1 Crawler and 1 Swimmer

Addison and Emma have been busy little girls lately. Emma is quite capable of crawling across a room now. Addison is starting to make forward movements and rocking, but still favors a little swimming move when she gets stuck. It seems that Emma mastered crawling and now wants to move straight on to pulling up and standing most of the time. I know she understands that she can crawl, but she really doesn’t take off without being prompted to do so. It’s kind of strange. I thought once she learned how to crawl she would be getting into everything.

Above is what happens when I try to take a picture now. Emma coming for the camera and Addison rolling around in the background.

Emma attempting to pull up to the glass table. Below is her reaction to me telling her no. I guess we are going to have to put this table up for a while.

Below is Addison when she woke up a couple of mornings ago.

Below is Emma when she woke up. I took this picture with the lights off to try and let Addison keep sleeping. Emma closed her eyes when the flash went off.

Addison is really working on her sound effects lately. She has started this funny laughing noise that she does randomly all day long. It’s so cute. Addison continues to love to blow raspberries. Emma babbles, and her two favorite sounds are “da, da, da” and “blah, blah”. Some form of separation anxiety has also started. Lately I cannot walk out of the room to go to the bathroom without them crying.


My babies also LOVE puffs of any flavor. Matter of fact, they are a little obsessed with puffs. If they see the container they get super excited and start bouncing and making noises. They seem less interested in the puréed baby food lately so I tried to make them some real food yesterday. They liked the sweet potato I baked, however, the steamed carrots were not a big hit. Not so sure why they didn’t like the carrots. They like the Stage 2 Gerber carrots. Maybe the texture was weird to them.

Addison makes a HUGE mess when she eats!

Emma left, Addi right

Below is Addison busy making noises at Chief.

Just a quick update on teething: Emma’s two bottom teeth are through the gum but still not in all the way. Addison still has the little bumps on her bottom gum but no real progress yet.

Just a Few Updates & Pictures

Things have been crazy around here. Brian has been gone much of the month of June. We really didn’t get to celebrate Father’s Day properly because Brian had to leave for a trip. Our afternoon help started last week. Her name is Courtney and she is doing a great job! It’s a relief to know help is coming in the afternoons while I am by myself. Emma’s teething pain seems less bothersome as the two bottom teeth have broken through the gum. I can’t get a good feel of the top, but judging from her behavior it doesn’t seem to be bothering her right now. Addison is really making gains with her attempts to crawl. She is so funny. She lifts herself up briefly or scoots around on her stomach and when she can’t get to what she wants she does this thing that looks like she is trying to swim. It’s hilarious! Emma is getting a lot better with her crawling too. She goes a few steps forward then she army crawls to whatever she is trying to get to. Emma can’t always make it to where she wants to go so she tends to get frustrated at times. Emma can also pull up to a kneeling position. I am actually excited for the girls to become mobile. I think it will give them the freedom to explore and hopefully reduce some of the fussiness. People think I am crazy that I want them to get moving, but honestly I’d rather be chasing them everywhere then listening to crying. There are still no offers to buy our house. I am sure someone will eventually come along that is interested. That’s pretty much all that is going on around here.

Even though we didn't have much time to celebrate Father's Day. I want Brian to know that he is such a great dad and husband. We are very blessed!

(Above: Brian with Emma on left, Addison on right Below: Me, Addison on left, Emma on right)

This is our friends' son, Ben, with Addison. He is so sweet to the babies. He always asks if he can take them home. He had fun feeding Addison puffs at the pool on Sat.

Emma on left, Addison on right

Family Visit

This past weekend we had a nice visit with my sister-in-law, Emily, and brother-in-law, Jeff. Emily and Jeff drove a looooong way to see all of us and we were so happy they did. We shopped, swam, and played (maybe I should say pacified) babies all weekend until Sunday when I woke up very sick with a fever and a sore throat. Brian said that is probably the sickest he has seen me. I had a 103 fever. Fortunately, Emily and Jeff were right there to pick up the slack with the twins. I did manage to eat some of Emily’s homemade chicken noodle soup that I think really did help break my fever. I believe Emily said something like this to me while we were eating, “Robin, I don’t know how you do this every day. Two babies are really a lot harder than one! I have a whole new respect for you and Brian.” Brian’s reply, “What! You didn’t respect us before the babies were here?” But, we all know that is not what she meant.

Below is Auntie Em with Addison on left and Emma on right

Emily, Emma, Addison (my little dear refuses to wear a hat)

Emily feeding Addison

Brian offering Emma some diet coke.

Addison chewing on a baby wipe package.

I wish that I would have taken more pictures. I intended to get some shots with Emily, Jeff, and the babies. I just didn’t plan on being sick.

Other happenings around here include:
• Emma cutting what appears to be 3 teeth (two bottom and one top)
• Addison not too far behind Emma on the teeth, but her gums are just starting to look like Emma’s did a few weeks ago
• Emma taking a few forward steps (I guess you would call it) towards crawling, also doing something like an army crawl to continue forward movement, she also rocks back and forth a lot
• Addison learning to move in a 360 motion on her stomach, also pushing up with her feet so her body is in an upside down V position on the floor
• Both girls are lunging forward from a sitting position to a crawling position
• Both girls learning to eat puffs and biter biscuits, also trying to cut back on formula to 4 bottles a day instead of 5
• Oh, and did I mention, major fussiness lately! So much that mommy and daddy hired a babysitter to come help in the afternoons, which has been wonderful
• Unrelated to the babies, Mr. Chief, our eldest boxer dog, got a small stick stuck in his paw. Right now he is at the vet recovering from anesthesia. I’ll be picking him up this afternoon. Poor doggie!

Emma left, Addison right

This is what Emma does most of the day.

That’s about it for now! Hopefully the next time I post I will be able to say that our house is sold and we are finally moving back to FL!

7 Months Old!

Addison and Emma turned 7 months old last Friday. Every day it seems like they learn something new. Both girls are good eaters and great night sleepers. Right now a typical weekday looks something like this:

Wake Up: 6:00
6-8 oz. Bottle: 6:30
Breakfast of rice cereal and stage 2 fruits around 7:30 or 8:00
Nap 1 around 8:30 or 9:00
6-8 oz. Bottle: 10:00 or 10:30
Lunch package of stage 2 veggies and ½ to 1 whole pack of fruit and 5 ounce bottle around 1:00
Nap 2 sometime around 2:00
Small bottle around 4 (sometimes they skip this)
Dinner around 5:30 rice cereal and fruit (we are about to add a veggie to dinner)
Bedtime ranges between 6:00-7:00

Most days they also take a cat nap when we are on our way home from errands or the gym. I try to go to the gym or run errands around the same time every day. On the weekends we try to stick to the same schedule but sometimes it varies.

Emma is about to get her first tooth. Well, I can’t tell if it is two teeth or one, but it’s coming through on her bottom jaw. She's had a few difficult days. She has also been pretty clingy lately. Emma is on the verge of learning to crawl. She prefers to sleep on her belly and she moves from a sitting position to her belly often. She will get up on all fours and rock back and forth, and sometimes leap forward. She can move 360 degrees and backwards. Naptime and bedtime are her favorite practice times for crawling!

Here is Emma sleeping in her high chair. Poor baby had a double ear infection and she's cutting teeth! When we took her to the doctor last week we found out she weighs 15 pounds 11 ounces.

Emma refusing to sit still.

Addison learned how to roll in all directions about two weeks ago. She now sleeps on her belly. She is learning to push herself up on her knees. She loves to touch Emma in the face and hair. Addison also does not like to be away from her mommy. When I take her to the gym she often cries the entire time I am working out, unless the caretakers hold her the whole hour! She enjoys it when I sing to her. When she sees things she likes she looks at me with her eyes wide and her mouth open as if to say, “Did you see that, Mommy!” I think Addison is also teething because she has also been more clingy and fussier than normal.

Addison likes to slide down in the chair when I try to take her picture. Look at that belly! She weighs 16 pounds 10 ounces!

Both girls inherited their father’s level of patience. In other words, they don’t like to wait for anything! Both love the dogs and have started seeking them out to pet them or grab their faces and pull their ears. Emma and Addison are also learning how to stretch their arms out when they want to be picked up. It’s very sweet. Both girls try to climb up me when we are on the floor and they would like to be picked up. Lately they seem to want to be held at exactly the same time. They have also started stealing toys and pacifiers from each other.

Here is that look Addison loves to give me!

Emma trying out the old bouncy seat. Didn't last very long.

Addison wouldn't even lay down in the bouncy seat.

We love our little girls! I can’t wait to see all the changes this month brings!

Here is a fun video of Addison making her favorite noise!

Catching Up

This post is long overdue. We traveled to my in-law’s farm for Memorial Day weekend. Addison got an ear infection the day we left. Thankfully, I called the doctor and they said I should bring her in before the holiday weekend. I knew she was really fussy, but didn’t know what was wrong. When we got back from our trip both girls were really fussy. We ended up taking them back to the doctor this past Friday. Emma has an infection in both ears. It’s crazy because the doctor said an ear infection is not contagious so it seems weird they both have it at the same time. I also suspect they are teething. It has been a rough few days.


With all this going on their sleeping habits have changed a bit. They are waking up almost an hour earlier than normal (any time around 5 AM). They still sleep through the night without much trouble so we are thankful for that! Napping continues to be a challenge. Emma and Addison take anywhere from 2-4 naps a day. The doctor has encouraged me to work them into a two nap a day routine. She suggests they take a nap at 10 AM and again at 2 PM. Perhaps I will discuss that challenge in another post. The girls also turned 7 months old this past Friday. I will save their 7 month stats and pictures for the next post.

Here are a lot of pictures from the farm. Enjoy!

Layla (my niece) above with Addison
(We are also expecting our new niece, Annabelle, to arrive late June!)

Grandpa (my dad) and Layla catching a fish

Layla looking at a fish I caught

This is my family below. They came up for the day to visit.

My dad and Emma

My mom and Addison on left, Emma on right

Emma

Layla, Emma (on left), and Addison (on right)

Our family: Brian holding Addison, me with Emma

Uncle Justin with Emma on right and Addison on left pulling his beard

Uncle Justin keeping Emma out of the rain

My brothers and our family

Grandma holding Emma, Grandpa with Addi

Nanny putting a bowl on Addi's head

Aunt Leann with Emma

Nanny with Addi

Brian with Addison. I wasn't too thrilled about the baby being this close to the cows.

Self portrait: Brian and Emma

Big Daddy helping with the fish I caught

Addi petting Puddles

Emma not so thrilled with the bowl on her head