Shih Cousin Reunion 2016 - Boulder, Colorado

Sorry for the long gap between posts, but we've been a bit busy.  However, Chan and I did take a little vacation from the family and went to Boulder, CO to see some cousins.  This was Chan's first trip without his whole family and he was pretty excited.  He likes to make a fashion statement with his headband and hat!

We took a red eye from Honolulu  to Denver and luckily, Chan was in a good mood and always silly.

When we arrived, he couldn't contain his excitement, but he was really excited to meet his cousin Whitney for the first time.

We got to the rental house and enjoyed to amenities, including the large bathtub.  

On the first night, we went to eat at Empenadas

The next night, we had a potsticker making contest.  Here are my entries.

Chan finding his name in the window

The next day we spent fishing at the kid's fishing pond off of Boulder Stream

Uncle Jonathan shows Chan how to fish

Chan shows Auntie Cynthia and Uncle Jonathan his skills

Fishing with Cousin Kai

Walking across the rock bridge

Chan and I climbed as far as we could at Pioneer Park.  We turned back because of thunder and rain

Of course, we went back to fishing after that

Kai caught himself his first trout

We also visited Baby T-Rex

Chan took home baby T-Rex

Here's one of Googers, Whitney and Kai

We had lots of fun with cousins

We went to the park on the last day

And finally one of us in front of a "buffalo"

And here's what I had to do for most of the trip

Family Life

A few months ago we wouldn't have dared go our in public by ourselves - Allen, myself and the 4 kids, but recently we've been getting more and more brave.  The babes are also getting a little older, sturdier, and "easier" to handle.  A few weekends ago we attempted the Yacht Club so the big kids could swim.  I parked myself in the shade and put up the pack n play for the girls and thankfully they took turns sleeping, nursing, and then playing together.  Then last weekend we actually braved a trip to Macy's and Old Navy and then dinner at Kuhio Grill afterwards.  Luckily we were there early with all the old timers and so it wasn't busy, the customers and staff were all doting on the kids, and we were in and out super fast before the little girls could get fussy.  We also went to the summer bon dance at Life Care Center right below our house.  The babes slept in the Ergo's most of the time so that helped.  It felt good to do some "normal" things again :)

As for other adventures, this weekend Allen and Chan are in Colorado for a Shih cousin reunion.  This is Chan's first big trip that he'll actually remember and he was so nervously excited before leaving.  It was cute.  He could hardly sleep the night before.  At the same time it's an adventure for the rest of us because we're home alone for 5 whole days together.  Yikes!  Just me, Esme, Poppy and Eve.  And Nana's on vacation too so we can't rely on her extra hands.  I'll keep you posted on how we do.

And of course the other big news includes the double hurricanes we're facing this week.  We just got through Madeline which just brought a lot of rain and wind yesterday.  And now we're waiting on Lester which should brush by us this weekend.  I'm hoping for the best since it's just me and the girls here this weekend.  We're all storm prepped already though so that helps.  But I just don't know how many more challenges I can handle in my life at one time.  Ha ha!

Look how chunky Eve is getting!  She used to be our little string bean. 

Bath time while the boys are gone.  Usually the girls take showers but we had to switch it up since I don't have an extra adult to help me with that.  Esme loved helping to bathe the girls.  

And as you can see the babes loved having their sister wash them up.  They just kept staring at her.  

Last meal together before the boys left for Colorado.

Rainy day activities during Hurricane Madeline.  School and work were cancelled for 2 days.  

Kiddie pool time to be closer to mommy and the little girls.  

They fight a lot but they also love each other a ton!

Bumbo time!

Apparently the jumpers make them tired together.  

Bon dance multi-tasking.  One baby in the Ergo and one monkey on the back.  

Pre bon dance faces :)

  

Differences

As soon as people see we have twins they always ask if they're "natural."  Then they ask if they're identical.  And then they ask about their personalities.  This is one of the ways to tell Poppy and Eve apart because they are sooooooooooo different.

Poppy is so quick to laugh and smile that sometimes she even cracks herself up without anyone even playing with her.  Eve on the other hand is very serious and it can take a little while for her to warm up.  But when she does her smile and laugh are so precious :)  Poppy likes to "talk" continuously and Eve is quiet as can be.  She might make a peep here and there but not like Pops.

Poppy would nurse all day long if she could.  She'll drink as much as she can and then use mama as a pacifier afterwards until I pry her off of me.  Eve will only nurse as long as the milk is flowing good and after that she's done.  Sometimes she's even mad at the end that she pulls herself off.  Eve has to be burped though and she's known to be spitty.  Poppy rarely burps or spits up.  She conserves all her milk calories!

When the girls sleep Poppy always has her hands spread way out and Eve keeps them close to her side.  Eve went through a phase (about 2 months) of being very gassy and uncomfortable but thankfully that has lightened up.  During that time she always held her hands in a fist and was very clenched up.

Physically they look very different too.  Poppy has a bigger head and she plumped up quicker but the girls remain only 0.7 pounds apart in weight.   She still looks rounder and Eve looks thinner.  Eve even feels much lighter that it's hard to believe it's such a little difference.  Poppy has a flat spot to the back right side of her head but it's improving with a lot of positional changes we've been doing.  And Eve's head is nice and oval shaped.  It's funny since they spend about the same amount of time doing tummy time and lying on their backs but somehow Poppy ended up with the flat head issue like Esme did.  Oh and Poppy has the sweatiest little head and I don't know if I've ever seen Eve break a sweat.  Funny stuff!

Both girls like the shower which is normally how we bathe them.  They also both do fine in the car and the stroller and the Ergo.  Overall they're pretty good babies.  It's just having 2 of them at the same time that's the challenge!

Four Months And Counting

We've survived our first full week of daycare, preschool, kinder, and work all together!  All 6 of us!  And we all got good rest, food was on the table, laundry was done, made it to gymnastics, etc.  Phew!  We'll see how well we do with the subsequent weeks :)

The baby girls had their 4 month well child check last week Friday and are actually on the charts this time!  Mommy's milk is serving them well.  Poppy was 12.9# and Eve was 12.2# which puts them about 10% for weight.  They were both 23.5 inches long which also puts them in the 10th percentile.  It was exciting to see how much they've grown - almost 5 pounds in 2 months!

They started daycare at Aunty Veva's last week and did amazingly well.  They transitioned well to the new surroundings and we're so happy to be back there.  It's the same place that Chan was before starting preschool this past summer.  All of a sudden they're getting much better at tummy time and can stay on the floor for longer periods of time without fussing.  Poppy is still really talkative and Eve is much more quiet.  Their laughs are getting stronger and stronger and it's much easier to get one (or a few) out of them.

Esme also started kindergarten at Waiakea Elementary this month.  We were convinced she'd be the kid crying and pulling on our shirts to stay but she really surprised us.  She was fine when we just left her in her classroom after walking her in and even braved the car line for drop offs after a few days.  She's really growing up!  We've noticed she sleeps better since starting kinder since she doesn't get naps anymore.  Esme has always had a hard time falling right asleep and can lay in bed for about an hour sometimes.  Her bedtime is around 7:30pm and we've tried all sorts of things to help her but kindergarten seems to be the most effective.

Chan had a short break from preschool this month as they transitioned from their summer program to the official school year starting.  He's staying in Mrs Castro's class and he has some new classmates.  He still loves doing puzzles, going for walks around the neighborhood and playing baseball in the back yard.  He also pretends to do "homework" like Mimi these days which is so cute.  He's pretty good at his letter and work recognition that we're convinced he'll start reading right along with her.

Family dinner with Aunty B!

Poppy gives the best eyes and eyebrow looks.

Chan receiving his medal at gymnastics, just like at the Olympics.

At the doctors office. 

They haven't really started jumping yet but it still wore Evie out to be in the jumper.

Happy Aloha Friday!

Our little goofballs, big and little. 

More post nursing pics. 

This was as good as it got this day. 

Bedtime stories with dad. 

Chan teaching the girls about trucks right after his bath.

One on one time with the big sis.

Big girl status!  First day of kinder.

Our first family photo. 

She can't decide which thumb sometimes 

Proud big brother.