Family Reunion

With the weather turning cold, here is a warm look back at a reunion we had this summer at Stauffer Pond.  It was a gathering of the Dan & Anna Goertzen Family and we had almost everyone there.  

10 months

We have seen alot of changes this month.  I probably say that every month, but each new step is so big that it feels like they are changing at a faster and faster rate each month. 

This month we are embracing babies on the move and anticipating the changes that walking will bring in the near future.  Both boys pull up to standing, stand holding on to something with one hand, cruise around furniture and have both stood on their own for a few seconds.  Crawling is second nature and to say the boys are in to everything is a mostly true statement.  We have worked at putting different sets of toys around the house so the boy have toys to play with no matter which room they are in. 

They make beeline for the refrigerator anytime the doors open.  I rarely leave it open long enough for them to get inside, but it was hard to resist this picture opportunity.  

Another big change this month is how the boys eat.  We are fully transitioned into eating table foods.  The boys will eat some foods from a spoon when I feed them and they like to suck pureed fruits and veggies from the pouches, but their favorite way to eat is to feed themselves.  It was hard to make the transition at first, but now it is so much easier.  Messier.  But easier.  

 We are still harvesting, so I can't say that we survived our first harvest yet, but I will say that harvest hasn't been as hard as I anticipated.  There have been days where the boys barely get to see Mike, but we have had early mornings, several rain breaks and supper time together.  Speaking of supper time, the harvest crew has been pretty easy going and have come to our house to eat on may of my supper nights, which has made things easier and been much appreciated. 

 One day when they were harvesting around our yard, we took the wagon out to the bin site to see dad and visit cousin Will.  

This month we have also seen the boys interact more through babbling to each other, playing will each other and picking on each other.  It has been so much fun to watch and I know it will only get to be more entertaining.

One schedule change we have made this month is moving to daytime bottles instead of nursing.  I had been aiming to wean the boys at the end of October and was worried about how hard it would be to make that transition.  Luckily, the boys made it for me.  One day they refused to nurse the entire day and just wanted to bite me.  I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to transition to bottles during the day.  This is our feeding schedule at 10 months.
6am- Nurse
7:30am - Breakfast (yogurt, fruit, cherrios)
10 am - Bottle (Jase usually drinks 4 oz and Jax usually drinks 6+ oz)
12 Noon - Lunch
2:30 - Bottle (same as morning)
6pm - Supper
8 pm - Nurse
11:30 & 2:30 - Nurse

We are still experiencing sleep regression. It is getting better, but they haven't slept through the night in at least two months.  Maybe the time change will help. I'm not holding my breath.  

Jase has developed such a fun little personality.  He is a mover and shaker.  Loves to pick on his brother, but doesn't like the favor returned.  He can stay entertained with a pile of books for a long time. He makes a beeline for me when I pick him up at daycare and always gets to me before Jax.  He is not as interested in drinking his bottle but loves to feed himself solids.    

Jax has a very fun personality as well, but it is completely different from Jase.  He loves to bonk foreheads, has started biting, and has mastered waving Goodbye.  He is in love with remote controls, pulling papers down from tables he can reach and recently decided he wants to fight going into his car seat.  Jax will drink all of his bottle at every feeding and then finish Jase's if he has the opportunity. 

It is amazing to think that in two short months these boys will be celebrating their 1st Birthday.  How did that happen so fast?

Happy Halloween

From our monkey and tigger, Happy Halloween.  

The Big 3-O

We celebrated a big birthday around here this week, on October 21 to be exact.  

Mike turned 30!

We celebrated with a surprise party on Friday night and I actually was able to pull off the surprise part thanks to harvest, some friends who were willing to help me out and the fact that I wait until the last minute (less than two weeks before) to plan the party.  

It is amazing to think about everything Mike has experienced over 30 years and it is equally amazing to think about the experiences we will have in the next 30 years.  While there have and will be ups and downs, it is good to know we can face them together.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Nebraska State Fair

During the first week in September the boys had their first, second and third state fair experiences.  As you may remember, I kind of grew up at the State Fair and posted about it here and here, not to mention skinny kurt and young kelsey here.  

So naturally I had to give the boys a proper introduction to the State Fair. 

Our first trip was on opening day with Grandma Kathryn.  We got there right after lunch and stayed until 6 pm.   While we were there we . . .

Ate a burger from Cactus Jacks, 

Chilled in the stroller with our feet up. 

 and went to the petting zoo, which was our favorite. 

On the second trip, we went with my parents for supper.  Seeing the Clydesdales in the barn was a highlight from this trip.    

 Our last trip was for the steer show on Labor Day weekend to say the fair was packed, would be an understatement.  Mike and two of my college friends, Caitlin and Tina,  joined us this time. 

 It was Caitlin's first State Fair trip too.   

All-in-all we had a great experience at the State Fair and I love the fact that the fair is only 30 minutes away, even though I miss the nostalgicness (yes I'm making that a word) of the old fair grounds.   

Meals in the Field

One of the big traditions of harvest is eating supper in the field.  I only have to make supper 2-3 nights a week, which is kind of nice and it gives the boys some extra time to see Mike.

 The boys had their first meal in the field on October 1.

The menu was simple: Hunts Brothers Pizza, apples with caramel, pumpkin cream cheese cookies (made by Grandma Kathryn),  and yogurt puffs for the boys, but is was the first of many meals that will be eaten out of the back of the traverse.  Something you can only appreciate if you grew up on a farm.  

9 months

To be honest I do not have a ton of pictures or words about this month because I have been spending a lot of time playing with Jax and Jase.  It is amazing how much they have grown and changed this month and what they are learning to do.

Both boys improved their skills this month from getting into the sitting position on their own, to crawling, to pulling up onto their knees and pulling up to standing.  This makes it possible for them to play with each other and interact with each other, which is so fun to watch.

This last month we experienced some sleep regression, which has not been fun.  We went from sleeping through the night to getting up 5-8 times a night.  It was kind of interesting to walk into their nursery and find Jase sitting up in his sleep, but not interesting enough to want to get up multiple times a night.  At the end of this month the sleeping has gotten much better, but it was rough there for a little while.

We have started having the boys sit in the small bathtub and Jax has started splashing around in the tub alot.  Jase is more content to play with (suck on) toys.

We have started doing more finger foods this month too and it is obvious that Jax loves to feed himself.  We have tried puffs, grahm crackers, little pieces of bread, fruit and vegetables.  We aren't ready to get rid of pureed food yet, but I have decided to stop making food, so we don't end up throwing away a lot of food.

I started sending some formula along to daycare, so the boys can get adjusted to a new taste since we will be transitioning away from nursing by the beginning of November.

 Mike and I took a 24 hour trip to Omaha with our friends this month and the boys stayed with Grandma.  We took in a Nebraska Football Game and Mike ran the Omaha Half Marathon.

Jase is our busy body.  He is constantly moving, wiggling and getting into things he shouldn't.  His favorite is crumpling magazines. You can tell he is on the move by the number of bruises on his head from crawling into things and falling when trying to stand.  Jase has shown less interest in nursing and will eat a large amount of solid food.

One day I gave him a different pacifier to play with and he ended up liking it so much he made the switch to a new paci full-time.  

Jase had adopted the nick name "monk" short for monkey, because he is always climbing and moving. 

Jax is our laid back baby and we often referred to him as our cuddler.  He has been a little slower to start moving, but now that he can crawl there is not much stopping him.  He will stop when you tell him "no," but he usually goes right back to what he was doing especially chewing on the remote.

 He will wave his arms and turn his head if he doesn't want to eat what you are offering him and he loves to feed himself.  His 6th tooth came in on August 27.