Look How Much We've Grown (Part 2)

As I promised, here are some pictures of the kids sitting in their car seats back when they were born and now. I remember how tiny they both were in the hospital. We actually needed to use multiple blankets to boost them up just so they could be strapped in. Doesn't Caden look like a little peanut on his "before"?

Snow in Austin

I've seem more snow in Texas this year than I can remember. We had a white Christmas in Dallas and now snow in Austin. We didn't get twelve inches like Dallas did a couple weeks ago but we did get two inches where we live. That's enough to actually stick. I saw tons of dirty little snowmen with grass poking out of the snow balls.

Here is the view from our front porch.
Here is our house. If we had more grass and less driveway, it might have looked a little more impressive. :)
Here is our little waterfall in our backyard.
Amy and I talked about taking the kids out into the snow and getting some pictures but the kids decided they would rather take naps (and mommy and daddy decided we would rather let them take naps). Maybe we'll get pictures next time we get a snow like this. My guess is they will be 9 years old and it will be January 2019.

Better Night at the Cases

Caden did great last night. He slept all night and was in a good mood. Caroline got up a little early but not really a big deal. Oh, Caroline did spit up all over me again this morning. I sure hope she is not getting back to that habit...though she does seem to think its funny when she spits up.

Rough Night at the Case House

Caden had a tough night last night. It was by far the worst night he has had in a long time. He woke up several times screaming and would not calm down. Normally, plugging his mouth with a pacifier or holding him calms him down immediately. Neither of these worked last night. We are not sure if he is feeling sick or what but he sure did limit our sleep last night...especially mommy's who spent a lot of the time just holding him. (Both daddy and Caden are appreciative of mommy for this.)

After our rough night, I decided to help Amy out a little by feeding Caroline before heading into work. As I was feeding her, I was telling her how proud I was of her for sleeping through the night and not making our night any more difficult. As those words came out, Caroline had a case of projectile vomit and soaked me. Thankfully, I was not yet dressed for work. Caroline rarely does this anymore so it was definitely a special moment for the two of us.

Hopefully, tonight (and tomorrow morning) will be better. :)

Goodbye Old Header Image...

You served us well but I think it is time for the twins need to make an appearance.



I'm still working on creating a new image but I wanted to save the old one so Amy and I could remember it. :)

Simply Irresistible!

I may be biased, but I think Caden has an extremely kissable and loveable face! Apparently, the ladies in the church nursery agree! Here is a pic of Caden after I picked him up last week. He had lip stick marks on his face and his hat! It wasn't even from someone working there...it was from some lady that came in and just thought he was too cute to not kiss.Here are a few more pictures of our little man. We think he's just about the cutest thing around! This is one of my favorite pictures of Caden. Check out that slobber running down his chin.
Caden in his Jumperoo --- he's too small to jump yet, his feet don't touch the ground, but that doesn't stop him from hanging out and licking everything he can on it!Caden's favorite thing to do is stand up. Here is his latest party trick. He loves standing up by himself (and a couch) and can do it for several minutes. Eventually, he will either sit down or topple sideways like a tree falling over. Either way, that doesn't bother him at all.

Some Firsts (or Almost Firsts) for the Twins

Here is the first time Caroline did a good job at tummy time. We were so proud of her. This happened all of a sudden. She screamed her head off during tummy time just the day before this video. Something just clicked and she got it. Ever since this day, she has been much better at tummy time.

Both Caden and Caroline like touching the bottle when we feed them. However, they normally end up accidentally pushing it away. But here, Caden held it and drank all by himself! He will do this every once in awhile now but we still have to feed him almost all the time.

Caden hates tummy time. He hates it so much, he has learned to roll over. This is actually the second time he rolled over. I think he actually makes it look easy. It is a slow controlled turnover.

Caroline first rolled over about a month ago and did it three times in row. However, she has yet to do it since. When Caroline rolled over, she mainly used her head mass to flip her body over.

Valentine's Day Photo Shoot

In honor of Valentine's Day, we had a little photo shoot of our kids. Here are some of my favorite pics.

The Twins in Their Cribs

The first video is what it is like to get Caroline out of her bed. She is always so happy to see whoever is coming to get her and she gives them the biggest smile. Amy and I fight over who gets to go get her out of her crib. :) Here is a video I made after she woke from a nap. Normally, she gives an even bigger smile but she always seems to tone it down for the camera.

Here is our little man enjoying his mobile. He got it for Christmas from Grandpa and Mimi.

Caroline likes hanging out in Caden's crib watching his mobile and Caden loves having his big sister with him. He spends a lot of time just staring at her.

Look How Much We've Grown

The first picture is of the twins at one week. The second is them at four months. you can really see how much they've grown when you see them in the pack 'n play. They used to fit on one side together with plenty of room to spare. Now, they are almost too big entirely.
I'll need to take a similar picture of them in their car seats. I still remember how tiny Caden looked in his.

Some Pictures from January

As I promised, here are some pictures of the twins over the last month.

Here is Caroline being cute. She smiles all the time but we just can't get a picture of it. Anytime we bust out a camera, she quickly stops and just stares at the thing. Amy and I have been talking about different ways we can try to camouflage the camera so she doesn't recognize it immediately.
Here is our little peanut. We try hard to not let the kids suck on their hands but they still manage to do it despite our effort.Another one of our sweetie.
Caden sure knows how to relax. :) A couple minutes before taking this picture, Caden was sitting up on the couch. But then he fell asleep and fell over.Caroline knows how to relax as well. I'm not sure she could stretch out any more than she is here.
I think this picture is funny but I'm sure most of y'all will just find it gross. :) It was from when Caden was sick and was spitting up stuff multiple times a day. He sure nailed mommy good at this time! Oh, in case you are wondering, this is nothing compared to what Caroline spits up. Picture this times twenty! She would make your entire shirt and pants look like Amy's sleeve!Here are a couple pictures of Caroline showing off one of their Christmas presents. It is a Johnny Jumpup. We need to get a good picture of Caden in it. He is the one who enjoys it the most. They are both still a little to small to bounce nicely but they still love it.
Here is Grandma with her grandkids. Caroline is sporting a new outfit from Grandma. Caden has a similar one but is not wearing it at the moment.

Four Month Checkup

Here comes a long post with no pictures (sorry about that...I'll try to post some pics soon) talking about everything that happened at the twins four month checkup. Last week, Amy and I took the kids to the doctor for their four month checkup. I can't believe it has already been four months.

Caroline was awesome at tummy time for the doctor. It was the best she had ever done. Caden, on the other hand, was very upset about something and cried the entire time. He didn't pick his head up at all. Caden calmed down soon after that.

The twins needed to get another batch of vaccines at this checkup. Once again, tough Caden didn't make a peep at the first shot and only started crying after the second shot. Caroline screamed immediately but it was slightly quieter than the last time.

After asking about how much the kids sleep, the doctor told us the twins were sleeping very well (it doesn't always seem that way to us) and it was time for us to start trying to get them on a better sleeping schedule. Caroline normally makes it through the night. Caden will sleep most of the night but will wake up between 2 and 10 times wanting a pacifier. The doctor recommended that we let him cry for a little while before we rush in and give him the pacifier. So far, that has not gone well but we will keep trying.

During the two month checkup, the doctor told us to give the kids vitamins. Well, those vitamins make the twins breath stink for hours and permanently stains anything it touches. Amy ranted to the doctor for several minutes about this and the doctor suggested another brand of vitamins we could try. We are hoping the new brand works better. Also, the doctor gave us a speech on why we should not give the twins rice cereal yet. I think she expected the need to convince us but we plan to do whatever she thinks is best. Also, I think it is easier to not introduce some new food. We are still struggling enough with just breast milk.

Below are there stats from this visit (and the previous visits).

Caroline

four month:
weight: 13 lbs 6 ounces and 45th percentile
height: 25 inches and 75th percentile
head circumference: 41.3 cm and 50th percentile

two month:
weight: 11 lbs 12 ounces and 75th percentile
height: 23 inches and 75th percentile
head circumference: 39.4 cm and 53rd percentile

one month:
weight: 9 lbs 1 ounces and 50th percentile
height: 20.5 inches and 30th percentile
head circumference: 36.5 cm and 25th percentile

two week:
weight: 7 lbs 10 ounces and 25th percentile
height: 20 inches and 50th percentile
head circumference: 35.4 cm and 25th percentile

birth:
weight: 7 lbs
height: 19.375 inches
head circumference: 34 cm and 25th percentile

Caden

four month:
weight: 12 lbs 11 ounces and 10th percentile
height: 24 inches and 25th percentile
head circumference: 41cm and 20th percentile

two month:
weight: 10 lbs 4 ounces and 25th percentile
height: 22 1/4 inches and 25th percentile
head circumference: 38.2 cm and 12th percentile

one month:
weight: 7 lbs 13 ounces and 5th percentile
height: 20 inches and 5th percentile
head circumference: 35.8 cm and 6th percentile

two week:
weight: 6 lbs 4 ounces and 5th percentile
height: 19 inches and 6th percentile
head circumference: 33.9 cm and 5th percentile

birth:
weight: 5 lbs 10 ounces
height: 18.125 inches
head circumference: 32.3cm and <5th>

Both kids dropped a little in the weight percentile but held strong in the height category. I think the weight was affected by when they were sick. Both kids barely ate anything for a week when they were sick. Also, according to our sheet, there was only a 0.3 cm difference in their head circumferences but 30 percentile points. I'm thinking the nurse might have written one of them down wrong. I think Caroline's head looks more than 0.3 cm larger than Caden's.

We don't have another planned doctor visit until they are six months old. I wonder how big they will be by then.

The kids have been great the last few days since the four month checkup. The vaccine did not affect them adversely at all. Both have been eating better than ever before. They consistently drink the entire bottle (which was rare before) and they do it in 10-20 minutes (which never happened). They even get a little upset when will pull the bottle out to burp them. Caroline has even stopped her happy spitting (mostly). Caroline has also improved greatly at tummy time. We now have hope that she will learn to crawl someday. :) As for sleeping, all of a sudden, they go to bed earlier, sleep longer at night, and have long morning and afternoon naps. It is not all to regular yet, but we are getting there. Maybe Amy and I are starting to get the hang of this parenting twins thing.

...okay, maybe I should have said that last part.