week two

Well, we survived the weekend (barely) and it's Monday. The boys did sleep better last night, and seem okay this morning. We'll see how the day progresses.

Josh starts his second week of classes at WSU this week. That means 14 weeks to go. I feel like The Little Engine That Could- "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." I am a little anxious about dealing with these two sick bubs by myself tonight. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger right???

Last night the boys went down quite easily and were only up a few times. I slept a bit until 11:30, then we did medicine. They were up again at 2:00am and again (for the day) at 6:15am. I still feel a bit tired, but definitely better than yesterday morning. I sent Josh back to bed this morning because he has to go to school tonight & (hopefully) stay awake! Poor kid.

These pictures are from yesterday afternoon. This activity kept the boys happy and was therefore worth the lost kleenex.

Here's hoping my next post tells you the boys are healthy!

update

Last night was another sleepless one. I camped out on the floor in the nursery and slept off and on from 1am to 6:30am. Jack woke up and threw up in the night. Luckily I had gotten him out of his crib, so he threw up on the changing pad on the changing table.
(Easy peasy to clean!)
This morning was okay. They were tired by nap time and I am anxious to see how they are when they wake up.
I wanted to also mention that we weighed the boys at Urgency Care.
Logan weighs 23 lbs.
Jack weighs 25 lbs.
With their new weights also came a new dose of medicine. Turns out I wasn't giving them enough. I was so happy to hear the doctor tell me I need to give them more medicine. I had been freaking out because the medicine wasn't working to lower their fevers. Now it seems to be helping more.

the nursery

{Jack's crib}
We originally had one HUGE crib (back when I thought I was pregnant with one baby girl- so much for mother's intuition). But that was short lived. We soon exchanged it for two smaller cribs. I bought green, white & polka dotted sheets, ironed the crib skirts (yes, Josh thought I was crazy) and my mom made the boys' crib quilts. They are beautiful, full of different textures & if she made one in my size, I know I would want to curl up underneath it!

{rocking chair corner}
The rocking chair was my first "unofficial" Mother's Day gift. I was about 35 weeks pregnant with twins, and while Josh argued that I wasn't technically a mother, he knew better than to risk not getting me a gift! I love that rocking chair and the pillow & blanket I bought for it. I have spent many hours rocking my babies to sleep in that chair.
I love the pictures I have framed there. They are pictures from the Sam McBratney book "Guess How Much I Love You". It's a favorite around here.
I also love the back of the door hanger/organizer. I keep their shoes, socks & washcloths in there. It's super convenient and puts the closet door to good use.

{the armoire}
This houses the boys' onesies & all their hung up clothes. (The closet in their bedroom is full of other household items & inaccessible, so we use this instead.) I think it is super adorable.
I also love the big clock we have in their room. It helps, especially when they are sick, to know the time in case it's time for more meds.

{cd player}
This is our magical sleep potion. The lullaby CD. The boys have fallen asleep to it in the car, at camping, and every nap & bed time since they moved into their own room at 4 months old.
Atop the CD player is Jack's elephant. It's so cute, I just have to have it out.

{the big picture}
Here we have Jack's crib with his two shelves above it. Josh hung two more over Logan's crib so it would match.

{the changing table}
I love the boys' changing table so much. The pad is great, and the organizer is super convenient.

{curtains}
My mom made the boys' curtains for me when I was pregnant. I picked out the ribbon & she sewed them on. I love how they bring the colors of the nursery together.

{paint}
Josh painted the nursery back when we were not planning on finding out what we were having. The joke was "We're not finding out unless it's twins." hahaha! I love this green, though, so I am glad he painted it.

{Logan Henry}
This was my big project last week. I bought some frames, printed a bunch of GREAT pictures of the boys & redecorated the nursery. I have always loved the boys' nursery. It feels like parenting, it's constantly shifting, changing. As they grow, the nursery grows right along with them.
(Remember, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger. Then you can look at the pics I have framed.)

{Jack Sawyer}

I re-organized their room as well. I packed away some baby things (for our someday-baby #3), sent some along to my sister (due in October with Cousin Tucker) and gave some to Goodwill. Their bedroom is feeling spacious & organized. And honestly, it just makes me smile to walk in and see all those great memories on their shelves.
~
I hope that every mother has a nursery that makes her as happy as mine does. It's all about making it work for you.
My sister is DYING to get home & get her nursery going. I can't wait to see what she does with her space. It's fun to see new ideas & I am excited for her to pull it all together & love it.

good daddy

Yesterday afternoon when Logan woke up shaking like a leaf on a tree, Josh calmed my nerves saying he might just have low blood sugar, and we should try to feed him. He came up with an action plan. Feed the boys, change them, head over to urgency care just to be sure there's nothing else we can do. Logan was screaming bloody murder for at least a half hour straight, but Josh never lost his cool. He just spoke to him soft & sweet and tried to coax him into eating something. Anything.
Meanwhile I packed the diaper bag with matchbox cars, favorite stuffed animals (called "bubs" around here), granola bars for us in case the wait was long, and some sippy cups.

At urgency care Josh was super patient and walked around outside with Jack to keep him from getting too upset. He dealt with Logan like a pro when the doctor was doing his exam, and all the while I kept thinking, "We are so lucky." Not every woman can say their husbands are as capable as them at dealing with the kids. But when it comes to Logan & Jack, Josh has it down. Feedings, changings, baths, bedtime, middle of the night wake ups, hospital visits, crankiness... anything the boys throw his way, he can handle it. While I sometimes still feel like I am drowning from the weight of the responsibility I have, it's good to know that I share that responsibility with someone who is equally committed to raising these boys with standards & doing it to the best of our ability.

I love you honey.
I couldn't survive this crazy life without you by my side.

baby einstein

{Logan & Jack}
I was never really a believer in the whole "Baby Einstein" craze, but I did buy one DVD when the boys were like 4 months old, just to check it out. I would play it in the evenings when I had to bathe one and the other baby had to wait. They would sit in their bouncer or exersaucer & watch. I wasn't sure they loved it, but it held their interest.

Now I swear by them.{Jack, Daddy, Logan}

The boys have been sick the last three days, and all we do is watch Baby Beethoven & Baby MacDonald over & over & over. {Daddy & Bogans}
We also got Baby's First Signs, with Marlee Matlin, and I LOVE that one. Logan will stand in front of the TV just sign-babbling away. His arms & fingers flying all over the place trying to mimic the signs he sees. It's adorable. And it has been a life saver these last few days. Anything to try & get their minds off their feverish heads & sore little bodies.

sick & sicker

On Thursday the boys got a fever. It was 101 under Jack's arm. I think it was actually higher than that, but he's a squirmy little thing, so that's the best reading I got. We took ibuprofen, drank lots of fluids, and laid low. Friday they woke up and seemed pretty good. But after naps Logan woke up shaking like crazy and crying inconsolably. So Josh & I took a deep breath and headed to Urgency Care. We waited only 1 hour (the longest hour in history) and were seen by a really nice pediatrician. He said it's a virus, and it will likely last seven to ten days. I kind of wanted to hurt him. But I digress.
When we got home the boys didn't feel like eating, so dinner was stressful. And last night was miserable. They were up (mostly one or the other, not both) from 11:30-12:30, again at 3:40am, 4:50am and 6:50. We were up for the day at 7:40am. They seemed good again this morning (clingy, but okay), but after naps, it got UGLY. They hadn't wanted a lot for lunch, so we put them in their high chairs for snack and were trying anything (mandarin oranges, vanilla ice cream, crackers, juice) to get some calories in them.
Then, all of a sudden, Logan coughs and from there starts PUKING. It was all over his tray, splashing onto the floor, he was crying and his mouth was stuck open and spraying like a fire engine hose. Not to mention the puke that was shooting out his nostrils. Oh and the smell. Rancid. We put them both straight into the tub. I cleaned them while Josh washed up the kitchen. It took all we had not to throw up ourselves.
Meanwhile I had spoken on the phone to my mom who offered to bring over some pedialite. She came a bit later and laughingly suggested I take a picture of myself today. She said most days I seem (on the blog anyway) to have it pretty well together. Today I did not. So she took this incredibly unflattering picture of me and the boys just before bath & bed time. I had eaten a muffin & bowl of cereal (that's it, all day long) and obviously had not showered. I particularly like how my baby hairs that are finally growing back in- after falling out during pregnancy- are all standing on end. Like a mohawk within my other hairdo. Quite attractive. And we must mention the Santa pj bottoms. Nice.
For those of you who have said to me,
"I always wished I had had twins"
I bet you didn't picture this.

new fall clothes

I love the boys' new shoes,
new green airplane jackets,
& adorable khaki's.
Bring on the rain!

{Jack}

{Logan}

crayola crayons

Who can resist a new set of Crayola crayons in the fall?
Not me!

{Jack}

{Logan}

I was honestly surprised at how well the boys did. Jack especially made a lot of colorful marks all over his page. And Logan only tried to eat it once. (The binky helped us avoid that!)

babies & dump trucks

{Logan & his baby girl}

He thought it was pretty funny when I put her in there.

thoughts on back to work

Last year when I went back to work I was really dreading being gone from the boys. I am this year as well, but I have to say that I feel better about it.
My mom (Nanny) and mother-in-law Carol (Grandma) watched the boys last year and will watch them again this year. But this year I have a few advantages that have changed my perspective on this whole "daycare" thing. (Daycare doesn't really fit, but I don't know what else to call it. Maybe I should call it G-Care, like for "Grandma"??? ...I'll keep thinking.)

HERE IS MY THINKING:
1. My job is just my job. My heart is being a mother.
2. Being away from the boys is really only hard on me. They are having a BLAST at home with Grandma or at Nanny's house.
3. Those boys have the most loving, patient & understanding grandmothers on the planet. They put up with me and my lists, and love those boys SO MUCH. Seeing them with the boys this summer has shown me what a bond they have created. They both tell me how much they miss the boys when they haven't seen them for a day or two. And every time they are reunited the boys run and HUG them and there are smiles all around.
4. My dad took me a on a tour of the daycare facility located on his work premises... There aren't really words except to say that I had no idea how lucky I was until I saw a classroom of FOUR one year olds with ONE teacher to take care of them. It was so sterile, and nothing like the wonderfully cozy home environments my boys get to experience.

I thought I appreciated what I had last year, but I really, really appreciate what I have heading into this school year. And I think I really get that the boys are FINE once I leave. They love me, but (lucky for me) they also love their Daddy, their Grandma, their Aunties, their Nanny... so many people.

I hope I can keep this attitude on my first day of work. I hope I can remember that it's just me missing them...
they are having a great time!

S-L-E-E-P

spells "Sanity".

The boys have slept 12 hours for five nights now (four of those were in a row). The one night they were up from 12-3am was the cats' fault. The cats had no food, so they pushed open the boys bedroom door, I guess in hopes of getting fed by one of our two one-year-olds. (haha) Instead Mommy & Daddy got to endure three hours of non-stop screaming from our precious baby boy Logan.
But that awful night aside, and I think we are on the up and up.
Josh & I put a lot of effort into getting the boys on a good schedule and night time routine so that when he started school and I started work, bedtime would be a cinch and sleep would be had. So far it is working marvelously. We do snack at 6:15, baths at 6:30, lotion, pajamas, comb hair, read a story, turn on the fan & music, turn off the lights, and voila! at 7:00pm we have sleeping babes.
Hallelujah!!!

JACK IS SCARED OF...

elevators


No idea why...
But he hates them.
He cries whenever we go in one.
And the whole ride up or down
he STARES at the door,
waiting for it to open.
Poor kid.

Isaiah's Scrimmage

{Jack & Logan}
I don't know if I have ever talked about the boys' stroller. It's a Graco Duo-Glider. And I love it! We got it from the teachers Josh worked with at Fircrest. It was awesome when the boys were still in their infants seats, and is still a great stroller now that they are out of them. It drives wonderfully, has tons of storage under their seats for shopping bags, and has a handy cup holder & storage box near the handle. It also folds up quite nicely and isn't too heavy.

{Logan}
He always slouches in his back seat. It cracks us up. He really enjoyed visiting with Papa at Isaiah's football scrimmage.

{Logan}
Silly boy

Jack was not such a fan of the scrimmage, as those of us on the sidelines had a tendency to scream when things were going our way (or when they weren't!). His whole face would pucker up & his bottom lip would pop out and there would come the waterworks. He's such a sensitive little guy.

daddy's bye-bye

Monday night was Josh's first night back at WSU. He is starting the last year of his bachelor in teaching degree. He has seven classes this semester, and in January he will be student teaching full time. He'll be gone Monday through Thursday nights. While we are excited, we are also anxious for how much work this will be for the two of us. Him with homework & an internship, and me with my job & the boys.
~
All summer Josh has been the one to bathe the boys each night. Most nights we would play in their bedroom while Josh got the tub ready. Then when he was all set, he would come and knock on the door. Then he'd get the boys in the bath.
So on Monday when we were done putting away their clean laundry, I asked the boys if they were ready for baths. Logan got up, walked over to the closed bedroom door & knocked on it. He waited a beat, then said, "Dada!"
~
Sorry buddy, Daddy's bye-bye.

camp cougar

Our first family camping trip
{August 19-22, 2009}


DOWN BY THE LAKE:

{Jack}

{Logan}

We went camping for three nights with my parents & nephew at Camp Cougar on Yale Lake outside of Cougar, Washington. I grew up camping at Cougar and was excited (albeit nervous) to take the boys there. It has a great swimming area & beach, as seen above, and also has a fun play set area, as seen below.


ON THE PLAY SET:

{Mommy & Logan}

{Mommy & Jack}


THE FIRST NIGHT:

Josh & I split the boys up for bath time each evening. The first night I took Jack, and he had Logan. After I finished showering Jack (which entailed bathing him, dressing him, putting him in the umbrella stroller, showering myself, dressing myself & wheeling us and all our shower crap back to camp...) we headed to the lake to see the sunset against the water & the trees.

It was so spectacular I had to head back to camp and get my camera. The second trip my mom came, too. She snapped this pic of us. He loved pointing at all the trees on the other side of the lake.

{Jack & Mommy}


THE SECOND NIGHT:

The next night we switched babies & I got to take Logan (& Nanny) to the water again to see the sunset. It was just as beautiful, and fun to spend some one-on-one time with Logan as well. He even signed "water" for the first time while we were down there!

{Mommy & Logan}

{Serenity}


SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS:

Thankfully Josh's parents gave us their humongous tent that they no longer use. It is seriously mammoth! We slept on one side on our double air mattress, and the boys slept on the other side in their pack & plays. And we had all this room in the middle for luggage & playing.
I was shocked (!!!) at how well the boys slept. They took good naps (1 hour+) and slept awesome all night. We brought their CD player & their lullaby CD, which I think helped because on the third night (when it died) Logan woke up far more often than he had the nights previous.


BABY JAIL:

{Jack}

{Logan & Jack}
Jack is working the air pump. He's such a smarty pants!

{Jack's cheese face}
The boys did not love their "baby jail", but I did. It brought some much needed boundaries to our camping trip. For the most part we let the boys wander free, but only when we had a one-to-one ratio. They are not old enough to consistently listen when we say no, so it's necessary (I feel) to have one adult each. So when one of us ran to the bathroom, or to visit my parent site, it was helpful to have a play area for them.


PLAYING HARD:

{Jack}
The second day of our trip we swam all morning in the lake. It was gorgeous weather, and thanks to the boys swim lessons taken earlier this summer (totally worth every penny!) the boys LOVED the water and did not want to get out. This worked well as we wanted to be in the water, too (It was 97 degrees out!) and it wore them out which equated to good sleepers. On the way from the lake to our campsite for lunch, Jack fell asleep. Somehow Josh got him to eat his lunch and then we put him down for nap time. What a precious picture!


DAY THREE:
In The Water

{Logan}
The boys loved both playing on the shore, and swimming out deeper with us. (Although Logan did try to eat some rocks while playing in the shallower water.)

{L}

{Logan}
Do you want some rocks, dad?

{Logan}
Okay, then I'll eat it.

{Logan}
We met this girl with a son near the twins' age and she loaned us this swimmer seat. Logan loved it! Josh took him out and swam him around. Logan was kissing the water, licking the water, and blowing bubbles. Such a silly bub.

{Jack}
He preferred this stick to rocks. Although occasionally he would throw a rock in the water to watch it splash. That was pretty darn cute!

{Jack}
See my cool stick, mom?

{Jack}
Jack didn't love the seat as much as Logan, but he tolerated it. We are thinking of getting some for next summer because they would be fun & would free up a hand.


HANGING OUT:

{Jack & Logan}

{Isaiah, Jack & Logan}

{Daddy & Jack}
Jack found Isaiah's scooter irresistible. He could pick it up, stand it upright, and the hold on with one hand while he tried to get a foot on it. It was so cute. In this picture he is getting some much needed help from Daddy.

He is just getting so big!
(See all those pine needles? Well, I brought about 800 million of them home with me, and they keep popping up. Falling out of the stroller, the diaper bag, my luggage... It looks like I will have camping all year round!)


EATING:

{Logan}
I never realized it when we were at home,
but all these boys do is eat!
BREAKFAST
SNACK
LUNCH
SNACK
DINNER
SNACK
Good Lord! I'll be surprised if they stay under 50 pounds by age 2. It felt like we would feed them, play for 20 minutes, feed them some more, shower, feed them a bit, go on walk, feed them again! By the end Logan would get up in his high chair and sign "All Done" before we had even started! In this picture he is throwing spoons in the dirt.


MOMMY'S SPOT:

{The Spot}
This is where I would sit (in my $10 Walmart chair- great deal!) while the boys slept. Whether nap time or bed time, I could be found in this chair, reading my book and eating some kind of chocolate (cookies, Hershey bars, hot cocoa...) I was honestly surprised how much relaxing time I got.
Josh & I would take turns going to my parents' campsite to roast marshmallows. We got to visit with them and have some quiet time, too. It worked out surprisingly well.


BREAKFAST:

{twins in nature}

{Logan & Jack}
Josh & I both cracked up at how funny their high chairs looked amongst the dirt, leaves & trees.
In the mornings I would leave them in their jammies cause it was still cold. As it warmed up I would change them into their day clothes. For breakfast they had fruit & cheerios & milk. It was odd to not have a microwave or toaster. It's crazy how much I use both.


SHARING IS CARING:

{the boys}

Logan giving the truck to Jack...

...willingly!
(That never happens!)


DO-IT-ALL-MOMMA:

{Logan on my back: Jack in the stroller}
We spent $25 off Craigslist to get our baby backpacks, and it was the best money we have spent (or at least pretty close) on items for the boys. I wear it grocery shopping, I wore it ALL THE TIME while we were camping, and it's convenient in small stores where the behemoth double stroller doesn't fit. At camping I would strap one baby on my back, put the other in the stroller and go for walks. While they preferred being free, they aren't exactly expert walkers yet, so there was a lot of falling, bonks & bruises. So every once in a while we (read: mommy) needed a break from the trauma!


BABY BOYS, OSH KOSH OVERALLS & RADIO FLYERS:
{Some of the cutest pictures you will see}

Logan studying his shadow.
How cute is that?

{Jack}

{Logan}

{Jack}
This is the Radio Flyer that I grew up with. My mom is so resourceful that she actually repainted it just for this trip. She taped over the emblem, painted it and now it is the beautiful cherry red that's just perfect for pictures!

{Jack}
He has such a serious face when he's working!

I absolutely LOVE the look on his face in this one.
It makes me want to squish his face,
kiss his cheeks,
and cry.
Beyond precious!

{Jack}

{Jack}
More hard work

Put your back into it!

He did it!


ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???
(Honestly? No, not really. But here it comes anyway...)

{Jack & Isaiah}
At camping, Jack fell in love with football. (Which is and will be the bane of my existence every Monday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday from here to Superbowl Sunday-- I loathe football.)
Like I said, though, Jack LOVES it! Isaiah would throw it to Jack and he would actually catch it! I have never seen a one year old catch a football (or any ball). But Jack can. He's amazing. And he has this HUGE smile on his face. Even now that we are home, if we get out the football, he just beams and puts his arms out to catch it.

I'm ready, cousin!

Can you believe that stance?
Where does he get this stuff?

{Jack}
Disappointed that he doesn't have the ball.

Really upset.

Letting Isaiah know (with his fake crying) that he wants the ball! Now!

Happy as a clam with football in hand!

{Jack}
After Isaiah left, my dad & Josh threw the football around a bit and Jack wanted it!

This is when Logan got in on the action. He watched Papa throw it...

And Daddy catch it...

And Papa throw it...
(You get the picture.)

Then he thought he might like to try.


GOOD WEATHER:

{Sunny}
While camping we had HOT sun & playful Sunny.
It was perfect!


UP & DOWN, UP & DOWN, UP & DOWN:
(A tale of getting nowhere fast)

The boys' favorite place to walk/run/fall was the speed bump on the road near my parents campsite. They loved walking UP the speed bump, and DOWN the speed bump...

And UP the speed bump...

And ON the speed bump...

And DOWN the speed bump.
Doesn't take much to amuse these two!


ATTACHMENT PARENTING:

Somehow I don't think this is what they had in mind when they came up with that term. However, it worked rather well in keeping the kids safe, the mommy sane, and the laughter coming.

But seriously, this is the only reason we dress them in overalls. It's just so convenient!
(Well, that and they are super adorable in overalls.)


WE'RE OUTTA HERE!!!

Once we let them free from our overall grab maneuvers they were on the run!

Getting further

and further

and further away!


AFTERNOON DELIGHTS:
(What brings joy to my babies)

{Jack}
1. Playing with Isaiah

{Jack}
2. Playing with Papa's hat

{Jack}
3. Playing with Isaiah's scooter

{Jack}
4. A game of Peek-a-Boo

{Logan}
5. Petting Sunny girl

{Logan}
6. Drinking refreshing water

{Logan}
7. And doing it ALL BY HIMSELF!

{Jack}
8. Wandering free

{Jack & Logan}
9. Eating Nanny's crackers

{Jack & Logan}
10. Eating Nanny's crackers... off the grass

{Jack}
11. Wearing Nanny's cracker bag ON HIS HEAD!

{Jack}
12. Laughing with Papa about Nanny's cracker bag on his head!


HIT THE ROAD, JACK:

{Jack}
All cleaned up & ready to go back to camp.

{Logan & Nanny}
Mom & I took the boys, our wagon of stuff, Isaiah & the dog back to camp while Josh & my dad went fishing for a little while.

We had fun!


BACK AT CAMP:

{Logan}
I am loving those baby blues

Nanny climbed into "baby jail" (as Josh calls it) with the boys, which made it more like baby heaven! They were loving it!

Logan threw the ball just as I was taking a picture.
Cool!

I am telling you, Jack just loves to throw!
He has one for each hand!


OUR LAST DAY:

{Logan & Jack}
Josh & I packed up a lot of stuff the night before while the boys slept.
That way we were out of there by 9am.

{Jack}
But while daddy collapsed the tent & loaded the Pilot, we played with cousin Isaiah, sang songs, took some video & just enjoyed our last few hours in the great outdoors.

{Logan}
Isaiah kept coming & going from our campsite, and when he left I yelled "Isaiah", and the boys copied me. Logan had it almost exactly right, and Isaiah is not an easy name to say! I was so proud! And it sounded so adorable. Isaiah was thrilled to hear Logan say his name. He is really a great cousin to the boys.

~

While we were sad to see our GREAT camping trip come to an end, we were ready to say goodbye to all the yellow jackets, mosquitoes and dirt. And ready to say hello to our beds, our air conditioner & our bath tub!