Mall of America

Only Steve and I would take our children to four different states before we visit the Mall of America, located just a 25 minute drive from our house! 

When we first moved to Minnesota, we thought it was the neatest thing, and don't get me wrong; it is.  The novelty wore off after a year or so when we figured out it was just a giant mall and we can get most of the stuff we needed at a smaller, closer mall where parking isn't a (big) hassle, the crowds are reasonable, and the walking distance between the stores you want to go to is much, much shorter.

In fact, our last trip there was 7 months ago, and that was because the nearest Sears wasn't carrying the item we needed and the MOA Sears was the next closest.  I was hugely pregnant and could hardly walk the seemingly mile-long distance from the parking garage to the Sears electronics department.  In fact, I wound up sitting in the appliance department amongst the refrigerators because there was chair there next to the salesman's desk!  I swore off the MOA that day.

But Christmas season is upon us and there is ONE store at the MOA that we can't get anywhere else: Nordstrom Rack.  We LOVE Nordstrom Rack!  So we made our Christmas list of anything we could possibly buy at the MOA and headed out this morning.

I love my hubby.  You know why?  He can be someplace once and remember exactly where everything is (this CAN be annoying, but it came in handy today).  So instead of parking in our "usual" spot, he knew right where to park so we could just stroll in (rather than climb/take escalators).  I was so impressed that he thought of that because I didn't remind him!  He also remembered where all of the elevators were; something we've never had to use before.  AND, he remembers where all the stores in the mall are located in relation to one another, so we were able to plan our route while driving there! 

We were very mission-minded this morning, arriving as early as we realistically could.  Saturdays in November or December are very dangerous!  No dawdling, no window-shopping, no 'just-looking.' We had our list, our plan of attack, and our coupons.

And would you believe that Matthew and Nathan were as good as gold?  They never made a peep!  Both of them had their eyes wide open, taking in all the sounds and lights.  I'm guessing that it was one of the first times that the ceilings they stare at were interesting, because at the MOA, you can look up and see the shoppers and Christmas decorations on the floors above you.

I am amazed at how well behaved the boys were, how easy the shopping was (for the most part) and how, for what seems to be the first time in public, we were not a spectacle.  You see, EVERYONE has a double stroller at the MOA.  If you don't have a double, you have a single stroller and probably a walking child.  So we fit right in.  Only one salesperson noticed we had twins in the ENORMOUS stroller and that was because we had to stop and ask where the elevator was - it was the only one Steve didn't know, Macy's. 

All in all, a successful trip.  The boys were good, Steve and I had fun (gasp!  Fun while shopping with twins?  Yes, it can be done!), and we crossed a few items off of our Christmas shopping list. 

One Tooth Wonder

I shouldn't have been so surprised.  After all, my little guys wanted to come into this world earlier than we expected.  Naturally, their teeth do, too.

A few days ago I blogged that we were sleepless and I asked my readers to vote why.  Right now "Time Zone Warp" is winning, probably because my entry was a little biased that direction. I'd like to leave the voting open, but I'm closing it because we've learned the cause:

NATHAN CUT HIS FIRST TOOTH!!!

I couldn't believe it!  Okay, it's not the greatest photo, but I've never claimed to be a photographer.  If you look REAL close, you can see his right central incisor poking up.  And boy, it's sharp!  He chomped down on my finger today and I yelped.

We were all just playing on the floor, the boys were showing off their almost-turning-over skills, I was folding laundry and Steve asked, "What's that in Nathan's mouth?"

"Spitup," I said, because he is the king of cottage-cheese-mouth. 

"No, look!"  And there it was; a gleaming little tooth.

The light bulb came on: so THAT explains it!  All the crying, fussing, and carrying-on that had been going on in our house this week.  Why didn't I expect it?  Because the doctor said that the average child cuts his first tooth at 7 months.  While I DO think that my children are above-average (and who doesn't?), I wasn't expecting their physical development to be ahead of schedule, considering they were preemies born at 35 weeks.

We laughed and smiled, applauded, hugged and kissed, like we do every time one of our sons does something remarkable.

Then we gave them both Tylenol and everyone slept!  Hmm...now I wonder how this nursing thing is going to go?  

 Matthew chewing furiously to catch up with Nathan One-Tooth-Wonder

Whirled Peas

We are moving up the food chain, from rice cereal to peas.  However, some of you have voted that the peas are related to our sleeplessness, which absolutely cracks me up!  My readers are funny people!  Sunday night, we busted out the peas and the boys....well, I wasn't convinced the boys were fans.  Here's Nathan's response:

Not so sure about this, Mom and Dad

Neither one made that classic "this is disgusting" face that we were expecting.  But we did get a "this is weird" kind of expression on video.  Both boys opened wide for more, though, so I guess peas aren't that bad!  In fact, by the end of the meal, it was looking like Matthew liked them:

I love peas and rice!

We knew it was time to try solids because they've been watching us intently as we eat.  In fact, I was trying to multi-task - eat toast and tandem nurse one morning (I was in a hurry!), but Matthew was more interested in my toast than his breakfast and kept turning his head, watching it go from the plate to my mouth.  I had to stop eating the toast so he would finish nursing.  Besides, I'm probably not teaching them good manners by dropping crumbs on their heads.

  

NaBloPoMo

You heard me right, NaBloPoMo.  I just learned that November is National Blog Posting Month.  Another Multiples Moms blogger wrote about it on her site, so I checked it out.  Basically, they encourage writing by hosting a website where your blog can be attached to their blogroll so others can read it.  Then, in November, if you enroll on their blogroll and write an entery every day from November 1-November 30, you're eligible for prizes donated from bloggers.  Neat, huh?

Unfortunately, I learned of this too late to particiapte for prizes, so I'm not adding myself to their blogroll.  I still think I'm up for the challenge.  There are 19 days left in November, so I'm going to try to write an entry every day for the next 19 days.  Just to see if I can do it.

Please stop by any day in November. I know many of you read after I share a new entry on Facebook, but I'm not going to that every day.  I would annoy MYSELF with that, so I know it would annoy others.  Or you can just wait for me to post the link on FB every 2-3 days, anyhow.

And don't forget to vote on why we are Sleepless this week! (I'm so proud of myself for figuring out how to add that poll!) I figured out the answer last night!

Time Zone Warp

I'm not sure what's happening at our house this week, but we might be in a Time Zone Warp.  What's that?  I made it up.  But I'm pretty sure it has something to do with taking two babies through 4 time zones during Daylight Savings Time. 

After arriving home from our trip, both boys slept from about 3pm on Saturday to 10pm on Sunday, waking just long enough to eat and play for a few minutes. No matter what we did, we couldn't keep them awake.

Matthew and Nathan both fell asleep nursing on the pillow at about 6:30 on Sunday night (left) so we thought everything was okay for the night.


Then the Time Zone Warp began when we were getting ready for bed on Sunday night.  Crying!  Fussing!  Hungry!  So we fed them.  They wanted to play.  They wanted to laugh and cuddle and smile.  We wanted to sleep - we were still a little jet lagged from the day before.

Finally, around midnight on Sunday (Monday?) we all settled in.  Whew, that's over, we thought.

Monday night: Round Two.  Ding!
9:30 pm, two hours after the alleged "bedtime" (during which, I might add, I went grocery shopping and scored some great deals): Waaaa!  After a half hour of stuffing Matthew's binky back in, I caved.  I gave him a snack.  He loved it.  And wanted to play, laugh, and kick.  Matthew finally went back down and guess who started up?  What kind of question is that, Kim?  Of COURSE Nathan wasn't having any of his brother getting a snack without him.  Gave Nathan a snack.  Both went back down.

11:00 pm Monday night: Round Two, extended version
We were both getting ready for bed since the boys were quiet (note I did not say sleeping).  Wrong!  They are still famished; that snack was not enough.  Come on, guys!  We put you into a food coma at 7:00!  You were both so out of it we couldn't get you to open your mouth to finish the baba.  In utter exhaustion, we fed them again.  And it worked.

We all were asleep by 1am.

Then up again for binkys at 4:30.
Then wide awake at 5:30.

All that sleeping progress we gained has been flushed down the toilet.  How do I explain it?  It could be:

1. We are totally being punished for taking a vacation.
2. We fed them peas.
3. They are in a Time Zone Warp.
4. They are beginning the 6 month growth spurt at 5.5 months.
5. They are teething.
6. All of the above.

Whatever it is, I'm sure it will pass within 2 weeks.  Why 2 weeks?  Because we're traveling for Thanksgiving, of course!

Hawaii Highlights

Yes, we did.  We took two five-month-olds to Hawaii.  Now I know we are officially crazy!  Hubby had to do some business in HI, so we decided to extend his trip by a few days and take our first family vacation.Let me share with you some highlights:

1.   The plane!  We couldn't have done it without help, so Grandma A. and Aunt L. came along.  We flew from MSP to Honolulu, then caught a flight from HNL to Kona, on the Big Island.   The boys were very good on the flights, but would NOT sleep!  You've read about how Matthew won't close his eyes and he was true to form on this trip. 

Aunt L. and me suiting up to go through security at MSP.

Matthew, Nathan, and Grandma A. playing on the plane.

Me, Aunt L, and the boys with ALL OUR JUNK in Kona, waiting for hubby and the rental car (ok, mini-van-no convertible on this trip!)

2. The condo!  We spent a lot of time hanging out at the condo, more that we would have on a "normal" vacation, but I've decided that nothing is going to be normal again!  Not that it ever was, though....  Anyhow, we stayed in a really great place with both ocean and mountain views out the windows.  Hubby and I had to keep the pack 'n plays in our room, which was new to us, so we got a little less sleep than "normal."

Nathan and Matthew doing tummy time Hawaiian style.

 

First Hawaiian sunset just steps from the condo

Aunt L, Daddy and Matthew hanging out.

3. The pool!  This turned out to be one of my favorite activities!  We don't usually spend a lot of time at the pool, but it looks like we will now that we have children.  The boys really seemed to enjoy the dip!

Steve and Matthew

Nathan and me.  I love this photo for two reasons: first, Nathan is just so stinkin' cute here, and second, it makes me look great in a swimsuit!

The four of us playing motorboat

4. The beaches!  The van was full of chairs, umbrellas, boogie boards, snacks and a cooler - our days of taking just a towel are long gone.  Having four adults made it possible for everyone to snorkel, boogie board, swim, and walk along the beach.  The boys really seemed to enjoy the sea breeze and slept most of the time.

Nathan sleeping at Place of Refuge

Daddy, Matthew and Aunt L. putting on sunblock at Turtle Beach

I dip Matthew and Steve dips Nathan into the ocean for the first time at Kahalu'u Beach

The beautiful walk that wasn't.  Every trip has to have a meltdown and Matthew had his at Ka'upulehu Beach while we were strolling down a MAGNIFICENT path in front of the Four Seasons Resort.  If this were a video, you'd hear Matthew's ear piercing screams as we walked back to the van.  (Sigh)

5. Mountain Thunder Coffee!  You might remember my  previous post about visiting a coffee farm; we got to go again.  All of us on the trip are big time coffee lovers so it was the perfect place to visit on our last day.  While we drove up the mountain, the temperature dropped from 85 to about 68, and it became misty and grey.  It's like driving through a jungle, then opening your van door to the delicious aroma of roasting coffee beans.  Mmmm...

Our first visit to TMC in 2007

2009, starting them young!  Just kidding, the boys and I are not drinking coffee...yet.

6. Coming home.  Not a highlight, but I had to have an excuse to add this pic.  See how tired we were when we boarded the plane?  You can only imagine what we looked like by the time we got home!

7. Many thanks and much love to Grandma A and Aunt L, our nannies, photographers, and sanity-savers.  We love you!

Minnesota Aulds Twins

I'm going back in time today to tell you the story of the Minnesota Aulds Twins onesies because I found these adorable pictures on my sister-in-law's computer and wanted to share them with you.

First, my Michigan family was tickled pink because we were having "Minnesota Twins," a humorous thought that never occurred to me until it was pointed out.  Second, as I've blogged previously, Steve and I couldn't decide on names and were calling the boys "Righty" and "Lefty."  Third, my brother's wife is a very creative woman who likes to make special gifts for others.

So when my mom and mother-in-law threw us a big shower in Michigan in my 23rd week, my sister-in-law, R., gave us the adorable onesies pictured above.  I thought they were so tiny that my boys would never get to wear them.  (I was still quite convinced I would have two gigantic babies based on my family's genes!)  The little onesies were a big hit and got passed around to everyone.  She'd used the Minnesota Twins graphic on the front but used a bottle instead of a baseball bat and put "Righty 01" and "Lefty 02" on the back.

Au contraire!  My babes were born at 35 weeks, weighing a respectable 5 lbs, 5 oz, and 5 lbs, 9 oz.  But they were so small that they wore preemie clothes borrowed from the MVMOMs Preemie Closet for the first 3 weeks!  Then they wore size Newborn until they were 2 months old.  That's when they finally fit into their MN Twins outfits. 

Matthew "Lefty" and Nathan "Righty"

You can see their little tiny band-aids on their thighs from their 2 month shots.  Poor Nathan's legs were so skinny that there was hardly enough fat there for the nurse to poke him.  The boys and I were brave, but Grandma A. was the one who cried that day!

The little onesies were only worn for a few weeks, but now we have a special item for a memory box.  It will be so amazing to pull them out one day when they are 6 feet tall (we have high hopes :) and know that those outfits were once too big for them.