Sunshine Beyond the Clouds

Daylight Savings Mix ups

2011-11-12T13:10:00.000-08:00

Daylight savings was a rude wake-up (literally) at our house. Before the one hour change, Patrick was already waking up at six. We were dreading it and now a week after we know the horrors. The Saturday of the change, we took the boys to see Christian's Mom and take Maddie to the vet. The boys had a blast playing at the mall play place and Carousel. I really wish we had a mall here.

After we ate lunch, we started driving home and the boys fell asleep for 30 minutes. We thought we'd just transfer them to their beds. When we got home though they were AWAKE and wouldn't not go to sleep. So that night we put them to bed about 7:30 (6:30 new time) because of the 30 min nap. They woke up at 4:45 (new time) the next morning. Both were coughing pretty cranky but wide awake. We decided against church in order to see if we could somehow sneak 2 naps in. In the end they took a nap in the morning and missed the one in the afternoon.

The next week just got WORSE. We had 4:30, 5:15, 5:30, and 6:00 wake-ups. Today was 5:45 which was okay. Because of the early wake-ups, naps also have been all messed up because they are so tired. I feel like they don't get good naps and then go to bed early to start the wole cycle again! Wish I could get them to go back asleep after but to no avail. I have decided they don't get out of their cribs till 6 but it's so hard when it's mostly Patrick waking early and then he wakes his brother with his jabbering. At least they're still in their cribs; I do have that.

Hopefully this next week, we'll somehow adjust and keep at six o'clock wake ups... I could be happy with that! It's definitely a learning experience.

Catch up with the Benedicts - Halloween

2011-11-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

We dressed the boys as cowboys for Halloween this year. They had their red plaid shirts and jeans and their cowboy hats. Plus they had their bandana. Christian's mom asked if I wanted her to buy play holsters/guns but I told her no. I didn't want play guns until they understood what they were for and how to treat them. My luck they would just put the end of it in their mouths. Plus at almost two, I thought they were too young. Christian agreed though he thought they looked more like farmers than cowboys. I'll let you judge for yourself.

Here's the only picture I have, when I have more from Lindsay, I'll post them here.

We took them to the Ward Trunk or Treat the Saturday before and I think it was a little overwhelming. To save their little legs, we put them in the stroller and Payden was done in very little time. When I ran out of candy to pass out to other kids, I joined Christian and we took the boys around.

The boys still didn't understand the whole "asking for candy thing" which was okay by me. In the end Patrick has realized that candy tasted pretty good. So far he likes Starbursts, Reeses Pieces, and licorice. Now and then he'll find a wrapper lying around and bring it to me to ask for some.

I'll See you In the Morning

2011-10-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

For the past couple weeks, this has been a very favorite book of Payden's. The Title is, "I'll See you in the Morning," by Mike Jolley and Mique Moriuchi.

It reads:

I'll see you in the Morning. For now it's time to sleep.
I will stay and watch a while Till you are counting sheep

Don't be afraid of Darkness Don't be afraid my sweet.
The Night is just a blanket that helps the earth to sleep.

Creatures great and Creatures small will all be sleeping soon.
Under the same blanket...

...Under the same Moon.

So Close your eyes and go to sleep by the light of the Moon above
I'll see you in the morning in the light of the sun my love.

Dream your dream of moon beams. Let the night become your friend
The twinkling starts will keep you safe till morning comes again.

I"ll be here if you need me. I'm only steps away.
So close your eyes and go to sleep

and dream of a brand new day.

Good Night... Sleep Tight... ... I"ll see you in the morning!

After cleaning up lunch today, I rounded the corner of the kitchen to the living room and this is what I saw. Payden sitting in Daddy's recliner and reading page by page in his favorite book.

I have to admit there were days last week, I hid this book and only brought it out at bedtime since some days I had read it more than 10 times. It has such a sweet message and has the power to help me remember the importance of my purpose in raising these two wonderful boys!

This week: In Pictures

2011-09-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

Monday - I made some delicious cinnamon rolls. They were SO good!
Find the recipe here.

Tuesday - Patrick for some reason LOVED to sit on the grass. This picture shows him looking up on our neighbor's patio to see their dog. It was cute that he just sat since he is always on the go these days! I'd like to label it "The Thinker."

Also on Tuesday...Payden got his first safety pin! For the life of him, his pants WOULD not stay up. The length was perfect though! I guess it's because of his no waist or bum!

Wednesday - Patrick has started to become obsessed with climbing IN everything. While I was cooking dinner, he emptied my canned food drawer only to climb in!

They are both into the climbing thing now. We've found (and removed) them from climbing table chairs, all couches, end tables and our bed! I'm just waiting for the kitchen table!

Thursday- we took a walk to Hyvee like we do almost daily to get some awesome sales. On the way back we saw this construction worker. Patrick started freaking out and pointing at it. Apparently I went by it too fast! I backed up and got as close as I could so he could watch and point and watch the guy work! He loved it!

Friday - Again with the climbing... Patrick climbing in Maddie's dog crate. Funny too that Payden will stand outside it and hold it shut so Patrick can't open it. Too Funny!

Also Friday - Payden finally discovered the outside! Usually he's content to stay and play inside but today Patrick ran off and found a mini hill to go UP and DOWN and did it for about 15 minutes. I ran over to get him.. he was pretty far away from the back door. I see Payden coming out walking on the grass which is SO good for him. He still has trouble with uneven surfaces so this was big! Walking back he grabbed for my hand.

He has a blast playing with a beach ball in the sun!

I'm going to get you!

I got you!

Ooh, I found a pillow!

Cinnamon Rolls - A Yummy and easy Recipe!

2011-09-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, I made these delicious Cinnamon Rolls. I had been thinking about them for a couple of days and mulling over the recipe in my head and wondering if I had everything for them. I had to take one stop to Hyvee to grab Evaporated milk but other than that I was good to go!

Here is the recipe. I got this from my mom and made it countless times during college and my marriage. It has been used so many times in our family among my brothers and sisters. If I remember correctly.. I think my brother made them for his future wife for their first date! They're legendary! I confess I don't know where exactly she got it from though. :)

Cinnamon Rolls

2 cups scalded milk (or powdered)
1 cup sugar
½ cup sugar
½ cup shortening
1 cup mashed potatoes (you can use real, pearls or flakes)
2 eggs beaten
2 pkg yeast in ½ cup water
1 tsp salt
7 cups flour

Icing:
½ package powdered sugar (3 cups)
½ cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
enough canned milk to make spreadable

Instructions:

Make sponge of milk, sugar, shortening, salt, and poatoes, eggas and 4 cups flour. Beat for 5 mnutes. Add yeast mixture, rest of flour and 1 cup raisens. Stir the last cup by hand. Mix until smooth. Dough will be sticky. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before rolling out. Roll our—spread with soft butter and sprinkle with cinnamon/ sugar. Roll up like jellyroll. Cut with floss. Let rise until doubled (at least 2 hours). Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. Spread on icing when rolls are hot. Dough can be frozen for 30 days.

(This recipe is REALLY easy to HALF. It makes 16 large rolls if halved).

Have fun!

Bus Trip!

2011-09-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

The boys and I got to ride a bus on Wednesday! We rode the bus to the library for the story time there this morning. I have wanted to do this for awhile but thought it would be nuts to do it by myself with just the two boys. So instead, we have been planning for a month with the boy's Physical Therapist and Speech Therapist through the Tiny-K program. They really want me to get out more which is super hard because I don't have a car at home. I told them that I was thinking of trying to take the bus but hadn't done so. They immediately offered to clear their schedules for an entire morning so we could all go!

What a adventure it was!

Kristin and Candice arrived right at nine and we put the boys in the stroller and walked towards the bus stop. The bus stop is right in front of the grocery story and maybe a block or so away. Very easy distance. We got there right as the bus pulled up. The boys loved it! I think they loved not being in their car seats too! They sat on their seats like big boys and LOVED looking out the window at all the cars and trucks we passed.

Patrick totally enjoying himself.. and pointing at objects out the window.

Payden is more laid back..

We took one bus for about 15 min and then transferred to another bus that took us the rest of the way downtown. I found that as we rode this particular bus it could take me to: Target, Walmart and even Checkers, a grocery store I love! Oh the possibilities!!

Then we walked for about 4 blocks to the library where we were just in time for story time. This story time is called Books and Babies and is designed for 8-23 month old children. It was all about the body they did 6 books and probably 7 songs for them. I wasn't sure how Patrick and Payden would do since they usually like to walk and explore a new place. They did some exploring toward the end but for the most part sat on or by their carpet squares with rapt attention.

One of the books, the lady read was one we had read at home together. Payden went right up to the librarian and helped her fold up the flap as she read the book. I was impressed he recognized it so well!

After it was over, I changed a Patrick's diaper and away we left to catch the bus home. Again, the boys were great. The bus trip home went pretty smooth. I think Payden wanted to walk around the bus which wasn't safe so I brought out books that he could read on the chair. Luckily a couple of these books were in our Sunday bag and it had been a few days since he had read them. Patrick was happily pointing at things out the window to Candice who was his little friend the entire time.

One of the cutest things though was Patrick singing the entire way home. He has this thing now he just throws in whatever jabber and does it in a sing-song type way. He did that the rest of the time home.. Even once we put him in the stroller for the walk home... he continued singing.

Best part of the day by far: I put boys down for nap at 1:15 and both were asleep in minutes and not ONE peep until 4:00. A wonderful nap for all!!

Even better news: We are going to do more in the future! Maybe once a month until I get to the point where I can do it all by myself.

Edible Playdough - in pictures

2011-09-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I made the boys edible playdough to see what they would do. I was looking for an edible recipe as I'm afraid they will just try to eat it.

Apparently I was right!

In the end, this recipe was WAY too sticky but still fun to experiment with. After he was done, we changed his socks, shirt and pants. I guess I need to keep looking since, I don't see us using this recipe again. But it was good for the time we used it.

Disclaimer - I know that these pictures only show one of my boys (Patrick) but Payden was happily reading books and playing with toys; Patrick was the grumpy/bored one so I decided to try this out first with him. I wasn't entirely sure I could handle two toddlers + playdough.

Random Thoughts Thursday

2011-09-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

I know I mentioned this but it's so darn cute and I love it. Patrick loves to point. Today he actually came and was trying to tell me something. He pulled my pant leg towards the kitchen. I kept asking him what he wanted and he was pointing up. I picked him up and he pointed toward 3 big bowls. He had one but wanted more. I think he LOVES that he can get what he wants because he now can tell us. I LOVE this communication thing!

This piggy-backs the last bullet point.. I know that kids at earlier ages communicate like this but for us this is big. Believe me I have worried and continue to worry so much because I know my kids are behind but they are gaining and continuing to learn; I have to keep telling myself that!

No one ever told me how worrisome it was to be a mother. Maybe someone did but I guess I refused to listen I worry that kids will learn everything that they need to learn at this stage of development...and worried that they are not too bored at home. It's hard to read about other kids online or even about family and hear what new things kids are doing. I try to be happy for them but then start worrying all over again. I keep telling myself that they will do things in their own time... it just needs to sink in!

This morning, Payden screamed for over an hour. By 10:30, I had a monster headache and didn't understand what was wrong. I have a feeling that he is really constipated. He has been on Miralax since April and it is helped immensely. Then at our family reunion in July, he found raisens and they have been a Godsend. So I gently weaned him off the Miralax and it's been maybe 2 weeks. But he's constipated again.. Yesterday morning I finally got him to go but it was so hard... I fear that his stomach is cramping and it plain just hurts. On the other hand, Patrick is as predictable as the sun... nice to have one that way.. Any suggestions on something that worked for you? He's still a picky eater and unfortunately LOVES yogurt, milk, and especially bananas...

A Mommy Smile moment... I was calming Payden down after lunch (he had fallen) and was reading a favorite book. I could tell Patrick wanted something. I asked him what he wanted and he pointed to my other leg that was free. He wanted up in my lap too to read the book. So cute.

It is getting hard to do things with just one of the boys.. because inevitably, the other comes over and wants to do the same thing or takes the book/toy away. If one wants in my lap, the other does too

Big sucess last night! I made Sloppy Joes and Patrick LOVED them.. It was a huge surprise. I gave him a little pile of meat and sprinkled some cheese and he ate every bit. He then ate 4 more piles. He ate 3 more piles for lunch today. This is the FIRST EVER ground beef for him and he likes it! This has opened so much for me... maybe he'll like taco meat too! :)

Random pictures from my phone... So Cute! Something to smile about!

Patrick eating breakfast..had to have Monkey in one hand.

Payden - yesterday during our walk to Hyvee. He is wearing a new jacket my mil and I found on a great sale!
Patrick- yesterday during our walk to Hyvee. He is wearing a new jacket my mil and I found on a great sale!Patrick just lounging on our new bean bag! Christian's co-worker gave it to us. They love it and so does Maddie. If ever I get a chance to sit; she paws my leg wanting to snuggle and sleep too.
I didn't pose his hands there... that was all him!

Payden during lunch.. had to have his feet up!

18-19 Month Post

2011-09-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

Patrick and Payden are now 19 months old..

Here is a bit of what they're up to!

Patrick

Weight: 23 lbs (12%)
Head Circ: 19.75 inches
Height: 31.75 inches

Can get into to trouble in no time! His all time favorite toy are cups and it doesn't matter what kind. They are the first thing he grabs in the kitchen whether on the floor on the counter.

Christian's mom gave us a couple puppets (monkey and elephant) to take on the plane. After bringing Monkey to church with us a couple weeks ago.. Patrick hasn't let it out of his sight since. For a couple days, it ate every meal with us; clutched in his hand. It is about he same feel as his blanket.. maybe that's why.

He can make the sounds of a dog (panting), monkey (beating on chest) and fish (moving mouth). However lately everything has been monkey

He absolutely loves books now and has to be the one to choose the one to read next. Usually it is the same one over and over again.. Thankfully this changes daily so I get a break :)

Patrick is now showing us what he wants by pointing. Usually I ask him to show me what he wants and he either points outside or the fridge where his milk sippy is kept. One time it was the fruit snacks in the cupboard. Mostly it's outside; we go for walks a lot since his favorite place is to go to our neighbors and splash in bowls of water that she keeps to collect rain water.

He is SO close to opening doors... I hope that day doesn't come too soon.

I think he FINALLY has his 4 molars in after months of teething. Yay!

Payden

Weight: 22 lbs 8 oz (8%) We were so happy that he gained so much!
Head Circ: 20 inches
Height: 32 inches

Payden has just started to jabber and it's the cutest thing ever! Mostly it's Ba Ba and Ya Ya. Then it switched to Da Da Da. I think that's either for Doggie or Daddy.

A full fledged walker! Happened right exactly 18 months and he is getting so much better. He still has a hard time on certain surfaces and has had a few bonks to show for it!

One of his clear favorites are books. He will just sit and look at a book. If he's fussing at me and I'm making dinner.. Usually if I hand him a book, he'll sit down and look at it.

He has just started escaping upstairs and usually without me knowing about it. Once I heard Patrick carrying on (jabbering) a the bottom of the stairs. Apparently he was tattling on his brother who had climbed up and was playing in our bedroom. Usually he escapes to climb on our bed or play with the computer or slam doors.

Whenever we get home from going anywhere and Maddie is in our kennel. All I have to say is "Can you get the doggie for me?." Both of them go to the kennel and unlock it and let Maddie out. Also.. a clear favorite (and EASIEST way to get them in the house after playing outside) is ask them to give Maddie a cookie treat. They both get so excited to feed her a doggie cookie treat.

Catching up - an update of sorts

2011-09-04T18:37:00.001-07:00

Here's what we've been up to list format since that's easiest.

In early June, we moved to a much bigger town-home. It has 3 bedrooms and a full walk out basement which works wonderfully as a toy room. The boys love the extra space and much fuller kitchen. Seems like there are always some things strewn on the floor that they've been playing with in there. Payden's favorite - Maddie's food bowl and the clang it makes on the tile floor. Patrick's favorite - lets see... fridge, pans, canned food... and the list goes on.

I got my very own piano! After being so jealous of my siblings who found some really good deals, I couldn't believe when I learned that we were going to get our own. It is a Yamaha Baby Grand and a beauty! It's a sad situation since my sister-in-law's mother-in-law gave it to us as a request when she died in July. It sits in the corner of our basement and I love the stress relief of playing it! She also gave us a 42+ inch flat screen TV that now sits in our living room. All I can say is Wow!

Both boy are fully walking - Patrick is getting faster and faster and harder to catch! Payden has been going on his own for probably a good 2-3 weeks. He'll still lose his balance some but doing better and better! They are so much harder to chase but lots of fun!

Since the boys turned 18 months (I know, I know.. 18 month post coming too!) we have been trying to go to nursery but that's another story for another post since my frustrations are about up to eye level. For example: 13 kids and 2 leaders in a small room, leaders that don't watch the kids very well, and also helping my kids overcome tiredness to make it through the morning. All in all.. very stressful and I'll be so happy when this transition is complete as I am really missing my classes.

That's all for now... I promise I'll try to be better!

If you're happy and you know it... splash in the pool!

2011-07-30T19:37:00.001-07:00

Here are Patrick and Payden in their little pool having a blast...

A New Favorite Recipe: Banana Muffins

2011-06-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon this recipes on www.allrecipes.com. After I made it I knew I had to post it because of how good it was! It was something on first glance, I knew my boys would eat them and I could use them for many meals and perhaps freeze.

Banana Muffins

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt (any flavor yogurt works... I used strawberry banana or vanilla).
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips ( I omitted these)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

These muffins come out so fluffy and soft and stay good forever! Plus they are toddler friendly too! Typically, my husband doesn't eat a lot of the banana bread that I make but these; he was asking me every day if he could have one of the "boy's" muffins for breakfast!

The Different Faces of Eating

2011-05-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I grabbed my camera while they were eating. They were happy and eating so well. I got a few cute ones. Now, today, if I would of taken pictures they would both by crying.

What a difference a day makes in the lives of twins! Guess I need to remember that when I have days like today.

Patrick:

Payden:

RRT - Random Thoughts and happenings

2011-05-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

FYI - I had this completed yesterday but saved instead of posted it... was going to add pictures.

I'll do another post with pictures later today.

------------------------------

We have had quite the week so far.. hopefully there are yet more surprises in store...

Patrick took 5 steps consecutively into his Daddy's arms yesterday! But this morning has seem to forgotten that he did. Hopefully this weekend, will lead to many more opportunities

Payden is talking more and more. Lately he has been copying what he have been saying. So far we have heard: fish, read, cheese and also clean. The clean is a funny one, Christian washed him up after dinner yesterday and said you're clean in a high pitched voice and Payden completed copied it! He did it over and over again! Also when I gave him a piece of ham, he picked it up and declared, "ham" and put it in his mouth. So totally priceless!

Patrick is also teething again and once we put him down, he is SO restless between 11 and 2:30 that by 3, he'll crash and wake up grumpy. Of course, I didn't get any sleep either so it's makes for a long day. I tried to give him Motrin early this morning but couldn't get him to take it and he just screamed. But he crashed from 12:30 to 6:45am without a peep. Sure wish these teeth would hurry and come in!

Last night I wish I had my camera close for Patrick's walking and also Payden's climbing. We have quite a stack of boxes collecting in our living room as we prepare to move to our 3 bedroom town-home (Yay). I put some toys up on top of boxes (stacked 2 high). There was one box (one high) sitting next to it and apparently Payden wanted those toys. He climbed up there on his feet (no crawling) and got the toys down.

Then today before breakfast, the boys are making a mess in the kitchen: Payden is emptying my kitchen drawers and throwing cutting boards every which way. Patrick has found the dryer and is emptying it of clean clothes that he found in there. Then Patrick finds the dog bowl and picks it up and puts it is the garbage. But then finds a soda can in the garbage and is so excited to play with it. This twin toddler-chasing thing is going to get so fun! (enter sarcasm). I have to admit it's definitely cute once!

Did I mention we're moving? I am so excited but worried that we won't have enough help to get the boys taken care of, everything moved over and then this old place cleaned. I'm embarrassed as with two little ones, we haven't cleaned as much as we should and I know it's gross and will probable take awhile.

Ok, enough with worries, I'm excited to move though. It is a 3 bedroom town-home . It has a basement that will soon become the boys toy room and we'll actually have a living room that we can keep clean (we hope!) I'm sure there will be toys sometimes but the bulk of them can be downstairs. We will finally have an office for the computer and a place to put my sewing machine!

Payden has turned into a little cuddle-bug as of late. He'll crawl over to me and stand up and then put his head on my shoulder or start jumping. My favorite is when he grabs my back and pulls my ponytail; all the while jumping up and down. He is such a little character!

Patrick is just busy, busy, busy... he'll be so glad for some extra space to crawl and explore. His favorite is the stairs and I've lost him a few times as he can scale them SO quickly now. He also is jabbering all the time, all nonsense of course but seems to think it means something.

15 to 16 months

2011-05-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? Patrick and Payden are almost 16 months!

One of the cutest things that they are doing right now is around naptime. I'll bring them upstairs to wind down and give them their pacifiers. They'll BOTH crawl to their cribs and pull out their blankets. Payden will usually lay down on his while Patrick starts his moany/groany sound that indicates tiredness. Until they are put down (and during story time before naptime) they both are clutching their blankets.

We went to the doctor last week and here are the Stats:

Patrick:
Weight: 22 lbs 8 oz (19th percentile)
Head Circ: 19.25 inches
Height: 31.5 inches

Payden:
Weight: 20 lbs 5 oz (3rd percentile)
Head Circ: 19.50 inches
Height: 31 inches

Now here's a bit on each of them - what they're up to currently.

Patrick

Absolutely LOVES to crawl and explore. When we are at Christian's moms house, he is constantly crawling everywhere and getting into things.
He really likes the stairs and has escaped from me on a few occasions. (ie. I find him upstairs in our room playing with the computer or in the bathroom putting toys in the toilet.)
Likes his straw sippy cup and still doesn't understand that you have to tip back the regular sippy cup.
LOVES to be outside and will escape out the door and down the sidewalk to go explore. Stroller rides are a favorite for him right now.

Payden

The last week, he has started saying "eee." I have been helping him find things that have "eee" in them. Like cheese and read. Much to my complete surprise, a couple days ago, he brought me a book, shoved it in my face and said "eee." He wanted me to read it. Now it is a constant. He also says it when a toy like "look at this."
He is always bringing me things that he finds whether they are toys or even a plastic wrapper on the floor that he found. It is cutest thing as he shows you what he finds. When he finds it, he expects you to tell him what it is, then he smiles and continues playing.
Definitely has his favorites with books.
When music is playing, he is dancing! It is so cute. We ask him, where's your music? And he'll crawl to the nearest toy and push a button for the music.
Requests bananas at every meal - also best indicator if he is full. If he won't heat a banana chunk, most likely he is full!

Fun with our new Car

2011-05-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, Christian found a Cozy Coupe at Aldi and for a great price! We thought it would be fun for our boys and something that they'll use for many years to come. We started setting it up at 6:30pm and didn't finish until 9:30. Little Tykes really needs to clarify that on the instructions (only pictures). It was hard work to put together.

The other day, it was overcast and not as hot as it usually was... Perfect for pictures!

And not to be left out... Maddie.

RTT - Random Thoughts Thursday

2011-04-21T13:09:00.001-07:00

Here's some random thoughts for today...

1). I officially have a climber! While I was playing with Payden, I looked to see that Patrick had climbed on top of the box of books and pulled to standing against the shelf of books. They LOVE to pull books off the shelves; I guess he just figured out how to get the books on the higher shelves..
After pulling him down time after time, I had to think fast! I pulled some cushions down for the couch and that got his attention. In no time he found that the couch was way easier to climb up on and after 10-15 minutes, his new climbing fascinations was tempered for maybe 20 minutes (until he remembered how fun it was to pull at all the books...)

My life is definitely getting busier...

2) We almost have 2 toddlers (in every meaning of the word). They are so close to walking, I can taste it!!

Payden has been cruising ALL OVER and walks just about everywhere as long as he is holding onto something. He loves to walk with you holding his hands. Just lately, he has started letting go for short periods of time to play with a toy and just stand all by himself. Also, today we played Ring around the Rosy 5 different times until I got a little dizzy. It's only a matter of time.

Patrick has only been pulling up for a short while but he is also starting to cruise. The one thing that Patrick has shown tons of interest in is standing by himself. It's all a game to him until he falls forward. It doesn't matter where he is, he'll just let go and stand there! We have a little game the Physical Therapist taught us. We stand them in front of us and hold there hands and do "Shake shake" and twist their arms and upper body and then let go as they practice standing. Patrick will now stand up to us and shake our hands to play over and over again.

3). On the feeding front - they ate real spaghetti!!! I was so happy. We've had 3 times now and they just love it. Maybe it's the Italian blood in them (from my husband's side of the family.). I just used a bottle of sauce, added bananas and applesauce to it and then ground up the noodles. I was thinking today that I could make a bunch of sauce and put it in baby food jars to freeze and have on hand for some easy lunches. I thought too that maybe I could continue to grind but just not so fine so they get used to bigger and bigger pieces. It excites me that we're finally gaining a little bit in this department! Yay!!

Lastly here a few photos - courtesy of my cell phone.. I promise I have some cute ones (from my camera no less) coming in my next post if I can get to it today.

RTT - Mostly an update!

2011-04-14T14:06:00.001-07:00

Yay! I finally have regular visiting teachers! I love contact with the outside world!! It was so nice to sit and chat and talk to her. And she brought me these beautiful daffodils from her garden...

Random updates of information for today..

1. Payden has a new word: his favorite food. Banana. He calls it a "Ba." Today I gave them cut up pears for breakfast but he wasn't eating them real well. Toward the end, I asked if he wanted a banana and he repeated Ba four times. I gave in and gave him his banana. It's so cute as he will lift it up and say Ba before putting it in his mouth!

2. Today Patrick discovered a new game - putting every shoe from our shoe rack in a laundry basket and then started with his toys too. He definitely understands the word, "in" We're working on "out."

3. It's been a tough week and a half for us as Patrick is apparently getting his molars in. Last week around Wednesday I realized that he was really tugging on his ears and not sleeping at all. He wakes up every hour to two hours and cries for his pacifier. When he's not sick or teething, he plops it right back in the soothes himself. Last night was HORRIBLE night for me. This last weekend we were able to get him to sleep better with motrin which dulled the pain. The trick is getting him to take it. Anyone know if you can add medicine in their milk or food? I really think he'd feel better if he took it but he'll just spit it out. He usually give it in a bottle nipple but he's caught onto that and won't take it. Please pray these teeth come in soon!!!!

4. Also with the teething and a milestone I think for this age (almost 15 months) his separation anxiet is really bad. Patrick will scream when Christian leaves for work and also cries at the window because he wants outside. If it was just crying, I could handle that but it's not. When he cries, it escalates and he throws up. Yeah, smell of rotten milk.. not appetizing at the least. Anyone used to this and know what to do or will it always happen like this? It's frustrating.

5. We're holding stead at 2 bottles a day: just morning and night. They love their bottles. However on Sunday I brought out the straw sippy cups (Payden was going after a little girls sippy at church, he wanted it so bad). We were so surprised that Patrick just sipped and sipped his milk. We were so happy because he just won't tip back the other Gerber sippy that we have. I guess we need to go buy more straw sippy cups! :) Hopefully one more step closer to getting rid of bottles.

6. On the Feeding front, it also have been a frustrating point. But in my search I realized that we went from puree right to table food. I really didn't transition and boy is there a transition. So starting this week I have been grinding real food and helping them used to regular food and the different textures. So far it has been good. I made homemade macaroni and cheese the other night and ground it up. Then added some of their sweet potato chicken baby food to it and also peaches. They loved it. I had enough for 2 meals! Then today, I had a Gerber 3rd meal of spaghetti but didn't have high hopes about it. Now they like the texture and ate it just fine. I also added some applesauce and some banana too it and they liked it. It was 5 gm of protein which made me smile! Someday soon, maybe they'll like real spaghetti!

Pictures of their spaghetti laden faces...plus both of them need their hair cut. I am trying to gather the courage as both have curls and I hope that they'll come back.. :)

Picture Fest!

2011-04-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

So I realized that I hadn't taken pictures in forever. It's probably since the boys began being mobile and I've been chasing them everywhere as they explore and ahem.. destroy our living room.

Without further ado then....

Payden's a little distracted...

Both looking at the camera...that's a hard thing to accomplish.

Both coming forward to come off the chair!! Right at me!

Finally both smiling.... Whew!

What we've been up to....

2011-03-21T19:13:00.001-07:00

Well, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous! We've taken walks multiple times and enjoyed the wonderful sunshine. We explored a new park swung for a long time on the swings.

We also introduced the boys to french fries. Patrick LOVED the french fries as long as they were dipped in ketchup and ate so many that Christian finally bought him his own small fry! Payden is still deciding, maybe another time!

We even took a ride in the school bus while we did our grocery shopping at Hyvee.

And we rode in the big clumsy cart in Walmart since we forgot the stroller that day.

We had some very scary few days with Maddie being very sick. She had a viral infection that was producing lots of snot and lots of diarrhea. I know, gross, right! Christian took her to the vet that his mom works at and they looked at her and admitted her for 3 days for dehydration and severe diarrhea. After their loving care and much $$ later, we have our wonderful Maddie back. She's not totally 100% but a whole lot better than she was before it all started. We are so grateful for her in our lives!

The boys have been very busy learning new things:

Patrick pulled himself standing for the first time last Wednesday and by Saturday and Sunday he had perfected it. Now he's not content unless he's standing and pulling the lamp off the end table. Oh, and did I mention, he likes the stairs now. I am always surrounded by dog gates. Also, he clapped for the first time! It was the cutest thing. You help him clap as you sing, "If you're happy and you know it" and then he'll continue clapping. Another thing that loves is escaping out the door and down the sidewalk. He used to just sit in front of the door but not anymore. He was so determined to play in the dirt the other day that let him until he thought that it might taste good. He spit that right out; and then I took a picture. Probably not the last time he'll eat mud!

Payden is now walking with assistance! You can either hold his hands and he'll walk with you or put him behind his little car. It's not many steps because he'll just drop when he's tired but it is so cute! He also has become quite the little jabberbox. Sure wish I knew what he was talking about. Did I mention that he LOVES to read books. While Patrick is ALL over the place and getting into trouble, Payden will just go through our box of books, reading books to himself. Don't get me wrong, he plays too and also likes to get into trouble but he loves books!

RTT - Random Thoughts Thursday

2011-03-10T13:31:00.001-08:00

Here's some random happenings of today...

When I put Payden down for naps, and he isn't ready to sleep he'll start fussing. I go in there and he throws his blanket and pacifier out for me to pick up. Usually it's just his pacifier but now the blanket has been added. For which reason, I don't know. :)

Yesterday, I noticed Maddie wasn't feeling well. She spent a lot of time on the couch and just wanted to snuggle in my lap. I let her as much as possible. She also has started refusing to go up or down the stairs and instead stopping on a stair and curling up and sleeping. We thought maybe it was arthritis (she is 8 in people years which is like 50 for dogs) but then this morning I came out of the shower to find that I needed to wash our bedding. She had vomited and it had soaked through. Lovely! Hopefully this was the reason for her behavior yesterday and today. It could be too, our Maddie girl is getting older.

Today at lunch, I cooked a breaded chicken filet for the boys with high hopes that they would eat it. I even put a little pile of Ranch Dressing on their tray to promote dipping. Payden wouldn't even touch it and just threw the pieces on the floor. Patrick actually ate a couple pieces of chicken but liked the Ranch Dressing so much more! He would dip his whole hand in and then would suck each finger until it was gone. Totally priceless!!

Speaking of food - I need more ideas. I have tried seemingly every toddler-friendly meal and these boys go from 1. not touching it, or eating it once and never again. I figure that they're at least getting exposure. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears!

We spent some time out in the sun today. I had some pictures on my phone but none turned out. It figures since the sun was so bright and nothing looked good. The boys sure had fun crawling around. Patrick, especially starts moving his hands in every direction as soon as the door in open and LOVES to be outside. Today he just plucked blades of grass over and over again. I need to remember to get Christian to leave the stroller for me tomorrow as it is supposed to surge to 65 degrees! (Maybe if I write it here, I'll remember!)

Good News!

2011-03-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

Well after being out of work a total of 6 days, Christian has a job!!

Here's the story of how it all went down. On Friday, he had two very good interviews in Topeka. On at a spine place that was looking to expand and another at a Ortho Rehab place. He liked both places but the 2nd was by far his favorite. Friday night, the spine place calls and asks him to come in for a second interview.

Then Sunday night, we're at his parents, celebrating his sister and her husband's birthday and his phone rings. The 2nd place, his favorite, is calling and offered him the job at the same pay that he was making at the other job. Best news! Insurance will kick in on April 1st. That's great because the old one will be gone by March 31st. So many answers to prayers. We were so lucky to find one so quick!

While this has been stressful for us, we know that the Lord is truly watching over us. We think just the fact that he was able to be hired on so quickly to another job, is a testament of that very fact! It has also been SO GOOD to have him home spending the week with us!

Ch Ch Changes

2011-03-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

Monday morning was just a normal Monday morning. About 4:15, everything changed. The boys both started making noises so I started the hot water for their bottles. Then I heard the car horn and I was excited that Christian was home from work. I love Mondays, as he's always home early and can help me with dinner.

I open the door as he is carrying a big box of stuff. I say, " What did you do, get fired." He nods his head and I'm sure my face goes ashen white. I was totally joking! I guess I didn't look close enough at the box he was carrying, thinking it was food given by one of his co-workers that has been known to give us food from time to time. We spend the next 1/2 hour, giving the boys their bottles but also talking about what really happened.

He is completely shocked as he never knew things had gotten this bad. They also told him to pack up his desk that day so no more time there. Apparently his style of communication doesn't "fit" the company, whatever that means. He kept saying that he should be more disapointed then he is. Now let me explain. Ever since we moved here, we keep finding out things are not as they said they were before Christian accepted this job. As sad as he is to now be out of a job, but excited that he can start to look for something new. In the looking process this week, we have kept finding out more things about this past job. Apparently, his past job had quite the "revolving door" reputation and it works in our favor that everyone around here seems to know that and it doesn't reflect badly on the workers that have worked there in the past.

And he has started well! He had an interview yesterday in Overland Park, then two today in Topeka and another on Monday. Supposedly the two today were "fantastic" as he says and we'll find out soon if he is offered them. Topeka would be better than Overland Park as it's only 25 minutes away! Of course Lawrence would be a dream job because we live here but maybe something else will open up over time.

We have felt peace in this transition knowing the Lord truly does know the plan for our lives and we are trusting him to show us the way. From the beginning, Christian has felt very strongly for our move here and understands that the 9 month job that brought us here was only meant to be merely a step in this direction. May we patient as the rest of the Lord's plan is revealed.

2011-03-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, Christian and I took Patrick and Payden to McDonald's for lunch. As of this week, Christian has been spending the majority of his time at home. I'll have to do a blog post of why that is at a later time. Suffice to say, we've been enjoying having him home more!

We got to McDonald's and ordered our food. Because it wasn't actually time for lunch yet, the boys were content to sit in their high chairs and just watch us. We sat by the machine that dispenses soda and they spent their time watching people come and go. I loved how they were so enthralled with all the people. After we ate, we fed them their lunch.

After lunch, it was time for play! Here's some pictures that I caught on my phone. I wish they were better quality but they are pictures!

Payden - all laid back as he was eating in his highchair.

Patrick - loving the screen in the play area

Payden - standing up to the turtle

Patrick - looking at people - instead of mom taking the picture.

13 Months!

2011-02-28T12:46:00.001-08:00

Below are some milestones and happenings of Patrick and Payden around the 13 month mark.

Also, don't miss the milestone for me too!

Patrick

Recovering from his first ever ear infection. Let me tell you, not a fun one for parents. About 1 week of sleepless nights, we originally thought it was teeth but when a fever came on day 5 and stayed, we thought we'd better have it checked out. Saturday, he was diagnosed with an ear infection. The next night (Saturday) was by far the worst and his fever was 103.8 which was so high. I'm so glad I took him in the day before because I know for sure we'd be in the ER. Last night was our first night of true sleep in a week! Thank goodness for antibiotics!
becoming lightening fast crawling.
absolutely LOVES any kind of door to open and close. The front door outside is by far his favorite and you can't open and close it without him making a beeline for it and crying when it shuts.
becoming a very good eater and will eat just about everything (except medicine of course).
Shows that he will be the leader of him and his brother in that everything Patrick does, Payden has to now follow whether into the kitchen or bathroom.
Discovered last week that the lid of the toilet comes up and it's awfully fun to drop bath toys in the water. Thank goodness I cleaned the toilet the same day!
Getting very good standing for extended periods but has yet to "pull himself to stand."

Payden

Also a lightening fast crawler, I'm amazed how quick he can get to where he wants to go.
absolutely LOVES books and will just sit and look at books, one by one, out of his box of books.
Discovered the stairs yesterday. I was sitting on the couch and looked up to see where he went and he was sitting on the 2nd stair, quite proud of himself. I used to be able to run upstairs real quick to do something but now, he starts to follow me. He is still unsteady but we can tell he LOVES the challenge!
very quickly cruising along any surface. Just as Maddie thinks she is safe, tucked in a corner of the couch, Payden come walking down the couch to pounce. We're working on "being gentle" and "pet softly."
will take a step toward something in order to get to his activity table. I am working on bringing it out farther and farther so he'll have to take more steps. So far he's quick at side steps but not as well forward. I did get him to go 5 steps with his push toy.
Saturday night, I sat down with him to play with his ball. I hadn't played with him for awhile with his ball and thought he'd just roll the ball back. Nope, he picked it up and threw it overhand to me. I was surprsed! Christian was outside with Maddie and I told him to take my place and see what Payden could do. They played "catch" for some time and it was priceless to watch!
Unfortunately all this standing and coming down and standing again has presented quite the number of head bonks. Just as it seems the one is fading, another appears.

Me (Valerie)

Saturday, Feb 19th, was the last time that I pumped. For me, this is quite the milestone for me. I pumped for an entire year and a couple weeks so that my boys would have breast milk for a year. As much as I wanted to produce enough so that they would never know the taste of formula, it was not to be but I'm okay with it. I'm so happy to be done and not tied to it any longer. I'm glad that I was able to quit gradually because it has made a world of difference.

The Birthday Party! (12 months)

2011-02-17T08:54:00.000-08:00

Here is a recap of how our boys celebrated their 1 year old birthday. Plus some pictures!

The Decorations!
(side note: when we brought the boys down after their nap, their eyes went wide when they saw all the decorations and balloons. It was super cute!)

We planned their birthday party with family for the Sunday before their actual birthday (Monday). Due to another winter storm that was supposed to hit Sunday, we moved it to Saturday, January 23rd.

Christian's family arrived at 4:00 which was good as the boys were just up from naps and happy. Christian's mom had wrapped her gifts in little bags with tissue paper. She thought that this would be easier than wrapped gifts and it was! It was so neat to watch Patrick and Payden pick out the tissue from the bags and then reach inside to find their gifts. They got a couple of toys, some outfits and lots of books! About 5pm, we served Pulled Pork Sandwiches that were delicious and a variety of salads while the boys played with their toys. It was fun because Payden had just mastered crawling and we were trying to get him to crawl places to showcase his new talent. Hard to believe, but Patrick would start crawling, the very next day!

After I fed them around 5:30, it was time for cake! I made a Chocolate-Texas Sheet Cake that was so moist and good! Then I made white cupcakes for the boys to eat and mash. I wish I could say they loved their cupcakes and ate them and smashed them everywhere. They did not. Patrick wasn't even interested which we know now that he was suffering from the stomach flu that weekend and we didn't realize it. Payden, however, picked up the cupcake, mashed it between his fingers and promptly dropped it off his tray. It was still cute, though. We had fun and were glad that they had a day of fun to remember for their birthday.

Pictures! (All credit goes again to Lindsay, as it was too crazy for me).

Payden reaching in for a birthday surprise!

Patrick and Daddy finding new 12m pajamas! Camouflage!!

Payden loving his books!

Patrick cuddling with Grandma

Payden enjoying time with Aunt Lindsay and Brooke

You can hear it now! "We're supposed to do what!" They didn't know what to do with their cupcakes.

Payden grabbed his and smashed the frosting but WOULD not taste it. Then promptly threw it on the ground. Patrick wouldn't even touch it, as we found out later was because he was sick.

The Big Cake! (I ate WAY too much of this the next week after).

Playing Together

2011-02-10T13:03:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, I took Patrick and Payden upstairs around 2pm like I always do. I like to give them time to wind down (ie ..crawl around and tire themselves out) before their afternoon nap. Some days it works, other days.. it doesn't seem to.

It was the cutest thing to see them playing and interacting with one another. Payden had found a pacifier on the ground and was contently sucking. Patrick saw him and started crawling at him. There was a wrestle with some arms and legs and finally Patrick got it. Then Payden came after Patrick and Patrick got a MAJOR case of the giggles as Payden did everything in his power to get the pacifier back. Payden even grabbed Patrick's shirt and pulled him to the ground (Patrick just laughed harder) and finally got it. They would do this 2 more times together over a silly pacifier.

I just hope that Patrick's giggle remains. Typically when there is "stealing" involved; there is crying too. It was so cute to see them play together like that.

Last of all - I've taken some cute pictures on my phone lately.

Here are a couple of Patrick... Lately he has been into EVERYTHING.

I had opened the fridge, to prepare dinner and Patrick immediately crawled over to "help." I think this face says, "Not squash again, Mom."

Last Saturday, we put the boys coats on to go to the library. As I was packing a few things, we lost sight of Patrick. He had found that his suit goes very fast on tile and he had sneaked off into the kitchen.

And here are a couple of Payden - He likes to just sit and play with toys and dance to the music at the activity table. He loves to smile. I love how you just see those teeth.

This is a post-nap picture. He woke up early and was super happy. Notice his hair. We probably need to get it cut; it's over his ears. Also someone at church thought he was a girl (in blue snowsuit mind you).

Waxing Domestic -

2011-02-09T09:09:00.001-08:00

From the time I was a little girl, I have always wanted to be a mother and be at home with my children. I remember telling my mom that I didn't need to go to college to be a mom but my mom reminded me that I needed an education just in case I needed to support my family or even to help my children with their homework. I wanted to be the type of mom that made everything from scratch and doctored her family when they were sick. Well today I was that mom; the mom that I've always wanted to be. I need to remember to make better attempts to do this more often.

My morning was rare, actually. Both Patrick and Payden slept through the night. This morning about 3:30 though I woke up to Christian getting back in bed telling me he can't sleep and not feeling too well. I cuddle closer to him and hug him until he falls asleep. About 4:30, an hour later, I'm not sure if I've slept, but he is horribly hot. He wakes at 5:30 to take Maddie out and get ready for work. He has to open at work and has patients at 7 and 7:30. He tells me that he'll be home after as he has already called his boss to let her know.

So I give boys their bottles, pump and change them from pajamas into clothes. They start playing with their toys on the floor. I know it is a little early for breakfast for them so the thought crosses my mind that I should make something. I look through one of my many cookbooks and find a homemade chicken noodle soup. It looks super easy and boys are happily playing. In the end though, I finished the soup while they ate their breakfasts. Payden had started to get restless and Patrick was tearing apart the DVD shelf first and then the kitchen. It amazes me that while one boy is content to play with his toys and activity table; the other would rather crawl around kitchen playing with drawers, pans, dog's water bowl and the fridge. To his each his own, I guess.

Here's the yummy recipe.

1 3-1/2- to 4-pound chicken, cut up, or 2-1/2 pounds meaty chicken pieces
(I did 3 chicken breasts)
8 cups water
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium) - (2 TB dried minced onion)
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup chopped carrot (2 medium)
1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
1-1/2 cups dried egg noodles
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a 6- to 8-quart Dutch oven combine chicken, water, onion, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 1-1/2 hours or until chicken is very tender. (Because I did 3 chicken breasts without the bone, I let simmer for only 30 min until chicken was cooked)

2. Remove chicken from broth. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones. Discard bones and skin. Cut meat into bite-size pieces; set aside. Discard bay leaf.

3. Bring broth to boiling. Stir in carrot and celery. Simmer, covered, about 5 minutes. Stir in noodles. Simmer, covered, 5 minutes more or until noodles are tender but still firm. Stir in chicken and parsley; heat through.

4. Makes 8 servings (10-1/2 cups)

One Year Ago

2011-01-27T09:01:00.000-08:00

One year ago today, we were discharged from the hospital with these two:

As we drove toward home, we had one of those conversations that went something like this; "Are you ready for this." "Do you think we can handle this."

For good measure, here are a couple more:

6 week's old:

Well we've gone this far... Hard to believe they're crawling and and now just starting to get into everything.

Two Little Monkeys!

2011-01-26T13:21:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures that describe my day today:

I left the room for 5 minutes to get a new outfit for Patrick and he has pulled over 20 wipes out of the diaper wipes package! He was so proud of himself. I wasn't too happy but I was happy that he was feeling better than the last couple days before.

Yesterday Payden learned how to pull himself up on his feet and has been pulling up to every available surface. Today his favorite was the dog kennel.

Today also was his first time pulling up to his crib. We DEFINITELY need to lower the mattress down. Don't let that face deceive you, he has been happy today, just not happy that I wanted to take a picture of an accomplishment first before getting him up from a nap.

Very Belated Christmas Recap - Part II

2011-01-26T08:31:00.000-08:00

Now for Christmas!

On Christmas, the boys woke at 6:45 after only being up once in the night. We decided to put them in the empty room across from us and it worked out better when they were IN the room with us. Back to Christmas morning. We get the boys fed and dressed and start feeding them Breakfast. Then we realize that we needed more time as his siblings are coming at 7:30 to start unwrapping presents. We ended up starting at 8, but that's okay. Good way to learn patience, I guess!

I'm glad that Patrick and Payden got to unwrap gifts on Christmas Eve because they were very tired and fussy on Christmas Day. They seemed fine to play with their old and new toys while we unwrapped for them.

Here are a quite a few pictures from the day. Again, picture credit goes to my incredible, talented sister-in-law Lindsay. Don't mind the pajamas and the hair, I don't think I showered until almost 3 in the afternoon..

"Why or why are we doing this?"

Ooh, these bows are interesting, I wonder what they taste like"

"And now we're getting tired, Are we done with pictures yet?" - said by Patrick.

And some more!

Payden playing but also tired.

Grandma playing with a tired Patrick
Mom and Payden reading stories

Payden sitting with Daddy. One of my favorites!

When his siblings had gone home, later in the afternoon the boys were a little happier and explored all their new toys. As we were playing, we were shocked to see Patrick up and on all fours rocking. We cheered him on and knew it wouldn't be long!

We woke the next morning and went to church. His parents are now part of our old ward (when we lived in Kansas 4 years ago) and it was fun to see some old faces and talk to people. Early that afternoon, we made the drive home to start organizing gifts and getting ready for the workday the next day.

12 month post! (1 Year!)

2011-01-24T07:44:00.000-08:00

Here are this month's stats for our two boys.

Patrick:
Weight: 20lbs 15oz (weighed 2/17)-
Height: 30.5 in
Head: 19 in

Payden:
Weight: 18lbs on the dot (weighed 1/25)
Height: 29 in
Head: 19.25 in

Patrick

Started crawling the day before his birthday. It was at church and he saw the double doors and took off. From there, he has crawled everywhere and has been into everything. It seems like he'd rather be pulling books and DVD's off the shelves instead of playing with the toys I've laid out. His favorite is the refrigerator which he'll move his arms in joy and "book it" across the floor in anticipation of playing in. Thank goodness he hasn't learned to open it yet!
Last Wednesday, while Maddie was in her kennel for a time out, she got out and I couldn't figure it out. I put her back in and watched from a distance with surprise as Patrick unlocked the kennel door and let Maddie out. Maddie has found a new best friend!!
Another favorite of Patrick is drawers and loves to open and close them. He also likes to throw toys in, and them open the drawer and find the toy again. Thankfully, fingers have only been left in a few times; I think he's learning!
Says Da Da and knows what it means and can also wave Bye bye.
We love that he'll try a new food at least once.

Payden

Has been crawling for the past month but usually he falls down and army-crawls. Now (about a week or so before his Birthday) it is a full-fledged and very fast paced crawler. Watch out when he sees that TV Remote! He'll shoots across the floor after it!
Unlike Patrick, he is content playing with the toys that are set out. Many times, he's has a book in his lap, turning pages as he reads the book.
About a week ago, he pulled up to standing all by himself and now is no longer content to be on his knees. He has to be standing! He can walk along the couch pretty well too! It is so much fun to see these guys learning new things.
Loves banana and banana bread. I have been trying new things all the time trying to find something else that he'll eat just as well.
He is showing so much personality. It is the cutest thing when Christian comes home from work to watch Payden shoot across the floor to be picked up by his Daddy.
This week, he has taken to holding his bottle by himself and would rather feed himself than let you hold it.

Both Patrick and Payden love books and it is one of the easiest ways to calm them down. Christian and I have memorized a few books (from reading them so much) and it's nice to be able to quote a book and have them calm down. Singing also works pretty well that way in the same respect. They are starting to follow me when I go in the kitchen to prepare food but luckily they haven't figured out the stairs quite yet. I have a feeling we've only hit the tip of the iceberg so far when it comes to exploring!

Happy Birthday Patrick and Payden!!

2011-01-24T00:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Patrick and Payden! *

Dear my two boys,

This day is the one year anniversary of your birthday; the day you came into the world. We, your parents, have been waiting so long for this day to come. We had been married 6 1/2 years when you finally made your entrance.

We love you so much and now can't imagine our life without the TWO of you to share it with. Yes, now that your crawling and exploring everything, life has gotten especially tough for Mom all day. Carrying you both up and down stairs used to be easy but now it's an exercise in weight lifting and tuning your mother's biceps. As you've gotten older, it's allowed us to see your personalities more and more.

Payden, we love how you dance to any and all music. Once you stand up to any surface, you just start dancing and moving your body. We laugh so much at the joy it brings us. We love your abundance of hair and know that we probably should look into getting a hair cut before another person asks if you are a little girl. You love to smile and also crawl as fast as you possibly can to get your dad when he comes in the door from work. You are a lover of everything banana and as such, it is hard to get you to eat anything else!!

Patrick, since you started crawling the Sunday before your birthday. You've been into everything! Forget the toys, you love drawers of any kind to open and close them. Unfortunately, the most fun for you is to empty that drawer of its contents! You absolutely love dad's DVD shelf and love to take them off; much to dad's chagrin. On Saturday, you discovered goldfish crackers for the first time and love them. We love that you always try a new food once and love to eat! Your hair is finally started to grow in and it's a bit curly in the back. You are definitely one determined little boy and won't stop until you figure out something new!

We love you so much,

Mom

* - My 12 month (1 year) post will be posted later as we're waiting on a re-weigh for Patrick when we take them for shots this week.

Very Belated Christmas Recap - Part I

2011-01-23T13:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I wasn't going to blog about Christmas because for Christian and I, it was a very hectic time with overtired, off-schedule babies. We were stressed, trying to keep them happy and playing after short naps. A good friend though, suggested to write about the happy times and maybe I would remember it differently. This is my attempt to do so. Due to the craziness of it, I didn't take any pictures.

All the pictures are with credit to my awesome sister-in-law, Lindsay. I envy her skills with a camera.

Christmas Eve!
We celebrated Christmas with my husband's family who live about 45 minutes east of us. We arrive around noon to help prepare for the big feast. Christian's family always does Italian food for Christmas Eve dinner. His mom's grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Italy in the 20's. Dinner was a scrumptious affair although because the boys needed attention, I didn't get as much as I wanted. Yay for leftovers!

Here is a group shot of everyone on Christmas Eve Dinner.

From Left and going around: Lindsay (Christian's sister) and her husband Andy, Bill - Jimmy's Dad, Christian - holding Patrick, Me - holding Payden, Christian's Dad, Christian's Mom. Joanie - Andy's Mom, Carol - Jimmy's mom, Jimmy -Brooke's husband, Brooke - Christian's sister.

Before dinner, we helped the boys unwrap some gifts. They had quite the pile of gifts and we knew it would be more fun to drag it out a couple days. The boys had no interest in the wrapping paper but sure loved their gifts.

One of their favorites is this toy. It is so fun to watch their little minds work and they play with the colored beads.. I also remember it being one of my favorite toys in our doctor's office growing up. I think it was a lot bigger though.

And here are four more pictures from Christmas Eve..

One Year Ago Today

2011-01-23T00:00:00.000-08:00

One Year Ago Today -

I had almost given up hope of going into labor by myself before my scheduled C-Section. I was still so dumbfounded that I had lasted to 38 weeks with these kiddos inside of me. I was so sure I was going to go into labor sooner.
I was so excited to become a parent and so wanting to meet my little ones especially after suffering so much morning sickness and acid reflux/heartburn my entire pregnancy.
Christian and I went out for our last "couples only" dinner to Cheesecake Factory. It was so good. I didn't care if I had heartburn, I loved it so much. We met another couple with 8 month old twins and talked to them for a bit.
I had no idea what my life was going to be like with two almost mobile little children

When we went to bed at 11pm that night, I didn't know that at 2:30 my water would break and the boys would be born a short 2 hours later. How quickly our lives were going to change!

RTT

2011-01-20T12:24:00.001-08:00

RTT stands for Random Thoughts Thursday.

My sister-in-law Emma started this on her Blog and I think it is a great idea. You can see her blog here.

We got 8+ inches of new snow yesterday. It started snowing yesterday around noon and kept snowing until early this morning. Since being in Washington, it's hard to get used to this much snow again let alone driving around in it. And to think, two added precious lives are now at stake. I think I'll stay at home.

Ever tried to get a pug to go outside in the snow? Yeah, not going to happen! Pugs are notoriously wimpy and hate the cold. Nevertheless in the height of our storm yesterday, I was dragging Maddie around the in the snow, trying to get her to do her business. Not fun and also very cold!

Payden cracked me up this morning. They were playing in different parts of the living room. Payden watched as Patrick was playing with their cell phone toy. All of a sudden, Payden starts crawling across the room to get to Patrick, tackles Patrick and throws him to the ground. All, to get his cell phone toy. It's not his, just that he plays with this toy the most. Patrick just laid there crying and doesn't retaliate just yet. I gave the phone back to Patrick and distracted Payden with another toy.

Because they are starting to pull up to their knees and probably soon their feet, there has been a lot of bumps lately. Mostly bumps on their heads as they explore and go after toys. Patrick's new favorite is to open his drawer and empty it of all the contents.

The boys got a new activity table for Christmas. It has been the absolutely favorite toy lately. After Payden has his bottle, he will crawl over to it and start playing. It also is just the right height that they have to pull up to their knees in order to play. One time yesterday, I found Payden on his feet. He has done it a couple times but I've never seen how he does it.

You can see a couple pictures of them playing here...

Picture Taking Fun

2011-01-19T18:25:00.001-08:00

This morning, I wanted to get some pictures of the boys. I thought it had been awhile since I have taken some and also the boys were in their matching pajamas that their Auntie Brooke had given them.

No one was looking - concentrating too much on their toys..

One smiling at the camera

Both smiling..

My favorite one...

Grocery Shopping fun

2011-01-17T08:39:00.001-08:00

For the past few weeks, we have had a new way of going grocery shopping and we love it. Typically I take the Double Stroller with car seats and he'll take the carts and we switch off each time. Frankly, the boys have been getting so big and so heavy that it's just easier to pick them up out of their seats and carry them in.

When my friend, Katie, mentioned to me that her twins ride in a double-seat belt grocery cart at their grocery store in Florida, I decided to be on the lookout for one at our store. I found one the other day and we LOVED it. So much easier!!

Aren't they cute?

It is SO nice to finally grocery shop together! Most of the time we'd split up and then have trouble finding one another. Plus I would stack way too many things in the stroller and then have a hard time getting it all out.

I have to admit that I don't drive it as I cannot steer very well and usually run into things. I leave that up to Christian who apparently has a drivers license for this type of vehicle.

First Blood

2011-01-17T08:28:00.000-08:00

Such an original title huh?

Let me tell you the story.

I put the boys in their cribs for their morning naps. Payden sits up and then throws his pacifier out of the crib. He then pulls himself up to his knees in his crib and holds onto the railing. I'm only guessing that he started bouncing (which he LOVES to do) and hit his teeth and gums on the railing of the crib.

Here's what happened to the crib. There's also the side too.. I'm not sure if it happened here or on another day. Hopefully it's okay to eat wood.

I used a wet washcloth and got as much of the blood as I could out of his mouth. I know you're supposed to put pressure on it to try to stop the bleeding but he wouldn't let me. He was crying so hard because I'm sure it hurt plus he was SO tired. When it finally seemed to stop, I rocked him, sang to him and put him back in his crib for his nap.

I will have to take a closer look to see if his teeth were damaged in any way. I guess there's a first for everything. I think I am going to have Christian lower the cribs today so he can't just "knee" up anymore. Maybe that will motivate him to pull up with his feet and it will probably happen again.

High School Basketball Game

2011-01-15T08:17:00.000-08:00

We live right next door to a private high school. It is for grades 7-12 and costs an extremely high amount of money per year to send your children there.

Anyway, Christian is treating a high school senior there and he is a basketball player. After we fed the boys last night we walked over with the boys bundled up in hoodie sweatshirts and their snow suits. It was quite hard to walk on snow and ice and trying not to fall. I feel like I don't have good balance anyway but then to add a baby. Whoa!

When we got to the ticket table, Christian said, "I'm Blake's* Physical Therapist and they let our little family right in. The boys had a blast watching the games and playing on the gym floor. I was so surprised that they lasted so long. When we got there the girls game was still going on and we had to wait 40 min till the boys started. We got to watch the first quarter where Blake had a series of assists and 3 point shots! Blake is also a twin, so that made it fun too!

When the boys got upset, we decided to make a break for it and go home so we could put them to bed. Maybe we should have brought bottles there and watched more.. I'm sure Christian would have favored that.

Here is a picture from that game! Some of those kids would have literally towered over me. Okay so almost every player was taller than me, I admit it!

*Name has been changed

New Developments

2011-01-13T07:59:00.000-08:00

So this last week has been one of many firsts for Patrick and Payden. I wanted to make mention of it because it's been a lot of fun to watch them grow and catch onto things.

One of the cutest things that has been going on for awhile is Patrick knows his Da Da. I have a book with a picture of Daddy and Mommy and we point to Daddy and ask him Who's this? He will look right at you and say, "da da." Sometimes he will just whisper it. So cute!

Tuesday:

Patrick learned how to hit the musical ladybug on the exersaucer to make it play music. He hit it over and over again. I think this finally clicked from playing at their Christmas Leap Frog Play Table where he has to hit something to make it play music.
Payden crawled 4-5 knees at a time in the kitchen. It was amazing. I'm not sure but maybe it's easier on tile for him. Then again, maybe he is dragging his knees.
Patrick pulled himself up to his knees to the couch and also another time trying to get something. This has been something I have been working with him a lot with. I was excited it finally paid off!! :)
Patrick also has been rocking and rocking and rocking on his hands and knees. This has been happening for a few weeks. He is still moving backwards and getting stuck places but he's learning!

Wednesday:

Patrick was rocking on his hands and knees and then went to sitting up by himself. I was so surprised. I put him on his stomach and watched him do it again. He has yet to do it in his crib yet. I don't know if I am ready for that yet!
Payden crawled to Christian and I so well. He went 4-5 knees and is so close!
Patrick and Payden are both now waving bye bye with their right hand. It is so precious! Patrick's is a little more coordinated when Payden is a little more floppy but they understand!

I am going to be working with them a lot! I so want them crawling by their 1st birthday in only 11 more days! So crazy!

* New development on Thursday - BOTH boys were sitting up in their cribs when I got them up from naps!

Adventures in Eating Out With Twins!

2011-01-10T08:30:00.001-08:00

For Christmas we received a few Gift Cards for some restaurants around our town. We really enjoy going out to new places and of course we have our favorites. Since we had the boys, this was something that we just had to cut out from our budget. We just didn't have the money for it. Since then, Christian has lost over 30 lbs by just eating at home; not to mention healthier too.

Here are some of our experiences from the 2 places that we went to over the last couple weeks.

On the Border:

Boys did super super well. We had many comments about the boys how cute they looked and people asking if they were really twins. I can't count how many times we get asked that question!
I ordered a yummy Burrito and it was made wrong. Tons of Onions! The Waiter apologized and then didn't end up charging us for it all. Then he also threw in extra chips and salsa. I guess he didn't want any complaint from us.
We did feel bad as there were things all over the floor. I need to research what the proper etiquette is for taking kids out to eat.
As the couple next to us were leaving they said, "Those were the best behaved kids at a restaurant, we've ever seen. I wondered if they were just saying that because I didn't think they were ALL that good. Maybe they were trying to give us a boost!
Patrick decided he wanted salsa and made a grab for it and almost had it ALL over the front of him.
High chairs were a little open for our boys who kept slouching and it made it harder to feed them... Next time I wonder if it would be better to bring their boosters.

Apple-bee's

A whole bunch of, "how cute, are those twins." and another comment, "they look just like dolls."
Love the high chairs and it kept them right at the table and they really loved it. They actually seemed to eat better or maybe they were just hungrier, I don't know.
As we left, an older gentleman told us, "I really enjoyed watching you and your little children, they were so cute." That really made us feel good!

Plus the food was yummy too.. Although taking kids out to eat doesn't give you much time to really "enjoy" the food but you enjoy it all the same because it's not the same foods we cook all the time either. Plus it gets me OUT of the house! Yay for that!

2010 in Pictures

2011-01-03T07:24:00.000-08:00

The year 2010 was a pretty amazing, incredible year. We learned so much and were blessed doubly in so many ways.

Warning: picture heavy post is ahead.

Our little family first began like this:

Then in February of 2005, we added our beloved pug, Maddie.

And last year, 2010, we became parents of our beautiful, twin boys, Patrick and Payden.

Day by day, and month by month they grew and grew.

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

December 2010

Now an updated family picture:

2010 Christmas Card and Letter

2010-12-30T12:17:00.000-08:00

Here is our 2010 Christmas Card and letter that we sent out. I apologize to those that didn't get one. As funds were short this Christmas, we mostly only sent them to family. I really wanted to send them to friends too but this will have to do.

The Card is a beautiful product of Shutterfly.

This year, 2010, has been a wonderful year for our family. On January 24^th, we welcomed twin boys, Patrick and Payden to our home in Covington, Washington. Since their birth we have realized how grateful we were for a good night’s rest but rose to the task of raising our two sons

In April, Christian was offered a job with Therapy Works in Lawrence, Kansas. Through time and prayer, we knew that this is where the Lord wanted us to be. We were excited about the offer of a good salary, a substantially lower cost of living and also the close proximity to Christian’s family in Lenexa. On the other hand, we were very sad about the friends that we would miss in Washington and the close distance it was to Valerie’s immediate family. In the first week of May, we made the journey to Lawrence to begin our new life together.

Patrick and Payden are now almost 11 months old and each day are learning new things. They love their pug sister, Maddie, and love to pull her tail while she licks them in order for them to release it. Patrick is full of so much energy and is always talking up a storm. If it isn’t screams and grunts, it’s Mamama and Dadada. He absolutely loves his Johnny Jump up and will just jump and jump and jump; of course screaming all the while. Payden has just learned to sit himself up unassisted from his stomach and has a silly grin on his face each time he does it. He is so close to crawling; it is only a matter of time until he is crawling all over the room. We know once he does, life will be forever changed. J He has also started saying what sounds very much like Hi and always does when Christian gets home from work.

As for our life now, it just keeps getting better and better as parents of these two little boys. We will be forever grateful for them and what a memorable year they have given us!

We love you!

Merry Christmas!

Christian, Valerie, Patrick, Payden, and Maddie Benedict

Do you love Shutterfly?

2010-12-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

This year, Shutterfly is offering 50 free holiday cards to bloggers, and I can't wait to upload a few of our pictures and see which card looks best with one or two of them.

Christian's sister, Lindsay takes wonderful photos and has offered to come to our home on Saturday to take some pictures of us and the boys. Christian's mom even bought the boys some Christmas overalls that will be so cute! The plan is to use those to make some Christmas cards to send out to family and friends. I am so excited for this and since we don't have the money, 50 free cards sounds absolutely wonderful to me!

Here are a couple of my favorite cards from the Shutterfly site.

Click the photo and it will take you to that card on the website...

To find out more about Shutterfly's free 50 cards to bloggers. Click here.

A Belated List of Thanks

2010-11-17T08:07:00.000-08:00

Life just moves on and on. Soon these boys will be 10 months old. Where or where has the time gone. Last year around this time, I was so very pregnant and so ready to finally meet my boys. While we are so grateful for these little lives that bring smiles to our faces, we never knew it would be so much work!

Let's not forget the many wonderful blessings that come from them as well.

21. Snuggles with boys before bedtimes.

22. Splashing and laughing at bath-time. I'm so happy it's a fun experience now. We definitely need more bath toys!! Any good suggestions?

23. Free KU tickets to the Opening game of the season and witnessing the BIGGEST smile on my husband's face. He was so happy introducing his boys to the KU Jayhawks!

24. Colder nights with more time for snuggles and also Maddie burrowing under the covers to get warm.

25. The new "games" the boys come up with. Yesterday it was, "lets pull Maddie's tail while she runs in circles and try not to fall over." They were laughing so hard.

26. Kind and thoughtful patients the Christian helps. Yesterday, he got some smoked rib tips and a whole smoked chicken that they had extra of and wanted to reward Christian for his hard work!

27. A very mobile Payden as he moves all over the floor. Patrick just watches; I'm hoping he'll get envious and start moving too.

28. A very spiritual Enrichment last week with a rousing game of volleyball afterward. Our wards have started playing volleyball and since it starts AFTER the boys are asleep, I go and thoroughly enjoy myself!

29. Beautiful leaves that are still changing. We have 2 trees around the town-homes that have red and yellow leaves. I love the sound of the CRUNCH!

30. Grocery store smiles - I put Payden in the Grocery Cart for the first time. He had the time of his life! We were talking and talking the whole time.

Bathtime!

2010-11-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from a recent Bathtime. They are loving it so much now that they can sit in the tub and splash to their hearts content.

Note to self: A Poncho would be helpful!

Rock Chawk, Jayhawk!

2010-11-13T07:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Christian received 4 free tickets to KU basketball's opening game of the season. Why 4 tickets you ask? At the magnificent Allen Field House, they require tickets for everyone INCLUDING infants. Just last night we saw 4 tickets were advertised at $100.00. One of Christian's patients was appreciated of the wonderful work of therapy that he had did and wanted to reward him.

He couldn't have chosen a better way. We set out for the biggest adventure of our lives!

Here are the KU outfits of choice - Christian's sister bought the little jersey's. They are 12 month and fit them just fine!

I have to say the boys had a lot of fun! When we got there, their eyes were HUGE, taking it all in: the noise, the band and the bright lights. They were like that until 5 minutes into the first period and Payden fell asleep and then Patrick 10 minutes later. They each had a 20 minute nap and then woke up hungry for their bottles. Once the bottles were drunk (ie ..inhaled) they were much happier. Payden was fine until halftime when I went to get refreshments. When I came back he realized how much more fun it was to be away from all the noise. Patrick, on the other hand, relished EVERY bit of it. He is so much more of a social bug.

For the next 45 minutes or so, I was wondering Allen Field House with Payden. We saw the NCAA Trophy up close and even got to touch a few basketballs. Then there was time to explore the gift shop. I was amazed how many parents were buying whatever their kids wanted. It must be nice. About 8:30 or so, I got a text from Chrisitan saying Patrick was getting antsy. I met him up there and we walked down and began our trip to the car and then home.

Making it to the car was quite the site because of the rain. We had zipped our coats over the babies who were in Baby Bjorns so they wouldn't get wet. Then after 10 min in the car they were SOUND ASLEEP. We made a quick stop at Hyvee in order to get some of the sales and then went home to put the tired little guys to sleep.

Here are some pictures... I wish we would have had better ones of the 4 of us but oh well.

Trunk or Treat

2010-11-02T07:16:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday night, our ward had their trunk or treat. This was to be our first trunk or treat and we weren't exactly sure how it would work. I was a little nervous, not knowing how the boys would do. They ate at 2:30 and played for awhile. At about 4:30 we decided since it was still over 70 outside, we'd take them to the park and swing on the swings. Apparently this helped convince them that they didn't need that 3rd nap; or so I thought.

We fed them about 5 and then got in the car to go. Earlier in the afternoon, I had made 2 batches of Rice Krispie treats to hand out while we were there. Christian and I had been craving candy so badly, it seemed so wrong to buy a ton only to give it out to other people. :) I literally jumped at the idea (suggested by Christian's mom) to make Rice Krispies. I think I spent $3. In the end, I had about 50 so I thought I would have enough. I was so wrong.

When we arrived, we found out that this was tri-ward function for all 3 wards that attend our building. Sadly I knew that I didn't have enough treats. There was about 30 minutes of waiting (until everyone got there, cars ready and costumes situated just right). In that 30 minutes, Payden fell asleep in his costume in my arms. We decided that I would stay behind with him in my arms and hand out candy from the back of the car. Christian took Patrick and walked with another family to trick or treat. I think he was more excited than Patrick to get candy!

Christian finally returned to the car with Patrick snoozing in his arms and told me to take Payden who was now awake around trick or treating. I couldn't believe it, it was too good to be true!! I guess... double the children, double the trick or treating power and double the candy. We had a great loot and we've been eating it like crazy. I guess it tells you how long it's been since we splurged on candy!

Here are some pictures from the wonderful night.

Our little bugs - Payden a Bumblebee and Patrick a Spider. We got some huge bags of clothes from a past ward member and there was a bumblebee costume in it. Then Christian's mom bought the spider one for Patrick. The temperature was just perfect. They needed a jacket and the costumes worked out perfectly!

Patrick and Payden are 9 months!

2010-10-26T12:33:00.001-07:00

I know I say this every month but time just flies around here. Maybe that's why I have a hard time getting any cleaning done around the house! :)

Here are this month's stats for our two boys.

Patrick:
Weight: 19 lbs 6 oz (up from 18lbs 3 oz a month ago) - 33rd percentile
Height: 28.75 in
Head: 18.75 in

Payden:
Weight: 16 lbs 14oz (up from 15 lbs 13 oz a month ago) 4th percentile! - up from 2nd!
Height: 28.75 in
Head: 19 in

Patrick: He has recently started showing us that he has a very stubborn side whether it's taking a nap, learning to crawl or play on his tummy. When he wants something, he'll let you know.

Constantly taking toys away from Payden. I caught a few tug-of-wars this past week and usually Patrick wins. Payden has started fighting back and has won a handful of times.
has 2 bottom teeth. I keep thinking that he's getting the ones on top but no.
I love his new smile - with his two teeth
And with those two teeth, he is expertly biting off little bits of graham crackers and saltine crackers. Just beware of your fingers because boy does he love to chomp!
He loves to jump! One of his favorite toys is the exersaucer and the johnny jump up. He screams and laughs and jumps all at the same time.
When he's grumpy, it's "mum mum mum" and when he's happy... "da da da da" Hopefully this isn't a pattern of things to come!

Payden:

He is now (as of the first week of October) a very accomplished sitter.

He has been rolling in his crib but just last week we was able to roll over on the floor and now has been doing it all the time. It just took that one time and now he's all over! He loves to do it in order to get the toys on the floor. Diaper changes are quite the workout for him and mommy has you try to somehow get the diaper on a continually wiggling child. I'm sure it will only get harder as they get older.
Last Sunday he blew his first little raspberries with his tongue, it is the cutest thing. Usually if I blow one at him, he'll stick his tongue out too and mimic me. The therapist that comes every week said that blowing raspberries is a precursor to talking. That made me happy!
One little tooth on the bottom which makes breastfeeding almost impossible because he loves to chomp. The only time I can do it is when he is extremely hungry or tired.

More Pictures!

Monday Thanks

2010-10-25T05:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a tough night and hard morning.

My list of thanks will come from the past week in no particular order.

11. Cancellation of Ward Choir yesterday and extra time to spend with family. Usually Christian takes the boys home and feeds them and plays with them. It's nice to have a break but it's always nice to have a change in plans.

12 Primary Program yesterday. I loved it and know it will only be a matter of time until our boys are up there too.

13. Payden blowing raspberries with his tongue for the first time yesterday.

14. A wonderful dinner of Chicken and potatoes. We cooked it a different way and it turned out wonderful. I'm always nervous cooking something I've never done before.

15. Laughing as the boys have figured how to jump in the Johnny jump up and have a total blast!

16. Watching Payden roll from his back to stomach and then back again on the bed. Then today, he finally has rolled over front to back to stomach on the floor and is so proud of himself! To watch it was truly something.

17. Waking up to the babbling of baby talk at 6am. (yet confused on how to get them to sleep a little longer).

18. The thrill of going to the pumpkin patch for the first time with the boys.

19. Introducing them to their first cow (2 month old calf) and having it moo right in their face. It was priceless.

20. Enjoying free time in the evening as the boys are usually in bed between 8 and 8:30.

First Pumpkin Patch!

2010-10-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

Did I ever tell you how much I love my Fridays!

#1. it's Friday and I get to spend the next 2 whole days (the weekend) with my husband who I miss so much during the week

#2 My mother in law comes on Friday to help out. Our goal is usually to get out of the house which I love. Also, our church gets together on Fridays with other young mothers. We have a singing group where we sing actions songs and get to visit.

Today they were headed to the pumpkin patch. We never saw them but oh well.. we got there a little late.

We left the house about 10:45 and stopped first to see Christian and his coworkers. They hadn't seen the boys for awhile. Then we left for the patch. Still negotiating and getting to the patch took awhile. Plus I was driving and it had been forever since I drove...

Some highlights...

getting out of the house and loving every minute of it!!
A newborn calf (2 months) mooed right in our faces. We have 3 books that shows how a cow says moo and now they get to see it up close and personal. I loved showing it to them
buying Fresh Peach salsa as a present for Christian
Seeing a pig that was huge at only 7 months. It did some perfect snorting for us too!
Taking pictures on the pumpkin and then taking pictures with the boys.
riding the hail ride out to the pumpkin patch and seeing all the different varieties of pumpkins.

And now pictures!

Patrick and Payden - at play

2010-10-19T09:39:00.001-07:00

Lately I have been having trouble keeping Payden and Patrick both entertained at the same time. I had Payden in the exersaucer which is getting to be one of his favorites but Patrick was getting bored of toys on the floor. I brought them upstairs and put Patrick in the Johnny jump up. I wasn't prepared for the amount of fun that they would have. (I also brought up the exersaucer so they could play together.). While Patrick was having tons of fun, I found the camera for a video. Sorry for the poor quality and lack of skill on my part...

Enjoy!

Countings Blessings

2010-10-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

One of my blogging friends, Melissa from Bumblebee Grace started doing something on her blog awhile ago. Every Monday she gives thanks to the things that she receives.

I thought it was an incredible idea and a way/outlet for me to show thanks to my Heavenly Father for all he has given me. I know that as I do this, I will become more and more aware of the little moments that happen each day.

Without delay...

1.. Beautiful fall colors

2. Baby boys that are getting used to sleeping thru the night. Only 1 relapse due to teething in 1 week.

3. Getting more quality sleep =Better milk supply. The past week, the boys have got 2 full feedings of breastmilk when they usually only get one full bottle and then 1/2 and 1/2 through the rest of the day.

4. Cuddles and songs with Mom before nap time

5. Cooler temperatures - high of 74 and cool night.

6. Boys in bed by 8pm - wondered what to do with myself until bedtime.

7. Christian taking the boys home from church for a good nap and letting me have a rare uninterrupted day of Relief Society.

8. Yummy fried rice for dinner - thanks to our neighbor who supplied the soy sauce since we realized late into the game that we didn't have any.

9. Leftover fried Rice for lunch

10. Lots of plums, apples and apricots to puree for my little boys.

Cuddle-bugs

2010-10-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

In the last week, Patrick and Payden have all of a sudden turned into cuddle-bugs. It makes me wonder if they have always been this way and I haven't taken advantage of it before...

Typically, I would bring them up to our bedroom where we would lay and read books and then sing a couple songs. This last week, I have started something new which I think I will do as long as I can hold both at once! We come up to the room where I sit in the rocking chair with them and sing to them before their nap. It is the cutest thing! They both lay tummy down on each side of my chest. Sometimes they'll even hold hands while they lay there.

Here are their nap-time and bedtime songs... I usually pick one or two from list. They are all primary songs that I have memorized. It helps that there are multiple verses to each one. :)

My Heavenly Father Loves me
I am a child of God
Love is Spoken Here
Give said the Little Stream

Then, I lay them down in their cribs. Also last week, they have started liking their blankets more and more. Both of them will hug their blankets to their sides or chest as they sleep. It's the cutest thing! Payden has recently gotten to be a super expert at rolling over to his tummy in his crib. It's his preferred way to sleep now which is funny because he never rolls over when he's playing during the day. I figure one of these days he will.

First Graham Cracker!

2010-10-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

I have always loved graham crackers. Maybe because I was snacking on them today, made me think I needed to do a post about this.

This afternoon... I was getting dinner ready and also trying to make cookies but had the 2 little men under foot. Payden was happily playing in the exersaucer and Patrick wanted to be in the kitchen with me. They have been very whiny today, due to some new teeth I found yesterday that are just barely making their entrance. I gave Patrick a graham cracker and he absolultely LOVED it. It was completely gone and his hand went right to the package where I got the first one from. After some time, Payden realized that he was missing out on the fun and wanted some. I gave him one and he was content to just look at it and play with it. About 5 minutes later he decided to nibble on it and finish it off.

Here are some pictures to remember the event: I'm still trying to get pictures of the first teeth.

A Day at the Park

2010-10-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

After all the stresses of sleep training last night and today, this was a great escape for our little guys.

We and the little men went to a park pretty close to our house. We had SO much fun. Evidently they aren't too little for the swings there. I thought they might be. Next time I need to remember to bring a blanket so we can just sit and play.

8 months old

2010-10-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the boys are 8 months old. Isn't it crazy how fast time flies. I find myself wishing for the older days when I wasn't so worried about them. It seems like I'm always worried if I am doing enough with them to promote them crawling, enough time on their tummies and helping Payden to gain more weight.

Here's a little bit about each of my two boys.

Let's do Payden first this time!

Payden:

We weighed him on 9/22 and he was a whopping 15 lbs 13 oz. That's 18 oz in one month!

almost sitting by himself. Every so often he'll arch his back or fall over sideways. He does love playing while sitting up though
absolutely loves Maddie. If Maddie is anywhere near him while he eats, he won't eat because he just wants to grab her fur or her collar.
pivots now on his tummy. It's usually when he is playing with a toy and he drops it and can't reach it. He will turn and maneuver himself around to finally get the toy.
almost flipping over from his back to his stomach. I've been working with him all week because he has been waking up in the night on his back and wants back to his stomach. After a few days of this, I have found him in the morning asleep on his back. We've realized he needs proper motivation to flip over to his tummy. Usually that motivation is Maddie!
He is finally waking up as a happy boy. Usually one nap a day he wakes grouchy but the other times he is woken up by Patrick's talking and then he just rolls over to his back and lays and plays with his binky and takes both of his socks off. When I go into get him he is usually sucking on his feet, his socks or playing with his pacifier.
We've started feeding them in our room at 6 am because they'll go back to sleep. He will drink his entire 6 oz bottle and then still want more. Usually I'll breastfeed him until he is full. It's the cutest thing because he usually grabs my shirt or my nose and I know what he wants.
absolutely LOVES LOVES LOVES his Mum Mum rice crackers. He can down one of those things is no time but boy are they messy.
On Saturday night, Christian's parents took us out to eat before the men went to the Priesthood session of conference. I brought some Gerber puffs with me to see if they would entertain them. Thus far, I haven't been able to get Payden to eat anything solid like this. He absolutely loved them!! I would hold one in front of him and he would open his mouth so I could put it in. He is also reaching for them and picking them up off his high chair.

Patrick

We weighed him on 9/22 along with Payden and he is 18 lbs 3 oz.

has his very FIRST tooth! It's made him quite the little grouch (and the King of drool) at times but it is finally in. Now the current question is: Is there another one?
sitting up now unassisted. There are still a few times when he gets excited and over he goes to his back.
getting closer to mastering the pincher grasp. He can grab things off his high chair tray but doesn't yet know how to open his hand to put it in his mouth. He has done it twice now and acts pretty proud with himself.
eating rice krispies with ease and also diced peaches.
loves to be in the exersaucer and to jump up and down. He also loves the Johnny Jump up. Oh I wish we could move it downstairs; there just isn't a place to put it. It would make our lives so much easier in the evenings!!
Also loves Maddie. He will giggle and giggle as Maddie plays with her toys; usually when I'm playing with them on a blanket. When it's getting close to nap time and he's a bit cranky, the best thing to do is to start playing with Maddie and he'll cheer right up!

More Pictures!

My Handsome Boys

2010-09-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

When the boys were born in January, my older sister sent me two outfits that she made. (complete with shoes!) They were 6 months and I thought it would be forever until they were wrong. Little did I know how fast time would fly and I would be seeing my two boys in these clothes.

After dressing them for church, I almost cried. My two little boys looked so grown up! I couldn't believe it all fit right down to the shoes! We received many complements on them and I was only too happy to tell people that my sister made them for us.

Without further adieu...

Belated 7 month Post!!

2010-09-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

Now it's time for the belated 7 month post... I can't let a month go by without one...

Here's what both of the boys are up to.

Much more vocal and they seem to be always talking. There is a lot of Ahh and then looking at us as if to say, "Your Turn."
Still having bottles about 6x a day. Whenever it is 5 they don't seem to do very well.
Giggle and smile when they see Maddie coming to if she licks them.
Now big enough to sit in the stroller without car seats!

Patrick

If it's too quiet he'll talk and talk and wait for someone to talk back. Christian likes to call him an attention grabber because he always has to be in the center of it.
On the way to the doctor I asked if they were doing okay. Of course I got a response from Patrick; one of his little Ahh and I knew he was okay.
Saw a sliver of white on his gum line only to have it disappear.

Payden

Weighed him last week and he was 14 lbs 10 oz with the dietitian. That's one pound in less than a month!
I've started giving him pure breast milk to help with his constipation and it seems to be helping. Or else he's realized how to do it on his own better.
Becoming more irritable at night; we're chalking it up to teething. More on that later.
More tolerant on his tummy.
Therapist at Tiny-K say that he is improving and is getting better. He is starting to roll to a side to pick something he wants.
Hates when his brother takes things away from him. And it's only the beginning.

Last - here are some pictures from the last month. .

Payden posing for the camera..

Patrick bathing in the sink. We know he's a little big but it's easier than the tub.

Payden - master of the sippy cup. Yesterday he got water out of it.

Patrick - favorite toys are kitchen utensils..

Patrick - Yummy feet!!

Walking, Walking, and more Walking

2010-08-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

Sometime in the last month, Christian and I have done a lot more walking at night. I think it has something to do with the fact that the boys have stopped taking their last nap before bed time. They are taking 4 naps a day so I'm still pretty happy about that. Because they stopped taking that last nap they really get cranky and we found that the stroller is wonderful. If they are really tired and NEED a nap than the stroller is there and they can sleep for a few minutes or so.

So we loaded them up in the stroller (w/o the car seats). As we were about 1/2 way, Maddie (thrilled to be out on a sniff, poop, and pee adventure such as this) stops and looks up at us. Then she is laying down and playing in the grass but not budging one inch. Now it's very clear, either we carry her or see if she'll ride in the bottom of the stroller. We decided to put her in the bottom of the stroller and she absolutely loves it! Typically she just sits there and pants and by the time we walk in the door, she's sound asleep and snoring. Ah the long hard life of a pug!!

I love that the walking gives Christian and I time to unwind from both of our days. Him at work and me with the babies all day. Plus it's exercise... have I mentioned that due to the walking and not going out to eat so much Christian has lost 20 lbs? He's pumped and I am too! I love it when he feels good about himself.

Patrick zonked after one of our walks.

Christian and Payden having a bit of cuddle-time after one of our walks

Maddie - below the stroller as she was too tired to continue.

Family picture - getting home from a walk

Another piece of good news, as we walk more Maddie starting to walk further and further. We'll get this lazy pug in shape yet!!

Solid Food (Part II)

2010-08-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

Boys are still loving their food every day. It's fun to choose something to introduce to them and see how they like it. I still worry if they are getting enough but then again they aren't screaming so that must mean something good. So far when I'm feeding them by myself (breakfast and lunch) I feed them from the same bowl; one spoon to one baby and then to the other baby. If Christian is home then we each will feed one.

We need to be better about putting them in their high chairs though. Usually they sit in their high chairs while we eat dinner and we give them a Baby mum mum. They love those! It's just so much easier to use the bouncy seat and we can sit on the floor after a long day.

Here's the list of the foods that the boys have tried.

Fruits
*Peaches
Pears
*Plums
*Apricots
*Nectarines
*Apples
Bananas
Vegetables
*sweet potatoes
squash
green beans
peas

*These are the fruits/vegetables that I have made on my own. Typically the process is the same: boil fruit for 10 minutes, peel, chop and puree in blender. Some are easier than others. Christian got some white nectarines from a friend at work and we tried those this morning. They were the worst to take the pit out of but they sure tasted good.

Last Thursday we bought some sippy cups and they love them. So far I've only put water in them because I don't know how much they will get out of it. So far they are pros about bringing it to their mouths. Below is a picture of Payden with his, I couldn't ever get Patrick because when I bring out the camera, he wants to play with the camera instead.

Back up and Running!

2010-08-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

After a couple weeks without our beloved computer, we have it back!!

During quite a horrendous thunderstorm the power went out for only a couple seconds. It was kind of funny because Christian and I were playing with the babies and all of a sudden it is pitch dark. Then the lights came back. During the blackout, the computer experienced a surge and would never come back on. Thanks to the computer guys at UNI Computer here in Lawrence, we have it back. Apparently (just like my brother said) it was the power supply. Plus they gave us tons of new memory and the computer works SO MUCH FASTER... I LOVE IT!!!

I have a bunch of blog posts ready to come today and the next couple of days...

- Solid Foods Part 2 (how to also)
- 7 month old post
- Tiny K and Payden
- Constipation drama with Payden
- Family Nightly walks
- Woes of Twins Teething

6 Months & the Traumatic Dr. Visit

2010-07-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

Patrick and Payden had their 6 month check up yesterday. I can't believe they are already 1/2 a year old.

Here are the stats from their appointment yesterday:

Patrick
weight-- 16 lbs 10 oz (33 percentile)
Height--26 inches
Head Circ-- 17.75 in (84th percentile)

Payden
weight--13 lbs 10 oz (2nd percentile)
Height --25.75 inches
Head Circ-- 17.75 in (84th percentile

Patrick

Loves to roll on his back until he's on his side. He can move around the room pretty well. One moment he's on the blanket and the next, he's not on it anymore. Most of the time when he is rolling it is to make a grab for Maddie
Absolutely adores Maddie and will extend his hand out for her to lick, will start giggling when she licks his face and when she is chasing after toys. She also like to grab her dulap and scruffy and her ears.
loves peaches and could each them all day long. Loves to pull his feet to his mouth and suck on them even when his mouth is full of peaches.
found my hair in the last week and loves to grip it when he's drinking his bottle
loves to stand in the exersauser and move around and around in the seat.
likes to happy-scream first thing in the morning to let us know he is awake. Usually it will wake up Payden who isn't too happy his brother woke him up.

Payden

Still kicking those feet (pistons) all the time.
also loves Maddie and breaks into a huge smile when she licks his face
Has the cutest giggle especially when tickled on the tummy and under the chin.
promptly rolls over once placed on his tummy
showing toy preference and his eyes light up and he smiles when he is given a toy he really likes.
we think he is getting a tooth - the doctor said that his gums looks a little swollen.
Starting to jabber more and more - it's so cute!
LOVES cereal, although it wreaks havoc on his constipation.
has so much more hair - we love to style it into a Mohawk.

Doctor's Appt -

I was excited about their doctor's appointment. I had questions I wanted to ask and wanted to see what they each weighed. The excitement diminished however when I realized that I would be flying solo with 2 babies as they each got their shots. Christian came with me for the appointment and helped get them undressed and weighed. Once we got back in the room he had to run across the street and go to work. It was at this point I realized that I was all alone and wondered how I was going to accomplish the task.

The doctor's visit went well; although because they were tired and fussy I didn't get a chance to ask/visit her as many things as I wanted to. Both boys are checking out well. She is a little worried with Payden as he is not showing any willingness to sit up or stand on his feet. She wants him evaluated with a program here called Tiny-k and they'll help him with his development. I called them yesterday and they actually come into the home and see you play with them and then suggest ways to help him more. I'm pretty nervous about it and know that I don't have time for a lot of things and being a new mom I'm not totally sure the exercises I need to be doing with them.

In the end, both babies were screaming due to the shots and tiredness. As I was paying the co-pay at the end of the appointment, my doctor was rocking 1 car seat and the nurse was rocking the other car seat. I guess that's when you know you picked a good doctor. She actually heard them both crying and came in the exam room and helped to calm them down. Those nurses were probably thinking to themselves about me, "that poor woman has her hands full." By the time I got home, both were asleep and stayed asleep in their car seats for 45 minutes. I wasn't about to wake them after all their crying.

The best news: NO more shots until 1 year old - 6 more months!!

More Pictures:

Belated Florida Recap

2010-07-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

At the end of June, Christian's sister chose to get married on Anna Maria Island in Florida (about an hour south of Tampa. On Tuesday, June 30th,when Christian got off work, we drove to Kansas City so we could stay at his parents in preparation for our flight to Florida the next morning. We decided ahead of time to book the same flight so they would be there to help us when we needed it. In preparation for the trip, I had given the boys full bottles of formula for a couple of mornings in order to collect enough breast milk for the flight. I think this was the best thing I did because it was virtuously painless to get the breast milk through security and even easier to fill bottles for each feeding. I can't imagine having to carry enough water and powder formula and then mixing it while in flight.

Wednesday morning was absolutely crazy. We woke up early to feed the boys. I was stressed, hoping that they would sleep well so we could give them their next feeding AFTER we got through security. It worked wonderfully; they even had about 1/4 of their bottles left to drink while we were taking off. One bad note is that I was told it was a direct flight; the flight first flew to Chicago where we just stayed on the plane for 20 minutes while people got off and on. I guess it wasn't too bad since the boys slept the whole way and then after eating once we took off from Chicago they slept all the way to Tampa. However, because of a thunderstorm, the plane had to circle the airport for 45 min until it was safe to land. I know they needed to be fed but we kept hoping that we would land. Finally as they were getting restless, we started feeding them. Withing 5 minutes of feeding them, we landed. We stayed on the plane to finish feeding them while the rest of his family got our luggage and rental car.

The hardest part for me was that I couldn't sit next to Christian on the plane. Usually I'm ok but while we were traveling, I really wish I would have had him next to me. Thankfully, we were advised much earlier that we could only have 1 infant per row because there was only one extra oxygen mask per row. I guess that made sense. I just hated seeing him and his mom laughing about something in the row over and not being able to join in because I couldn't hear what they were talking about. On the flight home, I asked if he could sit on an aisle seat so we could at least talk to and help one another. That worked out a lot better.

His parents had rented a house with the groom's family. It had 5 rooms, 4 1/2 baths and also an elevator. We bought a bunch of food which we used for breakfast and lunch and then went out for dinner each night. The beach was only a block away. I loved how we could just walk to the beach, kick off our shoes and enjoy the warm water. Over the next few days, we explored the island and rode the free trolley that took us all over the island. Usually the boys got a good nap in the morning but the rest of the time, they usually fell asleep in the Baby Bjorn's or in our arms. Needless to say, sometimes they were pretty grumpy because of the short naps. One day while the rest of the family went out to explore, we ordered pizza and stayed in the house. The pizza was delicious and the boys each got a longer nap which they needed.

One of the funnest things that we did was to swim in the ocean. We put swim diapers (which were a little big) and swim suits on the boys and took them down to the beach. They loved the water as it was the same temperature as their bath water. :) It was short lived because as we sat in the surf, we would never know how big the waves were. It was only a matter of time before one would get them on their face. Side Note: I'd forgotten how nasty salt water is to swim in. It's not pleasant when you get it in your nose as it burns going down your throat.

We took them into the beach and both fell asleep very quickly. With each of them asleep in Grandma's or aunt's arms, Christian and I set off to enjoy the large waves with a little time to ourselves. After an hour or so, we came back and went home again and showered all the sand that had managed to get all over us. In order to get the sand off the boys, Christian stepped in the shower with one boy at a time and then would hand them to me to dry, diaper and clothe. Then we handed them to family so we could get the sand off us. Quite the task!

The wedding was absolutely beautiful. I loved seeing the ocean in the background as the wedding vows were said. And the pictures were incredible. His sister Brooke made a very beautiful bride!

All in all, it was a fun vacation. The flight home had much more crying than we had hoped for but it was ok. On the way home we made a quick stop at Costco to get diapers and formula and then his parents house to grab Maddie who was boarded at the vet while we were gone.

Some pictures:

Ready for a walk on the beach!

Brooke and Jimmy (Isn't it gorgeous? If you look closely, her bridal bouquet is made out of seashells).

A Beautiful day for a Walk

2010-07-23T13:03:00.001-07:00

In the first of this week, I have been determined to GET OUT of the house. When I am couped up in the house with 2 little ones, I am definitely glad to get out. So far I have been able to go out with just the two babies until TODAY.

I decided to see if the boys would fit in the stoller WITHOUT their car seats. The car seats are so bulky and I can't even lift them off our stroller. So completely annoying!! There must be a trick but I don't know it. I knew as soon as they fit in the stroller without their car seats than I could maybe have a bit more freedom.

And they fit!!

Even though we went only 15 minutes (temp was about 90 with humidity) it was well worth it.

Here are some pictures of the boys on our walk....

Giggling, Growing Boys

2010-07-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a video with some giggling and growing boys... (Don't pay attention to the woman behind the curtain that sounds like a man...)

Lastly - I've noticed lately how they are really looking at each other like "who are you?" Payden has realized that he doesn't like to be hit by Patrick's flailing arms when he's eating or Patrick's flailing feet when they are playing. Patrick has learned that if he wants the toy that Payden wants he just can roll over on his side and take it away from his brother. I didn't know this would start so soon...

Brothers forever, forever and always brothers they will always be..

Yummy Food

2010-07-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

Patrick and Payden have really been living it up in the solid food department.

So far they have had:

Rice Cereal
Oatmeal Cereal
Sweet Potatoes
Peaches - (both the Gerber brand and pureed from a can)
Peas (5 spoonfuls each) - I tried them today but they were peas that I pureed myself and I guess I didn't do that hot of a job. Payden was acting like he might be choking and I realized that they were probably too chunky to qualify as a "first food." I guess I will work on making them smoother and just buy the Gerber brand for now.

I found while Patrick just tolerates cereal; he'll eat it but acts slightly disgusted with it. However Payden can never get enough of cereal but doesn't care all that much for the fruit. So yesterday I combined the cereal and the fruit and found that they love it. Payden loves he is getting cereal and Patrick loves that it still tastes like fruit. Definitely a fun albeit messy phase. I try to give them solids 2x a day (once for lunch) and then again before they go to bed. So far they just eat it in their bouncers as we don't have sufficient funds as this point to buy 2 high chairs. Bouncers is a bit easier in that I can sit on the floor and feed them both.

And some pictures:

Patrick

Payden

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

2010-07-07T05:53:00.000-07:00

This morning as the boys have been put down for their morning nap; I'm wondering how I'm going to make it today. I have so many questions about raising these boys in their stage of their life right now. And after last night I'm not sure what to do. Payden has always been a champ and slept nonstop from 9:30 to 6am. He's done that for a long time. Patrick on the other hand was horrible. He woke up every hour and 1/2 lightly fussing. I would go in and give his pacifier and he'd be good for another 1.5 hours. Sometimes I would rock him back to sleep. I knew inside he didn't need food because if he did he would be screaming. He gets that way when he's hungry. I'm not sure what to do. Do I leave it be for another night and see if it was just a fluke thing? He usually wakes up a couple times but 4 times is a little much. I would understand it better if he had a fever or was teething but he's not. Maybe he's just trying to get back into the routine of things from being on vacation. I know I am.

My college roommate from BYU posted this video on her blog today. I didn't know how badly I needed to hear Elder Holland's words. As I sat at the computer watching this video and contemplating how I was going to get through the day, I was crying as I felt the Holy Ghost reassure me that I truly am doing "God's work." The very existence that I have these boys in my home to raise is evident of his trust of me and my character to bring to pass his work and glory. Wow, when you stop to think about it that way, it leaves you breathless.

My favorite quote is from the young mother in the program.

“Through the thick and the thin of this, and through the occasional tears of it all, I know deep down inside I am doing God’s work. I know that in my motherhood I am in an eternal partnership with Him.

“It is this realization,” she says, “that I try to recall on those inevitably difficult days when all of this can be a bit overwhelming. Maybe it is precisely our inability and anxiousness that urge us to reach out to Him and enhance His ability to reach back to us. Maybe He secretly hopes we will be anxious,” she said, “and will plead for His help. Then, I believe, He can teach these children directly, through us, but with no resistance offered. I like that idea,” she concludes. “It gives me hope. If I can be right before my Father in Heaven, perhaps His guidance to our children can be unimpeded. Maybe then it can be His work and His glory in a very literal sense."

Here is the video -

A Night to Remember - Introducing Solids

2010-06-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

At Christian's house this weekend, we were eating ice cream and the boys both acted like they were interested. We offered them a little and they both liked it. I knew we weren't supposed to feed them much of it. I've been putting off starting cereal because I didn't think they were ready and I knew we didn't have high chairs. It seems that they were definitely ready and the high chairs aren't needed as badly as I thought.

So tonight I sent Christian a text to pick up some rice cereal on the way home from work. I thought that we'd see how the boys do eating in their bouncers. Who knows maybe it will help them sleep better? I've read that it doesn't but we'll see. We started feeding them and they liked it. Patrick still has the tongue thrust and spit a lot of it out but we found that if we put it toward the roof of his mouth, he would swallow it. Payden was a different story. When we fed Patrick, we noticed Payden's mouth was wide open and his legs were going a mile a minute. We fed Payden, he swallowed and then opened for more. He loved it!

I think this moment will always be in my memory. I'm feeding the boys cereal while Christian eats his dinner. He stops and takes over for me so I can start eating. Then we go back and forth like that until everyone (Christian, I and boys) have all eaten. I know that feeding solids is going to be more stressful for me instead of just milk but I think it will be fun too. It's a different stage in their lives and it hits me over and over how much their growing up.

Wednesday Morning Musings

2010-06-16T04:58:00.001-07:00

So it's Wednesday morning about 7am. The boys fell back to sleep around 5:45 and Christian started to get ready to work. I had a decision to make. Do I use the time to take a bath or snuggle back under the covers until they awaken? I chose a bath; mostly because I have a doctor's appointment today for myself and would like to be clean. Thank goodness for Christian's schedule today because he should get home by 4:00 today.

We had a good relaxing weekend. I'm beginning to relish them as I spend weeks alone feeding and playing with these growing babies. Last Friday was pretty disappointing though. The one thing that kept me going the entire day was knowing that it was "pay day" and we would finally have money to buy groceries and other things. Only later that afternoon Christian called to tell me that the full check we expected was not to be. We didn't know that he started in the middle of a pay period so it would only be 1/2 a check. It was just enough to pay rent which we were already late on anyway.

On the other hand, there were a couple things on Friday that were pretty cool. My new R.S. Presidency from my ward came to meet me. It was fun to talk to some adults and get to know them better. I could have done without the 3 year old terror that came along and was running up and down my stairs and eventually woke the boys from their naps. Then later in the afternoon the mother of the same 3 year old brought over their used exersaucer that she said we could have. Patrick loves it!! He'll stay in it for about 15-20 minutes. So far he hasn't grabbed for the toys but he really enjoys pushing off with his feet. I think he helps too because I fear they are in the boucers too often.. Payden is still a little small for it and I think he'll like it more once he has better control of his head.

Saturday we woke up as late as the babies let us. They have started sleeping from 9-10:00 pm until 5:00 the next morning. I think I can deal with 7 hours; because after we feed them they'll usually sleep until 7:45 or 8:00. Then we spent the day taking a nap when they napped and watching some World cup soccer. After one feeding we wanted out of the house and decided to take a drive and explore our new home here in Lawrence. We got home just in time to feed the babies before his parents came. They offered to come to Lawrence to take us out to eat and play with the babies. His mom surprised us by bringing us groceries. I was so happy!! We were so grateful and hope that what she brought is enough to last for 2 weeks until he gets paid again. I knew that we needed the groceries and we would probably have to put them on the credit card but I was so happy that we didn't have to. That night we went to a place called Smash Burger. I highly highly recommend it. Anywhere I can finish an entire 1/3 lb hamburger has to be good!! Plus their fries are to die for!! (They fry them in rosemary, garlic and olive oil; yum..) Patrick and Payden were little angels and slept the entire time.

Sunday was also good. Did I mention how much I relish and love my weekends?? I try to soak enough family time and couple time with Christian in order to last the whole week. The boys slept until 5 and then until 8:30. We awoke, played with them and then put them down for their morning nap. While they were napping we got ready for church. Actually I showered, threw on my bathrobe and ran downstairs to make some potato supreme for dinner. Then I ran back up the stairs to get make-up on and get dressed. We got to church and it was Ward Conference. They still haven't received our records and hope to have them soon. The boys fell asleep during Sacrament meeting and then ate during Sunday school.

For the last week or so, I've been trying something new. Payden started to not nurse very well so I gave him a bottle and he took 4 1/2 oz which is more than he has ever taken before. The next feeding was 5 oz and then 6 oz. Usually when I breastfeed him he'll take about 3 oz afterward. It is so hard because I don't know how much he is getting from me. But I feel better about giving them both bottles because: 1) gives me an entire hour to play with them after they eat, 2) I can do tummy time each time they are awake and 3) I always know how much Payden is getting. Did I mention he is gaining weight? He is getting chunky, you can really feel it!! So now I occasionally nurse him in the early morning because there is still that something sweet about that time together. During the day, I always feel rushed have to feel like I have to entertain Patrick who is already done with his bottle. Any thoughts on this? I sat and figured it out... they take about 60 oz a day of milk. I can pump around 40 oz; which makes us having to use 22 oz of formula a day. It's still expensive but I would have to buy it anyway but not as much if I didn't pump...

Babies are awaking - I better attend to them.

Update -

2010-06-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a extra long update of our lives in the past month...

May has been an extra busy month for our family. We made the decision in April to move to Lawrence Kansas as Christian was offered a job there. Due to cost of living, it was definitely the right decision as hard as it was to leave a dear ward and friends that we truly loved.

Christian, I and the boys started driving for Kansas on May 6th. Wow I can't believe that was a month ago!! It feels like 2. We've done so much in that time. We took 2 days to get to my home in Idaho with a stop in La Grande, Oregon and also in Nampa. It was so good to see Grandma and Grandpa although we didn't stay very long. We then stayed in Idaho for almost a week and really enjoyed our stay there. I loved the pictures that I got with the boys and mom and dad and Grandpa. Mom was able to take some really good pictures of the boys smiling. We really cherish those pictures!

On that next Friday we drove to Pleasant Grove by way of Smithville Utah. It was so good to stop and see Amber and the 2 girls that were there. We missed Kaylee who was in kindergarten. I was reminded just how fast kids can grow! We spent the weekend in Pleasant Grove with his Aunt and Uncle. We even visited Kimberly and Joe in Provo. Christian was so happy to find out there was a In-n-Out in Provo which was really good!!! We then started our drive on Monday. Tuesday late afternoon we pulled into Kansas. For the most part the boys did okay in the car. The last couple of days, I fed them on demand, if they cried I fed them and then would try to play with them before they fell asleep again. Maddie had her doggie bed in the front seat but would not stay on it and was always on either my lap or Christian's as he was driving.

The boys recently passed their 4 month old birthday. I can't believe they are getting so big.

Here are some tidbits about the boys:

Patrick

Rolled over for the first time on May 27th from his stomach to his back. We clapped so hard that it scared him. Now he does it on a regular basis.
Probably weighs 13 or 14 lbs. His rolls of fat are so cute!
He loves to scream and jabber when he's happy
One of his new things is that if he is fussy and you put the pacifier in, he'll pull it out and play with it and then start to fuss again. Or he'll turn it around and suck on it backwards.
Loves to play with toys and they go right to his mouth
very ticklish under his neck - I've got him to giggle often by tickling there.

Payden

Weighed almost 11 lbs about 2 weeks ago. It is so good to see him filling out.
He is a vicious kicker and Christian has given him the nickname of Payden's pistons.
He is our little observer and will just watch and watch you. He loves to stare at his older brother Patrick.
Also very ticklish under his neck and loves to smile.
Just started grabbing for toys that are hanging from the play gym and pulling them to his mouth.
Giggles from time to time.

Our belongings finally arrived on May 26th and Christian's mom was able to help me mark off boxes when they brought everything in. There was no way that I could have done it myself and keep 2 babies happy and fed. We have been so grateful that she has been able to help us unpack and organize the house. The first couple of days were a little busy as I maneuvered around boxes to feed and play with the boys but we finally are moved in. We attended our ward for the 2nd time yesterday and it looks like it will be a good ward. Probably 90% are younger couples (lots of babies and elementary age kids) and then the other 10% are older and look as if they have been in the ward for awhile.

Christian's new job is really going well. I LOVE his new schedule. He is home by 4pm on two days and then home by 5 on another. He only has 2 days that are "late nights" and is home by 7. So much better than his last job when he was lucky to be home by 8pm. I'm so happy that he has a job that he loves!

This past Saturday Christian and I enjoyed our first date together as "parents." It was so good to get out and be by ourselves. Christian's mom had packed us a dinner for us and we found a park on the Internet and used our GPS to get there. Definitely something we'll remember for a while. It was right on the banks of the Kansas River here in Lawrence. We even met the state bug of Kansas, the ever-present mosquito. Consequently we are finding more and more bug bites as the days progress.

And lastly here are some pictures from our trip -

Here is Payden with his Great Grandma Packer

And here is Patrick with Great Grandma Packer

Here are both boys with my parents , their Grandma and Grandpa

Here is a picture of our 2 boys next to Hyrum. He is my sister's boy who is 1 month older and weighs 16 lbs. Isn't he cute? Payden was checking out his brother's ear.

Here is a picture of our new town home in Lawrence, Kansas..

Here is Christian's mom feeding both babies. I was busy crossing off boxes for the moving company.

David's Baptism

2010-05-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Christian, I and the boys went on first extended car ride. My nephew, David was baptized by his Dad (my brother) as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was a BIG day for the little guy.

I'll always think of him as little because I remember VERY CLEARLY the day he was born. I was a junior at BYU in Provo and was getting ready for church in my apartment. The phone rang and it was my brother calling to tell me his son was born. As it happened he was born on his mother's birthday (I think it was her 25th birthday). I was so happy for her and excited to have a little baby to play with/babysit that I lived so close to. That day I went up and visited him at the Hospital there.

Other things that I remember about David...

Helping my brother fold cloth diapers as I was there at his apartment for dinner
His 1 year birthday party (he got cake and blue frosting all over himself). It was hilarious to watch as he ate his cake. Then a week later (April 20th) I was there with my boyfriend Christian (my husband now) on our 2nd date. Little did I know Aaron and Emma had already noticed something different about this guy and knew he was "the one for me."
feeding him baby food on more than one occasion
Entertaining him (ie.. trying to keep him awake) on the road from Pocatello to Logan to visit my Great Aunt Libbie and then we kept on to Provo. I think I was trying to keep him awake so he could eat.

The trip went well and the boys slept the entire way to Seattle. However just seconds after we pulled into the Church parking lot, both were awake and screaming. They did pretty good; I think it was because they are on a pretty good schedule.

Here are some pictures from the big day....

Yesterday was also was the last time that I'll see my 2 brothers and their families for a long time as we are moving to Kansas later this week. It's been so great to live close to them and be able to celebrate milestones with them. I will miss them so much when we move.

Dr. Appointment

2010-04-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

Since we are moving next week, we changed their 4 month well child appointment to today. I was a little apprehensive because I know Payden is still a little small and behind in some areas.

We found that:

Patrick: 12 lbs exactly! - Holds his head well, and supports himself when he's on his tummy. He also pushes off on his legs when standing.

Payden: 9 lbs 9 oz (up from 9.4 three weeks ago) - Our Dr wasn't too much concerned with his weight (although only in 1st percentile) because he's eating well and thinks he just has a higher metabolism than Patrick. However when she tested his neck strength, she was quite worried that he wasn't holding it up or supporting himself while on his tummy. She wrote a referral for him to see a Pediatric Physical Therapist. They will do an evaluation and give us some exercises to do with him to help him to strengthen himself. I am going to try to see if I can get him into to see someone this week before we move. In the meantime, I am going to be more diligent about tummy time more often throughout the day.

Playing around with the Camera

2010-04-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

So.... here is playing with the camera today. I had to bribe Maddie with a treat so that she would stay. Too bad Payden is so far away from the camera.

And some of Patrick and Payden during tummy time. (with Maddie helping Payden)

3 Months

2010-04-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

Wow! Another month has gone by; these boys are now 3 months.

We have an appointment on Thursday and we'll find out their weights. I think Patrick is probably about 12 lbs and Payden is 10 lbs.

Here are a few tidbits:

Patrick

He recently discovered his hands and is constantly sucking on them. It's really cute when he finds his thumb and sucks.
absolutely loves to smile.
After waking from his nap, he will just lay in his crib and talk to himself and be all happy.

Payden

He also discovered his hands are for sucking
Just in the last couple weeks, he has started smiling so much. They mostly come when his tummy is completely full.
He is becoming quite the little sleeper. The last week, I have had to wake up him for feedings and now is CONSISTENTLY sleeping 5-6 hours a night.

Pictures:

1st Video of Patrick and Payden

2010-03-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

So I was playing with my camera the other day only to find out that I have a video function on it.

Here is a video of Patrick and Payden. They were just fed minutes prior and both are really happy. Pay attention to their feet; they go crazy! (and so do the bouncers)

Hopefully there will be many more like this...

The Funny Things you hear...

2010-03-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

Ever since bringing home the twin boys, we've heard so many things. Just going to the grocery store makes us think we brought along some celebrity with us.

Here are a few of the questions/ comments that we hear...

People see 2 car seats and say "Twins?" - this one leaves us staring blankly like uh yes. Once Christian told someone "No, we have triplets but we left one in the car." I think they actually believed us.
Are they Identical? - no they are fraternal
Do twins run in your family? - no, we went through IVF in order to have them.
Were you surprised when you found out that were having twins?
You really do have your hands full don't you? - uh duh..
I bet you guys are tired

Then in Sacrament meeting at church today two little girls walked past us and one of them asked us the cutest thing, "How come you have two babies?" I think they were maybe 4 or 5 years old. I thought of the easiest explanation... Heavenly Father gave them to us and we got two at the same time. The little girl seemed satisfied with that answer.

2 Months Old

2010-03-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe they are 2 months old already. And they are getting so big!

Christian and I took Patrick and Payden to their 2 month appointment on Thursday.
Their stats are:

Patrick: 9 lbs 4 oz, 21 1/2 in
Payden: 8 lbs 10 oz, 21 1/4 in

Here's whats new with the boys:

Patrick

He loves to smile and usually it's from ear to ear. He especially loves his Daddy and saves his biggest smiles for him.
Eating is still a bit of a chore. Don''t get me wrong the boy LOVES to eat but maybe too much. He will get so worked up and then refuse to breastfeed. Part of the problem also is that we started supplementing them with bottles when they were 2 weeks and I think he has realized how much easier it is to take milk from a bottle instead of me. It is our daily battle and some days are good and then other times like last night are horrible. At least he is getting 100% breast milk as I am able to pump for him.
After eating (described above) he is the happiest baby. He will sit in his bouncer and just kick and kick his feet. His arms will also be going crazy all over his head; Christian calls them his octopus arms. :) After about 30 minutes he will fuss; telling us he is ready for bed.
He is our little Houdini and can get his octopus arms out of any wrap that we put him in. When I go to check on them in their crib, his brother will be asleep but Patrick will be laying there with his arms going wild in front of his face.
He is getting better and better with tracking movements. He especially loved watching Daddy vacuum yesterday and had turned his head to watch him.

Payden

At about a month, we would describe him as a pretty fussy baby. He is doing better though and those moments happen less frequently.
He is starting to smile more and more. I was rewarded with a big one this morning after he had eaten.
Earlier this week, he also had started kicking his feet in his bouncer.
He is a champion nurser although he isn't taking in the full amount that he needs to. We are still supplementing him a little bit with breast milk.
He loves to sleep on his side and if he perchance rolls to his back, it will usually wake him up.

Pictures:

A Great Woman Remembered: My Great Aunt Libbie

2010-03-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

My Aunt Libbie passed away peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday, March 10th. Even though she is technically my "Great" Aunt Libbie, we never thought of her in that way. She was always just Aunt Libbie. She was my Grandma's older sister and would have been 97 in June. She lived a very long and happy life.

Growing up, I have so many memories of going to her house and visiting her. Her nieces and nephews were everything to her because she didn't have children.

Here are some memories I have of her.

Visiting her at her home in Odgen, we would always stay over at her home when we would attend General Conference as a family. We would always sleep in sleeping bags in the basement (which was another apartment). I vividly remember this plush white rug that we'd fight to get to sleep on because it was so soft. One year, our family held an Easter egg hunt there at her house and I remember running up and down her backyard looking for eggs. Another thing I remember about her Ogden home was that she loved cranberry juice and she would always serve it. It was new to us because I remember complaining how sour it was and asking if we could add sugar.
When I was in high school and college we would visit her at her home in Logan. She loved to have us come and visit. In fact, she would always ask us to help to begin telling another story in order to get us to stay longer and longer.
She absolutely loved the Utah Jazz and knew more about them than anyone I know.

Here's her Obituary; I wanted to put it here so I would always have it (courtesy of Nelson Funeral Home in Logan, Utah).

Elizabeth Darley, the oldest of six children, was born June 11, 1913, to George T. and Elizabeth Ann Darley. She received her early education at Wellsville and at South Cache High School in Hyrum, Utah. In 1935, she graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Food Science from Utah State University. In 1963 she received a Master’s Degree in Education from Colorado State University at Fort Collins, Colorado.

During the early part of her career she taught in Wellsville, Levan, and Nephi, Utah.
She then worked for the United States Department of Agriculture in the Farmers Home Administration in Sanpete and Box Elder Counties. She taught Home economics at the Burley High School in Burley, Idaho. The last 25 years of her career she worked for Utah State University as an Extension Home Economist in Tooele, Wasatch, and Weber Counties. She retired from Weber County in 1978.

Elizabeth has been an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints throughout her lifetime, starting when she was 15 years old as MIA Secretary. She held teaching and leadership positions in both the youth and adult organizations, including the LDS Relief Society.

Professionally, Elizabeth has held leadership positions in the Utah Home Agents Association and both Utah and Idaho Home Economics Association. She has been a member and officer of American Association of University Women.
Elizabeth has been a member of and held leadership positions in Daughters of Utah Pioneers in Ogden.

Her hobbies include handwork, gardening, reading, and minor restoration and refinishing of woodwork and furniture.

Elizabeth loved people. After her years of working with people from other cultures and different national backgrounds, both youth and adult, she loved them all. She believes that all people have the same emotions, the same ability to love, and she believes that we are all children of God.
After her retirement Elizabeth moved to Logan. She has been living at Pioneer Valley Lodge. She passed away peacefully on March 10th, 2010 in North Logan. She was such an example of love, organization, and service.

She is survived by a brother, George Woodrow Darley, Wellsville, Utah and a sister, Rebecca Darley Packer, Chubbuck, Idaho; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Two Names and a Blessing

2010-03-08T22:04:00.000-08:00

Sunday, March 7th was definitely a day to remember for the rest of my life! It was the day that Christian blessed Patrick and Payden. In our church, new babies are given a name and a blessing by those that hold the priesthood.

Here are my thoughts and a few pictures about the "blessed" day:

It is amazing how the morning leading up to the day of the blessing was so calm because after 11:30, time just flew! We fed them at 11:30 and then started putting on their clothes. I haven't ever seen so many layers!! It was a good thing that we didn't put them in their outfits until we did because Patrick had already gone through 6 previous outfits. By the time we had taken pictures and had them in their car seats, it was already 12:50pm. So much for good intentions to get to the chapel early to sit by family that was coming for the blessing. When we got to the church, there wasn't even enough room for family to sit next to Christian and I. So the whole meeting, Christian held Payden and I held Patrick; thank goodness that they eventually both slept through the meeting.

The blessings were absolutely wonderful. I was so proud of my husband Christian who made sure to look up in the handbook how the blessings were to be given. After the opening hymn and prayer, Christian took Patrick up and blessed him and then came back towards me. I met him in the aisle where we exchanged babies. I gave him Payden and he gave me Patrick. Then it was Payden's turn. Unlike Patrick, Payden was wide awake for his. blessing. I thought it was pretty funny that afterward Bishop Smith commented, "I didn't know that Brother Benedict could juggle babies."

After church was over, we met the group of family members at our apartment for a small lunch/ dinner. In the end we sent them all down to our leasing office so Christian and I could feed them as they were due to eat. Then we joined them about an hour later. It was so good to talk with people that came. Christian's parents and uncles and cousins came. It meant so much to me that my brother's and their families came. Even though they don't live that far away, I know that we don't get to get to see them nearly often enough.

At church Christian and I bore our testimonies. In it I said how amazed I was that this day had finally come. There were times in these 7 years that I wondered when I would finally become a mother. Never did I imagine that I would be a mother to 2 little boys at the same time. It is a surreal moment. There are times that Christian and I will look at our boys and say, "this is our family" and just savor in that moment. We are so much in awe of our new responsibilities and remind ourselves that the Lord trusted us enough to send us these spirits. As I sing, "I am a child of God," this song has now taken to mean so much more.

Family Picture:

1 Month old (Side by Side)

2010-02-25T16:37:00.000-08:00

So yesterday after the circus (ie...after both of them ate) they were extremely content and I wanted some 1 month pictures. Plus I realized, we needed some really good pictures of them side by side.

Here you go: Patrick is on the left / Payden is on the right

1 Month old today!

2010-02-24T16:31:00.001-08:00

I can't Patrick and Payden are 1 month old today. The time has really flown. Before we know it, it will be time for the 2 month old check.

Here are some tidbits about each one...

Patrick

weighs 7 lbs 1 oz (as of 2/20) - he gained 14 oz in 9 days
loves baths and will kick his feet and smile at you
nicknamed "Mr. Peepers" because when he is awake, he's really awake and seems very aware of his surroundings
has ALWAYS held his head up from birth
has lots of spontaneous smiling - absolutely the cutest thing on earth!

Payden

weighs 7 lbs 3 oz (as of 2/20) - he gained 8 oz in 9 days
absolutely hates baths - acts like your trying to kill him - he doesn't like having his diaper or clothes changed either.
nicknamed "Payden the Piranha" because he like to "chew" his food - I won't try to explain this any further. :)

Bath Time!!

2010-02-17T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here is an assortment of pictures from Patrick and Payden's first baths. Last night, Christian's mom and I bathed them and then they slept for 4 1/2 hours straight! Tonight we are going to give them their baths at 9 pm to see if it helps them sleep tonight.

Finally! Surpassing their Birth Weight

2010-02-15T17:20:00.000-08:00

Birth weight: Patrick--6lbs 2 oz
Payden--6lbs 7 oz

Coming home from the hospital: Patrick--5lbs 8 oz
Payden--5lbs 14 oz

1st Pediatrician appt : Patrick--5lbs 9.5oz
(2 days after coming home) Payden--5lbs 15.5 oz

2nd Pediatrician appt: Patrick--5lbs 9oz
(2 week check) Payden--6lbs 3 oz

After the 2 week check, we and our doctor were worried because Payden had only gained 3 oz and Patrick had lost 1/2 an ounce. She suggested that we start supplementing to help them try to gain weight. So now every time we feed them, I breastfeed each one for 10 minutes and then pump. Then we feed each breast milk/formula until they each are full. I was disappointed at first; thinking I was failing them by not producing enough milk. Then we decided to see a lactation consultant and found out that my supply is pretty good but they are just weak suckers and hopefully it will get better.

In the week since we started supplementing we noticed some great improvements... 1) wetter diapers, 2) more poppy diapers, 3) less fussiness, and 4) longer sleeping periods. We thought it must be working!

3rd Pediatrician appt: Patrick--6lbs 3oz
weight check w/ nurse) Payden--6lbs 9 oz

With the supplementings, they surpassed their birth weight! And we are now able to let them sleep during the night instead of waking them every 3 hours. Last night we had 1 five hour stretch and 1 four stretch. It was wonderful!!

Here's some more pictures!!

Patrick:

Payden

Patrick and Payden - The Birth Story

2010-02-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

By the end of my 37th week, I realized that I probably would make it all the way to my scheduled C section date. On Saturday, Jan 23rd, Christian and I planned out "last night out" and enjoyed ourselves at The Cheesecake Factory. Yum the food there is great!

The rest of their birth is best related by a time line:

2:30AM (Jan 24th) - I awoke and used the bathroom.

2:31AM - I laid back down only to have moments later the worst cramping feeling I had ever had. I ran to the bathroom and while sitting, my water broke. I was amazed that there was so much!

2:35AM - I awoke my sleeping husband and told him that we needed to go to the hospital. In between hard contractions, I managed to pack the rest of the hospital bag as fast as I could

2:40AM - left the house - Christian broke every speed limit by 10-15 mph. I'm so glad we didn't see any cops on the way there.

2:50-2:55AM - got to the hospital and they checked me out. My contractions were 3 minutes apart and I was dialated to 2 cm. I overheard them talking about the volume of my water that broke and got the feeling that both bags had broken instead of just the one. Then they got the on-call doctor and asked how I would like to deliver the boys. We had already discussed a C section with my doctor and decided to just go ahead and have them that way.

3:00 --4:30AM - In this time period there was a hustle and bustle of activity. They put in IV in, shaved me, and prepped me for the impending C section.

4:41 AM (Patrick) & 4:42 AM (Payden)- heard the joyous sounds of our little boys being brought into the world. Both were screaming and I could tell they sounded healthy. The moment that I will remember well is my husband crying when we heard them finally being born. I thought it was incredible sweet and wonderful!

By far the worst part of this was that I wasn't able to see my little boys as soon as I wanted to. They brought Patrick to us so we could see him but Payden was having trouble breathing so they took him to the NICU for a few minutes.

Between 5:30-6:00 AM - they brought me to my room and the boys came shortly thereafter.

Introducing the newest Benedicts!

2010-01-24T10:46:00.000-08:00

This is Emma Valerie's SIL
Valerie had her babies this morning at about 4:30 am.
Baby A - Patrick Christian 6 lbs 2 oz 17 inches long

Baby B - Payden Vaughn 6 lbs 7oz 19 inches long

Things I don't want to Forget (Part 1)*

2010-01-18T10:35:00.000-08:00

June 2nd: the day we found out we were going to be parents but nervous also.
June 22: Our first ultrasound where we saw it was twins. We saw their little blobs with hearts just a beating. After what happened last year with my pregnancy, it brought me to tears to see their little hearts.
Finding out that they were 2 little boys and somehow knowing this is was where we were supposed to be at this time of our lives
Feeling their kicks for the first time - surreal moment of it all
Always feeling my stomach for their body parts - head, back, bottom, and legs
The day we went to Target and I lost my husband. I assumed that he has escaped to the Entertainment section but then I found him in the baby section with his arms full of baby stuff. (This has happened 2 more times, it is so adorable!).
The VERY first official shopping trip to Babies R us; and being so overwhelmed as we realized we needed 2 of almost everything.
Rocking in the glider in the empty babies' bedroom imagining a room full of babies and a dream come true.
Maddie always sleeping on my baby bump at night on the couch.
The Journey of Life that got us to this point - it was such a hard journey but I know that without the hard journey, I wouldn't be as grateful right now to be where we are.

* Part I - because I know there may be more that I'll remember.

37 Weeks!

2010-01-18T10:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm still here.. Babies are both content to stay inside.

When we initially got pregnant I really feared that I would have these babies early. Now that I've made it to 37 weeks, I can hardly believe it. Only 9 more days! We have a planned C Section for Jan 26th; although I'm hoping Baby B will turn head down before our appointment on Thursday.

How far along? 37 weeks, 1 days

Total weight gain: 30 lbs

Stretch Marks? None that I see so far

Maternity clothes? Yes, but I have outgrown a couple shirts.

Sleep: Not much in fact. When I finally do get to sleep, I wake up a couple hours later to go the bathroom. It is very hard to get comfortable; not to mention the horrible acid reflux/heartburn.

Labor Signs: dilated to 1 cm 1 1/2 weeks ago. I am getting some contractions on and off but nothing that has picked up or gotten stronger.

Belly Button in or out? It's out.

What I miss: Seeing my feet

35 Weeks (and 4 days) - Much to Think About...

2010-01-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

Our OB appointment went really well today. When our doctor walked in, I had this deja vu moment. I remember very clearly our very first appointment when she told us how HAPPY she'd be if we could make it to January. Then I suddenly realized that it was January.

Yay!!

Here's a bullet list of points my OB appointment today

We had our last(!) growth ultrasound today. I think I'll miss the ultrasounds that last 30 minutes while I sit and watch the screen of our babies and then clean massive amounts of goop off my stomach.
Babies are growing!! Baby A is 5 lbs 6 oz & Baby B is 6 lbs 8 oz. These aren't totally exact but that's a close estimate (maybe a pound off either way).
I'm dilated 1 cm (a fingertip).
My doctor okayed my continued absence from work as to try to keep these babies in as long as possible.
Funny note: Baby A is lodged against my left pubic/hip bone and isn't budging. We learned that while he is wedged in there, he has his hand behind his head. I have been feeling weird sensations of kicking and scraping. The fun started tonight when he was doing that WITH the hiccups. Definitely a feeling I will never forget!!

Now to the debate:

During our ultrasound we learned that Baby B is still not in the vertex (head down) position that is needed for a vaginal delivery of both babies. All I have every wanted is a vaginal delivery for both of these babies. Doctor W. said today that if I were to go into labor tonight with one head down and the other transverse, we could delivery Baby A vaginally but Baby B would be via C Section. That sounds stupid to me; why go through both types with double the recovery? She agreed and said if that was the case then we might as well just do a C section for both.

Now hours after my appointment, I realize I should have asked her if there is any chance that she could turn the transverse baby in order to delivery him vaginally as well. I'm just not sure with her comfort level and if she would do that. I was really hoping IF AT ALL POSSIBLE to avoid the C Section. After all there are so many strikes against it in my opinion. To name a few: longer recovery time, possible respiratory problems with the babies (vaginal birth forces air through their lungs.. etc), and a very real possible need to have a C section again in the future. Then again, this is a special case and may just necessitate a C section.

In the meantime, I guess we'll just pray really hard that Baby B decides to get with the program and head on down like his brother. ?? Does anyone know of any ways to get a stubborn baby to move to the head down position? My mom suggested to mop the kitchen floor on my hands and knees. Who knows, maybe I'll give it a try!! ?? Or Any other views on C sections?

One last note... my doctor joking added that she's on call this weekend so if I want to have these babies this weekend, she'd be at the hospital. My husband and I looked at each other and laughed at that! It's sure crazy that we're just about there!

God's plan

2010-01-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon another person's blog today and they had this scripture:

But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day."

Habakkuk 2:3

It is interesting to note that the King James Version reads it this way:

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Either way, it brought me a great measure of hope. I know it has always been in the "plan" for me to have children even if I may have doubts along the way. Slowly, steadily, and surely the time is approaching and this dream is finally going to become a reality. Even though I am SO anxious to meet these little boys, I know that it is better for them to be inside as long as possible. I also KNOW it will not be late by a single day (in the eye of our Heavenly Father).

Christmas Moments to Remember: 2009

2010-01-01T13:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve:

The smell of a cooking turkey in the crockpot all day - totally made Christmas Eve for me
Organizing the nursery together - putting the Jayhawk bedding and decals up
Making dinner together: Turkey, stuffing, cheese ball, corn, gravy, and mashed potatoes
Watching "The Christmas Carol" and "Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir."
Spending time together and keeping Maddie from getting into the presents

Christmas Day:

Maddie woke us up at 5 and then we slept until 6:30
Christian went out and turned on the Christmas lights and then came and got Maddie and me. We let Maddie go first and she was so excited
We first helped her unwrap her presents so she'd be playing with toys while we unwrapped ours
We unwrapped gifts
took a nap, talked to family, and went to see "The Blind Side."

Gifts I was excited to receive:

Lovely plush bathrobe (Christian did wonderfully) - I needed one for the hospital
new, soft slippers
lotion, body wash and perfume all in my favorite scent (I realized then where my coupon went, he stole it! .
GPS navigation device for the car - a lot of fun and no more Mapquest!!
Beautiful glass Vase and cookie drying racks

34 Weeks (Nursery Pics and Update)

2009-12-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I've made it to 34 weeks! I can't believe it's come so quickly and am really starting to wonder if we're ready for these babies. Per everything I've read, they would be healthy if they came now; although they may have to stay in the NICU for a couple days to a week. We asked Dr. W. at last week's appointment and she said that usually after passing the 36 week mark (Jan 10th) the babies would be able to come home with us from the hospital. Through this pregnancy I have followed many twin blogs with the hope that I can learn and see when their twins were born. Most of the babies that came before 36 weeks came on their own due to prior complications or the woman's water broke. I guess we need to keep in mind too that complications could develop at any time that would mandate an early exit.

This last week's appointment wasn't that exciting (how can they be when you see the Dr. every week!). She wants me to stay on an antibiotic for the rest of the pregnancy because she feels that I will continue to get bladder infections if I don't. Take it from me; bladder infections are no fun! My goal for my next appointment on Thursday to gain some weight since I didn't at my last appointment. We are really looking forward to our appt on January 7th (if we make it..). This would be our final growth appointment to see how much the boys weigh. I'm hoping that they both would be 6 lbs. We'll be continuing to pray for the best.

Lastly for this post... here is a nursery picture. Christian surprised me with KU Jayhawk(what else!) baby crib bedding and then we bought stickers for their walls. He has been quite the organizer as he had spent a lot of time in there organizing and getting things ready.

Here's the picture:

32 Weeks!

2009-12-14T13:24:00.000-08:00

Here is the much awaited 32 weeks post... I'll divide it so it's easier to read.

Doctor's Appointment

Last Thursday we went to our much anticipated doctor's appointment. I say much anticipated because I had been released from the hospital on the Sunday before on strict bed rest. We were really hoping it would be relaxed to modified bed rest. That way I can still take Maddie out for her bathroom breaks during the day.

Thursday's appointment:

Baby A is 4 lbs 6 oz ; Baby B is 4 lbs 13 oz
Both look to be healthy
Baby A is still head down and Baby B is in the process of getting there. On Thursday, he is in the fetal position with his head buried in his brother's stomach with his legs lodged in my ribs. Hopefully he'll turn all the way and finally be head down
My Cervix went from 3.6 to 2.5 which is pretty common after all the contractions last week. However now every week they will be checking to see if I'm dilated and how it looks from the inside. Thursday's the official verdict was a "softish" cervix.
Doctor told us that as long as we can hold them in another 2 weeks, she would be fine delivering them Christmas week IF I went into labor then. This is so good to know that IF they do decide to come early... they will be healthy!!!

Saturday Baby Shower

On Saturday, my wonderful ward threw me a great baby shower. The whole morning before the shower and through it all I had to keep pinching myself. I couldn't believe that this baby shower was for me. We have waited so long for this our moment to come!! It seems like I have been to baby shower after baby shower for my siblings, friends and the like. Some I have had to hold back tears wondering when it would actually be for me and my baby. Never did I dream I would have one for me and my babies!!! People in my ward are so kind; we were really blessed. I know that we'll continue to be blessed when they arrive.

Here's a sampling of what we received

Countless adorable outfits
lots of diapers (we definitely will need more but it's a start)
baby bath tub and bath supplies
diaper genie
blankets
and much more!

Plus, we received a big box of gifts from my husband's mom which I'm so excited for. Next step is to cut tags off and wash all the clothes and get them situated in the babies' room/ nursery. I think that is the plan for tonight's Family Home Evening.

The Twins first Hospital Stay

2009-12-11T08:01:00.000-08:00

Ok.. so I know I should have informed you all sooner about this but everything is now under control...

Friday evening some things started happening. For one, I was going to the bathroom every 4-5 minutes (not fun) and wondering what was happening. First I wondered if it was amniotic fluid but then 10 minutes passed and now there's blood. I really started worrying! I called to my husband in the living room and we called the doctor who told me to go the ER. Turns out... I had a very serious Bladder Infection. I was thinking, now problem, they'll write a script and then home I'll go. Not so fast!!!

While they were doing all the lab work, they had me hooked up to 3 monitors. One for contractions and the other 2 were monitoring the heart beats of the 2 boys. Come to find out... (I didn't know this) I was having contractions 3 and 5 minutes apart which wasn't good. So they told me they were keeping me the rest of the night in order to give me medicine and slow the contractions. Because it was already midnight and my husband had been sick, he decided to go home to bed and come back early in the morning. It was good thing too because I ended up staying in Triage until 4am (when they had a room ready for me). All in all this meant no sleep on Friday night...

Saturday was a long day as we spent it in the hospital. I slept (when I wasn't prodded by nurses) and Christian was by my side watching College Football games on the flat screen. Good thing the Labor and Delivery unit has ESPN. It made for a happier husband. They were all great games ending with Texas barely escaping from Nebraska which made me mad. I finally got to go home on Sunday morning and Christian was so very helpful. The house was a mess and he set to cleaning while I relaxed on the couch.

Since Sunday, I've become quite good about counting contractions and making sure they are under control. Plus I'm on a ton of medications. Unfortunately this has meant a stricter bed rest but I know it is for the best. I'm so grateful for my husband and members of my ward that have made this easier. Hopefully this will be relaxed a bit after my appointment on Thursday... More to come on the next post... maybe this afternoon!

Productive yet Modified Bed Rest

2009-12-04T09:47:00.001-08:00

When my cervix began to shorten, my doctor recommended that I discontinue work at least until the 36th week. After a couple weeks resting, my cervix went back to normal but the doctor thought if I were to return to my normal level of activity, it would surely happen again.

My husband predicted I'd be really bored but I've surprised him. The days have seem to flown by as I have learned new things and made things for these babies. I have so much left to make and buy for these little guys. Hopefully they don't come before Christmas!!

Here's a quick list (as per the attached picture

6 Crocheted newborn hats
Crocheted baby blankets
Fleece blankets in Jayhawk crimson and blue
14 burp cloths
1 crocheted baby onesie (I just finished it last night; I was surprised it was so easy).

As my trips out of the apartment are quite limited to small jaunts out to eat or to JoAnn's; I have made most of them out of scraps of yarn/fabric that I had in the house. Going out is an adventure; I tire so easily now and can't make it very far. When I asked the doctor about it, she said it was because I was so little that the weight of the babies are pushing down and wearing me out.

This week has been a bit of a tiring one for me. My husband came down with a virus on Sunday night. The fever lasted for over 2 days and he was miserable. He doesn't get sick very often. I think this is the 2nd or 3rd time in our whole marriage (6 years). As I was wearing myself out taking care of him; he said to me at one time: "I need to do more for your when you're not feeling well." I thought, well if that's what it takes...then it's been worth all the effort for me! It was so hard to see a 31 year old so sick with the chills and just so weak; thankfully it wasn't the swine flu.

Thanksgiving and More

2009-11-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some bullet points from out last Doctor appointment. (29 weeks!) --

Gained another 2 lbs
My cervix is lengthening - my doctor still recommends bed-rest as it is helping this problem immensely
Protein found in urine and now I am being tested for preeclampsia. I guess we'll find out next week if will be a problem.
Measuring 34 weeks! (5 weeks ahead)
In the ultrasound, we found a little baby's foot just centimeters away from his other brother's head. Come to find out, one little one is being kicked! As my husband says, "and so it begins.
Baby A is still head down but baby B continues to be breech with no desire to flip
Due to previous bullet point, a C-section is looking more like our option as our doctor WILL NOT deliver vaginally unless both babies are head down (vertex) position.

Now onto Thanksgiving...

Another purpose of the doctor appointment yesterday was to see if my doctor would allow us to travel to Whidbey Island for Thanksgiving with Christian's great Aunt and Uncle. Earlier I realized that I wouldn't be too upset if we didn't go and was surprised when my husband brought up that same issue before I said anything. Our doctor didn't exactly nix it but said that it would probably be safer if we didn't go. I have been cramping a lot lately when I have been overly active and we thought it would be better if we just stayed at home. Plus we didn't want to fight the ferry traffic on Thursday morning.

Our Thanksgiving this year was held with some people in our ward. I had learned on Sunday they had invited us over if we didn't go to Whidbey Island. It was a lot of fun. I brought our families' traditional cranberry salad and we had a scrumptious feast. Dinner was wonderful and the turkey was just how I wanted it (moist and tender). The wife and I discussed baby stuff as she has 2 and one on the way.

This holiday I couldn't help thinking how many things there are to be grateful for this year. These babies are on top of that list. It is funny as I type because they are going crazy!!

Now as the day after Thanksgiving, everything points toward Christmas. It will be a different Christmas this year as we will spend it for the FIRST time every at our own apartment. Since I will be 34 weeks at Christmas, there will be definitely no flying to either family. If the babies don't surprise us by then, we are looking forward to a yummy Christmas Eve Feast with family here in town. One thing I will miss this season is the Christmas shopping; since I'm no longer allowed out on my feet. It makes my husband excited though, he is quite content shopping for his own gifts for me to wrap. He's almost done buying for me and I can't think of one thing I told him that I wanted!!

Here is the picture of the little one's foot... If you look closely, it's next to his brother's head.

Takin' it easy on Doctor's orders

2009-11-13T21:29:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know the title of this post may make my readers jump but let me explain how it happened.

After cooking dinner on Tuesday night, I all of a sudden got these horrible cramps. They felt like menstrual cramps but worse. I went to the bathroom thinking that was the problem but it wasn't. I went into the bedroom where I laid on my side and drank plenty of water. It alleviated them some but not by much. After a 1/2 hour of this, I called the on-call doctor at my OB clinic. She recommended a couple things and said to come to the hospital if it didn't let up. About 10pm, we decided to go the hospital. It was great when we go the ER because they just escorted us up to Labor and Delivery. Oh the perks of being pregnant!
We got the room and they started hooking me up to monitors so we could hear the boy's heartbeats and to see if I was contracting. I was contracting but not that much. The doctor gave me a dose of terbutaline which only accelerated my heartbeat and made me feel really weird. After an ultrasound to check my cervix length, it was determined that all was ok. Before leaving, I was perscribed procardia to help my uterus relax. I was still a little confused as I was still cramping and a little scared. As we left the doctor gave me a note to miss the next couple of days of work; at least until I saw my doctor on Thursday.
Thursday's appointment went ok. My cervix changed from 3.2 down to 2.5 which isn't good. For those that don't know, this is called an Incompetent cervix where the cervix shortens prematurely and can bring on labor. This can be due to genetics or even the pressure of the babies in the uterus pressing on the cervix. We were disappointed to learn my regual OB wasn't there but the doctor who was told me to again take it easy and to not return to work until my next appointment on Monday.
The doctor told me: no shopping, no grocery shopping, and no laundry. Christian has been so good. I am so grateful that he has been willing to do all of that these few days. As I speak he is doing dishes which I am so grateful for. He told me that without work, I was going to be bored out of my mind. After 3 days of being off there are two words that easily come to mind: relieved and grateful. Maybe that opinion will change but right now I'm sticking to those two.

Ob Appointment stats:

Yay for the Swine Flu shot!! (my doctor told me initially they didn't have enough but then they received another shipment.
I gained 2 more lbs
Baby A is still head down
Baby B is lying horizontal right under my rib cage; creating horrible heartburn. I can't wait until he decides to join his brother in the head down position
Baby A is 2 lb 5 ounzes
Baby B is 2 lb 15 ounzes

I'll update more after my appointment and ultrasound on Monday.

27 Weeks!

2009-11-09T19:26:00.000-08:00

Total Weight Gain? 20 lbs! (Hopefully 4 more to add to it at my Thursday's appointment).

Maternity Clothes? Most Definitely

Stretch Marks? Not yet!

Sleep? I wake up at least 3-4 times a night either to go the bathroom or change positions. Sometimes, it's Maddie who's cold and wants under the covers. I consider waking up at 4am; a good sleep.

Best Moment this week? Last week, I was sitting in a long, boring meeting at work. All of a sudden, I felt a kick but it seemed to come out of my stomach. It felt like a little foot, I pushed it back in and out it came again. What a stubborn little guy!

Food Cravings? Hostess donuts, chocolate,

Labor Signs? back pain but I don't think it is anything to be worried about.

Belly Button? To begin with, I had the greated Innie and now it has disappeared. However, it's not an outtie quite yet.

What I am looking forward to the most? Holding both my boys in my arms; knowing that I am finally a mother and my dream of 28 years has come true.

Milestones? Yay for the 3rd Trimester!

And here are my boys from our last ultrasounds.

Baby A: (most active baby)

Baby B

21 Weeks and Counting

2009-09-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

Last week we had our big 20 week ultrasound. It lasted for almost an hour.

Here are some highlights:

I GAINED 4 lbs. (and couldn't be happier!)
Baby A is 12 ounces and Baby B is 13 ounces
When the doctor measured me, I was measuring 24 weeks (4 weeks ahead) which is normal with twins. (at my 18th week, I was only measuring 2 weeks ahead)
Baby A's heart rate is 160 and Baby B's heart rate is 148. (we were told the more active they are the faster the heart rate is).
We Saw lots of hands and limbs this appointment.
Learned that the placentas are anterior attached to the uterus (however you say that). This is why I haven't been able to feel them. With it as anterior, the babies have quite a cushion to kick in order for me to feel them. My doctor said soon enough, their kicks will be hard enough

A Question to all:

I had a talk with my doctor and asked her when she thought I should be slowing down and taking it a little more easy (Maybe not walking as much, continuing to work... etc.) She told me to stay strong until something happens that would give a "reason" for me to slow down. This concerns me as I'm thinking there should be some kind of prevention before and not after the fact. Maybe my doctor isn't as strict as others but it still concerns me. Believe me, I'm not wishing to be on bed rest but I want to the absolute best for these babies in order to have them stay in there as long as possible. If that means more rest that so be it! What do you think?