First road trip - check!

Hey all,
Long time no post . . . I know, I know. What can I say - life is busy. You've heard it before so why waste all of our time with my excuses. Anywho -- first things first, you may have noticed, I changed the name of the blog. "Thoughts from my bed" really does not apply to me any more as I don't get much lounging time to ponder and type - my sleep is way too precious. "Twinwise" is a play on words from the book Babywise which we have used as a guide for Hope and Jack's schedule (official title - On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam). I am a big fan of the book and my two great little sleepers.

So what's new in our world? We are still enjoying our summer vacation/extended maternity leave, even if the end is fast approaching. I return to Penn on September 9 following a 7 month leave. That should be interesting on many levels. I am not sure my science brain still functions or if I remember how to set up experiments. We shall see. Kevin starts back up again around that time and Hope/Jack will be attending a day care near our house. Think positive thoughts, say a few prayers, and/or offer up words of wisdom (whatever works for you) that the transition is smooth for all of us. We have been so spoiled this summer!!!

Photo time:

So big!!!
Seriously Dad, enough with all the photos!!!
Hope/Jack were spoiled rotten by their Auntie Court when she visited a few weekends ago! Come back soon!

No, we are not going parasailing - just strapped in and ready to enjoy a walk in the neighborhood (which we immediately slept through).

"Mom -- why are we naked???"
Abby is fascinated by her little cousins and had just told Hope a funny joke. Jack as usual - loving the camera.

We have recently returned from our first family road trip. We headed up to Maine on Thursday for the wedding of Rebecca and Steve. Steve was the tall "lanky" groomsman at our wedding and a high school friend of Kevin's. Their wedding was on a picturesque island a ferry ride away from Portland, ME. The setting, weather, and happy beautiful couple could not have been more perfect and it was indeed worth the trip (despite all the work/extra time that was the result of traveling with Hope/Jack). Many many thanks to Uncle Ben and Aunt Marianne for coming to our hotel room to babysit so that we could attend the wedding, enjoy many lobster crustini appetizers and a couple cocktails ;-) !

Thanks for playing with us Uncle Ben and Aunt Marianne!!! (taken by my brother during their fun time with H&J)

More photos from the trip:
Jack with my Aunt Barbara in Cape Cod - he is becoming quite a flirt/charmer!
Jack happy to be out of his car seat - hanging in the hotel in Portland on his "nap nanny" - amazing bed/seat that has done wonders for sleeping/reflux and enabled us to not have to travel with two pack n plays just yet.
Hope was also pretty thrilled to be out of her car seat and reunited with her best friend Mr. Parrot (who you cannot see in this picture but hangs from the amazing jungle seat - a must for our travels and everyday lives).
Here is Hope out at a restaurant and not so sure of her surroundings. :-)

Waiting patiently for brunch - asleep as usual!

Sleeping while mom and dad enjoy an outdoor seafood lunch

No updated weights to post - the babies have their four month check up and vaccinations coming in a couple weeks, so stay tuned. We have been spoiled by so many visitors coming to meet Hope/Jack and help Kevin/me by holding a bottle (or two). Thanks to all of you and come back soon!!!

XOXO!!!

A few firsts

Since everything is new to infants, it is not surprising that this week has included a few firsts for Hope and Jack. However since both of these firsts are a big deal to Mom and Dad as well, I figured I would share them with you. Wednesday night we went out to dinner as a family for the first time at a restaurant! Our 3rd anniversary was Tuesday and we celebrated at home with a yummy home cooked meal. Because he knows I never like to end celebrations after one day, Kevin suggested we go out on Wednesday to continue the fun. We ended up at JP Dawsons - a steak/rib place - which worked out great as they have these koala slings which hold car seats perfectly. Dinner was timed for after the twins' feeding and Jack didn't open his eyes once in the restaurant. Hope was a little more startled by the noise, lights, and commotion, but settled down quickly once we adjusted the canopy over her seat. Mom and Dad enjoyed ribs and our return to restaurants as a couple/family. As I watched some of the tables around us who had small children with them, I soon realized that taking two infants out to a restaurant was a breeze compared to what it will be like as Hope and Jack get older, louder, and more mobile.

The second first came today as the twins took their first ride over the river to Jersey for dinner at my dad's. We were finally able to introduce the kids to our good family friends Helen and Rick. Prior to this, we have made trips to Kevin's parents, his brother's house, and up to Allentown for Nick/Melissa's son Nate's baptism. But Hope and Jack's first trip to the Garden State obviously needs to be mentioned! Again, it really was not that difficult and I am surprised it has taken us this long to get over there. But regardless, I am happy we went and look forward to our next visit.
Emma is ready to take the new stroller out for a test ride.
Showing off her big belly and a little baby drool for added effect
Just relaxing

Almost 3 months old . . .

Hope and Jack are doing great and as their parents we cannot complain. As of two weeks ago, Hope weighed 9lbs6oz and Jack weighed 8lbs3oz. The doctor was pleased with their weight gains and does not want to see them again until their 4 month checkup at the end of August. Our routine is pretty much the same - eat, play, sleep, repeat. Both babies are great sleepers and are allowing mom and dad to catch up on some zzzzs as well. Kevin and I even got our first night away this past weekend so we could attend the wedding of my college friend Liz in DC. It was a whirlwind 24 hours away but it was wonderful to share in Liz/Mark's special day and catch up with my Colby crew. Kevin's parents stayed with Hope and Jack and it sounded like everyone behaved and had a blast. Sadly, because of the wedding, we missed my family's annual Pool Party on Saturday, but according to my dad, Hope and Jack were the talk of the party and my blog was opened so that everyone could check out the pictures! Tomorrow is Kevin and my 3 year anniversary - last year we celebrated with a fancy dinner in Philly, this year, we will have a special day spent with the kids at home -- cannot wait! I can't believe its already almost August. I set my return date for work as September 9th so the countdown has begun. It will be quite the transition as I will have been away from the lab for 7 months by then. Crazy. :-)
Hope being cute
My attempt at 4th of July outfits and a posed shot together. Not the easiest feat.
Jack after a bath
Hope looking stunned in her tummy tub bathtub
Hope post bath - much happier in the ducky towel
The first cousins shot. Hope had just fallen asleep so we opted to not take them out. Hopefully we'll get a better shot soon.

Chilling with their giraffe snugglies at Grandmom and Pop's house.

Two vs. Two is great!

This is the end of the first week with Kevin home for summer vacation. I keep thinking it is the weekend as it is strange to have him home, but I am loving it. We are working on keeping the twins on a consistent eating/sleeping schedule and I'm hoping that will lead to the coveted "sleeping through the night" sometime soon. They are already good sleepers and usually sleep in 4-5 hour chunks at night which is not terrible. All of the books say that we have to go off of their adjusted age (subtracting ~5 weeks from their actual age to account for the fact they were born early) when looking for milestones - that would make the twins 5 weeks old. The book I am currently reading during my pumping sessions targets 7-9 weeks for when they might sleep through the night. I'll keep you updated on our success. :-)

Kevin and I got another night out this past weekend and attended the wedding of one of his basketball coaches. It was a lot of fun, though I learned how exhausting it is just getting out the door - getting the bottles prepared for the babies and myself beautified took a lot out of me, so that by the time we got to the wedding, I was already beat.

We have been enjoying the daily changes in our babies. Both are more alert and awake. They smile more and make all sorts of interesting noises. We took our first walk as a family the other night as Philly is enjoying a break from the heat/humidity for a few days. Today we are planning to take the kids over to Kevin's parents for another mini-adventure. We haven't gone many places with them yet so this is a big step for us.

Here are some new pictures:

Hope hamming it up in one of our bouncy seats.
Above, Jack in his tie onesie for the last time (it is too small for my growing boy!). Below is Jack chilling after a feeding.

My dad and his grandbabies right before a nap.
Someone else likes the activity mat as much as Hope and Jack! Below is my first attempt at video clips/iMovie - Kevin caught one of Hope's new noises as well as some other cute shots of both kids with our camera.

Updates, photos and weight checks!!!

Hey all,
It has been a busy past few days (that is compared to our normal taking care of infant twins busy). Uncle Ben and Aunt Marianne came down from New England for some uncle/aunt bonding time with Hope and Jack on Saturday. It was Kevin's mom's side's day at the Phillies game with almost the entire family in attendance and we didn't want to miss out. Despite the 90° heat with our seats in full sun, and the inability of the Phillies to hold onto a 9-4 lead, we enjoyed our first outing without the twins. It was great to see everyone and gush about the babies. Thanks Ben and Marianne!

Here we are decked out before the game:

Sunday was Kevin's first Father's Day. We didn't do anything special other than just hanging out and enjoying the kids. I tried to pamper Kevin with homemade meals and a reduction in my usual "requests" for help emptying the dishwasher, taking out the trash, etc. (husband of editor's note: the family did a tremendous job with the Father's Day celebration. Who knew Hope could cook crabcakes and Jack could pick out such a nice gift. Kevin).

As you can see, Jack enjoyed Father's Day as much as his Dad!

Today Hope and Jack had their 2 month visit at the pediatrician. (Can you belive it's already been 2 months???) Hope now weighs 8 lbs 1 oz and Jack is 7 lbs!!! Both kids are doing so great! They got their first batch of immunizations today which was a little rough for both kids and also for mom!

We got these onesies from one of Kevin's colleagues. Kevin took these pictures in an attempt to snap the perfect shot to share with the teacher. As you can see, it is hard to get them both to pose at the same time.
I had these onesies embroidered by a friend of my dad's. I love them!

XOXO to you all!

Another new post??

Hey all,
I know you are all shocked to see another new post so soon, but seeing as the last one was mostly pictures, this is still overdue. Hope and Jack were privileged to have a visit from our good friends Bridget and Dave this past weekend. Bridget arrived on Wednesday to help out at twin central and Dave joined us Friday night. All four of our family were spoiled by their visit as Uncle Dave and Auntie Bridget were expert bottle feeders, diaper changers, and baby rockers. To top that, they took over the kitchen and our fridge/freezer is now overflowing with delicious meals so that we do not have to think about what to eat for dinner for many meals to come. Thanks guys! I wish you lived closer. :-)

Here are the twins decked out and ready for a walk around the neighborhood. Despite my lightweight double snap-n-go stroller, it was exhausting pushing them up some of the hills and I was happy to have Bridget by my side to take a turn at the helm. I am a long way from my old runner shape.
Here are Hope and Dave after a feeding. She was captivated by him and it was so cute. Sleep deprivation makes us a little silly. Here is how i found the kids positioned by Kevin Sunday night/Monday morning after their middle of the night bottles - not sure if you can read the clock in the picture but it says 4:49am.

Hope needed a shoulder to lean on during a recent nap.
Jack posing for the camera as always.

New Pictures

Here are some new pictures for you guys. Sorry it's taken me awhile to get them up. Things are a little busy and the days get away from me. Regardless, here they are . . . pretty cute, I think!!!

Jack in his formal onesie.

Jack as Major Cutie!
Both kids chillin' in bed one morning last week with me.

Being difficult posing for the picture.
It's a lot easier to capture the cute poses when asleep (Jack).
Hope always wakes up from her naps ready to eat. As usual, Jack doesn't seemed phased.
Tummy time!
which Jack (above) and Hope (below) both enjoy . . .
But not for long!