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This journal is about raising identical twins.The Twenty Fourth Month
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Tuesday, Jul 6, 1999 (23m)
The twins are 23 month old today. We continued our vacation at Clearlake, CA.We decided to drive around the lake while the twins had their afternoon nap. We started from Nice, going deasil on Hwy 20 to Lucerne, Pepperwood Grove, Glenhaven, switched to Hwy 53 to Clearlake etc. Instead of going on Hwy 29, we switched to a local road, which went up the hills along the lake shore. From the hill tops, we got a very good view of the lake below. We found a lakeside restaurant along the way, we stopped and had dinner there.
After dinner, we continued our 'round the lake trip. We did some grocery shopping at the supermarkets in Lakeport. When we got back on Hwy 29, the car hit something on the highway ramp. In less than a mile on the highway, we got a flat tire. It was almost 10pm at the time.
We found out we forgot to take the cellular phone with us. Since we could not call for help, I started to get the spare tire out. When I was getting ready to jack up the car, a highway patrol stopped and called AAA emergency road service for us. The patrolman said the AAA road service is in Lakeport just 10 minutes away and help should arrive very soon. The patrolman said he needed to continue his round and would return to check on us within half an hour. With help coming soon, I decided to wait.
I went back into the car and played with the twins. They were giggling and laughing knowing nothing about the trouble we were in. We waited and waited. Over an hour passed, the service truck had not arrive yet, the highway patrol had not returned as promised.
Fearing that the auto service at Lakeport might be closed for the Fourth of July holiday, I decided to give up on the endless wait. I resumed the tire changing process, with no flash light, I had to do it in the dark. While I jacked up the car, the twins were giggling with each movement. I took out the flat and found a 4 inch gash on the side of the tire. At this moment, the AAA service truck arrived. The driver said he was on the way home when the sheriff stopped him and told him about us. Of course, I let him finish the job, though my hands were already dirty.
We got back to Nice around midnight.
Wednesday, Jul 7, 1999 (23m+1d)
We rented a pedal boat on the lake and pedaled along the shore for an hour in the morning. The boat had a tiny canopy to shield us from the sun. The canopy gave me a false sense of security because I learned two days later that I got sunburn on my thighs and shins. The twins and Sandy were protected by a generous dosage of sun block lotion. They were fine with a light tan after days and days under the sun.I called the local tire stores and found that the 4 inch gash was beyond repair. None of the stores had the type of tire we needed. I had to place an order for a new one.
We rented two movies, The X files (DVD|VHS) and Mask of Zorro (DVD|VHS). At dusk, we wanted to take a stroll to the pier and was swarmed by millions of insects. It was a scary sight, the swarm was so thick that it looked like a blizzard. We kept our mouths shut fearing that we might inhale some bugs. We hurried back and finished the movies instead.
We found out from the local people that the bugs were a type of non-biting gnats. They only appear for a short time each year and we were just unlucky to bump into them.
Thursday, Jul 8, 1999 (23m+2d)
We originally wanted to visit other nearby attractions such as the Saratoga Springs and the famous Mendacino, which is about an hour away. With the new tire still on order, we had to change our plan and stay put. It was another uneventful day, we spent more time in the pool and we watched the movie "Deep Impact" (DVD|VHS).
Friday, Jul 9, 1999 (23m+3d)
The tire we've ordered arrived. I went out alone and got the tire fixed in the afternoon. It was over 100°F outside. Mommy and the twins decided to enjoy the air conditioning instead of going out to the heat. We watched the movie "Rush Hour" (DVD|VHS).After dinner, we took a stroll along the lake shore, let the twins play on the lawn and around the swimming pool.
Saturday, Jul 10, 1999 (23m+4d)
The twins and I sat by the pool side watching other kids play while mommy went to check out from the resort. Finally, we left after one week of doing nothing but swimming and watching movies. I guess this is what a relaxing vacation meant to be.We got back to the Bay Area before 2pm. We headed directly to Simon L's place. He had invited us to a barbecue party. Though we arrived late, they'd left plenty of food for us. Wil'n'Lil, Jacky P's, and CW C's family were also in the party.
We watched the Womens Soccer World Cup final match (USA vs China) together. Though we are Chinese, we are also US citizens. So we are supporters for both teams. The games was tied at 0-0 after overtime. The winner was decided by penalty kicks. US won by 5-4.
The US goalie later admitted that she cheated by moving two steps forward during the penalty kicks. In her interview, she seemed to be proud of not being caught. I think it was a disgrace for her lack of sportsmanship especially when she represented our country in an international event. I think the US team should return the cup.
After the match, we all jumped into Simon's swimming pool. We chatted passed dinnertime, we all went out together for dinner. We got home at around 10pm.
Sunday, Jul 11, 1999 (23m+5d)
We were told that there are more airborne germs near the floor, hence it is not healthy to let the babies sleep on the mattresses on the floor. We went to our favorite furniture store in Dublin to shop for bed frames for the twins. The model we bought is out of stock, we need to pick them up next week.While we were there, we shopped at the Costco in Pleasanton. Costco in the Bay Area are usually packed with people on weekends. The store in Pleasanton was quite empty in comparison. It is probably due to the 105°F temperature today.
Monday, Jul 12, 1999 (23m+6d)
Jasmine loves to eat shrimps. She would eat off Joanne's plate after she's finished hers. She sometimes had up to 8 in a meal. Joanne, on the other hand, usually leaves the shrimp on her plate.After the long vacation and frequent dips in the swimming pool, the twins enjoy their daily bath much more. They sometimes lie in the bathtub on their bellies and slide back and forth to make waves. Jasmine gladly complies when we say it is time to come out. Joanne is the one who refuses to get out of the water everyday. Sometimes, we have to take her out by force or bribe when her palms and soles start to wrinkle like prunes.
Wednesday, Jul 14, 1999 (23m+8d)
Uncle Ronnie visits from Hong Kong. He mainly wants to see Grandma Chui because she had not returned to Hong Kong for over a year now. He brought for the twins a pair of Swarovski crystal figurines and several sets of storybooks with accompanying CDs, which tell the stories and sing songs.
Thursday, Jul 15, 1999 (23m+9d)
The nightmare happened. Jasmine opened her diaper again this afternoon and spread her "droppings" on the bed sheet and carpet, etc. She got some in her hands too. Yuck! She created a lot of stinky work for mommy.Though I heard in the news that some child psychiatrists warned that it is mentally unhealthy for the kids if potty training starts before age 2, I think we'd better start their training soon.
Friday, Jul 16, 1999 (23m+10d)
Mommy went to pick up the bed frames we ordered and she took the twins for the afternoon ride.We assembled the beds before bedtime so the twins could use it immediately. There are only 8 bolts to hold each bed together and 6 screws for the slabs that support the mattress. With Uncle Ronnie's help, it didn't take long to put them together. It would even take much less time, if the twins were not enthusiastic to played with the nuts and bolts and screwdrivers. The twins were excited to jump on the new beds as soon as we finished. When we asked if they like the beds, they nodded vigorously.
They went to bed and slept through the night on the new beds as if nothing had changed.
Saturday, Jul 17, 1999 (23m+11d)
When they woke up in the morning, they sat at the edge of the beds crying because they could not figure out how to get down. After mommy pointed to them which pole to grab for support, they returned to their normal selves, climbing up and down the beds on their own.We took Uncle Ronnie to the airport. He returned to Hong Kong today.
In the afternoon, we went to CW's place for a swim/barbecue party. Jacky's, Simon's, Norman's family were also there, so were Wil'n'Lil. Most of the wives stayed dry helping on dinner preparation. The only exception is mommy who took the twins for a swim early on. The adults and kids spent couple of hours in the pool and spa. The congestion started near dinnertime when each family took turns to share the two bathrooms.
We had plenty of food and the dinner was great. After dinner, the adults played bridge and card games, while the older kids plays in their rooms and the smaller kids and our twins played in the living room. The party ended at around 11pm.
Sunday, Jul 18, 1999 (23m+12d)
We met with Alan, Wendy and Valerie in the morning and together we went to a play program at Gymboree. Valerie was a veteran, she ran around and climbed all over the playground on her own. Our twins hesitated to try any new stuffs, they felt uneasy when other kids and parents came near them. That was the reason why we wanted to join the play program in the first place, we want the twins to get used to other kids. We had lunch together afterwards.After lunch, we visited Jane, Denis and their one month old son, Jonathan.
Before dinner, we put the twins in their wagon and pulled them to a park that is further away from the one we usually walk to. This park has a set of swings, which the other park does not have. The twins liked the swings a lot and wanted us to push them higher and higher. They also liked the slide in this park because it is higher and more thrilling than the one at home, but it is not as steep as the one in the other park. Jasmime enjoyed the slide so much that she kept doing the rounds non-stop in laughters. We had to pulled her away when she started climbing up the steps like a drunk. I guess after 20 to 30 rounds, she was so exhausted that she could not even walk straight. We had to stop her because she had no intention to stop despite the exhaustion. Joanne was more laid back and didn't do as much. She just let Jasmine pass her several times on the steps.
On the way back home, the twins refused to sit in the wagon. When they walked past a meadow in the park, they picked some spherical flowers and blew on them. They were disappointed when the flower petals didn't fly away like the dandelions did. I tried to look for a dandelion for them, but I could not find one nearby. Perhaps dandelion is no longer in season, or the city's gardener did a good job in getting rid of the weeds.
Monday, Jul 19, 1999 (23m+13d)
We hired someone to clean the carpets in the morning. It took much longer than I planned, so I took the rest of day off from work.The twins were very good and stayed on the bed when we told them not to get down until the carpet is dry. After an entire morning bound to the bed, they started to become restless. So we took them out to the shopping mall while the carpets are still wet. We bought them two pairs of sneakers, size 6 and 6½. We found that Jasmine now wears a half size larger than Joanne.
Wednesday, Jul 21, 1999 (23m+15d)
We promised the twins that we would take them to the swings in the park today. The park with the swings is at over 15 minutes walking distance one way. So we decided to drive to the park instead of the usual wagon trip. After we got them ready, we tried to put them in the car. Both kids broke into a terrible tantrum, they struggled to get out of the car seats. They thought we lied to them because we have never taken them to the park this way before. We had to reassure them several times that we were really going to the park. As soon as we put them on the ground when we arrived, they dashed to the swings on their own.Recently, Joanne has a better appetite. She often finishes her bottle non-stop in one shot. Jasmine on the other hand, slows down quite a lot in her feeding.
Jasmine is good at doing or saying whatever we told her to. Joanne is rebelous and has a mind of her own, she simply ignores us if she is not in the mood.
Saturday, Jul 24, 1999 (23m+18d)
I got up early and worked in the garden. The twins came out and joined me after their morning feeding. Mommy gave them a set of toy garden tools. They had a great time watering the plants.We went out shopping in the afternoon and didn't return until after dinner.
Sunday, Jul 25, 1999 (23m+19d)
We took the twins to the weekly Gymboree play program class again. The twins seem to be scared of the instructor because she speaks with a loud and high pitch voice. The twins didn't enjoy the class too much, they cried several times and we had to force them to participate in some activities in the beginning. At the end of the class, they refused to leave. We figured, we need to arrive early next time so they have more time to get warmed up.We went to visit Grandma Ling in the afternoon. We expected a phone call at home in the evening so we didn't stay for dinner.
Monday, Jul 26, 1999 (23m+20d)
Mommy took the twins to Gymboree again today, Hoping they will get used to the place. They played more than yesterday. It is an improvement.
Tuesday, Jul 27, 1999 (23m+21d)
Mommy took the twins to Gymboree again today.
Wednesday, Jul 28, 1999 (23m+22d)
Mommy took the twins to Gymboree again today. The teacher was different today. There was a Cantonese speaking mommy Sunny with her daughter Cynthia in the class. Jasmine was particularly friendly to Sunny and approached to give her a kiss. That is not very typical of her, the twins usually shy away from strangers. Perhaps Sunny spoke Cantonese to Jasmine, which broke the ice.
Thursday, Jul 29, 1999 (23m+23d)
The twins don't repeat exactly what we told them. For example, they call the clown doll at Gymboree Bobo regardless how many times we taught them to say Gymbo. For the Pokemon Pikachu, Jasmine calls it a-choo and Joanne calls it choo-choo.
Friday, Jul 30, 1999 (23m+24d)
Our company had a picnic after work today at Saratoga Springs's campground in Saratoga. The event started from 6pm and ended at 11pm. We arrived with the twins at around 7:30pm. We had the dinner and then strolled around the place mingling with other coworkers' families.They held a rubber duckie race in the creek. When Webster the site's mascot (complete with duck suit, and webbed shoes) led the way to the creek, a long line of kids followed, just like a mamma duck leading the ducklings. Our twins were excited and dropped everything to join the procession. When we got to the bridge, they were eager to reach over and threw the rubber duckies into the creek. The twins' duckies reached the finish line but they didn't win. After we retrieved our rubber ducks at the finish line, the twins immediately threw them back into the creek. We had to explained to them that the race was over and we could take the duckies home.
The twins spent some time in the children's playground. When it got dark, we decided to leave early because there was not much activities for our twins.
Sharleen lives in the neighborhood, so we stopped by and paid baby Claire a visit. Baby Claire was very attached to her mother and cried whenever we got near. After half an hour or so, she started to giggle when I played peek-a-boo with her.
Saturday, Jul 31, 1999 (23m+25d)
We went out with the twins to see some open houses and model homes. We then joined Auntie Tina's family for dinner.
Sunday, Aug 1, 1999 (23m+26d)
We went to the weekly Gymboree play program. The place was packed with parents and kids. Most kids came with both parents and made the place much more crowded than usual. After lunch, I went back to the office to prepare and set up for a training class in the coming week.After the afternoon nap, Joanne started to have a runny nose, but Jasmine was fine. She had no fever, so it was not a flu, just a common cold. We gave her some Dimetapp decongestants.
We had dinner with Hing and Lucy. After dinner, they presented the twins a big bag of gifts for their coming birthday next week.
Monday, Aug 2, 1999 (23m+27d)
I am taking a weeklong training class at work. I had to stay in the office afterward to prepare for the next day's class.Meanwhile, mommy said the twins both opened their diapers during their afternoon nap. Joanne was okay, but Jasmine pooped and made a big stinking noisome mess all over. Mommy had a lot of washing to do.
We wanted to toilet train the twins, but they still had great resistance. From all the readings we have done, we learned that we should never force them until they want to do it voluntarily.
Tuesday, Aug 3, 1999 (23m+28d)
Mommy said Joanne already recovered from her runny nose in the morning. Sunny and Cynthia, the mother and child we met at Gymboree came to visit our twins today. Jasmine started to have a runny nose at night, she must have caught it from Joanne.My training class continues, but I had to deal with a customer problem after class. I worked till 1am in the morning to resolve the problem. Worst of all, I didn't get the time to work on my homework assignment from the training class today.
Wednesday, Aug 4, 1999 (23m+29d)
Sharleen and baby Claire came to visit the twins during lunchtime. Sharleen bought for the twins an electronic book (made by VTech). They did not stay long because they had a doctor appointment in the afternoon.My training class continues, I had to return to the office after dinner to catch up on my home work assignment from yesterday and today's class.
Thursday, Aug 5, 1999 (23m+30d)
Mommy took the twins to shop with Aunt Jun in San Francisco.My training class continues, I had to return to the office after dinner to catch up on my home work assignment from yesterday and today's class.
Friday, Aug 6, 1999 (24m+0d)
Today is the twins two year old birthday.
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started on Aug 18, 1999