The boys are 16 months old today!
And most days I feel like we have our hands plenty full. There are many nights that I walk out of the nursery and I am just grateful that no one ended up in the emergency room that day! I think the boys have a mission in life to injure themselves at least once each day.
We have given the boys a bit more freedom in the house as the only baby gates that are still up are blocking the stairway. The boys love this new freedom but it has come with some parental challenges as there are now many more ways for the boys to get hurt. The couch has become a trampoline. The fireplace mantel has become a springboard. The kitchen chairs have become go karts. The kitchen utensils have become swords. The dogs have become tag team wrestling partners. The iPads have become skateboards. The electrical outlet safety caps have become teething toys. And all electrical cords have become lassos. The boys love to explore their new world each day while Kara and I run around like crazy people!
The boys have mastered climbing up the stairs and they absolutely love to race each other up them each night before bath time. It is amazing how competitive they have become at such a young age.
I think our biggest struggle at the moment is in the area of communication. The pediatrician expressed a lot of concern at the 15 month appointment. And to be honest it really surprised me. The majority of the concern is with Alex. Both boys have very few words. And there have not been any new words this month. Alex can still say Mama. And Jakob still can say Mama, Thank You, and Bye-Bye. We were told that a 15 month old should have between 3 - 10 words. I never knew that. I was under the impression that you didn't get concerned with talking until a toddler hit the age of 2. I think the pediatrician is worried about Alex because of his head circumference. My boy has a big head. But I have a big head too. So that has never concerned me. But it still concerns the pediatrician. I just think it is genetics. And when I look at the growth chart I can understand that concern. Alex is off the charts for head circumference and between his 12 month appointment and his 15 month appointment his head circumference growth did not follow the growth chart in any similar manner. The growth should have followed a pattern like a hill and my boys head grew like a mountain. The pediatrician was pushing for a speech evaluation at the 15 month appointment but I asked to wait until the 18 month appointment to reevaluate things. The thing is their comprehension seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. This is great! I truly feel like they understand a lot of what I am saying to them. But the problem comes with them being able to communicate with us. We have noticed this to be a problem specifically with Alex. Alex has zero patience. He is babbling a ton but he gets immediately frustrated because we don't understand the words. This has led to a lot of temper tantrums. Jakob is a bit more relaxed but he will have his moments of frustration too. They just don't come as often. I know the boys will talk on their own timetable. But I am keeping an eye on it. We talk to them all the time. We read to them. We are doing our best. The best that a parent of twins can do. I think the pediatrician has caused me more concern than is necessary in the area of verbal communication. But I would be fibbing if I said I wasn't worried at all.
The boys have become very picky eaters. It think this is normal for toddlers. They so want to be independent and as such we can no longer feed them with a spoon. I know we were spoiled for as long as they let us spoon feed them. We are working on teaching the boys to use utensils but it is a challenge. I would say the following are favorite foods at the moment .... blueberry waffles, bananas, blueberries, peaches, hot dogs, pizza, cheerios, Mum-Mum's, bran cereal, fruit crisps, animal crackers, peas, shredded cheese (Alex is obsessed), yogurt, and squeeze pouches. I miss the days of their obsession with oatmeal. It also provided me comfort that they were at least getting one good meal a day. Now they prefer to graze. And I'm okay with that. I just want them to keep growing!!
We also switched to one nap a day! And the adjustment period seems to be getting a bit better. The current schedule looks like a version of the one below.
7:00 Wake-Up / Sippy Cup (milk)
7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Walk
9:00 Playtime
10:00 Snack / Juice (water) and Playtime
11:30 Lunch
12:30 - 2:30 Nap
2:30 Wake -Up / Sippy Cup (milk)
3:00 Playtime
4:30 Dinner
5:00 TV (Super Why or Seseme Street)
5:30 Walk
6:30 Bath / Story Time / Sippy Cup (milk)
7:15 Bedtime
There are still many days that the boys will take a cat nap on our evening walks. I'm okay with this as both boys are still falling asleep within minutes of laying down. Kara and I absolutely love the new schedule as it gives us many opportunities on the weekends to plan events. And I think within a couple of more weeks the boys will be fully adjusted to the new schedule.
I think that is all for now!
Mary
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Monday, September 2, 2013
just buy the kid a goat
I have a lot of updates. And they are not in any chronological order. And I am tired so you get the cliff notes version!
We took the boys to the zoo today. We have a zoo membership so when we do head to the zoo it is typically only for a couple of hours before the crowd gets too crazy. And we knew that because today was Labor Day all of the animals should be out. And we were right! It was a great visit.
Jakob is a bit indifferent about the animals. He really just loves the chance to get out of his stroller from time to time and run around like a mad man. And today was no exception.
.JPG)
But Alex is going to be our animal fanatic. The boy loves the animals. We got to see baby snow leopards! And the polar bears! And a manatee! And a grizzly bear! And flamingos! And elephants! And bison! And a ton of fish in the aquarium! And then we visited the barn to see the goats and the sheep. And Alex was beside himself with excitement (we know that Grandpa Park would be thrilled). I guess all we need to do is get the boys some goats!
.JPG)
We would lift him up to see the goats and he would just babble away while pointing at them. I think Alex would have pulled himself into the pen with the goats if we hadn't been there to play referee. He had a blast!
The boys have also been a bit under the weather the last couple of days. They just have stuffy noses and both have been cranky men. They are also working on some new teeth. So it was great for them to be distracted for a bit.
Oh and did I mention that we have been without an air conditioner for 4 days? And did I mention that it has been upwards of 90 degrees each day? And did I mention the boys have been sick? Oh ... And did I mention that we decided this weekend would be a good time to drop to one nap a day? Can anyone guess how our weekend has been? Let's just say that tonight the boys were asleep at 7:15pm and I literally ran out of the nursery.
So that has been our weekend in a nutshell. It has just been extremely stressful. None of it alone is horrible. We count ourselves as extremely blessed which is why Kara and I have done our best to not complain through the last several days. But the little things do start to build-up and Kara and I have taken it out on each other on more than one occasion. The last several days have not been our finest moments as parents and as a couple. I keep telling Kara that we are going to get divorced before we get married ....
Marriage? Did I say the "m" word?
I told you there was a lot to talk about (and I'm only giving the cliff notes version). So unless you have been living under a rock the last couple of months you will know that a lot of changed in this country. I mentioned the repeal of DOMA in a previous blog entry. And then on August 29th (a day that is typically associated with sadness as it is the day my amazing Grandfather passed away on in 2001) the IRS announced that all legal same-sex marriages would be recognized for federal tax purposes and so in the most romantic way possible I sent the following text message to Kara, "So when you are you going to make me an honest woman?" Obviously our ultimate dream come true would be for the state of Ohio to recognize our marriage. But Kara and I have said all along that when the time comes that not being married actually provides a disadvantage to our family then we would do whatever we needed to do to get married. And while getting married would actually be a financial disadvantage to us from a yearly tax filing purpose it would be a significant financial advantage should something happen to one of us. Plus should we ever need to use the other's employer sponsored health insurance plan it would be done so on a before tax basis instead of an after tax basis as it is done now. So that means in the next several months Kara and I have decided to travel to New York to officially get married. Whoa! My heart beats a bit faster with those words. But don't get too excited ... The actual date will probably be kept quiet, except from our immediate family, until after the actual event and the only people who will be at the actual marriage is Kara and me! (well and of course a random witness and an officiant). There will be no pomp and circumstance. But Kara and I do hope to turn it into our first "kid free" vacation since the boys were born .... Grandma and Grandpa Heitzman ... Will you babysit?? I couldn't be more excited to marry the most amazing woman in the world! See? I told you I was super blessed.
And one last random discussion for this blog entry. Alex went to his first gymnastics class this past weekend and he had a SUPER AWESOME time!! I was so proud of my little boy. There were about 6 other students in the class between the ages of about 16 months to 3 years old. The instructor was great. The class is super unstructured in that while our class rotates to different stations every 15 minutes or so there is complete independence at each rotation. The instructor demonstrates what a typical 3 year old should be able to accomplish and then each parent and child is free to work on that skill with the provided equipment. The kids still learn to interact with other kids and also to "wait their turn" but there is a lot of freedom with the class. Alex got to hang from a bar and learned how to jump on a trampoline! Alex giggled on more than one occasion during the class and even listened to the instructor as she worked one on one with him. I am excited to go to more classes and I really hope Alex continues to enjoy them. And he got a super awesome hand stamp at the end of class.
Mary
We took the boys to the zoo today. We have a zoo membership so when we do head to the zoo it is typically only for a couple of hours before the crowd gets too crazy. And we knew that because today was Labor Day all of the animals should be out. And we were right! It was a great visit.
Jakob is a bit indifferent about the animals. He really just loves the chance to get out of his stroller from time to time and run around like a mad man. And today was no exception.
.JPG)
But Alex is going to be our animal fanatic. The boy loves the animals. We got to see baby snow leopards! And the polar bears! And a manatee! And a grizzly bear! And flamingos! And elephants! And bison! And a ton of fish in the aquarium! And then we visited the barn to see the goats and the sheep. And Alex was beside himself with excitement (we know that Grandpa Park would be thrilled). I guess all we need to do is get the boys some goats!
.JPG)
We would lift him up to see the goats and he would just babble away while pointing at them. I think Alex would have pulled himself into the pen with the goats if we hadn't been there to play referee. He had a blast!
The boys have also been a bit under the weather the last couple of days. They just have stuffy noses and both have been cranky men. They are also working on some new teeth. So it was great for them to be distracted for a bit.
Oh and did I mention that we have been without an air conditioner for 4 days? And did I mention that it has been upwards of 90 degrees each day? And did I mention the boys have been sick? Oh ... And did I mention that we decided this weekend would be a good time to drop to one nap a day? Can anyone guess how our weekend has been? Let's just say that tonight the boys were asleep at 7:15pm and I literally ran out of the nursery.
So that has been our weekend in a nutshell. It has just been extremely stressful. None of it alone is horrible. We count ourselves as extremely blessed which is why Kara and I have done our best to not complain through the last several days. But the little things do start to build-up and Kara and I have taken it out on each other on more than one occasion. The last several days have not been our finest moments as parents and as a couple. I keep telling Kara that we are going to get divorced before we get married ....
Marriage? Did I say the "m" word?
I told you there was a lot to talk about (and I'm only giving the cliff notes version). So unless you have been living under a rock the last couple of months you will know that a lot of changed in this country. I mentioned the repeal of DOMA in a previous blog entry. And then on August 29th (a day that is typically associated with sadness as it is the day my amazing Grandfather passed away on in 2001) the IRS announced that all legal same-sex marriages would be recognized for federal tax purposes and so in the most romantic way possible I sent the following text message to Kara, "So when you are you going to make me an honest woman?" Obviously our ultimate dream come true would be for the state of Ohio to recognize our marriage. But Kara and I have said all along that when the time comes that not being married actually provides a disadvantage to our family then we would do whatever we needed to do to get married. And while getting married would actually be a financial disadvantage to us from a yearly tax filing purpose it would be a significant financial advantage should something happen to one of us. Plus should we ever need to use the other's employer sponsored health insurance plan it would be done so on a before tax basis instead of an after tax basis as it is done now. So that means in the next several months Kara and I have decided to travel to New York to officially get married. Whoa! My heart beats a bit faster with those words. But don't get too excited ... The actual date will probably be kept quiet, except from our immediate family, until after the actual event and the only people who will be at the actual marriage is Kara and me! (well and of course a random witness and an officiant). There will be no pomp and circumstance. But Kara and I do hope to turn it into our first "kid free" vacation since the boys were born .... Grandma and Grandpa Heitzman ... Will you babysit?? I couldn't be more excited to marry the most amazing woman in the world! See? I told you I was super blessed.
And one last random discussion for this blog entry. Alex went to his first gymnastics class this past weekend and he had a SUPER AWESOME time!! I was so proud of my little boy. There were about 6 other students in the class between the ages of about 16 months to 3 years old. The instructor was great. The class is super unstructured in that while our class rotates to different stations every 15 minutes or so there is complete independence at each rotation. The instructor demonstrates what a typical 3 year old should be able to accomplish and then each parent and child is free to work on that skill with the provided equipment. The kids still learn to interact with other kids and also to "wait their turn" but there is a lot of freedom with the class. Alex got to hang from a bar and learned how to jump on a trampoline! Alex giggled on more than one occasion during the class and even listened to the instructor as she worked one on one with him. I am excited to go to more classes and I really hope Alex continues to enjoy them. And he got a super awesome hand stamp at the end of class.
Mary
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