Bath Time

The boys absolutely love their bath time. It is a part of bedtime routine and it seems like regardless of how tired they are, they always perk up when they are in the bath. Last night I snapped a few pictures.


Zachary is already giving me the look that says, "Come on Mom! No more pictures!"



Nicolas loves his rubber ducky!



Daddy just walked into the room... Zachary loves his Daddy and he was trying to tell him so!



If you look closely the little bit of white in Nicolas' mouth is his tooth!

You could swear they just know...

Steve and I talked about what we were going to do about the boys sleeping issue. They had been doing so well and then the teething pain started again. At least this time I know it's because of their teeth since Nicolas already has one that has broken through the gums. I am almost certain that Zachary is not far behind since his gums look just like Nicolas' before we could feel the tooth.

I have been a little less strict with the nighttime wakings since I knew they were not feeling great. However, the boys have been taking advantage of the situation and it has to stop. So, we decided that baby boot camp was going to start again.

I am not trying to get rid of their only feeding in the night, since they seem to still need it. I tried for three nights to give them formula instead of nursing them to see if it may have just been me they wanted. But they didn't care at all. So, I am taking it as a sign that they are actually hungry and still need that feed. What I am trying to get rid of is the waking 2-3 other times and simply wanting to get picked up and cuddled. Or, in Zachary's case, to be played with.

I did not need to do anything last night. Nicolas slept from the moment he was put down until his feed and then again until he woke up this morning. I did not hear him at all in between. Zachary slept from the time he went to bed until his feed. He woke up once because he lost his pacifier but once he had it back he went right back to sleep. He stirred at some point before morning but I did not need to get up. He fell back to sleep on his own. So, if they can continue down this road (with a little bit of improvement from Zachary) I will be a happy mommy.

The boys are so good at falling asleep on their own that they now play in their cribs before they fall asleep during the day. The following pictures are of Nicolas in his crib. I put him down with his head facing the left side of the picture (by the shoes of the bear in the corner of his crib). As you can see, he turned a little more than 90 degrees and has his head under the aquarium. He had obviously been playing with it before falling asleep.

Migraine and two teething babies... a bad combination!

I had a nagging headache all day yesterday and by the time I went to bed, it was still there. So I took and extra strength Tylenol and went to bed. By the time the boys woke me for their night feed (around 1:00), I knew that I was in trouble. Not only was the headache still there, it had grown exponentially and I knew it was a migraine. So, I tried taking two more Tylenol and hoped that it would go away.

On top of that, the boys had a horrible night. Their teeth are really starting to bother them and it is waking them in the night. I tried comforting them and trying to get the back to sleep but nothing seemed to comfort them for long. I was up with someone at least once an hour. During this time, the migraine grew and I started feeling nauseous and dizzy. Thankfully Steve offered to take over and get Zachary back to sleep in the pack-n-play in the basement. That way I wouldn't have to hear him cry. Nicolas was really only waking because of Zach's crying, so once his brother was out of the room, he drifted off to sleep.

I would not have made it to morning had it not been for Steve. I felt so bad that he had to be up with Zachary. He went in to work this morning with a smile on his face and he never complained once. He is such a good father and a wonderful husband. I am truly a very lucky women. He even called mid-morning to make sure that I didn't need his help at home.

Grilled Cheese

We tried grilled cheese for the first time on January 17th but in the excitement, I forgot to snap some pictures. So, I decided to do so today. The boys loved the grilled cheese especially when it came off of Daddy's plate. I think they loved the fact that they were eating the same thing he was. Personally, I think Daddy liked the fact that his boys already want to be just like him! I couldn't ask for anything more than for my little men to turn out to be as wonderful as their father...

Here are some cute pictures I took during lunch:

Zachary:

Nicolas:

A tooth is on its way!

Tonight at dinner I noticed that Nicolas had what looked like a small hole in his gums. When I ran my finger on top of it, I could feel the top of a tooth! Finally, after all these months of teething, we are finally seeing some progress. This explains the very frustrating past few days. Nicolas has just been very impatient and you could tell that he was uncomfortable. Now, we know why!

I will post a picture as soon as the tooth is visible. I guess I have to enjoy the last few days of toothless smiles from Nicolas!

Clapping

Zachary learned to clap a few weeks ago. Now whenever he hears "Yay, Zachary!", he claps with a huge smile on his face. It's adorable. So, we've been trying to teach Nicolas how to clap as well and he has absolutely no interest in doing so. Until a few days ago. He was sitting across from Zachary in his crib and was watching Zach clap. He looked down at his own hands and started to clap. They are already teaching one another what they know! It's the magic of twins, I guess!

Womanizer

I thought you might enjoy this. Nicolas is just like his Mommy - he loves music! For some reason, he loves Britney Spears' new song "Womanizer". Every time it comes on the radio, he bops along. It is so funny to see. Today after their nap, while he and Zachary were playing in a crib, the song came on the radio. Here is a video of his reaction:

Pork

The boys tried some pork today. They are much more used to eating meat so it was received much better than some of the others we have tried. Here are the pictures:

Zachary:

Nicolas:

Sippy cups...

Both Nicolas and Zachary have learned to drink out of a sippy cup all by themselves. Nicolas is great at handling the cup alone and drinks very well out of it. Zachary can drink out of it, but prefers to chew on the mouthpiece instead. He only drinks out of it when he is really thirsty.

It took us a few weeks of trying them with the sippy cups before they really got the hang of it. It made for a lot of meals with water all over themselves, their high chairs and the floor. At first, I was bringing the sippy cups to their mouths and giving them the water by holding the cup myself. Nicolas did not really care for that. He wanted the cup! Zachary was great and drank very well out of it that way. Then I would let them to "play" with the cups so that they could learn what they needed to about how the cups worked. But, once I knew that they were only playing with them instead of trying to figure them out, I stopped them from getting water all over the place.

After that point Nicolas was a pro. Zachary likes to chew on the rubbery mouthpiece and drinks occasionally. I figure that as long as he is not making a mess, it's fine. I think it feels great on his poor little gums. The good think is that when they have them, they know they are supposed to be drinking out of them. All I need to do is remind them and the cups end up back upright and in their mouths. They are really starting to understand when we speak. It's so amazing to watch them learn and discover the world...

Here are a few pics of my big boys and their sippy cups:

Zachary:

Nicolas:

8 month old weigh in...

I went and had the boys weighed today. They were good as gold and they continue to amaze the nurses at the CLSC.

Here is where we are now:

Zachary: Weighs 20 lbs 4 oz (up from 18 lbs 14 oz - December 4, 2008)

Nicolas: Weighs 18 lbs 3 oz (up from 17 lbs 4 oz - December 4, 2008)

Such Goof balls....

Both Steve and Nicolas are some of the craziest goof balls out there. Please keep in mind that it seems to take very little to make Nicolas laugh. Very strange things are very funny to him. For some reason Steve starting saying, "Kermit the Frog" and Nicolas thought this was hilarious. Here is a small video of the two of them. It was taken after Steve saying this for over 15 minutes...




While we were making dinner tonight, Steve started to sing along with a song on the radio which caused Nicolas to laugh hysterically. Here is a very short clip of what happened:

Notice how Zachary is just sitting there and not really reacting. I am sure he is thinking that they are both nuts...!

Pasta

I am trying to increase the boys' repertoire of finger foods so I decided to try some pasta for lunch today. It was not a huge hit but it also wasn't a bust either. This is the first finger food that has been really messy and I'm not sure the boys enjoyed getting messy. I am sure all of that will change with time so I am rolling with it for now.

Zachary did better than Nicolas since he was actually picking up the pieces and putting them in his mouth. Nicolas only moved the pieces around on his tray. He would eat it if I fed it to him. I think that Nicolas may not have enjoyed the very basic pasta sauce I put on the noodles. I will try it again with a little bit of butter instead and see how that goes over.

Here are a few pictures of our messy lunch - the before and afters. They don't actually do the mess justice but they are cute nonetheless. Zachary had some in his hair and all over his face. Nicolas kept the mess a little more contained.

Zachary:

Nicolas:

A Wagon!

We received an awesome wagon from my grandfather and all of my Aunts and Uncles on my Dad's side. This was Zachary and Nicolas' Christmas present from all of them. It is a little bit too big for them now but it will be perfect for them come the spring. When sitting in the seats, their feet don't touch the bottom so we cannot be lugging them around in it quite yet.

One of the seats moves so that it can alter the look of the inside of the wagon. We can have the seats facing one another or having the boys front to back. You can also use the seat to make a table for one of the seats. There is a canopy on the top which should help to shield them from the sun.

Here is a picture of them in it...

8 months old!

Wow! It is now 2009 and Zachary and Nicolas have just turned 8 months old. A year ago, I had just been to my 20 week ultrasound and founf out that we were having two boys. What a difference a year can make!

Sadly, I was unable to get to the CLSC to have the boys weighed since they were not open on Thursday (January 1st). So, I will have to wait until next week to get their 8 month stats.

But, I do have some pictures taken on their 8 month birthaversary.

Zachary:


Nicolas: