Andrew Walks

Here is the big news of the day. Andrew walked for the first time tonight! He didn't realize I wasn't holding on to him and he took a couple steps to Aunt Lezlee. We encouraged him to walk back and forth between us and increased the distance from time to time. He seems so pleased with himself. He's been frustrated the past few days because he can't do some of the things he wants to do. Well now he can practice walking all he wants.

16th Month Part 2

I hosted a CAMOMC, Mothers of Multiples Club, play-date at my house for ages 6 months to 24 toddlers today. We had three sets of twin boys that are 16 months old. Ashlynn, 9 months, is not a twin but has twin sisters who are almost 4 years old. She is much younger but almost the same skill level. The last two photos of Ethan I added because I think they are so cute. Enjoy!

16th Month Part 1

Last month I didn't keep up with posting pictures so while I am loading pictures to the computer I thought I would share with you. Andrew and Ethan have a small table and chairs that they enjoy. Ethan, in red, is a climber and goes from sitting to standing on the chair and then climbing on the table. Andrew is usually content just to sit and play.

We enjoyed swimming at Chilhowee Park this past Sabbath. The boys wore swimsuits that are really interesting. I'll describe them for people who haven't had kids recently. the suits have UV protection and there are two zipper pockets, one in front and one in back that we insert floaties to help them stay up in the water. A bit cumbersome but not immobilizing like a life jacket.

The floaties have been removed in both pictures, but I think you can see that the swimsuits are loose and have room to stretch.

What a cool dude! And look at the bunch of teeth. Andrew enjoys making us laugh and will keep my sunglasses on for quite a while.

15th Month part 2

This month seems to be less eventful in some ways than others until I look back at some of the milestones. Andrew now has nine teeth, the two molars on top are in and three teeth on the bottom now. The biggest event is Ethan started walking on August 13. He let go of the couch and walked to Nana. He doesn't walk often yet. He has to work on his confidence. He did start climbing things almost the next day and is now quite competent at that.

Another big event this month is that first Ethan and then Andrew had strep throat. I made an emergency trip to the doctor with Ethan late on a Sunday night because his temperature was very low and he was inconsolable. After poking and prodding, the poor tired boy was sent home to see his primary physician in the morning. We gave him antibiotics to knock out the strep bacteria quickly and Tylenol for headaches.

Andrew came down with it a couple weeks later. One of the occasional symptoms is skin rash which both boys got. Andrews rash was pretty severe which if you enlarge the picture you may be able to see it on his torso.

15th Month Part 1

Often people gave us the dire warning "just wait until they are moving!". Well mobility has definitely arrived. I've enjoyed this period of increased mobility. I prefer it over the infant stage where all there is to do is eat, sleep, and change diapers. God is so good. He has given us two wonderful boys to care for. Each boy has a distinct personality and talents.

Ethan is climbing now. When we go upstairs it is often a race to see who can make it to the top the fastest. Ethan usually wins. Ethan can now stand unassisted. However, he hasn't moved to a standing position from the middle of the floor so I can't claim he is standing yet.


We have some fun new activities. When Daddy is available, we can swim in the hot tub (98 degrees). They can stand on the seats and love to splash. Andrew is a water boy. He would like to stay in the tub or pool longer than I let him. Another favorite activity is crawling through the tunnels. The package said for ages 4 and up but it sure has been a hit around our house for two 1 year olds.

Putting objects on our heads is still a source of much laughter. I think the first time we heard Andrew belly laugh was back in January when Papa put a sock on Ethan's head. Here's some perspective on how large babies heads are compared to their bodies. The boys arms are now long enough that their fingers can meet over the tops of their heads. It's hard to put things on your head when your arms are short.

Check out these up close and personal photos. When Ethan sees a camera, he comes over to see what the photos look like. What a curious boy! Andrew, well he was recovering from having his toe nails forcibly clipped.

14th Month Part 2

The last two weeks have been blogless. I've been trying to recover from my computer crashing on July 21. I was in the middle of creating a cd backup of pictures from the past two months and poof, the computer crashed and wouldn't reboot. Happily, David's cousin, recommended we buy a USB to IDE cable. I was able to remove my hard drive, connect it to this cable, then plug into the USB port on David's computer and back up the pictures and other data before I reformatted my computer. I'm back up and running and have everything important and only miss a few software programs.
Andrew and Ethan have grown noticeably taller this past month. They both weigh 23 pounds and are still very close in height. They're standing with "BOB" in the picture above. It has been a great asset for me. Thanks again to those who helped us purchase it this past Christmas.

There's been a lot of drool this month but no new teeth have appeared. Ethan likes to remove his socks and suck on them. He carried this one around for quite a while.

On Friday, July 18, we visited with the Walter's family. The highlight was eating corn from the garden. Ethan is already a master at eating from the cob. Andrew tends to chew on the cob end.

Occasionally Andrew experiences separation anxiety. Here is the happy picture and the unhappy picture follows. He can be distracted from time to time, like when Papa took him for a wagon ride around the yard. He is a very loving and sweet boy but loses control of himself if he is tired, hungry, or I've been absent too often. I'm learning.