Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy 5th Halloween!


It's hard for me to believe that this is Adam and Eleanor's 5th Halloween. I very clearly remember their first one--in the NICU with pumpkin hats knitted by some women who donate them to the hospital. The hats were tiny, but we still had to make them smaller by taping them with hospital tape at the back before they could wear them. We've come quite a way since then. This year Adam chose to be a dinosaur. He goes around roaring and even got to wear his costume to school today. He's become such a boy when it comes to toys. Since they were boy/girl twins, they've both always been around toys that are sterotypical for both genders, but nevermind that. Adam is all about dinosaurs, castles, race cars, and making things crash. He still very much loves his numbers, but he's been doing a lot of imaginative play lately, usually making guys fall off ledges (back of the couch).

Eleanor chose to be a witch. And I'm not talking a pretty little sparkly witch with a shiny purple cape. I mean the Wicked Witch of the West. She saw the costume in one of the 500 catalogs we got and made her decision as soon as she saw it--you would think she might have changed her mind and gone with something more cutesy, but nope. At the last minute she did decide against the green makeup for her face, but I still think her choice is a bit refreshing when so many little girls are running around as princesses. I'm not a big fan of making my daughter think she's a princess (even though I think she is--I just don't let her in on that fact) so I really admire her for having her own mind and not being concerned with what all the other girls are doing.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Big Brother and Big Sister

Adam and Eleanor now have a baby brother named Ethan, making them a big brother/sister. The twins are quite excited to have Ethan here, but have taken a decidedly different opinion of the whole situation. During my pregnancy, Adam was the one who would always look at me, say, "baby brother" and then follow it up with a "whop, whop" to the belly. When he first saw Ethan in the hospital, he must have given him ten kisses in a row. Now Adam is the one to remind us (as if we need reminding) that, "Ethan's crying", or "Ethan too loud". Eleanor, I think, was under the impression that Ethan was going to arrive a lot more fun than he is. To Eleanor, he just sits there and takes my attention away from her. The other day when my brother-in-law and sister-in-law cam eover to meet Ethan, Eleanor brought out a stool and kept saying, "Let me show you what I can do," jumping off of it over and over. Then she thought she would outshine Ethan by spelling her name and various other words with the letter magnets on the fridge. She may as well have screamed, "HEY!! Will you look at me already?!? That kid just cries and eats--totally BORING!" She still likes to give him kisses at night and pick out his next outfit (and those of you who know me understand that's no mean feat). Alex, of course, has been thrilled with the little guy and a big help. He's gone to camp for three nights this week and I truly don't know what I'll do without him. What a great kid.

And now to show you our new (not so) little arrival, Ethan. He was 8 pounds 4 ounces at birth and already weighs just about 10 pounds at 3 weeks. I am a much more relaxed, calm mommy this time around. I suppose the lack of oxygen tanks and apnea monitors will do that. Every couple days I stare at him and get tears in my eyes, though--for the newborn days that Adam and Eleanor never really had and for all the needle pokes, medications, IVs, and pain they had instead. I know they don't remember it now, but I do and no matter how fabulously things have turned out, I'm still sad to think of the way it should have been for them and wasn't. That's when I have to remember how blessed we are move on from the tears. I'm so proud of the big kids my little twins have become and I know they are going to be an amzing big brother and big sister, too.