Riley's Cool Kicks

Ever since he was a little younger than 3 months, Brent and I have wondered about Riley's feet.  They didn't point quite as straight as Noah's and he would turn them in funny angles.  As he got older and put more weight on them, we grew more and more concerned.  Every pediatrician visit (3 months, 6 months, and 9 months) we would ask her if they looked ok.  She assured us they were fine and we didn't need to worry.  By the 9 month check up and us asking her AGAIN she gave us a referral to a physical therapist just to ease our worries.

So off Riles and I went to the physical therapist.  She told me that it could either be a hip problem or a foot problem.  A hip problem is a lot more serious and would need to be corrected with surgery.  Luckily, after doing a bunch of flexibility tests on Riley, it turned out to be a foot problem.  When he stands and puts weight on his feet he pushes the inside part of his foot down.  This caused his foot to point outward as he was trying to walk on the inner part of his ankle (it looked so awkward when he tried to walk).

So once we got the diagnosis we had three options.  We could tape his feet and see if that would help.  We could order pre-made shoes that could possibly correct the problem, or we could order custom made shoes fit specifically to Riley's feet that would definitely correct his issue.  Brent and I agreed right away that we wanted to take care of the problem the best way for Riley and chose to get him the custom shoes.  We also found out insurance doesn't cover anything until we met our $1500 deductible, so we would be paying for the $1,000 shoes.

As a girl I've always dreamed of owning ONE pair of designer shoes.  I know it's such a silly thing to spend your money on.  But Jimmy Choo's and Louboutin's are so pretty!  Well, needless to say, my son got the first pair of designer shoes in our family.  But it was even cooler than the other designer shoes because we got to be the designers (when I say we I mean me and Riley.  And Riley just tried to chew on the samples while I picked them out).  We picked out our design, Riley got casts made of his little feet so the shoes would fit perfectly, and off went the order.

Brent and Riley went to pick up the shoes since I was in Iceland when they came in.  Riley was a little champ at his appointment (which was nothing new.  That kid loves charming anyone in the room that will look at him) and his new shoes fit perfectly!  He'll have to wear them for around 6 months.  Right now he wears them twice a day for 2 hours at a time.  Eventually he will work his way up to wearing them all waking hours.  It's amazing how much they've helped already!  He is standing on his own for 5-8 seconds at a time and he took a step the other day!  I don't count that as his first step, though.  It was just one quick step toward me then a fall.  But it's amazing the progress he's made already.  He doesn't mind them at all, and I'm so proud of how strong and resilient the little guy is.

As for the pediatrician, we're going to be getting another one.  She's never been the friendliest person (you would think that someone that works with kids would like them).  And after her telling us for 6 months he was fine when in reality we ended up spending a grand on Riley's "fine" feet, I think it's time to look for a doctor that knows what they're talking about.  Our physical therapist (who we LOVE!) said she would give us some great recommendations and we can't wait to go to someone new!

Here are the pictures of Riley's designer kicks!  And the best part is he'll wear them WAAAAY more than Kim Kardashian wears any of hers expensive shoes.

 They can go with pretty much any shirt color!  Yes I thought about that when I designed them.

 What little boy doesn't like dinosaurs?

 And a few random ones

 PILLOW PARTY!

Annoyed

The boys are teething right now so it's been a rough little while at our house.  Pretty much anything gets on my nerves right now and instead of yelling at Chip for being Chip, I figure it's more therapeutic to vent about it on the blog.  So these are some of the current things that are driving me nuts.

-Teething.  It feels like it's an eternal process that tortures everyone in our house on a daily basis.  Riley has 3 teeth, Noah has 2 and is working on the third.  I feel so bad for them and wish there was something more I could do.  I got my 12 year old molars when I was 19 (in some ways I was a late bloomer.  Others, not so much) so I can remember how much it sucks.  I couldn't imagine getting a bunch all at once and not being able to express with words how you feel.  But it's still rough for all of us.

-Noah has some issues.  He won't sit up.  Zero desire.  I try every single day to prop him up between my legs, put toys in front of him, hold him there.  But he arches his back and makes his legs go straight so he just ends up laying down.  I know he's not developmentally slow.  He can crawl super fast, is starting to climb and is a little too smart for my own good.  But the kid won't sit.  I feel like it's getting to the point where he's going to be walking to his classes at BYU (yes, I want my kids to go to our alma mater) and then when he gets there, he'll lay down on the ground for the lecture.

-Just saying'.  Can there really be a more rude thing to say?  People think they can say something SO rude, but then if they add "Just sayin'" to the end, it justifies their rudeness.  "Maybe if you spent time cleaning while the boys were sleeping, you wouldn't feel like your house was a disaster.  Just sayin'".  No, if I spent time cleaning while the boys were sleeping I would go insane because I had no down time while they napped.  And then when you were insensitive and said something stupid to me I would want to key your car next time I saw it parked somewhere.  Just sayin'.

-Noah and his food processor issues.  My boys are TOUGH.  They aren't scared of anything.  They crawl after me when I vacuum to try to help.  They love dogs of all sizes.  My moms dog is 75 pounds and instead of looking at her in fear, Riley and Noah look at her like she's going to be a fun thing to ride around the house someday.  So when I busted out the food processor to chop up Oreos for our Christmas treats, it shocked me that Noah got this look of sheer terror on his face and started screaming.  So like any psychology major would do, I figured exposure therapy would help him get over his little quirk.  No such luck.  By the time I was done using it the poor kid was planking on our living room floor and his face was a snotty mess.  I got him calmed down and started using our beaters.  No problem there.  He was fine and didn't bat an eye.  But then when I went to wash the food processor he started screaming again.  Needless to say, Brent will be taking him upstairs tomorrow when I have to use it again.

-Our neighbor and his Mustang.  Even though I don't think he's old enough, our neighbor is going through a midlife crisis.  One of the things he did to make himself feel more manly was he bought a Mustang.  And man does he drive it like he's compensating for something.  And I know this from how he drives through our NEIGHBORHOOD.  He starts the engine up, lets it sit there for a few minutes while he revs it.  Vroom vroom.  So fun when Riley's asleep in our room with it right outside.  Then he pulls out.  No joke, the other day when he drove away he PEELED OUT of the cul-de-sac.  Come on guy!  You go 30 feet before you have to turn left to go out of the neighborhood.  Was that really necessary?  Then he drives at top speed in front of our house to get to the main road.  Don't get me wrong, I tell Brent all the time that we bought an Audi, so we need to drive it like an Audi.  But on the FREEWAY.  Not through our neighborhood where my kids are going to someday be playing.  That's ridiculous.  Brent told me he saw him a while ago and he now carries a gun in the band of his jeans.  At least we know he's packing SOMETHING.  This is also the same guy that had to knock on our door because his remote control helicopter got stuck in our backyard and he needed us to get it.

Whew, I feel better.

Opposites Cause Trouble

Do these look like faces that cause mischief?

Yes.  Yes they do.  These boys are so amazingly different.  But man, they cause trouble.  They don't act like babies.  Babies are supposed to lay there and look around and coo.  Make cute baby faces and smile.  Riley and Noah have a lot more going on in their heads.  They're like full grown people that can't talk yet.  They're plotting in their little baby heads and are waiting for the perfect moment to reign over the house.  Example: one night they were both snuggling and giving me love on the floor.  Well, Noah started yelling and distracting me.  In the four seconds I had my back turned on Riley, he dove at the empty candy wrapper on the floor.  I'm sure they were planning that all along.  Good work boys, except next time make sure it isn't empty.  

They also plot during nap time.  Riley will wake up before it's time to be up.  When he's JUST about to fall asleep again, I hear Noah yelling from the other room.  A lot of times I will set Riley down a LITTLE too early to go get Noah back to sleep.  Riley wakes up while I'm in with Noah and then it's all over.  Way to get out of nap time early boys.  

As they work on taking over the household, they are also doing some pretty fun stuff.  And it's crazy how different they are developing.  Here are some of the things that they can do:

Noah:

-Noah rolled over for the first time at 3 1/2 months. 

-He can hold his bottle all by himself.  I LOVE it.  I get it ready, plop him down in the bouncer and he feeds himself.  When I try to get Riley to do this he looks at me like, "Isn't that why you're here Mom?".

-Noah clapped on purpose for the first time last week.  I started bawling.  It made him seem like such a big boy!

-Noah mastered the army crawl yesterday.  His arms and legs to in all sorts of directions, but somehow it all works out and he zips across the room.

-He got his first tooth and it's on the bottom.

-Noah is definitely a Daddy's boy.  No one makes him laugh like Brent. 

Riley:

-Riley didn't roll over until he was 5 months.  He is officially crawling, as of last week.  He crawls past mounds of toys to get to the blinds, Chip's bone, or the towel we use to wipe off the dogs feet.  He can also sit by himself for a while (Noah straightens his legs when I try to make him sit.  This kid has zero desire to sit up.  He figures, why sit when I can STAND!).

-Riley has one tooth and it's on the top.  You can see it when he smiles now.  It is so cute, but I'm going to miss the gummy smiles!

-Riley is such a charmer.  He will look at someone and give them the sweetest smile and happy coo.  

-Riley loves almost everyone and is super outgoing.  

-I think he's turning into more of a Momma's boy.  

They sleep unswaddled at night now.  We put them in their cribs, rub their backs, and leave.  They can put themselves to sleep!  I can't wait for this to happen at nap time...

They are definitely buddies!

They are already making their complaints known

Love these little turkeys.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from our (not so) Angry Birds!

It was a big day at the Anderson house!  The boys and I went to visit Brent at work in Seattle.  They were so cute at the office and it was so fun to show off their costumes.  Then when we got home Noah celebrated Halloween in style by getting his first tooth! 

Riley also decided to celebrate Halloween by causing mischief.  While I was getting Noah down for their nap, he rolled over to the back door and grabbed a towel we had over there.  The towel we use to wipe off Macie and Chip's paws after they come in from outside.  He was sucking on it when I came downstairs and had mulch on his face and everything.  Gross.  I grabbed the towel (but not before I got a picture.  The damage was already done, right?).  Man they are starting to give me a run for my money...

Here's Your Sign

When you go out in public with twins, you get a LOT of attention.  And I constantly get asked the same questions.  Here are a list of the questions/comments that I hear the most that drive me up the friggin' wall. 

1.  Are they twins?   ...  One lady actually said, "Why am I asking that?  Of course they are!" so I let her slide.  But I want to come up with a comment to answer people back when they ask that.  So far I can only think of, "Yep.".  But come on.  They're pretty much the same size.  Their car seats are identical.  They don't dress the same, but they dress similarly on most days. 

2.  How can you tell them apart??? 

This is Riley.

This is Noah.

Maybe they look KIND of the same in some pictures, but in real life they look completely different.  Needless to say it's mostly men that ask me this question.

3.  I wanted twins until I had one kid and realized how much work it is!/I can't imagine more than one at a time!  Mine are spaced out and it was crazy.      I never know how to respond to this.  I have never had one kid so I don't know what it's like.  Plus we are lucky that we got some pretty awesome kids, so two isn't as big of a deal as some people might think.  That or people are wusses.  

4.  Do you get ANY sleep?      Yes, actually.  But when I tell people I do they look at me suspiciously like I must give my kids Benadryl every night.

One week at church Brent and I walked out in the hall to feed the boys.  There was another couple with two kids (the same size and dressed similarly).  The first thing out of Brent's mouth was, "Are they twins??".......  I looked at him and before I could say anything he said, "I KNOW!  I knew as soon as the words were coming out of my mouth!!". 

5 months

Here is their 5 month picture!  Note: 5 month old babies are WAY harder to get a cooperative picture out of than 4 month babies.  Apparently by 5 months they've developed opinions.  And Noah was trying to play steam roller over Riley the whole time.  But in the end it worked out.  And they've almost grown so much they're off the blanket!

And Noah wanted to show how awesome he's getting at holding himself up.  He was rolling across the room today.  So crazy to watch!  Riley also rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time today.  Pretty soon they'll have barrel roll contests across the living room. 

Life: Updated

Confession:  I suck at blogging.  But I have two very good reasons for that.  When I look back to what my life was like before the babies I should have been a super blogger, writing something every day.  I should have also been in the most amazing shape ever.  I had the time.  But NOOOO.  My time was spent cleaning, working out (a little) and watching Keeping up with the Kardashians.  It's amazing how crazy life can change in a year.  Riley and Noah are 5 months tomorrow.  I can't believe how big they are getting and how wonderful their little personalities are.  They are SO different, but they are each so amazing. 

Riley went from being the handful to being the most chill baby.  He just likes to look around, eat his hand, and talk (he talks CONSTANTLY.  I wonder what our house is going to sound like when he says actual words).  He's learned that if he talks when he's falling asleep, it will keep him up longer.  What a little punk.  He can roll from his front to his back over both shoulders.  The first time he did it my mom, Grammi, and I cheered so much we scared him and he cried.  Whoops.  We were a little more quiet the next time.

Noah was the most relaxed kid at birth.  And for the first couple months.  Then something happened.  Man was he fussy.  But we've tweaked their schedule a little and he has been soooo much happier again for the last few weeks.  Noah rolled over for the first time at 3 1/2 months.  And it was from his back to his front.  Our pediatrician was impressed with that.  But now he rolls all 4 ways (front to back and back to front over both arms).  He's starting to roll more times in a row so he'll roll away from me and Riley and I'll have to go get him and bring him back to us.  He's also becoming a serious mama's boy, which I LOVE :)

At 4 months I was brave enough to take them to the store for the first time by myself.  After I did it once, it gave me serious confidence and now we go somewhere every day.  Mostly Safeway and Target, but sometimes we REALLY go big and go to Costco.  I figure they'll like that place even more when they're older and can eat the samples.  They also went on their first roadtrip this past weekend to Portland to visit Brent's sister and her family.  They did AWESOME.  They were so good in the car and were great sleepers while we were there (I was so worried they would stop sleeping through the night since they were in a strange room, but they made me proud).  It was so fun and relaxing to get away and just relax.  Brent's sister's kids were so cute with the boys.  Their oldest got Riley to laugh and it was the sweetest thing. 

I feel like their are 3,293 other things I need to blog about, but nap time is almost over.  So here are a few recent(ish) pictures.  

4 months!

 One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Happy 4 months to the best babies EVER!

Babies Blessing

Riley and Noah got blessed at church on June 5th.  While it was one of the most chaotic before church Sunday's of my life, once we got to church it was one of the best ever.  Brent did such an amazing job and I am so proud of him.  Neither boy made a peep during the blessing (actually both did REALLY well the whole meeting.  I don't expect that every week) and I felt the Spirit so strongly. 

I've seen countless baby blessings since I joined the church.  But it is a whole new experience when you are the one that is having your child blessed.  I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a mother to these two amazing boys.  I was able to bear my testimony (something I don't do as often as I probably should), but I still couldn't say everything that was in my heart.  I don't have words to express what these little guys mean to me and how lucky I am that I got picked to be their mom.  I've said it before but I will never say I'm grateful for trials.  But I'm grateful for all that I've learned after the trial is over and how much I appreciate these boys.  They are the best little boys and I'm so glad I get to be a part of their lives and see the wonderful people they grow up to be.

Riley getting ready

 Noah getting ready

 Handsome Daddy and Riley

 Me and Noah Bear

 My favorite part: they all had matching ties :)

 My mom got her black eye white water rafting the day before.  She's hardcore like that

 Brent and his parents

 Brent's sister Karin and her hubby Jordan.  Riley and Noah with their cousins Matthew and Isabelle

Noah Photoshoot

Noah is just so freaking adorable.  No more words necessary