Addison's First Cold

I have been surprisingly healthy since being pregnant and having these kids. I had one bad cold while pregnant, but have been cold- and flu-free since. That is, until last week. I started having a scratchy throat in San Antonio, which I initially attributed to the dry air. The next day, my throat was more sore than scratchy, which I thought could be allergies. The following day, my throat downright hurt, and I knew a cold was on it's way--I just hoped it would be a little one.

Turns out, there's a cold going around. Many of my office mates have it--I got it--and now Addison has it. Her first cold, poor girl--luckily, while I had terrible symptoms, Addison's don't appear to be quite as bad. She's got some nasal congestion, and a little bit of a hacking cough, and she needs some extra cuddles. But she's been pretty tough about the whole thing--it's only slowing her down a little bit.

More Saturday Fun

This past weekend, we set up the babies' jumper. Oh boy, do we have some little ones who love to JUMP! It took about a day for them to figure this contraption out--but they haven't stopped bouncing since.






The jump-a-roo seems especially suited to Addison, who is content to sit and jump for hours on end. We have since started calling her twinkle toes, although what she really looks like is a little Irish dancer.

Our First Meal!

The babies have been increasingly interested in food and watching us eat over the past few weeks. Our pediatrician recommended that we wait until they are 6 months old before we feed them anything other than breastmilk or formula. Which was our intention...until one night last week during dinner, Jackson got downright ANGRY that he had to sit and watch us eat, but wasn't allowed to join in. He seriously yelled and screamed and cried as he watched Daniel lift forks full of food to his mouth--he would strain and reach out his hands to try to bring Daniel's cup to his mouth. Poor little guy. We decided then that the next day, we would go out and buy some single-grain cereal for the little stinkers--so we officially have solid food eaters!





This is the first and last time we fed the babies dressed--we now strip them down and feed them right before bath time--which is what directly followed this feeding!

More pics from Texas

The babies enjoyed lots of naps during our stay in Texas--here's a peacefully sleeping Jackson.

And a peacefully sleeping Addison.

Here we are just hanging out, Addison sucking her thumb. (and just how cute are those arms in cap sleeves?!)

And here are the babies out strolling in their awesome side-by-side stroller.



And here we are at the Alamo!



And, the now classic pose--grandma Kaye and the babies, on our final day in Texas (clearly, Addison is not happy that we're leaving).

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.