Category Archives: Pictures

A first Birthday Party

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Last weekend we had a birthday party for the boys with family and a few friends.  We had a great time and the boys experienced a birthday party for the first time.  I decided to make two big cupcakes for the boys for their cakes.  And since their are two boys, we had two separate birthday “cakes”…and we sang “Happy Birthday” to them each one at a time.

They both did really well with having as many people in the house as we did.  We only had two meltdowns by Ian, and they weren’t totally his fault, I must admit.  Meltdown #1 was when I was putting the hat on them.  I think I accidentally snapped the side of Ian’s face with the elastic.  Then they were eating their cakes and meltdown #2 happened.  They were doing so well, we sang to them and then let them dig into their cupcakes.  Ian kind of just touched it and then licked his fingers, while Hayden shoved his whole hand into the cake.  That’s when it happened…when Hayden did that, we all started to laugh and my sensitive Ian lost it, followed by Hayden after he saw Ian was upset.  We got them all cleaned off and dressed again then they were ok and all ready to open their present.  They got some great gifts and will be all set for a while. They have had a lot of fun lately playing with all their toys!

Here are a few pictures of the big day.

Birthday Boys' Highchairs

the boys' cakes

 

The Cupcakes

 

Hayden's photos

Ian's Photos

1 photo every month to see how much they grow

Hayden digging into his cake

 

 

Backdrop Fun

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Several weeks ago I set up our backdrop and studio lights so I could take some photos of the boys and my niece and nephew.  First off, it is very difficult to take pictures of moving targets! The boys were more interested in the curtains, and lights than getting their picture taken. And, trying to get a picture of the two of them together, HAHA…that’s out of the question!

It has been almost 2 years since I really took some pictures and used the lights and all.  That being said, it took me some time to get used to the lights again and how to set them up.  The lighting in the pictures was not perfect, by any means and because of that, the colors were all off.  But, we did get some decent photos of the boys! So here are some of the pics I got of the boys.

Hayden

Hayden

Ian

Ian

I tried to get one of the 2 of them

Cousins

I absolutely LOVE the picture of the four of them.  It came out amazingly well.  I just told Jake and Brooklyn to keep looking at the camera and look pretty, no matter what the boys did. I think the boys were looking up at my brother, Brad who was trying to make them laugh.  Its a great picture of Jake and Brooklyn and even though the boys aren’t looking, its still a good one.

I’ll have to try again and see if I can get the lighting better some other time.

Photography challenge

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So it’s been a while since I really picked up the camera and took some pictures. I did pull out the backdrop and lights a few weeks ago to get some pics of the boys and that boosted my desire to do photography again. I’ll be posting some of the pics I took of the boys and my niece and nephew soon.

Anyway, I found this photo challenge and thought I’d give it a try. I think I’ll start today since it’s October 1…so here goes nothing!

Update 10/13/11…..ya so I haven’t started this yet.  Maybe the first of the year?!

They’re walking…

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We can officially say Ian is walking now, and Hayden is on his way.  He started walking here and there a couple of weeks ago but Monday afternoon he just took off and started walking all over the place.  Hayden has been taking a step here or there for about a month but nothing more than 1 or 2 steps at a time.  Sunday night, he decided he wanted to start walking as well.  He doesn’t walk as much as Ian but he is catching up.

We have a few videos here and there on our iphones of the boys walking but nothing really post worthy.  I’ve been meaning to put a bunch of the little ones we have together to make 1 video of their progress so far.

The best part of seeing them learn to walk is watching their faces.  They get a huge grin on their face and Ian will usually start laughing as he walks away. Love it!

Here are a few pics of our big boys walking. Our boys usually don’t go around half naked, they just happened to be the one time I picked up the camera and actually got a picture of them walking.

Ian walking

 

Ian Walking

Hayden walking

Its so funny to watch their differences…and how much they are each like one of us.  Hayden is Jonathan’s mini me, looks, personality, everything. Ian is my mini me, not as much in looks but in personality.  It’s funny because these differences are showing up in the way they are learning to walk.

Hayden is the more cautious one.  He has always been the more steady one on his feet but is way to cautious to start walking.  He will make sure he is steady on his feet and then slowly take off. Where as Ian gets on his feet and just takes off whether he is steady or not.  Hayden will walk slowly and purposefully, and Ian is fast and walks around like a crazy person.  He goes, 90 to nothing and then falls..kinda like how I am on the snowboard 😉 I love it because I see me when I watch him.

Here’s to a new chapter in our lives as the boys become more and more mobile!

Rub a Dub Dub, 2 boys in a tub

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There is no question about it, our boys love to take a bath.  They love to splash and laugh at each other.  When they hear the water turn on, they crawl as fast as they can to the bathroom…and try to get into the tub, clothes and all!  Ian will either try to hike his leg up and over so he can get in and Hayden will try to go head first over the side of the tub.

They splash so much, I think by the end of their bath, more water is on the bathroom floor than in the tub. It’s funny because when they are in the tub they will just look at each other and start laughing.  The other night Hayden was laughing hysterically at Ian and we have no clue why.  Hayden will almost always try to reach up and touch Ian’s face….he never does this any other time but bath time and it’s hilarious.

Here are a few photos I took a while back during one of their baths…

the boys in their bath

 

Hayden

 

Ian

 

Hayden

 

Ian

Of course, momma likes bath time because it means her stinky boys will soon be squeaky clean!

i spy

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Swapping pacifiers

A while back we got a video monitor for the boys’ room but in all honesty, Its been more of an entertainment camera than a monitor. It has come in handy when they are in their cribs awake playing and we are in the kitchen getting bottles ready, etc. And, when the boys are a little older we will mount the cameras on the wall so we an get the entire room on the screen and not just their cribs.

Its funny because its in he dark so the pics are black and white, except anything that is turned on, it shows up in color. The boys have a glow worm they sleep with and the belly lights up so you can see that in the picture.
I have about 30 photos on the camera memory card but here are some of my favorites, and I’m sure as they get older we will have many, many more photos of these crazy boys!

Ian - look at those beaty eyes

Hayden trying to roll over

waiting on mom to get ready

Playing

Hayden playing quietly

Ian - He spotted the camera, DOH!

Hayden hugging his taggie

Ian - our tummy sleeper

Spring Pictures

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We decided to try to get some pictures of the boys at the Arboretum this spring, and like most photos of infants, you get what you get and you have to be happy with that. Overall I think we got some good photos, even though the boys were more interested in the grass than looking at the camera. Here are some of the best ones:

Hayden & Ian ~ 6 months old

 

Ian

 

Hayden

 

Our Family

Next year we’ll have a whole new set of problems while trying to get photos and even though we may not have gotten that “perfect” photo of the boys, we did get some great ones that I’ll cherish forever!

Doc Bands

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As I have mentioned before, the boys needed to get Doc Bands to help reshape their heads. Both boys have what’s called Plagiocephaly and Brachycephaly. This effects a large portion of twins due to limited space in the womb and a lot end up needing the bands . I knew Hayden would need one the first second I saw him, he was positioned very low in utero and didn’t move positions at all throughout the entire pregnancy. Ian on the other hand wasn’t nearly as bad but still needed one.

The boys got their Doc Bands a week ago and are quickly adjusting to life with a band attached to their head. They are supposed to wear the bands 23 hours a day with only 1 hour off for bath and to clean the band. So far we haven’t had a full 23 hours in the band. At first you are supposed to check them every 3-4 hours and if there is any redness leave the band off until it goes away. Well we’ve had some issues of getting really red and some skin breaking. But we have had each issue addressed by cranial tech, who we are using.

The boys weren’t too sure about the bands at first, but were great and didn’t pull on them or try to take them off or anything.

Ian in his Doc Band


Hayden in his Doc Band

They are sleeping in the bands and honestly, we expected them not to sleep well the first night or two. I don’t think it even phased them! They slept fine with the bands on.

The boys sure don’t let the bands keep them from playing. They love to play in their jumperoo and walker and won’t let that band stop them.

Ian


Hayden

The bands are just a white plastic and very medical like. So to make them a little more friendly and pleasant looking, we added a sticker to the back of each band and their names on the front so we can know which band belongs to each boy. The sticker says “Monkey See” on one and the other says “Monkey Do”…

back of the bands


There is a company in our area that does car wraps called 360 Wraps and they have started doing wraps on Doc Bands and other medical prosthetics for kids. They started out doing a few and it got so big they decided to start doing a once a month party where families can come and get their bands wrapped for free. We missed the April part because we got the band the same day as the party, so we are going to go to the May party and get their bands wrapped. I’ll post pictures once we get them done.

Like I mentioned earlier, there have been some issues with skin readness, rubbing and even skin breaking from the bands. Usually its not that bad and typically clears up in a short period of time. Well, I got Hayden up this morning and took his band off and this is what I saw…
photo
This is what happens when you have a stomach sleeper and his face is pressed against the band all night. It has cleared up throughout the day and looks much better but we are leaving it off until it completely fades away.

We went for our weekly adjustment and there has already been some improvement in both of their head shapes. Both of their heads have grown a good amount so we had to have the bands adjusted so the growth will be redirected in the right ways. We will go back weekly for the duration of treatment and hope to continue to see improvements like we did today.

2 peas in a pod

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It was around this time last year (I think April 5, 2010) that we found we were not only have one one baby but having two…our 2 little peas in a pod! Its amazing that a year ago we were looking at a sonogram of two little blobs with heartbeats and now I have two live, happy, healthy baby boys that I can snuggle and kiss on anytime I want to!!

One of my moms sweet friends, Nancy, had some onsies made for the boys and they are absolutely adorable. They have two peas in a pod on the front and on the back of each of the onsies has the first initial of their names.

Since yesterday was such a warm day we put the boys in their onsies and took some pictures of them.

Hayden & Ian


Hayden


Ian

Springtime & Bluebonnets

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Ian & Hayden

Here in Texas, spring is all about the Bluebonnets. Any given Saturday or Sunday afternoon in the spring you can catch 5-6 cars on the side of the highway or other street taking pictures in the bluebonnets.

Well we decided to join the fellow bluebonnet picture takers this year. But not on the side of the highway….not with 2 infants! We found a spot close by our house with a TON of bluebonnets, perfect for picture taking.

We went with high hopes of getting some really good shots of the boys, but lets remember, they are infants. Infants that don’t sit up real well by themselves. Ian is really sitting up well these days by himself so that wasn’t a big issue with him, but both were more interested in the bluebonnets than they were looking at the camera!

I got some decent pictures but none really of their faces. Poor Hayden doesn’t really have any good ones of his face because he wouldn’t look up for anything! The only decent picture we got of the boys, my eyes were shut, but because its good of the boys I could care less what I looked like in it.

Me and my boys


Hayden looking at the bluebonnets


Hayden grabbing and trying to eat the bluebonnets


Ian sitting in the bluebonnets


Ian about to eat the bluebonnets

I’m sure next year we will have a whole new set of challenges while trying to get some good pictures in the bluebonnets but I’ll take what I can get!