Happy Holidays Everyone!

'Tis the night before Christmas,
And all through the house,
We are bustling with activity:
Gramma is baking cookies in the kitchen,
Steve and Mazzie are watching Charlie Brown's Christmas,
Peanut Butter is chewing on a treat gifted by a neighbor,
I'm blogging,
Only little Corvin is fast asleep up in his crib.

What a magical year it has been in this household,
We wish you all extraordinary good fortune in the new year and a joyous holiday season.

- Crystal, Steve, Corvin, Mazzie, and Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter and I got out early for a walk through nearly a foot of pristine, fluffy snow



Here is some of that pristine snow in which I made a snow angel while Peanut Butter ran around me. I thought a snow angel was seasonally appropriate.


Under the tree

...with Peanut Butter

Okay, maybe Mazzie and Corvin aren't quite big enough for these seats, yet.


Mazzie with Great Grandma Elaine

Little Green Riding Hood

Great Gramma Elaine made this gorgeous bonnet and sweater for Mazzie many months ago and I realized today that it might fit. I had fun playing dress up with her. Isn't she beautiful?

New High Chairs

Don't Corvin and Mazzie look like they're enjoying their new high chairs? These chairs elevate them to an adult level and they love it.

They've had an explosion of growth - smiling, cooing, hitting at things with their arms, looking, observing, trying. I can now understand why parents become convinced that their child must be the smartest child ever; it's so amazing to watch these two make gains day by day. Aren't you amazed by how much more lively and interested they are?

Hero of the Month: Mimi Launder

It's official - - Corvin and Mazzie will not have a "grandma". It looks like they'll have a Mimi (Steve's mom) and a Mopsy (my mom) instead. Mimi - otherwise known as Mary Ellen - is with us through the 17th, then Great Grandma Elaine will be joining us for a month. All of these loving hands are so appreciated when Corvin needs hugs and Mazzie needs burping simultaneously or whatnot.

Mazzie and Corvin are exploring the world with their eyes right now and smiles are bursting through regularly. Magic!

Pearl Street, Boulder, CO

Mimi, Steve, Mazzie, and Corvin at the West End Tavern in Boulder.


Strolling the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful for oh so many things, but what comes to mind right now are these two beautiful little people. How about you? What are you thankful for?

Babies' First Baths

No, we haven't left them completely dirty. We have spot cleaned away the spit up, eye crusties, and of course all the stuff that shows up in the diaper region. This was their first full submersion bath.


Corvin's Bath
Corvin loved his bath. He was tense at first, but quickly relaxed into the warm water. I think he was disappointed by how quickly we got him out.

(Yes, my henna is still visible and will likely be so for the next week or so.)




Mazzie's Bath
Mazzie was a little more reticent. She did fine, but wasn't quite as visibly soothed by being submerged in water. Perhaps it's because we woke her up to bathe her. Sleep has its own warm fuzzies.

Raising Babies

Well, folks, it's official: Corvin and Mazzie now each weigh 7 lbs 7 oz!

Who deserves credit for this? Well, me, of course . . . and Steve . . . and everyone who has been bringing over tasty, wholesome dishes to keep me fed while I'm busy baby tending. This really is an opportunity to thank everyone who has been supporting us in these early weeks with visits, meals, dog walking and household help. Without this help . . . wow! I can't imagine it.

Thanks so much Mom, Claire, Charlie, Willow, Susan, Danny, Andy, Andrea, Beau, Storey, Dylan, Kara, Dave, Norma, Victoria, Julie, Laura, and anyone who is escaping my tired memory these days. You are all Mazzie and Corvin's heroes and their village - - the village that is raising them.

The following pictures include images from a recent stroll around the neighborhood and images from our friends' Claire and Charlie and their 3 month old Willow's recent visit.


Neighborhood Walk






Butterworth Family Visit

Meet Willow

Napping with Dad

Attempting a walk, but foiled by hail. (That's Corvin and Mazzie under the blanks and Willow is on Dad's tummy under her own blanket.)

The Butterworth and Launder Families

Babies and Henna Hands

Remember my henna belly pictures from week 35 of my pregnancy?

Well SarahKate Butterworth, the photographer, offers all moms who participate in her project the opportunity to get their hands hennaed, then to get pictures with their newborns. Like henna bellies in late pregnancy, henna hands for moms are traditional in some cultures during the early newborn days. We were her first twin shoot! What an honor.

In this instance, pictures suffice for 1,000s of words, so I have little else to say.

A few select images from our photo shoot this Saturday. Click on any image to see the larger version.





Oh . . . my feet were painted, too.

Photo of the Day - Mazzie and Corvin

Nap Time

See Mazzie's little hand holding Corvin's arm? I think they look like little cherubs running through the sky.

Mazzie and Corvin Watch 2009

This Thursday Mazzie and Corvin went to the doctor for their 2 week appointment (they'll be 3 weeks old tomorrow). These were their measurements as of Thursday:

Corvin
Height: 20 3/4" 75th percentile (for boys)
Weight: 6lbs 8oz 10th percentile (for boys)

Mazzie
Height: 20 1/2" 75th percentile (for girls)
Weight: 6lbs 7oz 10th percentile (for girls)

As you can see, Mazzie and Corvin are very close in size and long and lean relative to other babies. If you haven't dealt with percentiles in a while, as a reminder, this means that 75% of babies are shorter than Corvin and Mazzie and 90% of babies weigh more than them. This compares them to all babies - regardless of gestational age at birth and whether or not they are twins.

I'm enjoying watching their little faces and limbs plump up day by day. I'm also noticing a lot more sustained eye contact and they just seem to be becoming babies rather than newborns before my eyes.

Corvin is the nonstop action baby and Mazzie is very feminine. Corvin seems to be awake more than asleep and moving constantly in his sleep as well, while Mazzie's little cries and coos are so feminine that it amazes me. Sweet babies...

By the way, Corvin's jaundice has completely resolved and I just found out that jaundice is very common in Colorado due to elevation.

Some recent pictures:

Steve with the pile of puppies

Mazzie asleep on a pillow

Hello world, I'm Mazzie.

Mazzie in the preferred swaddle of both babies - arms free to move

Corvin waving hello. I think Corvin burns lots of calories off through his rigorous exercise routine.

Corvin in constant motion

Corvin's head in the Moby baby carrier

They're Here!

Corvin Thomas and Mazzie Wren Launder were born on the morning of October 18th, 2009. Corvin weighed in at 6 lbs even and Mazzie at 5 lbs 14 oz - excellent weights for twins. Both were 19" long.

All of us are doing well and enjoying the process of becoming a family.


Me with Mazzie (L) and Corvin (R) in my arms in the Mom Baby ward. (The heart-shaped velcro patch on the side of Corvin's temple attaches to little "sunglasses" for phototherapy. Corvin had jaundice, but his jaundice levels are coming down. You'll see another light therapy picture below.)


Steve carrying Corvin and Mazzie into the house for the first time. Proud papa. Welcome home family.

Peanut Butter was lovingly taken care of by a number of our neighbors and nearby friends. It actually sounds as if she was a bit spoiled. This was so comforting given that I spent seven days away from home. She LOVES the babies and licks their little feet and faces whenever she can sneak in a chance. In this picture, you can see that she was elated that I had returned home and that the reason that I was gone was to expand the family.

Miss Mazzie Wren in her matching receiving blanket and sheets. Hat by Great Grandma Elaine.

Corvin in a portable phototherapy unit in our home. We joked that he was tanning at a tanning bed. The actual unit looks like a white plastic suitcase. The worst thing about this was that it was so good for him to be under the lights that he missed out on extra hugs while in it. Fortunately, he loved being cozy and warm inside it.

Mom sent us a bouquet of roses in the hospital. I thought they'd look nice with my beautiful little babies.