Great lines to start a conversation

Doug here:

So Sandy looks at me the other day and says, "Have I ever told you the story about my dad and the prostitute?"

(It's not what you think, she was referring to the time she heard the word on TV at age seven and he had to explain to her what it meant).

Which was only topped by the time my friend Lisa was interning as a victim's advocate for the Denver Police Department and told me, "I had to miss out on a double homicide because my Dad was graduating from clown school that day."

That one was just like it sounded.

Sisters

Doug:

So the other night the girls seemed to really start looking at each other for the first time. We were sitting next to each other, each burping a baby, and they just started staring at each other. And then Tava broke into this big grin (we call them Tava-smiles, they take up her whole face). It looked like she was thinking, "Hey, you look fun, we should play sometime."

Analee's expression said something like, "Who the hell are you and why are you in my room?"

I don't know if this is foreshadowing their relationship as teenagers.

Recognition

Doug here,

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything, I haven't felt like I had much to say. I know most people that know me probably have a hard time believing that, but it's true. This baby stuff all seems so cliche when you talk about it, but most of it is true. The short of it is, the first 8 weeks were hard. Really hard. And I didn't find it all that rewarding. Or that fun. And I don't know how much the twin thing magnified all of this, but I'm pretty sure it was considerable. Our pediatrician (a mother of twins herself) has a great saying: one child is a hobby, two kids are a job (I don't even want to think about three).

Anyway, things got a lot better around week 8. The girls started sleeping better for one thing, and as everybody knows, that helps a lot. But more importantly, they started to get really cute and, even more, they started reacting to the world around them and began to recognize us. Then they started smiling. Then about two weeks ago, we got our first laughs. Well they've got me now. There are still moments, of course, but now I see the attraction.

Anyway, just thought I'd say hi. Here's my new favorite photo:

First Road Trip

Sandy here:


A couple weeks ago we had to make an unscheduled trip up to Denver. I've learned another important rule about babies--the smaller they are, the more stuff they require. We loaded up our Land Cruiser with just the essentials (clothes for me, Doug and 2 babies, diapers, wipes, 2 jiggly chairs, 1 swing, clock, baby monitor, diaper bag, 2 boppies, 1 twin nursing pillow...) and took off. The girls did great and Doug and I had lots of fun (for the most part) riding with them. Audrey had a good time with her cousins--she sometimes calls them "cousins" and sometimes says "Tavanalee". She helped pick out their clothes every day, and is pretty good at telling who's who (we used to think she just said whatever name she remembered, but when you ask her, she pauses for a moment, like she's thinking, before she responds).

Here's a few gems from our first road trip/vacation:

On the road again....Hey--you gonna drink that bottle? (Tava front, Analee in back)


I asked Audrey to sit behind her cousins so I could take a photo and this is what I got (Tava left, Analee right):


Another pic of all the cousins! (Tava on the left, Analee on the right)


Scott and Molly graciously watched the girls for us one night so we could have a date--not sure who had more fun (Scott has Analee, Molly has Tava):


We took the girls to Music Together (a music class for babies and toddlers) and they had a blast! Doug is holding Analee, I'm holding Tava:


When we were younger, Brother's Bar was the site of much drinking and debauchery. Oh how times have changed (I'm holding Tava, Doug has Analee)!


One thing absent from all these pictures is Miliya. She spent the weekend with our friends Matt and Ambika, who have a dog of their own. Miliya got to go on hikes every day (some around water) and had a thoroughly good time. In fact, when we got home, she looked at us like, "Oh, you again. Where's that other couple? You know, the people who take me to do fun things?"

Family Resemblance

Sandy here:

Everyone has an opinion about who the babies look like (and no, we don't have a milkman), so I thought I would offer the following:

Analee:



My baby picture:



Need I say more?

So Alike it's Scary!

Sandy here:

Up until now, it's been pretty easy for Doug and I to tell the girls apart. They still have a weight difference, so if all else fails we can heft them to figure it out (won't that be fun when they're in middle school!). Lately though, they've been looking more and more alike. Take this picture for instance--we just took it over the weekend. Who's who?

Recession

Sandy here:

So this recession is hitting everyone pretty hard. Analee recently lost her job, and she's pretty depressed about it. All she wants to do is hang around the house all day, drink beer and watch TV: