Not a Good Day for Sophie

Ok, What is with the talking back, and how do I make it stop? I have tried ignoring it, disciplining, yelling, whispering....you name it. Today Sophie and I went to the mall since the sitter was here and I had a bunch of things to return. I thought it would be a fun trip, just the two of us. Before the trip was over, she had lost her carousel ride, her book at bedtime, and her song at bedtime. Why must everything I say be met with "No Mommy, it is not!" or some variation on that general theme? Plus the tossing of the head and the eye rolling...she is only 4 1/2 for goodness sake! I know I did a lot of eye rolling at my own mother, but I really don't think I began this early. Maybe this is just another phase, I can only hope. One good thing: the bedtime routine sure flies by when there is none!

The Wonderful Wedding Weekend

What a great weekend we had in Valdosta! The trip down was easy, Sophie did really well in the car, except for asking me about 35 minutes into it: "Are we in Valdosta yet?". No...not yet dear! The Owens (Katharine's parents) were such gracious hosts, they had us over for dinner on Friday night (fried catfish, cheese grits) and Saturday night (fried chicken, field peas, rice and gravy). Katharine's nieces and nephew were so sweet to Sophie, she was like another cousin to them. Here is a photo of Sophie and Heyward. Heyward espescially took her under her wing; at 8 years old she is a full fledged "big kid" in Sophie's eyes. On Friday night I walked over to check on Sophie as she was playing on the swingset, and noticed that she smelled like bug spray. I asked her about it and she said, "Oh yeah Mom, Heyward put a bug wipe on me." How cute is that?

The wedding itself was beautiful. Marilois and Pablo were married at the Ranch House that is in Mrs. Owens family. I think it originated as a hunting lodge, and is on quite a bit of land. (Kat, feel free to correct whatever I am getting wrong) The lodge house was recently redone, and is really neat inside. The grounds outside are so pretty, the landscaping made a beautiful backdrop for the wedding. Marilois had all young attendants, I think there were 8 flower girls and a ring bearer. The girls were adorable, all in white dresses, flower wreaths and no shoes, it was so fitting for the setting. Here is a photo of some of them lined up on the stairs, the bride and groom stood at the top. Thanks to Kathie Owens for all of these pictures, I didn't take a single one all weekend.

Sophie was funny at the wedding itself. Instead of sitting with my parents and me, she chose to hang out with 3 little girls she had never met before. They were all "bubble girls"; it was their job to hand out the bubbles when the ceremony ended. She spent the entire ceremony on the swing with them. Marilois graciously asked her to be a bubble girl too, so she could be included. Thanks to Aunt Katharine for reminding her to sit like a lady....that's what you get when your dress isn't as long as the other girls!

The reception was held on the grounds, and the food again was great. Can you tell this was a real food weekend for me?? Not that I cook it all very often at all, but Southern food like what we had this weekend was just so comforting and fitting for the occasion. Two of my favorite dishes were served at the reception: fried green tomatoes and shrimp with grits. I am sure my NJ siblings are in disbelief about that, but try them both, they are so good!

And how did Michael and Emily fare without their mother and sister for the weekend? Just fine. Terry did a great job, and he was able to have some help too, which is always nice. Thanks to Pam and Yoko for coming on Friday morning, so Sophie and I could leave in time for the dinner. Thanks also to Karen and Jack and Donna for coming over on Sunday morning to help out as well.

We enjoyed a Memorial Day cookout with Mike, Kat and James today. Grandma and Grandpa Maier joined us as well. It was nice to see them again before they head back to the NL. James and Emily really hit it off today, she was in the saucer, and he was busy pulling himself up on it to get a good look at her. Just wait till the 3 of them are 2 years old, that will be a sight.

Good Buddy

Michael and Emily are really starting to notice each other now, and it is so cute! Michael espescially is just all smiles as soon as he sees his little sister. Emily notices him too, but she is so busy trying to crawl, it takes her a minute to notice the love-struck look on her brother's face. Of course, both of them love Big Sister, even if she does try to smother them with love.

We are spending more time outside, as Sophie loves to play on her swingset. I have a lightweight double stroller that a neighbor gave us, it is perfect to set up in the yard so they can watch. Last week I bought a caterpiller swing from Ebay, it seats two babies facing each other. I don't have a picture of it yet, but will next week. Cousin James even tried it out today. Here are some photos of fun in the backyard.



In other news, we had a great visit with Mike, Kat and James today. Again, no pics yet, but Mike did take a bunch and hopefully will update his blog with them. I was amazed at the difference in James from Christmas till now, and they were amazed by the twins. James is really a crawler, it is funny to watch him go all over. And great eye hand co-ordination. I was impressed when he picked up one of the small balls and tossed it over the bar of the gym... Mike told me he drills him on that daily, ha, ha. Sophie and I are looking forward to spending more time with them in Valdosta this weekend at Marilois's wedding.

Under the Sea

Yesterday was our trip to the Aquarium . We figured it would be less crowded now, than when big school gets out. We had 4 moms, 4 four year olds, 2 two and a half year olds, and one 20 mth old. Pretty manageable by our standards. The trip started off a bit rocky, as poor Josh got a bit carsick. He did rally nicely, although he didn't get to keep on his matching yellow shirt like the rest of the kids.

It was not as crowded as Rebekah and Paula had seen it in past visits, but it was still pretty crazy. The kids were really good at holding hands, and the yellow shirts Paula got for them at Michael's really did help, they were so easy to spot. Maybe it was the constant surveilance of the kids, or just the crowd, but I have to say I wasn't as wowed as I thought I would be. Many of the viewing windows were smaller than I had thought, and it was hard for the kids to wait until the crowd abated so they could be up front to actually see in. There were several viewing areas that were huge, and those were amazing. Rebekah had a great idea; a late afternoon trip with just your hubby for a date night.

For those of you who plan on going with kids, they have a "no outside food" rule, which I think is totally ridiculous. We all packed sandwiches and snacks for the kids, why would you want to pay for food they won't eat? No one had a problem getting in with it except Kathleen. Apparently she picked the wrong security line; the agent confiscated all her snacks, but she insisted on keeping Samuel's sippy cup. For goodness sakes, he is 20 ms old!

In other news, I went to the Y to work out today for the first time in 14 ms!! I was unable to exercise my whole pregnancy, and the twins had to be 6 ms before they could stay in the nursery. They did great, no tears at all. I managed to do 30 minutes on the eliptical machine, plus some weight machines. It felt great to be back, and hopefully we can get a routine going. Getting there was a little hectic, it only took me 2 hours to get everyone and everything ready to go....that in itself is a workout!

The Last Day of School

All good things must come to an end.....and so ends another year of Preschool for Sophie. Her last day was Friday, and they had a pajama party, complete with a movie and popcorn. The parents were invited in for the last 30 minutes to attend the ice cream party. The kids were a bit wild....here is a picture of Katie and Sophie in their pj's. They had raided the dress up box and were walking around with this veil, they thought they were quite funny. You can see Emily in the background, Ellie's mother is holding her.
Emily and Michael had a great time, they were passed around and were full of smiles. It is amazing to me that Sophie has only one more year of Preschool and then will be off to Kindergarten.....time certainly does fly! She is looking forward to the summer, and tells me every day how she can't wait to go the beach (no way this summer!) and to our neighborhood pool so she can jump off the diving board. The pool sounds much more manageable than an 8 hour car ride to Seacrest, FL!

We will again do our babysitting co-op this year. It worked really well last summer, the kids enjoyed being together at each other's houses, and we mothers enjoyed a day off every once in a while. This year we will add in the younger sibs as well, they will be at a different house. I won't be involved in that, Mike and Em are a bit too young to hang with the 2 year olds just yet. Our first co-op is this Wednesday, Kathleen and I will have the 4 year olds at her house. Tie Dye is on the agenda, should be fun!

The Most Expensive Halloween Costume Ever

Sophie has been in a dance and gymnastics class for 2 years. She really enjoys it because they alternate every week between tap and ballet, plus spend half the class in the gym. It is amazing what she can do, a forward roll on a full size balance beam, flipping over the uneven bars, even a psuedo cartwheel. (All with a spotter of course) She also likes the dance part, and this year will be her first recital. I never pictured my daughter in a dance recital, but here we go.....costume that costs WAY too much, pictures, videos and bouquets that you HAVE to have...you get the idea. But seeing how excited the girls got when they handed out the costumes last week was really priceless. The song they dance to is "Zippety Do Dah", and every night before bed she says "Wait, I have to do Zippety doda one time before I get in the tub" and she commences to do her rendition of their recital dance down the hall; it is really funny. Here is a photo (Thanks to Rebekah) from the costume try on day. From left to right: Katie, Sophie, Elizabeth and Leanne.

Can you guess what they will all be next Halloween?

Wash and Wear

I remember from Sophie how my wardrobe changed when I became a mother. In the infant days, you are always getting something on you...spit up, drool, baby food, etc. Even though I try to keep a cloth diaper over my shoulder when we are in the thick of feeding, most of my shirts now sport the tell tale baby stain on the right shoulder. It is really crazy right now, both Michael and Emily have colds, plus they are teething, and the drool factor is through the roof. When Emily got up this morning, she could barely breathe through her nose for all the build-up from the night before. (And yes, Mike, I did pick it off when I was feeding her, it is a golden opportunity!)

Sophie has even become a pro at it; today she came to me in search of a cloth diaper. When I asked her why she wanted one, she very nonchalantly said "Emily was on her tummy and she rolled back over, now she has gook all over her nose, I need to wipe it off." That's my girl!

Big Man Dave

My sister Mary sent this picture of her son, David and his Taekwondo instructor. Dave was recently in a tournament and won two gold medals. One for form, and one for breaking wood. Way to go Dave! Maybe Alex needs to be on the lookout from now on...

Happy Belated Easter

I am just now getting around to posting the pictures from Easter. We had a nice day, very laid back. We decided to go to the latest Mass possible, which is the 12:15. We figured that would give us enough time to get everyone dressed, fed, napped, fed again, etc. before we ventured out. We normally go to the 10:45, and that is a challenge on a regular Sunday, never mind the "reunion of all Catholics and Christians" as our pastor calls Easter Sunday. The morning went smoothly, all 3 children were cooperative, and we were at church at 11:45, plenty of time to get seats. As we sat down and I glanced at the song sheet the usher had handed me, I realized that the songs were in both English and Spanish. That is because the 12:15 is the Hispanic Mass, who knew?? It turned out to be a great Mass, not at all crowded, and very upbeat. The music was festive, and a bit different from what Sophie is used to. At one point when it started up, she looked up at me from her coloring book and said in that voice kids reserve for church only:"TOO LOUD!" With that she put her hands to her ears and turned her hearing aids off. I was floored, she has never done that before. I did convince her to quickly turn them back on, as she speaks very loudly when they are off.

Mom and Dad came over for dinner later that afternoon. The Easter bunny brought Sophie a big girl bike, here is a shot of her riding it. She is pretty good on the front walk, our street is way too hilly to try out there yet.

Also, a shot of Grandma reading Sophie the Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit book. I know that is supposed to be wonderful children's literature, but some of her stories are a bit odd. However, Sophie loves it, and amazingly enough, listens with rapt attention.

Here are Grandpa Maier and Emily enjoying appetizers.....I love the look on her face.
And since Michael was feeling very un-photogenic on Easter Day, here he is a few days before, enjoying his first time in Sophie's old baby swing. Nice look that he is giving big sis.
Last but not least, I am pretty proud of myself. I have finally figured out how to get the photos where I want them in my postings!

The truth hurts

You know you're a full fledged mother when you find yourself still listening to your 4 year old's music 15 minutes after dropping her off at preshool. Worse yet, you are singing along!

The 6 Month Blur

Last week Sophie and I were at the mall with the twins. As we sat in the food court having lunch, I was contemplating how I was going to take Sophie on the carousel. It was just me with the 3 of them, and she is too little to ride it by herself. A woman came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. As I turned toward her, I saw two little boys running in front of her. She smiled down at the babies asleep in their stroller and said with a sigh. "Oh, I remember those days well. I have boy/boy twins who just turned 5, and yes, it does get better. And easier. And they always have a playmate. And soon you won't be so deathly tired." She was so open and honest, and it was ironic that she answered all my questions before I could even ask them. She went on to say how on their one year birthday, she just cried and cried. The reason? She realized that their whole first year was a big blur, and she barely remembered a thing. I laughed out loud, and she did too. She said I was lucky, her twins were her first children, and she and her husband were really in shock...I can only imagine.

After that conversation, Sophie and I rode the carousel. I asked the very nice man who collects the tickets if he could keep an eye on the babies, and he readily agreed. So Michael and Emily watched from the sidelines and Sophie and I had a great ride.

Today Michael and Emily had their 6 month checkup. I find it hard to believe they are actually 6 months old. It seems like just yesterday that they came home from the hospital and this crazy existence of ours began.

This 6 months has been a blur, and there are a lot of things I don't remember. I think it is like that with all newborns, and having a 4 1/2 year old helps me to gain perspective. Does it really matter what they wore their first Christmas? Do I have to remember every single "first"to be a good mother? I guess that is just my personality; totally anal. We got out the 6-12 mth old clothes from Sophie since Emily will be in them soon. Going through them, I can recall every outfit, where it came from, whether or not it was a gift. Is this really important? Of course not! Having twins has REALLY made me see what is important, like a wonderfully supportive husband, a sweet preschooler, and two beautiful healthy babies. Who could ask for more? All the stuff I stressed over when Sophie was a baby doesn't even phase me. In hindsight, it just doesn't matter.

Here are the 6 month stats:
Michael: 14 lbs., 11 oz. (15th percentile on the growth chart) 26 1/2 inches long. (50th percentile on the growth chart)

Emily: 14 lbs even. (15th percentile) 24 1/2 inches long (10th percentile)

And last but certainly not least: Thanks Mom, for helping me today, and all the other days. I wouldn't have made it 6 months without you!