Sweetness

I think it is so adorable how Henry wants to be put in his crib when Mary Catherine gets put in her crib for a 'rest' time...er...time out.  We try to reason with him, but he sees her going upstairs and he wants to follow.

Sometimes Mary Catherine has a rough time and so when she's following me around screaming I just scoop her up and put her in her crib for rest time.  It is usually mid-morning and it gives her time to collect herself and read some books. 

I think they still have a hard time with only one nap on some days.  

Eighteen Months...

 

We went to their well check appointment today. 

Henry is almost 24 lbs (20%) and was 32.25 inches (45%) tall.

Mary Catherine is a little over 19 lbs (<3%) and 31 inches (25%) tall.

Henry reached down and felt the 'silky' on my blanket in bed and started to suck his thumb.

His lovey has the same type of satin on it.

A Christmas Tree's Worst Nightmare...

Todder Twins...

Mary Catherine is showing me their favorite ornament.

The twins have named this ornament "Coco". 

 

 

These handmade ornaments are from Jason's grandmother.  We've had them for years.  Over the years, they have grown on me.  At first, I did not care for them.  My favorite ornaments are hand painted glass.  However, the children really enjoy them, and further enjoy putting them in the front because they know I really want them in the back.  However, now they are part of our tree's history and it doesn't bother me anymore.  I just feign distaste to encourage them.

Mary Catherine is trying to be sweet so I'll let her touch the tree.

Obviously, it worked.  They are both touching and talking.

If only I could understand all they have to say to me.

It looks like she's explaining something to me.

She's wearing the same onesie she wore last Christmas when she was 6 m.

The singing ornament.  The only one they're "allowed" to touch.

He loves the music.

Tied Down?

Tied Down, by Edgar A. Guest

"They tie you down," a woman said,

Whose cheeks should have been flaming red

With shame to speak of children so.

"When babies come you cannot go

In search of pleasure with your friends,

And all your happy wandering ends.

The things you like you cannot do,

For babies make a slave of you."

I looked at her and said: "'Tis true

That children make a slave of you,

And tie you down with many a knot,

But have you never thought to what

It is of happiness and pride

That little babies have you tied?

Do you not miss the greater joys

That come with little girls and boys?

"They tie you down to laughter rare,

To hours of smiles and hours of care,

To nights of watching and to fears;

Sometimes they tie you down to tears

And then repay you with a smile,

And make your trouble all worth while.

They tie you fast to chubby feet,

And cheeks of pink and kisses sweet.

"They fasten you with cords of love

To God divine, who reigns above.

They tie you, whereso'er you roam,

Unto the little place called home;

And over sea or railroad track

They tug at you to bring you back.

The happiest people in the town

Are those the babies have tied down.

"Oh, go your selfish way and free,

But hampered I would rather be,

Yes rather than a kingly crown

I would be, what you term, tied down;

Tied down to dancing eyes and charms,

Held fast by chubby, dimpled arms,

The fettered slave of girl and boy,

And win from them earth's finest joy."

Faker...

Should I be concerned that Mary Catherine has already discovered the art of faking her emotions?

I have witnessed her obvious attempts at fake crying, fake coughing, and most recently fake sobbing. She was just walking around the room making this noise like she was sobbing and trying to catch her breath... totally fake. She even came up to me and put her head on my shoulder just to complete the effect.

Wow...Hilarious

Very funny and sadly accurate portrayal of what I hear when I leave my house...just add the 'ARE ALL THESE CHILDREN YOURS??" astonished gasping to this...

{remember to double click to open in youtube so it will be larger.}

Hats...

We decided to try on our winter hats to see if we had enough for the chilly weather.  I took some pictures because the babies were so funny about the hats.  Henry's is a little tight, but I still took some pictures anyway.  I practically had to peel it off his head. 

Henry was intrigued by the hat.

"Haaaaaat!"  Mary Catherine tried on this one first.

  And then she moved on to this one, which was a better fit.

I call this her 'sneaky drool face'.

Henry found some glasses and insisted on wearing them.

Every time he put them on he said, "Dada...Dada".

Is he channeling Ray Charles?

Who can resist this face?

{She found her pappy on the floor.  They are supposed to stay in her crib, but I think she tosses at least one out during nap time so that she can go get it later.}

Opera Singing or Throat Exam??

First Few Steps...

Henry just walked his first few steps across my room.  For a second I didn't even realize what was happening, but then it hit me that he hasn't walked yet.  It seemed so natural that I think I was thinking he was just another toddler walking around my house. 

I tried to get him to do it again, but no such luck.  We'll see how long it takes until he's walking all of the time. 

It took Mary Catherine about three weeks from her first steps to fully walking. 

It's Just A Phase...

I'm keep telling myself lately, "It's just a phase..." as I try to tolerate the twins' behavior right now.  

Surviving this age with three other children should have prepared me, but honestly it's much worse with twins. 

Right now, they both have a severe case of 'mommy-itis' and it's about to put me under.  When you only have one child that screams hysterically when you leave the room you can go pick up that child if you don't want to hear it.  However, with twins it doesn't work like that because you cannot function while struggling to hold two toddlers. 

I spend a great deal of my day on the floor with the two of them while attempting to school the other three, but sometimes I have to get up and get stuff accomplished!  Today, I had to shut my bedroom door just so I could make my bed without them attempting to crawl up my legs while screaming.  They stood outside the door crying the entire time. 

Anyone who knows me, knows that I can tolerate a great deal of crying if my child is not in pain/hungry/wet/tired, but hearing this mess in stereo is ridiculous. 

Poor Kinsey said she could not even concentrate earlier today and I cannot blame her.  I cannot even think. 

I have been putting them in the crib in my room when they continue to walk around me crying and screaming because I have to do something to eliminate this behavior.  Never once have they stopped crying in the crib.  They scream and scream and scream without ceasing.  I think they are still a little young to see that A + B = C, but at least they are safe in there and I can finish what I need to do. 

It's not like I'm trying to do unnecessary stuff either.  Just ask Jason.  Housework has been all but forgotten in this season.   If I can homeschool and feed children all day while dealing with my twinkies then I consider that a success.  It's just a phase and it soon will pass...

Whew.  I feel better.  I just had to write this down for the books so when they read this they will know they weren't all cuteness and sugar... 

Ni-Nis and Pappies

Henry has a small blanket that he calls "Ni-Ni" and he holds it when he sucks his thumb.  Unless we are traveling, I do not allow "Ni-Ni" to leave his crib because I don't want him sucking his thumb. 

Mary Catherine sucks a pacifier that we call "Pappy".  Before she can get out of the crib she has to take her pappy out of her mouth. 

My babies are so crazy for these things that they will stay in their cribs just to be able to suck their thumbs and pacifiers. 

I say, "Fine by me!"  Eventually, they give up and come out. 

YaYa

I love how Mary Catherine calls Elmo "YaYa". 

Kerrigan is the only child that did not say something in a funny way for an extended period of time.  Of course, she talked and still talks, non-stop, so I guess she probably worked it out before any bad habits stuck. 

Kinsey used to say banana is a weird way, and said 'banilla' for vanilla for years.  Every time we got ice cream she would say, "I want banilla ice cream like Uncle Karl."  For some reason she had it stuck in her head that Karl loved vanilla ice cream. 

Jackson says several things incorrectly.  I let it fly because I know it's short lived.  He says granola in a way that sounds closer to gorilla than granola.  The rest of my examples have escaped me because I was just trying ease drop on the babies in the other room being a little too quiet, if you get my drift.

If I remember them, I will come back and edit this post. 

Mother of the Year

...not

apparently Henry has cut two molars and I just noticed them tonight.  They are all the way through the surface. 

I'm telling myself that his teeth must erupt quickly so I don't feel guilty that I had no idea he was cutting molars...

Dear Henry

Dear Henry,
I thought I would write you a little note to let you know all of the cute things you are doing at almost sixteen months.  As of today, you are not walking.  You are cruising the furniture, but you have not stood alone yet or taken any steps.
 
In the last week or so, your talking has really taken off.  You say ball, bye-bye, bath, mama, dada all of the time.  You say meow when you see a cat, and make a kkk sound as well.  You have said Pup-Pup for your stuffed animal in your bed, but you don't say it often.  You know the milk sign, all done, and more, but will never do them when I ask.  Screaming over and over is your preferred way to communicate.  It's wearing pretty thin, because you are very loud. 

Mary Catherine is blessed to have such a sweet brother.  When she crawls into the room, you light up with excitement and crawl right to her.  Sharing with her comes easy to you, for now.  The two of you are rarely separated.  All day you will play right near each other, looking at books, playing with balls, destroying my bookshelf, hiding behind my curtains, crawling after Coconut, etc...

You are a sweet boy who loves to be tickled, thrown in the air and sung to by your sisters.   Although you are sensitive to noise, and will cry if something loud happens, you are also fairly laid back and easy to please. 

We love you very much and cannot wait to see how much you change by the next time I decide to write you a note. 

Crazy Babies

I love my babies. 

I cannot imagine my life without them.  I know it would be so much calmer and quieter, but who needs that?  Okay... me.  I think people assume because I have five children that I just love noise and chaos, but not really.  We have a small house and inside voices are necessary for my sanity. 

Anyway, that wasn't what I came on here to write about, so consider that a commercial, as Pastor Jeff calls it. 

Some nights when I am attempting to pick up toys in their room I will put both of the babies in one crib for a few minutes so they can play and hang out without destroying my hard work.  They LOVE it.  They act like complete maniacs tackling each other, cuddling on blankets, sharing pacifiers, stealing stuffed animals, etc... They run from end to end screaming. 

I could just stand there and watch them forever.  

I know this would be so much cuter if I had a video, so I'll work on that, but for the sake of historical note taking for my life, this will work just as well.  Videos don't show up in blog books.

ugh...one nap...

The babies have dropped their morning nap. 

*sob*

I keep trying to force them to take it, which isn't working.

My mornings just got a lot more complicated and a lot longer...

BALL!

Henry has been saying Mama and Dada for awhile and I think he's said a few other words here and there, but today he is crawling all around saying, "BALL! ball...ball...ball... BALL!" so I guess since there is no debate as to what he's saying, I would consider this his first word.

I never count mama and dada b/c they start babbling that so young I'm never sure when it became a real word. 

Funny thing is that I'm pretty sure it was Jack's first word as well.

the beginning of the end...

Mary Catherine just took her first few steps today.

*sigh*


I'm sure Henry won't be too far behind.  It's the end of babyhood and the beginning of toddlerhood.  We all know when they start walking there comes a sense of independence that starts a streak of rottenness that only a mother could love.

In the past I have always wanted to donate my children during the age of 18-24 months, and I'm wondering if it will prove true with the twins as well. 

Good morning! Happy first day of school...

I can hardly blame him...

I can hardly blame Henry for biting Mary Catherine.  I hate to say it, but sometimes she is downright mean to him. 

For example, she'll be opening up the cabinets and drawers in my bathroom and he'll come along and do the same thing with her.  No siree buddy!  She will crawl her little self over to his cabinet or drawer and force it closed and squawk at him until he stops. 

I just watched him lean down and bite her arm so that she would move it off his cabinet.  I corrected him of course, but honestly, who can blame the little guy? 

She's like a 17 lb tyrant and this does not bode well for the future of their relationship...

Sibling Stool Rivalry

(click on the video name on the video clip so it will open in youtube and will be larger)

Mary Catherine would not allow Henry to help her push the stool around the floor.   She fussed the entire time and was down right mean.  He was very patient with her, but did show signs of great frustration.

Take notice at the end when she looks back to see if he is coming when she's got herself into the corner.  I think she was trying to hit him with the stool right after that moment.

Twins... they take a lot of energy... but they are fun!

Giggles

I love how Henry giggles and laughs when Mary Catherine crawls into the room. 

I pray that they remain as endearing to one another as they are right now. 

Although they are keeping me on my toes, and baby gates are in the process of being installed for my sanity, I love how they crawl from room to room on their own adventure. 

In a few more months, I might have a different opinion about this matter...

Monkey See, Monkey Do...

Now Mary Catherine tosses all of her stuff out of her crib at nap time. 

I have covered both of their pack and plays with fitted sheets during naptime.  Henry has already gotten used to it because I did his the other day. 

Mary Catherine was mad at me today when I covered hers. 

Eventually they'll learn that I will outsmart them.  I need them to sleep during naps, not play 'toss the crib'. 

This Isn't Cute Anymore...

Ever since Henry started standing up in his crib, he has started tossing his lovey (small blanket) out of his crib. 

On vacation, I finally figured out that the reason he was crying every morning around 5:30 am was because he had tossed his lovey into MC's crib the night before.  I guess he was tired enough to fall asleep with his big blanket, but needed it in the early morning hours.  Normally, he needs to hold his lovey and suck his thumb at the same time.  It's small and he kind of curls it up into his hand.

So, each night I would check her crib and put it back into his crib. 

At home, her crib isn't close to his, so he just tosses it on the floor.  So at naptime, he tosses it and then cannot fall asleep.  So MC is off to sleep and he's rolling around in there crying and hollering.  I go back in several times, but he keeps doing it.  So, then she wakes up and he's still snoozing b/c he spent the first hour playing his game.

I wish it would stop.  I am seriously considering covering his crib with a fitted sheet when it's naptime and securing it down. 

Stealing Thunder

For a couple of weeks now, Henry has been standing up in his crib and holding on to the sides.   What a big fat grin he gets on his face every time he does it!

Last night, he crawled up to the sofa and pulled himself up to standing!  You should have seen his face when we all clapped.

Within a few seconds, Mary Catherine crawled right up to my chair and pulled herself to standing as if she'd been doing it forever.

She stole his thunder!  I'm sure it won't be the first time.

Puzzler

Recently, Henry has turned a corner with figuring things out with his toys.  I know it's a little early to make assumptions, but he seems like he is going to be a puzzler like Kinsey.  He spends quite a bit of his play time trying to figure out how to put things like they are supposed to be, including the bucket shape sorter, the piano with animal shape sorters, the top to the cookie jar sorter, and the stacking rings. 

The wooden stacking rings are a favorite because he can now put the rings back on the stick.  I'm surprised he was able to do this already because the wooden stacking rings have a much smaller hole in the center.  He also enjoys tossing the wooden rings backwards over his head so that they loudly clank on the wooden floor and spin like tops, over and over and over.

The bucket shape sorter causes a lot of frustration because he wants to take the top off and on, off and on, off and on, but sometimes he cannot get it back on, which brings about screaming.   On occasion, I have had to remove this toy from play because I just cannot handle the screaming. 

Mary Catherine still loves books the best, and stealing whatever Henry is playing with at any given time. 

Who's That?

Last night I was bathing the twins and Jason came in and spoke to the babies.  They just looked at him like it was the first time they'd ever seen him.  When he got closer to Mary Catherine she tried to scale out of the bathtub like a rock climber. 

Suddenly, it occurred to us that Jason had shaved his goatee off that morning and had not seen the twins since then. 

Who would have thought that facial hair was that important to babies? 

Thirteen Months

The twins turned thirteen months yesterday.  Since I just posted the pictures we got taken, I didn't take one for 13 months. 

I thought that I would take a minute and write what they are doing now, which isn't too much, but you get the idea. 

Mary Catherine has started to climb the stairs.  Thankfully, she doesn't do it regularly yet because she has already tumbled a couple of times.  She still loves books and spends a lot of her time reading them and bringing them to whoever is in the room to read.  Mary Catherine is still not standing much, but she can pull herself to standing.  She does perch up on her knees quite a bit, which is funny to see because she looks like a little groundhog.

Mary Catherine can say a few words, but the word of the week is 'bye-bye'.  She likes to say, "bye-bye Dada".  I guess since he's the only who ever leaves she has associated bye-bye with him. 

Henry says words, but it's random.  He hasn't found a word that he likes to say over and over yet.  He does wave bye-bye and says it sometimes.  He signs that he's all-done after eating, which is very helpful. 

Henry loves to play with a toy kitchen that we have had since Kerrigan was their age.  It has a shape sorter on the door with a button that releases the shapes.  He will sit and do that kitchen for a long, long time.  Well, unless Mary Catherine comes along and rips his hand away and squawks at him, which happens entirely too often.  Of course, he starts bawling whenever she's mean to him and she just sits there and looks at him. 

Henry's other favorite toy is the stacking cups.  He loves to stack them and put things inside of them. 

They both are continuing to be great eaters.  I hope this continues throughout their toddlerhood.  Even if they get picky for awhile, I think they will return to eating well since they've had such a great start. 

We leave for the beach in a couple of weeks.  I sure wish they were walking, but I know that isn't going to happen.  I hope they enjoy the beach regardless and don't eat too much sand. 

Summer Photos

We went and got pictures taken today!

Mary Catherine

Henry with his blankie

The Crew

One Year Check Up

We went for the twins' one year check up today.  We had it scheduled for right after their birthday, but we canceled it to go to Charlotte. 

Overall, the babies are doing well.  I really thought considering how much food they consume that their weight percentiles would increase, but they are holding steady on their curve. 

Henry's percentiles
18 lbs 7.5 oz (3%)
29.75" (45%)

Mary Catherine's percentiles
15 lbs 12.25 oz (<3%)
28" (15%)

Obviously, Mary Catherine is pretty petite and I don't know if that will ever change.  I do pray that Henry starts to bulk up some so that the poor boy doesn't end up only 5 feet tall...  I hold on to the fact that Jason and Karl were the shortest boys in their classes until eighth or ninth grade.  Twins are different than singletons. 

We are thankful for their healthiness! 

A Few Saturday Pictures

I tried to take a few pictures today, but the twins were not cooperating.  

They were very distracted.

 

 

Birthday Play Date

We had a play date with some friends from church today at Angier Park.  We had a great time and shared cupcakes with all the kids in honor of Mary Catherine and Henry's first birthday! 

I took a few pictures in between chatting, eating, and swinging. 

They are enjoying their cream cheese sandwiches.

 

Mary Catherine is full of smiles.  

I put her in the back of Henry's swing.  

She was kicking her legs every time the swing went back and forth.

As you can see, Henry was unhappy about sharing the swing.  

He loved swinging by himself.  He cried every time we stopped.

Henry is upset that I stopped the swing to get this picture.

The Twins Turn One!

Wowee!  I cannot believe the day has come when the twins turn one!  To say it's been a busy year is a bit of an understatement.  A year ago today I was wondering what my twins would look like, what their personalities would be like, how we would cope with five children, etc... and now I know that and loads more.

I cannot imagine our life without Mary Catherine and Henry.  Although the first three months were beyond difficult and the rest of this year has been a learning experience of how to juggle homeschooling and outings, I would not trade it for anything.

Right now, as I write this, Mary Catherine is 'reading' books to herself.  As she turns each page, she says, "uh-oh" because she knows that she's supposed to say something and that's the word she says the best.

Henry is frustrated because he isn't crawling fast enough yet so he cannot get the ball he desperately wants out of his reach.  He is crying and hoping I will rescue him from his frustration.  However, I won't because frustration is a great tool for learning. 

People often ask me if they have differences in their personalities.  I think that is kind of a silly question b/c obviously they do, but at this age it's hard to tell much.

For the sake of memories, I do want to write about how the babies act right now.  Everything changes so quickly at this age.

Henry is a sweet sensitive boy.  He is terribly ticklish.  He will cuddle with you and laughs and smiles easily.  He loves to read books.  He will get so excited if he sees you are going to read to him.  He also loves to play with balls already.  He will dig through the toy bucket to get to a ball.  He shares so willingly and sweetly.  He is always trying to hand us stuff that he is playing with when we sit near him. On the not so cute side, he also cries easily.  He definitely cries more often than Mary Catherine.

Once when I was reading, "The Very Busy Spider" he cried when I made the animal noises.  If there is a loud noise or scream, he will cry.  I think some of it comes from frustration and some from being so sensitive.  If Mary Catherine takes something from him, he is going to cry.  If his plate is empty, he will cry.  You get the point.  I am teaching him sign language, but so far, he has not used it.  Henry is a good sleeper, but does not sleep as well as Mary Catherine.  He wakes up early and his naps are shorter. 

Mary Catherine is a stinker.  Just kidding! Right now, Mary Catherine spends most of her time crawling around leaving Henry in the dust.  She loves to take toys from him and then squawk at him when he tries to take them from her.  She won't cry.  She will just scream and grab it back.  If she doesn't know you then you won't get a smile from her without a huge effort and she might cry when you talk to her.  She isn't a cuddler and really doesn't like to be touched unnecessarily.  She will take your hand off of her if you try to touch her.   

We think she's adorable, especially when she makes this squished up 'cute face' when she wrinkles her nose.  She talks all the time, and one day we will know what she's saying!

We will go to the doctor soon and find out how much they've grown now that they are eating real food so well. I'll post those results next week.  

I'm so very thankful for these little blessings in our lives.  We love them even more than we could have imagined!  It is amazingly true that the love in your heart multiplies for more children, it doesn't divide. 

Happy First Birthday Mary Catherine & Henry! 

Quiche and Watermelon

Mary Catherine loved the Broccoli and Cheese Quiche

She just kept shoveling it in...

sometimes it took two hands...

Henry had watermelon for the first time and loved it.

He gobbled up two pieces pretty quickly.

Weaning

{Unless you are interested in babies weaning from nursing to bottles, just skip this post}

Henry is finally taking one bottle of formula a day now.  It has taken a couple of weeks, but now the weaning will begin.  I know once a baby takes one bottle, the rest are easy. 

I am often asked, "Do you have any suggestions how I can wean my baby from breast to bottle?" 

So for those moments, I'm going to write this so that years from now, when I cannot remember that the twins were ever infants, I can refer to this post. 

For starters, Henry has not taken a bottle at all since before he was three months old.   So, I knew it was not going to be easy to transition him.  Mary Catherine took a bottle the first time I gave it to her a few weeks ago.  I think it's because she takes a pacifier so she was used to another kind of nipple, if you get my drift.

I chose the third feeding of the day to start the bottle because it is right before Mary Catherine's and Henry's dinner time with food.  If they did not chose to drink the bottles they could eat dinner and then nurse before bedtime. 

I was having issue with my milk supply at bedtime because they were sleeping later in the afternoon and it was less than three hours between their third and fourth feeding of the day.  

For the first two weeks, I gave Henry breastmilk in a bottle.  At first, he did not want it and did not drink the entire bottle.  After a few days, he started to finish the breastmilk bottle.  I just kept offering it at the same time each day.  Once he was taking it without issue, I started to mix in formula with the breastmilk.  Every couple of days, I would increase the formula until it was half and half. 

Yesterday, I had not pumped, so I gave him 100% formula.  I really didn't expect him to take it, but it was all I had and I was swamped right then juggling a bunch of stuff.  Much to my joyous surprise, he drank the entire bottle. 

Yay!  So, after we travel this weekend to Staunton for Cy's 70th birthday, I will begin to wean their second feeding of the day.  I plan to nurse them in the morning and at night for awhile longer, until my milk gives out or until I go away for the weekend at the end of June.  Of course, I could just pump then if I have to, so we'll see. 

We're 11 months!

Quiche

I made my first quiche the other night, successfully I might add! The twins ate the leftovers for breakfast. They are such great eaters!

 Henry

 Mary Catherine

Transistions

The twins are eleven months today. We are going through some transitions around here. They now take one bottle a day after their second nap. They are eating fairly well at least two times a day, and most days it's three times a day. As food becomes more critical, nursing becomes less critical. So, our nursing sessions have definitely included more goofing off and less nursing. Here is a play by play of tonight's nursing session...

Nurse for minute
Mary Catherine decides to poke Henry in the eye
Henry cries
Both go back to nursing for a minute
MC snaps my bra strap
Henry snaps my bra strap
Both Nurse
MC smiles, scrunches up her nose, looks adorable
Nurses again
Henry rears back his head to see if anyone is watching and blows raspberries
Nurses again
MC plays with Henry's hair, tries to poke his eye while nursing
Henry reaches out to touch MC, and she snatches his hand away, and squawks at him
{How dare he?}
Nurses again
MC realizes there are flowers on her pjs, so she stops nursing to touch them and bite them.
Nurses again.
Henry cries out {distracted by Mary Catherine perhaps?}
Nurses again.

Seriously. I'm not even exaggerating. There are other things that I could not even remember that happened in that 15 minute period.

Something New

Today, Mary Catherine pushed herself from her belly into a sitting position.

Yay! Of course, now she has to work on this during nap time and bed time. Jackson came down tonight and asked, "Mommy, Mary Catherine is sitting up in her bed. Did you leave her like that?"

He's very protective of her and wanted to make sure that I had put her bed correctly. Honestly, between the girls and Jackson it's like I have to pass through inspection with everything I do for the babies.

Sharing Isn't Her Thing...

Mary Catherine does not like to share at all. She steals toys from Henry and then squawks at him when he tries to take them back. Here's a video to show her squawking at me.

Two Videos

Here is a video of Mary Catherine scooching forward finally. 

{As always, double click to open the video in youtube so that it will be larger}



The second video is of Henry saying "Pup-Pup".  He sleeps with a doggy named Pup-Pup and we say it each time we lie him down. 

Pay attention to the first few seconds of the video because you can see him say it.  He never says it when Jason is trying to get him to say it, of course. 



The other day, Kinsey started to read him a book that has a dog on the front and when he saw it, he said, "Pup-Pup".  We thought this was pretty cool for him to transfer that knowledge from stuffed animal to book. 

Scooching Along...

Mary Catherine is now moving forward.  I wouldn't call it crawling, but at least she can finally get where she aims to go.  It's more like an army crawl or a scooch combined with a roll. 

I wish I had my video camera right now, but I don't want to get up and leave the twins.  When I leave the room it will change their moods for the worse. 

Not surprisingly, they are fighting over a large bouncy ball.  It is so hilarious.  One of them will get it and try to chew on it or hold it but always drops it because his/her grip isn't that great.  As soon as it's dropped the other twin snatches it up.  If only you could hear the squawking from them when they notice the other twin has the ball. 

Other news is that I'm trying to begin the weaning process to bottles with formula.  It's not going that well with Henry.  Mary Catherine will take a bottle.  I think it's because she takes pacifiers.  Kerrigan transitioned to a bottle easily as well and she took pacifiers.  So, my late afternoon feeding consists of MC taking a bottle while I nurse Henry.  I feel kind of bad, but she doesn't seem to notice or care.  She's always been a quick nurser and doesn't really like to linger or nurse when it's not feeding time.  Henry would hang out nursing all day if I let him. 

My goal is to have them on bottles by the time my milk runs out.  I'm not going to buy any more medicine and I have about one month left of meds.  I take four different medications to keep my milk supply up for the twins.  The twins are 10.5 months, so that should work out okay.  I will nurse in the morning and at night as long as my milk keeps up. 

I am going to wean them to formula for a few months since they are so small.  Once they are eating three meals a day consistently, then I will transition them to milk. 

Teeth

Henry has gotten some top teeth.  He's about to cut his fourth top tooth.  It's hard to see them, so I decided to take a picture with him upside down. 

Bath Time

Lately, I've been giving the babies their baths in the kitchen sink.  Of course, due to the fact that my sink is rarely empty, they don't get bathed often.  I like to do it in the sink because I don't have to bend over and because they sit up so much better in the smaller space. 

Here are some pictures.  It looks like Henry is shorter than Mary Catherine, but really he's at least an inch taller.  He's kind of scrunched down and I think his legs must be longer. 

Carb Girl

Mary Catherine loves carbohydrates.  I have to wait until she has eaten some of her fruit before I can give her any toast or cheerios.  She gets so excited when I come toward her with some carbs that she will fling whatever else she is eating. 

"Uh-Oh"

We are pretty sure that Mary Catherine now says, "uh-oh".  We've been noticing that she was making sounds that sounded like this all this week, but this morning she dropped her water and said something that sounded just like "uh-oh" to the kids and I. 

BLW continuing... and two more teeth...

Henry has cut his two top teeth.  They came through a few days ago.  So far we've been pretty blessed because he only cried out a little bit during one night.  He's been sleeping well and eating well.  I think they must hurt worse when they are beginning their descent because he was fussier a month ago than recently. 

Here are some photos of the twins eating their lunch.  It's going well with them.  The other night Henry ate an entire bowl of steamed broccoli.  I was amazed.  I thought for sure I was going to find it all in his seat, but alas, it was in his belly.  They are still nursing.  I honestly thought it was about to be over when we all got sick b/c my milk was critically low, but it bounced back.  Praise!

 Henry is eating a banana.  

Right before I took this picture, Mary Catherine had a banana slice in each hand. 

New Header Picture...

It has taken me months to take another picture that I liked enough to be a header picture.  The last one was taken at Thanksgiving.  Here are some other pictures that were taken this week.  There are more on our family pix site. 

A little too much flash for Henry

Scooting Backwards

Mary Catherine has started to scoot backwards on her belly.  I'm sure it won't be long before she's crawling and then the fun begins! 

Babyproofing 101...it's been awhile. 

On another note, the twins have discovered the cat.  Coconut actually came up to Mary Catherine the other day and it did not go well for either one of them.  MC tried to pull her fur and Coco let her know that is not a good idea by attacking her.  Thankfully, I was right there so it ended quickly.

Henry is cutting two top teeth so he's been a real bear lately.  I'm hoping that all his teeth don't give him this much trouble.  

Nine Months

Mary Catherine and Henry went for their nine month check up last week.  Mary Catherine weighed 13 lbs 6 oz (<3%) and was 26 inches (10%).  Henry's percentiles were the same, but he weighed 14 lbs 8 oz and was 27 inches.

They are continuing to eat new foods and are doing well.  Henry loves plums.  He tears them up!  Mary Catherine loves bananas.  They both love making noises with their mouths and babble all the time.

Most of the time, they can sit up well without falling over.  It's been a long time coming!  Tonight we had their first 'sitting up the entire time' bath.  It sure is tricky with two, that is for sure.  I would have done it much sooner with just one, but while I'm washing one, I cannot keep my hands on the other one.  They loved sitting up in the bath splashing away! 

I *think* they can say Mama, Dada, and Bye-Bye.  You might think that it sounds like they are just babbling, but not to me...  Also, every time I put them in their cribs I show them their little stuffed animals that they got from their cousins (Jame, Will, Tori) and say their names.  So, I'll say to Mary Catherine, "Here's Kiki!"  and to Henry, "Here's Pup-Pup!"  (I realize that I made up their names, but seriously, what would expect me to name a cat and a dog?)  Well, Henry has started to say Pup-Pup.  It is so cute.  I'll just show him the doggy and he'll start to make the 'P' sound and try to say it. 

Well, that about covers what's new with them right now.  I'm sure things are going to fly between now and one year.

{additional pictures can be found at our family picture site }