Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Day 137


Day 137
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Kason and Cohen having their afternoon tea

Day 136


Day 136
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Trolley Love

The boys went to occasional care this morning. I came home and had a nap! It was so nice knowing that I wasn't going to be woken up the minute I fell asleep. According to the teachers, both Kason and Cohen had a great time! Cohen was napping in The Hummer outside (the bigger kids were playing in the sandpit in front of him) and Kason was with one of the teachers. Apparently neither of them had shed a tear the entire morning, and the teachers were very impressed with their pulling up and walking (while holding their hands) around the place. We got home and Kase started proper clapping, so I think they must have been applauding his walking lots :-)

I ordered this:



today. It's for Kason and Cohen's birthday, and I am SO excited about it! They loved riding in the little trolley my Dad built for them in NZ, so I'm thinking they will love this too :-) I figure they will be able to use it for years, and I can't wait to see them pulling each other around in it! I think I just have two more presents to get tomorrow or Friday and I'm all sorted...and their birthday is still eight weeks away! Which means my Mum is here in seven weeks! EXCITED!!!

xxx

Monday, March 28, 2011

10 Months Old!

Dear Kason and Cohen,

You are 10 months old!!! We have had a busy month with five 1st birthday parties, neonates playgroup, Tuesday playgroup and our Mums n Bubs group. Unfortunately you have both been a little sick this past week, just snotty noses and coughs, but it hasn't stopped either of you getting into EVERYTHING!

Both of you are really on the move now - crawling all over the show and pulling up on anything and anyone...including each other. You both LOVE books, and no matter where in the living room you are, if I start reading a book to you, you will both zoom over to me to look at the pictures...then you will try to grab the book and turn the pages and munch on the pages (we are only reading board books at the moment - you rip the pages of paper books!). We don't watch a lot of TV, but do turn it on for Giggle and Hoot - you both just adore that show and as soon as you hear the theme song, you will stop what you're doing and turn to look at the TV. As soon as one of the shows start, you are off again, playing with whatever, until Hoot and Jimmy Giggle come back on, when you turn your attention back to them!

Kason 
Kason, you are CHEEKY!!! You know exactly what you are not supposed to play with (the front blinds!), but whenever you get the chance, you will turbo down the hallway, stop halfway, turn around, squeal and giggle to make sure I know what you are doing, then turbo off again until you get to the front door. You really do suit your nickname of 'Turbo'.
You like things that roll - balls, cubes, rings, anything really - you hit them along the floor and chase after them. It's so cute and certainly keeps you occupied :-) It also means we find your toys hidden all over the show, and just the other day you got stuck between the back of the couch and the window because you chased a ball, and couldn't get out!
A new trick you are learning at the moment is how to clap! You have one hand flat, but curl your fingers on your other hand, but you've got the action down, we just need to get you to open that other hand up and you'll be sorted. You are pretty sure you've got it right though - you laugh everytime!
Your sleep has gone a bit backwards in the last six weeks or so...you started waking once or twice a night again, when you had been sleeping right through since January. I've started giving you and your brother a dream feed before I go to bed again, which is taking you through to about 5am, and then you will often sleep until 7 or even 8am which is nice, especially for Daddy because he gets up with you and Cohen in the mornings.
Paula weighed you on the 17th March, and you weighed: 8700g - you're getting big! You like your food and you are usually quite happy to try new things...as long as you have something to play with!
You have a tendency to bite when you get excited, and I will often have tiny little bruises up my arms - you bite HARD. I'm not sure how to get you to stop, and I really don't want you to be one of those kids who bites anyone who doesn't do, or give you, what you want.

Cohen

Cohen, you are super talkative! You will talk to anyone and anything! You will talk to balls, to soft toys, to boxes, to the air, to Mummy, to Daddy, to Kason - you just love to talk. And squeal. And giggle (you have the. most. adorable giggle!). You talk yourself to sleep during the day (when you actually sleep, that is!), and you crawl around saying, "mama, mum, mum, mum, umma, mama", and, "dada, dad, dad, dad, dad, dada", and a few times you pull out, "bubba", usually when Kason is nearby...I'm sure you're saying 'brother'! I can pretend anyways!
You will often follow Kason when he goes off on his missions to the front blinds, but sometimes you will lead the charge. You will usually be the first one to venture into your room, Kason usually follows you in there. You like to climb up onto the bulk box of wipes I keep in there. In fact, you like to climb on lots of things! You try to climb into your toy box, on top of the box of bibs, the box of nappies. You try to climb up your push-along walker, and you have been known to climb onto the shelf under the coffee table!
A couple of weeks ago you mastered the skill of waving!!! You will often just be sitting on the floor, minding your own business, chatting away and waving to yourself, or anyone else you can spy...including Giggle and Hoot on the TV. You haven't quite got the theory of waving hello or goodbye, but that's totally fine! When Paula was here on the 17th, she had the video camera and you just waved at her/the camera the entire time! It was so cute!
Speaking of Paula's visit, she weighed you...you weighed: 8930g! Some days you like your food, some days you don't. It gets a bit frustrating for me when there is something which I know you like, that you just flat-out refuse to eat. But obviously you are eating enough - you are putting on lots of weight still!


Kason and Cohen

We started putting you both into Occasional Care this month. You only go once a week at most for three hours, just so I can have a break really. The first week, Cohen, you were a bit upset when you realised me and Daddy had left, but you calmed down fairly quickly and you were both happy after that. When we came back to pick you up, I picked you up, Kason, and Daddy picked you up, Cohen. Cohen, you leaned over and pulled at Kason and his top - you wanted cuddles with Mummy! You both flashed your trademark grins at Angela and Judy, so I know you both had a good time while you were there :-) The second time you went, you both did great and had lots of fun. I think it will be good for you both to get a chance to socialise with other kids a bit more, and to learn that while I may leave you, I will ALWAYS come back.

You are really aware of each other now, playing with each other, talking to each other (this consists of A LOT of squealing!) and chasing each other. It really is so awesome to watch the bond between you growing stronger, while your individual personalities are becoming more evident. You two really are the most amazing and incredible little people, and I love that I get to spend my days with you. I adore watching you learn and figure things out. You both amaze me every day, and there hasn't been a day when you haven't made me laugh and smile - no matter how rough the day may be.

I can't believe that your Daddy and I are planning your first birthday party already...!

Love you both in a circle, forever and always,
Mummy
xoxoxoxo

Oh Sleep!


Day 135
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Another day at home. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to going to playgroup tomorrow!!! Just to get out of the house and socialising with other adults will be SO nice! Mind you, we did get out for a walk today, we went to the park around the corner, and Kason and Cohen both had a turn on the swing which they loved :-) Kase got a little distracted by the dog he could hear barking while it was his turn, though.

Today's picture is of Cohen. Sleeping. How he considers this comfortable, I have no idea, but hey! apparently it is. You can't really tell from this picture, but his right arm is like he's doing a press-up. He actually has his two naps today, thank god! Granted, they weren't very long - 40 minutes and 25 minutes - but at least he slept. Hopefully playgroup tomorrow tires him out and he sleeps a bit better. I'm holding out hopes that he sleeps through the night tonight...Kason too! But, I don't think that's likely! The upside of them waking up at 5am-ish for a feed is that they then sleep in a bit later in the mornings which is nice for Simon!

xxx

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Splish Splash


Day 134
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Usually we take the boys swimming twice a week. We haven't been for a couple of weeks because of all the birthday parties and the boys being sick etc. Anyways, they had their lesson this morning, and Cohen was literally splashing from the moment his hands touched the water until about 5 minutes before the end of their lesson - the look on his face was just priceless, he was LOVING it! The teacher and all of the lifeguards were just laughing at him enjoying himself so much :-) Kason joined in with the splashing lots too, but he wasn't quite as enthusiastic as Cohen.

We all just chilled at home for the afternoon, it was quite nice just to be the four of us at home, together, with no plans!

xxx

Day 133


Day 133
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Kason and Cohen were 10 months old today! I haven't had a chance to write their letter yet, but I'll do that and post it tomorrow. We just chilled out at home for the day - Simon was working. Cohen decided he only needed ONE 20 minute for the day...until I put both him and Kason in the car and went for a drive to pick Simon up from the hospital which is halfway from from work for him. Cohen was in a remarkably good mood for having such little sleep!

xxx

Day 132


Day 132
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Went to the Pregnancy, Babies & Children Expo today...I have seriously NEVER seen so many freaken strollers in my entire life!!! And a fair few of them were empty...the usual occupants were strapped to the fronts of their mothers so they (the strollers, of course!) could be piled high with freebies! And there was definitely no shortage of freebies!
The boys did awesome, just took it all in, flashed their gorgeous smiles at everyone and drew a lot of attention just by being them :-)

xxx

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Cheeky!


Day 131
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Cohen and Kason's current favourite thing to do is play with the blinds by our front door. Some bright spark has fixed the bottom of the blinds down, so we can't pull them up and out of reach. Anyways, the boys know they aren't supposed to play with them, but, of course, that makes them even MORE fun!!! Several times during the day, they will just be playing nicely in the living room, then one will just start turbo crawling down the hallway. The other one will probably realise what he's doing and will be following close behind. About halfway down the hall, they will stop, turn around to check if I'm following, give a cheeky giggle (Kase is doing his cheeky giggle in today's picture) and continue their mad dash to towards the forbidden.

xxx

Grey Clouds Much?!


Day 130
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Yeah, so this is why we haven't been able to go for a walk this week - the sky has looked like this. Apart from the downpours - this was a rare moment when there was actually some sun shining!

xxx

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Snot, Superglue & Fights


Day 129
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Yesterday and today we have been stuck at home. Inside. Both of the boys have snotty noses, so we didn't go to playgroup this morning cause, while my boys LOVE to share, I didn't think the babies would appreciate it. This morning, and much of yesterday, Kase and Cohen uber hypo - squealing, crawling at turbo speed all over the show, climbing up on me, climbing down, climbing up again, and climbing down again...made me wonder what they are going to be like aged two! My sister-in-law posted a status on facebook this morning saying that her son (5 months now!) has just discovered how to blow raspberries. This afternoon, I got a video of the boys in their room, Kason banging on their toy chest, Cohen chewing on his gumboot, both squealing at each other (they 'call' to each other in squeals - one will squeal, the other will squeal back - this can go on for a good 5 mins!). They both then stopped what they were doing and headed for the box of wipes together.

The weather here has been shite, too, so we haven't been able to get out for our walks. The rest of the week only looks to get worse, weather-wise, too. It really looks like we're going to be stuck inside at home until Friday morning, when the boys are booked in for Occasional Care, as long as they are all better. I'm pretty sure they will be though, they are already much better.

Oh! Simon took Cohen to the doctors yesterday morning for his cut finger because it started bleeding again when he took the plaster off. Doc fixed it up...with superglue!!! Seriously! Who knew?! Apparently that's all they use in the hospitals, but they call it "hospital glue" and charge whatever they like for it!

Today's photos is of Cohen, asleep on the floor (duh! As if that wasn't obvious!). The boys usually go down for a nap around 3pm, and when they wake I feed them. Today, Cohen woke after 30mins, so I fed him and he fell asleep in my arms (love!) on the couch. Kason woke about 30mins after that, so I put Cohen on the floor, fully expecting him to wake up as he's done before, while I went and got Kason up and fed him. Cohen just kept right on sleeping, right up until Kason went and sat beside and tried to hold his hand.

They really are becoming so much more aware of each other, it's so awesome to watch their bond developing. They actually fought over a toy today - Kase had it, then Cohen snatched it off him, Kase snatched it back, and so forth, until there were tears and I took it off them.

xxx

Day 128


Day 128
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

I have been searching everywhere for cool, bright alphabet wall stickers...preferably ones that didn't cost like $50 - rip off anyone?! Anyways, I finally found some! And they are awesome, and only cost $7!!!! Stoked! We put them up in the corner with the boys' table and it looks great :-)

xxx

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Busy Boys


Day 127
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

This weekend, Cohen and Kason had three birthday parties to attend - two on Saturday, and one today. Yesterday, the weather was absolutely perfect - beautifully sunny but not too hot. Today, however, was a different story...the party wasa supposed to be at a park across the road from the birthday boy's house (luckily!), but was changed at the last minute to be at his house. It was horrible weather!

We really did have an awesome weekend, the boys were amazing, especially as they didn't really get their usual naps - just in the car, in between/on the way to/one the way from parties.

Tonight, though, Si was giving the boys their dinner and they were getting a special treat of custard (from a little can). Cohen reached out, as he always does, and grabbed the can and cut his finger!!! It just broke my heart. I really don't know how I would cope if either he or Kason ever break a bone or get an injury worse than a cut finger (it wasn't bad at all, just a surface cut...but I was convinced he had almost sliced the top of his finger off until Simon showed me it wasn't actually as bad as I thought)! He is in bed now, with a little plaster on his finger and a mitten on his hand to stop him getting the plaster off and choking on it. It doesn't seem to bother him at all, poor little monkey :-(

xxx

Super Moon!


Day 126
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Apparently tonight's moon was known as a "Super Moon" - 14% bigger than it has been in the past 18 years. It certainly didn't look any bigger than usual to us, but it did look heaps brighter! This picture doesn't really show it too well, but all of the clouds just looked to be glowing, it was so cool!

xxx

Day 125


Day 125
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Master Kason climbing into 'his' kitchen cupboard!

xxx

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Monkey!


Day 124
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

This is Cohen. Cohen being a monkey. This is after his bath, and he is supposed to be getting his pajamas on. Instead, he has decided that he really. needs. that. ball. NOW!

They really are at such an awesome stage right now. In the last couple of days, Cohen has started waving, and when we were walking through the shopping centre tonight, he was just waving at everyone, it was SO gorgeous!

Kason is getting really confident with his standing, and now is letting go with one hand. This morning, he got his walker, pulled himself up, and, pushing it, started walking with it!!! It was so awesome, especially as Simon was home and was there to see it too :-)

They are so much fun...and getting into everything!

xxx

Neighbours Rock!


Day 123
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Si dropped the car in to get a service on his way to work, and I got a call to come and collect it late in the afternoon. I got the boys all sorted and ready to go...and discovered one of the wheels on my stroller had a puncture. Oh the joys. It was flat after our walk yesterday but Si pumped it up...then it was flat a few hours later when I needed it. I could have taken a single stroller and put one boy in there and carry the other boy in the front pack, but it was way too hot! Thankfully we have the most AWESOME neighbours, and when I asked to borrow their double stroller (they have a two-year old and a two-month old), they insisted that they look after Kason and Cohen until I got back. We spend quite a bit of time with them, and their two-year old LOVES my boys - at playgroup, if either one of them cries, he will rush over and try to console them, gives them kisses and cuddles (he seriously is amazingly gentle with them), and makes sure I tell him who is who each time he sees them. Sucky for me though, they are moving at the end of the year. I'm really going to miss having them next door. Oh, and then, to top that off, they fixed my punctured tyre too :-)

xxx

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Rainbows, Butterflies and...Locusts?!


Day 122
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

In the spirit of drawing my birthday out as long as possible, I baked these rainbow cupcakes for playgroup this morning. They went down a treat :-)

It was a long weekend here in South Australia this weekend just gone, which was good, although Si was working on Saturday. Saturday night though, some of the mums from Tuesday playgroup met up for a DVD night. It was SO fantastic to get out of the house without the boys and just catch up. We didn't even get around to watching the DVDs!! We all took the opportunity to dress up a little, and, I have to say, I really appreciated actually being able to JUST take my handbag and not a baby bag, stroller and two babies!

On Monday, which was Cup Day, Cohen and Kason had a first birthday party to attend for one of their friends we know from Neonatal playgroup. The weather was perfect for it - barely a cloud in the sky, but not too hot :-) The boys are so lucky to have so many awesome friends, and I just love being able to watch all these little people grow and change and learn, it really is amazing!

When we were leaving playgroup this morning, a little white butterfly flew out in front of Kason (I'd already put Cohen in the car), he loved it, watched it fly around and just smiled at it - it was so gorgeous :-)
Not so gorgeous was the locust that decided to come inside our house tonight. Ewww!! Makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. Yuck! I really don't like those kinds of insects - crickets and cicadas are THE WORST. The way crickets just jump and hop is just creepy. And cicadas just stick. Ok, typing that is making me think about them, and, ewww, feeling a little sick right now.

On that note...!

xxx

Day 121


Day 121
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Everytime we drive down here, I mean to take a picture and I usually forget to have the camera ready - luckily yesterday it was within reach! I just love driving down here on a beautiful day like it was yesterday (Simon was driving by the way!), it always look stunning, and it makes me want to drive down to the ocean and go for a swim.

xxx

Monsters!


Day 120
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Cohen and Kason have invitations to four first birthday parties this week (the first was yesterday). I still have one more to make, but these are what I've made as presents - I think they are super cute! I hope the recipients love them.

xxx

Day 119


Day 119
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

When Kason and Cohen were first born, their Aunty S (my best friend) sent them each a good old Kiwi Buzzy Bee! Now that they are crawling so well, I got them out of their boxes and pulled them along the floor - the boys LOVED them and were chasing me/Buzzy Bee all over the house :-)

xxx

Friday, March 11, 2011

Dear Mother Nature,


Day 118
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

What is going on with you lately?! Today in Adelaide, it has been a beautiful day - the sun was out and shining, beautifully warm. But at about the time that I took this picture of my two gorgeous boys playing outside in the grass tonight, you shook the earth once again. This time near Japan. And you caused a massive tsunami. The pictures that have been coming out of Japan are devastating. Utterly devastating. I've had to change the channel. I can't watch it, especially after the awful chaos you caused in Christchurch, a city so dear to me, so recently.

Someone must have pissed you off something chronic, either that or you're PMSing. You are one scary woman right now, that's for sure. You know, I remember studying tsunamis in primary school. I never, ever thought there would be one in my lifetime. Then there was the massive 'Boxing Day Tsunami' several years back. Now this one in Japan. It's just surreal. So incredibly surreal seeing these pictures of that huge wall of water just demolishing EVERYTHING in it's path. My heart just breaks for everyone who has been, and will be, affected by this.

Thank goodness I've just heard that my friends over there are safe. The company I used to work for in NZ constantly has several teams based in Japan. They work on the ports. I just hope that they are all ok.

What is the world coming to? I can only hope that with all of these natural disasters you are causing at the moment, my boys won't have to experience anymore during the rest of their (hopefully) very long lives. I want them to know only the kind and gentle version of you, Mother Nature. Please can you stop now? The earth needs a break, preferably a really, really long break. As in, a few thousand years would be good.

Yours,
Laura

Thursday, March 10, 2011

26!


Day 117
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to meeeee,
Happy birthday to me!

I'm 26 today! And Simon didn't forget! We were still up at midnight, so he got in early with the birthday wishes. When I got up this morning, there was a bunch of gerbera daisies (my fav!) on the bench with my present that I wrapped last night and a new charm for my pandora bracelet :-)

Si and I took the Littles swimming after breakfast like we usually do on a Thursday, and, as usual, they absolutely LOVED it!!! They just have such a blast in the water...which makes bathtime a freaken mission. After we got home, I baked myself a birthday cake - chocolate with vienna cream icing YUM! Went shopping this afternoon and managed to get my little brother his birthday presents, and a couple of other presents for the barrage of birthdays coming up.

I'm getting nervous about the boys going to occasional care in the morning...I don't know how they are going to go...I'm sure I'm going to be worrying the whole time until we go to pick them up. I just hate the thought that they might (probably) look around to check in with me and I won't be there. I don't want them to think I'm not coming back. I'll sure they will cope better than I will!

xxx

Day 116


Day 116
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Me & Kason!

xxx

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

A Little Bit Of Lots

After yesterday's post about Cohen refusing to eat anything other than yoghurt, he decided today to prove me wrong! Today he ate: porridge, mixed berry & pear, yoghurt, chicken & apricot, banana, apple & mango, potato, carrot & pumpkin, banana AND a little more yoghurt! All without a grizzle, he was happy as - I was VERY impressed with him :-)

We had a playdate with a little boy who was in the neonatal unit with us. Little G was born eight weeks early and is doing so awesome! We haven't seen them since the end of last year, so it was great to catch up with them. We've been meaning to do it for a while, but things kept popping up.

I went to take my photo of the day this afternoon, and the batteries in both of my cameras died! I managed to snap a few shots, but whether or not any of them were decent...well I'll have to wait until they are charged and I can upload the pictures to find out!

I have a ridiculously sweet tooth. Currently I am really wanting a chocolate mug cake with vanilla ice cream. I have no ice cream. This is a problem to which I have no solution to tonight!

Next week, we have four first-birthday parties to attend in six days - including two on the same day...one starting 30mins after the other. One is for a set of twins. Add to that three family birthdays, and it all equals lots of presents to buy! I've decided that I will make a Mr. Version 2.0 for each of the one-year olds, and buy something to go with. I figure that Kason and Cohen have both been invited to each party, therefore they will each give a present. I guess it's part of my mission to make sure people recognise them as separate people.

My Mum is going to the Gold Coast on Saturday to meet my new niece and visit my brothers/sisters-in-law and nephew. I'm jealous and I wish I was going up there too! I so desperately want to meet Miss S and see everyone. I am also holding out a sliver of hope that my Mum is going to surprise us and turn up here...highly, highly unlikely cause she is coming to visit us in May, but I'm ever the optimistic!

I just wrapped one of my birthday presents! I'm super excited about it - a new bikini :-) It is possible that I may have a slight addiction to swimsuits...when we were in Thailand for our honeymoon, I don't think I wore the same swimsuit more than once. We were there for two weeks. Unfortunately, several of my favourites have embellishments (sp?) on them which Cohen and Kason would find irresistable...I don't think I want to chance them pulling my top off/up/down. I'll just have to wait until they are a bit older before I can wear them again, and hope I still fit them then!

Kason and Cohen are going to occasional care on Friday. I'm really nervous about it. They have never stayed without me with anyone except Simon, my Mum and my Dad. I'm worried about how they will cope. At least they will have each other, and it's only for 2.5hours.

I'm tired and really should go to bed, but I still have dishes to do. I hate it when there are dirty dishes on the bench in the mornings.

I think that Kason is going to be a climber. He can't stand by himself (although he is certainly getting more confident - several times today he let go of one hand when he was standing up and holding onto something), but he tries to climb up, and onto, things. He tries to scale the kitchen drawers, he tries to climb onto the coffee table shelf, and he tries to climb up on the box I keep their nappies in. Oh, and he also tries to climb into his and Cohen's tub of toys, but that's probably so he can get to more toys!

The napkins we ordered for the boys' birthday party arrived yesterday - they are awesome! I'm still waiting on the fabric and the cookie cutters...maybe tomorrow they will arrive.

I think that's about all!

xxx

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Veges: No. Fruit: Maybe. Custard: Probably. Yoghurt: Yes!


Day 115
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Cohen is flat-out refusing to eat vegetables. I may be able to trick him into one or two mouthfuls, but that's it. I don't think it's that he doesn't like what I'm giving him - he liked it all a few weeks ago, and when I *am* able to trick him into those few mouthfuls, he doesn't spit it out. I've tried mixing fruit in with them...again, I can only get a couple of mouthfuls into him. Fruit on it's own is touch-and-go - sometimes he will eat it, sometimes not. Custard, which he and Kason only get a couple of times a week, will *usually* be eaten, but not always. Yoghurt though? He will ALWAYS eat yoghurt!!! It is his most favourite food in. the. world! Which is great - we usually have two in the fridge - one vanilla, one flavoured - because the vanilla one allows me to mix his fruit in and he will then eat it. Speaking of...have you ever tried apple & blueberry in vanilla yoghurt? DELISH!!! When I give them that, I always hope they won't eat it all so I get to finish it off! (Sidebar: it is SO frustrating that most yoghurts at the supermarket are low-fat. Seriously, the Ski brand has the biggest range of flavours with full-fat, and we get a choice from 'Wild Strawberry', 'Mango' and 'Vanilla Cream'. That's it. There is SO much more variety if you go for low-fat.)
Anyways, Cohen's eating is getting to the point where I'm getting a bit worried that he isn't getting all he needs. He has been waking up several times during the night, which is strange for him, and he's hungry (In saying that, he slept right through until 6am this morning). I'm not feeding him before he gets his solids, so he's not full from that...I just don't know where to go from here. Do I wait it out? Is he just going through a phase where he has realised that he can decide to not open his mouth? Do I breastfeed him more? Our Child & Youth Health nurse has dropped her visits down to once a month from fortnightly, and she is coming next week, so I'll be talking to her about it then...but that's still a week away yet.

Kason, on the other hand, eats like a champ! He will eat anything, and lots of it. I'm thinking he will have overtaken Cohen in the weight stakes again this month.

xxx

Monday, March 7, 2011

Extreme Twins?


Day 114
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Twins aren’t the norm. We go out and people stare, people point, people talk, people ask us questions – “how do you tell them apart?”, “do they have really different personalities?”, “how do you cope?” “are they identical?”...the list goes on.
Anyways, I’m watching a programme on TV at the moment on twins, “Extreme Twins” even. It’s slightly disturbing. Maybe more than slightly disturbing. Obviously they have interviewed the more extreme sets of twins, but still. Many of these sets of adult twins have never spent any time apart, they don’t expect people to attempt to tell them apart – and they are perfectly comfortable with that.
Sure, Kason and Cohen are twins. They are identical twins. When people see them, I’m sure they see them as a set. And I guess they *are* a set. But they are two boys. Two separate boys. Cohen loves to splash when we go swimming, he likes to sit in corners, he takes a little while to warm up to new places and situations, he is a fussy eater but likes finger food. Kason likes to move a lot, he is into exploring and rarely sits still, he will eat pretty much anything except finger food, he is outgoing but still needs to check in occasionally if we are somewhere unfamiliar. While they do have identical DNA, they are not the same person.
I desperately hope that they are always close, that they are always best friends. But I also want them to feel comfortable as individuals. I don’t want them to have to rely so heavily on each other that they are driven to the lengths some of these twins on TV are going to – cosmetic surgery to maintain their twinness, not spending a minute apart, feeling as though they are only half a person. Being twin is special, but it is not what makes them special. I hope they always know that.

************
Kason woke up crazy early this morning and flatly refused to go back to sleep. He, once again, fell asleep while eating breakfast, but woke up when I attempted to transfer him to his cot. I went in to see what he was doing after 10mins or so of listening to him talk away...this is what I discovered: one boy sitting in the middle of his cot, talking to his elephant (which is really just a 3D elephant face on a blanket) and looking very smug - "I don't need to sleep, Mummy! I'm a big boy!"

In other news, we booked the venue for their birthday party this morning - SCARY!

xxx

Day 113


Day 113
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Cohen's two-week old cousin has A LOT of hair. Lots of thick, dark, long hair - it's super cute! Anyways, it's usually spikey, so when I was putting sorbolene cream on Cohen's forehead and got some in his hair, I spiked his up so he could try to rival his newest cousin...he fails miserably at it! But his (and Kason's) hair *is* starting to grow, just slowly!

xxx

Version 2.0


Day 112
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Mr. Wingless Bat v. 2.0. I made another one of these the other night, but it was a bit small and I didn't finish it properly. Version 2.0 is much brighter anyways, and it's a hit with Cohen and Kason - Cohen especially likes to munch on his ears!

xxx

Day 111


Day 111
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

I absolutely LOVE these...dark tim tam chiller from Gloria Jeans...Everytime I'm at the mall, I have to have one! The owners know me there now, and come over and talk to me and play with Cohen and Kason. Luckily they have a frequent sipper programme - buy 10, get the 11th free :-)

xxx

Day 110


Day 110
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Master Cohen trying to climb up my leg to get to the camera.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Watch Out!


Day 109
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

When Kason spies the camera, nothing. or noone, in his path is safe!!!

Little Things That Make Me Stupid Excited!



This month I've decided to join in with Megan's LTTMMSE over at Twinsomnia! I'm a day late, but I'm gonna pull the, "I've got twins, therefore no time" excuse on this one ;-)

Anyways, I have five things that are currently making me stupid excited. In no particular order, I present to you, My Five Little Things That Make Me Stupid Excited:

***ONE***
Oh. My. God. I am so completely in love with this icecream. It is DE. VINE! All the dark belgian chocolate, the chocolate fudgey sauce, the chunks of white and dark chocolate and chocolate brownie in the creamy chocolate icecream. I am seriously addicted.  Admission: I sometimes (read: often) have two of these in a day! The only downside is that that are smaller than the usual Magnums. They are pretty pricey, at an average of $4.50 each, but if you're smart, you can get a three-pack at the supermarket for between $5.00 and $7.95!

***TWO***

Robot cookie cutters!!!!!!!!!!!! When we were Christmas shopping last year, we came acrosss the coolest Robot birthday party invitations - I HAD to buy them! I have spent the last couple of weeks on the look out for robot-themed stuff for Cohen and Kason's first birthday party (less than three months ago now...eeek!). For the record, it's been WAY more difficult than I imagined it would be. All I can say is, thank you ebay-inventor dude/dudette! ANYWAYS, I found these cute guys on ebay...so can't wait for them to arrive so I can test them out - watch this space.

***THREE***

I am so glad that we live less than a ten-minute drive from McLaren Vale, one of the two main wine regions in South Australia. Oliver's Taranga is one of my favourites - absolutely beautiful buildings and surroundings, and, best of all, THE best moscato around!!! I absolutely adore their moscato...thinking I might need to make a trip there this weekend because of - see my LTTMMSE #5.

***FOUR***
Loving this super cute Dr Seuss fabric from Robert Kaufman I'm not sure what I'd make with it, but I just love it! Dr Seuss is O for Awesome!

***FIVE***
I'm thinking a drive to McLaren Vale is in order this weekend because IT'S MY BIRTHDAY NEXT WEEK!!! I'm stupid excited about it! I've given Si the hard word that he is absolutely NOT allowed to forget like he did last year...!

Ooooh, this was fun :-) Looking forward to joining in again next month.

xxx


Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Fresh Bread...SO good!


Day 108
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

This morning, we all woke to the smell of freshly baked bread. Perhaps that's why Kason decided to wake up about an hour before he usually does (he is usually awake at 7:30-8am - AWESOME child!!!). This waking up early clearly doesn't work for him, he crashed out in his highchair, while eating his breakfast. When he woke up, he was getting a kiss on the forehead from our 2-year-old neighbour when we arrived at playgroup. J is SO awesome with both of my boys, I love watching him with them. When he first sees them, he gets me to tell him who is who, then he kisses each boy hello. When they are out of The Hummer, he usually wants a quick cuddle with them. If either of them cry while J is off playing, he comes straight back, hugs the offending child, pats him on the head and stays close until he is happy again. Cohen and Kason are the first babies he had contact with, and he now has his own baby brother who is now 2.5 months old.

Hmmm...I'm supposed to be trying to go to bed early. Seeings as it's now 10:30pm, and I still have to do the dishes, put ingredients into the bread maker (mmm...fresh bread again tomorrow!) and, perhaps, just maybe, make a chocolate mug cake!!! My vanilla ice cream needs to be accompanied ;-)

Night all xxx

Pram Liner #2


Day 107
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

It only took around an hour to make Kason's pram liner (the one on the right - with the jets). SO much easier to be able to work off of the template (aka Cohen's liner). I'm stoked with them, they look super cute :-)

xxx

Mmmm...Pancakes!


Day 106
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

In our house, it's a tradition to have pancakes for breakfast on Sunday mornings. We have missed it twice - both times when Simon was working on a Sunday and had to leave home early. Even when Kason and Cohen were still in hospital, we would get up early, and make our pancakes before heading in to spend the day with them.
I recently found a recipe for pancakes which didn't have sugar in them, more crepes really. So...on Sunday morning I made two batches of pancakes - one for Si & I, and one for Cohen & Kason. Kason wasn't too fussed on actually eating his, although he played with it for quite a while. Cohen, on the other hand, LOVED his! He actually ate a pretty decent amount considering neither of the boys is eating a whole lot of solid solid food. They still are mainly eating mash (progressed from puree a while ago), but at least once a day I'll give them something like a sandwich, a piece of toast/french toast, steamed carrot (and now pancakes!) etc.

Oh! Sunday is our swimming lesson day, too. We got to the pools on time, and I was pretty surprised with the lack of cars in the carpark. It's usually really full, but not so much...we get out of the car, only to be told that someone had screwed up with the chlorine levels and they were not able to legally open. AWESOME. Someone would have gotten their arse kicked for that one! Sucky thing #2 about that, we take the boys all ready in their swimming gear and swim nappies so we don't have to change them there. They fell asleep on the way back home, and then we had to wake them up to put proper nappies on them! Funtimes!

xxx

Nine Months Old!


Day 105
Originally uploaded by Road2Chaos

Dear Cohen & Kason,

You are nine months old!!! You are both changing so much every week, every day even!
Kason, you are crawling REALLY well now - we call you 'Turbo Turtle' you are so fast! Cohen, you have been commando crawling for a little longer than Kason has been properly crawling, but in the last couple of days you have properly crawling too. I think it's because, although you were pretty speedy at your commando crawling, Kason got to the point where he was much faster than you - you didn't like that! I'm sure it won't be long until you are just as fast as Kase.

Kason, you have three teeth - two front bottom, and your top front left. You are very close to cutting your top front right tooth, and your left eye tooth.
Cohen, you have four teeth - two front bottom, and both of your top eye teeth. Your two from middle teeth are very close to coming through - you keep cutting two teeth at a time! I like it!
I'm SO impressed with how well you have both been with teething so far. We might have a day when you are a little grizzly and clingy, but nothing more than that usually.

In the last couple of days, you've started eating more solids, having less breastfeeds. It is making outings a bit easier to time. You are both still getting used to this, but, as per usual, you're adjusting really well :-)

Both of you are putting on great amounts of weight - Cohen, in the last four weeks, you have put on a MASSIVE 740g!
As of last week, your new 'stats' are:

COHEN:
Weight: 8480g
Length: 71.5cm

KASON:
Weight: 8400g
Length: 70.5cm

We go to swimming lessons once a week, and we also go to the pools on Thursdays. You LOVE swimming, you LOVE your baths - real little water babies, it makes me so happy that you love water so much - just like your Mama :-) Cohen, the second your feet hit the water you start waving your arms so you are splashing as soon as you possibly can.

The next few weekends are going to be B.U.S.Y. One weekend in particular - you have three 1st birthday parties in two days! Luckily, Daddy isn't working that weekend!

There are still some days when I just can't believe that I have twins, but everyday I can't believe how incredibly lucky I am to have the both of you. You are absolutely amazing boys, and I love you both, so very, very much. I love you in a circle!

Love always,
Mummy
xoxoxo