15 Month Big Boys (Well, a week shy...)

In one week, my precious boys will be 15 months.  I've been meaning to write this post for a few weeks now, but life's been pretty full.  I've written multiple other posts which capture a few things from the past couple of months, but there are still a few things I want to remember about my boys at this age.

Communication
These past couple of months have been a huge leap in the boys communication.  They are working so hard each day at trying to say and learn new words.  As I mentioned in a previous post, their object recognition has beyond amazed us.  Ever since they took off in this area, they've been trying to say the words as well.  There are a huge number of words the boys speak these days, some they say perfectly, but the majority of them can only be deciphered by us since we are with them all the time.  For example, the boys love to 'bambum' which is vacuum.  They (especially Gavin) love flowers, which are 'naner'.  The list is huge, I really don't think I would even know where to begin in listing them and how they try to say it.

With this new growth in communication, I've seen an increase in whining these days.  I figure this has to do with the fact that they have so much more they want to say, but aren't sure how to say it yet, which in turns frustrates them.  Each day I encourage them to 'use their words' and take lots of time to help them express themselves and show me what it is they are trying to say.

Top 5
If I had to choose 5 favorite activities of the boys', I would say books, outdoors, blocks, cars and Baby Einstein DVDs.  We spend a huge part of our day going through our huge library of books.  I typically don't even get a chance to read the real story, but make up stories as they turn the pages.  We point to all the pictures and name all the objects we can find.  They come up to me all the time with books, pointing and trying to say what the word is.  They amazed their dad the other day when he was asking them to find certain things in books and they would point right to it!

Wyatt and Gavin still love being outside.  Now that's it's summer time, we get to play in the pool (our backyard fun and the community pool and splash pad).  These boys are fearless.  They just want to run, and don't care that the water is up to their chin.  They love to splash and jump in the water as we catch them.  They laugh when they stick their head in the water.  We took them to Galveston's Moody Gardens (the Aquarium and Palm Beach) and they had so much fun!  I'll have to post about this separately along with some pics.

Blocks (many different versions we have) also keep the boys very entertained these days.  They spend a lot of time building and tearing down.  I use them for color lessons as well, which they are still doing great at.

They love cars!  Not just the big cars either, but the 'big boy' match box cars and such.  I bought them several along with some race tracks which they throughly enjoy all throughout the day.  Now that they don't stick everything in their mouth, we don't have to worry about chocking on a wheel that might happen to fall off after chewing sessions!

Much to my dismay in the beginning, the boys love to watch DVDs.  Well, Baby Einstein and Boz that is.  I've realized that it's not a bad thing at all.  I limit it of course, but they just soak this stuff in.  They are continually learning while watching; body parts, shapes, colors, animals, 'objects', signing, etc.  These really are great shows and I think just another tool that has helped the boys excel.

Teething
A few days before Easter started the boys crazy teething month.  By 8 months they boys had 8 teeth each (just like their Mama).  After that, nothing!  Until April (13 months).  In 4 weeks, Wyatt had 8 new teeth and in 5 weeks, Gavin had 8 new ones.  That's all 16 teeth now (next ones are their 2 year old molars). Poor guys, it was a rough month as they came in, especially the molars.

Pacifier Free
I am not sure if I mentioned this yet, but the boys have not had their pacifiers in about a month and a half at least.  They were just using them at night and naps at 1 year, but I didn't want to try all together getting rid of them because they went through their crazy teething month.  Once this was over, the pacifiers went away.  It took them a good extra 10-15 minutes to fall asleep that first nap w/o them, and then that was all it took.  They still thought about grabbing them before sleep for a couple of days, but when they didn't see them on the ledge where we kept them, they didn't seem to care.  Yay for easy transition!

Food and Such
Gavin loves bananas, and Wyatt loves blueberries and watermelon; although they both have both of these on their favorite food lists.  Other favorites: fig newtons, Chick-fil-A, cheese sticks.  They eat everything, but there are just some things they eat with certain gusto as my family says.  While the boys were teething and then sick for a couple of weeks afterwards (the quick San Antonio trip), their appetite dropped majorly though.  Just the past couple of weeks has it begun to increase again, but still no where where it used to be.  The boys are still about 26+ lbs, but we'll find out their measurements next week at their 15 month check-up.  They haven't seem to go through another major growth spurt this past month either, but they are still quite tall.  They are in 24-2T clothes these days.

Other Tid-Bits
The boys love to 'fly' as Daddy swings them around.  They love for Mama to play 'Tickle Monster' and games of chase.  Although very different, they both have the most amazing laughs that melt my heart.  When they get the giggles, I can't help but crack up too.  They love to snuggle and are so great at it.  They love to give kisses and hugs.  Wyatt is my 'scrunchie theif' as he's always taking out my pony tail and cracking up.  They get the biggest kicks out of being tickled by my hair.  Sometimes I'll trap them on the ground (although they often lay down willingly) and throw my hair in their face.  They giggle so hard and keep asking for more.  When we practice eating with the spoon, the boys doing very well.  I'm actually surprised at how well they have it down, although it's still a work in progress.  The boys love people and love to wave at them and tell them high and give them big ol' cheese grins!  Wyatt has started to give a pouty lip and say, 'poopoopoo' when he's whining which is so funny.  They are really into the mimicking phase which is pretty funny.  They think it's funny to stretch crazy like and show off their muscles like Daddy.  Old McDonald is still their favorite tune to try to sing, 'EeeIiiiEeeeIiiiiEeeee'.  They love animals, naming them and saying the sounds they make.  Gavin's favorite animal seems to be the giraffe and Wyatt's the monkey and duck.  Wyatt loves to say, 'guack, guack', and both love to say, 'moo moo'.  They have taken to riding the dogs like their rocking horses (which they also love and think they are trick riders...).  They drink from my cup w/o a straw very well these days, although I still hold it for them.  They've been practicing this in the tub, and actually do very well on their own.  I mentioned before the love cleaning; vacuuming, dusting, washing hands and taking baths.  Bugs make them laugh and they think it's a great treat when butterflies dance around them when we are outside!  They love their cowboy hats Grandma MaryJane bought them for their birthday.  They also make everything else into hats and we use their old bibs as capes (putting them on backwards).  They sit in any box they fit in, which includes daily their toy boxes and the dog toy box.  They love to climb and now climb on the couch (although they have to 'sit on their hinnies' and 'be safe') at all times.  They enjoy looking out windows.  They get so excited when we put on shoes or put on sunscreen b/c they know what's coming next!  They also run and get the diapers, wipes and changing pad when I say, 'let's change your diaper'.  They've been enjoying sitting on the big boy potty, but they still have not increased the amount of times they actually go potty on the seat.

Oh, there is so much I want to remember about Gavin and Wyatt at this age.  It seems they forever captivate me.  I love their love for this world God created and their pure enjoyment of it.  Being their mom helps me take the time to soak in the beauty and wonderment all around me.  

Feathers, Puzzles, Stickers, Crayons and More

We've done so many new activities and 'crafts' the past couple of months.  The boys really seem to enjoy them and are developing the skills quite well.  I thought I'd highlight on a handful of them:

Stickers (and some gluing): The boys just love sticker time.  We put them on foam paper (which is easy for them to peel off again), Gavin, Wyatt and Mama!  They are learning quickly how to handle the small stickers even and transfer them from their fingers to the paper.  (Sometimes the slightly larger stickers wrap around their fingers though and give them trouble getting them off...)

Feather and Pipe Cleaner Fun: I wrapped a cardboard box in large-holed twill (mesh).  The idea was to learn to put objects through the tiny holes.  We used feathers and pipe cleaners.  The boys thought this was great fun; although I have to say loading the feathers on top of the box and twisting the pipe cleaners this way and that was a lot more entertaining!

Puzzles: We have a lot of the wooden jumbo puzzles the boys enjoy.  I also bought them these foam alphabet puzzle pieces the other week.  The boys have decided these types of puzzles are wonderful.  Over the course of a couple of weeks, they have understood the concept of keeping the pieced flat and trying to fit them together.  They practice this all throughout the day since we just keep these pieces out all the time.

More Feather Fun: One day we decided the feathers didn't need to go in the box, but rather made excellent 'throw in the air and watch them float' and 'cover Gavin/Wyatt/Mama' and 'Tickle, Tickle' toys instead!  We had so much fun throwing the feathers and chasing each other tickling.  The boys kept trying to feed the feathers to the dogs even.  After the feather fun, the boys got to help me vacuum, which is of course one of their favorite things to do!

Shapes: Another one of their favorite 'puzzles' is the shapes blocks.  They have gotten pretty good at putting the shapes in the correct slot too.

Crayons: The boys have also taken a big interest in drawing these days.  After several months of semi-interest, I was very impressed with their artwork below they drew today!  

They've also enjoyed playing with play-dough, but I don't have a picture to go along with that.  There are so many other special 'craft activities' the boys do these days, but I just wanted to highlight a few of them.  

These are a Few of Our Favorite Things

Here are a few things on the top of the boys' 'favorite things to do' list:

Vacuum: They ask to 'bambum' all throughout the day!

Dust: They each have their Swiffer Duster we keep out so they can dust when ever their heart pleases.  Sometimes they knock over the picture frames and get sad.  I put them back in place and explain that accidents are okay.

Washing hands: They could seriously do this every 20-30 minutes if I let them.  I bought them 'big boy stools' so they can reach the counters, as well as faucet extenders.  They love to rub the soap in their hands and turn on the faucet.  (Taking a drink is pretty funny too!)

They also love to brush their teeth and take a bath.  Something they'd also do at least 3-4 times a day!  They are always asking to do all of these things (words and signing), which makes me smile.  I'm enjoying it now, because I can see the day when two little (soon to be 3) dirty boys won't want to come in from outside to take a bath or wash their hands!  

With all this cleaning though, you'd think we had a spic-and-span house and squeaky clean boys... but that just doesn't seem to be the case!

Wyatt and Gavin's New 'Big Boy' Room

Originally we had left a full sized bed in the boys' room so 1) I'd have a place to sleep when they were sick and 2) we'd have another bed for guests beside the guest bedroom.  This was before we had children, yet alone twins.  Great idea, it just never worked that way.  When one or both were sick, I would use the guest bedroom to ensure the other baby got some rest while I tended to the other one.  When guest come over, there are only so many places to put TWO BABIES and we only have one pack and play.  So, this bed rarely was used.

Because the boys are older, I decided I wanted to get rid of the bed and make their room more of a 'big boy room' vs a nursery.  They love it!

Here are a couple of quick before clips of the room:

This part hasn't changed:

Here is their new room:

A reading area for two little boys who love to read!  I took the feather comforter and pillows from the bed and made a reading area 'under a cave' as we call it.  I then made 'rain gutter shelves' for the boys.  These are great for little ones; allowing them to easily put up books and to see the actual covers which is much better than just the spines. I also have a bucket of books below for them to dig through (not counting the other hundreds (literally) in the game room.  The boys just LOVE to read throughout the day, so this was perfect for them and will help foster what they already enjoy.

You can't see it, but I have our two crosses we've had since the boys were born 'For this child I have prayed' and above that it says, 'Rejoice in the Lord always'.  I love this because I'm always telling the boys to rejoice in the Lord and the day He has made!

There beds are now side by side.  When they are ready for their 'big boy beds', we'll keep them in this same position, just remove the front siding (convertible cribs).

Anyways, that's a little glimpse as our new 'big boy room'.

6 Year Anniversary!

Jason and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary earlier this month!  I can't believe how fast time flies.  We met our first semester of college in October 2002 and started dating in January 2003; that's 9 years ago! I spent a lot of time this past month reminiscing and enjoying all the wonderful memories we share together.  I thank God for my best friend.  There are so many activities we love sharing with each other, great conversations, and beautiful times of just being with each other.  With each year and new steps of our journey together, we become closer.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man leading our family.  He is a great husband and father.  I love growing in life with Jason and look forward to each step forward God blesses us with!

Anniversary Date

Jason and I had a great date of movie (The Avengers) and dinner (Melting Pot) on our actual anniversary!  It was wonderful having several hours alone as husband and wife; time to talk and just enjoy each other! 

Family Anniversary Trip

Due to our pregnancy, we decided to have a fun 'family anniversary celebration' this year!  We planned a fun trip to San Antonio the weekend after our anniversary.  We'd stay at a nice resort/condo at the Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch, http://wildoakranch.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels-wildoakranch/index.jsp?null , where we'd be able to enjoy the grounds and the fun pool area.  We'd also get to go to Sea World, which the boys would love!  So, we left Thursday after lunch, boys happy as could be (Gavin had a mild runny nose, but nothing serious for a 14 month old teething boy). We got there right at check-in, unloaded, changed and headed to the pool.  This was Gavin and Wyatt's first 'real pool' experience and they loved it!  We bought them little 'shirts' with 'inner tubes' in them to use, as well as floats in the shape of cars for them to sit in.  They loved them both.  We were very impressed with how 'brave' they were walking along the steps and them jumping towards us knowing they couldn't reach once they did.  They loved water splashing on them, and watching their dad go down the slide!  We stayed for about an hour, then headed back to the hotel room to get ready for dinner.

By this time the boys started to get fussy, but we didn't thinking much of it since it was dinner time and they had just swam, so were pretty hungry.  We got to the restaurant on site and they began to fade before our eyes.  We barely got our food and asked for to-go boxes because the boys weren't feeling well at all.  Gavin was becoming very congested and their fevers started to rise quickly.  By the time we got to the room, Gavin had 101.8 and Wyatt 102.4.  We gave them meds and called the pediatrician (on call) and by the time we were talking to her, Wyatt's fever had risen to 103.7.  We ended up heading to CVS to pick up Tylenol to give them in addition to the Ibuprofen.  I sat in the back with the boys keeping cool washcloths on their face.  By this time it was past their bed time already.  About an hour later, their fevers had gone down some, but the night wasn't anywhere near over.  We got some fluids in them and a little bit of food and the boys seemed to 'perk' up a little.  Although still very congested, they played a small game of chase with dad around the condo (such a beautiful sight after such a huge scare earlier).  Sleep was minimal that night.  Gavin's congestion seemed to be getting worse and he was having such a difficult time breathing.  By the morning, they were still the same and after a very short, unproductive nap, we decided to head home early; less than 24 hours in San Antonio.  

On our way home, Gavin's breathing wasn't getting any better and so I called the pediatrician asking if there was any way they could squeeze us in that afternoon.  We planned for their last appointment of the day and prayed we'd make it on time before they closed.  It seemed like we'd get there perfect timing, until we ran into Houston rush-hour traffic on our final stretch.  Lots of prayers were being said, and with the help of God, we got there 10 minutes before they 'closed'.  The office was so sweet!  They ended up staying open for us so the boys could be checked out.  As soon as the doctor walked in, she said Gavin has 'Stridor Croup' just by hearing him.  After a further check-up of both boys, they gave them steroids that were to start working about 6 hours later (both had croup, Gavin was just about a day ahead of Wyatt and so his wasn't as bad yet).  If the steroids didn't work we were to be prepared to take them to the ER that night.  

To make a long story 'short', the steroids did help the boys' croup!  Sleep was 'better' Friday night, but still not good.  Fevers remained stable, but Gavin continued to have difficulty breathing and choking on his congestion.  By Saturday, both boys just had a 'typical cold'!  We've spent Saturday, Sunday (Mother's Day) and today just snuggling, reading, calm playing and watching movies.  Gavin's congestion seems to be getting better slowly, fevers minimal, but Wyatt's congestion is getting worse and going into his chest.  We are going to keep an eye on it of course and may have to go back to the doctor.  It seems Wyatt's colds always end in his chest and needs breathing treatment.  I pray this time is different.  

The boys are not eating well, but 'well enough'.  They eat only a fraction of what they typically do and are turning down all their favorite foods.  They are getting lots of fluids though which makes me very happy!  The boys aren't sleeping well at night or naps, especially Gavin, so their naps are off right now of course.  They've actually fallen asleep in our arms three times the past couple of weeks which they NEVER do.  By 9/9:30 am, they are falling asleep on me and I have take them to bed right away.  Same thing happens in the early afternoon.  The boys have been soaking up the snuggle time and are attached to me all day.  I've so enjoyed being able to be there for them, love on them, and give them lots of hugs, kisses and make them giggle!  I'm so blessed to be able to stay home with my children and take care of their needs; something I'll never take for granted or tire of!    

Due to lack of sleep, major worry and pregnancy, I started to get sick on Friday as well.  It's just a minor cold and I'm certain will get better with rest when the boys get better.  Until then, we are staying in, staying 'calm', snuggling and keeping the house disinfected!  

Jason and I are so thankful for God's guidance, healing and love He's lavished us during this time.  We naturally were disappointed in our trip, but now that the boys are 'better' than that awful night, we are laughing and calling it our $400 pool trip we took 3 hours away!  Sea World will always be there and we'll likely try again next year when Luke is a little older.  We are thankful we were able to take care of and nurture our precious sons!  I am so thankful God led us to leave when we did and allow us to see our pediatrician.  I'm so thankful the steroids worked.  I cherish our snuggle time and relaxing weekend we had recovering.  Praying now we are all healed and don't have to go back to the doctor soon.

Mother's Day Gifts for Grandmas and Great-Grandmas

I thought I'd post a sample of the boys' Mother's Day gifts we made for Grandmas and Great-grandma's this year!  

As with most pictures, the boys hate posing... So, the below pictures were the best I was able to capture.  The rest of them were great shots of their ears, half their body, the back of their heads or crying.  They loved holding the letters until the camera came out.  Honestly, all they wanted to do was play and Mama made them pose instead.  So, what we got were pictures of typical little boys wanting to get up and go!  

Here we have:

WE (Heart) U

Grandma (and Great-Grandma)

I scrapbooked the mat and put it in an 8x10 frame.

We also had fun finger painting one day and made hand-print bouquets.  Getting hand-prints of 13 month olds is pretty hard, especially when doing multiple pages.  So, we had a few very smudged or 'large' hand-prints!  Mama added the green and the writing of course.

24 Weeks Photos

Because I said in my last post I'd add pictures soon...

Yes, I'm being silly showing off my athletic physique, haha!!

Okay, so this has nothing to do with belly shots, but it was taken at the same time.  I was goofing around with the boys telling them to make funny faces for the camera.  They were doing just that.  The below photo you can see Wyatt's silly face as he was heading towards me grabbing at the camera!  What happened next...

Wyatt jumped in my lap; his head butting my mouth. My top teeth hit my lower lip and busted it good.  I now have a huge blood blister looking wound on my lower lip! Here we are showing off Mama's battle wound right before Jason and I got ready to go out on our special 6 year anniversary date in which we were getting all dressed up!  Gotta love the timing!

Luke's Nursery is Coming Along Great

Back in early March, we finished putting up the main decorations in Luke's nursery.  We've decided to keep it a 'guest bedroom' as well by leaving the queen sized bed in there.  It went from a girly room decorated in pale yellow to Luke's new nautical themed nursery!  I'm so pleased with the way it is turning out.  We just ordered the crib, and the sheets are back-ordered until June (we are using Clouds and Stars zip sheets and for some reason the blue is really popular right now). 

 I just love this picture!  I ordered it from an artist from Utah and then bought the mat and frame.  I just love the Scripture underneath that we added: 'He leadeth me beside still waters...'

I painted the NSWE navy blue with red trim to match the room.

Both Jason and I really liked the nautical theme for a nursery.  I just had to use the Scripture 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men' in my decorating!  

Just this week I finished up Luke's name plate to put above his crib once we get it all set up.  I decided to make something similar to Gavin and Wyatt's name plates, although the theme is of course different.

I also organized his closet and all of the baby clothes by size.  All we'll have to do is wash the tiny clothes in August!

We are getting so excited to meet our little boy.  He is growing so fast and becoming stronger by the day it seems.  I've so enjoyed feeling him move these past few weeks.  It's as if his movements are becoming a lot more intentional and I'm feeling a lot more of them!  We've been able to feel and see him kick through the skin for a few weeks now!  I have an appointment coming up next week, in which I'll try to write more about pregnancy.