Story Time at the Library

I had a great day today with the babies.  We started out by going to Story Time at a local library.  The program started at 9:15.  Wouldn't you know that both babies were still napping and sound asleep at 8:50.  I had to wake them both up.  Neither of them was initially too thrilled about this, but I figured it was for the great good of their literacy so it was worth it. 

The library is only about 5 minutes from our house - so easy to get to!  As soon as we walked in the door, Miles started wailing.  Apparently he missed the memo on library etiquette.  Luckily he stopped crying once I parked our stretch limo stroller and picked him up. 

Story Time is a little 15-minute program for babies through 18 months.  I'm pretty sure that Miles and Vivienne were the youngest babies there.  There was one other really nice twin mom that I met there as well who recently moved here from the UK.  The program was very cute - songs, stories and reading one short book (Whose Ears? by Jeannette Rowe).  I wish I could remember more of the songs and hand motions that we did today.  I'm definitely going to go back as often as we can manage (this is a weekly program).  I hope they do the same songs each week so that I can learn them.

After that, we went to lunch with my sweet friend (and neighbor), Stephanie.  We took the babies to Panera Bread Company.  They did very well, and they enjoyed watching us eat.  It's fun to try to hold an infant and eat a ridiculously thick sandwich with one hand.  After about half an hour or so, Miles and Vivienne started getting antsy, so we got the show on the road.  The babies fell asleep in the car, and Stephanie (God bless her) offered to sit in the car with the babies while I ran into the grocery store for some bananas and bread.

Jen and Vivienne

When we got back, a friend of mine from California, Jen (who is getting her MBA from Duke - Go, Jen!), came over to visit with us.  We always have such a good conversation, and it's fun to hear what she's up to and what's going on at the Fuqua School of Business.

First Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful first Thanksgiving with the babies.  I regret that we did not take many pictures, but it was a day full of thankfulness.  There is so much to be thankful for this year.

Our friends, Drew and Amanda, visited from California for an evening.  It was so great to see them and introduce them to Vivienne and Miles.  I wish we had taken more pictures!

Drew and Amanda with Miles

I asked Jason to put socks on Vivienne one day, and here is what happened:

Not YOUR socks, Daddy!!

I snapped some shots of our cuties getting some tummy time:

Miles and Vivienne have really started interacting a lot more:

Vivienne enjoyed some quality time with Granddad.  Notice that she's lying face UP here:

Future Fox

When my parents got here for Thanksgiving, they brought this shirt that they found in an old box - a shirt that I wore when I was a baby.  How did they know?

Sleep, Glorious Sleep!!

I probably shouldn't jinx it by writing about this, but for the past three or four nights, Miles and Vivienne have been going to bed around 6 or 7.  Then they eat once around 11 PM, and they sleep through until 7 or 8 AM.  Yesterday, they slept until 8:45 (Vivienne) and 9:30 (Miles).  I am a new woman!!  Of course, I shouldn't get used to this, because I'm sure as soon as we adapt to this, they will mix it up again and start waking up 3 times a night.  ;-)

They used to start in bed like this.

And we find them like this in the morning.

Wednesday night, we put them in separate cribs for the first time.  It makes me a little sad that they are too big for the same crib anymore, but it is neat to see them each in their own crib now.  We have the cribs beside each other in an L shape so that they can still see each other through the rails.

Pet Names

Our home is full of baby talk and pet names, including these precious tidbits:

• Silly/Chunky Monkey
• Buddy
• Little Man
• Big Guy
• Bug-a-boo
• Slobberpuss
• Sweet Pea
• Butter Bean
• Butter Biscuit
• Sweetie
• Sugar
• Sugar Shorts
• Beautiful
• Sweet Girl/Boy
• Sweetie pie
• Jelly bean

4 Month Checkup

Today, Miles and Vivienne had their 4 month checkup.  It was really interesting to see their growth charts.  They're both growing really well.  Miles is 25.5 inches long and weighs 15 lbs.  He is at the 72nd percentile for height and 53rd percentile for weight.  Vivienne is 23.5 inches long and weighs 13 lbs.  She is at the 23rd percentile for height and the 35th percentile for weight.

It appears that Miles may have a sensitivity to cow's milk protein, which means that I need to try to avoid all dairy for 2-3 weeks and see if it makes a difference.  I'm admittedly not looking forward to cutting out dairy, but my little guy is worth it.

They both got two shots - one in each thigh.  They were not very excited about that.  Miles had fallen asleep on his daddy's shoulder, so he had to be woken up and then got his shots.  Needless to say, this did not go over well.  However, they settled down quickly and they were asleep before I got them home. Miles took a 3-hour nap today, and both babies fell asleep earlier than usual.  I'm hoping that they are back to normal tomorrow.

This afternoon, we went on a walk with our friend Pam at Hemlock Bluffs.  We had a great time walking through the forest and seeing all the trees.  Fall has been spectacular here in North Carolina.  Now, most of the leaves are on the ground, but there are still many beautiful red, yellow, orange and purple trees covering the landscape.  I have really enjoyed taking in the scenery during my walks with the babies.

Napping with Daddy

Breakfast with Daddy

Happy 4 Months!

Today, Vivienne and Miles turned 4 months old.  My, how the time has flown!!  There are so many things that we love about these babies.  Here are a few:

• The sounds of their voices
• Their beautiful gummy smiles
• Their sweet laughs
• Vivienne's ridiculously long eyelashes
• Snuggles and naps together
• Walking with Miles in the Baby Bjorn or the sling
• The way Miles soaks in the world with his eyes
• The way Vivienne kicks her little legs up in the air
• Their soft hair (thank goodness it's growing back!)
• Miles' crooked grin
• Hearing them talk (seemingly endlessly) to the octopus on their play mat (Thanks, Katie!)
• Fat baby legs (they're getting more rolls by the day!)
• Seeing them smile and coo at each other - melts my heart to watch them interact with each other

Happy birthday to my gorgeous babies!  Your Daddy and I will love you forever.

Daddy reads us a bedtime story.

You wanna mess with my sister?  You have to go through me first.

They woke up so happy this morning.

Noah was keeping watch over Vivienne yesterday while she napped.

Her eyes just make me melt.

She has to be one of the happiest babies I've ever seen.

Grandma and Vivienne

Leslie and Miles (doesn't he look like a different baby with the flash?  So weird!)