11 months old!

The boys turned 11 months old yesterday!  And yes, I didn't write.  I am exhausted.  We have all been sick, and on top of it I have not been sleeping well.  I feel like my cold will drag on forever without good rest.  And of course, I can't be upset about the boys waking more at night considering that they have fevers and are all stuffed up.  I will update more about what is new this month later; for now I need my rest!

I am just sick of winter, and sick of all this illness!  Today we heard from Eric's mom that she was diagnosed with bronchitis and pneumonia, and tonight my grandma Sonia is in the hospital with pneumonia.  It is just too much, and too awful.  I hope we are all healthy and well soon.

Benjamin's first steps!

Benjamin took some steps today... of course I was in the shower (at 5 pm, that's what kind of day it was).  He took some steps to get some Cheerios, he is very motivated by his tummy, just like his mommy!

Asher has not really taken steps since last week, and at this rate, Benjamin will be running circles around him in no time!

We are still sick-- Asher has been running a fever all day, and I have the world's best cold.  Ugh.  I cannot wait for winter to be over.  I told my mother-in-law we're not visiting in February again.  There isn't anything for the boys to do in the winter, and next year they're going to go nuts if they're stuck in a house all week.  Today was a huge snow storm, even though they were just predicting a mix of snow and rain, so it's probably better that we didn't hit the road.

And why did we stay?  So that we could buy a minivan, and my dad, who would do anything for his family, could drive our old vehicle up for us to trade it in.  I am still a little in denial about the fact that I will be driving around in a minivan, but with twins I think it will make life much easier.  I will update about the van once I get to drive it a little more.  It's a 2009 Chrysler Town & Country, and we know the previous owner.  It has 14,000 miles on it and lots of accessories.  I really hope I like it, because honestly, I'm not 100% excited about being a minivan driver, as much as I have loved and embraced motherhood.

a bunch of sickos!

Asher with his mommy-- both sick!

Well, we have managed to get sick.  My father-in-law, Steve, started feeling sick on Monday, and while we tried to tell him to hide in the bedroom, it seems his germs were all around.  Last night, my mother-in-law, Pat, and I both started coughing.  Then this morning, I woke up with a fever, and by the time Asher woke up from his nap, he had a fever, too.  Looking at this picture, I see that Asher looks better when he's sick than I do.

So today was tough, Asher wanted to be held a lot, which I was happy to do, since I didn't have the energy to play.  But that left out poor Benjamin.  Fortunately, being here with my in-laws, Pat was able to give Benjamin plenty of attention and hugs.  For now, Benjamin seems ok, but I really think it is only a matter of hours before he gets sick, too.

What a vacation!  We are also about to buy a minivan, heaven help us.  We always swore we would never drive a minivan, but now that we have twins, we are singing a different tune.  I will update more on that later, for now, I have to sleep!

Party weekend

On Saturday morning we headed up to New England.  First for a stop at my grandparents' apartment in Cambridge to celebrate my grandmother's 86th birthday:

Grandma Sonia with her granddaughter and 2 great-grandsons

She looks great for 86!  She was so happy to have all her family all around her.  My mom made a delicious chocolate cake, there was Prosecco, cheese, and fruit-- all my major food groups.

5 of my grandparents' 6 great-grandchildren (and me)

My parents, sister, Eric, me, and our little angels

Then Eric took our boys to meet his parents in New Hampshire, and handed them off.  Then Eric turned around and came back to Cambridge so that we could attend a surprise engagement celebration for his friends Juliette and Michael.  After the engagement party we drove up to Maine to start our vacation there.

My mother-in-law, Pat, planned a mini-birthday party for the boys since none of the family will be able to make it to their bigger celebration at home.  Their cousins were supposed to attend, but instead my sister-in-law was taking them to urgent care clinics-- our niece Myah had pneumonia and an ear infection, and our nephew Kiptyn had bronchiolitis.  How awful for them!

We had Eric's grandparents and aunt Annette for a big lunch.

Benjamin and Asher waiting for a birthday lunch

Eric's grandmother brought ham and beans, and we ate that ham like it was going out of style.

The family enjoying lunch

Then there were cupcakes!  Pat brought out candles so we could sing Happy Birthday to the boys.

Moments after this photo was taken, Benjamin reached for the candle, and Pat gasped and drew it back.

Benjamin burst into tears!

He quieted down with a hug, we started singing Happy Birthday over again, and then it was time to eat dessert!

I gave Benjamin and Asher each half of a cupcake.  Asher seemed to catch on to cupcake-eating very quickly.

But they both seemed to love dessert.

Unfortunately, they seemed to have some upset tummies the next day, so maybe all that food wasn't such a good idea.  After cupcakes, we opened the boys' gifts, and then they went down for naps.

We are enjoying our time here, even if it is very cold!  Also, our nieces and nephew have been sick (pneumonia, ear infections, bronchiolitis), so we haven't seen them yet, but hopefully tomorrow they'll be well enough for a visit.  I am also enjoying my tradition of ice cream everyday, I am so lucky my brother-in-law owns an ice cream shop!

Asher took his first steps!

My monkey in his monkey pajamas

I went to work today and told my mom I thought Asher was working hard on walking.

And I was right-- Asher took his first steps today!

Of course it would have to happen while I was at work...  I barely work, so it is pretty funny that he would do it when I was gone.  Earlier in the day, I spent a lot of time next to him on the floor, encouraging him to take a step toward me, but he kept dropping down to his butt.

Now I can't wait til tomorrow to see him try again!

pea brains anonymous

This is a fictional club that my mom and I started back in 2002.  We're the charter members, but we have some other great members, like my grandma Sonia and my friend Amanda.  In order to be a member you have to have done, and continue to do, pea-brained things.  For example, my grandmother used to invite people to dinner and forget.  All the time.  If you were at the house and the doorbell rang around dinner time, there was always complete panic-- "Who did I invite? What will I serve them?!?!"  Lucky for her, she is sweet enough and enough fun to be around that no one seemed to mind getting lousy dinners on those nights.

Amanda most recently extended her membership in Pea Brains Anonymous (PBA) by trying for several minutes to swipe her credit card in the turnstile at the subway station in New York City.  Needless to say, she missed that train!

I am currently working overtime to maintain my membership in the club.  I'm not sure if it's mommy brain or what, but last month we missed Molly's son Nate's birthday party, and then today I arrived at the dentist at 10:30 for my appointment, only to find my appointment was at 11.  Since having the boys, I've also had mishaps at work (the worst was when I changed a client's appointment time at her request, promptly forgot, and then was late to the session.  I would have KILLED my therapist if she'd done that.  My client is, fortunately, nicer than I am).  Eric suggested that whatever system I am using to organize myself might not be working and perhaps it is time for a change.  I completely agree it's not working, but I am not sure what else to do!

Part of the problem is that I used to have an excellent memory.  You could tell me something once, and I would absolutely not forget it.  Not only would I remember what we talked about, but I would remember what day we had the conversation, and what I was wearing at the time.  No longer.  Now, if it's not written down, it doesn't exist.  So you would think writing it down would be enough, but now I am forgetting to check what I have written down (this is what happened today with the dentist).  As I type, I am realizing that I am not sure when I have supervision this week, but I think it might be at the same time that I am scheduled to get a haircut.  Argh!

I also know it is because I am tired.  My brain just doesn't work as well without sleep.  Some nights this is my fault, staying up too late, but other nights it is because my boys have woken, and even if I don't get up to feed them, my sleep is interrupted.  Oh, and Eric snores.  But I don't see any of that changing soon, so I have to figure something else out.

Any suggestions to help me organize myself are welcome, but feel free to tell me if you'd like to join our club, and what you've done that merits membership!

A new camera & a new doctor

The boys playing, as captured by our new camera

I came home from work yesterday and saw a manual for a Canon Rebel on the couch next to Eric... whose Canon Rebel would that be?  That would be OURS!  I am really excited to have a good camera, and my friend Cass is going to give me a tutorial about how to use it best, since right now I only take pictures on "auto."  Anyway, even on auto our pictures are better than with our previous camera.  I am only sad that we waited until our guys are 10.5 months old to get a really nice camera.

A very serious Benjamin

I also made the decision to take the boys to a new pediatrician.  I had thought about it before, first when the boys were 3 months old and their suggestion for dealing with Benjamin's car seat hatred was to "pick a closer destination."  But there have been other issues, like it is always a mob scene in the waiting area, and they seem to take some patients before others who have been waiting longer, and even when you are waiting for a long time, the doctors come out and chit-chat with their favorite patients.

The straw that broke the camel's back was dealing with Asher's diarrhea.  I took him in Wednesday a week ago, the doctor listened to his heart and said he was fine, and then they told me to bring in a stool sample.  Eric dropped the stool sample off on Thursday, the 3rd.  On Monday I called to see if they had gotten any results, and they said someone would call me back.  No one did.  Tuesday afternoon I called again, and the woman who answered said, "Honestly? Someone would call you if they were in."  And pretty much hung up on me-- didn't ask my name or my number or even imply that she would check if the results were in or call me back.

It is now Thursday, and I have not heard anything.  You can't tell me it takes over a week to get these results.  In the meantime, Benjamin's pooping has also increased, and they both have sore little tushies from all the pooping and wiping.

In thinking about finding a new doctor, I asked around, and Asher's occupational therapist suggested her pediatrician, which is a little farther away, but is a much smaller practice.  I called on Tuesday afternoon after being spoken to so rudely by our (now former) pediatrician's office, and the new pediatrician's place was able to make an appointment for us right away.

We went in this morning and were seen promptly, the waiting area had no other patients in it.  We saw a nurse practitioner, who spent over an hour with us.  She looked closely at both of our boys, and said they seem perfectly healthy.  I had brought in their diapers from that morning, and she checked for blood (there wasn't any), and sent them off for further testing.  She said we would hear by Monday at the latest.  It really was much better, and the place seemed far more calm and organized than our previous pediatrician.

Now I have to call so they will pull the boys' charts so I can bring them to the new pediatrician's.  I would like to let someone there know that I was unhappy with how things were handled, but I'm not sure that they care.  In any case, I think we will be happy at this new practice, and that my boys will be in good hands.

My snaggle-toothed Asher Bear

Tonight I am alone-- Eric had to fly to South Carolina for a meeting.  My parents came over to keep me company, and I put the boys to bed early because they were extremely tired and extremely crabby.  Poor Asher couldn't stop crying, and my heart was breaking for him.  I couldn't wait to get him in bed so that he could relax and sleep, which he seems to be doing.  And I won't be far behind!  I am looking forward to a quiet night without Eric's snoring, although of course I will miss having him by my side.

What a wonderful weekend!

I am sorry for the lack of posts in the past week, but there was not much good news to report.  Asher continued to poop several times a day, my cold was completely draining, and our nanny called out on the one day she works because of the weather.

But the week ended wonderfully, with a weekend away with our neighbors, Tom, Amy, and Paden, at their beach house.  We left Friday around 2, and it took only 1 1/2 hours to get to their house at the Jersey Shore.  They have a lovely house with 5 bedrooms, plenty of room for our family and theirs.

Paden sleeping peacefully

Our weekend mainly consisted of cooking, eating, and relaxing.  My boys were happy to make trouble all day long, of course.  Benjamin found some new trouble-making activities.  He managed to get up the carpeted steps at record speed!  Also, he enjoyed opening cabinets and pulling out whatever was inside:

Benjamin playing in one of the safer cabinets

Asher also monkeyed around.

Asher trying out his old infant seat that he gave to Paden

Asher remembering how to hop right out and scamper away

Friday night for dinner we had chicken, asparagus, and roasted potatoes.  Eric and Tom drank beer and wine, and Amy and I had ice cream for dessert.

Saturday morning I made pancakes, and the boys had pancakes and strawberries for breakfast.  Both were a big hit!

Asher with only pancake because he ate all his strawberries

When the boys went down for their morning nap, Amy and I made trouble in the kitchen.  She made a butternut squash and crab soup, and I made braised short ribs.  We had the soup for lunch and the short ribs for dinner, and everything was so delicious.

Tom and Amy were great hosts, and we really felt completely at home.  We all got along easily, and it was pleasant to be with a family with a baby of their own, who were not eager to go out during nap times or stay up late getting wild and crazy.

Tom and Amy let us use their video monitor while we were there, and it was so fun to use!  At nap time on Saturday, the boys riled each other up.  I looked at the monitor and didn't see Asher, so I assumed he was asleep.  Next thing I see, Asher is flying across the screen with a humongous goofy grin on his face. The next time I looked, Asher had taken off one of his socks and was waving it at Benjamin, who reached out and grabbed it, and they looked like a married couple doing the hora with a napkin.  Then they did tug-of-war (Asher won), and then it looked like Benjamin was crying, and Asher reached out to pat his hand and comfort him.  I really wish we had gotten a video monitor of our own!

Benjamin playing with Paden

We came home today to try to clean and run errands.  Eric's job was to install the boys' convertible seats so they would graduate from their infant seats.  I know we are "late" on this, but got the Chicco Keyfit-30s so we would have extra time in them.  But the boys' feet are hanging over the edge, and we estimated Asher's height at 29 or 29 1/2 inches, so it was time.  Here is Benjamin modeling his new big-boy car seat:

 He is a total ham for the camera.  He was sitting in that seat with no real expression on his face until Eric pulled out the camera, and then he grinned like a supermodel on a photo shoot.  He is so adorable!  Both boys get cuter each day.

I am starting to plan their first birthday, and have some ideas in the works... I need to get on the invitations this week so that people have plenty of advance notice!  I cannot believe my little angels are so close to 1 year old!