Time flies when you're havin' fun!

We must be having a lot of fun, because out of no where today we had our 15 month baby well visit! It seems like these pictures were taken so recently...

Ashton

Ayden

This was by far our worst well visit yet! Jeff couldn't get away from work since he is trying to get everything done for next week, when we will be on vacation. We did start off on a good note though! We were actually ON TIME! That might be the first time we were on time to a doctor's appointment! Unfortunately, it all went down hill from there. I think the boys are about ready to go down to one nap. They are also starting to stay awake longer in the car (read: They don't fall asleep before we get out of the neighborhood anymore). Well, today they both stayed awake the entire 20ish minutes we were in the car. They really benefit from these "car naps" and without it we already had a strike against us. For the first time the boys seemed to know where we were or what was going to happen. Just after the nurse came in the room they both started to fuss. They both fought her and I to take their measurements. They really hate to lay down and that is how they are still measuring them. When she tried to measure their head circumference they both screamed again/still and tried to grab the tool from her. Then we each carried a boy out to the hall to weigh them. She first sat Ashton down on the baby scale and he screamed and cried and tried to get off. She then decided to attempt to lay him down - remember how great that worked last time...so she sat him back up and just took a number because it would never stop calibrating since Ashton continued to scream! In the mean time I am holding Ayden who is watching this and already starting to cry. As soon as I sat him down he screamed bloody murder. She again just wrote down a close number as both boys attracted the attention of the entire office. We went back to our room so she could take their tempetures, as soon as she left the room they both instantly stopped crying. It was right on cue and very comical! I read to the boys and they happily looked at books while we waited on the doctor. Right after he walked in Ayden started getting anxious and wanted to sit in my lap. After talking for a few minutes I stood up to hand Ayden to the doctor to look him over and he immediately began crying, this of course, lead to Ashton also crying. They both screamed and cried and fought until their physicals were both complete. After the doctor left they again calmed down (not anticipating what was to come next) and I finished the book I had started. The nurse returned with her hand full of needles and her scrub top covered in band aids. I will spare you the details, but these were the worst shots yet! Why can't they make all vaccinations oral?! I can't take much more of this! We again let the entire office know we were leaving and walked out with our parting gift - a free bottle of Tylenol each! The boys were exhausted from the mornings events and were out in less than a mile. We drove to Jeff's office so he could see his boys and show them off. Afterwards we headed home for lunch and a MUCH needed nap!

OK, on with the stats:

(by the way, I wouldn't put money on these being 100% accurate...)

Ashton

weight: 21lbs 3oz (10%)

height: 32 1/2in (85%)

head: 48 1/7cm (85%)

Ayden
weight: 25lbs 5oz (55%)
height:32in (75%)
head: 48 1/7cm (85%)

Our tearful visit!

Happy to be home!

Library, peaches and so much more!

What a busy week we've had! Last week I took the boys to the local library for the first time and we participated in a very interactive storytime! The boys seemed very interested in all the other kids and the "commotion" of so many toddlers and parents in one room. We plan to add the library into our agenda a little more often since we had so much fun!

Ayden

Ashton

These pictures were taken when we got home. I went to the library by myself and the boys were sitting on my lap so it made it a little difficult to take a picture. I can't believe how BIG (or how stinkin' cute!!) they look in these pictures!

My dad celebrated in 73rd birthday last week so to celebrate I invited some family over for a pizza party! We all brought different toppings and different crusts and made a pizza buffet. It was great! My favorite was a Mediterranean pizza I made with basil pesto I prepared using fresh basil! YUMMMMM! The next morning we got up and all headed to Porter for the annual Peach Festival. Jeff and I had planned to take the boys for several weeks when Friday evening he leared he would have to stay home to make some last minute graphic design changes for a concert the radio station was hosting that night. We were a little bummed, but took off to enjoy the day anyway. Between leaving a little late (imagine that!?), and (ah-hmm) taking the scenic route, we ended up missing what I hoped would be the boys' first parade. We listened to some live music, looked at all the craft vendors and indulged in some vanilla ice cream covered in Porter peaches! I even let the boys join in the cold, fruity deliciousness!

Ashton hates the stroller so I wore him in the Beco most of the time.

My mom wore Ayden for a little while.

My grandma (aka - GiGi), also got into the babywearing! Not only did she wear her dog in my wrap, she also feed him ice cream from her spoon!

They both loved the peaches and ice cream (of course...they are my children)!

Jeff felt bad that he was not able to go with us to Porter, and then had to spend the entire evening taking video of the concert, so he wanted to make it up to me and the boys. So, we decided to take a trip to the zoo on Sunday. We have been very fortunate to enjoy a few days of 90* temps, after over a week of 100*+ days! It was a great day to go to the zoo and we got to see more animals than last time. We decided to try a little different traveling system this time as well. Even though our boys are not even quite 15 months old, we are already tired of all the "stuff" required to travel with two babies! Diaper bag, stroller, sippys, sunscreen, etc... We put sunscreen on the boys, grabbed a bottle of water, strapped them each in a Beco on our backs and headed into the zoo! That was it! It was SO freeing! We were able to pass people on the sidewalk, get into tight locations and even go "off roading"! We are so happy with our investment in our Beco's! OK, so I digress! We had a fun time at the zoo and got to see the zebra up really close. I have never seen them so close to the fence - they are so beautiful! Well, most of them were beautiful...one decided to pee when they got up close and it was like someone just dumped out 2 full buckets of water under him! We also saw tons of animals in the rainforest that I hadn't seen before. We came home and ate a late lunch and put the boys down for a nap. They were out by 3:45 and Jeff and I were out by 4:00! It was so nice to take an afternoon nap. In fact, it was so nice that none of us woke up until 6:30!

We saw some zebra up closer than this, but we were too busy watching them to think about getting a picture then!

Daddy and Ayden

Mommy and Ashton

We have another busy week planned this week and we have to pack for our upcoming vacation to St. Louis!

Ayden found his...

I know what you were thinking! Actually, that happened a long time ago! Yesterday Ayden discovered he has a belly button just like Mommy and Daddy! He has been obsessed with holes recently. He began digging in our belly buttons, and our mouths, several weeks ago and this week decided nostrils were pretty fun too! Yesterday while sitting on the floor he lifted up his shirt, looked down, and put his finger right in his belly button. He then preceded to look over at me and laugh at himself!

Ayden checking himself out in the oven!

Today the boys went with me to In the Raw for a lunch date with some friends. They both enjoyed looking all around as the people passed them by. Unfortunately, they didn't get to enjoy their first sushi experience. Daddy warned me that he wanted to be around for that first!

Lil' Picasso's

We had a pretty quiet 4th of July this year. We stayed home and enjoyed the AC and just being together! Lindsey, Michael and Bailey came over with some fireworks on the 4th, so the boys did get to see their first fireworks before we put them to bed. Since we live in the county there were fireworks EVERYWHERE! We just sat outside and enjoyed them from our front porch.

Ashton

Ayden

Lindsey and me with the boys

Is he laughing at Lindsey or the fireworks?!

Michael and Bailey with the smoke bombs.

The boys had their first real paint experience on Sunday. I had painted their hands and feet for some "memento" items but, being an early childhood teacher, I don't consider that "painting". I put newspaper down on our patio and gave them some paint and a couple utensils. They were more interested in painting themselves than the paper though! They are just starting to not put everything directly into their mouths, although they did try a few times! They were quickly bored with the paint and the swing set lured them over. Before long the cats led them to the baby pool where they splashed around for a bit. They are becoming very adventurous and move quickly from one activity/toy to the next!

Unfortunately, all these pictures were taken right away and so we didn't get any when they were done and had a lot of blue paint on them!

The kindness of strangers...

With the economy today, everyone needs every dollar they earn and wants to make the most from anything they can sell. But, there are those out there that must still believe that what you put into the universe will someday come back to you. While at Riverparks a couple weeks ago a woman approached me, seeing my boys in Bum Genius cloth diapers, and told me she had some Bum Genius diapers that she was not using anymore. She asked me if I "would want them?". She sounded like she was offering them to me for free, but I didn't think that would be the case since this is a popular brand of diapers that has pretty decent resale value. So I asked what she would want for them and she responded with "nothing" and told me she enjoyed seeing people using cloth. I gave her my number and didn't hear anything until late last Wednesday night. She had lost my number and just found it. She volunteered to not only give me the diapers, but deliver them "all the way out" to my house! I was more than excited and grateful when she arrived with 15 Bum Genius pocket diapers and inserts! Remember to put your good out into the universe because you never know when it will come back to you!

Also along the lines of free diapers...I actually won a diaper from the Your Mama Reviews giveaways I wrote about in May. (see post: Cloth Diaper Addiction) This beauty is a Dream Eze All In One diaper in mandarin. I have another that I got used several months ago and I love it, but...this one is sooooo soft! I LOVE new diapers!

Back

Ok...so I tried to get a picture of the softness, but it didn't really come across in the picture!

I've really been slacking!

We have been so busy that now I have gotten WAY behind here. So, get comfortable, here it goes!
No more baby cereal!

We usually bought baby cereal 2 boxes at a time because the boys ate it nearly every morning for breakfast. During the last few months they have been eating less cereal so we still had some left and we just recently finished off the last of it. We don't plan to buy anymore so I got some regular oatmeal instead. I have only made this a few times, but, so far it is not going over very well! With the end of baby cereal means the end of formula. We made it a year with twins and NEVER spent any money on formula! We did get some sample cans from the doctor which I used with their cereal.
Big boy baths!

Ashton is so inquisitive and adventurous that he was no longer content with his bath seat. We had been fighting him for awhile now to keep him in the seat. Ayden was still pretty content though. So, on June 16th we got a mat to prevent slips and put it in the bottom of the tub, and now Ashton and Ayden are both happy.

We are really in trouble now!

Also on June 16th, Ashton learned how to crawl on top of the coffee table all by himself. I was shocked to walk into the living room and see my adventurous little boy giving me the biggest, most proud grin, from a top the coffee table! The first time I actually thought it was a fluke thing and that he had used another toy to climb up there. I was doubly shocked to walk in the room later in the afternoon to see him up there yet again. I quickly moved him down only to see him climb right back up there in front of me! I am a coffee table person and couldn't bear the thought of having to remove my table. So, of course, I did the obvious thing. I turned the table upside down! I think the boys thought this was even more exciting!

Summer sun and summer fun!

We spent lots of time outside last week. Saturday the 20th, "Aunt" Lindsey came over and we took the boys to the parade of homes. When we got home we ate dinner and then took the boys outside to play on their first "swing set"! We traded in our Little Tikes slide for a slide and swing. The boys loved it more this time then when we originally introduced just the old slide. They could climb up the slide as well as the rock wall side. The loved to swing also! Ashton even figured out how to make himself swing. The second time I put him in he couldn't quite remember what he had done to make himself swing the first time and instead of moving front to back he wiggled side to side! It was too cute! After swinging, Ashton decided it would be much more fun to climb into the swing and stand up! Ashton is really starting to become quite the little monkey! Monday I took the boys to meet up with some friends at a local splash pad. After our last couple attempts with splash pads I should have known what to expect...but, we went anyway. Of course, the boys HATED the cold water! I thought since it was 100 degrees outside they might make an exception - nope! They did enjoy sitting under the shade tree playing, eating a picnic and swinging on mommy's lap on the big swings. Tuesday I was brave and decided I would go with a friend and her two kids to the local swimming pool. I thought since the water would be warmer there they would like it better. Not to mention is was over 100 degrees again! Once Ashton got use to the water he really enjoyed himself. He splashed the water just like in the bathtub at home. Ayden was fine as long as he was sitting on my lap! I don't think he was feeling great that day. Taking the boys by myself to these kind of places is a lot of work so I didn't get any pictures! Since it was so hot we decided to take it easy and stay inside the rest of the week. Saturday the four of us headed down the street to the local Blue Bell plants Taste of Summer! All the ice cream and popsicles you want...mmmmm! There was live entertainment, facility tours, lots of jupiter jumps, kids crafts, car show, etc. There wasn't really a lot for the boys to do this year but I'm sure next year they will love it! We did let them have a few bites of our ice cream. That is a rare treat for them since the only sweets they have ever had was the cake and ice cream they had for their birthday! Ashton was apparently not worn out enough from our busy weekend because he was able to muster up the energy to climb up onto the couch by himself! We sat right there watching him, and knowing we were REALLY in trouble now! We don't really have "safe" place to keep things in the living room. The newspaper, our phones, the remotes, etc. have to go on the back of the couch so that they are out of reach. Well, I guess we are going to have to come up with something new!

Upside down?!

Ashton and Ayden have been going through a phase for awhile now where they liked to turn certain things upside down. Last week this phase was kicked up a notch, and everything has to be upside down!

They love to wrestle!

My new toys...errrr...I mean, the boys' new carriers! I can now wear them both at the same time with my new Beco baby carriers! (Jeff and I can each wear one also!)

They love all kinds of balls!