It has been another busy month with Liam and Oliver. They are darling babies and are growing in leaps and bounds. Oliver now weighs in at 13 pounds, 2 ounces and is 23 inches long, while Liam weighs in at 12 pounds, 10 ounces and is 23 1/2 inches long. This month they have started cooing and babbling. Once in a while they'll wake us up in the middle of the night talking back and forth in their imaginary language. We're attempting to decode it, and think that they're plotting their escape and taking the dog and cat with them. Both boys can prop themselves up on their arms while on their tummies, Liam has rolled over from belly to back a few times, both can stand with a little balance assist, they're starting to laugh- especially when you tickle their bellies (or Godzuki eats their feet)-
they are grabbing at toys and rattles, and both of their distinct personalities are coming out. For instance, I nurse the babies in tandem so they're facing each other. Liam is a finicky eater and sometimes breaks off for minutes to play and talk. One day during a diatribe about the upcoming election (I think), he did an Exorcist- style projectile vomit and it went all over Oliver's face as Oliver was trying to eat. Of course I freaked out "Oh, that's disgusting, I'm so sorry little baby," but Oliver never blinked a (spit-up smeared) eye- he just went on eating like crazy. Nothing is gonna take that boy away from his meal!Another time, I had Liam and Oliver sitting up and facing each other. Oliver just smiled at his brother as Liam went on for minutes telling Oliver what was up. He looks at his brother square in the eye and explains all kinds of things to him. They are VERY IMPORTANT things. I'm not totally sure where Liam's drama queen behavior comes from because his parents are nothing like this.
The boys have also started teething this month. I'm not really sure why they call it "teething" as this word seems quite benign. This phenomenon should be called "horrible piercing white things stabbing at sensitive gums." And now they sleep less and cry more and I was really looking forward to less sleep and more crying. Actually I feel terrible for the poor little guys, but they did go from sleeping a good seven to eight hour stretch at night with a nap during the day to a good three hour stretch at night and no naps.
Their eyes seem to be changing color in the past week as well. Hopefully within the month we'll know what color Oliver and Liam's eyes will be!
Chris has begun to call me Godzuki instead of mom. Godzuki is the daughter of Godzilla for those of you who are not sci-fi/ fantasy nerds. This is an alarming development as it has caught on with more than just my children. Also, I am frightened that Liam and Oliver's first word will be an enthusiastic "gah- ZUKI!" instead of the cute and normal "mama."
We had a slew of remarkable visitors this month. Uncle Harry and Aunt Dina Marenstein visited from their new home in Sunnyside, Queens. It is always the most fun weekend ever when they visit, and since they both seem to like kids a lot, this time was no different. Don't they look so natural holding babies? Maybe they should have some of their own soon.....
We also got a lovely visit from Keith Jones and Aunt Lipa. Notice that Liam looks a whole lot like Keith Jone's mini-me. Hmmmmm, I wonder if Liam will also like Barak Obama and be freakishly good at math??? Aunt Lipa came to bestow gifts on the little ones and fill their heads with wild ideas, while Keith Jones taught them Oliver how to do New York Times crosswords.
Please note Aunt Lipa's excellent influence on Liam below.
Babcia Ivers brought her best friend Jeanne Pellerin to meet the boys this month. We had a very nice visit and Liam and Oliver were on their best behavior (they stayed awake all day!) Jeanne is a natural with babies and they loved her as you can see. We're looking forward to the boys meeting the rest of the Pellerin family.
The boys have a new friend named Dominick they hang out with these days. Dominick is a little more advanced than our boys (and about two months older) so he can teach them all sorts of older boy tricks. His mother Tania and I get to hang out when she's not working and man am I excited that I found a cool stay-at-home-sometimes mom . Oh, and I'm really happy the boys have their 1st friend.
We had a visit from our friend Peter Ott who brought us dinner and showed the world just how small our little boys are.
Aunt Rachel left town this month for a trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. While she was gone you can see that Uncle Tony took her place hanging out with Liam after he and Chris made yet another delicious meal.
In other exciting news (for those of us staying home and cooped up in the house), we left the babies with a sitter for the first time. It was a silly night. We went to dinner in Rochester with Tony and Rachel and it was a bad meal so we ended up coming home early, sending Eileen (the amazing baby sitter) home early, and hanging out at our house with the babies.
Also, my Aunt Nancy came to hang out with the boys and kicked Chris and me out of the house. This time dinner was much better and we didn't come home as early. Aunt Nancy ROCKS.
This month I also packed up the babies and dog and traveled to Buffalo to stay at my parents house for a few days. Do you know how much paraphernalia one needs for three days away from home? Let me just say that I'm a little glad that we got the stupid mini-van. The highlight of the trip was when the power went out and I ended up changing and feeding two boys in the middle of the night by myself in the dark. Are you impressed? I certainly am. In fact, I think that this feat was my peak in life. It's all down hill from here.
Some other interesting facts from this month:
- We visited Aunt Lauren at her school
- My college friend Vixie Buksbazen and her husband Drew had a daughter named Ayla
- Aunt Dina eats baby heads
- We got to visit the Gambill family several times
- We even went to a superbowl party at Uncle Chris and Aunt Cat's house
- And this tidbit, which Aunt Lipa asked to be included: Did you know that Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatistas travels the Mexican countryside with a deformed rooster he calls El Penguin, which is a symbol of the oppressed and marginalized Mexican-Indian population? (I fact-checked this and it is true.)
- We wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day and a turn to spring really soon!
