Baby Squared

Browse by Tags

• A Day of Firsts

  Yesterday was one of those days where it felt like there were lots of new things going on. (How appropriate for Easter, yes?) It wasn't actually the girls' first Easter, but it was the first one we celebrated. We went to church in the morning, and in the afternoon, the girls partook in their first-ever (chocolate) egg hunt. This was totally a last-minute, minimalist effort -- I'd picked up two baskets and a couple of bags of chocolate eggs at CVS the day before. But the girls loved it.   I feel like it was the first holiday activity we've done with them where they seemed less like"babies," being dragged along for the ride (say Trick or Treat! Open your present! Etc.), and more like kids. When Clio first came down the back porch stairs, she spotted a chocolate egg, picked it up and said "Where did that come from?" (One of her new favorite expressions). Once we gave them their baskets and explained what they were supposed to do, they "got it" immediately, running around the yard and scooping up eggs, each time shouting "I found another egg!" And, like true kids, they were NOT happy when, after they'd each had some chocolate, I put their candy away to be doled out over the next few days (and eaten by me. Ha). In fact, there was a brief but intense crying jag until I distracted them with the idea of going around the living room and "finding" toys to put in their baskets. Of course, with older kids, this diversion technique never would have worked.         More pics after the jump Read More... Posted Apr 13 2009, 03:00 PM by Roper with | with 9 comment(s) Filed under: Milestones, twins, holidays, twin toddlers, potty training twins, Easter, The Three Month Itch, Anna Solomon, New York Times

• Our Very Own Stroller Derby

  As I write this, the girls are downstairs with Alastair, whining and yelling and crying, as they seem to have been for most of the morning. It was my day to sleep in, and I did it with a vengeance, and earplugs. I probably should go down and give Alastair a hand. Wait....they're quieting down...must mean their mac and cheese is ready...Thank God.   Who knows why they're suddenly in terrible moods? Maybe they realize that Christmas is over, and they're feeling the inevitable let-down? I suppose that's one advantage (perhaps the only) of their birthdays being on the 28th. At least, it may prove to be a comfort to them in future years. Just as the thrill of new Christmas toys is starting to wear off, they get another little hit three days later. Actually, we reserved a number of their Christmas gifts for their birthday, because it just would have been too overwhelming for them to open them all at once. As it was, Christmas morning was a little manic.   They got some great presents from the grandparents, as well as far-flung uncles and aunts, family friends, etc. But I would like to spend this post congratulating myself (and Alastair) for the awesomeness of the gifts we gave them. There were really only three things -- we wanted to keep it simple; besides, what do they know from presents? -- but well chosen.     Read More... Posted Dec 27 2008, 12:10 PM by Roper with | with 10 comment(s) Filed under: family, twins, babies and dogs living together in harmony, holidays, materialism, twin toddlers, christmas, elmo

• Two times two equals f#&%

  We had a nice Thanksgiving weekend. Really, we did. There was lots of good food and no family drama. We got some serious, slothful relaxation in, too: the night before Thanksgiving, at my brother's house, we drank wine, ate pizza, and watched five straight hours of Top Chef. I've decided I'm going to start talking to Elsa and Clio like one of the contestants to get them more interested in their food: "What I've done here is taken circular oat cereal, rustled it into a bowl and then quickly doused it with just the right amount of fresh, cold milk. Finally, I've topped it off with some thinly-sliced, ripe banana. Enjoy."   We also had twenty-eight glorious child-free hours together on the Maine coast, which we spent doing the sort of things we used to do way back when: browsing in shops, eating more frequently than is biologically necessary, talking about everything from our college days to our future plans to how Abraham Lincoln won the Republican nomination. (A. is reading Team of Rivals.) We were silly and stupid and flirty. And man, it was nice to go to sleep in a big, soft, king-size antique bed and not have to negotiate which one of us was going to get up with the girls in the morning.   Though I can't say I really *missed* the girls, by the time we headed back to my parents' house, I was eager to see them. They greeted us with bright smiles, said "Mommy Daddy here!", let us kiss them, and then proceeded to have total, screaming meltdowns. Both of them.   Video (not of the meltdowns) after the jump. Read More... Posted Dec 01 2008, 09:02 PM by Roper with | with 16 comment(s) Filed under: twins, holidays, I am powerless, tantrums, discipline, twin toddlers, Maine, time out, thanksgiving, grown-ups only

• Thankful

  I could offer up a predictable litany of things I'm thankful for -- my family, my friends, my health, my relative financial security, the results of the presidential election, etc. etc. But let's face it: that would be kinda boring. So, I thought I'd mention ten of the stranger and less obvious things that I'm thankful for this year, while attempting to stay within the topic(s) of this blog. In no particular order:   1. I'm thankful that I'm not pregnant. Right now, so many of our friends are having -- or gearing up to have -- their second child. I'm terribly happy for them, but every time I hear the news, I can't help smiling to myself and thinking: thank GOD it ain't me! I never wished or hoped to have twins, but I did always want two children, and now that I've had them both in one fell swoop, I'm really appreciating the efficiency of it. I get tired just thinking about going through the whole newborn-sleepless-nights-constant-nursing thing again, so soon. And I can't imagine having both a toddler and a newborn. Then, I guess I automatically think about what it would be like to have two toddlers and a newborn, since that's what I would have. And that would obviously be a lot crazier. But still. I'm very happy not to be expecting. (Congrats to all of you who are -- I'll bring you a casserole.)       Read More... Posted Nov 26 2008, 08:00 AM by Roper with | with 8 comment(s) Filed under: twins, feeding twins, holidays, table manners, depression, twin toddlers, snacks, Maine, parenting and depression, antidepressants, thanksgiving, sleep

• A Very Baby Christmas

  As I've mentioned, I'm a big fan of Christmas. Commercialism aside, there really is something magical about the season to me, which I guess goes all the way back to childhood. We did the whole nine yards when I was growing up: cutting down our own tree, making tons of Christmas cookies, hanging stockings by the chimney with care, etc. But during the past ten or fifteen years--that long, carefree stretch of young adulthood--the holidays were always kind of disappointing. Still enjoyable enough, sure. But something was missing.   Then last Christmas was just strange. I was 36-1/2 weeks pregnant, gigantic and incredibly uncomfortable. (Aching pelvis, aching back, swollen feet, horrible heartburn, braxton hicks contractions.) I was too exhausted to go to any Christmas parties. Not to mention the fact that I had exactly two pairs of pants and two pilly maternity sweaters that fit me, and was sporting seven chins.  We couldn't leave town, in case I went into labor, and didn't particularly feel like entertaining, either, so we had a quiet little Christmas at home, just the two of us, bored out of our skulls, waiting for it to become the four of us.   And this year, it is. Not coincidentally, I've felt more Christmas-y this season than I have in a long time. The snow certainly helps (we've gotten dumped on three times here in Boston), but I think it's mostly the babies' doing. It's funny; they're not even old enough to be conscious of Christmas, or understand the concept of a gift, or get into the whole Santa thing. (They did, incidentally, have their first Santa encounter last week, when "Santa" visited my workplace. They were totally unimpressed.) And yet, something about having them in our life has put the shimmer back on Christmas. I guess what it really comes down to is that thanks to these two little buggers, I'm happier than I've been in years. Maybe happier than I've ever been.   More importantly, for the first time in my life, I understand the value of singing, animatronic decorations:       Happy Holidays, Babblers. Catch you on the 28th -- Elsa and Clio's first birthday.   Posted Dec 23 2007, 09:31 AM by Roper with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: twins, nostalgia, dancing babies, holidays, baby's first Christmas