The Great Binky Caper!

Rogan sees that Grayson's binky isn't working for him.

Rogan grabs binky.

Rogan brings binky to mouth.

Grayson seems happier without binky.

Content Grayson

Content Rogan

Everyone's happy!

Merry Christmas!

Eight-Month Cuties

To celebrate Grayson and Rogan's eight month birthday, we headed over to Women's Hospital for a developmental clinic. All premature babies go to this clinic. Doctors play with them to see how they're doing developmentally, a nutritionist talks to me, and they have a hearing test.

Developmentally, they're right on schedule with their corrected age, which is 5.5 months instead of 8 months. They're doing all the things an average 5 month old baby should do. Really, the only thing giving their prematurity away is their preemie muscle tone. When they stand up, they want to be on their tip-toes. This is because they didn't get the chance to be constricted in the womb. Their legs are really strong, but their backs aren't. I learned I need to let them play on their backs, tummies, and in sitting positions. No more standing for now! They love to stand, so this will not be an easy task.

Nutritionally, they're doing fine, too. Grayson weighs 15 pounds, and Rogan weighs 14 pounds 13 ounces. Compared to other 5 month olds, their around the 20 to 30th percentile for weight. All I can say is, they're huge compared to Arden at this age. I think she was nearly a year old before she was their weight!

They also had to have a hearing test, because some medications used in the NICU could cause hearing loss. Grayson passed both ears, but Rogan's right ear failed the test. I'm taking them both to Moses Cone in January for another hearing test. Hopefully, Rogan will pass! He turns his head to the right when I make noises on his right side, so I'm really not worried.

The good news is, they did so well at the clinic that they don't have to go back for another year! Generally, they would go back every 6 months until they turn 2. I'm pretty proud of them!

Anywho, I snapped some pics of the boys in their Christmas jammies. Of course, I had to get some of Arden, too. I have cute kids!

Grayson

Rogan

Arden

Arden is such a good big sis...most of the time!

This girl cracks me up!

Givin' the Podee Another Chance

It's been a long time since we pulled out the Podee bottle. When we first got them, the boys were too young to use them. This time, Grayson did a fantastic job with it. I was impressed!

He started with 6.5 ounces.

Going to town!

Then he starts to fall asleep...cutest thing ever!

He drank nearly the whole bottle. I had to stick the hat on him and snap a pic of his sleepy head. Too sweet!

Because They're Just Stinkin' Cute

Rogan with spiked-hair.

Grayson without unspikable hair.

Christmas Parade 2010

I took Arden to the downtown Christmas parade at the beginning of the month. It was the same day we moved into the house, so it was bad timing. Plus, it was really cold outside. I figured we'd be ok, though. We were ok...at first. Then, just as a float passed by that said "Let It Snow!" it started snowing. Pretty cool, huh? It was, but then it really started coming down, and it got really cold. It didn't seem to phase Arden. She was running around and dancing. I soon realized her hands were freezing, though, and I decided we needed to go home. She wasn't happy about it, and the poor thing pretty much froze on the way to the car.

Before disaster struck, I got some cute pics and the greatest videos ever. Enjoy!

My dad and Jasmine

All bundled up!

Beautiful brown-eyed girl

"Good Dancing!"

Haha...I have no idea where she got these dance moves!

Lovin' the snow and the freedom!

Those mitten did nothing for her. Poor thing was freezing on the way back to the van. I felt horrible! Luckily, she fell asleep on the way home and felt much better after she awoke.

Let the "Solids" Begin!

I began feeding the boys rice cereal at the beginning of the month. Since they won't technically be 6 months old until the day after Christmas, I was in no hurry! Let me tell you, it's tough feeding two little ones. I wish I could just bottle feed them until they're ready to feed themselves. Although, as you can see in the pics below, they already want to feed themselves!

Lately, I've been better about fitting it into our routine. I usually feed them cereal a little before their bedtime feeding. At first, Rogan was the better eater, but Grayson's proved to be the pro.

Enjoy the videos!

Grayson's first go at it!

Rogan's first try!

Arden tried to help by eating some herself. She thinks it's "tasty!" haha

We're Homeowners!

Since rent was about to increase, we decided it was time to buy our first home! We looked at lots of houses for nearly a month until we decided on the perfect one. I love the porch and the big backyard! I can't wait until it's warm enough to hang out outside.

Notice how everything is still green! When we made the offer, the leaves on the trees had turned yellow.

When we took Arden there for the first time, she said "Ooo...nice!" as soon as she walked in the door...haha! And yes, she is loving those stairs.

The boys just chilled.

My mom got us this fabulous refrigerator for our house warming gift! So awesome!

And, look...moving day...it snowed!

We are mostly moved in...although we still need to figure out where stuff goes. We are loving all the extra space and the garage. I'm so proud to call this place home!

Thanksgiving!

Yeah, I know this post is late. Better late than never!

We had a great Thanksgiving! We actually had five different dinners: Monday was at Aunt Becky's, Thursday was my at my mom's, Friday was at Adam's parents', Saturday was at my dad's, and Sunday we had another meal at my mom's since Catie missed the first one. Fun stuff!

Aunt Becky is in a skilled-care facility. Earlier this year, she had her colon removed and found out she has stage 4 ovarian cancer. It's been a really rough year for her. This was the first time she met the boys, and she was in really good spirits.

Arden on Thanksgiving Day. She watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and loved all the balloons.

I made this turkey clip for Arden's hair. I got the idea from someone on facebook...I wasn't willing to pay $5 for one of hers. I just used stuff I had around the house!

The boys dressed up in their Thanksgiving gear! I only had one outfit, so I split it amongst the two of them. Rogan got the shirt, and Grayson got the pants.

We went to my dad's on Friday for the annual Daniels' Reunion! Arden loved riding with her cousin Emma in the Barbie jeep!

The boys with their aunties! (plus Adam)

Of course, Arden was all over the place. She has fun wherever she goes! Oh, and this was the second day she didn't take a nap...it didn't phase her one bit!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Shutterfly Holiday Cards!

I am so excited about sending out Christmas cards this year! The last time we sent them out was the year Arden was born. Since our family has had two additions this year, I figured it was time to send them out again. Plus, we're buying a house. What better way to get your new address to friends and family?! Oh, and did I mention we should be getting 50 cards for FREE this year? Yeah, you cannot beat that! Shutterfly is offering 50 free holiday cards to bloggers who promote its products. Check out the details here!

I was looking at the new designs at Shutterfly, and they are so awesome! I really love the ones where you can put tons of pictures on them. Gotta show off my cute kiddos! I've actually experimented with several layouts already. When I say several, I mean 13! Here's a few that I love: Joy Love Story, Monogram Snowman, Red Glee, Joy Dots Chocolate...my there are so many...and I'm so indecisive! I mean, just go here, and you'll see what I mean!

Of course, Shutterfly has way more to offer than just holiday cards. They have photo books! I love photo books, and they're so easy to make. I made the cutest photo book of Arden's first Christmas. It's such a special thing to look at every year. I'm really excited to make one for Rogan and Grayson this year. Yay!

Seven Months!

I realize it's been forever since I've posted anything about the boys. They've grown so much! I can't believe they're seven months old now. (Their corrected age is 4.5 months.) At their six month checkup, they were both over 13 lbs and 24"! Compared to Arden, they're big babies! They're becoming really fun. They both want to sit up by themselves so badly. I think we'll all be happier once they do! They take three naps a day, but they aren't necessarily at the same time...which kind of stinks. I'm hoping they'll get on the same schedule soon. They also wake up once a night to eat...although occasionally one will sleep through the entire night. Life will be awesome once they both start sleeping through the night!

This past Monday, we went to Amy's house. She took some great pics of us in our Halloween costumes! Mary Bernice did such a great job on the boys' costumes, I knew I had to get some professional pics of them. I'm hoping to use their overalls for Christmas, too.

If you need a professional photographer, Amy is your gal! You can check out her work here: http://simplemomentsphoto.com/blog/

and here:http://www.simplemomentsphoto.com/

She's awesome!

Rogan: has one tooth; can roll from his back to his tummy (he doesn't like it too much, though;) can put himself to sleep in his bassinet (and has slept through the night there on several occasions!)

Grayson: has two teeth; will eat your nose if you let him; still has to be lulled to sleep in his swing (and will sleep there the entire night until he wants to eat!)

Looks like Alice is looking for some rabbits...

Grayson will touch anything he can get his hands on! He's become quite the playful monkey.

Looks like Alice caught her white rabbit!

Amy told Arden to put her hands on her lap...and she totally listened!

My cute, mischievous girl!

Graysie Face

Rogan and Grayson

Rogi Bear

Rogan and Grayson