Do you know what today is?

I'll answer that question for you. It was a year ago today that I was put on bedrest. I remember thinking that it wasn't a terribly big deal because when I left the hospital, I was told that we would re-evaluate the need for bedrest at my appointment the following week. You can do anything for a week, right? And I *knew* that at my appt I would be told that I could resume my normal activites. Little did I know that things would go further downhill in that week and that I would be on bedrest much, much, MUCH longer.

As badly as bedrest stunk, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat if it would lead to the same outcome. Our end result was fantastic - two very healthy babies who came home with us just two days after delivery...something I never thought would be possible. So yup, it was all worth it.

Just a quick update on the girls: Alivia started saying "ma-ma" today. I love it!! And for the first time, they actually giggled with each other. Their normal interactions usually entail stealing toys from one another. But today they were sitting in the hallway when I heard giggling. Naturally, I went to check it out. Addi would touch Livi's face, then they would both laugh. And then Livi would pet Addi's head, and they would both crack up again. This went back and forth for a few minutes. It was so stinking cute!

The face only a mother could love

We're not sure what this is all about. She kinda looks mean and she kinda looks like she smelled something stinky. She makes a funny little noise while she does it too. It's cute, but at the same time, it's scary!! When we mock her and make the same noise and face right back at her, she giggles at us.

She makes this face all the time now. But we've only managed to catch it on film (is that even the correct term now that most cameras are digital and we no longer use film??). Ok, got side tracked. We've only caught the expression with the camera a couple of times because each time the camera comes out, she stops. Go figure.

9 month appt update

So the girls had their 9 month appointment on Tuesday. The only issue we had to address was the girls' sleeping habits...or lack thereof!! Dr K had a few suggestions for us to get the girls to sleep longer and not wake so often. The past couple of weeks have been absolutely terrible, but they were both getting a new tooth so I don't think that helped at all! And speaking of teeth, Alivia is now up to 5 teeth and Adalyn is up to 4.

They once again did a little weight swap on us. At their 6 month appt, Adalyn was exactly one inch taller and one pound heavier. At this month's appt, Alivia surpassed her in weight by just a couple ounces. And as always, they continue to be long skinny babies. Dr K said that it's nothing to be concerned about because they're just like mommy and daddy!

Adalyn:

17lbs 8oz (20th percentile)

29 inches (90th percentile)

Alivia:

17lbs 10oz (25th percentile)

28 inches (65th percentile)

They also had their 9 month pictures taken on Tuesday. Adalyn's rash cleared up so we were good to go. We're really, really happy with the way they turned out. Now we just have to decide which poses we want! That's always the hard part.

Hi daddy!

Let us out!!

Mmmm...tasty.

What. Do I have something on my face?

This was right after she gave me her naughty face (will post pics soon).

Crazy hair post-bath.

These are the dresses they wore for their pictures.

Kids will throw you a curveball

I guess I better get used to having plans and then having to cancel them at the last minute. The girls were supposed to have their 9 month pictures taken today. Well wouldn't ya know it, I got a call from the babysitter yesterday while I was at work asking if we had been dealing with a rash all over Adalyn's body or if that was something new. Nope, haven't dealt with it...it's new. Go figure.

We were slow in the ER, so I took my lunch break to come home to take a look at it. Sure enough, her belly, back, and neck were speckled with little red dots. They didn't appear to be bothering her, but I took a few pictures to take back to work with me to show the ER doctors. Hey, you would make use of free medical advice too!!

After hearing that she had been dealing with a low grade fever for the prior two days, they figured that it was a viral rash. Nothing too concerning, just her body's way of fighting whatever virus she caught and building up her immunities.

So here I was, trying my hardest to make sure we didn't gain any new bumps or bruises in the past week to prepare ourselves for picture day. And we end up with a body full of red dots. Brilliant. Yup, kids will throw you a curveball. So pictures are postponed until...well, who knows.

Just some random pictures

Adalyn absolutely loves pushing this chair around the kitchen!

She thinks she's so smart.
I swear mom, I didn't do it!
Alivia finally enjoying the pool.

Swimming's not so bad when you have this floaty thing wrapped around your waist!

Even with a shiner on my head, I can still smile!

The girls are 9 months old today. Can you believe it? Where has the time gone? I guess I better start planning a birthday! It's going to be here before I know it. They're at such a fun age right now. They have their own little personalities. They interact with each other. They know that by making silly faces/noises, they can get mommy and daddy to laugh at them and then they laugh at themselves. They think the cat is the coolest thing on the planet. Unfortunately, Desi doesn't think the same about them!

Nate took them outside to play in their froggy pool over the weekend while I was working. I guess it was darn near impossible to get any good pictures of Adalyn because she wouldn't sit still. Alivia had a blast this time too...and actually cooperated to have a few pictures taken.

They see the pediatrician next week for their 9 month appointment. There aren't any shots at this appt, so we can actually look forward to going to the doctor! They'll just get weighed and measured and we'll discuss their progress.

And speaking of getting weighed...the girls like to explore the bathroom now. They enjoy standing up and looking in the tub and slapping the linoleum with their hands, etc. Anyway, the other day they crawled from the living room to the bathroom. Shortly thereafter I heard Adalyn start whining. I thought she probably got stuck or bumped her head, so I went in there. Somehow, she managed to sit herself completely upright and centered on the bathroom scale facing toward the digital window. It was in the process of calculating her weight. All I could think of was "oh baby, I know. Mommy hates the scale too!"

A little reflection

So Nate and I were talking about the girls' names the other day. All of a sudden, we found ourselves reflecting back on the day they were born. We had been set on Adalyn's name since before we were ever married. We simply liked the name and it was a bit unique. However, God threw us a curveball and decided that twins would be a lovely little addition to our family. Considering we weren't finding out the sexes of the babies, we had to come up with another girl name. We probably threw around 3-4 of them. The same ones kept coming up, but we weren't 100% set on any particular name.

Fast forward to delivery day. "Baby A" made her entrance. Nate announced that we were the proud parents of a little baby girl and he followed her over to the warmers to watch her get her first bath and her vitals. I remember hearing the nurse ask him "so what is her name?" Without hesitation, Nate proclaimed that her name was Adalyn Jean.

Twenty-eight minutes later, "Baby B" made her entrance. Once again, Nate announced that we were the proud parents of another little girl and followed her over to the warmers so the nurses could clean her up. And once again, I remember hearing the nurse ask him "so what is this little one's name?" Without skipping a beat, Nate said her name was Alivia Mae.

From across the room I said "ok, so I guess that's going to be her name!" Nate was a little concerned that I wasn't exactly in agreement and that he should've consulted me first before blurting anything out, but the name just fit. Neither one of us can imagine her as anything else. She's definitely an Alivia Mae.

Happy Belated 4th of July

The girls enjoyed their first 4th of July. They were dressed in their patriotic clothes and we spent some time outside enjoying the wonderful weather. They liked watching the neighbors play volleyball and all of the kids zoom up and down the street on their bikes/scooters/rollerblades.

We decided not to go to the city fireworks display because we didn't know how the girls would like it and we were afraid that if we needed to leave, there would be a big traffic jam. So we stayed home. But for the 3rd year since we've lived in this house, the neighbors put on a wonderful display for us! Unfortunately, Alivia zonked out before the show began. But Adalyn was awake through most of it. She smiled and "talked" and overall just had a great time.

Here we are in our "Baby's 1st Fourth" shirts!

Playing outside.

Clothes hangers are all the rage!

Look at this smug little patriotic girl.