Two little duckies

We ordered stamps from stamps.com with this picture on them for Sophie and Michael's first birthday party invitations.

More party details will surely follow after the event in a few weeks!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thanks for the socks, Grammie!

Hey there, cuteness.

Michael was a bit more cooperative with the camera today than Sophie who just wanted to eat it.

11 Months Old!

It's as if Sophie and Michael know they're less than a month away from cake.

I am now a MoM-2-MoM Sale selling veteran.

After buying a good amount of used baby goods from mom-to-mom sales myself, I took my turn on the other side of the table yesterday at my Mothers of Multiples (MoMs) group sale.  My twins aren't even one yet, but it sure doesn't take long to accumulate clothes that no longer fit and large items that have served their purpose, especially when there's two of everything.
 

Tip#1 While pricing, I set up my table in my basement just as I would at the sale. I tranported these piles in my storage tubs and set up my table at the sale in about five minutes.

Part of me did struggle to let go of the items that entered my home along with motherhood, but our house is only so big, and more gear is certainly on the way.  I must confess that I did give in and keep a tub of matching boy/girl outfits. When I opened it, I was struck by the sense of relief I might feel down the road if we do go for another child and find ourselves expecting twins again (there's a good chance of both).  Certainly those "what if" twins could be boy/boy or girl/girl, but I know I'll kick myself if I'm in the boy/girl boat again with nothing from the first round to help me along.  It's silly, but peace of mind can be like that sometimes.

Tip#2 Price everything in multiples of 25 cents and have lots of ones and quarters on hand.

Getting ready for the sale was a bit of a challenge with Mike being out of town for much of the week before, but in true twin-mom form, I had a plan.  I got the sale items ready over the weekend while Mike was still here, baked my required cookies for the MoMs bake sale after the babies were down one evening, and got the necessary child care help from my amazing mother-in-law and some sale help from my own amazing, coughing, antibiotic-loaded mother (this cold and flu season has been tough on her!). 

Tip #3 Price to sell. Keep in mind that mom-to-mom shoppers like myself are no strangers to Old Navy and Target clearance racks where items can be found for a few dollars. You're competing with them, and your stuff is used. Forget what you paid for clothes, and keep everything under $5, most $1 or less per piece.

Having spent a number of weekends of my life in garages taking change for my old furniture and having had better success selling clothes and home goods at local consignment shops, I was leery about how the actual sale would go.  I was pleasantly surprised, though.  There was a steady stream of shoppers for four straight hours, and then it was over, unlike those long quiet garage sale hours of the past.  I enjoyed breaking out my retail sales associate/bookseller/server personality once again and loved whole-heartedly recommending the goods on my table to buyers, especially to those expecting twins.  I knew that deer in headlights look all too well and felt warm and fuzzy offering advice from experience and truthfully saying it all does work out.

Tip#4 Don't forget to bring bags. Despite reminding myself of this several times, I did forget.  I managed, but I wished I could have recycled our bags and treated those who bought from me to that little luxury.

Apparently my sales experience paid off and I priced the clothes to sell, because I took three tubs worth of clothes there and came home with less than one.  Unfortunately the big ticket area was not as successful.  I took both bouncy seats and one Rock and Play Sleeper back home (one Rock and Play and theArm's Reach Co-Sleeper Mini sold).  Factoring in the money I spent shopping at the sale myself, we made about $180, and just in time for somebody's first birthday...

Tip #5 This is not the time to ask a woman you don't know if she's expecting a boy or a girl (or more) only to find out she's not pregnant.  Depending on what the shopper was looking at, I found that some variation of "Are you shopping for a boy?" was a good opener.

I'm not sure what we'll do with what's left.  Perhaps a consignment shop.  Perhaps the fall sale. 

Perhaps we'll keep it for little baby "what if."

"Are these your first?"

Along with filling me in on the history of twins in their own families, strangers in check-out lines and fellow passengers in elevators tend to wonder if I have older kids at home to chase after in addition to Michael and Sophie.  When they ask me if these babies are "my first," I say yes.  

While my answer is entirely accurate for what they're asking, there's part of me that feels crummy saying this.  

There's an urge in me to point out that, yes, these are my first babies if you don't count the one I had when I was sixteen and for whom I picked out adoptive parents, the one who is seventeen now, intelligent, beautiful, kind, a source of great pride for me, and with whom I visit a couple times a year.  That's a mouthful.

Part of me searches for a casual phrase to explain that once before I've watched a delicate newborn leave my body, and from the distance of an extended family member I've seen her grow into a chubby infant, giggling toddler, and on and on from one PBS kids show themed birthday party to the next.  I've seen her become a big sister, learn to crawl, walk, read, and emerge into womanhood faster than I was prepared to witness. But a simple phrase to sum that up just doesn't exist.

Part of me knows that because I've enjoyed her similarities to me while imagining her future with a bitter-sweet mix of excitement and fear, that this is not entirely my first go at motherhood, that she is my first first.  

But I just say yes, these two babies are my first.  For the question they're asking, that's the true and appropriate answer.  And elevator rides just aren't long enough for the truth, the whole truth, and for dispelling Lifetime movie cliches. 

Then the nosey strangers ask if my husband and I plan to have more.  Luckily "maybe" works just fine for that one.

10 Months (and one week and a day)

Since I took pictures on Valentine's Day (Sophie and Michael's true 10-month birthday), I was unsure if I'd bother with the 10-month sticker ones, but today I decided to go for it. I had the day off, so I was on my own without Mike to act as clown. Apparently my fake laughing and fart noises brought out the sillies.

It started out pretty serious...

...then Sophie pulled off her sticker...

...so I stuck it back on and started making noises...

...and nothing is funnier than each other's giggles!

Wave hello to my adorable geniuses!

Michael may be saying "mama" for real, but I'm not totally convinced it's more than appropriately timed babbling. He also said "Oprah" the other day out of nowhere. We weren't watching it, and I wasn't telling him to live his best life, so I think that was just a fluke as well. While their speaking abilities are just emerging, both babies are getting pretty social in other ways.

Michael and Sophie have their own signature waves. At this point if you just say, "Hi, Michael!" you're likely to see him do this. Sophie's arm sometimes needs a little help getting in the air, but once she's waving, she seems to love it!

Geniuses, right?

While we've played with their toy phones together quite a bit (pretending to ask Daddy to bring home hamburgers on his way home from work and telling various grandparents how much we miss and love them), I was excited when I spotted Michael holding the little purple one up to his ear yesterday and having a spirited "conversation" all by himself. Sophie did the same thing later in the day. Of course, by the time I slipped out of the playroom and back with the camera, this is all I could record of Michael.

Ok, not that impressive, but if you saw him just a minute before this you'd agree he's probably a genius.

The cure for thirty-thritus

I suspected this would happen.  I woke up this morning with thirty-thritus (symptoms include turning thirty-three, not really caring about that, and seeing going to work as less important than life at home for roughly 24 hours).  The only cure for such a condition is hours and hours of uninterrupted Michael and Sophie time.  Good thing I had the foresight to leave sub plans on Friday!

I don't normally take my birthday off of work, but these days I'm driven to relish in baby time when a reason (beyond just loving them and knowing how quickly this precious time will pass) presents itself.  So here I am relishing.  I can't think of a better way to show Sophie and Michael love on Valentine's Day than by spending more time on the floor playing, singing, and snuggling with them. 

And here's a bit of my morning with my little valentines:

Along with my 33rd birthday, this is Michael and Sophie's ten month birthday!  I'll probably attempt the typical monthly photo with the onesie stickers, but Mike and I made this one of our little "love bug" and "heart breaker" happen before he headed to work.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mini-Toddlers

These babies are growing too fast for me to keep up with in this blog!  Here are some updates:

We have teeth!  Sophie has one and a half, Michael's first one made its appearance this week, and we're all pretty tired again.

We're working on finger foods, sippy cups, and spoons!  

Both are fans of puffs for snacks (like Cheerios), although Sophie seems to have the hang of it a little better than Michael so far, perhaps thanks to teeth.

We're offering them chunkier pieces of fruits an veggies at meal times, but neither is loving that. They seem pretty eager to get food in their bellies, and mushing it up with their gums seems to annoy them a bit. Part of that may be due to us waiting so long to make this transition. I felt introducing cereal and purees at four months as their pediatrician recommended was jumping the gun a bit and just haven't been in a hurry to put chunks of food in their mouths. It still freaks me out a bit. The adjustment is probably going to take some time for all of us! 

Other developments include Michael finding a love for (don't giggle) playing with balls, particularly a little yellow and purple pair that came with a Christmas toy.  He loves clapping them together, and after they watched me toss one in the air a few times and catch it one night, my mom and I noticed Michael kept holding one out in his hand.  My mom agreed that he seemed to be waiting for it to jump up out of his hand and into the air like it did out of my mine the night before! There's also a big, bumpy ball at the child care center that Michael loves so much he "yells" at the other babies who try to take it.  Throwing, catching, and sharing are some things to work on, I guess!
 
Sophie still can't get enough of "walking."  Put two hands in front of her and she immediately grabs your thumbs or index fingers, urges you to pull her up (it's all in the way she looks at you), and is on the go in a hurry.  If you want to stop this game, you'd better have good alternative to offer in its place or she gets MAD. 
 
They both cruise along furniture a bit, play together rather than just near each other, love touch-and-feel books, wave hello and good-bye sometimes, dance adorably to music (Michael added a little head movement this week -- think Axel Rose), and are really growing into mini toddlers before our eyes, amazing us with every little change. 
 
(I hope to add a video my mom took on Thursday morning of Michael waving bye-bye to Mike followed by his new dance move once I swipe it from her.)

Ok, Mom, more Christmas!

Shortly after I posted the "last" Christmas post, I received an email from my mom with more pictures from our time at my parents' house on Christmas Day. 

I believe I heard that email clear its throat in a not-so-subtle manner.