Happy Halloween

Here's some pictures from Evan and Carter's first Halloween. I'm a little behind on blogging, I have a lot of pictures that I need to upload with little updates on what they're up to now. I'll try and get to that soon. Today's post is just going to be some pictures of the boys in their costumes.


Daddy & Carter
Daddy & Evan with the candy
Evan and Carter in their bat costumes together
Carter outside on the porch

Carter on the porch

Evan in his bat costume on the front porch

Evan in his bat costume on the front porch

Flu Shots

Last Thursday, I took Evan and Carter up to Greene Family Medicine, where I used to work, to see the girls and get my flu shot. The boys were so sweet for everybody, they loved all the attention and the girls loved giving it. They ate the boys up, and who can blame them. :)

Yesterday we took the boys to their pediatrician for their 2 month check up and they're doing great. Evan weighs 10lbs 5oz and is 22.5 inches and Carter weighs 11lbs 2oz and is 23 inches long. Evan is in the 10th percentile for his weight and 25 percentile for both his length and his head circumference. Carter is in the 25th percentile for his weight and length and in the 50th percentile for his head circumference. Greg thought that was funny. ;) Both boys were all smiles for the doctor, she thought they were so cute. She thinks Evan is a little ladies' man because he was very flirty. He wouldn't stop smiling at her. They were so good and then the nurse came in with the needles. They each had to get two shots, one in each leg and an oral immunization. It was so pitiful. Both boys cried when getting their shots but calmed down as soon as we held them. We made some stops on the way home and after our last stop, the boys started crying again and cried the whole way home. Carter cried quite a bit last night. He finally calmed down and slept like a baby all night. Evan calmed down as soon as we got home and slept the rest of the afternoon and night. We had to wake him to feed him and he went right back to sleep. Today the boys are back to their old selves, thank goodness. Their next appointment is in 2 months & they'll have to get more shots at that appointment. Poor boys.

The doctor did want to make sure that Greg and I had got our flu shots and she also said that anybody who will be spending time with the boys during flu season needs to get their shots as well. So, the grandparents/aunts/uncles/etc would need to get their flu shots just to be on the safe side. We wouldn't want our little cutie pies getting sick. So, we're asking that anybody who wants to spend some time with them this winter get their flu shots (especially if you are going to be on a plane during the height of flu season) hint, hint ;)

Our goal with the boys now is to eliminate their second nighttime bottle. They are old enough and weigh enough to go without it now. It's a great step for the boys to prepare them for sleeping through the night which we hope to have happen in about 6 weeks and it'll be great for us to start getting a little more sleep at night. Wish us luck.

Here's some pictures.


Elena, Lori, and Nicole with the boys

Elena with Carter

Sunday Recap

Greg had to work on Sunday from 6-1, so we didn't do much on Sunday. I was able to go to the grocery store without the boys while my mom and Caroline kept them. After Greg got off work, we went out to lunch and then to Dairy Queen for dessert. It was nice to get out just the two of us. When we got home, we realized that the Greg, Evan and Carter all had the same shirt on, so we tried to get a few pictures and then went on a walk. Evan & Carter tried out their new sunglasses and looked super cute. Evan seemed to like his more than Carter did, but maybe he'll come around. That evening we just relaxed at the house. My mom and Caroline got up and left early on Monday morning. It was so nice to see them, even if it was just for a couple of days. It helped out so much having them here while Greg had to work. I can't wait until their next trip up here. Our next visitor will be my friend Brandi that lives in Los Angeles. I've known her since 6th grade, she's my oldest friend and I can't wait to see her the first weekend in November!!

Here's some pictures from the weekend.

Greg, Evan & Carter- all in their matching blue polo shirts.

The four of us.
Carter in his sunglasses.
Evan in his sunglasses. I think he looks so cute!!
On our date while my mom and Caroline watched the boys for us.

Fall Days

My mom and sister, Caroline, came to stay with us for the weekend. They were planning on coming up about once a month anyways to see the boys, and this weekend was perfect because Greg has to work. He doesn't have to work weekends very often, but when he does, it's long days and late nights and it's always hard on him since it usually means working 12 days in a row. It was hard on him before we had kids, so I know this weekend and next week are going to be especially tiring for him.

My mom and Caroline got in yesterday afternoon. We spent some time with the boys, they've changed so much since Caroline was here over Labor Day weekend and even since my mom was here two weeks ago. I cooked dinner. We had a frozen Bertolli meal. This is my new favorite thing. They're these frozen meals that are made for two people (I made two bags for us last night). All you have to do is open the bag, put it in a dish and bake. It's so simple and the one that I've tried was so delicious. You can pair it with some garlic toast and a bag of salad for such a quick, easy, and delicious meal. I'm all about quick and easy now that my time is limited. After dinner, we fed the boys, gave them their baths and put them to bed.

This morning, Greg got up and went to work at 6:00am and I was able to get a little more sleep since my mom helped out with the boys. Her and Caroline kept and eye on the boys today so I was able to get some housecleaning done. Then, we dressed the boys in their cute, Halloween outfits and took them on the front porch for some fall pictures. We tried taking pictures last weekend and it didn't work out. We had much better luck today. Evan wasn't really in the mood to pose or smile, but we still managed to get some really good ones. Carter was hamming it up for the camera. We got some of each of them seperate but the ones of them together didn't turn out as good as the ones of them alone. Greg was supposed to get off at 2:00 and we were going to go to a pumpkin carving party at our friends house while my mom and Caroline kept the boys, but he ended up working late and didn't get home until after 5:00, so we decided to skip the party. I picked up some pizza for dinner and while I was out I made a quick stop in Babies R Us. I had a good coupon and it was burning a hole in my pocket. I was able to get several really cute things for the boys in a very, very short amount of time (I was in and out in less than 10 minutes) and I got some great deals in addition to my coupons. Greg was so tired from working that he went to bed before 8:00 and I decided to handle the boys solo until about 2:00 or so (or however long I can last) so he can get some uninerrupted sleep tonight. He has to go back in to work tomorrow.

I'm disappointed that Greg has to work again tomorrow, but I'm sure me, the boys, my mom and Caroline will have fun and stay busy. Greg and I are going to try and go out for dinner tomorrow night since we have family here to keep the boys. A 'date night' is always nice, but we'll see if it'll work out since Greg may have to work as late as he did today.

Here's some pictures that we took today.

This was one of the very few that we were able to get of Evan that turned out good. We're going to try and get some more of him tomorrow.
We got several good ones of Carter today. I like this one of him smiling.
I love that he's looking at the camera.


My productive shopping trip to Babies R Us. A 5 pack of good bibs, 2 "My First Halloween Bibs" a pair of pants and two long sleeve Carter's onsies--all for less than $20.00.
Me & the boys
Carter & Aunt Caroline

2 Months Old

The boys are two months old as of Monday. I can't believe it. Everybody told us the cherish the time because it will fly by, and it really does. They have changed so much since we brought them home from the hospital.

Both of you are now wearing 0-3 month size clothes, although a lot of 0-3 months size pants and hoodies are still too big or long on you both. You both are in size 1 diapers. Both of you are still eating every 3 hours during the day, although I think that you guys could go a little longer sometime, your pediatrician recommended feeding you that often so you'll be more likely to go longer at night. You guys need a certain amount of calories a day and we'd rather you get most of them during the day. You guys are becoming pretty predictable with your napping routine and your moods throughout the day. You both travel very well, we've been able to take you guys shopping and even out to lunch one day. Both of you are now sleeping in your cribs at night, with the lights off. You both can go at least 4 hours from your dinner bottle until your first nightime bottle, although both of you have gone as long as 5 hours several times. You guys sleep great, you both seem to know that nighttime is for sleeping and after your nighttime feedings you go back to sleep pretty fast. You both have been smiling and cooing for 3-4 weeks now and everyday you seem to do more and more of it. I've heard both of you do something that resembles laughing, so I think that's going to start happening regularly in the near future. You both love the baby gym and get so mesmerized by the moving parts and the zebra prints. You both seem to love music, especially upbeat tunes.

We're not sure how much either of you weigh. Your 2 month doctor's appointment isn't until Tuesday, the 26th and we can't wait to find out how much you two have grown. We're not looking forward to you guys getting your immunizations, but we're sure you'll both do fine. It'll probably be harder on us than it will be on you.

I just cannot believe how lucky we are to have not one, but two, easy going and happy babies. I do not take it for granted that neither of you cry very much and that both of you are pretty good sleepers. We could not have asked for sweeter babies and we are so thankful everyday for them.

Evan was giving me a few smiles, but it was hard to catch them. and of course it was impossible to catch both of them smiling at the same time.

New

I've added a recipe category on the right hand side of my blog under the blog archives. This makes it easy to locate recipes I've tried based on the type of recipe, such as "entree" "chicken", "weight watcher" etc. When I added this feature, I had to go through all my old recipe posts and I realized how many recipes I've tried that I forgot about. I can't wait to make some of those recipes again. Especially some of the weight watcher recipes, I was able to find a lot of healthy recipes that both Greg and I really liked.

Lazy Day

Today was a nice, relaxing day at the house. The weather was gorgeous, so Carter, Evan, and I decided to go for a walk. It was nice to get a little fresh air and exercise. When we go home, the boys had playtime and I brought out the baby gym for them to use. They both seemed to love it, although Evan seemed a little more interested in Carter, and then in the camera when I was trying to take some pictures. The boys have started "talking" to each other today. One will coo and then the other will respond, it's the cutest thing. They were doing it while they were playing on the baby gym and then after we laid them in their cribs for bed, we heard them over the baby monitor "talking" for quite some time. We just sat there in silence and listened to them the whole time. Greg and I both got a kick out of it. Not much else is going on today, but I did take a lot of pictures.

My mums are doing great. I thought they were yellow when I bought them, but I was wrong. I actually like the white better than the yellow that I thought I was getting.

Evan on our walk.
Carter on our walk.
Evan's new pacifer. We got two with different sayings on them, I think they're cute.

The boys on the baby gym. Evan was looking at Carter for awhile and then got really into the baby gym. As soon as I got the camera out he became facinated with that. Of course when I'm trying to get the boys to look at the camera, they won't and when I'm trying to catch them doing something, they just want to look at the camera. But, Carter was not distracted by the camera. He's obsessed with the zebra pole, he just stared at it, then he'd smile and do this laugh sound he's been working on.
Both boys enjoying the baby gym.

Evan still looking at the camera.

You can't see them, but Carter's shirt has skulls all down both sleeves. I got the boys' onsies at Baby Gap on clearance. They didn't have two of the same shirt, but they did have two different ones with skulls on them, so I got them. They ended up being about $5.00 a piece, not bad for long sleeve onsies from Baby Gap.

Yesterday I decided to be brave and go to Wal-Mart with the boys while Greg was at work. It was my first time going out with both boys alone. I thought it would be best to leave after their mid-morning bottle, so I fed them at 9:00 and got them dressed. Evan was being a little fussy and did not appreciate being put in the carseat, but I didn’t let it discourage me. I loaded up the boys and drove the long way around the neighborhood to leave. I figured if I went around the neighborhood a couple of times and Evan didn’t calm down, then I would just go back home. Before I even had a chance to get to the end of the street, Evan calmed down. Evan and Carter were both great the rest of the trip. Evan slept the whole time and Carter just looked around while I was shopping. I was very excited that our first outing went so well. It was just a quick trip to grab a couple of items, but I may try a trip out to Target later this week. I love getting out of the house and I’m always up for looking around Target. I have a feeling that being able to take the boys shopping is going to lead to me spending a lot more money. :)

Greg got off early yesterday and came home around lunch time. The boys had been so good all morning and since I was so excited that my walmart trip went well, I suggested we go out to lunch. We loaded up the boys and headed to El Agave, this great little Mexican restaurant close by. We sat outside because the weather was great and we figured it’d be better to be outside in case the boys started fussing. We had the whole patio to ourselves, which was nice. The boys were great the entire time. We had time to enjoy our chips and salsa and both of us were able to finish our meal without rushing, we even had time to relax and chat after we were done eating.

Today we’re at home relaxing, the only thing on the agenda is maybe a walk after it warms up a little. Greg is getting off early again today, so he’ll be able to join us.

Here’s some pictures from yesterday.

Me & Evan at El Agave

Greg at El Agave
Evan, sleeping while we were at Walmart
Carter just looking around. You can't see their outfits very well, but they looked super cute yesterday. They were wearing striped polo shirts from Old Navy (that I got for 1.50 each) and a pair of jeans. They looked like big boys.

Yes, I took a picture of the boys in the cracker isle. I was excited and it was our first time out alone, I wanted a picture. Luckily, it was early, so there were hardly any people around.

Monday Meals-Paula Deen Style

It's that time of the week again, it's Monday Meals over on "A Love Worth Waiting For". I have 3 recipes to post today. Last week I watched an episode of Paula's Home Cooking and every recipe looked so delicious, so on Sunday, I woke up early and went the grocery store while Greg watched the boys. I made "Crabbies" for lunch and Taco Soup for supper and Peanut Butter Cheese Cake Minis for dessert, all from Paula Deen. I thought everything was absolutely delicious and will definitely be making all these recipes again.

Crabbies
Ingredients
8 ounces good white crabmeat, picked free of all shells
1 (5-ounce) jar Cheddar-horseradish spread (recommended: Kraft Old English)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
Dash hot sauce or cayenne pepper
8 large toasted bread rounds
Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine crab, cheese spread, mayonnaise, garlic powder, butter and hot sauce. Divide mixture evenly over bread rounds and spread. Score each round into quarters and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake until topping is heated through and golden brown on top, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with parsley. Serve hot. These freeze and store well for drop-in company.





Taco Soup
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced onions
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Corn chips, for serving
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Pickled jalapenos, for garnish



Directions
Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.





Peanut Butter Cheese Cake Minis
Ingredients
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
12 bite-size peanut butter cups



Filling:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or almond extract
2 eggs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a paper cupcake liner in each cup of a standard muffin pan.
To make crust, in a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter until crumbs are moistened. Press crust into bottom of each muffin cup. Put 1 peanut butter cup into the center of each crust. Beat cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar, flour, and vanilla, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Spoon cream cheese mixture over peanut butter cups and graham cracker crusts. Bake until just set, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Saturday

We finished our first full week with the boys by ourselves and I think that it went pretty good. Greg had Monday off since it was a federal holiday, so the 3 day weekend and the 4 day work week helped out a lot. Greg was also able to get his hours at work changed to 6-2 which also makes things much easier on me. If the boys are fussy, it's in the late afternoon/early evening, so it's nice to have somebody else here during that time. I feel like we're having a lot of trial and error with getting into a routine that works for us and the boys. Everyday we figure out something new that either does or does not work for us, and everyday seems to be a little easier than the last. We have figured out that the boys love having bathtime at night. I thought it'd be easier to do it in the mornings, but they like it at night and it seems to help them sleep, so we are now doing bathtime as part of their nightime routine. I've also figured out that if I feed them at the same time, I have much more time during the day. I fought this for 8 weeks. Everything I read said that this was a neccesity for people who had twins, but I did not want to do it. First of all, I thought it was impossible to feed two babies at once and I also felt that my little babies needed special one on one feeding time and that I was not going to sacrifice that so I could have extra time during the day (oh, all the things that I've thought that I could/would never do because my boys are "special" and I'm not like other parents--the list grows every day). But, on Thursday both boys were screaming at the same time and I had no choice but to try and feed them both and it was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be, then I had so much more time. I fed them at the same time at their next feeding, which basically cut my feedings from 4 to 2. I had more time to play with the boys and take some pictures and videos of them. It was great. So, now we're trying to feed them at the same time during the day, but we let them sleep at night and feed them when they wake up and tell us they're hungry. Evan can go 4-5 hours some nights, while Carter will usually go 4 hours between his dinnertime bottle and the first feeding after putting him to bed, so we don't wake Evan up to feed him just to feed him at the same time. So, now that I've started doing this, next week will hopefully go even better than this week.

Today was a much smoother Saturday than last because of all the things that we've learned that work for us over the past week. Last Saturday we were exhausted and spent most of the day feeding the boys. We also tried to go to the pumpkin patch with the boys in the late afternoon close to a feeding time and it was a disaster. We got there and fed the boys in the parking lot, didn't even get out of the car and turned around and came home. This Satruday was much better. We've learned that the boys sleep more in the morning and since they're usually in great moods in the morning and if they're going to get fussy, it's in the afternoons--it works out much better if we run our errands in the morning and are at home in the afternoon. So, this morning when Carter wanted his bottle at 7:30, we woke Evan up and fed them at the same time. After we fed them, we had plenty of time to get ready since we didn't have to worry about another feeding for 3 hours, (seriously, feeding them at the same time has been the best thing ever). After their 10:30 feeding, we loaded them up in the car and ran some errands. We went to Target, Lowe's, and the boys were sleeping the whole time, so we decided to be brave and drive all the way down to Old Navy so I could look at some clothes. The weather is great, so Greg stayed in the car with the boys while they slept and I went into Old Navy by myself and got some new clothes. Greg used the time to catch up with some family on the phone and I didn't have to worry about pushing around a stroller in the store, it was a win/win situation. After Old Navy, we went home, fed the boys and all 4 of us took a much needed nap. Then Greg, Carter and Evan played while I fixed supper, washed bottles, made formula, etc. After dinner, we took advantage of the great, fall weather and went for a walk--we were feeling so great from our afternoon power nap (and I was on a high from getting so much accomplished while Greg was playing with the boys) we did two laps around the neighborhood. Ha! It may not seem like much, but with the double stroller combined with how lazy we've been since having babies, it was quite the accomplishment. We got home, bathed the boys, fed them and laid them down around 7:45 and it's 11:20 and they're still sleeping. Today was a really nice Saturday.

Another thing that has been helpful was advice from another mom of twins. I love reading blogs and stumbled upon this blog of a mom with twin boys that are 2 months older than our boys. This was when our boys were having some gas issues (which have since pretty much cleared up, thank goodness) and she mentioned that her boys had some tummy issues and ended up having to see some specialists and have surgery, etc. So, I e-mailed her to ask her how she knew that it was something beyond normal, baby gas, so I would know what to look out for. She was so sweet and wrote back a very detailed e-mail with what to look out for and then explained that she had several friends with twins older than hers and they were a great resource for her and that if I had any questions, she'd love to help me. So, we've been e-mailing back and forth ever since and she's been so much help! She has given me so much helpful advice, especially about the process her and her husband used when trying to get her boys to sleep through the night. I know how busy she is having twin boys and for her to take time from her day to e-mail somebody she's never met is the sweetest thing and I'm so grateful. You can check out her blog here. It's perfect that her boys are only 2 months ahead of ours, so everything is still fresh in her mind.

Well, I can't have a post without pictures. Here's some random pictures from our week and today.
Here's Carter in his shirt from Aunt Caroline.

Evan in his shirt from Aunt Caroline.
We tried to get some fall pictures today after getting home from running errands when the boys were due for the bottles. We thought we'd go ahead and get some pictures before they ate just in case they spit up on their shirts. Big mistake. When Carter is hungry, he wants his bottle right then and there and was not interested in getting his picture taken. Greg's trying to position Evan, but it just wasn't working. So, we'll try again on another day.
I can't belive how much the boys are smiling and cooing now. It seems like everyday they are smiling more and more.

I know this picture is blurry, but Evan's smile is just so big, I had to post it. I don't care how blurry it is, it's one of my favorite pictures of him.

The boys in their pajamas they got from Grandma Westover for easter (haha--you know they're spoiled rotten, they got easter gifts before they were even born) This was after their nighttime bath before going to bed.

We'll be staying busy tomorrow too, Greg has to cut the grass and I need to run to the mall and go grocery shopping. I will be leaving the boys at home with Greg while I go out and it'll be the first time that he's been home with them for more than 10-15 minutes by himself. I've run out to pick up take-out for dinner before and today I went to the gas station and right back, but tomorrow, I'll probably be gone a couple of hours, so we'll see how it goes. I'm sure they'll all enjoy the boys time.

Spoiled Rotten

The boys got a Halloween gift from their sweet aunt Carrie and Grandma Westover today. I can't wait to dress the boys up in their cute Halloween outfits and pose for pictures in front of some pumpkins.

We also got a package from Kohl's today that my mom, (Granny) bought for the boys. It's several Carter's outfits, onsies, and pants. I love Carter's brand clothes. They fit the boys so well and they're so cute. They also have so many different onsies that all seem to coordinate well with the pants the boys own, so I end up having to buy less clothes. That's basically all the boys own and Greg asked me if Carter's was the pretty much the only brand of baby clothes there is because that's all he sees in their closet. Just a few weeks ago, the boys got some fall outfits from Granny and their aunt Caroline. These boys have so many clothes, and I love it!! It's so much fun to go into their closet every morning and pick out a cute outfite for them.

Evan in his new onsie from Granny

Carter in his new outfit from Granny. Greg loves this onsie. I think it's one of his favorites.
Clothes that came from Kohl's

More clothes from Granny

The boys first Halloween gift. I love it!! I'm so excited for all the boys first that we get to experience.

People have been so generous and given the boys and us so much and we are so thankful. We are a little behind on sending out our thank you cards. When we finally got some cards from the store and addressed them, we realized we didn't have stamps. This was last weekend and we finally just got some today, so we will be sending those out tomorrow. Running errands is much different now that we have twins, we can't just run to the post office and get stamps with two babies. It's actually harder to go to those quick small places like the post office, Starbucks, Subway, etc because I'd have to carry both carseats since they don't have carts and I don't even think our double stroller would fit into those places. It's actually easier to go to Target, Babies R Us, etc since they have carts or are big enough for the double stroller.

My next several posts will probably be mostly pictures since we're still working out a routine. We're finally on our own after 8 weeks of help from family. So, it's a little trial and error on figuring out what works for us, what schedule gives us the most sleep, what schedule has the boys in the best mood, etc. I do hope to post a good update on the boys on Monday since that will be the day they're 2 months old! I can't believe how fast it's gone by.