Jensen & Everett: 2+ Years

I meant to write a post around their birthday, but I haven't been making the time for blogging lately and so before I knew it 3 months flew by and here we are. I do want to record a little snapshot of my boys at a little over 2 years old, so here we go!

My sweet boys are growing up more every day. I admit, I find them insanely adorable and think they're the cutest little dudes in the world. I bet every mom thinks that about her kids though. :) Not only do they have the sweetest little faces with chubby cheeks and adorable smiles, but they say the cutest things too. When Everett hurts himself he says "bye bye, self" which we find hilarious. Jensen sometimes calls Everett 'Jensen' and gets himself all confused. When I give them a drink they say 'thank you, milk.' Or 'thank you ___' depending on what I gave them. Also, every liquid is milk to them. I took them to the pet store a couple weeks ago and they told me the betta fish was in 'fishy milk.' Everett used to say 'shess' instead of yes, but he has figured out how to say it correctly now and I'm kind of sad about it. He also refers to himself in the third person a lot which is funny. Jensen will say 'mhm' in place of yes when I ask him a question. They like to say things in a monster voice sometimes and it's hilarious. They know tons of words and are picking up more all the time.

Their favorite things these days are airplanes, helicopters, balls, doggies, cars, trucks, buses, and bikes. They love animals too, but don't like getting too close to them. They love slides at the park and being outside. Jensen loves playing with older kids, while Everett prefers to play with kids his own size. Everett is more shy in general, and Jensen more independent. They love to giggle and play together. I love that they are big kids now but still need their mommy to love on them a lot.

At their last doctors appointment, we found out they were finally on the growth curve for weight. They are hitting all the normal 2-year-old milestones without adjustment for prematurity, and we are so glad they are doing so well. I am thankful all of the time for how well my sweet boys are doing. So many preemies have much more issues, and we are very lucky we haven't seen any lasting effects.

I am so happy to have twins now. Their pregnancy and birth and first year of life were insanely difficult things that I never want to go through again. But now I am so glad they have each other. It is amazing that they have someone to play with all the time who isn't lots bigger than them. I like that I get to put them down for a nap at the same time and they can sleep in the same room. I like that they eat the same things and use the same carseats and will both sit in the stroller. I like that I can usually dress them the same because that's one less thing I have to decide on. It can be really difficult to have two 2-year-olds throwing tantrums at the same time or being naughty together, but I think the benefits outweigh the costs.

Basically, being a mom is so hard, but I'm in a better rhythm now and I am enjoying the time I get to spend with my sweet boys while they are small. I love them so much!

Jensen & Everett: 18 Months!

Hey guys!  Long time no blog!  I've been putting more effort into my photography business lately and between that and some life changes I have let blogging fall by the wayside, and honestly, it's probably going to be a much more rare occurrence for me now.  But, I am checking back in because my awesome little boys are 18 months old today!  Woohoo!

Lots has happened since my last update on their one-year due date.  Blake got a new job and we moved out into the middle of nowhere.  The new apartment meets our needs so much better than our old one did.  It has no stairs (yay!), no carpet in the kitchen or bathroom (so much easier to clean under their highchairs), a brand new washer and dryer, and the perfect amount of storage space.  Plus an awesome closet in our room and a pantry in the kitchen!  We love it.  However, Everett had a hard time with moving to a new place.  He spent the whole night screaming instead of sleeping because he didn't like being somewhere unfamiliar.  After a few days he got used to it and loves his home now.

About two months ago, Jensen and Everett learned to walk!  They were about 13.5 months adjusted at the time, and their pediatrician said boys walk at 13 months on average, so they were right there with what's expected of them.  I'm so happy with how great they are doing with their milestones.  Now they are pretty much able to run, so that has made things interesting.  Luckily they're not faster than me... yet.

They have learned a few words, mostly ball, bear, bug... they like b words I guess.  They call any furry animal a bear, including dogs and a stuffed llama they have.  I could swear Everett is saying 'Thank you' sometimes too.  Jensen said 'yeah' once when I asked him if he wanted to get out of his high chair.  I think I've also heard them both say 'here you go' a couple of times.  I could totally be making this up in my head, but it seems like that's what they're saying.  They also make a vroom vroom sound when they're playing with anything with wheels.  It's super adorable.  They love playing with balls and cars the most.  Typical little boys.

They are still pretty shy around new people.  Jensen opens up faster though and starts giving his sweet smiles pretty quick.  Everett would rather stick with momma most of the time.  If they are tired or hungry though, they always just want me or daddy.  They get so excited when dad comes home from work.  I love seeing their big excited smiles when he walks through the door.  We have started some little trial runs of taking them to nursery at church on Sundays.  So far, they mostly want to stick around me and don't understand the little activities they are doing.  They don't get that they are supposed to do the hand actions for the songs, and they eat the crayons instead of draw with them.  I think they're a little young for these things still.  But they do rock snack time though.  They get all kinds of treats that I would never give them at home haha.

I love the stage they are in now.  They are more independent but not too much, they can get themselves places (although I can't let them walk around in a parking lot or near roads yet,) and they are getting really good at playing and entertaining themselves.  They have started throwing fits if they don't get their way, but not full on tantrums yet.  I am enjoying this fun little phase while it lasts.  I marvel at how cute they are multiple times a day.  This mom thing is super tough but also super awesome, and I'm so glad I get to spend my days with these precious little guys.

PS I totally forgot to mention that they weaned themselves about a month or two ago.  They slowly went down on the frequency of nursing until one night they woke up and refused to nurse and that was that.  It was so easy, I'd definitely recommend letting babies self-wean (if they will of course.)  The only bad thing is it left me with insomnia for a few weeks after that because of the shift in hormones.  It's gone now though and we are enjoying this new stage of life.

Nutritious Granola Bar Recipe

I will be the first to admit that I'm not a great cook.  I rotate through the same five or so things for dinner most of the time and make enough to have leftovers for several more days.  I prefer snacking on various fruits, veggies, and whatnot instead of actually making lunch.  So that just leaves breakfast.  For some reason I need to eat right when I wake up or else I get extremely nauseated, so cooking something for breakfast doesn't work well for me unless I have a little snack first.  But then what's the point of cooking breakfast, amirite?  In order to add simplicity to my life, I like to have the same thing for breakfast every day so I don't have to think when I'm feeling sick and hungry first thing in the morning.  I used to have greek yogurt every day, but that breakfast isn't working for me anymore.  I concocted my own granola bar recipe and I have that for breakfast now instead along with a glass of almond milk.  It's not the healthiest breakfast in the world, but it's packed with nutrients, and it's certainly better than cereal or waffles or muffins!

Here's the recipe:

• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cups natural peanut butter/any nut butter
• 3/4 cup honey (more or less to taste, I could probably get away with less personally)
• 2 scoops protein powder*
• 1/4 cup chia seeds*
• 1/4 cup hemp hearts*
• 1/4 cup freshly ground flaxseed*
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

 *-these ingredients are optional

Put all of these ingredients into a big mixing bowl and stir it together with a large spoon.  

Scoop it out into a 9x13 pan lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.

Cut into bars and enjoy!  What I love about this recipe is that it has a decent dose of protein and fat instead of just carbs like lots of breakfast foods, and that it has lots of micronutrients too!  The chia seeds, hemp hearts, and freshly ground flaxseed have lots of vitamins and minerals that your body needs and can be hard to find in the kinds of foods us Americans typically eat.  Cinnamon can be slightly helpful with stabilizing blood sugar levels.  Coconut oil has all kinds of claims surrounding it which I don't know if they are true or not, but it can't hurt.  I do think that fat is important and not necessarily something to always avoid.  I use the Garden of Life brand of protein powder because it is made out of vegetables and legumes only.  Normal protein powders made with whey or whatever they put in them makes my stomach really upset and this is the only one that I've tried that doesn't do that.  Together these ingredients make a pretty nutritious breakfast despite how awesome it tastes.  The best thing about this recipe is you can change up the ingredients any way you want to and it will still be great.  Add more cinnamon, leave out the hemp hearts (because who has that sitting around???) or double the chocolate chips.  As long as it's wet/dry enough it will make a great granola bar.  So please experiment with this recipe and let me know what you come up with!