My babies are ONE!!

I can't believe its been a whole year! It didn't seem like it was flying by...but suddenly here we are...one year later! When you're right in the middle of it, it seems to stretch on forever...but we've gone from sleepless nights...breastfeeding...on to smiles...rice cereal....laughing...holding their heads up...formula...real food....crawling....signing...TALKING....pulling up....almost WALKING....what a busy busy year!!

I feel so blessed to be the woman they call "momma".

This sweet girl is so full of life. She is definitely a social butterfly and loves to smile and interact with everyone she meets. She can say a few things, but the two words I hear the most during the day are "duck" and "dog"...two of her most favorite things in the whole world! :o) She also can say "moo", "hot", "thank-you", "uh-oh", "ma-ma", "da-da", "bawk bawk" (its what a chicken says people) ;o) and THIS (another word I hear ALL day long, usually accompanied by her pointing at something!) :o)

She obviously is a crawler and got pretty quick pretty fast! She also can pull herself up...though this was only in the past couple of weeks...but she's getting really good at that too! She loves to walk if you hold her hands....she's very interested in walking so we'll see if that happens anytime soon!

This boy...oh this boy. He is just so cute...with that mouth full of teeth (the better to bite his sister with my dear!!!) ;o) He loves the song "if you're happy and you know it" and of course he will clap every time!! (Exhibit A: See above) He also is quite the little talker...he loves to say "duck" and every time he sees a duck he also has to say "Quack Quack". He says "this" but points with his whole hand instead of just one finger...like he's addressing the nation or something. He also says "ma-ma", melting my heart nearly every time.

He is crawling everywhere and getting into EVERYTHING....stairs...grass...concrete....no problem....climbing inside the toybox? No problem. He's all over the place and keepin' momma on her toes!!
Both kids just had their first sickness (and first fevers!) this past week (after I put them in the church nursery for the first time...figures) and poor Carter is still battling some bowel issues. Nothing like being on the B.R.A.T. diet for your first birthday!! Thankfully their party isn't til Sunday so he can eat all kinds of goodies then!

I need to head to bed because we have to go for our ONE YEAR checkup at the pediatrician tomorrow....but I wanted to post on this special day.

I started this blog as an infertile. And here I am quite far on the other side...still not believing how blessed I am. What an amazing year...full of memories I will cherish forever.

I love you Carter and Caelyn...you have filled my life with joy I never knew was possible.

10 Months!

Yup...we've got two first birthdays right around the corner...momma has already started planning!!! ;o)
And I am happy to say that Miss Caelyn FINALLY has enough hair to clip into a bow...lol...it barely hangs on but she doesn't mind it at all!! :o)

Caelyn's Great Grandma (G.G.) and Great Grandpa (G.Pa) flew in for a couple of weeks so we decided to have a mother/daughter tea. It was simply lovely...and momma loved the excuse to buy a darling dress for Caelyn at the local consignment shop!!! :o)

Caelyn's two aunts, two grandmas and two great-grandmas...what a special day!!

Of course she had to have her own little tea set!!!

So at 10 months Caelyn is:

Saying "da da" and "ma ma" and several other little babbling sounds

Eating EVERYTHING and ANYTHING I put in front of her!

Signing "more"

Has no interest in crawling but will stretch/reach/roll to get what she wants

Tries to pull up...not quite there yet!

Loves to clap

Waves hello and seems to say "hi..." lol

Still no teeth...poor baby girl!

Weighs 17.6lbs

A little ball of excitement...she is the happiest little baby ever!!

And Mr. Carter at 10 months is...

CRAWLING

This boy is moving...moving...moving!!!!

He can pull himself up, wiggle inbetween furniture...he's everywhere and into everything!

A little more picky when it comes to eating...but both kids can put back some serious bbq ribs! lol!

Just started clapping..just a little... ;o)

Has 5 teeth!!
Weighs 17.7lbs
This kid is all boy...he's a mover and a thinker...he likes to try to figure things out!

They are just so fun at this age....I love how they are turning into their own little people...seriously I look at them all the time and think "How did I get so lucky? I'm sure everyone wishes they could hang out with these kids all day long...but I get to be their mom...ME!!! How on earth did I get so lucky????"

*happy sigh*

Happy New Year!

8 months (nearly 9!!!)

Almost NINE months??!!! They've been around for the same amount of time I was preggo but it doesn't seem like its been that long! They are so much fun...each day brings new and exciting adventures!!!! Up above you can see the first time they both rode in the cart like big kids together....Carter just laughed and smiled the first five minutes...he was just so thrilled!
lol!
My friend was kind enough to let me borrow her little leather chair so I couldn't resist taking some santa pics of the kiddos! :o)

For the "Ho Ho Ho" picture I actually got asked for my "copywright release" in order to print it...LOL...I was like...wow...that's the biggest compliment anyone has ever given me!! :o)

FIRST SNOW! We were actually in Seattle for my grandpa's memorial service when it snowed here earlier this week so this was their first experience with the cold white stuff. The kids did GREAT on the plane...but then again I guess they already flew to California when they were three months old so they were seasoned travelers. ;o)

Things they're doing at nearly 9 months:

Carter:

* HAS FOUR TEETH

*Says "Dah-dah", "Bah-bah" and "Uh-oh" (the first two are not referring to "daddy" or "bottle" but are said randomly....and "uh-oh" is said after we say it...this just started two days ago!)

*Stands assisted

*sits up unassisted (though he still falls backward occasionally so momma always puts a pillow or blanket behind *wink*)

*rolls over and spins around on belly (no crawling yet!)

*Signs "milk" (usually when he's not being held by me and sees me walking by when he's hungry)

*clicks tongue

*is pretty laid back...doesn't fuss when his sister steals all his toys...just finds something else to play with

*quick to smile...is NOT afraid of strangers...loves everyone!

Caelyn:

*HAS ZERO TEETH

*Just started saying "Dah-dah" a couple days ago...other than that she just screams or says "uh-uh-uh"

*Stands assisted

*sits up unassisted

*rolls over and spins around on belly. Scoots backwards. (no crawling yet!)

*LOVES dogs...LOVES small children...she will giggle and laugh at the sight of either one...so cute.

*not afraid of strangers...has a smile for everyone!

Both kids are starting to eat all of G.erber's second foods (yeah...haven't quite gotten into making my own baby food yet...need to work on that!) and are still nursing...though with the recent plane ride I have been giving them a bottle a day just so they would be okay on the plane when I couldn't nurse them both...I may keep that bottle a day in the routine...it was nice having some help with feeding and not having to worry about being discreet and modest when feeding on the go! ;o) (which is getting more difficult...because both kids want to look around while nursing now...and they just fling their arms around to get the wrap off...its really fun.(NOT) *wink*

They STILL aren't quite sleeping through the night...I think part of the last two weeks was the fact that they had jet-lag from being in a different time zone...but the last two nights they've slept 8 hours and I am happy with that!!! They also naturally went into a nice hour and a half to two hour afternoon nap which I am LOVING...I get so much done and sometimes am tempted to wake them up because I'm a little bored and missing them...lol...of course I let them sleep though!

Looking forward to spending our first Christmas as a little family...we need to go get our tree today...we would have gotten it sooner, but as I said, we were in Seattle so we didn't get the chance yet. Having kids is amazing...having kids during the holidays is just WAY too much fun!!! I love the excuse to go into all the toy stores again...though I have only bought the kids one gift so far!! I'm really behind this year!

Today's to do list: Post on Blog (CHECK!)

Get Christmas Tree.

Buy Christmas Presents. :o)

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7 Months!

Carter...what a fun kid! This kid is hilarious and it is so easy to make him laugh! He loves it when his momma does this silly voice (daddy calls it her weird, creepy alien voice) and will just crack up laughing every time she uses it! Its so funny! He still has just two little teeth but man can that boy use them...he's bit his momma several times...and his sissy...and even himself a couple of times (ouchie!). He's my tall thin man...he weighs 15lbs 1oz and I can't remember how tall he is but they told me he's two inches taller than Caelyn! Wow!
As you can see Caelyn is starting to sit up almost on her own...we still need the boppy nearby to catch any spills! This just started about a week ago. She is a little harder to make laugh than Carter...but if you get her one tickle spot (right on her clavicles...weird huh?) she starts rollin'! Speaking of rolling...she can pretty much move from one side of a room to the other now by rolling there...ooh boy...momma better do a really good job of baby proofing! She's my little chunker...weighing in at a whopping 15lbs 6oz! :o)

The Itsy Bitsy Spider has been their #1 favorite song for a little over a month now...but I'm a Little Teapot is starting to take the lead these days! :o)

On Halloween we just hung out on our driveway with our firepit and roasted hot dogs and s'mores. (and handed out candy too of course!)

Houston..we have a thumb sucker! Well...not really...but for this picture he got it in there pretty good! I took these pictures for their dedication ceremony that will be held next Sunday at church...I should mention these are the "outtakes"...I don't want family who read this blog to see the real photos until they're up on the big screen at church :o)

Both kids are amazing eaters....the whole time I'm feeding them they are like little birds with their mouths open! They used to get really crabby between bites because I'd have to feed the other one, but I think they've finally learned some patience...and they don't complain anymore! :o) When we started eating solids the babies did NOT like green beans or peas...but now they will eat ANYTHING I feed them! They love all their veggies and we just finished trying all the fruits...peaches being their least favorite and apples being their most favorite! :o) I'm so happy they love all their veggies because I am the MOST picky eater...I can't (won't) eat most vegetables...pretty much I'll eat lettuce, carrots and corn. Its pretty bad!

Yes...I'm still breastfeeding...*sigh*...its made my life so much easier to be feeding them solids though...if we're going somewhere I'll just nurse them really quick before we go and then pack the food for while we're out!

We aren't sleeping through the night as well as we were...I dunno what's going on (teething maybe?) but Caelyn keeps waking up at like 1 or 2am every night screaming...she won't take her paci and has to be rocked to sleep...sometimes several times a night. *sigh* If Carter wakes up he just needs his paci...but he doesn't wake up too often in the middle of the night thankfully. Then they wake up to eat at around 5 or 6 and then go back to sleep until around 10...yeah...momma usually sleeps in til around then too ;o)

Lately however I've been trying to be more productive in that long stretch of time...especially since the kids are way more mobile now! I've been doing a TON of crocheting...getting ready for a craft show and making hats for orders from my hat shop....look up Topsy Turvy Hat Shop on facebook...that's me! :o) I think I'm going to have to stop taking orders soon though...at least until after Dec. 4 because I just don't have time to prepare for the craft show when I'm filling orders! And like I said...its getting increasingly more difficult to find the time to crochet...and I know its going to get worse when the babies are crawling and WALKING...ahhhh!!

Anyhoo...I should get to bed...we lose an hour of sleep tomorrow don't we? Ugh...*yawn* Hopefully Caelyn will sleep through the night! We shall see! :o)

6 month photo shoot...

We decided to head to the pumpkin patch for the kiddos' 6 month photo shoot...DH had a cute idea...why not put the babies IN the pumpkins...it turned out to be a lot of fun! :o)

The kid's Nana made their little pumpkin hats...she recently taught me how to crochet too and I've been having a lot of fun with it!

This was Carter's first taste of vegetables. I actually just bought the canned baby food kind the day before at the grocery store and planned on giving it to them the day of the photo shoot...but he tried some on his own!! :o) I'll have to post pictures later of their first (well, Carter's second) taste of peas...its pretty humorous...neither my husband nor I like peas...apparently they take after us! We tried carrots today instead of continuing with the peas (we won't subject them to that torture again for a while) and they went over much better!!!

Cutest pumpkins in the patch!!

6 months!!

Am I a monthly blogger now??!! I just might be!! AHHHH!! I never thought it could happen....but its definitely starting to look that way. *sigh* Well here's what's been going on in our neck of the woods...

Sweet Caelyn got the chance to have her picture taken in the family christening dress that has been worn by generations before her. We have a picture of her Great great Grandma wearing the same dress...pretty neat! I was definitely freaking out when I put it on her...I even ripped it a little (ahhhhh!!)...but it truly is in great condition for being over a hundred years old!

Caelyn is able to hold her head up when she's laying on the floor...and is starting to push herself up with her arms nearly straight in front of her. She can roll over from her back to her tummy and then tummy to back. She loves to stand up if someone is willing to help her...and her little legs are constantly kicking a little irish jig. :o) She is quick to smile and LOVES to talk...or maybe I should say "scream"...she is the LOUDEST little girl ever! She's like a little bird...chirping and screeching all day long! Caelyn can easily recognize the sign for "milk" and "bath", getting VERY excited when she sees either of those signs!
Carter finally has enough hair for a mohawk!! :o) Momma is so proud! He is the most ticklish boy on the face of the planet...he will just giggle and squeal if you barely touch his tummy (and surprisingly his back too!) He is pretty laid back and when he finds himself on his belly, he'd rather lay with his head on the floor than pick it up....but at times he will give it a go and is getting quite strong! He also loves standing, but he will keep his little piggy toes all curled up the whole time! He also can recognize the signs for "milk" and "bath". He loves it when his momma sings to him and will smile and dance to his favorite songs (#1 being "The Itsy Bitsy Spider").

Yes...we started rice cereal the other day...it was quite a hit! The kids are getting the hang of eating off a spoon and mommy and daddy are having a lot of fun feeding them!

Speaking of feeding...I think I may be done breastfeeding...I was planning on starting to wean them this week...but the formula I bought got RECALLED so I was freaking out a little bit...I was thinking that I KNOW what goes into my milk....I never know what's going into those cans!!! But at the same time I'm DONE with breastfeeding. It has been good so far (definitely had its ups and downs) but I'm ready to be a bit more "mobile" with the feedings...and to not have a screaming baby while I feed the other (they refuse to tandem feed).

I think in the end it will be better for all of us...and I figure...I nursed TWINS for 6 months...that's a LOT of feedings. Equivalent to a singleton mommy feeding for a YEAR...

The "ladies" need a break.

'Nuff said.

:o)

I can't believe my babies are half a year old...I'm so excited to start planning their first birthday...though I can't believe how fast its coming up...

I was watching videos that we have of their first few months and I can't believe how much they've grown! Its amazing...and so fun to fall even deeper in love with them every day!