Dada, Kisses and Teeth!

I was so surprised when Abby busted out with Dada (see my previous post *here* about my worry of her lack of babbling).  Well, just a couple days later, Abby started babbling just as much as Jimmy and then surprised me by saying "dada" on Sunday, April 10th. I was able to catch a video of her rambling on and on (like her mom), but it isn't the best quality as it was taken with my "old school" cell. 
Well, Jimmy didn't want to be left in the dust, so he busted out with a "dada" just a day later. I had no idea since I was at work, so when I got home and heard Jimmy babbling "dada" over and over again, I was floored.  Jim thought I knew he was saying it, but nope, that was the first time I heard it! 

Jimmy also loves to make a "hmmmmm, hmmmmmm, hmm" sound over and over.  It is quite cute - but hearing "dada" is so much fun.  Neither Abby nor Jimmy say "dada" when looking at Jim, but one day soon I am sure they will put that together too!  Aww... my babies are growing up!

What else is new.... let's see...

Jim and I realized that both Abby and Jimmy nap way better when swaddled.  Yes, my babies are almost 8 months old and we are back to swaddling them from the waist down. Hey - you gotta do what works.  I imagine we will break them of the swaddling habit by the time they start high school.

We've moved bath time to the big (regular) bath tub!  Jimmy was out of control splashing the last couple times we used their infant tub, so we decided it was time to move them to the big tub.  I am a nervous wreck (no surprise there) with them in the tub, so Jim's been sitting in there with them. I think they enjoy bath time even more now, especially since they've been using all the fun bath toys we received at the shower!

Miss Abigail is such a dancing queen!  The last month or so she has slowly been working on her dance moves - starting with just a little head bob earlier in the month, to an all-out body shake now!  Jim and I put on toddler tunes or party favorites (thank you Comcast) most of the day so Abby can work on her moves!  Jimmy isn't a big dancer yet, but he sure does love to watch his Mom make a fool of herself dancing around the room!

And one of my favorite new skills they've learned is giving kisses!  Abby goes all out and opens her slobbery mouth wide and pops her mouth on your cheek, lips, face - anywhere really!  Jimmy is more reserved and will occasionally give kisses... he's still learning!

On the food front, both babies are loving all the new foods they get to eat!  So far the really enjoy pears, apples, bananas, mixed vegetables, squash, green beans, vegetable risotto with cheese (they love the cheese -just like their dad!), pear yogurt and all the mixed fruit.  We just successfully started them on some small finger (baby) foods.  The are doing really well with their "pincher grasp" and now are enjoying cheerios, puffs and yogurt melts.  Many times both Abby and Jimmy are able to pick them up and put them right in their mouths!  In the next month or so we will probably start giving them little bits of some regular food!

Last but not least, both Abby and Jimmy have two bottom teeth on their way in right now!  We can see them popping through the gums now, which means they will probably come all the way through by the end of the month - hopefully sooner!  Finally!  It seems like they have been experiencing teething pain since Christmas time (around 4 months) - and they are now popping through almost four months later!  Yikes!  Let's hope the rest of the teeth come in without pain or discomfort (ha!). 

That's it for now....look for an eighth month picture post soon!

Our Likes - and a big Dislike

We like....
Our Winnie the Pooh mobiles - they were loved from day one!



Eating and playing in our high chairs!

Jumping in the jumper and playing in the exercauser:

Playing with toys on the ground!

We love Amigo and Leo - we wish they came around more!

And a huge dislike - PEAS.  See below:



Half a Year

Abby and Jimmy are 6 months old today.  OMG, what?! How did this happen?  I know everyone always says the time flies by, and I always nod my head and agree and then think to myself, it doesn't seem to be going that fast.  Until now.  And I look back and I am amazed at how fast the last six months have passed.

Jim and I were talking the other day about the first couple weeks the babies were home and we agreed it is all one big blur now.  We will randomly remember something about the first couple weeks/months, and say, "Oh yeah, can you believe that we did that," and "I forgot about that."  I am glad I am keeping up on this blog, because really, it is a great memory book.  And to tell you the truth, this is the only thing I have been writing updates on (other than the random facebook posting) - the babies' baby books aren' t in the least bit updated (oops).  So the blog is where you find the latest info - hopefully I can keep it going.

Today is Abby and Jimmy's six month birthday.  So you know what that means.... PHOTO SHOOT!  Here they are, smiling away on their half a year birthday:

The normal photoshoot "pose" is Jimmy and Abs laying down next to each other, but they are turning into sitters, so we had to try some sitting poses too:

Here's the start of the "sitting" pictures:

 Oops, Abs is starting to fall... Jimmy is starting to take interest in Abby's feet...

Nope, now it's all about Jimmy's feet.  Look at that flexibility. Ha!

So the best bet to show off their skills, was to take them alone - sitting next to each other proves to be too much of a distraction! 

TADA - we SIT!

So today was their six month doctor's appointment.  They are growing like weeks (see the stats page for an update on weights and heights) and are reaching milestones as appropriate.  The doctor wasn't concerned at all about their colds and said they look good for having been sick for the last 5-6 weeks!  Ha!  The both got 3 shots and one oral vaccine - and surprisingly they handled them fairly well.  The crying only lasted a minute or so for each.  Next up, their 9 month appointment.  Hopefully, they will get over these colds soon and we won't have to head back to the doctor until the end of May (9 months). 

What else is new... Hmmm... A lot.  Because I haven't been updating the blog very often, there are many new things that I unfortunately will be smushing into this one post, because otherwise, the newer things that happen, let's say, tomorrow, will take over and I will forgot to make note of the new things of today!

Abby and Jimmy are eating "solids" now.  Yes, solids is in quotes because it's not exactly solid at all.  More like mush.  Nasty smelling, (original form and after processed through the body), clothes staining mush.  And they LOVE it.  So far Abby and Jimmy have had: rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, bananas, apples, carrots and peas (celebrated their birthday with peas!).   So, do they like it all?

Well, Jimmy doesn't really care much for the cereals. He will tolerate the oatmeal, but not so much the rice cereal.  And he really only eats the oatmeal if there is a nice big heap of bananas with it.  He likes to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas (sing along) and carrots.  He is very impatient!  If Jim and I aren't feeding them together, Jimmy gets very cranky waiting his turn while Abby is getting her bite!  And then he is super cranky when the food is gone.  But his friend, the paci, tends to calm him down after.  Bad, bad Kristine for continuing to support his horrible addiction!

Abby loves all things food.  That is the deciding factor.  She loved the rice cereal, the oatmeal, the bananas, and the carrots - the jury's still out on the peas.  She did give us a little shock when she turned away from the apples and made a sour face when first trying them.  But we figured it was just a texture issue and we were right, she was loving them the next day!  Abby is patient and has no problem waiting for her turn.  She actually is fairly distracted by the bib - a fun new plastic type bib - no cloth bibs for solids!  She loves to play with it and chew on it.  But she definitely doesn't miss her turn - she sometimes will sit patiently in the high chair with her mouth open, waiting for the next bite!  It is quite adorable! 

Here's where it all happens!  Look at those patient babies waiting so nicely for their meal: 

And here's a quick peek at Jimmy's many faces during a meal!

  

And here's the Abster, enjoying her food:

  

Hmmmm... what else?  

Abby is rolling all over the place.  She rolls back to front, then front to back, then back to front, and so on.  She rolls herself all over the living room.  Jimmy too - but not as crazy as Abby.  He rolls front to back and back to front, but not as often.  Both Abs and Jimster are pushing up off the ground without an issue.  They both occasionally appear to be trying to pull their legs up under then, but haven't gotten there yet.   It seems like there are thisclose to army crawling or even regular crawler, but I know we still have some time before that happens.... though I know it will be here before we know it.

And a little picture that shows their smiling faces (and kinda shows how high they (Abby in this picture) are now pushing off the ground.  Their "pushup" is way better than mine these days!)

Oh, and the toys now are starting to be fair game.  Now that they are rolling all over, they are reaching out to grab the toys that the other one was playing with... and sometimes it ends up looking like this: 

I guess that's it for now!  Hopefully, I will get back on the blogging wagon and will have another post soon!

Bye for now!

"Enjoying" Some Rice Cereal

Jim and I have been slowly introducing Abby and Jimmy to rice cereal.  It is a slow process for us, not because the babies aren't ready for it, but because we just haven't found the time to do it.  By the time we realize it, it's already near the end of the day and we didn't get to it, again.  We have been regularly giving the babies some pear juice mixed with water to help combat any constipation issues that are brought on by the formula, so since we give them the juice at night, we are trying to work in the cereal in the morning/early afternoon. 

Prior to even given them the cereal, we tested out their willingness to try new things by introducing them to the spoon.  The both wanted to grab it and chew on it, so that was a good sign.  And when we brought it up to their mouth, they both opened right up. 

The first time we gave them rice cereal, Jimmy was all about it, but Abby wasn't much of a fan at all.  Well, now the tables have turned and Abby LOVES it, and Jimmy, well, he seems to HATE it.  The faces Jimmy provides us with while "eating" the rice cereal are priceless!  We think he is fine with eating off the spoon, but just can't get used to the taste of the rice cereal.  Once we move on to some other foods, I bet he will love them.   See below for his priceless reactions to the oh so tasty rice cereal!

Abby is a champ and is loving the rice cereal.  She will reach out and grab our hands to pull the spoon to her if we aren't quick enough. I can not wait to see when she gets to have some tasty food... which I hear are the bananas and applesauce.  She loves the pear juice, so I am sure she will love the fruits! 

Oh So Much Is Happening!

It's so exciting to watch as Abby and Jimmy learn new things and reach new milestones. I am addicted to reading books similar to "What to Expect the First Year" and the week by week books. So I know what is supposed to happen around certain weeks. And then I wait and watch... and surprise, things start happening.
These are the newest things both Jimmy and Abby are doing these days...

They both found their hands. They stare at them and have started sucking on their fists. I had no idea hands could be so exciting and tasty!

They both have begun following us around the room with their eyes. They are very interested in what we are doing, so much so that it seems to distract them from falling asleep for their naps. So Jim and I have to sometimes hide out behind their bouncer, swing or whatever contraption we are trying to get them to fall asleep in. (no cribs for naps...yet!)

Oh and the smiles... they come all the time now! It is so fun to watch them look up at us, or their favorite toys and smile, sometimes the biggest smile imaginable. They smile when we smile; they smile randomly; and they smile when playing with certain toys. Their smiles most certainly melt our hearts and make the difficult times all worth it. Here are some big smiles while playing on their jungle playmat:


Well, I guess it is hard to get the babies to nap in the bouncers, because they have so much fun playing in them! They love to bat at the animals that hang on the toy bar above them. We have affectionately named the animals for them... Larry the Lion and Gina the Giraffe are some of Abby's favorites in the blue bouncer and Tommy the Turtle, Fred the Frog and Sally the Snail are loved by Jimmy on the green bouncer. Both babies use both bouncers, neither being an absolute favorite. Watching the babies play by themselves in the bouncers is much fun! They smile and (dare I say) giggle up at the toys for a while!


The nights are going much better these days. Both Abby and Jimmy slept 5-6 hours on Oct 31-Nov 1. YAY! I would like to think it was because they were all tuckered out from pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating on Halloween, but they napped during pumpkin carving and we didn't do any trick-or-treating at all. They did participate in a photo shoot (as always - I love pictures) and we came up with this adorable 1st Halloween picture (ha - Jimmy has his sneeze face on... not sure if he sneezed after but it sure looks like he is going to!):



Abby loves looking in mirror on changing table. Thanks Lina for sending us this marvelous gift - I bet you had no idea what a hit it would be! Abs (yes, I have shortened Abigail to Abby, and Abby to Abs!) loves to stare at it, bat at it and push it around. Jimmy isn't interested in it in the least though. Check out our little Abs and her favorite toy:

Tummy time with the babies is going great. Both Abby and Jimmy seem to enjoy being on their tummies and they are doing great with their neck and head stability. Sometimes there are still face plants that happen where their face meets the ground, but those are starting to be few and far between. They make the cutest noises too while on their tummies. It's only a matter of time before they are pros at holding their heads up!




Jim and I are starting to really get to know the babies and figure out what different cries and noises mean. And both Jimmy and Abby are giving out cues to help too. They both are starting to rub their eyes when they are tired. This is new for them and it is nice to use as a signal to start to wind them down for a nap.

Jimmy and Abby are both starting to love being carried around in the Baby Bjorn. It is nice to use on occasion because if one of them is sleeping, but the other is fussy, we can pop them in the Baby Bjorn and walk around getting some stuff down. And it works out because they seem to love it! I guess it is even relaxing enough to sleep in. Ha!



Well, on the not as exciting, and more frustrating front, both Abby and Jimmy hate, and I mean HATE, when we take the bottle away to burp them. We are only stopping to burp them once during the feeding and then after (as the gas issues have significantly improved at this point). Well, it just isn't even possible at this point to get through a feeding without a bout of crying, and sometimes all out screaming, when the bottle is taken away for the shortest second to burp! Jim and I have figured out that the paci in place of the bottle during the burping session works as a nice distraction, but I imagine it is only a matter of time before they catch on a realize our ploy. :-) So far so good though!

And here is my absolute favorite picture right now! I love my Team Mommy/Team Daddy babies.

Two Months Old (and a couple days)

I am going to have to say it again... WOW -it is amazing how fast the time passes! Abby and Jimmy turned 2 months old on Sunday, October 24. You know what that means?!? 2 month photo shoot!
Here are the favorites:



And this is what they look like after the photo shoot.


So what are the babies like at 2 months old? Well, they are continuing their easy-going attitudes and are very pleasant. They barely ever cry, unless they are hungry. And usually it is if they are VERY hungry and we pushed the feeding schedule too much! They are still eating every 3 hours, pretty much around the clock. Their pediatrician said that we don't have to wake them anymore during the nighttime to feed them and to instead let them wake on their own. Well, Jimmy pretty much still wakes up to eat every 3 hours. UGH! Abby can go a bit longer, usually she can make it to the four hour mark, but we wake her to eat around the same time as Jimmy so that we don't get too crazy with their schedules (and we get some sleep).

They both absolutely LOVE their Winnie the Pooh crib mobiles. The love to lay there and watch them and we even catch them smiling and laughing (is that even possible this early) when they are watching them spin around. I only wish the mobile's music would last a little longer and the characters wouldn't get stuck while spinning around. Proof is in the pudding...see below!


They also LOVE this toy. They will stare at it for quite some time. I try to have them practice their grip on it, but so far, they haven't been super successful with holding anything.

Another favorite is their play mat. They will lay on the play mat for 20 minutes or so and stare at all the toys. They love to look at the lights and listen to the music! They are adorable!

When the babies aren't playing on the play mat or watching the mobile, they are cuddling with their mom and dad! I tend to try to cuddle them both at once, but it is quite difficult! Check it out... we are quite silly!


Both Abby and Jimmy are overall very happy babies! They barely ever fuss and are pretty easy to entertain. They are smiling more and more, especially in the morning right after they get up. The love when their mommy sings the bear song. Maybe I will take a video of it next time and post it here. Ha - it is quite embarrassing.

More updates and pictures to come later...I'm off to snuggles some adorable babies!

The First Eight Weeks

I haven't had much time to log on here and post - as you can probably guess why! So I thought I would do a general "the first eight weeks" post to let you know how the past (almost) two months have gone. I was in the hospital from August 23 - August 28 (Saturday), so our first night home was Saturday night. My parents were in town for the babies' birth, but unfortunately, they were only here until that Saturday morning. So when we arrived home, it was just us four. It was great to be home. But it was also a bit scary to think that they let us leave with the babies. Ha! What were they thinking, we don't know anything about taking care of babies!

The first day/night was great. It was so nice to be in our own home with just us, a new family of four. Jim and I were excited to test out some of the babies stuff (swing, bouncer, pack and play) and we soon realized that most of the stuff won't be used for a while - the babies were just two small for it all! The babies were eating every 3 hours on the dot, so we pretty much spent the first hour of the three hour schedule changing, feeding and burping them. Then, was the fun part - snuggling them and watching them sleep in our arms. They are so beautiful and precious - and we love them so much! Here are a couple pictures from our first couple days at home! Look how tiny they are in the pack and play (where they slept the first couple days): OMG - so small - cuddled up on the couch: Jim and Abby cuddling - how adorable! To be completely honest, the first 3 weeks were really tough for me. I was experiencing the "baby blues" and would cry at random times for unknown reasons. I know for sure that exhaustion played a big part in my "blues" and the overwhelmed feeling of being a first time mom played a factor as well. I would cry though out the day for short periods, mostly for reasons unknown. But luckily, the blues passed after about 3 weeks. It is completely understandable why I (and any mom) would get them - things change so dramatically, practically overnight, and you are barely getting any sleep and are exhausted. I also felt overwhelmed when Jim had to go back to work and my parents left, which played into it as well. But I am happy to report that now (8 weeks later) I am doing great and am generally feeling really happy! I still have moments of stress, anxiety and sadness (mostly about how fast they are growing), but overall I am doing great!

Enough about me... let's hear about how Abby and Jimmy are doing! Abby and Jimmy have the greatest temperaments. They both are very easy-going (we can thank Jim for passing that down to them) and barely ever cry or get fussy unless they are hungry. Jimmy has struggled (and is still having problems) with gas issues, and would cry out off and on for about 20 minutes about one hour after eating. It is such torture for me to watch him be in a lot of pain and not be able to do anything about it. We eventually switched formula (from Enfamil Premium to Enfamil Gentlease - yep, that's right, I am not breastfeeding) which helped slightly, but the gas pains are still present (even to this day). We give them both the gentlease formula and mylicon gas drops before every feeding. And to help combat the constipation that is present due to the formula change, we give both Abby and Jimmy .5oz of pear juice mixed with .5oz of water. They LOVE the juice. 1oz is not nearly enough in their eyes and they are both so sad (read: fussy) when the juice is gone!

So what are the nitty-gritty details of a twin lifestyle look like here in the Frybarger household...

No sleep. Exhaustion. Felt by all those involved. See below for the proof. Bottles, bottles and more bottles. Washing, drying, filling and feeding...And then all over again. Sometimes we repeat that cycle twice a day since we only have 8 bottles. Formula galore. OMG- the cost of formula is insane and we go through ALOT of it. Yikes! When anyone is home alone with the babies, whether it is me, Jim or a family member, it is quite difficult to feed the babies at the same time. So what we end up doing is propping the babies up in their boppy's to feed them both at the same time. It does get a little hairy when it's time to stop and burp. Quickly, we pop a pacifier in one of their mouths to cause a distraction while we burp the other. But soon enough the one with the pacifier realizes that it's not the bottle and starts to get fussy... so we put down the burping baby, pop the pacifier in that baby and try to burp the other. By the end of the cycle, the babies and the mommy/daddy/grandma/grandpa are all cranky and the bottle goes back in. And then we repeat until the bottle is gone! Whew - it's quite the process.... see for yourself. It's amazing how quickly the time is passing! Before we knew it the babies turned one month old. Where did the time go. Every month on their "month" birthday, I dress them in plain white onesies and add a sticker to it showing off their age. It's actually a ton of fun to do and the babies so far have been very cooperative and tend to enjoy this little photo shoot. Here are my favorites from their One Month Birthday! The next 4-8 weeks flew by too! We a lot of visitors visiting with us and the babies and helping with feedings, changes and other household chores. Thanks to everyone who has been helping - your help has been very much appreciated by Jim and I and the babies love to see you! Both Abby and Jimmy were very close to smiling. I was even able to catch a smile from Abby on tape (Ha- I still call it tape and not video).

Well, that's the first 8 weeks in a nutshell. Having a new baby is such a learning experience and having two, well it's just that much more fun. Things were chaotic at times, and stressful, but also a ton of fun and I wouldn't ask for anything more. I am so in love with our new family!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the first 8 weeks!