Matthew & Kayla's First Halloween

Pumpkin carving on Halloween-eve...

Kayla didn't show an interest in the pumpkin, hence the lack of pictures of her with it. She was more intent on getting the newspaper into her mouth.

The final product! Jon wanted to make a happy pumpkin so it wouldn't be scary for them.

Thanks to Craigslist I managed to find some pretty cute costumes for a reasonable price ($7 for Kayla's and $5 for Matthew's). Not bad when they probably would have been at least $15 brand new!

Matthew the Bear (holding him felt like holding a stuffed animal!)

Kayla the Lion (I added a purple bow to the mane as an attempt to make her look girly).

Waiting patiently.

We started the evening off at 6:00pm at Melissa and Luke's (because they actually have a neighbourhood to trick-or-treat in). We spent 30 minutes trick-or-treating, and Matthew and Kayla were great! Their neighbourhood goes all out with the decorating, so there was a lot for them to look at. Most houses were quite receptive to us trick-or-treating with babies, and even gave us extra candy because Matthew and Kayla were so cute!

Once our arms were tired, we loaded them up in the car and drove to Jon's parents' house for a quick stop, followed by an attempted visit to Jon's Oma and Opa's. We then went to our church's Trunk-n-Treat event (people decorate the trunks of their cars were simple games with candy as prizes) to check it out, received a couple handfuls of candy and a few slices of pizza, and then went to my Aunt Marian's house for the last stop. We ended up back home (well, at my parents' house) at 8:00pm.

Kayla quickly got into the candy bag, so they each got to eat one piece :)

Maybe that's why they were both wired when we got back to our house at 9:00pm tonight. Sugar high? :)

Kayla's CRAWLING!

Ya, you read that right. Kayla's officially crawling now.

Luckily the baby gate I ordered through Sears was available for pick-up today, so Jon quickly installed it this afternoon.

It seemed like all she needed was a week and a half of creeping for her to figure out that going on her hands and knees is much better.

Not only did she (officially) start crawling today, but she also mastered crawling up my parents' two steps from the family room to the kitchen - by herself. All she needed was Jason's laptop cord at the top to serve as a little incentive to do it. Should be interesting to see if she remembers how to do it and tries it again.

I'm hoping Matthew learns something new soon. I want to post (read: brag) about him too! He just continues to be content playing with his toys. He is full of giggles; I often call him my "goofy boy". I was reading him "Where's My Bear?" yesterday, and every time I got close to the "Sneak-a-peak-a-boo!" part he burst out laughing. It was great. He's so easy to please. He even lets me pick the boogers from his nose :)

We've taken a little break from the prunes. Yesterday they had two poo-namis, both in disposable diapers at least. But today...there was was a total of three poo-namis...all of which were in cloth diapers. GROSS. Bolding and adding caps doesn't even do it justice. The swooshing in the toilet was the gross part. YUCK.

Matthew and Kayla have now moved to having their morning (and afternoon or evening, if there was a poonami) baths in the 'big' bathtub. No more baby tub. A little more work for me, but more fun for them. Both Matthew and Kayla dislike laying down in the tub, they both get close to panicking each time I lay them down. Guess they have to get used to it. Speaking of the tub, Kayla stood up against the edge while I was busy changing Matthew (no, I didn't leave her there alone, I was on the floor beside the tub).

And she pulls herself up on toys.

And she pulls herself up on coffee tables.

And she pulled herself up on my parents' couch this evening.

What's next, walking? (Please no. Wait a little. Let Matthew catch up!)

Anyways, this was supposed to be a quick post. I'm going to post it, but hopefully I'll add pictures to it yet so keep checking back!

P.S. Gotta love the bum in the air shots!

Matthew's Visit to the Pediatrician

Matthew had his visit with the pediatrician this morning to discuss his 'flat' head. Matthew did SO amazingly well! Dr. Bhui did a complete physical (height, weight, head size, eye movement, heart beat, etc) and Matthew was 100% cooperative. He didn't make a peep! Dr. Bhui said he was "excellent".

As for Matthew's head shape, Dr. Bhui wanted us to go to Surrey Memorial to have an x-ray done of his skull. This x-ray would show if any of the sutures in his skull have fused prematurely, causing his skull to grow unevenly (craniosynostosis). If there is premature fusion, then he would have to have surgery on his skull. If there isn't premature fusion, then he says that his skull will correct itself over time.

So, off to Surrey Memorial we went. I entered through the south entrance, which completely disoriented me as I'm used to entering through the north entrance. I found the x-ray lab, but was told that all outpatient x-rays are now completed at the Jim Pattison Outpatient Centre. So, back to the car we went (thank goodness I hadn't moved my car to the hospital parking lot, otherwise I would have paid that second time for no reason). I was hoping there wasn't going to be a long wait (because we didn't have an appointment), but was prepared with milk, toys, and snacks anyways. We ended up getting helped right away! The radiologist's name was Matthew as well, so Matthew was right away at ease (actually, he was a young white guy so I felt much better about everything...not that I have anything against older East Indian men...). I had to lay Matthew down on the x-ray bed, and then they wrapped his arms and legs up super tight. Then they put the edges of the bed up against the sides of his head, and tightened the straps across his forehead so he couldn't move. That's when Matthew started crying (do you blame him?). They took an x-ray from the front, and then they flipped the bed to the side so they could do a side profile. So proud of Matthew for doing so well!

We go back to the pediatrician on Thursday, November 3rd to discuss the results.

P.S. Thank goodness I only had Matthew with me, and thank goodness that it was Matthew and not Kayla going through all of this! Kayla would NOT have done well being held for that much, or being strapped down for the x-ray!

7 Months Old!

I think I say it every month, but this is crazy. 7 months old already? CRAZY.

Matthew weighs 16lb 4 oz

Kayla weighs 17lb 1 oz

Big news for this week: Kayla learned to creep (on Sunday, Oct 16)! YAY! For the past couple of weeks or so she had figured out how to turn in circles and could move backwards (much to her frustration because she would be trying to move forwards), but she finally figured it out. I'm hoping as she gains confidence in her new ability to move around that her whining for someone to help her will come to an end. Her whining was definitely starting to drive me nuts! I can't be with her 24-7 when she has a sibling that deserves an equal portion of my attention. It's great that Matthew is so easy going, but now I really have to be conscious of splitting my one-on-one time with them as equally as I can.

I tried to get some decent (read: smiling) 7-month pictures of them today...this is the best I got:

Seriously, how hard is it to smile for the camera? I even had Jon and my Mom there trying to be funny!

As I look back over the past 7 months, I've come to the following realizations:

• By three months, I felt like the worst (not that it was bad, just the busy-ness) of it was over.
• By six months, we were starting to get a routine going.
• By seven months, we definitely have a routine going.

I don't have either of them on a strict schedule (ie. meal times vary, nap times vary, etc), but we definitely have a routine. Bed/Nap times are seldom a struggle, which is so nice! A typical day is like this (you can totally skip reading this part...it's totally boring...but just wanted to have it 'recorded' somewhere!):

7:45am Matthew and Kayla wake up. They eat rice cereal for breakfast (approx 1.5 Tbsp each), followed by their bottle (approx 3 oz).

8:15am Bath times. Typically the child that was up first or the one that is the least content to play toys is bathed first. In the baby tub in the kitchen sink. Still. I know...too lazy to keep the bathroom clean.

8:45am Play time with Mommy.

9:00am More bottle (approx 3 oz).

9:15am Nap time. During this time I: pump (if I hadn't done it before they woke up in the morning), and/or shower, and/or clean up bath stuff, and/or work.

10:15am Wake up & bottle.

The rest of the day typically follows a 2 hours up/1 hour sleep schedule.

1:00pm Lunch time & bottle. Either apples, pears, or banana, along with prunes. They definitely don't have Jon's digestive system (yet!). Prunes daily are a must. They typically eat a 1/4 baby food jar each.

2:00pm I pump and work.

3:00pm Snack & bottle. Either yogourt (25 grams each) or a Baby Mum-Mum.

6:00pm Dinner & bottle. Either squash, sweet potatoes, peas, or carrots. No carrots for Matthew though - he hates them. Although, I mixed some in his sweet potatoes today and he didn't notice :) Usually 1/4 baby food jar each.

7:00pm Off to Grandma & Grandpa's house for a cup of coffee, play time, and cuddles.

8:30pm Home. Last bottle of the evening.

9:00pm Bedtime.

9:15pm I pump, tidy the house, and make Jon's lunch.

10:15pm Bedtime for me :)

That's our typical day.

Now, for some pictures!

Playing in the play pen while Mommy pumps in the morning. They have set toys that stay in here, and they are only in the play pen during my morning pump (if I didn't get up before them). *Like Kayla's wild outfit? LOL*

They've learned how to hold their own bottles (for the most part). Definitely convenient!

I took Matthew and Kayla for a ride around the living room in the laundry basket the other morning. I think I had more fun than they did :)

My mom decided to try and teach Matthew and Kayla how to stand up in their cribs (well, just in Kayla's crib...Matthew's hasn't been lowered yet).

When Jon and I first set up the cribs we had put the plastic rail guard at the bottom of the crib because we thought it was ugly and had no idea why it was on the crib. My mom explained that it was to protect both the crib/baby for when they start chomping on the crib. Now I believe her :)

Play (?) fighting.

Playing together. It's hard to give them opportunities to stand and play together when it's just me (let alone take a picture of it!). The risk of one of them falling and hurting themselves is to high.

Playing toys. It was overalls and solid long-sleeve shirt day.

First time eating a Baby Mum-Mum. They quite enjoy them!

This is what happened once I cleaned them up after that Mum-Mum...Kayla attacked Matthew and started to suck his head.

Hanging out with Daddy.

With her new-found freedom, she's starting to get into things. At least she's choosing books wisely...we're proud of our good Christian girl.

Good morning cuddles with Mommy. She actually fell asleep on me for another 30 minutes after waking up in the morning. Like my Simpsons pj pants? LOL

Bibs are a must for Matthew if you want him to wear the same shirt for more than 5 minutes. Although Kayla is a drooler too, Matthew has her beat by far! If he's not wearing a bib his shirt gets a huge 'v' of drool.

See, Kayla's a drooler too. See the 'matching' outfits again?

Auntie Melissa was playing with Matthew and Kayla by the sliding door at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Every time Lacey barked (at our command) Matthew burst out in laughter. It was pretty cute.

Watching the hockey game with Daddy on Thanksgiving, while the girls (less Kayla) played cards.

I finally used some of my birthday money from my parents (I know, 8 months late) and bought myself a bread maker. I've been wanting one since last Christmas, but wanted to make sure I really wanted one before I went out and bought one. Wal-Mart's sale (regular $88 for $38) was too irresistible! This was my very first loaf, using my brother David's recipe. I've made two loaves of it now, and both have caved at the top so I have to do a slight modification of the ingredient amounts.

I also made buns for tonight's dinner. Those were a success! Jon's pretty proud of his pulled pork sandwiches (with homemade onion rings). It was tasty!

Before-bed cuddles with Daddy.

After having Matthew and Kayla weighed I went to Sears to buy a baby gate (which they didn't have in stock so I had to order from the catalogue), and then to Superstore for some groceries. This was the first time that I left their car seats in the car and had both Matthew and Kayla sitting in the front of the shopping cart. I think within 5 minutes Kayla had turned around and was caught sucking on the end of the celery. I took that away from her, and then a few minutes later my Mom caught her sucking on the end of the bananas. And then on the lid of the mayo jar. Crazy girl.

Matthew and Kayla enjoyed their first cookie from Superstore today (if you're under 10 you can stop by the bakery for a free cookie while you're grocery shopping). I totally took advantage of having kids. It was lunch time, and I was hungry! Matthew did quite enjoy it though. Shopping took a little longer as I had to keep stopping to give them nibbles.

Kayla's starting to pull herself up on objects. Scary thought, I know. That would mean she would be even more mobile. My house is definitely not ready for this. I'm not ready for this.

Matthew's still content to just sit on the floor. I still use a pillow behind him because I can't trust 100% that he won't fall. At least I only have one mover at a time. If Matthew's anything like I was as a child then it will be a while still before he moves :)

ANYWAYS, sorry this was a mumble-jumble of thoughts - I wanted to quickly get this post up. And hopefully there aren't too many spelling/grammar errors in this entry, although I'm sure someone in my family (read: Melissa or my Mom) will let me know so that I can correct them before anyone else notices. Good night, it's bed time for me :)