We love Sunny Days

After waiting so long and impatiently, the weather is finally perfect for playing outside. All spring long it rained, rained, rained, and then it seems like every day afterwards was just too hot, hazy and humid. Unfortunately, most of the twins’ first summer was spent inside. Now, just as the first football games of the year are kicking off, the weather has become wonderful. Like his Daddy, Benji boy is fair skinned and doesn’t worship the summer sun. These two love the milder summer days with lower humidity and gentle breezes. Before long the brothers will experience their first fall. The nights will again become chilly and the autumn leaves will start bursting with color. Until then, we plan to enjoy every sunny day left this summer.

Sitting this one out

It’s interesting how babies fight sleep. They’ll play spiritedly until they are so tired that they can’t hold up their head and then protest profoundly when you try to put them down to bed. By contrast, when Mommy and Daddy are tired, they become fussy if they aren’t allowed to lie down. Three times a day we experience conflict due to the baby-sleep resistance issue. Sometimes if all other efforts fail, we are forced to simply put them in their cribs and allow them to cry themselves to sleep. On this day Davey was so tired (and stubborn) that he went to sleep while still sitting.

Into the Great Wide Open

The twins have been sharing a single walker. Unfortunately, its use inside our home is limited to two rooms and a hall upstairs, and that space is further confined by furniture. They needed more space to stretch their legs. We envisioned seeing both boys enjoying individual walkers in a wide open space. Because they don’t yet wear shoes, the driveway was ruled out. After purchasing a second like-new walker at a garage sale, we joined Granddaddy Edds at First Baptist Church’s gymnasium. This was the perfect space. As soon as their feet touched the floor, the twins were off unfettered. At first, the lack of walls confused their direction and they went about haphazardly. All of Daddy’s efforts to organize their routes worked about as well as herding cats. Even so, their squeals of joy indicated total success.

Escape Plan Thwarted

The other night after putting the boys to bed we heard lots of commotion. Entering their room we found Trey Davey proudly standing in his crib. Not only had he mastered pulling himself up into a standing position, but he was attempting to pull himself over the railing into Benji’s crib. At first we thought it was cute that he would want to climb into bed with his brother, but when we considered the threat of him going off the other side and falling to the floor we immediately lowered his mattress. Two days later Benji also mastered pulling himself up to a standing position in his crib earning his own mattress demotion.

Baby Beefcake

Some people consider unnaturally overdeveloped muscular bodies unattractive, but only one word jumps to mind when you feast your eyes on this prime cut of physically attractive male physique; beefcake. It’s not easy. A body like this requires constant toning. When not sleeping, Benji and his twin brother Davey are constantly bodybuilding. Their diet is precisely designed to help them grow bigger and stronger, and it’s worked. In almost nine months their weights and strength has grown four fold. These rug rats are in constant movement working out on the jumperoo, walker, or doing floor exercises on their mats. No one is going to kick sand in their eyes.

Blog Number 300

Today marks our 300th blog entry. This effort is now the size of a small novel with a word count of over 40,000. It is amazing how many stories their short lives have already produced. We are so amazed how many people read this blog periodically. Our monthly poll is done, in part, to attempt to measure how many people are reading the blog. Given the relative small number of voters and comments we receive, one would perceive a very small audience of friends and family. So, it’s always surprising and appreciated when we discover new readers, especially people who we have never met, like extended family, friends of friends, or internet acquaintances. Thank you all for reading.

Making Progress by Backsliding

Our boys are so close to crawling. Both can get into the hands and knees position by themselves and rock back and forth in the starting position, but rather than take off, they’ll twist into a sit-up position. Sometimes Trey Davey will sit and spin, eventually turning himself 360 degrees. Rather than crawling traditionally, Davey will slide on his belly army style reaching his hands above his head and pulling himself forward. Benji’s technique is totally opposite. On his stomach he’ll bend his elbows, plant his hands, and then extend his arms. This movement will very efficiently move him backwards until something stops him, like the couch. Until he perfects forward movement, we’ll have to rescue him from his submersible predicaments.

Another Snooze Story

Occasionally one boy will rise very, very early and enthusiastically. Wanting to allow Mommy and the other twin peaceful easy sleeping until 6:00 am, Daddy will take the wide-awake boy downstairs. There they will wrestle and play until the night owl succumbs to sleep. Daddy will then catch whatever winks are left in the night until he hears the other child awake via the baby monitor. On this particular morning Mommy got up early for a 5:30 am conference call and found two-thirds of her boys gone. Investigating downstairs she found these snoozers snoring harmonically in the guest room.

Midnight Creeping

Sometimes you hear voices in the house, late at night. It’s disconcerting to your sleepy ears. Sliding out of your warm bed and groping for your glasses, you get up to investigate. Padding down the hall in semi-darkness you realize the voices are real, not a dream. Approaching the door you hear movement and your heart rate escalates. Without breathing, you push the door open ready to confront a possible intruder. Inside you discover your baby boys sitting up in bed gibbering to one another. Seeing you, they smile and greet you, wanting to play. It’s late, you’re tired and you need to sleep, but instead you play because they grow up so fast.

Sink or swim

Sandy’s hobby is traveling and she’s been all over the world. I had a traveling job that took me coast to coast for a couple of years. None of those experiences prepared us though for traveling with baby twins. Pets are easier travel companions. Babies have a lot of needs, a lot of stuff and are totally dependent. I moved to college for a whole semester with less stuff than we took for the babies’ single night’s stay in Indianapolis. Instead of a double room, we chose a hotel suite, which has a couch and coffee table instead of a second bed. This allowed room (barely) for two cribs and an activity matt on the floor. Bathing was done in the sink, which was very small but safer than the tub.

Uncles are fun

This is my Uncle Steve. Grandma calls him Stevie and Aunt Erin calls him Stephen, but they are all him. His first name is James just like my middle name. His voice sounds just like Daddy’s and Grandpa’s and it’s confusing sometimes. He looks like Daddy and Grandpa too, only taller. I want to be 6 foot 6 inches tall just like him. He’s a big sports fan. Uncle Steve and Aunt Erin gave Davey and me Indianapolis Colts bibs. They are recruiting us to be fans. Daddy wants us to become Chicago Bears fans like him, but he has never given us bibs or anything with their logo, hint, hint.

Big Boy Toys

When you’re a baby, people who love you buy you baby toys. On each package is a label telling the purchaser the age appropriate for the toy. We are blessed with many baby toys that are safe and won’t hurt us, but we’re 8-1/2 months old now and ready to tackle some big boy toys. That’s just what we did at Cousin Levi’s house. He has some really cool big boy toys that we loved. This table, for instance, was big enough for both of us to play on at the same time. I played the piano while Benji explored the various knobs and switches. Everything made noise, which we love. We can’t wait to visit Levi again.

Call Me Irresistible

I had no expectation of hooking up with a cute little baby girl at Cousin Levi’s birthday party, but that’s just what happened. Sadie was totally into the Benji man from the moment her mother sat her down next to me. Sure, we had a lot in common, principally being born on the same day, but so was Davey and she totally ignored him. Sadie had it going on; she could crawl and clap really well. I thought that was pretty cool so I showed her my frog and football. That seemed to impress her, so I handed her my car keys to play with. That’s when she jumped me. I guess she thought a car went with it. Who was I to correct her?

Happy Birthday Cousin Levi

On Saturday August 16th, Cousin Levi Edds turned two years old, and we traveled to Indianapolis to be there. Uncle Steve and Aunt Erin invited the Edds family over for dinner that evening before the big Sunday afternoon birthday party. Not only have our boys begun to engage each other, but they can now connect with their 16-month older cousin. It didn’t hurt that Levi had some awesome toys to play with and was only too happy to share them. All three boys were well aware of their audience and turned their charm on full to delight both sets of parents and the Edds grandparents.

Now appearing together at last

Our boys, Trey Davey and Benji, are engaging each other like never before. Until recently, the twins generally functioned independently in the same room. They coexisted more than collaborated. Davey, always one to observe everything in his environment, would watch Benji intensely, but not react. In the last few weeks, however, they have begun to discover each other and interact. One child’s enthusiasm or discontent is now reflected by the other. They delight in jabbering and squealing back and forth in twin conversations. Sitting toe-to-toe for long periods, they will play together exchanging toys and giggles. It’s fun to watch.

National Treasure Two

It was our night, mine and Sandy’s, to share together ALONE! Even when we first met and lived in different cities an hour apart, we dedicated Friday nights for date nights. Even after we married, no matter how demanding our careers were, we went out and did something special together on Friday nights. We still treasure Friday nights, but now we have company. Last night, rather than going out to the theater, we screened a movie at home, with the boys. We popped popcorn, piled in the bed and turned on the movie. Our guests were wiggly and loud, more interested in playing than watching, but by the second act both were asleep. Given the situation, the movie title couldn’t have been more appropriate.

A Tale of Two Kiddies

Early morning silence is broken by modest nursery movement. You look at the clock’s 5:45 AM message and listen, hoping the stirring will subside. Instead it escalates into a thumping sound of the bedrails bumping against the wall. There is no crying or fussing, only coos and soft gibberish. From this you know Trey Davey’s up and Benji’s still asleep. Taking the opportunity of civility, you rise and slip into the kitchen to prepare breakfast baby bottles. Moments later Benji, the morning banshee, loudly announces his semi-consciousness and hunger. Upon entering the nursery you receive two vastly different greetings. One child is sitting up smiling warmly waving open, loving arms, while the other resembles a hungry caged lion looking for a Christian.

Wet bibs and raspberries

Ok, here’s the deal. I should be able to whistle, right? As the lady once said, “You know how to whistle; you just put your lips together and blow.” Well, when I do that I get no whistles, only raspberries. Daddy thinks I’m making car motor sounds, but I’m trying to whistle. It looks so easy, but I’m doing it wrong. Look at my bib. When other people whistle they don’t wind up in their own spit shower. I thought that maybe once I had teeth the whistles would come, but I have two teeth now and no whistles. Benji also started trying to whistle recently, and his results are the same.

Getting A Twin Fix

Grandma Ondra called the other day and asked to drop by for a visit. She needed a twin fix. This recession has been hard on the local real estate market, so when a recent flurry of activity sparked her business she immersed herself in the opportunity. Unfortunately, customer time cuts into twin time. At the rate they are growing and developing, missing a few weeks makes a big difference. So she popped in to see her twin grandsons and their parents. The boys, sitting on the activity mat toe-to-toe, greeted her with big smiles, waving arms and squeals of joy. She responded by sitting down on the floor and playing with them, including lessons in crawling and beginner walking techniques. The reality of twin addiction is that a little time is not enough.

Dinner Entertainment

Here we are sitting at the table at Olive Garden, Davey, let’s torment the folks. First let’s slap the table while Mom and Dad prepare our baby food and bottles. It will make them nervous and get the attention of all the nearby restaurant patrons. Then we can flirt with the strangers while Mom and Dad try to feed us. Be sure and move your head from side to side to give them a moving target. If we make eye contact with the waitress she’ll keep asking the folks for their order, even though they can’t look at the menu while feeding us. If they order, we’ll prolong our feeding with squirming until their food arrives and cools off. After we finish, be sure to burp as loud as possible, then squeal with happiness. Don’t stop until they pick you up and hold you in their lap. Then they can only eat their cold dinner with one hand. They are so easy.

Say Uncle, Daddy

I don’t know if baby girls wrestle, but baby boys do, a lot. They love the act of physical engagement where they can test their strength and agility. Wrestling is also a way they communicate affection for others. Both boys are amazingly strong and flexible. Usually just after eating, when blood sugar is peaking, the boys are ready to mix it up a bit with Daddy Dave. They will climb, clinch, hold, pull, kick, push and flip. On Daddy’s part, these slap-down wrestling matches usually include lots of holding the boy up in the air, sometimes by the ankles, kisses to the cheeks, and making raspberries on the bellies. This fun is a win-win for everyone.

Summer Breeze Feels So Fine

This week the weather broke in Kentucky. The high temperatures moderated to very pleasant 80’s with the low just dropping to the 60’s with much less humidity. It was a perfect time to enjoy one of Sandy’s favorite places, the screened in porch. In preparation, Daddy Dave painted the ceiling and Adirondack chairs, replaced the ceiling fan and cleaned the carpet. Once the room was ready, we wheeled in the playpen and filled it with toys and boys. Eager for adventure and exploring new places, the twins squealed with excitement over being outside. As always, they were captivated by the ceiling fan’s movement. Soon, its soothing breeze and steady rotations had the whole porch happily napping.

Sick days are no vacation

We have been enduring our first summer colds over the last several days with all of us ill to various degrees. There has been much sneezing, runny noses, scratchy throats, coughing, and body aches. At first we thought the fussiness was only from cutting teeth, but then the noses started running and running and running. It is difficult knowing they don’t feel well and not being able to ask them “what’s the matter”. All we could really give them was baby Tylenol and hugs. The twins responded by sleeping more and more. While not yet well, we knew they were feeling better when they began jabbering through the bedrails and playing crib music. Hopefully they’ll be well by the weekend.

Today is our special day

Daddy Dave and his father have a tradition of celebrating days with a date made up of all the same digit, like today August 8, 2008 (8-8-8). It started when the Edds owned a hardware store with an early computerized cash register. Each morning they would have to set the date and July 7, 1977 (7-7-77) struck the father and son as a fun date because it was all 7’s. They noted at the time that they’d have to wait 11 years, 1 month and 1 day for the next all-digit date. The two celebrated August 8, 1988 (8-8-88) and September 9, 1999 (9-9-99) together. Less than 16 months later, they celebrated January 1, 2001 (1-1-1). In this decade, these special dates occur more frequently, every year and a month and a day. This all-digit day is special because a third generation is joining them.

FIFO Follicles

Students of business can tell you FIFO (First In First Out) is an inventory system that assumes earlier units are used before later additions. Hair must work the same way. After losing most of their birth hair, both boys new hair growth is most robust on their head’s crowns where male pattern balding begins. Benji’s lighter hair is less noticeable and still very short on the back and sides, but he has grown quite a mop on top. From some angles it looks like a Mohawk cut. Trey Davey’s hair is a little further along and more evident due to its darker color. Around his head he has several remaining birth hair strands that are very long. Daddy Dave has promised their mother that he won’t trim these wild hairs no matter how strong the temptation. That goes for Grandmother Ondra too!

Facing the world head on

The car seat change brought about a literal turn around in the way the boys enjoy their stroller. The old car seats were portable and fit rear-facing into the stroller. In this configuration the twin’s view was akin to being rolled through the hospital on a stretcher seeing only the orderly and the ceiling. They quickly tired of walks through the park like this. Since the new car seats stay in the van, and the boys have grown so big, they can now ride front-facing in their stroller. This is way better. They love seeing the world this way and discovering all that is new. They adore engaging strangers and reaching out to touch objects close like tablecloths or low shelved groceries. Now walks in park are a pleasure.

Birthday Benchmark Photo – 8 months old

We had no doctor’s appointment scheduled for this month, but Daddy Dave’s obsessive need for documenting these boys’ growth and development led him to call Dr. Neel’s office and ask if we could come in just for weights and measurements. As small town people will do, they accommodated us warmly. Trey Davey weighed 22 lbs 7 oz and measured 29-1/2 inches, and Benji tipped the scales at 21 lbs 9 oz and taped 28-3/4 inches long. In the last month both boys gained exactly 1 lb 4 oz, putting Trey in the top 12% and Benji in the top 21% for 8 month old boys. As for height, Benji caught up a little growing ¾ inches to Trey’s ½ inch. Both boys are extremely tall for their age, with Benji in the top 17% and Trey in the top 5%.

Ducktails are still cool

One thing that tickles Grandmother Ondra is Benji’s ducktail. Even after his first hair fell out and he was almost entirely bald, he still had his little natural ducktail. It brings a smile to her face because it reminds her so much of the one Daddy Dave had as a baby. For children of the 1950’s like Grandma and Grandpa Edds, ducktail haircuts were an important and popular fashion statement. Also known as D.A.’s, short for Duck’s Ass, the ducktail hair style quickly became a stereotypical feature of rebels and nonconformists, and gained popularity especially after the rise of rock 'n roll legend Elvis Presley, who sported the same look. Remember, Mama wouldn’t let Daddy name this child Elvis, but that’s another story.

Sleeping like big boys

We decided the boys were old enough to sleep through the night. Each had done so occasionally, but both still routinely cried for a 2am-ish bottle. Many people told us that babies will sleep all night after the introduction of solid foods, but ours didn’t. Jackie, our HANDS program nurse, said we would have to allow them to cry through the late-night feedings, and after two or three consecutive nights the babies would adapt to the new schedule. It was tough listening to them sob the first night. Benji’s howls were different the second night, and when I checked him he had overfilled his diaper and wet himself from head to toe. I changed him that night but didn’t feed him. It’s now been two weeks, and I can happily report both boys sleep all night long.

Vote today for your favorite playground activity

The twins are growing bigger and stronger by the day. Anyone who has held them lately will acknowledge that both are muscular and physically powerful. Each boy is on the verge of crawling and not that far away from walking. Once the little lads are mobile, a whole new world of play will be available to them. Suddenly they’ll be able to walk, run, roll, tumble, crawl, push, pull and climb. With all this strength, energy and mobility, they’ll need a new outlet to burn all their excess calories, and the playground is the place. Think back to when you used to play at the park and vote in the right-hand column for your favorite activity.

The Cat in the Hat voter’s favorite

Theodore Geisel, writing as Dr. Seuss, created The Cat in the Hat in response to a 1954 Life magazine article bemoaning weak reading skills among primary school students. The article blamed poorly written primer books and challenged publishers. Responding to this "challenge," Dr. Seuss began work. With a list of 223 words his publisher thought children would be learning in school, Dr. Seuss created The Cat In The Hat after nine months work. The story is 1626 words in length and uses a vocabulary of only 223 distinct words, of which 54 occur exactly once and 33 twice. Only a single word – 'another' – has three syllables, while 14 have two and the remaining 221 are monosyllabic. The longest words are 'something' and 'playthings'. The Cat in the Hat has gone on to sell 7.2 million copies in the United States alone, making it the 9th best-selling hardcover children's book of all time.