Category: Cuba
The ladies are 11 months old today…in one month my babies will be babies no more. They will start to walk and with that begin their journey away from me. As hard as this year has been there is a part of me sad to see it end. It’s made even harder when I look at the boys and realize how quickly time passes from here.
The girls are amazing. Every day changing and growing. Their very distinct personalities are becoming more apparent. The twin aspect of their lives seems to be defined solely by their shared time in the womb. They are two very different people.
Cuba is confident and independent. She is good at entertaining herself and plays nicely alone. She loves to have two of things…anything. One for each hand I think. When Cuba wants something she is set to it, not easy to distract or redirect. She is pulling up on everything and can stand a lone. There are teeth finally popping up in her mouth. She is very comfortable using her voice, she screams when she’s happy, when she’s mad, when she wants something, or just for the heck of it. I will swear to you that she is talking. She says Dada, Bub (Lennox), dog, and mama. I have also heard something very much like “I did it”, and Ev has heard her say “I want that”. I feel crazy because she is so young, but when she speaks it comes out pretty darn clear. I’m going to try and get it on video-proof! She blows my mind all the time, pulling the cords on toys that talk her self. And you know those toys that they can sit and put blocks in and they fall out the other end-yeah she can do that too! Maybe it’s a normal girl thing, but I think she is amazing.
Cora is sweet and flirty. She smiles easily, and loves to be around people. Cora loves pick a boo, esp when she’s the one doing the peeking and booing. She is easy going and eager to move on to the next adventure. She is also pulling up on everything and loves to stand at the sliding glass door and watch her brothers play. She’s talking,saying Dada (she’s a major daddy’s girl), Mama, and dog. I haven’t heard any sentences from her, but I can see them in her eyes. She’s hilarious, she growls and sometimes laughs like a dolphin. Cora is a character. She can also pull the cords on toys and easily mastered that block toy months ago. She hugs baby dolls and bears and explores their faces touching eyes and noses. She has a lama/camel stuffed toy from her grandma’s most recent adventure that she loves. She holds it to her head and rubs it on her cheek. She’s a lovey girl. I am in awe of her every day. Just like her sister, I think she is amazing!
I’ve rediscovered a lost love…bike riding. Oh how I love riding my bike. It makes me feel like a kid again. It’s so calming, cool air rushing by as I peddle faster and faster. I haven’t gotten on a bike since the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of college. I used to ride daily; using a bike to get back and forth to work; then I got hit by a car. That ended my love of riding until just recently when Evan suggested we start riding and get a trailer for the kids. I was so nervous, thinking maybe I’d forgotten how to ride and then there was the pretty enormous fear of cars. I got going the wind in my hair and it came rushing back. Oh I love it. I took the boys out in the trailer for the first time tonight, it was awesome. They weren’t hard to pull at all. We’re hoping when the girls are big enough they’ll ride in the trailer and boys will ride they’re own bikes. I am so looking forward to family bike rides. Everyone has fun, and it’s a wonderful release for me. Speaking of release I’ve started the Shape magazine bikini body count down.
I have no hopes of wearing a bikini at the end of the 5 month program but I am hoping to tighten up, maybe even shed the rest of this baby weight. I’ve done two days of exercises, they’re hard and my body is feeling the burn. I am so out of shape. I so need to stick with it. I’m tired of being fat. So tired I even bought some of those 100 calorie snacks in hopes it will fill my need for sweets. I have one every night after the boys go to bed, my treat. I look forward to it all day. Eating has become a way I deal with stress. Things get hairy (daily) around here I run for the panty. Not really helpful with the whole tired of being fat thing. Maybe all the exercising and many bike rides will help with my stress level and that will help me to stop stress eating on top of stopping my body from stress storing. Lower stress=happy kids that sleep well (wishful)=sleep for me (wishful)=weight loss=happy mama! Eh we’ll see.
Oh and I’ve started walking again too. I love walking almost as much as bike riding. I throw one of the ladies in the Ergo and everyone else in the triple jogger and off we go for an hour. We usually end up at the playground. Things are starting to look up. Exercising makes me feel normal, I need it.
Today the girls are 10 months old. The time has actually gone by very fast and when I look back it’s mostly a blur. It’s no secret the last 10 months have been geared toward survival and nothing more. We’ve done a lot more then survive. We are alive and thriving.
The girls are full into solid foods, there are few things they won’t eat. Some favorites at the moment are peas and chick peas. I give them defrosted whole peas and canned chick peas (I pinch off the skin). They are really into feeding themselves. We are also mobile, and in completely different ways. The girls mastered sitting and have quickly moved on to exploring. Cora was the first to venture out in an army style crawl-she is fast. Cuba just today started to do a sort of scoot crawl. While sitting up she leans forward and pulls herself forward with one leg and her arms. It’s pretty interesting to watch. She hates being on her tummy so it’s no surprise she came up with this way to get around. Cuba also loves to pull up on anything that will get close enough and stand still long enough. They’re both waving and Cora claps whenever you say Yeahhhhhh with a huge smile on her face. It’s insane how much they’ve changed just in the last month. Everything just kicked in, they went from being a wee bit behind to being right on track. Cora has 3 official teeth and 5 more breaking through. She hasn’t been too fussy, but we have been using a good bit of ora-gel and motrin. Cuba on the other had still has an empty mouth. I hope the poor thing doesn’t end up with them all at once. Cora is sleeping through the night, she goes down around 7 and wakes around 7. Cuba is another story all together. Ever since she figured out how to sit up, she does it the moment you set her down. She ends up falling asleep in a sort of yoga position and still wakes up at least twice a night. They were both sleeping through the night for a good bit but like everything child related the moment you get used to something it changes. So sleep for me sucks. I just keep thinking – that and so many things will get easier when they’re weaned. Our worlds are going to open up. Every twin parent I’ve encountered says the same thing…â€it gets easier when they start walkingâ€. We are so close I can taste it…
How I shower…