21 Months

Where oh where does the time go?!?

Caden, Garren & Kellan

 

The boys actually turned 21 months Monday but they've been keeping me so busy recently that I haven't had a chance to keep up with the blog.

Garren holding down his Mama so she'll nap.

Garren is busy bee, this boy is in constant motion, whether he is climbing, running up & down the hall or just throwing himslef over the arm of the couch repeatedly. (there are pillows.) He is constantly exploring and asking "wats dat?" He is by far our biggest talker & he is quite bossy saying things like "no" & "get down" or "sit down." He repeats everything we say. Garren loves attention & when he is comfortable where he's at (home, grandma & Grandpa's, etc) he will put on quite a show. He loves to dance & laugh & get a reaction out of everyone. He has a good arm (& aim) & loves to throw any kind of ball. He is also a love bug & quite attached to his Mama right now. Once Donna is home from work he does not let her out of his sight! Garren has been trying to put on his own socks & shoes, the shoes he has better luck with but the socks he usually just gets stuck between his toes :)

Baby Face Kellan

Kellan is still our baby of the group. He is so sensitive whether it's getting hurt or being told no or even one of his brothers being told no, he is quick to tears & needs reassuring. He has gotten much braver in his climbing, especially with their slide where he was quite apprehensive at first. His favorite words are "nanana" (banana,) "go" & "nigh nigh" (night night.) He also says I love you but not quite as clear as that. Kellan loves to snuggle & give/get kisses, he is our biggest love bug. He also loves to dance & jump! He attempts to put on his socks & shoes & once we (I) get them on him he is usually at the door ready to "go!"

Caden getting in a few slides before pj's.

 

Caden is finally growing out of his clumsy stage. Not to say he never falls or walks into walls but it is significantly less often than it was. Although he was the first born he has fallen into the middle child role. He copies what his brothers do, mostly Garren. He is bashful when someone new or different comes around. Caden does love to dance & jump & climb & those are a few of his favorite words too. It's always good to know if he is dancing vs jumping & he repeats what he's doing over & over as he's doing it. He loves to snuggle & be close whether it's with his brothers or Donna & I.

Garren, Kellan & Caden

All 3 boys know & can say a few body parts, ie: nose, knee, toes. We can't seem to get them much past those few right now. Their attention spans are still quite short. We have also been working on colors & letters more lately with Preschool Prep videos, coloered balls & blocks & puzzles. All the boys already say a few colors & a couple of letters.

Caden, Kellan & Garren building.

They all LOVE to build with their Mega Bloks! They love to play & slide on their Sports Climber & it is also great as a car/truck ramp.

It's unbelievable how fast they continue to grow & learn!!!

Eventful Ending to the Weekend

My Dad & Bonus Mom came up for the weekend. They were in Vegas during Donna's birthday & wanted to do a little belated celebrating with her.

We really didn't do much while they were here but we did go to Jekyll Island & walked around the historic district. It's not frequent that we have more adults than children around so we took advantage of the opportunity & let the boys walk holding our hands rather than ride in their choo choo wagon.

 Grandma & Kellan

(Mama & Caden way up ahead)

 

Mama, Caden, Grandma & Kellan

(I had Garren with me)

 

A few hours after my parents left Sunday, Kellan took a spill & whacked his head pretty hard on a wooden toy. He instantly developed a bright blue line straight across his forehead. It scared me so I headed to the ER with him while Donna stayed with Garren & Caden. By the time we got there & got seen, the blue line was gone & he just had a red mark across one side of his forehead. In hindsight I panicked & it was not serious. With 3 boys though, I'm think I'm entitled at least one panic every couple years.

 

They didn't keep us too long but Kellan was getting restless (it was way past bedtime now) So a nurse brought him a popsicle. It only helped for a minute, lol...



Worst Teething Episode To Date

I think that I should probably feel lucky that the boys go through just about everything at pretty much the same time & we are over whatever it is that much quicker but let me just say that 3 teething, crying, whining, screaming, clingy toddlers at one time is enough to make you pull your hair out!!!

Caden comforting Kellan with a pacifier.

 

The boys are getting their "eye teeth" better known to me as canines. Apparently the sharp pointy teeth are rather bothersome. They each have 4 molars & I didn't even know they had gotten them until Garren was yelling one night & I saw something in the back of his mouth. I wold have thought those would have been the more painful teeth.

Garren & Caden cozying up while watching a video.

The boys wanted to eat one minute & started throwing their food 2 minutes later. I tried to give them soft but firm foods. They seem to like cold veggies a lot so I didn't bother heating them up (until they were throwing them, then I tried to see if they would eat them warm.) crackers seem to be their go to food lately & with all the crankiness I have been giving in. The boys have eaten peanut butter crackers as meals this week & have blown through I don't know how many graham crackers not to mention ritz crackers & animal crackers. I've brought back some old veggies that they lost interest in a while ago & they are hits again. I kind of thought edamame would be good on their sore gums.

A warm mid-day bath helped some. (G,K,C)

Sleeping all night has been a challenge for the boys too. What is it about teething that makes them wake up over & over again through the night? I load them up with ibuprofen, Camilia , amber necklaces & extra pacifiers but they still wake up.

Garren looked to Eason for a little cozy time,

along with 2 bears & his lovie

As of Thursday both of Kellan's eye teeth had broke the surface. Caden had one break though & the other one was very close. Garren won't let me near his mouth so I have no idea what is happening there?

It's a good thing they are so cute!!!

Kellan working on some modeling poses, lol...

On a positive note, I have gotten A LOT of extra snuggle time with all three boys. It's hard not being able to hold each one of them right when they need it but they are starting to cuddle with each other too & there is nothing sweeter than your babies hugging each other!!!

Our New Friends, August, Liam & Their Moms

A few weeks ago, maybe even a couple months ago now, I ran across a new twin mom in one of the facebook groups I belong to. She said she was in Jacksonville so we struck up a conversation & thought it would be great to meet in person. We made plans a few times & of course life happened, colds, holidays, & weather all kept getting in the way. Well yesterday all the stars aligned, we had 5 healthy boys, 4 healthy moms & perfect weather!!! We met at the zoo & had a great time.



Look at ALL those baby boys!!!

August & Liam are the most adorable twin boys & such good babies. They hardly made a peep all morning.

August

Liam 

Having an afternoon nap

Donna & I really enjoyed chatting with & getting to know Heather & Stephanie.

 Stephanie, August, & Liam

Heather, August, & Liam

 Garren

 Caden being a little flirt!

Kellan also being a little flirt

Us :o)

Thank you Heather for the great photos. We can't wait to get together again!!!



Mama's Birthday Fun

Today is the 20th anniversary of Donna's 29th birthday!!!

Donna isn't a big birthday celebrater. She doesn't like a big deal to be made or to have parties & what not. That will just be too bad next year because we WILL be having a party for such a milestone birthday!!!

Garren, Kellan & Caden waiting on Mama



This weekend we had a small family dinner with my mom, bonus dad & my sister & her family. After dinner we all went to a playground to let the kids play, which turned out to be the best birthday gift we could ask for! After running, climbing, swinging & sliding the boys came home & went right to sleep & did not make a peep until 8:30 this morning. Sleeping in has got to be the greatest gift a mom could get :o)

G, C & K, ready for bed



Today we met up with some friends at the zoo & had a great time!

Kellan, Garren & Caden



Tonight we had a quiet (as quiet as it gets with 3 toddlers) dinner at home & birthday cake to end the low key celebration. Donna would NEVER, ever pass up birthday cake!!!

Slidin'

One of the boys' Christmas gifts from us was a "Sports Climber." It is a little tower with a ramp to climb on one side & a slide on the other. It also has a basketball hoop, soccer goal & feild goal & came with the appropriate balls. The boys absolutely love it!!! They climb & slide & throw balls through the basketball hoop throughout the day. It has also helped curb the boys from climbing all over the furniture & on tables. Win Win!!!

Here's a little sample of them sliding...

Door Knobs, Light Switches & Baby Gates...

Opening doors, turning the lights on & off & on & off & on... you get the point & reaching over the baby gates & unlatching them are all apart of the boys new bag of of tricks.

Kellan, Caden & Garren



Needless to say we've had to increase our baby proofing efforts, especially after the boys opened my dads front door & walked outside!!! Thank goodness Donna was outside vacuuming our van!!! We now have door knob covers on all the doors.

I try my best to not acknowledge the light switch obsession. I figure if I don't make a big deal out of it, they will get over the fascination quicker.

We now have the baby gates to the bedrooms & bathrooms installed about 4 inches off the floor so the boys can't reach over them. This works out pretty well for when they drop their toys over the gates too, now they can reach under & pull them back out :o) I'm pretty sure this is only buying a small amount of time though & we'll probably have to start keeping the doors closed or just let the boys roam.

Sleeping Beauties

The boys love laying on cushions & pillows. When they don't feel well we pile them up on the floor & they lounge on them. They've started climbing up on the couch where there are usually a couple of pillows & lay on them while watching videos. So a few days ago I decided to give them each a pillow in their cribs at nap time to see if they would sleep on them & this is what I found...

 Garren

 

 Kellan

 

Caden

These are pillows we've had for a while, they are pretty flat so I thought they were good starter pillows for the boys & not fluffy enough for them to get their faces stuck in.

Sweet Snuggles

Garren woke up early from his nap but really wasn't ready to be awake, so I got some extra snuggle time with him <3

Happy 2013!!!

Can you believe this is the boys just a year ago?!?

Garren, Caden & Kellan

barely able to sit up



And this is them now...

Caden, Garren & Kellan
crazy boys jumping on the couch!!!

It's unbelievable how much they have changed this year, from 8 month old babies to 20 month old little boys.

 

It's been a busy yet incredible year. We moved from NC to GA, the boys had their first birthday, we traveled, traveled & traveled some more. We settled into Coastal GA & have loved being able to spend more time with our parents!!!

 

Here's to another great year!!! Happy New Year to you all!!!