3 Months

So I'm still two months behind... someday I'll catch up... (or maybe not ;-)

Right before the twins turned two months old, all of our extended family members left and we were alone as a family of 6. (still sounds crazy). We had a very low key, quite pathetic Easter. We pretty much forgot about the whole Easter Egg Hunt thing until really really late Saturday night. Thank goodness that Uncle Jason was there to rescue us! He ran to the store and bought all of the leftover Easter candy he could find, put together adorable baskets for the girls and then hid eggs all over the house! When he magically knew where all of the un-found eggs were located the next morning - Jada kept asking "Did Uncle Jason hide these eggs, or the Easter Bunny?" Jason had to reassure her that he had just 'helped' the Easter Bunny hide eggs around our house ;-) Fortunately, the girls seemed to enjoy themselves despite our extreme exhaustion...They were unbelievably nice to each other all morning, literally. It was WEIRD! These two are best buds and worst enemies in a split second. But for some reason they shared eggs and candy and helped each other find hidden eggs all morning! It was like an Easter Miracle! hahaha

Then Jason was off again, he was always traveling for work and pleasure (i.e. to see his fiancee in Washington) And we resulted to training Jada to be an adult. Poor kid. She has learned how to help take care of her little brothers in more ways than should be allowed for a barely five-year-old. But she seems to love it nonetheless...

We managed somehow for almost two weeks before some other family members arrived. Chris' mom, brother and cousin. Nana was only here for a few days...

but his brother and cousin stayed the rest of the month. Jason was living with us until his wedding on May 21st...

and Magen was our nanny (the best ever) for 5 weeks...

It was awesome having them around!

One especially beautiful afternoon I took the boys outside for a little change of scenery and a our little family outing turned into a fun mini photo shoot!

Tyce & Dax

My sweet butterfly catcher :-)

(But she actually loves catching lizards way more than butterflies!!)

The twins had been having having lots of reflux. Especially Dax. Poor kid never ate without spitting up. Jada and Kalle were not like that at all so this was a bit shocking. I have two cousins with babies that have had severe reflux and I have always felt so sorry for them! It seemed so difficult! Fortunately, my boys were still able to gain weight steadily regardless of the puking. But I NEVER had on a clean shirt. EVER. No matter how many bibs and burp cloths and blankets I had around to catch the puke, it always always always still ended up on my clothes. I only wore old t-shirts this entire month, and I usually changed 3-4 times a day. The laundry around here has been RIDICULOUS! So, the boys visited a fabulous gastroenterologist...

They were put on an antacid/anti-reflux medication. It kind of helped. Some days. Mother's Day came and Chris and the kids spoiled me :-) They made me breakfast AND dinner and I think I even had a nap! Here's the best shot of all four kids together...

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of ME WITH my kids on Mother's Day....what a goober I am. The following week Kalle gave her first talk in Primary. She was wonderful. Surprisingly. I think she really loved having everyone of the kids in there watch her, they were all so quiet. I don't remember anything else about it. I actually didn't even remember it at all, except for I am looking at my calendar right now as I'm typing this and there it is. I really shouldn't have let this blog get so far behind...I'm forgetting everything!


Well, here's a crazy story: Chris has two brothers that aren't married yet (or weren't when I should've been typing this). BOTH of them decided to get married this spring, within TWO weeks of each other! And on opposite sides of the US from each other too! Ah! Not only am I the fattest I have ever been in my life, but our family is the busiest its ever been (or will ever be, hopefully)! I really wish these brothers had consulted me first! How inconsiderate ;-) Haha. Anyways, my mom came back to visit because Christopher flew alone to Seattle, Washington to go to the first wedding for his brother Jason. I was extremely depressed that I was missing the wedding. I LOVE JASON! He has lived with us off and on for THREE YEARS! He is practically a member of Chris & my immediate family! But how was I supposed to take 4 kids to literally the OPPOSITE corner of the United States? Not Possible. I was so glad that my mom came to help me! But Magen was also there helping and I just decided that I couldn't bear the thought of missing my brother-in-law's wedding. So, I secretly bought a plane ticket and flew out to Seattle the night before the wedding! Chris knew and maybe four other people. I just didn't want to say anything in case I changed my mind at the last minute and decided not to go. I left my girls with a friend and Magen and my mom watched the twins at my house. It was AMAZING to get away! But it was such a loooooong way to go - it took me an entire day flying there, a day for the wedding, and another day to fly home. Yikes! But, everyone here in Florida survived :-) And Chris and I had a BLAST together in WA!!

Me, my new sis-in-law Caitlin, Jason, and ChrisChristopher's incredibly fun and generous Aunt Lisa let us borrow her Mini Cooper for the weekend... Chris had WAY too much fun driving it all over Seattle. He was totally imagining that he was in the movie the Italian Job. I can't believe he never got pulled over.

Seattle is fabulous. I have been there now three times and have loved each trip. The scenery there is breathtaking. We also stayed at Lisa and Dave's house (which is incredible). This is the view from their front porch...I was soooo glad that I was able to be at the wedding :-) Even though the last-minute trip was super short and cost me and arm and a leg - it was so worth it :-) It was beautiful and I just love all of the Wernli family members that live in Seattle and I was glad to spend a little bit of time with them. It was a crazy few days getting ready to leave - I only packed a small carry-on for me but I felt like I still had a hundred things to get ready for my kids while I would be gone! Four kids is WAY more work than I anticipated!

Until this point I had been blessed with an over abundant supply of breast milk for my twins. I had been pumping and freezing milk since their birth. I had not really been supplementing with formula, though my babies were used to taking at least one bottle a day. So, this weekend trip was going to be an adventure away from them! I had initially planned on taking Tyce with me (because he was the quieter, easier baby to nurse) but then decided the trip would be so quick and busy he would be difficult to accommodate. Not too mention he would be exposed to tons of germs! So I happily boarded a plane, sans kiddos :-) My mom and Magen took excellent care of the boys, of course. They used up every last drop of my frozen breast milk - over 200 ounces! And I came home just in time for the twins' three month old birthday :-)

Photo shoots are always an adventure with two babies... One is almost always unhappy!

Kalle's very first time holding either one of the babies... (This is Dax)
And of course, Jada couldn't be left out either... (this is Tyce)

Tycen at Three Months (actual age - 1.5 mo adjusted age) :
12 lbs. 2 oz. and 22.5 inches
Cuddly Snuggle Bug.
Wants to be held at all times.
Just started to coo in response.
Stares at lights and toys and faces.
Follows objects or people with his head and eyes.
LOVES the bath tub and splashes with arms and legs.
Awesome nurser, will eat anywhere and burps fairly easily.

At birth, Tyce was more of a whiner, he cried a lot with a little kitty cat sounding cry. But then around 6 weeks it switched and I kind of thought Tyce was the more mellow one out of the twins, he was pretty easy-going and didn't puke all the time, and slept relatively well, but things would soon change - the following month!

Dax at Three Months (actual age - 1.5 mo adjusted age) :

13 lbs. and 22 inches
Easy to smile :-)
Big and round belly and features.
Follow and stares at objects and faces.
Doesn't really like to cuddle, stiffens his legs and back out.Dax started out being more mellow, but now is more worrisome to me because he struggles with his breathing a lot. Every time he eats he chokes and sputters and consistently throws up after every feeding. He has literally puked everywhere in our house and on just about every kind person who has held him. Plus he's difficult to hold because he is so large and floppy - he can't hold his head up too steady so when you're holding Dax you have to really support him.

By three months we are still feeding these boys every three hours almost around the clock. Sometimes we are lucky and they will sleep two 3-4 hour stretches at night, but that is rare. We had lots of wonderful people help us out this month and we used almost all of our frozen dinners (we had bought and made and received a bunch of frozen dinners before the babies were born - best idea ever). At this point I was still quite delirious from lack of sleep but things were just starting to get a little better. Just having the babies finally start responding a little was incredibly rewarding. Since they were premature, they have been delayed in their development and it was getting so boring having these big babies just lay there all day and cry without really getting any feedback or having them respond much at all. But the few smiles we've gotten were soooooo exciting! One night Chris and I sat there with Dax on the bed and he was really happy and we imagined what it will be like when we have both boys smiling and laughing at the same time - it will be tons of fun! Right now, we're just surviving. Still. And that is OK :-)

Happy Three Months Boys!

P.S. College football is starting soon and we are already training these boys to LOVE every minute of it like their mom and dad!! We can't wait! College Football season is the best season of the year! My cousin made these cute onesies...

GO BUCKS!!

(lest you get confused, we are really BYU Cougar fans in our house. I once bled scarlet and gray, but alas, my Alma Mater now has true claim on my heart - as well as every fiber of Christopher's being! It's going to be an awesome season!)

GO COUGARS!