Hopefully I don't jinx myself by typing this, but Addison and Fischer have slept through the night 9 nights in a row now. Yes, 9!! This is pretty much a miracle for them, and I can't remember the last time it happened, if it's ever happened at all. I'm sure they will wake up tonight now. :)

It could be because of the new pajamas I finally bought them! I just love the way they look in brand new, soft, bright pajamas! (It only looks like Addison is hitting Fischer in the head with the hammer... she really isn't).

In other news, the Gamecocks won the College World Series last night, defeating UCLA 2-1. I am still so excited today, and kept getting chills last night while I was watching the end of the game. It reminded me of how proud I am to be a Gamecock! :) We are thinking about heading to the baseball stadium today for the big celebration! Now I am even more excited for football season to start. Go Cocks! :)

Our weekend was fun, but very hot!

A couple of weeks ago, we got a new pool since our other one already had a slow leak in it - most likely thanks to one of our dogs! Our new pool is no baby pool! It's 8 feet in diameter and is over 2 feet deep. It's also big enough for both Addison and Fischer to be in their floats, while Scott and I get to relax a bit.  On Thursday afternoon, we decided we all needed to go for a "refreshing" dip in the pool. It was over 100 degrees outside, and the pool wasn't much cooler. We put a thermometer in the water, and it was reading close to 100. Not so refreshing....  So Scott went and got some ice, and dumped it in the pool to try and cool it off. It melted immediately, but did bring the water temperature down to a chilly 94 degrees. We did get in for a little while though, and it was fun! Addison and Fischer seem to like it this warm, rather than the cooler water a couple weeks ago. Here is our new pool - complete with a filter and a cover!

Saturday morning, we headed out to the lake for a swim. That water was also very warm, which Addison and Fischer seemed to like. Fischer's new favorite thing to do in the water is to put his face down and blow bubbles. He's always very proud of himself, but he also hasn't learned how to not inhale water when he does it. So after he drank quite a bit of lake water, we decided it was time to get out!

We had friends come Saturday night to watch the USC Baseball game (Go Cocks!!), and they spent the night and left yesterday. They have 2 daughters, 3 and 6 months. Addison and Fischer did so well playing with them, and they were all worn out!

Addison and Fischer enjoyed wearing their sunglasses this weekend:

They also got some new size 4 shoes (his are bright blue, and hers have a pink print), which they broke in on Saturday:

Today is Bo's 7th Birthday. It's hard to believe that our "first born" is 7 already! We brought him home when he was 6 weeks old. For most of the car ride, he ended up laying behind my neck, up against the headrest. I guess he felt safe there! Here are some pictures from his homecoming:

Scott and I were talking about how tiny he was when we brought him home - he was 4 pounds. Then I realized that both Addison and Fischer were right around 4 pounds when we brought them home too! I guess we like to bring home tiny babies. :)

Happy Birthday, Bo! We look forward to many more hyper years with you!

Addison and Fischer really do soak in everything around them.  I ordered some of the professional pictures we had taken, and I got them framed last night after Addison and Fischer went to bed.  A few of the new pictures are hanging in the dining room.  This morning, during breakfast, both babies kept staring at the new pictures (keep in mind, there were other pictures of them hanging there before). They knew something was different though... and finally, Addison smiled a big smile and said "beebee" while pointing to the pictures.  These moments always remind me of how aware of their surroundings they are!

Here are a few other updates:

Addison's 3rd molar has broken through, brining her to a total of 9 teeth!

Addison is saying "da" for down, and Fischer is saying "eeshee" or "ayshee" for easy.  He is also now saying "na na" for night night in context... whenever he goes into his crib for a nap or for bedtime, he says "na na" as he lays his head down.

They are both repeating so many words, so it's hard to keep up with all of them.  Fischer, especially, will repeat everything we say! They are also both starting to dance more and more when they hear music. They were dancing for a while, then that sort of stopped, but it's definitely coming back now. We even had a Lady GaGa dance party the other day. :)

We got a new pool.... it's bigger than the other one, which already had a slow leak in it. We got in yesterday expecting some relief from the awful heat, and the water was almost as warm as the air! We will have to add some cooler water next time! I will post some pictures of the new pool soon!

Addison and Fischer are 16 months old today! To celebrate, we took a trip to the zoo this morning.  We went early and kept it short because of the heat. When we left to come home at 10:30, it was already 92 degrees.  Since we went earlier, most of the animals were very active, so it was a lot of fun to watch Addison and Fischer watch the animals.

As I watched them, I wondered if they knew that the animals they were seeing in person were the same ones they see in a lot of their books?!  When we were walking around the farm area, Fischer said "moo" to the cow. So funny!

Here are a few pictures:

Here are a few updates for 16 months:

- Addison wears size 4 diapers, Fischer wears size 3 diapers, and they are both wearing size 5 diapers at night. Yes, we have 3 sizes of diapers going on, but once Fischer finishes his current box of size 3, he'll move on to size 4!
- They are both still napping twice a day, averaging 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- They are both mimicking more and more each day.
-  Fischer has tried to climb out of his crib once... he didn't succeed, but we'll have to watch him closely!
- Both are decent at using a spoon, when we remember to let them have one.  I really need to be better about this!


Also, I'd like to wish my parents a Happy 36th Anniversary!! We all love you! :)

Yesterday was already Scott's 2nd Father's Day... where does the time go?! It was a good day, with a lot of family time, which is always nice.  We went out to lunch for brick oven pizza - Scott's choice.  Addison and Fischer enjoyed it, too!

Then for dinner we had ribs and wings from a local restaurant - Scott's choice again! It was Father's Day, after all. :) Addison and Fischer had fun playing with the wings...they ate some of the wings and ribs too!

We also had a lot of time to relax!

Happy Father's Day to Scott - the best Daddy Addison and Fischer could ever have!!

If you had to choose, would you rather have a baby/child that eats well or sleeps well? I know, you'd ideally want them to do both well, but, if you had to choose one, which would it be?!

We are lucky that we have two great eaters. Addison never leaves anything on her tray (except the diced carrots that come in a can of mixed vegetables... but she'll eat sliced carrots), and Fischer has his picky moments, but he eats well overall.  I have friends who have very picky eaters, and I know how stressful it can be. I just hope Addison and Fischer continue to be open-minded about food!

Here they are months ago trying their first taste of actual pizza, and not just the crust!

Sleeping, on the other hand, has been a challenge. I hear some parents say that their babies started sleeping through the night at 3 or 4 months and have slept through the night almost every night since.  We don't know what that's like around here.  We do have many nights where they do both go right down and sleep all night. But we also have many nights where either Addison or Fischer wake up. Between the two of them, one is always teething, which is a huge reason they wake up.  I also think having them share a room contributes, because a lot of times, the one awake will wake the other one up. Overall, I would not say we have great sleepers... good sleepers might even be a stretch some of the time. I think Fischer could be a great sleeper in his own room, without his sister (who wakes up a lot) crying at night.

So, I've just been thinking a lot lately about which I'd rather have, if it had to be one or the other - good eaters or good sleepers!?

Here is Addison sleeping - proof that she really does sleep (in fact, last night it was Fischer that was up for awhile, and she slept right through it)!!

It feels like Addison and Fischer are doing something new everyday, and it's becoming very hard to keep up with it all! I'm trying to write stuff down as it happens (even the small stuff!), but I don't always remember to do that.

First of all, they had their first peanut butter and jelly sandwich yesterday! They've had countless jelly sandwiches, but it was their first taste of peanut butter.  The doctor gave us the ok to try it, as long as Scott and I don't have any nut allergies, which we don't.  They ate all of it, so I guess they liked it!  They also had some "grown up" yogurt for the first time. They've been eating the Gerber yogurt, but the doctor said they can eat any kind of yogurt, so they've had some Yoplait. I like that we were able to make that switch because it's much cheaper.

Fischer has been working hard on doing animal sounds.  He's doing them on his own more when he sees a picture of an animal, rather than just repeating what we say.  So far he says: moo, ssss (his newest, for a snake), ooo-aaa-aaa (monkey), baa, naa (horse), meow, ruf, and quack.  He does get his animals mixed up from time to time, but he's doing really well with the sounds overall! Addison has also started the monkey sound, and says it whenever she picks up their toy monkey, or when she sees a picture of a monkey. I can't wait to take them to the zoo to see if they do it when they see a real monkey!

Here are some other words they've started saying:
Addison - "ditty" for kitty.
Fischer - "mum mum" for these crackers they get for dessert sometimes, and they really are called mum mums! "All duh" for all done, and "nana" for banana.

They are both climbing on the ottoman all day long now.  They are up and down all the time! They are slowly learning how to get off of it without falling, although they've had their share of spills. Fischer mastered getting down pretty quickly, but Addison is still working on it.

They are also both very into books now.  They've always liked books, and we have always read to them.  But now, I'd say books have become almost an obsession.  They have several in their toy basket, and they bring them to me all day long for me to read to them.  They do this so much that I have to routinely switch out their books because I get tired of reading the same books over and over.  My favorite part of this is when they bring me the book, they also climb into my lap while I'm reading.  I love it when they both are sitting there at the same time. :)  If Addison is already on my lap, Fischer will usually sit on the floor beside us... but Addison doesn't care if Fischer is already in my lap... she makes room for herself too. :)

I think we had another first this morning... I'm pretty sure Fischer "tattled" on Addison.  They have this toy chair that they like to stand on. When we see them standing on it, we ask them to please sit down. They always look at us as they are climbing up because they know they aren't supposed to do it. They are testing us already! Anyway, this morning, I was facing Fischer and the chair and Addison were behind me.  He got a very mad look on his face, and started pointing at her while making a grunting noise. I looked at her, and she was standing on the chair!! I think he was saying "Mom, Addison's standing on the chair!"

Addison's 2nd molar has broken through, so she has a total of 10 teeth right now.  Fischer's 4th molar is slowly coming in, and he's holding steady at 12 teeth.  I think he may have a bottom tooth close to breaking through, but it's hard to get a good look these days.

I think that's about it for the updates... we hope you are all having a good week!

Tonight was sloppy joe night...

And because of the heat (around 110 degrees!), we were forced to stay inside today. I think Addison and Fischer wanted to be outside...

They didn't know I was watching them when I took this picture. They were laughing and having the best time!

Saturday was a project kind of day. After feeding Addison and Fischer breakfast around 7, Scott took them to the farmer's market in town.  He was going after cucumbers so he could make pickles! While they were there, I went out and hit up some yard sales. I was searching for some new toys for Addison and Fischer. I was happy with my finds, and hope to slowly introduce their new toys so that they'll last awhile! It's nice for Scott and I too, because we get a break from the same old songs on the same old toys. :) The first one I gave them was a dump truck with the back full of large legos. I got all of that for $1, and just had to spend a little time cleaning it up.  Fischer immediately fit some of the legos together - I was surprised, and very proud! Addison is working hard on getting them to snap together, and I think she'll succeed in no time!

Once they were down for their 9:00 naps, Scott and I got to work making dill pickles.  Scott sterilized all the jars, and we worked together making the brine and filling the jars! 

Here is Scott chopping the cucumbers. We made 18 jars of pickles...some are spears and some are chips! 

The jars waiting to be filled...

Scott filling the jars with brine and sealing them up...

And the jars are ready to go into the boiling water to make sure they are sealed up!

We wrote the date on the top of the jars, and now we have to wait about a month to try them. We had a lot of cucumbers leftover, so Scott made a few more jars, so he could try out a few different ideas. He made some that will sit in the refrigerator until we can open them (the ones we made together sit in a cool, dry place), and he made some very thinly sliced ones that should be ready before all of the other ones.

It's very rare that Scott and I get to do a project like this together, so it was really fun.  We plan on canning some tomatoes later in the season, so hopefully Addison and Fischer will cooperate so Scott and I can work on that project together, too! 

Addison and Fischer had their 15 month check ups yesterday. I was a little nervous because we were meeting our new pediatrician. We loved our pediatrician in Charleston, so I was a little worried about how our new one would measure up. Luckily, we all really like her! She was patient with my questions (I always have a lot!), and didn't mind when Addison started playing with her shoes. :)

The appointment went very well. They each received 2 shots - 1 in each arm. It was pitiful because Addison was crying so hard after her shots, and kept looking at the door and saying "bye bye" in between breaths. Luckily the shots were at the end of the appointment, so we were able to leave right then.

The doctor was very pleased with their development in all areas! She also gave us the OK to for them to try some fish (but no shellfish just yet) and peanut butter!

We are going to try weaning them off of Zantac, and she said we pretty much just have to play around with the dosages to see if they need less or none at all. I think we will try skipping their morning doses but keep their night doses for awhile, then try taking those away also. We are also going to keep Addison on soy milk until around 18 months, then try to transition her to whole milk again. She is also going to stay on Mirilax for now, and the doctor said when we transition her to whole milk, she may not need the Mirilax anymore. Until then, we'll keep giving it to her.

They are both staying pretty consistent with their growth on the growth chart. Addison was down percentile-wise since her 12 month checkup, but the doctor said that was to be expected with how mobile she's become.

Here are their stats:

Addison - 20 lb 9 oz (10th %)

30.5 inches (40th-50th %)

Head - 18 inches

Fischer - 20 lb 5 oz (below 5th %)

31.25 inches (40th-50th %)

Head - 18.5 inches

At their 12 month appointment, Fischer was over 1.5 pounds lighter than Addison.... he has gained 2 pounds since that appointment, and Addison has gained only 10 ounces. By 18 months he might just weigh more than her, which would be the first time ever!

We are so thankful to have such healthy babies!

For a sneak peek of our pictures from today, go to http://nixiemillerphotography.blogspot.com.

I'm really excited about these, and can't wait to see the rest! I love that she got some of these posted so fast, because I'm very impatient when it comes to pictures!

Thanks, Nixie! :)

You know it's hot (it's been in the 90s and pretty humid) when Addison and FIscher are hanging out by the vents. They love sitting here and letting the air blow into their faces.

In other news, we got some pictures taken today! A friend from college is starting up a photography business this summer (she's a teacher) so she's trying to build her portfolio. She said today's session gave her some good practice with toddlers. Midway through the shoot, I asked her if she was getting any good pictures, and she said "I am, but they are all pretty informal." That was her polite way of saying that Addison and Fischer wouldn't hold still so they are all pretty much shots of them playing. :) I told her I didn't expect any posed pictures since they are ALWAYS on the go! I am so excited to see how they turned out!

This week, Fischer said "buu buu" for bubble, "nana" for night night, and "Ocha" for Pocahontas. Addison is also saying "nana" for night night. Also, we say grace each night before dinner. A few weeks ago, Fischer started putting his hands together after seeing us do it. This past week, he started doing it before we could even sit down, and now he is even interlocking his fingers. It is so cute! And last night he said "Ama" when we said Amen. Fischer repeats a lot of what we say, while Addison seems to sit back and take it all in. This leads me to believe that one day she is just going to start talking and never stop. :)

We have their 15 month check up tomorrow. Scott and I are placing bets on their weights, so we'll see who wins!!

There are some things about being a mom that just aren't fun. Figuring out what to do about Fischer's biting problem is one of them! I've asked many other moms for advice, and several have told me to try "time out." Most of these moms say that their pediatricians recommend starting time out at 1, and doing a minute per year of age. Since yelling and using stern tones, separation, even biting him back (yes, I tried that too!) haven't worked, I figured I'd give time out a try. I've never been a big time out fan, but at Addison and Fischer's age, I sort of feel like it's the only appropriate form of discipline.

It had been 5 whole days since Fischer even tried to bite Addison, so I thought maybe the phase was over. I was wrong. He tried biting her yesterday, and then again this morning. Yesterday, it was in public in their stroller, so I had no way to do time out. This morning, I was prepared. We opted to strap him into an umbrella stroller and face him towards the wall. People suggested using the high chair facing the wall, but I don't want them to associate eating meals with punishment.  Others recommended using a crib, but I also don't want them to associate sleeping with punishment. So, the stroller it what we settled on.

He didn't get the chance to actually bite Addison this morning because I caught him in time. So, I picked him up, put him right in the stroller and faced it towards the wall for 1 minute. I waited for tears from him. Nothing. In fact, I think he was happy to be in the stroller.  The tears came when I took him OUT of the time out stroller. Great. That didn't work! I guess I will try it again and see how it goes.

We have an appointment with our new pediatrician on Friday (15 month check ups), so I am anxious to get her input on discipline. I am also anxious to get Addison and Fischer's official weights and heights!

Here are a few pictures... I'm doing a little bit better about taking pictures in June.

Happy Monday! We are all fever free this morning. Yay! I just hope it stays that way...

With all of the fevers going on over the weekend, I forgot to mention that I actually cooked for us Friday night! I know that might shock some of you. :) But I enjoyed the change of pace (me in the kitchen and Scott on baby duty while I cooked!) and the meal was delicious. I used a Margherita Pizza recipe that my friend, Melissa, posted on her blog. She posts recipes on a regular basis, so I plan on trying some more of them soon!

We all enjoyed the pizza... even Addison and Fischer! Fischer even ate some of the tomatoes (which he usually avoids) because they were hidden under the cheese. Tricky tricky!

I hope all of you have a wonderful week!

Addison still has a fever, but it isn't as high as it was last night. She woke up at 1 am shaking and her fever was back at 103. We gave her some Tylenol, and put her in bed with us because we wanted to keep an eye on her, and she slept pretty well until 6:30, when she woke up and her fever was 103.4! (It's amazing, by the way, how much bed a tiny little body can take up). After another dose of Tylenol and a few more times getting sick, she seems to be improving! Her fever is staying around 99 today. If she still has one tomorrow afternoon, I will take her to the doctor, as the nurse said to bring her in if the fever lasts 48 hours.

Fevers are stressful, especially when they come so fast and get so high!! Hopefully tomorrow everyone will be back to normal!

I'm happy to report that Fischer's fever is gone, and has been since yesterday. His 4th molar (bringing him to a total of 12 teeth!) broke through, so we think that could have caused his fever. Addison, however, had a very high fever tonight. It got up to 103.5, and she got sick once after having some milk. We gave her Tylenol, and Scott gave her a bath to try and cool her of a bit, and by the time she went to bed her fever was down to 101. I spoke with a night nurse and she told me what to watch for and what to do if the fever got that high again. It was scary because it got really high, really fast, and we weren't (and still aren't) sure why. Hopefully she will wake up tomorrow fever-free!

I'm ashamed to admit that it's June 5th, and I have yet to take one picture this month. This is so unlike me, so I plan on taking a lot tomorrow to make up for it!

Addison has mastered (almost) a new skill. She's been working on it for quite some time, and yesterday, she finally did it. Now, our lives will never be the same.... :) I found her up on the chair twice this morning after briefly leaving the room, so we will probably end up removing the ottoman until she can get down on her own.

They both amaze me with the new skills they seem to learn each day. They are both doing their shape puzzle, and shape sorters quite well now, and are making animal and car matches on their magnet sets. If I'm out of the room, I can hear the song play when they make a match, but if I'm in the room, they act like they need my help. Usually after a little prompting, they will do it on their own in front of me!

In addition to skills, they are both saying a few new words. Fischer has started to say "oh no," "oh yeah," and "go." Addison says "box" and "beep beep." They will mostly repeat things we say, but will on occasion say things without hearing us say it first. Addison likes to grab door knobs now while saying "bye bye." Soon, they will both be tall enough to actually turn the door knobs!

Fischer was feeling a little out of sorts yesterday, but seems a little better this morning. He had a runny nose and his temperature got up to 102 by last night. It is always a little alarming when a fever gets that high in such a short amount of time. Luckily, after several doses of tylenol, the fever seems to be gone. Hopefully we can all stay healthy!!

Addison and Fischer had the best time with their shorts... They kept laughing, the taking them off, then trying to put them back on. It was pretty funny.  Fischer eventually got tired and laid down with his. :)

The past few nights, Addison and Fischer have been having book time in their cribs after baths. They actually sit there very quietly and "read." I tried taking a picture without disturbing them, so it's hard to see Addison in the back crib. It's so cute to watch them though, and I can only hope they always love to read as much as I do!

Tuesday night, I went to my first Columbia Area Moms of Multiples meeting. I went to a few in Charleston before the babies were born, and never made it back to another one after they arrived. So, I wanted to make it a point to go to the Columbia one this month.  It was fun and I met a lot of nice women! I am looking forward to going again!