Tinker Falls

I just found this post and realized that I never finished it.  On Columbus Day the kids were home from school and Joseph was off work so we took a family day trip to a waterfall.  Tinkerfalls was a little disappointing because we didn't have much rain this summer.  The waterfall was almost nonexistent.  We still managed to do a little hiking and walking behind and above where the falls would be.  Joseph and I took turns staying with the babies since the hiking around the falls wasn't stroller friendly and wouldn't have been too easy carrying a baby.  

After we finished at Tinkerfalls we went to a small lake a short distance away to use our canoe that was given to us.  This lake is for non-motorized boats.  Joseph and the kids took a turn in the canoe while I fed the babies lunch and walked the short boardwalk.  Since I'm a non-swimmer, I didn't feel comfortable taking the big kids out by myself so Joseph and I just stayed in the launching cove so we could keep an eye on the babies and big kids.  

Annika and Lincoln enjoying the nice Fall day.

Happy Birthday, Lincoln and Annika!

The babies turned 1 on October 16.  It was a very exciting day for me.  Celebrating their first birthday was probably the most exciting birthday I have celebrated in a long time.  It felt like such an accomplishment to get them to their first birthday.  There are a lot of pictures but I just had to document their special day:

Their birthday breakfast was rather boring...Cream of Wheat...but I figure I can get away with a "boring" and healthy breakfast their first birthday.

These next pictures were a very informal photo shoot with Joseph, the babies and me.  We don't get enough pictures of us holding the babies so I wanted some pictures of us holding them.

Annika had funky bedhead so I tamed it after this picture!

Someone gave me this "1" shirt so Annika wore it.

After climbing the stairs Lincoln happily sat in this chair so I could take his picture.

Some of you may be wondering...did I make 1 cake or 2.  I made just one cake this year.  I figured I could get away with one cake their first birthday.  In the years to come I will make 2 cakes once the babies are able to express what they want for a birthday treat.  Even though the babies share the same birth date I am going to try my best to always make them feel like individuals and not one entity.  They have different likes and dislikes and so I will treat them separate but equal.  I made them a chocolate cake with peanut butter filling with ganache poured over the top.

We sang individually to both babies and blew out the candle for each of them.

Lincoln's turn.

Annika's turn.

Try as I might, these two babies have minds of their own and they won't keep bibs on and haven't for a few months.  I was afraid Lincoln stained his shirt, but prompt soaking and a little Spray 'n Wash did the trick.

Lincoln enjoyed his cake.  He made a fairly big mess with his cake, but I can't always feed him.  If he is eating with his fingers he usually does make a mess of himself so it isn't just cake.  I think it's just part of figuring out how to feed yourself.

Please note there are no pictures of Annika eating her cake.  She REFUSED to even take a bite.  No amount of coaxing from Joseph or me could convince her to open her mouth for a bite.  The next day I gave her a bite of the ganache trying to win her over and thinking she could come back for more...nope!  She again refused to take subsequent bites.  I offered her cake every day until it was gone.  I even offered it to her before anything else one time and she wouldn't eat it.  I would almost think she isn't my child!  I tried giving her a cookie recently too and she spit out the bite I gave her.  I'm sure she'll figure out the sweets soon enough so I'm not really pressuring her.  I just hope she doesn't grow up wanting cherry or apple pie because those are two of the worst desserts in my mind.  BUT...if that is what she wants, then I will make it for her because I love her.

There are a lot of pictures opening the presents, but I couldn't narrow it down.  Besides...two babies deserve twice as many pictures, right?

Kimball and Rebecah were more than happy to open the presents for Lincoln and Annika.  The babies really had no interest in opening their presents. 

Annika recently started hugging Kimball's Care Bear when she would find it so we decided to give her one too.  Any time she sees her bear she gets a big smile on her face, makes excited sounds and then hugs it.

We had a "Grandma" friend from church over for dinner and to spend the evening with us.

Happy Birthday, Lincoln and Annika!  We love you!

One Year Old

 The babies are one!  

Lincoln weighs 18 lbs and is 28 1/2 inches long.  He learned to climb the stairs this month and loves when the baby gate is down so he can go up them. He has 10 teeth, although the 9th and 10th teeth are molars so they are still coming in, but the initial tooth has poked through the gum.  Lincoln is so happy to chase balloons, balls or anything that rolls.  We recently put him in a little wagon and he loves it if I give him rides.

This past month Lincoln had various tests to rule out problems with some of his major organs.  Since the spine develops at the same time as the heart and kidneys the doctor thought it best for him to have a heart screening and a renal ultrasound.  The heart screening was the full deal.  He had an EKG, a blood pressure check, and an ultrasound of his heart.  He did really well for all of these tests.  The u/s got a little long for him, so one of the technicians distracted him while the other tech measured his heart.  The renal ultrasound was fairly short and Joseph took him to this appointment.  Lincoln had to be fasting for this ultrasound and I knew he would be sad if I took him but didn't feed him since he knows I always feed him.  Lincoln did great!  He just laid really still while the tech did her thing and after it was over Joseph sat in the atrium of the medical center and fed Lincoln his cereal. Thankfully, Lincoln's heart, kidneys and bladder all checked out normal so he won't have to go in for further testing.

 

Both babies love to follow me about.  They love to play with any open cupboard they find in the kitchen.  They can make quite the mess pulling out various bowls and lids if I let them...which I usually do.  It makes them so happy.

 

Annika weighs 15 lbs 12 oz and is 28 3/4 inches long.  She also has 10 teeth.  Her teeth poked through a few weeks ago.  She started actively walking right after she turned 11 months old.  She is a walking pro and rarely crawls.  She loves the freedom she has.  She is perpetual movement and only stops when she sleeps or isn't feeling well.  Annika is my first baby to have a "sick" visit to the doctor.  She had a cold a few weeks ago and I was just going to let it run its course, but Joseph suggested I take her in....Joseph usually doesn't suggest doctor visits unless he thinks something is wrong.  She had a mild case of croup so she took prednisone for 3 days and was feeling much better. Annika loves milk and I have to be really careful not to let her drink too much milk so she will have room in her tummy for other food.  She can be very picky if she isn't very hungry.

 
I have transitioned both babies to drinking whole milk out of sippy cups.  It is so nice to be free from nursing, pumping and bottle cleaning.  I have so much more time to get other things done.  I can say that I feel very blessed to have been able to nurse Lincoln and provide milk for Annika for the first year of their lives.  I know that doesn't work for some women, but it was very important to me that I give my babies milk so I made a lot of sacrifices to make it work.  I supplemented with formula just a little with Annika and her last canister of formula felt like the Widow's cruse of oil and barrel of meal from the Old Testament.  It lasted as long as I needed it to and I ran out of formula the day before her birthday.  We made it the entire year with formula samples that were given to me and 4 canisters of formula I bought on clearance last year before the babies were born.

We love our babies.  Stay tuned for their birthday post.

Fall Happenings

We have done various small activities the last few weeks that deserve mention, but probably not individual posts:

Kimball started Cub Scouts in September.  He enjoys the activities and he participated in his first pack meeting on October 14th.  He received his Bobcat rank and a few requirements for his Bear rank.

Joseph took Rebecah miniature golfing a few weeks ago when Kimball had an after school activity. She had a coupon to use so we used it the day before it expired.

Last but not least, I turned 36 on the 10th of October.  Joseph worked the morning of my birthday and Kimball had a soccer game.  The kids kept asking me if it was my worst birthday ever.  It wasn't the worst and it wasn't the best.  I did receive some nice presents.

With  my big kids!

With Lincoln.

Lincoln "loving" on me.  

Annika isn't pictured because she was wandering around and wouldn't pose with me.

CAKE!  Yum.