Sunday, November 6, 2011

Fall PIctures


This post is my attempt to document the fall through pictures.  Enjoy!

Isaac is six month old here....such a joy!

Yes, crawling at six months!

Fun at the Texas State Fair

They loved the petting zoo!


The swings were great!

First experience with cotton candy...the stroller is still a mess!


Sweet Baby Isaac

Picking out his pumpkin

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

Still working on potty training!

Petting zoo at Fall Festival. Kai is telling the goat a joke :)




Hanging out with the Roper boys!

Mommy & Isaac took a road trip to Tulsa to attend a bridal shower and to meet a friend's new baby.  First time away from the twins for a day.  Daddy did great on the home front!

Isaac is really interested in his new friend, Levi!


The boys playing in the kitchen

It was fun to see the Domer family as they visited Dallas!

Isaac talking to Sammy!

Julia & Kai at a local church's "Trunk or Treat" event

Eating pizza (and Isaac eating a flash light) before Trick or Treating!

Go Big Red! Thank Uncle Zach for the Husker gear!

Taking a break with friends to check out their candy stash!
Here is a quick video following the kid's sugar rush Haloween night!




Jared & I were able to enjoy Game 4 of the World Series! Great date night :)



Seven months old!  Where does the time go?!

I love those eye lashes!

Kai loves his baby brother!

Standing up!  This guy is a fast mover...always trying to catch up with his siblings!

Such a ham!  He loves to make everyone laugh!






















Thursday, October 6, 2011

Fun Times

This morning I'm trying to remember all of the events from the past month that I want to share.  I intent on blogging more often with small short stories, but until I get more organized, here is a few highlights from September!
Jared's brother, Andrew and his wife, Janell, came to visit from Seattle over Labor Day weekend.  We had a blast going swimming, eating BBQ and just playing.  Even a month after their visit Julia and Kai ask for "Antie and Doo Doo (Uncle Andrew)!"  We sure wish we could see them more often!






A few weeks later we took a short trip to Tulsa to visit friends and to go to the TU/OSU football game.  That weekend didn't go quite as planned.  Kai was not feeling well so we canceled a lot of our plans.  Then, Jared and I spent almost three hours under the football stadium waiting for a storm to pass before starting the football game.  We finally left at midnight.  They did end up starting the game at 12:15 am and it ended at 3:30.  That is way too late for a tired mommy and daddy who have an infant who wakes up at 6!
We were thankful for the Humphrey family for putting us up for a few nights.  Julia and Kai had so much for with their kids that Julia decided not to nap while we were there.  Instead of napping she crawled out of her pack and play crib onto a bed, emptied out all of our suitecase and much of the contents of the room and placed them in her crib and in Kai's crib.  The next day we moved her crib further away from the bed, but she was still close enough to a dresser to pull it open and try on clothing that belonged to the Humphrey's daughter!
This video of Julia taken on the drive back from Tulsa kind of sums up the weekend:



Isaac did get his helmet (for plagiocephaly, or mis-shaped head!) a few weeks ago.  It doesn't seem to slow him down one bit!  He is already army crawling which seems early for a six month old considering his siblings didn't crawl until 10 and 13 months!  Isaac is on the go constantly and has been caught under tables, pulling out cords from the walls, pulling the cat's tail, and crawling into dad's stereo equipment.  He gets onto hands and knees also, but reverts down to his belly since he moves faster that way.  He adores Kai and Julia and loves eating at the "big table" with them, taking baths and wrestling.

Mommy put on monkey stickers until he has his appoitment to decorate his helmet professionally :)





Kai was recently accepted into a therepeutic horseback riding program.  He goes every Tuesday and rides his pony, Merrilegs.  He also helps brush the pony, saddle it and reverses the process after he rides him.  He was not too excited during his first lesson since he wasn't feeling well that day, but now he loves it.  His current goals are to give commands to the horse (works on his communication skills) and later his goals will be more balance and strength related.



Julia stays busy entertaining her brothers.  She loves to make Kai smile and when he's not feeling well.  Her teacher at mom's day out said that she had Kai laughing so hard at "school" that he fell out of his chair!  She also is talking all the time.  Some of her favorite phrases are, "Mom, It hurts...I need a bandshaid!" and , "Come on, I go shopping!"
Jared has been busy outside trying to clear out our overgrown landscaping.  There is enough work to keep him busy every weekend until Christmas!  Good thing he has some helpers!

I have been loving the cooler weather and try to get the kids outside as much as possible.  We bought a triple stroller on craigs list so that I can take them for walks outside.  I am realizing that there is a reason it was so cheap!  Parts are broken on it and it is almost impossible to push that heavy load up the hills in our neighborhood!  It is a good workout though!
All for now!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

School Days....


The end of summer is nearing.  The neighborhood kids are headed back to school, football is kicking off, but sadly, we are still having 100 degree weather!  We are really looking forward to fall and enjoying the outdoors once again!
On Tuesday, Kai and Julia experienced their first day of "school" or "Mom's Day Out."  I was not prepared to put them into a program like this until they were three, but I soon realized that it might be the best thing for them and for mommy!  I am not able to get out very easily with all three of  the kids to do my errands.  I ended up hiring a babysitter for a few hours a week this summer so that I could do grocery shopping, etc.  I figured that they would love to go to a preschool where they get to do art (mom's not very good in this area!), have social opportunities with peers, learn Bible stories/memory verses, sing, play, and more.  I chose a one day a week program at a local church.  All the other children in their class are going twice a week, but mommy could only handle one day a week.  They are still babies to me and I really enjoy my time with them!
I built up the first day of school and Julia and Kai were super excited, espcially with their new backpakcs and lunchboxes!  Here are a few pictures of their first day.


Julia looking as worried as Mommy!

Kai's ready to go!


They both insisted on lugging thier heavy backpacks into the church and ran into the room as soon as they saw it.  It helped that we had already met the teachers and visited their classroom.  I was on the verge of tears and was shaky with nerves for the first few hours they were gone.  The teachers were sweet and sent me a picture text of them smiling and eating their lunch.  I enjoyed my time alone with Isaac and got a few things done, but I was happy to pick them up by 2.  They looked like they had a blast.  Julia came home and talked about wanting to paint and go down the slide.  Kai wasn't able to communicate as well, but when I asked him if he had fun and made friends, he nodded his yes enthusiastically.
And the twins are not the only ones growing up.  Isaac is changing daily and he keeps me on my toes as well!  He seems to do everything early.  He rolled over at two months, got his first two teeth at four months, and is sitting independently at 5 months old.  He is still a very content child, but he is a lot more active and lively!  He loves to grab at anything in sight.  He also loves playing "Row, row, row your boat" with Julia and Kai and to roll balls back and forth with them.  He has a charming personality.  We can hardly get enough of this guy!
Five months old!

Showing off his teeth




We lost the "5" foam number and substituted an "S!!"
Although Isaac has been very healthy, we did start noticing a flat spot on the back of his head when he was around 2-3 months old.  The doctor wanted us to see if it improved as he spent more time on his tummy and sitting up.  Although he is hardly on his back, his head has not improved very much.  The doctor sent us to Cranial Technologies in Dallas to assess Isaac's head shape.  The therapists there took measurements and determined that he does have plagiocephaly (mis-shaped head) and could benefit from a helmet for 8-10 weeks.  Jared and I have decided to go ahead with the treatment even though it is mainly cosmetic and expensive.  We just don't want to regret it years from now if we don't do it.  We will go in for weekly appointments to have the helmet adjusted as his head grows.  Jared is concerned that Isaac will be uncomfortable, but the helmet is very lightweight.  I'm sure we'll have more pictures of this soon.
As for the rest of August, we did enjoy a visit from my parents and brother, Zach.  We had a fun time playing in the pool and just hanging out!  We also went to the circus, which was a huge hit with the toddlers.  We are looking forward to having Andrew and Janell, Jared's brother and sister-in-law, visit us over the Labor Day weekend.
Waiting for the circus to begin

Mesmorized!

Even Isaac enjoyed it!

Uncle Zach and Isaac
Kai with Papa Jones

Playing w/ Grandma Jones & Uncle Zachy