16 weeks old!

Xander helping Mom on the computer

The boys looking out the window while I sew

sweet boys modeling mama-made onesies

Xander peeking from beneath his dino bonnet at his cousin

four generations. Me with Max, my grandma, and my mom with Xander

It's been too long since I've posted, but boy has our life been busy!!! I am finally feeling much less depressed so I have been doing the evenings without help much of the time. That leave 3 feeds, two playtimes, bathtime and bedtime to do by myself every night. Most of the time if we stick to our routine everything goes great. They will take a short cat nap or two in between their 3 feeds so I can get things done, like dishes and cleaning up a little. I've even been able to put them in thier bouncies and sew or cook while doing a ridiculous one woman silly singing and making faces show. It's exhausting and they love it. I still just give them baths out of a basin with a wet washcloth 3-4 nights per week and I used to wait until I had help to do tub baths. However, I figured out how to bathe them both in the tub at the same time and it works out quite well for us. I roll up towels like the little head supports in infant carseat and put them at the end of the tub. Then I fill the tub with a few inches of water and bubbles and put them in with their heads on top of their towel pillows. this keeps their ears out of the water and also doesnt allow them to turn their heads to drink the bathwater (something they'd love to do if I would let them) I bath them with a baby soap bar and shampoo and splash them and talk to them, and they eat it up, grinning and talking right back. Until I let the water out of the tub..... I cover them with wet rags so they wont get too cold, but obviously I have to let the water out before I get anyone out. I cant leave a three month old unattended in a tub of water. And then the yelling starts. They HATE getiting out. Pretty sure it's because they don't like being cold. Then it's a mad dash for lotion and jammies and a night bottle, which they SUCK down so fast. And then I read to them, pray with them, swaddle them and put them in bed. They have a lava lamp night light and my ipod set to 11 hours of rain and ocean waves. I tell them goodnight and shut the door. Usually Max stares at the ceiling fan and Xander talks to the curtains for 5 or so minutes before falling asleep (between 10 and 11) and we don't hear from them again (unless Max escapes his swaddle and wakes himself) until 7 or 8 in the morning. They LOVE their room and are so good to go down at night. Very proud of them. Xander is starting to get tow little teeth, which makes him pretty fussy and they are both trying to hold their bottles by themselves (they usually just pull it out of their mouths though) They've just started to really enjoy of few toys. They like to hold onto linkies and watch rattles and little animal chime. They will track the rattles and chimes if I move them. Xander like to chew on the linkies if he can figure out how to get them in his mouth. Poor Max loves to scratch his head. He has bad cradle cap despite my doing everything I can think of. Sometimes when I go check on him, he's unswaddled himself and is scratching at his head. No matter how often I cut his nails he always make himself bleed. And he shakes his arms until those little mittens fly off. Any ideas to discourage this? He only hurts himself at night, like I said when he unswaddles himself. They are beginning to strongly dislike their carseats and if we aren't taking a fast walk, or driving without stopping at stop lights, they will scream about being in them. Quite nervewracking at rush hour. Cloth diapers are still going fine. No diaper rash, but rinsing out poopies is getting old for me. At least they only poop once per day. They eat 5x per day, about 5-6 ounces each time. DJ is going back to school next week, so that will leave me home alone with the boys all day monday-thursday and 12 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I'll miss him but it will be so nice to have him done with school in December. I am returning to work in June. My mom will watch the boys one day, his mom one day and DJ one day. I'm only working 15 hours per week, but it seems like more to me. I am going to miss them so much. Which is why I've decided to do this weekend alone without help. DJ works from 3pm on Friday-11pm on Sunday and so I am a single parent this weekend. So far so good. I love having the boys to myself. I'm trying to enjoiy every moment of "Max, Xander, and Mommy time" I can before I have to return to work. That's our life right now. Sorry for the ridiculously long update. There will be a post VERY soon about a new blog and a link to my etsy site. I will even be hosting a giveaway, so keep reading.