Forgot the most sweetest thing...

I forgot to add the best part of the getting teeth/cold blog....when Evan was WAILING because he didn't feel well, Leah did her little crawl/bunny hop over to him and stroked his hair and had such the sweetest concerned look on her face and then looked up at me like, "What's wrong with my brother mommy? She feels so bad for Evan. How cute!

Fighting cold/getting teeth

Well, we have had our first "real cold." BOth kids have been sick this past week with croupy sounding coughs and sniffling/running noses. They have been on medicine this past week which has seemed to help Evan, but Leah is still fighting the cough and stuffy nose. However; yesterday I think I noticed Evan's first tooth coming in on the bottom. While my mom is out of town, I had my mother-in-law and my dad come over to help with the kids as I went to the chiropractor. I came home to a sniffling and VERY upset Evan. We all thought it was just his tooth coming in that was bothering him. As the night progressed his screaming got worse, he developed a slight fever and would't sleep. All, as I have heard from others, signs of teething. Well, I think Greg and I got 4 hours of sleep due to Evan waking up and screaming in pain and then waking up Leah. This morning, both kids were awake at 7 am. So, I fed them their bottles (only giving Evan 4 oz. to where he normally gets 7 oz.) He didn't really want the bottle, so I tried cereal. He ate a couple of spoonfuls and then fussed, so I held him. Greg came in to take over while I attended to Leah. Evan ended up throwing-up on Greg 3 seperate times, making Greg take another shower and change of clothes before he headed off to work. Evan seemed to calm down a bit after that and ended up falling asleep for about a 1/2 hour and then I ended up waking him up to take him to the doctor's office. Turns out, his right ear is inflammed and he is on some antibotics. Poor buddy! I hope he feels better soon. We go out of town on Monday for 4 days.

I think I can, I think I can

Yesterday Leah really was moving along on the floor. She is hilarious as she tries to crawl. She will reach and stretch as far as she can to get a toy, but then realizes, "Okay, I can't get it unless I actually move my body." She takes her head and uses it as leverage on the floor and then her legs come up real quick and she lands on her knees. Greg says she looks like a bunny hopping. Too cute. Of course, the video is too long to post....bummer.

Anything you can do; I can do better

...."I can do anything better than you..."

Well, Leah is ready to crawl as well. She has been doing the "Downward dog" position this past week. I know she will be crawling with her brother anytime soon!

I can do it!

While getting Evan ready for a diaper change on the floor this afternoon, he surprised me. As I was finishing changing Leah's diaper, Evan spotted his clean diaper on the floor and decided he wanted it, so he CRAWLED to it. It wasn't far, but he did it! I, of course, ran for the video camera and enticed him with the diaper to make him do it again for the camera; which he did. He is really starting to get the hang of moving his feet when you hold his hands to walk as well. Gotta put the baby gate up for sure now!

Yeah Evan!

Family Fun at the Park

Today we took the kids to the park for the first time. They LOVED the swings! I know some of our friends have taken pix. of their two kids in the same swing with the four leg holes. We decided our two MIGHT NOT FIT TOGETHER IN ONE! :) While in the swing, Leah let out her (as Greg would call it) "Velociraptor call" because she was having so much fun. Evan was so excited that he spit up some after he got off the swing. (They just ate about 45 minutes prior to going to the park).
I would like to add a side note about the kids improvement on sleeping. I have been trying to put them down now without rocking, etc. I started this last Thurs. during their nap times. Leah will sometimes cry and is able to put herself to sleep within about 10 min. after I lay her down in her crib. Evan will cry and cry (length of times vary) and then will go to sleep, but then wake up crying. So, I eventually pick him up and hold him for about 5 min. and then he goes to sleep. It's still a work in progress, but I am so happy they are able to fall asleep on their own.

Grant's Farm

Entering the park
The Family

Leah and Evan on the tram
Evan seeing a camel for the first time
Leah seeing a camel for the first time
Leah and Daddy in the Hospitality area
Mommy and Evan in the Hospitality area

Greg and I took the twins to Grant's Farm on Saturday. It was PACKED!! It took us forty minutes to get from Gravois Road (entrance) to the parking lot. Thank goodness the kids were napping. They did relatively well in the park. They loved riding on the tram that takes you through the park. We didn't spend too much time looking at the animals, just breezed through and took pix. By the time we made it to the hospitality area, it was time to the feed the kids (and Greg and I were looking forward to a nice refreshing free beverage). It's so nice that the kids can hold their own bottles now, making it easier on me while Greg went to get his beer. By the time Greg came back, it was time for the kids to eat their carrots. As some of you know, my kids love to blow raspberries, especially while they eat. Needless to say, mommy ended up wearing some carrots on her shirt. I don't know what it is about a public changing table, but Evan freaks out EVERYTIME we are out in public and I have to change his diaper. He screamed in the bathroom. Does anyone else have this problem? Leah had no problem....weird. Overall, we had a good time at the park. I can't wait till they are older and can enjoy looking/feeding the animals.

Our first Fourth of July with the kids

We had some friends over to celebrate the Fourth of July this year. We BBQ'd and sat outside. What great weather we ended up having! There were many babies here. Two sets of twins; our twins and Drew and Blake Laramie. We also had Miss Peyton who was dressed to impress for the fourth. Alanna, 8 years old, and her little sister, Heidi, 2, helped entertain the babies. The O'Fallon fireworks were fantastic and could be seen very well from our back patio. A very relaxing night. However, as the night started to wind down, I noticed more and more bugs (which I thought were mosquitoes) in our house by the back door. We had probably 100 or more (it seemed). Greg thinks they were just a kind of River bug or something and that because of the rising rivers, etc. there were so many. So, we kept a light on all night hoping they would be attracted to it and die. Most ended up surviving until morning; which Greg vacuumed up the next morning. Little difficult for me to get some sleep knowing that there were all these bugs in our living, dining room and kitchen! YUCK!

The picture of the kids in the wagon.....My parents got the kids this awesome wagon for their Baptism. Greg ended up putting it together the morning of the 4th and wheeled the kids around the house. They LOVED it. Thanks to Nana and Papa!

Wearing dad's hat

I thought these pix. were too cute of the kids wearing Greg's Cardinal hat. Evan doesn't really care to have it on and immediately fussed after I took the pix. Leah looks like she's throwing a gang sign.

We love our fruit puffs!

Here are some videos of the kids. I had video-taped them yesterday as well doing this, but wanted Greg to experience feeding them the fruit puffs as well. The video from yesterday is too long to upload, so I re-taped a shorter version for your viewing pleasure :)

How they eat the puffs.....When Evan eats the puffs, he will grab the hand feeding him and pull it up to his mouth and get the fruit puff that way. Greg says he looks like an old man gumming his food! Leah actually uses her hand to take the piece of fruit puff from the hand feeding her. Sometimes she studies the food and then eats it, sometimes it goes straight to the mouth. I was laughing histarically yesterday! While taping tonight, Leah decided to try and eat the puffs like Evan. (but soon realized that that is not lady like!)

We're 8 months old today!

Today our babies turned 8 months old. They sure are growing and

changing rather quickly. They are both able to stand up and lean

against my legs and not hold onto anything for several minutes. They can pull to a standing position with the aid of my fingers being held out in front of them. They will sometimes move their feet forward (walking) with our help, of course. However; they still are not crawling. I think they will just bypass that and end up pulling up and walking. In the morning, when I sit them next to each other for breakfast, they will make eye contact and just giggle, coo and squeal at each other (making it difficult for mom to feed them). No teeth yet, but we are sure it will be anytime soon. Both of them like to take toys from the other (even if it's the same toy!). They are loving peek-a-boo and they watch very carefully while I clap my hands together. They both weigh 22 lbs. YES....22 lbs. Thank goodness they are in the 95%tile for length too! They are getting more slender as they are moving about more. When I go out to run errands, I can't tell you how many times I hear, "Look at those cheeks!", "I just want to squeeze those rolls," or "You sure aren't skipping any meals!" (Can you imagine if we, as adults, would say that to one another?) I know it is freaking cute though and I DO love squeezing those rolls and cheeks! Happy 8 months to my babies!! {Greg's mom bought this dress at a garage sale. Leah reminds me of a little housemaid or something with the scarf on. SO CUTE!}