Opus 90 - Our Birthday Present For Mommy

Today is Mommy's birthday (we won't say which one...). We decided the best birthday present we could give her was to be really good in Church. I (Joshua) played with Daddy and Mommy for a little while then I fell asleep on Mommy's shoulder. I haven't done that in a REALLY long time, but I thought it would be a nice thing to do for Mommy on her special day. I even sucked my thumb. Mommy thinks it's really cute when I do that.

Now it's my turn Joshua. I (Lissa) played with my toys on my blanket for awhile, then I decided it would be fun to play with Aunt Lissa. She gave me treats and let me pull on her hair. She says I can pull really hard and it doesn't hurt her because Grandma Camacho used to pull on all of her girls' hair really hard when she would braid it for Circus. It was fun to play with Aunt Lissa. After awhile I got really tired so I fell asleep in Aunt Lissa's arms. Aunt Lissa says her arm got tired, but I don't know why - I'm the light baby!

After Sacrament meeting Mommy, Daddy, and Aunt Lissa took us home so we could finish our naps. Mommy & Daddy got to go back to Church while Aunt Lissa decorated Mommy's cake. They said they really enjoyed that but we don't understand why they would want to leave us for even a second!

Happy Birthday Mommy! We love you!

Opus 89 - 9 Month Check-Up

Lissa & Joshua had their 9 month check-up today. Both are healthy, strong, and seem to be pretty much on schedule developmentally. The doctor was quite pleased with how they are doing - she was particularly impressed with how well they eat. Go kiddos!

Joshua is now 29.5 inches tall (70th percentile) and weighs 20 lbs 4 oz (45th percentile). Lissa is 28 inches tall (also 70th percentile - on the girls' chart of course) and weighs 17 lbs 5 oz (25th percentile). The doctor and nurses were so excited for Lissa going higher on the charts.

Now that they are eating so well they get to try "big people" food. They have already tried rolls and ravioli pasta and seem to like to like both just fine. How fun to have them learning to eat "big people" food!

The kids also get to have their teeth/gums brushed now. We gave it a try tonight and they thoroughly enjoyed playing with the toothbrushes in their mouths :)

It's so fun to watch the kids learn and grow. We're so proud of all of their hard work catching up to the other kids their age. They are happy, fun, and cute babies that bring so much joy into our home!

Opus 88 - Teeth Everywhere

Joshua is now getting his second tooth. This one, not surprisingly, is on bottom next to his other tooth coming in.

Not to be outdone, Lissa is now getting her first tooth. It's in the exact same spot as Joshua's first tooth. I really didn't expect that to happen... I figured since every baby is different, mine would probably get their teeth in a different order. Maybe her second tooth will be on top :)

Needless to say, we are big fans Teething Tablets and Tylenol right now. Two teething babies!

Opus 87 - The Babies' Latest Achievements

Lissa and Joshua have been working hard to catch up developmentally. They are now master sitters.



Joshua is getting faster and faster at crawling. I find him in the strangest places now. I'm so glad I already had the gates up that keep him in the living room! By far, Joshua's favorite place to go is under the exersaucer. He loves to put toys under it then go after them. It's even more fun for him if Lissa is there. She doesn't seem to mind.


Because he hasn't mastered backing up, he has managed to get himself caught in a few corners.


Both babies LOVE to play in the exersaucer. It has been one of our best purchases. Actually, we used a few Target gift cards to get it. So if you gave us a Target gift card, you helped purchase the exersaucer and we are VERY grateful! Those kids just love to play with the toys on it. They also love bouncing up and down. So cute.

(Name that show - and be specific... Who is playing?)

Lissa is very jealous of Joshua's crawling. Seriously, I've never seen a 9 month old so jealous! We have been practicing crawling with her and she's made some progress. She gets up on her hands and knees quite well. Unfortunatley, she then proceeds to push herself backwards. She has figured out that she moves a little when she turns in circles, so she uses that skill with the moving backwards to get around. She doesn't move far and the progress is slow, but she seems quite proud of herself :) Lissa has also become a real fan of books.



Joshua has figured out how to clap. He now loves to clap. Sometimes he even makes a noise that almost sounds like "yeah."

Joshua also is getting his first tooth. We thought he had a molar coming in about a month ago - there was a white, hard spot back there, but it disappeared. I guess that's not all that unusual. Anyway, his real first tooth (bottom front) has broken through. Go Joshua!

Lissa has decided Joshua is the funniest kid ever. It's so fun to listen to her "napping." She lays in her crib and just giggles and giggles. I assume she's laughing at something Joshua is doing, but I suppose she could just be giggling at herself. Silly kid.

Opus 86 - Little Cougars

Joshua: What?? You're not a Cougar Fan???

Lissa: NO!!!!!!!!!!!

Opus 85 - WANTED

WANTED

A VERY CUTE BABY BOY

CRIME: EYELASHES THAT ARE MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN HIS MOM'S




Joshua just wanted to be in prison like Grandma and Grandpa :)

Opus 84 - The Hazards of Being a Twin

Opus 83 - More Silly Lissa

Recently Lissa has decided she wants to be like her cousin Annie. She loves the camera. When you turn it on and point it her direction her face lights right up. These are a few pics I took of her last night when she was being particularly goofy with the camera (despite her nasty cold).

(This one is a little blurry, but so funny)

The Two Lissas

Opus 82 - Oh The Places You'll Go!

Now that Joshua is officially a mover, he is everywhere! He is very quickly showing me all of the places in the living room that I need to baby-proof. I think I'm almost there :) Here are some fun pics of him exploring underneath the exersaucer...

(This one is just for fun... I think he looks so cute!)

Opus 81 - Joshua is a Mover!

Joshua has decided that playing in one spot is BORING, so he is now scooting around. He started on Sunday by moving an inch or two. Yesterday, he moved a little more. Today he showed me all of the places in the living room that are not twin-proof :) Now Lissa seems a little jealous as she watches Joshua move around and get all of the toys he wants. Maybe she'll join him soon...

Joshua Scooting

How Lissa Feels About This
(name that background music...)

Opus 80 - Look What We Can Do!

The wonderful day has finally come! Lissa & Joshua can hold their bottles! Actually, Lissa has been holding her bottle for a couple of weeks now, but Joshua has decided to be cool like his sister and start holding his bottle too. This makes feeding two babies sooooo much easier! Happy Day!

Opus 79 - What a Sweet Brother!

Lissa & Joshua have been sleeping through the night since they were 3 months old (I know, we're so lucky!). Last Thursday Lissa woke up screaming at the top of her lungs. We knew something had to be wrong - Lissa never does this! So we raced into the room and tried to soothe her. We did everything we could think of, but she was still upset. Eventually I put her down on my bed so I could sit next to her and soothe her. The little goober started giggling and playing! "Okay, that's it. You're fine, you're going back to bed." So we put her to bed and she fell asleep after crying a little longer. She did this routine again a couple of nights ago and we fell for it again! I know, we're slow learners.

But, never fear, we have figured it out. Last night, actually early this morning, Lissa woke up screaming for the third time in eight nights. This time we left her there and the CUTEST thing happened! After Lissa screamed for a minute or two Joshua let out a wail. "Oh great," I thought, "Now Joshua's upset." But it turned out to be just a short wail and he was fine. The next thing we heard was Joshua "chatting" to Lissa as if he was trying to tell her everything was okay. It was so cute. Everytime Lissa screamed, Joshua talked to her. It went on like this for about ten minutes before they both fell asleep again. What a sweet bother Joshua is - taking care of his sis like that! So adorable! I love my babies! They are great friends. Lately they have had so much fun playing with each other - giggling at each other, trying to eat each others' hands, feet, toes, heads (yes, Lissa tries to eat Joshua's head)... They're so fun!

Opus 78 - It's Getting Chilly!

Winter is finally coming to Utah!

Aren't the kids cute in their new winter coats? :)

Opus 77 - Lissa and Joshua "Napping"

The kids were so cute after we put them down for their afternoon nap today. I managed to get a video of it since they don't have a doorknob right now - it's our peephole and it works great! Lissa is the closest baby (the one you can see). You can't see Joshua too well, but he's the one giggling...

Opus 76 - One More Reason

I hate Daylight Savings. I know, awfully blunt. I'm sorry to all of those out there who love Daylight Savings (why, I will never understand), but I really, really, really, really dislike Daylight Savings. There are many reasons why I don't like it, including the fact that I grew up without Daylight Savings and we did just fine, thank you very much; but I won't get into that right now. However, I will tell you that I have added another reason to my list. These pictures describe it best:

Opus 75 - Lissa & Joshua Sit!

The babies are finally sitting pretty well on their own. Joshua has been awfully close for a little while now. Lissa has been taking her time on this one- she's still pretty unsteady most of the time. But, for the record, Lissa can now hold her own bottle while Joshua hasn't mastered that skill yet. I guess Joshua figures he doesn't need to learn it since it's easier to have someone else hold the bottle :)

Joshua says, "Hi Mom!"

"Gimme that camera!"

"Can I have that toy?"

Lissa says, "I know, I'm cute!"

Oops!

"Hi Mom! Whatcha you doing?"

Opus 74 - Halloween Fun

Halloween was a busy day for us. We started the afternoon at a party hosted by the company Jason works for. We then went to the Ward Trunk-or-Treat, trick-or-treated at Jason's Mission President's house and our former Bishop's house, and ended the day at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Lissa and Joshua did a great job with all of the craziness and were really cute as Mickey & Minnie!

Lissa as Minnie Mouse

Joshua as Mickey Mouse

The Family
(No, Jason is not from the Blue Man Group - He's a Smurf!)

This kid would not smile for this picture -
I don't know where she got her stubbornness from!

Smiley Joshua