On Your Mark, Get Set...

GO!

On Sunday night we spent the evening with my parents for dinner and the Oscars. After dinner we posted up in the basement in front of the TV and got ready for the red carpet. The kids were playing and having a great time with grandma, grandpa and auntie Shalene. Teagan was showing off her free-standing, which she's been doing for a few weeks now, but hasn't taken more then one step.

Until then, Cal hadn't even tried free-standing and didn't seem interested in walking at all. Everyone assumed Teagan would walk first. He sure proved us wrong. Suddenly he let go of the chair and off he went! I was counting each step, ready to be super excited about his first step or two. Well, he took 8 steps! It was so fun! We were all there cheering him on as he walked all over the basement for the rest of the night. We would all clap each time and then he start clapping too. It seems he thinks he should be clapping while walking. Check out the cute video I took of him walking the next morning.




Also, last week Cal and Teagan had their 1-year check-up. Here are their stats:

Calin weighs 23lbs 1oz (52%), is 31" long (82%), and has a large noggin 19" around (92%).

Our little peanut Teagan weighs 19lbs 3oz (17%), is 28.75" long (35%) and also has a large brain in her 18.5" around head (92%).

Got Milk?

Reaching the 12 month mark is wonderful in many ways, but the best thing about having 1 year olds is MILK! Yes, 100% whole milk all the time- no more formula! We've been excited about this for about 9 months (when they started drinking formula).

Do you know the expense of baby formula? For all of you who are unaware of the ridiculously inflated price of baby formula, let me enlighten you.

At about 3 months of age the twins switched to baby formula: Organic Similac for Teagan and Nestle Good Start for Calin. Their bodies reacted differently to different types of formula and after a month of trial and error these were the two brands that were best for them.

OK, here are the shocking stats:

An average large can costs $32, which was the cheapest at Costco. This can would make 220 ounces of formula when mixed with water. The twins would drink a total of 72 ounces per day on average.
So, one can lasted us (both babies) about 3 days.

Equaling $10.67 per day for baby formula.

Therefore,
$74.67 per week,
$320 per month,
$3,840 for one year of formula for twins.

At least I managed to breastfeed for 3 months, saving us almost $1,000.
So, we spent about $2,900 on formula ALONE, not to mention everything else (maybe I'll break down the cost of diapers for the next blog).

Now Cal and Teagan drink Whole Milk and we love it! It's cheap(er) and readily available. We've gained a ton of freedom, especially financially, with these two drinking whole milk. Instead of $10/day we're only spending $1.50/day! We no longer have to fuss with mixing the powder and water every three hours and remember to pack bottles and powder for outings. Instead, we can just bring the milk along in a thermos, or pick up some milk at the drive-thru if necessary- no worries, no hassle!

Milk- it's the greatest.

Two 1 Year Olds!

Happy 1st Birthday

Teagan & Calin!!!

It's hard to believe 1 year has gone by. We feel like they were born just yesterday...at the same time, it also feels like forever ago. We survived the first year with twins and a 4 year old. And on Saturday we had a birthday bash to celebrate!

Friends and family were there...



2 yummy cakes...


Play time and showing off their skills with the walkers...



Very nice presents and cards. Thank you!!


And for the adults-
Shots all around, twice over of course...


It was a much needed celebration! Thank you to all of you who helped us through the first year. We couldn't have done it without you.

This afternoon as they were officially turning 1 year old (at 3:10 and 3:11pm) I captured this adorable video of Cal and Teagan wrestling over a blanket and snuggling together. Maybe they knew it was their special day together. Happy Birthday Cal & Teagan.

Children's Museum

Last week my dad and I took the kids to the Children's Museum. This was Cal and Teagan's first time there and I was so excited to watch them play. We absolutely love the children's museum and we've been taking Ethan there since he was a baby. They have many different galleries for kids of all ages and each room has a different theme and is designed for a specific age group.

When we arrived my dad surprised us with a wonderful early birthday present for Cal and Teagan- a one year membership to the museum!!! Thanks dad! Nick and I took the kids again today! It's great to know we have somewhere to go for free when the weather is crappy and we need to get out of the house.

As expected, T & C loved the "Habitot" room for babies and toddlers to have a safe place to play and explore. Ethan is at such a fun age for most of the activities in the galleries, and he was bouncing around from room to room, but we spent most of our time in the World Works and Earth World galleries. We all had a blast!

Lisa and Kieran met us there too...
Ethan wanted to show Nick all the fun stuff at the museum so this was our second time there in one week. :)