Garrett's new trick: Eating his toes! He even tries this while trying to eat solids - NICE!

Kathryn is SO STRONG! She is ALMOST sitting up-she can hold herself up with her arms now!

Here is Garrett lovin' on YaYa at the Lake on Easter weekend!

Two happy babes with their daddy!


And my little Easter Bunnies!

We are doing Great!! After thinking and struggling and worrying, I decided to close down the "Mommy Cafe" and the babies are now getting all bottles and formula! I am a WHOLE new person - I have SO much more energy and we are able to get out and about more now and I don't worry if one wakes up early or this or that...It has been a GREAT decision for me. The only guilt I feel now is that I am so happy about stopping :) Most importantly though, they are gaining weight and healthy! They have started solids - veggies only and they love them! It is fun to feed them at this point - I'm sure it will get old and messy!

Stats!

Kathryn:
Weight: 12 lbs 15 oz 5%
Height: 25" 25-50%
Head: 16.5 cm 50%

Dr. G said she was doing great and was developing really well! No concerns with her! The nurse was laughing at how much she was twisting and rolling around. After all that activity though, she DRENCHED her daddy on his nice - fresh - from - the - cleaners shirt! He was not happy - he was actually holding her b/c she usually doesn't spit up as much as Garrett...ooops! Thankfully, we live across the street from the doctor's office so Brad was able to come right home and change and then go to work!


Garrett:
Weight: 13 lbs 11oz 3%
Height: 26.3" 50-60%
Head: 17.3 cm 50-75%

We are a little more concerned with Garrett b/c he dropped from 10% on the weight chart to 3%. He was following a perfect curve last week when we went to the pulmonologist so I am not too worried about it. Dr. G just told us to get him on foods quickly-he is ready and needs the extra calories. As for the MAJOR spit-up issues, he gave us some samples of Enfamil A.R. to help reduce it. Supposedly it thickens when it hits the stomach therefore reducing the reflux-worth a try and I was needing to get some formula anyways to use at night for their bottles-the freezer stash is almost gone-only 5 bags of milk left :( It used to completely fill the freezer.

So there are our latest stats and reports! I will have to post some pics of the adventures in eating as they occur! Happy Tuesday!

SIX MONTHS!!!

Making Funny Faces!

Sweet Jenny and Brody brought K and G a Happy 1/2 Birthday Cookie Cake! It was so cute and DELISH!!

Here is Kathryn on the move! She is definitely mobile - not crawling at all but certainly rolling and scooting to where she wants to go. Gotta watch that girl!

T
The gang's all here! Ranger, Tripp, Brody, K & G, and Luke! We love these baby boys and most of all I love their mommies. They are so encouraging and uplifting and I treasure our get-togethers!

Meet Pete! Pete is Emily's pet monkey that went everywhere with her while she stayed with Mimi & Papa last week. We were luck enough to get to spend some time with them and K & G love their cousin Emily!!

RayRay & BobBob came over and got some good lovin' from the babies! I will have to download the pics from our video camera too - G was being a super cuddle-bug with RayRay!

Garrett's newest trick is holding his own bottle! It is FABULOUS! He can't always keep it upright especially when it is full but he can certainly get it to his mouth and back if it falls out. HE LOVES HIS BOTTLE!!!

We have been practicing sitting in our booster seats anxiously awaiting starting solids. They have had a few bites of avocado but nothing major. We go to the dr tomorrow for their 6 month check-up so we will start after that - depending on what he says!

Kathryn is still my little rock star! She is so strong and LOVES to be on her tummy! Can't keep her off of it! I think she is going to have excellent tricepts.

Garrett is my silly boy for sure. Mr. Personality. He FINALLY will roll over to his side from his back but not to his tummy. If you put him on his tummy he is back on his back in literally 2 seconds! He was having so much fun wrapping himself up in his blanket the other day! He thought he was really funny!

Sweet baby Reagan! The Robertson Clan came over to see us a few weeks ago and Reagan had a great time on the playmat! He was so happy and focused!He is also quite a bit bigger than my two yahoos...he is about 2 and 1/2 months younger and weighs more than Garrett :) The clan came over because Reid was ready to give Kathryn her "Gankies" or her lovies! Their names are "Tickle" and "Rub" and no one but Reid can tell them apart! She can just feel the edges and tell you which one is which...it is so funny. Anyways, I told her that Kathryn was sucking her fingers just like her and she decided that K needed the Gankies. It was a VERY big day for Reid - we were all so proud of her that she gave them up. I think she had quite a few hard nights but overall she has done awesome!! Thank you Reid!!

She was so excited to get to hold K and G. She rushed to the bathroom and washed her hands and kept telling me how much they liked her! It was so cute!

Garrett wasn't so sure about the whole thing. There was A LOT going on with 3 kids running around, another baby, and 3 other adults there...my mom and Brad's mom were here too.

Here is just a random picture that I love! I let them "watch" Praise Baby in their seats - mainly to distract Garrett so he would sit in it and not cry! They had a good time and sat there pretty well. I forget why they weren't dressed - but with the amount of spitting-up that goes on around here I am sure that they were just "in between" outfits! Who knows?

Today we put together our stroller! We wheeled 'round and 'round upstairs since it was raining so hard outside! I think they liked it-it would help if I tightened the straps but we were just trying it out - INSIDE so who cares!!! Garrett seemed to love it more than Kathryn which is odd b/c he doesn't do new things very well! We are thankful for the soaking rain today but are ready to try out our stroller as soon as it is dry. This will be our out and about stroller to replace the Snap-N-Go with the carriers and we can now start using our fancy BOB jogger stroller too! Fun times...It will give us something to do besides play upstairs :)

So here is Kathryn happily sleeping away on her tummy. Although this makes me nervous, I can't seem to do anything about it...she just does her gymnastics in bed and finally settles in on her tummy. Not all the time but a majority of the time. She also loves her fingers-I know-it's my fault. Even with the paci though, she was taking it out and replacing it with her fingers. She is drooling by the bucket too-teething possibly although I think it is too early for her especially since she was preemie. (What do I know about teeth anyways?)

She certainly wakes up happy though! I mean look at that grin. She is really developing quickly and I don't feel like she is very behind at all. She is rolling over both ways. She LOVES being on her tummy and pushes up now with her arms. She even started scooting herself backwards with her arms. While up on her arms, she can balance on one arm and grab a toy with another - super impressive!

Garrett is developing too - although they are doing different things. He can roll over best from tummy to back - K is the opposite. As long as you keep him SUPER entertained he will stay on his tummy and push up - but I am talking major distraction here to keep him from rolling over. He is REALLY noticing Kathryn now. She has loved him for a long time but now he is starting to really pay attention to her. He now reaches for her hands and stares at her and smiles at her. I am hoping they are becoming big buds! He is also noticing things on her like her hairbows. He was fascinated with her bow while we were taking pics with our new bears!

I am most proud of Garrett right now for FINALLY taking his inhaler without crying. He actually smiles with it and breathes very easily and doesn't scream at all. It is so easy now to give it to him. I will have to take a picture of it but I my hands are full of the inhaler and him so I will have to have Brad help on that photo!

We ran up to the hospital on Tuesday night to see our friend Jennifer and Macie and to see our nurses. Sweet Christelle (the wonderful nurse that basically saved my life after K and G were born) got the babies these precious bears. They absolutely LOVE them. They were really sweet all cuddled up with them during the pics. We will have to take lots of pics with our bears as we get bigger. I am a HUGE bear fan so it is fitting that they each have a big bear to love on like I did when I was little.

I feel like I have been so negative the last few posts and I don't mean to be at all. We are just going thru a rough patch but are getting it all together. They are sleeping great at night and the morning nap is relatively consistant - about 2 hrs so that is wonderful. It is just the afternoon that is still sketchy but we are making progress. If it weren't for a STINKY diaper today - I think we would've had a great nap but ahh, what do you do! And no matter how frazzled I seem about it all, it is so worth it and I wouldn't trade those too stinkers for anything!

Have a happy Friday!!!

I lied! Things are the same. Maybe we have the morning nap down but heavens to Betsy this afternoon has been torturous! Kathryn is finally asleep in her bed - she took a 15 minute nap for her second nap while Garrett slept. Then of course she was EXHAUSTED so she finally fell asleep while doing flips in her bed for oh 40 minutes. Then 20 minutes later, G is UP! SCREAMING? What in the world...tried and tried to get him to go back to sleep but I finally took him out of the room so K could sleep a little. He is now asleep in the swing...humm...I don't know how I really feel about that but I am just going to ignore it b/c it has been quiet now for 27 minutes :) On another note...I tried to give G his paci back b/c he was SOOO upset...NOPE...didn't want it. Gagged on it-which I had to laugh. I even tried when he calmed down...still nope...guess that answers that question for him...K would take hers in a heartbeat though.

On a FUN note: Kathryn and Garrett "played" outside for the first time today. Like out in the backyard laying on the playmat in the shade of the tree their daddy planted for them while I was in the hospital. I think they liked it...I love K's expression in this picture..."Ahh, fresh air and sunshine...Nice!"

Here is Kathryn Hoodini the other day. I let them watch Praise Baby while I got dinner together. I walk over to check on them and there she is happy as can be hanging off of her bouncy seat...don't call CPS...we will buckle her in now. She had even turned on the vibration and music with her back - and I promise you...she was so happy laying there all arched back...silly girl!

When do babies start holding their own bottles...we work on that every night but I need an approximate answer - we MIGHT be closing in on the end of breast-feeding due to some painful things going on that I don't want to blog about but I won't quit until they can hold their own bottles...I want to go a year unless my issues continue and I have to quit earlier...just curious...

Many Thanks!

We are making progress! Thanks for all the encouraging remarks. I don't think there is ANYTHING wrong with pacifiers first of all...however...my babies don't know how to go to sleep without them so that was the problem. They are already doing better - G fell asleep before I could walk out of the room into the playroom to get Kathryn. That is a miracle for sure.
As for the swaddle thing, we are still swaddling them but keeping their arms out. They have slept thru the night perfectly the last several nights. K woke up around 1am last night and only cried on and off for 10 minutes. Brad was up and watched her in her crib and she was still asleep he said, just crying a little bit. We have also turned the monitor off as well. We still are able to hear them if they are crying hard but yet don't hear them if they are just stirring around and restless like before. And that was the problem...they would cry out, I would bolt upstairs, stick their paci in before they got too upset and woke up the other one. Honestly, I don't think I would have been this insane if I just had one but I created the paci problem because of having two-you will do anything in the beginning to calm one baby-and then when you think about having two fussing-stick in the paci!! :)
The munchkins are up-they took a solid 2 hour nap-that is PROGRESS! Thanks again for all the encouragement-hope y'all didn't think I had completely lost all my marbles! I have got to post some pictures I know!!

I HAVE COMPLETELY LOST MY MIND! What was I thinking giving up on the swaddles and pacifiers??? NO ONE, NO ONE, I tell you should consult me on ANYTHING related to child-rearing...I have NO idea what I am doing!! :)
Hope everyone gets a good night's sleep and we apologize for anyone that will be at church tomorrow - we will be the ones with the SCREAMING children! Can I give the pacis back???

The WEEK of FRIDAY the 13th!!!

What an eventful last couple of days we have had!!!!! I would sum it up in one word: NIGHTMARE!!! As most of you have come to figure out, I am a pretty laid back and very positive person. Maybe that is why I haven't blogged much lately-I haven't had much "fun and positive" news to report! But, now as things get better, I can see the funny side of everything and can blog about it.

Kathryn is really rolling over. You lay her on her back and POP-over she goes. It is a fun and cute trick and you cheer and get all excited --- then you come to the realization that BUMMER-now we have to stop swaddling. Everyone told me they would just stop wanting to be swaddled...not my babies...they loved it. (but that's not really the problem come to find out now)

So, Sunday night, we took the plung. We unswaddled her and put her in a fleece sleeper to stay warm. She cried and cried and by midnight, we gave up and reswaddled her. (bad mommy and daddy, i know)

Tuesday night, we tried again. She cried on and off ALL NIGHT LONG! She would only sleep in 30-45 min increments and was MISERABLE. It was so sad...she kept knocking her paci out and could not go back to sleep.

Wednesday night I decided if it is going to be this hard, we are doing it with both at the same time and getting it over with now. They went down with their pacifiers and only cried a second...WE WERE THRILLED...until 1:45 AM when K woke up. She cried for about an hour and 1/2 and then was having a hay day in her crib just kicking away. I kept thinking I was hearing thunder but it was just her banging around. 3:30 Garrett woke up. By this time I was already pumping b/c I have had this pesky blocked duct that was horrible so after it still wouldn't release, I thought...humm...I will let them get it out. So, I fed K first, she got most of it out then Garrett. He got the rest but I'm sure it was only a little b/c then he was fighting mad and so I gave him the little bit I had been able to pump. Ahhh, Kathryn was dead asleep by this point (it's 4AM) and so I thought, great G will go right back to sleep! NOPE-he was up until 6AM! SCREAMING! K just cries, G SCREAMS!!

So by yesterday after two nights of no sleep and they aren't napping either, I had reach a breaking point. Luckily, Mimi (brad's mom) came to the rescue and let me go sleep for an hour or so.

But the real story here is that it isn't the swaddling that is the true problem...it is those silly pacifiers! Everything we have read says get rid of them at 6 months...so that was our plan but now we will just do it 2 weeks early. If I go put the paci in-they go right to sleep but when they wake up...CRY CRY CRY! Bye Bye Pacis!!! I wouldn't care if I just had one baby but it is a beating going in one after the other all the time to put it in their mouths.

Last night we took them completely away. They cried for an hour and fell asleep. We turned the monitor off because we can hear them anyways if they really cry. Well, I rolled over at 8:22 AM this morning and JUMPED out of bed!!! We had completely overslept - they usually wake about 7 or 7:30 and we hadn't heard anything!! They were laying in their cribs-Kathryn was wimpering b/c her diaper was so wet (poor girl) and Garrett was just smiling away. We felt like THE WORST PARENTS EVER!! Obviously they were ok - again - we can hear them without the monitor on but it just makes me wonder what exactly happened last night? Either way, Brad and I have't felt this good in ages. We got a great night's sleep and I naturally woke up on my own which hasn't happened in 5 months. It is funny how much easier it is to deal with the crying today when I am well rested!

So, no pics to post or anything. (Sorry Terry - but there is at least an update for you!) :) I will try to do some pics today if they can make it!
Have a good weekend-I am SOOO ready for the HEAT! I know all this rain is wonderful but bring on the warm temps please!!!

One Year Ago...

It is hard for me to believe what all has happened over the last year! This time last year I was laying on the couch, sick with a cold, and constantly praying that the two little embryos that were transferred that morning were finding a nice cozy spot to grow for the next nine months. All I prayed it that at least 1 of those embryos found a home-and low and behold-they both decided to stick around! I can't imagine if only 1 had worked-not only because I wouldn't have Kathryn or Garrett but because of the crazy experience I had this past year would have been SOOOO very different!

So, thank you for letting me get sappy today. It is a pretty special day that Brad and I will never forget. We have loved these babies from the very first moment the embryologist handed us the picture of them and have prayed so hard for them the entire way. Happy Wednesday!

To remind us where we came from, we have their embryo picture hanging in their room in a perfect frame! It is the first thing you see when you walk in. I have been bad about taking their photos at each month to show how they have grown so this can be their "From 5 days old to 5 months old" picture! (I couldn't decide which one to use-I once again missed K's smile but I love G's smile and his "Oh" face in the other!!)

Double Trouble!

Friday night we had some "bedrest" friends over. Amber was my friend in the hospital after I stalked her husband as he would walk back and forth to the ice machine and pass my room. I always thought he looked familiar so one day I just yelled at him from my bed and asked where he went to college. From then on, we were all friends and we laugh saying we feel like we have known each other forever. She was a patient of Dr. Wells too and after she started "visiting" my room, we started ganging up on Dr. W. It was sooooo funny. I could eat whatever I wanted-she couldn't, he said he would tie her tubes after she had her twins-he told me I was too young (but Amber is younger than me) It became quite a joke-I think that's why he let her go home to bedrest!! We were causing too much trouble! :)

Speaking of trouble! Here they all are! Jace is in the blue stripes, then Ty (Ty-Roni or Tony are his nicknames and it is hilarious!) then Kathryn who is pointing at Ty saying, "Hey, I like you!", and then Garrett staring up with those big blue eyes!

Ty and Jace are so much bigger that my two babies and are almost a month younger. They are the SWEETEST little boys and we LOVE them!! We all can't wait until they are running around like crazy kids!

Here is sweet Amber!! I am so thankful for our friendship-it was so nice to get to bond with someone in the hospital and now it is awesome because we can talk and solve one another's baby issues!! I know we will be friends for a LONG time and it will be so much fun to watch our kids grow up! I am glad they live so close to us!

Sunday was my day to go to church and I actually got to go to church and class!!! IT WAS GREAT! When I got home made a B-line upstairs b/c I knew they had to be hungry and at the top of the landing...There they were!!! I didn't get K's smile in time but they were both smiling and acting like they were so happy to see me! It was a great little surprise to see them at the top of the stairs! Love those two munchkins!

(Notice how good G is with his head now!! All of the sudden he got over Tummy Time and now holds his head up and can even roll back over to his back when he is done! Yippee!!

There are two things in this house that we can't live without : Ketchup and HoneyNut Cheerios! Well, we were out of both yesterday and I had a whole list of other things from Sam's that we needed so low and behold, I decided to load everyone up and hit the road! The babies did FANTASTIC at Sam's! Garrett rode on top and Kathryn was in the cart. We got our goodies and everyone stayed awake and got home just in time for their naps...AND THEN DISASTER STRUCK! It was a nightmare...those two babies screamed for the next 2 hours! It was terrible-they have always gone down for a nap - even if we had just gotten back from being out (but we only really go to the doctor so maybe that is more tiring) I felt like I had conquered the world b/c it was such an easy trip - then I was cursing myself saying I would never take them out again!!

Here are all of our new friends: Ranger, Tripp, Brody, K, G, and Luke! These boys are going to be trouble makers just like their daddies! Kathryn has pick of the litter though - all those cute boys!!

More Fun Times

Could we have had a better day??? I don't think so! Two of my good friends have also recently had babies. Ava was born 4 days before the twins and Sophia was born in December. We were all needing a little "moms-bored-at-home" time and so they all came over for lunch today. I had a great time! It was so fun to catch up with them and talk baby nonsense! Ava is by far the front-runner in development - she is soooooo adorable and loves the camera. She tried to teach Garrett about tummy-time but he refused and then spit up just to make me feel bad and not make him do it anymore!



























We thought it was so funny (and so did he) that he was surrounded by all the girls and their hairbows so I threw on his "Ladies Man" bib during the photo shoot! Kathryn wouldn't crack a smile for anything! Oh well!















Sophia did SO great too! She slept so good while she was over here and when she woke up she blew out her diaper...and her clothes...and Julia's jeans...and the carpet...and .... IT WAS SO FUNNY! I know Julia you feel terrible about the carpet-but it is ALL CLEAN so don't worry! It was totally worth the laugh!!


EDITORIAL: My last post included 2 "Firsts" - however, this is not the case.
I think Ava was our "first" friend to come visit and our "first" babysitters were my mom and Brad's parents and my sister Amy. So I apologize for the error in the previous post. Winno was the first "non-family" babysitter - although she seems like fam anyways!!
Just thought I would correct that :)

First Friend & First Babysitters

We had our first "playdate" on Wednesday with Luke Schlegel. He is only 3 and 1/2 weeks old but he came over to visit. He is being locked up at his house too like we are so Jamie and I decided the three could get together. He is too cute-we love his hair-and Kathryn really liked him! Garrett was just glad to have another male in the house! It was so fun to get to hold and see Luke and we hope he can come over again soon-and that he starts sleeping REALLY good and doesn't give his mommy too much trouble with that nasty reflux!

Today, my mom and best friend, Winno, came over for a few hours to babysit. It was MARVELOUS! I went and got my toes done b/c they were NASTY - even Brad made a comment about them and he NEVER notices things like that. Anyways, I also made a mad dash to the grocery store which was higher on the priority list than a pedicure but -wait - is there anything that should be higher on the list - nope - pedicures come first! We'll eat later!

Mom and Winno did great-it was the munchkins that only slept for 30 minutes-very unlike them. I think they knew I was gone and they could sucker someone into holding them for the afternoon. :) They did fine though I fed them when I got home and then they played a little bit while the 3 of us tried to change the smoke detector battery (Kathryn thought that it was really funny when it would beep) They ended up taking a 2 and 1/2 hour nap after all that - I had to wake them up at 5:30!

Overall, we have had a great week...a few not so great nights at the beginning of the week but we have made some adjustments in the schedule and they are doing better. Garrett slept 8pm-7am last night and K did good too-she cried out at 3:45 for her paci-went right back to sleep and then I had to wake her up at 7:30 this morning! SO GREAT!!! (Tonight will be a nightmare now that I have bragged on them!)

Have a great weekend everyone!

FOUR MONTHS

Garrett and Kathryn turned 4 months on Thursday! And as I always say, I can't believe it. We went to the Pediatrician and they are growing great. K is about 10 and 1/2 pounds and G is about 12 and 1/2 pounds. They are both long - 24 and 25 inches. They did GREAT with their shots-K only cried for a second and when they were done so was she and then G carried on a bit longer but overall was fine. The only thing the Dr. said was to get them on their tummies more-I am really bad about that b/c it is hard with two crying babies-I always want to keep the peace-but we are very strict about it now...

Kathryn is getting very good at holding her head up-she will do tummy time for a little bit as long as she has her blocks. She can stare at those things for an hour! When she starts fussing - I know she is done playing and she goes right down for her nap. She is becoming the easy baby (right now). This morning she rolled from her tummy to her back several times...I was impressed?

I don't think either one knew what we were doing this morning taking pictures in K's bed. Garrett obviously thought it was funny-that or he was laughing b/c I finally found a place that he will sit up. He HATES tummy time-he screams immediately and wants NO part of it. He is lazy I guess and doesn't want to hold his head up.

The babies have now had 2 HUGE outings. On Thursday night I had a "Baby Celebration" Shower with my mom and her friends. We celebrated Kathryn, Garrett, and Reagan my nephew. I asked the Dr. if I could take them-assuming he would say "Absolutely NOT", but he said we could and I was so excited. They did GREAT-they LOVED being held all night. I got VERY teary walking in with them and introducing them to everyone b/c all those ladies are my family. They have watched me grow up and have loved on all of us for years. They were so good about coming to see me in the hospital and most of all I KNOW they were praying daily for all of us. It was a very special moment for me to have the babies surrounded by such love.

The second outing was to JC's! My family goes their every Saturday and I haven't been able to go since early June. The whole time I was in the hospital - I was always a little sad around lunchtime on Saturdays b/c I was missing the fam-time. (They would still bring me a burger and shake though!) Since the weather was so nice on Saturday though, we decided to take the babies to see my dad's NEW JC's that he opened in December. It is SO NICE and we had such a good time. The babies LOVED it :) actually I am sure they were totally confused - they kept looking around going "This doesn't look like the upstairs where mommy keeps us locked up!"

We still have to keep them "in" until April but we are slowly but surely going to introduce them to a few things here and there. I don't want them to freak out once we can get out. More than that though, I need practice getting them out and about-it's hard work!

Sorry it took so long for the update. We are certainly busy around here but on a very good schedule. I have become addicted to Facebook too so I have turned into an even worse blogger than before! Happy Monday!

Speaking of Mondays-Mondays always get a bad wrap for being such a bad day of the week. However, these 4 girls beg to differ-we all had our babies on Mondays. Jenny, Jamie, and Miranda all delivered healthy boys in the last month and we couldn't be happier.

Brody, Luke, and Ranger-hurry up and get bigger so Kathryn and Garrett can play! We are so glad you are all here safe and sound. Can't wait to take lots of pictures of you soon! Love you boys!

We are growing and growing! We are also getting into a good schedule-pretty much sleeping thru the night-with the occasional wake-ups but no eating! Check out Garrett's belly in this photo! Thanks Rae-Rae and Mary for the cute shirt but it might be the last time he wears it-beer belly man!

I thought it would be a good idea to bathe the babies before Brad got home. I can only do one at a time right now since they can't sit up and so G went first. K layed happily in the floor and waited her turn...G however, ZONKED out after his bath! I wonder if he would sleep all night there!!