Moses' Twin?

Today the boys and I and the rest of Northern Virginia invaded Wegman's in preparation for the impending blizzard. It was only my second time at Wegman's and since the store was so crowded and chaotic, I decided it'd be best to put all three boys in the cart. I put Moses and Caleb in the upper seat and Joshua sat in the main compartment. This of course left very little room for actual groceries, and we were the subject of quite a few stares. As usual, I got many comments about having my "hands full". One lady said, "wow, you've certainly got stair steps" and I told her that they technically aren't since two of them are twins. "Oh, these two?" she asked, pointing to Caleb and Moses. I know that Moses is a little big for his age, but seriously? And of course the conversation couldn't end before she told me that her daughters were born 17 months apart, which, according to her, "was just like having twins".

The funny thing is that I hear this sort of thing all the time: "my babies were x months apart, which was even harder than having twins" or "my wife had our kids the hard way- one at a time". Yes, people have actually said these things to me. Now, I am completely in awe of parents of triplets and higher order multiples, and I would never dream of telling a triplet mom that having twins and a singleton is just like having triplets. I'm sure the lady at Wegman's meant well and was just trying to make friendly conversation, but unless her 17-month-old was nursing, pooping, crying, and spitting up all night long alongside her newborn, I think it's safe to assume that her experience was nothing like having twins!

Moses' 10 Month Update

Shortly after Moses' 9-month birthday, we had to retire his infant carseat because we could no longer buckle him into it. Joe managed to squeeze one of the twins' old UVA carseats rear-facing into the back of the Santa Fe, which has alllowed us to postpone the purchase of a third extra-narrow Radian. The UVA carseat will not fit forward-facing, though, so Moses will probably be rear-facing for a while, even though his weight already qualifies him to sit forward facing. Apparently a growing faction of parents are passionate about "extended rear-facing" since statistics show that children are less likely to suffer injuries while secured in a rear-facing carseat. I guess we'll just hop on the bandwagon!

Moses continues to be a sweet, calm, playful baby. People are often surprised to see how quiet and mellow he is compared to his rambunctious, loud older brothers. He loves to give us hugs and pats our backs while he's hugging us. He's also very generous. When I give him a cookie or a cracker, he alternates between gnawing on it and offering me a bite. If I don't take a bite, he persists in offering it to me until I do. Moses is also very attentive to detail. If I put on a different pair of earrings, he immediately notices and wants to touch them and examine them closely.

Cheerleaders

A while back I had my first parent-teacher conference at the twins' preschool. Let's just say that a few decades down the road we'll probably be more likely to find the boys behind a podium or pulpit than behind a pile of books or a microscope. While the boys' listening and sitting-still skills apparently leave something to be desired, Mrs. Lavergne reports that Caleb and Joshua are exceptionally happy, sweet, exuberant boys who are well-liked by their classmates.

Every day when I drop the boys off at school, they greet each of their classmates with a loud, boisterous salutation: "Hi, Lucy! Hi, Mila! Hi, Connor!" etc. They also have all of their friend's vehicles memorized, so when they see a small red coupe pull into the parking lot, they know to shout, "Hi Anais!" or when they see a green sedan, they exclaim, "Hi Auggie!" Then, when I come pick them up from school, as soon as I open the classroom door, the boys stop whatever they're doing and start hopping up and down and shouting, "Mommy's here!!! Hi, Mommy!!!" repeatedly at the top of their lungs before dashing towards me and lunging at me for a hug. I've been informed that prior to my entrance, they likewise announce the arrival of each of their classmate's parent or guardian, gleefully yelling, "Bryce, your mommy's here!" etc. Needless to say, from what I have observed, the other children are a lot more reserved than our boys. They're no doubt happy to see their friends and mommies, but they tend to express their delight with quiet smiles or hugs as opposed to our boys' raucous cheering and yelling from the rooftops. It's no wonder that this past week Mrs. Lavergne referred to Caleb and Joshua as "cheerleaders for life".

While it has never occurred to me that our boys would take an interest in cheerleading, since neither Joe nor I ever fit the "cheerleader" stereotype, with each passing day I gain an increasing realization that there's no guarantee that our boys will turn out to be anything like us at all. What an exciting journey we'll have ahead of us as we discover what great and unexpected things God has in store for our little cheerleaders.

Somersaults and Standing

A few weeks ago, around the time of his 4th birthday, Caleb went all the way across the monkey bars all by himself. In the week or so leading up to this grand accomplishment, he'd been dangling from everything--doorknobs, towel bars, Mommy and Daddy--building up his upper body strength. Conquering the monkey bars seems to be a sort of rite of passage amongst preschoolers that few have mastered, so he was very proud of himself. Joshua isn't quite there yet, his progress being no doubt hampered by the extra pounds he carries! Both twins, however, can do a perfect somersault. We're pretty sure they got the idea by observing our neighbor Lily somersault around the front yard, and decided to try it out for themselves. Now they're always saying "Mommy, Daddy, watch this!" as they tumble all over the living room floor. Given the boys' flair for acrobatics and high energy level that isn't easily contained within our little house, we've been thinking about asking Santa for a trampoline for Christmas!

Meanwhile, we have caught Moses standing up without holding onto anything for a few seconds at a time. When he realizes that we're watching him, he'll become bashful and drop down to his knees. Who knows, maybe he's been standing for even longer periods of time when we're not looking! In this respect, I wonder if Moses' personality will turn out to be more like Caleb's, who likes to make sure he's got a skill nailed down perfectly before showing it off. I looked back at our blog archives, and as it turns out, Joshua had been standing independently and for longer periods of time even earlier than Moses! We'd predicted that Moses would be an earlier walker since he started crawling so early and since he is just so big in general, but maybe he'll follow in his brothers' footsepts and wait until after his 1st birthday. Only time will tell!

Nine in, Nine Out

Moses has now been out of the womb for as long as he was inside of it. Our sweet 9-month-old weighs 25 pounds, has 5 teeth with a sixth one poking through, and enjoys crawling and semi-cruising around the house. His favorite places to play are outside in the grass, the toilet (I usually catch him before he gets wet), and the refrigerator. Like his brothers before him, Moses loves taking vitamin bottles out of the fridge and shaking them. I'm sure it won't be long before he's feeding Papa his vitamins, too!

Moses has a good sense of humor and likes to play games. Whenever I change his diaper on the bed (which is most of the time since I've never understood the need for a designated "changing table"), as soon as I remove his diaper he flips over onto his tummy and quickly crawls to the nearest pillow. He plunges his face into the pillow and lies motionless until I exclaim "Moses!" and tickle him, sending him into a fit of laughter. If I don't tickle him right away, he looks up at me as if to say, "here I am, aren't you going to play my game?" He also loves to play with his big brothers, especially Joshua, who is partcularly good at entertaining Moses and finds great delight in making him laugh.

This past month, Moses has started eating solid food on a semi-regular basis. I wanted to wait til he was one year old, but he kept grabbing at our food and has been attempting to taste all kinds of edible and non-edible morsels, so I decided it'd be cruel to deny him any longer. Some days he wants to exclusively nurse and other days he insists on having a taste of every single thing I put in my mouth, so we just kind of go with the flow. His favorite foods so far are fresh pineapple, apples, and carrots (I "grate" carrot sticks and apple slices against his bottom teeth and he eats the resulting "puree"), yogurt with frozen wild blueberries, and baby crackers. He eats very few cooked foods. He also loves to chug cold water and diluted juice from a cup. If I'm holding a beverage glass, he'll grasp my arm and forcefully yank it towards himself so he can take a few sips.

Moses has started saying "ball", which actually sounds more like "bah." The first time I heard him say it, he was holding a toy orange. Other times, he said it while holding a whiffle ball, a kiwi fruit, a bouncy ball, and while staring at the globe-like pendant lamps hanging in Mimi and Papa's foyer. Since then, he's said "ball" at times when there were no ball-shaped objects nearby, but it could have been that he was just thinking about a ball, right? That's what we tell ourselves, at least :)

The Elusive Deuce

Potty training has probably been my least favorite aspect of parenting thus far, rivaled only by the infant twins phase in which I rarely slept for more than one or two hours at a time for several months. Yes, it has been that bad. Caleb and Joshua have been peeing on the potty since early June and they've been pooping on the potty since early October, but there was a time not too long ago when I honestly believed that they would still be pooping in diapers on their 4th birthday.

Even though the twins wore underwear full-time during the day, when they needed to poop, they'd beg for a diaper. Any attempts to get them to sit on the potty to poop were met with blood-curdling shrieks and violent protest. When I eventually stopped caving in to their requests for a diaper, they'd schedule their poops around their sleeping schedules, since we still put them in diapers at bedtime. They'd either sneak in a poo right before bedtime or first thing in the morning before I even realized they were awake. Instead of their usual tradition of running into our bedroom and jumping into bed with me as soon as they woke up each morning, they'd stealthily poop in their diapers at their bedside, then postpone the inevitable scolding by lurking silently there until their stench wafted out of their room to greet my beleaguered nose. I would berate them, change their diapers, then we'd get on with our lives until the next morning. It was a vicious cycle.

Then one mild early October morning, I had not been feeling well and was lying in bed trying to get some extra rest when the boys staggered into our bedroom with soggy, stinky diapers, pestering me to change them. I buried my head in my pillow and refused. They continued to whine and plead, and that's when I decided enough was enough. I got dressed, escorted them outside, removed their diapers, and hosed them down, calmly explaining to them that this is what would happen from now on if they pooped in their diapers. The boys loved being sprayed with the hose in the context of playing outside in their swimsuits, but this time they knew I was not playing games. Meanwhile, Moses had crawled up to the screen door to see what all the fuss was about. I went to greet him, only to discover a sticky brown substance on his hands and knees. Upon further investigation, I concluded that he had crawled through poo that had leaked out of his brothers' diapers and fallen onto the living room rug. I was furious!

I ushered the twins back into the house and escorted them directly to the bathtub, where they proceeded to take a cold shower. Just like with the hose, they have previously been known to enjoy and even request cold showers, but this time they knew it was not for fun. While they were in the shower, I washed off Moses and gave him a new change of clothes, then cleaned and disinfected the rug. After a few minutes, I let the boys out of the bathtub and dried them off, explaining to them that from now on, every time they pooped in their diapers they'd get a cold shower in addition to being sprayed with the hose. They earnestly promised they would poop on the potty from now on, and a couple days later, after much coaxing, a few tears, and ample reassurance that "you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you", they did it! They haven't even had any major accidents since then.

Just as we suspected, the twins were fully capable of being potty trained a long time ago--they were just too stubborn and it took some rather drastic measures to break them of their stubbornness. They now take great pride in pooping on the potty. Caleb still likes for us to sit with him and coach him through the process, but Joshua requests that we close the door and give him privacy while he takes care of business. We're so proud of them both, and are so relieved that this unpleasant chapter of parenting our sweet twins is finally over.

Twins' 4-Year Check-up

The twins went in for their 4-year well child doctor's visit the day after their birthday. Considering their usual aversion to answering questions and speaking in complete sentences, Joe thought it'd be beneficial to drill them with some practice questions that the doctor might ask them during the examination, such as "what is your name?" and "how old are you?" We were a little concerned when, on the way to the doctor's office, Caleb answered one such question by replying, "my name is 4 years old" :-(

Thankfully, Joshua kicked off the doctor's visit with a confident display of mental aptitude when he cheerfully exclaimed, "Hi, Doctor!" when the doctor walked in the room. Phew! Then at the end of the visit, he asked the doctor, "why are you washing your hands?" which surprised us since the boys don't usually ask "why" questions. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), our preparations were in vain since the doctor didn't ask the boys any of the questions we drilled them with, but at least they should now be able to accurately report their names and age to the legions of people who will invariably request this information from them whenever we go to the grocery store. I'm still waiting to find out at what age our (presumably) identical twins will stop drawing so much attention in public!

Anyway, this was the first year the boys were willing to stand to be weighed and measured. They were not perfect angels and squirmed enough to make us question the accuracy of the results, especially the heights, since I'm pretty sure that Joshua is significantly more than half an inch taller than Caleb. At any rate, this is what we were told: Caleb is 40.75 inches tall (55th %tile) and weighs 37 lbs. 4 oz. (70th %tile). Joshua is 41.25 inches tall (75th %tile) and weighs 39 lbs. 4 oz. (80th %tile).

Happy 4th Birthday, Boys!

As of today I can no longer say, "I have 3 boys ages 3 and under," because Caleb and Joshua are four years old today! Happy birthday, sweet boys!

The twins have had a busy year. Among other things, in the past year they became big brothers, they started sleeping in their own bedroom, they learned to swim, they potty-trained, and they started going to preschool.

I'll write more on this topic later, but I must go to bed now :)

Catch Phrases

I've been keeping a running list of some of the twins' favorite catch phrases. Considering that these phrases are already old news, I figured I ought to crunch out a post in their honor before they become totally obsolete.

Put some glue on it. "Glue" is pronounced "ga-looooo." The boys learned this catch phrase from the many incidents involving broken toys in need of repair. Now they (especially Caleb) like to just say it for fun.

Want some milk? "Milk" is pronounced "meeeee-yulk." For whatever reason, the boys tend to break out in a Southern drawl whenever they say "milk". We called them on it, and now they like to say this just to make us laugh. I guess it's their Shenandoah Valley heritage making itself evident!

You have chocolates at home. "Chocolates" is pronounced like "choc-letts," and the entire phrase is droned out in a robotic monotone, repeated several times in unison, usually in the check-out line at the grocery store.

Mushroom. Joshua came up with this gem. He bends his index finger slightly backwards and holds it in place with the tip of his middle finger, so as to resemble a mushroom illustration in his "Moonbeam Bear" book. He's been doing this for well over a year now.

Wanna go get Chinese food? "Chinese" is pronounced more like "CHAI-ness". The boys don't expect us to take this suggestion seriously, they just like to say this to get us to laugh. They were besides themselves when Joe and I actually used this catch phrase on Sunday evening and proceeded to take the family to the local Chinese take-out place. Caleb chowed down on lo-mein and rice, but Joshua would have none of it. His only request was to "see the big smiley face" on the plastic bag.

George Washington's Lap

A couple days ago the boys and I were driving down the GW Parkway, and as we approached Mount Vernon, I told them that we were about to drive by George Washington's house. Caleb got very excited and asked, "want to go sit on George Washington's lap?" I explained to him that he couldn't because George Washington died a long time ago, but the boys have yet to grasp the concept of death, so he's asked again several times since then. He probably got the idea because recently we have been talking about sitting on Santa Claus' lap this Christmas, and the boys have assured me that this year they would sit on his lap and not cry. We'll see whether or not they follow through... I for one am not placing any bets. Anyway, I guess the boys have assumed that you're supposed to sit on the lap of any old man with white hair. When you look at the world through the eyes of an almost-4-year-old, you realize that a lot of our cultural norms are really pretty strange.

In other news, you should once again be able to leave comments on our blog. I know that most of you are silent lurkers, but comments are always welcome and appreciated!

Mischief at 8 Months

Moses is now 8 months old and is getting into everything. His favorite variety of mischief is playing with his brothers' shoes. Caleb has become quite the tattle-tale, frequently informing me that "Moses is touching the shoe" or "Moses is eating paper." It amazes me how the complusion to tell on one's siblings is so innate, since I'm sure that no one explicitly taught him to do this. I guess Caleb feels it's his duty as the eldest to keep his younger brothers in line. Joshua likes to keep me up-to-date on Moses' activities, as well, but his reports usually have a more positive spin, such as, "Mommy, Moses stood up," which actually happens so frequently now that Joshua doesn't even bother telling me about it most of the time anymore.

Sometimes Moses surprises us with other forms of mischief, such as the other day when I found him sitting on the kitchen floor sprinkled with a flaky green substance. Upon closer inspection I determined that he used his four enormous teeth to bite through a tea bag. After all, how could he have resisted something that so closely resembles his favorite delicacy, paper? Then today we caught him standing at the toilet, happily splish-splashing away. Miraculously, the toilet and toilet water were relatively clean, which isn't often the case in our one-bathroom house where two little boys have recently learned to pee standing up. To give you an idea of the kind of abuse our toilet suffers, the twins' favorite thing to do is stand at the toilet side by side and "make a cross" with their pee streams. But I digress. I'm sure we sent splash-happy Moses mixed signals when I asked Joe to go run and grab the camera and snap a few pictures while he was still in the act!

Moses is so much different than his big brothers were at this age. In addition to putting everything in his mouth (we were thankfully spared this common phenomenon when the twins were babies), being a lot bigger (he now wears the same clothes the twins wore when they were walking), and being developmentally advanced, he also seems much happier and is always smiling. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that he sleeps much longer stretches than his brothers did at this age. Moses also seems to have abandoned typical baby babbling and instead prefers to communicate by growling. The first time I heard him growling I could have sworn there was a grown man in the room, but no, it was our sweet Moses. It probably doesn't help that I tend to growl back at him, while hugging and kissing him, of course. I'm sure he now thinks this is a normal way to communicate!

Daddy Slop

In light of the cold, rainy weather we've been having recently, we decided that a dinner of homemade chili--something we haven't had since last winter--would hit the spot. So I threw a batch together, and when the boys came home from preschool this afternoon, Joshua peered into the crockpot and proclaimed, "it's daddy slop."

"What's that?" I asked, confused. "Daddy slop", Joshua reiterated. And then it hit me. The chili looked exactly like the sloppy Joes filling that I often cook for dinner, and of course Joshua is well aware that his daddy's name is Joe. From now on I think we'll have a new name for sloppy Joes in our household!

And now for a slightly less palatable anecdote from today. I asked the boys what they did at school, and as usual the first thing to come to mind was what they had for snack. Caleb told me that he ate crackers and oranges, and that the worms ate oranges, too. At first I thought he was making stuff up, and then remembered catching a glimpse of a new addition to their classroom--a worm composting bin. The children must have put their orange peels in the composting bin after snacktime. Caleb then went on to tell me that "the worms look like red spaghetti." Lovely. I think I'll stick to daddy slop for the time being ;)

Hummus Tummus

One of the great things about the boys' preschool is that the parents take turns bringing in healthy snacks to share, and the children serve themselves family-style. While I think I'm pretty good about exposing to (or should I say "forcing upon") the boys a variety of healthy foods, there are some things I've never bothered with, one of those being hummus. Yesterday's school snack consisted of whole wheat bagels, carrot sticks, and hummus. Much to my surprise, Mrs. Lavergne reported to me that Caleb, who is usually suspicious of new foods, simply couldn't get enough of those smushed chick peas. Joshua, of course, wanted nothing to do with the stuff. So after school I asked Caleb, "what did you eat at school today?" and he told me he ate, "bagels, carrots, and tummus."

"Tummus?" I asked. "Don't you mean 'hummus'?"

Caleb grinned and replied, "No, Mommy. Tummus. Tummus Jefferson!"

Doe in the Headlights

Caleb and Joshua wrapped up their second week of preschool today. They love going to preschool and their teacher can't seem to tell me enough how "sweet" she thinks they are. Today when she was telling me how sweet they are, she likened them to "a doe in the headlights". Metaphorically speaking, I guess the preschool experience is the vehicle coming towards them at full speed, and instead of freaking out or running away, our boys calmly face it head-on with a great sense of wonderment and awe. Anyway, I'll take it as a compliment since I'm pretty sure that's what she intended! It's nice to hear someone else (especially someone who has spent a lot of time with a lot of other 3 and 4-year-olds) tell us how sweet our boys are. Anyone who has spent enough time with them knows that they haven't always been little angels. I guess in the grand scheme of preschoolers, they really aren't that terrible after all!

Twins' First Week of Preschool

The twins have completed their first week of preschool, and from what we can tell, it went really well! Joshua was excited about it from the get-go, but Caleb was hesitant and wanted Mommy to stay with him at preschool. The great thing about this preschool is that it's a co-op, so Joe or I will be helping out in the classroom once every 2 weeks, which should make both boys very happy.

On the first day of preschool the boys seemed a little disoriented when I dropped them off, which was to be expected. When I went to pick them up, though, their eyes lit up as soon as they saw me and they ran towards me, exclaiming, "Mommy, did you have fun at preschool?!" which means, "Mommy, I had fun at preschool!" We're hoping that, among other things, preschool will help the boys learn how to speak in the first person. :) When I asked them what they did at preschool, they told me they ate muffins and watermelon, washed their hands, sat in chairs and read a book with their teacher, cleaned up, listened to music, and saw chickens and bunnies. That's right, their preschool has its own chicken coop and each classroom has its own bunny! As you can imagine, this was a major selling point for me. ;)

Their teacher, Mrs. Lavergne, told me that Caleb and Joshua are such good boys and that they're adapting to the concept of "school" better than she expected. Most of their classmates have already been to preschool for a year or two, so the boys have some catching up to do. She said she feels like she's overloading them with new information, but that they're handling it really well. She told me that they are learning how to sit in a circle, carry their chairs correctly, and pour water from a pitcher into their cups, among other things. Mrs. Lavergne did mention that Caleb and Joshua definitely have their own "twin thing" going on and that they like to stick together. I'm so thankful that they have each other to help ease this transition to school which might have otherwise been difficult. Sometimes I feel sorry for Moses because he doesn't have a twin, but then I figure that most of the rest of us are singletons who successfully navigated the rough waters of childhood on our own. Having a twin with whom to share the journey is simply an extra special blessing!

7 Months for Moses

Moses is 7 months old today! In the past week or so he's figured out how to get into a sitting position on his own, and he likes to bounce up and down while perched on his bum. He loves crawling around the house scavenging for all the toys and knick-knacks his brothers leave lying around. It's so nice living in a house with no stairs- one less thing to worry about!

Moses has also started babbling. He says "Ma-ma-ma-ma" when he wants me to hold him or feed him. He also likes to say "Na-na-na-na" when he's in a playful mood. He loves playing with his older brothers, and Joshua is especially good at entertaining him. Joshua will stand across the room from Moses and say "koochi koochi coo!" while running in place, squinting his eyes, scrunching up his nose, and shaking his head. This act never fails to send Moses into a fit of giggles, complete with batting his arms and kicking his feet in delight.

And if for no other reason than to prove that there is no such thing as a perfect baby, Moses has decided to be a little more demanding recently. He whines and pouts when he wants me to hold him, which is almost every waking moment. Mind you, this wouldn't be a huge inconvenience if Moses weighed as much as an average 7-month old baby (most people assume he's a toddler and are shocked when I tell them how old he really is). His two top front teeth are coming in, so I'm assuming that has something to do with his sudden spike in neediness. But considering he still sleeps about 9 hours straight each night on a regular basis, I have absolutely no reason to complain!

Up, Up, and Away!

Moses has started pulling himself up. The plant table, chair legs, and upside down laundry baskets have all been deemed suitable bolsters for our little explorer. He hasn't pulled himself up into a standing position yet, but he does enjoy hoisting himself up into a kneeling position and taking in the view before settling himself down into a sitting position. Moses has also perfected the art of crawling. His favorite bait is his brothers' brightly colored Polliwalks (mock Crocs), which he enjoys gnawing on with his two (soon to be three) teeth. He also has an adorable habit of locating me in the room, crawling towards me at full speed, and pulling himself up onto me with a big happy smile :)

Moses is Crawling

Moses started crawling today! He's been rocking his booty and taking a practice "step" or two here and there for a few weeks now, but this afternoon he crawled half way across the living room! Joe and I were both in attendance to witness this exciting milestone.

The object of his desire that motivated him to crawl was a soft blue stuffed elephant. At 6 months + 1 week old, Moses has acheived mobility more than 3 months earlier than the twins did. It must be true what they say about younger siblings developing more quickly to keep up with the big kids!

Hold it Right There, Mister

Here's a sampling of some of the phrases that we've been hearing a lot in our house lately.

"Hold it right there, mister!"
The twins learned this from their beloved Gospel Bill Show DVDs in which Dry Gulch's Sheriff Gospel Bill uses this line when he apprehends outlaws. Sometimes the boys will station themselves across the room from each other as if they are dueling, and slowly enunciate, "Hold it right there, mister" in unison. They sometimes pretend that their toy hammer is Gospel Bill's gun. They also have been known to say, "Hold it right there, Mommy!" while sporting a mischevious grin.

"Oh dear!"
They say this when they're having difficulty with something, such as when they're struggling to pull their size 2-3T Thomas underwear (which they are reluctant to retire) up over their size 4T butts, or when they're attempting to re-fasten the wheel onto the axel of their wooden car.

"Oh, baby sweetheart!"
They say this when they spill something on themselves or make some other kind of mess and want to enourage me to be sympathetic with them rather than angry.

"Good stuff!"
Used to describe a palatable morsel, the boys sometimes alternatively say "good duff", then proceed to correct each other, saying, "No, it's good 'STUFF', not good 'duff'."

"Where's my meat?"
They started saying this the week they went to Vacation Bible School, so at first I assumed it was something they picked up from another kid. Of all the things they could've learned from their peers, it didn't seem so bad, just weird. Then it occurred to me that a more likely source is the book "Snow" in which the characters say "we have our bread, we have our meat, give us something good to eat".

"Jo-na-than! Jo-na-than!"
This is said in a sing-songy chant, over and over and over again. It almost sounds like they are taunting someone named Jonathan, but it's actually an affectionate tribute to Joe's former co-worker who played in the pool with them at the company picnic a couple months ago.

Hi, Man! Hi, Woman!

The twins are on a mission to cordially greet everyone who crosses their paths these days. From fellow grocery store patrons to the homeless guy at the stoplight begging for cash, the boys aren't afraid to extend a friendly greeting. The worst is when a shady-looking guy rings the doorbell in the middle of the day and my efforts to feign absence are foiled when the boys precariously perch themselves on the arm of the recliner, and while balancing themselves on the window sill, brush the vertical blinds aside and wave their hands while yelling, "HI, MAN!" over and over again until they gain said man's attention. At that point I just make sure the door is deadbolted and pray that the strange man will quickly retreat and proceed along his merry way to harass some other stay-at-home-mom.

Albeit unusual to hear coming from a 3-year-old's mouth, "Hi, man" is not an entirely socially unacceptable salutation. "Hi, woman," however, is much less acceptable nowadays than it was when Jesus walked the Earth. Unfortunately, this has not kept the boys from merrily greeting total strangers by chirping, "Hi, woman!" Most women who are greeted by the boys in this manner are forgiving--their countenances slightly contort as if to say, "Did he really just say that?" and they giggle politely. Only once did a rather sour woman retort, "Yes, I am a woman". I was so embarrassed. After that incident, we tried especially hard to teach the boys to say "Hi, ma'am" in lieu of "Hi, woman," but since the difference between "ma'am" and "man" is so subtle, this proved to be rather confusing for the boys. We decided that it'd probably be even worse for the boys to accidentally say, "Hi, man" when addressing a lady, so we initially didn't press the issue. But after a few weeks of persistent drilling, they now understand the difference and enjoy correcting each other.

Imagine me navigating an aisle at Trader Joe's with a cartful for groceries and three little boys in tow. We pass a person of the female persuasion, and the following conversation ensues:

Joshua: "Hi, woman!"
Caleb: "No, Joshua. It's hi MAN!"
Joshua: "No, Caleb, it's hi, ma-MUH!"
Caleb: "That's right. Hi, ma-MUH!"

The amused woman chuckles kindly and I muster an apologetic smile, wondering how someone as fiercely introverted as myself could have possibly given birth to such extroverted children!

6 Months for Moses

Believe it or not, it's already been half a year since our sweet Moses was born. These days we're enjoying seeing him sit independently and play with toys, happily clap his hands, and get up on his hands and knees and rock his cute butt to and fro. He has made some valorous attempts to crawl and we suspect it won't be long before he fulfills his mission. Today I noticed a something sharp poking through his lower gum, and upon closer examination beheld a little white speck. That's right, Moses got his very first tooth on his 6 month birthday! You would never guess that he's teething based on his steadfast sweet temperament, although he does seem to prefer Mommy's company over anyone else's :)

Moses' doctor is currently out of the country so his 6-month check-up will have to wait, which is just as well since our health insurance from Joe's new job won't kick in for another week or two. In lieu of a well-baby visit, I took the boys back to Bed Bath & Beyond to find out Moses' weight. The boys have now decided that standing on scales is great fun, so we had Moses try out half a dozen scales, each claiming unique weights ranging from 20 to 24 lbs. So we'll just say that he weighs about 22 lbs., which happens to be above the 95th percentile. Supposing Moses has only gained 1 lb. in the past month and is now only 21 lbs., he would still be among the top 5-10% of 6-month-old baby boys. I also measured him this evening and he is about 28 inches long, which would also put him in the 90-95th percentile.

Moses is still exclusively breastfed for the most part. Last week I bought him one of those mesh feeders and he has enjoyed using it to gnaw and suck on delicious fresh peaches and plums. I've also scraped some apricot pulp with a spoon and let him have a few bites. I've decided to hold off on traditional baby food for now since he is clearly thriving on breastmilk alone and I don't see the point in creating extra work for myself! Besides, I've read that introducing solid foods earlier than 6 months (and some argue 1 year) will deprive a baby of crucial nutrients by replacing the amounts of breastmilk he needs. In other words, as healthy as pureed spinach may be, it's certainly no substitute for the goodness that comes from mama's milk.

Vacation Bible School

Last week the twins attended Vacation Bible School at a Methodist church down the street. It was their first time in a structured school setting away from Mommy or Daddy, so I was a little concerned about how well they'd do, but their friends Lizzie and Michael were also attending, and Miss Leah was one of the helpers, so I knew they would be in good hands.

The folks running Vacation Bible School were wise in that they knew that food--particularly junk food--is the key to a preschooler's heart. I was unable to extract much information out of boys regarding their daily activities other than what they ate. Among other things, they feasted on bagels with "crim cheese", "rice Christmas treats" (Rice Krispies Treats), and "red juice". They also told me they "took a couple sips," meaning they drank from the water fountain. "Red juice" seemed to be the most frequently recurring theme throughout the week, and I can imagine it must have seemed like heavenly nectar to these sweet-toothed boys whose previous perception of juice was limited to watered-down 100% fruit juice.

During the week we tried in vain to detect any evidence of Biblical instruction they might have been receiving at Vacation Bible School--the boys would only talk to us about food (and no, I don't believe "red juice" was used as an allegory to Jesus' shed blood!) Throughout the week there was also occasional mention of a cricket, which they eagerly introduced me to on Friday--a lonely little dead cricket on the floor in the corner of their classroom, not a class pet or story character as I had previously speculated. On one of the last days Caleb happily pointed to a door across the hall labeled "Music" and asked, "want to go do music?!" and he also mentioned learning a song, although he didn't feel the need to share it with us. At the end of the week each boy brought home a prized plastic cross filled with sand, Bible verses on keychains, and a Bible story booklet. And thus we were pleased to learn that there had been a "B" in VBS after all!

The boys' teacher told me that earlier in the week they kept to themselves and refused to participate in any of the activities, but by the time Wednesday rolled around they were joining right in on all the fun. Throughout the week the boys insisted that they did not want to go to Vacation Bible School, and sweet Caleb fought back tears the first couple of mornings when I dropped them off (but he stayed tough and never actually cried). By Friday morning, however, he was smiling and waving good-bye to me as I stood outside the classroom door.

As much as I enjoyed my peaceful mornings with just Moses, I did miss my big boys. I always arrived 15 mintues early to pick them up, and enjoyed observing them from the window before entering the classroom. The first morning I was saddened to find them sitting next to each other all by themselves at the table, but also thankful that they had each other for comfort. The second morning, only Caleb sat at the table while Joshua played nearby. As the week wore on, I would return to find that they'd ventured further from the table, playing with toys and reading books with their teachers. And when they would first see me, they'd exuberantly exclaim, "Mommy! Did you have fun at Vacation Bible School?!" On Saturday morning they actually asked to go to Vacation Bible School, but of course there was no more Vacation Bible School to go to. I know they'll be looking forward to going back next year.

We Made the News!

Yesterday we attended the Friendship Firehouse's 235th birthday party in Old Town. While we were there, a reporter from AlexandriaNews.org interviewed me and a photographer snapped a photo of the twins playing on an antique fire engine! Check it out! Contrary to what the article would have you believe, we actually have 3 sons (I guess the reporter didn't notice sweet Moses in his stroller), and the boys were not nearly as somber as depicted in the photo!

Natural Remedies for Newborns

While Moses has overall been a much easier baby than the twins were, he did have a few issues we never encountered the first time around. Several people have asked how we treated these minor maladies, so I thought I'd share our natural remedies before I forget them.

Baby Acne
The most effective treatment I found was washing his face and scalp with Dr. Bronner's Organic Peppermint Soap every morning. Then later in the day I'd wipe the affected areas with a Witch Hazel-soaked cotton ball.

Cradle Cap
When he was a few weeks old, Moses developed a classic case of combination skin- his face was oily but his scalp was dry. Ever since I started washing his hair with Weleda Calendula Body Wash, he hasn't had any dry scalp issues.

Yeasty Tongue
Moses had a yeasty white tongue as a result of being pumped full of antibiotics (that he probably didn't even need) while he was in the NICU. To get rid of it, I sprinkled PB8 Probiotics on his tongue after every feeding, or as often as I remembered to. This cleared up Moses' tongue in no time and I never got thrush!

Snowman Music

One day a couple months ago I randomly decided to play our Tschaikovsky's "Nutcracker" CD. As soon as he heard it, Caleb exclaimed, "It's snowman music!" At first I was confused as to why he called it "snowman music", but then it occurred to me that they must have heard this music on their winter-themed Baby Einstein DVD (which, by the way, they haven't viewed in well over 2 years).

When we first started listening, Caleb would ask, "deh deh?" at various times throughout the piece. (Yes, we are working on getting them to ask "what's that?" in lieu of saying "deh deh?" but it's turning out to be a long, grueling process.) He wanted to know what was making the noises at different times throughout each piece. Hearkening back to my days in the school band and orchestra, I attempted to guess which instruments were making which noises and relayed my dubious knowledge to Caleb. Our conversations sounded something like this:

Caleb: "Deh deh?"
Me: "Ummmm... I think those are violins."
Caleb: "Deh deh?"
Me: "Those are flutes."
Caleb: "Deh deh?"
Me: "Ohh, I don't know. Cellos?"
Caleb: "Deh deh?"
Me: "That's silence."
Caleb: "They're resting, Mommy."

Caleb and Joshua ask to listen to "snowman music" on almost a daily basis now. Caleb is now pretty good at identifying the intruments on his own. Whether or not they're the correct instruments is debatable, and I fully accept responsibility for any errors he makes in the identification process. The part that always seems to fascinate him the most, however, is the silence (probably since silence is such a foreign concept to our boys!) Caleb still likes to ask "deh deh?" when the music stops, and he and Joshua will proceed to discuss between themselves the fact that the lack of noise is silence and that it means that "the instruments are resting."

Moses is 5 Months Old

Moses is 5 months old today! Joe expressed my sentiments perfectly when he said, "It seems to have gone by quickly, but at the same time it feels like he's been part of the family since the start."

People keep asking me how much Moses weighs, so I took the boys to Bed Bath & Beyond this afternoon to find out (since we don't have a scale at home). Moses weighs 20 pounds, which is more than double his (substantial) birth weight. He is over the 95th percentile for weight. Today was the first time I've ever been able to get the twins to cooperate and stand on a scale, so I went ahead and got their weights, too. Caleb weighs 39 lbs and Joshua weighs 42 lbs. Caleb is just below the 90th percentile and Joshua is just over the 90th. So the consensus is that we've got some pretty big boys!

Moses is beginning to exhibit a bit of separation anxiety when he's away from me. Last night we left Moses with Mimi and Papa while Joe and I took the boys swimming, as we often do. He was asleep when we dropped him off, and when he woke up, he apparently cried a good 15 minutes straight until we came to pick him up. Mimi remarked that it was the first time she'd ever actually seen him crying hard. That's pretty impressive, considering all the crying she witnessed on a regular basis when the twins were babies! Moses behaved similarly when we were at Granny and Babo's house last weekend- he would start crying if I wasn't holding him or if he couldn't see me.

Moses isn't sitting up on his own yet (except for a few seconds, like when I placed him on the scale to weigh him) but I'm sure he will be soon. He is at the phase where he's grabbing everything in sight and becomes frustrated if he can't have the object of his desire, particularly watermelon slices which I occasionally let him taste (his only non-breastmilk food yet). He likes to flap his arms around and when he hits you, it hurts! He is still a remarkably good-natured baby, and his older brothers continue to adore him, play with him (they like to play pat-a-cake with his feet), and look out for his well-being. If I let an unfamiliar person hold Moses (for example, at church), the boys grow very concerned and say, "Want Mommy to hold Moses? Want Mommy go get Moses?" Likewise, Moses looks out for his older brothers. Moses became very concerned when he saw Joshua and Caleb "wrestling" with Babo. Eventually he realized that they were just playing, and then he started smiling and undoubtedly looks forward to being able to join in on the fun someday, too.

Elmo's Eyes

Most people know this character as "The Money You Could Be Saving" if you switched to Geico. Caleb and Joshua, however, see it as "Elmo's Eyes". They first met Elmo's Eyes on a billboard on Route 1 that we drive by on our way home from church. Months later, they giddily anticipate the billboard even before it appears on the horizon, and as soon as it peeks out from behind the trees, they scream, "It's Elmo's eyeeeeeees! Elmo's eyes on top of the money! Elmo's eyeeeeeeees!" at the top of their lungs and erupt into uproarious laughter.

Plotting and Scheming

The boys have a tendency to grab the Jumperoo and violently shake it to "help" Moses jump. This evening the boys and I were keeping Moses company in the sun room while he exercised, and Caleb once again thought he should "help" Moses in this manner. I rebuked him and he stepped back. A few minutes later, Caleb oh-so-innocently said, "Hey Mommy, why don't you go take a shower?" Thinking it odd that he wanted me to go take a shower, I (truthfully) replied, "No, I already took a shower." Caleb paused, then said, "Want Mommy to leave the sun room?" I gave him a stern look and he grinned mischeviously. He obviuosly wanted me to go away so he could give Moses another shake.

Caleb tried to use the shower ploy on Joe the other night, too. Joe and the boys were lying in bed when Caleb said, "Hey Daddy, want to go take a shower?" Joe did in fact need to take a shower, so he got up and left the room, but suspecting foul play he peeked around the corner, only to behold Caleb standing next to the bed, bracing his arms against the mattress in his typical pooping position. He doesn't want to poop on the toilet so he holds it in until we put him in a diaper at bedtime, which we obviously have been discouraging. Caleb knew that if Daddy went to take a shower, he could eliminate in peace.

Then this past Sunday, I put Caleb in the church toddler class because he was acting up while Joe was on stage playing guitar with the worship team, and I just couldn't deal with all three of them by myself. The boys don't like going to their class, so when I left him there he was screaming and crying. His teacher said that after a while he calmed down and told her that he needed to go use the potty. As soon as she opened the door to take him to the potty, he made a mad dash for the exit and tried to escape! She redirected him to the restroom, where he proceeded to not put anything in the toilet.

Even though I'm less than thrilled with Caleb's attempts to deceive authority figures, I think it's fascinating to see that instead of his typical manner of acting impulsively and throwing tantrums when he doesn't get his way, he is now using his brain--scheming and plotting--to get his desired outcome. While it's not the kind of fruit we'd like to see our son bearing, I guess it's a sign of maturity nonetheless.

James Polk

"What letter does James Polk begin with?"

Yes, James Polk as in the 11th President of the United States. This is an actual question Joshua asked me yesterday. And I can't help but wonder how many other 3-year-olds have asked their mothers this same question?

Caleb and Joshua have been studying their U.S. Presidents placemat diligently. They can now identify about half of the presidents. Certain presidents seem to intrigue them more than others. For instance, I don't think they've ever inquired about Rutherford B. Hayes, which is probably a good thing since "Rutherford" is quite a mouthful. Besides James Polk, the names we hear tossed around most often these days are George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson (whom the boys affectionately refer to as "Mr. Johnson"), Chester Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter (formerly known as "The Raisin"), Ronald Reagan, George Bush 41, and George Bush 43, whom the boys fondly refer to as "President Bush"... we don't have the heart to tell them he's not president anymore!

Joshua's Potty Chronicles

While Caleb has been peeing in the potty for a while now, Joshua has absolutely refused to pee unless he's wearing both a diaper and pants. Weary of fighting with him about it, I decided to step back and allow him to blossom on his own time. After all, watching his twin use the potty would prompt him to follow suit, would it not? And if not peer pressure, then surely bribes of new Thomas trains and trips to the water park would win him over. But no, months later Joshua remained adamant that he would not pee unless he was wearing a diaper and pants.

Desperate for some reprieve from being cooped up in our small house with 3 boys all day long, day after day, I decided to research enriching activities that the boys could participate in without me. Weekday activities for toddlers are predominantly "Mommy and Me" style classes that require a 1:1 parent-to-child ratio, which incidentally excluded the twins from participation. But now that they are 3 years old, they're eligible to enroll in classes that don't require parental invovlement. The only catch is that for all of these classes, the kids need to be potty trained. So I was presented with the following dilemma-- do I sign Caleb up for classes and keep diaper-clad Joshua with me? No, that didn't seem fair, and it wouldn't be giving me much of a break, either. And so I resolved to potty train Joshua once and for all.

On Monday I put Joshua in underwear first thing after he woke up. All day long he whined, cried, and screamed for a diaper. I spent a considerable portion of the day in the bathroom with Joshua, offering an equal share of threats and bribes, all to no avail. I offered him the opportuity to pee outside in the mud or grass as an alternative, but he outright refused to pee anywhere unless he was wearing a diaper and pants. I refused to give in. After holding in his pee all day long, we finally coerced Joshua to pee in the bathtub that evening. He was in tears over the ordeal, but was happy to receive a brand new Thomas Train, Hector, as a reward.

Fast forward to Friday morning. After three arduous days of potty training boot camp (the details of which I'll omit since they would surely horrify our gentle readers), Joshua was the proud owner of yet another Thomas Train, Old Slow Coach, and "white car". He had been peeing consistently in the bathtub, and I felt confident enough to venture out to the playground to meet some friends. It wasn't long after we'd arrived at the playground that Joshua announced that he wanted a diaper. I suggested he pee in the bathtub instead, and he agreed. I escorted him to the pool house, where lo and behold not a single bathtub was in sight. "I'm sorry, Joshua!" I said, feigning surprise at the dearth of bathtubs on the premises. "You'll just have to pee in the potty instead." To my delight, instead of putting up a fight, he pulled down his pants and peed while standing at a toilet for the very first time! I was ecstatic and he was clearly proud of himself, too.

After lunch at KFC with our friends, the boys and I headed out to the mall. Our salty lunch resulted in us all chugging lots of water, and it wasn't long before both boys began to complain about needing to use the potty. We rushed into the restroom at Lord & Taylor and one of the boys stepped up to the toilet, pulled down his pants, and I lifted him up so he could pee. "Good job, Caleb!" I said. Then I grabbed the other boy and helped him pee. "Good job, Joshua! Mommy's so proud of you!" I exclaimed. The boy turned to face me and gave me a look as if to say, "I'm not Joshua!" and it was then that I realized that I was holding Caleb, and that it had been Joshua who took the initiative to step up to the potty first! Joshua peed while standing at the toilet for the third time ever that evening at Old Country Buffet. I was pretty impressed that we had been out and about the entire day without a single accident. Clearly, Joshua's potty training has not been a matter of learning to control his bodily functions, but a matter of conquering his strong will. Maybe I don't talk to other moms enough, but I've never heard of another potty training saga such as this one.

Now, if we can just get both boys to poop on the potty consistently, we can go to the much-aniticipated water park. In the meantime, I'm eagerly anticipating Fairfax County's Parktakes catalog of Fall classes!

Tall, Dark, and Handsome - 4 Months Old

Four months ago, 44 hours of unmedicated labor ended and a precious new life began. I must say that if I had to choose between an easy labor and an easy baby, I'd take the easy baby any day! Moses continues to be a good sleeper, averaging about 8-9 hours a night, giving me ample opportunities to make up for 44 hours of lost sleep (although instead of sleeping, I tend to stay up late editing photos and writing blog entries).

People often tell us that Moses is the calmest, happiest baby they've ever met. Unlike his more discriminating older brothers, Moses has no qualms about being held by new and different people. He is generous with his smiles and is beginning to laugh a lot, too. He chuckles heartily when I plant big kisses on his cheeks, alternating from cheek to cheek, making silly faces in-between kisses.

These days Moses tries to grab everything within his reach. While his newest fascination is grabbing his own feet and toes, he also enjoys grabbing hair, including his brothers' hair, a treatment which they kindly tolerate (Daddy lucks out on this one!). While lying on his back with his head resting on a pillow, Moses will often lift his head and neck up off of the pillow in an impressive effort to sit up. Since lying on his back is apparently so last month, if Moses can't sit up, he will roll over onto his belly. While on his belly, he'll survey the toy-bespeckled floor (as our floors always are these days) and if an item of interest lies just beyond his grasp, he will grunt and kick his feet and legs as he strains to reach it. If he weren't a mere 4 months old, I would swear that Moses was on the verge of crawling.

Four-month-old Moses has outgrown his 6 month clothes and some of his 9 month outfits are even a little snug in the torso. It has worked out well that his more average-sized brothers bequeathed him appropriate attire for the current season, since they were 3 months older than him at this same time of year 3 years ago. Many people think that Moses looks a lot like his older brothers, and while he does have the same Weidman nose and chin, he is definitely a darker version of them. His skin is not only noticeably darker than the twins' (whose skin is noticeably darker than Joe's), it is even darker than mine. Who would have guessed that the only one of us who didn't get sunburned at the beach would be the only one of us not wearing sunscreen? Moses' eyes are a beautiful dark brown, and his new hair seems to be growing in the same dark shade as his newborn hair. It should not be surprising that our new nickname for Moses is "Tall, Dark, and Handsome"!

Mr. Johnson

I've often listened to my friends share stories about their children (usually daughters) and the imaginative scenarios and dialogues spawned from their young minds involving imaginary characters. After recently witnessing one of the boys' little friends engage in such dialogue about imaginary horse friends, I told her mother that I've never observed my boys playing with or talking to any imaginary friends of their own. I recalled having imaginary friends when I was young (mine were named Kiwi and Piwi), but as far as I could tell, Caleb and Joshua hadn't yet tapped into that realm. I shrugged it off--after all, who needs an imaginary friend when you've got a twin brother? Well, I've since been informed that imagination is used as an indicator of intelligence when administering IQ tests to preschoolers. D'oh!

Just as I was about to write the boys' IQ off as a lost cause (just kidding, although I did become slightly concerned about their apparent lack of imagination), I overheard them talking to someone named "Mr. Johnson". They were standing at the screen window and appeared to be conversing with someone outside in our backyard. I checked, and no one was in our backyard. "Hey Mr. Johnson, where are you? Did you go to work, Mr. Johnson?" they called out. "Mr. Johnson! Come inside! Go to your room, Mr. Johnson!" And so on and so forth. We don't personally know anyone with the surname of Johnson, so I was quite puzzled about where they even came up with this name. Joe said that there's a blue muppet named Mr. Johnson who appears in a skit on one of our Old School Sesame Street DVDs, but when we asked Caleb what color Mr. Johnson is, he told us, "Mr. Johnson is yellow". Hopefully the boys will continue to fill us in on details about Mr. Johnson, other than the fact that he goes to work and is yellow. Meanwhile, I can be at ease knowing that our boys bear the marks of intelligent preschoolers after all ;)

President Raisin

Of the 5 senses, Caleb and Joshua seem to have grasped onto "smell" much more so than see, hear, taste, or touch. For example, this morning they were eating blueberries with their breakfast. Caleb picked up a blueberry and said, "smells like a ball." Another example is when the boys were eating "chips" the other day (and by "chips" I mean toasted and sliced plain corn tortillas, which the boys happily accept as "chips"), after a few strategic bites Joshua held it up and said, "smells like a boat." They also use "smells" appropriately at times, too, such as when they sniff their bottle of gummy vitamins and proclaim that it "smells like popsicles". I'm guessing that they latched onto smell so strongly because we'll frequently tell them their dirty diaper "smells like a barn" or "smells like an elephant".

By far the most amusing instance of the boys prescribing a scent to an item was during breakfast one morning a few weeks ago. While studying his placemat featuring the United States presidents, Joshua suddenly proclaimed, "smells like a raisin, Mommy". The boys usually say that their wrinkled fingertips "smell like raisins" after a long shower or a swim in the pool, but Joshua hadn't been doing either of those things that morning. "What looks like a raisin?" I asked him. Joshua pointed to a portrait of one of our presidents and said "smells like a raisin". I looked closely and laughed, thoroughly amused that of all our esteemed presidents, Joshua decided that one of the biggest fruits who's ever held that office most resembled a wrinkly raisin. From time to time, Joshua likes to remind me that Jimmy Carter "smells like a raisin" just because he knows it will make me laugh.

ETA: I found a picture of our placemat so you can see the raisin for yourself:

Turning Point?

The other night I experienced a parental breakthrough of sorts with Caleb. When Caleb really wants something, such as help for putting on a pair of mismatched socks or for playing his favorite computer game, he'll incessantly ask for it. First he'll just repeat his request over and over ("want this"..."want this"). After a while, this will escalate to whining ("want THiiiiis" "waaaant thiiiiiiis") and eventually to angered demands ("WANT this! WANT thiiiis!"). Upon reaching this phase we'll discipline him in some manner and he'll cry for a while, and not uncommonly return to the begging phase or get distracted by something else.

In this particular case, Caleb really wanted a lollipop. I kept denying him, and assured him that he could have one tomorrow, but not any more today. Of course, he continued begging until it escalated to the tantrum point, so I picked him up and put him in his bed; I told him that he was too tired to behave well. In the darkness of his room Caleb began to calm down. "Want water?" he asked, sobbing. Thinking that he was probably going to fall asleep soon, I said "sure", and I brought him some water from the kitchen. As he was drinking it, he stopped crying altogether and said "I'm sorry, Daddy. We'll have lollipop later--we'll have lollipop in a couple weeks." And then he leaned over onto my lap for a hug.

It was a sweet gesture, but more importantly, I think it's the first time that Caleb willfully accepted a "no."

Also, for the record, "a couple weeks" is what the boys regard as some unspecific time in the future. If something's not happening today or tomorrow, then it's happening in a couple of weeks.

Memorial Day Weekend '09

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to Virginia Beach for our annual weekend of hanging out with our friends from college. Moses did amazingly well in the car, only crying when hungry. Having just one baby makes road trips so much easier. Not only is Moses an efficient nurser, there is only one of him! Moses nurses for 10 minutes and he's done, whereas the twins used to take their sweet time nursing 30 minutes each, and since tandem nursing in the front seat of the car was basically impossible, every pit stop would be at least an hour long. I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but wow I cannot emphasize enough how much easier it is to only have one baby instead of twins!

Anyway, we had a great time visiting our friends and their growing families. In attendance were 5 little boys ages 3 and under! Caleb and Joshua quickly befriended 14-month-old Taylor Starr and found great satisfaction in bossing him--instead of each other--around for a change. While Taylor couldn't yet talk back to them, his cute (cute to everyone but his mom!) high-pitched squeals put them in their place! The boys lavished affection on adorably chubby 7-month-old Elijah Butt whenever they got a chance, which was rare since he spent a good chunk of the day slumbering. It never occurs to me how little our boys sleep until we spend time with other people's kids! Our friends' sleep schedules rubbed off on us a little and we even managed to get the boys in bed before 10 pm one night. We were hoping that we'd be able to maintain this "early" bedtime, but alas this evening Moses didn't fall asleep until 11:45 and the twins shortly thereafter. Anyway, Caleb and Joshua had a blast skinny dipping in the Hubbards' pool, begging "Mommy give me a huuuug!" to trick me into swimming with them, recruiting various "uncles" to take them on walks along the pier to go see the crabs, and searching for shells on the beach while being chased by the waves. We even convinced Caleb to pee while standing in the sand on the beach, which will hopefully pave the way to him peeing while standing at the toilet, too. When we got home I asked if he wanted to pee standing up, like at the beach. "Oh-kay!" he shouted happily. He was pretty upset when he realized we weren't actually going back to the beach at that very moment. Over two weeks later, they are still asking to go to back to the beach at least once a day.

Courtney gives a more comprehensive report of our weekend's activities on her blog, so I'll just encourage you to read it here. We are so grateful to Courtney and her parents for generously hosting us all for yet another year!

B is for Bacuum

For a few weeks now I've been trying to build a foundation for teaching the boys to read. They've been able to read the letters of the alphabet for quite a while now, so I decided it was time for them to learn what sounds each letter makes. During their everyday play I've been drilling them with questions like, "What sound does 'A' make?" and, "What letter does apple begin with?" and they have thereby learned how to sound out the first letter of various words: ah apple, buh banana, and so forth. They caught on quickly and were soon sounding out everything in sight. My favorite was the time Caleb glanced over at the vacuum and proudly proclaimed, "buh bacuum!" Mimi said that is correct as far as she is concerned (since 'B' and 'V' are indistinguishable in the Korean language). :)

Anyway, while the boys have easily learned to associate the sound of the letter with the word, associating the actual letter with the word is obviously a little trickier. Today Caleb was playing with his Curious George stuffed animal, propping him up on the couch. "Hey, look Mommy, Curious George is sitting on the couch!" he told me. "Oh wow! What letter does couch begin with?" I replied. Instead of just blurting out, "cuh couch" as he usually does, I could tell that he was really putting his brain to work. After giving it some thought, he hesitantly replied, "'C' couch!" I was so excited, knowing that he had come to that conclusion entirely on his own, especially since "couch" isn't a word we've been using during our alphabet drills. Caleb was beaming with pride, too. He then found a stick lying around. "How about stick?" he suggested. "What letter does stick begin with?" I asked him. He paused pensively, then replied, "'T' stick!" I proceeded to explain that he was very close, and that 'T' is the second letter in the word stick, but that the first letter is 'S'. A few minutes later Caleb was playing with a ball and once again prompted me to drill him, saying, "how about ball?" I asked him, "what letter does ball begin with?" He paused briefly to think before concluding, "'B' ball!" A while later I found him examining the stripes on his shirt. Curious to see whether or not he'd been listening when I corrected the mistake he made with 'stick,' I asked him, "what letter does 'stripes' begin with?" Grinning confidently, he exclaimed, "Stripes begins with 'S'!" I'm so happy that Caleb has finally caught on. I know it will only be a matter of time before Joshua catches on, too.

Moses Rolled Over

12-week-old Moses rolled over from his back onto his tummy this evening at Mimi and Papa's house. He had previously rolled over onto his side, but this was the first time he did a full 180. I just checked our blog archives, and it looks like Moses got rollin' just a little earlier than his older brothers Joshua and Caleb, who first rolled over at 13 and 14 weeks respectively.

A Job Well Done

This afternoon Caleb pooped on the potty for the 4th time, the first time in a week. I rewarded him with ten m&m's. He tried to sit at the table and eat them, but was unable to do so in peace because Joshua--whose refusal to use the potty has excluded him from partaking in sugary rewards--encroached covetously, pestering his twin to share some of the spoil. Caleb ran around the house seeking refuge, carefully balancing his jam jar lid-full of m&ms while Joshua pursued. Finally, Caleb came to a halt and selected an m&m to give to Joshua. "Here, here's an m&m," he said. Joshua grinned happily as he savored the fruit of Caleb's labor, then lingered to see if Caleb would share more. "Here's one more," said Caleb, as he selected a second m&m to give to his brother. Two additional "one more's" were offered. Joshua heartily congratulated Caleb on his job well done (no pun intended), saying "Good job pooping on the potty, Caleb!" in between bites of candy. They concluded the snack session with a big bear hug and several exchanges of "I love you" and "that's so sweet". And to think that yesterday at the doctor's office they were practically trying to gouge each other's eyes out. I guess it's true what they say about twins- one moment they are the bitterest enemies, the next they are the best of friends. I'm thankful that in our case, the latter seems to be the case more often!

3 Month Check-up

Moses will be 3 months old on Sunday, so today we took him to see Dr. Irwin for his 3-month check-up. Moses let his good nature shine through during the visit, smiling happily at Dr. Irwin while he was being examined. His big brothers, on the other hand, started fighting with each other and Joe had to escort Joshua off the premises half-way through the check-up. I mentioned to the doctor that Moses is so much more easy-going than the twins were, even at this early age. Dr. Irwin said that's often the case with younger siblings, and he's likely to maintain his good nature as he grows older. Thank God for that, because I don't know what I'd do with three wild boys!

While Moses is no longer the off-the-charts jumbo baby he was when he was born, he is still pretty darn big. He is still above the 95th percentile for weight at 16 and a half pounds. He is right at the 95th percentile for length at 25.5 inches, and is in the 90-95th percentile for head circumference at 17 inches. Brains, brawn, and a great personality to boot... who could ask for more? ;)

Sayonara, Swaddlers

We've been on a cloth diaper hiatus ever since Wal-Mart and Target both stopped carrying Sun, the enzyme-free, optical brightener-free detergent I have always used to wash them. And since I've yet to research and procure a suitable alternative, Moses has been wearing Pampers full-time. Within the past week, Moses has outgrown Size 2 Pampers. I suppose this shouldn't be surprising coming from the baby who no longer fit in Newborn diapers when he left the hospital. We've been lamenting the fact that Swaddlers don't come in a Size 3, since at 11 weeks of age, Moses is still a newborn whose tender skin is worthy of swaddling. I guess I should really get to work finding a new detergent for our cloth stash.

Lights Trains, Lights Trains!

When Joshua was first learning to put words together to form mini-sentences, before he even learned to say "want" or "please," he used to say "lights trains, lights trains!" as soon as we came home, meaning he wanted us to turn on the lights in his bedroom so he could play with his Thomas trains. But somewhere along the way he grew tall enough to reach the light switch by himself, his interests broadened to include things other than trains, and now that the twins actually have a bed in their bedroom, there is significantly less space for them to play with trains. And so Joshua stopped saying, "lights trains, lights trains!"

Well, the other evening we once again came home to a dark house and out of the blue, Joshua said in his former fashion, "lights trains, lights trains!" Until then, we had forgotten that he used to say this all the time, and it hadn't occurred to us that he'd ever stopped. We playfully chided him as we reminisced about the boys' younger days, and Joshua's face broke out into a mischeivous grin, knowing full well that he'd said something cute that had stirred our nostalgia.

And so here I sit at half past midnight when I should be sleeping, creating a written record of "lights trains, lights trains!" before it escapes my memory yet again, mourning the loss of a plethora of other quirky little things that the boys have said and done on a regular basis which we have since taken for granted and forgotten.

Munchkins

This morning Joe stopped by Dunkin' Donuts to pick up some donuts to take to the office in honor of the last day of work for his friend Mark. Joe also surprised the boys and me by bringing us home a box of muchkins before heading off to work. After the boys had eaten their breakfast of eggs and strawberries, I gave them each a munchkin. Caleb proceeded to lick all of the powdered sugar off of his, only taking a bite here and there. Joshua nibbled at his donut, but became distressed by the powdered sugar that found its way onto his fingers and decided that it would be too much of a hassle to finish it. When Caleb realized that Joshua had abandoned his partially-eaten munchkin, he snatched it and licked off all the remaining sugar. Joshua, in turn, polished off Caleb's "naked" donut, now that it was less of a nuisance to consume, then proceeded to finish up his original munchkin after Caleb also licked it clean. Now don't you wish you had a twin with whom you could collaborate, too?

9 weeks = 9 hours

Last night, 9-week-old Moses slept 9 straight hours, from 11:45 until 8:45. Hallelujah! :) I could get used to this.

What a Potty Pooper!

This evening as we were sitting down to dinner, Caleb suddenly became visibly uncomfortable. In such a situation he usually requests a diaper, but this time the urge overtook him so quickly that he didn't object when we suggested he rush to the bathroom, where he proceeded to drop a deuce on the potty for the very first time! It was a decent-sized turd, too. We made a huge fuss over his accomplishment and even rewarded his bravery with an organic lollipop, which we let him lick during dinner in-between bites of chicken. Caleb was very proud of himself, as were we. Anyway, as you might imagine, the prospect of soon havng only two kids in diapers is very exciting for us.

And yes, I say "only two" because Joshua has not shown the least bit of interest in using the potty. The other day I insisted that he wear underwear, and he held in his pee all day long until the early evening, when it got to the point where he was visibly in pain and was begging for a diaper. Instead, I put my foot down and insisted that he sit on the potty. While sitting, Joshua mustered all of his might to fight the urge to urinate, only letting a few measly drips accidentally escape his bladder of steel, all the while sobbing uncontrollably. It was completely ridiculous, and demonstrated that Joshua is clearly capable of controlling his bodily functions, but is too stubborn to cooperate. After that episode, I decided to retreat and just hope that Caleb's progress will eventually motivate Joshua to follow suit. I'll also pray that as he matures, Joshua's stubbornness will manifest itself as perseverance, and that he'll use it to accomplish great things that are even more blog-worthy than relieving himself on the toilet.

8 weeks = 8 hours

8-week-old Moses has slept 8 hours straight the past two nights, from around midnight til 8 am! It has been heavenly!

Happy 2 Months, Moses!

Today we celebrated Moses' 2 month birthday with a visit to the National Zoo. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea, because the zoo was not only a zoo of animals, but people, too. We're just thankful we accomplished our mission to "go see the monkey at the zoos" per Caleb's request. The orangutans' tightrope-walking act sufficed, and we went home happy.

Moses is smiling and cooing all the time now. He is a good sport and tolerates his brothers' lavish attention, which can be literally smothering at times (especially when Joshua affectionately yells, "baaaabyyyy, beaaaabyyyy... yes you are!" over and over again while kissing his face). When we hold Moses, he likes to stiffen his legs and practice standing, and while he holds his head up he'll move it all around as he beholds all of his surroundings. He is still sleeping really well- lately it's been 6-7 hours in a row each night! I am extremely thankful, especially because Caleb and Joshua have been quite a handful lately, and if I didn't wake up each morning feeling well-rested, it would be a challenge to face each new day.

We're so thankful that God has blessed us with yet another healthy baby boy. When your biggest concern is that one of your baby's ears is oddly shaped (and even that, I've discovered, can be fixed while he sleeps with some gentle persuading from a bit of medical tape and a cotton ball... that's right- there won't be any punk kids making fun of my baby boy's ear :) ), you know you are truly blessed.

Morning Mischief

People sometimes tell us that having twins must make our lives easier since they are each other's built-in playmate. I'll admit that they do entertain each other quite well, but all too often that entertainment involves getting into mischief.

The other morning while I was occupied with feeding Moses, Caleb went into the bathroom to use the potty and Joshua tagged along to keep him company. A few minutes later, I realized that the bathroom door was closed and that I wasn't hearing the usual commotion. Now if you have toddlers, you know that silence is usually not a good thing! Suspicious, I opened the bathroom door only to find the boys "cleaning" the toilet (which, by the way, Caleb had just peed in) with my really cool brand new toothbrush. Needless to say, my reaction to this unwelcome scene was not pretty!

Later that same morning, I was once again distracted and the boys once again shut themselves into the bathroom. This time I opened the door only to find Caleb and Joshua standing side-by-side on the step stool at the sink, buck naked with water dripping down their legs. "Here, let me wash your butt!" they chattered happily as they smacked handfulls of water against each other's backsides. This time I just chuckled to myself and thought, it's true what they say- it is nice having a built-in playmate... nice for them but not necessarily for me!

Our Last Midwife Visit

Today we went to our 6-week postpartum visit with Midwife Peggy. Moses now weighs 14 lbs. 8 oz. Midwife Kim said that he is the heaviest baby she's ever seen at a 6-week postpartum visit (granted, Moses actually turned 7 weeks old today). When we got home, I checked out a percentile growth chart and found that our exclusively breastfed baby is the size of an average 4-month-old, and is off the charts for his actual age. Wow!

Now that Moses' skin has healed from his bout of baby acne, he is having some dry skin issues, for which Peggy recommended almond oil or calendula. To treat his white yeasty tongue, she recommended peroxide or probiotics sprinkled on his tongue, and suggested looking into getting him a prescription for liquid nystatin to speed up the process. Thankfully, the yeast on his tongue has not interfered with breastfeeding.

Caleb, Joshua, and I sure will miss our visits to Midwife Peggy's house. While homebirthing didn't work out for me and my big baby, there's no doubt in my mind that we received superior prenatal and postpartum care, and I still think that under normal circumstances, it's the ideal way for a woman to bring a new life into the world.

Please May I...

We've been trying to get the boys to go from speaking sentence fragments to full sentences. They do a decent job, I feel, with commonly heard gems such as "Oh, look at the helicopter." and "That's not bread, that's poop."¹, but the most elusive sentence seems to be "Please may I have ____." Here's how the situation typically unfolds.

» "Want cracker?"

« We ignore them in hopes that they'll figure out that they need to say "Please may I have a cracker."

» "Want cracker? Want cracker? ... Want cracker?! ... Want cracker?!!! Want cracker?!!?!"

« We give them a stern parental look.

» "Please cracker. Please want cracker."

« At this point we verbally encourage them to speak the full sentence: "No, that's not how do you say it."

» "Say please want cracker. Say please. Say pleeeeeease want cracker."

« Defeated thus far, we spell out exactly what we want them to say: "No, you say: Please, may I have a cracker?"

» "Say please may have a cracker?"

« "No...please may I have a cracker."

» "Say please have a cracker? Say please have a cracker."

« "Don't say 'say', just: Please, may I have a cracker?"

» "Say please cracker. Please cracker."

« After a few more minutes of similar conversation, we give up and go get them a cracker.

The funny thing, though, is that the boys can say this sentence flawlessly whenever they're talking to each other. The other night before bed, Caleb was drinking some water. Joshua goes up to him and asks "Caleb, please may I have the water?"

¹ The phrase "That's not bread, that's poop." is spoken by the twins to each other when we're changing their diapers. They've also created variations such as "That's not meat, that's poop." and "That's not cheese, that's poop." My favorite variation, however, is when Joshua uttered "That's not Joshua, that's poop." We laughed a while over that one.

Our Little Giant goes to Giant

Moses is 6 weeks old today. Lately he has been operating on a 48-hour schedule in which he alternates between sleepy nap-filled days and days where he hardly blinks an eye. Before we figured this out, we took him to our favorite Korean buffet one day for lunch last week--a day that turned out to be a very wakeful day--and he demanded to be bounced or held the entire time. We can't complain, though, because that was the first time we've taken him to a restaurant and he didn't sleep through most of our meal.

At 6 weeks of age, Moses is a veritable giant. He has completely outgrown all of his 0-3 month clothes, and even some of his 3-6 month clothes are almost too tight in the torso, even when he's not wearing a bulky cloth diaper. When we take him out and people ask us how old he is, they're usually shocked when we tell them that he's only a little over a month old. Heck, when we took him to the Korean resturant to celebrate Sooja Emo's birthday when he was only one week old, the waitress asked us if he was 3 or 4 months old!

To commemorate Moses' 6-week-birthday today, I decided to venture out to the grocery store all by myself with all three boys in tow. This was my first attempt to do so, and everything went smoothly, thanks to Giant's huge fleet of car carts (to keep Caleb and Joshua happy, even though I refused to race them down the aisles and around the parking lot as Daddy is apt to do) and thanks to Moses' willingness to sleep in the Hotsling the entire time we were in the store (yes, today is one of his sleepy days). I even had my wits about me enough to use a couple coupons. The icing on the cake was that the twins, who have not been napping consistently lately, fell asleep on the way home. It was a great outing!

Today's pleasant experience brought to mind my first solo outing to the grocery store with Caleb and Joshua, 3 long years ago. Incidentally, that outing had also been to Giant, which is strange because we usually go to Safeway or Trader Joe's. Anyway, I remember the twins cried incessantly as I raced up and down the aisles like a madwoman (forsaking the luxuries of deliberating between products and making prudent selections) and relied on the kindness of the cashiers and an elderly Spanish-speaking lady to get through the check-out line and out to my car in one piece. Ah yes, yet another example of the stark dichotomy between life with an infant singleton and life with infant twins!

Earring Adjuster

With the exception of a few special occasions, I have been wearing the same pair of earrings almost non-stop ever since the twins were born. As you might imagine, accessorizing has not been a huge priority of mine these past few years! Caleb, our more detail-oriented son, has grown quite accustomed to my trusty old standard pair of earrings and will often check them to make sure they are straight--with the diamond positioned below the gold stud--and he will adjust them if they are not. This morning he came scurrying into our bedroom and upon taking one look at my face, asked, "Want to fix Mommy's earring?" I told him to go right ahead. He carefully rotated the askew earring back to its proper position, then checked my other ear and adjusted that earring, too. He performs this task quite often, and is always very pleased with himself for helping Mommy in such a big way. I know that I'll be able to count on Caleb to take good care of me and make sure I'm properly adorned when I'm too old to care about attending to those details on my own!

Happy 1st Month, Moses

While everyone else was celebrating St. Patrick's Day on Tuesday, we were celebrating Moses' first month of life! Moses is growing like a weed. I don't know how much he weighs now, but he is already outgrowing his 0-3 Month clothes and his 3-6 Month outfits seem to offer a much more comfortable fit. He's not a particularly fat baby (his legs are actually really skinny), so it would make sense that most of his weight can be attributed to his length, and that would explain why he's outgrowing his 0-3 Month clothes two months early!

Moses continues to win us over with his congenial personality and easygoing ways. I felt so spoiled the other morning when I woke up and complained that he had woken up every two hours to eat and poop the night before, and then realized that that had been my life for the twins' first 6 months, although back then I had twice as many babies to feed and change every two hours! I am blessed that on most nights, Moses sleeps 5 or 6 hours at a time.

Sadly, Moses has developed a case of baby acne, so I've been trying to be diligent about keeping his head clean. He enjoys his daily face-washing and shampoo at the kitchen sink, and also enjoys being taken into the shower every few days. He doesn't mind getting water in his face or eyes- what a good sport!

While Moses' experience in the NICU conditioned him to fall asleep on his own and not be held while awake, the more time he spends at home with his doting family, the more he expects to be held, rocked, and bounced to sleep. But really, who can blame him? Another sure-fire way to get him to fall asleep is to walk around while wearing him in the Hotsling or Babyhawk, which allows me to get things done around the house and appease him at the same time. He also takes a pacifier more willingly than the twins ever did (they used to spit them out with such rage that they'd fly clear across the room!)

Moses is already very good at holding up his head, and he coos when you talk to him. He loves looking at people's faces and his eyes will follow you as you move around. He seems to be mesmerized by shiny things (Mimi's sparkly eyeglasses, lights, etc.) and linear designs (the stripes on our bedroom drapes, vertical blinds, etc). He will sleep right through the loudest raucous emitted by his rowdy Daddy and brothers (I guess he got a lot of practice while in the womb), although when he's awake he often observes their antics with a look of concern and bewilderment. Don't worry, Moses, you'll get to join in on the fun soon enough!

Caleb and Joshua adore their baby brother. "Sweet Moses, I love you!" they will tell him. If Moses wakes up crying and I can't hear him because I'm in the kitchen frying eggs and running the washing machine (which is always on these days!), one of the boys will come tell me, "Uh oh, Moses is crying!" Joshua is constantly asking to touch his hair, which I'm reluctant to let him do because it gets so greasy (I tell him he can touch my hair instead). Lately Caleb has been coming out of his shell when he's around Moses and will now shyly give him kisses and ask to "touch his back" (or in other words, help burp him). The other day Caleb climbed into bed with sleeping Moses and laid down for a nap right next to him. For the longest time Caleb didn't want to be photographed with Moses, but now he is an eager participant in our photo shoots.

Even though Caleb and Joshua are generally very sweet with Moses, they still have a thing or two to learn about babies and their limited communication skills. When we're in the car and Moses is crying (as usually happens when we're stuck at a light), the boys think it's hilarious and will laugh at him. And when they're not laughing, they'll scold him using the same tone of voice that I use when I'm exasperated with them, saying, "Moses, calm down! Don't be ridiculous!" When I remind them that they should be more understanding of their baby brother, their tone softens and they'll sweetly say, "I know, Moses, I know... don't cry, Moses, it's ok."

Caleb on the Potty

The process of trying to get the twins potty trained has been long and arduous (due to my laziness and their stubbornness) but the arrival of Baby Moses has made me realize how utterly enormous the boys are--too enormous to still be wearing diapers--and has prompted me to attack potty training with a renewed vigor. I am therefore happy to report that for the past week, Caleb has been wearing underwear (his Nemo aka "goldfish" underwear are his favorite) and peeing on the potty 100% of the time during the day. Even if he is wearing a diaper before bedtime, he will ask us, "want to use the potty?" when he needs to pee. He still asks for a diaper when he needs to poo, though. Joshua has peed on the potty several times, but in the past couple days has regressed and refuses to wear underwear. Much to our amusement, however, he eagerly says, "Good job, Caleb! You used the potty!" whenever his brother relieves himself on the toilet :)

Stan Papa

The twins have been spending lots of time with Mimi and Papa lately, and as a result Joshua has figured out that Papa's name is "Stan". The other night we went over for dinner and Joshua was looking for Papa, who had not yet come home from work. "Papa... Stan Papa... STAN!" he called out as he forged up the stairs in search of his grandfather. The twins have yet to figure out Mimi's name, though!

Moses' 2-Week Check-up

Today Moses had his 2-week check-up with Dr. Irwin. It turns out he is maintaining his big baby status quite well. He now weighs 11 lbs. 2 oz. and is 23 inches long. That puts him above the 95th percentile for both categories. The doctor predicts that he is on-track to being a pretty big guy! We thank God that he is perfectly healthy in all other respects, too. Afterwards we celebrated the good report with lunch at Wendy's. Moses, of course, slept through the whole meal.

I should note, though, that Moses' nights of 7 hours of continuous sleep seem to have been put on hold for the time being. The past few nights he has only slept 3 or 4 hours straight, but since that's still twice as much as the twins used to sleep when they were his age, and since there's only one of him, I'm not complaining!

Moses' First Snow (2 Weeks Old)

No, we are not crazy enough to take our newborn out to play in the snow, but I do think it's noteworthy that despite being born in the second half of February, Moses didn't have to wait around another nine months or so before seeing his first snowfall!

It's hard to believe that Moses will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. Joe and I are still in awe that he is such an easy baby. For example, last night he slept 6 hours straight. The night before, he slept 5 hours straight. And for three consecutive nights before that, he slept 7 (yes, count 'em, SEVEN) hours straight! Who knew that a one-week-old was even capable of sleeping 7 hours at a time? Neither of the twins slept 7 consecutive hours until they were at least 2 years old.

God blessed us with a sleepy baby at a perfect time, too. The day before Moses slept his first 7-hour stretch, I had been feeling pretty terrible physically for a couple of days. Concerned that something might be seriously wrong with me, my family was urging me to schedule an appointment with the OB/GYN office. Not thrilled with the prospect of having yet another doctor lecture me about how irresponsible I was to attempt a VBAC homebirth with a post-term baby, I instead decided to go visit my midwife first and get her opinion, which was basically that I should stop taking the iron tablets the surgeon at the hospital had prescribed for me because they were wreaking havoc on my tummy, and most importantly, that I needed to get more rest. After all, it's not easy on one's body to endure 44 hours of sleepless labor, only to immediately follow it with major surgery. And that very night was when Moses slept 7 consecutive hours for the first time. I am so thankful to have a God who is looking out for me.

In fact, God has blessed us with many people who have been looking out for us in the aftermath of Moses' birth. Family, neighbors, church friends, and co-workers have been blessing us with meals, which has helped more than they can imagine. Mimi and Papa have been a huge help, as always, by taking the twins over to their house almost every day for the past 2 weeks so Joe and I can get rest and get things done around the house. There is no way we could be doing as well as we are now without everyone's help.

The twins have been handling the transition pretty well, too. Joshua has definitely shown more interest in his new baby brother than Caleb has. He is constantly rubbing Moses' head (probably why his hair always appears greasy even though I've been shampooing it every few days), giving him kisses, trying to burp him after he eats, and bringing me his burp cloths and blankets, etc. Caleb is much more reserved and will only sometimes timidly ask to touch Moses or give him a kiss.

The twins spent their first night away from Mommy and Daddy exactly two weeks ago during my second night of labor, and since then they've become perfectly well-adjusted to being away from Mommy, something I'd once feared would never be the case. While I was in the hospital I only saw them for a few minutes a day at most (going one whole day without seeing them at all) and even then they spent most of their visiting time playing with the bathroom door. Now when it's time for them to go play at Mimi and Papa's house, they nonchalantly say, "bye, Mommy!" and make a beeline for the car. Sometimes Joshua even says, "Mommy, you stay here" as he's heading out the door.

Also, the boys did not protest when we moved them out of our bedroom on Moses' first night at home. They now sleep in their own room (with Daddy, for the time being) and Caleb has only cried for me a few times in the past week and a half. Joshua hasn't cried for me at all. It's as if the introduction of baby brother Moses to their lives has caused them to grow up overnight (I'm also pretty sure they've also grown a few inches over the past couple weeks, but maybe that's just me)!

Checking up on 6-day-old Moses

Joe did a wonderful job summing up Moses' birth, and I'll probably go back at some point and compose a less pithy version from my point of view. But first, I just wanted to give an update on how Moses is doing now that he is here at home.

Today was Moses' first check-up. Instead of taking Moses to the regular pediatrician, we have decided to seek the care of a natural-minded family doctor... one who doesen't think that prescription drugs are the solution to every ailment and who won't scold us for co-sleeping or breastfeeding our baby for longer than one year (yes, this happened to me at our old pediatrician's office). Dr. Irwin even came to our house for Moses' first check-up. Of course his services are not covered by our health insurance, but since he doesn't work with insurance companies, he is able to keep his rates affordable- about half of what a mainstream doctor would bill an insurance company.

Anyway, Dr. Irwin's assessment was that Moses is doing very well! At 6 days old, Moses is already 10 and a half pounds! The nurses in the NICU had been concerned that Moses wasn't drinking enough breastmilk and tried to convince me to supplement with formula, which I politely refused, and thankfully so since he obviously did not need it.

Moses is such a good baby. He sleeps an astounding amount (3 hours at a time, which was unheard of when the twins were his age) and only cries if I don't feed him quickly enough after he wakes, or if we take too long to wipe his butt after an explosive poo. This morning Dr. Irwin marvelled that he didn't even fuss when we laid him on the scale to weigh him- apparently most babies are not too fond of that treatment. Today I gave him his first sponge bath and he didn't even make a peep while I rinsed his hair in the kitchen sink. When we had to go to the hospital today to have the staples removed from my scar, Moses slept the entire time in the car, during the considerable wait at the hospital, and during the car ride home. Joe and I reflected back on what a similar outing would have been like when the twins were 6 days old. It would be have been utter chaos and we would have been frazzled and exhuasted after a simple 2.5-hour excursion. The difference between newborn Moses and newborn Caleb and Joshua is like night and day. Even if we had two Moseses, it would still only be half the work that Joshua and Caleb were when they were newborns. All I can say is that this must be the benefit of having a nice big full-term baby who made his entrance into the world not according to an OB's schedule, but rather according to God's perfect timing. We are so thankful for baby Moses!

Take a Look at Moses

Until Katie's got some free time to put up a proper gallery, here's a quick introduction to Baby Moses (sorry the aspect ratio of the pictures is a little off):



I snapped this picture as they were wheeling his incubator out of the operation room.



Moses relaxaing in the NICU after a rough couple of days. Fortunately, he's fine enough to not require being inside an incubator, praise God.



Moses getting in a peaceful nap.



Finally, some quality time with Momma!