Photo shoot!

We had a photo shoot done just after Christmas, and here are some of the results....

Video testing, 1 2 3

Our birthday present to the boys...

Fun for playing with...

And trapping cats.

Updated pictures!

Check here for new pictures- including a trip to Valley Forge and their first birthday. If you have any pictures to add, let me know and I can share them with this group.

New things

Micah is really into playing ball right now, which is fun. He does a sort of back hand flick which is surprisingly accurate.

Phin has taken three independent steps.

Both boys have taken to communicating by flapping the back of their hand against their mouth as they talk, producing a bah bah bah sound. They copy each other which is cute.

Earlier and earlier... Micah starts fussing around 4 or 5 every morning, and we manage to get them to stay down until 6 on a good day but man it's not a fun 2 hours.

Pushing the boundaries

They are figuring out escape routes. The cat tower is way more interesting than the hundreds of toys they have, anyway.

That face!

Nice day outside

Food envy.

Man, these babies eat well. Lately, they've been having days like this:

Breakfast appetizer: fancy fancy whole milk
Breakfast: eggs with spinach and parmesan, buttered sprouted grain toast, strawberries
Lunch: fancy fancy whole milk, peanut butter and banana, cheerios
Dinner: homemade meatballs with spaghetti, marinara
Bedtime snack: fancy fancy whole milk

By fancy fancy I mean hormone free, which is almost always also automatically aorganic (can't break that alliteration record at the end though so I took some liberties with spelling organic). Pediatrician said if you can deal with the cost it's a pretty good idea to do hormone free dairy and meat.

I try to plan meals that everyone can eat, at least for dinner (like spaghetti)... we're slowly moving beyond the blender stage which is awesome. Andrew got a milkshake the other night and all I could think of was how it was like adult baby food.

Splish splash

Bath time is pretty fun for all concerned.

Breakout!

Somebody really loves his bunny ears

Seriously. This kid likes having them on. I see him in a dinosaur costume and bunny ears simultaneously in the near future.

Immersive play.

 Phin wanted to be as close to the toys as possible. He crawled in there and out of there all by himself!

One year appointment

Had our one year appointment on Thursday, and the results are in:

Micah is 30" long and weighs 22 pounds 6 ounces, 47.5cm head circumference in case you were wondering.
Phineas is 31" long and weighs 21 pounds 9 ounces, 48.5 head circ.
Micah is still very average, Phin is under for weight and over for height... but it's all good.

Officially done with formula, as soon as we finish off the current container! On to equally expensive hormone free fancy fancy whole cow milk. And sunblock research. The doctor's opinion on the recent trend of waking up screaming at 5:30am every morning- nightmares. Or a phase. Just as I thought, but equally unhelpful as my thoughts:-(.

Phin was interested in the paper on the table last time, but he ripped two yards (only what was out, I swear) of it to shreds while waiting for the doctor- he and Micah flapped the paper pieces frantically while laughing hysterically. This was of course before Charles the nurse came in.

Had three shots, I think the tears will just keep getting worse from here on out... they are starting to figure out what Charles is doing when he brings in the orange trays. Too young to bribe yet, sigh.

As an end note, perhaps I've made Dr. Kadow and Charles sound bad. They are not. Dr Kadow is awesome and my initial reaction to her when we met before the boys were born is that she seemed like someone I'd go out for happy hour with. Charles is an amazing albeit loud nurse.

Playground fun.

If the hat fits...

Grandma H, the hats fit now! Also, I'm sure the outfits matched when I picked them out in the morning... ah, daylight.

5:30 and teeth and sharing

If my patience were a piece of clothing, it has been worn, stretched, stained, scrubbed, and laundered daily since these guys were born. I think at this point it's safe to say its consistency is tissue thin and it's starting to rend. 

The boys have been getting up around 5:30 pretty regularly lately, and I've been trying to go to bed earlier to match. This means, however, that dishes, laundry, and meal prep do not happen in the evening...  I thought I'd be able to get SOME of it done with such an early start, but these guys just do not behave on their own for more than five minutes at a time. Micah's getting his other incisor and has this ear-crinkling, whiny, half-hearted, continuous noise emitting from his rosebud lips from wakeup onward. They also are showing a strong preference to play with only the toy their brother finds most interesting at the moment, ignoring the 83 other colorful objects littering the carpet. The coveted object in question causes more obnoxiousness, like:

• Phin has approximately three emotional states: hysterically happy, pleasant/content, and face-wrinkling, charlie brown mouthed bawling. The last is the result if Micah succeeds in taking his toy.
• Poked eyeballs
• Tiny baby claw scratches
• Shoving each other into furniture or onto the floor
• Hitting each other with tiny mallets, pinwheels, or the plastic gas tank that came with the lawnmower.

Does anyone have a new patience shirt I could take off your hands? The thicker the fabric, the better. Maybe patience carharts would be the way to go. 

Busy weekend and more teeth

What a hullabaloo of a weekend. Andrew's parents and sister Sarah were here to visit, we went down to the Cherry Blossom Festival Saturday in some beautiful weather. The boys were well behaved and man I'm glad we got that double umbrella stroller- it was fantastic in Disney and was fantastic Saturday. SO MANY PEOPLE downtown that day, it was ridiculous. Really makes a person a tad more aware of our population size. The cherry trees were beautiful though. 

Immediately upon return to the house, Andrew and I skedaddled over to help with a friend's non-profit fundraiser and the boys got some quality time with grammy, pop pop, Aunt Sarah, and Susanne. Sunday was church and lots of outdoor time- neither boy was especially sure of the grass... we sat them down in the lawn, and after touching the grass a few times they drew up their legs and hands like a turtle and looked most displeased until we put a blanket down for them to sit on. 

Micah's top two teeth have been on the move! The left incisor broke through this weekend and the right should make an appearance very soon. Phin's current count is seven- four on top, three on the bottom.

A walk in the park.

The new lawn mower

A visit to Harper's Ferry with Sanne and Bettina

Today the boys got up extra early and crotchety and clumsy. I'm glad Phin likes to cuddle but this morning he kept bumping his head or losing his balance and wailing for attention- easily remedied, and I'm sure I'll miss it before long. I'm going to have to wait a little longer though before cutting back on coffee. Oh boy.

Susanne and Bettina (another fabulous german au pair) took the boys to Harper's Ferry for a hike a week or two back. I think they had fun.

Birthday gifts.

Phin has been taking some tentative steps with the help of their new toy lawn mower. They both love that toy, and Micah has been chewing on the nozzle of the gas can accessory, offering a drink to us if we're nearby. We'll have to clarify that gasoline is not for consumption at some point, I suppose. Micah and Phin love the bubbles- we blew some inside for their birthday- but the cats are torn between chasing them or hiding from them.

Thanks to all for the many gifts- we're looking forward to the outdoor toys as the weather warms- especially the wagon from Aunt Sandy.

Happy Birthday!

April 7th, 2014... eons ago. We both worked from home that day- it was a Monday. Dreary rain all day- we quietly tapped away at our laptops on the second floor, taking a break to have lunch at Urban BBQ. Andrew reversed and went over the speed bump in our parking lot a couple times to help speed things along. I was so unmotivated and tired in the late afternoon- so impatient to get the pregnancy stuff over with. My water broke at 5:45 (while cleaning, of course) and by 9:39 pm our family had doubled and our lives would never be the same.

This year has been full of more joy and stress than either of us has known, but I think it's safe to say the former makes up for the latter by far. Happy first birthday, Micah and Phineas. We're so glad to be your parents.

A year in review

Happy Easter!

The boys will be a year old on Tuesday... hard to believe. Here is the album where we've been collecting as many photos and videos as possible- enjoy.

I'm not a big believer in huge parties for one year olds, but we're going to have some fun today. Both sets of grandparents plus more family, cute outfits, balloons and a cake smash will be involved. Pictures to come soon.

Standing and foam blocks in April

Grandma and Grandpa's in March

Bandanna boys in March

Trying for a reese's cup and being cute in February