Actions Speak Louder Than Words

It's funny how closely K2 follows B in development. She's almost going in perfect order. She's starting to climb on my husband just like B did.

B started crawling on his knees yesterday! He moves a little like a chameleon (the stop and start motion). He'll crawl to us and use anything around him to help him stand up. We always know when he wants attention. K2 still cries when she wants attention but she's starting to use her arms to scoot herself forward. The kids still can't talk, but I can almost always know what they're trying to communicate just by their actions and their facial expressions. I guess this is a good example of how actions speak louder than words. :)

Our schedule has been tough for the past month. K2 and B haven't slept as well as normal. They've been taking longer to go to sleep at night. Sometimes they won't go to sleep until midnight and then they'll wake up at 5 or 6 a.m. Needless to say, the parents are getting very little sleep and I am drained.

We still have no teeth. :( Apparently my mom didn't get her first tooth until 11 months so apparently, it's genetic. I'm not sure when I got my first tooth since my mom didn't fill out my baby books (part of the reason I'm putting as much info in here as possible.)

I am so thankful for such wonderful people in my life. There are some special women at work who have children in the same class as B and K. They have probably been the most supportive and helpful people since the kids were born. Nowadays, it seems like everyone gossips, and it's nice to have people who hold themselves to a higher standard and do what is right, even when everyone else is doing the opposite.

Random observations: I am usually a quiet observer; I learn a lot that way. It doesn't take a long conversation with someone to learn about who they are and what they stand for. Watching how they treat others and how they carry themselves paints a bigger picture about their character. We often fail to realize that our actions often teach others more than our words do.

Life and 8 Months!

The kids turned 8 months on Sunday. This has been the most eventful and fun month so far since they were born. B has been pulling himself up on stuff. He'll crawl (scoot around on his belly) on the floor and get to wherever he's headed and then stand up. It's cute to see him grab my leg or the recliner and then stand. He'll crawl right over to us, hold his arms out, and climb up. The worst part is that he falls and gets hurt. It just breaks my heart. What I've noticed most is that he really pays attention to our expressions. If we look worried and scared, he cries more. If we just say, "uh oh" or "it's okay", he calms down and smiles. He's also been sticking out his tongue and giving us raspberries on our arms or legs (started on March 29th). He has learned to mimic our behaviors. It just goes to show how much kids pay attention to us, even when we're not looking.

They had their 6 month vaccines on March 25th (they waited so long because B has been sick on and off.) The doc has concluded that B probably suffers from allergies.

• B and K are in size 3 diapers (B can still fit into 2's though
• B is still wearing some 0-3 outfits! K is wearing 3-6 and 6-9 month outfits.
• Both are eating solids well - the routine usually consists of an every 3 hour routine of an 8 oz bottle in the morning, fruit with oatmeal, bottle, veggies, bottle, veggies, and another bottle before bed. They usually get water or juice with their solid foods.
• Mom keeps them three days a week, daycare one day, and Grams or Kevin keeps them on Fridays. (Boy, I am so thankful for family!!!! This would be so much harder if I didn't have them.)
• Neither use a pacifier anymore.
• B stands up in his crib now and grabs at the turtle nightlight on his dresser.
• K giggles at everything now, especially animals. She shakes her head like Stevie Wonder, too. Haha. Oh, and she can put her finger in her nose! Silly girl. Still isn't crawling yet. She can do it if she wants to, but she's not usually quite as motivated as B.

This past Sabbath, we went to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. (We were originally planning for the zoo but it was packed so, we went to the Botanical Gardens instead since it was right across the street.) We spent time together and got some really cute pictures. We dressed the kids up, put sunblock on their faces, arms, and legs, and put them in hats. They stayed in the stroller for most of the time. B slept for about half the trip. K really enjoys being out in the sun.

Since we were near TCU, we had lunch at Panera. Neither of us have eaten there and we were NOT impressed. Jason's Deli has much better quality food for the same price. The atmosphere is nice, but it's not worth the cost.

PERSONAL RANT:

I cannot even express how much I have changed since the kids were born. I have been given a completely new outlook on life. My family has become the most important thing to me. I have reached the point of watching very little television and being okay with that. I would prefer to spend time with my children and husband. There are days that we don't even turn on the television. I am so thankful for a husband that doesn't need to sit in front of the tv and watch sports for hours on end. He is a compassionate person; one who has a love for nature - plants and animals. He comes home after working a long day and plays the role of Daddy. No complaints - ever. Many times, I don't even have to ask him to do something because he's already done it. He knows me and knows what I would want to be done.

On the topic of my views of life changing, I have been thinking of how I want the kids to be raised. I've mostly been making homemade baby food because I want them to grow up eating "real" food and not jarred. I feel biology taking over and I have this sense of needing to be a wife and mother. When there are nights that I can't cook or I spend as much time with the kids as I want to, I feel like I've let my family down. Sometimes, I feel like work keeps me from performing my biological duties of being a wife and mom. When I bring work home or stay late, I have less time to do the things God has asked me to do - take care of my family. I love teaching. I just think I am mentally and emotionally drained.

I have been thinking about my spirituality, also. I have been out of church for a while now, and I need to get back...soon. I wasn't raised to be a specific religion. I was just raised to be a good person, have good manners, and treat others with respect. When I got to college, I became Seventh-day Adventist. After I graduated, I started working for a Cumberland Presbyterian Church in town and I joined. I met my husband while I was working there (he was not a member, I just met him somewhere else) and eventually, I moved on to teaching and left the church. I have found my true friends. Out of the two churches I attended, the people I knew from the SDA church and college still contact me on a pretty regular basis. I very rarely hear from the people of the church in which I worked and had worship for almost three years straight. My true church home is an SDA one. I want the kids to be raised in the church with strong values and beliefs. This is where I think we need to be. We are having many family discussions so this is still a work in progress. :)

Charla

7 Months Already?

I can't believe that they are already 7 months old! It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant sitting in the living room with my feet in a bucket of cold water because I itched so bad. Hydrocortisone cream, benadryl, lotion...nothing worked and I was ready to meet my babies. A lot has really happened in the most recent weeks so I'm writing as I remember them or as I read them off of a chicken scratch covered sticky note. This is very scatterbrained and well, that's how things have been lately.

I was on Spring Break last week. I took the ESL Supplemental test on the first day of spring break and passed. I really enjoyed spending time with the kids. I was able to get them on a good feeding schedule. When they're at my mom's house, they seem to get a little off schedule so I wanted to make a solid schedule while I had the time off. The past month, we have been alternating feedings. They receive a full 7-ish ounce bottle in the morning, then solids, etc. throughout the day. We usually end up with about 2 or 3 solid feedings and 4-5 bottles during a 24 hour period. They're last meal of the day is usually a bottle, and then they fall asleep between 8:30 and 9:30. Bryce can eat a lot of solid food. He can usually eat 4-5 ounces at one sitting. Per the doctor's suggestion, we've been giving them 2 ounces - half water and half apple juice along with their meals to help with constipation.

My friend from middle school, Holly, came over on March 16th so the kids and I took her to On the Border for an early birthday gift. Bryce and Kayla sat in the highchair and at at the big table for the first time. They did really well. Kayla sat up for the first time for longer than a few seconds on March 14th. Bryce sat up on March 18th during his pictures. I think Bryce likes Oprah. He was talking to the television (more than normal) when I had her on one day last week. On March 19th, Bryce and Kayla went to Sprouts for the first time, Blockbuster, and the doctor to have Bryce's ears checked (for the third time, he had another ear infection.) He's been coughing and wheezing, too, so he was given steroids and antibiotics. We had a birthday party for my Aunt Sheri and my Grams on Sunday, March 20th. When we got home, Bryce crawled to the Bumbo seat and pulled himself to standing! I had tears in my eyes! (Picture below) Kayla has been grabbing on her feet and putting her big toe in her mouth. Silly girl. Bryce keeps mouthing syllables. He's getting closer to "mama". We're trying to do sign language but it's hard to be consistent. I have to work on that. I want them to learn so we can communicate.

So far, they have eaten:

• apples
• bananas
• squash
• sweet potatoes
• carrots
• pears
• green beans
• peas

Kayla seems to prefer the fruits. Bryce seems to like everything except for the green stuff. He gagged today at daycare. He usually does a little better when we mix it with squash or sweet potato. They both seem to really like squash and sweet potato.

They're still in size 2 diapers, 3-6 month clothes, and moving into 6-9 month clothes on some things.

We had 7 month pictures taken at Portrait Innovations on March 18th. Here are a few of the pics:

I love being a mom!

They Grow So Fast

That statement has never been more true. I can hardly keep up with all of their developments! Bryce and Kayla are sitting up for a few seconds at a time. When they start to fall backwards, you can tell they are trying to use their tummy and back muscles to stay up. They stand well with support, too. They both hold up their arms to get us to pick them up. Both are eating solids. So far, they have tried sweet potatoes, squash (both of which they love), peas, green beans, carrots, apples, and pears. They don't seem too fond of the green beans or peas yet. They are still in size 2 diapers and wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes (some 6 month). Bryce is still so skinny that a lot of his pants fall off when he crawls. Ha!

Bryce is now crawling...it's an army crawl, but it's a crawl. He follows us around the room and he almost made it to the kitchen a couple of days ago. The baby gates went up last night. I picked them up at my mom's house after work today and he crawled to me. I love that. We had some books and PS games in the bottom shelves of our entertainment center and he has been pulling them out. So we moved those up and put their toys on the bottom shelves instead. He is extremely strong. He reaches for the Play Station and the stereo all the time and moves it. We find the volume knob on the stereo turned up. Silly boy.

     
He usually eats pretty well. We try to feed them formula for their first and last meals of the day and then alternate throughout the rest of the day. He started coughing more yesterday morning so we started the nebulizer treatments again. He now grabs our faces, pulls us towards him, and kisses us (or opens his mouth anyway). *Bryce, you silly boy. As I am typing this, you put your hand behind your head like you were modeling. You are an adorable little man. :)

Kayla found her feet on February 28th. She hasn't put them in her mouth yet but she's getting closer. The past week, she has been so much happier. She has been laughing and smiling a lot more than she used to. She doesn't eat as well as Bryce because she's usually so hungry by the time we try to feed her that she won't eat or she's too interested in her hands, thumbs, and spoon. She takes more patience. She rolls over from her tummy to her back pretty well. She loves the bendy ball and a set of keys. She loves to sit up in my recliner and she still loves the swing. When she's fussy, she prefers sitting in her highchair to watch me in the kitchen. She loves watching me use the food processer and mixer, all while I make funny faces to make her laugh. Sometimes, that seems to be all she needs. Certain faces that we make at her can really make her give us a belly laugh. Especially when Daddy plays hide and seek with her (like now) or Mommy holds her up in the air and gives her raspberries on her tummy! *Kayla, missy girl, you are chewing on the stuffed gecko that we got you from Ikea and trying to help me type. Yes, you've hit the space bar quite a lot. My, you sure do know how to multitask!  Thanks for helping Mommy. :)

Our life is hectic but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love being a mom, a wife, and a teacher. Although, all three have their moments. :)

6th Month Check-up

The kids went in for their six month check up on Monday. Bryce had been coughing that morning and I figured he was getting bronchitis again. The doctor said he had RSV, which is a highly contagious lower respiratory viral infection. We have to give him breathing treatments using the nebulizer every four hours. He doesn't particularly care for them when he's awake so we've been trying to do it when he's asleep. He's been pretty needly lately and sleeps most of the day...definitely not normal for him. Kayla looks like she's getting it too. She's not as bad as he is but we're keeping an eye on her.

As far as growth is concerned:

Bryce: 25" long, 14 lbs. 0.5 oz., head is 16.75"
Kayla: 24" long, 14 lbs. 7.0 oz., head is 16.50"

Foods:

They both like sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash. We usually buy a couple of jars of a new vegetable to see if they like it and to check on allergic reactions before we make our own. So far, I've made sweet potatoes and squash. I think I need more containers! Bryce can eat between four and five ounces of solid food at one feeding. Kayla doesn't eat the solid foods as well. She probably eats between a third and a half of a container. She prefers the bottle. I bought sippy cups with handles at the store the other day. They are the Tommee Tippee brand so the nipple can be traded out with the TT bottle nipples that we already have. I put the nipple on the end of it so they can learn to just hold the cups first. Kayla tries to hold the cup but she doesn't hold it up high enough to really get much out of it. We haven't tried with Bryce as much since he's been sick.

That's all for now. Good night.

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

Bryce and Kayla are 6 months old today! We made it halfway through the first year with twins. Hooray! We have one more day before a three day weekend. Kevin and I are talking about going to the Museum for Engineers' week. Hopefully we can find some time to do that.

Bryce:

• In size 2 diapers
• Wears mostly 3-6 month clothes, but some 0-3 month and newborn (the 3-6 month pants are really big. 0-3 month fits better around the waist but they're too short. We can't find a happy medium.)
• While on his tummy, he reached up and pushed the swing yesterday.
• He's rolling around all over the living room floor. He's grabbed the sheets on the couch and our pant legs and tugged on them.
• He grabbed some ads out of the recycle box under our side table and started ripping it up.
• Reached up to touch the light and the toys on the mobile above the swing yesterday.
• Loves the jumperoo and grabs the toys to chew on them. He moves the roller toy around on the jumperoo.
• Said "da-da" several times and everyone swears that he says "hi".
• Grabs rattles and keys with his hands and brings them to his mouth.
• Has a little bit of a tooth showing on his lower left gum!
• Sleeps through the night. Goes to bed around 9 or 9:30 and wakes up at 6:00.
• Loves sweet potatoes and rice cereal; hates carrots.
• Loves going on walks - sat in the stroller without the car seats on Feb. 13
• Loves baths - kicking and splashing the water!
• Recognizes Mommy, Daddy, Grandma Joni, and Grandpa Brian

Kayla:

• In size 2 diapers
• Wears mostly 3-6 month clothes, but some 0-3 month and a couple of newborn outfits. 
• Has rolled over from her tummy to her back. We think she can do more, but she doesn't care to.
• Plays with the toys in the jumperoo - she loves it!
• Smiles and laughs when she sees one of the cats or dogs.
• Yells and babbles - we haven't heard her try to form words, though.
• Grabs rattles and keys with his hands and brings them to her mouth.
• Drooling a lot and "chewing" on toys but we don't see any teeth coming in.
• Sleeps through the night. Goes to bed around 9 or 9:30 and wakes up at 6:00.
• Loves sweet potatoes and carrots but could care less about rice cereal.
• Loves going on walks - sat in the stroller without car seats on Feb. 13
• Doesn't scream when she gets baths anymore. She kicks her legs in the water now.
• Recognizes Mommy, Daddy, Grandma Joni, and Grandpa Brian - glared at Mommy (boy, if looks could kill...) yesterday when dropped off at daycare.

That concludes our day for now. I'll probably edit this later and write letters to Bryce and Kayla for their half birthday. (Kayla, my dear, you are squirming in my arms and yelling at me as I write this. I think you are tired. Bryce, you are asleep in Daddy's arms.)

The End of Silence

After four days stranded at home because of snow and ice, we went back to work today. As we were getting the kids in their car seats, Bryce said "da-da". Kevin and I turned towards each other to see if the other one had heard the same thing. Kevin asked, "Did he...?" Yep...he sure did. I am almost positive that he has said "hi" and "i love" in the past but maybe I'm just getting too far ahead of myself. I was a little bummed that his first "word" wasn't "ma-ma" but "da-da" will work too.

Kayla has been sick for the past three days. She has had a runny nose, a cough, and extremely fussy. We gave her some Tylenol for the first time tonight to see if that would help with her irritability. On the other hand, she is starting to play more with her toys.

Bryce still hasn't learned to crawl, but he does roll around all over the floor. He has discovered a new toy - the "Chime Garden" that has five flowers and they each play either a different tune or a part of a whole song. He was rolling it around on the floor and pressing on the flowers to get them to play. So cute!

Babies' First Snow Day

As the title implies, we had our first snow day together as a family. I woke up to Kevin poking me in the arm with his finger saying, "Burleson is closed, so do you want to sleep more or what?" Hmmm...hard decision.

The kids stayed with my parents last night because Kevin and I needed a break. We had a tough week and little sleep. I have spent the last two Saturdays at a professional development workshop to get my hours for work. Waking up to a snow dune on our front porch was a blessing. Kevin wanted to drive around to see how bad the roads were and how good the Pilot drove on them. So we drove around for about ten minutes in the development, came back inside, and slept until noon. The neighbor behind us called Kevin to let him know that the dogs were in his backyard so Kevin spent a while helping the neighbor put the fence back up. We decided that it was a good time to pick the kids up from my parents' house since the roads were probably melted a little since the sun was out. We made it there and back without any problems.

We all spent the rest of the evening together. Bryce is still trying hard to crawl. He is pushing himself forward so much that he flips himself over. He really gets frustrated.

We have been feeding them both rice cereal and they do well as long as they aren't too hungry. Bryce usually does better than Kayla. We started feeding them sweet potatoes on Friday, January 28th. They both loved it. My mom tried feeding them cereal and sweet potatoes yesterday and today. Bryce did well on both. Kayla, on the other hand, would not let my mom feed her cereal. She did, however, take the sweet potatoes just fine. She lunged forward and grunted as she took a bite. Funny girl. We fed Bryce carrots tonight. He took a few bites and then wrinkled up his face with a look of disgust the next few times I tried to feed him carrots. He didn't wrinkle up his face, though, when I switched back to cereal. Kayla was too mad to eat anything except for her bottle.

Bryce is starting to pull himself up to a sitting position. He has been trying for about a week now but tonight, he did it really well in my lap. He grabbed my pen tonight and held it for a while.

They are:

• in size two diapers
• in size 0-3 month clothes, one or two newborn outfits, and starting to fit into 3-6 month clothes
• over 13 lbs. now (exact measurement not known since they were weighed with diapers and clothes)

Babies' First Wedding

We went to our first wedding as a family today. We were able to sit through all of about 20 minutes of it before Kayla started fussing. I didn't want to ruin Ashley's wedding, so we went out into the lobby to feed her. They told us that a nursery was available so we went in there to feed them. By the time we finished feeding the babies, the wedding was over. I had a chance to walk up to the doors to see them kiss and start walking back down the isle. We got in the car to head to the reception venue and Bryce screamed the whole way there so we decided to just go home. I was exhausted anyway because I had a professional development class at 8:30 in the morning and I hadn't had a break all day.

Our friends Melissa and Sanal stopped by to visit and see the babies tonight too. :)

Getting So Big

I love, love, love coming home after a rough day and seeing my kids. They definitely make a bad day better. Motherhood is such a blessing and I am so thankful for having this gift.

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I heard Kevin start laughing out in the living room. Apparently, Bryce found out that he could put his feet in his mouth!

Bryce and Kayla are still eating their cereal once in the evenings.

They've been sleeping pretty well through the night, too. Kayla hasn't been waking us up the past three nights. Bryce, on the other hand, has been. I think it's mostly because he doesn't feel well. We'll put him in bed with us and he'll go right back to sleep. Kayla was the one doing that for a while. Here's Bryce at bedtime:

I was holding Kayla tonight and she kept trying to stand so I stood her up on the floor. I leaned her up against my legs and she stood up for a few seconds!

Bryce is still trying to crawl. In the meantime, he's rolling all over the living room floor. At one point, I looked over and he was pulling on the sheet covering the couch.

Another time, he was pulling on my laptop stand.

Kayla was wearing her K-State onesie with her new pants so I had to take a picture of that too.

Love,
C, K, B, and K2

Many Visits to the Doctor

We saw Dr. Readinger on Monday to check on Bryce's cold and ear infection. His cough was getting better and his ear infection had cleared up. He was diagnosed with bronchitis - most cases are caused by viruses and get better with time. Nevertheless, the doctor said to call back on Thursday if it hadn't gotten better. Bryce's cough didn't get better. In fact, it got worse. We called and got him in today at 10:00. Kevin took him since I had to work. His ear infection is coming back so he's getting more antibiotics. They drew blood make sure he didn't have anything serious. They drew blood from his heel but they weren't able to get enough so they had to get it from his thumb. The thought of them hurting my baby sickens me! I wish I had been there to comfort him. He has a bad virus in his lungs; the doctor didn't tell us which one. I feel helpless not knowing what virus his little body is fighting.

Kayla has been having a rough few days also. She has been fussy and crying about 90% of the time. She's been throwing up, too, so he prescribed her some Prevacid. We're halfing a pill and putting it in her rice cereal in the evenings.

We got Bryce's high chair in yesterday so they were both able to eat their cereal simultaneously for the first time tonight! Bryce ate most of his portion and Kayla started crying after about five bites.

I have been pondering some things. I have thought about raising the kids as vegetarians but Kevin is opposed to the idea. According to him, it's "not good for them." He can't tell me why though. I want to find an SDA church home and start going with the kids. Kevin isn't a Christian, so he won't be going. Bryce is fussing so I have to go.

Good night :)

5 Months!

Bryce and Kayla are 5 months old today. :) We spent the morning at the pediatrician's office following up on Bryce's ear infection and cough. He did well on the amoxicillin...no allergic reactions! His ear infection has cleared up but now he has bronchitis. Most bronchitis infections are viral so the doctor wanted to see if it would run its course. If not, I need to call him back to get antibiotics. Kayla has been really fussy so I had him check her out, too, to make sure she didn't have an ear infection as well. She got a good bill of health.

Rough weight (with clothes and diapers on):

Bryce: 13 lbs. 1 oz.
Kayla: 12 lbs. 15 oz.

The babies got their first real bites of rice cereal last night...SUCCESS! (We tried again tonight and they didn't do as well, but I'll take what I can get.) They seemed a little shocked at first but then they both started opening up their mouths for more. I split 1 T. cereal with ~3 T. formula between the two of them and they almost polished off the whole amount.

By the way...the "junk" in the background is stuff that needs to be taken to be recycled. We bought this space saver high chair to try it out and we just ordered another one for Bryce tonight. These high chairs convert to booster seats, so they are more practical and will save us money in the long run. Besides, they will be easier to transport on trips than a full high chair.

Bryce

Kayla

Bryce has become a rolly polly. He can't crawl yet (although he's trying hard) so he rolls around. I looked away for a second and I found him all the way over by the fireplace. It has since been padded with foam!

Kayla is so strong. She is great at sitting and lately, she's been putting a lot of weight on her legs.

Bryce is now wiggling himself out of his own clothes! Silly boy.

Work starts back tomorrow so I better get a little sleep.

Three Day Weekend

A three day weekend is coming up for the kids and I for Martin Luther King Day. Kevin still has to work. Bryce has a follow up doctor appointment on Monday to check on his ear infection and cough. The doctor wanted to check to make sure it was going away because if not, it could be asthma.

Kayla update - Kayla belly laughed last night. She's been laughing when we hold her up over our heads but last night, Kevin had her in his lap watching tv and she was full blown belly laughing at something for a while. It was so cute! We never could figure out what she was laughing at. She has been in size 2 diapers for about a week now. She can still fit into a newborn outfit (green and pink), but the pants have turned into shorts.

Bryce update - Bryce is a little in between size 1 and size 2 so we're trying to finish up the size 1. He is so skinny! We have several pairs of 0-3 size pants but they still fall off of him. He still has a couple of newborn outfits (the "center of mommy's universe" and "homegrown perfection" that he can still wear but the pants look like shorts now. I love the outfits though. :)

They are still having a little trouble sleeping through the night. Kayla wakes up four to five hours after her last feeding. Normally, we're able to lay her next to me on her side and she goes back to sleep for another three hours. Bryce falls asleep that way too. I love snuggling with my babies. :)

Rhino Virus Attacks Again!

The wonderful human being who discovers the cure for the common cold is going to be filthy rich! Since the kids were born, the kids have had two colds, and Kevin and I have had one every month (or so it seems.) It's rough taking care of two infants when both of the parents are sick. I missed my friend's wedding shower tonight because we're all sick. Bummer. :(

B update: Bryce is still trying to crawl. He has gotten to the point where he grabs the blanket (he's laying on) and pulls himself forward. He gets so frustrated that he rolls himself around. B wants to move so bad! He is starting to put weight on his legs! He sits well in the recliners but is a little off balance and falls over. As he was rolling around on the floor last night, he grabbed one of his socks and tried to crawl with it. He seems to pronounce vowels in the form of words.

K update: Kayla still hasn't rolled over yet or tried to crawl. She seems to need more attention than B and she'll cry and fuss until we pick her up. Then she's all smiles. She sits very well when we sit her in our recliners. She doesn't tend to fall over quite like Bryce. She babbles in undistinguishable words. It's more babbling or cooing still.

A New Milestone for Bryce

Bryce started lifting his legs up in the air and grabbing his feet last night...so cute! He's hilarious.

Kayla sometimes sleeps with her hand over her face.

First Day Back to Work

Bryce was up most of the night crying so we put him in the co-sleeper bed in between us. He was still up every hour. This made for a rough day at work, even though we had no students there and I wasn't even there all day. When I got to work, I called Dr. Readinger's office about Bryce's runny nose and sleeping a lot so they scheduled an appointment for 1:40. I took him in and the doctor had to take a curette to clean the wax out of his ears so he could see the ear canal. His right ear had fluid in it. Nice...his first ear infection at four months old. Poor guy; no wonder he's been miserable. We got a prescription for amoxicillin so we'll start that tonight.

I talked to the doctor a little more about solid foods while I was there. We've tried giving them rice cereal three different times now and they started to cry everytime. He thought maybe they didn't like it, so he suggested getting them started on vegetables. I'm still hesitant about starting them this early since the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting solid foods closer to six months because their digestive systems are more equipped to digest the food better. I plan on making our own baby food because it will be healthier, and hopefully smell better than the junk in the jars. I still haven't decided whether or not I want the kids to be meat-eaters or vegetarians. Vegetarianism is a healthier lifestyle and I want them to be healthier than I am. Kevin and I are still debating so we'll see.

The Break is Over...

Well, after a very quick two weeks off for Christmas, I go back to work tomorrow. The kids don't go back until Tuesday, but nevertheless, I'm still away from my own. This seems to get more difficult after every long break.

Here are a few updates: Kayla started sucking on her bottom lip yesterday, like I did when I was younger. Maybe she's just teething. She is drooling a lot and sticking her fingers/fists into her mouth. The picture below is of her sucking on her bottom lip.

Bryce is sticking his fingers/fists into his mouth, also, so he is probably in the early stages of teething as well. Bryce slept a lot today, more than normal. I'm hoping this is just a teething symptom and not illness. He has a runny nose, but no fever. I'll keep an eye on him. He discovered his feet yesterday, also. He's been grabbing them when we sit him up. It's so cute. He and Kayla laugh when we hold them up above us. They are both drinking about six ounces of water, with less than half being formula. We give them a little extra water to help with constipation. I prefer this over juice as long as it helps. They are still on Similac Sensitive - concentrated liquid and powder, and using Huggies and Pampers diapers. Pampers worked better at first, but Huggies has become the new favorite, at least for now.

We finally got the nursery put together since they've been sleeping in our room until this month. Pictures are below:

The kids had a nice nap with Daddy today. They all looked so cute so I had to take a picture:

Charla

Happy New Year!

My new year's resolutions are: 1) keep up with this blog on a regular basis, 2) simplify and get rid of "unnecessary" things cluttering up our lives, 3) focus more on relationships with people and less on money and tangible things, 4) be more positive, 5) become more healthy, and 6) save money so we can get our new house built and have more room for the kids and dogs.

I have been seriously thinking about being a stay at home mom after the end of this school year. Since Bryce and Kayla are probably going to be the only two kids we are ever going to have, I want to spend as much time with them as possible. On the down side, I bring in about 1/3 of our household income so a job loss would be a huge blow. We would have to really cut back on a lot of things. I do like my job. I enjoy that no day is ever the same and that I have a break from being at home. However, by the time I get off work, pick up the kids, drive home, eat dinner, get them ready for bed, I have had no time to spend with Kevin or them. My working seems to take away time from our family and it has started to take a toll on all of us. We will have to do a lot of praying about this before a decision is made.

Bryce and Kayla are still doing well. We all made our first family trip yesterday to our favorite restaurant...Taste of Asia on Bryant Irvin. We found a good place for them while we eat. Their car seats fit perfectly in between the booth and the table.

Daddy with Kayla

Mommy with Bryce

They both seem to be sleeping a lot more than they used to. Bryce acts like he's got a cold. He's coughing a lot and he has a runny nose. He still has a lot of energy, though, when he's awake.

The doctor and my mom have both recommended that we try rice cereal with Bryce and Kayla. We've tried it a few times and they strongly protest through crying and screaming. We still have until six months to get them started so no rush. I ordered a space saver high chair through Amazon yesterday. We were going to try it out before we got another one. Having twins is expensive so we try to only get one of something and let them share, until we decide that they both need one. For now, we only have one Bumbo seat, one jumperoo, and one swing. We have done pretty well with switching them out.

I'll update more soon.

Four Months

Bryce and Kayla turned four months old on December 17th. Our wedding anniversary was on the same day so my parents kept them for the weekend. Kevin surprised me with a trip to the Center for Animal Research and Education in Bridgeport, Texas. It was an awesome surprise and a nice change from the same ol' same ol' dinner and movie dates we've had in the past.

The twins are doing well. They have been in size one diapers for about two months are still in 0-3 month clothing for the most part. Most 3-6 month outfits are still too long for them. Bryce has some 0-3 month blue jeans that are still way too big for him and they fall off with every kick. We have a dresser with one side for Kayla and the other side for Bryce. One drawer is for 0-3 month, the next is 3-6, and then 6-9 month.

They started sleeping in their own room on December 7th and sleeping 5-6 hours a night. On Christmas Eve and Christmas, they slept throughout the night! They haven't done it since then. Kayla seems to wake up because mom and dad aren't with her and then Bryce wakes up because he's alone. The past couple of nights, we've put them in the co-sleepers in our bed and they were able to sleep a little longer.

Our last doctor visit was on December 20th and Bryce was 23.5 inches long, 11 lbs., 9 oz. and Kayla was 22.75 inches long, 11 lbs., 10 oz. They are both in the 5th percentile, approximately for height and weight. Bryce did pretty well with his shots. He cried for a couple of seconds, saw Daddy and then started smiling. Kayla cried and held her breath for a while. She continued crying until we started walking out with them. The doctor suggested starting them on rice cereal. We tried it a couple of times but neither of them were ready. Everything that I have read said to wait on feeding them cereal until closer to six months.

Milestones for Bryce this month: coos, smiles and giggles, rolls over from tummy to back and back to tummy, kicks his feet in an effort to crawl, pushes up on his hands and elbows when on his tummy, puts EVERYTHING in his mouth (even tried sucking on Daddy's nose once), holds his head up even with his body, smiles when Mommy sings, loves baths, loves being held up above us, and grabs toys/pacifiers. He is a happy and laid back baby. He seems to only get mad when he's hungry or wet. He gets bored VERY easily. He has to be moving or doing something constantly.

Milestones for Kayla this month: babbles a lot, smiles and giggles when Mommy says "I love you", loves "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Silent Night", holds head up even with her body, pushes up on elbows and hands when on her tummy, loves to sit up next to Mommy and Daddy or in the Bumbo seat, is fascinated by the lights on tv, loves the swing, watches when Mommy or Daddy walk by her, turns her head towards sounds (vacuum in particular), reaches out to be picked up, could care less about getting baths, points at everything, and sucks on her fingers. She sleeps and fusses a lot when not being held.

We went over to my parents' house for Christmas. The kids had more gifts than I was expecting. I didn't even think about having to open presents for two babies. They got a jumperoo and baby laptops from us. They love the jumperoo, even though they don't reach the floor just yet on the lowest setting. The box we put underneath works great. My grandmother gave them piggy banks and we put some money in there for them. They got a couple of lullaby CDs and a sea turtle night light that they seem to like.

Here are Christmas pictures:

Nearly 4 Months

I know, I know. I haven't been good about updating the blog. In the past month, we've all been sick twice and still are. We took the kids to the hospital for a stomach virus last month and this past Sunday, we took Kayla to the doctor to make sure she didn't have an ear infection. She's been really fussy and stopped up. Luckily, she just has an upper respiratory infection, which should clear up on its own.

Bryce has started rolling over. He has rolled over from back to tummy and tummy to back. Kayla hasn't yet. They're both "talking" a lot, though. We went to Kansas right before Thanksgiving and Kayla discovered the Braums sign. She nearly broke her neck trying to look at it. She loved it. Bryce and Kayla are both holding their heads up pretty well. Bryce seems like he's getting annoyed that he can't move around. They're both eating between four and five ounces. We switched to Similac Sensitive and they're not constipated anymore. Bryce is now pushing himself off the ground with his arms...funny boy. They've been going between five and six hours between feedings at night now. Bryce can usually go a little longer than Kayla. They're still sleeping in the bedroom with me on co-sleepers and Kevin sleeps in the nursery on an air mattress. We'll probably put them in their nursery in the next few days.

Work has been hectic to say the least. There is so much to be done and not enough time. We have been strongly encouraged to get ESL certified before the end of the year. I'm still behind on professional development that I missed out on while I was in the hospital having Bryce and Kayla. I have to get this done before my next days off so I don't get docked those days.

Kevin put up the Christmas tree the weekend of Thanksgiving and I decorated it. We haven't put up Christmas decorations since we've been together. That's all I have for now. I'll try to make time to update more often.