Technical Diffuculties

Sorry for the long break. Our one remaining computer gave up the ghost last week. Now that we've fretted for a bit and said lots of nice things about it, it has miraculously come back to life. I don't know how long this reincarnation will last, so I'll get an entry up now. If we disappear from the ether again, blame it on the computer malfunction, not my scatterbrained nature.

When we last left off, we were still in Massachusetts, enjoying the time with family and friends. In all, we couldn't have asked for the trip to go better. The girls mostly slept when we wanted and were very agreeable. They tolerated the car rides very well, too. We got to dip their feet in the Atlantic Ocean, albeit for a very short time, as a storm was kicking up. They ate peas from Pat's garden (and didn't like them at all) and spent time in a dualing doorway jumper rig that Richard set up on the swingset in the backyard. The met the wonderful twin girls that live next door--we now hope that our girls grow up to be that courteous and engaging! We stopped in New York again on the way home, welcomed by the Morehouse clan, and enjoyed an evening along Cayuga Lake. Beautiful as always.

Now home, we are returning to our routines and discoveries. We immediately set up a pool in that backyard, after seeing how much they enjoyed the one in Duxbury.

(Here's a picture that didn't get posted before. That's Brad's foot between the girls. This is how Naomi approaches virtually everything now--nose scrunched, mouth open and claw hands. )

The girls have been trying new foods and getting somewhat better at it. Two nights ago, Naomi (who's usually quite a bit less interested in eating--unless it's Brad's foot.) repeatedly leaned toward the spoon and opened her mouth, like she'd been practicing! I really think she's going to be the "I can do it myself!!" girl, and once they are feeding themselves, she'll be much more into the idea.

We took the girls to West Side Market yesterday, letting them revel in the sights, sounds and smells. They got to lick a mango.

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They have been paying so much attention to each other recently. It's grand amusement For William and I together with a girl on each lap and just watch them go. For the last two days, it's been a constant conversation:

Lillian: Aaaiieiiieiaa?

Naomi: Hissssssss.

Lillian: AAAiiiAAAA??

Naomi: Hisssssss.

William has accurately described Naomi's hiss as, "Please adjust my radio dial" kind of static. I refer to her as my tiny Komodo Dragon.

A few nights ago, we were sitting in just this arrangement, watching the girls do their thing when Naomi tossed her head back and went, "ha HAA!". It was one of those moments that makes me regret that we do not have a TV studio set up 24/7.

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For your picture fix, here are the girls in their formal portrait poses that Richard snapped in Duxbury.

Cherubs, anyone?:

Lillian:

Naomi:

Dining Out

We're still here, enjoying the luxury of Duxbury. Lillian and Naomi are signing more members into their fan club every day.

Tonight, we went out to dinner with Pat, Richard, Luke, and cousin Nancy, who's in from Pennsylvania to meet the ladies. We all trucked out to a delightful place called the Sun Tavern, housed in a building from 1741. (Should you ever find yourself on the South Shore of Massachusetts, try it; it's delightful.) Apparently, there's a ghost in the upstairs bathroom. Our waitress, Charlene, was fantastic. We (okay, I) were a little nervous about having the girls out in a relatively nice place. William and I usually do Chipotle. But, I couldn't have imagined it going better. The waitress (on her own, with pervasive wisdom) brought us a little dish of plain mashed potatoes, which Lillian took to like we would all expect. Richard was holding Naomi, who normally treats solid foods like an annoyance. But, he tried giving her a little taste, and wouldn't you know it--she grabbed hold of the spoon, and ate it up. She scooped potatoes off the spoon with her fingers and ate them that way. She smeared it in her eyebrows and ears and seemed to like it that way, too. Pat dished up a giant spoonful (a regular size grown-up spoon, no baby utensils here.) and Naomi ate it right down. I couldn't believe it.

Nancy showed us an amazing trick that may allow us to eat in restaurants for the next year or so. Apparently, if you turn the wooden high chairs upside down, you can cradle a car seat right in there. I know all you experienced parents are out there rolling your eyes and saying, "well, duh!", but this was a revelation. (Waitress Charlene also recommends frozen bagels for teething. A wealth of information here, people.)

We kept the girls out well past their bedtime but, they were personable and happy all through. Naomi giggled and giggled as Pat sang her the "Meh-na-meh-na" song from the Muppets. Lillian jangled her toy keys and ate her bib and smiled at everyone.

Duxbury has given us the joy of the 4th of July Parade as well. We stayed inside for the opening, which is just a slow moving display of the fire engines and their (very loud) sirens. So, we hid inside with the dog, but then stationed ourselves in front of Pat and Richard's wall and watched it all go by. The picture below is Nana and Pat (sisters) holding the girls. They were very much enjoying waving and eating the little flags that parading politicians handed to them. (Lillian and Naomi, not my mom and aunt.) There were lots of other folks around to enjoy the parade and party, too. In the background of this photo is Winnie, who, at 105, has been enjoying this parade since 1926.


We have a few more days to enjoy here, so I'll tear myself away from Scrabble and kiddie pool to make at least one more post. It's been amazing so far.

Pool Day!

The girls dove into their first swimming experience with no hesitation. That is, after a nap. We stuffed them into their swimsuits and Lillian promptly fell asleep in Nana's arms. Once they were all refreshed, off to the pool they went. They were hysterical. Naomi was just as relaxed as could be, lounging in her floating frog thing and chatting with everyone as she bounced from once side of the pool to the other. Lillian alternated betweensplashing frenzy and intense studying of her flotation device. The were in there for close to an hour, entertaining us all!

Lillin, in observation mode:



Naomi, waiting on a bottle with an umbrella in it:

Sweet Potatoes.

Not only a delicious vegetable, but an appropriate nickname for these darlings, don't you think? Here they are, with their first taste of tubers.

Naomi, still with some enthusiasm for the idea. That faded pretty quick, but we took advantage of it while we could. (The flash makes it look as though she's just made an unfortunate lipstick choice, doesn't it?)

And Lillian, who (surprise!) took to it pretty well. She still made some hilarious faces, as she adjusted to a new flavor sensation, but she got the hang of it.

We're still trying to teach them not to suck on the spoon as though it were a very inefficiently shaped bottle, and that involves a lot of noises and open mouth expression that you hope they'll imitate. Feeding Naomi the next day, I figured out that if I shook a rattle over her head, she looked up and opened her mouth. Then I could launch a surprise attack with a spoonful of orangey goodness. She was on to me in about 3 spoonfuls. You'll notice in both of those pictures, that neither girl has sweet potatoes in her eyelashes or ears. It was early in the process. Lillian had a small dot of sweet potato cemented to her nose for the next 36 hours.

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Think these two like each other much?

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I am trying to teach Lillian to give herself her Prevacid. I think she's almost there. (Disclaimer: this is _not_ a hypodermic needle, no matter what it may look like. It's really an oral medicine doser. I swear.)

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Had the girls been born on their due date, they'd be 5 months old today. They are, in fact 33 weeks exactly, or 7.6 months. (I found a 'how old are you' calculator on Google. Yay!)

Developmentally, they are doing splendidly. They are working on impressive things like sitting up for a few moments before they topple over sideways like drunken sailors. They approach lots of things two-handedly, especially those things that they'd like to put directly into their mouths. They bear weight on their legs, especially Naomi, who gives the impression that she'd like to begin pole vaulting lessons now, please.

Mostly, they just work on being cute.

Father's Day Weekend

We kicked the weekend off with a thoroughly tepid yard sale. Thankfully, the weather was amazing, so we got the most of sitting outside and chatting with neighbors. We have just barely less stuff than when we started. Anyone want a coffee table?

Sunday, we drove to Geneva to Grandma Rand's church, The United Church. We ran a bit late (surprised?) so as we walked in the front, the congregation had already started their community announcements. There were lots of murmured 'aww's, that did well to assuage my embarassment.. Nana and Papa were already waiting to meet us in the pew. The girls were just perfect through the ceremony, seeming to really delight in the singing and clapping. And especially the ceiling fans. When the time came, we all trooped up the front and the girls were baptized. There may be a few of you who are cocking your heads, puppy-style. Fair enough. I'm not one for church, really. But this is the church of William's youth and his mom still faithfully attends. And this day really was magical. Everyone, from the pastor, to the choir director, to every member of that congregation, was so warm and gracious. They were just thrilled to see the girls, as they had been praying for them since they were born in November. And Lillian and Naomi just ate it up. Naomi busted into the biggest grin-and-kick-dance as Pastor Bob touched her head with the water. They smiled at everyone, dozed a bit through the rest of the service and turned on the charm again for the after-service coffee hour. We all returned to Grandma Rand's for a delightful lunch and conversation.

I was much too overwhelmed to remember to take pictures, but Grandma Rand had her head on straight, so she will be emailing some to me.



Here we are, the shiny happy family. I've got Naomi, William's holding Lillian.



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I went up the stairs the other evening, and captured perfectly in the door frame, William sat with Lillian on his lap, reading her a story, as the sunlight splashed on the wall behind them. Naomi just lights up everytime he is near. Yesterday, he sat with her on the couch while she giggled at the dog, and his share of the joy was so obvious.

These tiny moments are only the pinhole view into the full picture of his dedication as a father.

I am so blessed.

...And the livin' is easy...

The girls are very much enjoying their summertime luxury. With William home, we are able to devote more attention to them one-on-one and have more adventures.

In the adventure category, we have spent some days outside. Lillian did a great job supervising as we laid the stones for a walkway in the backyard. We've enjoyed some time in the parks and at friends' houses. A perennial favorite, Parade the Circle, was this past weekend and the ladies really seemed to get a kick out of it. Here is the first half of the marching sandwich. We're pretty sure this was Lillian's favorite part. Note the giant toothpick guy up front. There was a person dressed as a pickle bringing up the rear. God, how I love this parade.

New skills are abounding. Naomi has learned to buzz her lips in a kind of dry raspberry and does it often. She looks like she's getting ready to say some really complicated word starting with 'p', like preferential, and just hangs out there with her lips pursed for a bit. Then she just gives up on the vocabulary and goes "ppptht" instead. Lillian has learned to imitate Alfred Hitchcock:

The cereal-eating is going well, and we've branched out to oatmeal. They really are getting better at _eating_ and not just having food smeared near their mouths. Look for veggies in the next week or so.

Next post won't be so lame, and I'll have more pictures. But we're busy playing here, people!

Road Trip!

Lillian and Naomi successfully completed their first-ever overnight road trip! We headed to Cincinatti over Memorial Day weekend to see Vanessa, Christopher, Peyton, Riley and Taylor. Saul and Leann were gracious enough to let us stay with them, risking a night of off-kilter babies. But, no worries. The ladies did just fine, sleeping in their pack and play. They certainly fill it up more than they used to!

We lounged a lot, enjoying the beautiful weather and watching the big kids ride bikes and sing songs. It was a quick trip, but we still managed to fill the Jeep with stuff. It was nice, though, just to prove to ourselves that it can be done.

Peyton and all the ladies:

The girls are doing marvelously, and growing so fast! They are over 25 inches long already. This means they've grown over 10 inches in not quite 7 months. By due date, they would be just over 4 months old, and they are right on track for the developmental milestones. They roll over (Naomi moreso than Lillian.) from stomach to back and from side to side. They bear weight on their legs when you hold them up, or they're in the bouncer or exersaucer. They laugh and smile back when you smile at them. They are using two hands to approach a lot of things now. I watched Lillian this morning as she tried to put a pacifier back in her mouth. She had the general idea, just needed some guidance. Also, she wouldn't let go once it finally got in there, so she promptly pulled it out again, only to restart the process.

Naomi seems to be getting over her fear of Papa. It was tragic, really. Everytime we handed her to the big, scary guy, she'd thrust out that lower lip and begin to wail. But, she's warming up. Soon, she'll be on the back of the Harley (or the ATV, or the plane) having the time of her life.

I hear the sounds of waking girls now. Good days, everyone.