Uh oh!

We spent a long weekend in Estes Park with some friends. It was a great weekend! We always enjoy getting away, even if it is just for a few days. Here are a few pictures of the monkeys enjoying their trip.

Our highlights for the trip are all courtesy of Caitlin. Our little spider monkey said her first word! Jeff and I were naturally hoping it would be momma or dada. No such luck. On Sunday the monkeys were in their pack-n-play babbling away in an effort to stay awake. At one point Jeff went over to give them their pacis and Caitlin said "uh oh." I thought I was just imagining it and laughed and asked Jeff if that was what she said. Sure enough, he heard it too. Out of all of the words she hears everyday, I'm not sure why she chose that one for her first word. I say it quite often when they drop their toys, but they hear momma and dada many more times a day. I guess it puts an end to our momma or dada competition :)

Our other two big events were more anxiety meltdowns for Caitlin. She did fairly well on the way to Estes Park. Up until about 15 miles out of town that is. Then it was a full on meltdown. I think Jeff thought I might have exaggerated how bad they are until he got to see/hear it first hand. Hearing her gagging in the car seat is a scary thing, especially when you can't see her or get to her. By the time we got to the cabin we were both really stressed. It was the same thing on the way home, except this time it started fairly early in the trip. I had to ride most of the way home wedged in between the car seats to keep her calm. We aren't sure how we are going to deal with this problem. I really hope it is a temporary anxiety that passes quickly.

Hi Grandma Pauline!

Why did I start this blog? My grandmother, who is 86, joined the internet world a couple of months ago. I thought I would try to send her regular emails with updates on the monkeys and pictures of them. I thought it would give her something to look forward to and, more importantly, a reason to actually get on the computer and check for new email. Then I gave myself a reality check. There is a list of friends and family that I have not really sent email updates to since the girls were born. As much as I love my grandma, the odds of me suddenly changing and finding lots of time for sending email just are not there. I was also trying to journal events for the girls in their journals, but I wasn't doing a great job of getting it done regularly. So I decided that a blog was the answer. Now my grandma and all of those other people who I so rarely send messages to can all check up on us any time they want. It is working so well. I know people are checking the blog expecting to see something new and I am finding that I feel really guilty if I don't make a post every few days. It is amazing what a difference a little public accountability makes!

Anyway, I just wanted to point out how incredible it is that my grandma has joined the internet world. Way to go grandma! I know it is hard at her age and I am so proud of her for not letting fear of the unknown stop her. Just to make this post a little extra special for her, I am including a picture of her holding the girls at Thanksgiving. I hope you are enjoying the updates and the pictures of the monkeys!

Separation anxiety

Caitlin is having some major separation anxiety. She does not want her momma to be out of her sight. Every time I walk out of the room she cries. Sometimes she cries when I am simply on the other side of the room. In one respect it is cute that she loves me so much. In another respect this is a really frustrating development. This is why.

My cousin Stacey was here with a friend last week for spring break. On Thursday, I took Stacey and her friend to the airport. Caitlin started crying on the way home. I knew she was a little tired and thought she would fall asleep like she usually does. I was so wrong. She worked her way into a frantic episode. Caitlin does not get really upset very often, but when she does it is a major event and takes awhile to get her to calm down. This was one of those times and, of course, I was in rush hour traffic and I was alone with the monkeys. As she became more frantic, I kept thinking about the vomiting and choking episode. I was concerned that she was going to work herself into such a frenzy that she would vomit again while I was stuck in traffic with no way to get out and nowhere to pull over. I took the first exit I could and parked to calm her down.

After trying unsuccessfully to get Caitlin to stay reasonably calm with me out of her sight, I eventually had to call Jeff and mom to come get us. She probably would have been ok, but I was too leery to try it after the choking incident. When they finally met up with us (almost 1 1/2 hours after I first stopped), mom sat in the back with the girls and we headed home. Even with mom there, Caitlin was practically inconsolable until we were almost home. As soon as she could see me again she was just fine and didn't cry at all.

Thankfully, there are a lot of sweet moments like the one in this picture where all she wants is to be close to her sissy. These moments make it easy to forget all of our recent car drama.

Going for a walk

Jeff has been going for a walk after

work as much as he can. He usually takes one of the girls with him if the weather is nice enough. Thursday was Isabella's turn. I put her sweater and hat on so she was ready to go. Then, I put her in her chair to wait while Jeff got the stroller ready. She apparently was not very happy about sitting there all bundled up with nowhere to go. I took this picture right before she let me know exactly how unhappy she was about waiting.

As soon as she was strapped into the

stroller she was all smiles!

While we were getting Isabella ready, our little zen baby Caitlin patiently waited for some quality time with her momma. We spent our alone time reading 8 Little Monkeys, which is one of her favorite books.

Mooommy - Get her off of me!

Naps? What are naps? No one takes a nap in this house anymore. I keep trying to get the girls to take their naps because they need them and, well, I need those few precious minutes to do fun things like brush my teeth, take a shower, or I don't know maybe eat an actual meal. It took more than an hour to get the monkeys to take an afternoon nap today. I put them down and then had to go in every two minutes to take one of them off of the other one. They have such a fascination with rolling around in the crib and, since they love each other so much, their preferred rolling direction is toward each other. Caitlin has become quite the little tormentor for her sissy.

After the 7th or 8th trip in to free the one being squashed, I finally decided I had to stop their fun and break out the sleep positioners. I doubt they are going to nominate me for the best mom ever award after doing that. They did finally get some sleep so I guess momma won that battle. I know the obvious solution here to get the second crib, but they like to be where they can see and touch each other. We don't have these issues at night time and they do sleep well together then. For now, I think I will just keep taking cute pictures and maybe try eliminating one of their naps.

Why do I keep missing it??

On Friday the little monkeys were not interested in napping. Again. I left them in their crib in hopes of at least a little nap creeping on up on them. I went in to check on them a little while latter. Caitlin was on her stomach. Caitlin who hates tummy time and will not roll over without someone trying to train her to do it was on her stomach. My first thought was - yay she did it all by herself and she is not crying. My second thought was - you have got to be kidding me. I am with the girls all day, every day. Yet I have somehow missed seeing both of them roll over by themselves for the first time. Isabella did it during play time one day when I stepped out of the room to get something. I came back into the room and there she was on her tummy with an expression that said she didn't really know how she got there. Now Caitlin has done it too. I think I am just going to have to become one of those helicopter moms who never leave their kids alone. There is no other way to keep from missing the firsts. Or maybe there is :)

I didn't get a picture so I will post a couple of pics from times when there were actually taking a nap.

Caitlin at 29 days. Isabella at 26 days.

The Museum

Our little monkeys took their first trip to the Nature & Science Museum today. We met some friends and spent a few hours walking around. The girls were great! Other than a little I'm hungry fussiness, they spent the whole time taking in the sights and babbling away. I think we will have to go more often.

The monkeys have made some more progress this week. Yesterday Isabella rolled from her stomach to her back for the first time. She is now rolling all over the place. She keeps ending up with her legs trapped under the couch and hasn't figured out how to get them out yet. She gets the cutest expression on her face when she realizes she is stuck. Caitlin rolled from her stomach to back for the first time today. This is great since she really dislikes tummy time. Hopefully she will start rolling off of her tummy when she wants to so she doesn't get so frustrated with tummy time. She is starting to roll to her sides more, but she hasn't quite made it from her back to her stomach without assistance yet. My little babies are getting a little more mobile every day :)

Scariest day of my life.

Mom and I went shopping with the girls this afternoon. Caitlin started crying a little in the car becuase she was tired and maybe wanted a little more milk than the bottle I had given her in the store. I hoped that she would fall asleep like she ususally does when she is tired and in the car. About half way home she suddenly starts crying really hard. We are in rush hour traffic and I'm trapped in the middle lane. Then I hear something very liquidy and Caitlin started making a really weird noise. I asked my mom if she was choking. Mom asked what I said. Then I realized Caitlin was really choking. I yelled out she's choking! Mom launched herself into the backseat and frantically tried to get Caitlin out of the car seat while yelling at me to pull over. Mom finally got Caitlin out and was able to get her positioned so she could clear her airway.

My baby had vomited and was choking on it and there was nothing I could do. Thank God my mom was with me. That minute when mom was trying to get Caitlin out of the seat was the scariest time of my life. Not being able to get her myself was the most helpless feeling I have ever had. I was so scared that we wouldn't get her out in time. I cried and hugged Caitlin for the longest time when we got home. I'm still shaking thinking about how different the outcome might have been if mom hadn't been with me. Caitlin is ok now. She was laughing and playing before bedtime like nothing had happened. As for me, well I could use a strong drink.

On a much less dramatic note...the monkeys had a play date with 7 other babies today. Most of the babies were born within a few weeks of each other. It was a lot of fun and a lot of chaos! I think the play dates are really starting to have a positive effect the girls' development. Having so much action going on around them when they are on the floor is a big motivator to keep playing instead of trying to get mom and dad to hold them. Both girls sat up unassisted for long stretches while we were there. They seem to like being around other babies and are doing a pretty good job of not staying in their twin bubble. Our pediatrician said its common for twins to only want to play with each other and ignore other babies, so I hope they continue to develop their peer interactions. The big benefit for me is all of the adult interaction. I am grateful for the opportunity to spend time with other women at the same stage in their lives.

You are supposed to be sleeping!

The girls have been showing some night owl tendencies over the last month. Last night was one of those nights. They were up a lot. Most noteably at 1 and 4 when they were wide awake and wanted to play. I oh so foolishly thought I would be able to catch a nap while they were napping today. I guess they did not get that memo. Naps apparently interfere with their bonding time. During one of my many trips into the nursery, this is what I saw:

Isabella has only rolled all of the way over by herself a few times. This is the first time she has done it in the crib. Caitlin clearly wants to keep her sissy as close as she can :)

In other news, Caitlin surprised her momma and sat up unassisted for a couple of minutes during our floor time. She is also gradually starting to like tummy time a bit more, so there is hope that she won't skip crawling. Isabella has really started going after everything around her. She is becoming mobile very quickly. We bought gates today so we have them when we need them. I am not sure I am ready for the fully mobile stage!

The Zoo

The animal count at the zoo went up by two monkeys today. The weather was beautiful.. in the mid 70's.. so we met a few friends for a walk at the zoo. It was the girls' first visit. I think they liked it even if they didn't see many of the animals. Unfortunately, I did not get to show them what actual monkeys look like. Hopefully we will see the monkeys next time.

I bought them sunglasses yesterday and the girls tried them out today. Isabella's are plaid and Caitlin's have turtles on them. The girls looked so cute! Lots of people walking by commented on how cute they looked. Nice comments always make momma smile :) Caitlin did a pretty good job of leaving her sunglasses on. Isabella considered her sunglasses a mouth accessory and held them there most of the time. Wish I had taken a picture, but I was too distracted and didn't think of it until it was too late. I will try to be better in the future!

7 Months

Wow, our little monkeys are 7 months old today! Throughout our lives we always hear the old saying about how fast time flies. While I always knew it was true, I did not realize how true until the monkeys arrived. Each month just seems to pass more quickly than the last one. I want to experience all of those wonderful moments that are going to happen as the girls grow up, but at the same time I want them to stay just the way they are forever. They have already changed so much. It makes me so happy to watch them grow and blossom and yet so sad to see a little bit of my babies disappear each day.

On the day we brought them home, Caitlin weighed 3 lbs 14 oz and Isabella weighed 4 lbs 11 oz. At their 6 month check up, Caitlin was up to 13 lbs 6 oz and Isabella was up to 14 lbs 6 oz. Below is a picture of the girls on the day we brought them home (wearing the smallest preemie onesies we had) and one from today.