9 Month Stats

Addison:



Weight : 16lbs 6.5oz - 10%
Height: 26 3/4in - 25%
Head 17 3/4 - 75-90%

Riley:



Weight: 16lbs 5.5oz - 10%
Height: 26 3/4in - 25%
Head: 18in - 90%

I was a little surprised on their weights. Miss Riley has been eating up a storm and really chunking up so I was sure she would weigh in more than her sister. Nope, Addison is still the bigger twin. All of the percentiles are based on their actual age and not their adjusted age. So the girls are right on track with big heads. LOL

We discussed adding more food to the girls diet. We can start giving table foods in small amounts along with yougarts and cottage cheese. I'm sure the girls are going to like all the new things they get to try.

They only had one vaccination today which was the last of the Hep B series. They did so much better with just one shot and barely cried at all. They were so distracted by the fun tongue depresers they got to play with. Who needs expensive toys when you can play with a wooden stick???

The girls are a little anemic also so we will be putting them back on the Polyvisol vitamins and adding another meal of cereal to the day to help. All in all, they look great and they are growing right on track!

Happy 9 Months Girls

9 months ago today I was lying in a hospital bed in labor after a long night. My water had broke the night before and I learned my girls would be coming into this world 7 weeks early. I had little sleep through out that night and I was throwing up every couple of hours during the labor but I was so excited to finally meet our girls.

Here we are 9 months later and our life has changed for the better. I have two sweet faces that smile and light up every time I walk into the room. Jesse and I have a different reason to live now and each decision we make is tied to the girls.

So here are some stats of the girls. I don't have any official heights or weights. We will get those tomorrow at their 9 month visit.

Addison:
- she is about 16.5 pounds
- wears size 3 diapers now (we just moved up) but can still wear the 2/3's.
- wears 9 month pants and some 9 month shirts/onesis but also fits in 12 month clothes nicely
- she is till 100% breastfed through expressed breast milk
- has no teeth yet, but this should change soon
- loves green beans, squash, and bananas. She likes her biter cookies and is being introduced to apple juice
- hasn't said any words yet but she is close to saying "kitty" when the kitty walks by
- just learned to clap and play "patty cake"
- loves her teddy bears, blocks, and baby rings
- loves waking up in the morning
- will pat your back as you burp her
- can sit unassisted for small periods of times
- loves being on her belly and rolling around
- hasn't figured out how to crawl but loves to try and do the "worm"
- loves to stand up
- is an overall smiley happy baby

Riley:
- is closer to 17 pounds
- wears size 3 diapers and barely fits in the size 2-3's
- wears size 9 month pants and 9-12 month tops
- is still 100% breastfed with expressed breast milk and some nursing sessions
- has her two bottom teeth, one is about half way in and the 2nd one is just poking through
- loves green beans, squash, carrots, and bananas. Loves her Gerber Puffs and Apple Juice
- says "dada" all the time now but doesn't seem to know what that means yet
- loves her choo-choo train, teddy bears, soft blocks, and teething rings
- loves to sleep and talk in the morning
- can sit unassisted for about a minute at a time
- doesn't really like to be on her belly although she will roll from her back to her belly almost every time you lay her on her back
- wants to grab a hold of everything in sight including your hair and the cords to the computer, then put these items in her mouth
- isn't crawling yet
- likes to stand up
- is a big screamer. This girl wants to be heard 24/7

I will have more official stats to report tomorrow afternoon after their 9 month check-up.

9 Month Pictures

We went to JC Penney's yesterday for the girls 9 month pictures. It was a task to try and schedule around the their nap times and I ended up calling in 2 hours before our appointment to see if we could come in early because the girls were way off on their nap schedules. Thankfully they got us in early with our favorite photographer Bobbie who has done all of the girls pictures. She did a great job for us again. At first the girls didn't want to smile for anything. It took a few warm up shots to get them laughing, smiling, and having fun. In the pictures of both girls we either had one girl smiling or the other. In the bottom two pictures you can see what I mean. Riley smiled in the first one and Addision smiled in the other. Oh well, we purchased a selection of them all to get a mix of each of them. Enjoy:


Riley:


Riley

Riley




Addison

Addison

Addison

Long Week

Even though this last week was a short week because Jesse and I had Monday off for MLK Day, I still felt like the week was very long. I'm sure this had to do with the girls teething and not feeling well, especially Riley. Riley now has 2 teeth and she has been cranky and not napping/sleeping as well as normal. She is at her worst in the evening hours when we are just trying to keep her entertained until it is time for bed. That girl would probably go to bed at 4:30pm if we let her but we try to keep her up until just before 6 when we start her bath and bed time routine. Addison still hasn't cut a tooth but she is close. She is chewing on everything in sight but overall she is pretty happy most of the time. It is amazing how night and day their differences are in regard to their personalities. Addison is always smiling, laughing and rarely cries and Riley is our screamer and she is usually upset at something. I'm sure Riley would be happy as a clam if you just carried her around every where rather than setting her down to play.

The girls are now at the stage where they want to steal toys from each other. We normally sit them in their Bumbos and put a basket of toys in front of them and let them pull the toys out and play. Usually one girl will find something she likes and the other girl will decide she wants that same toy, even if there is an identical one in the basket and proceed to take it away from baby #1. Typically it is Riley stealing from Addison but sometimes Addison gets Riley back and steals from her too. And you really can't teach a 9 month old baby to share so we just end up taking the toys away from the baby who stole the toy and give it back to the 1st baby. I'm sure we will have this problem for many years to come.

I was also extremely busy finishing up my last week in Statistics class. This class took a lot out of me and I am glad to say I am finally finished with any math based class!!! Woohoo. I start my marketing class on Tuesday and I am looking forward to a somewhat easier class. I have only 12 more weeks of school until me degree is completed. 12 weeks is so close, yet so far away. I will be done with the program 1 week before the girls turn a year old. I want the class time to fly by but I'm not ready to have 1 year old girls at home. I still want my babies to stay babies for a while longer. Isn't it funny that we spend half of our life wanting it to speed by the things we don't enjoy and the other half wanting the time to slow down so we can cherish the happy moments?

And now I am happy to report that I have finally fazed out my night time pumping session. After 9 months of getting up every 4 hours in the night to pump even though the girls sleep through the night is finally over. I just couldn't do it any longer. I don't know what it is like to sleep 8 hour straight and my body was starting to be run too ragged. I still plan to pump to at least a year and hopefully longer, something like 18 months would be great, but no more pumping during the night. I didn't get up last night to pump but I didn't sleep well either. I'm not sure if I just wasn't used to the freedom to just sleep or if I wasn't tired enough (yeah right), or if my boobs were not used to going all night without being emptied, but I didn't sleep the whole 8 hours. Maybe tonight I will actually sleep the whole 8 hours. I think my supply will have to get used to going all night and adjust itself to that schedule. This morning I pumped out about 18 ounces total. Man, I didn't think my boobs could hold 18 ounces at one time but they did and boy did they hurt. I know I will see a supply dip in a few weeks after my body adjusts but I think I will be just find with the extra freezer stash and the girls are taking more solids now also.

Update on the job situation

I had my interview with the dental practice on Friday. As I said before, it is always good to interview and see what else is out there. I was quickly able to find out that this office was not the right place for me. This company was a corporation and owned about 7 dental practices in the Arizona area. This office in particular was in an older building and the practice itself was not very modern. I am used to modern practices with the latest technology and computer systems. I was even appalled at how dirty the waiting room was. The carpet on the floors was very worn and stained and if I was a patient that was setting foot in that practice for the first time, I would have turned right around and left without being seen. The rest of the office could very well have been clean and sterile but my first impression was not a good one. After meeting with the regional manager, I found out the position would be Monday - Friday and the office took very little vacation and time off of the office. I would only get 1 week of vacation time after a year of service. There would be little flexibility to my hours and work schedule and that would not work with my life the way it is now with the girls. They offered no medical or 401k benefits and the pay was $4000-$7000 less per year. After a few minutes into the interview, I knew there was no way I would accept a position with the company. I told the regional manager that I was interested in finding a company that I could grow with and move up and maybe get into a regional manager position. She said she was looking for someone who would be happy staying put in the practice and someone who had little aspirations of moving up. Are you kidding me??? So the whole experience was easy for me to walk away from and be glad I have the job I do at the moment.

As far as the other position in my company I mentioned before, I got the first round of interview questions completed for our sister school WIU and I hope to hear something back soon about the possible transfer. I will keep you all posted on any new developments.

Pictures of Riley

Recent pictures of Riley:





And pictures of Riley's new headband from Trinity, along with her messy face

Addison's Photoshoot

We got some great shots of Addison over the last week. Here they are, enjoy!!!





Look at those long eye lashes!!!




Bath time fun





and lastly, a picture of the new headband Trinity sent, even though she didn't want me to post pictures until I fixed the flower. Oh well, and the girls were eating dinner when I decided to try the headbands on, LOL

Friday at the Mall

I am so late getting this post up. The girls and I went with Nana Linda to the mall to meet Great Grandma Jean, Aunt Jenny, Mark, and Marissa's boys, Aunt Shannon, and Haley last Friday. I had every intention of blogging about our fun last weekend but homework and our buys life got the best of me all last week. So here is is, we meet at the mall on Fridays now and again so the girls can play with their 2nd cousins Nate and Nick. The boys are much older but the girls love watching them and the boys think the girls are such cute babies.

We meet at the play place in the mall to visit and play and then head up to the food court for lunch.

Here is Riley hanging out with Grandma Jean. She loved the keys on Grandma Jean's bracelet:



and then she had to show off her sitting skills:


Then Addison and I played on the floor:


Addison played on the floor and gave us a few smiles:


We then went up to the food court after the boys couldn't wait any longer to eat. Riley sat with Grandma Jean again playing with her straw from her cup. The love the most inexpensive makeshift toys:


After lunch was over, we got a few photo opportunities and here are the best shots:





Me, Grandma Jean, Haley, and the girls:


and Haley holding the girls:


We all had a good time and I hope we make it back up to the mall soon.

Thinking of an online friend today

An online friend experienced a loss yesterday. Eve was 24 weeks pregnant with boy/girl twins after suffering from infertility. Yesterday she learned that her boy twin William had passed away. Her girl twin Abby is still doing fine as far as they can tell. My heart just breaks for her loss and the pain she is experiencing. She is in my thoughts today and I hope Abby can hang on until a safe delivery can be made. You can follow her story at Infertility Rocks

Catching up - Job stuff

I always feel accomplished after I finish a blog post. I feel good because I have documented something in the girls life that they can look back on. Then before I know it, several days have passed and I have missed writing down so many things. We take pictures almost every day, we laugh at funny things, we watch the girls grow, and I am always saying to myself, "I need to blog about that". Usually there isn't enough time in the day for me to get it all down.

Many of my blog posts are written at work and that takes away from my job but my work time is the only time where things are some what quiet and I can upload pictures and get my thoughts down. Lately though, things have been getting tough at work and the production the company expects from us has been dropping. Management is on a micro-manage rampage and they want us to be selling degree programs, err I mean, enrolling students left and right. I have been doing this job for 4 years and I don't know how much more I have in me to continue in this high pressure sales type of position.

I started working here as a way to get my education for free. I went back to school in April of 05 and after paying for college on student loans for one semester my enrollment counselor told me to come work for the University for a while and get my degree for free. So I up and quit my job in the dental field after 6 years of working in dentistry to enter into the education field. At first the plan was to finish my AA and think about finishing my BS degree and then go back to dentistry. Well after my AA I kept going and went on for my BS degree right away. Getting your education at UOP is a pretty penny and it is best to get it for free if you can. Now I love helping some of my students better their lives just as my enrollment counselor did for me but baby sitting students that don't want to put the effort into completing their degree is not for me.

So with the downfalls of the job I am always out there looking for another dental job but now I have 5 weeks of paid time off with this company and to go back to dentistry would leave me with no vacation for the 1st year and a less flexible schedule than I have now. So what is a mom, wife, girl to do? With the recent pressure I have applied for our sister school WIU and I am hoping to get an interview with them real soon. I would still be enrolling students (Aka, selling degree programs) but for more quality students, especially those working on their graduate degrees. And I did sent out my resume to a few local dental practices and I got a call back yesterday and I have an interview on Friday morning. I don't know if I would up and leave UOP and the benefits I have right now, but interviewing is always nice to see what else is out there. Plus, this office is only 2 miles from our house and that appeals to me. I would love to go back to dentistry doing what I love with a higher salary now that I have a masters degree. If I could find a great practice close to home, I could be happy but then I lose my vacation time and don't have the flexibility to leave work when the girls are sick and go to mid day doctor and specialist appointments like I do now.

Anyone have any thoughts or words of wisdom for me???

Riley's First Tooth

I was starting to wonder if my girls would keep those gummy smiles forever but Riley decided to cut her first tooth. She had been acting a little extra cranky over the last few days and pulling on her ears even though she just got over her ear infection. I wasn't even thinking she was teething since every time I check her gums there was nothing poking through. Well tonight while she was taking her bath, I decided to stick my finger in her mouth and low and behold, her first tooth on the right was poking through.

I almost didn't believe it at first because the light is very dim above our sink in the kitchen so I ran and got the flashlight and checked again and I could see the cute little tooth just above her gum line. Then I started screaming and telling Riley how proud I was that she hit another milestone. Riley was more excited by my voice and the flashlight but I was sure excited.

I then ran over to Addison's mouth to check and see if maybe she was silently teething also, but no such luck. So far Addison is sticking to the gummy smile for now.

So mark this down, Thursday January 7th at almost 8 1/2 months old, Riley cut her first tooth!!!!

Another Picture Post

Here are some recent pictures. I need to catch a few more of Addison. She always seems to be to sleeping when I get camera happy.

Riley in the bath:


Addison eating her 1st cookie:


Riley eating her 1st cookie:


Addison on the play mat:


Both girls on the play mat:


Riley:


Riley:


Riley:

A new Year

I'm not sure what I expect out of 2010. This was the first year where I didn't have a New Year's Resolution in mind to try and tackle. I think my life is just too busy right now to focus on a specific improvement. I would like to say that sometime in 2010, I would like to get back into a fitness program and finish losing the weight I gained while TTC (trying to conceive). Since I am still breastfeeding and pumping, I really can't make any drastic changes until I wean the girls.

This year I would like to focus on being a happy wife and mother. The stresses of having two infants while working full time and going to school full time is enough to stress a person out. Luckily, I only have 2 more classes to complete after the one I am in now, and then I can start look at other career options. I would like to say I would hope to find a way to work less hours so I can be with the girls more often, but financially that probably won't happen until I can start teaching online classes. Maybe then, I can find a part-time position in the dental field to supplement my income and I would have more time with the girls.

Jesse and I should just focus on paying down some debts this year and work on spending wiser so we can have a little more flexibility. This is easier said and done with 2 children to support, but I'm sure we can make some changes that will help us get closer to more financial freedom.

So there you go, no specific goals or resolutions for this year. I am just hoping for another great year filled with health and happiness. Happy New Year Everyone!!!!