My friend Russell put this link in a comment of one of our blog posts. I thought it was too funny to not promote to the front page.
CureAHC Mouse Model Project Links
7 years ago
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Our Day of Shopping With the Twins: Our Twins Are Serious Chick Magnets
Amy and I took the twins Christmas shopping for several hours today. I noticed a pattern today with every place we went. Our twins are total chick** magnets! My advice for all my single male friends is to get a pair of twins (not ours), dress them up cute (you probably need a woman to help with this part), and take them shopping (pretty much anywhere there are women will do).
When the four of us would walk into a store, Amy would run off to find whatever we were looking for while I would try to not break anything as I maneuvered the kids around in their massive stroller. At every single store, it only took a handful of seconds before I had company. Some strange woman would come right up to me and talk to me and the twins. At two stores today, one of the store's staff called over multiple other people to come check out our babies! And at one of those two places, five members of the staff were talking to me and the twins while Amy noticed an annoyed customer looking for some help.
Some of the ladies would stay and talk to me for ten minutes while Amy was shopping. I heard about their kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, cousins, or just some other children they know. You could tell most of the ladies wanted to pick up our kids so they could hug and kiss them. Thankfully, everyone restrained themselves. (Well, almost everyone...one woman did grab a hold of Caden's feet. :) But I guess that isn't really big of a deal.)
One thing all these women had in common was they all loved the hats Caden and Caroline were wearing. When we go out in public, we normally have the twins wear their special twins hats that Grammy gave us. The hats are pink and blue and say "1 of 2" and "2 of 2." (These hats nicely prevent the problem of someone thinking a child is of the opposite sex even if they are mostly covered up in their stroller.) Today was no exception and our twins were sporting these hats. Here is a picture from a couple weeks ago of the twins in their special twin hats.
When the four of us would walk into a store, Amy would run off to find whatever we were looking for while I would try to not break anything as I maneuvered the kids around in their massive stroller. At every single store, it only took a handful of seconds before I had company. Some strange woman would come right up to me and talk to me and the twins. At two stores today, one of the store's staff called over multiple other people to come check out our babies! And at one of those two places, five members of the staff were talking to me and the twins while Amy noticed an annoyed customer looking for some help.
Some of the ladies would stay and talk to me for ten minutes while Amy was shopping. I heard about their kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, cousins, or just some other children they know. You could tell most of the ladies wanted to pick up our kids so they could hug and kiss them. Thankfully, everyone restrained themselves. (Well, almost everyone...one woman did grab a hold of Caden's feet. :) But I guess that isn't really big of a deal.)
One thing all these women had in common was they all loved the hats Caden and Caroline were wearing. When we go out in public, we normally have the twins wear their special twins hats that Grammy gave us. The hats are pink and blue and say "1 of 2" and "2 of 2." (These hats nicely prevent the problem of someone thinking a child is of the opposite sex even if they are mostly covered up in their stroller.) Today was no exception and our twins were sporting these hats. Here is a picture from a couple weeks ago of the twins in their special twin hats.
I'm wondering how long all this extra attention is going to last. It actually makes shopping take longer. :) Amy has told me about this phenomenon with her trips to Target and HEB. Despite her warning, I was shocked at just how many people (and by people, I almost exclusively mean women) would come talk to us. If I had to take an honest guess at how many people came and talked to us today, I'd say thirty!
** By "chick magnet", I mainly mean "grandma magnet", "mother with kids there magnet", and in one case, "great-grandma magnet."
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
A Couple Quick Videos
For my birthday, I got a cool little camcorder called a Flip Ultra HD. It is really easy to use and lets you quickly take videos. It only takes one second to turn it on and start recording so it perfect for capturing all the cute/funny things kids do. We keep it on the coffee table so we start it up whenever is necessary.
Here are a couple short video montages of the twins over the last couple weeks. Nothing special...just a few things they've done that I like.
Caden
CarolineMonday, December 7, 2009
"Firsts" for the Twins
After the twins two month checkup, we have had several "firsts" for our kids:
- Went out to eat at our first restaurant. Mommy is sad that their first restaurant was Denny's. The host tried to give us two kids menus with crayons. Amy told him they didn't need those yet. Our waitress thought this was very funny. The kids were great at Denny's.
- Went out to eat at Pappasittos. (Mommy wishes this was our first restaurant and might claim that it was.) Grandma went to Pappasittos with us. Again, the kids couldn't have been any better.
- Caroline slept in her crib in her bedroom for the first time. Until then, both kids have slept every night in their twin pack in play.
- The first night Caroline slept in her crib, it was the first night she slept through the entire night (from 9:00pm to 5:30am). Sadly, this was by far the best she has ever slept and she has not duplicated the feat yet.
- Went out in snow for the first time. No one in our family was impressed by this Austin version of a "snow storm."
- Went to church for the first time. Caroline made it all the way through the service. Caden made it about 45 minutes then needed to go outside for a few minutes to burp and spit up all over daddy. Both kids loved the music.
- Caroline made her first trip to HEB with mommy. She never opened her eyes on the trip.
We are looking forward to a whole lot more "firsts" with the twins. I'm sure there will be more than we will ever possibly remember.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Two Month Checkup
The twins had their two month checkup today. Everything went very well and the kids seemed very happy to be there. They love looking around and taking it all in.
This checkup is when the twins got several vaccinations including a squirt of stuff into the mouth and a couple shots. That means they can start going out into the public a little more (though it is still flu season.)
Our little Caden was given his two shots first. He took them about as well as you could possibly hope. He cried for a couple seconds but got over it very quickly. (This is actually the first time he has cried when given any sort of shot/prick to take blood.) And even though he cried, I honestly think the crying was more because he was hungry. Caden was more than an hour behind when he should have eaten. Right after getting his shot, Amy gave him a bottle. (Amy did not want to be anywhere near the kids getting their shots. It just makes her too sad.)
After Caden got his shots, our little Caroline was up. We were pretty sure she would not take it as well as Caden and man, oh, man, she did not disappoint. The nurse gave her the first shot and Caroline started crying loudly. The moment she was poked with the second shot, Caroline let out an incredibly high pitched, ear-piercing scream. It is hard to believe such a loud noise could come out of such a little girl. Sounds like that normally come out of emergency broadcast sirens trying to notify an entire city of a tornado. I'm sure the kids in the waiting room were scared to death that they were going to get the same treatment as her. When it was over, the nurse said, "you can sure tell who the little girl is."
Here are their stats from this visit along with the previous couple visits.
Caroline
two month:
weight: 11 lbs 12 ounces and 75th percentile
height: 23 inches and 75th percentile
one month:
weight: 9 lbs 1 ounces and 50th percentile
height: 20.5 inches and 30th percentile
two week:
weight: 7 lbs 10 ounces and 25th percentile
height: 20 inches and 50th percentile
Caden
two month:
weight: 10 lbs 4 ounces and 25th percentile
height: 22 1/4 inches and 25th percentile
one month:
weight: 7 lbs 13 ounces and 5th percentile
height: 20 inches and 5th percentile
two week:
weight: 6 lbs 4 ounces and 5th percentile
height: 19 inches and 6th percentile
You can see how much the twins are growing and how they are gaining ground in the percentile category. Pretty impressive for twins born four weeks early! Their mother is doing an excellent job providing them food!
This checkup is when the twins got several vaccinations including a squirt of stuff into the mouth and a couple shots. That means they can start going out into the public a little more (though it is still flu season.)
Our little Caden was given his two shots first. He took them about as well as you could possibly hope. He cried for a couple seconds but got over it very quickly. (This is actually the first time he has cried when given any sort of shot/prick to take blood.) And even though he cried, I honestly think the crying was more because he was hungry. Caden was more than an hour behind when he should have eaten. Right after getting his shot, Amy gave him a bottle. (Amy did not want to be anywhere near the kids getting their shots. It just makes her too sad.)
After Caden got his shots, our little Caroline was up. We were pretty sure she would not take it as well as Caden and man, oh, man, she did not disappoint. The nurse gave her the first shot and Caroline started crying loudly. The moment she was poked with the second shot, Caroline let out an incredibly high pitched, ear-piercing scream. It is hard to believe such a loud noise could come out of such a little girl. Sounds like that normally come out of emergency broadcast sirens trying to notify an entire city of a tornado. I'm sure the kids in the waiting room were scared to death that they were going to get the same treatment as her. When it was over, the nurse said, "you can sure tell who the little girl is."
Here are their stats from this visit along with the previous couple visits.
Caroline
two month:
weight: 11 lbs 12 ounces and 75th percentile
height: 23 inches and 75th percentile
one month:
weight: 9 lbs 1 ounces and 50th percentile
height: 20.5 inches and 30th percentile
two week:
weight: 7 lbs 10 ounces and 25th percentile
height: 20 inches and 50th percentile
Caden
two month:
weight: 10 lbs 4 ounces and 25th percentile
height: 22 1/4 inches and 25th percentile
one month:
weight: 7 lbs 13 ounces and 5th percentile
height: 20 inches and 5th percentile
two week:
weight: 6 lbs 4 ounces and 5th percentile
height: 19 inches and 6th percentile
You can see how much the twins are growing and how they are gaining ground in the percentile category. Pretty impressive for twins born four weeks early! Their mother is doing an excellent job providing them food!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thanksgiving Pictures
Here are some pictures of the twins we took of them on Thanksgiving. We will attempt to write more about our Thanksgiving later, but for now, it is just the pictures.
Here are the twins wearing their matching "Thankful for Mommy" outfits. It was harder for their cousins to tell them apart in these outfits.
Here is the proud mother holding both kids. It is still hard to hold both of them at once.
Here are a couple of our sweet Caroline sporting her fancy turkey bow.
Here are the twins wearing their matching "Thankful for Mommy" outfits. It was harder for their cousins to tell them apart in these outfits.
Here is the proud mother holding both kids. It is still hard to hold both of them at once.
Here are a couple of our sweet Caroline sporting her fancy turkey bow.Here is Caden in his Thanksgiving clothes. Instead of a bow, he got this cool hat from Amy's friend Tiffany.
Doesn't Caden look like he is scheming something the way he is rubbing his chin in this hat?
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Dad and Peggy Visiting the Twins
Last weekend, my dad and his wife, Peggy, came to Austin to visit the twins. The kids had a lot of fun having Grandpa and Mimi (Amy likes Mimi but we haven't firmed up a name) come to visit.
They were a big help playing with the kids and doing little chores around the house. Amy and I are still eating leftovers from a giant pot roast they made for us one night! They even watched the kids for a few hours while Amy took me out to celebrate my birthday at Joe Dimaggio's. I had an awesome steak. It had been a long time since I had a good steak...
With everything my dad and Peggy did on their visit, Amy and my favorite part was how they fed the kids during the early morning shift (somewhere between 5:00 and 7:00 am) while Amy and I tried to play catchup on our sleep. We are ALWAYS willing to take in ANY visitors who will take a night/early morning shift feeding our kids while we sleep. :)
Here is a picture of Grandma and Mimi holding out little ones. I think it even looks like Caroline is smiling...though she did blink in the photo. And by blink, I mean close her eyes for a multi-hour nap.
They were a big help playing with the kids and doing little chores around the house. Amy and I are still eating leftovers from a giant pot roast they made for us one night! They even watched the kids for a few hours while Amy took me out to celebrate my birthday at Joe Dimaggio's. I had an awesome steak. It had been a long time since I had a good steak...
With everything my dad and Peggy did on their visit, Amy and my favorite part was how they fed the kids during the early morning shift (somewhere between 5:00 and 7:00 am) while Amy and I tried to play catchup on our sleep. We are ALWAYS willing to take in ANY visitors who will take a night/early morning shift feeding our kids while we sleep. :)
Here is a picture of Grandma and Mimi holding out little ones. I think it even looks like Caroline is smiling...though she did blink in the photo. And by blink, I mean close her eyes for a multi-hour nap.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Professional Pictures of the Twins
On Saturday, November 7th, we had our good friend Courtney (of Courtney Sprague Photography) take pictures of Caden and Caroline. It took the better part of a Saturday to take all the pictures but I think it was worth it. Both Courtney and the twins did a really good job.
It is very hard to get a good picture of the two of them together. You need both of them to be still, posed close to one another in a nice position, doing the same thing with their eyes (closed or open looking at the same thing), etc. Despite all those challenges, we did get several good together shots.
We aren't showing some of our favorite pictures just yet. They will likely make their way into baby announcements, Christmas cards, and possibly Christmas presents for grandparents. Here are some of our favorites we are ready to show.
It is very hard to get a good picture of the two of them together. You need both of them to be still, posed close to one another in a nice position, doing the same thing with their eyes (closed or open looking at the same thing), etc. Despite all those challenges, we did get several good together shots.
We aren't showing some of our favorite pictures just yet. They will likely make their way into baby announcements, Christmas cards, and possibly Christmas presents for grandparents. Here are some of our favorites we are ready to show.
Here are the kids posing with the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls Amy's grandma made for Amy so many years ago.
Amy really likes pictures of baby feet.
That is a big yawn, Caden! I love how Caden has his arm around Caroline on her shoulder in the next few pictures.
We love our pacifiers.
Pictures of Caden (by Courtney)
Here are some of our favorite pictures of Caden that Courtney took. Caden does not like posing as much as his big sister.
Our little guy wearing his monogrammed onesie.
This is as close as we got to a naked baby picture with Caden. Caden does not like being naked and will normally not cooperate. Also, with a diaper off, there is a good chance Caden will pee everywhere at some point. Courtney had a diaper cover we used to make his diaper look nicer.
Cute Caden making a little face. I wonder what he was thinking here...
Our little guy wearing his monogrammed onesie.
This is as close as we got to a naked baby picture with Caden. Caden does not like being naked and will normally not cooperate. Also, with a diaper off, there is a good chance Caden will pee everywhere at some point. Courtney had a diaper cover we used to make his diaper look nicer.
Cute Caden making a little face. I wonder what he was thinking here...
Here is mommy calming down her sweet baby boy so he can pose for some more pictures.
Here is one of the first ones Courtney took of Caden.
Pictures of Caroline (by Courtney)
Here are some of the pics our friend Courtney took of Caroline. Between Caden and Caroline, Caroline was definitely the better poser. When she is asleep, you just position her however you want and she normally just takes it.
Amy really wanted a picture of Carline in a tutu. I think the tutu pictures are some of my favorite ones of the day.
Courtney had this hat on hand for us to use. It reminds me of a 1920s style hat. I think Carline pulled it off nicely.
Amy's grandma made a Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls for Amy when you was a new born. Here is Raggedy Ann posing with our sweet little Caroline.
Soooo cute...
Amy really wanted a picture of Carline in a tutu. I think the tutu pictures are some of my favorite ones of the day.
Courtney had this hat on hand for us to use. It reminds me of a 1920s style hat. I think Carline pulled it off nicely.
Amy's grandma made a Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls for Amy when you was a new born. Here is Raggedy Ann posing with our sweet little Caroline.
Soooo cute...
Courtney bought a couple poofy baby hats for the twins to try on. Here is Caroline posing with her hat.
And here is the traditional naked baby picture.
And here is the traditional naked baby picture.Little Caroline wearing her monogrammed onesie.
Jason's Un-Birthday Day
Jason's birthday was this week, but, if you were at our house, you wouldn't know it at all! It seems that life really is all about the kids right now.
You see, I normally try to make a big deal out of his birthday, I make a special dessert, we have a special meal and there are always lots of presents! This year was supposed to be no different, but, instead, turned out to be as low key as birthday's come.
First, I think that sweet Caroline may have known it was her Daddy's special day and probably wanted to spend a few additional hours with him. That's why she had her worst night of sleep since birth! Jason was up with her late the night before his birthday, I conveniently slept through the crying. Funny thing is, he finally got her to sleep at around 11:45. At midnight, she started crying again, not knowing that he had been up with her so long, I punched his side and told him it was his turn ;) Oops!
After that, we had multiple feedings in the middle of the night, 2:00 am and 6:00 am. I had planned on doing the feedings on my own, we stagger their feedings so that I can easily feed them during the day on my own.....but that night was different....both kids woke up hungry at the same time and I forced Jason to stumble out of bed to help me.
Needless to say, the rest of the day with the kids was exhausting. Jason got home from work a little early that day....and I took the opportunity to take a nap. I slept two full hours while he took care of the kids.
That night, instead of a normal birthday dinner, we had leftover Taco Soup. Jason had to heat up his own bowl. To my credit, I had planned on ordering pizza (Jason's favorite), but his team went to Double Daves during lunch, so, he came home already overloaded on pizza that day.
I did actually make Jason a cake. The problem is, I slightly overcooked it because I was busy with the kids when the timer went off. When I cut Jason a piece of cake, I tried to get the well cooked portion - that didn't happen. His piece was all dry. My piece? Well, my piece was delicious! Apparently I couldn't tell which portion of the cake was overcooked!
Although there were no presents from me this year, I did manage to get a card, and we decided to buy a Flip Mino for his birthday --- that means lots of videos will be posted to the blog soon!
Here are a few pictures of Jason and the kids over the last few weeks. They love their daddy!
You see, I normally try to make a big deal out of his birthday, I make a special dessert, we have a special meal and there are always lots of presents! This year was supposed to be no different, but, instead, turned out to be as low key as birthday's come.
First, I think that sweet Caroline may have known it was her Daddy's special day and probably wanted to spend a few additional hours with him. That's why she had her worst night of sleep since birth! Jason was up with her late the night before his birthday, I conveniently slept through the crying. Funny thing is, he finally got her to sleep at around 11:45. At midnight, she started crying again, not knowing that he had been up with her so long, I punched his side and told him it was his turn ;) Oops!
After that, we had multiple feedings in the middle of the night, 2:00 am and 6:00 am. I had planned on doing the feedings on my own, we stagger their feedings so that I can easily feed them during the day on my own.....but that night was different....both kids woke up hungry at the same time and I forced Jason to stumble out of bed to help me.Needless to say, the rest of the day with the kids was exhausting. Jason got home from work a little early that day....and I took the opportunity to take a nap. I slept two full hours while he took care of the kids.
That night, instead of a normal birthday dinner, we had leftover Taco Soup. Jason had to heat up his own bowl. To my credit, I had planned on ordering pizza (Jason's favorite), but his team went to Double Daves during lunch, so, he came home already overloaded on pizza that day.
I did actually make Jason a cake. The problem is, I slightly overcooked it because I was busy with the kids when the timer went off. When I cut Jason a piece of cake, I tried to get the well cooked portion - that didn't happen. His piece was all dry. My piece? Well, my piece was delicious! Apparently I couldn't tell which portion of the cake was overcooked!
Although there were no presents from me this year, I did manage to get a card, and we decided to buy a Flip Mino for his birthday --- that means lots of videos will be posted to the blog soon!
Here are a few pictures of Jason and the kids over the last few weeks. They love their daddy!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Five Weeks Old
Last Saturday, our kids turned five weeks old. Apparently, I didn't take very many pictures of the kids during their fifth week (other than Halloween pics of course). Here is one of the two of them resting on a play mat. This is where we normally torture them with tummy time.
Here is Caden wearing one of our favorite onezees. He wont fit into this newborn outfit for much longer! Caroline has already out grown her new born clothes and I'm sure Caden will be following soon.
Here is Caden wearing one of our favorite onezees. He wont fit into this newborn outfit for much longer! Caroline has already out grown her new born clothes and I'm sure Caden will be following soon.
A Few More Halloween Pictures
I didn't take as many pictures on Halloween as I should have. Here is one of the Baker family trick-or-treating at Grammie and Pappa's house. The Bakers dressed up as community helpers including a doctor, policeman, nurse, fire fighter and garbage man. At first, Cal was pretty upset about having to dress up. After he realized people gave him candy for doing so, he became much more agreeable.
Halloween was the first time Caden and Caroline rode in their stroller. We walked around with the Bakers as they gathered candy from the neighbors. The twins must have found the stroller relaxing because they slept in it the entire time.
Here is Caden posing with his haul for the night...
Here are a couple of Cal enjoying a popcorn ball. 
Halloween was the first time Caden and Caroline rode in their stroller. We walked around with the Bakers as they gathered candy from the neighbors. The twins must have found the stroller relaxing because they slept in it the entire time.
Here is Caden posing with his haul for the night...
Here are a couple of Cal enjoying a popcorn ball. 
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Halloween!
Our Halloween plan is to head over to Grammie and Pappa's to hang out with them and Amy's brother's family. We are not sure if C&C are going to go trick or treating tonight with the Baker kids. The twins might just help pass out candy.
We didn't do much in the line of Halloween costumes but I think the kids pull it off. We went with matching "My 1st Halloween" outfits.
Our angelic Caroline.
Our stoic little man.
Once they finish jockeying for position, Caden and Caroline enjoy laying close to each other.
We didn't do much in the line of Halloween costumes but I think the kids pull it off. We went with matching "My 1st Halloween" outfits.
Our angelic Caroline.
Our stoic little man.Here is Caroline bullying Caden to get some more room. Caden must be having flashbacks to being in the womb with his big sister taking all the space she can get.
Once they finish jockeying for position, Caden and Caroline enjoy laying close to each other.
Monday, October 26, 2009
One Month Checkup
The twins had their one month checkup today. They are very healthy and everything looked good. Caroline weighed in at 9 lbs 1 ounces and Caden weighed 7 lbs 13 ounces. Both of them were quite a bit heavier than I was expecting. They gained almost two ounces a day since our last doctor visit!
Happy One Month Birthday!
One month ago today, our twins were born! Amy and I could not ask for better babies. We are so thankful Caden and Caroline are such laid back little babies that eat and sleep very well and are very healthy. (Today should be their 3 day birthday and not their one month bday.) It would have been much harder raising twins if even one of them was a tough baby. Hopefully Caden and Caroline will continue blessing Amy and I with how good they are. :)
Amy loves baking so she made a batch of cupcakes in honor of our twins. Both twins loved the chocolate frosting we gave them! Especially Caroline. She licked all of it off my finger. I bet she would like some chocolate breast milk.
Here are some pictures I took of our twins posing with their cupcakes. We couldn't get a good one of them together or one with their eyes open but we got several good individual sleeping shots. (The cupcakes are extra large so they make the kids look smaller than they actually are.)
Amy loves baking so she made a batch of cupcakes in honor of our twins. Both twins loved the chocolate frosting we gave them! Especially Caroline. She licked all of it off my finger. I bet she would like some chocolate breast milk.
Here are some pictures I took of our twins posing with their cupcakes. We couldn't get a good one of them together or one with their eyes open but we got several good individual sleeping shots. (The cupcakes are extra large so they make the kids look smaller than they actually are.)
Oh, and I'm totally kidding about letting them eat some cupcake. Amy and I were the only ones who partook in the special treat. :)
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Happy Due Date and 4 Weeks!
Today is the big day!! October 24th! Well, at least, it should have been. The twins are officially due today, but, instead of celebrating their birth, we're celebrating their 4 week birthday. I'm sure glad we didn't have to wait until today to meet them! Here are a few pics of our kiddos over the last 4 weeks.
Our sweet Caroline. She's starting to laugh, smile and interact. She doesn't know it yet, but she's got her daddy wrapped around her fingers already!
Here are a few pics of our precious Caden. He is around 7 lbs now (we'll know for sure after our doctor appointment Monday) but we still call him our little man. He is just a bit more subdued than his big sister. Caden seems to get bigger and bigger with each day!
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