More milestones!

So far, the verdict of our poll is that Ryan looks like his daddy and Avery looks like her mommy!

In the past week, Avery and Ryan have become good little sitters. We stay close by in case they topple over but they seem to be getting more balance every day.

Ryan and Avery enjoying their drum


We had a rough night on Thurs night with Ryan and it seemed like the most likely culprit was some discomfort with teething. This morning, his bottom left tooth made an appearance! We don't see any teeth surfacing for Avery yet.

We have had a pretty quiet weekend and enjoyed dinner over at the Carlson's on Sat. Avery and Ryan enjoyed checking out all their toys (not really all as they have an abudance of toys between Jack and Ben). And, Jack was really sweet to the babies and had fun learning Avery and Ryan's names. Ben was pretty chill. Sunday, we went over to Park Meadows for brunch at White Chocolate Grill. It was very good. Then, we did a little shopping afterwards. The weekends definitely go by way too fast!

Avery and Jack playing with the remote control dog

Ryan checking out the jungle toy

Avery & Daddy with Ben in the background

Smiley Avery

Ryan and his first tooth

6 month Dr Appointment

Andy and I took Avery & Ryan to their six-month appt this morning. They're both growing and developing nicely. The Dr said she couldn't be more pleased with their progress. Each gained about 3lbs since their four month appt. Avery is still a pound bigger than Ryan coming in at just under 16lbs and Ryan was just under 15lbs. Both of them are 25inches long. Avery is up to the 40th percentile for weight and was about 20th for height and head size. Ryan is around the 7th percentile for everything. Also, Ryan's first tooth is looming under his gum, though hard to say when it will actually pop through. Nothing yet for Avery. They weren't too thrilled about the shots, but recovered quickly. Since the dr office is near my office, I took them in for a quick visit before heading back home to drop them off with Sarah and then back into the office. We are very lucky to have Sarah as our nanny. She is doing great and the kids have a great time with her.

We are going to start trying 3 meals a day. They have made their way through all the Stage 1 foods, so now we look forward to trying the Stage 2 foods.

6 month photos

With Avery & Ryan reaching the 6 month mark we decided to have some professional photos taken. We used Photo Innovations, which is around the corner from our house. Avery and Ryan did great and even let us do some diaper shots and do a change of clothing. Here are a few of our favorites.

The rest of our favorites can be found on our Shutterfly site.

Mini-me's

It is always interesting to hear who people think Avery and Ryan look like. Occassionally, we hear that they both look like Andy and sometimes we hear that they both look like me. Most of the time, we hear that Ryan looks like Andy and Avery looks like me, which we agree. For comparison purposes, take a look at the photos below and let us know what you think by taking a poll at http://www.doodle.com/n6kdhrd2ry7d8zy2. We will share the results in an upcoming post.



Avery and Ryan during tummy time




Andy and Josh during tummy time

Avery chillin in her bouncer

Me chillin on the shag carpet

Busy Weekend

The weekend started with Bunco on Friday night. I had Bunco, which is once a month in our neighborhood, and this time was only 2 doors down from us. The girls always have a good time eating, drinking, and throwing the dice. Andy played golf with his monthly group from Qwest on Saturday morning. The played up at Keystone, so he left at 7am after giving both Avery and Ryan their bottles. And, I "slept in" until 7, which was nice. I had a nice day with the babies and Raleigh and we got in a good walk in the morning. Andy got home at 4pm and hopped in the shower, and then we were off to Little Monkey Bizness for Jack's 2nd birthday party. We hadn't been before, but had heard great things. All the little kids had a blast running around and enjoying the play area. Avery and Ryan enjoyed watching all the activity and you could see that they couldn't wait until they could get out there! After play time, we had pizza and cake with the birthday boy! After getting Avery and Ryan fed and put to bed that night, Andy had to do some work, so I decided to run to the store to get groceries for the week. The store is so empty at that hour! Sunday morning, was my turn to play golf. I had a tee time at 7:12 am (oh how things change once you have kids!!) with a friend and 2 of her friends. The weather was great and it was so nice to be out on the course. We were all sad that the 9 holes went by so quickly! One of Andy's friends from b-school was in town with his 4 month old baby, so they came over for brunch. It was crazy that there were 3 of us and 3 babies 6 months and under. We had a nice time catching up and Avery and Ryan enjoyed meeting a new friend. Sunday afternoon, Avery and Ryan enjoyed checking out all their new toys that Annabelle and Gwyneth have outgrown. It is so fun to see their faces light up when they discover new things. We also did webcams with my parents and then Andy's parents. Sunday night, we enjoyed a night out on the deck grilling out. The kids were exhausted from the weekend and konked out in their highchairs while we ate dinner.

Ryan and Daddy

Jack Carlson - the birthday boy

Avery enjoying her first balloon


The four of us (stolen from Kelly's blog- thanks!)

Ryan in his highchair

Avery asleep in her highchair

1/2 Birthday!

Avery and Ryan are 6 months today! It is amazing how much they have changed, especially in the last month! We are having so much fun. They definitely have very different personalties. Ryan is very smiley and will smile for anyone. Avery likes to make people work for her smiles. Overall, they are both great babies and enjoy playing, eating, and sleeping.

Highlights/Milestones during month 5:

-went on their first vacation

-got to spend time with their grandparents

-Avery started eating cereal (Ryan started at 4 months but Avery had no interest)

-Both made it through all the Stage 1 veggies (peas, green beans, squash, and carrots)

-Sleeping a longer stretch at night - we are at 10 hours right now

-They both love standing when we hold their fingers

-They both mastered rolling from the tummy to back early on, but Avery hasn't done it lately and Ryan does a few at the beginning, but then gets tired. They have both rolled from their back to tummy a handful of times

- Outgrew their swaddles

-Avery loves grabbing Raleigh's tongue when Raleigh licks any leftover food off of her

-Ryan loves to kick when he is laying on the floor, maybe he will be a great swimmer or soccer player

-Avery sometimes blows bubbles and sucks in her bottom lip

- They are starting to notice each other more and Raleigh

- They outgrew their swings and have moved on to the exersaucer and jumperoo


Ryan in the exersaucer and Avery in the jumperoo



Avery and Ryan in their new highchairs


Video - http://silvermans.shutterfly.com/922

Morning at the Zoo

We met the Carlsons and Meyers at the zoo right at opening this morning, so 6 adults and 6 kids 2 and under. We brought our side by side Maclaren stroller as Avery and Ryan both enjoy being able to look around, especially Ryan. We used it for the first time around the neighborhood last night and it worked well. We also decided to break in Andy's daddy diaper backpack. Jack and Annabelle enjoyed running around and leading the way. Annabelle even helped push the stroller when she took a break from pulling GG in the wagon. The Carlsons and Meyers headed out before us and so we did a stroll through the primate section. Ryan and Avery were asleep by the end. We headed to uptown after the zoo to grab something to eat and ended up at Steubans for brunch. There was a little bit of a wait, but it was worth it. They both did great at the zoo and restaurant and took a long nap this afternoon.
They have now been through peas, green beans, squash, and carrots, and are doing great. This week, we will try some sweet potatoes and move to fruit. We have also just changed from 5 to 4 bottles a day with 8 ounces per bottle so we can get them to bed sooner, so far it seems to be working well. Even though they turn 6 months on Thursday, our dr appt isn't until the 19th since Dr. Middlemist is out on vacation until then. We are anxious to see how much they weigh now!

Mommy with the babies in the Maclaren (Jennifer in the background)


Annabelle helping push with BJ helping guide



Ryan and Daddy's backpack at Steuban's (Avery is on the other side of the backpack)