March 17, 2009 - (49 Weeks)

This week has nothing spectacular to report. We laid low all weekend; not even a Costco run! I had grades due on Monday, so that pretty much kept me busy. This year has definitely been quite an adjustment. I took for granted how many extra hours I put in at work before the boys came. The days of staying until 5 p.m. at work or planning at home are over (at least until the boys are a little bigger). I now have a schedule to adhere to, so I have to be even more efficient with any pockets of time I have (i.e. lunch, prep period) and delegate what can be delegated. Oh, we did manage to get their birthday invitations done. Now we have to get them addressed and out.
Baby Daniel Update: For the longest Baby Daniel has been quite content rolling to his desired destinations. For the last couple of weeks, he can now drag himself there! He also has shown to like music. When certain songs come on (Diego's backpack song) he starts rocking back and forth. Also, his face literally illuminates when he sees this star character on the Sprout Channel named Star. He squeals like a little piglet from happiness. It is the kookiest thing :)

March 10, 2009 - Surprise Party For Mommy's 40th Birthday! (48 Weeks)

Baby Daniel had to be taken to urgent care on Thursday night for a fever of 103 degrees that he couldn’t shake. This has been the hardest visit yet since they had to take both a urine sample and blood sample from him. Our poor little guy cried out in a way that broke our hearts. He was quite traumatized and fell asleep only to be woken up by a penicillin injection. Much was ruled out but nothing concrete was found to be the cause.
On a much happier note, my Daniel had a 40th surprise birthday party for me on Saturday night. It turns out he’d been planning this for weeks with my friend Leah. On my actual bday, he’d had roses, a cake, and a Wii for me. Call me crazy, but that was great in itself. He told me we were going out on a date Saturday night. I didn’t have details only that he’d arranged for a baby sitter. We went to my friend Leah’s house to stop in for her friend’s party. We were then to take off on our date. When we walked in, there was everyone shouting, “Surprise!” Daniel sure did a great job keeping the secret. Multiple people told me that on several occasions they’d almost spoiled my surprise; kudos to them and my Daniel for keeping the secret and making my 40th birthday so memorable.

March 3, 2009 - Long Beach Aquarium Visit ( 47 Weeks)

I only taught two days this week since I was given the opportunity to attend the California Association of Bilingual Educators Conference in Long Beach. I went with another teacher friend of mine (Liz) and we sure learned a lot. I love to attend conferences that leave me feeling empowered and ready to implement techniques that I can’t wait to do with my students!
On Friday, Daniel and the boys met me after the conference. The Long Beach Aquarium, which was only a couple of blocks away, offered attendees of the CABE conference admission for only $5 after 3 p.m. We thought this would be a nice treat for the boys, since they get so excited just with Lucky. I don’t know how much they got out of it at this age, but we sure got some cute pictures. I loved the Lorikeet Village. The birds fly around freely and will step up onto your finger if you extend it. After our visit, we had planned on spending several hours walking the boardwalk and having dinner on Pine Street; the boys had another plan. For the most part, they are real troopers with our excursions, but that night they were having no part of it. So, Plan B became homeward bound with a pit stop to KFC. Flexibility is this family’s favorite vocabulary word.

February 24, 2009 - Four Evens The Score (46 Weeks)

Anthony may have taken a little longer to sprout a tooth, but he sure has made up for lost time. He now has 4 teeth just like Daniel.

February 17, 2009 - What A Week! (45 Weeks)

Make a Smilebox greeting

This week was definitely an incredibly busy one. On Wednesday we went to see the Clippers play the New York Knicks. We’d gotten the free tickets as a thank you from the Red Cross for donating blood last December. The seats were totally in the nose bleed section. What did I expect? Courtside seats? Had we known we'd be bonding with the clouds, we probably wouldn’t have gone. The rush rush is just too much during the work week.
On Friday my friend Norma and I hosted a little Valentine’s gathering at my house. It was a night primarily created to celebrate our husbands, but it was also an opportunity to share wedding pictures, stories of love, advice from our seasoned brides, and vino. We had a great mixture of brides of 3 weeks to 38 years. It was quite a fun girls night in.
Saturday was our first Valentine’s Day with the boys. We started our tradition of heart shaped pancakes for the boys at a dressed up dining table. It is so important to me to create traditions for our little family. It is these little things that we do that I hope the boys will eventually remember as little signs of our love for them. Thank you, Norma, for giving me ideas and encouraging my over-the-top love gestures.
Daniel’s mom had been hospitalized this week for stones, so we spent much of our weekend traveling back and forth to Riverside to visit her at the hospital. Her two surgeries went well and is expected to be released by Thursday.
Yesterday we attended the Upsherin of my friend Kiva's son. This hair cutting ceremony is done at the synangogue when a Jewish boy turns three. Everyone gets a turn to cut a chunk of hair off. This first hair cut ceremony signifies the beginning of his formal education and commencement of his formal study of the Torah. Once everyone had cut, our Yitzy bear was whisked off. Shortly after he made his entrance wearing his yamulke. Mazal tov, Yitzy!
TWIN NEWS: Anthony is waving hello, has sprouted another tooth, and said "Mama" for the first time while at dinner with Daniel's family on Valentine's Day.

February 10, 2009 - Cupid Brought Anthony A Tooth (44 Weeks)

On Thursday, Daniel and I had Valentine’s Day pictures taken of the boys. I know. It is not as if we don’t have enough pictures of these cutie patooties. However, it is, after all, their first Valentine’s Day!!! Aren't they the cutest cherubs?
Anthony surprised me Saturday morning with a tooth! I was sitting at the computer with him on my lap while checking email. He was gnawing on my finger when I felt a bumpy ridge on his lower gums. I searched his gums frantically and lo and behold there it was. There had been no drama, no fever, no crying or neediness, as was the case with Daniel. Grandpa Gilster, who has been asking weekly if there is any sign of a tooth, was glad to hear the news. Teary- eyed me hugged him and kissed him all over. Later, the boys and I found our way to Babies ‘R Us while Daddy was showing property. BRU is like Costco; it is practically impossible to leave without dropping a chunk of change each time.
Twin News: Anthony can get to his feet using furniture and people. His crawling has also picked up speed. Daniel is content rolling to his desired destinations.

February 3, 2009 - The Same Yet Different (43 Weeks)

It is becoming more and more apparent how different the boys are from each other. It is easy to presume that because they are twins that everything is the same, but that is not the case. Daniel and Anthony are clearly each their own person. They just happened to share the same womb for 9 months.
Our Daniel: Has 4 teeth, uses those teeth to bite, wears size 12 month clothing, sits up without much support, can now stand with support, demonstrates that he may be double jointed, is a definite night owl like his dad, and takes over our bed when he sleeps.
Our Anthony: He has no teeth, uses one's face as a pacifier, wears size 18 month clothing, sits up with no problem, can crawl with the best of them and cover much ground within seconds, is an early sleeper like his mama, demonstrates Bam Bam like qualities, and no longer resists the big boy car seat.
They both have taken to solid food quite well, grunt and shake when wanting our attention, have huge smiles, wake up happy, and are friendly babies.