Daycare

No, we're not putting the girls in daycare anytime soon. But we did find a pretty good way at containing the babies now that they're on the move! They didn't seem to mind...

Great, now what? (Desi apparently feels safer!)

Any ideas on how we can get outta here?

I'll try to chew us out!

Oh well, maybe we'll just make the most of it.

Holy moly, they did it!!

So what could I possible be so excited about? Well...BOTH of the girls slept straight through the night last night! Alivia slept for 10 hours and Adalyn slept for a whopping 11 1/2! Prior to last night, the girls had never slept through the night at the same time. Alivia has been sleeping through the night since she was about 3 months old. But Adalyn was still waking every few hours. Once every few weeks, Adalyn would have a good stretch of maybe 6-7 hours or so, but it never failed...when that would happen, then Alivia would be up!

The odd thing about Adalyn now sleeping well at night (she slept 7+ hours in a row the prior three nights) is that she cut a tooth as of yesterday morning! So when most kids become pretty restless at night when they're teething, apparently it helps mine sleep! Yup, we're always the oddballs. I'm used to it.

And the funny thing about Adalyn sleeping through the night is that just last week I jokingly told Nate that we could start *thinking* about adding a third one to the family when she is sleeping through the night (again, Alivia has not been a problem because she's been doing it for months). Nate's response was "so we're never going to have another baby." Neither one of us had much hope that she would ever start sleeping well. But apparently Adalyn wants a baby brother or sister!!!!

Flashback

So I had a flashback last night to my days on bedrest. The show Wipeout is back on ABC and I caught the last 15 minutes or so of the season premiere. The reason I had a flashback was because my mom forbade me from watching the show during my bedrest. Nate and I were watching it one night, and I laughed sooooo hard. I could barely catch my breath, I was crying, etc. My mom was here to witness it, and from that day forward, it was on my list of forbidden shows.

Which brings me to just how difficult bedrest is. I've had several people over the months since the girls have been born say to me "well bedrest can't be that difficult...I mean, I would love to lay around and do nothing for a while."

And yes, I agree. Laying around doing nothing sounds rather delightful at times! But nothing could ever replicate the incredible fear and debilitating anxiety of being solely responsible for the health of my babies. The first few weeks, I was petrified to even move. Thankfully, that subsided a little bit. But I was still very scared to get up to go to the bathroom...the one and only reason I had to leave the couch. I was afraid. Afraid of gravity. Afraid of my body failing my babies.

There is absolutely no way to express how incredibly difficult bedrest was for that very reason. To know that I was responsible for protecting my babies...no one else. What if I roll over on the couch too many times? What if I'm up to go to the bathroom too often? WHAT IF I LAUGH TOO HARD? Which is exactly why my mother said I was no longer allowed to watch Wipeout.

So yeah, bedrest sounds a bit fun if you can watch the TV shows you want to watch and move around as often as you want to "get comfortable" (I often laid in one spot for HOURS out of fear of setting off more contractions). Bedrest sounds fun if you don't have a constant guilt hanging over your head that if your babies were to be born too soon it's ALL YOUR FAULT. If you don't have the guilt that if your babies face lifelong disabilities due to a premature birth it's all because your body failed. I know it sounds dramatic, but I was put on bedrest when both babies were still under 2 pounds each.

Nothing can duplicate the feelings I experienced while on bedrest. Simply putting yourself on your couch for 67 days just isn't the same.

Happy Anniversary!

I just want to wish my fabulous husband a very Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary.

But I guess I will have to find a different avenue in which to do so, because he NEVER READS THE BLOG. So yeah, if he ever complains that I didn't wish him a Happy Anniversary, I have plenty of witnesses to say that I did!! Ha.

Two years ago today, we tied the knot. Two years, two kids, not bad. I wonder what year three will bring?!

Teeth and "uh-oh"

So. We have been stuck at two teeth since just after Easter. Alivia has her two bottom teeth. She cut the first one on her 6 month birthday (April 13), and then cut the second one several days later. Adalyn is still our toothless baby. And I don't think she's close to getting any. But who knows, she could surprise me and pop one through in the next week!

As far as the "uh-oh" goes...the babies are darn near on the move. Alivia is up on all four's just rocking up a storm! Every now and then, she scoot's both knees forward, but she just hasn't quite figured out how to coordinate the movement of her arms. Adalyn, on the other hand, is quite content rolling around. I honestly think she might skip crawling altogether and simply roll till she knows how to walk. She can roll from one end of our living room to the other in 15 seconds.

So what does this mean? Well, we've been making some major adjustments to the "look" of our house. We moved the coffee table into the basement for the time being. We are also considering moving one of the big chairs out of the living room just to open up the space a little bit more. The problem is with Adalyn right now. Although she is very proficient and very fast at rolling, she only knows how to roll in one direction. So she gets herself caught in corners and up against furniture. So until she learns how to roll the other way, we want as few obstacles as possible!

A few days ago, we put the girls in their sundresses and summer hats, lathered them up with sunscreen, and went outside to enjoy some of the sunshine. Adalyn loved every minute of it. Alivia ended up getting tired and cranky (both of them refused to take their morning naps!!).

She's so excited, can you tell?!

She's just happy she's wearing a big hat to shield the sun!

Sisterly Love

As sisters, they know that they'll always have a shoulder to lean on....

Wedding Weather

I know it's been a long time since I last posted. But I promise that I have not forgotten about the blog. We were out of town for the past several days...five to be exact. We were at my cousin's wedding in my hometown and then we went to Nate's parents' house for a few more days.

So in speaking of the wedding, the weather forecast was not good. As it turns out, it did end up raining. Which then reminds me of our wedding day, because we're approaching our 2 year anniversary. Like my cousin's wedding, it rained on our big day. I had several people tell me not to worry about the little bit of rain because "rain on your wedding day is a sign of wealth and fertility." Well, we sure have the fertility part down pat!! We're still working on the wealth part. Ha!

And just for fun....

Look at that smile. You can see her two "toofers"

Yes, that is the Tylenol bottle. And yes, she thinks she's a puppy.

Look what we did today!!!

We went to the park for the very first time! It was such a beautiful day out that we couldn't resist taking the girls to the park. They seemed to really enjoy the adventure. So I think we will be spending a whole lot of time there this summer.

Swinging like such big girls!

We do everything together!

Weeeeeeeee!! Slides are fun!

Now hopefully the weather will actually stay nice out so we can make this a fairly routine thing. I think the girls appreciated the fresh air. Let's face it, they were born in mid-October. Shortly thereafter, the cold weather hit. So we have been cooped up in the house for far too long.

Plus mommy needs some sunshine! I had to get a new drivers' license a couple weeks ago because mine was set to expire. My previous picture was taken when we got back from our honeymoon in May 2007. The difference between the two was amazing!! Not that I ever get a whole lot of color in me....but OH...MY...GOSH. I guess it's to be expected since the last time I saw the sun was the summer of 2007. I essentially missed the summer of 2008 due to laying on my couch. So this mommy hasn't really seen the sun in two years!

Oh yes, and you may notice the difference in the appearance of the blog. I am playing around with some different color schemes. When I was pregnant, I was trying to keep things as gender neutral and ambiguous as possible. But since we now have two little girlies, I figured it's about time I make it LOOK a little more girly! So things may change around a bit for the next couple of weeks till I find something I am 100% happy with. Hope you like it!

We're on the move!!

This is where we start....

And this is where we end up!!

So yes, the girls are on the move. Yikes! We babyproofed our main concern quite a while ago...our open stairwell. Now I think it's time to finish up the odds and ends. Before we know it, these girls are going to be trashing the whole house!! Nate and I already do a pretty gosh darn good job at that, I'm not sure we need any help! Ha.

In completely non-related news, Nate and I were talking the other day, and we decided that we picked a terrible month to get married. This is the run-down of our next two months:

May 1 - my birthday (but I don't celebrate them anymore!!)
May 10 - Mother's Day
May 26 - our wedding anniversary
June 4 - Nate's birthday
June 21 - Father's Day

Yup, we could've picked a better month to get married. Didn't seem so bad when we were childless -- an anniversary and our birthdays. Not bad. In fact, quite manageable. But now we're going to go broke. Hmmm, should've planned that one a little better!!

Only in my dreams

I was thinking the other day about the "expectations" I had when the babies arrived. And I can't help but laugh at just how naive I was!! All I can say is that you live and you learn!

1) I thought the girls would sleep in a Pack 'N Play in our room until we transitioned them into their cribs. When they woke up to eat, I would feed them and put their sleepy little selves back down. What I learned: babies are surprisingly loud when they sleep, keeping everyone awake, and they don't always eat and go back to sleep. End result: after the first week, the Pack 'N Play was moved out to the living room where one adult slept on the couch and was "on duty" for a 4-5 hour stretch.

2) I thought that twins could quite possibly entertain each other when they got to a certain age. What I learned: nope. Mommy, daddy, grandma, grandpa - they are much more fun. So we go about our day trying our hardest to keep not one, but two babies entertained...spend 10 minutes here, 5 minutes there, 15 minutes doing this, 10 minutes doing that. End result: not much in the way of housework gets done with only one adult in the house.

3) I thought that by a few months of age, babies would sleep through the night - or at least a good chunk of it. What I learned: I am both right and wrong. Alivia is still doing a wonderful job sleeping about 10 hours at a time. Adalyn still thinks every 3 hours is a good time frame. End result: very tired parents/grandparents.

4) I thought that babies ate a bottle and then would be done for a few hours. What I learned: some babies are snackers, and therefore, eat an ounce or two (what seems to be) every half hour! In their worlds, there's no such thing as taking 6-8 ounces at a time and not being hungry for 3-4 hours. The only exception is during the night. End result: Ummmmm, not sure.

I'm sure there are many more, but I'm drawing a blank. And the girls are ready for another form of entertainment.....

But really quick. Their sleepover was quite a success. The only minor issue was when Alivia woke up at about 6:30am. Dr L and her husband took her into bed with them to play for a little while. Poor thing looked to the left and saw Dr L. So she looked to the right and saw Dr L's husband. Then the big old lip came out (click here for reference) and she started wailing!! Little baby girl is used to playing in bed with MOMMY and DADDY when she wakes up in the morning...not "strangers."

Overall, I guess it was a good experience for them. And Nate and I got to sleep in until 9:15. Woo-hoo!! We think next time we might try convincing Dr L to take them for the entire weekend...or the whole week?! No, just kidding. I would miss them too much.

Sleepovers!!

The girls are going to be having their first sleepover tomorrow night. Dr L is actually going to be taking the girls. I don't think she knows exactly what she's in for! Since the plans were put together a couple of weeks ago, Nate and I had been counting down the hours until we were able to hand them off for a while. Now that the time has finally arrived, we're not quite as excited as we were before! I have never spent a night away from the girls since the day they were born. So this is going to be interesting.

We'll be dropping the girls off at around 5:30pm. I think we're going to do dinner and a movie. We'll eat dinner at a nice restaurant and will probably come home to watch a movie here. Then I plan to attempt to get plenty of sleep, while I think Nate plans on playing some PlayStation!! After a good night's rest, we'll pick them up sometime around noon on Sunday.

I'll keep everyone posted on how well their first sleepover goes. I have a sneaking suspicion that Dr L may never want to take them overnight ever again!! They can be a handful at night...especially when they aren't in their own environment (i.e. their own cribs). So everyone keep your fingers crossed!!

I can't believe Nate and I are going to have our first official "date" since before I was put on bedrest!!!!!!! So sometime before July 29th...I think it's about time.

Look at this little ham.

What an innocent little honey.

The girls' appt - no surprises

The girls had their 6 month appointment on Friday. And there weren't any surprises -- they are still string beans. Long and skinny. Not shocking at all.

Adalyn
15lbs 12oz (49th percentile)
27 inches (94th percentile)

Alivia
14lbs 12oz (30th percentile)
26 inches (71st percentile)

Yes, Alivia is exactly 1 inch shorter and 1 pound lighter than Adalyn.

We got the OK to begin veggies and fruits with the girls. And it hasn't gone well so far!! The poor girls gag...just like when we first started cereal. So far they have only had peas. In the next couple of days, we're going to be trying beans. So we'll see how that goes.

Dr K said that they look great and that she doesn't have any concerns. They don't go back until they're 9 months old now. And there won't be any shots at that appt!! Yay!

In off topic news, I should mention that Adalyn rolled over from back to belly for the first time this morning. It's just a matter of time before these two little monkeys are rolling, scooting, and crawling all over this house!!

Water Babies!!

Over the Easter weekend, Nate and I took the girls swimming for the first time at the YMCA. I was a little nervous and skeptical about the girls getting in the water this early, but Nate has been itching to get them into the pool since the day they were born! So we decided to give it a try. And they both seemed to love it! They didn't cry at all...except for when Livi got a little tired (and hungry). But otherwise they both did very well.

Just got in the water. Alivia's not sure what to think.

So can I stick my face in it?

Just following daddy. I pretty much float on my own!

Adalyn getting acclimated to the water.

She just got done sticking her face in the water.

Keeping a close eye on dad.

Addi still wants to play. But Livi is tired. Time to leave!

Big appointment tomorrow! I will update when I can. Most likely it will be on Saturday. Unfortunately, the girls' appts are at 9:30am and 9:45am...and I have to be to work by 11. So Nate and I are taking two cars to the appt. Poor guy has to deal with the girls once they get home. I'm hoping they do their fair share of sleeping after they get their shots and aren't too fussy for daddy.

Happy 6 Months, Girls!

Can you believe it? The girls are 6 months today. Did I blink? How did this happen? As sad as it is that they're already 6 months old, it's also so exciting. They just keep showing us the new things they can do on a daily basis. Adalyn's current fascination is her feet - touching them, sucking on them, pulling on her toes, etc. Alivia has not found her feet yet, but she is a rolling machine. It takes her less than 1/2 a second to roll on to her belly now. And when she does it, she gives the BIGGEST grin I have ever seen. Even if she does it 45 times in a day, it doesn't get old...and she smiles each and every single time. She's just so stinking proud of herself.

They're both working on sitting unassisted. And both really enjoy standing with assistance. In fact, when they're sitting in our laps, they often arch their backs in such a way that it pops them up onto their feet. Who wants to sit when you now know how to stand?

They have their 6 month appointment on Friday. Now that the girls have become fairly good at standing, we've stood them side by side. It honestly looks like Adalyn is a full inch taller than Alivia. And she is definitely heftier too. So it will be interesting to see how that plays out. We've wagered guesses that Adalyn is probably around 16 pounds and Alivia will be about 14 3/4 pounds. We'll see how close we are.

The girls really enjoyed Easter. They behaved so well in church and then allowed mommy, daddy, Grandma and Grandpa L, and great-grandma to have a fairly peaceful Easter lunch. They looked so gosh darn cute in their Easter dresses courtesy of Grandma J and Aunt Teresa. So of course I have to share!!!

In other "6 month news," we're getting the girls' 6 month pictures taken tomorrow. I'm so excited for that! I'm a tad nervous just because the girls have been teething, and there's no telling what kind of mood they'll be in. I'm just crossing my fingers!!

Just some pretty faces