11 Months Old!!!

{8 1/2 Months Adjusted}

WOW!!!

That is all I can really say...

Only a month until our babies are a whole year old. I just cannot believe how fast it has gone by!!!

Well for the boys 11 month birthday, we moved :o)
It's just the first part of our move, but none the less, we moved. We are currently staying with my parents while we house hunt.

The boys are growing so much & learning something new it seems everyday.

Caden is crawling all over the place & pulling up on his knees. He has turned into the biggest love bug. When Donna or I pick him up, he wraps his arms around our neck & squeezes. He climbs on us when we lay on the floor & snuggles with us. His smile is contagious & his dimples are starting to really come out. He still likes to jump like a wild baby in their jumpers & exersaucer, but he doesn't like to be in them for too long, he prefers cruising around the house on his knees, exploring new rooms.

Kellan is still crawling & he is now pulling up to his feet. He has taken a few steps holding on to a toy train. He thinks standing is the greatest feat yet & he laughs & smiles & cracks up the whole time he's doing it!!! He is still a big love bug. He loves to give & get kisses. He spends a lot of the day sticking his tongue out of the side of his mouth & blowing. He does it so much, Garren has caught on & started doing it too. Kellan has also found a best friend in Eason, they like to share toys & bones. Kellan also sits & pets Eason or lays on him & gives him kisses. They are both so sweet & Eason is the best pup with babies & kids.

Garren has not decided to join his brothers in crawling. He rolls & spins to get to where he wants to be. He has recently started using his toes/feet to push forward if something is just out of reach. I think he may just skip crawling??? He is already putting his hands up on top of tables & other things above him. I'm hoping that means he will learn to pull up soon. Garren is more vocal than his brothers, always babbling something. He mimics sounds & spontaneously says words, he has most recently said "bye bye" & "Haddie." He is also the clown of the trio right now. He laughs insanely & shakes his head uncontrollably when I ask him if he's silly.

Another Check-Up with the "Helmet Man" (our last???)

Well, what a busy day the boys & I had today!!!

We are getting ready to leave on Wednesday & had a couple last minute doctors appointments we needed to get in.

We started out with a check-up at the plastic surgeons office. This is who the "helmet man" actually is :o) We avoided another bad experience & had our appointment with the actual doctor today. I thought this may be our last appointment with them & wanted his input & recommendation if the boys needed follow up when we got to FL. Todays scans are a little deceiving, it the picture it looks like Caden's head is perfect & that Kellan & Garren still need improvement. In reality Caden still has quite a flat area lower on the side/back of his head. Kellan's scan is pretty accurate & Garren's head is pretty perfect. The doctor checked them all out himself & Garren was released from wearing his helmet!!! YAY!!! Now I can snuggle & kiss his actual head & not that dumb helmet :) The doctor said that they don't really have children wear the helmets much after they reach 1 year in age. They get to a point when they can take them off themselves & it gets pretty difficult to keep them on them & also their heads get too big for the helmets. Caden's helmet is already set on the largest setting, so once it gets too tight, he will be done. When I asked about follow up in FL he said to just follow up here when we are back the end of April & they will release Caden & Kellan. The boys heads will continue to improve on their own, since their growth slows significantly from here forward we probably won't really notice it changing but usually by age 2 their ears are realigned & that is the last thing to straighten out.

 Garren, first scan & yesterdays scan

 Kellan, first scan & yesterdays scan

Caden, first scan & yesterdays scan

After that appointment I fed the boys lunch in the waiting area & then drove around for about an hour so they could get some kind of nap in. I grabbed lunch from a drive thru & then headed to our next appointment...

We have been battling reoccurring ear infections with Kellan & Caden. Kellan was on his 3rd round of antibiotics, changing up which one he was taking each time & Caden was on his second antibiotic. Thankfully they were both all cleared up & Dr H checked Garren just to be sure he was still clear too :) Greatest pediatrician EVER!!! I don't know how I'm ever going to find another like her :(

After surviving 2 doctors appointments with 3 babies in a 5 hour period, I headed to McDonalds for a milkshake, make that a Mocha Frappe' for my hard work :o) The boys were really good today, as they are most days. So I didn't really have to work all that hard, but I did enjoy my frozen coffee beverage!

Just in case you are wondering how I got us all out of our 3rd floor apartment, Donna came home & helped us. And just in case you are wondering why she didn't go to these appointments today, well, because it was her last day of work here. She is going in tomorrow morning to take breakfast to her employees & to pack up her office. She will report to work at her new station on Monday :)

Teething Covers

Have I mentioned these boys are teething machines?!?!

This photo is the inside of Kellan's crib & those are teeth marks!!! He has been chewing his way across it!!!
Well we quickly fixed that situation with some
fabric teething covers we found online at Babies R Us.
Luckily we were smart enough to order one for each crib, because the day after we got them on the cribs, Caden started chewing his. At least he is just getting fabric & not wood.

Happy St Patrick's Day

Kellan, Garren, Caden

Garren was being especially silly!!!

 But finally decided to wave for the camera

(too bad it's not a video)

And these two, Caden & Kellan, 

are always up for a race these days :o)

Well, I was only going to post one picture on this post, but apparently I just can't help myself, lol... Who can pick just one when you have 3 such adorable babies?!? (Yes, I'm just slightly biased)

Asparagus, Spinach & Lima Beans Take II

As we prepare to move, I am trying to use up all the food we have on hand. When taking note of what we had in the freezer I ran across some frozen pureed asparagus, spinach & lima beans, so I thought we would try each of them again.

I didn't have enough asparagus for a 4 day trial & the boys didn't care for it the first time so I thought I would mix it with green beans to stretch it over 4 days & to slowly sneak in the new flavor.
They went for it & loved it :o)

I had plenty of spinach but thought I would tone down the flavor a bit with some other veggies. I have been experimenting with different fruit & veggie combinations since we introduced meat, so I thought it might help the boys acquire a taste for a few of the veggies they had difficulty with. I blended the spinach with peas & carrots & the boys ate it up too :o)

The boys didn't have any issues eating lima beans the first time, but they were dry & gave the boys quite a bit of gas at bedtime. This time I added a little pureed apple & fed it to them for lunch.

 Caden

 Kellan

Garren

The Helmets Can't Do It All...

Caden & Kellan are all over the place lately, crawling, climbing & pulling up to their knees. I have given them free range of their play room & the living to encourage crawling & more specifically pulling up. Their isn't anything in their play room to safely pull up on. I thought the couch & leather upholstered coffee table would be great for this sort of thing. Well the couch seems to be a little high for their taste right now & even with a bunch of their toys on top of it, the coffee table isn't all that appealing either. It seems the boys prefer the challenge of the not so stable exersaucer & jumpers. They have fallen backwards (and forwards) several times & thankfully their helmets have softened the blows. They cry out of shock or frustration, but go right back to what they were doing in a matter of seconds. Well friday night Cadens helmet could not protect his face... He was pulling up on the exersaucer, he turned to see if our friends were watching him & he slipped, falling forward/sideways & scraping his face. There was a little blood & a few tears, but nothing a little neosporin & moms hug couldn't fix right up.

These photos are from the next morning. I thought he may end up with a black eye with the one scrape being so close, it was a little red for about a day, but that was it. 

He has proven to be a little toughy :o)

Looking tough, lol...

Swingin'

We had beautiful weather this past weekend here, not to cold, not too warm. The sun was shining & the breeze was ever so slight. Perfect for getting the boys out for some fresh air & sunshine!
I've been dying to take the boys to a playground with bucket seat swings, so that's where we headed...

Bucket seat swings are perfect for 2 babies...

 Caden paired with Garren

 Garren paired with Caden

 Kellan paired with Garren

 Caden

 Kellan

 Garren & I

 Garren

 Garren & Kellan

 Mama & Caden

 Garren & Caden

We had so much fun & I think the boys really liked swinging. I got the idea to put two of them in one swing on another blog & since there were only 2 bucket seats it worked out well. The boys were squeezed in pretty tight though, I don't think they will be able to swing together for too long. 

After the playground we went to Reynolda Village & went for a walk. Donna really enjoyed pushing the stroller uphill :o)

Cherries!!!

I was a little nervous to have the boys try cherries.
I read that they are a higher allergy food, not an incredibly high allergy food, but higher than other foods.
Well after having a bag of cherries in the freezer for several months, I finally made up a batch of baby food with them & gave it to the boys with breakfast.
They LOVED them, even humming "mmm mum mum mum." :o)
And no allergic reactions!!!

 Caden

When We First Met...

Twelve years ago this week Donna & I met through a mutual friend. Donna lived in Connecticut at the time & was in Tampa on vacation. We spent almost every evening together that week getting to know each other. The end of the week came & Donna extended her vacation through the weekend so she could spend a couple more days in FL.

By the time I dropped her off at the airport on Monday I knew my heart was hooked! We had made plans for me to visit her in CT in about 6 weeks. Well I couldn't wait 6 weeks & took a vacation 2 weeks later to go visit. Six weeks after that initial week, Donna was all packed up in a moving truck & on her way to Tampa.

We moved in together right off the bat, against the advise of most of our friends, many of whom also doubted our relationship would last due to our 13 year age difference. We took our chances anyways & here we are 12 years later.

Pork & Chicken

We have tried both of these meats over the past couple weeks & they have gone over very well. Turkey is the only meat that remains a bit of a challenge but if I make it with green beans & broccoli they love it! Beef, pork & chicken can be eaten with just about anything, squash, peas, carrots & so on.

Discovery...

Now that the boys are moving around & going where they want on their own, it is so interesting to see what catches their attention & is intriguing to them. Autumn brought up a train when she was here in January. It's one the boys will be able to stand behind & push when they reach that stage & then will be able to sit on & ride when they are a little bigger. Well since they aren't ready for it yet, it has been sitting in the corner of their playroom.

I've been leaving the gate open to the playroom so the boys can explore different (baby friendly) areas. Caden usually finds his way into the playroom & is entranced by this train. He pulls himself up onto his knees & plays with everything on the train that moves or makes noise.

Kellan has also found his way into the playroom & has discovered the ball popper we got them for Christmas that didn't seem to impress them at all. It's not the popping balls that are entertaining, it's the little flap on the back of the dinosaur that flips when tapped, Kellan loves it & will keep flipping & flipping & flipping...

Garren who can't quite make it into the playroom via rolling is also discovering new things on his own. Until we get moved I am using empty diaper boxes to sort their toys (& to store clothes.) Garren has figured out he can take things out & put things in the boxes. He has also started placing toys on top of other toys or objects & then picking them back up.

I love to just sit back & watch what they what they find on their own :o)