the ridlehoover family blog

Dad & Lynn gave the kids a fantastic DVD for their birthday. It’s video of marine life doing what marine life does to the music of Brent Holmes. The music is so catchy that it’s got Jill and I singing right along. And, now, I can’t get one of the songs out of my head. But, I only know some of the lyrics, so it’s rather annoying. In an attempt to get the lyrics out of my head, or to at least teach me the rest of the song, here are the lyrics:

When You Find a Manatee in Your Bathtub by Brent Holmes

• When you find a manatee in your bathtub, playing with your toys,
• making lots of noise and causing trouble;
• And, he’s washing his big flippers; and using all your soap;
• and filling up your tub with giant bubbles; Say...

• Please, Mr. Manatee, don’t tickle me,
• ‘cause I’m as ticklish as a kid can be.
• I won’t tickle you, if you don’t tickle.
• And, we can play together.

• Please, Mr. Manatee, while you're in my tub,
• we should sing a song that goes rub-a-dub-dub.
• Rub-a-dub-dub, a manatee is in my tub.
• And, life couldn’t be much better.

• Repeat with sea lion instead of manatee

• Reapeat with walrus instead of manatee

There, now.  I feel so much better. If you’re interested, the album is called “Sea Tunes for Kids.” You can find both the DVD and the CD at Amazon.com.  I’ve also seen the CD at iTunes.

It's my job to put the kids down at night. Generally, I sit in the big, cozy rocking chair with Grace on my left leg and Hunter on my right. I read a few books, then I turn out the light and sing songs. Unfortunately, my repertoire is rather thin:

• Twinkle, Twinkle
• A, B, C (same tune as Twinkle, Twinkle)
• Bah, Bah, Black Sheep (same tune as Twinkle, Twinkle)
• Rock-a-bye, Baby
• Hush, Little Baby
• Hey, Diddle Diddle
• Are You Sleeping (modified for night time)

And, sometimes I'll sing these songs:

• The Itsy Bitsy Spider
• There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat (including alligators!)

Rather than learning new tunes, Jill and I have both made up some new songs based on tunes we already know, especially the eternally flexible Twinkle, Twinkle. Here's one Jill wrote:

Little Babies, Go To Sleep Sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle

• Little babies, go to sleep. Close your eyes and slumber deep.
• In the morning, you will wake; Then fond memories we will make.
• Little babies, go to sleep. Close your eyes and slumber deep.

And, here's one I made up: I Love You Sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle

• Hunter O'Neil, I love you. Sarah Grace, I love you, too.
• Mommy loves you, yes she does. Daddy loves you, just as much.
• Hunter O'Neil, I love you. Sarah Grace, I love you, too.

That one is probably my favorite song to sing the kids. I usually sing it last, really softly, just before putting the kids in their cribs. The kids seem to like it, too. They both know the song, and often sing it with me. Grace even made up her own version, it goes like this:

I Love You Sung to the beat of Gracie's own drum

• Haha, I laa loo. Mama, I laa loo. Dada, I laa loo.
• Mama, Dada, Haha, Gigi, I laa loo.

But, that's apparently not the only thing the song has taught the kids. Tonight, when I asked each of them to tell me their name, they both gave me versions of their full names: Hunter said, "Haha O'Neil;" and Gracie said, "Sarah Gracie." I'm so proud!

Now that I'm back at work, there's not nearly as much time to take pictures, shoot video, or blog about daily changes.  So, I have no new pictures or video, but I do have a milestone that needs to be reported: Hunter has a tooth! We first noticed Hunter's tooth - a lower incisor - late last week.  Not to be outdone... Gracie has two teeth! Grace's teeth - also lower incisors - first showed up on Monday.  No more putting our fingers in their mouths as a temporary binky!  (Ouch!)

Have you ever tried baby food?  I swear, if I could get my cooked carrots to taste this good, I'd eat them every day! Gracie and Hunter have been experimenting with rice cereal for a while now.  But, this week, we introduced them to carrots.  Hunter had his doubts at first.  But, he seems to have adjusted.  Gracie, on the other hand, likes the carrots so much, we have to feed her all her formula before bringing out the oozy, orange goodness!  The minute she starts on the carrots, she doesn't want anything more to do with the bottle...

Grace and Hunter got their first taste of solid food, today: a few spoonfuls of rice cereal mixed with formula. Jill and I have been considering this for a few weeks, but Gracie convinced us today when she grabbed my bowl and started trying to eat the pineapple off my cottage cheese. She almost dumped the bowl in my lap before I was able to regain control of the situation. Hunter was a little less interested, but both managed to keep it down! Yeah!

Oprah has her favorite things.  Martha has her good things.  These are a few of the things that have made our lives with twins a little easier...

The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD Without this DVD, I would still be pulling my hair out trying to calm Gracie.  She knows how to cry.  But, thanks to this DVD, I know how to calm her down.  I cannot recommend this product highly enough - especially to first time parents.

Dunstan Baby Language DVD Believe it or not, our two month old twins are already talking.  They speak fluent infant.  And, thanks to this two DVD set, Jill and I understand enough baby language to be able to tell the difference between "I'm hungry!", "Burp me!" and "I'm tired!"  Highly recommended!

Boppy Nursing Pillows Ever try feeding twins by yourself?  Just place two Boppys back to back and away you go.  (See picture below.)  They also work great for positioning a baby on your lap for feeding.  Absolutely essential!  (And, it makes a nice hat, too!)

So, we're a month into this parenthood thing, and one thing is abundantly clear:  A burp is the cork holding in the hiccups. And, yes, you can quote me on that.