The Navis Family

A Day in the Life...

2012-02-09T23:07:00.001-05:00

I got a new camera yesterday, and this inspired me to spend today trying it out. What resulted was 200 pictures, and this was after I deleted all the blurry and dark ones.

Seemed like a good opportunity to blog. So, here you have it, a day in the life of the Navis'.

Generally in the morning, before the kids get dressed, Violet gets some nakey time. This is how I found Vi, with her favorite book.

Then we had a little puzzle time, which Bash loves.

Time to grab a Diet Coke and then to the grocery store.

Yes, I took pictures at the grocery store. Much more colorful than my family room.

They were dancing and singing, having a blast.

So, of course, Violet was too.

Then we went home and had some lunch.

People ask me often how Bash is doing with his glasses. He has had them just over a month now and he's doing great. He wears them most of the day. Ok, yes, he has thrown them out of the car door. And every now and then we find them laying in some random place. But he's three, and he's still learning how to take care of these glasses. Most of the time he is fine wearing them.

Violet wants to do it herself.

Eden loves carrots.

Sebastien is done with his banana.

It's after lunch, and where's Bash? Typically staring at the iPod, moving his letter blocks into various combinations of words, listening intently to the music. (Especially if it's new, which today it happened to be.)

My lovely little lady.

Ah, that face.

Next it's time for Violet's nap, so we sit and read "You're All My Favorites," which is Violet's current favorite book.

Next Sebastien and Eden have some time with their markers. Notice, if you will, that Sebastien is matching words and pictures. He and Eden both have a lot of sight words. I've started keeping a list, and they are picking up more all the time.

Eden is very into connect the dots lately. She has also started expanding her letter writing beyond her name. E can write almost all of the letters, if not perfectly. She has a few different words that she writes on her own also, like "Mom."

Then Sebastien and Eden have "room time." We first read 3 books together. Notice that we call it "room time" and not "rest time" or "quiet time." There is nothing restful or quiet about their time there. But they are in their room.

Then DADDY comes home!

Violet woke up a little groggy...

Nothing a Nilla Wafer can't fix.

Because it was sunny, we decided to take a walk. We got the wagon out for Violet (her first wagon ride, incidentally) and expected Bash and E to walk. They decided riding in the wagon sounded better.

She loved the wagon!

Great Grandma Plantenga's house is a great destination in all seasons. Especially winter, so we can get some fresh air but not be out too long.

Plus she has a fun closet to play in.

AND a puppy...

AND if it is 3:30 - 5:00 most days of the week, Grandma and Grandpa Tuls are there.

We love Great Gramma's house!

So, this is where things in my picture taking start falling apart. The kids watched a little TV while we made dinner, then we did dinner, baths and bed. None of which I took pictures of.

But it was a good day!

I Never Thought I'd Hear Myself Say....

2012-01-17T22:16:00.001-05:00

I have been keeping track of funny or interesting things that my kids say for about a year now. Not perfectly, but enough that we will have a record of their cuteness and amazing creativity.

But I have also noticed that I find myself saying things that I never thought I'd say. And these little quotes also indicate some things that go on in my house, so I've started keeping track of those too. Here is a random sampling of this new list:

"We do NOT stand on people's heads!" (to Eden.)

"You may not lick the toilet" ... "my jeans" .... "my neck" (To Bash. And this list could go on awhile.)

"Let me check your bum for noodles." (To Eden after she eats spaghetti or lo mien. Just as a disclaimer, this means her bum on the outside of her pants....)

"I know you want to, but we don't actually touch other people's eyeballs, Sweetie." (To Sebastien.)

"You may not take Baby Jesus from your sister/brother." (To either of the twins.)

"No, Honey, God is not going to switch your legs while you are sleeping tonight." (To Eden.)

That's all for now. I'll end with a picture.

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-24T21:59:00.001-05:00

Merry Montage Christmas

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View the entire collection of cards.

Family Photos

2011-12-10T22:03:00.001-05:00

We had our family pictures taken this fall by our dear and talented friend Sara Leo (see link to her photog blog and The Peasant Posy on the right.) We are so thankful that she does this for us a couple times each year. One of the reasons that it always goes so well is that she just lets the kids play. She gets great pictures of them in their element. Then we pose for a few shots, then the kids play some more, then we pose... It also goes very well because she takes her hubby along, and my kids think he is hilarious.

This post is dedicated to some pics that are a little more candid. I just love the different ways that these pictures show off individual personalities.

The books and TV show "Huckle Cat" has a Pig Will and a Pig Won't. Sebastien, ever the actor, loves to do the Pig Won't face.

This one is hilarious because we were trying to get them each to hold on to the bar and hold hands with each other... like Eden is doing with the bar, and trying to do with Sebastien's hand. Our little direction-follower. Sebastien is just being a goof-ball, and not following any directions.

We were being bears.

And this one illustrates what our kids look like when they are sad. So sad that they have to leave the park and so sad that Uncle Josh and Aunt Sara have to go back to their house.

This Happened Tonight

2011-11-08T22:29:00.000-05:00

Tonight I could hear Eden crying from the bathroom, where her daddy was overseeing bath time for Sebastien and her. I could hear the crying, but couldn't tell the cause. Honestly, it is not that rare of an occurrence, so I was not alarmed. Curious, and of course concerned, but not alarmed. Naps don't happen as much anymore for S & E, so by bath time, both of the twins are about done with their day, and their fuses are short. Tears are easy to come by.

She came out, and I helped her get her jammies on. She was clearly still shaken. She cried on and off for a bit, so I held her and helped her take her deep breathes. Once she was calm, I attempted to help her to talk about whatever had happened. No-go. She wanted to sit on the couch with a blanket. Her eyes were still watery and she was very quiet. She wanted space, she said. Ok.

So Adam comes out and there's some time before bed, and he sits next to her, and he takes her in his lap.

Adam: "Can I tell you a story?"
Eden nods.
Adam: "Once upon a time, there was a little girl named...."
Eden: "Eden."
Adam: "Yes, Eden. And Eden was very..."
Eden: "Sad."
Adam: "Oh, yes, she was very sad. Eden felt so sad because..."
Eden: "She was taking a bath and her daddy was washing her hair so fast. So fast that Eden wanted him to go so slow."
Adam: "Oh, so she wanted her daddy to go slow?"
Eden: "Yes, and so she asked him to go slow but he still went so fast."
Adam: "Oh. I think that daddy thought it would be better to hurry and get it done, since Eden doesn't like her hair to be washed."
Eden: "But Eden wanted her hair to be washed slow and her daddy washed it too fast."
Adam: "Oh, I think that this daddy must be very sorry for washing Eden's hair too fast. And next time there is a bath, that daddy will wash Eden's hair more slowly."
Eden: "Yeah!"

Eden gets off of Adam's lap. She smiles the first real smile since the bath; her eyes light up. "That story made me so happy Daddy!"

She comes over to me and sits on my lap. "Mommy, I feel all better now!!"

And this mommy (and therapist) beams with pride. Then decides to blog about it.

Family Resemblance

2011-11-08T22:13:00.001-05:00

Everyone asks us who Violet looks more like - Sebastien or Eden. I don't know. We have had so many people tell us that our kids all look so much alike. I have never been able to see it.

So I decided to do a side-by-side comparison.

(Eden at just under 13 months)

(Violet at just over 13 months)

(Sebastien at 13 months)

Of course, had I been able to find pictures of all 3 kids in the same position with the same expression on their faces, it would have been better. But each of these expressions very well represent each child at this age. Eden, with her delightful little grin, Violet with her big, joyful smile, and Sebastien in the middle of babbling something, barely still long enough to grab a picture. So, weigh in if you'd like.

Who looks like who (whom?)

October

2011-10-25T22:42:00.000-04:00

Oh, I love October. It's been an absolutely beautiful fall so far, and we have been enjoying every minute of it. It's been awhile since I've posted, and I actually had a friend *request* that I update my blog. And who am I to deny the masses what they want.

Here are some things of note.

Violet took her first several significant steps on September 23. Since then, she has made amazing strides. She can walk on uneven surfaces, stand up in the middle of the room, stop to pick something up and then keep walking... in short, she's a walking pro.

This means that she can get where she wants to go. Where does she want to go, you might ask? Well, she wants to go wherever Sebastien and Eden are, mostly. Violet more and more prefers to be in the company of her older siblings. There are times, now that she has learned to say her sister's name, that she walks through the house calling "Eeeduh" or what sounds like "Yahhshhh" (which I'm pretty sure means Bash.) Sometimes this is tough on the "big kids," who definitely are used to playing together well, but aren't always sure how to integrate this little person who can't quite do what they are doing and who grabs things from them and is quite inconsistent as well. But sometimes they totally embrace it, and even ask for her to join them.

I am loving these blossoming relationships. I have always sort of worried that Violet would feel left out; she doesn't have a twin, after all. And she's the 5th member of the family, making it an odd number. But in the last month I have seen so many tender, sweet, and fun moments between Violet and Sebastien, between Violet and Eden, and between all three, that I just don't worry so much about that anymore.

Violet has discovered that she loves to color. (See picture below.) She also continues to love singing, dancing, babies, and all small stuffed animals (think Beany Baby size.) Violet is discovering her voice as well. Not only using words (which increase daily), but her ability to say "yes" and "no" (through adorable head bobbles) to whatever we suggest. And sometimes it isn't as much adorable as it is clear protesting, clear determination to get what she wants. She is learning to use her voice, which is great.

She is no longer on two naps, but takes morning "rest" time and then a long afternoon nap, anywhere between 2-3 hours. And she sleeps a pretty solid 12-13 hours at night. I'm not really mourning the loss of the morning nap, because it does make us a bit more able to get out of the house.

Sebastien and Eden are loving school. LOVING school. The picture below is on orange day. All week long they count the days until they get to go to school. They come home with new songs an dances and stories and just bursting with new experiences. It's a joy, and it's a blessing. One report that we have now gotten from their teacher - who is fabulous, by the way - is that Eden is very talkative at school and Sebastien is quite quiet. Who knew. But thinking about Sebastien and how content he is to be in his own little world, I shouldn't be surprised. Eden, on the other hand, loves to play with, talk with, be with others. Plus she really likes to figure stuff out and know the answer. So...yes, it makes sense.

At some point I will blog AGAIN about the potty. But I don't want to right now. And truly, I could go on and on about the funny things that Eden and Sebastien say, and the adorable little things that Violet is doing and learning. I could blog for hours about these kids who fill my heart and my life with so much joy. But I think for now, I'll leave well enough alone and go to bed.

More About School

2011-09-23T21:10:00.001-04:00

Sebastien and Eden have successfully attended school without a parent twice now. Both have gone without tears and had a fabulous time. Get ready for a long post....

The first day I dropped them off after lot of talk over the previous week, so that by the time we got there, they pretty much understood what was going to happen. I still expected that when I turned to leave, someone (ah-hem Eden?) would be anxious and want me to stay or something. I had all sorts of plans to make this go well. But when the time came, I kissed them good-bye, they turned away and didn't look back. So...that's great! I'll admit I didn't quite know what to do with myself. I may have wandered the hall with Violet a little bit, you know, just to be sure. But it was not necessary for me to linger. They were good.

Did I cry? Well, maybe I teared up a little as Violet and I drove away. But honestly mostly I was just proud, thankful and excited.

When I picked them up, I went a little early and I could see them through the window of the classroom. They were sitting in a circle with the other kids, doing the "Going on a Bear Hunt" song, and fully participating. Bash was bopping his head and doing the motions, and Eden was also doing the motions, watching carefully to make sure she had them right. It was a precious sight.

Mrs. Vos told me that they did great. She said that when she announced that they were going on a bear hunt, Eden looked at her and said, "A bear hunt? That's interesting!" And at one point they were making fuzzy bears, and Bash kept putting on more "fuzz" (paint) and saying, "Is it fuzzy yet?" with every new stroke of paint. She also mentioned that at the very end, with only a few minutes left, Eden got a look on her face, "like she was done with her day here." Mrs. Vos invited her to sit on her lap, which Eden did for a minute or so and then she was all smiles again.

Bash was very sad to leave. He continued to tell me that he wanted to go back to school the whole way home, once we were in the house, and through lunch. Eden was absolutely beat from her busy morning, and did not want to talk about details.

However...when Eden woke up from her nap, I crawled into bed with her for some snuggles. Suddenly, she said, "They had Veggie Tales, and we have Veggie Tales! They were there!" I said, "Veggie Tales? At school...on TV?" And she said, "No.... SONGS!" Well this opened a floodgate of information. She went on about rest time and laying on a mat, and Mrs. Vos turning off the light. She talked about the color of her mat, and the color of Bash's mat, at which point, Sebastien was apparently awake because he said, "yeah...green." She told me about the bear hunt, about the song they did and the craft. She was excited because next week they were going to talk about caterpillars.

Which leads us to this week. Both of the kids have had colds this week, and I was praying that they would not have to stay home from school. Thankfully no fevers and enough improvement meant that they could go today. They were both so excited to go back.

I have not gotten a lot of details about their day today. But they did well again. Neither were sad when I left. Bash brought Bob and Larry for Show and Tell. Eden brought their LeapFrog computer.

Adam picked them up and walked them home. Mrs. Vos reported that Sebastien was a little more subdued, which makes sense since he is still a little under the weather. But later we were asking them about school and Eden told us that they watched a beautiful butterfly on TV, and that "Mrs. Vos had a low TV but Mrs. Alfree had a high TV." I don't know what that means. She also told me that she showed her computer for Show and Tell and said "I teached Mrs. Vos how to use it." And Sebastien spontaneously told us, "A butterfly lays an egg, and the caterpillar comes out and it has so many legs! Then he spins and spins a cocoon and goes inside and stays for two whole weeks. And then he wiggles his body and wiggles his head and POPS out and...it's a beautiful butterfly!"

The other sort of funny thing is that Eden has not peed at school at all. She wears her undies, but she won't pee there. By the time she gets home, she has to GO. So I said, "Why didn't you go pee pee at school, Hon?" And she said, "Oh, our potty is just better."

Can I just say how much I love hearing them talk about school! It just warms my heart. I am so proud of them, they have both taken to this new adventure like total champs. So far the Friday morning preschool experience has been wonderful and I'm just so thankful.

First Day of Preschool...

2011-09-09T22:44:00.000-04:00

Sebastien and Eden had their first day of preschool today! Well, it was technically just "visiting day," but we are counting it as the first day.

All ready to go!

Done with pictures, let's go Mom!

We had a lovely walk to school. The kids chatted eagerly all the way there. "Will we get to paint?" (Eden.) "Does Mrs. Vos have a basement?" (Sebastien.) "What door will we go in?" (Also Sebastien.) "Is it going to be Christmas at school?" (Eden) "I'm going to play a xylophone!" (Sebastien.)

Eden was a little anxious about going to school and repeatedly asked whether I was going to stay with her. As it was visiting day, I could say that I was. (I am not sure how it will go next week when I have to drop them off and leave...but one day at a time.)

Aren't they adorable in their way-too-big backpacks?

I only have pictures from the walk to school. I did not actually take pictures in the classroom. Mostly because none of the other moms were armed with cameras. Plus I felt like maybe I needed to just be in the moment and not preoccupied with capturing the moment on camera.

Their teachers are absolutely wonderful and definitely did a great job allowing the kids to explore and get to know their school setting. Sebastien was eager to answer questions and speak up. He had fun exploring the room, and seemed comfortable with the whole situation. Bash was sad to leave. The entire walk home, he dawdled (even more than usual) saying "I want to go back to school!" He even stopped or turned around a few times, like he was going to head back there whether Mommy liked it or not.

Eden was more shy at first in school, but was definitely interested in the craft they did and the "bear hunt" that was organized. After all was said and done, she walked in the house to tell Grandma Tuls (who was home with Violet) "We had fun at school!" She also had stories to tell Daddy later. I think that we have our tentative girl pretty convinced that preschool is a great thing. (Cross your fingers and say a prayer that she'll hold this opinion next week when it sinks in that Mommy doesn't usually stay at preschool. But again, one day at a time.)

Happy Birthday Violet!

2011-09-04T22:52:00.003-04:00

Our sweet baby Violet turned 1 on August 30! We had a birthday party for her on the 28th, and we were overwhelmed and touched by the attendance and the gifts of family and friends who adore our girl almost as much as we do. Violet was fairly serious during her party, taking it all in. But some day she will love hearing all about her first birthday party!

Sebastien and Eden had a great time at Violet's party, and thoroughly enjoyed eating Violet's cake and opening Violet's presents. They liked entertaining Violet's guests and playing with Violet's new things. They've even asked a few times since Violet's birthday, "Is it Violet's birthday again today?"

Violet is looking and acting much less like a baby and more like a toddler all the time. She is not walking quite yet, but she is very capable of getting where she wants to go, nonetheless. She crawls pretty quickly and scoots around the furniture with ease. She can stand for a couple seconds on her own, and has taken about a step and a half a few times.

Violet loves books, and she points to pictures and words (with her chubby little pointer finger) wanting to know what things are. She also likes to take our fingers and make us point to the things she's interested in. Vi is more and more eager to follow her brother and sister around and she often wants to join in their activities (much to their dismay at times.) But by far Violet's favorite thing is music. She enthusiastically joins in our after-dinner family dance parties. She bops and twists to music without fail. And usually when someone starts to sing, she will begin to swing and sway.

Violet is gaining new words as well. In addition to Mama and Dada, her favorite word is "ball." She can also say, "up," "buppa" (grandpa), "buh-bye" and she can say "oof"(woof), "moo" and "meow." She can sing "EIEIO" and does the motions with "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." She says "ooooh" when looking at books with Mama and "mmmm" when she's eating. She also can fake sneeze, and she often joins in laughing when everyone else is, with a rather fake-sounding laugh.

Violet loves finger foods, and it's harder and harder to get her to eat baby food without her making a ridiculous mess. (She really took to her birthday cake, but then struggled to sleep that night, all hopped up on sugar.) She likes to hold her own spoon and dip it in her yogurt or her baby food jar to feed herself. We've switched Violet to cups from bottles, and from formula to milk. She does not always love drinking from her cup or drinking her milk. But we're sticking with it. We also dropped her bed time drink. She has done just fine with that change. She sleeps very well at night, and usually naps two times a day.

The last year with three very young ones has of course had its challenges at times, but it has been worth absolutely all of it. Violet is sweet, funny, adaptable, clever, social, cuddly and just a wonderful addition to our family. We are so excited to continue to watch her grow and learn about the world around her.

Daddy Day

2011-08-16T14:55:00.006-04:00

Mondays were consistently "Daddy Day" for the first two years of Sebastien's and Eden's lives. Adam started his work day at 6:00am so that I could go to work at noon, then he would bust his hiney during naps and after I got home to finish up anything that he hadn't gotten to. After Violet was born, I took my sweet time in going back to work, and Daddy Day was not so consistently happening. Adam continued to work in Grand Haven on Mondays, but I really worked very few Monday hours, and for awhile I worked none at all.

But I will now only be working out of Bethany's new Grand Haven office, and so my schedule has changed. Mondays is once again Daddy Day! Our routine will be changing a bit this time, because Monday will really be my only set work day. So my mom is helping us cover Monday mornings so that I can start my day earlier without Adam losing work time.

All that to say that Daddy Day is back and better than ever. Daddy Day is a highlight of our kids' week. They love Daddy Day, and I can say with confidence that having a Daddy Day is one of the best decisions we made for our family. Moms and Dads typically do things a little differently, and we are no exception to that. Our kids are better for having both in their routine.

This particular Monday, Adam started his day at 6:00am like usual, but my mom was in Turkey, so we could not have that "cover" for those morning hours. I started my day a little later and Adam cut his morning a little short. Then he busted his hind-end even harder during nap time and after I got home, so that his work didn't suffer.

But the point is, on that Monday, he helped the kids make their first "To Do List."

I don't know about you, but if that was my to-do list, I'd be pretty excited too. The kids loved it. When I came home, they went point by point through their list, telling me about all the things they did that day with Daddy. I think it just might have been one of the best Daddy Days ever. Adam is really an awesome dad, and our kids just adore him and every moment they get to spend with him.

The only "problem" with this particular day was that the next day, Bash hauled out the list thinking that we were going to be able to repeat all those activities in order...

THREE!!

2011-07-19T10:15:00.002-04:00

I am just amazed at how fast the last 3 years have gone. Each phase has brought about new and exciting things, and being the parents of these kids just keeps getting better and better. For this post I'm going to do my usual thing, but then Adam is also going to add his perspective.

Ladies first...

Eden continues to light up our lives with the sunshine of her smile. She approaches life with amazing curiosity, a clever and analytical mind, and a joy that oozes out of her. Eden is always asking questions and wanting to figure things out. She is first and foremost a daddy's girl, but has a sweet relationship with me as well. Eden is intense in some ways, yet as happy as could be. She is good to Violet and interested in helping to care for her.

Eden in Daddy's words...

Eden is very physical. She has a very high body awareness. She is a graceful jumper and climber. She likes frequent hugs and touches. She will often initiate spinning or being thrown in the air. She will dance, but prefers to dance with someone. She likes to read books with Bash or a parent. She likes to understand the world. Her vocabulary is excellent because she uses words to define the world. When someone misuses a word (either accidentally or in an attempt at silliness) she will let them know. She loves to eat fruits and vegetables. She has an passion that sometimes requires her to slow down and take a deep breath, but she's three years old and her job is to embrace that zest. Our job is to help her handle it. She will sometimes say the funniest things that leave us all scratching our heads, not because of the words, but because it is amazing that this little girl came up with something so creative and clever.

The eldest...

Sebastien is our goofy, sweet darling, just as always. He is musical and creative and happy. He has a sensitivity to him, and yet at times he seems impervious to those around him. Bash can be satisfied to live in his own little world, though he is quick to let Eden in. His imagination continues to astound us, and he combines that with his love for music - he'd rather make his crayons dance and sing than actually color with them, he uses almost anything as a horn (of varying types) and he often makes up songs or changes the words to his favorite ones. Bash loves to cuddle, and he is so affectionate.

Sebastien in Daddy's words...

Bash is very musical. He will sing songs, fill in his own words for those he doesn't know, hum, dance, and play musical instruments. He has an imagination that knows no bounds. Sometimes it takes him a few minutes to come back from wherever he is when we need his attention. He is just as happy with a stick as with an expensive toy. He does not need constant attention, but when he does needs a moment of connection he really needs it. He cuddles and sometimes breaks down for seemingly little reason. He is kind. He shares well. He can be mischievous, but this flows out of his non-stop imagination, not because he is trying to do something he shouldn't, and his accompanying head tilt and smile let you know that he's just loving life.

And together...

Eden and Sebastien are absolutely best friends. They adore each other. Whenever we do things with them separately, they greet each other with big hugs before anyone else. They play together so well, and want to do everything together. They both enjoy (amongst other things) dress-up, racing, books, swings, learning Spanish words, acting like characters and animals, and ketchup. They giggle at each other's "jokes" and recite their favorite books, songs and shows together. At this point, they rarely "fight," I just can't express enough how much the enjoy each other. My heart just melts at this unique and wonderful relationship.

Daddy says...

Eden and Bash love each other. This is evident in the way they ask about each other when one is sleeping too long, or off to the doctor, or even just in the other room. They cuddle, and hug, and laugh and it is one the best sounds in the world when giggles erupt from their bedroom when I'm doing dishes after supper.

p.s. several of these pictures were taken by Mikaela - thanks KJ. :)

I Promise...

2011-07-12T22:43:00.003-04:00

This blog will not turn into Caryn's Running Blog. But I do want to say that running is going well. Better than I thought it would, actually. I have continued to chip away at my best 5K times. Saturday I ran 5K in 33:20, and then tonight I ran for 45 minutes and ran 4.27 miles, according to my Nike+ (which, by the way, if you run and you don't have a Nike+...GET ONE!) But the best part of tonight's run was that I ran my best 5K time yet as part of this longer run. I ran 5K in about 32 minutes. This is not a great time for everybody, but considering that this is only week 4 of my running, and considering how my first run went... it's a big improvement for me. I no longer feel the need to run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes. Tonight of my 45 minutes of running, I only walked for 2 minutes, total.

So my training is going well. Pretty soon I'm going to start the fundraising part! So watch for more on that to come.

Also watch for birthday posts coming soon - Bash and Eden turn 3 on Friday!!!

P.S. I know I could jazz this post up with some stock photo of something related to running, but when I search for such photos, all I see are running girls/women/ladies who look nothing like me, running on terrain that looks nothing like the places that I am actually running. So you are just going to have to deal with text only.

Potty Update

2011-07-03T22:01:00.006-04:00

You have to really love to hear about my kids' development to appreciate this long post about bodily function... Chalk it up to another post that really is mostly about helping me remember later...

So. Potty Training. Let's review. In the archives, you'll notice that in November of last year there was a post called "Potty Training Day 1." I spent the majority of that month in the bathroom with Eden and Sebastien with very very little progress to show for it. We did rather conservative approach including pull-ups, lots to drink, promised "prizes" of stickers or tic tacs for pee, M&M's for poop. The month passed with only 4 or 5 successes, which all were Eden. I was exhausted, the kids were indifferent. I decided to take a break. I ate the M&M's myself. Adam helped.

In January of 2011, we spent 3 days doing a 3 day potty training approach recommended by a few sources, which is basically a cold-turkey approach. All-in. Put your kids in undies and wait for some sort of bodily function to happen, then rush them to the potty. We basically spent 3 days chasing kids all over the house, cleaning pee out of the carpet, and dealing with children with bad stomachaches who were holding in their #2's. Until they stopped holding them in, and then we had poo's in undies. By the end of day 3, we were impressed by dry nights and dry naps, but other than that, Sebastien had not once peed in the potty, and Eden was juuuust starting to have a few successes. (Still no #2's anywhere near the toiley.)

Overwhelmed kids and exhausted parents led to abandoning that effort. In retrospect, I probably should have let Sebastien go back to diapers and let Eden keep some of the momentum going... but whatever. I didn't. Instead, we put pull-ups on and went back to sitting them before baths, and once and awhile to practice. The kids didn't seem to mind one bit. They were showing little to no interest in the potty.

This served us well when we went on vacation, by the way, since 18 hours in the car with pull-ups is better than pit stops every hour for potty training kids!

But around late April, Eden was beginning to talk more about the potty, and since she was the one who seemed to be having more "success" on the potty, we decided to divide and conquer. Around mid-May, I started putting Eden in undies for several hours each morning. On day one, attempt one, she peed on the potty! I actually teared up the first time, I was so proud and so relieved! At first I was sitting her every 15 minutes, and she did not complain at all about sitting and trying. Initially she was actually peeing a little every time. So I started extended the time in between.

She has been doing very well. We've increased her time in her undies slowly, and at this point, she only wears pull-ups at nap and at night. (And once in awhile if we're going somewhere for awhile and would need to use a public bathroom...she's afraid of the loud hand dryers.) She's had a few accidents here and there, but that's to be expected. She sits on the potty about every hour and she usually stays very dry. Two things we're still working on: she does not usually tell us when she has to go and she does not want to go #2 on the potty. She usually waits until the pull-up goes on at bedtime. Once in awhile she holds it in too long and gets really crabby. We're trying some things to help her go on the potty, but mostly we're taking the stance of giving it time and not putting too much pressure on her.

So, now for Sebastien. This is just crazy. This boy had shown so little interest in the potty until just the last couple of weeks. Noticing this, I put him in undies one morning for just about an hour and a half...We sat backwards and drank and drank... and we went through like 6 pairs of undies in that time, and one of them had poop in them.

On Tuesday I put him in undies for awhile, and it was clear that he was going little bits and then stopping... actually aware that he didn't want to go in undies. Progress! Then he was sitting and he peed on the potty for the very first time!! Just a tiny bit and kind of on accident. But it happened. :) I didn't get another chance to work with him until Friday. The undies went on and the child stayed dry for 2 1/2 hours, but he did not pee on the potty once! Mind you, I gave him lots of extra liquids and I sat him every 15-20 minutes. So the pull-up went on at naptime. He woke up from his nap just SOAKED.

So Saturday afternoon the undies went on again. He was dry for about 2 hours, no pee on the potty until finally he was sitting and a little came out. Then a little more. Then a little more. Each time I cheered, and then I said, "Bash, you've just peed on the potty 3 times!" He smiled a sly little smile and said, "Is it going to be 4 times?" Then he peed a tiny bit and laughed and said "FOUR!" This went on and on, this little game, until we got to 9 times and finally he just let it all out. It was hilarious. And awesome.

So, now we suddenly have a boy that pees on the potty regularly. Even if he's wearing a pull-up, like in the car or if we are going out, he keeps it dry. He will also poop in his undies though if he's gotta go. So while with Eden we can sort of let her play and we don't have to worry about it, we're quickly learning that we need to keep an eye on him for signs of #2's.

That's the potty update. Eden's further in the process, but it's amazing how quickly it is happening with Sebastien. It's like it just clicked. Which is what people say happens but it's hard to believe when you're on the other side of it.

Adam is right about running

2011-06-25T21:51:00.002-04:00

Warning: You will not at all be impressed by my athleticism (or lack thereof) when you read this post. If for any reason you want to think of me as athletic, don't read this post.

Since I'm running a 5K in September (see previous post), it seemed like a good time to start running. A couple weeks ago (before I signed up for the 5K) I ran 2 miles... and I felt good. I didn't go that fast, but after not having run regularly since before 2 pregnancies and 3 babies, I felt pretty good about it.

So, I signed up for a race, and set about my plan to train. I thought, hey I just ran two miles fairly well a couple weeks ago, I think I'll try to run for 10 minutes, walk for 2 minutes for the entire run. Adam, my well-trained runner husband, said "Why don't you try 3 minutes running, 3 minutes walking for your first couple of runs?" To which I replied, "Nah, I can do more than that! I don't need to start out that slowly!"

Off I went on my first 3 mile run in several years. The first mile I felt great. I mean, GREAT. I trotted along, thinking about how I would get home and look at my watch and be amazed at how quickly I was able to run. The second mile, I had to slow down a bit, my hip was starting to hurt, but I still felt confident that I had made the right call. Pace, schmace, I can do this!

The 3rd mile I almost fell over and died. I felt like I had nothing left in me whatsoever. I had to break my 10 and 2 plan and walk a block. At the end of that break, I tried running some more and woops, my legs forgot how. So I had to walk just a little more. Luckily, some Black Eyed Peas came on my iPod at that point, and I was able to shuffle forward in a slow jog. Say what you will about the BEP's lyrics, some of their songs just make you want to move.

Ok, so long story short, it took me well over 40 minutes to run 3 miles.

I decided that I should take Adam's advice on my next run, and I shaved 4 minutes off that time. On my 3rd run, I shaved off another minute.

He knows what he's talking about with this running thing.

p.s. if anyone has any ideas about how to keep my shorts from riding up between my thighs, I'd be all ears. As long as your advice isn't "Get smaller thighs."

My first 5K

2011-06-20T22:44:00.007-04:00

First, let me say... yes, this is Caryn writing, not Adam. Adam has run thousands of 5Ks. But I've just committed to run my first one. I am saying it out loud, in public, months in advance... so that I cannot back out.

But the truth is, for this one, I really don't want to back out, and I'm not even that tempted. I'm running to raise money for Susan G. Komen because of my amazing and inspiring friend, Ellen (DeYoung) VanOss. Ellen is fighting breast cancer. She's fighting like crazy every single day. And the people who love her are doing a lot of praying and we're trying to help - help with her kids, help with her house, help raise money, help make her laugh - even though we can work our butts off and it will still pale in comparison to the hard work she's doing every day to survive.

The very least I can do is get over myself and run. So, on September 24, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, here I come. It won't be pretty or impressive or noteworthy to anyone. But, good, because that's not why I'm doing it. Maybe the reason that I know that I can run this race is that it has nothing to do with me at all.

Ellen participated in this event in 2009 and 2010, captaining Team VanOss-ome. I'm so honored to join this team this year. So, please, check out my fund raising page if you are at all inclined to donate money to this essential cause.

Lifelong friends...Sarah, Sunny, Jillyn, Ellen, Tena, me, Suzanne
(photo courtesy of Jillyn Segroves - thanks Jillyn! Her photography site is linked on the right.)

Violet is 9 months old

2011-06-09T20:27:00.000-04:00

9 months old! I can't believe it, time is just flying by. Violet is doing really well. She has hit a major growth spurt. As of her doctors appointment last week she weighs 19lbs, 14oz. Her leg rolls have leg rolls. There is no longer any sort of concern whatsoever about her growth. She went from being in the 38th percentile at her six month check up to the 69th percentile at her 9 month.

(Reckon with the chunk!)

Violet is totally ready to move. She is very close to crawling and she is already wanting to hold on to fingers and try to take steps. While the last 8 weeks or so she has been completely satisfied to sit on her little blanket and just play play play, lately, she seems more frustrated at not being able to move on her own. I'm waiting for her to just take off one of these days. (Then I guess I better start vacuuming more regularly again.)

(This is her monkey boyfriend. She loves him)

Her two favorite new tricks are holding her hand up to her eye to play peek-a-boo and reaching her arms up for "So big!" She thinks she is the cat's pajamas when she pulls these things off. (Which, of course, she is.) Vi is very close to clapping, too. And she goes nuts for Puffs and would eat them all day every day if we'd let her. I am also fairly certain that she is calling me "Mama" occasionally. Several months ago, I thought she might be saying "Hi" but that stopped, and now I think it was just babbling. But now I feel like I should count this as her first word. (Partly because Sebastien and Eden both said "Dada" way before they said "Mama." So, it's my turn!)

(This is her cheesy "check out my cute teeth" smile!)

She had some issues with ear infections over the past couple of months. Turns out she is allergic to Amoxicillin, which is unfortunate. But now that we know that, we know how to treat her ears, and after a couple colds and a couple ear infections, she has been healthy for the last couple of weeks.

Of course, she is still just an absolute joy. Sebastien and Eden are more and more interested in her, as she is interacting with them more, too. It is so fun to watch the three of them together. Eden in particular loves to help with Violet - feeding her, singing to her before her naps, giving her hugs and telling her it's going to be ok if she fusses. It's very sweet and Violet loves it.

Credit to the fabulous Sara Leo

2011-06-05T10:46:00.004-04:00

New family picture at the header and pics of kids on the sidebar are credited to the fabulous Sara Leo. (Link to her blog at side.) Sara's our good friend, and she took some impromptu pictures of our family when she was over one Saturday evening in April. They turned out great - we are truly blessed to have such a talented photographer in our "inner circle." :) I posted the whole album on Facebook, and had planned on posting some more here, but blogger is not cooperating. (Just like how the pic of Violet is so much smaller than the pictures of the twins. What is going on here?)

More Twin Stuff

2011-06-01T10:02:00.002-04:00

Sebastien and Eden have great communication, and they say a million funny things every day. Sometimes they hear common phrases and then repeat them just a little off, like, "Please and Gentlemen!" and "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when stars are grey" and "on your market, set, go!"

And of course often they hear things in books and stories that they don't understand or haven't heard of before, like their "Bedtime for Francis" book refers to spankings. So yesterday I hear them saying to each other:

E: Spanking? What does spanking mean?

S: Spanking is kinda like a mountain.

E: No, Spanking is kinda like a train.

Eden is very into "Why?" Everything is answered with "why?" It's still very cute to us, but now extra funny given this interaction:

Adam: Eden, please do not touch that

Eden: Why?

Adam: Because it's not safe

Eden: Oh. What does 'why' mean?

While Sebastien and Eden never really developed any kind of "twin language" they definitely have a few things that only they do that we didn't teach them, that they developed between the two of them. Two examples:

Sometimes they are singing or reciting little scenes from Veggie Tales or something and there's a phrase that they don't know exactly how it goes. So they both say "Didda Didda Didda" to fill in whatever they can't perfectly recite. It's perfectly acceptable "filler" in both of their minds, and they don't challenge each other to say it right if "Didda Didda Didda" is used.

Any time they need to name characters, and they don't use their favorite fictional characters (current favorites: George, Larry, Bob, Linny, Tuck and Ming Ming) they are named "Balotch, Baleetch and Balootch."

Another funny trend is saying something and then adding, "said Eden with a little small sigh," or "said Eden, as she yelled down the stairs." Or my favorite from today, "...said Eden wearing her undies under her pants." (Or any number of creative endings.) Sebastien also ends many sentences with "Said Bashy." He just doesn't get as specific.

It's definitely their world and we're just living in it. It's a very entertaining world.

Better than the best pair of jeans...

2011-05-25T09:25:00.004-04:00

Do you have trouble finding jeans that fit, like I do? You shop and try on, finally decide on a pair that fits alright, only to have them stretch out too much, or shrink in the wash. Or you got them altered, but then they still look too short or too long...or now that they're altered, the proportions look off. Or they fit really well for about a year, but as your body changes, your jeans just can't keep up, and you have to start all over.

Imagine a pair of jeans that you put on and immediately you know, these fit. I mean, really fit. You can sit down, cross your legs, wear ballet flats, boots or flip flops. As your body changes, they seem to just adjust. You can wash them and they come out fitting just as well and even (is it possible?) better than before. And somehow after years of wearing these jeans, they're not threadbare, there are no holes, they still look great, in perfect condition.

I've been married for 10 years as of today. Before Adam, I had "tried on" other relationships, tried to make them fit. But when Adam and I got together, our relationship FIT. He fit me better than anything or anyone ever has. Being his wife feels so natural, so comfortable, yet so challenging (in a good way), and being his wife makes me so full of joy. Through the last ten years we have both changed, we have grown in some ways, and shrunk (?) in others. But we continue to fit.

The best part of our marriage is Adam. The best part of me is Adam.

I am so thankful that God put Adam in my life. I don't want to know where I would be without him.

Happy Anniversary Adam Navis, I love you so much!

Goodbye DVR

2011-05-18T10:10:00.002-04:00

Adam and I have been talking for a long time about cutting down on cable. We don't watch sports and rarely have time to watch movies. Frankly, most of the shows that I watch are major network shows and would be picked up by an antenna. And Adam just doesn't care that much about TV. The main reason that we didn't do it sooner was our DVR. Oh, our beloved DVR.

Our relationship with the DVR started right before the twins were born. We splurged; we recognized that it was a chunk of our budget, but we were just so tempted by how cool it was, how easy, how "now." And indeed, it was all of those things. It made watching TV so convenient, especially when we had twinfants and were home so much. We stopped watching things when they aired or even knowing when things were really on. (Except The Biggest Loser - that is one show that we watched on Tuesday nights. But we fast forwarded through a LOT of it, which is what made the show actually good. At this point, we have let go of that show altogether.)

As time has gone on, we have become accustomed to life with our DVR. But the cost continued to plague us. We were paying for so many channels that we never watched. And our awareness of other options for TV-viewing was growing. Netflix streaming, Hulu, network websites... to name a few. Momentum was keeping us attached to our DVR. Momentum and ease.

Finally we made the call. I was taken aback when the AT&T person said, "Do you want this effective today?" I stumbled, "uh, uh....I guess so" searching frantically for reasons to hold on. But no, let's rip this band-aid right off. "Yes, effective today." As soon as we hung up, I quickly turned on the TV and starting jotting down the things in our queue. As I was doing so, a message came on: "Your service has been discontinued, the system will restart in 30 seconds."

NOOOOOOOO!!!

But, yes. I think it was a good call, and now, two days later, I'm realizing: It's not that big of a deal. We're not really missing anything. Adam and I signed up for Netflix streaming through our Wii. We both will sign up for Hulu accounts (not Hulu Plus at this point.) We'll see how it goes. It will be an adjustment, but in the end probably almost as easy. And a whole lot cheaper.

Easter Grace

2011-04-26T10:12:00.007-04:00

On Easter Sunday we attended church with Adam's parents at The Branch. Easter is a holiday that we usually spend with Navis' and we always enjoy our day with them, including the service at The Branch. This Easter Sunday, I could not help but reflect back to the service we attended there on another Easter Sunday.

It was 2007. Adam and I had been trying to get pregnant for a long time and I was heartbroken and empty. The Branch is a great church for young families, and on that Easter Sunday, the sanctuary was just packed with beautiful little people. The young children were parading around in their Easter best, smiling and singing. The parents were doing likewise.

And I just stood and cried.

I remember that hurt very well. I know that the pain that I was experiencing in those days was nothing like the pain of the Cross, but it sure felt like torture to me.

Little did I know that God's grace was waiting for me later that same year with news of a pregnancy. Though aided by doctors and more interventions than anyone really plans for, it remains a miracle. Then, just two years after the news of those two, another miracle... God's amazing grace visited us again, reminding us that He had it designed all along. And He's full of surprises!

So this year, I stood in that same sanctuary and sang Amazing Grace while holding my little miracle, while my two older miracles stood on their chairs and with their grandparents and daddy and danced to the music. And I again shed tears...but this time, not at all empty, but as I let the words pour over me, FULL of His grace and His love for me. "My chains are gone, I've been set free, my God my Savior has ransomed me!" I don't ever take these three for granted because for a long time, I thought they wouldn't exist. Praise God for my children, constant reminders to me of God's love and His amazing grace!

Update on Eden's Writing

2011-04-22T23:30:00.004-04:00

I posted a picture in March of Eden's first attempt at writing her name. Here we are, not even quite six weeks later, and she has made definite progress. We don't really work on writing letters! I am telling you, this girl is a go-getter. Today Eden wanted paper and her crayons and she said, totally unprompted, "I'll write my name!" And this is what she did.

Interestingly enough, if I ask Eden how to spell her name, she does not tell me. I'm not sure if she can't tell me, but she doesn't answer. She asks me to answer. But she can sit down and decide to write it.

Not to compare, but since most people ask about Sebastien when I bring things like this up... Sebastien does not have the same interest in writing letters. He loves books, he knows all his letters, both big and small. But he doesn't care to sit and write. He also doesn't really color or draw much. It's just not his thing. I'm not worried about it; the time will come when he will be able to as well. I mean, they're not even 3 years old!

(But certainly learning to write "Sebastien" is going to be much harder!)

Thank you, Eric Carle.

2011-04-18T23:08:00.004-04:00

You've probably heard of, if not read, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," by Eric Carle. There's a line at the end that says something like, "He wasn't a little caterpillar anymore...He was a big fat caterpillar." We like to read this part with emphasis..."He was a BIG, FAT caterpillar!"

Well, my kids love to hear stories about "When mommy was a little girl" and "When daddy was a little boy." It's one of our bedtime rituals, we tell them little stories about when we were kids - stories based on little memories like "Mommy and Uncle Eric would catch fireflies in the back yard." But I find that even these little snippets of memory can become interesting enough stories for 2 1/2 year olds.

Eden almost always ends these stories with, "And Mommy grew and grew and grew until she wasn't a little girl anymore, she was a BIG FAT Mommy!"

Thank you, Eric Carle, thank you.

17 lbs 3 oz

2011-04-15T10:04:00.002-04:00

Violet had her weigh in yesterday and all is well. She is back up the 47th percentile, and her doctor and I are both confident that she is growing and developing well. I'm very thankful for this news.

The bad news was that the cold that Violet caught from her brother and sister led to an ear infection (and it is "not subtle," in Dr. Warmoth's words) and Bronchiolitis. We were just there for a weight check, so I feel blessed that Dr. Warmoth checked Vi out after hearing her cough. I'm not sure that I would have taken her in quite yet. I had expected that she would follow in Bash and E's footsteps and naturally just get better after about a week. But we caught the ear infection before it caused Violet too much discomfort, and we can get the antibiotics working their magic.

She had a rough night of not-sleep last night, so I know that she is uncomfortable now. Hopefully she will feel better soon and be back to her cheery self.

Gulf Shores - Part 2: The Rest

2011-04-15T09:24:00.007-04:00

Here's a breakdown of the rest of the trip. (For those of you uninterested in reading all the details, here it is in short: It was really good.)

We had absolutely gorgeous weather the entire time. The worst day was not even cloudy, just kind of hazy and foggy. It rained and stormed one night, but not until after dark, so it didn't really affect us much.

Our beach house was beautiful, my favorite place we've stayed by far. We were kindly offered the master bedroom, since all 5 of us were sharing a room that week, and we needed to fit two air mattresses and a Pack N Play in with us. There was a huge walk in closet that fit the Pack N Play with room to spare, so...Violet slept in the closet. That worked out wonderfully. There was plenty of room to fit the kids' beds on the floor without inhibiting our movement too much. There was a gorgeous balcony off our room, though we blocked it off most of the time so that the kids didn't wander out there when they were supposed to be sleeping. The master bathroom was a dream.

Outside there was a nice area under the house that was shady. The house was fully loaded with stuff for kids to play outside, including two little toy pools. This was great because we had actually considered buying one when we got down there so there was an alternative to play in the Gulf. (My kids were scared to get too close to the Gulf of Mexico.)

The rest of the house was great too - three other bedrooms and bathrooms fit us all comfortably, especially considering the bunk beds that were in a closet in one hallway. Strange set up but helpful for some of the big cousins. There was a nice sized living room, kitchen and dining room. Our group was 15 total, and we never felt cramped.

Speaking of 15 total, we had a lot of help which was part of what made the trip so enjoyable for Adam and me. If we had done this trip by ourselves and the kids had gotten sick, we would have had zero time to relax. But as it was, we had lots of eager helpers, which we appreciate so much! (This would be a great place to insert a picture of the group, if I had one. Mikaela has them and I have yet to get copies.)

The biggest downside was that by Saturday night (the first night in the beach house) it was pretty clear that Eden and Sebastien were sick. They had fevers, rashes, more congestion, and their coughs were getting worse. Their energy was fairly low and they had little interest in being outside. This was a bummer. We had planned on over stimulated kids, kids that wouldn't want to get out of the sun, kids that wouldn't be sleeping because they were so tired...that kind of thing we planned for. But sick kids who didn't want to be outside? Boo. While inside, they actually did fairly well. It was obvious they weren't 100% themselves, but they weren't totally miserable. Their sleep was affected in a weird way. They fell asleep much faster than they usually would, which was good. But their overnights were very restless, especially for Sebastien. This made the overnights less restful than we would have hoped for on vacation.

By Thursday, Sebastien and Eden were starting to want to be outside and they were getting some energy back. This was so encouraging...However, Wednesday night Violet had a slight fever, and on Thursday it was a full-on fever, with cough and congestion to boot. I also started to get sick on Thursday. (The best word to describe all this sick stuff is BUMMER.) Friday the kids were almost back to themselves. They spent a long time outside playing with the whole gang (minus Adam and me; we were busy packing) and they had SO much fun. Adam and I both felt like Friday night was a window into what the week could have been like for them, if only they hadn't been sick.

But all in all, our assessment is this: beautiful weather + great location + great company - healthy kids + lots of help = still a pretty great time.

Gulf Shores - Part 1: Travel

2011-04-10T22:10:00.008-04:00

Many people have asked us how our traveling with three young children went. This is a long and detailed account.

My family spent every Spring Break (5th grade-12th grade) in Gulf Shores, AL. After Adam and I got married, we joined my parents there a few more times. We hadn't been there since I was pregnant with the twins, but this year we were invited to join my parents, my aunt and uncle with their three teenage kids, and three of my other teenage cousins in a beautiful beach house.

We hesitated at first, mostly because of the drive (approximately 18 hours.) But in the end decided that we wanted to try it. We did a lot of thinking about how the make the drive go well...We got new books, took crayons and coloring books, the kids toy computers, looked up some in-car crafts, and bought some new sticker books. We also bought dual screen portable DVD players and stocked up on new Veggie Tales and various other toddler favorites.

On the ride down, we left at 11am and drove until about 11pm, where we stayed in a hotel for the night. We were nervous about how the kids would do during the drive, but the DVD players were pretty much all we needed. The kids barely touched any of the other goodies, they were just so excited to get to sit and watch so much TV. Eden and Sebastien didn't nap. And actually, Violet didn't either. She blew through her afternoon nap, and started to get really pretty cranky after dinner time. She finally fell asleep around 6:00, but only slept about 45 minutes before she woke up, upset and hungry. The twins did fine having not slept... at least until about 10:00pm, when they were just done. Neither could get comfortable enough to sleep deeply, but luckily we were only about a half-hour from the hotel when this started to be a problem. At least, it was supposed to be just a half-hour...until we hit the traffic jam.

We arrived at the hotel around 11:15, and this of course, gave all 3 kids a surge of energy, as they'd never stayed in a hotel before. Plus, Eden got to sleep with Daddy and Sebastien with Mommy, and they were very excited about this. Violey ate a little (more for soothing and relaxing than for hunger) and then settled right into her Pack N Play and fell asleep. Sebastien and Eden rolled around and giggled and talked for about a half-hour before exhaustion set in.

Saturday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and got right on the road. We had about 5-6 hours of driving ahead of us, so we let the other two cars go on without us so that we could take longer stops when needed. Violet took a good morning nap in the car. Sebastien and Eden were doing fine for the first couple hours. But then Sebastien started getting hot. Really hot, really uncomfortable, and sort of just whimpered on and off. At one stop I let him out of his seat and he was just roasting. He curled up in my lap and just cried. He barely ate. And really, Eden didn't eat much either. These should have been clues to me, but I just kept thinking that they were sleep deprived and tired of driving.

By the time we got to Gulf Shores, both kids were restless and uncomfortable. They were real troopers, but at this point, they were sort of just done. We got out of the car, explored the house, got on some sunscreen and bathing suits and headed to the beach. It was soon after this that we discovered that both kids had rashes and fevers; they were also developing nasty coughs, and the congestion that we thought we had kicked just in time for our trip was back with a vengeance. But more about that later. This post, after all, is about the travel portion.

Fast forward one week, and it's time to go back. Fevers and rashes are gone, but cough and congestion remain. Moods and energy have improved greatly, however, and we were optimistic about the drive home. We tilted the car seats back for the big kids, something we had not done on the way south.

We left at 4:00am, and of course all kids woke up when we put them in the car. But by 5:30am, they were all sleeping again. Eden struggled to fall asleep in particular, she kept telling me, "Mommy, I'm stuck in my seat." I think she wanted to roll over to get more comfortable. They slept until about 7:30am.

The morning went well. Violet took a great nap, the twins watched their shows and read books. I read the last of the Hunger Games series with little interruption. :) The kids ate lunch in the car, and then I declared it nap time. We put on nappy music, read some books, sang songs, and tucked in just like we would at home. They were both asleep within a few minutes. Unfortunately, this "successful" nap only lasted about a half-hour. I'm still glad they slept.

The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully. It was about 5:30 when things started to fall apart. And really, just for Eden. It started with some unconvincing "Waaah's," a cry she does when she is pretending to be a baby while we are playing. But the frequency and intensity of these cries both increased, turning into full on crying within about 20 minutes. She could not be consoled, and even when promised that we were about to stop for dinner, her only responses were "I don't like food," and "I just want to drive for a while!" Poor girl.

We stopped for dinner, and she ate some. Sebastien and Violet had a nice stop, stretched their legs, visited with our traveling companions. But Eden just was too upset. At this point, we decided it would be best for daddy to join us in the car. (He was needed in other vehicles to provide breaks for other drivers. The kids rode with Grandma, Grandpa and me for most of the trip.) Having daddy in the van helped, since Eden is primarily a Daddy's girl.

She was alright for a bit, but then around 7:00, she started to fall apart again. We felt so bad for her, it was a long trip and she was just done. Adam had just given Violet her bottle, and she drifted off to sleep. Adam and I switched so that he was up front while my mom drove, and I took the child-care seat. By 7:30, after many complaints that she was stuck in her seat, and after I found her huge comforter from her bed and tucked her in with that instead of the small travel blankets, she fell asleep. It was fairly fitful sleep, but it was sleep.

Sebastien also fell asleep at about 8:30 and Violet stayed sleeping until we got closer to home. We arrived home just after 10:00.

Sebastien got right in his bed, and he sat there giggling. This indicating to us that he was glad to be home. Eden got right in bed and went right to sleep. Violet ate a little (again more for comfort) and then went right to sleep too. Adam and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Not too bad for an 18 hour trip with 3 under 3.

Ode to Sebastien

2011-03-27T21:21:00.007-04:00

I love posting my kids' quotes as my Facebook statuses, and I love posting pictures, even more now that I have a fun new iPod Touch to play with. But I often feel like these things showcase my girls a little more than my son.

And here's why.

First - Sebastien was not as verbal as early as Eden, therefore his language is not as sophisticated as hers. He is catching up quickly, but his brand of speaking doesn't lend to quick quotes for a Facebook status.

Second - The boy is on the move, and he is very hard to get a picture of. My camera is not very fancy, it's kind of slow. By the time it has finally processed my request to take a picture, he has moved on. I have lots of pictures of the side of his face.

Here are just a few things I want everyone to know about Sebastien. Sebastien is happy-go-lucky. He plays very well with his sister, he plays very well by himself. He likes to cuddle, he is not at all clingy. (Unless he's sick or something.) He is laid back, the opposite of intense. He has an enormous imagination and a great memory, which leads to lots of pretend play. He is very VERY funny, but it's difficult to translate his humor if it's not witnessed in person. Sebastien loves music; he pays very close attention and has for awhile now impressed us with his pitch. (Starting very early, we knew what he was singing, not by his articulation of his words, but by the tune.) He loves drums and tubas. (He will often hear a song and say "I hear the tuba!") He loves singing. He's a great dancer. Sebastien is a ham, but not a show off. He is tender-hearted and sensitive in a way that makes me want to scoop him up just hug him all day long. He loves his twin sister, and he likes to make his baby sister giggle. He is well rounded - he likes to dress up in hats and different shoes and he likes to throw balls high up in the air. He is great at identifying shapes and fitting them together. He loves playing with "little guys" of any sort.

He is a fantastic kid.

Writing this I find that I could go on about him all day long. But this is a start.

Honesty, Guilt and Eyeballs

2011-03-14T09:37:00.009-04:00

I have a friend who blogs regularly, and I really enjoy reading this blog. She has vowed to always be honest, which makes her posts interesting, clever, and funny. I have often thought to myself, I should blog like that. But when the time comes, I just can't. I have no problem being totally honest about where I fall short, but I struggle when it comes to things that might be less than perfect about my kids. (By the way, I'm not saying that my friend's "honesty" means that she sits and gripes about her kids all day long. I'm just saying that she's honest about everything. And it got me thinking.)

Last week during a play date, I found myself saying something to my girlfriends about my wonderful son that was less than flattering. (I did so when he could not hear me.) It wasn't an awful thing to say, it just wasn't positive. I have been plagued with guilt ever since, wishing I could take it back and just not say it. I keep thinking... do they know him well enough to know the funny, creative, smart, charming and so lovable parts of him... those things that make my statement of the not-as-positive pale in comparison?

I know that my kids are not perfect, but when I voice the things that they do that proves that I know this, I feel so guilty. I mean, what's the point of saying anything but positive, glowing statements about small children?

But then again, part of me knows that if all moms only ever say positive things about their kids to other moms, then how guilty would we all feel when we inevitable notice or have to deal with the imperfections? Wouldn't we all then feel bad about ourselves as moms or worse, about our kids, when it happens that our kids aren't as perfect as our friends' kids sound?

I don't know. But here's another part of this. Last week Sebastien went to his pediatric ophthalmologist. Before he was two years old, we noticed that one of his eyes was slightly wandering, so we took him in. His eye doctor wanted to watch it for six months to see if he would be one of the 30% of kids who naturally grows out of this. We took him in last week for this follow up appointment, and he has not grown out of it. It has, in fact, gotten a little worse. And so now, for one hour a day, he has to wear an eye patch. He prefers the pirate variety to the sticky adhesive, "band aide" ones. Is he the most adorable pirate ever, you ask? Yes.

But this relates to this honesty and guilt issue in that I have been reluctant to post about this. Sebastien is not perfect. He has a wandering eye. This is not the end of the world, it is a minor issue that will likely be resolved by this little bit of patching. But for me, I have not wanted to write about it because of this tendency to only want to talk about the positive things, to only focus on the good and not acknowledge the imperfections, or at least not out loud and publicly. But it's ok that he has a wandering eye. It's not shameful, it's not his fault, it's not even about his character, so why this desire to hide it?

I honestly don't know why I have an issue with this. But there it is. Honestly.

Here's a cute picture of my girls, just for good measure. At some point I will also blog about my issue with feeling that everything needs to be balanced, even and fair, lest I feel even more guilt. But that's for another day.

I just have to show this off...

2011-03-08T22:48:00.005-05:00

This photo is sideways, but find the "E" and you'll see Eden's attempt at writing her name. The "E" is clearly followed by a "D" and after that things get a little muddled. But come on, people, she's 2 1/2 years old and she did this unprompted and without help from anyone. I just thought she was coloring and suddenly she said, "I made my name!"

15 lbs 7 oz

2011-03-08T22:30:00.005-05:00

Violet had her six month well child check last week. This went mostly well, she is developmentally on track and she is healthy. However, she weighed in at 15 lbs 7 oz. She has not doubled her birth weight, and her weight has dropped down a curve since her four month check. So we are going back in six weeks for a weight check.

This is a little crazy to me, because my darling Vi has such adorable little fat rolls on her legs and her cheeks are just as squishy as can be. Eden and Sebastien were born so little and I was always so worried about them gaining weight. It has not occurred to me to worry about Violet's weight.

Dr. Warmoth, our pediatrician who I actually like a lot, is not an alarmist. I appreciate this about him because as a mom, I do tend to worry. He explained that it very well could just be Violet falling into the percentile that she "genetically" is meant to be in. Some babies, he told me, are born heavier than they are genetically meant to be. He would not go down the road of "what else might be going on" because he's just not like that. He's calm and optimistic.

If Violet continues to drop in percentiles, the first step will be to supplement her feedings. Which is not a terrible thing. I had not intended to wean her until much closer to her first birthday, but of course, bottle feeding her, or supplementing is far from the worst thing in the world. In fact, I already supplement her last feeding of the day with some formula. So there is a part of me that wants to rush to that point and say, well, let's just supplement all feedings now! Let's fatten this baby up. But Dr. Warmoth did not want me to change anything at this point, so I will be patient and wait six weeks.

Violet is 5 months old

2011-02-08T13:48:00.005-05:00

Within one week of turning 5 months old, Violet cut her first tooth and dropped her third nap. These two things have changed a big portion of our day. Vi used to take 3 naps averaging anywhere from 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours each, with the longer ones earlier in the day. But suddenly she decided that she didn't want to sleep at all for a third nap. And now we are all learning how to have her awake for a very long stretch from about 2:00 until she goes to bed between 7 and 8:00. She doesn't want to sleep, but she isn't necessarily super happy to be awake. She seems to be getting enough sleep over all, since she sleeps 11 hours, sometimes 12 at night, and her two naps easily give her another 5 or 6 hours total. But yes, having her awake from 2:00 until bedtime presents some challenges. Couple this with teething, and you can see how things are a little different around here.

Of course, she is still the baby champ, as her "fussiness" is really just mild complaining. She loves to giggle and squeal, loves to watch her brother and sister, greets daddy and mommy with big smiles, and grabs at what she wants. Her favorite toys are actually her toes currently, but she also loves her lion and her butterfly/bee. (We aren't sure what it's supposed to be, but she loves it.) She also rolls way onto her side, but has not rolled all the way over yet.

Eden's World

2011-02-03T14:55:00.008-05:00

Lately, Eden and Sebastien have been very into pretending. Mostly they pretend to be characters from their favorite shows. It is great fun to listen to them recite scenes, pretty close to word for word.

When Eden does this, she is all in. For about a week straight she referred to me only as "Isa the Iguana." I really do mean only, at night she would say "Good night, Isa the Iguana." When I came home, she'd greet me with "Isa the Iguana, you are back!" When she sat in timeout, and I gave her the "You are in time-out because...." she would reply with "Sorry Isa the Iguana." It wasn't just me. Sebastien was always Dora, she (Eden) was Boots, and Daddy was Benny. One day when we were home, the phone rang and she said, "You better get that, Isa the Iguana, it might be Benny." Even Violet had a role, Eden called her "Baby Swiper."

Well, now the game shifted, and I became Mrs. Sparklenose. Eden is Goneagain. Sebastien is now Blog, Adam is Niblet, and Violet is Baby Abby. (Not to be confused with Eden's big cousin Abby, who is an actual person. Not a puppet or a cartoon.)

Sometimes at night when I am kissing her goodnight, she starts to say "Mommy" and then she quick switches to Mrs. Sparklenose. And sometimes I long to be called Mommy again. But I do appreciate the sweetness of getting to be involved in her play, and taking on such an important role as being the Mrs. Sparklenose to her Goneagain, and the Isa to her Boots.

Who will I be next week? Who's to say. I can't wait to find out!

Spiders

2011-01-24T22:04:00.002-05:00

Did you know that I'm afraid of spiders? It's a true phobia. I know it's completely irrational, but I am afraid. I have realized that my fear is in direct proportion to a) size b) movement c) positioning of said spider. Bigger is worse. Creeping or (YIKES) climbing down a strand of web in the middle of a room is awful. (I'm breaking into a sweat right now, I kid you not.) As far as positioning, the ceiling is worse than on the floor. The top part of the wall is worse than the bottom.

Two spider related stories. In one, I am a conquering hero, in the other, a scared wimp.

Let's start with the conquering hero. There was a huge disgusting spider (more sweat) crawling toward Violet's play mat. I could not stand the thought of that thing crawling onto such a safe and sweet place, and certainly could not stand the thought of it being there when Violet was playing there. (She wasn't at the moment.) So, I took a lot of deep breaths, rolled about approximately one whole roll of toilet paper, and said the following mantra to myself "It's for Violet, for the kids, I can do this for the kids. I am saving the kids. I can SAVE my KIDS!" (Overly dramatic? Yes. Effective....YES!) Quickly I smooshed that spider and even more quickly ran it to the toilet. Shaking, I flushed the toilet, knowing that I had done what a good and courageous mother does for the sake of her children.

Note the big and disgusting spider was on the lower part of the wall.

Then comes two days later. Yes, the scared wimp story. I am reaching for the peanut butter, which means that I am straddling a baby gate and reaching over some steps into our pantry, perpendicular to the back door and sharing a space with the only way to get down to the basement. Suddenly, to my horror, I notice a spider in my eyeline. No, NOT on the wall. (Sweating again!) But hanging from it's stupid scary single strand of web right in the middle of the entry way. AGH!! Heart pounding I take the peanut butter (which is needed for the sustenance of the children) and back away.

Then it occurs to me: MY DIET COKE! It's in the basement. I have none upstairs. It's before 9:00am, and it's about prime Diet Coke time. Cautiously, I look for the stupid spider. I don't see it. Where is it? This is terrible. I know it's there. I just saw it. It's a bold, unflinching, out-to-get-me kind of spider. Now it's hiding somewhere waiting for me to venture down the stairs to get my Diet Coke. Well, I'm not that stupid.

I didn't get my Diet Coke that day, my friends. I waited until Adam came home, and I texted him to pick me up a fountain Diet Coke, which is really the best kind of Diet Coke there is, anyway.

I am scared of spiders. Now you know.

A Great Day

2011-01-06T13:25:00.003-05:00

On Tuesday we had a really great day. Not because the kids slept in. Not because we left the house. Not because no one cried. Not because everyone had great naps. In fact, none of those things happened.

But it was a great day.

It started as many days do. Sebastien was up too early, and I pulled him into bed with me. I often do that. I do that almost every day. Adam leaves for work around 6:00am so his side of the bed is empty. Not being much of a morning person myself, I don't love it that Sebastien follows in his daddy's footsteps and wants to get the day started as early as possible. But, I do like cuddling with my son for about a half-ho ur before the girls wake up. And on this day, he and I got up and the girls kept sleeping, so not only did we get to cuddle, but we got to play for awhile. Just us.

Later that day, Eden and Sebastien were just drifting off to sleep at naptime, when Violet woke up, ready to eat. After she ate, the kids were still asleep. So she and I oohed, cooed and laughed at each other for about 45 minutes. Just us.

Just as she was going down for a nap, Eden woke up from hers. Yes, it was earlier than usual, she had only been asleep for just over an hour. But she was awake and smiley, so I let her get up. She and I played together for almost an hour. Just us.

So, why was this a really great day?

I was able to spend one on one time with each of my kids, all in the same day. Do you know how rare that is? Very.

p.s. The following pictures have nothing to do with this post. They're just cute.

Little bits of twin stuff

2011-01-05T15:00:00.001-05:00

I have started to write down stuff that Eden and Sebastien say and do. But before I started keeping track on paper, I jotted some down here in a draft, intending to create this post, but I never did. So, just for fun, here's stuff that happens in my house, some of them recently, some of them quite some time ago....

Eden falls, hurt her bum, asks for a kiss. Adam says "Oh, honey, Daddy isn't going to kiss your bum" and Eden start crying loudly and yelling "Kiss my BUM!!! Daddy, KISS MY BUM!!"

Eden: "Violet has tiny little ears...and a big BIG face!"

Putting Eden to bed, my stomach growls. "Mommy, you tooted." Me: "No, mommy's tummy just made a noise." Eden: "Sounds like a monkey toot."

Eden and Bash are playing Baby Eden and Baby Sebastien a lot. When they do this, they call me "Baby Momma."

Eden looks at my arms, which is covered in freckles. She says, "Mommy! You have nipples all over your arm!"

(There really isn't a picture to represent Eden saying funny things.)

Sebastien is the king of creativity. Taking toys away from his is futile, because he just uses his fingers, or any thing around him. Examples:

Cheerios on his finger become the peddler selling caps (from the book "Caps for Sale") but his finger with a raisin on the side, suddenly it is Rudolf with a red nose.

At supper, his bowl is a boat, but with the fork in it, it's now a sailboat. But his fork is also Super Grover.

Pretzels are a lot of fun. Sometimes they are people, just they quickly can become horses, cows, dinosaurs. Train tracks held just right in his hand are T-Rex's.

He plays different characters from TV shows, mostly Dora shows. For a long time he was Baby Dino. Late ly he is Dora and he makes Eden be Boots.

His toast bitten in certain ways becomes monkeys, dinosaurs, humming birds.

(Bash repeatedly put together blocks like this over the period of a couple weeks, and every time, it was a cow.)

There are a million examples of things like this. This is really just a taste.

Violet, 3 1/2 months

2010-12-14T21:27:00.005-05:00

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

2010-11-29T21:48:00.003-05:00

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

2010-10-28T22:17:00.002-04:00

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

2010-10-28T21:58:00.005-04:00

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

2010-10-23T22:14:00.003-04:00

Credit for these pics go to my friend Lindsey Iverson

Big Kid Beds: Naps

2010-10-19T13:25:00.002-04:00

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

2010-10-18T22:19:00.000-04:00

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

2010-10-10T21:57:00.004-04:00

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

2010-09-02T21:50:00.005-04:00

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

2010-08-25T14:23:00.006-04:00

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...

2010-08-06T14:12:00.004-04:00

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

2010-08-05T15:11:00.006-04:00

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

2010-08-01T21:41:00.005-04:00

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

2010-07-09T22:04:00.005-04:00

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

2010-06-03T22:16:00.007-04:00

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."

2010-05-18T15:37:00.000-04:00

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...

2010-03-11T21:52:00.004-05:00

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

2010-01-15T21:02:00.006-05:00

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!

Smile!

2009-11-08T22:02:00.003-05:00

Knowing that we were going to try to have the kids' pictures taken by our friend Sara yesterday, we began to try to teach the kids to smile on cue.

Eden caught on pretty quickly, and here is the smile that she generally produced when prompted (it actually has come a long way since these, and now she mostly smiles with her eyes open.)

Sebastien has only once or twice ever really responded with a smile, but one of the times he gave us this gem:

The Fall of (a little) Man

2009-10-19T21:07:00.010-04:00

Recently, the weather was pleasant enough and we decided to take a short walk with Sebastien and Eden. Not in a stroller. An actual walk, where they used their own legs to walk themselves down the street. This was the first time we did this, which maybe seems awful, since they've been walking for months. But in our defense, having two 1-year-olds without a sense for what is street and what is sidewalk, for stopping when Mommy or Daddy say so, or for coming when called, it is not something that we have wanted to do one-on-two.

Sebastien was so excited, he tripped over his own little feet, and scraped his forehead on the sidewalk. He whimpered a little as I wiped the gravel out. It was really barely a scratch. But this event turned me into the thing that I have to try very hard not to be... a hovering mother.

I know that he is going to fall sometimes. I know that I cannot prevent every injury. But after this very minor incident I found myself hesitating, second-guessing - Should we not let him do this? Is he not ready? Is he too young, too unsteady on his feet? Maybe I should just pick him up and carry him.

But, no, I say (and Adam gently reminds me), it's Sebastien's job to try to walk on the sidewalk, to discover the sticks and the leaves. He needs to try, he needs to know that the world is a safe place to explore.

So, with some guilt eating away at my stomach for the scrape he is sporting, I put him down. He takes off, and I stay just a little closer than before, just a little more hyper vigilant. But not wanting him to pick up on this, I smile when he looks up at me. I calmly say, "careful Bud" when he takes off too fast. And, we play the zone defense. I take up the rear, while Adam heads up the front so that we are switching kids depending on who is lagging behind (thus providing a balanced experience for both kids.)

Sometimes I have to try very hard to be easy going.

Just outside our house, Eden takes off.

He's going so fast, he's a blur

Sharing the discovery of leaves

Happy to be outside

Note the semi-hover

Mistakes

2009-10-03T22:28:00.001-04:00

I know that we all make mistakes in parenting. I'm here to admit to a big one.

In trying to teach Sebastien and Eden to nod their heads "yes," I assisted them by putting my hands on their heads and showing them the motion.

Unfortunately, what that means is that now, when Sebastien wants to say yes (nod his head), he puts his own hands on his head...and shakes around a little.

I guess I won't worry about it too much, unless he's still doing it when he's grown up. I can just see him on his wedding day, when he's asked if he takes this woman to be his wife...

Ooops.

Here's a short video clip.

Translation...

2009-09-24T10:11:00.003-04:00

At 14 months, there are times that one of my children looks at me, utters a syllable or two, and I know exactly what he or she is saying. Other times, it takes some thought and translation. Here are some words that my kids can say, other than Mama and Dada.

Sebastien:
amma: Grandma
buppa: Grandpa
dahpah: diaper
kah-ko: cracker
coh-coh: cookie
bah: boo (as in peekaboo)
baw: ball
bah-bo: bubble
uh-oh
nana: banana
neewwww: no
toe: toast

Eden:
ahhhp: up
ahhhn: on
eeeee: Eat (accompanied by the sign for eat)
mo: more
papi: paci (pacifier)
uppa: Grandpa
mmma: Grandma
hieee: hi
bebe: baby
nana: banana

Then there are things that I THINK they are saying, namely, names. We look at the pictures on our refrigerator a lot, and sometimes it sounds like they are trying to say the names. Like, we point to Abby, and Sebastien says: Ahb. Or, when I am getting them up in the morning and they get a good look at each other in the daylight, I often will hear Eden say something like "Boppy" which I think is an attempt at Bashy (one of our nicknames for Sebastien.) And Bash will reply with "Deda," which could be Eden?

Finally, there are animal sounds. I am not even going to attempt at trying to get across what these adorable sounds are like, but my kids are learning to make sounds from cows, monkeys, owls, dogs, sheep and elephants. They also do a lizard impression now, in which they stick out their tongue, which is hilarious.

Anyway the point is, they are making progress with this talking thing, and it is SO fun to hear them learn their new words and put them together to get what they want.

p.s. Thank you Sarah for the kick in the pants; I will try to blog more often. :)

Facebook, Blogs, Flicker...

2009-09-12T22:09:00.003-04:00

I have this blog that I rarely update because I often feel like I don't have a "theme" to post pictures under, or anything really interesting to say. Plus I often find myself doubting that anyone really even reads it anymore.

As far as Facebook goes, I post pictures almost weekly, sometimes more. I LOVE posting pictures to Facebook. It's great. I realize that were this a pre-Facebook era, I would probably be that mom who stops people on the street to show them wallet size photos and maybe even a big brag book of my kids. Instead, all my Facebook friends have to put up with seeing "Caryn Tuls Navis added photos to 'Summer.'"

Then, recently, as I was looking through the channels on my AT&T U-verse, I discovered that if I download pictures to Flickr, I can view them on my TV! (FUN!) So I opened a Flickr account. I was putting pictures on, and Flickr gave me a disturbing warning. Something along the lines of: "You're trying to post X amount of pictures - that exeeds your maximum for the month." (The MONTH???)

Well, I quickly said, "Ok, Flickr, nevermind...." but backed slowly away from the MacBook in the realization that in just two short days, I was attempting to download more pictures than most people do in a month.

So, I don't know if there's a clinical word for it, I'll have to check the DSM... But here and now, I'm admitting that I have a problem. I'm not sure I'm ready to do anything about it yet. (I'm in the contemplation stage, not the action stage.)

But aren't my kids SO cute?

My daughter, the middle-finger-pointer

2009-07-30T21:20:00.010-04:00

If you have spent any amount of time with our lovely daughter Eden, you might have noticed that she is a middle-finger pointer. Exclusively. Pointing with her middle finger, pushing buttons with her middle finger, reaching and waving with her middle finger... It has been her finger of choice. At first, we tried to help her use her pointer finger instead. But not too much time passed before we shrugged our shoulders and said, "Ah, well. Maybe she'll grow out of it. She might always be a middle-finger pointer, and that's ok."

While watching this short clip, you will see some very cute things, namely Eden screeching with her high voice, and Sebastien walking confidently with his sister's clothes in his hands. You might also wonder why I say "good job" to these things and almost everything my kids do. (I can't answer that.)

But here I also ask you to notice in the last seconds (maybe even the last half of a second) that Eden is pointing at the camera. Take note of the finger that she is using. :)

Happy 1st Birthday!

2009-07-15T10:25:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to Eden and Sebastien! I can't believe how far we've come in a year!

Sebastien is a very entertaining little boy. He makes little faces at people, yells loudly, tries to sing, bounces around. He is still quite a talker, and will sit and play with his toys, or "read" his books, all along practicing words and noises. (Both our kids LOVE books by the way.) Sebastien's giggle is contagious and we love to make him laugh. Especially when it turns into a belly laugh, it is hilarious. He remains our more easy-going child, even in his rambunctiousness. While he is not walking, he is trying hard and he can take several steps at a time.

Eden is so delightful. She has always had a heart-melting smile, but it just seems to be more beautiful with time. The older she gets, the more her sweet personality shows. She is also quite smart, or at least her very impartial parents believe. We enjoy watching her little mind work as she plays keep away from her brother, brushes her hair, makes a "tickle me" motion (if her brother is being tickled), says "da-ee" when she hears the back door open. She took her first steps, but we have not seen very many steps since then. She prefers crawling or walking with a hand to hold.

Here are a few pictures from their birthday party on Saturday. The party went great - both kids were in fantastic moods. They seemed to love having so many guests at their house. Eden got a little overwhelmed while we opened presents, but that was ok, she just sat on Daddy's lap until she felt better. We sang "Happy Birthday" of course, which Sebastien gave some hearty applause for afterwards. They loved their first taste of cake, especially the frosting, but somehow they didn't get too messy. We felt so blessed - not only because of our beautiful one-year-old children, but also to be surrounded by friends and family who adore our kids.

Summer Fun

2009-06-21T22:07:00.005-04:00

Sebastien and Eden went for their first swim in Grandma Tuls' big pool today. They were both a little nervous at first, but seemed to be more comfortable after awhile. It does seem like it might take some practice. Luckily their mommy loves to go swimming in Grandma's pool, so we'll have lots of opportunities to get wet.

Eden testing the water

Sebastien was holding on pretty tight to Daddy.

Family picture

Looking cool in his sunglasses

Pineapple princess

Daddy, those are MY sunglasses!

Individuals

2009-05-09T10:00:00.007-04:00

With twins, you try to keep a lot of things the same for your own sake - same sleeping/eating schedule, same food, same method of feeding... Which brings me to my point. We can keep things the same all we want, but (thankfully!) individual personalities are going to show. Take eating, for instance. These days, Eden tends to get through a meal unscathed....

(Note the clean tray, the relatively clean face.)
While Sebastien makes a mess of himself and everything around him.

Other things they're into...

Standing. Sebastien is a pro at standing (not on his own yet) while Eden still wants to stick her little booty out most of the time.

Walking. Sebastien wants to walk whenever and wherever he can. Eden also likes to walk but often gets so excited she forgets to step.

Waving. This is Eden. Yes, Eden wearing blue.

Feeding themselves.
While I don't have a picture to prove it yet, we're also experimenting with a lot more finger food. Admittedly, they were probably ready for this earlier than I was. They've done great with Cheerios for awhile, but I have this fear of them choking... I finally just had to get over it for the sake of their development. So, we're trying "new" things like bread, peas, carrots, bananas, etc. They've done great, and have had some interesting diapers since. (Sorry, but it had to be said.)

Being goofy. Ok this was just an excuse for me to post this picture.

I don't want to perpetuate any myths here. People often ask me if they still share a crib. They haven't shared a crib since before they were 3 months old. If they shared a crib these days, they would steamroll each other all night long and nobody would get any sleep. :)

New Challenges at 9 Months

2009-04-21T22:28:00.006-04:00

Things are changing around here. While no one is crawling yet, I think it's safe to say that our days of sitting nicely on a blanket and playing are over. Sebastien is wanting to be on the move all the time, which is fun to see. He loves to roll around, and uses that as his primary means of transportation. He also now loves to hold fingers and try to walk, and wants to be standing rather than sitting most of the time.

Eden has been experiencing some changes as well. She has reached a point in her development where she wants to spend a lot of her time being with her mommy. By this, I mean being in some sort of physical contact with mom - standing on mom's lap, holding on to mom's fingers, sitting in mom's lap to play, touching mom's face, etc. Eden's arms are often reaching out to be held. (She's such a sweetie.)

Now those who know Eden's mommy (who is the affectionate type) knows that this is heavenly for her. However, it is also somewhat of a challenge, given Sebastien's need for safety, support and supervision, and some cuddling as well. I can't help Sebastien stand and walk around while I have Eden on my lap. Or, actually, I CAN, or at least I try, but not to either of their satisfaction. So I feel as though I am juggling between what the two of them want/need, and there is often one at least semi-unhappy child.

Again, those of you who know me know that I like to please people. And I especially want to please these little darlings who I adore so much. So, this has been draining on me.

I am optimistic that it will not always be exactly like this. But I also understand that I will spend more and more time chasing these two the more mobile they become. I think I am just finding, as any mom finds, that things are always changing and that with each new and exciting stage, there are new challenges that come with it.

Mostly, though, I try to remember to not wish away time. There is so much that I enjoy about my two little nine-monthers, and keeping those things in mind helps to energize me in the midst of the challenges.

Sleep

2009-04-06T21:04:00.005-04:00

For as long as I can remember, I (Caryn) have had a tough time falling asleep. I can sleep great once I fall asleep, and I can nap with the best of them... but falling asleep has always been a struggle. I think it's hereditary.

During the first half of my pregnancy, I was exhausted all of the time. Luckily, and to my surprise, I could go to bed early and fall right to sleep. Within seconds of hitting the pillow, I would be sound asleep. It was a new feeling. I liked it.

When mid-pregnancy hit, so did bed-rest, discomfort, using the bathroom every hour during the night, etc. And I was back to sleeping troubles.

Eden and Sebastien were born, and naturally I went mostly without sleep. A good day contained about two to three hours of sleep total. That lasted for the first few months. But even after Sebastien and Eden dropped their night feedings, they both woke up needing this or that quite frequently, and I still felt somewhat zombie-like and sleep deprived.

During that time, I fell asleep very easily because I was beyond exhausted. I felt as though I would never have trouble sleeping again. I thought I would never again lie awake in bed, practicing different guided imagery, taking deep breaths, counting the passing hours, or any other various practices that I have used over the years.

Just over 7 months, something magical happened. Sebastien (who at that time was the one keeping us up more) learned to roll to his stomach. Now, I know "back to sleep" so we lay him on his back at night, but he started to roll himself over and sleep very soundly all night long. It was and is a beautiful thing. And I thought, Great! They're sleeping all night, now I can too!

So, here we are at nearly 9 months... and sure enough, Eden and Sebastien generally sleep fairly soundly most nights. And sure enough, I don't. I'm back to insomnia. I'm tired, I really am. But I lay there at night, back to my old ways. Strange, isn't it?

Oh, and here are some cute pictures of the kids, because I know I have certain readers who are really only interested in seeing Sebastien and Eden.

Here's Eden doing her thing - she reaches out a lot, trying to wave, trying to touch faces, sharing toys, sharing her paci. She's a very sweet little girl.

This is something funny Sebastien does a lot with mirrors. I hope it doesn't mean that he has vision problems or something. But he likes to put his face up really close and look in his own eyes.

Life at 7 Months

2009-02-06T12:40:00.012-05:00

Eden and Sebastien are doing so well! They both are sitting up with confidence now, although they are not above doing a nose dive or toppling backwards every now and then. They are doing lots of babbling - mamama, dadadada, babababa, etc. Especially Sebastien - he is quite a talker. He has also learned to blow little spit bubbles (raspberries) and he enjoys that quite a bit.

Rolling over is still a bit of a challenge. Eden can roll tummy to back, but doesn't do it very often. Sebastien hasn't rolled either way yet without help from us. They are both getting close to rolling back to tummy, but haven't quite figured out how to get their arm out of the way.

Night time sleep is going much better. They have not needed night time feedings since they were three months old, but both of them woke up a lot during the night needing their paci replaced. About a month ago, we realized that Eden was consistently sleeping very well, with only 1 or 2 times that she needed us; we were mostly getting up to help Sebastien (sometimes 8-9 times a night!) However, recently he seems to have turned a corner, and only needs us about 3 times a night. Over all, we feel very lucky. They are never inconsolable when they wake up in the middle of the night - they just need a little soothing, a paci, and they're right back to sleep.

Nap times are a different story. They take 3 naps a day, but they are short naps, sometimes only a half-hour. It is a very rare occurrence that either sleep over an hour. This can be frustrating, but we have a pretty steady and consistent rhythm to our days, so it's tough to complain.

Now, before you tell us about sleep cycles and letting them cry it out... let me tell you... My twins wake each other up with their crying, so crying it out does not seem to be a real option for us. The times that we have tried it, it has left Sebastien and Eden frustrated and tired. Just as one has finally calmed down and drifted off to almost sleep, the other's loud cries wake him/her up, and it starts all over again. Now, granted, our kids fall asleep very easily, so we do not have to do this at night. We have only tried it for naps, and only once they wake up after only 25 or 30 minutes. So maybe this is not what "crying it out" is intended for.

Besides being our big talker, Sebastien continues to have a pretty easy going personality. He is good at playing independently, and is pretty happy a lot of the time. His laugh is completely contagious and we stand on our heads trying to keep it going! Sebastien is also very cuddly. He melts our hearts when he buries his head in our chest or shoulder and wraps his arms around our necks, as if giving us a hug. (Eden does that too, by the way. We love it!)

Eden has tricked a lot of people into thinking that she is "serious." She's not! Eden's smile is like sunshine. Her eyes get bright and her mouth opens so wide with her smile. She has fooled people because she continues to our more "sensitive" child. She takes her time taking it all in when we go out of the house or when people come to see us, and she focuses on her surrounding by furrowing her brow. But rest assured she is a very happy baby, smiling and giggling at us frequently. Especially at daddy, she thinks he is hilarious. She is also still our little wiggle box, always on the move.

Sebastien and Eden are eating very well and gaining weight. At their six month appointment, Sebastien weighed 16 1/2 pounds and Eden weighed 14 lbs 15 oz. They're eating cereal, vegetables and fruit at two feedings a day along with a bottle, and really seem to enjoy it. They are also still nursing at 3 feedings a day.

Overall, things are going so great! Sebastien and Eden fill our lives with joy and our hearts melt with their smiles and their voices. We are having so much fun watching them grow and learn.

6 Months Old!

2009-01-16T21:33:00.003-05:00

We celebrated Sebastien and Eden's half-birthday by looking back at that gajillions of pictures that we've taken. We smiled at all the photos of the tiny little babies that we brought home for the hospital. What an amazing blessing to take those little peanuts home and watch them grow into healthy, strong 6-month-olds.
We have our doctor appointment next week so I don't have a weight update yet. In the meantime, you can marvel with us at how far we've come already in the past 6 months.

Little Eden in her swing

Tiny Sebastien getting his tiny diaper changed

All small and wriggly in their baggy preemie clothes

And here are pictures of them from yesterday.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-27T17:26:00.002-05:00

This year we decided to send a Christmas letter via email - however, I don't think everyone realized that there was a letter attached the email. So, I'm posting the letter on our blog, just in case you missed it. :)

Merry Christmas!

We find ourselves celebrating and feeling very thankful this holiday season. This has been a year of abundant blessings for us.

After a high risk pregnancy and 12 weeks of bed rest, we welcomed Sebastien and Eden into our family! They joined us on July 15, beautiful and totally healthy. Since then, life has been completely different! But it is a change we longed for and are thrilled with.

Eden Kay is our little wiggle worm. She already loves to stand on our laps (with our help of course) and is working really hard at rolling over. She is very sweet and wakes up smiling most mornings.

Sebastien Adam is pretty easy going. He weighs about two pounds more than Eden, and continues to grow like a weed. Sebastien loves to suck his thumb and he is becoming quite a talker. He is also very cuddly.

Adam is working full time at Words of Hope in Grand Rapids. He works on an International Radio program called Spotlight. He enjoys this work and hopes to be able to continue doing it for awhile.

Caryn started the year working full time at Bethany Christian Services, where she works in the Counseling Center doing individual and family therapy. However, for baby-related reasons, Caryn was off from work for over six months. Upon returning to Bethany this fall, Caryn is now working just a couple days a week. She is thankful for two jobs she loves – one at home with Sebastien and Eden, and one outside the home at Bethany.

We are praying that this letter finds you all happy, healthy and celebrating the birth of Christ this holiday season.

5 Months Old

2008-12-21T21:54:00.008-05:00

Sebastien and Eden are five months old and doing great! Yesterday we gave them their first taste of "food" - rice cereal, soaked in formula, of course. Eden went back and forth between pulling up her nose and laughing. Sebastien did pretty well. For a video of the whole ordeal, go to Adam's blog - linked on the sidebar.

Got our spoons, all ready to go.

Eden is not too sure about this stuff.

Sebastien with cereal all around his face.

Eden is getting very close to rolling over. She actually has rolled from her stomach to her back a couple of times, but hasn't really mastered it. She loves to lie on her back and roll to her side. Sebastien has become quite chatty, he just babbles on and on. (Like his mom? Poor kid.) They both are no longer as content to lie on their back to play, they'd rather be sitting up. Unfortunately, they can't do this on their own yet, so when they're home with just mom or just dad, we have to get creative.

Fun times on our tummy.

Watch Us Grow

2008-11-24T20:34:00.004-05:00

Sebastien and Eden are four months old! They were at the doctor last week for their Well Child visit, and they are doing great. Sebastien weighed 14 lbs 8 oz and Eden weighed 12 lbs 12 oz. They are both in about the 25th percentile, which is about what they've been all along. Eden possibly has some reflux issues, but other than that, they received a clean bill of health. They had their immunizations, which is always hard to watch. They were both real troopers.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at the monthly pictures I've been taking of Sebastien and Eden.

Here they are at one month old.

This is their two month shot - they were both really fussy that day. I probably should have tried again the next day, but alas, I did not. So all I have for two months are pictures with bad lighting and crying babies.

Here they are at 3 months. I neglected to take a picture with Mr. Monkey in between them that month, for some reason. So, we don't get the perspective shot.

And, finally, 4 months. Bad choice of clothing for Eden - the sweater is so big on her, it's a little deceiving, she looks huge!

Two Little Monkeys

2008-11-01T03:15:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween!

While we didn't go Trick or Treating (hard to convince anyone that the candy isn't just for mom and dad when you are T-o-T with two 3 1/2-month-olds), we did dress the kids up just for fun. We walked over to my grandma's house to show them off to the family gathered for Friday coffee, then kept them in their costumes at home for awhile so I could take 85 million pictures and some video. It was great fun.

We also enjoyed handing out candy...though no need for any crazy candy delivery devices this year (see last year's candy chute video.)

And Sebastien and Eden headed off to bed while Adam and I watched a semi-scary movie with my brother and sister-in-law. All in all, a great Halloween.

Night Time Update

2008-10-11T03:49:00.004-04:00

I wrote the previous post on a Sunday night... During the week that followed, everything changed.

First of all, all the work we had been doing on daytime naps started to pay off. For the first time since they were very new (when their nights and days were all mixed up), Sebastien and Eden started taking naps in their cribs at the same time. Not long ones, mind you, and not perfectly coordinated with each other, but a major development all the same. For the first time since they were born, I started to be able to take a shower while no one else was here to watch the babies! And twice I was even able to blow dry my hair!

Ok, so it's not perfect - most days they are both sleeping, really sleeping at the same time, for about 15 minutes. Then I do all kinds of song and dance every 5 minutes to get them to stay asleep because their sleep is very light. And often just as one is drifting off the other wakes up. But still it's progress! And it gives me hope of things to come.

"But that's day time," you might be thinking. Well, I'm not done.

On the Thursday night that week, Eden and Sebastien slept, and I mean pretty deeply slept, all night long! I'll break it down for you. Ate at 7pm, asleep by 9:30, slept until 7am! I woke up several times and checked on them. And I got up at 6am (had to majorly pump, but only did a little because I had no idea when they'd need to eat.) And I just waited for them to wake.

The next night, they went from 8pm to 8am! And so for the last week, that's our schedule. We feed them at 8pm, they're down usually by 10pm, they sleep very soundly until 3 or 4am, and then progressively lighter until 7:50 or so. Then during the day, we're on a 8-11-2-5-8 feeding schedule. It's quite nice.

Now you may notice the time of this post. Well, I get up once during the night to pump. And they are a natural alarm clock for me some time between 3:00 and 4:00.

So, conclusion: Any time I want something to get better, I'm going to write a blog post about it!

p.s.Here are a couple cute tummy time pics.

Night Time with Sebastien and Eden

2008-09-28T21:52:00.006-04:00

"So... are your babies sleeping through the night yet?"

A common and understandable question. As a parent of two 10 week olds, a lot of time and energy goes into thought about my kids' sleeping.

For the last month or so we've done some experimenting with night time schedules. Eden and Sebastien can go fairly long stretches without eating now. (Anywhere between 6 and 10 hours!) Granted, they are not sleeping for those whole stretches of time, but we figure it's a great start so we'll take it. One step at a time.

Ok, so here are a couple of scenarios....

(And somehow they always end up eating around 7pm, when I would prefer 6pm and 9pm. But anyway...)

7pm eat
both totally asleep by 9:30
wake them up to eat at 10pm
sleep from 11pm (ish) until... well usually they grunt and fuss starting around 2:30 or 3:00...but they're not really hungry. they stay in their cribs with frequent help from mom and dad until 4 or maybe even 5am
eat
put both back down, they sleep for an hour or two, wake up fussy until mom lays down with both babies and we all sleep until 9 or even 10am.

7pm eat
both asleep by 9:30
sleep until 3:30am
eat
sleep until 6:30am
eat
mom tries to get them back to bed b/c they're clearly tired, but they grunt and fuss until mom lays down with both babies and we all sleep until 9 or even 10am.

So, yes, I take naps with them a lot of days. Call it survival, or whatever... I call it "family nap time." It might be a bad habit. But seriously, that's a post for another day because my kids are not good day-time sleepers. Unless they're being held. Again, perhaps a bad habit, but it's not for lack of trying and they need their sleep!

We've also tried a couple nights where we let each one determine for themselves when they are going to get up to eat. I don't recommend this. Basically it just means I'm awake feeding or soothing one baby or another all night long. We have also had a couple nights where Adam and I each are in charge of one baby. That wasn't great either. Oh, also... some times one of us will do the night feeding without the other so they can sleep. While that is ok when one of us really needs it, it is so much more difficult to do night feedings alone, most of the time we both get up to feed the babies in the middle of the night.

One more note...if our children could sleep on us all night long, they would easily sleep 12-hour stretches every night. When Sebastien or Eden are so discontent at night that pacies and swaddling and soothing isn't working...yet they aren't really hungry...mom or dad will lay down with them. They then need to be woken up to eat, they are so sound asleep!

So, are they sleeping through the night. They're "not eating" through the night. And there's hope for a future of actual sleeping through the night. So, they're getting there.

p.s. This entire post was written lovingly with one hand.

Eden Smiles

2008-09-08T15:29:00.002-04:00

For all you non-facebookers out there, here is a short video clip of Eden smiling... Some of her first "real" smiles. :)

"EASY" - Eat, Activity, Sleep, 'You Time'

2008-08-24T20:50:00.012-04:00

This is the basic premise of "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer" - which, despite its silly title, is actually a pretty great book about caring for infants. So, this is the routine we're trying to establish.

Eden and Sebastien eat. (This is quite an event in and of itself.) We don't have any pictures of this, because that would be inappropriate.

Then, during the day, we have them awake, which is about all the "activity" they can do right now. Well, that's not true. We look in their eyes and talk with them, they go on their tummies for tummy time, they look at black and white images, sit in their bouncy seats, give them baths... etc. So, there are activities. That time lasts anywhere between 5 minutes and 1 1/2 hours.

Then, when they seem like they are ready to sleep, they either spontaneously fall asleep, or, most often, they need to be held, rocked, swaddled, etc. Then they sleep.

That's the point at which the parents are able to have some "you time" - time to get stuff done, or sleep, post pictures, blog...eat..whatever there isn't time for when there are awake or hungry babies around.

I love this idea. It works out pretty differently in real life, though. Well, real life with twins, I can't speak for real life with one baby. For example, I've been working on writing this post since last Sunday. (It's Saturday now.) Because for us, it more often goes something like this...

One baby, say Eden, falls asleep nicely after 20 minutes of activity time, but Sebastien wants to be awake for over an hour. And not just awake...awake AND held. But finally he shows signs of tiredness, and sure enough after some effort, he finally is down and stays down. But by this time, Eden has decided that she doesn't want to be sleeping anymore...that is, unless Mommy or Daddy is holding her. So, she gets the attention she needs, until she will eventually be relaxed enough to be laid back down. At this point, Mommy quick drinks a glass of milk or grabs some grapes or goes to the bathroom, only to come back to find two hungry infants, because sure enough, it's time to eat again!

Please note that I am not suggesting that it always goes exactly like this - rather, this is one example, but its fairly typical of my time at home with the twinfants. I'm sure singleton babies have "needy" times too, and you other Mommies out there have a tough time finding "you" time at times also.

And I'm also sure that you other Moms out there will agree when I add.. boy, is it all worth it! Eden and Sebastien are such a beautiful addition to our lives. They are working really hard on smiling these days, and are also trying hard to find their voices (non-crying voices, that is.) They have grown and changed so much... it is hard to believe that just 6 1/2 weeks ago they were 5 1/2lb preemies!

So, while I don't get a lot of "you" time, and our routine is not yet "EASY," I am just trying to enjoy this time that I have with them at home. I just love being their mom!

Two at a Time

2008-08-08T07:47:00.007-04:00

Just thought I'd post some pictures of us pulling "double duty" to give you a picture of what life is like...

We can definitely tell that Sebastien and Eden are growing! We are going to the pediatrician this week for their one month check-up...and we can't believe that on Tuesday a month will have passed since these two were born!

Weight Gain

2008-07-30T10:20:00.005-04:00

We went to the pediatrician yesterday, and both babies are gaining weight! Sebastien is up to 5 lbs 13 oz, and Eden up to 5 lbs 12 oz. Sebastien gained 7 oz in the last 8 days, and Eden gained 5 oz. We are always concerned with whether they are eating enough, since they are still not masters of nursing. We supplement their nursing with bottle feedings, but they don't always take those either. But getting confirmation of weight gain and a doctor's "thumbs up" was very encouraging. We'll go back in two weeks to see how they're doing.

I have to remind myself that there are lots of people not on Facebook, who don't get to see the videos and pictures that we post. So this video is the same as one posted on Facebook yesterday, but this way, it can have a wider audience.

We absolutely LOVE to watch Eden and Sebastien interact with each other. I like how their Aunt Corrie put it, it's like they don't even know that they're two different people yet.

Fun with Hiccups

2008-07-28T07:46:00.003-04:00

We have discovered that there are several things that our children do very well. Eden is a very good eater. (Most of the time.) Sebastien is a good sleeper. (Um...most of the time.) Eden almost always gives the impression that she is deep in thought about something, while Sebastien's face almost always tells you that he is in awe of the world that he lives in.

One talent that Sebastien has, that started in the womb, is he can hiccup with the best of 'em. I mean, loud, big hiccups, several times a day. While I have yet to capture the best of his hiccups, I did grab some video of Sebastien and Eden dueling it out with hiccups. Eden's are quieter, but watch for her head to jerk a little.

I guess you know you're crazy about your kids when you think their hiccups are just the best and funniest thing in the world.

Some Video and Pictures

2008-07-19T20:57:00.005-04:00

Life is busy but so happy in our home these days. We are home from the hospital and so thrilled to be able to start our new kind of normal. There hasn't been a lot of time for....well, anything...except for doting on and getting to know Eden and Sebastien. We so appreciate the phone calls and emails that we have gotten this week, and we both feel bad that we have not been good at getting back to people.

By the way, if you're interested in a short glimpse into the day we delivered, Adam posted a 15-minute long video of roughly how things progressed. It's not gross, don't worry. While long, there are some fun things to see, like a nice demonstration of Eden's lung capacity right after being born. The video is posted at adamnavis.blogspot.com.

I thought I'd quick post a couple pictures and a video, especially for those of you without Facebook, since that's where we've been posting most of our stuff.

Eden and Sebastien, co-bedding in the hospital.

A rare moment when both of them had their eyes open!

This is a short video clip - We were still in the hospital, and Sebastien was wide awake.

Welcome Sebastien and Eden!

2008-07-16T23:42:00.002-04:00

My last blog title was "Am I Next" and I guess now we have the answer.... Yup.

Sebastien Adam Navis was born at 7:48pm on Tuesday (July 15) and Eden Kay Navis was born at 8:14pm! Sebastien was born at 5 lbs 7 oz and Eden at 5 lbs 10 oz.

I was able to give birth vaginally, not c-section, for those of you with money on it. We've had a lot of comments from hospital personnel about how rare it is to NOT have a c-section with twins. It was a long day on the 15th, but actually went fairly smoothly. Any time a little hiccup was mentioned or warned against, it seemed to resolve itself just fine. And when it came time to push, I actually (after a day of labor) ended up only needing to push 18 minutes for Sebastien and 15 for Eden.

We ended up being induced into labor because I was showing significant signs of pre-eclampsia. I know that some people like lots of details about birth stories and some don't, so I won't go into great detail here, but feel free to ask me about it if you want more details.

I will say that it has been an amazing few days. Adam and I are convinced that we have the most fantastic two babies in the world. Eden and Sebastien have been so great, we are thoroughly enjoying getting to know them better. We are so thankful and feel so blessed, it is beyond words. And given my complete lack of sleep for the last few days, I am having a hard time expressing the complete and utter joy that we are feeling!

We are in Spectrum yet until tomorrow morning. We really appreciate all the phone calls and emails and Facebook postings. I have to apologize that I have not returned any of them, but I promise that it's only because taking care of two newborns and trying to recover from my delivery and the toxemia have been top priority for us. Give a call if you'd like to come and meet our special little ones!

Am I Next?

2008-07-14T10:36:00.006-04:00

There is a serious baby boom going on this year. Lots o' pregnancies. You may remember that I had about 84 other pregnant people that I work with, not to mention all my other friends and family members...

Well, the boom is really booming strong now.

So far in 2008....Brooke had Teagan, Christina had Logan, Julie had Isaac. But just in the last month or so....Lindsey had Anabelle, Tena had Isla, Tracy had Ava, Meredith had Connor, Liz had Dexter, Cori had Colin. (Who am I missing?)

Maybe you don't know any of these people. The point is, I know all these people, and with the exception of Melissa (tomorrow, right? I'll add you to the list, Melis!!) I believe.... I'm next. It's a weird feeling to know all those due dates have come and gone, to see the babies arrive and watch the pictures pile up in Facebook and on blog sites. A weird feeling, and a very cool way to mark how close we are to meeting our little ones.

By the way, our c-section is only 11 days away! Anyone want to put money on whether we'll make it all the way to the 25th?

Heads Down and Growing

2008-07-07T16:01:00.003-04:00

We had 3 doctors' appointments today: an ultrasound, an NST and an OB appointment. The ultrasound today is likely to be our last one, and it went well, except that they could not do any 3-D pictures. We were disappointed about that. But Baby Boy is weighing in at about 5 lbs 3 oz and Baby Girl at a whopping 5 lbs 11 oz! (Save for the 10% margin of error on either side.)

The other big news today was that Baby Girl has followed her brother's lead and now is in the head-down position, also. That means that if they stay in this position, we may have a choice between a c-section and vaginal delivery. We're taking a "wait and see" posture, but will likely be doing a lot of discussing between now and the 25th, which is our scheduled c-section date. I will be a full 35 weeks tomorrow, and that is such a blessing. 50% of all twins are born between 34 and 37 weeks, according to the twin book I'm reading, so we feel so thankful that we've made it this far!

I took another belly picture on Saturday, so I'll post that here. I don't have the ultrasound pictures scanned in yet, so I might end up adding those later. To be honest, they did not turn out as well this time. But still worth a look, so I will get on the ball and try to post those soon.

When Your Wife is on Bedrest

2008-07-06T09:23:00.007-04:00

On Monday I will have been on bedrest for 11 full weeks. There have been a ton of people who have helped out during this time - family and friends have been amazing with meals, helping us move, helping us paint, visiting, driving me places, bringing gifts... I could go on for so long. It has been amazing and we could not have done these last 11 weeks (and the 3 more to come) without all of this help.

However, the one who takes the brunt of the bed rest impact is Adam. My dear husband has had to do everything without his partner for the past three months. Think of all the things that go on in your household every day - the cooking, the cleaning, the errands, the driving, the odd jobs and yard work. Adam has done all of that PLUS he has packed and unpacked our household, put together baby furniture, painted rooms, planned his own ordination service, test drove vehicles, installed carseats, assembled misc baby gear. PLUS he has gone to as many appointments as he could, attended to my many needs, helped me in and out cars, assured me that I'm not that biggest pregnant person ever, pushed me around Target in a wheelchair one day (yeah, that was a big outing for me!), read up on baby care and pregnancy, slept on the couch when my snoring suddenly took over our bedroom....

I seriously could sit here listing these things all morning.

Adam does not complain about these things. I mean, he is understandably eager to have his partner back in a few weeks. But what I am saying is, he is unbelievable. I don't think I'll ever be able to re-pay him or thank him enough for all he has done and especially not for how he has done it - unflinching, with a loving heart, a smile and a sense of humor. I have been blessed beyond words, and one little way I can say thank you to him is to post something for you all to read. This way, everyone knows how amazing I know Adam is, and you can all know he's amazing too.

Tag, I was "It" (Over a Month Ago)

2008-07-02T09:54:00.002-04:00

My friend Deb tagged me over a month ago with this, hey, tell us about yourself thing, and I never got around to doing it. I know, you'd think being on bedrest I'd be all about it. But, I just couldn't concentrate long enough to actually do this. Well, my concentration is only getting worse. But today, I'm bored enough to try to focus on it. Please forgive me if I actually don't pass the tag along - I think most people that I would tag have already done this. We'll see.

The Rules:
Once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random, facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, choose 6 people to be tagged, list their names & why you tagged them. Don’t forget to leave them a comment saying “You’re it!” & to go read your blog. You cannot tag the person that tagged you, so since you’re not allowed to tag me back; let me know when you are done so I can go read YOUR weird/random/odd facts, habits and goals.

1. I have had the same pillow and pillowcase for as long as I can remember. I have nicer, prettier (and definitely fluffier) onces, but this particular pillow goes with me wherever I go and never gets phased out. I think it's become like a security blanket. Adam named it "Pinkie" when we got married and he discovered its bizarre place in my life.

2. My hidden talent has always been gleeking on command. What is gleeking? I'll show you some time. Or you can ask my brother or my husband, who have both always hated it when I pull it out as a defense to some sort of physical attack.

3. I grew up having dogs and really liking dogs, and I grew up thinking I hated cats. I now have a cat and am kinda afraid of dogs. I'm not afraid of all dogs, of course, because there are many dogs I still love. But I think after some years of doing in-home social work, large dogs feel unpredictable and strong. Cats are just, at worst, annoying.

4. I have not changed skin care products since early high school when I started using skin care products. I use the same face wash and moisturizer that I did when I was 15. I've tried other things, and nothing else feels right.

5. On that topic, I never wear makeup. I mean, I did wear a little for prom and my wedding. And I think when I was in other people's weddings I did, too. But day-to-day, nope. I keep thinking that as a nearly-30 year old person (whaaat? ugh!) I should probably discover some sort of concealer or foundation or something to cover up wrinkles. But at this point in my life, I really wouldn't know where to start.

6. I put sugar on my scrambled eggs. Always have. Don't knock it til you try it.

7. Adam and I were supposed to go to Israel on our honeymoon, 7 years ago, but things became too violent there and our trip was canceled. Instead we went to a great condo up north for about 5 or 6 days, and never really got a honeymoon trip.

8. I tend to volunteer for things when there's silence. My co-workers can attest to this. You know, we're all sitting around a table, and there is a need to speak somewhere, or join a committee, or organize a get-together, or take on some project or group or client, etc. When there's silence, if it lasts long enough, sure enough, up goes my hand. I'm working on this, though, so don't use it against me.

9. I really really like to bake. And I only discovered this a few years ago. I'm not claiming to be a fantastic baker, I just really like to do it.

10. I cry easily. Not in an overly-sensitive way, "you looked at me funny" way. But in a "oh, that commercial for long distance phone plans was just SO touching!" kind of way. My brother's favorite example was the time that I got all choked up over a preview for a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode. Yeah, if I cried over the preview, think of how I sobbed through the episode.

Whew. 10 is a lot. That was really hard. Probably doesn't make it better that I tend to ramble on when doing things like this.

I'm not officially going to tag anyone, but if you're reading this and come up with you own list, let me know cuz I'd like to read it. (Gwen? Sarah Zuidema? Anyone?)

The Reverend and His Wife

2008-06-30T10:06:00.004-04:00

This video might possibly be the least flattering of me - ever - but it's one that Adam created for his blog and I thought I'd put it on here too, for those of you who don't visit Adam's blog. (It's ok, it's not a competition.)

Adam was ordained as a specialized minister yesterday! Pretty big event in the life of the Navis Family. Because of my bed rest I wasn't able to go, which we both are sad about. But we have a VHS video of it, so I was able to see it afterwards. Plus there was plenty of leftover cake, so I got to eat that too. (Not all of it. Seriously.) We also have a couple of video clips that our friend took with our digital camera that you'll see here.

I'll let Adam speak for himself on the whole ordination thing.

As for a pregnancy update - I saw my OB on Friday, and she was concerned at how puffy and swollen I am. You might be too, after seeing my face in that video. Anyway, she had my blood tested for toxemia, and had informed me that if they were positive, I would have to be hospitalized and either be observed for a day or two or there was the chance that if it was bad enough, we'd have to deliver the babies. Well, clearly, since it's Monday and I'm not in the hospital, the results on Friday were within the "normal range." The nurse put it as "high, but within the normal range." So they will re-test me today when I go in for my NST. I was also reminded that I am on bed-rest, and need to stay that way.

All that to say, it was a bit of a wake-up call for us. Since things have been going smoothly, I think we've lost touch with the reality that our precious little ones could come at any time. Tomorrow I hit the 34 week mark, which is fantastic, we are so happy about that. We'd really like to make it about 2 more weeks. My wonderful OB is working on scheduling us a c-section for around July 24 or 25, so we know it won't be later than that!

OK, and final piece of news.... You might know that we've really struggled to commit to a boy's name for Baby Boy. We've had Baby Girl's name since, well before we knew she was a girl. But we had a hard time with Baby Boy. Well, we're happy to report that both babies have names! We're still not telling you what they are, though.

New Ultrasound Pictures

2008-06-15T21:44:00.006-04:00

We had an ultrasound again on Friday, and in my 32nd week, these are the fantastic pictures that we got of Baby Girl and Baby Boy Navis! It was very special to see them, as we had not had 3-D ultrasound in awhile, and this is definitely the first time we were able to get a better look at our babies' features.

Aren't they beautiful??

Here's Baby Girl

And here's Baby Boy

You might wonder what little Boy's cheek is pressed up against. The answer is - his sister's head! Look at them being all snuggly already in the womb! They both are growing well and both weigh in at about 4 lbs.

The other good news that we got at the ultrasound is that my placenta previa has resolved! None of my restrictions have changed yet, though, unfortunately, but at least we can relax a little bit, and not be as fearful of having a major bleed. I see my OB again on Wednesday, so if any restrictions will change, we would find out then. The specialist that we saw said he would not recommend any changes, but he wanted to leave it up to my OB.

Soooo.... Big and Pregnant

2008-06-12T15:22:00.005-04:00

I am 31 weeks pregnant and measuring well over 40 weeks. This is fine and dandy, I take that as meaning that I have two healthy little ones in me that are growing and that are making me grow.

But as this is my first pregnancy, I feel that I have a right (or a responsibility maybe) to admit... This is not how I thought I'd look pregnant. Now, I would not trade my pregnancy for anything, because as you know, I wanted to be pregnant more than anything, and I am SOO thankful for this. But the truth is, before you're pregnant, we all think we're going to be Angelina Jolie. (For the record, I'm not a fan, but we will get into that another day. I choose her because she is currently pregnant with twins, and going to deliver this summer, I think.)

But back to my point, before our first pregnancies, I think that we all think that we're going to be Angelina - walking around, about to give birth to twins, but besides a bulging belly, looking like ourselves. You know, you look at Angelina, and she still has her jaw line, her eyes aren't puffy, she can still wear her jewelry. Not to mention (and admittedly, this might just be me because of my bedrest situation) she's still walking around!

Now, the problem is, we all know real-life people like this, too. If it were just celebrities, we could chalk it up to another unattainable celebrity body. But the fact is, there are these women that we all know and love who look fantastic all the way through their pregnancy. Not that I hold it against them. It's not their fault that nothing seems to swell except their cute basketball stomaches.

So, I'm just saying.... we all think that we're going to be that woman. I admit that I thought I could be. But now I know.... it's not in the cards for me. Maybe it's the twins... Maybe it's that I'm measuring at the point where most people get to deliver and start getting their bodies back. Or maybe it's just the way I was designed.

And I'm ok with that now. Sort of. Today I'm ok with it. We can talk again tomorrow, and we'll see how I feel.

Until then, just remember, I'm VERY thankful that I'm pregnant, and I'm MORE than willing to go through body changes for the end reward. Take this post as in no way saying I would change my situation. Because I wouldn't. Not for anything in the world.

But here, here are a couple pictures. One was taken last week. The other was taken last summer at this time. The face in the first one is the face that I somehow expect to see when I look in the mirror, it's my face. The face in the second one is the face that exists in the mirror, and it's more unfamiliar to me, and sometimes catches me off guard.

Yet, the second face does have a new look of mommy happiness.

Don't Worry, Potok, You Get to Come With

2008-06-07T11:05:00.004-04:00

Of course, preparing for babies isn't enough, we also are going to move. SOON. In fact, if we have our druthers, we would move next weekend. Anyway, I could ramble about that for awhile, but really, what I want to post is our cat trying to ensure that we don't leave without him. I've never been one to carry around pictures of my pet or anything, but these are cute.

Doctors & NST's

2008-05-30T15:06:00.002-04:00

At this point in my pregnancy, I am going to the doctor a LOT. Or so it feels to me. I see my OB once a week. And I go to her office for Non-Stress Tests (NST's) twice a week. And then I get ultrasounds every 2-3 weeks. Mind you, none of these appointments take place in Grand Haven, they are all in Grand Rapids. And, mind you also, that I am not allowed to drive. So, I'm feeling a bit like a 15-year-old with no driver's license but an awesome social life.

I went to see Dr. Bitner today and sure enough, at just over 29 weeks, I am measuring at 40 weeks. Translation, I am very big. I am as big as most people are when they are ready to deliver. That's big! And I think it's pretty safe to assume that I'm about as uncomfortable as most people are when they're ready to deliver.

Yet, I hope and pray to make it at least 6-7 more weeks.

I can do it, too. I'll get up to go to the bathroom 7 times a night! I'll sleep with 84 pillows in my bed to try to be comfortable! I'll take the heartburn and reflux, the contractions and swollen limbs! I'll wear the same thing every other day! I'll sit here on the couch every day and look out the window! I'll beg for rides and ice cream and strawberries - and once in awhile, yes a Diet Coke or, get this, a Dr Pepper! (Who knew.)

Bring it on, just keep these babies in me!

p.s. Everything else was fine today at the doctor. No worries, no signs of imminent labor. (But nothing allowing for any bed rest changes, either.) I am under doctor's orders to try to get a massage though. :) Seriously.

7 Years!

2008-05-25T09:42:00.010-04:00

Every year on our anniversary, I look at all our wedding pictures and take some time to remember that day. It always reminds me of that song, "What a Difference a Day Makes." One day you're "single," the next, you're committed to this one person for the rest of your life. For me, that day, May 25, 2001 was by far the best day of my life. (Which I can safely say because my children have not been born.) I look back at my pictures and remember how incredibly happy and thankful I felt. I have been blessed with the greatest husband, and that feeling of happiness and thankfulness has stayed with me. I was 22 when we got married, and that day I thought my heart couldn't possibly hold any more love and joy inside of it, it was just so full. But I am more in love with my wonderful husband today than I was the day we got married! Happy Anniversary, Adam!

Ultrasound Day

2008-05-23T14:00:00.006-04:00

I am now in my 29th week of pregnancy, and it was time today for another ultrasound! I will say that I had pretty high hopes today that the doctor would declare me ready to go back to some version of regular life. However, after the ultrasound we were able to consult with the doctor, and it turns out that there will be no changes to my current restrictions.

For those of you who like to know the medical parts, my placenta has moved somewhat, but not enough. It is still covering a portion of my cervix, and therefore is still considered placenta previa. The doctor told us that for most people, previa's resolve themselves by 28 weeks, and so while it is still possible that my previa will resolve, he sounded like we should be prepared for bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy.

The good news is, it's bed rest at home. If I were to have another bleed, the doctor told us I would likely be admitted to the hospital for the remainder of the pregnancy. That is one reason that they are cautious and having me stay on such restricted activity - we want to avoid contractions, but also really want to avoid another bleed. I am still at risk of pre-term labor because of the previa, but also because of twins.

So bed rest at home means I am still able to "escape" from time to time, as long as wherever I escape to, I don't drive myself there, and I can sit down with my feet up while I am there. And of course, leaving the house is for "exceptions" not for every day. But the nice thing about that is that I've been able to go to my own baby showers!

It's been hard on Adam, though, as he is carrying a lot on his shoulders. But he is gracious and kind as always, and he doesn't complain.

Now for the fun part - the babies are doing really well!! Baby boy is weighing in at about 3 lbs 4 oz and Baby Girl at about 2 lbs 15 oz. Their growth rates are good at this point, although we've been advised that their growth will probably slow down a bit - or that tends to be the case at least w/ twins.

Baby Girl has now come out from behind my right ribs, where she has had her head planted for quite a while - now her head is over by my left ribs, and her feet are over playing footsie w/ her brother's feet...right under my right side ribs! (She's lateral.) So, I feel lots of "alien" movements over there. I put this profile picture of her on here because - frankly, Adam has the rest of the ultrasound pictures at work with him to show off to his co-workers. He let me take these two home with me.

Boy Boy showed off one of his new tricks - opening his eyes!! It was so great to see him "looking" right back at us. He is now in the head down position, and active as ever. He actually looks kind of like he's smiling in this picture, and his cheeks even look kind of chubby, although we know that that's not really the case.

Thanks again for everyone who's praying for us and these beautiful babies. We are so crazy about them already and are just so thankful that they're healthy and doing well.

New Wheels

2008-05-08T20:38:00.005-04:00

When we did our baby registry, Adam and I decided that Adam would take ownership and be in charge of picking out the stroller for the twins. And my husband, being the absolute wonder that he is, did a lot of looking around, researching, reading, to find the right stroller.

And he did a great job. He found the Kolcraft Contours Options Tandem. It is a fantastic stroller, you can see a demonstration online at kolcraft.com. Well, on Saturday, along with a ton of other great gifts from great friends, we got our stroller! The great thing about this stroller is that it will hold two infant carseats, but also has two seats for older kiddos, so this stroller will not soon by outgrown by the twins.

Of course the first thing Adam did after the shower was to put the stroller together. So, now we have a fully put-together stroller in our living room. It's a joy to look at, and it brings to mind all kinds of dreams and images of strolling around with Baby Boy and Baby Girl.

And... speaking of new wheels.... Adam also bought a small motorcycle. Small, and only 70cc's, Adam is very excited about his new hobby. You can read about it in his own words at adamnavis.blogspot.com.

Our Cat

2008-04-29T11:57:00.005-04:00

Our friend Josh made this video, and I thought it was really funny. Anyone who has visited our house in our absence to care for Potok can probably relate to Josh's relationship with our cat. Here's a little insight.

http://www.joshleo.com/vlog/2008/04/29/josh-and-potok/

Josh is very good at making videos. Feel free to peruse his other work. :)

God is So Good

2008-04-27T15:32:00.005-04:00

Adam was offered a job on Friday!! Job offers are always good news, but in our case, there are a number of reasons why this offer is extra wonderful...

1) Adam has been looking for a permanent full time job for too long. In fact, after graduating from Seminary in 2006, he has been looking. Granted, we've been blessed with some opportunities for him within these two years - he has worked part time for a church, done ongoing freelance writing, installed some windows, earned a free Wii (see adamnavis.blogspot.com) - but always his goal was of course to gain permanent, full time employment to provide for our family. There have been a lot of ups and downs in this time. There have been times when trusting God has not been so easy. Read on.

2) Adam has very much wanted to find a way to engage two aspects of his passion - writing and ministry. The job offer that he got is from Words of Hope, where he'll have unique opportunity to combine these two passions, and it feels like a very good fit for Adam.

To be more specific, Adam will be working on the Spotlight Program. This is a radio program in Specialized English. It's kinda like the Back to God Hour, for all you CRCers out there. Adam will be writing, voicing and producing these programs. If you want to find out more go to www.spotlightradio.net.

3. Let me also say that this job comes at amazing timing. At the beginning of last week, we found out that my "maternity leave" at Bethany started on Monday (4/21.) Yes, 14 weeks before my actual due date. This was of course, not the news we were hoping for, and it would have been well within our right to panic, freak out, sound the alarms. However, we said to one another, "We're going to choose faith and hope. Not fear." And in fact, God is so faithful, that at the end of this same week, Adam had the job offer that we had been praying for. God's timing is indeed perfect.

All in all, we are thrilled, and Adam will start this job on May 5. Thanks to all of you who have been our prayer partners throughout this journey. We couldn't have done it without your love and support.

Our Pregnancy

2008-04-22T22:16:00.007-04:00

Since this is the first entry on this new website, I thought I'd start by taking just a quick look back at our pregnancy.

Starting with our first photo of our two babies...When we saw that picture, we called it "Potential First Photo." We lovingly referred to our little embryos as "Snowman" and "Pancakes." Luckily for the kiddo's, those nicknames have not really stuck.

On December 3 we found out that we were pregnant and were ecstatic! We had several ultrasounds in the very early stages, not all of which have we downloaded onto the computer - mostly because you can barely see anything (anyone) in them. Of course at the time, it was amazing and we were thrilled! Our first ultrasound, on December 14, we found out that indeed there were TWO babies in there, and again just felt so blessed and excited.

Things progressed nicely. With twins (and maybe with any pregnancy), you hear all kinds of stories - horror stories really - about how hard the pregnancy will be, how sick you will be, etc. And I didn't feel great for my first trimester, but nothing like I was preparing for, given all the stories I was told. I had nausea and was very tired. I had heartburn and nothing really sounded good to eat. But again, these pregnancy symptoms all seemed pretty mild to me.

This next pictures are from an ultrasound that we had at about 12 weeks. This ultrasound was so much fun, it was the first time we saw our babies move around. (It's a split screen, as you might be able to tell. So don't try to figure out how the babies are positioned in relation to each other based on this picture.)

On March 11 (at 18 weeks) we had yet another u/s, at which we found out that we are having a boy and a girl! This was obviously a very exciting u/s for us, and we couldn't wait to spread the news about Baby Boy and Baby Girl. I will not post the pictures of their boy and girl parts - for hopefully understandable reasons. (The first is Baby Boy, the second is Baby Girl.)

As for my pregnancy belly, here are a few shots of the progression...at 12 weeks, 17 weeks, then Adam with my belly at 22 weeks (not a traditional "belly shot," but the best I can do since I haven't taken a belly shot in awhile.)

So, that brings us right about until now - I'm now 24 weeks pregnant. I did spend the weekend in Spectrum for some bleeding - I won't go into all of the medical stuff here. But I have been ordered to stay on bed rest until I am at least 28 weeks. Hopefully, in that time, besides doing a lot of resting and some other projects, I can learn all about keeping up our family blog.