14 Months!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. Is anyone there? lol I've been thinking about not keeping up the blog anymore now that N & K are a year old, but I was reminded this week of why I do this. Aside from enjoying sharing/bragging about my babies, this serves as a great record of what they are doing over time. I was starting to fill in their baby books with all their milestones, etc., and the blog was my record of what happened when. I could either just write those things down privately, or I could continue to share on the blog. Since I know some people do still check in regularly, I've decided to keep posting, but my aim will be for once a month. So this one will be an update on what happened in month 13!

Let's start with Nathan. Well, Nathan started walking a week after his first birthday, and there was no turning back! He is a very proficient little walker now and LOVES to walk away when you ask him to come (laughing the whole time). The game of trying to escape on those little legs is just his favorite. Since he has more control now, he can walk up close to you and then turn really fast to move away - and, oh the delight on his face! He still crawls probably 10% of the time, mostly if he just fell walking and there is nothing immediate to pull up on.

My little baby Nathan is now having a much stronger personality! He WAS so mellow and easy going, but the last couple of weeks has shown a big shift in temperment. He has started to get really frustrated with things and throws mini-tantrums. If he can't get a shape into the shape sorter, for example, he gets MAD and takes his hand to push the toy away. He never used to do that, so the toddler personality is hitting full force. :) When I try to make him walk or pick him up when he doesn't want it, he will arch his back, throw his head back, make his body limp and fall to the ground. Great, huh? So mommy has been absorbing herself in toddler raising books to find some best practices on how to deal with these new issues. I have to admit, it's been a sudden transition that I wasn't quite prepared to deal with. Things just got harder!

Nathan is such a loving little guy (when he's not mad of course)! He adores his stuffed animals. For Christmas he and Kenna got a large stuffed monkey and bear. Nathan gets so excited to carry them around and then hugs them all the time. He sleeps every night with his little turtle that he loves. When we check on them later in the night, he's always on his stomach with his arm to the side wrapped around Tortue (the turtle). It's heart melting. Especially because he gets a HUGE smile anytime he goes to hug one of his animals. He's so funny about hugging mommy and daddy...he comes up to us frequently, gives a big hug, then quickly turns around to go play. I'm not sure if that's more for us or for him. :)

Nathan caught on to Kenna's main word, "chat" (French for cat), and he now says it too. Not only for the cats but for everything! lol He points at what he wants and says CHAT! He says mama a lot too. Other than that though, we don't have a lot of words going on for either of the little ones right now. I've been a little surprised because I am very diligent about how I talk to them, with consistent use of the same basic words, labeling objects, simple sentence structures, etc. I thought they would get talking more quickly, but not so much. They both understand WAY more than I would expect though. Some of my favorites:

I can ask, "how old are you?" and they each hold up one finger. :)
"Where is your head/tummy/nose/foot" - they will point to the right body part.
"Push (whatever)" - they push!
"Give me (whatever) please" - they hand it to me
"Come here please" - they come (usually!)
"Do you want more?" - they make the more sign with their hands
"Do a somersault" - they put their heads down on the floor so I can flip them over
"Give (someone/something) a hug - they do!

It's so exciting to see how they understand things now. It's the good reward for dealing with all the new tempermental things. :)

As for Kenna, she is my little love bug. She is SO affectionate. She just gets the biggest smile and falls into your arms for hugs and kisses. When I hold her I can say, "give me a Kenna kiss!" and she pushes her lips up against my face for a few seconds. It's SO sweet! I love Kenna kisses! Perhaps the sweetest thing of all is how much she loves her brother. She wants to hug him all the time and he just doesn't get it. lol She comes up next to him, smiles hugely, puts her arms around him and her head on his shoulder. It's heart melting. Nathan, well, he keeps playing with whatever he's playing with! Sometimes he looks at me so bewildered and it cracks me up. ONE TIME, and one time only, she faced him and put her arms around him, and he smiled and put his arms around her. This was last week. I immediately teared up, it was too precious.

Kenna has 3 of her 4 molars coming through already! Nathan doesn't have any. They don't seem to bother her, which is a good thing. With all the teeth I finally got them into a brushing teeth routine. It's pretty funny because they LOVE the taste of the toothpaste and get excited when they see it's time. Nathan through a fit the other day because Kenna "got to" brush her teeth first. I can only hope this lasts for a few more years! :)

Kenna started walking at 12 months and 3 weeks. Even though it took her a couple of weeks after Nathan she is just as proficient at this point. She will still crawl once in a while, like Nathan, but both of them are predominant walkers now. They are getting much too heavy to carry all the time so I'm encouraging them walking everywhere. When it's time to go to their room, I have them climb the stairs and then hold my hand to walk to their room. If they didn't hold my hand, they would be all over the place, and it's good practice for them to get used to that for other situations.

Both babies can feed themselves with a fork, if I get the food on it for them first. I hadn't tried this at all since the pediatrician had said that usually comes around 18 months but the other day I just handed them each a fork with ravioli on it and they both automatically put it right in their mouths! So I'm working with them now on regular fork feeding. (Until now they used their hands for everything.)

Kenna doesn't really throw tantrums of frustration like Nathan but she has "sensitivity meltdowns". She gets serious stranger anxiety if I'm not next to her. She was in our playroom the other day and I was out of sight in the kitchen. Our cleaning person walked out the front door by her and she practically had a panic attack because she didn't know him. She was HYSTERICAL. I was reading in a book the other day about certain things that are common for shy children and Kenna meets all of them. She always waves at strangers AFTER they turn around and I never understood why. Apparently that is a tell-tale sign of shy kids. I have to be honest that I'm not thrilled about her being shy, as I think it makes for a much more difficult life when she gets older, but I will help her as much as possible to gain confidence and trust.

Here are a couple of recent pics (I know Christmas was a while ago, but I love this pic of Kenna!).

Video! First Santa Visit

Enjoy! It's too bad this isn't bigger because Nathan's face when he first looks up at Santa is priceless ("what on earth is THAT?").

Nathan and Kenna are one!!

Yes, it's true, last week my little babies turned one! I feel so great that we have somehow figured out how to raise two babies from birth to a year. I can't imagine having been less knowledgeable about babies when they were born than the two of us were. It sort of blows my mind we have managed to figure things out and all four of us are happy and healthy. :) I have to say I'm excited now about this new phase of their lives - entering toddlerhood! It's so fun to see how they are developing cognitively right now. It's amazing.

That said, their first birthday didn't pass without a few feelings of sadness. I'm a really sentimental person (Bryan would write "overly dramatic" instead of sentimental), so the night before their birthday I totally felt like it was a big moment. I knew when I put them to bed, they would wake up and never be considered "babies" again. I put them to bed that night and when I walked out, I definitely felt the pangs of "my babies are growing fast". I know, I know, technically it is just one day of a difference, but the birthday makes it official. :)

We had a birthday party for them on Saturday and it was SO much fun! I was STRESSED leading up to it. We had about 50 people here, including adults and kids, and I just had no idea how it would all go with so many little people. I'm relieved to report that everything went great! We had pizza for lunch (N & K both had a piece too!), then we opened gifts, then we had cake, and that was it. We had a Pooh 1st party theme, since it was gender neutral. The highlight of the event was the cake eating. Bryan is going to edit a little video for me to post. Nathan picked up the whole piece and ate it like an adult would eat a banana. LOL He just kept it in his hand and kept smashing more into his mouth. Kenna took the plunge and put her face straight into it on her tray after figuring out she couldn't easily pick little pieces off. Nathan's face was so covered in cake and icing that at one point my mom became genuinely concerned that he was unable to breathe!! I had doubts leading up to this party that we should have such a big event but I must say that it was worth the stress, money and planning. We had a really great time and it was so memorable. It's true, first birthday parties are more for the parents than the kids, but that's OK! It was just wonderful to be surrounded by our close friends and family to celebrate that WE MADE IT!

I will post first bday pics ASAP, and also I have some big news to write about...Nathan is WALKING! More on that to come soon, but I want to go ahead and get this one up. :)

Countdown to one year?!

Nathan and Kenna will only be babies for six more days! OMG! This is crazy to me. My little munchkins are almost official toddlers. We refer to them all the time as "the babies"...now what? It sounds weird to call them "the toddlers". lol

End of the day sighs

By the end of the day, I just feel worn out. I put the kids to bed, close the door, and breathe a giant sigh that I made it through the day. But I realized today that generally speaking, things go pretty well until the last couple of hours. Then it's downhill. They are tired, I am tired. I've lost patience. They've lost patience. By the time I put them to bed, I feel almost a little sad that we didn't all "part" on the happy terms that we usually have the rest of the day. Generally, small battles have been waged for the last couple of hours. Yes, the last half an hour of getting into jammies and snuggling is a nice positive end to the day, but it doesn't totally make up for the crankiness (theirs and mine) that precedes it. I guess there is not much I can do about it, given that we are all tired at the end of the day, but I just feel frustrated that each day starts so great and then just progresses to meltdown between 5-6:30.

Then, there is the BIG battle some nights. Kenna eating vegetables. SIGH. DOUBLE SIGH. TRIPLE SIGH!!! Granted, she eats more vegetables than most kids her age are probably willing to - peas, spinach, corn, potatoes, sometimes carrots, sometimes zuchini. But there are nights when she just refuses the vegetables. Like tonight. I gave her a mix of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and zuchini. She picked at it, ate a couple of pieces and refused anything else. I am adamant that my kids will eat what is put in front of them. Mommy knows what they need to be healthy, mommy will give them what they need, and they will be grateful that they have food on the table. That's it. End of story. Now of course they can't get the gratitude part yet. Or understand what healthy means. Right now, they just need to learn that they must eat what I give them or they will go hungry. When they are older, they simply won't be allowed to move from the table unless they have eaten every piece of food I have given them. But, I can't do that yet or Kenna would never go to bed. :) (Of course if there is something they find revolting, I respect that! But they can't categorically tell me that vegetables are revolting!)

I ran into a lady at the grocery store this afternoon in the baby food aisle. She had a 13 month old and was asking if I had any advice on getting a baby to eat solid food. She was still giving him a diet of almost all milk with just a couple of fruits because he would cry when she tried to give him anything else! She said her doctor told her to just make him go hungry until he starts eating consistently what she gives him (good advice!), and she said she could never do that because it's mean. I really don't understand when parents are afraid to be "mean" (in their perception) and won't do what is best for their child because of it. I will always do what I feel is best for my kids, even if they kick and scream about it sometimes. To me, it's "mean" to let an infant "decide" on important things like their selection of diet when they don't have adequate knowledge to make those decisions. My job is to be stronger than the frustration that comes from the crying. It sure is more tiring than the avoidance of "appearing mean". But for me, it sure is worth it. Even on nights when I'm so flustered that I decide to write a blog post about it. :)

Off to a good book, a soft couch, a cuddly blanket, and a glass of wine!

New pictures!

11 Months Update

Well, actually they are 11.5 months now - only 2 more weeks of technically being babies?! Wow. I just can't even believe that. In a way, I'm so proud to just have gotten here - I survived! They survived! Bryan survived! We figured it all out! I mean, I can't even imagine when these two were born I had rarely even touched a baby in my life. When at a baby store yesterday, I was looking at all the Christmas clothes. I love holidays and am always excited when the new stuff comes out! But as I stood there looking at all the "baby's first Christmas" things, it struck me how we have come full circle - it won't be their first Christmas anymore, or ever again. They've now had all their calendar year firsts. On the one hand that makes me sad, but it has been an amazing year. And I'm very excited to see them experience everything as they get a little older and understand what is going on. So I know there is still much joy ahead! :) In fact, last Christmas was their first, and it was INCREDIBLE, but it was also surrounded by sleepless nights with 3 week old babies, totally new/clueless parents, and totally new/clueless babies! I'm really looking forward to having the energy this year to enjoy everything and take it all in.

Here are some updates from the last month:

Both babies feed themselves now! Kenna caught on around 10.5 months and never looked back. Her pincer grasp is amazing! She can pick up the tiniest things. If there is a day old pea in her bib pocket, she will surely pick it out and eat it the next day! She is a very independent eater. There are many things she refuses to eat off a spoon that she will pick up and eat for herself if placed on the tray. For some reason, Nathan took a few more weeks to catch on to the whole self feeding thing. I would put the food on his tray but he just wouldn't touch it. I knew he was physically able and that he loves food, so I couldn't figure it out. In retrospect, I think it was just laziness! I found that if I turned his chair around so he couldn't see me, he would immediately pick something up and try to eat it. He definitely didn't have the same fine motor skills as Kenna, though, and often dropped the food, must to his frustration. I think he knew he wasn't great at doing it and was anxious to eat so he would just cry until I fed him. I just kept putting food on his tray every day and feeding him with my fingers so he would get the idea. He would play with it once in a while but that was it. Then, last week, he went for it and now has about a 90% completion rate! They both now pretty much feed themselves all of what is on the tray (except stuff I feed them with a spoon). It's amazing how far we've come in a month! The sippy cups are also in 100% use and they are doing well with them.

They are generally great eaters and eat pretty much everything! For example, one dinner this week was salmon, asparagus and fresh mushrooms with a tomato sauce. All parents have their things that are important to them, and for me a major thing is what they eat. I have taken the plunge and give them almost entirely organic food after reading much on the topic. I NEVER thought I would be "that" person, but yup, I now feel strongly about it for them. I am emphatic that they get a great mix of grains, fruits, veggies, proteins and dairy each day and buy a large variety of things for them to eat. My goal is to have kids who make healthy food choices for life and have a taste for a large variety of foods.

Kenna now has 8 teeth! At the beginning of last month she had 6, and by the end she had two more bottom teeth come in. It seemed like Nathan was having trouble teething last month but never had more teeth come in. This morning, one broke through on the bottom (number 7 for him!) and I think the matching one will be soon to come.

Both babies can stand for several second alone without holding onto anything now. Especially in the last week, they just periodically are standing when I look up. Nathan is doing an AWESOME job with his walker. We take him outside on the sidewalk with it and he can push it (walking) forever. Last week he tried to take his first step while standing without it, but promptly fell and I haven't seen him try that again. Kenna soon after did the same thing. She too can walk with the walker, but she isn't as excited about it and just goes for a little bit before deciding she would like to go smell the flower next to her! I can't imagine they won't be walking within another 4-6 weeks. They are very close and ready!

These two are very much a boy and girl in their personalities. Nathan is never happier than when you put him down in a wide open space and he can crawl as fast as he can. He gets a huge grin on his face and sort of pants "ah ah ah ah!" Kenna loves to crawl into your lap to be held and is enjoying books a lot more lately. She watches intently for a little while. This morning when I picked her up out of her crib and rubbed her back, she rubbed mine back. She is so sweet and loving! Nathan likes to crawl into my lap but more for playing. He likes to use me as a jungle gym. :) The exception is when he is tired, and then he will snuggle into me and lay his head on my shoulder. I just love that because it's so much less frequent with him.

We had a really fun first Halloween with them. We went to the Disneyland trick or treat party the night before and had a blast with our friends who have twin 2 year olds. We took them real trick or treating the next night on Halloween with grammy, papa, and their aunt, uncle and cousins and had a great time then too - although they slept through most of it! I had SO much fun having an excuse to go door to door myself and realized I was excited to see what kind of candy WE got! lol Nathan was a perfect lion, and Kenna a perfect flower.

Yesterday we got professional 12 month pictures taken. The timing didn't work to get them done later so they had to get done a little early. We couldn't get Nathan to smile for the life of us...BUT we got some absolutely fantastic pictures of them both despite that. I will post them next. I'm long overdue for some pics to be posted!