Activities 27-30

Day 27: We did Wonder Kleenex Box from www.ayearwithmomanddad.com. I tied a bunch of scarves together and stuffed them into an empty wipes dispenser so the boys could pull them out. They liked it! My failure here was only doing one box. I got out a puff's box and let both boys have something to pull. This was a lot of fun; not only did they have fun pulling the scarves out and stuffing them back in, but we made the scarves wave and they shook them all around. They also tore apart the tissue they pulled out, but that's okay. :)

Day 28: Discovery Bottles, from www.familyfun.go.com. I put a few small items into some bottles with water and let the boys each have a bottle and shake it around to look at the things inside. They already love playing with water bottles, so I figured this would be a hit. Jack thought it was fun to shake it up and down and Ben liked to pretend he was drinking. Silly boys!

Day 29: Squishy Goo in a bag, from the same site as yesterday. I made a "goo" concoction, put it in a ziploc, and let the boys squish and feel it. They kept feeling it with their feet! It was so funny to watch them put their little feet out and touch the bag, like they didn't want to use their hands. Jack was definitely more interested in Ben, but it was kind of neat to watch them squish it around.

Day 30: Was "coin drop," from Creative Resources for Infants and Toddlers. I cut a hole into an empty oatmeal canister and let them drop items in. They loved this one! I had to empty it over and over to let them keep at it, and they really enjoyed it :)

I'm a little sad our 30 day challenge is over, but it was a really fun endeavor. I will definitely keep looking for new and different activities for them to do, especially as they get older and there are more and more age-appropriate activities out there for us to try.

Picnic @ White Rock Lake

A couple of weekends ago we tried to take a picnic lunch to the Arboretum. Unfortunately half of Dallas had the same idea! It was gorgeous weather out (really, unbelievably gorgeous weather), so I totally understand. So instead, we had our picnic out by the lake, which was really, really nice too! The boys loved being free (not in their high chairs) during lunch, and when we were done we tried to feed the ducks, but they were skittish and swam away when we got near. Oh well, Ben & Jack still shared some of their banana puffs with the ungrateful ducks ;) What a fun afternoon!

Mischief

Ohhhh boys, you really keep me on my toes. I have to be constantly alert to their activity to try to avoid accidents, but they still get plenty of bumps and bruises during the day. Yesterday I had a bad migraine - probably the worst I've felt in the last year - and I was sort of out of it. I let the boys into the kitchen with me while I finished getting dinner ready, and it took a few minutes for it to register with me that they were getting into our little bar-stand. I rushed over and took out all of the wine bottles so that they couldn't pull them out and knock their little heads with them. A few minutes later I caught myself thinking what a nice tinkling/clinking sound I was hearing, and then it registered that they were hitting the hanging wine glasses against each other. Those particular glasses are made with very fine glass, and I panicked thinking that they would shatter before I could reach them across the kitchen. I then removed all the wine glasses. They're so quick! I should probably finish baby-proofing before letting them into a new area (they don't usually go into the kitchen).

Some of the other fun stuff they've been doing lately - both boys try so hard to put items on their heads like they've seen us do for them. They hold a toy/cloth/etc behind their head for a second before dropping it, but can't quite understand that they need to move their hand upwards. Ben, in particular, tries really hard. I have found paci's down the back of his onesies, and toys sticking out of the back of his shirt (as evidenced below). I think it's so funny.

They also love opening drawers and pulling stuff out. Recently, they discovered how to open the drawer beneath their cribs and pull out the sheets, put toys in there and close it up, or crawl inside, as evidenced below. 

They have also discovered that they can crawl behind the gliding chair in their room. They love to play hide-and-seek with each other around the chair (seriously, has to be one of the cutest things ever) and play with the shutters from behind the chair. Unfortunately only one can stand there at a time, and usually Jack makes it there first with Ben using Jack as leverage to pull himself up. Jack doesn't like that so much, but so far he's refraining from biting. :)
 

Their birthday chairs have provided hours of fun. They love, love to crawl over their chairs, stand up and look out, crawl back and forth, etc. Jack especially loves to crawl back and forth (below). They also like to look outside, open & close the shutters, and try to climb on the pack & play. The first few days we had to be really mindful and watch that they didn't fall. Now they are little pros at catching themselves when they fall, thankfully!

Silly, active baby boys. They love to "walk" these days (with help) and crawl & climb all over the place. I'm seriously so tired by the end of the day. We are working on getting our back-yard more baby-friendly so that we can spend more time outside soon and expel some of their little boy energy :)

Hoodie Towels

Ben & Jack's great-Aunt Andi gave them a pair of hooded animal towels and they are fitting well, now. We took some pictures of them after a bath one night and I had to put them up because they're just so cute!! Thanks Aunt Andi :)

Losing the "baby weight"

I figure if I blog about it I have to follow through, so I'm writing this to make myself commit to a weight loss plan. Can you really call it "baby weight" a year after the birth? I don't know about that. I've tried a couple of times to "diet" and start a work out plan, but it was really hard when I was still pumping, so I figured I'd wait until I was done with that and sort of start fresh when my body was really, finally 100% my own again. Breastfeeding made me hungry all the time; also, I couldn't do anything in the morning before I pumped, and mornings are best for me to exercise since I'm usually exhausted by the boys' bedtime. Soooo, I've been done with pumping for about three weeks now...and every Monday I have started anew, but failed miserably. Tomorrow will be the third Monday, and hopefully the third time's the charm.

I have made an inspiration board, which is a first for me, but was kind of fun! It's also an accountability center, since I don't know how I would make time for weight watchers meetings or anything like that. Also for accountability I am checking in with my sisters, who are also working to get more fit. So I like that I have someone to commiserate with. :) I have weight loss goals, of course ("baby weight"), but also running goals so I'm excited to get back into running since I've really missed it.

Here's my goal picture. I literally cannot find one picture from Dec 2009-Feb 2010, when I was training for a half marathon and was in the best shape of my life. Oh well, this was from November 2009 right after the Turkey Trot 8 mile run, so it's pretty close.  Oh, I'm bringing J in on this weight loss thing with me, since he says he also gained some "baby weight." I'm not making him an accountability partner though, because all he has to do is think about losing weight and he'll lose five pounds, which is discouraging for someone like me who takes five weeks to lose five pounds. Hopefully this time next year I'll be healthier and more fit. At least I hope so, because Ben & Jack will be walking any day now and I'm going to need to be in shape to run around after them all day. :)

Activities 22-26

Day 22 we did the Aromatherapy Box, from www.nurturestore.co.uk. I basically gathered a few items around the house and put them in a box then let the boys smell them. It was cute watching them mimic me smelling things. I included a spice jar, vanilla extract, daddy's aftershave, some kool-aid-dyed rice (mmm - stay tuned for day 23!), etc.

Day 23 was colored rice sensory play, from www.playathomemom3.blogspot.com.  I was super pumped about this one, because it's aaalmost like sand. Have I mentioned how ready I am for our sand tray? We did just order a giant pirate ship sandbox for the backyard, but that's another post. So anyway, I colored the rice two ways. One was with kool-aid to give it a fun smell. But the kool-aid was only available in a couple of colors and not as bright, so I also colored some with the alcohol and food coloring method. I wouldn't recommend the latter - it made the rice smell like alcohol, but worse, it gave the rice a film that stayed on your hands after playing with it. I gave the boys a shovel and scoops and they went to town and had a good time. This was a fun activity!

Day 24 was Color in a Bag, from www.no1hasmorefun.blogspot.com. Oh dear. I am cringing as I'm writing this, and I berate myself every time I think about this incident. I put some paint into a ziploc and taped it on the back door window. The boys were playing and I tried to go outside to get a picture of them from the outside looking in. I was trying to shut the door quickly so that Jack didn't follow me to the porch steps and accidentally shut Ben's pinky finger in the door. I don't really even remember it registering, just the panic I felt as I rushed back in to get him. He didn't start wailing until I had picked him up, and I think I was wailing along with him on the inside. I frantically called Carol, and she calmed me down and told me what to do. Ben was absolutely fine a few minutes later, though his finger was swollen and bruised for a couple of days. I do have to commend Jack, because he dutifully followed me around while I got an ice pack for Ben then followed us all the way back to their room and played on his own while I was comforting sweet Benny. Oh, my good sweet boys. I hate that I did that to him, but lesson learned - no need to rush, there's always time for safety precautions. So yeah, this activity was sort of abruptly ended.

Day 25 was Baked Cotton Balls, from www.playcreateexplore.com. The point of this activity was to give them cotton balls covered in a colored flour/water mixture, then baked, and let them crack/pull them apart. It's actually kind of neat to break them open and pull apart the cotton, but this activity was a bust. They just weren't that interested even after I broke a few for them and pulled them apart to get started. I'm thinking that in a couple of years when they can dip the cotton balls into the flour mixture and bake them, then break them, this activity will be more successful. So we'll try again later :)

Day 26 was a Sorting Game, from BabyCenter. I put a bunch of different items into a muffin tin (poker chips, fuzzy balls, glitter tubes, dice, etc.) and let the boys try sorting. While they didn't necessarily sort by color, they did sort by item some, which I thought was impressive! The poker chips were the winner of today's items - they loved to slide them together and scratch the sides and listen to them drop into the muffin tin. Ben was also pretty intrigued by pulling apart the cotton balls. Today he was, not the day before, when he had a whole mess of them. Oh well. Both of the boys are so into putting things places and taking things out right now (I seriously need to baby-proof their drawers - I probably re-fold laundry 8 times a day because they think it's fun to pull out shirts from their drawers. And look at me and smile as they do it after I tell them no. Sigh.). This was a great activity! They loooove anything that's not really a baby toy, so it's always fun to watch them explore new items and for them to think that they are getting something really cool. Ohhhh my goodness I love them so much!! Look at those sweet smiling faces!

Easter

For Easter Sunday we went to Tyler. The whole family was there and it was so much fun! The Easter Bunny visited Ben & Jack at our house and at GiGi's house. They opened Easter baskets from their Honey & Papa that morning, and got fun Easter baskets from their GiGi & Poppy that afternoon too. They had a blast watching Connor hunt eggs! And so did we; he would giggle hysterically every time he found an egg! Love that little man. I got loads of Cooper time in, too - so sweet!

We forgot to bring our pack & play, which meant the boys shared GiGi's pack & play for nap. It took them forever to fall asleep because they were playing together, but I kept checking on them. I peeked in right as Ben had fallen asleep sitting up and captured him falling over on film. It was hilarious. Precious little guys!

Easter lunch was yum and time with family was short but great. Jack was really loving on his Great-Grandma Dean today! It was good to see them this weekend, too.  I am excited to start some of our Easter traditions next year, and sad that we missed going to church this year. I can't believe this was Ben & Jack's second Easter!

Monochromatic clothing wasn't planned

GiGi & Poppy with all their boys

Connor egg hunting!

Cramped quarters

Cooper loved his Easter Basket, too!

They loved the tissue paper, and they loved "reading" their Easter cards!

Easter Eggs are fun. Can you tell my Jack has several new teeth coming in?

Saturday Fun

What a great Saturday we had! We started off at Tietze Park for Easter fun - the boys got to sit with the Easter Bunny (and did great!) and they played in a baby bounce house for a while. They loved that - so much fun! I loved watching them crawl around and bounce and press their faces against the mesh sides :) They had a good time watching all of the other children hunt eggs, too.

After that they napped in the car as we drove to the Nasher. We had a picnic lunch outside all the food trucks (I think this is J's new obsession - last weekend we went to the Stonewall fundraiser and had lunch at the food trucks, and this week he saw they would be at First Saturdays so we went today too). It was really yummy, and the boys had their first shaved ice! Jack was hesitant at first, but then he started opening his mouth as soon as he had swallowed, ready for the next bite. So cute :) Ben was going crazy crawling all around the blanket, and Jack was having a daddy-day, just relaxing in his daddy's lap and wanting his daddy to hold him.

We strolled around the Nasher (it's so pretty) and Ben thought it was hilarious to push the stroller while I held him. They were a little upset that they weren't allowed in the fountains. I told them to hurry up and start walking and I'll take them to a splash park. All about the incentives, you know.

Last night was Passover with the Solomon fam over at the Goldbergs'. It was a smaller crowd than usual, but a good time and yummy food. Ben & Jack ate...and ate...and ate, for probably two hours solid. I fed them some of the jar food we're trying to get rid of before the Seder began, and they ate puffs during the Haggadah reading, then they fully participated in the festive meal. They love matzah, and G'ma Lainey's matzah ball soup, just like their daddy. They also ate brisket and the rest of the meal! I was amazed at how much they were putting away. My little champs were very good during the Seder, and I was impressed with their good behavior. Some showing off took place, and flirting, especially with Cousin Lauren, whom Ben was sitting next to. I had not changed my watch to the spring forward time, so was off on time and the boys were out well past their bedtime, but they were still well-behaved! Thanks again to their Papa for bringing high chairs for them.

Tonight marked a milestone - it was our first non-family member babysitter! Nanny Mercedes babysat for us tonight so that we could go out to dinner to celebrate Jonathan's birthday. We went to Pappa's Bro.s, and sadly our favorite server in the world, Beau, had the day off, but we still had an excellent time. What a great Saturday! Tomorrow will be cinnamon rolls for J's B-day and Tyler for Easter. :)

Ben & Jack with Uncle Mark & Cousin Lauren

Ben is ready for more eating

Schedule

Someone asked me the other day about our schedule when the boys were just little babies, and I couldn't remember! Oh, how quickly we can forget the sleeplessness and the round-the-clock feeding/diapering/napping schedule. We did Babywise, and I tell everyone that will listen how great it is! Even though they were technically a month early, Ben & Jack were "sleeping through the night" (6-8 hours) by around 2 months, in major part because night nurse Kim sleep-trained them. After that, they were probably sleeping 10-12 hours at night by 4-5 months, with a dreamfeed. By 6-7 months we had dropped the dreamfeed and they were sleeping 12 hours straight. So that has definitely been nice! Where we had trouble was naps, since the boys were chronic 45-minute nappers; every nap all day would be 45 minutes to maybe an hour and a half when I got lucky, and even then it probably was only one baby, not both. The reason why 45 minute naps were so difficult, is because up until probably 7-8 months I was still training them to fall asleep on their own, so it could take up to 20 minutes to get both babies to fall asleep, which meant that within 25-30 minutes, the first baby to fall asleep would be awake again, and I only had that half hour to wash bottles, etc. Round-the-clock! Once they dropped down to 2 naps a day, around 10-11 months, naps improved and now we have a good 2 hour nap period in the afternoons! Life-changing.

On to our current schedule.
Wake - between 7-7:30; they wake with the sun and Ben usually wakes before Jack so I'll let him chatter until he wakes his brother up, or bring him to cuddle with us in the bed for a few minutes. Then I have to find a time to get my Jack cuddle-time in later :)
7:45 - breakfast; Jonathan feeds them bottles while I get their breakfast made and then he finishes feeding them. My plan is always to go for a run at this time, but sometimes I'll take a shower instead to get a head start on the day.
8:30 - go for a walk around the neighborhood, these days in our new wagon! Then we come home and play in the living room until 9ish, when we move to their room to read books before nap. Some days we take baths after the walk.
9:30-10: somewhere in this time I"ll put them down for a nap, which is usually about 45 minutes long. On the days when I'm good and have gone for a run, I'll shower during this nap period and get ready.
11:00 - Lunch
11:45 - Play in the living room. On Fridays we have Little Gym at this time. Next month we'll have our sign & sing class at this time on Thursdays. I usually try to do an outing after lunch when we can (mall, grocery store, park, etc) just to get us out of the house.
1:30-2 - somewhere in this time I'll put them down for their second (good) nap, which is usually around 2 hours (anywhere from 1.5-3 hours). During naps I do as much prep for dinner as I can (chopping veggies, browning meat, throwing things in slow cooker, setting out all ingredients, etc.)
3:45 -Afternoon snack / bottle & finger snacks
4:00 - Play in the living room, possibly play in the front yard if it's nice out. We work on motor skills (assisted walking, tumbling, crawling games, etc) during this time. On Thursdays we have our twin playgroup at this time!
5:00 - usually watch Baby Einstein while I get dinner ready
5:30-6 - Dinner somewhere in this time
6:30 - Play with dad when he gets home, Baths
7:15 - Bottle, pajamas, brush teeth
7:30 - 7:45 - read a book, sing Twinkle Twinkle, babies to bed :)
8:00 - wash bottles, clean up dinner, etc. Unfortunately I usually stay up until 11 or 12, though I'd like that time to be closer to 10. But it's the only time of day I know that I'm guaranteed a solid chunk of time to do whatever I want, and usually I'm trying to study baby recipe books and plan meals or working on baby books/the blog, or I'm just vegging on the couch with Jonathan watching television, which is fun too. 

They are really good at falling asleep on their own now. Praise the Lord! It's so nice to rock and cuddle them but it's also nice to know that I can put them down awake and close the door and know that they will (usually) fall asleep within a few minutes. On Wednesday we have Nanny Mercedes, so I can work on projects around the house or run errands. We have a good routine now, and I hope it sticks a while!

Bluebonnets!

I have always loved looking at bluebonnet pictures every year. There's something about children in a field of bluebonnets that is so simple and sweet. So needless to say I was so excited to get our first annual bluebonnet pictures taken! Unfortunately the schedule worked out to where we took these on the same day as our one-year pictures, later that evening, so the boys were a little tired of picture-taking! But I still think they turned out great. Jen Bardwell (www.giggles-photo.com) is in Frisco and I adored her photography for another twin mom Frisco friend of mine, so she did our Christmas pics and now our Bluebonnet pics. She is also a fellow former FISD employee - I miss FISD so much! Jen does amazing work also and we loved these!

So done with pictures for today...

One year photos

Jesse & Rachael Leos have taken all of our milestone photos, and I made a couple of collages from their one-year photo shoot. I think I've mentioned before how fantastic this photography "duo" is and just how much we love all of the photos they take, not to mention what incredibly nice people they are! You have to be pretty patient to photograph babies, especially twins, and I never cease to be amazed at the amount of quality shots Jesse is able to get. We love, love these pics, and Jesse's website is www.jesseleosphoto.com if you want to see more of their work.

Happy Birthday, Baby Boys!