Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The "Big One"

Okay, I know I'm overdue, but here is the rundown of everything "new" that Owen and Mason have been doing lately...

Let's start with their 1 year weights. Owen came in at 22 pounds 5 ounces (43 %) and Mason came in at 21 pounds even (24%). Both of them are 29.5 inches tall (42%). We switched to whole milk and quit bottles cold turkey about a week and a half ago. We're doing great so far! Both little guys are bottomless pits at the moment and can eat as long as someone will keep putting food in front of them. They are loving regular people food too! Finally! Aaron and I tried and tried since around 9 months to introduce different things. Finally I talked to my pedi and she told me not to worry, that they may not be ready yet. All of a sudden a switch was flipped and now they'll eat anything and drink through a straw. They still prefer it to be fed to them rather than pick it up themselves though. Thankfully, my pedi also said she doesn't need them off the pacifier until they are two. Phew! They love those things so I'm sure they're happy about that!

So first we'll talk about Owen. All he wants to do is walk around the room holding onto someone's hands. He just giggles and thinks it is the greatest thing. Granna showed him how to kick a ball while doing this so now one of his favorite things to do is drag Mommy or Daddy around the room while he chases after the ball and gives it little kicks. Daddy played soccer and is impressed that Owen is right-footed like he was, despite being left handed. For his birthday he got a toy with tons of buttons to push all over it. One of the many buttons is a circle that says "circle" when pushed. If you ask Owen where the circle is, he will crawl over and push that button! He has also learned where eyes are. Be warned, don't ask him unless you want your eye poked out. He doesn't grasp the concept of "gentle" yet. He tries to say eyes while he's poking them out but it comes out as "sths." Since he is obsessed with balls of all sizes, that is his favorite word at the moment. He'll spot them at the store, around the house, and now the 2D pictures of them in books. He gets the concept that even though on the page it is flat, since it is round it must be a ball. Naturally, he calls most round things he sees balls. Pictures of blueberries, coins, grapes, etc. In real life, anything spherical is a ball. Balloons, my pearl necklace, knobs on our bedposts, etc. The most amazing one though, is that he calls a football a ball. We don't even own a football and it isn't even a sphere, yet he somehow knows it's a ball! Genious! Aaron also taught him that a duck says "quack." Now he "cack cacks" at anything with a beak. Pictures of a duck, chick, parrot, rooster, and real life birds get his "cack cack" label. He also likes to show you what he's holding and say "this" (sounds more like "dis"). We've been showing them how to do puzzles and shape sorters and Owen really loves to try to fit the pieces in. He can work on one piece for up to 5 minutes, concentrating so hard his tounge sticks out just like his daddy's when he's thinking hard. Figuring out how to orient things is a hard skill! We gave him some chubby crayon things and tried over and over to show him how to color on paper. He kept grabbing the thing and waving it over the paper like we were doing but of course the point of the crayon was not in the right spot. After a while, we finally got Owen's very first piece of art! Wow, who knew some scribbles would be so priceless?! Owen is progressing with the walking thing, too. He will stand alone for around 30-45 seconds unassisted. Sometimes he'll be so enthralled with something that he doesn't realize he's let go of whatever it is he has pulled up on. We've managed to get a little half step out of him so far!

And now to Mason. Like Owen, he enjoys concentrating on puzzles and sorters too. He loves to walk around the room holding onto someones fingers and he gets an extra pep in his crawl if he knows you are after him. The little giggle gives it away that he is trying to outrun us. Mason's favorite new activity is to get up on his knees, lunge toward you with his hands up (or towards a toy that has made him excited) and give a little yell. Such a fun game! Mason has learned how to give kisses to Mommy and Daddy, and now since both guys know how to do it, we make them kiss each other goodnight. It is so cute! Only with twins. :) One of the cutest things Mason is doing these days is jibber jabbering. He has been talking baby talk for some time now, but all of a sudden his voice has the inflections that ours do when we are talking to someone. He mostly does this when he is looking at a book, toy or out the window of the car. You can really tell he is trying hard to tell us what he sees. I love it! One new word that has come out lately is our dog, Jaxson's name...except he doesn't say it quite so clearly. His version is more like "da-don." We are certain it is what he is saying though, because every time he says it he is looking right at Jaxson or hears him barking when we get home. Like Owen, Mason likes to show you what he is holding. He extends his arm and says "that" (sounds more like "dat"). And now for the BIG NEWS!!!! On Memorial Day, at Paige and Blake's house with everyone watching, Mason took 7 unassisted steps from Paige to Mommy! He started off just balancing for a few seconds and then his little feet just started going! It was so awesome!!!! I am so glad that it happened when Aaron could see it. So many times the daddies of the world miss stuff like that because they are at work. I think we all shed a little tear! Of course we couldn't get him to do it again for the camera!

For Memorial Day we had a two part celebration. Sunday night we went to Paige and Blake's house and had a baby-pool party with Brynn. Monday we went to Brynn's house and had another baby-pool party. They kids were exausted but they had a great time...and all without a sunburn! We also put together one of their new trikes that Paige and Blake gave them for their birthday. So far all they do is sit on it...but they love the bell! The trikes are "baby" trikes - no pedals, just good old fashioned Flintstones-style feet action! Here are some pictures of Memorial Day as well as their second hair cut.

Haircuts and Memorial Day

Playtime & Lake Travis

Since I'm behind on posting, here are a few pictures from a couple of weeks ago. We were just hanging out around the house and enjoying playtime together.

Playtime

Owen and Mason had their first lake trip of the summer. We went to Lake Travis near Austin to hang out on Granddaddy's boat! The water was still freezing but they still had fun sitting on the swim platform and splashing their feet in the water. Unfortunately, all the pics of them playing in the water are on Granddaddy's camera since Mommy and Daddy were helping Owen and Mason "swim." I'll post those as soon as I get them!

Lake Travis

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

My 2nd Mother's Day

It's hard to believe that on this day a year ago I started the day in a hospital room. We were patiently waiting for our doctor to discharge us so we could take home the best gifts of all...Mason and Owen. It was a Mother's Day I'll never forget, bringing home my two precious babies for the first time. Now, one year later I think back and can't believe how far we've come! I would never have guessed I'd spend the next Mother's Day playing in our backyard, crawling in the grass, and throwing the ball to our boys. I didn't think I even liked playing outside! Things change when there are little boys to play with! I love being a mommy! Here are some great pictures of my beautiful gifts!

5-11-08 (Mother's Day)

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Happy Birthday to Owen, Happy Birthday to Mason

Well, I can't believe it. Owen and Mason are one year old. This year we were lucky and their actual birthday fell on a Saturday. We had 50 people come out to celebrate with our little guys! Boy are they loved! Aaron and I can't describe what this past year has been like. Tough? Yes. Sleepless? Yes. Worth every second? Absolutely! I am so proud to be their mom and I know Aaron feels the same about being their dad. We were reminiscing the other day and realized that the first 4 months were a blur. Then came month 6 and things started to get a bit easier. All of a sudden they were 10 months old and I absolutely wanted to freeze time. I found myself enjoying them more than ever before. Luckily, that feeling hasn't gone away and they are the light of our lives. I can't remember what life was like before they came, nor do I wish to go back to it. This is what I was put on this planet to do. I'm so glad God gave us two. I can't imagine only knowing one of them. I love my babies so much it hurts and I wouldn't trade one second of it for the world.

Here are some pictures from the party...
First Birthday Party