Christmas with the Beetles

This Christmas season was full of joy for our family. There is something magical about seeing the holidays through the eyes of a child, and Ben's eyes didn't miss anything. He was so very excited about everything the holiday season brings. Our Christmas tree and decorations were up the day after Thanksgiving thanks to the Bennie boy. If he would have had it his way they would have been up well before. Chris brought up the tree and our almost five year old quickly went to work. He found room for nearly all of our ornaments, oohing and ahhing over each and every one. He took note of the ones that had mom and dad's names and year on them and wondered why he didn't have many ornaments with his name and year on them. We explained that over the years Chris and I were gifted with ornaments each Christmas and that over time he would also have many ornaments of his own.

Ben took full advantage of every holiday activity offered to him. One of the highlights was cookie baking with his Grammie K, Auntie Jessie and Auntie Amy. He was quite focused during this afternoon long project and everyone was sure to know which cookies Ben decorated because his cookies might have had an entire bottle of sprinkles poured over them!

We also built a gingerbread house and of course being the up and coming builder man that he is, he was the one that noticed I used the roof pieces for the side walls and that is why the house wasn't fitting together like it should (thank goodness I wasn't involved in the framing portion of our attic remodel)!

We hit up the holidazzle parade which was met with more oohing and ahhing over all the floats. His favorites were the pirate float and twinkle bus (a city bus decked out with tons of lights).

The big event of course was Christmas Eve. He tracked Santa's travels on the iPad with Uncy J and Auntie Kathryn. Santa was somewhere in South America when the little guy finally collapsed after begging to sleep with the device so he "could check in on where Santa was during the night." He woke us with squeals of delight on Christmas morning, exclaiming "it's true, it's true Santa came and he ate the cookies and drank the milk!"

We spent Christmas Eve with the Bradley family, who graciously brought dinner to our home so the twinnies could sleep peacefully in their bassinets while we relaxed with family and enjoyed delicious food and drink. Christmas Day we headed to the Schultz side where Ben played with his cousins. We introduced the babes to their Great Uncle Bill, Great Aunt Mona, cousin Lizzie and family friend Pat. Every time we introduce the twins to family for the first time, my heart swells with joy as I'm reminded of the love that surrounds these babies.

 Our holiday season was filled with love and joy. I can only imagine the excitement that next year's will bring as the babies grow into little toddlers on the move! Wishing you and your family the joy of the season today and every day. 

Three months

It's hard to believe three months have already gone by. In some ways it seems like we were just meeting H & S for the first time and in others it is as if they've always been with us.

 

The babies are changing every day. They treat us to big smiles on a regular basis now . Harper's signature smile comes complete with her crinkled eyes and nose. Sam's is bashful yet proud, almost as though he's saying " here it is guys, this is just for you," and of course it is accompanied with his sweet dimples. They are both so interactive and love to engage in "conversation." Harper apparently had lots to say to my dad when my parents watched them a couple weeks ago while we were out to dinner with friends.

 

Both babies are starting to pay lots of attention to their big brother. They watch his every move. Ben lights up when they smile at him, and almost like a proud parent he exclaims, "did you see that? Harper just did the cutest smile!"

 

We have also been treated with a little bit more sleep. The babes are consistently sleeping from about 6:30 or 7 in the evening until somewhere between 3 and 5 am. It is amazing how a little more sleep (more like a lot more!) can make you feel like a new person! Napping is still touch and go, but we figure that will come next. Right now they cat nap frequently throughout the day and most often not at the same time.

 

At 3 months, Sam weighs in at 12 lbs 2 ounces, meaning he has TRIPLED his birth weight. Harper comes in at 10 lbs 11 ounces (double her original size). We are thrilled with this progress! They have the appetite to go along with this weight gain and usually nurse every two hours or so during the day.

 

 

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Thankful (and Thanksgiving by Ben)

Thanksgiving - to give thanks.

The meaning of this holiday was not lost by me this year. Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. A simple holiday where you get to spend time with family, eat good food and reflect on life's blessings. This year's holiday was much different than Thanksgiving one year ago. Last year we were giving thanks for our sweet little Beetle Ben. We were hoping to give him a brother or sister (the one he asked for frequently) and had no idea we would fulfill this wish times two one short year later. This year we gave triple thanks for our THREE, beautiful and healthy children. We spent our time with family who has loved and supported us through our journey, family who last Thanksgiving we couldn't have imagined it possible to love any more...but we spent this year with a new sense of love and gratitude knowing our growing family is so very loved by their grandparents and aunties and uncles.

Lucky for us, all that love was captured by our own little photographer, Ben. Our oldest Beetle has been taking notes from his Grampie Jim who has been learning the ins and outs of photography. Ben has been his subject during many some lessons. Little did he know his grandson would be closely monitoring his every move. Now, I might just be a proud mama, but...I think Jim might have been outshot by a four year old (it might have something to do with it being pretty much impossible not to have a real smile on your face when the photographer barely tops out at three feet tall and is instructing you on how to pose!) I've taken it upon myself (proud mama here again) to showcase some of his finest work!

 

Grammie C and Harper

The Original Bros

 

Hello

 

Crazy Daddy

 

Crazy Uncle

 

Crazy Little Boy

 

 

Grammie C and the boys +Harper (photo caught by Auntie K, I personally think it's on par with Ben's work)

 

Carol and Jen's Thanksgiving position (aka baby rocking)

 

Bradley Men

The Fam

 

Unfortunately our little photographer didn't have access to the camera at the Schultz Family Thanksgiving, but I managed to snap a couple myself (note to self: let Ben take on paparazzi duty at Christmas).

Papa K and Sammie boy

Auntie Jessie and Uncle Nick with Harper

 

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Eight Weeks

By the time Harper and Sam turned eight weeks we were starting to discover their little personalities more and more. We started to decipher what the different cries might mean, and what might soothe one baby but not the other. Some semblance of routine was starting to emerge, but the second we thought to ourselves: "ok, we've got this, we can do this, this twin thing isn't all that hard," it was as though they were plotting and the very next day our confidence would be shaken and they would despise all of our magic tricks that worked just the day prior! But, all kidding aside, at around eight weeks we started feeling like we were swimming through twin parenting (albeit maybe the stroke was doggy paddle) instead of frantically trying to keep our heads above water.

At eight weeks, Harper is content to hang out and take in all that is going on around her. You'll often find her with eyebrows raised, as though she is surprised by everything she is seeing. For the most part, she is a very smiley baby, hence her new nickname: "Happy." When she smiles, her whole face lights up, eyes and nose crinkle with joy and it appears she uses all of her effort to turn her mouth into the sweetest little grin you've ever seen. She frequently coos and seems to want to engage in conversation with whoever has been sucked in by her joyfulness.

Harper's eight week stats:

Weight: 9 lbs even Height: 21. 2 inches

 

 

At eight weeks, we confirmed that Sammie is quite the mama's boy (AKA: wants milk in sight at all times!) He loves to be held (again usually by mama). He is quite the serious little guy, we joke that the intense eye contact he makes is almost like he is daring you to try and break his stare. His brow is usually furrowed, as though he is trying to steal your thoughts and analyze your every move. Sam is usually the first to wake to eat at night and lets us know he is ready by sucking his hands louder than you would think is humanly possible. He has quite the pitiful little cry and seems to know how to work the system already, because there is no way anyone could turn him down with his sweet little wails, which seem to say "how could you leave me here, all by myself?!" He does NOT like to be alone, and will often start whimpering as soon as we leave the room. He is starting to smile more, too. He doesn't have the same eye crinkle characteristic as his twin sister, but instead has bilateral dimples that instantly melt your heart. He also has a little chuckle that is absolutely adorable!

Sam's eight week stats:

Weight: 10 lbs 1 oz Height: 21.1 inches

 

 

The eight week check-up went well for both babies (Mom, on the other hand flew solo to this appointment and was quite frazzled by the end!) The babies pediatrician is quite impressed with their weight gain and says they are "putting it on like gang busters!" We continue to give them two bottles of higher calorie premie formula each day to help with their weight gain. We will be able to stop this if they are still packing on the poundage by four months. Both babies tolerated their slew of vaccinations well (aside for some tears for all three of us). Our doctor mentioned some concern over Sam's head shape at this appointment. They will take a look again at the four month check up and if it hasn't evened out some, they will send us to a specialist for evaluation and possible helmet. Sam was our baby B and ran out of room at some point in the pregnancy, which could have led to the flat spot on the left side of his ead. The nurses in special care had some concern over his head shape in the first couple weeks after birth, but we just figured it was because he was so tiny. We are trying to improve things by making sure he stays off his left side (which he prefers the most), but we'll know more after the next appointment.

Bennie continues to love up his new siblings. He can usually decipher which baby is crying before we can (we call him the "cry analyzer") and can almost always get them to settle down with a pacifier. He sings to his baby brother and sister and always tells them how "funny" they are! The are starting to notice him more, too - especially Harper who is starting to give Ben some of her crinkle eye smiles, which he loves!

All in all, we are finding our way. It might not always be the most graceful, but it is getting easier!

 

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Four weeks

At four weeks old, Harper and Sam were busy doing a lot of growing. We could not believe how much weight they gained in the first two short weeks they were home. Harper was discharged home from the hospital at 5 lbs 1 ounce and Sam at 4 lbs 9 ounces (and they felt every bit as tiny as that sounds!). Two short weeks later, Harper was up to 6 lbs 3 ounces and Sam was 6 lb 1 ounce. The babies started feeling a little less fragile once we passed the 6 lb mark!

All of that growing meant lots of sleeping (mostly during the day, not so much at night), lots of feedings and a few moments of wakefulness where they would stare at Chris and I, giving us brief glimpses into the little people they were becoming.

 

 

 

 

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Big Brother

Da ge. The Chinese word for big brother. Before the babies were born Ben became utterly obsessed with an "Arthur" episode on PBS. One of the characters (Binky, in case you are curious) was going to become a big brother. His parents were adopting a little girl from China. After watching the episode about 149 times, Ben began referring to himself as Da Ge. As in, "I am the Da Ge, mom." And what a Da Ge he has turned out to be.

Chris and I both expressed some worry about how our oldest beetle would transition into our new world with twins. He had become accustomed to our life as a family of three. While we've tried to instill patience and sharing into our oldest child, the truth of the matter is while it was just the three of us, there really weren't very many occasions where we had other pressing matters to attend to. If Ben wanted a snack, there wasn't really any reason why I couldn't get it for him within a minute or two of his request. While we weren't as worried about meeting his every wish immediately once the twins arrived, we could not ignore that things would inevitably change. More importantly, we worried that our sweet Bennie would feel left out. Leading up to delivery and especially those first couple of weeks when we were traveling back and forth to the hospital, it broke my heart to think he would feel like his whole life had changed.

If I only had a crystal ball to see into the future. My worry was for nothing. Of course there are days when he wants his goldfish and he wants them right NOW, but the big stuff, the stuff that matters most? That is going remarkably well. Our oldest Beetle LOVES being the Da Ge. In fact, his preschool teachers have told us they cannot believe how well he has adjusted and that not to toot our own horns, but we should be pretty proud of ourselves as parents because he has done so well (which of course is what this worried mama needed to hear).

The affection he shows to his baby brother and sister is enough to bring tears to my eyes. He is constantly loving on them, giving kisses and hugs and asking to hold one of the babies. In the first few days when the twins were home, he took the time to introduce himself to both Harper and Sam, getting down right near each of their little faces and said so sweetly, so quietly you almost couldn't here him: "I am your Da Ge, your big brother. I love you Sam, I love you Harper."

Now, even though the novelty of having two new babies in the house seems to have wore off a bit, he still won't go to bed without giving each baby a gentle (for the most part!) kiss on the head and an I love you. He's taken to calling Sammie his "Sam-which" or "Bro" (just like his dad and Uncle J) and Harper has become "Harpster, "sist" or "ne-ne" (Chinese for little sister thanks again to Arthur). Going back to Dad and Uncy J, we often talk to Ben about how he and Sam are always going to be friends, just like Chris and Jason. Ben usually replies with something like, "yeah when we get bigger we are going to have bunk beds" or "when we get bigger we are going to drive around together" or "when we get bigger we are going to Canada together to snowboard" or "when we get bigger, me and Sam are going to live together forever." It is pretty much the cutest thing ever.

And so if my crystal ball could have showed me how Ben would never feel left out, but instead has gained two new best friends, I would have spent a whole less time worrying. But then again, I guess that's what parents do.

 

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Home Sweet Home

Our first few weeks at home were sort of a blur. I so wish I had been writing things down real time because looking back now I'm not sure I remember much of what we did or how we managed to get by in the beginning. I know there were lots of diapers, lots of feeding, not a whole lot of sleep, but definitely lots of love.

Once the babies were home we sort of went into survival mode and were living on adrenaline, caffeine and once again let's not forget lots of good food made by generous family and friends!

Visitors trickled in and out most days, and every time a friend or family member met our newest beetles we were overcome with emotion. To share our precious miracles with those nearest and dearest to us brings a set of emotions that one can't really describe.


We slowly settled into a routine and started to figue out what worked (making sure mama ate often enough! Turns out making milk for two babies requires lots of calories!) and what didn't (making any sort of decision during a middle of the night feeding, trying to form a complete and comprehendible sentence!)

We managed a few pictures in our sleep deprived state. At least this way we know those first few weeks really happened!! The first few are from when we were heading out from the hospital.

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