Fun New Things in Our World

We spent the last couple of days down at Grandma and Grandpa's house and as always it was so much fun. The girls just adore G & G, and its gives Keith and I some free time while they are playing with the babies. The weather was beautiful and we spent most of the time outside on the patio. The girls just LOVE to take in everything around them, watching the birds, looking at all the plants, and checking everything out. I love that the girls adore being outside, it is going to make for a great summer!

Kylee found her Toes!! Although she doesn't play with them all the time, she is getting more and more consistent with it. Its so Cute!

Kaylyn found all of the fun toys on her Jumperoo! They are both getting really good and grabbing at stuff and interacting with things around them. I am so proud of them. Its really funny that they already have their favorite toys, and its amazing how they can go from having a full blown screaming fit to being enthralled by one toy or another.

In July the girls will be evaluated to make sure that they are progressing developmentally as they should. Being a mom, I am a little worried about it even though I know they are doing great. Everything I have read tells me that they are right on target for 4 month olds (their adjusted age) if not even a little ahead. If for some reason they are found to need some work in certain areas they will be enrolled in Early Intervention where they will receive either Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy, or both depending on what they need to work on.

I made the girls a Dr's appointment for Friday to see if their pediatrician will adjust their prevacid dose (for reflux). When they were first prescribed it they were only 6lbs, and needless to say they have grown significantly since then and it is no longer lasting the full 24 hours which makes for two unhappy babies. I cannot wait to see how much weight they have gained. They are getting so big!!

I hope everyone is doing well! Until next time...

I Spoke Too Soon!

Ugh! I should have known better than to go on here and brag about the girls doing better sleep wise. It definitely came back to bite me in the butt! Last night was terrible. I think I maybe got a total of 45 minutes of sleep the entire night. I wish I could figure out what caused this, for the most part I feel that we are really consistent with them and how we do things. I just don't get it! I just keep telling myself that everyday that goes by is one day closer to them sleeping through the night.

Today was pretty mellow. Keith went back to work and the girls and I just hung out at the house. It was way too hot to be outside, and I am not brave enough to take them to the pool by myself. We just had a fun day singing songs, bouncing, swinging, and even a little tummy time.

I think that's all for now, I just wanted to update on me jinxing myself!!

Giggles and Rolling Over

Today Keith was home and it was HOT outside so we went on a family adventure to the pool. I was hoping I would get more of a reaction of of the girls this time, but once again they were very indifferent about it. They didn't show any emotion at all. I guess that's better than screaming. Keith dunked Kaylyn under the water a couple of times and she did very well. There was a little 7 year old girl that was swimming in the pool and she was fascinated by the girls, she even asked me if she could hold them. I had to kindly tell her that they were still too small. It was a fun adventure. One of my favorite things about going to the pool is the fact that the girls pass out when they get home, apparently it wears them out!!

This morning we were doing tummy time with the girls and Kylee rolled from her tummy to her back 2 times!! It was so cute, when she was done you could see the satisfaction in her face.

We had both of the girls in their jumperoo's and they both LOVE to show of their jumping abilities. Kaylyn was having such a grand time jumping away that she was even Giggling! It was great!

The last few nights we have still had our bedtime battles to get them to sleep, but I have to say (I really hope I am not jinxing myself here..) that they have both gotten significantly better at staying asleep once they are out. Kaylyn will typically fall asleep by 7:30 or so and for the past few nights she has not woken up until around 5-6am! Kylee is our little night owl, and we are lucky if we can get her down by 9pm and she usually wakes up around 3am or so and then again at 6am. We are not consistently sleeping through the night, but its a step in the right direction!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Bedtime is Killing Me!

It was another 3 hours scream-fest filled battle with the girls tonight to get them to go to bed, also known as the "Witching Hour". I think I am ready to throw the book "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child" out the window! It says if you are having trouble getting them to go down at night to make their bedtime earlier and put them down when they are drowsy but not over-tired. It just doesn't work in our household. The girls WILL not go to bed before 8 o'clock and I don't even know why I bother trying to make it any earlier. I used to rock them to sleep and lay them down, but I don't do that anymore because every time I lay them down they immediately wake up crying. So now I just swaddle them, lay next to them, give them their binkies and Sshhh them until they fall asleep. I really need them to learn how to put themselves to sleep, but they are too young to let them cry it out so I stay with them the entire time and soothe them until they are out. The worst thing is, I will finally get one down and the other one will let out a scream and wake her sister up again. When Keith is home we can each take one and divide and conquer in separate bedrooms. When I am home alone, I don't feel comfortable just leaving one to cry in a room alone, so I have to keep them together. I wish that my bedtime battles would wear them out enough to sleep through the night, but such is not the case. I think I have reached pure exhaustion!

We are still working on getting the girls to sleep in their crib the entire night. Once they fall asleep, we typically will move them from our bed into their crib where they will sleep until they choose to wake up (usually sometime between 2 & 4am). After that feeding it is hit or miss whether they make it back into their crib or not. If they are still pretty drowsy we can get away with slipping them back in. If they wake up and start smiling and cooing there is no way they are going to go down without a fight, so we give in and let them sleep in our bed. I know that is probably not the ideal thing to do, but we are both just so tired at that point we don't have the energy to fight them.

The girls have almost outgrown their size 2 diapers, and really they could probably go into a size 3 now, but I don't want to waste the remaining size 2 that we still have. I am also not buying anymore 3-6 months clothes (that's the size they are currently in). They have PLENTY! Soon enough we will be needing to move onto 6-9 months and on, so I don't want to buy all the cute clothes in one size. I am amazed at how big they have gotten. If I had to guess I would say that they are about 15lbs if not close to it. They have not been to the Dr in a while, so I don't know for sure. Their next appointment will be towards the end of next month.

I think that is all for now. Keith comes home from work in the morning and the girls and I are so excited to see him! I hope everyone is having a fabulous day!

Family Pictures

So yesterday was the day of family pictures! I wish I had them to show off already, but its going to be about a week or so before we get the proofs back. The girls did incredibly well. We had to do a ton of poses and we were outside and it was chilly not to mention it was at 5pm (which is also known as the "witching hour"!) and they cooperated so well considering all that was going on. I cannot wait to see them!!

We Went Swimming Today!

My friend Katy came up for a couple of days to help me out while Keith is at work. It has been so nice to have the extra help, and she is amazing with the girls. Not to mention it has been nice for mommy to have some adult conversation!

Today we took the girls to the pool for the first time ever. I'm still not sure how they felt about it. They were not upset by it, but they were not overjoyed either- They were very indifferent about the whole thing. I had bought the girls floatie seats (not sure if that's what you call them), but the girls are still a tad bit small for them. So we ended up just holding them and splashing around. It was so much fun, and it was very nice to get of the 95 degree heat! Not 2 minutes after we got home, both of the girls were Out! Apparently it wore them out!

I'm getting my hair done tomorrow after 8 incredibly long months! My roots are horrendous!! I am really excited. We are going to head down tomorrow morning and spend some time with grandma and grandpa for a couple days, so that should be really fun.

Our Little Bully

This morning, I had both of the girls propped on a pillow laying on my bed after they ate their breakfast. They were laughing and having a great time, and Kylee had her little ball with holes in it (so its easier for her to hold) and Kaylyn had her favorite alphabet singing frog, Leap. Well, Kaylyn saw the ball and decided that it looked way better than Leap and tried to grab it from Kylee. When Kylee wouldn't let go, Kaylyn hit her on top of her head! Then they were both crying, Kylee because she just got hit on the head and Kaylyn because she didn't have the toy she wanted. I figured this would be a fun challenge with twins, but I would have never guessed that it would start this early!

It is becoming impossible to keep the girls swaddled. Unfortunately that is really the only way that we have success getting them to sleep. They are just getting too big and too strong that they can break out of it everytime! Its so frustrating because they flick their binkies out of their mouths, flail their arms and rub their face which just gets them all worked up and aggravated- making sleep nearly impossible.

Some of their hair is Finally starting to grow back! Its not long by any means but at least is starting to come in. I think its going to be a dark blonde color. Their eyes are still stunningly bright blue, I am hoping that stays. They are beautiful!

Once the girls wake up from their nap we are going to take a walk. Unfortunately pool time never worked out yesterday :(

Babbling Babies

The girls recently starting babbling up a storm! They will have a full on conversation with you, or each other, and I think they really believe that we understand what they are saying. Too bad I don't speak Baby! Its absolutely precious. They will go on and on about who knows what.

We are going to be taking family pictures on April 21st. When I say Family, I mean everyone...great grandparents, grandparents, aunts etc... Its going to be really cool. We are planning on doing some outside shots (as well as studio ones), so lets hope the weather cooperates. We are still trying to figure out what we should all wear. Anyone have any ideas?

Its supposed going to be really hot here tomorrow, so I think we are going to break out the girls little swimming pool and have some outside pool time playtime. I think we will put it out in the morning and give it time to heat up by the afternoon. I will be sure to get lots of good pictures, and update on how it works out. I'm sure its going to be an adventure.

That's all that going on in our world. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

She wants to Do It herself!

Kaylyn is really trying to hold her own bottle, unfortunately she is neither strong nor coordinated enough to do so just yet. It makes it really frustrating when I am trying to feed her and she will put her hands on the sides of the bottle and inadvertently push the bottle out of her mouth. Not only is this extremely messy, it makes feeding time twice as long! Hopefully she will either learn to hold it herself or get over this little phase because its rather annoying. Kylee will put her hands on the sides of the bottle to "help" you, but she leaves it put. I can handle that!

We are at the beginning stages of reaching out and grabbing things. Before if their hand conveniently happen to find something they would grab it and check it out. Now when they see something that peeks their interest they will grab it and play with it.

We have been trying to do tummy time more and more each day, but its not their favorite thing to do. Sometimes they will tolerate it for a minute here and there, but they won't spend any extended period of time on their bellies. It seems as though the more we have been doing it, the more understanding they are of the whole process.

Bedtime at our house lately has been such a nightmare!! I feel like we have tried EVERYTHING and it still ends up being a 3 hour scream fest. What we have had to do is separate them to get them to go to sleep and then once they are asleep we move both of them into our room. That is the only thing that has even made a slight difference, only because they can't wake each other up. They are still way too young for full blown cry it out, so we are left juggling 2 babies until they finally crash. I wish there was a magic solution, so far we haven't figured it out! They are both still waking up between 1 and 2 times a night, that hasn't changed.

Keith is back to work today. It was nice having him home for 7 days, but I guess 1 of us has to work in order to live. I hope all is well with everyone!

6 Months Old Today!!

Happy Half Birthday Kylee and Kaylyn!! Its hard to believe that it has already been six months since my little twincesses entered the world. It was such a wild ride when they first got here and throughout their NICU stay, but I am happy to report that things have finally calmed down. I love that our biggest problem right now is getting them to sleep in the evenings, and the fact that they still wake up throughout the night. They are such a joy, and I love watching them grow and learn new things everyday. They are our little miracles!

Today Keith and I went on a date for the first time in I don't know how long. My mom came over and watched the girls, and Keith and I went to lunch at a local winery, and of course we enjoyed some wine. Our original plan was to go wine tasting but then we both realized that taking care of 2 babies intoxicated was not going to be fun, so we just stuck with lunch. We ended our outing by stopping at Costco to buy baby wipes and formula. That was a mistake! Never again will I attempt to go to Costco on a Sunday afternoon, it was a mad house!! It was nice to be able to get out for a bit and enjoy each others company. The silence was golden!

I found a second jumperoo on craigslist and I went and picked it up yesterday. The girls could not be happier. Now not only do they get to jump away and enjoy the obnoxious rainforest animal noises, but they can watch each other too. They get such a kick out of seeing the other one bounce and play, its adorable!

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!! I know we did!

Sippy Cups

The girls have both been attempting to hold their own bottle a lot in the past week, so I figured I would get them some sippy cups to practice with. I think we are ways away from them being able to do it themselves, but I figure it doesn't hurt to practice. They do OK with it, of course I have to sit right there with them and guide them. They are able to hold the sippy themselves and they even attempt to get it in their mouths. They look so grown up with their big girl sippy cups!

The girls are finally big enough to bounce in their rainforest jumperoo!! They absolutely LOVE it and I think it might be the new favorite toy. I have a feeling that I am going to have to get a second one. I might look on craigslist and see if I can find a good deal. They will bounce in it for about 20 minutes at a time, and they couldn't be happier! It also gets them to burp if I put them in it after they eat, so that's a fun perk! Its so fun to watch them!

Bath Time Fun

We made our way home today from our wonderful visit with Grandma and Grandpa's house and Keith tackled our backyard. Needless to say we haven't exactly had time to work on the yard and the weeds were out of control. Keith did a wonderful job and it made such a huge difference. It looks Great!!

The girls are finally big enough to support themselves in their little baby bath tub. They had a blast kicking and splashing. We even put in a couple little splash toys that they would grab and gnaw on. Its too bad they don't make a twin baby bath tub, that would be the cutest! The only downside to bath time is getting out of the tub. Even though we crank up the heater and quickly dry them off they are still not happy campers. Usually by the time we get them dressed they have pretty much calmed down. I Love the smell of a clean baby!!

The girls just went down for the night and I think I am going to make my way to bed. I am exhausted! Maybe tonight will be the night they start to sleep through the night!?!

Daddy's Home!!

Keith came home this morning after working a long 48 hour shift, and he doesn't have to go back for 7 days!! The girls were so excited to see him!! I really believe that they know when he is gone. They are both definitely Daddy's girls, its so obvious. He is amazing with them. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband, and fabulous father to by baby girls!

Last night was SO much better than the night before. The girls only woke up once to eat and went right back to sleep. I am so relieved that the whole screaming incident was not the start of a new habit, and it was *hopefully* just a fluke thing. I am thinking that its not going to be long, and they will be sleeping through the night. Lets hope that I didn't just jinx myself though.

Today we went down to visit Grandma and Grandpa (Keith's parents). Grandma was having baby withdrawals, so we decided we should come visit. The girls LOVE grandma and grandpa's house. There is so much for them to look at and check out. They are always so happy!

We are contemplating possibly going to the river this weekend, but we will see. If we do go, I think Grandpa might bring the boat out and the girls will be able to go on their first boat ride. Its still a bit cold to go in the water, but the weather is perfect for a cruise on the river. We are trying to get as many trips in as possible before it gets to be too hot.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day, I know we did!