Tummy Time

I finally realized the other day that I NEVER put the twins on the floor or give them tummy time (probably because there is a 21 month old running around that wouldn't think twice about running over them and/or jumping on them).   So, when Brecken in playing in the basement or taking a nap (so it is safe), I have been trying to put the twins on their tummies - and they really seem to like it.  It does seem to wear them out - they both fell asleep shortly after being put back on their backs.  It is really fun to watch them try to lift their heads up - they are figuring it out.  And you might be saying to yourself, "who takes so many pictures of babies on the floor?".  Don't worry, I have taken a ton more (I just can't help myself)!!

10-weeks old

The twins are now 11-weeks old (as of 2 days ago) - but these pictures are from when they were 10-weeks old.  I just can't believe how big they are getting and how fast they are growing up.  They will laugh and smile when you look at them and they love to be tickled.  Cameron is already growing out of his 6-month sized clothes.  Kesley is almost out of her 3-month sized clothes.  Last night Kesley slept for 7 hours before getting up and Cameron slept for 9 hours - I love these babies!  

2-month Check-up

Yesterday the twins finally had their 2-month check-up (just over 2 weeks late).  But, with them having been so sick right when they turned 2-months old, they couldn't have had their "well" child check-up anyways.  Dr. Johnson was very happy with how big they are and how healthy they are.  He said they are perfect - I would have to agree.  Dr. Johnson was happy to hear that Cameron can sleep 9 hours straight at night (and does pretty regularly) and that Kesley sleeps about 6 hours straight almost every night.  Now if I could just get Kesley to sleep as long as Cameron - but she is still doing great so I am not complaining.  Hopefully I can start to get them on some kind of schedule (ha ha).  The pictures above aren't very good - let's just say they weren't very happy the rest of the day after getting 3 shots each (use to be 5 shots but 3 got combined).  I couldn't get either one of them to smile or even really look happy (which is not normal for them).  They are fabulous babies!  Here are their stats (in case it is hard to read above):

Cameron

Length:  25 1/4" (above 97%)

Weight:  16 lbs 1 oz (above 97% - but still smaller than Dallin & Brecken at this age)

Head Cirm:  40.6 cm (above 50% - his head seems bigger than that to me)

Kesley

Length:  23 3/4" (95%)

Weight:  13 lbs 11 oz (above 97% - more than 2 lbs lighter than Cameron but still big compared to other girls)

Head Cirm:  40.3 cm (above 75%)

Blessing Day

We blessed the twins in our home on August 1, after Dallin's baptism.  He was very happy to share such a special day with the twins.  It was a wonderful and busy day.  Luckily, when Amanda was at our house early this summer, she took FABULOUS pictures of the twins in their blessing outfits.  My mom made the blessing dress that Kesley has on (I think she even made it before we knew that Dallin was going to be a boy).  Anyway, I just wanted to share some of the beautiful pictures from a special day.  Thanks for taking such great pictures Amanda, we love you!  (click here to check out Amanda's website)  And thanks to all those that participated in blessing the twins!

2-months Old

My sweet little (well maybe not so little) babies are 2-months old (as of Wednesday, August 12).  They were still sick then (that was the worst day for Cameron) - but with so many visits to the doctor, I know exactly how much they weigh.  Here are their weights:

Cameron

14 lbs 12 oz

Kesley

12 lbs 8 oz

These pictures were taken the day after their 2-month birthday but they were a little happier then - but still not great.  They are doing much better now.  I was able to scrapbook/blog some while they were sick - I got good at typing and using Memory Mixers with my left hand while holding a baby.

Cameron's Sick Too

What a long and tiring week so far.  Late Monday night (maybe it was Tuesday morning) I could tell Cameron was getting sick and a fever.  At first I didn't worry about taking him to the doctor since the doctor said that he would get what Kesley had in a few days.  But, then I just got worried (since everyone at the hospital and doctor's office were very worried about Kesley with her high fever).  So, when I called the doctor and said that Cameron had a fever of 102 they had me bring him right in.   By the time we got in to the doctor, his fever was 103.9.  So, they tried to get a urine sample from him with a catheter (but his bladder was basically dry) and then sent us to the hospital for blood work.

At the hospital, they couldn't find a vein in his hands, arms, or feet.  They tried once but couldn't get any blood.  So, they called in a lady that could always find a vein.  And they were right, she found one.  When the blood work came back, something looked suspicious so they had us hurry over and gave him a shot (an anti-biotic).  The next day we went back to the doctor for a follow up (3rd visit).  He still had a high fever and was very irritable (he cried every time you touched him or picked him up) so after thinking about what to do, they decided to do a spinal tap (they almost admitted him to the hospital).  That was not fun to watch at all.  Then they gave him another shot - what a rough day!

Luckily, the results of the spinal tap were all good so he didn't have to go to the hospital.  We did have to go back again today to have him checked and he is definitely better.  So, no more shots - we just have to wait it out and hope the fever doesn't come back.  

I think we will be staying home for a while!

Kesley's Visit to the ER

Kesley has had a rough couple of days.  Sunday she wasn't feeling well and slept most of the day.  I finally took her temperature that night and it was 102.5 - way to high for an 8 week old baby.  I called the pediatrician and they said that I needed to take her to the ER right away - they didn't want to wait until the next morning to see her.  

At the ER, they took chest x-rays, put a catheter in to get a urine sample, and put an IV in to get blood.  All her lab work came back fine but they left the IV in over night in case they needed to take more blood or give her fluids, etc.  So, in the pictures what looks like a cast is just her IV wrapped so she didn't get it caught on anything and hurt her.  It was really sad to watch they do all that to her - she was really sad. 

The next morning I had to take her to her pediatrician.  She seemed to be doing okay - still had a fever but her labs were still okay.  So, now we just have to get through the next couple of days of her with a fever.  Poor little girl!

P.S.  Kesley is only wearing that awesome orange shirt with a zebra on it (Brecken's pjs) and the purple pants because I couldn't get her cute sleeper over her big pink arm thingy.  Trust me, I don't normally dress my little girl like that.

Thanks Gram!

I can't say enough about how wonderful my mom is.  She came as soon as she was done with school (back in May) and stayed until the day before she had to be back (August 4).  It was so nice to have her here before the twins came - I was so huge that I could barely get up off the couch (or out of bed) so it was so nice to have her here so I could rest.  And then once the twins got her, she was a HUGE help - not just with the twins but with the 4 big boys as well.  She is the best and we already miss her!

6-weeks old!

The twins are 6 weeks old today!  And last night they both slept 6 hours!  What a great night and what GREAT babies we have!  Don't they look cute and grown-up in their sleepers!  We just switched them from layettes to footy sleepers - maybe that is why they are sleeping longer.  I don't care why they are sleeping longer I am just happy they are!  I love my babies!

Official Baby Announcement

Here is the official baby announcement for the twins.  I did get them mailed last week.  If you didn't get one, there is one of two reasons why:

1.  I don't have your address (so send it to me and I will get you one)

OR

2.  I have the wrong address for you and it got sent back

Anyway, I wanted to share their announcement - I was very happy with how it turned out.  I was especially happy that we (really Amanda - thanks Amanda) got a picture with both of their eyes open and them not covering each others faces and Cameron not making a crazy face.  

Bouncy Chairs or Centerpiece?

One of the twins favorite place to be is in their bouncy chairs in the middle of the kitchen table - who needs a centerpiece?  I think it really helps that their chairs vibrate - they sleep pretty well in them (which is very happy) and they are out of Brecken's reach.

And can you believe that they were 5-weeks old yesterday?  I can't!  They sure are cute and getting chubby!

FYI - I didn't paint Kesley's nails.  My cousin Cortney is the one that paints them.

One Month Old!

I can't believe they are a month old today!  It has been a very crazy, exhausting, painful, exciting, and wonderful month (but I am very glad it is over with).  It is amazing how much they have already grown!  They are such sweethearts.  It is funny how in tune they are with each other - if one starts to fuss, so does the other one (even if the other one was sleeping).

I can't wait to see what the next month has in store for us!

4 Weeks Old!

My sweet little twins are FOUR weeks olds TODAY!  They are the BEST babies ever - what a  blessing!  They RARELY cry - and their cry is more like "hey, pay attention to me" or "I am hungry".  They both LOVE to CUDDLE.  Somedays, they will only sleep if they are cuddling on us (not a good thing - but fun).  They are both great eaters and okay sleepers.  Cameron is a much better sleep than Kesley is but we are hopeful they will both be good sleepers soon!  They both are just happy, content little babies.  

I am so nervous for when my mom leaves (newborn twins, a 21-month old, and 4 others all 8 and younger) - but I am so happy to have both of them here and for them to be part of our family!  I did manage to feed both of them bottles at the same time yesterday and then to burp both of them at the same time (Ed was out of town for work and my mom was at the store).  It was a little stressful but it worked.  The next couple of months are going to be crazy and hard but fun and wonderful all at the same time!

Happy 4th of July!

Here are my sweet little babies in their 4th of July outfits (thanks Mitchell)!  I had planned on taking them to our friends 4th of July party - at least for a few minutes - but I got sick (mastitis - no fun).  So, we just stayed home (nothing new there) - luckily, I don't mind being at home.  Kesley is much better at smiling for pictures than Cameron - but we are working on it.  And it looks like Kesley is bigger than Cameron in all the pictures, but I really think it is just her cheeks - Cameron is bigger.

I just feel bad that I don't have any pictures of the big boys from yesterday.  They went to a family reunion with their dad and had a great time.  And then went to our neighbors for swimming, food, and fireworks - and of course they had a great time!

3 Weeks Old

I can't believe they are 3 weeks old already!  Of course, I meant to take some cute pictures of them side by side but they were not on the same schedule today.  So, these pictures will have to do for now.

Cute Pictures of Cute Babies

Nothing new is going on - we are just trying to figure out life with these cute little babies.  They are so cute and such GREAT babies!  Here are some pictures from the last few days.  They are getting such chubby checks - I love chubby babies (not that they are chubby yet but we are working on it).

2 Weeks Old Today!

Kesley & Cameron - exhausted after visit to the doctor!

I can hardly believe it - my little babies are 2 weeks old today! I wanted to take some really cute pictures of them today but they were asleep and making silly faces. And then Kesley spit up / threw up all over her cute little outfit. Maybe we will have better luck tomorrow. 

They had their 2 week check-up today. The doctor said they are PERFECT! I would have to agree but it is always nice to hear it from a doctor. My favorite part of these visits is getting to see how much they have grown. So, here are their stats:

Cameron

Weight:  8 lbs 14 oz (above 75%)

Length:  21 1/4" (90%)

Head Cirm:  36.6 cm (50%)

Kesley

Weight:  8 lbs 9 oz (above 90%)

Length:  21" (95%)

Head Cirm:  36 cm (75%)

For those keeping track, they have each gained almost ONE POUND more than their birth weight - which is fabulous since at 2 weeks, the doctor just hopes they are back to their birth weight (at birth, Cameron weighed 8 lbs and Kesley weighed 7 lbs 13 oz). All that eating (and let me tell you they both love to eat) is really paying off!  And if you are wondering why Kesley is in a higher percent for all stats even though Cameron is bigger in all ways, it is because she is compared to girls and Cameron is compared to boys.

Here are a few more pictures from the last few days. One of these days I will start scrapbooking again - but for now, just the pictures will have to do.

It's Official!

I changed her name!  Alexis Michelle is now

Kesley Michelle

I still love the name Alexis (and especially Lexi) - but it just didn't fit.  So, after days of it driving me crazy, I finally decided late last night to change it.  Today, I even got it changed on her birth certificate - so it really is official.  So, the twins names are (and will remain to be):

Cameron Thomas

and

Kesley Michelle