Myers Family Christmas

Well, I have to say our first Christmas as our own family unit was wonderful! Here are a few highlights:


Christmas Eve was spent at my Aunt Marlene's house where there was turkey dinner and Grandpa's Soup. All members of the 4th generation were there and we got a picture with all of them. My cousin Ryan and his wife Marcie also have twin boys, Connor and Caleb, who are now 8 years old; they're the ones holding our twins. Then there's my brother's kids, Isabella and Donovan, in the middle.

After a wonderful night of fun, food and laughter, Miles and I went home and put the boys to bed way too late. But that's was special occasions are for, right?

Christmas morning we got up with boys and after they were fed we opened our presents. This may be the only year I get to open up all the presents, so I enjoyed myself :) We're not very avid picture takers, so this is the only one we took of Christmas morning. These are blankets Grams made for the boys.

I also got the boys Texas Longhorn shirts they can wear to support Miles' favorite college football team. So Boxing Day, we had clones wandering all around!

We went out to the time share my parents have up in Canmore and Miles and I took advantage of the boys having a nap and extra family around to go for a hike. It's been a long time since I've done snow angels, and man did it ever feel good!

The weather was so nice. We need to get out the mountains and enjoy winter a little more!

The rest of the day was spent with my family playing games and having a good time, just as the holidays should be.

Hope the rest of you had a Merry Christmas, and I wish you all Happy New Year!

Eww, Gross!!!

Note to self:

Remember to put a cloth that can absorbe spit-up on the play mat. That way it will NOT get all over your kid’s face when he’s on his belly and puts his face down...

 

 Thank goodness Austin is patient with me.

Special Day

Yesterday Miles and I celebrated a wonderful 7 years of wedded bliss together. It started out with by going to the mall to get me a very special something, then we went out to Griffen Valley Ranch for a wagon ride with horses and hay. It was a nice winter activity to do with the boys and my extended family.

We then went out for dinner with our friends Brandon and Jamie, as is our habit, since we share our anniversary with them.

My brother and sister-in-law, Dennis and Chelsea, were kind enough to babysit for us so we could have a carefree time. Thanks so much, guys!

It was a great celebration and I look forward to an infinite number of years to come and enjoying them with my ever growing family :)

Sleepytime

The boys have been in their new room and crib for almost two weeks now and they love it. Okay, I don't really know, but I say this because they're so well behaved, they can't NOT like it...

Anytime the boys go bed, whether it be at night or for their naps, I keep a couple of things constant so they know it's bedtime. Of all the books I've read and websites I've visited, and by my own instinct, I find that routine is key. Not necessarily when you do something, but it's how you do it.

So this is what I do:
As soon as they show signs of drowsiness, such as less movement or talking, rubbing the eyes, taking longer blinks, etc, I take them up to bed. They like to be swaddled, so I wrap them up, then place them in the crocheted sleep sacs my mom made for them.

I had just put Lincoln down 30 seconds before Austin, and check it out: he's out! They don't always take their soothers, but I always offer them. Sometimes just the sucking will result in closed eyes.

I then put a flannel blanket over their eyes. This also results closed eyes almost right away. They know that once that blanket is on their face, it's lights out!

And 10 minutes later, I come back, not a peep. Look what I find!

Often when they wake up, it's to smiley 'hellos'. But sometimes they're just hungry and angry, and sometimes they're just chill...

I sure do count my blessings, and I hope they continue they're awesome sleep habits, cuz I know some people who have had it rough and I don't envy them one bit!

Where'd He Get the Booze?

So Miles and I don't keep alcohol in the house, but Austin apparantly already has connections and is starting the sauce early in life...

Well, at least Lincoln is there for him to lean on...

V-Day

Today we took the boys in to get their vaccinations - 2 pokes in one leg and 1 poke in the other. My mom gave me  good tip: give them children's Tylenol about an hour BEFORE the shot - that way the painkiller has set in by the time they get assaulted.

We had a great night's sleep last night, boys went down at 8 and didn't wake til 4am to eat, then they were up at 8 again. I thought this put us on a great path to be in good moods for the shots. Well, they ate at 11 and were in a fine mood, until it was time to sleep again and they just wouldn't. Great! Start off getting poked over-tired, wonderful. Not to mention the appointment was right a feeding time, so tired AND hungry. I wasn't sure it was going to work out...

My mother-in-law, Maureen, helped to settle them so I could get something to eat before we left and they were fine in their carseats. Not one peep at the clinic. We took their weights (Austin - 11lbs 6oz, Lincoln - 9lbs, 14oz) and got ready to see the nurse.

I had started feeding Lincoln while we waited, thinking I would feed him while Austin got done then switch. This worked out pretty well. Besides the screaming from each of them as they got poked and the whimpering afterward, they've been pure champs. Now it's an hour later, we're at home and Lincoln's sleeping and Austin's smiling and playing with Grandma.

All in all, not so terrible so I forward the advise: you're gunna have to drug your kids anyway, so get a head start to make the process that much easier!

Such Clever Boys

So Miles has been doing a small renovation project on the nursery so the boys have been in our room in a bassinet. Well, Saturday we got the furniture set up and moved them on in to their crib. It is so big compared to the bassinet!

I had wondered to myself whether they would notice they were on their own or not. Well turns out they did! They normally wake up once on a 12 hour period to eat overnight, but that night they were up like crazy. Once Lincoln settled, Austin started and then I got him down and Lincoln would start up all over again. I was a basket case by 6 am when it was time to feed them again.

I was worried it would take them a while to get used to the new space so I made sure they took their daytime naps in there crib rather than on the main floor like they usually do. Lo and behold, they slept fantastically Sunday night - thank goodness!! My two smart boys working out what they need to do. I'm so blessed.

A (Good) Day in the Life

Well I thought I'd give you a sneak peak of what a typical day looks like with my boys. Well, to be honest, no day is typical. Try as I might to have a set schedule, their eat and sleep times flucuate as they grow and develope, so I have routine moreso than schedule, and that works for us just fine. For now.

This morning, it was up at 5am for feeding and breakfast (my breakfast is usually toast with eggs, hashbrowns and ham and a nice cool glass of OJ. I am still eating for 3 afterall!)  I get them back to sleep and get started with my day.

It's now 8am and so far I've fed, eaten, started the laundry, cleaned the bathrooms, showered and YES! Blowdried my hair! Man does that ever feel good... Boys are still asleep, so I decide to get some milk ready for tonight (tonight, I am going OUT!)

Boys up 9am, feed them, have some tummy time and get dressed for the day. Next time they fall asleep, I'm taking a nap!

And, Austin has totally turned himself around..

Took a nice nap when they fell asleep at 10:30 and Lincoln woke up right on time at noon to feed. Now it's 1pm and my turn for lunch then a manicure for Lincoln - his nails are starting to hurt! This time I'll clip them before he scratches himself...


Okay, 3pm and the laundry's folded and put away, the kitchen's cleaned and it's time to feed again. Phewy!

It's 4pm, getting dinner ready then have to get ready for my outing tonight. A big thanks to my sister-in-law, Chelsea and her mom for helping out this evening while I attended a work function!

 Got home at 7pm, just in time to bail out Miles' home teaching crisis. We went out together since Chelsea was here already. Man does timing ever work out well sometimes!

Got home at 8, did some work on the boys' Halloween costumes (more pics on that one later) and fed at 9pm.

Let the boys hang with Dad for a bit, made the bed then it was bathtime. The boys have a shower with Dad and they love the water, it doesn't bother them in the least. Once the they were all done and warmed up, we bring them into bed where Dad has some more time with them.

It's the end of the day and boys are put back to bed for the night. Goodnight my boys, we love you and wish you the best. Gets lots of sleep, because it all begins again tomorrow!!
 (desclaimer: this day was documented a few weeks ago - before Halloween, obviously. Although the schedules and tasks are different, everyday is still jammed packed and fun!)

Bad Form

Okay, so bad news: I've lost the camera!! I was working on a post about what a day is like with the boys, filled with pictures and everything, but I've lost the camera and so there are no pictures from that day or any day since. I much prefer to do posts with pictures, but it's not fair to not give updates just cuz I don't have evidence. So here are are couple things have been happening the last couple of weeks:

Cooing: all over the place! They do have voices that can do something other than cry. It's the best sound. Until I hear laughing - I'm sure that'll be the best sound :)

Smiling: although we have seen smiles, I'm pretty sure they were involuntary or as a result of gas, but Lincoln smiled in response to Miles the other day, and we've seen a few since. So CUTE!! I was able to catch the end of a smile on my phone, so here you go.

They've been lifting their heads for a while, but when Austin is put on his tummy, he gets angry and cries and struggles so much that he shimmies himself off the play mat - I think it's pretty cool.

Haven't done an official weight in over a week, but boys are hovering around 8 and 10 lbs - getting up there! All the preemie clothes are boxed up and put away, and we need to start packing some of the newborn stuff now - 0-3mths, here we come!

And last but not least, today marks their 12 week birthday. Way to go, boys. Mamma loves you :)

High Expectations

I'm not saying they need to save the world or anything, just a life or two...

Austin already has his 'hi-ya!' down while Lincoln's waiting for the victorious 'high-5'. See how they have each other's back? This dynamic duo will be unstoppable!

My Two Little Men

Awe, they grow up so quickly!! Here are some pictures to show their progress, and a little of the personalities...enjoy!

Austin is now 8lbs and Lincoln is 6lbs 2oz. 

Austin no longer fits into preemie clothes, and Lincoln is filling them out nicely - although he is getting too long for the sleepers. But don't they just look so old in their little outfits?

My mom came over yesterday to help with the gardening. It was such a nice day, we brought the boys out with us. I think they enjoyed the fresh air.

The boys are practically mummified when we wrap them.

Papa and his boys taking a nap. I love all my boys.

A friend from work knit these hats for them. They're growing out of them already! Here's a pic to document the indoctrination of football...

 We had a family gathering on Sunday. Below is a 5 generation photo of my Great Grandma Doris, Grams, my Mom, me and the boys.

Here we added my brother, Kurt and is daughter Isabella

and son Donovan to the generational photo.

Grams' husband Wayne has been added to the generational photo.

Lincoln's ready to eat any time, and will start gnawing on just about anything!

The boys interacting. 

They're now the size a full term baby would be, and I can't believe people have babies that big! I'm glad they're growing, but sad at the same time because I like them so small. I'm glad they'll still be 'newborn' size for a little while longer :)

They're eating well - every 3 hours during the day and 4 hours during the night. They're still asleep for the most of the day but are wakeful some mornings and mostly in the evenings. Austin's holding his head up more, although I wouldn't call it stable yet and Lincoln is still practicing.

People ask me how I'm doing, and I couldn't be better. They're so well behaved, eat and sleep so well that they make my job easy for me. We go out and run errands regularily and like to get out of the house.

Stay tuned for more adventures!

They're Getting FAT!!!

Well, yes it's true - I'm a terrible blogger. It's the picture taking/downloading that I forget to do, and what's the point of blogging when there's nothing to see?

Well, I've repented and here are some pics and updates:

So the boys came home from the hospital on August 22nd when they regained their birth weights. They were oh so tiny in their car seats! I'm actually just a little nervous when I take them out because their heads bobble all over the place.

They could've sent Austin home sooner, but I thought it important to keep them together. They're now 4 weeks old and doing so well. Right now they're sharing a bassinet while Miles works at renovating the nursery. It's pretty funny, sometimes they do the same motions at the same time, and it's absolutely adorable!

I can't wait to show you the after shot, I'm pretty excited about what he's doing :)

At the last weigh-in on Friday Austine was 5lbs 14oz and Lincoln was 4lbs 10oz. Lincoln's starting to get some fat on his cheeks and they continue to feed so well. Believe it or not, they're starting to outgrow some on their preemie clothes. There are actually a couple sleepers that I adore that never even fit Austin and Lincoln is getting too long for them, but hurray they're growing!

I love them so tiny and small and I don't want them to grow, but I do because that means they're healthy and are learning to take care of themselves.

Austin is starting to lift his head for short bouts of time. Then he turns to a bobble head and he falls back down on to my chest, it's hilarious :)

They're starting to have more alert times and I'm feeling more confident taking them out in their car seats a little more.

Here are some other shots we've been taking:

Austin

Lincoln

Miles was teaching them all about sun tanning...

4 generation photo with Grandma, Dad, me and the boys.

Pics with the new Grandma, Miles' mom.