Two for real

On the 15th Nov the twins turned two for real :)  We celebrated with a cake and they got to blow the candles out (Eva managed to blow out one, Emilia blew so gently that the flame didn't flicker).

We are in a very happy place at the moment.  Emilia and Eva are fantastic little people who seem to get funnier for every day that passes.  We are meeting with a child psychologist tomorrow, a routine thing because the twins were so premature.  I am going to use the opportunity to take my sweethearts up to the neonatal department so the nurses can see two little girls who are living life to the full.  

Something magical

I put the twins in Emilia's bed this morning, so I could have a shower in peace.  I gave them a box of little figures and some finger puppets.  I left them to it, but then had to pop back in to get something.  Eva had one puppet on her finger, Emilia the other and the puppets were having a conversation (they were saying hello to each other).  How clever, creative, wonderful and cool is that?  I was forced to shed a little tear of happiness.

Of course they had stopped by the time I had manically dashed off and returned with the camera but I got a pic of Emilia with both of the puppets.

I think the terrible twos should be re-named the terrible, tremendous twos with more emphasis placed on the tremendous. Yes there are moments when they are terrible, difficult, stubborn and extremely frustrating.  But then they are so loving, considerate, spontaneous and eager to learn all about the world around them  They seem to be genuine friends and it really does make the challenges of raising two very different babies all worth while.

Working mother

As I am now a working mother, well student, writing my blogg has been low on my to do list. I have thought about it over the last few months but with moving house, studying two full time courses at the same time and keeping our home in some kind of order I just haven't found the time. One of my courses is now over, an intense course that has filled me with panic and even made me cry :-( but the end is in sight (awaiting the result) and I feel very proud of myself.  I am back in the game and it feels great.

My mum and dad moved in with us for a month and looked after the twins while I was away. I came home to home cooked meals and two extra shoulders to cry on! - The crying only happened once, ha ha! I am so thankful to them for the help. Emilia and Eva adjusted well to the change and had a great time with Gra Gra and Ganda!

Emilia and Eva are now 2 :-) I planned a teddy bears picnic for them but unfortunately they both had a mouth virus and we had to cancel. Only baby Asta dared to make an appearance to celebrate the twins' huge milestone.

Together we made it! The miracle of it all will never cease to amaze me.

Liseberg

Farmor and farfar treated us to a trip out at the theme park in Gothenburg.  Here are a few pics:

Intense

Life with the twins has gone all intense again.  I think we are all just so ready for the move now and whilst summer is of course much easier than winter, being outside on a super hot summers day is a no no.  Give me clouds and rain when I am looking after the twins on my own.  At least then we can be outside.  There are so many beautiful lakes and Emilia just loves having a paddle, but I just don't feel comfortable being there on my own with them.  I need to clone myself!

A few weeks ago we met up with the twins' neonatal Dr who was super impressed with them; I think meeting our girls has quite an emotional effect on her.  They are such a success story compared to some of the horrors and heartache she must experience on a day to day basis.  She said it is like looking at a big and a little sister, not only in terms of size but also in terms of development.  She said that Eva is more like a 19 month old baby and Emilia like a 15 month old.  Even though Emilia is behind Eva, her development is consistent and she is not concerned about anything.  Fantastic news :)

On Tuesday I took Emilia so see the eye Dr.  Both me and my Mum had noticed that she was going cross eyed sometimes, more than usual.  So I called the hospital and expressed by concerns.  After an eye examination, Emilia has now been diagnosed with needing to wear glasses.  This news has hit me quite hard.  Not because of the extra work of getting my wild, little Emilia to keep her glasses on, or to stop Eva from pulling them off (actually that side of things is gonna be tough!!!) But her needing to wear glasses is because she was laser operated, because she was premature, because I got an infection.  It all leads back to me and it hurts.  It hurts that she has been going around now for the last months not being able to see properly, which explains why she falls over a lot and why when the floor changes she stops and needs lots of encouragement to walk further.  It hurts that almost EVERYTHING that has gone wrong because of the premature birth has been on Emilia.  I know it could all be a lot worse and I say thank you every night before I go to sleep.  I am thankful for it all, but this still hurts.

Rant over, here are some picture from the last couple of weeks.

A short, but very sweet meeting with faster Cajsa, Olivia, Alice, farfar and farmor:

Two very proud little girls with two very cute pot bellies:

Me and my little warrior:

Eva catching flies and looking super cute.  She went nappy free for the first time :) Such a big girl:

Emilia and Pappa:

Chilling out in the garden - paradise:

Airport

When Grandma and Granddad came to visit us a few weeks ago, I was very brave and took the twins into the airport to surprise them.

Granddad got a hug straight away from Emilia:

It didn't take Eva long before she had tight hold of her Grandma :):

A picnic in the rain

Just a few pics showing how grown up our twins are.  They can now sit and have a picnic - it is so fun, even if the weather could have been better :)!

Bedtime routine

I have never really believed in the power of a bedtime routine.  Me and Jens have always bathed the twins and in the early days putting our little ones to bed was the most predictable part of our day.  We gave them their bottle, lay them down and knew that we had 12 hours of baby free time.  Eva changed all that at around 8 months when her separation anxiety kicked in.  I then fed her for months, allowing her to sleep in my arms.  Then when that stopped working it took me four days of constantly lying her back down and telling her it was time for sleep.  She then happily played in her bed for a few weeks until she chose to lie down and go to sleep.  Then when the clocks changed (could that be a coincidence?) we were back to square one.  Sheer panic at being left alone.  Needing me to lie beside her until she slept.  The feeling of lying next to thing the thing you love most, is lovely - for the first 15 minutes.  The unpredictability of when she would sleep left me feeling frustrated on most days.  I didn't like the feeling of complete lack of control and I knew I had to change the situation; for my santity and for little Eva.  Babies her age need around 14 hours of sleep each day, 1-2 hours of this should be taken at midday.  My little one was falling way short and on some days refusing to nap.

My sister has always talked about the importance of a bedtime routine, most books harp on about it.  I have finally implemented one and am now reaping the rewards.  We are back in a place where Eva (for the most part) is happy to be in her bed.  She has even started to lie down during her goodnight story and I just left her blowing kisses at me from her snuggly pillow.

I have also started regulating the time the twins go to bed and get up.  7pm bedtime and 7am get up and in bed for nap at the latest 12.30pm.  I must be the most annoying person in the world but leaving them to decide themselves is just too unpredictable.  I have had too many nights with Emilia waking up in the middle of the night and being awake for hours.

We have had 3 nights, in a row of the twins sleeping all night.  It is absolute bliss.  Time will tell if it is because of our new routine :)

Good times

With everything that is happening with us selling our house it is tough keeping my little blog updated.  But here are a few pics that I have been meaning to post:

Our first trip to the cabin after winter:

First dip of the year out in the paddling pool:

Wheelbarrow fun :)

My sweethearts just being super cute: