Too Much

I must say that sometimes the difference between having twins and one baby is very apparent. To me the difference is all about amounts. More diapers, more feedings, more milk, more bottles, more of everything. Sometimes more equals too much. Too much crying, too many sleepless nights and sometimes stretched too thin. But you get more smiles, laughs, hugs and joyful moments then maybe people get with just one child. Genevieve and Julia fill my days with their smiles and laughs. They also on occasion fill them with lots of dirty diapers and serious crying jags. On the whole days are busy, the girls are starting to move around either by rolling or inching. Sooner than later they will be crawling and then my days will get even busier. They are starting to like being in on the action, meaning when I'm doing laundry they want to be right there watching me. I do the same things I did with Gabriella to keep them feeling involved. When I cook breakfast or lunch I place them on the floor where they can see me and give them my own cooking show. Sometimes to spice it up I do the show in different accents. I try to keep them as happy as possible, but sometimes that doesn't happen.

Today has been a little bit trying. Neither girl is really interested in doing anything but sitting with mommy. Even the cooking show fell flat today, on the other hand the laundry folding show was still a big hit. I think they are both feeling frustrated they can't get where they want to go or maybe their teeth are hurting. I'd just gotten Genevieve settled for her nap when I came out to find Julia with an exploded diaper. I picked her up and checked out the damage she was poopy from her toe to her elbow. Yes the elbow, I don't even know how poop can travel through a sleeper like that but it did. Julia got an impromptu bath in the sink and I got covered in poop on the walk over. I deemed the sleeper and my shirt a total loss and chucked them both in the trash can. I wonder what the neighbors thought as I went streaking from the kitchen to the babies' room with a naked baby in just my pants and a bra. But now everyone is clean, fed and napping in their cribs, I'll enjoy the next few minutes of calm before the next storm hits, hopefully it won't be poop related.

A Tooth-full Situation

Our children's mouths are going through some serious changes these days. Gabriella has lost her second top tooth, bringing her total tooth loss to 4. It happened this evening while we were brushing teeth. The poor tooth, which has been loose for a few weeks, started to bleed and Gabriella requested to have it pulled. I was happy to oblige. There were no tears this time so clearly she's getting use to loosing her teeth.

On the other side of the coin Julia and Genevieve are getting their teeth. Julia started last Thursday with her first tooth followed by her second on Saturday. Not to be outdone Genevieve decided to cut not one but two teeth on Monday. Needless to say the little girls haven't been in the best of moods but it's understandable considering the pain they are probably. They've required a lot of extra cuddles and a few doses of tylenol.

For me both these events are just another reminder of how fast children grow up. It seems like just yesterday Gabriella was cutting her first tooth and now she's loosing those same first teeth. Julia and Genevieve change every day even Gabriella comments about how different they look or act when she comes home from school each day. Since time can't be stopped I suppose all one can do is hold on and enjoy the ride.

All Old Toys are New Again

The girls are so much more mobile these days that keeping them entertained is getting to be a bit of a problem. Lucky for us all of our boxes have been emptied and Gabriella's old toys have been found. We also received this amazing floor mat for Christmas which gives everyone a little extra padding while playing on the floor. Julia and Genevieve love studying the pictures, Gabriella likes have her Barbies play in the town scenes and I appreciate the comfy padding while sitting on it and that I can wipe whatever fluids spill on it with ease. In the unpacking we've found tubs full of toys and books which are already being put in heavy rotation. Gabriella has rediscovered all her old toys and has repeatedly demonstrated her amazing memory by reminding us where she got them or who gave them to her. She's also been an amazingly generous big sister by surrendering them to the drooling mouths of her little sisters. We still have a big playhouse to set up but we haven't figured out where to put it. Almost all the boxes are out of the house and our next big plan is to have a garage sale. Living in Okinawa definitely makes us yearn for a simpler lifestyle. Whether that is possible with a family of five and a mom who likes to shop remains to be seen.

5 months

Well this post is a little late, Julia and Genevieve turned 5 months on the 18th. They are sporting summery outfits because it's been hot here in San Diego. This last month has been a month of milestones. Being married to a pediatrician allows me to know a lot of the secret milestones that most parents don't even realize are considered important. For example both Julia and Genevieve are transferring toys and raking. For those interested in more general milestones they are also rolling over and starting to scoot. More importantly they are starting to sleep better at night. Sometimes they even sleep through the night. They still don't nap at the same time during the day but we don't complain. Everyday they get a little more personality and a little more baby-attitude. Julia is a little more social and Genevieve a little more cautious about new situations. They are both very snuggly and love riding in their stroller every morning when we walk Gabriella to school. Gabriella is by far their favorite person, they light up when she walks into the room. Julia has started saying "mama" but she has yet to say it to me. She does yells it when she's upset so obviously she knows who she's calling. Saffy our dog has started dropping off her toys for the twins hoping they will soon be able to play with her. Lots of growing and changing happening here and we couldn't be happier about it.

A New Motto

Before I had children my motto was have fun and worry later. While that served me well in my pursuit of happiness as a single lady it doesn't really transfer well to a lifestyle that includes children or saving money for that matter. There are so many variables when it comes to doing anything with kids, sometimes even staying home is a challenge. Keeping three children, two of which don't talk, entertained is a huge challenge. I'm looking forward to the day when the twins begin to entertain each other. Gabriella is very self sufficient but sometimes she needs help or direction. Lets say she comes into the room and asks for some scissors, as a responsible parent you want to ask what she plans to use them for and then follow her to verify her story. If you don't then you end up with trimmed hair or cut up clothes. As for Julia and Genevieve they really are just in a rotation through a variety of toys. They start in a swing, then move to the bouncer, then some tummy time followed by mobile watching in their cribs and then repeat. Now if only all three could be entertained at the same time so I could get some stuff done that would be great. Because I'm always tending to someone I've been forced to let things slide, like laundry or vacuuming or tooth brushing. Basic things need to be cleaned, bottles washed, counters wiped down, etc. Whether they get done in a timely manner is another thing. The new motto is "it could be worse", I could have triplets and a five year old. This motto allows be to step back from what could be a mommy meltdown moment and realize that even in the depths of difficulty it could always be worse. Sometimes when I have a hard time thinking of what could be worse I throw in a natural disaster, for example at least we aren't being hit by meteors. The relaxed attitude which I've always been commended on is still in full effect, it has to be or I'd have gone bald from stress. Please enjoy the photo of the reversion of my oldest daughter back into a baby.

Bouncing Around

Since the unpacking of the garage has been slow going I decided to buy the babies a bouncy. I must say I was very proud of being able to put together this toy all by myself. However, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Firstly, the instructions had no written words, just pictures. Second, they didn't tell you which side was right or left so it was a bit of guessing then second guessing, doing it once then trying again. Thirdly it was just a huge pain to put it together while trying to entertain two babies and a 5 year old. Lucky for me my parents happened to be here that day and were able to provide some much needed distraction. Once the whole thing was put together Genevieve was the first to try it out, she was a little hesitant so Julia got in. As you can see from the picture she loved the new toy right off the bat. Now both girls can't get enough of it and I look forward to finding the exersaucer so they can both have some stand up play at the same time.

The girls are begining to notice each other and reach for each other when they both play on the floor at the same time. Julia is starting to scoot around and so is Genevieve. Julia likes to move backwards and roll around. Genevieve likes to spin in circles and assumes the skydiving pose when ever she's on her tummy time. They grow and change more everyday.

We're Going to Need a Bigger Bed

Last night Julia and Genevieve actually slept through the night at roughly the same time. Gabriella however fell asleep during dinner and put herself to bed before 8. Because she was feeling a little under the weather she woke up at 3 and decided to come in for a snuggle. Normally that would be fine but our dog Saffy was also in bed with us. Saffy has reverted back to her old routine, going to bed with me and snuggling into Greg's spot until he comes to bed then shifting to the foot of the bed or in between us. Therefore when Gabriella scooted into bed I was squished in between Gabriella and the dog. Eventually I got out of bed and curled up in Gabriella's twin bed. I slipped back in to my own bed after Greg got up for work. It's going to be a tight fit once all three girls start climbing into bed with us.

This morning when I got up to feed the babies I expected Saffy to come padding after me like she normally does but instead she stayed sleeping next to Gabriella. I think it's a small victory for Gabriella who's been trying to curry Saffy's favor since she arrived home. She's been slowly winning her over through walking her around the front yard and being heavy handed with the treats. Yesterday I even found Gabriella sharing her french fries with Saffy. It won't be long before Gabriella is Saffy's new favorite.

A New Year and A Look Back

We rung in the new year all together with just our little family. Only Greg and I managed to stay up until midnight. Gabriella put herself to sleep on the couch with Saffy sleeping at her feet at just after 10. The little girls were put to bed at their standard bed time. As Greg and I sat on our own sipping our beverages we reminissed on how life changing this year has been for us. Last year at this time I had just found out I was pregnant and we were thrilled to be adding another member to our family. Little did we know we'd be blessed with not one but two children. Here's a quick look back at 2010. I took my twin pregnancy to term, watched Gabriella complete preschool and enter kindergarten, gave birth to twin girls who've already blossomed out of infants into babies. We got even closer to our Okinawa friends and were sad when we had to leave them to move back to the states. My dear friends were the reason my pregnancy was so easy, why I was able to spend so much time with Gabriella, making her feel like she had the best summer ever before life changed forever. They were shoulders to cry on, people to lean on and most important friends to celebrate with. My wonderful friends even brought over delicious dinners for a month after the twins came home. My parents, Greg, Gabriella and I were in heaven. Perhaps our biggest triumph was taking the whole family on vacation with 6 week old twins. I don't recommend it, but feel like it was an amazing accomplishment and a true adventure, while hard at the time, a once in a lifetime experience.

We were able to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with our families for the first time in two years. Gabriella started a new school and has already gotten the attention of an admirer. In the last two months we've gone through some major changes and yet if we look back at the year it's really par for the course. The Montoya's really don't do anything small. An example of that philosophy was Laura and Genji's wedding. We were so please that she was willing to change her wedding date so that we could participate, the original date was August 13th, which was one of the c-section dates I was offered. All 5 of us had a part in the celebration of Laura and Genji's nuptials and we loved every moment of it. Not only did we feel honored to be asked to be a part of it but we had the time of our lives partying it up with our family.

This year has been one for the record books. I hope this next year is a little less exciting, but with two new family members who knows what it will bring. I look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones. I want to find or start a book club and lose the last of my baby weight. I can't wait to meet our Okinawa friends in Florida for an amazing vacation. I can't wait to hear about all the healthy babies my friends are having this year. I wish all that read this blog a happy and healthy new year full of prosperity and triumph.