Molly Piper

I’ve heard some people call the next baby after a death your “Rainbow Baby.” And while that’s not wrong or anything, I’ve decided that doesn’t convey enough of what I feel about Morrow’s existence.

It’s pure Redemption–death, then life.

So happy birthday, Redemption Baby. You are more to me than you could ever know.

Sometimes I tell you your redemption story, and it usually goes something like this:

Mommy: Before you were born, Mommy had another baby in her tummy. Do you know what her name was?
MJ: Felicity.
Me: Yep, that’s right. And she grew and grew in my tummy, but then do you know what happened?
MJ: She died.
Me: Yeah, she died. And Mommy was really, really sad. I cried and cried and cried for a long time. Lots and lots of days. And Daddy cried lots and lots of days, too. But then do you know what happened?
MJ: What?
Me: God gave me another baby in my tummy. And do you know who that baby was?
MJ: Me!
Me: Yes, you. And when you grew and grew in my tummy I was still so sad. I missed your sister Felicity so much. But then it was time for you to come out of my tummy, and you know what?
MJ: What?
Me: I loved you so much. And every day that I held you and played with you and took care of you I loved you more and more. You made my heart so happy. And you make my heart happy every day. God made you so special for so many reasons. I’m glad I get to be your mommy.

So, Morrow–Mah-Jo, Mar, MahJoRahn, Mar-Mar, Jo-John, Chip–you have been a dynamic work of God in my life in the past three years, taking me from a place of death to a place of life.

Happy birthday, Redemption Baby.

(We celebrated Morrow’s birthday on Monday night, August 22nd. He was born 11 months to the day after his big sister, Felicity Margaret, was born still in 2007.)

So I got an email the other day asking me what double stroller I use for my twins. I was going to write that person back, but figured I might as well make it into a post!

Here’s what I used/use for twin strollers!

Infant Phase

When your babies are using the bucket car seats, it’s so nice to have a double Snap & Go stroller. Actually I’ll just go ahead and say it’s a necessity.

Because it’s really impractical to have to carry two infant car seats into the doctor, into the grocery store, anywhere really….

After you graduate from the infant seats, you move on:

Toddler Phase

I know there are so many options out there for a double twin stroller. This is only what I use. I chose to go with the Combi Twin Sport.

(except mine's red)

Here’s why I chose it:

1. It’s a lot lighter than most double strollers.
2. I like the side-by-sides (especially for twins, who I think will want to see each other, since they’re together all the time).
3. It collapses pretty small (compared to other doubles) so you have more room in your trunk.
4. It’s affordable.

I imagine some people object to the Combi because:

1. The baskets underneath are small. (I remedy that with The Mommy Hook.)
2. It doesn’t “handle” as well as some of the other high-end side-by-sides. I didn’t really care about that as much. If I lived in New York City and used my stroller daily, then perhaps it’d be worth the extra cash for better handling. Wasn’t worth it to me.

So there ya go! MollyPiper.com is (un)officially endorsing these products! ;)

We’ve been home from Pennsylvania for just over a week or so, and life has been insane.

Here’s a little info on my life:

• Trying to get Morrow (almost 3) potty-trained. Now some of you might think, “He’s a boy! Don’t even worry about it til after they’re 3.” I totally get that, but little man can go to preschool this fall if he’s potty-trained! Mama would LOVE 2 mornings a week with just the twins!
• Had our roof redone last week. We were very thankful for insurance paying for the roof that was damaged last fall in a wicked windstorm, but the subcontractors didn’t do a good job and now we’re trying to figure out how to get that fixed. Such a headache. So if they have to do it all over again, then we have week #2 of pounding and therefore, jacked-up naps for the little ones.
• Cadence had a bout of Roseola this past week. She was so sick, poor baby! She didn’t want to be held, she didn’t want to be put down, she just didn’t want anything, but yet she wanted everything at the same time. I’m exhausted.
• I have more paperwork than the president, I think. Back-to-school paperwork, insurance paperwork, other medical paperwork, car recalls… garrrr!!!

Okay, vent is over. Thanks for letting me do that. I feel better now.

In other news:

• We had car trouble when we were in Denver that resulted in a $280 repair bill. Welp, when I went to have the other recalled thingy done, they told me that the part we had repaired in Denver was recalled and so we could be refunded for that work! YAY!
• The weather in Minneapolis has been super dreamy–nothing higher than 85 since we’ve been back and then down into the 60s at night. GLORY HALLELUJAH!
• Morrow’s kinda getting the potty thing, by the way. Not 100%, but improving steadily.
• We have a wedding this weekend! Our dear friend Bethany is marrying her Jon, and we couldn’t be happier! So happy, in fact, that Morrow will bear the rings and I will sing! HOORAY!

Okay, gotta run. Naptime’s over!

As some of you recall, the twins turned one last week!

They heartily enjoyed their smash cakes from Wegman’s (my favorite grocery store EVER!!)!

Cadence was hesitant to dig in at first, but thoroughly enjoyed the taste once she got it in her mouth. But when she was done, she was done–just started crying, and waving her hands out at her sides (like she does).

Whit was so into it that he literally got into it–stuck his face right down in there! We were laughing so hard at this point because he looked like he had shaving cream on his face! And when Cadence was done with her cake, he finished it off for her. Brothers are always good for the human vacuum thing, right?

I had all these grand delusions that I was going to write handwritten notes to all the people who’ve helped me survive this first year with twins. Guess what? When you have 4 children ages 6 & under, you don’t have lots of time for such things…

So I’ll say it here for any who want to read…

If you’ve helped me in any way this past year, you’ve made this possible. You’ve helped these babies go from the tiny little helpless babies up there to the bouncing, vibrant, living babies they are. You’ve helped me keep them alive. This is no small thing. I’m grateful for life.

I’m grateful for the partnership of countless others to fold laundry, iron clothes, wash dishes, babysit, bring us food, buy me groceries, make us peanut butter, change diapers, hold babies, care for them in the nursery, mix bottles, pick up car pool, make us laugh, feed babies… this list is endless, it seems.

The past few years have been needy years for us. First we buried a child. The couple years following that were a nightmare in so many ways. We needed so much support to get through. And then we go and have two babies at the same time. More needs.

It’s deeply humbling to be so needy, knowing you are so dependent on other people for so many things. It’s not always easy to ask for that help. Thankfully so many of you haven’t even made me ask, you just jumped in with both feet and slogged through it with us.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I don’t think they get it yet, but Whitsun & Cadence thank you too. I think they like life so far.

I snapped this one on the bus in downtown Denver. It’s so funny because I have about a billion pictures of Cadence with Whitsun. I have very few of one twin with one older sibling. Splitting up the set was pretty cute and Morrow loved riding with Cadence for a little while!

Abraham and I explored the area of downtown Denver called LoDo (which I think means “Lower Downtown”). What a blast! For you Minneapolis peeps, it’s kind of like a bigger warehouse district in looks, and more like NE Minneapolis in vibe. Super cool, basically.

We ate, we walked, we ate some more, then walked some more…

My favorite part of the night was discovering these little footbridges! They were lit with these blue lights, but then when you walked under them, there was a sensor that changed the colors and put little designs all over the ground! So cool!

This is how Abraham interacts with awesome bridge:

And this is how I interact with said awesome bridge:

I needed my little musical theater moment!

One night while we were in Denver we had a pretty insane amount of rain. Orison came bolting out to the garage, where Abraham and I were sitting to watch the crazy downpour. He was worried about a flash flood. We calmed him down, then asked him to sit with us awhile. He of course was very eager, because that meant getting to stay up after his bed time.

After sitting there for a few minutes watching the rain fall in sheets, Abraham said, “We’re gonna regret it if we don’t go out in this.”

So he grabbed his little sidekick and off they went running and jumping down the street. The water was flowing down the street like a river! Definitely memorable.

I love how vacation reminds you to lighten up a little. Let the kid stay up later. Enjoy the rainfall. Maybe even go play in it. I hope I can bottle up whatever that is about vacation and take it home with me!

[Instragram photo: Katie]

I told you I’d post more pictures, didn’t I?

Orison kept teasing me about how the water was warm and I should try it out. He loves playing tricks like that, and his face lights up when the person discovers the truth.

While I drove to the top of the world, I vacillated between excitement:

and pure panic.

Here’s my little mountain climber showing his muscles.

Katie somehow caught this one of me and Abraham at the top of the world.

And this one is for my girls (you know who you are).

[All photos via Katie]