Choose your own ending.

A few nights during the week Garrett is out of the house and I put the boys to bed by myself. The three of us have a pretty good routine. I feed them their last bottle, change them into pajamas, put on some Yo Gabba Gabba!, (so Calvin can gaze at DJ Lance) while I put Luke to bed. The other night I put Luke to bed and went downstairs. I started to pick up the toys and clothes from that days chaos and remembered I still had another baby to put to bed. But where was Calvin? Was he...

A. Already sound asleep. The night had been so busy that I forgot.

B. Exactly where I left him, crushing on DJ Lance.

or

C. Had log-rolled across the room and was babbling to himself under the kitchen table.

If you guess C you are correct! With these turkeys on the move, I never know where I am going to find them.

Working together...

Dear Yo Gabba Gabba and doorway jumper,

If we work together the three of us could prepare a dinner, finish some laundry, or even spend some time with the forgotten child, Jack. Keep up the good work.

Love,

Maggie

I look the same at 4 and 6am. Please sleep through the night again.

Dear Calvin,

Do you really need teeth? Can't you just survive on frozen coffee drinks and water like I do these days? For the past three weeks you have been miserable and I can only see the smallest speck of white poking through your red swollen gums. It's awful. The little boy that we once said, "if we only had Calvin we would forget we had a baby", has vanished. Now you scream all day, jam your fist against your mouth, and no longer sleep through the night. You are taking two hour naps in the morning, which is nice, but would be unnecessary if you slept past 4am. I love playing "only child" just as much as you do. However, we can spend the same quality one-on-one time at say, 6am. The only thing that seems to take your mind off of your pain is ripping my hair out of my head. I promise you, I would not look good bald. I offered Luke a car in exchange for napping, which totally worked, so I am prepared to offer you the same if you stop teething. Let me know.

Dear Luke,

You are the busiest boy! Unlike your brother, you are so happy all day long. You love jumping and would be thrilled if we let you eat, play, and sleep in your jumper. Feeding you cereal is a challenge. We both end up covered in oatmeal. I can't feed you fast enough and if I am too slow you let me know by screaming, laughing at your screaming, and trying to wrestle the spoon away from me. So far you are showing no signs of teething, but at the speed you move all day, I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't bother you. You are still sleeping through the night which is wonderful! Please let your brother know (while you are trying to lick his hair, which happens at least once a day...) that sleeping all night is still cool.

I used to be a nice person. No really, I was.

We attract a lot of attention. A lot. My stroller is longer then my body. It's quite the sight. Most of the attention we attract is wonderful. I love the people who stop us to comment on how cute my boys are. I get a lot of questions about them. Twins are interesting, I get it. I think that the "are they identical?" or "both boys?" questions are completely acceptable. However, (there is always a however...) some questions are so ridiculous/inappropriate/personal that my verbal answer, which is always polite, is much different then the answer I am giving in my head.

"Did you know you were having twins." Yes, I knew I was having twins. It's not 1910, they have figured out ways to see babies before they are born.

"So you are probably done having kids, right?" Not that it's any of your business but we are on the fence. But the wood to build the fence that we are on hasn't been planted.

"Two boys huh? One of each would have been nice." It's like when people would ask what we were having and then ask if I was hoping for the opposite. No, I would not have preferred one of each.

"Were you trying for twins?" Where were you during 5th grade sex ed? As far as I know (which may not be much considering I got pregnant using two forms of birth control...) you can not plan having twins.

"Whoa twins! Better you then me!" With that comment, damn right better me then you!

Now, I have never actually given any of these responses. Except the last one. I was tired.

3,2,1,0

Dear Calvin and Luke,

Your Dad and I celebrate a lot of anniversaries. We celebrate when we started dating, when we got engaged, and of course our wedding day. Last week we celebrated another anniversary. The day we saw this...

After taking 10 (or 15...) pregnancy tests, all positive, I was pretty sure I was indeed pregnant. On March 2, 2010 Dad and I went to the doctor to confirm my suspicion. Even with the 15 (ok, I took 17 tests. Three of them I took when we got home from the doctor. Even with photo proof I was not convinced.) We expected to hear that I was pregnant and we would find out how far along I was. Dad and I never, EVER, thought we would see that image. Two babies. After our appointment Dad and I went out to lunch at GC Cafe (cause we're super cheap classy) and stared at this picture. Then we noticed the date. March 2, 2010. 3,2,1,0...we should have seen something big coming!

Now, a year later the surprise of that day hasn't worn off. I am with you both all day and I still can't believe we are lucky enough to have two.

Worst. Night. Ever.

My boys sleep. Both of them. At the same time. They always have. As newborns they slept in 3-4 hour stretches, waking once a night to eat. Garrett and I have not had a sleepless night. At three months old both boys started sleeping through the night, 7:30 pm-7 ish am. Go ahead and hate us cause I totally would. Not only do I have one baby that sleeps through the night, I have two babies that sleep through the night. After getting their 2 month immunizations we were warned that they may be a little "off" that night. They slept great. When they had their first colds, they slept great. When we packed them up and drove to New Jersey, they slept great. They slept great, until their four month shots. Worst. Night. Ever.

We breezed in and out of the doctors office. The boys got shot. Their was little crying, and we headed home. They were completely fine after their last shots so why would these be any different. Right? Wrong. During their last feeding Calvin went nuts. Calvin never goes nuts. If we only had one child, and it was Calvin, we would forget we had a baby cause he is that good. And he was screaming. We put the boys to bed and once in his crib he thrashed around. We picked him up. He screamed. We put him down he screamed. We changed him. He screamed. Garrett and I had no idea what to do. We never had a bad night with either baby. He was screaming to much and so loud that he was red and sweating. Something was clearly wrong. (Oh, during all of this Luke was sound asleep. Go figure.) I finally called the emergency number for the pediatrician. A very annoyed on-call doctor told me he was probably sore from the shots and I could give him infant Motrin. Garrett stripped Calvin's clothes off and sure enough under the tiny little band-aids were swollen baby thighs. I flew to the nearest pharmacy which was, of course, closed. I ended up grabbing the LAST bottle of infant Motrin at the grocery store that is yelling distance from our house. We gave Calvin the Motrin, left his pants off and waited. After about 30 mins, laying on the floor with Mom and Dad listening to Mom sing "itsy bitsy spider" (poor kid must have been desperate, my singing should have caused more screaming), he stopped. Calvin wrapped his arms around a stuffed bear, snuggled his magic sleeping blanket, and fell asleep. Garrett decided Calvin should sleep with us in case the screaming started again. I decided Garrett should sleep on the couch and I would sleep in our king size bed with the 13.10 pound baby. Sorry, Garrett. I carried Calvin upstairs like he was the Hope Diamond and we went to bed. Our worst night ever was finally over.

Did I mention our "worst night" was over before 11:30 pm and everyone (including Luke) slept until 8:30 the next morning? No? Oops. Maybe not the worst night ever.

Goodbye jewelry, see you in a few years.

Dear Calvin,

You are rolling over! I am 100% sure you started rolling over to get away from Luke's slimy hands on your face. Rolling over is both adorable and sad. It's adorable to watch you gain momentum kicking your legs until you flop onto your tummy. However, you can only roll one way so once you flip yourself completely onto your tummy, someone (mom) has to rescue you. Which is sad. Since you only want to please mom, you have figured out how to avoid needing to be rescued. You rock yourself onto your side so you can easily get back over. The side you lay on is never the same and never facing Luke. It could be because when you lie on your side next to him, he pets your head until you fall asleep. Which makes rolling over adorable again.

Dear Luke,

I thought my favorite milestone would be the first time you smiled. I was wrong. It was the day you reached out to touch my face. (and touch my tears cause Mama lost it) The game of touching and feeling my face was wonderful. Was wonderful. Since everything you touch goes right into your mouth it's now a game called, "Let me feel your face. Let me taste your face." Mom can no longer wear earrings or a necklace. They are just shiny objects you can use to pull my face into your mouth. Dad even had to teach with a hickey on his nose. You reach for toys and pull them into your mouth. You reach for Calvin, to put him in your mouth, I assume. You love the challenge of reaching for Jack who wants nothing to do with your mouth. Notice a theme?

This week the boys had their 4 month checkup. We thought for sure that Calvin was going to out weigh Luke by a lot. After all, his cheeks must way 1 pound, each. The doctor even commented saying Calvin got the cheeks for both boys. (He obviously never saw Grace "the face" Whitney) Boy were we wrong! These two have nothing in common physically. They have different noses, ears, face shapes, everything. But their growth is identical. Calvin weighed in at 13.10 pounds and Luke at 13.9! They are only 1/8th of an inch difference in length! Both boys got their second round of immunizations. The horror of that night need it's own post...

You're 4 months old. It's time you took a 610 mile road trip.

Dear Calvin and Luke,

The day you turned 4 months old Dad and I took both of you, a trunks worth of your things, and drove to New Jersey. I wish we had gone for a happier reason but we made the long 9 turned 12 hour ride because your great-grandfather Pop-Pop passed away at 90 years old. We could not have asked for better travelers. You boys slept the whole way only waking to eat. Our entire trip took 12 hours and that included three 45 minute stops! Once we got to Grandma and Grandpa "Crazy Beard's" (Grandpa was calling himself Crazy Beard, we aren't sure why, but I really hope that name sticks) house, you ate again and both slept through the night. We were so proud! Saturday you got to meet lots of family members. All day long you both were passed around so everyone got a chance to hold each of you. You guys loved every minute of it! Calvin, you were all smiles. Luke, you laughed for the first time when "Auntie" Teen touched your legs!

Sunday you got to go with us to remember Pop-Pop. You were both so well behaved. Neither cried or fussed the entire day. Luke, you spent most of the day talking to family and friends with Grandpa "Crazy Beard". Calvin, you entertained your aunts and cousins with smiles and noises. Having you both with us was a wonderful distraction from such a sad day. Some of Pop-Pop's friends came to say goodbye and were so excited to meet you both. They all said Pop-Pop would bring pictures of you guys to dinner. He was so proud to be your great-grandfather. I wish you two had gotten to meet Pop-Pop. He was a wonderful grandfather to your mom and a true role model to your Dad.

Pop-Pop gets to be with Muttie again. (She passed away a year ago. Soon after saying goodbye to Muttie, I was expecting you two. They both adored children and I truly believe she had a part in Dad and I having you. She always thought our family could use more boys!)

Noise off

Dear Calvin,

I promise, one day you will catch your tongue. If you are not sleeping or eating you have your index finger and thumb in your mouth trying to pinch your tongue. You have stopped crying from your crib when you wake up in the morning. (Thank you, your screaming was a rough way to wake up.) Now, you chatter and scoot around your crib. When Mom or Dad come in to get you, you smile and kick your legs as soon as you see us. Mom and Dad have discovered that your brown blanket holds a magic sleeping power. The instant you have it on you, you fall asleep.

Dear Luke,

Mom sucked her index and middle finger. Dad sucked his thumb. You are trying to break the record for most fingers in a mouth at one time. So far you can fit three at a time. You and Dad have been having "sound offs". Dad makes a funny noise and you try to imitate it. It gets pretty loud! Your green blanket also has the same magic sleeping power that Cal's has. But, bad news Luke. I'm going to have to break you of your swaddle. I know, I know, you love it. Seriously Luke, you are getting too big. You are filling out (and breaking out of) the largest size they make. Mama's tired of re-wrapping you at 4am. I'm afraid not having you in your baby straight jacket will mean no one gets any sleep. Maybe we will try not wrapping you for naps first. (Oh wait, that would mean you have to nap for more than 20 minutes.)

Turns out Garrett is funny

Dear Calvin,

You laughed for the first time today!!! Did you laugh at a funny face? Nope. Did you laugh at Mama singing a silly song? Nope. Did you laugh at Garrett making fart noises? Ding ding! Yes! Looks like I'm in for many years of boys making fart noises in my house...

Dear Luke,

You may have found a friend you love more than Jeff. Now that you can use your hands to grab anything you want, Jack is your new favorite toy. You have discovered that he is the best toy to touch. After all, none of your other toys lick back. Luckily Jackwill do anything for a treat, including let the human puppies touch him.

I Promise To Be The Dad That...

Mom always hogs this blog and rightfully so. Shes very good at writing it. But I wanted a chance to write something so Maggie allowed me a guest spot. I entitled it, I Promise To Be The Dad That...

I promise to be the Dad that

hugs you no matter how much bigger you get than me.

breaks up the two of you fighting all the time.

always plays awesome music way too loud in the car.

always has your uncles around for you to make fun of.

throws you around in the pool as many times as you want.

teaches you to respect girls and treat them nicely.

lets you know its okay to be a Mamas Boy.

lets you follow your dreams.

lets you think you are cool when you are 14.

always embarrasses you on purpose.

wakes you up during a late night basketball game so you can see the last shot.

gets you out of school early unannounced to go to a Detroit Tigers game.

says, "Yeah we can do that, just don't tell your Mom."

will always be there for every single major event that happens in your life.

knows you as a person.

gets very angry when you both walk in the door at 6am from a party.

high fives you.

always has you draped in Michigan colors.

shows you how to be a leader and not a follower.

to tell you I love you.

always comes outside to play.

shows you how fun Disney World can actually be.

your friends always say, "I wish my Dad was like your Dad."

will always first and foremost be your Father, but also your best friend.

Creepy little Fullers

Dear Calvin and Luke,

What's creepier than the gigantic smiles you give me when I wash your little boy parts? Maybe the squeals of joy while you watch me shower from your bouncers.

3 months old

Grabby little hands

Dear Luke, (you get to go first this time, it's only fair)

You are putting your sweaty little hands to good use! (Yes, your hands really are sweaty, it's kinds weird) You now grab the toys hanging over your play mat. Today you learned how to hold your sleeve and wiggle your arm out. (picking you up and one sleeve is empty was quite a surprise for Mama) When Dad feeds you, you love pulling at the hair on his arms. Dad is not as thrilled as you are about this. What's your favorite thing to pick up? Jeff!!! You love grabbing him with both hands and rubbing him on your face.

Luke rubbing Jeff on his face and Calvin pulling at his clothes.

Dear Calvin,

You are using your hands to grab things, too. As long as what you are grabbing is attached to your brother. You love pulling his ears, poking his eyes, and putting your fist in his mouth. You have also become a bully. The other day you pulled Luke's pacifier out of his mouth making him cry. I assumed it was an accident. I put his pacifier back into his mouth and you did it again! I'm hoping you learn how to use your hands for good instead of evil.

This week Luke obviously learned how to read. After pleading with him to take a decent nap, he slept for two hour the next afternoon! It was wonderful. The boys have also started sleeping through the night. We cut out the 11pm "dream feed" and they have been sleeping from 8:30-5ish, eating, then going back to sleep until around 8. Calvin's dimples have been getting deeper and deeper. He is starting to look just like Garrett. Luke has learned how to suck on his bottom lip, drooling all over himself and making the oddest slurping noise. He's such a funny baby!

More elusive than Loch Ness

Dear Calvin,

I will buy you your first car if you let me get a glimpse into that mouth. You have all the signs of teething. Sometimes. You are cranky. Sometimes. You are a drool faucet. Sometimes. You chew on your entire fist. Sometimes. Your crankiness is instantly calmed with a frozen pacifier. (you can thank your Dad for that brilliant idea.) You are constantly touching your head. Maybe you like how your fuzzy hair feels. I would love to get a look at those gums without you putting your tongue EXACTLY where I need to look.

Dear Luke,

Ya know how good you feel in the morning? After your 11 hours of sleep at night (by the way, thanks for being a champion night sleeper) How happy and smiley you are? How Mom and Dad are hilarious and you love everything we do? Well, your entire day could be that much fun if you would nap for more then 20 minutes. I promise we will not have any fun without you. You won't miss anything if you nap for say, an hour. Jeff can even nap with you. Deal? (Oh, and if you could stop waking up your brother, who would easily sleep 3 hours, that would be great.)

What's more elusive than the Loch Ness monster? In the Fuller house it's dimples! We have had three separate dimple sighting by three different people. First was Garrett who during a late night feeding claimed he spotted the beginning of dimples on Calvin. To this I thought, yeah right! First of all we are in a dark room. Second, Calvin's cheeks are way too big to see dimples. However, I saw the second dimple sighting during some morning play time with the boys. The third dimple sighting was by my sister Mary. She was not aware of the previous two dimple sightings and while playing with the boys asked if Calvin had dimples. It seems like Calvin may have inherited Garrett's dimples. Back to stalking Luke's cheeks for dimples...

So cute I will forget it's 4am

Dear Calvin,

You are thrilled by your body! You love shoving your fingers in your mouth and squeal with delight watching your feet. I'm glad you are getting so much joy out of something I spent a lot of time making. You have started scooting around your crib at night. You move so much I won't be surprised if I find you across the room in Luke's crib.

Dear Luke,

Not even your best game-show-host smile will make me forget it's 4am. But it helps. A lot. Since Jeff has come into your life your projectile spit-up has stopped! Maybe your little body has matured. Maybe you don't want to embarrass yourself in front of Jeff.

This week in twin land the boys officially turned 3 months old! We can't believe how quickly Calvin and Luke are changing. They are smiling and laughing at everything which thrills Garrett cause he always has an attentive audience! Calvin is tolerating more tummy time on the Boppy and Luke is very involved in his new relationship with Jeff (who already needs a bath...) Calvin loves watching us. He will watch us fold laundry, try and eat a full meal, and spend some time with Jack the forgotten child. Luke watches Jeff.

This week there was also a small intervention in the Fuller house. I love to read and will read anything. When I was pregnant I read tons of pregnancy books. Which Garrett tolerated. When I was put on bed rest, I was tired of everything pregnancy related and read a few from the New York Times Bestsellers list. Garrett was pleased to not see a book with a pregnant woman on the cover in my hands. Now that the boys are here I'm slightly (completely) obsessed with books about twins. Every few weeks a beautiful brown box arrives at our door from Amazon.com containing lovely, glossy covered, cleverly named books about twins. I have collected an entire shelf full of book about raising twins. Garrett has had enough. To give Garrett some relief from my twin books obsession I have started making crafty little things for...wait for it...my twins! I've started making "cool" bibs for Luke "the drool king" Fuller. (Yes, I know the "cool" in cool bibs is quoted. Lets face it, bibs can only get so cool.) We will see how long my crafty-ness will last...

I started this months ago...

I wrote the first part while I was pregnant...

I don't know who you are

I don't know what color your eyes are

I don't know if you will have any hair when you are born

I don't know if you will look alike or completely different

I don't know if you will be funny like your Dad or laugh with your shoulders like your Mom

I don't know what your voices will sound like

I do know that there are two of you

I don't know what your favorite toys will be

I do know that you both love orange juice

I do know that one of you gets the hiccups every time I eat

I do know that you each have 10 fingers and 10 toes

I do know that you are both growing perfectly

I do know that you are both boys and we couldn't be happier

I do know that you both have been the best surprise your Dad and I have ever gotten

I do know what we are very excited to meet you both

And now...

I now know how different your first cries sounded

I now know how different you look

I now know that you both have blue eyes, in different shades

I now know that you both have a little hair

I now know that you love when Dad makes silly noises

I now know what your smiles look like

I now know how much Dad and I love you both

Jeff the giraffe

Dear Luke,

You are completely in love with your giraffe, Jeff. Feel free to change his name when you can talk, mom and dad were not too creative.

Dear Calvin,

You are not very attached to Steve. Yes, we are calling your giraffe friend Steve. (sorry) But you love Mom. You tolerate Dad.

It's getting busy in the Fuller House

I really enjoy sleeping. Luckily Garrett and I were blessed with two champion sleepers. These boys are letting us sleep from 11pm-7am! (I am fully aware that I just jinxed myself and will not be sleeping tonight) During the day is a different story. We just started trying to get the boys to nap in their cribs and not with one of us. So far, not so good. They will sleep for hours with us, and about 5 mins in their crib. So, during the day there is not a lot of time for me to write since I am spending a lot of time setting the record for stair sprinting. (seriously, I can get up our stairs in 8 seconds to grab the awake baby.) With the lack of time during the day my goal this year is to sit every evening after the boys go to bed (ok, the goal is every evening. Reality will probably be once a week...) and type out a "Dear Calvin/Luke" note of one thing that each boy has done that day (week). Hopefully by the end of the year Garrett and I will have every milestone documented!

Ok, here goes...

Yesterday you two were officially 3 months old...and wearing 6 month sized clothes. At this rate you will be my size walking into pre-school.

Dear Luke,

Today you discovered a thumb and it must have been delicious since you latched onto it for over 20 mins. Too bad it belonged to your brother... Your favorite toy is your giraffe friend that cousin Anne made you. You think the ears are almost as tasty as Calvin's thumb. Good thing giraffe friend is washable...

Dear Calvin,

I'm pretty sure you are in the early stages of teething because today you did your best Luke impression and alternated between content and screaming every hour. Today you spent a full half an hour resting on your boppy pillow...on your tummy! You watched TV (your favorite...) and finally loved tummy time.