First Food!

We decided on a whim to try cereal with Jack and Avery this morning. It was great. Avery loved it and Jack, well, not so much. We even put pears in Jack's cereal and got some interesting reactions. We'll have to try again with Jack later...

We fed them each while the other was napping. It seemed too much to keep track of for the first time. We wanted to be sure we didn't miss any reactions, expressions, etc.

I couldn't pick just one of the videos so I included all of them. The first is about 7 minutes long. Sorry. The others are a bit shorter. And just so you know, Jack's videos get better and better!

Avery eating rice cereal...she makes some pretty cute faces once she decides that she likes it.

This is video of Court feeding Avery, it is so short because I "taped" her while the camera was in standby mode, thus no actual footage. Duh...

This is of Jack eating just rice cereal, he wasn't sure what to think of it at first...

We mixed it with a little bit of pears and he didn't really care for that either...

So, we thought just pears might be better....we were wrong!

The Novelty of Twins

We met up with our twin group as usual yesterday. We had planned to go to Alki, but with the chance of rain we decided we better stay indoors. The nice people at the Olympic Sculpture Park said we could spread our blankets on their floor and hang out and that's just what we did. You can see the set up below. I had no idea what we were in for. We were approached by at least 5 people wanting to ask questions about all the twins and several of them asked if they could take a picture of us. What is a perfect stranger going to do with a picture of us? Those of you who know me know how much I just love attention. I had no idea how attention-getting twins are and when you put 5 sets of twins in the same vicinity it feels like being a mini-celebrity...yuck. The building is enclosed in glass so from outdoors you can see in, as you can tell from the photo below. Not only did we have people inside taking our pictures, but there were people outside taking our picture, too. I felt like some sort of animal at the zoo on display to be admired and inspected. It was really weird. I suppose I better get used to it because it's going to happen for the rest of their lives...I was so thankful that where I was sitting was the best place to be because my back was to all of the people so I didn't have to see everyone staring at us!

Squeals and Sitting...

The first video is of Jack sitting in his boppy. He's doing very well sitting unassisted for long periods of time. He was in a quiet mood, but you can tell that Avery was not...

I took this video before I took the video of Jack. Here she is showing her squealing talents. Part way through the video she gets the heebies...it's funny. She gets the heebies a lot and it is really cute to see; sometimes they are more dramatic than other times.

My new favorite teethers

I found this teether on Amazon and bought a red one and a blue one for Jack and Avery. I wasn't sure if it would be a winner or not, but it seemed like they would like it since all they have been doing lately is chewing on everything. They both love them. Jack squeaked his on his gums for 30 minutes straight today. His only frustration was that he couldn't hold it consistently where he wanted it and it made him mad. When I held it for him he just went to town!! Avery is very dexterous and holds it herself very well. I put the link below for anyone who is interested.

http://www.amazon.com/Razbaby-009-RT-RaZ-Berry-Silicone-Teether/dp/B000JWSO9I/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1219552500&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Razbaby-009-BT-RaZberry-Teether-Blue/dp/B000UWTXNS/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1219552407&sr=8-2

New Fall Fashion Trend For Infants

Court was playing around with Avery this morning and changing her diaper. Somehow Avery got a hold of the diaper (the clean one) and was playing with it. Court started playing with her and when I looked down this is what they were doing...

Avery seemed rather pleased with herself and it actually fit her very well. It was so cute! She didn't seem to mind having the diaper on her head either.

Genuine Risk - Remembering a Champion

She was a classic diva. Brassy, beautiful, and bold, Genuine Risk did things her way, from taking on the boys on the racetrack to making her owners, caretakers, and fans wait thirteen years before she had a baby. On May 3, 1980, Genuine Risk became the second filly ever to win the Kentucky Derby, and she did it with style, grabbing the lead with a quarter-mile to run and holding it to the finish. In the Preakness she endured a rough trip, including bumping and being hit with another jockey’s whip, only to come up short with a second place finish. A second in the Belmont Stakes gave her the best finish by a filly in all three Triple Crown races.

Jenny, as she was so fondly called, died Monday morning at owner Bert and Diana Firestone's Newstead Farm in Upperville, Virginia. "She never had a sick day in her life, and she was fine this morning," Bert Firestone said. Firestone said Newstead manager John Moore fed Genuine Risk as usual Monday morning before turning her out for the day. "She jogged away and ate a couple of bites of grass, then she turned around and started to come back and laid down," Firestone said. "She tried to get up a couple of times, then just put her head down and went to sleep. She lived a very long life and a great life, and we were glad that it was so easy and peaceful."
Genuine Risk has been buried on a patch of lawn surrounded by flowers across from the Firestones's house at Newstead. Bert Firestone said the family will plant a horseshoe of roses around or over the grave.

...oh, and Mom, I will never forget the fun we had that spring watching her run those races. How we loved her...and how we waited with abated breath as she was bred time and time again to Secretariat, to no avail. How wonderful would that have been, a beautiful new baby foal, from the greatest male and female horse to ever race? If only...

Genuine Risk, winning the Kentucky Derby, May 3, 1980

Jenny, at Newstead Farm in Virginia, May 2007. She had just turned 30.

Dogs and dirty diapers -- a disastrous combination

Warning -- Anyone with a sensitive stomach should not read this!!



In the 5 plus months the babies have been here, we've had no troubles with the pets and babies which is a blessing....that is up until now.



On Thursday night I took Jack up to put him to bed. He was really difficult to put down and as I was walking around with him I noticed he smelled so I put him down to change him and he'd had a major blowout that got all over his jammies. I changed his diaper on the changing pad in our room and put new jammies on him. I moved the Diaper Champ into the nursery since I rarely change diapers in our room anymore. Avery was already asleep in there so I didn't want to put the diaper in there at that time. I figured I'd put it in there in the morning, what's the harm?



On Friday morning Court and I got ready and took the babies to our Friday twin walk as usual. Katie had been acting as if she expected to join us. We've included her on one twin walk and it's just too much to keep track of. So as we usually do on Fridays, we left her behind. We were gone for maybe 4 hours in total. When we got home, I went upstairs to get something and noticed a huge mess on our bedroom floor. Katie had taken the diaper off the table and shredded it, then peed on it. There was baby poop everywhere...all over the carpet and the oriental rug and bits and pieces of diaper strewn from one end of the room to the other. Disgusting!! Why couldn't it have been just a wet diaper....ugh. I almost took a picture, but thought better of it

To make matters worse, we visited Regina and Suzie tonight and left Katie at home....and guess what? She did it AGAIN, only this time SHE pooped on the poopy diaper. What the hell?! Pets...

Dinner's Ready!!

My cousin, Amy, informed me that the Dinners Ready (www.dinnersready.com) in Covington started delivering to the North Bend area. I thought that was a brilliant idea and told my mom about it. For my birthday, Mom and Dad got me a gift certificate to Dinners Ready. I was so excited to try it out, I got online and started ordering on Wednesday. They were able to deliver it the following day, yesterday. I was very impressed. Anyway, below is a list of the meals we ordered. I can't wait to try them...

Tequila-Lime Fajitas w/ Fiesta Rice
Chicken Parmesan w/ Spaghetti Marinara
Flat Iron Steaks w/ Ginger-Mango Relish & Cilantro-Lime Rice
Garlic-Rosemary Pork Tenderloin w/ Sweet Potato Fries
Pesto-Balsamic Chicken w/ Sautéed Green Beans
Pork Chops w/ Pineapple Salsa & Mexi Fries
Shanghai Flank Steak w/ Coconut Rice
Jerk Rubbed Chicken w/ Mango Salsa & Dirty Rice

A funny thing from today with the babies has to do with their vitamins. Babies that are solely breastfed or breastmilk fed need to have a Vitamin D supplement. The doctor told us to get Poly-Vi-Sol which has a plethora of vitamins in addition to Vitamin D. I tried it on Avery a week or so ago on an empty stomach and she promptly spit it up. I waited a while and thought I'd try Jack on them this morning. As I expected, he really enjoyed them and smacked his lips in appreciation. I wish I had a camera on Avery for her reaction. She had just eaten so I thought it would be safe. I just put the dropper in her mouth but didn't squirt it in. I wanted her to taste it first and see how she would react. React, she did!! It was priceless!! She opened her mouth really wide and furrowed her brow and her eyes watered. She was thoroughly disgusted. I pulled the dropper out between my fits of giggling and she kept that expression on her face for a good 30 seconds. Needless to say, she won't be taking those vitamins anytime soon. A friend told me that there are other vitamins with just the Vitamin D that don't taste as bad, so I'm going to try those on her and see how she does. I might have to give her these just once more so I can get it on film. Someone else has to see the face she made :)

Another update on the little ones is that they are almost sitting up on their own now. Jack can sit in his boppy mostly unassisted for quite a while. Avery is getting really good at it, but needs a little bit more practice. It won't be long before they are motoring around the house...yikes!

Camping at Lake Wenatchee

We had a blast at Lake Wenatchee this year and I think it was the biggest group yet. It was the hottest camping trip so far, too. Temperatures reached about 105 degrees on Saturday. We stayed near the water most of the day. We had great food, great company and wonderful weather. I tried to get pictures of everyone, but I think I missed a few. In attendance were the following:

Ostergard/Slanes - Maren, Julian, Preston, Hansen and Lillie

Omans - Annie, Kraig, Alex, Claire and Miles

Goodspeeds - Susan, Mark, Tyler and Kyra

Ellisors - Amy, Steve, Nick, Camden and Maggie

Germanns - Stef and Corey

Ostergard/Harvey - Mom, Dad and Auntie Sue

Ostergard/Cunniffs - Court, Jack, Avery and me

Our camp siteOur camp site from another view

Annie helping Miles on his tube
The boat coming to shore to drop off one group and pick up another group
Corey and Preston kayaking back and forth between the boat. The water is so shallow that the Tige can't come to shore. It has a v-drive which means that the prop is beneath the hull rather than on the back like an outboard or inboard/outboard. We learned the hard way to stay away from the shallow waters...
Auntie Stef holding a sleeping Jack in the 100 degree weather. Jack still wanted his fuzzy blanket even in the heat.

Camden hanging out on the green blanket. We set up this area for hanging out with babies and changing diapers. It ended up being a popular place for all the youngsters...
Preston hanging out by the camp fire
Mel changing Jack's diaper
Kraig checking out the latest news
Some of the cousins heading to the climbing rock near our camp site

Hansen swimming around on his tube
Heading down to the lake for the day
Alex and Hansen eating a yummy breakfast
Smiling Maggie. She is two months older than Jack and Avery.
Lillie

Grandpa holding little Avery in her pink bikini from Nana
Amy, Maggie, Avery, Jack and Nana in front of their little sun tent.
Claire, Miles and Kyra
Maren, Grandpa/Dad, and Jack hanging out at the shore trying to stay cool.
Tyler and Avery. Avery (and Jack and Maggie) couldn't get enough of Tyler. He has a touch with the little ones!!

The view down river from the lake
Auntie Stef holding Jack and Grandpa holding Avery. Testing the waters...it was chilly but refreshing!!
Jack hanging out with Grandpa at the camp site
Mel with Jack, trying to stay cool.

Avery's Toothies

Avery was having such fun in the jumperoo, I started taking pictures of her. I thought I caught a glimpse of her teeth in the photo and sure enough you can see them. I went a little crazy with the photos, but only included a handful here. It's hard to see them in the smaller images here, but you can kind of see them in a few of the pictures.Jack and Avery got these outfits from my cousin Heidi and her daughter McKenna at my baby shower back in January. This is their first Levi outfit and it's so cute on them. I especially like their little baby butts in their jeans...

Zeke - April 1, 1990 - August 9, 2008

Nap progress

This was taken Friday on our twin walk at the downtown Bellevue Park. It's a beautiful location with a nice water feature, the only bummer is that the wind was blowing like crazy making it a bit cool. You can't see Avery's onesie completely, but it says, "Does this diaper make me look fat?" Suzie got it for her before she was born and it seemed like it would be forever before she would wear it...

Yesterday was our photo shoot with Anna. I can't wait to get the pictures back and compare them to those taken in April. We kept them busy and changed their outfits and got them naked. After 2 1/2 hours they were done and really crabby. Anna had mentioned getting a picture of them asleep so I thought I'd see if they would fall asleep together. Avery has been napping in her crib for the last week and doing well at it. Jack, on the other hand, has been in his swing as usual. He doesn't like change very much. Anyway, we put them in the crib and waited outside for 15 minutes while we visited and sure enough they went to sleep.

I tried it this morning and it kind of worked. They both fell asleep, but Jack woke up 30 minutes later and woke Avery up. We'll try again tomorrow. They were very cute together in their crib.

And here is a video from this morning of Avery in the jumperoo. She is starting to enjoy being in it more and actually jumping in it. She reminds me of a pogo stick, the way she jumps. It makes me smile. You can really tell how much taller Jack is when you see Avery in it. He stands up way taller in it than she does.