My Babies When They Were Babies

We spent this past Christmas in Southern California with my side of the family.  My cousin Kristin is a professional photographer and offered to take pictures of the boys while we were down there visiting.  Ummm, yes please!  She is so talented and I was so excited about her generous offer.  We had arrived in So Cal after midnight the night before we had scheduled to do the shoot.  It was the first road trip that we had taken with the boys and we were all zonked by the time we arrived at my mom and stepdad's house.  Thankfully the boys took a long morning nap after waking up at their normal time and then we headed over to Kristin's studio for the shoot.  She worked so fast and took a total of forty five minutes to take all these fabulous pics.  The boys had a quick food break in between some outfit changes and were happy little campers until we crept into the afternoon nap slot.

These pictures are precious to me because they capture A&W's individual little personalities as well as their twin bond.  They were still my baby boys in these pics rather than my little toddlers. I was so excited when I saw these that I asked Kristin for the web files so that I could share them on my blog.  I wanted to brag about how cute my kids were as well as Kristin's fine work.  If you or anyone you know is looking for a children and family photographer in the San Diego area, then you need Kristin Rachelle Photography.  She also does the most incredible beach photography.  Seriously. It was hard to pick a select number to share (otherwise this would have needed to be a slide show) but here are some of my favorites:

 My sweet bubbas- 9.5 months

 Our Abraham

 Our Winston

 They look like little men here.  What are they, thirty?

 Abraham telling Winston a joke.

So sweet.

Love these little faces.

Brotherly love.

The twin bond.

Little smiles.

Twelve Month Well Baby(ies)

This past week we brought the boys to the pediatrician for their twelve month well baby exam.  I guess it is really a toddler exam now, right?  Eric was able to get away from work for a little bit to meet me at the doctor's office.  It is always nice having an extra pair of arms to help juggle the boys.  The boys' doctor was very pleased with their progress and how they have been hitting all their milestones.  The doc was happy with their growth overall but felt that the reflux had stunted their growth in the last year.  The good news is that the boys hardly spit up anymore and are no longer taking Ranitidine.  The boys look like big boys to us but the percentiles put them below average for weight with Abraham at the 37th percentile and Winston in the 44th percentile.  Their heads are still big in the 95th percentile.  The pediatrician was encouraging us to introduce milk and more dairy into their diet to fatten them up.  I am all for encouraging calories but am thinking I want to focus on plant based foods instead.  As mentioned in their twelve month post, Winston has been our bigger eater and he passed up Abraham again on the growth chart. Once again, Winston is our 'Big Man.'

The great news is that pediatrician did not feel that boy's reaction to peanuts warranted a visit to the allergist yet and told us to stay clear of peanuts and tree nuts until they are at least two and then we could revisit the issue. 

So without further ado, here is a recap of the boy's first year growth:

Abraham

Birth-5 lbs. 15 ozs.; 18.75 inches

One Month- 7 lbs. 1 oz.; 21 inches

Two Months-10 lbs. 8 ozs.; 21.75 inches
Four Months- 13 lbs. 13.5 ozs.; 25 inches
Six Months- 15 lbs. 14 ozs.; 26.75 inches

Nine Months- 18 lbs. 12 ozs; 28 inches

Twelve Months- 20 lbs. 9 ozs; 29.75 inches

Winston

Birth- 7 lbs. 9 ozs.; 20 inches

One Month- 7 lbs. 10 ozs.; 21 inches
Two Months-11 lbs. 13 ozs.; 23 inches
Four Months- 13 lbs. 13 ozs.; 25.5 inches
Six Months- 15 lbs. 13 ozs.; 26.25 inches

Nine Months- 18 lbs. 12 ozs.; 28 inches

Twelve Months- 21 lbs.; 30.25 inches

The boys checking out the falling snow yesterday afternoon. 

I am so thankful it did not snow on their birthday. 

Twelve Months!

I am finally getting to the monthly update for the boys.  It took a while just to recover from their party.  Ha!  And now I am coming down with something.  The boys stay healthy but it seems like every month I am fighting something off.  I love blogging but it also has to fit into family time rather than cutting into it.  I also do not have my own laptop after mine died right after the boys were born.  Bad timing, right?  But I continue to prevail getting updates in.  I love my bubbas (as I like to call them) and am amazed at how they are learning and changing all the time.

 On their first birthday with their personalized shirts. 

They were so tired by this point but I was able to get some smiles.

Winston makes this 'o' shape with his lips lately.  It makes me laugh.

Abraham and Winston are becoming more animated and interactive.  It is so much fun watching them evolve and their personalities develop more and more.  The boys are into everything at this stage.  They want to touch the exact thing that you tell them not to.  They want to stand up in the bath tub.  They understand exactly what it is you do not want them to do, they give you this look while making eye contact and then go to do it again.  Sigh.  The need to correct seems to be constant now.  They are becoming more autonomous and testing limits everyday.   It is a blessing but it is really hard some days when they gang up against me.  Winston tends to take correction better while Abraham bears down and refuses to cooperate. 

They gained a new word this past month which is 'up.'  When they want to be taken out of their crib or play yard or picked up from the floor they say 'up.'  Abraham has really been using it more and more this past week.  They can say 'mama', 'dada/papa' (it interchanges but they say it in context), baba (for brother), 'hi' and now 'up.'  They wave hi and good-bye.  They wave good-bye to papa in the morning when he leaves for work and wave hi when he comes home.  It is too cute.  They can also put their arms above their head when you ask ,"How big are you?"  They smile when I say, "Soooo big."  I am super proud of them. They like to shake their heads and shoulders when I sing the alphabet to them.  They have started "singing."  It is gibberish just like the baby talk but they string tones together in a way that it sounds like singing.

As mentioned in a previous post, they can pull themselves into a standing position.  They started cruising and are trying to stand without holding onto something.  Abraham will walk if we hold his hands.  Winston is not too sure yet and rather crawl because it is faster for him.  After he is done standing, Winston looks behind him, determines if it is all clear and then falls on his padded behind.  Abraham keeps holding on and slowly lowers to his knees and back to into a seated position.  It is so entertaining just seeing the differences between them.  We are thinking that Abraham will walk first because he is going through the motions but Winston may surprise us.  Winston can be more fearless in that regard and he also has been trying harder to stand up on his own without pulling up on something.   

They are now eating like big boys and finally using those teeth.  They are really good eaters.  In a change of fashion, Abraham has become the more discriminatory eater.  Abraham does not eat as much and tends to take longer to take to new foods. Winston really puts it away and his last weight check demonstrated that. Their favorites are pinto beans, avocado, cubes of apple, grapes, peas, broccoli, yams and whole grain bread.  I have started introducing some dairy in the form of yogurt mixed with ground flax and apple sauce.  It is the only thing I can think of that I still spoon feed them.  They have also had some small handfuls of shredded cheese.  Thus far no ill effects so I am hoping they are outgrowing the lactose problems.  They have had some scrambled eggs and have been fine with that.  We have not done any meat yet for various reasons.  Right now we want them to focus on plant foods so that they really develop a taste for them.  They are still nursing about four times a day.  They have not lost interest at all so I do not see with them self-weaning any time soon.  They drink water from their sippy cups but are not enthusiastic about it.  We may try juicing some grapes or sweet apples and letting them try that.  I may also look into a milk substitute to get some more calories in.  I do not want them to be too dependent upon me for their hydration.

A&W are both really attached to me but they are really starting to enjoy their papa. They just beam when he comes home. They like to sit on his lap and watch a show like 'Man vs. Food,' crawl around on the floor with him and treat him like a jungle gym. We tried watching Disney's 'Cars' but their attention span is pretty short.  They also listen more quickly to their papa when he corrects them. 

 Our Winston has the sweetest smile that takes up his whole face.

Winston is a ray of sunshine that has such a sweet smile.  He is our little cuddle bug lately.  Winston will lay his head on our shoulders and just let us hold him and rock him.  He gives pats and hugs. He will also give kisses unprompted once in a while.  He likes to take two toys whether it is little blocks or cars or whatever and bang them together.  Winston loves his rocking horse that he got for his birthday.  He loves food and will pretty much eat anything.  He is our speed crawler and can seriously launch himself.  We love you, Winston!

My happy, blue-eyed boy, Winston.

 My little Abraham, full of life.

Abraham is a bundle of affection wrapped in mischief. His smile can be quite a smirk at times like he has a little secret. He has a strong will and spirit.  He is very focused on what he wants to do whether it is walking, talking, etc.  He is more vocal and picks up on words quickly. He has a serious temper and will not give up easily. He likes to sit on a lap and cuddle.  Abraham is all about trying to cruise and learn to walk.  He is so happy when he learns something new.  Abraham, we love you!

Real life is a bump on Abraham's lip and remnants of yams on his face.

To our sweet boys, you have so many similarities but it becomes quite evident that you are each your own person.  You like to keep us on our toes and change things up quite often.  You never let us pigeon hole you and I am grateful for that.  You both have taught us what dying to self means and a greater need for patience.  We love you so much more than we could ever tell you and feel so grateful to the Lord that He allowed us to be your parents.  It has been a wonderful year and we look forward to many more with you in God's grace.  

First Birthday Party

This past weekend was the boys' first birthday and we had a great party for them.  It was a lot of work and we had quite the house full but I am glad we did it.  We wanted it to be a celebration of God's faithfulness to us in our first year as parents.  It was a huge milestone.  Not only did the boys turn a year old but it was an anniversary for Eric and me.  We survived the year as first time parents to twins!  So many of the people at the party had been an encouragement to us at the time whether it was dropping off a meal, praying with us or checking in to make sure that we were actually surviving. We wanted to celebrate those people that had walked that journey with us and show them our thankfulness. We were also blessed to have my dad, stepmom and my Grandma Ida come from So Cal for the event. A&W were surrounded by their family, friends and neighbors and it was wonderful to see how loved our boys truly are.  It really was a great day.

When Abraham and Winston were born last year and we named them, we realized that their initials would be A&W and decided we would have to incorporate that into their first birthday party.  The only issue was that if I chose all orange and brown for the decorations then it would potentially look like Halloween or the colors of the local high school.  So instead I went with an all-American theme for my all-American boys.  What could be more all-American than a barbecue?

The decorations consisted of checked table cloths, fresh cut flowers in glass jars, foil cut stars, multi-colored tissue paper poofs, a pennant banner and a picture montage of the boys' first year. We barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs.  There were traditional sides like potato salad, baked beans and potato chips. Healthy items like a vegetable tray and salad were also available.

And of course there were plenty of desserts.  We had A&W root beer floats, root beer float cupcakes and an awesome cake decorated with the theme in mind.

I was thrilled with how well the cake turned out.  I did not make this.  I left it to the professionals.  I did make the root beer float cupcakes however.  The recipe is here if you are interested.  Yes, they really did taste like a float with the scoops of butter cream frosting.  I made the kid friendly version with root beer extract (instead of root beer Schnapp's for the glaze) and they were a hit. 

The weather turned out to be great. It was cool and overcast in the morning but some sunshine peeked through just in time for the party.

They were sweet and happy for the majority of the day.  They ate a good lunch before their first sugary treats--cupcakes!

Mr. Winston

Mr. Abraham

I did a video of the actual cup cake destroying but did get this shot.  I know there were other people taking photos so I will get a better one down the road.

There were lots of hugs and love for the birthday boys.

Auntie Alicia and Winston

Grandma Anne and Grandpa Sid came up from So Cal.

 Our happy little family.

 

Grammy and Abraham

 

Eric and I ordered our A&W root beer shirts from the original A&W in Lodi, CA using their ebay store.  The boys' shirts were made and ordered on Customized Girl.

The whole day was a blur but I am thankful that I got quite a few pictures.  We are now the parents of two toddlers...crazy!  It is hard to imagine that a year has actually gone by that quickly yet so much has changed that it feels like a lifetime.  In all of it, we are blessed.

Babies No More

On Saturday my little guys will be a year old!  The last week and a half has shown me just how quickly these boys are changing and growing.  They went from barely being able to pull themselves up into a standing position to trying to cruise using the furniture.  Nothing is safe anymore.  They are into everything all the time.  You turn away for a second and they speed crawl to the other end of the house.  The baby proofing so to speak has been bumped up a level.  They are trying so hard to stand up now without pulling up on something.  They are still stuck in the downward dog position but I know it is going to happen soon.  Now we are working on them walking while we hold their hands. 

"Yep, I did this all by myself." -Winston

"Yeah, I am kind of a big deal around here." -Abraham

"There is new stuff to play with at this height."

Oh, and the attitudes and the whining...feels like it is constant.  Abraham is so impatient and has gotten into the bad habit of throwing tantrums.  Winston had a better day today which was a blessing for this mama but he can speak his mind as well.  I was not quite prepared for that to change so quickly.  I thought I knew what tantrums looked like before but this is a whole new breed--seemingly for no reason. 

"Yes, we were perfectly fine playing but then we saw you, mama.  Now we want out!"

I am so proud of these boys and am excited about writing their twelve month post because of all the new things they are learning.  We are going to have a big party here at the house for the little guys on Saturday so it will probably be a couple days before any pictures show up.  Speaking of pictures, it is very hard to get some decent ones of these wiggle worms nowadays. 

"But we don't want to sit still for a picture."

This is not too bad. Too blown out and blurry but at least they are smiling.

I look at their precious faces full of both mischief and innocence and am amazed at these little men growing up right in front of me.  They are not acting like the babies they were just a matter of weeks ago.  Welcome to toddlerhood.

Winston's Turn

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Leap Year Post

Photo credits- Harmony Hilderbrand Photography

This was me a little more than a year ago.  Last February we had a fresh blanket of snow here in the valley and my friend Harmony took my maternity pics.  I was as big as a house and was hiking through the snow and balancing on a rock trying to get the shots we had discussed.  Harmony is a good friend hunkering down in the snow and sharing her talent with me in that way.  I look back at it and am amazed at how active I stayed and what I was still doing at that point.  I was blessed with such an incredible twin pregnancy--no gestational diabetes, pre-term labor, bed rest, etc.  I loved being pregnant with my boys.  There were some hard moments like when they were both breech and I felt like my ribs were going to break but overall it was an amazing experience.  Now I am a mother to two children.  With the boys approaching their first birthday, I am obviously very nostalgic.  No one feels beautiful while they are pregnant but I look back at these photos and I feel like I looked beautiful.  My body carried two babies to 37 weeks and it makes me feel strong, empowered and in awe of how God designed my body to accomplish that feat. 

I feel like this whole past year lept past me.  I kept thinking it was March for nearly the past 12 months so starting tomorrow I will finally be back on track.  You always hear that time goes faster as you get older.  It is a cliche but there is a reason it is a cliche, because it's true.  I look at how our family has grown not only physically but emotionally and spiritually.  Let me tell you people, you will learn what your marriage is made of when you have newborn twins.  The process of having two babies at once is stressful, crazy, exhausting, wonderful, exhilarating and absolutely amazing.  I look at these photos and I see how I was joyfully anticipating A&W's arrival but that ultimately I could not expect all that it would entail. You try to prepare yourself for how hard it is going to be but you just have to be there before you can understand.  I have a new sense of fulfillment from being a mom (or should I say MoM) that I would not trade for anything however. 

Next leap year I will be mothering two very talkative and high energy little boys.  The thought thrills me.