Shaz by the Sea

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. It was really relaxing and fun...and I did exactly what I wanted to do, hung out with my boys. They were in FABULOUS moods all weekend long. I mean, how could they not be in good moods? They got new presents, had fun visits with their grandparents and Aunties, and they had cake! That's a win win win win win. We started out the day gearing up for our swim lessons. We had our second lesson - so we clearly needed to invest in some new swim gear. We have lobster rash guards and lobster swim shorts. I bought size 3T so they are a little roomy, and maybe they can even wear them at the beginning of summer next year. Who knows! Con....new hat from Auntie Nicole in LA! :) Cay...he was messing with me and kept taking his hat off. Look at this BIG BOY in the locker room! Daddy took Conor this week and I had Caden with me...and then we all meet up together in the pool! Here's Dad and Con...we found them! And Mom and Caden... ...

On Monday, I participated in my first Mother's of Multiples event in Massachusetts (http://www.mmota-founding.org/). When I lived in DC, I took part in several twin gatherings, because it was easier. The boys were younger and more transportable, and I only worked part-time. Plus the group was dedicated strictly to "Spring/Summer 2014 Babies", so all the twins were roughly the same age. It was nice to get together with other twin moms because we were able to share stories and discuss life with two brand new babies. Now working full-time and having two active toddlers, it isn't as easy to get to these fun activities. And plus, these different get togethers tend to be "twins of all ages" which can be challenging -- but also a new and different experience for Caden and Conor. But thankfully, with the help of my sister, we were able to join in the twin fun at " Jump On In " in Woburn. There was an open gym concept from 3-5:30, but we stayed about an h...

I was reading a fellow mom-blog and saw that each week or two, she does a "photo dump" from her phone. Most of the time I'm with C and C, I have my phone with me and snap away as much as possible. We, moms, don't want to miss a thing! And often, I don't post the pictures I take. So I am going to try and do a weekly photo dump so I can keep better track of our day to day and the boys new experiences. So here's our first phone photo dump. Conor and Caden love playing with remote controls. Conor is usually more interested in them (because Caden LOVES his cars), but Caden is holding the remote in the pic. Here's a cute mama/bottle snuggle after work one day. I thought I would have the boys off their bottles by the time they were a year and a half (they turned 1.5 on Friday, 11/6!), but Caden really loves it and I figure he especially could use the calcium and calories. So of course when I give Caden his bottle, Conor wants his. But typically Conor does...

"Early Intervention provides family-centered services to help children who qualify to develop the skills they will need to continue to grow into happy and healthy members of the community." - EI website   I researched the Early Intervention (EI) program a couple months ago, around Conor and Caden's 15 month pediatrician appointment. While the pediatrician nor myself feel that there is any need for concern or worry, I wanted to bring up the EI topic in my blog for other moms and parents experiencing similar situations.  When I inquired with the pediatrician about their lack of "expressing and/or responding" at their appointment, she mentioned a few techniques I could incorporate in our daily routine, to sort of "ramp up" their communication. For example, she mentioned I could name and repeat every object or act we were doing. Like "milk milk milk" for their sippy cups, or "up up up" if they wanted to be held. Or even sounds...