A little update

The boys have been keeping us pretty busy these days. They are able to roll over now and are trying to crawl. It is pretty entertaining to watch them try to figure out how to use their arms and legs at the same time, which is still a work in progress. They can roll over with no problem but then they are only able to lift their head up or stick their butts up in the air. When I try and help them they just straighten out like superman. Braylon has figured out he can scoot small distances on his belly but it takes a lot of energy. Both boys get frustrated easily and begin to fuss so we have to limit their time on the floor so it doesn't turn into a full blown fit.
After lots of screaming and crying the boys are finally taking a bottle again. When we brought the boys home from the NICU we really struggled with breastfeeding because they preferred to be fed their breastmilk in a bottle, but actually breastfeeding was really important to me. I was only allowed to breastfeed once or twice a day while they were in the NICU so they developed a strong preference for the bottle. After lots of crying, both me and the boys, and lots of sleepless nights we finally got the breastfeeding thing down. I was so afraid to give them a bottle in fear of sabotaging all of my efforts. I have decided that I am ready to get out for more than four hours at a time now and the babies need to be able to eat so we have been working on bottle feeding again and up until the last couple of days it has been a nightmare.
The boys refuse to take a bottle from me at all so Bryan had to try and there were times the boys got so upset they wouldn't even breastfeed afterwards. After the losing battle we decided it was time to call in the troops.
A developmental specialist has been working with the boys since we have been home so she brought in another therapist to help us out. I'm not really sure what they did different but it has been like night and day. Thank goodness. I thought I was going to have to babies attached to me constantly until they were completely on solids.
Thursday, the boys had a Well Baby Checkup. Kaden weighed 12lbs 7oz and Braylon weighed 14lbs 1oz. They are getting so big. They also got some of their immunizations which made for some crabby babies. They both had fevers and Kaden, I swear, pooped all day long Friday. I would change him and he would fill his diaper again. I felt sorry for them. You could tell they were really feeling under the weather all day Friday.
The doctor said the boys are doing great. He gave us the okay to "expand their horizons" by introducing some solid foods (I cheated a little and gave them some smashed bananas about a week earlier).
They still aren't too sure about solids yet. They tend to gag a lot because they are still learning how to move the food around in their mouths. They don't mind the bananas but they are not too fond of green beans and they especially don't like rice cereal even if I try and mix it in with the food.
We might just have some particular boys on our hands.

Lumberjack Days

This past weekend was Orofino Lumberjack Days and what a busy weekend it was!

Braylon and Kaden kicked off the weekend by participating in the Kiddie Parade, Friday afternoon. The theme for this year was "Treasure Chest of County's Best" so, the boys decided they would like to be dressed as little nuggets of gold while being pulled in a wagon made to look like a treasure chest with lettering that said "Our Little Treasures". They were even able to talk mommy into dressing like a pirate and pulling the wagon. The boys are such sweet talkers that they recruited Paige to dress up as a pirate too and help throw candy for all the spectators. The boys were so excited that Braylon messed his pants so badly it was oozing out his jeans and Kaden fell fast asleep during the parade so his hat covered head just laid over to the side.

There was some stiff competition but the boys won first place in their division and were asked to participate in Saturday's "Big Parade". Along with a blue ribbon the boys each won five dollars, which they placed in their piggy banks.We were not sure if we would be able to make it in Saturday's parade because on our walk back from the Kiddie Parade the front axle and handle of the wagon fell off in the middle of the parking lot. Thank goodness the Baby Whisperer was there to rescue the boys by carrying both of them while mommy drug the wagon back to the tribune so daddy and papa could work on it.

After all of the parading the boys and the family enjoyed strolling around the carnival and looking at the exhibits, but what the boys like most was all of the attention. It felt as though we were amongst celebrities. Everywhere we went people would say from across the way, "Are those the twins?," "I have read so much about them," "I have seen pictures of them in the paper but I'm so excited to actually see them in person," "Oh, look it's the Tweets." Sometimes it took so long to get to where we were going we completely forget where we were headed to in the first place.

Along with all of the rides the boys enjoyed looking at the 4-H animals but we don't think they enjoyed the smell of the barn too much. They also ran into a few of their baby friends and took a photo-op with one of their girlfriends, Savonni, on an 810 pound pumpkin.

Although the boys really enjoyed the fair they were happy to return back to their normal schedule.

Daddy and his nuggets

GG and the little treasures

We had a last minute repair

Mommy, Paige "The Baby Whisperer", and the treasures

Walking in the parade

Kaden passed out during the parade
(Braylon left, Kaden right)

King Kaden the Pirate

Bountiful Braylon the Pirate

The boys and the great pumpkin

Cinderella and her prince charmings

Savonni

An Evening At Grammy B's

Kaden had an appointment with the pulomonlogist early Tuesday morning, so we decided that would give us the perfect opportunity to spent the evening at Grammy B's and Papa McDonalds. The boys really enjoyed their visit. During their visit they got to see the peppers growing in each of their gardens, meet Tripper the horse, and play dress up with Grammy. Daddy wasn't too thrilled about the dress up idea but the boys and everyone loved it.

Kaden's appointment couldn't have gone any better. He got an amazing report. We recently stopped his breathing treatments on our own because they seemed to be irritating his eye. I was a little nervous about what the doctor would say about it, but after listening to his lungs he said, "It doesn't really seem as though he needs them, does it." I agreed. The doctor was very pleased to see that he had been weaned completely off of his oxygen since his last visit and was surprised that we didn't even have to use it at night. He said that as far as he was concerned there was no evidence of any lasting effects of his prematurity. We were both soooo happy to hear this.

We only have to use the breathing treatments if Kaden gets a cold and we don't have to pay another visit to the pulmonologist for 6 months. He wants to see how he does through the cold and flu season and then if everything looks good we will only have to visit him as needed.

We stopped by the NICU to say hello to some of our old friends. Dr. Egger was not there but we did see Dr. Bodenstein who was very pleased to see how well the boys are doing. We also got to see two of our favorite nurses, Karen and Marissa.

While we were up at the NICU Marissa had just found out she was pregnant so it was so fun to see her with a belly and to hear that she is having a girl. Although our stay at the NICU was difficult at times we really do miss the friends we met while we were there and it is nice to stop by, but just for a visit.

The boys looking beary cute

Braylon Bear

Kaden Bear

Gypsy Kaden

Braylon Jemiama

Braylon singing the baby jail blues

Kaden in baby jail- nobody knows the trouble he's seen

Braylon

Kaden

A Day At The Races

While daddy worked on the fence back home the boys and mommy spent a day at the races in Clarkia. We were able to watch Uncie ride and the boys were excited to get their first photo on Uncie's motorbike. After the races the boys had their first Helmer Burger at the Helmer Cafe.

Ashley with Braylon, Gammy M with Kaden, Cody with Izzy, and Paige with Angus

The boys enjoying their front packs

The boys on Uncie's bike

Kaden and Uncie

Braylon and Uncie

The boys with Papa DD at the Helmer Cafe