Jakob
Weight: 22 lbs 15 oz (12th percentile)
Length: 32 inches (36th percentile)
Alex
Weight: 21 lbs 4 oz (3rd percentile)
Length: 31 inches (12th percentile)
Note: The boys got weighed with all their clothes on today.
Mary
Monday, November 25, 2013
Friday, November 15, 2013
through the eyes of a child
I forgot to share this picture.
We got our first snowfall of the season this week. And while we got snow last year the boys were too young to really understand it. But this year as soon as they woke-up and saw the snow outside they were amazed. I couldn't even get them away from the window to change diapers. The laughter that was spilling from them was contagious. And at one point Jakob even licked the door. I think he was trying to lick the snow. Unfortunately the snow melted really fast so we will have to save the "playing in the snow" experience for a later date.
.JPG)
This was the best moment of my week.
Mary
We got our first snowfall of the season this week. And while we got snow last year the boys were too young to really understand it. But this year as soon as they woke-up and saw the snow outside they were amazed. I couldn't even get them away from the window to change diapers. The laughter that was spilling from them was contagious. And at one point Jakob even licked the door. I think he was trying to lick the snow. Unfortunately the snow melted really fast so we will have to save the "playing in the snow" experience for a later date.
.JPG)
This was the best moment of my week.
Mary
18 months
I know these monthly updates are soon going to turn into semi-annual updates or even yearly updates. And that makes me sad. But I don't imagine I have any readers who would be interested in reading a blog post titled "126 months".
We have 18 month old little boys who have made it their daily mission to destroy our house. I am blessed that Grandpa Heitzman tackles my "items to be fixed" list and/or "items to childproof" list on a weekly basis. Actually Grandpa Heitzman never shows up at our house without his toolbox. It is great to watch the grandparents unload from the car at each visit. It is almost a guarantee that Grandma Heitzman will get out of the car with an armful of food for us and/or a new toy for the boys and Grandpa Heitzman will get out of the car with his toolbox and probably a roll of duct tape! You throw dogs into the mix who also like to destroy objects and you know to never expect a dull moment in our house.
We have had over a week of sickness at our house. It's only November and I am tired of runny noses and little coughs. Our boys can get really fussy when the noses start a running! And this is especially true for Mr. Alex who as an already "clingy" toddler requires a lot of special attention when a cold runs through our house. We actually let Alex sleep with us the other night because he just felt really cruddy. This is a rarity in our house. We might have little boys who fall into the "picky" eaters category but we also have little boys who fall into the "exceptional" sleepers category. And for that we feel extremely LUCKY! But I would be fibbing if I told you that I didn't enjoy every second of having my little boy snuggle with me in bed. But my stiff neck and headache the next morning quickly brought me back to reality that co-sleeping would never be the ideal sleep arrangement for our family.
The boys are participating in a research study at our local Children's Hospital. The research project, without giving out details, is basically studying the impact a specific nutritional supplement has on development in toddlers born at at gestational age of less than 35 weeks. It is a double blind study so we mix 2 packets of either the supplement or a placebo into the boys milk each day. We do this for a six month period. And during that period the boys make a few visits to the hospital for a developmental evaluation, a blood draw, and some body measurements. We are so glad that the boys are able to hopefully do something now to help other premature babies born in the years to come. I am giving you this background information because we had quite the adventure last week when we took the boys to the hospital for the initial study visit. I think it was 35 degrees outside and let's just say that when we finally left for the day I pushed Alex out the front doors in no more than socks, a t-shirt, and a diaper. And I could have cared less! The visit took over 4 hours and spilled over into nap time and lunch time. And for our very scheduled sleepers, who were also battling colds, a limit was reached about 2.5 hours into the visit. I was, at one point, carrying a sobbing Alex through the cubicles of this research office. I was like, "Please don't mind the sobbing toddler. This mess of a toddler is here to help you make an advancement in modern medicine. No worries. You can thank us later." I joke but the boys did great overall. I spent the entire time filling out paperwork. Let that sink in for a bit. Yes. There was really about 3 hours of paperwork for me to complete. But Kara was able to watch the boys go through the different developmental tasks. We definitely have little boys who are advanced in the physical department. But as a parent who constantly worries about the boys cognitive development I was pleasantly surprised to get feedback from Kara that the boys did a good job. They had to do a bunch of miscellaneous tasks. They did great with following directions. If the research assistant would show the boys how to do something the boys could usually demonstrate it back. The exception would be towards the end when Alex was in full on meltdown mode. I don't think throwing the toys at the research assistant earned us any brownie points for the day. Our struggle is with they boys identifying objects at this point. They have made improvements in the "body parts" area but still won't point out most objects in a book. But overall I was super proud of my little men. I also mention this research study because while the boys spent some time in the NICU after birth we have been more than blessed to have healthy children since coming home from the hospital. And for that I am grateful. I tip my hats to the parents of sick children. It was inspirational to watch from the distance the dedication I saw in so many parents that day tending to their children in different situations. I cannot imagine, as a parent, facing a health crisis with my child day after day after day. It breaks my heart. I hope in some small way we are giving back to the hospital that took such wonderful care of our boys.
I think we have made some improvements in the word department. I will be interested to see what comes from the boys next pediatrician appointment.
Jakob (six words) - hi, bye, mom, bottle, woof-woof (sound), vroom (sound)
Alex (three words) - bye, mom, vroom (sound)
We still have some very picky eaters. Though I guess some days they shock us with the amount of food they can put away. We have become very dependent on the food pouches for vegetable and fruit consumption. The boys do great with "finger" carbohydrates but will more often than not throw any vegetable or fruit on the ground. The exception to this rule is bananas! Some favorite foods at the moment include sausage, french toast, hot dogs, grilled cheese, quesadilla, dry cereal, marshmallows, fruit crisp bars, animal crackers, lil crunchies, fruit snacks, graham crackers, oyster crackers, and crackers. See why we depend on the pouches?? I would be lost without those. We can almost always get the boys to eat a pouch if we just hand it to them while they are wandering around the house.
My Favorite Things - Alex - 18 months
* If Alex gets really mad he will run through the house screaming with his hands raised over his head.
* His strong dislike for order.
* His ability to climb on anything. There is a wall ladder at gymnastics and he climbed to the top (with my assistance) and rang the bell last week!
* His obsession with the trash can. I often find myself digging socks and sippy cups out of the trash.
* His obsession with his lantern. This lantern goes to bed with Alex EVERY night (along with Mr. Monkey and Mr. Horse) and the lantern must be on before I leave the room.
* His love for being held.
* He lets me brush his teeth. This is big people!
My Favorite Things - Jakob - 18 months
* His obsession with Yo Gabba Gabba. I think obsession is an understatement. And Amazon On Demand only has season 1 to view for free. I think we have watched every episode a gazillion times.
* His strong dislike for Mark's Magic Pictures on Yo Gabba Gabba. I'm not sure the reason but Jakob always runs away from the television crying when this man appears on the screen.
* His love for cars.
* His love for reading.
* His love for Gretel and Leo. There is not a day that goes by that Jakob does not immediately go over and give Gretel ahug headbutt in the morning.
* His big heart. This boy can share toys better than any kid I have ever met.
* His hair. It is out of control these days.
Mary
We have 18 month old little boys who have made it their daily mission to destroy our house. I am blessed that Grandpa Heitzman tackles my "items to be fixed" list and/or "items to childproof" list on a weekly basis. Actually Grandpa Heitzman never shows up at our house without his toolbox. It is great to watch the grandparents unload from the car at each visit. It is almost a guarantee that Grandma Heitzman will get out of the car with an armful of food for us and/or a new toy for the boys and Grandpa Heitzman will get out of the car with his toolbox and probably a roll of duct tape! You throw dogs into the mix who also like to destroy objects and you know to never expect a dull moment in our house.
We have had over a week of sickness at our house. It's only November and I am tired of runny noses and little coughs. Our boys can get really fussy when the noses start a running! And this is especially true for Mr. Alex who as an already "clingy" toddler requires a lot of special attention when a cold runs through our house. We actually let Alex sleep with us the other night because he just felt really cruddy. This is a rarity in our house. We might have little boys who fall into the "picky" eaters category but we also have little boys who fall into the "exceptional" sleepers category. And for that we feel extremely LUCKY! But I would be fibbing if I told you that I didn't enjoy every second of having my little boy snuggle with me in bed. But my stiff neck and headache the next morning quickly brought me back to reality that co-sleeping would never be the ideal sleep arrangement for our family.
The boys are participating in a research study at our local Children's Hospital. The research project, without giving out details, is basically studying the impact a specific nutritional supplement has on development in toddlers born at at gestational age of less than 35 weeks. It is a double blind study so we mix 2 packets of either the supplement or a placebo into the boys milk each day. We do this for a six month period. And during that period the boys make a few visits to the hospital for a developmental evaluation, a blood draw, and some body measurements. We are so glad that the boys are able to hopefully do something now to help other premature babies born in the years to come. I am giving you this background information because we had quite the adventure last week when we took the boys to the hospital for the initial study visit. I think it was 35 degrees outside and let's just say that when we finally left for the day I pushed Alex out the front doors in no more than socks, a t-shirt, and a diaper. And I could have cared less! The visit took over 4 hours and spilled over into nap time and lunch time. And for our very scheduled sleepers, who were also battling colds, a limit was reached about 2.5 hours into the visit. I was, at one point, carrying a sobbing Alex through the cubicles of this research office. I was like, "Please don't mind the sobbing toddler. This mess of a toddler is here to help you make an advancement in modern medicine. No worries. You can thank us later." I joke but the boys did great overall. I spent the entire time filling out paperwork. Let that sink in for a bit. Yes. There was really about 3 hours of paperwork for me to complete. But Kara was able to watch the boys go through the different developmental tasks. We definitely have little boys who are advanced in the physical department. But as a parent who constantly worries about the boys cognitive development I was pleasantly surprised to get feedback from Kara that the boys did a good job. They had to do a bunch of miscellaneous tasks. They did great with following directions. If the research assistant would show the boys how to do something the boys could usually demonstrate it back. The exception would be towards the end when Alex was in full on meltdown mode. I don't think throwing the toys at the research assistant earned us any brownie points for the day. Our struggle is with they boys identifying objects at this point. They have made improvements in the "body parts" area but still won't point out most objects in a book. But overall I was super proud of my little men. I also mention this research study because while the boys spent some time in the NICU after birth we have been more than blessed to have healthy children since coming home from the hospital. And for that I am grateful. I tip my hats to the parents of sick children. It was inspirational to watch from the distance the dedication I saw in so many parents that day tending to their children in different situations. I cannot imagine, as a parent, facing a health crisis with my child day after day after day. It breaks my heart. I hope in some small way we are giving back to the hospital that took such wonderful care of our boys.
I think we have made some improvements in the word department. I will be interested to see what comes from the boys next pediatrician appointment.
Jakob (six words) - hi, bye, mom, bottle, woof-woof (sound), vroom (sound)
Alex (three words) - bye, mom, vroom (sound)
We still have some very picky eaters. Though I guess some days they shock us with the amount of food they can put away. We have become very dependent on the food pouches for vegetable and fruit consumption. The boys do great with "finger" carbohydrates but will more often than not throw any vegetable or fruit on the ground. The exception to this rule is bananas! Some favorite foods at the moment include sausage, french toast, hot dogs, grilled cheese, quesadilla, dry cereal, marshmallows, fruit crisp bars, animal crackers, lil crunchies, fruit snacks, graham crackers, oyster crackers, and crackers. See why we depend on the pouches?? I would be lost without those. We can almost always get the boys to eat a pouch if we just hand it to them while they are wandering around the house.
My Favorite Things - Alex - 18 months
* If Alex gets really mad he will run through the house screaming with his hands raised over his head.
* His strong dislike for order.
* His ability to climb on anything. There is a wall ladder at gymnastics and he climbed to the top (with my assistance) and rang the bell last week!
* His obsession with the trash can. I often find myself digging socks and sippy cups out of the trash.
* His obsession with his lantern. This lantern goes to bed with Alex EVERY night (along with Mr. Monkey and Mr. Horse) and the lantern must be on before I leave the room.
* His love for being held.
* He lets me brush his teeth. This is big people!
My Favorite Things - Jakob - 18 months
* His obsession with Yo Gabba Gabba. I think obsession is an understatement. And Amazon On Demand only has season 1 to view for free. I think we have watched every episode a gazillion times.
* His strong dislike for Mark's Magic Pictures on Yo Gabba Gabba. I'm not sure the reason but Jakob always runs away from the television crying when this man appears on the screen.
* His love for cars.
* His love for reading.
* His love for Gretel and Leo. There is not a day that goes by that Jakob does not immediately go over and give Gretel a
* His big heart. This boy can share toys better than any kid I have ever met.
* His hair. It is out of control these days.
Mary
Sunday, November 3, 2013
halloween
Let's just get it out in the open ... I think Halloween is my least favorite holiday of the entire year. I think I would even rank Sweetest Day above Halloween on the "excitement" scale (gasp!). But we all know that there is the official parenting handbook that was once published by some big-wig, with no kids, a bazillion years ago that states word for word that...
"All children, without exception, must participate in annual Halloween festivities. All parents must spend 100 hours hand stitching an original costume. And on Halloween night all parents and children must simultaneously trick-or-treat at the neighborhood houses while also passing out full size candy bars (none of this tootsie roll stuff) at their own house. A true parent is able to multitask and should not be confused by any of these simple requirements."
Did I mention that I loathe this parenting handbook? And while we are on this topic I actually have yet to receive my copy of this book that so many other parents seem to follow on a daily basis without any problems. If it really is the Bible of the parenting world then shouldn't there be a copy in the nightstand of every hotel room?
Anyhow ... I would like to introduce you to my little construction worker.
Okay. So at this point you are thinking to yourself ... "WTH? All you did was slap a tool belt around his waist. You can yourself a parent?"
YES! And because of my stellar parenting skills I am actually going to submit my application for the "Parent of the Year" competition that gives the winner a day long nap. And I'm going to do that as soon as I can figure out where I am supposed to mail my application. The contest officials left the address off of the application for some strange reason.
We let the boys be construction workers this year because I wanted a costume that could be used as a "toy" in the years to come. Let's face it that as a Mommy and Momma to twin boys we didn't have a lot of extra cash around the house to waste on a costume that neither of the boys were going to want to wear come Halloween night. And let me just also admit to you all that I couldn't even sew a button on my pants should the need arise. And because you really can buy just about anything on Amazon I was able to put together a costume for the boys in less than 10 minutes! Now that is what I call a tool from the parent toolbox.
My parents came over on trick-or-treat night to help with the grand adventures. We started the evening with a super cranky Alex who was not feeling well and who was getting tired as trick-or-treat time is near bedtime for the average toddler. Jakob on the other hand was happy as a clam and super excited to put on his construction worker costume. We even managed, after about 30 minutes, to wrestle Alex into his tool belt. And then we tried to put on the super adorable construction hats that came with the tool belts ... Yep. That was not going to happen in a million years. We tried every trick in the book and it was just not going to happen. So we slapped winter hats on their heads instead and called them "North Pole Construction Workers" who were busy preparing Santa's sleigh for the busy holiday season.
Cute?
Right?
So once we got dressed we headed off to get some loot. Okay. It's time to be honest again. We actually decided we needed to go trick-or-treating ASAP to replace the candy that was quickly being depleted by the kids coming to trick-or-treat at my house. I had no idea we would get so many kids at our house. We are new to the neighborhood. I was actually throwing fruit snacks at Grandpa Heitzman as we left the house with the instructions, "Once you run out of fruit snacks just turn off the porch light and shut the front door and hide under the couch in the living room. They might just believe we aren't home." So off we went ...
House #1 - Alex lost his pants.
.jpg)
Yes. I did just type that. What can I say? Alex is skinny. He was wearing a heavy tool belt and I had, in all the chaos that is associated with getting 17 month old twins dressed-up for Halloween, put the wrong pants on Alex. I also really just wanted to add to my "Parent of the Year" application in the section listed "Anything else you would like the committee to know?". There is nothing like impressing your new neighbors by letting them see your son naked on their front porch. Maybe house # 2 would be better ....
House #2 - There was a scary monster. And strangers. So Jakob burst into tears. But no worries because we are now up to 4 pieces of candy. We should be able to replenish our candy stock in no time. Off to house #3.
House #3 - Wait? Where is Alex?
Do you want to know why Alex was so cranky come trick-or-treat time? He had to poop! And Alex thought that now would be a good time to give it a whirl. But the problem is Alex can't poop like the normal toddler. Nope. If Alex decides it is time to poop he has to assume the stance which looks very much like "down dog" yoga position (see below).
So there we are on the sidewalk hoovered around Alex as he gives pooping the good old college try. We just smiled and nodded as the other ghosts and goblins (in their homemade costumes) ran by us. I have no idea why we were getting the side eye from the other parents. I wanted to be like, "Haven't you ever seen a kid poop?!?" We even offered various words of encouragement to our little construction worker. But no such luck. It's hard to poop in public.
House #4 - There was a leaf of the ground. I'm not sure why this leaf was different from the 100,000 other leaves that were scattered on the ground. I even picked it up to see if maybe it was made of money. So anyhow why would you go get candy from a stranger when you can play with an amazing, not made of money, leaf?
House #5 - Our house.
What? We hit our quota. So in the end it took us approximately 63 minutes to get ready to trick-or-treat for 15 minutes and to get approximately 8 pieces of candy.
But I will let you in on a secret ... I loved every stinking second of it!
Happy Halloween!
Mary
"All children, without exception, must participate in annual Halloween festivities. All parents must spend 100 hours hand stitching an original costume. And on Halloween night all parents and children must simultaneously trick-or-treat at the neighborhood houses while also passing out full size candy bars (none of this tootsie roll stuff) at their own house. A true parent is able to multitask and should not be confused by any of these simple requirements."
Did I mention that I loathe this parenting handbook? And while we are on this topic I actually have yet to receive my copy of this book that so many other parents seem to follow on a daily basis without any problems. If it really is the Bible of the parenting world then shouldn't there be a copy in the nightstand of every hotel room?
Anyhow ... I would like to introduce you to my little construction worker.
Okay. So at this point you are thinking to yourself ... "WTH? All you did was slap a tool belt around his waist. You can yourself a parent?"
YES! And because of my stellar parenting skills I am actually going to submit my application for the "Parent of the Year" competition that gives the winner a day long nap. And I'm going to do that as soon as I can figure out where I am supposed to mail my application. The contest officials left the address off of the application for some strange reason.
We let the boys be construction workers this year because I wanted a costume that could be used as a "toy" in the years to come. Let's face it that as a Mommy and Momma to twin boys we didn't have a lot of extra cash around the house to waste on a costume that neither of the boys were going to want to wear come Halloween night. And let me just also admit to you all that I couldn't even sew a button on my pants should the need arise. And because you really can buy just about anything on Amazon I was able to put together a costume for the boys in less than 10 minutes! Now that is what I call a tool from the parent toolbox.
My parents came over on trick-or-treat night to help with the grand adventures. We started the evening with a super cranky Alex who was not feeling well and who was getting tired as trick-or-treat time is near bedtime for the average toddler. Jakob on the other hand was happy as a clam and super excited to put on his construction worker costume. We even managed, after about 30 minutes, to wrestle Alex into his tool belt. And then we tried to put on the super adorable construction hats that came with the tool belts ... Yep. That was not going to happen in a million years. We tried every trick in the book and it was just not going to happen. So we slapped winter hats on their heads instead and called them "North Pole Construction Workers" who were busy preparing Santa's sleigh for the busy holiday season.
Cute?
Right?
So once we got dressed we headed off to get some loot. Okay. It's time to be honest again. We actually decided we needed to go trick-or-treating ASAP to replace the candy that was quickly being depleted by the kids coming to trick-or-treat at my house. I had no idea we would get so many kids at our house. We are new to the neighborhood. I was actually throwing fruit snacks at Grandpa Heitzman as we left the house with the instructions, "Once you run out of fruit snacks just turn off the porch light and shut the front door and hide under the couch in the living room. They might just believe we aren't home." So off we went ...
House #1 - Alex lost his pants.
.jpg)
Yes. I did just type that. What can I say? Alex is skinny. He was wearing a heavy tool belt and I had, in all the chaos that is associated with getting 17 month old twins dressed-up for Halloween, put the wrong pants on Alex. I also really just wanted to add to my "Parent of the Year" application in the section listed "Anything else you would like the committee to know?". There is nothing like impressing your new neighbors by letting them see your son naked on their front porch. Maybe house # 2 would be better ....
House #2 - There was a scary monster. And strangers. So Jakob burst into tears. But no worries because we are now up to 4 pieces of candy. We should be able to replenish our candy stock in no time. Off to house #3.
House #3 - Wait? Where is Alex?
Do you want to know why Alex was so cranky come trick-or-treat time? He had to poop! And Alex thought that now would be a good time to give it a whirl. But the problem is Alex can't poop like the normal toddler. Nope. If Alex decides it is time to poop he has to assume the stance which looks very much like "down dog" yoga position (see below).
House #4 - There was a leaf of the ground. I'm not sure why this leaf was different from the 100,000 other leaves that were scattered on the ground. I even picked it up to see if maybe it was made of money. So anyhow why would you go get candy from a stranger when you can play with an amazing, not made of money, leaf?
House #5 - Our house.
What? We hit our quota. So in the end it took us approximately 63 minutes to get ready to trick-or-treat for 15 minutes and to get approximately 8 pieces of candy.
But I will let you in on a secret ... I loved every stinking second of it!
Happy Halloween!
Mary
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