Doctor, Doctor

The twinfants and I had an adventure yesterday: Our first trip to the doctor without any help from anyone.


(They don't do it all the time, but the twinfants are holding their own bottles.)

In the past, I have always had someone to give me a hand. However, for the last two appointments, Callie has worked on the night before the appointment and needed to sleep. Last time it wasn't a big deal because Amanda was out of school and able to help me out.


(Being a breach-baby made Saxon very flexible. He likes his feet.)

This time, however, we were on our own. And we did GREAT, thank you very much. It took us a little more time to strip down for our weigh-in, but we got it done.


(Ella asserts her claim on the toys by touching them.)

The roughest part was getting the babies shots. Ella went first as she usually cries a bit less. I calmed her down and we for Saxon. then Ella started to cry again but only until Saxon got stuck. His shriek immediately quieted her.


(Saxon is getting more into the Christmas toys from Grandma and Grandpa)

As of this visit, Ella weighed in at 16 pounds even, Saxon was nearly two pounds lighter at 13 pounds 15.5 ounces,


(Ella thinks all this picture business is pretty funny)

For those of you who have facebook, there are many more new photos there.

Long Overdue

What the heck happened to this blog? Ummmm.... My dog ate it?

Seriously, I had initially planned to do a post-Christmas wrap up, but like an idiot, I too busy watching Nick and Amanda help Ella and Saxon unwrap their presents that I forgot to take pictures. So then I figured I'd get photos from my dad who took some when he came up after Christmas. But I forgot to ask him and then it was nearly the middle of January, so I had missed the opportunity to make my New Year's post.


(Saxon on the move in the living room.)

So here we are in the first week of February... And I have NEW, never before seen, photos to post. It's a big batch, so I'll probably have to spread them out over the next few days. I did, however, post them all to my Facebook, so if you are my friend you can see them all there.


(Ella enjoying some time in her walker)

The twinfants are doing very well and are getting bigger and bigger. They hit the six month mark on January 18 and neither one of them fit very well into clothing sized in the 3-6 month category. Ella is still the heavier of the two, but we also had to move Saxon along into the 9-month size with the last batch of onesies and pants.


(If you look closely, you can see the six-inches of drool hanging from his lip)

The are also very much more mobile than they were when I last posted. They require constant supervision because they absolutely will NOT stay where you put them. They can both roll over without any problems and we are in the early stages of crawling right now. Saxon is the one more likely to do crawl, although it's more like he pulls himself Army-style with his arms. He kicks his legs, but they aren't part of the effort just yet.


(Ella has a healthy appetite. She even tried to eat my camera)

Ella's choice for mobility is the walker Granny and Grandpa Post got them for Christmas. She seems to have the longer legs and is better at getting them to work. However, she is still far more likely to go backward than forward. Saxon likes the walker, too, but gets the most enjoyment out of it when Amanda pushes him up and down the hallway yelling "Saxon Speedy Delivery Service!"


(I really like Saxon's expression in this pic)

Another area of development that continues to amaze me is their vocal improvement. Now, neither of them have formed words yet, but Saxon seems like he could be on the verge any day. He jabbers away almost constantly. Ella is more reserved with her words, but she has a free-flowing laugh that melts my heart no matter how many times I hear it.


(Ella has had enough with all the paparazzi)

Ho Ho Home for the Holidays

After much back and forth, debating and fretting, we decided to make the trip "home" to Buckhorn and spend the day Saturday with my extended family, most of whom had not yet seen Saxon and Ella.


The twinfants were able to model their Christmas clothes.

The trip was actually pretty easy and I was once again thankful for the space and comfort of our van. How on Earth did parents survive in the days before DVDs and built in TVs?


Grandpa Post and Ella enjoy a hug

Mom and Dad's house was a crowd of babies, with my cousins and I bringing up the next generation. Their boys are a bit older than the twinfants and it gave me a glipse of what my life will be like in a year. It also made me thankful that, for the time being at least, my babies stay where I put them.


Saxon discusses his Christmas wish list with Granny Post

Solid food!

Okay, the title of this post is a little misleading. It's not like the twinfants are eating apples or steak. However at one of our recent doctor visits, we were told that Saxon and Ella are old enough to start trying some cereals.

Callie and I both want the twinfants to stay on breast milk as long as possible as we believe it has been a major factor in them being so healthy. We initially said "We'll wait until they are 6 months old to start." But we decided to do a "try and see."

The results were mixed.


Saxon loved it.


Ella did not.

By the way, as of their last visit, Ella weighed in at just under 14 pounds and Saxon was 12 pounds even. Saxon is also now 2 feet tall, just a tad more than Ella. While they're still little, they've come a long way since the time when they were 4 pounds 15 ounces and 3 pounds 7 ounces!

Ella bonus photo

I don't have a lot of time to post today, but I have a great shot of Ella to share. I set up her bumpo chair with toys for her to play with. She went at them with gusto, but a few minutes later she got really quiet.

Being the nervous papa I can sometimes be, I went to check on her. She was perfectly fine, but totally asleep. It was just too much fun for 1 o'clock in the afternoon!


Sometimes, you just need a nap.

Happy Holidays!

Christmas is right around the corner and that means lots of shopping in the weeks ahead. One thing we bought ahead of time was a Santa costume for each of the twinfants. We actually bought them last year when we first learned Callie was pregnant. They fit perfectly this year and Saxon and Ella were able to show them off at Nick and Amanda's Christmas program tonight.

Here comes Saxon Claus!

Of course, things have been getting into the Christmas spirit since the end of November. The whole trucked out to Arrow Rock the last Saturday in November for the annual hanging of the greens. It was cold and kind of rainy, but we sang Christmas carols and the kids ate Chili and ice cream at the snack shop. Saxon and Ella also got their first visit with St. Nicholas himself, or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof.

Poor old Santa wasn't quite ready for twinfants! He seemed nervous the whole time he held them.

Baptism time

In order for our Wisconsin relatives to be here, we decided to hold off on the twinfants' Baptism until the Thanksgiving holiday. So Following a massive feast on Thursday, we had the Baptism ceremony and another dinner on Saturday. Turkey and pie one day and ham and cake the next. MMMMMM.

This wasn't the cake we ordered, but it was delicious anyway.

It was nice to have our family in town, but it sure makes for a crowded house. Because of the travel time involved, the Wisconsinites usually come for several days in a stretch. My parents were only up for the weekend though, so it wasn't totally wall to wall people the whole time.

Our friend Andrea and my dad served as Ella's Godparents while Sara and Corey did the same for Saxon.

Saxon and Ella did great at church once again. They are so quiet and well behaved that most people around us don't even realize there are babies in the pew. Father Kevin also did a great job with the ceremony, keeping it short and sweet.

Having the family in town meant we finally got to get a picture of the three sisters together.