The Things Our 3 Year Old Says

I really need to do a better job writing things down when Alena says something funny or surprising.  She is constantly keeping us on our toes:

Lent started last week so one night when I was putting her to bed I thought we would talk about Jesus.  First Alena asked if he was a boy or a girl.  Then she wanted to know if he was naughty or nice.  She asked where he lived and I told her heaven (then tried to explain heaven as well as I could to a 3 year old). She asked if we could take an airplane there to see him.  I probably went a step too far when I mentioning that we would see him when we died and went to heaven...

I love running little errands with her and we often take one of the twins with us when we go. The other day we went to Walgreens to get a couple things and she pointed to a bag of cheetos. I told her we weren't getting those because we had some at home (we had cheese puffs at home).  Then she told me, "we don't have these are home, mom.  These are Cheetos, not cheese puffs."  Smart little girl-I don't even know when she's had Cheetos...
The other night when I was putting her to bed I was telling her that she would have to take care of mommy and daddy when we get older.  She thought real hard about that for a while then said, "when you get old I won't be able to make your oatmeal because I can't reach the microwave."  Then she said, "it's OK mom, you won't get old."  Love that girl!

Alena:  Your brother and sister love you so much.  Caleb could just sit and watch you all day long.  Your teachers at school continue to tell us what a great helper and listener you are.  Your new favorite words are gross and actually.  You continue to enjoy coloring and are trying harder to stay in the lines.  You always have 2-3 pictures from school to give to mom and dad.  Lately you've really enjoyed helping me cook dinner or bake and we try to let you pick one meal a week.  You usually choose to have breakfast for dinner. 

Is is summer yet? I am looking forward to a fun summer with my three kiddos and hubby! 

Twins - 5 months old

Well we nearly made it 5 months without an illness.  Unfortunately, Lauren came down with a cold a week and a half ago, which turned into a mild ear infection so she was placed on Amoxicillin.  Caleb came down with a virus a few days later.  He also developed a rash which the pediatrician diagnosed as eczema.  We recently changed him to soy formula because it made sense to change to soy with his milk intolerance. It was shortly after that that the eczema developed. So I'm convinced that it was the soy that exaggerated his symptoms (so I guess I better stay away from soy too!).



First Valentine's Day

Lauren: You decided to celebrate being 5 months old by rolling from your back to your tummy.  You kept doing it over and over and I think you were quite impressed with yourself.  Although this now poses a problem because you woke yourself up from your nap because you had rolled onto your tummy.  When I went to get you, two little f eet were sticking through the side rails.  Later during the day, you and your brother were laying by each other and you kept trying to roll on top of him.  He got you back by kicking you in the stomach, which brought out your pouty lip.  Finally, you two are interacting (maybe not on the terms I wanted though...).  Lauren you have the most adorable smile-you smile with your whole body and are not afraid to chuckle every once in a while.  You take after your daddy and are quite chatty!  I am so ready for you to out grow your 3 month clothes because I'm sick of seeing you in the same outfits.  Length-wise you have outgrown the 3 month jammies so we are finally seeing some different pajamas-yeah!  Some of the 3 month pants are still BIG on you. I hope you start chunking up pretty soon because I am not going to buy any more size 1 diapers.  You are fascinated with your hands and you must think you need to do a lot of praying because you often have your hands folded. 


Caleb:  My gentle giant :).  You are pretty content just hanging out chewing on your hands.  You started rolling onto your tummy about a week after your sister (although according to daycare you've been rolling for a while).   You sometimes get stuck and forget how to roll onto your back again.  You laugh more frequently than your sister.  Today your big sis was making you laugh-it was adorable and luckily mommy caught it on video!  When you have trouble going to sleep, you like to be rocked and love to hold onto our fingers while you fall asleep.  You love to be read to and focus so carefully on every page.  You are in 6 month clothes and are quickly growing out of them.  I probably should have dressed you in 6 month clothes sooner instead of shoving your little tush into 3 month clothes but it was so hard to see you growing so fast! 

You two are just the best little babies-so content unless you are hungry or sleepy.  I'm looking forward to when you can sit on your own and I think you are too.  Although I know soon after that comes crawling, which can wait for a few more months...

Caleb likes to sleep with this lion OVER his face (we usually take it away from him after he falls asleep because mom and dad have had too many sleepless nights worrying about him when he sleeps like this)

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!