Future Babysitter Visits the Twins

This week in Phoenix, we've had the chance to introduce Brett and Mags to a bunch of relatives and friends. Perhaps Brett and Mag's favorite visitor was cousin Mikenna. She did such a great job of holding the babies and Brett couldn't stop smiling at her. Here are a few pics:

Thanksgiving in Phoenix

First, here's some proof that we're actually in Phoenix this week:

Second, since the babies can't eat Turkey yet we figured we'd dress them up in Thanksgiving garb to celebrate the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Brett & Magdalena Meet Santa Claus

This week Brett and Magdalena made their first trip to Phoenix, to visit Grandma and Grandpa. They were SO well behaved on the airplane that they earned an early trip to see Santa Claus. (I guess they figured they'd better see him while they were earning so much praise for being good.)

We were all discussing what Brett and Mags would ask Santa for this year. Mag's favorite thing in the world is the painting above our couch, so she'd probably ask for some beautiful artwork. Following that same logic, Brett would probably just ask for a boob.

Post-bath Bliss

Brett and Mags aren't crazy about the bath yet. But they love the after-bath towel treatment.

More Fun Playing

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We had a weigh-in on Tuesday at the pediatrician's office. Brett is now 8 pounds, 5 ounces and Mags is 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Way to grow, babies!
My next goal is to capture smiles on camera -- they both do it and it's adorable, but often fleeting and camera-elusive

Fail To The Redskins

Brett is beginning to learn that the things you're most loyal to can sometime break your heart. This Sunday, he and I sat through yet another Redskins loss. What a terrible, terrible team. On the plus side, I think our pants look great.

More Fun Each Day

Brett and Mags are starting to figure out that it's fun to play. Their definition of play is mostly staring at themselves in the mirror and kicking their legs and waving their arms, all while making funny noises. But it's super cute nonetheless, and it's fun to watch them get a bit more interactive. The most popular items in the house remain the puppy sticker above the changing table and the abstract painting above the couch, but hopefully toys the babies can grab will soon replace them. Here are some cute photos of the babies showing off how alert and cute they can be.






Here's also a bonus photo of what the babies look like when they eat -- I think this picture is discreet enough to post. I also like it because I'm all done up and about to leave for a wedding, as opposed to wearing pajamas and glasses even at 5pm, which still happens some days.

Bye-Bye Gramma

Gramma just left this morning after a nine-day visit. The kids will really miss her. So will I! It's nice having an adult around to talk to during the days, but more importantly, she was so great with the babies and her help was essential! Here she is in the mandatory "proud grandparent" pose as well as sharing special moments with Mags and Brett individually.



Bonus photo of the day: Here are the babies waking up for lunch after I unwrapped them from their cocoons. They are rockin' the cute clothes as usual. Magdalena has on a little dress with pink leggings and Brett has a puppy on his chest as well as his butt.

First Time in the Baby Limo: A Walk in Potrero Hill

ChickenWolf & FrogPope

ChickenWolf:



FrogPope:

A Few New Pictures

Here's a picture of Grampy with the babies last week.  He and Grandma had to go home to Phoenix, but they will be back next week.  This week Gramma Eleanor is here!  We need to take some good pictures of here with Brett and Mags. The kids sure love having her here!

Dr. Sarah came to visit this week.  She brought us cookies and lasagna and a sleeping contraption for Brett (the latest model of Chicken Wolf trap).  She folded laundry and burped, changed and rocked babies.  And she read a book to Magdalena.  What a fun day! (And what a great friend!!)

Daddy feeds each of the babies a bottle at night -- it's a nice way for them to get to spend some time together.  Here Brett and Daddy, the two buddies, hang out after his bottle.  They are probably watching SportsCenter on TV.

Two of Everything: Alpaca Sweaters!

On Saturday, Brett and Mags got all dressed up in their warm Peruvian Alpaca sweaters. Thanks go out to Jill for what Mommy and Aunt Devon say are the twins' cutest outfits.

What was the reason for getting all bundled up? Well, Brett and Mags accompanied their mom and dad on a little outing Saturday evening to the 10th Annual Potrero Hill History Night. This required getting dressed in warm clothing and hopping in a baby bjorn/sling for the 3 block walk down the hill to our neighborhood school for the event. Both Mom and Dad had been looking forward to history night all year, but were a bit skeptical of how brand-new Brett and brand-new Mags would behave out in public.

"Expect us home in 15 minutes," we told Auntie Devon.

But wouldn't you know it, Brett and Mags were perfectly behaved the entire time and Mom, Dad and the twins stayed for the ENTIRE 2 hour presentation. The adults were excited to learn a little bit more about the neighborhood and introduce the two youngest Hill residents to some of the Hill's oldest residents, including two gentleman who have lived here for 80 years!

To be honest, I'm not sure if the babies were tired or if history simply isn't their thing and they decided to doze instead. Either way it was a pretty great Saturday for two brand-new parents and their 3 1/2 week old Alpacas.

The Truth About Those Baby Names

We've gotten a lot of questions about how we chose our babies names. The answer: Erin and I were taking a stroll in our favorite San Francisco neighborhood a few months ago, when we happened across two alleys. The alleys were charming and uniquely San Francisco - something we hope both our babies grow up to be - and what's more, we really liked the way the names of the cross streets sounded together. Here they are:






I'm kiiiiding. These two awesome photos - with some creative editing - were a present from Uncle Roobz. He actually delivered two beautiful prints of these photos this evening. We can't wait to get them framed and hung in Brett and Mag's room. Thanks Roobz.

There's Another Baby In My Crib!!

Oh, the irony.  Thanks for the mirrors, Gramma Eleanor, and thanks for the cool new setup, Grandma Toni.

Reunion

I just got home from the hospital. I was there for five days with Toxic Shock Syndrome, a very serious and very scary disease. I’ve been away from my babies and Dan and my dog. I experienced a lot of emotions while I was hospitalized:
Guilt and regret that I had to miss participating in the wedding of a close friend.
Jealousy that I missed the party because it sure looked fun!
Respect for the compassionate teams of doctors from the Medicine, OB/GYN, Dermatology and Infectious Diseases practices who got me better and continually explained what was going on.
Humbling gratitude at the generosity of a dear friend who provided breastmilk for my babies when I could not.
Fear and helplessness when I realized the seriousness of my situation and that my fate was beyond my control.
Embarrassment when I once again reconfirmed my theory that I have difficulty sleeping without Lola.
Heartache at watching my husband struggle to fulfill so many roles and put on a happy face when his wife was in the hospital and no one could explain why she was so sick.
Reassurance in knowing that no matter what, Dan will always take care of me.
Awe at the dutiful sacrifices my parents and sister made to care for the babies around the clock.
Sadness as I realized the babies’ needs were being met, they were thriving, and they didn’t need me.
But they will. Because now I get to be with them every day. I’m going to teach them, encourage them, support them. I’m going to fix it when something goes wrong, clean their faces, read with them, help them explore the world. I’m going to introduce them to each other and to Lola, and hope that everyone can be friends.
And I hope that nothing terrible ever happens to my kids and that they never get horribly ill. But if at age 32, either one of them winds up in the hospital and is moaning, crying or screaming, I hope that through it all, just as I did, they are calling out for Mommy.

Some Recent Cute Photos

We love our Grandma and our Auntie Devon!

So hard to catch them BOTH happy at once!

Brett, it looks like you're bigger because your shirt fits! Oh, wait, that's just a new shirt that's really really small.

Maggie focuses very intently on whoever is holding her.

Can you pass the remote control?

When it happens for real, Magdalena is going to have a pretty cute smile!

We're so sleepy!!

Dirty hippie San Francisco babies. Thanks, Katie!

The giant pacifier shows how small they still are. They love their bouncy seats with the toy bar!

Mags likes her pacifier, too. (There's really no "his" and "hers" -- it's just whichever pacifier is closest. They can share!)