Noise Levels

After the Dinner Time video post, a friend asked, "Is it always that noisy at your house? How do you stay sane?"

The answer is: yes. Pretty much the only silence we get is when the boys are unconscious. Most days, the house is similar to the state fair. Kids screaming, obnoxious poorly played music (from the toys), animal sounds (again from the toys), flashing lights, the smell of poop in the air, junk all over the place... Tiff & I have had entire conversations where we were yelling at each other (like we would at a concert) to try to "talk" over the boys & their gear.

I never understood this before I was a parent, but you learn to tune a lot of the noise out. This is probably why people without kids get so annoyed at people with kids who don't do anything at the noise.

I still find it really annoying when its other people's kids, but when its your own kids and when they are this age, its cute. After all, this is them learning to speak, so its kind of exciting, especially when you think you hear 'mama' or 'dada' for the first time.

9 Month Checkup

We had our 9 month wellness check up today. I called yesterday to confirm our appointment after the hassle we had last time. Everything was confirmed so we packed up the boys and were even there early. As I started to get a baby out of the van, I realized the diaper bag was at home. Re-pack baby, go home for diaper bag (with fresh diapers since they strip them at the office) and back to the Dr. office. And we walked in only 4, maybe 5 minutes late!

The boys did well today. They were getting a little tired and somewhat fussy, but overall did very well (it was getting close to nap time). They were weighed and measured (see below) and then got their toe stuck for some blood work. No shots this time, but squeezing blood out of an infant's toe is harder than it sounds! The tests were for lead poisoning and hemoglobin levels. I'm guessing the lead test were sent off, but the hemoglobin levels were right were they should be. Logan didn't really notice it, Nick cried for a little while, but Alex took it the worst - which is odd for as often as he hurts himself. I think he was just tired.

Their stats:
Alex: 21 lbs 13 oz (75%); 27 3/4 inches (50%)
Logan: 18 lbs 0 oz (10-25%); 27 1/2 inches (25-50%)
Nick: 21 lbs 11 oz (75%); 28 inches (50%)

They enjoyed showing off for the doctor while she was in there. Logan was in push-up formation (completely off his knees) and Alex tried to scale the wall. Nick of course was just flirting! Everything was fine, no worries. They're doing everything they're supposed to be. And now we can start adding protein to our diets. Logan got excited to learn he could have steak (although I had to remind him he'd need to hurry up on those teeth).

That about sums it up. Nothing exciting. Back in 3 months for their 1 year checkup. Has time really gone that fast?!

Dinner Time Video

In the last post I was talking about how they notice each other and laugh at each other. This video is from a couple of weeks ago... right when Nick started saying Dada. A warning though... don't have your speakers up too loud or Logan will blow right through them :)

This is a typical night at our house...

We just got back from the doctor... I'll post about that tonight!

Laughing Babies Rock

This weekend Adam and I woke up to an interesting sound coming from the baby monitor. It was babies laughing. That is a typical thing in our house when the boys play, but not usually what we hear first thing in the morning. Of course we went in to check it out and Logan and Nick were laughing at each other! They had both figured out if they pulled their bumpers down a little, they could see a brother! Alex was standing in his crib, looking over at the two of them and laughing too.

Obviously, they are noticing each other more. Logan will bust out laughing just looking at his brothers (especially when they're still in their highchairs and he's free). They also love to take toys from each other, and although this isn't really new, sometimes it seems like there is actually intent. I actually saw Nick get excited yesterday because he wanted the toy Alex was playing with. They were in their activity centers and Nick was bouncing and jumping, trying to reach Alex's toy. Then there was the stare down... Nick giving Alex a dirty look (as dirty as a 9 month old knows) and Alex gloating that he had the chewy, tasty toy - nah-na-nah-na-nah-na!

We have our 9 month doctor appointment tomorrow - Happy Birthday boys! I'll post their official weights and info tomorrow.

Happy 4th of July!

We celebrated our 1st 4th of July this year on the road. It was a much different celebration than last year. This time last year I was just beginning my modified bed rest - stay home from work and just sit and grow babies. I was trying to figure out what to do with all my free time. Now I'm not sure I know what free time is! But the growing babies thing worked well and we have 3 beautiful, happy baby boys to show for it (I may be a little biased).

Friday we went up to Minonk for the annual parade. Alex and Nick were asleep during the first part and of course Logan didn't want to miss a thing, no matter how tired he was! Eventually Alex and Nick woke up (it wasn't the first set of police/fire sirens... but maybe the second) and they all enjoyed it.
They were very observant and captivated by the moving procession. Then we headed back out to Grandma and Grandpa's house for play time with the dog. Cody's still not sure what to think of all 3 of them!

Saturday we went down to Decatur for the annual Williams' 4th of July celebration. We took the boys swimming again and they had a blast! Alex was in a mood most of the day (I think a second tooth is starting to come in), but he enjoyed the pool regardless. They all loved to splash the water but no one was fond of going under. I got to hold my 2 month old cousin Ava and was momentarily reminded how small the boys used to be! It seems so long ago... and now they are almost 9 months old! Time flies when you're having fun, right?

The boys did very well with all the new people. Even Nick, who is usually slow to warm up to new people, was enjoying all the attention and people and activity. When all the other kids were in the pool, each of the boys would just stare at them. I know if they could talk they would have been begging to go in with everyone else.

We didn't really get to see fireworks this year. Bed time is a little too early and a hard habit to break (especially for my kids!). There's always next year....

Cousin Sydney

As promised, a post on our visit with Cousin Sydney...

Sydney was up visiting a couple of weeks ago and came up to our house to help us celebrate Adam's Birthday, Father's Day and Audrey & David's Anniversary. This was also the first weekend the boys were out of their carriers. We went to Carlos O'Kellys for dinner and Sydney ordered cheese dip for us in Spanish! (Granted, the waitress had no idea what she was talking about - still cute!) She and the boys were all pretty well behaved. She even scolded Papaw B, saying "You're making a mess!" It was very cute!

We then came back to the house and opened gifts. Sydney helped everyone open their gifts and even helped with the cake. The boys were sleeping so she was the star of the show.

After the boys ate, she was playing with them and reading to them. I think this might be one of the first group pictures we've gotten where everyone is actually awake!


We also took a walk with Sydney and the boys. When it was time to go, Sydney decided she'd rather stay. Since her mom was expecting her home the next day, we convinced her that she needed to go to Grandma Carol's to pack up her suitcase. She was moving up into a new class on Monday when she got back to day care. It was supposed to be 1/2 days for a week (half in her old class and half in the new), but she enjoyed it so much, she stayed in the new class all day towards the end of the week. The old class was too boring!

She's definitely a cutey! We wish we could see her more often, but for now we'll have to stay updated with pictures. I think she's planning on coming back up later this summer. We hope to see her then!

Yours looks better than mine!

Did I mention that Alex is a little dare devil?! Earlier this week he learned a new trick. He can now get himself from a laying position into a sitting position. Add that to his new love of pulling himself up onto anything stable enough to do that on (or sometimes not stable enough) and you have a child that can go from laying to standing. Great accomplishment - congrats Alex.

Being the quick study he is, today he decided to try a new trick. So, at nap time today, he was practicing his lay down/sit up/stand trick. He kept getting excited once he was up and standing. Dawn kept laying him back down (so he'd sleep). Well, one time when she went up to lay him back down, she noticed he wasn't in his crib. In fact, he was in Nick's crib, giggling. That's right, the baby stood up and tumbled over the side of his own crib, into his brother's bed (remember, they are pushed up next to each other). I guess he was tired of his crib (he's had the same one since birth, but his brothers got new ones). He decided he wanted to check out his other options.

Needless to say, I lowered his mattress this evening. I give him a week or so to figure out how to crawl/climb up that!