Weekend o' fun

This weekend the boys ran some errands and then went to Grandma and Grandpa Bleything's house on Sunday fo rUncle Bryan's birthday party.

Here is a pic of Ben with his cousin, Katie:

Since the boys were going to Grandpa and Grandma's they had to wear their special outfits. Here is a pic with Grandma:
Here is me and my little snuggle-bug, Sam:

Last but not least I want to give a big huge congrats to Niki on the birth of her twin boys, Silas and Liam. They are perfect and beautiful and I am so, so happy for you and your family. The happiness my boys have brought me is beyond words and I know you will experience that same joy.

Going to lunch with my friend Pooky and her daughter, Anna, tomorrow. Pics of the outing to come!

Have a great week, folks.

Smiling Ben

Can you tell our computer works again? Two entries in one day!

Ben was smiling a ton today after his afternoon feeding so I tried to capture it. I got a few teeny ones!

Just a cute one...


Ben and Sam playing in their crib

Sam all wide-eyed
Matt is VERY happy in this one!

7 hours!!

For all of you who are bored with my play-by-play of the boys sleep habits all I have to say is "Sorry!" (said like Gilly from Saturday Night Live)

I almost hate to post this because I don't want to jinx us again but the boys did soooooo well last night in their beds. They went from 10:30pm-5:30am and slept like babies the entire time.

Have a safe and fun trip to Denver, Nancy! I wish I could be there too!

Bad day/good day

For most of the day the babies have cried and fussed. I think it's because of lack of sleep due to their crib training. It's 11:45pm and I am sitting here listening to Sam cry in his crib. He did this earlier during nap time and I gave in and moved him to his swing. I needed a nap and knew how to get one.

We did have a definite high point of the day. The boys got to see Aunt Jamie and family at Dave and Busters tonight. Her family was there and her mom, my Aunt Marlene. It was great to see them and get out of the house!! This is an old pic but here is a pic of Aunt Jamie (the boys surrogate and my cousin - but we call her Aunt Jamie because she has earned that title!) and the boys at Christmas.


Please wish us luck as we go into another sleepless night of the crib training. And I say "us" because my wonderful husband has been getting up several times a night as well to help me out and then gets up and is at work before I even wake up!

So proud!!

My little men slept in their crib for the first time last night!!! I am so relieved and happy that we got over that hurdle. It was really stressing us out. We did trick them a little bit.... We wrapped up blankets around them to make them think they were sill in their snuggly swing. Then, when they go to sleep we take the blankets away.

Here is what they look like when we first put them down (Ben): Sorry, it's blurry.


Then we take the blankets away so they are nice and safe (Sam):

They only went about 4 hours in-between feedings but they didn't cry so I consider it a great success!

I would highly recommend this technique to anyone who has a baby who won't move from their car seat or swing to sleep in their crib.

Two Months

The boys were two months yesterday, January 25th!! They have grown a ton physically and developmentally in the last month. They are now smiling more and more and starting to "talk" quite a bit too. We have definitely welcomed the increased interaction. Here is their 2 month pic.
Sam is on the left and Ben on the right.

We took them in for their 2 month check-up today. Sam is 11lbs 3oz (50th percentile) and Ben is 10lbs14oz (30th percentile). They checked out beautifully. The only issue was that they are still sleeping in their swing and bouncy. We attempted putting them in their beds on Sunday night but it was a complete disaster! Sam cried for 20 minutes, sucked his hand for 10, cried for 20, sucked for 10....for 3 hours. Finally, we couldn't take it anymore and put them in their swing of bliss It was pitiful and we were so sad for them. We will keep trying...any tips are welcome!

Our cousins Monica and Lauren came to visit the boys on Monday. Here is a pic of little Lauren holding the boys:

Also on Monday we went to the Potchads for Bachelor night. Here is a pic of the 2nd generation Bach watchers. Kate and her boyfriends...

Here is a pic of Sam (left) and Ben (rt) checking out the lights on their play mat. The look on Ben's face cracks me up!

Weekend without Daddy

Matt is back from his fishing trip. Both the Grandma's helped out a lot this weekend and got some QT with the boys.

The boys went to Grandma and Grandpa Rodriguez's house for the first time. Despite their three yappy dogs the boys liked it there.

Here is a pic of Ben with his Aunt Lauren. Look at the expression on his face. It is a perfect example of his intense personality.

Matt and I usually trade off getting up with the boys on the weekends. I did all shifts this weekend and I'm very tired. The boys are wide awake so no nap in sight for me.

Also, I am happy to report that Sam is feeling much better! I think it was just a brief, mild cold. They have their 2 month appointment on Tuesday so we will get some updated weights on them. They have already outgrown some of their 0-3 months clothes so I'm sure they will have some healthy weights.

Ben has been smiling more and more and Sam smiles quite a bit. It was so nice to see that they hit that milestone. Ben has also started babbling a little bit- so cute!

Going to drink my old "throwback" Pepsi in the old school can. Is it me or do those can's remind you of watching the Goonies?

Poor lil Sam

My little Sam is sick :( He started feeling sick on Monday but he seems to feel much better today so hopefully he is on the tail end of it. He just wanted his Mommy while he was sick so we spent a lot of time like this:

We've also discovered the afternoon nap, which has been awesome! They sleep for about 2-3 hours each afternoon. It has also helped them sleep longer at night. They consistently sleep about 4-6 hours in a row each night. We are sooo close to sleeping through the night- at least I hope we are.

Sam is smiling consistently and Ben has given us a few little smiles here and there. Last night Matt discovered they like the band My Morning Jacket and watching balloons.

Aunt Jamie came over on Tuesday and brought them a bunch of cute clothes that her boys wore from 3-6 months. Here is a pic of Ben in one of the hats:


Matt is on his annual fishing trip this weekend. My parents and Matt's mom are helping me with the boys all weekend.

I went to our staff holiday party last night and got to see all my Rose Brooks Center friends! It was great to be with everyone - I have missed them!

Have a great weekend!

Jill

We have been busy!

Our refurbished computer that Matt got us for an anniversary present a few years ago is on the fritz so it's been keeping me from my communication with the outside world. Ben and Sam have been on some adventures in the last couple of days. Well, just one adventure but they've also been hob-nobbing with some friends.

On Monday my mom and I were brave and took the boys to their first trip to Target. Right when we got there Ben started to squawk and luckily I brought the Baby Bjourn to carry him around. That calmed him right down but my back really hurt by the time we left.

Here is a close up of him in his fave new place.

Sam was getting some tummy time on his boppy. We thought he looked like he was swimming


Here is Sam maxin' and relaxin in his swing


Here is Sam (left and crying) and Ben in their cute outfits from the Kanakares family. If you make this pic big you can see that Sam has the exact same dimple that Matt does in his chin.

Yesterday was Monday so of course we watched The Bachelor with the crew minus Mike (he ditched us to go to the KSU v Texas game in Manhattan). It was also really fun to have special guests, Will and Nancy Rigdon, at our watch party. We watched about an hour of the Bach and then watched the K-State game. EMAW! I just learned about that little saying yesterday.

The boys told Nancy and Will that they thought it would be a good pic if they all did the Wave. When it was time to do it the boys played a trick on Nancy and Will and didn't do it. Notice they KSU sweaters the boys wore to watch the big game!

Later gators

This weekend

We had a great weekend!

Saturday Grandma and Grandpa Bleything came over to watch the boys. Grandma figured out that Ben loves to look at little link toys. He quiets down when we shake them in front of his face. They came to babysit while we looked for a new car. Didn't find anything but I think we have it narrowed down.

Last night the Stegings and Boomers came over to watch the K-State game. We haven't been around people very much since the boys were born. It was really great to be around friends again. They had their sons over too. Four little boys in the house. We need some girls around here!
Here is a pic of Austin Steging with the 3-D glasses from the Avatar movie. He looks so cool.


Today we took the boys to church for the first time. They were well-behaved gentlemen and slept the entire time. Although we did see Ben stirring and got scared he was going to wake up and start some shenanigans. Here is a pic of them going to church with their matching blankets and hats that were hand-knitted by my Aunt Mary Lou.


Also, when we got back from church we discovered that Maggie had eaten the rest of the brownies I had made for our little party last night. We had to make her throw up since chocolate is so bad for dogs. Here is a pic of Maggie puking.......just kidding :)

Awhile back I posted about the Baby Bjourn. We tired it out again today and the boys totally loved it. We both cleaned our house while carrying around the boys. It put them to sleep right away.
Here is just a pick that made me laugh. Sam is in front lookin' all crazy eyed and Ben is in the back crying his little eyes out.

Last but not least Happy Birthday to my sister, Lauren!! She is the lucky recipient of many of my Old Navy dealzzzz.

Have a great week everybody!

Old Navy

For all you people living in KC, Old Navy is having a 50% off all clearance sale! I just got about $500 worth of clothes for $50.

And, just so I don't hijack Sam and Ben's blog letting you all know my love of extreme sales here is our first pic ever of the boys!

Fan Blades!!

The boys love to stare at the fan blades, that is what they are doing in the pic below- part of Ben and Sam's exciting life!

I have been asked to identify who is who so Sam is on the left and Ben on the right

Last night went really well other than Ben cried from about 9:30pm-11:00pm but that didn't have anything to do with their new sleeping arrangements. We tried the techniques from Happiest Baby on the Block, which basically consist on holding them on their side, ssshhhing them loudly in their ear, and rocking them. Well, it's fine and dandy for about 10 minutes but what they don't highlight in this technique is you are basically hunched over, holding the baby and says "sshhh" very loudly. Baby is happy while you are doing it but your back and arm hurt and your throat hurts from "shhhing" so loudly. As soon as we stopped Ben resumed him fussiness. It did help him sleep and they went for another 5 hour stretch last night. I hope this is something permanent and not because Ben is so exhausted from crying so long.

My mom came over today and they were both perfect angels.

Another night of The Bachelor

We went over to the Potchads last night to watch the Bachelor. Good times, good times. They made really good rotel with cream cheese in it. That is my new favorite secret ingredient in the rotel...next to sausage of course!

Also, I emailed my sister-in-law who is a pediatrician because the boys are 7 weeks tomorrow and have not smiled yet. Not even an hour after I emailed her I get this. Still not 100% sure this is a "real" smile but he's done it several times now so maybe it it.

On the way home from the Potchads Maggie was watching over her little brothers in the back seat.

After almost 7 weeks of one of us sleeping on the couch (or our mom's when they do the graveyard shift) we finally moved their bouncy and swing into their rooms so they can start getting used to sleeping in their rooms. Tonight they will sleep in their room and we can finally sleep in the same bed!

Here is a pic of how the set up looks. We put the bouncy seat actually in the crib to further help them get used to it. I know it's not perfect but it's a step forward.


Wish me luck that I will actually get some sleep tonight with this set up!


Just a cute pic of Ben

Video of the birth

Well since our last video got the boot from Matt I will post another one. I got permission from Jamie (the boys surrogate) to post the video of the birth. It was a c-section so don't worry about seeing anything too graphic.

The boys birth was definitely the best moment of our lives so we wanted to share the joy. I can't even describe how thrilled we were to finally meet our little boys after all this time. It was worth the wait times 1000. I cry every time I watch it.

It's broken down into several clips - sorry. Also, it starts with Ben's birth even though he was second. We only got a second of Sam's arrival and the rest of it is us crying (too sappy!).

Enjoy seeing our little miracles enter this world.

Past blog address

Hi- in case you are just joining on this blog our past blog address was:

http://bleythingfamily.wordpress.com/

I didn't want you to miss out on any of Sam and Ben's exciting life :)

Also here is a pic of the boys from last night at Grandma and Grandpa Bleything's house. They are in a cradle that their Great Grandma Wichman had for her kids.

Missing video

Sorry, Matt took off the video. We are not having technical difficulties. More videos to come!!

Baby Bjourn

When did you start carrying your baby in a Baby Bjourn? I have Sam in one now and his head is flopping around - not sure if it's too early. He doesn't have good head control yet.

Also, we had our first date night since the boys were born. We saw Avatar and I would highly recommend it. First movie Mootsie hasn't fallen asleep in for a long time.

Hope you have a nice Sunday!

Testing out a video - Kiss chain contest

Let's see if the switch was worthwhile. This video is pretty stupid but I am still searching for the video of the birth to put on so it will do for now. We did this to enter into a "kiss chain" contest. It was Matt's idea so don't blame me! Boredom + cabin fever + wine = kiss chain contest video.

Ps - Does anyone know how to add captions to pictures using this blog? I just typed under the picture and it looks funny.

New blog

Hi- I tried to post a video on my other blog and it tried to charge me $60. Well, if you know me you know there is no way I am paying $60 to add videos to my blog so I switched! Now, you all will get to enjoy our home movies too!

So, let's see....yesterday my parents came over to help me watch the boys. It is always nice to have extra help- especially at feeding time. Here are a few pics from yesterday.
















Both the boys on Daddy's lap















Me and my little man















Sam is such a big boy sitting up by himself!

Grandpa tickling Ben