Merry Christmas.

Christmas morning. Our parents woke us excited, so excited that we wondered if they were really our parents and not some children they had been replaced by. Groggy-eyed, we let them feed us, then Daddy took us downstair to get us dressed in our Christmas outfits while Mommy (Mummie?) put her face on.

We must have looked cute, because she squealed when she came downstairs and saw us. Or maybe it was Daddy. She says he's handsome.

We sat in our bouncy seats and stared at the lights on the tree, but we heard Mommy and Daddy saying Christmas this year was better than they imagined it'd be. Friends and family from back home (well, this is our home-- we don't know anything else!) sent boxes of all sorts of fun things, and we even got venison, mashed potatoes, veggies and red wine for dinner [via breast milk].

We pretty much napped in front of the fire, ate too many Christmas cookies [via breast milk] and watched our parents play with our new toys. All day long.

They were desperate to get a family photo. . .

Neither of us were harmed in the above photo. Actually, I liked it. Katharina didn't make a peep.

This was hard to get. Really hard. We tried to sit as still as possible, but
it was really the last thing we wanted to do at the time.

But then colds got us a little down and we spent what was left of the day doing nothing but eating [via breast milk], snuggling and sleeping.

See our red, puffy noses? Don't worry, we know we're still cute.

That's all for now! Merry Christmas from all of us in Scotland!

Love, 

Sebastian 

(Katharina's busy doing other things at the moment)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Thank you for these, Photo Booth.

He's a mini of his Daddy in so many ways.

She finally found her voice, and she uses it. Man, does
she use it.

(I love her cheeks).

First time mother moment.

I see videos like this and laugh to myself. First time parents.

I've succumbed. (First time Mommy, remember?)

This has been happening for 8 weeks and not once have we been able to get it on video. Until now.

I'm just too proud of my boy to not share this:

Blessings.

Patience and calm. They're new things for me. Almost foreign words. But step into my day. Let's say it's Monday, of all days. I'm flying solo.


It's 4:30 pm, nap time is over and the babies need to eat. We're using bottles this feeding, so I get those ready. Stick them on the coffee table, push it close to the couch so they're within reach when I sit down. Run upstairs, gently pick up one baby. One-handed, pick up the second. Sebastian squeals. Katharina lets out a sigh and buries her warm face in my chest. I could hold them like this forever. Hands-full, I carry them downstairs.
One on either side of me, their heads propped on my legs, I begin feeding. 30 minutes elapses and their bellies are full. Katharina stares into my face intently as if to say I know you're my mother, and I love you. Sebastian's eyes grow wide as he looks around the room. My heart melts.


Now they have their awake time. Often this is when things can grow hectic. As Katharina spits out her pacifier and Sebastian fills his diaper, dinner on the stove boils over. My cell phone rings. It's Peter calling. Then I get a text: Wanna FaceTime? Every bottle we own is now sitting in the sink begging to be washed, along with the many breast pump parts. The washer beeps once, letting me know the towels are clean and ready to be hung. It beeps again, just a reminder. I put the pacifier back in Katharina's mouth, stick her in her bouncy seat.  The washer beeps a third time as if to say get the towels out or they'll need washed twice more just to get rid of the soggy smell. I change Sebastian's diaper while bouncing Katharina with my foot. The soup, oh! the soup. Diaper-- changed. Katharina's staring around the room contentedly. She's spit out her pacifier again, but doesn't need it anymore. I smile, I hate those things anyway. I head to the kitchen (taking the dirty diapers sitting on the floor with me) and stub my toe on the stroller that's still in the hallway from our walk to the sea this morning. I grab the laundry and throw it in a basket. That'll remind me to hang it at nap time. I changed Sebastian too soon-- he's working on filling that clean diaper. I know because I can hear it from the kitchen. What a boy, I think.
I come back to the living room where my darlings are now happily waiting for me. Their bellies are full. They're so happy. Sebastian kicks his legs, Katharina smiles. I think, What awesome babies we have. I scoop them both up, situate ourselves on the couch, and pull Guess How Much I Love You off the shelf next to us. We read through it, their eyes everywhere but the pages. It's the thought that counts, and at least they can hear my voice, I think.
I think it's nap time, but I haven't even glanced at the clock, so I'm really not sure. It is. It's 6:00 and Peter's on his way home from a tutorial. Arms-full again, we head upstairs. I lay Sebastian on the bed on the other side of the room and hold Katharina's face close to mine, whisper a prayer in her little ear, and lay her down. She grunts and snuggles down into the mattress. I cover her with a swaddling blanket, stick her lovey under her arm and turn around to grab Sebastian. He's wide-eyed, scoping out the room. He kicks his legs as I pick him up, squeeze him tight and whisper a prayer in his ear, too. He's cozy now, I rub their backs one last time and recite the first 3 questions and answers of the Children's Catechism aloud as I leave the room. I do believe they're getting it. I pull the door shut. Open it again. Flip the light off. Done.


I smile and let out a little sigh as I head back down the stairs. I really do love this. And these children. And my husband. 


Oh, my husband. He's walking in as I pass the door. What a refreshing sight he is. His embrace is calming. With his kiss I can battle a million-and-one days like this. "Can I make dinner tonight?" My hero.


I could write about him forever, but back to those lessons.


Patience. Stress doesn't accomplish anything. I fail to trust when I lose it, and I lose precious moments. Priorities. Emails, text messages, dishes, laundry. They'll all be there after bedtime. But I have 30 days (less now that I'm writing this) with two-month old twins. 30 days to cherish them, to invest in them, to teach them, to love on them. To grow with my husband, to fall even more in love with him. Then those days are gone; a fleeting month. Finished. How did I serve my husband? How did I train my children? What did I accomplish? How did I love? 


This is my life, and it's full. I feel as though I'm bursting at the seams. I fall in bed each night joyful and exhausted. I am blessed.

A little late...

...but these precious babies turned 2 months old on Monday.

all dressed up and ready to be baptized

certainly his father's child

And now, because my time is limited, and more valuable than it was pre-babies, updates in bullet points!

• Sebastian's hair just keeps getting longer and thicker, and Katharina's curl still won't lay flat.

• Sebastian has been sleeping through the night (between 9.5-11.5 hours!) and Baby K is so close behind him.

Here's a sidenote: I'm so proud of them for going this far and for thoroughly thriving on the routine we've set, but a small bit of me is an even bigger bit sad. I have missed an uninterrupted night's sleep, but I adore waking up with one or both of them for mid-night feeds. And that time is coming to a close. Already (weren't they just born??). Bittersweet.

• Take a look at Peter's face and you'll be able to see how much he adores his babies. After all, everything he's doing-- working till 2:30am, classes all day nearly every day, paper-writing into the wee hours of the morning, everything-- is for them. That's a lot of love.

• The babies were baptized this past Sunday (video to come). Talk about joy.

• We are so in love with these two. Before babies, neither of us had any clue how deep this love would actually be. We'd heard about it, but really were unable to grasp just how great it actually is...until now. Our hearts are overflowing with love, and thankfulness, and joy.

• We're going home late May. We're going home late May!
• This semester is coming to a close faster than we can believe. Just about a week to go!

• Sebastian and Katharina are now in separate cribs. Unless it means Katharina will continue crying at bedtime because she wants to snuggle up to her brother. Then, I can't do it. That breaks my heart and isn't worth separating them just yet. So, we'll be seeing how tonight goes.

And now that I've written far more than I intended, I'm signing off.

-A.H.

Thanksgiving in Scotland

We hosted Thanksgiving for the first time this year. Ok, so we had no where to go because we're in Scotland where our American Thanksgiving is rarely heard of. But, that's beside the point.

And, to our dismay, I didn't take any pictures. You're not surprised, are you? I still fail miserably at that photography thing...

My sister-in-law and I spent hours upon hours in the kitchen whisking, beating, mashing, blending to our little hearts' content. But really, we wanted to.

Peter baked a leg of lamb, Ruby dressed the turkey. Together we pulled together 10 pounds of mashed potatoes, 5 pounds of sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, jello salad, carrot thyme soup, pumpkin pie and apple tarts.

Oh, carrot thyme soup. That Pioneer Woman. Remember I mentioned I was on a kick? Well give this a whirl. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in-between.

Anyhow, we whipped up an American Thanksgiving and showed these Scots (well, and a Bulgarian and Englishman) what it's about.


Food. Well, and thanksgiving, of course.

[chicken] corn & cheese chowder

I missed the boat on The Pioneer Woman's blog when she made it big years ago. But I recently discovered her recipe for Corn and Cheese Chowder and have been on a Pioneer Woman kick ever since. 

(I added chicken for my carnivore husband, though the original recipe doesn't call for it).

Easy to make, delicious enough to die for, piping hot and served in a bread bowl. Corn, cheese, bread. 

What more could I ask for?

I dare you to try it.

New Father's Network

Reading Week

This past week was Reading Week-- essentially a week-long break for first years, and a catch-up time for subsequent year students. We took advantage of the break ("break"? Ok, from classes. Life still spins a little fast over here) and headed to Edinburgh for a couple of days.

The bus ride was long (yes, we actually took our newborns on a bus. I'm going to keep a record of all the crazy things we've done with them. They might appreciate it one day), and we received stares from every row as we trudged to the back of the bus-- each of us with a baby in-hand (well, in-arm). I can imagine the thought of a 2+ hour bus ride with two children aboard and no way out could be quite intimidating, but they didn't make a peep. In fact, the rumbling engine was so soothing that we were even unsuccessful in waking them for their feeding.

Enough of that. A few pictures!

St. Giles Cathedral - made us want to get remarried

 

All to the memory of Sir Walter Scott

Parking Space No. 23 (ok, so it's cut out of
the picture. Oops) - John Knox's burial place is
now a parking lot behind the Cathedral.

Arthur's Seat, overlooking all of Edinburgh.
We will definitely hike to the top on our next visit.

Behold, Edinburgh.

David Hume, his 3 sons and unmarried daughter
are all buried here.

And what do you know, Edinburgh is occupied, too.

Sebastian & Katharina discover the sea. . .

. . .again. This time with Aunt Ruby.

Sebastian & Katharina are 1 month old!

So this is life.

These precious souls will be a month old this week. No, we can't believe it.

Sweet, sweet Katharina is like her Momma when it comes to sleep. One minute she'll be eyes wide-open, taking everything in, and I'll turn around to pick up her crying brother, look back, and she's out. Not like my-eyelids-just-met, I'm-only-resting. Out cold. Like, go ahead, try to wake me, and good luck. And she's out like a light. Katharina does everything daintily-- she yawns and cries with grace, she sleeps like an angel, she even grunts like a lady, and right now, she is all girl.

Sebastian sleeps like his dad. He's hard to wake, and hates anyone who tries. If you succeed, he'll need at least a half an hour to reach a level of wakefulness at which he can only slightly function. When he's hungry, he's just that-- h u n g r y. Though he's not as calm as his sister, he does love his morning snuggles in our bed. He's a pro at wake time and is gaining better control of his arms, eyes and head. He rolled over for the first time last week (I almost threw up a little writing that). Yes, he's 3 1/2 weeks old. No, I don't think that's normal. Yes, it is bittersweet. 

They're simply tiny darlings. We went to dinner last week-- dinner complete with a bottle of wine, starters, dinner and dessert. They slept like angels the entire time, and we almost forgot they were with us, except for the flocks of people coming by to peek.

On top of getting older, they're growing fast too. Huh, imagine that. They're now wearing mostly newborn clothes, though they still have room for swimming in a lot of them, and have outgrown their preemie diapers! (We're about to place an order for snazzy cloth!). Last Thursday they weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces and 6 pounds 11 ounces. Katharina is still in the lead.

As for us parents, we're doing well. Peter is loving fatherhood, and it really does suit him well I think. My unbiased opinion (ok, I could be biased): he is the greatest multi-tasking man I know. He was meant to raise twins. Heck, maybe we'd even like to do this twin thing again! Hold that thought.
Thanks to living in a walking town, I have 4 pounds to lose before I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm feeling fantastic, and finally over that awful weepy stage of baby blues (which, I might argue, is multiplied with multiples), and thoroughly enjoying this time with our babies.

It really is a take-each-day-as-it-comes life, and I love that. I don't really manage any more than what one day holds, so this is working out for us! If you were to show up at our home unannounced, you'd probably find half a dozen diapers (for each baby) lying in a pile on the living room floor. That's because I like to make one trip to the trash (my husband believes I have an aversion to trash cans and has more than once led me to it and introduced us as if I were a kitten being shown its newly placed litter box. I'm changing my ways). You also might find bowls from last night's chili sitting on the kitchen counter, along with the cutting board, pots, pans and plates used to prepare said chili. There may be dust bunnies on the carpeting and I'm pretty sure my windows need washed. The bathroom mirror hasn't been cleaned in a week, nor has the shower. The downstairs carpeting was blessed enough to get vacuumed last week, but the upstairs, well, better luck next time. There might be bills that have been torn open and left sitting on the coffee table, along with a few pairs (or, not pairs) of baby socks and a bottle of nail polish; a basket of laundry on the kitchen floor and two loads drying on various racks throughout the house. But moving on, you'd find two delighted parents resting in their not-so-neat home, holding two tiny miracles with full tummies and lots of smiles.

And we are pretty sure this is what parenthood is about.



God's given us grace for this time. We're slowly getting back in the saddle, but honestly, there are so many snuggles and smiles we'd miss if this house were sparkling. Somehow, like never before, we're able to leave the house be, because they're only like this once, and we all know the dishes aren't going anywhere.

-A.H.

17.10.11

Well, this day has been circled in red and covered in exclamation points for months now. Why? Because it's the day our babies were due to arrive. They had other plans. Of course they did, babies always do, and why should dealing with two be any exception?

Today they're 19 days (or, 1 day, adjusted), and last night I weighed them (albeit clothed and diapered) and both have just passed the 6 pound mark.

Where is time going?

__________________________________________________________

I'm Katharina. I am a really smart baby, and have figured out that when I cry a certain way, Mommy comes running to pick me up. Then I get to fall asleep in her arms instead of in my crib like she wants. But she can't help it, I'm so darn cute.

I like to eat, but really hate this whole parent-directed feeding thing my parents are so into. I want to be a demand-feeder, but Mommy and Daddy say they simply won't have it. So, I have to do things their way.

excuse the coloring...this is the product of a
3am feeding photo shoot.

I'm Sebastian, and I am thriving on the routine my parents have laid out for me. I love waking right on time, taking a full feeding, and having my awake time. I like to look around in my crib for just a few minutes then snuggle into my blanket and fall fast asleep. 

But please don't be deceived. I love screaming during diaper changes, and when Mommy has to put me down to pick up my sister so she can feed us together, all of St. Andrews can hear how unhappy I am. I especially like to pee all over Mom and Dad's sheets when they change me at 3am. This morning I missed and went on my face though. I'll have to work on my aim.

We like to sleep super close to each other in the same crib (cot), and can sleep through really loud crying. Mom and Dad say they're excited to give us our own bedroom, but we don't know why because we like being with them for everything. 

Mommy and Daddy tell us we smile more than any newborns they've seen. They say that makes them really happy.

When we were first born we were always wrapped in the right colors-- boys in blue, girls in pink. Well now we've noticed they just grab whichever blanket is closest and that's what we get.

We don't care that much, but we hope people don't get us mixed up. We also hope they never put us in each others' clothes. That would make us really mad.

Well, that's all for now. We're sure we'll be back with more stories soon.

Love, 

Sebastian & Katharina

We really, really love. . .

. . .sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed

even though Baby Wise says not to.

But we're 10 days old

who can help it?