Check Up

I dread taking these babies to the doctor...

Thankfully, daddy tagged along with us and it wasn't so bad! 

Caleb's Stats:
Weight 14 pounds, 6 oz (30th %)
Length 26.0 inches (77 %)

Lauren's Stats:
Weight 12 pounds, 6 oz (17 %)
Length 24.8 inches (58 %)

For comparison, Alena weighed 13 pounds 14 oz at her 4 month appointment.  FYI: My pediatrician laughed at their lengths and thinks the nurse was a little generous with her measurements :). 

The pediatrician was happy with how they were both growing and didn't have any concerns.  Caleb took the two shots like a champion and barely cried, but he was a little more unsettled during the day than his sister.  We will wait to start solids until they are six months old.  They continue to get mostly breastmilk and just a few ounces of formula daily (I'm very proud of this :)). 

The other day, I went shopping alone with the twins.  I had more people stop me and ask me about the twins than I ever had, (and I was starting to get annoyed!). One lady physically stopped my stroller and leaned her head into one of the car seats and started talking to the babies who were sleeping!  Of course she woke them up, which ended my shopping trip early :(.  I guess this is something we are going to have to get used to...I especially love these comments:  "Oh, double the trouble."  " You must be so busy." "Are they identical?"  The last one cracks me up-just look under their diaper and you'll know they aren't identical! 

Alena finally got a big girl bed because she out grew her toddler bed. Her bedroom is now almost complete except for a headboard (which I'm planning to make whenever I find the time).  The other morning she was doing "circle time" with Lauren. It is so cute watching her interact with her brother and sister. 

A few more photos:

 I think Lauren is getting a triple chin

Mommy and her girls

Twins- 4 Months

These days, weeks and, months are just flying by.  Hard to believe we are 1/3 of the way through our first year with the twins!  What fun we have had though-yes, we've had some hard moments, like when neither one wants to nap and we end up holding them most of the day, or when they cry during car rides, but over all, they continue to be great babies! 

Lauren:  You remain our little peanut.  I can't wait until our appointment with the pediatrician at the end of the month because you don't seem to be putting on the weight as quickly as your brother (I guess that is better than the other way around!).  I had to take you back to the pediatrician a few weeks ago because your reflux acted up again.  They doubled your Omeprazole and 1 day later, you were back to your old self.  It's amazing how fast that stuff works!  You are eating more which is good.  Now you eat 5-6 ounces every 4 hours, with one feeding between 3-4 AM.  There were a couple nights where you and your brother slept all night long, but I am glad you are getting up during the night now because you need that 5th feeding.  Your new nickname is "Bubbles."  You are fascinated with your tongue and like to stick it out and blow bubbles at us.  It's pretty cute, except for the drool that rolls down your chin.  You haven't rolled over yet, but you are not a big fan of tummy time.  I do think you will be the first to roll from back to tummy because you have been close a couple times.  You are not fond of your car seat and car rides can be trying sometimes. 

Caleb:  Your new nick name is "Karate Kid." You are constantly moving your arms around like you are doing karate chops! You love to hold your hands together and you are so good at reaching for toys and have started bringing them to your mouth.  You are becoming a little drooler though...
You are eating 6-7 ounces every 4 hours now.  You  have rolled over a couple more times from tummy to back and have started rolling onto your side from your back.  Sometimes you will be sleeping and all of a sudden we see your feet fly into the air when you stretch and then you fall back asleep.  It's pretty cute!

Our New Routine:
We wake the babies in the morning around 6:45 AM, quickly change them in their room and then load them in their car seats.  I'm usually out the door between 7 and 7:15 to take the twins to daycare.  Alena is usually up around 6:30 AM and Justin and I tag team getting her ready in the morning. She always gives her brother and sister a hug and kiss before we load them in their car seats (one morning she forgot to do this and she was pretty sad about it).  After work, I usually pick up the twins, except on Thursdays when I am doing clinic at the VA hospital so Justin picks them up while I go grocery shopping for the week.  I've learned how to entertain the babies while I make dinner: Usually putting them in their bouncy seats in the kitchen, while Alena and I dance around and tell silly stories keeps them content.  They look at me like I'm looney but it seems to work!  We put Alena down for bed around 7:45 and Justin and I take turns putting her to bed.  Her new thing is wanting us to make up stories before she goes to bed.  She gets to pick the topic and then we make up the story-Alena adds to the story too as we go along.  Lately she has wanted the story to be about laundry!  The twins eat around 8:00 and are asleep by 9. 

We do baths every other day with all three kids. I put each twin in their little bathtub inside the big bathtub that is full of water. Alena sits in the big bath tub while the twins bathe in their bathtub separately.  Both babies LOVE their baths and would sit in the tub forever if we let them.  They kick and kick and splash!

We are looking forward to warmer weather when we can play outside and take walks.  So glad Spring is right around the corner!

We LOVE baby legs!

Schaack Christmas

 We celebrated Christmas with the Schaack family on January 5th at the Adventureland Inn in Altoona, IA.  The swimming pool was a big hit with Alena and her cousins and they spent many hours Saturday evening and Sunday morning swimming.  Lauren and Caleb even took their first dip in the pool (just their toesies!). 

My Little Swimmer

 Aunt Emily and Lauren

 

 Cousins Danielle and Billy

 

 Aunt Vera and Caleb

 

 

As usual, the kids were spoiled with presents and Alena particularly enjoyed playing with Danielle.  With three kids we decided not to spend the night at the hotel, but Justin and Alena did go back in the morning for a little swimming. 

Now a couple cute, random pics of the twins:

Merry Christmas

What a fun Christmas we had.  We spent the weekend before Christmas in Grundy Center with Grandma S and Grandpa.  It was nice being there alone with the grandparents.  Alena and Grandma S spent a lot of time playing dress up with her hats and necklaces.  They also made peanut butter Ritz crackers dipped in almond bark.  Alena got a little crazy with the sprinkles!  She also went sledding for the first time with daddy and had a great time, even when she fell off the sled and got snow in her face.

Grandma S and Caleb

Grandpa and Caleb

The babies pretty much stayed on schedule while we were in Grundy Center.  Caleb rolled over for the first time from his tummy to his back. 

 

Christmas Eve day we headed to Ames to spend time with Papa and Grandma Joyce.  Alena enjoyed putting puzzles together with Papa before we headed to church. She was too excited about getting dressed up for church to take a nap!  After snapping a few photos of all the kids dressed up, we headed to St. Cecilia Church for mass. Alena liked listening to the children play Christmas tunes on different instruments.  The babies ate at the beginning of mass and then were awake the rest of the time.  As usual, Lauren's head was on a continuous swivel checking everything out.  She particularly liked the large Christmas tree at the front of the church and all the lights. 

We continued our annual tradition, and headed to The Mandarin for dinner.  Every year we comment about how many more people are at the restaurant (the first year we did this, there were maybe one or two other families eating there).  We were hopeful the twins would sleep during dinner since they were up nearly the entire church service, but soon after getting our egg rolls and crab rangoon they woke up.  It had been about three hours since their last feeding so it was time to eat again.  We asked for two glasses of hot water to warm up their bottles and chuckled when the waiter brought out two "tea pitchers" full of hot water.  Papa and I multitasked and fed babies while we enjoyed our chinese meal! 

Once back home the fire was stoked and Alena was allowed to open one present.  We all watched A Christmas Story before Alena got a plate of cookies ready for Santa (she loaded it up!).  She also left a glass of milk for him and some carrots for the reindeer. After getting that all set out, she decided to get a glass of water for the reindeer (what a thoughtful girl!).  After all the kids were in bed, the four of us played a couple games of golf before heading to bed. 

Just the Girls



Christmas morning, Alena was more excited about putting together puzzles than opening presents. We didn't open gifts until around 10:00 AM.  The kids all got some great gifts:  Alena got an easel, easy roller, clothes, books and probably her favorite gift, a harmonica!  The twins got some toys and clothes.  After enjoying homemade cinnamon rolls, we packed everything and everyone up and headed back to Urbandale. 

The twins slept while Alena opened her gifts and their gifts.  She was most excited about the scooter Santa brought her.  The rest of the day we spent playing with gifts and putting them away. 

Overall, it was a great Christmas-with all the traveling we did, we were very glad we had our mini van!