7 Months

Evan

Jaden

Evan and Jaden have been riding in style this month while they enjoy the gorgeous weather we have had this late-winter early spring. I have enjoyed sleeping in and saving my early morning treadmill time for sunny afternoon walks on the trail! The stroller seems to have an instant calming effect on both Evan and Jaden.

Evan rolled over first from his tummy to his back. Jaden recently decided that it was safe to roll from his back to his tummy. So between the two of them, they’ve got this rolling thing down! Of course Jaden rolled several times for dad and not me, but I finally did see for myself!

Their taste buds have been spoiled with trying many new types of veggies. Evan will eat anything in front of him and always wants seconds. Jaden is a little more cautious, but still eats his veggies. They have eaten beans, peas, asparagus, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, and avocado. The baby bullet has gotten much use.

We look forward to a Spring playing outside in the grass and more walks on the trail.

Like I said, Evan will eat anything!!

Laughter- The Best Medicine

Evan and Jaden are definitely at a very fun stage as they are not afraid to give smiles freely. They also have been laughing more which is always so cute to see. Makes all those early sleepless nights worth it, right?!! We are able to distinguish their unique personalities as well.

Evan is a little more laid back, observes while taking in his surroundings. He’ll pay attention during reading time and can entertain himself on the playmat. He will smile when he feels like it. However, he does laugh when instigated—I think he’s going to be the ticklish one! I know the first two months he was very fussy in the evenings and I thought he was going to be needy, but since then he has really been more easy-going than Jaden.

Jaden’s little legs are never still. He kicks kicks and kicks when lying down. I never thought I’d have a leash for my child, but if his legs move this often when he starts walking, I may seriously have to consider!! He continues to give his smiles away and has a huge grin. Everyone is his friend. He doesn’t have as big of a laugh as Evan has at this point. Although Jaden smiles often, he really seems to be more emotional than Evan because when Jaden is mad……he is mad!!

My ‘twin books’ tell me not to ‘compare’ the boys or label them. But it really is hard not to when every week I learn of more differences between Evan and Jaden. We have the ‘emotional’ one, the ‘patient’ one, the ‘sleeper,’ the ‘ticklish’ one………..I’ll just be careful and keep my ‘labeling’ to myself……..and this blog!

A taste of Evan and Jaden laughing at (or with) Uncle Kyle during our trip to Iowa in February.

Sneezes, Sniffles and Six-Month Olds!

Evan

Jaden

‘Tis the season…for the dreaded common cold. Our health is definitely something that is taken for granted, until we get sick. It is no fun to see your little 6 month old coughing and sneezing as he looks so helpless. One of the first nights the boys were sick, I jumped out of bed every time I heard one of them cough. I learned the second night to turn down the volume of the monitor! After several doctor’s visits, the boys are finally doing better from RSV—fortunately their oxygen levels were fine, so no hospitalization. On Wednesday, Evan had a nebulizer treatment at the clinic, but they said it didn’t make a difference in his breathing, so their recommendation was to wait it out. Evan and Jaden had their 6-month check ups on Thursday and both are growing well. Evan is catching up to his brother and is just 3 ounces lighter. The doctor gave them a steroid medicine to help with their RSV. After a long night with Evan on Thursday, we followed up with the doctor on Friday. He prescribed nebulizer treatments; whether that was just to help a worried mom or actual treatment, it really does seem to be helping as we all had a good night’s sleep last night and the boys are eating well again.

Pooltime!

Jaden wrapped himself up in the towel after swimming

Evan and Jaden tested their swimming skills during our trip to Des Moines. I told them, “you WILL like the pool” as I look forward to many summers to come lounging at the pool. However, I do know there are a few years between me, and actually ‘lounging’ at the pool!! I also will not be able to take these two by myself to the pool for a couple summers……so let me know if you want to join us at the pool!!

Evan and Jaden have always done well at bathtime, and I am usually soaked from their kicking! So I thought they may enjoy the pool. I think they were overwhelmed with all the water at first, but then Jaden got brave and started to kick. I can’t wait for summer pooltime!

Road Trip!

Last weekend the boys took a road trip to Des Moines to meet both set grandparents and Aunt Rachel and Uncle Kyle. The destination is exactly half way from SD to IL……such a short drive in comparison to the full trip!! The boys did not sleep much on the way there, but luckily did pretty good in their respective pack-n-plays at night. We were gone for just the weekend, and yet the entire back end of the Explorer was full of ‘stuff.' Really, do they need that much stuff?!! One of us sat between the boys while the other drove – even the passenger’s seat up front was filled. Yes, your math is correct: no room for another child!

Our family was SO excited to see the boys. They say they were excited to see Nathan and I, too, but we were last on the list for hugs! The weekend was very relaxing---yes---I did say relaxing although I was in charge of twin 5 month olds! We really had minimal plans except for shopping- I didn’t have to cook or clean and I just knocked on the wall in the morning when Jaden was up and looking for someone to share his smiles with.

Evan and Jaden loved every minute of the constant attention! They even got to go swimming for the first time! (I’ll post pictures of that experience soon.) They slept almost the entire way home. Looks like we’ve started a great midwinter break tradition!

Jaden was SO so tired our last evening,

but just didn't want to miss anything!

Thanks Aunt Rachel for cuddle-time.

Uncle Kyle taught Jaden how to blow bubbles.....he loves practicing that now. I just hope he doesn't get the idea while eating!!

Evan--needing his eyes covered to finally fall asleep for a power nap! Good work Uncle Kyle!

The Grandpas feeding the boys rice cereal.

Evan: "Is Grandma Pam going to have us sing songs again?"

Jaden: "Yup- looks like it! Don't forget to clap on beat this time!"

Grandma Linda gets Jaden to fall asleep for naptime.

5 Months Young!

Evan and Jaden have turned 5 months old already! Cliché to say, but they really do grow every day! They give more and more smiles- Jaden still smiles more in the morning; Evan in the evening. With day care, they are in a pretty good naptime routine- which I’m still working on during the weekends! They both are eating about 1 Tbsp of rice cereal a day- Evan finally gets the idea of swallowing the mushy cereal instead of wearing it on his bib.

Here are their monthly pictures.

Evan

Jaden

Can we get some brown sugar with this?!

Evan and Jaden turned 5 months old last week! ‘5 months’ marked the comprising age of when Nathan and I would start solid foods with the boys. I think because the books said you could start at 4 months, Nathan has been ready to go! My thoughts were- they are sleeping well, they were born early, so we’ll wait til 6 months. I was also thinking more dishes, more time, more mess……yup, I think I was right!! But also, more fun to watch them explore and learn what a spoon is, and how it works!

So rice cereal…..sounds so simple. I had to start at the grocery store. I was amazed at how many ingredients were in the box of Gerber rice cereal. I didn’t ever want to be ‘that mom’, but I did end with a box of organic whole grain rice cereal.

Nathan put the highchairs together and they take up way more space than I thought they would……good thing they match the kitchen, I guess! And no, they are not staying right in the middle of our kitchen like they are in the video. You can see that Jaden does a pretty good job of learning how to eat from a spoon……Evan not so much. But he’ll get plenty of practice this month!