Holiday Greetings from WhoVille

Love,

Nora Do Who and Maggie Moo Who

Nana came up with the Who names :)

My first day back to work...

While I was at work, adjusting back to that old routine, Melissa was with the girls and took pictures throughout the day, so we could see what they were up to! Here are some highlights!

Violet found their 4 pairs of sunglasses and modeled all pairs at once!

Here she is taking care of Nora.  Do you think she wants that mimi, Vi??

And she takes care of her own twin babies.

And my favorite below.  Violet keeping a close watch over sleeping babies.  What a sweet picture, Melis.

So it was an easy day knowing that the girls were in great hands :)

Shout-outs

You guys!  I'm so excited!!  Margaret and Nora got TWO major blog shout-outs!  You have to see them!  They are here and here.  Thanks Sarah and Melissa -  GREAT pictures!!

We're going to call her Margaret.

Meeting Ava

11.11.06

You've heard the dreamy cliche - it feels like only yesterday.  To me, this day does not seem like it was only yesterday. It seems like it was an eternity ago. Who were those kids? They look so young! Are they even old enough to get married? Didn't their parents tell them they were too young? Or hint at it at least?  Actually, it's hard to remember what it was like to not be married yet.  I know that all I wanted was to be with Lucas every day.  To start our life together.  To finally be an adult and "settled".  Sounds funny considering I was all of 22.   

Five years ago everything was new and exciting!  We were in our new house!  We were finally living together!  We had, it seems, all the time in the world for each other!  We spent our weekends looking for just the right furnishings for our house... scoping out Indian restuarants... creating inside jokes... entertaining friends for dinner... contemplating a new buddy for Chip... organizing and reorganizing our wedding gifts... church shopping... wine tasting... adjusting to our new life together! 

In the past five years, we have been blessed in countless ways and stayed strong together through the rough times. Since our wedding day, there has been one masters degree earned, one advanced professional certification achieved, two pet additions, one pet loss, seven job changes, two serious car accidents, four family weddings, the loss of one grandparent, and one nephew and three nieces born.

Today, five years later, we are moving on to an entirely new life together.  One that includes Margaret and Nora.  Our sweet daughters.  There might be less time for shopping for the house, going to wineries, eating out by ourselves, entertaining friends at the drop of a hat.  But all those things make way for new adventures and milestones... first smiles... first steps... birthdays... kissing boo boos... hugs from sleepy toddlers... eye rolls from sassy girls... seeing their faces light up Christmas morning... watching them be sisters to each other... and so much more.

Happy anniversary, HB.  I love you.  :)

Violet's Tutus

Here is Violet, Halloween 2010, showing off one of the tutus that her mommy and I made for her before she was even born:

Margaret and Nora borrowed Violet's special tutus. What pretty ballerinas all these girls make!

The Lullaby

We've been quite busy lately and I have a lot to blog about, including a lot of new pictures and the girls' weekend with Cousin Ava.  For tonight, I am posting this video of Bailey and Riley, singing the girls a lovely and heartfelt lullaby.

Just can't live without you

I'm pretty sure none of our readers are expecting, but I have been thinking a lot lately about the things I couldn't live without, and how I can cooly and casually recommend them to people without sounding pushy or *gasp* like a know-it-all-mommy-of-twins.  And, years from now, I would also like to have record of these things so maybe it can take me back to this time of sweet little baby coos and snuggly moments with sleepy newborns.  This list is not necessarily for twins, either, just great items for any new parent.  So without further ado, here's my list of the must-haves:

Long sleeved onsies    The need for these stem from our orders from the NICU to keep the girls in clothes, swaddled, and in hats at all times.  I'm not quite sure how long we were supposed to keep up with this, because we've gotten a little lax lately.  Well, Margaret and Nora are really good at wiggling their little arms out of the swaddle, hence the need for long-sleeved onsies on a chilly autumn evening.

Sheet Savers   These are great because changing the crib sheet is a major pain.  It's way easier to swap out a couple of these bad boys.

Cloth wipes   Oh. My. Goodness.  Why was I so resistant to cloth wipes??  Lucas wanted cloth wipes all along... and I was like, "no.. that's silly".  But then the home health nurse suggested them for the girls' sensitive tushies and we haven't looked back since. 

Thermal Receiving Blankets   I feel like no one emphasized how many blankets you need?  But it's true: you need A TON of blankets.  I think the girls have 10-12.  You need thick ones for the car seats, two extras for the diaper bag, and plenty of back-ups in the closet (cause you know there'll be at least a couple dirties in the hamper... ) We love the flannels... they're super soft, but the best blanket by far for swaddling are the thermal (I call them "waffle") blankets.  They are stretchy so you can get a nice tight swaddle.  (Even tight-enough for the most talented escape artists).  

Dimmer Switch   The day my water broke (before we knew that was the day) Lucas installed a dimmer switch in the nursery.  We didn't really have room anywhere for a lamp, so we thought this would be a great thing for the midnight feedings.  It was one of the smartest things we did, I believe.  It's great. 

Medela Symphony Breast Pump   I never gave 10 seconds thought to what breast pump I was going to use.  Well, in my defense, I thought I had at least a couple more weeks to prepare.  Regardless, I was a little stressed out during my hospital stay... debating over breast pumps.  I was offered a few loaners (personal pumps, of course).  But, the rule follower in me knows that you shouldn't share pumps, so I rented a hospital-grade "oldie but goodie", called the Medela Lactina.  I used that at home, and was able to use the Symphony while visiting the girls in the hospital.  But, shortly after they came home, I came to my senses and ponied up for the Symphony.  It's almost twice as much per month to rent, but totally worth it.  As my lactaction consultant aptly put it, "You're nursing twins... you need the best pump out there."  And it is.

Moby Wrap   Speaking of things that I never gave any thought to:  The Moby Wrap.  Wow.  This has only been in my life less than two days, but I'm in love.  Thank you, Melissa, for loaning yours to us.  It's truly amazing.  Babies love being close to your chest, and they love being swaddled, so when you combine the two you get two very content babies.  There are so many "holds" for this thing, and it's shockingly easy to use and get situated.  And for most of the holds, you can affix the wrap to your body AND insert your baby(ies) all by yourself without help from anyone else.  And yes, there are two holds for twins :)  Even daddies love the Moby wrap.  Especially Margaret and Nora's daddy!  Who ever thought they'd hear that Lucas was "wearing his baby?"

Medela Lanolin   This is my favorite Lanolin variety.  It goes on very smoothly, just as the packaging suggests.  Chapped and cracked nipples are really not an option for me so I douse this on generously whether I need it or not.  ...Not taking chances here.

Soothies   I think everyone can agree that newborns can't get enough of their soothies.  When Lucas and I first saw these in our children's mouths we were infuriated, but knew the damage had been done.  However, we didn't know that a baby who stays in the NICU for any length of time just has no choice but to be given a pacifier.  There's really no way around it.  They train babies for that ever-important sucking reflex.  And now, 5 weeks later, we are thrilled that our girls love their pacifiers, because they really are called that for a reason.

And one final thought:  I never wanted to be a "baby blogger" and I am aware that this is what we've turned into.  However, you have to understand that's just about the extent of our world right now.  We're a little consumed.  Hopefully in the near future there will be lots of non-baby posts about other fascinating stuff we do, but in the meantime, please bear with us!  :)



Mommy and Daddy's Day Out

We had our first parents-only outing this weekend.  The Tenholders agreed to watch the girls so we could go grab some Indian food and find a new kitchen faucet (which is beautiful, by the way).  Here is a link to a special post about Margaret and Nora's visit with them. 

November 3: One Month Old!

October is over!  Our state of parenthood, as well as our babies, are now officially one month old.  For one month, we present our first video on the blog.

We also present the following reflections on our first month:

• All in all, we've decided that so far, this has been easier than expected.  The image of us both exhausted, bags under our eyes, barely surviving, in dirty clothes, babies screaming all the time has not come true!  I'm not saying it's easy (it's not!); only easier than expected.
• We had to have had a ton of time before.  What did we accomplish with all of that time?  Likewise, what did we do with all the money that we must have had before?
• Even though everyone says this about their own, I cannot imagine any sweeter babies!  Seriously, they're like the first babies ever to be born.  Ever.
• Speaking of which, people who say 'it's different with your own' aren't lying.  You just can't understand that until you live it.
• Even though it seems like an eternity ago, if you haven't heard, I managed not to see anything gross in  the delivery room.
• Babies are tougher than they seem.  Apologies to all the parents whose babies I haven't gushed over for years because I thought they were too delicate to hold.
• Snaps are hard at 3 in the morning.
• Zippers are hard at 3 in the morning.
• Measuring and mixing milk and formula to add up to 75 mL is especially hard at 3 in the morning.
• Diapers are gross, but somehow it doesn't seem as gross as it should?  That's an odd one.
• Our NICU stay was two weeks exactly, but it didn't seem hard at all.  Every milestone seemed like an Olympic gold, and we were home before we knew it.
• Strangely, our house is cleaner than it was before.  Apparently it's easier to fix a mess before or right after it happens rather than spending inordinate amounts of time on chores.  Somehow things just get done.
• Nothing else smells like a clean baby.  Such a sweet smell.
• The realization that we have our own whole family now is still kind of sinking in.  When do the parents show up and take charge?  Oops...that's us...do you think they'll know that we're learning on the fly?
• Poor Chippy has become accustomed to surviving on very little attention.  Somehow cuddling the dog and making sure he has treats are now much lower priorities.  He eats twice a day and gets to go potty outside:  however dramatic he is, I'm sure he'll survive.
• There is no way we could do this alone!  We are so thankful and appreciative of all of our awesome, generous, supportive, willing-to-be-inconvenienced friends and family!!  Really, we couldn't be surrounded by a better circle.

Many Personalities of Nora