A Few of our Favorite Things

As we are nearing five months, we are really starting to make our preferences known. We'll let Daddy & Mommy know right away if we don't like something! If we decide we're a fan of something, however, we'll return to it again and again. So when we're tired, when we're hungry, or when we're feeling sad, we simply remember our favorite things... and then we don't feel so bad! Here they are, in no particular order:

Sitting in our bouncy seats

Reaching for toys and taking them to our mouths

Lounging in the swing

and (says Cody) staring at myself in the mirror!

Using the Boppy pillow to help myself sit up (Jaden)

Lying under the activity gym

Being on tummy time

and (says Cody) drooling on my shirt

Kicking our legs on the changing table (says Jaden)

Sitting in the glider (a GREAT place for Mommy to read us stories!)

and sucking on our fingers or fist

Seeing the Montana wildlife.... in our own backyard

(Perhaps it was because hunting season just began that this buck found a safe haven in our lawn for upwards of 5 hours one weekend!)

Our Daddy & Mommy!

More and more people are telling us that Jaden looks like Jason and Cody bears resemblance to Amy. We are each holding our apparent look-a-like. What do you think?

Spending time with each other!

 

Laughing out loud

And giving Mommy some surprises

 

 

Thank you for taking an interest in our lives!

 

Love,

Jaden & Cody

A Weekend with "Auntie Tyler"

Over the first weekend of October, we had the joy of hosting Tyler, Amy's dear friend, at our home. Tyler and Amy first hit it off in kindergarten and stayed close friends all through schooling from K-12th grade. Tyler was in Amy's wedding, and she remains a close friend to this day. What fun it was to show her our Billings home & community and to introduce her to our boys.

 

Tyler, a Texas Tech alum, cheered on her team as they played a Saturday game. Unfortunately, Cody didn't put quite as much effort into cheering, and Tech sadly couldn't pull out the victory.

Both boys enjoyed relaxing on Tyler's lap during the game, though. With all the love and cuddling she showed them, Tyler quickly earned the nickname "Auntie Tyler."

Having twin boys makes Amy & Jason much different hosts than they used to be. Tyler was a VERY patient and understanding guest! She endured being spit up on multiple times, holding crying babies, waking up to crying throughout the night, and even making meals for Amy and herself as Amy took care of the twins. On top of all that, the weather took an abrupt turn from summer to winter, and Tyler saw a couple Montana snowfalls! We're so thankful that Tyler is a flexible friend.

Despite all this, we did a variety of fun activities as well: We took a trip to Trinity school so Amy could introduce Jaden & Cody to the school kids, watched some football, played a variety of evening games with Jason, got caught up on watching our Survivor episodes, and went on a few shopping trips. With our cold weather snap, we were in great need of warmer clothes for the boys. Amy enjoyed having Tyler's assistance in picking out cute long-sleeved & pant outfits. Tyler even bought Jaden & Cody each a new outfit-set as a gift. Aren't they adorable? (Jaden is the monster-butt!)

 

We are so thankful for Tyler's friendship and her easy-going, fun-loving personality. Thanks for making the trip up here, Tyler. We loved being with you!

The Joys & Challenges of 4 Months

We'll probably end up saying the same thing in future months, but the month of September seemed like a wild ride of challenges. Perhaps it seemed more challenging because Jason & Amy's energy levels have been wearing thin after 4 months of little sleep! Amidst these parenting challenges, however, God has been challenging US to look for the joy in each situation. Some days, when we see double smiles and hear double giggles, the joys are fairly apparent. Other days, after double diaper explosions and double torrents of spit-up, the joys are a little harder to find. But no matter what may happen throughout the day, the constant joy is that we can look at these little boys' faces and know that they are ours-- double answers to prayer and double miracles from above. So despite the challenges, we are thankful for the past 4 months of laughter, learning, and love. Here are some of this month's highlights:

CHALLENGE: The boys seemed to go backwards in their sleeping habits-- waking up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours through the night. (When they had colds, we woke up practically on the half hour!)
JOY: Daddy & Mommy have many waking hours to bond with one another. :)

CHALLENGE: Jaden had a variety of health concerns this month.
JOY: We discovered that he has a milk allergy and are currently experimenting with different kinds of formula.

CHALLENGE: The boys showed more fussiness than ever in the evenings.
JOY: Mommy & Daddy pushed hard to achieve an earlier, more consistent bedtime. That meant occasionally feeding, changing, and rocking 2 infants to sleep independently on some nights. Not an easy task, but both Daddy & Mommy were SOO proud of themselves when they accomplished successful bedtimes on their own!

CHALLENGE: The vacuum tape became less helpful during feeding times. The boys would become extremely fussy after only a few short minutes of nursing.
JOY: We invested in a high quality pump. Now during the day, Amy pumps almost exclusively and then bottle feeds the boys a mixture of breastmilk and formula. We now know the boys are getting exactly the amount they need, and they are much more satisfied!

CHALLENGE: The spit-up continues in massive quantities, forcing Amy to do laundry at least every 3 days!
JOY: We are getting great use out of all the boys' clothes.

CHALLENGE: Amy's health has still not fully improved after her post-delivery infection.
JOY: Amy's doctor scheduled her for a health procedure later this month, and Grammy is coming out for a visit to help care for Amy & the boys!

CHALLENGE: Jaden & Cody best love and are most content being held, and yet Amy only has 2 arms.
JOY: Many, many church friends have stepped up to help, often calling Amy out of the blue to offer assistance. She regularly has 2-3 visitors a week to hold babies and help with feedings. What a blessing to have more adult conversation, too!

 

BOTH BOYS

 



 

(Cody on L in both above) 

 

(Jaden on L in both above-- We love Cody's touchdown stance in the one directly above. He got into this position all his own!)

 



(Cody on R)

 

•  Both rolled over from their tummy to their backs early this month!
•  Smiled at one another
•  Had first laughs this month
•  Love to grab items & bring them to their mouth
•  Enjoy grabbing onto Mommy & Daddy's hair
•  Like being in their bouncers
•  Kick like crazy on the changing table!
•  Seem to enjoy being in crowds of people
•  Like to pull themselves to sitting positions
   



 

JADEN

 



•  Currently weighing in at 13 lbs. 12 oz.
•  Our big talker! Loves to coo especially after feedings
•  Started sucking on just his first two fingers
•  Hates car rides (fussy most anywhere we go!)
•  Loves Nuk pacifier during the day; Soothie pacifier at bedtime
•  First time being taken out of church :(
•  First laugh occurred right after splashing Daddy with lots of water during bathtime

CODY

 



•  Currently weighing in at 13 lbs. 3 1/2 oz.
•  Our big smiler! Smiles readily to others' voices & then shyly ducks his head
•  Loves gazing at himself in the mirror on his swing
•  Loves sucking on his fist, often to the point of gagging himself
•  While on back, can turn himself to different angles with his intense kicking

Our First Family-of-4 Vacation

"Are we sure about this?"

"Maybe we're crazy."

"I'm feeling very nervous..."

"What do we think we're doing?"

 

These were the questions and remarks that Jason and I said to each other on the days leading up to our big adventure. At the end of the summer, we had purchased tickets to Phoenix in order to meet little baby Walquist. We were so excited to help Amy's brother Andrew & his wife Sarah celebrate the birth and baptism of their new little one in person. Now that the reality of our vacation was drawing near, however, we were questioning the wisdom of taking a set of 3 1/2 month old, somewhat fussy twins on their first big vacation. We had not yet even taken the boys outside of Billings... talk about starting big!

 

We were most nervous about how the boys would do on their first airline flight. One week before our departure, Amy just-so-happened to see a segment on CBS this morning that fit our situation perfectly! We knew that this was much more than coincidence-- it was God's hand at work to help calm our nerves! We happily stole the idea from the show and created our own candy bags to give out to neighboring passengers on the plane. The accompanying note in the bag introduced the twins and asked for the reader's patience as the boys experienced the speed & the air pressure changes of the plane for the first time.

 

The candy bags worked beautifully! Instead of having disgruntled passengers beside us, after receiving free candy, our new friends were very pleasant and interested in our boys' lives. In fact, we saw some of the same passengers on the return flight who approached us and asked us all about the baptism. We were happy that the note reminded others that we are real people, too, who are trying our hardest to keep our boys calm. And, of course, the free treats helped, too!

Overall, the boys only had a few fussy periods on the flight and thankfully ended up sleeping for the great majority of both the outgoing and the return flight. Mommy & Daddy certainly breathed a big sigh of relief upon arriving at the Phoenix-Mesa airport! Our first big hurdle was overcome!

The other reason we were so excited to land in Arizona was that we were able to meet our precious new niece (the first of the family!), Abigail Marie. What a precious little girl she is!

 

It was a joy to hold little Abby and to see how alert she was. We noticed right away how much lighter she was than our boys!

Jaden & Cody certainly enjoyed all the attention they got from the family, too. Everyone remarked on how much bigger they looked. The boys happily showed off their smiles and coos throughout the weekend as well. It felt sooo good to be back in the arms of Grammy and Papa!

 

Papa seemed to have quite a knack at putting our little guys to sleep. The boys took many a nap on Papa's lap. Doesn't little Cody look wiped out?

It was fun seeing Aunt Kim and Uncle Matt, too. These experienced parents knew just how to hold the boys to keep them smiling and content.

Jaden loves his uncle and godfather, Matt!

It was so fun playing with Aunt Kim, receiving smiles, tickles, and kisses!

 

The busy new father, Uncle Andrew, even took some time out to play with his nephews. Here, little Cody enjoys some story time with his godfather.

 

Uncle Andrew shared some good physical therapy techniques with Amy for how to encourage crawling and sitting up. He was certainly an active participant during tummy time! Cody loved looking right into Uncle Andrew's eyes.

Even the new mommy, Aunt Sarah, shared some lovin' with the twins. Here, she gets some great smiles out of little Cody.

 

Probably the boys' favorite people of the household, though, were their cousins. They were at a much better stage to interact with one another. Here, cousin Ryan and Jaden get a good long look at one another, and even coo some hellos.

 

Our boys and Ryan, who are only 3 weeks apart, are starting to catch up a bit more in size!

Ian was such a loving cousin throughout the weekend, too! He showered our boys with hugs, smiles, and kisses. He carefully held Cody first, and then Jaden. It was obvious that Ian is used to being a gentle older brother. Our boys loved their big cousin!

 

So what did the family do during our time together? Well, as we've mentioned before, we spend our days quite differently as a family now. The greatest majoritiy of our time was spent holding little ones... 

 

 

 

...and playing with them. Showering and getting ready for the day was never a top priority! :)

 

The weekend weather in Phoenix was BEAUTIFUL, so we spent some time in Drew & Sarah's pool as well.

Jason, Andrew, and Matt developed a fun game of frisbee diving. The guys would describe how they were about to jump off the diving board, and then the other guys would try to toss them a frisbee to catch before they landed in the water. This, of course, provided hours of entertainment!

The on-looking infants patiently await their day of frisbee-diving participation!

 

Most importantly, the reason we all gathered together was to witness the baptism of little Abby. What a blessing it was to see her welcomed into the family of God! She didn't make a peep during the ceremony OR during the entire service (her first experience at church!). 

 

Amy's dad, Pastor Walquist, officiated the baptismal service. That's four grandchild baptisms in one summer. Wow!

Amy's parents, Randy & Elaine, celebrate little Abby with Sarah's parents, Rhonda & Spencer.

Sarah and her mother Rhonda prepared an AMAZING brunch following the baptism. The food was exceptional and so fancy-looking, too! What a great way to celebrate!

So, despite our beforehand fears and worries, our first-ever vacation was a success! What a treat it was to all be together as a family! Grammy & Papa love the fact that their grandchildren-quota has gone from 1 to 5 in only a few months' time. From L to R, they are holding Cody, Jaden, Ian, Ryan, and Abby.

Kim, Amy, and Sarah remembered that several months earlier (in February), the 3 of them had stood in front of this same fireplace in Phoenix, showing off their pregnant bellies. Isn't it so much cuter seeing all these precious little faces outside the womb?

Thank you, Andrew, Sarah, and Abby, for welcoming us into your home for a wonderful weekend! We love you and your precious little girl!