Houston we have TEETH

at 14 1/2 months, Laurel is finally getting some teeth, whew-eee!

i was seriously contemplating gettin her gums x-ray just to see what was going on. but right before her check up, the nubs started cutting---all 4 of them! the dr did say, it's not considered late until about 16-18mos (getout!)

ALL the kids we know have a full set (4-6 chompers) by a yr. Vienna only has 4, with 2 more slowly coming in on top.

my poor baby was miserable for about 2 days. during those nights, we could hear her rolling around whimpering (even w/a dose of motrin). Laurel's usually a champion sleeper at nights (not so much at nap time). luckily, they know how to soothe themselves back to sleep--- so she still was able to get a good night's rest.

on top of her misery, she got the sniffles, which prob is a direct correlation to her cutting teeth.

she's feeling much better now. while we did some yard work today, the girls enjoyed their fav summer treat, rocket pops on a beautiful, warm fall day.

Weekend Visits

my close friends are in town this week for their dad's death memorial . it's a vietnamese tradition that honors and commemorates our loved ones on the day/week of their death. we continue to celebrate with them always, even when they are only with us in spirit.

twins w/hoang sisters

deterding twins w/the hoang twins.

we also took the girls to a 'tet trung thu' festival. a vietnamese tradition that celebrates the arrival of autumn---like in so many cultures (think holloween). children sing and hold lit paper lanterns; and there are delicate pastries called 'moon cakes' available only during this time. the girls sampled some and liked them. they also had cotton candy and got to run around. we think they had a good time.

pretty lanterns

ran into loan & jacob at the festival

momma's got big plans for us

No pressure of course

Operation PLUMP it Up

the girls finally had their 1yr check up this week (alittle late since kaiser was slammed with back-to-school health checks).

vienna is taller and skinny (29.5", 16lb 8oz) and laurel is stocky (28.5", 18 4oz). both are not very high on the charts. and this is AFTER piling on the butter, cheese, fatty/fried foods PLUS pediasure to their diets. i would even add scoops of toddler next-step powder formula to the gallon of milk for added calories and nutrients.

every meal, they get an assortment of foods: at least one meat, carb, veggie and fruit---whether they eat it, is a different story. not to mention snacks every 2 hrs.

the only foods i've stayed away from are sugary treats, which means really no desserts (only fruits), watering down thier juice and adding milk to their pediasure. but after talking to the pedi, they need all the calories, so i'm gonna have to bring on the sugar.

for the first year, kids really need the fat and calories for development. seriously, no need to stress about overweight or health issues until they are adolescents. i know alot of fat babies who are now thin adults.

also according to the pedi, after the first yr, kids will thin out or plateau and really will only gain about 4-6lbs for the whole year. thou, she BARELY eats, vienna is growing taller. laurel is actually a good eater, so she's def getting her nutrients.

some new tricks for vienna. since she likes to drink more than eat, she now gets v8 with her juice/water. before she got half milk/pediasure, now it's mostly pediasure. believe me, even when we withhold the liquids, she still wont eat. speaking of mega calories, i bought a can of condensed milk, but she's not loving it so far.

vienna also has an appt w/a nutritionist in a couple of weeks. she's living the celebrity life, this will be her third personal specialist.

but you know what, vienna just takes after eric (oh, in so many ways). so she'll prob be thin her whole life. eric could tell you childhood eating stories of being bribed with gifts, sitting stubbornly at the table for hours, to being admitted to a food clinic, etc. yes, it's all his (genetics) fault (-;

good thing they're not boys, or i'll be worried they'll be too small/short and never date (!)

Gym-tastics

we decided not to sign up the girls for the fall semester since it's 20 wks long (double the summer semseter), which is a tad too long for a trial lesson.

until next year, here's some gym-tastic moves fm the little gym:

New Shoes On the Block

squeaky shoes = squeaky fun

Pic of the day

get your own nifty 'bubble swatter' at a target near you.

PeekaBoo with Me

here's one for giggles. after bath fun. can you tell i've been organizing their videos?

1yr montage

here's the video i promised for thier 1yr birthday. better late than never. enjoy!

Labor Day Weekend

since we didnt get invited to any bbq's and the kids are too young to take to the borgata for the weekend (which we did get invited to), we ended up spending the day at the zoo! the girls' first trip. i have fond memories of the zoo fm childhood and still love going. so there will be many more visits to come.