Almost Ready To Go, Just Had To Post This

On our way down south we will stop by North Carolina to visit family. The last time Ryad and Nael were there they looked like this. Yes, highly dependent on burp cloths, binkies and mittens. It'll be nice to travel light this time around.

With Cousin Azra (well, technically Aunt) who is more than happy to strike a pose.

Dear Musical Jungle

This is the section where I write reviews for the many (many and many) items that we have bought and put to use towards the upbringing of our twins. I thought this would be helpful to the readers who are planning to buy baby/toddler stuff and also something to get back to when we shop for, I dare say it, our third baby (??). Plucky of me to even mention it, I know but, absolutely no plans yet.

 So here it goes...

 

I start with you Musical  Jungle because you were and still remain to be one of  Ryad and Nael's favorite toys 

We bought you when our kids were still cruising. Since then you have not only become an integral part of our kid's playtime but  in fact, also our living room decor. The kids have started running now but still love to drop a ball or two through your 'vines'. They could sit beside the elephant and keep slipping the ball through his ears to see it come out of the trunk for hours (well, not literally hours but, hours when it comes to baby retention power). 

But that's not all you sing songs, you have a mirror, a cute hippo, a bouncy frog, a clapping butterfly, a swinging alligator

Thank you Musical Jungle, you have been our money's worth.

This Day Last Year

Nael and Ryad have turned 15 months old. I will not say that time has flown and that I didn't realize when they got this far, no. My mind can place every milestone (that I so looked forward to) in an accurate time line. All the diaper changes, the hours of breastfeeding, the piles of bottles, the sleepless nights and drowsy days that followed. No dreamy nostalgia here.

What I will truly miss and remember are all the smiles, all the countless and cute babbling that have now morphed into legible words. All the fun traveling to new places and visiting family. All the tickles, all the discovering, all the learning. The first smile, the first steps, the first tooth I will fondly remember all of these moments. All our joys were doubled, every happiness was twice as nice since they came in our lives.

This very day last year they were 3 months old.

 

Nael and Ryad @ 3 months old

  

Two very serious 3 month olds

  

Not so serious at 15 months, are we?

 

Playing on the billiards table

Caught Soapy Handed

 

The boys can't speak yet, They say many words, many cute words, but no sentences. This doesn't stop Mummy to assign speech bubbles to their thoughts, or what Mummy thinks are their thoughts, reminds me of old comic books in sepia. Read on... 

  

  

  

  

  

  

Did Nael take a bite of the forbidden soap? Find out next week!

To save y'all the suffering of suspense I'll tell you what happened, he didn't, Mummy intervened and banished the soap bar from the Land O the Showers and tossed it away in the dark cave from where it came. 

In other words she had enough of the soap eating business and kept it back in the shower caddy.

Success Story

I recently tried getting Ryad and Nael in the habit of sleeping on their own. I was pleasantly surprised at how fast they learned and also disappointed that I didn't try it before. Like always most of the time this was one of Daddy's brainstorms.
Earlier, Whenever they seemed ready to go to sleep I insisted on cuddling them then rocking them to sleep. Now all I have to do is tuck them in with their favorite blanket (for Nael) and plush toy (for Ryad), hand them a bottle of milk, kiss them good-night, turn off the lights and walk away. It’s as easy as that. 

I am over the moon with this new progress. Both of them were always difficult sleepers and I kind of thought I needed a crutch to put them to sleep (the crutch was first in the form of a bouncer, then an automatic swing, sometimes a glider and finally my own lap). These were by no means necessary for them but it sure made things a whole lot faster for me and when you have twins, fast is good. Ryad still needs a little work but Nael is pro now. Nonetheless I'm super proud of both of them and wowed at their yet another step towards big boyhood.

I took this photo when Nael went to sleep on his own for the first time. I wasn't even in the room, I promise!

Bookie Woogie

I went to Barnes and Noble today and got some books for Ryad and Nael. They show such interest in books and it seemed as if it was time they got some of their own.
I know some parents start reading to their babies at 5 months (and some do it in utero too) but I think those stages are a little too early for the young ones (ever noticed the attention span of a 5 month old?), instead I would chat with them a lot and made small talk about the weather now and then. But today, I thought that it was finally time.

Besides, they have a lovely table and chair set which they usually use to hone their climbing skills. So I had to do something to stop it from becoming less of a reading place and more of a jungle gym. With books I was hoping to make them aware of it's other uses.

 

It started out great! 

  

The kids were having so much fun

  

This one book had pull outs to help learn colors

  

 And there was one with a torch that would really light up

 

 and one came with CD to sing along to

  

 Nael was really into the color book

  

But the afternoon ended with...books on the floor

  

...kids on the table again...

  

...and bite marks.

Tomorrow we try again :)

Faces of Ryad and Nael

This was my project from early November last year. All done from the comfort of my home. Beats the $200 professional photographs that we took during the holidays. Although I must add, it was by no means easy to get them to pose. They (then 11 months old) did not always stick around  the black background, which was actually an overturned comforter propped up on the end of the bed and a chair from the living room. I tried giving them toys to play with but the most interesting object in the room for them was my camera lens and they came grabbing for it every 10 seconds. I did mange to get these from that afternoon. Click on them to view larger images.

 

 Ryad &Nael

  

Nael

 

Ryad

Never too Early for Discipline?

This is one of the 'caught in the nick of time' expressions of Ryad

I hadn't even thought about it until I read Stephanie's blog. How will I discipline my kids? Heck, I have no idea. According to Stephanie who is mother of 5 (including twins, wow!), her twin toddlers get together to venture out and conquer territories that her single kids didn't even dream of. I think that it might be true for most twin siblings, not because twins are more curious and outgoing than single babies, but simply because there are two inquisitive toddler minds at work instead of one. Being with another like-aged person they get a partner to help and even advice them in their conquests.

I have seen that both my boys have such different personalities (they are like the North and South Pole) Ryad thinks of things that Nael wouldn't and Nael does activities that are so not Ryadish. When they get together they do things they wouldn't have if they had been alone. They push each other at milestones too, if one started walking early you could expect the other one to watch and learn quickly from them. 

And same goes for all their mischief. If one climbs the TV table be sure to find the other close at hand, attempting to do the same.

As a first time parent I am little concerned if my kids will get into more trouble or if it'll be more problematic to discipline them. Till now the only discipline we have used is to keep temptations at bay and keep the 'no-don't-touch-that' items out of reach. I have heard and read that timeout techniques are effective for toddlers but I'm not sure if mine are ready for that right now. There is a cool timeout product (check it out here, there is also a giveaway that might interest you) that I came across on Stephanie's blog, a roll-up, machine washable time out spot, how clever! Not sure if my 14 month olds will really understand it's true implication though.

I really don't know when they will be old enough for 'big boy discipline' but right now I am happy with the lack thereof. I guess we will wait to impart real discipline till they are old enough to do real mischief :)

Nael at his naughty best

Q.F.T. - Quality Family Time

So the epic snow continues for the Virginians (also the Washingtonians and the Marylanders). It has stopped for the weekend but come Monday we are expecting another couple of snowy days (teachers and students rejoice!). As more of the fluffy white stuff  accumulates outside I start thinking that it is actually a blessing in disguise. That's because the more indoors we all are the more quality family time we get to spend together. 
So here I am trying to make the best of the weather with the help of ye old faithful camera and make my  contribution to some QFT (quality family time)

 

Ryad was such a sport...

  

...and posed like a pro for my camera

  

Presenting Ryad in his Sarah Palin inspired 'Moose Hunter Sweatshirt'

  

Nael could tolerate the cap for just one second

  

There, off it came the very next moment.

  

...well, I'll let you choose a caption for this

Below is a bonus picture, depicting the way we do dishes around here

  

we use team work to get things done

  

So what if it seems like nothing is done even after 20 minutes of toiling over the dishwasher

  

we don't give up and keep trying till the work is done (or till Mommy finally pushes the start button)

 

Best picture I took all week

The Very First Haircut Day

Previously I had posted pictures of Ryad and Nael's homemade haircut :). Here's the thing, it wasn't their first. Their first haircut was when they were only 2 months old, executed by their Great Uncle, who also happens to be a Pediatric Surgeon (yeah, we got in the expert to do this one)


Both of them peacefully sucked on their pacifiers through out the process. Trust me when I say this, they didn't cry even once!


There are many benefits of shaving a baby's head early. When I say shaving, don't picture a razor running across a soft newborn head. A handy gadget like the Clip and Trim will do the job. It is soothing for the baby to have a clean head and also reduces the occurrence of cradle crap.
I had researched before I delved into this controversial terrain and found that there were more pros than cons that supported shaving a baby's hair as early as possible. One more benefit is that if your baby is born with thick locks (like mine were), they will desperately need a haircut around 8-9 months. That is a stage when they are starting crawl or are already very mobile. It is  very difficult to pin them down to one place and can also prove dangerous if you are working with scissors. So if you get the baby bald early, they will be ready for their next real haircut only when they old enough to handle one. This makes life a little more easy. Plus, they looked super cute with their clean heads, I guess bald is beautiful when it comes to babies.

Nael, just out of bed and ready for his haircut.

 

There it goes, no looking back now.

 

Nael found the vibrations from the machine so soothing that he fell asleep again

  

Ryad's Turn!

  

Almost done! Thanks to multi-talented Great Uncle.

 

Do you see a smile too? I think he liked it! 

Snowed in = Family Movie Night

Somebody had to pinch me. We were heading in for another snow storm yesterday. That meant the kids were locked up indoors (again). We still managed to have fun thanks to Daddy who came up with a cool idea. He set up a projector in our room and all of us snuggled in to watch a movie. The kids had a blast too. Before the movie, Daddy played their favorite songs and wasn't that fun. They couldn't believe what they were seeing! Life size rhinos, elephants, monkeys and fish.

Another snow day well spent thanks to Daddy (and also our extra high ceilings, it wouldn't have been the same without them.)

Nael: 'It's playing on the computer, that I understand.'

                                 'But, what's the big TV doing on the wall?' 

Nael dancing to, 'Elephants, I like elephants.' 

Ryad: 'A Mr Rhino who is as big as I am!!'

Ryad: 'This is like the movies, only better!'

Now it's on the floor!?!

 'And now it's on the ceiling?'

'Come down from there!' 

Nael's checking if the bear is still up there or not.