Mom's recent favorite pics

Our little miracle cubs!

Emily and Zach, picture taken 05/14/08.

Our sweet little girl, picture taken 05/22/08.

Our handsome little man, picture taken 05/25/08.

I live for weekends....

I usually live for weekends, but today feels more like a Monday than a Saturday. Dad's at work and the cubs are "down" for their nap, even though I hear them playing over the monitor. They are probably wound up from their class this morning. Today started out ok. The cubs woke up early, which was good...we had a big morning planned. Today was Gymboree! After breakfast, I loaded up the cubs and headed out an hour before our class. I made every effort to get there early. Instead, I was late. I'm always late, no matter how hard I try. So frustrating. I made a wrong turn and got lost. I was on the verge of tears by the time I found a street name I recognized. So long story short, I was late. We get there, join the class already in session, and then I notice it. An unpleasant odor coming from one of the cubs. Just great. UGH!! Did I mention that I'm alone?? And the cubs still aren't walking, so they have to be carried. I am either brave or stupid, I haven't decided which. God Bless our class instructor. She took care of Emily while I took Zach to the restroom. The class lasted 45 minutes and the cubs seemed to have a great time. Emily was a little timid, but Zach took off right away. Our little man has no fear. He was trying to climb all over everything. There were rocking toys to help with balance, and bubbles and parachutes, gigantic balls, music and toys. There were two other sets of twins there as well. So while the cubs had a great time, Mom -- not so much. It was really hard trying to tend to both of them by myself. The instructor was really helpful, but I can't expect her to "play parent" for us every time. Dad's weekend schedule is so erratic that it makes it impossible for me to plan activities. So I doubt that we'll be able to do this again until the cubs are a little bigger.

Yesterday was Zach's nutrition appointment. I look forward to these only so I can find out if Zach gained any weight. And it is convenient enough, because she actually comes to our house. But not this time. The Nutritionist was a no-show. ***SIGH*** I give up. Thankfully, Zach has really been doing well. He hasn't been eating as much solid food, but he's picked up some on his formula intake, so I'm okay with that. He also seems to like the Pediasure, so we'll stick with giving him one of those per day.

This week I attempted to cook another new dish...Parmesan and herb baked flounder, served with white rice. I think I did pretty good for my first attempt at fish. Steve even said he'd eat it again. Wow! Another success.

The cubs are still awake. I guess a nap is not going to happen today. So later this afternoon, we'll probably all be miserable. I can't wait for Dad to get home. I need to start this (Mon)day over.

Friends and food

Beth Ann and Matt came over last night. We cooked out on the grill and played with the cubs. It has been a month since they were here last, so it's always fun for me to hear how much they think the cubs have changed.

I gave Zach his first bottle of Pediasure yesterday. I figured I had better get that done before his next Nutritionist appt (on Friday) because I know she'll be asking whether he liked it or not. And much to my surprise, I think he liked it. It's 30 cal/oz, and he drank 6.5 oz. Not too shabby for our little man. And even more surprising...he kept it down! So far so good! We're keeping our fingers crossed!

I am going to look into a Gymboree program for the Cubs. I was hoping Steve could attend a free class with us, but with his schedule I think it's going to be impossible. Gymboree offers two classes that I think might interest the cubs:

Family Gymboree: This is a class for families with more than one child. Here, siblings can experience and enjoy the fun and the challenge of the Gymboree environment together--slides, ramps, bridges, tunnels, songs, movement games and our legendary parachute. This mixed-age class supports physical, language and social skills for both of your children.

and

Gymboree: Designed by child development experts, each of our seven levels focus on and support the specific developmental milestone your child is working on at his/her age--from sensory explorations for young babies to cause and effect, two-way communication, "motor planning", imaginary play, to early listening and language skills. Each program level incorporates fundamental, engaging activities that help to build your child's cognitive, social and physical skills.

I think it's important for the cubs to have social interaction with other children, while learning and having fun at the same time. Very cool!

Emily Bear is bottle-free??

Happy Memorial Day!

Last night Steve decided that Emily was ready to go to bed without her night-time bottle. We are so brave (we strategically planned this big event on an evening where we both would be off the next day, and able to sleep in or take a nap if necessary). I just knew she'd wake up at 2AM just starving to death (in which Steve was going to have to get up with her...it was his big idea after all), but she made it through the night. WOO HOO! So we are trying again tonight. Wish us luck!

The "No-Puke" Streak has ended

Zach's 20 day no-puke streak has sadly come to an end. This afternoon I experienced our little man's Mt. Vesuvius once again. Hopefully this will be a one day event and we can start a new no-puke streak tomorrow. Every puke-free day around here is a very joyous one!

Is it Friday the 13th?

Emily bear treated me to her first full-blown temper-tantrum this morning. Bright and early. Good Morning Mom! I am not kidding....on her back, red-faced, legs kicking, mouth open with her "you're killing me" scream. I fully expected her head to start spinning. And Zach, bless his little heart, thought it was a friendly game of "who can scream the loudest". So in between Emily's gasping for air, as she prepared for her next round, Zach would interject one of his high-C eardrum bursting screams. What a great morning this is turning out to be. The neighbors are probably calling CPS. I need to call an exorcist.

Knock on wood -- every piece I can find

I'm almost afraid to say anything for fear of jinxing a good thing. Zach's eating has been great recently. We have gone 15 days without "an episode" (spitting up his entire stomach contents)....knock on wood....I can hardly believe how well he's been doing. He takes his bottle without a big fuss, and he generally finishes it in under a half hour. Both of these are huge accomplishments for our little man. And he's still eating his solids. WOW! I am so proud of him!

Poor Emily rarely gets mentioned when we're discussing feeding issues. That is because the girl doesn't have any issues with feeding. If it comes within a mile of her mouth, the girl is going to eat it. She is such a champ!

There has been a lot of hair-pulling going on. Mine included! I am pulling out my hair because they are pulling on each other's hair. Emily must be jealous of Zach's hair. He has blonde curls and it has always been longer than Em's. She loves to reach over and grab a HANDFUL of hair. And PULL!!! And the screaming begins. YIKES! Now Zach is starting to fight back. Earlier this week I caught him with a handful of Emily's hair. The look on Emily's face was priceless and it was so hard not to laugh. How do you explain to two 12-month-olds why they shouldn't pull each other's hair?? You think the fact that it hurts would be enough. I guess I had better go consult the parenting book before they both start getting bald patches.

They both definitely understand the word "NO!". And Emily is getting to the point where she starts crying if you look at her wrong. I have perfected "the look". There are times I don't even have to say anything. I give her "the look". One glimpse of "the look" and Emily drops everything, puts her hands behind her back, and gives me the innocent "who me??" face. While very cute, I seldom fall for it. Until she comes over and tries to give me "the make-up hug". **SIGH** I'm a sucker for that every time!

We're so vain...

We think Emily and Zach are pretty cute, so Steve entered them in a photo contest for Parenting magazine. Feel free to check out all the adorable babies, and then vote for ours. (Shameless plug!) You can vote once per day through June 24, 2008.

To view, rate and recommend, go to:

http://www.parents.com/app/sharemy/photoDetails.jsp?photoId=169500541 for Emily

and

http://www.parents.com/app/sharemy/photoDetails.jsp?photoId=169000599 for Zach

Is it a full moon or what???

So I haven't checked the calendar, and I rarely get a chance to look outside and check the moon, but I swear it must be full. Z-man woke up at 6 am this morning (on my only day of the week to sleep in). For some reason he is waking up earlier and earlier each day. And now, both cubs are refusing their naps. This NEVER happens! Especially with Emily bear. I usually put them down and they are out within 15 minutes. BUT NOT TODAY! Both babies have been in their cribs for nap-time for over an hour now, and not one resembles a napping baby. It sounds as if there is a three ring circus going on in there. How is it possible that they are not tired?? Without naps, I can only imagine what this afternoon is going to be like....

On a side note, for the first time ever, I made shrimp last night. And I am pleased (and relieved) to note that neither of us is showing any signs of food poisoning today. I call that a success!

Pre-baby steps

Our little man will probably be walking before his sister. Of course, he has less weight to carry around. He's been practicing his balance. This morning he stood on his own for at least 5 seconds, which doesn't seem like much, but to Mom it seemed like an eternity. He was so proud of himself. He looked like a little surfer with his arms out. Any day now....the video camera is all ready to go.

Mother's Day

Happy belated Mother's Day. I really enjoyed my first Mother's Day at home with the Cubs. Last year the Cubs were still in the NICU, so although this was officially my second Mother's Day, it really felt like my first! We spent the weekend shopping, Saturday at Grapevine Mills and Sunday at Sam's (the errands don't stop for holidays in this family). Steve made breakfast for me, and I just enjoyed spending time together as a family.

Zach's latest appointment

We have been struggling with Zach's eating issues for several months now. He had an appointment with his Nutritionist yesterday, and much to my disappointment he only gained less than one ounce since his last appointment on April 18. I should be happy that he hasn't lost any weight, but to hear that he hardly gained any is really discouraging. He is now in the 3.39 percentile for weight, and at 28 1/2 inches, he is in the 28.72 percentile for length. He is going to be a tall and skinny basketball player. I am very proud of him and his eating over the past week. He was previously taking 5 bottles per day, but then out of the blue started refusing all of his solids. He would take one bite, and clamp his little mouth shut. Needless to say, feeding time has NOT been fun. So after much thought, we decided to drop a bottle, and little man has started eating solids again. Thank goodness. I am also very proud to say that he has kept everything down for nine whole days. This is MAJOR good news. And since we dropped that bottle, he is actually taking a little more in his remaining bottles, which is quite a pleasant surprise. The Nutritionist gave us some Pediasure to try. It is 30 cal, vanilla flavored. Things are going so well right now, I'm a little afraid to "rock the boat". I am not too optimistic about giving him something new, because nothing has worked out so far. He hasn't been able to keep down anything with the higher calorie content and believe me, we've tried everything...thickeners, Neocate (this stuff must be made of gold, I'm a little relieved he didn't like this one, who can afford it at $40 per can???), Alimentum (UGH...who can blame him for not liking this one??? It smells like something you'd feed a farm animal.), Benecalorie, and a list of other formulas too numerous to mention....

We have really been trying to eat dinner at the dinner table. Since it has been just the two of us for so long, we have really become accustomed to eating out or eating in front of the TV. Now that we are a family, I want to have family meals, plus it's a good way for the cubs to start experiencing new foods. Zach has no interest in this at all. He generally gets a tad fussy during dinner, but I'm determined to stick it out. Emily on the other hand, is quite a little sneak. We were enjoying a fabulous meal of grilled cheese and tater tots (quick and easy for hockey night --- GO STARS), and that little girl reached over and stole a tater tot right off my plate. I retrieved it from her, broke it open and gave her some of the inside potato. My chunky monkey certainly did not need the fried part of the potato. She is definitely my little girl, she LOVES potatoes.

Little Emily bear is now down to one bottle a day. Of course, it's the night-time bottle and I just don't know how we'll be able to live without it. Otherwise, she's been doing great. She now enjoys her milk from her sippy cup and has been trying some more new foods. Recently she has been gobbling down cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is one of those foods that is thick enough for Emily to try spoon feeding herself, and she does a really good job. I did notice yesterday that she spoon feeds herself with her left hand. That may be my doing, since that is the hand I put the spoon in, so today I'm planning on making an effort to let her choose which hand to use.

My first blog

As I'm typing this, I am wishing that I had started this blog sooner. It makes it so much easier to inform our friends and family with the latest Cub updates. The Cubs are growing so fast, and learning so many new things that it is hard to keep track. If only I would have been better at documenting everything.

So, everyone knows that Zach has had some "eating difficulties". He was eating solids, but has recently started refusing everything after just one bite. So this morning when he ate his cereal, I was ecstatic. My mood generally is related to how well Zach eats, so this morning I was in a pretty good mood. This evening I was feeling pretty brave so Steve and I decided to try giving the Cubs some new foods. Today was ground meat and avocado. Emily gobbled up that avocado (she is my child afterall) but didn't care for the meat. Zach on the other hand, took only one bite of the avocado, and forced himself to throw-up the meat. It was a terrifying moment as his little face turned bright red as he was working the meat up and out. I think I have come to accept that this is just how things are going to be with Zach. Every meal is going to be a challenge. We've been to numerous Doctors and nothing has helped. It's been frustrating to say the least, but I always try to remember that things could be worse. Zach is our little miracle cub and we are blessed that he is with us and doing as well as he is.