Twenty Four Months!

Our little guys are now two years old and this will be my last monthly update.  I will feel free to brag about them at different intervals however since this is my blog.

We had a fun afternoon at the local school yard several weeks ago when Mimi and Opa came for a visit.

In one sense it feels like A&W were just born but in another it feels like a lifetime ago.  Our lives have changed so much with the arrival of these little men that our former lives as DINKs (double income, no kids) seems like a long time ago.  I am grateful for all those changes however and that we have been able to experience the joy of parenthood.

Winston (left) and Abraham.

The boys are definitely all boy all the time.  They love to identify motorcycles, fire trucks, school buses and garbage trucks. They love hearing the sound of a fire truck and telling you what it is.  We have a lot of open land behind our back yard and it is heavily frequented by dirt bikes.  The boys love hearing them and seeing them.  On trash pick-up day the boys watch as the truck stops at every house at the end of our street and Winston cries when it is time for it to go bye-bye.  When I am out and about driving with the boys they can get fixated on a bus or big semi and are so disappointed that we are not going the same way as the other vehicle.  I think that they think that I can control where the bus goes and are so sad.  It is sweet but I feel so bad when they cry.

The boys are learning new stuff all the time and I am always so amazed at what they can remember.  They know their shapes such as circle, square, triangle, star, heart, etc.  They know colors but when I ask Abraham he will still frequently tell me that any object is green.  They know lots of letters and numbers.  They have begun counting small numbers of items they are playing with on their own, generally 1-4 but will go to about thirteen if I am counting for them.  They have an alphabet puzzle they got for their birthday and I was blown away by how many they could readily identify. I would say they know about 70% of their letters.  They can get mixed up sometimes like with an "H" and "M" but overall I am amazed at what they have soaked up. They remember little details from books, pictures and TV shows and it is absolutely true that kids are like little sponges.

We had the boys' two year well child exam last week and I was excited that the boys had gained back their weight from being sick.  The boys are doing great with Abraham in the 56th percentile for weight and 74th percentile for height and Winston in the 83rd percentile for weight and 76th percentile for height.  These are strong little Guddat men!

 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
Fifteen Months- 23 lbs. 3 ozs.; 31.75 inches

Eighteen Months- 25 lbs. 2 ozs.; 32.75 inches

Twenty Four Months- 30 lbs.; 34.25 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

Fifteen Months- 23 lbs. 12 ozs.; 31.25 inches 

Eighteen Months- 25 lbs. 12 ozs.; 32.5 inches 

Twenty Four Months- 31 lbs.; 35 inches

Now that I am well into my second trimester and have more energy, it is definitely time to tackle potty training again. Abraham asks to have his diaper changed.  I swore up and down that I would never let my kid go that long being in diapers where they would ask to be changed.  Oh well, it just means he is ready.  Winston was going through a phase where he was telling me right after he pooped but now he is just shy and embarassed about it.  Again probably another sign that Winston is also ready.  They are good eaters and have a new found fondness for sour cream. I have explained that sour cream is to dip quesadillas in and not eat by itself but they like to swipe forkfuls of it.  They love olives and any fruit.  In general they love all condiments such as ketchup and barbecue sauce. They are doing really well with utensils but Abraham can be quite practical at times and just starts picking up handfuls and shoving them in his mouth.  Winston wants no help eating.  Even if he is struggling with something he wants to do it all by himself.

Abraham is speaking in more and more sentences.  His favorite as of late is "I don't know" even when I am quite certain that he does know exactly what I am asking him about.  He is a little parrot and he picks up language by just repeating what I say. I have noticed that he is learning to properly say "I" more and more instead of "you" when referring to himself.  He is stubborn as all get out which is both a blessing and a curse.  He loves to sit and color. While he gets distracted quickly, once he fixates on something there is nothing that can derail him.  Besides coloring, two of those fixations right now are having both of his Leo's (the stuffed animals) and playing with the plastic eggs from Easter.  Right now he is not a fan of having pictures taken of him because it takes away from whatever he is trying to do at the time.  Who has time to be in a picture when there are toys to play with?

Abraham's first lollipop given to him by a friend from church.  He has not had one since...too sticky.

Winston is a talker but it is not all intelligible.  He starts a speech with an identifiable word, goes on a string of gibberish and then says another word I can understand.  Amazingly I can often understand what he is trying to say by the two words I recognize.  No new development here but I think his obsession with vacuums is only getting stronger.  Anything that has batteries or  a power supply fascinates him.  The boys got play kitchen mixers for their birthday. Winston ran out the batteries in about two days and brought it up to me saying "Mama, mikser!"  I melt at how he pronounces that.  Anyways I knew the batteries were dead but I had to find a tiny little screwdriver to replace them and quite honestly the sound had been driving me crazy so I fibbed.  I said the mixer was broken and had to be fixed. Then there was a "More batteries, mama" with this sweet little look on his face.  I was busted.  He is a very independent kid and likes to do things all by himself. It can be a power struggle at times but I am glad to see he is definitely his own person.

Classic Winston face.

Right now we are at that age where the boys are either giggling, wrestling and clearly enjoying one another or they are bickering, crying and frustrated with one another.  It can be exhausting.  With two the same age that are trying to learn self-control and proper expression of their emotions, I feel like I am going to go crazy some days listening to the whining and fighting.  They have so much energy the minute their feet hit the floor in the morning and it is hard to keep up with them.  I cannot imagine it any other way however and we cannot imagine not having both our boys here with us.  They truly are a double blessing.  Thank you boys for giving us the two richest years of our lives!

No Slowing Down

Well, the month of March has not slowed down and I am trying to keep the events on the blog in chronological order.  The week of the boys' birthday ended up being quite an eventful one.  As you know, the first couple of months of 2013 the boys had their fair share of sickness and we spent plenty of time at the pediatrician.  The boys however had never ended up in the ER with a medical emergency...that is until the week of their birthday.  With their sniffles and coughs continuing, Eric had a diffuser with eucalyptus oil in their room.  I was home alone with the boys one night as Eric was helping a friend with a car.  We got to bed time and I was just about to put the boys in their cribs when I realized I had forgotten their sippy cups of water.  I told the boys I was going to get their cups and Abraham followed me down the hallway chatting the entire time.  I filled their cups with water and was heading back to their room when Winston came screaming down the hall.  As soon as he got closer I realized what had happened.  He had been able to to reach the eucalyptus oil and tried to drink it.  Thankfully it is very potent and strong stuff so he had spit it out on his pajamas and was crying because the taste was so bad.  I stayed calm and got a hold of poison control right away.  Apparently eucalyptus oil is very toxic and a very small quantity (tablespoons) can cause seizures.  Poison control advised me to take Winston to the ER and called ahead to our local hospital.  I got a hold of Eric and he met us there.  The doctor and nurses were all prepped with the protocol of administering activated charcoal and monitoring his vital signs.  The ER doc asked us about the amount he ingested and I explained that I did not believe he really drank any.  The doc agreed based on how Winston was alert and interactive so he lowered the amount of activated charcoal to 20 cc's.  Winston was observed for a little more than two hours after getting the charcoal and everything looked great.  They also did a chest x-ray as a precaution.  Everyone at the hospital commented on how sweet our boys were and well behaved while we were there.  It made a lousy situation a little bit better. We got to go home and Winston slept great that night. He woke up the next morning and was happy as a clam as if nothing had ever happened.

Winston hit his limit with taking the charcoal so Eric took over the nurse's job and finished the dose up.

The learning lesson is that when it comes to kids it only takes seconds for something to happen.  Winston was very intentional and deliberate.  He knew it was something he was not supposed to touch and waited for the opportunity to get to it.  I was distracted for less than a minute and in that time he pulled on a doily/runner on his dresser so that he could reach the bottle of eucalyptus oil.  God was gracious to us and our little guy was perfectly okay but it made me realize that we can never be too vigilant or cautious. 

The next day Eric and I had an appointment at the office of a maternal fetal health specialist.  This was the same doctor's office that took care of all of our growth scans for our boys.  We opted to have a first trimester screening for the baby.  I also had it done with the boys and it had provided me peace of mind.  If we were to have a child with special needs, we wanted to be prepared. Our nearest hospitals do not have NICUs so we would want the baby to be delivered at a hospital farther away with a NICU and pediatric specialists.  Our baby which we have affectionately nicknamed Seymour (because we want to see more of him or her) looked absolutely perfect according to the ultrasound tech. The baby was measuring at 13 weeks and 1 day and we got some beautiful profile pics of our little one.  I have a had a great deal of anxiety with this pregnancy because of the difficulties we have had so having such good news really lifted a burden.  That night I felt great and I was sitting and talking to Eric when all of the sudden I felt a gush.  It felt like I had peed in my pants (sorry for the TMI) but I knew that was not the case.  I was bleeding very heavily and it was bright red blood.  The next several hours were pretty emotional and nerve wracking as we got a hold of my OB and I was told to go back to strict bed rest.  Eric and I prayed that night and were prepared to lose the baby.  It was like a bad dream; we had just seen the baby a matter of hours earlier and everything seemed to be falling apart.  I spent the next 36 hours laying flat in bed and then we went to see my OB.  The baby had a heartbeat and while we were so relieved it has continued the emotional roller coaster.  The boys' birthday party was just days later and I was stuck in bed.  Thankfully there was no more bleeding and our little Seymour hung in there.  This baby is definitely showing its stubborn genes it inherited from mama and papa.  We did find out that there is a slight separation in my placenta which may have been the source of the bleeding and the initial results of the genetic screening were all negative.  God continues to bless us but we would continue to covet your prayers as this pregnancy progresses. 

Next up:  The boys' birthday party. The next post will be a happy one...I promise. 

In the Midst

I do not want to say that we are in the midst of a trial. Rather we are going through some growth as a family, both physically and metaphorically.  In less than two months we have been through quite a bit.  It was not traumatic or awful stuff but when it continually stacks up on you, it can begin to feel overwhelming.  We found out right after the New Year that we were expecting another baby.  We had about a week for that truth to settle in before I developed a subchorionic hemorrhage and was diagnosed with a threatened miscarriage.  My OB told me we had a 50/50 chance of holding onto the pregnancy.  I was put on strict bed and had to take progesterone to support the pregnancy.  Bed rest with two 22-month old boys is really hard to do. I had to completely rely on my husband, family members and friends to do the simplest tasks.  The boys did not understand why mama was not playing with them and taking care of them.  I really did not have too much hope of maintaining the pregnancy because I was told my cervix was partially dilated and the pain was immense.  We got through it one day at a time until finally it was  time to do an ultrasound.  We got to see our precious baby's heart beat at 8.5 weeks.  God is good.

The morning sickness with this pregnancy has been more intense than with the boys.  Besides the nausea, I have had stronger food aversions, dizziness and have felt so lethargic.  I do not want to be melodramatic but I have seen the outer limits of "I just want to die" morning sickness.  The boys were sick on Eric's birthday and they were diagnosed with ear infections.  Thankfully I felt pretty good on my birthday a couple weeks later which was a blessing because Eric had to be out of town.  The boys stayed healthy for a little while after the antibiotics and then came down with croup.  They were on the mend when Eric came down with a horrible stomach virus and became violently ill.  We assumed it was a food borne illness isolated to him because we were all fine and he had no respiratory symptoms like the flu.  We are pretty sure now it was norovirus because Winston came down with it three days later and then I came down with it two days after that.  Thankfully our Abraham was spared from the actual vomiting.  Winston was left so weak and dehydrated that he has been totally miserable with continuing fevers from the original virus from which he developed croup. Now the boys are just coughing and it seems that the fevers are completely gone.  We were at our pediatrician's three times in the course of a month.  Since there were no indicators of secondary infection we just had to let it runs its course.  There was not a lot of sleep for anybody at the time.  Sigh.

But this is not about complaining.  It is about surviving and even thriving as a family when things were difficult.  Some of the things I have been thankful for in the midst of all these situations:

1. The gospel-it put everything into perspective.  The things that felt like a big deal were viewed through the lens of eternity.  When we were weary we knew that the Lord was going to continue giving us strength.
2. My husband-for serving me selflessly and doing his very best to be a full time parent and a full time employee.  Rather than put a strain on our marriage we have been growing closer together.  That is all God's grace.  And God continues to bless Eric with growth in his job and we do not take that for granted.
3. Excellent medical care- from our time in the ER, to visiting with our OB and spending way too much time with our pediatrician, I have been thankful for caring practitioners, good insurance and God's provision to pay our portion of the bills.
4. People that care- for those that vacuumed my house, washed my dishes, did my laundry and took care of my boys.  People praying for us and with us.  We have been ministered to in a very specific way and I am grateful. 
5. Morning sickness is not forever-when it was at its worst I was convinced it would never end but I am days away from my second trimester and it has improved so much.  It feels good to be a little more human again.

There are so many things I am probably not remembering at the moment in terms of thankfulness but I know without a doubt that the Lord has been sustaining us the last couple of months.  We are grateful for our baby and our two boys and grateful that the Lord is watching over our health.  We are praying that March and the continuing months can be a little more relaxed and not quite so stressful.  No matter what the situation though we are blessed.

My History of Running

Once upon a time, I was actually a pretty good runner.  Nothing amazing, mind you, but I learned that I could run distance and was good at keeping a pace.  Running was something I kind of fell into in college when I was really struggling with my weight.  I was on a few different anti-convulsants and seizure meds throughout college and one of the major side effects was that I put on some weight that I could not get off no matter how hard I tried.  I ran to just burn calories and try to maintain if not lose some weight.  The summer before my senior year I worked as a nanny and got into the habit of running every morning before I went to work.  I eventually had a base of four miles and was able to lose some weight. 

Once I graduated, I moved to a new town and rented a house with a childhood friend and some other Christian girls.  Two of those girls had serious running backgrounds, so it was easy to stay motivated when I saw my housemates running quite frequently.  I had a relapse with my seizure disorder and running became a major outlet for stress for me. I did not have control over my work or career situation, was back on seizure meds and felt like my life was completely adrift but running was something I could have control over.

I finally ran my first race in 2006, the Camp Pendleton Mud Run.  My ambition and desire was to run a full marathon.  I had seen numerous mailers for Team in Training and loved the idea of running to raise money for cancer research.  I had no idea how prophetic that desire would be when my own father was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer.  I had motivation like I never had before in running.  I was really proud of my training in that period and had a strong goal of finishing my marathon in under five hours.  Despite hitting the wall badly at mile 22 and having to finish most of the race from that point on walking, I finished the San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon at 4:44:46 (chip time).  I ran the Camp Pendleton Mud Run again that summer.  My relationship with Eric was in the early stages and after that summer running was not as big of a priority.  I was also having health issues that I now know were linked to my adrenal insufficiency.  I did not have the energy or ability to be running.

2007 Mud Run- Snagged this from my friend's Facebook account.  I am the muddy girl with the hat on.

Then life continues to goes on. In spring of 2008, Eric and I were planning our wedding and I was involved in a hit and run accident.  I was rear ended and the person that hit me fled the scene. Fast forward about six months and I was a newlywed living in a new state and still trying to recover from the injuries from the car accident when I was rear ended again in a chain reaction during icy road conditions.  The first car fled the scene so it was considered another uninsured motorist/hit and run accident.  Fortunately there have not been anymore accidents but it took a long time with physical therapy and chiropractic care to even think about running again. At one point, my pain control/orthopedic doctor told me to seriously think about not being able to run again.  That was hard for me and I really had to surrender that to the Lord and give up my ambitions.  The ambition itself was not bad but it had a place in my heart where it meant more than it should have, hence it was an idol.

Getting ready to line up.  Power gel and my Camelbak.

I am laughing that I actually posed all proudly with my medal with a Coca-Cola sign.

In spring of 2010, I was slowly making progress and was starting on short runs of 2 miles.  Then we got pregnant with the twins that summer and no high impact exercise was allowed.  After that I was recovering from birth and all the moms reading this know what that can be like.  Once I was staying  home with the boys, I tried taking lots of walks and eventually got them loaded up into the jogging stroller. I was really out of shape and was able to run a mile at most without stopping for a walk break.  I used the MapMyRun app on my phone and kept just trying to plug away.  Then I finally hit the wall again in terms of my adrenal insufficiency.  I started taking hydrocortisone again and within a couple weeks I was already feeling so much better. I just kept chipping away at the running and was running 2.0-2.5 miles without stopping.  Mind you, this is with pushing about 50 lbs. of toddler plus the weight of the jogging stroller.  I am an incredibly goal oriented person. Without clear goals or deadlines, I can totally procrastinate or fall into lazy behavior.  I knew that if I was really going to improve with this running thing again that I was going to have to sign up for a race.  I also had an unofficial New Year's resolution that I was going to run a race before 2012 was over.  Originally I was aspiring to run a 5K back in June but then I started having the really bad fatigue and muscle pain and most of my summer was then trying to get healthy again.  I looked into local events and saw that the Nevada Day 8K was at the end of October.  That met the 2012 cut off that I was looking for.

All that to say that I am running the Nevada Day 8K on Saturday.  I am nervous but the good kind of nervous.  I am excited and I am looking forward to having my hubby there.  He has never seen me race so this is a big deal for me. Running is getting back to me, a part of me, that I have not prioritized or not been able to do because of health issues and investing myself into my family.  I want to set a good example for my kids and for my husband that health and fitness is important.  I cannot wait to update you all on how I do!  I have a time goal but I am telling myself to just be proud that I am able to run again.  It has been a long journey back and I am grateful for the lessons I have learned about life along the way. 

Eighteen Months!

Yes, we have reached the eighteen month mark.  It happened much earlier in the month when we were on vacation in Sunriver.  It feels so official to say that we have toddlers now that the boys are a year and a half old.  I had a sick little Abraham when we got back and I am still trying to get back into the normal groove of things.  Abraham had a moderately high fever and a clear runny nose but nothing else. Winston was fine. It was seriously perplexing because if one gets something then the other always gets it.  Maybe it was his last tooth trying to pop through?

Haul trucks!

The boys are active little guys. After returning from a vacation, the boys are obsessed with being outside.  I kept them indoors a lot during the summer because of the heat but after getting to do so many activities while in Sunriver they are always asking to go outside.  Now when they wake up, they clearly say "outside" and tend to throw a fit if I tell them they have to wait.  I mean, it would be nice if they at least let me put normal clothes on and feed them breakfast, right?  They both can be stubborn and strong-willed.  It is like they each pick their moments.  It is definitely never dull around here.

Winston (left) and Abraham

They both suck their left thumbs.  Winston is trying to be good here so he switched fingers.

Abraham has a goofy streak.  He dances/marches in place when he is happy and excited about something.  Blow some bubbles and that kids gets so excited he cannot help but dance.  He is a determined little guy and will not accept help very often.  He tries to eat with a spoon but it ends up on his chest.  He does not want any help and is very determined.  We call him our Dennis the Menace because he is a total mess when he eats and musses his hair right after it is combed.  Abraham has a serious sweet tooth and is always asking for cookies.  He is our fearless little guy and we have to be careful that he does not try to climb up or down things and get himself hurt.  Abraham likes to tackle his brother and wrestle with him.

Babe-braham Lincoln

Watching TV--how I get them to hold still for photos.

Winston is all about the details.  He loves building blocks and spinning wheels on his trucks.  He is our little engineer.  He is still our little singer and sings when he is content and happy.  Winston is pretty handy with a spoon and accepts help on how to use it.  He is a great thinker and I know he is quite cerebral. This kid absorbs stuff and then just clearly demonstrates new words or abilities and it is because he figures it out for quite a while before trying to do it.  He figured out how to climb up and down stairs more slowly than Abraham but he mastered it sooner.  He is a sensitive little guy and does not like when his brother takes his stuff.  We have been encouraging him to be more aggressive and take his items back rather than crying.  He is getting the hang of it and we are proud of him.

Little Stinker

Yep, he knows he got caught.

The boys love any outdoor activity, going for walks or runs in their stroller, playing with their haul trucks, dirt and playing in the bath tub.  They are great little eaters and are learning to use utensils.  Some new words they have learned include fan, bath, circle, shadow, haul truck (sounds like all guck), help (sounds like hope), drink, fork (rhymes with look...ha ha), snack (just nack) and spoon (just poon).  My heart melts now that they can tell me 'hold you' for when they want to be held.  They are also trying to say 'love you.'  They are great about telling us when they are thirsty and that they need a cup or drink.  They also tell us 'eat' when they are hungry. I am so impressed with how well they are beginning to  communicate.  They do not have any sentences yet but they are getting how to put words together.  The hard part now is that they say please and they think it is magic and they can get what they requested instantaneously.  So we are working on what it means to be patient and to wait.  We are also working on what is means to share with their brother and to not be unkind and steal toys from one another.

Gorgeous boys.

The boys fit perfectly in 18 month clothing and are wearing quite a few 2T items.  They wear size 5 shoes and size 4 diapers.  We had a great visit for their eighteen month well child exam.  Here are their most recent stats:

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
Fifteen Months- 23 lbs. 3 ozs.; 31.75 inches

Eighteen Months- 25 lbs. 2 ozs.; 32.75 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

Fifteen Months- 23 lbs. 12 ozs.; 31.25 inches 

Eighteen Months- 25 lbs. 12 ozs.; 32.5 inches

The boys are ranging in the 50-70th percentile for weight and height.  As is normal, their heads are in the 98-99th percentile. The boys are keeping on trend with Abraham being slightly taller and Winston weighing more.

Family swing time

 

They love dirt!

We feel so blessed that they are such healthy little boys and are hitting all their milestones.  We are so blessed to be these boys' parents and feel privileged to raise them.

Extended Breastfeeding and Weaning Twin Toddlers

Well, I think we have reached another milestone.  My baby boys are weaned.  Okay, they are definitely not babies anymore but rather jib-jabby, getting-into-everything toddlers.  Nonetheless there is so much finality to being done breastfeeding this duo.  It definitely pulls at this mama's heartstrings.

We have been ever so gradually heading this direction for the last few months.  I have previously written about how learning to breastfeed twin newborns was very difficult.  We were blessed to finally establish a great breastfeeding relationship and once I stopped working and started staying at home with the boys full time, they quickly fell into a pattern of nursing four times a day--after awakening in the morning, after their morning nap, after their afternoon nap and before bed.  At thirteen months there were absolutely no signs of the boys losing interest in breastfeeding despite what so many people said would happen.  I dropped the after morning nap session and the transition was pretty smooth.  Winston is such a creature of routine that he got frustrated but after the second day was totally fine.  At fifteen months I dropped the after the afternoon nap nursing session and again it was a smooth transition.  At sixteen months I dropped the before bed session and was pleased that the boys had no trouble with going down to bed without it. They seriously did not care.  So that left us with only the first thing in the morning session.

I have not discussed it on the blog but I have not been feeling well the last several months. I have had quite a few blood tests and  might have been fighting a recent Epstein-Barr virus (mononucleosis) infection.  I was also diagnosed with chronic tonsillitis. I have not had a great immune system for most of my life.  I already knew that I had adrenal deficiency and a weaker immune system may just be part of my disposition. When the boys were about nine months old I finally hit the wall again and was just in survival mode for the next six months.  Which aren't all new parents of twins already in survival mode? I have been on antibiotics three times in the last eight months which was really abnormal.  My primary care doc is very pro-breast feeding but was concerned that it was draining my body and also trying to figure out a treatment plan that would not affect the boys through my milk supply.  It came down to feeling that that boys would benefit more from a healthy and active mama as opposed to a lethargic, grumpy one that was still managing to breastfeed them.

Yet I was not feeling ready.  I tried last month to go cold turkey and I made it a week.  I did not feel at peace with it and Winston was acting out.  I talked the talk like I was committed to weaning them but my heart was not there. I would go into the boys' room in the mornings with their sippy cups but Winston very clearly wanted something else.  Then I just realized that I am their mama and I had to do what worked for them and me...no outside input needed.  I decided to still bring in the sippy cups and let them drink from that before I offered to nurse them.  Winston was automatically interested again and Abraham was interested because his brother was.  Then in a matter of a couple weeks the boys started communicating so much better. Please, thank you, thirsty, drink, cup, etc. became normal everyday words.  I was physically feeling better and therefore I believe emotionally more ready for them to be done nursing.  I stuck to the "don't offer, don't refuse" principle.  Winston was starting to go several days without asking and then would ask again. The big difference this time was that Abraham did not care anymore that his brother was nursing.  I think he is on day twelve of not having nursed so I think he is completely done.  I think Winston's issue is more of emotional security. He needs lot of lap time and snuggling in the morning.  He is just a slow to wake type person and I am learning that if he can just sit with me for a while he drinks from his cup then he is a content little guy.  I believe Winston is on day five or six so I think he is done. He has even seen the "Magical Pillow that Feeds" and has not asked to nurse.   To be honest, it was getting a little difficult to try to still tandem nurse them. They are just getting so big!

One of my favorite cell phone pics-- Winston (left) and Abraham when they were eight months old.  When they were really tired before bed, they would crash right there on their nursing pillow. 

We are done with another aspect of babyhood.  I am so thankful that we made it past a year and were able to do some extended breastfeeding.  It was good for my boys' immune system and it had the added benefit of decreasing my chance of breast cancer. And seriously, seventeen months?  That is a pretty awesome breastfeeding career for twins.  I feel really accomplished in that.

To any expecting mama of twins, yes, you can breastfeed.  It may not be easy but I can tell you it is definitely worth it.

Fifteen Month Well Child

The boys are turning sixteen months old tomorrow and I still never posted anything about their fifteen month well child appointment so I decided I better jump on that.  They had a great appointment and had a serious growth spurt since their twelve month appointment.

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
Fifteen Months- 23 lbs.3 ozs.; 31.75 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

Fifteen Months- 23 lbs. 12 ozs.; 31.25 inches

Abraham is our taller one and Winston has a bit more in the girth.  The boys are now in the 50-60th percentile for weight and height which means they are finally average size or larger for their age.  Project "fatten the kids up" finally worked.  As is normal, their heads were still both in the 98th percentile. 

The doctor was pleased that they had several words and are feeding themselves.  He asked if they were using utensils yet.  I have given them utensils but they are not quite coordinated enough to feed themselves that way but as always, practice makes perfect. 

The boys got to go in a big pool for the first time while we visited my parents. 

The day of the appointment the boys had horribly runny noses that seemingly came out of nowhere.  I was concerned because I was leaving with the boys the next morning for So Cal.  The doctor felt that it was teething because of how clear it was and because Winston also had an inflamed ear.  Our pediatrician feels that teething can look like a cold and that it can cause ear infections.  He prescribed antibiotics for Winston's ear in case it got worse while we were down south visiting.  Fortunately their noses cleared up within three days and there were no lingering affects except for new teeth. 

We are definitely thankful to have such healthy and beautiful little boys. 

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. 

Allergic Reaction

Yesterday morning was quite eventful for our family.  The boys had their first allergic reaction.  God was gracious keeping them safe and keeping me calm.  The boys have been doing so well with eating table food and feeding themselves. They love eating whole grain bread and I decided to spread a little peanut butter on it.  They were eating it up and making their "num num" sounds indicating that they liked it.  They ate the first couple cubes so I gave them some more.  Winston started whining and rubbed his eyes and started pulling on his ears.  I thought it was his standard sleepiness signals since they eat breakfast shortly before their morning nap.  I realized that he was getting a red ring around his mouth.  He was developing hives in the blink of an eye.  I pulled the trays off the high chairs and pulled Winston out of his high chair first since he was not looking good.  I quickly washed Winston's face and hands since everywhere he had touched his face was turning red and puffy.  He was breathing fine but was irritable.  I was mentally preparing myself to call 911 if his breathing became labored or wheezy.  Abraham was completely unfazed.  He had some minor redness around his mouth and a few hives on his face but was looking a lot better than Winston.  I called Eric at work and thank God he picked up right away.  I explained what was happening and that I had no Benadryl in the house.  Eric left work right away and got children's Benadryl for me.  While I was waiting I had the boys on the floor playing.  I started nursing Winston because my thought was that if he was having trouble breathing then he would not be able to nurse.  He was nursing just fine so I knew he could breathe through his nose okay.  Then I nursed Abraham who was still acting like nothing was wrong despite his red face.  I got both boys into the bath tub to rinse off any peanut residual.  At that point Eric got home with the Benadryl and we began discussing dosage since it was not for infants.  I had tried calling my pediatrician several times at this point and had no success even getting the answering service.  I called the hospital where the boys were born and asked to speak to a nurse in the pediatric unit.  I explained what was happening and they connected me to the pediatrician on call who is an associate of our regular pediatrician.  The doctor was fabulous and made sure about the concentration of the Benadryl we had bought and gave us a dosage to use.  She reassured me that it was prefectly acceptable to let them try the peanut butter and that I did not do something wrong.  She was going to leave a message with our regular pediatrician and that he would refer us to an allergist. The boys were happily splashing in the tub at this point and I knew they were going to be okay.  The boys got their Benadryl and took some good naps yesterday.  Winston had the stronger reaction so he actually took three naps and I had to wake him up for dinner.  They look great today and are acting like nothing ever happened. 

 This is Winston about 4 hours after his reaction.  His face was looking a lot

better here but his whole body had a rash. 

I LOVE peanut butter and eat it all the time. I have continued nursing the boys and they never developed eczema which can be a tell tale sign to being allergic to something within my diet. Neither Eric nor I have a family history of food allergies.  Eric has some problems with lactose but nothing severe like what happened yesterday.  The boys love peas and pinto beans which are also in the legume family like peanuts and have had no problems with eating them.  I actually made sure before I let them try the peanut butter that I was not doing something against the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations.  I read how in countries like Israel where infants are exposed to peanuts there is a lower prevalence of peanut allergies than in countries where it is advised against until later in toddlerhood. The abstract is here.  So all that to say I was not being flippant or taking an unnecesary risk in giving it to the boys.

I am humbled as a mother.  I did everything "right" yet this still happened.  I will confess that at times when I hear about kids having severe food allergies that I have wondered if they were not breastfed or if they were introduced to solids too soon.  I am a jerk like that sometimes.  God has used this to again show me of His sovereignty and that my children truly rest in His hands.  I can try to control everything but ultimately things like food allergies are out of my hands.

My husband actually wrapped up two jars of all natural peanut butter for me for Christmas because I love it so much.  Costco had discontinued their organic peanut butter several months ago and they finally got an all natural version in shortly before Christmas and Eric knew I was so excited about it. I now have several jars of peanut butter to get out of my pantry.  I ate oatmeal for breakfast instead of peanut butter toast.  It's going to be a process for me to get it out of my diet and to be vigilant about reading labels for the boys.  I am going to eliminate tree nuts as well until we know what we are dealing with.  I am telling myself to take it one day at a time and that this will again become our new normal. 

My three men.  I love them more than life.

Breastfeeding: The Generational Divide

As the title infers, this post is going to be about breastfeeding.  If you don't care about that then you should stop reading...





...but if you're still here then it may be of interest to you because you're a mom or there is woman in your life that is breastfeeding.  I always wanted to breastfeed.  I can't really explain it but it was an important aspect of motherhood for me.  When I found out we were having twins I knew there would be an even greater challenge in breastfeeding two babies.  I met a MoM when I was pregnant that told me that she breastfed for 3.5 months before quitting.  It became too hard when she went back to work.  I remember thinking at the time, "Really, that's it? That is not very long." Now that I have been through the gauntlet of breastfeeding newborn twins myself, I understand what a challenge getting to 3.5 months really is.  I admire any woman for attempting to nurse their twins, triplets and beyond.  It can be so tough emotionally and physically.  I cried many, many times out of the frustration of bad latches and having lazy eaters.  I would watch the clock as I was in agonizing pain hoping that they were getting what they needed and trying to last as long as I could.  I was very dependent on my pump for the first three months.  My supply was not quite enough and I had to supplement.  I wondered if I should quit for my own mental and emotional health.  Ultimately my babies needed a happy and healthy mom and I wasn't sure if I was putting the idea of breastfeeding on a pedestal and making it an idol of my heart.

I trudged on however and when I went back to work pumped three times a day, every break and lunch hour, to keep my supply up.  Each month went by and it got better.  Now we have reached eight months and are going strong.  I have no immediate intent to wean the boys.  I think they will let me know as the time comes.  Nursing frequency will naturally taper off with increased solids and table food.  Eventually I will probably do the "don't ask, don't refuse" method and let the boys wean themselves. 

What I have found in the last months is that there is a generational divide when it comes to breastfeeding.  Just from personal experience, a lot of women that have not had children within the last 15-20 years are a lot more ambivalent towards breastfeeding.  Sometimes it is more than just mere ambivalence and they can act threatened that you are making a different choice than they did.  I grew up with the knowledge that breast was best when it came to the health of baby and the mother.  Women that are my grandmothers' age never even considered breastfeeding.  According to my dad's mom, there was the well-touted Similac and each expectant mom bought eight glass bottles with a metal ring holder to daily sanitize.  My grandma was not anti-breastfeeding when it came to me and my boys but I could tell she didn't get it; she had no personal experience to look back on.  My mom personally breastfed me and my brother so I had a really positive association with it.  Unfortunately my mom was not around to help encourage me in the early months with the boys because she lives in another state.  I am blessed that Eric was there for me every step of the way, if he had not I would have given up. It was and can be discouraging when older women, who in my mind should be encouraging younger women in this natural aspect of child rearing, make comments like, "Oh, you're still breastfeeding?"  Whereas younger women say it in a positive way, "You're still breastfeeding? That's awesome!" And I am not even going into the hot topic debate of nursing in public, nursing covers vs. no nursing covers, state laws, etc. 

I feel grateful that I can breastfeed my babies.  It is something I can do for them that no else can.  I enjoy the bonding that it provides.  I like knowing that I can provide the best nutrition available for them.  In saying that, I am not pushing my personal decisions on anybody.  Many women choose for a variety of reasons not to breastfeed or are not physically able to.  That is what formula is for.  Heck, I used formula to supplement.  Yay for formula!  I am simply trying to say that it is a blessing that I got this far and I feel grateful for each day I get to have a successful breastfeeding relationship with my children because it was and continues to be really important to me. 

For many women this is old info but here is why breastfeeding is the preferred nutrition for the first six months of a child's life:

• Breastfeeding saves a lot of money.  We have saved over a thousand dollars in the last eight months.  The only cost to me was my pump because I work full time. 
• The cells, hormones, and antibodies in breast milk protect babies from sickness. Formula-fed babies have higher rates of ear infection and diarrhea. Formula-fed babies also have higher risks of:
• Necrotizing enterocolitis, a disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract in preterm infants.
• Lower respiratory infections
• Asthma
• Obesity
• Type 2 diabetes
• Some research shows that breastfeeding can also reduce the risk of Type 1 diabetes, childhood leukemia, and atopic dermatitis in babies. Breastfeeding has also been shown to lower the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).
• Breastfeeding can be good for the mother’s health too. Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of these health problems in women:
• Type 2 diabetes
• Breast cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Postpartum depression
• Studies show that breastfeeding mothers lose post-partum weight more quickly than women who formula feed.
• Breastfeeding releases oxytocin, the 'love hormone' that increases a sense of well-being for the mother and helps her bond with baby. 
• Breasfeeding can be vital in an emergency where water may be contaminated. It is always available in its self-renewing source. It is always the perfect temperature and can protect against hypothermia.  We take that for granted in the U.S. but breastfeeding is a life line to many babies whose mothers do not have access to clean drinking water or adequate shelter. 
• Breastfeeding benefits society.  Breastfed babies are sick less meaning their parents miss less days from work and are more productive. Medical costs are lower for babies that are breastfed.

There are so many more emotional benefits as well.  It's important to realize that our American idea of weaning is very different than world wide norms.  The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends breastfeeding for a minimum of two years.  So with that thought I will be giving my kids 'first breakfast' tomorrow morning around 6 a.m. and will be pumping for them at work tomorrow.  I took it one day at a time and am so happy we got this far. 

Random Friday

Happy Friday Everyone!

The randomness in my head:

-Excited to go to a bridal shower tomorrow.  I have spent the last three weekends at home with the boys and am looking forward to some girl time.  We are all healthy again.  Praise the Lord!

-Finishing up the shopping list for the Thanksgiving menu.  Really looking forward to the grubbin'.

-We need to finish painting a wall in our new to us dining room.  It's the wall that had the door installed so we have to cover up the spackle job around the trim.  We are going to add some more color to the house and I am excited about finally making our place more homey. 

-We also got an entry ladder to our attic installed.  This means we can clear the garage floor and get a car back in there.  Revolutionary idea, right? 

-Trying to process that I have only have three days of work left.  Crazy.  Fortunately I am on track to finish a project that I have going. 

-We have had incredibly high winds here today.  There is a really bad fire in Reno.  Pray for the families that have lost their homes and the firefighters that are working tirelessly to stop it. 

-Sometimes I look back on my previous post and am in awe over my typos and grammar.  I try people but I am trying to crank these things out on a daily basis for NaBloPoMo and my brain is tending to shut off when I am writing these things.  I read yesterday's post and thought, "Did I really put the word 'statistcally'?  I am making up words over here!"  Really, I normally pride myself on spelling so it's a good thing to be humbled and laugh at my blunders. 

-These were my sweet boys right before bed tonight. When they are really tired they fall asleep right on the nursing pillow:

Shifting the House Around

We're on the mend but more slowly than we would like.  Right now I still have a splitting head ache but I am awake and still writing because I really want to try and follow through with NaBloPoMo.  I have a greater appreciation for the fact that moms and dads don't get sick days.  The idea of getting to stay in bed all day in order to recover quickly is completely foreign to me now.  Laying on the couch and watching movies? Ha! I now also understand why it takes parents of little children so much longer to recover from sickness--there is not too much down time to relax except for naps.  And even naps are not synchronized in our house.  Winston was also so cranky today.  I am not used to my boys being cranky all the time like that so that was tiring as well. 

In the midst of sickness this past week, we bought an entertainment center off of Craiglist.  Since the boys are rolling all around and trying to grab for things, we knew that pretty soon with them crawling that we really needed to contain stuff better.  We had a hand me down TV stand that had sharp corners and was not enough storage for DVD's and speakers and whatever else needed to be hidden from the boys.  We now have a huge entertainment center that we can hide everything in.  We have been watching Craigslist for quite a while to find something we liked at the right price.  Eric spotted the unit and after taking a look at it decided it was a good buy.  He picked up it the other night with a friend and they got it unloaded at the house.  Eric's ear was really starting to bother him at that point and I know that it was not easy for him to get that unit moved in here with his head throbbing.  We had decided to shift around the rooms of the house turning the family room off the kitchen into the dining area, the dining area into a play area for the boys and the front room into the family room.  I am sure that is really confusing and I will post pictures to clarify later.  We got the entertainment center moved in and then the energy was all spent.  We got nothing moved or arranged yesterday because we just did not feel well.  We were pretty much bums all day but seeing all the furniture haphazard and the house a mess drove us crazy.  So this morning we rallied and got a bulk of the moving done...well, at least enough that we can move around without tripping over a baby swing or some furniture item. 

Tomorrow is another Sunday that we will be staying home from church...sigh.  I am trying to tell myself that we are just getting this out of the way early in the flu season.  Hopefully tomorrow will be even a better day. 

Sicky Sick

There is no "Random Friday" post today.  Eric and I are sick.  After battling a cold that was annoying but not bad, we have succumbed to a virus that is making us miserable.  We have the body aches and fatigue and general misery going on in our house.  Poor Eric has an outer ear infection for which he went to urgent care this morning.  He is on antibiotics so hopefully he will be as good as new pretty soon.  My main complaint besides the body aches has been nausea.  It feels like morning sickness but it's not.  I have been both blessed and cursed with an iron stomach.  I have wanted to throw up the past couple of days but I just don't have the ability to do it.  Thankfully the boys seem to be just fine other than being on the verge of cutting their third tooth.  Let's just say that A&W were in bed a little early tonight. They were really happy and sweet most of the day but towards the end of the afternoon it was getting a little hairy.

So no one is really happy in our house today but I am hoping it's gonna look up as the weekend progresses.  We were bummed because our church's Harvest Blessing dinner, a fun annual fellowship meal, was tonight but we obviously did not go.  The weekend can only improve our situation, right?  Time for me to go to bed.

Recharge

So we really laid low this weekend.  With Eric getting back late on Friday night and subsequently not feeling too well after we got back from the childhood conversion seminar, we are working on getting the whole family recuperated which meant lots of rest.  Eric and I are fighting what the babies had.  The boys are doing really well but we just have the congestion and headache that we are still trying to fight off.  No church for us today which was a big bummer but it's no good spreading the sickness around to even more people.  We actually did okay with the time change last night.  The boys happened to take a longer nap in the afternoon and did not wake up until close to 5:00 pm.  Once they were up, it was only an hour before they were getting ready for bed again.  They jib jabbed in their cribs for quite a while and eventually fell asleep.  They woke up at 5:40 am which would normally be 6:40 am and that is within their normal time range if not a bit later. 

In laying low, I was looking at ideas for the boys' first birthday party online.  I was even getting Eric excited about it.  I am trying to come up with decorating ideas that are not expensive and I think I have some pretty good ideas. I would love to hop on the Pinterest bandwagon but I think I need to hold out a while longer.  I know it would be a big temptation and a time suck for me. 

I think the boys can totally say 'dada' but they pick and choose when they want to.  Winston was in the exersaucer today and Eric was talking to him.  He looked right at Eric and said 'dada' clear as could be.  He would not repeat it of course.  The last week when Eric was gone they did not say dada which is a pretty common sound for them to normally make.  Coincidence?  Maybe it is but it's fun to think they are getting that much closer to being able to talk to us.  I look forward to all the many many questions that I will need to field and answer over the coming years. 

Here are my baby boys in the pajamas that their great grandma Ida sent them.  Did I mention that these pajamas are in the 12 mos. size and fit perfectly?  These boys have been growing like weeds in the last month.

Sickness and Wasps

Since my last post the boys have been fighting a cold.  It was inevitable of course.  Babies are bound to get sick but it is still a big bummer to hear your little ones all congested.  I thought they had managed to fight it off for the most part but early Saturday morning when Eric was getting ready to leave for the airport I got up with Abraham and I heard that phlegmy sound in his breathing.  It was just mommy and the snotty nosed (literally) babies all weekend because papa was gone.  Thankfully they are such lil' troopers and despite having some moments were happy guys for the most part. I felt horrible seeing the boogers running from their nose into their mouth.  It was driving me crazy because I could not suction them or wipe their nose enough.  I would turn around and it was like a little faucet running.  The horrifying part was seeing them smack their lips as the little look on their faces said "Hmmm, this is salty."  Like I said, horrifying. We stayed quarantined until yesterday and I have been running their humidifier with eucalyptus oil.  Lots of snuggle time, extra vitamins and they seem to be on the mend.  It was a long weekend because Friday was Nevada Day. I got lots of time with my little guys and I loved every bit of it.  I ended up with boogers all over me but I cherished my role and wouldn't trade a minute of it. I went back to work today and they were happy little guys when I went to pick them up from grammy's.  I felt relieved.  Hopefully it will all be over soon. 

The other exciting part of the weekend was that I had a minor wasp invasion in my house.  Hey, one wasp is one wasp too many when it's inside your house in my humble opinion.  We had a door in our kitchen area that led to the backyard that was visibly not hung correctly.  Our friend Tim had come by the week prior and pulled the trim off so that he could see what needed to be done and could fix it for us.  Well with the weather getting colder at night and the trim off, there was a space on the crooked door that the wasps were sneaking through.  Once I figured out that the door jam was their entry point I taped up plastic bags and no more wasps got in.  That was not before I had to kill over a dozen wasps in my house and I was having a conniption worrying about the boys getting stung.  Fortunately we have an electric fly swatter which works wonders.  I had never heard of an electric fly swatter and when Eric told me how great they were I thought it sounded stupid but he converted me.  I was able to electrocute the wasps at least enough that they were disabled and could get rid of them without worrying about getting stung.  A desperate phone call to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Adam and Ally, provided wasp traps.  Once they were hung up in the trees outside, there was noticeably less wasps flying around.  Amazingly our friend Tim came over on his Saturday afternoon and replaced he offending door and frame.  We now have a proper sized frame and a solid weather (and wasp) proof door. 

Sometimes improvisation is needed.

So we are all surviving and thriving here in the Guddat household eagerly awaiting dear Eric's return. Also did you know November is National Blog Posting Month?  I did, but forgot until today.  Do you think I could be up to the challenge?  I am not making any promises but we shall see...

Random Friday

First off, Happy First Day of Fall and Happy Friday! That's a great combination, isn't it?

-The boys are the biggest bundle of sweetness in the morning. After they wake up and I nurse them, they coo and smile and touch my face while cuddling with me. It's awesome.
-They also slept 9.5 hours straight last night without so much as a peep. Enough said.
-I love my husband. Marriage gets better and better.
-I have been thinking about doing a post on post-partum health and fitness as a way of motivating myself to get serious about getting those last pounds and inches off. Hmmm, I guess I have to now that I wrote that. Hold me to it.
-Our little photo shoot last week actually went pretty well and the prints were better than I expected. We have some family photos to hang up now and that makes me happy.

And because photos always make a post more interesting and because I am ridiculously proud of my boys:



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone