Who are you? and why are you looking at my adorable kids?

In a month since I put up the hit counter I have had 718 hits! That's crazy! I could probably list the people that I KNOW read the blog (whether they comment or not) and it's certainly not 718. Even if you divide that by 4 weeks it's 179.5 hits per week and I couldn't list that many people.

So this has me thinking...WHO ARE YOU???

If you are reading this you are required to do the following whether you are a frequent commenter or not, whether I know you in real life or not, and especially if you've never commented before...click below on "click here to comment or read comments" and answer the following questions

1. your name or screen name

2. how you know me or how you found my blog

3. your favorite memory of me or your favorite detail from my blog

4. the first word that comes to mind when you think of me or my blog

(in the time it took me to post this the count is up to 723)

Madison

Poor Jackson isn't getting much attention on the blog lately. He's just a 'normal' baby. So before I go on about Madison again I'll tell a little about how awesome baby Jackson is. He is such a sweet boy. My favorite thing to do with him is take a nap. He sleeps WAY longer if I'm there to hold him tight. The next best thing is if I wake up to find him just looking at me with his beautiful expressive eyes. Then I wonder how long he's been laying there so content to just look at me. I love to snuggle my face into his and sleep cheek to cheek.

Once he's up I will bring him to the living room and sit him on the floor. I'll go into the play room to grab a bin of toys. When I come back into the living room with the bin his eyes light up, he smiles so big, and flaps his arms around in excitement.

A bit about them both...When they sit in their high chairs they look at each other and laugh and smile. If Jackson is sitting on the floor and Madison gets too close he will reach out and GRAB her hair. She cries so hard. It's sad because he isn't being mean in any way...just thinks she's a toy. They both are pooping like champs now. Since the feeding of food has been going so well they poop in almost every diaper I change. And it smells SO bad!

OK, onto Madison. Her pulling up to standing has reached a whole new level. She has quickly learned that she needs to get down carefully so that she doesn't smash her head on the floor. One night last week my mom and I watched her go through the learning process in about 10 minutes. She got up and down probably 20-30 times each time with more ease and she got quicker and quicker each time. She now hardly falls down.

She also has been cruising the furniture which I didn't think to mention but I guess it's a pretty big milestone. She goes pretty far and sometimes from a tall toy to the chair that is next to it then to the other side of the chair (it's a big chair).

She now goes from crawling to sitting which before she would just get to her side. She's figured out how to get her foot out of the way and now can get to sitting. She's been sitting more often now. Since she skipped that before learning to crawl it's cute to see her just sitting there.

Last night she was playing with a tall box (who needs toys?). She was standing up on it and patting the top so I was drumming too. Jackson was sitting next to us so he was enjoying the noise too. They were both laughing. I decided to move the box away from her slowly and see what she did. She walked clear across the room while holding onto the box. Is that considered assisted walking? I don't even know. We have a walking toy but I think it would move too fast for her although I think she would learn VERY quickly how to keep up with it.

Looks like at least Madison will be walking in Auntie's wedding in June! So if just Madison can walk in June and Jackson learns to walk between June and September does that mean that only Madison can walk in Mike's wedding? ;-) (Auntie's rule is that if M&J aren't able to walk in her wedding in June that they aren't allowed to walk in Uncle Mike's wedding in September...ah, sibling rivalry...so glad I'm an only child :-) )

Happy Holidays

We want to get 4 matching stockings for all of us but the ones we want are just too expensive to justify so we're going to wait until after Christmas to get them when they're on sale. So for this year we thought it was appropriate to get the following...





Since we put up our tree so early it's officially the holiday season around here. We used to put up our tree (fake) the day after Thanksgiving every year but since Chris works all day that day and now I work all night there is no time :-( So we put it up on the Saturday after now. The kids were very well behaved and napped for a solid 2 hours while we got all the stuff down from the attic, drank egg nog, watched Christmas Vacation, and put up the tree and other decorations. When the kids woke up Chris brought them both out at the same time while I recorded their reaction on the fancy video camera (so basically no one will ever see it). They were all wide eyed looking at the tree and smiling.

I love partial color photos but I can never seem to find a photo that it works with. Thanks to Shannon who did this with her twins the following images were created. These are going to be our holiday card for sure!

Some more pictures

I love doing this to Maddie's hair after a bath. Look at that toothy grin!

This is a new face that Madison has been sporting. She even blows air out her mouth all pursed like this. Yesterday I heard her wistle! Her nostrils even get all white from flaring them. I'm not sure what it's all about.



The following pictures are my first attempt at this type of photo. It's not easy to do so I don't know how I'm going to make them better. You can see our tree lights in the background.

First Thanksgiving

Their first Thanksgiving was lots of fun...well, as much fun as it could have been without their daddy. Chris decided he wanted to stay with his dad since the rest of his immediate family was away. They went to Gloucester to visit with his dad's cousins. He had so much fun he asked if we can go there from now on!

So my aunt picked up the kids and me and we drove out to western Mass to my other aunt's house where we always go for Thanksgiving.

Here are some pictures from the day...

My cousin chris was letting them play with stuff in his wallet. They were ready to take those credit cards for a test spin!

Cousin Jen, her son Hunter, and Jackson

These are all of the kids that were there. 3 of my cousins and I each have two kids! Shelby and Madison are the only girls!

Thankfully Madison's knees are just a little too short to get up on the stair but trust me she was trying like heck! She had her hands up on that second step and was lifting her knee to the first step with all her might.

These two above were taken in succession. She climbed right up onto that hearth.

After everyone left my aunt's house my mom and I took the kids over to visit her parents.

This is my high school senior picture that my grandmother had on her bookshelf. Jackson was having fun looking at it.

Jackson's cheeks have started getting VERY red when he is tired. It makes him look miserable.

After that we went back to my other grandmother's house and spent the night there with my parents.

The next day we hung out, had breakfast, took naps, had lunch then the kids and I drove home with my parents. There's not a whole lot of room in a back seat with two car seats but I managed for a little while until I felt the car sickness kicking in. My mom was nice enough to let me sit in the front. Once we got back on the road the kids started crying so we had to pull over again so we could get them some food. My mom fed them in the back while we continued on our way. Unfortunately Maddie screamed her head off after eating. We were just about to pull over again so I could get her out of the seat and comfort her when she fell asleep. I felt so bad for her :-(

We were happy to see daddy when he got home from work. Then I had to go to work :-(

Today we put up our christmas tree and decorations while the kids were napping. So far no tree related incidents have occured. Pictures to follow...

Pictures

Madison looks like she's standing on my dad's head but she's not. She's in mid air. He has so much fun with them.

Madison has started crawling around while clutching a toy. She won't let go even as she pulls up to standing...or drinks a bottle.

I don't know how clear it is but this is Madison's first egg. She was pulling up on a bar stool and slipped and hit her head on the wooden bar that holds the legs together. She didn't cry any longer than when she bumps her head on the floor so we were shocked to see such a big egg.

Now, this is weird...shortly after Maddie got her bump we noticed that Jackson had a lump on his forehead on the opposite side. I swear to you he was sitting in one place playing with toys right in front of us the entire time before that. We couldn't have missed him hurting himself enough to cause a lump like he had.

We went up the street to visit our twin friends Aaron and Amelia who are 5 months older than M&J. They had awesome toys! Madison was in love with this rocking horse! I've never seen one for a baby before!

Food

Feeding food is going much better now. They now eat 8 oz of formula at 8ish then around 11, 2, and 5 they each eat a 6oz jar of food. At 8 or 9 they have 9oz of formula and bed at 10. They have been sleeping til 8-8:30 lately which I'm happy about. I finally had some time to look around and found some whole grain oatmeal cereal at the store so i've been adding that to at least one of their jars of food per day. I basically feed them until they stop opening their mouths. So I'm not sure if our new feeding schedule is right or not but my kids are extremely happy and content 99 percent of the day so I can only imagine I'm doing something right.

Jackson really only likes sweet potatoes and bananas and they have to be from the jar. Unfortunately my homemade versions don't go over as well.

Madison can get pretty messy. She loves to show off her smiley grin now. She definitely has a top tooth coming in to make her third tooth! Jackson still doesn't have any.

Madison is extremely enthusiastic with her food. She's like a little bird that will sit with her mouth open as long as she can see the spoon and until the spoon goes in her mouth. If the spoon goes in Jackson's mouth she gets VERY feisty and will yell until you give her a bite.

Madison in jail

8 Months

Dear Madison and Jackson,

I feel like a lot has happened in the last month. Your first Halloween was a lot of fun. Madison looked so adorable as a monkey. I even put a purple bow in the monkey’s hair so it looked like a girl monkey. The stomach was all padded so you looked chunky. It was funny. Jackson’s astronaut suit was so cute! Your little face in the helmet was just priceless.

You’re getting better at eating food. I’m trying to change our feeding schedule but Daddy is fighting me. I think he likes having to wake you up at 11pm and feed you and hold you when you’re all sleepy and you fall back asleep in his arms. He said that last week he went in your room to put Madison in her crib and he ended up lying down on the floor while Madison slept on his chest. There is nothing like snuggling with you when you’re sleeping.

I had been making food for you to eat and freezing it but so far you prefer food from the jar. I had hoped to not feed you unhealthy preservatives and simple carbs but it turns out the fruits and veggies in the jar are just fruits and veggies and water. So far you're both bigt fans of bananas and blueberries and applesauce and sweet potatoes

You both wear size 4 diapers. Mostly because of Jackson. Madison could probably get away with a 2 but it’s just easier to go with one size.

It's official, you both have brown eyes! The color is very apparent now. I can't tell you how shocked I am that Madison doesn't have blue eyes.

One thing you have yet to have is diaper rash. Hopefully we’ll continue to avoid that.

Changing the clocks back an hour has been hard on me. You had started getting up earlier BEFORE we changed the clocks. You were getting up around 7 or 8. Now with the clocks back you’re up at 6 or 7. It’s really hard for me to take care of you all day and work until midnight on 5 or 6 hours of sleep. I’ve been spending more time napping during the day with you but then I have no time to get anything done that needs to get done. I’ve heard that babies can sleep for 12 hours at night. I would LOVE to get you to sleep from 9-9 or 10-10. That way Daddy gets to spend time with you at night and I get to sleep a little later in the morning.

We have rearranged the living room furniture. The room is so small that with the coffee table and big ottoman there was no room for Madison to crawl around.

So far the only time you cry when we leave the room is if you’re already upset about something else. Neither of you show any person preference. You’re not clingy to one particular person and will let anyone hold you even if you don’t know them.

I am looking forward to our first Thanksgiving as a family next week and can’t believe that Christmas is just around the corner!

Dear Jackson,

You are such a good boy. You constantly make me smile.

This month you finally started to get up on all fours and rock back and forth. You also started sitting up with (almost) no risk of falling over. It’s great because we just plop you on the floor with some toys in front of you and you’re happy as a clam. Even after you’ve managed to get all the toys out of your reach you’ll just sit there and look around. You are so content and mellow

You wear size 9-12 month clothes. You’re very thick around the middle which is why you are in such big diapers. Auntie Brenda said that 22 month old Kyle is in size 3 diapers!!

Your unofficial weigh in today was 19 pounds!! I just can't believe you are 1 pound away from quadrupling your birth weight.

No teeth yet! One must be on the way though because your cheeks are very red sometimes and you’re chowing on your fingers and seem to be more sleepy than normal.

Your hair is contuing to grow in but pretty slowly. It's dark brown with flecks of gold.

Injuries this month: One time you were sitting and somehow fell straight forward and landed pretty hard on your chin. You cried so hard and it just broke my heart. I tried to hold you to make it better but it didn’t work.

Dear Madison,

I can’t get over how mobile you are. It just blows my mind that you are pulling yourself up to standing. I wasn’t prepared for you to do all of this so soon. It’s amazing to think of you just a few months ago when all you could do was lay there and realize how much you’ve accomplished. We had to lower your crib mattress so that you don’t fall out when you’re standing in it. You’ve gotten harder to get to go down for a nap because as soon as I put you down you stand up! You’ll just stand there looking like you’re in jail and cry until I pick you up. You're already getting more careful about what you pull up on. I think you're already learning from your many tumbles that you need to test items out to make sure they're sturdy enough to support your weight. I just did an unofficial weigh in with you and you are 15 pounds...still my baby peanut.

You are so chatty and smiley. You are much more energetic than your brother and seem to need to be in motion constantly. You crawl all over the house now. It’s so funny to go into another room and see you following me. You will crawl over pillows, other toys, and even your brother to get to something you want.

Sometimes when we go for a walk in the mall you are constantly kicking your feet in a joyous way and yelling “A-BA-BA-BA” in the most adorable voice. You do this at home too or in the car.

You wear size 6-9 month clothes. Some are 6-12 but just because that’s the way they’re sized.

Your hair is still a deep red color with a wave to it. Your bangs are really growing in now and cover most of your forehead. Now the fun begins with little clips and bows.

Your tooth is really showing now when you smile. The second one in the bottom just started showing a few days ago!

Any “injuries” you’ve had this month have all been falling related (unless you count Jackson pulling your hair so hard you cry bloody murder). I try to asses the damage before I run to you and scoop you up. Most of the time you stop crying within seconds.

Comparison

Two months

7.5 months

Videos from the past week

This is Brendan and Olivia playing with Chris. Madison was just crawling around all over the place minding her own business. It sounds like there are 17 people talking in the background but there are actually only 4!



This is Madison pulling up on a toy.



This is Madison eating food and making very funny noises. Please excuse the bib that says "I can kick your baby's ass". I realized after taking the video that all you can see is "ass"! HAHA



This is Jackson eating some potato that I mashed up on my plate. It didn't go over very well. He actually ended up choking after I stopped the camera. I had to whip him out of the high chair and hit him on the back. He then proceeded to throw up on me and the floor for the second time that day. Thankfully he was fine. He's choked before with food that he doesn't like. It's way too scary.



Madison looks like she's waving at Jackson and Jackson is showing off his new talent of rocking back and forth while sitting.



This is a fairly long video of Madison standing with assistance from the bumbo. It doesn't end well.



This is Madison crawling all over and chatting up a storm. I LOVE her voice!

Fun with friends

After the football game we drove to New Hampshire to Kristin, Marc, and Olivia's new house with Brenda, Marc, Brendan, and Kyle. A fun time was had by all.

I love this picture. Marc, Kyle, and Jackson making a plan

We wore out Olivia. She fell asleep right there in the chair.

Celebrating Kristin and Brenda's birthdays.

Naked babies

Jackson finally conked out clutching his bottle

Football

We went to Chris's cousin Mike's high school football game on Saturday. The whole family was there because there was a flag ceremony at the beginning of the game in honor of Veteran's Day. Mike's older brother Jim is a senior at the Citadel and was asked to be a part of the ceremony. It was a little chilly but a beautiful fall day. Coffee and Bailey's kept us warm.

How cute are they?? Jim and Kari Lynn

Nana and Maddie bundled up

Jackson keeping his eye on Jim

Look at those eyelashes!!

Happy girl