Jack lifting his head

The angle makes him look like a mutant, but there is no mistaking those neck muscles.

Babysitters

We had our first babysitters (non-family that is) last night. Phoebe and Drew came over to watch Sadie and Jack so that J. and I could go out for the evening to celebrate my birthday. I demonstrated our allegiance to the swaddle on a stuffed yellow toad. A bit absurd, but necessary. Drew learned the lesson well and was an expert swaddler by the end of the night. Other than a brief period when Drew was shirtless, sweating, and frantically trying to calm Sadie by dancing her around the house after she spit up her dinner on his shirt and went a bit bizerk, it sounded like the evening went pretty smoothing for the babysitting duo.

As for my birthday, J. and had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant in Pasadena called Madeleine's and then went to an evening concert of Southwest Chamber Music at the Huntington Gardens. I can't recommend the Huntington Gardens at night enough. It was breathtakingly beautiful in the evening. The evening was topped off by Jack and Sadie sleeping from 1:00 am straight through to 6:00 AM. Who could ask for a better birthday?

8 1/2 lbs. and 6 1/2 lbs.

Inevitably, no matter where you go with Sadie and Jack, you get the same three questions - What are their names? How old are they? How much do they weigh? If the person asking the questions does not think before they speak they will also ask if they are identical. I've come to realize how much weight our culture places on gender and the two child ideal because 90% of people who ask about Jack and Sadie also say, "A boy and girl, how perfect! You're done!" As if the only reason to have more than two children is to try for the boy or girl you don't have yet. J. and I do happen to be done, but we would be done even if we'd gotten two orangutans. The boy-and-a-girl thing doesn't have much to do with it.

Well for those of you who cannot ask us in person, or who have not had the chance recently, we have the latest weights. Jack is 8 lbs. 7 ozs. and Sadie is 6 lbs. 7 ozs. When they were in the womb we did not find out the genders and we simply referred to them as Fatty and Skinny because of the size differential. Maybe the next time someone approaches me at a party I'll simply nip the three questions in the bud and say, "Fatty and Skinny, 48 weeks since inception, 8 1/2 lbs and 6 1/2 lbs."

Photo: Look at how our boy fills out his Twins Rock onesie. We even have a few pieces of clothing that fit Sadie now. Before we know it they'll be outgrowing clothing!

More Smiles

Our boy loves to smile. If only I could figure out how to catch him on the video camera cooing at the same time. J. took this series of Jack in a matter of minutes the other day.

Auntie Phoebe

Jack and Sadie sure do have a lot of wonderful aunties. Here's a shot of Auntie Phoebe with Sadie before a walk. We've discovered a swanky park that is great for walks nearby in San Marino - Lacy Park. Phoebe and I had a great afternoon walking and gabbing, while Sadie and Jack actually slept in their stroller. Sleeping in the stroller doesn't happen often (we're used to screams of unhappiness), but the stars were aligned last week.

Our Latest Toy

Our friend Meghan (of Tatum fame) made Jack and Sadie this great mobile. They love the mesmerizing black and white designs.

Aunties Kari and Olivia

We had a visit from Jack and Sadie's aunties Kari and Olivia on Monday. After we exhausted them with a walk Jack feel asleep in Kari's arms. It took a bit more doing and a lot of soothing, but Olivia was able to even get Sadie to fall asleep in her arms.

Look Deep Into My Eyes

And...We Have Smiles!

Over the past week or two Sadie and Jack have started to smile in earnest. We had a few sort-of smiles in the first few months, but according to the doctors those early smiles are normally just a sign that the baby has gas. But over the past week or two Sadie and Jack have both definitely been smiling out amusement. This parenting thing is getting fun!

Tummy Time

Books, Books and More Books

Jack and Sadie's first cousins once removed Rob and Sarah and their second cousin Hallie (I did a little research on Wikipedia to figure out them apples) showered Jack and Sadie with a selection of books recently. To entertain myself more than the babies I picked up one of the books and started to read to Sadie. Amazingly Sadie responded, which is pretty amazing because Sadie does not respond positively to much yet. Three times today Sadie fell asleep while I read to her! Who knew newborns liked books? We're going to be doing a lot more reading out loud in our household.

Slingin' It

J. and I took Jack and Sadie out to a party and a couple of dinners this past weekend. Our saving grace was our slings. Without the slings we would have been making a bee line for home with our screaming children. Fortunately both Jack and Sadie love to snuggle up in our his-and-hers slings. We didn't have slings at first, but thank god our friend Lisa insisted on giving each of us a sling. Depending on your frame of mind, you can view my choice in slings as Buddhist monk or road work crew orange. J. has a classy one-arm, army green sling. This photo is of Sadie sleeping away while we had dinner at Phoebe and Drew's house last night.

7 lbs 6 ozs and 5 lbs 14 ozs

Eating and weight gain are big preoccupations in our household. Last week when I took Sadie and Jack to the doctor the doctor was concerned because Jack's weight gain had slowed down. We went back to giving Jack additional breast milk in a bottle after breast feedings to try to increase his weight gain. So far it looks like it's working. When I weighed Jack today he had gained 4 ozs in 6 days, which is not too shabby. Sadie's weight gain is slower, but does not concern the doctor because it is consistently 1/2 an ounce a day. She's just smaller and may stay small.

In the 10 weeks since they were born Jack has gained 2 lbs 11 ozs and Sadie has gained 2 lbs 7 ozs. Soon they will be so big we will not be able to pretend to eat them any more.