28 Months - Update on the Babes

I haven't done one of these in so long! Yes, I realize they are no longer babies (what?? yes they are!!) Sigh...they are growing up before my eyes. Josh got his driver's license last week and Jules just got asked out to the prom by a boy named Brad Stevens. We went and bought her this beautiful pale pink chiffon strapless evening gown. Wait...what? HeHe

Back to now. They REALLY are growing up quickly, though no lie. They can have really real conversations with me and each other, which blows my mind. They are like little people! They say please, thank you, you're welcome, I'm so proud of you!, Come back here now, etc, etc and other things that make you do a double take at these little nuggets. Hysterical!

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Smart as whips! Little technology buffs.

28 Months Old!!

Eating: You could say we have officially entered into a toddler eating rut. Yes, I know you are supposed to pick your battles. But man! What happened to all those lofty aspirations I had when they were babies? I made all their baby food from fresh all organic fruits and vegetables. I made a WIDE variety of vegetables so they would have a very diverse pallet. Ha. Ha. Ha. Jules would eat chicken or cheerios every day for every meal. She hates vegetables, and if she does eat an entire meal I am doing a jig. Josh is a much better eater, and will at least attempt to try thing on his plate. These issues make it very weary for me to cook different things for them because its a hit or miss if its gets eaten. And then I'm just wasting time/money/calories when they won't eat it, so then I feel guilty because they haven't eaten anything and want to pull the chicken out (and my hair) Come on moms, I know you have been here or are here currently.

Sleep: They are still great sleepers. I can't complain here. They sleep from 11-12 hours a night, and are napping around 2 hours. The napping thing might just be the death of me. Dinnertime and naptime are my LEAST favorite times of the day. Since we said byebye to pacis a few months ago,naps are a constant struggle. It is SO HARD to get them down. They might go down easy one day, might say up there and giggle/talk for an hour before finally falling asleep, might not nap at all, and might decide to pull of their clothes and diaper. (fun times, there). So, we have been trying to re-establish a naptime routine to help soothe them down. Once they are asleep - it's great! They'll take really good naps. It's just the "WHEN WILL THEY GO TO SLEEPPPPPP???" thing that is frustrating.

Our Schedule:

7:15- they wake up around 7. We usually go in about 7:15/7:30 depending. (this will change once we start preschool on Monday! YAY!! - will post about this!)
8:00 - Cheerios or Oatmeal or Eggs and Toast or Pancakes
9:00- snack of some kind - crackers, fruit, etc

11:30 - Lunch. Usually consists of leftovers, sandwich or pasta of some sort.Or we may go out to lunch.

12:30/1 - naptime. Honestly I put them down here, but sometimes its after 1:30 before they fall asleep. I still try for the earlier time, because there isn't a mom I know that puts their kids down so late. But they are just not tired yet!

3/3:20 - This is either some of a pasta I have in the fridge, chicken nuggets, or a sandwich here if they didn't have one earlier. Maybe cheese, avocado, popcorn, etc. (I know, it's bad)

6:30 - dinnertime. Sometimes they eat dinner with us, and sometimes not. It depends on what I have fixed and some things I fix aren't for them or Jake gets home late, or we want to grill out sans kiddos. :)

7:30-8 - baths, story/bedtime

Activities: Love being outside. We love the zoo, parks, storytime, just really getting out and about.

Stats: Jules can still wear 18m dresses and some clothes, and can wear alot of 24m stuff. 2T stuff varies depending on the cut. We are potty trained (yay!) but still wears size 5 diapers at naptime and bedtime (still not sure what to do here - she has yet to wake up dry and has been potty trained now for several months now) Josh can wear 2T and some 3T shirts. Pants and shorts however, fall right off him poor thing. So, he is mostly still in 18m shorts, but can wear some 24m. Jules is in size 6 shoes, and Josh is in size 7, although Jules can probably move pretty soon. its CRAZY. They are still in size 5 diapers.

Milestones: Like I mentioned before, they are CHEELENS. They can talk ya'll!! Serious, honest-to-goodness conversations. It's crazy. Like, I can talk to them and stuff. They talk to me. They pick out their clothes, they pick out what they want to eat (to some extent) they tell me what activities they want to do, they can tell what shows they want to watch, and what songs they want to sing. They can make their own choices and make their own decisions (again, to some extent). They have little sponge-like minds that go "Whats this Mommy?" A LOT. They make me serious belly laugh more than I ever imagined they could. They can frustrate the ever living daylights out of you and then the next second say "BIG HUG MOMMY!" and melt your heart. They are just the most precious, smart, funny things in the entire world, and I am one lucky mommy.

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21 Months Old - Update on the Babes

Sigh...another month down the drain of childhood. Why is is going so very, very fast? It seriously hit me this past month that they will be two--TWO-- in two--TWO--months! Please explain to me why I feel like we JUST their 18 month pictures made, and I had to make an appointment yesterday for their 2 year portraits? I swear it makes me so sad. I remember when they turned one, and other moms with 2 year old would say, "Oh I know! Mine are two! Seems like yesterday!". And I would smugly think, "Yeah, right. You have a two year old. That is two years since you gave birth. My situation is COMPLETELY different. You can't possible understand". And here, I am saying the same thing. The eyear 1-2 has gone by WAY faster than 0-1. I think maybe because there aren't as many milestones like rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking. From 1-2 its just been walking, then running, then running faster :)

21Months old!!

Feedings: They are still doing awesome with feeding themselves and can use a spoon or a fork! And they can pick up and eat cereal and little things like that. We have started eating dinner with them now at night most nights, so that I think has helped with them eating in no more than 3 minutes and being done. We have also been taking them out (in public!) to dinner on Friday nights, to get them used to eating at the table with us and staying put for a while. Its a journey...

Sleep: They are such good sleepers. I can't complain at all. They are now sitting in the rocking chair with Jake at night before they go to bed at reading a story. Before they would sit in their crib while Jake read from the chair. It means I don't sing to them before bed, but this is nice too :)And we have started putting them down at 8 now instead of 7:30, so we can eat dinner with them. They also changed jammies and now have Mickey and Minnie flannel jammies. They LOVE them. So much that they cry in the mornings when we take them off and change their clothes. I even had to button Jules' shirt as a poncho over her outfit yesterday because she wanted "MeMe" back.

Our Schedule:

7:15- wake up then a sippy cup of milk mixed with two scoops of formula. (my sneaky way of sneaking in some vitamins). They drink it and read books while we get dressed.

8:00 - cereal with fruit or waffle with cream cheese spread or eggs and toast with fruit

10:00 - snack. either juice or milk with some fruit or a cereal bar (with no high fructose corn syrup, natch)
11:00 - Lunch is either a pasta, ( I have found Annie's Organic boxed pasta and they love it! You can sneak in some veggies here too) beans, rice, usually avocado. I try to have a little bit of the biggies: whole grain, fruit, veggie, protein. We also are fans of Yummy brand chicken nuggets (Canadian product so gov't mandates hormone free and natural - way cheaper than organic. Harris Teeter sells it) and fish
11:30-12 - Nap (they nap anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours)
3:00 - This is either some of a pasta I have in the fridge, or toast with hummus and fruit. There also might be cut up tofu, cut up string cheese, chicken, cut up veggies, beans, or rice. I try to keep some easy things in the fridge to grab.
5:00 - we are doing a snack here  - they haven't been eating well at the 3:30 time and they have been hungry here.
7:00 - eat with Mommy and Daddy
7:30-8 - baths, story/bedtime

Activities: We are loving our Mommy and Me music class and still love Gymboree! Am thinking of starting them in an arts and crafts class too. I'm not sure ethey start until 2, though.

Structured Playtime: We are trying to block specific activity times. Our nanny takes them out on MWF, and TR they are at home all day. There is coloring time, arts and crafts time, reading time, puzzle time, reading time, block time, etc. I just don't want it to be free-play-run-wild-all-day.

Diet: Back to dieting and exercising! And it feels good!

Stats: Jules is still is some 18m clothes, although she can wear quite a few 24m stuff. Josh is 100% in 24 month clothes, and they both still have a problem with pants. They are too skinny! (oh, to have such a problem). They are still in size 5 shoes, although closer to 6 every day.  We have startedmigrating to size 5 diapers especially at night, so whenever I buy them I'll just buy 5s (even though there are more diapers in the 4 boxes)

Milestones: Boy, oh boy, these last few weeks they are saying so much! They pretty much try and say anything you do. They now sign AND say what they are saying, which is awesome. They are both now doing phrases of words, which has recently exploded! They know most animal sounds and love to show you them. They know most of there ABC's expect for a small few letters. They know all their numbers 1-9 which amazes me. And they know most of teh more popular colors. No haircuts yet, and not even close, lol. They are spounges now for sure, and love to learn!!

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20 Months - Update on the Babes!!!

Seriously, how did my babies turn 20 months old and that month fly by at lightening speed? I wish I could bottle the time and keep it forever and ever. And while we're on the bottling topic, if I can figure out to to bottle some of their energy right now, I might could become an overnight millionaire. They are just everywhere right now! Running faster than you can imagine, in different directions. But, oh my, are they fun! This is such a wonderful age!!

20 Months old!!

Feedings: They are semi-pros at feeding themselves with spoons and forks. Alot of the time, though they like to work double time and use their hands AND forks, spoons, and I can't blame them. If I'm hungry, I want to do the same thing. We still seem to be a food rut, but in talking to other parents of kids their age, I can't complain. Yes, we waste a lot of food, but I do try to put a variety of things on their plate, and 9 times out of 10, they only eat one thing. Sometimes they only want goldfish or cheerios, but I'm trying.

Sleep: Doing super here again! Its actually been nice, because the mornings are dark now. Not too great for Mommy and Daddy trying to wake up, but good for babies. The best is listening to them on the monitor in the mornings. All you here are giggles and "uh oh"s (our favorite) as they are throwing all their stuffed toys and lovies in the floor.

Our Schedule:

7:15- wake up then a sippy cup of milk mixed with two scoops of formula. (my sneaky way of sneaking in some vitamins). They drink it and read books while we get dressed.

8:00 - cereal with fruit or waffle with cream cheese spread or eggs and toast with fruit

10:00 - snack. either juice or milk with some fruit or a cereal bar (with no high fructose corn syrup, natch)
11:00 - Lunch is either a pasta, ( I have found Annie's Organic boxed pasta and they love it! You can sneak in some veggies here too) beans, rice, usually avocado. I try to have a little bit of the biggies: whole grain, fruit, veggie, protein. We also are fans of Yummy brand chicken nuggets (Canadian product so gov't mandates hormone free and natural - way cheaper than organic. Harris Teeter sells it) and fish

11:30-12 - Nap

3:00 - feed 6-7oz for each + "dinner" This is either some of a pasta I have in the fridge, or toast with hummus and fruit. There also might be cut up tofu, cut up string cheese, chicken, cut up veggies, beans, or rice. I try to keep some easy things in the fridge to grab.

5:00 - we are doing a snack here  - they haven't been eating well at the 3:30 time and they have been hungry here.

6:30/6:45 - I still feed another meal here.

7:00-7:30 - baths, story/bedtime

Activities: Let's see! We still do storytime at the library and we love our Gymboree Class (am thinking of switching them to My Gym though when they offer a Saturday class for their age range). We have also started a Mommy and Me (sigh, although "Nanny and Me") class on Wednesdays. I found a local church here that does it and its great! And so much cheaper than doing KinderMusik or Music Together. So far, they have LOVED this, Jules is completely the teacher's pet.

Structured Playtime: This is much better. We are back to doing independent playtime for each of them, which is so great. When one is in IP, the other gets one-on-one time with me or the Nanny, which is nice! During this time we are coloring or learning or playing with playdoh. Its great and easy, b/c they aren't used to one-on-one time, and they love it.

Diet: Back to dieting and exercising! And it feels good! And I have to now that I am drinking beer and eating food like Boss Hogg on gameday tailgates :)

Stats: Jules is still is some 18m clothes, although she can wear quite a few 24m stuff. Josh is almost all in 24m or 2T stuff. The problem with both is that they are still small, so the waists of things are huge on them in pants.  They are still in size 5 shoes, although closer to 6 every day.  They are both in size 4 diapers, but could probably migrate to 5's any day. And yes, I know I should be doing some potty training, and we have a toy potty for them and they love sitting on it, but still not ready yet.

Milestones: They are talking so much! (well, trying to anyway). They are bid right now on repeating what you say. We are working now to making phrases and sentences. Jules has done a few, like "Hi Mama", etc. She's the bigger talker now, which is crazy b/c it wasn't like that starting out. They can mimic sounds of most animals and like I said, are starting to call things by a name, or something like it. They are LOVING ABC's right now, and love learning and saying the letters. They can say most letters, but have a hard time with H, J, L, M, N, etc. Every thing that has a E sound they are good with :) They know most colors and shapes well. Their hair is growing so fast now! Still haven't had to get a haircut yet, though. Their hair is also very different textures. Jules' is much more coarse and has big curls all over her head like a mop. Josh's is much more fine and straight and just curls a bit on the bottom. They love all animals, and love our cats and love dogs! They are like little sponges now! Its so exciting and fascinating to watch. And they actually understand most of what I tell them, which is just amazing when you think about it. I know I say this every month, but this age is so great right now!

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18-19 Months - Update on the Babes

Eeep! since work started back full-force for me, I seem to have neglected my duties as Super Blogger mommy Extraordinaire. So, in a mess of apologies, I will have to make this one a 18-19m update. (and by the way, how did this go by so fast??

19 Months old!!

Feedings: They are doing MUCH better at feeding themselves. They are even using a fork sometimes! Hallelujah! Its funny, because maybe its just me, but I am thinking they won't use utensils every time. So, they may only use them once per day, because with the other foods, its much easier for them to eat by hand. Is it just me?? We are by far and away in a foot rut. And I am so very sick of it. However, one of my favorite new things is Pinterest. And so now I am included a whole new category of Toddler Food, so hopefully that will give me some ideas. Jame and I also decided this week that we were going to maybe try keeping them up a half hour later as we are getting into fall/winter, so that means our dinners will all be together as a family, which is good. So, dinner time they will I suppose eat what we eat, which they haven't done much of before. I'll let you know how that goes at our next update. I am still adding two scoops of toddler formula to their morning milk, and thats been going great!

Sleep: Doing great here. Still sleeping though the night. They wake up on the occasional night though with what I can only think are nightmares. Do yours do this? What could they be dreaming of that is so scary? I got Josh up last night about 12:30am, and the poor thing was shaking. Bless his heart. They take a 2hr nap on average. Sometimes less, sometimes more.

Our Schedule:

7:15- wake/feed 8oz each whole milk for Josh and Jules then cereal with fruit or waffle with cream cheese spread or eggs and toast with fruit

10:30 - some milk, if we are out, then its water. We have tried juice, but they really don't care for it too much yet.
11:00 - Lunch is either a pasta, ( I have found Annie's Organic boxed pasta and they love it! You can sneak in some veggies here too) beans, rice, usually avocado. I try to have a little bit of the biggies: whole grain, fruit, veggie, protein. We also are fans of Yummy brand chicken nuggets (Canadian product so gov't mandates hormone free and natural - way cheaper than organic. Harris Teeter sells it) and fish

11:30-12 - Nap

3:00 - feed 6-7oz for each + "dinner" This is either some of a pasta I have in the fridge, or toast with hummus and fruit. There also might be cut up tofu, cut up string cheese, chicken, cut up veggies, beans, or rice. I try to keep some easy things in the fridge to grab.

5:00 - sometimes a snack. I usually forget. I try to do water or milk and something light. We have been doing smoothies sometimes, and they like them. Its just getting them to sit still while drinking it.

6:30/6:45 - I still feed another meal here.

7:00-7:30 - baths, story/bedtime

Outing/Events: They still love our weekly date to Gymboree. Love running around! They love going to the playgrounds around town. They love going to the pool. They stay in the baby pool for a while, then want to get in the big pool. We have been to the zoo a couple of times, but not much. Since I went back to work, I miss my outings with them :(

Structured Playtime: This has gotten better. We do alot more structured time, and less free play, but there is still a good amount of free play. But, now we also do music time, reading time, learning time, etc. We started back with independent play, thank goodness, and its making a huge difference I think.

Diet: Back to dieting and exercising! And it feels good! And I have to now that I am drinking beer and eating food like Boss Hogg on gameday tailgates :)
Stats: They babies are in 18m clothes, although Josh can wear quite a few 2T things. They are both in size 5 shoes now.  They are both in size 4 diapers, but could probably migrate to 5's any day.

Milestones: They are still loving to talk and make sounds and noises. Animal sounds are a big deal in our house now. They can do a Dog, (ooo, ooo), Duck (duck, duck), Lion/Bear (aaahhhhh), Pig (this one is just funny - they try to snort), Snake (ssss), Cow, (ooooo, not to be confused with oooo oooo for dogs). Words they say (or their version, natch): Mama, Dada, Papa, Mimi, Pa, Wa-wa (water), Baaaa (bottle), JJ, Duck, Hi, Bye Bye, Baby, Ball, Barney, Book, (actually everything that starts with B, sounds like Ball, but THEY think they are saying the word) Night-night, Nana (what they call Sherry, our Nanny). They (Jules more) and really into those wood puzzles. They really enjoy them. They still love books, and still destroy them on a daily basis.  They can follow along to songs, and know "movements" like up, down, twist, boogy, side-to-side. They can also do "their own" movements to Itsy Bitsy Spider, If You're Happy and You Know It, Wheels on the Bus, Patty Cake, etc. They love to clap, to sing, to laugh. They belly laugh and its the most beautiful souns. They love to give tickles. They "sing" Ro, Ro, Ro". It took a while to learn they were trying to sing "Row, row row, your boat". Its the only thing they sing, and its clearly their favorite song to sing, lol. LOVE these babies!!!!!

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17 Months - Update on the Babes

This is getting to be a little ridiculous. How are my babies 17 months old, and very, VERY soon to be 18 months old? Are you trying to tell me that they turned a year old SIX months ago?????? What in the H E Double Hockey Sticks is going on?? sigh....moving on.

17 Months old!!

Feedings: Hmmmm, I still am no closer to having them feed themselves as I was at the last update, and my goal was to have them self-feeding by 18 months. NEW GOAL - 19 months! LOL. See how that works? You can just keep pushing it back. They have actually been eating alot more than usually the past week or so. I have tried googling to see if toddlers go through a growth spurt, but couldn't really find anything "scientific". Food is getting to be boring for me, and I feel like we are in a rut. They still eat good healthy things, but I feel like we are in a "same food" rut. This month they had a McDonald's Happy Meal for the first time. They honestly loved the hamburger happy meal better than the chicken nuggets, which surprised me. But, they don't eat much red meat, so that was good. That might be weird, but the babies (nor I) eat much fast food, so it was a big deal. Even nicer was that they could run around like wild Indians in the playcenter afterwards.

One different thing I am doing this month, is trying out an experiment. I bought some toddler formula, and am adding a scoop or two of it into their milk. They are still drinking it fine, it just gives them a bit more vitamins, calories, and nutrients.

Waketime/Napping: Doing really good here. If we have had a busy morning, they alot longer, but they are a good 2 hours on average, usually 2.5, but sometimes even 3. They go down 11:30/12ish.

Nightime: Still stirring earlier than 7am, but we don't go in until after 7 to get them up. But they don't care. I honestly just like to listen to them on the monitor in the mornings. Giggling up a storm, talking to each other, jumping up and down, knocking their heads against the crib, lol. It's awesome.

Our Schedule:

7:15- wake/feed 8oz each whole milk for Josh and Jules then cereal with fruit or waffle with cream cheese spread or eggs and toast with fruit

10:30 - some milk, if we are out, then its water. We still haven't tried juice yet.

11:00 - Lunch is either a pasta, ( I have found Annie's Organic boxed pasta and they love it! You can sneak in some veggies here too) beans, rice, usually avocado. I try to have a little bit of the biggies: whole grain, fruit, veggie, protein. We also are fans of Yummy brand chicken nuggets (Canadian product so gov't mandates hormone free and natural - way cheaper than organic. Harris Teeter sells it) and fish

11:30 - Nap

3:00 - feed 6-7oz for each + "dinner" This is either some of a pasta I have in the fridge, or toast with hummus and fruit. There also might be cut up tofu, cut up string cheese, chicken, cut up veggies, beans, or rice. I try to keep some easy things in the fridge to grab.

5:00 - sometimes a snack. I usually forget. I try to do water or milk and something light. We have been doing smoothies sometimes, and they like them. Its just getting them to sit still while drinking it.

6:30/6:45 - I still feed another meal here.

7:00-7:30 - baths, story/bedtime

Outing/Events: They love, LOVE the class at Gymboree. They love, love the pool. I said last month that it will be a challenge, but we have a little routine now, and they love it. First is to the baby pool, where they can stand, walk around, and play. Then after about an hour they are dying by this point to go to the big pool. So, we'll take them (We usually prolong this as long as possible, b/c no one wants Josh, poor dude. He is a fierce, strong squirmer. Jules will let you hold her and swim around). They don't like their floats at all now, so you have to hold them the whole time. Then afterwards, we'll do a snack, then back in the baby pool. Then leave after that.

We have been to the zoo a bunch. They are really starting to like it as well. I (again) have my little routine with them, and we see the same animals every time, so now they are recognizing them and get excited. Plus, our zoo has this HUGE play area. They are too small for the big area, but they have this toddler area that they love.

They also still go every Wednesday to storytime with Sherry.

Structured Playtime: This has gotten better. We do alot more structured time, and less free play, but there is still a good amount of free play. But, now we also do music time, reading time, learning time, etc. We still don't do independent play, and I'm not sure how to do that yet.

Diet: Well, I WAS doing good. Then a week goes by and I find I haven't exercised at all. My life is so inconsistent, so why am I surprised that my diet is as well????? Can I start breastfeeding again? That seemed to be the best way to diet.

Stats: They babies are in 18m clothes now. Josh has been for a little while. Jules can still wear a lot of 12 month stuff, but she can also wear 18m stuff as well. They are both in size 4 shoes. Jules was super in size 3 until last week, when the poor thing grew overnight. They are both in size 4 diapers. I don't have a clue what they weigh. I know Jules is over 20lbs (maybe like 22), and Josh feels like 60, but he may just be a pound or two over her. You pick them both up, and it feels like night and day. Its so funny b/c of their body makeup. Jule sfeels like a feather, and Josh feels like a sack of potatoes.

Milestones: They are jibber-jabbering all the time!! Words they say (or their version, natch): Mama, Dada, Papa, Mimi, JJ, Duck, Hi, Bye Bye, Baby, Ball, Barney, Book, (actually everything that starts with B, sounds like Ball, but THEY think they are saying the word) Night-night, Nana (what they call Sherry, our Nanny). They (Jules more) and really into those wood puzzles. They really enjoy them. And of course, they still adore their books. They run everywhere. All of a sudden we are letting them climb up the stairs. Don't know how it happened, it just did one day (they only climb them to go up after dinner to their bath, and only if we are directly behind them). They love to clap, to sing, to laugh. They love to dance, and can go side to side, twist, touch their toes. They "sing" Ro, Ro, Ro". It took a while to learn they were trying to sing "Row, row row, your boat". Its the only thing they sing, and its clearly their favorite song to sing, lol. They love to "stomp" and think its fun to take baby steps, then make BIG steps. They have also started sleeping with a stuffed animal, in addition to their lovey. Again, not sure when it happened, it just kind of did. Josh sleeps with a stuffed monkey from PB, and Jules sleeps with a bunny from PB. When you go in at night, Josh is on his belly, with one arm around George the monkey, and one around his lovey. Absolutely precious. They are also playing with each other tons. They like to chase each other and play. Jules is definitely the more dominant, and like to push him down all the time, and he just laughs and laughs. LOVE these babies!!!!!

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16 Months - Update on the Babes



Nice, Jules (vulgar much?) And, if you recall, this is the same chair as their monthly pics. They are sooo big!)



16 Months old!!

Oh wow, these update posts sure do catch up with me. Here I am lolly-gagging around in this blissful 16 month old stage, not realizing that next week they will be 17 months old. Its just unbelievable. Work has finally slowed down, which is nice! Now I have my summer to spend more time with the abbes! Yay! Unfortunately, I have a sneaking suspicion that the summer is going to fly by just as quickly.

Feedings: Can someone please come to me home and make my kids learn to use a spoon? This is just getting ridiculous! Why can my babes not learn to do this? Any tricks or pointers? They like to eat the spoon, yes, just not with food on it. or, we like to put the food that is on the spoon in our hair instead.

They are still eating pretty good, though. I can't complain. I just don't want to take them to restaurants, lol. I try to have every meal have a little bit from the main four: whole grain, fruit, veggie, protein. For the most part is is working well. Josh still loves pasta, and they both LOVE fruit. Jules can store up grapes and blueberries like a little chipmunk for winter.  They also eat alot of cheese, yogurt, toast, waffles, chicken, fish, crackers, veggies, avocado, etc. Do I still constantly worry about they calories they are consuming - yes! (they were born, and still are, small) They are hit or miss on their sippy cups though. They are so used to their bottle being so fast flow, so I had to cut the sippy valves to make them flow faster. However, the problem with this is that now milk gets spilled on the floor. Constantly. It's ok, though, because I have a little maid to help clean it up.

Waketime/Napping: We are officially down to one nap! They go down about 11:30, and sleep until 1:30-2. (when its until 2, they usually laugh and play in their cribs until 12)

Nightime: This is still hit or miss. Sometimes we wake them up, and sometimes they are up playing at 6:30 (we don't go get them until 7 or so though). I can't figure it out. I am pretty sure its birds, but I don't hear them on my side of the house.

Our Schedule:

7:15- wake/feed 8oz each whole milk for Josh and Jules then cereal with fruit or waffle with cream cheese spread or eggs and toast with fruit

10:30 - some milk

11:00 - Lunch is either a pasta, ( I have found Annie's Organic boxed pasta and they love it! You can sneak in some veggies here too) beans, rice, usually avocado. I try to have a little bit of the biggies: whole grain, fruit, veggie, protein. We also are fans of Yummy brand chicken nuggets (Canadian product so gov't mandates hormone free and natural - way cheaper than organic. Harris Teeter sells it) and fish

11:30 - Nap

3:00 - feed 6-7oz for each + "dinner" This is either some of a pasta I have in the fridge, or toast with hummus and fruit. There also might be cut up tofu, cut up string cheese, chicken, cut up veggies, beans, or rice. I try to keep some easy things in the fridge to grab.

5:00 - sometimes a snack. I usually forget. I try to do water or milk and something light.

6:30/6:45 - I still feed another meal here.

7:00-7:30 - baths, story/bedtime

Outing/Events: They love, LOVE the class at Gymboree. Its by far their most favorite thing to do. We went to the pool for the first time this summer last weekend. The first day was complete misery. I just can't figure out what to do with kids their age. They are too big for the baby floats, too small for the toddler vests, and too small to sit in the baby pool. However, they can stand. The second day was better. They just kind of stood around and played with toys in the baby pool. We will work on this. Its funny, because since I have twins, it tends to be a topic of attention. And this weekend was to exception. two middle school girls were just enamored with the twins, and just played with them most of the day on Monday. Spontaneous babysitters - score!!!

Structured Playtime: I had talk with my nanny last week about what I would like to see happen here. i do think the babes have too much "free play time". And while I love that, and they play very well, it isn't something that needs to happen all day, every day. So, we are going to break it down into some outings here and there, learning time, reading time, coloring time, etc. Also I want to get back into independent playtime, which we have kind of strayed from. I think that is so important. Plus, I love it because it gives one on one time with the other babe, which I also think is important.

Diet: Doing good here again. Woohoo! Eating less breads and sweets, and working out more. Sounds so easy huh? Tennis has started back up again, which is good. And I have also committed to a Pilates/Yoga fusion class early Tues/Thurs mornings. I did Zumba for the first time last week - it was so much fun! So hopefully I can fit that in somewhere as well. Josh still refuses to go to the YMCA nursery, so I am having to do this on my own when I have time, which is hard.

Milestones: We are well into toddler territory. They run everywhere we go. They want to walk (run)everywhere now, instead of being carried, and they are babbling up a storm! I no longer have a boy names Josh, I now have a monkey who insists on climbing up on everything and getting into absolutely everything (typical boy!) They aren't too bad into the tantrum arena, but we are getting there. They are learning to point and sign "please" when they want something instead of screaming. They love to sing, and dance. They love to laugh and clap They have just started "playing" with each other, and giving each other hugs and kisses (at my request, natch). And by playing, I mean running towards each other, giggling, and Jules pushing Josh down (he never retaliates). They are little mimics, and can now pick up on things so quickly, its amazing. if I am tickling Josh and he's on his back on the floor, Jules comes running, and falls on her back , b/c she wants to be tickled too. So cute! At night, they both want me to sign to them. Jules will now get on her stomach and wants me to rub her back and sing to her. When she knows  the song is about over, she'll roll over and sign "more, and please". How can you resist that? I LOVE THESE BABIES!!!! (ahem, toddlers!)

15 Months - Update on the Babes

15 Months old!! (twins much?)

These sweet sweet babes!! They make me laugh and crack me up on a daily basis. They are SO smart and soaking up things like little sponges. And did I mention they are everywhere? I run around after them so much I should be a size two. Sadly, I am not.

Feedings: We are still working on self feeding with spoons. I can't say we have been aggressively working on it though. I can say we work on it sometimes, and sometimes I selfishly give them other things b/c I am scared on the mess, lol. (at least I'm honest!) Jules has definitely become the better eater of the two. She is more open to trying new foods and textures. Honestly, she will eat anything is she knows we are eating it. (the little mimic she is). Josh is much more weird about textures. He LOVES pasta though. However, only certain kinds. He really likes Annie's organic shells and cheese. So, when I make it I add a protein, like chicken or salmon, and veggies and some more cheese and whole milk. Yummy! They also eat alot of cheese, yogurt, toast, waffles, chicken, fish, crackers, veggies, avocado, etc. I still am pretty good about adding (healthy) fattening things to each meal. I still have little babies, which still aren't gaining weight as quickly as I would like (sigh, it certainly doesn't help that they now run everywhere they go and probably burn 1000 calories a day!) They are still very healthy, of course, I think its just something I will forever obsess with. We are also 100% done with bottles. I miss our morning one though. I had rigged the nipple for it to be super fast flow, so the sippys just are way to slow for them...so they would be tired of it and stop drinking. So, I decided to also rig a couple of their sippy cups for the morning. (I know most people don't even do a morning drink, but its kind of out thing. We change their diapers, they sit with daddy and have their milk, while I pick out their clothes. Then, they get dressed after they finish, then breakfast later)

Waketime/Napping: We are..........dumdumdum.........sort of down to one nap. They aren't 100% yet, and honestly, there are some days they could use another one. For the most part, I can say its dropped. They go down at about 11-11:30 right now. I would like to move it until 12, but its a bit of a struggle at 11 now.

Nightime: I know last month we were talking about some early waking, and I think we have it figured out - dang birds!! They are chirping away right outside their window. It has rained like crazy for the past week or so, so now they have been sleeping like champs. But, I'm sure this bird problem will come back. Hmmm, not sure what to do about it yet.

Our Schedule:

7:15- wake/feed 8oz each whole milk for Josh & Jules then cereal with fruit or waffle with cream cheese spread or eggs and toast with fruit
10:30 - some milk
11:00 - Lunch is either a pasta, ( I have found Annie's Organic boxed pasta and they love it! You can sneak in some veggies here too) beans, rice, usually avocado. I try to have a little bit of the biggies: whole grain, fruit, veggie, protein. We also are fans of Yummy brand chicken nuggets (Canadian product so gov't mandates hormone free and natural - way cheaper than organic. Harris Teeter sells it) and fish
11:30 - Nap
3:00 - feed 6-7oz for each + "dinner" This is either some of a pasta I have in the fridge, or toast with hummus and fruit. There also might be cut up tofu, cut up string cheese, chicken, cut up veggies, beans, or rice. I try to keep some easy things in the fridge to grab.
5:00 - sometimes a snack. I usually forget. I try to do water or milk and something light.
6:30/6:45 - I still feed another meal here, but they usually just pick at it. Their appetite really drops here.
7:00-7:30 - baths, a sippy cup of milk, story/bedtime

Outing/Events: We are definitely better about our outings. We have done the zoo. They aren't super into it yet, but we're trying. They liked it better when we took the again instead of the stroller. We also joined the Gymboree classes. We go for a Saturday class and to the open play twice a week. They still do storytime on Wednesdays. We also did an easter egg hunt with my twin mommy group. They have also been a couple of times to the Shipwrecked playhouse. This is super fun, and they have dress up clothes and everything. Now that they are down to one nap, we have a more flexible schedule to do some more playdates and such. My twin mommy group does a ton of fun things that I, or my nanny can take them to, so we're looking forward to that.

Structured Playtime: We are working on this. It is a huge priority for me right now. My nanny has now been working for us a year (jeez, it has gone fast) so we will do her review and talk about what I want her to work with moving forward.

Diet: **crickets** Another fun thing that has transpired is that Josh has refused to let me go to the gym. He REFUSES to be in the nursery there and screams the entire time. They usually come and get me after 15 minutes. I have just quit trying and it is VERY FRUSTRATING.

Milestones: Well, I officially no longer have babies. They are running everywhere, talking toddlers!! They love to run. Jules swings her arm when she does and its hysterical. Josh loves to just run. He is such a boy.  They love being outside. We have started into tantrum area, however not by much, and its easily fixed, which is good. They can now reach door knobs, but can't turn them. They LOVE going to potty. In fact, you now cannot use the bathroom in peace anymore. You will almost always have an audience, and they come running, lol. They still love playing chase. They love clapping. They love to dance (so funny). They can sing (or try to, but dang, its cute). They are just little mimics, and its hysterical. they know what most things are now, and can go and and find their bear, Elmo, toys, books, golf clubs, balls, etc. My Lord, these babies are the funniest, smartest babies ever!! They just crack me up. They are walking everywhere, and sometimes Josh can run a little bit. They love playing chase. They love reading books. As far as words, Josh says mama, Dada, NaNa (night), dohight (I think light?), Hi, ball (could also mean bath), byebye, he also says a form of "Josh". We are learning to say lots of other things as well. Jung more in the speech department, but has done a 360. In fact, I was just talking to the pedi about her language last week, and now she is talking - so weird!! She says mama, dada, bye, ball, and some other "julesisms", which don't really have a meaning, which we haven't figured out yet, lol. She does sign pretty good. She does more, please, hug, eat, hat, bye, etc. Josh can do please and hat. They are just so smart and they amaze me on a daily basis. I swear, every day when Jake gets home I say, "guess what they learned today?" (Of course, I have also joked that they are like little dogs, that its easy to teach and learn new tricks - ha!!)

14 Months - Update on the Babes

14 Months old!!

Ooooohhhhhh! They are getting so big!! So, so, so, so big! We are almost in 18 month clothes. Josh can easily wear 18 months shirts, but still needs 12 month pants. Jules can wear some 18 month dresses, but she will probably be in most 12m things for a while. She's teeny tiny. We are still in size 4 diapers, but are wearing size 5 at night for bedtime. They are EVERYWHERE right now. Little curious cats.

Feedings: We are slowly working on self feeding with spoons. This has been much harder that I thought. I wish I had started this earlier - hindsight is 20/20! We don't eat a ton of things for them to use their spoon with, so really we are just doing oatmeal and yogurt. Jules would still prefer to sick her hands in it each time, and Josh would just prefer to chew on the spoon. *sigh* We're getting there. We also....tumtumtum.... tried peanut butter and strawberries - and we are A-Ok here! i had been worried, with the dairy allergies and all, that they might be allergic. But, nope! They don't love it yet, probably due to textures, and we're working on it. we are also migrating from bottles to straight sippys. I'm sure we can do it, I just know they usually don't drink as much out of their sippys as they do from bottles. But, I think its probably time.

Waketime/Napping: Still working on moving to one nap per day. I think Josh is ready. On Friday and Saturday he did not take his afternoon nap. But Jules is not ready. So, I think we are going to do one nap a day on Wednesdays (library day) and Sundays (when we do church) and see how that goes, and if all is well, we will drop it. Expect next month's update to be free of two naps! Its all going so fast!!

Nightime: Doing good here, but for some reason Josh has been waking up at 6:45 for the past week or so. Hmmm, not sure what this is about, and I gotta say I don't like it. I am thinking it has something to do with daylight savings.

Our Schedule:

7:15- wake/feed 8oz each whole milk for Josh & Jules then cereal with fruit or waffle with cream cheese spread
9:30 - nap (hopefully at least 1.5 hours)
11:30 - feed - 6oz each bottle/sippy, then lunch a little later. Lunch is either a pasta, ( I have found Annie's Organic boxed pasta and they love it! You can sneak in some veggies here too) beans, rice, usually avocado. I try to have a little bit of the biggies: whole grain, fruit, veggie, protein.
3:00 - feed 6-7oz for each + "dinner" This is either some of a pasta I have in the fridge, or toast with hummus and fruit. There also might be cut up tofu, cut up string cheese, chicken, cut up veggies, beans, or rice. I try to keep some easy things in the fridge to grab. My Twin Friend Maggie recently posted on her blog how to shop the grocery for easy finger food ideas, and its great!
5:00 - sometimes a snack. I usually forget. I try to do water or milk and something light. 6:30/6:45 - I still feed another meal here, but they usually just pick at it. Their appetite really drops here.
7:00-7:30 - baths, a sippy cup of milk, story/bedtime

Outing/Events: LOVE being outside in this beautiful weather!! We have been to the park several times. They love to swing, and they have begun to slide down the slide all by themselves! Then they usually just run around EVERYWHERE. Its a good workout for me, too. lol. We have also been to the zoo, which is ok. Its not great yet, but hopefully, they will get used to it and thinks its cool to see the animals. Right now, they don't really get it. Plus, they are at a stage now, since they have been walking, that they don't like being confined in the stroller as much, which is AWESOME FUN, let me tell you. Now that its getting closer to summer, I am looking into doing some swimming with them and checking out the Gymboree classes possibly.

Structured Playtime: Hmmm, haven't done much here yet. We're getting to it. Jeez, how has it already been a month later?

Diet: I did the three day Tuns Fish Diet, and lost three pounds. Go me! I like it b/c usually I can do anything for three days. Then you can go back to regular eating for the next four. So, now I am on it again for three days. Its "supposed" to jump start your metabolism.

Milestones: My Lord, these babies are the funniest, smartest babies ever!! They just crack me up. They are walking everywhere, and sometimes Josh can run a little bit. They love playing chase. They love reading books. Jules can now point to certain characters in the books (Elmo, Pooh, Mickey Mouse, etc). She is all about pointing now, and points to things, like she is counting them too. Josh is all of a sudden obsessed with balls, and has one in his hand all the time, much to the pleasure of Jake. We got him a mini golf set and mini baseball set. So cute!! They love being outside and in their playroom. They are talking a little more, but still not saying much, just mostly babbling. They babble all the time. "doh" is everything according to Jules. She points at everything and says "Doh". They both say mama, dada, bye. Josh says ball alot. Jules loves sitting in your lap to read books. Josh will usually sit in the corner of your knee so he can be involved as well. He also "backs up" to sit on your knee, which is beyond hysterical. He may start walking backwards from across the room - its so funny. We are working on body parts. They know their tummy, ear, hat, head, feet etc. We are working on others. They LOVE, LOVE to dance. Jules loves to help me "put stuff away". She can put her toys, shoes, clothes, away in drawers and baskets. i cannot believe she knows how to do this. She just amazes me sometimes. Life is good!!!

13 Months Old-Update on the Babes

13 Months old!!

Ok, so now we are officially into pre-todder territory. I refuse to call them toddlers. They just simply aren't. I found myself yesterday trying to relate and compare stories to a person with a 6-week old baby, because in my mind, my babies are still 6 weeks old!!

Feedings: Still rocking and rolling along with finger foods. We are now trying to work on self-feeding with spoons! Oh, what a messy, messy phase this is! We are only doing it in the morning, when our nanny (ha, ha) feeds them oatmeal. Sometimes, they will also work with yogurt. We will work our way up to other things. But for now, I think we are doing ok. Their appetites have dropped so drastically since they turned one. The good thing is that I was prepared for it. Every book you read tells you to expect it. I also read that if "if your toddler continued consuming calories and gaining weight at the same rate she did in her first year...she'd weigh as much as a fifth grader before reaching her second birthday". So....lol, that puts things into perspective. Because if this "lack of appetite", however,m I have found myself gravitating towards feeding them higher fat foods instead of lower calories veggies b/c of their food limit, which sucks! I swear you people out there with normal-big sized babies don't have to worry about this stuff. but, since mine (although growing at a perfect pace) are barely on the growth chart, I try my best to put weight on them. It also doesn't help that they are walking EVERYWHERE and probably burning off every calorie they consume within 5 minutes.

p.s. my feeding goal for this month is nuts. That is, PEAnuts. I am a scaredy cat wimp about it though. But, its on my list of goals. We must try it. I know that....I just skered.

Waketime/Napping: We are slowly gravitating towards one nap a day. I said...slowly. Sometimes they are fussy with their afternoon nap, so they are telling me they are close to being ready for it. So, that means for me to start lengthening their awake time, gradually, to prepare them. Right now, we are shooting for an awake time of 2.5 hours. So, that's our goal.

Nightime: Doing great here. Going down at 7:30 and getting up at 7:15, sometimes even a bit later!

Our Schedule:

7:15- wake/feed 7/8oz each whole milk for Josh & Jules then cereal with fruit or waffle with cream cheese spread
9:30 - nap (hopefully at least 1.5 hours)
11:30 - feed - 6oz each bottle, then lunch a little later. Lunch is either a pasta, ( I have found Annie's Organic boxed pasta and they love it! You can sneak in some veggies here too) beans, rice, usually avocado. I try to have a little bit of the biggies: whole grain, fruit, veggie, protein.
3:00 - feed 6-7oz for each + "dinner" This is either some of a pasta I have in the fridge, or toast with hummus and fruit. There also might be cut up tofu, cut up string cheese, chicken, cut up veggies, beans, or rice. I try to keep some easy things in the fridge to grab. My Twin Friend Maggie recently posted on her blog how to shop the grocery for easy finger food ideas, and its great!
5:00 - I am starting to try feeding them a snack here. The problem is that when I do, they usually don't eat as well at 6:30, but I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, sincet hey don't usually eat well them either. A snack might be milk, goldfish, cheese, mum mum with hummus, banana, cheerios, etc.
6:30/6:45 - I still feed another meal here, but they usually just pick at it. Their appetite really drops here.
7:00-7:30 - baths, a sippy cup of milk, story/bedtime

Outing/Events: It has actually been very pretty here until the last few days, so we have been trying to make it outside alot! The love riding in their Radio Flyer wagon outside, and we will walk around the neighborhood with it. Also, Jake's sister got us a year's membership to the zoo. So, we went last weekend with them. They didn't really care too muchyet,m because we only had 45 minutes bfeore it closed, but I'm sure once they get used to going they will LOVE IT!! I have also taken them to the park a couple of times to swing. I have developed a bit of spring fever, so now I am ready for schools to be out and to have a bunch of playdates with the kiddos. Also, we FINALLY got their one-year pictures made, and if I must say, they are keeeeee-ute!! I will post on them once I get them back. They got made at Ellington Agricultural Center here in Nashville, and it was a great location to get them done. And, I got them from a Groupon, super cheap. So, thanks Groupon!

Structured Playtime: I am adding this category here. I am really trying to be better about doing some kind of organized play with them throughout the day, b/c if I don't, its just wild play all over the house, ALL DAY. (especially with two, rambunctious, walking, getting-into-everything pre-toddlers) I found this blog post, and really, really liked it. I am doing to do a separate post about it.

Diet: Ok, so, I have been working out. REGULARLY working out. Um, if you don't mind, I may have a private conversation with my body...

"WHY aren't you losing any weight??? WHY? What is the point? All of a sudden you are working out and exercising and nothing?? Jeez-get with it!!!"

Milestones: All of a sudden they are so smart!! I have posted a little bit about Wonder Weeks, but it is really fascinating on spot-on it is. Wonder Weeks are a mental leap babies go through at certain intervals throughout their young life. All of a sudden the babes started doing all these cool things,and I decided to just check and see if we were on a Wonder Week, and yup! We are! They can now each point to their belly (well, Jules just lifts her shirt, thats a nice skill to have). Josh can point to his ears, and stick out his tongue when I say "tongue". Jules knows what her baby doll is, and will go and find it when I ask her to. She can also do this with a couple of other toys. I can start to say a few lines out of one of her favorite books, and I kid you not, she will go in the book basket and pull out the correct book-its amazing!! They are learning peek a boo, but they don't understand to cover their eyes - lol - they cover their ears! HeHe! They are so much fun right now!!

12 Months - Update on the Babes

12 Months Old! (well, ok, so almost 13)

Many, many apologies for my being MIA. Life is nuts right now! I haven't hardly had a free second to write my baby updates! What is this world coming to?

Feedings: BIG changes here. Huge. No more breastfeeding! Woohoo! Do I miss it? Ummm...nope! See, I was an exclusive pumper. Therefore, Me and my Breastpump were BFFs. We didn't go anywhere without each other, and were attached at the hip, er, um, boob. So, I was DONE, to say the least. BFing wasn't a bonding experience for me, it was strictly supply and nourishment. And now that they are able to have whole milk, I am doing the happy dance! I literally stopped on their birthday, January 8th. I had to pump on the 10th, and do a couple of hand extractions, but thats all! I am happy to say I have had no problems whatsoever, and I was worried about that. And I breastfed for a year...with TWINS! Go Me!!!

They took to whole milk like champs too, so there was no worries there. We are doing organic though, which turns out, isn't that much cheaper than formula for two babies! I can't catch a break!

They are eating more normal foods, and haven't eaten baby food in a long time. The problem now is letting them eat what we eat. And as I said before, we don't eat nearly as healthy as we should. They eat much healthier than we do at this point. So, its going to take some getting used to. I switched around their feedings so that they are getting three full meals earlier, instead of the snack at 11:30. Their appetites have totally changed since the 1 year mark (dropped) so since they seem hungrier earlier in the day than later, I am trying to adjust accordingly.

Also, they do awesome with a sippy cup, but we are still on bottles. The reason I am doing this is because they drink bigger amounts much better with a bottle, and tend to "sip" from the sippy cup (imagine that!). And since they are still little, I try to make sure that they still get the calories they should. But, I'm not worried b/c they really do well with the cup too, so I don't think there is going to be any transitional issues.

Waketime/Napping: Our waketime is usually around 2 hours in the morning, a longer for the second break. We are still doing two naps, and that seems to be still working fine!

Nightime: Doing great here. Going down at 7:30 and getting up at 7:15, sometimes even a bit later!

Our Schedule:

7:15- wake/feed 7/8oz each whole milk for Josh & Jules then cereal with fruit or waffle with cream cheese spread
9:15:9:30 - nap (hopefully at least 1.5 hours)
11:30 - feed - 6oz each bottle, then lunch a little later. This is where I am struggling. Its so hard!!! I try to keep stocked organic chicken bites, low sodium sandwich meats, string cheese, cut up veggies, fruit, and some pasta that I make that stays in the fridge (I use organic baby food as the sauce). So, I just try to mix it up a bit. I need to start doing a weekly menu to keep me straight. 3:00 - feed 6oz for each + "dinner" This is either some of a pasta I have in the fridge, or toast with hummus and fruit. Their also might be cut up tofu, chicken, cut up veggies, beans, or rice. I try to keep some easy things in the fridge to grab.
6:30/6:45 - I still feed another meal here, but they usually just pick at it. Their appetite really drops here. And honestly, I am supposed to feed them a snack in between these feedings too, and when I do that, they won't touch food at this time.
7:00 - baths, then a sippy cup of milk
7:30 - story/bedtime

Outing/Events: It has been COLD, COLD, COLD here and SNOWY, SNOWY, SNOWY. Not much going on in our outing dept. In case you count the gym child care.

Diet: WOOHOO. I have been regularly working out. However you can't tell at all b/c I have stopped breastfeeding. So, now I am just maintaining what I was b/c of the extra calories (here is where I miss breastfeeding...miss burning those calories!)

Milestones: We are now BOTH officially walkers. And they are walking EVERYWHERE. I think they are officially in toddler territory, b/c now they never crawl. They walk. everywhere. into. everything. can't. keep. up. LOL. In all honestly, who are these people that told me that it would get easier with twins at the year mark? What happened to those babies that just sat there on their tummy time mat and didn't move? How have I not lost 20 pounds chasing after them?Did I honestly think it was hard back then? What was I thinking? HeHe. They say Mama, Dada, Byebye. Still not much else. I have now been working with them in sign language for probably 6 months now, and they still don't sign. However, we joke with Jules when we change her diaper and go "Shoooo!" and wave our arm in front of our face like it smells, and she now can do this of all things. So now she says shoooo, and waves her arm. Sign language? Nope, nothing. Shooo, smelly diaper? Picked that one right up. She still loves her books. Josh has now become much more interested in them as well, which is awesome. They LOVE their pottery barn chairs we got them for their birthday. And they have just started being able to sleep a little bit with their loveys, even though I still sneak in and take them out of their crib, b/c I am a worry wart. But they recognize them and love them. I am loving life right now. They are the sweetest, funniest, happiest babies ever. I am beyond blessed.

11 Months - Update on the Babes

The walker caravan!

11 Months Old!

I have purposely put off writing this post because I refuse to believe that my babies are 11 months old. I'm sorry, I just can't accept it. And now, we are getting REALLY close to 12 months (AKA, 1 year old). With it being the Holiday Season, time is a-flying, and Mandy is a-sad face.

Feedings: What has happened to my milk supply? Seriously, does anyone know? My supply suffered DRAMATICALLY after I returned from Paris, but now its just pathetic. I think it's my body's way of telling me they need to wean. I have literally no milk, and its crazy. I went from pumping 50+ounces a day, to now maybe 18-20. Oh well, I don't have to do it much longer.

They are both doing really well with finger foods and eating. Jules will stuff anything (ANYTHING) in her mouth. She is the messiest child. (hmmm, her mother's daughter perhaps?) Josh, however, will only pick up certain things, and much prefers to be fed. He doesn't like to get his fingers really messy so he will only pick up "um-messy" foods. Nice, right? I am looking forward to their birthday cakes and see how they both do. Its going to be so funny.

Food is getting much harder to make, because I have to be more creative. It was so much easier to puree a fruit, veggie, etc. Now I have to do entire meals for them, that their little fingers can eat. We still feed them a bunch, but now its probably 60-70% finger foods. Mostly I make pastas with a veggie/meant sauce and keep it in the fridge. Its easy to make and keep, and they they'll also get fruit as well. Its a good way to give them the whole grain/veggie/meat combo, and they can pick it up with their hands. I also love to do toast with either hummus or cream cheese. and we still love avocado and yogurt! Another good thing to spread hummus or cream cheese on is a Baby MumMum wafer. Its easy for them to hold and crunchy!

I have been using alot more seasonings on their food. I have discovered Mrs. Dash and its the best thing in the world. Lots of good seasonings and no salt! I season most of their veggies with it, and add it to their pastas as well.

Waketime/Napping: Our waketime is still 2 hours, 15 minutes. We had a cold this past week, so our schedule got a bit thrown off.

Nightime: Doing great here. Going down at 7:30 and getting up at 7, sometimes even a bit later!

Our Schedule:

7:00- wake/feed 6.5oz each for Josh & Jules then cereal with pumpkin puree(wince we still have a ton) or bananas. I usually add cinnamon.
9:15 - nap (hopefully at least 1.5 hours)
11:30 - feed - 6oz each bottle, then they get a "snack" of cheerios or a MumMum with spread and some type of veggie, usually avocado and yogurt (their new favorite food, hands down). 1:00 - nap (usually wake at 2:30)
3:00 - feed 6.5oz for each + solids. This is either some of a pasta I have in the fridge, or toast with hummus and fruit. Their also might be cut up tofu, chicken, cut up veggies, beans, or rice. I try to keep some easy things in the fridge to grab.
6:30/6:45 - solids. Here I will do whatever opposite of what they have for lunch. I don't like to feed them the same exact thing for lunch and dinner. Plus, they are usually more fussy here, so if there was something that is harder for them to grab, or harder to eat, I will feed that to them at lunch instead of dinner.
7:00 - baths, then a sippy cup of milk
7:30 - story/bedtime

Outing/Events: I have already posted about our Santa Claus visits, and that was by far the most exciting event in the past month. We also attended a little girl's first birthday. The babes loved it because they got to play with all new toys. We also have been going to the gym some and they love it there as well for the same reason- new toys! Other than a couple of trips to Target, thats about it. I have discovered this time frame of them "almost-but-not-quite" walking is making it very hard to get them out. Its a hard age because now they are much heavier, the car seats are now much heavier, you have to take them out of the car seats to go anywhere, carry them, and to get one in and out while holding the other one.....well, just close your eyes and imagine.

Diet: I have missed working out so much. I got my gym membership, and am so excited! The babes love the nursery there. Although they got a cold their first time there. Oh joy.

Milestones: They are both toddling around!! Big, HUGE milestone! Jules took her first steps on Thanksgiving. She took four steps that night, and have since taken maybe 5-6 at the most at a time, lol. She is by no means a walker, but she is SO PROUD of herself when she takes steps. Josh actually, took his first steps two night ago as well. He has just started the process and is eager to go. He will turn anything into a personal walker: lego boxes, cardboard boxes, container of underwear, etc. So exciting!!! They are still talking and babbling. Josh has mastered "ByeBye", ands says Mama and Dada, but not necessarily to me or Jake. Jules also says Mam, Dada, Ga, and a couple of other nuances, but again, not necessarily to the correct things. Jules has taken up dancing and loves it. She sways back and forth to the music. She also loves to flip upside down. She is going to be a little gymnast. They have alos learned to climb the stairs, to my horror. They get into drawers, cabinets, plugs, cats, toilets, diaper genies, Christmas trees, etc-basically anything and everything they are not supposed to. But they are sweet and so dang cute. Man, I love being a mommy.