Happy Halloween from Addison and Fischer!! Here are some pictures from their costume "photo shoot." The last picture is from this morning, and they are in their Halloween sleepers!

Things are changing... again!! Last night, I was changing Fischer's diaper and Addison was in her crib. I noticed she had been getting up on her knees by pulling up on the railing of her crib. She's been doing this for a couple of days.  Then, I turned around to look at her mid-diaper change and she was STANDING!! I didn't see her pull up, but she did it somehow. And she was just staring at me! I was shocked, and then worried that she'd somehow flip herself out of her crib. So, we'll be lowering her crib again (the 2nd time in  about 3 weeks) today.  I think things are about to get very active (more than they are now!) soon.

Another thing she's been doing lately is crawling (low crawling/scooting) over to my lap and then pulling herself up into my lap, then reaching up for me to hold her. I don't know how anyone resists picking them up after that! So yesterday, Fischer caught on to what she was doing, and he gave it a try. Sure enough, I picked him up too! They are definitely starting to "compete" for attention.  In turn, this causes feelings of guilt for me if I feel like I've held one more than the other!

Scott gets home today..yay! I am looking forward to some fun family time this weekend!

Addison and Fischer had the first of their 2 flu shots this morning, and they did SO great. Scott is out of town, so I took my friend Kelly with me so she could hold one during and after when they were crying.  They both cried for maybe 3 seconds and that was it. They are so brave, and handled it much better than I would have. They will get the booster shot at their 9 month check up on December 3rd, since the booster has to be at least a month after the first shot.  So much for being done with shots until their 12 month check up.

Fischer is sitting so well on his own now. Just over the past couple of days, he's gotten much better at it! He still isn't putting himself in that position, but I'm sure that will come soon.

I took these pictures last night before bath time - they were pulling their bumpers down and peeping out of their cribs. They do this all the time now!

Fischer decided to tell me a little story tonight, complete with these facial expressions. :) 

I am a fairly organized person, and I am trying to stay that way even with two mobile babies in the house.  I like to make lists, I like to label things, I like having a "home" for everything, etc... So, the fact that I also like to keep things on a pretty tight schedule when it comes to Addison and Fischer shouldn't surprise people.  There have been a couple of times where the schedule has made things a big more difficult for us, but I think it's totally worth it in the long run.  It's harder when we travel, because we can't be as flexible for meeting up with people, going out to dinner, etc. But, when we are at home, it's SO nice to be on a schedule.

Here is what a typical day in the Komarnicki household is like:

Between 6:00- 7:30  - Babies wake up and get a diaper change and dressed for the day
8:00 - First bottle of the day (we will soon be adding cereal with fruit to this)
8:15 - 8:45 - Resting in their double stroller (letting food settle or they will spit up while playing!)
8:45 - 10:00ish - Play time
Around 10:00 - A short nap (Usually 15-20 minutes)
10:20 - 11:30 - Play time
11:30 - 12:00 - Prepare lunch and change diapers
12:00 - 12:20 - Lunch (solid food, then bottle)
12:20 - 2:30ish - Nap time (on a good day!)
2:30 - 4:00 - Play time
4:00 - Afternoon bottle
4:15 - 4:45 - Rest in stroller (again, to let food settle). They usually watch a Baby Einstein video
4:45 - 6:00 - More play time
6:00 - 7:00 - Depending on moods, they keep playing or relax in their stroller if they are tired and fussy
7:00 - Bath time, every other night
7:15 - Change into pajamas
7:15 - 7:30 - Read books
7:30 - 8:00 - Usually fall asleep in their stroller
8:00 - Dinner time! Solids, then bottle
8:30 - Night Night Addison and Fischer!
8:30 - 10:00ish TV time for us
10:00 - Night Night Mommy and Daddy!

At some point during all of this, I shower, start laundry, fold laundry, put away laundry, eat lunch, wash bottles, make forumula, and feed the dogs at 5:00. Addison and Fischer also have snack times in there where they have some water and some puffs. Luckily, I don't have to cook dinner - that's Scott's domain which is a huge relief for me. :)

Since it's Halloween week, Addison and Fischer wanted to wear their "I'm Batty for Daddy" shirts! And it's true - they are. They get so excited when they are spending time with Daddy!

And a funny picture - Addison has now figured out how to sit up against the bars of the "baby jail" and hold on to them... and cry. She wants to be outside of it, or wants us inside with her. This was taken on Saturday when they were supporting their Gamecocks!

We've had a busy few days, but things are back to normal today. We were in Camden for the day yesterday visiting with Grandpop K, who is there for a long weekend.  I was worried about how Addison and Fischer would do because their schedule was sort of all over the place since we left right after their morning bottle and came home in the evening.  To my surprise, there was minimal fussiness, and they did great! I really think their new car seats make longer rides much more pleasant, for all of us! :)

Both babies have been sleeping pretty well at night lately. Instead of waking up 3 or 4 times, Addison has been waking up only once during most nights. There has been a night or two where she hasn't woken up at all! Fischer has woken up a couple of times as well, and he always has this awful scream/cry when he wakes up. Usually we pick him up because it seems like he always has to burp when he wakes up like that. I think it has increased a little since he has switched to this new formula, but it isn't every night so I don't think it's a real problem.  Napping is a different story... they were both napping great for awhile.  Now, nap time has become more like play time.  They have discovered that if they pull down their bumpers, they can see each other. So they look at each other and "talk." Also, now that Addison can sit up on her own, I find her in there sitting and playing. It's now taking about 30-45 minutes for them to fall asleep when it used to take about 10 minutes.  And, they aren't sleeping later - they are still waking up at the same time, which is making for much shorter naps. On a positive note though, Fischer has been napping in his crib almost a week now!

I think I mentioned before that Addison may be trying to pull up on things.  Well, today I found her holding onto the bars of their "baby jail" and she was on her knees. Yep, she pulled up to her knees all on her own.  Unfortunately, she let go of the bars and fell backwards...luckily, she didn't really hurt herself and didn't even cry too much! I think she'll be pulling all the way up soon.

We are having some fall pictures done tomorrow - they are outside so I'm praying for good weather!

We've had to start saying "No!" to Addison and Fischer on occasion.  I'm finding it hard to sound stern when I say "No!" and they look at me with a giant smile, then continue doing what they were doing in the first place. How do I not smile back? Or laugh? But if I do it's just a game to them. Today I found myself biting my lip so I wouldn't smile or laugh.  I will have to keep working on my mom-voice. :)

We went out to eat last night and they both did so well in their high chairs!! We fed them Puffs while we were waiting on our food and Addison picked one up off the table and put it in her mouth for the first time ever! They've both picked them up but usually can't quite manage to get it in their mouths, but she finally did it. Fischer was trying, and I don't think it will be long before he starts doing it too.  They get so excited when they see the Puff containers now - I have to be discrete when I'm getting them out if I'm not planning on giving them any right then.  The same goes for making their bottles - if I'm making them early, I can't let them see me or they start making all kinds of noise!

They are moving around more and more every day. Fischer has become quite the "low-crawler." He gets anywhere he wants to go that way, and he gets there fast! He uses his elbows to push himself around. Today I watched him crawl across the floor, and OVER Addison to get to a certain toy.  And she didn't even seem to notice that he had just crawled over her. They are so funny when you just sit back and watch them play.  Addison is sitting all the time now, and can easily put herself into that position. She still isn't crawling but is on her hands and knees anytime if she isn't sitting. Like Fischer, she easily gets around the room by scooting or "low-crawling" but isn't quite as fast as he is. Fischer is sitting pretty well when we put him in that position, but he doesn't even try to do it himself, although I think he could do it if he tried. As usual, they are doing something new everyday!

Addison and Fischer are 8 months old. As I say every month, I can't believe they are that old already!!!

Here is a video of how excited Addison and Fischer get about the dogs. Sassy was standing right beside me.

It isn't often that I am away from the babies, so it was especially hard to spend the night away from them on Saturday. I survived though, and so did they. Our friends, Matt and Kelly, watched them and we knew they were in great hands!

Addison and Fischer spent part of the weekend with us in Columbia.  Then, Saturday they came back to Charleston while Scott and I did the chili cookoff. This was our 4th year in a row doing it, and it's always so fun. It is a fund raiser for a local children's charity, which made it all the more meaningful this year since we have children of our own. Maybe Addison and Fischer were our good luck charms, because this year we won first place overall!!  We also won our category for the third straight year! Yay Team Hee Hawg! I can't wait until next year to see if we can get another trophy.

It was a great time spent with family and friends, but I was very anxious to get home to see my babies!

We had a very busy, but fun, weekend. There is a lot to talk about so it won't all be in this post. We went to Columbia for the weekend to participate in the Group Therapy Chili Cookoff on Saturday. It's our 4th year doing it! We decided to go a couple of days early so we could take Addison and Fischer to the zoo on Friday since they loved the aquarium so much.

Grandma and Grandpa Suttle came Friday morning and we all went to the zoo Friday afternoon. It was a little chilly and overcast, but we had a good time.  We were there for a couple of hours and Addison and Fischer did great. They seemed to like the animals, especially the larger ones because they were easier to see. I think my favorite part was seeing the baby giraffe.

After the zoo, we went to dinner then back to the hotel so the babies could play before going to bed. They also got to spend some time with Uncle Chris and Aunt Jamie who drove down from Ohio for the cookoff!

I guess I spoke too soon when I said we were done going to the Dr. until December 3. I took Fischer this morning to get his ears checked out because he's been pulling on and touching his left ear for a few days and it was much more frequent yesterday.  Luckily, the Dr. said his ears are perfect and that it's most likely related to his teething.  I then asked the Dr. if he thought his teeth were close because I feel like this teething thing has been going on forever.  Dr. B said he has quit guessing on that because there is just no real way to know and he's never right.  So, we'll keep waiting.... :) Oh, and he was 15 pounds 4 ounces (with clothes on) today!

Fischer has also become quite verbal over the past week.  He has starting saying "dadadadadada" and "naa naa naa." He's quite proud of these sounds and talks a lot.  Addison makes a lot of noise but hasn't started making any letter sounds yet.

We are happy to announce that the babies are officially on the SAME formula for all of their bottles! YAY!! And they seem to be tolerating it very well and continue to eat very well. Because they are getting so big, it's becoming harder to wrap them in their towels after a bath because the towels are small.  So, I got them some new ones! In the pictures below, since you can only see their faces, I think they look a lot alike.

I also forgot to mention that they had their first avacado the other night. I've heard stories of how much other babies love them, so I was a little surprised that Addison and Fischer didn't seem to really love it. They did love putting their fingers in it and playing with it though.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been putting Fischer in the sitting position to see if he's interested in trying. He usually would fall over or slide down and go about his business of playing.  Today I tried again and he sat there. And he kept sitting. I guess he figured there was something worth sitting for today. :) Now we have two sitters!!

When Addison and Fischer were just a couple months old, I thought I had them all figured out. I thought, without a doubt, Fischer would be mobile very early on because of how much he moved when I was pregnant, and also how much he loved kicking his feet and moving his hands. I thought Addison would be happy to just be carried everywhere because she loved being held, and would be just fine never having to work harder than necessary to get somewhere.  Boy, did I have it wrong!  Fischer still loves kicking his feet, and Addison still loves being held, but when it comes to being mobile, Addison is very ready. She is trying so hard to sit, crawl and stand all at once. Fischer is happy rolling and scooting. It's funny to watch Addison because you can tell she's trying to crawl, then she changes her mind and wants to go into a sitting position and then she gets tired or frustrated and ends up falling and scooting around.  The other day, I put her hands on two bars and stood her up and she stood for at least 10 seconds on her own. Once she realized she could stand, she started trying to pull herself up. She's a busy, busy girl.

Because of all these changes, we lowered their crib mattresses yesterday. I was worried they would be confused, but they seemed to do ok. It's amazing to me that they used to share a crib, and now they are lowered because they are getting too big and mobile!

Today we started 5 ounces in each bottle of the new formula.  Since their 8 am, 12 pm, and 4 pm bottles are only 5 ounces, they are now officially drinking all new formula in those.  Their 8 pm bottles have about 7 ounces, so we plan to phase out the old formula in those over the next few nights.  Then, there will be no more labeled formula pitchers or bottles, no more post-its to remember which bottle was Fischer's or Addison's, no more buying 3 different kinds of formula and no more accidently mixing up bottles and waiting for bad things to happen! Addison would do ok if she got some of Fischer's formula by accident, but it was bad news if Fischer got some of Addison's. We are almost done with those worries. Yay!

Now that the formula project is almost over, I have a new project. I am working Fischer's naps. I am trying to get him to nap in his crib rather than his swing. Addison has been in her crib for a couple of months. Fischer usually just plays if I put him in his crib, and never goes to sleep. He just kicks, talks, and rolls the whole time. This past week, he did take an hour and a half nap in his crib on Thursday! I was very happy and expecting great things on Friday.  Friday, however, he slept for about 30 minutes, then woke up screaming and never went back to sleep, so I had to put him back in his swing for the remainder of his nap.  Yesterday, he never even fell asleep and we had to put him in his swing for a little nap.  Today, he slept about 30 minutes in his crib, then again, woke up. I need help with this if anyone has any ideas.  Soon he will be past the weight limit on his swing, and then what will I do?!

Scott's mom left today, which means my extra hands left today. :) It's always nice having company because that means extra hands to hold babies, feed babies, change babies and play with babies! She really got a chance to see their personalities and get to know them, which was great.

Last night we went out to dinner downtown. Since we can't eat pizza every time we go out (in order to give Addison and Fischer the crust to chew on) we went prepared with celery. We weren't sure how it would work, but seemed to do the trick. We also took puffs and they snacked on those until our food came, then they "ate" their celery.  Fischer looks a little worried in his picture below - maybe he thought I was going to take his celery - he has a tight grip on it!

I went in our room the other night and found Addison helping her daddy look through his hunting catalog.  She was even ripping out pages. She is sitting really well and loves looking at books and magazines now while she's sitting up.

Everything else is going well. They are tolerating their extra ounce of regular formula well! I think we are going to lower their mattresses in their cribs this weekend. I walked into the nursery yesterday to find Addison grabbing part of her mobile (the part that hooks onto the crib) and trying to pull herself up or the mobile down, I'm not sure which.  So, we figured we better be safe and go ahead and lower them.  They are just doing more and more each day and it makes it harder and harder to get anything done while they are awake. :)

We had another doctors appointment today, but this time it was for our furry babies. We had to take Bo and Sassy for their yearly check up and shots.  Scott and I took them while his mom kept the babies. Both dogs are doing great and in very good health. We even got them both new collars today too. :) Next up for them is getting their teeth cleaned sometime soon.

We are done with shots until the babies have their 12 month check up!! Yay!!! I know it seems like we went for shots all the time, but it worked out to getting one every 3 weeks. We chose to do it this way, but sometimes it seemed like we were going for shots every other day.  They babies continue to steadily gain weight... Fischer weighed 14 lb 13 oz and Addison weighed 15 lb 10 oz. She is almost a 16 pound baby. WOW!

We are done with the doctor's office (I hope!) until their 9 month check up on December 3.  We've never had to go that long without getting updated weights, so I'm sure we'll be shocked when we get their weights on that day!

What a busy weekend we've had! Yesterday was the yard sale, followed by a dinner out for pizza.  Today, we took the babies to their first Down Syndrome Buddy Walk!  We walk in honor of my nephew, Carter. This is the 3rd year Scott and I have walked, and hope to walk for many years to come. One day, we hope to go to Ohio and do the Buddy Walk in that area with Carter!  And, Fischer got to wear his camo hat, just like daddy's. :)

We came home and relaxed for a little while. Then, we decided to put the babies in their high chairs with some mashed up bananas while we ate dinner. They loved the bananas, and even touched it with their spoons and put the spoons in their mouths!! Addison quickly got frustrated because she wasn't able to pick up the slippery food, and couldn't get any on her spoon. She was happy as could be if we fed her though. They sat in their chairs much better this time than last time we tried. Hopefully soon they'll be eating all of their meals in their high chairs!

Also, the babies went up to 4 ounces of the new formula in each bottle today. They seem to be doing pretty well with it. We are just a couple weeks away from having them on the same formula again. Yay! They are also now officially in size 3 diapers! That's just more proof of how fast they are growing.

Addison still isn't crawling, but on Friday she decided it was time to sit on her own! I put her in the sitting position, and she sat for at least 5 minutes all by herself! She did it several more times that day, and sits as if it's no big deal now. She gets tired after about 5 minutes and falls over.  She can't put herself into the sitting position yet, but she's working on that.  Fischer sits for about 5 or 10 seconds before falling over, but this is a big change just from last week. I think he'll be sitting right beside Addison in no time!

Scott's mom is visiting and Addison and Fischer decided they wanted to go out for pizza again so they could show their Grandmom their new crust eating skills.  Just like last time, they LOVED it, and they weren't happy when we took the crust away. Addison handled it better than Fischer - he just gets very mad!! Luckily, he doesn't stay mad too long. :)

We had our yard sale this morning. We sold a lot of baby stuff... it was hard to see some of it go, but I also enjoyed seeing how happy it made the parents-to-be to get such a good deal on the baby items! 

Pictures from September 2009

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