This week started out with a short work trip for Daddy. Before he left, we all gathered in the living room to hear him practice his talk.
It was a tough crowd.
No, seriously. One hour is, like, three years in baby time. The first ten minutes were pretty peaceful. The last ten minutes involved hitting things with bubble wands.
On Tuesday we dropped Daddy off at the airport. This was very confusing for some. There were some curbside tears.
D: (as Daddy disappears into the terminal) Daddy is going to get Grammy and Grandpa!!!!
M: No, sweetie, Daddy is going on an airplane. He'll be back tomorrow.
D: (as we pull away) No, Mommy! Stop! You're leaving Daddy!
M: I know, sweetie, he's staying here for right now.
D: NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
M: It's okay. We'll come and get him tomorrow.
D: No. We will not get him tomorrow. Get him right now! Get on your own airplane and go get him back! Right Now!!! One....Two.....Three!
A slight sense of unease and confusion followed us until bedtime and through the next morning. The next evening I brandished the camera, asked the kids to look and smile for Daddy, and got this.
Duh, Mommy, Daddy's not here.
A peaceful drive later, Daddy was back home. Since Devon got a brand new Lightning McQueen to drive to the airport with, he's now convinced that all new toys come from Delaware.
I've picked up working on the baby books again. These pictures of Miss Savannah go in the "favorite babysitter" spot. "Manana" is a favorite topic of conversation, even when she isn't here giving Mommy and Daddy a rare evening off. We sing Happy Birthday to her at least once a day, and we can't drive by the turnoff to get to her house without the whole car erupting into cheers.
Last night at Walmart Carrie gestured excitedly and shouted "Manana! Manana!" I looked around for Savannah, expecting to see her. When I didn't, I tried to figure out what was going on.
Carrie was pointing to a rack of bananas.
Even now as I type this, the girls point at the screen.
"Manana!" they say excitedly.
I scroll down to the next picture.
"Manana!" they say again. Same word. Same inflection.
I just have to ask... do the twins think her name is really 'banana"?
We took some mananas home and made pancakes with them.
Wh, oh, why don't I cook more with this boy? He clearly enjoys it. I go down my usual list of concerns: sharp knives, hot burners, tile floors that shatter dishes, and Mommy's rather exhaustible store of patience. The fact that his favorite game right now is to climb as high as he can, yell "To Infinity and Beyond!" and jump off. The fact that he still has all ten fingers and no major scars and I'd like to keep it that way... Hmmm....
We've beta-tested and rejected TWO multiples carts this week. Memo to Walmart AND Target: if you need a multiples cart, it means that your children are small enough to need actual working restraint belts. Five-point harnesses that lasso loosely around and sort of adjust to fit everybody while not really restraining anybody don't cut it. If you're wondering why I had to barrel around Target with three kids standing up in the cart and my items on the child seat topping speeds of 10 mph, that is why. Any slower and somebody would've jumped off.
They should hire me as a consultant. It would solve the problem of how to fund my life of leisure...
The combination of actual working seat belts and cheap ice cream make Sam's Club the only place I can go with more than one child. I'm just sorry to anyone who wore good shoes to Sam's last night.
Yesterday was a huge milestone. We took our first family outing without a stroller.
Craig and I had to be pretty athletic, manning the leashes and passing them back and forth so someone could go after Devon if he bolted. Still, a day without a stroller felt like freedom.
Even our pictures seemed to go so much better, as everyone held still!
The girls rode on the train for the first time...
... and the whole family finished out the day at our favorite, the river otters.
Outings in general are becoming easier. Fewer moments of kids running in different directions or screaming in concert. More sweet moments of positive sibling interactions and smiles. At one point, as I gathered Carrie up in my arms and whispered to her as we watched the Blue Macaw, a woman watched me sentimentally and whispered to her husband "I miss that!" Wow. Usually we're the ones who are constantly reminded by strangers to cheer up because it doesn't last forever.
They're stable enough for the carousel at the mall. Mommy now carries a wad of singles and saves her spare change.
"Again, Mommy, again!" says Carrie. By far the most talkative one, I sometimes call her The Official Spokesperson of The Twins. Melina occasionally interjects a word or two into Carrie's constant verbal onslaught.
Beach outings are still popular as ever.
With such busy days, you'd think everyone would pass out without complaint at bedtime, but that is seldom the case. This week everyone wants to be awake hours after bedtime, calling messages to each other across the hall or crib hopping. Mommy tires of this when she hears cries in the middle of the night and finds the girls sleep-wrestling.
On the couch with a girl in one arm and my phone in the other hand, I wonder who I'm sitting with. I aim at her face and take a picture.
This is what I get. Boy, do I look tired. No help.
I try again. Hmmmm....
Scrolling back to the first photo, I determine from their original positioning that I must be holding Meeners.
A few minutes later, she wakes up and starts talking. Now that The Official Spokesperson of The Twins is asleep, my other girl starts talking up a storm. She's a little more tentative than sissy, but still learning so many new words.
I smile back at her in the darkness.
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