Myrtle Beach

Traveling with twin babies is quite the adventure. I was very leary of the plane rides as I have been on numerous flights with crying babies and I just did not want to be "that mom" -- let alone with TWO babies. Thankfully, the boys did great on both flights and slept pretty much the whole time. Our stroller system that allows the car seats to snap right in is probably one of the nicest baby pieces we own (at least right up there with the exersaucers) and performed beautifully in the airports and in Myrtle Beach. It is quite interesting to watch people's faces as they notice the two babies -- from the "aww, there's two!" to averting the eyes as if twins is contagious.

Our vacation with my parents and the Raredons was fantastic, however, it sure is different having kids on a vacation. Funny enough, it's not quite as relaxing as it used to be! The boys did get their first experience with the ocean, beach, pools, sunshine and sunscreen and as a whole, I think they loved it. All of the stimulation led to some great naps! Jack and my dad played a few rounds of golf and even won a scramble tournament shooting a 76 and winning a three day vacation + three rounds of golf prize (... which we're not so sure what to do with). We played Marco Polo with Ashley one afternoon, which was a total riot (haven't played that in a good 15 years). That girl is a water rat! Jack and I both watched her play with her daddy in the pool and couldn't help but wonder if life gets much better than that -- pure joy. I can't wait to sit and watch my boys and Jack some day.

Traveling with twin babies was definitely quite the adventure but it was well worth it. We had a great trip, made some great memories and took tons of pictures of our first vacay with our boys.

Exersaucers

I don't know who invented the exersaucer, but the idea is genious. A self-contained virtual Disney world of fun all at a baby's fingertips -- what could be better? When I first learned I was having twins, everyone kept saying, "Oh my, you'll need two of everything!" I thought that was silly -- other than the obvious car seats, why can't they just take turns? Why waste money on two? Well, I ended up with two (used) exersaucers and I couldn't be happier. The boys are happy to be plopped in there for at least a half an hour and seriously just have a riot. I can clean the kitchen, take a shower, check facebook or whatever and I know they will for sure be safe and generally happy. Definitely worth having two.

Books and Baby Food

In an effort to establish a night time routine, we have started reading books to the boys. They absolutely love it. I mean they love it like they love stroller rides -- crying or not, plop them on daddy's (or Uncle Brian's) lap with a book and they are instantly enamored. It is just precious!

Additionally, in an effort to save money, I have begun making my own baby food. I'll admit, I used to think that people who made their own baby food were weird. Why wouldn't you just buy the stuff that is prepackaged and ready to go? I'll tell you why: it's expensive! Plus, it's super easy to make. It's not like there are a lot of ingredients in butternut squash -- it's squash and water pureed into a mush (and they love it!).

Five Months Old Today!

The boys are five months old today! They have grown so much in five months ... it's amazing to think where they will be in another five months (walking?). At their four month check-up they were 15 (Sam) and 17 (Ty) pounds ... you would never know they were 3 1/2 weeks early!

Recent happenings include lots of rolling over (Tyler flips the minute you set him down), lots of play time in the excersaucers, and solid food (as in rice and oat cereal). They generally go to bed around 10pm and at least half of the time sleep until around 5am.