Learning To Share

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Charlotte, with crystal clear skies and temperatures in the mid 70s. What a perfect opportunity to spend some time with Mason, Ike and Simba outdoors enjoying the awesome spring weather. It's hard to believe that just one week ago we had 5 inches of snow and low temperatures in the teens. But I guess that's typical of March weather in the South. It reminds me of the weekend Brooks and I got married in March of 2003. Our wedding day was mostly sunny with highs in the low 70s. The next morning on the way to the airport for our honeymoon we experienced about a half an inch of snow.

As I mentioned, yesterday we were able to take advantage of the warm weather with the kids. We set up outside on a blanket in our front yard and then went on a long walk. I don't think Simba is in the best shape coming out of the winter because three times on our walk he plopped down in someone's yard and refused to continue.

Here is a video of Ike and Mason at play in our front yard.

The Art Of Sleepjumping

Last night Ike showed off his new skill - crawling. Tonight, it was Mason's turn to join the talent show.

The jumpy-go has long been a favorite exercise for Mason, especially when she wants to burn off the high caloric intake from consuming so much Similac. Usually when Brooks and I put her in there she will bounce up and down for close to an hour and we'll have to take her out to give her a rest. But tonight I think she outdid herself. After about 45 minutes I stepped out of the bedroom (where the jumpy-go was set up) just for a minute or two and I came back in to find Mason dead asleep in the jumpy-go but still bouncing up and down, albeit at a slow and half-hearted pace. Wow. Talk about multi-tasking!

Here's the video evidence of her feat.

Ike's First Crawl!

Today we are proud (and scared) to report that Ike made his first official crawl this morning. He'd been close to crawling for quite a while, but never could seem to get past the rocking in place phase or propelling himself backwards. This morning out of the blue when Brooks put him on the floor he just took off across the floor. Wow. It's almost like he went to bed last night reading a "How to crawl" book and just woke up and said to himself, "Okay, now I get it." Well, I guess Brooks and I are going to have our hands full for the next few months until he gets a hold of that "How to walk" book. Mason is not too far behind so we'll report back when she gets the hang of it.

Springing Into 2009

Greetings again to anyone who has stayed loyal to the blog even though I haven't updated it in more than a month!! Sorry!!!

December was crazy with my job, an insane travel schedule, and of course the holidays -- and for some reason I just can't seem to find the time to sit down and make any updates. Plus, I've gotten sucked into Facebook and a lot of my Internet time has been cannibalized by this habit-forming social networking site. But don't get me wrong, there is a lot to update for Mason and Ike, as they have just passed the 6-month mark. This blog is back off life support so keep checking back frequently.

Back to Mason and Ike. They're doing everything that a normal 6-month-old does...and then some. They are rolling over with ease, sitting up, starting to crawl, laughing, sleeping better, eating solid foods and, of course, delivering some very potent poops. Their personalities are really starting to develop. Ike is the outspoken and volatile 'stuntman,' never at a loss for smiles, laughs, shrieks and cries and always trying to push his body to the brink of what is physically possible (and impossible) for a baby of his age to do. Naturally, his favorite activity is jumping up and down in the bouncey seat until we have to take him out to rest his legs. He's also mastered rolling over in the boppy seat and pushing himself out onto the floor. If that isn't enough, he recently put a scare into us when he crawled backwards all the way off of our king bed onto the floor. But instead of tears, this acrobatic feat elicited laughter from Ike.

Mason is still the picture of chill. She is more content to sit back and observe things than to be the life of the party. Though she is a capable up-and-coming crawler, her favorite physical activity is laying on her back, grabbing her feet and shoving them into her mouth. Unlike her brother, she loves to go to bed at night and regularly sleeps through the night (though her 'talkative' hours seem to be in the middle of the night when she thinks nobody is listening). Ike still has his tendencies to wake up in the middle of the night and whine or cry for no reason until he is reaffirmed by a rub on the stomach or pacifier. As a result, Brooks and I still have to trade off night shifts, meaning peaceful nights' sleeps are still few and far between.

It's definitetly worth the sacrifice.

Personally, I'm ready to get back to a normal schedule. The past month for me has been consumed with business trips to Chicago, Orlando, New Orleans and Los Angeles. Each time I come home Mason and Ike look they've grown up way too fast. I want to be there for every single second!

A Lot To Give Thanks For

Mason and Ike’s first Thanksgiving meal was perfect. Unfortunately for them (mostly Mason), they didn’t get a chance to sample any of the wonderful turkey, ham, dressing, or green bean casserole, just their same old baby formula. But just having them at the table with us in their carriers (see photo to left) was special, and they didn’t make a peep the entire meal! Just think, next year they will be in high chairs.

As mentioned in my previous post, we spent Thanksgiving in Greensboro with Brooks’ family. Her uncle Mason and aunt Ann were so nice to host all of us, including Brooks’ grandparents (Papa and Gamommie), at Greensboro Country Club. A big thanks goes ou to them. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed showing off Mason and Ike to all of our friends. You’ll notice in the photos that Brooks had special personalized Thanksgiving outfits made for them. I'm not sure if the 'shell-shocked' look on their faces is from having to wear a personalized outfit or from having the circulation cut off in their legs from the knee socks.

Tumbleweeds

Only one day away from Mason and Ike’s first Thanksgiving, which they will be spending at Greensboro Country Club in their new Thanksgiving outfits that Brooks bought them. We’re still trying to master the art of getting a full-night’s sleep. Mason, who had been a pro when it came to sleeping through the night, has learned a new trick that inevitably wakes her up. She recently taught herself how to whip her left leg around and roll over onto her stomach. However, the problem is that she likes to perform this trick in her crib at night, but she hasn’t yet perfected the art of rolling back over onto her back. This is a problem for whoever has night duty. When Mason gets tired of being on her stomach, she starts crying for Brooks or me to come into the nursery and flip her around. There goes any chance we have at a good night’s sleep because now we have to worry about TWO babies getting up.

Ike is still Ike. There aren’t many constants in life, but Ike NOT sleeping through the night is still one. Death, taxes, the liberal media, UNC football choking …. He has turned into quite the little acrobat. He’s been rolling over onto his stomach and then back onto his back for a few weeks. Now he is just itching to try to walk. I can pull him up by his arms and he will fully support himself with his legs, break out into a huge smile and scream for joy, and then try to take a few steps as I guide him along. It’s hard to believe that he’s doing this at only four months. The more we analyze his stature and build the more we think he’s going to be one heck of an athlete. Okay, maybe this sounds a little bit like Earl Woods or Richard Williams, but at some point I’ll just have to get him to concentrate on the sport that pays the best.

Once again, we’ve had a busy week. Last weekend we went to Greensboro on Friday night and spent the night with Brooks’ parents. Saturday, it was goodbye to Mason and Ike for a night as we trekked to Chapel Hill to meet Angus and Betsy for the UNC-NC State game. I won’t revisit the pathetic outcome of the game, but let me say that it was the equivalent of enduring about eight Ike crying tantrums in a single night. After the game, Brooks and I spent the night in Raleigh with Angus and Betsy and all of us enjoyed a nice meal out on the town with Callum and his girlfriend, Raven.

Like a mentioned, tomorrow it’s Greensboro Country Club with the Banks (and of course Mason and Ike) and back to Charlotte for dinner with my parents on Friday night. We’re so glad we’re not having to make these trips from Atlanta anymore.

Cold Season Comes Early

This week has been a rough week in the Grainger household.

The weekend was great, so let me start there. I had the chance to catch up on some sleep Saturday night, as Brooks took the babies to Greensboro for the night. As a result of my rare GDO (Guys Day Out) I had the chance to drive to Chapel Hill for the day and attend the Tar Heels’ 28-7 victory over Georgia Tech with Angus, Uncle Jim (aka the Trash Man from an earlier blog post) and his daughter, Winn.

However, this was the calm before the storm. I had to get up at 5 a.m. on Monday morning to catch a 7:30 a.m. flight to Chicago where I had business meetings until Wednesday. As luck would have it, Ike came down with a chest cold on Monday, so poor Brooks was stuck with a very fussy and irritable baby. The situation was alleviated somewhat when my parents stepped in to help out by keeping Mason on Monday and Tuesday night to let Brooks focus on Ike. Despite the help, those were definitely two rough nights for Brooks, as Ike was up coughing and crying almost every hour. Meanwhile, I was enjoying two wonderful and peaceful nights of sleep in my Marriott king-sized bed in downtown Chicago (it goes without saying that I didn’t dare brag about this to Brooks when I got home or mention how well-rested I was).

But I certainly got my payback on Wednesday evening when I arrived back in Charlotte. As soon as I walked through the door at home and put my suitcase down the fireworks began. It was my turn to handle baby duty and pay for my sins of taking a business trip and getting more than seven hours of sleep each night. During my first few hours of baby duty I thought I was going to get lucky, as Mason and Ike didn’t make a peep. But I was wrong. Soon after I went to bed at midnight the pre-crying from Ike began. You know, it’s the kind of whining that you lie in bed and pray will subside before you have to get up and go into their room. It’s kind of like turbulence on a plane (which I experienced on my flight back from Chicago). When you first start to feel the initial bumps you hope that it isn’t leading up to anything too violent, but you always expect that you’re in for something major. I was in for some major Ike turbulence. His congestion and gurgling really became discomforting and he couldn’t get comfortable in his crib. As a result, I was up until 3:30 a.m. trying to rock him to sleep. Thankfully, he finally closed his eyes in the baby rocker at 3:30 and I was able to grab about 3 hours of sleep. Like I said, I knew I would have some payback for getting to good night’s sleep in Chicago.

Mason and Ike had their regularly-scheduled four-month doctor’s appointment on Thursday and everything went great. Mason is still the plumper of the two. She weighs 16 lbs. 10 oz. and Ike weighs 15 lbs. 11 oz. They had their reflexes tested and each had to get a few shots, which produced some tears.

This weekend we’re going to try to get everyone healthy and hope that Mason, or Brooks or I don’t catch whatever Ike has been battling.

Ike's Presidential Agenda

With politics and the presidential election dominating the headlines this week, Ike decided to throw his hat in the ring and make his agenda known to his supporters (Mom, Dad and Mason). Among his policy issues...Taxes: repeal of sales tax on bottles of Similac...Economy: a free Boppy for every newborn baby...Health Care: a ban on all immunization shots before six months of age...Education: mandatory two-hour nap period in kindergarten...Technology: all primetime television programming must include two hours of Noggin. Mason even pledged her support for Ike and cast a vote for him at the polls (see below).

Mason and Ike enjoyed their first Halloween last weekend. We dressed them in pumpkin outfits and took them down the street to our neighborhood Halloween party before coming home and passing out candy to all of the trick or treaters. My parents came over for a glass of wine and to hang out with the twins and enjoy the trick or treaters since they don't get any in their townhome complex. The night proved very traumatic and humbling for Simba, whose barks and howls greeted every ring of the door bell. Towards the end of the night a little girl and her younger brother were trick or treating at our doorstep while Simba peered out through our front door. Out of the blue the little girl exclaims: "Wow, look at how fat that dog is." Then her brother agreed with her, saying, "Yeah, that dog is fat." Needless to say, Simba's night was ruined and his self-confidence shattered. Brooks and I maintain that he's just big-boned.

Nothing new to report with Mason and Ike. We're still putting them down at about 7:30 p.m. each night, topping them off with 4 oz. of formula at 10 p.m. and praying that they make it until 5 a.m. Most nights I have to get up once or twice to put a pacifier in Ike's mouth when he wakes up and starts to cry. Now that they're almost four months old, it's great for me to come home from work because they are at the age where they are starting to recognize Brooks and me (at least we think they do) and start smiling up a storm when I walk in the door and see them.

Below is a new batch of photos. Enjoy!