Happy Half Birthday

Yeah, we made it!  Justin and I have recalled many times that when we found out we were having twins, we knew it would be challenging. We would continuously say, "we just need to get through the first 6 months," because we knew those would be the most difficult.  Well, we did it and it went by so fast! 

We also remember how much fun Alena was when she turned 6 months and the amount of change that happens from 6-12 months.  Hard to believe we will soon have THREE mobile children!  It will be interesting to see how big sister Alena reacts when the babies can get into her things...

Lauren:  Sweet miss Lauren!  You continue to be much more laid back than I thought you were going to be (you were so active in utero!).  You are nearly 3 pounds smaller than your brother but I've just decided that you are going to grow at your own pace.  You continue to be difficult to feed bottles to because all you want to do is look around!  So far, you really have no interest in learning how to hold your own bottle and I think you're pretty happy when each feeding is over so you can watch what is going on without distractions!  We love seeing your ear to ear smile every day and love how excited you get when you see one of us.  You particularly love your big sister and give her the most smiles and laughs!  We are still using up some size 1 diapers (thankfully there are only a few left) and I dressed you in 3 month clothes again today although you are starting to fit in most of your 6 month clothes.  You are getting a little long for some 6 month pajamas though.  This month of sleep has been a little rough.  You and your brother have taken turns getting up in the middle of the night-and lately you have both been up.  Mom and dad are really hoping this changes soon!

Lauren and Cousin Billy

Caleb:  We are starting to figure out what makes you giggle and it's so much fun!  You love when daddy rubs his head on your chest or we tickle you under your arms.  You love to stand and have such strong legs!  You can sit for short periods of time by yourself without tipping over.  You've also mastered reaching for toys and bringing them to your mouth.  You finish your bottles so quickly and can hold your own bottle.  You are more than ready to start solids. 

Caleb and Cousin Danielle

 



Alena loves having you at her daycare and she comes to visit you two a few times a week.  It's a lot dropping off and picking up three children and often times Justin does this by himself.  The other day I hear Alena talking to her brother and sister.  "I love you so much."  "You're so cute."  It pretty much melted my heart.  We are so lucky that she has adjusted as well as she has and wants to be such a big helper.  She is anxious to help feed her brother and sister.  I know it will be messy but having an extra hand will be helpful!

 Alena enjoying swim lessons with Miss Flo

 

Visit from Cousins Addie and Kelsey

My brother and his family were in town for an extended weekend the last weekend of February.  Unfortunately our time with them was limited due to Kelsey and Addie both being sick.  The big girls had fun at Kids Fest:



The girls wanted their faces painted.  Alena asked for a cat (which turned out looking horrible!).  Addies butterfly was cute though...

                                                         They loved meeting Dora! 

We are planning a roadtrip to Colorado over Memorial Day Weekend.  Their most recent visit here was much too short so we're looking forward to spending some quality time with everyone in a couple months (and hoping the weather is nice!). 

Daycare!

Whew, what a busy week it has been in the Schaack household!  Monday the twins started daycare at Principal.  Alena was so excited to have her brother and sister at her daycare.  Twice during the week, her teacher took her down to the infant room for a little visit.  She is a big helper when it comes to dropping them off and picking them up.  We get a lot of glances from parents as we bring in THREE children to the daycare!

Heading to School

The twin's teacher is Pinky and she is from India. She has been with the daycare from the day it opened so we are hopeful she will be with the twins until they turn one. That has been our only downfall with the center-lots of turnover!  Our email was showered with photos of the twins on their first day.  I think they had a great time and Caleb especially enjoyed the buggy ride.  They ended their first week with a fun art project.  Did I mention we love our daycare?!

Saturday, Alena had her first swimming lesson.  When I told her I had signed up her for swimming lessons she wasn't too excited.  So every week we've been talking about it to help her get over her fears.  Unfortunately the day before her first lesson, I realized I had signed her up for a more advanced class.  This is the kid who just recently stopped crying when I would wash her hair so we wanted her in the most basic class.  Justin took her to the class anyway to see if they could switch her to a different one.  Her teacher, Miss Flo, decided to go ahead and teach her, along with another little girl (who was much too advanced for the class).  Alena ended up having a good time so maybe it will work out after all.  Because I didn't expect her to actually swim, I didn't go and we didn't get any photos-guess we'll do that next weekend. 

Last Trip to Grundy

Justin's parents are moving from Grundy Center to Riverside this weekend.  We wanted to spend one last weekend in his childhood home so we went back the weekend of February 23rd and had a good time. We will miss visiting this little town, but do hope to get back for the annual Felix Grundy Days.  The conveniences are numerous, including a recently renovated swimming pool a couple blocks from their home, a local grocery store a block from their house and a couple cute stores downtown, (one with yummy cupcakes).  Hopefully we'll be able to make some fun new memories when we visit Riverside. 

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