Wordless Wednesday

I see this picture coming out again around Senior Graduation roasting time....

Battle of the Bath...version 2.0

Since our last post about bath time, we thought our readers would be relieved to know we now have two battling, splashing babies. Caden had enough and has decided to splash back....using both hands AND feet! :)

ELEVEN months!

Yep...that picture sums up our life right now. It is a perfect picture for the beginning of their 11 month post! If you stop and think about it, can you really believe my sweeties are 11 months old? As in, almost 12 months? aka a YEAR old!? I would like a little credit that I am writing their 11 month post only 5 days after turning so. A HUGE improvement from last months post :) Well, this month was a month of monumental change! Literally starting the day they turned 10 months, they have changed, explored, learned and grown into such a big boy and girl!







This month can be summed up with the word: constant! The twins have kept us moving, moving, moving! At the end of the day, I am worn out!

Measurements:
Well, we have an un-official weight check. We had Ryan test their weights on our scale at home one night. We were so surprised to find that they BOTH weighed 18 lbs! (un-officially). I guess Caden drinking all of his bottles now and sitting like a blob has allowed him to catch up on some weight! Jenna appears to be longer still based on pants and her feet touching the back of the seat in the car. We will see next month at their 12 month well-visit.




Food:
We are still super eaters! The twins love yogurt and oatmeal for breakfast every morning. We eat a meat/pasta jar with a veggie and fruit jar equivalent for lunch each day and finish up with 3 sometimes 4 fruit and veggie jar equivalents for dinner. Along the way we have plenty of cheerios and puffs and some goldfish for snack :) Caden always appears to be able to eat more...he is an endless tank! They still take four bottles a day of 5-6 oz of formula. Remember in my last post I said that Mama had snapped and was ready for Caden to be a big boy and hold his own bottle! Well, yea Caden! After a few days of fighting with me, he gave in and began holding his bottle.



Interestingly enough, as soon as he started doing so, he drinks his complete bottle! No more leaving an ounce for every bottle and having to do the bottle-dance to get him to drink! Crazy Child! Bottle time is so much easier now! I plop them down, give them bottles and go finish a last minute chore before my time gets taken by the twins' awake time :) After we are done with bottles, I sit them up, give them a toy and wait for their self-burp to come out. Oh how far we have come from the early days of nursing, burping over and over again and propping them up to prevent reflux spit up! Snuggle takes his place each time right in between and oversees the bottle giving.



Mama's mission this month is to transition to whole milk. Formula for two is for the rich and famous! We are neither. So to whole milk we must go :) Too bad the twins hate sippy cups and will not drink anything I put in them! So, experienced Mama's, let me hear your tips! I've tried 3-4 different types of sippy cups, I've warmed up the milk like formula and I've tried feeding them right when they wake up thinking they would be the most hungry. And yes, I've tried the most sugary drink possible just to peak their interest. Your turn :)

We still enjoy lots of homemade food. We have turned to the Whole Foods organic frozen fruits and veggies since produce is getting so expensive. They do so great eating...I'm so thankful! We are giving them cut up chunks of table food for them to experience with. So far, Jenna shovels anything and everything in. Caden appears to be stuck on the texture-train (yet another trait like his Daddy!).

Going out to eat is so much easier now too. They do great in a high chair and love munching on cheerio's, puffs or sometimes cut up food from our plates now! We seem to be a huge distraction to other tables nearby and get lots of "peek-a-bo" games with strangers, smiles, "how cute", and yes..."Are they twins?" :)



Developments:
Whew! Where do we start? The day they turned 10 months, Jenna figured it out: crawling. She had been so close rocking back and forth, then literally in a second, she took off! This was my view the rest of the day...and ever since :)



She did the army crawl for about 2 weeks then went straight to full-on hands and knees crawling. Sometimes I think she might be flying or tele-porting. She is FAST! I turn around to do something with Caden and she is clear across the room. She is so fast, she crawls right out of her pants!



She left us no grace period to baby proof the house. Gates had to go up, cribs adjusted, outlet covers etc. My sweet Caden is still sitting right where I left him. We are becoming relentless in our "training." I think we are getting a peak into our natural parenting style: we will give you some time to do things on your own timing, but then we are going to push you to do more / be the best! You are not allowed to quit! haha We might want to work on that a little. Anyway, we put the toys out of his reach pretty much all of the time now. He either sits there content looking around or he complains and cries b/c he can't reach his toys. Jenna flies right by him, tongue out, on to her next destination. :) Caden has found a buddy in Snuggle since Snuggle usually comes right up next to him to sit. So unfortunately, Caden is distracted and plays with Snuggle or Snuggle's toy. hhhmmm....



As soon as we could start to adjust to her moving across the room, now she is trying to move up the room just as fast. Instantly....she started pulling up on things trying to get on her knees. I mean pulling up on everything! She is no longer content to sit on her hiney...she must be vertical! After a week of pulling up on the knees, she learned how to whip those feet under her. Now we catch her standing next to everything! She has developed so fast this month!





We graduated to our big boy and girl carseat: tada!



As you can tell from this picture, Jenna for sure was outgrowing the infant carseat! She looks HUGE to me in this picture! haha



This has proven to be a challenge with twins. Now, it is pretty much impossible to go to church (or anywhere that doesn't have a cart) alone with the twins unless you want to drag out the monster stroller. With the carseats, you could just pull out your Zena Arm Muscles and carry them in somewhere. Now, we have to physically take them out of the seats and carry them. This move also meant we had to say goodbye to our super-top-pick for twins snap n go stroller. I love that thing! So light, so portable, so convenient! Now we have mammoth stroller (comparatively). The twins like it so far though...they get to sit up and look out in the world.

Yes, that is Ryan in a Michael's store. That is the extent of his cabin fever with the twins.!!

We were so blessed around the purchase of these seats. When we started researching what seats to get, it looked like we would have to go apply for a loan for two of these things! sheesh! But thankfully, God allowed us to just pop in the store on the DAY they were on sale, provided a coupon from the lady at the register, gave us a "multiples" discount since we were buying two at a time and the ever faithful Gigi and Papa T who gave us some money to put on one for part of the twins' birthday present. Just as He has in every situation so far, God has provided what we need and more!

With this change of seating also came the problem of quick trips in the store. When we were in the infant carseats, I would pop them in the snap n go and...go! For now, the only thing I have thought of is to cram them in the front seats together. It actually works out great right now..they like being next to each other to trade off paci's back and forth :)We also can't go anywhere quick due to on-looker delays :)






Caden decided to move ahead in the teething department. For a solid 2 weeks now, he has been trying to cut 3 teeth up top!!! He cuts teeth slower than anything on earth! Bless his heart. He has also learned to clap his hands and I think he knows Snuggle. When we say "where's Snuggle?" If Snug is in the room, he usually looks over at him. Big news for Caden is that he is officially off ALL medications for reflux! Thank you, Lord! We are so thankful that the Lord healed Caden's tummy and throat. He has been off of the medicine for about 4 weeks now and is doing absolutely great!



Sleep:
I left this for last b/c we have had to transition this too! Caden is solid as a rock sleeping through the night. He may cry out in his sleep a couple of times, but nothing we have to get up for. Jenna!? Oh my. Now, every time we lay her down she pops right up and pulls herself up to stand up next to the crib. Cute at first yes. But she doesn't know how to sit down yet so after 10 minutes of feeling on top the world, she gets tired and wants to lay down. That is where the problems start! She gets frustrated at nap time and scared at night standing in the dark not knowing how to sit down. So for the past 2 weeks, we have had to go in there 10-15 minutes after we lay her down to help her back down on her stomach. Usually she goes right down to sleep, but a couple of times we have had to go in 3 or 4 times to lay her back down. Silly girl. I know it is just a phase and for now, it is just right after we lay them down we are still up around the house. No biggie. :)The only problem is the layout of our room, packing furniture for twins in a tiny 10x11 room. We learned the hard way about Jenna's mobility in the crib now...that is another post you will not believe. :) Coming soon...




Standing in the Crib from Casey Little on Vimeo.



We spent a week this month at the beach for Labor Day so that is where most of our pictures came from this month. Will try to do another post on that soon.

Can't believe how much has changed this month...they are growing so fast and almost ONE! We love you Jenna and Caden! We love how you have changed our lives in every way!

10 months

So this is why you don't procrastinate on writing monthly posts...you forget what they did! It doesn't help that since the day they turned 10 months...they have taken off in new developments! I'm going to have to rely on pictures to remember what they did the month leading up to turning 10 months old. eek!


So...during this month the twins really hit a great rhythm. They are sleeping consistently through the night...we are not getting up once! Heavenly! They have also fallen into a GREAT nap routine. All of this equals really fun days and lots of outings since we are scheduled like clockwork! We attempted our 10 month shots outside since it was such a beautiful day. Well, you learn as you go...way to much going on outside to get good shots. Me and Ryan were covered in sweat by the time we packed up and went inside. But ...we got some cute shots :)




And now for some Out-takes:

Jenna says "ooo look, grass!"

There goes an airplane...

Say WhAAAAT? Holla back now...

Measurements:
No scheduled (or non-scheduled) visits to the Doctor (yea for healthy babies!) so we have no new weight or height measurements.

Food:
We are still eating mama's homemade food and Gerber jars when we are out and about. We started meats and pasta's and for the longest time they hated the chunks of pasta! But as they got used to it, they now LOVE spaghetti and lasagna! They still get 4 bottles a day that range in 3 oz to 6 oz. I know that sounds strange but it is because of my dear sweet C-man. It is a guessing game as to how much he will drink any given feeding. Sometimes, he tanks all 6 oz! Sometimes, he struggles to take 3. But he is always content to the next feeding...he is just very sure of when he is done! In fact, some nights he only drinks 1 oz yet he sleeps all night and doesn't wake up early!? So strange, kid! We have mastered the Puffs and we looooove Cheerios! Mama loves that we are eating Cheerios's b/c I can pack some in my bag and sneak some to them when we are pushing our limits out and about or when we go out to eat...they can munch on something while the adults eat too! Jenna still holds her bottle like a champ for mommy while Caden still needs assistance. Towards the end of this month...mama has had enough and decides it is time to be big boy. Stay tuned to the 11 month post to see how it worked out ;)

Sleeping:
I can best describe this as "clockwork." Given no outside variables (over tired, on vacation etc...) they are so predictable, it is great! I can get so much done now around the house! They take a solid 1.5 hour nap in the morning...2 hours probably once or twice a week! And another 1.5 hour nap in the afternoon. They are fed, burped, sometimes cuddled and in bed by 7:30 pm each night. I hear someone starting to talk and play between 7 and 7:30 each morning...but I do not get them up until 8 am. Thank you, Sweet Jesus! When we are traveling or got a little off schedule, then they might take only an hour nap in morning / afternoon...but I can handle that!

Miscellaneous:
Caden caught up in the tooth department this month and cut his 2nd tooth. Now the twins both have the front two bottom teeth...and that is it. No new teeth at all!Jenna continues to get up on all four's and does the shuffle...but no forward movement yet!

"Yes? May I help you?"

They are both getting better at standing in the walker instead of just pushing backwards.

We went outside alot this month (July/August). We introduced the twins to Goodberry's...YUM!, the swings and sitting outside on the back porch. Caden LOVED eating some of mommy's Mint Chocolate Chip Concrete :)





As you saw in an earlier post...they are loving bath time now! And everyone gets wet!


When I said we were like clockwork earlier...I mean in many different ways! Sleeping, eating, and...poop! I can tell you when each twin will have a dirty diaper each day. Caden has 3 consistently the same time each day, Jenna has 1 at the same time and about 50% of the time one more. Hilarious!

Jenna in her "daisy dukes" shorts inspired by her friend, Kailyn :)

Caden with a photo bomb by Snuggle

So YES! Based on the picture above...Snuggle is home again! It was way overdue time for us to bring the Snug back home. My parents went WAAYYY above the call of duty and kept him for a year while we adjusted to the twins. So far, I'm happy to report that snuggle is doing fantastic! He loves the twins and sits right next to them at all times they are awake. When they wake up from nap or in the morning...he runs and sits outside of the nursery door until we go get them. We have had to work on distinguishing his toys vs the twins toys, but that will come. The twins are fascinated by him and love to watch him do laps, scratch, and cough up hair balls! We are so glad to have everyone back together.

The twins' Birthday shopping and Christmas shopping are already done! We all but stole awesome stuff for them at the Twin Sale in August. I can't believe we are one month closer to them being a year old! I've decided on our theme and have unsuccessfully tried to calm myself down in the planning. Out.of.Control! But it will be a blast :)

In closing, I found this picture when I was looking through the computer today. UNCANNY how much they look alike!!!!!



Another great month with my sweeties! Love you C and J!

Twin Lovin'

I am so incredibly blessed to be able to sit at home and watch my two precious miracles. They are so fun right now! This video has dual purpose: first, to give Caden some positive spotlight. He has come out of such a tough spring/summer and alot of my posts and alot of you that have spent time around us saw the reflux monster of Caden come out. He truly is a happy joyful little boy and now that we are on the upper swing of things, wanted to give him some special time. Second, if you can stick it out for 1 minute, near the end of the video, you will see the twins latest melt-your-heart-moment. Recently, anytime Jenna crawls over near Caden, they will bow their heads to touch. Its like a "head hug." It makes you want to cry, laugh, and clap all at the same time! Enjoy...

Head Hugs from Casey Little on Vimeo.