Rub-a-dub-dub two babes in a tub!

Here are a few more pics from our 6 month photo shoot!  

Happy Half Birthday!

The boys are 6 months old...hard to believe!  They are growing so fast and getting so big and strong.

We have introduced quite a menu of "solid" foods into their diets and they are LOVING IT!  So far we've tried peas, sweet potatoes, mangoes, carrots, squash, pears, applesauce (of course), and bananas.  Jaxson really loves to eat...if you don't feed him fast enough he lets out a deafening squeal until you shovel more food into his mouth.  Foster, on the other hand, patiently waits for his next bite and doesn't leave a drop.


I'm so amazed at their development and how they are adjusting to each new stage.  Jaxson is so close to crawling, he has the army crawl down and can move backwards just fine...it's that forward movement he keeps having trouble with!  Foster has discovered his toes and loves to put them in his mouth!  Foster also has two teeth coming through on the bottom...I made the mistake of letting him chew on my thumb the other day, lesson learned!

We go in for their 6 month check up this week...I'm anxious to hear how much they weigh and how long/tall they are!

Check out some of the pics from our 6 month photo shoot!

Hit the road Jack...

Things have finally settled down in the Ayers household...at least a little!  I am finally able to blog about our first road trip to Louisville over Christmas.  

Christmas morning we loaded up half of our house (at least so it seemed), opened what Santa Claus had left, and then hit the road for our first 8 hour long road trip.  Unfortunately I didn't receive the reaction I was hoping for from the boys when the "discovered" their wagon under the tree.  Instead of looks of wonderment and surprise I was greeted with screams of hunger!  So we quickly video tapped the event and proceeded immediately to the nursery for bottles.  Christmas was over in less than 5 minutes...hoping for a better reaction next year.

So, once the boys were fed and clothed we loaded up and hit the road.  We met Nana and Grandpa in Hickory and began our journey.  The boys did great!  We stopped briefly for diaper changes and feedings but they slept most of the way.  We couldn't have asked for better travelers.  We did stop just north of Knoxville at an IHOP for lunch.  This was the ONLY place open on Christmas day and I had already mapped out this location prior to our adventure.  We had to wait in line for a table and it took nearly two hours to eat and get back on the road.  There wasn't an empty seat in the place plus a huge line out the door.  IHOP was hoppin'. 

We arrived in Louisville that evening and introduced the boys to their great aunt, uncle, grandfather, and cousin. However, our blissful travel experience was about to come to an end.  Foster had a MELTDOWN.  He cried himself into exhaustion.  We tried everything to calm him down...rocking, bottles, pacis...nothing helped.  We assumed that his reflux was acting up again and that we would give him his tummy relief drops and presto!  Except that I forgot to pack his Gas Relief Drops and EVERYTHING was closed.  I literally packed almost everything in our house except for those damn drops.  Way to go mom.  Foster finally calmed down and fell asleep.  Meanwhile, Jaxson was upstairs with his relatives hamming it up loving every minute!  In the midst of this mini crisis and meltdown I managed to get zero photos.  I am so disappointed.  

The rest of the trip was fairly mild.  No more meltdowns.  All in all we had a great trip I'm just sad that my grandfather didn't get to spend much time with the boys, well Foster anyway.  

Santa's delivery!

'Twas the night before Christmas!

When I was growing up the only Christmas tradition we had was the reading of "The Night Before Christmas".  My Dad and I would curl up on the couch and he would read it to me and my mother would snap a picture.  Well, I have kept the book (in storage) in the hopes in reading it to my children one day.  So the time has come for to pass along this tradition but the book was MISSING!  Josh and I literally tore our house apart looking for the book and it was nowhere to be found.  I called my parents and had them look through their boxes of stuff and still no luck.  I was heartbroken.  Then, Josh suggested looking in one more place...he had created a small storage nook in the rafters of the garage.  Josh got out his ladder and climbed up!  Digging through mostly junk he came across one box stuck in the corner and inside was...THE BOOK!  Josh saved Christmas.  My Dad and Darla (AKA: Grandpa and Nana) visited us on Christmas Eve eve and read "The Book" to the boys and of course we snapped some pics.  Then Christmas Eve I read "The Book" and carried on a sweet tradition onto another generation.  

Check out some of the night before Christmas pics below!

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

Yummy, yummy I got food in my tummy!

We have crossed over into the food world with the boys and they are loving it!  We first introduced the standard rice cereal with lackluster excitement.  Foster seemed to enjoy his more but he was hungry so we could have feed him cardboard without much resistance!  The more we fed them cereal the more they resisted...I suppose than can only endure so much blandness in one week!  So, today we added sweet potatoes and wow!  The boys couldn't get enough...I had to open a second jar!  Jaxson reached and leaned towards each bite and screamed if I didn't feed him fast enough!  Foster seemed to savor each bite but was a bit unsure of the texture at first!  We'll continue with the sweet potatoes for the remainder of the week and move onto peas.  Let's pray they love the peas as much as the sweet potatoes!

Check out the video below of the boys enjoying their first bites of cereal!

In addition to the menu expansion the boys are moving right along...literally!  Jaxson will be crawling any day. He will get up on his knees and rock back and forth and scooting backwards, he's really ahead of the game!  Foster is working on rolling onto his belly and beginning to attempt to push up on his knees.  Both boys are doing amazing...jabbering and scooting like crazy!

We also survived our first cold.  Ugh.  Jaxson came down with a runny nose and it quickly spread through our household.  Luckily we all made it through just fine and I did not call the doctor...which for those who know me is quite a feat!  Thank Heaven for humidifiers!

Jolly ole St. Nick

Yesterday the boys met Santa, though it wasn't a really big production for them (more for us).  We attended the LKN Mother of Multiples Christmas Party and it was a blast being around all ages of multiples and their reactions to Santa!  Of course I had them dressed in appropriately themed hats AND booties found on Etsy.  Oh how I wish I could knit or crochet.  Once we returned home we posed for another photo shoot...see below.

Well, Jaxson looks like he's almost ready to crawl!  He will get up on his knees and rock...only for a few seconds but he's getting stronger everyday!  Foster has now started to hold the bottle during feedings, it's pretty cute!  He can't get all the way through the feeding...I think his little arms get tired!  Both boys are growing and changing so much...they'll be 5 months tomorrow!

 Santa's little elves

 Ho, ho, ho!

 Okay, look left.

 Now, look right.

 Best presents under the tree.

 Jaxson

 Foster

Hello December!

This time of year is always busy!  In the last week or so we've mastered rolling over, bumped up our formula intake, graduated from physical therapy, attended Christmas in Davidson, purchased our first pair of shoes, and I've nearly finished my semester of school!  

Foster graduated from physical therapy today; his torticolis has been resolved!  We are so thankful for Amy and Robin at Carolinas Rehabilitation for all the hard work, stretches and smiles for Foster.  In addition to graduating from PT Foster has mastered rolling over from belly to back...he flips and rolls constantly!  He's become a lot more vocal and giggly, reaches for his toys, and is beginning to enjoy his exersaucer.

Jaxson has started rolling from back to belly and surprises himself when he does!  Jaxson loves his exersaucer and stares at it while he's in his crib.  He also might be a bit of a bully...which we'll have to nip that in the bud! The other day he stole Foster's paci right out of his mouth and put it in his!  He also steals toys out of Foster's hands but Foster doesn't seem to mind!

The boys have been eating and growing like crazy!  They are getting so big!  Also this week Granny took us to get our first pair of shoes...boat shoes of course.  We've gotten several compliments already.  Nana and Grandpa went with us to Christmas in Davidson on Saturday...it was a little hectic navigating our limo (stroller) through the crowds but we still had a great time!  

A little rant...

Our life has changed pretty drastically in the last month or so.  Josh was let go after 16 years of dedicated employment and we have now have become a no income family.  Josh has made looking for work his full time job...but the pay and benefits suck!  I too, have been looking for work but fearing the possibility of daycare for Jaxson and Foster.  You don't realize how much you relied on your job not only for income but for the benefits as well.  Josh and I are becoming experts in navigating the health insurance world trying to figure how to get the best coverage for the least amount of money!  In doing this I recently applied for private insurance through BCBS and was denied coverage.  Why, you ask?  Infertility.  I was denied medical insurance because I suffer from infertility; I am not on any medications, I don't have allergies, asthma, or any other chronic illness...wow.  We live in a country with exceptional medical care, talented doctors, and access to state-of-the-art medical technology...health care should not be a privilege.  Our other option would be COBRA coverage which costs nearly 2/3 of our unemployment income!  This doesn't leave much more for our mortgage, groceries, diapers, or much else.  The point is we need health care reform so everyone has access to affordable health care.  I promise not to lose site of the original purpose of the blog but felt this topic was important and directly affects our family.  

 Getting ready for Christmas in Davidson...check out our new kicks!

 Just after bath time hanging out in their robes.

Jaxson (and daddy) brought me a flower.