Big Kid Baths

Sunday night was the first time I've actually bathed the kids in the real bathtub. Up until now, I've used an infant bath. Lately, they seem to only want to sit up (as opposed to hanging out in the reclined position that the bath/cushion is made for) and they are getting too big for the baby bath/ bath seat. So, I tried it out with them, one at a time. Eventually, they'll take their baths together, and that should be lots of fun. But I want them to get a little bit bigger and stronger. I'd hate for one/both of them to go a-crawling in the water and have to figure out how to keep them both under control and heads out of the water.

Alec's first experience was great. He was thrilled to have the extra room to play and all of the rubber duckies around to play with. It was a long bath because he was enjoying it so much. He figured out how to splash the water with his feet, and that was really fun. When I finally pulled him out, he was not happy. He wanted to stay in the tub and play. He's come a long way from his first bath, which he hated!

Emma was a little more hesitant. She sat there and looked around wondering what the heck was going on. When I handed her a rubber ducky to chew on, she was okay with it...but it wasn't until the second big girl bath that she started to see how much fun it could be (splashing the water and looking at her hands under the water...reaching for bubbles). Mommy had fun making her hair into a mohawk. Here are a few pics of the first big kid baths. Funny mowkawk/hair pics to come!

Stand, Sit, Spit

On Fridays, I teach for a couple of hours at the Institute of Music, Worship and the Arts (IMWA). I teach ballet and worship dance. Aaron only works a half day on Fridays, so he watches the kids in the afternoon. Every first and third Friday of the month, we have a young adult home group that we facilitate at a friend's house that is in the same town as the IMWA. So, those Fridays, he and the kids come to work with me. The IMWA is not only a music school. The building also houses a church and a house of prayer, so there is a nursery there. It makes it easier for him to watch the babies. Here is a video of them playing at the IMWA. Alec was getting such a kick out of banging his keys against the toy bench...and then, well...it reminds me of that E-Trade commercial with the baby boy that spontaneously spits up. Watch and see!

Eight Months!

Here are some pictures of Alec and Emma playing with their new crawl and cruise toy that Aunt Chrissy got them for Christmas. We brought it home at Thanksgiving so that we would have less to fit in the car at Christmas. They LOVE this toy and play with it for hours everyday. They turned eight months old on December 4th, and as of today they are 35 weeks and 6 days old. I delivered them at 35 weeks, 6 days. So, now they have been out of me as long as they were inside of me! Isn't that crazy??? I can't believe they've been here now as long as I was pregnant. It seems like I was pregnant a LOT longer. Anyways, I've been trying to post this really funny video that Aaron took while I was teaching last Friday, but I haven't been able to get it uploaded. I'll keep trying!

Big Kid Food (Sort of)

I decided to let Alec and Emma try some turkey (baby food, of course) in honor of Thanksgiving. We tried turkey and green bean mix and turkey and rice dinner. As you can see, they were not too keen on it. We'll try again later. It's just another food they'll need to get used to. They are, however, big fans of their new big kid sippy cups.

Thanksgiving with Mommy's Family

On Saturday afternoon, we drove to Enid, Oklahoma to celebrate Thanksgiving with my side of the family. We got to see my mom, dad, nanny (grandma), sister, and niece. We had lots of good food, enjoyed being together, and Aaron and I spent a little time being elves and scoping out a Christmas present for my mom and g'ma. We had a great time. Here are a few pics. The first one is my grandma with Alec and Emma. Then, Kylie giving Emma a bottle. (She wanted to help with everything!) And finally, my mother and sister with the babies.

Stroller Trauma

Okay, so we have a double in-line stroller. It's great because the same carriers that click into the car bases also click into the stroller, alleviating the need for you to physically unstrap your babies. The only stupid thing is that the one closest to the stroller handle often gets stuck. I am still unclear as to why this happens. It happens with both carriers, but only in the back seat of the stroller...not in the front one. Generally, when it gets stuck, Aaron gets it unstuck. When I'm out with Alec and Emma alone, I've always just been able to wiggle the carrier around a bit to get it to click out. Well, obviously, the day that I would not be able to get it to click out would be cold, windy and starting to spit cold rain. I had to go to Walmart to get some baby fruit and some chicken broth for the soup I'm making for dinner. When we got back out to the car, Emma came out fine. She was in front. Alec didn't. I worked for a good five minutes trying to get him out of the stroller. Finally, I decided that I needed someone stronger than myself. I asked a cart boy, but he couldn't get it and gave up fairly quickly. Then I asked the gentleman ringing the Salvation Army bell. He stood there and worked with the stroller and the carrier for a good ten minutes. (It was cold!) A vending machine dude came up to try to help, but he was afraid that his mammoth strength would break it. Another mom also tried to help out. Finally, the Salvation Army man saw this one piece of the clicker that was sticking out. When I pushed it in it fully clicked the carrier, which in turn allowed it to un-click. If you've never worked with a baby carrier...I know you must be scratching your head right now. But I was so relieved to finally get Alec out of the stroller. If I couldn't get his carrier out of the stroller, I couldn't buckle him into the car and I couldn't fold up the stroller and I couldn't leave. Emma slept in the car while all of this took place. Of course they were both very well bundled up, and Alec didn't get too disgruntled with the slew of people shaking his stroller around, but it was still very traumatic to me...that on the worst weather day yet that we've been out in, this had to happen. But thank God for the nice bell ringer man. Needless to say, I made a large donation to his kettle today. And I encourage you to do the same, because not only does the Salvation Army minister to homeless and hungry men, women and children...they help out mothers with stroller issues too!