Goodbye Poem

I have started my last week at work... started packing up my office today. It is a sad but happy moment in my life as it has been almost 6 years at the nursing home, my first real job. I have had the honor to work with hundreds of patients, many of whom are in their last phase of life. I have learned more things than I can even articulate. It is a shame most in my generation ignore the "greatest generation" of WWII. I am leaving this chapter in my career to begin my dream job at the hospital where the girls were born. It will mean more prestige, more respect, more advancement, great benefits, but the drawback of not getting to really know my patients as most I will only know a couple of days instead of years.

One of my dear patients (who is published poet) wrote me a poem today, part of my beautiful good-bye card.

"Our years of friendship now number six,

You were already here when I moved in the nursing home.

I wasn't the happiest camper to be in this place.

You sensed this somehow early on in our relationship.

Through the years I came to you with my joys and disappointments.

You helped me dry my tears and understand my situations better.

I helped you with your problems and became your sounding board.

Our friendship grew deeper as the years seemed to fly by us.

And now you tell me you're leaving to take another job.

What in the world will I do without your wise counsel?

I am really exited about your new occupational endeavor.

We'll stay in touch and I know we will always be close in our hearts.

Rainbows and sunshine to you my friend.

Love always, C.W."

Bath Time

What's cuter than a baby in the bathtub? TWO!!! Twice the cuteness & twice the mess. Thursday night was their first real bath. Now that the girls can sit up by themselves, I thought we would try a big girl bath with bubbles. No more infant tub! And what a time saver for mom & dad. Get both over at once. Lexa loved splashing & filling the cup up with water over & over again. Geneva preferred to play with the duckie & look at Lexa puzzled.
We were visiting Granny & Granddad's last weekend & literally could not fit the infant bathtub in the car (it was PACKED) so we resorted to our first bath in the kitchen sink (Geneva wasn't quite steady enough at that point to try the regular bathtub).



Monday was their 9-month check-up. They did great! They flirted the entire time with the doctor & nurse, babbling & clapping their hands, pulling at the stethoscope, patting the doctor's face, you name it. They had to get their heals pricked for their iron/anemia test (which turned out normal, no more iron drops). When Geneva got her blood drawn (and it's quite a bit) she clapped the entire time. Her bandaid stayed on all of 1 minute until it ended up in her mouth. Here are their stats:

Geneva: 18 lbs., 1 oz. (30th percentile); Height 26.93 inches (25th percentile)

Lexa: 21 lbs., 11 oz. (90th percentile); Height 27.64 inches (50th percentile).

The doctor (and mommy) are very proud of the girls. You never would know they were preemies! They are such big girls, both sitting up, making crawling motions, and this week have started to pull up.

Good Weekend

We had a good but short weekend. It was actually 58 degrees on Saturday, so I bundled the girls up & we broke out the stroller! It was great to get out of the house for awhile & get some fresh air. I miss our daily walks that we had going in the late summer/early fall. This has been a long winter! The girls are doing well. They are on the move constantly! We had to break out the baby jail Patrick got from a teacher friend so we can keep them contained to the living room. Lexa is quite frustrated by the jail. Daddy calls her the "junior explorer." She is so inquisitive. I just say it's a sign of intelligence. We gotta work on those college scholarships! Still no teeth for Geneva although she is chewing on everything in sight including the front of the stroller as we walked through the neighborhood yesterday. They are so cute at this age. Everything is so new, exciting, & funny! It is definitely our favorite stage yet.

All My Children

I'm a bad mother. I watch my soap (that I've watched since 6th grade) in front of my kids. Well, I have noticed recently that every time the theme music comes on...they turn their heads, start smiling, & wiggling. It is crazy!! Rewind it & play it again, and it's the same reaction. I brought it to Patrick's attention & now it is a game to see them smile to the AMC theme song. Do they recognize it from the womb? So forget Rock-a-bye baby...here's their favorite song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TzfSDX8Xfo

Valentine's Day Photo Shoot

Well I attempted to take a Valentine's photo in their matching outfits so I could send out cards. As you can tell, getting 8-month old twins to both look at the camera, smile at the camera, & not cry (as it was 15 minutes until bedtime) while daddy was at night class was impossible. Oh well, Happy Valentine's Day!!

Home Alone

Well we have survived our first time home alone-no daddy & no grandparents to help out! Patrick was out of town combining a work event with a trip home to visit his grandmother & for the first time overnight, I was left to manage the twins alone. I know I should grow up! Patrick kindly reminds me "you're almost 30!" But my response, "I don't feel that way!" I used to laugh at my 80+year old Granny with gray hair & wrinkles who used to tell me (as a 5 year old girl) that she still felt like a 20-year old inside. I thought how stupid! But now I know what she means. I still look at my kids & get scared that I am actually responsible for them!! I feel like someone should still be responsible for me! But we did fine. Thank God for whoever invented drive thrus! The girls got to run errands with me this morning, all the places that have drive thrus-- the bank, the pharmacy, the cleaners, & of course Chick-fil-A for mommy. At every drive thru we got the familiar, "are those twins?" They love to ride in the car, just sit there smiling & laughing in their carseats. I feel guilty that I am not able to take them places like most moms with singletons. They have never been to the grocery store or public places other than the doctor :) It's just too hard to manage two, especially since our carseats do not detach into infant carriers. I hope Patrick & I can maybe start a rotation soon so we can at least start taking them one at a time. I know they get bored staying in the house all the time.