Yee-Haw! Or, the babies first trip to Texas!

Last week, the babies and I went to Texas. Or more correctly put, nanny Mary, Addison, Jackson, and I loaded up ourselves, our awesome new double stroller, and three huge pieces of luggage and took off for San Antonio. From the other side of the country, my mom was also packing and heading to the airport--she joined us in Texas for the week to spend some time with the babies and to help out since my work schedule required long and odd hours. NCFC's Annual Meeting there for the better part of a week, so it was lots of fun to hang out in Texas with the babies and my mom.

PS traveling with babies requires lots of logistical consideration, coordination, and planning. Like: How many bottles to pack? How much additional milk do we need to bring? How many times are we going to eat on the road on the way to our destination? Will our hotel have milk cooling and heating capabilities? What about cribs or other sleeping arrangements? Wait--how do we get ourselves and all of our stuff to the airport in the freezing cold?! SO many things to consider!! (by the way, the answer to that last question is to call Ollie at Your Service, a guy with a van and two car seats who, for a fee your office is willing to pay, will pick you up at your door, ferry you and your children and all of your belongings to the airport, drop you curbside and find someone to take all of your luggage to the skycap--and then be there to pick you up and do it all again when you get back. Worth every penny (of my office's money)--thank you Ollie!).)

Anyway, the babies had lots of fun at the hotel. They spent lots of time lounging in the big, white puffy beds and ordering room service (silly babies). I'd walk in and this is all I'd be able to see: cute little toes and a sweet set of eyes peering over the top of the down comforter. Addison and Jackson had lots of fun playing with their grandma!


Just look at Jackson, pulling himself up to sit up and eat the sheets--such a strong little stinker!


And here's Addison, reaching for the camera.

We caught a few of Addison smiling and looking coy while her little brother was napping:


A note on our hotel room--my office graciously sprang for two adjoining rooms, and made special requests to have a fridge, a microwave, and two pack and plays to use a cribs. Additionally, I'd ordered a swing and a bouncy seat from a local baby gear rental service. So, as you can imagine, our room was FULL. And really, having two rooms didn't really help with that--it ended up with Mary in one room, the babies, my mom and me and all of our stuff (and probably a rogue chicken or two clucking around, who knows) in the other room. Next time, we'll request a suite!

Anyway, we all had some valuable tummy time...




The weather was poopy the first couple of days we were there, so the babies and Grandma Kaye took lots of walks through the hotel and the adjoining mall and made lots of visits to my coworkers who were hanging out at the registration desk. We also received a surprise visit by Grandpa Ken one morning--the babies had a lot on their social calendars while we were in Texas!

Speaking of, the babies are getting to be much more social and interested in their surrounds, so they loved getting out and seeing new things and interacting with people. They made it out to a reception one night, and of course everyone loved them.

The weather was nicer the last couple of days of our stay, so we were able to get outside and take a few longs walks around downtown San Antonio. We were not impressed with Market Square (or the walk through the few seedy downtown blocks of SA), and were slightly underwhelmed by the Alamo, but really liked our walks, and enjoyed exploring the gardens and displays around the Alamo. And the mall--we really liked exploring the mall, in particular the ice-cream-on-a-stick stand and the 2-day sale Macy's was having. The babies (and their mother) came away with some new cute outfits!

And, as usual, the babies' favorite time of the day was bath time--they got to take their baths in the big tub, and they had an absolute ball kicking and splashing each other!


Side note: this face that Jackson is pulling is accompanied by a hilarious new yell that he has been trying out for the past week.

I just can't get enough of naked babies!

Saturday Morning Fun

This morning, I needed to get up and do nine load of laundry (at least) and start packing for our trip to Texas. Instead, I put together the babies' Exersaucer--and they loved it! You can just see it in their faces--their expressions said to me, "Mom--what is this thing of wonder and amazement?!" They were more than ready for it, and it was a fun way to spend our Saturday morning.






Then, the babies helped me in the kitchen.

Five months!

Another month has flown by, and this one brought many changes with it. Too start off, I went back to work and our live-in nanny Mary started at the first of this past month. Even she remarked yesterday that the babies have changed so much since she got here. When she arrived, they weren't really holding onto things--now they are reaching out and grabbing things like pros. Not even a month ago, for the first time Jackson shakily reached out and grabbed a rattle when we held it out in front of him. This morning, the rattle was laying on the blanket beside him--he saw it, reached right over, grabbed onto it and brought it to his mouth. The babies' hand eye coordination gets better every day, and they are increasingly able to control their hands. Addison used to have to stick her whole hand in her mouth to get her thumb in there--this morning, she guided her thumb directly into her mouth like it was nothing. Both babies have started rubbing their eyes with their fists when they are tired, and when they are being carried around, both are very alert and intently turn their heads from side to side to see what's going on all around them.



Boy do we have vocal babies! Jackson's new favorite thing is blowing motorboats. He does it all of the time, and spits everywhere when he does. For a while, he was constantly growling like a little lion--so cute! Addison has been expanding her lungs--in the past couple of weeks, she has started squealing. She'll take her squeals high and low--she's not mad when she's yelling, but she clearly has something to say. It is hilarious and adorable.




Lately, Addison has been needing a little bit more attention and a few more cuddles than usual, and has been wanting to eat more than her standard 4-ounce bottles during the day--I think she's going through a little growth spurt (to confirm this, I put her in a sleeper last night that I swore fit a few days ago, and now it's too small--these guys sprout overnight!). She has also started doing this gummy-mouthy thing, where she looks like an old granny who has taken her dentures out--she sucks on her gums, she gums her lips--it is hysterical!





By the way, I just love these guys in their Bumbo seats--they are too cute sitting up all by themselves!

In the past couple of weeks, Addison has really been sleeping like a pro--we have baths and our last feeding around 8, then the babies go to sleep. Most nights, Addison sleeps soundly until 3ish, then wakes up to eat, then falls back asleep until morning. Jackson, on the other hand, has been having a harder time staying asleep. Things were getting desperate--we were sleeping more nights on the couch so he could sleep in the swing than I'd like to admit--then, all of a sudden three nights ago, something clicked and he was able to spend most of the night in his crib. We've had a little bit of swing-sleeping since then, but nothing like the all-night-swing-fests we were having before. All in all, these guys are doing a great job sleeping. And bathtime is still so much fun--we end up with water everywhere, these guys love to splash!





The babies are both very active--they spend a lot of their time kicking their legs, waving their arms, and rolling around. When they are on their tummies, they can both hold their heads way up and look around. They love to play with small toys. Lately, they prefer to spend their time sitting up and standing up, as opposed to laying down--the Bumbo seats come in handy with this, because you can only help one baby sit or stand at a time. Both babies are good eaters, although Jackson is on an independent streak where he has decided he doesn't want to eat his entire breakfast at one time--he'd rather eat a little bit, then play and giggle and wiggle and eat the rest of his breakfast an hour later. While this makes for a more complicated morning schedule, it's cute to see his personality exhibit itself in these small ways. Both babies are growing--Addison hardly has a 0-3 month outfit that will fit any more, and Jackson will soon be moving out of his 3-6 month clothes. Addison just went up a diaper size and is now wearing a size 2, and Jackson has moved into a size 2-3.






The babies are really going to be ready for some real food next month. Both have really started expressing a lot of interested in food--they watch us intently as we eat, and often try to get their little fingers around something that is on one of our plates. They will be so ready to try real food out next month. Both have started wanting to hold their own bottles--they don't quite have it down yet, but it won't be long before they will be doing that on their own. Both babies have also recently discovered their toes. Addison has begun grabbing onto her toes as she rolls around on the floor, and Jackson actually tried to get them in his mouth from a seated position--a tricky proposition at best!



Little Jazz fans!




These guys are so much fun--I can only imagine the changes that yet another month is going to bring!