Second Cousins Visit

The girls' second cousins, Laura and RJ, came to visit this weekend from Philly. Meredith spent all her summers as a kid up in Michigan with Laura (her first cousin on her Mom's side). There were a lot of memories created together and we are so happy we were able to create a few with Laura and her husband this weekend. We went to the American History Museum, David then took us on a driving tour of DC, Arlington and Old Town, Alexandria, and then had dinner (actually made it at home!). They also brought with them adorable fall shirts and some neat-o bath toys.

More photos of their visit can be found here: http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1178525016/a=8289532_8289532/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Belly Shots

That is pictures of them ON their bellies. Today I was changing Evelyn while Sylvia was on her belly and I turned around and Sylvia was on her back! So, I still have not captured Sylvia rolling over.

Attempts At Rolling Over

We haven't yet had a repeat of Sylvia's rolling over, but boy she tries hard. I have a feeling she'll roll over from her back to tummy before a repeat of tummy to back.

Morning Feeding

The first feeding of the day is so great. It's great for 2 reasons -- David is there with me and the girls are soooo happy! This little video captured one of Evelyn's finer moments.

Play Mat Fun

Evelyn has discovered herself in the mirror on the playmat -- it's so cute when she graps for it and plays with it. Sylvia loves to talk to her little Lion toy.

Play Date

I hosted a play date for Mom's from this local Mom's group who have 2009 babies. 6 Mom's came and there were 8 babies, so we had a full house. I even made homemade banana bread and blueberry muffins, but no one ate them. I wonder why, it's not like we get a lot of time to eat. It was a lot of fun.

Waking Up

We start bedtime around 6:30pm and the girls are usually in dreamland no later than 7:30pm -- that's after baths, feeding, burping, shhhh-ing, and swaddling. Most mornings we have to wake them up. I wanted to film them waking up, but to our surprise they were lying quietly asleep in their cribs waiting for us. They are adorable in the morning.

Estimated Weights

I'm so excited to go to the doctor to get their official weight since we haven't been since their 2 month checkup. They are 15 weeks old today and yesterday they weighed in officially at:

Sylvia -- 13lbs 4oz
Evelyn--11lbs 8oz

Pretty good! I think Sylvia will be around the 50th percentile, but Evelyn is small and will likey be in the lower quarter. They are both very healthy girls and haven't even had a cold. They both eat at least 7.5 ounces 4 times a day, so 30 oz a day. Sylvia typically takes 8 oz in the morning and at night, so she's taking about 31 oz. I have a feeling we'll need to start rice cereal soon to make sure they get enough calories (especially Sylvia). I've read that once they eat 32 ounces they should be started on rice cereal. I'm not in any rush to start though, it's just more mess! And, they won't really get any calories from it for a while ... after they learn how to eat.

Evelyn's Little Laugh

Evelyn has a cute little laugh that starts out sounding like a little coughing noise. She's so cute.

All About Evelyn

My itty bitty Evelyn is just that, itty bitty. She has definitely packed on some chub over the last week or so, but is so light and easy to carry! Evelyn is so smiley, all you have to do is look her way, sing a note to a silly song or touch her and she will smile soooo big! She has the biggest blue eyes that melt my heart when she is fussy. And, boy, she is fussy when she is tired! She fights sleep and takes some time getting down for naps, but the last few days have been pretty easy. Evelyn is also a huge talker. She does a lot of "ooohhhs" and a funny cough sound that we're sure is her laugh. She kicks her feet all the time, at her toys, on her kick and play, and in your arms. We are so lucky to have a happy, healthy baby. We love her so much.

All About Sylvia

My little Sylvia is not really so little. I'm guessing at our doctor's appointment in a few weeks she will weigh in around 14 pounds, so now she probably weighs about 13 pounds. She's really grown in the last week; she is definitely longer and heavier. She is incredibly adorable and a joy to be around. She is generally a very happy baby. She doesn't cry much, except for when her bottle is empty (after chugging 8 oz in 12 minutes!) or if she's tired. She cries very loudy, but is pretty easy to calm down. She smiles, but not all the time. She is very laid back and takes a lot in and then talks about it with plenty of "ah goos." She also squeals in delight and it's just adorable. She is still spitting up and nearly all the time requires a bib to avoid soaking her outfit before lunch! We are so lucky to have a happy, healthy baby. We love her so much.

Cute Family Shots

Four Generations of Women

My Mom and 88 year old Granny came to visit this weekend. My Mom drove from Indiana to Michigan to meet my Uncle to "hand off" Granny at the Grand Rapids airport. They then flew into Washington, D.C. We had a wonderful weekend hearing stories of my childhood, reading my baby book, and watching Granny and Mom hold and love the babies. It was incredibly wonderful. All of my closest friends and family know that my Granny is very dear to me and it means the world to me that she traveled all that way to meet the girls. I can't thank my Mom enough for bringing her -- it was all her idea. We took a lot of pictures, which can be viewed at this link. I've only uploaded a sampling of this absolutely memorable weekend!

Snapfish Link to Photos: http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=71291249864368030/l=2256228016/g=8289532/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Basement Conversion

I refuse to turn my "adult" space into a kiddie playground, so we have moved to the basement. Sure, there's still a place to change the girls on the 2nd level, but all their stuff has been moved below. It's actually pretty nice. Today I got foam blocks so I can use more of the floor (it's hardwood, so tummy time is not very safe).

Get Me Out Of This Thing!

Sylvia has been doing this back arch thing. She doesn't want to be held, she doesn't want to be on the activity mat, in the bumbo, in the swing, etc. I think she wants to walk! She's only happy when I hold her up on her feet or sit her up like a big girl. Check her out trying to bust out of the bumbo!

Morning Snacks & Fullness

Cute Pictures From Week 14

The first is of Sylvia trying out the exersaucer. All she wants to do is stand, so I thought this would be a good thing for her. However, her tiny feet don't touch the ground...we have a few more weeks to go. The second is of Sylvia (or "Syl" as David has been calling her) eating her hands. She's always hungry and cries when her bottle is finished and then immediately chews on her hands for 15 minutes after eating. The last picture is of Evelyn on the left and Sylvia on the right. I thought they looked cute (even though Evelyn's outfit doesn't match...we had an accident on her other pants!). Really though, I think they always look cute. My itty bitty babies are looking big! Several people this week have said "Wow, those girls look so healthy!" Random people I've never met...makes me feel good; all that Momma's milk I guess.

Big Bed for Evelyn

I am trying hard to get the girls on some kind of napping schedule. They used to sleep whenever and wherever. Well, I'm first starting with the wherever and that involved no vibration or swinging. We have moved all the toys and stuff to the basement, so moving upstairs to their cribs for napping is not yet feasible since they are not on a schedule. The first nap is pretty much like clockwork at 8:10am, but the rest of the day is random. So, one baby goes in the packnplay and the other goes on the big bed. Here's Evelyn all sprawled out. This isn't ideal, obviously, and I will be working to get them in their cribs because it is the safest option. Right now, E doesn't move much, so we're ok. I have a feeling that will change soon.

Tummy Time with Daddy

We had a very relaxing Sunday -- didn't really leave the house except for a walk. It was nice just hanging out with the girls in our pjs!

Play Time!

Evelyn loves her kick and play bouncy seat and Sylvia loves to talk!

Sylvia Rolling Over

..with a bit of assistance. We haven't yet had a repeat of Sylvia rolling over, but she gets darn close.

When Did The Girls Get So Big?

The girls are definitely going through their 3 month growth spurt. We swear they grew over night. Sylvia is longer and Evelyn is chubbier (notice those cheeks!). And, they have been sleeping a lot during the day the last few days. We are dying to know how much they weigh, but we aren't due for a checkup until the end of August.

Official Soon To Be International Travelers

The girls are all set to travel to Montreal later this month. Evelyn's application was first rejected because the picture was too light (kind of like Sylvia's -- see left), but we redid the picture at CVS and it arrived! How official!

2 Cribs & 2 Babies Back In Swaddles

As you may recall, Evelyn was kicking her sister in the head, so we realized we needed another crib. It's been assembled and in use for the last 2 weeks. All is well. No screaming in the middle of the night caused by one baby hurting the other. However, I do think they miss each other. Also, we've tried several times to unswaddle the girls. Evelyn is fine throughout the night, but is nearly impossible to get to sleep without the miracle blanket swaddle. However, Sylvia wakes up all night long. She cries out and a paci fixes the problem...well, for about 40 minutes. We typically put the girls to sleep with pacifiers (calms them down), but within 15 minutes they spit them out. Therefore, after a sleepless night on Monday, we reswaddled both girls. They were in dreamland by 7:25pm and we didn't have to go back upstairs once! We even had to wake them up at 7am! They are sleepers!

Anniversary Celebration

We celebrated our third anniversary with a night out. It was our first and it was surprisingly easy, probably because our Nanny, Angela, watched the girls. We went to Komi, which is rated the best restaurant in DC and it was pretty amazing. We had 18 courses of yumminess!

Sylvia Rolls Over!

This afternoon, Syliva rolled over!!! It happened so fast, we didn't get it on film, but I will be sure to next time. Go Sylvia!

Busy Sunday

Today was a little out of control, but we like it that way. First, we visited our friend, Jim, in his lovely home in DC. We had an incredible brunch of crab quiche and blueberry muffins. [Bottom two pictures]

Then, we visited our friends Jason and Kelly. Their 7 month old son, Lucas, was scooting all over and nearly crawling. He's the happiest babies around. [Top picture]

Finally, we visited our friends Van, Allyson, Lynn and Brian. They surprised us with an amazing dinner of steak kebabs, pasta salad, beans and an amazing fruite tarte. Delicious! Plus, they sent us home with lots of food. We are really excited about this considering we haven't bought much more that gatorade and milk in the last few weeks. [Forgot the camera in the car for this visit--whoops!]

We had a great day and both meals were enjoyed with both hands! However, I eat so quickly these days, I bet our friends are starting to think I've lost all of my manners! The girls were so good for most of the day too, except Evelyn pee-ed on her cute little outfit so most of the day was spent in the not as cute backup one from the diaper bag.

Evelyn Rolls Over

Today, Evelyn rolled over, not once but FIVE TIMES. She rolled to the right and to the left. It was pretty amazing that she kept repeating it -- I actually got it on film!

Yeah for Evelyn! At just 12 weeks, that's pretty good!

Random Video of Cuteness

Hiccups in the Bumbo

We put Sylvia in the bumbo after she eats to assist in the burping process. We also haven't dressed her yet since she spits up, so we we put this blanket over her so she's not cold. Here she just looks funny, sort of like someone getting a haircut or a jack in the box.

Classic Sylvia

Sylvia is very vocal and spits up a lot. She's so cute and smiley, but be sure to watch the whole video.

Holding Rattles

The girls are very good at holding their rattles now. Sylvia held onto hers today for about 10 minutes.

About to Roll Over

The girls are getting close to rolling over. It's really cute watching them try so hard! Here's Evelyn getting close and Mommy telling Sylvia to get out of the way.

Napping In The Crib

Now that the girls are sleeping through the night, the next phase (which doesn't officially start until Evelyn has consistently slept 12 hours for 2 weeks) is that they have a real daytime schedule, which includes a 1 hour nap in the morning around 9am and a 2 hour nap in the afternoon around 1pm. This should occur in their cribs. I decided to see how daytime crib napping went today -- Evelyn had a bit of a hard time going down (as usual) and Sylvia fell asleep right away.

Evelyn Officially Slept Through the Night!

Well, just like the book said, your babies will be sleeping through the night (12 hours) at 12 weeks. Evelyn achieved this goal last night. She has not eaten several times in the 12 hour period, but we've had to take her out of the crib. Last night, she stayed in the crib until 10 minutes before feeding time (this is our typical routine).

I give full credit to Angela, our Nanny. She came over last night to practice bedtime so things go smoothly when she watches them for the first time on our anniversary. She bathed her, fed her and put her down. I know this is just the first of many great things Angela will do for the girls. She's really wonderful!

Poor Bouncy Seat!

Sylvia had a little accident on the bouncy. So much for the 24 cent each pampers! Poor girl was covered to her toes!

12 Weeks Old

My babies are growing up fast (almost too fast). Here they are on their 12 week birthday (today!).

Sylvia Eats Very Well

We have zero issues with making sure Sylvia eats enough. Yesterday she ate 9oz in the morning. This is really unheard of for a tiny baby. Sure, she pukes up a little, but she keeps most of it in. We joke that when we can't find something that Sylvia ate it. Like, "Hey David, where's the couch pillow." David's response: "Sylvia ate it." She is a mega slobberpuss too. Here she is with a combo of spit up and slobber all over her adorable outfit.

Sleeping Through the Night Update

Sylvia continues to sleep through the night without problem, until her sister kicks her in the head! It's so adorable how they both scoot towards eachother and lie side by side.

Evelyn is almost there, this morning she woke up at 6am, but she wasn't hungry. She was just awake. Remember, I've mentioned before that this little girl thinks there's a whole lot more to do than sleep! So, we just entertained her until we fed her at 7am. She typically wakes at 4amm and we give her an ounce of food and she goes back to sleep. She's also eatin 7oz before she goes to bed now, so it is helping to keep her full. She'll get there soon. I don't mind since it gives us some special one-on-one time in the wee hours of the morning. And, I was up at 5am today anyways to go for a run!

Future International Travelers

We hope to expose the girls to a lot, including international travel. To begin this exposure sooner rather than later, we are traveling to Vermont and Montreal at the end of the summer. Since the State Department now requires passports for travel to Canada, we had to get them for the girls. Taking passport photos was a chore, holding up a baby in front of a white background and trying to keep my hands and the girls' hands out of the picture. I knew Evelyn's photos would be rejected, but sent them in anyways (thinking maybe the government would give us a break since they are tiny babies.

So, we tried to retake the picture of Evelyn ourselves. It sort of worked, but then our printer ran out of ink. This time I went to a different drug store and they had a better method for taking the picture -- set the baby down on a white poster board. Genius!

We've resubmitted her passport request, let's hope it arrives by August 27th!

Nap Time Successes!

Since the 8th week we have been on a 4 hour feeding schedule -- 7am, 11am, 3pm and 7pm. After the first feeding, we put them in the bumbo (it helps bring out the burps since they are now pretty much burping themselves), then over to the activity mat for playtime. Typically around 8:15am Evelyn starts to get fussy and Sylvia's eyelids get heavy. For Evelyn, timing is everything, you must get her somewhere she can fall asleep fast or you will be trying hard to get her to sleep for as much as 30 minutes. Lately, I've been rushing her over to the bouncy as soon as her laughs (they aren't really laughs, but you know what I mean) turn into tiny groans. For the last two days now, I have successfully put her in the bouncy and she's fallen asleep without assistance.

Sylvia ,on the other hand, loves to sleep and falls asleep easily in her swing. As I've mentioned before, she is quite addicted to her pacifier, and will wake up and cry loudly if it falls out. But lately, she doesn't seem to need it as much. I hope this trend will continue as I refuse to let my 2 year olds walk around with binkies in their mouths (hold me to this!).

Both girls are getting so grown up, they no longer needs their Mommy! It's kind of sad, really.

Evelyn Loves Tummy Time

Evelyn has a tiny head and can lift it high! Check her out on her elbows! This is a new thing this week for her.

Who Are You?

I put the girls in the bumbos and let them face each other. Evelyn stared at Sylvia the whole time she was sitting there (maybe 5 minutes), but Sylvia was far more interested in watching me than even giving her sister a glance. She's easing into the sister thing.

Megan's Visit

One of my dearest friends from college, Megan, came to visit this week. She lives in Louisville, KY and it was a big deal for her to visit -- she has two young boys of her own. We went downtown to the Natural History Museum and fed the girls by the fountain in the sculpture garden.

Repeat #4 and Big Girl Clothes

Well, Sylvia did it again, she slept through the night -- 7am to 7pm! Amazing! Even when her sister was fussing after her 2:30 bottle of 1.5oz and it takin 45 minutes to put her back to sleep. Evelyn is a little smaller and I she is much more active and alert during the day. I think sleeping 12 hours will be a challenge for her because there are too many things for her to do! Why sleep? She's kind of like her Mommy. Plus, it gives Evelyn and I some extra time together. I don't mind.

Also, Sylvia fit into a 3-6 month outfit I've been dying to dress her in! Isn't she cute?

One more success today--Mommy fit into her smallest sized shorts (no these aren't short shorts, they go down to my knees!). Although I still have some pounds to lose, I'm getting smaller and starting to appear as though I am my old size.

Repeat #3 and First Successes!

Our little peanut, who I didn't think would sleep through the night until she was close or beyond 12 weeks because she is a pound lighter than her sister SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT! We fed them at 7pm and put them down by 7:45pm without fussing and Evelyn did not wake up until 6am! David is keeping her occupied to hold off the first feeding until 7am. He has 10 more minutes to go and so far is successful. Our goal is for them to sleep until 7am, but I'm not complianing! This is an incredible success for us!

While I type this, Sylvia is still sleeping. She didn't wake up once either. She fussed a little when Evelyn woke up, but it wasn't anything a paci couldn't fix. I need to wake her up and get her ready for the 7am feeding. This is the third time Sylvia has slept through the night.

Amazing these little girls are doing so well. We are so pleased and swear by putting your babies on a schedule from the beginning. If we fed on demand or cluster fed, Mommy and Daddy wouldn't be able to do anything else with them. The girls get to visit friends, go out for lots of fresh air, do tummy time, sit in the bumbo, play with toys (play is said very loosely...they are too young for play), and we just spend time holding them. Also, it gives Mommy and Daddy a chance to shower and eat, also important.

Babies Galore!

From left to right: Max, Ella, Evelyn and Sylvia
The guys taking care of babies: David with Evelyn, Jeff with Ella,
Peter with Mia and Max

We had dinner at the Markako's tonight and were joined by the Smith's. Together there were 5 children and 4 were babies. Mia is 4, Ella is 3 months, Max is 14 hours younger than our girls, and of course Evelyn and Sylvia are 10 weeks. We dined on the best meal I think I've had since the girls arrived and had a great time chatting it up with Jen and Dori about motherhood.

The Girls Are So Independent!

Sylvia above; Evelyn below
Well, maybe they aren't totally independent, but I'm enabling independence when I'm desperate. Sometimes a Mom has to do what she can to get through the days. Lately, it has been bottle propping. It is reasonably effective, especially since both girls want to eat at exactly the same time and things come up I must take care of (like going to the bathroom, answering the door, etc). And, these girls will scream (Sylvia) or cry (Evelyn) if their bottle is taken from them prematurely.