Photos and Updates - Sorry for the delay!

Still in Boston, Ray is sporting this shirt that I bought for him.. so any of his "aunties" reading, this ones for you.

In Boston on a "play date" with our friends who also have twin boys, 3 months older than ours.

The night before we broke down their crib for the move, this was one of the last times that the boys had to share a crib.
After crib breakdown, likely a naptime, and we swear this was not posed.
Shortly after arrival in Washington, Dario likes to back himself up while trying to get to sleep, and often ends up with his legs sticking out the crib slats.
If you look closely, Dario's first tooth is poking through his bottom gums! He has 2 now and is working on more.
Ray with his Great Aunt on a visit to my parent's house.

Dario doesn't much like to eat peas, but he apparently doesn't mind wearing them!
Ray will eat just about anything we give him, but often ends up looking like this anyway. They just can't seem to keep their head still while eating.
This is one of our favorite pictures of Dario. Look at that face! He did have a bit of sun in his eyes, and we thought initially that was what made this face happen, but actually we noticed that he does make this face - just not as pronounced - and likely the sun made the face worse.
Enjoying a family picnic with KFC and carrots for the boys on the 4th of July at Marathon Park in Olympia.

Dario & Daddy at the laptop computer likely surfing the net.
Dario with his Grandma Great.
Dario with Grandma K.
Raymond with Grandma Great.

Boys with their Aunt Becky on a surprise visit.
Both boys love to wear and eat their Daddy's hat. This is Ray when we went to visit Grandma K in Ellensburg.
Ray & Dario playing in the infant pool Grandma got for them during our visit to Ellensburg. It was really hot and sunny outside so we set it up in the kitchen so we could avoid having to apply mass amounts of sunblock. The boys had a blast splashing water all over the place.
Happy boys with Grandma K!
Grandma K got out some of Timo's old toys from when he was a baby, including this little wooden rocking horse. The boys loved it!

The boys favorite part of meals is the end when they are finished and we give them the lids to their trays to play with.
We especially love it when Dario flattens out his face causing us to laugh out loud.

Here is Raymond putting his finger up his Grandpa J's nose and apparently also poking out his eye.
The boys are modeling their new bibs from Grandma K who works at Central Washington University.

Dario loves to smile! Look at those teeth.
Happy boys!
Dario & Raymond playing around with their Grandpa N.


So now the update:

Things are moving along finally. When it rains, it pours - all in one week Timo got 3 different job offers, 2 with the VA (different campuses). After much consideration, we decided we will settle in the Olympia area and he took the job at the VA nearby. We secured an apartment, and we'll get the keys on September 7th. We are so excited to finally be getting our own place and that Timo will be starting work. He's sad that he'll be away from the boys so much, he has been home with them for 5 months now! As for me, I'm hoping to stay at home with the boys. We hope that we will be able to afford for me to stay home and plan to try a 3 month trial to work out a budget.

Well I guess that's it for now. I'm working on the computer in the house because the laptop is painfully slow out in the camper. I hope you've enjoyed the photos and I'll try to post more often.

Home Again

Sorry to all for the delay in posting. We arrived in Washington safe and sound on May 30th around 9:30pm. We have since gotten settled in with family for the time being until Tm finds a job and we can figure out what we can afford (and where we'll eventually end up living in the long run, depends on where he finds work).

Some updates:

Dario cut his first tooth last Monday, June 11th, 2007!

Both boys are working hard on learning to crawl and to sit up unassisted.

Solid foods are a fun experience for both boys: Dario seems intolerant to oatmeal, they both don't like green beans very much, and we are continuing our adventure with peas.

Tm has had one interview thus far but has a few job leads and we are hoping that something will happen soon.

We have gotten back in touch with plentyh of family and friends here in Washington and are very blessed to have great family support.

We miss Boston, Brookline, and all the folks/friends there.

Will post pictures as soon as possible.

Cute & Handsome

I find myself frequently telling Raymond how cute he is - and apparently, as Tm points out, I tell Dario how handsome he is. Well, here's lookin' at you, babe. My cute and handsome babies, now nearly 5 1/2 months old. This last week (Ray on Wednesday, Dario on Thursday) they both rolled from their backs to their bellies for the first time. And the second time, third time, and on and on. They soon will be adept mobile rollers. Not crawling, not walking, not scooting, but rolling. Today we just took the bumper out of the crib because Dario likes to grab it and stuff it into his mouth.

The transition back to work has gone well thus far. Daddy is doing great at home with the boys - pumping is going well - and I miss them all during the day. I try to make the best of the 2 hours I have each night with them before the boys go to bed, and weekends too. We're starting something of a bedtime routine, and trying a little bit of CIO (cry it out) when they don't go right to sleep. Parenting is a hard yet rewarding job. We love it.

No longer a SAHM

(SAHM = Stay At Home Mom)

Wednesday, April 4th I will be returning to work - just 3 days away. This last Friday, March 30th was Tm's last day at work, and he is going to be staying at home with the boys. I'm anxious about my return - being away from the boys for so long, pumping at work, how long will it take me to get back into the swing of things at work, will Tm have a hard time at home with the boys, will he have the support he needs, will I continue to produce enough milk? So many concerns, I just have to trust God and pray about it. Could you please pray for our family? It would mean so much.

Photo Update

So, I haven't updated my blog lately, so here are some pictures to share:

March 7, 2007 - Dario is wearing one mitten because he really likes to shove as much of his fist into his mouth as possible lately, and has developed a skin irritation as a result. Here he is shoving the mittened hand into his mouth. Not sure if that is an improvement or not!

March 12, 2007 - Dario & Raymond chillin' in the crib.
March 18, 2007 - The boys are baptised! We got the cake at Costco.. Do you see the mistake? There was no-one in the bakery to fix it so we left it as-is. It was very tasty, however!
Here we are up front of the congregation with Pastor Um.
Dario receives his baptism.
Raymond receives his baptism.
Dario was so worn out he was conked out after the service.

Grandma K. came to town for a weekend visit, and to see the boys receive their baptism. What a proud Grandma!

March 29, 2007 - Raymond & Dario chillin' in our crib.

April 1, 2007 - Daddy comes out of the bedroom with Raymond to show me this cute sight. He also enjoys making Raymond "fly" like Superman with his bib on backwards. Custard's mommy calls this "Mr. Shirthead".

Ray's News

I totally forgot that I was supposed to post about "Ray's Big News". Thanks for reminding me, SKF! It may not seem like big news to non-parents but for me, it is a BIG DEAL.

Raymond has always hated baths from his first bath in the NICU. Once you start washing his face, he starts getting the fussy face, then you start washing his hair and the screaming starts. Short break while you dry his hair and take off his diaper for the whole body wash, but once he hits the baby bath sling (or actually IN the water in the bath) he goes nuts - hysterical crying. And yes, our bath has a thermometer and the water was not too hot, and I thought also, not too cold.

Well, while we were on a trip out of town, I had to bathe him in a baby bath that did not have a thermometer. So, I just tested the water on my wrist - I think it was a little warmer than usual. Well, with the warmer water and with mommy singing to Raymond the whole time, he hardly fussed at all. Once we got home and he got his next bath, he DIDN'T CRY AT ALL. That was in the sling (only his bottom is in the water, kind of a sponge bath). The next time, I put him directly in the water and again, he DIDN'T CRY AT ALL! I also made sure I fed him right before his bath so I was sure he wasn't hungry.

I wanted to call every single mom I knew and share the news! I would dread giving him his bath because he would cry so hard - I would be giving him a speed-bath, apologizing the whole time. I would give Dario his bath first, then wait awhile kind of pumping myself up for giving Ray his bath. I'd undress him, cuddle and flirt with him cause I knew that soon enough, he'd be wailing. Well, no longer! This is one happy mommy!

Pre Bath photo:

Post Bath Photo:

He's actually happy!!

Cutie Patootie

I took some pictures of Dario right after his bath yesterday, he is such a cutie! I gave Ray his bath a little bit later in the day and there's big news for Raymond to share - but I'll do that once I get a chance to put the pics on my comupter and blog about him. :) We also took a last minute trip back home last week due to family emergency (everyone is alright) so have some pics of the boys with their grandparents to share. Later, though. For now, I need to get back in bed.