Nine Month Milestones

Cal & Teagan had their 9-month check-up yesterday. Both are healthy and hitting their milestones right on track.

Cal is weighing in at 20lbs 11oz (55th percentile) and is 30 inches tall (93rd percentile). Teagan weighs 17lbs. 2oz (20%) and is 28.5 in. tall (40%). With a 4 pound and 2 inch difference, these two don't look obviously like twins, which is surprisingly the most frequently asked question. When out and about with these two side by side in the double stroller we get lots of smiles and comments. Then the very first question is, "Are they twins?" Of course, we say, "Yes" and point out the obvious, "He is just bigger." We've grown tired of answering this question, and Nick has come up with a great response. Instead of informing them that "yes, they are twins, " Nick likes to say, "No, they are just 4 months apart." Let them try to figure that out!

Now for some fun milestones...

Teething: Last week Cal got 4 teeth in on the top all at once, for a grand total of 6 teeth! Teagan has 2 teeth breaking through on the top, for a total of 4 teeth.Teething, combined with double ear infections and colds, has made for some sleepless nights.

Crawling: A few weeks ago Cal and Teagan started scooting around and pivoting on their bellies. After a couple weeks of scooting they began crawling/pushing themselves backwards. Then they learned to creep forward army-crawl style. But NOW (as of yesterday)... they are full-on crawling with their tummies off the ground! And they are picking up speed.

Standing: As if teething and crawling weren't big enough accomplishments this week, Cal has starting pulling himself up on things into a standing position. I guess we'll see how this develops over the next few weeks.

Life as we knew it changed yesterday with 2 crawlers in the house. We've learned a few things:

-We need more baby gates. Or maybe I should just use puppy pens?

-When crying/whining for attention, they can simply crawl over to me and climb into my lap. It used to be easier tending to one crying baby at a time, now they are both in my lap fussing and wanting attention at the same time.

-Ethan's toys are fair-game if left on the floor. Until now we haven't had to worry about baby proofing or putting small items out of reach. Now we need to create some type of upper shelving unit for small toys. I'm sure Nick will get around to building something in his spare time.

-Cal is like a hound dog. He seeks out dried day-old food 3 rooms away, determined to eat it as if it were his last meal. This means I'm on my hands and knees picking up leftovers and mopping the floor hourly.

-Teagan seems happiest with herself when she crawls over to Cal with the sole purpose of pulling his hair to hear him cry. After that she heads straight over to Ethan's trains. She already thinks she's running the show around here.

As for current pictures, it's challenging to get a good picture of a moving target. Here are a couple shots of them crawling into my lap:

Or, trapping them in a laundry basket allows for an easy shot...

Until they learn to climb out...

We Voted for Change!!

New Stars of High School Musical

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Happy Halloween 2008

Happy Halloween from the 3 Little Walton Monkeys...

Thank You for the Gear!

Many of you generously gave Cal, Teagan and Ethan gifts of clothes and toys when the twins were born. We made a point to take pictures of the kids in their outfits to say thank you for your wonderful gifts. I've posted many of these pictures in previous blogs but here are more pictures to say thank you so much!

This summer they wore their Hawaiian outfits from the Flemings...

Adorable Adidas outfits from Mary & Frank Fish...

Great Aunt Susan sent these "woolies" from Tibet...

Melissa Cuddy sent these bibs home from Guatemala...

And muchas gracias to Mario in Coz, Mexico for the Jeep double stroller we use every day...

Caps Off

Cal is done wearing his Cranio-Cap! His noggin is officially round.

Luckily, Cal's head was very pliable. He rounded out after only a few weeks of wearing it 22 hours/day. Then he graduated to only wearing it nights and naps for a couple months just be make sure his head would remain round. At today's appointment they gave up the OK to stop the cap completely. We were originally told to expect 4 months of non-stop wear with occasional issues like skin break-down, rashes and discomfort, but Cal was a champ and didn't have any problems.

Cal still has his physical therapy appointments for the torticolis, but his neck muscles are looking good and we should be done with that before Thanksgiving.

We all enjoyed decorating his cap and it became a part of him for the last 3 months. I can't say we'll miss it, but it sure was cute. We will keep the cap in his baby box to show off when he's older. :)

We had a great experience with the cap and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Though, I can say I'll be relieved to be done with our weekly Tuesday morning appointments in Minnetonka we've had for the past 3 months.

Cap's off for Cal!

Copy Cat

Both going for the prized possession...

Who will win?

As usual, Cal wins- such a bruiser.

Rocky Mountain High

Why did we ever leave this place?


Thanks (again!) to our wonderful parents for allowing Nick and I to get away and go back to Boulder together for the first time in 5 years.
We had a perfect weekend. Really, it couldn't have been more amazing. We stayed at a couple of beautiful places and enjoyed every moment of our trip.

Here are some highlights and recommendations for anyone visiting Boulder & the Rocky Mountains:

The first day, we drove up to Winter Park and stayed at The Devil's Thumb Ranch. This place was a little slice of heaven! We had our own little cabin on the mountain surrounded by orange and yellow Aspens. Down the road we visited with horses, fed a 1 week old foal, went hiking, Nick went fly fishing, and I enjoyed the pure silence and a book.

The second day we drove to Boulder through Rocky Mountain National Park.

While in Boulder we stayed at the St. Julien on Pearl Street, and it was luxurious! Nick can't stop talking about how nice the bathroom was, and he even took a bath both days.

Of course, we ate at all of our old favorites: Hapa for kick-ass sushi, Juanita's for margs and Mexican, Jax's Fish House for oyster apps and drinks (where we sat at the other end of the bar from James Taylor), Wahoo's for the best blackened fish sandwich ever, Buff Restaurant for the best breakfast in Boulder, and Half Fast Subs for those subs we've been craving for years.

Even better, we spent time with Boulder friends- Valerie, January and Dell.

Besides indulging in our favorite foods, we walked and hiked all over town.

We did everything from shopping on Pearl Street to laying in the grass in front of the Humanities building where we both had Italian class many years ago.

Boulder, we miss you. Next year we'll be back with the whole gang. I can't wait to show our kids the mountains.