Double the Love

First day of pre school

2011-09-01T22:17:00.000-05:00

A day that has always seemed so far off has now come and gone. Yes, I must admit a few tears were shed...only they were all shed by mama! Ashton and Ayden have both been pretty excited, or at least curious, about school. We visited their new school to check out the playground a week before school started so that they would feel a little more comfortable navigating it alone. (This is part of their vision condition.) We got lucky enough to catch their teacher on this day as well. The next day was the Open House/Meet the Teacher night and the 5 of us attended as a family. This alone was emotional for me. Partly because it is another "first" and partly because it hits so close to home for me being a pre K teacher (and loving it!) before they were born. It was exciting to learn all about their new school, talk with their teacher and meet some of the kids in their class.
The next Monday we had to get up WAY too early to get us all around! ;-) Before leaving we gave the boys each a gift to open and attempted to get a few pictures...

I tried to dress them a little different for the first week of school in case there where any of those people who can't seem to tell the two apart!

Maybe next year we will actually get a decent picture...

Such a ham!

Once at school, the parents were allowed to stay in the classroom for the first 45 minutes and then were invited to the multipurpose room for a snack and informal dicussion with the director. The boys did great in their classroom, although a little quiet and timid. They both told us good bye without any tears. By the time I went to the multipurpose room and then stayed to watch a 20 minute volunteer video it seemed pointless to go home. I checked on the boys who were now playing on the playground and decided I would take Jeffrey and go home. We were home for about 40 minutes and it was eerily quiet! Jeffrey fell asleep in the car seat on the way home and continued to sleep until about 15 minutes before we left. I then fed and changed him and we headed back to the school. I had every intention of going inside to get them from their classroom but, when I got there all the other parents where in the pick up line. I got a knot in my throat - torn between being "that mom" and wanting to be there for my "babies". Alas, some sort of magnetic force took control of my steering wheel and pulled into the pick up line! I was a little early and had to wait for awhile. It was a long wait because I was so excited to see them and hear about their morning and now I was stuck in the line with no way out! I finally made it to the front and my boys were brought out to the mini van. As Ayden climbed in I saw a tear on his cheek. I guess he was a little worried when some stranger (a staff member) was walking him outside! In the end they had a great day and told me all about what they had done. I know for my experience being a pre school teacher that this is rare because a lot of kids don't tell their parents anymore about school than that they "played".

School has continued to go great! We are now in the 4th week and they have yet to cry or refuse to go! The only problem we have had is that they both got sick the second week of school. I knew it would happen since they have never been around so many children/germs. They continue to tell me about the songs they sing, books they read, activities they do, who stayed home from school, teachers/staff they meet, and friends they have. They are a little slow about warming up enough to really talk to their teachers yet though. They are apparently getting by on one or two words answers for now. I know they are slow to warm up and they will be talking the ears off of their teachers in no time! For now they are making up for that lack of talking in the mornings by talking NON STOP in the afternoons! :)

Ayden with his new teacher, Mrs. Cindy

Jeffrey and I got to participate in circle time too!

Ashton and his teacher "checking in" for the day

You would think with this new "free time" I have I could have blogged about this before now...But, the time really is minimal and I have SO much to do. I do hope to get a schedule going soon and blog more regularly. I do have lots of other updates and exciting news and I hope to get to those in the next few days so stay tuned!

New addition means a new name

2011-06-28T15:54:00.000-05:00

In case you hadn't noticed we have added a new little one to our family! Therefore the name of our blog, Double the Love, no longer encompasses our growing family. I have a few ideas for a new name but I want to make sure I find one that is a perfect fit. So, I am welcoming YOUR creative suggestions! No rush, no deadline, no prize if I pick your name...just some creative fun!

< Insert family picture here >

If I had one I would! Sad, but true! Jeffrey will be 6 weeks old tomorrow and we have yet to get a picture of the 5 of us together! Maybe this weekend!

3 Years Old!

2011-06-25T18:05:00.001-05:00

Ashton with his red velvet cupcake on his actual birthday

Ayden lovin his cupcake

Can it really be that my little babies are already THREE?! Could it really have been THREE years ago that I brought them home weighing only 5 pounds?! Could it really be that we have made it through the infant days, potty training, the toddler years and are now preparing for preschool? Could it really be that we have now planned, executed and survived THREE birthday party's?! Well....the proof is in the pictures so I guess that means that my precious little boys are REALLY THREE!

Ashton and Ayden are really into all things transportation - typical boys! So, when we started talking to them about their birthday about two months ago we tried to get an idea of what they wanted to do to celebrate this next milestone. Trains was a big one but they couldn't settle. Once one was set on trains the other wanted trucks or airplanes or....So we said we could just do them all. Our boys don't watch tv/movies and don't regularly get to go to the store to buy/pick out toys. This really limits what their idea of a birthday is as well as commercial toys, etc to ask for. ( This is NOT a complaint!) As we asked them what they wanted for their birthday for the past two months they always responded with "A choo-choo train cake!" They have only had cake a few times and it was only at their birthdays and a few family members birthdays. To them a cake was what you had for your birthday. I knew if we did nothing else for them for their birthday, they were going to have a train cake!

A birthday tradition was for me to make them their birthday shirts. We started looking at shirts online so that I could give them some ideas. Again, they were old enough this year to give some input so we tried to incorporate that. It looked like we were going with a train shirt as well. As the weeks went by I never bought any of the supplies and Jeff thought I should just buy the ones we found online. I was a little preoccupied with other things, and still kinda wanted to do it myself, so I never did anything about the shirts. The day before their party my mom and I took the boys to Hobby Lobby and bought the supplies and the shirts. We switched from the train idea, although the boys did get a choice in fabric color and they both (after 15 minutes and about 5 color changes apiece) ended up with the same color! In the end the train shirt was never mentioned and they were very proud of their 3 shirts. The shirts had a circle of race car flag material with the numeral 3 in a race car number font. On a side note, they still wear their 2 shirts sometimes and nearly always comment about their party or that I made the shirt when they do!

While on this same shopping trip with my mom we bought the supplies for this train cake the boys were still very anxiously awaiting! I was very hesitant about this and nearly ordered a train cake because I was scared of it not meeting my, or their, expectations. Last years did not turn out as great as I had hoped and I didn't want a repeat! Luckily my mom and husband talked me into making the cake as planned. With all the other work needing to be done at home on Friday and Saturday morning my mom ended up making the cake nearly on her own. Jeff and I just gave her our thoughts and ideas and she put it all together! Each boy had his own train engine with 3 train cars. They LOVED their cakes and loved eating them just as much!

The decorations were a hodge podge of transportation. We had a Cars movie wall hanging and confetti. There were balloons with dump trucks and motorcycles. The train cake and train whistles for decorations. Black and yellow plates, napkins, etc. Race car were on the shirts, table centerpiece and we had a pennant flag banner. So...you get the picture. The boys had a little bit of everything!

We had a large portion of our wonderful family at our home to celebrate this big milestone with us. It was a very relaxed affair with balloon chasing, grilling hot dogs and brawts in the rain, and opening (and of course putting together) too many new toys and activities! A few of their new gifts include an indoor trampoline, 2 battery powered 4 wheelers, bubble toys, a sit and spin, 2 Buzz Lightyears, and a cool bridge from the Chuck and Friends line.

Daddy grilling in the rain

The boys had a great day surrounded by family and friends. The day was focused on them and they loved every minute of it. They are remembering so much now that I hope they will remember this day as special one just for each of them!

Introducing...Jeffrey Charles III

2011-06-25T17:00:00.001-05:00

I know I haven't blogged in way too long but I promise I will get caught up! I have some blogs in my drafts just waiting on pictures or to be finished up. But, I couldn't keep putting off introducing our newest addition!

Jeff took my maternity pictures about 10 days before Jeffrey was born.

Jeffrey was born Wednesday May 18th, 2011 at 2:55pm by vbac (vaginal birth after cesarean section)! He weighed 7lbs 13oz and was 20 inches long. I am still in the process of writing my (unnecessarily long) birth story. I will post it when I am finished, but I will give a few details for now.

I woke up on Tuesday morning with contractions that were mild and felt sort of crampy. They were very regular though, always 5-10 minutes apart. The boys and I went on about our day going to the park and the store. By the time I got them down for a nap about 2:30ish, I was not able to talk through my contractions. Our doula came over about 10:30pm and we did some new positions and took a walk. We left for the hospital at 2:30am on Wednesday and when we arrived I was having contractions that were about 4 minutes apart (and painful). I was disappointed to hear that I was only dilated to a 3, but I was 100% effaced. I had a very detailed natural birthplan that I had gone over with my doula and had approved by my doctor before hand. I went over this with the nurse after getting settled. Throughout the remainder of the morning and afternoon several of the desires from my birth plan were proven to be "not meant to be". I was a little disappointed, but I wanted what was best for myself and my baby and I just wanted the end result to be a healthy mama and baby and preferably a vbac.

My water broke somewhere around 8:30am. I was not progressing very quickly but continued to have contractions one on top of the other. Jeffrey's heart rate was not responding well to the contractions so after several others attempts to correct this they thought his cord was wrapped around something or he was laying on it. So, after my water broke they filled my uterus with saline water and this fixed whatever the issue had been. By 11 or so I was dilated to a 6-7, but I had been there for several hours. Jeffrey's head needed to be turned just a little for optimum delivery positioning and I was having involuntary pushing. Between all of this and the fact that I had been having contractions for well over 24 hours now, they found that my cervix was swelling. This could be dangerous for both of us and my nurse and doula were afraid if we didn't get this corrected I would be headed for a c-section again. They both felt that the best option was to get an epiderial. I had warned Jeff not to let me get one, but this situation had not crossed my mind. I again wanted to do what would lead us to our end result so I agreed. I went from hours of very painful contractions to feeling nothing very quickly. At 11:30am the procedure was over and the nurse said she would give us about two hours to get some rest and she would come back to check on my progress. At 1:30pm when she returned I was dilated to 9 3/4! I was so excited! She said she would update my dr and give me about an hour, unless I felt the urge to push before then. My epidural was wearing off and I was able to feel the contractions some starting at about 1:30 also. I was getting ready to page my nurse just after 2pm when she walked through my door. I was fully dilated and his head was very low so it was time to push! She called my dr and returned to get started. My dr was there about 15 minutes later. I didn't push great until he got there because I was a little nervous about Jeffrey coming before the dr! With the help of my amazing husband, two great doulas and a wonderful dr and nurses, and after 31 hours of contractions, Jeffrey arrived at 2:55pm as perfect as could be!

He continued to do well in the hospital during our short stay. There was a little worry about him not peeing, but I think it just got missed. Anyway, after having to have a catheter to remove his urine and then him soaking me and the bed with pee....it was no longer an issue! My recovery was a breeze and I was up walking around right away (such a change from last time around!). We came home to some very excited three year olds on Friday! No, they were not excited to see mama and daddy...they were excited to have their baby brother home! They love to play with him, lay with him and kiss and love on him!

Katie, our amazing doula

Nana's first glimpse

Papa's first glimpse

Big brothers' first visit

Gigi's first glimpse

Ayden loves to give him kisses

Ashton lovin' on him

Papa's first glimpse

Grandma's first glimpse

Such a pretty baby

The three Jeffrey's

He is now 5 weeks old and is growing like a weed! I couldn't ever really say that with Ashton and Ayden because they were slow growers. Jeffrey on the other hand went from 7lbs 15oz at birth to about 11lbs at 4 weeks! We won't have any official numbers until next week but I bet he will be 12lbs by then! We got his one month pictures and the older boys' 3 year pictures taken this week so we will be showing those off in a couple weeks!

first "real" diaper

first bath

4 weeks old

I plan to get back to blogging and update about our family and the growth and milestones of our new addition right away! Until then I will leave you with a few pictures of "our 3 boys"!

Jeffrey's 1st walk

fun in the sprinkler

Ayden is nursing his baby!

Too cool! Ayden is starting a new sunglasses trend!

Best Friends

2011-01-07T16:29:00.000-06:00

They say it is better to have one really great friend that you know you can always count on than to have lots of casual friends. I don't know about you, but for me it is true! Lindsey Brennan and I met in 6th grade, right after I moved to Stillwater. During the two years of middle school we slowly become better friends and spent more and more time together. By 8th grade we were inseparable! Despite going through some tough years of "growing pains" and living in different towns and even different states we have managed to maintain a 19 year friendship that compares to none other. Even with marriages, children, school, and jobs we fit in a phone conversation (or two) every day. We are now getting the opportunity to share the special experience of a pregnancy at the same time. It is so nice to have someone to talk to about what is going on with your body and emotions who can really totally relate!

Since we moved from Oklahoma last year we have not been able to see Lindsey and her family too often. But, last month Lindsey, her husband, Michael, and her daughter, Bailey, all flew in to visit us for an extended weekend! We had a great time - although we didn't do much, but when you are with your best friend you don't need to do much! We went out to a favorite local Mexican restaurant one night for dinner. Afterward, Jeff and Michael had some "bonding time" at another little Mexican restaurants bar while the girls stayed home and ate ice cream! Sunday night we had reservations at Ruth's Chris. We were worried for a bit about being able to make it since we got a couple inches of snow that day. By evening the roads were clear and we were able to go out for a very nice dinner while the boys stayed home with Aunt Amy and Gandi.

Monday Jeff had to return to work. The girls went to the mall for a quick trip while Michael stayed home and took a nap with the boys! That evening I had to say a sad good bye to my best friend at the airport. The only thing that made this good bye not quite as sad was knowing that I was going to be taking my turn to fly back to OK to see her and her newborn baby only 6 short weeks later! I can't wait to make the trip which is now only 2 weeks away. She has not had her baby yet, but is due before I get there. I can't wait to see all of them again!

Nothing beats the companionship of a best friend! I have been very blessed! I love you Lindsey!

(Of course I only ended up with one picture of us the whole weekend, but it is better than nothing! Lindsey was 34 weeks and I was 17 weeks.)

Ayden lost his granny glasses!

2010-12-22T16:35:00.000-06:00

YAYYYY! Tuesday, December 14th, 2010 was a long awaited day in our family! Since I first found out for sure that the boys both have ocular albinism and nystagmus I have been doing research. Shortly after this research began I learned of a great doctor who was preforming surgery on patients with nystagmus and getting amazing results. I contacted this doctor for a recommendation of a doctor closer to our home (which was still Oklahoma at that time). As luck would have it the only doctor he recommended was Dr. Tychsen from St. Louis. Weeks after receiving this recommendation Jeff was offered a job in St. Louis. We waited ~~patiently~~ for Jeff to start his job and for his insurance to kick in so we could make an appointment with Dr. T. Our first appointment was nearly a year ago, in January. He immediately confirmed all our thoughts on the boys vision and began talk of surgery! At our last appointment over the summer he decided it was time to schedule Ayden's surgery.
Ayden has his best vision when his chin was down. This is where he can see out of his null point, which is his best point of vision for really focusing on something/someone. Doing this "granny looking of her glasses" move so much throughout the day was sure to wear on his neck and back muscles and could cause development/growth issues. This was Dr. T's reason for having Ayden go first. The first available date for surgery was December 14th and we immediately accepted.

Fastforward to this past week...
I began to get nervous as the day approached. Not as nervous about the procedure itself as for EVERYTHING else involved with it.
~ The boys were going to be separated for several hours and this is not normal for them (or me for that matter!)
~ We were going to have to get Ayden up and not let him eat (Scary thought when the first thing he says when I come in his room in the morning is usually "eat"!)
~ I was worried about how Ayden would separate from us to go to surgery (He doesn't just go with strangers!)
~ Since he had never had any kind of drugs I worried how he would react to them.
~ We were going to have to get Ayden up early. In doing this we hoped that Ayden would not cry and scream AND that Ashton would not hear us/Ayden and wake up also.
~ Ashton was going to be spending several hours without Mommy, Daddy or Ayden. This was going to be a first and we weren't sure what to expect, even though he was in good hands with Nana and Papa!
~ Well....I will stop here because my list of fears could go on (stupid pregnancy hormones!)

December 13th
Nana and Papa got to the house about 5pm (the boys were still napping) and they got them up and played with them while I took a friend to the airport (more about that soon!). When Jeff and I got home Nana and Papa treated us all to a pizza dinner. Since we were getting up early Nana and Papa spent the night in our ~~B & B~~, ~~baby's nursery~~, guest room. We tried to go to bed early to prepare for our long day ahead.

December 14th
Jeff and I got up about 6am and got ready. We got Ayden up at 7 and gave him one last drink of water before packing him up (still in his pj's and with his santa hat on) and we headed to St. Louis Children's hospital. This is about a 45 minute drive, made a little longer with STL rush hour traffic. We had to do one last set of measurements at Dr. T's office, just a couple floors down from the outpatient surgery floor. His office opened at 8:30 and we got there just in time to visit the restrooms before going in. They had us in and out quickly and we then went upstairs to check in at the outpatient surgery desk.
We got all our instructions and were taken back to our room very quickly. Ayden was doing great throughout all of this. He was very clingy and wanted to be carried the entire time. We sat in his room talking, reading books, etc for quite awhile. Then we decided to visit the playroom down the hall. Adyen finally lightened up and enjoyed going from toy to toy not worrying about sharing with anyone (the room was empty!). We hadn't been there long when we saw Dr. T approaching. We talked to him a minute and our nurse, Ms. Peggy, arrived. We were shocked that they were running ahead of schedule and she told us that it was a "Christmas miracle!" We weren't going to argue! We got Ayden changed and they gave him some Tylonel for the pain and another drug to put him in a fog so that he would not put up such a fight when separating from us and getting prepped for surgery. A few minutes later the anesthesiologist and his team arrived. We visited a few minutes and then they allowed us to carry Ayden while they pushed his bed until we got to the "No Parent Zone". At that point Jeff asked Ayden for a kiss and Ayden responded with a timid "No". I thought the worst at this point and figured the meds had not kicked in! Jeff then asked again and Ayden kissed him and then he came to me and gave me a kiss. Then the anesthesiologist reached out and Ayden went to him. I then knew the meds had indeed worked!
I then waited around in our room for a little bit, just in case, while Jeff went to the parking garage to find my lost phone in the car. It was about 10:20 at this time. After Jeff returned we went to the cafeteria and got some lunch about 11. We returned about 11:20 and the nurse came in to let us know the doctor had already been by to let us know it went well but, he would be back again. She told us the recovery room would call us back shortly. Within minutes they called us back to get him from his recovery nurse. Dr. T met us on our way out and told us it went great and he didn't think he would even need to see him for 3 months, he would just call and check on him in a week or so! Ayden was just starting to wake up when we got to him. He was very drowsy and didn't realize we were even there for a few minutes.
After only a few minutes in the recovery room the nurse said he was ready to go back to his room so she pushed his bed while we walked beside Ayden. This was about noon. Once in the room Ms. Peggy came to check on us and went to fill Ayden's sippy with a first time treat - apple juice! They wanted him to have something with a little sugar in it. While she was gone Ayden really started to perk up and asked to go for a ride in his bed! This was when we knew he was going to be ok! A few minutes later he asked to go back down the hall to the play room! We couldn't believe it and we just smiled and laughed at how quickly a child can get over something that an adult would be complaining about for weeks! Ayden sucked the juice right down...luckily it stayed down too!
In the morning when we were first brought to the room the nurse turned the tv on to a cartoon channel. Since the boys don't watch tv Ayden didn't really pay any attention to it. At one point a Christmas cartoon came on and he was pretty interested in Santa though. So, while drinking his apple juice he asked for the tv to be turned on. We were shocked but we obliged. We were thrilled to see that right there, only minutes out of the recovery room Ayden was no longer "looking over his granny glasses"! We could see right there that his null point was corrected and it brought tears to both of our eyes as Jeff and I watched Ayden.
After coming around Ayden didn't like the iv and monitor he was attached to. Ms. Peggy said that if he was still doing good in 30 minutes she would take it off. About that time she introduced us to another nurse who would take care of us for a bit while she ate her lunch. I then got Ayden out of his bed and he sat on my lap while we read and cuddled! At about 12:30 this nurse came in to take out the iv, etc. As she was finishing up Ms. Peggy returned from lunch to check on Ayden. Since he was doing well they started giving us all of our instructions for going home and a dose of heavy pain reliever. We got Ayden dressed (while holding onto him tight since he was very dopey!) and gathered our stuff to go home. Daddy drove the car to meet us at the doors and we met our first real tears of the day. We aren't really sure what the problem was, but Ayden didn't want to get in his car seat. I got in the back seat with him to calm him down and Jeff was able to finish getting him fastened in. We were guessing the meds just had him a little confused with what was going on. We were on the highway shortly after 1pm and Ayden had a difficult time keeping his eyes open, but did stay awake the entire ride!

We returned home to Nana, Papa and Ashton. Ayden greeted Ashton with "knucks" and a kiss! It was very sweet! We let them play for a bit before putting them both down for a nap. Ayden has continued with this great recovery! We gave him over the counter pain medicine that evening and again the next morning and night. Even this was just precautionary, and he did great! They told us he might be a little off for a day or so and might be a little cranky for up to a week. We really didn't experience much of this at all. They also said the whites of his eyes would be red for 7-10 days. The day after the surgery they were a little red but it was gone by the next day. We do have to put an ointment in his eyes every night before bed for a week. He was been pretty tolerant of this though.

These are some pictures taken after the boys woke up from nap the day of surgery.(Excuse Ayden's face, he was also eating his snack!)

In all, we are very pleased with the outcomes and now we anxiously await Ashton's surgery date! I video taped Ayden's eyes the day before surgery and plan to do a comparison video this week. Once I get this done and the video's downloaded I will post them here.

Introducing...Kitsmiller 3.0!!

2010-11-23T15:30:00.005-06:00

Well, we moved into a bigger house, got a huge dining room table and have Ashton and Ayden potty trained...so we decided it was time to add another baby to the mix!

Yes, some days I wonder if I am crazy and can't comprehend what life will be like in a few short months but, most days we are over the moon with excitement about adding another little one to our family! We liked the spring so much for the boys that we decided to do a repeat performance, and this babies due date is the day ofter the boys' due date. The due date is May 24th, making me 14 weeks today.

We were a little scared of having a total repeat performance of last time with a surprise second baby so we made sure to let our new doctor know that we wanted an ultra sound as soon as possible. I had my first appointment with ultrasound at 5 weeks and 6 days and we saw one healthy beautiful ~~bean~~ baby. Of course, we were still not 100% convinced, and we loved getting a picture of our little one, so we had another ultra sound at 10 weeks 6 days and again, we saw one healthy beautiful baby measuring about 4 days ahead even!

So, I had my third appointment Monday at 13 weeks 6 days and we saw this amazing site:

< picture removed >

This u/s picture I used from the internet was attracting way too much traffic to my blog and I thought it might be for the wrong reasons so I have removed it! :)

Looks like we will remain on Team Blue!

OK, so I confess that this is not the actual picture from our ultrasound! :) But, this is pretty much what we saw! The doctor had just finished telling me that we probably wouldn't see anything until next month. I told him to go ahead and take a peek for me! He was shocked that at 13 weeks and 6 days the sex was so...obvious! He told me to tell Jeff that he makes some big "penised" boys! We were both so in shock that he forgot to take a picture of the ultrasound! Afterward, I was suppose to pee in a cup and I was so distracted that I just sat right there beside the cup and peed, forgetting all about what I was suppose to be doing! Oh, well! They'll just have to wait until next month!

So far I have been feeling pretty good. Mostly just tired and unmotivated...wait...maybe that is because I have two 2.5 year old boys to take care of every day! :) I did feel bad pretty much all day and all night from about weeks 6-9. Although I never actually got sick. After that I had a few weeks of needing to eat regular snacks or I would feel nauseous. Now, I am feeling great and looking forward to an uneventful second trimester.

I have a great doctor who is very supportive of my desire to have a vaginal birth after Cesarean section (vbac). I want this experience to be different than the (necessary) medical interventions required with the boys' birth. I had high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, and baby A was breech. I really want a very natural birth experience this time - hopefully my body and the baby cooperate!

So far I have gained about 4 pounds, but I just look like I ate too many doughnuts (or maybe ice cream in my case!). It is all in my belly though. Strangers still can't recognize I am pregnant but that didn't happen until about 18 weeks with the boys. Hopefully, I start rounding out soon so that I actually look pregnant.

I will continue to update about me and the baby here on our blog. Speaking of which, I guess we will be changing the name soon! ;)

Two...and a HALF!

2010-11-09T15:45:00.000-06:00

I am getting caught up! :) About two weeks ago, on Friday, October 22nd we celebrated the boys' half birthday. Since they already have to share a birthday I thought we would go out of our way to celebrate this halfway milestone to make them feel a little more special. Right now they just think it is fun, as they get older I think they may appreciate it in a different way.

We spent the morning making a pumpkin pound cake together. I don't let them help me in the kitchen too much so this was a real treat for all three of us. They did pretty well, even with all the temptations! It was really hard for them to wait to try the cake until daddy got home, but they did! We ate one of their favorites for dinner, Sloppy Joes in a Biscuit Bowl and after dinner they each got a half a cake and we sang "Happy Half Birthday". It was a great ending to a great day! Ashton and Ayden both now tell people that they are "two half"! :)

Mommy's little bakers

Two pumpkin pound cakes (one went in the freezer for ~~mommy~~ later)

Ashton's cake

Ayden's cake

Ashton enjoying his cake!

Ayden enjoying his cake!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-09T15:01:00.000-06:00

This stage/age has proven to be just as exciting as the last! (Ok, maybe a little more!) Ashton and Ayden are now to the age where they are really able to understand and get into the holidays!

They weren't really into picking out a costume so I decided, kind of at the last minute, to dress them as a pair of dice. It turned out great and, as always, they looked incredibly cute!

We first wore the costumes to school on Wednesday. It was a good practice or dress rehearsal for them! Ayden kept saying "NO LIKE!" and trying to take the box off at first. A little sweet talking from mommy got him to leave it on for a little while though! ;)

Friday night we went to Aunt Amy's church for Trunk or Treat. Nanny and Papa met us there and the boys had a great time filling their pumpkins with treats. Once home we let them have some of the treats including graham crackers and a rice krispie treat. For these boys who don't get much sugar this was enough to keep them talking and giggling in their cribs for more than an hour past their bedtime!

Sunday we decided we would take the boys to a few houses on our street to keep alive the nastagalia of Halloween. We were disappointed to find that very few houses in our 1,400 home neighborhood with lots of kids, were passing out candy! We ended up going further than we intended around the neighborhood, but the boys had a blast! Ayden, who is generally talkative, was pretty silent and was putting on his shy act all evening. Ashton was talking up a storm though! He said "trick or treat" and "thank you" at every house. After going to a couple houses Ashton really had the idea and as soon as he got his treat he would say "another house!". We would have to remind him to say thank you but he still sometimes said "another house"! It was a little embarrassing, but very cute too! We returned home to a pot of hot chicken enchilada soup on the stove top! But, the boys wanted to check out their "treats". Jeff let them split a fun size kit kat and they were in heaven - their first experience with candy! After dinner we let them split one more of these kit kats. So, they each had the equivalent of one fun size candy bar by the end of the evening. Yes, again we had some talkative toddlers when bedtime came. We listened to them chatter and giggle until long past their bedtime again! I think it was a combination of excitement and sugar! It was a memorable Halloween for sure!

Better late than never...2010 Family Pictures!

2010-11-04T15:04:00.000-05:00

So, obviously I am still behind from our big summer of looking at houses and moving! But, I didn't want to leave out these important pictures since this blog is also a sort of baby/scrap book for the boys growing up!

We had these pictures taken in downtown St. Louis in June, just after the boys turned 2.

286 days!!!

2010-09-24T15:20:00.000-05:00

or 9.5 months! This is how long our family was living apart and/or living in someone else's home. It was a long time...too long! But we made it through and after about a month in our new house we are settling in nicely.

Jeff started his new job in St. Louis the first of November. We finally got an offer on our house in April with a closing date near the end of May. A long story short, the contract was contingent on the buyers divorce and that ended up being a big mess! In the end we didn't close until the middle of June. Jeff and I spent every weekend for many weeks looking for just the right house. We were very picky! In the end it all worked out and we were able to get our favorite house out of the 50+ that we looked at!

We are now living just outside St. Louis. Our house has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a two car garage. We have two living rooms on the main level so we have turned one into a big playroom for the boys! They LOVE it! We also have a basement that is mostly finished. The finished portion includes a large living area, a storage closet, an office and a bar area. The unfinished portion includes the laundry area and lots of space and storage. We are hoping one day to put in another bedroom and a bathroom. We have a great lawn with amazing green grass and a fence. It has has lots of landscaping, a storage shed, a wood swing set and a wood gazebo.

Just a sneak peek!

backyard - sorry not a great view

bar area in basement - still needs some work

half of boys' playroom - lots of work left to do here too!


part of the living room and looking into the kitchen - we got some new furniture, but we are waiting on the rest


our living room in the basement - the open door on the right is the office the door on the left is the closet, the unfinished portion is behind the wall on the left

For the first time since being married we have a mature yard! We built our last home and has one dinky little tree and all new landscaping. This mature yard require a lot more time and attention! We moved in the house in August and the yard was already beginning to look like fall with all the tree limbs, leaves and acorns that fall off on a daily basis. Some of the flower beds were overgrown and lots of ivy was taking over the gazebo and surrounding flower beds and tress. We have began the process of trimming and thinning but it will be awhile before we get things the way we want them!

We have lots of things we want to do to this house. Nothing has to be done though, which is nice. We have things we want to do to update the house to make it more modern and more our style. We have some furniture ordered that will be here in a few weeks. I will have to update when we have painted, hung pictures, and have our new furniture delivered.

Pre potty training to trained at 26 months!

2010-07-12T14:46:00.006-05:00

Yes, this is a little late (the boys are now almost 29 months) and yes, I have not blogged in TWO months! That is my new record! BUT, I do have a ton of excuses! I will share them in my next post...whenever that happens! :)

I will start with a little background information. I began cloth diapering Ashton and Ayden when they were 9 months old. A few months later I first learned about Elimination Control (EC). This is in short potty training a baby from birth using their natural patterns and being in tune with their bodily cues. I thought it was a great idea and I could at least use some of the ideas on my now one year olds. We bought them their first potty around their birthday and started sitting them on it by 15 months. We did have several occasions of using the potty as well! Our long and drawn out moving process started when the boys were 18 months and we did not offer them a potty to sit on too often. Their language skills were still a little behind so they were not verbalizing in any way that they needed to go to the bathroom at this time.

Since I wasn't able to do EC like I really would have like with staying with my parents and Jeff's parents and not having a place for our potty or a big potty just for them, I made due. I decided I would do what I called "pre potty training". I was not strict about this, I did not push them, I did not offer any rewards. I didn't even use Pull-ups or training pants! What I did do: I gave them a sign for going pee pee (ASL sign), I discussed most diaper changes including what was in the diaper. Ashton and Ayden both started peeing as soon as they stepped foot in the bathtub around this 18 month mark. I stated "You're going pee pee! Pee pee goes in the potty." every time they peed in the bathtub. While saying this I also did the sign for pee. I continued to use cloth diapers, except overnight. A lot of cloth diapered babies potty train earlier because they can usually feel the wetness more so than with the supersoaker disposable diapers of today. Around 24 months I began getting out the one potty we had with us at my in laws house. As the weeks passed I starting offering them the potty more often until by 25 months they were sitting on it at every diaper change. Now, don't get me wrong! They were NOT actually DOING anything on the potty except maybe 25% of the time. But, this slowly increased over the next couple of weeks until before I knew it they were dry nearly every diaper change and peed on the potty when I took them. They even started telling me when they needed to pee. Pooping was going slower, just a few random occurrences. When they DID pee I sang a song I had made up that celebrated this victory. Because of the tight quarters the boys usually had peed on the potty in their room or the living room so the pot had to be carried to the big potty to be dumped. The boys loved to "help" me carry the pot to the bathroom and dump the pee. This was their "reward" I suppose! By the end of June (26 months) they were staying dry even when we left the house to go to the store, park, or out to eat. It was not fun to take a side snapping cloth diaper off of a toddler in a bathroom stall, have him pee and then try to put the diaper back on said STANDING toddlers because they hate public changing tables!
The end of June I also bought our first package of underwear from BabyGap. They were so cute! But, they really meant nothing to the boys! Before the underwear was purchased Ashton was doing better about staying dry than Ayden. After the purchase, Ayden started doing better and Ashton had a slight relapse due to a pooping incident on the toilet that got him a little scared. We started to put the underwear on around the house or go naked and had very few accidents. If they did start to pee they would stop it and let us know and were then able to hold it until we made it to the potty.
We went to a park around this same time that had a family bathroom with a toddler size potty in it. The boys were not sure what to think and both refused to sit on it. I then went to plan B and had them each stand to pee like big boys and wa-la!...they went! They loved standing like big boys and have hardly looked back since! I now have to hold them over our big potty at home to pee since they are still too short to actually stand at the toilet! Glad we only bought one potty for $1 at the tmoms garage sale!
When we were outside to play and they told me they had to go I just pulled down their pants and let them go. After the first time I did this, Ashton later went in the house and said pee pee and got ready to do it right there on the floor! I decided I had to set some boundaries! After that we only went pee under the tree. Ashton does not pee as often as Ayden and would often not go in the morning before we would leave for our morning outing. This would freak me out that he was going to have an accident so anytime he wouldn't pee before we left I offered for him to pee when we got outside to get in the car. Of course, this worked every time! No, I don't want my child requesting to pee outside and he no longer does. But, I needed him to go and there was a new novelty to peeing outside and it got us through that phase!
My mother in law decided to get us a package of Pull Ups after I told her that they seemed ready to go without a diaper in public but that I was a little nervous. We used the first Pull-Up the weekend of the 4th of July. When we got home they were dry. We haven't used them since except for a couple rides in the car that were over an hour. We have not used diapers, expect for nap and night time, since that first week in July. We have had only a hand full of accidents in the 2.5 months since they have been fully trained. Pooping is occurring on the potty more often, especially for Ashton. Ashton and Ayden have always done their pooping while in their crib when they wake up in the morning and when they wake up from nap. Since they still wear a diaper to bed and they are still sleeping in their cribs I am not going to push this. They don't poop in their underwear so it's not too big of a concern! I think this is morning of a timing issue than an inability issue.
The boys love their "unders" and always remind me "no pee pee in unders" when we put them on. I do have a complaint about them though! It is hard to find underwear in a size 2! :) Going out has not been quite as big of a deal as I had imagined. Or, maybe it's just that I have gotten use to it! We now have to visit EVERY public bathroom we pass! Did I mention I hate public restrooms?! One time we went out to eat with Nana and Papa and each boy visited the bathroom no less than 5 times in the hour or so we were there! Most outings aren't that bad, but we do have to go at least once almost everywhere we go. Sometimes they see a door to the employee area or an emergency exit and say they need to go!

I wanted to write about our potty training journey for me to remember in the years to come and also for the boys to read about when they are older. But, I have had a lot of questions about how I got twin boys potty trained so early and thought something we did may help others! Since over two months have passed I am sure I forgot some facts but hopefully something in here can help someone!

Daddy's Boys

2010-07-09T14:34:00.003-05:00

As much as I hate to admit it my boys are growing up. I guess a part of that includes being much more attached to their Daddy! Trust me, I am not complaining! It is really nice, although a little sad too.
The other day I left the boys (all 3 of them), just before lunch. As I kissed Ayden he just waved and sad "Bye, bye". Ashton kissed me and just watched me as if to say "Are you really leaving...or are we just playing a game?!" In the end, there was not one tear shed and Daddy fed them lunch and put them down for a nap all on his own. I didn't get home until after nap. Then, I was only home for about an hour before I left again to go out with some other moms. Daddy then took care of dinner, baths and bedtime all on this own! AND, to top it off...this was the first night that they boys have gone to bed without having any "Mommy's milk"! This was a huge deal at our house! BUT, you better not think for a moment that this continued the following nights! ;)
Other new trends include crying for Daddy when he leaves, wanting to sit or cuddle with Daddy, wanting Daddy to take them to the bathroom and requesting Daddy to read a story before bedtime. I guess the strong preference for Mommy would have to end at some point, but I love watching the boys interact with their Daddy.

Growing up TOO quickly!!

2010-06-22T14:56:00.009-05:00

Sorry I have been kinda MIA lately! We have been SOOOO busy! This is such a contrast from the last two summers! Of course, we are busy with the home search, more about that later! BUT, we have been busy going and doing, shopping and playing, and just plain enjoying summer and being TWO! We are lucky if we stay home one day a week. We have been going to parks, story times, playdates, various shopping trips for groceries, freebies, crafting supplies, etc.

The boys are changing so much! They are SO smart! They remember EVERYTHING! This can be both a blessing and a curse! They are talking so much now! Ayden regularly combines two words and Ashton is right behind him. Both boys are trying to potty train! I wasn't going to push the issue until we were moved, but they had other ideas I guess. Ashton was going 2-3 times a day for about 2 weeks until last week when it started to taper off. Last week Ayden started going about twice a day and is now up to 4-6 times a day. Last week we bought some "big boy unders" and I think that is what helped him. SO, I let him wear them all day yesterday, except nap time and he did great! We still only have one potty and I am not pushing the issue, just getting them comfortable with the potty, etc. I think they are ready though so we will work a little harder once we get settled.
They have so many new interests lately! Jada (our dog) is high on the list! They also love their train set and the new airplanes Daddy brought home last weekend. The are getting more curious about numbers, letters and colors. They love to cuddle! They do LOTS of pretend play! This usually involves cooking. The other day they even pretended to give an imaginary Papa a drink! They also love to be in the kitchen with me and watch me cook. I always have to turn the oven light on so they can see what is in there.
They love to play in the water hose (aka: "hoa") and the splash pads! Last year they were terrified of these! It is so much fun to see them have so much fun in the water. I have a lot of childhood memories of my sister and I playing in the hose/sprinklers.

OK, now, about our never ending moving process...
On a positive note, our house in Oklahoma has finally closed!!!

Now we are faced with the daunting task of finding something in our budget, within certain school districts, with the square footage and features on our long list of must haves! Let me tell you, it has been a full time job! We have been to see about 40 homes and have looked at several hundred online. It started out as fun and exciting and has turned into a job I dread! I even have dreams/nightmares about homes!
I think we have our search narrowed down to 5 homes. We are going to go look at these homes on Saturday. Hopefully we will be ready to make an offer on something soon!

Potty training and paintingSand/Water table

Ashton painting

Ayden painting

watering our garden

Ayden painting

Ashton painting

Such a big boy

Ashton playing with slime

Ayden playing with slime

Ashton at the splash pad

musical instruments at the park

Ayden at the splash pad

My cool Cards fans!

Playing in the hose!

Going grocery shopping (notice the baby in the front of the cart!)

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T21:02:00.004-05:00

To a wonderful, loving, and fun daddy and husband! We had a great afternoon with you!

It was so cute to be able to have the boys actually say "Happy Father's Day" to their Daddy and Papa's this year! Can't wait to celebrate many more Father's day's with all the great men in our family!

Happy Father's Day!

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?!

2010-05-24T14:52:00.006-05:00

Errr...Ashton and Ayden, how does your garden grow? WELL, it grows much better when you don't have 4 baby bunnies living in your back yard!

A couple weeks ago we went back to Oklahoma to empty out our house (phase 5 of our move if you are counting!). Afterward, the boys and I stayed in Grove to visit with Nana, Papa and Gigi while Jeff drove the moving truck back to MO and unloaded it at yet another storage unit. After a few days in OK we made our way back to MO. I was so excited to get home to see baby bunnies hopping around in our backyard! I WAS excited, until I saw that our first red strawberry was nibbled on and half gone!! After closer inspection I saw that even all the white strawberries where nibbled on! I was so disappointed! BUT, the bunnies are SOOO cute that I can't even get too mad! I am not sure what happened to our tomatoes, but the plants had disappeared all the way down to the soil. I don't know if this is a result of the rabbits or some other "hunter" but, no homegrown tomatoes for us this year.

Ashton and Ayden love watering their flowers, herbs, fruits and veggies each day! I got them some small watering cans so they can do it with less assistance now. Now we anxiously await the day we can start eating from our garden. OH, better yet! We anxiously await the day we can plant our "garden" in our very own home garden instead of our make shift/temporary garden! Hopefully I can update more on that later, but I will wait until I have more solid information to share! ;)

Ashton watering the growing garden

Tomatoes - GONE!

This couldn't have tasted good - guess that is why they didn't finish it!

Can you see the bunny? On the left corner of the grass, by the patio and flower bed. (click to see the larger view)

So sad! :(

What is in a name?

2010-05-19T14:44:00.006-05:00

Ayden

Ashton

When we got pregnant we never even looked at boy names because if we had a boy it would be Jeffrey Charles III. We found two girl names we liked, but decided if we went to the 20 week ultrasound and found out we were having a girl we would decide then. So, obviously, we didn't just find out we were having one boy, but two boys at the 20 week ultrasound! Now we were in a real pickle! Jeffrey III and Jeffrey VI?!? Uummm...NO! So, we started from scratch finding two boys names that we could agree on. Within a week we had settled on Ashton and Ayden - fairly quick and painless!

A few weeks ago Jeff was taking the boys out of the bath and said something about "Mommy". Ayden immediately repeated "Mommy". Up until this point both Ashton and Ayden referred to me as "Mama" and Jeff as "Dada". After this both boys would randomly call me "Mommy". Random has now turned into about 90% of the time. I loved when they first started calling me "Mama" so often, but I just may love "Mommy" even more!

Ashton and Ayden have an ever growing vocabulary but, their favorite words have always been, and continue to be...names. Ayden does something we affectionately refer to as "role-call". He just calls out everyone's name in the room. Sometimes he adds names to the list as well. Both boys also participate daily in a game where they call out someones name in a way that suggests they have something to tell you or a question for you. We usually respond by repeating their name or by saying "Yes?". To which they always respond with the name of the person again. This will go on and ON and ON. We always participate and think it is really cute! Lately Ayden has been changing it up a bit and will sometimes say "HI!" after my response.

The boys love their "Nana" and anxiously await her arrival home from work each evening! Lately she has also received a new name - "Nanny". They first started this the same time they started calling me "Mommy". I just figured they were playing with a new sound. But, it stuck to "Mama", but not to "Nana". All of a sudden this weekend they started calling her "Nanny" again and doing it probably 75% of the time.

We have referred to my mom as "Grandma". My niece called her "Amaw" (pronounced as if the gr were left off of grandma) when she was little and it kinda stuck, but we were just going to go with "Grandma". As usual, the boys had other ideas! They picked up on "Amaw" really quickly and after visiting them two weeks ago, they are talking about "Amaw" all the time now!

And then their is the issue of "Papa"! We have a "Pawpaw" and a "Popa". The boys don't seem to distinguish much between the two pronunciations though. (It should be interesting to see what happens when they are both in the same room for the first time since the boys have been talking!) Nevertheless, "Papa" is a commonly heard word around this house!

And now the new fav - "Amy"! I wish I could somehow portray over the internet how cute this is when the boys say it! Ayden insists on calling "Amy" almost daily lately - he will actually get daddy's phone out of his pocket while saying "Amy, Amy!!" in a very insistent tone!

I could go on and on with the stories of the boys and their use of names! Everything is about the people in their lives. If they see something that belongs to Nana they say "Nana". If they see a gift from Aunt Amy they point and say "Amy, Amy". When they want to be picked up they say "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, up!"

This is such a fun stage and I am loving every minute of it!

Coming to a close

2010-04-26T22:01:00.000-05:00

Well, the birthday celebration week is now over and the 2 year check up is complete. That means this will be the final entry into this blog book. I was going to put the boys' first year of life into a blog book. I later decided to do the first two years since I didn't start the first year until they were more than 6 months old. So, here goes the final chapter in Double the Love the First Two Years!

So, here is the scoop on all our birthday celebrations!
After our great Lego party on Saturday we kept the rest of the celebrations more low key! Thursday, April 22nd (also Earth Day) was the boys' actual birthday. I wanted to fix all their favorites for meals so I started the day with banana pancakes for my birthday boys - they LOVED them! To celebrate both their bday and Earth day, we went to Powder Valley Nature Reserve. This is a part of the MO dept. of conservation. I didn't really know what to expect, but it was really neat. Because I wasn't sure what to expect inside I opted not to take the stroller in. This, of course, made the trip more enjoyable for Ashton and Ayden, and more difficult for mama! We got to see lots of animals, both real and stuffed, as well as puppet animals and pictures of animals. We saw lots of animal habitats as well. The reserve also offers classes and many hiking trails. We didn't do any of that today, but it was still a great morning! When we got home we watered our ever growing fruit and vegetable garden. The boys love to do this daily chore and check on the progress of our sprouts. For lunch we had another favorite - leftovers from a pasta dish the night before, cottage cheese, toast, strawberries and mixed veggies (not so much a favorite, but mama insisted!) Then, off then bed for a much needed nap! While they napped I made them a special birthday treat! After nap we played with some of their new toys before I had to start dinner. Of course, another favorite, sloppy joes in a biscuit bowl! After dinner we sang "Happy Birthday" (for at least the 100th time that day!) and presented the boys with their first ever brownies! Since we don't give them sweets and junk food this was another rare treat. In fact, we realized that this was only the second time they had ever had any chocolate. The first was their 1st bday cake. They both ate it, but they didn't seem to just be crazy about them and took their time eating the 1/2 a brownie given to them. After cleaning up the chocolate mess we gave them the remainder of their bday gifts. They are so fun to watch now as they tear open each of the gifts without any help! We got them two different sets of Melissa and Doug wood play food sets to go with their kitchen. They also got a starter wood train set and 8 Dr. Seuss books. Nana also had a book set for each of the boys.

During the day we talked a lot about it being their birthday and we sang happy birthday SO many times and I also told them about their birth and what was going on during that exact same time two years beforehand. By the afternoon they were both repeating "happy birthday", by the end of the day Ayden was freely saying "Happy Day!!". It was adorable! When I was telling the boys how the dr pulled them out of my belly by their feet first, Ashton, who was sitting on my lap, put his foot up to my belly as if to reenact the scene! They just get smarter and more fun each day!

The celebration continued as my parents, Papa and Grandma, arrived in St. Louis on Friday! Saturday morning we went to the Museum of Transportation where we saw lots of old cars and trains. They had so much more, but that was all we had time for today! Papa even bought them a train to go with their new train set! After lunch and a nap the boys were excited to open even more gifts! Gigi sent a two sided chalk and magnetic board with the alphabet as well as a cube toy with a play cube. Papa and Grandma brought the boys a shape sorting wood Noah's Ark with all the animals (times two of course!) and a Band in a Box set. These were both Melissa and Doug toys, causing us to refer to this as the Melissa and Doug birthday since that is the brand of most of the gifts they received! My parents had to return home on Sunday, so we spent the day relaxing at home. We have been so busy that this was the first day we have just stayed in and relaxed in more than two weeks.

This week marks the end of the second year with the two year wellness visit. We saw our new pediatrician is St. Louis and were very comfortable with him.

Here are the stats:

Ashton: In general under the 50th percentile
Weight- 26. 4 lbs
Heights - 33.5in

Ayden: Overall between the 50th to 75th percentile
Weight - 30.4 lbs
Heights - 34in.

So, now all the birthday celebrations are complete and I have come to terms (I think) with the fact that my babies are really no longer babies! I feel like they knew that they were crossing a milestone. They have changed a lot over the past week or so and are doing so many new things. They are talking so much more and are going up and down stairs so much better than just a few weeks ago! Ashton and Ayden both have a new independent streak as well. Ayden wants no help going up and down the steps and Ashton climbs up into his highchair/booster seat all by himself and wants no assistance.

Now, it is time to say good bye to the first and second years of life for my precious babies Ashton and Ayden. But, we are welcoming in the third year with optimism and excitement!

THE END

Keeping Busy

2010-04-26T22:00:00.013-05:00

We have been so busy during the past month or so that I have not had time to share pictures of all of our adventures! So this is a random post about all the fun stuff we have been up to!

We planted daises, sunflowers, and an herb garden. We had so much fun the next week we decided to start growing a fruit and vegetable garden.

Painting with watercolors

Matching and sorting Easter eggs

Rice and Beans

Yummy...Spaghetti!

Silly Putty

Water Play

Building with daddy

Tunnel and tent play

Just being cute

We have also been enjoying the nice weather by playing in the yard and watching everything grow! We have been to several parks and have still gone to a few story times. There is so much to do in St. Louis, and we are just starting to be able to get out and enjoy it all. I can't wait to take the boys on more of the great adventures this town has waiting for us!

Delta Gamma - Run For Sight

2010-04-25T23:20:00.003-05:00

As many of you know, Ashton and Ayden were born with two genetic visual impairments: Ocular Albinism and Nystagmus. Although these impairments make it difficult at times for them to see; they have persevered through it very well in their first two years of life!

Our young family made the move to St. Louis, Missouri as Jeff got a new job in November of 2009. We were here for less than two weeks and visited the Vision Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital. We were met with more information, amazing resources, great doctors and helping friends than we could have ever asked for. One of the best resources was a contact at the Delta Gamma Center, a center for children with visual impairments.

Although we're new to the various programs available at Delta Gamma, we have already experienced an explosive growth in the development of Ashton and Ayden. We, as parents, have been able to learn more about these visual impairments by interacting with all of the other parents that this amazing center provides for.

These services are ABSOLUTELY FREE of charge to participants like us, and the mission statement clearly defines the scope of their goals:

The Delta Gamma Center for Children with Visual Impairments is committed to helping children who are blind or visually impaired reach their full potential through individualized education and therapy services for infants (birth to three years) and their parents and through support services for children of all ages, their families and the community.

We know that we're less than 1 WEEK away from our event, but we're confident that with your help, we can give our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Delta Gamma Center for doing all that they have done for our boys in these past few months.

Thank you in advance for your assistance!

Sincerely,

The Kitsmillers
Jeffrey, Darla, Ashton & Ayden

Link to our Team Page:
https://secure.getmeregistered.com/homepage.php?id=2194

Dear Birthday Boys

2010-04-22T23:05:00.007-05:00

What a long way we have come! Before starting this birthday letter to you I decided to take a peek into our past and reread the birthday letter I wrote to you last year. It brings back so many memories, yet reminds me how much has changed in such a short year! In this year you have gone from babies who could not walk or talk, to full fledged toddlers who can not only walk, but run, and are repeating everything you hear!

This year we have watched as your personalities began to really blossom. You both still have very much the same personalities and temperaments as when you were babies, they have just continued to grow and development over this year.

Ashton - You are very much an independent child. You jump right in, you observe, you study, you do things in your own time and your own way. But, you are still very much a mama's boy! You love knowing that I am nearby and are always running to find me if you can't see me. You call out "Mama", just to check on me. You love to be held, cuddled, kissed and rocked. You stay pretty calm and quiet most of the time. When it comes to talking you let Ayden take the lead, but you are always right there behind him. You thrive on consistency and order. You always let us know if something is not where it should be or if a door is opened that should be closed. You have formed an attachment with a particular blanket that you sleep with and call "B".

Ayden - You are a very social child. You love to get attention, smile and wave at passersby, "act" shy, and most of all, get your way! You know exactly how you want things done and you make sure everyone else knows how that is! You love to laugh and giggle, especially at Ashton. You are always babbling about something. Luckily for us, the babble has recently turned into many new words and we love knowing more about what you are thinking. You have an extraordinary memory and are always surprising us with what you remember. You love to be held and carried (not so easy now that you weigh about 30lbs!) and you enjoy holding hands. You have some sort of attachment to Dr. Seuss books. We don't know how you know they are Dr. S books before they have even been read, but you do. You always have a book in your hand and 8 times out of 10 it is a Dr. S book.

These tidbits are just the tip of your traits and personalities. You charm, entertain and amaze us everyday. I feel so blessed that I have had the opportunity to be able to stay home with you these past two years and be the one to care for you, guide you and witness the amazing changes taking place in you each and every day. As I said last year, you can't fully know everything parenting entails until you experience it for yourself. You can't know the pride and joy you feel watching tiny babies grow into curious toddlers. I would have never guessed that I could love you more than I did the day you were born, but I do!

You are learning and taking in so much right now and it is an incredible thing to watch. Everything is new to me again as it look at it through the eyes of a toddler. A simple things like planting a seed and watching it grow brings wonder to your eyes, and then to mine! I watch in awe as you experiment with scooping, pouring, pulling, pushing, turning, writing, splashing, cooking, and cleaning. What you learn in a day is astonishing and exhausting! You amaze me with how quickly you pick things up and remember things. Everyday is something new and different and I love experiencing it all with you!

Yes, as you grow there are things that get harder as well. You often exert your emotions and opinions in ways that are "less desirable" and this brings a whole new twist to parenting. As much as I hate to admit it...You aren't perfect! There I said it! You are only human, just like your mother and father. You get mad, you get impatient, you get frustrated and tired. When these things happen you do cry, bang your head and stomp your feet. But, you are learning a better way and we will get past it. We are not going to use the phrase "Terrible Two's" at our house. Not because you wont' ever have a fit again, but because we aren't going to put a label on a whole year of your life. We aren't going to have those kind of expectations or excuses for behaviors. We are choosing to parent you in a way that will make you loving and caring children and we have no doubts about that!

So, "Terrific Two's" here we come! Again, I look forward with excitement thinking about all that will come in this new year of life for you. I am so proud to call myself your mommy!

Love you,
Mommy

Ashton at birth

Ayden at birth

Ayden and Ashton at 1 year

Ashton at 2 years

Ayden at 2 years

Building up some birthday fun!

2010-04-18T15:19:00.017-05:00

What a beautiful weekend to celebrate the birth of my beautiful baby boys! I can't believe we are already celebrating the passing of two years since their (surprise) birthday! To celebrate this milestone Jeff and I selected a Lego theme for the party. Ashton and Ayden both love all kinds of Lego's and blocks so we thought it would be both fun and cute! We were right! The party was a success and we all had fun!

The party day, Saturday, started out with a "bang"! No...really! The bang of Ashton's head hitting the ground as he jumped out of his crib! (He just saw his brother also do this for the first time on Monday night!) Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of the incidents for poor "Ashton Love" today!

After getting Ashton calmed down we preceded with our normal morning routine of breakfast and getting dressed, etc. While we were getting ready in the house, Daddy and Papa got the patio and back yard ready for the party. Then we finished up getting ready and decorating the inside just as our family and friends arrived for our birthday bash!

After playing with some Lego's (of course!), the boys dug into the mountain of gifts awaiting them! They got so many great things and loved ALL of them! They got the usual clothes and jammies, but they got some great big boy toys and some outdoor toys as well! These gifts included a sand and water table, complete with toys and sand, from Nana and Papa. A picnic table from Aunt Amy, a golf set from Cousin Chase, Aunt "Juju" and Uncle Larry a bubble mower and Lego's from Karen and even more Lego's from Great Aunt Janet and Great Uncle Don. Jeff and I got them a double sided easel and all sorts of things to go with it and a wooden bead and lacing set. We will be saving their other gifts for their actual birthday.

Ayden and Aunt Amy

Yes, it's true...I actually ended up in a picture!

After so many great gifts we had to go outside and break them all in! It was a beautiful day, 68 degrees and bright, warm sunshine! The kids all had a great time playing outside. Jeff picked up some pizza and brought it back for lunch. We continued our backyard party and ate on the patio and the boys enjoyed their new picnic table. After lunch came the "masterpiece" I stayed up working on until after midnight the night before. (You wouldn't know that I made it, as opposed to the boys, to look at it! Much less that it took me nearly 4 hours!) Oh, well! It was fun and pretty cheap and tasted fabulous! I bought premade pound cakes and cut them squared into different size Lego shapes. I also baked some cupcakes and cut them round and flat to be the Lego nodes. I also attempted to make Gigi's 7 minute icing recipe. It took me two tries and more than 7 minutes each try...but I got the icing made! The pound cake soaked up most of the icing during the night and I probably should have made a double batch....again, oh, well! The boys got the idea (I think!) and it tasted great! Why I choose to make the boys cakes from the red icing colored with red food coloring I will never know! Bad idea on so many levels! In the end I don't think they ingested too much of it and I don't think we will have any stains once I get finished with the laundry! Ayden didn't want much to do with the cake. Ashton dove right for the cupcake on top and ate it, but was pretty much done after that. Since we don't give them sweets this was quite a treat, but they certainly didn't care to indulge.

After a busy and fun filled morning it was time to clean up and take a nap! After the kids got down for naps the adults continued the party on the patio. We just sat enjoying the weather and each others company! It was so nice and relaxing!

Ayden and Aunt "Juju"

Our cool Lego shirts made by mommy!

Ashton and Chase

After all the boys woke up from their nap they enjoyed a snack and more backyard activities. We sat up the sand and water table and the bubble blowing mower while they were napping. These were both a great hit with all three of the boys! We again spent the afternoon relaxing in the backyard and watching the boys play. The "men" also started up the grill and cooked turkey dogs, chicken, brawts, and burgers. We then enjoyed a great bbq on the patio!
After dinner as we were cleaning up the toys and food Ashton ran after me and fell and skinned his knee on the patio. This was not the first or even the second time he did this today, but it was the third time! And, this was by far the worst! He also hit his forehead when he landed this time. He just seemed to have a rough day! Falling out of his crib, tripping, running into things...it was one thing after another all day!

Ashton's poor knees!

It was a great celebration for our great boys! The day could not have been more perfect! (Well, I guess maybe if my family could have been there too!) Now, time to plan the day for their actual birthday!

Easter!

2010-04-12T22:41:00.007-05:00

We had a great Easter Sunday complete with church, a birthday lunch for Nana and an afternoon Easter egg hunt! Sorry these pictures are all out of order! Blogger and I are not getting along and I am too tired to mess with it! :)

Mommy getting the "do's" ready

Giving Nana her birthday gift!

Egg hunt!

But, mama, I see one over there!

My handsome little Easter men!

Daddy and Ayden getting ready

Our castle from Aunt Amy
Going through their many Easter baskets
More eggs!

Pearly, White Chicklets!

2010-04-06T14:19:00.006-05:00

I am a little behind (as always!). The boys had their first dentist appointment two weeks ago. The pediatric office was amazing! They had a large bird cage, large aquarium, children's play room and huge waiting room. The boys saw a great dentist named Dr. Dan! Until children are 3 they do a lap examine, or what they call a knee to knee exam. It was done in the dentists office while the boys sat in my lap and leaned back onto Dr. Dan. Ayden leaned back and laid perfectly still while Dr. Dan checked out each of his amazingly perfect chick-lets! Dr. Dan was very impressed! Ashton was next, and as expected, was not fond of someone trying to get in his face! Nevertheless, Dr. Dan was able to check out each of Ashton's equally perfect teeth! We left there with stickers, rubber ducks and new toothbrushes!
After the visit we decided to check out our new community a little and stopped at a park and sculpture museum we passed. It was really neat! I wish we could have stayed to see a little more but Ayden got tired of walking and mama got tired of carrying Ayden!

Ashton - "our little explorer"

Ayden - ready to go...or at least be carried!

What do YOU do with 200 ounces of breastmilk?!

2010-03-24T22:23:00.007-05:00

Well, I used half of mine to make a super soft, all natural, full of wondrous healing power breastmilk cream! A mom from my wonderful APA forum makes natural baby products under the name Sudzy Baby. She recently began making a kit she sends to mom's with instructions on how to make their own breastmilk cream. All you provide is the milk. Her kit normally uses 7oz of breastmilk and makes 6 oz of cream. I had so much milk that I asked her to do a large batch kit for me. The kit I used called for about 90 ounces of milk and made over a gallon of this white luscious stuff!
I started out by defrosting all my precious ~~liquid gold~~ breastmilk. This was all pumped by me about a year and a half ago! I hated that dreaded pump...but I love the results!
I mixed the ingredients and melted them all together in the microwave. After they melted I whipped it up in the blender. While it was still hot and fairly thin I poured it into 2 gallon freezer bags (1/2 full) and I filled two 1 liter pump bottles.

In the end I had THIS!

We are now set for lotion/cream for quite awhile! Since I was with my family I let them all try it out and everyone was impressed. My dad and my husband both thought it felt like having a paraffin hand dip! (Yes, they have both had this pampering procedure done!) Ayden has a form of dry skin which causes little bumps on certain areas of his skin and we are hoping this helps. We also use a balm from Sudzy Baby that has been wonderful for his skin this winter. Whether you have 7 oz of breastmilk or 100 oz, I highly recommend ordering this wonderful kit. What can be better than lovingly massaging your little one with cream that was made from love and boobs!

Now I have to figure out what to do with the remaining 100 or so ounces!?

Spring(?) Break(!)

2010-03-23T21:15:00.012-05:00

What a week!
We started out with Phase 4 of our move! Pretty sad that we aren't done and are already on phase 4...anyway...the four of us left for Oklahoma on Friday morning. We stopped close to our home (in OK) to pick up a 14ft. Uhaul truck. After eating our FAVORITE Mexican take out we put the boys to bed and got to work. We sorted through our boxes getting out anything we wanted to take back to our temporary home and the things that we were going to take to our storage unit in St. Louis. Shortly after getting started we found a heartbreaking problem! Our garage freezers' door had been left opened and the water from the defrosting process had soaked into nearly every box on the garage floor! We got off SO lucky in the end though! My wedding dress was one box but, it had been preserved and so only the outer box was touched. A box of "baby memories" but, luckily we had filled in the box a little with some blankets in the bottom. The situations continue and nothing was really ruined! We caught a really lucky break with that one! We loaded the storage stuff in the truck first and the spring clothes, the boys cribs and kitchen, as well as some other items we wanted with us at our temporary home. We finally finished loading around midnight and enjoyed a great nights sleep in our own bed!Jeff left the next morning to drive the truck back while I stayed and fixed some things up at the house. My parents arrived shortly after Jeff left and they entertained the boys and helped me with some things on Saturday and Sunday. We got the yard cleaned up, planted some new plants and put fresh mulch in all the flower beds. We packed up the kitchen and packed and reorganized what was left in the garage.Monday we got to meet up with our friends from the twin club at a mall play date! It was so great to see my mom friends and their twins! I had missed them so much - other than my bff, Lindsey, I think they are what I miss most about my life in Oklahoma. Afterwards, we ate with a few of the mom's in the food court. Hindsight...this was a GREAT decision since we don't generally eat out. On my way home to put the boys down for a nap while I cleaned the house, I talked to my mom. During the course of our conversation I realized I was going to be locked out of the house when I got there. I didn't have my keys, just the garage door opener and my mom had locked the garage door to the house when they left! In the end, I had to call the realtor to come open the lock box to open the house. We had to wait nearly an hour outside, luckily it was a beautiful day! It was really sad to see Ashton going from door to door trying to get them opened and crying. He always loves to go outside but, he was so exhausted from our morning he just wanted to go inside and take a nap!

While the boys napped I worked my heine off! I did a whole weeks worth of cleaning during a 3 hour nap! I swept, mopped, vacuumed, dusted, made the bed, did a load of laundry, wiped down the bathrooms, loaded all our stuff in the car and a few other things. Now I was the one exhausted and ready for a nap! But, unfortunately, I had to get the boys up, give them a snack, take down their pack n plays, get them loaded in the car and drive an hour and a half to my parents house.My grandma had fixed my favorite recipe of hers for dinner and we got there just in time to eat. Why is it that when I fix the exact same meal with the exact same recipe it never tastes like hers?? I think it's a grandma thing! In case I haven't mentioned it before, I have the BEST grandma! She also fixed a custard pie thing for dessert. It has coconut in it and she knows, of course, that I am not a big fan of coconut so she made a mini one just for me! I am so glad that my boys have the opportunity to know my grandma, their Gigi!We spent the week basically taking it easy! My mom and I got a pedicure one afternoon and went grocery shopping on another. I checked out a few stores during nap time one day when she had some ladies over for a meeting. Friday my sister arrived with her two kids who where on Spring Break. We all met up at the park and played for awhile. It was a nice sunny day, but the wind was a little cooler than we expected - but, it was still the nicest day of the week! We planned to have a picnic but decided against it and picked up Braum's burgers on the way home and ate them there instead.During the boys' nap time on Friday my sister, Kim, cut and colored my hair. I decided to have more of my natural color put in this time. It is so much darker than when I was younger! The back has been natural for awhile now since I have only been having the top/front highlighted. She colored it all over the same light brown as the back. Then she went back and just put a few lighter highlights in the front/top. Afterward, she trimmed it as well. It looks and feels so much better! I just have to get use to this new color! After dinner that evening she gave the boys a new look as well! They got their second hair cut, which was also their first "big boy" hair cut! They look adorable, but so grown up! I guess we are getting ready for their (quickly) upcoming second birthday!Our plan was to go home on Sunday. Daddy was going to be in Memphis with his buddies celebrating their birthdays from Friday-Sunday too. As the week went on the weather forecast for the week began looking worse and worse. By Friday night they were calling for about 10 inches of snow at my parents' house starting Saturday afternoon and not ending until Sunday evening! I did not want to get stuck there like we did at Christmas. We had things to get back home for this time! At the last minute I decided we would leave on Saturday instead. I got done what I could on Friday night and then rushed around trying to gather all our things and get the car loaded on Saturday morning. I went out to turn the car around and get started at around 10:30 and it was already about 32 degree and sleeting outside. (Do you remember that the day before was over 70 degrees! Crazy!!) We finally said bye to all our family and left around 11:30. It was a long trip through sleet, snow, and lots of rain and drizzle. I wasn't able to turn off my wipers until about an hour or so from home! It was gloomy here and had drizzled on and off all day and did rain after I got home though. Nana had a great dinner ready for us when we arrived home. We spent Sunday relaxing with Nana until Daddy got home after the boys woke up from nap. We were all excited to see Daddy after being away from each other for over a week! He had a great time on his "Boy's Birthday Bash" and even returned with a few souvenirs."After" hair cut pictures!
The boys loved coming home to play with their long lost kitchen!

Although a lot of kids were our for "Spring Break", it didn't seem like spring most of the week! The actual first day of spring was on Saturday, the same day Oklahoma got inches of snow! Although I did have to do a lot of work the first few days of the trip, it was nice to get away and get a little break from our normal routine!

Pastel Puffballs

2010-03-10T15:38:00.005-06:00

What a great spring weekend we had! I can't wait for everyday to be so nice! Saturday morning we took the boys to a Family Fun Expo and got some great information, samples, etc. Saturday afternoon daddy began not feeling so well, but the boys spent lots of quality time with their Papa who was in town for the weekend. Aunt Amy also came over for dinner and got lots of kisses from Ayden!

Sunday Daddy was feeling even worse and we decided it was a great day for a Pajama Day! As usual, when we stay home, we need extra activities! This time I was prepared with a spring/Easter theme activity! I bought some pastel colored puff balls from the dollar store and put them in our ever useful tub and had a great activity for Ashton and Ayden! I also included two measuring cups and 1 set of tongs.

They had a great time playing with the measuring cups....

and filling the measuring cups...

until this happened....and then this...

Ayden loves to dump!Ashton loved the tongs and opened and shut them over and over again for a LONG time!

Fine Jewelry Artisians...

2010-03-05T15:18:00.006-06:00

Well, maybe not for a few more years yet! I feel really guilty that I have not done any sort of bead stringing activity with the boys yet. I had an idea and planned to get the necessary supplies at Joann's the other day. I was disappointed with their selection of the beads and dowel rods I had pictured in my head. So, I decided I would just wait (again putting off a skill I knew I needed to work with them on!) and pick the supplies up somewhere else. Instead I did buy some pipe cleaners and small beads. I intended on saving these until the boys had perfected their fine motor skills with the large wooden beads and dowel rod stringing activity I had originally planned. Well, yesterday the boys had a ton of energy to burn and I had neglected to make plans to leave the house or prepare for a planned activity. So, after building with Lego's, reading lots of books, coloring, and playing with play dough all before 11am, we needed yet another activity! I decided to go ahead and bring out the beads and see what would happen. I worried that Ayden would try to eat the beads and that both boys would lack the fine motor skills and coordination to hold the pipe cleaner and the bead and put the pipe cleaner through the small hole of the bead. As it turns out, they didn't do too bad! I had to help them a lot but, they definitely had the idea down. After a bit Ayden did attempt to put a bead in his mouth. I don't think he would ever actually try to eat/swallow one. He has been going through a phase the last week or two where he has begun putting things in this mouth that he never use to. I think he is just being silly and "pretending" that it is food.

Here are a few pictures of the boys (aka - artisans) making their fine jewelery!

Before:
AydenAshton

After:Ayden Ashton

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

2010-03-04T22:42:00.012-06:00

Our social calendar is filling up quickly at our new home! I have been doing a lot of research to find activities, playgroups, events, story times, and toddler friendly locations in general. So far we are off to a great start! We have found several friends and lots of great free and indoor activities for the winter. We have also joined Parents as Teachers and we are getting ready to start services with MO First Steps and the Delta Gamma Center. These provide therapy for the boys vision condition. We have had several tests and assessments conducted recently as well. The DG Center sent out a speech and a vision therapist to assess the boys. They both said the boys were doing really well. Both boys' expressive language is a little low (Ashton has about 15-16 words and Ayden has about 17-18 words). They generally look for 20 words at 18 months and 50 words at 2 years - although this varies a lot. But, both boys receptive language skills (what they understand) was amazing! They were about the level of a 3-4 year old! She was pretty impressed! We don't know yet if we will get any speech therapy but, we should find out next week. During the vision assessment the boys had a great time playing with all the therapist's fun "toys". I think she was a little overwhelmed! Generally they are assessing younger kids but, since we just moved here we are getting in a little later than what we normally would have. She was not use to kids that were so interested in her toys. They boys knew where her bag was and kept going back to it to try to get out more fun stuff! She had also never assessed twins before so she was shuffling her paperwork back and forth (while the boys were trying to color on it none the less!). Oh, well! She thought she got enough information for the assessment in the end! She thought the boys were doing really well with their vision as well. Last week we also returned to St. Louis Children's Hospital for some more extensive vision testing for the boys. This will help determine exactly how severe their nystagmus is, confirm the OA diagnose, and help with the surgery plans. The testing could only be done one at a time and we were told it would last an hour and a half for each boy. We brought Nana with us to help entertain the boys. When we got there we found that we were in luck because there was a book fair going on at the hospital that day! The boys loved looking around and they each ended up only taking about an hour to complete the testing. They were very cooperative even though the technician was hooking electrodes up to their heads and putting patches over their eyes! We will hopefully be hearing the results for those tests any day now. All this excitement and adventure is helping the boys burn off their energy and they are now napping and sleeping great! I am sure once we move (wherever our house finally sells!!), we will have to deal with some set backs again but that is to be expected and we will start all over again. I will leave you with a few pictures from some of the fun stuff we have been up to!

Playing basketball

Building with Legos

Playing with playdoughMaking valentine craftsReading lots of booksColoringGoing on train ridesGetting into everything!Wresteling

Getting ready for spring!

(Don't ask about the hats! They have had a thing for them lately and want to wear them all the time!)

So...after going through all my pictures and posting them I realize that I haven't been taking pictures of our playdates and other out and about adventures! I guess I will have to do a better job of that now!

Split Pea What?!

2010-03-04T22:14:00.006-06:00

So, I have been trying to be better about planning out an activity for the boys each day. I have a TON of ideas since I was a pre-K teacher before the boys were born. I sometimes forget that they are growing up and can actually participate and enjoy some of the activities I enjoy planning (and participating myself!).

Tuesday I got this out for them:

It was a bag of green split peas as well as a variety of kitchen tools.

They seemed to know I had something exciting instore for them!

I put a vinyl tablecloth on the floor and had them sit on it.

They enjoyed running the peas through their fingers, scooping, filling and investigating! This kept them very engrossed for a full 30 minutes!

MAMA?! MAMA?!

2010-03-01T15:03:00.004-06:00

I have been hearing an awful lot of this lately! As well as "Dada?! Dada?!" and "Nana?! Nana?!". Ashton and Ayden apparently just discovered that they can get our attention by saying our names. They go back and forth between the two of them calling out our names! Then it turns into some sort of a game! It is the funniest thing to hear the two of them calling out our names over and over. We have now decided to turn it around and call their names back...I think this just adds to the game and they giggle and start all over! Such silly boys - I LOVE IT!!

Dr. Seuss for Breastfeeding Moms

2010-02-22T15:19:00.005-06:00

Would you nurse her in the park?
Would you nurse him in the dark?
Would you nurse him with a Boppy?
And when your boobs are feeling floppy?

I would nurse him in the park,
I would nurse her in the dark.
I'd nurse with or without a Boppy.
Floppy boobs will never stop me.

Can you nurse with your seat belt on?
Can you nurse from dusk till dawn?
Though she may pinch me, bite me, pull,
I will nurse her `till she's full!

Can you nurse and make some soup?
Can you nurse and feed the group?
It makes her healthy strong and smart,
Mommy's milk is the best start!

Would you nurse him at the game?
Would you nurse her in the rain?
In front of those who dare complain?
I would nurse him at the game.
I would nurse her in the rain.

As for those who protest lactation,
I have the perfect explanation.
Mommy's milk is tailor made
It's the perfect food, you need no aid.

Some may scoff and some may wriggle,
Avert their eyes or even giggle.
To those who can be cruel and rude,
Remind them breast's the perfect food!

I would never scoff or giggle,
Roll my eyes or even wiggle!
I would not be so crass or crude,
I KNOW that this milk's the perfect food!

We make the amount we need
The perfect temp for every feed.
There's no compare to milk from breast-
The perfect food, above the rest.

Those sweet nursing smiles are oh so sweet,
Mommy's milk is such a treat.
Human milk just can't be beat.

I will nurse, in any case,
On the street or in your face.
I will not let my baby cry, I'll meet her needs, I'll always try.
It's not about what's good for you,
It's best for babies, through and through.

I will nurse her in my home,
I will nurse her when I roam.
Leave me be lads and ma'am.
I will nurse her, Mom I am.

Author unknown

I found this today and I loved it! If you know me then you know that I am a huge supporter of breastfeeding and breastfeeding moms! If I were ever to go back to school and start a new career path I think it would be as a lactation consultant. I would love to help other moms and babies experience the joy of breastfeeding.

The Coupon Game!

2010-02-17T21:55:00.006-06:00

I have always bought the Sunday paper and clipped the coupons for whatever items we used or what I thought might make for a good deal. I only shopped at Wal Mart and Sam's Club. I bought the store brand on most items that had one available. Doing all of this I thought I was being very frugal with my grocery shopping! HAHAHAHAH! That is what I have to say about that now!
I started learning more about this not so secret world of couponing in October and November. This is the same time we were moving and staying with my parents. So, I decided that I would just look around a little and learn until I was back to full time grocery shopping. We settled into our new temporary home at Jeff's parents' at the end of the year. I started getting more into the coupon world, as well as getting freebies, the beginning of January. In the last 6 weeks I have learned so much and received so many free or nearly free items.
Most of the free samples take anywhere from 4-8 weeks to arrive. About 4 weeks after I started all this I began getting something free in the mail nearly everyday! Sometimes multiple items/coupons! A few of the items I have received are pens, prunes, trash bag, insulated freezer bag, coupon books, recipe books, and coupons for various free items.
I have got some of my best deals at Walgreens and CVS. I have made several trips to Walgreens and bought $50-$70 worth of personal care items/cleaners/groceries and only spent $3-$5! This is easy from Walgreens and CVS because they have good sales, store coupons, manufacturer coupons and register rewards/catalina coupons. These all combined make for opportunities for lots of free items! CVS just opened here so I have not had as many opportunities to shop there. But, they have many of the same great deals.
I am also finding some great grocery store buys. There are so many different grocery stores here that I have had to do some research for best buys. Since I moved here I have not even been to my store of choice, Wal-Mart! My grocery trips started with a savings of about 35%, but I have done as well as about 75% savings recently!
I can't say exactly what we are saving right now. Our grocery bills are still kind of random because sometimes Jeff's mom will pick up a few things at the store or she will give me some cash to chip in for groceries. Also, I am cooking for one additional person and we are shopping in a new town and state with a higher cost of living and different taxes. But, I can say that we have already reduced our budgeted amount for groceries by about $50 every two weeks and have been able to stick to that fine, even though we are buying groceries for one more person than we use to. I still feel like I am learning and our housing situation right now is just temporary. So, I will continue to learn and practice and we will sit down with a smaller budget and I will work even harder once we sell our house and buy one here.
I have been looking at this as a part time job. It has been paying me like a part time job and it takes time like a part time job. The benefit is that I don't have to pay for child care and I still get to be with my boy's all day. I do my "work" while they are napping and after they go to bed at night. The biggest complication with this new theory behind grocery shopping is that I make more trips to the store(s) so I end up taking the boys to the store more than I use to. I use to go to Wal Mart once every two weeks after the boys went to bed. Now I go a couple times a week to various stores. I may still go out after they go to bed one night a week though. Have I ever mentioned how much my boys HATE shopping?! Oh, well, maybe if they go enough one day they will learn to love it as much as their mama!

Some pictures of some of my recent steals and deals!

This was a combo purchase from CVS and Walgreens. It totaled FREE! I made $2 at Wags and spent $2 at CVS!

I saved about 70% on this grocery store trip.

This was our first attempt at "playing" Walgreens (affectionately called Wags). Jeff went with me and we made multiple transactions and bought about $60 worth of items for $5!

At Wags, this was also about $50 for about $5.

Wags again, this was $13 worth and I paid $3.

Wags, $70 for $4!

This was another combo trip from CVS and Wags, I think this was about $25 worth of items and we paid about $3.

I have had several other really good trips, but I don't take pictures of them all! ;)

Workin' the runway!!

2010-02-16T15:28:00.015-06:00

That's right! My handsome little men got their first opportunity to strut their stuff on the runway and the red carpet this weekend during their first fashion show! A local cloth diapering store called Cotton Babies hosted a birthday party with the fashion show, a hair and nail salon, a radio station dj, great free giveaways, a story time, paparazzi, red carpet and, of course, cake and punch! The birthday party was for the owners daughter who was having her first birthday! I was lucky enough to be in the first 10 callers after receiving the email newsletter they sent out a couple weeks ago. It was a neat idea and we had a great time!

The boys wore Kimono style one piece outfits that were so soft and silky! They were made from soy fiber! We did not get to keep the outfits, but we did get a $25 gift certificate for each boy to spend in the store anytime in the next year. That will buy several diapers! ;)

Story Time

Daddy and Ayden

Daddy and his boys

Workin' the catwalk!

The "red carpet"

Ashton found a cute girl to flirt with!

Sitting on the red carpet before getting started

Ayden checking out Daddy's camera.

Ashton's not so sure about Daddy!

Mommy is trying to keep the boys entertained!

As you can see they walked the red carpet fine. The step to get onto the stage was really big so that was a little tricky. Ashton was enjoying being center stage and was not ready to give up his place! Hope you enjoy our first video to be posted on this blog. Hopefully we will have many more to come!

I thought we were past this stage?!

2010-01-24T22:50:00.005-06:00

My newest project!

What has happened to my great sleepers? My precious boys who slept from 8pm to 8am like clockwork? Where did they go? I am ready for them to come back!! Granted...our family has been through A LOT during the past 3 months and I know it has taken it's toll on the boys - especially my poor Ayden Baby!
Our sleep woes started after about 2 weeks of sleeping in pack n plays at my parents. By this point the boys had not seen their daddy in a month and had been in a different house, in a different bed and in the same room as mommy for 2 weeks. These were all shocking changes for them and, honestly, they adjusted surprisingly well to it all. Ayden started by just sleeping restlessly during the 11o'clock hour. This restlessness turned into waking up and easily being comforted and put back in bed after another week or two. He was always very easy to put back to bed. I simply picked him up and held him for a minute or two and put him back in bed. Every once in while he would cry within a few minutes of putting him down and I would simply do the same thing again. During this time Ashton rarely woke up - maybe once every 2-3 nights. Sometimes when he saw me with Ayden he would want to be picked up as well and I would just sit at the foot of the bed holding them both for a few minutes. Other times he looked at us and laid back down, or just sat in his crib and watched. By the time we left Grove Ayden was waking 2-3 times each night. Once this phase started Ayden only slept through the night a couple times while we were in Grove.

After arriving in St. Louis Ayden was not so easy to get back to sleep. We were hoping the opposite would occur since we were all reunited again! But, now he had yet another new room and mommy was not in the bed next to him. When Ayden woke now, he was upset and did not want to stay in his room. He would point to the door and mumble something we quickly understood to mean "Get me outta' here now!" He had only done this once or twice before now. I would walk around the living room with him or sit with him on the chair and then put him back down. For awhile I had to go back in every single time within 5 minutes of laying him down because he would start crying again. He was also waking up 2-3 times each night. The times were random for the most part. If there was anything close to a "pattern" I would say that his times for waking were around 11pm, 1:30am and 4am. We even had a few days of waking around 6am, one of which both boys woke up and stayed up! (Remember - these boys haven't woken before 7:30 in a long time, and it's usually 8!) Ashton continued to only wake up randomly, but it was really hard when they were both awake and wanting to be held at 4am! A couple weeks ago we had a phase where both boys would be awake for 1-2 hours at a time. Luckily (for me), this was usually before Jeff went to bed so I had some help! We would go in and out of their room calming them and leaving and repeating - it was draining! One night we actually let them play for 45 minutes or so before putting them back to bed! Somewhere along the way (I am so sleep deprived that I can't remember exactly when) Ayden picked up the sign for "mommy's milk" and would often give this sign in the middle of the night, as well as the sign for more. We have not night nursed in a lllooooonnnnnnngggggg time, so I really tried to discourage this so as not to start another habit. I did give in to him a few times, but it was obvious that this was not what he wanted and he did not go back to sleep.

During this time we have tried several different ideas to help Ayden sleep better - obviously nothing has helped! When my mom suggested a lavender scent in their room I thought "I am willing to try ANYTHING at this point!" I forgot that weekend when I went to the store but she reminded me later and I picked it up later in the week - Thursday Jan. 14th to be exact! It was a day I remember fondly because it was the first time in several weeks that Ayden actually slept through the night! Was it the lavender?! I don't know, but he did it again the very next night! So, I can tell you that I have NOT taken that plug-in out of their room and I don't intend to for awhile! Since then things have gone up and down a little, but overall Ayden has been sleeping MUCH better! The third night Ayden woke up once and one other night he woke up and was awake in our bed from 11:30 until 4am! Jeff and I dozed on and off, but I really don't know if Ayden slept the entire time. At 4am I couldn't take it anymore and took him upstairs and put him in his bed - not a peep was heard from him until 9:45am when Ashton woke him up throwing a stuffed animal in his bed! Also, during this week Nana bought the boys foam mattress toppers to put in their pack n plays in an effort to make them more comfortable - since that was one of our guesses for why Ayden was not sleeping well. We do think that this has made a difference and that they are more comfortable. Also, for comforts sake, I made the boys their very first pillows to sleep with. They are sort of a travel size and are made of a silky soft yellow velour on one side and a silky baby blue satin on the other. They both seem to enjoy their new pillows. On the downside this week - you knew this wasn't totally over, right?! Adyen has slept through the night more nights than not this week, but now the issue is actually GETTING to sleep! This, again, has not been an issue for sooooo long! The boys nurse before going to bed and Ayden is now trying to avoid bedtime so he thinks that if he doesn't unlatch he doesn't have to go to bed! If I force it he gets really upset and screams when we put him down - not because he wasn't done, just because he doesn't want to go to bed. This was really bad for two nights in a row. Normally they go to bed between 8 and 8:15. The first of these nights Ayden didn't go to sleep until around 10 and the second night was closer to 11. The nights following have all been different, sometimes we never have to go back in and other times we have to go in 5 times in the first 30 minutes to an hour. Regardless, this is progress!
So, due to this lack of sleep during the nighttime hours, the boys have begun sleeping in until around 9am- yes, that means, mama is sleeping until then too! ;) Also, nap time was 1-3pm before our sleep saga! Now, nap usually lasts until 4pm - No, mama doesn't get a nap! :(

Our strategy right now is to go in and calm Ayden down without getting him out of his crib. Ayden does better with Jeff with this new plan, so he has been doing a lot of the work this week! Ayden is getting very easy to reason with and that help's Daddy's patience too! He does sometimes get him out, but we do try to avoid it. We are hoping they do start sleeping well soon so that we can attempt to make our first "night away date". Jeff got me everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) for a great night out on the town for my 30th birthday last week. He has had this planned for while and didn't anticipate the sleep situation we currently have. So, we are planning a great date for (insert date the boys start sleeping through the night)!

We know that this all must be incredibly hard on our poor boys and we are very sympathetic to that! We know that this may very well continue until they are sleeping in their own cribs and we are settled into a new home - whenever that may be! We are making plans to go back home to pick up their cribs and set them up here in hopes that they will sleep better in their own cribs. Until then, we will take all the prayers, sleepy vibes, and sweet dreams that you have to offer!

This was when I first gave them their pillows!

ETA:Of course, as I am finishing the final sentences of this blog Ayden woke up screaming! Jeff is up comforting him now! One day we will have time to work, sleep, blog, sew, read........

St. Louis Childrens visit!

2010-01-11T14:38:00.004-06:00

Ashton, getting into everything!

Ayden, so relaxed and compliant!

Yesterday was a GREAT day! One that Jeff and I have been looking forward to for a long time! We finally were able to see a Pediatric Ophthalmologist who does a lot of studies on nystagmus, the side of effect of the ocular albinism that Ashton and Ayden both have. Dr. Tychsen (pronounced Tyson), as well as St. Louis Children's Hospital, has come HIGHLY recommended by everyone we talk to. We were referred to him by the leading N doctor in the country right now, Dr. Hertle. We are so thankful we found him and, that through a series of events, we have landed in the same city as Dr. Tychsen, AND we are covered under a great insurance plan that he accepts!

We ventured out to an area near downtown St. Louis yesterday morning with me driving the boys behind Jeff in his car - he had to go to work after the appointment. It was a fairly short drive, and I found several places along the way that I will have to check out soon! We arrived at the hospital with 20 minutes to spare! (That is very exciting and rare for this family!) We found the office very easily and were greeted by a wonderful staff and a full, but very kid friendly, waiting room. The staff were great and the people flowed in and out very smoothly - like a well oiled machine!

When it was our turn we were taken to a room where a doctor quickly arrived. I was surprised to see that a doctor (an optometrist) was the one to do the preliminary tests. He was very patient and spent a lot of time with each boy. Ayden was very quiet and cuddly while we were there. He was also very compliant and smiley for the doctor. Ashton was a little more antsy and just wanted to check it all out. If the doctor turned around to write something down he took that as a sign that he was finished and would try to get off my lap. When the doctor was finished he told us that we would go in another room to get the boys' eyes dilated for Dr. Tychsen. As soon as we walked in the new room we spotted trouble...you guessed it! Yet another bed to lay down on! Both boys got up there okay and even laid down pretty good (of course, there was a pretty young girl making faces at them over their heads!) Ayden did fine while the dr. looked in his eyes with the light, but when it came time for the drops he started to let that dr. know how he felt about him! Luckily it was just a drop in each eye and it was over. He was fine as soon as he sat up. Ashton seems to be more light sensitive and did NOT like the combination of laying down AND having a bright light in his eye! We had to hold him down while the dr. looked in his eye and put the drops in. Ashton was also fine as soon as we got him off the table/bed. They told us we could walk around or get a drink/snack for about 30 minutes while their eyes dilated.

We walked around the hospital and found some neat things to look at. We also gave the boys a snack before heading back to the office. When we were called back we again saw not an ordinary assistant, but another doctor! He looked at the boys' eyes with bright lights and different lenses. I don't know everything he was looking for, but he was looking to see if they were far or near sighted. Ayden again did excellent for the doctor - we couldn't believe how he just sat there! Ashton, on the other hand, wanted NOTHING to do with this activity! Every dr. tired to use a tv behind their heads as a distraction. Since we don't do tv with the boys, they could care less about that and it was a huge flop! Ashton HATES bright lights and he HATES to be restrained...we had both! It was terrible for me, as a mother, to put him through this! He was sitting on my lap and I had to hold down his hands. The doctor called for an assistant to hold open Ashton's eyes. We did this while Ashton screamed and the doctor flashed a bright light in his eyes! I hated that we had to do this, but at the same time I was glad that they were doing what was necessary to gather all the information they needed to best help us. This doctor then took us into yet another room to finally see Dr. Tychsen! We didn't have to wait long before a man with a bright light around him walked through the door! (Okay, so maybe we were the only one's who could see the light - but, what can I say...we were really anxious to meet him!) Ashton, again, was not real cooperative, but Ayden did great. In order is better look at Ashton's eyes we again went to the room with the bed. Dr. T called for the assistant again and she held his head while I held his arms down and the dr. was able to look at his eyes.

SO, for the exciting news! Our thoughts were confirmed about the null point/head turns that the boys have. Our last PO did not see this, even when I specifically asked him about it. We were told that the boys still do not need glasses! They are a little bit more farsighted than what is normal for their age, but it is not enough to need correction. He did tell us that about 50% off all kids with ocular albinism do end up with glasses. We are scheduled for some very advanced testing the end of February. One of the tests is an eye movement recording. There are very few PO who do this testing, so we are very fortunate to have one locally who has this technology. This testing will tell us more about the extent of their N and how it can be improved. Yup, that's right, I did say that they can improve it! Dr. T will be performing surgery on the boys' eyes sometime before they begin Pre-K. This surgery will move their null points to the center of their eyes so that they will not have a head tilt and will see the best out of the center of their eyes. Currently Ayden can see best out of the top of his eyes. This means when he wants to really see/focus on something he puts his chin to his chest and looks out the top of his eyes. Think of a granny looking over the top of her bifocals! :) Dr. T is more worried about Ayden's head turn because of the potential growth problems it could cause. Ashton can see best out the right side of his eyes so he turns his head to the left and his eyes go to the far right. After the surgery their null points will be moved to the center of their eyes, therefore they will not have to move their heads. Also, the surgery will dampen, or lessen, their N. This is what makes their eyes move side to side, or "jiggle". The surgery was not something that our previous PO was very willing to do. After discussing my research with him he said he would be willing to do it if that is what I wanted. It was obvious that he did not believe it would make a difference. He also did not have the technology to do the surgery with the accuracy that Dr. T can.

We feel so blessed to have found such a great hospital, team and Pediatric Ophthalmologist! We are so optimistic about the future of our precious baby boys and our new relationship with Dr. Tychsen! We will be updating when we find something out from the tests in February!

So long mullet babies!

2010-01-09T20:56:00.009-06:00

Yup! That's right! Today was the BIG day...we finally took the boys for their first haircut! It case you were wondering, they will be 21 months old on January 22nd. It was a sad, yet exciting day! Sad because their baby hair is one of the only "baby" things left about them that I could still hold on to! Exciting because they are growing up so quickly and they were converted into little cover models in less than an hour!

Friday I called and made 2 appointments for 11:30am at The Hairy Elephant in Ballwin. This morning the boys slept in until 9am so we had to get around quickly to get us there in time (yes, it takes us that long!). We were hoping to have some extra time before the appointment to drive around the area since this is one of the areas on our "short list" for buying a house. But, we did not get around in time so the only looking we did was the road we took to get there!

Upon arriving at The Hairy Elephant we checked in and were greeted by our stylists. They showed us a cabinet of flavored/scented shampoos and told the boys to pick one. They had everything from strawberry to peanut butter cup! We helped the boys and went with a basic grape. From there we were escorted to the elephant wash stations. The boys love to have their hair washed so I didn't anticipate a problem with this step. Unfortunately, I did not know that they used a platform where the children laid down in front of the sink instead of the traditional chair. As soon as I saw it I knew it was trouble - it looked like a doctor's office table, without the white paper! The boys knew it was trouble too and screamed as soon as we tried to lay them down. We each held one while the stylists attempted to give them a grape wash. As soon as we sat them up they were fine though - it was as if nothing had ever happened!

After the elephant sink, children were allowed to pick out both a movie to watch and the chair/car they wanted to sit in. Since we don't do tv the stylists popped something in just in case (Neither of them watched it even though it was right in front of them). And, since we wanted them side by side there were not a lot of vehicle choices. Ashton got a race car and Ayden got a golf cart. They both had steering wheels and some buttons to push. They were both draped with a cape and the stylist's went to work.

Ashton wasn't too sure right off, but as long as I stood right there with him he was fine. As the stylist went along he relaxed and started to play with the steering wheel and the buttons. The stylist asked me if he wore his hair to the side. I told her that it usually just went straight forward. She started cutting it like that. A few minutes later I noticed that it was to the side a little. I told her that if it wanted to go that way that she could cut it like that. As she was finishing she put some gel in his hair and blow dried it to the side. He didn't care much for the clippers on his neck or the blow dryer. But, when she finished he did look very handsome! I am not sure if the "to the side look" is for him though. A few hours later it was already going forward again anyway! He has a little widow's peak so I think it will be staying forward from now on - we'll see...

Ayden did okay when we sat him down. He did raise his hands to us and say "Up, up!" many, many times throughout the process though! Ayden looked around a lot and did play with this steering wheel and, of course, the buttons. Ayden had such cute little curls around his ears that it was hard to see them go! He has a light swirl on his front hairline which makes his hair go to the side. The stylist confirmed with me that was how we styled it and she started cutting. Ayden wasn't real hip on the clippers either but, the stylist let him touch them and turn them on for her and that helped a little I think. After cutting the back of his hair, we realized it stuck straight out about the bottom of his neck line. She tried to cut it up a little so it would lay down better. I think it just needs to be trained to lay down and then maybe next time we won't get it cut so short in the back. Ayden's stylist did not put any product in his hair or use the blow dryer (probably a good thing!). He was really transformed when she finished with him - such a big boy!

Once the haircuts were complete the boys played in the waiting area which had a train table, some wall toys and soft seats. Daddy paid while I was given a very cute certificate for each boy, complete with a 5x7 "after" picture and a lock of hair in a little baggie both attached to the certificate. We left with children we hardly recognized as our own, but we were proud parents none the less!

Ayden - Before

Ashton - Before

Ashton did great up until the blow drying!

Ayden was all smiles!

Ashton - After

Ayden - After

Holidays, Homes and a 'Hole Lotta' Changes!

2010-01-05T22:29:00.013-06:00

Things have been so crazy with us lately I have been finding it difficult to find time (or a free computer) to update our blog or upload pictures! SOOO...this might be a bit of a lengthy update - get comfortable!

Holidays-

I drove with the boys from Grove to St. Louis the weekend before Christmas to spend some time with Daddy and celebrate Christmas with the Kitsmiller family. We had a great time with our family, the boys got lots of new toys and clothes and we started to get settled into our new temporary "home" (more on this a little later!). The boys had a great time playing with their cousin, Chase, this year. They also loved their new rocking horse and lego table, just to name a few gifts! We stayed for a long weekend before heading back to Grove to spend the week back at my parents finishing up packing, wrapping gifts, etc. before celebrating Christmas with my side of the family.

Jeff changed his plans at the last minute and drove down from St. Louis on Wednesday evening after work in an effort to beat the blizzard the weathermen were predicting for the next day, Christmas Eve. Sure enough, by noon Wednesday parts of OK were covered in a blanket of snow. The snow didn't make it to Grove until about 8pm though. Of course, since this is OK no snow storm would be complete without freezing rain falling before the snow! This makes for a hard cleanup and very unsafe driving conditions. Because of this my sister, Vicke was not able to make it on Friday like she had planned. So, Christmas morning we all woke up to 6-12 in of snow on the ground, with drifts a lot higher than that! It was beautiful - from the warmth of the inside looking through the dining room glass doors anyway! The boys gazed upon this wondrous site with excitement when they woke up Christmas morning. It is very rare for a white Christmas in OK so I was glad that our last Christmas there was a memorable one! No one came over and we didn't leave the house because of the cold and terrible road conditions. The next day my grandma, my sister Kim and her family and my sister Vicke all made the drive to my parents' house and we had a great day opening gifts, eating and playing Phase 10! Originally the plan Sunday was for both Jeff and I to head back to St. Louis with our cars loaded down with everything we owned that was still left at my parents' house. The roads were better, but we weren't sure how great they would be the entire way. We decided that since there was no hurry for me and the boys to get there that we would wait until Monday to leave. It worked out great and we all made it to St. Louis safe and sound!

So, the boys have now completed their 2nd Christmas. It was more exciting this year since they were able to understand a little more. I anticipate next year will be even more exciting and that they will really be into the meaning behind Christmas! I can't wait!

Chase, Ashton, Ayden and Papa

"The boys" playing with the new lego table. Christmas morning

Ayden opening his stocking

Ashton opening his stocking

Ashton playing in the snow - don't let the face fool you, he didn't care too much for it!

Ayden trying to eat the snow!

Popa with the boys the day we celebrated Christmas with my family.

Our Christmas Cuties!

Daddy and Ayden with a Cheesecake Factory Bear from the Sawyer family!

Ashton opening yet another package!

Everyone was excited about the table and chairs.

This wooden airplane rocker was a huge hit!(Unfornately, it was too big to fit in the car this trip!)

Homes -

So, as I said, we are all in St. Louis now! And, now we are all going through yet another adjustment phase! It is very hard to be without all my "stuff", to be without the boys' cribs, and just in general to be out of our "normal". I will be SOOOOO glad when we finally sell our house and move into one of our own! Jeff's parents have been more than accommodating and the boys have their own room, while Jeff and I have our own sort of efficiency apartment. We are in a portion of their basement that was sort of an office/gym area before we took over! It is nice that we have our own space and that we are not sharing a room with the boys but, unfortunately, Ayden preferred it the other way! He is not sleeping well! I usually have to trudge my half asleep self up the stairs once or twice each night to calm him down. Some nights are better than others, and we are starting to see improvement. I think it is a combination of things, but I think once he realizes that we are all here together and he is safe things will calm down. (This will probably happen just in time for us to move again!!)

Our house has not sold yet, but we are hoping for that magic phone call everyday! We are starting to casually look at different areas around St. Louis trying to narrow in on one area. We thought we had decided on an area, but we have decided to open that up a little more and see what we can find.

'Hole Lotta' Changes -

Oh, how my baby boys are growing! It is not suppose to happen this quickly! Just in the two months since we moved out of our house they have changed dramatically! This is just a quick run down, I am sure I will forget a lot!

~Both boys have added many new words and use them often. They are also started to repeat a little more.

~After over a year of signing the boys both started signing back to me on the same day! That was more than a month ago and since then they have added a couple more signs.

~Their language comprehension is incredible! I often wonder how they know what I am talking about when I ask them to do something new - but, they do! I asked Ayden to get me a Kleenex the other day. We don't usually even have much around, but I have been battling a cold. I had never asked him before, or probably even talked to him about a Kleenex, but he went right over to the box! This is just one of many examples that occur on a daily basis lately. I guess I should just get over it and quit using "they don't understand" as an excuse!

~Ayden is a Puzzle Master! The kid is AMAZING! He perfected his first puzzle the week after Thanksgiving. He did it over and over even when he could do it with his eyes closed! He got a new puzzle when we celebrated Christmas in St. Louis and he put every piece in the correct place on his first attempt. We then got out a more difficult puzzle from our "for later" stash, and he had a little bit more difficulty with that one - but not for long! He had again mastered this in less than a week! Ashton can do the easier shape puzzle and will work on the others. He knows where the pieces go, but gets easily discouraged when they don't go right in.

~My boys have become even SWEETER! They started hugging several months ago, but now they are also kissing and holding hands! It is the most precious thing to watch! They also share food with each other and feed one another!

~They have started to do some pretend play. I so wish we had the boys kitchen right now (it's still in OK)! They are pretending to talk on the phone and give me or each other food/drinks.

~Ashton is an old pro at using utensils and plates/bowls! Ayden started out doing better than Ashton but has now regressed. He will use the spoon if you help him a little, otherwise he prefers to hold the spoon with his right hand and shovel it in by the fistful with this left hand.

Ashton

Ayden

~They have become great little helpers! They are really getting into picking up after playtime and also getting/doing things when asked.

~They are starting to understand and enjoy playing with playdough and coloring.

~Can we say "personal space"?! Their boundaries have sure changed recently. Not only are they hugging, kissing and holding hands...but they are always sitting RIGHT next to one another (sharing a chair even), pushing/guiding each other around (nicely usually), shampooing each other's hair...the list goes on! It is so sweet to watch how close they truely are! We often wonder how they would act had they been born singleton's!?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T21:12:00.003-06:00

We are thankful this year for so much! We are thankful for a great new job for Jeff. We are thankful for two happy, healthy toddlers. We are thankful for our own health. We are thankful that we have a beautiful home (even if we aren't living in it right now!). We are thankful for the GREAT families that we both come from who continue to love and support us. This year we are also thankful just to spend the weekend together! It has been four weeks since Ashton, Ayden and I last saw Jeff! As I write this he is about an hour away! We have a great weekend filled with not much but eating and making up for lost time together! I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and remember everything you have to be thankful for as well!

"Home"

2009-11-18T20:46:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow will be a week since the boys and I moved in with my parents. It has been quite an adjustment for ALL of us! We all have different routines, different schedules and different tv shows. We are all use to our space and keeping our homes the way we like them. Now...we are all trying to make those things mesh under one roof. The boys have adjusted really well and have continued to sleep through the night, only waking up a little earlier than usual. Naps are also still going well. Their eating has been a little less predictable though. We did use this as an opportunity to drop their after nap nursing session and that has also gone great. They are now only nursing when they wake up in the morning and before they go to sleep at night. We went to a Holiday Market/craft show on Saturday morning and shopping in the afternoon, church on Sunday morning, the post office on Monday and to the library for story time on Tuesday. Today we just stayed home and rested while the grandparents and Gigi went to Joplin for the day.
Jeff has been gone for two and a half weeks now. It looks like it will be another week before we see him. He will be coming home for Thanksgiving and we will be going back to our house for a few days since it has not sold yet. I have been blowing the boys kisses and telling them that they are from Daddy and now they are blowing kisses back! It is SOOOOO cute! I got a picture of Ayden doing it this week but I don't have the ability to upload pictures right now. I will have plenty of pictures to share after next week!

Going it alone...

2009-11-04T21:55:00.005-06:00

Jeff has been gone for 3.5 days and we have had our ups and downs, but we are making it! Grandma and GiGi made a last minute decision to come to town the day before their flight to Florida for my cousins wedding. It was nice to have them here, even though it wasn't for long. My mom and I took the boys to what was probably my last TMOM (Tulsa Mothers of Multiples) meeting. It was sad to leave the friends, with whom I had so much in common, that I have made during past 20 months.

This morning as Grandma and GiGi tried to leave for the airport Ayden had a huge meltdown and ONLY wanted GiGi! He put on quite the show, which continued after they had pulled out of the driveway! At least he will get to see plenty of her in the coming weeks! :) After they left I had to take out the trash (since the "man of the house" is not here to do his chores!). I wanted to do it before they left, but I didn't get to it. The boys run out of the house after me if I walk out, so I had to be creative. I had to open the overhead garage door and then lock the house door to the garage as well as the front door. I had to put up the baby gate to block the kitchen. I left the house through the kitchen patio door with the trash bags from inside. I put them in the can and put it on the curb in front of the house. Then I gathered all the boxes of trash (there is so much of that when moving!) and took them to the street. As I was gathering the garage trash I heard a band on the garage door. It sounded like the boys had opened the coat closet door and slammed it into the garage door - well, I figured, there were worse things they could be getting into! After the trash was all at the curb I had to go back through the gate and into the house from the side. When I got inside I was headed to the garage to shut the overhead door when I found this...

I had left a box of Cheez-It's on the table and they had pulled it down! I guess they thought they needed a mid-morning snack today! I forget how tall they are getting sometimes! They have also been having a ball tearing up all the newspaper I have out to pack with!

My hat goes off to all the single parents out there! Yes, I am used to taking care of the boys all day, but it is extra exhausting to do it into the evening everyday as well! I won't go into details about this evenings grocery trip to Wal-Mart, but I was pretty ticked when what should have been a 30 minute trip turned into over an hour all because I had a moron for a cashier! There was a short line and it took me 30 minutes to get through the line and get a few groceries! AGGGHHHH! So frustrating! I love the prices, look, layout, etc. of that Wal-Mart, but they have a lot of things that really upset me too. Jeff told me to not to go back there and I said I wouldn't - not because of what happened, but because I shouldn't need to go again before we move! :)

I have been trying to do all the packing while the boys are napping or at night when they are in bed. I don't think they will understand, but I also don't want them to stress. I did have to do some work in their closet so I did that yesterday morning. They had a lot of fun watching me and playing with the boxes. Ashton pushed a large empty box around the house before bringing it to their room. Ashton and Ayden then proceeded to fill the box with everything laying on their floor. I only wish they picked up that well when it is time to clean up the toys!

There was a little more in the box - before I got around to taking the picture they took a few things back out!

Brotherly Love

2009-11-02T22:04:00.007-06:00

After the fighting I have been refereeing for the past few weeks I finally got a slight reprieve today! While I was cooking dinner and talking to daddy on the phone in the kitchen, Ashton and Ayden were having a grand time tearing up the Sunday paper on the dining room floor. I was watching them have a giggling good time when all of a sudden Ayden went right up to Ashton and wrapped his arms around Ashton and gave him the sweetest bear hug I have EVER seen! If this wasn't enough to melt my heart, he did it again a couple seconds later. But, this time he added "a little sugar on top" and even nuzzled his head against Ashton's as he hugged him! OH, MY! I teared up with happiness, joy, and pride at the site of my sweet boys embracing in their first hug! It was bittersweet to have to relay the events over the phone to daddy though! :(

Just to see if it was a fluke thing I asked Ayden to give Ashton a hug later that evening after dinner...and he did! This time I was prepared and got a few pictures, though nothing as cute as those first hugs in the dining room amongst a confetti of newspaper sheddings. I then asked Ashton to give Ayden a hug...and again, to my surprise, he did it! I am going to bed a very proud mama tonight!

Ashton

Ayden (and Lilo)

Ayden hugging Ayden

I LOVE it when he nuzzles!

Ashton hugging Ayden - didn't get the best picture of this one

A weekend of Tricks and Treats (and Tears)!

2009-11-01T22:01:00.006-06:00

Our Halloween weekend started off with a trip to the Corn Maize on Saturday morning! We dressed the boys up in their costumes and headed out in the beautiful fall weather. It was a beautiful day, in fact, Jeff and I wished that we had left our sweatshirts in the car! We started out in the "corn box". This was basically a huge sand box filled with dried corn. The boys LOVED it, they loved it so much we had to go back a second time before we left! Next, we made our way through part of the corn maize. I say part, not because we didn't know how to find our way out, but because it was just WAY too muddy! After a month of rain and probably hundred's of people trampling through it, that maize could have been renamed "Corn Muddy"! So, we decided to move on to the Cow Train! This was a four wheeler that was pulling about 5 barrel cars attached to one another and painted to look like cows. We knew the boys wouldn't do it by themselves so we asked if we could ride along. That was easier said than done...those barrels and seats were definitely made for children! But, we both were able to fit in one with a boy on our lap. The Cow Train was then pulled through another mini corn maize. Ashton and Ayden both love to move so this was a hit! We then took a water break as we waited for our turn to go on the hayride! We all enjoyed a hayride with great narration from a funny farmer driving the tractor. He kinda' reminded me of my grandpa, which made me enjoy the ride even more! Next we decided to check out the pumpkins and the goats. Ayden, surprisingly, was really excited by the goats. Both boys liked looking at the pumpkins and throwing them around! We bought a couple pumpkins and made one last trip into the corn box. By this time it was 12:30pm and we had to get our little tots home for lunch and a much needed nap! They usually go down for a nap at 1pm, but it was 2pm today. Since we were already suppose to "fall back" an hour tonight anyway we decided to just start that schedule then! That evening we ate dinner and got dressed again for some neighborhood trick or treating! This was Ashton and Ayden's first time to t.o.t. and they weren't sure what this was all about. They loved going up to all the houses and seeing people. They were a great hit and everyone was poking their heads out to see our little Thing 1 and Thing 2! But, the candy thing meant nothing to them, especially since they have never even eaten any candy! It was just another toy to play with and throw on the ground! We came back home and continued to pass out candy to the other neighborhood kids as they made their rounds. In order to avoid an extra early wake up call from the boys we stuck with the upcoming time change and put them to bed about an hour late. It worked out well because they woke up at 8am just like usual! Thank goodness...this mama needs all the sleep she can get!

Daddy and Ayden on the water break

Ashton and Mommy on the hayride

Ashton says "hmmm....."

The corn box

Daddy and Ashton on the Cow Train

Time to Trick or Treat!

My little Thing 1 and Thing 2 had a great Halloween!

Sunday Jeff spent the morning getting his things packed up and loading up his car to head for St. Louis. He starts his new job there tomorrow. Although we have been talking about and preparing for this time for awhile now, it was harder on us than we anticipated. After daddy left we ate some lunch and I put the boys down for an early nap. I put them down early so that they could get up a little early and once more get dressed in their costumes for a Birthday/costume party. Caleb, who use to be our neighbor, is turning 4 this week and we were invited to a great Halloween themed party to celebrate. I was really excited to go and see our much beloved, and missed former neighbors! Unfortunately, for me, it turned out to be very stressful! The home the party was held at was beautiful...which translates to...not toddler proof! There were Halloween decorations, figurines, breakables, candy, ceramic tile stairs, an unfenced swimming pool,etc....all over the place! It was so hard trying to keep up with both of them by myself. Ashton almost did a face plant down 2 ceramic tile steps into a ceramic tile floor! I grabbed his arm just as he was falling! They understand steps no problem, but it is hard to see the steps coming when you are going down, especially when it is just two steps. I needed a breather from all the indoor hazards, so I took them outside, into the yard. Of course, they didn't stay there. Of course, they went in different directions. Of course, I followed the wrong boy. I don't even remember what it was I saw that I thought Ayden was going to get into, but I went after him. As I got his hand and started to walk towards Ashton, I see him trip and fall. It looked like he just went down onto his hands and knees...no big deal! He started to whine and I said "I'm coming, go ahead and stand up." As I get there I see that he, of course, has ended up in a little decorative pond! I stand him up and pull off his cold, wet pants. Luckily, just his hands and knees/shines ended up in the water. The ends of his sleeves were a little wet but he was able to leave this shirt/onesie and his shoes on. So, Ashton had to finish out the party showing off his cute, white, chicken legs! After this Caleb's dad took us on a little hayride around the yard. Shortly after this I decided it was time to go home! Now, I am home and sore and ready to go to bed! It was a fun, exciting and sad weekend, and now that it is over I have to get serious about packing!

(After reading about this 1 hour and 15 minute experience you can

understand why I have no pictures!)

Then and Now

2009-10-29T22:33:00.007-05:00

The boys turned 18 months old last week...can you believe it?! It is true what they say about time flying when you are having fun! Almost a year ago I started my blogging journey, the boys were just over 6 months old and I wrote a little about each of them. I decided to do a side by side comparison of "then and now" to see how much they have changed in a year and celebrate this half-birthday!

Ashton Ray:

From December 12, 2008

"Ashton is what I call a "perfect multiples baby". He goes with the flow and not much seems to bother him. He is very content to play on the floor rolling around by himself. He is very interested in touching everything around him. Ashton loves to show his dimply smile and to cuddle! We call him "our little football" because he is always curled up, when he sleeps and when he is being held. Ashton loves bath time! He nearly closes his eyes and doesn't make a peep the entire time. Ashton loves to smile, giggle, and be read and sung to. "Ashton Love" is also a little sensitive! Sometimes he gets upset when he is disturbed, especially when he is eating - that is serious business! This is happening more often since I nurse them at the same time and they are getting pretty big now! Ashton is a great sleeper...as long as he has his pacifier."

October 30, 2009

For the most part Ashton is still pretty "go with the flow", but he is probably more needy now than he was then! He can be content for quite awhile playing by himself, but when he wants mommy...he makes his needs/wants known! Ashton still loves bath time, but now of course, he takes a bath sitting up in the big tub full of water and toys. He still smiles, giggles, and loves to be read and sung to. We still will often call him "Ashton Love" and he is still very sensitive. Not so much when it comes to eating, but nearly everything else! He hates to be held, unless it is his choice. He hates to be restrained in any way really(holding him, holding his hands, etc.). Ashton is still a great sleeper at both nap and bedtime. He naps for 2-3 hours in the afternoon and sleeps 12 or more hours at night. He would probably sleep longer if Ayden did not wake him! He hasn't had a pacifier since January either. Ashton really needs his sleep and has struggled a little with the switch to one nap a day at 16 months. If we go somewhere in the car he nearly always falls asleep. These little "cat naps" really help him.

We often call Ashton "Our Little Engineer" because he always seems to be trying to figure out how things work. He is very inquisitive and loves to explore and check out new places/things. Ashton loves to eat! His favorite is waffles (preferably banana waffles)! Ashton is currently going through a major separation anxiety phase! It has been going on for about 6 weeks now. He is much better now when we are at home, but I can't say the same about when we are around other people! I think our whole family thinks Ashton doesn't like them now! I know this is not the case, and this phase will end soon, just as Ayden's did. Ashton is usually the silent leader type. Ayden will just follow Ashton around the house or to a different area to play. This roll does often switch though, especially when it comes to actions/tasks. Ayden is often the leader and Ashton the follower when it comes to doing something new like clapping, climbing on the couch, opening doors, etc.

Ashton has become very attached to a soft blue blanket given to us as a baby gift. Anytime it was on the living room floor he would lay down on it, snuggling and rolling around. When we went to St. Louis a few weeks ago we decided to fold it up and lay it in the bottom of the pack and play in hopes that it would help him sleep better while away from home. Now, he has to have it in his crib for naps and at bedtime! He will often pull it out of his crib and come into the living room with his blanket trailing behind him, lay the blanket down and pounce on top of it! It is very sweet! Ashton is getting sensitive about wearing wet/dirty diapers recently. If he is wearing a velcro diaper he will take it off as soon as he needs to be changed. One night he took it off before he was quite "finished" and we had quite a surprise in our hallway! Ashton loves to dance to any type of music. Until recently he only danced while sitting, now he dances standing up and gets a little more of his body into it. Just today he was dancing to the sound of the toilet flushing!

At the park

On the blanket

Ayden Lee

From December 12, 2008

Ayden is what I like to refer to as a "perfect singleton baby". He does not realize, nor care, that he is not the only baby mommy and daddy have to take care of! He is very vocal and always lets me know what he wants, how he wants it and when he wants it! Ayden loves to be with mommy, forget playing with Ashton! We have called Ayden "high needs" for a long time, but recently he has been a little less needy. The boys could not be more different, the Lord knew we could only handle one Ayden! Ayden was a very serious (because I don't want to call it sad) baby for a long time. He rarely smiled and fussed a lot. We have recently had a major turn around and now he has become a big ham and smiles all the time. Ayden loves bath time and has recently began smiling up at me really big as soon as I turn the water off. I think this is because he knows his nightly massage is coming next! My "Ayden Baby" loves to chew! He puts everything in his mouth, mommy and daddy's fingers are among his favs! Although he was born smaller Ayden is now my "Chunky Monkey". He started waking up to eat 1,2,3 + times/night at about 5 months old. When we went to their 6 months checkup I guessed he would weigh one pound more than Ashton. Sure enough, 1lb 2 oz up on his brother! Ayden loves to play silly games and be read and sang to. Ayden HAS to have his sleep! Once we get him to sleep (which has been a problem lately) he is a good sleeper!

October 30, 2009

Oh, wow! How Ayden has changed! He was starting to change about the time the previous blog was written, but he just continued to keep changing! Ayden use to be my "high needs" baby, but he is now a very calm and laid back toddler! He rarely cries - guess he got that all out of his system between months 2-6! :) Ayden is still VERY vocal and let's me know his needs, but he also just loves to talk and jabber away! Although Ayden is still very much a "mama's boy", he will gladly go to other friends and family members and flash his big happy smile! Ayden will also gladly play with Ashton now. It follows Ashton around just waiting to see what they will get into next! When something silly happens Ayden always looks to Ashton for his reaction. Ayden still loves bath and massage time. This message is much shorter these days and is now done sitting up since they hang off the changing table now! Ayden is still, and will always be, my "Ayden Baby".

Ayden is no longer allowed to chew on fingers since he has a mouth full of 16 sharp teeth! He is much better about not putting things in this mouth, although I have fished out crayon and playdough from his mouth in the past two weeks! He does love to put food in his mouth as well! Ayden loves to eat! His favorites are fruits, any kind of fruit really. He can sometimes be picky about any skin, dryness, or the color green! All this eating has increased his weight to more than 3 pounds over his brother. It really isn't so much that he is my "chunky monkey" anymore, he and Ashton just have totally different body types/shapes.

Ayden also loves to be sang and read to. He will often hum along when we sing songs, and the way he is talking it won't be long before he is singing to us instead! Ayden also loves music and dancing. Ayden use to just sit and bounce to the music, but recently he has began to dance while standing as well. He will dance to any rhythm, even that of the running washing machine! Ayden is still a great sleeper, but no longer needs his sleep like in the past. We can drive around all day in the car and he will stay awake until his actual nap time. He usually naps for 1.5 to 2.5 hours and about 12 hours at night.

Ayden has been pretty successful at part time potty learning during the last month. He has yet to tell us when he needs to go, but he will go about 1/4 - 1/2 of the time when we put him on the potty. We aren't pushing him and will wait until we get settled into a new home to really work on it. Ayden is very generous with his kisses, the open mouth kind of course! He is such a snuggler and loves to sit in our over sized glider seat beside me when we read stories before nap. Ayden isn't a big fan of playgrounds/parks just yet. He is getting better, but until recently he wanted me to hold him the entire time we would be at a park. The swing was the only thing we would play on!

Lovin' on Papa

Reading and snuggling with daddy

Our day at 18 months:

The boys usually wake up around 8ish. They nurse and get a clean diaper before I fix them breakfast. After breakfast we get dressed. We then either run errands, go to playdates or play at home. If we play at home they are likely to be playing with their books 75% of the time! They LOVE their books! We read stories all day. Sometimes just part of a story since they are going through a phase where they want to take off with whatever book I am reading. Their favorite books right now are Goodnight Moon and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Both books were bought new but you couldn't tell that now! They also have recently started playing with more cars. They roll them along and sometimes even make car noises too! We eat lunch about 12:30 and the boys take a nap about 1pm. During this time I work, clean, blog, pack, etc. They wake between 3 and 4pm. They nurse and eat a snack before playing. We play with toys, color, playdough,...Daddy usually gets home about 5:30pm and we eat about 6pm. After dinner we all play on the floor. Baths are at 7:15 and are followed by jammies, nursing, and lots of smoochies from mama and daddy! They are in bed around 8pm. Then mommy and daddy spend about an hour relaxing on the couch, talking about our days and watching some mindless programing TiVO'ed from the tv. Then we get up to get some real work done around the house or on our computers. We usually go to bed between 11pm and 12am. Hopefully when we move we can start some new habits, one being going to bed earlier!

Playdate with our twin friends

Typical day at our home library

Boxcar rids from mommy

Ashton and Ayden are separate individuals and are growing and learning at their own pace. We love watching them develop their own unique personalities with all the smiles, fights and tantrums that involves! We are fortunate that they are entertained by books, toys, each other and mommy and daddy. We don't put television programs on for them and don't attempt to use the television as a distraction or a babysitter. I can see where there are times that it might be easier, but that just makes me think more creatively! Our baby boys have come so far and we love to reminisce about when they were babies and also to look forward and dream about their futures.

Happy Half-Birthday Ashton and Ayden!

Thank you for being such perfect blessings in our lives!

We love you!

Mommy and Daddy

On the road again!

2009-10-29T15:35:00.006-05:00

The Three Amigos - Ayden, Chase, Ashton

We love to play with coasters!

Ashton wasn't feelin' the pictures so he sat this one out!

We had hardly gotten home from St. Louis when we repacked our bags for a much needed mini vacation in Branson last weekend! Jeff's parents had been planning to go to the Dick Clark's '57 Heaven car auction and when Jeff heard about it he wanted to go as well. We decided to just make it a family event and Jeff's sister from St. Louis came as well as his sister in KC, along with her husband and son. We all had a great time staying in a large 3 bedroom condo. Jeff and his dad spent all day Saturday at the museums auction while the rest of us shopped at the outlet mall! I came home with some great clothing deals and Jeff and his dad come home with some "projects"! The museum was also auctioning off all their memorable, so they bought two OLD pedal cars and some kind of a train. They seem to be really excited about this new challenge! Sunday came too quickly and we had to drive home in the rain (again)!

St. Louis or Bust!

2009-10-29T14:45:00.004-05:00

The weekend of October 10th-11th we went to St. Louis to "celebrate our anniversary" - or so we told Jeff's parents! Actually we were going there to attend a surprise 30th anniversary party for them! They were very surprised and the party was a great success! Since we were already going to be in St. Louis Jeff scheduled an interview on Friday with a company he had applied with. He was unsure as to how the interview went and was then disappointed to find out that it may be a week before he would hear anything. So, we were excited when early the next week Jeff received a job offer to be a software engineer for Fanball in St. Louis, MO. He had to give his notice right away to his current job since he will be starting November 2nd! As you can imagine things have been pretty crazy around our house! We have been searching for boxes, getting the clutter out of our house to "stage it", got the house listed with a realtor last week, and we are now continuing to pack up our house full of possessions! This is all happening sooo quickly, but we know that this is what is best for our family for the future.

I was too busy to get many pictures! Other's took family pictures at the party so when I get a copy I will post them as well! And we did get to go out for a night on the town after we put the boys to bed on Saturday! It was so nice to go on a date with my wonderful husband!

Grandpa and his boys!

Ashton and Daddy (post interview)

Ayden and Grandpa

A childhood staple...

2009-10-14T14:10:00.007-05:00

The childhood's year's would just not be complete without hours of enjoyment with one's hands in PLAYDOUGH! As a child I loved playdough and my grandma was always willing to make a homemade batch for us. As a pre-K teacher I have enjoyed making lots of playdough for my students as well...snowdough, chocolatedough, apple-cinnamon dough, kool-aid dough...I love it all!

Ashton and Ayden got their first taste (quite literally :)) of the fun in playdough last week! We were given some playdough several months ago and decided we would get it out for them to explore! They were both very interested in this new sensation! Ayden really wanted to taste it...when he did get some in his mouth he put it on the roof of his mouth and sucked on it! Daddy and I joined in the fun to show them everything this new "toy" could do - who can resist getting their hands in some playdough!

Ayden

Ashton

Potty Time!

2009-10-01T21:26:00.008-05:00

That's right! Ayden peed in the potty tonight! We bought a new potty last weekend to start working on potty learning. We have no gross expectations of the boys using the potty full time anytime soon (although we won't complain if that happens! ;-) ) They both show different signs that they are ready to at least be introduced to the concept. Ayden is known for peeing on the floor both before and after bath, and any other time he goes without a diaper for more than about 10 seconds - not exaggerating! He is also very obvious about pooping, so we are going to really make an effort to get him to the potty when we see the signs. Ashton seems to be showing some signs of control over his bladder. He often wakes from nap dry and when we go out he pees very little, if at all. Sometimes Ashton will also try to take his diaper off when it is wet or dirty. Sometimes he does it even when it is dry, but normally it is wet when he does this.

ETA: OK, so maybe this was no fluke!?! Day 2 Ayden again peed in the potty! Day 3 Ashton and Ayden both peed in the potty! Yayyyy!

ETA: Day 4 Ayden was dry from the time we took off his overnight diaper until we put him down for nap at 1pm! He peed in the potty 3 times during the day. Ashton peed once too! Day 5 Ayden peed three times again! Day 6 Adyen peed on the potty twice!

Yesterday Jeff and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary! Jeff stopped by The Cheesecake Factory to pick us up dinner and, of course, cheesecake! It was soooo good! After the boys went to bed we split a slice of wild blueberry white chocolate cheesecake! It was to die for! He got two pieces, so tonight we split a piece of peanut butter fudge cheesecake! It was very rich! My wonderful husband got me not only the traditional 3 year anniversary gift of leather, but also the modern gift of crystal! I am one lucky girl! What a great 3 years we have had so far! We have been blessed in so many ways and I look forward to celebrating many, many more anniversaries with you, honey! I love you!

(Sorry about the poor quality! This was a badly scanned picture!)

I'm back!!

2009-09-29T23:01:00.008-05:00

To blogging!

It has been a long, busy, productive, crazy, eventful, stressful, adventurous, and milestone filled month! And that is only talking about the boys! Not to mention I have been trying to fit in house work, working on my new store, tagging items for the TMOM garage sale, having family in town 3 times, going out of town once, and compiling my TMOM newsletter!

So many exciting things have happened I am sure I won't even remember them all - but, I will give it a shot!

Labor Day weekend Ashton finally made the switch to walking full time! So now, that makes two wild toddlers walking around my house, getting into everything, opening doors and cabinets, emptying drawers, pulling all the books off the shelves.....and I'm loving every minute of it! (Well...almost every minute!)

Although the boys have not added a lot of new words to their vocabulary, they are understanding soooo much language now. We are already to the "spelling" stage with certain words! They follow many commands and point out most body parts and many household items. Ayden's first sentence is "What's that?" and if he says it once a day, he says it 200! Over and over all day long we hear, "What's that?", "What's that?"! Yes, it gets old, but he and Ashton are learning a lot because of it! How many 17 month old's can find the "alarm keypad" in a home? My boys certainly can! We make a point of telling them the real words for things instead of "baby talk".

The boys love their wooden shape sorter lately. The both started out just putting the shapes in the side, basically cheating! Slowly they learned that the circle was blue and it was the easiest to fit in. They would do it over and over and over. Luckily there are two of each shape! :) Now, Adyen is also very proficient at the semicircle and the plus sign. I am not sure what age this is normal, but this seems pretty advanced to me!

Such intense looks!

It takes a lot of concentration!

Ashton began giving high fives to his Daddy before he could even sit up on his own! Now, Ayden has decided to join in on the high five's! I took his hand and made him give me a high five every time he put a shape in the sorter toy. He never would do it on his own though. A couple days later Grandma Kitsmiller was here visiting and he gave her plenty of high five's without hesitation! Guess I was just too boring for him!

Ashton and Ayden were both resistant to clapping until just last weekend! Can you believe that? Our boys were 17 months old when they clapped for the first time!? Better late than never I suppose! It wasn't as if they had never heard or seen clapping. We even made their hands clap more times than I can count! But, again, it just took a grandma to get the job done. Last Friday morning Grandma Adams and Gigi where here. Gigi was playing with Ayden and the sorting toy (again! - he loves it!) and she would clap and cheer every time he got one in. Then, one time he put his hands together once. Of course, as I saw this I mentioned that they were not clapping yet. The next one he got in he clapped twice. Then, the next one he clapped about 5 times! That was all it took! He was clapping the rest of the day. I worked a few hours during the day setting up for the TMOM garage sale and then Jeff and I shopped during the member's only shopping time in the evening. When we got home Grandma and Gigi told us that Ashton had started clapping while we were gone! He, too, is clapping all the time now!

This month we went to the zoo twice, a couple library story times, multiple parks, Incredible Pizza and more! The boys are loving getting out to explore and learn! They still hate shopping though! :(

First time riding in the Sam's double cart!

This is what Ashton did while the lady at Hobby Lobby cut my fabrics!

Ashton petting the sheep.

Ayden petting the sheep.

Ayden playing in the ground covering at a park. It was fine pebbles, like sand, only better!

Ashton in the pebbles.

Checking out their new kitchen!

3..2..1...and the ribbon is cut!

2009-09-05T22:39:00.004-05:00

So it is official...my new business venture is well underway! I have started a hyena cart store selling baby and children's items called Unique Baby Boutique! To read more about it and to check out the store for yourself visit these locations:
Unique Baby Boutique on Hyena Cart - www.hyenacart.com/uniquebabyboutique
Unique Baby Boutique Blog - www.uniquebabyboutiqueblog.blogspot.com

It was a poopy kinda day!

2009-09-05T13:22:00.005-05:00

Jeff took one of his furlow days from work yesterday and spent some time playing with his boys and working from home. Before nap we each changed a boy before reading to them and putting them in their cribs. When we went to get them up we were greeted with the most wretched smell ever! Ashton had poo on his legs, face, fingers, sheets, crib, floor....it was gross! To make this episode even worse - we had basil pesto chicken for dinner the night before!! Ashton was terribly upset by all of this and was mad at me the entire time I worked to get him cleaned up and changed. As I was cleaning him up I noticed that the leg snap of his diaper was undone! There is no way Ashton can get those snaps undone...daddy was the one that changed Ashton...I will leave it at that! I noticed all evening he still seemed to smell like poo, I just thought it was in my head, until I found a chunk in the back of his hair! UUGGHHH - no wonder!! Before bed we did our normal bath routine (and I made sure to get the poop clump out this time!) and as we finished I called for daddy to come help with his part of the nightly routine. As he was coming Ayden was "passing gas" and laughing at the sound it made while sitting in the bathtub full of water! I, too, laughed at his silly expressions, until....I saw him lean ever so slightly forward and his eyes get a little glassy - that means only one thing for dear Ayden! I told Jeff to hurry and I picked up Ashton and handed him over to daddy before the water got infested! Ayden thought he was missing out on something and quickly jumped up from the water leaving several "patties" behind! As he waded around he proceeded to step on a piece smooching it into the grooved mat placed in the tub to prevent slipping - great even more to clean up! I got him cleaned up and into the nursery to get dressed. This time daddy got the privilege of cleaning up! We sure have had our share of poopy experiences lately! I can't wait until they are potty trained!

I did not take any pictures of our incidents yesterday but these are from one of our other many incidents. These were taken the week of their first birthday. I wasn't even sure who had pooped because it was all over both of them, the floor and the table!

Parks, playdates and, of course, family!

2009-09-01T15:28:00.007-05:00

Last week brought about a huge change at the Kitsmiller house! We finally took the leap and went to one nap a day. I have been dreading this and looking forward to it at the same time. I dreaded it because the morning nap was my time to shower and get ready. Also, I didn't really think Ashton was ready for only one nap, and he is not a happy camper without his sleep! I was looking forward to it because it means more time for me to spend with my boys and more freedom to get out and do things! Let me tell you...we have taken full advantage of this time. Last week we went on two walks, had two playdates, went to 3 parks, and attended storytime at the library! We had lots of fun and Ashton did well with the transition. This transition also means the boys will be dropping a nursing session, since they use to nap when they woke up from this nap. As long as they are occupied they don't think about it. But, two days I layed down on the pillow I use for my head while we nurse and they thought it was time, so that nursing session is not quite gone, but almost. Ashton loved all the parks and was his usual independent self. Ayden on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with them and just wanted to be held the whole time! Jeff had a lot to do this weekend so the boys and I loaded up and took a little trip to Stillwater. We saw my sister, Kimberly, and the boys' cousins. They had a great time playing while I got my hair highlighted! Next we went to see my sister Vicke. The boys loved exploring EVERYTHING at her house! We even got a surprise visit from another cousin, Angel, who made a last minute trip through Oklahoma from Texas. Sunday afternoon while the boys napped I went to Mexico Joe's for an OMOMS (Oklahoma Moms of Multiples) meeting. Afterwards we said good bye to everyone and headed home to Daddy!

Ashton loves to climb!

The only thing Ayden liked was the swings. Of couse, only one of the three parks we went to had a swing!

Helping mommy pack!

Ayden and cousin Colton playing cars.

Ashton didn't quite understand the "sit" part of "Sit and Spin"!

Riding the bike at Aunt Vickes!

These boys LOVE their books! They spend about 75% of their playtime each day with books!

My Dan Zanes wannabe's!

Sorry the quality of the pictures is so bad! I have been using my iphone for pics a lot lately and it just isn't the same!

A bomb went off at our house!

2009-08-19T21:44:00.007-05:00

Ok...well, truth be told, I never actually found the bomb...but there was certainly an explosion!

During the last week:

Ayden has decided that walking is his preferred method of transportation! He is toddleing everywhere!

Ayden picked up several new words including "uh-oh", "Dayda" (for our dog, Jada), "Dada" for daddy. Maybe a few others that we are still not certain of.

Ayden learned to climb on the couch and now loves to sit on the couch and look through his books.

Ayden began shaking his head yes. He had been doing only no. He doesn't always use the one he means, but he does answer with one if you ask him a question.

Ayden finds shoes or socks and attempts to put them on his feet.

Ayden has seen Ashton using his spoon and decided he should try it, now he is loving feeding himself with a spoon too!

Ashton added the word "ba" for bath and is working on a few others it sounds like.

Ashton can find your nose when asked.

Ashton began shaking yes and no, and seems to understand the difference most of the time.

Ashton could climb on the couch awhile back but just didn't do it often. Now that he sees Ayden doing it he is also up there all the time. The difference is that Ashton is a monkey and doesn't just sit on the couch, he crawls around, stands up and even climbs up and stands on the back looking out the window! Needless to say, we have had a few falls already!

Ashton is also attempting to put on his shoes.

Ashton, my monkey, went head first into the toy box!

Ashton, again, can't keep his feet on the ground...

and, Ayden is loving having his feet on the ground!

Mama's monkey's on the couch

The boys were also much more interested in coloring this time!

Sensory activity or snack time?!

2009-08-13T11:17:00.007-05:00

I should have guessed it with my big eaters...we couldn't do a sensory activity with food without it turning into snack time! My preK students use to LOVE to play in shaving cream and so I wanted to duplicate that activity for the boys in a safe way. I decided on cool whip! After putting a big dollop of cool whip in the middle of Ayden's high chair tray he, of course, put his fingers right from the mound to his mouth. After tasting it for half a second he literally lunged for the pile with both hands this time! Oh boy! This was not what I was hoping for! I don't give them sweets so I really hoped that they would play with more than they would eat. I then took his hands and showed him how to "play" with it. As you can imagine, that did not go over well, and he went right back to licking the sweet cream from his fingers! Ashton, on the other hand, did play in his dollop for a whole 5-7 seconds before deciding to use his sense of taste for this "hands-on sensory activity". I also tried to show him that it was not just good for eating but he was less than convinced. They were really mad when they saw me return the container to the kitchen! When there was just some melted sugary cream left on their trays they did play in it for a bit and seemed to enjoy it. Overall this was a good activity, but I still would like to avoid giving them sugar so I will have to return to sugar free pudding or find another alternative for now. Here are some pictures from our activity!

Ashton going in slowly...

mmmmmm....

"mom, you're the best"

Ayden going straight for the mouth...now he's double fisting it!

"mmmm...I agree, mom, you're the best!"

Late vacation update and some exciting news!

2009-08-09T21:17:00.007-05:00

We have been home a week, but I am just now getting caught up enough to have time to write about it! We made a (very) last minute decision to leave Thursday night instead of Friday mid morning. We thought the trip would go faster and be easier on the boys this way. It worked out pretty well in the end, and we arrived about 2:00am to Grandma and Grandpa Kitsmillers' house in St. Louis. The boys were slightly confused when we got them out of the car, they thought it was time to play! That first day was a little rough on all of us! Saturday we went to Grant's Farm with Aunt Amy and the grandparents. We got to see a lot of animals and ride a train. Saturday evening it was time for mommy and daddy to have some fun! We met up with a bunch of Jeff's friends from his STL days and has some great adult time! Sunday grandma and I went crafts shopping while daddy and grandpa put some meat on the grill. When we got back we had a great bbq and saw some family friends. After dinner daddy had to leave for the camp that he volunteers for every summer. Tuesday the boys and I had a playdate with a cute little girl just a couple months younger than the boys and her mom who is currently expecting twins! She had tons of questions, so while we chatted the babies had a great time playing with Little People and the new boat ball pit that the grandparents bought. Wednesday the boys and I headed to Warrenton to the outlet mall with grandma and Aunt Amy. We got a lot of great deals! I think the boys fall wardrobe is nearly complete and we got a good start on next summer as well! To top of this great shopping trip we got two big bags of books and two new pairs of walking shoes from the Nike outlet! We were excited when Thursday rolled around because daddy finally got home in the afternoon. Ashton must have been really excited because he took his first steps a couple hours later! This was very exciting for us since our "little explorer" had been resisting walking before today. We relaxed Friday before heading home on Saturday during the morning naptime. The trip went well and we made our traditional half way stop in Lebanon where we ate lunch and went to our second outlet mall of the week! We were happy to finally be home at 6pm. We was so nice to get away from all the responsibilities of home and see good family, good friends and eat some good food!

Waiting in line at Grant's Farm and gettin' some lovin' with Grandma and Grandpa!
Aunt Amy is feeding the camel!
Daddy and Ashton checking out the baby goats at Grants Farm.

The boys were getting caught up on their reading while at grandma's!

Showing off their new kicks - and enjoying the boxes way more! Daddy reading to his boys!

Daddy's shoes make great toys!

Wrestling in their new ball pit!
The box for the ball pit had kept them entertained for a couple days!

Exciting news!

While we were away Ayden cut 4 new teeth, giving him a total of 12!

Ashton has become very interested in feeding himself with a spoon, and he is pretty good at it!

Monday, August 3rd I was in the nursery with the boys putting away clothes and Ashton walked about 5 feet - his furthest distance! He had been taking 4-6 good steps before this. Not to be out done...that evening after dinner Ayden walked about 6 feet! Ayden has been taking what I call "mini baby steps" for a couple weeks now. He usually side stepped and didn't really cover much ground since the steps were so small. But, today he was doing the real deal! This newly acquired skill by both boys has made for lots of laughs, as well as new worries around our house. We are very excited about our boys' new freedom since we have been anxiously awaiting this day for quite awhile!

Saturday, August 8th I took the boys to our first hot air balloon festival! We met Lindsey, Michael and Bailey there and had a great time. We didn't get to see a balloon actually take off because it was too windy, but we did get to see one inflated!

Michael and Ayden
Me and my boys!

The Mayflower balloon was inflating and the others were "glowing"!

"Aunt" Lindsey and Ashton

Lindsey's daughter, "cousin" Bailey, with the boys!

Ashton learned to climb into the toy box this week - he was so proud of himself!

I am exciting to announce that I am in the process of starting a new business venture! I have been trying to work this into my already busy days and hope to have it up and running in a couple weeks! I am not yet prepared to disclose a name or any specifics...but stay tuned because details will be coming shortly! I am very exciting about it and I hope you all will be just as excited and will support me in my new adventure!

Time flies when you're havin' fun!

2009-07-22T20:32:00.005-05:00

We must be having a lot of fun, because out of no where today we had our 15 month baby well visit! It seems like these pictures were taken so recently...

Ashton

Ayden

This was by far our worst well visit yet! Jeff couldn't get away from work since he is trying to get everything done for next week, when we will be on vacation. We did start off on a good note though! We were actually ON TIME! That might be the first time we were on time to a doctor's appointment! Unfortunately, it all went down hill from there. I think the boys are about ready to go down to one nap. They are also starting to stay awake longer in the car (read: They don't fall asleep before we get out of the neighborhood anymore). Well, today they both stayed awake the entire 20ish minutes we were in the car. They really benefit from these "car naps" and without it we already had a strike against us. For the first time the boys seemed to know where we were or what was going to happen. Just after the nurse came in the room they both started to fuss. They both fought her and I to take their measurements. They really hate to lay down and that is how they are still measuring them. When she tried to measure their head circumference they both screamed again/still and tried to grab the tool from her. Then we each carried a boy out to the hall to weigh them. She first sat Ashton down on the baby scale and he screamed and cried and tried to get off. She then decided to attempt to lay him down - remember how great that worked last time...so she sat him back up and just took a number because it would never stop calibrating since Ashton continued to scream! In the mean time I am holding Ayden who is watching this and already starting to cry. As soon as I sat him down he screamed bloody murder. She again just wrote down a close number as both boys attracted the attention of the entire office. We went back to our room so she could take their tempetures, as soon as she left the room they both instantly stopped crying. It was right on cue and very comical! I read to the boys and they happily looked at books while we waited on the doctor. Right after he walked in Ayden started getting anxious and wanted to sit in my lap. After talking for a few minutes I stood up to hand Ayden to the doctor to look him over and he immediately began crying, this of course, lead to Ashton also crying. They both screamed and cried and fought until their physicals were both complete. After the doctor left they again calmed down (not anticipating what was to come next) and I finished the book I had started. The nurse returned with her hand full of needles and her scrub top covered in band aids. I will spare you the details, but these were the worst shots yet! Why can't they make all vaccinations oral?! I can't take much more of this! We again let the entire office know we were leaving and walked out with our parting gift - a free bottle of Tylenol each! The boys were exhausted from the mornings events and were out in less than a mile. We drove to Jeff's office so he could see his boys and show them off. Afterwards we headed home for lunch and a MUCH needed nap!

OK, on with the stats:

(by the way, I wouldn't put money on these being 100% accurate...)

Ashton

weight: 21lbs 3oz (10%)

height: 32 1/2in (85%)

head: 48 1/7cm (85%)

Ayden
weight: 25lbs 5oz (55%)
height:32in (75%)
head: 48 1/7cm (85%)

Our tearful visit!

Happy to be home!