It's potty time!

So back when I was pregnant with Arawynn I went to a class called Pee Speak and it is about potty training your infant.  The woman started training her daughter at 3 weeks of age.  Incredible huh?  Anyway, my goal was to start potty training with her right away.  But we all know things didn't go the way we all expected it to and I never got the chance to try.  So when the boys arrived I decided to try it when they turned  three months.  If I wasn't having twins I would have made an earlier goal but realistically I just knew I would be to exhausted to start any earlier.  Unfortunately my life has been in chaos with trying to get moved out of my house and I have kept putting it off week after week.  I kept saying I would start once I finished moving out.  Well I'm still not done moving and I'm sick of delaying this process.

Early this week a friend of mine commented on how her grandson is five months and is doing well with potty training.  I guess it sparked a fire in me to stop waiting and just get started already.  So I did...that same day.  Levi peed on the potty three times and the next day William did it twice and Levi once.  It has been going well so far.  I admit I am going through more diapers right now just because I change them so frequently but in the long run it will save me lots of laundry.  So September 25 the boys officially started potty training and they are just shy of five months.  I hope I can have them fully trained before they turn one.  Can it be done?  We shall all see.  (p.s. thanks Roxanne!)

William using the potty.

Both boys have been starting to notice each other over the last two weeks and in the past week they have been smiling and staring at each other a lot.  I have even gotten them face to face and they try to eat each other, sorta.  Sometimes they get downright excited to see each other.  If I lay them down next to each other they grab each others hands, face, clothes or whatever they can manage to get a hold of.  I can't let them get to close if I lay them on my bed for a nap because then they just reach for each other instead of napping.

The other big excitement of the week is that Levi has discovered his feet and loves to grab his toes or pull his socks off.  Today Levi rolled from his tummy to his back four times!  This was his first time and he keeps on rolling.  I think Levi is really close to being able to roll from back to his tummy.  William still hasn't rolled over since the 14th.  Maybe he decided it was overrated.

The boys can now start eating some solids.  They had carrots earlier this week and I know that they swallowed some of it because I saw it come out the other end.  Then today they had sweet potatoes.  Levi did okay eating.  He pushed a lot of the food back out but he ate some of it.  He didn't get any funny expressions on his face but William sure did.  He lips and nose would curl up and you could tell he was thinking he didn't like it very well.  But he sure ended up eating quite a bit.  I bet Levi got down a teaspoon and William probably 1.5 teaspoons.  William also drank some apple cider with his meal.  They are both getting really good about drinking from a cup and they are really starting to get the sipping and swallowing idea down.  The boys certainly know what a cup is for and they are ready for it when it starts coming towards their mouths.

William eating carrots.

Levi eating his carrots.  Actually spitting it out.

On a mommy note, I could use some prayers about my wrists.  All of the repetitious movements of changing diapers, feeding, holding, burping, potty training and washing bottles has worn the ligaments in my wrists.  They have been so worn out from overuse that I have lost a lot of strength in them, especially my left one.  I have a lot of discomfort and some pain with them.  I have been trying to put as much use and weight onto my forearms when I can so that my wrists get a break but it only helps so much.  I guess I am concerned that this may lead to carpal tunnel and quite frankly I just don't want it.  I am of the stubborn opinion that I have been through enough stuff that I don't need to add that to my list of problems.  Unfortunately the pain and achiness makes it hard to ignore.   Is this what getting old is like?  It sucks.

lil' Levi

Just as the shirt suggests, "This is what handsome looks like"

William is sweetest when he is asleep.

"my walker is pretty cool"

my little pterodactyl

William has a characteristic that he has honed from cute and tolerable into loud and aggravating.

He has earned the name of Pterodactyl because he likes to make noises from deep in his throat.  I imagine that this is what a pterodactyl would sound like, hence the nickname.  Unfortunately, the volume and frequency has drastically been intensified today.  All afternoon and evening and yes even now at 10pm he is still going on.  I'm still laughing...kinda.  I admit it's annoying and I'm trying not to get angry with him.  I swear he is going to bother all of the neighbors and they may be knocking at our door any moment.

Adding to this annoyance is the fact that he has been pinching me really hard and pulling my hair.  It really flippin' hurts.  It's a good thing grandma just took him and is trying to rock him to sleep.  Although grandma is more tired than mommy because she has been caring for the boys these past two days while mommy suffers with the flu.  Ugh.  I couldn't have made it through these last two days without her.

Tuesday I went to the doctor to get a vaccination for tetanus and pertussis based on the recommendation of the pediatrician.  I was also to get the flu vaccine but my doctor office isn't doing them this year for some unknown reason.  After getting the shot the nurse said I would experience some muscle soreness for a few days.  No big deal right?

Wrong.  3:30 in the morning I awoke to not only muscle soreness but also severe chills, shakes and a headache.  It was awful.  I took the ibuprofen which didn't help.  Later in the morning I called the doctor office to ask what was the maximum ibuprofen to take.  I was feeling so bad I was crying on the phone and the woman said she would have a nurse call me.  At one point I found the thermometer and took my temperature, 101.3 and that was two hours after taking the ibuprofen.  That afternoon the nurse called and I explained what the effects of the vaccination was having on me and she said that it wasn't the vaccination but I had the flu.  So, I went to the doctor healthy and left there with the flu.  Really?!?

Anyway, I am feeling vastly better than I did this morning and yesterday.  I wanted to snuggle the boys so much but I knew that I couldn't so that I didn't pass it onto them.  So far they have not shown signs of the flu.  Let's keep it that way.  Levi has been all smiles when he looks at me and it makes my heart melt.  I think his smiles help me heal too.

Weights, Whinery and Wiley William

So it's been exciting here the last couple of days.  Monday the boys went in for their four month check.  Levi weighed in at 15 lbs and William at 14.  Levi may have William beat by a whole pound but William is still longer by a quarter inch (23.5 and 23.75 inches).  Doc said they were doing great and he gave mommy an A+.  He paid me a compliment too.  He said he can tell I was going to be a great mother because I was laid back, calm and didn't get worked up about little things.  I said that once you lose one child everything else seems trivial and he quite agreed.

So while we were waiting in the room waiting for the doctor to come in I had laid William on the table and Levi was sitting in his cars eat.  The second William touched the table his legs and arms started going like a tap dancer.  I think he loved the crinkly sound of the paper because he just went on and on dancing.  After a couple of minutes watching and laughing at him I looked over at Levi and that kid was trying to squirm, or should I say escape his way out of the car seat.  It just made me laugh even harder.  He was in his orange diaper and that chubby little tummy of his was wiggling all over the place.  He was so far down in the seat that his legs were sticking way out and kicking the other car seat that was setting opposite of him.  They have come a long ways from being newborns.

So the boys had a series of shots and Levi was not a happy camper about it.  He thought the world was ending.  I was expecting William to act the same but surprisingly he did much better.  He cried when he got poked but once the nurse picked him up and held him he was completely fine.  I was still trying to calm Levi down and he didn't settle until I put him the car.  It was not a pleasant evening.  Levi was very agitated and crabby all evening.  I finally gave him some tylenol when he felt warm and feverish and he finally went to bed about ten.  William was somewhat cranky too and he wouldn't go down until 10:30 and that was after a lot of coaxing.  I finally had to lay in my bed with him and hold onto him while he squirmed and completely wore himself out.  He was still whining as he drifted off.  I let him lay there until midnight and then moved him to his crib.  In the morning Levi was back to his old happy self but William was a super cranky baby all day long.  He was a constant barrage of whinery, and not the tasty kind.  Thankfully he crashed early last night and was in bed about 7:30.

So this morning Doug got Levi up and dressed him in a Michigan onesie.  So of course when I got William up and dressed I put him in the Michigan State onesie.  Doug did not approve.  Anyway, Doug fed Levi in the dinning room and I sat with William in the living room.  William was playing with the bottle and since he wasn't interested in food I laid him on his tummy on the floor.  He looked around for a minute or two and then, ploop, he rolled over with what seemed no effort.  I screamed just as Doug walked into the room with Levi.  He missed seeing it by 1 second.  I rolled William back onto his tummy and hoped he would do it again but he didn't.  Maybe later today.  It was a fabulous first anyway.  The irony in this is that I was imagining him rolling over and that I should go get my camera to record some video.  Who knows I might catch his first roll over on video....so much for that happening.  Now that William has beat Levi in the "who will roll over first" contest, will this be a prediction as to who is going to win the Michigan vs. Michigan State game?

And while William was rolling over I missed taking a call from my dad but I called him back right away.  Apparently two ducks had just flown through his front, two-paned picture window.  So I walked over there with my camera so he could take pictures for his insurance.  There was glass everywhere and he shooed them outside before he saw the blood on his couch.  So there is an injured duck out there somewhere.  I hope he ends up being okay.

missing the babes

Last Sunday we took the boys to see Grandpa Doug and Grandma Heidi.  They live a couple hours from us so we decided to meet in the middle which was Lansing.  It was a great visit and the boys were so good for them.  There were lots of hugs and kisses exchanged of which the boys ate it all right up.  They can't wait to see their grandparents again.  They told me so when we got home :)

I have had a busy week, so busy that I feel like I haven't seen the boys much at all.  Thursday I was moving things out of our house.  The boys spent the day at auntie Amber's house and then I picked them up about dinner time and brought them home.  We ate dinner and then I left again and didn't come home until late and they were going to bed.

Friday I had to run some errands and then spent all afternoon and evening canning tomatoes.  The boys spent that day at grandpa Mike's house.  Doug and my dad took care of them so my mom and I could work without interruption.  It's a good thing the boys weren't there because that house got so incredibly hot.  By the time I went to pick them up to come home they were already out for the night. :(

they are working on holding hands

Saturday Doug and I traveled up to Traverse City for a friends wedding.  Congrats to Chris and Natalie!  They will have an easy anniversary to remember 9-10-11.  The boys are home with their grandparents.  My mom called while we were at the wedding and left me a couple of messages to say that grandpa changed not one but two diapers.  And one of them was poopy.  If you know my dad then you know this is a really, really big deal.  Those were the first diapers he has ever changed in his life.  No joke.  That almost tops the excitement of a wedding.  Just kidding Natalie!

We spent the night here in Traverse City and today is our anniversary.  We went to a french style restaurant for breakfast and then did a short walk around the docks to see all of the big boats.  Apparently there is a schooner festival this weekend.  Then we decided to start driving home but by taking a scenic route via Silver Lake, Portage, Manistee and on down to Grand Haven.  I couldn't wait to get home and see my boys and plant kisses all over them.

Traverse City is the cherry capital of the world!

Doug would love nothing more than to be on one of these today.

I still have a busy week ahead of me but I plan to get some time in with my boys.  I just adore them.