Cousins!

We've had a lot going on the last two weeks.  Dave's cousin Ryan, his wife Bethany, and their daughter Naomi came to visit.  The boys went to a football game and the girls went to the butterfly house at the museum of life and science.  I'm really looking forward to when the girls are big enough to enjoy it there on the Wednesday afternoons that Durham residents can go for free.  

Then...Aunt Heather came!  So exciting.  She hasn't seen the girls since they were 1 week old and still in the hospital.  Hannah and Samuel were with her and the 4 cousins got to spend time with each other.  Hannah and Sammy kept getting the girls all their books and toys any time they made a fuss so that at one point, Samantha had 2 books, her lovey, her paci, and at least 2 other things with her in the swing.  They were trying so hard to be helpful.  We also went to get fro-yo, which was so yummy because they had chocolate macaroon.  Unfortunately I left with the taste of Hannah's coconut/rice crispy/gummy bear in my mouth.  Sammy took a liking to Catherine, which is not what I thought, though maybe he's jealous of someone else with a similar name.  Heather said the same thing everyone else says when they see the girls; Samantha is making up for lost time because who would have thought she was the baby who couldn't eat for almost 2 weeks.  Such a chubs!  We love it still.  Speaking of which, Samantha is getting good at eating and is now grabbing the spoon herself.  Not that she's feeding herself, but at least she gets the idea.  Today was carrots and there were no good faces to be had.  Oh well.  

Now Catherine is not really working on eating. Samantha got my love of food and hopefully cooking and baking.  Catherine got my desire to be in shape (not that I really seem to have the time to do that recently).  Here is Catherine doing push ups (or planking, if you're into that thing).  

She doesn't sit up on her own as well as Samantha does,  but she can do it.

 

She's also a serious tactile learner. 

We had fun in our chairs this week, especial now that they can sit up and they fit in them better.

 

Love that smile!

I'm ready to go upstairs!

Shhhh!

Our little care bear!

a dog's view

This week, Heidi is writing our blog.

A lot happened this week.  Samantha, who now weighs as much as I do, got to start eating regular baby formula.  Mommy and Daddy are mixing the regular stuff into her old fancy stuff and she seems to be doing well with it.  She's not any crankier or smellier than usual at least.  They also started eating what Daddy called 'real food' but I'm not so sure.  It is weird, kind of mushy, nothing like what I've had before. As I watched them I got so excited because they are so messy.  I thought, 'Some of that has got to drop on the floor and then I've got it made'.  Maybe if they ever start eating good stuff, but I don't like this stuff, and that's saying something.  I think Samantha agrees.  They're not good at swallowing, but it seems to be slowly improving.  Maybe if it taste better...

The girls love their exersaucer and they have learned to play together.  They have two, but Mommy and Daddy leave one upstairs with the bouncy thing that hangs from the door.  They haven't figured out how to bounce yet, so it's not that much fun, but Samantha's working on it. She bounces but I don't think she knows why.

Samantha has been so active!  She rolls across the floor so fast that you have to catch her before she hits something.  We need more pillows, I think. She gets under her swing and can kick her legs and make it move.  Apparently it is very exciting.  Catherine is doing so well eating more food, look at those cheeks!  They look especially big when she pushes out her lower lip and is all pouty.  Daddy is in for it, that's for sure.  She has also been very fascinated with her hands.

Our nanny took us outside a lot this week because the weather hasn't been hot or rainy.  FINALLY!  Don't know why they call it the 'dog days of summer'.  Dog's can't enjoy it.  Anyway, we went outside with blankets and toys and swings and I got to run around the yard.  Not too much though, I have to stay near the babies and protect them.  It is a serious job, you know.  I'm extra careful about people on the sideway across the street and I make sure everyone knows someone is out there.  When people come to the house they are not allowed inside unless it is Nanna and Grandpa, by boyfriend's mommy, our nanny (who is really nice) or if Mommy lets them in.  These babies are my responsibility and I am not going to let anyone down.

 

We even took naps outside.  Catherine still likes to eat fabric when she's sleepy.  She wraps it around her thumb and sticks it in her mouth.  Mommy says she's going to get hairballs.

Then we had some fun and tried on their Halloween outfits from Uncle Mike and Aunt Alyssa.  (Halloween is my least favorite holiday.  I HATE the doorbell and now, with the babies, I am extra cautious and on the lookout for danger.  Mommy is trying to figure out a way to hide.)  As you can see, Samantha's just fits now, so a month from now it is not going to work.  There may be a shopping trip in the near future.  But isn't she so cute as a skunk?  Little stinker!  Then they got to wear our Carolina Cutie dresses that Nana got them and they look cute.  Go Gamecocks!  Speaking of which, time to watch the game.

big sister or little sister?

6 Months!  How exciting, and how time has flown by!  I can't believe we are here.  The girls are doing so well, growing and smiling and talking and laughing and moving and teething and I can't wait for more to come.  At their check up this week Catherine was 11 lbs 8 oz and 22.5 inches long. Still such a shrimp, our first born, but she's still growing on the same curve and the doctor says she's doing great.  She's just little like her mommy was.  Samantha, however, is kicking it!  14 lbs 8oz and 24.5 inches long.  Everyone assumes she is older because she's bigger.  We're still wondering if she'll let Catherine lead and be dominant because she's older or if she'll smack Catherine down because she's bigger.  She's gaining on the growth curve, though that may change once she starts crawling and expending more energy.  Catherine is moving more on her hands and knees and she doesn't seem to be a good napper so that's another reason why she's small, she's always on the go.  The girls get to start real food now and that's a great milestone, and Samantha gets to try regular formal instead of the fancy stuff.

Matching jammies on our 6 month birthday.  Thanks to Great Grandma for buying 2 different sizes so they could still match.

I've been thinking lately, when I found out we were having twins I was so upset.  How were we going to manage this?  Could I make two babies happy at once, make them feel secure and loved and not left out and ignored?  How were we going to pay for all of this? ;-)  But now I wouldn't have it any other way.  They girls are so different and complimentary.  Samantha mostly takes after Dave in looks.  She has a shy but beautiful smile that crinkles up her nose, is insistent when it is time to eat, rolls to her left, and is right handed.  Catherine has a megawatt smile to match her flirty personality.  She could eat, or not, looks like me so much it frightens my family, rolls to her left and is left handed (like Dave).  They even have different ways of talking, different pitched voices...  They're incredible and I am amazed at how much I love this.

Samantha's such a smart girl.

I foresee a lot of conversations like this: "Hey, that's my hand you're eating!"  "Well, don't stick it in my mouth if you don't want me to chew on it." "Oh yeah?  Talk to the hand, sista!" Smack.  

Fashion show!  Here are pictures of the girls wearing their track suits and corduroy dresses for church.

 

Resting.

Thumbie!

Rocking! 

The girls love their exersaucers!  Doesn't Catherine look so cute with her legs splayed to the side.  Her socks were a little slippery, we need more with the grippy bottoms.  Samantha is especially great in it because she fits a little better, being bigger (though the little sister).

Movin' and Droolin' !

Hi!  We are doing awesome and Mommy and Daddy are so excited.  I, Catherine, am getting up on my hands and knees and rocking back and forth.  I'm still trying to figure out how to go forward.  I do sometimes, but mostly I go backwards, which is not the plan.  It's fun, but tiring.  

We've both found our feet, though Samantha found them first.  We know how helpful it is if we do this when we're getting our diapers changed so we do it a lot then.  It makes Mommy and Daddy laugh a lot.

 We finally got to watch a football game with all of us together and it was fun.  Daddy kept yelling and jumping up and down and we kept laughing at him.  He looked so silly and excited and happy but his voice sounded kind of mad.  We didn't understand.  While he was doing that we were on the floor with Mommy showing her how well we roll over.  I, Samantha, need to work on my arm strength a little, though.  When I'm on my tummy I can get on my feet but my face is still on the floor.  Then I tip over, but at least I'm moving.  We were also teaching Mommy that we have our own sides.  Catherine needs to be on the right and Samantha on the left.  Then, when we roll, we roll away from each other.  Otherwise we roll into each other and you get what you see below.  I always roll to the left and have figured out how to roll all the way across the living room floor.  Catherine rolls to the right and she could go across the floor except she also twirls so she faces the other side of the room too.  She's weird.  So, we're going to keep working on our rolling and rocking and crawling and maybe go through less than 3 bibs a day.  I don't know why, but our mouths leak all day and sticking things in there just don't seem to help.  We'll keep trying though, and keep you posted!

Mommy's 1st week at work

It was my first whole week back at school and I'm trying to get in a rhythm and find balance.  It is difficult to say the least.  I am just glad that I have a wonderful class and faculty to help me stay busy during the day.  Busy can be very good.  But, I still managed to take pictures this week, as did our nanny, Nicki.  First, Samantha was very happy to have Mommy home, yay!

She's doing so great on her tummy, rolling over more often and she's really close to turning from her back to her tummy (which I think will make her mad once she figures it out and gets stuck, like Catherine does). By the way, doesn't Catherine look like she's got water in her  mouth she's ready to spit out?  Her cheeks look big!

 Nicki has them reading during the day.  This book is about twinkling stars and is apparently very interesting.

Dave got to go to a football game this weekend (Go Cocks!) and all of us got dressed up in our Gamecock colors.  I just wish I hadn't just dried my hair so my face isn't so red.  Then the girls got on their tummies and turned.  In the second picture they were facing each other, but ended up with Samantha kicking Catherine in the face.  She didn't seem to mind.

Close up!

Pretty church clothes!  Catherine did not sleep through church this week, but she was still very good as long as she got to watch what was going on.

This morning they were holding hands!  It was so cute and exciting, gives me hope for their sisterly relationship in the future.  We also spent some time with Heidi, who has been amazing!  The girls have started to grab onto anything within reach, which has included Heidi's beard.  She doesn't get mad or growl, she just waits for me to fix it.  She gives them little kisses on their cheek or hand and comes to check what is going on if one of them is crying.  I'm surprised that she is so interested in the girls and has become quite protective of them.  However, she has deemed Penny, my brother and sister-in-law's dog, to be acceptable, which she was.  Penny was so good considering she hasn't really been around babies.  She even gave gentle kisses (though it took up most of their face or arm).

It was so great that Mike and Alyssa were able to stop by and see the girls this weekend.  We tried to get a picture of the girls riding Penny like a horse, but Penny ran away.  All in all it was a wonderful weekend.