February 22, 2008

Well, we are still not crawling yet.  Bethany is trying everything out but still somehow manages to go in reverse.  She is getting up on hands and feet now (like a bear crawl), but hasn't figured out how to move her hands forward to get going.  Emily can make forward progress, but it is more like an army crawl/roll.  She is getting on her hands and knees and pushing off, just not moving forward either.  Both girls are experimenting with pulling up on everything and have lots of confidence as long as someone is there to "help" them pull up.  

Bethany pulled up on one of the toys all by herself this morning!!  She was so excited that she only stood up for a few seconds before she let go.  I wish I had the camera because she had the biggest grin on her face when she did it.  They are both trying to pull up in their cribs so it is finally time to lower the matresses down.  They are learning so fast.  We have been helping them learn out how to crawl and pull up.  I was just surprised at how quickly they have figured out how to pull to stand.  Emily was even working on her "cruising" this morning by trying to get to the other side of one of her toys while standing and holding on to it. 

Knowing about PT makes it really neat to watch them transition through all the stages.  Both girls can side sit and transition to a crawling or belly position.  Bethany has even also figured out how to get back from a crawling position to sitting.  I can see Emily trying so she is not far behind.  All in a few short weeks.  It is fun to think that the girls are not even 8 months old and yet they are able to do so much, especially when they were 5 weeks "preemie" and that would put them at an adjusted age of about 6 1/2 months old now.    

Emily has started making a new face that is hilarious.  I tried to capture it with a photo, but it just does not do it justice.  She wrinkles up her nose, squints her eyes, curls her upper lip and breathes really fast through her nose.  It sort of makes her look like a little devil, but I think she is trying to give us a genuine smile.  Usually whatever Emily does with her face or voice, Bethany will mimic a few days later so I am sure that we will be seeing a face from her soon that looks very similar to this one!

February 13, 2008

We got to visit with Gramma and Papa Doss this weekend.  I think the girls had lots of fun.  Grandmother Allen and Nanny got to feed the girls which was very cute.  I think it has been awhile since Grandmother Allen has fed a baby so she had lots of fun.  Emily actually slept in the room with Gramma and Papa.  I think Emily slept fine, but I don't think that Gramma and Papa got much sleep!!  We also got to see Grandmother Doss, Uncle Daniel, and Aunt Jenny.  All in all it was a really good trip.  Hopefully the girls will be as easy-going and easy to take care of when we go on our trip in March.    

I got to keep baby Kate on Monday and Tuesday.  She is 4 months old and absolutely adorable.  It was really interesting to look back at what the girls were doing at that age and how much things have changed.  I couldn't believe that they are able to do so much more now than they were when they were that age.  She is a cutie though, she loves to talk and coo.  She really liked getting attention from John and I, but she even enjoyed watching the girls.  I was surprised that the girls didn't take more notice of her since they really interact with each other now.  They just ignored her most of the time and still talked to each other!!

Well, we have started breakfast now so the girls are actually eating three meals a day!!  I can't believe how quickly we went from cereal at night to three meals a day.  They have been fussy and acting hungry in the morning so I decided to add that last meal.  It must have been what they needed because they have been happier for the past couple of days.  Both girls are also able to drink out of a sippy cup so we are having fun with that.  I give them water throughout the day and with their meals.  They haven't figured out how to hold the cup, but I am sure that it won't be long.    

February 8, 2008

Well, it has been a weird week.  We have been to two funerals in the past two days.  The girls actually did fairly well.  Emily wanted to sing along and thought that she needed to do most of the talking.  Bethany wanted to know what Emily was doing and got really fussy when anyone else held her.  She has been pretty funny lately.  She is okay when there are only a few people around, but if there are lots of people around, she gets anxious and really wants me and only me to hold her.  Emily on the other hand loves the crowd and will smile and laugh as people go by.

Emily is making fish faces now and Bethany has finally started trying to "talk" instead of making the same sound for everything.  She likes the "b,b,b" sound the most.  We just started Bethany on Prevacid yesterday for her reflux so we will see what happens.  She had been on Axid since she was tiny but we weren't seeing any improvement anymore so we just left her off meds for a few weeks.  We were really hoping that she could go without.  I think she will spit up no matter what, but I feel so sorry for her, she doesn't really complain too much, but it is dark around her eyes and she keeps a hoarse voice most of the time now.  She just looks like she doesn't feel well.  If this doesn't work we will be taking her to a specialist to find out if she "really" has reflux and what needs to be done about it.

John did some PT with the girls at home for crawling and they have both taken what they learned and are testing things out a bit.  Neither is crawling, but both can get on hands and knees now.  It is fun to watch the difference in the way that they try things.  Bethany takes the "all-or-nothing" approach and just goes for it.  Emily tries things gradually, one knee at a time leaning to one side then the other.  I am not sure that I am so excited about him helping them to learn.  From what I hear, the longer I can keep them in one place... the better.  I know they will have to learn sometime but I think I want to prolong it for as long as possible.     

As an end to this post, their daddy wanted me to make sure that I put the laughing videos up for everyone to see since they are so cute so here they are. 

 Emily on the changing table:

and Bethany laughing at a squeaky bird:

February 4, 2008

We actually got to go on a date on Saturday.  What a treat!!  Brannon and Christy kept the girls for us for a few hours while we got out with some friends to go eat and play "Rock Band" at their house.  We had a blast and they said the girls were pretty good.  Emily got a little bit cranky when it was time for cereal, but apparently putting them to bed was a breeze.  They had their cousin Madeleine to watch and play with so they really enjoyed that.  Whew, well at least we know how well they will do with someone else to feed them and put them to bed.  It is sad in a way because as a mom I have this pull to feel needed, but I also have the pull to want to have a little bit of freedom to leave them with other people.  I am not sure which pull is stronger?

They are beginning to figure out how to manipulate the momma.  If I leave the room and don't get on the floor to play with them, they immediately start in with the whining (not crying, just being fussy).  They have also begun to notice when I pick up the other one.  They are getting jealous.  They don't act the same way around daddy.  It is interesting to watch them play when he is here.  If he is the one that puts them down and they don't see me, they will play for a long time without fussing at all.  They will laugh and talk to each other and roll around on the floor, but the minute that they even hear my voice they start in on the "uh, uh, uh, uh."  I can't stand it though, maybe that is it.  I will go and talk to them, sit on the floor with them, or even pick them up.  John will acknowledge their needs, play with them for a few minutes, move them to a new toy, then be able to get out of the room without them realizing it.  

We found a non-denominational church that we both like (Pantego Bible Church) and I decided on Sunday to enroll the girls in the nursery.  They are cute in church, but they are really getting "busy."  They like to stand on our laps and jump up and down and talk to or smile at the people around us.  They talk and coo at each other.  Of course this is at the quietest times of the service!  By the end of the service on Sunday, they were tired of sitting still.  On their behalf, this was the second service that we had gone to.  We had already been to a service at Good Shepherd Catholic Community earlier that morning.  On the plus side, the nursery is run by the same people who swap shifts every other week so they would actually get to know the girls fairly well instead of it being random people each week.  They also have them split up by age and the girls would be in a 6-12 month age group in which they would move up to the next group with the same bunch of kiddos so they might end up having "friends" in their age group.

January 31th, 2008

It is amazing what the girls understand already.  I talked to John on the phone at the end of his workday yesterday and put him on speakerphone just to see what my two fussy little girls would do.  Emily IMMEDIATELY had a huge grin on her face and was staring at the phone like "that is MY daddy!!," then it took a few seconds more and she got a confused look on her face and started looking around the room wanting to know where he was.  After I hung up the phone and she couldn't hear his voice anymore, she got fussy again and actually started to cry.  I got up to walk around with her (which usually gets her quiet).  I think for the first time ever... she didn't want me, she was looking for her daddy over my shoulder and trying to turn around so that she could see better because he just had to be there... she had heard him!

I am only guessing, but I would wager that we only have a few more weeks before someone is mobile (other than rolling everywhere).  Bethany has figured out how to get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth.  So far, she can't go anywhere, she just ends up pushing off and straightening both of her legs at the same time... but I feel it... it is coming!!  It is pretty funny to watch her get around, she scoots backward on her tummy like a doodle bug, but she nods her head at the same time which gives her the appearance of a bull about to charge.  She is also getting pretty proficient at pulling up on us.  I have caught both girls trying to pull up using the link-a-doos that their toys are hanging from and evaluating some of the harder plastic toy frames to figure out how they might be able to use them as well.  Oh boy... we better get ready!

They are noticing each other much more now.  Today they sat across from each other and had a "conversation" back and forth.  It was fun to watch.  One would coo and squeal and then the other would sort of mimic those sounds back.  Bethany likes to touch Emily which makes Emily get mad and start grunting/fussing.  I can already hear the "mommy... she touched me!!" in her head.  Bethany then usually looks up at me with an expression of "what?  It wasn't me!"  Most of the time I have to separate them with toys so that they can't reach each other.  We also finally had to break down and buy another pacifier tether for Emily so that she would quit stealing Bethany's pacifier or trying to use the tether to pull her over as you can see in the picture.    

January 26th, 2008

The girls are so much fun right now.  Emily has had both of her bottom teeth for a few weeks now and Bethany just cut her second tooth yesterday.  Emily has already used her two little teeth to bite mommy and to eat the corner off of a bookmark.  Somehow she managed to get all the way across the playroom and over to my chair... where the bookmark was on the floor... within a span of about 5 minutes while I thought I would let them play for a little while without me in the room.  Amazing!!  Bethany is becoming a total mama's girl.  She wants to be in my lap or touching me at all times.  She is even beginning to reach for me when her daddy has her which is making him sad for the moment.  She loves to play sitting up, but does not like to play for very long on her tummy or back and although she CAN roll over, she would rather you come and "save" her instead.  Emily on the other hand is a rolling machine.  She has figured out how to get places by rolling and never ceases to amaze me how quickly she can move.

Bethany decided that she didn't like cutting teeth on Monday and cried almost all day causing her to go hoarse which is sad but adorable since she does what we have now so lovingly named the "binker call" at night.  It sounds so pitiful without much of a voice!  Emily figured out how to do a "fake" cough to get our attention on Thursday which is precious.  Now she does it any time we leave the room and when we look back she is looking at us with her head tipped to the side and a silly little grin on her face like "what?  I didn't do anything!!"

They are eating "real food" now and it is fun to watch.  Bethany grunts and gets frustrated if the food doesn't come fast enough.  She will eat pretty much anything, but has learned how to spit at us (so cute the first 9 or 10 times, but then...a little frustrating when she does it with every spoonful).  Emily is in la-la land most of the time, she looks around to see what is going on or what she can get into.  Hmm... where is that kitty?, oooh look... mommy is over there, what IS that on the counter, I bet I can reach that!, etc.

Both girls love to laugh and they look forward to their daddy coming home each day since he gets on the floor and tickles and plays with them.  It is fun to watch them have "daddy time."  He is the only one that can make them both laugh really hard.  I keep hearing that they only get cuter as they get older.  It is hard to believe as I think that they are the cutest that they can be right now!!