Baby Books

So I've started working on the one task I've been putting & putting off...the kid's baby books. My mom, Granny Cameron, gave them each a baby book...which is odd because it's theirs but I'm the one who has to fill them out?? Anyway...I wanted to make sure they each have one, of equal substance, and had wanted to start putting them together before the twins were even born. But alas...I was way too tired toward the end of pregnancy and things have been busy since the twins arrived.

So...I pulled them out this week to begin the daunting task....and boy is it daunting. I kept a lot of stuff from the first few day of life, stuck in a box, that I need to go though. There is so much information to recall, pictures to print out and lots of writing...x2. OK, so the difficult part is the ultra sounds. I only have one copy of each...so I'll need to make some photo copies. We have all our pictures on the computer which means I'll need to order some prints. And recalling details of before their birth and a few day after is a little hazy for me at this point. Thank goodness for our blog. I just keep referring back to it for early information I can't quite remember.

Drool City

The kids have always drooled since around 2 months but lately it has hit a climax. Timothy especially. We have to keep a bib on him at all time or his clothes will be soaked...and we usually go through 3 bibs a day! I can't see any teeth yet but something has to be going on. We tried to take some cute shots of the kids in their diapers the other day and it was impossible to get any pictures without drool all over them both...
(that spot on Cameron's neck is a bit of her eczema)

I'm sure most of you know, living space in SF is always limited...and we are no exception. Imagine trying to fit toys, sometimes two of each toy, in a small living room...I'm trying to get creative with the toys the kids already have so we can cut down on bringing in new "stuff" for them. They are pretty much over the play gym b/c they don't really stay on their backs too much (well, Cameron does, but she is kinda board with the same hanging toys). So I decided to move their Bumbos over to the gyms and see if they would reach out and play with the hanging toys...it worked! It was like they had a new toy to play with. They were even tugging on the side bars because they were seeing it all from a different point of view. I should be able to get a good week or two out of this one!

Six Months

We have made it to and past the six month mark for the twins and us a family. It seems the first three months dragged on forever and the second three months flew by. I can't believe how big the kids are now...they don't seem like babies anymore...they seem like little people.

They had their shots yesterday and got a good report from their doctor. Cameron has a slight case of eczema...she get dry skin and skin irritations easily. And Timothy's wheezing is just a case of mild reflux since he only wheezes after he eats. The doctor isn't very concerned that Cameron isn't rolling over yet, she is developing intellectually faster than Timothy. She is putting all her energy into her communication skills whereas Timothy is putting all his energy into his physical skills. The big news was how chunky they are, which wasn't really news at all. They both are in the 75% in weight but 10% in height and head circumference...which means they are loaded with all that cute baby fat. But the doctor said as soon as they start crawling/walking then it will all fall away.

Lots of milestones for this month...
Timothy: 18lb 10oz...is becoming the social butterfly and is all smiles all the time...everyone loves his laugh. He is sitting up on his own, rolling over as soon as you put him down and his verbal skills have really kicked in. He is the snuggler of the two and I think he is also responding to his name sometimes. Oh, and the doc said his gums are swollen so look out for some teeth soon...eeeks!

Cameron: 17lb 6oz...is all talk and stares at you as if she is trying to take in every single word or action you teach her. She is still really shy but is slowly getting better and her temper is getting worse. She finally started eating a few days ago, yeah! It think it took her a while to figure what was going on and learn how to eat. And even though she isn't rolling yet, she can sit on her own and loves, loves, loves to be standing up. I swear she will go from laying on her back to walking across the room...skip rolling and crawling all together.

They both love to sing songs, their exasaucers, bath time and being naked. Cameron can be having a fit, screaming but as soon as you take her clothes off...she is so smiley and happy. (we lovingly call her little floozy.)


Young calls them little monkeys so when he saw these outfits he had to get them...

Happy Anniversary

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary and Young and I celebrated with a date night. We had a sitter, thanks Sharona, and headed out for a fine dining experience at a restaurant called Michael Minna. It was fabulous! To my surprise, an old coworker now works for Michael Minna and he sent out a few extra items that made the dinner even more special. It was wonderful to have an evening with my husband talking about our transition from just husband to wife to parents...and how to serve each as other in the process.

As for gifts, my husband gave me a lovely three part sermon on marriage downloaded to my ipod! His gift to me was helping me be a more godly wife for him...the gift that keeps on givin'!

We forgot our camera for dinner but took some pics of our desserts with my camera phone.

Here are a few shots of our bedtime routine. The kids are sitting up pretty well now so we'll probably move to their bath seat soon. (then I can bath both at the same time and hopefully will be a lot faster) I wanted a few pictures of them in their tub. We also still swaddle them for bedtime...which we'll probably stop that soon as well. We've tried to unswaddle Timothy a few times but he just can't fall asleep without it. He is out growing his swaddle blankets, and short of using a twin sheet to swaddle, I think he'll have to learn to sleep on his own. Cameron still loves it, so we'll keep swaddling her until she out grows it in a few months. Young reads "Good Night Moon" to them every night and then sings to them as he is putting them down...I think they have learned when the story time starts or the singing starts...that means sleepy time.

Lazy Babies

Just a few shots of the kids being lazy. Cameron doesn't like tummy time so when she get tired of it she just leans over and put her head down. Timothy is sitting up on his own but gets tired after a few minutes...he just rests his head on his toy. Cuts down on the crying...

Visitors

We had a busy weekend of visitors from out of town. Saturday night I was excited to have dinner with a very dear friend of mine, Pat Staley. (she was in town for a conference) Pat was my youth choir director at my church back in NC. She was a major influence on me during my teen years and I have very fond memories of her our choir trips, Christmas concerts, endless UNC/State arguments and many, many laughs. It was great to see her and her family and have her meet the twins.
Then on Sunday evening we got to hang out with one of Young's friends, Keis. He now lives in Japan but used to work here in SF with Young many years ago. He had just flown in and was suffering from some serious jet lag over dinner. But it was fun to see him and he brought some fun Japanese toys for the kids. One toy that teaches kids how to hold chopstick and some musical instruments. The musical instruments have a very popular Japanese cartoon characters on them. Here is a picture of Keis practicing chopsticks with Timothy.
(Keis also helped me figure out to to read the sizing of the Japanese clothes Young's aunt sent a few months ago. Thanks Keis!)

Timothy Rolling

Sorry this is a little late, but thought you might enjoy Young goofing around with Timothy. Almost alway, when I leave Young alone with the kids, he take some pretty video. Timothy is rolling over more easily now, but here he is a week or so ago when it was new for him.

Cold Summer Days

To anyone living outside the Bay area might think this picture is crazy..but it's true...this is how we had to dress the kids last week. We were having our usual cold, foggy summer days here in SF and the temps didn't get above 56. This was Saturday morning when we took the kids out for a jog...and the kids don't look too happy to be going out so early on a chilly Saturday morning.

Shawn and John's wedding

Saturday I got to see my good friend, John Mark, get married. John and I have known each other for about 10 years and worked together about 8 of those years. I love his new wife Shawn and wish them all the best. It was a great San Francisco foggy day as they exchanged vows on top of a very large hill in San Francisco. (it was tough pushing our stroller up the huge hill, what a work out!) I really like the ceremony b/c we all stood around the couple, very close, sharing in their joy with them. We headed to the other end of the city for the reception...the very sunny Ferry Building. There were a lot of my old coworkers there that hadn't met the twins yet...so they got passes around and made lots of new friends.

We have a winner...bananas!

Cameron ate solid food tonight...bananas!! We've been trying the rice cereal for over a week and she cries and spits it out. One of my friends said "of course she spit it out, she wants some southern BBQ! She is your daughter after all" It got me thinking, maybe it is a taste thing, not a lack of interest. So I smashed up some banana and put a tiny bit in her mouth to which she closed her lips around it, gave a big smile and swallowed. This time the tears were my own...I was so proud of her. After a few bites I tried some rice cereal and the scream was almost instant. I had lost her trust and she wouldn't eat anymore. But that's OK, I'm feeling better knowing it's all about flavor. Let's hope this is a start of a good eater and not a picky eater...

Play Dates & Milestones

Sunday was full of fun and milestones for the kids. We started the day going to church where I tried to leave the kids in the nursery so I could take part in some of the service. As you know, it's been hard on Cameron to be away from Mommy and Daddy. This Sunday she lasted a whole 30 mins in the nursery. Of course I was so nervous I kept getting up and going down to check...but no cries. I finally slipped out just after the sermon to check and she was at her limit. But I was sooo proud of her!! She and Timothy are getting closer and closer everyday and I think if she can see him she feels safe.

Then we were off for a play date with our friends Yang, Mason and Jasper. Jasper is 10 months old which seems like a lot now but once they all pass 1 year old, there won't be much of a difference. Yang is the most read mother I've ever met. Because Jasper was born six week premature, she has done extensive research on baby milestones to help monitor Jasper's development...and he is right on track. She was constantly letting us know different milestones the kids have hit that I wasn't aware of. Apparently Cameron has just about completed her consonant sounds...ga, ba, da, ma, etc...Timothy is stuck on his da right now. The twins are both sitting up on their own too!! Timothy a little longer than Cameron but she was hanging in there. Timothy is wiggling around on his tummy so much, she thinks he'll be crawling soon. And the kids didn't really watch the TV that was on and Yang thought that was a good sign...they were more interested in all the different toys.
The kids napped most of the play date but we got a few pictures...

The kids took a nap in Japer's crib...Timothy missing the days of sharing a crib with his sister. And all the kids hangin' on the sofa.

The twins sitting in Daddy's lap and Japser ridding the carousel with his Daddy.


The twins congratulating each other on all their milestones of the day!!

Saturday Strolls

Ever since the kids were born we've tried to get out on Saturdays or Sundays and take long strolls together. Cameron has a had a hard time adjusting to the new side by side...I think she doesn't like the fact that she can't see us. But she is getting used to it and they actually were comfy enough to fall asleep. We get lots of attention in this stroller too...people can see the kids face to face. This walk was made even longer b/c people kept stopping us to look at the kids. It's funny, I know so many people with twins and triplets now, it doesn't seem that uncommon. We've had several people stop us and tell us they are a twin or they raised twins years and years ago. It's fun to hear the stories of way back when twins weren't that common. It just lets me know it can be done...as hard as I think it is at times, I'm sure it was much harder back in the day.

rough week

Sorry I haven't had a chance to post in a while. It's been a rough week for the Ko twins and for mommy! Lot's of changes this week and the kids are adjusting the best they can.
We started rice cereal which Timothy eats like a champ. Cameron is having trouble...she hates it. She screams and spits it out every time. We've also been helping out at Day Camp this week at our church, so we've been up and out of the house by 8am, missed naps, lot's of strange people holding/feeding them, trying to nap in strange cribs, etc. Again, Timothy seems to adjust better than Cameron. She is having major stranger anxity and I can only leave her along a short period before she realizes I'm gone. So I haven't really been able to help out at camp b/c they come get me to go back to the nursery.
And all this has snowballed into the afternoon/evenings at home, they are more cranky, waking up during the night, just all out of sorts. I was at my whits end with crying babies last night...I had to look to Young to handle them while I took a little break.
I just reminds me of how sensitive babies are and how important schedules and consistantcy is to them. We're taking a break today and staying home.

Let the Solids Begin!

We started the kids on solid foods this weekend...or as my family in NC would say, FINALLY stated the kids on solid foods. Most can't believe we waited six months. (Apparently I was only two months when I started eating solids). But 30 some odd years later, it's a little different. The experts think starting kids on food later will help with allergies. And I've been very anxious about them eating and wanting to do it the right way because food, the love of all different types of food, is so important to me. I pray that we don't have picky eaters or any allergies to deal with.
So we put if off until the six month mark (the kids are now 24 weeks) and started with yummy and delicious rice cereal. I say it was a success even though we only got a few spoonfuls into their mouths. Timothy took to it and enjoyed the experience...Cameron will take a little coaxing.
Here are a few pictures of the big day. We took some video too, I'll post later when I have a little more time.