Lukas Milestone: A much needed haircut!

We finally, finally, finally took Lukas to get a much needed haircut.  He and Alex had both gotten a few strands cut by me, but nothing that qualified as photo worthy.  

Before:

Sporting the Donald Trump look!

9 Months! 9 Months!!!

Life is very different in our house these days... in a good way!  We have babies on the move that are starting to show us their personalities!  They chase after us down the hallway, squawk when a brother steals their toy and like to "talk" to us.  Also, we now get the occasional morning when all three sleep past 6am - heaven! Unfortunately, evenings continue to be pretty brutal, since they are both still lousy nappers.  Surprisingly, there isn't a single tooth between the two of them.  

They are both lil' peanuts - Alex is in the 15-20% percentile for weight and Lukas is only in the 5-10% percentile -- interestingly, there is just under a pound of difference between them.  Both continue to trend along the same growth line, so the doctor tells us we have nothing to worry about.  

Always fun to reminisce and see what Oliver was like at this age.  No surprise that the babies remain developmentally behind their big brother.  They can pull themselves up on things, but that's a very new skill and they aren't doing it all over the place yet.  They don't really have an interest in walking when we hold their hands and haven't tried to "cruise" either.  

8 Months

This photoshoot was very different than the others to-date - the babies would NOT sit still.  About 5sec after I took this photo, I had to catch both of them as they went flying off the chair!  Phew! 

Latest Happenings.....

I'm a bit overdue for a family update.... apologies in advance for the length of this post.  

We have a Nanny now, as we were not able to find an au pair candidate that we liked and that we thought could handle the craziness that is our life.  The current plan is for the Nanny to work for us through the summer, until we find our next au pair (since most Germans/European au pair candidates are on a summer cycle). 

My family has been convinced that we will love the Nanny option and won't go back to having an au pair.  There are definitely some pros to this arrangement, especially knowing that the babies are with someone very experienced that won't get overwhelmed.  It's nice to get a bedroom of our house back, and the firm 7am start time helps Adam & I get off to work early.

Some of the Cons: Cost!  This is more than double the cost of an au pair.  And, less schedule flexibility - "K" works 7am-4pm. She will stay an hour longer if we need her to, but no date nights, Saturday AM hours, etc. I had a company report earnings earlier this week an hour earlier than usual. the Nanny had just left and Adam wasn't due home from work for another hour --- this is how I got work done -- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We would have never let Oliver watch TV at this age, but I didn't really have any other options.

We had really hoped that the Nanny would sweep in and restore some order in our house - get the babies napping, eating solids... I don't know what else, but that it would feel transformative.  I wanted a "where have you been all our life" feeling, though I knew we were asking for a lot.   I joke with Adam that we need Jana to come back. When she came to rescue us in between Katharina and Pauline, I felt like she was a German-Supernanny swoping in to get Oliver back on track.  K is nice, but there's something I can't put my finger on that I'm not a fan of. It's only week 2, so maybe I'll feel better as we get to know one another better.

Oliver - 2 3/4 Update

I better hurry up and publish this before another month goes by!  In January, Oliver officially became 2 3/4, though when I tell him that, he yells back at me "No!  2 1/2!"  Time to start explaining fractions, I guess.  Family getting this via email: I have expanded/tweaked the entries on Alex, Lukas, and 7 month photos - click on the Adventures in Parenting link at the end to go the website and check out the additional stories. 



the many faces of Oliver

I realize everyone says this about their own kids, but we continue to be amazed by what a smarty-pants Oliver is, and I glow like a proud-mama when others tell me how impressed they are with Oliver's verbal skills... of course, I don't think I can take much credit for that, but I beam nonetheless.

Make-believe games have been taken to a new level and require a whole lot more work on our end.  The newest game is that Adam or I construct something out of pillows and cushions in the basement (firetruck, boat, bus - they all look pretty similar) and then we play out a story.  The last time I got to play (clear preference for playing in the basement with Daddy), I was instructed to drive the school bus while Oliver sat in the back.  We made multiple stops (reading a lot of "Caillou and the School Bus" lately) and I had to tell him who we were picking up.  The game was so long, I started running out of book/tv show characters to board the bus!

 

Actually, Oliver's advanced verbal skills backfired on us recently.  Because he speaks like a 4-5 year old, we forget that he still has the brain of a 2-3 year old.  Case in point: Last week, as I was making dinner and trying to keep Oliver entertained, I gave him a dry erase marker and showed him how he could draw on the windowpane.  Adam & I repeatedly stressed that these were special markers and were not to be used on anything else. (See where this story is going?) As we were eating, I thought to myself that it would only be a matter of time before we found him drawing on the walls with magic markers.  Little did I know that it would be a reality the very next day!  When Julia went upstairs to change a baby's diaper, Oliver managed to get dry erase marker on: the molding, the garbage can, the diaper genie, the wall, the fridge, the dishwasher, the stove, the cabinets, the exersaucer, and the doorway jumper.  It is as if someone was standing in front of him with a timer and said "You have 30 seconds to use marker on as many different surfaces as possible.  Go!".  Thankfully, I was able to get the marker off of everything except the caulking around the doorway easily. 



Oliver has become a big helper around the house and will happily grab a bib, hand the baby a toy, or throw out a diaper for us.  Though, one quiet morning when he, Alex, and I were sitting on the couch and Alex had the nerve to inadvertetly touch him, Oliver asked me "Mommy, can the babies go back to the hospital now".  Sorry kiddo, we are stuck with them forever, and forever.  Like a typical toddler, he's not as careful around them as we would like, and Adam and I worry that he may bounce one of the babies right off the bed when he is jumping around.  But, he can be "babysitter" and knows to yell for one of us, if a baby has face planted while we are getting ready in the morning.  There have been only limited instances of him hitting or acting out towards the babies, or trying to pick them up - I'm expecting this is still to come.  The babies can reach for "Kermie" and his toys and he does not appreciate it one bit.  Even if he's not playing with something, particularly the xylophone, he gets mad if one of the babies is playing with it.  Once they are mobile, this is only going to get worse.  

Oliver has become a greater eater and has been pleasantly surprising us with the food he is willing to not only try, but eat.  He actually ate sloppy joes for dinner last night with Daddy! (Mommy wouldn't even touch the stuff).  Fruit and veggies still reign supreme.  I suspect there aren't too many houses where phrases like "please stop eating all of my red peppers" and "you can't eat your salad until you eat some more rice" are often uttered.  No complaints here! 

Potty Training?  Nope!  Still ZERO interest.  He doesn't even care if he is walking around in a completely full diaper, regardless of what's in it.  We'll be playing up the "At 3 you are a Big Boy" big-time as we launch a full-out potty training campaign once we get back from vacation. 

Oliver also remains unwilling to learn how to dress/undress himself.  The disinterest in undressing usually has to do with foot-dragging ahead of bedtime, but I haven't figured out why he doesn't like getting dressed in the morning. 

Oliver is a pro at doorknobs, which is very convenient when he wakes up in the morning and can just come upstairs himself.  The drawback was that he just realized that stuff is still going on in the house after he goes to bed, and since he doesn't want to miss out on any fun, bedtimes were a bit more challenging for a few weeks (still asleep by 9pm, so I'm not complaining). 

 

Noises and lots of hub-bub continue to be challenges for Oliver.  While he enjoys school, he tells us that there are "too many kids" and that "the kids too noisy".  There are 4-6 kids in his class, so we know this is more related to him being hyper-sensitive to noise than anything else - seems he got Omi's "super-sonic hearing" as I call it.  He doesn't "shush" us yet, thankfully! He covers his ears when he hears a horn, the blender, a vacuumn cleaner - I had hoped that this was just a phase and something he would grow out of, but its something we really need to look into, so we can help him cope better.

 

Oliver remains slow to warm when we are out in public and something we constantly need to be aware of (like planning where to host his birthday party, for example).   At the indoor play gym Adam & I took the boys to last weekend, Oliver finally felt free to run around alone and seemed to be really enjoying himself, right when we were leaving -- after being there for 2 hours (and this wasn't the first time he had been there). 

TV favorites lately are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (thanks to cousin Bentley), Berenstein Bears, and the dreaded Caillou (I pretend I don't know how to find it OnDemand, but I probably can't get away with that much longer). 

Oliver is still big into hide & seek (and getting much better at it), arts & crafts projects, playing in the basement with Daddy, and standing on his stool in the kitchen and watching us cook. 

 

A Little About Lukas: 7 Months

Lukas is our little munchkin. 

• He's a very smiley guy, but a bit of a cry-baby when he tips over.  He's not at all like his brothers, who think nothing of it when they crash into something on the way down. 
• Lukas sticks out his tongue out, a lot!  It reminds me of my Oma-Sinsheim (my dad's mom) in Germany, who would have her tongue out like this when she was concentrating on something or exurting great effort (like climbing up the steps).  Apparently, cousin Devon does this too when he is deep in thought, so it must be a Doerr-gene.  It will be interesting to see if Lukas is still doing it when he is two years old too.
• Lukas LOVES nothing more than to bounce, especially in the doorway jumper. 
• He's been able to get on all fours and rock back and forth for some time now.  Oliver very quickly went from this to crawling, but Lukas has been stuck (or inches backwards) for a few weeks now.  I call him my little inchworm. 
• Lukas is partial to bananas and anything mixed with bananas.  If you give him anything else, he makes raspberries and food goes flying everywhere, which he thinks is pretty hysterical.
• Lukas is not a good napper.  He prefers a 30min catnap over a real nap (that let's us get something done), which also means he's still napping 3x/day, which we aren't too fond of.  He fights sleep and I still haven't gotten used to hearing him cry himself to sleep.

 

Getting to know Alex: 7 Months

• Alex reminds us a lot of Oliver.  Not only does he look similar, (bald head, blue eyes, and growing cheeks), but in lots of ways he acts like Oliver used to as a baby.  When you are feeding Alex and he's excited for more, he waves his arms and sticks his head/body forward just like Oliver used to. 
• Alex is also a very good eater and loves everything we have given him so far.  He also does not appreciate it if you or Lukas are eating in front of him.  Even if he had just eaten moments ago. 
• Alex is lightening fast - if he is sitting on your lap, he will grab at your bowl, plate, etc and he WILL be faster than you! 
• When Alex is happy, he rolls his feet -it's a cute non-verbal way to see that he's happy. 
• Alex has a set of lungs on him, which is constantly amazing me.  It does make it particularly annoying when he is up in the middle of the night, because he is SO LOUD.  Awake is one thing, Awake and vocalizing at the top of his lungs is something else entirely!
• Alex is a bit of a bully.  He has horse-collared Lukas a few times now, pulls his hair, knocks him over.  Lukas better learn how to fight back! 
• He's super ticklish and when he's being fussy, tickling his feet is a great distration and mood-changer. 

 

7 months and lots of fun

This is one of those moments I wish I could freeze time a bit to enjoy the babies as they currently are.  They are good sitting up boys, who like to play with toys, be around us, and aren't on the move yet!  Alex, in particular, reaches out his arms when I am sitting close to him, because he wants me to snuggle him.  Lukas will make noises at you if he is in the doorway jumper and you are out of his line of vision. 

Lukas is such a small peanut compared to Alex, although it isn't even a pound of difference between the two of them - it must have to do with head size :-).   Lukas is in the 5% percentile and Alex is around the 15% percentile, so not exactly huge either. Between 6mo to 9mo is when Oliver fell from the 75% to 50% percentile, because he was constantly on the go. 
 

 

We've Survived!!!!

It's been a rough couple of weeks around here and we have had some days that were completely brutal. On more than one Sunday, Adam and I looked at each other around 3pm and wondered how we would make it to 8pm/bedtime.   Our New Years day started at 4am - ugh!  My family has gotten used to phone calls with me that end abruptly - a baby suddenly screaming, Oliver's getting into trouble, etc... it's no secret that we have our hands full!

But just this last week, it feels like things have gotten a bit more manageable. I'm afraid to jinx it by mentioning, but I think we may have finally turned a corner!  Fingers crossed! 
(Lukas left and Alex right in the following photos!) 

We have sitting babies!!!

A perk from working from home - cute baby photoshoots! 

 

Of course the boys did better sitting on their own when I didn't have the camera out!  Yes, technically Alex IS in the process of tipping over in this first photo, but trust me - they can do it!  Nicole bought me these Christmas outfits last year - she just HAD to buy something matching for the babies once she found out we were expecting twins.  

Alex (L) and Lukas (R)

Super cute photos after the break!

5 Months Old!

 

Oliver: Our 2.5yr old Devil!

Oliver turned 2 1/2 earlier this month.  I think this is the first time I can honestly say I will not be sad when this phase is over.  Yikes!  He was such a cute and adorable 2 year old - what happened?  We never know what to expect out of him these days.  What he thought was silly/funny yesterday could set him off today.  Explosive is the best way to describe his personality lately.  We are very much living with a tiny Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde and it's exhausting!   

A Look Back: Oliver's first 3 months

We didn't create this blog until Oliver was about 6 months old, so I thought it would be fun to dig up some old photos of Bubba from those first few months.  Check out those baby blues!  Doesn't he look a whole lot like Alex?  Oliver was a very good-natured baby, who really loved tummy time.  He was a smiley, chatty kid, except in the car, where his non-stop crying would bring me to tears on 95, since he was always the most hysterical at areas that were the least safe to pull over at...  

 

Alex 3 month

Alex was the smallest when he was first born, but by the second month check-up had passed Lukas in weight.  We occassionally call him Bubba Jr.  Oliver was the original Bubba, since he was a bit of a chunker early on too (all that changed when he started crawling - at 5 months!).  Alex is in a lower weight percentile than Oliver was at this age, but seems have more fat rolls.  Or maybe he's just got a dirtier neck so I'm more aware of them!   

Alex is happiest when he is where all the action is. If Pauline or I are in the kitchen, he likes to be in a baby seat close by watching what we are doing. He's generally unphased by Oliver's antics. 

Lukas 3 Month

Lukas is our lil' peanut.  He's the more good natured baby, and there was a period when he wasn't being held nearly as often because Alex demanded more of our time.  He's always been very alert and when you hold him he's always looking around surveying the land, which has resulted in more than a few fat lips as he knocks his unsteady head into your face.  He's a good head-holder-upper, but doesn't particularly care for tummy-time.  He's much better than Alex at "standing up" when you have him on your lap.

3 Month Photo Fun

They are getting so big!  One of the things I really enjoyed while home on maternity leave was making the time to take photos of the boys. Oliver really enjoys getting in the photo as well when he gets to hold the babies.  Lukas (L) and Alex (R) in all of the photos -- "Lukas-left" is a great way for us to keep tabs on the babies in their crib (so you know which baby you have when you grab them in the middle of the night) or which bottle belongs to who. 

Oliver Update

It's been ages since I have written a "milestones" update on Oliver (I have been meaning to do it since before the twins were born!).  He is less than a month from officially being a big two and a half year old.  He is constantly amazing us by how much he can talk, the things he can remember, and the games he wants to play with us. 

Transitions, transitions, transitions!

Last Friday, Oliver went to a pediatric dentist - we had been reading the Berenstein Bears "Visit to the Dentist" (a classic!) to prepare him.  We were also talking a lot about how he was a big boy and the dentist was going to take his schnullis (pacifiers).  Oliver was a real trooper and both the nurse/assistant (?) and Dr George both commented on how well he did for his age.  We were able to get through the full examination/teeth cleaning with minimal whining/tears!  I was a proud momma-bear.  Oliver was able to sit on the big chair all by himself and enjoyed hearing about all the tools the dentist was using.  Local friends -- Cobblestone Kids/Dr. George is fantastic! 

 

Getting a last suck out of the schnulli in the waiting room

passing the time watching an Elmo movie while we wait for the doc

Two Months!

I was a bit late in taking this photo and even later in posting - Two Months!!!  They have just stated smiling - although, the ceiling fan gets more smiles than we do.  Once the babies can actually do stuff, I will start writing something along with these monthly milestone photos.  For now, I will just say that each week feels easier than the week before - a trend I really hope continues! 

 

It's been hard to not compare what the babies can't do to what Oliver was doing at this age....  Adam keeps reminding me that the babies were born a full month earlier than Oliver, which makes a big difference.  (Twins @ 38 weeeks and Oliver @ 42 -- pretty crazy to think I was pregnant for an entire extra month the first time around).  

Big Boy Bed

One of the family changes we need to make before my maternity leave ends is getting the twins out of my home office and sharing a room with Oliver.  Step One in this process was getting Oliver into a different bed, so the boys could have his crib.  Luckily, cousin Remi had already moved up to a toddler bed, so they gave us their convertible crib.  When Alex/Lukas need their own cribs, we will switch Oliver to a toddler bed and turn his bed back into a crib. Hopefully, the twins don't need their own cribs too soon, because we have NO room to add a single thing in this room.

 

This room is now jam-packed! We moved Oliver's crib to the opposite wall, so his new bed would be on the wall where he was already sleeping. We moved the recliner to the opposite corner (which I love - the book reading lighting is so much better!) and switched the changing table and bookshelf.   I couldn't find a "before" photo.   I didn't notice this until I saw the photos, but this room is in serious need of some photos or something on the walls.