We had big plans for this last weekend before Christmas – two family Christmas parties & a friends’ little ones’ 2nd birthday party. Everything started going not-as-planned on Friday afternoon.
I got a call at work from the boys’ daycare that all of the “friends” in their class were getting sick with high fevers and vomiting and that Colton was one of the ones that had woken up from nap throwing up. Cory left work early and picked both boys up. We had a poor, sick little Colton on our hands for that afternoon & evening but as soon as he went to bed, he slept for the entire night.
We decided that Cory & Colton would stay home from the Christmas parties on Saturday to rest & re-coop, so Wyatt (who was still acting as healthy as can be) & I headed out and enjoyed two Christmas parties on Saturday – one with my mom’s immediate family and one with some of Cory’s mom’s immediate family. It was a very odd feeling to take on the entire day with just one of my boys – a bit easier than usual – but we certainly missed Colton & Cory.
Sunday we ran some errands in the morning and then went to a friend of ours little girls’ 2nd birthday party. Everyone had been feeling good for the entire day on both Saturday & Sunday and the party wasn’t until later Sunday afternoon. The boys had fun playing with friends and we had fun getting out of the house & visiting with everyone.
Sunday night, whatever it was that Colton had finally hit Cory & I during the overnight hours. It was awful. I had to call my mom on Monday morning to come and take the boys to daycare while Cory & I stayed home from work. I also stayed home from work yesterday morning but then Wyatt was sent home from daycare with a high fever – and is continuing it today - (anything above 101 means they have to be sent home for 24 hours) so I ended up hanging out with both boys yesterday afternoon. It turns out Wyatt was the only one in his class that had not gotten the high fever or flu-like symptoms on Friday – my strong little guy!
I am finally feeling almost back to normal today and am finally back to work. Colton & Cory were sick last year on Christmas weekend, so hopefully this year we got all our sickness out during the week leading up to Christmas instead!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
“Get down!”
The boys are all about climbing these days. Climbing anything & everything – it makes them smile from ear-to-ear and it makes mommy’s heart stop. They are such little dare-devils, and the scary part is that they don’t have fear of any of it yet.
The new car seats for Cory’s truck we ordered from diapers.com (Christmas special score!) came via UPS the other night. No sooner had Cory brought the big Britax Roundabout 55 boxes inside the house than the boys were climbing all over them. If you haven’t seen a Britax car seat box, it is a big L-shaped (aka: built-in step for toddlers) cardboard box. It didn’t take Colton anytime at all to climb all the way up & sit on the top of the box. We decided that was a little too high for him to be and laid the boxes on their sides. They continued to climb all over them but at a much safer level.
At one point, I told Wyatt to “Please get down.” because he was standing up on the top and I didn’t want him to fall. He then tried to copy what I was saying and said “GET DOWN!!” (which he does a lot; Wyatt is very good at trying to say new words, whether they actually sound like the word or not). Cory & I just cracked up laughing when we heard him say this. He now consistentlyrepeats yells those two syllables when you say any part of the phrase: “get down”.
The new car seats for Cory’s truck we ordered from diapers.com (Christmas special score!) came via UPS the other night. No sooner had Cory brought the big Britax Roundabout 55 boxes inside the house than the boys were climbing all over them. If you haven’t seen a Britax car seat box, it is a big L-shaped (aka: built-in step for toddlers) cardboard box. It didn’t take Colton anytime at all to climb all the way up & sit on the top of the box. We decided that was a little too high for him to be and laid the boxes on their sides. They continued to climb all over them but at a much safer level.
At one point, I told Wyatt to “Please get down.” because he was standing up on the top and I didn’t want him to fall. He then tried to copy what I was saying and said “GET DOWN!!” (which he does a lot; Wyatt is very good at trying to say new words, whether they actually sound like the word or not). Cory & I just cracked up laughing when we heard him say this. He now consistently
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
A night out
My parents, who are just amazing, came over to our house on Saturday afternoon/evening to watch/play with the boys so that Cory & I could head out and get a day of kid-free Christmas shopping in. (To be honest, we highly considered ditching the shopping trip and making it a movie-and-dinner night instead, but decided the Christmas shopping needed to be done.) We had a pretty productive night shopping – although there are still a few gifts that need to be purchased. We were also able to take a short break and enjoy dinner out at a Mongolian restaurant that Cory had not been to yet. Neither of us could remember the last time we were out to eat, just the two of us – so it was a nice break.
The boys and my parents had a fun night too – playing, reading and snuggling before bedtime. The boys always have a blast with Grandpa & Grandma and get so excited when they come over to visit. We are truly lucky to have family & friends so close to us.
The boys and my parents had a fun night too – playing, reading and snuggling before bedtime. The boys always have a blast with Grandpa & Grandma and get so excited when they come over to visit. We are truly lucky to have family & friends so close to us.
Friday, December 9, 2011
One nap a day
When the boys first started daycare, about a month ago, the boys’ teacher, Cory & I had discussed trying to get them to get down to one nap a day. They were currently taking two but the second nap was starting to become a struggle, so it appeared that they were ready to drop it. The first trial period was a huge FAIL – they were crabby from the time they came home until they went to bed so their teacher went back to giving them two naps a day. What she started to do instead was make their morning nap a little shorter to encourage them to stay up more in the morning and sleep more in the afternoon – which was our ultimate goal. This schedule made them much more bearable in the evenings.
Last week, she started to notice that they weren’t acting as tired in the morning so decided to try out the one nap a day again. This time went much better. They were still in decent moods in the evenings and were sleeping 2-2.5 hours during their afternoon nap. This past weekend, we were able to keep up that same schedule with our tree shopping on Saturday morning and baking/playing with cousins on Sunday morning. They have continued to do well this week with just one nap, and even slept 3 hours on Tuesday afternoon!! The other good thing is that this nap-switch has not seemed to affect their night-time sleep at all.
Even though I hate to give up their morning nap (this when I normally would get my shower in on the weekends, especially if Cory was gone and I was solo), they have definitely shown that they are ready for this change. What big boys! This will also give us a little more freedom to do things on the weekends (I am the type of mother that totally preserves their naptime and will schedule most of our outings around their normal nap schedule – when their sleep suffers, everyone’s sleep suffers!).
Last week, she started to notice that they weren’t acting as tired in the morning so decided to try out the one nap a day again. This time went much better. They were still in decent moods in the evenings and were sleeping 2-2.5 hours during their afternoon nap. This past weekend, we were able to keep up that same schedule with our tree shopping on Saturday morning and baking/playing with cousins on Sunday morning. They have continued to do well this week with just one nap, and even slept 3 hours on Tuesday afternoon!! The other good thing is that this nap-switch has not seemed to affect their night-time sleep at all.
Even though I hate to give up their morning nap (this when I normally would get my shower in on the weekends, especially if Cory was gone and I was solo), they have definitely shown that they are ready for this change. What big boys! This will also give us a little more freedom to do things on the weekends (I am the type of mother that totally preserves their naptime and will schedule most of our outings around their normal nap schedule – when their sleep suffers, everyone’s sleep suffers!).
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Christmas baking – 2011
On Sunday, the boys & I packed up after breakfast and headed over to my parents’ house for our annual ‘Christmas baking day’ with my mom & sisters. The boys actually joined me last year as well and even helped with some stirring, but slept most of the time. (On a side-note, our annual baking day last year was one day after a huge snowstorm dropped a ton of snow in the area – practically paralyzing all traffic & even making some of the country roads out near my parents un-passible.)
Both of my sisters and my two nephews were able to make it over this year! We baked Christmas goodies all day while the little boys helped a bit, played a bit & slept a bit. Grandpa was the key entertainer for short periods of time here-and-there, as to allow us girls some kid-free baking time.
The boys had a fun day and were in total amazement every time someone started up the mixer. They love being “big helpers” in the kitchen with mommy. I had a blast spending the day with family & doing something that I love (but don’t have much time for these days) – baking!
Both of my sisters and my two nephews were able to make it over this year! We baked Christmas goodies all day while the little boys helped a bit, played a bit & slept a bit. Grandpa was the key entertainer for short periods of time here-and-there, as to allow us girls some kid-free baking time.
The boys had a fun day and were in total amazement every time someone started up the mixer. They love being “big helpers” in the kitchen with mommy. I had a blast spending the day with family & doing something that I love (but don’t have much time for these days) – baking!
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| Colton attacking mommy's camera. |
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| Wyatt reading a story. |
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| Wyatt, having a little snack after his nap. |
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| Colton's snack after nap time. |
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| These two pictures melt my heart, brotherly sharing...so sweet!! |
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Christmas parade – 2011
Saturday night, we continued our Christmas-filled weekend by heading down to our town’s annual Christmas parade. I have been going to this Christmas parade (with the exception of last year when it was too cold out to take 2 little five month olds to it) for many years and was even in it for Girl Scouts many, many years ago.
We ate an early dinner so we could head down to the parade early to hopefully get a good spot. We got all bundled back up in our snow gear and headed downtown. The temperature on Saturday was perfect – not too cold. It snowed all afternoon (the forecast was for 2-4” of snow during the afternoon-evening hours) and continued to snow all during the parade, which made it a beautiful winter evening to enjoy outside. (The weather shield we have for the stroller came in really handy to keep the boys dry on our couple-block walk down from where we parked to the parade.) We enjoyed some hot apple cider (a number of downtown businesses offer free hot chocolate & apple cider before and during the parade), ran into a couple friends and were eventually able to find my parents & sister/nephews. The boys really enjoyed the parade and were in awe of all the beautiful lights & music. I would be lying if I said that seeing them watch the parade and getting so excited for each new float, didn’t bring tears to my eyes that night. Seeing the magic of Christmas in my children’s eyes – priceless. The parade was starting to run into bedtime, so we headed home a little over half-way through the parade. (We did this to avoid any meltdowns & it worked!) Santa Clause is always the last float, so we unfortunately missed seeing him in the parade this year but I’m sure we’ll catch him next year.
Also, a very Happy 17 Month Birthday to my two baby boys – Wyatt & Colton – today. You grow and amaze me daily and give me more love than I ever knew possible!
We ate an early dinner so we could head down to the parade early to hopefully get a good spot. We got all bundled back up in our snow gear and headed downtown. The temperature on Saturday was perfect – not too cold. It snowed all afternoon (the forecast was for 2-4” of snow during the afternoon-evening hours) and continued to snow all during the parade, which made it a beautiful winter evening to enjoy outside. (The weather shield we have for the stroller came in really handy to keep the boys dry on our couple-block walk down from where we parked to the parade.) We enjoyed some hot apple cider (a number of downtown businesses offer free hot chocolate & apple cider before and during the parade), ran into a couple friends and were eventually able to find my parents & sister/nephews. The boys really enjoyed the parade and were in awe of all the beautiful lights & music. I would be lying if I said that seeing them watch the parade and getting so excited for each new float, didn’t bring tears to my eyes that night. Seeing the magic of Christmas in my children’s eyes – priceless. The parade was starting to run into bedtime, so we headed home a little over half-way through the parade. (We did this to avoid any meltdowns & it worked!) Santa Clause is always the last float, so we unfortunately missed seeing him in the parade this year but I’m sure we’ll catch him next year.
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| All bundled up! |
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| Me & my boys...waiting for the parade to start. |
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| Our family - enjoying the Christmas parade! |
Also, a very Happy 17 Month Birthday to my two baby boys – Wyatt & Colton – today. You grow and amaze me daily and give me more love than I ever knew possible!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Getting our Christmas tree – 2011
We had a fun-filled weekend; it makes me sad having to head back to work on a Monday.
It started out on Saturday morning, right after breakfast, with us packing up everyone’s snow gear and heading out to a local cut-your-own-tree farm. Ever since Cory & I have been married, we’ve always cut down our own Christmas tree (except last year when we had two 4 months old at home with a sitter and made a quick choice of a pre-cut tree) – it’s a tradition I look forward to doing as a family every year. This was the boys’ first time helping pick out the tree. This was also the first time we had the boys all dressed up in their winter gear, from snow boots to hats…they weren’t too impressed. They didn’t mind being all bundled up but didn’t really think walking, or moving of any sort, was possible.
We made the search for our “perfect” tree short & sweet. The boys supervised Daddy while he cut it down and we all enjoyed some apple cider and animal crackers/cookies in the farm’s shed afterwards. It was a fun, family morning and we came home with a beautiful tree.
It started out on Saturday morning, right after breakfast, with us packing up everyone’s snow gear and heading out to a local cut-your-own-tree farm. Ever since Cory & I have been married, we’ve always cut down our own Christmas tree (except last year when we had two 4 months old at home with a sitter and made a quick choice of a pre-cut tree) – it’s a tradition I look forward to doing as a family every year. This was the boys’ first time helping pick out the tree. This was also the first time we had the boys all dressed up in their winter gear, from snow boots to hats…they weren’t too impressed. They didn’t mind being all bundled up but didn’t really think walking, or moving of any sort, was possible.
We made the search for our “perfect” tree short & sweet. The boys supervised Daddy while he cut it down and we all enjoyed some apple cider and animal crackers/cookies in the farm’s shed afterwards. It was a fun, family morning and we came home with a beautiful tree.
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| Colton - not so sure about all this snow gear |
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| Wyatt - all dressed up in his snow gear |
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| All ready to go pick out our "perfect" tree |
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| Found it! |
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| Colton & Wyatt supervising Daddy cutting down the tree |
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| A success!! Our Christmas tree - 2011 |
Shoveling…leaves?
After a beautiful snowfall this weekend, we’re no longer shoveling leaves but the real-thing – SNOW!! Here is a cute picture of the boys doing their favorite thing outside this fall – shoveling leaves.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Prematurity Awareness Month
On this last day of November, I want to write a little bit about an issue that is close to my heart: premature birth. November is Prematurity Awareness Month.
1 in 8 babies in the United States is born too soon, which amounts to 543,000 babies each year. That leaves a lot of room for improvement for our country.
Wyatt & Colton were born at 35 weeks 5 days. We were extremely lucky in that the boys were born so healthy and needed no NICU or special care nursery time. That does not mean we did not have our struggles. Having two preemie babies for us meant – early struggles with feedings because of their under-developed muscles used to suck, car beds instead of regular car seats for the first month, staying home-bound for the first month of their life to protect them from being exposed to too many germs and developmental delays. They have hit all their developmental milestones so far, they have just been a little bit behind. (Check out this comparison on why at least 39 weeks is best for your baby.)
1 in 8 babies in the United States is born too soon, which amounts to 543,000 babies each year. That leaves a lot of room for improvement for our country.
Wyatt & Colton were born at 35 weeks 5 days. We were extremely lucky in that the boys were born so healthy and needed no NICU or special care nursery time. That does not mean we did not have our struggles. Having two preemie babies for us meant – early struggles with feedings because of their under-developed muscles used to suck, car beds instead of regular car seats for the first month, staying home-bound for the first month of their life to protect them from being exposed to too many germs and developmental delays. They have hit all their developmental milestones so far, they have just been a little bit behind. (Check out this comparison on why at least 39 weeks is best for your baby.)
Please visit the March of Dimes to learn more or donate to this amazing cause.
(Bonus: They are matching all donations now through the end of the year!)
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tooth #3!!
Wyatt finally broke through another tooth last Friday (11/25/11) – whoo-hoo!!
The current tooth count is: Wyatt – 3 and Colton – 12
Wyatt popped through his bottom two teeth a couple months ago & we hadn’t seen any other tooth action since. His top two teeth have been looking like they were going to pop through at any time for a week or so and I finally felt his top-left one poke through the day after Thanksgiving. (I’m guessing the other one will pop through in the next week or so now.)
Colton popped through all four of his 1-year molars during the past month, without much notice to us. I don’t mind that kind of teething!
The current tooth count is: Wyatt – 3 and Colton – 12
Wyatt popped through his bottom two teeth a couple months ago & we hadn’t seen any other tooth action since. His top two teeth have been looking like they were going to pop through at any time for a week or so and I finally felt his top-left one poke through the day after Thanksgiving. (I’m guessing the other one will pop through in the next week or so now.)
Colton popped through all four of his 1-year molars during the past month, without much notice to us. I don’t mind that kind of teething!
Happy Thanksgiving!
We have so much to be thankful for again this year – our family & friends most of all – and of course, our two healthy, beautiful boys. We are also very thankful for our jobs & home, as my company has went through some changes in the past few months but I have been blessed to remain employed. We thank God for all the blessings he has given our family to enjoy this past year.
This was the boys second Thanksgiving. Last year they were a bit smaller and were not old enough to enjoy the delicious holiday spread. This year, we enjoyed the holiday with my dad’s side of the family once again – 21 of us were able to get together. We all enjoyed a delicious lunch of turkey/ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn, buns & more! The boys ate really well and especially loved the sweet potatoes. It was a fun day visiting & catching up with family. The most fun was seeing the 7 “little boys” playing together. Between me, my sister and two cousins (who grew up just a mile down the road from us) we have a total of 7 little boys – ranging from 8 months to just under 4 years. It’s quite a change from it being girl-dominated as we were growing up.
Thanksgiving weekend is extra special to me – it was two years ago this past weekend that we found out, after such a long journey, that we were expecting. I still remember the shock/joy when I first saw the test finally come out positive!
The boys & I spent the weekend at my parents’ while Cory enjoyed a hunting weekend with “the guys”. We did a little Black Friday shopping, had a lunch out, enjoyed a play date, I had dinner out with “the girls” and just played. We had a wonderful weekend that went by way too fast!
This was the boys second Thanksgiving. Last year they were a bit smaller and were not old enough to enjoy the delicious holiday spread. This year, we enjoyed the holiday with my dad’s side of the family once again – 21 of us were able to get together. We all enjoyed a delicious lunch of turkey/ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn, buns & more! The boys ate really well and especially loved the sweet potatoes. It was a fun day visiting & catching up with family. The most fun was seeing the 7 “little boys” playing together. Between me, my sister and two cousins (who grew up just a mile down the road from us) we have a total of 7 little boys – ranging from 8 months to just under 4 years. It’s quite a change from it being girl-dominated as we were growing up.
Thanksgiving weekend is extra special to me – it was two years ago this past weekend that we found out, after such a long journey, that we were expecting. I still remember the shock/joy when I first saw the test finally come out positive!
The boys & I spent the weekend at my parents’ while Cory enjoyed a hunting weekend with “the guys”. We did a little Black Friday shopping, had a lunch out, enjoyed a play date, I had dinner out with “the girls” and just played. We had a wonderful weekend that went by way too fast!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Pink Eye!
The boys had their first “sick day” from daycare last Friday. We’ve all had colds, with the runny nose & cough, for the last week or so but Thursday night I could tell Wyatt’s eyes were getting a little irritated-looking. Friday morning when the boys woke up, they both had super red eyes that they could barely open. Poor guys!
They stayed home from daycare and we made a visit to our doctor for a confirmation of double-pink eye for both of them (and also got an updated weight check – Colton now weighs more than Wyatt – Colton was 24 lbs 14 oz & Wyatt was 24 lbs 8 oz; they were also both right around 31 inches long!).
We’re on day 4 of their eye ointment treatment (yeah, we got ointment instead of drops – our doctor says it stings less and stays in better) and it’s getting a little easier giving it to them. Although, I have to admit, I’ve reverted to bribing them with yogurt melts after they let me put the medicine in their eyes. I’ve had to do it solo for the last few days, as Cory was away hunting for the weekend (& successfully shot an 8 point-buck!), and this is the approach that has worked best for me. 1.day.left.
They stayed home from daycare and we made a visit to our doctor for a confirmation of double-pink eye for both of them (and also got an updated weight check – Colton now weighs more than Wyatt – Colton was 24 lbs 14 oz & Wyatt was 24 lbs 8 oz; they were also both right around 31 inches long!).
We’re on day 4 of their eye ointment treatment (yeah, we got ointment instead of drops – our doctor says it stings less and stays in better) and it’s getting a little easier giving it to them. Although, I have to admit, I’ve reverted to bribing them with yogurt melts after they let me put the medicine in their eyes. I’ve had to do it solo for the last few days, as Cory was away hunting for the weekend (& successfully shot an 8 point-buck!), and this is the approach that has worked best for me. 1.day.left.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Sleep
Sleep…this is something we have not been getting much of in our house lately. I want it back!
The boys have been a bit thrown off since the daylight savings time switch two weeks ago. Their days go well but then they are always hungry for dinner by 5-5:15pm and ready for bed by 6:30 pm. (Pre-time switch we usually ate dinner around 5:45-6 pm and were ready for bed around 7 pm.) This has cut our evening time together short but they were still sleeping in until their normal 6-6:30 am time…
…until this weekend. Wyatt all of a sudden started waking up and acting like he was ready to get up for the day at 5 am on Saturday morning and has been doing the same thing every morning since. Colton has been waking around the same time (or shortly after) but part of that is due to being woke up by his brother, I’m sure. The only other strange thing is that Wyatt’s waking up crying and he isn’t in a good mood like he normally is, so maybe these lingering colds we’re fighting are part of the problem as well. Or teething, as his top two front teeth look really close to breaking through (yes, the poor kid still only has 2 teeth!) – you can always blame it on teething! Colton was definitely struggling with his cold last night – crying every half hour-hour. Poor kids! Ah, the joys of winter-cold season.
The boys have been a bit thrown off since the daylight savings time switch two weeks ago. Their days go well but then they are always hungry for dinner by 5-5:15pm and ready for bed by 6:30 pm. (Pre-time switch we usually ate dinner around 5:45-6 pm and were ready for bed around 7 pm.) This has cut our evening time together short but they were still sleeping in until their normal 6-6:30 am time…
…until this weekend. Wyatt all of a sudden started waking up and acting like he was ready to get up for the day at 5 am on Saturday morning and has been doing the same thing every morning since. Colton has been waking around the same time (or shortly after) but part of that is due to being woke up by his brother, I’m sure. The only other strange thing is that Wyatt’s waking up crying and he isn’t in a good mood like he normally is, so maybe these lingering colds we’re fighting are part of the problem as well. Or teething, as his top two front teeth look really close to breaking through (yes, the poor kid still only has 2 teeth!) – you can always blame it on teething! Colton was definitely struggling with his cold last night – crying every half hour-hour. Poor kids! Ah, the joys of winter-cold season.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
16 Months Old
From summer-like temps in early October to the threat of accumulating snow tomorrow – fall is always full of surprises. The weather has been fairly decent lately so we’ve continued to enjoy nightly walks but we also invested in a weather-shield for our stroller, so we’ll be able to continue taking walks into late-fall/winter on those cold, windy days. We’ve used it a couple times now and the boys stay nice & warm inside of it – so far I’d say it works great!
Yesterday at daycare was big milestone for the boys – they only took ONE nap. The boys have been struggling off & on with their afternoon nap for about a month, so I knew that they were ready to try dropping down to one nap a day but I wanted to wait and let them get into the daycare routine first. Their teacher, Mrs. “B”, said they actually did really well staying up all morning but she is really good at keeping them busy & really involved. They stayed awake through lunch and then fell asleep as soon as they laid down on their sleeping bags. They both slept for almost 3 hours, so that is actually better than the 2-hour morning nap with a little afternoon rest-time they were previously getting. They were a little crabby last evening and went to bed about ½ hour early at 6:30 PM, but they slept all the way through the night, so that wasn’t affected at all. I’m sure it’ll just take a little while to get used to the one-nap and they’ll be back to their cheerful moods in the evenings.
We’ve also been working learning to identify the parts of your body with the boys. Both love playing the “where’s your…?” game but Wyatt gets into it the most. Wyatt can point to his: head, toes, belly, nose, ears and someone else’s eyes. Colton can point this his: head & belly. This is something we do during wind-down time right before bed.
At night, the boys have been sleeping awesome. They are still sleeping around 11-12 hours each night. They fall asleep somewhere between 6:45-7:15 PM. (Our bedtime routine is: bath (on bath night), lotion & jammies, blanket & book.) They go to bed semi-awake and do a good job of putting themselves to sleep. They both have been sleeping until between 6-7 AM, although I now have to wake them up at 6:10 AM on weekdays to get us to daycare & work on-time.
Wyatt
- shakes his head “No”
- loves reading books
- tries to climb on anything & everything (especially stairs!)
- helps throw dirty diapers away & put dirty clothes in the dirty clothes basket
- waves “Hi!” & “Bye!” to everyone (also uses this at bedtime to wave night-night)
- has 2 teeth
Signs
- “More” – he is starting to use this sign again
- “Please”
Words
- “Ma” = mom
- “Da” = dad
- “Ma” = milk
- “That”
- “Da” = dog
- “Go”
Colton
- shakes his head & says “Yes”
- loves reading books
- tries to climb on anything & everything (especially stairs!)
- helps throw dirty diapers away & put dirty clothes in the dirty clothes basket
- waves “Hi!” & “Bye!” to everyone (also uses this at bedtime to wave night-night)
- has 11 teeth (broke through his top two 1-year molars the last week in October)
Signs
- “More” – he is starting to use this sign again
- “Please”
Words
- “Ma” = mom
- “Da” = dad
- “Up”
- “That”
- “Hi!”
- “Yes”
Yesterday at daycare was big milestone for the boys – they only took ONE nap. The boys have been struggling off & on with their afternoon nap for about a month, so I knew that they were ready to try dropping down to one nap a day but I wanted to wait and let them get into the daycare routine first. Their teacher, Mrs. “B”, said they actually did really well staying up all morning but she is really good at keeping them busy & really involved. They stayed awake through lunch and then fell asleep as soon as they laid down on their sleeping bags. They both slept for almost 3 hours, so that is actually better than the 2-hour morning nap with a little afternoon rest-time they were previously getting. They were a little crabby last evening and went to bed about ½ hour early at 6:30 PM, but they slept all the way through the night, so that wasn’t affected at all. I’m sure it’ll just take a little while to get used to the one-nap and they’ll be back to their cheerful moods in the evenings.
We’ve also been working learning to identify the parts of your body with the boys. Both love playing the “where’s your…?” game but Wyatt gets into it the most. Wyatt can point to his: head, toes, belly, nose, ears and someone else’s eyes. Colton can point this his: head & belly. This is something we do during wind-down time right before bed.
At night, the boys have been sleeping awesome. They are still sleeping around 11-12 hours each night. They fall asleep somewhere between 6:45-7:15 PM. (Our bedtime routine is: bath (on bath night), lotion & jammies, blanket & book.) They go to bed semi-awake and do a good job of putting themselves to sleep. They both have been sleeping until between 6-7 AM, although I now have to wake them up at 6:10 AM on weekdays to get us to daycare & work on-time.
Wyatt
- shakes his head “No”
- loves reading books
- tries to climb on anything & everything (especially stairs!)
- helps throw dirty diapers away & put dirty clothes in the dirty clothes basket
- waves “Hi!” & “Bye!” to everyone (also uses this at bedtime to wave night-night)
- has 2 teeth
Signs
- “More” – he is starting to use this sign again
- “Please”
Words
- “Ma” = mom
- “Da” = dad
- “Ma” = milk
- “That”
- “Da” = dog
- “Go”
Colton
- shakes his head & says “Yes”
- loves reading books
- tries to climb on anything & everything (especially stairs!)
- helps throw dirty diapers away & put dirty clothes in the dirty clothes basket
- waves “Hi!” & “Bye!” to everyone (also uses this at bedtime to wave night-night)
- has 11 teeth (broke through his top two 1-year molars the last week in October)
Signs
- “More” – he is starting to use this sign again
- “Please”
Words
- “Ma” = mom
- “Da” = dad
- “Up”
- “That”
- “Hi!”
- “Yes”
Friday, November 4, 2011
First Day of Daycare
Yesterday was the boys’ first day of daycare. I’m so happy to report that it went really well! There was definitely more worrying & tears in the days/weeks leading up to yesterday, then yesterday itself.
We arrived at what will be our normal time in the morning and I stayed for about 25-30 minutes to help them ease into their day. (I’m not sure if that extra time actually helped them or mommy settle down more!) They were the first ones in their room to arrive, so that made it a bit less intimidating. They even waved bye-bye to me when I left (although their teacher – Miss “B” – said they had just a little “sad” time shortly after that). Cory & I decided to help ease the transition into fulltime daycare; the boys will go for two half-days, yesterday & today, and then start in fulltime next week. I will be in charge of drop off in the morning and Cory will be doing pick up, most days.
When I came to pick them up on my lunch hour yesterday, Miss “B” said she couldn’t believe how well they were adjusting – eating well & playing well, like they had always been there. That felt so good to hear.
Drop off this morning went pretty well again. I kept it a little bit shorter today. They sat down and had snack right away with another little boy that was there, Ayden. I gave hugs & kisses and waved bye-bye. They were still eating their snack but Wyatt was a little sad. I’m going to give a quick call shortly to check up on them, but I’m sure they’re doing fine again today.
We arrived at what will be our normal time in the morning and I stayed for about 25-30 minutes to help them ease into their day. (I’m not sure if that extra time actually helped them or mommy settle down more!) They were the first ones in their room to arrive, so that made it a bit less intimidating. They even waved bye-bye to me when I left (although their teacher – Miss “B” – said they had just a little “sad” time shortly after that). Cory & I decided to help ease the transition into fulltime daycare; the boys will go for two half-days, yesterday & today, and then start in fulltime next week. I will be in charge of drop off in the morning and Cory will be doing pick up, most days.
When I came to pick them up on my lunch hour yesterday, Miss “B” said she couldn’t believe how well they were adjusting – eating well & playing well, like they had always been there. That felt so good to hear.
Drop off this morning went pretty well again. I kept it a little bit shorter today. They sat down and had snack right away with another little boy that was there, Ayden. I gave hugs & kisses and waved bye-bye. They were still eating their snack but Wyatt was a little sad. I’m going to give a quick call shortly to check up on them, but I’m sure they’re doing fine again today.
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| Colton helping mommy mix-up some Halloween cupcakes! |
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| Wyatt playing after trick-or-treating. |
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Happy Halloween!
My two little “bats” had a fun Halloween!
Cory brought the boys to my work in the afternoon for our special trick-or-treating hours for the employees’ “little ghosts & goblins”. They got the hang of that real quick – carrying around their little pumpkin buckets, desk-to-desk, looking cute & smiling for everyone while grabbing whatever fun “treat” they were offering. (They visited my work last year too – but had so much more fun this year since they were walking on their own.)
After work, we loaded them up in their little red wagon and made a short trick-or-treating trip to about 8 houses in our neighborhood before it was dinner time. Even though it is officially the boys’ second Halloween, this was their first Halloween trick-or-treating trip. Just like they had done so well earlier in the day, they loved carrying their little pumpkin buckets around, happily walking up to everyone’s door. Sometimes they weren’t so sure about picking out a treat and acted a little shy with some of the neighbors – but all-in-all they did really well. It was a bit chilly out, but they stayed really warm in their costumes and kept their mittens on too. Of course, all the yummy candy they collected will be consumed by mommy & daddy, but there was one house that gave them cute, dinosaur board books and another one that gave them some fruit snack-like bites that they can enjoy.
Cory brought the boys to my work in the afternoon for our special trick-or-treating hours for the employees’ “little ghosts & goblins”. They got the hang of that real quick – carrying around their little pumpkin buckets, desk-to-desk, looking cute & smiling for everyone while grabbing whatever fun “treat” they were offering. (They visited my work last year too – but had so much more fun this year since they were walking on their own.)
After work, we loaded them up in their little red wagon and made a short trick-or-treating trip to about 8 houses in our neighborhood before it was dinner time. Even though it is officially the boys’ second Halloween, this was their first Halloween trick-or-treating trip. Just like they had done so well earlier in the day, they loved carrying their little pumpkin buckets around, happily walking up to everyone’s door. Sometimes they weren’t so sure about picking out a treat and acted a little shy with some of the neighbors – but all-in-all they did really well. It was a bit chilly out, but they stayed really warm in their costumes and kept their mittens on too. Of course, all the yummy candy they collected will be consumed by mommy & daddy, but there was one house that gave them cute, dinosaur board books and another one that gave them some fruit snack-like bites that they can enjoy.
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| Ready to roll in the little red "bat-mobile"! |
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| ...and we're off! |
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| Loading back up into the "bat-mobile". |
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| Colton |
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| Wyatt |
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| Ditching the "bat-mobile" & heading cross-country to the next house! |
Thursday, October 27, 2011
We finally have Halloween costumes…
…the boys are going to be……BATS!
I am a little behind on picking out Halloween costumes this year but luckily we went shopping last night and found a store that had all their Carter’s costumes 50% off! They had Carter’s monkey, lion, cow and bat costumes (but only the bat costumes came in the boys’ size). Last year the boys’ were cute little puppies for Halloween (I totally LOVE the Carter’s costumes!!).
Colton tried on his costume this morning for me and he looked SUPER CUTE! I can’t wait to see my two little bats all dressed up on Halloween.
On a side-note – Wyatt has now come down with whatever Colton had last week. I thought he had held strong through Colton’s sickness but it seems it was just a little delayed on-set. He’s got a stuffy nose, cough, lose-of-voice and slight fever – same symptoms as Colton. Colton is finally feeling much better though, which is good news. I think I’ll have to do a “BIG” clean of their toys this weekend to get all those yucky germs out of the house!
I am a little behind on picking out Halloween costumes this year but luckily we went shopping last night and found a store that had all their Carter’s costumes 50% off! They had Carter’s monkey, lion, cow and bat costumes (but only the bat costumes came in the boys’ size). Last year the boys’ were cute little puppies for Halloween (I totally LOVE the Carter’s costumes!!).
Colton tried on his costume this morning for me and he looked SUPER CUTE! I can’t wait to see my two little bats all dressed up on Halloween.
On a side-note – Wyatt has now come down with whatever Colton had last week. I thought he had held strong through Colton’s sickness but it seems it was just a little delayed on-set. He’s got a stuffy nose, cough, lose-of-voice and slight fever – same symptoms as Colton. Colton is finally feeling much better though, which is good news. I think I’ll have to do a “BIG” clean of their toys this weekend to get all those yucky germs out of the house!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Another trip to the Children’s Museum
While Cory & Bailey went hunting on Saturday, the boys & I met my sister & nephews down at the local children’s museum. The last time we were there the boys were not yet walking, but had a blast in the toddler area – designed for kids 3 & under.
This time we started out in the toddler area but decided to take them out into the “bigger kids” area too. They loved it even more than last time! They had a blast in the grocery store, playing LEGOs, crawling through the digestive track, performing on-stage, doing crafts and playing in the water exhibit. Their favorites by-far were the grocery store & the water exhibit (I had to drag Wyatt away from it crying when it was time to head home). I’m thinking a yearly family membership would be well worth the money this year!
These boys are such a blast! I love experiencing every new adventure we take them on through their eyes and seeing how much fun they have and how much they learn.
This time we started out in the toddler area but decided to take them out into the “bigger kids” area too. They loved it even more than last time! They had a blast in the grocery store, playing LEGOs, crawling through the digestive track, performing on-stage, doing crafts and playing in the water exhibit. Their favorites by-far were the grocery store & the water exhibit (I had to drag Wyatt away from it crying when it was time to head home). I’m thinking a yearly family membership would be well worth the money this year!
These boys are such a blast! I love experiencing every new adventure we take them on through their eyes and seeing how much fun they have and how much they learn.
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| Wyatt - sitting in a "big boy" chair. |
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| Colton hanging out in the "garden". |
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| Row, row, row your boat... |
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| Wyatt & cousin "I" in the grocery store. |
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| LEGO table fun! |
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| Wyatt's favorite! |
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| Colton doing an art project with aunt "C". |
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| Two little fish. |
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| Playing in the water like the "big" kids. |
Friday, October 21, 2011
12 Month Professional Pictures
We had the boys’ 12 month professional pictures taken back in early August. We used this session as an opportunity to take some family photos, which turned out very nice. The boys had fun, even though it was a warm day. We took some outside and ended with a cake smashing session inside. Wyatt was smiley as usual but Colton was not in the mood to get his pictures taken that day…but because our photographer is so awesome – we still got some great pictures of both boys. I ended up buying quite a few images from this session because I was having such a tough time narrowing down the good ones!
Here are my favorites of my favorites:
Here are my favorites of my favorites:
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| Colton |
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| Wyatt |
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| My two cuties! |
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| Let the cake smashing begin... |
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| Wyatt just starting to dig in. |
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| Colton just starting to dig in. |
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Apple Orchard - 2011
This past weekend we took the boys to a local apple orchard. One of Cory’s long-time high school friends’ family own one of the local orchards. They were excited for us to stop out & to see how big the boys have gotten.
The weather was a bit cool & kind of windy but we still enjoyed ourselves! And of course, no apple orchard visit can be complete without coming home with a couple of yummy caramel apples which we all enjoyed for the boys’ afternoon snack.
The weather was a bit cool & kind of windy but we still enjoyed ourselves! And of course, no apple orchard visit can be complete without coming home with a couple of yummy caramel apples which we all enjoyed for the boys’ afternoon snack.
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| Walking in the orchard. |
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| Playing on the bags of apples. |
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| Wyatt with his new-found treasure! |
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| Colton - LOVE those blue eyes! |
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| Colton & daddy |
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| Future apple pickers in-training... |
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| Colton checking if his bucket is full yet. |
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| Wyatt helping Colton fill up his bucket. |
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| Fall fun. |
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| Wyatt exploring. |
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