Brushing Up on Teething

You may remember the fun we made out of the painful teething we experienced during the Presidential campaign. By Election Day both boys had all eight front teeth. A few weeks ago Benji began experiencing diarrhea without acting sick and we wondered if more teeth were coming. Davey’s diarrhea began shortly afterward. Both boys are past that now, but experiencing other teething discomforts including excessive drooling, gum swelling and sensitivity, irritability and fussiness, biting behavior, refusing food and sleep problems. Since they were chewing on toys and furniture anyway, we decided to introduce them to toothbrushes. This is a good habit to learn early, and they really like the feel of the soft bristles against their tender gums. A corner of one of Benji’s new molars popped up yesterday on the bottom left side. Hopefully things will now get better.

Librarians at work

Benji and Trey Davey have discovered books big time. They are constantly looking at their books or bringing them to us to read. Attention spans are short at their age so the best books have bold, colorful and interesting pictures accompanied by only a few simple words that often rhyme. Because they don’t yet know not to tear out the paper pages, these early books have very hardy cardboard pages. Both boys enjoy bringing us books, then settling into our warm laps to hear our voices read the familiar stories. We point to the words as we go and describe the pictures to them. This greatly boosts their development and early reading skills. Thank you to all the family and friends who recently gave us books for their birthday and Christmas. The library is growing.

Bubbles, Bubbles, Forget your Troubles

Benji was upset the other night and we didn’t know why. He was feed, changed and rested, and sitting in a room full of his favorite toys. Still, he was upset and inconsolable. Lately, both boys have begun suffering separation anxiety to such an extent that mommy and daddy can’t leave the room for even a minute to go to the bathroom without screams of twin sadness. But, on this occasion both of us were in the room with him, and still he was unhappy. In an effort to capture his attention and change his mood, Sandy started blowing soap bubbles. Anytime something new is introduced into the boy’s environment, they will immediately investigate it with curiosity. The bubbles did the trick and the difficulty was forgotten.

Say Hello to my Little Friends

Our friend Dawn Beckgerd loves the twins and reads the blog daily to follow their adventures. She came over recently with Christmas gifts. This one is a Fisher-Price Little People Racing Ramp Garage. It’s a three-story structure with a working elevator and ramp. She added a couple of additional cars to the ones included with the garage. There is also a tow truck and mechanic included for car breakdowns. Daddy Dave has been wanting automotive toys “for the boys” since Sandy’s pregnancy test turned blue, but most toys of this kind are intended for children at least 3 years old. Dawn found this Little People series age appropriate for all Sandy’s boys. Thank you Dawny B!

Happy Birthday Cousin Christine

Let me tell you about my only girl cousin, Christine, who turns 20 years old today. She is a sophomore this year at California State University Sacramento where her major is Business Administration. Daddy says she is the only family member who has ever received a full athletic college scholarship. Her sport is woman’s rowing, sometimes referred to as crew. It is among the oldest Olympic sports, and pits rower-propelled boats in races on rivers, lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the race type and the discipline. She crewed in high school and initially attended Murray State University near us in Kentucky to be on their rowing team, but the school dropped the sport last year so she transferred to Sacramento. Hopefully, she’ll show me and Benji how to crew when we get older.

Visiting the Hibernate State

Recent bitter cold weather has brought about our hibernation. Last night the temperature dropped to around zero degrees with much colder wind chills. Fortunately, we have no snow or ice and could venture outside if necessary, but instead we’ve decided to stay inside our warm house where we have plenty of food and toys for our amusement. On days like these, mommy and daddy are happy to be home based. We don’t miss those frigid commutes, long walks across windy parking lots and winter car problems. It’s great to be able to just stay home until the cold weather passes. There we can snuggle together in our comfortable chair under warm blankets until the spring thaw.

Poopy Days

We all have them. Sometime we do it to ourselves; sometimes others do it to us. For Benji and Sandy, Tuesday was their turn. We learned the hard way a few months ago that one side-effect of babies cutting new teeth is diarrhea. It’s back. At lunchtime Sandy picked up Benji and halfway downstairs that particular aroma attacked her nostrils like commandos on a shock and awe mission. She discovered hers and his clothes covered in milky poop froth. Somehow he soiled himself from head to toe and earned a midday bath. Today as I carried Davey inside from the car I met the same fate. Diarrhea had flowed out of his pants onto my shirt and pants, soaking my shoes and cell phone. It was a stinky day, but the late afternoon bath was fun.