And Sometimes There's This

Why can't they SHARE?

We've just been trying to squeeze the last few drops out of summer before I head back to work next week. All in all, it's been a great summer. We've been healthy and have had a lot of fun swimming, playing with water, riding ponies, going to the zoo, the beach, and the splash park. The girls have made great strides in their physical skills, and their ability to communicate, and have even been eating a little bit better.

Holland saw the eye doctor this week, and it looks like she is using her right, stronger eye, more than her left, so we are going to be patching again for two hours a day. We've got two days under our belts without a problem, so hopefully it won't be an issue. She seems satisfied with the explanation that Dr. Tisch wants her to wear a patch every day to help make her eye stronger. She has asked a couple of times to take it off, but I just tell her that she is almost done, and I will take it off in a few minutes.

Eden saw the eye doctor this summer too. She is nearsighted, and is going to need glasses, but we are going to wait until next year as her vision isn't bad enough to need them just yet. I have yet to figure out how we will keep her cochlear implant processor and magnet, and glasses on her, when she still can't sit up or hold her head up very well, but I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

In other news, my sweet adorable twin girls have really been into screaming, screeching, hitting, pulling hair, pinching, and grabbing each others' toys lately. I haven't seen evidence of this "twin bond" that so many of you speak of. I mean, I guess they like each other as well as the next kid, but they ALWAYS want what the other has, and will throw massive fits when they can't have it. They also feed off of each other, so if one is doing something bad, the other will start copying it to get attention. Also, if one is crying the other will start. They really hate for their sister to be getting more attention than them.

It's an ongoing battle. As I am typing this, for example... Eden is playing bedtime with a pillow and blanket on the floor. Holland wants it and starts whining, so I get up and get her Potty Time Elmo on the other side of the room. Eden sees her, so rolls over and grabs it. Both start screeching because they want it. I ask Eden if she wants blocks instead. They both decide they want blocks. I set them up playing with blocks. Holland finds an Elmo book on the shelf and starts playing with that. Eden wants it and starts pulling Holland's shirt trying to get to it. Both start screeching and whining again. And again. And again. Why is it that they BOTH have to play with the same toy. And why can't they SHARE? Oh wait. They are THREE. That explains it.

I love this!

http://news.independent.co.uk/health/article2723237.ece

Thanks to David and Kathryn for bringing it to my attention!

Picture Post

The end of my street right now...


At least my kids are still cute:)

Overheard

Eden: Holland?
Holland: What Eden?
Eden: Look, a doggie.
Holland: Yes Eden, it's a doggie.
Eden: Hi doggie.

Holland: Eden, can I have one your Teddy Grahams?
Eden: Here you go Holland.
Holland: Thank you.
Eden: You're welcome.

Seriously melts my heart. It has been three years coming, but they are really starting to talk...to each other.

Normal Mom Stuff

I got to go to lunch today. I went with a group of people from work to meet our new School Social Worker. I say "I got to go" because it's just the kind of thing that I don't really get to do much anymore. Lunch out, with a group of adults and no kids. To top it off, my parents decided to take my kids to Greenfield Village, and I had a few hours to myself!!!

Guess what I did? After lunch, I stopped at the eye doctor to pick up the contacts that I ordered in January. Then I came home and called to schedule a hair appointment. I haven't had my hair cut in 5 months, and haven't had the color done in close to a year. While I was at it, I also scheduled a doctor's appointment for myself, and an appointment to have my teeth cleaned!! WooHoo! Anyone with kids, and even more so those with twins, know that this is no small feat. Now, I just have to figure out who is going to watch the girls so I can actually GET to the appointments:)

It is so tricky to run errands. When I am feeling adventurous, I can take the girls with me to do a trip to the grocery store, or to run to Target or the mall. It's the little trips, where I need to just run in quickly to get one thing, that are hard. It's VERY difficult to find the time to go to the post office, for example. Or just to run in to pick up my contacts. I can't leave them in the car, but it is SO much work to get them out of the car and loaded into the stroller just to run in then come back out and load them back into the car.

I bet it's only going to get harder. I can only imagine unloading a big power wheelchair every time I need to go somewhere. I better start working out. In my spare time...

Can you believe they are THREE?!

So, I survived after all! Despite my fluctuating mood and underlying feelings of sadness and guilt, we managed to have a couple of great parties, and enjoyed some really fun days celebrating the lives of Holland and Eden.

I absolutely cannot believe that they are three years old. How can that be? Where did the last three years go? It is very weird, because in some ways so little has changed, but in other ways they have grown so much. I just finished putting their three-year pictures in the frames, and was looking back at last year's photos. Holy smokes, they really have changed! I can't believe how much like little girls they look now. Choke. Sob. They aren't babies anymore.

So, they had their physical with the pediatrician. Holland weighs 22 1/2 pounds, and is 34 3/4 inches tall. Eden weighs just over 20 pounds, and is 35 1/8 inches tall. Holland is officially on the chart for her "real" age in both height and weight, though not for the height to weight ratio. Eden is on the chart for length, but not weight. Big surprise there.

We have decided to keep plugging along with the eating, and not to do anything drastic right now, including no invasive testing. I am sure that Eden has reflux, although no official diagnosis has ever been made. We tried Zantac in the past, but the taste of the medicine was so horrible that it would take Eden a half hour to recover, and I felt it was actually making things worse because it was so upsetting. We decided to give Prevacid a try, but have had very limited success so far because she won't take it.

The thing is this...the medicine comes in a packet of powder, that she is supposed to drink mixed in water. The doctor said that we could try mixing it in apple sauce or yogurt, but it is always really iffy as to whether Eden will eat these foods anyway. Well, so far nothing has worked. She is totally on to us. The girl LOVES juice, but has figured out to reject anything that we try to put that powder in. I am definitely open to suggestions if you have any...

The new reflux medicine was the only thing new that came out of the 3-year doctor visit. I personally worry and stress about the fact that the girls still drink two bottles a day, and aren't anywhere close to potty training, but the doctor didn't seem too worried. She said that the calories from the milk/formula are more important right now than weaning from the bottle. I'm not sure I agree, but I don't feel like struggling with it right now. They are FINALLY to the point that they love their bottles. They actually ask for them and enjoy them. It's the only thing easy about getting nutrition into them and I am reluctant to give it up.

When it comes to potty training...I'm just lazy.

In terms of their cognitive and social/emotional development, they are growing in leaps and bounds. Holland is speaking in full 7-8 word sentences, and makes really smart connections that amaze us everyday. She has a great memory and a funny sense of humor. She is always asking "where's that come from?" and "what's that for." She remembers where she sees something, and if she sees it somewhere else, she'll say "that's like Barney does" or "it's like Jenna's." She is singing more and more, and knows the words to many songs, nursery rhymes, and books. The other day she was acting silly and dancing around, and she calls out to me "Mom, sing that song about HAVING FUN!" She also LOVES hats and picks one out almost every day that she will wear most of the day. If she's in a cranky mood (much of the time) she will try on several hats and get very mad and throw them across the room if she doesn't think they are fitting just right.

Eden has picked up quite a few 2-3 word phrases over the past month. Her conversations go a lot like this:

E: Here you go!
Me: Thank you
E: You're welcome!
E: Here you go!
Me: Thank you
E: You're welcome!

Me: Here you go!
E: Thank you
Me: You're welcome!
Me: Here you go!
E: Thank you
Me: You're welcome!

You get the picture. Most of the time, she is giving me pretend food which I am supposed to eat. If I give her pretend food, she also eats it. Funny how both of my children love so much to PRETEND to eat...

Eden's vocabulary has grown to the point that I've kind of lost track, but some of her best and favorite words or phrases are:

"Look at ____" (She uses this a lot to get us to look at whatever has her attention), "Hi Daddy!", Apple, Ice Cream, Uh Oh, "I dropped it", "Oh No!", Holland, Zippo, Papa, Nana, Banana, "Open door", knock knock, Hello?, "I hear it", Book (with sign), Barney, Elmo, Big Bird, Oscar, Grover, Cookie, Eat, More (with sign), Doggie, Kitty (with sign), Meow, All done, All gone, Walker, up-a, drink (with sign), star, circle, and many more...

She can count to ten, knows a few of her shapes and colors, and fills in missing letters when we sing the alphabet. She also loves to sing and dance, and we often catch her singing to herself. If you listen very carefully you can often figure out what she is singing. She has also made up a few cool dance moves, which involve moving her arms, and I think it is quite beautiful to watch her bust a move when we are out and she hears music. I'll have to get some of her dancing on video so you can see how cool it is.

Eden has a special place in her heart for her Daddy. They have a connection and I admit I am a little bit jealous. Holland has always been a Mommy's girl, and she is often so demanding of my attention. Holland throws a fit for Mommy, and Eden is happy to go with Daddy. Over the years this has translated into a really sweet relationship between Eden and her Dad. Holland and I have an equally nice relationship, but sometimes I wish we could even it out a little more.

Holland really knows how to push Daddy's buttons. Everyday he comes home from work and she screams and cries at him and runs to me. She'll even say, "NO DADDY, EDEN DADDY, HOLLAND MOMMY!" We're always working on it. We take turns at bedtime, so we can have time with each girl, but it is still something we have to make an effort at, much to Holland's dismay.

I know I say it all the time, but I'll say it again... They are totally awesome, sweet, interesting, cool kids, and I feel very lucky to have them!

At the same time, let's keep it real. They are a pain in the butt to feed and although it has gotten slightly better, it still drives me crazy. They are eating more, with less of a fuss most meals, but I still have to sit and feed them every bite and it takes over an hour for each meal. It's excruciating.

I am also beginning to see what them mean when they say that three is actually a more difficult age than two. They certainly have minds of their own, don't they! They also both know how to work the drama and tears when they don't get their way. Lest you think it is all fun and games at our house, I'll leave you with this video showing one of our not-so-fun moments... Enjoy!

It's hard to stay sad...

...when things like this are happening.