First Museum

It was only appropriate to take the girls on their first museum outing to the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Here's Gram with the girls.

Evelyn Chilin'

Evelyn is so funny, she was literally in the sling, popped her head out and then sat perched on my chest with her arms folded like this.

David and His Girls

Cute shot of David and the girls.

First Real Restaurant Outing

On Monday, David and I were starving and stopped at Baja Fresh for lunch. While this was their first real outing to a restaurant, we'd would have liked that they went to a much nicer place that's not fast food. On Tuesday, my Mom and I went to Aroma in Shirlington for Indian. It was delicious and the girls were very well behaved. We even dined at Noon, which was their normal feeding time. This should give all new Mom's hope!

Sylvia Fighting Sleep

The girls are hilarious when they fight sleep. Here's Sylvia fighting it HARD!

4 Weeks Old -- Video

Random videos of the girls. Sylvia first and Evelyn second.

4 weeks old

The girls are 4 weeks old today! Read below about the bears.

Mini Me?

So, does Evelyn look like me? The first picture is of me when I was 4 weeks 3 days old. The second is a picture of Evelyn on her 4 week birthday (today!).

New Toys

Oma* (David's Mother, Patti) and Opa* (Step-Father, Lee) sent the most adorable stuffed bears for the girls. They hail from Vermont and come with a lifetime repair policy. We're going to encourage the girls to really give these bears a run for their money since they can be mailed back and returned as good as new. Notice they have bibs on with the girls' names and birthdays? Cute, cute.

Also, the bears will also subsitute for the bird in their monthly growth photos (today's to be taken after they wake up). While the bird is cute and belongs in their bird themed nursery, we thought the bears would be better.

Thanks so much Oma and Opa for the bears. The girls are scared of them now, but they will love them later :)

Oma and Opa are German for Grandmother and Grandfather. David's Mother's Father is from Germany and Sylvia's nose is pure Schmidt! Also, Sylvia's namesake is of his dear Aunt, also from the Schmidt family! We actually gave them their names in the womb; how could it have worked out any more perfect?

Evelyn and Sylvia Honor Memorial Day

This video was filmed on our new flip, courtesty of Grandpa and Grandma Benson

Cute and Funny Pictures of Sylvia

Sylvia is our chub-ster. Check out the double chin. Later in life she will undoubtedly argue it was the angle I took the picture. I love the picture of her with one eye open. She does this a lot when she's half asleep -- she checks out the scene and then either goes back to sleep or opens the other eye and wakes up. Also note she's flashing the peace sign.

Few Cute Morning Pictures of Evelyn

They were just too cute this AM so I had to snap some pics. Here's Evelyn.

Outing with Gram

My Mom, "Gram", arrived about a week ago and has been INCREDIBLY helpful! She helps David with the 9pm feeding while I try to get some sleep. Then, she wakes up in the morning to help him with 6am feeding (don't worry, I'm up at Midnight and 3am feeding!). She's been cleaning bottles, doing laundry, watching them while I'm at doctor's appointments, etc. You name it, she's doing it.

Yesterday after my neurologist appt (my hands are still numb, now we can thank carpel tunnel!), we went to Old Town and strolled by the water on the Mt Vernon Trail. I also attempted to go shopping and was successful finding a pair of shorts and a new t-shirt! Whoo Hoo! Momma's got 2 new things. Ha ha!

My Two Babies

I just love these girls so much I want to hold them both at once!

Wow! More Friends!

Naomi and Ray stopped by to meet the girls. Ray is the "Baby Whisper"...Evelyn fell asleep on him almost instantly! Sylvia greeted Naomi with farts and a poop!

More New Friends

Our friends, Pete and Dori, had their son Max just 14 hours after our girls. He's a ladies man, check him out! Evelyn was all shy (she's on his left), but Sylvia was trying to scoot in for a kiss. So cute and so big! Moms had a great time strollering, changing, feeding and having lunch. They also gave the girls incredibly cute Ralph Lauren sweaters (white with pink stripes)...you'll be seeing them stying in them soon!

Visiting a New Friend

Our good friends Kathryn and Thomas had their son just a few days after us on May 1st. He was 8lbs 2oz and 22inches. Big boy! His name is Thomas Francis Maxwell IV. His Grandmommy has nicknamed him "Max", which we think is adorabloe. Baby Tommy or Max, whichever you prefer to call him, is a cute as can be.

Nearly 3 Weeks Old

At the doctor
Sylvia in front, Evelyn in back

Sylvia
Evelyn (this is a "fake" dream smile, we haven't gotten a real smile yet)

The visit to the doctor went extremely well. All their newborn screenings came back without concerns, their weigh has surpassed their birth weight, and the doctor gave them overall glowing reviews. Sylvia is now 6lbs 11oz (her birth weight was a few ounces shy of 6lbs 1oz). Evelyn is a whopping 6lb 1oz (her birth weight was 5lbs 14oz). We don't go back to the doc until late June!

Burke Lake Park

Yet another outing with the girls. This time to Burke Lake Park where we strolled around the Lake, saw baby goslings and took a break on a park bench.

Squirmy Worms

The girls are squirmy little worms in their day time crib. Evelyn is closest to the camera.

Slings Rock

Thanks to my friend Josie who let us borrow this awesome sling for newborns. Whenever they FREAK out and we've tried everything else, we put them in a sling. This morning, I blow dried my hair with Sylvia in the sling and then wrote all these blog posts. She slept peacefully. They just like to be close to us all the time. It's very cute. Here's Sylvia in the sling.

Bath Time

Their belly buttons fell off and now it's time for a REAL bath 2-3 times a week. Sylvia was OK with it, Evelyn was not. The picture is of Evelyn wrapped in her hooded towel post bath (and freak out!).

Good Eating

See, parents CAN still make good meals with infant children. We enjoyed steak and a spinach salad AND a great glass of Pinot! Yum!

Funny Video Clip of Evelyn

We have a lot of fun laughing at the girls weird facial expressions, especially since they don't smile yet. Here's Evelyn and her scruntchy face.

Another Outing

Sylvia chilling
Me and Evelyn

David and I checked out another new spot -- Pohick Bay Park and Mason Neck Park. 2,000 acres of nature conservancy that's only 15 minutes away from us AND on the water. Very cool. We strolled around and enjoyed the park.

2 Weeks Old

Today is Evelyn and Sylvia's 2 week birthday. We're going to try to guage their growth by this bird. Every so often we'll take a pic of them so you all can get a good idea of how much they've grown. In this picture, Evelyn is on the left and Sylvia is on the right. They were squirming around a bit, so it's not the best picture, but oh well.

Our First Picnic

It's a beautiful Tuesday and we enjoyed a picnic and stroll at Belle Haven Park, right on the Potomac. It was really nice. The girls enjoyed lunch too (my first public feeding went off without a hitch...that means no accidential slippage if know what I mean).

We still manage to get out every day -- yesterday we put them in slings and walked the neighborhood, even though it was cold and overcast. It's sooo nice to get out of the house!

Mother's Day

Wow! Everyone loves Mother's Day. I got tons of cards from friends and family, and David's Dad and Step-Mom sent me flowers! Aren't they beautiful! This only added to the beautiful flowers given to us by David's Mom, my Dad and Step-Mom, and numerous friends to celebrate the girls' birth! Our house is so pretty with all these flowers. It helps with the poopy smell too!

More Cute Pictures

Evelyn on the left; Sylvia on the right
Sylvia on the left; Evelyn on the right

Just a few cute pictures from the last day or so. We got "Miracle Blankets" since they wiggle themselves out of receiving blankets we've swaddled them with. These put the babies in a straight jacket wrapped tightly and they nearly instantly fall asleep! Besides a little fussing for David at the 9pm feeding and a little more before the 6am feeding, it was a good night. This mornin we all cuddled in bed together for about an hour.

Hanging with Daddy

David and Sylvia love to chill together! BTW, under that hat is a HUGE fuzzy head of hair David is refusing to cut while on paternity leave. He wants to start a comb-over!

Tummy Time (or not!)

Thought you might enjoy viewing the ladies attempting tummy time. Their bellies were too full to do it! But, off camera later, they both greatly impressed us! Sylvia is on the left and Evelyn on the right.

Love Birds

Red shirt cutie is Sylvia and Blue trim cutie outfit is Evelyn

These girls love each other, but don't show it all the time. This morning while we were getting ready for our daily outing (today to Old Town to buy Meredith some new clothes!), the girls were nearly on top of each other cuddling when we came back to peek on them. So cute!

Walk 2

Thrilling, I know, but we went for a walk around a small lake in our neighborhood. The girls enjoyed viewing the wildlife...they asked for goose liver pate for dinner.

First Walk

Each day, David and I have been assuming a "normal routine." That means we shower, get ready and get out of the house. Typically this just involves running to the store and either David and I stay in the car with the girls. Today, we ran to the grocery and party store for Mexican Fiesta supplies. Since today was the first nice day since we got home (no rain!), we went for a 3/4 mile walk in the neighborhood. I didn't want to over do it, so it was short.

I'm off my pain meds and have been for days, but I was feeling it a bit later that night. However, the whole day consisted of a lot of up/down stairs (which I'm only supposed to do a few times). David reminds me that I need to take it easy, but it's hard not to resume my normal activity level when I feel good. Plus, I need to get this baby weight off!

One Week Old

The girls turned 1 week old today. I can't really tell if they've changed much, but I know they will soon (as much as Mommy doesn't want them to!). Sylvia is on the left; Evelyn on the right.

David feels left out of the nursing process and the girls have yet to figure out that he's not a source of food. Sylvia found Daddy's nose yesterday to be completely inadequate. [On a side note, this was so funny we laughed for hours!]

Mexican Fiesta!

Since today was Cinco de Mayo and our girls have affectionately been referred to as the "party girls" since they were old enough to be felt in the womb, we thought it was appropriate to put on a Mexican Fiesta! The girls had a great time and enjoyed a margarita (Mom's first adult beverage since August!), chips and salsa, and cheese enchilatas. Although they had a hard time staying awake, they had a great time. Evelyn is on the left; Sylvia on the right.

The Girls First Doctor's Visit

We had our first doctor's appointment today. They are 6 days old!!! The visit went well. The girls have not lost any more weight (which is typical) from their hospital discharge weight. Sylvia weighed 5lbs9oz and now weighs 5lbs10oz...almost regaining back to her old fighting weight at birth. Evelyn's hospital discharge weight was 5lbs5oz and now she's 5lbs7oz. The Pediatrician called Evelyn a little Turkey during the exam, it was so cute. She was happy with their overall condition and we are due back in 2 weeks. Attached are a few pics of getting them ready, putting them in the car seats and at the appointment.

[The doc is examining Evelyn in the picture; in the car seats and of them in their crib, Evelyn is on the left and Sylvia is on the right]

First Night Out

Hey, even if it's for an hour, it still counts right?

We've been home a little more than 24 hours and already have ventured out. Sure, it was only to BabiesRUs, but it's important for us to TRY to do things. We got showered while the girls chilled in their downstairs bed. We put them in their car seats and drove 2 miles down the road to pick up a few things. Daddy stayed in the car while Mommy ran inside (am I one to sit in the car?). It proved to be good exercise, although I've been on my feet all day anyways. I've probably climbed too many stairs, but oh well. I feel good, my incision is perfect and I haven't had any other issues that would point to "over doing" it. After about an hour outside of the house, we returned home for another feeding.

Our day has been great. We've fed the girls every three hours -- combo of nursing, formula and pumping. It's quite the process, but I think we already have it down. Too bad David will have to return to work one of these days. We are just hoping our good luck during the day holds up tonight since we haven't napped at all today!