September and October

It's fall Y'all!!!

At Pickering Farm for a hayride and pumpkin picking

Fall has come early it appears this year, there was not too many summery days in the month of September so I bought my mums, pumpkins and gourds early and we embraced it and opened the windows and turned off the air. Have to admit that we have already had the heat on too! We have been getting out much more as a family on the weekends now that the babies have a predictable window between naps. Those weekends afternoons have been filled with visiting family and friends homes watching the Buckeyes or Browns, shopping for a new fridge because our freezer went on the fritz, taking a hayride to the pumpkin patch, attending fall festivals, riding a scenic train on the Cuyahoga Valley railway and taking our annual family photo among the fall leaves.

Annual Fall Family Photo

The twins enjoying the view on the train

Austin and Grammy on the train

 The babies have been showing us their very different personalities each and every day. Kelsey is smart as a whip and continues to be eager to talk. She studies our mouths as we speak and tries to mimic what we are saying. She is very keen on using her hands and attempts to sign and can do many actions to "the wheels on the bus." We have been singing it a lot more as Austin has been asking to many times a day. They sing it at school and he is excited that he can say many of the sounds/verses now. Kelsey has also become quite the climber to our dismay! She finds ways to knock things over to stack and climb onto chairs, tables and couches. We had to remove our coffee table as both kids were climbing up onto it every couple minutes. Kelsey is also a HUGE fan of Daddy! She is fascinated with him and wants to know where he is and what he's doing when he's home. She immediately makes her way to him and says, "hi dada" in the evening. I often have to let her watch him drive away in the morning so that she is not crying and longing for him, it's quite cute her love for him! Austin favors Kelsey so Logan usually is searching out my attention. Logan is smart in his own right. He is less verbal than Kelsey but can say "uh oh" for instance when something falls and can sign more and milk. He also stands at the gate by our staircase when he's tired and wants to go up for a nap or bed. He is officially walking EVERYWHERE! He is quite amused by his new found trick and often giggles as he walks along, so proud of himself. He rarely crawls and he is very quick on his feet. Kelsey has also taken her first steps but is not yet walking or balancing well enough to walk independently.

Austin and his favorite person Kelsey (in boy pajamas) poor girl!

Both babies comprehend what I am saying and listen when I prompt them to come eat. They both head over to their high chairs and wait to be lifted into their seats, usually whining along the way :/ Meal time has become a little nuts! How dare you eat anything without giving them some too! They eat when we eat or there's hell to pay! They often eat 2 dinners because they are hungry at 5/5:30 and we usually eat ours at 6:30/7. We have to cut up food for them or they are clinging to our chairs begging for food like they haven't eaten ALL day. Speaking of foods we have introduced only a few items as they have had most things by now. The babies are both using soy milk until Kelsey can tolerate cows milk and we are rid of the bottles and they use only sippy and straw cups, THANK YOU GOODNESS, washing a million bottle parts every single day for a year is really ANNOYING! Kelsey is not allergic to strawberries so we have also tried blueberries and raspberries with no issues. They also had tofu which isn't their favorite food and we have introduced herbs/seasonings like basil, nutmeg, parsley and garlic.

CUPS!!!!

On the health front, Kelsey's hemangioma continues to shrink as we have finished 4 months of treatment now. We adjusted her dosage for her recent weight gain and moved up to 3 times a day to see if it will help her restless sleep. Kelsey weighs 18.5 pounds and is 29.25 inches. She is not on the growth chart for weight so we have to go back in a couple weeks to make sure she is gaining. Logan had to go in for a hearing test and follow-up consultation about the lingering fluid in his ears. He passed his test and we see no reason for tubes at this time but he did come down with his 4th case of croup and another ear infection. Logan now weighs 22.4 pounds and is 30 inches. The babies have been getting one tooth after another and taking turns doing so. I check their mouths so frequently now, that when they see the flashlight they both say 'AHHH' in anticipation of me looking inside hahaha! Logan has 8 teeth and Kelsey is up to 7. Something semi-new to report is the babies "fits" both babies have started passing out often. It usually is when they are very tired and something doesn't go their way or they accidentally bump their head, they cry so hard and so long that they start to turn blue and sometimes pass out. I have found that the best way to handle this is by laying them flat on the ground and to blow in their face and keep nudging them if they do pass out. When they come to, they are usually very glassy eyed and delirious, luckily we have had no real emergencies with this but it's really scary when it happens. The doctor said it is fairly common and as long as they aren't having a seizure, we are handling it well.

Snuggles after shots

Hemangioma month 4 (insert day 1)

Austin is blossoming in school as we suspected. He is forced to say the sounds of things he wants at school which in turn causes him to use more words at home. The biggest improvement has been with the multiple word phrases, "me pee-pee, me eat, I hold baby? I love you!" He is quite fascinated with babies and wants to hold baby Leo when he gets home from school and can feed him his bottle. He also likes to try to carry Kelsey around the house which can be a little nerve wracking!!! He randomly goes up to moms in public and wants to see and kiss their babies. He most definitely gets this trait from me and I just love his loving personality!! He continues to spell words around the house which keeps surprising us on a daily basis. Some favorites are BINGO- from the song, chair(because I label objects in the house), snow and cow. He even shocked us more last week when he spelled the phrase "coming up" as he sees on Disney Jr. and PBS!!!When he's not spelling words, he is sorting letters and blocks into different color groups. He is definitely a disciplined child and likes his things structured! Another development has been his identification with people and objects. He is eager to label people and things in books we read and lines up his toys saying that they are Mama, Dada and baby, TOO CUTE!!! It really has been fantastic to see him finally begin to thrive and catch up to his peers in speech. He will be having his last OT for the year soon. We are allotted 20 covered visits to the therapist with a copay. We have discussed things with his teacher and we feel he will no longer need OT services once the new coverage years comes around and will likely not return. He is getting a lot motor skill work at school and he is advancing on his own with his core and I can continue on with the techniques and exercises they have taught me. We are looking into beginning a home program called Therapeutic listening that involves him listening to specific music cd's with special headphones to promote more sounds and speech. He has only just started to throw tantrum so we enacted the brushing technique again and I made him a weighted blanket. It is used mostly with sensory children but it helps both Austin and the babies calm down. Paul got me a sewing machine for Christmas last year so this was my first time using my machine. I did take home economics in High School so I am familiar with sewing in general.

Austin on the school van coming home with his friend Zuhoor (Pronounced Zoohor) he is Muslim

Snuggling watching Baby Babble (speech development video) with the weighted blanket!

Reading and playing together after school

At a play date at Fairview Library with friends

As for Paul and I, we celebrated our 5th wedding Anniversary in September with a steak and seafood dinner out at Don's Lighthouse while my mom watched the kids. We used Uber once again! I LOVE UBER!! Our city is so large that once you select an Uber ride, there is usually someone at your location within 2 minutes. We took an Uber to dinner, an Uber to the wine bar for extra drinks alone after and an Uber home, SO GREAT! I have been doing much better coping with the hard work of raising 3 kids now that I have made it a point to get out with my friends at least every other week if not every week! I am working full time now which is usually 4 full day a week from 7:30-4:45. Some weeks this varies and I work later in the day depending on the shift she is given at the hospital. My one day off each week varies but it almost always falls on a Tuesday or Thursday. The breaks I get are especially needed now that I have my hands extra full. I do love my job though, it has been nice to snuggle another baby knowing we won't be having more, ahhhhh! Don't get me wrong I love kids and babies but I'm fairly excited to not be pregnant again or deal with GOBS of bottles!

Anniversary dinner out!

 I have been continuing on with photography as well. I recently was a second shooter and assistant to my professional friend at a wedding. I learned that wedding photography is very fast pace and can be stressful. I really enjoyed the experience and I am set to photograph another wedding with her in November. In a couple weeks I have a full weekend of portraits with 8 appointments scheduled so far mostly for mini sessions for family photos for Christmas cards. It's exciting to think that maybe once the kids are in school that I could be a full time photographer and nanny on the side if I need my fix :) We also hired a babysitter. We interviewed a couple girls and one declined our offer, I think she may have found our dynamic too challenging. Chelsea who is turning 21 in December

will be helping me on my days off so that I can get groceries, run errands or do things around the house and also watching the kids sometimes in the evening so we can get out to dinner or whatever else we desire!! I am looking forward to having someone near by that can help especially until my mom is able to help out again in late November for the winter time!!!

Rare moment with all 3 kids sleeping

Kelsey covering her ears to sleep during all the yelling and cussing of the Browns game

2

I asked Daddy to put her tights on, Uhm honey, UNDER her onesie jersey next time :)

This year for Halloween, we went with the Monsters Inc. theme. Austin as Sulley, Kelsey as Boo in her disguise and Logan as Mike Wazowski.When Austin was born I decided until he and future kids cared what they are going to be that I would pick a theme, have a friend crochet a hat for the costume so they can use the hat all winter and I would carve a pumpkin to match the theme.This year in addition I actually sewed parts of the costumes. We hosted the Mother's & More family Halloween party at our house this year. It was a success besides that our kids weren't big fans of wearing their costumes. The party was a perfect size and I was able to snap a picture of the kids who attended! For Halloween we were invited to our friends Jim and Susan's house to trick-or-treat. This was Austin's first year participating. The previous 3 years he sat on my lap and passed out candy. Jim and Paul took the boys (Austin and Hugh) and Susan and I stayed with Claire, Kelsey and Logan to pass out candy. Paul said that Austin did very well and that Hugh would lead Austin up to the doors to ask for candy! I am so glad he was able to do this with a friend that he is very close with. I don't think he would have cooperated nearly as well if we did it alone in our neighborhood.

Mike Wazowski and "incognito" Boo

All 3 with Sulley this time, Austin was not a fan of the costume deal

Our Monster Jack-o-lantern, my favorite part of Halloween!

Hugh "the Hulk" and Austin trick-or-treating

Knock Knock!

Daddy aka Rick Vaughn out for the festivities

Some of the kids of Mother's & More

I will post again after the Holidays so until then Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to everyone!!

Twins are 13 months

Picture Perfect!

Well, that was an incredibly fast month, why do these months have to keep whizzing by? Like always, I feel like so much has happened! My goal this month was to take the twins one year photographs. Back in May, I had come up with the idea and have been slowly collecting the things I would need to pull it off, backdrop, pots and headbands. I have three friends that have small businesses that I solicited for props. These women did a fantastic job which helped me nail these pictures. I bought the backdrop from my friend Jenae, who also does photography. My friend Natasha hand stitches children's clothing and she made the Eric Carle onesies for the twins first birthday party. My friend Michelle crochet's and she made the head bands for the flower pot photos. I have used Michelle's work before (the yellow and grey infant hats) and she will also be making all 3 kids their hats for their Halloween costumes. These photos are by far my favorite ones that I have taken of the twins to date. I am excited to see what ideas I come up with for their 18 month/Christmas photos!

Off to the races

Austin screamed in the house and they both turned to look haha

One without the headbands and still so cute!

As for a progress report, Logan's ear infection did not go away from the first round of medication so we did a second cycle of stronger drugs. At the second two week follow-up, the infection had cleared up but he still has fluid so he will be going to see an ENT. Since we have a history of speech delay in our family with Austin, we need to make sure Logan doesn't follow down the same path. He may need to get tubes inserted if the fluid does not clear up in the next handful of months. Kelsey's hemangioma continues to shrink, which is fantastic. The downside is that she she has been waking multiple times a night which is a side affect of the medicine. We also think that she may have an allergy to strawberries. We aren't certain that the rash she developed after eating some was due to that or her MMR shot (which can also produce spots on the body about 10 days after receiving it). I am allowed to re-introduce the strawberries to see if it happens again and then we will know for sure.

Kelsey's rash

Hemangioma 2 months/1 month/first day

The babies have been cruising around the house getting adventurous. Both babies have started to let go and free stand. Logan is doing it more often on his own, whereas Kelsey likes to do it as a game by having me let her go. It's just a matter of time and we will have miniature walkers in this house again. Kelsey has been eager to communicate and can say a couple extra words than Logan (another symptom to mention to the ENT). She says "na-ni"when she is tired and "uh huh" when you ask her a question. She can also sign milk when she is thirsty. I continue to work with her since she is so willing and eager! We are still introducing foods, this month has been a lot of the BIG allergy foods that you are advised to wait until after age 12 months. This months foods were Egg yolk, strawberries, black/pinto beans, pasta, tomato, citrus and blueberries. Citrus was not a good one, it was too acidic which caused diaper rash so we will try to stay away from it. I introduced milk again this week and Logan appears to be fine, Kelsey got diarrhea again so we are going to try soy milk and see how she does. If all goes well with the soy, I will likely just put both babies on the soy milk so I don't have to buy 2 different things for them. The babies continue to enjoy self-feeding. Almost every meal they feed themselves except for their yogurt and some dinner foods. We have found that they are bored with spoon fed foods unless it's chunky to give them something to chew on.

MOM, FEED US!!!

Turtle butts

Lean on me

Although the babies are older and my days are generally easier to manage I had a very hard month personally. I went through a snap of depression. I think it started when I was planning the party for the twins. Once I came down off my adrenaline high from the actual event, I realized how overwhelming that week had been for me and really needed a break. I became jealous of the time Paul was making for himself, either with playing tennis, attending Pro ball games to collect bobble heads or just plain going to work everyday and being OUT of the house. After I shed A LOT of tears and had a real heart to heart with Paul, it was decided that I just need to make more time for myself. I voiced my feelings to my mom's group and they came to my rescue with a girls night out singing karaoke, now granted I didn't actually sing but it was just what I needed. Since then, I have been trying to do something at least once a week for me! I am so grateful that I found such a wonderful group of women that genuinely care for each other. Just this week another mom was needing a pick-me-up so we all got together for a dessert date at Cheesecake Factory! It really is amazing what a couple of hours without kids can do to someones morale!

A night out with my great friends

That being said, the high stress baby phase has gone and we find ourselves welcoming the ability to get out of the house as a family to eat dinner or socialize. We recently just ate out as a family of 5 for the first time at our favorite Mexican restaurant (that we can walk to). We have also been getting together with our good friends Brice and Malia and their girls for cookouts. We see the light at the end of the tunnel and the less bumpy road ahead. We are also in the process of finding a babysitter. Our plan is to find someone that can help every Thursday. That way I could use them during the day to help me every other week and then the opposite Thursdays during the evening so that Paul and I can get out alone. Wish us luck with this search!!!

Family Pic at the Mothers&More Picnic

A very big milestone has occurred, Austin has started Pre-K!! He qualified to start back in January when he turned 3 because of his speech delay. At the time we opted to keep him home and receive speech services once a week through the school to keep the germs away from our preemie babies. We knew then in the fall the babies would be old enough and Austin could go and attend real school. The first week was a bit messy. He actually did really well with drop-off on the first day as he was very comfortable with one of his teachers, Mrs.Z. The second day he put up a fight when Paul and I dropped him off and had a bit of a rough start. He was originally placed in an integrated room which means some kids are average students and some kids have special needs. Mrs. Z (who is an intervention specialist) wanted to see how he fit in. On that Friday, we decided collectively that he needed to be moved to an all special needs room. This meant we had to switch school buildings in our district. Our home school (Horace Mann) is in walking distance but his new building (Hayes) is in the next neighborhood and is not close enough to walk. All in all, it is the better option though as there are only 3 students in the class and he will get a lot of one on one time. We think he has been doing fine but have had a breakdown in communication with the new school. Because we attending the other buildings open house, we missed the one he attends now. We have not been able to see his room yet or really have any paperwork. To top it off, his teacher (Ms. Kathy) has been out sick a couple times making it even harder for us to talk with her. I am in the process of setting up a meeting with her to get everything squared away. Besides that, we are hoping he will grow a lot this year and then be able to go back to Horace Mann next year with the larger class (18 students). He attends Monday-Thursday 8:30-11:00. Paul drops him off in the morning on the way to work and a school transportation van with booster car seats brings him home to me about 11:20. He has done excellent on the van with no problems. Paul has been having a little trouble dropping him off but we hope with each week he will grow more accustomed to the situation. He has already started to learn new things, he has been spelling words around the house that they are talking about in class. He was already able to spell his name before school but since then he has added stop and fall. It's always a proud moment when I stumble on a new word he has spelled out on his magnet board.

First day drop-off

First day of school EVER!!!

Spells his name is random places all over the house

On most weeks I work Monday, Wednesday and Friday watching the baby. When I have a photo session come in, it usually happens during the weekend. Our kids are generally quiet for the most part but with Austin out of the house in the mornings, it's even more quiet and I enjoy spending the alone time with the babies on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They take a morning nap together now so I usually am able to enjoy a nice peaceful shower and do some small tasks around the house, like type this blog! Occasionally, one of the babies will wake-up before the other but will continue to snuggle with me, it's AMAZING!

Rare snuggle time with my babes

So that's it for the month of August! I am not sure how often I will post now that the twins are 1, it might be every month or every couple months once something new or exciting has happened, so I will just leave it at that and keep you all on the edge of your seats hahahaha!!!

Twins are 12 months

Hey shorty, it's your birthday!

Wait, hold on a second, stop, no really!! The twins are one year old!! I am in pure disbelief that 365 days have passed us by and we now have pre-toddlers in our house. No longer preemies, no longer referred to by their corrected age, no longer do they stay put and no longer are they bald little babies! What a fantastic life changing year in our lives. Who knew that two little people could turn your world completely upside down and inside out. We have had some very trying times, times we crave to be out of the house ALONE and times we cherish spending as a family of five. One of the precious moments this summer has been playing in the baby pool on our deck and popping bubbles while making a soapy mess! Life with twins and a toddler is both hard and rewarding and I will say it again, the twins are one year old!!!!

As for the statistics, Kelsey is 17.5 pounds (4th%) and is 28.3 inches (24th%). Logan is 20.13 pounds (22nd%) and 29 inches (25th). So they are both pretty petite in comparison to their peers. That is fine with me because I have to carry them around enough, I am glad I don't have two Austin (101th%) babies to tote. Health wise, Logan came down with croup for the 3rd time a couple weeks ago which developed into a silent ear infection that was diagnosed at the well check-up. Silent meaning he was not displaying the regular symptoms such as not sleeping. He is on Amoxicillin and we have to check back in two weeks to make sure it has cleared up. Kelsey is peachy keen and definitely seems to be the healthier child overall. Her hemangioma is really starting to change. She has been on the medicine for 6 weeks now. We have noticed that is starting to deflate and is now about half as swelled as it was. It has also gone from bright red to a purple color and started to sag. I am very optimistic about it being gone within a year. We started whole milk but unfortunately the babies got diarrhea so we had to go back on formula for the next month and we will try again at 13 months. Because of the milk introduction we didn't do as many foods this month but here are the foods they did have- quinoa, Salmon and other fish, watermelon, bell pepper, onion and eggs.

Logan with croup and Kelsey teething, watching Mickey Mouse

Hemangioma 1 month photo

These two babies couldn't be more different. I thought I would do a little fun twin (not so twin) comparison. Logan is shy and sensitive, Kelsey is outgoing and aggressive. Logan has 4 teeth, Kelsey has 2. They both take 2 naps but Logan takes and afternoon and evening and Kelsey takes a morning and an afternoon. Logan eats about anything, Kelsey is picky. Logan is addicted to his pacifier, Kelsey only uses hers when she is tired. Logan wears 12 month clothes, Kelsey wears 9 months. Logan has curly hair, Kelsey has straight hair. Logan crawled with one arm dominant and Kelsey the opposite. Logan's eyes have started to change but Kelsey's have not. Logan has really really big feet, Kelsey's are a whole toe length smaller. Kelsey waves and claps and Logan does neither. As for similarities, they seem to have the same hair color, they are both crawling and cruising around. They both sleep through the night but Logan tends to go down later and get up earlier. They both wear size 3 diapers. They both love the bath, pool and any source of water just like Austin. Both babies are babbling words like Dada, Mama, gaga and we think they say Hi! Both babies know their names and turn to find you when you call it out. They both prefer to feed themselves by either picking up their food or using a pouch. Both babies are very attached to me and Paul but Kelsey cries every time we leave the room and she especially likes her daddy! It just goes to show that all children are different even when they share a birthday!

In our first couch fort

Afternoon playtime

Both standing and playing

Little handymen in training

He climbed in there himself

Austin is now fully potty trained including long trips in the car (went to Columbus), naps (if he takes one), errands and even at night time. He naturally self trained at night, he just picked it up while we did the day training. We do keep a potty chair in his room at night because we keep a baby gate at his door. He has successfully gotten up during the night and used it and returned to bed. He doesn't use it often though, usually he just uses the bathroom before bed and right when he gets up in morning. He does have some accidents here and there during the day or night usually if he is out of his home element but I would consider our training a full success. He starts preschool on August 19th, so I wanted him trained and prepared by then. It is not mandatory for him to be trained but I thought it would be a good idea especially because he is 3.5 years and really should have been by 2.5 years. We are excited to see how school will help him develop his speech. I expect he should grow by leaps and bounds having peers to interact with and a teacher he will need to communicate with.

Multitasking- Rocking baby Leo and watching his tablet, he's a natural

We had a fantastic end of July visiting friends in Columbus and a trip home for a very busy weekend. Paul's brother Jason was able to come to town from Hartford Connecticut to visit for a family filled weekend. We attended a family wedding (Paul's second cousin) and the kids all did wonderful. The wedding was at a very classy barn and we brought our double stroller and Bjorn baby carriers. The babies sat in high chairs and munched on anything they could get their hands on, mostly watermelon, Haddock and redskin potatoes. I had actually forgotten their formula and went into panic mode about keeping them at bay. They got to have apple juice for the first time in an effort to keep their bellies full, which worked!! Later in the night Austin and Logan fell asleep in the stroller and Kelsey danced the night away with mommy! Little party girl (don't know where she gets that from)? hahahahahaha!

Family picture minus Auntie Mira

Family photo at the wedding

Next up was the twins birthday party the following day at my parents house. The party was gigantic. We invited 60 guests and had about 45 attend which included children. It took 3 days to pull this party off and afterwards we decided that will be the last child birthday party we will throw with more than 20 guests. The babies were not the happiest but we made it through. They both went through a bit of stranger anxiety and cried A LOT. The highlight of the party of course was the smash cake. Logan dove right in and smeared frosting everywhere and shoveled the cake in. Kelsey was a typical girl and did not want to get messy, she took to picking cake off of Logan's face and eating that, pretty hilarious. Thank you to all the friends and family that made their party so memorable for us!

Eric Carle cookies from the party

Eric Carle cupcake caterpillar and the twins smash cake

Birthday smash cake mess

Drake and Austin at the party

 I am working on the babies one year portraits this month so those will be in next months update so until then!!!