Mostly April (a.k.a. the Fifth Month)

James and Julia have a couple visitors this month. First on 4/29 Mark's Uncle Allan and Aunt Linda come bearing pizza (good bribe!). Then, beginning on 5/1, Candice and Dataknife Steve visited twice with their daughter Nora for the twins' first playdate scaredate, as immortalized here. On 5/6 I take the babies around Cornish & Carey, my then place of employment (though I haven't worked there since my first pre-term labor scare). Then I quit. It's Stay at Home Mom-dom for me. When my parents return to San Diego, Mark takes a week of family leave to help care for the twins. When my parents get back up here they're so excited to see the babies that my dad follows the first rule of entering my apartment - take off your shoes - by taking them off in the elevator!


Julia's a tiger!


Mommy and James

For the sixth time in two years we bid on a house, but this time it's accepted! (It's not a good sign when you ask your realtor if any of her clients have taken longer to buy a house and she just hems and haws without actually answering.) With a house the babies won't have to sleep in dresser drawers in our apartment anymore. Actually that's not quite true - we did finally buy a crib for James earlier this month. Which means Julia is upgraded from the bassinet to the Pack N Play. (At first we try putting them both in the crib for several days, and it's cute how they rotate until their feet touch in the middle of the crib. Then once in the middle of the night I notice that James has rotated so his head is next to her feet. After that I declare separate sleeping quarters.) In other personal news I get a blocked milk duct and discover it's very painful.


James, making a guest appearance in Julia's bassinet. He's outgrew his bassinet and his pajamas.


James can't contain his excitement about the new infant carrier.


"Nobody puts ME in a corner!"


Julia, for once, excited to see her brother

James sits for the first time on 4/13 when Mark props him up (he probably could have done this earlier but we didn't try). James starts mouthing everything this month (not just his fist) and Julia starts a few weeks later. Mid-month Grandma and I try to put the babies on a schedule, or at least figure out what their schedule is. They follow a naptime schedule pretty well (10:30 a.m., 2 p.m., and 5 p.m. for 20 minutes each) but feedings are all over the place every 2 1/2 to 3 hours based on when they wake up, which can vary from 4 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. Both babies go through a mid-month growth spurt involving eating more food, more hibernation, and more fussiness. James likes to put his hands on his bottle while being fed so on 4/14 I let go and am impressed as he feeds himself unassisted for 1 minute. (He could've gone longer but the bottle drooped just slightly so I took over.) Julia has been making noises that sound like "hi" and okay" since the beginning of the month. She also likes making the "k" sound (Grandma taught her to k-k-k-kick), and Julia is delighted when I repeat the "k" sound back to her like I understand her. Mid-month Julia starts sitting up unassisted where she pulls herself up to sitting from her reclined position in the Boppy pillow. Both babies prefer to be held facing out so they can see the world and starting 4/17, put their arms out to be picked up, especially James.


James sits by himself for the first time.


"Move aside. My turn."

Julia's a little French girl!

We have a car seat arch that includes a pinwheel that turns if the ball attached to it is pulled down. The problem is the ball is too hard for a young baby to grasp, so since mid-April we've been putting our hand on top of the ball and then James pushes down on our hand to make the pinwheel spin. My friend Leslie, who is a day care teacher, often comes over to play with the babies and tells me that according to the books, babies learn this sort of cause and effect stuff at 4-9 months (and of course James arrived a month early so his gestational age is younger). This is interesting since at 2 months James also figured out the vibrating activity chair (when hanging animals are hit, music and lights come on). Leslie's also impressed that both babies can hold toys and have done so for awhile. (Just a note: I don't write these things to brag, but one day the twins will read these monthly updates and they'll be interested to know this stuff. Also, my kids are better than your kids.)

Julia in the vibrating activity chair with a diaper on her head. I'm not sure what went on here but I blame Mark.


James makes sure Julia knows who's in charge.


Julia's blue period

I notice when James turns four months that his brow turns red when upset or sleepy - it usually means he'll get cranky in five minutes. It's a good poker tell for Mommy. He also has peach fuzz growing in on top so he looks less like he has male pattern baldness. I usually can get Julia to stop crying by smiling and singing her favorite song, "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing" (from The Tiki Room). James's favorite song is "Bicycle Race" which I sing while pumping his legs like he's riding a bike, and "Here We Go a Diaperin'". Mark dances with Music Duck and James tries to join in and moves his arms and legs. James loves books so much he wants to hold them himself and then cries when we close them.


All done!


Our strawberry girl


You can see James's head's peach fuzz growing in as he preps for his role in his next movie, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden James."