Thursday, May 20, 2010

Long time bloggin'!!!!!

I have been soooo bad at updating this thing!!!! 3 months seriously?????? 3 months have already gone by without an update? You would think I was busy or something. ::))))) Oh my, so much to tell...................
First of all, I'm very sad to say that our camera chip was corrupted so bad, we are unable to retrieve our pics. ::(((( I had so many random pics of them walking, outside playing in the grass and most of all, their first bday pics. :( sooooo sad, but I've learned my lesson the hard way, always download pics as soon as I'm done taking them!!! Luckily, my mom took lots of pictures at their bday party so at least I will have those to remember the day by.

They now have 7 teeth each. Four on top and three on the bottom. I really wish all there teeth would come in at one time. I would take a week of constant slobber, crabbiness, all that goes with teething just so they could be done and not have to go through it again. Anytime you say 'cheese', they wrinkle up their nose, squeeze there eyes and smile!!!! :) cutest thing ever!!!!!

Brinkley officially started walking on April 12th! I put her at the end of our hallway and bribed her with my phone and she walked down the hall, through our living room and into the dining room before falling down!!! I might have been more excited than her, as I was clapping and screaming, "way to go Brinkley!!! you're such a big girl, yaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!! " So I informed our babysitter she was walking. The funny thing is, she would never walk at her house, only at home. :) I have no idea why, but I would ask everyday, so was she walking everywhere? And the answer was always no. She is now walking all the time over there, but for the first few days refused to walk at her house. Yeah, she is her dads child, strange...... ::::)))))))

Braelynn isn't walking on her own, she will stand up in the middle of the room on her own, with no help, walk around toys, couch, chair, etc. But the moment you let go of her little hand, she stops, looks up at you and starts to crawl instead. That's our Braelynn!!!! We have learned not to rush her into anything, she will do it when she is willing and ready. And to be honest, Brinkley walking is enough right now!! :)

Braelynn has always been one to learn quicker with talking anyway. She will sit there and study what you are saying and within minutes, be mocking what you just did. We were looking out the window at the neighbors dog, and it took me three times of asking, what does a dog say? And before I knew it, she was grunting 'ruff ruff.' The same thing when I was teaching her where her head, tummy, ears, etc. were. She picked up on it within minutes!!!! She is soo smart!! She is saying lots of words, the usual: momma, dadda, bottle (bot bot), night night, j j (for Jadyn), no and always shakes her head at same time, shakes her head 'yes' whenever you say the word, etc. Waves bye bye, putting her hand into a fist and opening it over and over, blows very good kisses :) She has more stories than I ever knew existed!!!

Brinkley also says momma, dadda, ba ba (bottle), jj for Jadyn, shakes head for yes and no, waves bye bye sticks her arm straight out, hand open wide and moves her hand back and forth. If you ask if she is going 'night night', she will grab her pillow and put her head down and close her eyes. Then sits up and laughs. She is our climber. I turned my back one day for a split second, and she was up in the recliner, looking out the window!! She will climb on everything, in everything, etc.

They LOVE to be outside playing. Braelynn is terrified of the grass touching her feet. She will sit on the ground with her legs in the air and cry. :))) So I have to lay a blanket down for her, while Brinkley is off running to the nearest tree or to our dogs kennel. We still go on walks almost every night. They got a new twin umbrella stroller for their bday, so we tested that the other night. They sit side by side, so they were talking the whole way!!

On May 12, 2010 was the big day!!!!!!! I'm still in shock that its been a year!!!! Seems like it was yesterday I just had them!!! So bittersweet............... glad they are more active and at an age where they say something new everyday or do something new versus them just sitting around, wrapped up sleeping. On May 15th, we had their bday party at our house, with family and friends on our deck. The weather was beautiful!!!!! Sunny skies and around 70 degrees. Janell made their cakes, which was a two-tiered marbelled orange, purple color. I had two B's on the top. They each had their own cake to blow the candle out and to eat!!! They took after big sister and hardly dug into their cake at all!!!! I took their hands and even smashed it into the cake, but they just barely licked the frosting off their fingers. :( Oh well!!!!

We had their one year pics taken on the 19th, so at least I will have those pics!!! I'm still so upset about losing their pics. :( I guess I could dress them up in their bday outfits again, with their tiaras and take new pics!!! They will never know!! LOL

I hope I'm not forgetting anything since its been forever since I've blogged!!!!! And I will have pics next time too!!! Hopefully it won't happen again!! :)

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

February 2010

What a month!!!!!!!!! I can't believe I even have time to blog!!!! This winter has really taken a toll on me and the whole family. Can you say cabin fever??? Urgh!!!!!!!! I'm so ready to be outside with the girls, playing in the grass, taking walks, going to the park, anything besides being inside!!!
Brinkley is still non-stop go go go! That girl will do whatever she wants, whenever she wants, or tries to. She is very well learning the word 'no', but after you tell her that, she will turn to look at you, smile so damn cute, then turn back around and do it again. Must be the Strickland in her. :) She has turned the DVD player on and off, messed up the cable box, soaked up the remote control with unimaginable amounts of slobber..............you name it!!!! She loves to hang out in Jadyn's room, standing to look in her full length mirror. She has been standing on her own ALOT, and for longer periods of time.............yep, she will be walking, sooooo close. I just know one of these days I will turn around and she will be walking behind me, no longer crawling.

Braelynn is still very layed back. She doesn't move from room to room very often, she is content staying wherever. If you put a book in front of her, she is in heaven. She gets very excited for the ladybug and butterfly books, those are her fav!!! She will start flapping her arms up and down, and start saying 'ooooohhhh oooohhhh'. Sooo cute!!! She is my learner though. She knows where her head, tummy, and her eyes are. The way she shows you where her eyes are is kind of awkward. :) She will lean her head into yours and look straight into your eyes and just smile. :) Babies do the cutest things!!!! She jabbers more and more, and points to things and says something, however I just don't know what the hell she is saying! LOL, I just agree with her and say, yep, thats the TV, table or whatever I think she is looking at. hahaha

Both girls are being really talkative, not just Brae. When they see me making bottles, they will say ba ba ba, and again, get very excited!! We have worked with getting them to drink from sippy cups for the past couple months and Braelynn has mastered it!!! Its probably been over a month ago when she did, since I'm so bad at blogging!!! ::))) But one day, Jadyn was feeding her, so I gave her the sippy cup with her formula in it, went back into the kitchen to make Brinkley's bottle, and by the time I got back into the living room, Brae was done!!!! I think my eyes popped out of my head! She had that gone within 2 mins!!! Brinkley isn't too bad, just wants to chew on the spout instead of drinking from it. :) But she is able to drink out of it, so as soon as those other teeth come in and she doesn't feel the need to chew on everything, she should be fine. We still give their formula in bottles most of the time, but have started doing it through the sippy cups 2x a day instead of bottles.
They looooove the 'cheetos' style puffs from Gerber. And also the yogurt bites. I'm still trying to get them to like most table food, but not as successful as I would like to be. I'm sure with only have 2 teeth each, its a little hard to 'chew.' So I'm not at all worried about it, but would be so much easier for all of us to eat the same thing instead of making separate meals for them and for us. They will take bites of our food, however, most of the time they make the funny looking face and eventually spit it out. I've came to the conclusion that either the texture is way different, or real food actually has taste when they are so use to bland food!!! :) They like spaghettios, soups, cheese, pudding, etc. so thats a start at least.

On Feb. 21, 2010, they were finally baptised at our church, Bethany Church of Christ in Baxter. Both Kip and I's parents, and his sisters family were able to attend. The girls did amazing!!! We had our binky's there for support, but really didn't need them. They just looked at the pastor, like why are you putting water on my forehead???? They have always been really good in church, and everybody always says how well behaved they are and how quiet. I ask, 'would you like to come to my house some afternoon?' Hahahaha, if they only knew............. Afterwards, we went to Newton and ate at Pizza Ranch. They each got their own bracelet with a cross, spring jackets (if we ever get to use them), bonds, and some cute outfits. All in all, it was a successful day!!!









Until the next day..................
Over the weekend, I noticed Brae was sounding really raspy, so by Monday morning, Feb. 22, she was coughing so hard that it sounded like a 'bark.' Yep, need to make a dr's appt. I got her in that afternoon and my intuition was right..............RSV. :( So we got a nebulizer and some meds, and later that afternoon, started our breathing treatments. One vile of medicine, every 4-6 hrs a day. Poor poor baby!!!!! She did excellent though, just sat there............ She had to go back to sleeping in the swing for the next few nights, so she could breath better while sleeping. After 7 days of treatments, she is sounding alot better, but we are still giving them to her for extra precaution. Well, with having twins, if one gets it, the other one is bound to get it too. Sure enough, Thurs. afternoon, Brinkley was starting to cough and sound congested. Breathing treatments for both!!!! What a chore!!!! Sure glad I had Jadyn there to help while Kip was at work, because who knows what they would get into while I was giving the other a treatment!!!





Well, the sickness didn't stop there...................Friday morning, I woke up with a sore throat...........I prayed and prayed I wouldn't get it, but it failed. By Sat. morning, I was full blown into having the worst cold/sinus EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Try being soooo sick, trying to take care of 2 sick babies, and to top it off, having your helper, Jadyn, get sick as well!!!!!!!!!! Can you say LYSOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to drop a disinfecting bomb in my house!!!! This Friday is my designated clean the house day, along with toys, EVERYTHING!!!! So needless to say, this has not been a very fun week!!!!!

Another upside is that Braelynn finally has one of her top teeth!!! On Feb. 28, I felt her top tooth. FINALLY FINALLY!!! Those things have been trying and trying to come through for months! Its her top middle left one, and there is a piece of her gum hanging there, so you cant really see the tooth yet, but can definitely feel it. I haven't been able to tell on Brinkley yet, as she wants to bite my finger off everytime I try to feel, so I'm sure she is not too far behind!!!








Wednesday, January 27, 2010

On the move.....................

Just a week later, on Jan. 11th, 2010, Brinkley has taken off!!!!!!! She is into everything and anything. I will walk from one room to the other and sure enough, she is right behind me. I can't hardly even brush my teeth without knowing where Brinkley will be when I get done. We have officially brought out the baby gate. Now if only we had another one to put at the other end of the living room, all would be good!! I am now using their exersaucer and a bouncy seat to keep her in, however thats not working anymore. Only after a week of crawling, Brinkley is now pulling herself up on everything and walking along the couch or chair. She is also climbing into her bouncy seat all by herself and climbing over my barracades! I think she will be one to walk way before she is one. I want the days back where they just layed there and couldn't move!! :) She walks pretty good by holding your hands, but same thing with crawling. In a blink of an eye, she will be walking all by herself. My babies are growing way too fast! :(










Braelynn, Braelynn, Braelynn....................still just sitting there............. LOL. She is the 'chunkier' of the two, but oh so lazy. :) She makes me laugh, soooo layed back and not a care in the world. I still put her on her tummy and yes, she is getting better at trying to crawl, but she just has no desire. After Brinkley started crawling, I'm beginning to think its a good thing Braelynn isn't yet!! I have a hard enough time keeping up with one, let alone two! Braelynn is our comedian though. She makes the funniest noises and faces. She loves to scream at the top of her lungs and for you to do it back to her. It's like a contest to her and she just laughs. She is still into her 'fake' coughing. I think she just wants all the attention. She has learned how to play 'peek a boo' too. She will put a blanket over her head, wait for you to say 'Where's Braelynn.....where did she go??? and then takes the blanket down and just cracks up laughing!! Sooo cute. Jadyn taught her how to so called 'sign language' the word crazy. If you ask her if she's crazy, she will put both her hands on the side of her head. She is our little entertainer. :)





The other night they were getting ready for their bath, so they just had their diapers on. Braelynn was acting like a sumo wrestler. Hilarious!!!! Kip would make the 'errrrrrrrrr' sound with his arms tightened straight down against his side, and she would mimic him!!! She looked like a little baby sumo when she was doing that! Of course, didn't have time to get the video camera out, and even if I did, I'm sure she wouldn't have done it again. That's just how it works anymore..........

Brinkley is the 'thief' in the house. If I give them each a toy, could be the exact same toy, doesn't matter. Brinkley has to have it!!!!!!!! She will take everything away from Braelynn, including her binky. Braelynn has started sticking up for herself and yells at her everytime she takes something away. Before, she would just sit there and let her do it, but now its a different story. Everything is Brinkley's!!! or so she thinks. :)

I'm really wishing winter was over soon. It takes me an additional 20-30 mins every morning to bundle them up and take them to the car. They are beginning to hate it just as much. They will squirm and cry, just trying to get out of their car seats. Poor babies, I tell them everytime to, "I don't like this either, but Mommy has to do it!" They just don't understand..........







Monday, January 4, 2010

Christmas 2009---Twins First Christmas!!

So much has happened since the last post!! First of all, little miss Brinkley finally cut some teeth!!! On Dec. 24th, I was reaching in her mouth, as I had been doing for about 2 months now and finally felt her first tooth!! Then two days later, Dec. 26th, I felt the other one!! Her two bottom teeth finally broke through. Again, no fever, crabbiness, nothing!! Wow, I'm lucky huh? It's so funny to watch them now, they will move their tongue over their teeth probably wondering what the heck those things are. :)







Our Christmas was very good this year, LOTS of new toys!! I think the twins grasped the concept of waking up early on Christmas morning, because at 5am, they were ready to go!!! They usually wake up around 7-7:30am. Oh well, better get use to it! On Christmas Day, we went to Gma and Gpa Holveck's. They got lots of clothes and toys, plus all three girls got their own pet pillows. Never seen them before, but they are pillows that have a velcro tie, when tied they are in the shape of an animal.......... so cute!!! I think they were worn out, because shortly after opening presents, they fell asleep under the tree using those pillows.





We only stayed for about 3 hours since the weather was not cooperating. Started to snow, so we headed back to Baxter and got ready for another Christmas at Great Gma and Gpa Montgomery's. The only thing I really do not look forward to on Christmas is packing all the kids up, and then unpacking 10 times more stuff when you get home. But it is soooo worth it to see their faces with all their new toys to play with.













Brinkley has been getting up on all fours for the past month now just gearing up to start crawling. Well, the time has come when she started to take off!!!! Just before Christmas, she started crawling!!! The only thing is...................she goes backwards!!! LOL It is the cutest thing!! She can go across the room in 2.2 seconds, she may not 'see' where she is heading, but she gets there. You will know when she gets stuck somewhere and can't go, she will start screaming for help. So no more leaving the room for less than a minute because you have no idea where the little stinker will be!! Braelynn is another story...................she could care less if she crawls or not. She is content just sitting on the floor playing with her toys, blabbering, or whatever!!! I have a feeling not too much longer and she will be following Brinkley's lead. Oh brother!!!!
On Jan. 2nd, 2010; we had Christmas at Gma and Gpa Strickland's. We got more food, munchies, and books!!!!!!! We love to open presents!!!! :)
















Jadyn went to Minnesota with Jamie and Rhonda and the kids on Dec. 31st, so it was just the twins and I to ring in the New Year. Daddy had to work, so we just hung out and ended 2009 playing on the floor and being in bed by 9:30pm. Yep, thats my life anymore. :) But honestly, wouldn't want to have been anywhere else. Then on New Years, started 2010 the same way, playing on the floor. Couldn't get any better than that!!!


Just today, Jan. 4th, I received a text from Daddy saying that Brinkley is now started to crawl forward!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew it wouldn't be too much longer and she would catch on. Can't believe my babies will be 8 months in a week!!! Now if I can just get Braelynn to start crawling............................ :::)))))

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

7 Months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With all the drooling going on, we finally have some teeth!!!!!!! On Nov. 26th, while at Thanksgiving dinner, I felt a 'bump' in Braelynn's mouth. Her first tooth!!!!!!!! You couldn't see it very well, but it was there. She didn't have any problems leading up to her first tooth either. There was never a fever, no fussiness, nothing..........just a LOT of drooling. So hopefully all the others will come through with no problems too. Brinkley, on the other hand, still doesn't have any. :::(((( I thought for sure she would be the first, since she seems to have excess drool 24/7. But I'm sure her time will come as well.
So about a week later, on my birthday actually Dec. 5th, I was feeling in Braelynn's mouth to see if any more appeared. I was feeling the one that had already popped through and thought to myself, Now this tooth sure feels alot bigger than usual???? So I looked in and saw her other bottom one had come through as well!!!! The two bottom teeth can officially be seen and felt!! She loves to put her tongue on them and 'play' with them, sooooo cute!!!!! Brinkley...............still nothing!!! :)

At Thanksgiving dinner, we tried some table food. They wanted nothing to do with it! Some mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. I thought for sure they would like it, since they eat them in baby food, but something was different. I'm sure the 'real' food had more flavor than there bland baby food. They would put it in their mouth, look at me like, 'what are you doing to me?' and spit it back out. After a couple more tries and having the same looks, I gave up and just fed the rest of their baby food. It will come in time I'm sure, but until then.........supplies of baby food will still be bought.

They are now eating dinners of baby food. They have mac and cheese, veg chicken dinner, macaroni beef dinner, and chicken noodles. Some new veggies we have tried are sweet potatoes and turkey, broccoli chicken, and mixed veggies. They like all of them and eat every last spoonful, so all is good. I have started putting juice in sippy cups and all they want to do is 'chew' on them. Braelynn finally got the concept down the other day, and took a big gulp of juice. Startled her a little bit but eventually got the idea.

Brinkley is sooooo close to crawling. She will get up on all fours and rock back and forth. One of these days................... then I will wish for the days back where they couldn't move at all!!! She will scoot backwards all the time, which puts her feet going under the couch, chair, or entertainment stand. Braelynn will get up on all fours too, but no scooting or rocking yet. I'm not in any hurry to get them moving, just enjoying the time now where I can go switch laundry, wash bottles, etc without worrying about what room their in or what they are getting into.

The talking is becoming more and more......................... Daddy will say 'boo' to Braelynn and she tries so hard to say boo. She will put her lips together and start saying, bu bu bu bu but can never get the 'oo' to come out. Hilarious!!!!!!! Brinkley babbles about something, not sure yet what, but she has some stories!!! Hopefully its all good things to say! :)

We got Jadyn's old Johnny Jumper, which is a chair that hangs from a doorway and enables them to jump. Both of them go nuts!!! Bouncing up and down up and down, while laughing. Sometimes Jadyn will hold them up and let them go in a swinging motion and they LOVE it!!!! The laughter won't stop as long as you keep doing that.

The first encounter with Santa happened on Dec. 13th. We went to Bass Pro Shops in Altoona, because Santa visits every weekend to see the kids. We had to wait about an hour before it was our turn to see him, so we toured the store for awhile. They did great considering they had to be in the stroller and surrounded by a huge crowd the whole time. It was finally our turn and I put both of them on his lap together. No crying!!! :::)))) I didn't know how Brinkley would do since she has a little bit of 'stranger anxiety.' Braelynn just stared at him and Brinkley just looked ahead. I got some pics taken and then we were out of there!!

They have mastered sitting up on their own, which they have been able to do for about a month now. They started at 6 months but wasn't sturdy enough to be left alone. Now, they can sit, then get to their tummy's all by themselves!!!

Our schedule is still about the same.

6:30-7am 6oz bottle
7-9:30am playtime, catnap
9:30 5oz bottle
10-12pm playtime
12pm baby food dinner and fruit
12:30-2:30/3 naptime
3:30 6oz bottle
5:30-6 dinner, cereal or baby food and veggie
6:30-8 playtime, catnap
8-8:30pm 6oz nighttime bottle


Now, its getting ready for Christmas. Their first Christmas!!!!! I'm so excited. Luckily, they aren't crawling yet, so the tree is still safe!! Next year might be a different story. I have yet to get some gifts, but plenty of time since I'm a last minute shopper. :)






Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Just playing around............Nov.2, 2009

Rolling, rolling, rolling.................... these babies won't stop rolling......... ::)))


Since their first time 'rolling over' at 3 months, they have finally gotten the whole concept down. Instead of rolling over once, then laying there, they are now rolling over on their tummy, stay until they get mad, then roll back over. Back and forth, back and forth. Brinkley gets so mad being on her tummy!!! I don't know what it is, but she hates being on her tummy for a long period of time. Braelynn usually just hangs out for awhile, looks around and chills.
When they are both on their tummies and facing each other, thats when the 'chatter' begins. I don't know if they are plotting a way to get back at me or what, but they sure do 'talk' to each other alot!! And their facial expressions are priceless!!! But usually they just smile at each other and laugh. We'll see how long that lasts, one of these days they will be tattling on each other and trying to get the other one in trouble.













They are such good, happy babies. Brinkley loves to stand up. Of course, she can't stand on her own yet, but she has some strong little legs!!! Once you pick her up off the floor and have her stand, she is all smiles!!!! There are times when you 'let go' for a split second and she will hold her own, so she might be one of those babies who only crawls for a little bit then eventually walks alot sooner. She scoots pretty good while on her tummy, so probably not too much longer and she will be taking off. Oh boy.................


















Now Braelynn................. she is just a layed back baby. She could lay on the floor and be content for hours upon hours. She is very good at playing and talking one minute, then you turn around and she is asleep. She can fall asleep no matter where she is. She is our chunky monkey, so in turn makes her somewhat 'lazy' as far as being active. Don't get me wrong, she loves to play, but doesn't roll over as much as Brinkley does. Could it be that she has more of her to roll over?????????? :::)))
If you pick her up, and have her sit on your knees, she is in heaven. She will talk talk talk your ear off.
One more week and they will be 6 months, where is the time going???
















My little slobber bucket....................





Playing with daddy on the floor.........................













Braelynn playing in the exersaucer.................



Happy Halloween!!!!!

Our first Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Braelynn was our Bumblebee and Brinkley was a LadyBug. They didn't seem to mind the costumes and kept really warm since the weather was crappy. We stopped at a few houses and ended up at G-ma and G-pa Stricklands for the final stop.