Name Game

All this royal baby fever and talk about baby names has got me thinking about names a lot too. Namely Jacob's name. More precisely, whether or not we chose the right name for Jacob.

Out of the three kids, Jacob's name was by far the hardest to come up with. So hard, in fact, he had no name for three days. The NICU nurses just called him Twin B because we were at a loss. And it's not like we didn't have time to prepare. It's just... so hard to pick a name. We were careful to make sure the names we chose didn't render themselves to become burdens down the road. Adam was very good at making sure names couldn't be used against the kids once they were in school and name calling becomes an issue. Let's be real, Colin would just be called Colon. (No offense to all the Colins out there. I hope no meanies call you Colon.) Plus we wanted something meaningful, preferably named after family, because those seem like the most meaningful of all. Sofia's name was easy to come up with. We decided on that one pretty quickly. I loved that it is the same in Italian and English, just like my name. We hadn't even discussed a middle name but when the subject came up, I already told Adam I had a good idea for one. Angela. Named after Adam's sister - the last female born on that side of the family until our Sofia came along. Yup. Just a bunch of nephews for Adam. He loved it. And Angie, Adam's sister, was moved to tears when we told her, the day she met baby Sofia.

Thomas' name was easy too. Adam's uncle, Thomas, passed away not too long before the boys came around. He was a great man and we thought it would be nice to name one of our boys after him. We hadn't really decided which boy was going to get which name, we just figured the first one to come out would be Thomas and the second would be......

Trying to find a male Italian name that wasn't too Italian was virtually impossible. Vincenzo. Salvatore. Federico. Stefano. Nope. Nope. Nope. And no thank you. But I kinda wanted something that at least hinted to being Italian. I really wanted the name Dominic. I kept pining for that name for the entire pregnancy and beyond. Adam was not a fan. "It sounds like the villain off a soap opera!" That's Lorenzo, but still. He was definitely in the minority. Everyone seemed to love that name. Except for Adam. Every other name we came up with as a possibility just didn't move me the way Dominic did. Other names were okay, but did I like them as much as Dominic? No. Plus if we wanted to, we could call them Tom and Dom. Yes? Now it was down to crunch time. We were admitted into the hospital. These babies would be here in less than three days and one of them is still nameless. "Are you SURE you don't like Dominic?" I was not giving up. Adam may have relented eventually if nothing more than to just shut me up, but can I really do that to him? Make him name his child something he will dislike for always? Every time he'd say Dominic's name he'd think about how he really didn't like it and he felt pressured to agree because it was what I wanted. What an awful thing to do. This baby was remaining nameless until we came up with something we would both agree on.

The lists of names we reviewed and compiled and discussed were overwhelming. Finally it came down to four names. Theodore, William,  Gabriel, and Dominic. (I told you I wasn't relenting). We even tried to let Sofia pick out the name. How cool would that be? Your little sister got to pick out your name! She went with Theodore, although to be honest, I'm not really sure her just-turned-three-year-old mind could really process what we were requesting of her. Theodore it is! Tom and Ted. And then my mom tried to say Theodore. FAIL. "What are you naming him? Tayodore?" Nope. That's not going to work. Back to the drawing board.  It's just as well. Jacob doesn't really look like a Theodore to me anyway. Why is this so difficult?!?

Because it is a huge responsibility. This is something that is going to shape your child. They are kinda stuck with the name you pick for at least 18 years. I guess if they really hated it they could change it at that point. But most often, they are stuck with it for life. That's a long time. I'm sure we are not the only family that has struggled in trying to come up with their baby's name. That's why there are hundreds upon hundreds of baby naming books and websites. None of which were any help to us!

So along come our sweet boys. Thomas Everitt and ? At least we knew Baby B's middle name would be Anthony. We actually had known that all along. At about day two when we still couldn't decide, we were very close to just going with Anthony as a first name. But that's my brother's name. Then what in the world would we do for a middle name? Finally on day three I decided this was just ridiculous and we were going to sit down and come up with a name before we did anything else. No eating. No TV watching. No bathroom breaks. This is serious business. Then out of no where Adam says, "What about Jacob? That's what we were going to name Sofia if she was a boy." Sold! Instantly I knew that was our baby's name. It was an automatic approval. I didn't even register I was agreeing until I heard myself agreeing. It was like picking out a wedding dress. You've tried on 1700 dresses and then as soon as you put number 1701 on, something clicks. This is the one. Jacob Anthony. I was cool with that. He looked like a Jacob to me. Name plaque made, papers signed, birth certificate ordered.

And then the second-guessing begins. Jacob? Are we sure? That is the most popular boy's name for the past several years. Do we want Jacob to have to be one of three Jacobs in his classroom each year? How uncreative of us. It doesn't even mean anything to us. It's not a family name. It's just same name we agreed upon. Jacob Anthony does have a nice ring to it though.

ARG!

All in all I think we picked fabulously. Thomas means twin and Jacob was a twin biblically speaking. Jacob also means, to follow, which he did being Twin B. That's pretty fortunate their names are both twin related. It's the trouble we had in picking the name that is causing me to question our choice, not the choice itself. The fact that it took us so long decide makes me wonder why it was so easy to agree. It must have been meant to be, right? Jacob is a strong name. A good name. It's classic. My mom can say it. What if I had to pick another name? Is there really something I like better? Would I change Jacob's name to something else? Do I wish I would have named him something different?

No. Not really. Because when I look into Jacob's sweet face and those dark black eyes, he looks like a Jacob to me. It feels right. And really, it's just a name.

Sleeping Babies

That witching hour or so between dinner and bedtime can be so frustrating at our house. Especially if Sofia did not take a nap that day. She will be beyond tired but will never ever admit it. It can be a battle to get her to bed because she is a pro at delaying bedtime. Once the request to put on pajamas has been made, she realizes there are a million other things she has to do. Oh, I didn't brush my teeth yet. But I need your help. I need you to pick out my pajamas. Can you turn on the radio? I need a glass of water. No, not in that cup, in the Hello Kitty cup. No, not THAT Hello Kitty cup... Meanwhile, Jacob will be wailing in his crib because when it comes to bedtime, he is his sister reincarnated. And yet Thomas will have been asleep for that past 25 minutes having quietly laid down on his own with his right thumb in his mouth and his left hand on his ear. I never want to compare my children to each other, but really, why can't you all be more like Thomas when it comes to falling asleep?!?

And then, after everyone has been silent for a little while, I walk in to find the epitome of peacefulness. 

I mean really... Is there anything more beautiful than sleeping babies? I always feel compelled to take a photo. I think it's so I have a reminder of what peacefulness is. My phone is filled with photos of the boys sleeping. (Although Sofia is also very peaceful when she is sleeping, she's moved passed the breathtaking-when-sleeping phase and into the crazy-hair-poking-out-from-the-covers-and-your-bed-is-covered-in-books-and-stuffed-animals-so-how-could-that-possibly-be-comfortable phase).

They look so relaxed, so... quiet.

Heart = exploded.

Slept like a baby - this is what that is. 

So much sibling love. Fills me with joy.

There's just something about Thomas and Jacob sleeping together that has always warmed my heart. I've taken photos of them together from the first day they were both home from the NICU. I stopped for a while because I felt silly taking all these photos of sleeping babies and they all looked like essentially the same photo. But now I see their purpose. I think whenever I'm having a bad day, I'm just going to come back to this post and look through the photos. Because it doesn't matter how frustrating my day has been, one look at these sleeping babies and my heart melts and my worries and frustrations disappear. This is going to be my advice to new moms from now on. Take lots of photos of your babies sleeping. Sure they might be nearly identical photos, but when you need a pick me up or a little reminder that things could be worse/can get better/aren't that bad, I guarantee those photos will work wonders. I'm thinking these photos will also come in handy when the boys start fighting because I can say to myself, "Look, they get along fabulously when they're sleeping." 

Time to Party, One Year Old style

Birthday parties for one year olds are always fun. It's such an exciting milestone. Guests always seem so happy to be celebrating, the babies are so cute in their first birthday outfits, and you can't get any better than smash cakes - I mean really!

I decided to go with a carnival theme for the boys. Carnivals and summertime go really well together. I wanted something that was going to be fun for decorations and for entertainment for the party guests. It was perfect. My good friend Amanda at Tu-Tu Cute Creations by Amanda made the invitations and other paper crafts for the party.

Aren't these invites to die for? I also had matching Thank You cards and a gorgeous welcome sign. 

Unfortunately it was blazing hot on the day of the party, so although there were lots of activities planned, most of us spent our time battling the heat. Thankfully some of the older kids took advantage of the carnival games so it wasn't a total loss.

Ring Toss was by far my most favorite carnival game. My mom is AWESOME at it so I have many fond memories of her winning my brother and I some huge stuffed animals. So of course I had to have a ring toss game at our carnival. I used an old gift box and filled it with beer bottles we had been saving for the event (Adam: "You need beer bottles for the boys' party? Oh, I can help with that!") I bought a cheap pack of shower curtain rings at Target to use for the rings.  Easy squeezy.

For Tin Can Alley, I tore off the labels from some cans of veggies I saved and I made some bean bags from fleece and filled them with rice. (Adam: "Wouldn't that technically make them rice bags and not bean bags?" ... details, details... ) Signs courtesy of Tu-Tu Cute Creations by Amanda.

I wanted to do face painting, but I scratched that off the list when I realized the temperature would be in the high 90s. Heat, face paint and a bunch of under 5 year olds didn't sound like a good plan.

There was a piñata the size of my daughter... literally. It was really big. I was smart enough to know it was going to be hot so I did not fill the piñata with chocolate despite my really wanting a reason to buy massive amounts of chocolate, so I did a mix of sweet and sour candies and cheap toy filler. I think I chose wisely. The average age of our younger attendants was 4. Waiting for a bunch of 4 year olds to crack open this piñata was going to be torture. Ain't no body got time for that! So I tried to make it an all ages piñata. Surely some adults would love to get in touch with their inner child and take a whack at the piñata.  Not a single taker! We had to ask beg the teenager at the party to help us out. -- Props do go out to 5 year old Evan, who somehow managed to crack the piñata stick in two without so much as denting the piñata itself. Skillz.

At our Ugly Sweater Christmas party last year, we set up a photo booth of sorts and it was a lot of fun, so we decided from now on we are going to try an incorporate a photo op for our party guests at each event.... 

Most of the time when we host a party or get together, the menu causes me the most trouble. It's not coming up with the menu items that is the problem, it's finding the time to make sure everything is prepped and ready for the party. I've come to realize this is because I try to cook everything myself from scratch and spend the better part of two days getting food items ready. Yes this may make for tastier and more creative options, but it's a pain in the butt. Thankfully carnival food and made from scratch are not always synonymous. I held firm to the carnival theme with the menu: Nachos, corn dogs, soft pretzels, popcorn (from an actual popcorn machine thanks to our awesome neighbors), watermelon, and snow cones with lemonade to quench your thirst. All things I easily found at Costco, mostly in the frozen section. Open package and heat in oven. Yes! I had battled with the idea of doing corn on the cob and frozen bananas, but I thought I might be going overboard with the food so I scaled back on those. The snow cones were definitely a hit. I think I had three of four of them because they were so refreshing! 

 Simply Amazing Bakery made the sweet treats - churro and cotton candy cupcakes for the guests, which we got many many compliments on, and circus big top personalized smash cakes for the boys. Too bad the heat caused the cake icing to melt a bit by the time the boys actually smashed them... I don't think they minded much. 

For the party favors, I had hoped to get boxes of animal crackers - you know, the ones that look like box cars of circus animals, but I didn't think that would be very cost effective. Plus how lame to just stick a bow on a box of cookies. So instead I bought some Mother's original animal cookies -  the pink and white iced ones with the sprinkles on them. I bagged those up in cellophane bags and made some tags to go on the outside. I had hoped to get a nice photo of the boys with their party hats on for the tags but after about 20 minutes of trying to get a half decent shot, a gave up and just picked one of the less awful ones.

Kinda looks artsy or something, right? 

I am so thankful to everyone who came to the party and celebrated with us. I vowed I would spend more time enjoying the party and less fretting about and I feel like I did get to enjoy the party. I did not get many photos, however, so I'm hoping the virtual wall of paparazzi taking photos of the boys will be kind enough to share some photos with me. The theme was amazing and so much fun. Perfect for a first birthday party. 

One Year Old!

It's so cliche to say, but my how the time has flown by. Our sweet boys are already one year old. Now that our first year has wrapped, I think I can say that was pretty hard, but also, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. The next 10 months or so should be smooth sailing. I'd like to say it should all be smooth sailing from here. At least that's what all the other twin moms have told me when the boys were tiny infants. "Oh, don't worry, it gets so much easier!" I don't want to be so naive to think these boys won't be any trouble in that defiant assert-my-new-found-independence-as-a-toddler way, but I have faith they are going to be good boys. They have been angels so far.

Thomas: 

    You just keep getting cuter. Your little chubby cheeks and buddha belly still allow me to call you my little squishy-wishy, but you are definitely growing into a sweet toddler. You are looking less like a baby every day. You'd be content just staying in someone's arms all day long. You are a pretty easy kid, but how could you not be when you take 50 million naps a day? You are the best sleeper ever. You go down every night without a fight, fall asleep instantly, and sleep-in the next morning - sometimes to the point that we have to wake you to get the day started. We can always tell when you are ready for your next nap because your right thumb goes in your mouth and your left hand grabs your ear. Although you don't really have a fear of strangers, it takes you a while to warm up, which is just fine by me. You've saved me from getting stuck in the middle of a Costco aisle by little old ladies when all I want to do is finish the shopping and go home. You aren't a huge fan of standing yet, but you can crawl around with the best of them. We have to always keep an eye on you because everything you touch goes straight into your mouth. Which has six teeth already!! You are my little love bug. You actually give hugs along with your kisses. I'm thinking you are going to continue to be a laid back kid and I'm hoping I'm not going to get a ton of trouble out of you. 

Jacob:
    Dad has the best way to describe you - Turkey! I don't think you are going to be a handful, but I definitely think you are going to keep us busy. You are just the happiest baby ever. Smiling all day long. If Thomas wasn't around to save me, I'd be stuck in those Costco aisles forever with the way you just ham it up with everyone. You've kept pace with your brother's growth and although you are closing the weight gap, you do not have his baby chub. You are a lean mean crawling machine. You do not like to sit still, but not in a nervous energy way. You just love exploring. You would be happy if we'd just let you crawl around the house all day long. But you want access to the whole house. It takes you a while to give in to being in the playpen, but with how quick you are on all fours, we have to contain you somehow. You are the kid whose parents turn away for a second and all of a sudden you've climbed up the bookshelf. You are so close to walking. You've just learned how to stand on your own so it's only a matter of time before you get confident enough to take a few steps. Changing your diaper is nearly impossible. You will only lay on the changing table without moving for about 5 seconds, then you start trying to roll over and crawl off the table so we have to hold your feet with one hand and pin you down with our elbow to keep you from turning around and lord help us if you have a poopy diaper because then we have to try and keep your hands away from grabbing a fist full of dirty diaper too. For how easy your brother is to get to bed at night, you are the exact opposite. You ... never ... sleep. You take one little cat nap early in the day and then after that, you are up until bed time, which nine times out of ten you fight tooth and nail. You have to be pretty darn tired to go straight to sleep when we put you down. You still have a little bit of trouble with reflux, but for the most part you keep everything you consume down. Not greek yogurt. I learned the hard way you don't keep that down. But compared to several months ago, you are doing great.  Even with all these little challenges you give us, your spirit makes up for all of that. I know both of you boys have grown a ton this past year but when I think of how small you were 12 months ago, it brings tears to my eyes. You went through so much at the very start and you've become this amazing kid who doesn't seem phased by all that trouble what so ever. I wouldn't blame you if you were a finicky kid, or if you were sensitive, or if you didn't handle change well. But that's not the case at all. You just roll with the punches. You love life.

 I'll admit you are both a lot of work, but only from a logistical stand point. Going out and doing things is five times as hard as if there were just one baby. But you are both such amazing boys. I love that you are two totally different kids. Even so, I suspect you are going to be the best of friends. You are like yin and yang, the perfect compliment to each other. 

Happy Birthday, Thomas and Jacob.