October has just flown by! We were all sick for a week, then my parents were visiting for a week, then we were on vacation for a week, then I was catching up on work for a week after 3 weeks of being off schedule...and here we are in November! I'm long overdue for an update. But a full one will come soon. This is just a small one.
This morning I realized that I need to catch up on reading what key things I should be doing for the babies in this age group. It's easy to get into such a routine that you figure you know all that needs to happen, and that's where I've been for a couple of months. But, my little babies are older babies now and there are some changes I need to start making to transition them to the next stage - things like moving 100% to cups rather than bottles, focusing more on labeling objects, working on simple instructions with them, helping them practice walking (not just when they decide to cruise on something), etc. I made a list of a bunch of things I feel I need to start doing more mindfully and put it on my desktop. :)
As of yesterday, they are now only drinking from sippy cups. After I put them to bed for their nap just now, I started to gleefully put the bottles together on the counter in preparation for storage, joyfully reclaiming that counter space (enough space for so many bottles per day with twins is a lot!). Just as I was about to scoop them all into my arm to place in a big bag to put away, it hit me. No more baby bottles. Ever. That's it. I will never again feed my babies a baby bottle. My heart started to pound and my eyes welled up with tears, just like they are as I write this. I never used to understand why moms got emotional about their kids getting older, as there are always new things to look forward to. But my heart is practically hurting right now as I realize I'll never again hear those sweet sucking sounds on their little bottles. Then I started thinking about how they are almost a year old. In another month they will have already had so many of their "firsts". I can't believe that time is already behind us.
I put all the bottles away...except two. I have to hold and feed each one of them this afternoon with their bottles one last time! I think I'm having a much harder time letting go of their bottles than they are. :)
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Kenna LOVES this signing thing...
As a brief update to yesterday's post, Kenna absolutely loves signing milk now! This is the cutest thing ever. While eating her cereal this morning she kept stopping, looking at me intensely to see if I was watching, and forcefully signing milk. LOL I want to reward her for her efforts right now to solidify the connection so when she did it I would give her a few sips of her milk (I normally wait until after solids to give the bottle so they eat everything). I would take it away then she would eat a few more spoons then sign milk again! She has the cutest look on her face when she does it, like, "I can't believe this is actually working over and over!" Now I have to figure out how to tell her, "I understand what you are signing, and am glad you are communicating with me, but you can't always have what you ask for." Does anyone have a sign for that? :)
Thursday, October 8, 2009
10 Months Old Today!
OK, 10 months old sounds WAY to close to a year old and I am NOT happy about that!!! I can't believe they are almost not babies anymore! I LOVE the stage where they are right now. They are so much fun and just want to freeze time a bit. I'm sure there will be some other points like that, too. :)
So the latest. In my usual update fashion, I must make a list so I don't forget anything! Ultimately I will go back through all my blogs to record all their milestones, etc., for their baby books so I have to make sure to get everything on here. :)
1. At their last doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago, Kenna was just under 20 pounds and Nathan just under 22 pounds (I thought that was weird because at home he weighs over 22 pounds!). Nathan is in the 95th percentile for height and Kenna in the 97th. They are both in the 75th percentile for weight. Nathan's head is in the 95th percentile and Kenna's is apparently off the chart above 100%! LOL Everything went well, but they were found to have low iron despite my best attempts to feed them nutritious stuff all the time so now they have to have iron drops twice a day until their next appointment at a year.
2. This one is really blowing my mind. Kenna signed "milk" for the first time today! I started with only one baby sign about a month ago - I did the milk sign before giving them the bottle every time. They get mad when I try to make them do it with their own hands so I gave up on that part and just kept doing it myself. I thought they weren't getting it AT ALL and was probably going to give up. Today first thing when I went in the nursery, Kenna was standing in her crib signing "milk". I laughed and thought it couldn't possibly be. Nathan had done it a couple of times this week and I thought that was just chance too. I put them in their high chairs and Kenna immediately told me 'milk' again with her hand. I gave her a sip and took it away to see what she would do. She signed it again right away, looking at me intently. I gave it back to her for a sip then took it away. We did this back and forth over and over and she proved she REALLY knows the word! It is just crazy that she is able to ask for something now. The whole time I'm feeding her solid food though she is now signing milk. LOL I'm going to add three new signs now. I want to do "hungry", "sleepy" and "all done".
3. Both babies, but especially Nathan, has made a teething biscuit out of the crib. I'm surprised he hasn't completely filed down his teeth! :(
4. A couple of weeks ago I stopped pureeing food. Now everything is chopped into pieces. They are doing a pretty good job of chewing, but for foods that they easily swallowed and "got out of the way" before (the ones they didn't like) they now really resist chewing. Nathan thinks it's too much effort. He gets frustrated while chewing if it's not something he likes and starts complaining. I'm hoping this will resolve as they get more used to it and it's not as laborious.
5. I'm still making almost all their food! I have been making all kinds of stuff. Rather than making huge batches to freeze as I did with pureeing, I now make enough for one week and just refrigerate for the most part. This week's menu includes: yams, carrots, green beans, corn, potatoes, avocados, peaches, apples, bananas, blueberries, ground beef and chicken!
6. Nathan has started cruising a little. Both babies pull to standing constantly, but I'm surprised they haven't actually tried cruising more. When I put things just out of Nathan's reach, he will "cruise" over to it, and keep going as I pull the things further. So he "can" do it, he just "prefers" to get on the floor and crawl over because that's much faster! Kenna hasn't tried too much. I got a pusher thing for them to try walking but with just a tiny bit of pressure it goes fast and that's not good when you are just learning! I guess we need to wait on that.
7. Self feeding and sippy cups. Ugh. I felt a bit bombarded at the pediatrician appointment when she was asking about meal time and stuff and she started talking about chunky food, sippy cups and self feeding. I was thinking, "but we just have mastered solid foods in the last couple of months!" lol I felt like I had this whole routine down of making food and they were eating everything well, and already we have to start the next stage?! First step was that I made them pick up their bottles and drink them themselves. This was about a month ago, that they could do it consistently. I then started to give them sippy cups with water after each meal so they could learn to drink from them. NO DICE! After weeks of absolutely no progress, I took a friend's advice to get a different kind of cup with a soft spout to start with rather than hard plastic. I did that, and I put formula in it (because that's a substance they love rather than water)...success this week! They don't like it at all, but they will put up with it to drink about half a sippy cup of milk. Then they both complain. But it's a start. (Incidentally, Kenna stopped drinking after a few sips today and signed "milk"! LOL I think "milk" clearly means "milk in a bottle" to her!) As for self feeding, things aren't going great but I haven't been trying to much. I tried puffs but they are too small and they just can't pick them up well enough. I finally made toast for them for the first time today and Kenna fed herself several pieces! I was literally jumping up and down. I didn't think it would ever happen. So I need to find more dry foods that can be in larger pieces like that. Nathan plays with it but just doesn't want to put it in his mouth. I hope this progresses soon.
8. We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday! It was a really special day and I'm going to do a separate post about that with pictures.
So that's the latest! More pics soon...
So the latest. In my usual update fashion, I must make a list so I don't forget anything! Ultimately I will go back through all my blogs to record all their milestones, etc., for their baby books so I have to make sure to get everything on here. :)
1. At their last doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago, Kenna was just under 20 pounds and Nathan just under 22 pounds (I thought that was weird because at home he weighs over 22 pounds!). Nathan is in the 95th percentile for height and Kenna in the 97th. They are both in the 75th percentile for weight. Nathan's head is in the 95th percentile and Kenna's is apparently off the chart above 100%! LOL Everything went well, but they were found to have low iron despite my best attempts to feed them nutritious stuff all the time so now they have to have iron drops twice a day until their next appointment at a year.
2. This one is really blowing my mind. Kenna signed "milk" for the first time today! I started with only one baby sign about a month ago - I did the milk sign before giving them the bottle every time. They get mad when I try to make them do it with their own hands so I gave up on that part and just kept doing it myself. I thought they weren't getting it AT ALL and was probably going to give up. Today first thing when I went in the nursery, Kenna was standing in her crib signing "milk". I laughed and thought it couldn't possibly be. Nathan had done it a couple of times this week and I thought that was just chance too. I put them in their high chairs and Kenna immediately told me 'milk' again with her hand. I gave her a sip and took it away to see what she would do. She signed it again right away, looking at me intently. I gave it back to her for a sip then took it away. We did this back and forth over and over and she proved she REALLY knows the word! It is just crazy that she is able to ask for something now. The whole time I'm feeding her solid food though she is now signing milk. LOL I'm going to add three new signs now. I want to do "hungry", "sleepy" and "all done".
3. Both babies, but especially Nathan, has made a teething biscuit out of the crib. I'm surprised he hasn't completely filed down his teeth! :(
4. A couple of weeks ago I stopped pureeing food. Now everything is chopped into pieces. They are doing a pretty good job of chewing, but for foods that they easily swallowed and "got out of the way" before (the ones they didn't like) they now really resist chewing. Nathan thinks it's too much effort. He gets frustrated while chewing if it's not something he likes and starts complaining. I'm hoping this will resolve as they get more used to it and it's not as laborious.
5. I'm still making almost all their food! I have been making all kinds of stuff. Rather than making huge batches to freeze as I did with pureeing, I now make enough for one week and just refrigerate for the most part. This week's menu includes: yams, carrots, green beans, corn, potatoes, avocados, peaches, apples, bananas, blueberries, ground beef and chicken!
6. Nathan has started cruising a little. Both babies pull to standing constantly, but I'm surprised they haven't actually tried cruising more. When I put things just out of Nathan's reach, he will "cruise" over to it, and keep going as I pull the things further. So he "can" do it, he just "prefers" to get on the floor and crawl over because that's much faster! Kenna hasn't tried too much. I got a pusher thing for them to try walking but with just a tiny bit of pressure it goes fast and that's not good when you are just learning! I guess we need to wait on that.
7. Self feeding and sippy cups. Ugh. I felt a bit bombarded at the pediatrician appointment when she was asking about meal time and stuff and she started talking about chunky food, sippy cups and self feeding. I was thinking, "but we just have mastered solid foods in the last couple of months!" lol I felt like I had this whole routine down of making food and they were eating everything well, and already we have to start the next stage?! First step was that I made them pick up their bottles and drink them themselves. This was about a month ago, that they could do it consistently. I then started to give them sippy cups with water after each meal so they could learn to drink from them. NO DICE! After weeks of absolutely no progress, I took a friend's advice to get a different kind of cup with a soft spout to start with rather than hard plastic. I did that, and I put formula in it (because that's a substance they love rather than water)...success this week! They don't like it at all, but they will put up with it to drink about half a sippy cup of milk. Then they both complain. But it's a start. (Incidentally, Kenna stopped drinking after a few sips today and signed "milk"! LOL I think "milk" clearly means "milk in a bottle" to her!) As for self feeding, things aren't going great but I haven't been trying to much. I tried puffs but they are too small and they just can't pick them up well enough. I finally made toast for them for the first time today and Kenna fed herself several pieces! I was literally jumping up and down. I didn't think it would ever happen. So I need to find more dry foods that can be in larger pieces like that. Nathan plays with it but just doesn't want to put it in his mouth. I hope this progresses soon.
8. We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday! It was a really special day and I'm going to do a separate post about that with pictures.
So that's the latest! More pics soon...
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sweet Moments
I just had the sweetest half an hour right now with the babies. This afternoon they were quite cranky, as I think they've both started to get runny noses (if they get sick, this will be the third time in their young lives, and EVERY time it has been within 3 days of being in the church nursery! UGH!). I was having a particularly patient day for some reason and didn't get overwhelmed by it as I often do. I brought them upstairs for bath time and for the first time I put them directly in the tub (I've been using a baby tub inside the big tub). Kenna did great, sitting still for me the whole time. Nathan wanted to crawl everywhere and it was a much bigger challenge. But, I guess it's time to do it. So anyway, because I was feeling particularly peaceful and nurturing despite all this, I decided that I was going to rock Kenna and sing to her because she had been so upset all afternoon and I thought she wasn't feeling well. Now, that might sound like a typical thing to do with babies, but it's not for us for a couple of reasons:
1) I sing to them a lot, but more like fun songs during the day, and never "lullaby" types of songs. I don't have a very good voice so I guess I have always felt funny singing in any kind of serious way.
2) I decided in the very beginning that I would always put the babies down awake, rather than rock them to sleep. I read in several books that this is best for their sleep habits in the long run and decided to follow through with it. Consequently, I have never once actually rocked Nathan or Kenna to sleep!
So back to tonight. I took Kenna and sat in the rocking chair with her facing me and her face over my shoulder. I started rocking and singing some of my favorite slow hymns from church. In the meantime, Nathan was standing in the crib, just watching this all unfold (but listening quietly!). She was so still, just melted in my arms. I just kept singing and singing and rocking, and enjoyed it so much...suddenly I looked down and Kenna was sound asleep with her little hand clutching my shoulder still. It was such a precious moment. I couldn't believe MY singing had been soothing enough to put her to sleep. I felt so motherly. :) I went and put her in the crib and then picked up Nathan. Nathan is such a squiggler, I thought for sure I wouldn't go two for two. I started rocking and singing and sure enough he was trying to crawl away. So instead I stood up and held him, swaying back and forth. Kenna had woken up when I put her down and was looking at me. I started singing the same songs again and as soon as I did, she closed her eyes and went to sleep. It was SO sweet. Then, the amazing happened, and Nathan became like jelly in my arms while I sang even though he didn't seem tired 3 minutes before. I sang for a while and put him down in the crib. He wasn't asleep but was all glazed over. Normally Nathan screams as soon as he is put in the crib, but he just laid there on his back looking up at me quietly. I started singing again and rubbing his head gently. He closed his eyes so peacefully and drifted off to sleep while I rubbed his head. You have to know Nathan to understand why that's crazy. He has a tough time going to sleep and always fights it, always goes on his stomach, and always tosses and turns for a while. The fact that I actually was able to "soothe" him to sleep amazed me. I left the room with my two sweet angels peacefully drifting off. It was a very, very sweet moment.
I still believe in putting babies down awake, but now that they know the routine and do go to sleep on their own every day, I think it will be nice to do some rocking once in a while. :)
1) I sing to them a lot, but more like fun songs during the day, and never "lullaby" types of songs. I don't have a very good voice so I guess I have always felt funny singing in any kind of serious way.
2) I decided in the very beginning that I would always put the babies down awake, rather than rock them to sleep. I read in several books that this is best for their sleep habits in the long run and decided to follow through with it. Consequently, I have never once actually rocked Nathan or Kenna to sleep!
So back to tonight. I took Kenna and sat in the rocking chair with her facing me and her face over my shoulder. I started rocking and singing some of my favorite slow hymns from church. In the meantime, Nathan was standing in the crib, just watching this all unfold (but listening quietly!). She was so still, just melted in my arms. I just kept singing and singing and rocking, and enjoyed it so much...suddenly I looked down and Kenna was sound asleep with her little hand clutching my shoulder still. It was such a precious moment. I couldn't believe MY singing had been soothing enough to put her to sleep. I felt so motherly. :) I went and put her in the crib and then picked up Nathan. Nathan is such a squiggler, I thought for sure I wouldn't go two for two. I started rocking and singing and sure enough he was trying to crawl away. So instead I stood up and held him, swaying back and forth. Kenna had woken up when I put her down and was looking at me. I started singing the same songs again and as soon as I did, she closed her eyes and went to sleep. It was SO sweet. Then, the amazing happened, and Nathan became like jelly in my arms while I sang even though he didn't seem tired 3 minutes before. I sang for a while and put him down in the crib. He wasn't asleep but was all glazed over. Normally Nathan screams as soon as he is put in the crib, but he just laid there on his back looking up at me quietly. I started singing again and rubbing his head gently. He closed his eyes so peacefully and drifted off to sleep while I rubbed his head. You have to know Nathan to understand why that's crazy. He has a tough time going to sleep and always fights it, always goes on his stomach, and always tosses and turns for a while. The fact that I actually was able to "soothe" him to sleep amazed me. I left the room with my two sweet angels peacefully drifting off. It was a very, very sweet moment.
I still believe in putting babies down awake, but now that they know the routine and do go to sleep on their own every day, I think it will be nice to do some rocking once in a while. :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Pictures!
(Update below this post)
Happy Kenna:
Happy Nathan:
Unhappy Nathan(this face cracks me up):
Unhappy Kenna:
Grammy took this pic on a trip to Costco - I just love how Kenna is reaching out to Nathan!
Nathan's first time ever standing up in his crib:
Happy Kenna:
Happy Nathan:
Unhappy Nathan(this face cracks me up):
Unhappy Kenna:
Grammy took this pic on a trip to Costco - I just love how Kenna is reaching out to Nathan!
Nathan's first time ever standing up in his crib:
9 Months Old!
I can't believe it's true, but the babies just turned nine months old! That used to seem like such a far off thing, it's hard to imagine we are here. I honestly feel like I'm living someone else's life sometimes lately. Remember how I used to post about how I couldn't see myself as a mom with a newborn because when I always thought about having kids, I pictured older kids (like toddlers)? Well, recently my babies have truly seemed more like toddlers than like little babies. And for the first time I find myself as a mom in the way I had always thought of it. I had no expectations of what it would be like to have a newborn because I had never been around them. I had to create that reality as I went. But I certainly had imagined what it would be like to have older kids and I'm starting to live in that world now as they become more like "pre-toddlers". I regularly find myself taking a step back and realizing how crazy it is that I'm a mom now...a mom as I had always thought of that experience. It's really crazy, and a real transition for me. The babies are both pulling to standing now (more on that in a minute) and when I turned around yesterday to see them both standing up at a table looking at me it was truly an eye opener. I just couldn't believe I am their MOM...I'm a mom?! I'm having those realizations of "I can't believe this has all come true for us" all over again. I can't believe our dreams came true after so much difficulty. I thank God for that every day. What an amazing answer to prayers we had through J. Every ounce of difficulty was worth it now that they are here.
I also feel much more comfortable in my "role" as mom now. In the beginning I felt slightly fraudulent because I was a mom who didn't go through pregnancy like almost everyone else. I felt like somehow I wasn't as good as everyone else. Part of that was driven by all the questions you get with newborns from strangers - how fast I lost the weight, did I have a csection, I can't believe you carried two babies, etc. It was a constant reminder that I was different. But once the babies got older, the pregnancy questions just stopped coming about and now I truly feel like a "regular" mom without the inferiority complex. In fact, I have no problem telling people I didn't carry and I feel fine about it. I don't feel that little gut pinch I did in the beginning. I'm very grateful for that!
So, let's see what is new...
1) Nathan now has six teeth...his two teeth on top on the sides of the front two finally broke through last week. He was CRANKY CRANKY CRANKY for a couple of weeks before that so I was relieved to see that's what it was when they finally came through!
2) On Sept 4, just a few days before his nine month bday, I walked into the nursery in the morning to get the babies ready for a weekend away and there was Nathan STANDING in his crib!! I dashed downstairs for the camera and made it back in time to take a picture (I'll post after this).
He was looking at me like, "what? what's all the fuss about?" He looked like such a big kid!
This morning, not to be outdone, KENNA then stood up in her crib for the first time when I came in to get them first thing! I again ran for the camera and made it back in time again!
Since last week Nathan has been standing up on EVERYTHING. He is a standing machine. Against walls, gates, tables, you name it. He hasn't started to cruise yet but it won't be long. Kenna can actually stand a few seconds without holding onto anything. I think because she is lighter she has better balance than Nathan!
3) Kenna got her ears pierced Saturday! Oh man, it made me feel bad. She SCREAMED...but then it was over 5 minutes later and she was fine again. She is too cute with her little earings!
4) Kenna is still doing the army crawl even though she can stand. I'm thinking she might just skip normal crawling! She does do an intermediate position where she's up on her needs when at "rest position", but goes back to army crawl to get somewhere. When we were on vacation over labor day she took a few regular crawls in our condo where we were staying but I haven't seen anything like it since!
5) Kenna continues to babble constantly, and Nathan is still just doing it a little. I've heard him do mama, baba and dada...it's just not very often!
6) They discontinued the formula we had worked so hard to find early on (lactose free for Nathan). :( Big bummer. I've been giving him a low lactose formula instead and I think he's been having a lot of tummy aches because of it. Today I tried a new one without lactose and it seems that he has been a lot happier suddenly. Poor guy, I think he's really been struggling. Hopefully this new one will solve the problem.
7) Nathan is about 22 pounds and Kenna is about 20 pounds. (Both just under those numbers).
8) Baby food making is going well and they are eating just about everything well! Nathan doesn't like green beans very much but other than that they have really gotten better about vegetables. I got a better blender and the smooth consistency has made all the difference in the world.
9) Kenna waves a lot but not really in response to you waving! It's so cute when she does it but she doesn't realize she should do it when YOU do it. She just likes to wave in general. :) And say MAMAMAMAMAMA really loudly. In public. lol Nathan has started clapping his hands periodically when is really cute too. He gets a huge smile on his face!
10) We've been really working on "NO". They know it's not a good thing for sure, as they get upset by it. When they spit out food they get a firm hand squeeze and serious look with a "NO SPIT" from me. Other things get the hand squeeze and "NO TOUCH". Or "NOT A TOY". Kenna actually listens very well! Nathan not so much. But after not listening they get removed completely from what they are wanting to do. They are definitely starting to understanding. Starting being the key word. :)
11) Nathan finally has high chair manners! For a while he complained between every bite with whining because he wanted it faster and for Kenna to not have hers. Every time he started crying I turned his high chair away. He would then scream for a while and I wouldn't turn him around until he stopped. After about a week of this he stopped doing it completely. Victory! (most of the time ;)
12) I haven't blogged much about this, but I'm working on teaching them French at the same time as English (as much as possible given that I'm only intermediate level and not fluent). I do half days with them where we play only in French and label objects in French etc. Even Bryan has commited to this and just started Rosetta Stone! I'm so proud of him...he's not too interested in languages to start with, and it's not exactly his forte (by his own admission) so I couldn't be more thrilled that he is supporting this endeavor that is so important to me.
13) Our ten year anniversary is next week! We are going to Yosemite and are looking forward to having some time as a couple, thanks to Bryan's parents having the kids for the weekend. They have been SO instrumental in our sanity as parents. They actually have their own (beautiful) nursery for the twins set up at their house, so they are basically prepared to have them at any time. How amazing is that? They have all kinds of toys, baby gates, everything needed. They have been so willing to have them, and to come to our house to watch them too. Bryan's mom comes every Tuesday afternoon to care for them while I get work done. They have had them for several overnights when we have had the chance to get away and when I had to leave town for work. It's a huge blessing for us and for the babies! My own parents will be coming to visit in just a couple of weeks...they live out of state unfortunately so they haven't been able to be involved in the same way with the babies. It makes me sad that they can't be here, as I know they would love to be, but I'm so glad they are getting to come visit. They are beside themselves with excitement!
Well, I will try to get some pictures up now. I haven't posted any in a while! Time for them to show their faces. :)
I also feel much more comfortable in my "role" as mom now. In the beginning I felt slightly fraudulent because I was a mom who didn't go through pregnancy like almost everyone else. I felt like somehow I wasn't as good as everyone else. Part of that was driven by all the questions you get with newborns from strangers - how fast I lost the weight, did I have a csection, I can't believe you carried two babies, etc. It was a constant reminder that I was different. But once the babies got older, the pregnancy questions just stopped coming about and now I truly feel like a "regular" mom without the inferiority complex. In fact, I have no problem telling people I didn't carry and I feel fine about it. I don't feel that little gut pinch I did in the beginning. I'm very grateful for that!
So, let's see what is new...
1) Nathan now has six teeth...his two teeth on top on the sides of the front two finally broke through last week. He was CRANKY CRANKY CRANKY for a couple of weeks before that so I was relieved to see that's what it was when they finally came through!
2) On Sept 4, just a few days before his nine month bday, I walked into the nursery in the morning to get the babies ready for a weekend away and there was Nathan STANDING in his crib!! I dashed downstairs for the camera and made it back in time to take a picture (I'll post after this).
He was looking at me like, "what? what's all the fuss about?" He looked like such a big kid!
This morning, not to be outdone, KENNA then stood up in her crib for the first time when I came in to get them first thing! I again ran for the camera and made it back in time again!
Since last week Nathan has been standing up on EVERYTHING. He is a standing machine. Against walls, gates, tables, you name it. He hasn't started to cruise yet but it won't be long. Kenna can actually stand a few seconds without holding onto anything. I think because she is lighter she has better balance than Nathan!
3) Kenna got her ears pierced Saturday! Oh man, it made me feel bad. She SCREAMED...but then it was over 5 minutes later and she was fine again. She is too cute with her little earings!
4) Kenna is still doing the army crawl even though she can stand. I'm thinking she might just skip normal crawling! She does do an intermediate position where she's up on her needs when at "rest position", but goes back to army crawl to get somewhere. When we were on vacation over labor day she took a few regular crawls in our condo where we were staying but I haven't seen anything like it since!
5) Kenna continues to babble constantly, and Nathan is still just doing it a little. I've heard him do mama, baba and dada...it's just not very often!
6) They discontinued the formula we had worked so hard to find early on (lactose free for Nathan). :( Big bummer. I've been giving him a low lactose formula instead and I think he's been having a lot of tummy aches because of it. Today I tried a new one without lactose and it seems that he has been a lot happier suddenly. Poor guy, I think he's really been struggling. Hopefully this new one will solve the problem.
7) Nathan is about 22 pounds and Kenna is about 20 pounds. (Both just under those numbers).
8) Baby food making is going well and they are eating just about everything well! Nathan doesn't like green beans very much but other than that they have really gotten better about vegetables. I got a better blender and the smooth consistency has made all the difference in the world.
9) Kenna waves a lot but not really in response to you waving! It's so cute when she does it but she doesn't realize she should do it when YOU do it. She just likes to wave in general. :) And say MAMAMAMAMAMA really loudly. In public. lol Nathan has started clapping his hands periodically when is really cute too. He gets a huge smile on his face!
10) We've been really working on "NO". They know it's not a good thing for sure, as they get upset by it. When they spit out food they get a firm hand squeeze and serious look with a "NO SPIT" from me. Other things get the hand squeeze and "NO TOUCH". Or "NOT A TOY". Kenna actually listens very well! Nathan not so much. But after not listening they get removed completely from what they are wanting to do. They are definitely starting to understanding. Starting being the key word. :)
11) Nathan finally has high chair manners! For a while he complained between every bite with whining because he wanted it faster and for Kenna to not have hers. Every time he started crying I turned his high chair away. He would then scream for a while and I wouldn't turn him around until he stopped. After about a week of this he stopped doing it completely. Victory! (most of the time ;)
12) I haven't blogged much about this, but I'm working on teaching them French at the same time as English (as much as possible given that I'm only intermediate level and not fluent). I do half days with them where we play only in French and label objects in French etc. Even Bryan has commited to this and just started Rosetta Stone! I'm so proud of him...he's not too interested in languages to start with, and it's not exactly his forte (by his own admission) so I couldn't be more thrilled that he is supporting this endeavor that is so important to me.
13) Our ten year anniversary is next week! We are going to Yosemite and are looking forward to having some time as a couple, thanks to Bryan's parents having the kids for the weekend. They have been SO instrumental in our sanity as parents. They actually have their own (beautiful) nursery for the twins set up at their house, so they are basically prepared to have them at any time. How amazing is that? They have all kinds of toys, baby gates, everything needed. They have been so willing to have them, and to come to our house to watch them too. Bryan's mom comes every Tuesday afternoon to care for them while I get work done. They have had them for several overnights when we have had the chance to get away and when I had to leave town for work. It's a huge blessing for us and for the babies! My own parents will be coming to visit in just a couple of weeks...they live out of state unfortunately so they haven't been able to be involved in the same way with the babies. It makes me sad that they can't be here, as I know they would love to be, but I'm so glad they are getting to come visit. They are beside themselves with excitement!
Well, I will try to get some pictures up now. I haven't posted any in a while! Time for them to show their faces. :)
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