skillet baked macaroni and cheese
1 day ago
Monday, March 28, 2011
What the?!
Jackson has TWO TEETH!? His other bottom front tooth broke through this weekend. Unbelievable! Good grief, these kids are growing before my very eyes!!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
CHOMP!
In exciting news, Jackson GOT HIS FIRST TOOTH TODAY!! While it's hardly visible, you can definitely feel it--Mary found it this afternoon. It's funny how they just appear--in the morning, there are no teeth, by the afternoon, there's a tooth! It's a super sharp little tooth tip poking through on his bottom left side. Both babies have been gumming the heck out of things lately, but especially Jackson. He was chewing on his plastic rings so hard yesterday that his gums were squeaking against the plastic--and now we know why. These babies are growing so fast--I love their toothless, gummy grins, but one day soon those grins will feature little teeth!
Since the tooth is hard to spot, let alone get a picture of just yet, here is Jackson eating apple sauce on the eve of his first tooth. The first few weeks of solids, the babies weren't getting much down. In the last week or so, they've been much better about actually eating the cereal and the fruit. We've tried sweet potatoes, peas, apples, butternut squash, and bananas, but like I said, we'd maybe have a bite or two of the fruit or veg, everyone would pull faces, and Jackson would jerk around like you'd just put a spoonful of hot sauce in his mouth. Just in the last couple of nights, the bananas and apples have been devoured, along with their oatmeal. We're making progress!
*I was getting no smiles for the camera, as you can see in the first picture--until Uncle Kenny arrived, then Jackson was full of smiles!
Since the tooth is hard to spot, let alone get a picture of just yet, here is Jackson eating apple sauce on the eve of his first tooth. The first few weeks of solids, the babies weren't getting much down. In the last week or so, they've been much better about actually eating the cereal and the fruit. We've tried sweet potatoes, peas, apples, butternut squash, and bananas, but like I said, we'd maybe have a bite or two of the fruit or veg, everyone would pull faces, and Jackson would jerk around like you'd just put a spoonful of hot sauce in his mouth. Just in the last couple of nights, the bananas and apples have been devoured, along with their oatmeal. We're making progress!
*I was getting no smiles for the camera, as you can see in the first picture--until Uncle Kenny arrived, then Jackson was full of smiles!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Weighing in
The babies had their 6-month check up one week ago, and the doctor declared both babies to be thriving! Jackson weighed in at a very healthy 18 lb 10 oz, and he grew a couple of inches in the last two months--now he's 26.5 inches long. Addison weighed in at 16 lb 2 oz, and is the same height as her brother. The doctor said Addison's top gums were a little bit swollen, so maybe we'll see some teeth soon!?
Monday, March 21, 2011
All of a sudden...
Spring has sprung on Capitol Hill. And this year, I feel like it has happened very all-of-a-sudden, and it has kind of caught me by surprise. Like, two weeks ago, it was cold and rainy and not very springy at all. Then one day while we were at the park with Spud, we saw a tiny little purple crocus blooming. A few days later while we were out on a walk, we saw some daffodils in bloom (where did those come from?!), and that some usually brown, dreary trees had little green buds on the tips of their branches. Then we saw lots of green sprouts that promise to be tulips. And all of a sudden, cherry blossoms are blooming, apple trees are flowering, and pansies and daffodils and other spring flowers are out. The babies' first spring is definitely here!
Likewise, I find myself surprised by the progress the babies have been making the past couple of days. All of a sudden, Jackson is babbling. He starts with a whisper--tatatata, babababa, dadadada--and then he finds his voice. TATATA. DADA. Addison said MAMA as clear as day a couple of Saturdays ago, but hasn't been babbling much since--rather, she has been playing with volume. She was sitting in the exersaucer last night and let out an ear-shattering shriek, then jerked backward and laughed like she couldn't believe that just came out of her mouth.
Jackson has been doing this goofy thing the past couple of days where you'll be holding him and he'll curl his back so his face buries into your shoulder, but his back curves away from you. It made me laugh, but I couldn't figure out what he was doing. Then last night, we were all laying on the floor playing, and Jackson was on his tummy--he put his head down, curved his back, and was almost up on his hands and knees. He looked like he was going to crawl away (so, that's what he was up to, with all of his back curvery!)! He and Addison are both totally scooting around. They scoot in circles. They scoot backwards. We don't have much forward motion yet, but I shouldn't be surprised when we do. And yet, I probably will.
PS to follow up, we haven't had a solid night's sleep since last week's post--well, Jackson slept through the night one other night, but Addison was up twice that night to eat, so it doesn't count. We have had a couple of terrible nights, and a couple of OK nights--solid sleep is still proving to be a challenge with two little ones!
Likewise, I find myself surprised by the progress the babies have been making the past couple of days. All of a sudden, Jackson is babbling. He starts with a whisper--tatatata, babababa, dadadada--and then he finds his voice. TATATA. DADA. Addison said MAMA as clear as day a couple of Saturdays ago, but hasn't been babbling much since--rather, she has been playing with volume. She was sitting in the exersaucer last night and let out an ear-shattering shriek, then jerked backward and laughed like she couldn't believe that just came out of her mouth.
Jackson has been doing this goofy thing the past couple of days where you'll be holding him and he'll curl his back so his face buries into your shoulder, but his back curves away from you. It made me laugh, but I couldn't figure out what he was doing. Then last night, we were all laying on the floor playing, and Jackson was on his tummy--he put his head down, curved his back, and was almost up on his hands and knees. He looked like he was going to crawl away (so, that's what he was up to, with all of his back curvery!)! He and Addison are both totally scooting around. They scoot in circles. They scoot backwards. We don't have much forward motion yet, but I shouldn't be surprised when we do. And yet, I probably will.
PS to follow up, we haven't had a solid night's sleep since last week's post--well, Jackson slept through the night one other night, but Addison was up twice that night to eat, so it doesn't count. We have had a couple of terrible nights, and a couple of OK nights--solid sleep is still proving to be a challenge with two little ones!
Friday, March 18, 2011
What Cuties!
Nana Candy and Aunt Kelly were here last weekend, and they brought lots of fun things with them, including some cute clothes and fun toys for the babies. They also brought Kelly's new camera and took some awesome pictures of Addison and Jackson. I've been contemplating getting a fancy digital SLR camera for a while now, and after seeing these pictures, I'm convinced that I should go out and get one STAT! After all, we have two pretty adorable, picture-worthy little subjects...
The babies in the jumper and the exersaucer first thing in the morning:
Eating: the good and the bad (the sweet potatoes were the bad).
Out for a walk:
Playing on our tummies in our hip jean diapers:
Playing on the floor:
And the babies with aunts and uncles, Nana, and Mom and Dad!
The babies in the jumper and the exersaucer first thing in the morning:
Eating: the good and the bad (the sweet potatoes were the bad).
Out for a walk:
Playing on our tummies in our hip jean diapers:
Playing on the floor:
And the babies with aunts and uncles, Nana, and Mom and Dad!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Last night...
The babies slept!! And slept, and slept, and slept!! Daniel said Addison woke up once in the early evening, but he was able to successfully get her to fall back asleep in her crib. I woke up with a start at 3:30, having usually been up to feed and/or soothe babies by then, but heard no crying...I really woke up with a start at 5:30, and tiptoed down the hall to the babies' bedroom, only to find two little angelbabies sound asleep in their cribs. In fact, they kept on sleeping until 7:15, when I had to wake them up to feed them before I had to head to work (of course, this happens on the one day this week when I have to be up early and in the office for an 8:30 meeting...oh well).
The books say that "sleeping through the night" actually means sleeping 5 or 6 hours consecutively--but that's bologna! We have consistently putting the babies down around 8 pm--they have been waking up before 3 to eat--then they've been sleeping until 7:30 or so. It seems like when one baby is sleeping well, the other baby isn't. For the last two weeks, Jackson has been sleeping like a champ, spending the entire night in his crib, only waking once to eat (*OK, there have been a few early morning wakings from Mr. Jackson in the past week, and one memorable morning when he woke up screaming and didn't want to go back to sleep for almost an hour). Addison, on the other hand, has spent most of those nights in bed snuggled up next to me, and that's the only way she'll sleep for longer than an hour or two. But the two weeks prior, it was Addison who was sleeping in her crib like a rockstar--only up once in the night to eat--and Jackson who was in sleeping with us so that we could all get some shut eye. So, part of our problem has been getting long, consistent stretches, and getting the babies to stay asleep once they fall asleep--and part of it has been getting the babies to both sleep well at the same time.
Maybe the cereal and solid food they've been eating the past couple of weeks has made them more ready and able to go the entire night without a feeding--whatever it is, let's hope for more nights like last night!
The books say that "sleeping through the night" actually means sleeping 5 or 6 hours consecutively--but that's bologna! We have consistently putting the babies down around 8 pm--they have been waking up before 3 to eat--then they've been sleeping until 7:30 or so. It seems like when one baby is sleeping well, the other baby isn't. For the last two weeks, Jackson has been sleeping like a champ, spending the entire night in his crib, only waking once to eat (*OK, there have been a few early morning wakings from Mr. Jackson in the past week, and one memorable morning when he woke up screaming and didn't want to go back to sleep for almost an hour). Addison, on the other hand, has spent most of those nights in bed snuggled up next to me, and that's the only way she'll sleep for longer than an hour or two. But the two weeks prior, it was Addison who was sleeping in her crib like a rockstar--only up once in the night to eat--and Jackson who was in sleeping with us so that we could all get some shut eye. So, part of our problem has been getting long, consistent stretches, and getting the babies to stay asleep once they fall asleep--and part of it has been getting the babies to both sleep well at the same time.
Maybe the cereal and solid food they've been eating the past couple of weeks has made them more ready and able to go the entire night without a feeding--whatever it is, let's hope for more nights like last night!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
6 MONTHS!!
Oh babies, how time flies--the two of you are six months old today. It's hard to believe--and it's even harder to believe how much you've both grown and developed these past six months. Gone are the tiny little babies you started out as--you have grown to be independent, curious, healthy, happy little people!
Both babies continue to be very rolly polly, but Jackson is more of a roller than his sister. All of a sudden in the past week or so, Jackson has decided he wants to sleep on his side. One morning, he was making happy noises in his crib around 7:30, so I went into his room to get him and there he was, laying on his tummy with his head straight upright in the air, smiling at me--and so it began. Now almost every time we put him down, he rolls right onto his side or all of the way over onto his tummy to fall asleep. At first, it made us very nervous--but then we figured that if he is strong enough to roll over, he's probably strong enough to roll around and situate himself so that he can breathe. Also, it was hysterical--the first few times we found him asleep on his side, he was laying a straight as a stick bug, seemingly precariously balanced on his side--now, he is a little bit more relaxed and usually ends up rolling all of the way over onto his stomach. He's such a cutie, and one that increasingly likes to hang out on his tummy.
Both babies are eating really well. Jackson uses meal time to assert his independence--first thing in the morning, he'd rather play and squeal and smile than eat, so he eats a little bit first thing, then usually ends up eating the rest of his breakfast an hour later (much to his mother's chagrin and in defiance of her efforts to get him to eat when it's time to eat!). It seems a couple of times per week he does the same thing sometime during the day--he won't want to eat much when it's time to eat, but an hour or two later is starving and mad that you haven't fed him. He is such an independent little stinker!
Both Jackson and Addison have taken to solid food, and really like their cereal--we feed them in the evenings right before bath time so we can dunk them in the tub and get all of the food off of them when we're done (A LOT of food ends up down their fronts as opposed to in their mouths).
Generally, they like oatmeal better than rice cereal--neither of them liked peas very much, but we tried sweet potatoes tonight and Addison loved them! Jackson makes me laugh every time he eats anything other than cereal--he reacts like the flavor is WAY too intense and jerks his head around and pulls a face. So every night, we try just a couple of bites of vegetables--we'll see how long it takes before they're all about the fruit and veg.
Both babies are doing a lot of yelling. They squeal and coo and yell all day long--and they blow all different kinds of raspberries (did you know there was more than one kind? It's true, there are--just ask my kids...). They blow tight, pursed lipped raspberries, they blow loose, wide lipped raspberries, they blow spit allover raspberries--all different kinds. They also have been giggling a lot lately--and of course when we do something that makes one of them laugh, we are forced to do it over and over and over again to keep the giggles coming. I love their goofy belly laughs!
The babies love reaching out and feeling things, and love different textures. Jackson's hand is known as the claw, and at any given time, he's reaching out and grabbing onto your sweater, the pillow, a blanket, your scarf, his shirt, your hair, his head and clawing it. I think he likes the way different materials feel, and that different things make different sounds as he scratches them. Addison likes soft, cuddly things--when she gets tired, she'll grab her blanket and pull it up next to her face (and sometimes over her face, which is adorable) and hold the soft part of the blanket against her cheek with one hand, and suck on her thumb with the other. She's such a sweetie.
Another new thing the babies are doing: when you're holding them sitting up on your lap facing away from you, they will crane their necks up and back to look at you. It is the sweetest thing--they want to make eye contact with you and give you a big smile. They have also started reaching out and grabbing your face--all of these things just melt their mother's heart. When laying on his stomach, Jackson has started to scoot just a little bit--he kind of does the worm, where he contracts his legs and torso in, then stretches is all out, thereby scooting a little bit every time--he's very close to mobility (yikes!). And Addison remains uber flexible--she easily brings her foot to her mouth like her toes are the most delicious things ever. She's very close to being able to sit on her own, propping herself up with her arms--but those toes are too dang tempting, and she usually ends up toppling over with her toes headed to her mouth.
The babies love to play, and love to play upright. They now spend most of the day playing in the exersaucer or the jumper, sitting in their Bumbos, or on the floor, rolling around on their tummies or sitting or standing up with the help of their mom, dad, or nanny Mary. Jackson is most at home in the exersaucer, which he treats like command central, where he sits in the captain's chair with all of his toys around him and a bird's eye view of everything going on. Addison was made for the jump-a-roo--our girl is happy for hours on end, just jumping away. Both babies love new toys, and can totally reach out with one hand, grasp onto a toy, and take it wherever they want it--they both are really good at holding onto things, and at shaking rattles around. They also love taking walks--we're all getting excited for spring and nicer weather so we can spend more time outside. The babies love looking around, and the fresh air always seems to calms them down.
It really is astounding how the babies do new things literally every day. A couple of weeks ago, Jackson decided he was going to pull a new face and started sticking his tongue out. Hysterical--now he sticks his tongue out all of the time. Just yesterday, Addison made a new face where she opens her mouth up in a "o", then tucks her lips in--it's making me laugh just thinking about it. These guys change so much and so quickly that there are new things all of the time!
These guys are such a blast--we are having so much fun with them! And you'd better believe that they charm people everywhere we go, whether on airplanes, at church, in the mall, around our neighborhood, or at Costco. They are just such sweet, alert, happy, fun, adorable little people!
Now babies, if we can only work on sleeping a little bit more soundly and solidly in our cribs...
Both babies continue to be very rolly polly, but Jackson is more of a roller than his sister. All of a sudden in the past week or so, Jackson has decided he wants to sleep on his side. One morning, he was making happy noises in his crib around 7:30, so I went into his room to get him and there he was, laying on his tummy with his head straight upright in the air, smiling at me--and so it began. Now almost every time we put him down, he rolls right onto his side or all of the way over onto his tummy to fall asleep. At first, it made us very nervous--but then we figured that if he is strong enough to roll over, he's probably strong enough to roll around and situate himself so that he can breathe. Also, it was hysterical--the first few times we found him asleep on his side, he was laying a straight as a stick bug, seemingly precariously balanced on his side--now, he is a little bit more relaxed and usually ends up rolling all of the way over onto his stomach. He's such a cutie, and one that increasingly likes to hang out on his tummy.
Both babies are eating really well. Jackson uses meal time to assert his independence--first thing in the morning, he'd rather play and squeal and smile than eat, so he eats a little bit first thing, then usually ends up eating the rest of his breakfast an hour later (much to his mother's chagrin and in defiance of her efforts to get him to eat when it's time to eat!). It seems a couple of times per week he does the same thing sometime during the day--he won't want to eat much when it's time to eat, but an hour or two later is starving and mad that you haven't fed him. He is such an independent little stinker!
Both Jackson and Addison have taken to solid food, and really like their cereal--we feed them in the evenings right before bath time so we can dunk them in the tub and get all of the food off of them when we're done (A LOT of food ends up down their fronts as opposed to in their mouths).
Generally, they like oatmeal better than rice cereal--neither of them liked peas very much, but we tried sweet potatoes tonight and Addison loved them! Jackson makes me laugh every time he eats anything other than cereal--he reacts like the flavor is WAY too intense and jerks his head around and pulls a face. So every night, we try just a couple of bites of vegetables--we'll see how long it takes before they're all about the fruit and veg.
Both babies are doing a lot of yelling. They squeal and coo and yell all day long--and they blow all different kinds of raspberries (did you know there was more than one kind? It's true, there are--just ask my kids...). They blow tight, pursed lipped raspberries, they blow loose, wide lipped raspberries, they blow spit allover raspberries--all different kinds. They also have been giggling a lot lately--and of course when we do something that makes one of them laugh, we are forced to do it over and over and over again to keep the giggles coming. I love their goofy belly laughs!
The babies love reaching out and feeling things, and love different textures. Jackson's hand is known as the claw, and at any given time, he's reaching out and grabbing onto your sweater, the pillow, a blanket, your scarf, his shirt, your hair, his head and clawing it. I think he likes the way different materials feel, and that different things make different sounds as he scratches them. Addison likes soft, cuddly things--when she gets tired, she'll grab her blanket and pull it up next to her face (and sometimes over her face, which is adorable) and hold the soft part of the blanket against her cheek with one hand, and suck on her thumb with the other. She's such a sweetie.
Another new thing the babies are doing: when you're holding them sitting up on your lap facing away from you, they will crane their necks up and back to look at you. It is the sweetest thing--they want to make eye contact with you and give you a big smile. They have also started reaching out and grabbing your face--all of these things just melt their mother's heart. When laying on his stomach, Jackson has started to scoot just a little bit--he kind of does the worm, where he contracts his legs and torso in, then stretches is all out, thereby scooting a little bit every time--he's very close to mobility (yikes!). And Addison remains uber flexible--she easily brings her foot to her mouth like her toes are the most delicious things ever. She's very close to being able to sit on her own, propping herself up with her arms--but those toes are too dang tempting, and she usually ends up toppling over with her toes headed to her mouth.
The babies love to play, and love to play upright. They now spend most of the day playing in the exersaucer or the jumper, sitting in their Bumbos, or on the floor, rolling around on their tummies or sitting or standing up with the help of their mom, dad, or nanny Mary. Jackson is most at home in the exersaucer, which he treats like command central, where he sits in the captain's chair with all of his toys around him and a bird's eye view of everything going on. Addison was made for the jump-a-roo--our girl is happy for hours on end, just jumping away. Both babies love new toys, and can totally reach out with one hand, grasp onto a toy, and take it wherever they want it--they both are really good at holding onto things, and at shaking rattles around. They also love taking walks--we're all getting excited for spring and nicer weather so we can spend more time outside. The babies love looking around, and the fresh air always seems to calms them down.
It really is astounding how the babies do new things literally every day. A couple of weeks ago, Jackson decided he was going to pull a new face and started sticking his tongue out. Hysterical--now he sticks his tongue out all of the time. Just yesterday, Addison made a new face where she opens her mouth up in a "o", then tucks her lips in--it's making me laugh just thinking about it. These guys change so much and so quickly that there are new things all of the time!
These guys are such a blast--we are having so much fun with them! And you'd better believe that they charm people everywhere we go, whether on airplanes, at church, in the mall, around our neighborhood, or at Costco. They are just such sweet, alert, happy, fun, adorable little people!
Now babies, if we can only work on sleeping a little bit more soundly and solidly in our cribs...
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