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Happy Halloween

Let The Feeding Begin!

In Lieu of a Baby Book

I'm very proud of the fact that I've been journaling almost daily about the twins for a year now. Not online, of course. Don't worry, you haven't somehow missed over 300 blog posts. I'm talking about my DayMinder.

Journals have always intimidated me. Those big, blank pages just staring at me. My nightstand is littered with journals containing only 2-5 entries. I'm pretty good at journaling while traveling, but that's finite. I know that I only have to keep writing until I get home. I don't write because I like to write. I write because I want to document life and revisit it later. I look forward to rereading my words but can honestly say that I've never anticipated the act of writing itself.

But the girls' short lives were moving swiftly by and I was already losing track of new teeth, words, etc. The baby books I was gifted at the shower are nice but too prescriptive. Where was the place to write in the twins' first hug? Their first squabble over a toy? The funny, nonsensical ramblings of a toddler? The baby books were just too basic, too fill-in-the-blanks-oriented. So journaling it must be. Grr.

The answer came last September and led me to my trusty local Staples to purchase a weekly view DayMinder. It's perfect for me. Just a few lines per day and it only cost $8 so if I wrote once a week (or less), I wouldn't feel bad about wasting money and paper.

Turns out that I've written almost every day since. I love it. That finite space inspires me and I'm no longer at a loss as to what to write. Perhaps someday I'll move up to a real journal but not anytime soon. I've just purchased my second DayMinder and have already reveled in writing two weeks' worth of cuteness in it. When I do want to write more, I can elaborate in the extensive Notes pages in the back of the book or blog about it (which I've been trying to do this summer).

But alas, the DayMinder has no room for pictures. Problem solved long ago. Before the twins were born, I knew that I wanted a summary album of their lives. One childhood, one album. I found two cute albums that hold 200 photos each. 200 photos = one photo per month for 16 years. Math gurus will notice that there are eight remaining photo slots in each album. I devoted those pages to pregnancy and ultrasound shots. In the end, Mika and Allison will each have an album devoted to their childhood through their sweet 16 birthday. I call them their "growing up" albums.

There will be other albums, to be sure. With almost 7,000 digital pictures on our computer alone (not counting pictures taken by grandparents and other family members and friends), we have A LOT of pictures to use creatively in a lot of different spaces. I already have plans for Best of 2006, 2007, etc, plus any number of themed albums and have been busy tagging photos accordingly in Adobe Lightroom. Look for the public debut of those albums around 2014 or so. For now, the DayMinder and Growing Up albums are available for anyone to peruse in our foyer. Happy reading!

We went to Auntie Beth's for dinner tonight. Allison spotted a large vent on the floor and promptly stood on it. "I'm on the scale. I want a sticker when I leave!"

Mika joined in the act by immediately walking up to Allison and examining her with an imaginary stethoscope.

"Am I okay, Doctor Mika?"

"Yes, you're okay Allison. You all better!"

Summer storms have been rolling through lately. Allison and Mika can't decide if thunderstorms are exciting or scary. Here's a few recent conversations on the matter:

(A few days ago)
Allison: I was talking to thunder!
Me: Really? Did thunder say anything back?
Allison: Yes. Thunder was talking to me!!
Mika: Thunder has big hands! Thunder lives in the sky!
Allison: Yes, thunder lives in the clouds in the sky.

(Today)
Allison: Thunder all gone.
Mika: Bye, bye thunder!
Me: Yes, the thunderstorm is all gone.
Mika: Thunder is all gone to the clouds.
Allison: Thunder is asleep in the clouds.
Daddy: Where does thunder live?
Mika: Delaware!!!

Baking Brownies

More Firsts

Today the twins spent the day with Mom-Mom and Gad. Good fortune was with them. Even as the areas all around them experienced terrible storms, Bear was spared.

They made their first foray to Lums Pond and loved every moment. They went for a long walk through the woods to the pond, where they saw canoes, kayaks, a nice sandy shoreline, and plenty of wildlife. Turtles (Gad's favorite) were out, along with groundhogs and a blue heron.

They found a new playground (maybe not brand new, but certainly new since the days when Mom-Mom and Gad used to take me to Lums as a little girl) and spent a good 45 minutes frolicking amongst the toys. A long walk back to the car wore them out; they nearly fell asleep during the five-minute car ride from Lums to my parents' house.

Gad says he got some great pictures. I'll post them when I get them.

Dinner was interrupted by a hellacious hailstorm, the twins' first. Ice bullets up to one inch in diameter poured down and covered most of our deck. It looked like it had snowed, except that the noise was horrendous. Mika was curious and wanted to watch at the window but Allison was a little nervous. (She's been timid about loud noises lately.) She didn't cry, but had no interest in looking outside. She just wanted to cuddle on the couch with the blinds closed.

After the storm died down we took Allison to the screen door so she could see the torrents of water flowing down the street. She overcame her fear completely when Jason ventured outside and came back with hailstones for the girls to play with. They were fascinated with the little ice cubes: how cold they were; how they melted so fast and became water. We had to replenish the supply of hailstones four times since they kept melting in the girls' hands.

We finally coaxed Allison and Mika away from hailstones and the (very wet) kitchen floor in order to get ready for bed. From our bedroom window, Daddy spotted a partial rainbow in the sky. Mika exclaimed, "Orange and blue in the sky!" Allison was excited to see their first rainbow too. It was a lovely end to such a big day.