Locked and Lola'd

Everything Changes Monday

2010-08-21T22:07:00.004-04:00

This weekend marks a passing that many have have experienced -- and even survived. But it's one that is weighing heavily on my mind and emotions. This is the last weekend before Locke and Lola begin Kindergarten.

Summer is over and our precocious preschoolers are now officially elementary school kids. It's hard for me to believe, and even harder to tame the whirlwind of emotions I feel about it. After several months of asking, "Aren't you excited? You're going to KINDERGARTEN!" I realized that, as much as I want them to share my excitement, they have no idea what being a kindergartner really means so I was only adding undue pressure to the whole situation. And the last thing I want to do is stress them out before what should be one of the most exciting days of their lives. But it's such a momentous occasion! And I am harboring the motherlode of overblown emotions that are understandably reserved for times like this.

I wonder what the etiquette for first time kindergarten parents is. Will they let me hold onto Lola's leg as she tries to walk into the classroom the way she used to desperately cling on mine whenever we walked into a new roomful of people? Will I be able to stand, arms folded, shaking my head in quiet defiance the way Locke used to when he didn't want leave a place that was too much fun? Or will I be allowed to stand outside at the window with tears streaming down my face after they excitedly run inside to begin their new adventure?

I'm so proud of the people they've become. They're compassionate, smart, creative, independent, talented kids. They're going to a great school and they're very excited about beginning this new chapter. I know they'll thrive and I'm so looking forward to their experiences and accomplishments. But I can't help but think of the big changes that are about to take place:

They will be in separate classes for the first time in their live (although they'll see each other daily at lunch and at recess).

They will be in school ALL DAY EVERY DAY, instead of 3-5 hours, several days a week.

They will be exposed to kids with big brothers and sisters -- you know, the ones who have already mastered sarcasm and cynicism, and who have seen PG-13 movies (gasp!).

And they won't be there to snuggle whenever I need a hug.

This is where we, as parents, let go and hope we've done what we need to make them strong and wise in their choices. Deep down I know they're ready. I just wish I was.

Read, Locke, Read

2009-12-07T22:20:00.005-05:00

WARNING: You are about to read the writings of a proud mom. Exposure to excessive bragging can cause unwanted side effects such as cringing and nausea so read at your own risk.

Locke has been reading since right after he turned four. Not just guessing at words based on the first letter or two, but actually reading. It began because Locke had a mission. And that mission was to know everything there is to know about our prehistoric friends, the dinosaurs.

Locke learned how to read by studying his Smithsonian-sized collection of dinosaur books. He'd peruse these books for hours on end, carefully studying the pictures and learning to sound out the multisyllabic names so he'd know which dinosaur he was seeing. So, instead of looking at a few letters of a word and guessing what the word is, he could actually sound out names like Heterodontosaurus and Eustreptospondylus.

Learning to read this way may not be the easiest but, months later, after mastering these gargantuan creatures and their equally gargantuan names, he can now read any book in their comprehensive playroom library. It's like going from Tolstoy to Palin. I'm sure he finds the monosyllabic words, wild exaggeration, and large print amusing.

Kelly's mom was visiting recently and she brought a collection of books used in the 1st grade classes of the elementary school at which she is a guidance counselor. The books are used to test the reading progress of 1st graders throughout the year, the first book used at the beginning of the year, and the 16th book is to test their progress at the end of 1st grade. I grabbed the 16th book and showed it to Locke. He started reading it, using the correct inflection for quotes and punctuation, like he'd heard it a dozen times.

I'm so proud of Locke and impressed with his reading skills. And his success is beginning to inspire Lola. I try to be very careful to praise her progress as well as his but she understands that he has a gift and that he's worked hard to achieve his success. So now she's starting to work too. She's beginning to stick with a word longer, sounding it out instead of guessing.

A love of books is such a gratifying thing to see in your kids. I hope it lasts a lifetime.

Goodbye, Indy. Howdy, Texas!

2009-11-17T22:23:00.004-05:00

In two short months, your world can change completely. Kelly was offered a job in September and in less than two months we moved, sold our house (we closed Friday), and the kids have started a new preschool in our new city. But, unlike most moves brought about by new jobs, this one is a move back home.

We enjoyed our time in Indiana and will miss the wonderful friends we made there. So it makes it much easier moving to a place where you still have good friends. Lola and Locke, however, left the only friends they ever knew. But they are experiencing this brand new city with the wide-eyed wonderment reserved exclusively for preschoolers. They seem happy and excited by the prospects of new parks, new restaurants (Lola loves that every restaurant has cheese quesadillas!), new museums, and new libraries. And this new place has the added bonus of built-in family.

Finally, after living the majority of the kids' lives away from our families, we've come home. My family is now very close by and Kelly's mom lives close enough to see on weekends. Maybe that's how Locke and Lola are handling the move so well. As stressful as moving is, it's so much easier knowing there are people close by who love you.

Gooooooaaaallllll!

2009-09-20T18:59:00.003-04:00

Locke and Lola are 3 games into their soccer season. This is their first time to really play soccer. In fact, it's the first time for most of the kids in their league. And when you get two teams of 4 and 5 year olds with little or no understanding of the game together, it makes for some serious entertainment. Some might call it controlled chaos. Others compare it to herding gnats. But the kids have fun, win or lose. Go Galaxy!

Here are a few pics at practice and after the first game.

Vocabulary Explosion

2009-07-30T21:33:00.000-04:00

Every new day with Lola and Locke brings a symphony of new words, and new ways of stringing together familiar words. The rate of learning for a 4-year-old is astonishing. Sometimes what comes out of their mouths is a regurgitation of overheard phrases with faint understanding of what they actually mean. But they understand more than I realized they could at this age. And now that they're sounding out more words, they're even learning through written words.

Locke has been developing his vocabulary by focusing on his latest passion, dinosaurs. He can tell you the names and eating habits of at least 30 dinosaurs, including Heterodontosaurus and Quetzalcoatlus. Often he can tell you how large it is in both feet and meters, too. But some of his best new lines are derived not from his beloved dinosaur library books, but from the commercials he's seen on the Discovery Kids network.

The other day he saw a commercial for a hair iron that straightens and curls. He was so impressed that he told me, "That hair worker works like no other hair worker!" Then, days later, as they were dressing in the locker room after their swimming lesson he said, "Regular irons might damage your hair." I wonder if he's trying to tell me something.

My favorite vocabulary words of Lola's are the ones that she gets a little wrong. Like the other day when she told me, "When I grow up and have babies, I'm going let my kids stay up ALL night so they can see the 'nocterminal' animals." Or when she told me that Locke knocked over her bowl but "he didn't do it on 'kurpose'."

The rate and the level of their vocabulary development is surprising, but even more surprising is how much I'm learning as a result of their learning. For instance, if I find myself at a cocktail party with a paleontologist, I'll actually be able to discuss their work with a slight degree of understanding. And I'll know not to ask about Brontosaurs. (For those of you not as current on dinosaurs as I, a Brontosaurus is now called an Apatosaurus.)

Not to be outdone, I'll fill you in on my own latest vocabulary acquisition. I picked it up at the kids' swimming lesson last week. When we arrived at the gym and the indoor pool was closed I was surprised to learn that their lesson was being conducted in the outdoor pool. It was sprinkling and 68 degrees outside. When I asked why the indoor pool was closed, I learned this little gem: "fecal incident." I'm hoping I never have reason to use that one again.

Thank You, Mimi!

2009-07-15T13:39:00.005-04:00

Most of my local friends with kids live here because their families live here. Many have lived elsewhere -- New York, Portland, San Francisco -- until the first baby was born. Then the need to be close to family becomes more important than whatever it was that was so important where you were living. Because once you have kids, you don't remember much about what happened before that.

Kelly and I were in a little different situation than most. In order for me to stay home with our babies, we had to move away from our families. It was very difficult but we both feel that it was the best choice. So, unlike most people I know, we don't have the grandparents across town to take care of the kids for the afternoon, or the weekend, or the week.

But we have something that none of our friends have. We have Mimi.

Mimi will drop everything to babysit for as long as we need her. This summer she spent 4 weeks here so Kelly and I could go to our close friends' wedding, renovate the kids playroom, and take care of several other orders of business while she was here.

She took the kids to school, classes, play dates and birthday parties. She took them to the dairy farm to see the cows and chase the chickens. She took them to eat cupcakes. And she took them on picnics. She baked with them, she painted with them, and she gardened with them. The kids had the time of their lives.

I know my parents would have loved to be here, playing with and caring for Lola and Locke. They've definitely done it before. They teamed up with Mimi a year ago to babysit so that Kelly and I could go to Beijing for the Olympics. That was the trip of a lifetime and I'll always be grateful for it. So, for a family living so far from family, we are very lucky.

This summer Mimi went beyond the call of duty. Thank you, Mimi.

Spring Break

2009-05-12T13:50:00.000-04:00

Spring has sprung and the ample rain is creating one beautiful green landscape. It's time to plant and picnic and play outside. But before spring completely gets away from me, I want to post some pictures from the last few months.

In March when the nip in the air was overstaying its welcome, we fled the cold of the Midwest for warmer climes and went home to Texas for a nice early birthday and spring break celebration. We had nonstop fun, nonstop fish and shrimp tacos (or chicken nuggets, depending on which family member you speak to), and nonstop quality time with Mimi. Here are a few pics from our trip, and one of the kids' cool new birthday bikes.

Happy 4th!

2009-04-25T20:06:00.008-04:00

This past week we celebrated Lola and Locke's 4th birthday. The festivities began with treats and crowns at preschool, proceeded by nonstop fun and activities throughout the week, and culminated with their birthday party yesterday. Phew!

Locke, Lola, I can't believe you're already 4. I'm so proud of the kids you've become.

Here are a few pics from the party...

Windy City Weekend

2009-02-27T22:17:00.004-05:00

I guess they call Chicago "the windy city" because "the blizzard city" was taken. Kelly was in Chicago on business so last weekend Lola, Locke and I went up to spend a few days seeing the city, shopping, and attending the gymnastics competition that Kelly was there for.

Our first stop was the Museum of Science and Industry. I was told that it was an impressive place but that the kids may still be a bit young to appreciate it. Well, I'm here to tell you that there's more for an almost-4-year-old to do there than you'll have time in which to do it all. We spent almost 4 hours there and we didn't see half of the museum. There were tractors to ride in, intricate model ships to peruse, racing cars to see (some from the Lola Racing Company of England - bonus for Lola), space shuttles to walk through, and an iMax movie about the Wild Oceans which we loved but managed to make me somewhat queasy (don't they do any still shots in iMax movies any more?). We could have spent 2 more days there. But we had to make it to the 'burbs by dark.

After a 2-hour drive through Friday rush hour traffic (shouldn't it be rush HOURS?) we made it to the hotel, a chic oasis in what I can only describe as Supersuburbopolis. Name a chain. Any chain. It was there. But the hotel made us feel like we were in the middle of the city, and that we didn't need anything from Target or Chili's.

We had a nice dinner with Kelly and then nestled into our comfy, cozy hotel beds.

We woke up the next morning to a minor blizzard. It wasn't the amount of snow that was troubling, it was the 40-mile-an-hour winds that was delivering it very rapidly to your cheeks like tiny icicle daggers. That stinging brought back memories from my childhood in the northern peninsula of Michigan. Youch! Luckily Chicagoans are prepared for this kind of weather so the streets were plowed and salted as quickly as the snow fell. Live goes on in Chicago, even on a Saturday blizzard.

We had a nice breakfast and then lounged around the hotel until we had to leave for the competition. Lola and Locke liked playing in the mod swivel chairs by the hanging fireplace in one of the conversation pits in the lobby. They also liked making different shapes with the chrome bead curtain wall of the coffee shop. They're at home in the modern world. And we got to say hello to Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin, who was waiting for her ride in the lobby.

The competition was in a giant arena in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard. I expected no more than a dozen people to show up. What kind of crazy would venture out in this except someone who's getting to sit in a suite and might catch glimpses of their significant other - or daddy - who's busy working there?

The place was packed. I didn't see an empty seat. I couldn't believe it.

As soon as Lola saw the bright pink leotard of one of the gymnasts, she became her biggest fan. She always watched for "the pink girl" and cheered after every apparatus. It turns out, the "pink girl" was Jordyn Wieber, the newest darling of women's gymnastics. She won the competition. Hmmm. Maybe Lola should become a judge. I'm just not sure if her method of scoring, based solely on the color of the athlete's leotard, would hold up through time. And the men would never score very high since they rarely wear pink.

Locke was very interested and engaged throughout the competition, except that his attention was focused on an arcade machine in the concourse walkway that had stuffed animals you could win by positioning the crane just right. Every time we walked by it, he tried to pull me over to it. I've never seen anyone win at the crane game, but it just looks like an easy score to a preschooler. No time to explain right now, we're rushing back to our seats.

After the competition, we went to a place called Legoland. Also known as Preschooler Paradise. We could have spent 4 hours there too, but we had an after-party to attend.

We met up with Kelly for dinner, then went to the event after-party, which was held at a giant arcade. Lola got to see her new hero Jordyn up close this time. She wasn't wearing pink so the effect was slightly subdued, but you could tell she was impressed because she smiled as she peeked at her from behind my leg.

By this time Lola and Locke were beyond tired so the lights, music, videos, games, people, and sounds were a bit overwhelming. Oh, don't get me wrong, they LOVED it. But we mainly just walked around while Lola and Locke pointed wide-eyed and said, "Look at that!" a lot.

The next day we had a nice leisurely breakfast and then ... the shopping portion of the weekend began. The snow had stopped but the wind chill was still a bit of a challenge.

I had looked online before our trip to see if my beloved store Zara was in Chicago. Bingo! It was there, at some mall called Old Orchard Center. Armed with my trusty Mapquest map, we drove to Skokie. When we arrived at the "mall," we discovered that it was an open air shopping center. Why in the world would Chicago have an open air shopping center? Optimism, I guess.

Kelly took the kids to the book store and then the Disney store, while I shopped at Zara. It was too cold to shop around, even though there were plenty of people walking around window shopping like they were in the coziest indoor mall in Texas (I'll never understand Chicagoans). After meeting for lunch at Frontera Express (a fast-food version of the Rick Bayless restaurant Frontera), we headed home.

It was a great weekend. And coming from a cold-resistant person, that's saying a lot.

Potty Humor

2009-01-19T15:07:00.003-05:00

I'm all for privacy in the bathroom but these two stories were too funny to keep to myself.

Lola has a tendency to use a LOT of toilet paper so I've been trying to convince her to use less. The argument for saving the trees is not entirely understandable to a 3 1/2-year-old, but she does understand that I'd like her to use less than she does. So one day after she'd used the potty, she wiped and then she said, "Mommy, my booty is sooo big, I need one more piece of paper."

(Disclaimer: don't read this next one if you have a low tolerance for poopy talk.)

When we were at my parents' house over the holidays, Lola used the potty and then asked me to lift her up to wash her hands because there was no stool. She was about to change clothes so she didn't put her pants back on. I lifted her up and rested her on my leg while I balanced on one leg. When she finished and I set her down, I looked at my pants and saw a little spot of brown. "Oh, geez," I said.
"Is that poopy?" Lola asked.
"Yes, it is," I answered.
"Oh, you're having a BAD day."

Holiday Wrap Up

2009-01-05T20:10:00.003-05:00

The holidays were jam-packed with friends, family and fun throughout. Lola and Locke were on the receiving end of more toys than any two kids should ever have at one time. But I must admit, they got some really cool gifts!

But the best part was seeing friends we haven't seen in way too long, and spending time with family. If only the holidays could last a few weeks longer...

Oh, and did I mention the weather? We spent every day outside in the sunny 70-degree days, playing with all their new toys. Pure heaven!

Here are a few pics from the holiday weeks. Happy New Year!

Christmas Stars

2008-12-23T15:40:00.000-05:00

Lola and Locke's preschool class staged a holiday program last week. The kids had been busy in class the weeks prior, making decorations and cookies, learning songs, and decorating candles to give to the parents. We all knew they were gearing up for the show and, after the Thanksgiving program, we had an idea what to expect at this performance.

As the show began, the kids filed out wearing the reindeer headbands they'd made with their hand prints, and they sang several Christmas standards, including "Rudolph," "Jingle Bells," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

It was seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen. I was so proud of Locke, merrily belting out those tunes like a pro. And Lola, who was so afraid to even look up at the Thanksgiving program, was smiling and singing and having a great time — I'm sure I was noticeably beaming.

I'm crazy for these shows. I can't wait until the next holiday that warrants a show. Maybe they'll surprise us with a Groundhog Day show? Presidents' Day? I don't care what they're celebrating, I just want to watch Lola and Locke singing and having fun.

Here Comes Santa Claus

2008-12-10T11:07:00.005-05:00

We've come a long way in a year. Especially Lola. Last year she refused to even be in the same room as Santa, let alone sit in his lap and chat with the big, jolly stranger. Of course there's worse things than being cautious about strange hairy men dressed in red fur.

But this year Lola made up for lost time, sitting happily in his lap (along with her brother, of course), giving Santa very specific descriptions from her wish list. For example, "pink thing in magazine." This turns out to be a stationery set in a cute pink handbag from the FAO Schwarz catalog.

Locke, as always, was as comfortable talking to this stranger as he is talking to his best friend. He had to be persuaded to leave Santa's lap with the promise of a trip to his favorite cupcake cafe.

Thanks, Everyone!

2008-12-03T21:01:00.004-05:00

I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful for my sweet, beautiful, and talented kids. I'm thankful for my gorgeous, wonderful husband. I'm thankful for our loving and helpful families. I'm thankful for our friends here and the ones back in Texas. And I'm thankful for Thanksgiving.

I LOVE Thanksgiving. Probably more than any other person I know. Thanksgiving combines all my very favorite foods — turkey, dressing, cranberries, and my most beloved pumpkin pie. Plus, you're practically obligated to drink wine (or champagne) in the middle of the day. And, because we're very strict about what and when we eat and drink, Thanksgiving is my free pass for overindulging.

This Thanksgiving was special because the fabulous Mimi (Kelly's mom) was visiting. She made most of our delicious Thanksgiving dinner. And, in the days prior, she helped Lola and Locke make festive centerpieces and name cards for the table, and she bought them adorable Thanksgiving Day outfits. Thank you, Mimi, for a wonderful Thanksgiving.

A New Day

2008-11-06T16:14:00.001-05:00

Like millions of people, Kelly and I stayed up to see history being made Tuesday night. I like to think that I had something to do with that historical outcome since I volunteered for the Obama campaign and we live in a battleground state that turned blue after a history in red. So we're obviously thrilled with the election. All of us, that is, except for Lola.

Lola has an affinity for the underdog so I guess after being exposed to the numerous polls and projections as I devoured ever bit of political news during the election I could find online, she sensed McCain's impending loss. So, even though she can recognize Obama's face, his written name, and his logo, and she wouldn't recognize McCain if he shook her hand and called her "my friend", she still supported McCain.

Kelly — always the diplomat — was careful to let her know that her political choices would be her own and that no one should sway her opinion once she's made her decision. Even Mommy and Daddy. Well, I certainly bristled at that thought. But, as hard as it is for me to accept, I know it's a good thing for both of us to hear. I'd love for Lola and Locke to grow up believing what I believe, and holding the values I hold dear — and, for the most part, I think they will. But that doesn't always extend to our political choices. Coming from a politically conservative family, I know that all too well. But I hope we can at least discuss our differences with respect for the others' choices and maybe even learn a thing or two from them.

But that's a long way off. For now, I'll continue to try to teach them kindness, compassion, intellectual curiosity, and honesty. If they learn the importance of those values, I can rest assured they'll do the right thing when it's time to make their hard choices.

Trick or Treat!

2008-11-05T15:36:00.006-05:00

For months, Lola and Locke had known what they wanted to be for Halloween this year. It amazes me that 3-year-olds can make a decision and remain committed to that decision throughout a process like that. Even after several trips to Target and other places that sell costumes, they still stuck with their choices. If only I could be so decisive.

Locke has a profound interest in tornados. Ever since one grazed our neighborhood early this year, he's talked about tornadoes, drawn tornadoes, suggested that every tree with a broken branch had been damaged by a tornado, and, for Halloween, wanted to BE a tornado. Done.

Lola's choice emerged as more of an impulse than a psychological catharsis. A few months ago, we started noticing patches in the yard where some creature had been digging. Early one morning we caught sight of a big raccoon digging and scrounging for a breakfast of seeds and insects before lumbering up a tree. Ever since that morning, Lola had wanted to be a raccoon for Halloween.

We didn't think about the repercussions of these decisions at the time but, after we noticed a dearth in the costume market of raccoon and (not surprisingly) tornado costumes, we realized we had our work cut out for us.

Several trips to fabric stores and Target later, and the costumes began to come to life. Lola was the cutest raccoon I've ever seen (and yes, I've seen a few really adorable raccoons), and Locke really owned his costume. He would happily do a spin for the people handing out candy before thanking them and departing for the next house.

Here are a few peeks at our little cuties in the final products.

Tumbling and Twirling

2008-10-27T14:19:00.006-04:00

Lola has been taking ballet for six months now and still seems to love it. Her teacher, Miss Johanna, is this fabulous 60ish Dutch woman with a waist-long braid and metallic neon leotards. She's elegant, patient, and treats the girls like little grownups. She teaches them the correct terminology for their moves so they know a pirouette from a plie. They love her.

Locke began taking gymnastics in September and he's proven himself to be a talented tumbler. His teacher, Miss Joan, is less of a character than Miss Johanna, but she has a similarly impressive gift of patience, combined with the charisma to keep the kids focused and excited about what they're learning. Locke has learned to do front and back rolls, donkey kicks (a precursor to hand stands), and walk on the balance beam. Lola is joining Locke in the class this session, which began today. She should catch on fast since she spent each of Locke's classes watching intently through the window and then practicing the moves at home.

Here are some pictures from their classes. Lola is third from the left in the picture at the bar.

Write On!

2008-10-24T07:45:00.000-04:00

Lola loves letters. She and Locke both ask me to spell words all the time. And they're very good at sounding out words. But Lola has always been more interested in trying to write letters.

She started writing her name when she was 2 1/2. And lately she's been practicing writing other words, especially "Locke," "Mom," and "Dad." Recently, she was drawing while I was making lunch. When I finished, I looked at her picture. It was Locke (I know that it was him because it said "KELOC" — she'd run out of room after the C so she finished the word to left of the beginning, as she often does in that situation). But underneath Locke's name, was the word "GO." I thought it must have been a coincidence, a little doodling next to the picture. But I decided to ask.

"Lola, this picture of Locke is really nice. What's this here?" I asked, pointing to the letters.

"Go" she said and she shrugged like she writes words every day.

I was pretty surprised, to say the least, and my pride could barely be contained in the room.

I was telling a friend about it while we waited outside of Locke's gymnastics class. I didn't think Lola could even hear. She'd been playing with her doodle board (the new etch-a-sketch) and watching the class through the window. But she did hear and she decided to bring over a visual aid. She showed us her doodle board which was empty except for two letters: OG.

"Those are the right letters, Lo." I said. "But they're backwards. That spells 'og.'"

She quickly erased the board and wrote GO.

Then she said, "Let's spell STOP."

So I sounded the word out for her as she wrote all the letters on the board.

It's so exciting that she's actually writing at barely 3 1/2. Sometimes I have to explain how to make certain letters, and sometimes I'll write down a name and let her copy it. But she's off to an incredible start.

If I can't brag on my blog, where can I?

The Art of Negotiation

2008-10-13T19:44:00.000-04:00

Locke has developed a very useful new skill. He and Lola were enjoying an afternoon treat of animal crackers. I gave them each a very generous half dozen. After Locke polished off his six cookies, he said, "Mom, may I have five more animal crackers? (Five is his favorite number.)

"You've already had six," I said. I'll give you three more."

"Hmmm." He thought about that for a minute and then countered with, "May I have four more? Four is close to three."

Wow. I guess I'd better brush up on my business and economics to make sure I keep the upper hand. Or maybe I'll just watch more politics.

Olympic Dream

2008-10-03T14:37:00.000-04:00

Kelly and I had the amazing opportunity to go to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics in August. Actually, I had the amazing opportunity. Kelly was REQUIRED to go because of his job. I know, tough job, right? Well ... yes. He worked 24/7 the entire time while I went sightseeing, shopping, and, to several unbelievable Olympic events. We actually got to watch history being made as Michael Phelps won his record-breaking 8th gold medal. And we watched the gymnasts rake in a record number of medals too. It truly was the trip of a lifetime.

There were 4 reasons we were able to take this incredible trip: first, as I mentioned, Kelly's job required him to go so I cleverly rode on his coattails, or, rather, United Airlines, to Beijing. The other 3 reasons are Mimi (Kelly's mom), and Grandmommy and Granddaddy (my parents). They came all the way from Texas to keep the darling duo Lola and Locke. How nice was that?

Here are a few pics of them baking biscuits while we were gone, and one of them in their souvenirs afterwards.

Thank you, parents, for allowing us to make this trip. It truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The $12 Nap

2008-07-25T15:14:00.003-04:00

Lola and Locke decided that they were through with napping about 6 months ago. The problem with that decision is that they still NEED naps. So a couple times a week, when tempers began to flare or it became clear they desperately needed sleep, I would them out "to run errands" because I knew that it wouldn't take 15 minutes of driving before they'd both be asleep.

Sometimes, when the weather was nice and cool, I could stop the car, roll down the windows and read. Then, when it got too hot to do that, I'd just drive around, exploring new neighborhoods or checking out shop windows. I called it the "rolling nap."

Now that gas prices have skyrocketed, I call it the $12 nap.

Sweetness Overheard

2008-07-16T16:10:00.003-04:00

Lola and Locke were hiding in a closet together. I was standing nearby, listening to their conversation. It went like this:

LOCKE: Lola, I'm your big brother.

LOLA: And I'm your sister.

LOCKE: And together, we're best friends.

Ultimate Sandbox

2008-07-10T15:08:00.004-04:00

There's nothing like seeing a child's face when they first see the ocean. They don't notice the tranquility of the waves as they roll into the shore. They don't see the other families setting up camp with their umbrellas and blankets. They don't even care there are thousands of beautiful shells scattered along the beach. All they see is one gigantic sand box.

Woo hoo! Shovels and margarita buckets in hand, they storm the beach and start digging. Thanks to a bit of help from Mimi, Locke and Lola built several sand castles that rivaled the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Beautiful, temporary works of art.

We collected shells, swam, ate fresh fish and homemade ice cream. I can hardly wait for our next beach adventure.

Sweet Carolina

2008-07-01T14:24:00.010-04:00

We just returned from a wonderful trip to North Carolina. Kelly and I both have family there, and neither of us had seen our relatives in too many years to admit. Most had never seen Lola and Locke in person. So, it was a chance to get away, catch up, relax, and enjoy the people we're lucky enough to have as family.

We also spent several days on the beach. The kids had never seen the ocean so it was such fun living this new experience through their eyes.

Lola and Locke had a blast on every part of the trip. Swinging on the porch with Aunt Jean, building sandcastles with Mimi, splashing around the pool with cousin Andy, listening to the ocean in seashells, feeding seagulls crackers on the ferry (check out the just-snatched cracker in the seagull's beak) — they loved every minute.

Fun in the Sun

2008-06-16T20:49:00.004-04:00

The weather couldn't have been better when we celebrated the third birthday of one of Lola and Locke's best friends, Molly, at a little pool party. Lola spent much of her time perched happily on the side, ringed by her trusty fishy float, and occasionally taking a spin around the shallow end. Locke, on the other hand, led our lovely babysitter Amy all around the pool, kicking, splashing, and laughing it up.

Hair and Now

2008-05-26T15:32:00.005-04:00

Before...

...and After

I'm Fweeee!

2008-05-20T19:58:00.003-04:00

Lola and Locke are now three (or "fwee" in toddler-speak) so they're now members of that not-so-exclusive club that we've read about on so many toy labels since they were born: Ages 3+. What that label doesn't tell you is that the members of this new club can not only play with a lot more toys, they can also tell you what they will and won't do, tell you what YOU will and won't do, shock you with the depth of their knowledge and understanding, make up better stories than any book we read together, make you wish you hadn't said certain things (after you hear it coming back from a 3-year-old), and surprise you with the sweetest words or kiss or hug just when you needed it most.

We celebrated their birthday with about a dozen of their friends at a veritable wonderland for toddlers. It's a showroom for a company that sells big wooden playsets for your yard with swings, slides, climbing walls, forts, tunnels, and towers, many of which cost more than our car. They also have about 4 Thomas train tables, miniature houses, and a basketball court. A good time was had by all.

Here are some pics from the party.

Happy Birthday, my loves.

Marching On

2008-03-21T21:10:00.003-04:00

It's been a long, long, long, lllaawwwwwnnngg winter, with the possibility of more winter weather to come. But, by gosh, it's SPRING! We actually went to the park yesterday for the first time this year. And there are green leaves and grass peeking out from the newly thawed soil. A family of woodpeckers has made a home in a tree in our backyard. And Lola and Locke are growing like the weeds we're soon to battle in the lawn. Things are looking bright indeed.

But to catch you up on our winter, here are a few highlights:

We took a road trip to Texas over the holidays (much more fun than we ever imagined). Lola and Locke have are still attending playgroup once a week with their bestest buddies. And we're still doing "school" (Mom's Day Out) once a week. They've begun a "creative movement" class (which I believe was begun purely for the parents' entertainment value). Other days are spent at the cool new downtown library, playing with friends, the occasional museum trip, or just playing at home.

Lola is quite the artist, drawing, painting, and cutting her way toward gallery shows. She also loves to dance and shows a little talent in the gymnastics area. Locke is still very much a Thomas fan, but has branched out into trucks, construction machines, and airplanes. Both of the kids love books and are big fans of words and letters. Lola can even write her name now. And, at times, Locke speaks better English than I do.

Here are a few pics from our holidays, with the promise of more pictures and posts soon...

Locke and Lola Christmas 2007

Chef Power!

Quick stop at the Clinton library (look close and you can see Locke making a break for it)

Oh, Snow!

2007-12-05T16:58:00.000-05:00

The first snow of the season and it was gorgeous! Here are some pics from our fun morning...

Moving Daze

2007-11-06T17:19:00.000-05:00

I'd love to blame the recent lack of post activity to the fact that we've been purchasing, and subsequently moving into, a new house. But that wouldn't exactly explain the other lapses in posting. So I'll just forget the past and begin anew with our new space.

For the past two years we've lived in an apartment downtown, which we've absolutely loved. It was great being right in the center of any activities — festivals, football games, concerts, and crazy conventions. But with every passing day Lola and Locke were growing bigger and bigger, and smarter and smarter (they were both perfectly capable of going out the front door, catching the elevator, and probably flagging down a cab, if not watched like a hawk). So we decided that our little family had outgrown the loft and needed some more space.

Kelly and I found a mid-century diamond in the rough in a quiet woodsy area, right on a creek, and moved in just in time to be surrounded in the most gorgeous colors of Autumn. The kids love it. Every time we leave any place we visit — like playgroup, the grocery store, or a restaurant — they say with great excitement, "Are we going to the new house?"

I'm sure they'll eventually stop calling it the new house but I hope they'll always look forward to coming home.

California Dreamin'

2007-09-10T15:22:00.000-04:00

What's not to love about California? It's got perfect weather, lots of coastline, delicious food, and lucky for us, family. We took a late summer vacation to spend some time with Kelly's family in Northern California. Two fabulous weeks of fun, family, playing, swimming, shopping, and resting up just enough to do it all some more.

Lola and Locke got to spend a lot of quality time with their adorable cousin Ryder, who's a mere 6 months younger than L+L. They exhausted themselves every day, running around the house, playing at the playground, swimming at the hotel, or having fun on any number of our excursions. We all enjoyed it immensely and look forward to getting together again.

Tall Tales

2007-07-26T14:03:00.001-04:00

They grow up so fast. It seems like yesterday that they were only 3 stories tall.

Good Night and Good Luck

2007-07-12T20:49:00.000-04:00

Ahhh, I remember the days when bedtime was that pleasant time when Kelly and I would take Locke and Lola into their room, dress them for bed, brush their teeth, read them bedtime stories, lay them lovingly in their beds, and know that after a few minutes of talking and singing with each other, they'd soon be asleep.

Boy, do times change.

Oh, sure, bedtime is still pleasant. In fact, not a whole lot has changed during the first part of our little bedtime ritual. We still have that nice family time getting them ready for bed and reading stories. What's changed is the part after we lovingly deposit them into their cribs.

They've cleverly realized that they can delay their bedtime — or at least their sleep time — by keeping Mommy and Daddy busy retrieving the various items that are clearly necessary for them to sleep.

The negotiation process actually begins before they even get into their beds. Lola usually opens with something like this: "Touch green ball?" The green ball is a small wooden ball that is part of the mobile in their room. She likes it when I hold her up high enough to touch it and make the mobile move. So I do.

The envy is too much for Locke to take, even though Kelly has already managed to get him into his crib. "Lockie touch green ball?" So Locke gets his turn at the mobile.

Then, once Lola is in her bed, clutching Donkey in one arm and a pink blanket in the other, she says "Water?" Like any good negotiator, she phrases it as a question so as not to sound too demanding, but it's clearly a demand.

"OK, I'll go get your water," I answer. I leave to fetch her sippy cup and, because I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday, I grab Locke's too.

I return with their cups of water, expecting satisfied customers ready to lay down and sleep but, instead of a thank you, Lola responds with "More ice please? Ice water?" I look at Locke, who offers me his cup in a united front against the lukewarm water I've so thoughtlessly provided. I take their cups and head off to the kitchen.

When I return, Lola takes a drink of the icy water, smiles and lies down. "Cover up?" she sweetly asks. So I cover her up with her pink striped blanket, the one she's slept with since she was just weeks old. "Cover up Donkey?" So I start to cover Donkey with another pink blanket. "blue blanket? BLUE BLANKET!" Blue blanket is a hooded towel that we got for Locke when he was a baby. I dragged it out of the back of the linen cabinet to dry Lola's hair one evening and the next day she began to carry it around like a blanket, along with Donkey. Evidently, Donkey has become attached to his own "blanket".

Of course blue blanket was left in the living room so I once again leave to retrieve it. This time when I return, Lola appears to be quite happy, ready to settle in for the night. But Locke has only just begun.

"Thomas?" Locke is of course referring to his beloved train.

"Locke, do you really want Thomas?"

"Yes, Thomas."

"OK, I'll bring Thomas. Lola, is there anything you want me to bring for you?" She too has a few trains in the Thomas and Friends collection and sometimes likes to sleep with one or two.

"Lady?"

"Alright, will you two go to sleep if I bring Thomas and Lady?"

"Yes."

When I return with the trains, Locke says, "No Thomas, Byron." Byron is a bulldozer under the Thomas merchandising umbrella.

"Locke, you said you wanted Thomas."

"No, BY-ron."

"OK, I'm going to go get Byron. Lola, is there anything else you need because I'm not coming back in here again after I bring in Byron." At this point I realize I'm sounding like my mother.

"Rosie?"

I retrieve Byron and Rosie and am giving them their final "I love you"s and kisses when Locke says, "Big hug?"

The big hug is one thing I never tire of handing out. I pick up Locke and he wraps his arms around my neck and says, "Biiigggg huuuugggggg," in a strained voice as if he's getting hugged by an enthusiastic grizzly bear. I kiss him and lie him back down and Lola whispers, "Big hug?" So I go and give her a big squeeze and a "Biiiggggg huuuggggg" in my best grizzly bear voice. Then I blow them kisses as I slowly back out of the room.

Lately, to streamline the process a bit, we automatically refill their water cups with ice and water, and we allow them to choose toys to bring in with them. Kelly and I are slowly learning ways to gain the upper hand in the nighttime negotiations, although we wouldn't claim to be the ones in control.

A Tale of Two Parties

2007-06-28T21:16:00.000-04:00

Lola makes her way to the guest of honor

Locke and the birthday girl playing together at her party

The family after the vintage fire truck ride

Lola and Locke are members of a little toddler posse comprised of kids all close the same age. A couple of their friends turned two recently so we've dipped a toe into the world of kids' birthday parties.

Now I've always been skeptical of the giant parties with hired performers and invitations extended to every member of the school. But I also never realized that parents can receive such genuine pleasure from watching their kids have fun. Not that I believe you have to drop a few thousand for your kids to have fun. In fact, I still firmly believe that money and extravagance has no bearing on the pleasure of a two-year-old. And the two birthday parties we experienced are a tribute to that fact. Next year, however, may be a different story altogether.

One party was held at the gang's favorite park and playground, so they were already comfortable with their surroundings and were immediately happy to be there. There were the usual draws — the swings, slides, ladders and climbing wall. But this time there were even more toys to play with — push toys, riding toys, balls, and bubbles. Plus, there were cupcakes with Dora and Boots in a beach scene on top. What more could a two-year-old want?

In the week leading up to the party, I'd been preparing L+L for the fun time they were going to have that weekend. And each time I mentioned the party, Locke would say, "cake?" "Yes," I'd answer, "you get to eat yummy cake!" So, for 5 or 6 days, we talked about swings, slides, presents, and, most importantly, cake.

When we finally got to the party, L+L were so excited by all their friends and the push cars and the presents and balloons, that they wouldn't even try the cupcakes. They even yelled "Dora and Boots!" when they saw the decorations on them, but their appetites were just no match for the excitement.

But they obviously didn't need cake to have a good time. The party was a huge hit.

The other birthday party was held at a fire station. The kids got to climb around in real fire trucks and, after hot dogs, hamburgers and cake in the station, they went for a ride around town on top of a vintage fire truck. Now, anyone reading this who is not a parent might think, hmmm, that was probably fun. But, to those of you who have kids, you can imagine what this would mean to a toddler. It would be like a teenage boy having a birthday party at Hugh Hefner's mansion!

So, after two perfect parties, we have a better understanding of what it takes to make a birthday party special. Actually, the kids had tons of fun but I think the parents enjoyed them at least as much. Getting to see your kids laughing and squealing with their friends — now that's a party.

He Says She Says

2007-05-31T20:15:00.000-04:00

Even at this early stage in Lola and Locke's language development, I could already write a post a day on funny things they say. But I realize that many of the posts would be funny only to me so I'm trying to be selective.

Being the outdoorsboy that he is, Locke got a little too friendly with some 6-legged friend and wound up with a few nasty bug bites on his ankles a while back. After determining that they were not life-threatening spider bites (which, as any appropriately paranoid parent will tell you, is the first concern), I started applying hydrocortisone cream a few times a day to them to keep the itching under control so Locke could sleep. After a few days of that, Locke evidently realized that the hydrocortisone made him feel better, so he learned to say "hy-dro-cor-tee-sone" so he could request a dose when the itching got to him. I couldn't determine whether he was a language prodigy or hypochondriac.

Then, yesterday, I picked up a zucchini muffin for their afternoon snack. I broke it into chunks and offered them pieces every so often as we strolled. Once, when I was asking Locke if he wanted a bite, I mistakenly called it a "pumpkin" muffin. He turned down the offer but couldn't resist correcting me, "zuKEEnee" muffin." Of course. That's what I meant to say.

Lola talks a lot more than Locke. A LOT more. But she's not as concerned about accuracy as he is. She figures that it's quantity that counts, not quality. But luckily she talks so much that, through much repetition, I've learned what she's trying to say. In most cases. And sometimes her mangled words are so darned cute that I can't bring myself to correct her. When she's getting really tired and loopy, she often adds syllables to words. For example, if you offer her an alphabet cookie, she might respond, "a-fa-be-ba-ta-coo-ca-kee?." And, although she can say "water" with some accuracy, she still prefers "wa-was," which I think is adorable.

One of these days I'll become technologically competent and put up a video or two. I have a hilarious one of Lola singing the ABC song. She's been able to recognize all the letters for some time now, and she can recite them in order. But when she sings them in the song, it's as if she's just singing the sounds she remembers from hearing it, not necessarily reciting letters in a melody. So the result is barely recognizable but extremely entertaining. It reminds me of reading translations of what children are actually saying when they recite the Pledge of Allegiance ("... and to the republic, for witches stand, one nation, uninvited...").

When they first started talking, Locke and Lola created versions of their names that they were able to say: her name is "Ya-ya" and his is "Yockie." They still call each other that. Kelly and I usually use their correct names when addressing them but I catch myself calling her Ya-ya from time to time. And I've heard Locke call her Lo-lo before (a nickname Kelly started soon after she was born) and I was both excited and disappointed. I realized that soon he's going to outgrow "Ya-ya" and start calling her by her real name. I'm not sure I'm ready for that. I'm fairly ashamed to admit that once when he called her Lo-lo, I acted like I didn't understand him and responded "Ya-ya?"

Happy Annivers...

2007-05-21T14:15:00.000-04:00

Locke and Lola in a quiet moment outside

Locke looking very handsome

Lola taking a peek at the patio

The mad dash continues

Lola and Locke's 2nd birthday was only one of the reasons we were in Texas on our recent trip. The other was my parents' 50th wedding anniversary party. My sisters and I hosted a party for this momentous and, might I say, impressive occasion. We got to see friends of my parents — some of whom I hadn't seen in more years than I'd like to admit was possible. And my parents got to show off their grandbabies. Well, sort of.

The party was held in the ballroom of a hotel. And, as exciting as the mingling of a ballroom-full of older people can be, Lola and Locke found a world of excitement in rest of the hotel to be more compelling. So, the afternoon went something like this: Kelly and I would carry L+L into the party, grab some food (hoping to entice them to sit for a few minutes to eat), sit down at a table, and then, just after we'd started a conversation with someone, we'd have to excuse ourselves and run after whichever toddler we happened to be holding at the time after they slithered through our grasp, onto the floor, and darted off. Then we'd follow them to something that caught their fancy — the house phone, an inviting sofa in the lobby, or, best of all, the ice machine. After entertaining them for a little while, we'd carry them back into the ballroom in hopes that they'd find something or someone as entertaining there.

We finally managed to keep them still long enough for a few quick hellos and a few bites of cake.

I heard from several people that the party was a success. I know L+L had a great time. And so did my parents, which is all that matters.

Kelly and I were just happy it was only three hours long. In the months prior, we'd been training for a half marathon which took place a week after the party, so we were prepared to run 13 miles. But we were in no shape to keep up with two 2-year-olds for three hours. We said our goodbyes and then went home for a nap.

We're Two!!!

2007-05-09T14:48:00.000-04:00

Presents! Yea!!!

Is this really for me?

Locke enjoys his new train and tunnel.

Lola and Locke are now two whole fun-filled, action-packed, mind-boggling, thrilling, chilling, hilarious, wondrous years old. We celebrated the big event(s) with a 3-city party tour, kicking things off with a little playgroup birthday party. Then we took the celebration on the road (we actually flew) to Texas where we gathered my family for a pancake and real cake brunch party. And then it was off to Kelly's mom's house for the final leg of the tour -- a 4-day picnicking, hiking, Mexican food-eating extravaganza. Lola and Locke took all the fuss over them in stride. They appreciated all their new toys and clothes but their egos stayed intact and they're still the same sweethearts they always were.

Thanks to all of Lola's and Locke's family and friends for a wonderful birthday!

In Other Words

2007-04-15T14:56:00.000-04:00

Since the last time I mentioned Locke's and Lola's speech development, their vocabulary has simply exploded. They can now repeat, somewhat recognizably, many things I say. Which puts a fair amount of pressure on me. Not that I've ever incorporated excessive expletives or used horrendous grammar. It's just that anything I say could be used against me, say, on my next trip to Target.

I've read it all before. In the pages of Parenting and Parents magazines. They always have a section of crazy things kids say to embarrass their moms when they're out in public. I guess it's worth it to let the whole parenting world know about a time when you were mortified, as long as your full name and city and state of residence makes it in print. I, however, would be just fine if the only appearance we made in a parenting magazine is for an interview with the parents of the first Nobel Prize-winning twins. You know, stuff like "What did you do when Lola and Locke were young to help develop their astounding talent?" But I digress.

Beyond this new ability to parrot words, lies a surprising understanding of the meaning of most of what they say. Many words still sound the same. For instance, I have a hard time trying to figure out whether Lola wants water or waffles, or whether Locke is talking about Duncan (a much loved train friend of Thomas) or Dragon (as in Chinese Dragon, another train in the Thomas and Friends lineup). But they know exactly what they're saying and they'll correct me with a slow head shake and a "no" when I guess the wrong thing. But their accuracy gets better and better each day and their depth of knowledge surprises me constantly.

The other day, I was reading a Mercy Meyer book to them in which Little Critter and his mom take a train ride to the big city. She buys the train tickets and lets Little Critter hold them. Well, as expected, Little Critter drops the tickets as they board the train and, on the next page, his mom is forking over more money to pay the conductor for the lost tickets. As soon as I turned the page, Locke pointed to money that Little Critter's mom was pulling out of her purse and said "more tickets, more tickets." I know that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be the next Treasury Secretary (although, if recent tenures are any indication, he could be), but I was astounded that he understood this little exchange.

Lola continues to surprise me with her knowledge of letters and numbers. She knows all the letters and can count to 10, although 4 is a tough one and sometimes she replaces 7 with 19. She gets very excited when she's counting so, by the time she gets to 10, she's in full scream. I of course encourage it by being so excited for her as she's counting.

Lola and Locke are both learning the ABC song too. Right now it goes something like this: "A-B-C-B-D-B-D-B-W-X-Y-Z." So close.

So things are really changing fast now. They turn 2 this next weekend -- it's so hard to believe. Just like that they went from babies to preschoolers. I know I have a few years before they'll be in school but, if these 2 years have been any indication, I better start preparing myself now because it goes by in the blink of an eye.

Snoooowwww!

2007-02-28T22:11:00.000-05:00

Holiday Leaves

2007-01-25T13:02:00.000-05:00

The holidays are long gone but thank goodness there's no expiration date for recap posts.

Despite a few illnesses, our holiday vacation was a fun one. Happy times with families who live much too far apart, muchas Mexican food deliciosas, and more toys than two toddlers can comprehend. (Or maybe that's more than their parents can comprehend.) It seems that these times are way too rare. But I guess if they happened every month, they wouldn't seem as special.

Meltdown Express

2006-12-12T13:11:00.000-05:00

Lola, Locke and I met up with a few other moms and toddlers from our playgroup at a museum for a little holiday fun. They have an impressive holiday exhibit for kids complete with Santa and Mrs. Claus, a train ride through a snowy landscape, and a vintage train on display which, in its day, carried many a child on holiday rides. No doubt many of those same children are now bringing their children to the museum to see it.

As L+L and I were walking from the parking garage, we passed two women pushing a stroller who informed us that the train ride was broken and wouldn't be up and running for several hours. I thanked them for the information and was glad L+L couldn't understand what they'd just told me. After all, I'd been playing up the train ride to them in an effort to get them so excited about that that they'd think sitting on Santa's lap was no big deal so I'd come away with a cute holiday picture of L+S+L. But things rarely turn out the way you expect.

We met our posse at the ticket counter. As we were settling our business there, Locke had already spied the vintage train on display. It's only been very recently that he's developed an interest in trains but, as part of the transportation triumvirate -- planes, trains, and automobiles -- their importance cannot be overstated right now. He's downright obsessed with all things vehicular.

So, as Locke began his "must go over there now" chant (which sounds more like "uh! uh! uh!" than anything else), pointing as emphatically as is physically possible, I knew where we had to go. Now.

The vintage train was such a hit with the kids, we could have stayed there the entire time. And maybe we should have. But we spent a fair amount of time letting them climb in and out and around the train, and running around that area of the museum, before we finally took them to see Santa. I was hoping their excitement and happiness would continue through one nice picture on his lap. Although I knew that Lola's emotions could turn on a dime so it was a lot to hope for.

Santa and Mrs. Claus sat in a cozy little fake livingroom complete with fake fireplace, just steps from the broken-down new train that should have been whisking children around the faux-snow wonderland but instead was still on its tracks with a handful of engineers operating on its engine. But before L+L had a view of the train behind the acrylic partition, we peaked in the doorway at Santa and I tried to sound as excited as I could when I exclaimed "There he is -- Santa! Let's go say hello to him".

Lola began to cry immediately. I don't know if it was the claustrophobic little room, or if the tone of my voice had betrayed my fake optimism, or if it was the way you could see the outline of Santa's fake stomach and that his facial hair didn't even seem to be touching his face. Did she suspect that this stranger in a poorly fitting disguise was up to no good?

Locke, although more guarded than usual, began to play with a stuffed animal in the room and eventually mustered the bravery -- or curiosity -- to take the toy over to Santa. Santa picked him up and for about a second and a half, he was sort of on his lap. It was enough time that our friend Claire actually got a picture of him as he was squirming down.

Lola stayed just outside the Claus's lair, preferring the company of the train repairmen. And, once Locke stepped outside and got a good view of the train, he was glued to the partition. We watched them for a while and then decided to could go back to the vintage train and let them play around for a few minutes before we had to go home. But when I tried to get Locke to leave, the meltdown began. He was not leaving this train. He liked the train, he liked the men working on the train, he liked the fake snow, he liked the big crescent moon on the wall, he liked the robotic reindeer that nodded its head slowly up and down. He was not ready to go and wet noodled me until I relented.

During the struggle, Lola couldn't have been sweeter. She just stayed there, watching the train, waving at the conductor when he walked by. Sometimes I think twins can sense your limitations. When one is demanding all your attention, the other one oftentimes seems to realize it and steps quietly out of the limelight. Lola was as quiet as a mouse. Thank you, Lo.

Just as I was getting ready to strongarm Locke into the stroller, the workers all piled into the train for a test ride. Great. Now we can't leave because there's a chance we could get to ride it. So we stood at the partition while they did several test rides. Lola and Locke were so excited watching the train actually moving around its track. Lola waved as they came around and Locke just stared wide-eyed.

Finally they gave us the thumbs up. I tried to join our friends in line but Locke, thinking I was taking him away from the train, continued his wet-noodle meltdown. I was powerless. So our friends saved our place in line until we got toward the front of the line. Then I gathered all my strength and carried both Locke and Lola over to the line.

It seemed like an eternity but we finally got to board the train. I think Lola and Locke really enjoyed it, although they sat expressionless through two thirds of the ride. They finally began pointing and laughing at the animals in the snow and crying "mooo" as we passed the moon. And much too soon the ride was over.

I won't go into all the details of Locke's meltdown when we had to leave the train because I want to remember how much fun we all had. And I also realize that he only had a meltdown because he was having so much fun he didn't want to leave. That actually makes it worthwhile. Plus, it was a great workout for me so I didn't have to run during their nap.

Author's note: I've tried and tried to add a picture to this post but I guess Blogger has other ideas. I'll try it later in a separate post.

China Dolls

2006-12-03T20:19:00.000-05:00

Our good friend Peter (stylist extraordinaire) sent these adorable outfits to Lola and Locke a while back. I just had to post a few pics in them.

Speakers of the House

2006-11-21T22:07:00.000-05:00

When Lola and Locke were younger, I secretly longed for the day when they could talk. I'd imagine their little voices as they pointed to birds flying by and shouting, "bird!" I chuckled at the inappropriate things toddlers would blurt out in grocery stores as their mothers turned bright red and tried to shush them to no avail.

Now, the words are beginning to flow in our house and it's every bit as adorable as I'd imagined. Locke and Lola are surprisingly developing language skills in a very similar way and at a very similar speed. They have a vocabulary that's about 20 words strong and quite a reperatoire of animal sounds. They can even do a mean fish, thanks to Mimi.

Their words now include, "ham, hummus (although both ham and hummus sound like "humma"), Mimi, purple, blue, donkey (although it sounds very similar to "daddy"), pig, apple, Molly (a playgroup friend), Amy (their babysitter), hat, and bus. They can sound like a tiger, lion (yes, same as a tiger), cow, horse, sheep, dog, cat, monkey, duck, and goat.

I always thought one would lead the way in speech, just like they traded off leading in their physical developmental skills like crawling, walking, and jousting. But they're both learning many words at the same time -- together. And, at the same time, they're developing their own language. They used to say something like, "tucka tucka tucka." But now, it's more like, "boota boota boota." They'll talk to each other, "Boota boota boota," and point at different things in the room and then toward the window, seemingly carrying on a serious conversation about architecture and airplanes. Then one will turn to me and say, "ball," in an attempt to include me in the conversation and to downplay their secret twin language.

Lola does seem to be more aggressive in her language training. She babbles almost nonstop, whether it's in the exclusive twin language or her newly developing English language. She seems to be doing a running commentary on the household goings-on in a sweet, melodic way. I've seen trailors for the movie "Stranger Than Fiction," with Will Farrell, where a woman's voice narrates every event in his daily life. I have a feeling if Lola could speak English a little better, it would sound something like that. "Oh, I'm flipping the pages in this book and now I'm climbing up on the table and I'm going to take Lockie's cup and run to the kitchen and put it in a drawer and here comes Lockie he's so funny tee hee tee hee there's Mommy hello Mommy and there's a duck I think I'll put it in this box and push it across the room..." (Add any sweet, lilting melody and high-pitched voice.)

The best thing about their learning new words is not that they're developing the foundation of their lifelong communication skills. It's how darn cute each word can sound, coming out of their mouths. I never knew the word "purple" could be so incredibly cute. When Lola purses her lips and pronounces, in her soft, high-pitched voice, "poo-pull," it's the most adorable thing I've ever heard. I've got it on video now so I can always remember that beautiful sound. Because after they learn to say "no," I think I'll need that.

Dicey Halloween

2006-11-01T19:54:00.000-05:00

Lola and Locke at their playgroup Halloween party. It's a good thing the picture's a little fuzzy because Kelly and I stayed up late the night before putting the finishing touches on their costumes (and by that I mean making them) so it's better not to look too close.

Locke opted against using the armholes. I think his words were, "Armholes are for chicks." But, all in all, they seemed to have fun as fuzzy dice.

This was the way the day began so it was a wonder they put the costumes on again at all.

Time Management

2006-10-06T14:48:00.000-04:00

Everyone's trying to manage their time better these days. "Work smarter, not harder." And Locke and Lola seem to be getting in on the act too. They're now transitioning from two naps a day to one. I guess they thought they'd be able to accomplish more in their busy schedule if they reserved time only once a day for sleeping.

The problem with this efficiency strategy they're promoting is that, although Lola and Locke seem to need less sleep these days, they still sometimes need more rest than one nap provides. So, in the past month or so we've been living in the guessing game of life with twins and no schedule. Most families with one baby or toddler probably live like this all the time. But, with twins, the schedule has been the next best thing to a nanny. So, on most days they take one afternoon nap, with a double nap day thrown in here and there to get them caught up.

The repercussions of this new schedule fall mostly on the positive side. One nap a day means we have more time to do things we want to do: go to the zoo, take long walks around town, run errands, visit the museums, etc. But one nap also means that I only have one break during the day to really get things done: clean house, exercise, shower, blog, etc. So my posting has been even less frequent, but I should have more to post about. Hmmm, a truly double-edged sword.

Another big change in our schedule is that Locke and Lola have begun a Mom's Day Out program one day a week. So now I have five whole hours to do whatever I want to do wherever I want to do it. The first week, I had these romantic notions of dropping them off, then finding a quiet bookstore and reading for a while before making my way to a salon to have a much-needed pedicure. On the way home I'd stop by Target and the grocery store. Once home I'd eat lunch, clean up a bit, exercise, and write a post on the blog. Then it would be time to go pick up Lola and Locke.

The truth is, you can tackle exactly three things on your list in five hours. Any three. Including lunch. I've tried several combinations now. I've gone running, grocery shopped and eaten lunch. I've gotten a pedicure, cleaned house and eaten lunch. I've shopped at Target and the grocery store, and then written a post. But I had to leave to pick up L+L before eating lunch that day. This week I spent most of my "Mom's Day Out" at the dentist. Woo hoo!

But, once again, this change affords more posting material. In fact, there's already been a love interest at school. Lola seems to be the object of desire of one of her classmates named Scout. Scout follows Lola around, talking sweetly to her and petting her. Lola seems to ignore the advances for the most part. Once when I was picking them up, Scout was hovering around Lola and calling her "baby." As I was answering, "Yes, Lola is a baby," Scout leaned in for a kiss right on Lola's lips. It was very cute. I'm flattered to know that there are others that find my little Lola adorable too. Even if it is another little girl. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

So, the fact is our little babies are growing up. They'll be a year and a half this month and it really shows. They're saying more words, they're learning more and more each day, and they're such their own little people. I'm glad we have more awake time now. Even if it means less "me" time. I had plenty of "me" time before Lola and Locke. Now it's all about them.

Park Pics

2006-09-21T16:56:00.000-04:00

Locke takes a breather.

"YEA! SWINGS!!!"

Lola checks out the action.

Faster than a speeding bullet. Able to leap small toys in a single bound.

My Little Control Group

2006-09-14T14:08:00.000-04:00

I was reading recently about a Harvard research scientist who studies the cognitive abilities of babies and toddlers. For the last 30 years, they've been doing a variety of experiments on young children and they've actually determined that we are born with certain facts about the world. For instance, when babies were encouraged to crawl along a glass panel over a solid platform, they crawled along just fine. But they refused to continue crawling where the glass began to extend out over the end of the solid platform, proving that they don't need an actual cliff-diving experience to know that cliff-diving is not a good sport for babies.

All this hypothesizing about babies' brains may seem boring to most people, but, as a mother of twins, I'm very interested in the way babies think and what motivates them to behave a certain way. Especially because, with twins, you get to experience on a daily basis differences in personality and behavior between two children who have very similar outside influences. It's like your own little control group.

Take, for instance, the difference between Locke's and Lola's comfort level with strangers. Lola has an understandable wariness when approached by a new face. She's always been more cautious and tends to attach herself to Mommy when she finds herself in an unfamiliar environment or situation. Locke, on the other hand, seeks the attention of others. Anyone and everyone. We found out the extent of his desire to attract attention on several outings on our recent trip. Every time we went to a restaurant, Locke would immediately seek his first target -- usually an older woman (and by older, I mean over 13). He'd then proceed to grin his biggest grin and wave at them until they either smiled and waved back or, better yet, came over to talk to him. It worked like a charm on most occasions. By the end of the trip he'd developed the coy over-the-shoulder grin with a wave and eyelash bat to boot. He even got us a table at a very crowded restaurant by launching his attack on a young hostess.

I've always tried to understand the huge differences between Lola and Locke. Kelly and I are aware of the way our behavior toward them can impact their personalities. So we try to treat them similarly, while giving them the individual attention they need. For instance, we don't roughhouse with Locke and treat Lola with kid gloves. We roughhouse with both of them and treat them both with kid gloves (but not all at the same time -- that would be difficult). So are all of the differences between them innate? That would mean that there are inherent differences between the way the two sexes think. Nah, that can't be true.

There is only one parent-caused factor I can point to that could affect their behavior: their assigned stroller seats. Back in March, we bought a new double stroller with front and back seating. The back seat is slightly elevated for a better view and, because it is situated in between the front seat and me, it is more insulated. Since early on, Lola has ridden in the back most often for several reasons: 1) I feel like she feels more protected from strangers that come up to see the twins (something that happens quite often), and 2) when she rides in front, Locke kicks her seat and pulls her hair. Now I wonder if this arrangement hasn't contributed to their attitude toward strangers. Locke has always been out there in front, feeding off the smiles and praise while Lola has been more isolated and safe.

So, I've embarked on a little experiment of my own. I've switched their seats.

On our last stroll, Lola sat upright, smiling into the oncoming breeze, singing at the top of her lungs and waving at no one in particular. I think my experiment is working.

Pictures

2006-09-05T14:49:00.000-04:00

Lola and Locke play in Mimi's studio.

There's nothing like relaxing in Grandmommy's lap when you're sick.

Lola back at home.

Twins on a Plane

2006-08-28T15:31:00.000-04:00

Travelling with twin toddlers. It's enough to challenge the toughest and strongest of mind and body. Quien es mas macho? Parents of twins, that's who.

We just returned from a long trip home, to Texas. It was a nice trip except for a few details which, in hindsight, make for a good story but, while you're living it, really bite. But every time we travel with Lola and Locke (and we've been doing it since they were four months old) we learn new tricks and survival techniques. I'll pass a few of those along now.

First of all, never travel to Texas in August. What were we thinking? The highs were in the 100s almost every day while we were there, which makes for a lovely time between the hours of 11pm and 7am. Which is precisely the hours we're all sleeping. We did, however, manage to have some fun in the wading pool in the morning and after dinner. The rest of the time was carefully calculated for climate control.

Next, always take the first flight out on a weekend morning. That's right, that 7am flight that requires you to wake up at an hour at which you've more often fallen asleep than woken up. It sounds crazy but the first flights are less likely to be delayed (trust me, you do not want to be delayed when travelling with toddlers) and aren't nearly as full so you can often get a whole row to yourself. Plus, when your toddler actually falls asleep in your lap on the flight, it's worth all the pain that you endured getting up and out the door. Of course that's if you're lucky enough to be holding a toddler like Lola. If you've got one like Locke, it's another story. Although he did extremely well except for one episode of the noodle when I tried to hold him in my lap for a short ride through a little turbulence.

And finally, always have a pediatrician lined up in case of emergency wherever you travel. Locke had several days of high fever, which turned out to be a virus that went away on its own but was very scary for a while. We were able to get in to see a doctor in our old pediatrician's office after trying another office that was closer to where we were staying, only to be met with the verbal equivalent of a slamming door in our faces. From now on, I find the name of a doctor ahead of time. And being that prepared will certainly increase our chances of never needing it.

Overall, it was actually a nice trip. Locke and Lola got to spend time with their grandparents, aunts, uncle and cousin, and we got to see several good friends, although we missed out on seeing others because of the heat and Locke's illness. Kelly and I even got to see a movie (if you haven't seen Little Miss Sunshine, I highly recommend it -- however, since I've only seen three movies this whole year, my judgment could be a little lax). But we only ate enough Mexican food to stave off our cravings for a few months so we better plan another trip soon. Actually, I just found out my friend Stephanie is getting married in Texas next month so I may be going back sooner than expected. I don't think we're going to get to do another family trip, though. Even though it was a good trip, we'd be pressing our luck to take the twins on a plane two months in a row.

Career Paths

2006-08-03T15:03:00.000-04:00

It seems that Locke and Lola have embarked on what could be (mis)construed as career paths. Oh, sure, it's early. But it's never too early to start honing a skill. Especially one that appears unprompted and unaffected by outside influences.

Now you might be thinking of the obvious toddler career labels like veterinarian, fireman (or fireperson), artist, or dancer. But these two have eschewed the under-5 career path traps and plunged into the roads less travelled.

For Locke, there was always a deep connection with the written word. From very early on, he would sit and look at books for way longer than I thought a baby's attention span would allow. But there was more to it than that. As if studying the books wasn't quite enough to satiate his hunger for knowledge, he began to chew on them. At first I thought he was just teething. That's why they make board books, right? But now that he's older and wiser, I've realized that he's not just chewing on them, he's editing them.

Locke takes a book that he knows frontwards and backwards, upside down and right side up, and, by ripping off parts of the pages with his teeth, attempts to improve up them. For instance, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" always seemed a bit long to Locke. He'd sometimes lose interest after Wednesday, when the caterpillar had eaten through 3 plums and was still hungry. So he strategically ate away Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday's pages, keeping the most interesting part -- Saturday, when the caterpillar eats not just sausage and a cupcake, but also salami, cherry pie, and an ice cream cone. Thanks to Locke's thoughtful editing, the book is really a much more manageable size now.

Lola is much more outgoing in her career pursuit. She has developed an avid interest in birds, so I can only assume a career in ornithology is her goal. And not only is she interested in birds, she's already focused on a specialization within the ornithological field. She studies ducks. Yes, just ducks.

I mentioned her duck labeling in a recent post but, at that time, I narrowmindedly assumed that "duck" was the only word she could say so she called everything duck. What I failed to realize was that there are hidden ducks everywhere and our budding ornithologist is very busy spotting them. In almost every book we read, there's a duck. In almost every Baby Einstein DVD we own, there's a duck. On their "discovery center" activity station, there are no less than three ducks! It's not that she's limited in her speech, it's that she's eagle-eyed in her duck spotting. That may not answer the chicken episode at the dairy farm, but maybe there was a duck I didn't see because I was too busy chasing Locke who was busy chasing chickens.

So it's nice to know that Locke and Lola are pursuing noble paths in life. Although I'm fairly certain their interests will change by next week, or tomorrow, or probably when they get up from their nap. But, whatever paths they finally choose, I will encourage them to do their very best and to be happy and proud knowing they've done just that.

Field Trip

2006-07-19T16:41:00.000-04:00

One of the nice things about where we moved to almost one year ago is that you can drive about 20 minutes to a beautiful organic dairy farm that's not only open to the public, but has a cafe with fresh ice cream and yogurt that's open every day, and a weekly organic farmer's market. Mimi and I took Locke and Lola there when she came to visit recently.

We drove out one Friday afternoon, hoping the kids would nap in the car on the way. Instead they peered out the windows, pointing at trees, barns, houses, and birds, and calling everything "duck", because that's the word they've chosen for everything from ducks to buildings to abstract mathmatical equations.

When we arrived, we were told to make ourselves at home and feel free to wander around to the barn and chicken coup, and that the cows would be parading in to be milked at 4pm.

We had a little time so we strolled around to the chicken coup, which was the biggest hit with Lola and Locke. Lola was a little cautious, standing a respectable distance from the groups of birds, pointing, and saying "duck, duck, duck." She did, at one point, try to take off with their water feeder but realized it was a bit large to carry around the farm, so she left it for their further use.

Locke was, not too surprisingly, a little more emboldened. He squealed with delight at the multitudes of pecking chickens. He would get right up in their faces, pointing and (taking Lola's lead) calling them ducks. I guess chickens have been called worse because they tolerated his advances fairly well. Only when he'd run up quickly upon them would they scatter. But he was relentless in his pursuit. Every time I tried to take a picture of Mimi and Lola, I'd have to run after Locke, who would be running toward a large piece of farm equipment or a ravine, chasing a chicken.

After wrestling them away from the chickens, we took Lola and Locke into the cafe for a refreshing cup of fruity yogurt. It's more liquidy than most store-bought yogurts so it's served in cups with straws. Locke and Lola had never used straws before, but got the hang of it very quickly. We sat inside, near the windows overlooking the farm, sipping our yummy yogurt and enjoying the cool breeze.

When we finished, we walked down to the barn, where the cows were just walking in to be milked. The attendant washed each one's underside and hooked milking pumps on their utters. Within seconds, the milk was pouring into giant bottles. As we watched this with the twins, all I could think about was the first few months of Lola's and Locke's lives, when I had to pump after every breastfeeding to keep up my milk production enough to continue to breastfeed twins. I wondered if the cows were as bored as I was, hooked up and unable to move while that precious liquid flowed into the holding containers. At least I was able to read or talk on the phone while I pumped. But what I really wanted was to be holding either Lola or Locke. I wondered if the cow was wishing she was feeding her calf instead of countless human kids whose moms buy her home farm's label. It was all a little too personal for me. But Locke and Lola seemed to enjoy it.

After the milking, we stopped back by the cafe for a taste of their homemade ice cream. It was Lola and Locke's first ice cream experience and it appeared to be something they wouldn't mind trying again. Like, maybe every day.

After the ice cream we strolled through the farmer's market on our way to the car.

I could get used to a place like this. Although I've always considered myself a downtown girl, there's certainly something to love about a beautiful place in the country. And since we live in an urban area, with no backyard for Lola and Locke, I'm glad I have places like this to take them, so they can get a feel for the country and experience nature at its best.

Your Fighting Technique is Unstoppable

2006-07-14T11:54:00.000-04:00

I have a goal. And that goal is to regain at least half the fitness I had right before I got pregnant. At that time, Kelly and I were running and exercising quite often -- sometimes even getting up on Saturday mornings at 6:00 to run a race. I look back on that now like I looked back on my college days of going out almost every night and trying to drag myself to class the next day. At least my afternoon classes. Anyway, in retrospect, it seems crazy. But at that point, it made sense. We were young(er), fit, competitive. And both of us have athletic histories. (I can't make any sense of the crazy college behavior so I won't even try to justify it.)

Now my desire to get into shape is motivated by something completely different. They're named Locke and Lola.

It's not hard to imagine, now that they're not just walking but running everywhere, that it takes much more strength and stamina on my part to keep them safe, clean, fed, and happy. And they're also getting bigger and heavier with each passing day so lifting and carrying them requires major muscle power.

But there's more to it than just the ordinary growth and development of the twins that's challenging to the mere mortal mom. It's also their new cunning defense moves. I don't know how they each thought of, practiced and perfected their techniques at such a young age, but they have and, dang it, the moves work.

I named Locke's technique "the noodle." It began several months ago when I'd try to pick him up to take him to the diaper-changing area. Evidently, he anticipated the diaper change. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have said things like, "Hmmm, I think someone's pooooopy." But I really didn't feel like a blind ambush was fair. So, I'd go to pick him up and he'd go completely limp. His whole body would instantaneously become a wet noodle. Have you ever tried to pick up a 25 pound wet noodle? It's not easy.

Now, after several months of perfecting his technique, Locke can even collapse his shoulder blades so that his arms slip right through your grasp and he drops to the floor on his feet, which are already running away from me. Impressive.

Lola has a very different technique. Hers is the combination head thrust/head butt. When I pick her up, the first part of the combo is to thrust her head backward, which creates a stiff board effect. It also has the added impact of throwing your balance off because all the weight suddenly lunges away from your body, forcing you to use control the situation using only your wimpy biceps.

The combo finale is the old head butt to the collar bone. Just when you've regained control by bringing her back in toward you, she reverses her head, pounding it into your chest. You're constantly having to shift the power center to keep her head from hurting her or you. It's a complex move but one she's mastered. But, thankfully, she only uses the technique in extreme circumstances. Like when she's having way too much fun to have her diaper changed.

So, if my posts are less frequent these days it's probably because I'm spending more time (naptime) on my new exercise and fitness regime. Because I've got a wrestler and a wet noodle to diaper.

The Elusive South Beach Playgroup Pics

2006-07-10T15:21:00.000-04:00

I don't know why I was never able to post these with the original post but, better late than never, here are the visuals for the post below.

South Beach Playgroup

2006-06-28T22:09:00.000-04:00

This week I took Locke and Lola to a playgroup hosted by another mother of twins. The event was held in their giant backyard that was tricked out with three wading pools, a big swingset, numerous plastic slides and playhouses, a sprinkler, beach balls, t-ball, and one big plastic castle. It was truly a wonderland for toddlers.

When we stolled in the yard, all the other kids were already racing around in their swimsuits, laughing, playing, drinking juice from sippy cups, or being changed, slathered with sunblock, or otherwise having their fun momentarily compromised by their mothers. No one even noticed us roll up in our double rig.

I began to unshoe and undress Lola and Locke, one by one letting them down onto the lawn to go search of fun. It took them a minute to want to leave my side but soon they were off in different directions, exploring the toys, playing in the wading pools, and chasing after the resident dog, a sweet black lab who greeted each person with a friendly sniff or, in Lola's case, a sloppy lick on the cheek.

As I walked around to keep both Lola and Locke in my sight, I watched them exploring and interacting with the other kids. Lola is fairly reserved, preferring to seek out her own fun in the pools and playhouses, while Locke is very much a social animal. He sat in a pool, making eyes at a leggy blond about twice his age. Soon she joined him in the pool, seemingly having quite the conversation. It must have been fairly one-sided, since Locke isn't talking yet, but neither of them seemed to mind. He gestured off into the farthest regions of the yard, presumably pointing out the dog or a toy to his new friend. She used words, and used them well. He was obviously smitten.

Eventually the girl left to be reapplied with sunblock or to have a snack and Locke joined Lola in a playhouse.

I realized, watching them, that this playgroup isn't too different from a day on Miami's South Beach. A bunch of scantily clad youngsters walking around with drinks (do they make umbrellas for sippy cups?), wading in the water, eyeing each other's toys. The boys played mostly with the other boys (again, like South Beach). But even on SoBe there's a girl-crazy boy or two. At the playgroup it was Locke.

Once he was positively reinforced by the cute 3-year-old, his confidence was was overinflated. He began chasing after all the girls in their irridescent swimsuits. Not the least discouraged by the fact that he was literally half their size, he followed small groups of preschool girls as they ran into the sprinkler. He didn't quite understand why he was getting sprayed with water, which made the whole situation even funnier. Then he followed them onto the double swing where one pointed at him and told him he was too little to play with them. Still undeterred, he continued to pursue the big girls until it was time to leave.

Lola didn't interact as much with the other kids but she had a great time playing in the water, rolling the beach ball back and forth with me, and exploring the playhouses. At least she wasn't running after the older boys. Not yet, anyway.

I'm looking forward to the next playgroup. Locke and Lola are finally at an age where they enjoy playing with other kids, not just by them. I guess it helps that they've always had each other to play with. And by.

Author's note: I've been trying to add pictures but Blogger doesn't seem to want to cooperate. If, at a later date I'm able to add them, I'll do so. Otherwise, you'll have to use your imagination.

Stripes

2006-06-20T15:03:00.000-04:00

Does Eddybody Hab a Tissue?

2006-06-12T20:24:00.000-04:00

I knew it would happen some day. It had to. But I was beginning to believe we were invincible. Without so much as a runny nose since Lola and Locke were born, I really thought we were going to somehow escape the inevitable. As long as we never uttered the words, "I can't believe the babies have never been sick," we'd be safe. Well, we didn't. And we're not.

We were struck, two by two, with colds this past week. First, Locke and Kelly started sniffling and coughing. Now Lola and I are coughing and sneezing. Oh sure, it could be much worse. But there's a whole lot of whining going on in this home.

Colds are colds. They're not life or death situations, but they provide a fair amount of misery. First there's the head, bursting with unsavory goop until it feels like it might explode. Then the nose, which runs uncontrollably until the skin between it and your lips becomes so sensitive you can barely touch the softest tissue to it. The ears take turns clogging just enough to affect your equilibrium. The back of your throat is scratchy which, during the day, is bearable. But as soon as you lay down, the swallowing begins. You swallow almost involuntarily to alleviate the scratchiness which, in turn, causes even more scratchiness. And, finally, your lungs are so itchy that coughs blurt themselves out -- often and with no warning.

Locke and Lola have probably been experiencing all the classic symptoms. (Judging by the moods this week, I feel certain they are.) And they each had the added bonus of a full night of fever at the beginning of their respective sicknesses. I'm not sure why they had fever when neither Kelly nor I did. I guess their little bodies were fighting harder than they'd ever fought, so their body temperatures were raised in the battle.

So now we're in varying stages of misery. Kelly is recovering nicely, although he's not yet officially well. Locke is in the final (hopefully) stage of coughing but his runny nose shows no signs of surrender. Lola and I are in full-blown sneezing, coughing, stuffy head, cranky mode. I'm sure we'll all be back to normal in another week. But right now Locke and Lola are both in need of a whole lot of Mommy time and, although Mommy would like more than anything to crawl into bed for a week, it's somehow comforting to me to be the primary comfort to them. I only wish I had two more arms and an extra lap. And more tissue.

War Wounds

2006-06-01T21:45:00.000-04:00

In the past 13 months -- since I've been a parent -- I've begun to understand the meanings of many things that I'd heard my entire life but never thought twice about, like "They grow up so fast" and "Having kids will change your life." And in the past few months, since Lola and locke have become so mobile, I've realized the meaning of one more: "I feel your pain." (Oh, sure, I could have used, "It hurts me more than it hurts you," but that one is usually only used in movies when there's a belt precariously positioned over a young lad's behind. We probably won't be using that interpretation with Locke and Lola.)

Locke and Lola have had more bumps, bruises, and cuts since they began walking than I've had in the past decade. It's tough -- especially on me. Every time they fall and I hear that serious cry (not the frustrated "my balance sucks and I'm tired of falling" cry -- the one that you know is real), I nearly have a heart attack. I usually have the phone in my hand, speed dialing the pediatrician, and a crying toddler in the other, even before I've surveyed the damage.

We recently rearranged our living area to give the little walkers more room to roam. The first day, Lola fell against the coffee table and cut her forehead. The next day, Locke fell against an end table and bruised the bridge of his nose, which, as you know, often causes bruising of the eye too. Now, with Lola still in her cast from her thumb surgery, a butterfly bandage on her head, and Locke sporting a black eye, I was scared to death to take them out in public. I was constantly in fear that Child Protective Services was about to tap on my shoulder to ask me a few questions. I'm no Brittany Spears! I'm a good mother!

The day after Locke's accident, I bought enough table edge padding to cover every table in a Las Vegas casino, and Kelly and I spent an entire evening padding every piece of furniture we have. I felt like we were living in a pinball machine. And the next morning, it took all of 30 seconds for Locke to notice it, tear down a corner piece, and start chewing on it. Lumpyhead's mom had a similar experience and pointed out the worthlessness of this particular "childproofing" product in a post, but it was a few days too late for us.

But we're doing much better now. Lola got her cast off and her forehead scar is fading fast. Locke's black eye faded away. They look much better and they're getting more and more sure-footed, too. But there will probably always be some kind of visible bruise. I'm as careful as a mother possibly could be but you can't watch them constantly. Especially with twins. And it will be during that 5 seconds that you take your eyes off of them to change the other's diaper that they'll choose to hurt themselves. It's inevitable. But I'm learning to give myself a break. Because although I take good care of my toddlers, the fact is, they're toddlers. They fall. They get hurt. That's what they do. And what I do is prevent it as often as I can. But when the inevitable happens, I kiss them and comfort them and patch up their wounds, and do whatever I can to make them feel better. Because I'll do anything to make my babies happy. That's another thing I understand now.

Love Me Two Times

2006-05-21T21:53:00.000-04:00

A while back, Matthew, over at Childsplayx2 wrote a post about the rewards and challenges of raising twins. There's no instant during any day that you don't feel the impact of having two babies. When you're out with them, the pride is apparent in your smile and your posture and in the words you speak to them. And when you're alone with them, you get to feel the magnetic field that can bring them both simultaneously walking up to you, all four arms reaching around your neck in a big, sloppy hug. This love -- that you're lucky enough to be the recipient of -- is overwhelming. But the challenges can also be overwhelming.

Certain moments in parenting should be manageable without much thought. Case in point: your baby's crying, so you pick him/her up. Easy, right? But some of these moments can be difficult for a parent of two babies, both the same age, with the same (or similar) needs. There are times when both babies (or now, toddlers -- wow, it's so weird to say I have two toddlers!) are in need of something (usually your attention) and you must choose which one to attend to first. It seriously must be the hardest thing for a parent of twins. When your child is upset, you comfort him or her. It's instinctive and instantaneous. Usually. But when you have two babies and they're both upset, you have to quickly assess the situation, and choose one. It's never easy.

When they were younger, it was even harder. Knowing that one of your precious babies is going to have to watch you hold the other one while tears stream down their puffy little cheeks and the look in their eye couldn't be more desperate -- it's heartbreaking. But now that they're a little older and beginning to understand things a little more, and beginning to be more independent, other challenges present themselves.

Now that Locke and Lola are walking, I want so badly to take them for a walk. How simple. Just take them out on the sidewalk and walk around, holding their hands, checking out the sights. But with two, it's almost impossible. We wouldn't get two feet out the door before Locke would take off in one direction and Lola, the other.

Until they get better at understanding direction (they're on the right track) and develop a healthy amount of fear of the unknown (I don't even see that one on the horizon), a simple walk outside will not be a part of our daily schedule. I've seen people with their toddlers on leashes and, although that would solve my dilemma, I can't bring myself to leash Locke and Lola. Plus, I couldn't stand the looks I'd receive from people -- the same looks I'm sure I've given people holding the leash attached to their child.

So, for now, we'll hold our two-legged exercise sessions in a large park, with plenty of running room on soft, cushy grass and pretty trees for shade. I love watching them run freely, laughing and yelling. And what better fitness routine for me than chasing two adorable toddlers barefoot in the grass?

What Vacation?

2006-05-17T15:30:00.000-04:00

Before I forget that it ever happened (thanks to Conrad and Nolan's mom for the reminder), Kelly and I had our first vacation since the babies were born -- without the babies! We spent four beautiful days doing nothing but lounging around on Waikiki Beach, soaking up the sun, people-watching, reading (yes, real books, even!), and relaxing. It was perfect.

It was difficult to leave Locke and Lola, though. The longest I'd been away from them before was about five hours on New Year's Eve when they were safely asleep under my parents' watchful eyes, never realizing we'd even left. This time would be a little different.

Lola and Locke stayed with my parents and Mimi, who drove 200 miles to help out. Kelly was already in Hawaii on business and I was scheduled to meet him on Easter Sunday. As I made my way out the door of my parents' house, bag in hand, Lola began to cry, holding her arms out to me in the most dramatic way, making me feel like one minute apart from her would be anything but relaxing. But Mimi called my cell phone as my dad was driving me to the airport and told me Lola was laughing and playing with Locke and had, for all appearances, forgotten I existed. I felt much better. Sort of.

The trip was great. Every morning we'd stake out our spot on the beach and, for most of every day, we'd relax under the umbrella, watching people, reading and talking. We strolled around the shops, loading up on kitchy souvenirs (who knew that kuikui nut necklaces, which sell for $6 would be so stylish right now?). And we ate some tasty sushi. It was so nice to be alone to do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted.

We called every day and talked with Locke and Lola. The conversations were often one-sided, but we didn't mind. Locke screached a time or two into the phone at me. That's true love. But four days is the perfect amount of time for your first time away from a new baby or two. By our last day, we couldn't wait to get back to see them.

Our excitement built as my dad drove us from the airport to their house. We were finally going to get to see them. They'd probably scream with delight, walking as fast as they could to greet us. Maybe Locke would do his speed crawl -- he'd be too excited to walk.

We opened the door and Locke was first to walk over. His face beamed with joy. And Lola made her way over and greeted us "ada da da da". We took turns holding and hugging them, smothering them with kisses. And then they went back to playing with Grandmommy and Mimi. Hmmm. No extended emotional greeting. No hanging all over me, afraid to let me out of their sight again. Didn't they realize I'd been away for four days, wondering every minute what they were doing and missing them terribly? It was like I'd run to the store -- not been an ocean away. That can only mean that Grandmommy, Granddaddy and Mimi took such great care of them that they never lacked for anything -- except us. And they trusted us enough to know we'd be back before they realized we were gone.

Now I look forward to our next vacation without Locke and Lola. But, more than that, I look forward to travelling with them -- showing them places we've been, and exploring new places together.

First Birthday!

2006-05-08T14:29:00.000-04:00

I still can't believe it's true. Locke and Lola are one whole, beautiful, crazy, impressive, breathtaking, wondrous, wonderful year old. Their birthday was April 22nd -- Earth Day. It's gone by faster than I ever expected. Even after hearing a thousand times about how quickly they grow up. It's yet another part of the parenting process you could never have imagined before -- the sudden warp speed of time.

When Lola and Locke turned one, they suddenly seemed so much more like children than babies. They're walking exclusively now. They're drinking milk instead of formula (YEA!!!!). And they're so much better at communicating, pointing at things and babbling as if they're pretty sure they're speaking just like everyone else does and Mommy should certainly understand every word of my profound declarations and observations. I'm so proud, so amazed, so happy, and I'm so in love with these beautiful babies (I'm not ready to start calling them children just yet).

At one year, Locke continues his quest to put a smile on the faces of everyone he comes into contact with. He's wise beyond his year, studying the inner workings of every object -- and every person -- he encounters. He's at once competitive and generous, aggressive and sensitive, independent and cuddly. He is now 30 inches tall and 24 pounds.

Lola is our little doll, sweet and happy. She captures hearts with her striking blue eyes and she holds them with her beautiful toothy smile and melodic voice. She has the most adorable giggle, which we all attempt to elicit (and Locke most often succeeds). She's very easygoing, patient, and loving. She's now 27 inches tall and 20 pounds.

Their birthday party was at Grandmommy and Granddaddy's house, where they were showered with wonderful gifts and played all afternoon with Aunties Paula and Lesa, Uncle Ken, Cousin Connor, Mimi, and Grandmommy and Granddaddy. Locke and Lola had their first taste of cake that day. I'd been fretting for weeks about what to feed them because I didn't want their first bite of sugar to be an overly processed, sickeningly sweet store-bought cake. So I found a recipe for an applesauce cake that used natural ingredients and less sugar than most others, and Kelly, the family chef, made it that morning. Judging from the way Locke crammed handfuls of it into his mouth, I'd say they loved it. Or was that me with the handfuls? Anyway, it was yummy.

Not only did they enjoy cake for the first time, but Lola and Locke found another new love -- goldfish (the crackers, not the disposable pets*). I was happy to find that there is no partially hydrogenated or modified corn anything in them. Besides, anything that has a serving size of 88 pieces can't be too bad for them. At least not while they're eating 20 or 30 pieces tops.

So, Happy Birthday to our beautiful Locke and Lola. You've changed our lives in so many ways -- all for the better. I look forward to the many years ahead, watching you both grow and learn. I love you more than you can know.

* I apologize to PETA members and all other animal lovers who may have been offended by the goldfish description. I'm a huge animal lover myself and that is why I'll never** have goldfish again -- because of my horrible memories of fish flushing on more than several occasions.

** I should have learned in this first year of parenting never to say "I'll never" again.

Lola's Surgery

2006-05-05T11:01:00.000-04:00

Lola was born with an extra thumb. Normally, I'd think that was a bonus. Just think about all she could do with an extra thumb. She could be the envy of our classical guitarist friend Tom. She could blaze the keypad on her (whatever gadget that will replace the) Blackberry. She could go up to eleven!

Unfortunately, neither of Lola's thumbs functioned the way they should so she used one thumb to grasp things (even though it wouldn't straighten out completely), and the other one served as a sometime binky (this one wouldn't bend at all). So it was clear that one thumb would need to go. And, since the outside thumb wouldn't bend and would sometimes get in her way, it would be the one. Besides, she rarely even sucked on it any more.

Our old pediatrician referred us to a hand surgeon when she was just a day old. He obviously thought highly of her (if you can infer that from him describing her as a "genious") and after meeting with her, Kelly and I concurred. So Lola's surgery has been planned since her birth. The surgeon wanted to wait until she was a year old so that she'd have more bone, ligaments, tendons, etc. to work with, plus, as she explained, babies handle anesthesia much better after they're a year old. So we waited.

Lola has been in to have x-rays and evaluations several times. The surgeon explained that she'd not only remove the extra thumb but also reposition the existing thumb and try to gain more movement through the moving and grafting of tendons, ligaments, and skin. It would be fairly major reconstructive work. She'd have general anesthesia, but it would just be day surgery -- she'd be home by late afternoon -- and she'd wear a cast for four weeks. We could handle that.

Four days after Locke and Lola's first birthday, we took Lola in for her surgery. I never mentioned her surgery before on a post, probably because the thought of having our baby put under general anesthesia and going through what could be fairly painful surgery was something I didn't like to think about. It made me very nervous. And a bit sick. Plus, since we were staying at my parents' house the weeks before the surgery, with little access to a computer, I couldn't write about it when I was having to confront the majority of the fear.

The day arrived all too soon. Kelly and I took Lola to the hospital at 6:30am while Mom and Dad and my sister Lesa stayed with Locke. The nurses checked her in, checked her vitals, and, after waiting what seemed to be days but in fact was only an hour and a half, gave her a sedative that made her somewhat inebriated. They also explained that the drug also has amnesic qualities so that when she comes back for any further treatment, she won't remember being scared, in pain, etc. Hmmm, it seems like I would have learned about such a drug on House but I guess that episode is upcoming.

When they took her away, it did help somewhat that she was smiling and blowing raspberries, and encouraging me to make noises back at her. But it gave both Kelly and I a sick feeling in the pits of our stomachs to watch her go into the operating room -- even knowing she was in the best possible hands. It's just not easy handing your baby over to people who are about to operate on her.

Kelly and I went to the cafeteria to attempt to eat breakfast and read the newspaper. In almost exactly two hours later (which is how long they said the surgery would take), the surgeon called my cellphone. She met us in the day surgery room and showed us before and after pictures on her camera. It was awesome. Despite the snaking lines of stitches and the metal wire extending from the tip of her thumb, Lola's hand looked totally normal. Like any other one-year-old's thumb. The surgeon told us what she attempted, where she was successful, and where she was challenged. Basically, Lola's thumb will be functional but will not have the mobility of a normal thumb. She'll no doubt adapt well to her limitations. She should be able to do most anything she sets her mind to, and do it well. And she can become whatever she wants to become.

Lola emerged from the surgery downing a bottle of apple juice. She'd never tasted it before and evidentally didn't have to acquire a taste for it. It was love at first sip. She was a little out of it but soon the first signs of our Lola appeared. She began making her noises, blowing raspberries, and pointing to everything in sight. She was going to be just fine.

She's adapted well to her cast, and gets better able to compensate each day. She's walking very well and carrying toys around with her other hand. We keep a sock on it to keep the cast clean and to cushion the blows to Locke, Kelly and me, but they've been few and fairly painless so far. In four weeks (now three), she'll have her cast and the wire removed. And she can begin to develop her movement and skills with it.

She'll have to have another surgery when she's 7 or 8 but I won't be posting about that for some time to come. Although, judging by this first year, it will be here sooner than I can imagine.

Time to Play Catchup

2006-05-03T10:40:00.000-04:00

So much to write about, so little time. April was a whirlwind for us -- part vacation, part celebration, and part serious business. And it all took place back home in Texas. We stayed at my parents' house for 3 weeks. And we all survived! Seriously, thanks, Mom and Dad, for all your help and hospitality. And thanks to you too, Mimi, for coming 200 miles several times to help out. It's always a pleasure seeing you.

During our trip we also got to see several close friends whom I miss terribly. We moved away at a time when several very good friends were about to have babies so it's nice to go home to see them, and see how much the babies have grown and changed, and watch Locke and Lola interacting with them. It's also very cool to see these friends that I've known for so long as parents, comparing notes, living a shared experience with them. Maybe it makes our time together so much more meaningful, living so far away. But it's still hard to leave when it's time to come home.

Although many things transpired during this time, I'll recount them in order of importance instead of chronology, more for my own therapeutic reasons than any other. Beginning soon...

Vacation!!!!

2006-04-15T14:22:00.000-04:00

I still can't believe it's really happening. Tomorrow Kelly and I will be relaxing on a beautiful beach. Alone. Well, there will most likely be other vacationers around, but we'll be sans babies. This is the first time I will have been away from the babies for more than a few hours since they were born, almost one year ago, so I have equal amounts of "yea!" and "yikes!" in my mental vocabulary right now.

We flew to my parents' house early this week. They, along with Kelly's mom (Mimi), will be keeping Lola and Locke while we're gone so they're in very good hands. We've spent this week getting acclimated and seeing family and friends. It's been nice. But the babies' temporary nursery is the office so access to the computer is limited since their naptime is usually when I post. Thus the lack of updates.

Locke and Lola's first birthday is just a few days after we return so we'll have a family party then. I still can't believe it's been a year.

A few days after their birthday, Lola is having minor hand surgery. I haven't posted about her surgery before because I haven't been allowing myself to think too much about it. It's minor surgery but it's still general anesthesia. I'm sure it will all go fine but it still makes me nervous.

Well, Grandmommy is finishing up Lola and Locke's lunch, which means it's naptime. Guess I'll post more on the birthday and surgery later.

Locke's walking feat

2006-04-09T16:03:00.000-04:00

I wrote recently about Lola's walking and how Locke felt no pressure to follow in her footsteps (so to speak). Well, that took about a week. Now I've got two "walkers". Over the past 4 or 5 days, Locke has changed his mission in life from Entertainer of Lola to Better Walker than Lola. Lola's still got more experience behind her but he's quickly catching up.

Locke's determination is surpassed only by his cuteness as he's taking his little steps. He's very focused, stopping when he feels a little off-balanced to correct himself, and then continuing on. Now he and Lola follow each other around, walking from toy to wall to stair to toy. They're both still fairly slow and they rock back and forth on their stiff, straight legs as they carefully take their steps. I used to think they looked like the baby zombies as they'd both crawl toward their target (usually food). But now, with their Frankenstein strides, it's even more zombielike. They're the cutest little baby zombies you've ever seen.

Here they are in motion...

I guess it will be a little while until they're sure-footed enough to run off in two different directions. I probably have a little more time before I have to begin the big chase, trying to keep up with them. Right? Yeah, right. I guess my new fitness routine is just beginning.

Like Christmas Eve

2006-04-06T16:44:00.000-04:00

I've never had problems sleeping before ... when given the chance, that is. That doesn't include those last few weeks of pregnancy or the first five months after they were born. Those days (weeks, months, etc.) were not up to me -- they were controlled exclusively by the babies' need to: a) be born, b) eat, or c) be with me. But now, other than those times when Lola wakes up in the middle of the night, I should be sleeping like, well, a baby. But I've had my first bout of self-induced insomnia. I really didn't remember what it was like, eyes wide open, thoughts swirling about, with no drifting off in sight. The only times I remember having that problem were Christmas Eves when I was young. The anxiousness, the excitement, the mystery -- I couldn't wait until morning to find out what had appeared under the tree. But it's nowhere near the holidays and that Christmas morning anticipation has long since gone, so I didn't know why this new sleeplessness was plaguing me. Until last night.

As I lay there employing every relaxation method I've ever read or been told about by my oh-so-tired-but-still-patient husband, I realized why my mind won't cooperate. Each time I tried to picture myself relaxing on a beach with the breeze and the sound of the waves lulling me to sleep, my mind drifted back to Locke and Lola, taking their excited, awkward steps toward me. Lola, smiling at me as she claps her hands to a song I'm singing. Locke, making new sounds as if he's preparing to say a first word. The proud faces of my two amazing babies learning something new every day. It's that same Christmas Eve excitement all over again. I can't wait until the next morning to see what they'll try to perfect or attempt.

I've heard it a million times, "they grow up so fast." And I always smiled and nodded in agreement. But now I understand. This is the time of development you can't imagine until you see it day by day. I'll never regret the choice I made to stay at home with Lola and Locke. I wouldn't have known what I'm missing. But I'm so glad I do now.

Cheerio!

2006-04-06T15:44:00.000-04:00

Stair Masters

2006-03-27T15:10:00.000-05:00

Our apartment has three carpeted stairs from the hallway into the living area. The stairs are slightly steep, but they're nice and wide and the carpeting makes them perfect for learning to climb stairs. So we took down the "gate" (a bouncy chair on its side surrounded by about 30 pillows) at the bottom of the stairs and installed a legitimate gate in the hallway, opening the three stairs to Lola and Locke to learn the art of climbing. But the stairs have become the stage for more than just climbing lessons.

Kelly and I had unblocked the stairs before, from time to time, so Locke and Lola could crawl up to their baths in the evenings. We loved to watch their slow, simultaneous crawl attack. It's the same one they employ when Kelly sits on the floor with a plate of food. We call it the baby zombies because they're very focused and they crawl silently toward their goal like zombies stumbling toward their prey -- even though their speed makes it surprisingly easy for the prey to get away every time. But somehow, the movie zombies manage to succeed from time to time. It's easier to understand when two adorable babies are coming toward you but, if it were real zombies, I wouldn't just stand there screaming. I'd run! But, I digress.

The first day we opened up the stairs for them, I sat on the bottom stair and the babies scrambled past each other and me to get to the top. Going up was never the problem. It's coming down that's hard. Locke had the requisite amount of fear when contemplating his descent. He instinctively turned sideways, tentatively sticking his toes out and down, searching for the next lower stair. When his shaky little foot found it, he turned backwards, and brought his other foot down, lowering himself to the stair. It was amazing to watch. I could tell I wouldn't have to worry too much about Locke after a few days of learning.

Lola, on the other hand, seemed to lack any sort of fear of the stairs. She'd make her way to the top, turn around, and fling herself head-first toward me on the bottom stair, giggling as I caught her. This was going to take some time.

After several days of me turning her around to show her how to descend backwards, and her getting frustrated and refusing to come down at all, she's begun to show progress. She now turns herself around to come down, only she does it a full yard or so from the top stair so she has to inch backwards for quite a while before finding the edge. But that's OK. She's being careful. I like that.

During our days on the stairs, several other small breakthroughs have happened. Locke has learned to share. Oh, not with his sister just yet, but he'll give Mommy his toys and other random objects. I'll enjoy them for a moment, thanking Locke, and then hand them back usually. His face really lights up. It's just another little growing phase that makes a mom proud.

And Lola's walking has progressed. She can take more steps and pause in between them. It won't be much longer until she's on two feet exclusively. Now, if she'll just stop trying to walk down the stairs.

One Giant Step

2006-03-16T11:09:00.000-05:00

Lola just learned to crawl about 6 weeks ago, when she was barely 9 months old. Until then she seemed quite content to let Locke do all the leg work. He'd been crawling for 3 months at that point so maybe she just thought that was something boys did. She just didn't seem too interested.

All of the sudden she began to get up on her knees, rocking back and forth, and trying to move. It didn't take long, once she started learning. One day she simply decided she wanted a toy that was a little out of reach. She took her first crawling steps to it.

It was a huge step, and one that excited her mommy a lot. But evidently, that wasn't quite the milestone she was looking for. After all, Locke had been doing that forever! So she immediately began pulling herself to a stand and letting go, balancing for longer and longer periods of time.

In the past 3 weeks, she's been attempting steps. She'll balance, concentrate on her finish line (usually Mommy, ready with open arms out to catch her), and then she'll take a step (sometimes two!) as she leans forward, toppling into me. It's a game we've been playing a lot lately.

Now, she's finally got it. She took 6 steps yesterday! She practices walking toward me still, but now she'll also aim at a pile of pillows, or a stationary object that's close by (like the big musical felt block Martin and Joy gave them), or her brother (who's not quite as comfy when she falls into him).

Hopefully Locke will continue to develop his interest in the two-legged variety of mobility. I'm trying to praise Lola's accomplishments while giving Locke plenty of attention and praise on his accomplishments too. But I know he can sense the excitement that Lola's walking has created. I'm hoping the attention will be a motivating factor for him. But, then again, once they both start walking, I'm in real trouble! I think I'll just enjoy each day as it comes, and be thankful that Locke is happy on all fours for now.

March Pics

2006-03-16T10:38:00.000-05:00

2006-03-16T10:37:00.000-05:00

2006-03-16T10:32:00.000-05:00

2006-03-16T10:21:00.000-05:00

Twinspeak?

2006-03-10T02:57:00.000-05:00

I've always heard about twins developing their own language, an exclusive way of communicating between each other. I thought it was more common with identical twins, but every day Locke and Lola communicate more and more. It began with Locke crawling up to Lola (who wasn't mobile at the time) and taking her toy. Then it evolved into voluntarily playing near each other, becoming aware that the other baby is a separate person who makes its own decisions, and is usually holding a more desirable toys at any given time. But now, they babble, laugh and play together quite often. They genuinely seem to enjoy each other's company.

Locke's goal in life these days (besides testing every boundary he encounters) is to make Lola giggle. He chases her around the living room laughing, sticking out his tongue, and doing the "Lockey dance" (which involves bouncing up and down while kneeling and playing the air drums). It seems to work most of the time. She'll take time away from practicing standing to crawl around giggling with Locke fast on her heels.

Recently I was sitting nearby opening mail when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught Locke crawl over to Lola and he appeared to whisper something in her ear. Then, they both crawled over to my little stack of mail and began playing with the catalogs. I'm not sure if he really communicated a plan to her -- or if the whole sequence of events was purely coincidental (probably). But they seemed to be in sync on their little attack. It makes me wonder what the future will bring. Maybe they won't fully develop a language they exclusively share but, as long as they keep communicating, there should be very few dull moments.

Thanks, Mimi

2006-03-08T20:53:00.000-05:00

Kelly was out of town last week on business and his mom, a.k.a. Mimi, came to town to give me a hand with the twins. She was a lifesaver.

Whenever Kelly goes out of town, I always get a little tense. Not that I'm afraid to be alone with Locke and Lola. They've got to be the easiest twin babies to take care of, and I love every minute we spend together. They're happy and smart and funny, and they play together a lot so they don't have to be constantly entertained. If anything, they entertain me more than the reverse. But since we moved here 6 months ago, I haven't really met many people -- especially not a lot of new moms. So I don't have much adult contact and conversation when Kelly's gone (unless you count the silly question and answer sessions from strangers as we stroll -- "Are they twins?" "Yep." "A boy and a girl?" "Yep." "Are they identical?" Pause to decide whether to be mean or not. "Nope."). And a few days of that is fine, but more than that and my sanity threatens to take a vacation.

So Mimi came to the rescue. It's always great when Mimi comes to visit because she has worked for years in education and she knows how to create a positive, fun and creative environment for the babies. Plus she's madly in love with Locke and Lola and she takes care of them like only a grandmother could.

It was a great week. Lola and Locke got tons of extra attention, I got to spend time with one of my favorite people, and I got to exercise 3 times! Plus, she sent me out for a pedicure. How sweet is that?

I know my parents would have loved to come to my rescue but they're going to be hosting the whole family for an extended visit next month so they'll have plenty of time to shower Locke and Lola with attention and to send me out for pedicures. Thank you in advance, Mom and Dad.

Anyway, thanks, Mimi, for a very nice week. Lola and Locke miss you already.

Fond Farewell

2006-02-28T11:57:00.000-05:00

It's always sad to say goodbye to something you've grown attached to. Even when you understand intellectually that it represents not just a parting, but growth. It means you've made a stride toward something new -- a new phase, a new journey, a new life.

After a very slow process of decreasing -- and finally eliminating -- breastfeedings, Lola and Locke are completely weaned. It was much harder on me than it was on them. I already miss those times of closeness and warmth. It was a union I'm very happy to have experienced with my babies. And I'm very proud to have been able to breastfeed twins for so long. It was not an easy thing to do -- especially those first few months. I remember how easy it became when I was able to feed them both simultaneously. But then, after they'd grown out of that phase, it was a challenge keeping one occupied while feeding the other. But all the work and the challenges were all so worth the joy and the benefits it brought all of us.

So after finally letting go of that phase of our growth, I'm having to say goodbye once again. I thought it would take a while for my boobs to go back to their modest pre-delivery size -- months, hopefully even years. But Mother Nature's quick on her feet and she doesn't give any free rides. Once I weaned the twins, it wasn't two weeks before they were almost back to normal. Not that I ever wanted big boobs before, or in any way feel they added to me as a person. But it sure was fun having them around. Goodbye, dear friends. It wasn't long but it sure was suh-weet!

Closing Ceremonies

2006-02-26T20:46:00.000-05:00

This weekend ends the thrills and chills of the Winter Olympics. I didn't watch a whole lot of the Games this year. Maybe it was due to the delayed broadcast -- I don't know how many times I accidentally saw a headline during the day that gave away the outcome of a race I had been looking forward to watching that night. Or maybe it was because of the way they sandwiched the best events between the less watchable ones, without offering any kind of advanced schedule. Or maybe it's just that I have twin babies now and can't pay as much attention as I used to to the Oympics. But, for some reason, I missed a lot of the action. On TV, anyway.

Locke, Lola and I had plenty of fun with our own version of the Games. Here's the 2-baby bobsled (or "bobsleigh") on their way to a gold.

And now, it's time to pass the torch on the Canadians (the role of the Vancouver mayor is being performed here by Locke, as he snatches the torch from Lola, the Italian representative).

Next stop: Beijing 2008!

Lurking for Baby Gear

2006-02-21T16:10:00.000-05:00

It's easy to see what gear works best for babies when you browse a few blogs. For instance, to keep Lola and (especially) Locke separated from certain and constant danger, we use the Superyard XT fence/gate. With extensions, of course. Their play area is larger than some Manhattan apartments I've seen.

I never thought I'd use a gate. Oh, I knew once they started crawling it would be hard to keep them corraled, but I thought it was possible. When Kelly's mom ("Mimi") offered to buy one after visiting when Locke was learning to crawl, I scoffed. I may have even been a little indignant (if you can be "a little" indignant). But it didn't take long after she left, when I was alone with two curious 6-month-olds -- and one of them newly MOBILE -- that I made the plunge. I don't know what I would have done without it.

Months later, after browsing (OK, lurking mostly) around a few other twin blogs, my fence purchase was more than validated. It seems that, not only do all other twins spend at least some time in a "corral", they often do it in a Superyard XT. Like over at The Twin Invasion. And at Archer & Phoebe. At Here They Come! , they not only have the Superyard XT, they also have one of Lola and Locke's favorite toys (see pics below). I'm not sure what it's called but has 3 "doorways" for them to crawl through and they can pull themselves up and stand next to it. Locke likes to peek through the curtains and make Lola giggle. Auntie Paula and cousin Connor gave it to them for Christmas. I've seen it in several pictures on the Here They Come! blog. I guess Conrad and Nolan like theirs a lot too.

So now I just need to pay attention to the blogs with older kids to see what else we'll need. From the looks of Sarah's blog, we're going to need some chalk, and some more nonfiction.

Lola proudly standing.

Locke plays peekaboo.

Baby Olympics

2006-02-14T19:03:00.000-05:00

The cold and snow has kept us indoors a lot lately. But, rather than playing with the same old toys and reading the same old books, we decided to go with a timely theme -- the Olympics. I can't say we've been completely swept up in the Olympic spirit, but my husband Kelly and I have been keeping an eye on things over in Turin and I find myself more and more glued to the TV to watch things that I'd never ordinarily be interested in (pairs figure skating long program, for instance -- too much nude pantyhose, sparkle and flowing sheer fabric strips. And that's just the men!). But this is no ordinary time. It's the Winter Olympics. So we're enjoying the games.

So, in that same spirit, Lola, Locke and I have developed our own Baby Olympics. Locke has started his own version of the giant slalom. This morning he put one hand in a tupperware bowl, the other on a small book, and crawled across the room, weaving in and out of toys, chairs and other obstacles. It was quite impressive. Lola has been practicing standing by herself, a balancing feat I'd compare to the big air tricks of the women snowboarders. But our best event was the two-person luge.

I picked up the end of a blanket they were both sitting on, and began slowly pulling them around the room. They started laughing and tumbling around. Lola fell off the back, mostly from giggling too hard. Locke slowly slid off the side but kept trying to crawl back on, laughing the entire time. I piled them back on and went for another round, picking up the speed as they got more and more steady. When the both slid off I just pulled the blanket around and Locke chased after it trying to hop on face down. Lola just giggled at his attempts. It was the most fun they had all day. Tomorrow we're going to try some carpet hockey. Although I forecast a low-scoring game.

Caught on Film

2006-02-09T15:03:00.000-05:00

"I didn't do it."

"Nap" time

Mobility Month

2006-02-06T21:13:00.000-05:00

Lola evidently designated this month as Mobility Month. She's on a mission. And that mission is ... to MOVE. She started warming up last month, graduating from rolling to writhing around (she'd find herself in some very interesting positions trying to go from lying to sitting). She was also testing her standing (without support) capabilities. She would pull herself up to a stand on something -- shelves, a chair, her crib, whatever -- and she'd wait for me to look. Then she'd let go and stand on her own. Sometimes for 15 or 20 seconds. She probably could have gone longer a few times but my "yea!!!!! Lola!!!!!" startled her. But I guess she got the reaction she was looking for because she's now advanced to other moves.

For months now, as Locke learned to stand and crawl and climb, Lola has been content to sit and watch and laugh. But no more. Maybe she'd had enough of Locke taking her toys away and then abandoning them just out of her reach. Or maybe she wanted to me to chase after HER for a change, yelling, "No, Locke, we don't climb the stairs without Mommy." I'm not sure what motivated her, but already this month she's learned some of her most impressive new skills.

This weekend she decided to crawl. REALLY crawl. Oh, she'd dabbled in the crawl thing weeks earlier, when she'd sort of lean forward from a seated position, raising momentarily up on her knees, and then taking one crawl step before pushing up into her downward dog yoga pose. But this weekend, she decided she really wanted the plastic rattling hippo she'd been playing with earlier and was now several yards from her. Now she's all over the place. Oh, it's not pretty. She looks sort of like she just hatched out of an egg and is awkwardly making her way to the sea, but she definitely manages to get around.

And now, when she's not crawling, she's insisting on walking -- with my help, of course. She'll grab my hands, pull up to standing, and start marching, fully expecting me to walk with her back and forth and around the room (which, of course, I do). And if I'm not available to walk with her, she'll pull up on a chair and walk from chair to shelf to swing to chair. And her favorite thing to do while standing or walking is to bend down and pick up a toy and return to her upright position. This gives her much pleasure.

Locke, in the meantime, has noticed this increased activity. Until now, he hasn't shown much interest in walking -- probably because he crawls faster than many people can walk. But now that his sister is getting a leg up (so to speak), his interest is peaking. A few times, when Lola has been walking, leading me around the living room, Locke has come up and demonstrated his standing ability. Hmm, looks like the race is on.

Post-holiday pics

2006-02-03T17:19:00.000-05:00

Lola in her fashionable new coat.

Lola and Locke in the awesomely cute
bibs Peter sent.

And Locke takes a break from playing to say hi.

Changing the game

2006-02-01T14:41:00.000-05:00

Just when you think you have something figured out, they go and change it on you. Naps, for instance. The afternoon nap was always iffy. The time, duration, and actual existence of the nap were always in question. But my one sure thing was the morning nap. For at least an hour and a half -- usually two -- I knew I had time to get some things done (like shower, pay bills, etc.).

Now, all of the sudden, all bets are off. Lola is no longer ready for her nap at 9. So she plays, practices standing and walking, talks, sits, and fusses. But she won't lie down and sleep. And she's been falling asleep sitting (and in one case, standing) up. I have to go in a lay her down. Lately, by the time she gets to sleep, Locke is ready to get up. Can't they stay in one phase (especially a nicely synchronized one) for more than a month or two?

Of course I keep changing the rules on them, too. Adding solid food, slowly eliminating breastfeedings, blockading more and more places as they get more and more mobile (and curious).

So, this is retribution? More like growing, I guess.

And it would appear that I dread the time that they get up from napping. The truth is, I might dread it a little -- until it happens. Then, when I hear their first little squeaks, I can't wait to run in and pick them up from their cribs, snuggling and kissing them until they giggle. I'm so happy to see them, I forget ever wanting them to sleep.

I guess I should savor the few increasingly rare simultaneous napping minutes while we still have a morning and afternoon nap. Pretty soon they'll be napping once a day. And, when that happens, I'll bet just when I get used to it, they'll start school and it will all change again.

A Very Brief History in Pictures

2006-01-28T20:55:00.000-05:00

I'm having trouble getting more than a few pictures posted so,
here are a few select pics of Lola...

And now Locke...

Gonzo Playgroup

2006-01-26T14:56:00.000-05:00

The other day I took Lola and Locke to their first playgroup. It was organized by the Mothers of Twins club and the location was a shopping mall play area. Lola and Locke are a little young for that type of thing since they don't walk yet but that didn't stop them from having as much fun as any of the other kids there. And speaking of other kids, there must have been 50 kids playing in this walled off area. And, although it's bigger than many Manhattan apartments, it's still small enough to fit in the middle of the food court. It was a madhouse, as my dad would say.

Lola and I found a spot on the outside edge of a tunnel and she spent most of her time practicing standing. She's getting very confident. She'll pull herself up to a stand and then let go. She used to either nestea plunge backward or double over onto her head (with me there to catch her, of course) but now she's gaining much more control. She can actually balance for a few seconds -- long enough to be able to say truthfully that she is "balancing." Or at least long enough to say "Look! She's balancing!" From time to time she'd take an interest in a toddler or my handbag, and on occasion she'd stand and give a little happy yell as a declaration of her accomplishment.

Locke gave us a sweet glance and then crawled over to the opposite side of the tunnel to check out the situation. I realize now that Locke thinks he's 9 years old instead of 9 months. He took off for the most popular structure as soon as he spotted the activity, crawling as fast as most of the toddlers could run. He crawled through the tunnel, stood up and peered over the wall at a toddler who, when he saw Locke, yelled, "Look at the baby! Look at the baby!" Locke began to look around for the baby too. An adorable 5-year-old girl was also amused by "the baby" Locke. But Locke just thought she was flirting and started waving at her. My favorite, though, was a little boy (3ish? I'm so bad with ages!) who came over to Locke, smiled at him, and patted him on the head. He then started gently rubbing his head. (I don't blame him -- I know from experience how good it feels to rub his head.) After a minute of that he bent down behind Locke, gave him a tender hug, and then darted off. Locke then continued his exploration.

I kept thinking Locke would lose track of Lola and me and get nervous. But he never did. In fact, the few times I walked over near him to make sure he knew I was still watching him, he gave me a quick glance and then continued doing whatever he was doing. Was that my glimpse into the future? In that brief instant I'm driving him to school and, when he sees his friends walk by, he ducks down in the car seat so they don't see him with Mommy. Nah, that will never happen.

Late Start

2006-01-25T15:50:00.000-05:00

For all the twin mom and/or dad bloggers who began their blogs on or before delivering their babies, BRAVO! I thought a lot about it throughout the process -- because you've got a lot on your mind when you've never had a baby before and all of the sudden you have TWO -- and sorting it out on any type of forum would have been helpful. But I couldn't have written a coherent sentence for at least 3 months after Locke and Lola were born.

So, better late than never, we're up and running. Actually Lola and Locke have been up and running for the better part of their 9 months, but now we're all ready to share our experiences with you.

Sunday marked their nine month birthday, which was followed with a pediatrician appointment Monday. I have a real love/hate relationship with these appointments. I love them because you finally get to unroll your scroll of questions for the doctor that you've been saving up for 3 months because you thought they were too trivial to warrant a phone call. Plus, you get to find out more accurately their heights and weights and head circumferences (this one's always intrigued me). I say more accurately because, for slightly competitive people like my husband Kelly and I, we've been doing bathroom scale and metal tape measure (try a head circumference check with THAT next time) measurements all along. But not to worry about the competitiveness. We're both very aware and determined not to let that creep into our parenting. Unless there's a medal at stake.

I hate these appointments because as soon as you walk into the reception area you hear the blood-curdling screams of just-vaccinated infants and toddlers and you remember why you hate these appointments.

But this one was different. First of all, I met another mother of 9-month-old twins as we were waiting to go in. Whenever this happens, it's like a sped up version of a vacation love affair but without the love and the affair parts. Just in the intensity and the need to connect and find out as much as possible about this person in the little time you have. You know right away how much you have in common and how many of the same experiences you've been going through and you want so much to share it and empathisize and pat each other on the back. But you also don't want to be too forward. It's for this reason I've never tried to get phone numbers during these encounters. But that's about to change.

We had, in the span of 5 minutes, already gotten through the subjects of bedrest, living away from families, and alternate names for the babies when she left. I thought I had her talked into going to the twin club meeting that night but she didn't show. She slipped right through my fingers.

I'm going to take my husband's advice and get business cards made up. Mother of twins is certainly a position that merits a business card and I am determined not to let another possible friend, confidante, running partner, whatever, slip away.

Another reason this appointment was different was that Locke, being the flirt that he is, was so busy trying to charm the nurse that he never even felt his shot. No crying. Not even a look of surprise or confusion. And, although Locke is a daredevil and an acrobatic genious, he's no brave soldier. He's the first one to cry when I drop a plastic cup on the floor or when I sneeze while he's nursing. He'll break out the boo hoos at the drop of a loud hat but I guess now that he's discovered women, that's about to change.

All in all, it was a banner appointment. Lola is now 18 lbs. 5 oz. and is 27 1/2" tall. Locke weighs 21 lbs. 4 oz. That's almost exactly how much Kelly said he weighed after a bathroom scale check (weighing himself with and without Locke). And he's 28 1/2" tall, which is exactly how tall I guessed based on my barstool measurement. Locke is exactly as tall as the bottom of the barstool seat. In another few weeks he won't be able to stand under it without ducking slightly.

Possibly the best thing about doctor visits is how well they sleep the night after them. After several weeks of Lola waking up at midnight or 2am, it was a nice, long, peaceful night.

Locke and Lola - born April 22, 2005

2006-01-21T10:42:00.000-05:00