Happy Birthday To Me

I turned 36 years old today.  My, it is amazing what can happen in a year...at this time last year I wasn't even pregnant, and now I have 5.5 month old twin girls!  :)

Unplanned Pediatrician Visit

We made a previously unscheduled trip to Dr. Ramirez today for both Hazel and Abby.  How fortuitous they both had issues at the same time, huh?

One cool thing, of course, is every time they go to the doctor, the girls get weighed.  Hazel is 12 pounds 13.5 ounces and Abigail is 12 pounds 3 ounces.  Big girls!!!

On the Hazel front, last Saturday night and again today she did this choke/gagging thing.  It wasn't related to feeding, and both times she never stopped breathing.  It was like she was choking on her drool, best we could tell, but the sound was kinda scary.  Fortunately, Dr. Ramirez said her lungs and heart sounded all clear ("no clunkers in there"), and he guessed it may be allergies, as some of the mold has picked up the last few days.  So he suggested we give her prilosec again for about a week to see if that helps.

For Abs, there was a spot on her birthmark that scabbed and started bleeding Sunday and yesterday.  Matt and Karen cleaned it pretty thoroughly yesterday, and it wasn't happening too often, but I still wanted it checked out.  Dr. Ramirez checked it out too, and said it looked a bit infected, so he wrote us a prescription for an antibiotic ointment to be applied two to three times daily.  So, again, fortunately not a big deal, especially since we caught it relatively early.  But that small little tube of ointment cost $46!  Sigh.

Matt is off at the Gamestop Expo today and tomorrow, so tonight will be my first time completely alone with the girls.  This should be interesting.... ;)

Demolition Man

Ah, sadly, my diaper cake is no more.  We have moved into size 2 diapers, and so tonight Matt gleefully took  the cake apart.  I loved that thing...Ross and Mary did such an awesome job designing it, putting it together, and then decorating it!  Best diaper cake ever.  

Side view.

Front view.

Powerlifting the diaper cake wheels.

Abs watches the demolition derby.

Diaper cake remnants.

Flying & Fantasy Football

Daddy gave Abby a flying lesson today.  She learned about pitch and yaw, but I'm not sure we're quite ready for her to take the controls.  Maybe in a week or two!  :)

Beware of drool bombs.

Meanwhile, I had my fantasy football draft with my cousin's league, so Hazel helped me pick out some (hopefully) good players!

Checking the stats while waiting for the next pick.

Mom, I can't believe you decided to draft THAT guy. 

Zooper Trooper

After hours of research and deliberation, Matt picked out a stroller for the girls.  Several of the most important features for us were size (could it fit through a door?), weight, and durability.  After reviewing the various aspects of the Bob, the Citi, and the Zooper, we picked the Zooper Tango,* and Matt surprised us with the awesome purple version!

* Doesn't Zooper Tango sound like a military operation?  Love it.

Putting it together.

Strapping in the Abs.

Abby agreed to be the test baby for the first ride.

She seems to like it.  

Mom?  Aren't we missing someone?

Checking out the turning ratio.

Fits through the door.  Success!

A test drive through the kitchen for good measure.

Hazel's first time in the stroller.

Everyone has their serious face on.  Or are just tired of pictures.

Ready to roll.

Western Theme Night

After feeding the girls tonight (and changing Abby out of the OU onesie), Matt decided to play horsey with Abigail on his knee.  So I looked up "The Lone Ranger" on my iPhone and played its theme.  Abby LOVED it...she had a big gaping grin the whole time she was bouncing on her dad's knee.  Hazel, who was just finishing up her bottle, seemed to like it too, alternating between smiling at me and staring at her dad and Abby who were bouncing up and down.

To continue the vibe, I then played the theme for "Bonanza" with Lorne Greene.  Who knew the theme actually had words to it? (I didn't.)  This time I wiggled/bicycle-kicked Hazel's legs in time to the music while Matt trotted Abby around the room.  Hazel enjoyed it, but I think she was having a hard time figuring out where that man's voice was coming from!  And of course Abs had a blast.

At that point, Matt veered toward the bedroom with Abby, but in order to complete the western trifecta, I played the theme for "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly."  Hazel and I did the bicycle kick thing again, but she seemed weirded out by the strange noises in the song.  Plus, I think she was getting tired.  So off to bed she went!

Matt Is Not Going to Be Happy

I swear I had nothing to do with the selection of this evening's outfit:

MORE Actual Therapy!

We had our first occupational therapist visit today ... AND, surprisingly, it was not an appointment full of paperwork.  Although, of course, I did receive a bunch at the end, but at least we didn't spend the whole time filling it out.

So, Leslie the OT seemed really impressed with Hazel's strength, torso control, hip movement, and overall body control.  In fact, she said Hazel was "advanced."

Snuggling

Today I got home a bit earlier than usual, which was nice, and so helped Karen feed the girls (who are currently only eating four times a day!).  Afterwards I spent some time with them in the playgym.  Yes, I'm a bit big for it, but Hazel seemed to find it hilarious that the soccer ball looked like it was attached to my head.

I could tell they were getting tired, so I put Abby in the nap nanny, and she dozed off rather quickly.  Hazel was in my lap initially, but I was still sitting on the floor, so that quickly became uncomfortable.  Moving, though, caused her to wake up, and soon she was fussy unless we walked around, which after awhile was untenable for me  So I sat down in the chair-and-a-half with Hazel, tucked her in my arm, held her hand, and whispered calm reassuring things in her ear.  Before you knew it, she stopped fussing/thrashing, calmed down, and went to sleep too.  I probably should have put her down before she went to sleep, but it was so sweet having her snuggled up next to me.  Isn't she adorable?

Hazel and her Wubbanub.

Abs with her Wubbanub.

Abby.  This angle makes her feet look huge.

Hazel:  Whoa!  Hands!

Zonked out.

At some point Abby woke up, so I put Hazel down in her nap nanny and then picked up the Abs, who snuggled into my arm and went back to sleep while I read about strawberry hemangiomas until Matt came home.  :)  

Chewing on Blankets and Other Cute Pics (and Videos)

Just an assortment of cute pictures and video of Hazel and Abby:

Abby rubs her eyes.

Hazel: Another picture?  Really?

Abby:  Blankets are tasty!

Hazel: If I give you this Wubbanub, will you feed me?  

"Hi"

After feeding Hazel, I took some pictures and then decided to video.  The original reason was to try to get her smiling and laughing on film, but I lucked out and got something extra!

Napping in Guitar Cases and Other Cute Pics

A friend of Karen's from college is a photographer, and agreed to take pictures of the girls today.  She came over this afternoon and we took some REALLY cute pics, which included the girls with a football hat (courtesy of their aunt), with an actual football, with Merry-dog, and in a guitar case.  I'm supposed to get an email, and then later a disk, with all of the images on it - hopefully by the end of next week.  So excited!

FIVE Months Old & First Public Appearance

The girls were FIVE months old today!  I planned to get their weights (doing the scale thing where you get on with them and then without and subtract the difference), but we got so busy I never got a chance.

Actual Therapy! And Video Evidence of Rolling!

Sara, the speech therapist, came over this morning for Hazel's first actual therapy session (as I've complained before, the first three visits primarily involved paperwork ... I think I spent about 6-8 hours combined dealing with paper, but only about 20 min of therapy, prior to today).  It went well!  She watched Hazel take in a mid-mid-morning snack (thought she was latching and eating well), and then Hazel promptly went to sleep, so Abby was the primary focus.  And, boy, did she seize the opportunity!  Little Abs emptied her bag of tricks; she rolled over three times (two caught on camera), held up her head, cooed, and smiled.  Show off!  :)

Sara thought both girls' facial tone looked good, but offered some massage suggestions to work on it, as well as massaging the gums too (and was impressed at Hazel's lack of fuss when I did it to her - but she was sleeping, so that helped).  Overall, it is really reassuring to have a professional come in and say she thought the girls looked good. 

Pics and videos, of course:

Abby trying to hold her bottle.

Merrydog hanging with the girls on the playmat.

Everyone at eye level.

Hazel fistpump!

Jorts on the Abs.  Babies can pull them off.

Singing Songs

We've had a hard time remembering the words to nursery rhymes, so Matt and I have sung current/non-nursery rhyme songs to the girls, which they seem to enjoy.  We've also switched up the words to songs we know.  Specifically, "Edelweiss," from The Sound of Music, now has Hazel and Abby centric lyrics:

Hazel-bear, Abimus

Every morning you're scream-ing

Hazel-bear, Abimus

You would rather be eat-ing.

Blossoms of chunk* may you bloom and grow

Bloom and grow forever

Hazel-bear, Abimus

Bless my household forever.

*Matt and I have a disagreement on this word.  He likes to say "snow," which is the original lyric and rhymes with "grow" at the end of the line.  I like "chunk" because it's funny.

Keep singing to us!

Hazel thinks either version is funny.

Abs contemplates "chunk" versus "snow."

Birth Announcements

I finally finished addressing the girls' birth announcements, and so most went out today.  We sent out 146!

The toughest part was deciding which picture to use.   It was also fun to pick between the 'twin' cards on the various websites, but I quickly narrowed it down to two or three options, before finally deciding on this one.  There are also cards out there that provide extra information about when preemies "come home," but considering the girls came home on different dates, I didn't want the card to be overwhelmed with information. 

Didn't they turn out cute?

Chatterbox

Abby is starting to talk/babble to us now.  Hazel, not so much - she just likes kicking.  But if Abs gets an inkling, she'll start.  It's super cute:

ROLLING OVER! AND POSSIBLE TEETHING!

Just heard from Karen - Abby just rolled over!!!!  Of course she was feeding Hazel at the time, so it was not captured on film.  Sigh.  I hate that I'm already "missing" stuff and "firsts."  I suppose all working parents go through this feeling.  Hopefully we'll get a repeat performance tonight or this weekend and capture it on film.

And, in other news, Hazel has been drooling and blowing lots of bubbles the last few days.  A quick google search indicates this may mean someone is starting to ... grow TEETH.  Geez!  

So, to recap, I have one baby already on the move and another about to show me some toothy grins (maybe).  Insert cliche about kids growing up quickly.

Abby:  Yay me!

Hazel:  Contemplative

Watching the Olympics

Could Hazel and Abby be future Olympians?  Do we have a possible Missy Franklin or Hope Solo/Abby Wambach or Sanya Richards-Ross in our midst?  Time will only tell.  In the meantime, the girls got a kick out of wearing their 2012 London Olympic shirts from Mimi and Granddad while watching various Olympic events over the last few weeks:

Abby:  Haha!  Opening ceremonies are pretty cool...

...zzzzzz....

Dad watching Olympics with his girls.

We suppose there's a soccer game going on.  We're just
not allowed to watch it yet.

Abby wanted to personally thank Mimi and Granddad for the cute shirts.

Olympic overload.

Dad and Hazel taking a break from Olympic watching
to strike a pose.