Monday, June 27, 2011

Our First Picnic



We don't know about you all, but the Sonic hotdog commercials got us - hook, line, and sinker. So earlier this month, we decided to give in to the craving and got hotdogs to eat at the park.

(A word from the wise, the commercials make them much more appealing than they are in real life.)







Saturday, June 25, 2011

Trading Spaces

With the girls growing like weeds, a few weeks ago it was time to move them into separate cribs.

When we first came home from the hospital, they slept in a pack 'n play bassinet in our bedroom, but their grunts kept Chris awake, so after two weeks they moved into their room.
They shared one of the two cribs, at first sleeping side by side. As they grew, we kept them in one crib, but changed their position so that they slept head to toe. No matter how far apart we placed them when we laid them down to bed, we would find them snuggled right next to each other when it was time to get up to eat. It was hard to imagine the day when we would need to separate them.

Emily and Addison tested out their new bed on the day we came home from the hospital

Well, with their three month birthday past and the nights getting warmer, we stopped swaddling them at night. Without the swaddles to keep their arms and legs contained, the girls began keeping each other awake with their flailing limbs. At that point, we decided that Emily and Addison would need to begin sleeping in their own cribs.

June 2nd, one of the last nights the girls would share a crib

Addison stayed in the crib they had shared since they were two weeks old, and Emily moved into the vacant crib. They seem comfortable in their new beds, but it's bittersweet to see that they are too big to snuggle in one crib anymore.

Addison asleep tonight in her bed


and Emily asleep in hers

Friday, June 24, 2011

Yoga Wednesdays

This summer, we've been going to a mom/baby Yoga class on Wednesday mornings. My friend Jennica comes with us and Addison is her Yoga partner. It is so much fun, and a pretty good workout!

Addison looks excited to start the Yoga session


Emily gets a little massage to warm up for the session


Yoga partners Jenn and Addison


In our leggings, ready for stretching and breathing!


Thanks for coming, Jenn, we always have so much fun!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Videos!

We took a lot of videos in May. Here are some of them. Enjoy!







A Busy May!

The girls had a lot of social time in May, visiting old friends and meeting new ones.

They got to see Uncle Doug again and they met Kirstin for the first time.

Emily was excited to see Doug again and she showed off her talking skills

Kirstin shared with Addison the wonderful perks of having red hair

They got to come with Mom and Dad up to Fort Collins to the Smith's house to visit Denise, Bret, Mason and Vahan and meet Amanda, Jacob, and Porter.
L-R: Amanda, Addison, Vahan, Porter, Denise, Emily, Chris, Mason

Vahan and Porter are only two months apart, so they are pretty good friends

Emily got to try out Vahan's exersaucer, she thought it was pretty neat

Vahan wanted to show her all the bells and whistles



Then Jennica, Kris, Karen, and Randy came over to celebrate Jenn and Abbey's birthdays.

Jenn fed Emily and Karen fed Addison

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Smiles for You!

Emily
AKA Em, Emmy Lou, and Wolverine


Addison
AKA Addie, Chuckles, and Bubbles

These girls are changing, learning, and growing so fast, it's hard to keep up! They are both very talkative these days, gooing and gahing while smiling. Addison giggles quite a bit, and Emily still loves studying people's faces. Addison loves being sung to, and Emily loves a deep conversation. They both notice themselves in the mirror, and like to smile at the pretty baby looking back at them.

Addison really likes light and dark patterns. The other morning, she was very hungry (and woke me up to let me know!) but when we sat down to eat, she was mesmerized by the pattern on the wall of early morning light coming through the blinds. She actually smiled and laughed after staring at the pattern for some time. Addison has very strong legs, and she loves to exercise them. If she seems a bit fussy and is kicking her legs, it's just because she wants to stand up. Help her out by holding her arms so she can stand, and she's all smiles.

Emily is quite the talker. She will talk to anyone who will pay attention, and even to a few who won't. The other day, she talked and talked to Addison, who was so focused on standing up, she didn't even notice! Emily has learned the art of catching a swinging toy and bringing it to her mouth. The jungle is a fun place to be for her with all those swinging toys! We have gone to the pool twice this summer, and Emily loves the water. She is very brave when mom and dad lay her on her back to float and seems content to stay in the water for a very long time.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

3 Months...Can it Be?

It's hard to believe Addison and Emily are already three months old. Being a three month old is pretty amazing. Addison is fascinated with her hands and likes to study them as her fingers move. Emily has learned to grab objects and bring them to her mouth. They both enjoy being talked to and like to smile a lot!





One More Picture Please, Mom!



Mother's Day!


Mother's Day landed on my birthday this year. What a wonderful birthday present, to get to be a mother on Mother's Day! We spent the day at Grandma DeeDee's house with Aunt Britney, Uncle Dylan, Callie, and Great Grandma Nicoll. The girls wore their frilly dresses and a good time was had by all.

Four Generations


Family Portrait



Our Sweet Girls



Addison


Emily

Friday, June 3, 2011

Great Great Great Grandma Made a Bonnet

My Grandma Nicoll gave me a very precious bonnet that her grandmother made for her when she was a baby. Last month, we had a little photo shoot with the bonnet, and now it is in a shadow box with a couple of the pictures. What a special family heirloom.




Pajama Days

This week, the weather in Colorado has taken a turn and yesterday actually reached up into the 90s. However, for a couple weeks before that, we were having some really chilly, rainy weather. Emily, Addison, and I decided to stay in jammies and slippers on a couple of those days.





Tuesday, May 24, 2011

What do you call them?

In April, I had a set of four year old twins come up to meet the girls in Safeway. The little girl observed that "that one has a pink pluggie, and that one has a green pluggie."
When we were at the Flatirons a couple of weeks ago, a three year old little girl commented on the babies "ahgahs."
We call them passi's around here. We've heard nooks, suckers, night-nights, and soothies. What do you call them?

Growing Girls

Wow, I cannot believe how much these girls have grown in 12 short weeks! I had them weighed today, and Emily has outpaced her sister. Up until now, Addison has had 5 or more ounces on Emily, but today, Addison came in at 10 pounds and Emily at 10 pounds, 4 ounces!

They are constantly learning and changing, too. They have both been making eye contact for quite some time, now, and they have been smiling at and talking to anyone who will listen for the past couple of weeks. While adults are able to maintain eye contact with them and keep their attention in a cooing conversation, they have not been able to catch each other's eyes....until recently. Last week, they were eating and looked across at each other. They made and kept eye contact almost through the whole meal.

Addison loves when people talk to her, and she will smile so big it looks like she's going to burst. She smiles wide, turns to the side, and gives a little explosion of a chuckle, like she just can't contain her joy.

Emily loves to study people's faces, and has recently found that her sister's face is quite interesting, too. I will catch her staring at Addison, even if Addison is not paying any attention to her.

While Addison is very social with adults, Emily seems to find kids and babies very fun. Last week at the playground, a little three year old named Madison came over to our blanket to meet the girls. Madison wanted to know all about them, and was very enthusiastic in talking to them. Emily smiled wide for Madison and gooed and gahed. When Madison gave them hugs goodbye and left to play on the playground, Emily cried because she no longer had the special attention of her new friend.

Today at mom's group, Emily was laying next to a 12 week old named Olivia. Olivia is also a very social little girl, and she and Emily had quite a long conversation full of smiles and chuckles.

We had a yoga lesson at mom's group, and the instructor (who taught my prenatal yoga class as well) borrowed Addison to lead the group. Addison did very well as the model baby, and everyone thought she was super cute.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Cupcake Heads




Silly Daddy wanted to turn the girls into cupcake heads!