Christmas 2010

I cannot believe it! It’s been too long since I’ve posted here! 18 months was the last one? Holy heck, where have I been? Oh yeah, in toddlerville.

It’s been too long. Sorry about that! They are now 2-1/2 years old and in preschool, can you believe that? They are loving it!! So am I! Time off is like heaven to me. Don’t get me wrong, they are the coolest couple of kids you’d ever meet, but time off is precious around here. They are all over the place. Talking up a storm and learning so much. They can count…mostly. Cameron is very good at it and enjoys counting. He knows the entire alphabet. He’s starting to recognize letters and he recognizes most numbers that he sees. He sings songs that he’s heard maybe once or twice in his lifetime. He seems to read books occasionally, but I am a bit in disbelief on that one. It just seems like it cause he’ll pick up a book he hadn’t seem in months and tell me the title. I can understand about 90% of what he says. He’s putting so many words together in coherent sentences, I’m totally flabbergasted every time he speaks up. Kiefer is getting much better. I understand about 65% of what he says. Maybe a little more on good days. He sings…or at least tries to sing. He has a hard time sticking with the tune, but you can tell what he’s trying to sing at least. He’s gotten very clingy to me, which I’m not at all upset about. Cameron wants nothing to do with me most of the time. At night, both boys want their daddy to put them to bed. I’m still waiting for them to ask for me. It’s an extreme rarity. I think both have asked once in their lifetime for me to put them to bed. It breaks my heart, but I know I’ll get my time some day.

They are starting potty training. That’s a hoot. OK, not really. They started out ok, but then we had construction in the house and went on vacation in the middle of it, and it kind of messed things up. Now they don’t want to use the toilet or potty unless they are taking a bath. They have no trouble using the toilets at school….just not here. One day, I’m going to have to surprise them with undies only. I’m going to have to get my cleaning supplies out and ready for those days. I don’t look forward to that, but I am hoping for good results. They both think the pull-up is a diaper and use it as such. But, I know Kiefer does not like it when he’s naked and goes on the floor. He freaks out if he sees doody on the floor. I’m hoping that’ll encourage him to use the potty once the undies are on. Cameron, I’m not sure how much he cares if he’s gone on the floor. All I know is they have to be trained by 3 years old. They can still be in pull-ups in pre-k, but they’d like them to be able to wear undies during the day time, pull-ups at nap. I’m not in a huge rush yet. They have until June to learn to use the potty. But wouldn’t it be nice if I didn’t have to change so many diapers/pull-ups any more….

I’ve learned as they get into the kitchen cabinets and drawers that they like jobs. I tell them to throw somethign out or get somethign for me, they love it. Absolutely love knowing they can help. They don’t get in to as much stuff if I have a job for them. I still don’t cook much though. I feel awful about that one, but I don’t cook. I have to face the fact that I will never love it. I just need to learn how to do it on a timely basis and plan my meals. I have never had to plan them before. I know how to organized the time, but I just don’t know how to keep them occupied while I cook without them getting their hands on the stove top, in the oven, or in a drawer. So, I tend to hold off as long as I can. Sometimes their daddy is available to help. It’s still difficult.

Speaking of dogs, I have since lost my dog, Sparky. She’s gone to rainbow bridge. I am now in possession of her ashes. It’s still sad, but I feel good at the same time. I feel like this is what she wanted. I got that feeling from the day she was supposed to be put down. We were planning on a Wednesday, but Kiefer got sick just as we were about to go to the vet’s. Well, we rescheduled for that Friday. No one got sick so off we went. On that Wednesday, however, I saw the look on her face. She actually looked disappointed. She was so ready to go. The next day, it was like looking at a ghost. She was not supposed to be there. Her spirit was already halfway out the door! Friday came and she wanted to get into the vet’s office. She doesn’t like the vet’s very much, but she knew why she was there. It was a sad day for me. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But, by the look on her face, she was at peace. Skye has been missing her terribly. She’s had a few acupuncture appointments since and that has helped her out tons. She now has some liver and pancreas problems to work through and a wound on her nose from surgery. She had a suspicious mole on her nose removed. We have yet to get the results of the biopsy. She’s still having trouble eating, but she does eat at least. She’s getting old. I’m not sure how long Skye will be with us, but I’m hoping for a couple of years at least. She’s not as interested in the boys as she used to be. I accept that. She’s used to being alone all this time because of Sparky, but it’s sad to see her be so aloof around the boys as they love her so much. She will lick them and play a little with them, but then it’s back in to her room. The boys ask about Sparky. It’ hard as they don’t understand death yet. They accept it when I tell them she’s not here anymore. They just love Skye though and do ask for her some times.

They are amazing. Simply put, they are amazing. They truly are little boys now with just one thing they have yet to accomplish. They can speak but only a few words…5 maybe? But wow, their activity and learning is just so amazing, they blow me away.

They got Legos for Christmas. Already, they are trying to put them together. Mostly, Cameron takes them apart, but he does like to put the pieces together too. They got a Little People’s airplane and barn animals for Christmas. Kiefer’s imagination is maturing by far! I see him place these little people and animals in the barn with purpose. He’s also pretending the airplane is taking off. He’s never seen an airplane before! Sure his daddy does fly the plane around for him sometimes, but he picked up on that airplanes fly so fast!! Tonight, Daddy was showing Cameron one of the books his grandmother brought him for Christmas. It has pictures of various things that can be found around the house and in his life. Daddy, out of curiosity, asked Cameron where the watering can was. Cameron pointed to it. He’s never seen one! We also never let him see the TV. We don’t even watch it, so where on Earth did he ever see a watering can? We thought it was a fluke, so Daddy tried inquiring about other things on the page. Most of them Cameron has seen before, so we asked about the watering can again. He pointed it out again! We’ve never read him that book before and neither did his grandmother! He wowed us on a couple of other pages too. Where did he pick up on this stuff? I later read him his favorite book before bedtime. I asked him to point out the various bugs in the book. He did it! I only showed him which bugs were what one time, and he learned which and where the bugs were. We have only read him the book, but never pointed out which bugs were what. He just amazes me with what he comes up with.

So, I ask myself, as my hubby has too, are we raising geniuses? I’d like to think so. I’m sure a lot of parents think their kids are geniuses. Maybe mine are! Two little geniuses wrapped up in these sweet, happy, lovable, little packages. Now, does this mean I’m going to ship them off to the top genius schools around? Nope! I will figure out what they need as they grow up. They are most likely normal, but smart, little boys that are just quick to learn. They have their own language and they try so hard to communicate with us, but they sure do learn how to manipulate the world around them fast! Think about it this way, what 17 month old do you know that knows how to trade one toy for another when s/he wants what the other tot has? Not that my boys don’t eventually just take what they want from his brother, but they both sure do try to trade for it first. Nothing better than to have the toy they want without having to fight for it. They learned that fast! if only they’d learn that when his brother does not want the toy being offered, that trying different toys may get a better response . If at first you don’t succeed, try try again! I guess I’m just a proud mommy that admires her boys and all they accomplish on a daily basis.

OK, on to a different, more positive thought. My boys are the best thing in my life. I honestly couldn’t imagine my life without them. They are not easy. They keep me busy. I get tired out easily, and I have no time for myself. They are like parasites. But, I’d gladly give them my energy, my blood, my time, my everything. I wake up every morning looking forward to those sweet smiles and giant hugs. Sometimes I wake up to dirty, stinky diapers. OOOO may not be fun for my nose, but it’s just more excuses to have them close to me. They fight over me. They both want my attention. I always wanted to have two guys fight over me!!! My dream come true!!! My days become whole when I hear them laugh. I love watchign them exploring their world. We just set up a large wing chair to allow them to play on. Kiefer figured out how to place one of his buckets at the foot of the chair to allow him to boost himself on to the chair so he can either sit and read or jump…usually a mixture of both. It was over from then on. I had to give in!!! I took off the cushion and set it on the floor so if they jump and fall, they won’t hurt themselves. They’d still fall to the side, so I added pillows to the sides too. I don’t want to remove the chair. They love it!!! I don’t want the to get hurt either. I guess I’m just going to have to think about this one.

One little activity which I do get a little frustrated with is, they love to toss stuff off the look-over. That’s the area of the second floor loft that looks over both the stairs and the first floor. It’s not over the front door, but it is technically still the foyer. They toss their toys down there. They could break their toys, or even worse, hurt someone who’s innocently just standing there for whatever reason. Not a huge deal, but I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt. They’ve been better, but they do enjoy a good toy tossing every once in a while.

The boys have been enjoying their time at their gym classes. There’s a bunch of things they do there and they get to play with other kids. I’ve talked to some parents, haven’t made any friends, but every one is nice there. There’s also a walk-in day care set up at the gym. It’s really nice there. They had someone come in and build a boat structure that includes a fort, a slide and some areas to hide and run through. There’s a ton of toys to play with and activities to get involved in. They particularly like one of the owners there. She, the other owner, and daughter of one of the owners are often there during their daycare time. The daughter really seems to enjoy playing with them. She’s about 8+/-? All I know, is whenever I talk to the owner, the boys seem to really like her company. She has tried to teach them some sign. They know the sign for ‘more’ now. Cameron is very good at repeating it to me, but Kiefer seems to hold out to only doing it for her. That’s fine! Cameron will talk a little. He can say Circle and Banana. I have now heard Kiefer try to say Banana. He has apparently tried to say Cheerios for her, but has not since.She did say their motor skills are advanced and she’d have liked to have seen them in the next age group that doesn’t start until they are supposed to be 22 months! What a great thing to boast about!!! Unfortunately, I can’t bring them to that class, cause the class starts in the middle of their normal nap time. Maybe soon though!

I think Kiefer does know how to talk, but he has fallen in to the twinspeak problem of talking babble-words mostly cause Cameron can understand him. He’ll do it soon. It’s a little frustrating that neither of them have a large vocabulary right now, but twins often delay their speech. They do try. They both try to imitate the various sounds we do say when going over animal sounds. Especially Cameron. He’s very good at that. Kiefer will try and you can see he really wants to talk. He’ll get there. Kiefer can drink from a cup. Not well though. He often tilts too soon and the water will spill all over him. Thank goodness I never fill the cup up more than an inch or two of water. I don’t even try juice! …OK, I lied. I did try to let him drink his orange juice from a cup. He did a good job with my help. Cameron, at first try, did not do so well. He didn’t get the whole swallow thing down well. Most of it went on to his bib. The second time I let him try, which he insisted on since I let Kiefer try it alone, he did better. Most of the water did end up getting swallowed, but he will need more work before I let him try alone.

I feel bad about one thing. It seems a lot of people are already working on numbers and letters with their kids. I didn’t think I needed to. I guess I don’t technically NEED to, but it’s a good idea to start getting them familiar with them. They are starting to talk, and it’s obvious they can understand us. When I say I can’t find something, Kiefer will actually start looking around for it!  They both are getting very good at responding when we tell them they can’t do something.

It just amazes me how mature their movements are. Kiefer’s running up and down the hallway, dragging toys around. Cameron trying to look under furniture and reaching for his toys. Their imaginary play has gotten more and more sophisticated as well with the way Kiefer will even request Cameron hold out his hand and he’ll put something imaginary inside for Cameron to hold or eat. They both like to play those games with me and Jason too. When I go get Kiefer in the morning, he often is already awake and playing. When I go to him, he’ll turn off his glow seahorse and wave byebye to it, then asked to be picked up. I can tell he has a connection with his toys. It means a lot to him they are around in the crib for him every night and morning. They are a part of his little night environment and routine. Cameron does have his favorite toys, but he has not shown much of a story or personal connection like Kiefer has to his toys. He LOVES his Tigger lovey, he’s made that very clear, but that connection is a love connection and not part of imaginary play. Cameron has a different type of play he likes that is imaginary. His mind will grow and play like Kiefer’s eventually, but he’s a different boy than Kiefer and his interests are going to be different. It’s just so fascinating to see their differences and how they are able to interact with each other using their specific interests.

Well, I’ve babbled on long enough. I have more to say and more to add, but I’ll say that another day….hopefully not a day 6 months later

Meanwhile, today was not as easy as I’d like. Cameron has been refusing to drink his formula…at least one of four during the day. This was the first time he refused his second bottle of the day. Usually it’s the third or fourth (last) bottle of the day. I was getting worried. It’s not like he tries his formula and then rejects it. If he did, then I’d think it was a tender gum or a tummy ache, he’s full, or he just didn’t like the formula anymore. he just simply rejects the bottle as soon as he sees it. If he’s in a good mood, he’ll laugh it off and throw his attention else where. If he’s in a bad mood, the second he sees me with the bottle, even before I enter his play pen where he hangs out, he’ll start to cry. I just don’t get it! he’s also more fussy for a long time after he rejects his bottle. Beforehand, he’s no problem, but after he sees his bottle, he’s all fuss. it’s not that it’s not easy to make him laugh or enjoy a game of something, but he’s much more quick to change his mood and go back to fussing. At least he seems to be sleeping alright during the night. Not great in the beginning. He’ll fuss, but I heard that’s normal for his age. He’ll sleep late, which you’ll find no complaint from me. I just worry about him. He still eats his solids though. I guess he’s well fed and doing well. Now, I just have to figure out what to feed them now that they are 1 year old toddlers. I have a feeling I’m going to have to cook now. Not easy for someone that generally finds cooking tedious. I hope I learn to like it. I don’t have much of a choice!!!

Kiefer is doing well at least. No fuss and still drinking his formula with out any problems. He had a great time today as well. There isn’t much to say about Kiefer. He just does whatever he wants well. He’s so good at physical things. He’s not as easy to laugh at stuff. He loves surprises though. If he doesnt’ suspect somethign to happen, he’ll laugh. He also laughs with Cameron a lot. He and Cameron are like best buds right now. I hope that lasts forever! I’m sure there will be some sibling rivalry every now and then, but they have such a good relationship right now.

They are so different. When they eat something large like an apple wheel or a teething biscuit. Kiefer will hold it with his hands, suck on a side adn chew off what he can as it gets softer. He will take the smaller foods like peas, or his little puffs one at a time and chew on maybe three pieces at a time. Cameron will stuff as much as he can in to his mouth at once big or small and chew on it or suck on it from there. He gets the job done faster, but he has already choked once. I had to baby heimlich him already. Poor guy, didnt’ even realize what happened to him…he just wanted to finish his desert! One thing that I find funny is, even though Cameron stuffs everything in his mouth at once, he rarely messes himself up much. Kiefer who’s so careful with how much he eats at once, tends to end up with a face full of mess. It is a funny site to see!

Their milestones are:

Cameron stood up May 26 for the first time. he’s now just learning to stand without holding on to something. Once he stands up, he’ll try to balance himself without help. He can scale the pen wall while holding it. Kiefer has taken some unassisted steps…4 at the most. I shall count that as walking before he turned 1, but it’s not a confident walk yet. He’s doing relaly well! He can stand unassisted no problem for a long time. Cameron has gotten to the point where he can crawl up the stairs as fast as Kiefer…and Kiefer is a speedy stair climber! They are saying Mom, Mommom, Mama, Dad, Daddat, but it still does not quite seem to be aimed at a specific person yet. They have their favorite books they like for us to read. Kiefer loves his Opposites book his grandma gave him. Cameron loves his First Words; Sign Language book that his great uncle C gave him. The opposites book has not yet been ripped apart, but the sign language book has. They have managed to rip up a few books. They do liek to look at the colors and the pictures though, so I know that the ripping of the books is mainly cause they look at them so much and they’ll pull at them so each of them can have a looksee….resulting in a torn book, but still fun pages to look at.

There are more things to say, but I am exhausted. It’s after after midnight on the night I’m supposed to be watchign out for them. I shall bid my adieu and bon noir and good night, sweet dreams. Till next time!

It happens very often, you are at home and your baby is screaming. You aren’t sure what to do cause he’s fed, he’s been changed and it’s time for a nap. So, where do you turn? Pediatrician? Sure, you can do that, but why go through all the fuss for what should be an obvious answer? Your friends? Maybe but the last time you asked for advice you got an ear full off advice that just didn’t work for you such as “let him cry it out” or “just give him the boob”. Then you go online and Google the question, “Why is my 3 month old crying so much?” Then you REALLY get an eye full of possibilities and answers. You thought you had it up to ^ with comments from your friends! All of a sudden, you are more confused now than before you started to ask around. You start contemplating buy a book, or just returning your baby for a refund, it’s all so confusing.

Buying a book is probably a good idea. If anything, it can be used as a reference to go back to if one of the methods it suggests for whatever you want to do is not as easy to follow….or you just forget the steps. Going to your pediatrician is actually a very good idea cause what if your baby is crying because he’s not feeling well. They can give you insight at considering what your baby is crying for and how might you be able to make him feel better whether it be through medicine or a different method of comforting. Googling for answers is a tough one. It gives you the most recent adn personal guide to your problem, but you do have to think, “Who am I getting my answers from?”, “Does this person actually know what she’s doing?” There are so many ways to comfort a child, depending on why he or she is upset. So you are wondering why your child is crying. you look online and someone says, let him cry it out. WHAT!?! Your friend just suggested that too! Why would someone let their kid just scream through the night!?! “Just give him your boob.” WHAT WHAT!?! I need my sleep and so does my baby!? Your friends often get their answers from either their experience or what they read online too. But for experiences, they count the most to me. Each baby is different, but some methods work better and more often than others.

I remember online, someone was asking how often should an 11 month old be eating. This post was from about 6 years ago, but history repeats itself over and over again. All 8 women that answered this question were feeding their babies every 1-3 hours throughout the day AND night. None of them got any sleep!!! Now, where are they getting their information? Feedign their 11 month old through the night some said every hour? Do these women understnad that their baby might actually just want comforting and not a boob/bottle? Don’t these women need sleep? What I’m saying is, know where you are getting your information and trust your instincts on whether or not it’s good advice for you and your needs. I for one, am not going to listen to anyone telling me that if my boys wake up in the middle of the night to give them a bottle. They dont’ need it! They got all their nutrition during eh day. They need comforting. Cameron sometimes, very rarely now, needs to cry it out. Kiefer does better with a little extra cuddle and he’s usually out for the night. Because of the methods I used and discovered, I have two happy, well-rested boys. They are not super atteched to me where if I leave the room, they freak out. Sure they cry, but only for a brief minute before they get themselves involved in their own toys. Do they have perfect nights? Not always, but they now soothe themselves, or just need a ltitle cuddle or just a pacificer from me in order to go back to sleep and that’s usually 1 – 2 times in the early evening adn usually Cameron. I usually don’t sleep until after 12 midnight anyhow so the occasional wakeup doesnt’ really bug me.

So, how did I get to this point? I listened to advice that worked for me. I listened to someone who was experienced in helping babies sleep and fuss less. I listened to my instincts as well as the advice I took. I considered all advice, but I only used the ones that worked for me. My instincts worked very well. I found if somethign didn’t work, I’d try somethign else. For example, I was feeding my boys about 32oz a day of formula. They were sleeping less and less during the night. They’d be waking up at 5am or 6 am restless and not wanting to go back to sleep. They’d have more fussy nights and wouldn’t go to sleep well. Somethign was wrong. Somethign I was doing! My gut told me it was due to the amount they were eating. I went ahead adn did some research (books, pediatrician, Google, Parenting forums) and came to the conlusion that my instincts were right. I was feeding them too much. I lowered their formula to 28oz and they slept through teh night for about 12 1/2 hours NO INTERRUPTIONS! YAY!!! I figured it out. They are now down to 27oz 4 x a day. It’s working out so well! I had tried to go to 24 with 8 oz 3x a day, but that would only make Kiefer wake up earlier again, so I stuck with 26oz for a little. Kiefer still seemed to be a little restless in the morning, so I went to 27oz and he’s sleeping much better. Cameron was good at 24oz and 26oz. He’s actually doing well at 27oz now also, so I’m not going to change it until they seem like they want to change again.

So about their food. It seems like a lot of people online are saying they are feeding their 11month olds regular adult foods (minus the bad stuff like peanut butter, honey, and OJ of course). I’m just giving mine their jarred baby food and some finger foods like bananas, Gerber graduates, and addign some yogurt, oatmeal, cereal, and apple sauce to their meals. I feel like I’m not giving them what they really are ready for, but my hubby is nervous about giving them too much foods that they cannot handle yet. I think he just is not ready for them to grow up yet. It doesn’t matter, really. They will be eating this stuff soon. I’m still working on sippy cups right now. Once I learn to cook more stuff on a regular basis, I will be giving them more foods for them to eat on their own. Once we eliminate their jarred foods, we can start saving up a bunch more money! So, whether or not other people are feeding their babies full on adult meals, I’m sticking to what works for me and my husband. They are gaining weight, they love their food, and they are sleeping well. They haven’t gotten sick in a long long time and appear to be healthy, happy, little boys!

I may appear all mushy and poetic right now, but I see these boys, look in to their eyes, and I just feel things I never felt before. Every night, I hold the pillow that I use to sleep with closer and closer as I think of my boys. That pillow becomes tortured with my hugs since I need to get those tight hugs out by the end of the night. I can’t hug them that way or they’d be suffocated and squished like bugs! I watch them play with each other and I melt in to goo!!! I’m just so in love with my babies!! I hate to admit this, as I hate admitting it every time I do admit it, but I do kind of look forward to when they occasionally wake up needing some extra cuddles at night. It gives me just one more chance to hold them and kiss them. Kiefer is sooo cuddly when he’s tired and he really loves to give hugs. Cameron loves getting hugged and he really seems to appreciate being sung to during the little late night wake-ups. When I put him to bed, he’s usually not so in to the singing, but he likes to greet the animals in his room and being rocked to bed. Kiefer only likes to be sung to briefly and only when he wakes up in the middle of the night. Luckily for me, on the other hand, they don’t wake up very often. I do need my sleep! They usually sleep well through the night. I just love it though when I do get that last minute cuddle before I go to bed.

I love watching them learn new things. Kiefer has been climbing up the stairs like a champ. He’s fast too! He’s also learned to take a couple of steps. He’s going to be walking before I know it! Cameron has learned to stand up finally, adn he too has learned to climb the stairs. He learned that one before standing! Kiefer got his first tooth recently. Cameron followed with a tooth soon afterwards…then suddenly another tooth! Neither of them fussed! I was so sure I was going to have a few sleepless nights, but nope, these boys slept so well and were all smiles and giggles! Kiefer is drooling waterfalls, but Cameron only gives a little cough here and there. I guess they both have a good tolerance for pain! Today they got their first hair cuts. They were so good! The hair cutters both said they were sitting like 2 year olds they were being so good! Barely a whine. they just got a little fussy towards the end. Cameron was a little freaked out by the electric shaver used to straighten the ends of his hair, so that made him cry a little but was all right after the noise stopped. Kiefer got a little fussy towards the ends cause he wanted to get up and move, but he was happy once he got out of the chair. The hair cutter actually went to play with him while I paid for the hair cuts. They took before and after pictures for us too. It was a lot of fun! I’ll be going back there for their next hair cuts.

We don’t have much planned for their 1 year birthday. I feel bad for that since they will turn 1 years old only once in their lives, and it’s a big number! We do have my in-laws coming a few days later which should be nice. My mother does not think she can make it. My friend wanted to come, but I am in the middle of moving and I don’t know exactly what is going to be going on then…well, I didn’t know at the time when she asked, but now it’s going to be fairly quiet that weekend. We’ll take pictures once everyone is here. On their birthday, I do want to do something for them. Maybe give them their first taste of ice cream or something along those lines. We’ll make it special somehow.

Night time is still good. He sleeps well. Every once in a while, however, he’ll start to cry about an hour after I put him to bed. I’ll go up to see what’s wrong, and he’s still asleep screaming and crying. OH NO! I’ll just pick him up, cradle him, and speak to him. It takes a while, but he’ll eventually wake up. He’ll still cry, but at this point I can give him his pacifier and he’ll calm down. It’s so hard to watch him go through this, but he’ll sleep soundly through the night after that. He started this about 6 months old. I didn’t think much of it until I started reading about night terrors. I figured that’s what he had, but I didn’t know that it usually starts when a child is 1 years old. Night terrors come about when either the child is overtired or has seen some things that scare him earlier that day. Kiefer has fears already, and it seems to happen around the times he is frightened. I’d have thought they were just nightmares. he does seem to have those too, but these are different. Nightmares wake you up, while night terrors happen while you are still asleep, but you still either scream, cry, shake, talk, and/or sit-up. Kiefer has been found mainly crying or screaming, but he has at one point sat up, but he was still asleep. I feel awful for him. It hasn’t happened for a while now. I hope it’s just a quick passing phase, but night terrors can last up to 12 years old.I hope Kiefer does not end up having these terrors that long.

Cameron is doing great! He is such a happy baby and I think I know why. He can crawl! He actually just started to crawl recently. He just turned 9 months old and he started to crawl just a few days before that. He now can get to where he wants to. Before, he’d crawl backwards and would just get frustrated that he couldn’t go forward to somethign he sees that he wants. Now he can go forward. Not only that but he just started to kneel! He’s going to be standing in no time. He loves to laugh. He and Kiefer will just laugh with each other for a long while now. I can’t wait for them to discover more things together. So far, they have learned it’s fun to tear up magazines together. Oh the trouble these boys are going to get in to! Cameron loves mirrors. After his bath, he loves to see himself in the mirror in the bathroom. He also gets a kick out of the mirror in his exersaucer. He’ll play peek-a-boo in the mirror with us. It’s the cutest thing. He is also sooo ticklish. It’s so much fun tickling him. He gets this look on his face of such joy! Kiefer is ticklish too, so don’t get me wrong, I love tickling him too, but I have never seen the look I’ve seen on Cameron’s face.

Cameron has been saying, “Mama”, “Mom”, “Mommom”, “Dada”, and I thought I heard him say, “Mommy”, one time. He loves to chat. He’ll talk with Kiefer, he’ll talk with me when he’s getting changed or eating. He just has a blast! I generally don’t like them watching too much TV, but I have to admit, he LOVES mickey mouse. When he sees Mickey on the TV, he stops whatever he’s doing. he loves the hot dog song most of all, but as soon as Mickey walks on the screen, he’s mesmerized. Actually, today was the first time I saw Kiefer laugh when he saw Mickey.

They have started eating their nine month foods, but they don’t like the chunkiness of the texture. Kiefer will spit out the chunks while Cameron will open his mouth and throw me the dirtiest look possible and a frown that just melts my heart. It’s hilarious how animated these kids are. We’ve been giving them these Gerber puffs. They melt in your mouth with you bite on them. They’ve been learning how to put them in their mouths on their own. It’s a hit and miss thing though. Most of the time, they pick up the puff and it sticks to their hands, but occasionally, one will make it in to their mouths. They don’t have the coordination to get the puff out of their hands when it’s sticking or not in the right position to be eaten. It’s kind of fun watching them learn to figure these things out. I’m hoping they have better luck with banana bits.

As far as 9 month (unofficial) stats go…

Cameron: weight – 20lbs 15oz

Kiefer: weight – 19lbs 13oz

Well, part of the growing up comes with some difficulties. They don’t sleep as easily as they did when they first learned they could sleep through the night. Cameron wakes up needing his paci a lot and even a drink in the middle of the night. I know, I know, tis the time for developmental growth and with that comes restless sleep. But for 2 months now, Cameron just hasn’t gotten a great night’s sleep, ‘cept on a rare occasion. So , now between 1am and 3am, Cameron will wake up wanting his bottle. I must confess something though. I hate that I have to wake up, but to see his beautiful face and be able to look at him, watching him drink, I feel like I get to have a special moment with him. One time, he slept through the night, and I actually missed that moment we have been sharing. He was the fussy baby as a newborn, but now, he’s such a happy boy. I’ll admit, getting him to bed was difficult. He’d cry and cry and cry. We had to just let him cry it out. After about 1 1/2 weeks, he started to calm down and not cry so much when we put him to bed for either a nap or bedtime. It’s gotten so much easier to get him to rest, and he’s a much happier baby through the day now that he’s willing to nap.

Cameron loves to talk. He recently started to talk to Kiefer and us by clearing his throat. It was funny to watch, however, the sound was annoying. But, his babbling was music to my ears! He’s been eating solids like a champ. He get 2 – 3 servings of Earth’s Best Organic level 2 food. Mostly the combination stuff. He is the champion eater. He doesn’t make too many messes and swallows his food easily. Well, part of that is a little lie. He recently learned it’s fun to blow raspberries with his food. That way, food goes spraying all over the place and mommy is laughing so hard she can’t serve him food until she calms down. He thinks it’s the best thing since sliced bread…which he has yet to discover. He’s also figured out how to drink from a sippy cup. One very proud milestone he’s recently achieved is getting on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. He’s almost crawling!! What a big boy he is! He’s getting very good at scooting and flipping around to get to where he wants to go. I suspect any day now, he’ll be adding crawling to his list of achievements. He’s learning how to sit up on his own. He’s doing ok, he’s just got some more balancing to go. He’s also discovered how fun it is to play with his feet. I think it’s adorable to see him have so much fun with his feet. It’s different than him playing with his winky. He discovered that a long time ago. He still watches himself pee in the tub, but he has decided it isn’t as much fun to play with as chewing on his bath toys. His hair is growing ok. He’s got a rat tail on the back of his head. Hubby wants me to cut it off though. I’m partially delaying, but I also forget to do it. His head is starting to shape better. He’s got plagiocephaly where his head is flat on the back right of his head causing a slit tilt in his head position and his ears. His ears have straightened out and his head is rounded over top, but he still is fairly flat on his back right head. It’s getting better though now that he sleeps on his belly and has been enjoying belly time a lot. He’s not very often on his back now, so that flat part should clear up soon.

Kiefer is doing great. He’s learning so fast. He learned to scoot much earlier than Cameron. Basically, he had the motivation to. He loves to play with everything he sees. He’s learned how to open the entertainment unit doors already. His favorite game is to copy our tapping on the floor with his hands. His recent achievement is sitting up on his own. Well, he gets laid on his back on his boppy and he’ll sit up. It won’t be long until he learns to do that from the floor. He sleeps very well at night. Kiefer is the champion sleeper compared to his brother. He doesn’t usually wake up for a bottle and sleeps about 11-12 hours a night. Kiefer also discovered his feet a while before Cameron. He also discovered his winky around the time Cameron did, but he’ll still play with it during bath time. He gets funny when he plays with it. I think he is already starting to notice the sensations of his little boy part. I hate that I have to play with it. NO SICKOS! I’m not actually ‘playing’ with it. The skin on his shaft is sticking to the head of his penis, and I have to try to encourage it to disconnect. Speaking of head, the one on his shoulders has grown. Of course it has, but for a while, his head has been measuring between 10% and 5%. At his last physical (6 month physical), his head measured 75% ! Can you believe it? His head was looking bigger to me, but not that big! Even the doctor measured it about 5 times and with my help too cause she could not believe the difference!

Kiefer wasn’t always the easiest baby to feed, however. He’d stick his tongue out when we offered his food. He’d open his mouth in anticipation for the spoon, but his tongue would be in the way. He’s also very noisy when he eats. It’s basically almost like him saying, “MMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmm,” but not quite cause sometimes that “mmmm” would become more of a whine and fussiness. He’s even cry sometimes. He was not easy to read, but now he takes in his food without his tongue in the way and it’s been a lot easier to get him the food he wants. He’ll still “MMmmmm” through the process but it doesn’t turn in to a whining fussiness nearly as often as it did in the beginning. He tries to hold the spoon when I feed him, but if he gets control of the spoon, he won’t let go. I’m also afraid he’ll choke himself, so I don’t let him have it. It’s so sweet how he wants to do this himself. He’s a very independent baby though, so it’s not too much of a surprise. He likes his cuddles, but he like to do things on his own. He’s patient, which makes playing with him easy, considering he’s an independent thinker.

Together, they are a blast. They will laugh at each other, challenge each other to jumping in their jumperoos, touch each other sweetly, and share toys. Some of that I’m sure will change, but it’s so incredibly adorable to watch. So, like I said. I sit here watching Kiefer as he’s going through a nasty cold as I hold on to one of Cameron’s sock feeling amazed. I’m amazed with them, but mostly at my heart. I cannot understand how I can have this much room to love in such a small organ. It’s split in 5 right now…my two dogs, my husband, and my two boys. On top of that, I love them more and more every day. Sometime, it aches so much because I feel like it’s so full it’s bursting open at the seems. But, then the ache subsides as my heart makes room to hold all my growing feelings again and ready itself for the next day. I just can’t believe I was blessed with such beautiful boys. I feel like I was given two angels to raise, and someone just trusted me and my husband to raise them so they can grow up to make this world a better place. I know they’ve already made my world a better place. So now, I am also faced with a bunch of new emotions. I am sad to know they are growing up so fast. So many milestones have passed and I will miss those moments. But I am so excited to see who they are becoming. I’m looking forward to the new milestones and being able to talk to them and play with them more. I enjoy watching them learn and look around at their world with amazement. I almost can’t wait to hear them tell me how they see things. But, for now, I just look forward to seeing them every day. I look forward to seeing their smiles and hearing them talk and laugh. I look forward to seeing what new achievements the new day brings for both of them.

Well, I’m sorry it took so long to update everyone on the goings on in my life. I have more things going on too that I’ll update on when I am able to. I’m getting tired now and I think I’m going to actually sleep….until someone wakes me up. Until next update!

Four and a half months later, here I am finally posting. I had written a birth story on a site I frequent so I just copied that for here. I hope you enjoy it!

This was written about my June 24, 2008 experience in the hospital on my babies’ birth days.

“Well, Tuesday arrived and my mother, my hubby, and my excited self made our way to the hospital. I was soooo looking forward to that day, I was really surprised I even slept the night before. I get there and they take my blood and set me up on the NST. That seemed to take forever!!! The boys were having a ball in there so it was hard to get a good reading. Not to mention I was contracting!!! I wasn’t in labor though…it was just the position they had me in. Well eventually I got my amnio and their lungs were definitely ready. Their cut-off number is 50 and they boys were at 87 maturity! WOOHOO. Now it was time to decide on c/s or induction. Cameron was head down but Kiefer was diagonal with his head at Cameron’s waist. He’d probably go head down at birth, but I was too afraid of him changing his mind. I just couldn’t bare the idea of both vaginal or c/s, so I guess I wussed out and went for the c/s. Everyone was telling me that was the better choice. I’m happy I decided something and that was all I could do. I wanted these boys out and any way they did it was fine by me at this point.

They hooked me up to a spinal epidural which took a long time since I have a high tolerance for pain meds…owie!!! The c/s itself was SOOOOO weird feeling a lot of pressure and hard to breathe. They sent in my hubby and he looked scared to death watching me having to force myself to breathe, but he was so comforting to have there. Well, I could hear the doctor was having trouble getting Cameron out (he was first even with the c/s) so he had to use forceps and the same with Kiefer. Stubborn boys didn’t want to leave home! They showed them to me as they came out. I was crying they were so beautiful, and I was so relieved they were ok!!

After the birth of the boys I was sent back to the recovery room. The boys had to go to the nursery since they appeared to have some difficulty breathing but they turned out to be just fine! they did a check-up on Kiefer too and his kidneys are working completely normal now!

June 27 (day I returned from the hospital): Well, I’ve been doing great! My itchiness is worse now than before and my edema has made it even more difficult to walk, but all in all, I have two wonderful boys to show for all this! I am not complaining. I’m sore as all heck though which is to be expected after surgery. Jason has been so incredible through all this. he’s a proud dad, loves his boys tremendously. He’s been pampering me meanwhile and just doing every thing he can to help me walk around and care for these boys.

Now since I’m home, I think things are going to get easier. OOO I hear them. Time to feed them!!! My dogs gets a little freaked out hearing them, but they’ve been so good. I’ll update you all later on that. I’m sorry I couldn’t get online in the hospital. HORRIBLE reception!! I’m just so happy to be home again.

BTW, Cameron Frank was born at 2:22pm at 6lbs 3oz, and Kiefer Charles was born 2:25pm at 5lbs 14oz.

I was actually quite surprised at how different they look. My dad had the same concern when he visited and was totally shocked he could tell them apart. Kiefer is definitely a smaller baby mainly because he has dark brown hair and a smaller head than Cameron’s. He’s almost always giving us a grimace which is why I call him Li’l Grimace. He’s SOO adorable! He’s got this soft cry which is actually quite sweet to listen to. He’s sleeping a lot and tends to sleep during his feedings which is common for preemies. Cameron has slightly lighter hair with this either grey streak or very light blond streak in his hair. it honestly looks gray to me which is soooo cute!!! He has this adorable thing where he squeezes his cheeks when he drinks from the bottle. He also likes to have his hands on the bottle when he’s not squeezing his cheeks. I’ve been calling him my little chipmunk since he looks like a chipmunk when he does that to his cheeks. That name hasn’t caught on with the rest of the family but my evil plan of passing on silly names will work eventually!!!! MUHAHAHAHHA. OK seriously though, they both have such sweet personalities already. Of course, this may be the quiet before the storm, but for now they drink and sleep well and they just like to look around and figure out their environment.”

I will update to current as I am able to. Again….sorry about the loooooonng delay.

Meanwhile, I am SOO FRIGGIN’ ITCHY!!! There are three reasons I am this itchy still. I have acquired more stretch marks on my belly and now on my legs, My edema has gotten worse especially on my legs, and my Pupps is also more wide spread. All this has gotten to the point where I’m about to rip my skin off my body despite the pain and bleeding that would occur. One thing that is frustrating is that this itchyness won’t be going away as soon as these babies come out. The itching will eventually, but not right away. I’ll also be left with tons of stretch marks that will take a very long time to heal and a saggy belly that’ll take a while to also go back to near normal. *sarcasm* OOOO something else to look forward to! Well, there is one thing to look forward to. Even though I’ll be waking up a lot to feed these babies, I’m hoping that the sleep I’ll haveis more restful than what I’m having now. Once this itching goes away, I’ll be able to have a couple of hours of scratch-free sleep and even pee-free sleep! It’ll be a step up from what’s going on now.

My mother is visiting tomorrow and will be around until the 30th. It’ll be nice having her here. Then my hubby’s aunt and uncle are visiting for about a week, maybe more, to help out. That’ll be nice having her here too. I’ll need all the help I can get. My mother will be back on July 12 for a few days to continue helping out. Then my uncle and aunt may be visiting for a day or so on their way to New Jersey like they do every year. That’ll be nice to have them here too. They wouldn’t be coming to help, but more to meet the two new little squirts. My Dad will make a very brief visit this Wednesday. I have mixed feelings about that. Now, I’m ecstatic he’ll be here. I’m looking forward to seeing him, I’d just have wished he’d be hanging around longer. His excuse was that he has tons of patients to see and had to move for this. Not exactly the nice sentiment I was hoping to hear especially since he could have made his visit this Friday and stayed until Sunday when he doesn’t have patients. However, on the other hand, it is somewhat of a special thing to see someone at the hospital. He’ll see me and his two new grandsons before coming home. he won’t be here in time for the birth, but it’s close enough. I never expected him to be here in time for the birth. That would have been a bit too soon especially with his schedule. So, I’m not going to complain. I’m a little disappointed it’ll be such a brief visit while I can’t really see him for long. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him, but he’s coming to see me and the two boys, and it’s really going to be so nice to have him here. I hope to see him again before the end of the year though. At least then I’ll be out of the hospital and be able to give him more attention. I guess I just miss him, and I know he’s really looking forward to meeting his two new grandsons.

When we get home, with the two boys, we plan on making a few trips back home with some clothes and stuff for my dogs to smell so they are at least familiar with what these boys will smell like. I’m SOOO hoping Sparky will welcome them with no problems, but if she’s freaked out, then we’ll just have to do a slow introduction with her. It’ll work out. She’s a good girl and I know she means well. Babies scare her since she was abuse, so she may just get a little concerned at first as to what I’m going to do with her. Nothing of course. I’d never hurt her, but dogs don’t forget as much as people say they do. I remember when I first brought Skye home, she felt replaced and pushed aside. I WILL NOT let her go through that again! It was heart breaking! Eitherway, I’m thinking I’m makign too much of this and the dogs will do what’s right to the best of their ability.