Boss Man!

Tuesday was 'bring the kids to work day' for Daddy! It was so fun having them around the office. At one point we threw Brandon in the big chair and he promptly copped the 'Boss Man' pose... Does this guy think he's Tony Soprano or something?!?!

Daddy's Girl...

While at work, Daddy got a little quality time with his baby girl and took this self portrait! She really is such a sweet and docile angel... Nothing like 'Bam Bam Brandon', as big sister Mia likes to call him!

The Little Bakers!

Nancy had Mia over on Sunday afternoon so that Madi & Mia could make cookies! Mia had an absolute blast, as she's obsessed with Madi, aka Corn Dog. Ironically, after eating raw cookie dough all afternoon Mia came home complaining of a belly ache and promptly fell asleep on the couch... What a sweetie!

Family Photos!

Momma took the Twins for their 6 month photos, and of course had Big Sister Mia get in on the action! They are all so cute together...

Go Buckeyes!

Mia was awfully revved up for the start of the Ohio State Buckeyes football season! She could hardly wait to put on her cheerleading outfit and get to the Arcadia Tavern with Daddy to watch us whoop the Canes... Mommy's friend, Kim, even taught Mia & Taylor a cheer to entertain the boys! We're prepping her college application now to ensure a spot in the 2023 Ohio State Freshman class...

First Swim!

This week we decided to take the whole family to the Club for Mia's swimming lesson, and toss the newest midgets in the pool for their first swim! Here's Momma taking Little Man in for the first time. Neither kid really seemed too pleased or upset by the whole thing. I think it was so close to their bed time, being 5:30 pm, that they just wanted to go to sleep... In fact, after a brief swim Momma laid Brandon on the chair to change him and he was snoring before she got his swim diaper off!

Pre-Tubby Nakedness!

Here is a shot of our clearly malnourished premie children! Can you tell they're struggling to gain weight?!?! Those are some chubby monkeys...

The Slow Developer!

As I may have mentioned, Aubrey always seems to be about 3 weeks behind Brandon in each developmental phase. He's been hopping around in the exersaucer for a few weeks, and she's just now getting to a point where she doesn't face plant when we put her in there. Sleeping is pretty much the same. We were so happy when we got Brandon sleep trained a few weeks back. Now, this week, Aubrey has decided to begin singing each morning at about 3:30 am. She sings until Brandon wakes up, and has even been waking Mia, who stomps into Mommy & Daddy's room, bears in tow, to announce that Brandon has woken her up and she's angry! So time for sleep training round number 2... Wish us luck!

Saturday Morning Cartoons!

It is so much fun as the kids are progressing in their physical development and are more able to hang out with their big sister! Mia really loves them and is constantly hugging them, rolling around on them, and just generally smothering them with love. Can you pick out the Little Man in this picture? He's the one who is always either grinning ear to ear, or flirting!

Grandma & Grandpa Visit!

Grandma & Grandpa drove in from NM for a quick vist this past week. They were here to help Aunt Cathy & Uncle Ryan with their new home, which is quite a massive undertaking... Of course they had to swing over for a little quality time with the Pillsbury Dough Babies!!

The Joys of Sleep Issues!

Let me be clear, our home has become an absolute war zone these past few weeks! Sleep training an infant is never fun. Sleep training twins?! A nightmare... The best part is that their development is separated by about 2-3 weeks. So anything we go through with Brandon, we get to go through again a few weeks later with sweet Aubrey!

Brandon was waking up every 3 hours crying for a bottle, and we were condoning this behavior. At about the 6 month mark we realized that the kid is 18 lbs and isn't going to starve to death... Time for sleep training! So, the week before last we set up a pack-n-play in our room and put Aubrey in there, since she was sleeping through the night. Then, we chose the dreaded 'let em cry it out' method for Brandon. Daddy made this decision after seeing the crazed 'I've had no sleep in months' look in Momma's eyes one morning and deciding that for the sake of our marriage, and potentially Daddy's safety, it was time to act! Thankfully, Brandon was easy. Daddy layed on his bedroom floor and listened to him cry for a few hours one night, and we were pretty much done! Thankfully Mommy was willing to shut off the monitor and stay away from the whole process, or we would have never made it through... So, one down!

Now, about two weeks later, Aubrey has found her voice and has decided she's going to scream all night long! Which of course wakes up her brother who is sleeping about 6 feet away. To make things better, Mommy has bronchitis & Daddy has a sinus infection from lack of rest. Soooooooo, here we go with round 2! Wish us luck... I will tell you that even in the midst of no sleep and our entire house being sick, we wouldn't change this for the world. These children are so sweet, and we are lucky to be a part of their lives...

Growth!

Boy, they sure are growing quicky! We put Brandon in this little contraption earlier this week and he had a blast... Aubrey isn't quite ready, as she seems to be a few weeks behind him in each phase of development. I'm sure she'll be joining him shortly!

Reminiscing!

Mia's crazy imagination continues to be so fun to witness! While we had the pack-n-play set up in our room, Mia decided she would turn it into her 'nest'! She brought in her blanket and pillows, covered the top with pillows from Mommy & Daddy's bed and put herself down for a nap like a little baby... Note that the nap portion lasted all of 45 seconds before she moved onto the next game! It seems that Mia likes to reminisce a bit as each of her old toys, or various baby apparatus, are brought out for her brother & sister. Sometimes she even talks fondly about different items! So sweet...

Healthy Eaters!

Aubrey & Brandon both started eating baby food just shy of their 6 month birthday! Big Boy, as Mia likes to call him, eats two jars of baby bood, and then sucks down an entire 8 oz bottle... Yikes, this kid won't stop growing!

Sisters!

It's so sweet to see Mia cuddling with her brother and sister! At first it was more with Brandon, as he flourished so early. Now, as Aubrey catches up and her personality begins to shine, Mia loves cuddling with her too! We're so happy that Mia has siblings. She really loves them both!

Picnic in Bed!

It seems we spend a lot of time in bed these days! Mia thinks it's one big family picnic... One would think we do a lot of sleeping with all these photos of the family in bed. One would be dead wrong!! Can you see the sleep deprivation in Mommy's eyes?!