She's wonderful! Tuesday - August 26, 2008

Our wonderful new au pair has arrived!

Her name is Julia (pronounced “u-la”) and she is from Germany. The kids all adore her.

We took Julia to Vasona Park on Saturday so the kids could ride the train and the carousel. Then on Sunday, Julia and I went biking with Gabby. We then topped off the weekend with some yummy sushi… and Julia loves sushi so she fits in just fine. ;-)

Also… Gabby and I have already learned to count to five in German!

Ummmm.... we're the losers. Wednesday - August 27, 2008

So… you know when you read those statistical articles about kids falling off changing tables or out of high chairs, etc. And while you’re reading them you’re thinking to yourself “what kind of loser would let their child fall from X?”

Well… we’re the losers.

Ok… not to point fingers or anything… but, it totally wasn’t me.

On a serious note… it may have been my scariest parenting moment to date.

Matteo fell off the changing table in the moment Dan left him there alone. I was in tears, of course. And as Dan ran with Matteo to the ER, I could see tears welled up in his eyes and a look of fear. And that says a lot. Before this, I had only seen Dan cry or near tears three times in my life. He cried when his father died. And, tears welled up in his eyes during two movies – “Friday Night Lights” and “We Are Marshall”. Again… I can’t make this stuff up. Totally honest.

Anyway… Matteo is 100% GOOD. No broken bones, no internal damage… and not one bruise. Thank God. And, part of me thinks his little angel brother took care of him.

Crazy thing is… we were thinking Rocco would be the first ER trip. He’s constantly falling and bumping his head as he explores the world crawling & climbing. I almost asked the pediatrician the other day if it’s possible to buy helmets for curious 7 month olds.

So, learn from us! DON’T LEAVE YOUR KIDS ON A CHANGING TABLE ALONE FOR EVEN A MOMENT! They will surprise you when you least expect it. And, you don’t ever want to have to feel how we felt when that happened.


Some recent photos of SUPER-Matteo:
















And, some recent photos of Rocco the explorer (aka, Bruiser):

And the topper to a chaotic week? Tuesday - August 19, 2008

We successfully pulled through yet another chaotic week. Here are few of the highlights… for memories sake. Well, and I should be honest. Hopefully, the kids will read this someday when we’re old and gray… and repay the favors.

Just a peak into a chaotic week with 3 sick kids under the age of 3:

Saturday, 8/9:
Gabby gets a fever that hits 102.4. She complains of her ear hurting which means we need to see the doctor. And because Saturday doctor visits just happen to be non-office hours… they also come with *special* fees. Lovely. For sympathy, she tells us “I have a froat.” Translation: “Dr. O said I might have strep throat.” No ear infection though.

Monday, 8/11:
* Matteo runs daytime fever of 102.4.
* Both boys begin getting abnormally fussy.
* Matteo pukes down my shirt, right between what’s left of my disappearing chest. The twins have GREAT aim with puking… have I blogged yet about how whenever they puke, it’s down my shirt, between my boobs? Anyway…
* Matteo’s fever spikes to 103.1 in middle of the night.

Tuesday, 8/12:
* I spend the night rocking and checking Matteo’s temperature. I get less than 4 hours sleep.
* Dan gets up throughout the night to wrestle an unusually restless Rocco. Dan also gets very little sleep.
* I call and schedules doctor appointment for Matteo.
* I take Gabby to school and hit the grocery store. While at the grocery store, I get a S.O.S. call from babysitter saying both boys are screaming and unhappy and she can’t do anything to soothe either of them. Totally abnormal call coming from the very competent babysitter. I hurry home.
* I visit the foot doctor. He basically tells me what I already know – my foot is f*$$#* up… but he uses x-rays, ultrasound and science language. I’m just great at summing things up with one word. So, he tapes my foot and tells me to go on a run (same day). Yup. In addition to having approx 3 hours sleep, 3 sick kids, 3 doctor appointments (keep reading), and working (for my paying job, that is). Uh huh.
* I get home from foot doctor. Babysitter says that Rocco now also has a fever. Rocco’s fever is 102.2. I decide to wait with calling the doctor for Rocco… I first wants to see if Matteo truly has something.
* Matteo’s diagnosed with ear infection.
* I get home. Rocco’s now burning up… fever hits 102.7. Ok, I guess we should get him in to the doctor today too.
* At 3pm… I am starving and finally eat something.
* Dan takes Rocco to his doctor appt. Rocco also has an ear infection. Dan also picks up the Rx’s for both babies.
* I pick Gabby up from school and race home to stuff her with food and get her dressed for swimming lessons (all within a 30 minute window).
* Daddy takes Gabby to swim lessons. Mommy stays home with two sick, tired and very crabby babies.
* Another sleepless night for mommy & daddy… FYI, babies with ear infections & fevers don’t sleep well.

Wednesday, 8/13:
* Matteo’s fever is gone. Rocco is still burning up.
* Matteo starts sitting on his own - hooray!!
* Daddy takes day off from work to help with sick kiddos and to also let mommy get much-needed work done.
* Babysitter calls in morning. She calls in sick for Thursday. As it turns out… we probably got her sick too. Dang.
* Rocco & Matteo are still F-U-S-S-Y and N-E-E-D-Y. Very unlike my two little men.
* Grandma Leo & Grandpa Kenny come (as they do every Wednesday). Bless their hearts! And, they deserve extra blessings because they stayed, even with two fussy/crabby babies!
* I bring Gabby to gymnastics.

And so on, and so on… you get the picture.

Now you’re wondering what the topper to the week was, right?

At the end of the week, Gabby looked at me and said "Mommy? You're boobies are falling down." Honest. She said this to me. I can’t make this stuff up. I almost fell over. I mean... I'm already struggling with my disappearing & drooping chest. Does the 2 year old really need to rub it in?

Matteo cut TWO teeth! Sunday - August, 17, 2008

As if to show us that he is a tough guy too - Matteo has cut TWO teeth at the same time. Very impressive, I know.

I figured the little man was up to something. In addition to being sick all week, he continued to be extra fussy even after he started the medication for his ear infection. I couldn't figure out why he wouldn't let me put him down without a constant, sad little whine. I started to think that he forgot he was a twin.

On Saturday - there they were. Two teeth. Both very visible. Our little man cut TWO teeth on the same exact day. Poor monkey. An ear infection, a fever that hit 103.1 and two new teeth. No WONDER he was whiny all week! Good job, 'lil Matt!

Matteo is sitting! Sunday - August 17, 2008

Matteo decided he's sick of viewing the world from the floor. After hours of watching Rocco explore the play area horizontally, Matteo now prefers to watch Rocco while sitting upright. For a while, he was looking at me a bit surprised, like "Am I sitting up like Rocco & Gabby do, mom?" But, after almost 1 week of practicing - today he looked like a real natural and only fell over a few times!

Thank the lord for tumbling mats. Well... kind of. Unfortunately, the mats haven't stopped Rocco from getting 2 shiners on his face and head over the course of the past week. One lovely black & blue spot on his forehead and one on his cheek. Poor baby!

Matteo sitting on the left, Rocco sitting on the right:

Crazy-cute faces... love 'em!

Rocco's pulling up to STAND! Tuesday - August 5, 2008

As if Rocco is trying to set some sort of record for new tricks... he decided to show us another. Yes... he's now pulling up to a strong stand!

I can't believe it. He did it 5 times today, but Dan & I both missed the first time.

I was working from home and our nanny came over to me and said "So, I can't believe Rocco is crawling, sitting and pulling up to a stand! So much has happened since last Thursday." I said "Wait! He pulled up to a stand?! OMG! I didn't know he was doing that either!" Crazy!

I'm now guessing this kid might just be walking before he turns 9 months old. There's no stoppin' Mr. Rocco!

Rocco's got a tooth! Sunday - August 3, 2008

It's official... our little man, Rocco, cut his first tooth today!

There was nothing sharp in his mouth this morning... and I should know because he spent lots of time chewing my hand, my arm, my leg and going after my feet. He spent the day being unusally fussy, having the symptomatic clear runny nose and LOTS more drool.

Then he chewed on my hand tonight and it HURT! I ran my finger over his gums and sure enough... it was a sharp little tooth that popped through.

Good job, little buddy!

Oh... and Rocco also ate his first fist-full of dirt. I can't imagine what else on earth could be more exciting than this.

A good kind of busy. Saturday - August 2, 2008

We’ve been busy lately – but for all the right reasons. Here’s our latest news and some of our recent wonderful achievements:

1. Gabby is 100%, fully potty trained. See below post.

2. Rocco is crawling. Rocco is now everywhere and getting into everything. Literally. He’s reminded me in recent days that anything small WILL be put into little people’s mouths. Anything that looks like it shouldn’t be climbed over or under, WILL be. Any magazines within reach will be torn apart and/or eaten. He’s progressed quickly this week from relying solely on the army-man crawl to get around, to full-on crawling.

3. Rocco is sitting. It’s his new trick this week. He’s sitting unsupported and he’ll even prop himself up into the sitting position.

4. Matteo is now rolling lots, scooting backwards, and testing new swivel moves on his belly. Seeing Rocco explore and get into trouble looks like a whole lot of fun and Matteo isn’t one to miss out on fun. Not to mention, Matteo also has to learn to defend himself from curious Rocco, who frequently tries to climb over or wrestle him, or grab his head and ears.

5. Gabby RAN just over 1 mile with us the other day. Dan & I were both shocked and impressed. I guess she is bored with always having to ride in the stroller. So, she decided and was completely determined to run WITH us. We let her and she ran a lot further than we thought she would. One + mile is probably equivalent to a two year old’s marathon.

6. Both boys have now slept through the night, on the same night, twice! Matteo has always been our good sleeper and has slept through the night quite a bit. But, Rocco has now also slept through the night several times. Hooray! Now, if we could only convince them to sleep through the night on the SAME night more frequently.

7. Rocco eats A LOT. Three to four times a day, he eats three 2.5oz packages of baby food mixed with rice or oatmeal cereal. It’s amazing. Rocco loves to eat. And, he still looks like the smaller twin but weighs more. We haven’t found a food he doesn’t like. He’s a lot like his daddy.

8. Matteo is real picky when it comes to solids. He likes pears, sweet potatoes and squash. Anything other than that, he protests with the cutest big lip pout ever, and a sad little whimper. A big meal for him is usually one 2.5oz package of solids and a couple ounces of milk.

Potty-trained! Hooray! Friday - August 1, 2008

Gabby is 100%, fully potty trained! Hooray!

We LOVE it and are so proud of her. She has been potty trained for two full weeks now. She had been using the big girl potty (selectively), since January. But, we couldn't get her to commit to using the potty chair ALL the time. Finally, I decided to tell Gabby we ran out of diapers. At first when I told her, she looked really sad and worried. She asked a few times "we don't have any more diapers for me?" She thought about it for a few minutes and then jumped up and yelled “Yeah, but we have pull-ups! Yay!” So, then I told her we only had a few pull-ups left too and we couldn't waste them. Suddenly, she was instantly potty trained. Amazing. It's as if I flipped a switch.

Wish I would have run out of diapers months ago! ;-)

We celebrated by going out to buy fun-themed big girl panties. Now Gabby gets to wear new big girl panties every day. And, some days, she'll put several pairs on just because they’re so cool!

What are we doing with all the money saved from not having to buy diapers for Gabby? Well, that money now goes into Rocco's food fund. That child eats like a man.

How cute are they?!

How cute are they?!

The boys needed 6 month photos taken, and I also wanted to try for a cute photo of the three of them together. I was shocked we actually got a photo of all three kids looking in the direction of the camera, at the same time. Amazing.

What?! Six months old? Wednesday - July 16

Wow – last week the boys turned six months old! I honestly can’t believe it… partly because we actually survived the first six months (always a good thing). And, partly, because I can’t believe my babies are getting mobile. Sniff, sniff! See the funny video footage below.

Below are the surprising 6 month statistics. Surprising for two reasons. Both boys have already surpassed how much Gabby weighed at 1 year of age. And, Rocco weighs more! Here are the stats:
Rocco:
Height: 27 ¼ inches (70th percentile)
Weight: 18lbs 12 oz (70th percentile)
Head: 45.6cm (85th percentile)

Matteo:
Height: 27 inches (65th percentile)
Weight: 18lbs (55th percentile)
Head: 46cm (95th percentile)

The boys are drooling constantly - but no teeth yet! Both have started solid foods. Both are able to roll from back to tummy and tummy to back. Both talk/babble/scream/coo. Both now go to bed consistently around 8:15pm. Rocco loves baths and Matteo hates baths. Matteo takes long naps, Rocco takes short naps. Rocco is loud, Matteo is quiet… and those are just the start of the differences.

Rocco is movin’ and a groovin’! He’s crazy-busy… just like he was in the womb. We can’t keep him still. If there is something on the floor 6 feet in front of him, he’ll army man or inch-worm his way over to it. He spends most of his floor time moving from thing to thing, so we’ve definitely entered the danger zone era. Another recent interest is climbing on top of Matteo and trying to eat his head, hands, or tummy. Rocco is also getting up on his knees and hands in crawling position… and lunging forward, sometimes to a face plant. I’m guessing he’ll be full force crawling before the end of July. Rocco LOVES solid foods. He’ll eat anything, and everything – just like his dad. He’s eating 3 solid food meals a day now… and easily puts down 5oz of solids, per sitting. The second you take the spoon away from his mouth, he’s already opening his mouth for another bite. He looks like a little bird… waiting for the food to be dropped in. It’s so cute! Rocco loves baths and practicing WWF wrestling moves with daddy… baby-style moves, that is. If you put Rocco in the Jump-a-roo… you’ll get dizzy within 5 minutes from watching him jump like a kangaroo.

Matteo is our little cuddly bear and pretty boy. His eyes are so big and beautiful. He loves snuggles and is such a mellow, happy little guy. He loves watching his big sister dance and Rocco cruise around. Matteo usually is content and happy wherever we put him, just as long as he can watch the action around him. Recently, however, I think he’s been inspired to roll a bit more from watching his brother. Matteo loves when we sing “A, B, C’s” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”… he’ll give a big open-mouth smile and a loud giggle. Matteo continues to be our best sleeper. He slept for 11 hours straight two nights ago (hooray!). He’s a bit high-maintenance to put down in the evening because he doesn’t like a pacifier. But, he’ll happily watch his mobile and fuss a bit before falling asleep. Matteo’s favorite solid food is sweet potatoes, and doesn’t seem to be too enthusiastic about fruits. Matteo loves going for walks outside and laying on blankets under the trees. He smiles, giggles and talks so much when looking up at the trees and sky. Matteo has fantastic hand-eye coordination… he’s helped hold his own bottles and now assists with holding spoonfuls of solid foods… often times resulting in big messes for us to clean up!

It's a JuNgLe out there! Sunday - July 13, 2008

One of my good friends, Kathleen, talked me into running the Los Gatos Jungle Run half-marathon (13.1 miles) this year. It was this morning.

I hadn’t planned on running it, as I seem to be on the night-owl schedule lately. Not to mention... the longest distance I've ran since getting pregnant back in May 2007 was under 6 miles. And, the last big race I ran was back in October 2001 - the Lake Tahoe half marathon.

I finally decided to just do it. Why not, right? So, I signed up for the run yesterday.

Getting up at 5:30am after a late night with the rowdy neighborhood clan wasn’t easy. And, it certainly wasn’t easy leaving the fun early. But, it was worth it. The weather couldn’t have been better. And, we did well. Actually, for having just had twins 6 months ago… I think I did pretty great. I kept up with Kathleen until about mile 9, and then I told her to just run hard because I was lagging behind. She finished almost 4 minutes ahead of me. I finished in 2:03.58, #44 in the 30-39 age category.

Here’s a few photos from this morning with the girls after finishing (Kathleen & Livy, Me & Gabby). You'll have to excuse Gabby's hair. Clearly a bit of bed-head going on. But, it was amazing that Dan actually made it out of the house with all 3 kids before 9 o'clock. And, I say amazing because if you could have only seen him last night... errhhhhmmmm... pre-children, he'd probably have spent the entire day in bed. Someone had a little too much fun last night.

Minnesota whirlwind... almost vacation-like. Friday - July 11, 2008

So, we ended up caving in and planning a quick trip to Minnesota over the 4th of July.

When I say "we ended up caving in", I mean that we caved in financially and logistically. After having just completed the big remodel and addition on our home, and then adding two members to our family… dropping a bundle on 4 tickets to Minnesota wasn't exactly part of our plan for 2008. Not to mention, the question of "can we actually do this with 3 under 3?" was a bit daunting. Ok… I'll be honest. It was flat out overwhelming.

But, yes - we did it. The boys were fantastic on both flights. They made the trip easy on us. And outside of Gabby having a temper-tantrum while going through security because a *random TSA* touched her shoes… she was great too.

Our schedule while in MN was extremely busy and somewhat exhausting. Something was on the calendar every single day. But, we were able to spend a lot of time with my mom and dad, all 3 of my brothers and their families, great grandma's Leona and Helen, and my uncle Bill, aunt Kay and cousin Haleigh who were in town from CT.

My family getting together is no small feat. Mark, Patty, Alexa and Callie, were in town from Shanghai, China. Jon, Jazzmin and baby Ellie were in town from Alaska. We were actually hoping to meet baby Ellie… but she decided to wait and not make her appearance while her extended family was together. We were so bummed… and will have to settle for photos. And then Dave, Joanne, Madeline & Emily, live in MN. So we were very lucky they also were able to spend time with us.

Minnesota highlights:
* Gabby getting to constantly play with cousins! Play time was spent on the beach, swimming, and boating. And, lots of time playing inside. Also known as operation destroy the inside of Gammy and Papa's house. As in… did a tornado go through your home or was that just a result of 7 grandchildren enjoying each other for 7 days?
* Attending cousin Maddy's 5th birthday party. Gabby was in party/sugar heaven. FUN!
* Attending a surprise birthday party dinner for my mom… more FUN!
* Spending a few hours visiting with three girlfriends from high school.
* Meeting two girlfriends from college for lunch.
* A fabulous 4th of July BBQ at my parent’s home with my entire family, and several of my cousins and their families. And that night we all went out on the boat to watch fireworks. Even the twins! I hesitated, thinking the loud bangs would scare them, but they both watched in awe and weren't bothered by the noise.
* Dan was able play 18 holes of golf.
* Gabby and I saw the movie "WALL-E" with her cousins. She happily sat and watched the movie, ate half a bag of popcorn, laughed louder than anyone else in the theatre and eventually face-planted on the movie theatre floor after attempting to climb the seat in front of us. Always the lady.
* Two baptisms… with a few surprises! See baptism post below.
* Poor little cousin Callie getting the 24-hour stomach flu… and not one of my children catching it! Amazing.
* I was able to get out on four runs. Four long, lovely sanity runs that didn't involve pushing babies. Wow… what a difference that makes.
* Dan and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We went boating, and then to dinner with Gabby, while my mom, dad and sister-in-law, Jazz, babysat the twins.
* 5 sleepless nights for Dan and I. Apparently, the boys weren't too thrilled about their new beds. And, they were thrown by the different daylight hours. They decided to gang up on us and switch off waking up every hour of the night for several nights. Two sleepless babies = two very tired parents.
* One set of car keys thrown in the garbage by yours truly. And, as usual, my mom rallied to save the day and retrieve the missing keys.

HUGE hugs and thanks to aunt Jazzmin, cousin Alexa, aunt Patty and Gammy and Papa for all the childcare help! And, thanks so much mom & dad for being such wonderful, kind and loving parents and hosts. Gabby has so many wonderful memories to keep her going until the next get-together!

Baptism... SURPRISE!

So, part of the reason we planned a quick trip to Minnesota this summer was not only to see and spend time with all 3 of my brothers and their families, but also to get the boys baptized and have their godparents be present. Rocco's godparents are Mark & Patty (they live in China). Matteo's godparents are Dave & Joanne (they live in Minnesota). Gabby's godparents are Trish and Todd who live near us in CA… so we never had the challenge of trying to schedule a baptism out-of-state, etc.

Everyone who knows us, also knows it wouldn't be right if we didn't add some sort of drama to an *official* sort-of-event. But, this time I thought we’d be in the clear. We were told over a month ago via email that the baptismal ceremony would take place after the service.

SURPRISE! Upon entering the church (admittedly, we were approx 10 minutes late) the priest said something that I didn't even really hear, as I was trying to slip in without making too much noise.
PATTY (SIL #1): "Jodi, you're supposed to go up there. He just called your name and mentioned the baptism."
ME: "WHAT?" (trying not to act shocked as I then realized, everyone is looking at us).
ME: "Dan, grab a twin, we're supposed to go up there."
DAN: "What?" And, he proceeds to walk out without a child in hand.

In my head, I'm thinking… Dear L.ord, Please don't make the baptism take place at this very moment… I'm still sweating from being late and dragging 3 children into an un-air-conditioned church on an uncomfortably hot & humid day. And, a quarter of the family who was planning to attend the baptismal ceremony is not present. Including, one of the godfathers. Try explaining that to your child someday… it would go something like "Sorry son… your godfather wasn't present at your ceremony because he didn't feel like attending church. But, yes, he's your godfather… and will help guide you with the Catholic faith… blah, blah, blah."

ME: "Dan, grab a kid." As, I'm struggling with the safety belt on Rocco's infant seat and trying to restrain myself from yelling "This was supposed to happen AFTER the service, people! Can't you see we have twins? I need to PLAN. My every hour revolves around planning. The year of surprises was supposed to have officially ended mid-June 2008!"

PRIEST: "Well, they have twins… so we'll come to them." (This is after patiently waiting for us to go to him for an uncomfortable 2-3 minutes.)

ME: Thinking… Thank God. Maybe this priest really is connected to God… clearly, God is giving him signals.

The priest then asks us to introduce ourselves and the twins. Dan is sweating. I am sweating. Babies are wiggling. The priest then asks us what brings us here today and points the microphone in my direction. All I could think was "Dude… I have NO clue. But, if you ask me why I'm in this situation right now I'd have to say that I must have done something wrong… bad karma. Seriously." The priest then whispers under his breath "say baptism". OH YEAH! Easy, right! So we proceed to say "Baptism". He then tells us and the parishioners the baptism will take place after the homily. All I could think is GREAT… now we'll have time to get Dave/godfather dressed and to church on time.

Joanne (SIL #2), proceeds to call Dave and leave a message on his cell and at my parents house. She can’t reach him. Mark eventually connects with Dave and tells him he has 10-15 minutes.

Gabby proceeds to get antsy, tired, and whiny. She starts asking loudly where baby Jesus is, where papa is, etc. She finally falls asleep on my shoulder.

Baptism time. Uh oh. No Dave in sight. Oh well.

We go up for the baptism. The priest walks over with his gear. And, like superman-godfather, Dave magically appears and rushes up to the front of church to stand by us just moments before the first of two baptisms actually takes place. He gives a calm, cool smile and all is well. Good timing. I'm happy for Matteo.

Baptismal highlights:
* Rocco was awake and Matteo slept for the entire ceremony.
* Gabby also slept through the ceremony... on my shoulder.
* Rocco LOVED having the water put on his head 3 times. He actually squealed with delight each time.
* Matteo was sleeping, so the water woke him up a bit. He cried a bit and then happily went right back to sleep.
* Matteo was awake and Rocco slept for the photos after.
* Both boys looked so handsome in their outfits. Both found their ties to be great teething devices.
* Gabby stuck her finger in the back of the cake during photos, and proceeded to stick one of the baptismal candles in the cake… cakes need candles, right?! Uh-huh...
* Rocco's foot ended up in the cake before it was cut.