20 Weeks Old
A few days late, but we've been buried by basement construction. The basement is completely finished and painted, now we just have to lay down the floors and move furniture back in and the kids' playroom is complete. We moved some furniture over last night to see how it would look and, of course, half of our stuff doesn't fit right. Thankfully our neighborhood is having a garage sale next weekend and we can sell a bunch of stuff and use those funds to buy some more space appropriate pieces. The fun never ends.
In addition to two weeks of construction (dust, hammering, drilling and heavy metal - the music, not the power tools) coming through the floorboards, the babies both suffered their first fevers. Of course, their fevers broke out on our first 90+ degree day so initially I just thought the babies were too hot sitting with us outside. I moved them back indoors and lo and behold, fever-land broke out. One lukewarm bath and two doses of baby Tylenol later and all was well again.
We are also knees deep in sleep training. Both kids are going down much more easily for naps, Ryan is still having difficulty going to bed at night when Joe puts him down. He goes down pretty easily for me. That's not cool. It's definitely making Joe feel bad, and it makes me feel bad too. I want him to have the same ease with the babies as I do and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want the break once in a while. Ferber's book just arrived. Um, what is with these parenting books being 400+ pages? I think I'm going to start a company that does parenting books on tape. Like I have time to read a 400 page book. But I'll make the time. Sigh. My kids will probably be 9 before I understand sleep training.
Bug is a rolling machine now. You put her on her back and she flips right over to her belly. Strangely, it's as though she forgot that she also knows how to flip from her belly to her back. So after about ten minutes of belly time she goes bananas, and I have to roll her over. As soon as I roll her over again, she stops crying and then rolls right back to her belly. WTH?
Ryan is putting everything in his mouth he can find. The poor munchkin has a rash all over his lower jaw and chin from a combination of the constant drool and friction from all of the things he puts in his mouth (pacifiers, bibs, burp cloths, toys, etc.). I hope he cuts a tooth soon. He's not a happy camper.
In other news, he also discovered his manhood. It happened last week in the bathtub. It started out as a cursory glance to the special spot and then evolved into a lot of, ahem, checking that the spot was still there. Now it's a daily ritual. Over the diaper, under the diaper (one of his sitters was a little generous with the elastic snaps on his diaper and he was able to get his hand in there...), in the bath, during diaper changes. Diaper changing has become an Olympic sport to ensure that he doesn't end up with a handful of poop. Grossness. The joys of boys.
Both babies have learned how to hug and both give kisses. They are, of course, the open mouth kind. It's the sweetest part of my day. Reese will reach for you to pick her up now. She also grabs your face with both hands and gives big, wet, open mouth smooches. With her Daddy, she grabs his face with both hands and plays with his stubble. Ryan loves to pet his Daddy's hair and he loves to lay on your shoulder and cuddle.
{ everybody was kung-fu fighting... }
They are laughing machines and are both extremely ticklish. Ryan is ticklish on his upper chest and neck and Reese is ticklish in her underarms and feet. They have the best laughs ever. I need to record their baby laughter before it goes away. They have changed so much in the last month that it's astounding.
The kids are in love with each other and are now completely engaged with each other at all times. I have to do a lot of work to nurse them these days since they distract each other so much. I love that they play together and hug on one another. Thankfully it has finally stopped raining and we have all been able to get out and get some fresh air. Old toys seem new again when you put them in a different setting :)
