Thursday, September 8, 2011

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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Its my Birthday - YAY!




Today is here. My birthday. What used to be the most fun day of the year and going out with my friends and drinking up a storm with lots of fun and presents, lets go to present day: I am working today. I will go home and play with my babies until Jake gets home. Then we'll feed them and put them to bed. Ummm, does that sound like every other night? Lol! You are correct!! Honestly, I don't care anymore. Once I hit the "30+" mark, I have decided I am not going to keep track anymore. Your twenties are over. Now you're a grown-up. Sigh...I am really old.

Also, in other much more exciting news - the babies are officially 20 months old today. How in the world they turned 20 months old behind my back I have no idea. The cool thing is we both have birthdays on the 8th of the month.

So, let's do the count:

I am 33(eeeeekk!) , and I am mom to 20 month old twins. I think that sounds pretty good, don't you?


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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - Giggly Boy = Giggly Mommy













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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Steppin out Saturday - First UT Football Game!

Football Season is officially here! I am so excited!! The only good thing about summer coming to an end (sigh, goodbye summer) is that football season is here and ready to go. Being in the south, football is huge here. if you haven't read Fridays post, please do so!

So, this weekend we made our first trip up to Knoxville for University of Tennessee's first home game against Montana. The weather was, dare I say, the worst EVER. We tailgated from about 1-game time, which was 6pm. And during that time it was at least 100 degrees - absolutely miserable, or so I thought. Right at the very start of kickoff the skies opened up and a monsoon started. (Thank you Hurricane Lee) - it rained and rained and rained. The game was postponed, and once it started, we ended up sitting out in the rain for a good quarter or two. Although I am a big fan, I'm not that big of fan, so my and my mom (my seatmate for the game) called it a night and went back to our tailgate and listened to the rest of it, which we waited on our party to return.

The babes didn't make this game, and probably won't this year, but definitely next for sure. They still got to dress in their UT gameday colors and cheer us on though! And, we do it again next week!

p.s. Sadly, my gameday attire was not what I planned. My white dress somehow did not make it to Knoxville with us, so I was forced to recycle my Friday shirt. Oh well, still cute and appropriate - orange!






 

Just the girls :)



Not pigging out - swear.

The TN band - came and played next to our tailgate



Jake got sideline tickets! Yay him!

tailgate food - totally healthy - cross my fingers.



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Sunday, September 4, 2011

Weekly Phone Pics

Another fab week at the Stribling household. I didn't take a ton of pics this week, but here is what we have been up to:





 - Joshie Feet!
 - Sick little boy under the weather
 - Designing invites for a couples shower
 - Sitting outside since the humitidy has been a little better!
 - I want more cookie from Kroger!
 - Headed to Knoxville for UT's first game!
- Gameday shoes
 - Reading with Daddy
 
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Friday, September 2, 2011

18 Month Photos





Ahhhhh, there is just something about getting professional pictures taken that makes me is a fun dreamy state. They honestly take my breath away. As you know, I have been looking forward to getting their 18m photos done since, well, I got their 12 Month photos taken. I am absolutely in love with them. We ended up doing two different shoots, kind of on a whim. The lovely and talented Katie DeSousa and Sara Tyler teamed up (which was awesome when you have twins, by the way - they each took off after a twin) for our outdoor shoot, taken at Harlinsdale Farm in Franklin, TN right across from The Factory. The indoor shots with the balloons were kind of a second thought. Katie has been wanting to transform her living room into a balloon wonderland to take pictures of her 3 year old twin boys, and asked if I wanted to bring mine over too - Um, SURE!! So, its ended up being a two part shoot, which was absolutely fabulous. I loved getting to use all outfits, and do different locations - inside/outside. I can't thank them enough for such a great job.

Oufits: As you know, I have been having a really hard time making decisions on this, however, I am quite pleased with them!

On Jules:

Outdoor:
Matilda Jane dress
Romper bought off of Etsy

Indoor:
Tutu bought off of Ebay
Petti Top bought off of Etsy

On Josh:

Outdoor:
Top: Janie and Jack, Shorts: Crazy 8
Shirt and Shorts: Gap

Indoor:
Top, Janie and Jack, Pants: Old Navy













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Flashback Friday - Football!!!

It is officially that time of year again, and I could not be more excited. Yes, I get that most of you in the states aren't nearly as excited as I am. But, being a southern girl, raised in the south, who graduated from an SEC school - it could only mean one thing:

It's Football Time in Tennessee!!

Yup - its college football time. This weekend kicks off our first home game against Montana. We are going up today for the weekend and for the first game. (I am in Nashville, and UT is in Knoxville, about 3hrs away). the only good thing about the summer coming to an end means that fall is right around the corner. And with fall, comes football. I am excited to start this season's Steppin' Out Saturdays, because they more than likely will include a tailgate party of some sort. So, you readers will get a little glimpse into what life is like down here :) The babes will probably not make it to a tailgate again this year, but that does not mean they won't be sporting their orange attire, trust.


Okay, so now because its Flashback Friday, I though I would show a couple of old pictures regarding my love for all things College and Football :)

This picture was taken the day of my 21st birthday (ahem, a few, ahem, years ago). For those who aren't familiar, this is called The Rock. My sister got up super early and surprised my by painting A Happy Birthday message on it, and thats me standing in front of it.


"The Rock" is famous on UT's campus. Its more than 40 years old, and sits right in the heart of campus. It is known for painting various messages on it. The university used to sandblast it every day and remove the paint, but they eventually gave up and now its just an open forum for students. Its been home to numerous marriage proposals, but one of the more famous messages (of course, aside from my birthday message)  was in 2008-09. We (UT) had beat Florida at home, which was iconic, and Florida's coach Steve Spurrier's phone number got painted on the rock. After so many phone calls, it got painted over pretty quickly. And, of course who could forget the VERY awful messages painted on there to our one-year wonder, Lane Kiffin.








The second picture is of me and my dream guy, Peyton Manning, (obviously before Jake). He know is a superstar quarterback from the Colts, but back when, he was our quarterback at the University of TN. He had come back to town after getting drafted and was signing autographs at Jered Jewelry Store. I made my VERY pregnant friend (Thanks Larissa - sorry, lol) come with me and we stood in line for well over an hour so I could get his autograph and my picture made with him. I remember fixing myself up really, really nice. Because I am so sure he would take one look at me and what to whisk me away to the world of pro football wives. Sigh....didn't happen. However, we now both have twins, so maybe we can spark up some conversation whenever we meet again.




And, here are me and the babes, taken this morning. And yes, we are sporting our orange. Its very important that you wear your team's colors to work on Friday to show your support, and THEN you wear aother cute tailgate outfits on gameday. Do you know how hard it in to find cute clothes in orange? Trust me, its hard. I have been collecting for years, though :)




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