A Few of Our Favorite Things

It has been a while since I have written about our favorite things the boys are doing now. I do this of course to update family & friends who care enough to read the blog - THANK YOU - and of course, partly so we don't forget these precious little moments.

The biggest kick I have gotten lately is from Augustus. Although, Raleigh is quite the comedian & will do anything to make you smile, Augustus has been cracking me up. He has this new voice. It only comes up when he is up to something & usually accompanies this crazy face where he tucks his chin down & sticks out his lower lip & sucks in his upper lip. Then if he talks it is this low, hilarious chatter to let us know what he thinks about what we are saying or doing. It truly is hilarious and reminds me soooooooooo much of Matthew and his stubbornness and maybe a little of my own failure to filter what I am feeling too.

Raleigh has learned "kiss" and does so most times you ask for a kiss. Tonight when I was putting him to bed I say "kissy, kissy" and he kissed me and gave me a hug, and I had to ask him again of course because I just had to have another one, and he did it again. I seriously cannot describe how amazing this feels. True love for sure! Augustus still does the whole open mouth kiss, and it does not have the same effect because it feels more like a slobbery dog kiss, sorry Gus, I know you will not be happy with that comparison in the future!

Raleigh is walking a lot more & a lot better. He no longer needs to have his hands up like a superstar (although he still does it for balance here & there). Although, he also added the chicken walk where he cramps his arms in and looks like he is making chicken wings or about to do the chicken dance! Augustus much prefers to crawl & if Rals sees him crawling he will usually follow suit.

Raleigh & the chicken walk

The boys are sleeping through the night with little interruption unless we have a crazy day making them overtired. I am afraid to put that in writing because I hate to jinx a good thing! Raleigh even slept through until 6 today, no rooster crowing at 5 am only to fall back asleep 10 minutes later; meanwhile, Mom & Dad can never fall back asleep in 10 minutes!!!

Both boys continue to add comprehension of many daily items to their repertoire as well. How awesome! They can point to their noses, hair, and bellies when you ask where it is. They also know the following words & will find them when asked...well, most of the time depending on how tired or otherwise engaged they are.

• Ball (first thing they understood, or at least could demonstrate they understood), truck, choo choo, Tonka (their big Tonka truck), kangaroo, koala, hat, book, airplane (and they usually run to the window & look up & all), and one of my personal faves is "shake it shake it" which is hilarious in itself to see them try to find a rattle & shake, or if they don't have one handy just shaking their little hands in the air. I know I am missing things, but this is a good start. They are getting better at pointing if I ask "where's Daddy/Nonnie, etc." but most of the time they will at least look at the person you are asking about. We are still working on "where's Mommy" because, really, how confusing is it for me to be asking where I am all the time...

Gus pointing to his nose...seriously, he is not trying to pick it!

Raleigh is the comedian, as I mentioned earlier, but Augustus is my little man who wants to be praised for being smart. He literally lights up when he does something & always looks for praise afterward. He just loves it. Raleigh is like "yeah, I know where that is, duh" and moves on, but Gus will look at you with these smiling eyes & squeezes you and wants a hug when he does something good. Funny, I am such a pleaser, and I think this is what he is trying to do too!

I am ecstatic that we can give them a few books & they do not just sit and chew on them. We have a couple of really cool texture/feely books for them and those are free game until we see them chewing them...then we ask them not to bite the book, and if they can't stop themselves well, we take them away for a bit. I hope they get the connection fully soon, but with their teething seemingly unending I won't hold my breath. They even sit for a while and look at their books, turning the pages, touching the different sensory items and are happy; that is until they decide they have to have their brother's book at that moment! Daddy has gotten really good at reading stories in the bathtub & they sit still for the most part during the stories now. We have so many great books from family in Australia that helps us introduce Aussie animals and colloquialisms. Fun:)

Speaking of Australia, Nannie & Poppy arrive tomorrow night. Everyone is super, super excited. I cannot wait to see how the boys react to seeing them in person again & not just on the computer screen through Skype. It has only been a couple of months since we saw them last, but the boys have changed so much in that short time.

This week we have tried to stay super busy again. We had a play date with friends. The boys had fun in A & A's backyard. See pictures below. Augustus even did a full tongue stick out...but I think it was just because he got some dirt in there, or he splashed too much water in his mouth...not sure which. Then went to the aquarium with our favorite other set of identical boys. Both Gus and Raleigh were walking around the same play area that they were crawling in just a few weeks ago, and it is kind of surreal. Wow, the older set of twins (D & C) can run...this momma is going to be tired in the future!! Today the boys went to another club for kids to run wild in with our twins group. They had fun. It is great to take them out as a family - much more organized chaos then when it is just the boys and me. The best part was seeing the boys play in the ball pen...and seeing Daddy playing with them. I really think Matthew had more fun!!! Also, it is great to catch up with other families & see where we will be in the future. Wow, kids running in all directions and having great fun with all their "twinkie" friends. Love it! We also went to the aquarium again this week.

Tomorrow will a late night, so the boys won't see Nanny & Poppy until Monday morning...look for pictures and updates later this week.

Raleigh says "I like dirt" - Gus looking a bit cheeky

The Boys sharing a motorcycle, both in cute AC/DC shirt...socks were mandatory, otherwise they would never be wearing them with their outfits;)

Gus - chilling in the ball pit

The Boys from behind...who's who???

Busy, Busy Weekend!

The boys are truly tired today. We kept them very busy this weekend. Plus, their new favorite activity is climbing, which can wear them and us all out!!!

First, Saturday morning we let them run wild in the backyard in their little swimming pool after their morning nap. Then it was on to an event for the March of Dimes at Gymboree. It was our first time taking the boys to a place like Gymboree, where it is basically like a padded room where they could go wild exploring all the big sensory toys and such. They had fun...but we did not have an afternoon nap before they got there, so they look like zombies in the pictures. They then slept the 30 minute ride home, which is so not enough for nap time, and they were cranky pants that night for sure! We still took them in the pool with Nonnie to help them relax before bed. Despite being overtired, a sure recipe for many overnight wake ups in our household, they slept really well. Of course, Raleigh stirred at 5 am...his norm now, so we have a new nickname for him "Rooster." I have an uncle Rooster, not sure he gets his nickname from the same meaning!








Sunday was baseball day! The boys went to their first game in Clearwater...how beautiful. Much prettier than Milwaukee; which is where I went to see my first baseball game. Although, I will definitely take the boys to Wrigley Field when they are old enough to enjoy it!! The game was to see the Clearwater Threshers, the minor league team for the Phillies. Although, I did not watch a lick of the game...what a difference kids make;) Also, what a great day for baseball, it was in the low 80s, sunshine, and no real humidity! It was also bark at the park day, so tons of doggies were roaming the stadium as well. We met our twinkie friends Emma & Brooks there too, so everyone had someone to talk to. The stadium also had a playground right inside so the boys were able to explore. They slept the hour drive home and then almost another hour when we were home. Then we were off to Nonnie & Pickles for an amazing dinner. The boys really love meatballs, and I think the turkey meatballs were even better! They also thoroughly enjoy broccoli too. Weirdos;) Guess I will have to learn to fake liking the "trees" too.


Tonight is a big night of Skyping with Nannie & Poppy - cannot wait!!!

Enjoying the Beautiful Weather

The boys have been very busy enjoying the great weather! This weekend will be extra busy as well, so we hope to have low humidity and sunshine all weekend. We go to a March of Dimes fundraiser event on Saturday afternoon & the boys first baseball game on Sunday with another family of twinkies (and a whole bunch of them from what I hear, but we only know one of the families going).

Yesterday the boys had their last Synergist shot of the season. Whew! It has gotten increasingly difficult for them & mommy!!!! They obviously associate the doctor's office with shots & pain. They did okay again until they got to the scale. Then it was tear drop city. Raleigh weighed in at 22.4 and Gus was back up to 23.6 lbs. Just a little over a pound difference now. Gus really lost weight with all his movement and Raleigh is just maintaining, but boy can that man eat. He really has had a large appetite these past few days, but he burns his calories as soon as he consumes them. They are still walking like drunken sailors, and are really only comfortable doing so in their playroom; although they both took some steps in our front & back yard recently and even on the bumpy rubber mulch at the playground. I think within two weeks they will be old pros. You can really see how much better they are getting at getting up from sitting on the floor & deciding where to go before they take off. We are seeing less & less stage diving into something soft or mommy/daddy so that is an improvement as well.

Here are a few shots of the past few, fun filled days!

Raleigh walking to get his shoe!

Raleigh at the very top of the playground with Nonnie (how cute are her shorts...and with all the weight she is loosing they'll be mine sooon...and then I will have to loose weight too!!!)

Boys climbing up the train playground set - they can literally climb every square inch of the playground now. We let them climb up the 10 foot tall set & everything, of course we were right behind them every inch of the way!!

Augustus looking through the train tunnel - their favorite!

Raleigh playing in our front yard, turning the wood chip into a cell phone - which is certainly better than trying to eat it!!!!

Raleigh took a stick and tried to make a necklace...he'll do anything for a laugh:)

Raleigh looking back to make sure I was watching him...so darn cute & happy he was going on his own!

The boys on their adventure to freedom outside!

Augustus, napping hard after all the fresh air!

The boys - what animated faces I tell ya!

Gus - the look tells me that he is about to eat the grass he is holding...

Gus - looking exactly like Matthew!

Happy Easter, part II

Raleigh & Gus having fun on their first Easter!
They loved their little Easter baskets that matched their sweater vests perfectly. The baskets were gifts from their twinkie friends E&B. Very handy to hold their eggs in today!

Today was the real Easter day, and now that we have all eaten a big ham dinner with yummy squash, potatoes, and delicious salad, the boys are sleeping and I am photo editing. Of course, the boys were adorable as always. They were super sleepy today after playing with Nonnie & Pickles all morning...and after a rough night of Raleigh just being wide awake from about 3 am to almost 5., we are hoping they sleep better tonight! Not sure what was up with that, he wasn't upset or anything, just wide awake in his crib. Here are a few more pictures for the family & friends who could not be here to celebrate Easter with us. Last year we were in the hospital at this time on Easter (not this date of course...but April 12th last year was the first day the boys were back together again & both home from the hospital) so this year we were all able to relax & eat a bit more;)

Augustus being funny & Raleigh just taking notes on this one...usually he is the comedian!

Our first Easter together!

Everyone sees the bubbles;)

Augustus & Raleigh both looking very seriously into the camera.

Happy Easter!

Raleigh gets his nose, Augustus checks him out:)

Happy Easter everyone. Today, Augustus started his day off talking to Poppy, then Raleigh finally woke up and we did a light breakfast. Then it was off to Nonnie & Pickles for an Easter morning with the grandies. Of course, Nonnie already dropped off new bath toys as part of their first Easter present, but she did not stop there...they had about 15 new trains, planes and automobiles to play with when we got to their house. Plus, their house is decorated for Easter (ours is not...just doing our best to keep it clean) and the boys loved that too. Raleigh was so cute. He picked up the little stuffed bunnies and would hold them to his face to give them hugs. AWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Could they be any sweeter? No, I don't think they could!


Yesterday we took the boys out for a walk in our community and although the boys slept through the egg hunt, they were lucky enough to catch up with the Easter Bunny. YAY! Luck on our part because we did not have any plans for Easter pictures...but now we have some;) FYI...you can click on the smaller pictures above to see them larger.

Augustus says his first word...seriously!

Raleigh looking at his reflection...Augustus, well he licked his reflection!

Raleigh, very curly hair today!

Raleigh...thinks he is a comedian:)

The past couple of days have been really rough. We went to the zoo on Wednesday with another set of identical twin boys. We had a blast, but I could tell that Gus just was not himself. He was really tired & just kind of hung out in his stroller for the few hours were were there. It turns out Augustus has had a really high fever, but it finally seemed to break late last night. I took him to the doctor to get checked out, even though their really is not much they can do for a fever. She confirmed it is not strep throat, and now that he has a ton of red bumps all over his chest and neck/face it is probably over. One of my old friends said it must be roseola based on the symptoms: high fever for days and then the red rash that developed. Today he seemed fine and was a much happier camper. So far, knock wood, Raleigh has not shown signs of any high fever.

On a more upbeat, exciting front, tonight at dinner Augustus was actually saying "ball." He repeated it back to me when I asked him to and pointed to the ball I was holding. Of course, camera is always nearby, so I caught it on film. This is his first word:) YAY.

Enjoy!

The penguins at the zoo were as interested in Rals as he was in them.

Augustus loves his Daddy!

IMG_3948, originally uploaded by klgagne76.

Just a quick hello to you all. We have had computer troubles and we just bought a new laptop yesterday, so we should be back up and blogging soon. Just a quick addition of one of Kerri's great birthday shots of Augustus leaning on Daddy. We cannot wait to get all the shots of the day from Kerri so we can share them all from you. You can see a preview on her flickr account if you have not seen them yet:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kerrikittles22/sets/72157616104479518/

This week the weather is supposed to be a bit cooler, so we plan on spending a ton of time outside before we get super hot again. The other plans for the week are to put the donations for the Ronald McDonald House together. We want to have individual bags for each guest with shampoo, conditioner, soap, shaver, etc., and a label on the bag that indicates the donation is from our friends and family in honor of the boys first birthday. Lots of work to do to get that done! So worth it though. We have plans every Saturday for the rest of the month too, so we will be keeping these boys very busy! Augustus has been making strides, no pun intended, in the walking department. He will go on his own at times without mommy or daddy's arms to fly into. Raleigh will only take about 3 steps max after he hears the praise & excitement over Gus' walking. We had tried to move to one nap a day for the past two days, but after Raleigh had a couple of night terrors we decided he really still needs the two naps. Whether he is just overtired coming out or just anxiety about change we don't know, but it is not worth it to push the issue. We'll let them tell us when they are ready for just one nap for now!