How the Twins Spend at Least an Hour of Every Day

One of my mom's closest friends gave me this music toy that is perfect now that the girls can sit up and they'll be able to wheel it around when they learn to walk.

Caroline

 This toy completely captivates them.

They're so used to someone always being right there with them, so they'll climb all over each other trying to hit the buttons.  They never seem to mind...or much less even notice!

This toy plays music, and the girls bounce up and down when they hear it.  Caroline and Ellie make all sorts of noises as loud as they can while they play with this thing.  It is adorable.

They are so engrossed that it's the perfect opportunity for me to walk away for a brief moment and get something done.  However, it's just too cute to miss it.

Ellie on the left with the little tuft of blonde hair sticking out the back!

These are the moments that I cherish.  They are brief but so sweet, and when I see things like this, I'm overcome with a thankful heart that I can be around to witness the little things.

Thank you, Mindy, for such a great gift...I think of you every time they play with it....which, like I said earlier...it's a lot!

The Newest Interest

There has been a basket of baby books in the girls room which Caroline and Ellie have only recently discovered them, and they are hooked!

They don't really enjoy me reading to them yet, but the activity of shuffling books around and taking them in and out of the basket is completely captivating.

I'm amazed of how much more the girls are interacting with each other.  It's still sporadic, but I'm seeing them laugh at each other and pay attention to what the other one is doing.  

They're also in this stage where they want what the other one is currently holding.  They both try to take from the other, but they both can also be very productive of their 'belongings.'

Ellie being protective of her book that Caroline is eyeing

Caroline

Ellie

Caroline

Ellie

The Time has Come...

...to lower those crib mattresses.  The girls started pulling up and having a great time looking over the top at each other while beating on the top of their cribs.  As cute as it is watching all this going on through the monitor we have downstairs, it was just time to make the step.

Ellie in front, Caroline in back

One of the things that naturally happen with twins, is that we have a "system" for everything.  Getting the girls out of bed and putting them both in bed is definitely one of my little systems.  With their mattresses high, getting them both in and out of bed was something that I learned to master over time.

Caroline

I'll just have to come up with a new way of doing it.  With the mattress high, I could lean in, and scoop them both up without dropping them.  With a much longer reach for me now, it's not as easy to get the girls.  I'm sure this will be the story for the rest of our lives....learning to adjust as the girls grow older.

Breckenridge Summer Vacation

We spent the 4th of July week in Breckenridge, Colorado with my family.  It was a great vacation!

My cousin, Caroline (whom we named our little Caroline after) got married and it was a family reunion of sorts with all my Aunts, Uncles and [almost all] cousins on my Mother's side.  It was a wonderful week, a beautiful wedding and really wonderful time with my family.  The only bad part was that it ended and we had to all go home.

View from the house we rented

Caroline and Ellie were troopers the whole week.  They stayed up late and woke up early every morning.  They were great meeting all the family and let just about everyone hold them.  

Ellie on the left

The town of Breckenridge was so charming and we spent a lot of time walking around the town with the girls.  We left our big double stroller at home and just used 2 umbrella strollers for the girls, and they LOVED being wheeled around in those!

There was a really cute 4th of July parade down the main street of Breckenridge.  It was sunny, warm (but not hot), dry, and just about a perfect summer day.  It was packed.  The girls napped in their strollers/Baby Bjorns and enjoyed all the chaos going on around them.  

The hats were a life saver.  Poor Caroline got sunburned on her face the first day we were there due to the sun streaming in through the car window while we were on a drive.

We were limited on what we could do with the girls, but we did manage to go on a nice hike one day and Blake was able to go mountain biking with my family, which was a highlight for him.

The wedding was so nice and a great time spent with my Mom's whole family.  The setting couldn't have been prettier.

My mom's extended family

Cousin William keeping the girls entertained

A set of twins representing all 3 generations that were at the wedding.  Did I mention that twins run in the family??

My mom and her siblings.  

The oldest of the cousins.  With Caroline and Catherine

It was such an enjoyable way to end our fabulous week in Breckenridge.  Congratulations Caroline and Greg on your marriage!

Bath time graduates

Caroline and Ellie have graduated from the upstairs tub to the one in our bedroom.  We just started this 2 weeks ago and it's great.  It's a lot deeper then the one we normally use which keeps a lot more water contained in the tub, and it also has a grip surface that makes it so much easier for the girls to play and sit without always falling.  They LOVE it!

Caroline on left and Ellie on right

Both girls go nutso when we even walk them near our bathroom.  It's the only time they are every in there and they know what's coming!  

Sometimes that last 45 minutes before bedtime are difficult as they're getting tired, so the bath is always our go-to solution, whether they need it or not.  

So Many Changes

Our summer has been flying by.  We just said goodbye to my parents this morning after a 3 week visit that felt more like 3 days, and as always, it was sad to see them go.

Caroline and Ellie have definitely not suffered from lack of attention and love this summer.  After spending 3 weeks in Bakersfield at the beginning of the summer with Yiggie and Pa and now having a 3 week visit from Grandmom and Grandpop, these girls are going to be disappointed when they realize that it's just me to provide the entertainment during the day!

The girls have changed so much during the time my parents were here.  Both girls started sitting up on their own and Caroline started crawling.

Caroline

Both girls have their 4 top teeth that have completely come through since my parents arrived at the end of June.

Ellie has taken a step or two, but she continues to be more interested to sit in someone's lap and play instead of taking off on her own...for now anyway.

Ellie

The girls will be 9 months old tomorrow.  I'm still trying to wrap my mind around how we have already arrived at this stage where C&E are highly interactive babies, and the newborn stage is so far behind us that I have a difficult time remembering it with any clarity.

I take so many pictures, and right now, it just doesn't seem like enough.