9m stats

~ hunt2005 ~ 1 Comment

Jacen: 18lb15oz, 28″, 47cm head
Jaina: 16lb11oz, 26.5″, 43.9cm head
Valerie: 17lb7oz, 28.25″, 44.5cm head

Wow, my babies are growing! They’re ahead of schedule for their adjusted age, and do most of the things on the 9m checklist, so we’re pretty proud of those little guys!

Updates lately: Jacen’s working on getting his teeth on the top to come in. He has discovered how to scoot backwards around the room (slowly). Jaina pulls up to standing with ease now and has started trying to transfer from one piece of furniture to another (Lord, help us!). Valerie still is toothless, but she has a couple that are working their way in. She’s figured out how to army crawl, but only when it’s to steal a bottle or toy from a sibling. Here’s a couple pictures to tide you over :
Costco trip:

Aiden being incognito at the zoo:

9 months old (plus some change)

~ hunt2005 ~ Leave a comment

Wow, hard to believe it’s been 9 months. 9 months since they were born. Since the NICU. Since they were taking less than a CC of food at a time, and since feeding tubes. Since they would fit inside my shirt, since they wore preemie clothes (or none at all), since the isolettes.

Now? We sit up on our own (Jacen and Val). We crawl (Jaina). We sit on our ands and knees and rock or try to dive for toys. We crawl out the front door (Jaina). We clap to “If you’re happy and you know it” (Valerie), we laugh and cry and throw tantrums (all of the above). We sit in our high chairs and eat some solid food. We play with toys. We try to mimic our brother (for better and worse).

I’ll get some new pictures up soon, but for now? I’ve gotta chase a little girl down the hallway before she goes into her brothers room and terrorizes something.

There’s a world above 1 foot off the ground…

~ hunt2005 ~ 1 Comment

Perspective. It’s amazing how it changes as we grow older. As a child, becoming Superman is our dream. Then we get older and it becomes a veterinarian, a doctor, a athelete, or even a hot rod mechanic. Whatever it is, something changed our perspective on what was possible in the world.

As a parent, it’s incredible to watch a child have that moment of discovery. Where they realize that all they’ve ever known isn’t the end-all-be-all to the world. For Jaina, that day was today. She realized that there is more to this world than what lies under her hands on the ground, or possibly extends up to about 6 inches. There’s a couch, likely covered with toys (put there in an effort to keep them away from younger grabbing hands). There’s a mirror toy with buttons , but ABOVE THAT there are lights and other buttons. There’s a stroller with a foot rest that may or may not have toys and odds and ends up above. A blanket on a chair. You get the picture.

It’s been discovered that there is a world out there above crawling-head-height, and that it is immensely more interesting than carpet and little rubber blocks (though, those are still fun sometimes too).

I have a feeling the medicine cabinet will need to be filled with bandaids in the near future, that ER trips may become commonplace, and that bumps and bruises may be commented on by friends and neighbors in an effort to ascertain the need of a call to CPS. But without all of that, and this new perspective, how will she ever learn that there’s a whole entire world that exists outside of these four walls, and above standing-head-height?

Before:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank goodness that’s the final result so far and nothing further.

What a weekend!

~ hunt2005 ~ 2 Comments

Wow. Busy weekend, but it was wonderful!

First, Steven got a surprise day off of class on Friday, so we headed out of town to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield.

It was a great trip. Jaina thought the best part was eating her hat, and Valerie really enjoyed chewing on the little box of jelly beans.

After that, it was time to get ready for Aiden’s birthday. Apparently, turning 4 is a VERY big deal (especially to the newly-turned-4-year-old!). We did presents at home on his actual birthday, Sunday.

Then on Monday it was time for his birthday party! What do you get when you combine 18 3-4 year olds, a giant room full of bounce houses, and end the party with sugar? A mommy who is very glad 17 of the children had to go home to their own families afterwards! 😉

Even the babies got in on the fun play time!

And one of the littlest girl sitting up by herself:

8 months in…

~ hunt2005 ~ 5 Comments

We’re a few days away from a full 8 months, but I had a minute on my hands and thought it would be fun to add it up…

Costco Formula: $17/canister = 260 ounces of formula
Diapers: $37.75/222 from Amazon

Month 1:
Diapers: 8 per kid per day = 24/day = 720 diapers = $122.43
Formula: Nursing 2 babies, formula for one, 2 ounces every 3 hours = 16 ounces a day = 480 ounces = $31.38

Month 2:
Diapers: 8 per kid per day = 24/day = 720 diapers = $122.43
Formula: Nursing 2 babies, formula for one, 3 ounces every 3 hours = 24 ounces/day = 720 ounces = $47.08

Month 3:
Diapers: 8 per kid per day = 24/day = 720 diapers = $122.43
Formula: Nursing 2 babies, formula for one, 4 ounces every 3-4 ours = 24 ounces/day = 720 ounces = $47.08

Month 4:
Diapers: 6 per day = 18/day = 540 diapers = $91.82
Formula: 5 ounces every 3 hours during the day = 25 ounces/baby = 75 ounces/day = 2250 ounces = $147.12

Month 5:
Diapers: 6 per day = 18/day = 540 diapers = $91.82
Formula: 7 ounces every 4 hours = 28 ounces/baby = 84 ounces/day = 2520 ounces = $164.77

Month 6:
Diapers: 6 per day = 18/day = 540 diapers = $91.82
Formula: 8 ounces every 4 hours = 32 ounces/baby = 96 ounces/day = 2880 ounces = $188.31

Month 7:
Diapers: 5 per day = 15/day = 450 diapers = $76.52
Formula: 8 ounces every 4 hours = 32 ounces/baby = 96 ounces/day = 2880 ounces = $188.31

Month 8:
Diapers: 5 per day = 15/day = 450 diapers = $76.52
Formula: 8 ounces every 4 hours = 24 ounces/baby = 72 ounces/day = 2160 ounces = $141.23

Sum total: $1751.07

Wow. And we still have 4 months to go!! I’m thinking Organic milk doesn’t seem so expensive anymore!