Michigan, here we come!

This weekend the babies are embarking on their first road trip. The occasion? To see their large extended family in Michigan, of course! We've spent the last few days planning and strategizing the best way to drive 8-9 hours with two 4 1/2-month-old infants, and decided our best bet is to leave super-early on Saturday morning, crossing our fingers that the darkness will lure them to keep on sleeping for as long as possible. We'll see how it goes! Full report forthcoming. :-)

Here are a few photos of Coralie and Liam after their nighttime bath tonight. They were in such good spirits, we couldn't resist!


And a few more from earlier in the day:

Happy Friday!

Hi all! Well, not much news to report... other than that the babies are just as cute as ever, of course! As you can hopefully see, Coralie and Liam have really started to become more easily distinguishable to the casual observer. We have gone from everyone thinking they are identical to now thinking that Coralie is a little Joe and Liam is a little Sarah! Also, Coralie has chosen to really set herself apart even further with the mohawk she is currently sporting. Hopefully, the sides will return someday!

Last week was their 4-month checkup, and we are happy to report that all is well. They are still growing and progressing well (despite being a tad on the skinny side), and developmentally, they are right where they should be. Unfortunately, the visit had to end on a sad note with their 4-month boosters... and after some degree of vocal protests, the babies actually handled the shots very well. Then, we all enjoyed an activity-packed weekend meeting up with friends and taking the babies all over the place. These two can rally, that's for sure!

These photos were taken with them together in Liam's bouncy seat. True, these seats are only intended for one baby at a time, but Coralie insisted on joining him there, and we just couldn't keep her away! Yes, we never get tired of taking photos of our little duo in funny situations... they are just so darn cute, we can't help ourselves!

4th of July

Well, happy 4-month birthday babies... and happy birthday, USA! This past weekend, we showed the babies how we celebrate Independence Day by getting together with friends, barbecuing, and watching fireworks... which, for being a grassroots neighborhood display, turned out to be a very impressive one nonetheless!

We even got a fantastic new double jogging stroller, and naturally, had to spend lots of time trying it out this weekend. I should mention that it has been a long process selecting a double stroller, and Joe in particular has done a ton of research of all the options... so we are most pleased with our choice! It is the Bumbleride Indie Twin, in a nice green/blue color combo. It is so easy to maneuver and glides like a charm... we love it! As you can see from the expressions on the babies' faces, they are just as excited about it as we are. We even took it (and the babies, of course) down to the Mall for the annual Smithsonian Folklife festival. As always, the babies got lots of attention from their many twin admirers, while we partook of the food and music of Latin America.

Also, in honor of Independence Day, Grandma Crites made Liam and Coralie the greatest patriotic little outfits. Don't you just love how patriotic and democratic they are?! Thank you, Grandma!

Here are a few more choice photos of our little darlings at 17 weeks - enjoy!

Ode to the end of maternity leave.

No photos, but what a milestone day! June 24 marked Liam and Coralie's first day at daycare, the official end of my long and blissful maternity leave, and my first day back at work (not to mention, my first day working in an actual office since December 19!). Fortunately, we can rest easy knowing that they are in the care of a wonderful and loving woman - and the hard part is juggling work while counting down the hours each day until we can see our babies again!

But, we knew it was inevitable, and I suppose there are some good things about the situation. For example, I've been reminding myself of something I read once, which said that one of the best things you can do for your kids is show them you are something other than a parent. So that will be my mantra! There are also some signs that the time had come to go back to work... like the fact that my feet have a Chaco tan not seen since the days of Peace Corps, and that I have now watched every season of America's Next Top Model, and have caught up on all of the old episodes of The O.C., One Tree Hill, and Beverly Hills 90210 (the '90's version). Yes folks, it's true: I have become a bona-fide Soap Net junkie. So if the mild case of brain rot I've developed isn't a sign for me to go back to work, then I don't know what is! Plus the fact that I've now seen a full cycle of The O.C. and One Tree Hill, and have lost interest in 90210 now that we are on the ho-hum college years. (Did anyone else realize just how long that show went on?!)

Which brings me to the things I will miss most about maternity leave... other than spending my days with the babies, of course! Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Being able to do any old errand any old time I feel like it.
2. Taking walks with the babies and Mika at any hour of the day.
3. Daytime playtime with my good friend Anne!
   
4. Being able to wear stretch pants and Target tops without shame.
5. Taking naps with the babies... when they let me nap, that is. :-)
6. Having the luxury of shuttling Joe to and from work. Oh wait, that's what Joe will miss most!
   
7. Not having to get up at particular time every day.
8. Being able to breastfeed and not having to pump round-the-clock at work. It's only been one day, and already I am thinking, "Eight and a half more months of this... really?

So, I guess I'm back into my old routine, but as a changed woman. And now, living my Soap Net-free and pumping existence!

Father's Day fun!

Sunday was a big day... it was Joe's first Father's Day! We began the day with brunch at Harry's Tap Room in Clarendon, and then
spent the afternoon at Dumbarton Oaks and enjoying gelato while touring around Georgetown. It was the perfect end to a wonderful weekend with Grandma & Grandpa Crites! Liam and Coralie were showered with affection all weekend long and enjoyed lots of strolls and stories with their special visitors - and even a venture out to their favorite Mexican restaurant, Guajillo, where they were on their best behavior yet again!

Three months old!

Can you believe it?! As of June 7, it has been three months since our two little Snappers came into our lives. According to Dr. Harvey Karp (of Happiest Baby on the Block fame), this means that Coralie and Liam have now made it through the "missing fourth trimester" and have reached the stage in which babies are truly ready to be born. Indeed, we are so amazed at how much they have grown and changed in that time. They are so much more alert and curious about the world around them... they smile, they make cute little sounds (even the occasional giggle), roll over, and lift and turn their heads. Which may not sound like much, but they've come a long way! Their lives have been filled with all kinds of excitement from meeting their family and our friends, seeing the nation's capital, going wine tasting and to the occasional party, enjoying their first Easter, having their first shots, and nearly doubling their weights. Not to mention, they've become pros when it comes to breathing, eating, sleeping, and pooping - which seem like the basics to us, but are no small feat for newborns!

Here are a few commemorative three-month photos of our sweet little ones:

Coralie trying to suck on Liam's foot... apparently, she got bored with his hands.

Liam, as usual, continues to be unfazed by his sister's torture.

Still linking arms...

... and now linking legs, too!

Oh, they crack us up to no end. Bye for now!

A wet weekend

This past weekend was interesting. On Saturday morning, we woke up to do some laundry, when lo and behold - we discovered about 3 inches of water covering half of our basement. Yikes! We spent about an hour sucking up water with the shop-vac and running buckets up and down the stairs before realizing that at that rate, we would be dealing with it all weekend. So, Joe went out and rented a pump so we could pump the water out, which was much more effective. :-) However, despite pumping all of the water out, water still continued to fill up the basement as soon as we stopped running the pump. Except we could not figure out where it was coming from, as there were no apparent leaks in the walls or pipes. (And, it didn't smell - thank God!) On Monday, our plumber came out and discovered that the flooding was caused by a combination of factors - the water table was saturated due to all the rain we've had (topped off by Friday night's strong storm) and our basement drain was clogged - so all the excess groundwater around our house was coming in through the backed-up basement drain.

All in all, a definite pain-in-the-butt situation, but thankfully, one that was not terribly complicated nor expensive to resolve. And on the plus side, at least it forced us to finally pare down some of the things we've let pile up in the basement! But enough of all that - obviously, you did not come to our blog just to hear all about our basement troubles! So while we were working away, here's what Liam and Coralie were up to:

Coralie learned how much fun it is to put her fingers in Liam's mouth:

... and that when he turns away because he's had enough of that, his head tastes pretty good, too:

They learned that it is possible to fall asleep while linking arms... (so CUTE!):

... that their crib mobile is endlessly fascinating... (just look at those faces!) :

(Outfits courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Snapp, btw... we were happy they were finally able to fit into them!)

... and that 12 weeks is not too young to try sitting up in the Bumbo chair. They were totally into it! They may be little, but they are strong!

Though after a while, this whole sitting up business does get pretty tiring:

Is it tummy time again?

Whoever invented tummy time for babies must have been an evil genius. Sure, it is a necessary step in infant development, helping them build their strength, sharpen their vision, turn their heads, and get ready for crawling, et cetera, et cetera... all kinds of good stuff. But the babies do not like it. Not one bit. I guess when you don't exactly have any biceps to speak of, it must be an awkward feeling to be stuck face-down on the floor. Back time isn't always much better, either, even despite being on a totally fun play mat, as you can see from the chagrined expressions above. So as much as we hate upsetting our babies so much, we do want them to crawl and even eventually walk someday! Fortunately, the babies recently received a great tummy time mat which they don't seem to entirely hate, which allows for a somewhat less frustrating tummy time. So naturally, we had to capture these rare calm tummy moments on camera! Liam is on the right, and Coralie is on the left (circa 9 weeks - and pardon the poor quality of my camera phone). Aren't you impressed with the head control on these little guys?!