A Really Fun Weekend, Part II

Maggie recently learned how to make a fun noise, and she does it a lot.



Brett and Magdalena love to grab each other!



These babies love to eat. This meal was moments after Mommy discovered Brett's first tooth! (top right, not a bottom one!)



Bretty Boy is a happy boy.



We actually do have an HD video camera. The only way to easily upload videos to the blog is to make them low quality. Just FYI.

A Really Fun Weekend, Part I

Auntie Devon, Uncle Ryan, Grandma and Grandpa came to town this past weekend to celebrate Devon's 30th birthday. The weather was gorgeous, and Brett and Maggie got to go for a walk in Golden Gate Park and to a fun outdoor lunch. The babies enjoyed playing with their aunt, uncle and grandparents. Here are some pictures of Brett and Magdalena showing off some warm-weather clothes.





I'm having some technical difficulties, but there are videos from this weekend I want to post, too. Hopefully I can post them tomorrow night. One video is of Auntie Devon and Uncle Ryan feeding them green vegetables, pears, and oat cereal. Brett and Maggie are becoming champion eaters. They love sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, zucchini, green beans, peas, pears, and avocado. All of their food is homemade. The babies got a very exciting gift from Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Ed this weekend -- a food mill! Now mommy and Jennie can easily smoosh up their food as they eat more and more grownup things in the near future, like chicken and beans and turkey. Thanks, Ed and Marilyn!!

The Baby Sitter

He's a baby, and he can sit.


Brett went to the doctor three times in three weeks for his bad neck rash. Turns out it's baby eczema. It's looking pretty good now, just a little red patch on his face. He still has problems with spitting up and takes medicine for that (notice the messy clothes).

This blog needs some pictures of the babies with the REAL babysitter, Jennie the world's best nanny. Keep an eye out soon.

Overnight with Grandma and Grandpa

Dan and I went away overnight last weekend. We just went to Sausalito, on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was nice to get away with no babies or dog for a short while. Grandma and Grandpa stayed with Brett and Maggie, and from the looks of it, they had a great time.







In the last week, Brett has gotten much better at jumping with two feet instead of doing a hoedown dance, and Maggie has also started jumping up and down rather than just side to side.

Vote For Your Favorite Nicknames

To honor our twins' recent 6-month Birthday - or as their Auntie Big J would call it, their half-Birthday - we're conducting a poll to decide their best nickname. Please see the choices above. They've each been given approximately 600 nicknames over these last 6 months, but we tried to whittle it down to our favorite six. We look forward to seeing how the vote turns out.

In the mean time, here are some new photos:

Maggie in full shriek...

Brett about to devour Sophie the Giraffe...

The Babies' First Solid Food

Today was a very big day for Brett and Maggie. They ate solid food for the first time! Their first meal was baby oat cereal mixed with breastmilk. Yum!

Monumental Occasions

1) MAGGIE AND LOLA ARE BECOMING FRIENDS




2) WE HAVE ACHIEVED FOOT-IN-MOUTH


Brett just learned how to take off his sock. Immediately, the sock went in his mouth. Then he realized the toes are tasty, too!

Still Growing

Brett and Maggie aren't just growing bigger, they are also much more interactive than the last time they posed with their props.




The babies will be six months next Sunday. They will begin eating solids! I can't wait to post lots of messy high chair pictures over the next few months.

Activities for Babies

These are photos and videos from my fun playtime with the babies this evening.

Brett was busy in the exersaucer and Maggie was sort of jumping (mostly just playing with her pacifier) in the jumperoo.



Brett loves toys. This is a great picture because you can't tell that he actually has the world's worst neck rash from so much slobber, spit-up, and wet bibs.



Maggie is very cute. She is a very silly little girl who loves to shriek and giggle.



I wish I didn't give voice-overs during videos. I hate listening to myself and I say dumb things. I think I do it because my parents did it on our movies when we were little. What's the other option, silent films? BTW, I am a horrible camera operator.

Back to Work

I started back at work today. Over the last few weeks I've struggled with reconciling my excitement for returning to my job with my angst of leaving my babies at home. Does that make me a bad mom, that I want to go back to work? I've been trying to convince myself for weeks that it doesn't, and I've told Bretty and Magdalena over and over again that when they are old enough, I hope they understand my choice. For now, as construction is about to begin, I've explained to them that Mommy has to go to work so they can have a playroom in the basement.
We have the greatest nanny in the world, so I've had no worries about how the babies will fare without me. I used to worry that they wouldn't know me, but I got to see Dan's return to the workforce after being a bum around the house -- I mean, very busy dad and carpenter -- for three months, and without question the babies were still overjoyed to see him even when he was busy away at work and didn't seem them much. Besides, I'll always be the one who makes the milk, and the babies know that. I also used to fret about how unfair it would be that someone else got to spend more time with my babies than me. I think that resentful jealousy diminished once I got to know our nanny.
So really it just comes down to missing them because they are so cute and I need to smooch them a million times a day. I missed them while I was at work, but the coming home was bittersweet. It was clearly the highlight of the day -- I got to play with smiling babies for well over an hour and feed them twice and put them down to bed. But it was such a short while, and I got so sad when they went to sleep. It was exciting to fully dedicate that time to them. All I did was play and smooch and cuddle and hold and touch and laugh and pet them. No answering the phone. No checking email while they played on the activity mat. No starting dinner while they kicked in their chairs. Every day I get to look forward to that quality time, and I'm sure it will help me get through the day. That, and the pictures in my office and looking at the pictures on this blog at least once a hour. And talking about my babies to anyone who will listen.

My first day back was great. Busy, but I loved being thrown right back into things. I work in a very supportive environment, and I had no problem fitting in enough pumping time even though I was in court a lot. The worst part were my feet -- I haven't worn heels in a very long time.

Caught Pink-Handed

"Yoink," said Bretty as he plucked Maggie's paci from her mouth.

Fun with Our Friend

Brett and Maggie's friend Matteo came over to play today. Brett and Maggie let him use their activity mat, and Maggie even taught him how to hold hands.
In exchange, when Matteo gets a haircut, he's going to sweep up the clippings and let Brett and Mags make wigs.

Best Friends

After a fun game of "Let's Look Out the Window," I propped Brett and Maggie up on the couch for story time. They held hands all on their own.

Daddy took our picture yesterday while we were all still in our pajamas. We take so many photos of just the babies we forget that we need to be in pictures with them every once in a while!

This Old House

At a party a few weeks ago I was regaling our friend (and famous blogger) Liz with tales of all the woodworking projects I've taken on since moving into our new house. Always a good sport, Liz suggested that I start a new woodworking blog to share photos of all my projects. Not a bad idea. However, I'd hate to create a new blog - one that would, no doubt, become exceedingly popular - and steal focus from The 2 Point Conversion.

Instead I decide to post few pictures of my handiwork here. These are photos of a liquor cabinet/bar in our dining room and an oak shadowbox for the rifle I found in our basement a few months ago. I've included photos of Brett & Mags for scale... and because this is still their blog, after all.

In summary, I've completed two woodworking projects since becoming a father; a liquor cabinet and a display case for a firearm. Please double-check the spelling of "Berthiaume" before having the 2010 Father of the Year plaque engraved. Thanks.

Loud Brett

Abs of Steel

No, I'm certainly not talking about myself. After my twin pregnancy, I have to wear a splint to hold my separated abdominal muscles together so my organs don't protrude and I don't get a hernia. Gross.

I'm talking about Maggie! She's no longer content just chilling on the boppy pillow where the babies hang out on the couch before and after each feeding while I get the nursing pillow on and off. She tries to sit up like a big girl, and she's getting very good at doing crunches.

Here's a better view of her adorable outfit. Thanks for the new clothes, Grandma!

Hanging Out Around the House

Oh, little Maggie. She's just such a sweetie.





Here's Brett just waking up from his nap. His head has been itching him lately, and given access, he will scratch it until it bleeds. He wears hats all the time, and still tries to scratch his head.




I've been wanting to do this for a long time. When Auntie Devon bought Brett some preemie clothes when he was two weeks old (they only fit for a week), I looked at them and instantly thought of Lola. They looked just her size. Finally yesterday, when sorting outgrown clothes, I made Lola be a onesie model. Perfect fit.

Cute, Clean Babies in Jammies

Last night Grandma and Grandpa helped Brett and Maggie take baths. Grandpa got them undressed, and Grandma gave them the full spa treatment afterwards and got their jammies on. Here they are nice and clean right before bed.

It Gets Easier, I Promise

Familiar words of encouragement for a new mom, and it applies to mothers of twins as well. Here are a few assurances I wish someone could have made to me back at the beginning of October, when the babies were just a few weeks old and I didn't think I could ever manage to care for them by myself.

You will sleep again. All night, with no disruptions. The days are a lot easier to manage when you are no longer tired.
You will feel comfortable taking the babies out -- driving with them in the car, loading and unloading them into the stroller, going for a walk in the neighborhood.
You will be able to push their stroller down the huge hill by your house and go to Whole Foods or the taco place.
You will be able to push the babies in their stroller all the way back up the hill, with the bottom basket full of groceries, all by yourself.
Your old jeans will fit again. You will hem them all to fit with tennis shoes and flats, because you no longer have a need for "going out" jeans to wear with high heels. But they will fit.
You will be able to get down on the floor with the babies. And back up again without assistance. You will be able to do almost everything you used to be able to do, way back when before you were pregnant.
You will be the one to wake the babies, not vice versa, some mornings when they sleep in too late. You will actually complain that your babies are sleeping in too late and need to wake up earlier. And you will learn the joy of happy babies in the morning.
You will cook again. Last week I made a rack of lamb, fish en papillote, and whipped cream with a whisk (no electric mixer -- by hand!!).
You will be able to take care of the babies by yourself during the day. And still have time to get dressed and eat meals.
Your wedding and engagement rings will fit again.
You will wear makeup again.
You will have time to do a crossword puzzle every day. You will need to get back in the habit because your brain has already started to atrophy.
You will have time to spend with Lola.
You will have time to read books again. I read the bulk of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" this past week in just a few days.
You will be able to go to the grocery store by yourself with two babies and get a full cart of groceries (one baby in the car seat in the cart, one in the Bjorn baby carrier, and "Yes, please," when they ask if you need help out to the car).
You will actually find yourself bored at times during the day, when babies are napping, you are dressed, and your house is clean.
You will sleep again.

Busy Maggie

Maggie likes to operate the Space Command Station. Ordinary people call this contraption an "exersaucer."