Rowan and Evelyn in the morning

Rowan and Evelyn in the Morning from Leigh de la Reza on Vimeo.

Evelyn Skye

This is Evey this morning. She's 6 weeks old.

Rowan in the swing!

Evey Loves Elmo

My Aunt Robin sent the girls a package with lots of great gifts, including this tickle me Elmo.

Evelyn, who is almost the same size as Elmo, began to cry and I put the laughing (and vibrating) Elmo next to her and she quieted down immediately. It was very cute. Thanks Robin!

Newsflash: Papa's singing get approval from daughter

Now I never thought I had a great singing voice, but while I was chilling with Rowan this morning - singing a little ditty - I was on the receiving end of her first voluntary smile!

It was amazing! To watch her focusing on my face, and then crack into a little toothless grin

Melted my little heart...

Catching Up

Its been a while since I've posted. Time just flies when you're having fun (also when you're sleep deprived). So this post is mostly an update on what fun/ sleep deprivation we've been having.

Let me start off by saying that Rowan sleeps all the time (except at night). This is a rare photo of the girl actually awake, but she quickly fell back to sleep once the picture was taken. The obvious reason why she's sleeping so much is that she is growing so fast. She's noticeably bigger than her sister and is so strong. She can now hold her head up really well and enjoys sitting up (with help of course) She's also incredibly cute and its extremely difficult to resist pinching her chubby little legs.

This is actually a picture of Rowan and I at the Annual O'Henry Pun-off. Anyone who knows Andre knows he loves the O'Henry Pun-off, and is consequently, impossible to live with for about a week later as he attempts to pun nonstop. The pun-off was lots of fun though and quite crowded.

Here's a picture of Evey laughing at the pun-off. She must have her father's sense of humor.

Yesterday was our 2 year wedding anniversary. This year, we didn't go out of town or do anything fancy to celebrate. We took the girls to have their pictures made and then spent the evening with friends. Yet, it was still a great day, like so many of our days together are. Andre is an amazing person and I love sharing my life with him. I'm looking forward to the next year and many more to come.


Now for baby-toes...(Rowan)













And angry babies...(Evey)

















Babies yawning...(Evey)

















And babies dreaming...(Rowan)

More mother's day pics

1st Mother's Day

We celebrated my first Mother's Day this past Sunday. The girls gave me the best present --they slept for 5 hours straight the night before--woke up, ate, then fell asleep again. Thanks kids!

I always saw mother's day as a day of giving thanks back to your mother. However, as a new mother myself this year I feel so thankful to my girls for making me a parent. They have brought so much happiness to our lives and we both just love them so much. Last year at this time Andre and I were seeing fertility doctors. And at a time when we thought we may not be able to have children, Andre gave me the sweetest little booties with the note that they were for our future child. Now, a year later we're celebrating Mother's Day with our twins. How wonderful is that?

Andre and I took my mother and grandmother to the Driskill 1886 Cafe for brunch. We had four generations all together.

Slings and things--Real men wear babies

This is a really cute picture of our friend Tim and Andre playing chess, each with a baby in the sling.

The girls love to be in slings. They'll sleep for hours and never seem to mind being jostled around. Its been great for us too and its one of the easiest ways to carry both twins (one in the sling, one in your arms). Andre has been able to fit both twins in one sling, but its sort of a challenge.

Weekend Visit

My Aunt Ann and cousin (her daughter) Andrea drove down this past weekend to visit the girls. It was so great to see them and to introduce the girls to some of their family. Here's a picture of Andrea and Sydney holding the girls.



Those girls weren't set down for a moment the whole night, someone was continually waiting to hold them. Even the boys wanted to hold a baby. Here's a picture of my nephew, Forrest, and his friend Andrew each holding a twin.




And here's a picture of my grandmother, holding Evelyn. Rowan and Evelyn are her 7th and 8th great-grandchildren.

One Month Check-Up

The girls will be one month old this coming Thursday. So, today we went to the pediatrician for their one month check up. The doctor said, and I quote, "the girls are perfect." Which I completely agree.

Rowan weighs 7 lbs 14 oz and is 20 3/4 inches long. She's in the 25% for weight and 50% for height. Evelyn weighs 7 lbs 7 oz and is 20 inches long. She's in the 10% for both weight and height.

The girls are noticeably growing and changing. They are already growing out of some of their newborn onesies and they are beginning to focus more. Some nights they are even sleeping longer periods of time and they are having longer periods of time when they are awake and alert during the day as well. This past month has been so awesome and has gone by so fast.

This is a picture of the girls sleeping after coming home from the doctor's today. They were plum tuckered out. I love how they'll sleep with their arms up. That would be so uncomfortable for an adult. Every kid does it though. At what point do we stop sleeping like little children and start sleeping like adults? hmmm I can't recall.

Babies 1st Movie

The girls went to their first movie this afternoon. Thanks to Alamo Drafthouse's baby movie days we were able to take the girls to the movies without feeling bad if they cry or make noise. There were at least a dozen couples with babies, maybe more. We had nothing to worry about though as the girls slept the entire time. We each had one in a moby sling, so they slept soundly on our chests. Well, Evey snored throughout the movie, but they were relatively quiet.

So, what cinematic masterpiece marked the girls' first moviegoing experience you ask? None other than Iron Man. Yeah, Andre picked the movie and was quite proud that a comic book movie was his daughter's first. As if somehow he has done his job as a father in helping his daughters gain an appreciation for the finer things in life--comics. I must admit that I equally enjoyed the movie. Robert Downey Jr. was excellent, as always, and it was a fun afternoon film--made more entertaining by the fact that our afternoons generally consist of changing diapers and periodic feedings.

Iron Man Trailer


Truth be told, we've done quite well with getting out with the girls. Our pediatrician gave us the green light to take them places and so we try to do as much as possible. We are learning the art of timing (right after feeding/diaper change we have a good 3hr window), we are developing diaper bag packing skills (learning what to bring and how much), and we are acquiring the insight of strategic baby placement (sitting outside the cafe to listen to a favorite band instead of inside, etc.). All in all, its not so difficult and its fun to have them with us. They are our own little entourage.

My Role as PaPa Mono

So it might not be a huge surprise to many, but the role of father who has managed to swing a month at home with MaMa Mono and the two monitas is not always readily obvious.

Sure I have been trying to do my share of diaper changes, burping, and the accessory actions to the actual feedings, but other than the obvious things I feel like I am a bystander watching as my beautiful wife gives them sustenance and is the primary reason they are growing into such wonderful girls.

So with that floundering on my part, I have fallen back on perhaps the most time tested of husband/boyfriend/male suitor adages:

If Moma ain't happy, NOBODY happy.

Knowing that truer words are hard to come by, I have embraced my self-assigned job with a passion. I try and make sure Moma is well fed, relaxed, comfortable and entertained.

The last of those was fulfilled this morning by this piece of internet real estate that was right up her ally:

Due Date

Today, April 29th, is the twins official due date. Instead of being in the hospital tonight with newborns, our little baby girls, born a bit early, are 19 days old today.

They are growing so fast. Everyday they change a bit more. Their hair is growing and little curls are coming in. Their cute little bellies, that only a week ago still had the remnants of umbilical cords, are now plump and round and perfect. But the best part, the coolest development of all, the part we wait for and coo over, are the moments when you'll catch a glimpse of a smile. They are not yet smiling at us, that will come later. But a caress of the head, or a kiss to the cheek and they smile all the same. And though they will, without a doubt, have a million smiles over the years, there is something so special about the first ones.

Babies first Road Trip!

Neigh 16 days into the world, and our girls are already taking up the traveling lifestyle. Well, it might be that we forced them to it (they are still too small to put up too much of a fight), but we drove down to Houston last Saturday for my cousin's (Michelle standing with my Uncle Rey to the right) baby shower.

It was a great time, Michelle and Peter live in the North East so we don't get to see them often. Peter even got some practice time at being a dad with little Evey. Which is great, because I am a firm believer in practicing with other people's kids before your own. We did it, and it was a pleasure to be able to "pay it forward".

The girls also got to meet some of the Houston contingent of my side of their family, we are all planning big family reunions, with lots of little ones underfoot.

A couple of other pics from the trip:

The Beginning

Vegas Baby!

The girls are now on the Vegas sleep schedule. You know the one where you party all night and sleep all day. Here's a picture of Evelyn crashed out after a long night of partying. See how she's still wearing her regular clothes even? Yep, this girl is out cold. Unfortunately, we, the parents, are not on the Vegas sleep schedule and would actually like to catch a few winks during the night. I'm not saying that we need a full eight hours or anything crazy like that--oh no, maybe 3 hours...in a row if it's not too much to ask?

Andre was actually worried about Rowan yesterday because she simply refused to wake up. He even got her little feet wet, and although she made a few angry faces, she never actually opened her eyes. She woke up a few times for a quick bite to eat, and then back to sleep. Come 9:30pm she was wide eyed and bushy tailed--ready for a night on the town with her partner in crime: Evey.

In other news, Rowan is remarkably strong for a little baby. She can lift her head up by herself and hold it for quite a while. She's been able to do this--I believe, since she was born. She's really strong and can turn her head from side to side. I've seen her almost roll over a few times too. She can make it about half way, but then falls back over again. She loves to lay on her tummy and look around.

Babies enjoying the day

Just enjoying the day outside. Getting in a little tummy-time and keeping the jaundice at bay. Its been nice taking the wee ones outside to enjoy the afternoon. They've been on several walks and even took a stroller ride down Soco.

We had a lactation consultant visit yesterday. Ro-ro is not wanting to nurse. She discovered during her jaundice stint that milk flows freely from bottles and now she'd rather have her milk shaken--not stirred. We discovered, via a scale the consultant had, that she's also good at faking it. She'll appear to be nursing, but isn't actually taking in any milk. She even makes little gulping noises. So, we now have a program, so to speak, to get her on the wagon again. Presently, I'm nursing one baby and pumping for the other.

Evey, on the other hand, is a super-efficient nurser. She can nurse for a mere 10 minutes and take in 3 oz. She gets very mad if you're slow getting set up to nurse her though. She wants her milk and she wants it NOW. She would stamp her feet if she could and often times she'll angrily throw her tiny little fists around, her whole face getting red. Its really very cute.

One Week Old!!

The girls are a week old. What a week it has been too. Everyday we learn something else about them, see another side of their personality, and get to know our little babies a little more.

Rowan is now jaundice-free. We went back to the pediatrician yesterday and it appears the Billy-blanket worked. Her skin is nice and pink and her weight is 5 lbs 10 oz. She actually gained 5 oz in a day. Those formula lattes are so fattening. You can really tell the difference in her already. She's a lot more active. She's strong for such a little baby and can almost turn over completely. She's very good about lifting her head too. She rarely ever cries and she still has these very inquisitive looks on her face as if she's thinking, "what on earth am I doing here?" She sleeps well next to her sister and she loves to sleep on our chests. I think her favorite place is snuggled up on her daddy's chest. They'll sleep together for hours like this.

Evelyn is a doll and has been growing steadily. She weighed 5lbs 7oz at the doctor yesterday. She seems to know exactly what she wants and she'll let you know too. She's the more vocal of the two, but her little cries sound like cat mews until she gets really angry. Then she sounds like the Count from Sesame Street, "ah, ah, ah." She's been nursing really well and is very alert. She seems to dislike being swaddled and will struggle back and forth like a magician in a straightjacket until she gets out. And you have to find her in a sleepy mood for her to enjoy the moby sling (it's a sling that basically ties the baby up close to your chest). She also dislikes the vibrating bouncing chair and the swing. Maybe they're just too young for that. She likes to be rocked and quickly falls asleep if we sing to her.

Both girls seem to be able to sleep through each other's cries easily. They sleep through dog barking too. Although the dogs become very concerned when one of the babies cry. The girls do seem to know each other's presence though in a way that I assume most non-twin babies could at that age. They will reach for each other and be comforted when placed together. They'll sleep long hours side by side and wake up as soon as one is missing. Some of the most challenging aspects of being twin parents is trying to do the same thing at the same time or conversely, deciding who should go first. I suppose that is a challenge that will last for quite a while.

Andre has been a great father. I can't imagine taking care of them on my own. We are completely a team switching off babies: I'll nurse, then he'll change the diaper, and so forth, switching babies back and forth. At one point yesterday I felt as if we were jugglers tossing batons back and forth. Not to worry, we always carefully pass the babies.

So their first week is over. I am much more healed now and its easier to care for them, and yet already I'm sad the week has gone by so quickly. The days are long, but the weeks are short--such is life eh? I suppose the only thing to do is to enjoy every minute of it.

They don't know it yet, but when they wake up from their little nap they are taking their first at home bath. Then we're meeting with the lactation consultant to help Rowan kick the formula habit. And then later this afternoon they are meeting with the photographer for their first professional pictures. Busy girls already.

Is this medicine or prepping for the south of france?

So we have had our first day at home, and as I thought it is going to take couple days to get the routine figured out. All in all, though, it isn't *that* bad. I only slightly feel like I am walking in a daze.

We had our first pediatric doctors visit, and they told us that little Ro-ro is in fact still jaundice (good thing, hate to think that my texas girl was yella) and that we have to have her eat as much as possible, and to try and expose her to filtered sunlight.

What? Doctors orders to hang outside? That is the type of medicine I LIKE!

Ro and Papa Mono (that is me) had a nice stroll to the neighborhood coffee shop, enjoyed the beautiful day and grabbed a paper so I could feed my crossword addiction. Moma Mono was waking up from her nap with Evy and we got the girls together for some thematic sun bathing. Sematic because below you can see the rocking mural that we have going in their room (thanks to hard work by Alex and Robert). You can tell that they are going to be fashionistas because of the synchronous pose!!

That is all for today, hope everyone else got some sunshine!