Bumbs, bruises, bites and bandages!

Whoa! What a day! Ashton, who is mentally ready to walk, is not physically ready. You can't tell him this though! He fell more times than I can count this weekend...and he has the bumbs and bruises to show for it! He woke up from his morning nap with a yellowish bruise on his forehead. Then, after dinner he fell and hit the exact same spot and it immediately turned into a blueish bump! I tried to put ice on it and he thought this was really funny. Every time I put the ice to his forehead he would laugh and try to push it away. We repeated this over and over again. Ayden loves to chew on things (hopefully just a part of his teething phase), and doesn't discriminate between teething rings and human skin. He doesn't bite to be mean, he will just bite when playing. Well, you guessed it...Ayden bit poor Ashton on the cheek! By bedtime Ashton looked like he had participated in a cage fight today! Now, you are probably wondering where the "bandages" fits in. That would be our furbaby, Jada! That's right, even our dog got hurt today! We don't let her out of the fence without a leash, but today when I answered the door she made a run for it. She ran like a rabid deer (this makes since if you have ever since our little pomchi run and jump) around the neighborhood for a few minutes before Jeff found her. She had caught her thumb nail on something while out and it was cracked in the quick, twisted to the side and bleeding pretty bad. Luckily the boys where happily sitting in their highchairs snacking on toast and laughing at each other while all this was going on. Jeff and I washed off her paw and wrapped it in gauze for awhile. She was not walking on it well so we tried to get her to rest. After a while we took off the gauze and let her clean it up. It looks a lot better and is no longer twisted. Now, after a stressful day for mommy, I am relaxing with a hot cup of Ghirardelli White Mocha, the internet and the Oscar's!

The boys get their first workout at the gym!

The Little Gym that is! We got up and around early this morning for a 9:00am "Birds" class. The boys had a great time climbing and crawling on the mats, chasing balls and catching bubbles! They were a little hesitant at first but soon they were enjoying their workout! It was also cold when we first got there and the boys did not like putting their bare feet on the cold mats! This was a free trial visit the gym provides to everyone on their first visit. The "Birds" class is for 10-19 month olds. The boys turn 10 months tomorrow, and they were by far the youngest participants. They were also the only ones who were unable to walk. I am not sure that we will be joining the gym just yet. It is very expensive for two kids and we think they would get more out of it in a few months. But, it was a great experience and made for a fun family weekend activity!

Catching bubbles!

Ball time!

Ayden

Ashton

Lots of twins!

This week our local twin club started meeting for playdates. The group is divided by age groups for one play date and the entire group is invited for another play date. Yesterday the boys and I went to a play date with 4 other boys who were all almost 10 months old also. Today we attended a play date for the entire club. There were 4 sets of twins 8-10 months old and several others between 18 months and 3 years old. We are just getting started with these groups and are trying to come up with fun and free/cheap activities. Both of this weeks playdates were held in members' homes. The boys had a lot of fun and left worn out! We are really looking forward to the playdates coming up this summer! We can get outside more and the boys will soon be walking and really able to enjoy all the activities around town!

This is a picture from today's playdate. Ashton is in the maroon shirt and Ayden is under him, in the green shirt. I brought my camera yesterday and forgot to take a picture!

Happy 1st Valentines Day!

As with everyday around here, Valentines Day was filled with "Double the Love"! We started out the morning with a visit to the Women's Living Expo. It was nice to just get out of the house, browse, walk and hear a lot of "Ohhh, look, how cute!!" After the expo we drove to Longhorn Steakhouse. I nursed the boys in the car and we went in for a great lunch. Jeff and I shared a yummy Blueberry Peach Margarita! We also had some scrumptious steaks! The boys sat in highchairs and ate some veggies. This was the first time for them to eat at a restaurant! They did great the entire day - no whining or crying the entire day! We were so proud of our boys! We played with them a little when we got home and then put them down for a nap. Since we were still stuffed from lunch we just had some snacks, instead of dinner, after the boys went to bed. Then, Jeff took some romantic pictures of me! It was a great day! Thank you to everyone who sent Valentines cards to the boys for their first Valentines Day! We love you all!

Ashton and Mommy

Ayden and Daddy

JKitz Photography

www.jkitz.com

I did it!

Tonight Jeff had a dinner meeting and was not going to be able to get home until after the boys went to bed. Every time he has had to be away someone else has been here to help with at least part of the bedtime routine. Tonight I did it all by myself! I guess considering they are almost 10 months old, and I take care of them all by myself all day, I should have been able to do it. But, there is just something different about doing the bedtime routine alone! Anyway, things went great! The boys went to bed clean, with full tummies and, best of all, happy!

This is what happens when you don't close the baby gate! (Ashton, of course!)

Ayden learned to pull up to his knees yesterday!

Making the switch!

Soon after finding out we were pregnant I decided I wanted to use cloth diapers. Well, after the ultrasound revealed we were having twins I was a little overwhelmed and decided that cloth, along with everything else, might just be too much! Over the last couple months I have become interested again and, after much deliberation, we have decided to make the switch. I have several reasons for wanting to use cloth. First, we were on pace for spending well over $1,000 on diapers in just one year. I will be able to purchase all of my cloth diapers and supplies to last until the boys are potty trained for about $300. Second, I recently read that more than 16 billion diapers end up in landfills each year! Therefore, I would like to do my part in keeping our environment as clean as possible. Third, the boys have started to have some eczema/dry skin issues around their diaper area and I am hoping this will help. I received my first shipment of "fluffy mail" today. I currently have 10 diapers with 8 more on the way. I am trying a few brands/styles to start with. So far we have Blueberry, Haute Pockets and Fuzzi Bunz. I also have some Bum Genius on the way. This afternoon I put the boys in cloth for the first time. They actually noticed the difference and kept looking down at the colorful fabric and rubbing their hands over this new texture. I have to say the first day went well and I am anticipating a long love affair with this new fluffiness!

Ashton and Ayden in their first cloth diapers! (Not our parents generation of cloth diapers!) They are playing with their new HABA toys from Grandma and Grandpa Kitsmiller!

Such cute little fluffy bums!!

If you are interested in cloth diapering their are lots of resources out there!
I am entered to win FREE fuzzi bunz diapers and you can too! Visit http://dexterphilip.blogspot.com/ for more info. Also check out some of our new diapers at http://www.fuzzibunz.com/. I am definitely not a pro yet but, feel free to ask questions. I will be keeping you up to date with our adventures in cloth diapering!

9 month pictures

Since the boys were born we have tried a couple different places to have their pictures taken. There are pros and cons to everywhere, and it seems to be a matter of what is most important. This time we decided to go back to MotoPhoto. They allow a long time for the sitting so we don't feel rushed, they just snap away with the camera, and they show us all the pictures and let us pick the best. This was, as always, a crazy photo sitting! Ayden, in new form, was, as the technician referred to him, "angelic"! He did nearly everything we wanted him to do! He sat very patiently for a long time. Ashton, on the other hand, was not aware we were trying to take "still" photography! He was crawling all over the studio floor! It did not matter whether we sat him down or laid him down, he was crawling away within seconds. I was literally working up a sweat chasing after him and repositioning him. Both were so enamored with the new environment, bright lights and silly toys that it was hard to get smiles out of them, or at least at the same time! All in all it was a good time and we got some great pictures! She took around 150 pictures and we finally got that narrowed down to 24. We are still trying to decide what to get - feel free to leave your opinions! You are welcome to view the pictures here.

Drip, drip, bubble!?

That is what the boys noses have looked like since the weekend! They both had a clear runny nose this weekend, which we attributed to teething. By the beginning of the week I had a runny nose and sore throat. Now today Jeff has a sore throat as well. Hmmm...maybe the runny noses are not teething related?! They don't seem to have any other symptoms, but the runny noses have turned to snooty noses! I thought it was fake when the boy in the movie The Sandlot blew a bubble of snot from his nose. Let me tell you, it really is possible! I have seen them come from both Ashton and Ayden this week! Trust me, a little snot is not keeping them down!

They always seem to want the same toy lately. I am sure this will not be ending anytime soon!

Ashton is using his new skills! He loves to get into the books.

Ayden is still perfecting his crawling skills. He loves balls.

It has been very cold and icy here so we have not ventured out of the house for awhile. This is what our back porch looked like this afternoon, a day after the ice/sleet/snow mixture quit falling. I am ready for spring to arrive!

Up, Up...and away?

Ashton learned to pull up this weekend! I knew he was close when I saw him reaching his hand up on the sides of the pack n play the last couple weeks. I have been watching him closely since we still had the pack n play in the bassinet/changing area location. Sunday he woke up from nap and I wanted him to go back to sleep, but I did not want him to wake up Ayden so I put him in the pack n play. I kept checking on him, just in case. After about 15 minutes I found him on his knees with his hands tightly griping the sides! I was so freaked out I didn't even get a picture! Then, just before bedtime I was laying on my side on the floor and Ashton did the same move again on my calf's. I lifted my top leg, just to see what he would do, and he proceeded to climb up onto his feet! I couldn't believe it! He is getting to be such a big boy! Now that he knows what to do he is trying to pull up on everything! It's scary to think that he will be cruising shortly! What happened to my helpless little 5 lb baby!

He pulled up onto the jungle Monday morning. He probably could have gone all the way to his feet but there was a book in his way.

Monday night he pulled up onto his knees on this workbench toy. Then he wanted to get all the way up, but the toy was too low, so he did a push up and went head first over the toy! Next to me, this is his favorite toy to climb on. Now when he pulls up to his knees beside me he think he can just let go! I have to be ready to catch him, his knees are a little wobbly sometimes!

Ashton already hates the baby gate! He tried to figure it out for a few days. Now, he just goes up to it and cries!

Well, off to do more baby proofing!

9 months already?!

Wow!! Time sure does fly! I can't believe it was nine months ago today that I first laid eyes on my precious baby boys for the first time!

We had a great nine month checkup with the pediatrician yesterday. No shots always equals a good visit in our book! We did find out that the boys both have a little eczema. Nothing major, we just need to apply an over the counter cream. Ashton and Ayden have changed so much in the past few months. They are not only eating solids now, but are also loving finger foods. Both boys are enjoying their new freedom of movement! We are now taking baths in the big bath tub and trying out bath toys. Lately, the boys have both began nursing a lot faster so I am enjoying being able to feed them one at a time more often. The boys have had a major growth spurt causing us to nearly skip size 2 diapers and a lot of 6-9 month clothes are quickly looking very small. I have been using sign language with the boys for about a month now. They can't do the signs back yet but I am hoping it will help with our communication down the road. Ashton and Ayden are becoming much more aware of each other recently. When they do nurse together they often stop and look at each other and laugh! The thing that makes both boys laugh and smile the most is when we put them on top of each other! It is the funniest thing to watch - I should get that on video and post it. Maybe next week! My boys are also both extremely ticklish! I love to hear their silly laughs when I tickle their little thighs, ribs, wherever! During the last month both boys have started to cry/get upset if we take something from them or move them from something they wanted. Of course, we are only doing this to keep them safe but they don't know that yet! I never thought "temper tantrums" would start this early! They are both starting to respond to "no/stop", maybe this will help with this situation. Our boys are now great sleepers! They sleep 12 hours at night (7:30am-7:30pm), and take two naps sleeping between 2-4 hours total.

Ashton

This boy is a mover! He began scooting very early and is now loving being able to crawl. We are putting up a new baby gate tomorrow to keep him safe! Jeff calls him our "Little Engineer" because he is very intense and seems to always be trying to figure out how things work. During the last week Ashton has learned how to crawl up me, getting into a kneeling position, while I sit on the floor. This is one of those things that just melts my heart! Ashton loves books, playing with them and having them read to him. He literally squeals with excitement while I read! Recently, Ashton has decided he does not need to lay on his back for a diaper change. Therefore, I have had to get creative, or risk a big mess! Ashton learned how to blow raspberries about a month ago but this week it is one of his favorite things to do.

The stats:

Weight-16lbs 15oz. (3%)

Height-28in. (50%)

Head - 46cm (75%)

Ayden

I think the boy has a future in radio, tv, sportscasting,...something talking! He can talk all day and make all kinds of sounds, but do you think he can say "mama" - of course not! I am happy to report Ayden has become a very happy baby in the last couple of months. He thinks everything and everybody is funny. If you laugh, he laughs too! This week his new thing is too stick his tongue all the way out while laughing! Ayden is also very interested in Ashton. He watches him a lot and tries to hold his hand in the stroller or in their high chairs. Ayden loves to sit. He just started trying to crawl this week because he would rather roll or sit! Ayden has always been a little bit "needy" (ok, so maybe the term "little" is an understatement), but now he is starting to have some separation anxiety when I leave the room. It doesn't happen all the time, hopefully it is just a passing phase. Ayden is such a lover! He loves to cuddle and give kisses!

The stats:

Weight-18lbs 13oz. (25%)

Height-28.5in (65%)

Head-45.5cm (50%)