Twin Update

Cooper and Bennett have been growing so much lately! Well, their size isn't where it should be, but their development is right on schedule. Here are some things I want to remember of them at this age:

-They both have two teeth. Bennett's first tooth broke the gums on June 6th, followed closely by the second. Cooper's two teeth broke the surface on the same day a couple weeks after Bennett.

-They are "crawling" around like crazy now. Cooper still scoots around on his elbows and uses is right foot to help propel him forward. Bennett is crawling in a slightly more traditional sense. He gets up on his hands and knees, pushes forward, then goes back to his belly to readjust.

-They are both starting to explore a lot more. Cooper more so than Bennett, but they both do it. Bennett is just content where he's at more often than Cooper. I think that's why Cooper started moving sooner than Bennett. They used to be scared of the tile, so would only stick to carpet. This was nice because I didn't have to worry about them leaving the front room. Now, I have to barricade them in so they don't find the stairs.
Cooper is also really into exploring our top level. He starts out in the twins' room, then scoots to the bathroom to smack the hard floor repeatedly with is hand (a favorite past time of both), then he heads on down the hall to the Futon Room (our spare bedroom). He doesn't bother with my room since he is in there quite frequently anyway while I'm pumping and such.
 Meanwhile, Bennett likes to wait until Cooper has left their room and promptly closes the door behind him so he can't come back in. True story. It's actually hilarious to watch. He'll grab the wide open door, get behind it and start pushing it closed. When it becomes out of his reach, he'll simply scoot forward and push it again. Repeating this until the door is almost all the way shut. then he stands guard (since he's not strong enough to close it all the way) to make sure it stays shut. If I place him in the hall so he can't shut his brother out, he will follow Cooper around in his exploration of the upstairs. They are SO FUN!

-Cooper is also really into cords. He can find one from a mile away. Bennett would rather play with his toys. They both love to play with the air vents though. It makes a fun sound with they run their fingers along them. They also love to play with my dresser handles. They are the dangling kind so they like the sound they make. Really, any textures are so fun to them. When they find a new texture they can't wait to scratch it: fabric, carpet, grass, etc.

-We have been trying different foods lately also. Bennett is a picky eater. He is not fond of peas, doesn't like bananas and he HATES green beans. As in, you feed him a bite and he will instantly start gagging for the next 5 minutes. The first time I fed him he actually puked up everything in his stomach after a couple bites. I tried giving him rice cereal once with just a hint of green bean (there was remnants in the bowl from feeding his brother) and he couldn't even handle that. Cooper isn't picky about flavor and will eat both bananas and green beans. But sometimes he'll be stubborn about eating at all. If he's not interested, he'll clamp is jaw shut and give you a pout. If you try to feed him it will just end up all over his face. Then he'll smear his hands all over until they are nice and dirty and promptly run his fingers through his hair. He gives himself an awesome hair style by doing this. It's rather frustrating to try to feed him when he does this, but can be funny to watch, I imagine.

-Sleeping is sometimes good and sometimes not so good. Most nights they sleep about 6 hours straight. Sometimes they are more fussy, sometimes less. Naps are usually pretty easy. I just lay them down with their binkies and snuggle blankets and they fall asleep. Sometimes they cry for a little while or I will have to rock them to sleep. But all in all, they are good sleepers. Especially compared to when they were newborns and Jason and I had to sleep in shifts.

- They are the best of friends, so it is really fun to watch them play. Bennett is really good at sharing, but Cooper likes to have all the toys. He's getting better though. If Cooper takes the toy Bennett is playing with away, Bennett will simply take Cooper's. It doesn't even phase him. Sometimes I do have to separate them though because they will try to roll right on top of the other, kick each other, or pull the other's hair. Not to be mean, but just simply as part of exploring.
When they wake up from naps, it's really cute to watch. I'll go in to check on them and they will be both on their bellies, facing each other and just chatting/laughing. It is SO cute. I will try to get it on video sometime. (When I walk in, they instantly turn to me and give me the cutest grins and get super excited, but stop talking to each other)

-They know and love their mommy. This is the best! Sometimes when they are fussy, all they want is to be picked up and snuggled by me. I just love this! I also love that they take turns. I can't think of a time when they both decided they needed me at the same time. That is really nice so I can snuggle and enjoy them without the other getting jealous.



I wish I could just freeze time right here. They are at the perfect baby age!

Father's Day pictures

We went up to Brigham City for Father's day this year. It is always fun to get together with the Webres. Jill was so kind to take family pictures for us. Thanks again, Jill! I love them!

My boys!

7 Months

I forgot to post the boys 7 month pictures on this blog. So here they are:

Bennett

Cooper

Baby Food

Once upon a time, the doctor told us that the boys are ready for baby food. So we went to the store and found that one tiny package that does not even feed them a full meal is an entire dollar! Ridiculous.

So I had a brilliant idea of just making our own baby food. I went online and found a blog that gives recipes for baby food. When I discovered how easy it was, I was sold. I went to the store again and purchased an entire bag of carrots for $0.88

steamed them in our handy dandy rice cooker...

pureed them in our Ninja...

and voila!

It went over very well with my test subjects

It will be happening again. I'm excited to explore more baby food recipes.

Bennett

Cooper

BBQ

This weekend we FINALLY had a BBQ at our house. We have been talking about doing one since we moved in, but never set a date. It was so much fun to have all our friends over. And it was a perfectly sunny day.

It happened to be Pony Express Days here in Eagle Mountain this weekend, so the boys got to experience their very first parade. They weren't that impressed. Maybe we'll try it again when they discover the wonderful world of candy. (There was a TON being thrown from the floats).

I love that we have a big enough backyard to be able to play volleyball. We had a net, but did not have any poles, so the boys improvised with a bed frame nailed to the fence and a large fence post of some sort. Classy, I know.

This was the baby hang out corner

Most of us (minus Blake and Jason)

We got a jumperoo for the boys off KSL, Bennett is a huge fan. (note: you can see the bed frame on the fence in this picture.)