Life, Lately

Brooklyn is the weirdest eater.

We tried rice cereal, oatmeal, avocados, and sweet potatoes.  Girl would eat nothing.  She would sit there politely with her mouth sealed in a tight, impenetrable line.  If a spoonful did manage to make it past enemy lines, she would usually swallow, but made no move to open up her mouth for more once the spoon appeared again.

I couldn't figure it out.  Did she not understand the spoon?  Did she not like the spoon?  Did she really not like any of the food (even though, again, when food did make it into her mouth, she would usually eat it without complaint)?

(Caden, in typical male fashion, obediently opens up his mouth anytime he even sees a spoon, and eats virtually anything.)

And then we tried bananas.

Mmmmm!

Victory!

Bananas were so good that she actually kept sucking on her bib to suck up any residual banana that had dripped there.

And since then, she has eaten all foods without complaint.  Now when we try oatmeal, rice cereal, avocados, or sweet potatoes?  No problem.  It's like bananas were her gateway drug to all other food.  We've since tried apples and pumpkin, too, and...yum!  Bananas were the first time she even willingly opened her mouth for the spoon, and now she does it all the time.  I don't understand it.  She still doesn't (usually) eat quite as much as Caden, but I think she's just more aware of when she is and isn't hungry and/or full.

This little monster devours everything.

+++++

It doesn't matter where you put these two, they always squirm and army crawl and belly-flop their way over to each other.

(Not pictured: approximately .003240987 seconds after this picture was taken, when Brooklyn started FREAKING out because "Moooooooo-ooommmmmm!!!  He's touching me!")

Yes, they were both eating each other's feet at the same time (and no complaints about their sibling touching them, either).

And why bother with toys, when the toy's storage bin is so much more interesting?

Seven Months

The Nursery

Super excited that the twins' nursery is featured on Apartment Therapy today!

And for fun here are a few (more!) photos of these two that were not part of my submission...

Where Have All the Mamas Gone?

It's been an all-too familiar sight around our neighborhood this summer...

The playground.  The park.  The walking paths.

Empty.

And it makes me wonder:

Where have all the mamas gone?  And the daddys?  And for that matter...the families?

Being a stay-at-home mom seems to be a rarity these days.  I just didn't know how much of one, apparently.  As I've taken the twins for walks this summer-on various days and times of day, walking different routes, and in different weather-I can literally count on one hand the number of times I have seen another family at the park, or even out for a walk.  It's not uncommon to go for a 30-40 minute walk and see...no one else.  Even on the weekends. Often when I do see other people, they are contractors, landscapers, or handymen, taking care of projects while seemingly no one else is at home.

Last Friday, we went for a walk and to the park to play on a blanket for awhile.  We were probably gone for almost two hours, and in that time one father and his four-year old girl came to play at the park for a bit.  They were the only other people I saw.  No one else came to the park.  No one else walked/jogged/rode by on the path.  No one.  And this is far from unusual.  

I know there are families in our neighborhood.  It's a cute neighborhood near several great companies, and close to downtown.  The apartments, townhomes, and houses are all priced and sized just right for young families.  Heck, we do see families out one night a week.  All summer long on Wednesday nights local food trucks set up right down the street from us. It can be downright crowded on these evenings, which is when I really start to wonder where the heck all of these people are doing the day.

And this isn't anything against moms who need or want to work outside (or from) the home. Of course not.   In different circumstances, (oh, like having only one baby...), I might even be one of them.  But I just wonder...am I really the only mom that stays home in our neighborhood?  Does no one else go for walks?  Or even outside?  I hardly ever see people even playing in their yards.

I don't know where everyone else is.  It can make it lonely for a mama like me.  Staying home with two babies, I crave some adult interaction during the day. And I have met up with other moms and babies for play dates and playgroups, but those are such planned things.  There seems to be no chance for any general day-to-day interaction around here.  I thought that camping out or going for walks by the park would be the best way to do so.  I thought I would see other moms (or dads...heck even nannies) out for walks or at the park all summer.  It makes me sad that seeing another human being out in our neighborhood actually surprises me.

The twins and I just want to know if there's anyone out there who wants to come out and play.

6 Month Photos

These photos are some of the best money I have ever spent!  Our photographer was fantastic, and these are even better than I could have imagined!  Here are a few of my favorites, but I love them all...click the link at the bottom to see the rest.

See them all here.

The Swingers

Sometimes Caden reminds me of a crotchety old man (aided, I suppose, by his perpetually adorable bald-looking little head).

Case in point: going to the park this weekend.  We put them in the infant swings for the first time, and it went about as expected.  Brooklyn was trying to figure out and observe what exactly was going on, while Caden pretty much looked like this the entire time:

"Y'know what's more fun than this?"

"Everything."

"Including my feet."

(Brooklyn: "Wheeee!")

"Hmmm..."

"Very interesting."

"Seems legit."

"If I could figure out a way to chew on this, I would."

*opens mouth* "Augghhhh"

"Whoop-de-freaking-do."

"Hmmmph."

Oh Caden.  You crack us up.

This Week in (Mostly) Pictures

We played outside.

Caden figured out the magic of being underneath the chair.

They both figured out the magic of the...laundry basket. 

I mean, really.  Who needs that pile of toys when you've got this thing?

And today we tried avocados.  

Brooklyn is...

...not a fan.

Neither is Caden.