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This journal is about raising identical twins.Fourteenth month
Previous entries
Sunday, Sept 6, 1998 (13m+0d)
The twins are one year plus one month old today. We had lunch with Jenny in Oakland Chinatown.We went across the Golden Gate Bridge and visited the Muir Woods National Monument. We strolled leisurely in the redwood forest. The main trail is well paved, it is good for the baby stroller. There are other hilly trails that go as far as Stinson beach, of course we are not ready for that type of hiking with our twins.
Since we were in Marin County, we stopped by the famous Sausalito for dinner. We dined at Chart House restaurant. I found out only later that there are over 60 Chart House locations across the country. I had a prime rib that was two inch thick. The $23.99 dinner comes with an all-you-can eat salad/fruit bar and a great view to the San Francisco skyline from across the bay. My wife had a Filet Mignon, she said it was very good too. The twins enjoyed the fruits, bread and meat too. They basically ate off our plate and made a big mess on and under the table.
Monday, Sept 7, 1998 (13m+1d)
Today is Labor day holiday. The twins were one year, one month plus one day old. We went shopping in Japan Town, San Francisco. In the late afternoon, we went to San Francisco zoo. We arrived after 4pm and the zoo closes at 5pm. I asked the gate keeper if we could get a discount on admission for entering so late. She said she'd let us in for free this time just because the twins were cute. We told the twins that they saved daddy and mommy over $18.We went in and let the twins ride the carousel. The twins were so scared that they grasped us tightly. We walked around the zoo, most animals had gone in-doors. We were not able to see much other than some penguins, otters, ostriches etc. We saw couple of lions up-close through a plexy-glass window. The lions were just a foot away, but they were too lazy and relaxed to scare the babies. Though the zoo closes at 5pm, the guards didn't ask people to leave. We let the twins play on the swings in the playground for a while. We left the zoo a little before 6pm.
We had dinner and headed back to Grandma Ling's place to pack up our luggage and went home. We arrived home at around 8:30pm.
That was the end of the three night stay at grandma's. It was very hot all three days. I could not imagine how hot it would be if we stayed in the South Bay. The trips to San Francisco and Marin County were actually an escape from the heat.
Joanne developed a fever around 102°F but it was down by the next morning.
Saturday, Sept 12, 1998 (13m+6d)
We attended the wedding of Lambert and Sandy F. When I met my wife for the first time 4.5 years ago, Lambert, my wife and I car-pooled to a party together. We got to know each other on the same day. Few years later when we found out he was engaged to Sandy, we were surprised at the coincidence because my wife and Sandy went to the same high school. Though they were in different classes, they knew each other back then. It is a small world.The wedding was held at the beautiful Thomas Fogarty Winery in Woodside, California. The winery is on Skyline Blvd. on the northern Santa Cruz mountain, it overlooks the south tip of the San Francisco Bay. It has a direct view of the Stanford University, the Moffett field and San Jose are on the right hand side.
The ceremony took place on the lawn above the winery while a string quartet provided live wedding music. It was a sunny day and the ceremony went smoothly with the Silicon Valley in the background. It was the first outdoor wedding I've ever attended and it was beautiful. Lambert said he had planned this wedding for 14 months.
Our twins drew quite a bit of attention, the bride's friends and relatives kept telling us that the bride and the maid of honor are identical twins too. The bride and the maid of honor wore different hairstyle and makeup, but still we could see their ressembance. We could envision our twins in wedding gowns 20 years from now.
The reception dinner was held in a room with a great view of the Bay Area. After dinner we hang around till dusk, Jasmine wanted to walk around the area, but Joanne took a nap instead. We watched the night scene of San Jose before heading down the mountain.
Sunday, Sept 13, 1998 (13m+7d)
We went shopping at Mervyn's. We bought some new clothes for the twins and some gifts for a friend's baby shower.We took the twins to the playground after dark. They liked to climb up the slide on all four. When they got to the top, they giggled with joy. We then helped them come down the slide, but their skin sticked to the metal surface of the slide. I took off my T-shirt and put it under their butts to reduce the friction. They slid down smoothly with laughters. They couldn't wait to climb to the top again and again.
Wednesday, Sept 16, 1998 (13m+10d)
Jasmine enjoys the slide very much without help. After she's climbed up, she slid down on her belly. Joanne still needs help to slide down.My wife let the twins come down the stairs from second floor. They are very good at climb upward, they simply reverse the motion by moving the feet down first. Joanne was too excited when she reached the last two steps and she tumbled down. Though she was not hurt, but she might if she tumbled from a higher point. Obviously they are not ready to come down the stairs without supervision.
Friday, Sept 18, 1998 (13m+12d)
We went shopping at Costco after work, we bought several new toys for the twins. They started playing with them in the shopping cart. Then we dropped the twins at Auntie Tina's and we had our dinner without the twins for the first time in months. The twins were happy playing with Cousin Natalie while we enjoyed Umi Sushi Boat.We bought a Tomy "My First RC Buggy". We knew well that the twins are too young to play with Radio Control toys, but when we drove the remote control toy car around the living room, the twins were so excited that they crawled after the toy car in laughters.
Joanne is gentle, she eats by picking one piece at a time with her thumb and index finger. You often find Jasmine with both palms full of multiple pieces of whatever she is eating.
Saturday, Sept 19, 1998 (13m+13d)
My project at work is due on Monday and I need to work overtime to meet the deadline. We had an early lunch together and I went to work the rest of the day and evening in the office. My wife told me the twins went to bed early without me around.
Sunday, Sept 20, 1998 (13m+14d)
Yvonne and Waikit Sin threw a party for their three months old baby Natalie Helene at Ming's Restaurant in Palo Alto. Their baby is already 12 lbs., while our twins are still around 16 lbs. though ours are 4 times older. :-( We saw a lot of old acquaintances there and some of them met our twins for the first time. There were many kids in the party. We had the buffet lunch and chatted with friends for a while. We left for home after 2pm.Wendy and Alan L. brought their baby to visit us. Valerie is now 9 months old and she has grown a lot since last visit. She is now twenty some pounds. Valerie is a happy baby and she smiles a lot. The twins were curious about Valerie, they reached out and touched her head.
I went to work overtime in the office again after dinner.
Monday, Sept 21, 1998 (13m+15d)
Joanne got a runny nose and a slight fever (99°F). We are not worrying too much because she is still very happy and eating well. The twins go to play on the slide at the playground almost everyday. She probably got it there or from the crowd in yesterday's party.
Tuesday, Sept 22, 1998 (13m+16d)
Jasmine also has a runny nose, she must have gotten it from Joanne. She has no fever though.Kwai Lam W. came to visit us from Tennessee. He is on a business trip to the Ames Research Center. The twins have grown a lot since his last visit.
We took him to dinner at Ikenohana in Cupertino. Jasmine was squealing for attention. It was embarrassing because the restaurant was otherwise quiet. As usual, the twins made a big mess under the table.
He came to our house after dinner and chatted for awhile before he headed back to the motel.
Wednesday, Sept 23, 1998 (13m+17d)
Jasmine developed a fever like Joanne, it was around 99°F.I was sick. Probably eaten something bad, I had nausea, but no fever.
Both the twins learned how to play with the radio control toy car. When we gave them the toy car, they will go look for the remote control. Joanne holds the controller in one hand and press the button with her index finger. Jasmine holds the controller with her thumb on the button, so she can control the toy with one hand. They don't know how to use the steering wheel or the front and rear gear yet. But they like to watch the car go, stop, go and stop under their own control.
Thursday, Sept 24, 1998 (13m+18d)
Jasmine woke up at 1:30am and cried for attention. My wife got up several times to check her. Everything was okay and it was not time for the next feeding yet. She tried to pat her to sleep, but she was still awake at 3am. By then she had waken Joanne the third time and Joanne wouldn't go back to sleep this time around. They both stood up in the crib and cried in stereo. My wife gave up in frustration and let them cry for while, hoping that they will get tired.I got up at 3:30am and tried to calm down the babies. They wouldn't stop until I put them on the floor. Then they were happy exploring their room. As soon as I put them back in the crib, they just cried and cried. I figured I could not stay up all night. So I took the twins to our room, let them play on the floor and I went back to sleep. The twins were happy playing until 4:30am. My wife got up and prepared the bottles for the twins. We fed them together and they fell asleep afterwards.
Come to think of it, my wife and I had a cup of Ovatine before bedtime and the twins both got a sip. The drink might have caffeine that kept them up.
I got up in the morning, my nausea got worse. I called in sick and stayed home all day in bed.
My wife took the twins to the doctor office for a weight check.
Joanne weighed 16 lb. 4 oz.
Jasmine weighed 15 lb. 10½ oz.
They are still way below the 5th percentile curve. Joanne's gain follows the slope of the growth curve, Jasmine's does not. The nurse checked their temperature and their ears, they are normal. We discussed their diet and the doctor said we are doing everything right. We just need to keep at it.
Friday, Sept 25, 1998 (13m+19d)
Joanne's cold symptoms are all gone. Jasmine still has a runny nose.My wife was patting Jasmine's back to help her fall asleep. Joanne came over and patted her butt first and then patted her back just like mommy did it. I told my wife our job is getting easier when the twins learn to take care of each other.
Saturday, Sept 26, 1998 (13m+20d)
Jasmine woke up at 1:30am again. It was like a rerun of what happened the night before yesterday: a restless night.We got up late and we went shopping in a hardware store and Costco after lunch.
In the evening, we went to Denis and Jane C.'s BBQ party at their place. We arrived early before the crowd. The twins cried a little when they saw some strangers. They later calmed down and played around as usual.
As the party went on, more and more guests arrived. The twins were willing to let other people hold them. At one point of time, Jasmine was walking around the packed room, weaving inside the crowd. I had to follow her step by step just to make sure no one step on her. She brought many laughters because she walked like a drunk swaying side to side.
We also paid a visit to Cousin Natalie on the way home.
Sunday, Sept 27, 1998 (13m+21d)
We went to Uncle Ivan's company picnic at Paramount's Great America. Auntie Tina and Cousin Natalie were there too. The twins are too small to take any of the thrill rides. So we just walked around and enjoyed the surrounding and the screams from other people. We took the twins to ride on a driving course for kids. There is a guard rail on the ground, which makes sure the cars stay on course. All you need to do is step on the gas and the car will move along the course, steering is optional. I rode with Joanne and mommy rode with Jasmine. I left my hands off the steering wheel and let the car bump on the guard rail so that it zigzagged along. Joanne laughed with joy whenever the car sway side to side.We later rode the Columbia Carousel (a double decker carousel, the world's largest according to the Guiness book of record), the twins were scared of the wooden horses and refused to sit steady. At the second time, we picked a stationary chair that does not go up and down and the twins were okay with that.
We had dinner at Umi sushi boat afterward and the twins slept through the dinner.
Hing and Lucy visited later in the evening. They bought the twins a set of toy telephones (the phones use walkie-talkie circuitry to make them work like a real phone.)
Monday, Sept 29, 1998 (13m+23d)
Jasmine is more curious than Joanne. Since early days, she is the one who explores everything around the house while Joanne just sits around. Perhaps for that reason, Jasmine understands the word "NO" while Joanne does not. Jasmine usually will look at us before she touches something new as if she is asking for approval. If we say NO, she will stop. Joanne on the other hand never checks on us, she just does whatever she likes and does not respond to "NO" at all.
Tuesday, Sep 30, 1998 (13m+24d)
I saw Joanne walked almost 20 steps before resuming crawling. In no time she will be chasing Jasmine around the house.
Friday, Oct 2, 1998 (13m+26d)
The Mid-Autumn Festival (aka Harvest Moon) is coming up soon, my wife wants to pay a round of visit to all her uncles. After work, we headed up to Alameda and visited the twins' granduncle and great-grandma. The twins had not seen their granduncle/grandaunt for almost two months, but they seem to remember them and didn't react to them like strangers. We stayed in Oakland for the weekend.
Saturday, Oct 3, 1998 (13m+27d)
Anita in Oakland had a BBQ party for her new son (just over one month). Wayland and Lori were happy to see the twins again, seem more so than their new little brother. The twins were happy eating the BBQ, fruits etc. and playing with other kids despite the new environment. The twins fell asleep on the carrier before we left.We went to Toys R Us in Emeryville. The twins pointed to different things and said uh-uh-uh. Initially, we thought they wanted to have the toys. We later found out they just wanted us to tell them what each thing is. When we said this is a doll, this is car etc., they would point to the next thing. We let the twins walk on their own. By the way, Joanne can walk quite well now, her progress was much much faster than Jasmine's though she started almost a month later than Jasmine. Jasmine walked up and down the aisles, touching everything she can get her hands on. The twins enjoyed playing with the display toys especially the slide. We bought a Little Tikes 2-in-1 wagon and planned to pull them to the park instead of using the stroller.
We stopped by and visited the other granduncle in Alameda. They had other guests. I was playing with Joanne while mommy was talking to her cousin. Jasmine was asleep in her carrier and 5 kids crowded over her to see her sleep. We told the kids not to wake her up. The kids were whispering above Jasmine when she woke up. The kids probably wanted to avoid being blamed for waking up the baby, they all ran away screaming. Imagine Jasmine just woke up to see 5 unfamiliar screaming faces, she was scared to the max. It took us almost 5 minutes to calm her down.
We left the twins with the in-laws and went to San Francisco for dinner as a belated celerabration for mommy's birthday. We first went to Equinox, the revolving restaurant, above the Hyatt Regency in Embarcadero Center. We didn't have reservation and the wait was one hour. With the twin waiting at Grandma Ling's home, we decided to go elsewhere. We went to Splendido just outside the Hyatt and had a delicious Italian dinner.
When we got back, the twins were excited to see us and it was just about time to feed them.
Sunday, Oct 4, 1998 (13m+28d)
We went to the SoMa (South of Market street) area in San Francisco. Mommy loves to see the Italian furniture though we don't need any. There are couple of stores in the warehouse area near 17th and Kansas. The furniture are very very beautiful, but a coffee table costs over $2500, and some sofa costs over $10K. I told mommy that despite the beauty, some of these furniture are actually dangerous to kids. Mommy's craving was satisfied, no purchase this time, lucky for my pocket book. Just like yesterday, the twins again pointed to various things in the furniture store asking for explanations.We had lunch in Japantown and then went to Costco at 13th street (under the freeway) before returning to Grandma Ling's place. We stopped by Jack London Square to check the cinema schedule. We thought we might be able to see a movie when grandma takes care of the twins. There were two long lines outside the theater going around the block, one for tickets and another for seating. We decided to give up on our movie plan.
At grandma's place, I put the twins in the wagon and pulled them around inside the house, though the kitchen, living room, into the bedrooms, bathroom. Cousin Natalie wanted to join in and managed to squeeze into the wagon with the twins. They all enjoyed the ride in laughters.
The twins' hair grew little longer, though not thicker. The hair hang over their eyes, we usually comb it to their right side. Today, Aunt Tina cut a bang for the twins, all of a sudden, they look like little girls.
We went home after dinner. The twins were so excited that when we put them in bed, they fought us to get up. We strapped them down in the baby carriers, turned on some children music and rocked them to sleep.
Monday, Oct 5, 1998 (13m+29d)
Today is the Mid-autumn festival (aka harvest moon or the full moon in the eighth month in the lunar calendar, astronomically, it is the full month closest to the autumnal equinox). Same day last year, the twins were only 41 days old. This year, the twins joined us eating the moon cakes (made with lotus seed paste) and fruit under the silvery moon light.We wrapped up the twins in blankets, took them out to the garden and pointed them to see the bright full moon. They are still too young to listen to the Chinese fairy tales about the autumn moon which we heard when we were kids. Later, we had the moon cakes under the window in the warmth of the family room. Every time Jasmine took a bite of the moon cake, she said Mmmmmm.... She sounded so funny that we all laughed. Joanne exercised her new walking skill around the room with a piece of pear in her hand. We later mentioned the moon and the twins looked up and pointed at the moon outside the window. They definitely were paying attention in the garden when we showed them the moon.
Tuesday, Oct 6, 1998 (14m+0d)
The twins are 14 months old.
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