Two (and a half) Months

Hmmmm…. It would appear as though my blogging responsibilities have been lacking as of late. We’ve had a busy month here in the Reed household and we’re hoping to enjoy this little lull before the holidays pick up.



It is amazing how much parenthood can change from day to day. One day, we think we have figured out Olivia and Ethan. The next day, it could be the same for Ethan, but Olivia has decided to go in another direction or vice versa. Such is life with twins.



We have had quite a few milestones since the last bloggy update.

• We have mastered tubby time. It no longer sounds like we’re dipping the babies in battery acid when we start the bath. Bathing is much more lax for all parties involved. Ethan, for one, enjoys dipping his foot over his tub seat into the bubbles.

• We have smiley, happy babies. Their first smiles started around mid-October and every time they give us a grin, it still melts our hearts.

• I went back to work full-time at the end of October. Whereas it was nice to get back into the “real” world and take showers in the morning, it was definitely an adjustment phase for all of us. I am lucky enough to be able to work from home two days a week. The rest of the week, the kids go to their grandparents’ house and end the week at their friends’ Nathan and Emma’s place. Everything seems to be running smoothly so far!

• The babies’ enjoyed their first Halloween. Tootsie Rolls.



• Ethan has shown lactose who is boss and now rocks the soy formula. Olivia won’t be too far behind him.

• Not surprising to us, but Olivia is now the larger of the two….By a whole half pound and quarter of an inch! I told her to enjoy it, as that will not always be the case. Most people look at Olivia and say, ‘Wow, she’s so much bigger! She must weigh more than Ethan!” To use our pediatrician’s words, same recipe, different people. Thank goodness for fraternal twins!

• I have taken on the job of packing up their newborn-sized clothes and moving them onto size 0-3 months. A tad bittersweet.

Where I Have Been

The twins' "Auntie" Leslie finally got hitched in Colorado! For weeks leading up to the wedding, I did have my hesitations about leaving 7 week old babies for 4 days. However, once I knew they were in good hands with E and my mother-in-law, I was ready to perform my bridesmaidly duties. Yes, I made up that word.

For those that don't know Leslie, she is one of "my girls" from way back. We grew up together in The O.F. and really made a connection while we were in Middle School. Since then, we have been in each other's lives through every up and down despite going to different colleges and now, living in different states. I was lucky enough to have her stand up for me in my own wedding two years ago and I was so happy to be there for her big day. I was going to post a bunch of embarrassing pictures of us throughout the last 17 years, but I cannot seem to find my old pictures. ::enter my next post, WHY CAN'T I GET ORGANIZED?::

Congratulations Leslie and Sam! Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your big day!



And no, I did not arrive in Colorado in a hot air balloon!

Story from the Tub

This one will be a quick one, as I should be working at the moment. However, this was too good not to share.

Time: Sunday October 11, 2009 @ 8:00-ish.
Place: The Reed bathroom
Who: Mom and Ethan

Since Ethan seems to think that getting into the bath is like dipping him in battery acid, it's always a fight to get him in the water. As I put my screaming child in the tub, I saw a fountain sprout and little Ethan peed into the air. After I said, "Ahhh.. Ethan!!", my sweet, innocent little boy turned his head towards me and smiled as if it was the best pee ever. He continued to smile in relief the rest of the bath.

Annnnnd scene!

What We've Been Up To

Hello to all our new visitors, glad you could join us!

Lately, we've been discovering new things...



Working on our love of tubby time...



Working out...



Chilling out...



Meeting our new babysitter...

Who Has 4 Thumbs...

and are ONE month old today?

These guys!
























I know I have behind on blogging, but hellllloooooo... I have 2 babies. Two very wonderful babies. The past month has been a blur. A blur of feedings, diaper changes, tears, binkies...And that's just between E and I. People were not kidding when they said, "your whole world is about to change."

A change for the better I would say.

Week 3 and the Lessons We have Learned

1. Being militant with the twins’ schedule is key. If it means kicking out grandparents, missing the end of the game or pushing through it when you’re dead tired- you have to do it. Otherwise, you will kick yourself the next day when the babies are more delusional than the parents.

2. Tubby time IS the end of the world. Really.



3. Showers for the parents every other day is probably considered a plus at this point. Who cares if you’re in there at 5:00 AM for 45 minutes?

4. Your laundry no longer matters. In the 23 days my kids have been alive, I have done 15 loads of their laundry and 2 of ours.



5. I am pretty sure the Sound Machine that plays at bedtime helps put not only the twins to sleep, but soothes us over the monitor as well.

6. Just because E and I are photographers, doesn’t mean we have a ton of pictures of our kids. 2 of them and 2 of us. Unless we train Kori on the Nikon or learn to shoot with our toes, pictures are surprisingly hard to come by. Or, when I do attempt it Night and Day (aka Olivia and Ethan) have a plan of their own.



7. Caffeine. Keep it coming.

8. Ethan looks at me like my father when he’s angry.



9. Olivia is officially OFF the market!



10. Finally, E and I got out, for a whole afternoon! Best remedy for 2 new parents? Football, sun and beer.

Hello World

I keep trying to tell my kids to give me a minute so I can blog. To my surprise, they just do not care. ::sigh:: In fact, I started to work on this little entry about four, five, six, seven days ago.

I would like to give a very special thanks to Tiff, who was in charge of the updating the blog during the delivery for everyone. If we had planned it better, I would not have gone into labor at 5:15 in the morning on a SATURDAY, but, planning is now something I laugh at.

First off, three cheers for no longer being pregnant! Hip, hip, HOORAY! All the old wives tales of getting yourself into labor failed. What did work? California Pizza Kitchen, shopping for ‘spensive baby clothes and a bribe of s’mores from the aforementioned Tiff. Or, it could have been my 2:00 AM viewing of Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion since I couldn’t sleep. Who knows. Babies wanted out and I didn’t fight it.

What seemed like about thirty seconds later, we were a family of four. I absolutely love this picture because you can see that E is smiling even though he has a mask on, Olivia is being her calm self, Ethan thinks the world is ending and I look happily doped up and am rocking a drunken pirate eye. Alas, we are the Reeds.



We've been home for thirteen days. In those thirteen days, we have learned the following:

* Everything is trial and error. Apparently, those user manuals for babies do not come out after the placenta.
* Boys need their little peeps tucked under when diaper changing. We have been through three brands of diapers for Ethan alone. Recently, we are back to brand # 1
* Never turn down free help; we certainly do not. The love and support we have received from family and friends have been amazing. Whether it's a warm meal or the chance for us to take a nap, we have taken everyone's offer.
* We love to watch their little personalities evolve. While pregnant, E and I would often sit and wonder what the babies would be like. Well, take all of our predictions and reverse them.
* We have proven that we make an excellent team. Since the day I gave birth, E and I have been there not only for our babies, but for each other. You really do need to work together and be each other's biggest cheerleader or else it will all crumble.
* Normalcy? Out the window.

Hope to be back blogging at a better pace, now that we are starting to establish routines. We will have many more photos, as we are getting a lot quicker these days.