22 Things

22 Things about the Twins at 22 Months!

1. Amelia says EVERYTHING you say. So watch what you say around her. Tonight my brother asked if she was awesome and she said "yea! awesome!" haha what a goof.

2. Jack's language skills continue to improve. He doesn't say a ton yet but he understands a lot. He says "ohhh noo" when he is about to do something he knows he shouldn't do. Then does it, even though he knows he shouldn't. Example: Climbing out of his bed at night. "ohhh nooooo"

3. Amelia's favorite color is "ewwoo" (Yellow). and she loves "ewwooo uwip" (yellow tulips).

4. These 2 are quite the little explorers. They have really enjoyed hanging out at my parents and exploring the woods and fields all around.

5. I'm pretty sure Jack doesn't need physical therapy when we get back. He's done so much better at walking in a straight line, not falling, and I'd like to thank all of the trees and sticks around the house that have helped him with that ;) We'll see when we get him evaled when we get back what they say!

6.  They both wear size 2T clothes and 4 diapers...although I'm hoping that diaper thing will be done soon! Fingers crossed!

7. Speaking of getting rid of diapers, Amelia loves the potty. She knows when she is going, now she just needs to line that up with getting to the toilet BEFORE she goes. :-P

8. Jack loves all things that move...cars, trains, planes and anything in between! He's obsessed.

9. Jack NEVER sits still...ever. But he will for a "choo choo".

10. Amelia's new favorite show is Thomas the Tank Engine, which she can say very clearly now. She'll stop everything for Thomas. She's almost as bad as Jack ;)

11. Jack doesn't have the patiences for TV...that whole sitting still thing haha which really stinks when mommy needs some quiet time to feed the baby.

12. Neither of them can jump, which I find kind of funny. They should be jumping by now. They know the word jump, they say jump when they see someone jump, but the actual act of jumping is beyond them. They bend down and then stand up really fast but their feet never leave the ground. Oh well...maybe next month?

13. They love to climb trees.

14. They love each other...usually.

15. Jack is a great sharer...Amelia won't share anything. Ever.

16. Amelia has the biggest sweet tooth in the world and will walk around the house asking everyone for a cookie. Ugh! Despite my cutting back on "cookies" and all sweet things lately. I gave her a little dish of ice cream after she banged her lip yesterday at the park and she held on to that bowl for dear life until every bite was gone haha

17. They both have all of their teeth except their last 4, the 2 year molars. We'll see when they decide to pop through.

18. We've had 2 crazy bloody accidents this month, 1 was at the park yesterday when Amelia busted her lip. The other was with Jack about 2 weeks ago when he sliced his forehead open on the corner of the deck. No stitches, no permanent damage, just a bit of a bloody mess :-P Well, at least we made it this long without bloody injuries ;)

19.  Both kiddos eat great with forks and spoons now! I can give Amelia a bowl of cereal and she'll use her spoon to get every drop of milk like a pro. Jack is a little sloppier and will usually just pick up the bowl and drink from it, but he does well with utensils too. Meals are SLOWLY getting a little less messy.

20. Amelia will always clean up her toys. Jackson will NEVER clean up his toys. Not sure how he missed the boat on that lesson...hmm..

21. Amelia is starting to remember people by name and use their names frequently. She'll ask where pop pop is if he's not around. She hands me the phone and tells me to call daddy. She'll point to everyone correctly if you ask her where certain people are. Jack gets most people but he doesn't say it as well as Amelia does.

22. They have become wild, fun toddlers! They're growing up so fast! Can't believe they'll be 2 soon! yikes!

It's almost time

1 week until we March for Babies!

I got crafty...check out our shirts ;)

Lots of onesies, toddler shirts, and shirts for the big kids walking with us and support our team! Yay Team Pepka Twins!

Thank you to everyone who has supported our team so far! There's still time to get your donations in so  CLICK HERE! and help give every baby a healthy start!

Recipe: Banana Chocolate Muffins

It's not very often I adapt a recipe that it turns out very good.

Ok, pretty much never.

So when this one turned out well, I was pretty excited. Ecstatic might be a better word. Don't make fun of me.

As most of you who follow me on Facebook, twitter (@emilytara) or instagram know, we've been eating much healthier at the P house. We've been cutting back on dairy, sugar and processed foods. So far, so good. We're juicing, making most foods from scratch and my next project is going to be canning...I'm excited :)  I've also been lucky enough to be with my parents so they can entertain thing 1 and thing 2 while I cook, which has given me more patience to make more things from scratch.

Anywho, I've been reading lots of great blogs about whole foods and clean eating and trying lots of new recipes and really enjoyed it lately! I'm also (as of today) below my pre-pregnancy weight with Ben! I have a few more pounds (and many inches) til the twins pre-pregnancy weight and quite a few more after that before I'm at a healthy weight, but hey...we're getting there ;)

So the point...I found THIS recipe from a friend who said these muffins were good. Well, making due with what we had around the house, what I thought the kids would like, and the basic recipe I went to work...

Banana Chocolate Muffins

adapted from 100 days of Real Food

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ cups whole-wheat flour 
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tbsp espresso powder
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp psyllium husk powder (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ¾ cup fresh juiced apple juice
• 2 bananas, mashed

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl with a fork or whisk mix the dry ingredients.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients and mash bananas.
4. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry, making sure not to over mix.
5. Line the muffin tray or spray it with nonstick spray then fill each one 2/3 full with batter.
6. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature and freeze some for a later date.
   Enjoy!

Makes 12 muffins. Each muffin is 3 Weight Watchers points plus, just in case you were wondering ;)

The twins loved them, which is always a plus ;)

Well a close second to the deliciousness of a toy flashlight? What a goof!

Let me know what you think and if you'd like to see more of my (mostly) successful recipes on here! :)

Dress Winner!

Thank you everyone who donated and helped spread the word about our fundraiser!

Without further ado, the winner is...

Melanie!

Thank you so much for your donation and helping babies! Hope you enjoy your dress ;)

The March for Babies is 3 weeks away! Donations are always appreciated and hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in 1 more fundraiser before we're done ;)

Jack vs. Food

This has been an ongoing battle with Jackson and food since umm....always. We know he's had some food allergies, but along with the allergies he seems to have some intolerances (not official allergies, won't come up on allergy testing but clearly, they don't sit well with the boy). I guess we can't be too surprised. Tom's mom and sister both have a lot of trouble with food and don't eat gluten, dairy and other foods that they have allergies to. Jack seems to be the "most Pepka" out of the 3 kids, so obviously, he would get the allergies from that side of the family.

So a brief (ish) back history. Jack was diagnosed with reflux at about 4 months old. No shocker, it's common with preemies. At 6 months old we started to give the twins food and Jack did not tolerate it well at all. It would take us another 3-4 months to get him to eat more than some very soft purees. He was getting mostly breastmilk so I cut dairy, nuts, and eggs out of my diet to help him. His reflux improved and everything seemed fine. As he started eating more, he started sleeping poorly, getting fussy, and turning into a wild child. He wasn't throwing up anymore though so we didn't think food was the problem. We thought the sleep was affecting his attitude, teething was affecting his sleep, and on and on. We got a stomach bug last July (13 months old) and we went to a bland diet. I noticed Jack had calmed down a lot but thought it was because he was sick, not food related. Then there were a few other colds and illnesses. Every time Jack went on a bland diet (bananas, rice, apples, toast...then we slowly add back easy foods like chicken, green beans, etc. No dairy, no fatty foods, lots of fruits and veggies, some protein, not the junk food stuff) his behavior would improve. His appetite also seemed to improve and so did his sleep. Well super!

But now WHAT EXACTLY makes Jack's stomach upset? Well we gave him dairy the other day for the first time in over a week. He slept terrible and was a hurricane the next morning. Clearly dairy is out.  Sugar also seems to trigger the wild behavior. I've read that processed foods can be a factor in things like ADHD (I'm not saying Jack has ADHD), so could the "kids food" junk he eats be a factor in his crazy behavior, bad sleeping, etc? I don't know, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

For awhile I've been looking for ways to lose weight, get more energy and feel better in general to keep up with my children, live longer with my children and raise them with good, healthy eating habits. It has been a struggle to balance foods that they'll eat, the obvious need for calories since they are so skinny, and getting in lots of fruits and veggies. I think this will be a challenge we'll face for some time. They're obviously not old enough to really pick out their meals, but they are certainly old enough to tell me what they don't like! I've really spent many many months working hard to figure out Jack's diet and what works for him. I've spent many sleepless nights and stressful days worrying about his weight, what he eats, how he feels, etc. I'm hoping by switching our entire family over to a diet with less processed foods and keep dairy and sugar away from Jack, that I can finally get Jackson to a happy place with food and myself at a happy place with my weight and eating habits.

I'd love for you to share any blogs, books, stories, etc. that you have! If you've experienced something similar, I'd love to hear your story and maybe how you coped with it! I'm really hoping to make long term lifestyle changes to our diet to make things healthier for all of us and make Jack a happier kid with no more tummy trouble. I've had some friends make similar lifestyle changes so hopefully we can all support each other! I've started a facebook page called How We Got Our Pep Back and I'd love for you to join and follow us along this journey!

NICU Visit!

I am so terrible I can't believe I didn't get pictures while we were at the NICU! How silly can you get! But I did get pictures while we were prepping for our NICU visit!

We went the week before Easter so we thought we'd make some Easter cookies and cards for the lovely people at the Conemaugh Memorial RICN.

This was the first year the twins could participate in our visit although they still have no clue what was going on.

We spent the morning cutting out cookies and decorating them with sprinkles.

Although I think they much preferred eating the cookies than decorating them.

They still did a great job and most of the cookies survived the process ;)

We decorated cards the next day and put in their Easter picture with the Easter bunny to share with everyone. This was the first picture they sent that included their new baby brother too ;)

I don't think everyone on the blog has gotten to see how entertaining this picture turned out yet...

I'm holding Amelia's back to keep her in the picture, Jack looks terrified and Ben has no interest at all in what's going on. haha oh the memories ;)

I wish we had pictures visiting with the nurses and Dr. Chan but the twins were running around, I was talking to another mom who just had twins at 27 weeks as well, and we had way more fun chatting to think of taking pictures. Next time! I'm hoping we get to visit one more time before we go, maybe with Tom when he gets back. Until next time ;)

A Special Memory

I'm not sure I have ever shared this story with many people before. It happened right after the twins were born, there was so much going on, I'm not sure it was a top priority story. I started this blog later, after I had some time to collect my thoughts and emotions about the twins birth and their time in the hospital so I don't think this story has made it's way onto the interworld. But it's a special memory, at least to me.

The twins had to be born because I got an infection which meant Jackson, baby A, baby with the broken water, would also have the infection. I know I mentioned that in their birth story and I mentioned how sick I was after they were born. I fought through the pain and infection to go see them a few hours after they were born because I had only gotten to get a quick glimpse of them so far. I was wheeled down to the NICU and spent a few minutes with each one before I had to go back to my room.

Well the next day was even harder on me. I was recovering well from the c-section, had gotten up and showered, but the infection had me down and out. I was feeling awful. I was on several IV antibiotics, pumping around the clock every 2-3 hours, and had a very high fever. Tom wasn't getting in until that night and hadn't even seen the twins yet. I wanted to badly to go visit them and sit there with them but I just couldn't get down to the NICU. It broke my heart. That was the only day out of their entire hospital stay that I wasn't there with them.

I called the NICU frequently to check on them. Every time I pumped I'd call and make sure they were doing ok. The doctor came down to see me once or twice, mostly to get me to sign forms of consent to do different treatments and things with them (they needed blood transfusions, bili lights, medication, special IVs, etc etc etc). But towards the evening, when it became clear I wasn't going to get to see my babies that day, the nurses brought down pictures that they had taken and printed out for me of my babies.  They said it would help my milk supply to be able to look at them while I pumped, but really, it just made my heart smile to see them. Tom got in late that evening and went to see them so I was so glad that one of us got to spend some time with them that day and they didn't have to feel too alone. I know they were in good hands with the nurses and doctors but they were so tiny, they needed their mommy and daddy too.

My mom actually framed the pictures and I see them as a read my babies their bedtime story and I'll always remember how far they've come.

Amelia on CPAP is on the left and Jack still on the ventilator is on the right.

It may not seem like much to anyone else, but the small gesture of someone taking a picture and bringing me a picture of my babies when I couldn't be with them meant so much to me. The nurses at the hospital took such good care of my babies and I'm so grateful to all of them for everything they did for us.

These pictures are a reminder at why we're doing the March for Babies and will do it every year. Even though the twins look so healthy now, they are truly miracles. They were very very sick and needed a lot of specialized care. The care and treatment they received were made possible by research funded by the March of Dimes. The treatments they received made it possible for them to live. 60 years ago, they might not have survived, just like my mom's twin brother who died the day after they were born prematurely. $.76 of every dollar you donate goes to research for new treatments and prevention, programs to support parents while their little ones are in the NICU, public health campaigns to make sure babies aren't born too soon, and so much more. So please help our team, help babies, and check out our fundraiser that is going on until tonight. You have no idea how much it means to families like ours.

First Haircut!

This trip has been full of firsts and lots of activity to keep everyone busy! It's been a little tricky in the cold weather but we've managed to find a lot of things to do to keep us busy in Pennsylvania and not miss our favorite person while he's away.

A big first that I thought would be awhile away was Amelia's first haircut!

We cut Jack's not long after his first birthday. His hair grows incredibly uneven so he has a ton of hair on top and none on the sides, or a ton in the back and none on top. It's out of control. But I've just been taking clippers to his hair every few weeks to keep it even and not looking too sloppy.

Amelia's was a bigger deal since we took her to a salon.

While we were in Pennsylvania, where haircuts are cheap and people are friendly, we decided it would be a good time to do something about this...

That is some majorly out of control baby fuzz. We comb it and detangle it and try to make it look nice but it was just getting out of hand. So I took her to the salon I've gone to for many many years and she got her first little trim!

She was a little antsy but was mostly just excited to get lots of time to check herself out in the mirror. I have a very modest little girl ;) She did great and soon she had a pretty little hair cut!

Since the haircut it's been so much easier to comb, we don't have to spend hours trying to get all the knots out of the back and it's gotten the cute little curl back :) It's also grown like crazy so maybe it was a good thing to get her hair trimmed ;) Just looking at this picture I can't believe how much longer it is in just 3 weeks! I'd show you a recent picture, but the only ones I seem to be able to find she has a hat on. Darn Pennsylvania cold! ;) 

Dont' forget to enter our March for Babies fundraiser! It's open until Friday at Midnight!

March of Dimes Fundraiser-A beautiful dress

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! I know we did

although we really missed papa bear since he was in Alabama :( and next time, I'll wear shoes while taking famil pictures, although it's really hard to chase after frick and frack in dress shoes ;)

I have a special treat and fundraiser today for everyone!

If you have a baby girl, are expecting a baby girl, have a friend or family member with a newborn baby girl or expecting one, then this should be right up your alley.

You know those beautiful boutique dresses you see in the windows of cute homemade type shops or on etsy? Then you look at the price tag and quickly run away before you consider spending a ton of money on a dress your little girl will wear once? Gosh it's hard to turn down pretty clothes for your pretty little girl :) Now is your chance to get a beautiful handmade dress and help a great cause all in one!

I met Ruth at a ladies' night not long ago and she has graciously donated her time, money and amazing talent to our March for Babies team! She made this adorable newborn size dress** and I am giving it to someone who donates to our March for babies Team this week!

So pretty! Makes me want to sew...then I remember how bad I am at it.

This will work like past fundraisers so here are the details:

• Donate $5 to our March for Babies Team to be entered to win.
• For every $10 you donate, I will add your name in one extra time. Broken down...donate $5, get 1 entry. Donate $10, get 3 entries! Donate $20 and you'll get 6 entries!
• Fundraiser will be open until Friday 4/12/13 at midnight. I'll put everyone's entries on a spreadsheet and random.org will pick the winner. I will announce the winner on Saturday and send you an email letting you know you won. Your beautiful dress will be mailed to you shortly after that.
• Want an extra entry? Share this fundraiser on your facebook, twitter, blog or other social media site then write a comment letting me know you shared it. 
• Dress is size Newborn, fits up to 11lbs.

You can click on the March for Babies toolbar on the side or click this link to donate and enter!

We really appreciate everyone's support and help while we raise money to help babies! We couldn't do it without all of your help! Every donation is helping babies! Check out my About Us section for more details on our family and why the March of Dimes is so important to us. No baby should be born fighting for their life like my sweet little ones were.

and of course, a special thanks to Ruth for donating the dress! I wish I had a newborn little girl so she could win ;) but my little itty bitty girl has become a big girl :(

Good luck everyone! Check back Saturday for the winner!

**Original pattern for the dress was designed by Rae Hoekstra of made-by-rae.com. Ruth is an authorized seller.