Things no one will tell you when you're pregnant

Sleep is something you crave, need, wish for, and dream about ... well would dream about if you were sleeping long enough to have any dreams. After a long day at work it will take every fiber of your being to smile and play for the rest of the evening. And let's not forget clean, do laundry, make dinner, pay bills, run errands, etc, etc, etc. A long hot shower is something you will need to hire a sitter for. You will fall asleep with, right after, (sometimes before!) your kids will. You will take note of happy moments and reflect upon them as they're happening. The times when their giggling is contagious, when you get soaked giving them baths and it doesn't matter, when you see the world through their eyes fresh and new and full of genuine curiosity you will stop yourself and think - this is what makes it worth it. You will get dirty and you will miss getting dressed up. You will NEED to get dressed up! You will really want to put on a great outfit, make-up, jewelry, perfume and be free for a few hours. Don't ever feel bad about this! You need to recharge in order to be the best Mom/Dad/Parent/Person you can be. :)

An OVERDUE quick update!

I have not sat down to write a post in so long but I miss it... And as I am rereading old posts with detailed nuances of what the twins were doing as babies I am wishing I had kept up with this blog. So here goes... Emma and Lucian started pre-k! They are doing so well, their teachers even say so. ;) They have both become older siblings to their baby sister Gabriella (she is now 2) since I last posted and that has been such a joy - to watch them protect her, love her and interact with her. Gabriella is a spit fire, she gives them all a run for their money. Just this week Emma wouldn't get Gabby a Yoo Hoo and so I got her one and then Gabby went over to her and said "That was not nice, Emma-Sky!!!" It was absolutely hilarious. She really scolded her, heh. Lucian is beckoning me to work on his "me bag" homework. Every child in the class at some point takes the "me bag" home. It gives them a chance to draw a self portrait, make a flag of their favorite things, and tell their favorite food and color.

I will try to update this page more often! <3 p="">

One year's time.

Friday, July 16th, marked Emma's one year homecoming. Friday, July 30th, will be Lucian's one year homecoming date. In some ways it doesn't seem like an entire year has passed and yet it feels likes they've always been here. We got a pool about three weeks ago and they're really enjoying the water. With the heat wave we've been having the water's been so warm that they went right in today, no tears, no hesitation. They're getting more and more mobile and growing in leaps and bounds each day. They've made so much progress as far as what they're eating and what they're learning. I have got to update pictures here! I will try to this week. :)

June 13th

Lucian went from sitting in the playpen to standing up all by himself today! He really uses his legs to get up and leans on the netting of the playpen whereas Emma holds onto the playpens edge and then pulls herself up. Emma walks around the playpen and gets up on the edge of the couches and toy chest. She gives kisses on her own now and Lucian is clapping his hands. In a week they have grown so much! I was sick in bed for much of today but being with them made me feel better. :) For hours we had no TV on just played with them and it was really entertaining!

Cute moments

When I got in from work Lucian was crying because he's able to stand himself up but then is afraid to sit back down... so he's sort of stuck, or so he thinks. Lucian is so funny. He laughs just anticipating what's coming next, like if you say "I'm gonna get you", he's cracking up before you even tickle him. He loves Peek A Boo too. If you tell Emma "Go get a book" she goes over to a book no matter how many toys are around. The best game to play with her is to hide something under a cup with another cup next to it that has nothing underneath and she ALWAYS picks the right cup! Even if you switch the cups twice she still gets it right. If you say tick tock to her she points to your wrist watch and f you tell her to give a kiss she makes this one litle kiss noise. It melts your heart. We just got in from a very humid walk around the neigborhood. Adam and I got some coffee (yes, in this heat) and the kids fell asleep. Everybody wins!

The twin twinkle.

When we're out and about people seem to marvel at our kids. "Are they twins?" "Oh look, twins!" "You've got quite an adventure ahead of you, my twins are now 32." They take notice of they're personalities within the first 5 minutes of encountering us. Your daughter is the feisty one, you can see she's always busy. Your son is so sweet, laid back, he'll be her protector. And that seems to be the way, for now at least. I know they'll change 1,001 times before their second birthday but there are some very noticeable traits they're already exhibiting every day. Emma is "the investigator", as my Grandma calls her. She not only has to get into everything you don't want her to touch, but she also has to turn it over and checkout the underside of it too. She likes small objects, a button, a tiny speck she finds and she'll just touch it with her pointer finger. She zips around the room, her crawl reminds me of a kimodo dragon, she takes these deliberate strides with her arms! It also reminds us of that boot camp type of low crawl. Other times you can find her in her playpen holding a book overhead and making all kinds of sounds. I like to think she's reading. :)

Lucian loves these stackable rings. He'll toss one and then wait until it comes to a full stop before he goes to get it. He entertains himself for so long doing just that. He'll sit and play with things, crawling as needed. Emma is more often sitting outside of or climbing up the gate blocking her from getting into the kitchen, than she is occupied with toys. Lucian gets such a kick out of her. Sometimes he just watches her and laughs out loud. He's so ticklish and has the most infectious laugh I've ever heard.

Every single day they make me laugh. It can be so hard sometimes, overwhelmingly hard, but then there's that moment every day when you're looking at them and they're looking at you and all of that frustration, worry, guilt, self-doubt washes away. You just know they know how much you love them and nothing else matters, not a thing.

Firsts...

Firsts tend to be highly anticipated and are almost always memorable. I think all teenage girls have butterflies in their stomachs wondering who their first kiss will be and when it will happen. First loves are simply never forgotten. The same goes for all of your babies firsts - their first word, first steps, first anything! April 9th was Lucian and Emma-Sky's first birthday. I can not believe an entire year has passed already. April 6th was the first time they'd had a few licks of ice cream in the park. They're getting better and better at sitting up on their own. Emma's really getting the hang of crawling and is also starting to pull herself up. She says mama, dada, mom and Emma along with all kinds of other babbles. She loves the remote control and phones. She has such determination to get what she wants. She will fixate on something and work and work and work until she gets it. She waves bye bye whenever you say it to her.  She's so curious and playful. Lucian is a really happy baby. He will laugh out loud just watching Emma's antics. He's so ticklish and cuddly. He says a lot of ga ga gee ba da da, at times it almost sounds like he's trying to say a sentence. He gets on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth and he's starting to crawl. He had two bottom teeth and one eye tooth and then the two front teeth and other eye tooth sprouted out of nowhere! Every day something new happens. It's a really exciting time. :) They make me laugh and smile and watch in amazement at how far they've come. I'm so happy to be a mom. I look forward to all the adventures that await us. I hope to get away this summer to Sesame Place or Hershey and to take day trips with the kids and my grandparents. July and August, hurry up and get here!! :)