To a Wonderful Daddy...

Happy Father's Day, Matt!

11 Grandchildren and Counting

When Jen and Brian deliver baby #3 in August, there will be 12 Stecher grandchildren! It's mayhem every time we all get together, but Grandma and Grandpa don't seem to mind. This picture is a rare one with all of the kids, including East Coast Jack and Abby!

Mop and Pop have half as many. Uncle Kyle needs to start contributing. On second thought...

3 Months Old!

We officially survived three months of this craziness! At least one of them (Annie) is smiling in this picture!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those who made this milestone possible. Introducing - my best friends/lifesavers/baby products I could not live without!

- Graco Snuglider - how do I love thee? Let me count the ways .... Okay, this thing is seriously the best invention ever. And, I'm not just saying that because Matt and I officially invented it before Graco did, back when Megan was born. Anyhoo, this serves as a third swing in our house, with the baby swaddled up and sitting on top of her cozy BundleMe in her car seat. And, whenever I plan to leave the house, I can buckle the fussier baby in there first, get her swinging, and she's fast sleep and ready to go by the time we actually need to get in the car. It also has a vibrating feature, as well as music. And, a s abonus, it's a great place to store the car seat, so it saves on space. Love it!

- Our DVR - chock-full as it is with every Noggin show you can think of, specifically Oswald and Little Bear, current favorites in our house. And, more importantly, it's full of shows I can watch while I'm endlessly nursing. I can watch families that are crazier than ours, most recently anything involving sextuplets!

- my sling, a Kangaroo Korner one I picked up at the SF Parents of Multiples sale for $10! I use this every day, even when I'm inside the house, just to have my hands free. It even fit both babies once upon a time:

It's always in my diaper bag so I can use it to soothe a fussy baby who just doesn't want to be in their car seat. Plus, when I have a baby in there, I guess it doesn't really look like it, so I don't get quite as many weird looks or comments - 3 kids 3 and under is way more socially acceptable than 4, I've learned.

- my stroller, a Kolcraft Contours Tandem Options, which I love, and can not say enough good things about! (Kolcraft, are you listening/reading?) We purchased this stroller before Bridget was born, and it keeps on strollin'. We use it right now as a double "snap n' go" since it holds both babies' car seats, and it will last until the babies completely outgrow riding in a stroller. Oddly, but fortuitously, this stoller has cute little handles on either side that Megan and Bridget hang on to when we're out running around. I don't know how long they will willingly hang on to these handles - they even fight about which side is their's! - but it makes my life all that much easier at the moment. And, if I carry one baby in the sling, my BFF mentioned above, it frees a seat for little Bridget, who by all rights should still be allowed to sit in a stroller when she wants to :) Of course, that leaves Megan without a seat, so we recently purchased a little buggy board for the front of the stroller, which is like a little skateboard that she can stand on next to me. Everyone's happy, right? Or, did you forget that part about me carrying one baby, and pushing three? Oh well.

Thanks, Uncle Kyle!

Thanks Kyle for being such a great helper/extra set of hands/extra set of shoulders/buyer of candy/super fun uncle! These pictures speak for themselves. Kyle is responsible for the lollipops and the blue face that Bridget had for the rest of the day.

I'm not sure what's more scary - the genuine fear on the girls' face that I captured while sitting in front of them on Pinocchio, or Bridget's mess.

The Happiest Place on Earth

I'm proud to report that a trip to Disneyland with four little ones is not only possible, but very enjoyable! However, I recommend the following:

- bring an eager set of grandparents;

- make sure you have the right stroller/sling/baby carrier combination to ensure kid seating options for every scenario;

- avoid the princess store that preys on little girls after they exit "It's a Small World" - dangerous territory!

- go after nap time!

- don't forget to bring an Uncle Kyle with you - don't have one of those? I'm sure ours will consider accepting a nominal fee for his child wrangling skills. Book in advance!

One of the best outcomes from our trip down south - we now have a few more family pictures! My standards for capturing all six of us are pretty low. It's definitely easier to keep a happy baby in a car seat or a sling sometimes, as you can see below!





And, me with the babies - maybe the first of these since they were born. That's just sad.





One of the worst outcomes: Megan now complains daily, "Why did I have to be 2 at Disneyland? Because I'm not - I'm 3!!" Oops! I guess we can't get away with getting her in for free next time!


Our adentures in the OC continued with a trip to Laguna Beach the next day, where the girls had a great time!

Megan had more fun with the girls' new set of princesses than she did in the water:

And, Bridget enjoyed more ice cream:

Annie experienced sand in between her toes for the first time!

(Tessa slept - my favorite beach activity!)

Thanks Mop and Pop for a wonderful trip!!

A Hug!

If a smile is blogworthy (is that a word?), than a hug is, too. Especially when it comes unexpectedly from Megan, not the most affectionate kid in our family. For you to fully appreciate this sweet hug, I feel the need to set the scene a little. Welcome to my morning a few days ago:

I decided, ambitiously, to head out to West Portal Playground to meet Sara, Melissa and Sabrina for a playdate. At the beginning of the day, I naively thought I'd actually get there before everyone else so the kids could play longer at the park. Ha! I got there a half hour late, and I was exhausted from the morning's events. In the span of a few hours, I:

-gave Tessa and Annie a bath (a more regular activity now!);

-wiped up the gallons of water that my "helper"Bridget dumped on the floor in between the cupfuls she washed each babies' feet with;

-dressed and nursed two screaming babies;

-placed each baby in a swing in a failed attempt t get a small nap in before we left;

-barely survived another torturous breakfast with my two anorexic daughters who like to do everything but eat at the table. (These activities include, but are not limited to: "playing the piano" on the kitchen table, spilling juice as often as possible, fighting over the Ariel fork, asking for items that they end up not wanting after all, tickling each other, and suddenly deciding to take a break to use the bathroom. Throw in a couple time outs, and me yelling, "Eat! Right Now!" often enough for that to be a common phrase in Megan's dialogue with her dolls, and you get the picture.)

-cleaned up after tortorous breakfast;

-followed Megan and Bridget into the bathroom, while nursing Annie, to wait for Bridget to poop in her potty (is it too late to warn you of the graphic nature of this post?). I'l spare you the details, but the poop ended up everywhere but the potty, and I ended up cleaning the floor, and changing my pants. I guess I didn't really spare you that much. Suffice to say, Bridget is intent on potty training herself right now, a task I'm not quite prepared to undertake, but am going along with;

-gave a Pocahontas Pez to each girl. When Bridget gets one for using the potty, Megan gets one too;

-listened to two babies cry while I hurriedly dressed two very picky dressers;

-packed the diaper bag;

-packed a somehwat passable lunch for the park;

-ran a load of laundry;

-finally dressed myself;

-sat down on the floor in our bedroom to put my shoes on, and must have audibly sighed, because Megan came over and gave me a big hug and kiss on the cheek, totally unsolicited!

I'm pretty sure that has never happened before! I must have really looked like I needed a hug!

A Smile!

We finally have a smile on camera from one of the babies. It's Annie!

And, some more shots of both girls. Tessa's the unhappy one - not a big surprise - we see that face a lot around here.

We all scream for ice cream!

On Sunday, we drove up to Yuba City to celebrate Lily Miller's 2nd birthday. While the kids devoured their ice cream cones, I took the opportunity to get some cute shots of four (of six!) cousins. The more we add the harder this is :)

These cool city kids were meant to live in the heat. They soaked up the sun and swam in the kiddie pool, and got a little taste of what summer should feel like before we headed back to the fog - ugh!

Small Spaces

For those wondering how we plan to house all four girls in our little house, I ask, who says kids each need their own room? And, furthermore, who says they each need their own bed?

Megan and Bridget have taken one for the team and decided to share Bridget's crib. So selfless.

Good Morning, er, Afternoon!

Good thing there's not a time stamp on my camera. There's no telling what time breakfast will actually be served around here. It usually happens after both babies go down for their morning nap. Luckily, we have two patient little girls who are happy to get their bananas and cereal once babies have been changed, fed, changed, topped off, swaddled, rocked and set in any of the three swings we have in our house. It's more like brunch most days :)

Westlake Story Time

Okay, so it's not at the library. Details.

Daddy's Girls

I know, Father's Day is a few weeks away, but at the pace I'm able to update this blog lately, I thought I'd slide this post in a little early to ensure some timeliness for Matt's big day!

Our girls are so lucky to have such a great daddy - here are a few of the things he is the best in the world at:

1) "Hot scratchies" (Mommy's hands are way too cold for good back-scratches, I've been told), singing the "Papa Song" and telling "Dorothy Adventures," all of which are sorely missed when he's not around for bedtime.

2) Spur-of-the-moment acting jobs. When necessary, Matt is a dragon (mean or nice), a prince, a baby, a daddy, a mommy, a pirate, a "bad guy," a doctor, a nurse, or a patient:

Megan has an overactive imagination, and loves to play director: "Okay, you're the baby, I'm the Mommy, Bridget's the Daddy." Imagine this over. and. over. again. Lucky for her, Matt always wanted to be in drama! We definitely have some skits and plays in our future.

3) Anything that requires his skillz as an Eagle Scout, which apparently includes camping indoors. He recently pitched a tent in out living room, just for fun, and wanted to have the girls sleep inside. That was a no-go, but roasting marshmallows in our fireplace was a hit!

(These are the types of things that happen when I leave the house for a few hours with the babies, or in the case of the marshmallow roasting, when I'm stuck nursing the babies to calm them down/get them to sleep - this can last a good 2 hours, and I never know what's going on downstairs!)

4) Never growing tired of a dip in the hot tub with our two little swimmers.

5) Filling sippy cups.

6) Filling milk bottles.

7) Jumping out of bed in the middle of the night to respond to a little voice faintly calling, "peepee's coming!" from down the hall.

8) Pacing with Annie or (usually) Tessa for as long as necessary in the middle of the night.

9) Scooping up a crying Bridget in the middle of the night, who always wants to go to "Daddy's room."

10) Knowing who's who in every cartoon or Disney movie and having the appropriate stash of both in our DVD collection or on Tivo.

And lots of other things that my baby brain can't think of right now, but I'll come back and add to this later!

Happy Father's day, Matt!

One for the baby book

It's time to dust off those baby gates - we have a roller!

(Okay, there will be no dusting. It's only been about three months since we finally felt comfortable with Bridget on the stairs. They've been an almost constant fixture in our house for almost three years now. And, they'll get their third go-round pretty soon! We're trying to get our money's worth on all of our baby equipment by having as many kids as we can.)

Tessa rolled over from her stomach to her back - twice! Or was it Annie? I'm questioning everything now :) Definitely Tessa. It's kind of crazy to see such a small baby do this. But, at six weeks, she doesn't hold the record in our family. Megan rolled over at three weeks, believe it or not. (It's OK - our pediatrician didn't believe it either, so we had Megan perform at her one month appointment. We took her on the road with that act for a few months.)

Okay, bragging over.

Sleep Issues...

I think we need a king sized bed. Matt took this picture the other morning after a particularly rough night. Megan was nice and cozy in her own bed, but everyone else ended up with us, er, me. I think Matt slept at the foot of the bed - no, I'm not kidding.

Maybe We'll Tattoo Them....

The most common question we are asked about the twins is, "Are they identical or fraternal?" (Actually, that's the second most common question - the first is, "Do you have help?" Ummm, no. But I digress.)

I always say that they're fraternal because I can tell them apart so easily. After all, I explain, Tessa has that tiny birthmark over her lip, a little more hair, and a slightly rounder face. But, I guess those aren't the biggest differences ever :) I would love it if they were identical (for obvious reasons!), but I just haven't been very convinced. Well, this picture has me thinking we might need to order that DNA test. When I uploaded this picture, I didn't know who was who for a minute.

In case you're wondering, Tessa's the one looking very bored with this entire discussion.

Deja Vu!

If I ever have questions about handling twins, I have an expert I can always turn to! When Mop and Poppa came to town two weeks ago, Mop insisted on holding both babies. What a pro - she's still got it!

What's Wrong With This Picture?

No one is more surprised than me to discover, with the addition of the twins, that I still have a little downtime during the day (two hours when everyone is napping, if I'm lucky!). But, I also have a little one-on-one time with Megan and Bridget occasionally. Bridget woke up early from her nap recently to help me get things ready for dinner (I love casseroles!), and she and I bonded a little. And, I took a couple pictures. Yes, there are many things wrong with these pictures:

a) the fact that Bridget still has a post-nap bottle

b) she still uses a pacifier

c) she's sitting on the kitchen counter - so safe!

d) and the kitchen is in DESPERATE need of HGTV or some other kind of miracle.

Good thing I'm not a celebrity. Suri Cruise has been villified in US Weekly for just one of the above offenses.

Out and About - It Is Possible!

I'm proud to say that we have actually had a busy couple of weeks, getting out of the house almost every day! I definitely didn't foresee being able to schlep all four girls around so early, but it's not as hard as I imagined.


It's made easier with two of my dearest companions - Sara, and my Fisher-Price portable potty, in no particular order :) And no, the potty is not for me.

Let me just say that the best-laid plans are derailed pretty quickly with an urgent "Pee-pee's coming, Mommy!!" I guess I could let Megan pee anywhere she wants, a la Joey. Instead, my options are limited and I have to act fast. I can either herd all four girls to the nearest questionable bathroom (and ignore that voice in my head that reminds me of that Oprah I just saw about bacteria and that flesh-eating disease) and, hope that this bathroom accomodates my limo of a stroller. Or I can just whip out our trusty little potty. It's a lifesaver! As is Sara, of course - an extra set of eyes, ears and arms to help me keep track of the girls when out in public.


So, recently, we managed to spend mornings at Parkside Playground, the zoo, the "inside park," and even storytime at the library yesterday. It's definitely exhausting, but so worth it to get the girls tuckered out enough to take 3 hour naps ;)

Here are Megan and Joey enjoying 80 degree weather last week:




And, the girls posing by the flamingos at the zoo:

Oh yeah, and just to prove I didn't leave these two in the car:

Little trouble makers!

Just The Six of Us

We finally have photographic evidence of our family of six! I brought the girls out (in SI colors of course) to support Matt at the SI Alumni game, where the current varsity baseball team plays all the old-timers - usually pretty hilarious to watch! We were a little conflicted with who to root for though - Matt coaches the varsity this year, but he also had an at-bat with the alumni He actually got a hit - that I missed - I was a little busy. Although, to be fair, I probably would have missed it if I was sitting without the kids - there are so many more interesting things to do at a baseball game than actually watch the game! Anyway, thanks Barbara Cecchin for capturing our family - we definitely need more of these shots!

A New Twin Dorkiness Low...

Sara and I have shared many a dorky twin moment in our day, but today's was an amusing one that's now recorded on each of our blogs. Apparently, we independently decided to post our newborn picture, with witty commentary of course, a couple of hours apart from each other. Not surprising to us, but a little embarrassing. As I pondered this today (no, I do not neglect my children!) , I glanced over from my computer to a framed picture of us in our Brownie uniforms - one from the Dorky Twin File. I thought I'd scan this in for posterity, too. And, for the record, our weights had evened out by elementary school :)

FYI - any attempts to dredge up evidence of further dorkiness will be flatly denied, at least on my part. I'm willing to share a Brownie moment, but let's just say that our journey with Girl Scouts didn't end at the Brownie level. And, wait a sec...yes, Sara agrees. She just sent me an ESP message. Who needs any other form of communication?

Check out Sara's version of the newborn shot here.

"Don't Twins Skip A Generation?"

I guess not.

This is just one of the many questions I get asked these days. So, to prove that they do not skip a generation, here's an oldy but goody of Sara and me as newborns...

Who would have thought we were identical from this picture? Oh, and just to be fair, one of us (not naming names) was a healthy weight at birth, although it's hard to tell with an anorexic twin next her. I was 6lbs.9oz. next to Sara's 5 lbs. Okay, I named names.

Take me out to the ball game!

Matt experienced coaching a baseball game at AT&T Park, for the second time, on Tuesday night as SI went up against Sacred Heart, with the coveted Bruce Mahoney trophy a stake. Last year, I forgot my camera, and have not heard the end of it! This time, I remembered the camera- Matt wanted full documentation! But, I didn't quite get a shot of him coaching first base. I did get him with his little bat girl after the game, though. And, with these smiling faces, you might think SI won. Sadly, they lost, but we all had a great time. Yes, all of us... Annie and Tessa made their public debut for the big game. We were definitely a spectacle, but I had a lot of extra hands to hold babies, replace pacifiers, and entertain the "big girls," since there were quite a few Stechers and Cecchins there!