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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Picture post and Poll

Here are some extra pictures from the last few days. I told you I took too many at 7 months...and how could I choose? So many cute ones. :)

I also added a poll about their birthday party on the side. If you can, let me know which weekend is better for you to attend, since I want as many people as possible to share in their special day! (And the fact that we survived the first year!) I was just planning on the weekend of the 22nd, but several people already knew they had a conflict. SO, if you know me in real life, and you live close enough to get here, assume you're invited and answer the poll!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Holden steals all the toys from Henry at breakfast. Henry's like, "what's up with that, dude?"
 
Holden loves Henry. We took several in this pose, but none turned out really well.
Holden also loves his panda!
Henry's "what up dog" pose

Our so cute mommy group on the Monon trail! We make quite a scene with all our strollers. :) And I like how Henry's the only baby you can see! But there are seven of them...

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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Seven months!

So the boys are seven months old, as of last Wednesday. We took some pictures that didn't turn out, so I'll have to re-do them and add them later.

But it was a big month around here! Holden weighs in at 15 pounds, 6 ounces, which means he gained nearly a pound in the last month. (And that he's getting close to tripling his birth weight!) Henry was 14 pounds, 7 ounces, so he didn't gain quite a pound. But they're both on their "curve", even though they're on the small side! Helping them gain all this weight was a ton of new foods! In the last month, they've tried avocado, banana, pears, peas, sweet potato, apples, carrot, and mango! They love everything...EXCEPT the peas. I mix the rice cereal or oatmeal in with the fruits to thicken it and try to increase the amount...it seems like they can eat a ton! We freeze stuff in the ice cube trays, and they'll easily eat 5 to 6 cubes between them. Hopefully we'll try some more green vegetables soon, and maybe they'll like green beans or something.

Both boys are able to sit up pretty well, so they were sitting up for their photo shoot last weekend. (They still topple over, and Henry's able to stay up longer.) They roll and scootch around really well! We put them down on the floor and they try to wiggle around to different parts of the living room. Holden especially can hold himself up on his hands, and is finally getting his knees under him! He's moved backwards, and got stuck under the swing the other day! I think crawling forward shouldn't be too far away! They love to play in their jumperoo and exersaucer, and love to put everything into their mouths. They roll over during diaper changes now, so that makes things a little more difficult. They still like going on walks, and we took a walk on the Monon for the first time last week with some of our friends. I'm starting to worry a little about sunscreen, and making sure we get it on them but wondering how it'll affect their skin, but we have some cute hats to try, too.

Both boys are more vocal now, too! They really laugh at things and people now. Henry is still quicker to smile at people, but Holden loves when I "scare" him and say "boo!" We've gotten a few cute videos of them laughing lately. Henry likes to hear the sound of his voice and makes lots of different high pitch noises. Holden has learned to say "Ba" and will say it over and over to himself...while he's on the floor or in his crib...it's pretty cute.

Sleep is still decent. They went through a period of waking earlier again, (like around 11 pm or midnight which is a bummer for me since I was just getting to sleep) but then they went back to waking around 5 am or 6 am to sleep. Sometimes they'll sleep through the night! I'm guessing maybe they're just going through a growth spurt, or they're in pain from teething. The teething hasn't been too bad, but they just seem kinda cranky sometimes. They constantly have a toy or hand or shirt in their mouths, and they're drooling a lot! Which is rough on their skin around their mouths, but we try to keep putting Aquaphor on it. We're trying to keep the ezcema under control with baths most nights and lots of creams and ointments. I'm still hoping it'll improve as we get into summer, Alex still thinks it's a food allergy that causes it to flare up. Naps during the day are also decent. I don't ever get a long nap, but the three shorter ones are pretty consistent. I'm guessing at some point we'll drop one nap and one of the others will get longer, but we're good with where we are now.

So in general, it's busy around here, but good! I feel like I've been able to get out a little more, to have lunch or playdates with friends or even a trip to Target. The boys are pretty good and seem to like going places and moving in the car or stroller. In general, they're very sweet and happy boys! It's hard to imagine they won't be my cuddly babies much longer, and that soon they'll be able to run in different directions! It's so exciting watching them grow up, but looking back at pictures from when they were born, it's already hard to remember them that small. I'm starting to try and think about birthday party ideas...pretty crazy! And we need to think about baby proofing the house and getting bigger carseats...I think we'll stay busy the next few months!

Here are the pictures. (I took a ton, I might have to do an "outtakes" post later with some other favorites. The light was weird the first time, so I took more another day.) The first one with Henry looked better on my computer...I don't know why it didn't crop like I had it. The second two I couldn't decide between the two shocked expressions! :)





Sunday, April 15, 2012

Milestone watch: First teeth!

Holden had his first tooth poke through Friday, April 13th! He had been fussy/clingy, and I felt around in there and felt something sharp poking through!! (Just when I had given up on them getting any teeth, and was starting to feel cool with them not biting, me, ha!)

Yesterday, we got some pictures done at my friend Christie's, but the boys completely melted down before very long. (Luckily she's awesome enough to still get some great shots in just the first few minutes!) And sure enough, I felt Henry's mouth later that night, and felt his first tooth too! He couldn't let his brother steal the show!

More on the picture session later, and hopefully some pictures of teeth to come! They also tried puffs (like fruit flavored Cheerios, they melt in their mouths) for the first time and seemed to like them! Holden almost got one in his mouth by himself! :) My boys are getting so big....

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Easter: Part 3

Finally! It was Easter morning! I was so excited to see what the boys would think of their baskets. (They were with me and my mom when we bought the stuff for it, but hey, they don't remember that.) We got everything at Target. They got: a stuffed dinosaur, a Gerber puffs snack, 2 cloth blocks each (came in a pack of four and I had been eyeing them for a while) and a jiggly toy. I bought some eggs, but we didn't put anything in them this year. They'll be ready to go for next year! And of course we bought the baskets; I thought they were pretty cute. The bunny ears were from Target too, gotta love that dollar isle! :)

Henry

Holden

So I wanted a picture of each boy with their basket, and I was interested to see how they'd react, if they'd reach for stuff or be uninterested. But as soon as I set Holden down next to his basket, he went for it! He started grabbing the pinwheel and then the block. When we set Henry down next to him, he was looking at all Holden's stuff, until Alex showed him he had his own basket! My favorite series of pictures is when Henry gets out his cow toy, and then in the next picture Holden has grabbed it away, and then in the third picture, Henry steals it back! I'm sure this is only the beginning...let the brother rivalry/toy stealing officially begin! :) Then they decided to chew on the pinwheels, of course the only non-appropriate toy to mouthe, so we had to take those away. And in the last picture, Holden is practically inside the basket, like he's saying, wait, that's all? I think this means their first birthday and Christmas will be really fun this year, since they'll be much more interested in what they're getting!!



Henry, "This is a cool cow!"

Holden "Yeah, I think I'll swipe that."

Henry, "Nope, sorry, it's mine."

Holden, "What? It's over? There's nothing left in here but grass!"
After all the excitement of the baskets, we put them down for a nap, they got up and ate their pears and cereal, took a bath, got dressed, got packed, and headed to the Amerman's! Whew! We had Easter dinner down there, and the boys had a good time. Their Aunt Liz and Grandpa Dave were happy to hold them and walk around with them. We took a walk during the afternoon, and got a few pictures with our bunny ears. Henry matched his grandpa; they were both wearing orange shirts and khaki! Cute. We had to fight them to get a nap in, but we finally got them to sleep for a bit, which was a good thing. Grandma Gina made them a sweet potato, and they split a whole one between the two of them! These boys like to eat, which you couldn't tell by looking at them because they're so little. Finally, right at the end of the day, we got a SUPER cute video of Henry laughing at his cousin Emma. She kept saying, "Oh Henry, you're so funny," and for some reason, he thought this was hilarious! She had to have said it ten times and he laughed after each one! :) So it was a busy and tiring weekend, but it was a great one! The boys should have great memories of their first Easter. (Ok, not exactly memories...but I took enough pictures that they can remember that way!)

Grandpa and Henry match!

 


 
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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Easter: Part 2

Saturday we went to my parents' house for our Easter dinner. I spent the early part of the day shopping (woo) and got a few things for me and a few for the boys. I had found the cute hats in the first picture at Target, but of course they had only one plaid one. So I asked them to see if they had any in another store, and they had one in the north Carmel one. I also had been LOVING the shoes my friend Kelly had for her son, and happened to see the same pair at the store! So I snatched them up. :) Thanks for letting me match you, Kelly. We'll have to get a picture with all three boys. The first picture here is before we left the house in their super cute outfits...just in case they didn't make it to Grandma and Grandpa's! (You never know with these two...they still spit up an awful lot.)

After a yummy dinner where the boys were pretty good (next year they'll probably be at the table with us, instead of us passing them around and eating in shifts!) we decided to take a few family pictures outside. My mom has a great yard and some flowers in bloom, so I thought it'd make for some nice "spring-y" pictures. Alex and I probably don't look that great, but the boys look cute! :) And I always feel like I don't have enough pictures that I'm actually in. (Same for my mom, I feel like one of the two of us is always taking the picture!) So here are some of our favorites from that day. At least I have a few to print out and maybe frame! Can't wait to get their real six month pictures done soon (even though it'll be closer to seven months by then!) Oh, and we for sure won't mix them up this time. Henry is wearing the ORANGE shirt and Holden is wearing the GREEN one! Yay! 
 
 
 
 

Henry to Holden, "Dude, do you think we're about done here? Sheesh."

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Monday, April 9, 2012

Easter in Three Parts: Part 1

So a few days before Easter, we decided to try and get a few Spring/Easter pictures of the boys outside at my mom's house. They still can't quite sit up on their own, so we tried to get creative. :) We used the same basket we took pictures of them in when they were newborns; I'll have to dig that picture up to compare. They can prop themselves up when they're on their tummies, so we got a few in that position as well. I bought some bunny ears and colorful pinwheels in the dollar isle at Target (woo!) So here are the best pictures we got! (They are wearing their Easter shirts that say Egg Hunt Champion but it's hard to read.)

Oh, and we mixed them up about a million times. When they were on their stomachs, we were trying to get someone's attention and calling him "Henry!" Then when my mom picked them up, we realized that Holden was who we'd been calling Henry...Sigh. Guess I shouldn't dress them the same, or shouldn't mix them around like we were! If it helps, Henry is the one with a scratch on his nose. :)

 
 
Grumpy face: "Remind me why we're doing this again?"
 
 
 
 
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