Sickies!

Since the week before Christmas, we have had some sort of illness in our household.  I am so tired of it, and I think it's part of the reason I seem to be in a funk.  Either I've been sick, my kids have been sick, or Ryan has been sick.  Here's a pic of my two little sickies watching "Barney" and drinking their Pedialyte.

With all that being said we have begun to discover some remedies that have actually helped:

Drink a lot of water - I know that water is the last thing you seem to want when you are sick, but I feel like it really does help flush all of the sick toxins out of your body.

Get some darn sleep - It's hard to actually say enough is enough and it's time for some sleep, but it really does help to stop and rest your body.

Enjoy the snuggles from your kids - My kids are pretty much past the phase of just wanting to sit and snuggle when they could be playing instead.  Yesterday, though, I got to sit with Owen for about an hour and half with my little tender guy.  It was pretty sweet.

Zinc Lozenges - These are supposed to lessen the length of a cold.  I feel like they have helped me out.

Remember the power of positive thought - I know this sounds kind of hippy-dippy, but I just think about my family all being healthy and happy again at the same time.  It will happen, and focusing on that instead of the fact that we are all sick can help me out tremendously.

Wash your hands - This one doesn't need much explanation, but a good hand washing can go a long way in  preventing the spread of germs.

Do you have any other tips you'd like to share?  We need all the help we can get here at out house.  :)

Dancing Machines

Here is yet another dancing video.  I just find all this singing and dancing so adorable.  It just warms my music teacher heart (and dancing in a diaper, for some reason, warms my Mommy heart).

A Trip to the Aquarium

We went to the Portland Aquarium today.  We went with my sister, Amy, my friend, Carrie, and her daughter, Maya.  The aquarium just opened in mid December so it was pretty fun to check it out.  It has three "touch" aquariums, and one of those is full of Rays (that have had their barbs removed so they are safe to touch).  It also has a cool Lorikeet cage where your kids can go in and feed the birds if they want to.  It will soon have a Puffin display and Sea Otter display that should be pretty cool.

Owen & Maya at the first aquarium.

Lindy checking out the first aquarium.

Owen & Lindy checking out the "touch" tank.  It was full of Starfish & Sea Anemone.  Owen loved that he got to touch the water.  Lindy was more cautious about it.   

Owen & me by a deep sea diver.  Owen was very cautious about this display.  :)

Lindy standing nose to nose with a Ray.  She could have stood in this spot all day.

Maya, Carrie, Owen & Amy checking out all of the Rays.

Maya & Carrie admiring the Rays.  Maya even got to touch a Ray.  She thought it was pretty cool.

Owen at the last "touch" tank.

Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation

Upon Grandpa's suggestion, we took the kids to the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation.  Owen & Lindy had a great time checking out all of the trains, and so did Grandpa Bradstreet.  I was quite amazed by the size of the engines and that they were housed in such an amazing indoor facility.  

If you are ever near Portland, OR, I highly suggest going to check these trains out.  It was good free fun.

Dancing Queen

Lindy loves to sing and dance, but she is quite particular to which song she wants to dance to.

Crawling

Now that Lindy has got the hang of crawling, nothing can stop her. 

Climbing Stairs

The world is like a Jungle Gym if you're Owen.  He loves to explore every nook and cranny of our house, and his latest favorite is the stairs.  This video is the very first time he attempted climbing the stairs.  He can now almost make it to the top.  He definitely keeps us on our toes.  

10 Months

Owen and Lindy are now 10 months old.  They will actually be 11 months old on March 5th (I was a little late in getting this post done).  They are growing so much, and I swear they learn something new everyday.  Ryan and I couldn't ask for sweeter, smarter, happier, or healthier babies.  They truly are amazing.

In Lindy's 10th month she achieved many new things.  She started crawling.  She is starting to do some signs like "up" and "all done".  This should help us a lot because when she doesn't get her way she tends to get very frustrated and ends up screaming at the top of her lungs.  Ugh!  One new thing she's started doing is pointing.  She isn't pointing at anything in particular, but it is about the cutest thing ever.

Owen has also made great strides in 10th month.  He crawls everywhere, and can pull himself to standing with no problem.  Just yesterday he started walking.  He is not super steady yet on his feet, but I think he will be walking everywhere in no time.  He has no fear when he tries to walk, and when he falls it doesn't phase him at all.

Owen's Walking ????

Well, he's not quite walking, but he is quite speedy with the help of his push toy.  He is also very good at standing, and every now and then he takes one step.  Unfortunately, we couldn't get him to take a step in this video, but hopefully we'll have one soon.  So for now, enjoy these videos.  The first one is Owen walking with his push toy, and the second one features Owen standing on his own.

Big Things are Happening

Well, we now have two crawlers on our hands, and Owen can even pull himself up to standing on his baby gate and on furniture.  The following videos are of Owen pulling himself up to standing, and Lindy sitting up.  The video of Lindy was taken before she could crawl (she just started crawling last week).  I'll try to get one of her crawling up soon.

The video of Lindy starts out with a picture of Owen for some reason.  Something strange happened on the editing floor.  Sorry about that.

Having fun

We hung up the bouncer the other day.  Both kids really enjoy it, and it is a nice thing to distract them with when Ryan or I needs to get something done.  Here is a video of Lindy having a great time in it.

Owen has recently found the door stoppers, and he thinks they are one of the coolest toys ever!! 

9 month stats

Owen & Lindy are 9 months old!  Can you believe it?  The time has flown by, but I am really enjoying this age.  For the most part they are both happy & healthy babies.  I'll take this age over newborns anytime!!

 At Owen's 9 month appointment we learned that he is 17# 15oz, and is 28 in. long.  This puts him in the 10th percentile for weight, and the 37th percentile for height.  He can crawl like nobody's business, and will be pulling himself up on things very soon.  You can tell he is an observer of most things.  He wants to know how things work, and is a very inquisitive little boy.  I love watching him stare at a new object and really try to figure out how it works.

At Lindy's 9 month appointment, we found out she weighs 18# 10.5oz, and is 28.5 in. long.  This puts her in the 44th percentile for weight and the 78th percentile for height.  She is not crawling yet, but will be there any day now.  She is an independent girl who knows what she wants.  She loves to play with new things and jumps right into almost all situations without hesitation.  I really enjoy her adventurous and independent spirit, but am a little concerned about how this will translate into her teenage years.  :)

We had a busy, busy holiday season.  Here is a quick recap of everything that happened. 

 

 Owen and Lindy got to go and cut down their first Christmas Tree.  We've been very lucky this winter and have had wonderful weather.  That day was perfect, and we got ourselves a beautiful tree.

Amy and I received our Master's in Education.  Amy received her's with a Reading endorsement, and I received mine with a Methods and Curriculum endorsement.  It's pretty cool to be have a Master's and be done with that task.  Now onto the next one.  

 We celebrated Christmas Eve with Amy and her boyfriend (at the time, now Fiance!).

 We flew to Iowa to celebrate late Christmas and the New Year with Grandma & Grandpa Bradstreet!

 The babies received some great homemade gifts from Grandma, Grandpa and even Great Grandma.  In this picture you can see the cool caterpillar that Grandpa made for them.

 Owen and Lindy got to meet Great Grandma Bradstreet.  Great Grandma really enjoyed meeting the twins, and they had a fun time with her.  Especially Lindy, she seemed to form a special bond with Great Grandma on this trip.

 Here's a nice generational picture.  Four generations of Bradstreet's.

Here's the whole gang.  We clean up pretty nice.

 

And where was Marlee during our trip to Iowa?  She got to stay with Aunt Amy and Uncle Cross.  She even got to go on a trip to the beach with them.  On this trip, Amy and Cross got engaged.  Hooray for them!!

It was a busy holiday season, and I finally feel like things are winding down and getting back to normal!  We are very excited for the new year.  We have a lot of fun adventures planned, and we'll see what unexpected adventures pop up along the way. 

Things People Say

As many of you know, once you have a baby, everyone wants to give you a little bit of advice (even if you don't want it), or they just want to check out your new bundle of joy.  I believe this is at least doubled when you have twins.  Here are some of the most frequent comments I get and some of the most bizarre. 

"Here comes Double Trouble!"  When people say this I want to reply with, "Actually my kids are very good." or "Really?  You think you're the first person to come up with that one?"  I usually just smile and nod though.

"Are they twins?"  This is usually what people say when they want to check out your babies and they don't know how to open.  Once again, I usually just smile and nod when people say this, but I want to say, "No, they are actually 3 years apart," and just keep walking.

"Oh my, you must have your hands full."  I usually don't even acknowledge the person who says this.  This comment just really irritates me for some reason.

"Are they identical?"  I just politely tell them that boy/girl twins can't be identical.  What I really want to say is, "No.  One has a penis and the other has a vagina."

"Have you seen that video on Youtube with the twins that seem like they're talking to each other?"  What I want to say to these people is, "Who hasn't seen that video?  and They are talking to each other you moron.  They're just babies so they don't have a huge vocabulary yet." 

Okay, now for the most bizarre.

"Are you on WIC?"  I walked away from this person and let my husband handle it.   The twins were still really young and I thought I was going to smack the lady.  My husband, however, was very polite.

"When is your next baby due?"  My reply to this man was, "Oh, I'm not pregnant.  I just still look pregnant because my twins are only 2 1/2 months old.  What I wanted to say was a lot of swear words and then walk away to cry.  (I think I did walk away to cry).

So if you do see someone in the store who has twins, do tell them they're babies are adorable and they are so lucky to have twins, but do not ask them any of the above questions.  :)

Adorable Headbands

I made a few headbands for Lindy this weekend, and I though I would share the most unique ones.  They were so easy to make.  I made 6 total, and I think that the amount of money I spent on supplies (about $15) would've bought me only one headband from a store or fellow crafter.  To assemble them I just used hot glue.  Very simple and all 6 of them took me about a half an hour to make. 

On a side note, Lindy was not being a very happy model so she looks pretty serious in all of the photos.

The first one is strictly for Halloween.  It has a spider on it, and I think it's pretty cool!

The next one has a butterfly on it.  I like how unique this one is. 

The last one is a classic Gerbera Daisy head band.  I made 4 of these in various color combinations.



Teeth

Lindy has her first two teeth!  They are her two front bottom teeth.  She would not let me get a close up picture, so you just get her adorable "5 Month" picture. 

She has been a champ while she's been cutting her new teeth.  We've only had two times so far when she's been fussing over her teeth.  She is just a strong little girl.  

Happy Little Frog

I made this hat for Owen while I was pregnant.  He can finally wear it, and I think it looks great.

I got the pattern from another blogger: Sandyfroglegs Design.  

Let the training begin!

I have started training for a 5K that is at the end of October.  I'm doing this to help me get rid of some of baby weight.  I put on a little more then I wanted to, but when you're pregnant with twins you are always worried about them arriving early and being very tiny, so I ate a ton of meals and snacks loaded with protien while pregnant thinking this would hep bulk up my babies.  (protien shakes, peanut butter, meat, meat, and more meat)  I think this may have caused the weight gain not to mention all the foods loaded with calcium like string cheese, yogurt and ICE CREAM!!!  Anyway, I am not happy with my body at the current moment so I am starting to run and am back on Weight Watchers.  I'm doing the "From Couch to 5K" program, and am in my 3rd week of training.  I am enjoying the time I get to spend with Owen, Lindy, and Marlee (the wonder dog).  The picture below is not of me running, but it is of me with my running crew, and you can see the enourmous stroller I push while I jog. 

Happy jogging!!

The Twins

So I have been absolutely awful at being a blogger, but thought I would give it a whirl again.  The twins are now 4 1/2 months, and my how things have changed for me and Ryan.  Owen and Lindy are great babies, and thank goodness for that.  If they were hard babies, I don't think we'd survive.  They are both growing so quickly.  Owen can roll over and is all ready trying to start scooting around (and doing a pretty good job).  Lindy does not roll over just yet, but is well on her way.  She does babble endlessly, though and makes us laugh a lot.

Here they are when they were first born.  Owen is on the left.  Lindy on the right.

Here are two pictures of Owen.  One when he was first born, and one of him now at 4 1/2 months.  It is amazing how much they have changed.

Here is one of Lindy when she was first born and one of her now.  She has really changed from being a scrawny, fragile newborn to a strong little girl.

Gosh, when I look at their newborn pictures they don't even look like the same people.  It is so amazing to watch them grow and really become their own people.  I can barely wait to see how they grow and change in the future.  (Well, I think I can wait for them to start crawling and walking for a while).  :)

The Twins are Almost Here

I've been pregnant with twins for the last 35 weeks, and in 2 weeks they will be here!  It really doesn't seem that long ago that Ryan and I found out we were having twins.  Overall, I've had a good pregnancy.  I'm just now getting really, really, really tired, but the marathon is almost over. 

I thought it would be nice to post all of my belly pics just to remember where I started.

 This was right when we found out we were pregnant, and had no idea there were twins on board.

 This was before our 1st appointment.  We were about to find out we were having twins.  That's our dog Marlee, she still had no idea what was in store for her.

 Growing, growing, growing!

 At 18 weeks, we found out we were having a boy and a girl.



 Whoa!  This was right before Christmas.  It would be the first time my parents got to see me in all my pregnant glory.

 At this point, I was really starting to slow down (and waddle).

WOW!  While Ryan was taking this picture, he was having problems with his flash.  He had to keep readjusting, and I was getting so tired from just standing.  He finally got the shot, and I finally got to go lay down on the couch. 

There will be one more pic of the belly right before our scheduled C-section on April 5th.  Who knows what I'll look like by then.