Lunch with Uncle Rick

Yesterday, we went to lunch with my brother, Rick, close to where he works and lives.  The place we went to had a lot of commotion going on, so it kept the girls occupied.  

Rick and Caroline

Ellie has been drooling a lot more than usual lately, and I keep thinking that she'll be teething soon.  She's not fussy nor seems to be bothered by her gums hurting...yet.  

Caroline has been Ms Personality lately.  She jibber-jabbers constantly, is almost always the first one awake and has the more difficult time falling asleep.  I think part of the reason is that she's not taking her pacifier as much as she used to and so she's having a more difficult time pacifying herself.  She's sucking on her fingers more, so we're hoping that she'll eventually figure it out.  

Both girls are just beginning to show signs of being able to laugh.  Caroline has done it a couple times, which is heart-melting music to our ears.  I was able to get some of it on video, but of course, accidentally deleted it.  Next time!

Ellie (left) & Caroline (right)

Can't get enough of these outfits

I'll be so sad when the girls grow out of them!

Bath time around here!

One thing that I'm learning with twins is that it pays to have a plan.  The better set up I am, the easier things go.  I find this definitely true when I get ready to feed them, give them baths, get them ready to get in the car, etc.

Bath time is by far the most challenging if I'm trying to do it myself and keep both babies content.  They have entered the stage where they like to see what's going on, so I let one of them sit in the bumbo on the counter while I bathe the other one.  It's so cute how they'll sit there the whole time just staring while they watch their sister enjoy the water.

Caroline sucking on the washcloth.  Even in their fussiest moods, the bath immediately calms them down.

Caroline in the bumbo just finished her bath and watching Ellie get hers!

Caroline

Ellie relaxing in her bath.  These girls could sit their for hours with the water running over them.

Ellie

Caroline enjoying the warm outdoors after her bath.  Those sleepy eyes just begging to go down for a nap.

Ellie

Who's Who?

As I was downloading these pictures last night, I realized that I had the girls mixed up all day yesterday.

Oops.  In the pictures and comparing the girls side by side, it's obvious which one's which, but in just holding and playing with them throughout the day, not so much.  No permanent damage done, except for the fact that I'm convinced it's probably going to take them until they're 2 years old to know their own name.

Both girls have mild colds right now.  Blake and I could hear them coughing last night and trying to breath through their congestion.  Poor dears.  Even as something as mild as this, it still breaks my heart.

Even with colds, they're still happy, precious and sweet.  We are afraid we are going to rub their baby soft skin raw by how much we kiss them in a day.  Those faces and their sweet little mouths.... just. can't. get. enough!

Caroline (left) and Ellie (right)

Ellie (left) and Caroline (right)

Caroline (left) and Ellie (right)

Ellie (left) and Caroline (right)

Caroline

Ellie with the Zebra and Caroline with the heart!

Ellie

I love hugs!

These are the outfits that Blake's grandma, Winnie, gave to the girls.  I have yet to secure good pictures of the girls actually happy and smiling in these outfits.  Caroline was very unhappy with the fact that I was not holding her.

Is it bedtime yet?

I'm not totally sure what is normal for babies this age, but we feel like Caroline and Ellie could win first place in a sleeping contest.  Around 11 weeks old, they started going about 7-8 hour stretches at night.  Then around 3.5 months old, they started going 12 hours at night, which has been followed up by a long morning nap about an hour after they wake up in the mornings.  What can we say, they are...what's the word?....gifted!  ha!  

Even with their impressive sleeping abilities (for now, anyway), there are those days when naps just don't go well and I am watching the clock counting down the minutes until Blake gets home from work and/or until it's bedtime.  So often, Blake will come home from work, and I am pacing outside holding both babies, who are either on the brink of a meltdown or currently having one, eager to give him one of these precious babes to hold.  

Waiting for bedtime is a similar exercise for us on those days when naps just don't seem to really happen for both girls.  They are often content if we're holding them, but you can just see it in their eyes that they are ready to konk out at a moment's notice.  

In the pics below, Blake is holding Ellie and I am holding Caroline....both girls just begging to go to bed.  

Waking up from a morning nap

How cute is this?  These girls are often snuggled next to each other whenever we come in to check on them.  I keep thinking that I might put them in their own cribs sometime soon, but I can't bring myself to do it when I see things like this.  Plus, they never seem to bother each other.  

Ellie still loves her thumb, and we're not sure if Caroline is going to take her pacifier for much longer.  She's been sucking on her fist and fingers more often and often spits on her pacifier....or makes that gagging sound when we try to put it in.  

Caroline (left) & Ellie (right)

Ellie was hearing the click of the camera and immediately started looking for us.  Seeing these sweet little faces look up at us never gets old.  Melts our hearts every single time!

Holly and Aaron come for a visit

My college roommate, Holly, came to visit along with her 9 month old son, Aaron, for about a week.  They flew in from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, which Blake affectionately calls the "frozen tundra of the north".  We had the most wonderful time doing a whole lot of.... well, nothing.  With all the babies going to bed by 7pm, long morning naps and then another 1-2 naps in the afternoon for Aaron and the girls, we did a lot of hanging out while everyone else slept!  Our big adventure was taking walks (we did this on 2 different days) to Chick-Fil-A for lunch since Holly doesn't get this fancy, mouth-watering cuisine in the frozen tundra.

Holly and I met our freshman year in college, 14 years ago, and we've been close ever since.  So simple things like hanging out drinking more coffee than we're used to and taking neighborhood walks, is my idea of a perfect time.

Caroline and Ellie were also very interested in Aaron.  They would hang out watching Aaron crawling around, eating in his high chair, or just making loud noises and belly-laughing.  Of course, I took almost no pictures while they were here, and I'm so bummed that I don't have any pictures of Holly loving on Caroline and Ellie, and Aaron affectionately patting their heads.  I was very sad to see them go, but it all just makes me look forward to the next time we can get together!

We miss you already, Holly and Aaron.

We enjoyed the outdoors - this time of year is Houston's most beautiful weather (70's, dry, no bugs).  Wisconsin was having a huge snow storm blow in the night before Holly was leaving.  The high for them right now is about 30 deg.

Can't get enough of that face.  Ellie sitting in the background.  

Getting all the kids lined up and ready to go.  Ellie is in the middle.

Just hanging around

Whenever I finish feeding the girls, I burp one, lay her on the couch next to me and then finish with the second one.  They are just about always content to just hang out while they wait for each other.  They are getting more stable these days when I prop them up on a pillow... as long as they bend their legs, which is still something they don't always like to do.

We think that they girls are showing off their distinctive features in these pictures.  Caroline (on the left) has a slightly longer and more narrow face, whereas Ellie has a slightly more round face.  The past several weeks, the girls have started to look different, and we're usually able to tell them apart.  Both girls still have their blue eyes for now, and we're just waiting until they turn brown.  We're loving the blue eyes and blonde stubble on their heads for now.  

Coming home from Church

Just snapped a few photos after we got home from church.  The ladies in the nursery love the twins (of course) and tell us that they think they're adorable....we would expect nothing less.



Caroline on the left and Ellie on the right.