Twins Update: 1/31/2010

They’re 9.5 months old, and they’re still awesome.

Norah’s accomplishment of the weekend: Norah has learned to clap. Daddy’s original song “Clap Clap Clap, Snap Snap Snap” clearly hit #1 on her chart. And she’ll just start clapping her hands out of nowhere, so I can’t take it as a compliment for my singing/dancing/overall entertaining.

And Alex, not to be outdone, started letting out really loud happy yelps. Possibly one of the cutest things you’ll ever hear in your life,  if you’re lucky enough to experience them. It’s kind of like she keeps winning the lottery.

These are my girls, and these are their talents. What will tomorrow bring…

Twins Update: 9 months old

To celebrate their 9-month birthday (which occurred on January 16), the beautiful Alexandra and Norah accomplished the following:

1/14/10 = Norah crawled for the first time. Twenty minutes later, Alex responded to Shannon saying “Hi!” with a boisterous “Hi!” of her own.

1/18/10 = Norah was able to identify “nose” and “eyes” on Curious George. Not to be outdone, Alex (a renowned kicker) somehow kicked hard enough while seated in her bouncy seat to move forward about four feet. (Maybe trying to get closer to the TV, I don’t know.)

This fatherhood thing is crazy awesome. When they call me Dada for the first time, I will likely melt into a puddle.

Happy birthday to me: The end of an era?

Today, I’m 37 years old. In case you were wondering, that’s 444 months. 1930.6 weeks. 13,514 days. 324,336 hours. Et cetera.

To commemorate this histrionic occasion, I’ve shaved my goatee. (Long-time fans of mine will know that this is not an uncommon occurrence.)

But more importantly, it marks the end of an era. The Earring has been retired.

It was August 1990 when I got my left ear pierced. In the most manly way possible, I strode confidently into Dazzles in the Roosevelt Mall and had it done. And two decades later, I have removed it for a variety of reasons.

Reason #1: I am not now, nor have ever been, a pirate.

Reason #2: It’s really hard to find earrings for men, and they don’t sell solo ones.

Reason #3: I’m 37. That’s three years from “Old Guy with Earring Trying To Be Cool.”

Reason #4: This is the most important reason, because it’s health-related. My beautiful daughters are getting really grabby and stronger by the day. Norah has already taken a strong hold of my left earlobe on several occasions. And I don’t want her to suddenly pull off a bloody earlobe.

Frankly, I never ever felt badass enough to pull off an earring. But then again, I’ve survived Crohn’s disease and pyoderma gangrenosum. I’ve lived for the better part of a decade with giant open wounds on my leg. And I’m a married man with twin daughters (who were really sick at birth and were in two different NICUs for three weeks).

An earring doesn’t define me or make me tough. It doesn’t even let passers-by on the street know if I’m tough or not. Besides, when I’m pushing my double-long stroller through the mall with my wife, that’s badass enough for me.

Goodbye, Mr. Earring. See you at my midlife crisis in about eight years.

Norah’s Big Day

Normally, I strive to give my girls equal time. But today was especially big for Norah, and here’s why.

Norah's "diploma"

After about eight weeks, Norah no longer needs her “Doc-Band.” That’s one of those hockey-helmet-looking things that you sometimes see infants/toddlers wearing.

Basically, it’s a corrective device used to round out a child’s head as it develops. Norah’s head was a bit “off” after being in the same position for so long during her NICU stay, and because she was on her back for long periods of time.

But after a couple months of 23-hour wear, her stinky helmet is no more. (Can’t wash it, just wipe it down with rubbing alcohol each night.) Her head isn’t “Charlie Brown round,” but it’s looking great.

Will post new pics of the girls soon, so you can see both of our little angels.

 

Quickie Twins Update (with photos!)

Saturday, 11/7 – Alex & Norah start on “solid” food – applesauce and rice cereal were a big hit!

Saturday, 11/14 – Norah holds her own bottle.

Tuesday, 11/17 – Norah hits button on “Glow Worm” doll and activates music.

Norah holdin' her own (bottle, that is).

Alexandra in bloom

My little ladies

Norah’s trying to crawl. Alex is trying to talk.

Norah can almost hold her own bottle. Alex kicks her left foot with any beat.

Different girls, different talents, same birthday.

Gotta love ‘em!

Alex & Norah model their new bathrobes.

Great weekend

Not in order…
–Had Skype video calls with my parents and grandparents, then with my youngest bro and sis-in-law.
–Assembled the girls’ highchairs.
–Cleared out a bunch of boxes from the office to be recycled.
–Sorted out clothes, including some very old but still usable business suits to be donated. (Very hard to remember the days of wearing a suit to work.)

Tonight, Norah was fussin’ after we put her to bed. Shannon went to check her, and she was on her tummy and facing the mirror at the opposite end of her crib. She was trying to inchworm her way to the gorgeous face she saw in the mirror! Full-on crawling can’t be far behind…yikes!

Oh, and the Phillies clobbered L.A. Funny that while that’s awesome, near-crawling is what makes my heart leap now.

Unpaid Endorsement: Gillette Fusion

Been a while since I done did one of these, but this morning’s shave made it necessary.

I’d been a loyal Mach 3 Turbo user for many years, after an emergency switch from electric shaver to regular razor (thanks to a forgotten adapter on a trip to England).

And although I really haven’t loved any Fusion advertising (I respect, but I’m not a huge fan of Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter and those other dudes), several times I’ve read glowing reviews of the product. Somehow, the alleged superiority of the product seeped into my consciousness and I decided a month or so ago that I’d switch.

My father-in-law had a bunch of Fusion blades hanging around, so I splurged and got the actual razor a few days ago.

This morning, I gave myself a Top 10 All Time shave thanks to the Fusion. It “handles” differently than the Mach 3 Turbo, and even felt differently as it moved across my face.

Long story short: a very good shave, and since the price isn’t drastically different from the Mach 3 Turbo, I highly recommend it.

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Twins Update: Labor Day 2009

Big hug, 8/30/09

Quick update with fun photos…

Alex’s (recent) Accomplishments: She now responds to a wink with a big smile, and has brought back the Elvis-like smile/lip curl.

Norah’s Notes: She’s babbling up a storm, and her first word can’t be far off. She’s also grabbing for things, especially toys.

Soon, they’ll be reaching out for Mommy and Daddy. Crazy awesome.

Head to head, 9/03/09

Hey, that's my toy: 9/7/09