The twins are here!

Jackson Matthew Altman (right) and Genevieve Amelia Altman (left) are here! They were born at 1:53 p.m. on June 26th, 2007 at the Providence hospital here in Anchorage. Jackson was 19 inches and 5 lbs 8 oz, and Genevieve was 18.5 inches and 5 lbs 4 oz. They were born about 20 seconds apart, so both at 1:53 - pretty cool! Jackson has short hair that fuzzes up/sticks straight out like down and is adorable. He is very alert (when awake!) and loves to look around. Genevieve has longer hair (and more of it) than he does, and huge gorgeous eyes. Although - we more often see Jackson's eyes as Genevieve already seems to know that girls need their beauty sleep.

I was admitted to the hospital on June 25th for monitoring, and due to some preterm labor complications on June 26th my Dr. recommended delivering the twins via a planned c-section versus keeping me on bed rest in the hospital and still potentially ending up with an emergency c-section. Apparently planned goes smoother than emergency... go figure!

Because the twins were born at 34 weeks 2 days, they both ended up in the NICU. Jackson is a "grower", meaning he just needs to learn to eat. Genevieve had a tube to help with her breathing, but the tube is now out and she's in the "grower" category too. Hopefully they will make it home soon, it is rough having them in the hospital!

Great Outdoors Fan

Bentley loves the outdoors. If he keeps at it he might even convert me into being a fan! The midnight sun is confusing to him, however, and sometimes he wakes up at 3 am and points to the door. He's ready to go out, even after we try to insist that it is still time to sleep! I can relate, though, as it's hard for me to sleep at night when it seems like it's noon outside.

Yesterday Bentley used his new froggy pool for the first time. It was the 2nd attempt to use the pool. The day before Oma had filled it from the outside faucet, after encountering difficulties hooking up the hose to the warm water inside, and Bentley refused to get into it because it was cold. He also has a problem with the feel of the grass on his feet - silly boy! Yesterday there was success hooking up the hose to the water heater, but that made the pool too hot. We had to let the sprinkler cool it for a while with cold water from the hose before he'd give it a try - he was acting a bit like Goldilocks... :-)

He is also a fan of the hot tub. Oma and Opa have turned down the temperature on their tub a bit and Bentley goes out there with them once in a while. It's a blast for him, and it has me thinking he's quite the pampered tot...

The park is another favorite. He's already mastered going down the slides by himself! The first couple of times we went to the park he wanted someone to go down with him, but very quickly he moved past that - too independent! We haven't completely convinced him the "bouncy horse" at the park is fun, but the slides and the swings are a big hit.

Bentley also learned to roll down hills at Grandpa Tim's house this past week. After getting a good running start he would roll down on his side, laughing with glee - or so Matt claims. I wasn't there to observe this but I did see the grass stains on the clothes that seem to back up the story!

I think if we set up a tent in the backyard he would be happy to live out there. There are always screams when it's time to come back inside the house after playing outdoors, and half of the time when we're inside his nose is pressed to the screen door wanting to be OUT! I'm trying to learn to enjoy the great outdoors more since I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of our time in it during the coming years.... next up we'll have to see what the kiddo thinks of snow and cold. Will it keep him inside, or will I be investing in extra toasty snowsuits for him since he'll want to be out there 24x7? :-)

The fearless climber

This past weekend Bentley has been working on climbing skills. For a while now he has been able to climb on the couch at my parents' house, it's a little lower than most other furniture items, but that's about all he could get to. Over the weekend he figured out how to get up onto Oma & Opa's fireplace ledge, and - more importantly - the dining room chairs AND the dining room table at our house. I turned around when I heard "HI!" and saw him standing on our dining room table. Reckless! But at least the tyke is happy, right?

Score one for Bentley in the battle of the bottle. He was hardly drinking any liquids since having the bottle taken hostage, so I relented and gave it back. After doing some research I decided it doesn't matter if the doctor says to ditch it - so long as we brush the teeth after use and before putting him to bed. We're doing that anyway. His poor thumb was turning raw from all the extra sucking he did to compensate for not getting bottle time - it was pathetic looking! When we share bottle time, before nap and before bed, it's a time for Bentley to curl up and relax with the people he loves. Why take that away, right? :-)