Father's Day 2013

Father's Day weekend we went to visit Uncle Paul, Aunt Eveck and Babu at their apartment. Richard hadn't met his little nephew, Zekiah, yet and of course the kids hadn't met him either, so it was a long overdue trip. Richard had flashbacks to when the girls were little. And of course the girls thought Zekiah was just the cutest little thing. Moses on the other hand just wanted to claw at his eyes. Not maliciously, he just doesn't know any better. He likes playing with the open-close'm eyes on the girls' baby dolls and since Zekiah looked a lot like a baby doll, Moses was just trying to play with him.

Ogwang and Zekiah

 Both girls went potty at Babu's house. Frances likes going on the potty when Grace gets attention for it. So hopefully she'll do it more and more! Needless to say, the visit ended and the girls didn't really want to go home and keep asking when we'll go back to Babu's house.

Three generations! Babu, daddy, Uncle Paul
Grace, Frances, Moses and Zekiah

We didn't do much else the rest of the weekend. Oh and Richard and I were able to sleep in till 8 a.m. on Sunday! Wow! Hahaha. Seriously Moses always wakes up at 7 a.m. on the dot, but because he went to bed a little late the night before he woke up a little bit later.

The week went by fairly status quo. The girls had a dentist appointment on Friday and did great! No cavities and apparently we're doing a better job at keeping their teeth clean since they didn't have to scrape this time around. They like the suction tube that you spit in. And the treasure chest they get a toy from. And of course, Dr. Judd and all the other people in the office! They told me this weekend they have to go to the dentist again. Funny girls.

This weekend we made our weekly trek to the farm. The girls now insist on a pony ride every time - they're hooked! And doing much better. The first time, over Memorial Day, they enjoyed it, but were so serious because they were concentrating so hard. Now they are more relaxed: smiling, looking around, and waving. Here are some short videos, Grace is the first one and Frances is the second one.

Uncle Paul, Aunt Eveck, baby Zekiah, Uncle Raw-knee and Aunt Angie came to visit on Saturday. Moses was much better at not trying to claw out his cousin's eyes this time. He sat on his haunches and looked at him for awhile. It was cute. And you wouldn't believe how Zekiah has fluffed out his cheeks in just one week! He'll be chunking up in no time! Richard BBQ'd and we all ate really good! Aunt Eveck graciously offered to do the girls' hair (which will save me some time/headache when we're up north). Oh we had fun.

Daddy and baby, how sweet!

Proud Uncle Raw-knee and Zekiah!

Sunday was rainy. In the morning I took the girls to run some errands. We made a swing by Once Upon A Child (a second hand store for kids stuff). Grace walks in and says, "ooooo mommy, mucho stinky!" It had that used goods store smell (like clothes you pull out of the attic). I just laughed and was glad no one heard her! I had been there before looking for a more gender neutral stroller for Moses but didn't find one I liked. So we made the trek again, and I scored a nice Jeep stroller (no, not the recalled one!). The girls had fun playing with the toys while I browsed around – gosh, I guess I'm one of "those" parents that just lets their kids run around while I do something else. Really, they weren't destroying anything and it was a small store, so I knew I wasn't going to lose them – but I still kept them within eye and ear shot.

Later in the day we made a quick trip to Bass Pro Shops. Grace had to use the restroom but she and Francie are deathly afraid of the "loud flush!" I had to drag them into the bathroom. It probably looked insane. But Grace went and we survived. As I was washing their hands a lady came up and asked if they were twins. This same lady saw me trying to drag them into the bathroom. I said they were. She told me her daughter is having twins in September and asked if having twins was hard… I'm guessing what she witnessed earlier gave her pause. Hahaha. I told her it definitely is harder but there are some pluses too. Oh I wish her daughter luck! Haha. The girls spent the rest of our visit at the store hanging out by the big fish tank. And screaming in fear with the other kids every time the huge one-eyed catfish floated by. Frances kept saying he was gonna eat her beads (hair beads) and when she'd turn in fear she'd say "On no! He's gonna eat my butt too!" She knew it was a lose-lose situation here. Haha.

We dropped Moses and daddy back home so MiMo could take his nap. And the girls and I went to Toys R Us to get some window shades for the van. The girls had fun playing and looking at all the toys. So far (cross fingers) that don't give me much trouble at the stores regarding toys. I just tell them we have to leave the toys with their friends/family so they don't get sad and they just comply. I don't know how long that trick will last though?

So the girls will be 3 in less than a month. Friends had told me that if I thought the "terrible 2s" were bad, just wait for 3. I'm believing it. The closer we get to 3 the crazier the tantrums are getting. It's quite insane. I'm sure we overreact and exacerbate some of them. BUT this is one of the issues with twins (maybe just identical, not sure). One will have a tantrum in the morning, then the other will have one in the afternoon. And vice versa the next day. So it really feels like you are not getting a break – like it's just one LONG tantrum. So our tempers our shorter as a result (hey, we're not perfect). This is part of the reason why Moses' first year seems so much easier than the girls' first year – besides the fact that yes, he's only ONE baby. But the typical things that are stressful about babies: colic, teething, etc. have been easier with him. When he has a good day, it's a good day. With the girls it was like tag team screaming. On the plus side, the girls have a constant playmate which is a good distraction when I'm playing with Moses or trying to get some chores done. And if I'm helping someone in the bathroom I can tell the other one to keep Moses occupied and they always help out. However, having young twins is trying… so when I encounter the naïve stranger who says, "Oh! I wish I had twins." I just smile, nod and secretly wonder when they're going to get a psych eval. Hehehe. It's when I meet other parents of twins that I get, "Oh you have twins too…" and a sympathetic smile and a gentle comforting hand on my shoulder. And the ones with older twins always say, "It gets easier, I promise!" – without prompting, I might add.

So the latest Wacha Saying?:
I've been trying to teach the girls their full names as well as Richard's and mine.
Mommy: "What's your name?"
Grace: "Grace… umm"
Mommy: "Apio…"
Grace: "Apio WACHA!"
Mommy: "Okay, what's mommy's name?"
Grace: "Ummmm… Mommy Wacha!"
I gotta give her props for using logic there.

My friend April stopped by for a quick hello.
Frances and Grace run out to the kitchen with their fists up.
Frances & Grace to April: "You want a knuckle sandwich?"
We all get a good chuckle (daddy was the guilty coach).
Frances: "Mommy, what's in a knuckle sandwich?"
April and mommy: "Knuckles!"

Knuckle sandwich!

Obsessed with poop as of late – we see a lot of it at the farm.
Frances: "Mommy, look, the horsey pooped little balls out his butt."
And so began an intensely serious 5 minute lesson from twins on how everything poops.
"Donkey poops from butt, pig poops from butt, MiMo poops from butt, mommy poops from butt, daddy poops from butt, cow poops from butt, Nana poops from butt, Grace poops from butt, Francie poops from butt…" and so on and so forth.

And this is a common word now between both girls: "Mawww-dee" – I'm spelling it phonetically. It's really a combination of "Mommy" and "Daddy." And it's said A LOT. I think it's especially funny because Maudie (nickname for Maude) was my maternal grandmother's name, so I think of her every time they say it.

Francie being fierce!

Uncle Frankie, Cousin Juliet, and Mastering the Potty

It’s been a busy week! Last Friday we all trekked to Uncle Freddy and Great’s house to see my cousin, Frankie, before he left to head back home. It was also our first time meeting our baby cousin, Juliet. The girls loved meeting baby Juliet. And I enjoyed snuggling with her myself (taking in that newborn smell!). Moses was a little jealous when Richard held her OR maybe he was just upset he couldn’t climb up and poke her in the eyes like he does to his sisters’ baby dolls. Haha. Moses has definite stranger danger, but I must say, not anywhere near as bad as the girls used to. He was content playing on the floor with his sisters, and cousins Ben and Ajanja. And my how Ajanja has changed since April. He looks like so much older now… and everyone thought Moses had changed a lot too. This year is just going by way too fast!

Aunt Carrie and baby Juliet (2 months old)

Moses, Grace, Frances, Ajanja, and Ben

Frances, Grace, Uncle Frankie, Aunt Carrie and Ben, enjoying pizza!

On Sunday, I took the girls to the farm. And later, the whole fam went to the park. A nice full day of fun and exercise outside.

Moses, daddy, Francie and Gracie enjoying the park

My big boys!

Grace is doing so great with her potty training. She has had NO accidents so far this week. So it looks like we’re good to go. And on the plus side: Frances, who had been our initial potty tamer and reverted back to diapers, is back on the potty again. She went twice yesterday and again this morning. I haven’t pressured her. Just letting her take her time. Trying not to make her feel bad that Grace has mastered it – therefore, I’m not trying to “over”-shower Grace with praise, and being extra supportive to Francie. I just hope she’ll be mastering it soon like Grace has. Oh to save on diapers!!!

Moses is doing great. Cruising like a champ. He says “qak qak” for duck; he roars like a lion (even doing a clawing motion); he says “ribi” for frog; he says “oo oo” for monkey; and still does his elephant impression. He calls for “mama” all the time – I feel so special! He loves playing peek-a-boo in the girls’ Dora tunnel. And he loves wheels, all wheels – the kid can’t get enough of them. He just melts my heart, he’s so sweet.

10 Months Old!

Last Saturday, Moses turned 10 months old. Wow, time flies. On Friday night, since we were still dealing with stifling heat in the house, we decided to trek out to the mall – to enjoy a little AC. We got Moses his first shoes as an early b-day present. Size 6! What a fat foot!

Saturday was sooo freakin’ hot. So while we were suffering in the heat, we noticed the half bath toilet was leaking. We figured it was the wax ring (given all the heat, especially on the main floor, it seemed the most likely culprit). Being broke we decided to tackle the problem ourselves – which is much harder when you have 3 kiddos under foot and yucky toilet water everywhere. And it’s 90+ degrees in a teeny tiny little bathroom that one person can barely turn around in. We moved the floor fan to just outside the bathroom to help cool us down. Of course the girls wanted to watch. We noticed it was getting hotter… probably took me 30 minutes to realize the girls had turned the fan off! I asked why they did that and they said “Too loud, mommy.” Darn kids! Anywho we got it all “fixed” and I did all my disinfecting of the floor and surrounding surfaces.

Later in afternoon/evening we swung over to our friends’ house – they graciously offered to host us in their AC. We had a nice visit. The girls had a lot of fun. In fact all week they’ve been asking to go back to Colton’s house.

When we got back from our play date, I decided to check on the toilet and low and behold… more water. Darn rookie plumbers that we are! We took the water out of the toilet to prevent further leaking and tasked ourselves with fixing it after all the kids went to bed. The second time around went much smoother and quicker. And so far no leaks. But we didn’t get to bed until 1 a.m.-ish in the morning. Ah wells.

Sunday wasn’t as hot. Only in the 80s. I took the girls to the store to get a sprinkler. They had a lot of fun playing in it, and watching worms try to swim to safety in the little river we created on the sidewalk.

As far as the AC is concerned. Monday came with no word. So Richard called in the morning. They told him the part would come in on Tuesday (hmm, Thursday, they said Friday, then Saturday, then Monday). Then they called back later and said they would fix it on Wednesday? I was pissed at this point. I left a nastygram on their Facebook page. It wasn’t long after that, that they scheduled the fix back to Tuesday afternoon. Just in time for the temperatures to drop anyway. Doh. So a new tech came on Tuesday and fixed it within 2 hours. We only had to pay $131 total (the part the other guy broke was valued at $1200). So the new tech said we “lucked out” in that we basically had a brand new indoor unit for “free.” Hmmm, not without a fight, headaches, and my kids sweltering in heat for several days…

Just glad it’s finally fixed for when summer really kicks in to overdrive.

In the meantime. Moses finally has his top two teeth! He’s cruising on the furniture and pulling up on everything. He’s walking stronger now, but still has jelly-legs every once and a while. He gets frustrated when he wants something and can’t have it. He likes playing with both of his sisters. He laughs and smiles at them more than anybody else! He wants to be where they are all the time.

We haven’t really been pushing potty training. The girls decided on their own several months ago to go sans diaper during the night. We rarely have accidents. But during the day was different – always diapers. Occasionally they’d just randomly pick a day to go pee-pee on toilet. But nothing steady. Well Saturday, Grace decided she wanted underpants and hasn't worn diapers since. That doesn't mean we haven’t had accidents! Poopy and pee-pee. But she’s getting better. Wednesday evening we were at the park and she went in a public restroom – big girl! She only had one accident yesterday, so here’s crossing fingers she masters it soon. I’m hoping Frances will follow suit quickly once she sees Grace doing it all the time.