Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease

That is my response to people who ask me how I am able to manage the zoo and all of its inhabitants. In other words, when one of the kids is whaling or has a poopy diaper or has seriously hurt himself or is in need of immediate strict discipline, those situations take precedence over a whining or crying kid, a pee pee diaper, a minor boo boo or a no no that can be remedied with a simple distraction. First thing’s first, as I often explain to the boys.

Zeke helps Aunt Lisa referee Gabriel & Houston’s wrestling match.

I like to tell Houston that Clan Dillingham is a team, and as a member, he plays a vital role in keeping things running as smoothly as possible. That includes everything from helping with housework, which he loves to do, to assisting with brothers’ diaper changes, to just doing what Mommy and Daddy (the team captains) say. As a rambunctious toddler, this is sometimes easier said than done, but it usually works. And when it does, we do a celebratory fist bump and say, “Go team!” 

Aunt Lisa came for a long visit and spoiled the boys (and me) rotten! Houston got to play rough with Mommy’s zany sister, the twins got held much more than they are accustomed to, and I had a much-needed extra set of hands available to help out with kid duties and housework. It also snowed about 5″ when Lisa was here, and we built Houston his very first snowman, lovingly named “Joe Snow.” 

Three generations of Dillingham patriots speak out against Obama’s “spendulus” plan.

On 2/27, Houston hit the road with Daddy and Grumps to protest the federal government’s fiscally irresponsible (not to mention unconstitutional) stimulus package. They traveled to Fayetteville to participate in the New American Tea Party and have plans to head to Asheville for the Tax Day Tea Party on 4/15. They look forward to rallying with other supporters of a limited federal government in vocal opposition to Washington’s uncontrolled spending and meddling in the lives of tax-paying citizens.

 Gabriel can pull Uncle Greg’s finger & give the “power to the people” sign simultaneously … what talent!

The twins are getting stronger, bigger and more active and alert by the second. On 2/28, Gabriel rolled from his belly to back. Zeke wasn’t far behind, mastering the feat on 3/1. Gabriel laughs and coos at everything; he’s a total ham. Zeke, our nosey boy, is a tad more reserved, soaking in his surroundings with wonderment, and giggling and talking with pure intent. It’s intriguing how different their personalities have become, especially considering that identical twins have the exact same DNA — amazing!

Is Houston all boy or what? Check out his manly swagger!

Other big news is that the twins have mastered rice and oatmeal cereal, and began eating veggies on 3/7. Carrots was their first vegetable adventure, and they’ll be trying butternut squash this evening. Yummy!

Click on the top photo of Lisa and the kids to check out all the pics from her visit, click on the above photo of “Marlboro Man Dillingham” to see the latest additions to the February gallery, and click on the Tea Party shot to see all the photos from Fayetteville.

Catching Up Fast

Gabriel and Zeke are quickly catching up with their term counterparts. Here are the stats from yesterday’s 4-month wellness check-up:

  • Gabriel weighs 12 pounds, 10 ounces; he is 23″ long; and his head is 16″ in diameter
  • Zeke weighs 13 pounds, 1 ounce; he is 22″ long; and his head is 16 1/4″ around

Granted, Houston weighed more than 17 pounds at 4 months old, but big brother has always been extremely robust for his age.

Also, Zeke’s umbilical hernia looks like it’s deflating and the doctor confirmed that it is indeed going away on its own. What a huge relief.

“Eating rice cereal is fun,” says Gabriel. 

Gabriel and Zeke started “eating” solids on 2/18 and have already vastly improved their skills since then. They consume 2-3 tablespoons of rice cereal each a day and about 5 ounces of breast milk per feeding. This advanced menu has not only helped the twins grow big and strong, but it has also assisted in getting them both to consistently sleep through the night.

We weren’t able to swing the circus a few weekends ago like we had hoped, but we had a great weekend with Granny, Grumps and Duke dog nonetheless. They even watched all the kids so that Stephen and I could have a belated Valentine’s Day dinner out — our first time to a restaurant since the twins were born.

Granny also helped us get all three kids to church that Sunday; this was the twins’ first trip out from the house for anything other than pediatric appointments. Then the very next day, I packed up all the dudes and took them to a play date … and we were only 15 minutes late! It was at our old neighbor Jessica’s house. Houston was ecstatic to play with her daughter, Gracie, whom he hadn’t seen since they moved from our hood in the fall.

“This is so much easier than a binky,” says Zeke. 

Zeke has always liked binkies … when he could get them going, that is. I decided it was way too time consuming to coach him, so I stopped offering him pacifiers a couple weeks ago. And lo and behold, that boy finally discovered his thumb and the two of us couldn’t be happier. Zeke also recently discovered that fake coughing is a good way to get attention from Mommy.

Gabriel is pretty low maintenance as far as the oral fixations go, although he does fancy munching on his fists. (Combine all that clenching and drool and it’s no wonder why Stephen and I refer to them as his “ass hands.”) I usually have to restrain his hands when he’s eating rice cereal, but at least I won’t have to break him of a major obsession down the road.

And speaking of obsessions, Houston is quite passionate about his binkies. He has been biting and tearing them apart as of late, so they are slowly making their way into the trash. We have informed our little addict that when his stash is depleted, his binky days are over. I’d say he probably has about eight left at the moment, so the countdown is on.

Houston wonders, “What the heck did Mommy & Daddy do with all my hair?”

Houston has also been putting words together to form more complex thoughts. For example, “Daddy vroom vroom” translates to “Daddy rides a motorcycle” and “gocks agua” means “My socks are wet because I stepped in Duke’s water bowl.” (Yes, Stephen is already teaching him Spanish.) 

Click the above photo of the hairless boy wonder to check out all the February – Part 2 photos and the thumb-sucking pic of Zeke to see all the more recent images.

Big Weekend Ahead

Gabriel and Zeke — who are happily watching Daddy jam out on Rock Band right now — will be going to church for the first time this Sunday. Everyone there has been giving me massive amounts of grief for the last few weeks about not meeting them yet. The twins still have 2 more RSV shots to go, but I figure the weather has been so incredibly nice lately that it wouldn’t hurt take them them out for a whirl — especially if I make everyone slather their hands with anti-bacterial juice before they handle the boys.

Just in case.

We hope to get Houston to the circus this weekend, too. Granny and Grumps are coming to visit, so we also have a lot of household stuff that we want to tend to while we have help with the kids. If Mommy and Daddy can’t take Houston to see the lions and the bears, perhaps the grand folk can do it.

We also plan on introducing Houston to NASCAR with this Sunday’s Daytona 500. Considering how much he loves anything motorized — like Daddy’s “vroom vroom” (a.k.a. motorcycle) — we’re pretty sure he’ll have a blast watching the brightly colored race cars go ’round in a circle.

One day Houston will be mowing the grass, too.

Gabriel and Zeke are changing exponentially by the day. It’s funny that we used to consider Zeke the laid-back baby and Gabe the dramatic one ’cause they have totally swapped dispositions. Gabriel is so chill and easy-going, whereas it seems as if Zeke has the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Case in point: the top photo … Gabriel just sat there quietly posing for these photos, staring at Mommy snapping away with her camera, while Zeke started out crying and never quite seemed to relax. We have our theories about how TTTS played into these developing personality traits, but who really knows. Whatever the case, Gabriel and Zeke are the coolest twins around and it’s amazing to see them grow from babies into little dudes!

“We don’t want another crib, Mama,” say Gabriel & Zeke.

Click the above sleeping photo to check the most recent February pics. FYI, Gabriel and Zeke will be turning 4 months old next Tuesday and big brother Houston will be 20 months old on 2/26. My how time flies when you’re raising 3 crazy monkeys!