March is Half Over - So much to catch-up

The first quarter of 2010 is nearly behind us. If you are like me, you often wonder how that happened. 2009 will be remembered as a blur for Zann and me. The twins turned one on Valentine's Day! Nick turned eight and was baptized and Carter turned an amazing 4.

In 2009, there was learning to ride bikes, Boys' day out at Six Flags, 4th of July in Washington D.C. and a Smith Family Reunion too. Brighton and Landon discovered each other, they couldn't be more different. We ofter refer to Landon and Carter and twins from different times. Landon is a mirror of Carter in all things, good and bad. Brighton is settling into her role as the ONLY girl like a natural.

To illustrate just how fast time flies, we were discussing going to Utah for Christmas early in 2009 and we realized it had been six years since visiting Utah for Christmas. So we sucked it up and flew all six of us (yes 6) to Utah. It so happened that most of Zann's siblings were going to be in Utah at that time too. What a crazy time for all, but so worth it. The boys got to spend endless days and nights with their cousins, and the twins got attention from all the Aunts.

That trip will forever be remembered as the Flu Christmas. Out of 22 people 18 people got the 24 hour, nastiest, crappiest, and downright gut wrenching Flu ever. It took some of us down for 72 hrs. Now I remember why we don't travel at Christmas. The last time we did, Zann and I got the Flu then too.

So 2010 rolls around....

Six days after returning from Utah for Christmas, we got all got on a plan again and went to Disney World Resort. Zann and the boys signed up for the Disney Marathon and Kids Wide World of Sports weekend. Nick ran the mile, Carter ran the 400m, Brighton and Landon crawled the 7m (yes about 10 feet). I have to admit it was a great time, except for Zann's injury that prevented her from running the Marathon, which was the 10 year Anniversary of her running of the St. George, Utah Marathon.

just and observation...

It seems that I need to make a call, Facebook or blog.theerbs.com. We obviously cannot keep up with both.

So as we move ever so diligently into the 2nd quarter of the year, we hope that you and yours are well, prosperous, and have joy in your lives.

We hope to keep you posted on the mundane, mediocre, melancholy, monotonous and overall regular life. (Which I would not change for anything!)

Brady

Newborn Professional Photos

I have been meaning to post these pictures. They were taken when the babies were just 1 week old by a friend and amazing photographer Katie. She also made our birth announcements.






























It's amazing how much they've grown in 5 months!

5 months old

Little Landon and Miss B are now closer to the ½ year mark and growing! According to mama’s scale Landon is approx. 14 lbs and Brighton is 14 ½. They are still wearing 3-6 month clothes although many of Landon’s are still too big. They are also wearing size 2 diapers and drinking 6 oz of milk.

We have had a big month! We loaded the kids up in the car for a 4th of July family reunion (SFR ’09!) in Virginia/Washington DC which was great fun! The twins were blessed in my sister’s home on July 5th by their daddy. It was very touching and we all felt the love from our family and Heavenly Father that day!
While at my sister's house we decided to give Brighton and Landon their first taste of rice cereal. Brighton probably got more down the front of her then what she actually swallowed. Landon sat with it in his mouth and looked at us with that “what the heck is this, Mom?” look. Then he swallowed it and wanted more! He didn’t get much on him!


Brighton and Landon also tried out the pool for the first time. While at the reunion we all went to the water park but chose not to put the babies in the water due to it being too cold. But, on the way home at the hotel the water was just the right temp and we all enjoyed some time out of the car in the pool. More swimming pictures will also be added when we update with the reunion pictures. After we returned home from SFR Landon learned to roll from his back to his tummy and the next day Brighton rolled from her tummy to her back for the first time. She has repeated it once or twice since, but hasn't really shown an interest. Although I think she will be the first to sit. She hates laying down on her back and is always lifting her head off the bed wanting to sit. She loves the Bumbo which my boys never took to. It has been a pretty busy summer and lots of changes in the twins! We sure are enjoying them!

4 Months Old!

Our babies are 4 Months old! Wow, how time flies. It's proven that we have 2 very different babies.

Our babies are both...
Sleeping 10-12 hours each night. In bed asleep by 7-8pm and awake again at 7am! This is new for Brighton, but Landon's been on this schedule for a while. Drinking 5 1/2 oz bottles at each feeding every 3 hours while awake. Haven't tried cereal or other foods yet, although we've gotten the go-ahead from the Pediatrician. Mama wants to wait until they are 6 months old to start.

Brighton

Brighton is 13 lb 4 oz and 24 inches long (30% w/h)
Wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes, but some 0-3 month.
Wearing size 2 diapers.
Not rolling over yet. She is lifting her head and chest off the the bed during tummy time, but not as high or as long as her brother.
Is a snuggler! She loves to be held close to your chest or snuggled into your arms. Loves to rock in the glider.
She doesn't care to burp much, it's a petite little girly burp when she does.
Loves to be in the room, in the middle of the action. She is very easy going and will sit and watch everything around her.
Sleeps on her back or side in her crib. She moves quite a bit in her sleep and often wakes up after 40-45 minutes. She prefers the catnap to actual sleep! She can doze off pretty much anywhere and does often. Sometimes she will surprise us though and will sleep a good long stretch with her brother.
Very much resembles her big brother Nick.
Has a very soft spot in her heart for her daddy.

Landon

Landon is 12 lb 14 oz and 24 3/4 inches long (7% w/ 30% h)
Wearing both 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes. The length on 0-3 is getting too short for him, but the 3-6 are really too big on him.
Wearing size 2 diapers loosely.
Is rolling over from tummy to back and lifts his head and chest off the bed like a champ!
Can burp like his big brothers. He is all boy. They come quick and are quite loud! His brothers are proud of this talent!
Doesn't like to sit still. He is moving his limbs all around all the time. He does like being held, but when he's tired...he's tired! He will fuss until you put him down in his crib. Once he's comfortable and asleep he doesn't move much at all. He is a very sound sleeper and sleeps on his tummy in his crib. When he's down for a nap in his crib he will sleep for 3-4 hour stretches some of the time.
Spitting image of his brother Carter.

They are both so much fun to have around. Landon loves to get your attention by freely giving big, flashy, gummy smiles and will chuckle out loud. Brighton is just very sweet and has a much softer personality. She smiles a lot with her eyes and will give a very sweet grin when you talk to her. When she's really excited she will smile very wide to which her eyes almost dissapear! Both babies have very bright, very blue eyes!

Carter and Nick are still adjusting to a summer with a pre-occupied mom, but they are doing well. They both want to play video games non-stop (mom doesn't let them), but when prompted to read Nick will get engrosed in a book and not put it down until he's read the whole thing! This weekend Nick and I went shopping and we stopped at the book store to get him some books for our road trip. He picked one up and read it walking through the mall, sitting on the floor of the children's department and the men's department at Macy's and the entire ride home. Multiple people stopped to ask what he was reading because he literally had his nose in the book the ENTIRE time! Carter will often be found lying on the floor of his room flipping through books and if tired he will put himself down for a nap without telling mom. He practices his letters and has learned how to spell his name. Often we will hear him say "Ba..ba..ba..Brighton". He is starting preschool this summer and will be going full-time (7:30a-5:30p) 3 days a week. He went to this school full-time in the infant room when I was working and we really love the school and his new teacher, Ms. Stacie. Nick was previously in Ms. Stacie's room and she is wonderful! Carter recently started saying his nightly prayers by himself and is very proud of himself each time he does.

Our life is very full with our children right now and feel very blessed to be entrusted with such beautiful loving children!

So much change, so little time to post...

Well it's now June which means I'm about to celebrate a birthday, again. Brighton and Landon are now 4 months old and growing like weeds. Zann took all 4 kids to the doctor for the twins checkups. Landon's Laryngomalacia is still present, but he sounds clear and he isn't retracting. He weighs 12lbs 14oz and is 24 3/4" long. Brighton wasn't standing for him passing her at the last check-up. She is 13lbs and 4oz and is 24" long.

Their personalities are starting to show and it is so fun to see how individual each are. Earlier it was always "the twins, this and that," but it's almost unnatural now. They are so different.

Landon is the wiggler. He is always exploring the world with his hands and feet. Tonight I caught him concentrating on his hands and controlling them around. He even managed to get his own binkie when he was down in his crib.

Brighton is, in a word...easygoing. Her big bright blue eyes just take in all around her. It takes a lot to get her to fuss. She is all girl. I never thought it would be so cool to dress a girl in pink.

We recently celebrated a milestone in twin life, both are sleeping through the night on a regular basis.

Nick finished 1st grade with outstanding grades in his standard class and his advanced studies. I questioned if he was my kid. :) I cannot believe his progress.

Carter is all boy, rough and tumble to the core. His energy is invigorating. He still comes to the door when I come home and is so excited to see me. NOTHING IS BETTER.

Nick and Carter have adjusted to twins well. Nick is a lifesaver for Mom during the day. He is so willing to help. Carter has moved from baby of the family to wanting to "be big like Nick." He's measuring everything in relative terms. It is fun! Exhausting, but fun to be a part of this development.

We're all set for a family trip to DC this summer for the Smith Family Reunion. It is going to be crazy, fun and memorable on so many levels. We're holding off blessing the babies until then.

Well, its Tuesday and more week to go. I better sign off and get to bed.

Sleepless ramblings

The babies are six weeks old. It's amazing how quickly time passes when you are taking each day 3 hours at a time. Things have been crazy with feedings, changings, snugglings, kissings and very little sleepings. Clearly I can't think straight and so updating the blog just doesn't happen very often. Here are few nuggets of what's been going on.

I recently took the babies to their 4 week appointment. We learned that we have a couple of good growers on our hands! In 2 weeks Brighton has grown 20 ounces and is up to 8lb 2oz, 21 1/4 inches long. Landon has grown 25 ounces and is 7 lb 14 oz, 21 inches long. They are doing great! Landon has been nick-named "the squeaker" because of the highpitched noises he makes. I brought up the frequent squeaking and the fact that he often looks like he is having difficulty breathing to the doctor. Dr. F believes that Landon may have Larygomalacia. This is basically an immature voicebox. Some infants are born with cartilage in the voicebox that is still soft and collapses upon inspiration causing an obstructed airway. We found that Landon is affected mostly after eating and when he gets upset and is taking deep breaths in, causing him to gasp, flare the nostrils and make these sounds. We can feel a vibration in his chest when this is happening. We have an appointment with the pediatric ENT for Tuesday. Hopefully we will get good news. Overall the babies are doing great and the pediatrician is happy with their growth.


All bundled up and ready to go!

I am surprised that I can type a coherent sentence since I have been getting less than 2 hours of sleep at a time for the last 6 weeks. The twins seem to have learned that nighttime is for sleeping however and the last 2 nights have been relatively easy. They are still waking to eat every 3 hours but will quickly fall back asleep with a little swaddling. I have learned to rub the tops of their heads and their little cheeks if they are restless and it will usually get them back to sleep in no time. They are sleeping together and seem to like being close to their twin.



Someone asked me the other day if I always dress Brighton in pink and Landon in blue. Wow, I really do. It is rare that they are in anything other than pink and blue. If Brighton is swaddled in a blue blanket the boys will almost refuse to believe that she isn’t Landon. I guess I’m going to have to add some other color into her wardrobe. Speaking of clothes…I finally went out to purchase some clothes for my twins. Outside of newborn/preemie outfits I really hadn’t purchased anything for them. Well, Gymboree recently opened right up the street and I had my first outing alone without babies. Oh I don’t think anyone could have wiped the smile off my face all morning. They have the cutest girl clothes!!! The boy clothes are fabulous as well, but the girly stuff is adorable! I was definitely a little overwhelmed by the fact that I could look at both sides of the store and pick out both boy and girl items. It was soo fun.

Here are some random pictures of the family...


Nick with the babies


Landon snuggling with Daddy


Sleep-deprived parents...


Mama rocking both babies





The new haircuts Daddy gave the boys!

Mama loves bows!!

This is why I needed a girl!