Everyone's A Winner!

Clark is a very good helper. He usually does a lot around the house such as feeding the dog, diaper fetching- who am I kidding ANYTHING fetching, and things like that. I have been saying that I wanted to have some sort of behavior reward system for him and we FINALLY started one and have been using it more consistently than we have in the past.

This time I bought the Melissa & Doug brand responsibility chart and we love it. It is magnetic and easy to use. Yes, I could make my own. No, I do not have time or energy at night so I bought it. He has 6 daily tasks on the chart this month.
1. Feed the Dog.
2. Take A Bath (no whining)
3. Brush Your Teeth (no whining)
4. Get Yourself Dressed
5. Go to Bed at Bedtime (no whining)
6. Stop Whining (This means if anything throughout the day causes whining, he gets one warning to stop, if he does not stop he does not earn his magnet.)

Like I said, the chart is magnetic and there are many more options as he gets older or used to keeping track, but these are the six we started with. He is doing GREAT. He loves reviewing them each night with his daddy at bedtime. We have had some last minute 8:00 pm dog bowl filling and tooth brushing, but he is getting the hang of it. It has done a great job keeping him accountable. Each week when he earns all his magnets he gets to pick a prize. Sometimes I have had toys or trinkets, but we usually talk about it on the weekend what we are working for each week. This week it is HUGE- Power Ranger macaroni and cheese, from a box, from Big Lots, it cost me $0.75. HE IS PUMPED!

A few weeks ago he asked if his reward could be a trip to Orange Leaf. Ummmmm, yes please!! Everyone wins!OL is one of my favorite places so of course we obliged and we might have worked a little harder to make sure he earned all his magnets. :) ha! After we picked him up from the sitter we piled in the car and had a froyo dinner. It was extra tasty and I am hoping he picks this reward at least once a month. Don't think I will not be suggesting it!!


Here are some pictures from our family outing celebrating our BIG BOY being such a good boy!

The BIG BOY.

The Sassy One.

The Momma's Treat.

The Momma and The Bald One.

The Momma and The Sassy One.

The Daddo, The Big Boy & The Sassy One- being sassy.

So this week the Friday night dinner plans at our house include Power Ranger mac and cheese. Sounds easy to me! We will see if all magnets are earned!

The Duo- 7 months

7 months. SEVEN MONTHS!! We are getting closer and closer to one year and I can hardly believe it. I don't know if we are so busy or what but time is flying!

This month has been a little stressful as we have been worried about them not gaining weight. I mentioned in THIS POST about the fact that at their 6 month checkup Shep lost a few ounces and SaraKate only gained 6 oz. Because of this we have been on "Operation Baby Beef Up". We have been doing nothing but feeding these babies. We have introduced lots of solids and they are eating three solid meals a day and nursing/taking bottles 4 or 5 times a day. We took them back yesterday for a weight check and since the 6 month appointment Shepard has gained 6 oz and SK 10oz. This is only a 2 oz gain for the big boy since his four month appointment.
SO...Our doc wants us to try adding some formula. I just don't know what to do. They are happy, they are content, they are sleeping 12 hours at night. They do not act like hungry babies. He wants us to give them 3 oz formula bottles after they nurse in the morning. He also wants me to replace one bottle of my milk with 6 oz of formula at the sitter to see if this helps them gain. I understand. I want them to be healthy, but I am not convinced this is the answer. They are to add this to their daily routine and go back in 2 weeks for another weight check.

I have been reading online. YES, I know that can be dangerous. HA! But, I have read from credible sources like HERE that it is normal for bf babies to grow quickly from birth to 4 months and then very normal for them to slow down at 4 months.  So, I have a huge knot in my stomach. I just cannot decide what to do. I have asked my "friends" on IG, I have posted on the twin club message board and I am now posting on here. I just can't stop thinking about it. Wonder what this stress is doing for my supply? ohjeez!
So, we tried giving them formula after they ate this morning and they were full, it was different, they wanted nothing to do with it. Today I am heading to the store to buy Yo Baby yogurt, avocados and anything else high fat and baby friendly I can think of. Do you have any tips?

Other than the feeding frenzy this month they have done all kinds of other great things and continue to make our lives fun, wild and crazy!

Here are the stats of our little ones this month:




Weights:

Shepard- 13lbs. 14 oz. (5.1 at birth)

Sara Kate- 14lbs 13 oz. (5.11 at birth)



Lengths:
Shepard: 26.5 inches (up from 17 at birth)

Sara Kate: 27 inches (up from 18 at birth)

Diaper Size:
Shepard: Size 3
(barely- only because we were out of 2s. We moved up to 3s. We have still not had to buy any diapers!)

Sara Kate: Size 3


Clothing Size:

Shepard: 3-6 month and 6 months.

Sara Kate: mostly 6 months but I have been washing some 9 month summer stuff because it is HOT.


Sleep:
They are doing great. We have a routine, and it is working. School is out in 20 days and I will be home all summer so this routine will change but it works for now. They are getting sleepy around 6:45. We are putting them in their sleep sacks, giving them 6 oz bottles,  and then putting them to bed in their cribs when they are done. SK was not a fan of the crib at first. We had to let her cry a little at first or rock her and then lay her down, but we stuck to it (yay us!) and now they both lay down awake and are soon sleeping! We do replace dropped pacis some nights, but they typically sleep 12 hours or until we wake them to eat in the morning.  I am so thankful for the video monitor as they are upstairs now, but I am glad to have them in their cribs.

Eating:
SEE ABOVE. I am worn out from talking about feeding. :)
They are eating. They are loving it. They are not gaining. Decision time.

Someone LOVES puffs.

 Someone is not quite sure how to pick them up yet. poor buddy.

They have added MumMums, puffs and frozen waffles to their menu.
Our schedule looks something like this:
6:00 am: Nurse

9:30-10:00 am Bottles at the sitter's house, oatmeal and fruit
1:00 pm Bottles at the sitter's house & two cubes of food each (I pump at school)

4:30-5:00 pm Nurse after school

5:30 pm- Two and a half cubes of food each

7:00 pm 6 oz bottle before bed
10:00 pm ish- I pump before I go to bed.

Shepard:
Well, buddy you may not have gained much weight this month but you sure have gained so much personality! You are such an easy going boy. There is not much that gets you upset. You have a smile that is showstopping. You have been talking up a storm. You babble all the time. You do a whole lot of da da da da da and your daddy thinks you are talking to him. I just love hearing your little voice. You do so great sleeping in your own bed! You have been known to talk yourself to sleep and snuggle your lovey. You are working on sitting up, but you are starting to roll all over the place. You are likely to watch and take it all in and then tell us all about it. You love to eat all fruits and are still not 100% sold on those darn veggies!

SaraKate:
Sister, you are a wild woman. You are EVERYWHERE these days. You do not stay in one spot for very long. You roll all across the floor and get stuck in some pretty funny places. You sit up in your rock and play and pull up in your car seat. If you are not strapped in, watch out world! You might have even rolled off the bed this month teaching us just how mobile you really are. yikes! You have almost mastered the whole idea of sitting up. You can do it unassisted for quite a long time if you choose to. You love to eat and we have not found much that you do not like. You are quite the charmer, you like things your way, and you can be cranky when you are tired. Yes, that is right young lady- you are me made over! ha! :)

 Happy 7 months sweeties!!!

InstaFriday Take:1

I have a lot to blog about. But it is Friday and my mind is mush. So, I am linking up with another twin momma at Life Rearranged  for InstaFriday. Since giving up Facebook for Lent I became quite addicted to Instagram. I had no idea when I started using the app to edit pictures that I would find it so much fun. Since then I have found about 35 other twin moms, other bloggers, and real life friends. I have said if all my friends would join IG I could get rid of my facebook account because the pictures are the only reason I am on Facebook. I love keeping up with all my friends through sweet pictures of their kiddos and their lives.

So on this Friday I am going to do a photo dump and share some of my IG pictures from this week. You may see these pictures again with an actual post, if you follow me on IG you have already seen them and if you want to follow me on IG my user name is snyderstories.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Easter- Snyder Style.

Easter at our house was a great event. We enjoyed the day celebrating with family. I love the fact that Clark is starting to understand the concept of holidays and their true meaning. Yes, we enjoy the baskets, egg hunts, and bunny ears, but my goal is that our children truly appreciate the real reason we are celebrating. My prayer is that we do a good job as their parents teaching them about the sacrifice our Savior made to save our lives and how on this day we celebrate the fact that He has risen. We did read the Easter story before bed and talk about it but I will admit explaining how Jesus rose from the dead is not an easy concept for a 3 year old. It was a great conversation, but not sure how much he really got. I know one day he will.

This was of course the duo's 1st Easter so we got some fun shots like the one below. They were not huge fans of the bunny ears, but mommy was.

Clark and I did enjoy coloring eggs. This also allowed for some discussion about new life and the reason for the season. I just LOVE this age. I know I've said that about 100 different stages, but he is so funny and such a little sweetheart. He did such a good job with the eggs and I love getting a little one -on -one with my big guy.

He wanted every egg to be "wildcat blue".

On Easter Sunday we barely made it to church on time. (Like that is different than any other Sunday! ha!) I was very glad to see that Stuart's parents were there on time and saved us a row. It was crowded, as Easter service usually is and we cause quite the scene with our little traveling circus side show. I bet we were in and out of that sanctuary 4 times. But like I said, Stuart's parents and brother were there so it was nice to worship with them.

After church we had lunch reservations at our neighborhood restaurant and enjoyed that very much. Have I mentioned that we LOVE our new neighborhood and we LOVE the fact that there is a restaurant a few blocks away with a patio!?! FYI- That is where you will find us this summer.

Mac & Cheese was not even on the Easter buffet. This kid know how to pull some strings.

The little brother taking notes from big brother during lunch.

Me and my tiny guy.

After lunch we hid eggs in the backyard and Clark had SOOOOO much fun. You would have thought that there was gold in the eggs when it was only pennies, jelly beans and one lucky egg had a whole dollar bill. He was running all over the place and we got a kick out of watching him go.

Grammy and Grandpa Snyder and our troops.

It was an eventful weekend filled with family and this momma took about 500 pictures. Tried not to saturate this post with too many, but dang these kids are so cute! :)



 

Our Spring Break.

Spring Break this year was very relaxed- well as relaxed as life with three kids three and under can be! We had a great week with not much on the agenda. Stuart was home with us all week and we decided if someone paid us we could get use to the at home all day schedule. We slept in late, ate all three meals together and took a few family trips- I even read TWO books! (Yes, I gave in a read the Hunger Games series and I really enjoyed it- now who will go see the movie with me??) We spent a lot of time at our new spot. "Our spot" is the playground a mile from our house and we have loved making the walk in the evenings. The weather was perfect- even the rainy day provided a great day for naps, puzzles and dinosaur making. Our lives have been so hectic lately and this week of unplanned activities was just what we needed. I was also in DC the week before with my 5th graders (post about that soon) and of course missed my babies so it was a week of loving on them and just enjoying our time together.





Swinging with my littles at "our spot".






My boys showing some teamwork.



The walk to "our spot" is like NyQuill for babies.

We took LOTS of naps.

 We took a family trip to Lowe's.

We took a trip to the zoo!

 Clark was very into checking out the animals.

 Me and all my crew.

 These two enjoyed their first trip to the zoo!! They were soooo good!

These two LOVE the "phants".

 C was such a good boy we let him ride the carousel on the way out.
He enjoyed it so much!

 Me and my sweet boy.

 Oh this face!!!

 The zoo wore everyone out!

These guys had seen all they could.

 

C had his first sleep over.

He stayed all night with is friend Jack and loved every minute of it.

(Gah- He looks SO BIG!)

 

We watched our WILDCATS win the National Title!

We just had a week full of these sweet faces.

I loved it. I am ready for summer break. SOOOOO ready for summer break. We are hoping to take the crew to the beach, enjoy our neighborhood pool, and do a whole lot of other outside, family fun things. Until then I am going to enjoy the days with my 5th graders, make it through state testing and soak up the

evenings with my sweeties. 5 more weeks!!