Blogging Deterents

I have many reasons why I can't seem to catch up on the blog
But the main reasons are named

Collin

and Keegan

They are crawling

they are pulling up on everything and cruising around

they are dumping everything that they can reach

they are eating everything they see

(this does not mean it is all meant to be eaten)

and EVERY time I sit down at the computer

a special alarm must go off

because they immediately crawl in

and hang on my legs whining/crying to be picked up.

The babies are 9 months (well, ten now)

however,

The doctor wouldn't see us this month

because we were 12 minutes late to the appointment.

Yes, 12 minutes

The sign even says,

if you are more than 15 minutes late
you may be asked to reschedule

wasn't even 15 let alone more than 15

Heartless, unfeeling, rude, non compassionate

do not have 5 kids six and under doctors office.

I started crying in the office
and I generally don't cry

because I had worked so hard
to even make it there with 5 kids

and I was so sick I could barely breathe
and I had a fever

and they didn't budge.

Can you tell I am still bitter about this?

Because I am

So we have no official 9 month stats for the twins

But,

They are huge.

Bigger than any of my other babies at this age

Crawling earlier than any of the others
(the week before they were 8 months)

Finally, consistently sleeping from 9pm to 8 am

Did you hear that?

I said

Finally,
consistently sleeping from 9pm to 8am

(Happy Happy Happy dances going on in this house)

Eating everything they can reach
and begging for bites of the rest

They eat buckets of the gerber fruit puffs

and drink GALLONS of formula
I am so lucky I could do breastmilk for 8 months
Who can afford that formula crud times 2?
Its killing our budget

Keegan has 5 teeth
(two on top, three on the bottom)

Collin has 8 teeth
(four on top, four on the bottom)

They crack me up when they are together.

They steal the same toy from each other

back and forth and back and forth

they don't cry,
they just reach and take it back.

Keegan is forever,

forever

pushing Collin over and stealing his binky

even if he already has a binky in his mouth.

and then he takes his out and puts Collin's in.

This seriously ticks Collin off,
and hurts his feelings

He screams
and then big fat tears start rolling down his face

Keegan thinks this is so funny

and laughs
and wiggles and waves the binky around in the air.

They go crazy in the Johnny Jumper things.

Hands in the air

little legs going as fast as they can make them go

jumping jumping jumping

they are so wild they bump into each other

and that makes them swing around

and they giggle and start all over again.

They aren't very snuggly/cuddly anymore

which makes me sad

They love to be held and carried around

but they are in constant wiggly motion in your arms

Climbing up you

or swiveling from side to side
to see everything all at once.

I deserve to have some amazing arms

for all of the hefting and carrying I do.

Too bad I really don't.

I am constantly amazed at how different they are

they look nothing alike

and have VERY different personalities

Collin is a better sleeper
and gets really grouchy when he is tired

He falls asleep almost immediately when I lay him down

and usually wakes up happy and alert

He has darling dimples
and will bust them out every once in a while

but is a pretty serious little fellow

(His cheeser smile)

and it doesn't take much to hurt his feelings.

He will grin when he is happy

but it takes some work to get a giggle

and his rare belly laughs are worth their weight in gold.

He is generally healthy

and although he eats the exact same thing

in the exact same amounts as Keegan

he is a chubber in comparison,

over 20 lbs and you can tell.

He sat up first

Got teeth first

and mastered crawling first

He skipped right over army crawling

and went straight for the real deal.

If you wave at him and say Bye-Bye
he will wave back and say bye-bye

and he raises his eyebrows at you
when you are talking to him

like he is really trying to understand.

His eyes are blue blue blue

and his hair is still blondy blond

I love it.

Keegan is a hit and miss sleeper

he would do great for two nights, bad for three

but has gotten better and better
since getting tubes in his ears.

He crawls around his crib and plays
for a while before conking out
and we usually find him
in the weirdest positions when we check.

He wakes up with wild hair,
flushed cheeks, and glazed over eyes

and it takes him a few minutes to really wake up.

I love this
because it is the only time he will let me squish him close

Keegan has huge eyes with KILLER eye lashes

He is a social bug and just making eye contact with him

gets him so excited that he wiggles and grins

and waves his hands in the air.

Someone saying his name makes him giggle

and any funny face, game of peek-a-boo, or growling voice

can make him belly laugh until he gets the hiccups

He is so easily distracted

that I have a hard time getting him to eat or drink a bottle

because he has to see everything and touch everything.

He is a master jumper and can go forever.

Just saying the words jumpy jumpy
makes him immediately start jumping,

no matter where he is.

He is at least 3 lbs smaller than Collin if not more

and seems wiry and fragile in comparison

He has been following behind Collin in reaching milestones,

but not by much more than a few days.

He HATES being left behind and cries

if you walk by him
when his arms are reaching to be picked up.

If Collin is mad or upset he cries big fat tears

If Keegan is, he throws whopping tantrums.

Arches, kicks, screams,
throws his binky and pushes his blanket away.

When I am not super tired and frustrated,
I think its kind of funny to watch.

His hair is getting longer
and after the bath
or if it gets wet it goes super curly.

Its amazing to me
that it has almost been 10 months.

It has had its moments for sure,

but it is nowhere near the nightmare
that people were saying it would be.

I wish they would stay little longer.

I wish they still liked to be held and snuggled.

I hope that they will keep loving each other

It has been a steep learning curve
and not without tears and frustration

but worth all of the moments,

all of them,
good and bad.

Worth the sleepless nights

and frustrating days
and saggy skin and stretch marks

We've come a long way from there to here
I would do it again in a second

and I think I would try to enjoy it even more

Myringotomies and other such nonsense...

Keegs

has had a big day today
and its only 10:00 am


Cutest little munchkin
in a hospital gown
that I ever did see


He doesn't even walk yet
and they still gave him little grippy socks
"just in case."

In case of what?
In case he decided
to stand up and tap dance
while under anesthesia?
Oh, okay, sure,
Just in case.

and don't worry about that bracelet chafing
he kicked that thing off before they even took him back
evidently not made for baby sized ankles


Poor buddy was pretty hungry
since he couldn't eat after midnight
and he usually has a 6:30 am bottle
he decided to try to eat his leads instead


Classic gown gap
at least they give them little pants
to keep their legs and bum warm

They have never given me pants to wear
to keep my bum covered
when I was having "gap" issuses
Lucky kid


The doctor was running late
so we had to wait in the post op room for a bit
Keegs was so hungry he almost ate the diaper bag
but was otherwise a really good sport



He forgave Dr. Porter pretty quickly
since he brought him this cute bear to chew on

His little ribbon says
Dr. Porter Loves Me

I wish i had gotten a picture of the crew
that came to get Keegan
Tall blond young doctor
Tall blond young male nurse
Tall blond young Anesthesiologist

The three of them walking down the hall
with Keegan in tow was quite the sight.

He told me not to even go to the bathroom
they would be back so fast
I thought they were exaggerating.

I stood up
made a bottle
sat down
texted Ryan
and the doctor was back
saying Keegan would be out in a minute
and that they were all done
and he did great.



I could here him screaming from down the hall
as they brought him to me.

But as soon as they let him eat
all was right with the world



After the bottle he was
out for the count.

The doctor said they all cracked up
when they saw his "designer diapers"

Thanks grandma for the blue jean diapers
to fancy up his bum for the big day
They were a big hit



The kid
is now napping and playing and eating
like nothing new is going on
despite having woken up at 5:30 am

Mom is definitely feeling the 5:30 am
and wishing that she was napping at this point
but I am so glad all went off without a hitch
and hopefully the weeks of ear infections
followed by weeks of antibiotics
and tummy troubles are over
We're ready to have our sweet giggly baby back

You're looking at what?

I posted my last post
with this adorable picture


of this darling baby
by this beautiful tree
and my sister makes this comment.

He is so adorable!
What's with the chair from the 50's?
Don't get me wrong I love pink and yellow flower chairs,
I've just never seen one in your house before ;)
N&C find?

Okay, I guess lets forget the baby in the middle for two seconds
How could you even see the chair in the back?
I had to blow up the picture
to even see the corner of it
that you could barely see
and I know what it looks like.

So to you Rachie Coray
I say this



Are you mocking my chair?
My $5 dollar, darling, garage sale chair?
You better check yourself before you wreck yourself girl...
Kidding, but...
I love it.

It is relatively new to me,
and I am just waiting for the perfect fabric to grab me
before I replace the yellow brown and pink shiny, vinyl
that crinkles and rustles when you sit on it.



It doesn't currently match the front room
but has the cutest shape
and is so comfy I couldn't resist.
$5.
Do I need to repeat myself?
$5

Ryan had a similar reaction
and actually asked
if we had to even bring it through the door
let alone put it in the front room.

but I will have you know,
two people offered me $10
before I could even drag it to my car
and several since
have asked me to call them if I want to sell it
This chair evidently brings out extreme emotions in people
they really love it
or really don't


Mock me if you must
I really love it.
Just imagine those buttons replaced with amazing vintage ones
Any fabric suggestions?
patterns?
Textures?

This teaches me
to focus on the cute baby in the middle
instead of the obscure peek
of the ugly chair in the background

P.S. The amazing honeycomb quilt
on the quilt rack in the background
(in case you are looking in the background like my sister)
is also a $5 garage sale find
Hand pieced
Hand quilted
AMAZING COLORS
Find of the year I am sure
Major Score.

The chair will look lovely beside it when I done with it.

Its unfortunately that time of year...

The time when


Where we go from
Happy Tree Decorating


to feverish, restless, sleep


to being bundled up
for the croup walk
around the neighborhood.


To try and alleviate
some of the barking cough
and the raspy breathing.

To try to get through the night
with even a hint
of sleep

Until we can make it in to the doctor tomorrow.



But doesn't my little sicky
look pretty cute
with his fever pinked cheeks
and hat askew.

He finally conked
on the second turn around the culdesac.


I should dive into my bed this minute
and try to get some shut eye
before my next turn around the neighborhood
in the falling snow.
Aproximately two hours from now.

Poor Kenna had her turn on the croup walk
yesterday and the day before
and seems to be getting better today
Hopefully the other three escape it.
I'm praying fervently that the other three escape it.

Sneaky McSneakster

Just call this little monkey
The iPhone Thief


He can sticky finger that phone
right in front of me
and I don't even catch it
until I need the phone
and I can't find it
or its ringing from somewhere
that is not where I left it

He is seriously a master.


When I walked by the couch and saw
this
I knew exactly what he was doing.


Without a doubt

He was getting in his Angry Bird time


and
he knew he was caught.

He's a pretty good sport about giving it back
most of the time.
Other times,
not so much

I rarely make it through a day without the battery dying

That kid is a master at the
scrolling and flicking
and he's 3.

I am in big trouble!

Need a good laugh?

Our family night treat was Popsicles

They had riddles on the sticks.

To be silly I read mine out loud to Ryan



Caden looked confused
and Ryan said he didn't know


what?

Caden still didn't get it
But wanted Ryan to read his


Before I could even guess
Caden yells

What?

Where in the crap did that come from?
Cracked me up.
The real answer was


Kenna had no idea what was going on
but Ryan and I were laughing so hard
from the Greg comment
that she wanted in
so she handed hers to me



Caden thought for a minute and said


I liked his answer
even better than the real one

Which was


Of course Cohen,
who was laughing
just because the rest of us were laughing,
but still didn't get it
handed over his stick


and of course,
with his literal little 6 year old mind
Caden says

That bird was banging on the tree so loud...

Who even thinks the real answer is funny anymore?



It never occurred to me before
that the "real" answers
to the riddles that my kids came up with
could be even funnier
than the play on words answer.

I am so looking forward to the rest of the Popsicle box!

Love, Grandpa Jones

The first couple of postcards that we got
I thought,
"Oh, how nice, my dad sent a
post card."


And then
they just kept coming
every trip he takes
busisness or vacation

(Kenna making her best raccoon face)

my kids carry them around
like badges of honor
Kenna and Cohen are so jealous
that Caden has more than they do
(Well, He's been around longer, they forget that sometimes)
So sometimes
He lets them borrow some of his
and pretend like they are theirs

I have read some of those postcards to them
ten plus times
and they know which ones are theirs
Boy Howdy do they know


How do you explain to a 3 year old
(and my 6 year old for that matter)
that those are fake aliens on the Roswell card
and that Grandpa will not get eaten by wolves
when he goes to Minnesota?


They think that the cards are magical.
He has made them a magical thing.


His messages are always creative
and funny
and age appropriate too
Cohen has explained to me several times
"The eagle is nice Mom, Grandpa said it was nice"

Did you know Dad?
Did you know the magic you are sending in the mail?
Do you know they think that you are "SO COOL?"
Cause you are
You are magical and awesome and "so cool"

Thanks for taking the time
and putting in the effort.
We love you
and your postcards.

Tired Baby

It's rough
when life is so busy all around you


that you have to just put your head down
wherever you are
and conk out.



Its hard being the "baby"
(well he is... by two minutes)
with the quietest voice
Sometimes you just got to do things for yourself


Got tired of playing
tucked his little hands under
and tuned out.

Don't you worry
I swaddled his cute little bum up
and gave him a good cuddle
before putting him to bed.