State Fair of Texas

Ferris Wheel

Every year we go to the State Fair of Texas and this year was no exception.  There was no way I was going to miss it this year. I wasn’t able to go last year because I was on bed rest with the twins.  I begged my OB to let me go last year, I promised I would go in a wheel chair or that I would just go in, get a Fletcher’s corny dog and leave…and still no! So I made sure I went and got a picture this year, with 2 boys in tow, of course.

with Big Tex

This was the boys’ first year to attend and hopefully in the future they will look forward to going each year as much as their momma.  We decided to go one night after work so when we got to the fair grounds around dinner time and were ready to roll ( sniffing out the Fletcher’s corny dog stand all the while).

After visiting Big Tex we walked around a while before going to visit the animals, which they loved, especially Ian.  While walking around, we found a giant elephant and let the boys play around on it for a little bit.

We were walking by just as the parade was starting so we stopped and let the boys watch it before heading out.  A great time was had at the fair this year and can’t wait until next year when the boys are a little more aware of what’s going on.

Here are some pictures of the boys from the fair.  Pay no attention to the random people in any of the photos, in a place that busy its inevitable that you will get some random person in the shot.

Hayden and the elephant

Hayden and the elephant

Ian would rather play in the flower bed

the massive elephant

Jonathan and the boys

Hayden

the boys petting the goats

Ian laughing at something a goat did

watching the parade

 

They’re walking…

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

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!

11 Months Old

The boys turned 11 months old today! Wow, one more month and they’ll be a year old.  I can’t believe how much the boys have “grown up” in the last month.  They are both trying to walk, Ian has walked about 3 feet by himself and Hayden has taken a few steps but thats about it.  Hayden just doesn’t really care to walk, he can get around crawling, so why walk.

The boys are eating a lot more finger foods and less baby food.  Hayden is the one that we thought was going to be our big eater, but boy were we wrong! Ian sure has surprised us…that boy can eat! He eats pretty much anything we put in front of him.  Hayden doesn’t like to eat a whole lot of finger foods.  We have tried to give him chicken several times, but he just doesn’t like it.  He did eat some green beans the other night though.  He will eat rice and pinto beans from Chipotle, so we may just have to eat at Chipotle all the time, ha.  They both love pears so they get that pretty often for breakfast.  I made some pancakes for them a few weeks ago and they both seemed to like those and of course, they ate some of my cheese pizza the other day and loved it.

They both drink wonderfully from a straw and love their sippee cups.  The other day I looked down and Ian had gotten a hold of my cup and was drinking my coke….So far all they have had was water, and I’m not in any hurry to change that.

The boys are making all kinds of different noises and laughs and funny faces that they make. Ian has started squealing when he gets excited and Hayden will start flapping his arms up and down and get a big smile on his face.

We have started putting the boys in the church nursery this last month and they have done great.  The only issue we’ve had is that they both got some runny noses for about a week last week and Hayden’s actually turned into a mild case of croup.  But they are both better now and doing great.

Ian has 4 teeth now and Hayden has 5 teeth, almost 6…there’s one right under the skin, but it hasn’t quite poked through yet.

The boys absolutely loooove to be outside and since its been quite a bit cooler the last few weeks we’ve been able to go outside in the evenings more.

helping dad pull weeds

Our lives have definitely gotten busy over the last few months, the boys are everywhere and in to everything.  We may be busy, but it is such a fun time.  I love getting to spend time with my boys and watch them grow and learn new things. Jonathan and I will just sit and watch them play, which can be quite entertaining. Here’s to another fun month and watching what they’ll learn to do next!

What we’ve been up to…

We have been extremely busy the last few weeks, or months for that matter, and with work and taking care of the boys, I haven’t had much time to update the blog.

We have been having a lot of fun with our boys now that they are getting older and getting their little personalities.  It has been so hot this summer that we haven’t been able to go out side a whole lot since it’s 100 degrees even at 8:00 PM.  BUT, the other night we had a “cold” front come through so we were able to go out and play a little.  The boys love to be outside so it was nice to watch them “play.”

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Boys playing in the garden

We had a lazy afternoon today just playing in the living room with our boys.  So naturally, I grabbed the camera and snapped some photos. The boys are so much fun and they can keep you entertained just watching them play.  A couple of weeks ago, we got this pack of sensory balls while we were at Costco, of all places, and they love to play with them.  Hayden is our tactile child and loves touching all kinds of different textures, so we figured he would really like these.

I took out my fixed 50mm Nikon lens to take these photos, and it reminded me of why I loved it in the first place.

 

Hayden & Ian have found 2 new games they love to play.  #1 playing in the curtains, #2 pulling all the DVD’s off the shelf.  They will play these all day if we let them.

game #1

 

game #2, although you can't tell he's pulling the DVD's off the shelf

Presley was a little worn out from running away from the boys and finally got a second to just lay there without anyone coming to “play” with her.  The hubs was worn out too…

worn out daddy

The boys absolutely loooove bath time! Although now that Hayden is doing really well at standing, he thinks he needs to stand in the bath tub too.  Its getting harder and harder to give them their baths and they have taken a tumble or two trying to stand up in the tub.  We have added bubbles to the bath and its fun to watch them with the bubbles and try to figure out what they are.  So, like any good mother, I snapped a few pics of the boys in the bath tub…

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Having fun with Ian's hair

Hayden having fun

We have had a busy, but fun last few weeks and months.  I’m hoping it will start to slow down a little and we can just relax and enjoy our boys….that may be wishful thinking!

10 Months Old

My boys are 10 months old now.  They are growing leaps and bounds and it seems just like yesterday they were 2 months old.  They are both crawling everywhere and walking all around the house as long as they have something to hold onto.  Hayden actually took his first few steps yesterday, one day shy of turning 10 months.  He is really good at standing alone now but still needs a little more balance before he is off and walking all by himself.  Ian still stands on his tip toes so until he stops doing that, he probably won’t have enough balance to start really walking, but he REALLY want to.

They are both doing great with eating and adding new foods to their diet all the time.  They would probably eat more if I let them but since I am learning as I go, I guess you could say I get scared about giving them the wrong thing or just not knowing what they can have at what stage.

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playing in the kitchen drawers

They are also both working on getting 4 new teeth, each!! 2 teething infants at once = NO FUN! Lets just say Jonathan and I are kinda worn out! (but not just from the teething – that’s a whole other post, coming soon 😉 ) We were actually at Costco the other day and were trying to scarf down some pizza real fast before the boys got totally out of control.  They were in pain from teething and tired because they didn’t sleep well the night before.  Anyway, they were crying and at one point when, what seemed like everyone was looking at us, I felt like standing up and shouting “Hey, until you have 2 teething infants at once, don’t judge us!”

The boys are getting in to EVERYTHING these days.  Its getting harder and harder to do things because you have to keep a constant watch on these boys!

You should see some of the out takes I have from trying to get their 10 month picture, they are hilarious!

We have recently started taking the boys to the church nursery and they seem to like it, they don’t fuss when we leave and are playing when we come back to get them.  Luckily for us, they are pretty adaptable babies.

Here’s to another month and a whole lot of new things they will learn!

 

Favorite Things: Part II

When the boys were a couple months old I wrote a post on my favorite baby must haves, well now that the boys are a little older I figured I would do another one with a more current list for babies 6+ months.

in their snooze sacks

When the boys were little little we used the miracle blanket with them to swaddle them and it was awesome!! So when they out grew it we had to find something else to take it’s place, and at that point it was still kind of chilly outside and since babies can’t use blankets you need something to keep them warm. So I found the Snooze Sack and it was perfect.  The boys loved them! Its basically a wearable blanket, there are many different brands out there, but the snooze sack was the best one that I found.  It has a band type thing that goes around their tummy to keep them feel secure and then the sack keeps them warm.  I highly recommend it, my boys would still be wearing it if it fit!

 

Tommee Tippee Bottles

On my last post I wrote about the Dr. Brown bottles. They are great and I would still use them today but I just got tired of cleaning all the parts! So when the boys were about 4 or 5 months old I switched them to Tommee Tippee bottles.

They are great, and the boys didn’t seem to notice the difference much at all. Well, I take that back. Hayden didn’t notice a difference, but Ian wouldn’t take it for a day or two until he realized it was, in fact, ok to drink from. The nipples are very different than the Dr. Brown bottles and I think it confused him. They were not spitting up anymore or less when we switched them so I was happy. The only downside is that they can only be found at Babies R Us, so you can’t just run to Target or Walmart and get one if you need it.

The boys with thier taggies

Our boys love their Taggies. My mom got them each one for Christmas and they sleep with them every night. Its about a 10 X 10 square and its small enough that they can sleep with them. You can usually find Hayden’s cuddled up under him in his arms at night and if you try to take it away, he pulls it back from you. I have a feeling we’ll be ordering some more taggies for Christmas this year.

Pacifier Holder

This one is more of a general item. A pacifier holder is a must at this age. They are constantly dropping their pacifier and it lands on the floor. At home, I’m fine with this because its my house and I know its clean, a little dog fur never hurt anyone! But when you are out at the store or a restaurant, you don’t really want it landing on the ground.

Bumper Cars

The top one on our list is a walker. Now, there are a lot of people out there that say these are a safety hazard, and I can see why they would say that. But, at the same time, I don’t know how they are using them but there is no safety hazard going on in our house. The only hazard is that you may get your toes taken off by one when they run over them! Its called Common Sense people! Anyway, our boys LOVE these cars. We had one originally and they both loved them so much we ended up getting another one. So now we play bumper cars in our house.

Fisher Price Highchair

I originally got the hook on high chairs for our table because the dining area in our kitchen is kind of tight for space.  They worked great, until I had to clean them, then they are a a hassle to take off and wash.  They also had a gap between the seat and the table so every little crumb would slip through the crack, I can only imagine what the floor would look like when they are a little older.  So I decided to go ahead and get two full highchairs.  We still use the hook on chairs when we go places, and are great to have when we go to grandparents houses.  But if you’re looking for a highchair, go with a full sized chair and save some time and effort.  And, when you have two little ones, your time is like gold.

I decided to get the Fisher Price EZ clean Luv u zoo highchair.  This highchair is great.  Not only is it a smaller highchair but it is super easy to clean.  It is Crevice free to prevent food from getting stuck, the restraint straps are easy to wipe down, the height and recline are adjustable and it folds up for storage.

Hayden

When the boys were a little younger and not able to stand up or sit up by themselves, they really liked the Fisher Price space saver bounce and spin froggy.  They would play so hard in it, they would fall asleep sometimes.  Its a great bouncer for them to play in while you need to start dinner, laundry, etc.  They will still play with it some now, but since they are able to crawl they don’t like to be confined too long.

Sophie the giraffe

Sohpie, the giraffe. In all honesty, this looks like a dog toy…it feels like one, squeaks like one and our dog loves to try to snatch it from the boys.  We keep our giraffes the car for the boys to play with and entertain them while driving. They are easy to hold onto and get in their mouths to chew.  Great for teething babies.

The next one isn’t a baby item but it is a must when you have a baby/toddler in the house…a dust buster, or any hand held vacuum.  I was always pulling out our big vacuum to clean up after dinner and got tired of it so I went out one day and got a little hand held vacuum and it has been wonderful.

I could go on and on about all the things that are great to have but I won’t, these are just the top items that I would recommend for baby.

Exploring

Our boys have become quite the explorers lately.   Since they are crawling everywhere we have to just shut the doors of rooms we don’t want them in.  Baby proofing is in full force these days.

The boys have found new and fun things to get into and do, its kinda fun to watch them and see what all they will do with a new discovery. Some of the favorite things to do are explore the master bathroom, watch presley in the backyard through the window on back door and play under the table with the chairs.   Here are some pictures of some of the boys new favorite activities.

Ian playing under the table

Hayden watching Presley

Waiting for Presley to come to the window

Hayden

Ian

Exploring the closet and bathroom

They are everywhere now and definitely keep us busy! We have retired many of their baby things like the swing and bringing in new toys and such for them to play with.  But sometimes they just prefer to play with the DVD’s, pots and pans, remotes and everything else.  They still sit and watch their Baby Einstein video and we pretty much just put that on when we need to get something done like dinner or laundry.  Other than those times, we just let them crawl everywhere and have “free” roam of certain areas.

They still love their walkers and we have a perfect house for them since we have a very long hallway with tile that extends from our front entry to the back dining area.  The only downfall to these walkers is they are beating up our baseboards so once they outgrow them we are going to have to repaint all the baseboards in the hallway and kitchen.  But it is totally worth it because they love them so much.

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

This picture does my heart good! Its a simple picture of a simple gesture. I was out with the boys shopping one day and when I looked down, this is what I saw:

Ian had grabbed hold of Hayden’s hand and they both just sat there like that for probably 5 minutes. It was really sweet and made my heart melt! Each of the boys have such a sweet and loving nature about them and I know they are only 8 months old so its still early to tell how they are going to act towards each other, but lately they have given me hope that they will be loving towards one another. Not only with this incident, but last week Hayden was a sweet big brother to Ian. Ian had bumped his head on something and started to cry a little and Hayden was sitting behind him and as Ian started to cry, Hayden reached up and started to pat him on the back as to say “there there, its ok” and Ian stopped crying. I’m sure this was merely a coincidence, but I’m going to take it as a sign that my boys really do love each other. The other day Jonathan told me that while I was out earlier that day Hayden started to cry and when Ian saw him crying he picked up Hayden’s pacifier and handed it to him. Haha, but like 2 minutes later proceeded to try and take it out of his mouth…o’well, you take what you can get I guess!

Summer Fun

It’s July 4 weekend, that means summer has begun! Its already turning out to be a good one and we have had all kinds of fun in the last few weeks. The boys went swimming for the first time in our pool, and I think they liked it, but its kind of hard to tell if an 8 month old liked something. They weren’t crying so thats a plus. They love splashing in the water during bath time so we figured they would just think the pool is a ginormous bathtub and splash away.

swimming

Since we didn’t want to have to go to the pool every time we wanted to take the boys swimming, we got a little pool for the boys to play in in our backyard. It’s pretty cute and the boys love it!

Summer Fun

A few weeks ago I took some pictures of our friends kiddos at the park and while we were there we decided to snap a few pics of our boys as well.

Ian in all his crazy hair glory


Hayden laughing at dad

I wish we were able to go to the pool with the boys more but we have only made it there twice. Since I don’t work on Fridays and Jonathan doesn’t like going to the pool and baking in the sun, Friday’s would be the optimal time to take the boys to the pool for a little while, but I can’t exactly go to the pool by myself with two infants. So instead we have to wait for the weekend and then we are usually too busy or just don’t want to be there with 500 other people.

This weekend we are planning on going to go to the farmers market for some fresh fruit and veggies. I think we may try to start making some of our own baby food so if anyone has any recommendations for a good food processor for making baby food, please let me know.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun fourth!