Hanging Out with Daddy...

Turkey Day Revisited

The girls' first Thanksgiving was a whirlwind. *Thankfully* they took pretty good morning naps, but by the time we got to Walter's mom's house we only had about an hour of cheerful playtime before the fun began. The girls ended up missing their mid-day nap since everyone wanted to hold them and play with them. Never mind the girls don't do that well at large, loud gatherings.

Nevertheless, I was sure they would drink their 1:30 bottles and fall fast asleep. They did just that until the children came running and yelling down the hallway about ten minutes into nap time. Nap time was over. Still, that ten minute nap afforded them almost forty-five minutes or so of smiles, until is was evident that we were nearing a meltdown. By this time we were close to time for their 3:00 nap, so we rushed the girls home hoping they would fall asleep in the car and we could carefully transfer them to their cribs for a long and much needed nap.

Didn't happen.

The next couple hours were "volatile" as Walter put it. You know when the babies are so tired they don't know whether to laugh or cry and their attention span is all of 25 seconds long, when their favorite toys and songs don't make them happy, and when you know if they could just stop fussing for even half a second their little eyes would close and they would be fast asleep? We were there.

Both Anna Claire and Mallory finally fell asleep just around 4:45 which is pretty late for a nap around our house, but how could we not let them sleep? We finally had to wake them up at 5:30 so we could feed them and start our bedtime routine.

I'm a bit bummed I didn't get cute pictures of the girls for their scrapbooks, that by the time I ate the food that was left was cold, that I didn't get to eat dessert, and that my sweet girls were all out of sorts most of the day. All in all, I'm not sure we had a "happy" Thanksgiving; however, I am thankful nonetheless for so much more.

And I learned a few things that should help us get through Christmas day!

What am I Most Thankful For?...

Sneak Peek

Here are a few of the girls' pictures from this afternoon (unedited as I am sure you can tell - my arm is in the second picture).

We got some great shots of both Anna Claire and Mallory. Both girls were all smiles and in such good moods for the entire photo shoot. I am so proud of them.

Nevertheless, despite all our practice today, we couldn't get them to smile at the same time in the same picture as I had so hoped. That's okay; I'm not sure they could get any cuter...

Gobble, Gobble!

Here are the girls in their "Baby's First Thanksgiving" outfits wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

And just for the occasion - the first EVER picture of both girls smiling in the same shot! Woo Hoo! Mommy got so excited she scared the babies! Things are looking good for our photo shoot later this afternoon!

Say, "Cheese!"

Tomorrow we are taking the girls to have their six month/Christmas pictures taken. Cross your fingers that it goes better than our first portrait session three months ago. I can't help but believe things will go more smoothly - the girls are older and they smile at the drop of a hat these days. Wish us luck!

Check back in tomorrow night to get a look at the pictures.

O Christmas Tree

We bought our Christmas tree yesterday!

I know it's a bit early, but this year, for the first time, our tree is coming out of a box. We have decided to go the artificial route. I was excited about the possiblilty of bundling up the girls and taking them out to buy a real tree. Wouldn't that have made for cute pictures? This year, however, I think artificial is the way to go. When they get a bit older, maybe we'll go back to the real thing.

The deciding factors? We've always had trouble remembering to water our real tree which ends up dropping needles after about a week; I really don't see us getting any better at remembering this year with Anna Claire and Mallory occupying our time. And since our tree is dead so soon, we really don't get to enjoy the pine scent for very long. We also won't have the resultant pine needles littering the floor; therefore, we won't have to worry about Anna Claire and Mallory putting said needles in their mouths. Plus - and this is the real bonus - the tree is pre-lit. No more stringing lights! YAY!

Our plan is to begin decorating next weekend. The big questions is where is the tree going to go with all the baby gear?

Check back in for pictures of the girls' first Christmas tree...
...a 7 1/2 foot pre-lit "just cut" franklin fraser fir with 1000 lights, 3144 tips, and just four easy pieces to snap together!

Lazy Sunday

Just some random pics of the girls from this morning...

Anna Claire reaching for the camera... It's getting harder and harder for me to take close-ups!
How relaxed and comfy does Mallory look?
Heads Up...

Bouncing Baby Girl

The girls have had their jumperoo for well over a month now, and while they have both loved playing in it since day one, it's Anna Claire who is the first to have figured out how to actually jump in her jumperoo as evidenced in the video below...

Did you hear that little shriek of joy at the very end?

Brrrr

It's been so cold here the past few days and nights; the girls have been sleeping in cuddly fleece footies. I love how warm and cozy and soft they feel in my arms when I go in each morning to pick them up out of their cribs.

Here they are tonight getting ready for bed. Mallory was so relaxed; Anna Claire, on the other hand was very squirmy and not so easy to settle down. Can you tell from the picture?

Tid-bits

I put a call in to our pediatrician this morning just to make sure it was okay to drop the 10:30 PM bottle since A) the girls are sound asleep at 10:30, B) they are not one bit interested in eating at 10:30, and C) we have introduced solids since adding back the 10:30 feeding, making them even less interested. The nurse said yes, we could drop the 10:30 feeding and let Anna Claire and Mallory sleep peacefully from 7:30 PM to 7 AM. YAY!

She also said that we could allow Mallory to continue sleeping on her tummy since that's where she seems to want to be and since she's stopped waking herself up whenever she rolls over.

And two things I learned this weekend - green beans stain baby clothes and carrots turn baby poop orange! Why didn't anyone tell me this??

New pictures coming soon...busy, busy!

Tummy Time *Updated*

For the past two nights we have put Mallory to bed on her back. At some point during the night she has flipped herself onto her tummy without waking up and has slept through until morning - 11 1/2 hours - both nights!

Tummy Time

Scenario A
Mallory rolls onto her tummy in her sleep, wakes herself up, and starts crying inconsolably. We rock her back to sleep and put her back into her crib on her back. Sometimes she stays put; sometimes she doesn't which leads us to...

Scenario B
Mallory rolls onto her tummy in her sleep and stays asleep - on her tummy - without me ever knowing it. I'll wake up to check on the girls; Mallory is often sound asleep on her tummy and I have no idea how long she's been there. It scares me to death!

More often than not, when I roll her onto her back she wakes up if she was asleep in the first place and starts crying; if she is awake, she continues crying. In both cases, she rolls right back onto her tummy, and starts crying harder. She doesn't seem to want to be on her tummy, but she can't yet roll onto her back on her own no matter how hard we practice.

It's a vicious cycle and I don't know what to do.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Well, since I shrunk the girls' sweet pink hats and mittens in the dryer, they needed a new set. Aren't these fun? I think they look ready for a little snowboarding. Too bad it's been years since we've seen snow. And we don't have any hills. Or snowboards.

Blessed Day

Yesterday the girls were Baptized, and I must say they were little angels - from their behavior to their beautiful christening gowns. Don't they look sweet? I wish these photos did justice to the detail on the gowns. I missed so many photo ops just trying to manage the logistics of the day, I may actually dress the girls in their gowns again to get some more photos.

The day went off without a hitch. We were actually on time to the church and were fully prepared with bottles, toys, bibs and burp cloths. The timing was actually perfect - right after the girls' 10:30 AM bottles. Our only bump in the road came about five minutes before time for us to go to the front of the church.

Mallory got a bit fussy and continued to fuss once we were up front, but no tears. I am so proud. They didn't mind at all being held by the pastors nor did it bother them to have the water poured on their heads. I didn't think it would because they aren't bothered by it in the bath, but bath water is warm, and I knew this water would be cold. Still, no worries. Afterwards, Mallory fell sound asleep for the remainder of church, but Anna Claire stayed bright-eyed.

I actually think the adults were the ones to goof up the ceremony more than the babies. None of us had actually done our homework and read over the ceremony - me, Walter, and the girls' Godparents, Uncle Brian & Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jess & Aunt Hollis - we had no idea who was supposed to respond when. Oh, well. We faked our way through.

After church we all had lunch together - more than 40 of the girls' grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Again, I can't believe we pulled that off. We had plenty of food and seating for everyone. The girls, again, were so well-behaved the entire afternoon. Anna Claire and Mallory also received such special gifts from everyone - too many to list - but we love each and every one and especially the family who were so generous on such a special day!

Busy, Busy

This week should not be quite so hectic at work and I think I'm finally over my cold, so I'll try to get back to some kind of regular posting schedule this week.

It turns out that Mallory does not appear to have caught my cold after all. Other than a runny nose Friday with a little coughing, she seems perfectly healthy and happy now. Friday ended up to be pretty uneventful other than Mallory rolling over onto her her tummy a couple of times during the night and waking herself up which made us all a little tired come morning.

Not to be outdone, Anna Claire rolled onto her tummy for the first time Saturday! I caught her in the act three times. Twice she rolled over when the two of us were playing on our bed and once she rolled over in the crib waiting for me to change her diaper. She must know Mommy cannot handle two babies rolling over in their sleep. I have not seen her roll onto her tummy since! Here's how I found Mallory Saturday morning still sleeping...Today, Sunday, was a big day. It was one year ago today Walter and I found out we were going to have twins, and on what better day to have Anna Claire and Mallory Baptized. We didn't actually plan it, but it's pretty darn special that it worked out this way. I can so clearly remember that day one year ago. Obviously we knew twins were a pretty good possibility, but I guess I never really imagined it would happen to us, so I can say I was absolutely shocked to see two "babies" on the ultrasound monitor. I will post all the details of the girls' Baptism tomorrow night.

Tonight, the girls had their first taste of green beans. All I can say is that I don't think we are going to have any trouble getting them to eat their vegetables!

Anna Claire wants more...

Sick Baby *updated*

I think Mallory has caught my cold - just in time for her Baptism. Right now her only symptom is a very runny nose. Thankfully, she is eating and sleeping well and still smiling. I hope things don't get worse.

*Update*
The runny nose only lasted one day. Mallory seems perfectly healthy and happy. YAY!

Weekend Update

Wow! Things have been busy and both Walter and I have been under the weather. It's been so long since I've posted anything I don't know where to start, so I'll just give a quick summary of the past few days.

Saturday evening we had dinner with Aunt Pam, Uncle Rick, and Cousin Ricky. Aunt Michelle, Connor and Dylan were there also. The girls did great! They've gotten much less fussy lately during the evening hours. Mallory was able to wear a bow in her hair for the first time - it stayed in all night. Check out all that drool (it must have been the amazing smashed potatoes with red pepper sauce Ricky made) - and those gorgeous eyelashes (this picture is too small to do them justice). Trust me; she will never need mascara.

Sunday the girls woke up bright and early. It felt like 6:30, but it sure was tough to get out of bed when the clock said 5:30. We spent the rest of the day trying to get them back on schedule. What fun! Not.

Monday, the girls were five months old. Impossible for me to believe.And Tuesday, we stood in line to vote - 2 hours and 45 minutes - we were outside for all but about twenty minutes. Thank goodness the girls were not with us. It was cold, rainy, and windy.
Stay tuned for the adventures of rolly-polly baby. Mallory is now rolling over onto her tummy in her sleep and waking herself up. All. The. Time. I told you I would never sleep again.