Wednesday, November 20, 2013

9 and 10 month baby update :)

This will be another melting together post.  I have just been down and out with a lot of weird lung problems.  My cough stayed and then my lungs got inflamed again.  Long story short, my lungs had residual damage left from whatever I had this summer and it really messed with my breathing.  Everything is under control now with new meds and I have been given the green light to run again.  It just took a really long time (since July...) to figure out how to help me. Hence... the blog was put on hold.

The babies are doing wonderful!  They have been doing so many new things!

We will start with Alton :)

9 Months:




9mo doctor stats:

Height:  27.75" (30%) - side note: I'm not sure if this was right or not.  The nurse measured Ashlyn after and then she said she thought she measured Alton wrong... but didn't go back and do his height measurement again.  So.. who knows.  They are very close in height though.
Weight: 19lbs 5.8oz (47%)
Head:  18.11" (78%)

10 Months:

Pure joy :)
Soon after 8 months he started to really crawl!  He wouldn't go very far at first, but he figured it out pretty fast.  He now (at 10 mo) can crawl all over the place and he loves exploring the house and gets into everything.



He has learned how to actually "walk" in his walker!  He used to only be able to scoot backwards.  Now he goes at good clip in the kitchen back and forth :)



He is still our really good eater.  He loves almost everything we give him.  He isn't crazy about bananas.  I'll give him chunks and he will sometimes eat them okay, but he mostly spits it out.  He loves puffs and cheerios.  He still loves peaches.  He has recently eaten canned peaches and he loved them too.  I'm still wondering how we'll get to normal foods, but eventually we will :)


He loves crawling after Sookie.  He says "Ssss-keeee" when he is doing it.  So, if I'm like changing Ashlyn's diaper and I hear the "Ssss-keee" I know what he's doing haha.

Other word associations he has: dada, uh oh, more- well.. "mo", ball and sookie :) he is really good at mimicking sounds and he really tries to copy what we're saying.

He can really cruise on furniture now.  He is so good at it.



He can now clap!  He also claps in his high chair when you say "good boy" to him.  It's cute.

He likes to hit the button to open the garage.  He'll hit it and quickly look back to check if the door is opening or closing.  He get's so excited.  Jon gets him to turn on lights when he is holding him and he loves turning on fans.

He is no longer sleeping in the swing at naps! He is still napping in a different room than Ashlyn, but he sleeps in a pack play.

He loves to spin things.  Wheels, balls that spin on toys... if something spins- he'll find it.



Onto Ashlyn:

9 Months:

She was going through a phase where she wasn't into the whole smiling thing lol


9mo doctor stats:

Height: 27.75" (57%)
Weight: 18lbs 5.8oz (54%)
Head: 17.76" (83%)

10 months:



We saw the feeding specialist.  Was it worth the 8mo wait??  No. Ashlyn ate the best she has ever eaten.  She opened up for the spoon and leaned towards it and everything.  She did refuse her bottle and the specialist noted that and said that wasn't normal.  Because of the overall performance, the specialist saw no need to continue seeing her.  It was pretty much a "well, sorry you have to deal with this... but it'll get better eventually" sort of answer.  She still continually will try to gag herself because she hates drinking her bottle.  I guess on the plus side- it'll be easy to wean her off her bottle when the time comes haha... The doctor also suggested feeding her the natural white chedder cheetos haha... that will be the one and only time a doctor suggests eating junk food :)

She liked it and ate it.



Alton hated them.


Slowly she will get there.  This will probably be her main struggle for the first little while.  That being said, she is doing so much better.  She still gags and throws up from time to time (on purpose) but it's not every meal like it used to be.

She started crawling before Alton.  She is just all over the place now!



In the last few weeks she has been really cruising on furniture and she sometimes will pull her hands off and she stands on her own for a few seconds.  This girl will be walking soon!



She also figured out how to "walk" in her walker before Alton.  Her face lit up when she figured it out.  She loves running around in the kitchen.  She reaches out for the handles on the cabinets and they'll open, but they can't open all the way because the walker is in the way.

She is doing better with her solids.  She likes cheerios and puffs a lot.  She likes turkey a lot too.  When we are in HEB and there are samples, she is more enthusiastic about getting food than Alton.  Albeit... we only give them like bread and plain meat. :)

She is starting to wave a little.

She loves books more than anything.  If there is a toy and a book... the book always wins.



She loves plotting.  She watches where we put things and she remembers it... and when we're not looking she b-lines it to whatever she was waiting for (ie: cell phone, remote, book or even a toy that Alton had that he had stopped playing with).  She is just inquisitive. :)



She can now rock a "pony".  Her hair was getting to be where she was starting to look homeless lol :)



Recently:

The babies had their first ear infection.   They had runny noses and just weren't themselves.  Poor littles.  We were able to catch it early though, so that was good.  We just had a few rough days.




We had a garage sale and we made $120 in like an hour.  It was a lot of fun too.

Jon had a crazy work week not that long ago and he hadn't seen the babies for a few days because he would get home after they went to bed.  So we made it down to his work and had lunch with him.  Alton figured out he could hear his voice echo where we were eating so he would starting screaming to hear himself.  We had to make a quick exit when that started haha.  People started to stare :)

We had our ward's trunk or treat.  I made the babies costumes :)  They were M&Ms.  Ashlyn was brown and Alton was red.  I made it so they could wear them as a "back pack" so they can crawl around.  They didn't mind them at all.  They honestly didn't care.  For pictures and riding around in their wagon we put them on their fronts.  They came out so cute! Daddy fed Alton pumpkin bread and he loved it.






My dad is came here to visit the week of Halloween.  Ashlyn is his new BFF.  She did all she could to get to him.  He read in funny voices and sang to the babies.  They loved having him here.  They were all smiles when he came down the stairs in the morning.  We miss him!  Hope he comes back soon :)





We went to a pumpkin patch while my dad was here.  We packed a picnic lunch and took pictures.  It was a lot of fun.







Grandad was so nice and he bought the babies stuffed animals and a push walker.  The babies have loved the walker and the animals.


While Grandad was here, we made a really quick trip to Galveston.  The babies rode on their first ferry ride! They had a lot of fun and they loved looking at each other through the windows.







Sunday, September 1, 2013

7 and 8 month update

I've been working on their 7mo post for a while.  However, everything started to melt together from 7 and 8 months... so I'm combining the updates!  I promise a lot of pictures :)

We have started a new schedule!  We wouldn't have to be so nit picky with the "schedule" if we didn't have twins.  I would just go even more crazy without it! Eating every 4 hours and 2 naps during the day.  In bed by 7:30pm for the night.  I still have to start feeding Ashlyn a half hour before Alton.  We start our day at 6:30am.  It's not that I'm not a morning person... but I can't wait for the day when I can set my alarm for after 7am! That'll be a while...    Ashlyn apparently feels the same way :)


 On to what new things the babies are up to :)

Ashlyn:

7mo
 

 8mo

 
-Ashlyn sometimes will "drum" on this bowl with wooden spoons.  It's hilarious to watch.  Most of the time when she has the bowl in front of her she will knock on it :)  It's cute. (This picture was taken way before the 8mo pictures... lol we wear this outfit often, I guess- haha)


 -Ashlyn can now sit unsupported no problem!  She can even sit herself up on her own when she gets on her side/tummy.

-Her reflux is doing so much better! She doesn't have to sit for a full half hour after a bottle anymore.  She is still not fun to feed when she is awake.. but it's a work in progress

-Can reach for toys and then sit back up

-Isn't crawling, but she will get on her tummy and scootch herself forward (face dragging the whole way) and then turn over once she gets to the toy she really wants. She can get up on all fours and move back and forth.  The girl rolls all over the place!



 -A tooth started to cut on August 17th (looking at her- bottom front right)  You can see her top front teeth coming too.


 -Ashlyn isnt' very enthusiastic with solids (surprise surprise).  It takes her a half hour to take close to 2oz.


-Finally got into GI doctor- he wants us to see a feeding specialist.  After a few phone calls I was able to schedule her to see a feeding specialist on Sept. 9th.  Crossing fingers this will be good for her.  They told me to bring her favorite eating utensils and food.... hmm... little do they know she doesn't have a favorite.  The food she'll eat faster than the others is avocado... so I guess that's a favorite haha

-On August 27th- Ashlyn started "clapping".  I will clap and then she will (most of the time.. sometimes she just looks at me like I'm crazy and then will go about playing as usual).  Then there are times where I catch her just clapping to herself. 

Alton:

7mo


8mo


-Alton started on August 17th- when he is on his belly- he can move to a sitting position all by himself.  At 7 mo he still didn't care to be on his tummy. He doesn't spend a lot of time on his tummy now, but he will get on his tummy to reach for things and he will move around.  Not crawling really... more like he puts one leg under him, scootches on his rump and pushes with the other leg.  It's quite comical to watch.. He can sure get around.  He tries to pull himself up when holding on to different things.
 


 -He can turn himself while he's sitting to reach for toys.  He'll also reach really far for a toy and then sit back up.  His loves playing with this rattle that sort've looks like a phone, he loves playing with balls, toy piano and this house that we have that makes noises when you press different buttons.



-Loves to eat solids.  He will down like 4oz of whatever you are feeding him.

-Alton loves peaches!! Even when he seems done with his "meal"- he will always make room for peaches.

-First tooth cut on August 27th (looking at him: bottom front left)

-When Ashlyn is near, he will pull her hair and sometimes it ends up like this...


-I've been trying to get a video of it, but I always miss it.  Alton does what we call "propeller lips".  Like a raspberry, but not.  His lips vibrate together and he makes noises while he does it.  He'll just sit and play while he does it. 

-Naps in his swing- we finally got one that plugs into the wall!

-He can be grumpy (what baby isn't??) but he sure is such a happy little boy.


-He loves blankets.  When he is super cranky, I will put a blanket on his head and he will be all smiles.


Both:

-Now sit in the cart at the grocery store!!  They love sitting in it and being able to look around.  It's our Saturday family outing (mommy and daddy like it because it turns into our lunch with all their free samples!)  It's funny to watch how Alton sits in the cart.  He always has to have a leg up and looks all "gangsta" haha :)


-Both Babies LOVE our cat, Sookie.  They get so excited when she comes strolling in.  They just stop what they're doing and just stare at her and sometimes giggle.  Sookie doesn't feel the same way, but she at least hangs out with us all day in the same room for the most part and keeps her distance :)


 - We took them to the playground and they loved swinging! Alton was too interested in the cars going by to look at the camera, but they still had fun.


Foods we've tried since last post:
-Peach (Alton's favorite)
-green beans
-squash (both liked)
-zucchini (both babies like this)
-potato
-apple
-carrots
-prunes (Alton LOVES them- esp when mixed with apple)
-blueberries
-Pumpkin (with banana)
-puffs (Ashlyn will eat these!! woohoo!)
-watermelon

Random happenings:
The smoke detector went off in the baby's room the other night while we were sleeping (before you freak out- there wasn't a fire). We heard it on the monitor and had no idea at first what it was.  Then because that alarm was going off, our alarm in our bedroom started to go off.  I've been sick so I had taken some medicine to help me sleep.  I was so out of it and I started freaking out that there was a fire. Turns out that the battery was dying and it was beeping to let us know.  Luckily for us, the babies slept through it. I'm so thankful that Jon was home and wasn't traveling when this happened!!!

Jon had another trip to Canada in August. We survived here at home!  We missed daddy a lot though and were so happy when he came home!  I was getting over pneumonia and that was no fun (still have the cough that's left over.. ugh....)

Jon's sister, Beth was so kind and took our pictures again as a family (a few days before the babies turned 8mo).  I am so excited to see them all! She posted a preview on her blog:  http://www.bethvphotography.com/2013/08/c-twins-houston-katy-and-cypress-family.html

Thank you, Beth!!  




Life has sure been an adventure (and it sure isn't easy!!), but we are so thankful to have these special babies in our family.  We sure do love those nuggets!  They are such a joy and they bring so much happiness and light into our lives.