Twin Tuesday

Liam and James

I've wanted to add more pictures of the twins here on my blog and Tuesdays seem like a good day for this. They boys are growing and changing so quickly that I need to capture them a little better. I don't think that I will always photograph them together. Sometimes, even I forget that they're not a set, but unique individuals who happen to look alike. Here they are on Christmas Day looking like the identical twins that they are.

The Great Room Shuffle Debate

I've planned a super big, possibly overwhelming, and challenging summer undertaking despite my need for hiatus and renewal, but I think that this change might actually facilitate some good transitions for us all.

Here's the thing: I have 5 kids, 3 bedrooms (on 3 different floors) for said 5 kids, and out of those 5 only 1 girl!! I've been thinking that it's time for a room shuffle for a long time. When the twins first arrived, I knew that I would be losing my guest/sewing room. After the twins moved from their co-sleeper in my room to the guest room in the basement, I just let things be. They slept magnificently in their basement room until recently when they decided to climb out of their cribs. Despite frequent after-midnight trips to the basement bedroom (two flights of stairs), Paul and I continued to let things be. We didn't want to disrupt Luke and Sam and their shared bedroom right across the hall from us. They've shared a bedroom since we moved into this house in 2006 and I just didn't want to break that up until now.

After removing everything (and I mean everything) from the twins' basement room for safety, I realized that their room was going to waste. We recently removed the toddler beds because they kept taking the mattresses off and moving the bed frames around the room. Yup. They do things that my other kids would never dreamed of doing.

As Luke gets older, I decided it might be time for him to have his own room in the basement although my heart breaks a little about it since I think this will impact Sam deeply. I suggested to Paul that we move Luke to the basement, move the twins to Tess's room on the main floor, and move Tess upstairs into Luke's old spot. Tess would now become Sam's roommate. It's a massive change. (Didn't I say change was coming?) I'm still not satisfied with this plan either. Sam said he'd rather have the twins in his room than his sister. I kind of agree with this sentiment. (Currently, Sam and Luke have the biggest room.) It can easily fit 3 kids, but frankly, I don't trust the twins and their crazy whims. I can't remove everything from Sam's room to ensure their safety either. Honestly, I don't think that I will be able to make these changes and have them be optimal. I'm just trying to work with my parameters. I realized that Sam and the twins are the same age spread as Sam and Luke. Luke is five years older than Sam and there's been some growing pains among those two for some time now. I guess it'll never be perfect, but as I feel that change is in order, I'll proceed with the plan.

This plan involves a lot of painting,  packing, and moving furniture. It won't be easy, but it's time for some transition in this house. It just might be the thing to kick start some renewal for everyone in this house.

Suggestions and ideas are welcome.

Portraits of the twins

James

Liam

My friend Leah, aspiring photographer, recently accepted the challenge of  photographing the twins. They posed quite the challenge while not posing for her at all. Yet, she captured them in all their cuteness. Thanks, Leah!

Twins in a Canoe

James and Liam in a canoe

18 Months!

Liam and James

My little guys are a year and a half today. James officially started walking on February 20th (and I wasn't there to see it) and Liam is still crawling. Developmentally, Liam usually follows James by about two weeks. So naturally, I expected to see Liam walking two weeks after James. He didn't. The other day Liam stood, balanced himself, and took seven tentative steps. He's so close, but yet, I savor these crawling days because I know  they're numbered. I'm also realist. I know what will happen when both boys are walking. They'll be heading in different directions all the time and there's only one me! It's not going to get easier with them being so mobile.

Today, I dressed the boys alike because I knew I wanted to photograph them at 18 months. Several times today I actually got them mixed up (something rare), but then James would walk and I'd know. Our time with the twins has gone so quickly. I'm not sure how that happened because this whole twin adventure hasn't been easy. It still isn't easy. I struggle every day hoping that I can meet all of my children's needs and I feel like a failure every day.  As a family, We've definitely experienced some growing pains, but I know that life is much richer with these beautiful little boys in our lives.

Look at that double sweetness! It's hard to resist!

Liam

 Look at that little sweet face. I like to photograph
the twins individually sometimes. He's always part of a pair, but he's also his own person. I can see the subtle differences by just looking at each one by himself. I discovered, recently, that the shade of teal really makes his blue eyes pop. I just wanted to capture his cuteness.

Something Fishy

No. I didn't knit these hats. My Aunt Rosie knit these fun hats for the twins, but James discovered that he can he remove hats making it difficult to get a good picture. I think the orange suits them very well.

Happy 1st Birthday Liam and James!

              I can't believe it's been a year already! Happy birthday little loves!

Candy Corn Hats #1 and #2

                                                        James and Liam

11 Months already!

Look at those teeth! Look at those curls! Look at those smiles! They're so cute. You would hardly believe that those cute faces don't let me sleep much at night.

Yarn Along: The Too Small Sweater

I should have known better. Really.  I should have known better. I started this sweater in July on our driving trip to California.  I knit the body of the sweater quickly and like I always do, I set it aside and cast on a new project. I didn't feel like picking up the stitches for the sleeves and so it sat in my knitting bag.  Then, I knit one sleeve and well, that wasn't so bad, but again, I put it away until last night. I stayed up late and knit the second sleeve. I knew it would not fit. I made a bad choice. Liam was so small and I thought the 12 month size would be enormous when I started this project, but the babies both have had growth spurts recently. Since I let this sweater sit incomplete, Liam kept growing and well, the sweater didn't. I could barely get it over his head, but I was determined to get some photos since this will be the only time he wears it. I need to knit sweaters for both the twins and I just realized that's four sleeves! I better make sure I cast on the 18 month size given how much time it takes me to get to the sleeves!  Okay, I'm kidding, but I definitely see the effects of my lack of discipline. I also learned that I need to bind off more loosely.  It's really tight around the sleeves and bottom.  I should just go up a needle size and try to bind off loosely.  So, it isn't a total loss. I do learn a lot from my kntting failures and it's not a real  failure. I, at least, got a picture of Liam's first handknit sweater from mama.

I did manage to finish the hat I started last week, but it's too small for my intended recipient. Ugh! Tess quickly decided that it's her hat now.

As for reading, I'm still reading most of last week's reading, but I'm definitely in a funk. I'm just not finding enough time in my day right now. The twins are teething and are keeping me up more and more each night right now. I'm exhausted and I can really feel the fatigue today, but yet I keep on knitting no matter how tired I am.

Head on over to Ginny's today for the Yarn Along!

The twins are 10 months today!

Liam gets the block for a minute, but ultimately, James wins.

Liam today

I am loving those little golden curls.

            

Yarn Along- Knitting in the car

We returned late last Sunday night from an epic driving vacation. We drove to California and spent hours and hours in the car. I know it was ambitious with our minivan filled to capacity and knowing the older three kids didn't have much room in the back row of our Sienna. However, I still looked forward to the time to knit in the car. I eagerly packed several projects' worth of yarn in my knitting bag. On that first incredibly long day in the car, we arrived in Vegas around 10 at night after spending something like twelve hours driving  and I did spend a good chunk of that day knitting. I manged to knit the body of a sweater for Liam, but I didn't feel like digging out the DPNs to work on the sleeves so I started another Eyelet Brim Cotton hat and despite all that time in the car, it's the only project I finished. Here's Tess at the Tamarisk restaurant in Green River, Utah. Of course, she's very serious about those sugar packets! Anyway, this is an easy hat, but picking up the stitches for the brim is tedious. As for reading, I didn't have much time last week. Mostly, I'd sneak in a few pages of Generation Me when I was nursing at night. It's an interesting read.  I'll be reviewing it on Goodreads soon.

Don't forget to head on over to Ginny's for more yarn tales!

9 months of double cuteness!

I took this picture with my phone today.  I really wanted to get a picture on the blog today since the twins are 9 months today (also my  15th wedding anniversary!).  Although I know that James is on the left and Liam on the right, this is one of the first pictures where I thought I could easily mix them up! They are looking more and more alike lately. I discovered that James has two little teeth on the bottom, but none for Liam (yet). Although I wouldn't call it crawling, James is also mobile.  I'm not really sure how he moves around the room. It must be his stealth powers! Liam likes to stay in one place right now. They are so different, but both are equally happy.

Trying to capture all 5...

isn't easy.

Liam's sweet potatoes

Liam had his first meal the day after James. Liam was sleeping when I fed James and of course, I'd never wake a sleeping baby!  Here he is enjoying his sweet potatoes! It looks like he's grabbing the spoon.  Yummy!

Twin Update



Liam- I trimmed those fingernails after I discovered those twin scratches on his face.




James laughing




I've neglected my poor blog for so long that I didn't even post a pic
of the boys at 7 months.  Here's Luke with twins on May 13th.  7 Months!



James and Liam-  I don't know why, but I just love that serious expression on Liam's face.  At their 6 month appointment,  James weighed 13 lbs 5 oz and Liam checked in at 11 lbs 12 oz.  They are just growing on their own little schedules.