Ten Months Old!



Henry clapping for mommy!



Ten months old...and it's been another big month! We survived our first family vacation, and enjoyed some really hot weather! I was working most evenings, so it's weird for me to not put them to bed or feed them dinner. But Daddy does a great job! And Grandma Suttner did a lot of babysitting since I was working more.

The boys gained some weight this month, and anyone who's seen them lately says they look older and chubbier! Henry weighed 16 pounds, 12 ounces, and Holden was 17 pounds, 13 ounces. They're getting a little more hair, but are still pretty bald! They both got a few new teeth in Atlanta, and Henry just got his 6th, so they both have 6 teeth at the moment.

Not sure if we hit any other big milestones this month. We finally made it down to two naps, so their afternoon nap is roughly 2-4, which is nice. We started giving them a bottle before they went down, so that helped us stretch the time in between naps and get them to sleep a little longer. They go down around 7:30 and get up around 7:30. (Sometimes they wake earlier when they hear Alex in the morning, but I don't usually go get them till right around 7:30!) We've got a pretty consistent routine down most days. It's still hard to fit in anything in our narrow window of time. They're up from their first nap by 10:30 or 11, but by the time they eat, get changed and cleaned up and I get stuff ready and get them in the car, it still feels like we only have an hour to an hour and a half of time to go to lunch/playdate/shop etc. So I guess that's just the way it is right now!



OUT TAKE! Lunging for the camera



They're enjoying their solid food a lot. It's hard for me to know how much to give them, if they're still hungry or if I'm letting them snack too much. I really need to work on my diet and eating habits, because the stuff I eat is too unhealthy for me to share with them! Holden is always trying to climb my leg and into my lap when I'm eating, but I'm not usually eating something healthy. (Side note: I have been trying to cook a little more and store some meals in the freezer, so I might try to post a few recipes I've enjoyed! Go me!)

We have eaten out a few times this month, which is cute to see them both sitting in their high chairs. They will eat puffs from the table or whatever bits and pieces we give them. They love gram crackers (which are a big mess), Cheerios, toast, puffs, yeah pretty much all carbs. I give them cut up fruit in the morning, so they like watermelon and cantaloupe, too. We try to give them veggies with dinner, and we need to start some more proteins and meats. They've had egg once, so we'll try that some more, too. (I think it's kind of gross without the white part, since you're supposed to start with only the yolk for possible allergies...we might just ignore that.)



Henry "cheesin'" for the camera



They're still crawling like crazy and pulling up on everything. They're just starting to "cruise" or walk around the furniture. They seem to balance pretty well, but I don't think they're that close to walking yet. I'm really trying to get them to clap and to wave, so hopefully by  next month they'll have mastered those! Henry definitely claps, but doesn't do it "on purpose". If I say, "Yay, Henry, clap!" when I see him do it, he looks at me like I'm crazy. We've gone swimming a few times and it's so cute to see them in their baby floats. Hopefully next summer we'll get out to more splash parks and the zoo, etc, but it's just hard with the limited time in our schedule and me being alone. I wish we'd been walking more, but it's been SO hot and dry here it's miserable, even early in the morning. Hopefully as we get into the fall we'll get more in the habit of a morning walk before their nap.

Overall, it's been a good month! I'm sad that a lot of my friends will be going back to work/school soon, but I'm glad we to hang out over the summer. And in a way, getting back to the routine of the school year will be good. (Especially for me with teaching, since my students have been all over the place and my schedule will start to stay the same each week now.) I'm looking forward to their first birthday party and all the fun stuff ahead! I'll try to pick an official party date soon. :)

(PS, it gets harder and harder to take these pictures each month! Henry is such a good little poser for me, but Holden was being WILD this time! :) He was all over the bear and lunging at the camera and now that they notice the paper they can't leave it alone...lol. It's still totally worth it, I can't wait to put the whole year together and look back at each month. But enjoy the "outtakes"!)

 

 

The End...

First Family Vacation: Atlanta

Alex's family usually heads to the Gulf, or Orange Beach area, each year for vacation. Last year we went with his sister and her kids while I was pregnant as a "last hurrah" vacation before kids. :) This year we couldn't really do the beach, for lots of reasons. But his sister who lives in Atlanta said we could come visit any time! Her youngest was turning one, and we decided we'd make it down for his party!

Obviously having the van helped a lot; I don't think we could have managed otherwise. I was pretty nervous about them crying in the car, since there's nothing I can really do for them. They're typically pretty good, but it's such a long way and it's not like they're old enough to watch a movie or anything. We left Thursday around 4, after we'd fed them an early dinner (they usually eat after 5.) I was honestly just impressed that we left pretty close to our planned departure time. We were on the road till close to 7 before we had to stop. There was some slow traffic around Louisville, and Henry had started crying off and on around 6. (I passed him some gram crackers, but that was about all I could do to help him!) We stopped at a steak/roadhouse type place that was pretty empty and had a nice, quick dinner. We changed them into pajamas and clean diapers in the back of the van (woo, go van! bonus points for changing area) and gave them both an 8 ounce bottle. When we got in the car we gave them their bulldog lovies and hoped for the best! They did pretty good with sleeping almost straight through til we got to her house. They woke a few times, but since it was dark, they'd go right back to sleep. It wasn't as fun for me and Alex, though! It felt like forever, and it's never that great driving in the dark. I maybe slept for a few minutes here and there but never really got comfortable. We got to her house at 2:30 am I believe, and transported the kids into the pack and plays she had set up for us. (That was another thing I worried about, since they'd never slept in those for more than a quick nap.) We set up our sound machine and changed their diapers and they pretty much went right back to sleep! It was a minor miracle. :)

Friday we just took it easy, but it was fun to see the boys playing with their youngest cousin, Josh. We went to a mall for lunch and to check out the play area. (I could have shopped a lot longer, but nap times were approaching!) The boys got to see their older cousins that evening and just check out the new surroundings. They napped great the whole time we were there, probably because of the constant stimulation! Friday night the older boys went to a movie party birthday in the neighborhood, and Stephanie told us to tag along! So we got to sit outside and watch the movie Rio (which was cute!) and eat birthday cake, while the boys were home in bed. Kind of a fun date!

Saturday morning we went to the pool in their neighborhood. It had been 100 degrees all week, so we went early to avoid the head (around 9:30 am.) We had the pool to ourselves, and had a great time. It was fun for Alex to get to see them in the pool and in their floats, since he'd never been with them before. Then Josh had his party! It was low-key, but cute. Stephanie make cakes in the shape of a basketball and a baseball and decorated them, and had lots of yummy food. (Including some family favorites, like chex mix.) My boys ended up taking a nap during the cake part, but that's ok. They'll get to eat cake at their own party, soon enough! I'll have to get some pictures from Stephanie's camera for some party pictures. Saturday evening we just chilled out at her house, since it was still too hot to do anything outside.

The boys enjoyed playing with new toys and checking out new foods. Josh had different types of puffs and a steady supply of Cheerios, which the twins loved. He also had a toy piano in his room that they loved to pull up on and play with. I fell in love with it, too, since it did so many different things! I was determined to find one for them when we got home (which I did! Yay for Once Upon a Child!) Josh also got a blue car to ride in for his birthday, so Henry and Holden both got a turn in that while Noah pushed them around. It was pretty cute! They both seemed to enjoy the ride. (Don't worry, it did have a seatbelt!) I thought the boys did great with all the new surroundings. They both got two new teeth while we were there, and they didn't even really fuss! I was proud that they slept just fine and stayed good natured the whole time. And it was really cute to see all the cousin bonding time with all the boys. It was hard to get any good pictures since 6 boys don't tend to hold still very well, but I'm glad we at least tried. :)

Sunday we decided to go ahead and head back home after lunch, since I had students to teach on Monday. We had talked about going into Atlanta to go to the aquarium or the World of Coke, but decided that didn't make sense. The aquarium was too expensive to try and go and not know how long the boys would tolerate it. I wanted to do it, but realized they won't remember it yet, anyway. So we'll save those for our next trip down! We packed up the car and had lunch all together at a Mexican place. We got on the road home about 2. I think we stopped at a McDonald's/rest station around 4:30 or 5 to feed the boys and just get out for a bit. We hit some traffic around Nashville, and really slowed down. The boys were restless again, and even though it was early, we decided to pull off and eat at a Cracker Barrel there. I'm so glad we did, because we heard there was a big accident ahead. And if we hadn't pulled off at that exit, we would have been sitting for a LONG time with cranky babies. So we ate, they ate, we changed them in the back of the van (yes, I felt very white trash with my half naked babies in the parking lot!) and we pulled back into the barely moving traffic. I think we finally saw the accident after another half hour on the road. It was actually on the other side of the highway, but it was bad enough to slow traffic on our side, as well! We got going for a while after that, but then hit a huge thunderstorm and more construction in Kentucky. (I texted my mom, hoping we maybe got some of that rain in Indy, too, but no such luck.) I think we finally made it home around 1 am. Luckily, the boys went down again pretty easily, and Alex and I finally got to crash as well!

Holden and Zack

So in all, it was a very successful first family vacation! I kind of wish I had canceled my Monday lessons and stayed another day, but it all worked out ok. Thanks Stephanie, for letting us stay! I'm looking forward to joining the family at the beach again next year! :)  



Henry



Holden

LOVE Henry's pose in this one

Holden enjoyed the ride, too

Happy Independence Day!



Holden



The boys had a good first Fourth of July! They wore their cute shirts that my friend Melissa got them, so we did a quick picture session. Then we went to my parents' house for a cookout. We had a good time just hanging out and eating. It was WAY too hot to be outside! I had originally hoped to go to Carmelfest with the boys, just to walk around and let them hear the music and see all the people. But I decided it would be too crowded to go, with or without them because of the fireworks ban. I figured it'd be extra crazy since everyone that wanted to see fireworks would have to go there to see them instead of being able to do them in their driveway. And the boys wouldn't remember it this year anyway. The boys took a good nap and got to hang with some of their favorite people! They also got to try watermelon, which they enjoyed. (Especially Holden, since he loves to feed himself. If it comes from a spoon, he no longer wants it. Give me some finger food ideas, people! :) After we came home and put the boys to bed, I went and hung out at my neighbor's house for a while. Pretty low key day! I remember thinking when I came back home that it was weird not to hear fireworks (since lots of people in our neighborhood usually shoot them off.) But I'm glad people paid attention to the ban, it would have been so dangerous for people to do them on their own this year. So hopefully next year will not be as HOT and DRY as this year, but we still had fun with family! Happy Independence Day!

Daddy was making them laugh, so you can actually see TEETH!



Holden thoroughly enjoying his watermelon 



 

 

 

Nine Months Old!

Wow, this is the furthest behind I've been in getting one of these posts up! It must be because I have two fully mobile children now... :) It's been a big month around here! We weighed in at the doctor, Henry was 15 pounds 9 ounces, and Holden was 16 pounds 10 ounces. Henry is in the 2% for weight, which worries me, but doesn't concern the doctor. And as my mommy friends reassure me, "someone has to be in the 2nd percentile!" Henry is 27 inches tall and Holden is 27 1/2 inches tall. We got a clean bill of health and seem to be hitting most milestones right on target! We did have our first major illness this month. Holden had a temperature of 102 for a few days, and then Henry got a fever as well for a few days after Holden. I was surprised the fever hung on that long, but the doctor just told us to give him motrin to bring it down and that she'd see us if it went on a few more days. So that was miserable for all of us, because we didn't feel good, and we couldn't leave the house and be with our friends because we didn't want to infect them! I'm sure we'll always be passing some illness around now that they're crawling and can get their hands into anything.

Speaking of milestones...both boys are crazy crawlers now! We've had to step up the babyproofing and probably will have to do more as they get more adventurous. Henry just likes to crawl around, but Holden immediately wanted to pull up on things. So he was the first to stand up at the coffee table and the first to stand in the crib. (An unwelcome milestone, but Daddy lowered the crib! :) They're not clapping or waving or saying any real words yet, but maybe by 10 months. They definitely talk and babble, and notice each other more and more. Seeing them laugh at each other is the cutest thing ever!!! They play pretty well on their own unless they're feeling clingy or sick. They'll still play in their jumper/exersaucer, but not as long now that they want to get around on their own. Poor Lanore is not crazy about them being able to follow her now, but she's still much faster than they are! So she's safe...at least a little while longer.

Sleeping is going ok. Still pretty good at night, but they're waking a little earlier in the morning. (I think they hear Alex when he's getting ready for work, and they used to settle back down but now they don't go back to sleep. Bummer for me.) Still at 3 naps; the doctor didn't really have any advice for us on how to get down to two, but I think we're working towards that. They don't always fall asleep in the car anymore, and they do have trouble falling asleep in the stroller. I used to just be able to do errands and they'd fall asleep if it was nap time, now they really whine and fuss if they're tired. It's great that they like to sleep in their cribs! It just makes it hard for me to get out. I love that we have them on a pretty good routine, it's just hard to find time in the routine to leave the house between all the eating and sleeping we do!

Feeding time is getting more exciting. They're starting to pick up food and feed themselves; they still choke on puffs sometimes but they're getting better and more adventurous. Henry still loves everything, Holden seems to be getting more "picky" about what he wants. I need to get more creative with finger food ideas they can try. That's the one thing that seems so funny to me, that Henry really loves solid food and eats like he's starving (he cries if we don't shovel it in fast enough!) and yet he's still so much smaller than his brother. Teething has been hard on me, because they hurt me when they nurse and they're usually extra clingy or fussy. It seems like they're not as bothered with some of these teeth, like maybe they didn't hurt as much as the first bottom two. Henry got a top tooth on the side, which looks funny sticking out (and is very sharp). Holden got both of his top two teeth pretty close together.

In general, they're still happy, sweet boys! They love to be outside on the blanket, and we've gone swimming a few times in our baby pool or bigger pools. They like walks and playdates with their friends. I know we've got a lot to look forward to in the next few months! I'm planning their first birthday party, and I can't wait! Sorry for all the pictures, I couldn't decide between my favorites. Daddy and Grandma Gina must have been making them laugh! It's harder and harder to get them to sit still for a picture. The sign is pretty much demolished at the end of all of our sessions now. :)

 

 

Father's Day



Both boys smiling! Woo!



Well, it's late, but here are the pictures we took for Father's Day! Since I've started working evenings, it's hard to find the time to get on and blog! So I'm behind again, but oh well. My friend Christie gave me the idea with the letters, and took the pictures for me. I put them in a three-opening frame for him to take to work and keep on his desk. (I put them in the collage like this for the blog.) We also got a few cute ones of me with the boys, which is nice!

So we're very lucky to have Alex as a great husband and dad. He does an amazing job with the boys and always helps me out, even when he's tired from working all day. And he takes great care of me, with doing most of the cooking. :) I'm sure it'll get even more fun as the boys get older and we can do more and more with them. So thank you, Alex, and we love you!

Twin Cousin Birthday Party!

Ah! So behind in posting again. I know I always say that. But truly, the boys were sick and now this week I've been sick. But here's how we spent the weekend a while back!

My cousin Jenni has twin boys who just turned two. So she's been my "twin mentor", which is awesome. :) Nice to have someone to ask questions and vent to and fun to see what my boys will be doing in a year! (And I know all the "good stuff" to get or ask for, like her double stroller and her wagon! She tests everything out for me.) I remember at my baby shower last summer the boys weren't quite walking...and now I don't know how she keeps track of them both!

She had a really cute party for the boys. She had a circus theme, with games and face paint and everything...including a bouncy house! My boys just got to watch this year, but the bigger cousins had fun! The boys were still grumpy from being sick and teething, and it was a hot day. (Interject here to say how much I hate putting on sunblock...ugh. It gets everywhere, my clothes and their clothes and the stroller...yuk. Plus it turns the boys white for photos since it doesn't rub in! What can you do. Sigh.) But I thought they did pretty well! They got to be held by aunts and hugged by cousins and watch all the action.

It was fun to do our first "official" birthday party as a family. I'm sure they'll be many more as all the boys' friends turn one!  

I like this one. :)

Cousin love

  

 

With Aunt Janet

Random picture post

 

Holden: "What, should I not be pulling myself up to a stand already?"

 



Grandma and her boys!



Crawling for the camera! Love this one, but it's creepy since it looks like they have 3 arms.

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Aunt Lauren and Holden

 

Sick Holden, first temperature, 102 degrees

 

Didn't make it into the pool that day, it was too cold!

Grandpa time!