Holiday Picture Preview

Hi All,

We took the twins to JCPenney last week for their 9 month photos. Since we are so close to Christmas, it doubled as our holiday photo shoot. We got some really good individual shots. Their together shots are still a "hit or miss" prospect, it seems! All in all, we were very happy with the results.....

My Handsome Boy

And My Pretty Princess

And Together....

 

Model Material

Hi All,
Drew has been striking this pose for the past week or so. It's his favorite position to "hang out" in these days. We're starting to wonder if he's an aspiring model or something. He sure does make those argyle socks look good!

9 Month Doctor Visit

Hi All,
Drew and Bree had their 9 Month "well baby" visit to the doctor this Wednesday.  All in all, it was a very good appointment.
Drew's head is still a little on the flat side (as you'll see in his head measurement below). But the doctor is not concerned with it and feels it will round itself out as he is off his back and more active now.
Drew and Bree were a little miffed with me, because I told them there would be no shots this time. But, I had forgotten about the flu shots. So two shots were delivered (seasonal and H1N1), and the twins weathered them quite well.
In other news, the doctor said it was time to add meat and dairy items to their diet. We actually could have added meat at 6 months, but we had a different doctor at that visit that failed to inform us of that. Oopsie! Well, I guess a vegetarian diet for a few months isn't the worst thing in the world. But the twins need to learn to eat meat, because we serve lots of it around here! They are to eat three meals a day (other than their bottle of formula), which we have been doing for a while now anyway.

Here are stats from our 9 Month well baby visit.

November 25, 2009 Appointment - one day from 9 months old

Drew Weight: 23 lbs. 9 oz. (Unadjusted percentile = 90%, Adjusted percentile = 95%)

Bree Weight: 19 lbs. 7 oz. (Unadjusted percentile = 70%, Adjusted percentile = 80%)

Drew Height: 28 1/2 inches (Unadjusted percentile = 60%, Adjusted percentile = 75%)

Bree Height: 27 inches (Unadjusted percentile = 30%, Adjusted percentile = 50%)

Drew Head Circumference: 44 cm (Unadjusted percentile = 20%, Adjusted percentile = 25%)

Bree Head Circumference: 44.5 cm (Unadjusted percentile = 70%, Adjusted percentile = 75%)

Still growing away!

9 Months

Hi All,
Happy 9 Months to Drew and Bree!

Bree - You are my sweet little peanut. Even though you are smaller than your brother, you are just as strong. And your determination is unmatched! If you want something, there is no stopping you. In a matter of days, you have decided you prefer to stand rather than sit or lay. You stood up in your crib for the first time (that we know of) today! Somewhere along the way, you have become a good sleeper. You love snuggling up to your dolly-pie in your crib, and you know that means it's time to sleep. You also love sitting on shoulders and going for carpet rides. We often find you crawling to Riley the dog and "patting" her paws. You have a beautiful head of dark brown hair and it really needs to be cut, but I can't bring myself to do it just yet! You have become quite the ham for the camera. We often catch you posing when you see the camera pointed towards you.

Drew - You are such a good natured little guy. You have a smile that melts hearts and a laugh that encourages everyone to join in. You are not a big fan of sleeping and often dodge your naps. But you do love to be rocked to sleep, and I love when we get to snuggle. You are a big fan of eating. You like most all foods you've tried. And you have mastered stuffing cereal puffs into your mouth in no time flat. I envision you someday having M & M eating contests with your Dad! You like to imitate sounds, and you especially like to click your tongue. You love playing with blocks, putting them in and out of the bucket, banging them together, and knocking down block towers. You also still love your jumperoo - heaven forbid you outgrow it someday. You are also very fond of your walks around the lake. You have a full head of blonde hair. We're not sure how you got to be a blondie, but it is very handsome on you!

Drew and Bree, you are wonderful babies and are the joy in my life. Somedays, I wish you would never change, but I know change is inevitable. So I will cherish this time, however fleeting, and look forward to the adventures of tomorrow.

Ch - Ch - Ch- Ch Changes....

"Time may change me, but I can't trace time." - David Bowie

Hi All,
Drew and Bree are 9 months old, and I continue to be amazed at how they've grown and changed. Here is a sample of what's going on in their worlds.

Physical Development -

Crawling: Both Drew and Bree have mastered the army crawl. Both can also get on their hands and knees, and this morning I saw Bree on all fours moving about her crib. Neither of them will do that on a regular basis though.

Pulling Up to Stand: In the past two weeks, this is all Bree wants to do! She pulls herself up on anything and everything now - large toys, our couches, end tables, bar stools, the baby gate. She is so proud of herself and loves being in the standing position. Drew can also pull to standing, but isn't quite as interested as Bree at this point.

Standing: Bree has had some fleeting moments of standing on her own. She is a "no fear" girl and loves to pull up to stand and then let go. She has mastered pulling up and then leaning over to pick up a toy on the floor. I feel my days are numbered before she just takes off running!

Waving: Drew has been waving for some time now. Sometimes I wonder if he's actually trying to "sign" something to me, other than hello or goodbye. Bree has recently started waving too, and she is quite deliberate in waving to other people as well as Mom.

Clapping: This is a Bree favorite! Bree loves patty cake and recognizes the words as her cue to start clapping - it's hilarious!


Eating Habits -

Nursing: We started the weaning process from nursing just before six months and did it very SLOWLY. We were virtually tapering off of nursing up until seven and a half months. And it worked great! The twins seemed to appreciate the slow transition as much as my body did. Every once in a great while, Drew will root a bit as if to nurse, especially when he is tired (but that is rare). And Bree had completely lost interest by the time we stopped.

High Chair Food: Drew is a champ in the high chair arena. He loves most everything we've given him. And he's very skilled at feeding himself; his aim is right on! Bree does a good job too, but clearly does not like some of the foods we give her. The twins have been eating cereal, pureed fruits and veggies for some time, as well as graham crackers and cereal puffs. Applesauce is an all time favorite of theirs. We have also begun to add dairy. They like cheese (diced up) and mac and cheese. They also love the orange veggies - especially squash and sweet potatoes.  We are still experimenting with meats, and Bree is not very open to eating them just yet.

Sleeping - It seems both Drew and Bree have done 180s as far as sleeping. First, I'll say they are both great about sleeping through the night (which has been pretty constant). There are always exceptions, and usually about one or two nights a week, I have to get up with someone in the middle of the night. But, nowadays, Bree is really great about nap time/bedtime. Her nap schedule is like clockwork, and she will typically nap for two hours in the morning and another two in the afternoon. She also knows it's time to sleep when we lay her down in her crib and most often, she will simply snuggle up to her dollie and settle in. Drew has decided sleep is for wimps, and will fight any and all nap and bedtime attempts. There are times he goes without naps, because all he does is cry when put down. To make matters worse, this sometimes wakes his law-abiding sister!

Verbal Development -
Words: Bree - Mama, Baba, Bob (we often ask Bree who this is, since she mentions him often!), Kaka (for cracker); Drew - Mom (surely more words to come!)

Motor boat and Tongue Click: Both Drew and Bree really enjoy making the "motor boat" sound by vibrating their lips together and love to click their tongues.

Bathing -  The twins are bathing in the sink for the time being. They have outgrown their infant tub and go directly into the sink. They are starting to really enjoy bath time!

Car seat - Drew outgrew his baby carrier car seat at 8 months, and we transitioned him to the non-carrier seat shortly thereafter. Bree will remain in the carrier seat for the time being. Gone are the days of lugging both carriers around. But, logistically, it's still a bit of a challenge to cart both around until Drew gets stronger at sitting up on his own.

All the changes are incredible. Sometimes, it seems change is the only constant in our lives these days....

Thankful

Today, we pause to reflect and recount all the blessings of the past year. Of course, Drew and Bree top that list; they have enriched our lives in ways we never imagined. We are thankful for our good health and the comfort of our home, where we spend so much of our time. We are also very grateful for family and good friends to share our blessings and provide the needed support and guidance as we make our way through life. We miss Grandma Thelen, but are grateful that she met and spent time with the twins. We know she is with us in spirit and still watching down on us.

From our family to yours, HAPPY AND BLESSED THANKSGIVING! We hope everyone enjoys a day of doing what they like best.

Friends

Hi All,
Our friends the Millers came for a visit on Sunday through Tuesday. Evan and Rowan are just 5 1/2 months older than us, so we had lots of fun!

They helped us celebrate Oma's birthday at our Sunday dinner. We surprised Oma with some candles that relit after she blew them out!

Of course, dinner was interesting with all of us. Check out this assembly line......

Rowan really liked Blanca. Can you tell Blanca was undecided about Rowan?

Evan was always on the go. He even decided to start walking for the first time during his visit. Yay Evan!

Tracy taught us Itsy Bitsy Spider while she was here.

We managed to get a few "posed" shots of all of us, with mixed results......

All in all, we had a great visit and can't wait to see the Millers again!

For The Hunters

Hi All,

In honor of hunting season, we got out our camoflage!

We thought maybe we could hide from Mom in our camo and all.

But somehow she managed to find us!

Congrats to Opa, who got a deer on Sunday. Thanks to the Branhams for our outfits!

PS - If you look closely in Pictures 1 and 3, you can see Drew's new teeth that we reported a few weeks back.

Look at Me!

Hi All,
Not sure if I've mentioned it yet, but Drew and Bree both like standing with assistance now. Bree is especially fond of being on her feet. She loves to stand at the gate - especially when Riley is on the other side!

Doesn't she look proud?!?

And here is a recent picture of the whole family

Little Miss Mischief

Hi All,
I am terrified of babies with pens, almost as much as I am terrified of babies with sharper objects such as knives and scissors. So, imagine my horror when I turned to Bree after changing Drew to find her looking like this......

And believe me, although there were absolutely no signs of injury, I was plenty horrified! She was on the floor and not in her high chair when the infraction occured. I just put her there to clean her up. She even looks guilty, doesn't she?!?

We are working on baby proofing.  We don't recklessly leave pens within the children's reach. My best guess is that one of the cats knocked a pen off the table. I guess it's one more thing that must be stored away, rather than just put up where the kiddos can not reach it. We are learning!
In other baby proofing news -

• The baby gate at the stairway is installed
• Outlet plugs are in place
• Cabinet locks are in place
• Magazines and virtually all other things except toys have been moved from ground level up and out of reach
• We have drawer locks yet to install. The drawers have not caused any issues YET

The other potential hazard I am finding is Bree loves to climb. She loves to climb up onto the lower level of one of our end tables. There are no sharp edges and it is quite low to the floor. She sometimes takes a short tumble onto the carpet after climbing up. I don't want to restrain them from exploring and learning the ways of standing, walking and climbing too much. I think the watchful eye is probably the best option right now. I guess figuring out the delicate balance between allowing freedoms and protecting the twinners is pretty much going to be a constant from here on out!

This Week in Visitors

Hi All,
We had a lot of visitors this past week and were lucky enough to get some pictures.....

Baby on Board - No, we're not pregnant, but our friends Matt and Melissa are expecting their first child next May! We're thrilled they are taking the plunge into parenthood and can't wait for their bundle of joy. In the meantime, Drew and Bree plan to give them some practice!

Cousin Daryl stopped in to meet Drew and Bree for the first time. Bree napped most of the visit. But Drew kept him company!

Uncle Darren stopped by in between school and work meetings. Drew and Bree both enjoyed some time with uncle. In addition to playing, they enjoyed showing off their jumperoo skills!

And finally, Grandma and Grandpa both came over a few times, so that Mom and Dad could get out for a bit. The kiddos, especially Bree, like to sit on Grandpa's shoulders now. Bree also is very fond of "patting" him on the head while she's up there!

Magic Carpet Rides

Hi All,
One of the things we like to do for fun lately is pull the kiddos around the house on a blanket. It can turn a fussy baby into a happy one in seconds flat! (The trick is keeping them that way after the ride is over.) Here are Jim and the kids on a recent "magic carpet ride".

Terrible Teething

Hello All,
It seems we are once again in the throngs of teething. Bree had the fussies all day. She went to bed on the early side (6:15). But, she woke up very upset around 8:00. By 9:00 we realized this was not going to take care of itself, as she cried and sobbed. We gave her a dose of Tylenol, and I rocked her for a few hours. We also got out the refrigerated teether. (She has been using the razzberry teether a lot, which usually does wonders - but not so much tonight.) She enjoyed the teether for about 15 minutes and even dozed off to sleep for a few minutes at a time. But, the teething pain must've been too much for her, as she could not sleep for too long. I got out the stroller around 11:00, and we strolled around the house. Yes, we use the stroller in the house in cold weather! It actually did the trick, and Bree is sleeping in the stroller as I type. I'm waiting to see if she's out for good before I move her to her crib. We'll keep you updated on any visible teeth. I KNOW they're coming! I just hope it's soon, so my baby can get some relief.

Men and Babies

There is something extra heartwarming about men and sleeping babies, isn't there?

Daddy and sleepyhead Drew

Grandpa and Bree "rock till you drop"

Diversions

Hi All,

Drew and Bree have been keeping me on the go this week. Blame it on a bit of "separation anxiety" and again, what we believe to be teething discomfort. The twins have become highly aware of when I am not in their presence. If I am out of their sight, they know - and they let me know! Plus, we are getting into the "I want what you have" phenomenon. This includes toys, bottles and MOM! Other than that, teething as usual seems to be at play, and I'm guessing Bree has some teeth on their way soon.
Drew and Bree are open to some diversions - here are some we've used this week:

Walks with Dad (and Riley) - Dad got out the kiddie backpack on Sunday and took us both around the lake

Bath time - We're now bathing in the kitchen sink. Mom loves it, because she doesn't have to bend over the tub! We just love the splish, splash!

Still loving our jumperoo!

Showing off our sitting skills!

Goofing around with Grandma - Grandma paid us a timely visit this week

And yes, despite it all, we're still sleeping really well! (Bree's favorite position - with all the room in the crib, she still loves to tuck herself into the corner.)