Fall Walks

Even though the leaves changed quite awhile ago, they are still pretty colors in the trees and are also all over the ground in our neighborhood.  Owen and Oliver seem to like going on walks even more now, probably because of all the crunching noise the leaves make under the stroller.  Last week, I took them on a short walk after work and since it was more windy that day than usual, leaves were literally raining down from the sky and the babies loved it!  We were walking into screens of colorful leaves and I had to keep plucking them out of their laps and off their heads.  I've started dressing them in hats and hoodies just to keep their heads extra warm.  This day, the only hats I could find that fit were a couple I have saved for Christmas!  They did the job though until I get time to go shopping for some bigger ones.

The other funny thing about fall walks is that the cooler air relaxes the babies and they usually fall asleep for a bit on the way home.  I can't blame them, I probably would too if someone pushed me around in a nice cozy stroller on a cool afternoon. 

Before the walk...

After the walk... Good thing they have a warm brother to snuggle up next to!

First Cousins

Going back to summer...I was looking through our pictures and remembered we had a bunch of cute ones from July, when Reed, Brandi, and the girls came to visit.  It was all of the kid's first time meeting, and special because they are all each other's only first cousins!  We did a lot of fun things together, including the National Zoo, Air and Space Museum, and lots of time in the pool (probably the most for Beth Ann)!  It was a record heat wave for the area that entire week, and so we tried to only bring the babies along for indoor activities.  All the kids had fun playing together in a room full of baby toys - proof that Bumbo Seats can be useful after the age of 2!

Beth Ann was a great helper with her little cousins, doing things like entertaining one baby while I gave the other a bath.  Here are a couple cute pictures with her and the boys.  The one of Owen made me laugh when I saw it because he was in that funny stage where he had fuzzy little patches of hair, but not nearly the full head of hair he has now!  I barely recognized him :)

And our best attempt to get all 4 cousins in one shot, all looking at the camera... almost!  A very fun week!!

Baby Motorcycle!

My parents and grandmother came to visit 2 weekends ago and the boys had so much fun playing and doing different activities than in their daily schedule.  One of the new activities was as simple as discovering how fun it is to play in a diaper box.  I guess I forgot how fun boxes really were, but my dad reminded me that my brother and I used to prefer these over store bought toys when we were little!  The babies were fascinated with the picture of a baby on the sides and flaps of the box - I think they thought he was a new friend.

But then... my dad caught site of the baby police motorcycle we had just purchased at the NVPOM sale.  It was still sitting in the living room because we haven't decided where to store it until they're actually old enough to play with it.  This little power bike is probably meant for 2-3 year olds, but it was too cute to pass up at the sale.  My dad couldn't resist putting them on it to see their reaction, and surprisingly they were naturals at holding onto the handle bars and reaching for the control panel!  Now whose mode of transportation is better?!

They both had their own turn, and then of course together.

Owen decided he didn't like having a back seat driver.  Hands off Oliver, I'm driving!



Proof of Toof

Going through the teething experience so far isn't nearly as bad as I expected (knock on wood).  Owen got a tooth first (his bottom right), and within 2 days Oliver got his first (bottom left).  Then a week or so later, Oliver got a top tooth!  This one is pretty cute because it's so big and completely changes how he looks when he flashes his big smile :)  We were at the park this past weekend and I got a good shot of it while he was leaning back and smiling on the swing.

We think his other top tooth is next - you can sort of see the outline of it forming in his gums, and it actually looks painful.  From what I can tell...he's definitely going to need braces!!

They Eat What They Eat

I don't work on Friday's, and what you might think would be a leisurely day at home with the babies usually ends up being a day I take a much needed nap in the morning while our nanny takes care of the boys, followed by a 2-3 hour shopping extravaganza when they go down for their 2 hour nap at noon.  There is a Target and Babies R Us a few miles down the road and within a couple minutes of each other, and that is where I can easily spend 2-3 hours stocking up on basics week after week.  Luckily I can usually meet most of our grocery needs at Target and don't have to hit up the Safeway as well.  I've learned what the routine "deals" are for baby formula and food and find it so crazy that randomly one week it's buy 3 get $15 off and then the next week full price, that I refuse to buy things during the full price week knowing if I just wait a few days it'll probably be back on sale again.  So my strategy has been to literally clear the shelves in Target of baby formula when I happen to be there and it's on sale.  To give you an idea, here's a picture of our current inventory which is actually a bit low on the number of double boxes of formula I buy in one trip!

I buy the gallons of pure mixing water just to be on the safe side and avoid any extra stuff our well water has in it that is good for adults but probably not ideal for little babies.  So anyway, what made me think to write this post was the big sale that Babies R Us has off and on for the organic baby food pouches we use.  It is so random and also hit or miss in terms of variety available that last Friday I felt like I hit the jackpot when I went in and saw both the Plum and Earth's Best brands on sale...with many new "flavors" I've never seen before!  I bought 90 of them and when I got home felt like I had my own little baby food store in my cupboard.

Who knew "butternut squash, pear" existed, or "blueberry, pear, & purple carrot"?  What's a purple carrot anyway?  Well it sounds healthy enough and it's organic so I can't go wrong, right?  Anyway, as I mentioned in a previous post, these pouches are both awesome and deceptive at the same time.  They're convenient, BPA-free, and healthy...but tricky in their naming and quantity of contents.  For example, "spinach, peas, & pear" is really primarily made of up pears, peas, and spinach according to the ingredients listing on the back.  Which is fine, and maybe the difference isn't really big enough to note.  But it's definitely big enough for Owen to realize that he's getting a hefty dosage of yummy fruit with his spinach and to happily eat a whole 4oz package in one sitting at lunch!  They are both really good eaters and as a reward we've started bringing out what we call the After Dinner Dragon that Ryan bought in Canada a few weeks ago.  They jump and squeal with excitement each time they see it.  Especially Oliver, his face just lights up when he sees this silly thing that we feel bad when Dragon time is over and we have to make him fly back out of the kitchen and into his cave in the dining room.

Holding Hands At Dinner

Now that the boys are becoming much more aware of each other, they are pretty entertaining to watch at dinner.  They need to see what the other is eating at all times.  Which is usually the same thing, except now that Owen has turned out to be the more picky eater he demands some type of fruit mixed in with his meal.  So I usually sneak Oliver some plain green beans or other veggie that Owen will make a face at and cry if a spoonful comes near his mouth.  Seriously, he can smell it coming and we think even recognized that the "yucky" food was coming from the short glass baby food jars and not the squeeze pouches which are mixed with his favorite fruits.

Anyway, the other day Owen made such a big effort to hold Oliver's hand after dinner and I was lucky enough to get it on video.  Oliver didn't seem too interested, but Owen kept reaching for that hand!  Maybe we should all take more time to hold hands with those we love :)   

Pumpkin Patch

Since the weather was so nice, we took the babies to their first pumpkin patch this weekend.  I thought since I've been buying so much seasonal baby food with pumpkin puree mixtures like "pumpkin banana" or "pumpkin, cranberry, and apples" that it would be nice for them to see what a real pumpkin actually looks like.  We went right after they had a little nap, so they were groggy eyed but still seemed to enjoy looking at all of the bright orange pumpkins.  Oliver liked to grab at the stems and try pushing them off their display spots on the hay.  We decided it was safest and easiest to buy them each a baby pumpkin.