Craftiness has been keeping me busy and away from blogging lately.
While I don't have blog posts for folks to read, I do have 2 crocheted winter caps and sewn 2 sun-hats for the twins, a winter cap for our nephew, and one big mama-sized bag for me.
The sun keeps begging me to sit underneath it's warmth with a big glass of iced tea and my crochet needle during naptime.
Speaking of naptime... Can I start jumping up and down when I tell you that we have 2, 2+ hour nappers!?
It happened around the same time that Nat decided he was perfectly content and more comfortable in his crib by himself, for the whole night.
For real, it's pretty awesome to not a hear a peep from 8 pm until 6:30am. That nice, long nap is just the cherry on top of an already sweet sundae.

With yesterday being Memorial Day, the summer has begun, along with hubby's summertime hours. An extra hour Monday through Thursday, so that the weekends can begin at noon on Friday.
I was dreaming of these days all winter long and now that they are here- I love it!
Life is good, motherhood is great.

We did some grocery shopping this morning after playing at the park. The boys were sitting side by side, spinning the race car steering wheels in the obnoxiously large cart. We got the usual comments.
"How cute!"
"Looks like you've got your hands full!"
"Twins?"
"Bet they keep you busy..."
"How do you do it?!"
It takes an extra 10 minutes to shop because of all the people that like to comment and chat with us.
Gabriel and Nathaniel were putting on quite the show. They would not stop hugging one another. Big, arms wrapped around one another's neck kind of hugs. Gabe would get mad at Nat if he didn't hug back. Then Nat would get mad if Gabe didn't hug him back.
Then they comment as the food is bagged. "Bye-bye bananas, bye-bye milk, bye-bye crackers."

Naptime is getting close to finishing and my fingers are itching to get started on a new project.

Back Again

Beautiful days have kept us busy. When the weather cooperates we pop in for lunch and a nap, then we venture out again.

Mother's Day came. A day to appreciate the women who raised us. A day to be appreciated as a mom for all the work you do, for all the love you give.
I was treated to a breakfast spread made lovingly by my hubby, just as he does every Sunday.
Nat and Gabe came marching into the bedroom, complete in pajamas and rain boots, dragging a large gift bag behind them. Nat spoiled the surprise, but created an even better memory, by announcing to me that the bag contained "Boots!" Garden boots for the large garden that will be planted by me and Grandma tomorrow, weather permitting.
Grandpa took us out to supper at a Thai restaurant.
Nat scarfed down Grandpa's meal ("3"out of "5" in the hot scale) and loved it. He would cry out "Hot, hot" after he took bites, but kept going back for more. Grandma couldn't handle her "2" She was out-spiced by an 18 month old. Daddy and I sat back and figured that we would be dealing with the backlash of letting him eat a meal not knowing if it contained gluten or not. We were surprised to find that he had no reaction whatsoever. Fingers crossed that he is outgrowing this intolerance!



We make a trek to the park almost daily. Nat is the adventurous one. He's a climber. You'll likely find him making his way up the equipment meant for kids over the age of 8. I'm right behind him, arms outstretched, ready to catch him when he falls. Gabriel takes the stairs meant for a child his age. He likes me to hold his hand or go down the slide with him for a couple of times until he feels confident enough to do it himself. The balance is perfect. I couldn't handle two wild ones at the park on my own.
Halfway through our walk back home I usually notice that the stroller passengers have become very quiet. This is usually the reason.

I scoop them up and lay them in bed where they nap extra soundly.


Last week brought a day of sweltering heat. It was a perfect excuse to head outside and turn on the hoses. They stripped down to their diapers and fought over who got to drink the water and doused themselves in ice cold wonderful.


Grandpa Doug had a few days off of work which meant a lot more of the boys staring out the window to his shop and yelling at him to come inside and play with them. Luckily for them Grandpa can make a mean over-sized paper hat.

*Note the pj shirt. While mama makes sure the twins share it equally, daddy thinks we should bribe them with it.

The 18 month well-child check told us what we already knew. We have kids who are geniuses. Okay, maybe their parents think they are geniuses, but the assessments and their doctor say that they are doing much more than is expected of them at their age. They excel in all areas of physical, social, and cognitive development.
They are perfectly healthy and are at the 75th percentile for both height and weight. Measurements are 33 and 33.5 inches, and 27 and 27.5 pounds. Gabe being slightly more tall and likely holding that extra 1/2 pound in his adorable Buddha belly.

I am feeling an overabundance of love towards them these days. They amaze me everyday with the things they do and say.
I look at them in awe and am amazed that they are mine. I can't believe that these two amazing, little beings grew in my tummy. I still can't believe that I get to be their mommy.

I found Gabe tucking in his sippie cup of milk this morning. He was playing quietly on the kitchen floor while I was preparing their breakfast. I looked up to find him carefully tucking a dishcloth around his cup, he gently brought it up to his chest, hugged it and said "Night night milk."

I've taken up crochet again. I dabbled at it before the boys were born. The only thing I had ever created was a scarf that I wore proudly for 2 winters until I lost it. The boys have seen me crocheting winter hats for them while they are eating their breakfast or lunch. I tell them I am making them hats. This morning while we were reading a book we came to a page about sheep. There was a picture of a ball of yarn to show what the sheep's wool is used for. Nat pointed to the yarn and said "Mama, hat."

Simply sweet. Simply amazing.

Blogger is broken for me

For some reason my computer isn't allowing me on blogger for more than 2 minutes at a time.
Such fun things happening and I can't post about it.
I hope my computer won't be so wonky very soon.

Our Sleep Dance

It's a routine that goes something like this.

Kiddos are sleeping great for a couple of weeks. Nat starts waking and screaming for Mama in the middle of the night because of bothersome teeth or an incessant cough.

Mama realizes that all Nat wants is a cuddle, so she lays down with him in the big bed in the nursery and he promptly falls back to sleep. They remain until morning. Our smart, little Nat catches on and slowly starts increasing his wake-up frequency to about 3 or 4 times a week, then it's nightly. Mama has gotten used to getting a full night's rest, so she just goes along with what he wants: a cuddle and to finish the night sleeping next to his best gal. After all, she and her husband have decided that they dig the whole Attachment Parenting thing.
They aren't full blown APers. They dabble in it. Wore the boys as babies at home, nursed as long as they wanted, were attentive to their cries right away, and sleep with them as needed.

Whoa! That's were the whole sleeping things gets a little fuzzy. The definition of "as needed" is quite different between Nat, myself, and my husband.

Anyway, back to our dance. Sleeping is fine for Nat and his mama, but Gabe starts noticing that when he wakes in the morning his twin is snuggling up next to HIS mama. So earlier and earlier Gabe is joining his mom and brother in the big bed.
Major problem. It has been noted that both our sons have inherited the "bed hog" gene from their parents. It was inevitable.
Joel and I both kick and elbow our way to comfort at night, hoping that the other will fall asleep first so that we can carefully encourage them to roll further towards the edge. I'm usually the winner. Joel never fights back.
Back in the nursery, I find myself sleeping on my side with my arm tucked directly under my head. I have about 5 inches of space on the outer portion of the mattress. Gabe is spread eagle on his back with his arms flung to his sides. Nat is positioned perpendicular to the two of us with his little feet digging into my hips and his head on his brothers stomach. We begin to wake one another at night with kicks to the face (them to each other and me, not me kicking them), losing sleep, until I have had it and decide that something MUST be done.
We start the sleep training. Nat screams and we comfort him, but don't take him out of his crib. We rub his back, hug him, and eventually he calms back down, eventually he lays down, and after a while we are able to leave the room again. It only takes a few nights, with multiple night wakings and they understand that they must remain in their cribs for the evening.

After every round of this dance, I always wonder how I managed to get into it again?

Tonight I got my answer.

Nat fought going to bed hard this evening. He screamed and screamed. I caved, as usual, and took him out of his crib and I lay down with him in the big bed. The instant his head lay on my arm when we spread out on the bed, his breathing slowed. His eyes slowly blinked. Once, Twice, then they closed.

It's like a drug. The ability to calm the cries of your child, so easily, with just your touch, just your presence.
That is what makes me do our crazy, little sleep dance.

I've said it before. My kids won't love me like this forever. I won't always be the center of their world. A kiss and a hug won't always take their pain away.
There will come a day that their pain with be much more than a scraped knee, or hurt feelings because of a brother who won't take proper turns with a toy.
Right now, I treasure these moments. The ability to comfort them by just being near.
It's magical.
I'll do the little Sleep Dance with my boys until they don't need me there anymore, and in the meantime my husband will get the whole bed to himself for a good chunk of the night.

Easter

We had an amazing Easter celebration this year.
Mama and Daddy were given an unusual treat. Their little boys decided to finally let them sleep in until 7:30. Yahoo! It was wonderful, except for the fact that the Sunrise Service was at 7 am and no alarm was set. Why set an alarm clock when your children wake like clockwork at 6 am? Oops.

Getting all warmed up for our Egg Hunt





The sun was shining and the sky was bright.