February is passing much like January did; at Katie’s beck and call, spending the bulk of my days helping to feed, change and dress Boopity and Boop. The girls are growing fast and when they’re awake, they’re very alert and interested in their surroundings. I spend a lot of time just talking to them. At six weeks, I’m sure they remember me from day to day. When you talk to them, they stare at you very intently: as though they’re trying to memorize everything you say. Which they may very well be doing. Their brains are so supple and uncluttered; they learn at lightning speed. Everyone knows toddlers can understand you long before they’re physically capable of talking back. No one really knows how long before.
So far, their personalities have held fairly steady. Boopity reminds me of Zack as a baby. She’s very laid back and easy going, pretty pleased with the world and she eats with gusto. Boop is very far from being a demanding baby but when she wants something, she usually wants it really bad and really fast. Same goes for when she doesn’t want something, like a new diaper or a bath. I’m delighted to see that both of them are very willing to speak up for themselves and make their wishes known to everyone in the house. They are both pretty easy babies, thank goodness.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Boopity has reached 7lbs. Boop still trails her (one minute younger but half a pound bigger) sister but the way she’s eating these days, she’ll catch up to her. Of course, Boopity is still eating like a champ, too. Oh well, six ounces will be less and less a difference as they get bigger.
They’ve grown into their newborn clothes and they have a large pile of them, each outfit cuter than the last so Katie and I have a lot of fun just dressing them up. They don’t seem to mind too much. Then we take pictures. Judging the looks on their faces, they don’t like photo shoots but we may never get back around to any particular outfit before they outgrow them so we’re documenting them all. They fix outraged little glares on us as we do it. I’ve gotten sweet, dimpled smiles out of each of them but they’re still accidental. I’m looking forward to the day when they smile at will and I find out what they think is funny. I love that part!
Last weekend was so warm, Katie and Adam bundled them up and took them for their first outside walk. They wore the buntings Mom and I had given them. We thought the girls would need something warn to wear home from the hospital. Shows you how old fashioned we are: no one dresses babies in buntings for a car seat anymore! Apparently, everyone knows well enough to warm the car up before inserting babies. Also, the car seat straps need to be tighter on the baby than a bunting would allow, so it’s safer to strap the baby in, then cover in blankets. This makes sense.
But a stroller ride is a whole other ball of wax. The girls wore the buntings and I had to laugh when I saw the pictures. The buntings are tiny. Newborn sized. Yet Boopity and Boop are so little that even at six weeks, they’re swimming in the giant things. The hoods of the buntings aren’t big enough for a large cantaloupe yet the girl’s tiny faces look like flower buds barely beginning to burst from the leaves. They were warm, though!
Katie told me the other day that she didn’t find caring for newborn twins all that hard. Yes, it’s exhausting and can get monotonous but it wasn’t difficult. I agreed with her. I’m sure some babies are very difficult but I never had one with any health issues, or personality issues. Never getting to sleep more than three hours at a time wears on a person but not like mining for coal or digging ditches. And the outfits are to die for! Not ours, of course; the babies. We wear whatever is spit-up compatible. Raising kids isn’t necessarily the hardest thing a person can do, it’s just the most important. There are plenty of important jobs upon which lives depend but being a good parent and raising happy people is a net benefit bigger than anything else a person can do.
Like anything else, it’s important to get away from it once in a while. You’ve got to keep your axe sharp, after all. The only time I can remember being right on the edge of insanity with my kids was back in 2000, before Josie started school. I had a preschooler, a middle schooler and two teens and up until a few months earlier, all the kids were in different schools. I was ready to snap.
So I left the kids in Jay’s hands and went to Florida for ten days.
When I returned, the kids told me they’d had the best time ever! Dad let them eat pizza and Oreos for ten straight days.
You were supposed to take care of them and you let them eat nothing but pizza and Oreos?? Worst Dad ever! Was immediately followed by the thought: I just spent ten days in Florida and I came home to find everyone alive and happy. BEST HUSBAND EVER.
Parenting is a lot like Christmas: it’s a stressful as you make it.
I have had my breaks from the twins. I don’t always go up on weekends, since Adam is around and they have lots of visitors. There are always extra pairs of hands. I don’t need to hang around constantly. But if two or three days go by and I haven’t seen the girls, I start to have withdrawal pains. It’s going to be tough when Katie goes back to work but I’ll get used to it.
Last week, Margy was back in town for just a few days. My Dad’s club had its Valetine’s Sweetheart lunch and he invited all his Sweethearts. Not everyone was able to make it. Due to unaccommodating work schedules, family emergency, distance and the flu, only five of Dad’s sweethearts were able to make the lunch but we had a great time.
Afterwards, my sisters and I walked around Lake Harriet and froze our faces. What a great day!
We always use Margy’s visits as an excuse to gather at Mom’s for dinner. Despite living one mile from my brother Andy and his clan, I almost never see them except at Moms. Oh, and his son, Gus, when running around the lake with his high school track team. Gus always yells “Hi!” at his ancient aunts when he sees us.
On a slightly less fun note, I’ve already spent all the money I’m going to make this spring on fixing the van. It was rattling like mad whenever I got up past 55 mph on my way to Katie’s. It shook like the wheels were going to fly off. As fun as that sounds, I’m not an adrenaline junkie: I get no kick out of near death experiences. So we fixed it. I hadn’t realized until after the work was done just how rickety it had gotten even on city streets. Now it’s riding smooth as a new car! I really like driving a minivan. I know it’s not cool but I also really like being way too old to care about being cool. I did care about being cool once. I think it was a Thursday in 1976. It didn’t suit me.
I told Jay not to think of it as several grand dumped into an 11-year-old, beat up van but a yuuuge tax deduction sunk into my primary work vehicle. Lemonade, am I right, Bee?
I’ve spent all the time I have this morning writing this so I have to go. Besides, the coffee is gone.
I have to bake a cake. Valentine’s day is only the precursor to the real holiday in my family.
Happy Birthday, Mom!