#38. House of 1000 Smiles

What a difference a couple of weeks make!  After blog post '#36. The Witching Hour', the twins have 'completed a 180' and are now acting like two babies born in the 'Land of 1000 Smiles' (a nickname for Thailand).  Getting the twins on a consistent routine with their day and night sleep times has made their awake times much happier (lots of photo evidence below).  Special thanks to a friend with twins that recommended this book,

Worth every penny of the 50 cents I spent on Amazon!!

which really seemed to read more like:

It may have been a whole 50 cents, but it was priceless for me!

I'm not endorsing any specific author or 'sleep strategy' but reading this book got us thinking and working on developing a consistent sleep schedule (that s-word that everyone loves to throw around and once seemed so far away at times the past few months) that works for us. We are happy to report that both twins are alternating between 2-hour (give or take) periods of napping and awake time and are taking in about 10+ hours of sleep at night.  There are moments when we need to visit the nursery for a quick soothe, but otherwise things are going great!

Check out these before and after pictures...

Crabby-faced Clare before implementing a sleep schedule...

...and look at her now!! Alert and content Clare after her 2-hour nap!

Luke before consistent and alternating periods of 2 hours awake and 2 hours asleep...

...and now, he could sit in this high chair for hours (well, only 2 actually)!!

But wait, there's more!  These babies just can't stop smiling.  Whether they are in a high chairs, on their play pad, getting their diaper changed, eating, laying on a Boppy pillow, taking a bath, sitting in a lap, or even lounging in a laundry basket (see below), the twins seem to enjoy just about everything these days. Their smiles warm our townhouse and are slowly erasing some of those rough nights from our memory.

The happiness that is Clare...

Luke showing his love for life...

The twins have also become more interactive and are, at times, quite chatty.  Here are a couple of videos of each.

Clare's Q&A from the dinner table

An interview with Luke

                                              

Clare poses in a laundry basket until Papa almost misses catching her!

                                              

Luke shares the meaning of life from the perspective of a 4.5 month old

The twins are noticing each other (and Trig!) more...for better or for worse.

Sister-Brother stare down!

Playing footsie on the play pad

Clare gets the upperhand (or leg) in this entanglement

Who knows what the next stage of parenthood will be or look like (or what I will be blogging about next), but for now, we will enjoy our happy, smiling household!

#37. Giving Thanks

It may come as no surprise that Chris and I are extremely thankful for everything that has happened to us this past year (withstanding our survival of a military coup, of course!). Nonetheless, Thanksgiving will always come with special meaning for our family.  One Thanksgiving ago (not quite to the date, but to the exact holiday), Chris and I received an email from our surrogacy agent, Kim (via Thailand), showing us images (scanned and placed into a pdf file) of the two embryos placed into our surrogate on Thanksgiving Day.  

Luke and Clare at 5 days!

We hoped this would be a good omen, and it has proven to be nothing but that. While all of this is in some ways was good luck with modern science, the embryos in the picture above eventually became Luke and Clare.  We couldn't be more thrilled with the outcome...

Luke and Clare one year later saying Happy Turkey Day!!

As it is Thanksgiving, the point of this post is to voice gratitude to the multitude of people that have been so wonderful to us this past year.  Those that were able to attend baby showers, send us gifts, support us when things got difficult in Thailand, visit us when we returned home, help watch our beloved dog Trig while we were away for seven weeks, and those that continue to show up on our doorstep to offer help and support...THANK YOU all so much.  The last year has been an incredible journey that we look forward to sharing with Clare and Luke someday, and we definitely will not forget to tell them how blessed we were to be surrounded by so many great people.  We hope that we can be as supportive for all of you someday in the same way that you have been for us.

They say 'it takes a village', and we are THANKFUL that our village is filled with so many amazing people.  Happy Thanksgiving!

#36. The Witching Hour

For those that enjoyed post #21...'The Crying Game'...

It's that time of day...

Let the 'Witching Hour' begin...

We were recently paid a visit by friends who also have boy/girl twins and were asked when the most difficult part of the day typically occurs.  Without hesitation, we all agreed that the hours of 4:00-6:00 PM are when things get CRAZY.  Apparently with twins, you get everything in two's, and that includes two hours of trouble during the 'witching hour'.

Twins that typically frolic on the Play Pad...

are now having fits on the floor.

The once popular Boppy pillows...

are suddenly filled with rocks.

                                          

The good 'ole Bumbo...

becomes a big bummer.

Even the latest play fad, the 'Jumparoo'...

can't satisfy either twin at this time of day.

As a stay at home dad, the 'witching hour'(s) often proves to be a disastrous finish to what might have otherwise been a stress-free day with two infants.

Is it over yet???

Trig wonders the same thing while hiding in the stairwell!

\

Finally!!

Alas, 6:00 finally arrives, and it's time to turn those frowns upside down.  In only a matter of seconds, literally, those screams of terror change

into the beautiful sound of silence.

                                         

Why didn't you just feed me earlier??

                                          

Schedule Schmedule!

Can't wait to start sleep training this week!!

*******************************************************************************

In other news, I would like to acknowledge that Clare and Luke are now 4 months old.  Somehow, another month has FLOWN by.  We took the twins to their 4 month check up this past week.  Both are healthy and doing very well.

Luke's up to 14 lbs 11 oz and 24.75 inches long...

...and Clare's grown to 11 lbs 13 oz and 24.25 inches long

So, Clare gained about 2.5 pounds and Luke gained 3.5 pounds in the last two months.  We have definitely noticed their gains (especially carrying around Luke's car seat!).

At the 2 month checkup...

...and at this week's 4 month checkup

While this pair of photos may not make things appear drastically different, Chris recently compared two photos of the twins with their Boppy pillows that amazed both of us.

THEN...more Boppy than baby

NOW...more baby than Boppy

We won't see the pediatrician (we hope!) again until our 6 month visit.  We left our appointment feeling great about the twins growth and with some good ideas for our next big task, sleep training (expect a blog post to come!).

#35. What the He$$ Happened to Our Living Room?!?

What you are about to view is only a harbinger of things to come.

Look at all that room!!

What was once the roomy living space for a couple of DINKS (dual income no kids) has quickly converted into a playground for two emerging play fiends.

Insert screeching horror soundbite...

Ok, I did it for us:
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Take a quick scan of the 'new' living area of our townhouse: (say 'Hi' to Trig, and enjoy one last political ad from the season).

Close up of the carnage

Yes, the twins have decided that time has come to stray from their rock n' play sleepers and find alternative forms of entertainment other than sleeping.

Did you say play time??  Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

First, we have the Boppy pillows.  (Be sure to turn up the volume and notice what Papa Chris is doing in the background of this video!!)

We can sit with Daddy and Papa on the couch in these!

Sister loves her owl covered Boppy

Brother likes his jungle Boppy

Boppys help make holding twins more comfortable for Daddy

Even Trig takes her turn with the Boppy!

Next, we have the Bumbo, which Luke demonstrates below.

He seems to sneeze every time he is in the thing!

The Bumbo is great for showing off big smiles...

Happy, but for how long?!?

and for watching Cardinals games!

The beginning of the end for the Cards this year

The play mat is also a big hit.

Twins who play together, stay together!  

Things are looking up for Luke!

We're starting to learn (this may have been forced!) to like each other!

Play pad and Bumbo combine forces

We also have swings...

This has proven to be a hit-or-miss play option

which, sadly, Luke has already outgrown (it won't swing when we place him in it!).  Thankfully, he has discovered a form of entertainment attached to his arm.

It's entertainment that's always there!

Surely all of this looks like it would keep two little people entertained for hours.  Unfortunately, this is not always the case.  In a matter of minutes, 'play' time can change into 'cry' time.

Thankfully, all play items can also be used to help us through those moments!

Luke surrenders thanks to the Boppy!

In other news, the twins paid visits to both of their dads workplaces.

Proud Papa introduces twins to cubicle life

Clare was fascinated by the fluorescent classroom lights overhead...

while Luke strained himself solving equations

They also met Papa Chris' longtime friend and mom from Wisconsin,

We love visitors!!

and Grandma Knapp paid another visit.

Who wore who out?

Finally, the twins survived (as in daddies get to play dress up) their first Halloween.  This year's theme...baby cartoon characters.

Stewie Griffin and Maggie Simpson weren't too happy at first!

They eventually forgave me!

We're looking forward to celebrating the upcoming holiday season as a family for the first time. Papa has (of course) already purchased Christmas trees for each of the twins!