Monday, September 29, 2008

Weekly Update

As they say..."two steps forward, one step back."

That is the theme for this week.

How about the new, good developments this week first?

Jacqueline is becoming quite adept at reaching for toys. She no longer swipes at them; she grasps and holds too. I think this development resulted from the child psychology experiment the girls participated in last week. Shannon knows all the details, but I think the experiment was trying to determine exactly when in the 3 to 4 month range do infants develop binocular vision and depth perception to be able to grasp toys. Funny thing is, Jacqueline did not want to participate in the experiment. Shannon said she flirted with the researcher (surprised?) and then started to cry. Sophie loved the experiment and did exactly what the researcher wanted. Now, however, Sophie has not shown any interest in reaching for toys.

Sophie has been spending her time perfecting rolling onto her side. She only rolls from right to left, but she is practicing going left to right. A new visual cue that she is tired is when she rolls over and stays.

The big development, for Sophie, occurred yesterday. We were sitting on the front porch and Shannon was blowing bubbles (party favor from Naomi's 1st birthday party). She was holding Sophie so she could get a good look at the bubbles. Shannon blew some and suddenly Sophie GIGGLED!! Very, very cute. Of course, Mom and Dad were ecstatic. Sophie giggled a few more times before losing all interest in the bubbles. We'll try to get some video of her giggling. I predict, however, that it will be like trying to get video of her smiling....almost impossible. Very camera shy girl!

Now for the bad....

Everyone in the house has developed colds. I don't know who is to blame. Jacqueline had the cold first. She felt better in a few days. Mom, Dad, and Sophie got it this weekend. Poor Sophie seems to have got it the worst. She sneezes, wheezes, and generally sounds miserable. I think the cold has led to her waking up in the middle of the night. She gets congested and can't breath. Once she's awake, the only way to soothe her is to breastfeed....a burden on Shannon cause she's not feeling well. Two nights in a row, Sophie has had a 3 AM feeding. Hopefully she'll start to feel better and sleep through the night again soon.

Are you wondering why Jon is blogging instead of working? Shannon is not feeling well at all. I'm taking the day off to care for the girls and let Shannon rest. We need everyone to be feeling good because Tara, Mike and Alina arrive Thursday night. They are coming down for the World Beer Festival (I can't believe it is less than a week away....I'm excited!). We don't want baby Alina to catch whatever we have. Also, I'm going to Birmingham, Alabama tomorrow night for 2 nights.

Well, Jacqueline is waking up. I'll have to blog again about the latest beer reviews. I've got several. Until then......

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Babies Are Growing Up!

This past week.....Sophie has started rolling onto her side.

How we found Sophie one morning

Jacqueline now makes an effort to reach for and grab toys....

Jacqueline and her keys

More new photos were added to the slideshow.

Friday, September 19, 2008

New photos

We've been really bad about posting lately. We've been meaning to sit down and write some blogs after putting the girls to bed. However, we've been awfully tired lately because we're being woken up multiple times in the middle of the night. Not by Sophie or Jacqueline.....but by Raven. When she's bored and not getting enough stimulation, she doesn't sleep at night. To occupy herself she licks and scratches constantly!

Anyway, new photos (compliments of Aunt Amy) are posted in the slideshow.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Coincidences

This odd coincidence has occurred several times since we've lived in Durham. I'm sure I've told my family about it before. It happened again tonight so worth documenting on the blog.

Soon after Shannon and I moved into our house in 1998, I received a call one night from "Grandpa". He was a jolly fellow (like Grandpa T.), called me "Jon", lived in Indiana, loved fishing, and playing cards. We had a really nice conversation for about 10 minutes. About then, he asked how I liked my job at the pickle company. Knowing my Grandpa was old, I explained I was an engineer working in RTP in case he had forgotten. Grandpa was adamant that I had a business degree and worked for Mt. Olive Pickle Company. Everything clicked and we realized his grandson and I were different people. It just happens that the Mt. Olive "Jon" (also with given name "Jonathan") and I have phone numbers that differ by a single digit.

Over the years, Grandpa called me by accident once or twice per year. Always a trip, because he would never say "hi"...he'd jump right into some story.

In 2003, I received a phone call from a crying gentleman named "Uncle Bob" telling me that "Grandpa", his father, had died. Very freaky that I also have an Uncle Bob, although he is not related to Grandpa T. My Uncle Bob is my Mom's brother in-law.

"Uncle Bob" lives in Indiana too and he accidentally calls me once every year or two.

Tonight, he called again wanting to know if my Dad was at work. I thought it was MY Uncle Bob so I said "no, he's camping with you at Turkey Run State Park." He replied with "no, shouldn't his shift at the pickle plant have just started?" DING, DING, DING....off go the bells. We all remembered the situation, had a nice chuckle, and hung-up. A few minutes later, he called back. He wanted confirmation that my parents were camping at Turkey Run State Park in Indiana. When I replied "yes" and they are camping with my Uncle Bob and Aunt Mary who live near Brazil, Indiana, he really laughed. This "Uncle Bob" lives about 7 miles from the park. He also has a daughter named "Rebecca" that is a waitress at the restaurant inside the park. I explained my Dad and his two sons went to Purdue and my parents are in Indiana for a few weeks RVing and going to football games. Since "Uncle Bob" didn't respond with "Go Boilers!", I will assume he is not a Purdue fan.

Anyway, to any family in Indiana that reads this post please stop by the Turkey Run Inn and ask for Rebecca. I also can't wait for the next call in a few years.

Monday Night

Sophie and Jacqueline are officially 3 months on Wednesday. As cousin Cindy says.....they are growing too fast...they need to stay babies forever. However if that happened, Shannon would never get out of the house like she did tonight

Shannon and I had planned she would start going out without Jacqueline and Sophie when they were 3 months. We confirmed over the weekend that she was comfortable leaving me in charge and I was ready. Not like I wasn't ready and comfortable being alone with the twins. I just wanted to be in the proper mindset tonight, especially since it was bath night. I definitely did not want to be agitating over work or anything else.

After a hurried dinner of chicken sauteed in spaghetti sauce and olive oil with a side of Pasta Roni Natures Way (not bad) and nuked peas, Shannon went to her Mothers of Multiples meeting. So how do you occupy 2 little girls for about 2 hours? Easy....take them and the dog for a nice, long walk. We strolled the neighborhood stopping to chat with Allison (mother of Ella, her 18 month adopted daughter), Jon Cates (looking suspicious talking on his cell in the middle of Shawnee), and Pastor Laurie & Louise Parrish in the Calvary UMC parking lot. We also waved to our new neighbor Bart on Shawnee. It is always nice to chat with friends, especially old friends like Louise that we don't see very often any more.

We returned home about 7:40 PM...just in time for baths. Now, sometimes with twins you just have to let one cry. As Shannon can attest, when you're alone and only have 1 set of hands an upset baby is just going to have to deal with it for a few minutes. Baths are one of those times. Both Jacqueline and Sophie love the bath itself. Not a tear is shed. I'm sure they'll giggle and laugh when they learn how. It's the one not in the water that hollers. Once the first (Sophie tonight) was diapered and dressed, she started crying constantly while the other (Jacqueline) is bathed. Both cried simultaneously (the stereo effect) while diapers and pajamas were donned. So I could keep track of them, both were on the bed while the other was being dressed. Although it seemed much longer, one Dad bathed and changed two baby girls in 20 minutes.

Like good girls, all crying stopped as soon as bottles were popped into their mouths. I remembered my useful trick for bottle feeding two at the same time that I developed during 3 weeks of midnight feedings. Sophie took her bottle slow and steady over 25 minutes. Sophie has become very serious and studious lately. She is very stingy with smiles and does not like her concentration to be interrupted. Her vocal skills are becoming impressive too. Jacqueline played with the nipple of her bottle for about 10 minutes. As Aunt Amy noted, Jacqueline has become a huge flirt that loves to play. She drank 1/2 the bottle in about 5 minutes, played for another 5 minutes, then finished the rest. I was impressed they finished at about the same time.

By 8:30 PM, both were in their cribs fast asleep with full belly's. Then my work started....cleaning up the bath stuff, wiping off the kitchen counters, washing nipples, putting away cars seats & strollers, giving Raven her evening treat, disposing dirty diapers....whew the list can go forever.

I was on my last chore (outside moving a bird feeder blown over by Hurricane Hanna) when Shannon came home around 9:15 PM. I wanted to be sitting in the comfy chair with my feet up so I could brag how easy it was. Oh Well. It was fun and I can't wait to do it again.

I will admit I did forget one minor detail tonight. I forgot to put their little mittens on so they don't scratch their faces in the middle of the night.