The Climb

I discovered Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus when I was doing a practicum in first grade. I am not a huge fan of hers, but I gotta admit that I love her song "The Climb" and find the lyrics very inspiring. So here they are:

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"
Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking
But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm takingS
ometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going
And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on
'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody's gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!
Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

Halloween

This year, Billy and I haven't been able to do all the things we normally do around this time of the year. We didn't carve pumpkins, we didn't make caramel apples, and we didn't bake sugar cookies shaped like pumpkins and bats. Thanks to Matt and Erin, who watched Logan and Taylor on a Saturday night, Billy and I were able to go to a Haunted House, and that was a lot of fun. I am hoping that by next year, Logan and Taylor will be into Halloween, and all four of us will be able to restart our Halloween traditions.

For various reasons (I waited until the last week to look for costumes, original costumes were overpriced, and it was hard to find cute costumes for babies as little as Logan and Taylor), we had to improvise and try to be creative.

Friday, October 30, was Beggar's Night at the Valley West Mall. I am glad I finally got the chance to check it out, but it wasn't as fun as I imagined it would be. The line for candies was ridiculously long and slow. Maybe next year I'll do what other parents did that night and send Logan and Taylor to cut the line to get their candies. No one could yell at these cute little guys... (who by the way slept through the whole thing!)

Taylor was a cute little pumpkin that night.

And Logan was an adorable little ghost.

On Halloween night was the ward's Trunk or Treat. This time I think we were a little more creative in our costumes. We dressed Logan and Taylor as missionary companions! They looked so stinkin' cute!

Taylor looks exhausted from all this hard work.

But Logan looks excited and ready to convert tons of people.

Logan & Taylor are 3 months!

Logan and Taylor are 3 months old (and 2 days)! I can't believe how much they've grown! They've almost tripled their birth weight!

Logan weighs approximately 11 lbs, according to our not-so-accurate scale.

At 3 months, he can:
- lift up his head for a few seconds while laying on his tummy.
- smile, especially when he sees mommy and daddy.
- laugh out loud, and sometimes even in his sleep.
- talk a bunch, with "ooo", "aaa", "agoo", and "arooo".
- follow objects and focus on faces.
- sleep as long as 5 1/2 hours at night, but usually more like 4 1/2 hours.
- stand on his feet while we hold his hands.
- almost roll over (he stays stuck on his side).

This month, Logan also:
- discovered his toes.
- started eating his fists.
- started wearing some 3/6 months clothes.
- started wearing 1/2 size diapers.
- started really enjoying bath time.
- discovered what rain feels like on his feet.

Taylor weighs approximately 10 lbs.

At 3 months, he can:
- lift up his head for a long as a full minute while laying on his tummy.
- smile, especially when I say "Hi!" in a high pitched voice.
- laugh out loud.
- talk a bunch, with "aooo", "ooo", "aaa", and "arooo".
- follow objects and focus on faces.
- sleep as long as 5 hours a night, but usually more like 4 hours.
- stand on his feet while we hold his hands.
- almost roll over, but is not as close to it as Logan.

This month, Taylor also:
- put his hands together.
- started eating his fists.
- started wearing some 3/6 months clothes, but they still look big on him.
- started wearing 1/2 size diapers.
- started really enjoying bath time.
- does not pee on me as much as he used to during diaper changes.

What I'm looking forward to this upcoming month: better eating, especially for Taylor!

Dilemma

Yesterday, Billy received an e-mail accepting him into an anesthesia rotation at Doctor's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, from April 19 to May 14. It is a wonderful opportunity that will be very beneficial when the time comes for applying for residency. The only problem is that he will be gone for a whole month. I am considering going out there with him, but there are a few things I need to think about.

If I go with him,
We will be able to spend our anniversary (4/28) and my birthday (5/6) together.
We will see each other every night.
I will be able to visit the area and decide if this is a place we might want to consider living in.

If I stay here,
We will save money on food, since we receive help from the government.
We will save money on rent, because it would cost us $52 a night to stay close to the hospital.
Billy could stay with a resident, who could possibly help him to get into the residency program.

So, I don't know what to do... Any suggestions?

Unlearned mistake

Logan and Taylor still tire easily when they breastfeed, so I still breastfeed them for 10-15 minutes at each feeding then supplement with a bottle (filled with pumped breast milk).
Last night, after I had breastfed him, I put Taylor down on his Boppy pillow so that I could get his bottle ready. When I got back to him after a few minutes, he was asleep. Thinking that if he wasn't completely full, he'd wake me up before his normal 1 a.m. feeding, I woke him up to feed him some more. He resisted it for at least 10 minutes, but I kept insisting, so he gave in and ate a little. After 20 minutes, he had only eaten 1 oz., so I kept insisting until he had eaten 3 oz. He took him over an hour, but he did it.
I should know by now that if he resists eating, it usually means that he doesn't feel good or is simply not hungry. While I was burping him, OF COURSE, he spit up A LOT. So instead of spending 15 minutes feeding him until he was obviously full, I ended up spending close to two hours trying to get him to eat more, changing his pajamas, holding him until he felt better, and cleaning up the mess. Talk about getting more sleep, huh? I should really know... since it's not the first time it has happened... hopefully this was the last...

P.S. As of Oct. 10, I AM BACK TO MY PRE-PREGNANCY WEIGHT!

Ready to be potty-trained already?

These last couple of weeks, I have been giving Logan and Taylor about 15 minutes of "tummy-time" every day.

Logan doesn't seem to really "get it" yet. He just kind of lays there, with his head down, or licking the blankie.

Taylor really "gets it." He raises his head to look at everything that is going on around him. He can keep his head up for up to a minute, at least.

With a little bit more head and neck control, we figured we'd try out these Bumbos we bought a little while ago. Cute, right?

A few minutes into it, Logan's head dropped to the side, so I walked over to him to replace him and noticed a little bit of poop on his onesie. This happens quite a bit (Logan is our little pooper), so I wasn't surprised. So I lifted him up a little, and when I did, I noticed that his entire behind was covered in poop. More than just his onesie, the Bumbo was covered in poop, too. (Sorry if this grosses you out.)

To make things even funnier, while I was changing Logan, Billy stayed in the living room with Taylor, who had been sitting across from Logan. All of a sudden, Taylor started gagging, and Billy had to pick him up and take him out of the room. Interesting that they can sit in their own poop but can't stand each other's, huh?

Anyway, we'd like to think that Logan thought he was sitting on the potty, and that's why this little "incident" occurred. Could he be ready to be potty-trained already?

Complaining

I hate to complain to people, so I'm going to complain to my blog.
Everywhere the babies and I go, we get stopped by random people asking the same questions and giving the same comments.
"How old are your babies?" "Oh my, twins! Do you get any sleep?" "You look really good for having had twins!" "Double trouble!"
I didn't think I would mind, but it is getting really old. And now people are getting sick, so I just don't want them talking to me.
There is no room for my bulky stroller inside certain stores. Grocery stores are fine, but clothing stores, and even Babies 'R Us, have no space for us to travel.
And not every store/office has automatic doors, which makes it really hard to go places. The worst are probably my apartment and the church building, but I can't expect them to replace the doors for my convenience.
Wow, I feel much better letting that out. Thanks for listening.

Nope... still not sleeping through the night...

Sometimes I think that Taylor could sleep through the night,... if it wasn't for Logan waking up because he wants to eat. And then sometimes I think that Logan could sleep through the night,... if it wasn't for Taylor waking up because he wants to eat. The end result is the same, though; no one is sleeping through the night, not Taylor, not Logan, not Billy, and not me.

I have to say that there has been some improvement, though;
6:30 p.m. Logan took his bath.
6:45 p.m. Taylor took his bath.
7:00 p.m. I fed Logan, changed his diaper, and put him down.
8:00 p.m. I fed Taylor, changed his diaper, and put him down.
9:00 p.m. Billy and I spent some hubby-wifey time.
1:00 a.m. Logan woke up to eat, then Taylor. We were finished by 2:45 a.m. (They're both slow eaters.)
4:30 a.m. Taylor woke up to eat, then Logan. Billy was finished by 6:30 a.m. (There was some spitting up.)

So yeah, they slept for 5 hours that first part of the night. It's a whole lot better than 3 hours. I think we're getting there. Hopefully by the end if the month they'll sleep through the night. I can't let myself be too hopeful, though.

Baby #3

No, I am not announcing that baby #3 is on the way... but someone did ask me the other day when I think I'd be ready for another baby. Are you serious?!?! I have two 2-months-old babies!!! I think it'll take me twice as long (if not more) as any other mom to get newborn/pregnancy amnesia - you know, when you forget what it's like to get up every 3 hours to feed, try to calm down an inconsolable baby, or throw up as soon as you get out of bed for 3 months.
When Billy and I got married, we decided that we wanted all of our kids to be 1 1/2 year apart... We are now rethinking our decision... Maybe 3 years (or more) would be more reasonable. At least Logan and Taylor would be a little more helpful. We also decided that since he wanted 8 kids and I wanted 4, we'd settle for 6... Once again we are now rethinking our decision... Maybe 2 wouldn't be so bad after all. Logan and Taylor will be BFF anyway, so they won't need another sibling.
I'm sure that as time goes by, I'll laugh at how ridiculous this blog entry sounds. Of course I'm going to want more kids, eventually. It'll just take me a while, a long while. But I can't be thinking about this now. There is plenty to keep me busy now.

Logan & Taylor are 2 months!

As of today, October 1, 2009, Logan is 20 inches 3/4 (2.32%) and weighs 9 lb 10 oz (11.98%). He is on his way to triple his birth weight, which was 4 lb 13 oz.

As for Taylor, he is 19 inches 1/2 (0.04%) and weighs 8 lb 5 oz. (2.45%). It seems crazy to think that just 2 months ago, he weighed a little less a gallon of milk, at 4 lb. 4 oz.

Logan and Taylor love these Boppy pillows. They would be the happiest babies on earth if they could sleep in them all night long - sorry, babes, but that's not gonna happen.

Logan is starting to really look (and even stare) at the people who care for him. It's cute!

And yesterday, Taylor smiled in response to my smile. It was adorable!

What I'm looking forward to this upcoming month: more sleep (for them and for me)