Last night's chore

So last night I was assigned the chore of lowering Brady's bed, because this



is what he can now do.

Tyler + Kindergarten

I have been meaning to write this post for over a month now. Ack! Where does my time go?

When Tyler started school in the fall I wondered how he would do. I knew he was prepared--he had done well at PreK, he gets along with most people, but he was going to be away from me for so much of the day, of course I was worried.

I didn't need to.

Tyler has thrived at school. It started at the perfect time (when we brought the babies home, his world turned upside down. School was the perfect thing for him so he could have his own time and own something that made him special.) Unless his teacher is pulling my leg, he is well-behaved and a leader in his classroom. He has shown great progress as well as great potential.

I loved going to his school open house held last month. I loved watching him in his element, seeing his work, looking at his interactions with his friends and teacher. It was a proud mommy moment.




And they were learning all about Texas History, just in case you couldn't tell.

10 months

Last week we had these amazing pictures taken of the boys. Kelsey was kind enough to give us a preview on her facebook page--and now I am sharing that with you. She completely outdid herself.

Can you believe these little men are 10 months old? 10 months and one day ago, these two were a mere twinkle in our eye, and now look at them. Where has the time gone?


Well, Brady is a loveable crazy baby. He wants attention--and has now resorted to ear-piercing screams to get it. When I have to feed them both at the same time, Brady ends up screaming each time I give a bite to Carter; I can't feed him fast enough. He can crawl! He doesn't do it fast yet, but we need to get out the gates and door locks this week. I love how he can move from his belly to a seated position; I love walking in to get him out of bed and having him sitting up and reaching for me. He is up to 8 teeth now, but isn't too keen on self-feeding yet.



Carter is my sweetheart. He is still such a content baby. He loves to play with baby toys--he can actually make a little music on his xylophone. He has an oral fixation; we have slobber on everything he touches, and he loves those teething biscuits. He's a good sleeper and wakes up happy every morning. He's not quite crawling but is going to start the army crawl soon. He can get anywhere he wants to go though between twisting, turning, and rolling.

I feel so lucky every day to have these boys in our family.
I totally saved the best picture for last. Isn't that the greatest?

Misc.

Well, I had to call Poison Control today for the first time with my kids. (I did call it once about 8 years ago for Dan when he was freaking out over being stung by a scorpion.) We have a diaper caddy in our living room with diapers, wipes, and various ointments. The babies are getting mobile enough now to pull it over, but usually just pull on the diapers. Well, today I look up and see Carter chewing on a tube of Lamasil--and the lid is off and he has some on his face! Ack! I couldn't tell if he had eaten any or not, but since the package said to call Poison Control, we did. PC said not to worry, he would have to eat a lot to get sick, and even then it would just be vomiting and diarrhea. That was long enough ago that I think we are in the clear. And we have moved the diaper caddy.


I find it uncanny how often the twins do simultaneous poops. If I'm changing one stinky diaper, it seems like I'm changing two.


On the subject of diapers. we ran a few numbers. If we go through about 10 diapers a day, that's 3650 in a year. And if the boys potty train at 3, that means we will go through over 10,000 diapers.


And speaking of being mobile, I wouldn't say we have crawlers. Yet. Brady is often up on all fours, and can scooch just a little that way. Carter is starting the army crawl. Yikes. I am so not ready. While they can find their way around a room, they are neiher fast nor nimble enough to cause trouble. My, will that all change soon.


And because a few of you asked, the phone was in a stroller in the garage. While I turned the house inside out, I didn't once think to look in the garage!

The story of my life

Once upon a time in a land far away lived a beautiful princess named Angela. (Isn't that how all stories begin?)

Well, Angela must have been short a few brain cells one day because she suddenly realized she hadn't seen her cell phone for 3 or so days. (I have no idea what could be going on in her life to contribute to her forgetfulness.)

"Oh surely it will turn up soon. I will keep my eyes open for it," she thought to herself.

Days went by and still no cell phone. She knew she had insurance and could make a claim to get it replaced, but kept holding off. She was sure that if she got a new phone, the old phone would suddenly appear. So she doubled her efforts to find it--calling places she remembered using it; searching under couches; revisiting the car and diaper bag--but no luck.

Yesterday, after two long weeks, she gave in and made that claim.

This afternoon the new phone arrived.

This evening she found her old phone.

The End.

PS--her husband wasn't even mad at her! He must be a real prince. ;)

Bedroom Redo

So after living here 3 years, I am finally getting around to decorating our master bedroom. I am not a decorator. In fact, if you are a decorator, please do not laugh at my attempts. I am not posting this here because it will be so beautiful, but because by posting the before, I will have to follow through with the after. So, here is the before:

The view from the door

A view of each wall

Just a comment about the complete redneck-ness of my room. Yes, we have been using a card table for our tv and tv trays as nightstands. We did have a bedroom set, but when we moved into this house we upgraded to a king size bed. Which I wouldn't trade. Ever. So we bought the metal frame, continued using the rest of the furniture, and put the old queen bed upstairs. Well, we had these little space hogs called twins who required a room to themselves. So, we sold the old bedroom set, leaving us with no furniture.

So far in the bedroom reno, I have bought nightstands and a dresser.

Tyler models a new nightstand.

I have cleared off and removed the bookcases. I have bought most of the bedding. I am currently picking out paint color. Then I still need to finish furnishing with big stuff, and accesorize. I will take tips. For example, What is great to put over the bed? And see that space in the second picture? What should I put between the doors? A table? bench? nothing? And how do I hang pictures on the wall with the light switch and alarm pad stuck there?

Any and all help is appreciated. And now I have committed--you will see an after soon!

Happy Easter

We decided rather last minute to go to Austin and visit Dan's sisters for the holiday. It was a great low-key weekend. We had an egg hunt; we got baskets; we had the typical ham and potato dinner. And most importantly, we had the chance to remember what this holiday is all about.

Happy Easter!

Look what I found!

Their first Easter and no clue why mom is taking this picture.

I made them go outside for a few pictures--they obliged. I love how they humor me.

Carter

Brady

Nine months

Last week the twins went in for their nine month check-up. Here are the stats:

Brady
Weight: 19 pounds 3 ounces (25th percentile)
Height: 27 1/2 inches (20th percentile)

Carter
Weight: 18 pounds 11 ounces (20th percentile)
Height: 27 1/2 inches (20th percentile)

If you adjust to their due date, they are both right around 50th percentile.

Everything checked out well. I always have questions about feeding. I've done this once before, but I sure don't remember how much Tyler ate, when he shifted to 3 meals a day, and so on. As for feedings, we are starting them on 3 meals now, I had just been doing 2, and starting to prepare them for the demise of the bottle. When I said they could hold their own bottles:
the doctor told me I needed to try sippy cups, which so far they do not like. We will continue to try.

Developmentally, they are where we would expect them to be, except for Carter's sitting. He can just now sit on his own, which put him about 3 months behind as opposed to the 2 he should be. Our pediatrician recommended we contact ECI to get a consultation. In his mind, it is better to be aggressive now than to have to make up for it later.

And my blond moment for this day--I rushed to get there by 8:30; I like being the first appointment of the day (less wait time, less germs in the lobby, etc.). Well, after several people were called ahead of me, I asked what time my appointment was. 9:30. Oh well.

Later that afternoon we sat outside enjoying our wonderful spring weather. March/April are the months we can actually tolerate outdoors.

And there he goes--he is still quite wobbly when sitting.