Up in the Air

While celebrating little Lily Miller's third birthday this weekend in warm Yuba city, I got some cute shots of the babies getting big lifts in the air from Daddy. Yes, they were matchy-matchy that day - they are not pictures of the same baby :) Annie's on top and Tessa's on the bottom.

As for those big kids? Luckily, Sara managed to get some shots of them, so this is snagged from her blog. This has the makings for a sorority picture, except for Joey in the background :)

Tessa's Turn

Annie is not the only one climbing the bunk bed ladder. Tessa has mastered it, too! Watching her do this is a little more comical, especially since she's only got a diaper on in this video. Warning: Lots of chubbiness to follow - viewer discretion advised.

Seen Anything Cute Today?

Tessa and Annie, Meet Elmo!

At 14 months, the babies are becoming more aware of everything around the house, and that includes the TV, for better or worse. They seem to really like Sesame Street, and they were pretty enthralled today. Annie even ditched her little rocking chair once she noticed Tessa sitting in one of the girls' folding chairs. Of course, Annie had to sit in one too. Thankfully, we seem to have two of everything around here, including two cute Elmo fans.





-- Post From My iPhone

Good Golly, Miss Molly!

We're so happy to welcome another little girl to the girls' club in our family. Our neice, Miss Molly May Cecchin entered the world at 6:22pm on Friday, May 14th, weighing 6 pounds, 15 ounces. It's hard to believe she's even a Cecchin at that weight!! She's super cute and very good so far. Congrats Sara, Tim, Joey and Clara!!


-- Post From My iPhone

Happy (Belated) Mother's Day!

Party in the Crib

What started out as an attempt to get some pictures of the babies waking up, playing with each other, and looking out the window (this always elicits a "dada" even if he is nowhere in sight), turned into a party in Tessa's crib.

Annie

Tessa

Annie the Over-Achiever

Annie is proving to be quite the go-getter. As the youngest (by one minute, but still) she is entitled to act to act like a baby. She should be taking advantage, laying around, goo-goo-ga-ga-ing it up, but she's intent on leaving babyhood behind. She is one now. In the last month, we've been adding quite a few milestones in her baby book. (Okay, not so much a baby book as a tattered sheet of paper I've been scribbling notes on when I get a chance. Someday those notes will be transferred into her pretty baby book, though.)

Of course, she started walking. And, once she mastered that, she figured she may as well do something useful with her mobility. One of her favorite new "activities" is walking her diaper to the diaper pail to throw it away. She loves this!! She throws away Tessa's diaper, too, just because she's so helpful. (Tessa, our cuddlebug, has no interest in this, or any other chores, for that matter. She's definitely still our baby!!)

Annie's also taken up reading in a little green rocking chair we have in our living room. This is the chair she makes a beeline to with her sippy cup when a cartoon is on, or when she wants to just survey the action. Trust me when I say there is always something for her to observe from this chair. It's her spot (Tessa, did you hear that?), and she climbs in and out of it all day.

A milestone I have yet to see listed in any baby book, though, is one that she mastered today. I'll let you take a look for yourself.

Keep in mind that Annie is only 13 months old...

I'm afraid of what 14 months will bring.

How To Get Anything Accomplished...

while holding two cranky babies:

The hours between 4pm and 6pm in our house are pretty brutal. Trying to accomplish anything with Tessa and Annie hanging on my legs and wanting to be held is...hard. Of course, this is the time when I really need to be doing things like starting dinner, getting snacks for the girls, cleaning up a little -- things that generally require the use of my hands. I've resisted this set-up for a while, mostly because I'm usually too frazzled from the crying to think about grabbing the Ergo from it's home in the van. But, today, I'm glad I did it.

I present my patented hands-free method for doing it all while soothing babies. I have Tessa on my back in my Ergo, and Annie up front in my new Infantino Wrap and Tie (a freebie from Infantino after their Slingrider recall - score!). I'm actually watering the lawn here --- it needed it, the babies were in need of fresh air, and I couldn't stomach The Barbie version of The Three Musketeers again, which was what the girls were watching post-nap today. So, outside we went. The babies caught the attention of more than a few passing cars who did a double take and stopped to chat, and our neighbor Al came out to take this picture.

No need to start that working out I've been thinking about lately. I'll just strap on these weights once a day and I'll be in shape for summer in no time :)

A Love Pat

Minute by Minute

6:00 am - wake up to two hungry babies, delivered to me in bed by my loving husband

6:20 am - carry two squirrelly babies upstairs to greet two big girls up and already watching a cartoon

6:21 am - grab a cup of coffee, set it out of reach of two babies in the center of the coffee table, and proceed to forget about it

6:25 am - change one diaper while Matt changes the other, set up baby gates and start the day

6:30 am - play Words With Friends for a few minutes

7:00 am - say goodbye to Matt for the day :( and really start my day

7:10 am - begin dressing kids

7:30 am - unload dishes from dish rack, take orders for and make breakfast

7:45 am - jump in the shower very quickly to take advantage of the five minutes of quiet that happens while all four are busy eating. Get interrupted twice mid-shower.

8:00 am - arrive back to the breakfast table to find half of the food on the floor, mostly under Tessa's high chair. Locate two chucked sippy cups slowly creating milk puddles on the hardwood floor. Clean floor and clear table.

8:15 am - finish dressing kids, change two more diapers

8:30 am - start a load of laundry

8:35 am - pick up my abandoned coffee cup and trade it for a cold Coke. Quicky toast and butter a bagel, and throw this "breakfast" in the diaper bag, along with essentials for a day at the park with three kids.

8:40 am - Hurriedly put one minute's worth of makeup on and put my contacts in, while Tessa screams outside the bathroom door.

8:50 am - Gather a baby in each arm, my diaper bag over my shoulder, and order two little girls to follow, and head to the car.

8:55 am - Babies are buckled up, Bridget is taking her sweet time to get into her carseat and Megan is buckling herself in, not quite at the pace that we need.

9:01 am - Start the ignition in the van and the time appears on the dash - what?? 9:01?? Late again! Megan needs to be across town by 9:15, otherwise I'll miss the awesome drive-thru service at her school. Without fail, I am always one of the last cars in line. No matter how fast I think things are moving along in the morning, time escapes me and I'm always caught by surpise at the time as we start backing out of the driveway.

I can't think of any way to save time in our morning routine, besides getting up earlier and cutting out the Words With Friends addiction. Neither of these are acceptable options :)

9:16 am - Luckily, the teachers are still at the curb, and Megan hops out.

9:17 am - Head to Golden Gate Park's Children's Playground. Have used up excuses for not going to the park, and Bridget is due. She is ecstatic and the weather is beautiful!!

9:30 am - Arrive at the park, unload double stroller, diaper bag, and a giddy Bridget who wants to be carried in, but not before she uses the potty in the car. Buckle Tessa into the stroller and attempt to transfer a sleeping Annie into the stroller. Failure. Minutes Annie has slept so far today: 20.

9:45 am - Make our way into the park, and Bridget meanders from the toddler slides to the big kid slides, and from the swings to the sand pit. Let babies loose to walk (!) around and explore. See no less than three other sets of twins, and think (foolishly) how neat that I can talk to some other twin moms today. Make that twin nannies. Ah well. Talk to one mom while feeding cheerios to three kids and futilely trying to keep hats on all three heads.

10:30 am - Try to take some pictures of the girls playing. Have camera commandeered by Bridget.

11:00 am - Head back to the car with Bridget riding on the parent cup holder on my stroller. This works surprisingly well. I don't really care what the nannies think about this as I'm leaving.

11:10 am - Load stroller, diaper bag, babies and Bridget back in the car. Wait while Bridget pees again. Change both babies' diapers. Buckle everyone back in and head back out to pick Megan up from school.

11:30 am - Arrive 15 minutes early to wait in the pick-up line. Tessa falls aleep. Bridget reads a book. I play Words With Friends. Peace.

11:45 am - Our turn in line. Megan bounds in. Tessa wakes up. Minutes Tessa has slept today: 15. Megan unloads her backpack and her school pictures fall out!! Woohoo!!

All of the stress of the morning instantly melts away as I get a peek at Megan's first school picture, all smiles. She had this taken a few weeks ago, and I wasn't expecting a whole lot. Although I think Megan is adorable, she doesn't usually turn it on for the camera. So, I was pleasantly surprised at the result:

What a cutie!

Seeing this picture reminds me that Megan is such a kid now, and how quickly it seems time has flown since she was my only baby. It put my chaotic morning in perspective. Our life is crazy, and days can seem unending sometimes, but I have to remind myself to enjoy every moment while they're small!

As for the rest of the day, I'll spare you the minute to minute. This little smile definitely got me through it. (Total minutes slept by babies did not change. It was that kind of day...)