A few of my favorite things...

One of my favorite things is when I walk into the nursery in the morning, or after nap time, and I am greeted with giant smiles. I love that!! It makes me forget that they may have cried for awhile before falling asleep, and makes me forget about getting up a couple of times during the night! I also love laying in bed in the mornings as Addison and Fischer wake up and they start talking. I like to listen for a few minutes over the monitor before going in to get them. They are so happy when they are well rested!

Another favorite of mine now are weekend mornings when the babies come and lay in bed with us before we feed them. Scott doesn't have to get up for work so it gives us time to all hang out as a family. I didn't think I'd still be as excited about weekends as when I worked, but I am because Scott doesn't have to work and family time is so fun.

I can't believe today is the last day of July. I feel like time is flying by and sometimes I wish it would slow down. I sort of dread August, because on August 22nd my babies will be 6 months old. Where did the past 6 months go!? I fear that I will be an emotional mess on that day, and I can only imagine what I'll be like when they turn a year old. I am just thankful they are healthy and growing and developing as they should.

Stay tuned (probably tomorrow) for my slideshow of July pictures. I took a lot of pictures in July...I guess I am trying to capture everything that I can. Oh, and for those of you interested in what they are eating, they tried apples today and loved them.

It was bound to happen eventually... we came across a food the babies didn't like. We gave them turkey in turkey broth today and they both ate a little and decided they'd had enough. It was pretty funny to watch their faces. So they finished up with some peas - who picks peas over turkey?! Apparently Addison and Fischer do. We'll try the turkey again in a week or so.

Since Fischer had a video of just him on here I felt like Addison needed one too. This is just the beginning of a long life of making sure I do things evenly and fairly for them. Come Christmases and birthdays, I'm sure I'll count presents so they can't say that someone has more than the other... sounds like fun! Anyway, Addison is just talking in the crib, and notice that Fischer is just laying there watching her.

I love taking showers. When I was pregnant I told Scott I wouldn't be one of the moms who went days without showering. No way! That's not something I was willing to give up. And I haven't!! I don't think there has been one day I haven't showered. I used to take showering for granted, that's for sure... now it's not always so easy but I get it done. I also used to take long, relaxing showers and now they are usually about 5 minutes. In and out!!! It also helps that Scott works from home when he is in town, so he can listen for the babies or keep an eye on them for me. Normally I lay the babies on our bed with pillows all around them and they usually cry the whole time. I like having them right there on the bed so I can check on them as soon as I get out. But today we tried something new! I put a bunch of blankets down on the bathroom floor so it was soft and put pillows all around so they couldn't roll onto the floor. I think they enjoyed the change of scenery and the sound of the water because they squealed and talked the whole time. Yay! In fact, they stayed in there for about 30 extra minutes while I did some chores and they played with some toys.

It's bath night for them tonight and Scott is out of town. I'm getting pretty good at giving baths by myself. I don't do them together, but it's definitely a whole process to get them both bathed and fed before they start getting really fussy! Right now they get baths every other night, and I used to skip a night if Scott was gone, but now that they are eating food they are very much in need of a bath every other night. They could probably stand to have one every night, so that's probably in our near future. They aren't the neatest eaters! They are finally able to wear their adorable bath robes that they got as gifts - Thanks Irish! :) They look so cute and comfy in them.

The babies tried another new food today - bananas! They seemed to like them too. So far there isn't a food they haven't liked. They were a little iffy with the peas, but still ate them. They aren't happy when their food is all done, so we have to have their bottles ready pretty quickly afterwards. We were just commenting today how much heavier Addison feels now - I think she's pulling away from Fischer even more. They have to go get a shot next Tuesday so they'll get weighed...I'm curious to see how much they weigh now. They are both such good eaters!

As I've said many times before, Addison is generally our fussy baby and Fischer is generally pretty laid back. However, over the past 5 days, they have sort of reversed roles. Addison has been less fussy and much chattier, and Fischer has taken over the fussy role. I think they come up with these little plans so that I don't get too spoiled. Just when you think you have them figured out, they like to change things up!

They are doing well napping in their nursery now! I think this is the 4th day and they are adjusting well and I'm enjoying my new freedom during nap time.

This morning we took the babies to a park nearby and spent some time in the shady outfield of a baseball field! Our original plan was to go have a picnic lunch, but we ended up going around 9:30 because it gets way too hot by lunch time. They seemed to really enjoy just laying around on a big blanket on the grass - they've never done that before. I hope to make it something we do a lot. It helps me not feel like so much of a hermit too, because with the heat it's hard to go out and do much with them right now.

They also had pears today for the 2nd time. They both really seem to like them - Fischer couldn't eat his fast enough. We have one more day of pears, then it's on to bananas or apples. Once they've tried both of those, we can start just doing foods for one day instead of 3. So far they've had green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes and pears. They seem to be good eaters. My plan is to do one fruit and one vegetable a day.

Also, we had them nap in their room today! They've been napping out in the living room in their swings. I've tried having them nap in their cribs and it just doesn't work. So today we put their swings on the floor in their room - Fischer only slept for about an hour, but Addison is still sleeping. Hopefully they'll do ok with this change, because it gives me a lot more freedom during their nap time since I can carry their monitor around with me.

Here are some pictures from this morning's outing.

The babies actually smiled at each other yesterday while they were facing each other in their bumbos - they had a little conversation too, and I actually got it on video!

This was my first attempt at uploading a video, so I hope it works ok. Whenever Fischer gets excited, he kicks his legs really fast. I finally caught it on camera right before his bath time. He gets especially excited when you turn his mobile on. I am trying to get a video of Addison but as soon as she sees the camera, she stops doing whatever it is she was doing.

Things are going well around here... I feel like the babies do something new everyday. This morning, Scott heard Addison say the "da" sound for the first time. Of course he thinks she'll be saying Dada in no time, but I'm still hoping for Mama. :) They have really started to notice each other more now. They stare at each other a lot, and roll all over each other. They also try to eat each others hands, arms, heads, etc... I can't wait until they start smiling at each other! They are also noticing the dogs more and Fischer has even laughed at them a couple of times.

Fischer has started to realize when I am going to kiss him and he opens his mouth really wide. It's so cute, and slobbery all at the same time. If I try to kiss him on his cheek, he turns his wide-open mouth towards mine. So cute! Addison hasn't started doing that yet, but I'm sure that'll come soon. Addison is always trying to sit up, and Fischer is starting to a little bit. We spend a lot of time pulling them up by their arms, and they really like it. Sometimes Addison goes all the way up and stands - she already has strong little legs! We have some toys for them to sit in that would allow them to stand/sit on their own but they aren't quite strong enough on the sitting yet so I have so stay right there and help them the whole time, but they still seem to like it. We are doing "bumbo training" everyday to try and get it to where they can sit a little better. They get really tired in the bumbos and start slumping over but we'll keep working on it. My goal is to get them to where they can sit in a highchair when we go out to eat, because they don't like being strapped in the car seats anymore but we can't hold them and eat at the same time.

I'll be sure to post some more pictures soon - of course I'm still taking some everyday!

5 months old!

I can't believe that Addison and Fischer are 5 months old already. The past 5 months have gone by so fast, and it scares me that the next 5 months or years will go by just as fast. That's why I'm constantly in their faces taking pictures. Good thing they are used to it now. :) I took these pictures today - they look a little worried in one of them.

Exactly one year ago, I got the most exciting and scariest news of my life. I was pregnant!! We were in Topsail Beach, NC with my family when I found out. We were heading home that day because I had to go to work by noon, so we planned on leaving pretty early. I woke up at 6 am, way before the alarm went off, and decided to go ahead and take the test. I guess my body was too anxious to sleep any later. When I took it, I expected it to be negative since that's what I'd gotten used to seeing. So when the line starting forming, I thought maybe I was just too tired and my eyes weren't seeing it right. It was a VERY light line so I wondered if I was making it up. So I ran out and woke Scott up and he said he thought he saw a light line. We decided I would take another one that night when I got home from work to see what it said. We had to say goodbye to my parents about 20 minutes later, and it was hard to act normal!! We didn't want to mention it to anyone until we knew for sure. I was really excited but also didn't want to get my hopes up until I took another one, even though I knew that a line, no matter how dark, means a positive test! So, I went to work (where I didn't get much work done at all), went to the gym, then came home and took another one. Yep - another line!! A little darker this time, but still very light. So, I took the 3rd test of the pack the next morning and this line was even darker! I was so excited, and so nervous! It definitely didn't feel real. I called the Doctor that day and was very disappointed that I had to wait 4 long weeks to go in for my first appointment. We told just a few people before the appointment, but waited until we knew everything was OK to tell everyone.

So much has happened in the past year but I remember that day as if it happened yesterday! I hope I always remember it that clearly because I don't ever want to forget how excited I was!

I took the babies out to Kiawah Island to my old office for lunch today. It was nice to get out for a little while, and wasn't so hot to day so that made it extra nice. While I was there, the lady who replaced me asked if I thought staying home was harder than my office job. Without hesitation I said YES!!! This is the hardest and most tiring job I've ever had, but completely worth it. I love seeing how the babies change everyday and it's so rewarding when they laugh and smile!

My parents left yesterday morning and we miss them already. We'll see them soon when we go up to their house and meet up with my brother and his kids. It'll be a full house!

The pictures below are of my parents with the babies at around 4 weeks, and then this past weekend. They have changed so much!

It's been a busy few days around here, but things are starting to settle down. Scott had surgery Thursday (nothing too serious, but still surgery!) so my parents are in town helping us out with the babies since Scott has to take it easy for a few days. They got here Wednesday night and are leaving tomorrow. They are getting a lot of quality time with the babies and Addison and Fischer are loving every minute of it. They get held a lot more when Grandma and Grandpa are here. :) Scott is recovering really well, and is even feeling up to going out to dinner tonight, so we get to go on a date while the babies stay home with Grandma and Grandpa. YAY!

Addison and Fischer are now on vegetable #3!! They had the green beans, then peas, and today was the first day for carrots. They seemed ok with the peas, but seemed to really enjoy the carrots! I plan on giving them a bigger serving of them tomorrow. I hope this means they'll be good eaters when they get a little older!

We are struggling with Addison's sleeping habits, but hopefully she'll get on a better routine soon. Fischer is a great sleeper and only wakes up during the night when we wake him up to eat (and that's only because Addison wakes up on her own to eat). Napping seems to be going a little better - today they have been asleep for 2 hours already. Hopefully they, well Addison, will sleep well tonight!

Weight Update

We had to take the babies to get a shot this morning, which I always hate. We get their official weights anytime we go though, and I do enjoy that. As of this morning, Addison weighed 12 lb. 7 oz. She has gained exactly 8 pounds since she was born. That's crazy!! Fischer weighed in at 12 lb. 3 oz. He has gained over 8 pounds since birth! At their 4 month check up just 3 weeks ago, they were only 1 ounce apart from each other - Addison is pulling away again. Fischer always starts closing the gap, the loses ground. Just the first of many competitions to come, I'm sure. :)

My parents are coming tomorrow for a few days - the babies are very excited to spend some time with their Grandma and Grandpa Suttle!!

We bought these onsies in Seattle when we went last October to visit Mary Anne and Rajiv. At the time we didn't know what we were having, so we got two that could go either way. This doesn't help Addison's cause of always getting called a boy... Oh well, I think they're cute! :)

Green Beans... YUM!

Yesterday Addison and Fischer tried green beans for the very first time. It was also their very first taste of anything other than formula, rice cereal and oatmeal. I think they liked them... Addison smiled while she was eating, but didn't finish her whole bowl. Fischer finished off his whole bowl and I think he was looking for more - I think he's going to be a champion eater.

We decided a long time ago to make our own baby food, and Scott made the first batch yesterday. We went and got organic carrots, sweet potatoes and green beans, and he pureed them yesterday. We bought some freezer containers made just for baby food and filled them up. We should have enough for a few weeks. We'll do green beans for 3 days, and as long as there aren't any reactions, we'll move on to carrots or sweet potatoes. Once they've tried all three, we'll try some fruit. Right now they are just getting one serving a day, but we'll move to two eventually. It certainly gets messy too - I think we'll be doing bath night every night pretty soon instead of every other night!

This past week wasn't as hot as it has been, so we've gotten to enjoy some outside time in the evenings. We sit out on the patio and I think Addison and Fischer really like it, especially when there is a nice breeze.

It seems like the babies are doing something new almost everyday. This week, they've both discovered their thumbs...uh oh! When we see them sucking their thumbs, we try giving them their pacis instead, but they are pretty sneaky about getting their thumbs back into their mouths. We'll keep replacing as much as we can though - it's much easier to get rid of their pacis later on than their thumbs! They also seem to be noticing each other a little bit more. They aren't smiling at each other yet, but they are touching each other more, grabbing each other, sucking on each others arms and hands and things like that. Sometimes it gets a little violent - I found Fischer holding on to Addison's toes really tight the other day while she was screaming. The fighting has already started! :) I'm looking forward to when they start really interacting and smiling at each other!

4th of July and Other Things

For July 4th, we went to Edisto Beach for a few days. We were in a house with 10 other people and 2 other kids. It was a good time! The babies got to see the ocean for the first time, and we walked them out into the water just a little ways. We ended up only taking them out once because it was so hot and they just slept in their stroller most of the time anyway. We got a lot of quality time in with a lot of friends during the time we were there, so it was really nice. I was worried the babies would get completely off schedule while we were there, but we all did pretty good at keeping them on it. They actually slept until 7 am a couple of mornings, so that threw us off a little bit, but that isn't a big deal. Most mornings they sleep until 6 now - can't complain about that!

While we were there, each baby developed a new "skill." Addison discovered she can roll over from her back to her tummy and does it ALL THE TIME! The problem is, once she is on her tummy, she gets stuck and gets really mad and screams until someone comes and turns her back over... then she does it all over again. This goes on all day and all night, so we've been waking up a lot more lately to a screaming Addison. Hopefully soon she'll realize she can also turn back over to her back - she's already done that but I guess she doesn't remember that yet. Fischer's skill is that he is now very interested in holding his own bottle, and has even done so for about 10 seconds at a time. He puts his hands on it most of the time, so we've let go a few times and he can actually hold it for a little while until it falls!

Today I gave them oatmeal for the first time! It's baby oatmeal...not the big pieces you are probably picturing. I decided to try oatmeal because Addison refused to swallow the rice cereal, and even gagged a few times. Can you say drama queen? :) Fischer ate it pretty well though. They both seemed to really enjoy the oatmeal. Addison ate her whole bowl, even smiling at times during her meal. Fischer finished off 2 bowls! After I was done with his first one, he started screaming and wouldn't stop, so I tried giving him more and that was apparently what he wanted. We are going to do oatmeal tomorrow and Friday, and if all goes well, we will introduce a veggie this weekend. I can't believe it's time for that already!

The bad news is that naptime isn't going so well anymore. They were doing great for about a week and now they sometimes nap and sometimes don't. Usually one falls asleep, the other one cries...then the first one wakes up and the other one sleeps. I would really like them to sleep at the same time for at least part of it so that I could have a little quiet time. We'll keep working at it. I talked to other moms who have had napping problems in the past so I feel hopeful it might work out eventually.

Below are some pictures from our trip. The adorable July 4th outfits were from Uncle Chris and Aunt Jamie!