Water Babies

Addison and Emma took their first dip in the pool this past weekend! Emma loved it immediately and started flailing her arms and splashing around! Addison wasn’t too sure if she liked it or not. She hung on to Brian pretty tightly. After a while she warmed up to being in the pool. We ended up playing for an hour! We brought some of the girls’ bath toys out there to play with too. Emma is with me in the pictures and Addison is with Brian. Addison did not want anything to do with wearing her hat, so you can probably see sunscreen on her head. Chief and Bailey tried on the hats and had fun running around the pool.

6 Month Pics.

Addison left, Emma right

We had a great time reading the comments from the last post. It is interesting to see that when most people meet the girls they say they look just like Brian. But, the baby pics. got a different response. Fun stuff! Oh, and thanks for commenting Cindy! Brian is missing you.

On Friday we got the girls 6 month pics. They are actually a little older than 6 months, but I wanted to wait until both girls could sit up really well. JC Penny's does a great job for a very affordable price. We really like the way they turned out.

Here is a link for you to look at them.

Click here and enter your Customer Name (robin hatcher):
https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTPP0705106348JCP
Or go to http://www.smilesbywire.com and enter the following: Customer
Name: robin hatcher Access Code: LTPP0705106348JCP

I've attempted to upload a video of them playing with Brian. It might be a little fuzzy because we took it with the camera.

Mommy or Daddy?

My sister-in-law, Katie, had a neat idea for a post, so I stole it from her (with her permission of course)! Thanks Katie. I think I know what most of the comments will say based on what people tell me when they meet the girls, but I won’t say until you have a chance to comment. Who do you think the girls look like? Me or Brian?

Below is a picture of me at 6 months old and Brian (not sure what age), and some pictures of Emma and Addison to compare.

(me)

(Brian)

Addison on left, Emma on right

Here are other pictures of the babies just for fun. Have mentioned that we love this age?! They had their first bath together! It was sweet. They’re already fighting over toys. And in the other pictures you can see Addison trying to pull on her sister’s shirt. Emma was playing with a crinkle book that Addi wanted. Emma also wants to crawl so bad. If I put her in one spot and walk out of the room she will be at least 5 feet away from where I put her. She pushes up on her arms and knees and usually scoots backwards. She can also scoot forward. Sometimes she yells like a man in a weight lifting contest. Apparently it’s hard work learning to crawl. Addison doesn’t seem too interested in crawling right now. She will play with her toys very intently in one spot. She appears to be concentrating and trying to figure things out as she plays. Both girls are just as sweet as can be, and we are enjoying them so much!

Emma back, Addison front

Emma

Addison left, Emma right

Addison facing camera

Emma left, Addison right

Emma right, Addi left

Addison, Emma in background

Emma left, Addison right

Visitors

Chad holding Addison and Mary Beth holding Emma

Below Mary Beth and Emma

Chad, Brian and Addison

Emma and her Uncle Justin

Addison below

This weekend our friends, Chad and Mary Beth, and my brother, Justin, came to visit. We had a lot of fun Friday night just catching up and grilling hamburgers for dinner. Sat. we picked Justin up from the airport and went to lunch, and then headed over to the Gibson Guitar Factory for a tour. Unfortunately the tours were sold out so we just walked around downtown on Beale St. Beale St. is not really a good place for babies so we didn’t stay long. We came home and got some delicious BBQ for dinner. The babies had a really great weekend. It is so nice to be able to take them out now and not worry about them having a meltdown. We all had lots of fun, and it was great to see Chad and Mary Beth.

My brother will be here for a couple of weeks helping us with the babies and getting the house ready to sell. We hope to have the house listed by the end of the week. We also hope that it won’t be on the market for too long because we are anxious to move back to Florida.

Addison on left, Emma on right

Emma on left, Addison on right

Emma below

Addison on left, Emma on right

Exciting News!

Addison eating peas!

Emma with pink bow, Addi with blue bow

I cannot believe that the babies are already 6 months old! Looking back it seems like yesterday that I was pregnant. The first 3 months of their lives are kind of a blur! We were so sleep deprived. Months 4 and 5 we struggled with reflux and napping issues, so much of what I remember those months is struggling to figure out why they cried so much. I must say the past few weeks with the babies have been awesome! They are napping well, definitely not as fussy, smiling and laughing all the time and they are sitting up unassisted for several minutes! It is amazing what a few weeks will do in terms of their development. Emma has learned how to roll all over her crib. She now sleeps on her stomach or side no matter how many times I flip her back over to her back. They both love the dogs these days too. They squeal and reach for the dogs’ faces, pull their ears, and get licked all over! They are so much more interactive, and being their mommy is becoming a lot of fun! So to all my mommy friends & family who promised me that it would get easier, I am happy to say, “Thank God this is getting easier!”

Our family has other news that is pretty exciting too. Brian has accepted a new position as a Director of Research at Biomet in Jacksonville, FL! We will be moving back to my home state as soon as we sell our house. We are fortunate enough for Brian to be able to work from home until we sell. Of course we will be sad to leave the friends we have made here, but I am also excited that we will be much closer to family when this move happens. We would like to tell Brian’s co-workers here in Memphis thank you for supporting us and being so thoughtful and sweet throughout the time we’ve lived and worked here. Here are a few pictures of a get-together we had last week to wish Brian luck at his new job.

Brian and Little E

Our friend Chris and Little E. He is the one who gave them the super cute "Thing 1 & 2" outfits. I swear he can make any baby stop fussing!

Below a dinner with Brian's co-workers from Medtronic.

Below Emma

Addison with Cindy

Some how Addison and Emma switched bows, this is Emma below

Addison with Jared

Addison with Cindy, Emma (her arms up) with Christie

This was a very special Mother’s Day! Brian and I were able to have a pre-celebration on Friday when our sweet friends Esther and Judith came over to watch the girls. We had a nice lunch and a delicious milkshake for dessert! Then, Brian took me to pick out a book at Borders. On Sunday Brian let me sleep in while he got the girls’ breakfast ready. After we fed them we headed out for breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and tonight he is cooking me dinner! Can you tell I have fallen off the wagon with Weight Watchers? (I have gained two pounds and I was only 1 pound away from making goal weight! But, that is a whole other story.) I feel so lucky to be the mother of two healthy, beautiful baby girls, and a wife to a wonderful man!

We are looking forward to a fun weekend with our friends Chad and Mary Beth and my brother, Justin. Chad and Mary Beth will be here for the weekend and Justin is going to stay for 2 weeks!

Not Just a Trip, a Vacation!

Brian and I have traveled with the girls a few times, and it was so challenging that we started to refer to our vacations as just a trip. Well, I am so happy to say that the girls did wonderful on our vacation! They napped well, slept well at night and were only fussy a few times. It was so nice to have my mother and father-in-law there to help too. Brian and I went to a wedding for our good friend, Rob, and his beautiful wife, Amy, in Naples, FL. It was a beautiful wedding and such a fun reception. It was also nice to catch up with some old friends. South Florida is a relaxing and beautiful area to visit. We are so glad we were able to spend a few days relaxing!

Amy holding Addi, Rob holding Emma
Addi LOVED Amy.

Below: Brian holding Addi, Tonja holding Emma
Nelson, and Me

Below: Me and Emma

College Friends

Brian and Rob
Rob was also the best man at our wedding.

Right before we left the girls had their 6 month check up. They don’t actually turn 6 months old until tomorrow. The pediatrician was happy to see that the girls seem to be doing everything a normal 6 month old should be doing even though they were born almost a month early. Emma is sitting up unassisted for about 30 seconds and then she tumbles over. Addison is getting closer to sitting up unassisted, but still needs me to help her for now. Emma also insists on holding her bottle now. Addi prefers to hold my hand when she eats her bottle. The naps are getting better too! They still wake up 30-45 minutes into the nap, but I am letting them work on going back to sleep. Most times they do, but it may take up to 30 minutes of fussing or talking to themselves. The doctor suggested I try to work towards 2 longer naps a day instead of 3 naps. I don’t think they are quite ready to drop the midday nap yet, but I would like to work towards that goal. Both girls are also trying to scoot when they are on their tummy. They push their face into the floor and raise their little booty in the air and move like an inch worm. They can’t do it for a long time because they get tried, but they are definitely trying to move. They are eating 3 meals a day, and have 5-6 bottles a day (usually about 6-7 ounces). They grab everything and put it in their mouth. They also slobber a lot! We are expecting some teeth soon. The Prevacid is still working well for their reflux.

Addison

Emma

Addison with her Nanny

Emma feeding herself!!

Here are their 6 month stats.

Emma:
Weight: 14.1 pounds 21st percentile
Height: 24.25 inches 12th percentile
Head Circumference: 39.5 cm Below 5th percentile

Addison:
Weight: 14.5 pounds 38th percentile
Height: 24.25 inches 12th percentile
Head Circumference: 40 cm 4th percentile

Emma went to the cardiologist today. He said her hole in her heart is closing, and he does not need to see her until her first birthday! GREAT NEWS!! Thank you to everyone who has prayed for her.