Playin' in the Grass

Saturday was a gorgeous day, sunny and FINALLY in the 60s.  The boys and I celebrated by playing in the grass in the back yard.

This sun thing is pretty great Mama!

Clap! Clap!  Yippee for sun!

Goofin' around in the grass

Odin was a connoisseur of the experience, plucking single blades of grass to put in his mouth.  Lars was hesitant to leave the soft blanket and did circuit after circuit around the perimeter...maybe he didn't like the ticklish grass on his knees.  At least he wasn't making a break for the rhubarb plants to eat the poisonous leaves as I feared.  It was a glorious afternoon!

Hairstyles By Odin

We had homemade mac and cheese for dinner the other night.  Odin liked it so much he wanted to find a way to take some to bed with him for a midnight snack.

Oh!  Maybe I can keep some in my hair! 

I think this is going to work...and my hair looks good to boot! 

The final look, elegant and sophisticated

Unfortunately we foiled his plan and gave him a bath.  Oh well, at least he enjoyed the bath.

Odin crawls!

I finally got a video of Odin crawling without Lars trying to steal the spotlight.  He's been hands and knees crawling since Sunday and he's just getting better everyday.  Way to go Odin!

A synopsis of the performance:  This video shows our performer crawling on the wood floor.  Due to the difficulty of the surface, he shows a variety of crawling styles, hands and knees and then the army crawl for a riveting performance.  Included is bonus footage of our secret to keeping floors clean.

Nighttime Parenting May be Hazardous to Your Health

Odin has a cold and a few nights ago had a rough time sleeping.  I laid down with him in our bed and when he threw his head back to tell me just how bad things were, my face was in the way.  Now I have a black eye.

Okay, it's more a small bruise...but it's there!

Grocery shopping when out-numbered

It used to be that I couldn't even conceive of going grocery shopping with the boys because I was out-numbered.  It was possible to take a walk in the stroller and get a couple of things, but a full on grocery shopping trip was out of the question because I was worried I would have two tired and cranky boys on my hands.  At one point when they were really little, Lars would seem to get totally over stimulated and lose it whenever I was in a grocery store for more than about 15 minutes.

Now that they have a consistent nap schedule, I can and do take them grocery shopping with me during the day.  It gives me some time back in the evenings for doing other chores, or going to a yoga class or out to knitting group and still have food in the house.  It's been a good development.  However, having two babies to deal with at a store offers some challenges.  I decided to take photos of all the different ways I've taken the boys shopping with me, and it actually turned into a fun project.

Costco is by far the easiest, their carts are wide enough that they are built for two kids 

A regular grocery store cart is only built for one kid, but if they aren't too big, twins can still fit.  One leg through the leg hole and the other one folded up.  It doesn't look too comfortable, but Lars and Odin have never complained! 

At Trader Joe's the carts are small for their small aisles and there is no way that two kids can sit in the cart together, so you have to employ the 'wear one baby, one baby in the cart' plan.  It's easier to 'install' the baby on the front when you are by yourself, but much harder to bend over and pick things up while shopping, so the back carrier is the way to go if the baby is old enough for that.  Bonus with this method is the funny look you get when you ask an unsuspecting customer to take your picture :).   

Here is the regular grocery store cart with the added two kid seat.  This relies heavily on the buckles being intact though, and only one side of this two kid seat had a complete buckle set, fortunately it is still a regular cart and the normal kid seat worked for Odin. 

See how LONG the added two kid seat makes the cart?  It's much less maneuverable, and I haven't even tried one of those ENORMOUS car grocery carts at other stores.

The other important tip is to park near a cart return so you can get a cart to get the babies to the store and don't have to carry them in.  There are still a couple of issues with that...we live in Seattle and the cart returns aren't covered, so hopefully it doesn't start raining when you are on the way to the grocery store.  Then again, the boys are wearing diapers and the diapers are waterproof :).  The other issue is that when I go shopping during the weekdays, the stores are pretty empty of customers so the employees are able to keep up with keeping the cart returns empty.  If there aren't any carts in the cart return, at least that usually means the parking lot is pretty empty and I can usually park close to the door.

The boys are champion grocery shoppers now, thank goodness!  Especially given the way these kids eat!  

Sailing and sewing

How's this for crazy?  We are planning on taking the summer off and heading to Alaska on the boat, we hope to see glaciers from our boat.  How do you prepare a boat for sailing with two mobile babies/ toddlers?  Canvas, lots of canvas, and labor imported from Alaska!

To prepare for the trip we had a long list of things to do and quite a few of them involved sewing.  It's amazing how difficult it is to find time to get things done when you have to keep your eye on two little boys.  Fortunately I have a talented stepmom who was willing to come down from Alaska and put her sewing skills (she is the creator of the boys' tidepool playmat) to work for us.  We are SO grateful!

Canvas enclosures for the boys' berths...think boat cribs 

Lars asleep in his bed 

Odin asleep in his bed

I'm sitting behind the enclosure on our double berth which will double as a play area for the boys, and a safe place to secure them in if both of us need to be on deck

Lynn didn't only work on interior projects, she also worked on things to keep us more comfortable when we are operating the boat like a rain cover for the cockpit to be used when we are motoring, weather cloths for the lifelines to reduce spray and a dodger to offer relief from the wind and rain for the person sitting in the companionway.  

It is daunting to get ready for a long trip like this with two crawdlers, but with Lynn's help, we are so much more ready!  Lynn thank you so much for your help, your time and your love!

11 months old!

Dear Lars and Odin-

We can't quite believe it, but you are already 11 months old!  Just one more month until you are 1!  You are the best boys any parents could ask for, it is truly wonderful to spend time with you and watch as you learn about the world.

I haven't written a letter to you since your 9 month birthday and wow, have the last 2 months been eventful!  Teeth, eating, getting out during the day, mobility, terrible diaper rash, first visit to urgent care, sleep problems, sleep solutions, pulling up, swimming lessons, a visit with Nanna Lynn and a trip without Papa.

You each have several teeth now!  Lars has 6 and Odin has 4.  We are learning all about using those teeth on sanctioned (crackers, teething toys like Sophie) and unsanctioned (glass drawer pulls, crib rails, Mama) items.  It's all part of exploring your worlds, but it can be painful and destructive!  The addition of teeth to your frequent grins have really changed how you look.  You are really starting to look more like little boys and less like babies.  You are still the cutest kids I've ever seen, but we are passing the baby stage and it is a little bittersweet for your Mama.  Time is going so fast!

 Toothless grins like this are long gone for Lars!

No more toothless grins like this for Odin either! 

With all those teeth coming in, we had a couple of nights of bad sleep, but then you both developed pretty bad diaper rash.  We didn't understand that the two were likely connected, teething causing lots of drool which changed the pH of your poop, causing diaper rash.  And until it was all over, we didn't realize that the diaper rash was quite as uncomfortable as it was, causing you to wake up all night.  We were doing everything we could to solve the diaper rash and it would get better for a little while, then get worse.  Finally it got really bad and I called the consulting nurse and she suggested getting you guys into see a doctor at urgent care.  In hindsight, she only suggested urgent care because it was a weekend and your usual pediatrician wasn't in the office, but the term 'urgent care' sounded like the emergency room to me and I felt SO bad about my little boys!  Fortunately the doctor at urgent care (who had 6 kids himself) put our minds at ease by telling us he had seen much, much worse and he suggested that we continue what we were doing, just add some neosporin to avoid any infection.  The doctor also looked me straight in the eye and told me I was doing a good job, since I was feeling a whole lot of mommy guilt, it was exactly what I needed to hear.  We also decided to try using disposable diapers at night until it cleared up, and all of a sudden my good sleepers were back.  You weren't in pain anymore and we all got some good sleep.  We learned several good parenting lessons through this ordeal:  sometimes you need help to deal with an issue, and sleep deprivation makes your brain cloudy and will make it difficult to see you need help, urgent care is a good thing and not scary, it's not the emergency room but it is open 24 hours a day, and finally, diaper rash hurts...but it is easy for babies to get distracted during the day with toys and activities, so it may seem like it doesn't really bother them and bottom line it's not just a sleep regression!!!

Eating sure has changed around here!  You are now both feeding yourselves for all meals except breakfast.  For breakfast you have oatmeal, yogurt and fruit and I still reserve the right to feed that to you with a spoon due to the potential mess (as long as you will let me at least!).  You are also eating almost everything that we eat.  I love it since it is so much easier to cook only one thing!  The only thing we've come across that you don't like are canned green beans, and to be honest, I don't really blame you, particularly since you like frozen green beans just fine.  You also eat TONS of food!  Just last night for dinner you each ate a whole bean and cheese quesadilla, you split the equivalent of a whole canned pear and each ate about a quarter of a sweet potato.  After that you had your before bed milk and guzzled it down.  You have dropped one milk feeding per day, so you are each still breastfeeding for most of your milk and getting 6 ounces of formula, down from 11 ounces per day.  We seriously need to re-visit our budget for groceries, and you aren't even teenagers yet!

Growing!  Lars, you are wearing 18 mo PJs and Odin you are growing out of the 12 mo PJs.  I guess if we keep feeding you, you will grow!  I think both of you are over 20 pounds, and my back feels it!  I need to put one of you in the sling and carry the other in my arms when we go downstairs in the morning...you are too heavy to carry without support!

 Just 2 months ago this 9 mo sleeper was roomy on Odin, now the 12 mo sleepers are looking tight!

Papa and Lars snuggle nap on a lazy weekend

Odin, there is a sea star on your head! 

Mobility!  Lars you are a master crawler by now and you are so fast!  Fortunately we have some warning that you may be going after something you shouldn't since you give a little sound of delight which is followed by the quick slap slap of your hands on the floor.  You love exploring the world and being able to get to what you want!  Odin, you are ALMOST crawling.  You get up on hands and knees and can get yourself to a seated position all by yourself, but you will lay on your belly kicking your legs and flailing your arms like a swimmer and get really frustrated that you can't move.  It's tough to see, but I think in the next couple of days your legs and arms will get coordinated enough for you to zoom all over the room.  Just in the last couple of days you have started to army crawl...the hands and knees crawl isn't far away!  Lars you have also mastered pulling up and have even taken a couple of steps along the couch, though you really are most motivated to climb up on the couch.

 See Mama, I got here all by myself and am so happy!

Lars' first 'pull-up'

Odin was so happy after he army crawled to the gate around the fireplace

We had a nice long visit with Nanna Lynn when she came down to help on sewing projects for the boat (that is a subject for a whole other post).  You got to help out with the sewing projects and get lots of Nanna snuggles.  You really enjoyed having another person around all day and liked investigating what Nanna was doing.

Nanna, can I help measure?

We've routinely been going out during the day now that I can count on your nap schedule, and recently I even got brave enough to go on a little overnight trip with you boys and without Papa.  We took the Kingston ferry and drove to Hansville where Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Ralph had rented a house for spring break.  It all went very well and Grandma Cheryl even got up at 4am to help me out with feeding you.  Since you are both so big now I have a hard time carrying you and getting all set up to tandem breastfeed for the early morning feeding.  Papa always gets up to help, but since he wasn't there, Grandma stepped in, and even got to watch several big ships go by in the shipping lanes at that early hour...I kept my eyes shut since I was tired!  Lars you had a little trouble falling asleep in the pack n' play, but once asleep, you slept fine.  Odin, you were a champion sleeper.  The only bummer of the trip was missing a ferry on the way home...we were the VERY first car in line for the next boat and since it was dinner time by the time we got to Edmonds, it was a loud ride home.

Odin hanging out in the sling on the beach at Hansville

Grandma Cheryl got to try out the Ergo carrier and thought it was quite comfortable

Happy grandparents and Lars

We also went out on our boat for the weekend to see our friends Greg and Nicole off for their cruise to Alaska.  It's the first time we've been out on the boat since you were mobile.  All in all, it went really well!  It makes for some adjustments to the way your Mama and Papa do things on the boat, but I think we will all thrive on the boat as a family and we're looking forward to our own long trip this summer to Alaska!

They're awkward, but life jackets are mandatory when on deck, for all of us!

It's been an incredible 11 months Odin and Lars, thanks for being the amazing people you are!

With all our love,

Mama and Papa

Blog silence

It's been a LONG time since we updated.  We had a period of poor sleep, first from teething and then from terrible diaper rash, that left us with very little energy to do anything but the essentials.  Then we had my stepmom Lynn down to help with some sewing projects for the boat, so all free time was spent on boat projects and visiting.  Now that  things are back to "normal" I'm posting just to break our silence.  I've got plenty of photos and things I'd like to share, but that will come in time.  In the meantime, here are a couple of photos of the boys to whet your appetites!

Anything is a toy these days!

Lars is working on his 'mean' look...I think it's more cute than mean though

Odin is working on cute...quite successfully!