Fantastic Frankenmuth

Fantastic Frankenmuth!

Tina, Kevin, Grant and Claire aka "The McBrides"

The family pic.

Jake at the Fudge Shoppe.

Papa James and Anderson James.

Uncle Kevin, cousin Grant and Anderson. Jake was napping.

Papa, Nanny, Claire and Grant.

Anderson and Jake took their first mini-vacay on Sunday to good ole Frankenmuth. As a child my family would go every year, Mom, Dad, Tina and my Grandparents. I have some very fond memories of those family days spent in Frankenmuth, so that is what we did yesterday and it was very nostalgic. We did some shopping, ate the famous chicken dinner at Zenders and shopped some more.


The boys seemed to enjoy themselves. They liked riding in their stroller and looking at all the sights. Dinner was a bit of a challenge. It last over 2 hours, which is about one hour and 15 minutes too long for a baby. We took the boys to a toy shop and they sat on the floor to play with some balls and stuffed animals. They especially liked being carried around by everyone.



Jake had a frightening moment that kinda became the highlight of the day. Since Zender's is famous for their chicken they have somebody dress up in a chicken suit to come into the dining room and greet the children. The chicken didn't really come too close to our table but walked about 7 ft. past where Jake was and he was pretty spooked by the chicken. He let out a high pitch scream loud enough to break glass but then he quickly recovered as the chicken moved farther away. Poor Jake, he's such a nervous nelly but the rest of us thought it was pretty funny.



The boys were pretty wound up by the time we got home. After sleeping in the car on the way home they were ready to party when we got home. Bedtime was a bit stressful but after lots of soothing the boys drifted off into wonderful dreams of Fantastic Frankenmuth.

Our Friend, Baby Ashley

Ashley (L), Anderson (M), Jake (R)

I think it's impossible to get 3 babies to smile simultaneously.

The babies were goofing around before bed.

We met up with our friends, Jason, Heather, and Baby Ashley yesterday for dinner. The babies had fun interacting and talking to one another. Anderson managed to make Ashley cry in the first 10 minutes of seeing eachother. He grabbed for her face like he does so often with Jake but she wasn't used to another baby attacking her. It doesn't phase Jake one bit, he is used to loving cat scratches all over his face and neck. At one point Jake put his arm around Ashley and leaned over to give her a wet slobbery kiss on the cheek. It was very endearing to watch the babies size eachother up.

More pictures

We don't want to wear our diaper and jammies!

Elmo is pretty cool.

Um, you're a little too close Elmo!

Elmo, you're my favorite.

Rain, rain go away

So we can go outside to play and our Mommy will stop taking so many pictures!

Jake Thomas doing a serious profile shot for the camera.

Anderson doesn't have many serious moments. Here he is covered in prunes.

Okay, I take that back. He does get pretty serious about his ice cubes in the mesh bag.

This feels so good on our tooties!

Pots and Pans

Awww, I love this picture of the boys. They usually look very different to me but in this picture their smiles look identical.

Anderson often falls asleep with his bear on his face. When we lay him down for his nap he immediately picks up his bear and squishes it all over his face.

Jake (L) and Anderson (R) playing with pots and pans.

Jake eating a whisk. Where's the cake batter?

Anderson and Jake have become pretty serious about their playing. Today they played pots and pans for the first time. My mom used to always give me kitchen stuff to play with and it was fun to watch the boys do the same. They were more interested in eating than cooking as you can see from the pictures.

New Pics

Anderson and Jake are practicing trying to hold their own bottles.

Anderson showing off using only one hand. We're not sure how he pulled that off since he never holds his own bottle.

Jake chillin like a villain.

Hey, I'm not a villain! I'm a sweet little guy!

The blog lives on

Jake having fun sitting up. They love being able to sit up now and play with their toys.

Anderson showing off his new teeth that are coming in. He is getting all 4 front teeth at once

Handsome Boys.

So we had a little problem with the blog. It was infiltrated by someone (with twins) we don't know who apparently felt she had really gotten to know me through the blog. I'm not sure what her motivation was or why she felt compelled to write such things but it makes me uncomfortable to have people like that reading about the boys and getting a little glimpse into our lives. Before the boys were here I used the blog to write about my personal feelings and I rarely do that now because for the most part all I ever care to do is to obsess over them. But on the occasion I do feel like making my own personal statements I think I should be able to do so without some crazy "telling me like it is". If you don't like what I have to say then you shouldn't read the blog or you always have the option to talk behind my back :).

I am grateful that the majority of those who read the blog are great people that leave encouraging and loving comments for our family. I appreciate the interest you have in the boys, its means so much to Kevin and I.

Playing Together and Jake milestone

Anderson wondering if Jake can really fit that in his mouth.

I like playing with Anderson, he's a pretty nice brother.

Uh oh, near collision of giant baby heads.

Anderson and Jake working together to put the lid on.

Anderson and Jake played so nicely together today. They spent at least 15 minutes (that's like 2 hours in baby time) sharing blocks, eating them and taking them away from one another. No one shows themselves yet as the aggressor, both little guys are pretty easy going. Jake did a little bit of shrieking at the end but that was because he couldn't reach the block he wanted.

The three of us did some shopping for baby food today and met Daddy for lunch. I usually don't venture out too much on my own, but the boys did great. I also forgot to mention previously that Jake sits up unassisted now! Yay Jake!

Busy Weekend

These bubbies look up to no good.

Jake giving Daddy a big smile on Sunday morning.

Anderson feeling happy after bathtime.

Anderson and Jake had a busy weekend. On Friday we went to the McBride's house for dinner and then on a walking trip to get ice cream. Grant and Claire both took turns pushing the stroller and the cousins all had fun hanging out. Anderson and Jake just stare in awe of their big cousins and they love the attention from Grant and Claire.

On Saturday we went to Grandma's house for a b-bq. There were lots of family and friends there to meet the boys and the boys had a great time checking everyone out. Aunt Diane and Uncle Karel made a special visit from Canada to meet the boys and brought them special gifts.... ROBEEZ! Yay, we love our Robeez! A big thanks to Aunt Diane and Uncle Karel for being so thoughtful!

Sunday was a busy day as well. We made our usual Costco visit and later in the day we met up with Grandma Sandy, Great Grandma, Great Grandpa, Uncle Joe and Uncle Matt for dinner. It was nice to see everyone and spend time together. The boys had lots of family time this weekend and they really seemed to enjoy themselves.

Update on the boys

Anderson James

Jake Thomas

Anderson and Jake have been busy growing lots of teeth the past week. Both of them seem to have 3-4 tooties on their way. Today we took them to Children's Hospital to for their 6 week check-up with the cranial/facial specialist. It's been a week since Anderson stopped wearing the helmet and the dr. confirmed today that he is good to go. She said he had "beautiful results" and she will check in on him when he turns one but it looks like his misshapen head days are behind him.

Jake will continue to wear his cranial remolding orthosis. Oddly his head now measures symmetrical but looking at the shape it is easy to see he still needs some fine tuning. He has come a long way from where he started so we are very happy about that. We got a peek at the x-rays taken of his skull before the helmet and what a difference! We couldn't believe how severely flattened his head was just 3 months ago, he looks great now. We are proud of them both! It has not been an easy task for them to wear them 23 hours a day, during naps, sleeping at night and sweating like little hot boxes when we take them outside. They are such sweet and cooperative babies.

Unfortunately Jake's torticollis (tight neck muscle causing head tilt) has not been improving despite two days a week of physical therapy. We have decided to step it up a notch and take him to the chiropractor twice a week as well. We have a wonderful chiropractor that has lots of experience with infants so we are hopeful that she will be able to help improve Jake's condition. The dr. said there are some other treatments to consider as he gets closer to a year old but we are trying to avoid those if possible. A neck brace is one of them and a new form of treatment for Torticollis is BOTOX injections into the neck muscle. Neither of those treatments sound desirable to Kevin and I so before that time comes Kevin and I want to do everything we can for Jake to avoid that.

Meal Time = Silly Faces

The bubbies at dinner time. Anderson (L) Jake (R)

Jake looking like he's had enough of lentils and rice.

Lentils and rice do funny things to Anderson.

Momma's bubbies strike again

Jake looking so darn cute. He's such a serious little guy.

Jake in his new walker. This is the face he makes whenever he wants to show off one of his tricks and he's looking for some applause. It's such a cute expression he makes. He's like "Hey you, what do you think of me?"

Anderson was helping me fold some laundry...he swung it in circles.



Anderson (L) and Jake (R) relaxing after their walk outside. They were so hot so I stripped them down to their diapers. They really seem to enjoy being naked.



Anderson trying to figure out how his walker works. They've both figured out reverse but not forward.

7 Months Old

Jake in the laundry basket this morning.

Going swimming.

Drying off after my big swim.

When can we go again?

Happy 7 months Anderson and Jake! Today they had appointments for helmet adjustments and Anderson has officially graduated from his helmet! No more public humiliation for him, now poor Jake has lost his partner.



After a nap we took the boys back out again and headed to the community pool. We haven't taken them since they were around 4 months old and at that time they seemed to like it, but they were pretty indifferent. Today was much different! At first they didn't like it at all and were both pretty nervous when we first went in, but after just a few minutes to adjust to their new surroundings they loved it! We stayed for over an hour in the pool and they really seemed to enjoy it. They bobbed up and down, floated on their backs and splashed their hands in the water. Kevin and I were just smiling ear to ear the whole time watching them, we are so smitten!

Just Jake

Jake having a tug of war with Anderson's hand over this toy.

Smiling for Daddy.

Sweetie Pie.

This post is all about Jake. Jake is a sweet little guy who loves to cuddle and hold hands. When we are holding him or playing with him he will often reach out to touch our faces, rest his hand on our arm and twirl Mommy's hair. His newest talent is singing to us. For the past few days when he wakes up in his crib he begins to make sounds that sound like he is trying to sing. He doesn't complain very often and unlike his brother he LOVES to eat his veggies. There hasn't been anything we have given him that he hasn't devoured and let's not forget his ice cream obbession. He is a sensitive person who doesn't like sudden movements, loud sounds, or when people seem angry or upset.

He doesn't hand out smiles like his brother and laughs a little less often but when he does smile or giggle you know it is sincere and genuine. I take Jake to physical therapy twice a week and there is a little boy who is about 3 yrs. old that is always in the waiting room with us. He pretty much ignores Jake and disobeys his Mom quite a bit which causes her to scold him often. Whenever he yells back at his Mom or won't listen Jake starts belly laughing. He just thinks that this boy is the funniest thing ever. Sometimes the boy makes a face at Jake and yells "no" at him and this makes Jake laugh even harder. I can't figure out what it is about this boy that makes Jake laugh but it is such innappropriate laughter that it is just too funny when it happens.