An Update + Some New Fun Toys

Earlier this month, Nate had his follow-up appointment with Osteopath Samara and not only did she give him a big thumbs up on his progress so far, we don't need to go back for any more visits! This is good news for me, but probably gets a mixed review from the boys. They always had a great time at Nate's appointments because Samara has the best toys.

At our last visit, she introduced some different toys than the ones we were starting to get familiar with because as she pointed out, the boys are older now and looking for new challenges... which got me thinking. And shopping.

I didn't want to overwhelm everyone, so I decided to introduce things slowly – but check out some of the new toys I was able to find online. They are definitely a hit.

Up first was our new Stacking Puzzle Box by Gowi™. It features 10 stacking/nesting cups and also comes with a shape sorter in the lid of the container that everything neatly fits back into when it's time to play "put away". The pieces stack up really high when fully assembled, but that was a challenge with two babies who were intent on destruction.

I'm surprised there are two that are still stacked actually. 

And there was not time to stack and take a picture before things got knocked down, but I like the motion in this shot: 

It was all very fascinating until Seth decided my camera looked like a fun toy too. The rest of Seth is out of frame because he's trying to climb up my leg to get at it. 

That's when I knew it was time to introduce the Hammer Balls by Plan Toys™ (minus the hammer of course for reasons that should be obvious). It's really a well made toy that can be enjoyed without the hammer option as the balls push through with a hand as well.

Seth was having a pretty good time with it... 

... when suddenly Nate spied the new toy and couldn't get over to it fast enough. I had no idea my laid back son could move this quickly. Seriously, he's a blur. 

In the end a good time was had by all... 

... although perhaps too good since later this afternoon the camera again found Seth in a sad state. 

Midway through his afternoon bottle he promptly rolled over and hit snooze. I couldn't decide whether this looked comfortable or not, but I leaned toward "not" and put him to bed.

- L.

PS. The new jammies in the playtime pics are size 18 months. 18 months!!! I know my babies are long, but this is starting to get ridiculous.

This Is What Happens...

... when Seth decides to cut his afternoon nap short.

Poor little guy ran out of steam right in the middle of play-time and I didn't have the heart to move him since it would have woken him up. I didn't have any qualms about grabbing the camera however.

- L.

Updates On Everything!

My apologies for the absenteeism, but it's been a very busy week as you'll see if you read on, and we have a VERY BIG DAY planned for tomorrow as Nate and Seth will be celebrating their first half-birthday and enjoying (or perhaps not enjoying?) eating solids for the very first time. Either way, there WILL be photos taken. : )

Without further ado, sweet potatoes were the winner in the poll as you can see:

... and sweet potatoes they shall have! I made them myself today and it was actually pretty easy. I also made peas which were a lot messier and not so easy (peas were my pick in the poll, btw), so perhaps I'll be buying those in the jar from now on. I'd like to make what I can manage to make for my babies though. I picked up bananas today and I'd like to try out avocado too, especially since neither require cooking.

Toothwatch 2010:  We have a tooth! Nate got his very first tooth (bottom front on the left if you're facing him) on Monday, July the 26th. I noticed it first thing in the morning – and so did he! He LOVES playing with his new tooth and he really loves it if you do too. He will grab my hand, locate a suitable finger and put it in his mouth and just gnaw away. So adorable!

Toothwatch 2010 still remains in high alert though until we see a tooth from Seth. In the meantime, we're still patiently waiting.

The laundry: It's fixed and better than ever. Our landlord's resident handiperson finally came to clean out the vents and the dryer has worked more than fine since then. I honestly don't recall ever putting a wet load in there and having it dry in one cycle so this is a real treat. Even with the cloth diapers I no longer have the machines running all day. It's strangely quiet in here at times without the incessant hum of the washer or dryer, but I'm not complaining (too loudly). That's what the radio is for I guess!

Nate's Plagiocephaly: We've had our second appointment and I really hope this is working and that we've made the right choice. I feel good about it for whatever that's worth. Our osteopath, Samara, is a delight (the boys are so at ease there, especially Nate since he's the one being treated), and a good source of info to boot. She recommended a naturopathic remedy for teething pain that's surprisingly available at most drugstores called Camilia. It comes in pre-measured vials and so far it seems to be working for both Nate and Seth when they need something to help soothe their sore gums. It works pretty quickly too, which is a nice bonus.

And lastly, because I can't post without including something other than a picture of a graph after all this time, here are the boys enjoying some tummy time in the nursery.

I wish Seth was not so distracted by the camera, because I realize a lot of you who haven't seen him in action must think this poor child has one expression and never moves – when nothing could be further from the truth. Seth is a mover and a shaker and it's no coincidence he eats almost as much as his brother and is still so very lean. He also makes great expressions, smiles, dances a jig, you name it... but I'll probably never catch any of that on camera because he is so distracted by the thing he stops whatever he's doing and just stares deep into the lens. I had to record for a really long time for him to get back to the activity that made me grab the camera in the first place – and you can still see how he keeps pausing because the camera is so distracting to him.

Nate on the other hand, was only distracted by the song Seth was activating from their Jungle gym. Otherwise, he was very busy doing a faceplant and recovering from said faceplant.

Nate again, showing you all how it's done with Sophie:

The Johnny Cash is a nice touch too I think. ; )

And lastly, a very sleepy Seth, because sometimes all that activity is tiring. I put him down next to me for a second and he went from high-action Seth to unconscious in half that time. I had to stop what I was doing and grab the camera. 

Hope you enjoyed the updates – I think I covered almost everything. I'm very much looking forward to tomorrow and all the fun stuff we have planned and will try to update sooner rather than later so you can all see what we got up to.

- L.

Pasta Babies!

The incredibly hot weather we've been having (ie. "feels like" 44°C) has meant the babies have been lounging about in just their diapers and covers in an effort to stay cool. In the end however, it just wasn't enough and we ended up with some limp, noodly pasta babies well before bedtime.

But first, here are Nate and Seth enjoying their newly unfettered state:



– Hey Seth! Check out these colorful new diaper covers mommy got us.
– Mommy says we got too big for the old ones. I think we's still pretty little though 'cause these seem pretty roomy.



– I gotta tell ya Seth, I really kinda like the extra room and I just love the Meadow Green colour! Can you tell?
– Well, you do seem rather exuberant Nate. Mine are Honeydew.



– Ooooh! Honeydew my color too I think...
– Hey! Hands off the merchandise!

And here are the pasta babies they turned into:







Seth is sleep-modelling the new Cool Stripes Thirsties Duo cover, while Nate is sleep-sporting Storm Cloud.

- L.

*BTW, the term pasta babies is derived from the phrase "passed out babies" which sort of sounds like pasta babies if you say it fast and mumble a bit. Of course, the word pasta also sums up the state of noodliness rather nicely as well.