Ten Months Old

It's official, the twins will never have a single digit month as their age again in their lives.  My my, that really did seem to go by so fast!  Turning ten months old just makes me realize how close to 1 year they are, but not yet!  I've got to savor every moment of this precious first year of their lives because it'll be the only one I get with just them.  Shortly after the 1st birthday has come and gone their baby sibling will make it's debut and onto the next phase, being a family of five.

This past month has brought so many changes!  Suzie has been in her helmet for 5 weeks now and we've already been able to see changes in her head shape rounding out.  She has been a trooper wearing it and only protests when it has to go back on after her 30 minute break.  Honestly, with how mobile she is now I'm happy she has some extra head protection!  Like I mentioned last month she skipped right over belly crawling to hand and knee crawling and now she is pulling herself up to a stand on anything that is her height, often holding on with just one hand and sometimes balancing up to 20 seconds with NO HANDS!  She'll cruise left and right while standing and semi-holding on all around the couch, coffee table and stair banister.  Suzette is our little dare devil thinking anything is possible and if she just stretches a little bit more all things are in her reach.  Which is not the case and makes for a anxious mommy.  She'll also crawl from room to room now which is fun to see.  Her squeals of delight as she makes it into the next room are so fun to hear.  Suzie has been drooling up a storm for a while now (hence her wearing bibs in so many photos) and with good reason - she has FOUR teeth coming in on top!  

Ian has one more tooth coming in on the bottom making it 3 on bottom and 4 on top.  He is doing well with going from sitting to laying on his belly and rolling or reaching for what he wants then back to sitting, but still no real crawling happening.  He sees Suzie pull herself up on things and tries so hard to do it also, but can't quite get his feet under him to push up like she does.  I think this is a testament to his passive personality.  He really is quite content to sit and play with a toy or two for upwards of half an hour.  And with Suzie moving all around him that is some added entertainment for him to watch.  I was hoping for a bit more progress with him this past month, especially when he'd get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth a lot during his ninth month, but I must say it's okay by me if he takes a bit longer because having one who is always on the go is about all I can handle right now.  Heaven help me when he does start crawling and I've got two going in different directions!

"Hey Suzie, will you share that toy with me?  No?!  Okay, I'll remember that."

"Oh, what's that Suzie?  You don't like me sitting on you?  Well next time share your toys!"

We've been busy getting everything packed this week for our move to Virginia this weekend.  I am grateful my parents have offered to watch Suzie and Ian while we move on Saturday so they can be out of the way and I can focus on the many other things that need to get done.  Hopefully we'll be able to get things situated sooner than later in our new place so the twins have lots of places that are child proof to roam around and experiment with their new capabilities.  Wish us luck!

Moving On

Some of you may or may not be aware that after my grandmother passed away last July Dave and I rented out townhouse in Clarksburg for 1 year and moved in at the beginning of August with my grandfather in Bethesda.  This past year has been full of many changes for all of us and it has been an amazing opportunity to experience them with the love and support of surrounding family members.  Just the other night my grandpa said to us his adjustment to living without his wife was eased because we were here.  I know my adjustment becoming a mother was as smooth as it was because of the generous amounts of time and support my parents, parents-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters all freely gave to allow my sanity to remain intact.  Family is amazing and I know I am extremely blessed to have an extraordinarily wonderful one.  But now is the time to move on.  A year has come and is almost gone from the time we came and there are many changes happening for our growing Traxler Tribe.  

The family that was renting our Clarksburg townhouse contacted us early spring to say they enjoyed our neighborhood so much they decided to buy a new construction town home in Clarksburg Village that was scheduled to be completed by May.  We agreed to let them pay through the end of their lease and move out early.  Our original plan when we moved out was to move back in at the end of their lease, but by that time we knew (surprise!) baby #3 was on the way and decided to go ahead and sell our town house.  Not an easy decision, but the right one for our family.  So we got it ready and 23226 Rainbow Arch Drive hit the market Memorial Day weekend.    

We knew our next step couldn't really be planned until our house was sold.  Three weeks later the answer to our prayers came and we accepted a great offer and will close on our house this week.

It may have helped a bit that I had someone with our best interest in mind as our realtor, my brother Brook.  So the first major hurdle was done and now on to the next.

After Dave graduated in May 2011 with his Masters in Sustainable Energy Engineering he has been on the all elusive hunt for the "perfect job" in that field.  With his undergrad in mechanical engineering it has proven to be a tough thing to find his dream job that combines the two.  Answer to prayer number two, earlier this month Dave was offered a position with an Energy Engineering Firm in Northern Virginia = dream job!!!  He put in his notice at his previous company and just started working at the firm this past Monday.  I am beyond thrilled that he has finally found the job that will not only lead to a wonderful career path, but most importantly bring him the most happiness in his professional life.

So with our house sold and a job in Northern Virginia you may guess where this update is going.  Yup, the Traxler Tribe is crossing over to the other side of the river.  We're packing up our belongings and headed to Loudoun County, VA.  I'm a Maryland girl at heart so this is a pretty big change.  I like the trees, the road signs, the roads themselves, closeness to family and the familiarity that comes with Montgomery County, MD living, but alas now is the time to see what Virginia has to offer.  We'll be renting for a while until we can really scout out the area and decided where we'd like to settle.  With the infamous NoVa traffic who knows if we'll be able to live close enough in to Dave's office to not make that an issue.  Only time and our savings account will be able to tell that one.  

So long Maryland, hello Virginia!  Please be nice to us.

Home Plate

What do baseball tickets right behind home plate get you?

 A sweet chance to look into the dugout and an awesome view of all the action!

Even though it drizzled a little Dave and I had a great time hanging out with my dad at Nationals Park watching the Nats play their first game of a double header against the Braves.  Thanks for the hookup, Dan, we had an awesome time!

One Year Ago

One year ago today my Grandmother turned 80.  To make it to her 80th birthday was one of her main goals when she was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis a couple years earlier.  She made it and was surrounded by family who celebrated with her the entire day and evening.

She was able to feel the twins kick and "hold" them, 

 

before (very much on her own terms) she passed away the next morning.

But this is not the photo I will show Suzette when she asks where her middle name came from.  I want her to know what an amazing woman of strength, intellect, courage, compassion and humility she was named after.  So these are the photos I will share with her first...

 Once Suzette has an understanding of what an amazing privilege and honor it is to share her middle name with this amazing woman then I will show her the first photo.  Because I believe once she knows the marvelous spirit of her Great Grandmother she will feel honored to have her name.  I hope she will know, but by the first photo she will be able to see the love my grandma had for her even when she was still in my womb.  For under that oxygen mask is one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen on her face.  I have no doubt that over the years there will be moments to come where a bond is formed between Yvonne Rich Quayle and Suzette Yvonne Traxler that will exceed my comprehension.  For I very much believe these two spirits will enlighten and enrich each other.   

Thank you grandma for teaching me so many important lessons about life and people and enabling me to pass that along to my daughter.  I am better for each moment I spent with you and now they will be too.

Are they really mine?

My lovely sisters gave me a professional photo shoot as a baby shower gift.  I decided to wait to use it until the twins were a bit older and more animated.  These were taken by the extremely talented Bonnie of Polka Dot Portraits at their 8 month mark.  She did a great job of capturing each of their personalities.  Ian and Suzette are so cute and precious in these photos that it makes me wonder can these two perfect babies really be mine?  Gifts from God indeed and I feel so privileged to be their mother.  Watching this video melts my heart every time!

If you agree that the photos are amazing and would like Bonnie to take some of your family let me know and I can hook you up with a 10% discount on your own photo shoot through the Polka Dot referral program.

Free Entertainment

Love those chubby baby legs!

I have acquired a new love for the spin cycle!

Helmet

Due to her new accessory we've started to call Suzie our SUPER BABY!  

Here is the low down on her helmet.  As I've mentioned in previous posts she was diagnosed at 3 months with torticollis which is a tightening of the neck muscles that results in the baby looking to one side more than the other (super common in twins, especially with baby A).  Her pediatrician told me she had a minor case, but should still receive physical therapy to help correct it.  So we hired a private PT until we could get a free one through the county's Infants and Toddlers program.  The physical therapy has helped her a great deal with the torticollis and she is doing very well with looking to both sides now.  BUT, as a result of her sleeping on mainly one side of her head plagiocephaly (the flattening of the head) set in.  This is a very common side effect of torticollis.  As a result of her head flattening on one side it shifted her jaw forward and cause some asymmetrical facial features.  

At her 6 month well child visit her doctor said it was so minor and with her being a girl once she had longer hair it'd be hardly noticeable.  Since Dave and I were seeing improvement with her range of neck motion and other gross motor skills from the physical therapy we decided not to pursue a helmet.  And then we went on vacation.  We spent that week together and really noticed more asymmetrical features than we had before and knew that if we were going to take the plunge and get the helmet for her it had to be now while she was still growing so it could make enough of a difference to make her wearing it and our paying for it worth while (hows that for a run-on sentence?!).  By the way, helmets cost thousands of dollars that 99% of the time is NOT covered by insurance since it is not deemed medically necessary.  We knew that from the start and that probably did play into our decision a bit not to get it for her at the 6 month mark as well as having a medical professional say it wasn't necessary.

But alas, we didn't want our girl to deal with uneven ears every time she wanted to wear a pair of sunglasses so we set up a consultation, got her fitted and had a cranial shaping helmet made just for her.

First a stocking cap is placed over her head covering her ears

Then reflective dots are strategically placed on

Next the certified orthotist scans her head from every direction to get measurements

Which then show up on the computer to create a model of Suzie's head

 There are different types of helmets our there and I did a bit of research before deciding this one would be best - the Kid Cap.  The helmet is made of hypoallergenic thermoplastic called Durr Plex which is made into the ideal perfect round circle for Suzie's head.  The way it works is to restrict the sides of her head that are already round from growing out any further and allow space for the sides that are flat to grow into the shape of the helmet.  Once she is done wearing it her head will have taken on the perfectly round shape of the helmet.  In order to do that she has to wear it a lot.  We only take it off of her for three 1/2 hour breaks a day and the other 22 1/2 hours it stays on her noggin.  She has had it for a little over 3 weeks now and has not only adjusted well to wearing it, but already shown improvement on the round growth on the back of her head!  The estimated time frame is 3-5 months for her to be in it.  I anticipate she'll still be wearing it when her baby sibling arrives in November.  Once her head has grown into the shape of the helmet she's got a round head for life!  We think it's a pretty good deal.

The white part of the helmet is padding and the holes that are drilled into the helmet are for air flow over the sides of her head that are flatter (which are the front left and back right sides).  The helmet is two pieces fit together by the plastic on the top and a velcro strap that goes around back to secure it in place.

Dave and I are thinking if Halloween comes around and Suzie has her SUPER BABY helmet still on we may just rock this idea - 

Pretty awesome, right?!

Cuddle Bug

Ahhh, I'm falling behind in my posting.  Lots of updates coming, but for now a sweet moment of cuddling with my girl before bedtime tonight - just me, her and my six month preggo belly.  Good thing she's squishy enough to fit in the small space I'm not taking up in the chair.  Oh Suzette, mommy loves you so much!

Happy 4th

We had a great time celebrating the 4th of July with our good friends, The Fishels.  It also happened to be their oldest daughter's 7th birthday so we got to join in on the cowgirl wild west festivities as well.  It's always a fun time at the Fishels, thanks for letting us come hang out for a 2 in 1 celebration!