The 4th Month

Hello faithful readers. Yes, we’re still standing. Just haven’t found the time to blog. Since the twins are about to turn 5 months on Monday, I thought you might like a recap of the events that have transpired over the 4th month. Monday, August 25th, Cam and I took Rylan and Dawson for their 4 month check-up. Yes, and shots. Ouch. They cried for a split second as the vaccine was being injected into their (rather chunky) little thigh. I’d prepared myself for much more of a display so I considered the short outburst a huge success. Dawson weighed 15 lbs and 5 ounces while petite little Rylan weighed only 13 lbs and 8 ounces. But she’s gaining on him! Our pediatrician mentioned that we could begin giving them cereal and stage one foods. How exciting, right? I convinced Cam that we had to go to Target right away and get food immediately, if not sooner. After much deliberation over the entire supply of baby feeding products, we decided on baby spoons, the soft rubbery kind, and whole-grain oatmeal with bananas. Yum. Got home and put together our high chairs, strapped the babies in as if they were preparing for a flight to the moon, and presented the goo.
As you can see they really enjoyed their first food experience. After a few days of oatmeal, I decided to introduce vegetables and took it upon myself to make homemade baby food. Making baby food has really turned out to be much easier than I though. You just bake, or steam the veggie, puree, freeze in ice trays, then store in zip lock bags. Since it doesn’t take long to prepare, it’s totally worth the time and it tastes much better than store bought baby food!
Oh, and we’ve met a major milestone this month…. both Dawson and Rylan are now proficient at the task of rolling from stomach to back and vice-versa. They’ve also mastered the art of toe sucking. Yes, they’ve managed to make foot-to-mouth contact. So darn cute! I can’t believe they’ll be 5 months old Monday.

When life gives you lemons...

Two weeks ago tomorrow, the same day the twins were christened, Cam and I got a big surprise when we got home that afternoon. I had sat down to feed the babies while Cam was unloading the car. He walked down the hall toward our laundry room when he announced that we had a huge mess. (I'll spare you his exact wording because I don't think blogger will allow it. Ha, ha!) The huge mess to which Cam was referring was a flooded hallway. At the time we had no idea where the inch or so of water had come from. We later discovered that our water heater had evidently had its better days and decided to release its contents onto our hardwood floor. The same hardwood floor Cam and his Dad installed in January 2006 when we bought the house. Being that the floor is a little over two years old, it couldn't even be considered "gently used" and still new to us. I digress. Anyway, we surveyed the damage and much to our dismay, the floor in the hallway was, in fact, ruined. On the bright side, the floor in the adjoining living room was just fine. So with the help of Cam's co-worker, Lee, and his Dad, they pulled up the hallway floor. I called Home Depot to see if they had our floor on hand and, as you can probably imagine, it had been discontinued. Great. Now, back to the title of this post, when life gives you lemons, what do you do? That's right. Make lemonade. So, given that lovely bit of info, this gave us the opportunity to do a little home improvement project. We decided lay ceramic tile instead. Granted, prior to the water heater spewing, we had no intentions of doing anything to the floor. But I truly believe it worked out for the best. Last weekend, Cam and his friend Brook, spent all day Saturday and half the day Sunday laying tile. They did an awesome job and I'm almost glad the water heater decided to give out. Check out the before and after pics:

Before....

And, drum roll please, AFTER....

Here's a close-up:

My camera really doesn't do it justice but you get the idea. So, moral of the story is, when things look really, really bad...look for opportunity in the situation. Yeah, I know, blah, blah, blah! :)

28 and Holding!

Yesterday was my 28th birthday and I must say they get better with every year. Cam gave me a Rolling Stones CD that I've been wanting, Dad took me to lunch at Olive Garden and gave me some cash(woohoo!). Mom gave me the sweetest card and a Wal-Mart gift card. My In-laws gave me a beautiful Orchid plant, more cash (woohoo again), and they are coming to babysit so Cam can take me to dinner tonight. I actually get to dress up! But the best gift of all came from Dawson and Rylan...for the first time they slept for 7 consecutive hours!!! We put them to bed at 9:30pm and they didn't make a peep until 4:30am. Of course, I didn't go to sleep until 11:00 so my fault for not taking advantage of their priceless gift. It's a well known fact you can't put a value on sleep! Take that Mastercard.

This past Sunday happened to be my Sister and Bro-in-law's 6th wedding anniversary. Here's a link to their blog: http://www.mosaiclife.com/2008/08/10/six-years/
These days, 6 years of marriage is a major accomplishment. And being that she married so young (at the ripe old age of 19) to a guy she met on the Internet who happened to live all the way across the country (California), it's even more notable. They've been through so much together that was beyond their control, and it has truly made them stronger. So, Happy Anniversary Brandon and Wendy! Here's to many more great years together.

Now for a Cole update. He's two weeks old today and doing great, holding his body temp at 98 degrees, and is up to 4lbs, 9ozs. Robyn is keeping him bundled up like a little baby burrito. Yay Cole! Keep up the good Mommy-work Robyn!

Welcome Home Cole!

On July 29th, Cam and I became an Uncle and Aunt. Cam's brother, Clint, and sister-in-law, Robyn, welcomed their first child into the world. William Cole Streetman, will be called "Cole", and weighed in at 4lbs, 5ozs, and was 18 inches long. We weren't expecting Cole until September 14th so his arrival came as a surprise to us all. (Robyn was only 33 weeks pregnant.) Needless to say, we were all somewhat concerned about the little guy. He spent a total of 11 days in the hospital which consisted of 8 days in NNICU and 3 days in level II nursery. Cole proved to us all that he's a strong, healthy, baby boy and was able to come home this past Friday. Robyn is taking all of this like a true champ. She's been so positive and upbeat through it all. We're so relieved that both mommy and baby are doing well. So, congrats Clint and Robyn and welcome home Cole! We can't wait to meet you!

From birth to 3 months

3 months (in a nutshell)

The past three months have almost been a blur. As you read in our greeting, Cam and I are new parents of boy/girl twins. They were born on April 29th, 2008 at 6:36 and 6:38 a.m. Dawson Cameron, weighed in at 6 lbs and was 19 inches long. Our healthy little girl, Rylan Michelle, weighed 5 lbs and 11 ozs, and was also 19 inches long. This week Dawson is up to 14lbs and 10 ozs and Rylan weighs in at 12lbs, 7.5 ozs. For the most part, they are on somewhat of a schedule but no, they are not sleeping through the night. (Oh, how I pray for the day!) Needless to say, they keep us on our toes. They are now responding to goofy noises and faces we make. Dawson is almost laughing and Rylan ooooh's. Cam and I are their source of entertainment, as are they to us, and we'll make ridiculous faces and noises for as long as we can get precious smiles and laughs out of them.

This past Sunday the babies were christened. The christening was held in the same church where Cam was christened and also in which we were married. Dawson and Rylan were on their best behavior and Rylan smiled and cooed to us all during the sermon. When Pastor Keith baptized them, Dawson let out a big laugh. I guess he thought it was bath time and the child does love his bath! Needless to say, they were a big hit with the congregation.

When Dawson and Rylan were born, we decided that I would stay home with them. I can honestly say I've never in my life had a more rewarding job. Not only do I have the privilege of being a full time Mom, but I get to witness every single development in their little personalities. I absolutely love being home with them and cherish every breath they take. Growing up, and before the babies were born, my parents told me, "you'll never know how much I love you until you have children of your own". Well Mom, Dad, I can now say without hesitation, it's true. The love I feel for them is unlike any I've ever known.