Outside with the Boys

Wyatt loves being outside and when he is in the house somtimes he sits and stares out the window.  He will happily sit in the grass and look around.  Ruslan does not like being outside or at least he doesn't like being put down outside - the second he is set down on the ground he bursts into tears.

Last Saturday was such a beautiful day so I washed the winter grime away from the swings in the backyard and we took the boys outside for their first time on the swings.  They both loved it and had lots of fun - switching from laughing and kicking to relaxed.

After swing time we got out them in the stroller and went for a long walk.  Ruslan loved watching the people and the cars.  Wyatt just sat still and quiet and stared straight ahead.  Eventually they both fell asleep and we left them in the stroller when we got home and they slept another hour - all of that fresh air made the boys very sleepy.

11 Months with Puppies

Usually I get the best results from Wyatt, he is normally quick to smile and be silly.  He is sick this weekend -watery eyes, continual snot, and all around miserable (I am really hoping no ear infection).  Ruslan is starting to get the same symptons so we are wiping lots of noses and snuggling away tears.

I think this is one of the best puppy pictures from Ruslan this year - he is smiling and looking at me!

Then he had to slouch for a few minutes and be serious.

Wyatt was very sad - the Princess snow globe quieted his tears for a few minutes.

At some point they decided to both start clapping.

And then Wyatt had to do his favorite thing - pull Ruslan's ear.  And then Ruslan's ear and his own as well.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

But I'm Not Sleepy

Wyatt has never been a fan of nap time.  And since he started crawling, as soon as I put him in his crib for a nap he pops up and does anything but sleep.  At some point he just falls asleep - if he was sitting up when he falls asleep he ends up sleeping slumped down over his legs like this.

And he was playing with his crib aquarium or yelling for help through the crib bars, this happens.

Return of Bucket Baby

If you asked my mom to list her favorite pictures of Juliana as a baby - this one would be near the top of her list.

The set of buckets recently came out of storage for the boys to play with and after lunch today I decided to try and capture some pictures of the boys with the same bucket.  First up was Wyatt and he went about crawling around the room like nothing out of the ordinary was happening (just like the bunny ears).

He crawled toward Ruslan who seemed amused by the situation.

Then it was time for Ruslan to have a turn.  He inspected the bucket handle and then decided to crawl closer to me.

And then Wyatt noticed what was happening and made a sudden attack.

I don't know if Wyatt wanted the bucket again or if he was just doing his normal trying to grab Ruslan's ear.  Whatever the case, Ruslan was very upset...

A snuggle from Mommy and the lens cap made everything better.

Wyatt Needs a Fanny Pack

Both boys are constantly on the go.  And when Wyatt sets off across the room, he doesn't want to leave his toy behind so he transfers it from hand to mouth and off he goes. 

Containment

Gates are great when there is a responsible adult in the room, but there are occasions when you need maximum containment - and that's when we use the play yard.  This is left over from Juliana's baby time, I feel like we are finally getting our money's worth out of some of these larger purchases.

I rearranged the play area in our living room so all of Juliana's stuff is on one side and the play yard is on the other.  In the process, I got rid of lots of junk and little pieces.  Babyproofing when there is an older child in the house is so much more difficult than baby proofing for your first child.

The boys are generally happy in here for short time periods, so I try to only put them in there when necessary.  We keep some of their favorite toys in that space so they are always excited to get a chance to play with those toys.  Otherwise we try to give them lots of time to crawl across the room and back.

Crawling

Once the boys figured out the forward motion of crawling, they started getting around really fast.  They see something that they want on the other side of the room and race off to get it. They crawl over objects and each other to reach their destination.  Whenever I want Wyatt to crawl to me, I put the remote on the floor and he rushes to my side - he loves the remote and is always looking for a way to reach it.

I took this video in our kitchen Tuesday evening - the boys had just eaten dinner and were having some playtime before bed.  Enjoy the fish kisses from Ruslan.

Baby Gates are now in place at both entrances to the main living area - separating them from the kitchen, front hallway and both sets of stairs.  Both of these gates are flush with the floor, while the ones we used for Juliana had a gap at the bottom that the cats could squeeze under.  The cats are not happy about the latest change.  The baby gate at the top of the stairs is still in place from Juliana's toddler days, so we are in good shape with gates now.

Wyatt Bunny

This isn't the first time I've come into the room and found Wyatt like this.  Juliana is always standing in the area smiling.  I didn't notice his bib until I downloaded the photos - we have two holidays represented and neither is current.  And the ears...Wyatt doesn't even mind them, he just keeps playing.

Car Seats

We made the switch a few weeks ago - no more baby bucket car seats.  Wyatt was over the height limit and with their winter coats, the straps were getting too tight.  The seats were also getting very heavy, especially carrying both at the same time. 

But I could manage both seats and the diaper bag if necessary.  I could park next to the cart return, get the cart first and then load their seats in the cart.  If they fell asleep in the car there was no need to wake them up when we reached our destination - just carry the seats in the house and let them keep sleeping.

Last week I took them out for the first time alone since we switched car seats.  They had their ear check from our month of ear infections.  I picked them up from daycare and:

1 - Get coats on both babies
2 - Carry Wyatt to the van, buckle into car seat.  Lock van.
3 - Walk back into entrance where someone was waiting with Ruslan
4 - Buckle Ruslan into car seat
5 - Ruslan hadn't napped and immediately falls asleep
6 - Arrive at Drs office and unfold stroller
7 - Buckle Wyatt into stroller
8 - Get sleeping Ruslan out of carseat
9 - Buckle him into stroller while he cries
10 - Open building door and wrangle double-stroller through entrance, repeat with Drs office door as people in the waiting room just watch (answer questions in waiting room including are they twins?)
11 - Remove coats and leave them in stroller, try to keep them buckled and entertained while we wait and wait and wait
12 - Finally get back into room and they are both out of patience
13 - Hold both babies on my lap until Dr comes in the room and continue to hold them both while he checks their ears
14 - Put coats back on unhappy boys and buckle them in stroller
15 - Push screaming babies through the Drs office and again not one person in the waiting room gets up to help with the door
16 - Put Wyatt in car seat, walk around van and put Ruslan in car seat
17 - Unpack diaper bag, fold stroller and load in van
18 - Realize that their appt was so late that it is already time to pick up Juliana; call my mom to get her
19 - Both boys fall asleep and as much as I would have liked to leave the van out front with them sleeping, our road was so narrow from the snow that it wasn't safe (plus the whole leaving the babies alone in the van thing)
20 - Carry one sleeping baby in the house at a time and leave them both in the house crying while I park the van in the driveway
21 - Soothe babies and start the evening routine

Imagine if Juliana had been with us...