February Update

Here are some of the latest happenings in the Schleicher household:

Visitors

We had the pleasure of hosting our friends Joe and Laurie for dinner early this month. This wonderful couple from church has shared so much love with our boys. The boys enjoyed playing with Joe and Laurie, eating the ice cream cups that they brought over, and reading stories before bedtime.

Thanks, Joe and Laurie, for visiting us and for your generous care for our family!

Later that same week, our friend Doris (also from church) visited us for a morning playtime. I forgot to take a photo of Doris with the boys, but we all enjoyed her company. Doris bought us a yummy chili lunch and brought over some fun new toys for Jaden and Cody. The boys' favorite new gift was this wind-up chick.

Jaden loved trying to catch the chick as it hopped around,

while Cody simply laughed and laughed as he watched the chick jump.

Playtime

Our weather has continued to be too cold and snowy to spend much time outdoors. In fact, our snowfall total this winter has been over 65 inches-- our 3rd snowiest winter on record! Some of our indoor activities, then, have included playing with magnetic letters,

and playing with snow indoors. We tried this same activity last winter, and the boys weren't sure what to think of the cold snow. This year, Cody and Jaden had no qualms at all with touching the snow...

...or with putting it right into their mouths!

Another day, we put various small objects (like pasta shells or coins) into these tin containers. The boys loved shaking the containers or pounding on the lids to make music.

We took a try #2 with the objects hidden in rice.

This time, the boys actually noticed the hidden objects (rather than simply wanting to throw the rice all over creation).

At first, they enjoyed "digging" through the rice to look for the hidden treasures.

Soon, however, they determined that it was much more fun to dump rice out onto the quilt. Our methodical Jaden-man carefully dropped handfuls of rice onto each colored square...

...until the whole quilt was full of rice. Not quite the activity Mommy had in mind, but, hey, it worked! 

Lately, the boys have been very eager to play inside their cribs during the day. Once inside, they usually like to run back and forth, fall on the mattress, or play with the light switch. Other times, Cody and Jaden are content simply with their books. What a picture to make Mommy happy! :)

Special Treats

For Valentine's Day, both sets of grandparents sent gifts for the boys. Grammy and Papa gave the boys gift cards to McDonalds. The boys had never been to our in-town McDonalds before, so it was quite the exciting outing. Don't they look so grown up sitting at the table here?

Since the boys are such big ice cream fans, we bought a sundae for each boy to share. Cody started with the chocolate...

...while Jaden enjoyed the strawberry.

Mommy and Daddy were quite pleased to discover that our McDonalds already offers the seasonal, oh-so-tasty shamrock shakes. Hooray!! We had to order a couple shakes, too-- mostly for the boys to try, of course. Cody definitely enjoyed his first taste of what Daddy calls "heaven in a cup".

Jaden was a HUGE fan as well. Good thing Daddy got a bigger size shake to share. :) Thanks for making this fun experience possible, Grammy and Papa!

Grandma and Grandpa also sent money for a special Valentine's treat. Our choice for our chocolate-loving kiddos? M&M's! Grandma will be proud.

These candies sure make our boys smile! Gotta love Cody's orange-tinted lips, too. :) Thanks for the thoughtful treat, Grandma and Grandpa!

Talking

We were beginning to wonder when it would ever start to happen, but it appears as if actual words are finally starting to flow from our boys. Cody, in particular, likes imitating the sounds we make. "Baby" is one of his newest favorites, though he often likes to add an extra syllable or two.

Look and Find

In one of our last blog pots, we mentioned the boys' interest in their Baby Einstein Look and Find book, given to us by Uncle Matt & Aunt Kim. Every morning, the boys pull this book out as one of their very first daily activities. They will excitedly point to all the pictures and say, "zzat, zzat" continually until we answer their "What is that?" question. This video shows how much they love pointing out the objects to us.

20 Months Old

Cody and Jaden are officially 1 and 2/3 old. Happy 20 months, little guys!

While this may be a small milestone to celebrate in itself, the Schleichers have two greater reasons to celebrate. First, our little guys are officially weaned from their pacifiers. Yup-- done, gone, packed away for good! Hooray! The little green "magical mouthpieces" had been doing more harm than good lately, so we decided it was time to say good-bye. After returning home from Christmas, we clipped the tips of a couple pacifiers and (wa-la!) we were done! The boys mourned their passing for a day or so and then moved right along.

Our second milestone, however, is an even greater reason to cheer. We have ALL been sleeping through the night again. Yay!!! Finally, since we were done with sickness, not currently getting any new teeth, and had no immediate travel plans upcoming, it was the ideal time for some sleep re-training. For the latter half of January, the boys consistently slept about 10 hours each night in their own cribs. What a joy for the whole family! We are proud of our little boys... and very thankful!

Cody (L) and Jaden (R) -- notice the height & size difference?

Jaden, Cody (possibly starting to teethe again)

Jaden, Cody -- our little men after Sunday church

Jaden, Cody -- bouncing down the stairs

A few monthly highlights--

SLEEPING

• must be restated :) -- sleeping 10 hour stretches at night with NO wake-ups!
• unfortunately, awaken at 5:00 or 5:30 most mornings, but with a full night of sleep prior to that, we can hardly complain!
• take 1 1/2 hour naps
• fall asleep easily at night and at naptime

EATING

• on a big eating splurge -- growth spurt is on its way!
• monthly eating goal-- working on taking bites out of larger food pieces (Both boys typically enjoy cramming everything into their mouths whole.)

PLAYTIME

• LOVE diving headfirst off the couch and out of their Cozy Coupes when Mommy & Daddy aren't watching
• enjoy re-locating all the books from their bookshelf to other areas of the house (like at Mommy's feet while she's trying to cook in the kitchen)
• seem to be obsessed with the bathroom toothpaste drawer & enjoy spreading all our toothpaste & brush samples all around the house
• recent favorite toy-- foam blocks (great at stacking!)
• REALLY into their Look & Find and I Spy books -- can consistently find most of the objects; often look at these books for 15-20 minute stretches!
• definite rough n' tumble boys! very into wrestling one another (will elicit lots of giggles unless one boy is tackled into a hard object or thrown off the couch-- both of which happen, unfortunately, frequently)
• lots of toy wars (toy stealing, toy tug-of-wars, screaming when a favorite toy is stolen)
• starting to understand the concept of "taking turns" if Mommy and Daddy stand by and monitor the length of each turn :)

OUR LITTLE CODY-BOY

• Started the month with a raging double ear infection (Dr. said his ears were close to rupturing & wouldn't let us leave his office without a shot!)
• Enjoys placing his books or cars in a long line across the room
• Often grabs the Desitin tube and holds it right up to his bottom :)
• More likely to sleep in (6:30ish) but always takes a shorter nap
• More willing to be independent in social situations

OUR JADEN-MAN

looking at the beloved "Look & Find" book

enjoys turning off and on the light at the bottom of the stairs

• LOVES his routine! Hates when things are out of place or different 
• Refused to brush his teeth this month until Mommy realized she had the wrong toothbrush color; once she picked up Jaden's correct brush, Jaden opened his mouth widely, ready to go!
• Our early riser (5:00ish) and our longer napper (will often sleep 2+ hours, unless Cody's early cries wake him up
• Wants Mommy or Daddy to hold him in new social situations or when we have visitors come to our house

Each new month is always a new adventure! We're so thankful for our fun little guys!

The Dancing Twins

In our household, Christian music and kids' songs are the norm. This weekend, however, Jaden and Cody got their first exposure to 90's dance music. Daddy was listening to various upbeat songs as he was planning for a youth event. I think it's fair to say that the boys were instant fans! Hope you enjoy their rhythm as much as we did! :)