Dear Boys, You’re Three Today!

Whitaker & Davis,

Today you little sweeties turned three years old! We are celebrating your birthday this weekend with a party with your family. You are both so excited for “pwesents” and “cake!” This year the theme of your party is “construction.” I got you a cake that looks like a construction site with trucks on it, a truck piñata and shirts that say “I’m digging being three!”

Life sure has been fun with you two lately. As if it was even possible, you two have gotten even closer. You play together so well and generally do not want each other to be out of sight. Yesterday you got new baseball hats in the mail from Aunt Amy and Uncle Mike. You both put them on and immediately said “now let’s play baseball!” We set up your little t-ball and you took turns whacking the ball.

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The sweetness you both display melts my heart. We get a LOT of unprompted “I love yous” from both of you along with big long hugs. You are quick to call nearly anyone your “best friend,” including last week when Whitaker follower our cleaner around saying “you’re my best friend, Abby!” You melt hearts where-ever you go.

You both are starting to drop your naps, but still tolerate quiet time in your room (mainly because it’s really just playtime with each other). You both are also extremely physical – climbing, jumping off things and generally pushing your abilities to the limit whenever you get a chance.

Davis, you have become quite an applesauce lover. In fact, it’s pretty much the only thing you want to eat these days. You still love your “blue bankie” and have also amassed a large assortment of “snuggle ings” that you MUST have in your bed in order to sleep. Laying with you at bedtime is my favorite time. You hold my hand and say “I love you mama” over and over again. You also have started asking us all “are you happy, dada?” The answer is always yes when we’re with you bud.

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Whitaker, you are SUCH a ham. Seriously you have the biggest personality and are not afraid to talk to any one. It’s not rare for you to approach adults, kids or even grandparents when we’re on an outing and strike up a conversation. You are still insanely loud and prefer yelling vs talking. I think you just have so much personality in there it bursts out of you! You are not much of a cuddler still, but will happily give me big bear hugs whenever I ask for one.

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You two bring so much life, laughter, silliness and vibrant energy into our house. It’s often loud, chaotic and busy around here, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. I love hearing your trucks roll across the floor, your giggles as you chase Finn and yes, even your requests for a SNAAAACKS (seriously can you eat any more??).

It’s hard to believe how quickly time is going by. It feels like not long ago you were teeny tiny babies home from the nicu. It’s hard not to cry when I look through your baby photos. It’s just so bittersweet! But I will say I am beyond thankful I’ve gotten to spend every day with you since you’ve been born. What a blessing it is to watch you grow up.


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We all love you both so much. Three is going to be a big year for you – potty training, preschool and becoming more independent. My wish is you stay your sweet, good-natured selves, keep your special twin bond strong and know how dearly you both are loved by so many.

Love always and forever,

Mommy

Dear Boys: You’re Two!

Whitaker & Davis:

Yesterday was your second birthday! I really can’t believe how quickly time is passing by. It feels like just yesterday you were teeny tiny preemies keeping me up all night and now you’re strong, robust two year olds.

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I’ve had several people ask me if I’m happy the “hardest” years of having twins are over. I have to laugh and tell them that actually having twin two year olds so far has been the most difficult! You two are so curious, rambunctious and strong that you keep Daddy and I on our toes.

It seems like just as we’re settling into a good routine, you two find a way to cause some new form of ruckus. For example, this weekend Whitaker figured out how to escape the back yard by climbing under a gap in the fence and Davis sleuthed how to unzip the sleep sack, remove his pants and diaper and leave us a “surprise” in the crib.

I used to roll my eyes when people said boys are more physical than girls, but I’ve learned that’s definitely true when it comes to you two! Today we lowered both your cribs all the way to the floor in hopes it would keep you from climbing out. Nope, you both figured out how to lift your bodies up and over in one minute flat. So now, at just two years old, you’re in toddler beds (pray for us!!!).

When you’re not giving us grey hair, you two spoil us with snuggles, smiles and the sweet sounds of “MaMA! (said in an Italian accent) and DADA.” Before I had you, my friends who had boys told me to get ready for more mommy love. That is definitely true in our house! While you adore your daddy, you save your biggest smiles and hugs for mommy. you both love to sit on my lap or have me tote you around. I am usually happy to oblige.

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Here is a little bit about each of you individually:

Davis:

– You are obsessed with all things “choo choo!” Daddy and I built you a train table for your birthday and you will sit and push the little trains around endlessly. Also any time a train goes by our house you stop whatever you’re doing, get everyone’s attention, point outside and say ‘choo choo choo!!!!’

– I see a sweet, gentle soul inside you. You don’t usually react when another child takes your toy, or your brother bowls you over. You just look curiously and move on to the next thing.

– You tend to be more quiet than Lila or Whitaker. I think maybe you have a bit of that Batman-men introspection. I know you can talk, because I’ve heard you say a lot, but in general you prefer to stay quiet.

– The 0ther thing you are absolutely obsessed with is golf. The only time you get truly angry is when we tell you it’s time to put the golf stuff away. Daddy is really hoping you turn out to be his golfing buddy in life.

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Whitaker:

– You are one strong dude! I don’t know how you got to be so strong, but it’s not unusual to see you do a complete sit up when laying flat, pull your entire body up with just your arms or lift a basket filled with heavy blocks. I can see you being our future athlete.

– There’s no doubt that you are a momma’s boy right now. When I come to you in the morning your whole face lights up and you run over for me to immediately pick you up. It is THE BEST way to start my day!

– My other favorite time with you is at bedtime. I rock you and your brother and you will lay your head on my shoulder, suck your thumb and bunch up my shirt into your hand. I usually leave with a giant pool of Whit drool on my chest, but I love this special time with you.

– Lately you’ve been talking more and more. The main thing you like to say is “YEAH!” and “NuhUH” when I ask you a question. It is really helpful to finally know what you want, and I can tell you feel less frustrated too. Here are some of the other things you say lately:

  • “I wan wok” (I want to go on a walk
  • “I want cheechos” (cheerios)
  • “Watch choo choo” (I want to watch Thomas the train)
  • “Da too!” (Davis too)
  • “Is Lala” (It’s Lila)

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Being a mother of twins is such a special experience. Watching you both grow and develop in your own unique ways makes the process somehow super fulfilling. It’s also amazing to see your close bond in action. You seriously are never apart, and if you ARE, it usually results in both of you asking for the other. I can’t imaging how cool it would be to have a built in best friend for life. I hope you always stay close.

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When I think back on our path to becoming twin parents, I feel in my heart that you two were always meant for us. For whatever reason you were supposed to experience life together and in our family. When I look at you it feels like I finally have an answer as to why our journey to have you was what it was. If that makes sense. :) You were destined for us.

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I am looking forward to having two two year olds – despite the energy I know it will require. I can’t wait to get to know your little voices, personalities and spirits better. It’s going to be so fun to see who you both become.

Love you both forever!!

Ma-MA

Filled to the Brim

Life is so full right now. It’s amazing, joyful and exhausting all at once. Every moment of my day seems filled with childcare, home care or work. The precious moments I get to relax are usually spent vegging out on the couch with Luke over some ice cream. So, I’m sorry if I haven’t been by here as much to keep you all updated!

The boys recently turned 15 months old, and they are IN. TO. EVERYTHING. It’s nearly impossible to keep up with them. They certainly keep me on my toes. Their current obsession is climbing everything in sight and giving their mom a heart attack. Our house is in full on baby-proofed mode, with gates in nearly every room, outlet plugs galore and the bottom shelves emptied all around the house. We are seriously contemplating moving all our kitchen chairs to the basement because the boys LOVE climbing on top of them and onto the table! Basically our house will be empty soon. :)

When the house can’t take any more abuse from them, I plop them in the back yard. They LOVE playing outside and think our back yard is their own personal safari. They climb up the slide and then go down on their bellies, giggling as they bump into each other. They play in the sand box and end up eating most of it, and when it’s hot out, we put on the sprinkler or slip n slide for them and Lila to cool down in.

Their personalities are becoming more and more apparent. Davis is our adventurer. He’s always on some mission to explore a new area of the yard, get into some trouble he knows he’s not supposed to, or try to make a break for it up the stairs when the gate is left open. While he’s got a curious spirit, he is still my easy-going snuggler. It takes a lot to get Davis upset. My favorite time is right before bed when he lays his head on my shoulder and sucks his thumb, completely content.

 

Davis discovered the slide! #davisray #13monthsold #babyboy #slide

 

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Someone didn’t want to let me cook dinner. #davisray #babyboy #mommyshelper   A post shared by Liz Batman (@elizbatman) on

Whitaker is technically the “baby” in our family, and boy does he milk that role. He is our little koala, and loves nothing more than to be toted around wherever we go. He reaches his arms up whenever someone walks by begging to be carried and loved on. He has no stranger danger and will literally let anyone hold him. He’s been doing this awesome knee-shuffle to get where he wants to go. He tends to be more slow and deliberate, where his brother is off in a flash.

 

Famous Whitaker knee shuffle #babyboy #crawlingbabyprobs #whitakerJohn #sweetboy

 

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 When Whit wants something, you better believe he will let you know it! This boy is LOUD and likes to be heard. He is most obsessed with my mom. Whenever she is nearby, he starts grunting and reaching out for her to hold him. He also has started getting jealous of his siblings. If I have Lila in my lap, Whit will crawl over and start trying to push her off, like “that’s MY mommy!” I have a feeling Whit is going to want to stay close to mommy and daddy for awhile, and that’s just fine with me.

Daddy & mini daddy. #whitakerJohn #babyboy #likefatherlikeson A post shared by Liz Batman (@elizbatman) on

Lila is 4 and a half, and really maturing. I love this age. She is full of imagination, enthusiasm for life and generally is a joy to be around. She spends her days lost in her world of play. She enjoys making art projects using the various materials I put into her art cart. She loves building “towns” with her Legos and then acting out little scenes with the people. When she’s not lost in her imagination, she is doing something physical like dancing, climbing on her playground or building one of her daily forts.

  Saturday’s with Lila #lilakate #sillygirl #4yearsold #dressup   A post shared by Liz Batman (@elizbatman) on

This girl is going to be athletic like her mama! She participated in jr. golf this summer with her daddy, which was a great bonding experience for them both. Although it took her awhile to understand that the winner isn’t the person who gets the ball in the hole the fastest vs the least amount of strokes! Her swimming has really taken off this summer as well. She is almost to the point where she can swim the length of an olympic sized pool without stopping. This girl has no fear!

How Lila and I spent our Fourth of July! @toledocountryclub photo credit. #mommysfish #lilakate #ohiosummer A post shared by Liz Batman (@elizbatman) on

I’ve been working more with my marketing consulting business. I’m booked about 20 hours a week, and I find the balance is perfect for me. I have realized I’m happiest when I get a mix of time with the kids and time away working. Right now I am usually with the kids from 8-1pm and then a sitter comes 1-5 pm three to four days a week. Luke and I share a home office space upstairs since he works from home as well. Some people think it’s crazy that we work by each other all day, but I absolutely love it! There’s no one I’d rather have for my “coworker.”

Anniversary dinner! #aventuras #annarbor #7years #anniversary

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Luke’s been enjoying golfing a lot this summer. He’s been a life-long golfer, but this is the first summer in his adult life that he’s really gotten to devote more time to the game. I love that he gets that outlet, because he works extremely hard and then also is very involved with the day to day care of the kids. Plus he also makes sure I get time to do things I enjoy too, like my new workout obsession Pure Barre. It works for us to both get time away to do things we enjoy separate from our roles as parents.

For real tho

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We are all trying to soak up the last few days of summer. We’ve really tried to make this summer low key by staying home most days, with occasional trips to the pool. But Lila starts school next week, the boys are both close to walking and I have a feeling our already busy life is about to get even more hectic.

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful summer with your friends and family!

Happy First Birthday, Whitaker and Davis!!

Our sweet boys turn one year old today! It’s hard to believe just a year ago they came into the world as teeny preemies born six weeks early. I made this video looking back on their first year.

I’ll never forget their birth story. It was the most physically difficult day of my life, but the most joyous emotionally. After miscarriage, infertility and a hard pregnancy, my boys were here and healthy! The first time I held them it felt like after almost three years I could finally exhale.

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This year has been a lot of work, no doubt, but I loved it all. The hard moments caring for two infants plus a four year old paled in comparison to the dark moments we faced trying to conceive them and then carrying them for nine months. There’s definitely something to be said about the hard times making you appreciate the good even more.

It also helps that these boys are FANTASTIC babies. Seriously, we got so lucky with these two. They are two of the most laid back, happy, curious, content babies I’ve ever been around. We had their first birthday party this weekend and everyone was amazed at how chill they were (even when mommy dresses them up and there’s 40 people in their house!).

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Most of the time these boys pal around together, crawling side by side from one room to another getting into trouble. Some of their favorites are pulling down the curtain in our TV room, dumping the entire bucket of lego jrs onto the floor, pushing kitchen chairs around and standing at the gate trying to shake it open. I love that already they are inseparable.

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Let’s hold hands, brother #batmantwins #twins #twinboys #twinmom #meltsmyheart #babyboy #10monthsold

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On their own, they have very distinct personalities. Davis, despite being the smaller one, absolutely houses food at meal time. You can’t put food in front of this kid fast enough and usually he’s two handed shoveling it in. Meal time is definitely Davis’ favorite time!

How big is Davis?! #sobig #davisray #11monthsold #sweetboy A post shared by Liz Batman (@elizbatman) on

I think Davis enjoyed his cake! #davisray #firstbirthday #cakesmash #cincodemayoparty

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Davis is super smiley and saves his biggest smiles for his sister. He loves to cuddle (I finally got a cuddler!!) and will nuzzle into my neck before bed while sucking his thumb. He’s a curious little cat and loves to go off and investigate the toys, turning each one over in his hand, banging it on the ground or chewing on it (always chewing!). Screen Shot 2017-05-08 at 3.25.01 PM Screen Shot 2017-05-08 at 3.23.53 PMScreen Shot 2017-05-08 at 3.26.05 PM Whitaker is a total boy in the sense that he is very physical, loud and silly. Wherever there is a loud BANG, you know Whitaker is nearby. He loves his bottle and is usually happy to let his brother steal food off his tray. While he’s not a cuddler, Whit is the most content when he’s being toted around on someone’s hip. He gets this hilariously smug look on his face like “heh heh I’m being carried and you’re not!” Screen Shot 2017-05-08 at 3.26.52 PM Screen Shot 2017-05-08 at 3.27.41 PM Screen Shot 2017-05-08 at 3.28.31 PM

Whit has taken to grunting when he wants something, like our attention, his bottle or a toy. His laugh cracks me up. It’s this deep, cackle like you’d hear on an old man. The quickest way to get a smile or laugh out of him is to pretend to bite his belly. I absolutely love this kids personality.

This boy has the gruntiess laugh. I just love it! #whitakerJohn #babylaughs #myheart

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Being a twin mom is seriously so amazing. I’m glad I get to experience this unique version of motherhood. I’ve become a much more relaxed mother since having twins. When you have two infants, you just have to let go of little worries like schedules, routines, milestones etc. Since my time is filled to the brim caring for these children, I’ve learned to savor moments and to be more present when it matters. I like this version of myself as a mom very much.

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The first year with twins is absolutely insane, but also incredibly fulfilling. I thank God every day for blessing us with these two souls. I know how lucky I am to be their mother and I can’t wait to see who they become.

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Happy birthday boys! Mommy, Daddy and Lila love you so much. Thank you for bringing so much joy, laughter and peace to our family.