Wednesday, September 30, 2009

We are still here!

I am so sorry that it has been so long since my last update....can you tell that school has started back for me and the boys are really busy?!? I am back at school every Tuesday/Thursday from 7:15-3:30 and Fridays from 7:15-10:30. I love teaching and am so thankful that my parents can keep the boys otherwise I am not for sure that I would have gone back to school. I think that teaching helps me keep my sanity since I can talk to other people besides two 10 month old! I love them though!!!
We have been practicing with Reed to get him to hold his bottle by himself. So far so good! I always feel bad with them lying on the ground without me holding them but I guess they have to grow up sometime.
Braden is all over the place these days. Here in the last couple of weeks, he has really starting "talking" more, pulling up on everything and crawling! We are so proud of him. However, these sometimes makes for an unhappy Reed. Braden loves to tackle Reed and Reed cannot stand having to sit while Braden is on the move. I guess B can help motivate R!
At least Reed can roll over for his plan of escape!
There are some rare occasions when Reed can get Braden back for all the tackles. I am sure one day they will both being wrestling each other and each one will be able to hold his own!
The boys love to play outside. They can entertain themselves for quite a while on a mat with a basket full of toys. They think it is so much fun to pull out all the toys. I am sure they won't think that's fun one day when I make them learn to pick up all their toys.
Does this make me a bad mom?!? I was pretty desperate one afternoon for just a spare minute and Einstein and some Cheerios did the trick!
They didn't seem to mind it!
Both boys have had runny noses on and off for several weeks now. I guess it is due to getting new teeth. Braden is getting one of his top teeth and Reed is getting his top 2 teeth and one new bottom tooth. What fun!
If I didn't know better, I would think that Braden was fake sleeping in this picture.
Our first bubble bath! I think that I need to use something besides Palmolive next time because I do not think it was tear free!
I don't know what it is about these boys but they love anything with wheels especially their tractors!
They love to fight over the John Deere tractors.
You like Reed's two bruises he got when Nana was watching him?! My mom was letting the boys play with pots and pans in the kitchen and Reed thought it would be fun to fall forward:-) Boys will be boys!
We took the boys to the Flea Market on Saturday after it had rained for hours. Ryan could not believe how many people would stop us to look at the boys. Some of them acted like they had never seen twins before. We get used to twins at our church because there are 3 sets of twins in their Sunday school class!!! We went to the farm in Kentucky Sunday and the boys loved the hammock on the porch of the cabin.
They didn't really like sharing their space with each other!
My "city boy" husband had never been skeet shooting before so that was the afternoon activity. Ryan had never shot a gun before besides a wimpy BB gun....he says that he grew up in Florida where they don't go hunting!! I was really surprised when he hit three out of three skeet on the very first try! If I must say so myself, he was pretty good for a "city boy"! I didn't do too bad myself either!
My brother bought a lot of rocking chairs for the wrap around porch and a few kid ones too. Braden figured out how to rock himself in the chair...the only thing it needs now is a strap to keep him in the chair!
Reed was not quite as stable in the rocker as Braden but mainly because he held on with one hand!
I love their little fall clothes. There is something so cute about long sleeve one piece outfits! This is a picture of Reed gritting his teeth. This is something new that he started yesterday. I guess it makes his gums or new teeth coming in feel better but he looks like a little chipmunk when he does this!
Reed is doing well and weighed 17 pounds 14 ounces at his cardiology appointment this week. He is trying his best to catch up. He is such a pleasant little kid and pretty easy going as long as he is not tired or hungry. Reed gives the sweetest smiles that will melt your heart. He will let just about anyone hold him but if he sees me then he will usually start to whine. It is still so amazing to me to look at him each day and realize that God blessed him with a new heart and to see how far that he has come over the past 10 months. He is still behind about 2 months developmentally but nothing that is not to be expected. Braden is our little guide....whatever he does Reed usually accomplishes a month or two later. We are just so thankful for each milestone that he reaches! I love when people see him and their response is "He looks so healthy and you wouldn't even know that he had a heart transplant!" Praise God!
My sweet little Braden is just growing and growing. He is such a people person but he has to warm up to them first. When he first meets someone new, he looks them over and does not usually give them a smile at all. Once he warms up, the show begins! He loves to laugh and makes us smile all the time. I can already tell that he is going to be a very busy toddler who loves to be in the middle of everything. He is such a good big brother to Reed even though he is a little rough but Reed will give payback one day:-) I think that he is the best physical therapy for Reed because he pushes Reed to do more and doesn't even know it. Twins are so much fun and such a huge blessing!

Monday, September 07, 2009

Labor Day Weekend

The boys are keeping us very busy these days! We still love to resort to the outside to kill time during the day and they thankfully love it. My nanny is in town and she has been spending a lot of time with them. She brought her dog to my parents' house and I am thinking that they will be wanting a dog before long. I am fine with that as long as it is an outside dog:-)
Braden not for sure about his dad's hat on his head!
We have been practicing with Reed to get him to hold his own bottle. Braden has this down but Reed likes for the person feeding him to hold it. In order to get him to actually do it on his own, he lies down on the floor with a pillow behind his head and a blanket under the bottle in case he gets lazy! He is doing great with this!
I love his expression..."Mom, why am I having to do my parent's job?"
Ryan likes to take pictures of me looking my best:-) I was trying to rest but Braden kept wanting to play...the fun never ends!
"Peek-a-Boo"
Braden has really started scooting backwards this past week. This morning, I was in the kitchen and I heard him fussing but just figured Reed took a toy from him. Well, Ryan said for me to come look at our son...he was stuck underneath a chair and couldn't scoot himself out!
Will it be UK or KU in the future for these boys?????
Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures!!! The boys go to bed around 6:30 every night so around 5:00 we have to get a little creative! I think in this picture, Ryan was singing to them and I was giving Braden juice because he has been a little sick again. Whatever it takes to make them happy!!!
The boys eat dinner at 5:30, bath after dinner then a bottle right before bed. I LOVE having them in bed at 6:30 because I am pretty tired by the end of the day.
We LOVE Bathtime...