Playdate with the Schoens and Leichs

Last Sunday we got together with a few of our good friends and their babies. We went to Edgewater to visit Dave, Courtney and their son Grady. Grady was born a few weeks before A & G. We also met Dave, Celeste and little Brenner, their 3 week old son. All 6 of us believe it or not went to ECU together. So in all, we had 4 little pirate babies 6 months and under and we still managed to do a little catching up and eat dinner. Courtney made some  of the yummiest foods. I have a feeling there will be many more play dates for our 4 little ones in the future.

All 4 of our babies were born in the last 6 months! From left to right: Brenner, Grady, Grayson and Avery

One of the many funny outtakes. Poor Brenner is SO teeny compared to the other 3

 Grady so interested in A&G

Love in the making?!

 Too cute for words!

One last one of the sibling interaction that has begun in our house!

Rice Cereal

On the babies 6 month birthday they were given their first taste of rice cereal. I was expecting them to need a little time to adjust since they’ve only had milk thus far in their little lives. I was wrong, both babies loved the rice cereal and gobbled it all up. I would have to say Avery is not nearly as messy an eater as Grayson. She seems to get the hang of pushing it to the back of your mouth. My lil man on the other hand kind of pushes it out a bit and loves to stick his fingers and hands in his mouth just as fast as I can get the spoon out. He then proceeds to wipe whatever cereal he got on his hands all over his face, hair, you name it.  We are having a blast and it may just be causing the babies to sleep later some mornings. We can’t wait to start with baby foods…stay tuned!

 

Getting ready for the good stuff!

Umm this stuff is good dad!

Gimme that yum yum!

More?!?!

Happy Half Birthday- 6 Months Old!

Weight

A: I’m guessing somewhere around 12 pounds. We go to the doctor’s next week and I will update

 G: I’m guessing somewhere around 13 pounds

·         They have been steadily increasing over the past few weeks and even have a little baby chub that is just too cute!

Height-

A: ? G: ?

Clothing size- at 6 months Avery is still in newborn but should be moving on to 0-3 very soon and Grayson fits a few of his newborn outfits but is definitely in his  0-3 month clothes.

Diapers-

Size 1’s for both babies

Feeding-

Still nursing when I'm home and they get a bottle of my pumped milk and a bottle of formula while I am at work. Although, lately by the end of the day I don’t quite have enough milk built up for them so we give them a few extra ounces in formula. They have graduated to the larger Dr Brown’s bottles as they are drinking around 5-6 ounces. We also began rice cereal on their 6 month birthday! To say they loved it is an understatement. It was easy going feeding these little beans from the get go. We love their new high chairs and sometimes can’t shovel the food in fast enough. I can’t wait until our doctor’s appointment to be able to start baby foods. I got a baby food maker so that I can prepare everything for them. We’re so excited!

Hair/Eyes-

Avery's eyes are still a smokey blue and the hair she has left is dark like her daddy's. It will be awhile before she has enough hair for bows!

Grayson's eyes are a slightly brighter blue. His hair is much lighter. It began as a very light brown but seems to be turning to a dark shade of blonde. He still has a cute little bit of hair on top that will curl sometime or we shape it into a Mohawk!

Sleep-

The babies go to sleep between 8-8:30pm depending on their fussiness. They are still sleeping until around 5 am most mornings, they nurse, and then go back to sleep until approximately 7:30.  I feel like so many big things happened for my little beans on their half birthday. We had been having a rough nights with Grayson waking up multiple times a night. We decided on their half birthday it was time to place them in separate cribs and try to get rid of the swaddle. Again, this transition was much harder on me than it was on them. The babies were just fine but I was sad that after all these months (in utero and since they were born) that they would no longer be lying next to each other every night. I guess it had to happen eventually. A few nights into this and the babies have been back to sleeping like pros. I don’t know if it is the rice cereal filling their bellies or no longer fighting their swaddle blanket but we’ve had some great nights (fingers crossed).

Personality-

A: Avery is absolutely my spunky little spitfire child. She will smile at anyone and anything anytime. She loves people and light's up at just about anything. She's quick to throw a little attitude in her eyebrows when she doesn't like something but turns it right into a smile. She LOVES the bouncy seat and exersaucer. She could probably bounce around for hours. She never stops moving when she's awake. Her hands constantly have to be doing something and she doesn't want to miss a thing. She looks all over at anything happening in the room. She gets very distracted when nursing these days. She falls asleep easily but doesn't want to miss anything. When she wakes up she is almost always happy. I find that she will sit in her crib and look around/ smile until someone notices her and comes to get her. She's just beginning to babble but I'm sure once she's talking it will not stop. She reminds me a bit of someone I know very well!

G: Grayson is my sweet, sensitive, loving little boy. He is very different from his sister and has been since the get go. He really enjoys cuddling with me and I love that! Grayson usually wakes up and cries because he wants someone to come get him immediately. Once I get him he will spend a few minutes cuddling with me before he's ready to do something. I love this time with him. He will also still sleep on me if we ever get the chance. He too loves the boucny seat but loves playing in the exersaucer more. He also loves his play mat and will play for awhile when I place him on it. He loves his crinkle book and Sophie giraffe. He takes a little more effort to put to sleep and we usually rock for a few minutes and then he goes down easy. I love that I can place both babies in their crib awake and they will usually fall asleep on their own. Grayson seems to take longer naps. He is also a little more finicky with loud noises and people. He is attached to me for sure. Grayson is actually my more advanced talker. I thought it would be the other way around but it's usually him I hear babbling away in his car seat, high chair, exersaucer, play mat... really anywhere. It is the cutest thing and I LOVE hearing him.

The babies aren't quite sitting up yet but we are so close! I'm not ready for mobility but sitting up would be nice.

Fun Stuff-

We hired a nanny to watch the babies while I am at work. She is WONDERFUL! She is so good with the babies and truly enjoys them. I was SO nervous to leave them with anyone other than family but she has made this step an easy one. She even does the laundry and dishes!!!!!!! I was shocked when I came home to this. I feel so lucky to have found such a great girl to watch the babies. I really did not want to leave them and struggled with this a lot but for now it’s what our family needs and she is making that easier on us!

Yesterday we took the babies for a run and then parked them in the stroller on the tennis court and they watched Kevin and I play. It was a fun little family outing! I am so thankful to have such easy going babies.

Happy Half Birthday to my favorite spunky little beans!!!

Avery & Grayson you two are the absolute light of your dad and I's lives! I don't think we truly knew how wonderful life could be until you both came into this world 6 months ago. Time is flying way to fast and we wish we could slow it down, but with every step there seems to be something new and wonderful that you bring to our days. We love you more than you could ever imagine and can't wait for all the moments ahead!



Catch Up- With Lots of First Visits

Once my sister left to head back home things got a bit crazy in the Hatcher house.  We were fortunate to have Suzanne stay with us for a week to watch the babies. I don’t know what I would have done without all of our family and friends stepping in to take such good care of our babies. We had been interviewing people to bring to the house and watch the babies. With two in daycare it actually became a more economical choice. Not to mention it is better for the babies and saves me so much time before and after work having the babies stay home. We actually found a few girls that we really thought would work out well. We finally settled on the best all around choice. Her name is Brittany and she began watching the babies this week. So far so good! I spent her first day working from home so that I could go over their routine and be there in case any questions came about. I’d have to say I was surprised at how little she needed me. Actually I don’t think she needed me at all. She is so sweet with the babies, extremely quiet, but very good with them. Twins can be quite the task some moments but I think she will do just fine.

The week before Brittany began I had a lull at work in between projects so we decided that I would take advantage and go visit family and friends in North Carolina. There were numerous family members that the babies hadn’t met and what better way than to go see them. We took off on Friday and spent the night in Raleigh with my parents (Nana and Granddady). The next morning we headed to Charlotte to spend the remainder of the weekend with our good friends Anna and Travis and their son Colson. Colson is almost one and all over the place. He gave me a small glimpse at what our future holds with mobile babies. Colson gets cuter every time we see him. If only we could spend more time with him! I can’t wait for the babies to get a bit older and begin interacting. The Crawfords were wonderful hosts and we can’t wait to get back there again soon!

Colson and Grayson in the stare down!

Colson & Avery playing together

Reecie, Colson and Grayson playing...can't wait until they are a little bigger and best buds!

Our next stop took us to Winston Salem, North Carolina. Kevin dropped us off and headed back to work for the week. We stayed with Kevin’s mom (GiGi) for most of the trip. It was so nice to spend so much time with her. She had to work so we would go over to Kevin’s dad’s house during the day to visit his dad (Poppy), step mom Karen (Nana) and their grandson Jackson who is 3. I was able to go out to lunch baby free with Kevin’s dad which was so nice. It has gotten a little difficult to get through a meal with two little babies in tow. We got to see Gigi each morning for a bit before she went to work and we had dinner with her when she got home. The babies got to meet my Aunt Pat, Uncle Larry and cousin Lucas, Great Grandmother Virgina, as well as Kevin’s friend Jeremy.

Lunch with Lucas

Meeting Aunt Pat for the first time!

Loving on GiGi

My Aunt Pat and I with the babies!

Meeting Great Grandma Virginia for the first time!

Laid back with Granddady!

The Gurley's

On Friday we moved our stuff (lots and lots of baby essentials of course) over to Kevin’s dad’s house and we spent the remainder of our trip with them.  (Not sure why all of my pictures started turning funny directions :(

Avery's first ride on a slide! Jackson (cousin) took her for a ride.

Avery's first time in a swing!

Grayson's first time in a swing!

On Saturday we ventured to Lake Ewharrie, North Carolina where Kevin’s Aunt Anita lives to introduce and spend the day with Kevin’s Aunt and cousins. We had amazing barbecue and played out in the water and on the doc all day. 

Meeting Great Aunt Anita!

Loving on cousin Lily

Daniela, Lily, and Avery

Hangin with Poppy

Aunt D and the babies!

Avery's first surf lesson

Grayson's first surf lesson

It was an extra special trip filled with lots of stops and lots of new people for the babies to meet. We wish we could have spent more time but were thankful for the time we had. We are home sweet home and adjusting back to our regular schedule of me going to work and missing on my sweet babies!

One last picture at Poppy and Nana's just before we left Winston Salem

Anyone know how to turn pictures uploaded from i-phone? I have them turned on my computer but then when I download them to blogger it turns them back :(

Happy Birthday Aunt Devin

The babies had an extra special message for Aunt Devin today...HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT DEVIN We love you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aunt Devin goes home

We rounded out July with a few more days spent with Aunt Devin. As the days were nearing her departure we were getting sad but tried to fit in as much as we could. We spent some time in downtown Annapolis, got in a few more visits with Suzanne and Annette, cooked a few more yummy dinners and overall got in some quality time together.

She left yesterday and I cried almost the entire way to the airport. I miss her more than she could imagine, but now that I have babies it is SO much harder when she leaves. We love the time spent with her and it is truly special to see her with her niece and nephew.

She spent an entire month away from home to help watch the babies so I could ease back into work. For that I am incredibly thankful and there are no words to express our gratitude. An added bonus- she spent quality time with the babies. We had such a great time and created so many fun memories with the babies. We are incredibly sad she is gone but for now we'll just have to start the countdown to her next trip east.

I mean, how cute is this photo?!?!

We love you Aunt Devin. Thanks for taking such great care of us. You sure will be missed!

First O's Game

We checked another wish of my sisters list of things she wanted to do while visiting us by going to the babies first Orioles game. It was a hot night but we bought some great tickets off Groupon and packed the babies for an evening at the ballpark.

The babies surprised me and lasted the entire game. Unfortunately the O's weren't able to pull of a win but we had a blast and loved the memories made with the babies and Aunt Devin. Avery had a blast. She was pretty much smiling throughout the entire game, other than when she took a short nap in my lap. Grayson on the other hand was a little skeptical about a few parts of the game. Especially when the O's made a home run and the crowd would go wild. My poor, sweet, sensitive guy just wasn't sure what to make of all the noise.

The Orioles have a fan club that offers certificates to babies who are attending their first game. We stopped by on our way out and picked up these cute little certificates for the babies to commemorate their first MLB game.

Thanks to Devin these babies are getting a lot of great experiences at a young age!