer. I'm hoping they'll also like the jumpster but so far they don't really know what to do with it.

Jim weighed the boys this week. Alex is 16.8lb and Zach is 16.4lbs. You can't overfeed nursing babies, can you?

Month 4, Week 4

Ok, this is going to be another one of those mega posts. You might want to grab a snack. This could take a while. If you'd rather get a pictoral version, I've updated their Fifth Month Candids and added Halloween shots (pw: jma&z)

Waaay last Saturday was Preston's second birthday party at Wayne and Nina's. There was something in the water because none of the babies would take naps that day. Our boys were pretty cranky most of the time, with brief periods of happiness. They slept pretty well on the way home, though.

Monday was our first official playdate with other babies. We joined the Greenville Stay at Home Mom's group at their organizer's apartment Melissa G). There were 5 other babies besides our two. A few could sit, one was experimenting with crawling, and two were in the same boat as us. Alex and Zach attempted to make friends by sharing their toys. Jacque the Peacock was a fan favorite and two other moms said they had one at home. Initially I held Zach while Alex worked on his shyness from his carseat. Once Alex seemed more sure of himself, I got him out and Melissa held him.

Melissa's two boys are older, in the preschool to kindergarten range but she was hosting the playdate to be sure all of the GSAHM members had something to participate in. Her boys were particularly interested in Zach and Alex. The littlest one would try to play with them by bringing them toys. At one point I had Zach sitting in a recliner beside me. I hear talking and look over to see Melissa's oldest boys just chatting away with him. He was telling Zach all about how he knew these other twins and how they were friends. It was very cute, especially since Zach was transfixed on him.

The playdate went really well with only a little fussing here and there. I got to talking to Jasmine, mom to Annika. Her daughter's about a month older than the boys and crazy cute. We kind of hit it off and will probably try to get together in the future. Alex liked staring at Annika. I think he was jealous of how much hair she had.

Tuesday was the Mother of Multiples meeting. Jim dropped me and Alex off, and took Zach to the mall. Alex and I had a pretty good time. We sat together during the Bellies and Babies part, then went picnic style on the floor for the actual meeting. I met Melissa A and her two girls, Bronwyn and Aeralind. They were so tiny at 7 weeks old. It's hard to remember the boys being that small but they were. I held one of the girls while Melissa held Alex. I think we were both surprised. I felt like I wasn't holding anything, while Melissa was probably getting a workout. I can remember the early days with all of the bouncing and holding - feeling like my arms were going to fall off. That's nothing compared to the mini-beasts we have now!

Jim reported that the mall trip went pretty well initially. Zach really liked looking at all of the people and the window displays. They stopped by Panera and Zach's cuteness scored Jim a free coffee. They covered both floors before Zach started to get fussy. This is where things stopped being much fun. Zach started crying and wouldn't stop no matter what Jim did. To make matters worse, Alex and I had all of the good toys with us. I didn't think they'd need them at the mall.

Jim called me and I could hear screaming in the background. Alex and I packed up as fast as we could and headed for the entrance. I got the in van and held Zach until he calmed down. I'm still not sure what got him so upset. He wasn't hungry and his diaper wasn't bad. I wonder if he just missed me, but I don't know if he's even capable of that yet. I thought they were still working on object permanence and once something was gone from view, it no longer existed.

So, we've tried Jim watching both boys, and me taking one. Neither option has been successful. For the next meeting we're going to attempt both boys coming with me and see how things go. In theory it shouldn't be much different from our outings together but they're usually much more cranky in the evenings. I can't nap/feed/go as easily.

Thursday we went to Bouncing Baby Boo Bash at the downtown Greenville Library. Amber (with Gabe and Graycen) and Mellissa (with Bronwyn and Aeralind) met us there. It was a costume party with stories, songs, and dancing. Ninja Alex and Pirate Zach just kind of looked around. Bat Gabe and Ladybug Gracen had some fun with bubbles and musical instruments. Pumpkin Bronwyn and Bunny Aeralind held a blanket down, but they did it in an extremely cute way. We were there for about an hour before heading home for naps.

Saturday was Halloween. We hosted a family party at our house, per tradition. This year it was more kid-centric and we didn't do a separate adult party. The whole week pretty much led up to the party, from decorations to food prep. It was right before Halloween last year that we found out I was pregnant, so that's added another memorable aspect to the holiday. The nephews came over for Trick Or Treating and cupcake decorating. We had finger foods that everyone seemed to enjoy. Nina told Thomas that the punch was Magic Potion. I warned him that it would turn him into a frog if he drank it. When he asked if I was kidding, I admitted that I was. It would really turn him into a newt. muhahaha

We all went Trick Or Treating while my sister manned the door. Jim held Alex while I carried Zach. We didn't have buckets for them, since they couldn't eat candy and we didn't need to be eating it either. Mainly I just wanted to watch the nephews go from house to house. It was the first year I went with them. Weird, I know.

I'm still recovering from Halloween. I wonder how long it will take to get a letter from the home owner's association about our decorations still in the yard. Packing things up takes so much more energy than unpacking.

In developmental news, the boys have been hard at work learning new things and perfecting the old. They've gone from punching their toys to opening their fists and grabbing them. I looked over at Zach on the play mat the other day and he was slamming two toys together. This also means you can't stuff things into their hands to be held indefinitely. They can let go now. Um, not that I've been doing that with rattles... hehe

Alex likes to hold out his hand for kisses. I'll plant a big, squeaky one on it and he'll pull it back quickly. He'll do this right before falling asleep for his nap. It's funny watching him laugh at the kisses but complain about the nap in between them. He's been really Hold-Me-Love-Me this week. He just wants to sit in my lap and snuggle a lot of the time. I don't really even need to do anything while he's there. He's content to just sit. The bouncy chair and swing are liked less and less everyday.

Zach has started holding his left foot with his left hand. I've taken advantage of the situation and have him hold his own leg for diaper changes. He does pretty well and really tries hard not to let it get away from him. When it does, he gets big eyes and tries to catch it. I don't know why, but I find it really funny.

Zach also has started squealing with glee. We pulled out the exersaucer this week and Zach just goes to town in it. I never knew one kid could have so much fun. He yells and squeals at all of the toys, at Alex, at me, and at anything he thinks might need it. The downside of only having one exersaucer is Exersaucer Envy. One boy will look wistfully at the other while he plays. I'll usually hold the non-exersaucering boy up to the side of it so he can play, too. I've looked on craigslist and there's plenty of used ones for sale. I don't want to wear out the magic of that toy. though. I try to pace them as we rotate through their toys so they don't get bored too fast. Taking turns makes the fun last longer.

Both boys have taken chewing and drooling to the next level. A number of people have commented that they must be teething. I don't see any red gums or increased crankiness, but it's possible. Zach has been having a tougher time sleeping at night. They're really ferocious about the gnawing. They'll grab anything and stuff it into their mouths. They'll just turn on you and start sucking on your arm or hand. If no toy or parent is available, they always have at least one finger in their mouth and spit running down their chin.

Along with that, I think we're going to try rice cereal soon. They have a strong interest whenever we eat and have been reaching for out plates during dinner. Jim once joked that we'd know they were ready for solid food when they snatched the pizza off our plates, and it's just about getting to that. hehe I may try to set up the video camera for their first food attempts. I expect wide eyes and lots of spitting.