Sugar and Spice

Our Lucie is everything nice. Of course, that's hardly an unbiased opinion and ignores her penchant for rolling over Ryan as he tries to sleep.

Nonetheless, at five-months old she is already a sweetheart. I can't imagine ever feeling any differently. Though I suppose that may change when she starts dating at least that development is many, many years off. In contrast, we expect her to begin to sit up and perfect her roll-overs in the coming weeks.

Here she flashes her baby-blues and winning smile.

Living the Life of Ryan

Some days, it's tough to be a little boy.

After a leisurely breakfast, you have playtime with sister on the activity mats. A rejuvenating nap in the co-sleeper at lunchtime means plenty of time to share a laugh with Mom. Then, after an afternoon of playing with a variety of pediatrician-approved toys and books designed to stimulate the mind and body, it's time for another nap. You have a nice dinner and then it's back to bed.

We should all be so lucky.

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

Chris, Ryan and I have been trying to sleep but Little Miss Lucie is not interested. Ever since she learned to roll over, Lucie wants to practice day and night. She rolls on the floor, in the activity mat, in her car seat, in the swing, during Breastfeeding Support Group, and -- her favorite time to practice -- when she's supposed to be sleeping!

Here they are hanging out in their new crib, with Lucie post-flip and Ryan looking a little bleary-eyed. No worries, he'll get her back when it's his turn to roll over. That's a twin's prerogative, of course.

MN visitors

It either takes a wedding or the birth of twins to trigger a mass visitation from our Minnesota relatives. Fortunately for us, we've had both in the last five years.

Next month, Lucie and Ryan can look forward to meeting their extended family from the land of 10,000 lakes. Considering our fair weather babies wouldn't last very long in Duluth this time of year, we are glad they are visiting us and not the other way around.

Lucie and Ryan have even started to prepare by drinking pop, studying the farm report, and donning their UMD Bulldogs gear (thanks Jayme!).

Baby Olympics

This morning we were busy eating blueberry muffins when suddenly, Lucie rolled from back to front to back again. The infamous first roll-over that fills parents with part pride/part fear -- she's mobile! Lucie had been attempting this feat all week; even practicing while sleeping, causing poor Ryan to wake up with his sister's feet in his face more times than he'd like. Luckily, he recently found his thumb and can comfort himself when a stray foot comes his way.

Here's Ryan demonstrating his new talent and Lucie giddy after her gold medal in baby mobility.

Happy Valentine's Day

Lucie and Ryan gave us a Valentine's Day gift better than roses or a box of chocolates -- sleep! Last night was one of their best nights ever, sleeping from 8pm to almost 3am, and then back to 7:30am.

According to doctors, "sleeping through the night" does not mean sleeping from evening to morning; instead it means 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, of which we are within one hour. (That bit of knowledge gives us a new perspective when parents say their babies slept through the night at an early age.)

So, I wonder what they call it when a baby sleeps from 7pm to 7am ... parental nirvana? For now, we're celebrating -- bring on the See's "Nuts and Chews"!

Baby Gear: The Co-Sleeper

Like politics these days, the sleeping arrangement debate has fierce proponents on both sides. Somewhere in between the Red State Ferber camp (crib in a separate room, let babies cry it out, teach independence) and the Blue State Family Bed crowd (natural to be together, provide security) is our Arms Reach Co-Sleeper.

It's like a crib where one side is the same height as a regular bed. It's been perfect for us -- very easy to provide a reassuring pat or get a pacifer back in place without getting out of bed. And there is no danger of roll-over or suffication from comforters.

There is only one problem with the co-sleeper -- our little babies have grown into big babies. So big that they only fit diagonally. The switch to a crib will likely happen within a week or two, but we'll be sorry to see the co-sleeper go. Fortunately, it converts into a pack-and-play for extended use.

We highly recommend a co-sleeper as a compromise between safety and security.

Winter Wear

Despite day-time temperatures in the 80's, it's been pretty cold at night. Well, cold for us which means anything below 60 degrees. Perfect oppotunity to break out the 6 month winter wardrobe before spring arrives next month.

Here Ryan and Lucie sport onesies, Rachel sweaters, knit caps, and booties. Everyone managed to survive the chill as we walked to get Chinese food for dinner. Of course, Megan blames the MSG for keeping the babies up, but that's a different story.

Ryan on Rogaine

I was looking through my baby book recently and came upon this photo. My dad captured this in October 1973 when I was just a little younger than Ryan and Lucie. The first thing I thought when I saw it was, "Wow, it's Ryan - with hair!" The resemblance made me catch my breath.

We're still trying to find a family photo that looks like Lucie, though when I see her sitting on her dad's lap, I know exactly where she came from.

Let's Eat

At Ryan and Lucie's four month check-up, the doctor said that we could start introducing solid foods, starting with rice cereal, within the next month or two. Being the Generation X parents that we are, a book on making baby food was purchased online that very afternoon. Wouldn't want to start this important step without doing our research, right? (I won't even go into how long it's taken us to buy a crib!)

Anyway, I think I forgot that making baby food is about as easy as it gets - grab a mushy banana, mash it with a fork, and there's breakfast. I definitely remember this from helping my parents feed my younger brother. Oh well, the book does have some good tips about making large batches of foods and freezing individual size servings in ice cube trays for future use.

We won't break out the bibs quite yet, but in the meantime we're having fun watching Ryan and Lucie develop some fat rolls and grow out of clothes. Here's Lucie modeling size 6-9 month, and a pom-pom and rasberry hat - adorable creations from Aunt Rach of course!

Backsliding

We'd like to think that once Lucie and Ryan achieve a milestone, their behavior will be forever changed. Achievements like waking up only once a night, taking two-hour naps in the morning, or going to sleep with little effort should be an indication of the future.

Only they have different thoughts. There has been a significant backslide over last week -- waking up 3+ times a night and irregular naping during the day. Not surprisingly, this change directly corresponds with blog inactivity.

One step forward, one step back, and maybe one to the side. Cha-cha-cha.

Update: Megan insists that I let everyone know Lucie and Ryan only woke up twice last night over an amazing 11 hours. And no dirty diapers!