Ethan and his Blankie

Ethan has become really attached to his blanket and puppy in the last couple of weeks. Every time he wakes up, he has to carry it around for at least 30 minutes. If I try and take it away from him to give him breakfast, he has a melt down! He'll also randomly carry it around through out the day. My little softie.

Mia, being the stinker that she is, will purposely take his blanket and run off with it. You can imagine how upset Ethan gets!

He let Riley hold his puppy, but took it away from her almost immediately.

Eating some pringles with his blankie.

Birthday Party

My good friend, Melissa, had a birthday party for her daughter, Lillian, last weekend. We drove down to DeSmet for the day. The kids had a blast. There were tons of balloons and candy! Here are a few pictures of them.

Mia chowing down on M&M's.

Trying to get some candy from the pinata.

Lillian checking Riley out.

The balloons were everyone's favorite.

Ethan wouldn't leave his hat on!

Yum! Cupcake!

Lillian eating her birthday cupcake.

Ethan and all the girls. Poor thing!

Having fun with dad.

Looking cute with her party hat on.

Rhea, Ethan, and Mia were fighting over this ball toy. It was kind of funny to watch!

Forgot to Add

Ethan is starting to hide stuff from Mia. I bought each of them an electronic toothbrush. We can't find Ethan's (no surprise there. Who knows what he did with it?!?) Mia still has hers and Ethan was playing with it. Mia, of course, wanted it. They were fighting over it all morning. Ethan hid it under Riley's playmat. The only reason I knew it was there was because he left it on and I could hear it vibrating. He left it there for awhile and ran over to grab it when Mia got close!

Ethan was playing with an empty milk jug after supper last night. This caused a huge fight between the two of them. I realized that it had disappeared. A few minutes later, Ethan ran behind the couch and brought the milk jug back out with him. What a stinker!

21 Month Old Update

I can't believe summer is almost over! Ethan and Mia have been keeping busy. They still love going outside. When I grab their shoes, they know they're either going bye-bye or going outside. They get super excited, especially Ethan. They are really good in the car and love watching things pass by.

Ethan and Mia continue to be extremely picky eaters. Our dog, Elsa, has put on a tremendous amount of weight. They chuck all of their food down to her and she goes crazy trying to get it all. Ethan loves sweets, yogurt, oatmeal, cream of wheat, pancakes, crackers, donuts, lemon poppy seed muffins, steak, juice. Mia loves fruit, sweets, yogurt, donuts, oatmeal, cream of wheat, pancakes, crackers, juice.

I'm still kind of worried over their talking. Mia talks more than Ethan, but she doesn't speak as much as some kids their age. Mia will repeat random words that I say, but she's not saying any sentences yet. Both kids tend to point at something and say, "uh, uh, uh". I try to repeat the word over and over to try and get them to stop doing that. I know it's common for multiples to have a speech delay, so I try not to think about it too much. Ethan and Mia still have their own language. It sounds like jibberish to me, but they seem to understand each other. It's funny to listen to them "talk" to each other! Ethan's new words are "pretty", "loon" (balloon), "elefafa" (elephant). Mia's new words are "eye", "nose".

Ethan and Mia fight like crazy! Mia wants whatever toy or object Ethan has. It doesn't matter what it is. She wants it if he has it. She chases after him and will scratch him if she gets close enough. He's still faster than her and this makes her really mad! Ethan tends to tease her a little bit and that just adds to it. Mia will take the toy away from him when she catches up to him. Ethan then comes crying to me and points at Mia. The tattling has begun! I'll chase Mia down to get the toy away from her to give back to him and she throws a major fit. This is what we do all day! It's fun!! I still don't know when to step in and when to let them handle it. Mia is kind of a bully when it comes to this. Ethan won't take the toy away from her for some reason. He's a pretty gentle boy!

Ethan is getting really attached to his blankie and night-time puppy. When I grab him in the morning and from nap time, he grabs both things to bring with him. It's really cute. Sometimes Mia will grab either item and take off running. Ethan has a complete meltdown! They sure know how to push each other's buttons!

Ethan and Mia still take one nap a day. They usually nap for about an hour. They go to bed between 9pm-10pm and sleep until 8am-9am. They consistently sleep through the night. Ethan will occasionally wake up when he's getting more teeth.

Looking cute in her piggies!

I love this picture of Mia. Her baby-blues really come out!

Ethan has a soft spot for stuffed animals. He tends to carry one around with him. He chose this rabbit with a dress on! If I'm sitting on the couch, he'll bring me about 10 stuffed animals and set them all around me.

Great-Aunt Sharman gave the kids their hummer. Ethan LOVES riding around in it. He can't reach the gas peddle, so someone has to go with him. Mia is a little scared of it!

I gave them yogurt to feed themselves for the first time. They made a god-awful mess, but they really enjoyed feeding themselves!

Yogurt mess!

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Riley!

Happy 6 Months, baby girl! She's growing way too fast on us. I can't believe how much she has changed over the last six months. She is still a HUGE momma's girl. Mike calls me her "precious". He took this from "The Lord of the Rings." So, I guess that would make Riley, Smeagol. I'm not sure what I think about that! She still is having a hard time when I leave for work on Friday. Mike wants me to wean her from breastfeeding to see if that will help with her meltdowns. I asked her doctor what he thought, and he didn't think it would make any difference. He suggested that Mike feed her and take care of her so she gets used to it more. He said that I should leave the house because if I'm there, she's going to want me. We'll have to see how this goes!

She tends to be really sensitive to foods. If I mix her cereal too thick or give her too much, she's up most the night farting. That goes the same with beans and peas. Her doctor suggested we stop the green veggies and start the orange ones to see how she does. She's not getting any for awhile until I catch up on some sleep! I'm getting too old for these all-nighters.

She loves to be held and walked around. She also loves watching Ethan and Mia play. She smiles quite a bit at them. I'm sure she can't wait until she can join in! Riley is very ticklish and you can get some good belly laughs out of her if you tickle her. She's a happy smiley girl as long as I am holding her. This changes quickly if someone else tries to hold her!

She usually sleeps well at night. She falls asleep around 10pm and will sleep until around 6am. She still isn't a huge napper. I'm lucky if she naps for an hour. I guess she doesn't need much sleep! We're still transitioning her to her crib. She slept one night in her crib and didn't wake up once! The last few nights, we've been having all-nighters thanks to her veggies. We'll have to see how it goes tonight!

Riley fell asleep in the bumbo.

Trying to get some sleep.

Ethan and Riley in the wagon. He's not sitting on her, though it looks like it in the picture.

Happy girl!

Trying to get a picture of all three of them outside. It's impossible to get them all to look at the camera!

Riley and big sis, Mia.

Having fun outside.

Watching the twins.

Riley loves being outside!

Mia is always by Riley.

Smiley Riley.

Wearing one of Mia's dresses.

Riley's 6 Month Visit

Riley had her 6 month check-up today. She had some more shots and a little exam. She weighs 16 pounds 15 ounces. This puts her in the 75th percentile for weight. She is 25.5 inches. This puts her in the 30th percentile for length. Her head circumference is 17.4 inches. This puts her in the 90th percentile for head size. So.....she's short, fat, and has a big head! :) Let's hope she doesn't stay like this!

Her exam went well. The doctor was surprised that she's sitting up all ready. He said she'll probably be crawling in the next few months. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that! I'll post a longer update tomorrow!

They're so sweet when they're sleeping! ...And then they wake up! :)

My sweetie. Doesn't she look really white? I wonder if she's going to get my freckles. I hope not!

Look Who's Sitting Up!

What a big girl! I tried a couple of weeks ago to have her sit up, but she wasn't quite ready. She did really well this time! I have to spread her legs out, but she can sit up for quite awhile before she tumbles over. You might notice how her onsie is dirty. Cousin Noah decided to give Riley some of his chocolate chip cake. I'm not sure how much he gave her, but she spit-up some chocolate, so I know she got some! Poor Riley! She's going to be one tough girl.

Ethan's other two teeth came in. His upper right and lower right canines poked through. Only one more to go. He hasn't been as bad with these teeth as he usually is. Thank goodness!

Look at me!

Mia purposefully knocked her over. She actually did it a few times. What a stinker! Riley didn't mind until the third time. She started hollering. I guess she'd had enough!

I still can't believe she can sit up. She's growing too fast for me.