Saturday, August 25, 2012

Beach Boys and Nine Months Old!

Today was one of the best days we've ever had with the boys.  It was just an incredible amount of fun, and it makes me so excited to think of all the fun things in store for us with Adrian and Sebastian.

We woke up regular time, 6:15AM, and fed the boys.  Then they went to the playroom to engage in dueling bumbo chair time while I got everything ready for our outing to Nantasket Beach in Hull today.  



We left the house around 8:30 so that the boys could nap in the car on the way over.  When we got to Hull, my dad was just arriving.  We met at the house and then walked to Weinberg's Bakery in town to have coffee and a bagel.  The boys enjoyed their bottles while we were eating.  A nice older couple next to us at the outdoor seating started talking to us about the boys.  They are grandparents to twins as well, so we were sharing stories.  Hers are now 10 years old--boy and a girl.


Staring at Grandpa 
Hungry Boys!  Eating while we were eating.  It's so nice that they can feed themselves!  It keeps them entertained and busy so we can eat at the same time as they do!

On the way back to the house, they fell asleep in the stroller.



After we got back to the house, it took a while for me to get organized and get all the necessary stuff together for the beach.  Finally, we were ready--I couldn't wait to get there!  The tide was out, and there were little tide pools everywhere--PERFECT.  That was what we were hoping for.  The boys IMMEDIATELY loved it.  They loved the sensation of the water on them, they splashed around in the water, and they both even filled the little pail we had and dumped the water out.  They were also good and didn't put sand or rocks/shells in their mouth.  I was worried about that!




Sebastian





Adrian couldn't resist crawling in the water.  He wants to crawl EVERYWHERE now that he can do it so well!

Sebastian splashing the water






At first I thought it was too bad his eyes were closed.  But now I love this picture of Sebastian.


Adrian's hand--he liked to scratch the sand
We didn't stay at the beach long because of the sun.  I slathered them in sunscreen, but I didn't want them to burn.  I also didn't want them to end up having meltdowns because we stayed just a little too long.  Better to leave on a good note!  So we went back home and bathed them right away to get the sand off them.  They ate food and then we headed home.

On the way home, we stopped at Wild Willy's and had hamburgers.  Once again the boys ate their bottles when we were eating and it was a peaceful experience. I love that we can venture out in public with them now!

After we got home, the boys got busy playing in the playroom again while I unpacked all the stuff we needed for the beach.  Then, because today they are 9 months old, we took pictures of the the boys on the couch with the sarape (like we did at 8 months old).  We put them in the guayaberas that Carla, my sister-in-law bought them.  We were supposed to use the guayaberas for the baptism party, but the party was outside and it was SO HOT that day that they were dying even in a onesie.  So they didn't really get to wear the outfits.  So here they are!  Still a bit big on them, but cute nonetheless.



Adrian
Sebastian

Adrian

Sebastian and his best mad face!

Sebastian

Sebastian
Adrian






Sebastian
Then, the tired boys took cat naps, we played some more, we ate solids, we played some more, and then we did bath, bottle, books, and bedtime.  They are fast asleep for now.  Hopefully they stay asleep through the night!  What a great day!!!!!  Loved every minute of it!!!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Big Week

This has been a tremendous week for us.  Lots going on!

First, Adrian has started crawling.  He now makes it the length of the room without collapsing.  He likes to do this cute thing where he sticks his legs out behind him.  I'm posting a video of it.  He gets better at it every day!  Sebastian is doing pretty well, too.  He's just not as fluid at the crawling.

http://youtu.be/uQYSUTYiRnc

The boys had their 6 month Early Intervention evaluation this week (as in 6 months since they started, not 6 months old).  They tested closer to 7 months, their adjusted age, than their actual 9 month age.  (I can't even believe they are nine months old!)  But that's ok by me.  They will catch up to their actual age sooner or later.  Plus, they evaluate on what they see, not on what they know the boys can do.  So even though Anita our EI lady knew they could do certain things, if she didn't see it, she couldn't give credit for it.  But it is what it is.  They saw no red flags that would prevent the boys from catching up within the normal time frame of 12-18 months, so we'll see.  Basically, they told me what I already know.  Adrian is a better crawler, and he has better upper body strength because of it.  He's weaker in the trunk area and has a harder time sitting and reaching for objects.  Sebastian has a strong core and can reach for all sorts of things when sitting.  But he has a harder time crawling and his upper body strength needs some work.  But it will come with crawling more.

This week we also bought a minivan.  I haven't even seen it yet!  Carlos picks it up today.  I wanted no part in choosing it because I hate cars and was busy with the boys anyway.  The only conditions I gave Carlos were that we can't pay a cent more per month for the van than we were paying for his car.  I didn't care what color or what it looked like.  We were considering mainly the Honda Odyssey or the Toyota Sienna.  We ended up with a 2007 Honda Odyssey that is dark gray with leather interior (easier to clean).  It has about 68,000 miles.  Not too bad for the price.  We are paying exactly the same as for Carlos's car.  Plus, I didn't expect this, but our car insurance went DOWN!  I guess minivans are stolen less than Civics???  That's the only explanation I can come up with!  But that was a nice surprise.  So, now we can ALL travel together in the van (including poor Lexi) and actually fit the stroller and a few other odds and ends too.  We ordered another 2 convertible car seats too...another huge expense, but necessary with my new job.  We will probably alternate pick up and drop off, and most likely the person who drops off will not pick up too, so we'll need the two cars with the car seats.

I start my new job at Milton Academy as a College Counselor on Monday.  I'm a ball of nervous energy.  I was off this week, but have kept myself incredibly busy just doing errands and working on checking things off my very long to-do list.  I did manage to go to Hull to the beach yesterday and had lunch with my dad.  It was fun.  I was at the beach by myself when I got there (before my dad arrived) and at first was thinking it was kind of nice to be by myself.  But then I realized the tide was out and there were all these little pools of warm water that kids were playing in...the boys would have had a great time.  So it made me sad they weren't with me.  We might go back this weekend with them.  We'll see.


Here are some fun pictures of the boys playing in their favorite new room!
Mi Adrian



This is Sebastian, but both boys crawl over to the toy bins and pull things out.

Adrian

Sebastian

I love this picture.


Look how chunky their legs are!!!  Sebastian on the left and Adrian on the right.



Sebastian on his musical chair





An emotional reunion waiting to happen.  Adrian crawls at top speed to Lexi...

Who jumps up on her sore legs to go kiss Adrian to death

Wish this wasn't blurry...

Adrian actually appeared to kiss Sebastian!

And here it looks like he's biting him!