Becoming Family

Genes Don't Mean Squat

2012-01-25T09:49:00.002-05:00

I get Marcus. It has been like that since as long as I can remember. The way he thinks and acts and processes things... I just feel like I get it. That isn't to say I always like the way he acts, but I understand his behavior. The way he can sometimes be so shy people wonder if he speaks and other times be so loud and outgoing I wish he would stop speaking, it reminds me of myself as a child. He is sneaky and smart and fiercly competitive and a perfectionist and I have been/am all those things too.

Last night I was cooking dinner and he came into the kitchen and asked if he could help. (Him always wanting to help me with chores and cooking is definitely NOT like me as a child at all. I'm not really like that as a grownup either actually.) I said, "Sure! You and Will need drinks. Sean and Aaron need their cups filled. Daddy still needs a drink. And we all need spoons."

He said in an exasperated voice, "Does it look like I have three arms? No. You are just going to have to be patient."

I burst out in laughter. That is exactly what I would have said had he rambled off a list of things he wanted me to do.

Somehow I ended up with my own little miniature version of myself, who came to me from thousands of miles away.

(Here is where I would post a recent picture of just Marcus and me if only I had a recent picture of just Marcus and me. Guess I better get someone to take some pictures of all my kids alone with me at some point.)

Christmas #1

2012-01-24T12:56:00.000-05:00

Nope, not behind in blogging at all. Just thought I would try to extend the joy of the holiday season well into January. Yes. That is my excuse.

We had a lovely Christmas around here. A couple lovely Christmases. Although it was exciting to get to celebrate Sean and Aaron's first Christmas, it was even more exciting to get to experience the joy of giving (and receiving) with Marcus and Will since they fully get Christmas now. At least the fun parts of it.

As usual, our Christmas morning started out by caging in the big kids so they couldn't see what Santa brought them before we were ready to witness them seeing it.

Then it was time to attack the presents!

I got a computer!

My jokester of a husband made me think I was getting a new computer at least. Further on in the present opening I did stumble upon a tiny little jewelry box that contained a haiku poem that was the beginning of my scavenger hunt for the grownup computer that I received.

I'm blaming the new computer in part for why I am just now getting around to blogging about Christmas. My lack of blogging of course has nothing to do with having 4 kids. Having 4 kids isn't time consuming in the least.

After presents at our house, we went to my parents to meet up with my sister and her family for brunch. We left everyone there and came back to our house so the kids could get a rest and Greg and I could get ready for Christmas dinner over here. Our family decided this year to try to make things simple and have ham sandwiches and other cold foods. That way, we could eat when we were hungry and no one would have to spend the holiday in the kitchen. It was definitely nice to get to enjoy being together as a family and exchanging gifts, and not have to be preoccupied with oven temperatures and timers. (Making things look effortless takes a lot of effort though. There were some long days leading up to Christmas of housecleaning and baking and cooking and planning. But it was all worth it.) And yes, there were more gifts!

It didn't take long at all for all four of the kids to abandon the toys specially selected for them in exchange for their brothers' toys. Ever change the diaper of a baby armed with a light saber? I have.

It was a busy and wonderful day. One of us ran out of steam before the festivities were even over.

And there was still one more side of the family to celebrate Christmas with! Stayed tuned for Christmas #2... which I will probably get around to blogging about by Independence Day.

Holiday Preparations

2012-01-14T11:08:00.001-05:00

We had a great, but very busy, holiday season around here. We kept up with some of our holiday traditions and did some new things this year. I decided to try my hand at baking holiday treats this year. Four kids and no real knack for baking? Yeah, that's me. But I did it anyway. And then I couldn't stop. I think I might still have enough cookies in my freezer to last me through next year.

Will's preschool class put on a musical that told the story of the first Christmas. He got to play the part of "Map Holder". Not sure if everyone knows this, but there were two map holders that first Christmas season. They helped Mary and Joseph pack by bringing a map to put in their suitcase. (There were also two toothbrush holders and two teddy bear holders.) Will's job was to speak into the microphone when the narrator asked what he was putting in the suitcase. His line was to say, "A map." He was fabulous.

My mom has built gingerbread houses from kits with my niece and nephew several times. This year Will and Marcus got to give building with edible objects a try. It was messy and gooey but it was fun!

Once Christmas Eve hit, we dove into our family traditions. Aaron and Sean received their first ornaments to put on the Christmas tree. We all get a new ornament each year on Christmas Eve to add to our collection. Most of the ornaments are pretty simple, but each of our kids have a special ornament for their first Christmas with us.

We got all dressed up and went to church, followed by some time with friends.

Then it was time for bed. We get our kids new pj's for Christmas Eve each year.

At last, time to settle in for the annual reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas before heading to bed to await Santa's arrival.

Cuddles

2012-01-13T15:40:00.000-05:00

Mornings are crazy around here. I get up 2 hours before I need to be out of the house. All to get myself ready (i.e. stick my hair in a ponytail and of course, put on my mascara), and then get the little guys up and fed before I even attempt to get my big kids out of bed to get them off to school. This means some really early mornings for Sean and Aaron. Sometimes they fall back to sleep after they eat. Sometimes one falls back to sleep and the other one decides to cuddle with his brother.

PG

2012-01-12T15:38:00.001-05:00

Cute picture? Yep. But even cuter is the non-PG version with their diapers off.

25 Things

2012-01-04T14:59:00.000-05:00

Once again, on to more things I never said until I had kids. For past links, follow these links.

#1-25
#26-50
#51-75
#76-100
#101-125
#126-150
#151-175
#176-200
#201-225
#226-250
#251-275

276. Did you just fart on my chips?
277. No ninjas at the dinner table.
278. Does it have a pickle on it? Then put it on.
279. You don't need to eat my chest hair.
280. Quit smelling it and wipe your eyes.
281. Can I have the remote and a Muslim to chew on?
282. We don't need to sing about your scrotum.
283. He is using the tail as butt floss.
284. Do you want your face to melt off?
285. No wonder you got broccoli on your head.
286. It's "Hakuna Matata", not "Avocado Cello".
287. You don't sit on the toilet and swing your pants around your head.
288. There are no swords coming out of your butt.
289. You don't get up and and walk around in the middle of pooping.
290. Now you have a table stuck on your head.
291. You're gonna get your tongue stuck in there.
292. Who's butt was that?
293. You have meatball in your ear.
294. It is just a regular scented butt.
295. If Jerrod had herpes, would you want that too?
296. I don't think there will be any killing at this birthday party.
297. I should never have to pull spoons out of my butt.
298. I sold some of your poop stains.
299. Whoa! Look at that furry tower of legs!
300. Let's stay out of the dishwasher.

The Dollar Store Christmas

2012-01-02T08:30:00.003-05:00

This year we felt it was time that our big kids start to realize that Christmas means giving, not just getting. We wanted them to give presents this year so they could experience the joy of making someone else happy. Marcus and Will both were really excited about getting presents for their family and wrapping them. There are a lot of hard lessons to learn about Christmas though, and like most people, I think they mostly enjoyed the act of shopping more than the actual act of giving. To make this exercise economically feasible, Marcus and Will got to do all their shopping at the dollar store. (Marcus's school does a "Santa's Workshop" where he got to pick out additional gifts for people.) I didn't provide any help with the selection of the gifts because I wanted it to be something that came from the heart of both boys. I let them pick out a toy for Sean and Aaron at Target just because there wasn't much at the dollar store that was suitable for babies. I thought Marcus did pretty good at selecting gifts. Will mostly just grabbed things off the shelf and assigned a name to them. So, a good lesson in giving for Marcus and Will, and no need to have a gag gift grab bag this year for the rest of us! Here were the gifts.

Marcus gave:
Watch - Greg
Dish Towel - Grammy
Flashlight - Pap pap
Serving Tray - Grandma
Play Money - Grandpa
Christmas Napkins - Uncle Randy
Clapping Sound Maker - Aunt Kim
Markers - Maria (cousin)
Cars Watch - Scott (cousin)
Glow in the Dark Necklace - Uncle Willie
Stuffed Santa - Aunt Sindy
Toy Story Coloring Project - Uncle Jeremy
Silly String - Aunt Bethany
Ninja Action Figures - Will
Rope Tug Toy - Maya (our dog)

Will Gave:
Mini Notebooks - Greg
Christmas Plate - Grammy
Glass Bowl - Pap pap
Air Horn - Grandma
Foam Craft Sheets - Grandpa
Ice Scrapper - Uncle Randy
Baby Shower Decorating Streamers - Aunt Kim
Flashlight - Maria (cousin)
Money Bank Shaped like a Crayon - Scott (cousin)
Index Cards - Uncle Willie
Plastic Bowls - Aunt Sindy
Snowflake Ornaments - Uncle Jeremy
Plastic Cups - Aunt Bethany
Ninja Action Figures - Marcus
Rawhide Bone - Maya (our dog)

The Big One

2011-12-29T20:51:00.002-05:00

My two little guys celebrated their first birthday today!! Hard to believe that a whole year has gone by, and yet I can't remember life without them either. A year ago I never would have thought that we would be where we are now. In just 365 days, we went from this:

to this:

I have heard more than once parents of twins say that the first year just flies by in a huge flurry of craziness and there is no way of pausing long enough to figure out how you made it through that time. It certainly was insane! But I was able to pause. A lot. I was able to soak up those moments holding one of both of these wee tiny little people. I am sad I never got to experience those newborn moments with Marcus and Will, which I think made me appreciate all that time when all I could do was hold sleeping babies, even at 3am. This past year I was able to spend time surrounded by all these boys in my house and feel how truly blessed I am. Through all the craziness of this year, I have never felt so much love or felt so much gratitude for the life I have been given.

Sean:
Sean was the first born of the two. Born 6 weeks early, he was taken to the NICU right away. He never had any respiratory problems and was only put on a feeding tube briefly (24 hours I think). He had some brachicardia issues where his immature nervous system would forget to tell his heart to beat and lungs to breathe often enough. It never turned into an emergency and he would always get himself back on track without intervention. But it did land him with a 13 day stay in the NICU. Then he was home for good. Apart from a couple colds, he has been very healthy. (He did receive a fever for his birthday though and has an appointment first thing tomorrow since there has been some illness in our family.) In the womb, I could tell he was a wild man. He continues to be a wild man. I call him Dozer because he just plows over anything and everything. As soon as he learned to crawl, he was gone. He world expanded from a small area wherever I put him down, to anything and everything he could get his hands on, which was usually things he shouldn't have his hands on. Meal time is a wild frenzy of picking up handfuls of food and shoving it in the vicinity of his face in hope that something ends up in his mouth. He still doesn't have any teeth but that doesn't stop him! He is pretty easy going and often doesn't even care if Aaron grabs a toy out of his hands. He is friendly and loves to play with other kids. However, he doesn't like to be too far away from me either. He has to check back in often by crawling over, getting some hugs and kisses. And then he is off to play again. He is not a happy kid at all if I he sees me leave the room or he suddenly realizes that I am not around. He loves hiding in his crawl tunnel he just got for Christmas, playing peek-a-boo, and chasing after his ball. He also likes to "help" load and unload the dishwasher. He is a happy baby who loves to cuddle and give kisses. And I love to receive his cuddles and kisses.

Aaron:
I still call Aaron "Pinenut" sometimes. Just like when he was born, he is still smaller than a peanut. For such a little guy, he was very healthy when he was born. It just took him a long time to catch on to how to eat and to eat efficiently enough that trying to take in calories didn't burn up more than he was getting. His lungs and heart were healthy from the beginning, but his feeding issues meant he had to stay in the NICU for 18 days. I was scared to death when they told me I could bring him home. In part because then we had two new babies, but mostly because at the time he came home he only weighed 4 lbs 2 oz. It took him a couple weeks at home to catch on to nursing and for us to feel confident that he was getting enough to eat. Then there was a little health setback when he had to have hernia surgery when he was about 2.5 months old followed by getting his tongue tie fixed. After all that, it has been smooth sailing. Aaron is such an easy baby. He is independent and doesn't want anyone to help him with something he can do himself. He just smiles all day long, until you make him mad. If that little guy doesn't get his way, you can see the definition of a redheaded temper flair up! He might be a lot smaller than Sean, but that doesn't stop him from putting Sean in his place, taking his toy, and protesting loudly if Sean attempts to take something from him. His favorite toys right now are doors. Yep, doors. Bedroom doors or doors to cabinets or really anything that he can swing back and forth. The big heavy front door is the best. He is also a big lover of music and starts bouncing and dancing as soon as he hears it. He is happy to smile at anyone he comes in contact with, but prefers not to get too friendly. He is a little sensitive. He is quick to startle and often is not a fan of new people/places/situations. Aaron pays attention to detail. He finds every tiny piece of fuzz on the carpets (which go right into his mouth) and takes his time picking up his food carefully and neatly putting it in his mouth. Up until 2 weeks ago, he has been perfectly happy to sit and observe the world or whatever toy was within arms reach. He didn't seem to have much interest in learning to move about the world, but instead liked inspecting and observing. Then he learned to crawl. A few days later, he learned to pull up. He still uses his mobility mostly to find new things in the world to inspect and observe. He smiles. He smiles all the time. He smiles ear to ear when he is doing something he isn't supposed to be doing, all the while shaking his head back and forth to signify, "no no no!".

Merry Christmas from my Family to Yours

2011-12-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy 5th Birthday Will!

2011-12-19T20:47:00.002-05:00

Today my big boy Will turned 5 years old! Although he was pretty excited about it, his poor old mom (that's me) can't believe my little boy isn't so little any more. Over the weekend he had a birthday party filled with lots of tacos for his guests and a Star Wars cake. Will had a great time and got some really cool gifts.

As always, I think of Will's birthmom on his birthday. I don't imagine to understand how she feels, but I hope that somehow she has a calm in her heart and somehow knows that her son is loved by so many people and Greg and I are giving him the best life that we know how to.

Logistics of Twins

2011-12-16T10:14:00.002-05:00

I'm coming up on a year now of having four kids, including my twins. Yep, they are almost a year old. So hard to believe! As with any baby, things around here are constantly changing. What it was like to have 6 month old twins is vastly different than what it is like to have 11 month old twins. My life just feels like a constant flow of ever changing challenges - all of which are worth it to have so many people around me to love. I did my best while pregnant not to day dream too much about what life would be like with two more children. I knew that it was pointless because no matter what I thought or expected, it would be how it would be. It turns out that the most difficult thing about having twins is just the logistics of it all.

First of all, as I expected from the day that the ultrasound tech said, "I see two sacs in there," everything has to be done twice. I don't just change one diaper. I change two. I don't just bathe one baby, I bathe two. I don't just get one kid in the car, I put two coats on two babies, strap two babies into car seats, carry one baby down to the basement, go back upstairs to get the other baby to carry him down to the basement, carry one baby to the car and snap the seat into the base, and then carry the second baby to the car and snap his seat into the base. (I break a sweat every time.)

Although sometimes backbreaking, it is not double everything that is the most exhausting. It is the logistics of having twins that wears me down the most. There was a time about 5 years ago that I only had one kid. It was hard. Really hard. I was exhausted. I really do know what it is like to try to accomplishing things that need accomplished when you have one baby. Despite this, I see people out and about now with one baby hanging out in their car seat perched on the grocery cart, and I think they have it so easy. The logistics of one baby were so much easier. You just pick that baby up and do it - in those few minutes you have between naps and feedings and that constant feeling of being overwhelmed.

I've been taking Will to preschool with two babies in tow for the past 4 months. His preschool requires parents to come into the building to drop off and pick up their kids. Lots of other moms come in with their other children or their babies. They look exhausted. It is hard work to get those car seat carrier things in and out of the car and carry those awkward things in and out of the building. But they only have one. I have tried pretty much every combination of things to get Will to preschool. I tried carrying two car seats. Once. At which point I decided that just sucked. Then for awhile I would get one baby out of the car seat and wear him in my Ergo while I carried the other little guy in his car seat. That was awkward but it saved me from having to unbuckle/re-buckle two car seats. Babies got bigger and heavier and I changed to wearing one in the Ergo and pushing another in an umbrella stroller. Then it was mass chaos of unbuckling and re-buckling and in and out of the car. But you do what you have to do. Then it started getting cold. In order to get a baby into the Ergo, I have to take my coat off, insert baby, and put coat on. One more step. So recently I ditched the Ergo. Double stroller it is. Two babies - and Will - buckled in, unbuckled, into the school, back to the car to be buckled up again. And the double stroller is wide. I can't even get in or out of the preschool doors unless someone is around to hold one for me. And the halls of the preschool are narrow so I am always blocking the hallway and running over toes.

And then there is the logistics of shopping, grocery shopping in particular. That will be a whole other post. I have to go change a diaper. And then another diaper.

Kisses

2011-12-08T21:41:00.000-05:00

Both my little guys are decent cuddlers, but Sean has always been the one that is a little more affectionate. He has been giving hugs for months and months. Recently he started giving kisses. He is a bit stingy with them, and so far has only offered them up to Aaron and me. Don't be too jealous though. Sean's idea of kissing is to grab you as tight as possible so you can't possibly escape, open his mouth wide, and rub it all over your face/ears/hair/mouth/eyes. I am hoping for his sake that his technique improves before he is a teenager.

Little Musicians

2011-12-05T21:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-12-02T21:07:00.002-05:00

We had a lovely Thanksgiving. There was a fabulous feast that was shared by Pilgrims and Indians.

There were a couple little turkeys there too.

We had a lot to be thankful for this year. Health. Family. Food. And these adorable hand knit sweaters my friend made.

In hopes that our kids would start to understand the true meaning of Thanksgiving - apart from just eating turkey - we assembled a "thankful turkey".

Each night from the beginning of November until Thanksgiving, we all came up with something we were thankful for. Marcus and Will helped come up with ideas for Sean and Aaron. We did our best not to edit any of their ideas or repeat things. Here is what our family was thankful for this year:

Ninja Turtles, Food, Mommy, Chair, Cup, Baby Toys, Family, Pumpkin, Daddy, Car Seat, Veggie Straws, Facebook, "Plug" (pacifier), Ice Cream, Dino, iPhone, DS, Marcus, Surfboards, Maya, Bed, My Job, Trick-or-Treating, Shakin' Bear, School, Cookies, Beer, God, Clothes, Bib, Nap, Cars, Animals, Face, Brothers, House, Sunshine, Socks, Neighborhood, Bedtime, Swing, Caffeine, Jumperoo, Sean, Cake, Instruments, Kitchen, Grammy, Cake, Therapy, M, Doggy, Aaron, Flannel, Grandpa, TV, Crawling, Indian Summer, Boppy Pillow, PJ's, Ritalin, Football, Going Outside, Will, Scott, Nutella, Ice Tea, Car Table, Pants, Bathtub, Vegetables, Medicine, Cage, Pizza, Wipes, Socks, Pie, Thanksgiving, Nursing, Apples, Spoon, Candy, Freedom, Coupons, Car, Roger Clyne, Teeth, Toaster, Ergo, Grammy, Sunglasses, Homework, Friends, Puffs, Computer, Grill, Computer, French Fries, Spaghetti, Meatballs, Pasta, Music, Love, Money, Cheese, Grandma, Grocery Store, Meat, Dentist, Toilet Paper, School Bus, Books, Pooping, DMB, Darth Vader, Dollar, Obi Wan Kenobi, Underwear, Anakin Skywalker, Slippers, Bacon, Sunglasses, Pancakes, Pizza, Shoes, Steelers, Uncle Jeremy, Trooper Helmets, Cheddar Bunnies, Chores, Notebook, Beyblades, Rain, Movies, Yoda, Crosby, Laughing, Books, Race Cars, Stroller, Babies

Family Day

2011-11-12T14:50:00.003-05:00

Each year our family celebrates its very own Family Day the first Saturday of November. (Except last year we celebrated a month early.) The "holiday" began to commemorate the adoption of Marcus and Will but has now morphed into a celebration of the unique way that we all became a family. It doesn't matter what we do, just that we do it together as a family on this special day. This year we went bowling (which was Marcus's idea), followed by pizza at Pizza Hut, and rounded out the evening with some ice cream at home and presents for the kids.

On the day we found out about each of our children, we got them a stuffed animal. Marcus and Will got their pictures taken with their frogs on the first day that they were home with us.

And the first Family Day for these two...

Presents for everyone!

Sean and Aaron got elephant puppets. Marcus and Will received hand painted letters that we purchased when we were in Guatemala.

Taking Out Insurance on the Future

2011-11-07T19:54:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween

2011-11-05T14:05:00.003-04:00

Hope your family had a great Halloween! This was the first year we carved pumpkins with the kids since Greg and I are boring people and dislike carving. It ended up being a fun evening. Marcus and Will decorated two pumpkins with kits they got from the birthday party mentioned in the previous post, while Greg and I handled the knives. Greg's pumpkin was supposed to be Gus from the tv series "Breaking Bad" although it didn't turn out like he expected. I made the completely awesome witch.

The little guys were skeletons.

The big guys were both going to be Steelers players but Marcus decided at the last minute that he wanted to wear his dragon costume from last year.

I made the big kids pose with a pile of snow that was leftover from a few days prior. It reminded me of a photo my mom took one year of our jack-o-lanterns covered in snow.

Even though the snow was mostly gone, the weather was not so good. It was cold and as I was snapping these pictures it started to rain. The big guys had layers of clothes under their costumes. The little guys had their costumes covered up by their snow suits that had little bear ears on them.

It was raining pretty good when trick-or-treating started. The little kids and I caught up with the big kids and Greg when the rain started to let up. It was a good night, even though Marcus was slightly bummed we didn't hit up more houses. And I made it all the way to November 2nd before stealing any of my kids' candy!

Speed Blogging: October (minus Halloween)

2011-11-01T21:32:00.003-04:00

I'm never going to catch up on blogging so here is a picture heavy post of what we did in October, not including Halloween.

Sean stole Aaron's sock and then ate it.

I started giving Sean and Aaron a bath together. This is one of the most difficult things I have ever done. I've never wrestled a greased pig but I imagine it is like doing that, times two.

We've hung out together.

We've stared off into the distance together.

We went to Grandpa Sam's 88th birthday party, and all the Kline men got to be together for the first time.

We've enjoyed the colors of fall.

We had brunch with our buddy Henry.

We went to a festival at Marcus's school where he had his face painted.

Marcus had his first trumpet lesson, and insisted that he had to march while playing. Not sure where he even picked up that playing a trumpet and marching go together.

Aaron had his first piano lesson.

I ordered kid sized rakes online for the big kids. The little kids enjoyed the box.

I didn't look too closely at the photos of the rakes I bought and ended up with two mostly pink rakes. My big kids didn't care. They were really excited about raking. Greg and I were really excited about free child labor.

Then there was lots of playing in the leaves.

We put babies in a bag.

We put babies in a box of balls.

Sean played with his favorite pup.

Sean was adamant about taking a nap.

We went to Henry's first birthday party at a pumpkin farm.

While there, we went in a corn maze.

The little guys tried out the backpack carriers for the first time while there.

Aaron passed out mid-pumpkin picking.

We came home with four very cute pumpkins.

We kept up with our dental hygiene.

We played with hockey nets. Aaron likes to try to lift everything over his head. This was no exception.

Sean likes to taste things. This was no exception.

It snowed.

My dad had a birthday.

We carved and decorated pumpkins.

And finally, Aaron and Sean had their first (baby sized) Eat 'n Park Smiley Cookie.

Happy Gotcha Day Marcus!

2011-10-30T08:45:00.002-04:00

Five years ago today, a rollie pollie little Marcus was placed into our arms and became our son forever. Happy Gotcha Day!

I am still this excited about you!

10 Months

2011-10-29T19:58:00.002-04:00

Happy 10 months to my beautiful babies! You guys sure are make getting these month by month photos of you sitting with your bears really difficult.

Sean
Sean is my social, friendly guy. When he meets new people, he just smiles and smiles. He constantly has his tongue out. Just recently he started "talking" more, and now can babble with the rest of them. He is constantly on the move. He rolls all over and is so close to crawling. He does this modified army crawl that is more like an inch worm. He can transition easily from sitting onto his belly but can rarely get from his belly back up to sitting. He pulls up to his knees and really wants to pull to stand. When he hears music, he sings along. He is enthusiastic about eating and is adventurous in trying new foods. He can be cuddly at times, but after a few minutes, he is ready to bounce and flop around and explore. We are still waiting for him to get some teeth and loving that toothless grin. He loves our pup and gets excited when he sees any dogs. He's turning into a pudgy little guy with squeezable cheeks and squishy thighs. He is still small though (wearing 6-9 month clothes). He is a decent sleeper for a 10 month old. He has figured out how to turn on his musical aquarium in his crib, which is sometimes the only sign we get that he woke up from his nap.

Aaron
Aaron my serious guy. He likes to watch and figure things out. When meeting new people, he just watches. But when he is ready to smile (or is getting tickled) his smile and laughter will melt any heart. He is a big talker and I swear he said "mama" the other day. He loves blowing raspberries and making fish faces. He likes to sit and look at books or play his little piano. He loves to dance. He claps his hands and sometimes uses sign language to ask for more while he is eating. His gross motor development comes in spurts. He watches what Sean is up to for awhile and then just suddenly does it too. He can pull up to his knees, then takes it a step farther by letting go and balancing. He loves to stand and challenges himself by letting go and standing alone on two feet for a few seconds at a time. When he accomplishes something new, he is so excited and just smiles and laughs at how awesome he is. He is a little more picky about eating and is not a fan of veggies. He's generally a happy baby but had a few off days this week when he wanted to be held a lot. He is normally an independent little dude that is happy doing his own thing. He has two bottom teeth and one on top and a fourth one on the top that will come in any minute (which probably accounts for the clingy behavior). His cheeks have finally filled out and he has what I like to call "cheek chub". He is still a tiny little guy (wearing 3-6 month clothes, although I often make him wear larger sizes because I'm tired of having so many clothes around). His sleep is sometimes good, and sometimes not so great.

My favorite things about having two 10 month olds:
- all the smiles and giggles
- how these kids find the most entertainment in the craziest things like boxes, hockey nets, and the legs of their activity table.

Ferocious

2011-10-19T15:15:00.000-04:00

This little dino is so darn cute, makes me wish I was a carnivore so I could eat him up.

Mostly Healthy Lunch #12

2011-10-17T15:12:00.000-04:00

Who doesn't like a fun lunch! A sure way to get my kids to eat just about any sandwich is to use my trusty dinosaur shaped sandwich cutter. Not even sure at this point what kind of sandwich that was, or what what fruit is mixed in with the grapes. But I do know that is yogurt with homemade granola on it. And I remember that both Marcus and Will ate every bite of this lunch.

First Flight

2011-10-15T15:05:00.002-04:00

It wasn't all that long ago that Marcus and Will got to take their first small airplane ride. The last time they were in any airplane was in 2007 during Will's adoption, a ride that they don't remember. Will was up first.

The rest of the family stood by and waved to Will and his grandpa, including Sean and me.

And then they were off!

Will returned very happy with his flight.

Then it was time for Marcus to be air born.

And then he was off too, and the picture of this looks exactly like the one of Will's plane ride above.

Marcus was pretty excited about his first flight!

A couple other kiddos stayed on the ground, but they got to at least sit in the plane. Aaron was a great pilot, even with his pacifier.

Sean, of course, had his tongue out.

If You're Happy and you Know It

2011-10-12T21:00:00.003-04:00

This video proves two things. First, that Aaron learned to clap on Sunday and is the cutest clapper ever. Second, I sound like a complete moron when I talk to babies.

Also, Aaron is now ahead 3-0 in the growing teeth competition. Today we said hello to the top left front tooth.

Mostly Healthy Lunch #11

2011-10-10T15:13:00.000-04:00

This was Marcus's first day of school lunch. (Yes, I know that the first day of school was quite some time ago.) I made it extra special with all of his favorites. And broccoli.

Kraft Mac 'n Cheese (that was cold, but he doesn't care), broccoli with ranch dip, and chocolate chip cookies.

People keep asking and I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but I got my containers at Target. They are made by Glad and can probably be found pretty much wherever plastic Glad containers are sold. The little cups I used for dip I bought online, I think from a seller on amazon. They were sold as "Jello Shot Containers". Nice.

Cute Guatemalan Kids, Take 2

2011-10-08T15:07:00.003-04:00

So... back to this blogging thing.

We belong to a Guatemalan adoption group called GPAFG (Greater Pittsburgh Adoptions From Guatemala) for families that have been touched by adoption through Guatemala. Our group has events all year long, but the biggest event is the annual picnic. The picnic took place in August and I am just now getting a chance to blog about it.

We had perfect weather for the picnic. The location we tried out this year was ideal. There was a playground right there for all the kiddos and lots of room for us all to eat. Marcus and Will were too busy running around with their friends so I didn't get many pictures of them.

I did get a group shot.

9 Month Stats

2011-10-04T16:45:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was Aaron and Sean's 9 month doctor appointment. The diagnosis is that they are healthy, although Aaron has a huge head and Sean is chubby. Specifically, here are the numbers:

Sean
Weight: 17 lbs 7 oz (6th%)
Height: 25.5 inches (<0%)
Head: 43.5 cm (6th%)

Aaron
Weight: 15 lbs 4 oz (<0%)
Height: 25 inches (<0%)
Head: 45 cm (38th%)

Seems crazy that both little guys weight about 4 times what they did when they were born!

Love This Family

2011-10-02T10:43:00.000-04:00

You can't choose your family, or so "they" say. Yet somehow the family that was chosen for me is just perfect. Yeah, sure, there could be a few more girls in this family but since I've always been a tom boy, I am much more suited to be in a family of boys. We all look out for each other. We have different personalities that keep things interesting. Our kids all have great stories of how they became part of this family. And yet, no matter how we came into this family, we all love each other. And there just aren't too many families who can take a picture like this.

(This picture was taken a few weeks ago when it wasn't freezing cold, and yes, they do all have pants on. Or most of them do.) I love all the different colors in this photo. I didn't realize it until looking at the photo later, but I love how Sean and Aaron are holding hands. I love that I have four boys and all my boys have different hair color.

We have a buddy system in our family. Marcus and Aaron are buddies. Will claims Sean as his baby. No typical norms of society can tell these two pairs that they don't belong together, that their brotherhood is any different than any other brothers out there. These big kids are always very concerned when their little buddy is not happy and try to fix the situation by being silly or getting them toys. These kids are just so excited to have each other, that I couldn't even get a good picture of Marcus with his buddy since Marcus was just smiling way too big!

9 Months

2011-09-29T19:57:00.000-04:00

Look who is 9 months old!

So much is going on with these little 9 month olds. They will be going to the doctor next week and I am looking forward to finding out just how big they have grown. Sean is wearing 6-9 months clothes and Aaron soon will (finally) be out of the 3-6 month stuff. Both little guys are still a bit behind developmentally on account of being premature, but they do therapy and are making huge strides. They are sitting up. They have even hung out in the big double seat in the Sam's Club shopping carts. Sean and Aaron have certainly become aware of each other. We have now reached the point where if one cries, so does the other. Gotta admit I liked it better with only one baby crying at a time around here.

Sean
Sean is my mover. He isn't crawling yet but will be any minute. I am kinda panicking, but mostly pretending that I don't know that crawling means he will be into everything. He started sitting unassisted around 7.5 months. He moves from sitting to laying down, rolls around, and moves in circles while he is on his belly. He can get up on all fours but hasn't figured out how to move in that position. He tries to pull up on things but isn't there yet either. Everyone we meet notices what a social and smiley guy he is. He's rather laid back, but also makes sure he doesn't miss a thing. Still no teeth for this guy but I am hoping they show up soon because the excessive drooling is gross. He loves to eat and I haven't found anything that he doesn't really like. Sleep isn't horrid. He has slept through the night several times recently but usually still gets up at least once to eat. Up until about a week ago I have been letting little people nap during the day as they see fit. Then I got really frazzled when I wasn't getting anything done. Been working towards a loose nap schedule now and for the most part, it is going well (two naps a day for Sean). Although today Sean was determined to nap on his own schedule.

Aaron
Aaron likes to work on his fine motor skills. He figured out the sitting independently thing about 2 weeks ago. He is happy to sit and play with his toys. His favorite toys are books. He has a pretty good pincher grip going on. He still detests being on his tummy. Aaron is the thinker. When he meets new people he is very serious and checks them out. (If he is tired he cries when he sees new people.) He is usually happy with Greg, but certainly has quite a preference to me over anyone else. He will play for a little bit alone, but then he is ready for me to hold him and reassure him again. He now has his two front, bottom teeth. His top front teeth are getting ready to poke through. He is cranky and miserable and has a runny nose and is really clingy so they better show up soon. He is a decent eater, which is more than I can ask for considering his early troubles with eating. That boy has got a temper. Since the time he was 4 months old, he has been throwing quite a temper tantrum anytime you take something from him or try to get him to do anything he doesn't want to do (like get buckled into his car seat). Aaron is our little talker too. No words yet, but he is saying several consonants like /d/, /t/, /g/, and sometimes even /th/. He is a good napper and usually still naps 3 times a day, his last nap being a short one that always seem to take place when we would rather be feeding him dinner. There has been some sleeping through the night, but then the teeth thing started happening so he is usually up at least once.

And of course, both these little guys are loved a lot!

Mommy Necklace

2011-09-28T14:40:00.000-04:00

I have had to give up on jewelry. Not that big of a deal since I don't usually wear much anyway. But I do feel rather naked without earrings. No more earrings for me for a bit. Every since Aaron discovered a few months ago just how interesting those little dangly shiney things could be. I put up a fight at first. Just kept telling him to be gentle and hoping that soon enough he would become bored by my jewelry. Instead of becoming bored, he refined his ability to grab and pull. No more earings for me.

Then I bought a mommy necklace. I bought mine on amazon.com because that is where I buy everything. I think it might even be called a "Mommy Necklace". Looks nice. And it is a fully functioning, safe, chew toy for babies. Made with non-toxic beads, held together with a sturdy string, and even has a break away clasp just in case your little one tugs a bit too hard. Aaron and I are both big fans!

Mostly Healthy Lunch #10

2011-09-26T14:51:00.000-04:00

Southwest inspired! Sandwich is whole grain bread, Kraft Sandwich Shop Chipotle Mayonnaise, lettuce, cheddar cheese, turkey, red onion, and avocado. (No onion for the kids and they picked off the avocado.) Sides of blue corn chips and salsa and a pear. Pears are a southwest food, right?

Cute Guatemalan Kids, Take 1

2011-09-24T14:24:00.000-04:00

Every August for the past few years we have gone to two picnics for families who have adopted from Guatemala. The first one is at a wonderful family's house. The first year we went, I didn't even know the family and only knew one other person there. It was a bit awkward to show up at these complete stranger's house. We lucked out though because they are such nice people. Other the past few picnics, we have shared adoption stories and marveled over how much each of the kids has grown. This year, I found myself involved in very few conversations about the adoption process. Five years ago, my whole life revolved around things like DNA tests, PGN, and "getting pink". Now all that seems almost foreign to me. I can't remember half of what was in the giant stack of documents that we had to send off to Guatemala. As consuming as bringing my kids into my life was, it almost seems like a tiny little hiccup in the life that I have been able to share with them. No matter the story, it still amazes me every time I get to spend time with other families with children from Guatemala. What if? What if we had taken another route? What if we had waited a little longer to do our paperwork and the child we now have in our lives had gone to another family? What if Marcus and Will weren't brothers? What if we never got to meet any of these people and share this amazing bond through adoption? What if these beautiful kids didn't get to be friends?

Bears

2011-09-22T14:21:00.000-04:00

As I always say, when you are being attacked by a bear, do whatever you need to survive... even if it means sacrificing your children.

Sean seems completely bored by his crazy mother's antics.

The Truth about a Tooth, Part Two

2011-09-20T21:17:00.000-04:00

Back in July I wrote about how Aaron had his first tooth. It was this bizarre tooth that was off to the side and looked almost like the top of a molar. A few weeks ago, it went away. I couldn't make this stuff up. Completely gone now. As of a few days ago, he does have his first real tooth. It is the right front bottom one. It is poking through and getting more and more noticeable each day. Sean is still as toothless as ever.

Let's Talk About Race

2011-09-18T21:21:00.000-04:00

Race. It is every one's favorite subject. The one that no one wants to speak about, I think because no one wants to say something wrong. I'm going to talk about it anyway. And I am sure I am going to say something wrong so I apologize ahead of time.

When I think back to my childhood, I am not sure I realized that there were more than two races. Everyone was either white or black. And in the town I grew up in - the town I still live in - most everyone was white. In fact there was only one black kid in my class through the fifth grade and it took me until the end of fifth grade to even realize he was black. I just thought he had a good tan. I can think of only three black people that I would consider acquaintances of mine all the way through high school. It wasn't until college that I finally had my first black friend. Then the school year ended and we lost touch.

I by no means avoided people of other races. People of other races just haven't been readily available in my life. Not until 5 years ago. Suddenly each and every day I would wake up to find a Hispanic person living in my house. Then four years ago, two Hispanic people were in my house and in my life every single day. I found myself far more aware of race. People would look at me and my kids when I was out and I could never be sure if they were looking because babies are just darn cute, or if they were looking because we were different races.

A few weeks ago Marcus had "Kinder Camp". He got a chance to meet his teachers, meet the kids in his class, see his school, and get an idea of what kindergarten would be like. When I dropped him off, I got to see all the kids that would be going into kindergarten with him. There I was taking a survey of the races of all the kids. I spotted three African American kids and was over the moon with the fact that two of them were going to be in Marcus's class, including one boy Marcus knew from his baseball team this summer. Up until a few years ago, I never thought I would care what race his classmates were. Now I'm glad he won't be the only non-white person in his class.

So far, Marcus hasn't had any questions about his race. We talk often with Marcus and Will about how all our skin is different colors and all our hair is different colors. We have talked about how his black friend from his baseball team that is in his class has really dark skin. I feel like maybe we should talk about racism but I don't have any idea how to address that subject with a 5 year old, particularly since I haven't been exposed much to it myself.

A friend of mine has a (white) son in kindergarten that is much more diverse than Marcus's school. A day into school and this little boy came home with some tough questions. My friend and I discussed how hard it is to talk about race because it is one of those important subjects where you just don't want to mess up the conversation. I remembered something I read on Ask Moxie about a discussion of a chapter in a book about white parents talking about race with their kids. (The short version is that white parents just don't talk to their kids about race, and in general what white people do to teach their kids about race is just not enough.) I thought that maybe surrounding ourselves with other multicultural families and being educated in the subject through our adoption agency would give me a leg up. I am still clueless.

I remember during one of the seminars we attended through our adoption agency that the social worker was talking about race in our families. She said that when our kids reach grade school age, us parents begin to forget in a way that we are a different race than our children. We become so comfortable with how our families look and see our children as nothing else than just our children and don't notice the skin. However, it is at this same age that our children begin to notices the differences in people and in themselves.

I've gone through life with the message driven home that race doesn't matter. I want my kids to grow up thinking the same thing. And yet, to make race not matter, I feel like it needs to be a bigger part of our life and frequent conversations.

Kindergarten!!

2011-08-30T21:25:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was Marcus's first day of kindergarten. Really? How did this happen?? I remember being flabbergasted that I had a kid going to preschool. But now, kindergarten! Craziness. We've had a ton of fun all summer but all these sunny days were starting to wear my nerves thin. I have to admit that I was getting a little antsy for school to start so these big kids would have something to do other than just argue with each other. Then it happened. Marcus went back to his ways of being super adorable and sensitive and it reminded me that that little inner beast that has been coming to surface, is just a little nick in the otherwise wonderful little boy of mine. Just a few days ago he was telling me very honestly that as soon as he is old enough, he is going to do the driving so that way when I am tired I can sleep in the car while we go places.

Marcus was excited about kindergarten. When we first started talking about it a few months ago, he said he didn't want to go. Instead he wanted to stay at his preschool with the teachers and friends he already knew. Then he went to kindergarten orientation in the spring and he got to ride a school bus. Suddenly kindergarten was going to be the best thing that could ever happened to him. Two weeks ago he got to enjoy kindergarten for two days, a couple of hours each day, at Kinder Camp. He had nothing but good things to report from Kinder Camp, although he was still looking forward to getting to ride that school bus again.

The first day of kindergarten finally arrived. The first thing Marcus said when I got him up yesterday morning was, "It's kindergarten day! I'm scared." I let him know that I was scared my first day of kindergarten. (I left out the part of how I was that kid who was clinging to her mom's leg screaming.) But sometimes it is important to do things that you are a little scared to do. Then you see how much fun it can be and you feel really great about yourself for being so brave. I would like to think my little speech made him understand, but likely it was more that the excitement of riding that school bus took over. I didn't hear another word about being scared all morning. In fact, this kindergartener was downright excited!

Greg was able to go into work a little late so he could be there for the momentous occasion of sending Marcus off. Marcus had quite the crew waving to him as that great big kid of mine stepped onto the school bus.

Nary a tear was shed. I wasn't worried at all about Marcus being upset. It was me that I was concerned about.

The day went on. Will went to have some special time with Grammy for a bit since his school doesn't start until next week and he was a bit envious. Two babies napped at the same time for a bit. I had no idea what to do with myself. So, I thought about cleaning. No actual cleaning took place but I thought about it.

I was a bit anxious about the bus ride home for Marcus. Would he get off the right stop? What would I do if the bus showed up and he wasn't on it?? That is a lot of responsibility for a 5-year old. But the afternoon rolled around and that big yellow bus showed up. A very excited Marcus stepped off. He was so excited that it took awhile before I got to hear anything about his day other than it was good. His favorite part about the day was riding the bus. (When does that change? I know by the time I hit high school I was mortified on days when I couldn't drive or get a ride with a friend and had to get on a bus.)

As soon as he got back home the insanity started. I remember back when he was first starting preschool, he would come home from school - where I was told he never talked - and he would just go wild. Whatever he was holding in at school, he made up for it when he came home. The same thing happened as soon as he got home from kindergarten. He let loose. It took about 5 minutes before he was aggravating Will and fighting with him. Then there was loudness and wrestling with the dog and being rough with Sean and not listening. Maybe Marcus did get off at the wrong bus stop and some alien child came home with me instead.

All in all, kindergarten is going great for everyone. Two days in now and Marcus already told me today that he has a girlfriend (which I am sure he means a girl that is a friend). He was all embarrassed and whispered it to me and said I couldn't tell anyone or talk about it... so I just wrote about it on facebook and now I'm blogging about it. Kindergarten is all day and it is a long day. He was too tired after school today to be a wild child. But he went to bed tonight excited that he gets to get up and do it all over again tomorrow.

25 Things

2011-08-28T16:34:00.001-04:00

Check out our latest list of 25 Things I Never Said Until I Had Kids. It has been a long time since I posted these - not because we haven't been saying odd things but because we haven't had time to write them down. It seems our current list contains lots of nursing baby related items along with the normal potty humor. To see the rest of the list, follow the links.

#1-25
#26-50
#51-75
#76-100
#101-125
#126-150
#151-175
#176-200
#201-225
#226-250

251. STOP SAYING "SLINKY"!
252. Sorry to disappoint you with my lack of buffalo pooping photos.
253. Stop dripping on your brother.
254. Why don't you put your pj's on so you're not running around naked looking for a sheep.
255. We don't pee any differently just because it's Christmas.
256. Relax. I'm just trying to get the pee out of your ear.
257. That's the classy way to drink from a boob.
258. One of these days I'll be able to sit at the dinner table without my boob hanging out.
259. I almost bit the dust on a brachiasaurus.
260. You don't need a spaceman outfit to drive a tractor.
261. If you put that tail in your mouth, you'll be in timeout.
262. The yogurt is vanilla-flavored. Not Noah-flavored.
263. Can you come here and examine poop with me?
264. Do you need to be in timeout for not eating worms after I told you to?
265. You need to remain seated throughout the entire process of pooping.
266. Are you wearing underwear to the baseball game?
267. We don't need a picture of you humping the Exersaucer.
268. He invented a new hobby at 2 in the morning. Muslim licking.
269. We got all clean without any Hoochie Mamas.
270. Yay! Mommy is getting her boobs out!
271. Do you want to sit down and play with your balls?
272. All that looking at dead animals wore us out.
273. We don't need to wear gardening gloves to play baseball.
274. I wish I had shoved a diaper in my underwear.
275. Get on that boob! Daddy wants some ice cream!

Laundry

2011-08-25T22:57:00.000-04:00

It is important that all members in our household help out with the household chores. We do not discriminate based on age, gender, race, or all those other things.

And, perhaps, before the little guys were sitting, we might have put them in a laundry basket facing the clear front dryer for entertainment while we folded laundry. Maybe.

Are they twins?

2011-08-23T22:31:00.001-04:00

I get a lot of stupid questions and comments when I am out with Sean and Aaron. The one that is probably the stupidest is, Are they twins? No, I voluntarily go out and about with two babies that appear to be the same age in matching car seats. Sure, I could be a nanny or watching someone else's similarly aged baby. Mostly I think people are just trying come up with something to say in order to break the ice and engage in baby staring. For the most part, I do like the attention. Who wouldn't appreciate perfect strangers saying wonderful things about their kids on a regular basis? Sometimes it gets annoying. I just want to get my errands done and not be a spectacle. I do a lot of ignoring, particularly when I just hear someone shout from across the aisle at the grocery store, "Twins!" Really, what am I supposed to respond to them with?

The thing that annoys me most is when people don't know what gender my boys are. Sometimes it might be confusing if they are wearing gender neutral colors, but usually that doesn't matter. So many people think Aaron is a girl. Poor Aaron. I can see maybe if they ask their names and I say Aaron and they might think Erin. Yes, he does have petite features and red hair. But, NOT A GIRL.

I had a doctor's appointment one day. It was a bit of an emergency and I had to take the little guys with me.* When I got Sean and Aaron dressed that day, I purposely made sure that Aaron was looking manly. Just the day before I had FOUR people at the grocery store comment on my how beautiful my daughter was. I was determined to make him look manly. I chose coordinating onesies and no pants since it was so hot that day. I made sure that Aaron was wearing the dark blue one with the pirate on it because nothing says "I'm a man" like a pirate. Roller skating turtles could go either way.

So, into the doctor's office I went. I was followed by an older couple who were quite chatty. The man must have asked me 3 times which of my babies he could have. Umm... neither. Then he insisted on pushing the stroller for me and smacked my hand away when I reached for it. His wife said the babies could come to their house and be top dogs since they didn't have any grandchildren. Then came the inevitable. "Blah, blah, blah because you have a boy and a girl." Seriously??? Dark blue pirate shirt people.

Maybe it is just the weird people that occupy my doctor's waiting room. As I was leaving that day, I was clearly struggling to fit my double stroller through the double doors, attempting to hold open the door with my butt while maneuvering the stroller with my hands, when a man sitting right next to the door said to me, "Wow, you really have your hands full." Yep. And you would think he would help me with the door. Not a chance.

The two best comments I have had about Sean and Aaron involved one lady telling me my kids couldn't be twins because they had different color eyes and another lady who said they couldn't be twins because they weren't dressed the same.

*I thought I had a hernia and was relieved to find out otherwise, since having surgery at this point in my life is not really something I think I could fit into my schedule. Instead I had an infection under the skin by my belly button. Apparently 8 months prior to this when I had that awful surgery to remove my ovary while I was 30 weeks pregnant, a "dormant pocket of bacteria" had taken up residence under the incision site. The bacteria decided to come out of hiding and start attacking me. I was put on antibiotics and a few hours after I saw my doctor, my belly button exploded. I'll spare you the details. Despite having gone through the above mentioned surgery, having issues with my incision after the surgery requiring a nurse to visit me every day to pack areas of the incision that had broken open, and then going through child birth, that infection in my belly was the grossest thing that my body ever did. I'm all better now in case you were wondering.

Campfire

2011-08-21T22:18:00.000-04:00

One thing we try to do at least once every summer, is roast marshmallows and make smores in our backyard. This summer's experience went much better than last summer's for me, since this time I didn't manage to smack myself really hard in the head with a chair.

The big boys got to work making the fire...

...while the little boys and the pup lounged around.

Finally the fire was hot enough for proper marshmallow roasting. Greg loves his sweet treats, but was nice enough to let the kids have some too.

This seriously cute kid loved his smore.

You know the food is good when it is messy and sticky.

By the end of our dessert cookout, I wasn't really sure what the point of putting a blanket down for Sean and Aaron was.

No one took a picture of me during our family backyard adventure, but I was there and covered in marshmallow goo just like the rest of family. I'll just throw in this photo of me that Greg took one day.

Knitted Goods

2011-08-19T21:43:00.000-04:00

I knitted little sweaters and hats for the little guys while I was pregnant. They wore their sweaters regularly during the winter, but the hats just never worked out. When I was knitting them, someone commented that they were worried the hats would be too small. It makes me sad to see how little and sickly my guys were in those first few weeks, but here is Sean looking completely ridiculous in the far too big hat I knitted.

I took this photo of Aaron last month. It only took 7 months but finally the hat is beginning to fit as it should. You know, because when it is 90 degrees out you need to wear knitted hats.

Sports

2011-08-17T21:26:00.000-04:00

Marcus and Will talked all last summer about wanting to play baseball. So, we let them play. It was a pretty long season with practices every Wednesday and games on Saturday afternoon. Marcus was old enough to play summer outdoor soccer so we signed him up for that. It was a short season, lasting about a month. No practices, just games on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. Unfortunately the seasons overlapped which made for some really hectic weeks during late June/early July.

For the final baseball game, Marcus and Will got to play on the Pony League World Series field. Their names were announced as they came to bat at the stadium which they thought was pretty cool. Second only to getting ice cream at the end of the game, Marcus and Will were really excited about receiving their first ever trophies.

Soccer ended the same week. Marcus proved himself on the field as a really good defensive man. He would always hang at the back of the pack of 5-6 year olds fighting over the ball and would be ready to give the ball a big kick to keep the other team from getting a goal. Finally, during the last game he decided to take the role of an offensive man, got a breakaway, and scored a goal. And I just happened to be there with the camera!

He was pretty stoked to receive a gold medal for participating in soccer.

There will probably be more soccer in Marcus and Will's future but we are currently taking some time off from all the hours spent at the sport fields so we can do some other summer activities. Greg and I are exhausted!

Mostly Healthy Lunch #9

2011-08-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

Turkey breast sandwich made from leftover turkey breast from dinner the night before, red pepper with ranch dip, pineapple chunks from a can. Everyone enjoyed this lunch, although eating that sandwich while holding babies on a sunny day by the pool made for a pretty messy sandwich experience.

Love

2011-08-13T21:25:00.000-04:00

There is just no way I can look at this picture and not grin from ear to ear.

What a pleasant Friday!

2011-08-12T17:14:00.002-04:00

Sitting on my porch in the sunshine. Marcus and Will are playing independently with some older neighborhood boys next door. Sean just rolled from his back to his belly for the first time. Aaron is smiling and talking and thinking about rolling. The dog is staying in the yard without me yelling at her. Just have to get Greg home from work and all will be perfect in our corner of the world.

Mmmm.... Feet....

2011-08-11T21:22:00.001-04:00

Who thinks feet are yummy? Sean does.

That is a bit of an odd angle. How does his foot turn that way? Oh.

Rollin'

2011-08-09T21:14:00.000-04:00

We have some rolling babies! Or at least we had rolling babies. Aaron has been rolling from belly to back for quite some time. He is so close to going from back to belly. He gets his hips and legs over but just can't seem to get all the way over his shoulder. Sean finally figured out rolling from belly to back. He learned. Then he decided not to do it anymore. Back during the time when they were both rollers, I made the mistake of putting them down on their bellies side-by-side. Using some sort of twin-twin cosmic connection, they silently planned to roll toward each other at the exact same time. It didn't work.

Mostly Healthy Lunch #8

2011-08-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

Grilled chicken (made some extra with dinner the night before and chopped it up into strips), granola bar, carrot sticks (with some ranch dip), and applesauce. Of course the kiddos turned their noses up at the chicken, probably because it wasn't breaded in chemically modified food products and dipped in ketchup.

Fourth of July

2011-08-07T21:06:00.002-04:00

How was your Fourth of July? Do you even remember it at this point so late in the summer? Ours was nice. There was lots of red, white, and blue and picnicking. We usually stick pretty close to our bedtime around here (or things get really ugly) but we let the kids stay up late to enjoy the nighttime festivities. We could see a few fireworks between some trees at our house which was enough for Marcus and Will. My parents came over and brought glow sticks. Apparently they make great chew toys (for kids that don't have teeth).

Marcus and Will did sparklers for the first time too. We got a few in just before the rain started. I suck at being a mom and photographer at the same time and totally missed getting a picture of Will and his sparkler.

Blogging About Big Kids

2011-07-27T21:02:00.002-04:00

I started this blog many, many years ago. The point in the beginning was to blog about our experience adopting Marcus. Then we adopted him it was about life as a family of 3 and navigating suddenly becoming a multiracial family. Then there was Will's adoption. For years I blogged about the lives of my two fabulous kids. Life was good. The blog was good. And then things took a turn. No more adoption talk and really not much blogging about the two big boys that made us a family and got this whole blog thing rolling. What happened?

There is the obvious. Sean and Aaron took over the blog. It is easy to blog about babies. They do something new every day. They are cute and cuddly and don't talk back. They lay around and let me take lots of pictures of them.

I haven't decided to replace Marcus and Will's place on my blog with two new little boys. It is just hard to blog about big kids. They are still growing at a rapid rate and doing new things every day, but the differences day to day aren't that profound. Marcus and Will don't stay still long enough to even take many pictures of. Most of my pictures of them these days are when they are eating, because that is the only time when they aren't running and rolling and kicking and attacking me with dinosaurs.

Plus, I am becoming more and more aware that Marcus and Will aren't just my kids, but they are little people with rights to make their own decisions about what they want to share and not share with everyone who has access to the internet. Lately there have been problems in their lives that they have worked really hard and started to overcome. I'm so excited about what they have accomplished, how far they have come, and the success they have had. But I wonder, do they really want me to air their issues online? And so I end up not saying much about them at all.

But let me tell you one thing. Marcus and Will are becoming some pretty good swimmers. About two weeks ago, Will finally figured out how to go under water. It is one of those things that I have seen other young kids do and wanted so much for my kids to do too. I wanted so much for them to break free of just going to the pool to splash around, and start going to the pool to swim. But they would be ready for full submersion when they were ready. Will was ready. And Marcus was not about to let his brother do something that he couldn't do. A little bit of positive peer pressure, and Marcus is an underwater swimmer too. This week Marcus learned how to jump off the wall of the (little kids') pool without having anyone catch him. Way to go Marcus and Will! You are so blog-worthy!!

The Truth about a Tooth

2011-07-26T20:46:00.002-04:00

Sunday I was hanging out with some of my girlfriends* and something came up about baby teeth. Someone mentioned that they might have seen something in one of my little kids' mouth, but no, they do no have teeth. I did a pretty thorough check yesterday morning and no teeth. Then yesterday evening Greg announced, Aaron has a tooth. Nooo!!! Maybe this is supposed to be exciting. But it isn't. First my babies will have teeth, then I'll be kissing them good-bye as I drop them off at college. Teeth will make them look so old when they are just little babies. I am not on board with these babies getting teeth at all. Greg suggested we can file the tooth down.

So I went looking for this tooth. There was no tooth. Greg is crazy. Greg informed me I was looking in the wrong place. Aaron indeed did not have any teeth in his belly button. He did have on in his mouth, way off on the side, almost in the back, and it kinda looks like a molar. Logic tells me that it really isn't a molar. It is probably just one of those normal first of the four bottom teeth that comes in but the kid's mouth is so tiny it is almost in the back.

Crazy. My baby has a tooth. Stop growing up already.

*Aaron gave one of my girlfriends a hickey. Go Aaron. First hickey and it was to an older, and married woman! What a stud.

Mostly Healthy Lunch #7

2011-07-25T21:38:00.001-04:00

Lunch at the pool! Ham, colby jack cheese, Quaker Multigrain Fiber Crisps, and an assortment of dried fruit.

Mostly Healthy Lunch #6

2011-07-18T21:35:00.001-04:00

This served as an impromptu dinner at the pool. Half a turkey sandwich for the kids (adults had a whole sandwich), broccoli with ranch dressing dip, crackers and cheese, and Annie's Fruit Snacks.

Mostly Healthy Lunch #5

2011-07-11T21:33:00.001-04:00

Cold Caribbean jerked chicken leg, Sun Chips (in a plastic bag since I packed this the night before and didn't want soggy chips), strawberries from the farmer's market, blueberry yogurt with blueberries and chocolate chips

Good Times

2011-07-10T09:24:00.002-04:00

Last weekend our family took a trip to visit the inlaw's, which is a lovely, rather boring, two hour drive. There was good food with our good family and good times were had by all. Evening was rolling in. I fed the babies, we packed up, and figured all our tired boys would be quiet on the ride home.

We figured wrong.

In hindsight, our plan was doomed from the beginning. We neglected to somehow remember that each and every night at home, there is a massive duel baby meltdown precisely around the time that we were leaving the inlaw's that can only be cured by cluster feeding.

The drive home was just fine, for the first 10 minutes. Then Sean started to wail. Like an idiot I thought that maybe if we just stopped, gave him a break from screaming, that he would be okay. I pulled off at the first rest stop. I got Sean, Marcus, and Will out of the car and we went for a little walk. Aaron was peacefully sleeping. As soon as Sean was removed from his car seat, he was happy. Sean, Marcus, Will, and I returned to the car to be informed that Aaron had woke up while we were gone. As soon as I began to lower Sean into his carseat to continue on our way, the lower lip shot out and the wailing started up again. By the time we were all buckled in and headed for the highway, Aaron had joined in on the screaming. Only 56 more miles until the next rest stop.

What could be better than two screaming babies in the car?

Give up yet? How about two screaming babies in a car and a seven mile long traffic jam on a stretch of highway with no exits that completely put Will over the edge and caused him to start crying too.

I acted logically. First, I put down all the windows so the cars around us in the traffic could enjoy the sounds of my children. Next I attempted to reason with Will, while I drove, empathizing with his exhaustion and earful of baby screams. You would think that after 4 years of being with a child who has never been able to be talked down from the edge with reason or empathy once in his life, I would have known that this wasn't going to work. Finally, after making it through the traffic and to the next exit, I exited.

Parked at a Burger King, I headed for the passenger's seat while Greg piled babies on me to feed. I don't nurse the babies at the same time in public. I have tried a few times in emergencies and it was just a disaster and I never managed to get them both latched. I almost exclusively tandem nurse at home, using the football hold for both babies on this massive nursing pillow that is made for such an activity. The nursing pillow was at home. I was in a parking lot at a Burger King. I recall seeing a picture in a book I have about nursing multiples in this position in which each kid is diagonally across your body in a cradle hold with their legs crisscrossing each other between the mother's legs. I think it is called the cross-cradle hold. How perfect. In theory. With Greg's help, I did manage to get both babies latched, but it wasn't the happy nursing trio that the pictures in the book showed. Instead it was a tangled mess of babies and boobs. I was very thankful that Pennsylvania has a law that excludes breastfeeding from indecent exposure. Sean and Aaron looked about as uncomfortable as I did, but they were just happy to be fed. Greg and Marcus abandoned me, stuck in that strange and somewhat compromising position, and went into the Burger King to use the bathroom. Greg left Will to hang out in the driver seat of the car. (Somehow getting the chance to sit in the drive seat completely cured Will of his meltdown that had been occurring a few minutes earlier.) I couldn't move without dislodging a baby or two so I sat there as still as possible saying, "Don't touch that," and "Please stop doing that."

Babies had full bellies. Big kids got some french fries. Greg had a headache because he walked into the car somehow while we were in the parking lot. And I got to drive the rest of the way home in relative silence.

We were back on the highway. Eventually. After making our way through some winding back roads attempting to find an entrance onto the interstate since there was no signs or detour posted for the ramp to the interstate that was closed.

Not bad. A two hour trip home only took three and a half. Good times.

Six Months Stats

2011-07-08T21:17:00.002-04:00

Today was the little kids' 6 month well baby visit. Both are extremely healthy and the doctor said, and I quote, "Those two just keep getting cuter each time I see them." Their cuteness is a medical fact now.

They are growing great, but that still doesn't mean they have made it onto the growth chart for height and weight. Actually I think Sean was in the 1% for something (too lazy to check what) but has now fallen off the chart. It is really no surprise since they were premies and the gene pool they had to draw from didn't have any big and tall genes available.

Sean
13 lbs 3 oz
23 1/2 inches long
head circumference 41 1/4 cm (3%)

Aaron
11 lbs 10 oz
23 1/4 inches long
head circumference 42 cm (6%)

My Sweet Potatoes

2011-07-02T22:30:00.002-04:00

To celebrate Sean and Aaron hitting the ripe old age of 6 months, we let them get their fingers into some sweet potatoes. This was our first experience at introducing food to babies since Marcus and Will had already broken into the world of non-milk products before we got to meet them. I've been hearing a lot of buzz about baby lead weaning and thought we would give it a try. (Baby led weaning involves skipping the purees and instead offering chunks of super soft foods that babies can pick up and explore and hopefully eat themselves.)

Aaron's first reaction to sweet potatoes was that they were interesting to squeeze, interesting to lick, and five minutes later all he was interested in was getting that stuff off of him and to be held. So far, he hasn't been very successful at really eating any food. I don't think he is really ready for solids yet. He is still behind in a lot of areas, and eating has always been his biggest obstacle. We will keep offering and keep looking to him for signs of when enough is enough.

Then there is Sean. That kid has always loved to eat and sweet potatoes is just one more thing for him to get into his mouth. He sure loves his sweet potatoes! I wasn't sure if he was actually getting any in his mouth or if he was just squishing it up and smearing it all over his face. Based on his... umm... output... he has really been eating those sweet potatoes. His meals have all ended in tears of frustration. He just doesn't have the fine motor skills down as well as he would like in order to get those yummy treats into his mouth. There comes a point in each meal when it is evident that the frustration isn't worth the trouble and it is time to clean up.

I think mostly Aaron is just holding out until I stop offering the veggies. Something tells me he has a sweet tooth... somewhere under those gums.

Six Months

2011-06-29T12:00:00.001-04:00

Guess who is 6 months old now?

I really can't believe that Sean and Aaron have been with us for six months now. I look at my little guys and still am in disbelief that they have blossomed from the tiny, sick little babies they were when they entered this world, into these completely normal (just a bit small) babies. They are still a bit behind developmentally which is completely normal since they were preemies, but they are doing wonderful and should be caught up by the time they are 18-24 months old. At this time last year I had just spent what was supposed to be my vacation in the Outer Banks Hospital and was beginning to get an inkling of what was in store for me with morning sickness. I was convinced at that point last year that one or both of these babies wasn't going to make it. They did make it. They are healthy. And they are amazing.

Aaron is such an easy baby. He cracks me up with his expressions and melts my heart with his angelic face. His red hair gets him all kinds of attention. Since he is still so small for his age (still wearing 0-3 month clothing), it just seems crazy that he can do all the things that he can do. He loves to "stand" and can do so on his own with just a little support for balance. While he stands, he looks around with such confidence on his face, as if telling the world, "Look at me! Look what I can do!" He is generally a quiet guy. He doesn't do much babbling, but prefers to spend his time observing and listening. But he can be quite the complainer. (No idea where he gets that from...) Once he is not satisfied with the situation, he makes all these noises that sound more like they should be coming from a kitten than a child. He has overcome the feeding issues that he had early on. He is a big fan of the jumperoo that we borrowed recently from a friend. Although he needs a big step under so his feet touch, he can already get that thing bouncing with his little legs! Aaron loves music and smiles so big when I sing to him and do finger games with him. He is a great sleeper and sleeps more than his twin brother. Getting him to sleep is a cinch as well. He has been rolling over from belly to back for quite some time, which is good for him since he hates tummy time and can roll himself out of it to avoid participating. With all the wonderful attributes to his personality, his one downfall is his temper. (No idea where he gets that from either...) When that kid gets made, man can he scream! He goes from zero to crazy in no time and you better attend to his demands or else!

Sean is a bit more of a high maintenance baby. He likes to be held most of the time. He is also quite the talker. He babbles on nonstop and has perfected words like "igloo" and "egg noodle". He probably thinks his name is "egg noodle" at this point because we say it to him so much in hopes he will repeat us. He loves to be sitting and is working hard and gaining the strength and control to hold himself in that position. He is so close to rolling over but isn't quite there yet. He enjoys being on his tummy during a lot of his playtime. Sean doesn't do too hot in the sleep department. He fights sleeping every bit of the way and insists on licking the shoulder of whoever is holding him in order to fall asleep. Once he is asleep, getting him to stay that way can sometimes be a challenge. But even with just a small nap, he becomes quite the happy baby. He laughs out loud and has been known to get a bad case of the giggles, which just might be the cutest thing in the whole world. Whether it is because he is 8 minutes older or just because he is bigger, Sean does seem a little more mature than Aaron does. Sean is reaching for me when he wants to be held and starting to put his arms up as I go to pick him up. He also holds on when I am holding him and give me hugs. Overall, Sean is a happy, giggly, loveable, hug-able little man.

Mostly Healthy Lunch #4

2011-06-27T08:44:00.001-04:00

I made this for a poolside lunch. I thought that an entire bagel sandwhich was going to be a bit much for Marcus and Will so I made an adult version and a kid version.

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Ham and cheese on a whole wheat bagel, grapes, half a banana (for the kids), carrots, red peppers, sugar snap peas, Sun Chips

Breastfeeding Twins - 5 Months

2011-06-20T14:17:00.002-04:00

Now that I have over 5 months of breastfeeding twins under my belt, thought I would post an update to my breastfeeding post I did when the little guys were just 5 weeks old. I can now say that I am exclusively nursing both my babies. Sean hasn't had a drop of formula since he was about 2 weeks old. Aaron hasn't had any formula since he was about 7 weeks old. Go us! There is so much that I love about nursing my boys. Mostly, I love having that secret weapon available to me. One crying baby I can deal with. Two crying babies, I just nurse them to make them happy. I am so glad that I am able to provide the "perfect food" to my little guys, particularly since they weren't the healthiest of kids when they made their entry into this world. I love having the opportunity to just sit on the couch and relax several times a day because that is something that I really need, but wouldn't do for myself if it weren't for breastfeeding. I love being able to leave the house and not worry if I have enough bottles packed. I love the way Sean and Aaron sometimes look up at me after they are done nursing and just smile. I love those rare times when the two little guys hold hands while they are eating.

All this bliss has come with a lot of pain and frustration. I have had almost every possible breastfeeding problem. It started off with low supply, latching issues, sucking issues, and nursing babies in the NICU. Once I got everything rolling, I have faced four episodes of mastitis, plugged ducts that were caught early enough to self medicate my way out of getting mastitis, and three milk blisters. All that has added up to a cycle of having a great nursing week, followed by two painful weeks of nursing issues. If it weren't for how great that good week in there was, I probably would have seriously considered quitting by now. In addition, Sean developed a sensitivity to a protein in cow's milk that gets passed through breast milk, which means for at at least the next several months there will be no milk, ice cream, butter, cheese, yogurt, or lots of other yummy stuff that I love in my diet. Oh, the things we do for our kids.

We are off the nipple shields now. I started trying a couple feedings a day without it with each boy. Then one day Aaron refused to nurse with it anymore. So, I stopped using it with Sean too. So glad I had the choice of using the shield in the beginning because I don't know if either of the babies would have been able to latch without it early on. Now it is so nice to not have to worry about dealing with it anymore.

Then there are the things I hate about breastfeeding. The no ice cream thing is up there. Because of all the blockages and plugged up things, the pain that goes along with that just plain sucks. (I'm currently taking a Lecithin supplement which is supposed to help prevent plugged ducts and such. We will see how this works out.) I tandem nurse almost every time I nurse at home during the day, but started nursing them individually at night. I hate that tandem nursing in public is not a possibility because there is just no way I can do that discreetly. I have no problem nursing in public, but it is a bit stressful because I always fear both babies are going to meltdown simultaneously and I'll only be able to take care of one of their needs at a time.

We will be starting solid foods here in just a few weeks. On days when I am really sick of having to whip out the girls yet again or deal with the horrible pain that goes along with whatever nursing related ailment I currently have, I get so excited that someday soon I won't be nursing nearly as often as I currently am. I believe that most of my nursing issues are just because I am nursing two babies so I have to produce so much milk that it is inevitable that things get backed up. I get sad about the future when Sean and Aaron won't be nursing as often. These boys will inevitably grow up, not need their mother for such basic of things as a food source, and I won't have nursing as an excuse to snuggle them.

I am sure it is no surprise that I have no plans on quitting this journey that we are on. Sean and Aaron don't seem interested in quitting at this point either. I guess we will all give it up eventually, like at least before they head off to college.

Mostly Healthy Lunch #3

2011-06-20T08:42:00.001-04:00

Peanut butter and banana on a whole wheat hotdog bun, fruit salad (leftover from a picnic), red peppers and carrots, jello squares (leftover from a picnic), and organic dried fruit strip

Living it Up

2011-06-15T21:15:00.002-04:00

Sean likes to live up the life of being a baby. There are certain things that only babies can pull off, both of which he demonstrates in this photo:

Being a baby means it is (1) still awesome to show off your love of your mommy and (2) socially acceptable to go without pants.

Five and a Half Months

2011-06-14T21:22:00.002-04:00

The little guys are hitting that magic age of five and a half months. It is probably not a magic age for anyone else, but it is a magic age for me. The first time I ever met Marcus, he was five and a half months old. The first time I ever met Will, he was five and a half months old.

I got to know my friend Cara while Greg an I were in the process of adopting Marcus and she was pregnant with her first child. She said once (although she might not remember) that there were a lot of similarities between my adoption process and her pregnancy. I just kinda smiled and nodded at the time but now, having been through both, I have to admit that she was right.

Both ways of bringing a child into your life is packed full of unknowns. Adoption has certainly got the upper hand in the unknowns though. Whether pregnancy or adoption, you don't know what the health of the baby will be. You don't know when the baby will show up. And you never know what you are doing when that child does come into your life. Mostly, you just have to have faith that it will all work out. There are those horrible times when it doesn't, but most of the time it all does work out.

Going through the adoption process twice was good practice for pregnancy. Almost no one expects to give birth to their child and then leave the hospital without them. I had a pretty good inkling from the beginning of the pregnancy that this would be the case. Leaving Sean and Aaron in the NICU while Greg and I pulled out of the parking garage to head for home, I had almost the same feelings as I did when we visited with Marcus and Will at five and a half months in Guatemala and then hopped on a plane and headed for home without them. I left all four of my babies in the hands of virtual strangers and could do nothing other than trust that my babies would be taken care of.

Now that Sean and Aaron are five and a half months old, I can't imagine missing their lives up until this point like I did with Marcus and Will. I was so sad every single day I knew that Marcus and Will were in Guatemala and I was home waiting for them, not knowing when they would arrive. Now that Marcus and Will are 5 and 4 years old, I don't feel that I ever missed a day of their lives. I haven't had to miss a single day of Sean and Aaron's life here on Earth.

I was telling Marcus and Will stories about the first time we met them, when they were the same age as their baby brothers are now. Marcus loved hearing about the joy he got from bouncing up and down and how he kept his mommy and daddy awake that first night and made them walk laps up and down the hotel hallway with him. At five and a half months Will was such an easy baby, just smiling all the time, drinking his bottle, and falling asleep without a complaint. It is hard for me to believe that my big kids were ever so little.

At five and a half months, I have drastically different stories of my kids' lives up until this point. No story is any better than the other. Just different. I am just as close and connected to each one of my kids, no matter their story.

Mostly Healthy Lunch #2

2011-06-13T08:39:00.001-04:00

Peanut butter on a tortilla, blueberries and strawberries, and Cheddar Bunnieshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Laundry

2011-06-11T21:14:00.000-04:00

Aaron helping me with some laundry

2011-06-09T21:13:00.000-04:00

To Answer Your Question...

2011-06-08T21:07:00.003-04:00

Jennifer asked a few days ago in response to my post about going to the pool, if I took all four kids to the pool alone. No! I did not. I just left out the pictures of my mom and Greg who were both there too. Since that pohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifst Greg and I have taken all four kids to the pool without the help of my mother, and even that was a lot of work. Maybe in a couple years Marcus and Will will be better swimmers and Sean and Aaron won't be running off in different directions and I'll feel confident enough to take all four of them alone. Until then, all my pool going will be with an entourage.

That's What Brothers are For

2011-06-07T22:01:00.000-04:00

Aaron would like to give a warm thank you to his brother Sean for attacking him in his sleep and leaving him with this lovely trophy.

Something tells me that this is just the first of many similar presents to be exchanged between these brothers.

Mostly Healthy Lunch #1

2011-06-06T22:03:00.002-04:00

Summer is here. It is time for picnics and fresh produce! I was inspired by this website and found these containers made by Ziplock at Target. With all our eating poolside this summer and Marcus heading ofhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giff to Kindergarten this fall (where he will either need to purchase gross cafeteria food or pack his own lunch), I decided to try out some lunch ideas on my kids. Figured I would share them here too.

First lunch:

Leftover mac 'n cheese, ham roll-ups (flattened, crusted whole wheat bread with cream cheese, spinach, and ham all rolled up and cut into thirds), red peppers, carrots, and brocoli with ranch dip, and orange pieces.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-06-05T21:57:00.001-04:00

Yes, I know I am really behind on my blogging.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Peek

2011-06-03T21:55:00.000-04:00

Who's there?

Aaron!

Baseball

2011-06-01T21:44:00.001-04:00

Marcus and Will decided to put away their soccer shoes for a few weeks and give baseball a try this summer. A bunch of 4-6 year olds playing baseball turns out to be nothing more than organized chaos. There are no rules, or very few. Everyone bats. Everyone plays in the field. There are no positions, no out, no score, and everyone gets a single. The coaches pitch to the kids and if they don't hit the ball after the first 5 or so pitches, they hit from the tee. When the ball is hit, every single player in the field goes running for it. Greg said it reminded him of feeding the carp at the spillway. But, the kids have fun and that is what it is all about. Marcus has said a few times that he prefers playing soccer over baseball. I think there is just a little more action in soccer.

These pictures are from early May when it was still a bit cool out, hence the sweatshirts. Go Will!

Here is the mass of kids/carp going after the ball/bread. Sometimes there is even tackling involved.

Go Marcus!

The Pool is Open

2011-05-29T21:18:00.004-04:00

Today the babies are 5 months old. Hard to believe.

Sean and Aaron put on their board shorts and wanted to go surfing. I convinced them we better start slow and our whole family headed off to the pool that we frequent instead. Marcus and Will were so excited to get back in the water. Aaron was content splashing his toes in the water a little bit. Sean was not amused by the cold water.

While the big kids splashed around, the little kids hung out in the shade.

Looking cute wore them out so they took a little nap.

Marcus was a little wild man, as usual. He was all about heading out of the "baby pool" and into the "big pool". He even ditched his life jacket this year for the little arm floaty things that people call lots of things but we always called "water wings". Marcus insisted that he go off the diving board, something that he only did once last year. I couldn't believe it but he did it! Of course I had to catch him and make sure that he didn't go under water. (Making sure he didn't go under water required me to go under water.)

Will was a little more reserved about swimming, as he usually is. He was excited that he could go all the way to the deep end of the little pool this year. He did a pretty good job in the big pool, but preferred to be holding on to someone. He opted to skip the diving board but did love floating on his back, with the help of his life jacket. I was pretty bummed that when I tried to take a picture of him in the pool, my card in my camera was full. By the time I cleared off some pictures, he was out of the pool so I just got this photo of him and his crazy hair.

Speaking of his crazy hair, it was hair cut day around here. We thought maybe we would give Will a cool summer cut since his long mop just ends up sticky and gross in the heat. This is what he looked like before he faced the clippers:

And then after:

Greg, Will, and I all agreed that he will be growing his hair back to his shaggy mop style.

2011-05-15T20:57:00.000-04:00

I thought I would try to recreate this photo that was taken in January, when Sean and Aaron were 3 weeks old.

I got out the outfits and there was no chance they would be wearing those clothes anymore. Guess these little guys grew a little over 4 months.

While I was going through all the preemie clothes, I got out the first clothes that Sean and Aaron got to wear. For some babies, their first clothes probably weren't that big of a deal. However, with NICU babies who are too sick to wear clothes because the doctors and nurses have to have access to all the wires on them, seeing my babies in clothes for the first time was huge.

Aaron's stylish monkey onesie is so narrow I can't believe that any child could ever fit in there.

Sean's first outfit he wore now only comes to his knees.

SCREAM!!!

2011-05-14T15:03:00.000-04:00

"Okay Aaron, now for this next photo I want you to pretend you are watching a scary movie!"

In all seriousness though, you have to admit that this kid is super cute.

4 (and a half) Month Stats

2011-05-13T15:09:00.003-04:00

Sean and Aaron had their 4 month checkup today as they are now about 4.5 months old. Both were as healthy as can be and the doctor might have even called them perfect. Sean is 12 lbs (2%), 22 inches long (not on the growth chart), and his head is 39.5 cm around (1%). Aaron is 10 lbs 3 oz (not on the growth chart), 21.5 inches (not on the growth chart), and his head is 39.75 cm around (2%). The most important thing is that even though they are still quite tiny, they are growing steadily. They are also generally very happy babies! (Although their shots today turned them into beasts.)

Sean isn't too keen on tummy time but he is tolerating it better. He prefers to be sitting up so he can see the world and can support himself in that position by just holding onto my fingers. He talks and talks all day long, saying things like "ahh", "ohh", "goo", "egg", and "yeah". In the past two weeks his ability to reach and grasp things has taken off. He loves hugging his stuffed cow, who we have named Bartholomoo. He gets mad when he drops Bartholomoo, prefers being held all the time, and smiles whenever he sees his big brothers.

Aaron is more of a fan of tummy time than Sean. He goes through phases of being able to roll from his belly to his back for several days, and then the next several days he doesn't roll. He is reaching for objects, grasping things, and bringing his toys to his mouth. When he started babbling, he didn't stop for a few days, then gave it up mostly. He like playing with his plastic keys, shaking them around, and sometimes passing them from one hand to another. He is such a sweet baby and is really smiley and happy. Then he gets hungry or tired and has one hell of a temper. He is a rather independent guy and will just hang out awake and happy on a blanket on the floor or in the swing.

One Minute

2011-05-10T14:28:00.002-04:00

I was busy cooking dinner recently when Marcus and Will told me they were playing dinosaurs with the babies. Okay, sure. They told me to come look.

You don't have to tell me that these are the best big brothers ever. (Nor do you have to tell me what an awful blogger I have been. Yes, Marcus is wearing his birthday crown because this happened back at the beginning of April and I never blogged about it.) I went back to cooking. For just a minute. Seriously, I was only gone a minute before I decided to peer back over the couch to make sure everyone was still playing nicely. And this is what I saw:

Those palm tree things by Aaron's feet were originally on his belly but I moved those before taking the photo because they looked like they were stabbing him in the face.

This reminds me of the website http://stuffonmycat.com/ . Maybe we will start stuffonmybaby.com.

Extreme Couponing

2011-05-09T20:38:00.001-04:00

I used to cut coupons. It really saved some money. I wish I had the time these days plan my grocery shopping around the deals at the store. These days I don't even have time to grocery shop. I make Greg do it.

I did a little research back in my bedridden pregnancy days. It turns out that lots of companies have "multiples programs", or are at least nice enough to send you things if you take the trouble of contacting them. A couple months after Sean and Aaron were born, I sent out about 60 letters to companies asking them if they had any deals or programs. Many of the letters got sent back undeliverable. However, lots of companies sent me coupons. They weren't just your regular Sunday paper coupons. The coupons were for things like FREE packs of diapers or FREE baby food or FREE wipes. I still have a stack of coupons for baby food that I figured I would hold on to since Sean and Aaron aren't showing a bit of interest in food yet.

The result of my shopping was all of this.

The total came to $93. I whipped out my coupons. I had so many coupons that a manager had to come over to approve my purchase. The end result, just $25. I realize it was a far cry from the awesomeness of the people on that couponing show on TV, but for me, it was a very successful shopping trip!

Bunked

2011-05-07T21:30:00.002-04:00

I think my kids have had more sleeping arrangements than any kid out there. There have been cribs and cosleepers and toddler beds and more toddler beds and cribs turned into toddler beds and inflatable mattresses on the floor and pack 'n plays and twin beds. Finally I think Will and Marcus are in their long term beds. When we moved into our house, two of the bedrooms had built in loft beds. We ripped one of them out and made the other into a bunk bed. At some point last year Marcus moved into the bottom bunk. The deal was that when he turned 5, he would be able to move up to the top bunk. We figured we would move Will to the bottom bunk and do something special for him with the added bonus of hoping it would help him stay in his bed. What we ended up with was two very satisfied customers.

Good-Bye April

2011-05-02T22:57:00.000-04:00

I really sucked at blogging in April. Most days it came down to living life instead of writing about it. So in April, it rained here. A lot. We could have just hung out inside and bored as we waited for the world to dry out,

but we managed to keep busy.

Sure, there was some times we didn't do much but sleep though.

There was some thumb sucking (and fist sucking) going on.

The babies tried out the Exersaucer which was once Marcus's and then loved by Will. It wasn't such a hit at first.

It got a little better.

Aaron is a big fan too. The Exersaucer wasn't made for 8 1/2 lb babies though. We've had to prop the little guys up with some towels and added a step underneath so their feet can touch.

There was some TV watching while we waited out the rain.

There was reading.

Lots of reading.

Sometimes there was nothing much to do but lay around and look cute.

Lots of laying around.

No matter what we did during April, we were happy.

We stayed pretty busy but found time to say "cheese" while eating... cheese.

There might have been some eating of sticks too.

The babies discovered this month that they like dangling things.

And for the first time they actually were in their crib. In case you didn't know, spinning little bugs hanging above your head are the bomb.

I discovered this month the best way to bathe the babies - in the bathroom sink. Marcus and Will think it is hilarious that the little guys take baths there.

And here is a random picture of Marcus sticking out his tongue.

We were all glad to see April come to an end. We were tired of the rain and ready for the sunny spring time of May to come to light. Finally May is here. And it is rainy too. That makes us mad.

Five

2011-04-29T08:03:00.000-04:00

I'm only about a month late, but that doesn't change the fact that Marcus is now a great big 5 year old! I still can't believe that my first baby, the person in this world who made me a mother, is actually 5. No longer is he this little 1 year old you see here:

Nope. He is this great big 5 year old who barely fits in our timeout chair:

What to say about my Marcus... He's awesome, of course. He has had a bit of a rough year which is mostly because he is now a big brother to not just one brother, but to three brothers. It has been a bit of an adjustment for him not have as much time with me, but he is building a great relationship with Greg. He LOVES being the "biggest brother". He is always so kind to his littlest brothers. Most of the time he acts just as you would expect two brothers to act when it comes to Will, but other times he can be so considerate you just want to scoop him up and hug him just in hopes to absorb a tiny bit of the goodness he is so full of.

Marcus is still my big helper. We recently cut way back on TV watching in our house and an unexpected result is how much more he wants to do things around here. He is constantly asking Greg or me if there is something he can help us with. He does laundry, puts clothes on hangers, folds towels, sets the table, clears the table, helps cook, gets his own snack for both him and his brother (and even me sometimes), vacuums, dusts, puts away toys, cleans windows... the list could just go on and on. I never realized just how much 5 year olds can do, and just how much I would be grateful for him doing these things and making my life easier!

I've always called Marcus my passionate boy, and that hasn't changed. He still puts everything he has into whatever he is trying to accomplish. This often translates to him being incredibly competitive. Everything in Marcus's world is measured by what is bigger and faster, because those two things are apparently what is important. He loves soccer and is getting pretty good at it. We are taking a short hiatus from soccer to play baseball and he loves that too. He is still interested in art projects but will pass them by any day if there is an opportunity to run and play physically. His all time favorite activity is any game - bored game, sport, hide-n-seek, or whatever he decides to make up. Dinosaurs and race cars are very cool. He loves to learn, loves school, and is finally excited to be headed off to big kid school next year for kindergarten. I can't believe he is going to kindergarten. Wow.

Marcus is absorbing things in school like a sponge. Last year his teachers said he never talked. This year he is much more comfortable and is opening up a lot to his teachers and classmates. He isn't reading yet but certainly will be soon. He knows what sound just about every letter makes and often will announce to me what letter a certain word begins with. He can count at least to 29, higher if you remind him of all the names of the numbers that end in 0 (like 30, 40, 50, etc).

And he is five!! How did this happen?

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T22:20:00.003-04:00

Hope you and yours had a great holiday. Happy Easter from my big guys...

...and my little guys.

The Six of Us

2011-04-23T21:18:00.003-04:00

It has only take three and a half months, but finally everyone was present, everyone was awake, everyone was happy, no one was eating, and there was someone else around that could take a picture of it. Presenting our first picture of our entire family of six together.

Now we just have to get a picture with our pup in it too.

Coming Home

2011-04-17T22:03:00.001-04:00

I have lots of reasons why I love coming home, but in the spring, this sight that I get to see when I come down my driveway is one of the best parts about coming home.

Pictures

2011-04-07T15:53:00.003-04:00

Life has been a bit busy lately... for some odd reason. I keep trying grab my camera at various times and just snap a picture or two of whatever everyday thing might be going on. Here are a few.

The Thing I Forget

2011-03-30T21:20:00.002-04:00

These are my sons. Each of them is an amazing individual. It is nothing short of a miracle that each of them is here as my son with me as their mother. Although each of them has a unique story of how they came into my life, each of them is as much my son as the next one.

I've had several people comment how at first they couldn't believe how pale Sean and Aaron were. They were so used to seeing Marcus and Will and their dark skin, that it just didn't occur to them that our other children would be lighter toned. I forget sometimes that Marcus and Will didn't come into our lives in the traditional way. Good to know that I am not the only one.

Today I had the opportunity to meet up with a bunch of the preschool moms at an indoor play area. There is a new kid in Marcus's class and his mother was looking to get to know some of the other moms. I haven't seen most of the moms for quite some time since my own mother has been taking the kids to school. I had yet to meet this new mom. I walked in and she looked at Marcus and said, "I recognize you!" I said, "Oh, you must be the mother of the new boy in Marcus's class." The conversation went on. Introductions were made. I was a little distracted because Marcus and Will were asking me if they could go play and I was trying to decide where to put the two baby car seats that needed to be unloaded before I dropped them. During all this, the new mom was asking some confusing questions like, "Are these [pointing at the babies] your babies?" "Who normally drops Marcus off at school?" "Are you the mom?" I answered politely and wondered if this lady was obtuse because of course I was the mom. Who other than a mother would be crazy enough to show up at a crazy play place with four boys? Babysitters and aunts are far too smart for that.

It never even occurred to me until late this evening why she was asking what seemed to be weird and confused questions. She couldn't wrap her head around how I could walk in with my red hair and freckled skin with those four beautiful boys of mine and be a mother to them all. I am sure she was able to figure it all out eventually, and without asking intruding questions. So kudos to her. Because it is the thing I forget. I forget that this wonderful family of mine that feels so natural and perfect and filled with love on the inside, doesn't always look like the "normal" family that it is.

Sean

2011-03-18T21:44:00.000-04:00

Sean is my cuddly boy, mainly because he insists on being held almost all of the time. I am almost surprised by the times I can set him on a blanket for a few minutes and walk away and he stays completely happy. He is really starting to become a chubby little baby. His favorite thing is eating. Sean likes to be held up facing the world to see what is going on. His little tongue is always sticking out and he tries to lick everything. He naps great during the day, as long as he is being held. Thankfully he sleeps great at night in the cosleeper. And just like Aaron, he has a smile that could bring world peace. Sean is even cute when he is mad.

(This last picture shows how we keep his pacifier from falling out after every suck.)

Aaron

2011-03-17T21:36:00.001-04:00

Aaron is still my little guy, weighing just over 7 lbs. He is unbelievably strong. He has rolled himself over from belly to back a few times, holds up his head, and can support himself on his hands during tummy time (although he HATES tummy time). Aaron is an easy baby, so easy that sometimes I feel that he gets cheated. Probably because of his size and his prematurity, he sleeps a lot. There are times during the day he needs rocked to sleep, but a lot of the time I can still just stick him in his swing drowsy and off to dream land he goes. He makes the cutest little pouty face just before he starts to cry that I have yet to capture on film. When it is time to eat, Aaron wants to eat NOW. This week he started smiling. I can't think of a single problem in this world that couldn't be forgotten instantly when a little baby smiles.

Marcus: The Biggest Brother

2011-03-16T21:32:00.002-04:00

Marcus and Aaron

Marcus and Sean

Crafty

2011-03-15T21:24:00.002-04:00

I am sure it is no surprise that I haven't really been up to anything too crafty lately. I don't seem to have enough arms to do non-crafty things. When I was pregnant I did manage to make two baby boleros and two matching hats.

The hats are still a little big and look rather funky. But there is potential.

The hats do fit a little better now than they did when Sean was 5 days old.

2.5 Months

2011-03-11T11:42:00.003-05:00

Just got back from the little guys' 2 month check up, even though they are more like 2.5 months. They are both healthy (not including the little Children's Hospital incident this week) and growing. Aaron weighs 7 lbs 3 oz (0 percentile), is 19.25 inches long (0 percentile) and his head circumference is 36.5 cm (1st percentile). Sean now weighs 8 lbs 12 oz (1st percentile), is 19.5 inches long (0 percentile), and his head circumference is 37 cm (2nd percentile). So, I got some really big boys!

Children's Hospital

2011-03-10T14:18:00.002-05:00

Finally got to check out the somewhat new Pittsburgh Children's Hospital. I have heard a lot of good things about it. Just really wished we could have been there under different circumstances.

Aaron just hasn't been himself lately. No idea if it is related, but he has been more cranky over the past week or so. Didn't think anything of it because he's a baby. Babies get cranky. Early morning Tuesday, Greg fed Aaron and shortly after there was a vomit incident. It has happened before. You have kids, you have vomit. On Tuesday morning I fed him around 10:30 and soon, he was just crazy. He was screaming like a madman and anything I tried to calm him down just wasn't working. His body was rigid and his little fists were bunched up so tight. Eventually I laid him down to put on my Moby Wrap, and he fell asleep on the floor. The rest of the day, he was pretty much his normal self. Around 6:00, I changed his diaper and it was evident that there was something wrong. I frantically called the pediatrician... and was put on hold for 20 minutes. I got thrown up on while I waited. Finally I was given instructions that he probably had a hernia and we needed to take him to Children's Hospital. I needed to track down my mom to come watch the big kids. There were more frantic phone calls and some text messages and me hyperventilating on the phone while I attempted to talk to my sister. And then we were off.

We arrived at 8pm and by 9pm we had been registered, checked in by a nurse, seen by a doctor, and got a diagnosis of a hernia. Apparently 1 in 3 preemie boys get them. So it was no big deal. Or it was supposed to be. But it was our little baby so it was a huge deal. We had to wait to see a surgeon who was supposed to be right down. An ultrasound and three hours later (and I got barfed on again), we finally saw the surgeon. The surgeon was able to "reduce the hernia" which involved putting his innards back behind the wall of the muscle. Greg and I (and Sean, who was along for the ride) were sent to the waiting room while they reduced his hernia since it was apparently rather painful and not something we wanted to watch. So instead I cried in the waiting room knowing my little guy was in pain. The plan was to have us sent to a room and on Wednesday morning he would have surgery as soon as there was an opening in the schedule. We waited in the ER room for another 3 hours and finally got to our room at 3am. Aaron was not allowed to eat after 4am to prepare for the surgery.

There was some attempt at sleep and lots of waiting. Aaron's cries of hunger broke my heart because it was something I could fix so easily but wasn't allowed. He cried. I cried. Morning went by and there was no surgery. We were told that there was an opening on the ER schedule for Friday so if we couldn't get in, we could come back Friday. I was about to throw in the towel and just feed my little guy (who is over 7 lbs now!), when there was finally an opening.

It was odd to be on the waiting side of a surgical procedure. I'm always the one getting the surgery. It sucked. We were amused by the family who was letting their 2 year old chew on a can of Skoal. We met a family who has two teenage sons who they adopted from Guatemala. We met an Amish family who's granddaughter had open heart surgery. Finally we could see Aaron. Poor guy. His little cry was so weak and sad. But he was out of surgery and doing just fine. Even Sean seemed excited to see him.

Because of Aaron's size and the fact that he was premature, they had him stay overnight for observation. Soon he was back to eating normally and as long as he was on Tylenol, he seemed okay. There was more waiting this morning before we could finally head for home. For now, it seems the worst is behind us. I missed Marcus and Will so much and was so glad to be back with them today.

I used to think that I was awesome in a crisis. I think clearly and act fast. After everything that happened in the past few days, I am really hoping my kids never have any other health problems ever. This being a worrying mother thing sucks.

2 Months

2011-03-01T22:09:00.002-05:00

My little guys are two months old today! Or maybe they will never be 2 months old since they were born on the 29th and there is no 29th of February.

4 Years and 6 Weeks

2011-02-23T21:58:00.000-05:00

I took three of my four kids to the doctor over a week ago for check ups. Will was due (or two months past due actually) for his four year check up and Sean and Aaron were due for what turned out to be a 6 week check up. Everyone looked good!

Will was 37.5 lbs (58th %) and 41.5 inches tall (68th %). He is taller than the average 4 year old which impressed both the doctor and me since in general, Guatemalan people are shorter than the average person. He did an eye test that he passed just fine. Also had a hearing screening. He has to go back for a recheck for that since he recently had an ear infection and the leftover fluid in his ear from that resulted in a poor test result.

Aaron was up to 6 lbs 6 oz and 18 inches long. He gained over a pound in just 11 days! Sean weighed 7 lbs 4 oz, also a gain of over a pound in 11 days. I can't believe how fast these guys are growing. Even though I know they are still little, they still seem huge to me. I am already getting sad that they won't be wee little babies for much longer.

All three kids had shots. Some of the above mentioned kids did better with their shots than others...

And here are my big, little kids with their bears at one month old:

How to Sneeze like a Baby

2011-02-22T20:25:00.000-05:00

I took this series of photos on my phone of Sean when he was still in the NICU.

How to sneeze like a baby...

First, stick out your tongue:

Move on to the sneeze:

And conclude by looking cute:

Birthday - Revisted

2011-02-21T20:16:00.000-05:00

Will turned 4 back in December. I posted and promised pictures at a later date. I like to try to keep my promises.

Picture Pages - Home Sweet Home

2011-02-20T19:59:00.000-05:00

All these pictures are from the month of January.

Sean

Aaron

Sean (left) and Aaron (right), Sleeping side-by-side in our cosleeper

Sean (left) and Aaron (right)

Sean Rockin' the Stars and Stripes

Picture Pages - Home with Family

2011-02-19T21:05:00.002-05:00

Sean came home first and was greeted by a very patient dog. Maya's normal behavior is to greet guests by running in circles and jumping and generally not being the kind of dog we want her to be at all. When Sean came in, she sniffed him and then just sat down next to him very still and quiet. I am not sure if she just knew that babies are fragile or if she was hoping if she behaved well enough, we would let her eat that tiny little creature. She's been great. No eating. Just a few licks here and there.

Sean's big brothers were in love with him from the moment they saw him. Marcus tells me several times a day, "I love my baby brothers. Both of them. I love them so much." It is as if his love for them is just overflowing. Will loves kissing their heads and whispering "I love you" to Sean and Aaron.

In addition to immediate family and grandparents, Sean and Aaron had the opportunity to meet some aunts, uncles, and cousins too.

(Wow, that's a lot of stripes.)

There is no doubt in my mind that all my boys are going to grow up knowing they are well loved.

Picture Pages - The NICU

2011-02-18T20:50:00.003-05:00

Finally got around to uploading some of the many pictures we have taken over the past few months. Here is the first addition of picture pages, the NICU version.

Aaron

Sean

Sean (left) and Aaron (right)

Aaron (left) is in his car seat ready to join his brother at home. Good-bye NICU!

Breastfeeding Twins - 5 weeks

2011-02-02T19:30:00.003-05:00

Aaron and Sean are 5 weeks old, although my due date is a week away. Thought I would do a little assessment of how breastfeeding is going this far. This post probably won't be of much interest to most but I wanted to write it anyway. Breastfeeding was something that I really wanted to do with all my children. It wasn't a realistic possibility with Marcus and Will (although breastfeeding adopted children can be done). Breastfeeding was the only thing I really feel I was not able to accomplish with my first two kids. I never regretted not being pregnant and never felt that any other aspect of parenting was missed through the adoption, but just always wanted to experience breastfeeding.

From the second I found out we would be expecting twins, I knew my plan needed to be revised. Mainly, I just knew I needed to be flexible in my expectations. I found it to be more important than ever to determine my priorities and work with them. As huge of a priority as it was to breastfeed, the even bigger priority was to maintain my sanity.

Preemies, the NICU, and The Early Weeks
From the moment Aaron and Sean came into this world, the ideal breastfeeding situation with them was compromised. I wanted to avoid formula and artificial nipples, but Sean and Aaron were small, born early, and taken to the NICU. I started pumping just a few hours after they were born but they needed to get calories into their little bodies and all I had to offer were a few drops of colostrum (which they got). I was so sick I wasn't even with my babies for their first feeding. The entire time Sean and Aaron were in the NICU, I pumped with a hospital grade pump 8-9 times a day around the clock, a very exhausting task. The convenience that we were hoping would accompany breastfeeding certainly wasn't there. I was finally able to put Aaron to the breast when he was 5 days old. Sean was put to breast at 6 days old. At that point, neither of them were doing very good at eating from a bottle and Aaron in particular had a very weak suck reflex. From that point on, I tried to put them to breast at least once a day until they were released. Sometimes that meant attempting breastfeeding twice a day and sometimes it meant not at all. It always meant topping them off with formula or expressed breast milk after to make sure they were getting the calories they needed. The nurses in the NICU were a wealth of knowledge and helped me daily. I met with a lactation consultant while I was there that gave me some good advice as well.

Sean
One piece of advice I got - maybe from a book I read from pregnant - was that every baby will have a unique nursing experience with his or her mother. Having multiples means developing those different relationships at the same time. Sean is the larger twin. In the NICU, he did better at bottle feeds and only required a feeding tube for about 24 hours. He picked up on nursing fairly quickly and easily and by the time he was released, he began to refuse the bottle after breastfeeding. He came home. We tried breastfeeding. He was good to go. During the first 48 hours he was home, he was given 2 oz of formula and hasn't had any formula or a bottle since. Eating is his favorite thing.

Aaron
Eating has always been a challenge for Aaron. By day two of his stay in the NICU, he used a feeding tube to take the majority of his feedings. It wasn't until about 3 days before he was released that the tube was removed. Due to his size and his prematurity, he just wasn't a good sucker. He still isn't breastfeeding full time. He has made some strides and is certainly more enthusiastic about trying than he was. He has a shallow latch that doesn't stimulate the release of milk very well. He does better when I'm tandem feeding and Sean helps the milk letdown. In an ideal world, he would be getting nothing but breast milk. However, I am committed to keeping my sanity. I can squeeze in 3-4 pumping sessions a day without losing my mind so that is all I do. Depending on how much I produce, how hungry he is, and how well he does at nursing on a particular day, there are starting to be more and more days when all he gets is breast milk. Other days, he ends up with up to 4 oz of formula. I'm okay with this because I know that we are getting there. Aaron is 5 lbs 3 oz now. He isn't even supposed to be born yet. It takes the average baby 6 weeks to really catch on to breastfeeding so we still have many weeks to go before he can really be considered to be having real issues with breastfeeding. He is growing and developing and it is still a work in process.

Tandem Nursing
Most of the time I nurse both babies at the same time. (This was hilarious the first time I did it. So much for keeping my sanity because it just seemed insane!) I feel like I spend most of my day nursing as it is, so doubling that time by nursing them separately is not desirable. I do nurse them apart when we have company because there is no way I can figure out how to do it discretely. For the most part, if one baby is hungry, they both eat. I do feed them apart if one kid or the other decides he wants to eat again shortly after already being fed. Overnight, Greg feeds Aaron bottles of expressed milk (or sometimes formula). While I breastfeed Sean on one side at night, I pump the other side. Once again, having Greg help with night feedings saves my sanity. I'm already tired and don't have to worry if Aaron is eating enough or not. Greg gets a chance to help out with feedings that way too. Until Aaron is much better at nursing, I doubt I'll be switching to tandem nursing at night.

Nipple Shield
Both Aaron and Sean use a nipple shield to nurse for most feedings. Both of them will latch without it but usually refuse to continue to nurse until I put it on about halfway through the session. I only work on this slow weaning process from the nipple shield when I am nursing each baby separately. I tried it once while tandem nursing but they kept coming unlatched and it was frustrating to all of us. I don't mind using the nipple shield. The list of pros is far longer than the list of cons. The only real con is always having to make sure I have the shields with me. Not a huge con at this point since I don't really go anywhere.

Frequency
All the nursing literature stresses the importance of feeding on demand. While in the NICU, Sean and Aaron were fed on a strict 3 hour schedule. Three hours is a long time for a breastfed newborn to go between feedings. Sean and Aaron were used to the schedule though and rarely ask to be fed more frequently than every 3 hours. Yesterday I thought I would try something different and it worked out great. I still fed them on demand, but if they didn't ask, I woke them up every 2.5 hours to eat anyway. It is more predictable when they are going to eat. Also, they aren't starving by the time they get a chance to eat. The normal feeding process involves changing one baby, laying him down to scream bloody murder because he wants to eat, while I change the second baby. Waking them up to feed them means they aren't as hungry and angry when they have to wait for me to change the diaper of the second kid. Sometimes they do decide they want to eat after an hour and they still get fed then. Feeding them a little more frequently also gives me a little more confidence that they are getting enough to eat to sustain their little bodies. At night time they will go for one 4 hour stretch between feedings and we don't mess with that. Hey, gotta keep our sanity by getting a little sleep too!

In conclusion, breastfeeding is going great. It is still a work in progress. It would be nice if all our challenges were behind us, but that isn't how life works. No matter how you choose to feed your baby, it is a learning process. I'm glad to report that we are all learning slowly but surely and hopefully have a bright breastfeeding relationship ahead of us.