It's official!

After a LOT of waiting, I am proud to announce Cale William is a walker! FINALLY! I have no excuse for why there are no pictures of this momentous occasion....I will definitely get some tomorrow. I did write the fact in his baby book, which is hard to remember to do sometimes. Thursday my mom called him to dinner and he walked from the couch to the kitchen to her...we figured food would finally be the motivator that did it, and we were right! On Friday he really walked a bunch...back and forth to me and my mom, and the best part was the look on his face when he did it. Both she and I were about to cry the whole time because he was SO proud of himself, and would start to squeal when he got close to us...holding his little arms out to be "caught". It was so cute! Hayden is excited he is walking....she comes up next to him and tries to grab his hand and drag him along with her..the only problem is that he is still a little wobbly and she RUNS. She tries dragging him along for a minute and then gets tired that he is going too slow and lets go. From what I have heard from other twin moms, now is when it starts to get really difficult....

My dog is Satan

I am serious. This dog is almost nine, and has been a little "off" from the word go. But recently, she has become amplified in her weirdo behaviors. I am sure that adding two babies to her world, and moving all over the place haven't helped matters, but STILL. Things are almost at a breaking point, and I am not sure where to go from here. She is SUPER nervous around the babies, which makes me super nervous, and necessitates separating her from them via baby gate at all times. (She actually bit my friend's baby a few years ago....I know. I am shameful and should have "done something" back then....but I just couldn't!!) She won't stay in a backyard, but smashes herself flat (like a cockroach) and manages to get under the gate and into the front yard, where she hollers at the door until someone comes to get her. She digs up plants. She barks at the vacuum. She chases us up and down stairs.....and now for the real winner: She has started pooping on the floor. The strange barking and hatred of the vacuum I can handle, but floor pooping.....I don't think I can. I don't think she is geriatric enough to be doing this....and it may be more of a behavioral issue than anything. Point is, I can't manage a crazy dog while worrying about two babies all day. I am totally at the end of the road, and have even suggested the option that would make all you dog lovers go screaming and crying down the street. This morning was the end all-be all of weirdness. I opened the door to the bathroom (where we keep her at night because of the turd burgling) and found my bible-that's right, I said MY BIBLE torn to shreds and covered in poo footprints. She had pooped on my bible study bag, walked through it, and tracked it all over the floor, my bible study book, and the actual bible before deciding to shred it. (Maybe she's a Jew....no, that can't be, because she only tore up the old testament....I digress) I shouldn't have left my stuff on the floor, (read previous post to find out why it was there) but there is NO way this is normal. WHAT TO DO???? I have had all sorts of advice from people...give her away, put her to sleep, take her to "live on a farm" (which I think is similar to the previous choice), call Sheltie Rescue and see if they'll take her.....I am at a loss. My friend said that this event (pooping on my bible) proves that she is indeed the devil. UGH. I really, really don't know what to do. If anyone knows someone who wants a weird, pagan dog....let me know.

Cale threw up last night. A lot. I tell this story not to gross you out (sorry to those of you who are reading this and eating a sandwich) but to point to a realization I made. The throwing up was gross, first time for this baby. I was doing my bible study sitting on the bathroom floor (don't ask) when I heard him crying in his room. I went in there and tried to put his pacifier back in his mouth in the dark when I realized he was making choking noises...I ran with him into our room hollering "Oh no!" (nice way to wake Shawn up) and made it to the sink before round two started. (round one was all over his bedding) I cleaned up my boy, handed him over to his daddy, and took the whole mess of bedding downstairs to be cleaned. When I came back upstairs, Cale literally hurled his whole self at me, and immediately wrapped his arms and legs around me and snuggled into my neck. I decided to abandon my bible study and enjoy this little display of affection. I turned off the lights, and we put him in bed between us. As he laid there trying to go to bed, he reached for my hand with his. As I lay there in the dark, my finger being squeezed by his chubby little hand, I realized something. He needs me. He doesn't feel well, and reaching out in the dark and holding his mommy's hand makes him feel better. Someone really NEEDS me, not just keeps me around because they like me. I am an imperfect, mistake making sinner, and I am still the person he needs most in the world! I was gripped with the awesome, brilliant responsibility that comes with this mothering thing......and how there isn't a "responsibility" I have ever taken on so readily or with so much conviction. I am honored and grateful he needs me, because frankly, I sort of need him too.

Peanut butter fans we are NOT

This week marked a first for us: the addition of peanut butter to our extremely simple palate. I was really excited about this....for one, I had been waiting and waiting to give them peanut butter, for fear their windpipe would squeeze shut. (the literature on this topic is a little scary) I called the doctor to ask if they were old enough, and they said yes, I could have been giving it to them since they were 12 months old! Man! That's a lot of really cheap lunches we have been missing out on!!! I decided to hype up the PB sandwich....as I made it they stared at me and I sang songs about peanut butter, made exaggerated "YUM" noises as I licked it off the knife, did a little dance for peanut butter...you get the picture. General excitement buildup in hopes of motivating some reciprocal excitement from them. No such luck for me. Cale obliterated his sandwich immediately, and threw all the pieces on the floor for the dogs. What didn't fly off his hands onto the floor got shaken vigorously while he cried. Hayden pointed at hers, and looked at me as if to say, "Why would you thing I would eat THIS?" and then pointed at the crackers on the table and cried. Oh well. So much for the childhood staple. I guess we'll try again later.

My most recent project

I have a cute little dress of Hayden's that I love, but it is a 2T so it is still too big for her to wear. I really, really love it, so I decided to modify a smaller version of it and make one myself. Well, one turned into three, with two more in the works! By the third one, I have made enough little changes that I think it is good enough to sell....I need to pick out some fabrics that I think will appeal to the most people and make some samples. I love having her wear something that no one else has...

Walking.....with help!

Cale has decided that he will participate in the walking thing while holding one of our hands for help... you may laugh, thinking this is no big deal, but it is a HUGE improvement. Whenever we used to hold his little hands and try to make him walk, he could curl his legs up to his chest and cry. (or flop on his back on the floor, which ever caught his whim at the moment) Now, he is holding our hands and walking, and even taking a few steps by himself, when he thinks no one is looking.

Music and Me

Today we had our first experience with "Music and Me".....a music class geared towards 0-17 month olds. Let's just say my children are "high spirited". Ninety percent of the kids in their class sit happily in their mommies laps, participating gleefully in the singing and dancing. Cale did okay, but Hayden....not so much. During the thirty minute class, she:

-dug in the trash can

-pushed someone's else's stroller against the wall

-took instruments OUT of the box as other babies were putting them away.

-flopped in my lap when I tried to hold her

-tried to bite me when I picked her up

-took the teddy bear away from the instructor...the one that was being used as a prop during a song.

And that's not all...I just can't remember all of it. My sweet friend Amy (who is in our class) tried to make me feel better by saying all the other kids have been doing this class for awhile and know what to do.....So hopefully this behavior was indicative of her lack of experience, not a glimpse into her future with ADHD.

We are now on day six of sick babydom. I have gone to the bathroom four times in about six days, and had a sweaty, snotty little boy hanging on me two of the four times. UGH! They were both runny nosed and grumpy all last week, but I thought it was because of the shots they got at their checkup. By Friday, she was snotty but feeling better, but Cale was another story. Grumpy, hot, miserable....we took him to the doctor and he had 105 fever! Way to make me look like the world's crappiest mother, kiddo. They brought me motrin in the examining room (a testament to their obvious noticing my crappy mothering skills) and prescribed antibiotics for his raging double ear infection. By today, we realized the antibiotics weren't working (didn't even know that was possible) and took him back. Another fever (albeit lower) and STILL suffering from ear infections. This time we left with a new antibiotic prescription, numbing ear drops, and a bottle of cough syrup with Codeine that Cale or his mommy might drink.
No picture updates this time....I am pretty sure none of you want to view scenes of our runny noses!

16 month checkup

Those of you with children may be wondering why my title reads "16 month check up" when it is well known that babies do not visit the pediatrician at 16 months, but 15 months. Well, let's just say that someone may or may not have purposely pushed back this visit in the hopes that some baby who will remain nameless would find a spark of motivation to walk before visiting the doctor. This said baby will stand by himself, and cruise all over town holding on to things, but still no independent walking. After looking and sounding like a crazed psychopath at the appointment, the mommy was vigorously reassured of baby's normalness and left the office with a semi-decent feeling of said baby's development. I have heard all about people whose baby walked late, blah, blah, blah...I am sure he is normal but STILL. I want the kid to walk. AFTER he walks we can talk about how cute it was that he didn't want to walk. But for now, I just wanna see some walkin'. Is that too much to ask?
The visit was hilarious....we got in our diapers and got weighed (the babies, not me and Shawn) and then waited a bit to see the doctor. The babies ran themselves ragged all over the little examining room: trying to open all the drawers and doors on the cabinets (thank you for the safety locks!) pulling all the magazines off the shelf, banging on the lid of the trash can....now you see why I take another adult with me to checkups! The room has all sorts of wild animals painted on the walls, and Hayden decided the painting of the lamb and the baby foxes were cute. She kept kissing the walls....(hopefully some sick kid didn't cough sputum all over the walls....now I have to worry about that!) There was a painting of a lion as well, but she wouldn't kiss the lion....she just kept walking up close to it and roaring at it. Cale noticed us laughing and came over to get in on the action....Shawn got a great picture on his phone of Cale "hugging" the lion on the wall. Where the babies come up with this stuff is beyond me....they are SO funny.
The visit went well.....Hayden is "petite" by the doctor's standards, which is pretty typical on my side of the family....it is pretty much the norm for us to be 4'11" and 98 pounds until the eighth grade....let's hope Cale doesn't suffer the same fate....Shawn was of normal stature so he still has a chance. For those who love the stats: Cale was 25 pounds 4 ounces and Hayden was 22 pounds 10 ounces. They are both in the fiftieth percentile (roughly) in height and weight, except for her weight. She's a little teeny, but what do you expect when the kid's diet is 60 percent cantaloupe and watermelon?

Kissing the baby fox on the wall...I am not sure why pictures sent from Shawn's phone do this thing with the white side....

Hugging the lion....

Waving and roaring at the lion....

Pants on head....general office hijinks.

The house is moving right along.....it is a little freaky to actually see the ground through my floor, but I am trying to reassure myself that it is all part of the process.....with all "old house" renovations, we are coming up on some unexpected repairs, but nothing too crazy yet. (keep your fingers crossed!!!) I will post more pictures soon...those of you who are familiar with our house are going to be shocked....it is going to be SO different!