--1--
This week the blog here hit the big time.
Seriously.
I posted 50 Reasons My Toddler Won't Nap and you will NEVER guess who commented.
I just about peed my pants.
Now if I can convince Simcha Fisher to comment, I think my life will be complete.
Many thanks to Mandi for tweeting the post!
(Is it weird how excited that one comment made me? Actually, I get excited by EVERY comment! I don't know, I just really like comments... Maybe because it's one of the few ways I can connect with the outside world when I'm home with the kids all day? Although now that I'm back at work, I have a feeling I'll like comments just as much...)
--2--
And speaking of Cecilia not napping, today was a really... special? day when it came to her not-napping excuses.
I know I already posted it on facebook, but her antics are too ridiculous not to share with everyone:
Today's reasons? Aside from the usual, she wanted her Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck underwear (that got thrown away several months ago when it got too holey), she opened the door to go use the potty and I found her sitting in the sink, and then she had to bear crawl naked and backwards down the hall to get a new pair of underwear and have me put it on like a diaper because she's NOT Cecilia, she's Baby Bear and she's patendin' her bed is a cwib and she needs Mama Bear to put her in her cwib.
Shortly afterwards she needed me to hug her while she pooped. It's a tough life.
Then at bedtime she couldn't go to sleep because her hair was in her face. And then John Paul wanted to know how much he weighs.
Also, Cecilia is NOT Cecilia, she's Baby Zebra.
But she's NOT Baby Zebra, she's just Cecilia.
Because, you know, sleep is for the weak.
--3--
I got some really awesome suggestions for getting iron into the babies as comments on this post and through facebook friends. So we've added breakfast to their meal routine and this coming week they'll be getting lunch as well. And the mess has reminded me why I take such a slow, lackadaisical approach to solids...
I took this picture BEFORE it got bad!!!
But seriously, have you ever thought, "Hey, maybe if I mix molasses with the cashew-almond butter I made and spread it on a cracker, the babies will like it and they'll get extra iron!"
You haven't. Because you are not an idiot.
1. They LOVE cashew-almond butter on crackers (and I need some iron-full crackers because those townhouse things are just junk...) - I just food processed a cup of raw cashews and half a cup of almonds and it's delicious and full of iron!
2. Molasses has iron, but I hadn't figured out a way to incorporate it yet since I still had the original batch of nut butter.
So I decided to just pour some molasses in a bowl and mix it with the nut butter. But I poured too much molasses and it was just a runny mess. Then I put it on a cracker anyway.
Even John Paul wouldn't eat it. Mary Claire liked playing with it. Elizabeth cried. And the mess was so disgusting that Mary Claire's tears were BROWN when I was cleaning her off, because she had molasses in her eyelashes.
Other than that, iron boot camp has been going well - I need to get a cast iron pan to make them eggs, but Mary Claire has been eating really well and Elizabeth has at least been eating better. Hopefully we can get their levels up!
--4--
The babies have been more and more aware of each other lately, and I'm just now understanding why people think having twins must be so awesome. Because while it is a lot of hard work, can you even imagine how amazing it is watching two 9-month-olds play peek-a-boo in a play tent? Or face each other on the ottoman and drum with their hands, giggling at each other as the game escalates?
Or very carefully bite each others fingers and then start giggling. Or RACE to their dad when he gets home, both eager to show more affection than the other. Yeah, it's amazing.
Most recently, Mary Claire has gotten REALLY into waving. It's very VERY serious to her. Elizabeth has been into it for a while. So when they started waving to each other, I had to get the camera, but then they wanted to perform just for the camera:
I don't know why that one cut off... But imagine them facing each other and taking turns waving, giggling at each other all the while. It's the cutest EVER!
You hear the end of that video? Yup, that's Cecilia asking me to put her underwear back on. I think this was after I hugged her to help her poop...
--5--
I got tired of printing so many worksheets for John Paul, so I got him a Brainquest workbook
and he's having SO much fun! And it's a behavior modification tool - if he doesn't obey, he gets no workbook. He has even been so engrossed in his workbook that he doesn't even notice that it's 4 o'clock (the earliest I'll let them watch TV)!
and he's having SO much fun! And it's a behavior modification tool - if he doesn't obey, he gets no workbook. He has even been so engrossed in his workbook that he doesn't even notice that it's 4 o'clock (the earliest I'll let them watch TV)!
--6--
Cecilia has made up an imaginary animal. It's called a Zopey. At least that's how I assume it's spelled - she told me it starts with Z-O and then since she had stretched herself intellectually, she gave up on that part.
In case you were wondering, a Zopey lives in Mary Claire and Elizabeth's room. It's feeling sick. It wooks wike a snake. It has 8 wegs. And 2 feet. And wings. It's owange and wed. It does siwwy hopping wike a kangawoo. And it gives siwwy kisses wike waspbewwies!
Only yesterday the Zopey wooked wike a tinny tiny mouse. So needless to say, we're all VERY confused about the Zopey. But since it's almost always asweep in da babies woom, we can't check on it.
--7--
I had to do most of bedtime by myself last night (I got Mary Claire to sleep and then Andrew left, so I only had to worry about 3 kids on my own!). So I decided that we'd skip bath time because really we just spend the entire time refereeing between Cecilia and John Paul and telling them to be quiet. And then we played "Who can get dressed in their jammies the quietest?" And since it was a game, John Paul was REALLY good at it and won. Then he lost the "Don't pour water all over the floor while brushing your teeth" game, but he cleaned it up.
Elizabeth wasn't doing well, so I told the kids that if they went to the playroom and were VERY quiet while I got her to sleep, they would get TWO stories!!!
And THAT is a bribe that worked. Hooray! And after that they both chose ridiculously short books anyway. Winner!
These takes of mine are never quick... Hopefully you'll find something more worthwhile over at Jen's!
Nights without a helping handy around ***especially bath nights*** are a major, major bummer. My husband works late during the summer so I fly solo with the girls alot. It has not been horrible but next summer when there are three to get down it will be more dicey. Which reminds me something horribly hilariously gross happened after bath night this week - when Papa was not home - I'll have to include that in my 7QTs.
ReplyDeleteHopefully by next summer the older two will be self-sufficient enough to help out a little though - it's made a HUGE difference that John Paul and Cecilia can mostly brush their teeth, potty, and get in their pajamas on their own!
DeleteHa! Looks like the babies enjoyed finger-painting on themselves :). I know it's not Baby Led Weaning protocol, but have you considered stirring the nut butter into some oatmeal and feeding it to them by spoon that way? Probably its own post, but we planned for the baby-led route, then moved to a mix of spoon (took about a month to teach them) and self-feeding thanks to a) our twins' nutrition needs, and b) the fact that the evil creators of baby-led probably had classic mostly-bald-with-straight-hair little Caucasian babies while I have classic African American babies who love to run their gooey fingers through their six-inches-long-but-kinks-down-to-half-an-inch hair. Curls that are also not supposed to be shampooed more than once every couple of weeks because it leaves their hair type dry and brittle. Lovely hair, horrific clean-up. I give them the least gooey options to feed themselves :).
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think we need to do some sort of combination approach - I tried feeding them oatmeal but they were like, "WHY would I let you feed me when I can grab the food off the spoon and smash it on my face???" I tried steel cut & rolled oats but I think I just need to use quick oats so the texture doesn't throw them off so much...
DeleteI am convinced that if somebody could create an "Eating hat" that would cover hair and ears while babies ate, they would make a FORTUNE. WAY more useful than a bib!!!
Um, she not only commented, dear lady, she included it as #7 on her own Quick Takes! (I'm talking about Jen Fulwiler, of course.) I almost died of happiness when she liked me on twitter after this post, but that's nothing like a comment or a shout out. You are famous!
ReplyDeletePS, I came across your facebook profile. I think you commented in an NFP group? Would it be too uber weird if I friended you? I may just want to sneak peeks at pictures of your kids and imagine we are real-life friends. Because I would imagine we would get along so well. Is that just me?
I always though I wanted twins until I had a baby of my own and now I'm not sure how you twin mommas do it!! I'm sure you just step up to the challenge because what other option is there? But I give you major props!! And I agree with Mandi above, I totally imagine we would get along outside of the interwebs. Maybe someday the three of us could throw a party for the 3 of us. :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on hitting the big time!
ReplyDeleteThe videos are excellent ~ so cute. One of my jobs as a nanny was for twins that had just been separated at night into their own cribs and would spend 5 minutes in the morning patting each other and getting reacquainted.
I knew you would make it to the big time, girl! That was an hilarious post and I bow down to your patience. And her persistence.
ReplyDeleteAnd imaginary buddies are the best part of childhood, I heart Zopey!
I wuv Zopey! Or is it a zopey? Plus you should ask John Paul how it is spelled. I'm sure he knows.
ReplyDeleteThat picture with Elizabeth holding the foam U makes her look like a talk show host. Maybe on Sesame Street.
Congrats on making it to the big time! Your kid posts are always so entertaining.
ReplyDeleteshe linked to you! now you are big time! ;0)
ReplyDeleteOh my word. Your Cecilia quotes crack me up. I think you must have the patience of a saint because I am never patient enough for my kids to get funny.
ReplyDeleteOff to read your 50 reasons. I'm in the mood for some belly laughs.
She tries VERY hard to be funny as much as possible, no matter what i do!
DeleteI'm looking forward to my twins' interaction with each other. Even right now I love their interplay of coos & smiles. Love your nap excuses list. You're a nicer mom than me. I'm pretty cold about kissing and tucking and walking away.
ReplyDeleteI'm usually hard to but ever since a floor pooping incident months ago, i usually take that request seriously! The rest are mostly just overheard in the monitor.
DeleteI think Cecilia and my oldest daughter could be best friends...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on hitting the big time! Your twins looks so cute interacting with each other. That's one of my favorite developmental milestones.
ReplyDelete