Pictures from June 2009

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The Rice Cereal Adventure Continues

We are on day #4 of rice cereal, and things are going pretty well. Yesterday and today, Fischer really liked it and even cried/whined if I didn't get the spoon back to his mouth fast enough. Addison liked it yesterday, but was a little more unsure today...she liked to spit it out and eat it off of her bib. Classy Addison. :) I think it was a little thicker today so that could've made it different for her. It's hard to get it mixed to the same thickness everyday. I think we may add some baby oatmeal into the mix soon since both babies are tolerating the rice cereal and have had no reactions. Today was the first day of me giving them their cereal by myself. It worked out ok - I just alternated bites.

I am also working hard at getting them to take scheduled naps. I started that last Wednesday and it seems to be working out ok. Immediately after their 2:00 bottle, I put them in their swings. It usually takes them about 30 minutes to fall asleep, but then they stay asleep for at least an hour, sometimes two. We'll keep working at it! We are leaving for the beach on Friday for 5 days, and I'm really nervous that their routine is going to go right out the window. I'm going to try my best to keep everything on schedule.

Water Babies!!

We took the babies swimming for the first time today!! We're going to the beach this Friday for a few days, so we wanted to see how they'd do in a pool before we let them get in the ocean a little bit. We went early so we would avoid the big crowds - our neighborhood pool gets really crowded and I knew that would make me too nervous. The babies did great, and seemed to really enjoy the water! We only stayed about 30 minutes, because it was time for them to eat but hopefully we will be going back soon. Here are some pictures from this morning, and another one of their other bathing suits they have. I can't believe how tiny the bathing suits are! :)

Rice Cereal!

When we received our highchairs, spoons and bowls as shower gifts it seemed like forever before we'd actually need them. Well, today was the day!! Scott put the highchairs together, and we used the spoons and bowls! We got the OK to start rice cereal anytime, so we figured today would be a good day. The Dr. said to try to do it when the kids are in good moods because they'd be more willing to try something new. So we put them in their highchairs, and the fun began! We figured it'd be good to go ahead and introduce them to their highchairs and get them used to the idea of eating in them. Addison seemed to really enjoy the rice cereal, and even did sort of a nose dive trying to get to the spoon after her first few bites. Fischer seemed a little concerned/worried about what was going on and wasn't so sure about the cereal. I think he managed to swallow some, but most of it ended up out on his bib. That's ok though - today was mostly to get them used to the spoons and just to see how they did. We will try again tomorrow - we will do it once a day for awhile. Today we started with a tablespoon and mixed it with warm formula, and they didn't even get through half. I think it'll be a fun adventure to watch them get used to food and eat more and more of it.

In other exciting news - Fischer laughed for the first time Wednesday night!! I was making really weird noises while I was playing with him and apparently he enjoyed them! Being a mom makes you do weird stuff to get your kids to smile and laugh. Addison hasn't laughed again since her first time (neither has Fischer), but I'll keep trying to make them both laugh again!

Below are some pictures from today's rice cereal adventure. Notice how Addison is staring at her bowl! :)

Bo's 6th birthday

I can hardly believe Bo is 6 today. These babies have been sort of hard on him because he was our first born and got all of our attention. I think he is slowly adjusting to them - he does like to sleep in their nursery at night! We've been through a lot in 6 years with him, and we are looking forward to many more years with our Bo Bo! :)

In baby news - last night Fischer picked up a toy and brought it up to his mouth!! I put a bigger rattle toy on his stomach and that's when he picked it up and pulled it up to his mouth. I tried it with his paci but I think it's still a little small. I tried it with Addison and she had no interest. :) When I placed the toy on her stomach, I could see Fischer staring at it - I think he was trying to figure out how to reach over and get it. He is also in love with his mobile in his crib and yesterday he talked to it for like 20 minutes straight while I fed Addison! I think he was trying to figure out how to get it to play. It was so cute. :)

Trip to PA and 4 month check up

It's been a busy week!! I have lots of updates...

The babies took their first plane ride last Thursday up to PA to visit Scott's family. We had a direct fight from Charleston to Philadelphia (thank goodness!) and they did SO great. I was so worried they would cry/scream the whole way there but I was pleasantly surprised. We got to the airport Thursday at our planned time, and got everything checked that we needed to and through security with plenty of time to spare. After waiting for about 20 minutes, they announced we'd be having a 2 hour delay because of the weather in Philadelphia. AAAH! So, we had time to get lunch and then the babies started getting pretty restless in their strollers, not that I can blame them! Then Addison had a MAJOR diaper blowout that even required a wardrobe change. Scott was lucky enough to change that one. :) Finally we got on the plane and found out we couldn't sit together because on the smaller planes there are only 3 oxygen masks per 2 seats. Oh well.... Fischer then had a MAJOR blowout on the plane but at least his didn't require a new outfit. We finally landed in Philadelphia, went to get our car (where we had to wait in line for an hour) then we were on our way, just in time for the evening rush hour. Great.

We got to Scott's mom's Thursday around 6:30, just in time for the babies to eat. Finally their Grandma K was able to hold them (when she came down in March, she was sick and couldn't hold them). Their Great-Grandma was there too and she got to hold them too! That night was a little rough because they were tired from traveling but we finally got them settled down and put to bed and they slept until 6:15 am! WOW! We just hung out on Friday, and that night the babies got to meet their Aunt Julie, Uncle Brian, and cousins Griffin, Ashlyn and Cohen, who did SO great with the babies. Ashlyn is a little mommy-in-training. :) Saturday we just spent the day hanging out and visiting. Sunday, it was back in the car to go meet up with Scott's dad and Meg. They were so excited to meet Addison and Fischer. And it was neat because Scott got to see his dad on Father's Day, which rarely happens. We had a nice lunch and visit with them, then headed back to his mom's for dinner.

Monday morning we got up, fed the babies, then headed to the airport. Luckily it didn't take an hour to turn our car in like it did to get it. Once we finally got all of our gear out of the car, we had to get on the shuttle and the babies took their first bus ride. Our flight was on time, and we headed home. Once again, the babies did pretty well on the flight. Addison was sort of fussy but she is also teething and we could tell that was really bothering her. Numerous people on both flights told us how well they did, so that made me feel better.

While we were at their Grandma's, they slept in their brand new peapods! They are little tents just for babies. They slept so great in them, and they were so easy to travel with. I highly recommend them. They are good for UV protection too if you want to take them outside. They also got some really cute new outfits from their Grandma, so they had fun wearing those...especially Addison. :) She also read them a lot of stories, which they seemed to enjoy! And, of course they got carried around a lot!

After such a busy few days, we had to get the babies up this morning and take them to their 4 month appointment. They were officially 4 months yesterday. I can hardly believe it!! Their checkup went so well, and the Dr. said they look great. She doesn't notice any delays at all, which is awesome news!! I was worried about a couple of things but the Dr. assured me they are on track with any other 4 month old. Yay Addison and Fischer!! Their stats are as follows:
Addison - 11 lb. 9 oz. (5th percentile), 23 3/4" (18th percentile), and head 15 1/2" (5th percentile)
Fischer - 11 lb. 8 oz. (less than 3rd percentile), 24 1/4" (13th percentile) and head 16 1/4" (16th percentile)

We are going to continue feeding them the same amount of formula, and we now have the go ahead to try some rice cereal once a day by spoon. Bring on the mess!! Once they are tolerating that pretty well, we are allowed to introduce fruits and vegetables. The Dr. said to work up to 2 servings of fruits and veggies a day by 6 months. I think we are going to try rice cereal Friday evening for the first time! I'm sure it'll be funny to watch. She said to do it by spoon so they get used to having that in their mouth and get used to swallowing off of it. If Addison tolerates it ok, we are allowed to add a little to each bottle to see if it helps with her spitting up. We are also increasing each of their Zantac doses because their spitting up has increased. It doesn't so much stop the spit up, but helps with the painful acid that can come with it. She said she would like them to stay on it until at least 6 months and we'll reevaluate then. She also wants us to work on an actual set afternoon nap time to see if they will do more than just cat nap. We'll see how that works - they aren't great nappers. :) She also felt their teeth and said she can feel that they are moving into place, but none are actually coming up yet. Poor Addison seems to feel it the most. We have these teething tablets that instantly dissolve and they work wonders! That pretty much sums up their appointment!

Addison has really started talking, especially in the mornings. It's like she's telling us about her nights and the dreams she had. :) The Dr. said today that boys usually move more and girls are usually more verbal at this stage. So far that is so true in our house.

The pictures below are from our trip!

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Bumbo baths

I know I already posted once today, but I want to share these pictures before we leave town tomorrow! Normally we give baths every other night, so tonight wasn't really a bath night. But since we are leaving tomorrow, we decided to give the babies a quick rinse. We decided to change things up and let them sit in their bumbos and do baths together. Normally they don't love bumbo time, but apparently they enjoy baths in their bumbos. They looked so relaxed and happy just having warm water poured over them! :)

Another bit of information - the babies are officially in stage 2 diapers!! They are getting so big.

Big news!

Last night was a great night - Addison laughed for the very first time! It was a short laugh, but a laugh for sure! She was laying on our bed and I was standing there playing with her legs, moving them all around and up in the air. Both she and Fischer love this! Her smile kept getting bigger and bigger, and then finally she let out a little laugh. Scott was right there and got to hear it too. Of course it brought tears to my eyes!! I know that I will now be obsessed with making her do it again, and trying to make Fischer do it too. I can't wait to hear it again!! Of course, being the way she is, she started crying about 10 seconds later. Gotta love our drama queen! :)

It's 7:40 am and I've been up since 5. Addison woke up hungry, so we fed them at 5, and I couldn't go back to sleep so I decided to get up and have some quiet, me time. Bo and I spent some quality time together too, which he doesn't get as much of these days. I've actually enjoyed it a lot! I'm sure I'll be really tired tonight, but this might be something I need to do from time to time!

I couldn't resist doing one of these!

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6:35 am!

I was pleasantly surprised this morning to wake up and see that it was 6:35 am, and the babies were still asleep! This is not normal so I started to worry that something was wrong. We have a video monitor, so I looked in there but went into their nursery to make sure everything was OK.  A usual night for us is to give them their bottles at 10 pm, then put them to bed. They are usually asleep by 10:45, and then will sleep until 4 or 5 am.  Just this past week, they've started sleeping until 5, so hopefully that sticks.  Usually Addison is the one that wakes up crying, and we will usually go in and give her her paci to buy ourselves another 10 minutes of sleep. It doesn't seem like that long, but at 4 am, 10 minutes is a lot!  So last night, she did wake up at 4:30, so I went in and gave her her paci thinking I could go lay back down for just a few minutes.  We all fell back asleep until 6:35! They both woke up around 6:45, and they let me know how hungry they were. I had their bottles made already (sometimes I make them the night before) so I heated them up and fed them at the same time.  I don't like to feed them at the same time, but they were so hungry that I didn't want to make one wait! By the way, Scott helps with all feedings when he's home, but he was out of town last night.  I think they may have slept so late this morning because they were both very fussy last night, so I think they were probably just worn out. I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow morning! 

Some of you may wonder why I don't like feeding them together. There are a few reasons:

1. They are very messy eaters, and in my opinion, it's double the mess (and not much quicker) when I feed them together.  

2.  Addison spits up a lot (it's not uncommon for her to go through 5 shirts a day), so it's harder to keep her clean.  

3. I enjoy that one on one time with each of them because it gives me the chance to look at just one of them, and talk to only them.  

I need to get back to packing now - we leave on Thursday. Please send positive thoughts that the babies will do great on their first flight! 

All Caught Up (sort of)

June has been a busy month already. I can't believe it's half over already.  Kathy came to stay with us for 5 days. She left tired, but she also got lots of quality baby time in. Scott was out of town for 3 of the days so she joined me for the nightly feedings. It is SO helpful having extra hands here - especially at night! We were out and about a lot, and the babies did great.  Fischer has started to get a little fussy in his carseat. We think he doesn't like the feel like he can't move, because he loves to move!  We took them for a shot a couple of weeks ago and they were both almost 11 pounds. I could not believe my eyes! They are growing so fast. They are both great eaters!

While Kathy was here, we went a visited a triplet mom! There were five babies in that room. AAH! Luckily, only 3 cried at once, but never all 5. I think about her a lot when I get frustrated, because I feel like 3 would be so much harder than 2. They are six months old, and she seems to have things under control. They were adorable! 

As many of you know, we bought some land in Camden, SC last year.  We want to build a house and decided it might be time to get the process started.  Sometimes I question doing it with 2 3 month olds, but I think it'll only get harder as they get older and more mobile! The first step is to sell our house, so it's officially on the market.  We've had a looker or two each week but no offers yet.  Luckily we are in no rush, so we are just waiting to see what happens.  It's not fun though, packing up 2 babies on short notice to leave. I also have to get the dogs to go out in the garage, which isn't easy now that they've figured out I'm leaving them out there for about an hour. So, we'll see what happens...

Our big event this month is we are flying with the babies! We leave this Thursday to fly up to PA to see Scott's family.  The babies will meet their Great-Grandmom, Aunt Julie, Uncle Brian, Cousins Griffin, Ashlyn and Cohen, and their Grandpop and Meg.  They met their Grandmom in March when she came down to visit.  We will fly home Monday, so we'll be there 5 days.  We got a direct flight from Charleston to Philadelphia, so hopefully it won't be too bad. I am going to start packing today so that I'm not rushed and don't forget anything.  Scott's mom bought our diapers and formula, so we don't have to worry about packing that which is a huge help. She also bought them each some clothes so that cuts down on what we have to pack.  I went and bought 2 umbrella strollers to use in the airport and we'll check their carseats.  So much to think about when traveling with babies. I just don't want them to cry the whole time. I'll let you know how that goes. 

Here is a picture from a walk last night in their new strollers.  The blankets were to help prop their heads up but we didn't really need to use them.

Mother's Day

I was so excited to celebrate my first Mother's day! It was a weird feeling to think I was a "real" mom. It seemed even more real as I started getting cards in the mail! Scott surprised me with a night away at a bed and breakfast in Beaufort, SC.  He told me the day before we were leaving so I'd have time to come to terms with the fact I was leaving my babies for a night. Our good friends Matt and Kelly came to stay with them. I wasn't worried about that, but I was sad to leave them. We weren't even gone 24 hours, and it was a much needed break. We ate dinner, and had every intention of staying out to listen to some live music. Around 9:30, I was ready to call it a night. I just wanted to sleep. I still ended waking up at the time they woke up to eat that night, but I did get some good sleep.  Thanks Matt and Kelly for staying with the babies! :) Here are a couple of pictures - for some reason it is keeping the one picture sideways. Oh well. 

Some pictures from May

The pictures from May are a lot more fun because the babies are smiling a ton! I want to put them all on here, but I will control myself. :)

Fischer started this thing where he smiles while eating. It's so cute but takes him twice as long to eat since he can't suck and smile at the same time. 

This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of them.

They were finally big enough to hang out in their new jogging stroller.

Having "free" time in the pack and play.

I just liked these outfits.

One of Addison's first smiles caught on camera!

Fischer's first smile on camera!

Cuddle time!

They aren't quite sure about their bumbos yet... 

Ready for summer

Some pictures from April

In April, we started going out and about more - it wasn't cold and it wasn't too hot yet. The perfect time to get some fresh air!

Spending the morning at the farmers market

Me with Fisher at Grandma and Grandpa Suttle's house

My favorite picture of me and Addison

Addison loves her lion

Not sure what Fischer is staring at

Ready to go!

Tummy time - the babies don't really care for it.

Our first family "selfer."  The babies weren't happy.

Daddy giving Addison a bath

Daddy giving Fischer a bath

Some pictures from March

As I said, we didn't do too much in March. We had some visitors, and mainly just hung out at home. The babies did get used to me taking pictures on a daily basis, which is something I still do!

Kathy came with Chris and Jamie and got to meet both babies too. I'm not sure why this picture is so much smaller... 

Uncle Chris and Aunt Jamie came to visit!

Such cute onsies - a gift from Aunt Julie and Uncle Brian!

My first picture with both babies

Right before their first Dr. appointment/weight check. 

Grandma and Grandpa Suttle came for a another visit when the babies were about 4 or 5 weeks old. Scott and I went out to dinner while they were here!! 

Story time in their boppies

Their first St. Patrick's Day!

Cuddling in the crib. We would start them out farther apart but they always scooted closer to each other.

Addison in one of her first swing rides.