Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Four

That's the number of teeth Mallory has today. I have visual confirmtion of the existence of her two central incisors - but still no pictures.

Anna Claire is still holding steady with two teeth.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Pillow Fight!

What do you do with two babies when it's too hot (in April!) to play outside? You build a pillow fort on the bed. What fun! The girls, especially Mallory, love rolling around on the bed and wallowing in the pillows and blankets. Luckily, we have enough pillows on our bed to build a "wall" around the perimeter to help ensure no babies go tumbling over the edge.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Three

That's how many teeth Mallory has! She just cut her first top tooth.

I knew there was teething going on, but when I checked her gums yesterday I couldn't feel a thing. Today, sure enough, there's a little tiny tooth on top. I haven't seen it yet, but I have certainly felt it. It was dangerous to put your fingers in her mouth before. Now, she let's you know she doesn't want you anywhere near her gums by chomping down - hard!

Pictures soon, I hope.

Happy Birthday, Dylan

Cousin Dylan turned one Saturday. Yay, Dylan! What a big boy.

We all went to his party Saturday afternoon and had lots of fun. The party was outside and the weather was perfect. Anna Claire and Mallory played in the sand box and even got a little taste of birthday cake and ice cream! Yummo! What I think they enjoyed most was watching all the other children running around and playing.

The girls paid close attention (and so did mommy and daddy) so they would know what to expect in less than six weeks weeks when they will have their own first birthday party!

We got home late and the girls didn't go to bed until eight o'clock! Of course, that didn't mean they slept any later Sunday morning.

Here they are seriously studying all the goings-on...

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Going Green

In observance of Earth Day yesterday, Anna Claire and Mallory decided to "go green." Actually, they just ate a really ripe avocado for dinner which made for a mushy, slippery, squishy mess.

The girls really aren't very sloppy eaters on any sort of regular basis (knock on wood), but when they do make a mess during breakfast, lunch, or dinner -- look out!

Too bad Anna Claire's picture is out of focus. This is, by far, the messiest she has ever been!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

First Word?

I was feeding Anna Claire her bottle this afternoon. With about an ounce left, she seemed to be finished. I pulled the bottle away and asked her, "Done?" To which she responded, "Done."

I am not kidding!

She spoke it perfectly. Of course, I couldn't get her to say it again for all the fruit puffs in the world! It's been kind of like the time a few weeks ago when I asked her where her nose was and she put her hand on her nose...and hasn't done it again since!

I don't think Walter believes me on either account, but I'm standing by both. ;-)

Color Blind

Walter changed the girls and put them down for their afternoon nap while I attended to other things (a nap of my own, actually). Imagine my surprise, then, when I went in to get the girls after they woke up and saw Anna Claire wearing this... What an ensemble - yellow leggings with multi-colored butterflies paired with a pink and brown floral print onesie! Huh? His answer - they were in a hurry. Too funny!!

Didn't seem to bother Anna Claire one bit, though. Mallory was better off; at least she was wearing pink on pink. Not a great match, but at least she didn't look like she had been dressed by a color-blind daddy.

Thank you, Walter, for letting me rest this afternoon!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Baby Einsteins

Anna Claire and Mallory are so smart. I have to brag on them...

Anna Claire has mastered pulling herself up to standing, but she has been having some problems getting down. Mallory just lets go and plops down on her bottom with out a care. Well, Anna Claire didn't like that idea. After a couple of weeks of hemming and hawing and whining for me to help her get down (at which point I would take her hands away from what ever she was holding on to and lower her onto her fanny to the floor), yesterday she decided she had a better way of doing things. She just kneels down to the ground and she's so cute doing it! So smart. Why didn't Mallory and I think of that?

And Mallory can climb stairs. Holy cow! Just today she climbed up four steps to get from the living room to the kitchen at my parents' house! Some major baby proofing is going to have to occur!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Permission Granted

Here are Anna Claire and Mallory with cousins Dylan and Connor yesterday...
Michelle may have some better ones on her camera, but this is the best one I was able to get, and it wasn't easy! (How do Jon and Kate do it with eight?)

Aren't they cute?

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter!

Anna Claire and Mallory had a wonderful first Easter. Mallory was quite eager to tear right in to her Easter basket, but Anna Claire was a bit more hesitant.Once we unwrapped the cellophane from the baskets, Anna Claire was very excited to dig into her basket and see what the Easter Bunny brought her...two bunny rabbits for each girl, Easter books, bubbles, sunglasses, rubber duckies, pinwheels, little wind-up Easter toys and lots more. Mommy and Daddy were hoping the Easter Bunny might have accidentally left some chocolate, but no luck.It's getting more and more difficult to get the girls to sit still and smile at the same time...
A little later on the girls got all dressed up in their Easter dresses and we went over to Granny and Papa's to have lunch with the family. Guess what? The Easter Bunny left Easter baskets for Anna Claire and Mallory there, too!

Before lunch, we took all the kids outside to take their pictures in the beautiful weather. What and adventure trying to get three babies and an almost-five-year-old to let us take their pictures. (Any chance Aunt Michelle will let me post that picture?)

Other than the fact that Anna Claire would not take her afternoon nap (and you never would have known it -- that girl is a live wire!), the girls had so much fun today!

Happy first Easter, Anna Claire and Mallory! We love you!

Good Egg

Yesterday, we dyed Easter eggs and by we, I mean me. I think this is a tradition the girls are still a bit young for. I haven't dyed eggs in forever, and still couldn't even follow the direction on the box of food coloring; I had to call my mom. We went the simple route this year, and they turned out pretty well. Next year, I'll be sure to check marthastewart.com first for her Easter egg tips.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Seeing Double

Today was a busy day, and we didn't even leave the neighborhood.

First, Grandmom came over for a quick visit and brought the girls an Easter present. Then, our long-time friends and identical twins, Kristy and Kelly, stopped by on their way through town to visit with the girls. They are living the single life in Charlotte, and we haven't seen them since Anna Claire and Mallory were about three weeks old. We miss them!Later, Aunt Pam and GiGi came over to give the girls Easter cards and cute pink bunnies. We had lots of visitors today and lots of fun playing with everybody. We love you all!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Beautiful Day

It was so nice today and we had nothing at all we had to do, so we spent almost all day outside. We were excited to use our new Mega Mat for the first time. We love it. It's huge and waterproof and soft and pretty. The only problem was that Anna Claire wouldn't stay on the mat; she's all about crawling in the grass even though she doesn't like how it feels. Can you see the expression on her face?It was a bit breezy when we first got outside, so the girls were all bundled up at first in their bunny rabbit hoodies. It began to warm up quickly, so we had to shed those jackets. Good thing Mallory remembered the sunscreen!And here's Anna Claire leaving the blanket behind to crawl in the grass - again.It continued to warm up, so the pants came off!Poor Anna Claire had problems with her hat slipping down over her eyes all day. I didn't actually get many pictures of her face today. Either her hat was covering her face or she was crawling away!
We had such a good time outside today on our new picnic blanket. We also went on a stroller ride, went for swings, and met our new neighbor, Nancy. When we finally came in for the day to have dinner, Anna Claire projectile vomited. Poor baby got so upset she gagged herself again and puked through her nose. I think I had more pasta and bananas on me than she did.
Beautiful day.

Eggcelent Idea/Egg Head

The girls and I have been doing lots of fun things this week getting ready for Easter. The other day I gave the girls little felt Easter bags with Easter eggs I had filled with little chocolate eggs. Although they can't eat the candy yet, Anna Claire and Mallory have sure had fun shaking those Easter eggs and making lots of noise -- "egg"celent idea!

Later that day Cousin Connor came over and opened the eggs and ate all the candy, which was probably a good thing; otherwise, I would have eaten it all myself!
And speaking of eggs, can you see the goose egg on the side of Anna Claire's forehead? She was trying to pull up on a toy which slid out and away from her and she bumped her head on the way down -- harder than I originally thought. The scary-looking bump is gone, but now she has a nasty bruise.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

Anna Claire and Mallory had their picture taken today with the Easter Bunny!I knew Anna Claire was not going to be happy about it, and sure enough, she started getting fussy before it was even our turn. Fussiness turned into all-out crying the minute I handed her over to Peter Cottontail. Mallory didn't fuss at all, but she wasn't going to crack a smile, either. They do look too cute, though, in their little Bunnies by the Bay dresses.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Gemini

May 22-June 22

Born curious...definitely.

Loves to keep you guessing...absolutely. I love the girls' zodiac onesies from Baby Gap (so soft) - especially since I think it's way cool that my twins' zodiac sign just happens to be Gemini (which happens to be mine, also).

from http://www.astrology.com/...

Gemini is the third Sign of the Zodiac, and those born under this Sign will be quick to tell you all about it. That's because they love to talk! It's not just idle chatter with these folks, either. The driving force behind a Gemini's conversation is their mind. The Gemini-born are intellectually inclined, forever probing people and places in search of information. The more information a Gemini collects, the better. Sharing that information later on with those they love is also a lot of fun, for Geminis are supremely interested in developing their relationships. Dalliances with these folks are always enjoyable, since Geminis are bright, quick-witted and the proverbial life of the party. Even though their intellectual minds can rationalize forever and a day, Geminis also have a surplus of imagination waiting to be tapped. Can a Gemini be boring? Never!

Since Geminis are a mix of the yin and the yang, they are represented perfectly by the Twins. The Gemini-born can easily see both sides of an issue, a wonderfully practical quality. Less practical is the fact that you're not sure which Twin will show up half the time. Geminis may not know who's showing up either, which can prompt others to consider them fickle and restless.

They can be wishy-washy, too, changing their mood on a simple whim. It's this characteristic which readily suggests the Mutable Quality assigned to this Sign. Mutable folks are flexible and go with the flow. Further, the Twins are adaptable and dexterous and can tackle many things at once. It's a good thing, too, when you consider their myriad interests. The downside of such a curious mind, however, can be a lack of follow-through. How much can any one person do, anyway?

Monday, April 6, 2009

Splish, Splash! They Were Takin' a Bath

A few weeks ago, the girls outgrew the inflatable tub they had been sharing at bath time (we loved that tub). As a result, they recently moved into the "big girl" tub. Quite scary at first -- for Mommy. I bought a no-slip mat, but it doesn't help much; pair that with Mallory wanting to stand up and both girls crawling around the tub like they're on the floor rounding up toys that have floated away, and let's just say the first few nights bath time was not relaxing!

We don't take bubble baths very often, so I couldn't resist snapping some pictures...

The coveted pink hippo. The girls fight over this one toy every night. Notice Mallory eyeing it.
Grampaw...

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Shabby Chic

The girls dressed in their first vintage outfits today to head to the Flowertown Festival - dresses made from "shabby chic" chenille bedspreads. They were gifts I received at one of my baby showers one year ago, but today was the first chance the girls have had to wear them. Cute, right? It was still too wet from Thursday's monsoon to play in the grass, but Anna Claire and Mallory were happy for a while playing in the driveway -- anything to be outside. Crawling on concrete hurts...and yes, Anna Claire ate the grass, again.
We were only at the festival for a short while -- long enough to have the girls' silhouettes drawn, then it was back home. The girls so wanted to be outside today, but it turned rainy again not long after we got back home. We are hoping for nice weather this week, but it doesn't look like it's going to work out. Hmmm...what will we do inside all week is if is cold and rainy outside?

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Ten Months Old!

Yesterday Anna Claire and Mallory turned ten months old. I can't believe we are two short months away from their first birthday. I better get the party planning started - I'm too indecisive, though. What to do, what to do?
The girls are so amazing at this age. They are both so vocal. I think they're going to just open up thier mouths one morning and sentences are going to come out.

Both are pulling themselves up to standing and Mallory will actually let go. She is getting very good at keeping her balance, but she hasn't tried to take any steps yet. Spring Break has officially started, so we're going to have plenty of time to work on walking. Anna Claire is doing much better getting up and down, but she still won't let go with both hands.

Anna Claire has been perfecting the art of shaking her head "no" for a few weeks now, and just this week Mallory has begun shaking her head "yes." Anna Claire will not imitate me shaking my head "yes" and Mallory isn't quite sure how to shake her head "no." This is too funny, especially when they are doing it at the same time. I wonder what it could mean.


Both girls have taken to table food very well. Our menu now consists of green beans, carrots, potatoes, yogurt, avocado, peaches, mandarin oranges, bananas, and pasta. They absolutely love their sippy cups, and it seems they are losing interest in their bottles - especially their morning bottle which is strange to me. You'd think they'd be starving first thing in the morning. I'll have to look into this.


Anna Claire and Mallory have become very good at entertaining themselves. Just this morning, I spread lots of toys out on the coffee table and they played in the living room for half-an-hour while I did the dishes, got the laundry going, and took out the trash. Not a peep from either one -- they were both in their own little worlds, completely oblivious to me coming in and out the room.

And did I mention they love being outside: swinging, riding in their stroller, watching the wind chimes, crawling around on a blanket or in the grass (both have eaten the grass by the way)...it doesn't matter what they're doing; they love the outdoors, and cry when it's time to go in. Walter is thrilled, and I am learning to like it outside more and more. ;-)

They are such amazing little girls -- happy and healthy and the light of their mommy and daddy's lives. We are so lucky!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Hard Habit to Break

We're here, and we're tired.

What a long week it has been. Mallory has chosen 3 AM as her new wake-up time, and she's decided to let the whole world know with loud sobbing. Three of the last four nights, Mallory has been crying -- real crying with huge tears -- in her crib anywhere between 3 and 3:30 AM.

I know she is teething, but I think we've also got a little separation anxiety going on as well. Dr. Tillman warned us this sometimes happens around the girls' age, but we've been super lucky when it comes to sleep issues up until now.

I've tried letting her cry for five minutes before going in, hoping she would fall back to sleep. No chance. Five minutes seems like forever, and I'm so afraid she'll wake up Anna Claire, that I end up rushing in to get her. As soon as I crack the door open the crying stops. This is how I think I know nothing is really wrong. I've tried laying her back down, but she pops right back up crying again. I just end up picking her up and rocking her back to sleep (no complaints whatsoever from her).

So, after three nights of this, I figure I've now allowed her to start a habit.

Last night I pulled out my baby sleep books and began re-reading (I have already pre-ordered Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins, by the way). Everything I was reading seemed to make perfect sense for Mallory, so I created what I thought was a pretty good plan to address her middle-of-the-night crying. Guess what? She slept all night long without a peep. Hooray! You'll get no complaints from me that I didn't have to let her "cry-it-out" -- not that I would have anyway.

Nevertheless, I'm afraid we may have just gotten lucky last night. Both girls have been amazing sleepers since day one, but I know all babies go through phases. I just hope this one is over with soon. I will continue my reading tonight - I just can't let her cry - and hope that this habit isn't too hard to break -- for either of us!