Liesel was in a Generous Mood

SHE shared more smiles with us.

Nap Time

EJ gets acquainted with his crib while Liesel plays in hers.

A prisoner in his own crib.

"I can reach and pull them off!"

Updated: Smiles!

RUTH M stopped by for lunch and snapped the photos.

Courtesy of Ruth M galleries

Courtesy of Ruth M galleries

Smiles are fleeting things. One needs a fast trigger (and a fast trigger finger).

We had pea soup which was made most excellently by accident. Dad pulled collagen out of the freezer believing it to be pork, but it turned out to be chicken. That brought a host of flavor hitherto unknown. He usually used chicken bouillon cubes, but the chicken collagen was much better.

Update: Ruth M asked if Dad used thyme. He did not, but is interested in studying its uses. He may do so and will report back in a future post.

Updated: I Do it Myself Mommy!

THE words that break every Mom's heart (but makes Dad feel glad).

EJ holds his own bottle.

This comes as a surprise to Dad since EJ has always been content to lay back, limbs completely relaxed, and be fed while conserving energy. Liesel has always been feisty, the one to "direct" the bottle, like a control freak, micromanaging every aspect of her feeding. She likes to hold her hands up to "help" with feeding. Dad thought she would be first to hold her own bottle.

Oh well, to borrow a phrase from a friend and twin mother, "He did it first. She did it right."

Update: Not to be outdone, just this morning (at 5:30 a.m. no one told these kids about daylight savings time) Liesel held her own, full, bottle while feeding for about a minute.

Election Season Match-up

OH, the political rhetoric is heating up this evening as we are just three days away from Election Eve. Tonight, the MacLaughing Group hosts the final debate between supporters of Governor Pizza and incumbent President Hotdog.

EJ; "I vote for Pizza!"

Votes for Pizza

Liesel; "I vote for Hotdog!"

Votes for Hotdog

EJ; "You can't vote for extreme-wing Hotdog, we need the centrist bipartisan Pizza!"

Liesel; "Pizza will take away your milk and substitute Tea!"

EJ; "We can't tolerate four more years of Hotdog!"

Liesel; “Hotdog inherited the mess Pizza people made. He needs another term to clean it up.”

Pizza party mess is a two term job

EJ; “ ‘Hotdog inherited’? Hotdog ran for the job! Ask yourself this, is there more food on your face today than there was four years ago?”

Liesel; “Like Vice President Bun said, ‘Under Hotdog, mustard is alive and ketchup is dead.’ Pizza has run negative attack ads against Hotdog. Do you want a leader that has to campaign negatively to scare voters into supporting him? Hotdog ran on the positive platform of 'Expect Change'."

Mustard alive, Ketchup dead. The true CHICAGO dog

EJ; " ‘Expect Change’ metastasized into more of the same, only worse. Pizza's experience and acumen will lead us to satisfied tummies!"

Liesel; “Governor Pizza supported Hotdog’s policies before he was against them; he flips faster than a hamburger on a hot grill.”

Governor Pizza flipped positions

EJ; “Pizza runs on his record, Hotdog runs from his record.”

Liesel; “Hotdog supports condiment choice. Pizza is against relish marriage.”

EJ; "Hotdog supporters are crazy."

Moonbats

Liesel; "Don't go ad hominem on me you greasy fingered Pizza lover!"

(In unison); "Daaaaad!"

New Family Dad; "You are both having bottles for lunch today."

New Family Dad; "And that concludes our roundtable discussion tonight. Join us next week when our guests debate the results of the election and the message each party should infer from it. "

The Wells' have New Posts

OUR friends have a bunch of new pictures and news posted on their blog. You can navigate there by clicking the button "The Well's" over there on the right under "My Blog List."

Welcome Back!

WE missed you. Since you've been absent be sure to see all of the content posted since your last visit. When you scroll to the bottom of the page, click the orange button "older posts" to catch up.

Thank you for stopping by.

And yes, this will be on the exam. No, it will not be open book, open note, or open neighbor.

Updated: The Lazy Parents Guide to Raising Twins

DAD is sometimes too accommodative when feeding Liesel, holding the bottle in her mouth while she turns her head left and right to focus on something interest while she feeds.

The device above holds the bottle in one position, thus she loses the nipple when she turns her head or fidgets.

She doesn't like that.

Dad has watched her struggle with it with great satisfaction, intervening only as necessary. She's smart and figured out how to use her hands to reposition the nipple into her mouth.

Update 1: She has also learned to hold her head steady while feeding so as not to lose the nipple.

Dad isn't really lazy. He just wants to challenge his children to learn and grow.

Update 2: Dad observed that she has to be hungry to have the motivation to struggle with this. If she wants a bottle simply to soothe, she won't bother. She'll just cry in frustration. During this condition, Dad'll simple cradle her with a binky. Dad wants to ensure his children learn that food is fuel first and only comfort on special occasions. As one radio host observed with his own kids, there is a normal diet and holiday diet. The normal diet is the healthy one they eat the vast majority of the time while the holiday diet permits indulgences as infrequently as there are national holidays.

Updated: Soothing Song

BUG            a         boo,

my     little        Bugaboo,

my     little      Snugaboo,

and my little Buddy  Too.

Bug           a             boo,

my     little        Bugaboo,

I           love              you!

(Buddy Too!)

The Twins are fascinated by Mom and Dad singing to them. When quiet and alert, Buddy and Bugaboo will focus lazer like on the Parent's mouth and only interject when the song ends. The picture above shows EJ staring at Dad while he sings.