Birthday Party Planning

We're doing two separate birthday parties for the kids this year. I've received a bit of flack for it, but the truth of the matter is, this has been a rough year for Braysen, and that's putting it mildly. Not only is it tough for a kid his age to adjust when a new baby comes home, but he had two, and they cried nonstop for the first few months of their lives until their reflux was under control. I have so many painful memories of holding, bouncing, and shussing both babies at the same time, only to have Braysen crying right in front of me because he wanted to be held too. Those were the days that all 4 of us would cry.

We want to have a party for the girls' first birthday (mostly for us once we actually survived this first year). His birthday is only two days after theirs, and after everything that has happened this past year, I cannot imagine having a party for them and not Braysen. I do realize that having one party for all three would save my sanity and wallet (and save family members from having to attend two parties), but we really would rather let him have his own day and not have to share that day with his sisters. At least for this year. 

We're keeping the parties super small this year. Braysen's party will be just family and the babies' will have a small guest list of family and friends. 

This was the first year Braysen made it clear about what he wanted his party theme to be. We've done pirates, bugs, and robots. This year he wants Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which was no surprise at all.

For the babies I was not going to do a theme, I originally was just going to go with a mint, pink, and gold color scheme, but eventually settled on an ice cream party. 

10 months

It's been AGES since I did a monthly update for the girls (MONTHS really, but who's counting?). I took the monthly photos, just never got around to posting them. Boo.

10 months

Both babies are crawling. EVERYWHERE! They've learned their way around the house. I can no longer keep them in the living room to play. They want in the play room. I would like to blame it on the fact that Braysen is in there playing, but they wander in there even when he is napping. When they do decide to play in the living room, they enjoy cruising the furniture. They no longer enjoy spending time in the walked or jumperoo, they want to be free so they can explore!

They will no longer eat their puréed food, and want chunks of food only. I had quite a bit of baby food prepped in the freezer that I ended up tossing because they refused to eat the purees anymore.

Both babies have their two bottom teeth. 

The girls love love LOVE their brother. They follow him around the house. They love to hold his hand in the car (on most days) and it is the sweetest thing EVER to look in the back seat and see all 3 of my little loves with their hands linked together.

Neither baby seems to care for sippy cups, but love their straw cups. Braysen was the exact same way. 

Brynlee

Brynlee continues to be feisty. She's my little "grabby" girl and wants everything within arm's reach. It is so funny to watch her eat because she grabs the biggest handful of food she can and just shovels it into her mouth. Sometimes she will do this with both hands at the same time! I have to separate their high chairs at mealtimes because she will grab food off of Berlyn's tray.

She has also mastered the "duck face".

She loves to eat broccoli, pears, peas, bananas, avocado, scrambled egg yolks, cheese, chicken, toast, and pretty much anything else you put in front of her.

Brynlee has mastered using her straw cup.

She seems to really be excelling with her fine motor skills.

She has also finally mastered crawling on her hands and knees. She was doing an army type crawl (we've been calling her "Scooter") up until this last month. 

Brynlee loves to smile and giggle and is super ticklish!

Berlyn

Berlyn is a very sensitive babe. She continues to be startled by loud noises and gets anxious when she's in an unfamiliar place. She is so happy to see familiar faces though. If you walk into the room she will give you a huge grin and race toward you. She is a super fast crawler! She mastered hands-and-knees crawling from the get-go and has been on the move ever since!

Berlyn loves to be held. I can count at least 20-25 times each day that she will crawl up to me and want to be picked up.

Berlyn is still practicing with her straw cup.

 She seems to really be excelling with her gross motor skills.

She loves to eat peas, bananas, pears, and avocado. While she prefers chunks of food, she doesn't really like to feed herself. She will eat a few handfuls and then look at me and wait for me to feed her the rest.



Onto the pictures for this month. I have nothing to say but OMIGOSH PICTURES ARE SO HARD RIGHT NOW! I used to stress to try to get great shots of both babies, but I've stopped doing that. This is our everyday life right now. This is 10 months.

 

 

 

And since I haven't posted monthly pics since {ahem} 5 months, here they are:

 

 

Me-Time for Mommys

My twin mama friend Amber talks a lot on her blog Mommy's Me Time about carving out time for yourself in order to be a better mom.  Somewhere along the way I have lost this mentality. I understand the concept, but sometimes I get so busy caring for the little people in this house (and other things that need to be done around here) that I put off doing things for me, or even taking care of myself for that matter. Thoughts like "I'll find time to sit down and eat once the kids are asleep" or "If everybody actually sleeps well all night tonight we'll go for a run in the morning" or "if I get all the housework taken care of tonight I'll sit for a few minutes tonight and watch some TV or blog" happen, and before I realize it, it's the following day and none of those other "things" I wanted to do ever end up getting done. And they never will, because I will always find something that needs to be done around here.

It wasn't until I had a scare today that I realized how much I was putting myself last on the list. I think it's just something we as moms do. I won't go into too many details, but I will say that the most I ate over the course of almost two days was a donut, a few slices of cheese, and a crap-ton of coffee. That's it. And my body decided to punish me for it.

I've decided that in order to be a good mom, I need to start taking better care of myself. Now. I am committing to find more time for myself. 

5 Months

 

The girls are 5 months old! Where has the time gone?!


The babies are still very different in both temperament and personality, but some of their traits have switched.


Brynlee is no longer the high maintenance "diva" I thought she was. She is very social.  Brynlee is my chatty girl. She loves people, loves to smile, and loves the camera. And the camera loves her.  The camera always seems to catch her with a smile on her face.


Berlyn has become my high maintenance babe. She loves to be held and prefers that to being on a blanket on the floor, in the swing, in the Mamaroo, in the Bumbo, you name it. She wants to be snuggled for most of the day. Makes things a little difficult when there is another infant and a pretty demanding 3-year old.  And she growls. It is the funniest thing ever!


Berlyn has figured out how to roll from her back to her tummy. She loves sleeping on her tummy and will no longer stay on her back to sleep.

Both girls are still nursing but are beginning to wean. Tandem nursing has become too difficult because the girls now prefer to nurse alone. There is a lot of hair pulling and eye poking going on when I try to tandem, and sometimes they refuse to latch on at all. Nursing them separately is a problem because it never fails that the baby that is not nursing suddenly needs something and will start crying, then the baby that is supposed to be nursing won't eat because she can hear her sister crying. Drama already! ;)

They are currently taking 2 formula bottles each day and are nursing for the rest of their feedings. They are still not sleeping through the night. They both wake up 2-3 times separately, which means (as long as Braysen doesn't wake up as well) that I am up 4-6 times a night. I'm ready for some sleep!!

They have started solids and are doing fabulously with rice cereal. Braysen never cared for it and I almost just skipped it with the girls. They both love it! Berlyn eats like a champ. Brynlee still has a little trouble keeping the cereal in her mouth, of course, that could be because she talks or is smiling and laughing through the entire meal. 

Neither baby is all that crazy about their paci.  They use them to sleep sometimes, but more often than not they will spit out the paci and stick their fingers in their mouths instead.

They are both sleeping unswaddled.

The girls have just started to notice eachother and it is so sweet to watch them interact (when their interaction does not include hair-pulling)


Brynlee

Likes:
Braysen's old baby swing
using her feet to grab toys and kick things out of the way
bath time
sleeping on her side
pulling hair
Sophie the Giraffe

Dislikes:
getting dressed
being put in her car seat

 

Berlyn

Likes:
playing with her feet
blowing raspberries
being worn in the wrap
being held
sleeping on her tummy
bath time
pulling hair

Dislikes:
getting dressed
being put in her car seat
being set down 

Kiwi Crate

Click here to receive $10 off your order at Kiwi Crate!

Braysen is really difficult to buy for. He was the first grand-baby on both sides of our family and the first great-grand baby on my side. My parents and Tony's parents look for any excuse to buy toys for him, as do my aunts and my grandma. When it comes to birthdays and Christmas, it is hard to think of what to buy for him because he has so much. Our toy room is out of control. I feel like we need several play rooms just to store all of it.

For his birthday this past March, the last thing I wanted to do was to buy him another toy. I pinned the idea of Kiwi Crate on Pinterest a while back, but decided that this year would be the perfect timing to buy a subscription for him for his birthday. I usually do a lot of crafts/experiments/learning activities with him, but I knew with these babies on the way I would have a lot less time to prep materials. Kiwi Crates are perfect, because they come once a month and have all the supplies needed for two crafts/experiments/learning activities. They also give you other activity ideas that many times the materials are already included in the crate or are materials you have at home. All the activities are science-based and educational, so you know the elementary teacher in me approves!

The Kiwi Crate comes with Braysen's name on it, so he's thrilled to open the door and find a package for himself!

 

Each month is a different theme. This past month was Wonders of Water. It's so nice that all the materials needed for the activities are included in the box, there's even a "Mess Mat" for him to work on! Each activity has a small booklet of instructions that include pictures so kiddos can learn to read directions, even when they can't technically read yet. Each activity book includes guided questions that you can ask them to promote critical thinking and also includes extension activities.
 

 

 

I didn't get pictures of all the activities from his crates, but here is the one from the previous month: