Violet, 3 1/2 months

Time for an update!

Oh, our little Violet. Violet has acquired several different nicknames in the last couple of months. They include the Baby Champ (or the Champ), Peach (or Peachy-Keen, as Eden and Sebastien call her), and Angel Baby. From these alias', you can guess what we think of this little Peanut. She is fantastic.

Violet started solidly doing 12 hour nights at 10 weeks, and had been doing 10 hours nights for several weeks before that. Not only this, but also Violet is a great little napper. A typical day with the Champ falls perfectly into the routine of eat, be awake for about an hour, then nap for anywhere from 2 to 3 hours. Then she wakes up and repeats this cycle. When it's time for a nap, I can tell by her yawning or just sort of squirming a bit. At that point I can swaddle her, put a paci in her mouth, rock her for a verse of "Be Still and Know," put her in her crib with some white noise and she's off to sleep. It's amazing. We are constantly shaking our heads and marveling at her.

Violet is turning into quite a talker, as well. She loves to coo and talk. Sometimes she sounds like she's reading a novel to us, she'll go on so long. She wakes up talking in the morning, and she greets me with a smile when I go into get her up. Violet was doing social smiles by four weeks, and it is a beautiful thing to see her smile. She also recently started to laugh, which has brought even more joy to our days. Violet is getting very interested in watching her brother and sister run around, and she often can be found smiling in their direction.

This all being said, the girl is of course not perfect. She has off days, she has gas like any other baby. But the majority of days she is just so content. We are so eager to watch her grow and continue to show us what she can do.

Potty Training: Day 1

For weeks now, I have been intending to start potty training Eden and Sebastien. Every week I say, "Next Monday, I'll start." But there has always been one reason or another to put it off. But this is my last week of maternity leave, so we decided it was time to bite the bullet.
We've had potty seats for about five months now, and so far we've really only used them if the kids asked, and then every night before baths. We also have had a supply of pull-ups at the ready. Really, all we've needed was a ready mommy.

So, today, Day 1. Upon getting up, I announced to the kids that from now, "No more diapers" and I led them in a little cheer. They sat on the potties four different times by 9:30 am, with no success. But we talked a lot about it, I did a lot of encouraging and they didn't seem to mind. However, by about 10:30, Sebastien was getting a little tired of hiking over to the potty, and he began to complain. Not being one to battle my kids when I can avoid it, I gave him choices when I could.

Before lunch, we had our first potty-going success. Eden went pee pee on the potty! She got a sticker, we did a little song and dance, it was all great. This made Sebastien want to try as well. No go, but at least he wanted to try!

Then after nap, Sebastien was making familiar grunting sounds and concentrating. Recognizing what was happening, we hurried him to the potty. Adam sat with him, and when Bash stood up, there was a tiiiiiiny little bit of poopy in the potty! We celebrated like crazy for this little pebble. He got an M&M and a lot of dancing about. Of course, within ten minutes, the rest of his load was in his pull-up. But still! I call it a success.

Eden also discovered that her pull-ups are quite easy to pull down. She ran around bare-bottomed for a bit this morning before I could convince her that she should wear pull-ups as well as her pants. Then tonight, while she was monkeying around (supposed to be sleeping) she asked several times for someone to come in and put her pull-up back on. When we went in to check on the kids, Adam noticed a stray pull-up on the ground, and sure enough, Eden was bare-bottomed.

We gently rolled her onto her back and slid her pull-up back on. She stayed sleeping, but she automatically lifted her little bottom as she always does when we change her diaper. Talk about muscle memory!

So, that was day 1. Keep your fingers crossed for more little success stories.

Ernie

Sebastien and Eden love Ernie from Sesame Street. We have a little Ernie figure. I don't do a great Ernie impression, but I'm willing to give it a go, because my kids just love it. They ask to hear Ernie's voice all the time.

What I don't quite get is whether they think Ernie is really talking to them or not. They come over and show Ernie things: "Look Ernie," "here, a baby Ernie," "do you see that Ernie?" They want Ernie to play their games, tickle them, fly through the air... They love Ernie.

Here's the dilemma. I have discovered on a couple of occasions, that if Ernie asks them to stop doing something, they will stop. When I ask them to stop doing something, I get about a 50/50 response. So, do I turn Ernie into a disciplinarian? Do I use him and his amazing power to get what I want? Or does that rob my children of their innocent love for this character? Eventually, will Ernie asking them to quick turning the lights on and off get as old as me asking the same thing?

Stories From Today

Here are just a few things that happened at my house today, starting with the youngest and moving on up.

Violet had her 2 month appointment today. She weighs 12 lbs 2 oz (85th percentile) and is 22 3/4 inches long (70th percentile.) The girl is growing like crazy! She did alright with her three shots at the office, had a crabby afternoon, but has been sleeping this evening away like you wouldn't believe. I did get a couple of smiles before she went down for the night, so I think she'll be just fine.

Eden, the little smartie pants, loves looking at letters, trying to figure out words, listening to different sounds. So today, I was doing her hair, and she said "Pah-pah ponytails... Pony tails start with 'p'!" Impressed, I said, "Wow, honey, that's right, good job!" She smiled, and then as we were talking about her sister, she started saying "sah-sah-sister." I said, "Yep, s-s-sister. What does 'sister' start with?" And Eden looked at me and said "CAT!" Hmmmm.

Sebastien... oh dear, I could tell 85 different stories about this boy, but none of them would have the impact I want them to, because you sort of have to experience Sebastien in person. His imagination is just unbelievable. But so is his memory. He has a video that tells different stories for different colors. Today he spent about 15 minutes reciting one of the stories again and again and again. He does that with songs lately too. Today was also a day of singing "This old man" again and again. Sometimes he just picks one line from something, like from Veggie Tales "God made you special, and he loves you very much" and he'll just repeat that again and again.

Adam decided to be ambitious today. He started and completed the back splash for our kitchen. Here's how our kitchen "renovation" went. In February, he painted the cupboards. In July, he tore off all the old counters and re-did the countertop. Now, here it is October, and we have a back splash! WOO! I've said it before and I'll say it again: What a guy.

Me. Um. I got my hair cut. And I took care of my family. Not a great story.

Just some pictures

Credit for these pics go to my friend Lindsey Iverson

Big Kid Beds: Naps

Oh the drama.

Eden and Sebastien are doing very well sleeping in their big beds at night. We are able to go in, do our routine, leave the room, and they fall asleep mostly on their own. I'm not saying they don't get up and monkey around a bit. But for the most part, we are able to leave them in there, go in only when there is an owie or a lovey-stealing incident...they eventually find their way and fall asleep on their own.

Naps have been a totally different story. Enter the drama. I am writing this after finally having figured out a way to not lose my mind, therefore I can write without pulling my hair out. Prior to figuring out my new system, we spent hours in the room with Eden and Sebastien, trying to get them to lie down, not get up, not bother each other, not scream, not kick the wall... just LIE DOWN and SLEEP!! (Sense the frustration.) They would be exhausted, yet they would be up and up and up and up again and again, while Adam or I would sit between the beds just trying to keep them in.

We tried leaving immediately and just letting them be. But they would never fall asleep. They would stay in there ramming around for two hours if we let them. (Then getting up so overly tired, the rest of the day was a bust.) We tried focusing on one at a time, letting the other just roam around in the room. It worked to some extent, but one of them had to be ready to settle, or we would essentially be wrestling them down. We tried giving in-room time-outs... And because of my experience in parenting education, we tried each of our approaches consistently for a couple weeks at a time. (Well, except the one where we let them be, because too many days passed without naps.) They just kept each other all riled up. One would seem about ready to sleep, closing his/her eyes, and the other would burst up out of the covers and scream. And what response for their sibling is there, really, but to burst up and scream right back.

I was baffled and frustrated. Enter Violet and her needs into the equation and you can imagine how difficult it was to spent hours trying to get the big kids down for naps.

Part of the frustration is that I have yet to find a good book or resource on the "how to's" of parenting twins. I know what I would advise to parents of singles. But 2 year olds who share a room...I had lost all perspective. I needed a way to enforce the rules (no getting out of bed, no kicking the wall, no pulling the curtains, no screaming) without being physically present in the room.

So I asked around to some twin parents I knew. Of course, every home is different, so I can't say that I was given advice that I was able to follow exactly. But two things came out of this. The first was merely a reminder: Don't be in the room if at all possible. I knew that. I did. But I was beginning to feel like it was impossible to have naps in my house without me being there until they drifted off to sleep. Hearing from another parent of twins that it WAS in fact possible, gave me the perspective I needed. Second: Do they HAVE to be in the same room? Initially I thought: yes. They do. They share a room, they need to learn to sleep there.

On second thought: Nope. So, I set up a Pack N Play in the nursery. Now, for naps only, if I have to go back to the room 3 times, on the 3rd time, someone is going to the Pack N Play. How do I decide who, you ask? It is usually obvious which one is trying to sleep and which one is being a monkey. If not, like today, I said, "Ok, that's 3. Someone has to go to the Pack N Play." And Eden said, "Eden!" She grabbed her lovey and off we went.

Initially the PNP was a place where talking and crying happened but no napping. But only for one nap each. Honestly. Now they both sleep just fine in the PNP. In fact, the one who goes to the PNP is generally asleep much faster than the one who is left in the big kid room.

So, that is the update on naps. It's going alright, and I feel like I am actually able to manage all 3 kids at nap time without calling in reinforcements.

These last few posts have been text heavy. I will post pictures or video soon to make up for it.

A record of our days...in somewhat painful detail

This truly is just a record of what our days are like. It's probably more for me than anything else. I have found that I look back on old blog postings to help me remember things about life with Eden and Sebastien, so I can only assume that at some point I will wonder: "How did things go when Violet was 7 weeks old?" This is how.

Violet is beginning to settle into her "EASY" routine (See: Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, referenced when Eden and Sebastien were newborns as well.)

Here's a typical day in my house: (And, the times listed are "for example" times; it is not the same every day...Yet.)

Violet wakes up around 5:00am to eat. I can feed her and get her back to sleep and get myself back into bed by around 6:00am. (Usually.) Adam leaves for work before 6:30, so I can often get a good half-hour nap in before Sebastien and Eden start to wake up, which is any time between 6:30 and 7:30. I get them up and fed before Violet wakes again at 8:00 or 8:30, wanting to eat. She stays awake at that point for about an hour, then falls back to sleep for a morning nap. This is fairly good timing, because generally around that time, my 2-year-olds are getting restless and are tired of waiting for Mommy's attention. I get some good play time in with Sebastien and Eden while Violet sleeps.

Violet eats roughly every 3 hours, so she wakes again 3 hrs after her last feeding. I can usually feed her before feeding Eden and Sebastien, who usually eat around noon. I utilize all tools to keep Violet happy while I make lunch: the Baby Bjorn (her favorite, but this often lulls her to sleep), the bouncy seat, the swing, the play mat.

Here comes the tricky part. Eden and Sebastien's nap is their highest maintenance time of the day. Though it has gotten markedly better in the past week or so, as I have employed a new strategy (to be discussed in a post all its own.) Often I have help at this time of day so that I don't have to hold Violet while trying to get the twins to sleep. Sometimes Violet is sleeping already, so that works out when it happens. However, there have been times that I have had her in my arms while trying to create a peaceful and sleepy environment for Sebastien and Eden... as you can imagine a squirmy (and usually sleepy by this time) newborn is a bit distracting for them.

Once in a while... every now and then... a magical thing happens. Eden and Sebastien sleep. AND Violet sleeps. At. The. Same. Time. When it happens, I feel like mother of the year. But it has so very little to do with me. Just timing of Violet's feedings, hitting the twins' sleep window at the right time, and the moons being aligned with just the right planets or something.

The bigger kids sleep for around 2 hours. Violet's sleep varies. Sometimes she wakes up to eat right on schedule and sometimes she wants a really long afternoon nap and sleeps through her feeding time.

Lucky for me, Adam comes home around 4:15, and we all breathe a sigh of relief. Often he takes Sebastien and Eden out of the house somewhere, or we all go somewhere together.

Dinner is around 5:30; but with Adam home, it is not the juggling act that lunch time is. Sebastien and Eden go to bed around 7:30. Adam and I take turns putting them to bed, which I really enjoy. Violet tends to want to eat around 8pm, and is asleep any time between 8:45 and 9:30. Since my last post, she has started going 9 hour stretches, and one time almost 10 hours without eating. She sleeps until at least 4:00am, often later.

And then it starts all over again.

Having a newborn in the house again has been very fun. It has created some challenges for sure, but snuggling a little baby really makes up for all those challenges. Not to mention how sweet it is that Eden just wants to smother her sister in kisses, and mimics many of the things we say to her, "You are so cute, Violet" or "Hey smiley!" And Sebastien often just comes up and notes her tiny features, "Tiny toes!" and "Tiny fingers" or simply offers a "Hello Violet" as he passes by.

Violet at 6 weeks

I have not had a lot of time for blogging since Violet's birth, but it's about time that I write down what life has been like since our little Honey joined the family.

First thing's first: One baby is easier than two. We heard rumors that this was the case, but we had not experienced it ourselves. Now, sure enough, one infant is just plain easier than two infants. Not only that, but Violet is a pretty content little girl. Her first two weeks home, we barely heard her cry at all. She would sort of grunt and make little noises of "Hm, I think I might be hungry..." but she did not have inconsolable crying spells or anything.

Starting in her third week, Violet developed a pattern of having a fussy time in the evening. Initially it wasn't even too much fussing, it was just that compared to the rest of the day, she wasn't as happy. But after a week or two, her fussy time became a time of crying for a couple hours each evening. This continues, but does seem to be settling down a bit in the last week. With newborns it seems like every time you think they've developed a pattern, something changes. But really, give her a break, she's still trying to figure life out.

Violet is a great eater. She came home at 7lbs 10 oz, and was 9 lbs 9 oz when she had a two week weight check. She didn't see her doctor at one month because she had gained weight so well her first two weeks; I don't know exactly what she weighs now. But she is growing like a little weed.

She is also a pretty decent sleeper. Before I knew she was gaining so much weight, I woke her up every 3 hours to feed her. After I got her pediatrician's blessing, I started to let her go as long as she wanted in the night. The longest she's gone without eating is 7 hours, but it only happened once. Right now it seems that she fairly consistently goes about 6 hours, I feed her in the middle of the night, and she'll go another 5 or so. I'm not saying that she (or I) am sleeping for all of those hours, but these longer stretches give me hope of things to come.

Let me note here though, that to me, this is a LOT of sleep compared to how I wasn't sleeping the last time there were newborns in my house. So, I'm pretty happy. Still tired, but happy. Again, one baby is easier than two.

Violet started really smiling clear and certain smiles just before she turned four weeks old. She has a gorgeous smile and the sweetest little coos. We have just adored spending time starting into her precious face, getting to know her and making her smile.

Violet is very loved by her big brother and sister. So far, neither of them has shown any resentment or any desire to get rid of her. Part of this is the amazing help we have had from grandparents since Violet's birth. They have made all of our lives easier, and have made sure that Eden and Sebastien are not wanting for attention. It's also been very helpful and fun to have visitors, many of whom have brought meals with them. I don't know what we would do without such wonderful people in our lives.

Sometimes I just can't believe that we hit the jackpot AGAIN. With Eden and Sebastien, we have always felt like we are really blessed with two kids with wonderful temperaments and fun personalities. And now, again with Violet we often remark, "She is such a good baby," "She is such a happy baby," and other such totally unbiased musings. We really are very blessed.

Violet Christine Navis

On Monday, August 30 we welcomed Violet into our happy family. She was overdue by just over a week, but she is so worth the wait. Labor and delivery went fairly smoothly. We were supposed to have been induced at 10:30pm on Monday, but I went into labor early Monday morning, was admitted to the hospital around 1:30pm and had her at 6:07. (I'm happy to tell the story to any who ask, but this is not the place for such details.)

Violet was born at 8lbs 6oz and 20 inches long. We go to the doctor tomorrow so we'll see how she's doing. In the hospital there was one scary incident. She was in the nursery and started to bring up some mucus, which got caught in her throat. She stopped breathing and turned blue for 45 seconds. The response team attended to her, and she has not had an episode like that since. However, this has put us on alert, watching her more closely while she's sleeping. She was tending to be a little bit gaggy, and that seems to have settled more into just spitting up occasionally. Still very scary. And not the thing you want to hear when they wake you up at 2:30 am.

Everyone asks who she acts more like and who she looks like - Sebastien or Eden. Violet is just her own little person. Each of our three kids came into the world with their own style of "cry." Sebastien came out, cried a bit and then just looked at the lights with wonder in his eyes. Eden came out crying and just wailed and wailed until she was back in her mommy's arms. Violet came out crying a healthy cry, then quieted, then cried while they were messing with her, then quieted.

Now, granted she is only in her fourth day of life, so we don't expect that we know everything about her temperament yet. She sleeps mostly in arms and not well on her own. But that could change. She is an inconsistent nurser. But that could change too.

Sebastien and Eden are doing well with her. Eden loves to give her kisses and touch her, but is not a big fan of "Baby Violet eating mommy." Sebastien does not pay quite as much attention, but he does run over to check on her and notices when she is not around. They were very excited when we brought her home, though part of that is that they were very excited to have mommy and daddy home.

All in all, our little family is doing alright. Adam is off of work this week, so it is great to have time to adjust to being a family of 5. It's crazy how much you forget between babies, but then it all comes rushing back. We are so very blessed with our three children and are just so happy.

Adam

Adam is an amazing dad. The kids just adore him. Now that they are talking more, I often get asked when Daddy is coming home. Or if I say "maybe later" to something, the next thing out of Eden's mouth is "When Daddy comes home." (Which I think, besides Adam being awesome, the phenomenon is compounded by the fact that I am somewhat limited in my ability to do a lot of physical play with them these days.)

He is also a fabulous husband. It is not easy to have a very pregnant, overdue wife who has been experiencing labor symptoms for 3 weeks now. But yet, he is constantly telling me to sit down, to rest, to put my feet up. He is always offering to do house work (or just going ahead and doing it.) All of this on top of his full time job and having to commute to work 45-minute each way.

I can't express how thankful I am for him, and still don't know how I got so lucky and so blessed to be able to spend my life with him.

Addendum...

Of course the night after I sit down to tell you all of the whoa's of bedtime, things go totally differently.

Last night the kids pretty much got themselves to sleep. They were able to co-exist in their room while they wound down. Granted, we put them to bed late, and it still took an hour. But I only went in once! When we went in to check on them before bed, this is how we found them:

We had figured it would only be a matter of time before they fell asleep in the same bed. But with all of Eden's fussing about not wanting her brother in her bed, I started to wonder if we were wrong. Notice, of course, that it is Eden who has tucked herself nicely into her brother's bed, leaving Sebastien to curl up in a corner.

But seriously - how adorable is this?!

Big Kid Beds

We had such a nice thing going. Not even a month ago, Sebastien and Eden were still in cribs. We had an awesome bedtime routine. Naps and bedtime were a breeze. Seriously, so low maintenance. And bedtime was 7:00. So by 7:30, Adam and I could have an evening.

Around the 10th of July (right before the kids' second birthday) we moved them to big kid beds and a new room. In some ways it went better than we expected. For example, from night one, once they fell asleep they were asleep all night. (Except the night before their birthday when Sebastien fell out of bed and got a fat lip.)

I had been putting off writing this blog because I expected that, like with most of their transitions, if I waited just a week or two, I would be able to write this update with some perspective. A happy ending, if you will. "Yeah, it was tough in the beginning, but now..."

Unfortunately we have not reached our "...but now."

Here's the issue. They are two years old. And there are two of them in one room. So of course, you can go through the routine, do the stuff they need to settle into bed, but then you leave. The door shuts, they pop up and they have this whole room and they have access to each other. So they play and they run around and they go bonkers. So, when things seem to be getting out of control, we go back in, settle them back down. But again, that door closes behind us and up they pop.

Ok, fine, right? Just let them run off their steam and eventually they'll fall asleep. Even if it's on the floor. I would agree.

Except.

Except that usually one of them (Eden) is ready to sleep before the other (Bash.) And that one (Eden) likes her space and her quiet. So inevitably when the other (Bash) does what had been previously acceptable to the one (Eden) - jump in her bed, talk to her, play with her toys - the one (Eden) has a fit. ("Noooo Bashy" "Daddy/Mommy HELP Bashy!" "Bashy get DOWN!" etc. with some hitting probably. Face it, she's two, and we're still learning not to hit and push.) Then the other (Bash) is hurt (not as much physically as emotionally) and he has a fit too. (A nonverbal fit in his case, just crying hard.)

So we have two very unhappy, sleepy children.

Solution? Once we reach the point where we can tell one is ready to actually sleep, we sit in the room. Yes, we sit in between their beds to keep them apart so that they can fall asleep.

Do you have a better solution? Because if you do, we are all ears. Bedtime has become very time consuming. We've had a few good nights, where they have been able to fall asleep without us physically present. But most nights and most naps, we sit there.

I have a feeling that the better solution is "give it time." We will. It's really fine, and I know they will learn. I just don't want them to unlearn all of the good self-soothing sleep stuff that they used to do like pro's because now they have mom and dad right there while they drift off to sleep.

Dedicated to Baby Girl - AKA Baby C

This pregnancy is so different from my last one. One of the biggest differences is the amount of spare time and energy I have. Eden and Sebastien were my first pregnancy, and they were a miracle pregnancy that came after a very long wait. Not only that, but I spent almost 13 weeks on bed rest and in the hospital. I was ordered to do nothing but sit and try to keep those babies in me as long as possible.

So I thought about them a lot. I read books and articles about twins, about pregnancy and childbirth, about newborns, about bed rest...anything you can think of. I registered for baby stuff, I was thrown showers, I spent endless hours online (mostly on Etsy) looking for cute little things for their room. I blogged. :)

Now here I am, another miracle pregnancy (not such a long wait.) But no bed rest (thankfully!) and with two 2-year-olds who have continued to take up a lot of my time and energy. Oh, I've faithfully kept my "What to Expect" book on my night stand. And I've even picked it up here and there. I've taken my favorite newborn guide book "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" off the shelf... but I haven't cracked it open yet. I've perused Etsy once or twice...

Just this past weekend, having finally moved Sebastien's stuff to his new dresser in his new room, I began to fill Baby C's drawers with newborn clothes. I found myself tearing up. I was looking at all this tiny little stuff, and honestly, I can't describe the feeling other than that my heart was completely full. She was moving around like crazy inside of me (as usual) and it was like this little private moment that we were sharing.

So, no, I have not spent hours on end dreaming and thinking and planning. But I know her. And wow, do I love this little girl. I cannot wait to meet her, to introduce her to her daddy and her brother and her sister, not to mention her grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins - all the people who are anxiously awaiting her arrival along with us. So they can all know what I can already feel - this is one amazing little girl who will have a special and unique place in our family. A perfect gift from God.

Here's a picture from the ultrasound we had last week. They estimated that she weighed about 6 lbs 5 oz. They also estimate that babies gain about 1/2 a pound per week at the end, so potentially she could put on two more pounds before she makes her appearance.

Talking

I wish that I could somehow bottle up all the priceless moments with my kids, especially the things they say.

It takes a bit of concentration, some interpretation, and a lot of shared experience to know what Sebastien is saying sometimes. (When he's singing, you can go by the tune, as the boy definitely has an ear for music.) He attempts to say full sentences and phrases, but the more words he strings together, the harder it is to understand him. There are a few that he says often and we've caught on to. For example, what sounds like, "WOW, gookagat" is "Wow, look at that!" But one of my favorites is before bed when we're saying goodnight and he says (something like:) "uh ooh eh-uh" which is "love you forever."

Several weeks ago he requested "bubba gecks" for breakfast, and was frustrated when I didn't know what he was referring to. It took me some time, and I realized he was asking for Apple Jacks (which he had had for the first time the day before, at snack time.) When we slow down and I ask him to say "apple" he can say it, when I ask him to say "jacks," he can say it. One word at a time, he can articulate fairly well. But the cereal phrases, such as Apple Jacks come out as "bubba gecks."

Despite being difficult to understand, Sebastien still is quite a talker. He walks around talking, babbling on and on, and we smile and nod encouragingly. When he looks at us, that is. A lot of the time he is very happy to just talk to himself.

Eden says nearly full sentences regularly and is quite articulate. Rarely are we left wondering what she's saying, as she will often stick with it, trying to change her pronunciation until we get it. She sometimes gets impatient with us. We can tell when this happens, because she'll repeat herself and then add "Oooooh!" at the end. (As in, the enlightened "Ooooh!" we often say when we figure out what she is referring to.)

Not only is she articulate, but she is becoming capable of conversation in a new way. For example, today I said to Eden, "Do you have a poopy diaper?" She said, "Bashy does." I said, "Let Mommy take a peek." She repeated, "Bashy does!" I peeked, and she was clean. I went over to Sebastien and, sure enough, he was dirty. She is also capable of stating "no like it" whether referring to food, games, noises, etc., rather than simply crying.

What can I say... none of this actually does justice to what it's like talking with Sebastien or Eden, nor does it express that absolute thrill and joy I feel hearing them develop their speech. But I have to try to write things down from time to time, mostly because I'm afraid I'll forget.

Baby Books

Months ago I decided that I was going to try to finish Sebastien and Eden's baby books before our new baby daughter arrives. I figured that most of the stuff that is being recorded in a baby book is stuff that happens before kids are two years old, so I would be able to get most of the writing completed. Once Baby Girl is here and her first year starts, I'm assuming that I will start getting confused about who does what when. So, when the spirit moves me and my energy allows, I pick up both the books and work work work.

Tonight was such a night. I got quite a bit done. I was able to look back on Facebook, on this blog and in my personal journal and fill out quite a bit.

And this got me thinking. Are baby books going to be replaced by blogs? I was thinking about just printing off all of my blog posts from the first year of their lives and calling it "good." Similarly, I haven't printed pictures since the kids were born. I haven't done a Creative Memories book or even started an old school photo album. The idea of going back through my iphoto and choosing pictures from the thousands that are in there is quite daunting. I'd MUCH rather just create photo albums out of all the photos I've posted on Facebook. Those are my favorites anyway.

Maybe if I lobby with Facebook I could get Mr. Facebook to add a feature: print this album. Or something.

In the meantime, I'll keep working on my baby books, and I'll keep planning to print pictures, and never do it.

"Paci Broke."

About a month ago, we decided that it was time to wean our kids from their paci's. On a Friday night about an hour before bedtime, we brought Sebastien and Eden their whole basket of paci's, all of which had "mysteriously" broken. (I cut the tips.) We let them try them all, and it was with sadness that they understood..."Paci broke." Eden even came and asked for a hug when she understood what was happening. We all said "bye bye" to the paci's and Daddy brought them away.

That night it took them several hours to fall asleep. Over two hours of alternating between crying and ramming around. But finally, around 9:15 (I believe), they were both quiet, and they slept the entire night through. (I will skip the part of the evening when Eden's big tears and sad mourning her paci's actually brought me to tears. It was like she lost a friend!)

The next day, nap time came and they asked for their paci's. We reminded them, sadly, "Paci's broke." And they understood, again, with sadness. The nap did not happen that day. They stayed in their cribs, not really crying, not really happy, just not really able to settle down.

That night, bedtime came, and by now they remembered. Eden often told us, "Paci's broke." It only took about an hour, and they were asleep. And again, through the night they slept!

Sunday came around and again, no nap. But Sunday night came and they fell asleep within about 45 minutes.

Then it was Monday, and Monday is "Daddy Day" while Mommy works. They took a great nap for daddy, and went to bed great that night too. Every now and then for the next two weeks or so one of them would ask for a paci or remember and tell us that their pacis are "broke."

On Saturday my nephew and niece were in town, and my nephew Mattias, not yet being one year old, still has a paci. Eden liked to give him his paci, and that night before bed she told me that her paci is broke. But she wasn't sad, she wasn't asking for it, she was just letting me know, "Hey, I remember having one of those. But mine are broken. Oh well."

And with that, we are a paci-free house. At least until August when Baby Girl comes.

And Baby Makes 5...

Yes, it's true, come August 22-ish, we will meet the 5th member of our family. It was such a delightful surprise to find out about this little one, the kind of surprise that we believed would never happen for us. Eden and Sebastien were such miracles, and now this baby (affectionately nicknamed Baby C, as Eden and Sebastien were always Baby A and Baby B) is a whole new kind of miracle.

Sebastien and Eden have no idea what they're in for. We'll say "Mommy's going to have a ..." and they'll chime in "Baby!" or Eden will point at my stomach and say, "baby." But really, of course, at nearly 20 months, they just don't know what that all means. Not to mention the fact that while we do know what it means (of course), we have no idea what life is going to be like with a newborn and two 2-year-olds.

We have a lot to do to prepare. One of the biggest things is that we are going to put Sebastien and Eden in big-kid beds before the new baby comes. In fact, if all goes as planned, they'll be moving into a new room and new beds sometime in late May or early June. We want to get them transitioned before the baby comes. At times I think they'll be ready and it'll be fine, and other times, I think "they're too little!" I'll keep you posted on progress in that area.

As far as preparing for Baby C, I cannot even imagine having a nursery with only one crib and only one dresser, leaving room for a rocking chair. I could rock the baby in the same room that the baby sleeps in? Crazy. And then I think - won't the baby be lonely in there, with no brother or sister to listen to? And when the baby needs to get up in the middle of the night, just one of us will need to get up? Really? Ah yes, starting out with twins certainly has shaped my view of what it means to have a newborn.

I'm pretty sure that having one newborn will be easier in some ways that having two newborns was. On the other hand, I have never had just one child in the house, so I'm expecting that whatever "ease" comes with just one baby will be overshadowed by the challenges of balancing the needs of all three children. So all in all, I'm open to advice in this area.

Finally, we will be finding out the sex of Baby C on March 25! Tune in to Facebook for the most immediate news, and to this blog whenever I get around to it.

Sebastien and Eden update

Sebastien and Eden are 18 months old!! To celebrate, here is an update:

Eden

At the doctor on Thursday, Eden weighed 27 lbs 13 oz and is in the 90th percentile for her weight. Eden is a great eater. She will try anything. We have only discovered one or two things that she doesn't like, one of which is scrambled eggs (ironically one of the few things her brother will consistently eat!) She loves vegetables, especially broccoli.

Eden is talking up a storm! I have lost count of how many words she can say - from "cantaloupe" to "oh boy" to "magazine" there's nothing she won't try. The funniest is when she tries to communicate something, and it sounds like "vreiumdk" and she gives a confident nod afterwards. Then when we say, "Say it again honey, what do you want?" She says again "vreiumdk" and nods. If we guess wrong, she gives us a blank stare, but if we guess right, she breaks into a big grin and nods some more.

She loves to play with her babies, including diapering them, feeding them bottles, taking them for rides, and kissing them nigh-night. She also loves following her brother around and watching what he does for ideas for new tricks. Eden loves to sing as well, and can sing along to several songs, like "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," the "ABCs", "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "This is the Day." (By sing along I mean, if I sing she will throw in words, especially at the end of the line.)

Sebastien

At the 18 month check, Sebastien weighed in at 26 lbs even. (He is in about the 50th percentile for weight, height and head circumference.) It makes sense that his sister outweighs him, because Sebastien is a much more discriminating eater, not to mention slow as molasses. He is not above spitting food out of his mouth that he has decided against mid-chew. Especially when it comes to vegetables, we can try to sneak them into things, but he will find them and spit them out. He has a few staples, so we know what to give him as back-up, but it is amazing sometimes to watch how long he can sit in his chair while only taking 3 bites.

Sebastien is very good at puzzles and putting things together. Sebastien also loves to pick up big toys with a funny little grunt and carry them over to mommy or daddy. He loves drumming, throwing balls, and spinning around. One of his funny games is that he'll spin around and say "Whoa, whoa, whoa" while he spins. (We often hear this over the monitor when he's supposed to be sleeping.)

Sebastien is very good at entertaining himself. As always, Sebastien is our very easy going child. The challenge with this is that his sister often speaks for him. When Sebastien is asked a question, Eden can be heard answering from the other room. He is perfectly capable of speaking for himself, but he seems happy to let her give her two cents.

With their individual differences, there are of course some things they have in common. Both kids love reading. They have days when they just take one book after the other to mom or dad and want nothing more than to hear their books read out loud, point out familiar items and try out new words. They also both love animals. They have several animal books that seem to be their favorite. Eden and Sebastien can identify and know noises for: cow, dog, duck, sheep, rooster, cat, dolphin, snake, wolf, goose, elephant, lion, tiger, bear, owl, fish, horse, goat, pig, rabbit, monkey/gorilla ... The list goes on.

Sleeping is going well also. They sleep about 12 1/2 hours at night, rest in the mid-morning for about 30-45 minutes (quiet time in their cribs... sometimes not so quiet), and nap for about two hours in the afternoon.

It's getting harder to get video of them demonstrating their skills. Mostly because as soon as the camera is out, they are more interested in looking through the screen than singing or playing or whatever it was that I got the camera out to capture.

I've been trying to download a video to this post, but it's not working so that will have to wait for another day!