Our smiley girls

I just wanted to post some cute pictures of the girls in their smiley state. Matt really had them going!

Leah


Hannah




Also Hannah is really working on sitting up without support. She would much rather stand first but she has to hold on to my hands to do that, so we are working on what we can to appease her without my assistance. Here are some pics of her sitting by herself! (She fell soon after but thats ok!)

The Dot

(By Aunt Laura):

Well, as requested by Hannah and Leah they indulged in mixed vegetables for dinner (which for those of you who don't know they are a delightful orange color).
But to go back a step, it gets very serious if you do not shovel the correct amount of food at a rapid pace into their mouths. Well, with feeding 2 very messy eaters- this task is hard to accomplish without a couple seconds in between where they are not eating, spitting food out, or swallowing. These couple seconds is just the right amount of time to explore.
Hannah decided to explore a DOT of mixed vegetables today that I accidentally let spill on her tray in front of the bowl of food. As I try to feed a very hungry (AKA ANGRY Leah) Hannah was head butting her highchair in between bites trying her hardest to get this orange dot of veggies that wasn't any bigger than a pinky fingernail, but to her it was the Taj Mahal of all dots and she was going to get it or her day would not have been complete. Needless to say, I had to clean the dot up because she no longer was concentrating on eating her food. I guess they are learning at a very young age that you always want what you can't have. This story is probably more interesting to those who could have seen this. How can we put words to such cuteness. Personally, I think it's pretty impossible.

But, to end this. Maybe Hannah was interested in the dot because of it's color. She's learning to be an Auburn fan at a young age, huh?

Oh, what to do?

I am having a little trouble with the girls plastering themselves to the sides of the crib. No matter how I lay them down to sleep, and then readjust them appropriately before I go to bed, they continue to scoot themselves up the mattress like little caterpillars. At 3am Leah (more often than not) has made her way to the top of the crib and gotten her head right against the slats. We bought those breathable bumpers so now they can't put their limbs through, but they still wake up when they touch the sides. We have debated about buying the big fluffy bumpers, but to be honest, all the SIDS stuff still scares me. (Not that I think anything would happen, but if it did how could I forgive myself when I have been warned so incessantly?) Plus they would still get right up next to it and I think that would tick them off just the same. So as it stands right now, I go in their room 2-3 times a night to move them down in the crib and they somehow manage to scoot back up. I try to get to them before they really wake up, and for the most part I am successful. It's still aggravating though. Any advice?

A swimmer in the making

I have mentioned it before, but Hannah LOVES baths. Laura had taken them out today and they were exhausted tonight when I got home from work. Leah lost it. She was so tired and mad we couldnt even give her a bath. We just got her in her PJs and gave her a bottle. Hannah can always be appeased in the tub so while Matt fed Leah, I got in the bath with Hannah so she could swim.

I have really been working on her being good with getting her face wet. If I hold her so her belly is down in the water she will just kick and flail her arms with a big grin on her face. Periodically I will dunk her and watch her reaction. Sometimes she does really well, other times she chokes and I feel bad. But she never gets upset.

Tonight I noticed that she was opening her eyes as I submerged her and continued to kick with her face in the water. (I only dunk her for a second or so). And when she came up she did not choke! So I dunked her a little longer, BRIEFLY letting go to see what she did. I have to say I was very proud. We did this a number of times without her swallowing water. Each time she kept her eyes open and blinked the water away. No fussing at all. She did finally choke on it so that was enough for the night since Mommy felt guilty. She is getting ready to swim in the pool though!!! Too bad that water isnt nice and warm like her bath.

Note: Leah really likes her bath too, but she doesnt kick or anything. She is more of a floater :)

Our little roller

A little note about Leah: She is not trying to crawl at all. Not interested in the least. But that does not stop her! She is an expert roller. It is effortless. She is extremely choosy about her toys and can make it across the room for one in particular by rolling around. However, because she is so picky about her toys, if Hannah gets one from her she gets very upset. She really likes the blue ring (that is part of the ring stack). The rest are pink, so maybe she is telling us she is sick of pink now. And we cannot forget her duck bell, which we currently cannot locate and are under the impression Leah has hidden it from her sister. So although she is not crawling, she is very efficient in getting around. Its funny when she rolls in front of Hannah (who is rocking on her hands and knees ) like "if you do it this way, you will get farther!" :)

A shrieking baby

At first it was cute. Well, cute may not be the right word, but funny at least. Now its just horrible. Hannah has started shrieking at the top of her lungs... constantly. It does not matter if she is happy or mad or bored, she just shrieks. I think she does it just because it is a new sound and she likes to hear herself. It is seriously the loudest thing I have ever heard and I think it could shatter glass. I am really hoping this is just a phase she is going through and it will soon pass. I am normally excited at all new noises they use to communicate, but I could do without this one.

Leah is not the only one

Ok as I read the previous blog I just wrote and looked at the pictures I posted, I realized it looks like Leah is my only cannibalistic child, so here are some pictures I took the other night of Hannah eating Leah... Leah's expressions are priceless.

And some of Leah and Kody which I thought were cute

A beautiful Monday

Today was such a pretty day that I had to get out of the house with the girls. They took a good morning nap and after their noon bottles I packed them up and headed to the Alabaster shopping center. (OK, so not an adventurous trip, but any outing is an accomplishment). They love their stroller so they enjoyed me walking them in and out of stores. I went to Old Navy and had way too many things to try on, so I had to give them a Zweibach bar in the dressing room when they started getting bored in order to get through my mound of clothes. This was Leah's first one and she loved it! I just have to watch them closely. They were quite a mess after they were done though. Sadly I did not even like a single thing I had chosen and ended up buying Matt some things instead.

They only had one little meltdown in that dressing room and enjoyed the rest of their stroll. They took their afternoon nap in Belk. I took the opportunity to buy some cheap sunglasses. :) We made our way back to the house before their next meal and they were in such good moods!

After Daddy got home, just before their baths, they were playing on their blanket together and their interaction was cracking me up! Leah eats Hannah's feet, Hannah sucks on Leah's head, Leah chews on Hannah's arm, Hannah grabs Leah's mouth... its definitely funny to watch! And Leah just gets so excited about being so close to Hannah she an hardly contain herself! I enjoy my days with my girls when I dont have to do much except spend time with them.

These pictures show how they eat each other or tangle themselves up together where you can hardly tell whose limb is whose! What fun!

Our trip to Cold Stone

Friday was an interesting day. Unfortunately I was not here for most of it. Matt's mom (Grammy) was our childcare and spent the entire day with them. Of course tornado sirens were going off all day long, and I did not even know weather was bad at all until I was out of surgery. Grammy had been transferring babies between floors all day, hanging out with them downstairs on a blanket as the storms passed through.

By the time I got home the weather was better for the most part. We all decided to go eat at Habaneros. We met Wendy there (a good friend of mine from middle school) and the girls did great. By the time we left it was 7:30 but my little troopers were still all smiles. Normally we give baths at this time but we figured they would be ok to stay out a little longer. Wendy had a gift certificate to cold stone she wanted to use, so we walked next door for some ice cream.

Leah started getting fussy the second we got there so I took her out of the carseat she had been so peaceful in. Hannah started a minute later, so Matt held her. I started to smell something not so nice, so I took Leah to the bathroom for her diaper change - which I had hoped we would make it home without having to worry about it. It was seriously awful, and it was all over her pants and shirt. I probably used 30 wipes and she got an entire outfit change. Matt was laughing at me as I returned and saw her in another outfit. Matt was next. Hannah was soaked and she needed to be changed as well. Matt took her and Hannah also came back in a new outfit. Apparently he had gotten her completely cleaned and she decides to be "exorcism baby" and throws up everywhere. He was in there, baby in hand, trying to clean up the floor with a wipe. Never a dull moment.

They were very tired when we got home and went to bed very easily. Life with two infants! :)

6 month checkup

It is hard to believe that 6 months ago today the girls entered the world. Has it really been half a year already? For a special gift on their 6 month birthday, they got shots! Two injections in each thigh. Poor things.

My sister is in Florida this week so I was going to have to take the girls to the doctor alone. Matt took off work yesterday so he could not come. Luckily, my dad is awesome and agreed to meet me at the pediatricians. I just did not want to have to put down one screaming baby with severely hurt feelings in order to hold the other baby for her shots. At least Papa could hold the one who was done. That worked out really well. He just liked to introduce the girls to everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE) as his grand dots and then explain to that person why they are called dots. He also liked claiming them as his own and see the confused look on the face of whom he was talking to. Haha, well at least he stayed entertained! He did have a hard time watching the girls scream in agony though... Thank you so much for going with me, Dad.

The girls are growing very well (to say the least!) Leah is now 25 3/4 inches long (she is my shorty, being in the 10th-25th percentile for length). But she has not been missing any meals! She now weighs 16lbs, 13 1/2 oz and is in the 50-75th percentile for weight. She and her sister are both in the 50th% for head circumference (16 3/4). Dr. Bashinski says that she is developing according to her gestational age, or equal to 5 months. I think she is ahead in some things and a little behind in others, but I am sure she will catch up soon! She is actually just smart. Why do work when other people will do it for you? ... She has a point :)

Hannah is definitely longer than Leah. She is 27 inches (75-90th%). And she weighs 17lbs, 10oz! (75-90%) She has come a long way from her 5lbs 5oz 6 months ago! She is a little ahead of "normal" 6 month olds developmentally. I do not really know how the doc officially determines this based on a 5 minute assessment, but whatever.
The important thing is that both are right on target for what is expected of them. (Yes I know they are brilliant but they do not like to perform for strangers) :) You would barely know they were premies!

They did very well at the appointment though minus the screaming from their shots, but who can blame them. We got home and they ate really well and then we all took a little walk. That made them in a much better mood. They went to bed easily, but then Hannah woke up and has been in her crib screaming for about 2 hours, so it has taken me that long to write this blog. (Write a sentence, pat the baby, write half a sentence... you get the picture). It has been quiet for about 5 minutes now so hopefully she will sleep through the night since I have to work really early tomorrow. Grammy gets a full day with the girls starting at 7:30am!

Happy 6 month birthday girls! Mommy won't make you get shots for 3 more months!

Outfit change X .... I've lost count...

It started off like any other day. I changed the girls into their outfits for the day and out of their pajamas, and I stayed in my pajamas. After their breakfast and they had adequate "upright time" to minimize spit ups, I got on the floor with them and we played. I am working on Hannah sitting up, and she does pretty well with it. She will play by herself for a few minutes before gradually falling over. Apparently when she falls in the forward direction it causes whatever is in her tummy to be propelled up, thus causing my pajama pants to be changed. Later, I was rocking Leah, who normally does not spit up, but she stuck her whole hand down her throat making her spit up all over me as well. So now I get a Tshirt change. Hannah got me again next, but this time it was the whole bottom of my shirt and top of the pajama pants that were now formula soaked. Yay. So that was an entire change of clothes for me. (you see why I stay in pajamas). A little later, Hannah spits up all over her own clothes so I had to change her soaked outfit. At their dinner time, I messed up my own shirt by leaning too far forward over the high chair to get Leah situated. I had placed a big bowl of rice cereal and green beans on it and it got all over my shirt. Unsalvagable. Yay. I settled in to feed the girls and Leah decides to poop as she starts her meal, and is not happy about it. So I went and changed her diaper, leaving an angry Hannah whose meal was rudely interrupted. I returned and got Leah set up again. Mid meal, I burped Hannah and put her back in the chair, only to notice a minute later I now have poop on my pants! What the heck. So obviously it is now in the high chair. So now I leave Leah to go change Hannah. She had it all over the bottom of her second outfit, so I changed her diaper and she did not get a new outfit. I changed my pants AGAIN and went to put Hannah in her swing when she let out a huge burp and spit up went ALL over her and my shirt. Good thing she didnt have clothes on, but I did. So I had to change my shirt again. Luckily Leah never got me again today. What a day. And I have to make a note that I am not really one to change every time I get a little spit up on me, but when I am soaked it warrants a change of clothes. And thats what I got however many times today. I finally was able to take a shower at 5ish and was very happy about it. Thanks girls! Daddy is staying home with you tomorrow!!! Hahahahahaha (evil laugh)