6-months

We had our 6-month birthday on Thursday. Lia was pretty sick with a yucky cold, but happy enough still. Vicki brought us a special present to celebrate eating solid foods now. During the evening we went to the airport to pick up G-am Ann and Great Grammy. We went out for special hamburgers on our way home. The next day we did most of our celebration with a half-cake for each of us.

We're still working on rolling over. We love to laugh, bath time, mirrors, and smiling at people. Lia was a thumb sucker, but has not found it since her cold. Zadie's tongue is typically hanging out of her mouth. We're generally happy, healthy babies who make everyone stop, comment, smile, and coo at how cute we are.

Easter

We can't help but think back to what we were doing one year ago on Easter: P had a horrific cold, felt disgusting, and couldn't take anything for it. We skipped church in an effort to get extra rest to kick the cold. K smoked a ham on the Egg and had a great dinner ready for the two of us. We ran to the store to get some Afrin to attempt to relieve P's congestion and had the ham in the oven just to keep it warm. We came home to find a naughty little beagle who had eaten the entire ham. Needless to say, it was a crummy Easter Sunday.

Fast forward to this year. Two baby girls, G-ma, Grammy, and still a naughty little beagle. We enjoyed our smoked ham on Saturday, went to church on Sunday, and had a fabulous brunch at Ziziki's with friends. Needless to say, this Easter was much more enjoyable.

Baby Ballerinas

Well, I seriously doubt either of our girls have any shot of a career in ballet given that they'll likely be giants with zero flexibility and just enough agility to make a lay up or hit a volleyball. Nonetheless, some friends gave us adorable tutus so we decided to let the girls experience a bit of fluff and daintiness while they can. And hey, if they want a career in dance then we at least have some cute pictures for the early beginnings of their love for the arts.

Spring Break

This year we decided to save money and not travel for Spring Break since the cost of tickets to Oregon was ridiculous. Instead we stuck around, got stuff done around the house, and enjoyed time with the girlies.

We set up their swings.

Went for walks.

And even enjoyed(?) their company at 10 pm, 12:30 am, 2 am, 3 am, and 4 am. One of the many joys of having twins is getting up with two babies in the middle of the night. Oh well, I suppose we have been spoiled since Christmas and we'll now experience sleep deprivation once again.

We also cashed in on some gift cards that we had acquired so the girls have some extra cute outfits now as well.

Lia's Lower Lip

Lia has the most pathetic plea just before she gets upset. Her lower lip comes out and quivers making anyone want to just squeeze her and give her whatever she wants. Nonetheless, we have gotten several great pictures of this little look. Child abuse? Not quite--we console her right after the 20 photos we snap.

Quick Videos

Zadie Rolling: http://youtu.be/uX_ALtWRIPs

Girls chatting with each other: http://youtu.be/huSxg0mnwq8

Lia chuckles: http://youtu.be/Mop3OfGTmRE

Zadie giggles:
http://youtu.be/JzzRaYhPS4Q

5 Months

It's been 5 months already since the girls were born. They continue to be lots of fun and are true blessings every single day. While we do not have current weights for them, they look to be pretty average babies in terms if size. Lia continues to be about a pound bigger and clearly has a heavier build than our more petite Zadie. They still only get breast milk and one formula bottle each day, but we are excited to try solids after their 6-month appointment. They can roll from tummy to back if they are propped plenty high and we show them how to tuck the arm. Both try to get from back to tummy as they wiggle their feet and lower their shoulder, but no luck yet.

Zadie seems to be more of the mover, and Lia focuses her efforts on talking. Zadie has really gotten good at moving toys around and analyzing them. She will lay in her little play gym, grab a toy dangling over her head, and rotate it as she stares. Lia is not so much into the toys as putting things into her mouth--including her thumb and Zadie's hands. Lia seems to be mellowing out a bit just in the past few days as she has not had any screaming, I'm-gonna-die-so-attend-to-me-now types of fits. We'll hope that lasts.

Both are still great eaters, though they've developed this habit of popping off when they're nearly done and staring up at me. It's the best confidence booster in the world because they just stare as though I am the best and most interesting thing in the world. They have both started giving us great big belly laughs that could make anyone melt. They love their nanny who adores them and plays little games with them all the time. They also love to sing "I'm In the Lord's Army" because they get to "ride in the Calvary." Perhaps one of the cutest parts of having twins is watching them with each other. We are noticing that they frequently "hold" hands or somehow find a way to make contact with each other.

Each day we tell ourselves how blessed we are to have two such happy and fun babies. Smiles abound, they sleep wonderfully, and they have been incredibly healthy. It has been a happy 5 months!