Learning something new every day

They're changing so fast. I started this post DAYS ago and keep adding on and editing out those things that are no longer true. Time to just click "publish!"

------------------------

29 October:

C&D have been living on earth a whopping 9 months since Sunday, and are learning more every day.

Carmen has added a singsong "Da-da-da-da-da" to her vocal repertoire, but, alas, it is not enough. Sometimes when she wants more food she'll frown and twist her little mouth around in an effort to say something that finally spills out of her mouth in one long, wet, raspberry. (If that doesn't work, she'll start screeching . . . better to intervene before the screeching sets in!) Sometimes she signs "all done," but what she really means is, "more." Maybe she does mean that she is all done, and so she expects more? Hopefully in the next few weeks as her dexterity improves (and we begin noticing her attempts at communicating) we'll all be making a little more sense. In this picture she is preparing for Halloween weekend by smearing beets on her face. We won't do beets again until we're sure she has better aim when feeding herself.

David loves giving kisses, which have felt a little more interesting now that those two little bottom teeth are more prominent. We'll have to work on that.

Carmen had two top teeth come through, and is working on two more on the opposite side. With her top teeth and bottom teeth she has discovered she can take little (and sometimes very big) bites of things like sliced water chestnuts and pretzels and raw sweet potatoes and cool, crunchy haricots vert. She also thinks it's lovely to grind them together while I rock her at night. We'll have to work on that, too.

David has learned that it's really funny to be sitting next to your sister, and then give her a big shove and watch her fall over. Fortunately sister doesn't mind too much (right now).

But it's not like Carmen is victim to a big bad brother; the other day, while he was playing quietly alone, she kicked David's rear in a rapid rat-tat-tat rhythm while she flapped her arms and sang. Fortunately brother doesn't mind too much (right now).

Carmen still doesn't crawl; instead she alternates between flopping on her belly and sitting up. She can locomote this way, alternately flopping and sitting until she meets an obstacle (e.g., the wall, or the aforementioned brother). While this is not efficient, she does move forward and back and around like the knight on a chess board, moving nowhere fast but moving, nonetheless, and winding up someplace apparently random that to her might actually be very deliberate. (Although last week, when on the slippery hardwood and wearing a pair of Babylegs, she managed to move nowhere despite a good bit effort for at least ten minutes.) Last week Matt set her down on the rug while he unloaded groceries from the car, and found her kissing her her reflection in the diaper pail when he finished. Coincidence? Of course not, said Carmen. She rolls toward something she wants, too, but not very far. I would suppose rolling across the room would make her feel a little dizzy. She also loves to roll around in the bed, which is a little frightening because the bed, unlike the floor, has edges. For a few weeks now she has felt compelled to do downward dogs when she is on the floor, and her pose is actually looking better every day (what next, cobra? cat-cow?). She pulls herself up to her knees and tries to stand, but occassionally finds herself stuck or a little confused in this new position, and will experiment no further.

David finally began crawling today, but only a few crawls at a time before stopping. We were playing on the bed, rolling and sitting and flopping just like Carmen, and he wanted very much to reach my LED headlamp because it is bright and interesting and apparently tasty, as well. He drags his right leg behind when he moves, and he is not very fast, but I expect by the end of the week I will be glad I am no longer working because I will desperately need to finish childproofing the house. David enjoys standing up very, very much, but has not yet figured out how to transition from sitting to standing. He can easily pull himself to kneeling, so I wonder how many days or weeks will pass before he can finish hoisting himself up. One of his favorite activities is to hold on to or lean on a basket weighted with 30 pounds of barbell weights. Inside the basket are some toys that he will pick up and drop, and a large pine cone from the Big Thicket that he alternately drops, pets, and tries to eat.

Two of C&D's favorite things are the cat and any fish tank. The cat serves as an inspiration for crawling, squirming, rolling, flopping, stepping, or hopping in any one direction, and when he walks out of a room they crane their necks around the corner to see where he might have gone. Likewise, the fish tanks at Whole Foods, the Galleria, even Petsmart fascinate and captivate. The random, fluid movements and bright colors receive complete attention. So Friday, the Friday before Halloween, the zoo was open late and we took the babies to see animals larger and more colorful than the cat, and more numerous than the fish in the tropical tank at Whole Foods.

C&D could have cared less about the elephants, the giraffes, the tigers. These animals were maybe too big for them to get their mind around. Maybe an elephant is no different than an SUV, a giraffe no more strange than a UPS truck, a tiger no more real than a picture in a book. So the babies, politely bored, rode in their slings and watched the many naughty children run around like the wild animals Matt and I were futiley trying to point out.

All this, until I decided we needed to visit the flamingoes. The babies flapped and stomped, and leaned in toward the exhibit until I was afraid they might fall. The flamingoes chased one another and spread out their wings, all pink and loud and very, very real. After the flamingoes' show we decided to take C&D to another place that we knew would be a sure hit--the aquarium. Carmen watched the fish in the tanks while David lunged forward and tried to touch them, his palm lightly slapping the glass. We lingered at the last and largest tank, David standing nose to nose to a group of resting sharks.

Feeling adventurous, the next day we took a visit to the George Ranch with the intention of breathing fresh country air and visiting some livestock. We did, although Carmen and David liked the hay most of all, and David tried stuffing it into his mouth by the fistful. The ranch is wonderful, with several period buildings and actors from the 1830's to the 1930's. We found the hay (next to some pigs, oxen, and chickens) in the barn next to a dogtrout house. We liked going to the ranch so much that we bought a year-long membership so we could visit the gardens and the animals and the friendly pioneers, sharecroppers, cowboys and ranchers as often as we want. Maybe when the babies are bigger we can volunteer there in exchange for the opportunity to take care of some animals and wear bonnets and big straw hats. And eat more hay, clearly. Hmm.

Let's see, what else has happened recently? We had some fun tie-dying some shirts, can you tell? We needed some long-sleeve shirts for fall's cooler days, so I bought some nice, soft long-sleeved t's at Dharma Trading Company and one nice day Fiona and I experimented with different tie and dye combinations while Carmen slept and David rolled around on a blanket and studied the leaves in the trees. We dyed about 20 shirts, including some cut-up onesies . . . we are SO over the color white! More than our attempts at spirals and random splashes of color, I think I like the striped shirts best.

The perhaps unfortunate side effect of our adventure in the fiber arts is that our children are clearly the most color-uncoordinated children this side of Texas. Good thing they're pretty darn cute.

Whew. That's all for now. Will share more when I can!

Butter with that?

David is commando-crawling at an increasingly rapid clip.

Today both mastered hoisting themselves to standing in the crib, and David has already learned to cruise around the crib in circles. Carmen concentrated on ways to get her leg over the rail and get out.

I'm toast.

Because everything is new

This weekend C&D discovered the zoo, flamingos, house-sized aquaria, the George Ranch, and . . . hay.



More later. Really.

Color, paint, sing, play!

College Tuition Increases Outpaced Gains in Aid: Ouch.

Here's something less painful: I'm now a distributor for Mercurius USA. Crayons, paints, flutes, drums, Waldorf supplies . . . and C&D get to try out all the merchandise! Woo-hoo!

Jump Start

Next Height/Weight Checkup is in Two Weeks . . .

P.S. Somebody tell her to alternate sides . . .

Even Better

Today we drove to Central Market for dinner and some Seven Generation kitchen cleaner to replace my Waterpik Aquia (a sad story that I will not recount in this space . . . sniff).

All of our meals now involve C&D eating, too, so they ate sauteed carrots, slippery mung bean noodles, and little bitty nibbles of water chestnuts. After our little family covered the concrete floor beneath our patio table with a sprinkle of orange and white in the style of Pollock, Matt and I realized that we should go out to eat more often. The babies enjoy eating and people-watching, and, even better, we don't have to clean the floor when we're done.

At home the biggest culinary hit this weekend was lightly steamed haricots vert. That's good. Skinny little green beans are easy to clean up.

I think the babies have confused the sign for "milk" with the sign for "mommy." I should fix that before they start school.

I also need to fix our sleep habits. I think Carmen has taken after her mother and turned into a nighttime dawdler (see the time of those post). Tonight she ate, pottied, rocked, then ate, pottied, and rocked again before falling asleep. I suppose she just wanted to make sure I was able to watch Desperate Housewives (and Extreme Home Makeover before, and Grey's Anatomy after).

Babies Wobble But They Won't Fall Down

Well, most of the time, anyway.

Earlier in the week I left the babies alone in the living-room-turned-playroom for a minute while I got a drink in the kitchen. I returned to find Carmen had rolled toward David, and they were giggling and grabbing at one another. I wanted to record it, and instead caught this:



This week we built an enclosure against the kitchen window, where our table used to be. We made my office space a little smaller, moved the kitchen table to the spot where my plants sat, and then fenced off the newly-created space adjacent to the kitchen's picture window. Now that the babies are squiggling, scootching, wobbling, and rolling around, the enclosure will let us keep an eye on them while we work in the kitchen or catch a snack. They seem not to mind it, and David has already tried pulling up on the metal bars (and stopped halfway up, stuck).

Watching the cat on the window ledge outside.

C&D snacked on some broccoli yesterday, but Carmen said she preferred her sock, instead. Good thing we found more BabyGap socks at the consignment store. They are stretchy and pull up higher than most, so she has to tug on them for hours before they finally come off.

Babies Say: Mush Is Out!

Babies Worldwide Admit Mushy Food is Boring

I laughed when I saw this. I think C&D wrote it.

The past couple of weeks they have made clear that the pureed veggies I prepared for them is so two months ago. They don't object to the taste, but are less enthused about the texture. This has been especially true since they've noticed that the sweet potatoes or beets on my plate don't look much like theirs.

So their favorites these days? Crunchy wheat crackers, al dente penne pasta, crisp broccoli off the stalk, sweet potato and yams cut into "fries," bananas, roast lamb, oat o's, savory chicken bones (great teething toys!), the fattest baby carrots we can find, and slimey, slippery pieces of avocado. Almost all organic, of course, I am proud of that. We want to make sure we are doing everything we can to grow strong, healthy people.

We still consider the allergenicity of the foods we are introducing them to (imagine being allergic to avocado, how sad!), but the food processor won't be making any more mushy baby food. Good thing I've got the ingredients for a nice basil and pine nut pesto lined up for tomorrow. Don't want the food processor to sit on its (rubber-footed, skidproof) laurels.

David's second tooth is finally starting to break the surface. I felt it when I felt the first around the time of Rita, but it has been slow in erupting. So now he is close to having two center bottom teeth. Carmen's two top left teeth are on the way out, and she likes practicing her bite on poor, defenseless carrots.

David Wearing Babylegs

Another mirror picture.

Couldn't put a clingy David down this afternoon, and couldn't take a picture of him sitting in my lap because he was squirmy and kept grabbing at the camera--until we went into the bathroom. So, say hi to David, my trusty bathroom mirror, and check out those cute Babylegs!

With winter approaching, the Babylegs should help C&D keep toasty-warm.

Carmen, Fiona, and a Library Book, and, well . . .

Taking a moment to have a snack (well, okay, Dinner Part II) and catch up on a couple of projects before joining everybody else in sleep. I really didn't want to put Carmen to bed earlier tonight. I was enjoying her too much. As I rocked her she nursed, stood, jumped, sang, gurgled, pottied, took off our socks, explored my mouth, hair, and headlamp, and spoke German ("Goch! Goch!), Chinese ("Gu, Gu!"), Sheepish ("Ba Ba Ba!") and British English (Ta! Ta! Ta!). Frustrating, maybe, but I still wanted to kiss her cheeks until she giggled and squealed.

Of course, those things are funny in the evening, but tragic at midnight. Fortunately such antics are rare once C&D are asleep.

Carmen reading Joseph Had a Little Overcoat with Fiona.

I was going to say something else but a long week has caught up with me, because I have already forgetten it. Hmm. Well, just for yummies, here is a picture of David from the Hurricane Rita weekend before I sign off. He is a little tired in the picture, but still his sweet, sensitive self:

So what's that "n" code that shows up when you press "play"?

Let me know. I sure don't know what it is. I'm stumped, and it's icky-looking.

Trembling With Excitement

When David was about 6 months old, we noticed that at certain times he would literally tremble with excitement. He still trembles when he sees something exciting, like a new toy (in this case, a plastic bag), or the cat. Sometimes he yells at whatever he's looking at, as if to say, "Hey, you know I can't reach you because I haven't figured out how to locomote, so you get yourself over here, instead!" When the cat hears such racket of course he ignores it, and thus David is already learning how it is with cats.


And here is Carmen trying to figure out how exactly her arms and legs might work so that she can move from here to there. It's hard stuff, learning how to get around! She's looking away from the camera because she's looking at Fiona. I think Carmen wanted to ask her, "So, think you can help me out, here?"

I Am SuperMom

I am SuperMom. Or, at least, let me pretend that I am.

This picture was taken this afternoon. In my bathroom. Yes, I write on my mirror with Dry-Erase markers. Yes, that is David peeking around my back. Yes, we are about to take a walk. Yes, I would like hazard pay.

Still here, but caught up in, well, living. Work, play, evacuating from hurricanes, cleaning up after evacuating from hurricanes, cleaning up after cleaning up, and trying to reason with two babies who are reluctant to sleep because they would like to practice crawling, talking, walking, exploring, and just being babies.

Trying to crawl. Arms and legs aren't coordinated, yet, so after realizing she is stuck . . .

Carmen takes a break.

David is still squiggling, but gets more excited about possibly walking. He pulled himself up to kneeling today. I wonder what is next?

More will come later, I promise, when things settle down. (Please say they will.)

First library trip yesterday. Found I can relate to the Very Hungry Caterpillar: need to go grocery shopping for the second time in a week tomorrow. The fridge is empty.

Is anybody goin' to San Antone,

or Phoenix, Arizona?

So says the song. We're leaving for San Antonio tonight around 2am. Even if Rita hits Port O'Connor (look it up if you don't have every bitty town in Texas memorized . . . what, you don't have every bitty town in Texas memorized?!) we're going to be experiencing 100+ mph winds in our neck of the woods. That's enough to put us at risk for some severe discomfort, especially if our ash tree falls on our house. The power is most certainly to be out Friday through . . . well, who knows. No power means no air conditioner, not to mention no fridge. Both are pretty indespensable lately, so we're packing up some diapers and toys and visiting Nana's.

A direct hit is still possible, as well.

Of course we're taking the Wi-Fi router to my parents' house, so we'll be online over the weekend. San Antonio will receive some stormy weather courtesy of Rita, but nothing worse than a typical stormy weekend, and nothing worth shutting the city down, so we'll be just fine.

Past, past, past

It's just about 3 hours past C&D's bedtime. That's 9:30pm to you civilians.

It's dark except for the light of the laptop. Carmen is in the bed on her back. She is flapping her arms, stomping her feet like a Fire on the Mountain clogger, and singing, gurgling, and blowing raspberries. (David is asleep in the other bed; thanks, kiddo.) So I am here, deciding that after swinging, rocking, going potty, swinging, rocking, and swinging some more, she can just roll around on the bed to her heart's content and hopefully get whatever's making her antsy out of her system (I wonder if it was the chocolate I ate today?). And I'm trying very hard to keep a straight face. I need a nap, a snack, and I really need to pee, but I also need to laugh. I will in the morning. This girl is crazy.

Yesterday I walked with her up and down the street for an hour. I tied her up in the mei tai, pulled out the phone, and just hoped I would bore her to sleep. For about 20 minutes of that hour she released her energy by singing "Aaaaaaaaah. Aaa-aaaa-aaa-aaaaaa-aaah!" so that the whole street could hear. When the neighbors drove by they were careful not to honk like they usually do; I must have looked like a mama on a mission. After she sang herself to sleep I walked for 20 more minutes to make sure the sleep stuck. It did. For a couple hours, anyway. Did I tell you this girl is crazy?

Hard to admit that she has two bottom teeth now; the second appeared over the weekend. I guess they're growing up, after all.

In other news, David thinks peek-a-boo behind the corner is ab-so-lutely hilarious. Can't wait to play hide-and-go-seek.

She stopped flapping, but she's still talking, and she's 180 degrees opposite of where she was before. Maybe I should try again.

When Somebody With No Teeth Smile At You

Lost all of this week's pictures. Seems that our 512MB memory card might be a little wonky (I'm hoping that's what it is, and not the camera!). Too bad, because the card had video of Matt holding David's hand while we took some tentative, wobbly steps. And of course, David hasn't done it again lately.

David is rocking on all fours, and Carmen is doing something like "Upward-Facing Dog." No crawling, but it's obvious they are enjoying the fact that they can push themselves up. Locomoting is still very puzzling, however.

A second tooth appeared in Carmen's mouth yesterday. David is still yummy in that toothless baby way. At Whole Foods on Friday, a woman teased David to make him smile. At first he hid behind the wrap, but when he did smile, he gave her a nice, big one. She laughed and told me, "That's the only time when somebody with no teeth smile at you and you think it's cute!"

Went swimming today. Met our usual friends then entered the therapy pool for some hard-core splashing. Both C&D tried to drink the water. "Who needs cups?" they said. Carmen splashed hard enough to get water all over Matt's glasses and began her characteristic (these days) screeching when she noticed the pools were too quiet with everybody minding their own business. Both still kick, and both tried paddling a bit with their arms.

Later this week we should get the 60+ bibs we ordered on eBay this weekend. We have several bibs, but only a few of them fit Carmen's neck without looking uncomfortably tight. So we found a lot of 60+ bibs of various sizes and conditions, and we're going to go treasure-hunting when the box arrives Wednesday or Thursday.

Next is socks. We don't have any that fit (C&D are wearing 12-24 mos.). With all their tummy time, some socks are in order to protect their soft little toenails. We're going to get the brightest, stripeyist, craziest socks we can find. This next developmental stage is going to be much about their feet, we should celebrate it! So we're looking for colorful sock lots. Oh, that just reminded me. I need to go check on my bid!

Remember this

I need to remember this. Fiona is out sick today, and Matt is at work.

Carmen didn't want to nap and was tired-fussy. So I put David on my back with the mei tai, and held Carmen in my arms, and just spent a good half hour walking in the shady spot in front of the house, back and forth, back and forth. I am wearing my Majamas (a nightgown that doesn't look too much like a nightgown) and my yellow TdF cap because I haven't had a chance to fix my hair this morning and it is, predictably, standing on end like a rooster's comb.

I'm glad the neighbors are all busy today.

And yes, Carmen fell asleep.

Labor Day Pictures

Pictures from the little angels on Labor Day. This is the park between the Williams Tower and the Water Wall. The Water Wall was actually working today, and C&D saw it. Both babies looked less than thrilled to see it, but I would have enjoyed having it as a background. Well, another time. I'm not sure why David's little shirt isn't buttoned at bottom; ask Matt. I think maybe David was hot or something.

When he got home from work Matt got to help David walk today. Before that David figured out every baby's favorite game: Throw Something &Make Your Mother Pick It Up & Bring It Back to You. David's variation involved throwing a hard plastic toy on our hard wooden floor while Carmen was sleeping. You can guess that even with the white noise on and the door shut, Carmen wasn't sleeping for much longer when that game started.

Then Carmen played a game of her own: I Want Whatever Brother Has In His Hands Or Mouth. Earlier in the day, when Carmen snatched a book out of his hands, David just let her have it and moved on to something else. This evening, though, he protested and tried to snatch whatever Carmen had taken right back. Carmen, of course, pulled harder.

Oh-oh. I didn't think that game would start so early.

Determination

The babies tried their hardest to refuse to sleep today. Last week Carmen fell asleep in the car with the babies' favorite rattle. When the car stopped and she woke up just enough to realize she had been sleeping, she started shaking the rattle furiously, her eyes still closed.

Today was like that. All day. Fiona commented that C&D must be very determined children. They might not nap, but with such determination (read: stubborness?) they should do well in life.

The cat also learned a little about determination today. He was napping with one eye open while David played on the rug. David, sitting up, tried to get the cat's attention. "Uuuuuugh," David said. "Uuuuuugh, eerrrrrrrruuugh!" The cat's ears twitched and he watched David from small slits of eyes. David starting bouncing, waving his arms, and shivering with excitement. I held David's hands and pulled him up to standing . . . and he took a step. And another one. And another one. In a few seconds he had ambled over the three feet to the cat. Toby's tail twitched. He looked at me, then at the baby. David stepped on the cat's furry foot and the cat ran around the corner to hide. David stared at the place where the cat had been, then at the corner. I tried letting him walk back to the rug, but David, temporarily defeated, just sat on the floor.

Later he tried cruising around a laundry basket. He was practicing for next time, maybe.

I should talk to the cat about determination.

Labor Day

Went to the Water Wall today--and the fountain had been turned off! What a bummer. It's a nice place to vist every now and then, not just for enjoying the fountain itself but also because it's nice to watch the social scene that surrounds it.

Because it was early in the day we did enjoy a short sit in the grass. Pictures coming later. I don't think the babies will let me post them tonight. I need to make sure we all sleep well. Long to-do list for tomorrow.

From the CDP:

Dear friends,

September and October are the peak months for births in the US. There are many pregnant women at the Astrodome and many women with very small babies. The situation is so critical they are mixing formula with water from buckets using zip lock bags (account from Mrs. D., one of Nadia's clients, who just came back from volunteering at the center).

We are placing a call to see who would like to help pregnant women at the hospital and immediately afterwards to help with the baby and breastfeeding. (Please let me know also if you speak another language, especially Spanish).

We are contacting local hospitals and the Houston Area Perinatal Collaborative to inform them we may be able to provide volunteer help specifically for mothers who are alone or in precarious situations. People are also sleeping anywhere they can, in chairs, etc., with the lights on day and night. Let us know if you could also potentially offer temporary shelter to pregnant or nursing mothers -

We are contacting some of the public agencies we work with on a regular basis to see how we can help coordinate some of that effort. They trust us for the quality of our work. As you know, everyone is overwhelmed right now, and this will have to be a sustained effort. Anyway we can help with a piece of it makes a big difference.

[Contact info withheld. Ask me if you are interested in helping, or if you know someone who can!]

The mission of the Community Doula Program is to educate and nurture expectant youth in disadvantaged neighborhoods, by cultivating peer Doulas from the communities served.

Botany is For Babies, Too . . .

. . . at least, where allergies are concerned.

I was thinking about Carmen's sensitive tummy today. It hasn't been so happy, lately. I thought about the pears she ate earlier in the week. Her tummy didn't seem to like those much.

Turns out the "pears" were actually gala apples, and the apples had been mislabeled as pears. Gala apples are a little tart. Poor David! No wonder he made such faces! Sorry, little dude.

In either case, be they apples or pears, an unhappy tummy may mean that we have an apple sensitivity on our hands, which means that we also have to be careful with the other things that apples are related to: strawberries (which, coincidentally, she reacts to), cherries (reacts), almonds (don't know because I haven't tried), plums, peaches, and, of course, those darn pears. All of those things and more are in the rosaceae family. See, botany is for babies, too!

Hrmmm. An apple sensitivity would explain a lot, if it were true. Testing is inconclusive at this early age, so all we can really do is avoid those things and see what happens when I add them into my--or Carmen's--diet.

In a way, I hope that's what it is. I'd like to be able to have my finger on all of the foods that bother her; right now there's still some uncertainty because I have to slowly test one food at a time. On the other hand, how can a kid be allergic to apples? How unAmerican! Allergic to peaches? How unSouthern! Hopefully by identifying the problem now, we'll save her from a lifetime of apple (or rosaceae) allergies and she'll be enjoying apple pie with the rest of us a few years down the road.

Better Subjects, Like Pictures

David has been having a hard time getting to sleep lately. He doesn't want Matt to put him to sleep; instead he fusses until I can put Carmen down, and falls asleep with me. As I lie next to him, he'll nuzzle close and flop a little hand on my stomach. I love that little hand.

Today at Onion Creek I sold my first mei tai to Shelby of Anala Goat Company (Shelby is Houston's favorite goat milk supplier). Shelby bought it so you can take her granddaughter with her around the farm. I hope the two of them like it.

Then we went grocery shopping and on the way home nearly got rear-ended by a Jeep that didn't stop at a light until the very last minute. Even with a super-safe car, I'm liking driving around here less and less now that I have babies in the back seat.

Ick. Let's move on to better subjects, like pictures. Let's just move in chronological order, okay?

A couple of weeks ago we settled C&D down for Happy Seven Month-day squash. Carmen liked it pretty well,
but David preferred the tablecloth (the back of a drawing from work!).

Both babies, but especially David, think my Tour de France cap is very funny. We have taken to wearing it and playing peek-a-boo with it when we're looking for a laugh.

The other day I needed to do something in the kitchen and wanted to keep David busy while I worked. I considered giving him a carrot to play with, but I was a little tired of carrots. I gave him a dried apricot from the co-op, instead. He very much liked it, and found out that he could even play with it hands-free! After he turned it into a mushy pulp I replaced it with another one. It's an expensive habit (because they were organic, unsweetened, and unsulphured, of course!), and I have to watch carefully because he could gag on a piece (ever choke on a too-big bite of steak?), but, by golly, he likes it so we'll do it again.

David's eyes teared at the taste of pureed Asian pears and he held his tongue out until the puree glopped on this chest. Like a good sport he did take several more tastes with his spoon.

Carmen ate his portion, instead.

SuperCarmen preparing for takeoff by doing a little warmup flapping.

Carmen likes dried apricots, too, and decided to alternate between tasting hers and decorating the blanket with the sticky mess. Next time I'll keep her and her apricot in the high chair.

David has always appreciated his reflection, but Fiona noticed that he seems to talk most to his distorted reflection on the bathtub faucet. At Ikea last week we found a mirror made up of 16 smaller convex mirrors. Like the bathtub faucet, but bigger and better!

At the end of one day earlier this week, I left C&D on the floor while I got up to get some grub. I returned to David making what I can only call "manly noises." See if you can translate what he's saying:




Last week on a conference call with work I found out that I will probably be dropped from the budget in FY2006. I was expecting the news. That means another transition for us all, but more on that, later, when more details are settled.

Katrina's Babies

We check the news several times a day, keeping track of how many evacuees, how many victims. We cannot believe the collective ineptitude and complete lack of planning exhibited by governments on both the local and federal levels. What a bitter, angry disappointment. At the same time, Houston with very little federal assistance has absorbed, sheltered, and fed about 100,000 new residents without a blink, and with the snap of his finger our mayor (aren't I glad I voted for him!) has opened up our largest public facilities. The power of the people, indeed.

I sent this to some people already, but mamatoto has some brilliant ideas on getting children out of dangerous situations safely. See one, do one, TEACH one!

Pleas for infant formula continue. People can dismiss breastfeeding, but . . .

Note to self

The Hokey Pokey; that's what it's all about. Focus on POKEY. Carmen's got a little tooth poking through, bottom right. Fiona discovered it when Carmen took a chomp at her finger at the Sony store in the Galleria. She felt something decidedly sharp, and so did I. When we got home we saw it, a sharp pearly white point just above the gumline. Note to self: Think before giving her a knuckle to gnaw on.

After being much-admired in the Dior store two weeks ago, the ladies in the Coach store coaxed us inside to see the babies today. We should have asked if Coach makes a baby carrier to add to our collection. Note to self: Next time you leave the house, make sure your clothes match, eh?

The babies have been changing their sleep patterns, lately. Enter, now, a streak of mischief. Last week when I was rocking Carmen to sleep, she started alternately sucking and blowing zerberts on my cheek. I couldn't help but laugh, of course, and then she started laughing, and we just had to give up being very serious about sleep that night. Note to self: Practice serious face. Hee hee, hee hee, hee hee.

They have also been learning new skills. They can turn around like a Twister spinner, and David scooches backward like an 80's-era remote-control car. Carmen likes to transition from sitting to lying down with a slow, silly plop that makes her laugh. David has learned not to cry when he forgets to keep his balance and flops over while sitting. Carmen took her first steps yesterday trying to get to the chime toy that Fiona and David were playing with. David learned last week in the pool that he can curl his legs forward and float on his back, but he doesn't particularly like to float on his back, so he prefers to try floating sideways, instead. They have both learned to snap my bra strap while they eat. Carmen thinks my hair is wonderful to grab, pull, and taste; David thinks everything is wonderful to grab, pull, and taste. Carmen thinks pureed pears are delicious; they bring tears to David's eyes from the tartness. Note to self: Stop working so hard and take more pictures.

Saturday C&D attended their first birthday party; Henry turned 50. Henry fished all day then got swooped up by his cousin Isaac in Isaac's new wood-bodied pickup truck (that he made himself) to go to the party. We followed soon after. While we were eating Carmen took a tour around the group with Uncle Manny, and everybody admired her chub. David stayed with me and stared at Jimmy while we walked college. Occasionally David would give Jimmy a pat on the arm to be sociable. Note to self: Didn't I tell you to take more pictures?

And David has learned to make manly noises. He clenches his fist and tenses his legs and arms and says "Argh! Grugh! Wugh!" He reminds me of Hulk Hogan. He started them in all earnestness yesterday. I took a video which I will post later, and maybe you can tell me what it means. Note to self: Learn boy-speak.

I hear somebody waking already and I haven't even had my snack. Note to self: Tell the babies that mommy can't write about babyness unless they start taking longer naps.

Checking the news of Katrina a few times each day. Tens of thousands of refugees are landing on Houston's front steps. Donating some outgrown maternity & baby things this weekend. Note to self: Give more.

A Good, Busy Weekend

Whew! What a good, busy weekend.

Just a few minutes ago I just sent in our first EllaRoo wholesale order. We're now officially an EllaRoo distributor. We're having so much fun with our carriers, and so many people ask us about them, that we are going to sell them. EllaRoo carriers are fairly-traded, handmade carriers that are especially lightweight for our warm Houston climate. They also have a great reputation for being well-made and long-wearing. We like our homemade carriers, of course, but not everybody has access to friends with a sewing machine, and the best fabric for a carrier is sometimes hard to find. (If you want an EllaRoo, let me know! My favorites are the Guatemalan woven wrap and the super-fun mei tai.)

This weekend's big event: Matt's parents came to visit their grandbabies. They haven't seen them since they were just weeks old.

But, wait, I'm getting out of order. Let me start with Friday morning.

We've been looking for a good drum for the babies. We needed something that they could pull close to their bodies, and with a good resonance. We tried various plastic containers and Friday morning decided that the monstrous Tupperware SuperBowl (now called Thatsa Bowl) filled with a handful of garbanzo beans made a very nice little instrument. David has figured out that striking it makes an interesting sound, but for now he really prefers to just admire its rotundness (is that a word? I declare it so) or grab it to catch his balance for a moment.

I love that bowl. What other drum can be used to make six dozen pecan Christmas cookies?

In the afternoon C&D's Grandma and Grandpa Reisdorf arrived from California. They brought presents, which the babies thought were very interesting . . .
. . . and tasty, too!
During the visit we read fun stories . . .
. . . played games . . .
. . . and went shopping. Friday evening we drove to Central Market to get provisions. While there I was able to show Carmen to my favorite barista (he made best-ever smoothies when I was pregnant and hungry-hungry-hungry). Saturday we took Grandma and Grandpa to the Galleria, C&D style.


Yes, that picture was taken at Shanghai Joe's. We are their most loyal customer. We didn't get to talk to the nice sushi chef this time; maybe next week. She's another of C&D's regular admirers.

Everybody had a really good time, especially the babies, and we are so glad for the grandparents' visit.

This morning, after we experienced yet another FAN (Failed Attempt at Napping), we motored over to Whole Foods to buy some goat milk. I had a hankering, and the goat farm didn't attend the farmer's market yesterday (we did make out with some squash, asian pears, a watermelon, and three kinds of peas). After the second FAN of the day, we put on our swimsuits and went to the Wellness Center to go swimming and say hi to Sherwin. Sherwin works at the front desk. He watched my belly grow bigger, and bigger, and bigger, and then watched me make handstands in the therapy pool to try to flip Carmen around from breech to vertex. (It didn't work, but I did provide a significant source of entertainment to pool users in those days.)

As soon as the babies entered the water, they wanted to move onto their bellies. With our hands beneath them, our little fishies kicked their legs and splashed their hands as if making a doggy paddle. We pulled them up and down the pool, splashing and kicking, splashing and kicking. While there we made some friends who were all curious to know if the babies would finally take a nap after all of that thrashing. Next week I'll need tell them that yes, the babies did nap!

Whew. Good thing. Matt and I were getting tired.

Maybe David was trying to tell me about the pool later in the afternoon. I don't know. It seems that babies are always developing strange little behaviors that their parents can do nothing but puzzle about. I have no idea what all that babbling and leg-lifting was supposed to mean. But I thought it was awfully funny. In the video David seems pretty amused, himself.


A good, busy weekend.

Trying Butternut Squash

Played with butternut squash and the spoons today, to give Matt and I a chance to talk and eat (seated! how rare!).

The aim wasn't always so good,



but Carmen did think it was interesting to mush around and taste. David used his spoon to catapult some squash onto the table. (No pictures . . . I must have been busy wiping it up.)

Well, duh.

The swing in the closet.

Now that we have two swings, the babies want nothing to do with them lately.

Well, duh. I should have figured.

Out of the Woods

An article from the Washington Post: Out of the Woods.

I remember making dinosaur tracks in the front yard one day. An ice cream man (actually, he really sold paletas) drove up and asked, "Hey, do you want this [watermelon paleta]. I responded yes and he said, "Here, tell your parents to pay me $1."

I did.

My parents were shocked at his boldness but do you know what? It was delicious! I still think about it sometimes, two decades later.

Variations

Well, Carmen woke up while I was finishing that last post. She's asleep again. Sounds like David and Matt have been doing well, though--haven't heard a peep. David suddenly got very, very ticklish today. I was nursing Carmen earlier this evening and David kept plucking at my shirt, wanting a turn. Since Carmen was already situated I decided to distract him a little with a tickle to his tummy, and he laughed heartily. Exploring his feet, arms, and neck all brought on the same silly laughter. I guess the tickle synapses in his brain just came together in a big way today.

Speaking of synapses, I am browsing The Wonder Weeks. It was recommended by a mother on an AP multiples listserv as a good read about brain development. TWW is not as informative as What's Going On In There? (which is a little academically heavy), but it has contains some interesting games appropriate to each stage. The authors must have been fun parents: there is a whole section called "Variations on Peekaboo."

I also just read again the last chapter in The Geography of Childhood, too. One of the best essays ever.

A Splashing Success

The morning nap didn't quite happen like it was supposed to, but we went swimming, anyway.

At the front desk of the gym we met a friend who had only seen the babies when they were in my belly. He was so excited to see Carmen and David so big and strong. Of course, Carmen wore a blue shirt (okay), and David wore a shirt with pink flowers (maybe not okay). Fortunately, C&D sat cozily in their wraps tummy to tummy with us, so my friend couldn't notice.

We had the therapy pool (kept at 91 deg. F) to ourselves. Still wearing the babies, we slowly stepped into the water. David quietly smiled and looked around as we bobbed up and down and made small waves. Carmen quickly began to splash and pulled away from Matt to have more room to wiggle and kick. Once we were certain that C&D felt comfortable in this new environment we helped them float on their backs, and then turned them over to let them kick while we pulled them along. We even dunked them on cue. David did a great job of holding his breath, but Carmen didn't like the dunking so much, maybe because she was very tired, or maybe because she is already past the point where her dive reflex is a part of her motor ability. She did very much like splashing, though, and Matt had so much fun that we will plan on going again next Sunday. With two chubby babes and sopping-wet cotton wraps we did look the spectacle, but C&D sure enjoy all the attention!

After playing in the water for a bit, we drove our two tired babies home. As we pulled out of the parking lot Carmen began singing her sleepy song, "Aaaaaaa-aaaaaaaah-eeeeeehhhh-yaaaaaaaah." And once in the house they slept soundly for exactly two hours.

No, they didn't. Despite two pairs of sleepy little eyes in the house, C&D hardly napped at all, and as soon as they fell asleep they woke up again. Sleeping apparently was not on today's agenda.

Not even the new swing helped. This morning we realized that our first swing is probably nearing the end of its natural life cycle. We also realized that as the babies have become more independent, a second swing--in a second room--might help on those few occasions when one baby has fallen asleep in the swing, and the other needs a swing-mobile-fishy-BabyMuzak fix that regular rocking, walking, or bouncing won't satisfy. So we begrudgingly bought Aquarium Swing #2 and placed it in the back bedroom closet (where else would we put it?). I already can't wait to eBay it, but I do hope it helps. As much as I dislike using the swing to settle them down, I dislike two tired, sad babies more!

But now they are sleeping, and soundly. Thank goodness. It's a very busy week this week.

Stories

Carmen fell asleep in her swing a little bit ago. When she is really tired and needs settling, a special mix of waterfall white noise and the horrible Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders swing mobile music will often soothe her to sleep. We hate that music, but the babies love its blandness. It's like Baby-Muzak. She'll probably wake up in an hour, and I'll get her to fall back asleep in her bed. I'll eat a snack and wash up, and then finish this post.

Before the mobile broke, the sight of the fish swimming round and round would send the babies into pure bliss. Smiling, eyes upward, and hands clasped in delight under their chins, they would coo and laugh as the fish swam round and round and round.

But everybody knows that fish don't make the best pets. One morning you wake up and poof, somebody's belly up. Well, one morning this week--or maybe last--Carmen asked for the mobile, and, well, we discovered it's not a very mobile mobile anymore. It just burnt out, I guess. The Ocean Wonders swing was clearly designed for singletons.

So now C&D just watch the fish bob and jiggle to the rhythm of the swing.

The white noise of the waterfall comes from my MP3 player, which plays the same track twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Whenever somebody is asleep--or falling asleep--the waterfall comes on over the living room stereo. The sound of the dishwasher, the creaks in the floor, the complaints of a sibling--are all muffled under the sound of water gurgling. The track plays all night, and every naptime. When I hear it I sometimes remember different campsites I've used that were close to running water. There was the National Forest in Arizona, for instance, in March of 1998. The spot between the rocks in Yosemite in June of 2001. The mossy patch under the great trees in the Olympic Peninsula, 2003. The hidden canyon in New Mexico during the Memorial Day weekend 2004. I liked that campsite so much that we stayed there the entire trip.

So the waterfall track keeps the babies sleeping, and my dreams sweet. Once I dreamed that water was rushing down the hallway and into the bedroom (entirely possible, because this is Houston), but even then, that wasn't such a bad dream. After a while in Houston you learn to keep everything you love off the floor and the flood insurance paid for.

---------

There are no pictures lately. Blame C&D. They keep doing their cute baby things when I don't have my camera at the ready. Today I left them with Matt while I went out for a doctor's appointment. To keep them busy he heated two ounces of sweet potato, gave each babe a spoon, and told them to have at it. When I came home, they had all gotten a bath, but Carmen still had a little sweet potato in her nose, and David had a bit in his ear. They apparently enjoyed using the spoon to get the sweet potato in their mouth and other places, and I wished I had been there to see it and take a picture.

But that's what Matt feels like every day. He misses out on the board books with the finger puppets inside, and the Wocket in the Pocket, and Cowboy the Flying Crazy-Colored Pegasus (a Fiona trick), and The Wheels on the Bus (another Fiona trick), and the morning swim sessions in the front yard with all the neighborhood folks coming by to chat. So many little moments that we don't want to miss, that we wish we could capture to enjoy again, and again, and again.

---------

I also wished for the camera at Panera Bread today. At the restaurant we found a cozy leather loveseat and chairs clustered together. As we ate our dinner Matt sat in one chair while I lounged in the loveseat feeding Carmen. David sat on the loveseat to my right, quite comfy and happy. I wedged him into the corner to make sure he wouldn't tip over. Because he is a bit too small for a latte, I gave him a plastic cup to play with so he would stop making eyes at my food (Panera Bread is not on the list of solids we will be attempting anytime too soon!) . He tried to drink out of it, but it was empty, so he tried drinking out of it backwards, as if he was trying to cure a case of the hiccups. When no water came out that way, either, he just decided to smush and gnaw the cup any old way. In a month he will be crawling fast enough that plopping him on a couch in a restaurant and leaving him there will be impossible. But we are glad to have had the experience, however temporary.

While we were out I talked to Matt about a medical study published several weeks ago, and the reasons why we are approaching solids so slowly. In the study, wheat allergy-prone babies introduced to wheat before seven months or after nine months had a significantly higher rate of wheat allergy than those introduced during the seven-to-nine-month window. One theory for the phenomenon was that GI tracts of the babies introduced to wheat before seven months were not quite ready and still vulnerable to allergy. But if the babes were introduced to wheat too late, they ate perhaps too much at once, and the system overload on the tract triggered the allergy. So on the one hand, while a baby may need a significant amount of a food (say, once a day over a course of days) to reach a biochemical threshold before a parent may be able to see a reaction and know if the baby should continue to eat it, too much of that food can put the baby at risk, anyway. And this reinforces other findings that while it is best to refrain from feeding solid foods Baby early, waiting too long can cause a problem, too! Milk, nuts, and a few other foods are proven, notable exceptions to this finding--the allergenicity of those foods suggest an even longer wait.

Whew.

After I gave Matt the rundown from all that journal reading I've been doing for the past couple of months, I felt like . . . taking a Benadryl.

---------

If C&D give us a good window of opportunity at noon tomorrow, we will go swimming at the Wellness Center. Matt's been kind of dragging his feet about it, because he knows we'll be quite the spectacle, but he should be used to that by now. I wonder when the "Look, twins!" stuff will stop. Sometimes I'm a little embarrassed (in that aw, shucks kind of way), but babies bring such joy to so many people (and you know I'll talk to anybody) that I'll be sad when nobody notices the twinniness anymore.

Anyway, I bought a new swimsuit on clearance last week, and Matt found his swim trunks, so we are mostly out of excuses. We won't be taking any pictures, though, out of respect to the other guests who may not feel so svelte in their suits, and don't want to worry about their photos being published.

---------

I bought a Melissa and Doug ring stacker on eBay last week. Carmen was awake and playing in the high chair when I opened the package yesterday. She marveled at the colors, and enjoyed gumming the round red top. This morning David found the stacker, and took the top and first few rings right off. Then he proceeded to suck on the center post that held everything together. Well, I thought, that's one way of playing with it!

They'll figure out the stacking trick later.

Our first word.

We have our first word from C&D this week.

A few days ago Carmen figured out how to make "buh-buh-buh." David managed to make the same sound today.

He also hums quite a bit. Hungry? "Mmmmmmp." Tired? "Mmmmmrrrmmrmp." Want to play? "Errrrmmmm, mmmmp!"

Now, to the untrained ear, those sounds mean nothing. But the twin-mama-Jedi-superpower ear puts each baby's sounds together, and it's clear C&D are saying

BUMP!

Well, okay, I thought it was funny. Feel free to laugh, whenever.

(Carmen sounded close to working out "d" today. Then we'll have "Duh" and "Dump?")

Extraordinary

The babies are getting so fun . . . and funny. Tonight Carmen looked up at me and laughed as we lay together in the bed. She kicked her legs and rocked side to side.

I was trying to put her to sleep. I always have Carmen duty at night; Matt takes David. This started a long time ago, when the babies were small and Carmen needed to be soothed, rocked and walked repeatedly before falling asleep. Because David fell asleep for the night more easily than she but woke up earlier, the boys started sleeping on their own in the back room.

Perhaps because of their natural temperments, or perhaps because of some subliminal reinforcement from their parents, the babies--like their parents--still have different internal clocks. Matt and David fall asleep easily while the summer sun still shines, and wake up before it rises. Carmen and I tend to resist sleep until the sun has gone down, and sleep in until six or six thirty.

And we still at least begin our nights in separate rooms. That way we don't disturb one another as we enter the land of our Dreams, because both C&D often sing to themselves as we rock them to sleep. As he relaxes on Matt's chest, David talks in long, open-mouthed vowels and hums, insisting he is not sleepy. Carmen sings a similar song, gargling and warbling bedtime arias to me and the cat and the mobile above the swing. Sometimes she wakens several times within the first couple of hours of the night, annoyed that she was tricked into falling asleep once again.

When David wakes up at night for a snack, usually sometime after Carmen and I have settled into bed, he and Matt join us. I sleep with a baby on either side until morning.

So tonight Carmen and I lay together, tummy to tummy, and she laughed and clapped her hands together, and I appreciated just how happy the babies always are. Even when they have played and jumped and laughed past the point of exhaustion, they are quick to smile and to laugh again. The routine becomes remarkable. At the changing table they marvel at each other, reach their hands out to touch. With eyes wide, they open and close their hands in anticipation every time the cat, always perched on the ledge above them, twitches his teasing tail. Walking through the grocery store today David smiled as I kissed his forehead, and then waited for another. By their happiness, they make an ordinary chore into an extraordinary event.






Later in the afternoon I steamed and pureed our sweet potato stash. I gave Matt a lick of the spoon. I told him liked the butternut squash more--it was sweeter. "Hey," Matt said, "let the babies have a taste." C&D looked like babes in sleep Purgatory--too late for a nap, too early for bed--and badly needed a diversion. I came back with a plate and a dollop of sweet potato puree. I placed it between the two babies and stood back. Immediately their gaze gravitated toward the blue-rimmed plate, but they ignored the orange goop in the middle of it. Matt gave Carmen a taste. She raised her eyebrows and grabbed Matt's hand, then she grabbed the spoon itself to lick it clean. I guess she liked it?



David was a little more cautious. He still prefers his fingers.



We'll be watching their cues to see when they would like some more.

Speaking of extraordinary, Carmen has been asleep an awfully long time without noticing I'm not next to her. I'm going to wash up before she notices and wakes up.

Trial and Error

This morning.

The babies are sleeping and I'm sitting in the dark, enjoying the relative quiet and hoping that the house stays this way for the next few hours. I need to write a bit, and snack a bit, wash up a bit, and then rest much more than a bit. I'm tired.

The babies' Uncle John came to visit today. They both enjoyed playing with him. . .
Carmen especially.
The mellow, serene newborn Carmen has become a silly, outgoing, exuberantly happy baby, while David, sensitive and sweet, has grown more relaxed and thoughtful. In other words, it is Carmen's turn to keep us busy.

Both babies' nighttime sleeping habits have been even stranger than usual, lately. When it began I suspected we were on the verge of a developmental leap, but after a couple of days of strange nightwakings and giddy, overtired babes, Matt and I were on the verge of temporary insanity, and desperate for a fix. Matt decided that maybe the babies were simply ready for something besides milk.

I was skeptical of this, but sweet potatoes are a happy, mostly harmless little vegetable, so last weekend we bought one and steamed it and mashed it. If they wouldn't eat it, at least they could squish it. Carmen felt indifferent to the whole affair,
while David looked only politely interested.
Neither ate any measurable amount of their sweet potato mash, thereby eliminating Matt's theory with a resounding "heck, no."

Later in the week I was busy preparing for my day and David noticed my bag of carrots. He studied it with interest. The carrots did not interest him as much as the crinkly sound of the plastic bag they came in. To buy myself a couple of minutes more to continue my chores, I handed him a carrot. He studied it, tasted it, felt its fresh-from-the-fridge coolness, and then compared carrot to finger.
The finger won, and the carrot rolled to the floor, where the cat swiped at it. Just as well; babies shouldn't be playing with carrots, anyway (little bits can break off and become a choking hazard). Carmen had a similar experience later in the week--after watching me eat one she held the carrot, looked at it, said, "You people eat this stuff?" and then proceeded to suck on her first two fingers. One more strike against Matt's theory. They'll let us know when they're ready to start nibbling off our plates soon enough.

I'm still voting for the developmental leap theory. In the past week, both babies have rapidly progressed in their abilities to sit, communicate, and grasp. In ways measurable and immeasurable, they are dramatically different little people from a week--or even a day--ago.

Yesterday, David sat unassisted for at least forty minutes while I folded some laundry and busied myself around the house. This morning both Carmen and David sat for quite a long while as Matt sorted diapers.

They amaze--and amuse--us. I hope they find us at least half as interesting.

Time for me to go to sleep. It's been a difficult couple of weeks, with work and babies and our issues with sleep (or, lack thereof). Tomorrow is a busy day, with more of the same, and hopefully time to replace the cheap rice cooker/steamer I bought at Target last week with one I actually like. Dad already returned the old one for me, so now I have the somewhat more interesting job of buying the new one. Then later in the week I'll steam, puree, and freeze some of this week's produce from Gundermann Farms. It's the last of the season. When the babies do start genuinely playing and experimenting with food, we'll have a stash of local organic butternut squash, yellow squash, and sweet potatoes to start us off. The butternut squash is already prepared and divided in the deep freeze, waiting for us. Mmmm!

---------------------

This is us at Shanghai Joe's (see previous post below). Carmen is hungry, can you tell? The drool/spitup spot on Matt's shoulder is a semi-permanent badge of parenthood. He wears it proudly.