9 months

Dalton: Aka- Dozer, Big D, D- Man, Bubba, Chunkers,

Wearing:  Mainly 9-12 month stuff and some 18 month shirts/onesies.  Size 3-4 diapers, both fit him fine.

Sleep: No change from last month. And our camping trip and vacation didn't help it.  Some nights are better then others.  He is napping less though. Normally 2 naps a day anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Sometimes a bit longer, but not usually. And typically this kid can sleep anywhere with any amount of noise. 

Eating: Still loves to eat.  So far he is eating everything I have given him. He will definitely be loving life more when he can eat real solid foods.  If he isn't eating real food he is sucking down a bottle.

Milestones: He just started clapping his hands! Very cute! And his new word is "num num!" as he is eating his food.  He is getting better at walking along the furniture and balancing himself.  He can finally let go of something and not topple over backwards smacking his head. He is starting to dance a little when music comes on.  And tooth #2 finally popped through as of yesterday! He is also a speed crawler!

Personality: Pretty laid back boy and has really loved to snuggle this past month.  He loves napping in my arms when I will let him and I would more often if it wasn't for the fact that he is so darn heavy.   He is my little dozer and will plow right through anything, for instance his poor innocent sister. He has no fear as of yet. He is very determined to get to where he is going or keep trying something until he achieves it.  He is also very sensitive. A good mix of mamas boy and daddy's boy. Although he slightly prefers daddy over mommy. 

Activity: Loves all his toys and also things he shouldn't have. He loves playing with big brothers toys as well. Walking along furniture and exploring every room in the house. He loved being outside while on vacation and will stand at our sliding glass door throughout the day banging on it like he wants to be out there. If only this rain and cold weather would let up! He loves watching big brother run around the house and act crazy.  And he also loves climbing up my legs.

Dakota: AKA- Princess, peanut, sissy, doodle bug, sister sue,

Wearing:6-9 month and some 12 month shirts. Size 2-3 diapers.

Sleep: Same as her brother. Sleeping issues are a mess. Some nights she only wakes once others can be up to 4x.  She takes 2 naps a day usually around 2 hours each.  I might be trying to take it down to one to see if it helps with her night time issues.

Eating: So far she is liking everything, even peaches now.  Sometimes she has a hard time with green beans (she has to be in the mood for certain veggies).  Still taking about 5-6 oz in her bottle at every feeding.

Milestones:  She just started waving hi. She won't do it often but aunt Tracy could get her to do it in Arizona!   She is also trying to say "What's that?!" coming out as "Ahhh tat!"  Austin used to do that same thing. So cute! Every time I say it she repeats it.  Today I had her giving me Hi-Fives. Every time I put my hand up she would put hers up and hit mine. Love this stage!!!    She is also balancing herself real good and is letting go of furniture and standing on her own for a few seconds at a time. Walking soon? Hmmm, I have mixed feelings on this.   We finally have her taking the sippy cup. For a long time she wanted nothing to do with it, now she loves it.  Still NO teeth. I hope they pop soon!

Personality: A total diva.  She gets so upset if she doesn't get her way. But a toughie too. She is sticking up for herself when Dalton pushes her over or takes a toy from her.  She may be tiny and put on a sweet face, but looks can be deceiving ;)     With 2 brother she is going to need to have some tough skin.   She is quite sweet though, and a big snuggler. Definite mamas girl but has no problems pushing past me to snuggle with her daddy.  She likes to be acknowledged when either I or hubby enters the room. If we don't she gets VERY upset. She didn't get the nickname princess for nothing lol!  She is very careful in everything she does. A bit fearless but very smart about things.

Activity: Playing with all the toys and Austin's toys.  Water bottles and the carboard rolls from paper towels make for great entertainment.  She loves paper and sitting forever and just crinkeling it.  Very fast crawler and will follow me and her brothers throughout the house.  Pulling herself up on anything and everything.

I can't believe we are 3 months away from their first birthday!! I guess I better start planning :)

Creamy Bow-Tie Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli

My little man is a pretty picky eater. So I am always trying to find new recipes that would appeal to him (I don't always base my cooking off of what he likes or doesn't like, because I LOVE all sorts of foods!).  I made this one night while the hubs was at work because I wasn't too sure he would like it, and to be honest I would rather try something new when he wasn't home.

This got 5 star reviews from my 4 year old!  He even stated that this was the best meal he has ever had!  Points for mama! I also have to add in the fact that it was pretty simple to make as well.  Found on Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

• 5 cups farfalle (bow tie) pasta, uncooked
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 3 tablespoons KRAFT Signature Roasted Red Pepper with Parmesan Dressing
• 6 (4 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups tomato-basil pasta sauce
• 1/2 (250 g) package Philadelphia Light Brick Cream Cheese, cubed
• 1/4 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

1. Cook pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli to the cooking water for the last 3 min. of the pasta cooking time. Meanwhile, heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and garlic; cook 5 min. Turn chicken over; continue cooking 4 to 5 min. or until chicken is cooked through (170 degrees F).
2. Drain pasta mixture in colander; return to pan and set aside. Add pasta sauce and cream cheese to chicken in skillet; cook on medium-low heat 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is completely melted, mixture is well blended and chicken is coated with sauce, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm. Add sauce mixture to pasta mixture; mix well. Transfer to six serving bowls.
3. Cut chicken crosswise into thick slices; fan out chicken over pasta mixture in each bowl. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese.

Cousins

We got to spend half of our vacation with the hubby's brother's family!  Austin had a blast annoying them to death playing with them!  He keeps asking when we can do it again. If only we all lived closer!  The babes were entertained with all the chaos as well and enjoyed watching all the wrestling matches and poolside entertainment.  I have to say I have 2 of most awesome nephews ever :)

Back to the grind

We got back yesterday from our 10 day vacation to sunny and WARM Arizona.

This was pretty much where my butt was planted the whole time

And we came back home to rain and cold and the ground covered in a little bit of snow this morning. Not cool! I want to be back on vacation!

Now back to our normal schedules. More pics to come later :)

20 Questions

I recently joined the population of all you Pinterest fanatics. I wish I would have never joined!!! It's now where all my "when I should be cleaning and doing laundry" spare moments are wasted. I love that site!! 

I am always looking at new ideas and things to do with the kids and came across this little birthday Questionnaire. I wish I would have started it when Austin turned 3, but 4.5 years old isn't too late is it?!

I think I will add these in a photo book/s that I plan on doing as the years go by.  Along with his signature at every age.

Anyway here is the list of questions along with Austin's answers.

1. What is your favorite color? Purple
2. What is your favorite toy? Dinosaurs
3. What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries
4. What is your favorite TV show? Tom and Jerry
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Pizza
6. What is your favorite outfit? Shorts and Lightning McQueen T-Shirt
7. What is your favorite game?   Toy Story game on his Smart Cycle
8. What is your favorite snack? Cookies
9. What is your favorite animal? Giraffe
10. What is your favorite song? Dinosaur Boogie
11. What is your favorite book? The animal book
12. Who is your best friend? Seth, Kiki, Kayleigh
13. What is your favorite cereal?   Lucky Charms
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Run around
15. What is your favorite drink? Apple Juice
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Giraffe and blue baby (his little blue blankie he calls baby).
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cereal
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pizza
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Batman

Winter Camping

This past weekend we went on our annual February camping/4 wheeler trip to the Oregon Dunes.  This was also the babes first camping trip.  It probably wasn't the best idea to do this in the winter nor while they were teething.  The weather was pretty decent but we did get one day of rain and they did not like being cooped up in the toy hauler.  They did enjoy being outside and taking many walks around the park and hitting the play ground up with big brother.  The outdoors did make Dakota sleep a little better on the last 2 nights we were there, Dalton not so much.   Austin had a blast and made friends with a little neighbor girl (shocker!!!) and had fun taking a spin on his daddy's 4 wheeler and riding his bike all over the campground.  It was nice to jump back on my 4 wheeler since it had been since August 2010 that I last rode and it was June 2010 that Tyler last rode.  We got to hang out with some good friends we don't see that often and enjoyed a few rainless nights of a campfire.  But I am pretty sure we won't be camping again until the summer, or at least until the babes are walking!

8 months

It's getting harder to take photos of them together, little squirmy kids.

Dalton:

Wearing:  Almost fully in 9-12 month stuff, very few 6-9 month pants that fit him. Beefy boy!  Size 3 diapers

Sleep: It's a mess. Every night is a different night. The past few nights we are back on the every 2 hour wake up schedule. Growth spurt? Teeth? I don't know, but I am tired!  The boy can sleep when he wants to though and can and will sleep through the night when he wants to.   As far as naps go, he is normally taking 2 a day about an hour a piece.

Eating:  Anything he can get his hands on. He loves food! Although with these little teeth (one is finally popping through) he hasn't wanted much to do with his solids. Maybe just the taste of things is funny to him. He normally eats an 8oz bottle every few hours or more.  He just likes to suck on his bottle for comfort.

Milestones:  He is fully crawling, and very fast. I can here him thudding down the hallway when I am in another room.  It sounds like a herd of elephants. He started pulling himself up within a couple days after learning to crawl.  And now he makes his way around the coffee table or along the couch edge. He has no fear and often will just let go and try to stand on his own, which results in smacking his head into something. But he gets up and does it again, over and over. I have a feeling he will be an early walker. The boy has determination. He is also putting himself into the sitting position on his own now without my assistance. He is saying "bubba" and I am pretty sure he is referring to himself, or maybe his bottle.

Personality: Normally he is pretty laid back unless upset or hungry (which is when the temper comes out). But lately he has been a bit more irritable and pretty whiny, which I am sure is due to these teeth. He has had an awful time with it.  He is much happier he can get around now and go places on his own so he is more content. He loves to snuggle, especially when he is tired.  He has no fear of anything. The kid can smack his head or face multiple times, cry for a second (or not at all) and keep on doing the same thing over and over until he conquers it or just gets bored.  He is a bulldozer and plows over anything including his sister. He is a babbler and will talk to anything and everything.

Activity: Crawling and pulling himself up on anything he can grab ahold of.....the sliding glass door, couch, coffee table, jumper, walker, fire place ledge, my treadmill, my pant leg, etc.  Loves his toys and now getting interested in the toys big brother has.  He is playing with his sister some more (still not a bunch, but will interact more with her).  Likes the jumper some but its getting used less and less.

Dakota:

Wearing:  Mainly 6-9 month clothes and now some 9-12 month shirts/onesies.  I do still have some 3-6 month pants that fit. Her waist is so tiny.  Wearing size 2 diapers.

Sleep:  She is trying to sleep better but Dalton is ruining it for her. A couple nights she has only woken once (which is huge for her) and sometimes twice.  But then she gets disturbed by Dalton screaming and has been getting up 3-4x again with him.  One of these days I will sleep again.  I just wasn't lucky enough to have babies that like to sleep.   She still takes 2 naps a day about 2 hours a piece.   And yes I have tried to keep her awake or not let her sleep so long in hopes that she will sleep longer at night, and no it always backfires on me.  Those nights are usually worse or she is a monster the rest of the day and ends up in bed earlier then normal.

Eating:  She loves her foods. She is such a clean little eater compared to her mess of a brother. So far she has warmed up to most foods and is enjoying everything.  She takes a 5-6oz bottle every few hours and sometimes a little bit more.

Milestones:  Crawling, pulling herself up and putting herself in the sitting position on her own (which she has been doing for awhile). She has perfected the letting go of the coffee table and landing softly on her butt without smacking into something. She is also holding her own bottle. Which she could do previously but just refused to do it.

Personality: Still a little diva.  She plays so nicely and is content doing most things but then will just flip out for no reason.  When she is crawling she will just stop and scream until someone picks her up. She is very stubborn, no idea where that comes from ;) !   She does like to snuggle though and she does love attention. She likes being held or sitting in my lap. She loves to look at and explore things. She is also much more cautious then Dalton. If she falls or smacks her head she won't be doing said activity again for some time.  She tries to get a good grasp on something before she will pull herself up. She is a babbler and also scream just to be heard.

Activity: Crawling, Pulling herself up on furniture, chasing big brother Austin around the house, playing with toys (mainly any kind of paper or water bottles). She still likes her jumper but it will soon be a thing of the past.