Yum!

The boys started eating "solid" food this week on Monday and have so far tried rice cereal and sweet potatoes. They prefer the potatoes and I don't blame them! They are gradually getting better at swallowing more than spitting and today I can say most of what I gave them went into their tummies rather than on their bibs. I am shopping for a second high chair today. A friend gave us this "pod" thing that's supposed to work similar to a high chair but the boys don't sit in it too well (kind of hunched over) and are more interested in playing with the chair than eating. I thought at first that maybe Brody was just more interested in eating than Tyler (Brody was in the high chair at first) but then I switched them and then Tyler seemed more interested than Brody. It's the pod for sure.

Hunter read John an entire story by himself the other night (The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss). Granted, it's a very easy read. We were impressed but not half as much as today at nap time when he read me, "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish" (Dr. Seuss), which is a very long book with tons of words (60+ pages). He only had me read two pages (one about half-way through and another near the end) because he was getting tired. He said to me, "I'm trying REALLY hard!" I kept telling him that he didn't have to read it if he didn't want to but he insisted! He was frustrated at first because he told me, "I want to read it as fast as you can!" Storytime was about 100 times longer than normal but I didn't mind one bit! I had to explain to him that everyone starts out reading a little slow. He's so cute! I'm super proud (can you tell?)!

The boys and I went to breakfast with Santa this morning which was organized by a twin club where I now belong. Hunter got to make some art projects and decorate a cookie. They had a Secret Santa Shop where the kids could pick out gifts for their parents and the older kids wrapped them in the secret shopping room so that the parents didn't see them. We played holiday bingo (Hunter won once) and then Santa came and took pictures with each child and handed out presents. The twin club meets once a month at a retirement center and that is where they had the event. They always invite the retirees to partake in the events they hold so Hunter and I played bingo with a 90-year-old woman. She asked me if I could repeat what the call was (elf, santa, reindeer, etc.) because she had trouble hearing it. Hunter was so funny because he started repeating it for me loudly to the lady. She said he was a real sweet boy, which he is! We had a lot of fun. The cool thing about being around so many families with twins is that they have all been through this so I had a lot of women ask me if they could help me by holding a baby. (John had to work so he couldn't make it.) I had the youngest twins there but there were a lot of twins around one year and two years old. I gladly handed off one a few times (when they were both crying at the same time). I also caught myself daydreaming about how nice it would be if they held an event every day around crabby time...

Accomplishment!

All three boys are napping at the same time as I type this. This is only the second time I have had the pleasure to experience a quiet house in the middle of the day since Tyler and Brody came home from the hospital. I'm not even sure what to do with myself. A quick update to my blog, finish the carrot soup I started making an hour ago, start my Christmas cards, do some lesson planning, catch up on email, laundry, get to that "stuff to glue" pile, okay let's not get carried away. I think I hear one of the boys stirring in the nursery...maybe I can quick get the first one done on the list anyway. I knew this would be short-lived.

Brody rolled from his stomach to his back the day before yesterday so now both boys are rolling both ways. They also have both "discovered" their feet in the last couple of days. It's super adorable changing their diapers now because they like to play with their toes (especially Tyler).

Hunter is very much into "packing things up" lately. He asks for little baggies and twist ties all the time. He has little packages of things (mostly small toys) stashed all over the place. He has mentioned to me that this is important because it will keep them safe from the twins. He has expressed concern over them chewing on his toys already. I've tried to reassure him that his stuff is safe for now, afterall rolling doesn't get you very far but he still insists!

360's

Tyler rolled from his front to his back for the first time yesterday so now he is doing 360's around the living room floor. Today I set him down on his activity mat and walked away for no more than a few minutes before I heard some whimpering. I came back to find him several feet away from the mat stuck next to the legs of the bouncer. He must have done three complete rolls to get there! Unbelievable. I'm a little nervous for when these guys start moving even more. It's coming though!

Brody's big day!

Brody rolled over today for the first time! YAY! As I mentioned previously he has been making some very loud and interesting noises lately. Hunter told John yesterday, "It sounds like there is a pterodactyl in here!" We agree that if we were around when the dinosaurs roamed that might be what they sounded like!

Own beds!

Tyler and Brody slept in their own cribs last night after sharing one this whole time. It was about time since they are moving around quite a bit and waking each other up with involuntary hitting/kicking. They slept 12 hours last night. Divine! The three nights prior they got up once around 4 a.m. but the week before that they slept between 10-13 hours. They were going to bed between 6:30 and 7:30 and waking anywhere from 5:30-6:30. I was getting used to that routine until they started getting up at 4 a.m. again. I think how well they slept last night tells me that they like having their own separate sleeping space. I hope it continues! Thanks to Aunt Laurean/Uncle Tom for loaning us theirs and for Noni/Nona for bringing it to us! It's weird to see two cribs in the nursery. The boys look smaller to me now with all that extra room around them. I can't believe they are five months old already!

Brody has been "talking" up a storm lately. Tyler has been experimenting also. I think they both just realized that they can make some very interesting noises! Hunter keeps telling me that they are saying "olive." I guess it sounds like that to him.

Hunter started skating lessons last week. He is working his way up to playing hockey. He seems to enjoy it so far!

First big milestone

Tyler rolled over tonight! He's been working on it for several weeks now and finally made it all the way over. John and I missed the whole thing. We were eating dinner while Tyler was on the activity playmat. I heard him making some little noises and I just assumed he was tired of being by himself so I made my way over and was surprised to see him lying on his stomach! I rolled him back over onto his back and by the time I made it back to the dinner table he had done it again. He did it about five more times one right after another. I think he's a bit of a show off! Hunter thought it was hilarious. Brody is still working on this skill.

Sounding it out?

I was reading to Hunter last night and the book was a search-and-find-type book. He had to look at a picture of a classroom and find something in the picture for every letter of the alphabet. He came up with apple for A, bat and ball for B and when he got to C he told me, "Oh, I know...circle!" I thought this was pretty good considering "circle" has an S sound. Later on I was telling my brother about this in front of Hunter and he started quizzing him with a few more. "How 'bout "snake?" Hunter: "S!" "How 'bout "circus?" Hunter: "C!" This went on a few more times and he never missed. Not sure how he does it but he never ceases to amaze us. Ceases...I'll have to ask him about that one next time. :)