15 month, not so well :( visit

So, Max and Emma have had a terrible cough for over a week now - this on the heels of a cold :( I am thinking that it may have something to do with starting MDO and all the fun new germs they have been exposed to, but nevertheless, I have got a couple snotty noses running around! We have tried everything to try to kick this thing... steam showers, steam showers with soothing vapor tablets, the snot sucker, saline spray, vapor rub, humidifyer, but nothing seems to be doing the trick. I called the nurse line at our pedi's office and they told me that there really wasn't anything that they would be able to do unless they began having difficulty breathing, so we trudge onward.
Yesterday was their 15 month well check! They actually turned 15 months last Thursday - which I cannot believe that their birthday was 3 freakin months ago - really?! I was looking at pics from October and Max's first haircut, and he just looks so much younger! So precious with his big toothless smile! Sweet boy! Sometimes I get scared that I will forget how little they were and what it felt like to have those two little babies sleeping on my chest, and how they just seemed to be swimming in their newborn clothes! Anywho... back to the well check! So, here are their stats:
Emma
weight: 20 lbs 14.5oz (5-10%)
height: 31 inches (50-75%)
head circ: 46cm (50%)
words you can say: dadda, dog, hot, uh-oh, all done, ball (although only mommy knows what you're saying), and I think you are trying to say "that" - I'lll report back later.
Diaper size: 3 (although when this box is gone we are moving on up to size 4)
Clothing size: 12-18 months
Teeth: you have 12 teeth and one about to break through (all of your 1 year molars have come in)

Max
weight: 20lbs 12.3oz (5%)
height: 32 inches (50-75%)
head circ: 46cm (15%)
The doctor said you have hit a plateau, so hopefully we will see more growth at the next visit.
words you can say: hot (your fav word), uh-oh, and all done (we need to work on your words son)
Diaper size: 3 (almost in 4s - by next week)
Clothing size: 12-18 (yay! finally wearing clothes for your age group!!! - although pretty much all of your 12-18 pants fall off you!)
Teeth: 5 that are completely through, 2 that are partially through, and 3 one year molars trying to cut in right now - so within a few weeks you will have a total of 10 - almost caught up with sister!

Unfortunantly, Mr. Max had a little ear infection (very mild). This is his very first ear infection - I knew this day would come eventually, but I feel so blessed that we made it this long without the babies getting sick. Even Dr. Holt was impressed with their immune system and the way they seem to be tolerating their current sickness! Yay babies! I like to think it's because of Lucy - I hear that families with dogs are sick less often, so thanks Lucy! Yet another reason why everyone should have a dog :)

In other news, Max is doing awesome in his new sure steps! As expected, he and his laid back personality, is taking it all in stride! Of course, now Emma thinks she needs to wear her shoes all.day.long too - but whatever! We did finally find some shoes that will fit his Flinstone feet with the SMO's on (sure steps) - they are what mom refers to as clown shoes (when my brother wears them), but you and I just think of them as "skater shoes", from Vans. And score, they were only $15 at the outlet mall! I was really bummed that he couldn't fit into his chucks, but it's only for 6 months.

We are "trying" to transition into 1 nap a day, but it's not going as easily as I had hoped. They seem to be delieriously tired by noon if they don't get their morning nap (which is why we kinda stopped going to church , sorry God!), which ineveidablly resulted in being overtired once we did put them down, and that meant, a short nap, and crabby, whiney babies. No bueno. So, it's a work in progress.

I have to mention this because it is just too funny... so Emma has become quite the mini-me, following me around, wanting to do the laundry (she's quite the little helper), she likes to put the clothes in the washer and push the buttons, then she claps for her self and says "all done"! She also LOVES to help throw things in the trash, but we have to really watch her because she likes to throw things away that aren't always trash (cough, cough, sippy cups). And the girl loves to wash her hands and use the hand sanitizer - what a weirdo. This morning she found my shoe and managed to get her foot in it and walked around with it on - so stinkin cute! Wish I would have had a picture of that! I wish there was a button you could push on your temple that would automatically take a picture or video of whatever you're looking at - someday, right! And Max has become such a little cuddle bug! He loves giving hugs, cuddling, wiping his snot on your shirt, and talking in "his language" to you. I think his favorite spot in the world is in my lap, and my heart just melts everytime he brings a book or toy over to me and plops down :)

Well, I guess that's about all for now. Here are some recent pics for you:

Hangin at the park

Heeeeere's Emma!

Puppy love :)

They take turns pushing each other (they haven't figured out how to "drive" it yet)

Emma likes to feed EVERYONE

Emma feeding the giraffe (pics of Max and the giraffe are on Jason's phone)

We only had one pair of mittens, so they had to share

Going to "School"

Well, after a lot of thought and prayer, Jason and I decided to look into enrolling the twins in an MDO program at a local church two days a week (9-2). I really struggled with this decision, but ultimately think it was the best decision for both the babies and for mommy! When we first started looking into it, we discovered that pretty much all of the mdo programs started in August or September and would not be accepting any more kiddos until the following school year - which was fine with me, I just took it as a sign that that was when the Lord wanted us to go. But, wouldn't you know, about a week later, one of the 2 mdo's that we liked called and told me that they just had a family move away and they had two children Max and Emma's age and that there was now an opening! She went on to say how incredibly rare this was, so I took it as a sign from God that this was what we should do. They had their first day of MDO on January 5th, and they both did AMAZING! Neither one of them cried at all when we dropped them off! I was most worried about how they would handle the whole nap situation, and while most of the time they do take a nap, it is always less than an hour long :( They have been taking a morning nap around 9a for a LONG time and they usually average 1.5-2 hours, so this whole 30-50 min nap business is not so great. We are trying to transition into one nap a day, but it appears that maybe we aren't quite ready yet, but we'll keep at it. My hope is that we can get them to start napping after lunch every day (around 11:30-12) and that they will sleep at least 2 hours, but for now, we will continue to give the babies a second nap around 2:30/3.
I am pretty much the world's worst mommy... I didn't get a chance to take a pic of them on their first day of school (or their second, or any of the days following) - but I am going to make a point to do it on Tuesday!
In other news... Max and Emma will be 15 months old tomorrow! I really cannot believe it has been 3 months since their bday - I mean come on, really?! It's soooo cliché, but time just goes so flippin fast! For instance, I just had my 31st bday, and when someone says something about 10 years ago, my mind immediately thinks about the 90s and high school, not college - is that weird?? Here's me 10 years ago at 21:



ahh, those were the days, the days I never had to research the best under eye concealer to hide my dark circles, wish I would have appreciated my hair at the time, little did I know that pregnancy would change my once "boring" hair - I would LOVE to hair "boring" hair again! OK enough reminicing! After breastfeeding and thyroid issues, I finally have a "balanced" body on the inside (relatively speaking) - so now it's time to get back not only my pre-pregnancy body, but my pre-fertility treatment body (you would be amazing at what those drugs can do to you). I'm not big on "resolutions", but I do have some goals that I am going to work toward, my body is just a part of me trying to be the best mom, wife, daughter, and friend that I can be. Here's to a great 2012!

Update: 13-14 months

EEK! I am so bad about updating this blog! It is my new years resolution to update much more often! I feel like so much has changed in the last 2 months - my little babies are growing up! (tear)

Oh my, where to start... (it's easiest to just bullet point things and throw in a little rambling here and there):
-Max learned to get into the standing position all by himself on 11/23
-we drove down to Wimberley to spend Thanksgiving with Mimi and Poppy and you guys were soooooo good the whole way down there and they whole time we were there! Mommy and Daddy were so proud of you guys! I bought a Baby Longhorn DVD and even though it's only like 25 min long - you guys watched it over and over and over for 2 hours (which got us about to Waco without a peep!) - you guys loved it, so what if it's a little UT brainwashing ;) oops, sorry daddy, they didn't have any baby aggie dvds! The rest of the way, you guys just hung out, napped, and ate snacks. When we got to Austin, we stopped and had dinner with Aunt Memi, Gabe, and your bff Nola. Once we got to wimbo, you guys did so well sleeping and playing and eating - you LOVED running around outside and tormenting Ollie, the poor kitty cat! I know Mimi and Poppy loved hanging out with you guys too!
-Both of you continue to be obsessed with the iPhone, and darn if you guys are so stinkin smart! Emma, you have quickly figured out how to unlock the iPhone, so Mommy and Daddy had to put a code on our phones so you won't delete everything, or call random people! But, you are able to access the camera and will often leave me little surprise photos and videos that always make me smile :)

Let's see... what else...
-sleeping has not been great the last two months :( Not sure what the deal is kiddos??? Both of you take turns or sometimes together getting up all.night.longggggg!!!! I'm pretty sure teething was the culprit for Mr. Max, but Miss Emma, come on, sympathy pains?? what's the deal?! And seriously, what is up with the early morning wake ups? Since you turned one, they just keep getting earlier and earlier and earlier! Ugh! What happened to my 7-7 babies?? These days I would give anything for you to sleep 'til 7 again! Your wake ups have ranged from 5:30-6:45, these days ranging more between 6-6:30, Mommy and Daddy agreed that we were not getting out of bed before 6! So, you can just forget about this whole 5:30, 5:45 business, and honestly, we are starting to lean more toward 6:30 - so you guys better just figure it out or learn to play quietly in your beds until then! We have tried putting to bed earlier (you know the whole "sleep begets sleep" thing") which didn't work, then we tried putting you to bed later, and that still did nothing, so we tried tiring you out during the day, but nothing seems to be working.... sigh :( I miss sleep. But, like I said you guys are getting better, some nights neither of you even wake up at all, so that def makes getting up at 6am a *little* easier.
-Max, you've still been a rock star at physical therapy, always impressing Miss Sarah with your improvements and progress. You are walking so good now, with such good balance! Miss Sarah does however think that you would benefit from wearing some Sure Steps (little orthopedic braces that you wear in your shoes) so that we can correct your feet (pronated feet - you kind of walk on the inside of your feet) which can become a problem later, so it's best that we correct it now. I know, I know, ONE more thing... my poor baby, you are such a strong little trooper, you just have to laugh... you are the healthiest little boy that has had the most medical issues: flappy larynx, plagiocephaly, silent reflux, mild hypospadius, torticolis, low muscle tone, and now this :( But you are such a good, laid back little guy you just take it all in stride!We did pick out some cool dinosaur sure steps for you though - so there is that, and you should only have to wear them for about 6 months - no sweat, right?! You should be getting them next week (1/11).
-Hmmm, you guys are still wearing size 3 diapers, although I don't think you will for much longer - y'all are just getting so big!
-I did weigh you guys at Pet Smart the other day (they had a big scale there for big dogs) and oddly enough (although, I don't know why I'm surprised) you guys both weighed the EXACT same! 21.4 pounds - weird! I even did it twice just to be sure! Crazy!
-Max, you had haircut #2 just before Christmas. You didn't do quite as well as you did the first time, you ended up sitting in mommy's lap, but I think it's because you didn't take a very good nap, so you weren't in the best mood.
*Warning, my brain is not working so great, so the following tidbits are not in chronological order, sorry!
-You guys LOVE roaming around the house, taking everything out of the tupperware cabinet, throwing things in the trash can (including sippy cups, toys, tupperware, etc), racing toward any open door in the house and suddenly getting really quiet, going in your room and closing the door (y'all are obsessed with opening and closing doors), crawling into Lucy's crate, and more than anything else, you guys LOVE to go outside and play! I am so thankful that we live in a very quiet neighborhood with a cul-de-sac and y'all can just roam around and explore without the threat of cars coming and going! Emma, you are quite a bit more vocal than your brother and like to let us know when you want to go outside; you will bring me your shoes and or jacket, point to your jacket, or go up to the door point and grunt. If I don't let you go outside, you have been known to throw yourself on the floor and throw a fit - not a big fan of that.You also get quite upset when it's time to come in. It is interesting trying to corral a couple toddlers in a wide open space - intersting indeed! Emma, you keep picking up acorns and putting them in your mouth, then spitting them out, I guess you think you might find one that actually tastes good??
-You guys are still big fans of bath time, also known as daddy time, as he is the primary bath giver. I always hear you guys splashing and laughing and having fun. You guys brush your teeth every night and think it is hilarious :)
-Mimi and Poppy got you both some potty seats for Christmas and we opened them up the other day and thought we would try them out before bath time, and what do you know... Emma you peed in the potty! First try! It was soooo cool! Of course, you have yet to do it again, but we'll keep trying - no pressure... yet ;)
-BIG NEWS... you guys started going to Mothers Day Out at MacArthur Blvd Baptist Church on Thursday 1/5. Mommy and Daddy dropped you guys off at 9a and to my surprise, neither one of you cried at all! So proud! You guys did soooo good! You played with the other kids, ate all your lunch, and even took a nap! (Max did much better in the nap department than you Emma - so you should probably work on that). I just hope it goes this well on Tuesday when y'all go back for day #2!
-We had Christmas at our house this year... what a whirlwind of a day! We had like 30 adults plus like 10 kids all over here, whew it was a crazy day! Mimi and Poppy and Uncle Jacob (Uncle Kenny didn't come - with have to take that up with him later) came up here to spend the holiday with us, which was soooo great! Santa brought you guys a circus tent with a big 6ft tube! You were both showered with (too many) gifts and love.
-Speaking of Santa... we went to the mall a week before Christmas to see Santa, and as it turns out, you were both completely terrified of him! But I guess everyone's got one of those pics in their collection :)
-What can you guys say? Well, Emma you can say mamma, dadda, hot, all done, ball (bah), and dog (gah) and you also try really hard to imitate what ever I say - so smart! Max, you are very good at saying mamma, dadda, hot (your favorite word), and all done. You both know the sign for all done and use it all the time, Emma you know how to sign "more" and use it sometimes - we just kinda started the whole sign language thing.
-What size are you wearing? You are now both wearing 12-18 months (Max still wears some 12 months clothes).
-What are you eating? EVERYTHING! You guys usually get up around 6:15a, drink 8oz of milk (bottle), eat breakfast around 7:30 (pancakes, waffles, eggs, oatmeal, always fruit), you then go down for a nap around 9a and will sleep for a good 2 hours most of the time, then you get up around 11, eat lunch around 11:30 (grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich/Elvis special, grilled cheese with avacado, turkey and cheese roll ups, quesadillas, homemade veggie pizzas, etc *always fruit), then you go down for nap #2 between 1-2 which usually lasts about an hour, when you get up from you nap, you get a snack (graham crackers, mum mums, raisens, fruit, cheese, apple sauce, yogurt, etc), then you just play until about 6 when we eat dinner (lately you have been eating what we are eating, but sometimes I make your own dinner), then it's off to bath time with daddy, another 8 oz milk bottle, and it's night night by 7:30.
-You favorite books: these have been your favs for a while, but I don't know that I have ever recorded it, so here they are: I Love You Through and Through, Following Tilly Bee, The Belly Button Book, Pajama Time, The Baby Einstein Colors Book (not sure of the name), Goodnight Moon, and Touch and Feel Farm. We read books every night before bed, it's my favorite part of the day :) I LOVE that you both love books!

OK well, it's getting late and mommy is TIRED, so I am going to stop for now, but here are some pics and videos from the past two months: