11 Months and Leah's First Steps

Well, we knew it wouldn't be long until Leah took her first steps too as she was right behind Colin on crawling and was getting more and more brave about not holding onto things.  She took one step and then two but then realized she could just fall forward if our arms were out without taking any steps and mommy or daddy would catch her.  This became a funny game so no more walking yesterday which was also their 11 month birthday.

It is crazy to think about how much time has passed.  I can't believe they'll be 1 year old in just one short month.  They are getting so big!  Time definitely flies by especially once you have kids!

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

The Sunday after Thanksgiving we took Colin and Leah to see Santa at Bass Pro.  They didn't cry but were actually fascinated with Santa!  He was a great Santa too with a real beard and played with them a little before the picture.  You can hardly see it in the picture but Leah has her Christmas tutu on which I absolutely love.

Well hello Santa!  Is it really you?!

 Colin, what would you like for Christmas this year?

 Leah, what would you like for Christmas this year?

 These "Peepers" are a tradition in my family.  These are not the originals - those are with my mom.  These peepers are on the look out before Christmas and report back to Santa.  They are hidden in the Christmas tree but they see all....



Happy Thanksgiving and We Have a Walker!!

We went to my aunt and uncle's new house for Thanksgiving this year and had a lot of fun.  Colin and Leah got to eat some turkey and green beans and mashed potatoes.  I was glad that this was their first Thanksgiving and they were able to enjoy it.  It was interesting though being in a house that's not baby-proofed with two crawling busy kids :).  Speaking of their mode of transportation, Mr. Man took his first steps the day before Thanksgiving.  He's cautious but is getting more and more mobile on his feet.  He just can get where he's going faster crawling so that's still his preferred method of travel.

My sister, Bridget, and my mom

Happy Halloween!

Well it has been since Halloween so I probably need to post some pics of Colin and Leah in their costumes.  Not a lot has necessarily been going on in the Breuer house but then again we've still been busy with the normal holiday stuff. 

Halloween was fun but short.  We of course had to dress the kids up and they were definitely the cutest Shrek and Fiona ever!  We went to my parents' house and my aunt's and uncle's house but then the kids were done with the whole trick or treating thing and ready for bed.

Made a trip to the zoo that weekend and had lots of fun!

Shrek trying to escape and Fiona just thinks it's hilarious!

Pumpkin Patch

We had a nice long weekend and took the twins to the pumpkin patch in Bixby on Saturday. We had just enough time to take some pictures, pet the goats, and pick out pumpkins before it started raining.

As you can see, Leah was thrilled at first about sitting in a giant pile of pumpkins.

She finally did warm up to the idea and with Brad and me and my parents all talking to her and standing on our heads, we got a little smile.

We put Colin down next to Leah and he was loving the whole pumpkin patch experience. Shortly after this, Leah let us know she was ready to be picked up and out of the pumpkin pile.

Colin thought it was great that the pumpkins moved a little and he could play on them.

Then he realized he could lick them (gross!) and we picked him up after that. This is his "scrunchy face" which he hasn't done since he was about 6 months old. Now it is his tell for being mischevious or bugging his sister or one of the dogs. We see the scrunchy face and we know something's about to happen!

This little goat was not so sure about Colin at first. He warmed up to him though and let Colin pet him which Colin loved (no you may not bring home a goat, Colin).

Leah enjoyed touching this tiny goat's muzzle. So cute!

We have pumpkins but where are the babies???

Ahh found them! They were asking the scare crow for directions hehehe :)

New Cars and the Fair

So what have the Breuers been up to lately? Well, the twins got a new car to share. The first day Colin "drove" it around the living room in circles. They both love it because it's soft and roars when you press on the top of it.

Mom got a new car too. It is a little bigger than the twins' new ride. It's an 09 Tahoe and I absolutely love it. I wouldn't have believed you if you told me that I would be trading in my Equinox on a Tahoe because I loved the Equinox but we really needed something bigger especially since we make fairly frequent trips up to KC. The Equinox was great but just not enough room. My brother got a great deal on it too since he's the Internet Sales Manager at a Chevy dealership here :). It is so nice to have room for all of the baby "staples" we have with us at all times (double stroller, portable high chairs for eating out, diaper bag, etc) and enough room for groceries or other shopping.

This weekend we went to the Tulsa State Fair. Angie, my BFF, and her boyfriend, Tim, came down and went with us and Colin and Leah. It was a little warm but we had plenty to see in the Expo buildings and really I just go to eat all the fair food. The fried Snickers was better than I remembered from last year and we tried fried pickles and fried green tomatoes which we did not have last year. Brad realized today though that we didn't have a funnel cake while we were there and was pretty bummed. We'll have to watch for when the circus will be in town so we can go get him one :).

8 Months Old

Love these "Born in 2010" onsies from Children's Place

Loving his daddy

I think she's actually pulling my hair in this picture and thinks it so funny

I'm sure he's thinking about something he can get into in this one :)

Leah's goofy face

It's rare now that we can get a picture of both of them because Colin doesn't hold still much anymore :)

Colin is crawling all over the place and pulling up on anything and everything he can. Our living room is barracaded and gated (why did we go with the open floorplan when building?). We have furniture and gates blocking all openings and he does not like it one bit! Leah is rolling and army crawling but it won't be long before she's all over the place too!

They are both wearing 12 month size clothing and putting away the 9 months clothes was pretty hard for me. I may have been a little teary even :)

Leah is "talking" quite a bit. Colin doesn't have much time for talking because he's always on the move. Leah says "mumumum" and "baaaaa" and "daadaadaadaa". Colin says the same "words" but not as much at this point.

They both just light up our lives and their smiles melt my heart :)

Screaming

Colin has learned how to scream - literally. I'm not talking a little squeal. He thinks this is great and uses it at will - when I walk out of the room, when his toy isn't doing what he wants it to, when he can't (sort of) crawl as fast as he wants to...you get the idea. I mentioned when I walk out of the room. This is generally a scream that turns into a cry as Colin has become a bit clingy. He has always been a mama's boy but he has definitely been more clingy over the past few days and I'm hoping it is just a phase. It's something I don't know exactly how to handle.

So Colin kind of crawling. He gets up on all fours and then rocks and then lunges himself forward on his belly. He just can't figure out those hands yet. Leah started rolling from place to place and is doing sooo much better with being on her tummy. I seriously thought there for a while that she was just not going to crawl because of her hatred for tummy time. It is still not her favorite and she doesn't like being on her tummy as much as Colin does as she would rather sit up which she does so well. She loves to sit on the quilt on the living room floor and play with her toys - especially the magic mirror. This is actually a favorite of both of them and they especially love it when mommy sings along. Yes, I know all of the magic mirror songs and the order that they play. I also know their favorite ones and their favorite parts of the songs. They both love "Head and Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and "If you're happy and you know it" and the peek-a-boo part of one of the other songs.

C'mon people...really?

Ok so we get quite a bit of attention and questions when we're out with the twins. Here are a few of my (not sure if this is the best word) favorites....

1. Are they twins? Someday, Brad and I are going to get up enough nerve to answer, "No, me and his ex had them about the same time." They are the same size, we are walking together, and they do look like sibblings (not identical though - see #2).

2. Are they identical? This generally comes after they ask if they are twins and what gender they are. We dress them very gender specific (i.e. Leah is in pink and usually a dress, Colin is in blue). Since they are not the same gender, they cannot be identical twins.

3. How do you tell them apart? I would like to refer you back to #2 and the fact that I am their mother!

We've had other random questions. I loved it the day I was asked by the checkout lady at Marshall's if I breast fed them.

I guess we were just out a lot this weekend so we heard these quite a bit. Don't get me wrong - I totally love talking about my babies it just seems like these 3 questions get asked all the time. So, if you do see two babies who are obviously twins, please steer clear of these questions :)

Tooth and Nail Fairy

Don't let this first pic fool you. She's sweet but she loves to wrestle with her brother. It's hilarious because she squeals with delight like such a little girl and Colin belly laughs when they wrestle. Oh the fun has begun...

6 months! So busy looking at everything around him but mom caught a big smile!

Leah at 6 months! Such a pretty smile and I love her funny face!

Loves to sit on the floor and sit up and play.

No matter where we live, we are KU babies!

Yay! Dad got Colin and Leah to smile at the same time AND caught the picture.

Colin is not so crazy about the pool but Leah loves the water!

Well, the tooth fairy has visited Colin and Leah. She left Colin 2 teeth and Leah one (Leah's not too jealous though). Colin's first one popped up 4th of July weekend and second one last weekend. Leah's first one popped up yesterday. They have actually done really great with teething and we really can't complain. Neither have run a fever and both have been a little fussy but not too bad.

So onto the nail fairy...I actually wish there was a nail fairy because trimming nails (times 2!) is not so fun. I seriously feel like I'm on a secret mission when I trim their nails. For the most part (like all but one time) I slip into their room after they're asleep and pick them up, one by one, bring them out to the dimly lit living room, and trim and file their nails. My eyes are straining and my body is tense during this whole process and I seriously feel like I need a massage to unwind afterwards! I'm sure the twins just think the nail fairy came at night and gave them a little manicure but someday they will see that the nail fairy is their mom...

The twins are now 6 months and I seriously cannot believe half a year has gone by! Seriously where does the time go?! At their 6 month appointment Colin was a little over 20 pounds and 27 inches long. Leah was a little over 18 pounds and 26 1/2 inches long. They are both growing like crazy. We stocked up on clothes newborn through 9 months when I was pregnant thinking they'd last us longer than 6 months :). We have had to buy sleepers (it seems like they always move up in these first) and are now stocking up on 12 months and up clothes. Speaking of, my favorite sleepers are definitely the Children's Place ones. They are soooo cute! I also love Children's Place clothes in general. They have some great bargains and $5 shipping and I am all about the online shipping deals now that we don't always have the chance to go out and shop on the weekends.

Weekend in KC

We went to KC last weekend and had a really great time. It is really tough coming back because we do miss everyone up there so much. Driving back after going to church on Sunday is especially tough because we really love our church. They were like a family to us. We also miss our friends. It was wonderful staying with Angie but we run around so much while we are up there that I don't feel like we got enough time with her! It was also great seeing our friends, Evan and Casey, and their newest son, Grant. It was so crazy holding a newborn again! It's hard to believe the twins were that small since they're so big now. Speaking of big, on our way back to OK, Colin threw a fit about an hour from home. I'm thinking next time we're going to need a convertible car seat because I think he's a bit big for his (he's almost 18 pounds now) with the long road trip. Leah did great but I'm thinking she'll be more comfortable in a convertible too as opposed to their Chicco car seats.

Our friends, Sarah and Jim, and their kids, Kristin and Garrett, stayed at our house while we were gone. They thought we were doing them a huge favor but really they were helping us out by taking care of the dogs and our cat while we were gone :). It actually did work out great because they had the house to themselves and my mom didn't have to come over to take care of our pets. They were amazing house guests too and went above and beyond. They are definitely most welcome to stay with us anytime!!

I am writing from my work laptop so I don't have any pics to post but I will post some soon. They are getting soooo big!

Temper temper...

Grr...the title is appropriate for 2 reasons now. One, I just wrote the entire post and when I tried to publish it, it erased it and said there were conflicting edits! Grrr. Two, Mr. Colin has been showing his little temper lately. They both love playing in the exersaucers. Colin, however, gets very angry when he cannot pull off the toys that are attached to it. He starts out kind of whining and fussing a little and then moves to what we call "the meltdown". He throws a fit and hits the toy or tries to bite it. At this point, he is removed from the exersaucer and consoled. We have removed all of the toys from the exersaucer that clip in and can be removed. There are two though that spin and make noise that are actually attached to it. These he hates. In place of all of the toys that were clipped on there are now loose toys that we put up there.

Leah doesn't seem to have the temper like Colin. She's very impatient though and when she wants something you better get it fast - bottle, nap, changed, played with, to swing....whatever it is she wants it now. She's still not much of a fan of tummy time (Colin rolls over and sleeps on his belly most of the time). She is doing better though and will tolerate it more and more. I think she doesn't mind it as much though because she constantly rolls over to her back. So it's more like tummy time for a second, then on her back, then us rolling her back to her tummy. She's been having on and off days with spitting up. Some days she won't spit up any and some it's every feeding. We'll be calling the doctor if it doesn't get better since she is on acid reflux medicine.

They are both sleeping all night for the most part. They each had one night this week where they woke up and we moved them to the pack-n-play in our room so they wouldn't wake up the other. Colin, we have realized, does not like having his bed elevated. We had slightly propped up one side of his crib since he had been having some allergies and congestion. Well, Thursday night he was not having it. So I moved him to the pack-n-play in our room and he fell back asleep no problem and slept until 7:30. This was the same night Leah slept until 7:00 and we are quite sure this was a rare occurence that we won't see for many years - like a solar eclipse or something. Well, Leah spit up in her sleep last night and woke up but was not wanting to go back to sleep. So I had to stand by the pack-n-play and make sure her pacifier didn't fall out - so fun at 12:30am :).

We went bathing suit shopping last night for me and the twins. Either I didn't get the memo about skirt bottoms being out this year or everyone wanting the skirt bottoms went early to make sure they got them. Either way, I hate bathing suit shopping and stores should be required to have skirt bottoms in stock on Memorial Day weekend for us women who have had babies this year and are wanting to make sure we're covered up and have waited until the last minute to buy a bathing suit because we were hoping for some miracle to happen and wake up with a sculpted Carrie Underwood body. So, pretty much I did not have a good time swim suit shopping for myself. I did, however, have a BLAST swim suit shopping for the twins. My mom and I went and she found Leah the pink tutu bathing suit at Target I have been eyeing but all of the hangers said sizes 12 months and up. Leah needs a 9 month size to last for the summer. Well, I looked online and no luck - all 12 months and up. My mom said one looked smaller than the others and looked at the tag. It was a 9 month size on a 12 month hanger!!! Okay, it may seem silly to get this excited but it's their first bathing suit and IT'S A PINK TUTU!! We found Colin some adorable blue Hawaiian print swim trunks and found them both swim shirts to match their suits, already had hats, and we're ready to go! I'm pretty sure they're going to look like little baby models in their pink and blue suits :). We also bought two float tubes for them to sit in with sun shades. We'll probably get to my uncle's house today (who has the pool) and they'll want to take a nap lol! I really won't be at all surprised though if Colin is less than thrilled about getting in the pool since he's not a fan of baths yet :). I will definitely post pics though of them in their bathing suits!!

4 months and counting...

Well, I know it's been a while when my address bar doesn't remember my blog's address :). So, what's new with us...

Well, the twins are now 4 months old. I really try not to say "the twins" but it just happens sometimes and it's just easier than always typing or saying their names. I do try though to say their names so that I don't get in the habit of saying it and they know their individuals. Okay off the subject but just typing out loud. They had their 4 month appointment on Tuesday this week. Stats:

Colin:
weight - 16#12.5oz (90th percentile)
height - 24 inches (25th percentile)
head - not sure on cm (75th percentile)

Leah
weight - 14#8oz (75th percentile)
height - 24.5 inches (75th percentile)
head - once again not sure (75th percentile)

So, Colin is a chunky monkey and Leah is too but just more proportionate :). Their first round of shots, they did fine. Ran a slight fever but were just sleepy for the most part. This time not quite so easy. They were both super fussy Tuesday night and wanted held and bounced. They ran a fever Tuesday night so we gave them Tylenol (well the generic kind since the recall). Wednesday morning they both slept in a little but seemed okay when they woke up. My mom called me at 11:00 and I could hear both of them screaming in the background and she asked if I could come home to help. Even though I hated it that they weren't feeling good, I really loved spending the afternoon with them especially since they wanted to be held and snuggle :). They've also been battling some head congestion on top of this (it seems allergy related). We were going to go to KC this weekend but with all of this and them having not felt so great this week, we opted to stay here and not make the 6 hour drive up (takes a little bit longer with baby stops). So we are going to go up the weekend after Memorial Day instead.

Colin is rolling over and over now and actually enjoys being on his belly. He wants to crawl so badly but just can't quite figure out the arm coordination yet. Leah still hates tummy time but we're working on it and she's becoming more tolerant at least. She'll roll over when she gets good and mad but she's still not too interested in laying on her tummy. They're both smiling all the time and are starting to giggle a little too. They are so much fun and we are just having so much fun every day with them!

Back to work...

Well I went back to work a few weeks ago (3 to be exact). It was definitely hard but I am so glad my mom is watching Colin and Leah. I cried of course and Sunday nights and Monday mornings are still hard but thankfully the week does go by fast. I am also thankful that I do really like my job so if I have to work, I'm glad it's there.

Colin and Leah are both getting so big. Leah LOVES the rainforrest playmat. She kicks the little chimes that hang down and grabs at the stuffed frog. She does "lizzard lips" (a phrase coined by her grandparents about her mother :) where she sticks out her tongue and licks her lips. It's so adorable!

Colin actually enjoys tummy time now. He pushes himself up (although I don't know how since he's so chubby!) and looks around. He's so close to rolling from his back to his belly. He gets on his side but just can't quite get all the way over. Leah still hates tummy time so we usually have to do "naked" tummy time with just a diaper on. She will tolerate it like this but does not actually like it by any means!

We found out Leah has acid reflux so she is on liquid Zantac now which is definitely helping. They are both sleeping all night (YAY!!!). They go to bed between 8:30 and 9:00 and usually wake up between 6:00 and 7:00am. This morning they woke up at 5:30 but ate a bottle and went back to sleep until 9:30 (Colin) and 10:30 (Leah). It was pretty amazing. :)

I finally found the usb to download pictures. They are getting so big!

So my life has been a little crazy lately.... :)

Leah...

Colin...

I haven't found the USB to download new pics from the camera but abobe are some pictures we had taken by the photographer who also did our maternity pics (they were 3 weeks old for these) and some other pics...

Wow. Looking at their pictures from my last post is crazy! They were so so little! Well, they are 8 weeks old today and their 2 month birthday is on Friday which I totally cannot believe. We closed on our house we were building on February 19th (still waiting on sod though...) and that same weekend both Colin and Leah had RSV. Yep, my little babies got RSV. I took Leah to the doctor on Friday, the 19th, and everything sounded fine as far as her breathing and oxygen level went so the nurse practitioner said to just keep an eye on her. Well Friday night I just felt like Colin's breathing wasn't normal so we made a trip to the pediatric urgent care. He also checked out fine but tested positive for RSV. The ped at urgent care said his oxygen level and breathing were fine but to watch for any difficulties breathing and to call 911 if he turned blue. Well, this new mom and dad took shifts Friday night (after moving all day and taking a late night trip to the urgent care) staying up all night and basically watching to make sure both of our babies didn't turn blue. It was a loooooong day on Saturday and we ended up breaking from moving around dinner time. Brad's dad came down and helped us move and cooked dinner for us Saturday night which was great since we were both exhausted. We both turned in around 8:00 that night. I still woke up several times throughout the night to make sure they were both breathing. They slept in their bouncers (to stay more elevated) right beside the bed and we left the bathroom light on so I could just wake up and see them. I have noticed that my senses are like superman now that I'm a mom. I can hear them breathing and see the smallest movements to indicate breathing in half light. I did actually read an article that moms have hightened senses and I believe it! Leah recovered fine from the RSV but Colin's cough got worse so we took him back to the pediatrician and he has been doing breathing treatments which have definitely helped his cough which is almost gone now.

Some things I have noticed after becoming a mom....

• Time, which went so slowly during my pregnancy, is now at warp speed. Has anyone else noticed this? Is it a conspiracy and all the clocks were programmed to speed up?
  
• I went from being a fast lane driver (I may have been a little speedy) to driving like a "grandma".
  
• Life involves feeding, pumping, changing diapers, and sometimes napping. Yes, I admit I do miss sleep sometimes but it's wonderful cuddling Colin and Leah at all hours of the day or night :).
  
• I have never been so excited about poop in my life. Leah would go 2-3 days between dirty diapers. She is now doing better since we switched formula and I am attempting a dairy free diet.
  
• The papsan swing is a twin mom's best friend especially when they both decide that they're hungry. Leah will almost not even tolerate the regular travel swing. Colin will swing in either. Colin is also the more patient and laid back of the two. Leah demands when she's hungry/wants picked up/etc. She's definitely a little princess lol :).
  
• Even though I like my job, I am totally dreading going back to work and have tried to think of some invention to make millions or a job I can do from home - nothing so far but I have 4 weeks left....The whole powerball thing hasn't worked out yet either.... :(

So as noted above I have been attempting a dairy free diet to see if that helps with Leah's gassiness and mild constipation. I think I've only actually gone 2 days total in the last week or so as it seems everything has dairy in it! Things I never would have guessed have dairy in them and some things that I would think do have dairy don't (like Oreos which I am totally addicted to) :). I have tried soy milk and just bought some almond milk last night which I haven't tried straight yet. The vanilla soy milk is okay. I have used it on cereal and for dunking my Oreos which thank goodness are dairy free and it's fine for those. I don't crave a big glass of it to just drink straight or anything. The plain soy milk works fine for substituting in recipes. I haven't noticed any difference in flavor or anything by using it. It's funny because I had never been a big milk drinker and then craved it when I was pregnant. Unfotunately, it made me sick especially if I had any milk or ice cream before bed.

To sum it up life has been crazy lately with two sick babies and moving but it's still been wonderful. I mostly facebook because I can do this on my blackberry while pumping (oh how I am thankful for staying connected with my blackberry) :). We are all looking forward to our trip to KC the weekend of March 19th! It's been since October that we've been there and we sure miss everyone!