Happy Memorial Day!

Whew, I think we might have done too much this wkend.

Stopped by Viva Vienna festival on Saturday since the pool wasnt opened yet. Went to an early wedding that night (gramma Vu babysat).

On Sunday, took the girls to an outdoor baby pool (we know a place where they dont require season passes since we really dont live in a development community). Then on Memorial Day, had some friends over for a bbq.

The pic is with their daughter, Grace, who's about 2months older (look she has cute baby rolls too). She's already Speedy Gonzales --- never teeter tottered once. I think she started walking crazy early at 9-10 mos. And the whole 2+ hours she was here, she never SAT DOWN ONCE. It's amazing how many times a toddler can open and close a (toy) door.

The girls just settled in for bedtime. Now it's time to move some furniture for the Salvation Army pick up tomorrow. After that, it's early lights out, cause I'm pooped. G'nite for bonzo.

So far so good (Part 2)....

Some ppl still ask us about our nanny, esp since they remember the debacle with the first one. She left after two months, A WEEK before I was to return to work from maternity leave---talking about short notice!

I'm happy to report, Maria has been with us for almost 9mos now.

Maria is great. She is highly dependable (has yet to call in sick) and always on time. This is a must, since she feeds Laurel the minute she walks thru the door at 8AM. Vienna is the early bird and gets a bottle at 7:15AM.

And lastly, the most important criteria, Maria adores the girls (and vice versa). She laughs, hugs and kisses them all day long. Like any new mom, trusting a stranger with your precious wee-ones is a scary thought, esp at this age. So how was I able to let go and made sure they had loving care? Two words: nanny cam.

And this is even with background and references checks. It also helped, Maria has two kids of her own and is part of a huge family (of 9 siblings!).

Maria doesnt have years and years experience as a nanny, mainly just worked at a gym's daycare. But considering we're not paying her top dollar ($15-20/hr---which both parents would have to be VPs or be part of a nanny share to afford!), I'm thrilled with her performance. She understands more than speaks English, but she takes directions very well. I only have to ask or show once.

Her main job and focus is caring for the girls. She doesnt do any housework for me. She does keep all their equipment (toys, high chair, bottles, bottle warmers, etc) sparkly clean and their laundry---which can be a big help. She doesnt iron or vacuum for them, I do this as part of my Saturday morning clean sweep.

I did interview quite a few candidates (advertised in the spanish newspapers) and some other clinching factors were: Maria was the perfect age (mid 40s, mature but still has lots of energy) and lived relatively close by. Yup, Eric was disappointed the young clubby ones were rejected, but sorry, this momma doesnt play 'the hand that rocks the cradle' game....hehehe.

For now things are working out. My only concern is when they are older (2-3yrs) and will need more stimulation and guidance. Maria does like to take them on walks and out back where we have a swing set.

And I'm hoping in the fall, when the new Oakton Library is finished, she can take them to story times and children events. But I think eventually, they might be bored and need more creative and educational play on a daily basis, which I'm not sure she'll be able to provide.

(Sigh) We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Momma just might have to work part-time then!

Moms' day celebration pics

For my mom's day, my family headed out to the Mclean Day festival. Unfortuantely, due to all the nap schedules (of 7 grandkids), we arrived at different times; but afterwards, the gang met up for cake.

At the festival, we caught a hay ride and a couple of shows (Irish dancers and cheerleading routines). It's becoming a more and more popular festival, so even the entertainment was decent. But then again, I'm happy just walking around, enjoying the sights and smells.

For gramma D's, we gathered for an early dinner. As part of mom's day tradition and gift, her two boys were put to work. This year, they got off lightly by only having to rotate mom's mattress.

Sorry gramma D for the pic w/the (crying-fit) girls. Bedtime was near and they were getting ansty---it def wasnt you (-:

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

double digits

Their 10 month picture. The munchkins have over-grown their egg pillows!

Stats
weight: V at 15lb 14; L at 18lb 12. they've stabilized somewhat, only gained 2 and 5 oz from last month respectively; even thou they eat more. burning mucho energy from all that crawling!

sleep: still sleeping 7:30P to 6:30/7A

naps: aren't quite set. they have a morning (10ish) then afternoon (2ish). depending on the (short) length of the earlier naps, they might have a 3rd.

teeth: V only two; L still nada!

feedings: 20-22oz formula daily with 5-7oz solids at lunch and dinner. gerber puffs and watered-down juice for snacks. starting to branch out to table food by letting them nipple/gnaw/gum. good success with apples and green beans so far.

verbal: lots of babbling, squeaks, grunts, clicking and squeals (does spitting count?). V does say syllables (mostly) da-da and ma-ma, but i dont think she means it. thou tonight, Eric swears she said hi back to him. Maria, our nanny, thinks V says 'que' in spanish all the time.

motor: V cruises but her interest is moderate. L likes to stand more now and is at the in-btwn stage, just doesnt quite know how to sit back down. they can crawl so fast, sometimes i think they can outrun me. (And to be honest, momma's not sure she's ready for !yikes! toddlerhood).

fav activites: hide/seek with poppa and racing each other to knock down stacking cups. V also likes to shake a leg with music. And L cant get enough of slinging her balls (or anything for that matter).

they really are (double) fun at this age!

Visiting the animals on Mother's Day

After swimming lessons today (pics to follow once the underwater camera is developed), it was too nice to be cooped up in the house. There are a couple of farms near our house: Reston Petting Zoo and Frying Pan Park. Which one did we choose to go to on a glorious, sunny afternoon? The free one, of course!

There were lots of baby and momma animals to visit at Frying Pan Park. Did you know Eric's family used to raise chickens right here in Fairfax VA! His dad missed farm life in Colorado and set up a small coop in their backyard (for about 300 chickens). They also had a cow, goats, peacocks, ducks and geese. Some of the baby geese would run around in the house wearing diapers (yes, that's our living room today). Eric's favorite goose was FB (Fuzz Butt). No joke.

We're actually still surround by animals in Oakton. We could easily walk to a handful of horse stables. Who knows, maybe one day the girls will take up equestrian.

Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing moms! We wont be celebrating with our moms until next weekend, but they already know, they really are the rock and heart of our families. We are who or where we are, from them. Love you both!

My first true mother's day was filled with slobbery kisses, chirpy squeaks, belly laughs and patty-cake body pats!

PS. Eric dug up this old photo of their cow, Hamburger and the baby goat for your viewing pleasure. The baby goat must have thought Hamburger was his mom, cause he was always sitting on her. Sorry, Eric couldnt find a pic of FB.

Pic of the day

Dont drink and drive (-;

Bermuda Photos

We survived! Overall, it was a good trip. Not quite the same AC (after children) but still a nice break and lots of quality time as a family.

The girls did really well on the airplane rides. We gave them benadyrl when we boarded but it didnt take effect fast enough (thus, earlier dosage on the flight back). One thing about benadryl, it can have the opposite effect, esp if the child is already hyperactive. We did test it out on the girls beforehand, and they didnt bounce off the walls.

On the flight, since they had just eaten, they didnt want another bottle and couldnt care less for the pacifier. So I fed them potato chip 'dust' to keep them swallowing and alleviate the air pressure. And they seem perfectly fine. (BTW, the ear plugs we bought were useless. They kept falling out.)

Once the benadyrl did kick in, they fussed alittle before zonking out---nothing too crazy, thou I had to take Laurel to the back of plane once, which thankfully, was empty. So no dirty looks thrown our way. We booked aisle and window seats, hoping no one would book the middle and both times we lucked out.

Bermuda is gorgeous! Only 23 miles sq feet but with 75 miles of ocean drives. The people are friendly and happy (unemployment is non-existent). The water was alittle cold hence, no pics of the girls in the ocean---it doesnt warm up until June. We did swim in the pool our first day there, then the clouds rolled in. Though it only really rained the day before we left. No golden tan for momma )-:

Grotto Bay is cozier then it looks, but had all the wonderful amenities: outdoor jacuzzi, pool side restaurant, top-notch food, game room, gym and business center. And of course, private beach, beautiful lagoon and sunken, glowing caves. Really couldnt ask for anything more. The only draw back was, it's not too child-friendly. We're used to children running-abound resorts. The Grotto Bay is more geared towards the refined.

Thank goodness we did the all-inclusive! No meal was less than $40, even for sandwiches and drinks! And did we pig out. They even served complimentary 'tea time' every day at 3-4PM,,,, a time Eric looked forwarded to. The food was divine and drinks aflowing. There was one shrimp dish we ordered 4X! I was literally sad when we got back and couldnt have grilled shrimp and key lime pie for dinner.

Basically, we ended up only spending $$$ on cab fare to the wedding. Even bus passes were included in our package. This made our family financial planner, Eric, very happy.

Lessons learned on the trip. Get a suite. Dirty diapers and small room dont mix. The girls loved their little sleeping pods. Good thing too, since getting two cribs in would have been a squeeze. Not to mention, lights out at 7:30/8:30 PM EST/IST. Eric and I were able to enjoy the patio but def no tv!

Other than that, the girls adjusted beautifully. They ate out w/us every night and napped on schedule--which also became our schedule.

Dont get me wrong, traveling w/babies are alot of work. Not once were we able to just close our eyes and just bask in the rays. But it only gets better. Next year, they can watch a movie on the flight and run around on the beach---instead of trying to eat it!

I love to travel, every trip refreshes my soul. We have another beach trip in July (in Nags Head), this time with all their cousins! The kids can entertain themselves, less work for us!

Every year we try to go to New England/Maine (quaint, rocky coastal towns and best lobster ever), but unfortunately, not this year, since momma's getting a new kitchen for Mother's Day!!!

Lists, lists and more lists

So it turns out Bermuda is one expensive place, even more so than Hawaii and New York. That means awhole lot of packing for the girls!

And supposedly a little snooty/conservative (no bare feet in public places except at the beach) since they are British after all.

Medicine Kit
Motrin, thermometer, baby Orajel, bandaids

Feeding
food mill, small cans of formula, powder formula (using the coffee maker for hot water than adding liquid formula to cool it down, since we're not lugging the bottle warmer), baby spoons, disposable bibs, bottles, can opener, sponges and scruppy to wash the bottles

Thank goodness the hotel is providing high chairs!

Potty
Diapers (grand total of 70 for 6 days), wipes, small tube of Balmax, overnight diaper pads

Outfits
casual and dressy, jackets, shoes and bows (for the wedding), pjs

Beachwear
swimsuits, swim cover ups, hats, sun block, pop-up sun tent, sand toys, swim underpants, swim floats

Bath and Sleep Time
bath toys, couple of baby wash cloths, inflatable bed pods, lullaby cd, dvd player to play cd, stuff animals, sleep sacks

Carry on bag
passports, itinerary, bottles, diapers, wipes, pacifiers, children's benadryl (yes, we're gonna try to knock em out for the 3hr flight, if that doesnt work we have these for back-up), extra outfits, light baby blankets, digital camera, underwater camera, small bottle of bubbles, toys, toys, toys.

Double-umbrella stoller will be gate checked. Another thank goodness we dont have to bring car seats!

Have I missed anything????!

We are limited to 4 check-in bags, 50lbs each. Where will Eric & I put our stuff?!

We're leaving early tomorrow morning and are EXCITED!