Molly Piper

I’m the mother of twins. I’m the mother of twins–TWO babies! How did this happen? I mean, I know how it happened, but sometimes it just blows my mind!

At three weeks, this is Miss Cadence (aka Baby CayCay, Cade, Cage, Cagey, Cackamalatchee):

She seems like she’s grown up a TON in the last few weeks. Not that she’s really doing anything different, she just looks different! Sometimes she looks so grown up, and then I start crying because there’s already three weeks gone of her life, and I’ll only be able to remember so little of it. That’s the part that kills me.

She is a pretty chill baby still, but has some gas issues that sometimes make evenings and nights difficult. Why does it always get worse at night?

Anyway, Cadence is pretty big time, and we love having a little girl in our home.

At three weeks, this is Mister Whitsun (aka Whit, Wichita, Wee Willy Whitsun, Whittaker, Sandwich):

Whit looks soooo much like Orison when he was a baby. So much so that sometimes it feels like a do-over. His cry sounds exactly like Orison’s did, he has swirly cowlicks like Orison did, and he even spits up like Orison did.

This kid can pee through five outfits in a day, no joke. Somehow he finds a way to pee out the side or top of his diaper no matter how diligent mommy is about getting that rascal pointed down! I’ve had 3 boys now, and I’ve never had this problem before. He is so laid-back, though. It doesn’t seem to bother him at all!

He loooves his pacifiers, he’s kinda pokey at the breast, and he loves his supplement bottles (sucks them down in record time). He’s a pretty good burper (as opposed to his sister who takes her sweet old time).

And here’s Molly at three weeks (aka Mom, Mommy):

Overall, I feel like I’m doing pretty well! The twins sleep decently at night. They still get up to nurse 2 times at night, but that’s okay. For some reason the 1am feeding feels awful, but the 4am feeding seems doable. Go figure.

I’m nursing them mostly, and providing some supplemental bottles. They are doing very well with both and gaining weight (which is the most important thing in my mind). I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say right now that I think nipple confusion is the biggest myth ever sold to moms. Okay, there, I said it. Glad to get that off my chest.

I’ve had help at home from various family members and friends every weekday since Abraham went back to work–that’s been the hugest blessing for me. There’s simply no way I would make it through a day at this point. I feel like I could either take care of my big boys by myself or take care of the twins by myself, but definitely not all four together. There is truly a village of people taking care of us right now. I couldn’t be more thankful. And if you want to come help some day, let me know. I’ll put you to work!

We still have meals coming too! Again, so thankful for all of you! Without having to factor meal preparation into my days I can actually keep my head above water. I’ll probably need some ongoing help with that, so if one of your spiritual gifts is browning ground beef or cooking chicken breasts, let me know!

So that’s about it! The twins say “thank you” to all of you for loving them, near and far!

(Photos by Wendy Maybury)

A few weeks ago Orison and Morrow were playing so well together, I just had to get it on video. Morrow loves to copy the things Orison does (for better or for worse).

So if your weekend promises little entertainment, enjoy the Piper Family Circus! (I’m sure Orison would have come up with a much cleverer name, but you’ve got me on a Friday afternoon.)

I know it’s kinda late in the week to be posting about Mother’s Day, but I just wanted to share about the weekend. I had a lot of FUN this Mother’s Day!

It started on Friday when Abraham told me he’d been given 2 tickets to the new Target Field (home of the Minnesota Twins) for the Saturday afternoon game. It was supposed to be rainy and cold but we decided to be true Minnesotans and go out to the game anyway! I took my 24-week picture, of course…the twins at the Twins!

By the way, those weren’t our seats. Ours were up in the top deck, but we decided to explore a bit after the game. It was fun to just get to sit together for a couple hours, even if we could see our breath and had to wear winter hats!

Then on Sunday, we had a lovely time at church, went out to lunch with Abraham’s parents and sister, and then went home to lay down!

After naps we went out to Dairy Queen, where I got my favorite Butterfinger Blizzard. Here’s an attempt at a good picture:

After DQ, we went to the cemetery. The kids just run and have fun there, which is kinda cool. I had to bribe them to sit for this one.

I was able to snap a quick one of Morrow while he was on the run:

The only sad part was when we were driving away, Morrow said, completely unprompted, “Bye-bye, dee-dee-dee.” Translation: Bye-bye, Felicity.

Here’s a couple more pictures from recent days, just because I’m crazy about these guys:

I’m so deeply thankful that I get to mother these two characters. And I’m happy to report that this Mother’s Day brought more smiles than tears. That’s a blessed change.

For those of you who guessed these:

You win!*

Ahhh, Marshmallow Peeps. I eat them once a year, mostly for nostalgic purposes. I was always a fan of Peeps as a child, the fresher the better. My sister liked hers stale, and I can’t remember how my brother took his Peeps.

And for those of you interested, I thought I’d link to a series of photographs showing how Peeps are made (in my home state of Pennsylvania, thank you very much).

*Contest rules: 1.) Eligibility is restricted to those living in the continental United States 2.) Contestants must be present to win. 3.) Prize is to be determined by contest author and subject to change for any reason, including acts of God. 4.) Prize has no monetary value and cannot be exchanged for any amount in any currency. 5.) The prize is having the satisfaction of guessing correctly.

A few weeks ago we played Name that Movie. Now let’s play Name that Candy.

Last night, as we came home from a day of friends, family, fun, and food, Orison asked:

“Can I have one of those sparkly penguins before bed?”

What was he asking for?

I thought some of you would like to see the video of Abraham and me telling 5-year-old Orison about his twin sisters. Actually, I know some of you want to see this, because you specifically asked me to film it!

A little background…Orison desperately wanted a sister this time around. He’s been praying for another one for two and a half years! So this was a sweet moment all around.

Enjoy!

Recently, Orison has been asking to watch “that movie where the man jumps into the water and swims around.”

WHAT?!?!?

I tried to get the name out of him, but he couldn’t remember. I started going through his movie-watching history (a very short list), and remembered that one time he saw a portion of the A&E Pride & Prejudice.

“Do you mean ‘Pride & Prejudice?’”

“Yeah! The man jumps into the water and swims around!”

Anyone know what part he’s talking about? That’s right, Mr. Darcy is trying to cool his jets over Miss Elizabeth Bennett and dives into the pond at Pemberley, only to meet with her face-to-face as he’s walking back up to the house, soaked to the bone.

Ahhh, “Private Predges”–one of my favorite movies (and books).

So last week, when his Aunt Talitha was babysitting for the afternoon, he suggested they watch Private Predges. (She doesn’t take too much convincing to watch a Jane Austen flick.)

Later that night, this is what he told me:

“Private Predges” was way before cars.

Why did they ride horses all the time? And why didn’t they say giddyup? They just said “Drive on.”

Then, yesterday, he convinced our regular babysitter that they should watch some of it! Here’s what she told me in an email:

He asked for Pride and Prejudice. I laughed. I assumed it would be okay for him to watch, since he relayed the whole story to me. I said if he was a good boy, we could watch a little bit but not the whole thing. He was okay with that.

With an affinity for Jane Austen at 5, I think he’s going to make some lady very happy someday!

So, one of my minor goals for raising sons is being achieved! Perhaps someday he’ll be a man who happily sits through multiple screenings of Jane Austen movies throughout his marriage! He’s supposed to live with his wife in an understanding way, right?

Or maybe he’ll be Darcy-like: strong, level-headed, generous, kind…a mother can dream.

Remember me, months ago, already stressing a bit about how/where we were going to educate Orison for Kindergarten?

Well friends, we have an answer: Seven Hills Classical Academy.

I was getting really nervous in the past couple weeks while waiting for the schools I applied to to do their lotteries. I don’t think I’ve ever trusted the US Postal Service less–I found myself wanting to call the charter schools multiple times a day and frantically ask, “Did you get our application?!?!? Are you SURE?!?!?”

I was so nervous that I started filling out private school applications like crazy, and when I wasn’t doing that, I was mentally planning how I would be able to homeschool with a 2-year-old and a newborn in tow (which was something I really didn’t want to do).

But we got our answer on Sunday evening when I finally checked the mail from Saturday! HA!

I saw the envelope in the stack of junk mail as I was coming up the stairs, and instantly couldn’t breathe. I got to the dining room table and was praying out loud, “Please God, please God, please God…”. When I got the envelope open I was so nervous I couldn’t even read the letter–all I could do was scan it for the important words.

Due to overwhelming interest in our school… (oh no)

lottery was held… (yeah, yeah… get on with it)

(not breathing at this point, folks)

pleased to inform you…

PLEASED TO INFORM YOU?!?!? PLEASED TO INFORM YOU?!?!? Then I was finally able to read the rest of the letter!

To make this even sweeter…

• Orison’s best friend also got in! (They’ve been each other’s favorite since about 1 year old.)
• Orison’s best friend lives a block away!
• Orison’s best friend’s mommy is one of my best friends!
• Orison’s best friend’s mommy & I already have our car pool!
• Another one of Orison’s friends also got in for Kindergarten, so he’ll know at least 2 other kids in his grade!

I’m absolutely THRILLED if you couldn’t tell!

Every year around major holidays, there’s a particular sting for a mom missing her only daughter. It comes when I set out to find a decent-looking set of clothes for my sons to wear.

Here’s the criteria I’m usually looking for:

• Nothing with cartoon characters on them (or skulls & crossbones, thank you very much).
• Something affordable (I don’t want to spend more than $20-25 per kid), but still made nicely.
• Something handsome, usually with a tie and collared dress shirt (Orison loves a good clip-on).

You’d be surprised how difficult this quest can be. I try department stores, and then the lesser-expensive department stores (Target, Kohl’s), and then move onto stores like Marshall’s.

What I hoped would be a fun way to buy some cute clothes for my kids usually turns into frustration and anger, though. I spend five minutes just trying to find the boys’ dress clothes amidst the sea of girl dress clothes. Eventually I might find a rack or two, and I’ll think from looking at the front, “Oh, this one looks nice…” and then I turn it over and there’s a HUGE applique on the back that says something like “Little Devil” with a demon face on it. What?!?! Do people buy this stuff???

I’m sure the equivalent for little girls would say something like “Perfect Angel” or something sweet like that. Because we all know that girls are just so sweet and perfect, and boys so…not???

I’m sorry, I know it probably sounds like I’m bitter. I’ll admit it, I get angry. It really sucks to go in the kids’ clothes section at all sometimes. And then to be so poignantly reminded that I have no business shopping on 90% of the racks hurts even more. It’s like there’s a big sign slapped on all those racks:

“You Don’t Belong Here.”

I know there are other women like me, living without their only daughter. There’s a particular hole for a mom, a woman, who loses her chance to raise her little girl. So many hopes and dreams die with that little girl.

One thing I’ve learned on my journey is that if I take the time to listen to what’s going on in my heart, all this anger and frustration, and let God pull me deeper, past the self-protectiveness of the anger, I get down to the pain of it. If I will get honest with God there in my anger, he always shows me just how much I’m hurting. Somehow the wall of anger crumbles and I’m left in the rubble, weeping.

Because underneath the anger is always the pain. I can stay there in the anger and grow bitter and hard (trust me, the temptation is there), but God has helped me see that it’s always better to let myself feel all of the emotions (first the anger) and then search for what’s really going on in my heart. Pretty much 100% of the time, under the anger is pain. More pain to feel, more tears to cry, more aspects of the loss that I need to grieve.

Sometimes I don’t want to go there. Sometimes I just want to rant and rail against my situation. Sometimes I just want to buy clothes for my sons. It’s hard and frustrating. Sometimes it feels like there’s nowhere to go from the pain–it can rise up anytime or anywhere. Grief is not just for grieving places, like the cemetery. It happens in other stranger places–you know, places like Kohl’s.

I suppose the other option would be to pretend like I don’t feel the anger. “No, no, no…it’s bad to be angry. God took Felicity away and I have to be happy and content with that.” If I decide on this option, I also miss the chance to grieve, just like I would have if I would’ve stayed hard and angry and bitter.

But Jesus doesn’t turn away the grievers. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” I am called blessed. And I’m promised His comfort.

This is blessed assurance. It’s like a great big sign at the foot of the Cross that say:

“You Belong Here.”

Orison is Morrow’s personal speech and language coach. Morrow’s got a pretty good vocab going already, but I’m expecting drastic growth if their regular sessions continue.

Here’s a lesson overheard recently:

Orison: Morrow, say Mama.
Morrow: Ma-ma!

Orison: Morrow, say ball.
Morrow: Bau!

Orison: Morrow, say Daddy.
Morrow: Da-dee!

Orison: Morrow, say baby.
Morrow: Bay-bee!

Orison: Morrow, say international.
Morrow (much more uncertainly): na-na-na.

A couple weeks ago, they had a routine with animal sounds that they did. And you’ll see from the video, Orison’s not the only one quizzing him on his words. (I’m a speech pathologist! And Abraham’s a word freak, alright???)

I love Morrow’s complete lack of self-consciousness. He’ll try almost any word, especially if it’s presented by his beloved brother Orison.