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!!!

Twins are 11 months

Summertime and the living is easy.....not really!

Laundry Dutch pile

We have had quite the jammed pack beginning of summer! As I mentioned last month our calendar is full every weekend until August 15th. Those weekends have been mostly filled with travelling back home to visit with family. This month we will be visiting in-state friends. The two most exciting occasions this past month were the fourth of July and then when my cousin Chip and his family were home from Colorado.

Keller twins together for the first time

During the fourth weekend, the babies had their very first trip to Chaska Beach. They did awesome and loved lounging and playing as much as big brother Austin. We had plenty of help as my parents went along with us and my brother Ryan and his girlfriend LeAnn. The babies of course taste tested the sand but we found out quickly that if we let them have their pacifiers less sand made its way in! We also spent some time swimming at grammy Barb's pool. These two babies are little fish, especially Kelsey. She has taken up dunking her face and leaning toward me off the pool edge as to jump in! Both babies are able to hang on the pool edge and really enjoy floating around the pool. This year we got Austin some water wings known as the "puddle jumper" that has an extra flotation across the chest. He is able to float and swim on his own in the pool which makes things much less stressful and manageable with 3 kids to attend to!

Poppin' bottles on the beach

Fun at the Crocker Park Splashpad

At grammy's pool in June

Last weekend was one of the weekends I was looking forward to most this summer, the arrival of Chip and family. Last year when they were in town, I had just delivered the twins and was unable to meet and visit with them. I was so surprised to see how much larger their twins were compared to ours. They are only 4 months apart but developmentally more like 6 months due to our twins premature age. I cannot believe in a few short months our twins will be catching up and doing the same activities. It was really great seeing all of them and catching up after 2 years apart. I really wish we all lived closer or at least where we could drive and not fly. I have made some excellent friends in Cleveland but wish I had my closer friends and family right next door!

Bubbles with Cousins

The twins are moving right along with development and we are not seeing any delays with their skills. Both are now "real" crawling and pulling up to stand. Logan is now cruising and Kelsey has definitely been giving it a try too. Logan has 3 teeth but Kelsey is still toothless. They are moving onto table foods and really love to feed themselves. I am using up my stockpile of pureed food and adding in more and more pickup foods. We introduced lots of new foods this month, those being, kiwi, spinach, cantaloupe, grapes, broccoli, potato, chick peas, quinoa, salmon and watermelon. I have also started the process of introducing cows milk into their diet with a gradual process of adding small amounts to their formula bottles and gradually increasing the milk and decreasing the formula. Once we are onto milk it is a lot easier to drop the bottles and move to all sippy cups.

Carrots for dinner

The kiddos finally seem to be on a nap schedule. They have a short morning nap 30-40 minutes after breakfast then a longer nap around 2 hours after their yogurt lunch. They do tend to get off kilter when we are not at home but we don't mind and aren't very strict about occasional changes in schedule. Kelsey has also finally begun her Hemangeol. This medication is oral and administered twice daily. We had to attend 3 Dr. appointments while they gradually increased her dosage. We hung out in the office for two hours each time to make sure she managed her blood pressure with the upping in dose. This medication is actually a Blood Pressure medication that happens to shrink the blood vessels in the Hemangioma. I am planning on taking a picture of her tumor once a month to see the progression. It will likely be gone in 6 month to a year.

Start of medicine

Climbers like looking outside

Hanging out at the Dr.office

We started the potty training process with Austin this month. A couple of moms in my mommies group have used a specific book, "Toilet Training without Tantrums." I gave it a read and it gave me the confidence I needed to jump right in with the cold turkey no pants approach. It only took him 3 days to be accident free if naked. It has been a bit trickier introducing underwear but just today things finally clicked and 2 weeks in, we are on our way to being fully day trained. He has had only one accident during his rare nap time and he has been 50/50 for nighttime. I am not focusing on night training just yet. He will be heading to school later next month so just getting him used to using the potty and wearing clothes is all I am concerned about. I have been so pleased with his progress. Before reading the book my idea was to wait until he was ready after reading the book and discovering that children are always ready but need parental guidance and consistency, I have decided to train the twins next summer when they are 22 months before their birthday. The book suggests that the best window to train is from 18-24 months and it's a learning process just like using a cup or fork. You don't wait until they are ready instead you introduce and teach when it's age appropriate! I love love love this book and philosophy. I have passed on my copy to two friends who are currently training on the N75 program. N for naked and $75 for cleaning your carpets or upholstery when complete hahaha!

I have also found a job and have already started work. A couple weeks ago I applied for a part time job posting on care.com. They liked my application and set up an interview. When they arrived, I knew I had met them somewhere and even stated so when they walked through the door. Once we got talking we discovered that we had mutual friends and that we both had attended a Halloween party hosted my those mutual friends. The rest is history. I am watching baby Leo (6 weeks old) this month on Tuesday and Thursday 12-3 while his mom studies for her Pharmacy Boards and then next month when she returns to work at the hospital I will mostly have him M,W,F part time. She may go full time later this year but definitely next summer when she plans to do her Residency. I am so happy to be earning some money again and so far things have been great! I am glad I held out and waited for the right family and hours I wanted. Things always seem to fall into place if I don't get too worked up over them!

Austin at 9 months

Logan in the same jammies at 11 months

Paul on the weather channel last month

Kelsey and Austin snuggles

Kelsey and Logan snuggles at Grandma and Grandpas

At the zoo with Malia and our 6 kids and super strollers!

Irish dancing in her sleep

Standing for the first time

So cute when they sleep this way

 Next month is a HUGE month for us with the Twins first birthday and checkup! Until then :)