Crazy!

Right now our lives are completely and utterly crazy. I am working full-time, Jeff is busy with soccer two nights and two weekend days each week, and we are trying to move.

Yesterday we closed on our house, and all went well. We took all three kids with us to the closing, and they were actually incredibly good. I filled R's backpack with all sorts of things to do, and she just spread out on the floor and mostly entertained herself while we were there. The boys wanted to be held the whole time, but otherwise they were good. We later figured out that at almost five months, they were confused by the whole experience and just needed to cuddle for comfort.

The madness had somewhat pushed the boys over the edge. For the past two nights they have had a SCREAMING fest in the evening. On Sunday I was alone with the kids while Jeff was at soccer when the screaming began. I spent about 15 minutes trying to console them. At that point, R was crying too, and I couldn't take it anymore. I scooped up everyone, left dinner on the table where it was, and we went for a walk. Everyone was quiet by the time we got to the end of our little driveway.

Last night Jeff was home with me when the screaming began. Without taking a walk, the only way to console the boys was for us each to hold one and to go to separate ends of the little house. Then, once we got them calmed down, they both ate. After that, I tucked them in, and they both slept for 12 hours, only getting up once in between to eat.

After last night's screaming fest, Jeff and I finally realized why we were required to watch a video on shaken baby syndrome before the boys could be discharged from the hospital. We all know not to shake a baby. It has devastating, if not fatal, effects. If you have one screaming baby, you do what you can to console him or her, and when all else fails, you walk away. But two screaming babies create an entirely different level of frustration.

But, given how well the boys responded once we got them out of earshot of the other screaming baby, fed them, and cuddled, we know this will be okay. And in a couple of weeks, we will be done with the moving madness.

On a happier note, the boys development has been out of control for the past week. After writing about his brother's accomplishments, M apparently was jealous, because two weekends ago, he was the first to reach for a toy and put it in his mouth. So then L had to bat at toys to try and grab them (although M had actually been doing that for awhile now). Following that, M decided to work on scooting by pushing up on his arms and kicking as hard as he could. He's not really going anywhere yet, but I have a feeling he'll be moving by the time he's six months old. L is moving all over the place these days, but he kinda looks like a boat missing an oar. He rolls all over the place, but for the most point, he just pivots around his big ol' noggin. On Sunday, out of nowhere, M rolled from his front to his back. He is dangerously close to rolling back the other way. L, on the other hand, loves to just lay on his back eating toys. L has also taken to sleeping with a blankie, and our little Linus likes to grab it with both hands and suck on it.