March Madness

Since the last time, as you can imagine, Everett and Isabel have started to do more things, grown, and fought. Yes, it was bound to happen and when you only have one of a certain toy that they both like, it could get ugly. Fortunately, Everett is more laid-back than Isabel. If she steals his toy, he doesn't really care, however, if Everett takes Isabel's current toy, she is less than thrilled, and will tell him about it. They do share very well, for now, and they love to play with each other. They are starting to be more vocal and talk to each other when they play. We've heard stories from many people about twins having their own language and I sometimes wonder if that has already begun.

The things they have done in the last month are: swimming lessons, crawl backwards, sit up, spend a week with my parents, and enjoy the spring air with a walk. They started swimming lessons at the YMCA on February 23rd and they love it. The class is weekly and runs til April 13th. They will be expert swimmers by then, since we have also been taking them to an area hotel water park with their 13-month old friend, Carter, on Thursdays. They certainly enjoy the water and getting out of the house. Also, mom and dad like the long naps they take afterwards.

Everett is crawling backwards and will get where he needs to from that. He tries to go forward, but after 1-2 small steps, he face plants into the floor, but gets up and tries again. He really likes to crawl backwards into a sitting up position and is one proud boy when he does it. Each morning, he is sitting up in his crib. Isabel still rolls everywhere, but sits up to play. She is getting on all fours and thinking about moving, but for now, if she needs to get something, it is easier to roll there.

While we were on vacation, my parents stayed with the twins for a week. They said it was better than any vacation they could have planned. We missed the kids, but had a good time away. I know they had fun with Nana and Papa, as Isabel perfected sitting up with them. They will see them again in mid-April. Sadie's mom is coming here for 4 days next weekend and she is thrilled. It has been since New Year's that she has seen them. I will be in Milwaukee for NCAA basketball.

Not only have the kids gotten out to go swimming, but they have taken a walk with their new double-wide stroller. The weather has been beautiful lately and the snow should all be gone soon. I can't wait to be outside with them all summer. Upcoming events for them include a trip to Minneapolis in mid-April, a long weekend alone with dad, watching a lot of basketball, while Sadie is gone scrap booking in late-March, some quality time with Grandma James, and continued swimming sessions.

7 months old

The twins have been getting a lot of exercise lately, whether it be in the exersaucers or rolling on the floor. They are very active these days. They both love hanging out on the farm, which is what we call their exersaucers. I think they like the toys and the fact that they feel in charge by standing in them. Isabel will still roll herself to where she needs to be, wiggling her way into trouble areas with ease. Everett does not roll, but has mastered the art of sitting up, and he loves to play with his basketball hoop. He loves the slam dunk. He also is getting up on all fours a lot, but not quite crawling. Isabel would rather roll or stand than crawl. It won't be long though for new milestones for each.

One thing I know for sure is that they love each other, but are also getting jealous at times. It is so fun now to see them interact with each other. They make each other laugh and they always keep an eye on each other, especially when one is eating. If one has a bottle, the other has to have a bottle, regardless if they just ate. Isabel even stole Everett's bottle earlier this week. As mom says, she is definitely the boss of the two right now. When they play, they are always so nice to each other....wonder if that will last?

As usual, we are always introducing more foods to them and they both like just about everything we've given them. They really like snack time with dad in the afternoon! The are still sleeping all night, from 7pm - 5:30am, so mom and I are catching up on sleep and what's going on in each other's days.

Today is my last day of 'work' for awhile as we leave for vacation on Saturday morning. Sadie and I will be gone for one week and the kids will be with my parents, Nana and Papa. I know they are excited to spend some quality time with the kids. Everett and Isabel better behave!

Groundhog's Day

Not sure what the groundhog saw today, but I know the kids and I are ready for spring and summer. We have taken a few trips around town lately to get out of the house, but for the most part it is too cold and windy, so we stay home. They are great kids to travel with, whether it be a short or long drive. They each hold their own bottles, so if they get hungry we can give them a bottle while they stay in their stroller.

It will be so nice to get outside when the weather is nice. I'm sure a kiddy pool will be used a lot. As you can see from the video, Everett is always trying to get up on all fours. He gets there, but falls back down soon after, but he keeps trying while not getting too frustrated. Isabel continues to roll all over the place, whether it be on the floor or in her crib. Sadie and I are not sure how she maneuvers herself each night in her crib, but she always ends up sideways from where we lay her down. They both love to grab at items (i.e. remotes, Molly's tail, and any toys). Anything they can grab, goes straight to their mouths. Neither of them have any teeth yet, but they soak about 3-4 bibs per day with drool.

Dad and Mom get a much needed vacation, starting next Saturday, however, it will be hard to be away from the twins for that long. I have only spent one night away from them and Sadie has spent zero. Good thing we booked the trip while she was pregnant. They will be in good hands with my parents and I know they will enjoy spending the quality time with two very happy babies....it does help that they sleep now.

Watch how Molly gets her toy back that Everett and Isabel stole from her.

First Swimming Experience

Sunday was the twins' first time swimming and here are a few pictures. Everett was first in the water and he didn't seem to mind it at first. They both really like baths, so it seemed as if they would like the pool as well, however, this water was pretty cold.

Everett sat in the pool while I held him up and his lip quivered for awhile. He was okay with things until some kid ran by and splashed cold water on him and that was the end of fun for him in the kiddy pool. After trying one more time with him, I decided he might like to float on an inter tube with me, so we did that for awhile. He was much more relaxed!

Isabel had no trouble with the pool. She did most of her swimming with mom, but I took her by the water spouts for awhile and she seemed to like splashing water around. She was in the pool for about 30-40 minutes, just hanging around. She mostly seemed indifferent about it, but wasn't bothered at all.

All in all, it was a pretty good first experience for them. They start swimming lessons at the YMCA the last week of February and I'm sure Everett hopes the water is warmer there! Enjoy the photos.

6 months and on the move

A lot has changed since the last update and with pressure from all 5 of my fans, here is a new entry.

Isabel first rolled over from front to back in October and Everett did it two months later. Isabel then rolled over from back to front on Christmas Eve and Everett only took a week longer to accomplish that, perfecting it on New Year's Eve. It has now become their favorite thing to do. Once you put them on the floor or in their crib, they immediately roll to their tummy. Isabel is now rolling across rooms, while Everett just stays in one spot. He always has been more laid back. They also do this at night, which worries their mom about SIDS, but I think they are strong enough to roll themselves over if they need to. We had to remove the bumpers from their cribs, which means they are now banging their heads against the crib. I guess they will learn to avoid that after a few collisions.

Sleep has been the major item of discussion around here lately, since no one seemed to get any, but that is slowly changing. We have adopted the Ferber method with the kids. Our doctor said there is no reason for them to feed at night anymore, thus the kids cry and mom and dad are close to tears as well. It hasn't been that bed really. Once the kids go to bed, around 7pm, we let them cry for 5 minutes, then check on them, then wait another 5 minutes, etc. The longest it has taken anyone to fall asleep so far is 45 minutes for Isabel. Isabel is great, sleeping almost 12 hours each night and Everett is getting longer each night. Last night, Isabel woke at 1am, cried for a while, but was back asleep within 20 minutes (seemed a lot longer though). Everett woke up at 3:45am, which is getting better. Soon, they will be out from 7pm-7am....wishful thinking, but hey, why not?

As for other activities, they really enjoy their farm exersaucer, playing with toys in their highchairs, and playing with Molly. Both kids are very close to sitting up on their own and they almost insist on holding their own bottles. Trust me, that is a very big help. They have begun to eat more solid foods. Foods like bananas, cheerios, yogurt, pudding, etc. are all approved munchies for them. They will get used to it, but we are introducing it slowly. They also like to eat Biter Biscuits. It teaches them to hold foods and place them in their mouths. We started them on juice in sippy cups this week too. Everett has a better grasp of that so far.

Their growth continues to be good. On Tuesday, they had a routine check-up and Everett is 17 lbs., 1 ounce and Isabel is 15 lbs., 13 ounces. Both of those numbers are in the 50th percentile, which is great. Everett out stands her by 1 1/4 inches, both standing at 27 1/4 and 26 inches, respectively. Those are in the upper percentiles, which makes dad happy that Everett is still tall! They were troopers with their four shots on Tuesday, including their first flu and H1N1 shots.

It has been so fun these past six months to see their development. They each have started to get real personalities and they both laugh a lot. I used to think they'd never roll over, sleep, or sit-up, but they do. I suppose they will crawl and walk soon. The babyproofing has already begun.

Their next adventures include starting swimming lessons in February, a week with Nana and Papa in February while dad and mom get a needed vacation to the Dominican Republic, and more new foods. I will be better about updates in the future. Enjoy.

5 months old

The twins are five-months old today and while for some people, that seemed to go fast, for me, it has not. I do not mean that in a bad way, but it does seem to go faster for other parents/babies. The same can be said for pregnancy as well. It does not help either that I expect the kids to do things (i.e. rollover, sit-up, crawl, etc.) way ahead of a normal schedule. I guess I am just in a hurry, while people say I should enjoy them at this age. I love them as babies, but am more excited to have them sit up, grab items, and interact a lot more. I am most excited for them to walk and talk, but that won't be for some time. For now, I will just have to be along for the ride.

Speaking of that ride, Everett made another milestone yesterday, rolling over for the first time. He went from his tummy to his back about 3 or 4 times. (He must have been excited about another Packers win!) Isabel rolled over first on October 19th, so the boy was just taking his time. He is very content with achieving such milestones while both kids are so happy and calm. We hosted our Wii bowling league ten days ago and the twins got a lot of compliments about their calm demeanor. Trust me, it is not always that way, but mom and I are extremely pleased about their attitudes. Both of them are trying to rollover from back to front and they get close once in a while, but that last push of their leg is still defeating them. Everett has really developed a close bond with his puppy, Junkyard Dog, while Isabel likes to snuggle with any one of her three dolls. It is very cool!

Their first Christmas is coming soon, which means I have to stay away from Toys R Us. Anytime I enter that building, I forget about budgets or account balances. However, it will definitely be an enjoyable first Christmas with kids in the house. As you can see above, they went to meet Santa Claus over the weekend with mom. She said they were on his lap a long time, meaning their lists our quite extensive.

Happy Holidays from the Johnsen's

New Foods

Since I last wrote, the kids have flown to Atlanta, starting eating solid foods, and they continue to grow rapidly, whether in size or development.

We all flew to Atlanta to visit my sister's family and my parents on Tuesday, November 24th. Sadie and I did have seats together on the plane, but apparently you cannot have four people in two seats, because only three oxygen masks are available, so I was moved to the row behind. I sat with Everett and Mom sat with Isabel. She slept all the way, while Everett only slept about 20 minutes. Thankfully, he was just calm and relaxed the rest of the time. Flight time was only 2 hours. It went much better than we could have expected. In comparison, there was another baby in the row next to me, that cried the whole way. Nice work twins!! The flight back was similar. Once again, I sat with Everett and he slept about half the time, while Isabel slept with Mom the whole flight. The great part about the trip was having direct flights from Milwaukee to Atlanta, avoiding any connections, gate changes, etc. That was a huge help. We had a great time in Atlanta with family. Thanks to Candice for cooking great food and entertaining us for six days. We miss you all!

Over Thanksgiving break, the kids started eating solid foods. They had a doctor's appointment the day before we left, and the doctor said we could start with some solid veggies and fruits. Carrots were the first choice, followed by sweet potatoes, and now bananas. At first, they were not sure what to do, but they picked it up quickly and it is now a regular part of their day. They seem to have the process down pretty good. I was a little apprehensive to start since I thought bottle-feeding would be much easier, but feeding them solid foods and watching them learn how to do it, has been very rewarding. The twins are starting to develop a schedule of eating, playing, and sleeping, which really helps me and mom. Now, if they could just sleep all night!

They have not reached any significant milestones since last time, however, they do continue to grow in development. They both are very good at holding their heads while sitting up, watching people and following them with their eyes and head, and picking on each other (already!). They with turn 5-months old in a week and they have already learned how to irritate each other. This morning Everett was pulling on Isabel's left ear, thus making her quite upset. Usually, he is the bully, but he is also the only one that cries at certain toys when they make noise. She will learn quickly to fight back.

Isabel and Everett wish you and yours a Happy Holiday season!