Friday, January 25, 2013

8 months x2

How did the babies get to be 8 months already?! Crazy...

I know most people probably don't care about what the babies are eating now, how long they sleep or what size clothes they wear.... this is just a way for me to document so that someday when I get to their baby books, I can actually write something in it!




Levi
Weight: Not really sure, but I would guess 19ish lbs.

Diaper Size: size 3

Clothing Size: pjs 9 months, shirts 12 months and pants are some 9 months and some 12 months

Nicknames: Buddy, Giant Baby, Cubby, Blanket Baby

Feeding: Still on the Gentlease Formula. Six ounces first thing in the morning and right before bed. Otherwise about 5 ounces every three to four hours depending on solids. He is eating solids at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Usually gets a fruit with oatmeal or cereal in the morning, a vegetable at lunch along with something that they can feed to themselves like a popsicle or food in those gross mesh bags. At dinner he eats a vegetable or meat/ veggie combo followed by fruit and then baby crack- aka puffs. Lately, Levi has been whining or crying for his food before meal time- this boy is a good eater! He really likes most foods, but isn't a huge fan of things in those mesh bags (don't blame him!) We tried small pieces of banana last night and that ended in a huge puke, so I guess purees for awhile still! Doing really well with drinking water out of a sippy cup.

Sleep: We finally made the transition to the crib- and more importantly- flat on the back! It was a rough couple nights for Levi, but now he seems to like it. I have even weaned them from their Podsters at nap time. He was waking up a lot for a week or so, (so was Addy) and we finally decided they were cold. A couple of fleece sleep sacks solved that problem though! Levi goes to sleep around 7:30pm and usually sleeps until 3-5am, takes a bottle and goes back to sleep until 6-6:30am. He naps two or three times throughout the day. He has recently started throwing a big fit when he gets tired and not wanting to go sleep. It may be time for him to start putting himself to sleep (instead of being held) soon. But we'll see. I like the cuddles...

Firsts: First Christmas! Our kids are very lucky and have so many people that love them and that want to spend time with them at the holidays, so we were very busy! Levi loved having people around and loved playing with new toys. He looked pretty dang cute in his Christmas clothes too!  First trip to the zoo. Levi was very curious and serious most of the time we were there. He really looks at things and checks them out. He really liked the fish and penguins! Celebrated Ellie's 3rd birthday. Sitting up in the bath tub in a bath seat. Levi really likes bath tub and sitting in the big tub just makes it that much better!



Skills/ Milestones: Sitting up unsupported! Second tooth! Hollering back and forth and laughing with Addy. Trying popsicles and lots of new foods, including puffs. Levi started doing this upper body back-and-forth dance- hilarious! Clapping hands. Banging things together. Occasionally signing "more." Standing up straight- putting weight on his feet. Scoots a little on his tummy- not much but he sure tries! Playing Peek-a-Boo. Putting his nuk in his mouth.


Words/ Noises: Ma-Ma, Da-Da, Ba-Ba, Ni-Ni (I swear he says this when he is tired- he's pretty consistent with it!).



Life with Levi: My sweet, sweet boy. Levi is so cuddly. He loves his blankie and to wrap his arms around you. His little hands and feet constantly move and his fingers massage his blankie, his shirt- whatever he can get his hands on. He wants to touch everything and when you take something away from him that he really wants- he cries- hard- until you give it back! He is so funny and will laugh at pretty much everything. He has gotten so silly lately and loves to make us laugh. He still thinks Addy is hilarious, even if she constantly steals his things. But he is learning to take things back! He loves "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and being read to (of course, he thinks that funny too!). Levi is very serious until he makes a decision on what he thinks of something. I think he must be very smart. He is very focused. Love my sweet boy and his chubby hands that never stop moving!



Addy
Weight: not really sure... 17ish lbs.

Diaper Size: Size 3

Clothes Size: nine months


Nicknames: Buggy, Bug, Buggers, Little Missy


Eating:  Addy gets thawed frozen breast milk mixed with formula. She is taking about 5oz every 3-4 hours depending on when she eats her solids, and takes 6oz just before bed and first thing in the morning. Addy has gotten much better with liking her purees. She still turns her nose up at some things and definitely prefers fruit. She seems to like any store bought food better than what I make. I guess maybe because of the smoother texture? Addy still likes to eat things like banana and avocado in the mesh bag and likes popsicles. Addy loves puffs and did pretty good with banana chunks the other night. Addy does really great with water in a sippy cup, and even lifts it way up like she is chugging it. Addy doesn't quite inhale her food like Levi and takes more time in between bites. Little Missy makes a lot of funny faces while eating, and if she has an audience- makes even more, and exaggerates them.

Sleep: Addy usually goes to sleep at 7:30pm and sleeps for 15min. Then wakes up and wants to be held for a little bit, this isn't happening as much as it used to, but still happens. Then she usually sleeps until 4:30 or 5am, wakes for a bottle and goes back to sleep until 6:30-7 am. She is taking several short naps a day but occasionally will take a good long nap. Addy made a pretty easy transition to laying on her back in the crib. She was waking up a lot, but is doing much better with her warm sleep sack.

Firsts:  First Christmas! No surprise that Addy loved everything about Christmas. All the people and attention, the new things to play with. Did I mention the attention? She handled all the busy days wonderfully! First trip to the zoo. Addy liked the zoo, and liked looking at the fish, but seemed more interested in whoever was carrying her or other people milling around. Celebrated Ellie's 3rd birthday. Sitting up in the bath tub in a bath seat. Addy loves sitting up like a big girl and being able to play in the water.

Skills/ Milestones: Signs "more" and "all done" somewhat consistently. Clapping her hands, banging things together, playing Peek-a-Boo. The occasional wave. Her little Addy dance every time music comes on. Addy is an expert at putting her nuk in her mouth (and Levi's nuk too!). Addy is also a master at getting people's attention- this girl has some serious skill in this department!

Words/ Noises: Ma-ma, Da-Da, Ba-Ba, MA-MA!!!, mo-mo (more), Hiiii (I swear she says hi), he-he (yes she actually says he-he when she laughs)




Life with Addy: I seriously had no idea that someone so young and little, could have such an attitude and aptitude for getting attention. If we (or anyone really, even Levi) is not giving her the attention she needs, she will straighten her little arms, throw them down and holler at you while glaring. It's hilarious. Addy is a goofball. She acts like she's shy, but she's definitely not. She's animated and dramatic. She's issues- Mommy issues. Major Mommy issues! Addy is a people person and an overall happy (as long as she's getting exactly what she wants) little girl. She is all girl and I'm pretty sure she thinks she's an only child. Love my little needy little goofball!


Some more pictures of the small people, or "peeps" as Max calls them...



Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Twelve for Twelve

Twelve Pictures for 2012

January
We celebrated the second birthday of our little Peanut. We celebrated her with cake, ice cream and a blanket making party, while Ellie celebrated in Heaven.

February
In February, we welcomed our nephew Layton into the family! I love this picture of his little feet! And so proud of my SIL for how awesome she did with a long and really hard labor and delivery!

March
Spring was definitely dominated by growing babies- and my growing midsection! At this point I was still able to move around somewhat easily. We were very happy to have made it to this point in the pregnancy!

April
Letting Max do some VERY messy sensory play with shaving cream and water... I tried to make sure that he got plenty of special activities in before the babies arrived.

May
The babies holding hands in the OR. Unbelievably amazing day.

June
Our first "as-close-as-we-are-ever-going-to-get-to-a-family-picture" picture.

July
Love this picture! And I love hanging out in the yard with the kids in the evening.

August
Photo taken by Brilicious Photography

In August, we had our big Light Up the Lanes event for Ellie's Light and raised $9500. It made me pretty emotional to see Ellie's picture everywhere at the event. I miss her so much but it's pretty amazing to see what wonderful things her little life inspired.

September
In September, we welcomed another little nephew, Alex! I am so glad that the babies are going to have cousins that are so close in age!

October
Max at exactly 4:44pm on October 3rd. His 4th birthday!

November
While this great look we are sporting was for a Halloween party, the party was actually in November, so I can use it for my November picture! We live in an awesome neighborhood with really, really wonderful neighbors and we never get to do stuff like this- it was a really fun night!

December
Christmas Eve. Celebrating Addy and Levi's first Christmas, Max's excitement in "normal" kid Christmas activities while missing our Ellie.


It was kind of hard to just picture twelve pictures from the thousands we've taken this year!


7 months x2



Levi

Weight: 17lb 4oz

Diaper Size: size 3

Clothing Size: mostly 9 months, but some things are 12 months already!

Nicknames: Scooter, Buddy, Giant Baby

Feeding: Still on the Gentlease Formula. Six ounces first thing in the morning and right before bed. Otherwise about 5 ounces every two to three hours. Levi loves his solids! I don't think there is anything he hasn't liked yet! He's had sweet potatoes, acorn squash, carrots, avocados, green beans, pears, apples and bananas. He doesn't seem to like the plain fruit as much as the others, but if I mix it with his cereal in the morning he inhales it! He almost always eats everything I put in the bowl for him, and then what Addy doesn't eat! Eating is serious business with this guy!

Sleep: The last month has been a little rough for sleep since he popped his first tooth and then they got some sort of virus. But he's still going to bed around 8pm and has been waking up anywhere from 1am to 6 am for his bottle. He usually goes back to sleep until about 6:30am. Levi is an excellent napper- usually taking three or four solid naps throughout the day. He is definitely ready for bed at night! He did pretty good in his crib- flat on his back- for two nights but then they got fevers and coughs so we put them back in their Rock n Plays to they could be elevated and close to us. We hold Levi until he falls asleep, but usually we can put him down when he is still a little awake and he'll go to sleep.

Firsts: First Thanksgiving! We had my family over at our house and the babies were able to try sweet potatoes for the first time. Levi thought they were ok, but did eat most of his dish. Toys for Tots shopping- the babies got to go on their first big Toys for Tots shopping trip for Ellie's Light. Levi sat in the cart for a while then got out of his car seat to check out all of the action. He is sooo close to sitting up not quite there yet! He will occassionally scoot on his tummy/ face- it's pretty amusing! At almost 7 months, he popped that first tooth! And the second one isn't far behind!

Life with Levi: Levi has started to come out of his shyness and being so jumpy in the last few weeks. He is very observant and seems to really assess the situation before making his decision on it. He thinks Addy is hilarious and is quick to laugh his little belly laugh and flash that new tooth. He loves to chew on our face and wrap his chubby little arms around our new. He actually gets pretty aggressive about it! When he gets excited, his eyes get wide, he opens his mouth into a little circle and open hand slaps things- just like Ellie. Overall, Laid-back Levi is a happy baby and really likes playing with his toys- or whatever else he can get his paws on.



Addy

Weight: 15lb 14oz

Diaper Size: Size 3

Clothes Size: mostly nine months, which are still a little big, but still have some six month

Eating: I stopped pumping just after the babies turned six months because I wasn't getting enough to make it worth it. So now Addy gets thawed frozen breast milk mixed with formula. We started adding the formula in to get her used to the taste because I won't have enough frozen milk to last through her first year. I'm hoping that by mixing the two, she can get at least some breast milk until she is nine months old. She is taking about 5oz every 2.5 hours, and takes 6oz just before bed and first thing in the morning. She occasionally has some gagging problems still, but is doing much better. Addy isn't as big of fan of solids as her brother- that's for sure! She usually only takes a few bites of food, but will sometimes eat her entire bowl. She seems to prefer her fruit mixed with cereal. She likes sweet potatoes, acorn squash, bananas, avocado, carrots, apples, pears, and surprisingly, green beans. Addy likes to have frozen banana chunks or fresh avocado put in her mesh feeder to chew on.

Sleep: Until the colds starting hitting the house, Addy was an excellent sleeper. But now she seems to wake up more. She usually goes to sleep at 7:30pm and sleeps for 15min. Then wakes up and wants to be held for a little bit. Then she usually sleeps until 4:30 or 5am, wakes for a bottle and goes back to sleep until 6:30am. She is taking several short naps a day but occasionally will take a good long nap. This girl does not want to miss anything. We are still trying to get them sleeping on their backs in their cribs- I think it's going to take a while. Addy still sleeps in her Rock n Play next to the bed at night, and then in her Podster in her crib for naptime.

Firsts: First Thanksgiving! Addy, of course, loved having everyone over at the house. She was not a fan of her first bite of sweet potatoes though! First Toys for Tots shopping event- Addy only lasted a few minutes in the cart and then I put her in the Moby wrap for a while. Which she thought was pretty awesome because she was right in the middle of all the action. Addy is an excellent sitter and we are able to walk away from her now while she is sitting. She loves having this advantage over her brother and being able to access more toys!

Life with Addy: I sometimes refer to her as "Addy-tude" because holy moly, this girl has attitude! I have never seen anything like it! She can turn on the tears in a split second and turn them off just as quickly. When she is mad, she gives these short little hollers and stiffens up her arms- I guess its her version of stomping her feet! She definitely has become a "Mama's girl" and gives most everyone else trouble. To say that Addy loves attention is a vast understatement. She will go hungry and without sleep if it means that she can be where the action is. She's a funny little person that's for sure!



Some more pictures of the little people...

Happy 1st Turkey Day!
Meeting Santa
mmmmm Ice cubes
Buggy sticking out her tongue
Sitting up!
Babies in a basket!
Max wanted to hold her!! This is huge! He LOOOVES Addy! (Don't judge us on Max still having a nuk, it's a sensory thing- we don't like it either, but we are picking our battles)
Holding Levi