1st Day in the Snow

The twins had their first day out in the snow this year!  They were skeptical at first, but they ended up loving the snow.  

I told them to go over by the window, fold their hands, and get ready for a  picture... and here is what they did!

Leo, folding his hands again for the camera.

They just walked outside!  

Max

Leo

Max pulling the sled 

Max, helping pull the sled, while Leo pulls

Even Teddy (the dog) liked the snow!

SEPARATION ANXIETY WITH TWINS!!!!

What do you do when you have twins who are BOTH experiencing separation anxiety?  

1. Google "separation anxiety with twins" only to find out that the information out there on the web provides comfort that lasts for about ...24 hours.
2. Lay out the situation and all of your stress to family members and receive the same response of "it's a phase, they'll grow out of it."
3. Sit back, watch your twins crawl/run around the house and PRAY that they take a nap so you can finally use the bathroom...for the first time today (and probably the last).   OR...
4. ALL OF THE ABOVE

Separation anxiety is quite a force of nature that parents of twins have to deal with.  I can't figure out still what's more stressful, the twin pregnancy or the fact that I'll never be able to walk out the room without two babies screaming and crying as they chase after me.  

And the worse part is that no one can relate or sympathize with you unless they went or are going through the same thing.  

Having delivered at 35 weeks and going through the NICU experience, I never would have thought that I'd end up here.  I mean, I knew that my boys would pull through and that they would be normal, active toddlers, but I never imagined how much work they would be!  

People always told me when they were babies that after 3 months, it gets so much easier.  In reality, it feels like I can hardly catch my breath from the moment I wake up till 13 hours later when they finally go to sleep.  

So, to all the mothers out there who have a kid (or several kids) whom blessed them with separation anxiety, I AM HERE FOR YOU!!!  

We all love our children so much.  We really do.  But it is a hard and difficult rollercoaster when you have two babies clinging to your body like velcro!  Although I do love when Max (the more attached twin) wakes up crying at night and gives a sigh of relief once he sees me in bed and crawls on top of me and falls back asleep.  I don't think I could ever get sick of the feeling when my little boy falls asleep on top of me.  

I have heard that that you should be sure to say "bye-bye" to your little ones when you leave.  As tempting as it seems, you shouldn't take the easy way out and slip through the back door while they're napping or playing in the other room.  Otherwise they will become accustomed to you leaving them behind if you leave their sight for just a few minutes.  Or worse, they will just stick to you all the time for fear that you will leave them (which has happened to me).  

But all we can do is just hope and pray that it is just a phase.  Of course there are situations where it can become a serious problem once they hit school.  People will always tell you to just let them cry it out because they won't remember it when they get older.  Or some people might say that it's because you are giving them too much attention and Oh my goodness you're SPOILING them!  

Don't listen to them! 

Whether or not that is true, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that these are YOUR babies.  You're the mama, and only Mama (OR Daddy!) knows what is best for her/his babies.  There is no right or wrong way.  It is something that I learned when my boys were born, but I still need to keep reminding myself that everyday after I talk to people.  Sometimes I think that the hardest part about motherhood (or fatherhood) is listening to your heart, following your instinct, and GOING WITH IT.  

It's so easy to break down and let others try to put you back together the way they think is right.  But in the end, you have to do what you feel is best for you and your kids.  It feels like yesterday that I gave birth and here I am 1 1/2 years later, facing new and more difficult challenges that I never thought I'd encounter.  I love my children, and I love having them run to me for protection or love or reassurance.  If time flew by this fast, I can't imagine how fast the toddler years will fly by.  Think of separation anxiety as a blessing, not as a curse.  

There's a saying that goes "there is no greater love than a mother's love." Perhaps we should finetune it to say, "there is no greater love than twins' love to their mother."

Max usually climbs on top of me in the middle of his sleep and falls back to sleep.  Since I wasn't laying down next to him, he quickly jumped on top of Leo and both slept like angels.  

Trick or Treating!

It's the twins first trick or treating!  We decided to go to a mall where they have free trick or treating for kids.  Since it was freezing cold outside, we had to bundle them up quite a bit.  There were a ton of people there, so we ended up holding them most of the time.

Leo sitting in the front seat while I dressed up Max in the back of the car.  Their gloves are for 2 year olds, but they were the only ones that we could get.  

Leo, up close.

Max in his car seat.

Leo in his pumpkin costume sitting on top of the car.

Max in his ladybug costume.

 The twins are ready to go!  Actually, they weren't really sure of the whole situation.

...so they stayed close by me.

Once it got dark outside, the boys kept wanting to walk into the street (non-driving street).  They were obsessed with the road!  

Overall, it was a fun experience.  Dressing them up and seeing them in their costumes was the best part!  

Halloween Costumes!

Click here to see birthday pics of the twins!

Now that I have two kids to dress up, I love Halloween!!  My mom got Max and Leo their first Halloween costume. I put Max in the ladybug costume and Leo in the pumpkin costume.  They didn't seem to have a problem with it except that they keep pulling their hats off!  At first, we didn't plan on taking them out for trick or treating since they're too little to say "trick or treat" and to eat the candy (or even take the candy).  But I found out that some shopping malls have trick or treating for little kids!  So we will probably take them to that and show off their costumes!  Can't wait to take pictures for that!

Leo looks like a sad pumpkin here!

Baby fashion show!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TWINS 1ST BIRTHDAY PICTURES!

Twins 1st Birthday - Seattle

Max and Leo had their first birthday celebration in Korea this year, but we still had to celebrate it back at home!  

Here they are playing with their Glo Worm dolls that my mom got them.  They love them so much and always hug them and dance to the music that they play!   Thank God they have their own Glo Worm because they constantly fight over things.  

I made them each a baby carrot cupcake, which they destroyed.  

Leo eating his cupcake (or playing with it, actually).

We like to take them to the park so that they can walk around in the outdoors.  They are such explorers!  Leo was hanging out by himself here on the grass while I was walking Max around.

We got them a toy car from Costco that they just push around and sit on.  Leo is the one who sits on it while Max pushes him around.  Here, Max is doing hard labor while Leo enjoys the ride!!

Sometimes they fight to sit on it, so I have to put both of them on and pull them around.

Max is getting his Glo Worm toy in the morning.  I love his backpack t-shirt!

The twins running around at night with their matching pajamas.

  

Max is carrying around his new toy.  His hair is getting pretty long (compared to Leo's)!

They love getting into cracks and small places.  Leo managed to squeeze himself through the drying rack and behind a chair.

We decided to pull out the baby swing again so that we can sell it... and shockingly, the babies are obsessed with it!  They like to sit in it when they get tired.  Good thing we didn't sell it!

Leo with his Glo Worm.

Leo asleep in the chair.  He still looks the same here as when he was three months old to me!

Exhausted from a long birthday!

Twins 1st Birthday Party

The twins had their first birthday party while we visited family in South Korea this summer.  It was in Hotel Prima, which is a beautiful hotel!  Unfortunately, it was only 1 week since we've been in Korea and the babies weren't yet adjusted to the new environment.  This made the party pretty stressful... yet a once in a lifetime kind of thing!  The whole time, both babies cried terribly since they were so scared and tired and hungry and unsure of everybody there.  Overall, I'm happy they got to experience a korean birthday party (even though they're too young to remember it).  

Here is the ice sculpture the hotel supplied for the party.

Max outside getting his picture taken.

And now he's crying.

I ended up having to hold both of them like this 98% of the time.  If someone paid me to do that all over again, I would absolutely NOT do that again!!  Even my husband couldn't hold one of them without them starting to cry!  

My mother-in-law walking Max around.

And Max crying, again.

Traditional 1st birthday table set up for the party.

The photographer tried to take a decent photo of them alone on the table, but this was the only one he got without them crying.

Me holding both again.  Max is the one without pants and has longer hair.

 Max is frustrated...and thus picks his nose.  No matter how many times we try to tell him no, he still does it!

We ended up having to feed the babies while holding them since we couldn't put them down.

 At Korean first birthday parties, the baby usually picks from a tray of items.  Depending on what they choose from the tray, that is what they will be when they grow up.  Leo chose a book, which means he will study hard  and do a lot of reading!  Max chose a pencil, which means he will be a journalist or writer or just like writing.  

Max is chewing on a hammer, but he really chose the pencil.  

Cutting the birthday cake.

Birthday table set up in the hallway.  

The babies are in their traditional Korean outfits, called Hanbok.  My husband's aunt made these for them!!!  Perfect fit!

The flight to Korea took 11 hours.  We were able to get a bassinet/crib for them (and they gave us another free one for the other baby).  The bad part is that they didn't like sleeping in the crib for too long since it was so tiny and up in the air.  

 Max.

Max eating a popsicle, which they both LOVE.

My mother-in-law got the babies their own Nike sneakers!  They're really flexible too!  

We got some hats and baby sunglasses for them at Baby Gap and StrideRite.  The glasses fit perfectly!