Category Archives: Twins

First Haircut

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The boys have been in desperate need of a haircut for a while. Their hair was growing over their ears and Ian had a rat tail on his left side, it was pretty funny. I had enough of the rat tail so I ended up cutting it off myself but Vicki got to give them their first real haircut this past weekend. They didn’t know what to think about it but did a good job and didn’t squirm too much. Of course we took pictures of this momentous occasion, but most of hte pictures ended up blurry or focused totally on something else. I didn’t realize this until I looked at the camera menu and saw that somehow my autofocus had been changed. That explains A WHOOOLE LOT the last few times I have taken pictures. I thought I was just becoming a bad photrapher, or my eye sight was really bad! Anyway, here are a few of the photos that I took.

First up, Hayden

Hayden not too sure what to think


Hayden


Hayden and Vicki

and in the end he looked like a big boy:

Big Boy Haircut

Now its Ian’s turn

Ian before


Ian

And in the end, he looked like a big boy too

Ian's Big Boy Haircut

They both look so much older with their hair cut. Ian’s hair is actually getting a red tint to it and for some reason, you can tell more with his hair shorter.

Big Boys

8 months old

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My boys are 8 months old today! I am amazed at how much they have changed in 1 month. During the last month they both have started crawling, they both have 2 teeth and are both pulling themselves up to a standing position all by themselves.

I can officially say they are set into a daily routine. They wake up in the morning anywhere from 7:00 – 7:45 and they get their prevacid. We have to wait around 30 minutes after their medicine to eat then they have their bottle and usually an entire jar of baby food. They will play for a little while and then around 10:00 AM they will take a nap. They will sleep anywhere from 45 mins to 2 hours in the morning. If we have some errands to run we usually do them in between waking up from their nap and next feeding time, which is typically 12:00-1:00. They will play a little while and then take another nap around 2:00, where they will hopefully sleep 1-2 hours. They will eat again about 4-5:00 and then have play time while we get home from work, fix dinner and eat. Around 7:00 we give them their Prevacid again and start bath time. They absolutely LOVE bath time! After bath we’ll get them dressed in their PJ’s and have their last bottle of the day, then bed time! They are so used to their schedule they know if its different, and you will know they know!

Hayden playing with Jonathan's old tractor

Hayden has started showing us he is going to be our strong willed little one! I guess he gets it from his dad because I was a perfect little kid! Just ask my mom. 😉

Hayden was the first one to crawl and once he figured out how to get all the movements coordinated, he was off. He also learned how to pull himself up to a standing position all by himself. Needless to say both their crib mattresses were lowered!

He is still our serious one, but when he finds something funny, he laughs with all he has. I love listening to his laugh and seeing his smile, its priceless! Hayden is roughly 22 pounds and definitely feels it.

Hayden has found a new favorite game…it’s called see how many DVD’s he can pull off the shelf before we catch him. He also loves to go to the entertainment center and push all the buttons, so we have to keep the door shut on the front of it. But, then he learned how to open the door, Doh!

Mr. Ian is still our little guy who is always on the go. He started crawling about a week after Hayden did. He does a great job at crawling but he would much rather walk. He has also started to pull himself up to a standing position all by himself and will walk along the couch while holding on.

Ian playing with Jonathan's old tractor

He finally got a tooth this month and about a week later he got his 2nd tooth. He loooves to eat “real” food and does so good at meal times, well, at least the times he isn’t trying to roll out of his chair. Ian is about 18 pounds and you can really tell that 4 pound difference between him and Hayden.

Both boys have also tried a number of different foods and it’s so much fun to watch them taste and discover new flavors and textures.

Besides their regular formula and baby food (carrots, apples, blueberries, rice, etc.) they’ve also enjoyed some Chick-fil-A waffle fries, and tortillas, as well as rice and beans from Chipotle.

Ian seems to really enjoy flavored rice but Hayden still struggles with keeping the rice grains in his mouth. Shortly after he takes the rice in his mouth, we catch him rolling his tongue around his chin trying to pull the rice back into his mouth.

Both of the boys are such happy babies and are some of the best babies I have ever met. They sleep great at night and take 2 naps during the day. Their faces light up when we come home from work and it is such a good feeling to see that and hear their voices when we walk in the door. I am completely in love!

Trying to get the photo of them together was a challenge this month, and I have a feeling its just going to get harder. So I have a number of funny outtakes that I’ll post later.

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

MOM-cation

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At the pool with these 2 crazy boys
Lets see if I can finish this before the boys wake up from their nap…

There’s the vacation and the staycation, but there now needs to be a momcation! With a vacatiion you relax and just get away from the everyday life that surrounds you. With a staycation you get away from the main stresses in life (aka work) and can relax while at home for a few days or a week. A momcation would be a mini version of these. I’m not talking about some elaborate get away or even a whole day away, I’m just talking about little breaks from being a mom (as if you can ever truly take a break from being a mom!)

Some of my of my favorite things to do for a little momcation are going to get a mani/pedi, catching a bite to eat with my best friend and getting a chance to go out with the hubs. Being a mom of an infant, or two infants rather, you are pulled in different directions all day long….literally. Now that they are mobile one boy will roll or scoot over to one end of the room and the other to the other side of the room.

Because raising twin boys isn’t enough of a full time job, I have another “real” full time job 4 days a week and recently picked up a new job working 1-2 days extra a month. Between all of those, it’s exhausting so needless to say a mom cation is required every once in a while to keep some sanity. But I have to say, Jonathan is a HUGE help and does a lot with the boys and around the house. I honestly couldn’t do it without him!

I have a lot of friends who have babies and reading some of their blogs is interesting. I read one recently where she was talking about how great it was when her husband was around so he can take over and she can get a break and not be “on” 24 hours a day. Hmm, what’s that like?! A break for me is having one baby! Unfortunately, with twins, you don’t get that luxury. Its hard to take both of them by yourself, but we do when we have to. The hardest part is when they both want to be held or be with you and your only one person, I can’t hold both of them that long, especially with a bad back.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about any of this, it’s just a different perspective from someone with one baby. I love my two babies and am soooo glad they are apart of our lives! I’m just saying its nice to get a break every once in a while and have a momcation!

Doc Band Graduation

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Graduation Day


A few days ago we went for our last visit at Cranial Technologies and the boys had their exit pictures done. They officially graduated from their Doc Bands and are free of them! The physical therapists there were surprised at how fast the boys heads reshaped and corrected with the bands. Apparently we caught them right in the middle of a growth spurt so that helped tremendously.

We got the before and after images sent to us today and we are amazed at the differences. Since they are a digital copy, of course I am going to share them on here. So without further ado, here are the before and after images:

Here’s Hayden

Hayden


Hayden


Hayden

And Ian

Ian


Ian


Ian

Big difference, huh? When you look at them, you can tell they look different, but until you see the actual before and after photos to compare them, you can’t fully appreciate the difference the bands made.

7 months old

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Hayden & Ian

My boys…you are 7 months old now, you’re growing up too fast! In the last month you have really grown up, in your abilities and looks. You are really starting to look like little boys instead of a babies. You got your Doc Bands off a few days ago and now have wonderfully round noggins…and easily accessible heads to kiss! It is soo much easier to snuggle with you guys now that you don’t have the bands on and a lot less hassle over all. But we are very glad we put you in the bands and corrected your head shape because it made a huge difference. Hayden you don’t even look like the same baby. You two absolutely love Presley, anytime she comes around you start cracking up and could just sit and watch her forever. You started waking up earlier this past month and are now waking up anywhere from 600 – 715 AM. I kinda liked the 800-830 wake up time but I know you are getting older and that means earlier mornings! You boys are now sitting in high chairs and are about out of your infant carriers. We have two big boy car seats in the car now and I think you guys like them because you have more room to move around 😉

Hayden

Hayden, you are soooo close to crawling. You get up on your hands and knees and just rock back and forth like you are about to take off. You do scoot backwards some but not really crawling, and to get where you want to go, you roll all over the place. You are still just as sweet as ever and are smiling and laughing a whole lot more. You now have 2 teeth and they really didn’t bother you when they came in. You hear all these horror stories of babies teething and you didn’t seem to mind it much, of course you were fussy a little bit but not bad at all. You absolutely love your jumperoo and will jump like crazy in it! You are eating all kinds of baby food now but would still rather just drink your formula. In the morning you will lay in your bed and “talk” for a while before we get you up and when we go in you have a BIG grin on your face. You are finally getting some hair that people can see, wahoo! It’s also getting darker so you notice it more.

Ian

Ian, as you can see your hair is still crazy. It is getting longer but still likes to stand straight up on the side and in the back. If you can’t change it, accentuate it…so we give you a mohawk. You are still just a happy go lucky little guy and active as all get out. But lately we have noticed more and more that you will just sit and play calmly with your toys and you have become more observant. You will get up on your hands and knees too but don’t really try to crawl…you would much rather stand up! You like to grab us, try to stand up and climb up us. It’s pretty funny to watch. You love to “walk” around in your walker and will end up down the hall if we turn our back for a minute. You don’t have any teeth yet but I think they may be trying to break through. The only time you are fussy because you are teething is when you eat. The pressure of sucking from the bottle causes your gums to hurt so we give you some orajel and your good to go. You love your baby food and eat a lot of different things now. You will talk a lot too while waiting for us to come in your room in the morning, but lately you have started “singing.” You talk as if you are singing and it is hilarious! I think you may be our little songbird.

This is such a fun age and I really enjoy watching you both learn all these new things and hearing your laughs and all the new sounds you make. I can’t wait to see what you learn this month!

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!

Mother’s Day

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Although people tell me that last year when I was pregnant was my first Mother’s Day, This is my first official Mother’s Day. Motherhood, for me, started the day I finally got to hold my baby boys in my arms, and what a wonderful way to start that new job it was!

First day of Motherhood

Thinking back to my short 6 months of motherhood, I’ve come to some
conclusions. Motherhood is hard, but at the same time the best and most rewarding job I could ever ask for.

I call it a job because that’s just what it is, a job. But it is such a blessing and a praise that I get to do this job every day and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

As with any new job, you learn as you go. When you start out you don’t really know a whole lot but the longer you do it, the more you learn. And, eventually you learn enough to get by, or at least fool people into thinking you know what your doing. Motherhood is one of the only jobs you can be completely clueless for the first 90 days and not get fired!

Here are some of the things I have learned in the last 6 months:

1) sometimes you do what you have to do to get by. That may mean one baby has to cry while you are dealing the other baby.
2) you may not get a shower everyday…and thats ok
3) the way you do something may not be considered the “right” way to do it, but if it works for you and your baby, it’s the right way for you. (unless its dangerous of course)
4) your house probably won’t be as clean as it one was, or cleaned as often…same goes for the lawn, laundry and anything else that need regular maintenance
5) “me” time is pretty much non existent
6) spit up happens, so plan on changing your outfit at least once a day
7) you need to teach your baby to fall asleep on their own, this is a learned skill
8) when babies learn to sit up on their own, you get some of your freedom back
9) squash and carrots stain clothing, bibs, blankets, etc.
10) Biz is great at getting the above out of clothing, as long as it isn’t set
11) always double check to see if there are wipes in the box before you change a dirty diaper
12) always have a burp cloth handy
13) the more you have on your to do list, the shorter nap time will be, and nap time will NEVER be as long as you want it to be.
14) as a parent of multiples, you gain instant “celebrity” status when you are out and about
15) hearing your children laugh is one of the best sounds in the world
16) You can’t get home soon enough from your “real” job
17) babies wake up waaaay too early, but seeing that face smiling back at you when you go in their room makes it all ok
18) sometimes babies get too stimulated with a lot of people or noises around them
19) you need to take time for yourselves, whether it’s 5 mins or 2 hours.
20) If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!

The best part of joining the motherhood club is watching your child learn things. It is a feeling I simply cannot put into words. Watching their face when they realize they can do something or helping them one day and a few days later they are doing it all by themselves. That is one of the best feelings in the world.

I am so thankful I was able to become a mom and that God entrusted these two precious boys to Jonathan and I, without them I would be lost!

me and my boys

I have to say that If it weren’t for my mom’s loving devotion and Godly example in my life, I would be lost. She is the only reason I know what to do and how to be a good mother. She has taught me by example to be loving, nurturing, self-sacrificing and patient. All of which are characteristics and attributes a mother should have.

Happy Mother’s Day Momma!!

Sleep Training

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\photo
Who would have thought that you could train yourself to sleep? Well, for adults this is difficult, but for a baby it is a necessity. Babies crave the closeness of another human being, mainly their mom and dad, and like to be held and rocked to sleep, after a while they get used to this. This is where the problem lies. The baby gets used to being rocked to sleep and never learns to fall asleep by themselves. Not only does this cause a problem for them at bedtime, but it causes issues related to waking in the middle of the night as well since the baby is not able to fall back asleep by him/herself.

Waking in the middle of the night a lot can cause a whole other problem of the baby not getting enough sleep and then being sleep deprived which can in turn cause….sleep issues. It’s a vicious cycle. Night time sleep issues tends to carry over into nap time problems as well, which again, can cause sleep deprivation.

There are so many different sleep training methods out there and it can be quite confusing when trying to figure out which one you will try. Our boys were about 4.5 months old when we even tried to start sleep training. They would take naps all throughout the day but only 30 mins at a time and we could tell they were not getting enough sleep. The boys have always slept pretty well but they would wake up a few times a night just wanting a pacifier or us to get them back to sleep. When we dropped the middle of the night bottle but were still getting up 3-4 times a night to get them back to sleep, we knew something had to change.

Everything you read says you need to put your child in bed awake, but drowsy. If you constantly put them in bed asleep, they will never learn to fall asleep by themselves and when they wake up in the middle of the night, they won’t be able to fall back asleep. So we make sure we put them to sleep awake, sometimes they are pretty drowsy and sometimes they are wide awake.

We chose to do the cry it out method . Before you go and judge us for letting our children lay in bed and cry themselves to sleep, you should first educate yourself on what the cry it out method entails. It does not mean laying your child in bed, shutting the door and letting them cry for an hour until they go to sleep. What it means is you put them in bed, kiss them, tell them goodnight and leave the room. Of course at first they are going to cry, we had a set time that we would let them cry and then go back in, give them their pacifier, put our hand on their chest, say goodnight and walk out. You wait the set time again and then go back in and repeat the process all over. We chose to wait 5 minutes the first two visits into the room and then extended it to 10-12 minutes there after. They wouldn’t cry the whole time either, they would whimper some and cry some and then there would be periods where they were quiet. After a few nights they got to the point of crying a little for no more than 2-3 minutes and then they were out.

After they started going to sleep easier, they would sleep through the night better and by about 5 months they were sleeping 11 or 12 hours straight. They would wake up some through the night but once we gave them their pacifier back, they would go right back to sleep. Of course now that they are teething, it does throw a wrench in things. The last few nights, they have woken up quite upset and had a hard time going back to sleep.

Another thing that helps with sleep training is to keep a consistent bedtime routine. We give the boys their bath starting about 7:00 pm and then get them dressed and let them play a little bit in their room before bottles. Once they drink their last bottle, we put them in their “happy sacks” and say good night. They may whimper for a minute or two, but some nights they don’t. And they usually sleep until the morning. They had been sleeping until 8:30AM or so but the last week they have been getting up about 730 AM so it may be time to make their bedtime a little earlier.

The type of sleep training we did worked for us. It may or may not work for you. Every child is different, even our two are different. Hayden can lay in the bed and cry and then go to sleep, while Ian gets worked up the more he cries and there is no going to sleep after that. So we let Hayden cry a little longer than we let Ian. If you are interested in sleep training your child, just try different avenues and find a solution that works for you and your family. Luckily we did find a solution for our babies and I praise God they sleep well because with two babies getting up all throughout the night, we would never sleep.