Meeting Ducky ~ October 14, 2009

In order to help Matthew enjoy tummy time a little more, and build up his strength, I found this ducky water pool at the store. The baby lays on the ducky toy and it's belly is filled with water, with little foam fishes that "swim" when the water moves around. So far both boys like it, Matthew tolerates tummy time now, but is no where near as strong as Ryan. But he sure likes to talk! He doesn't say much yet... mostly "ah-oooos" but it sure is cute!

Both boys also slept unusually well the other night. I did not hear them fuss until 6AM! But then last night they were back to their normal routine... up at least 3 times each, but at least it gives me hope that someday *hopefully soon* they will sleep 8 hours. Ever since we cut their feeding at 3, they have been eating cereal so much better (and drinking a lot more milk!). I think soon we will graduate on to cereal twice a day, if they keep eating so well.

I am also attaching a video of Ryan rolling from his back to his stomach. Watch out world, he will be on the move soon!

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Five Months ~ October 7, 2009

I am sorry I haven't posted in a while. We stopped feeding the boys at 3AM recently, and I have been up with them when they wake at night. I have needed the noon nap time for a nap of my own! Things are going much better now, it has been almost two weeks since we cut the feeding, and Ryan has slept through the night twice now. Matthew on the other hand still gets up a few times, but the past few nights he has only woken up 4-5 times (rather than every 10-30 minutes...).



We had our first Parents As Teachers meeting yesterday. I am not sure if they do this in every state, but here in Missouri they sponsor a free program to check and make sure your preschool aged children are on course for their age. Both boys are doing well, we just need to work on sleeping longer... :)



Ryan successfully rolled from his back to his stomach yesterday. He has been almost there for over a month now, yesterday was the first day I saw him go completely over. We will have a mover here in no time. Time to baby proof the house!



Both boys are getting better at sitting unsupported, but it will still be a little while before they master that.



Matthew has mastered squealing... and that is pretty much all he does now when he is happy. He definitely likes the attention it gets.



Here are some recent pictures. Hope to have more soon!

Ryan reading his book

Matthew chatting on the phone

Wearing Grandpa's hat while apple picking

A rare occurrence, especially during pictures

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Hanging with Daddy ~ September 22, 2009

Thank you everyone for the well wishes on our anniversary yesterday. Jason and I celebrated seven years already. We have had a busy week here since the last time I posted. The boys and I went to the lavender farm on Friday with Grandma Smith. That was fun, but I was hoping for more plants in bloom. We'll have to go back again earlier next year. Then Jason's friend Kirk came down and we went to another Cardinal's game. We made it through seven innings this time, and the Cards won again! Then we went out to dinner with Kirk's family, and the boys were a bit more cranky. But after a LONG day at the baseball game, I couldn't blame them for being tired.

The boys are getting so strong now. They are almost able to sit up... they are growing so fast! Ryan is starting to talk more, instead of just squealing, and thankfully they both seem to like Oatmeal cereal a little better than Rice. We just have to work on an evening routine to try and give them a chance to eat cereal more often.

Here are some pictures from the past week. The boys were having fun hanging out with daddy.

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First Cardinals Game ~ September 15, 2009

Jason was able to get tickets to last night's Cardinals game versus the Marlins. They were spectacular tickets right behind home plate. We were planning on bringing the boys to their first game sometime before the end of the season, but were thinking about a day game. But since the opportunity was there, and we were not positive we would get a chance to go again, we decided to bring the boys to the game too. They were wonderful, until about the middle of the fifth inning. It was after 9 already (slow game) and I knew that they were not going to last much longer (let alone me, I am used to being in bed by 8 the latest!). Matthew had a screaming fit when we were leaving, but otherwise both boys did very well. Even the people around us commented on how well behaved they were, but(I really don't know how much they can misbehave at this age... Matthew jumped everytime the crowd cheered, but after a few seconds he would settle down again. Ryan was asleep through the entire fourth inning I think. :)

Cardinals ended up winning the game too, yea!

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Great Recipe ~ September 10, 2009

I know you are looking for updates and pictures of the boys.. I will post a video we took of Ryan laughing last night soon. I just wanted to quickly share this recipe I found online. It is delicious, and great for busy schedules.


6-8 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (I used 6 chicken tenderlions)

1 packet dry Italian salad dressing mix (I had Garlic and Herb on hand, not Italian)

1 8oz brick cream cheese

1 can cream of chicken/mushroom/celery soup (depending on your taste) (I used 98% fat free chicken)

1/4 cup water

1/8 cup cooking wine (I added this to the recipe, original one did not have this)

Mix water, wine and salad dressing mix in crock pot (I have a small crock pot that would probably work best, you may need more water for a larger pot). Coat chicken and set to low for 4-5 hours.

Remove chicken and put in soup and cream cheese. Use a fork to mix soup and cream cheese until blended with juices. Put chicken back in for 30 minutes.

Serve over noodles or rice, add a green veggie and some crescent rolls and this is one yummy and easy dinner!

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Questions ~ September 9, 2009

Should I be worried if Ryan does not "coo" like Matthew? He squeals sometimes, but is mostly pretty quiet, whereas Matthew coos, squeals, talks and whines a lot more. The pediatrician's visit got me thinking about this...

Anyway, the boys are four months old now! We started them out on rice cereal the other night and it was a disaster. I think we waited way too long and the boys were way too hungry to try something new. Plus, it didn't look like it tasted very good. So last night we tried again, with a tiny bit of applesauce in it to sweeten it up. We had mixed results this time. Matthew seemed to like it, after getting over the spoon issue, but Ryan hated it again. Everything we put in was spit back out. At least it ended up on the bib and not in my face. So I guess we will try oatmeal with Ryan and keep Matthew on rice for now, just to make sure he doesn't have a reaction. Hopefully Ryan will like the oatmeal! I am really hoping they start to sleep longer soon!

So... once they are eating the cereal, do I continue to limit the amount they eat to 1-1.5 TBSP of cereal? When can they eat more? Do they make a "Raising kids for dummies" book? I have so many questions!! :)

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Mommy's Chop Job ~ September 6, 2009

I finally got fed up with people calling Ryan a girl and cut his hair. I have to say, I didn't do too bad... at least I don't think. But of course after I did that, now Matthew gets called a girl. It just doesn't end! :)

BEFORE

AFTER

FUNNY FACES

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