All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth

Aaron got his Christmas wish a few weeks early- the tops of his new little teeth can barely be seen on his bottom gums.  Last Monday Aaron woke up from every nap very fussy and crying, which is very unlike him. He had very little interest in eating.  It didn't even cross my mind that he might be teething.  The next day he was much happier and eating better than he had in days.  While my friend, Miriam, was at my house we watched Aaron and Andrew play while we talked.  All of a sudden Miriam said, "Is that a tooth I see?"  Sure enough Aaron had not one, but TWO little front bottom teeth barely visible above the surface of his gums.

Ahhh...relief

Manna from heaven

There are all kinds of accessories for teething (rings, chewable tablets, toys, etc.)  but my next door neighbor told me about one I'd never heard of before.  She describes it as a pacifier-like thing with a net on the end instead of a nipple. Inside the net you can put ice cubes or cold fruit.  The babies suck on this and it helps numb their gums.  We had purchased one for each baby a while ago but hadn't used it yet.  So that afternoon I pulled them out of the cupboard, put ice in them, and handed one to Aaron while he was playing in the exersaucer.  Normally when he's in it he's loud and tunes most everything else out and focuses only on the toys.  As soon as I handed him this teething pacifier (that's my name for it) he didn't care about all the toys around him.  He sucked on that thing until there was no ice to suck.  So while we traveled to Utah the next day I gave it to Aaron again and replenished it as we went along.   I'm sure it won't be long before Andrew gets his first tooth.  

Total Opposites- Almost

AARON

• spits up all the time
• sleeps on his side
• rolls all over the place
• loves his thumb (& sometimes his toe)
• very round head
• loves solid food (cereal, pureed vegetables)
• splashes HARD in tub
• can be aggressive with toys
• when he's done eating, he'd DONE
• red hair
• drools A LOT (his shirt is always soaked)
• can be more demanding and cranky if he wants something
• makes funny slurping noise in the back of his throat with his saliva
• VERY ticklish
• moves around a lot in his sleep
• if he wakes up & is still tired will sometimes go back to sleep on his own

ANDREW

• rarely spits up
• sleeps on his back
• stays in one place- he's in no hurry; very laid back
• eats 'solid' food but prefers a bottle
• doesn't splash much in tub
• more gentle and soft with toys
• will keep eating until it's all gone, most times (thus the chubbiness)
•  light brown hair- we think.  It sometimes looks red
• drools a little
• more laid back & patient
• makes this hilarious fake coughing noise
• not so ticklish- only on back of neck
• only moves his arms while sleeping
• rarely goes back to sleep once he wakes up (even if it's only been 30 min.

SIMILARITIES- both babies....

• use a lot of diapers, wipes, & formula
• are very happy - smiles a lot
• sleep through the night-mostly (7p.m.- 6a.m.)
• love to chatter or "talk"
• very curious
• have their hands in mouth constantly
• are the cutest babies ever!
• are totally loved by their parents

Who Is That Strange Woman?

When I walk by a mirror I still am initially surprised at who I see.  When I left Monday to get my hair done it was NOT my intention to do what I did.  I'm not exactly sure why I decided to go dark- and so short.  I guess one reason is my natural color is brown and since being pregnant it has turned an even darker brown.   Plus, with a schedule that's not as flexible as it used to be, more time goes by between hair appointments causing my dark roots to show faster. So this was pretty much a spur of the moment decision.  It'll definitely take some getting used to. 

Steve's reaction when I walked in the door was pretty funny.  He was shocked at the drastic change and couldn't stop saying, "Oh my gosh!!  Wow!!  It's different!"  The twins were already asleep when I got home but I wasn't sure what their reaction would be to this strange person.  So far they've carried on as normal.  As long as they get fed, diapers change,and loved, it doesn't matter what I look like (at least for now).

Two little monkeys sitting on the couch...

... neither one fell off and bumped his head (thank goodness)

Aaron (L) & Andrew (R)

As you can tell we dressed the boys as monkeys for their first Halloween.  I bought the costumes about a month ago and they must have had a growth spurt because the suits were a little tight.  At least they only had to wear it for a couple of hours.  Their Halloween was pretty much on Thursday when we attended our Ward's Trunk or Treat.  Normally we begin getting Andrew and Aaron ready for bed around 6:30.  Since they hadn't had great naps that day and the Trunk or Treat was at 6:00 they were TIRED!  Andrew fell asleep before we even went around to the cars and Aaron was CRANKY and had to be held.  The nice thing about trunk (or trick) or treating with babies is the parents get the candy!   I'm not sure who had more fun- them or us.   On Halloween we didn't go trick or treating but we did dress them up in their costumes while at my parent's house.

Aaron(L) & Andrew(R) with Grandma & Grandpa Rawlings

In Nevada Halloween is considered a holiday- a state holiday- so there's no school and many employees have the day off.  So we decided to go to St. George to visit with my parents.  Now I know why we haven't gone out of town much since the twins were born (only to Lake Tahoe and a 1 night trip to St. George).  It felt like we took all we owned-- between the two of us we took only 1 bag.  Everything else was for the babies- bottles, diapers, wipes, plenty of clothes (which came in handy), formula, cereal, spoons, toys, blankets, portable cribs, bibs, burp cloths.... need I go on?  All just for two days!  Anyhow, even though it wasn't for long I'm glad we went.  It was good to see my parents and other family who came by and just to get away.  We were planning to stay until Sunday night but Aaron had a slight cold when we left and Andrew caught it while we were there.  They didn't sleep too bad at night but they basically had no naps during the day. For babies who had such little sleep they were VERY content and happy, except when we had to suction out their noses.  If any of you have ever had to do that (which, if you're parents I guarantee you have) it's not fun.  It's sad to see/hear them screaming but it does the job at clearing them up- for a little while anyway.  We ended up leaving Saturday evening so they could benefit from a humidifier and sleeping in their own bed.  They've still got this cold and aren't feeling well.  We hope these little monkeys get better soon.

Recently we began feeding Andrew and Aaron solid foods.  Sometimes it's rather entertaining to see the variety of faces they make when fed something new.  This morning they were given green beans for the first time and Andrew stuck out his tongue, perhaps to let us know how he feels about them.  

Both Aaron and Andrew LOVE sucking their hands, fingers, thumbs- pretty much anything they can get into their mouths.  After returning home from our ward trunk or treat a little early we got them ready for bed and fed them when we caught Aaron doing something new.  Aaron discovered his toes and found something new to suck.  I guess his thumb wasn't good enough.