Happy Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Fiegel 5.

This Christmas was fun, because it was the first one the Colin and Veronica really got into. I think Veronica “got it” more than Colin — he’s still too into the moment to get caught up in the anticipation like she does. 

Throughout Advent, we did a family activity every night as part of our new Advent calendar (okay, we did end up skipping a few of the activities — no matter how carefully I planned it, a few things just didn’t work out). That worked out well because it helped us get in most of the fun Christmas-related things that often end up getting missed. Our calendar included things like “eat a candy cane” or “decorate and eat a cookie for dessert” or “go for a neighborhood lights walk.” 

I also had the kids write letters to Santa one night, which was very helpful when it came to getting presents. Veronica’s list included such items as “a purple car” and “candy (not crunchy),” while Colin’s include “a car,” “a motorcycle” and “crunchy candy.” And Santa did his best to make their wishes come true. 

Veronica’s favorite gifts, hands down, were the dolls. She got a Cabbage Patch doll — Gigi — from my parents (well, two, if you count Colin’s — Carl — which she immediately appropriated) and one that was a bit more in the style of an American Girl doll — Cassie — from us. In second place would probably be the absolutely wonderful campfire set my sister made the twins for playing camping (which they do nearly every day) and the food my mom knit to go with it. 

Veronica sitting next to Cassie. “She a big kid.
Not a baby like my other babies.”

Colin’s favorite gifts were the matchbox cars Ethan gave him (well, actually he preferred the cars Ethan gave Veronica, so while she was taking Carl, he was taking those) and the motorcycle Santa brought. In fact, he liked the motorcycle so much Veronica immediately wanted one too. (That didn’t go well … silly Santa, you always should bring two of everything.) Since Christmas, though, I think the campfire may have moved into first place. Colin has been cooking over that campfire for several meals a day. 

Colin with one of his new cars. “Look. A boat on top.”

Unfortunately, we ended up canceling our trip to Wisconsin to see John’s family on Christmas Day. I think we had packed just a little too much “go” into the previous few days. We ended up on Christmas with two crabby little kids and one crabby (and it turns out, sick) big kid. We didn’t want to spend a total of three hours trapped in the car with them in that state, so we ended up staying home. That was a bummer (and Veronica screamed in anger for a good hour after we told her we weren’t going), but I think it ended up being better to let everyone sleep and unwind. 

Pretty nails

We have been promising Veronica since summer that if she stopped chewing her fingernails, we would paint them for her. She has been obsessed with having painted nails ever since I got a mani-pedi around this time last year. And while I still believe that in general, two years old is too young to have painted nails, I completely see the bribery value in being flexible on this one. 

So on Friday before bed, after a week of promises, we painted Veronica’s fingernails. (Colin was not allowed to get his nails painted because he, unfortunately, has picked up Veronica’s nail biting habit — he’ll get his manicure when he can go a week without chewing). And she is thrilled.

It’s very funny to watch — periodically, in the middle of play, she’ll pause for a minute to admire her nails. And the first thing she does when encountering someone new is to show them her pretty red nails. She really wanted purple nails, but the purple polish our neighbor bought for her had dried out … so she was stuck with red. 

However, capitalizing on the bribe factor, I did promise her that when she goes a whole day without going potty in her diaper or pull-up, I will go buy her purple nail polish. Her response: “And pink too!” And so, we have ourselves a deal.

On a completely unrelated note, we are starting to suspect that Colin might be lactose intolerant. He has been suffering from some intestinal distress (as in completely liquid poops) for about a week and a half. Because he wasn’t getting dehydrated or showing signs of distress (except when he was a mess), his doctor wasn’t concerned, saying it was probably a lingering virus, which I also suspected. 

But as the one who was blessed with at least half of the cleanup, I was getting desperate. So we decided to eliminate everything from his diet that might be irritating his intestines from his diet. He already gets a probiotic every morning, but we started giving him a second dose in the evening. Then we took away all dairy, citrus and sugar. And was added lots of rice, bananas and blackberries. And after several days, he started to get better.

So after a few days, we started adding in cheese — no problems. Sugar — still did okay. Milk — oh crap (literally). So we went back to the soy milk (which he quite likes), and he has been okay again. We’re going to wait a full week this time before we try the milk again. And if the problem returns, we’ll be seeing the doctor for a test. 

Waiting for Christmas

The twins are old enough this year to start to understand Christmas, both its religious and its secular aspects. And they are very excited. We’ve been able, miraculously, to fit in a good number of special activities this year to help us get into the spirit (hard to do with the temperatures hovering in the 50s most of the time — my parsley is growing in the garden again).

This year, I decided that I wanted to make an activity-based Advent calendar for our family, rather than just having the “open the doors and eat a chocolate” calendar. (Don’t worry, we have that one too.) Our activities have ranged from buying a gift for a child who wouldn’t otherwise get any presents (Day 1) to listening to Christmas music at dinner or going for a neighborhood light walk after dinner. 

It’s a fun way to start the day: The kids get up and everyone runs to the fireplace, where our “calendar” hangs. Then Ethan reads what we’re going to do that night. We’re behind on a few (sorry, I didn’t realize they only turn the Zoo Lights on Friday through Sunday — we’ll either get caught up tonight or next Friday), but we’re doing pretty good at keeping up, really. 

We kicked off the season by taking the Santa Train up to Lincoln Square for dinner. It was crazy crowded (as it always is, since they run it at rush hour), but the kids had a blast. Veronica has been telling us that she wants to do it again. We also wrote letters to Santa (a first for us this year) and decorated gingerbread houses, which was really a lot of fun.

So pop over to the Photos 2 page. I’ve uploaded a bunch of pictures for you to see.

Big kids

Veronica has long been obsessed with the idea of being a big kid. For the longest time, if we called her a girl, she would reply, “I not a girl. I a big kid.” Now she understands that she can be both, but she is very proud of not being a baby any longer. 

Colin has just come to the big kid party recently, but now he often joins in the chorus, informing us that “Colin a big kid, Mommy” at random times throughout the day. He too is becoming more self aware, and realizes that being a big kid comes with privileges that babies and little kids don’t get. 

Veronica now is taking it one step farther: she has become aware of the size difference between her and Colin (and, to be honest, probably the developmental difference too, since she is further along the path than him in many areas). The other day, when they were out walking, Ethan was “balance walking” along something that John didn’t think the twins were ready to tackle. He told Veronica it was okay for Ethan to do because Ethan was bigger. Veronica promptly said, “I’m bigger than Colin, so I do it too.” 

So now we have to be careful to make the distinction that Ethan gets to do things because he is older, not because he is bigger.

Veronica already treats Colin like her little brother, mothering him and yelling at him when he is doing something wrong. (“Time out Colin. Time out!” “Clean up toys Colin. Clean up.”) That’s more a function of her natural bossiness, a trait she shares with Ethan (poor Colin, he has four people bossing him around every day), but we want to be sure she realizes that she and Colin are the same age. Otherwise, I am sure that will cause problems down the road. 

“Normal” and other labels

Colin had is annual review for Early Intervention yesterday, in which we sit down with his coordinator and all his therapists (a dwindling number, thank God) and determine how much progress he has made and what services he still needs and qualifies for. This will be his last annual review because on his 3rd birthday he no longer qualifies for Early Intervention services and would move to getting services through the school district if he still qualified. 

Fortunately, it doesn’t look like Colin will still need services by his 3rd birthday. Colin is rapidly approaching the point where he will be labeled as “normal.” Already, the medical, therapeutic, educational professionals have stopped labeling him as a “preemie” and adjusting his age, despite the fact that in many ways he still functions at a level that is more in line with when he was supposed to be born, rather than when he actually arrived. But within the 12-month range of skills that comprises age 2, he is “normal” in nearly every way — at or ahead of where he should be for his age. The only exceptions are weight and height (he qualifies as “mildly malnourished” on the charts for his weight, which means he continues to qualify for his monthly nutritionist visits) and his gross motor skills, for which he continues to receive physical therapy. 

For Colin, “normal” is a label we’ve been hoping for since before his birth. It’s a good label, and one we weren’t always sure we would achieve. And while he will likely continue to receive nutrition and physical therapy for the time being, we all are now confident that he will no longer need services after he turns three. We are lucky. I know many parents whose children were born under the same circumstances as Colin and Veronica never get that happy label of normal for their kids. 

Happy as we are about both twins being “normal” developmentally, it’s not really a label we think much about at home. But we do have lots of other labels for both kids, some good and some not. 

Veronica often is labeled as a “girly girl” and she most certainly is a “drama queen.” But those labels ignore the fact that she’s also very athletic and smart. Her athleticism recently earned her the nickname of “Rocket” because she can throw a ball all the way across the room. (Really, the girl has an arm.)

Veronica loves to pick out her outfits, and basks in the compliments they inevitable garner, since people love to talk to little girls about their clothes, but she also revels in her power. On Saturday, when we were grocery shopping, I turned around just in time to realize that she was shot putting the cans I was handing her into the shopping cart, rather than dropping them over the side. Pretty impressive, except for the fact that Colin was sitting inches away, and there were something like 10,000 people in the store. (Reminder to self: Never, ever, ever go grocery shopping on a Saturday afternoon. Really.)

Colin is mischievous, curious, lives in the moment and is strangely afflicted with deafness whenever we ask him to stop doing something. He likes to beat up on his brother and sister (often inappropriately so), but he also adores being “mothered” by his sister. “Read to me Roni,” he asks routinely. And the twins will retire to the cushion on the floor where Colin will snuggle next to Veronica while she “reads” him a story.

I love it when they actually interact with each other like that. Or when they hold hands and walk down the aisles at the grocery store, showing each other interesting things. When they fight over toys and compete for my attention … well that’s not quite so fun. 

Visual update

I have been a very delinquent blogger — I can’t believe it’s been five weeks since I last posted an update. In my defense, life has been very busy. But then again, it has been since the twins arrived. I guess I’ve just been lazy. 

So here, in a pictorial nutshell, is what we’ve been up to since late October.

We’ve discovered playing dress up …

And wearing dresses.

We fell in love with Elmo … 

And Halloween turned us into little monkeys (who spent a lot of time jumping on the bed).

We hunted for the perfect pumpkin …

And got our hair cut at the salon for the first time.

Showing off the new 'doos.
Notice the hairband and the bow in Roni's hair 

We became obsessed with camping and day camping (hiking) …

At the North Park Nature Center.

And all got new boots so we could keep doing it throughout the fall. 

We love attacking big brother (who generally enjoys being attacked) …

And goofing around with Mom for the camera. 

We continue to struggle with sleeping — especially Veronica — and to grow. Colin is now up to the 10th percentile for both height and weight, and Veronica is in the 50th percentile for height (I haven't tracked her weight on the charts) and is now even wearing some 3T clothes. 

Veronica is a fashionista, who often now insists that we photograph her outfit of the day to share with Grandma and Grandpa. But she is also quite the athlete, and has been seen imitating the warmups of the college basketball players while watching them on TV. She’s also very interested in soccer and playing catch, and has a good arm and a good leg. These interests join her obsession with biking (it really is an obsession), her constant desire to go running (she wants to do a race with Mommy in the spring), her love of swimming (still a little fish, most days) and her daily requests to go camping or day camping (what we call hiking). 

Colin still likes to tackle and hit his way out of frustration, but is starting to do a better job of using his growing vocabulary. If he is in the right mood, he can identify most of his letters and numbers correctly, and continues to show a strong engineering inclination. He is also the child with the most cat-like curiosity (as in “curiosity killed the cat”), and we constantly have to remember how tall he is getting and find new places to stash potentially dangerous items. 

Two years ago today …

Two years ago today, Colin finally came home from the hospital. He was a tiny peanut, but had finally managed to kick the oxygen habit, and was at long last taking all of his feeds by mouth. He sure has come a long way:

Colin leaving the hospital, swimming in his preemie-sized clothes
and only fitting in his car seat when propped up with blankets on either side. 

All the kids together at last. Look how little they all are. 

Colin today, using himself as a canvass and debating
about auditioning for the new Kiss cover band. 

Diva and the Brute

Colin is in a brutal stage right now. Literally brutal. Both Ethan and Veronica are sporting large scratches on their faces at the moment, courtesy of Colin. He is constantly attacking one of us, either hitting, scratching, head butting or, his current favorite for Veronica, pulling hair. 

I can understand when he does it because we’ve been roughhousing and he just keeps getting more and more wound up. He lacks the ability to control himself in those situations yet. But when these attacks are unprovoked I just don’t know what to do. On Saturday, as we were getting the twins ready for bed, Colin suddenly just reached over and grabbed Veronica’s eye and gouged her cheek with his finger nails. Now I know she often kicks him or pokes him while they’re laying side by side, but I was watching them at the time and she hadn’t done anything. 

Yesterday morning, Colin did the same thing to Ethan. They had been wrestling, but Ethan had stopped roughhousing a few minutes earlier because Colin was starting to get carried away. Colin reached out and grabbed his cheek and left a big gouge. (A side lesson from this is that we need to trim Coin’s fingernails more often.)

We try putting him in time out, but that generally doesn’t seem to phase him at all. He just sits there and watches the action until we tell him he can get up. I think we’re going to have to try putting him in solitary confinement (i.e., his crib) next time it happens. Because it really hurts. 

Veronica is Colin’s favorite target, by far. And unfortunately, this tendency to attack Veronica is coupled with her melodramatic diva tendencies — not a good combination. It becomes very hard to tease out whether he actually did anything to her, if so, whether it actually hurt, or whether she’s just wailing because she likes the drama. (And the girl does like drama.) 

Now, of course, Veronica is often not blameless in these situations. She often is guilty of stealing toys away from Colin and is very fond of bossing him around. (I was downstairs getting something for them the other day, and heard Veronica upstairs yell “Time out Colin! Time out!”) The upshot is that we’re not able to leave them alone unsupervised, which makes getting dinner ready, changing the laundry and even going to the bathroom more challenging. 

I’m sure we’ll get out of this phase with only minor scars, but I do hope it passes quickly. 

Play date

Colin and Veronica had their first play date today, with Jasper. And it was a drop-off play date to boot. Jasper’s oldest sister has been in Ethan’s class the past two years, and so John and their mom decided it would be nice to start having weekly play dates so the kids could get used to being around other kids, and without Mom or Dad there. 

Coordinating the timing was a bit tricky, because Jasper sleeps until after 8:00, and takes a while to get going in the morning, but Colin and Veronica are ready for nap by 10:00. As they’re waking up from nap, Jasper is going down for his nap. So we settled on 9:00 today, and Carrie volunteered to host. 

Colin was a little put off by the idea of being dropped off (No, Daddy, no. No. No. No.) But they both were pretty quickly engaged by Jasper’s toys (oooh, shiny things), and all was well. 

When I got home from work, Veronica proceeded to tell me all about it. “Play at Jasper’s house. Jasper’s house pretty. Have two bath rooms. Our house pretty too. Jasper have two tables. Jasper have trucks. With wheels. Jasper has eyes. Two eyes. Colin cried [he fell down at one point and cried a bit]. Played with toys.”

She said a whole lot more, but she was talking so fast that I could only catch a fraction of the commentary. But I am relieved to know that Jasper still has eyes (I haven’t seen him for several weeks), and that our house is pretty too. 

Next week is at our house. We’ll see how it goes. 

A week of doctors

After a relatively light schedule over the summer, we’re back full-swing into our routine of many doctor visits. Thankfully the number is tapering, and we’re approaching what would be “normal” for any family with three kids … but they always seem to fall in clusters, no matter how hard I try to be careful in my scheduling. 

This week, Colin was back at the pulmonologist on Monday, and on Tuesday the twins had their first official dentist appointment. (Colin had been to the dentist once before to make sure he didn’t have “preemie teeth,” a condition that is fairly common in micro preemies like him where the teeth don’t have enough enamel and are more brittle than they should be.)

Poor John ended up taking all three kids to see Dr. Lestrud (Colin’s pulmonologist), thanks to the teacher’s strike and my work schedule. It made for a very full, and I would imagine a rather raucous, exam room. Overall, Dr. Lestrud is happy with Colin’s progress. His growth is good (for Colin — he’s on the growth chart, unadjusted, at roughly 4% for weight and 7% for height), he’s generally healthy, his lungs sound clear … but he still has a little rattle in his lungs when he exhales. 

So we’re back on the inhaler for the fall/winter/spring season. Fortunately, they seem to be going a little easier this year … at least so far. 

The dentist appointment also involved the entire family (myself included this time) bringing chaos to the office. Veronica was very nervous about going to the dentist; Colin not so much. As we were walking from the van to the dentist office, Veronica looked up and me and asked, “Roni cry at dentist office?”

“No sweetie, you won’t need to cry. Irma is just going to look at your teeth.” So we practiced saying “Ahhhhh” and “Eeeeee” for the rest of the walk. 

Once we were inside, Veronica was very serious and told me, “Colin go first.” She is very good at volunteering Colin to go first for anything new. 

Colin, of course, was his usual “in the moment” self. I don’t know if it’s just his personality or an area where Veronica is ahead of him developmentally, but he doesn’t seem to think about/grasp the significance of things. If we tell him we’re going to the doctor, he marches off to the doctor. If we tell Veronica we’re going to the doctor, she starts imagining the visit to the doctor, starting with the toys in the waiting room and running through the possibility of shots. 

Both kids did very well. Colin sat in the chair by himself, but John had to hold his hands. He (Colin) was afraid of “Mr. Thirsty” — the tool that sucks the extra saliva out of your mouth — so he just used his water bottle to rinse after his cleaning. Veronica sat on my lap, but was fascinated by Mr. Thirsty and had fun putting it in her mouth and taking it back out. 

Colin still has one molar left to come in, so he has 19 teeth. Veronica is still at 16, but two of her molars are poking through. (Hurry it up already, teeth, we’re tired of this teething process.) Colin’s teeth are showing signs of grinding; Veronica’s look good. Overall, though, they got two thumbs up from the dentist and the hygienist, and we’ll be back in six months. 

Tomorrow. Afternoon.

Veronica decided at the end of last week to get back on the potty training bandwagon. Colin has been doing great, and even can go for a big stretch keeping his diaper dry. Unfortunately (from a potty-training perspective), we went camping again last weekend. Not the easiest circumstances for potty training.

It poured rain pretty much the entire way to Wisconsin (not the best start to a camping weekend), and we weren't sure we were going to be able to get the tent set up (it has a mesh top). Fortunately it stopped raining before we got to the campground, and the ground wasn’t too wet. So Colin and Veronica amused themselves by jumping in a mud puddle while we set up camp.

They were having a blast, getting all muddy and running around, until Veronica hit the edge of the mud puddle on a downhill run and landed smack in the middle of it, on her back. I wasn’t sure where the bathrooms were, so I was glad she allowed herself to be talked down from that crisis. We basically got camp set up just in time for the twins to go to bed, so we didn’t get to do any exploring that night (although Ethan did).

The next morning, Veronica told me she needed to go potty. By now, we had located the flushies (I wasn’t going to even attempt to bring Veronica into the pit toilets — they were pretty ripe here at the end of the season), so Veronica and I set out for her first bathroom break of the trip.

It was a bit of a hike, but we hustled along because I wasn’t sure how long she would be able to hold it. When we got to the bathroom, I took her into one of the stalls so she could go potty. She took one look at the toilet, turned to me and said, “No go potty. Go tomorrow. Afternoon.”

And sure enough, Sunday afternoon when we got home, she went straight into the bathroom and went potty on the toilet like a big girl.

(Colin said pretty much the same thing when I took him to the bathroom. Apparently they’re willing to potty train at home, but not so much with “foreign” toilets yet.)

Elmo fever

My kids love Elmo. They’ve never really seen Sesame Street. They don’t have any Elmo toys (okay, they didn’t have any Elmo toys until this weekend), but they’re both crazy about Elmo. And I don’t know why. 

They know Elmo because he is on their overnight diapers. (We do cloth during the day, but use the extra absorbent overnight disposables at night.) But he isn’t on every diaper; some diapers have Cookie Monster, or Ernie, or Grover or, once in a great while, Big Bird. 

I think it may have started one night when Veronica was particularly overtired, and everything was making her cry, and kick. Putting a diaper on a kicking two-year-old is painful, so I’ll try anything to get her to stop kicking. On this night, she had Cookie Monster on her diaper, so I started singing “C is for Cookie” in my best Cookie Monster voice. The next night she had Elmo on her diaper, so I sang one of Elmo’s songs from our Sesame Street CD. And now it has become a tradition that I sing a song for whichever character appears on each twin’s diaper at bedtime. 

But Elmo is most definitely the favorite. So when we saw a stuffed Elmo at the thrift store my sister-in-law works at yesterday, we had to buy it for the twins — even though we knew they would end up fighting over it. I left it sitting out last night, and when Veronica came down with me in the morning for breakfast, I heard a joyful squeal and then “Elmo!”

After an extended love-fest between Veronica and Elmo, I convinced her to let Elmo eat sitting next to Baby Gabby (who takes all her meals with us, and has her own special bowl that Veronica must give her before every meal). So Ethan helped her find a second special bowl for Elmo, and we were just getting ready to sit down for breakfast when Colin came down. 

“Elmo!” And Colin scooped Elmo up (from his breakfast) to have his own love fest, which of course, really upset Veronica. And as predicted, the fights over Elmo began. At 7:15 in the morning. 

We ended up setting a timer after breakfast so that each kiddo got Elmo for three minutes … until Colin lost interest and went to play with something else. Veronica was generous enough to let Colin take Elmo in his stroller for their morning walk, and since then they’ve actually done pretty well with sharing. But we’ll be in trouble the next time they both are upset: Elmo has become the new go-to baby for comfort. 

I have a feeling we may end up becoming a two-Elmo household. Sigh. 

Big brother is back!!

Ethan got home yesterday afternoon from a week-and-a-day visit with Grandma and Grandpa. When he first left, the twins would ask about him multiple times a day. They would hear a door close: “Ethan?” “No, Ethan is at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.” We would talk about going to the park. “With Ethan?” “No, Ethan is at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.” 

But by the end of the week, they were only asking about him a couple of times a day. (Veronica wanted to know at breakfast each morning whether Ethan had his shoes on yet.) So I was wondering how they would react when he got back. I know they had been enjoying the more “undivided” attention, but they also generally enjoy having their b-bro around. 

Unfortunately, I was at work when the homecoming happened, but I tried calling around the time I thought Ethan would be getting back to see how the trip (and re-entry) had gone. No one answered when I called, so I just left a message. 

John called me back an hour or two later, and said that he hadn’t even heard the phone ring over the noise of the reunion. Apparently when Veronica and Colin saw Ethan, they both dropped what they were doing, started squealing with happiness, and the three kids dissolved into a pile of full-body, squirming, squealing hugs on the floor. 

Even thinking about it makes my heart warm. I’m so glad they all love each other so much. 

Sensitive girl

Veronica is a very sensitive girl — not so much in the emotional sense, although she can be sensitive that way. What I’m talking about is more of a physical sensitivity. She is very aware of textures, and averse to being wet — at all. Even one drop of water on her clothes makes her unhappy and wanting to change. She will tell you immediately if her clothes aren’t adjusted just right (“Too tight. Too tight!!!!”), and absolutely insists on changing her shorts or pants if her diaper has leaked in the slightest. 

Sometimes I worry that she goes beyond normal in these sensitivities; other times I think it’s probably just a control thing. (Veronica does like her control.) 

Two weeks ago, the old clay pipes that drained the water from our kitchen sink, dishwasher, laundry tub and basement drain lost their 114 year fight with the tree roots and disintegrated. (Okay, they may have disintegrated months ago, we just realized it two weeks ago.) Being without laundry with a family of five that includes two cloth-diapered toddlers was not fun. Especially when the time to diagnose and repair the problem stretched out to more than a week. (Thank goodness for our wonderful neighbors, who let us use their laundry several times.)

Because of the lack of washing machine (or, more precisely, the lack of dirty water drainage), we switched to disposable diapers until the problem could be fixed. For the first day, Veronica was fine with the change. It was like an adventure: disposable diapers all day long, not just at night. But by the end of the second day, she was done with the disposables. She wanted her pretty cloth diapers back. 

“No. Other diaper. Blue diaper,” she told me as I tried to put a clean disposable on her. 

“But Roni, we can’t use the disposables because the pipes are broken. Remember?”

“No. Cloth better. Cloth better!” My little environmentalist. (As if that had anything to do with her desire for cloth diapers — it’s all about the colors.)

Today, because we’re starting to get serious about the potty training, I thought I would try out the pull-ups on Veronica. I haven’t quite gotten to the point where I think we’re ready for the cloth training pants (although I’m close), so I bought a package of the disposable pullups, because it’s much easier to pull a diaper up and down when the kiddos want to go potty than to keep taking their diapers off. 

I got the pullup halfway up Veronica’s one leg when she started to freak out. “Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!!!” So I took it off and tried again, only to get an even stronger reaction. 

I gave up and put the diaper back on — and I may be going out to buy the cloth training pants sooner than I thought. Or maybe it was just because she’s tired and feeling a little off. Who knows? 

(Colin is doing really well on the potty training, and sometimes will even ask to go before he gets his diaper wet. I think if we were to decide to actually make an effort to push the training, he would get it very quickly. We’re just not ready to make that effort yet.)

I am hoping that this super-sensitive phase is just that — a phase that will pass (quickly with luck). And in the mean time, well I guess we’ll just continue to deal with her little quirks. 

Smackdown

Colin and Veronica have very different personalities. You might even call them polar opposites at times. But they have two big things in common: They’re two and they lack impulse control. And right now, that means our house more resembles a boxing ring or wresting match than anything. 

Veronica’s preferred response to anything is to start swinging. Colin still has a more varied repertoire, although I’m grateful that the biting has more or less stopped since the day he bit John. (Veronica was so excited to tell me when I got home that Colin was in time out because he bit Daddy.) We’ve been working hard to eliminate the head butting (it really hurts), and the wrestling Veronica to the ground is slowly giving way to just hitting back, but he is a bit more varied in his venting. 

I’ve also started working on the concept of “sorry,” and have been making the twins apologize to each other if they do something they know they shouldn’t — like stealing a book out of the other’s hands or hitting. 

Colin very clearly understands “sorry” already: A couple of days ago, he smashed into Veronica while she was reading and knocked the book out of her hands. He immediately said sorry and leaned in to kiss her, whereupon she hauled off and smacked him. After braving the flailing arms to separate them (Veronica continuing to hit Colin, who at this point has fallen into her lap from the onslaught; Colin trying to defend himself and get a few jabs in of his own) I had to explain to Veronica that Colin was trying to apologize and hitting him for saying he was sorry was really not the right response. 

Poor Colin, I’m not sure I’ve seen him issue an unprompted apology since then. And really, I can hardly blame him after the response that met his last attempt.

It's potty time!

We appear to be in the early stages of potty training, led not by us, but by … Colin. Yes, Colin. This started earlier in the week, when he was running around the house with his diaper off. (Colin LOVES to run around with his diaper off. Veronica, not such a fan.) Apparently, Colin came up to Ethan and said, “Potty. Potty.” So Ethan told John that he thought Colin wanted to use the potty.

John was skeptical (they just turned two less than a month ago, and while the medical world may stop adjusting preemies’ ages at two, in reality they shouldn’t have turned two until the end of September). But he dutifully put Colin on the toilet to see what would happen. And Colin peed.

They called me at work to let me know the exciting news, and I figured it was just a fluke. 

That night as I was getting the twins into their pjs, just for fun, I asked them if they wanted to try going potty on the toilet before they went to bed. Colin immediately started saying, “Potty, potty” again, and Veronica was saying “yes” as well. 

And again, Colin went on the toilet. Veronica, who showed a very early interest in going on the toilet last year, and who generally can’t stand being wet, didn’t have the patience to sit long enough to have success. However, they both went on the potty the next day at bed time.

Colin went on the potty three times yesterday and two times the day before, so this seems to be a fairly consistent interest — as long as his diaper is not on. He has not yet asked us to go when he’s wearing a diaper, although he clearly can tell when he needs to go without it. Because he’s really going, not just squeezing out a couple of drops.

John told Veronica we would buy her purple underwear when she’s ready to go on the potty all the time; Colin wants blue. And last night an over-tired Veronica was most upset that we were putting her in a diaper rather than her purple undies. So I had to explain the whole idea of being potty trained to her again.

I honestly don’t think they’re quite ready to go on their own yet. But I’m not going to stop them from trying if they think so. I would be oh so very happy if they followed in their big brother’s footsteps and got out of diapers early. Because the two things I'm ready to be done with are diapers (big surprise, right?) and cribs. 

Purple Backpack

Veronica is obsessed. She has decided that she needs to have a backpack. But not just any backpack. She needs to have a purple backpack.

While in general I appreciate Veronica’s ability to let us know exactly what is on her mind, there are some times when I think the only reason she speaks so well is because she discovered how much fun it is to make demands. (With a less persistent child, you might be tempted to call them “requests.” But Veronica doesn’t let go — when she wants something, she wants it. Now.)

I don’t know what triggered her need for a backpack, but we were outside a few days ago when she brought it up. “Roni backpack. Purple backpack,” she told me. 

“You want a backpack?” I asked, wanting to be sure I understood what she was telling me. 

“Yes. Purple backpack.” 

I thought it was a reasonable enough request … she’ll be able to carry her own things when we go places. If I buy a reasonably good backpack she’ll still be able to use it when she starts pre-K next year. So I told her I would look for a purple backpack for her. 

And now she asks me about it every day. Several times a day. And she’s losing patience with me because I haven’t been able to find a toddler-sized purple backpack for her. And that is not good. 

So this morning I decided I would use my LL Bean gift card (intended to buy myself something new) to get her a backpack. They have kid-sized packs that should last a few years, and the gift card would help defray the cost (which is slightly higher than I might normally spend on a backpack for a 2-year-old). 

Because Veronica is so particular, I showed her the catalog with the color options, and asked her which one she wanted. She studied it carefully for a minute or two, then pointed to the pink polka dot pack. “That.”

Now while Colin has shown absolutely no interest in a backpack of his own, I know that if I get one for Veronica, I had better have one for him. Otherwise we will be facing a major battle every time the backpack comes out. (Ask me about the red rocking chair some day.) So I showed Colin the catalog with the backpacks, and he immediately pointed to the school bus in the picture. “Bus!!!”

“Yes Colin, that is a bus. Very good. Now which backpack would you like? Do you like the one with sharks?”

Colin: “Bus!!!” 

Okay, I get the picture. Colin doesn’t care, and that's a school bus in the picture. Fine. I’ll pick one and hope you like it. 

And that, my friends, is a perfect example of how differently Colin’s and Veronica’s brains are wired. She is a girl who knows what she wants, and will make sure she gets it. (Purple backpack!) He’s a boy who is excited when he sees a bus (or a train, or a boat or a truck).

No surgery … for at least a year

I was surprised to see John back by noon from Colin’s 11:20 appointment with urologist. That had to be the world’s shortest appointment, especially since the office is at least a 20 minute drive (if you count parking, which you should). 

John said he spent more time looking for the office (they moved to a different floor) than he spent in the appointment. Apparently everything still looks like it has healed well, and the doctor doesn’t see the need to do another surgery for at least a year. So … I guess we’ll go back next summer and see what he thinks at that point. 

So here’s to a summer without surgery! Hip, hip hooray!

The start of another ending?

Okay, I apologize for failing to update the blog with the twins’s doctor visit stats. John took them over, and reported back when he got home. Unfortunately, we didn’t write anything down. So now … sorry. But their visit was unremarkable — which for them is a good thing. Colin was still around 21 pounds 8 ounces, Veronica a little over 25. I think she was 35 inches tall, but John couldn’t remember Colin’s height. We’ll say he remains at least 2 inches shorter than her, though.

The best part of the visit, in my opinion, was that Colin’s lungs sounded great, despite the fact that he had a cold. No wheezing or rattling. Just normal breathing sounds. For us, that’s a major accomplishment. 

Today Colin goes to see the urologist for his six-month follow-up from surgery. I am hoping that we’ll be scheduling his LAST surgery. (Really, I hope it’s his last surgery ever. In his entire life. Ever.) 

I have been using this last surgery as an excuse to avoid scheduling or planning anything: “I’ll plan that/do that/figure that out after we know when Colin’s last surgery is.” So while I’ll be losing my excuse for procrastination, it will be good to be able to put another problem, and set of doctors, behind us. I really like his urologist, but I’ll be happy not to have to see him again.

Otherwise, both twins are working hard on their language skills. Veronica seems to have jumped up to talking like a three-year-old, which again makes people think she is older than Colin. Several times in the past couple of weeks, John or I have gotten the “How far apart are they?” question when we’re out with the kiddos. 

Veronica is now counting to three on her own, and Colin is saying two-word sentences much more often. And both are getting very good at their colors. John is working hard on getting them to consistently answer correctly when asked their age, and on getting Colin to answer the question, “How are you?”

Two turn two at (almost) 2:00 on July 2

This afternoon, at nearly 2:00 (1:51), Colin and Veronica turned two. Looking back on those early days, when we weren’t sure they would make it, let alone what kind of quality of life they would have, it’s hard to imagine that we’ve come so far. 

But here we are … our twins are happy (most of the time), healthy (more or less, although they both have colds right now), rambunctious (always) two-year-olds who enjoy exploring the world and having lots of fun. 

Unlike last year, when Colin couldn’t even sit unsupported yet, the two of them spent their birthday weekend running around, chasing bubbles, playing the sprinkler and generally basking in the love of their extended family. They enjoyed their cake (or at least the frosting), loved opening and playing with their presents, and refused to sleep well at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

Veronica is now not only speaking in longer sentences, but has figured out that she can ask for what she wants. “Mommy, music in van. Kids music.” “Eat yogurt lunch. Eat ham.” “Mommy, sit in chair. Eat breakfast. Sit!”

I think Colin is on the verge of a language breakthrough as well. He has started occasionally putting two words together, and is getting a little easier to understand. But the real reason I think he is about to make a leap forward is that the past couple of days, every time he wakes up, I hear him laying in the crib running through his entire list of words. Veronica “practiced” like that before she started talking up a storm too. 

They also are full-on into the tantrums of two. Veronica has long been the queen of tantrums, but Colin has now gotten into the act as well. •sigh• I hope this stage passes relatively quickly.

Tomorrow we go for their big two-year-old check up, so I’ll be able to update their height and weight. And I’ll add some pictures from the party as well. 

Into the woods, part 2

Okay, I really meant to finish this up the day after I posted part 1, but getting things ready for the twins second birthday party (and the regular busyness of life) got in the way.

The second day of our camping trip was HOT and very, very sticky. I think it bothered the adults much more than the kids, but the lack of nap and the heat had definitely caught up with us by mid afternoon. We took a little drive in the air conditioned van to get some ice cream to cool down a little, and when we got back the whole group headed over to the river to explore. 

That proved to be not such a good plan for the little kiddos, because the footing was very tricky, although they both enjoyed putting their feet in the little puddles in the rocks. But my sister and I headed back with the twins pretty quickly. Unfortunately, Colin fell asleep in the van on the way back to our campsite (a big 5 minute drive). I decided to wake him up right away so I could get them both into the shower to cool down and clean up — and that's where the fun began. 

Colin was not happy with being woken up. The showers were too hot, which made both babies (and Mama) very unhappy. So we were all crabby when we got back to the tent and I tried to get them to eat something (no go). 

And then the thunder started.

It thundered while I was fixing bottles. It thundered while I was trying to get the twins to sleep (Veronica fell asleep almost right away, tired boy … not so much). It thundered while Colin screamed his “I’m overtired and I don’t want to go to sleep” scream. It thundered while Colin woke Veronica up again. It thundered for at least an hour without any rain.

When John came in to take over with the twins, I started packing up the site and loading everything into the van, just in case. It wasn’t a well packed van — there wasn’t really room for people in the van when I was done — but at least everything was under cover. 

And then the rain started … or should I say, the torrential downpour. With more thunder. And lightening, directly overhead. And then hail. And wind. 

Ethan got very scared by the storm’s fury. Fortunately, he was able to retreat into George and Patty’s camper with the other (older) kids to wait out the storm. (This was somewhere between the start of the torrential downpour and the arrival of the hail.) 

After getting him safely inside, I went back to see how John was faring with the twins. They, of course, were not sleeping. We had given up on that. But they also weren’t acting scared. Colin spent the hour and a half of the first storm “reading” his book. The first two very loud cracks of thunder made him jump — right into my arms. But I think that was involuntary, because he didn’t really seem bothered by it.

Meanwhile, Veronica turned the tent into her own private bouncy house. Every time a crack of thunder shook the ground, she would squeal with delight and bounce all around the tent, diving on everything in sight. 

After the first storm wound down, we were finally able to get Colin back to sleep. Veronica took a little while longer (she had to eat the meal John brought over for me first), but she finally settled down and fell asleep as well. 

And the rain continued. But at last the temperatures dropped.

The rain let up enough at bed time that we were able to walk to the bathrooms and brush our teeth. But we had more or less just finished zipping up the tent when the rain started again. Another storm rolled through at around 10:00, but only lasted maybe half an hour. John was able to keep everyone mostly asleep through that one, and they all slept pretty well until we got our 4:15 wake up call from Veronica:

“Mommy! Daddy! Ethan! Col-y!”

We went out to survey the damage (and go to the bathroom): two large-ish trees down in our part of the campground; a gully under our tent where the impromptu river sprang up during the storm; lots of smaller branches down. And while we surveyed, the humidity starting rising … quickly.

Everyone in the group agreed that the tents were unlikely to dry, so after a grand breakfast, we all just stuffed the wet, muddy tents into the backs of the vehicles and decided we would set them up again back home. 

Surprisingly, I think the kids had a great time, despite the less-than-ideal conditions. But we decided that back-to-back camping trips would be too much for them, so Ethan and I went solo for the second trip. But we’ll get them back into the woods again this fall.

In to the woods, part 1

We took the kiddos camping the weekend before last — the twins first camping experience, and our first with them. It was … interesting. Unfortunately, we had the worst possible weather for camping — in the 90s and very, very humid, followed by wild storms that lasted all night long.

We have been trying to get a camping trip together with our neighbors for close to four years. Our plans were somewhat interrupted by my pregnancy and then the arrival of Colin and Veronica. So this year, we were determined to make it work, and we decided to join them on their annual Father’s Day camping trip to the Kankakee River State Park.

John thought he was going to be working that weekend, so my sister agreed to join us so I wouldn’t have to try to keep an eye on all three kids by myself. Fortunately, at the last minute John was able to wrap up his work and come along for the fun. (He may have regretted that later, but …)

We hadn’t been to Kankakee in years, so I made sure I printed out directions from Google maps before we left. We loaded up the van, loaded up the people, and away we went … to the Kankakee County Fairgrounds, which is at the end of a dead-end road on the far side of the “metro” area. Apparently the address listed on the Park's website was incorrect.

So, after much ado that turned what should have been an hour and a half trip into a nearly three hour trip, we arrived at the campground and got set up. Ethan immediately joined the other kids and started playing, and the three adults went about setting up camp and keeping the twins out of trouble. (Poison ivy must like hot and dry conditions, because it was everywhere.)

I knew Colin and Veronica would like camping — they both love to be outside and get very upset when we have to come in. They like exploring, and love dirt and plants and sticks and stones. And I was right. The heat didn’t seem to bother them nearly as much as it bothered me, and they had fun exploring. Veronica was fascinated by the daddy long-legs (or “Daddy Legs” as she called them) and Colin seems to have fun wherever he is.

I was very worried about how the sleeping would go. The twins aren’t what you would call good sleepers — it’s rare even now that we get a night where they both sleep through — and when you’re in a tent the whole world knows when you’ve hit a rough spot. But that first night, they actually did surprisingly well. Both twins slept pretty much through, until Veronica woke up at 4-something in the morning and was delighted to realize we were all together:

“Col-y!” “Mommy!” “Daddy!” — announced in a voice that pretty much precluded any more sleep.

>> To be continued … 

Colin enjoying some fresh fruit in his new camp chair, courtesy of Aunt Deb.

Roni in her new camp chair too.

We really shouldn't compare

Veronica is very verbal. I can’t even count the number of words she knows, and she has been talking in sentences (she averages three to five words now) for more than a month. She also speaks fairly clearly, so we generally can figure out what she is saying without too much trouble. 

A typical morning with Veronica will start with her coming downstairs and saying, “Good morning Mommy. How are you?” (I’m not sure whether she understands what she’s asking with the how are you, or if she just knows that’s what people ask each other … but she does ask.) She still doesn’t use verbs consistently (Roni shoes on. Go outside.) But she is capable of explaining fairly complicated ideas already. 

Colin, on the other hand, has a good vocabulary but is very hard to understand when he speaks. Part of that is because he almost always has his hand in his mouth, but he also tends to drop either the first or last part of the words. He also typically still only uses single words and really isn’t putting words together into sentences (two word or otherwise) yet. 

So during Colin’s six-month EI evaluation, I asked about getting him evaluated for speech again. The speech therapist came out this afternoon and spent some time playing with Colin (during which she is doing her evaluation).

The speech therapist told John she would imagine it’s hard not to compare Colin and Veronica, but that he is on target (for his actual age) for speech. Veronica is just a verbal overachiever. 

So yeah! We won’t be adding another therapy session to our weeks. We will, however, do a follow-up in three months to make sure Colin is still progressing on schedule. Because, hey, that’s what you do when you have a crew following your child’s development. 

Growing, good

Just a quick post with good news: Colin had his monthly nutritionist appointment this morning. He gained 8 ounces in the past two weeks, and has grown half an inch since last month. 

That puts him at 22 pounds 8 ounces and 32 inches long. He now is sitting at about the 13th percentile for his adjusted age for both height and weight (the last month we’ll be able to use the adjusted age since they officially stop adjusting for prematurity at two years). He is up to about the 6th percentile for his actual age. 

For a boy who wasn’t even on the growth chart until he was 19 months old, that’s pretty good.

City kids

John and the twins were walking home from the park on Sunday morning when Veronica spotted a rat sitting on the curb. “Doggie,” she said, as she pointed to the rat. (Doggie is her default for any animal she’s not familiar with.)

“No, that’s a rat,” John told her. 

“Pretty. Pretty rat.” (To be fair, John said it did have a very nice, fluffy coat, so it may well have been a pretty rat.)

So there the three of them stood, Veronica admiring the “pretty rat” while Colin chanted “Rat! Rat! Rat!” beside her, until John told them it was time to move on.

“Bye-bye rat,” the twins both said as they waved goodbye to their discovery. 

Only in the city.

Growing, and growing up

Colin had an appointment with the allergist yesterday — out in the suburbs because you can get an appointment there about three months sooner than here in the city. We made the appointment early this spring, when it seemed like Colin was getting sick every time the tree pollen counts were high. Ethan was only about 19 months old when his allergies were diagnosed (which is really pretty young to have developed seasonal allergies), so we figured we’d better find out whether Colin was following in his footsteps.

He was a champ, and only cried a little when they were poking him for the allergy testing. Then he was off roaming the exam room for 15 minutes, leaving a wake of destruction. Probably the worst was after he discovered the garbage can and then managed to throw away two of his toys before I could stop him. (Thank goodness for a dishwasher.) So that was good … we don’t have to add a new doctor to our collection. 

He also weighed in at just a little over 22 pounds, and was 32 inches long. (Roni, for comparison, was at the doctor last week because of a mysterious rash, and was 25 pounds. And she’s still at least 2 inches taller than Colin, although we haven’t measured her recently.)

Colin is also making progress with his physical therapy. His therapist wants him to go two weeks now without wearing his orthotics so she can see how his feet do. Right now, the orthotics provide some stability, but mainly are to help keep his arch from collapsing. He already was spending a lot of time out of the orthotics, because they’re hot and a pain in the butt to put on. So as soon as we got the okay to let him do some walking without them, we jumped at the opportunity. 

At a minimum, Colin will be switching from the over the ankle orthotics he has now to an insert that is more like what adults get when they get orthotics. However, if his arches don’t show any signs of distress, maybe we’ll get lucky and be able to drop those as well.

And while Veronica really has started to surge ahead in her speech and mental development, Colin seems to be moving forward at a slower pace. Of course, his pace may be normal, but it’s hard not to compare them some times.

Veronica is working diligently on learning her colors, and is fascinated by the concept of “two.” She points out whenever we see two of anything. “Two doggies.” “Two noisy cars.” She also is starting to pick up on social graces, asking me how I’m doing when she comes downstairs, and is asking a lot of questions. “Mommy shoes on. Mommy going outside too?” 

Yesterday, I said I was going to quickly run downstairs to get something to eat, because I had missed lunch. John must not have heard me, because as I was leaving, he told Veronica, “I guess Mommy’s going downstairs for something.” She then told him, “Mommy go eat. Lunch.”

Of course, after having said Colin is making slower progress, I must admit that he is making cognitive leaps of his own. We dug Rainbow Fish out of the gigantic “books Colin can’t touch because he’ll tear them apart” pile (because he’s been doing better recently) earlier this week, and he’s been reading it quite often ever since. At nap time the other day, John asked him to find a safe place for his book so he could get ready for nap. He opened it up, looked at the picture inside and said, “Fish.” He then carried it over to the fish tank and placed it against the glass, picture facing inward, so the fish could see their friends in the story. 

Colin might seem like he was making faster progress if he would ever take his hands out of his mouth. He is hard to understand to begin with, but it’s nearly impossible to make out what he’s saying when he’s talking around a mouthful of fingers.