35 weeks pregnant

I started this post one day last week, but never finished it or posted it. I thought it was still interesting enough to share it so I am. This is a pic of my at 35 weeks pregnant and just looking at it hurts my back. This was taken one week before the babies were actually born. Man was I huge!!! Jeff and I laugh when we see these picture, cause we didn't realize how big I was or how swollen my feet got. Oh, well you can't see my feet, but if you could you would understand why we called them Shreck feet. We also laugh that every picture of me at this stage was in this same outfit. I guess it's about all that would fit. Well little did I know our lives were about to change. By the end of this week of my pregnancy I would be giving birth to my two precious babies. I am getting excited for their birthday and our trip to Disney World (birthday #2). What lucky little boys. Enjoy the pic and have fun laughing at me.

Back to the zoo

We sure have missed our zoo days. It has been way to hot to do anything outside that does not involve water. This week we have had a bit of a break with the highs in the mid 90's. Ha, isn't that funny, a break from the heat with a high in the mid 90's. Only in Texas!! Well today was another fun day and we tried something new-riding the train. With two babies and one mommy, it was very interesting. Thank goodness for the helpful staff at the Ft. Worth Zoo and our experienced twin mom, Martha. The ride was short, but fun. I will post the pic when I get it.

Carter is walking for his main source of movement and Luke is very close behind. The only thing I'm afraid of is he enjoys being held and I think he has figured out that if brother walks than mom will carry me. Smart little thing.

Waiting on Oma's arrival

In just a little over a week our Oma will be here on her R&R for a whole two weeks. We miss her so much and can't wait to give her a big open mouthed kiss, that's the way the babies still give kisses, I'll pass on that one. When she left the babies were about 3 1/2 months old. They are now approaching the one year mark and she will be here to celebrate with us. We have kept up with her through emails and phone calls. She has kept up with us through this blog. We have also received a story on DVD and a card from her. I have kept a picture of her in their room so I can keep reminding them who she is. Before she left we got the cameras for our computers, but we haven't ever been able to use them. We are counting down the days until she gets here and the departure of our family vacation to Disney World, yipee! We will keep her in our thoughts as she travels back to the states. We love you Oma!!

I have a walker, almost two!!

Okay, maybe he's not a full walker, but defiantly getting his balance and takes several steps. Both babies are doing well and starting to experiment with the idea of walking, but Carter has really taken off this past week. I'm sure it helps that all their little friends are walking and they always do their best to keep up with them. Our doc said she felt C would be walking by his first b-day, but I really didn't think he would. Who knows-they have their own way of doing things. Luke is starting to figure out his little legs and how to move them so I know it won't be long before they are chasing each other everywhere on their own two legs. Which with having tile floors I'm quite excited for. Carter has sores above both big toes that bleed all the time. I try to doctor them but it doesn't seem to help much. I'm sure I will be posting soon of Luke walking. He tried real hard today, but didn't get past just a few steps. I'm so proud of both babies.

Having a ball

Luke and Carter are enjoying their new toy room and their new balls given by oma for their birthday. Thanks Mom-hee hee. I know it's not their birthday yet but I just couldn't resist giving them the balls. Just like it thought, they LOVE them. They always go straight to the ball pit before playing anywhere else. The babies are 11 1/2 months. I am in birthday plan mode and getting very excited. Hope you enjoyed to little clip of they playing.

Patty Cake

Luke started clapping yesterday!! Yay!! It is so exciting to watch him discover new things. We have been working on clapping since we started reading stories and singing songs. I'm happy to see they are watching me and taking it in. As you can see, Carter could care less about clapping. He is always interested in trying to get the camera. They are such silly babies. Enjoy the video.

Cool Salad Bar Meetup/playgroup

Today Luke, Carter and I hosted a playgroup at our house for our Stroller Strides friends. The theme was Cool Salad Bar, so each person brought a salad to share with the group. We had a wonderful turnout with some great salads. We just sat and ate while the babies played their little hearts out. Thanks to all our SS friends who made it out, I've enjoyed getting to know everyone.

Little boys, big chairs

Yay for big car seats!!! We have had these seats since Christmas and finally decided to give them a try. I can't say I love them, but we will get used to them. They slept so easily in the infant carriers and I'm afraid these won't be as comfortable for them. Oh well, I guess they need to sleep in their beds and their car seats. We do have them rear facing for at least one more month, then we will see about facing them forward based on their weight. I do feel sad cause it's another piece of baby gear put in my 3-Day garage sale pile-gone forever. Babies also turned 11 months yesterday. And I still say 'I just had twins', will I ever stop saying that phrase, I didn't JUST have twins. In just four short weeks they will be one year!

Luke and Carter's full meal deal

We have been working hard finding foods the babies like and that don't frighten me of them choking to death. Our doctor told us that by our one year appointment that the babies should be eating what we eat and drinking whole milk. We have slowly introduced them to different foods, but still supplement with baby foods. Tonight I prepared a meal that I thought was perfect for their first table food only meal and a sippy of cold real milk. I think the babies enjoyed playing with the cup more than enjoying to food that I slaved so hard over. It was shake and bake chicken, canned pears, canned green beans and boxed mac and cheese, do you see where all the hard work is?? Hee hee!! Really, it's more work feeding them and cleaning up their mess than it is to make the food. Well I think we are headed in the right direction to self feeding and eating well.

Also notice the change in highchairs. These are light, simple and easier to clean. The other ones we had were driving us crazy. They were so difficult to keep clean and hard to move when cleaning the floor. It seems most of the food they eat lands on the floor instead of in their mouths. My friend has these chairs and after using them a few times at their house we decided we needed to get them. The hour trip to IKEA to pick them up was more than worth the drive.

A post without pictures

Bummer!! I hate not having pictures to go with my post, but I have a few things I would like to document, since this blog is basically where I'm keeping track of the babies first year, and share. First Carter and I went on a play date solo. We went to a small play pool with a few of our Stroller Strides friends and had a ball. Carter would crawl out as deep as he could keeping his little head above water, then turn around and go back to the shallower water. I enjoyed following him around and being at his rescue every time he would almost fall under.
Carter and I had another unexpected one on one time today when I had to take him to the doctor. He has been a little crabby and has had a runny nose for the past few days and I noticed him pulling at his ears lately. I decided to take him in this morning for a quick look. Thankfully his ears look wonderful and he just has a small summer cold. No big deal, he doesn't even have fever. I was just afraid if I didn't take him in then every time he would cry I would think his ear is hurting. Glad to know it's not!
Something else I would like to share about Carter-he took two whole steps on his own yesterday. I know walking is still a ways off, but it is still very exciting!! Listen to this story, we were over at Ma maw's visiting and I have been working with both babies on standing on their own and learning balance. They both are getting better at it and think it's funny when they are able to stand for longer than a second, it's now a game. Well Ma maw had Carter and I was sitting in front of him. She stood him on his two little feet, let go of him and off he went. Step 1 then step 2 then he toppled over. I was in such awh with the whole thing I couldn't react quick enough to catch him and then smack he fell right into the coffee table. Bad Mommy!!! I felt horrible, but I was so excited for him. Now we laugh about it and say 'now he won't ever walk'.
Luke has made tons of changes as well. He is in full crawl. Hands and knees now, no more army crawl-sorry Mom. He will climb on anything that is low enough for him to get on, the problem is he can't get himself down. So he will start to cry pleading for help until I get there to get him down. Little stinker!! He also has the famous words 'uh oh' down. Every time something falls he says 'uh uh', that's his version of uh oh. Soo cute!!
Both babies are saying 'mmamama' and 'dada'. Not sure if they understand what they are saying, but we enjoy hearing it. Today I was looking at Carter and I said 'mama', he looked back at me and said 'dada'. Well fine, I see where I stand.
Well thank you for reading my long post without pictures. I say that, cause I like pictures more than words. That is another reason I started this blog is to share all my precious pictures with anyone interested in looking at them.

Hanging at the splash pad!!

We accompanied Mason, Gavin and two other sets of twins at the splash pad today. Who ever thought of creating this little fun water area is a genius. It is perfect for small children. There is a gated fence around a small padded area with water shooting out of the ground and little fountains. The babies had a blast!! And the mom's can get a little wet on their legs to stay cool in this horrible heat. We hope to visit the splash pad again soon.