April 2013, Recapped

The last five months have flown by in a way I never imagined time could do.  Especially when I was so tired during most of it.  Instead of trying to catch up all at once, I will just highlight some of April's fun.

We started the month off going to Flagstaff to visit Darrell's family there.  We left around noon on Saturday the 6th.  Drew and Harper at that point were not too fond of the stop and go action so they cried at each light we had to stop at for the 6 miles to the freeway.  And, of course, we hit EVERY.SINGLE.LIGHT.  Just a little more than halfway there, we ended up stopping since the kids needed to pop their ears with the change in elevation and didn't know how to do that.  We stopped at a truck stop and went inside to feed them and let them stretch a little.  We got to Darrell's dad's house around 3-ish and ended up going to dinner at Bun Huggers...a local hamburger place.  It was Drew and Harper's first restaurant experience.  And since it is way more casual than casual dining, no one cared when they cried a little and they didn't mind the little bit of noise the other diners made.  Darrell's brother's family joined us for dinner and met the kids.  We went back to Dennis' house and then checked into a hotel.  We decided it would be much easier on everyone to not have to worry about waking up Papa or upsetting the dogs.  We will need to make sure to take our Pack and Plays next time so we don't have to fret about anyone trying to roll off the bed.  We went to Papa's house on Sunday and spent the day with him and Steven's family came over for awhile.  It was good to see Darrell's family.  On the way home, Harper got a little fussy since her ears needed to pop coming down the mountain.  I ended up sitting in the back seat between the kids and blew her mind.  She was so excited to have her mama with her.  We had a good trip and learned a lot of good things.  But mostly, we learned that we just need to go out and do things with the kids, even though it isn't easy all the time.

Drew, sleeping with his little sock monkey, Argyle:

Harper, happy to have her Mama in the back seat:

It's a good thing we learned that lesson since the next weekend we ended up going to Costco on Friday (and even took the time to eat hot dogs in the food court) and Sears on Saturday.  We needed to buy a new dishwasher since we have been using it so much more the last few months.  It died and washing all the dishes by hand is not going to happen.

On the 19th, Darrell was the best dad in the world and stayed home with both kids while I had a girls' night out.  I helped him feed them and get them in their PJs and he put them both to bed after I left.  He did a great job and didn't even have to call or text.  Both kids even went to sleep a little before their usual time!

Drew and Harper turned 5 months old on the 20th and we celebrated by waiting around the house for the dishwasher to be delivered.  We took some fun photos.  Unfortunately, Drew spit up right before the photos (after being good all day).  It's hard to believe how much they have grown.

Harper and Drew loving each other:

The next Saturday, Harper and I had a girls' day out.  We went to a closet swap party Darrell's sister (Marilyn) hosted.  Harper had loads of fun spending time with some of the Frosts...Ryan, Ale, and Amy (Darrell's cousin, cousin-in-law, and cousin).  Ale was the hero of the day by changing a not-so-nice diaper of Harper's.  I left the party with fewer clothing than I brought, so I consider it a success.  That evening, Drew and Harper got their first taste of real food...rice cereal.  It was really runny and only slightly thicker than regular formula, but it is considered solid food.  Harper loved it...especially sitting in her throne.  The food was pretty good, too.  Drew, on the other hand, hated the food and would have preferred to lay on his back or tummy.  I think between the two of them, they ate about a tablespoon of food.

Eating food!

Sunday the 28th, Darrell had to work, so I ventured to church alone (except for the two 5 month old babies with me).  I temporarily parked in front of the doors and shuttled the kids to the shade.  A nice man in my ward (whose name I can't remember) helped us into the chapel and watched both kids while I parked the car in a more suitable location.  Then a friend whose husband was ill sat with us and cuddled both kids.  We only stayed for Sacrament Meeting since juggling kids was going to be a losing battle, but I think we ended up ok.  We Skyped with Grandma and Pop and then fed the kids again.  Harper loved every minute of it and Darrell could not get it in her mouth fast enough.  She kept smacking her lips.  I guess I can claim to be a great chef when it comes to rice cereal.  Unless you ask Drew.  He still did not want anything to do with that food and was happy to be done with it when I finally let him quit eating it.

Monday evening after bathing kids we went to Costco.  We decided to take the stroller instead of each having a full cart before we even got in the store.  It worked so much better.  I find it completely amazing how many people talk with us because of the kids.  And how many other twins there are.  It seems like everywhere we go, someone tells us about their twins.

Tuesday, the kids got another dose of cereal.  Harper still thinks it is the best tasting food ever and eats and eats and eats.  Drew still think it is going to kill him and shudders when I force it into his mouth.  He is really good and will eat about 5 bites and then won't open his mouth for me.  I figure that is as good as it will get and thank him for trying.  I don't dare tell him that I won't try food that looks yucky and rice cereal is on the yucky-looking-food list.

Funny things the kids do:
Harper:

Flaps her arms when she is happy
Flaps her arms when she is unhappy
Flaps her arms when she is in the bath tub and creates quite the splashes
Tries to sit up any time she can...especially in the car seat
Loves looking at the textures of things (couch cushions are especially fascinating)
Can't get enough of her super fancy right hand...it truly is amazing
Sucks her fingers a lot
If she isn't trying to sit, she has her legs up in the air
Chatters when she is sleepy
Loves her Snowball stuffed animal
Lights up when she hears her Daddy on the phone and searches the room for him
Cries the biggest crocodile tears when she wants her Daddy to help her
Prefers the evening to the morning...just like her Mama

Drew:

Kicks, kicks, kicks...especially in the bath tub
Rolls over from his back to his tummy but not from his tummy to his back
Only tolerates being on his tummy for a few minutes and then wants helps to get to his back
Promptly rolls from his back to his tummy after being helped to his back
Talks all day long...especially in screechy tones
Giggles when tickled
Sticks his bottom lip out farther than humanly possible right before crying
Loves to scoot close to Harper and wake her up in the morning
Loves to scoot close to Harper and hold her hand
Loves to scoot close to Harper and suck on her fingers
Lights up when his stuffed sock monkey (Argyle) appears
Is a great snuggler and loves to give kisses
Enjoys it when Mama reads books to him and wants to turn the pages

They both love to have our morning dance party when we change diapers and clothes.  They are proficient at blowing spit bubbles and spitting in general.  They are happy, loving babies who rarely cry and just love their family.

We are so blessed to have Drew and Harper!

PS...I didn't mean for this to be such the sappy mommy blog post, but this is a good forum for keeping my family and friends up to date.