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.