What a wonderful Xmas!

We had a such joyous Christmas. The twins' first Christmas!!!

It started Christmas eve, also Eric's bday, at grandma D's house. We had brunch with yummy baked french toast, crepe fruit cups and much much more! What a perfect way to start the holiday.

Christmas day, we hosted my family and my dad's cousin's family (who just moved up from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina). There were more food, gifts and more gifts. The kids were in heaven! Elmo was a big hit this year, the girls got the tickle chairs from grandma. And Anna banana got the hot toy of the season, the new TMX Elmo---he definitely was a hoot. There was even a small smack down over Elmo between Anna and Joshua (our two LIVELY toddlers), but of course, they didnt stay mad long.

After all the eating and gift opening, the adults relaxed, talked and played games (cards and Cranium) and the kids ran around like mad.

Ahhhhhh, family, the twinkling lights from the tree, the crisp cold air, the kids and their wide-eye excitement..... what's not to LOVE about Christmas!

Here comes Santa....

To believe or not to believe. So after a brief discussion, the verdict is in, Santa will be visiting our house next year. My husband's ultimate logic, 'If Santa's gonna be at the neighbor's house, why wouldnt he visit ours???!!!'

My husband grew up with Santa, but since I'm first generation Vietnamese- American, it wasnt part of my parents' culture to celebrate. Thus, I was on the fence on whether to perpetuate the myth of Santa. But I can understand the magic and wonder Santa invokes in children. He loves them, watches over them to make sure they're good and comes bearing gifts when they are. He's their jolly, kind friend!

Christmas has become so commercialized and I think for our kids, we'll try very hard to downplay this. They can write a letter to Santa, but there will only be one gift from Santa. The rest will be from family and people who love and cherish them so much to give them presents.

We'll also stress the real celebration of Christmas. We'll have a birthday cake with candles for Jesus. Eric and I have always attended midnight mass (love the beauty of the lit candles and hushed singing!), but of course, we'll be attending the afternoon service with the children instead. The kids will understand the true gift of Christmas is, the life Jesus gave to all of us.

Look Ma, I can hold up my head!

And FLLLLLLLLLLLLY...................

Happy Halloween!

It was the perfect night for Halloween, clear skies and temp in the low 60s. Since we really dont live in a community development (no sidewalks even!), we were thinking of heading to a neighborhood church's free fair, complete with candy give-aways, moon bounce, slides, outdoor movie and fireworks.

But since the girls are still too young, we didnt want tire them out, thou i would have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the cute costumes. instead, we dressed them up and went over to visit their cousins, anna & lindsey, who only lives about 15 min away. the pretty flowers went door to door with the monkey and her banana and had a great Halloween.

Check out all their costumes! the indian princess is their other cousin, lotus. the girls cant wait until next year, when they can actually eat the candies!

First Sacrament of Baptism

Here are some pics of the girls' baptism in September at St Leo's. They were baptized along with their cousin, Lindsey, who's only 3 weeks older. They wore beautiful lace dresses (gifts from one of their aunts) and bow head bands --- and they actually looked like girls!

So i guess officially they are now Catholic. Though, I think they might attend our neighborhood's Lutheran bible school (sssshhh, just dont tell my parents).

Eric and I try to attend church at least once a month---even less now with the kids' eating/nap schedules--they havent established a nap schedule yet but would take numerous minisucle naps throughout the day. We would end up at the Catholic church only because there is a later mass at 11:45PM. Truth be told, the Lutheran church's pastor gives a mean sermon--- if we could only get up earlier.

I think for us, we consider ourselves more Christians first, then Catholic or Lutheran, stemming from our backgrounds. Well, now the girls are covered, by being baptized in the Catholic church, they can get married in one. Or within the Lutheran Church. But who knows what religion they will end up choosing or if they will even have one!

Royce's big 40

We celebrated Eric's bro's 40th bday a couple a weeks ago. It was low keyed at Grandma D's house. She served steaks and baked alaskan per bday boy's request. The girls also got a chance to hang out with their cousin, Lotus.

The big 4-0. We're all waiting for Royce's mid life crisis to begin, maybe that's why he's all geared up to fix the dune buggy (-:

Bye Bye Colic

When the girls were born, Laurel came home with us first since Vienna was jaundice. She also needed to be monitored. Basically during one of her feedings, she stopped breathing, so to assure there weren't any really complications, they kept her in the NICU for one day. Boy, was she not happy, she cried and cried. Everytime we visited, we could see dried tear tracks on her face. We knew she wasn't uncomfortable, since the baby right next to her incubator was lounging and bathing in the infralight. That was the first sign of Vienna's personality...

The first night with Laurel was a dream, she eats, burps, poops and sleeps like clockwork. To this day, she just wants and needs her pacifier. She'll play alittle, watch the mobile and put herself to sleep, sucking on her paci.

Then Vienna came home. She wasn't colic right away, not until 2 weeks later. But she was still a more fussy, touchy baby. Changing her diaper was a sporting event!

Once the colic started, it felt like a 2-3 hour marathon, mentally and physically exhausting. Eric would have to take the girls outside in the stroller since Vienna loved looking at the trees which calmed her down. Or I would walk her up and down Easie Street. We would also rock her in the bathroom with the vent blasting. Sometimes she would be fed in there since she would be so riled up and wouldnt eat. They say babies cry from colic due to gas discomfort (she would burb 2-3 times after a meal) and an immature nervous system, so crying helps them block out the world.

On top of her colic and gas pains, poor Vienna has had excezema (which cleared up in the about 2 weeks), slight cradle cap, aka baby dandruff, on her forehead (even though she barely has any hair). She also originally tested positive for cystic fibrosis. But was negative on the retest---but of course, since asians rarely carry the gene.

And when she was born, the doctor had to turn her, which made her face uneven. It's slowly getting better and barely noticeable, along with the giant dent on her head from clearing my pelvic bone. Its not always fun being the older sister!

And we wont mention her weight percentile.

Now this week, we're bringing her in to the physical therapist. She has the tendency to tilt her head and neck to the left---and hopefully this hasnt cramped up a nerve. I'm pretty sure this is how she slept in the womb, since during the late sonograms, they had to measure her head circumference in my pelvic area. She must have been smooshed!

Happily, at two months her colic went away. She's gotten bigger and is able to handle the gas. No more evening screaming bouts, but her strong personality is still intact. Even in the womb we called Vienna the 'wiggler' since she was never still, always kicking away.

But you know, we wouldnt have Vienna any other way. One of the nurses at the hospital noticed how fiesty she was and made the comment, 'she's gonna be the one stealing cars'. Too funny! Never a dull moment with our Vienna.

Party Aftermath...

Last weekend was the twins' shower. It was also to commemorate the twins 'first birthday'. In Asian culture, the first full month after birth is celebrated as a milestone.
It was the perfect day for a bbq. We grilled up some ribs, chicken and corn. My mom made her yummy egg rolls and fried rice---gotta have some Asian food! It would have been nice to have the party outdoors, but our patio still in the mist of being built. But next year, get those water pistols ready!

Heard on the hallway street, 'its a baby fest here'. There were kids everywhere, ages from newborn to adolescent. So much energy! Good thing we have a basement for them to run around in, and on newly painted concrete. After our water tank exploded, we decided no more carpet and its potential for mold. Not the most sophisicated look, but kid friendly and worry free! Not to mention, easy clean up for the big kids' spilt beer.

As for the twins, they mostly slept, but I'm sure they enjoyed being held by all their aunties!

The day ended with our traditional fireworks, though only a handful people were left. Fireworks are so much fun. Even baby, Jacob loved them, he clapped and signed 'more, more'. Toooo cute!

It was a blast to see everyone and hopefully everyone had a blast.

So far so good with the nanny...

Ahhhh, the adventures of finding a nanny. We had one lined up, a recommendation from my mom's hospice worker. After the twins' birth, we left several msgs for her to start and no call back for a week. Oh well, she lived in woodbridge which i wasnt keen on anyway. (BTW, she does eventually call back, stating her hubby & son never gave her the messages. By then, her dependability was questionable.)

Then my mom has another recommendation from a church associate. We interviewed her, a middle age vietnamese woman. It took her three tries to make it to the interview! The first time, she didnt want to continue on the main road, thinking it was going to take her where----off a cliff? She stops at a nearby shopping center to call us, unfortunately our cell phone has bad reception in the house. But really, couldnt she just ask someone for directions when she was there, literally she was only 1/4 mile away. The second time, she made it to the driveway, but then was too 'nervous' to knock since the house was not lit, but decided to call on the cell instead---once again, bad reception. We were home and waiting.

Finally in the third try, she arrives for the interview. So of course, i'm not too impressed by this time. Then she mentions she tires easily, especially if she has to walk too much. And that she has a disability son at home that she also needs to reserve her energy for.....hmmm, not quite the energetic, competent nanny i was hoping for. So i declined her services, which my mom adamantly disagreed with. She was Vietnamese and Catholic...What more can i ask for?!!

Plan C, place an ad in the spanish newspapers. Whoa, let the calls begin. I think we should have stated the salary just to weed out the true potentials. Literally, I must have gotten 20 calls a day for the next couple of weeks. Had some interviews, too young, too inexperienced, one mentioned she couldnt make the 8AM hour since she would have to drop off her kids at the bus stop at 8:30.....umm, which part of 8-6PM was unclear?

Then we got the call from Edna. Her last job was at a daycare. She's been a nanny before with another family. And she lived in Vienna, 5 min away! With the long work day, who needs to tack on another hour + commute.

After checking her references and conducting a background check, she was hired. She started immediately on August 1st, which means I would be home with her for 2 months until the beginning of October. This was my preference since I wanted to be comfortable with her before leaving the kids. Edna has two grown kids of her own, but other than that, has no experience with infants (only toddlers to pre-school). Since my mom has been with me since their birth, she would still come daily to 'train' Edna.

And we like her so far. Edna is very professional, calm and capable. She takes instruction well. I realize now, some English is a must! I dont know otherwise, how I could have translated the different care methods we have with each twin.

So things are going well. Hopefully, i wont have to conduct another nanny search (ever). Ahhhh, so nice when things fall into place. And extra bonus, Eric started a new job. Its his 4th job in 2 years (we call him the job whore), but who's complaining, since now he can pay for the nanny (-:

The twins 'Welcome Home' shower

Please join us in celebrating the arrival of Vienna and Laurel to our family and to the world!

Address: 10619 vale road, oakton 22124
Time: 3PM
Date: August 12th

We hope to see you there for some good bbq and summer fun!

The twins are FINALLY here

After 38 1/2 weeks and 26 hours of labor, the twins have arrived. On July 6th at 6:57 AM, Vienna Vu weighed in at 5 lbs 4oz and Laurel Lee at 5 lbs 8 oz, coincidently at the same length at 18 1/2 in.

The Pregnancy
Sorry, but I'm not one of those gals who 'loves' being pregnant. I think I had may be two good, 'normal' months out of the nine. Otherwise, the first couple of months were double the hormones, so nausea, nausea and chronic headaches. Any known pregnancy symptoms, I had it, from heart burn to tiredness, even carpal tunnel syndrome!
The one odd quirk was I couldnt eat. Go figure, a pregnant women who doesnt go hog wild for hagen daz. There were even times, I had to force feed just so I wouldnt pass out! So for carrying twins, I only gained about 45 lbs. Now if only this lasts after the pregnancy, low riders here I come!

The Delivery
At 5:30 AM on July 5th, I woke up to the cat's antics and realized my pjs were a bit damp. Yea! my water broke, so off to the hospital we went. I was already pushing for an induction that week, so we were siked. And no suffering at home timing contractions---doesnt that border on cruel and unusual torture?

I was immediately put on Petrozin to start my contractions and had my epidural. We were hoping by 5PM that day, it would be all over. Twenty hours later, I still hadnt dilated more than 5cm. I wasnt in any pain since the epidural worked wonders--what contractions?---tho a bad side effect is nausea, I couldnt even keep ice chips down! My only complaint was the freaking bed was so uncomfortable! My back was so sore, to the point I couldnt lay down anymore but had to be pillowed, propped up.

To make a long story short, it turned out the wrong twin's water broke. The doctor didnt realize this until the 20th hour, so after breaking the lower twin's water so she could descend, I progressed to 9 cm within 2-3 hours. Then with an hour and 15 min of pushing, Vienna entered the world. Once she was cleaned up, she turned and gave her poppa a big smile (she was proud he made it thru with out fainting and even cut the umbilical cords!) . Laurel came just 13 mins later, with her calm, sweet demeanor.

The Twins
Vienna, tho only 4 oz less has a very small frame and head, unlike Laurel, who we sometimes call Jaba Love. They are clearly fraternal, with some resemblance. Vienna looks very much like her poppa . Laurel, I've been told, looks more like me. (I hope that's not cause she's a chubbette :-)

They have very different temperaments. Vienna is more sensitive and fussy, esp since she has alot of gas issues (we had to switch to strictly soy formula to alleviate her gas). She loves to be held and is much more active. And does she have some lungs on her----isnt that always the case, the smaller they are, they louder they are.

Laurel is barely ever riled. She can lay in her crib and just observe the ceiling on end. Rarely, will she be driven to tears. She is a very content, easy goin girl.

Our two angels, how truly blessed we are.