Teeth and Costco

I've been behind on posting this week, mostly because I started my 2 graduate-level courses this week. Not to mention working full time and running Cayenne Paper, too. But, I have to take them since I changed positions at work and am seeking licensure in Early Childhood Special Education. I am currently licensed in Speech & Language only. Luckily, these courses are online, so I often post at midnight when my nightowl-self is still awake. It's funny b/c I have to take 3 classes total (and of course 2 are offered only in the spring so I have to take 2 this semester) and the first one is about Assessments of young children. The thing is... I've been doing assessments on children for 10 years now! So, it doesn't appear that the course content will be difficult-- just tedious with the midterms, papers, discussion board, etc.



Okay, enough about me-- the babies, the babies! Let's see... Drew now has 2 top teeth to go with his bottom 2. They are so cute! They appear to have a big gap between them, but maybe once they come out more they will go together? Cute either way, in my opinion. Libby's bottom 2 have come out fully and we're waiting on the top 2. She's been really fussy at night and keeps waking up lately. Plus she's so overtired during the day (even when taking 3 naps). So, maybe it's teeth? Or a growth spurt? Or my daughter?

I'm thrilled to report that BOTH BABIES ARE FINALLY SITTING UNSUPPORTED! Hip, Hip, Hooray! I knew they would do it in their own time. Drew has already started the semi-military crawl. He's definitely moving and scooting around. Libby is beginning to get on all 4's and rock back and forth like Drew did a few weeks ago.


Today we went to Costco and shopped with the babies and 2 million other people. We tried out our new shopping cart cover and loved it! It's the first time we've put them in the cart together (we usually used the stroller since they didn't sit so well) and they behaved pretty well. But by the time we got back in the car, Drew had a scratch on his arm from Libby! (You can see it in the photo above) She'd probably say that he deserved it because he kept stealing her nu-nu even when he had his. Little stinker! They are growing sooo fast. I still can't believe they'll be 10 months old soon. Geez...

Oh, one more thing-- I went to the movies and dinner with some girlfriends and saw Juno. I thought it was so good and can't even remember the last movie I saw in a theater. Wonder if D will take me out for a real date for our 8-year anniversary on Feb. 5th (also Mardi Gras day)!

Let's All Say A Little Prayer...

for these things:
1. that they are just having a bad day and are NOT trying to give up their AM nap
2. that those darn teeth will just pop out
3. that their sitting will become more steady in the next 2 weeks (if not, our pediatrician will probably refer for physical therapy)

Ok, so I realize that the 1st 2 things are probably related, but both babies were so tired after our yummy breakfast, but just yelled and screamed and moaned before finally trying to get some sleep. This is unusual since they love their naps. I know they aren't getting quality sleep, though, because Libby keep waking up every few minutes moaning. Motrin didn't do the trick this time, so I'm wondering... are they just growing and trying to give up their AM nap or are they just being little stinkers? Perhaps a little of both?

It is sooo cold here today. One of those days where it's bright and sunny, but when you go outside to get the paper, you freeeezzze. But it is a little windy, too, which makes it worse. I'm not complaining, though. I've heard that the weather in Wisconsin (hello to Jill- my friend and another mom of twins) for the Packers/Giants game today is supposed to be -5 or something with wind! BRRRRRRRR! And Gretchen (my sister) in Atlanta sent photos yesterday of the all-day snow there on her birthday. They all had fun playing in it and even made a snowman:


I'm getting bored with baby food options here. I must admit that I use a lot of jarred baby food, but have also been giving the babies yogurt, graham crackers, Cheerios, puffs, crackers, and toast. Today we tried some shredded cheddar I had and they liked it. But it was the "fancy" shredded kind, so it was hard for them to pick up. So, I made my list and hope to get to the store today to buy some more cheddar, cottage cheese, and tofu (great source of protein). My friend Jill gave me the idea to crush the graham crackers or Cheerios and roll tiny tofu cubes into them for a yummy snack. We'll have to try this one. I tried advocados last week and eeewwww-- you should have seen their faces! But I will try it again.

My newest project, though, is trying to work on sippy cups. We've tried a few kinds and not much luck yet. I've tried water, water with a teeny splash of juice, and formula, but they're not into it. They tend to just try and chew on the spout or put their lips around it, but don't suck. When they do actually get some in their mouth, you should see their faces! With water, they act like it's brussel sprouts. With formula, they just get mad-- like, "Are you kidding me?" But I'm not worried yet. We still have some time and I know they will get the hang of it with practice. ;)

Random Thoughts

So, it's 1:00 AM on a Friday night and I'm still awake. Maybe it's the new allergy medicine I've been taking... or maybe... who knows what. But I do know that I'll be regretting this in 5 hours when the babies wake up. Poor Darrell has to work again tomorrow-- well actually that's today (Saturday). He's been working on a proposal with his company and has worked 12 hour days and weekends lately. Bad thing is... it will probably continue until March when the proposal's due.

In the mean time, I've been feeding, bathing, and putting the babies to bed by myself this past week or so. I know it doesn't sound hard, but it is. Mostly b/c I'm wondering what the other one is doing while I'm bathing one (in the countertop tub) in our bathroom. I had a neat system in place... put down a large quilt on our bedroom floor with some toys. I put Drew down on it and he was happy as a clam. After I'm finishing the quick bath for Libby, I come out to find him all the way on the other side of the blanket-- and off of it, too-- and trying to take off the little springy doorstopper thing from the closet. He manages to get it off and I catch him right before it hits his mouth. Okay, so the 10 or so toys spread all over weren't enough. No, he had to roll over to a dirty ole springy doorstop because that was more appealing!

I tried to watch Drew to see if he crawled/scooted over so far, but he wouldn't do anything while I was watching. I actually hid behind the closet door and saw his method of movement. He gets up on his hands and knees, rocks back and forth a few times, and then throws his whole body up until it lands on the ground about 1 inch ahead. Sort of like the beginnings of the centipede, for those of you old enough to remember! Basically, I'm in huge trouble b/c he REALLY is going to crawl soon.

Libby... not so much. She figures, "Why move when someone else can do it for me?" She is my little princess, that's for sure. She was a little fussy tonight-- blame it on those teeth again (since she was chewing on her paci like crazy and drooling all over).

We've been having some cold weather here the past few days. We even got 4 inches of snow on Thursday. But it warmed up to the 40's today, so a lot of it melted. I was happy to hear that we had a 2-hour delayed opening for school today. I LOVE these days-- get to sleep in and even have breakfast! Oh, but wait... that was before I had twins. Instead of adding 2 hours to the alarm clock, I had the natural alarm bright and early. But it was such a treat to skip breakfast and just play with the babies for a while before I finally brought them to the sitter.

One more thing and I'm going to bed (I promise)... I'm excited to see that "twinspeak" is happening now. Not that the babies didn't notice each other before, but something has just clicked all of a sudden. Now they both stare at each other and giggle and smile and try to touch each other. They have even started babbling to one another. It's amazing to hear them take turns and wait for the other to finish. The bad part is that their touching instantly leads to grabbing of skin, hair, or Drew's favorite-- Libby's paci! That's when I have to intervene. I can't wait to hear this from the backseat eventually- "Mom, he's looking at me... She's on my side of the car..."

Rub A Dub Dub, we LOVE our new tub!

We bought the babies a new tub yesterday and this is their first time in it. They had fun, but I don't think they'll fit in it together for very long.

9 Months Old Video

Here's a little video we took on a Sunday afternoon...

Look Who's Sitting Up Now!

This is what Darrell found when he went to get Drew up from his nap!

Welcome, Little Choppers

Those of you who voted that Christmas would be the day that teeth would arrive are just about on the mark. Drew's two bottom teeth surfaced on Dec. 27th! And Libby has 1 bottom one just piercing through as of Jan. 2nd. She's still really fussy at night, so I think that other one is working its way out. She won't let me take a picture of them, so I just have one of Drew's pearly whites.

9 months old!

That's right-- the twins are now NINE months old! Can't believe how fast time is flying. Their checkup was yesterday and everything looks pretty good. And the babies sat up on the exam table the whole time. Dr. Shannon says they're still a little unsteady, but not to worry. If they're not sitting independently in the next month, she will refer for physical therapy to build them up. Their weights were good, but I don't have the stats in front of me. Drew gained only 1 lb, but chunky monkey Libby is now ahead of him gaining 2 lbs. Drew is still 1/2 inch taller. He is only in the 10th percentile for weight and head circumference. Higher for height. Libby is basically in the 50-75th percentile for all three. Dr. Shannon says not to worry about Drew's weight, although we talked a lot about his constant spitting up. She says to monitor it a little more before we try meds. I agree. She's not worried about him being too skinny. He's SO active that I'm sure he burns it all off. But don't know where on earth he gets these skinny genes! They had no shots this time (yay!), but did have an anemia test. Libby's was just below the limit, so we're adding some vitamin supplements with iron in her bottles. We're gonna consult an opthamologist for Libby's epidermoid cyst above her left eye. Dr. Shannon recommended a really good one.

Both babies are eating solids more and more. We started finger foods, too. They love graham crackers, saltines, and cheerios (although not so great at finger grasp yet). Basically, everything looks good here!