We had our first waterbabies class of the summer session and it wasn’t all that great. First of all, the class has like 7 or 8 babies in it so we didn’t get the personalized attention that we’re used to. Also the teacher was so business like and kind of scolded us (not really) for not getting into the water properly. We’re supposed to do the “Sit, Listen and Wait”, but usually when we’re late, we just jump right in. She also checked their swim diapers to make sure they fit ok, and instead of saying “yeah, this will do”, she says “well, if it was ANY bigger, I would tell you to get another one”. But it was fine, so I don’t know why she had to have that tone. She said that for both of them. I mean, really. At the beginning of the class, we sing a song that names all the babies, and we’re used to only having 3 or 4 names to say, but when you have to sing for 8, it gets really boring. The song is sung to the tune of “Are you Sleeping?” and the lyrics go “Where is XXXX, Where is XXXX, Here I am, Here I am, Swimming in the water, Swimming in the water, Up and down, Up and down” and we have to say that whole thing for each baby. Anyways, we found out later that this woman is not our teacher (thank god) and that Rachel will be our teacher. We had her as an assistant teacher for the other class and she was really nice. That other woman just had a horrible bedside manner, and at least with us, didn’t seem like a very nurturing person. I think if she was the teacher, I would’ve swiched classes! After class, we went to Oobas as usual, and since the boys were asleep in the car, we decided to leave them in the car with the windows rolled down and we ate on the sidewalk. There is a nice patch of grass with trees and stuff, so it didn’t look weird or anything. There was a woman who was new taking the orders and it took about 45 minutes to get our food. It usually takes 15. Luckily, the boys weren’t fussy at all and we ate in peace. Poor Michael, he has hardly been at work! When they got home, I fed them and put them down for their nap. This afternoon, I had Lorna (the babysitter) come in and watch them while I worked. It was nice to see her, she always makes me feel better because she went through the exact same things and feelings. Her kids are also so much like Rowan and Elijah, it’s very strange. It’s always nice to have her over because she will do Michael’s chores, like recycling that he procrastinates on. We had boxes that needed to be put in the bin sitting outside our door for about 6 weeks! She finally took care of it for us. Or I should say for Michael. Every time she comes over, Michael says “yeah, I would do recycling but the bin is full” and every time we come home, she always manages to fit our overflowing recycling box into the existing bin! I went to Safeway and the video store today and had a nice chat with Jeremy, one of the employees. He just got promoted to manager (we thought he was one already) and he went on and on about his life. Then we talked about how they can get more variety of movies and I actually gave him some good ideas that they might do! I was so tired today, that after dinner, I fell asleep with my head on Michael’s lap!

Today Michael wasn’t feeling well, so he stayed home. It was nice to have someone else around the house. He didn’t get out of taking care of the boys though. He wasn’t THAT sick! :) I kept myself busy with finishing up my ebay sales. All the stuff that I had for sale ended today, so I was busy packaging up items and sending out “invoices”. Some people paid right away and I packaged their stuff up right away. I like to get things taken care of that day. It’s pretty fun. I also was able to work a little as well as get some videos of the boys up on the website. It has been so easy to work with MS Movie Maker! You can’t do the more complicated edits, but for something quick and easy and that’s already installed, you can’t go wrong! I got 4 movies up and stayed up way too late doing it. In the evening, I went to a “Car Safe Kids” class at the hospital. It was a very good informative class, but the teacher was way to fanatical. I mean, not to negate her message, but sometimes you tend to tune out people like that. She had kind of a nervous laugh and it was just too much when she went into her tyrades (sp?) about one thing or another. I should’ve taken this class when I was pregnant, but, well, better late than never. We were doing a couple of things wrong, like keeping the handle up, when it should be put down, and also not putting the chest thing high enough (it’s supposed to be at armpit level). In the class, a co-worker of ours was there, a guy named Ori and his wife, Mandy. They are expecting a baby in September and are going through all the classes. They are so cute! I found out that we don’t need to get new seats just yet, even though they are both over 26″. She said that the infant seats are still good until their head is 1″ or less from the top of the seat. They probably have about a month more in those things. I also learned how to put the seat in without a base. Good stuff!

Rowan is talking up a storm lately! I have had a hard time capturing it on video because once he sees the camera, he becomes interested in it and stops talking. He is now “over” camera shyness and is talking up a storm! It’s really cool to see his expressions, it’s like he’s telling me a story. Elijah loves hearing his brother talk too. I’m sure in no time they will be babbling to each other!

I have been so crazy about work! It’s been sooooo much fun to have something technical to do (and get paid for it)! In every available moment, I’ve been working and for the last 2 days, I’ve worked 7 hours! I can’t believe it! Of course, I haven’t really been sleeping much either, so that’s bad. But I also haven’t been watching as much tv too. I’m sure in a week, I’ll get a nice balance. Right now, everything’s new and fun so I’m going overboard. I wanted to go stroller skating today, but I was too tired! One great thing I did today was put a short video together of Rowan bouncing in his hammock. He is just too cute in it, I had to show everyone. He might have a hard time adjusting to a “regular” bed whenever he outgrows the hammock! Their hair is coming in nicely, Elijah’s is definitely thicker at the top, in a mowhawk strip and Rowan’s is still very soft, but getting long on top. Finally getting some hair! I thought for sure they will be like me and have tons of hair, but they’ve been bald a really long time!

Today I took the boys in for a shot appointment. You probably already know this but we’ve decided to do not do the regular vaccination schedule and spread it out a bit. We didn’t do the Hepatitis shot at all, and I decided to skip on the Prevnar. We’ve been doing the HIB and IPV (polio) at 4, 6, 8 months and the DTaP at 5, 7, and 9 months. For those shots, they will be caught up with their peers by 9 months. Today they are getting the DTaP, supposedly one of the worst. I did my thing where I gave them the tylenol 1 hour before the appointment, then 2 minutes before the shot, I gave them a little sugar water (25%). Rowan cried for about 15 seconds and Elijah didn’t even flinch. I was super shocked! The nurse said that they already have a pretty good immunity to the diseases they got the vaccines for. When I came home, Michael sent me an article about the whole thimerasol in vaccines and how they found evidence that there is a possible link to autism. It’s hard to say who’s right or wrong. All I know is thank goodness it’s no longer in most of the vaccines. I am of the mind that I think that there is some possibility that there could be a link and I don’t want to take any chances on my guys. I know I’ve said all of this before, so I won’t go on and on. They were fussy for the rest of the day, which is normal for them on shot days. Not a good way to spend your 7 month birthday!!!

My sister got a puppy so we had to go over to her house and visit! It is a really cute puppy, and they named her Kokoro. We helped the boys pet the dog and they seemed to really like it. They flattened their hand and watched with wonder. The puppy was still a little “bitey”, so someone had to hold the dog while the babies were petting them. We hung out for a few hours, Elijah was especially giddy. Shaun and Scott was playing with him and he would squeal and do his “running” motion while lying on his back. When he was on his stomach, you could watch him lift his but up and then push off with his legs and he’ll move about an inch. It was pretty cool to see him kind of mobile. Michael got home super late and I stayed up working. It’s really fun!

See what happens when I look away just for a second! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry!

Rowan and Elijah both love their hammocks and sleep really well in it. Recently, Rowan has learned to push his bottom up and down to make it wildly bounce. Whenever we open the door to his room, this is what we usually see!

Michael went climbing for the weekend so I decided to get out a little for some fresh air and exercise. Where to go? The mall! The weather wasn’t all that great, so I pretty much wanted to stay indoors. I packed up the kiddos and we headed out. Since my cousin Cathy was working today, I gave her a call. It turned out that her sister, Lori, was in town from Hawaii and they were at the mall. I met them there and we hung out for a bit. This was Lori’s first time to see the boys. They were fussy for awhile until I fed them. I had a hard time warming their milk because the bathrooms didn’t have hot water! I went to this Piroshky place but the woman didn’t speak English. There was some hot water, but it was more lukewarm than hot. The boys tolerated cold milk, thank goodness. They were calmer after they ate and then they became intensely fascinated with Cade (my other cousin and their brother)! Elijah would just stare and stare and stare at him. Rowan stared at him as well, but not as long as Elijah. It was funny! After that, I walked them all around. Amazingly, I didn’t spend hardly any money. I think doing the whole ebay thing makes you realize how expensive everything in a store is. When I was at Pottery Barn, this guy made a big deal about the twins saying “Oh my god, she has two! Gotta give some respect over there!” I was so embarrassed! Then when I was at the cash register (ok, so I bought a chair cover), he asked with baited glee “Are they sleeping through the night yet?” And I said “Yes, they have been since 3 months.” He was severely disappointed and didn’t know what to say. He was expecting me to say “No, they each get up 3 times a night” or I don’t know what. He was so flabbergasted, I guess because his child doesn’t sleep through the night so mine certainly can’t. It’s not supposed to be EASIER with two! Haha, I probably had some guilty satisfaction showing on my face! I made the mistake of staying out too late. Rowan cannot fall asleep unless he is swaddled in his bed, so he became overtired. When we got home, he had a hard time falling asleep and cried. But he eventually got there. I was able to work a little this evening too! Overall, a fairly productive evening.

Elijah has finally stopped biting me while nursing. It took a few days, but he finally caught on. I’m just glad he didn’t have teeth! :)

Me and Rowan waiting for dinner

He loved playing with the nametag sticker. It’s great, he never drops it since it sticks to his hand!