Rocking Good Time

The boys went with their playgroup on a fieldtrip on Friday and we had a blast. It's one of those indoor playgrounds. This one had a toddler section, making it a good place for us to go.

Overall, we had a blast. Both boys were terrified of the ball pit. We could coax them in a few times, but then they freaked out and got out as fast as they can, crying if someone was in their way. That was okay, as you can see from the pictures, they had lots of other fun. The touch screen computers were a real hit with Nathan. Corwyn couldn't get enough of the rocking horses.

Nathan got tired and cranky around 20 minutes before it was time to leave (we were there for 2 hours total). So I was holding him, his head resting on my shoulder. Then he started with the occasional giggle. He was watching the kids in the ball pit. 10 minutes later, he wanted down and let me to the ball pit where he climbed in cautiously. After a few pokes at the balls, he was diving and jumping and loving it. Of course, then it was time to leave. So I carried him, kicking and screaming out of the pit this time.

Here are some pictures of our adventure. Unfortunately, my camera got broken in that trip. It's my small camera, so I can still take pictures with my DLSR, but that one doesn't go out adventuring. Not sure when it will be replaced. I'll keep you posted.

Oh yeah, the last picture is a teaser for the giveaway I'm planning next month. No, you cant have that one, its mine. But it will be a piece by the same artisan, who also happens to be my sister (and a mom trying to support her family). Follow me if you don't already. I wont be having the giveaway until I get to at least 50 on GFC. You can also vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs. It can help me get more followers fast. To vote, just click the button. No need to do anything else. You can do that daily too if you want.

WW Take xxx

I joined WW this week. Well, let me be a bit more specific, I joined last summer. I've got a monthly membership, but going to meetings with the boys was not easy and getting harder each week. So I stopped going and of course without the accountability, I let what little progress I've made go away. So this week, I found a meeting I could go to at lunch one day a week. It doesn't interfere with my favorite gym workout day, so that's good.
I've had success on WW before, pre-infertility treatments, pregnancy etc. I hope to have it again. My WW buddies are online now which will be a bit different. But my key WW buddy in person from last time is my key WW buddy this time, we just live in different countries.
So confession time, at somewhere between 5'1" and 5'2", I weigh in at 184. Oh joy. My waist is 108cm (sorry, the WW website wanted metric), my hips and bust are both 113cm, which gives me a balanced shape, but certainly not an hourglass one (more like a 6 hour glass). I'm one of those who gains weight around the waist, a beer belly if you will on a man. Makes me look like I'm pregnant.
I'm almost halfway into week 1 and its not bad. The new points plus program takes some getting used to. We'll have to wait and see how it goes. I'll report in weekly, sometime after my meeting (Tuesday) and when I take measurements later at home.

Onto more fun stuff, here are some more pictures from that wonderful session in the park with my friend and his camera. There are more, lots more. Its hard to pick favorites.

Speechless

So, I've already done my wordless Wednesday, but when I saw the next round of pictures taken by my friend, I was stunned into awed silence.  Here is one picture as sneek peek.....

Wordless Wednesday - Real men do eat quiche - with spinach no less

Baths

Nathan has for the most part, always liked and at his worse, tolerated baths. He likes to play with the toys and loves to splash.

Corwyn is a different story. From his first bath, he's rarely enjoyed them. He mostly tolerated them, but sometimes, not even that. Oh he's happy when I say its bath night (for us its usually twice a week). He walks to the bathroom and leans over to play with the toys. But the minute I put him in, nine times out of ten, he freaks. He will not sit and prefers just to cling to me while I wash as much of him as I can. It doesn't matter if he's the only one in the bath, or Nathan is already there. Once in a while, he'll reach down and pick up a toy, but that is rare. And once I try to wash his hair, that's it. Screaming and climbing me to get out.

But tonite was one of the good nights. In fact, it's the best I can remember. He started out the same, standing up, not wanting to get in, but eventually started to play with the toys and when prompted actually sat down. I decided then not wash his hair, no point in pushing my luck. But then they started a splashing contest. The first one to get in his eyes, he looked a bit upset, but then he laughed and that was it. The splashing went on and on and on. I was soaked, the bathroom was soaked, but I was so happy. I even got to wash his hair. And more than that, I had to drain the water and still had to coax him out while he shivered.

I don't know if its a one-off or a trend, but right now I'm happy and want to share it.

Here's a picture of his first bath in the NICU. The nurse was very efficient, but he was having none of it.

Wordless Wednesday - Puddles

Cloth Diapers - Take 2

I used them almost full time (disposables at night) for the first 6 months. Then the boys started solids but didn't really have a corresponding solidification of their output (soft poops, call it what it is). Add that to round 1 of teething, no sleep etc and I stopped using cloth. I originally planned to go back to them but it didn't happen.
I stripped them all down a few months ago and put them in a bag. On Friday, for some unknown reason, I decided I'm going to give them another go. It was either that or sell them and I didn't seem to have it in me to do that yet. And we did pretty good on the weekend.
I need to remember to use a liner every time. The boys pooped in the morning, so when I changed them, I didn't put in a liner. Um yeah. Both pooped again a few hours later. Oh well, I shook off as much as I could into the toilet and ended up washing the weekend ones yesterday.
I have mostly pocket diapers, some bumgenius, some happy heinies and a few kawaii baby (same idea, 1/2 the cost) for the most part. I also have g-pants. I like the g-pants with the liners from the pockets. It still gives the slightly trimmer size so all their clothes still fit the same. Even the pocket ones aren't bad since my guys are so skinny that I have to cinch all the waists.
I think the hardest thing is going to be my Nanny. She looked at me like I was nuts when I showed her this morning. I prestuffed all the diapers so that shouldn't be an issue. I have a wets bag so they are not going in with the regular laundry and I plan to wash these myself. She already does so much for so little, that I'm not going to ask her to do more.
Overall, the money savings is amazing. Since I've already bought the cloth diapers, there is no more outlay there. I'll still be able to resell them when we're done.
In general, cloth diapered kids potty train sooner. I have to admit that's a nice incentive. I'll believe it when I see it though. Once concern I have is the sizing. I have all one-sizes and my boys are tall. The waists still have tons of room, but the rise is starting to cut it close. We'll have to see.
In the meantime, here are some cute shots of us hanging around the apartment on Sunday. Ignore the totally mismatched colors; they didn't care. The leggings went on after a change before a nap. Since we weren't going out, there was need to put the pants on again.

Button, Button, who has the Button?

ME!!!!


Thats right, thank to Giveaways, Giveaways, Giveaways my blog has a button. Look over to your right - there it is. Cute isnt it?

Feel free to add it to your page. Why? No reason right now. But when I get to either 50 GFC followers or 50 votes in Top Mommy blogs, I'm going to have a giveaway! It wont be a sponsored giveaway, but it will be good. It might get you extra entries to have my button.

We've had a rough weekend in our place. Nathan was first to be hit with the horrid stomach bug going around. Just as he was getting better, Corwyn went down for the count. Luckily, dispite a complete lack of sleep, mommy seems to have been missed. The friends who took Corwyn on the morning when Nathan was at his worse weren't quite so lucky. But they seem okay now. Took a few days to get back to normal energy and eating levels. This picture of Nathan was around 10am, the first sleep he had since starting to throw up at midnight.
 

Toddling into 2011

I honestly can't believe how fast the time is flying by. The boys are now 19 months, putting them just past the starting time to be toddlers. Seriously, my newborn preemies are toddlers now. How? When?


So what have they been up to? Where are they developmentally?

Both have obviously mastered walking and even running. Corwyn has a wonderful gait, so cute to look at, more of a swagger than a walk. I'm trying to get a good video of it. Both love to 'dance'. Dancing varies between bouncing up and down and swiveling the body around. Adorable, totally adorable.

Fine motor skills are progressing as I'd expect them to. Both can feed themselves quite well (when they want to) with either a fork or a spoon. I haven't let them play with knives; they still throw cutlery, so I'm guessing I'll let them try knives when they are 30 or 40 (years). Nathan will pull up and down his own zippers (once started). Corwyn has no interest in this at all. Both like to put 'things in things' so we do activities like putting small pompoms in a container with a small opening or sticks into bottles etc. There is no real preference for handed-ness.

Nathan loves anything electronic and has an obsession with phones and cameras. I finally found a good 'play' phone. It lights up, has sounds when you push buttons, pre-recorded messages and rings once its closed. It also lets me record a message on it anytime I want. They think its neat to hear my voice and their names. Nathan wants to do everything himself but gets frustrated very easily when something doesn't work for him. Things get thrown when this happens and he doesn't want to try again for a while. He loves music and points to the CD player the minute he gets up. He does like TV and seems to become absorbed whenever its on. I try to limit TV time and like to only have it on when I can sit with him and 'talk' about what he's watching.

Corwyn loves books. He loves to sit on your lap and turn the pages. He doesn't want to be read to when their are lots of words, but if there are only a few words to each page, he'll sit through a story. He likes to look at the pictures and 'talk' about what he sees. He is understanding sequence a bit better now because he knows when he skips a page in a story and we have to go back. He only likes electronics as a means to take it away from Nathan to tease him. If Nathan has no interest in a gadget, he doesn't care. Corwyn doesn't really notice TV. He seems to like In the Night Garden, but even with that he'll lose interest before its over. He loves his trains and his Thomas books are a favorite. Interestingly, the Thomas TV shows will only hold his attention for a couple of minutes at a time. He is a very caring boy. If Nathan (or anyone else) is crying, he will bring over a toy and try to help.

Both love cuddles and hugs. They have no shyness around strangers and will wave at almost everyone and give hi-5s on request.

Both can talk a bit, but it's inconsistent. Sometimes they will say words very clearly and the next time, the same word comes out unintelligible. I think its a matter of concentration. Christmas was cute. If they saw a picture of Santa they would point and say 'Santa' and when you ask what does Santa say they'd go 'ho ho'. Once in a while, you'd get a third ho, but it was usually 2. They are wonderful at their animal sounds. The latest is the lion roar. Elephant is cute because it involves raising an arm by the face for the trunk at the same time.

I wake each day wondering what new thing they will say, do or discover. It's a wild adventure that I wouldn't trade for anything.

Wordless Wednesday - Gingerbread Train

Christmas - A few pictures

I owe words and descriptions, but I had so much fun with the boys that by the time night rolled around, I didn't have the energy for it. So for now, some pictures.  The first couple are the Eve, after Santa had been. Followed by the morning. It doesn't take much to guess which presents were the biggest hits (and still are).  The last is the best Christmas gift I think I've ever gotten. They were done by a friend of my moms.

Keep coming back for more pictures and updates. I'm also planning a couple of giveaways soon.

I have a new button on the right, trying to get some votes on Top Mommy Blogs. Please click (you can click daily if you like). Also, the Reeces Rainbow link now shows that all the Angels met their holiday goals this year. Hopefully several of these wonderful kids will find homes soon.