One Whole Week Revisited

Strangely enough, the last time I titled a post "One Whole Week" it also pertained to sleep, but this time is bittersweet rather than an event to be celebrated because last night was the seventh night in a row that Nate and Seth have slept apart.

Oh, I knew it was coming. There were certainly signs and I'm glad they did it on their own terms, but still, I wasn't ready.

This post is my stroll down memory lane because I don't ever want to forget how sweet it was while it lasted. Sorry there are no photos of babies today, and instead just some quickie illustrations I did – but as much as I love taking pics of my boys there's no way I would ever turn on lights in the nursery while everyone is asleep to do it. The crib and "exhibits" are more or less to scale – and yes, Exhibits "A" and "B" are also Baby "A" and "B" and these are the overhead views of how they've slept since we brought them home.

Fig. 01: Home From The Hospital

Look how tiny they were when we first put them in a crib together! They could sleep side by side with room to spare and for the first time I kind of wondered why we'd bought two beds. We ended up using one for daytime diaper changes and playtime and the other was for sleeping. 

Fig. 02: And Then They Grew

This was the new arrangement after the first 8 weeks or so. The babies slept like this without incident for at least another 2 months following, until... 

Fig. 03: And Then They Grew Some More

... we had to start angling them to fit the crib. They were very still sleepers though and the way they went to bed was always the way I found them in the morning. At this point both Nate and Seth still slept on their backs, until... 

Fig. 04: Oh Dear.

... everyone became a confirmed tummy sleeper overnight and that's all they do now. That's when poses like the ones in Fig. 04 started happening, sometimes within 15–20 minutes after placing them in the crib while they were already sound asleep. Repositioning them was no problem and often they would remain back in the angled pose until morning. Well, that is, until... 

Fig. 05: This Isn't Going To End Well

... stuff like this started happening. I caught this pose during a random check and my first thought was, "well, this isn't going to end well" – and yes, there really was that much overlap between feet and head.

You'd think after that last pose I would have separated them the same night, but no, I did not. I kept thinking, "soon", but I dreaded the thought of it and honestly I'm sure I'd have had them bedsharing until they were ready to graduate so let's all be thankful they finally staged an intervention.

Last Thursday night, Seth went to bed as usual but Nate was not having it. This was unusual since they typically fall asleep within minutes of each other – and never more than 15 minutes apart – but there I was still trying to get the Sandman to pay Nate a visit a full 45 minutes later. He was SO tired, beyond tired, and when he finally got dozy I took him into the nursery and laid him next to Seth, but he was still not having it. I put him in the other crib so he wouldn't disturb his brother while I tried to quietly soothe him and, of course, he promptly fell asleep – and I had a feeling as I left the room that this was it, but I also knew better than to wake a sleeping baby so I didn't move him.

And you know what? Neither of them skipped a beat. They were ready. It was just their sentimental mommy who wasn't. It's been going swimmingly ever since.

- L.

Dear Nate & Seth...

Dear Nate & Seth,

Just in case you didn't know, 4:45 AM is *not* a time of day to be awake at, much less fully alert. Good thing you two are super cute and that it's always a pleasure to see you both no matter what time of day it is, but let's not push it OK? Not sure how you keep your internal clocks so in sync, but you might want to consider letting me in on your plans once in awhile or perhaps (and this is just a suggestion) maybe try sleeping later? You know, like you used to? I'd really prefer the sleeping later option if my vote counts. Nothing crazy. At this point 6 AM would probably feel like we're all on vacation.

Glad we cleared that up. It was an interesting day and memorable as always, but let's not do it again too soon.

*kisses*

– Mommy

Dexterity Part II: We're In Trouble Now

Not 24 hours after our last post, Nate has indeed gone pro with the Velcro tabs on his diaper cover AND on his fitted night-time diaper too which has a far sturdier piece of the stuff. No matter – if it has Velcro on it he's already got it open.

Now, you all might think you already know the answer to the question, "Why is Nate so eager to get that cover off anyway?" – but you might want to think again. Or you could just head on over to our YouTube™ channel where Nate answers this pressing question for you via a video demonstration.

Oh, and be sure to look closely – Nate flashes a glimpse of his prized new teeth at the 0:15 second mark.

- L.

PS. Nate's antics were shot on the first "take", but it was actually my third attempt to film them. The first two attempts Nate already had the cover open before I'd even picked up the camera. He's skilled AND quick! Oy. I really am in trouble now.

Dexterity, Thy Name Is Nate

So Nate and I, we have this game we play. It's been going on for awhile and I really don't know why I haven't posted about it before because he really has quite a talent at it.

It all started with the fleecy pants – and I need to pause here to say how much I have enjoyed the use we have gotten out of said fleecy pants. With two babies constantly outgrowing everything, these pants have not only stood the test of time but are also so soft and comfy and super-easy to pull on, even over fluffy cloth covered bums. They first showed up on the babies here in April. And here in May. And here and here in June. We are still wearing them and that's pretty amazing since they made their very first appearance on this blog before the babies were even born! I love them and I'm going to be missing them very soon since they won't fit much longer. If any of you happen to find pants just like these:

... please pick up two pair for us because they really are (were?) just awesome. 

OK, now that I've paid those pants their proper due I'll get back to Nate and his talents.

The pants have a decorative tie that I've always tied into a half-knot. No special reason really, although if I'd tied them into a full knot I might not be telling you this story. Or maybe I would still... I did mention the boy was dexterous, right?

Oh, Nate loves to untie that half-knot. At first I just thought it had come undone on it's own, but one day I actually saw him in action untying it – with much concentration and purpose. Now I think he could manage it in his sleep. Those pants can keep him entertained endlessly as long as mommy ties the knot again.

So, of course there's a video over on our YouTube™ channel where you can check out Nate's skills. In the meantime, here's a still from one of my favorite parts of the video:

His Gamma Rita would say he has "the sly look" here, and she might be right. I love the little grin he shoots at the camera as if to say, "Did you all catch that then? I'm goooooood!". 

***NOT SHOWN: how well this skill translates since Nate is busy working on his diaper cover now. He's managed to get it almost all the way off once, and he LOVES to play with the velcro closures whenever he gets a chance. His OR his brother's I should say, so you know it's only a matter of time before he turns "pro" at this trick as well. 

Oh dear.

Thank goodness pants weather is right around the corner. Even though we've had a lovely summer, fall can't get here fast enough.

- L.

We Love Our Joovy!

Two out of two babies agree: the Joovy Room 2 Play Yard is a decidedly good thing – and their mommy agrees too! The Joovy is 10 square feet of fun as well as a safe place to play. Nate and Seth have been having a blast rolling around in their with their toys and each other. They really enjoy their playtime together, even with the occasional foot in someone's face. You can tell they're best friends already. 

– Hi everyone! Here we is in our Joovy.
– Our Joovy is yellow. We look good in yellow.

– 'Dis our action shot.
– Do you think we has enough toys everyone?

For more Joovy action, head over to our YouTube™ page to see the boys hard at play.

- L.

Toothwatch 2010 Update

It hasn't been for lack of trying but I've not been able to get a shot of Nate's new teeth for you all to admire. It's the strangest thing because he loves to show them off, but every time I get the camera out to snap a pic he'll either close his mouth or do this: 

Every. Single. Time.

Maybe he really is hiding his pearly whites from the Tooth Fairy lady.

*shrug*

Who could blame him? They are very nice teeth after all. I'll have to step up my game though if I want to document them before he has a complete set.

- L.

Look What I Can Do 24 Hours Later!

What a difference a day makes! Seth is not only holding his own bottle but he's sorted out the angle enough so that he can actually drink from it. He definitely prefers the do-it-yourself approach – and particularly so with food. Once he got over the initial shock of the Mum-Mum biscuits, he loves eating them and I think it's at least partly because it's something he can hold onto himself. His favorite thing to do while I'm feeding them their purées is having a grab at the spoon and he can be rather the relentless one. I always make sure I have a few extra on hand just in case since it's impossible to wrestle a spoon away from someone this pathetic. I haven't the heart for it.

Here's a still from the video I shot of Seth making us all proud:

You can check out all the action at our YouTube™ channel of course. : )

- L.

Look What I Can Do!

Although Toothwatch 2010 remains in effect for wee Seth, there's a new video over on our YouTube™ channel of him showing off his newfound skills with a bottle this morning. If it seems like they are both learning something new almost daily, they are. My babies are growing up entirely too fast.

- L.

The Joy Of Reading

Devoured any good books lately?

– Oh, hi everyone! We is doing our reading.
– We's reading a BOOK.

– Mommy says books is good!

– I give 'dis one a thumbs up...

– ... because it's positively delicious!
– I think 'dis prolly not what "books is good" means Nate. *sigh*

These two were being so playful and cute during story time today I had to grab the camera and snap a few pics. This book is one of their favorites – it's a Touchy-Feely book called That's Not My Baby with lots of different textures to explore and a mirror at the end so they can see the "baby" that belongs to mommy. That mirror never fails to get everyone's attention, but I guess the part Nate likes best is the flavor. 

– Well, hello there. We is alone at last.

– Don't care what anyone says. You is delicious. 

– Scrumptious even.

Don't forget to jump on over to our YouTube™ page to see the boys' adventures with their book in action. I love the end frame especially:

Toes!!!

- L.

Mum-Mums Get Mixed Reviews

In amongst trying out purées (so far we've successfully tried sweet potatoes, peas and bananas and are moving on to avocados today!), I thought I'd give Nate and Seth a Baby Mum-Mum biscuit to sample. They are basically a rice husk that melts in the mouth and are a nice size for small hands to hold. They come in different flavors and I bought banana since I figured that would be a flavor they are already familiar with and like. 

Nate took to the Baby Mum-Mums like nobody's business on the very first try and I managed to get a nice video of him showing off his skills. You can check it out on our YouTube™ channel, but I'll add a still frame here so you can see what a fine job he did:



Seth on the other hand was not terribly impressed with food he had to hold himself on the first try, but he had it by the second day and I'm SO glad I had the camera handy again because his reactions were absolutely hilarious.

Here's a still before he really tasted it:



... and after:



Talk about a stink-face! You know you can't resist checking out any video with that expression in it, so head on over.

- L.

PS. The background noise you can hear in both clips is the dryer running. I use Nellie's dryerballs so it makes things a tad noisy (but they get the job done nicely). 

Two Tooths!

– Oh hi there everyone! 

– Did mommy tell you all my big news? 

– Let's see... what was it again?

– Oh yes. My tooths. They is right here. I have TWO now! They are fun to play with. 

– But I have to make sure I don't show 'em off too much. I's not ready for a visit from that Tooth Fairy lady I keep hearing 'bout. Stay away Tooth Fairy lady!

Mommy note: Nate was having a grand time playing peekaboo with me while I snapped these pics. Peekaboo is a big hit with both boys and they absolutely love it when you "find" them. I get the some of the biggest grins I've seen around here with this simple game.

And now at least one of those grins is getting pretty toothy! I love it. : )

- L.

Showing You All How It's NOT Done

Last weekend M. bought the boys a new toy for ages 6 months and up. It has all kinds of do-dads and fun things on it. It rattles, things spin and it is wonderfully colorful. I couldn't wait to get it out of the box and show it to Nate and Seth – although getting toys free of their boxes these days seems to require a degree in advanced engineering, so it took awhile.

At last I had it ready to go and was just in the process of showing it to the babies when Seth snatched it out of my hand and promptly clobbered himself. : (

And you know that thing babies do when they hurt themselves and they open their mouth to cry but no sound comes out? Well, he did that.

Thank goodness some cuddles and kisses saved the day and he was happy and wanting to play again in less than 3 minutes. I thought for sure he'd given himself a good shiner since you can see a bit of a bruise under his eye in this pic: 

But by morning there was no bruise, just a bit of a red mark where his eyelid got scraped.

*whew*

Or so I thought. The next evening when I went to feed them their bedtime meal, I saw this: 

At first I thought it was a shadow/trick of the light since it was not very bright outside at this point, but no... it's a shiner. I have no idea if it was from the night before since the bruise appeared to be gone by morning, and it doesn't really make sense that it would it suddenly reappear. A new bruise from something else then? I have no idea, but despite all appearances, Seth is a very active baby and it's entirely possible this was a fresher injury.

Ugh.

But wait – it gets worse, because not 2 days later, there was an equally impressive bruise under his other eye.

Oh, Seth.

I thought about taking a picture of that one as well because that would have completed the trifecta of injuries, but his shirt was terribly dirty at the time (we'd just had our peas and bananas and their new bibs can only hold back so much). In the end, I decided against it. 3 injuries in one week, 2 bruised eyes and a dirty shirt?

Too much.

I might as well call CPS myself. *sigh*

What makes this all so confounding is that for the most part, all of their toys are soft, plushy things. And Seth wasn't around any of the ones that aren't when the last 2 injuries happened. And also, they are rarely unattended and if they are it's only for a few minutes while they seem happy and are playing so their mommy can get a bathroom break or grab a quick bite. There wasn't any crying either (other than the original injury) and although the boys do get in a few kicks to the face here and there when they are playing together, no one was in a position to do that when I left the room or when I returned.

So... confusing, confounding and oh, look – there's that mommy guilt again.

Seth, please stop hurting yourself however you are managing it, my son. It makes your mommy worry and I don't like it. I don't like it at all.

- L.

Showing You All How It's Done

Nate has been seriously working on holding his own bottle here and there over the past week, but it still caught me off guard yesterday when he decided it was really time to go for it. I scrambled to get the camera as fast as I could and got a great clip of his antics. Check it out over on our YouTube™ channel!

The middle part is a little long, but something told me to keep the camera running and I'm glad I did since the ending is priceless. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

- L.

PS. The camera shakes from time to time were from Seth kicking my elbow while I was filming.

Our 100th Post!

... of 2010 that is. Since I missed the occasion of our actual 100th post back in June I thought I'd do the next best thing and celebrate our 100th post of this year – and what better way to do so than with one of our out-take pics from our 6 month photo shoot? Without further ado, the Oddest Prime presents a rather odd photo:

Do you see what I mean?

What is going on with Nate's bent arm in this photo? Are babies really this... malleable? I've got pretty flexible elbow joints myself, but I can't even come close to this pose – and he looks so comfortable doing it. Does he even have a joint in there? Is his arm broken? How is he doing that? I don't know!

And then there's Seth's shirt strap. It looks like I've starched his outfit or like it must be made out of some rather stiff material, but these onesies are so soft and stretchy I don't even know how it's possible for the strap to be doing that. I don't get it. It looks like he has an invisible coat hanger in there!

- L.

All Things 6 Months

Nate and Seth celebrated their first half-birthday on Monday, August 1st. They tried out solid food for the very first time and although reviews were mixed, it is a decidedly good thing now. So far we've worked our way through the sweet potatoes and have moved on to peas. The peas are a hit, which surprised me somewhat since they have a little more texture to them. When you make your own you can never get them as smooth as store-bought, but neither of the babies seemed the least bit fazed. We'll be moving on to bananas and avocados in the next few days.

The other big thing we all did that day was a photo and video shoot and if you've already visited us at our YouTube™or Flickr™ pages, then you've already seen what we got up to. The boys did a great job of showing off their moves rolling on the bed. Nate doesn't quite get all the way over in the video, but he's definitely got the hang of it. They are both so close to crawling it's a little scary.

Here's a little teaser in case you haven't been over to see the entire set of Nate and Seth in their 6 month muscle onesies. I thought them most appropriate for the occasion and was so pleased they still fit.

– Whoa Nate! Look out, it's that mommy person with the camera again. 

The other big 6 month update is of course, our 6 month visit to the pediatrician for Nate and Seth's checkup and shots. For the record, I'm so glad we're done with shots for the next 6 months, but this time was pretty easy all things considered since I feel comfortable giving them Tylenol now and what a difference it made! I don't know that I've even seriously considered writing a thank you letter to a company before, but I probably should in this case. The babies were so much more themselves than either of the two previous times they've had their shots and I'm glad I could offer them something other than cuddles to make them more comfortable.

As always, the boys are doing great and the checkup went well. It was noted with much enthusiasm that we have some TALL babies on our hands and certainly they are relative to their weights. Seth is still in the 10th percentile for weight and Nate is in the 25th – but both boys are in the 50th percentile for height. No wonder they're always outgrowing their outfits before they fill them out.

Here are the stats for those of you who like stats:

Nate: 15.75 lbs. or 15 lbs. 9 oz. (7.155 kg) | 27.5 in. (70 cm)

Seth: 14.95 lbs. or so close to 15 lbs. let's just say he's 15 lbs. (6.785 kg) | 27.1 in. (69 cm)

- L.

A Few Changes At The Oddest Prime

You may have noticed a few changes quietly happening over the past couple of days on our blog. The Oddest Prime now has it's own channel over on YouTube™ for you to view all their video appearances. I'll be adding more of the archived videos as time permits, and new ones as they happen.

We also opened a Flickr™ account to store all our best photos, and as with our video channel I'll be adding from the archives over the next several weeks and posting new photos as well. All the images are high resolution 5x7's and are available for download – which is likely very exciting news for anyone who has asked for printed photos of the boys (or for Gammas with a digital frame!).

Here's how to download from our Flickr™ page:

When you've selected an image to view, you should see a screen like this:

Directly above the image on the left is a button called ACTIONS, and if you roll your cursor over it, you will see the option to view all sizes. Selecting that option will take you to a page where you can choose the size you'd like and download it to your computer. Pretty simple, no? 

Hope you all enjoy the new features we've added, and I'll do my best to get more content added as fast as the babies will let me.

- L.

First Solids

I was so excited to start taking pictures yesterday after I got everyone into their highchairs for their first meal that I almost forgot the bibs. Whoops!

Much better. Now we are properly suited up:

Here's Nate after his first spoonful of sweet potatoes:

He wasn't at all sure what to think at first, but after a few more spoonfuls it was a decidedly less than favorable review.

Here is Seth after his first spoonful:

I love the look on Nate's face in the background. You can see he is very apprehensive about the new food and everything that comes with it.

Seth on the other hand seemed to really enjoy his sweet potatoes, although he would like you to know that the spoon is definitely the best part.

And if the pic isn't enough to convince you, there's video:

Sorry for the camera shake, but I had a very squirmy Nate on my lap at this point.

And just in case you haven't had your fill of messy faces, there are a couple video clips of the boys in action. Here is Nate being less than impressed:

And Seth between spoonfuls surreptitiously chewing on his bib:

- L.