Happy 10 Weeks!

Miles and Vivienne were ten weeks old yesterday.  My, how the time has flown already (and sometimes dragged)!

They seem to change so much week by week, and even day by day sometimes.  Now, they are quite alert.  They maintain good eye contact for very long periods of time, and they can focus on us across a room.  They will follow us with their eyes as we walk across the room - even following us up the stairs.  It's amazing, considering that they could only focus something like 8 inches when they were born!

They smile at us every day now.  It's great fun.  Vivienne likes to smile the most, and she will coo and talk to me at least a few times a day.  She likes to say, "Ooh... ooh..."  I love it!  Miles smiles a lot, but he's not as vocal.

Miles is definitely stronger physically.  He's getting so much bigger than Vivienne already.  When I've been holding her and I put her down and pick him up, he feels like a bag of bricks!  He has very strong legs and a strong neck.  When we take our morning walks, he loves to sit in the Baby Bjorn and look up at the trees.  He can support his neck like that for at least 10 minutes now.  Vivienne's head still bobbles about when she tries to hold it up.  =)

Vivienne is a very mild-mannered baby.  She cries occasionally, but she usually recovers quickly.  Miles, on the other hand, has a tendency to completely lose his mind at a frighteningly rapid pace.  Luckily, this is happening less and less frequently.  I'll be glad when he outgrows this phase, because it's hard to see him look so upset.

The babies have been crying with real tears for about 3 weeks now probably.  It's so sad to see the little tears drip down their cheeks when they are crying hard.  =(

I love these babies so much.  They fascinate me every single day.  Even on the days when I feel like I want to pull my hair out, Vivienne will coo at me and Miles will give me a big "I love you, Mommy" smile and it's worth every minute.

(On another note, I have not been peed or pooped on in quite some time.  I think this is probably more to do with good luck than anything else.  Vivienne did poop on our neighbor last week, though... a story for another day...)

Disney Princess

Here is another picture of my niece, Elizabeth, with my mom at Disneyland.  She is just too cute!!  I can't wait to meet her at Christmas in Georgia.

Bedtime Routine

Our bedtime routine usually consists of giving the babies one last feeding (around 6:30 or 7), swaddling them, rocking them a bit and putting them down.  We ideally put them down with their eyes open so that they can fall asleep on their own, but sometimes we rock them too long and realize that they are already asleep.  Lately, this has been working really well.  We usually get them down between 7:30 and 8, and that gives us until 9 o'clock, which is when we go to bed (seriously, it's like we're old people or something).

By 7 PM tonight, both babies had easily been put in bed and were sleeping soundly.  It has been so weird to have a full hour and half (with no consoling, no checking on them, etc) to just eat dinner, check email, crochet, etc.  And I still have half an hour before our bedtime.  Now if I could only get them to sleep for more than 3 hours at a time...

Will They Survive?

No, not the babies... the people that we left the babies with in the nursery at church!?! 

This morning, we went to the 10:30 service at our church and left the babies in the nursery there.  This was the first time that we have left them with someone else.  Granted, we were in the same building, but still - I had to leave my babies with people that I've only met once!!  Luckily, it worked out perfectly. 

I almost felt like I could cry walking into church for about a second, but I got over that very quickly.  We saw a friend on the way into church, and she said that she would peek in on them for us to make sure things were going well.  When we dropped them off at the nursery, there were two people working and just one other baby.  I was glad that there was only a 1:1.5 ratio of babysitters to babies. 

We had to sign Miles and Vivienne in, and then we got little tags that had numbers to match our babies.  If your child has a problem during the service, they will flash the child's tag number up on the monitors above our pastor.  Honestly, I kept looking for Miles' number.  He has a tendency to lose his sweet little mind sometimes. 

At one point, Jason leaned over to me and said, "It's not him."  I looked up at the screen and realized that there was a child's number.  For a second, my heart was in my throat until I realized that it was not, in fact, one of my children's numbers, and it did not say, "Whoever is Miles' mommy, please come get him.  He is losing his ever-loving mind." 

As soon as the service was over, we bolted out the doors to go check on Miles & Vivienne.  They were perfectly happy in the nursery, Miles in his overalls and Vivienne in her cute watermelon dress, snoozing away... just waiting for us to come chauffeur them home for lunch.

My Sweet Elizabeth

Elizabeth shows off her gorgeous smile!

I have the cutest little niece, who was born just a few weeks before our babies on June 6 (on her actual due date).  Unfortunately, we haven't been able to meet her yet, because she lives in California, and we have either been pregnant or juggling newborn twins.  But we're hopeful that we can get these babies together sometime soon.  My parents are there visiting her right now.  Surely, they are in heaven.  I wish I could pinch those little cheeks and give her a big kiss.  Can't wait to meet little Elizabeth!

Arrrrrr!!  (At Pirates of the Carribean with her Grandmother, my Mom)

Vivienne Talking and Smiling (Video)

Here is a video of Vivienne talking and smiling.  She has gotten a lot more vocal over the past couple of weeks.

Uncontrollable Rocking

I have noticed something about myself.  If I'm in a store without the babies (which is rare) or if I'm in another room in the house and they are napping... I'm almost always rocking or swaying, as if I were rocking them to sleep or consoling them.  I think the lady at CVS thought I was crazy a few weeks ago.  I went there to return some diapers that the babies had outgrown.  I was doing the "bouncing up and down while rocking back and forth" move while standing in line.

This morning, as I was eating breakfast, the babies were crying in the family room.  Jason was working on consoling them.  I realized that I was rocking back and forth in my chair.

I think I'm developing a maternal tic or something...

Play Mat Fun

Brought to you by our Baby Einstein play mat (thanks, Katie!!)

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy birthday to the most amazing husband and daddy in the world.  I am endlessly astounded by his energy, patience and love for our children.  Jason spends so much time talking to them, playing with them, putting them to sleep, soothing them when they're crying, letting them sleep on his chest (at all hours of the day and night), giving them baths, singing them silly songs, changing their diapers, making them smile... they couldn't ask for a better daddy and I couldn't ask for a better husband.

I love you, Jason.  You're our hero.  Happy birthday!

Pigs Feeding at a Trough

A couple weeks ago, Miles and Vivienne were congested, particularly at night.  We took them for their 2-month checkup, and the pediatrician said that they're not sick - just congested.  When they eat at night (when they are really congested), they tend to make a lot of noises - almost like gobbling noises.  Keep in mind that I feed them at the same time (tandem breastfeeding), so it's gobbling times two.  Also, our babies tend to pass gas like crazy when the eat, especially at night.  It's pretty cute and funny (but probably not so much when they're teenagers).  Because of the way that I'm sitting in bed while they eat, they are right about at eye level with Jason's head besides me. 

A couple nights ago, Jason said, "They sound like pigs feeding at a trough or something.  And they're farting in my face... it's horrible!"  He had me laughing so hard.

Happy 2 Months (or 9 Weeks)!

I'm so far behind on blog updates.  The babies have been keeping us very busy.  Here are some highlights.

Last Saturday, Miles and Vivienne turned 2 months old (9 weeks old on the following day, Sunday).  Miles was particularly excited about this:

On Sunday, Daddy and Miles celebrated their 9 week birthday by watching football together:

Noah and Chloe held hands while they watched the game, too:

After that, Miles was really tuckered out:

I went to the Kids Everywear consignment sale.  There were so many things to look through, that it made my head spin.  I did manage to find a couple cute outfits pretty quickly:

Miles likes outfits that demonstrate what a foxy little guy he is.

Vivienne also wanted to show off one of her cute outfits.  This is a new one that was a gift from a friend:

Vivienne now weighs 9 lbs and Miles weighs well over 11 lbs:

And I caught this cute picture of my two handsome guys smiling together:

Grandma and Granddad Visit

This past week, Grandma and Granddad (Leslie's parents) came to visit the babies (and us).  Vivienne enjoyed sleeping on Granddad.  We could see her rising up and down as he breathed in his sleep... very, very cute.

Two Month Pediatrician's Appointment

Miles and Vivienne had their two month pediatrician's visit today, and it went very well:

We first saw the lactation consultant (our pediatrician has an in-house lactation consultant that we can see for only a co-pay... wonderful), and then we moved into the exam room for the doctor's appointment.  Vivienne weighs 8 lb 13 oz and Miles weighs 10 lb 9 oz.  Vivienne is still just under the 10th percentile and Miles is around the 30th percentile (not adjusted for being born premature or being a twin).  Miles has had some congestion over the past week, but he doesn't have a fever and the doctor said that it's nothing to worry about. 

The babies had to get their first set of vaccinations.  They did not enjoy it, to say the least.  Vivienne cried a lot with real tears.  Both babies started crying with tears over the past week.  It looks so sad.  =(  Miles actually handled the shots better, which surprised us.

But the vaccinations had us all tuckered out...

You can see the bandage on his leg from the shot.  They each got shots in both thighs.

Running Errands to Three Places in the Same Day

Wow.  I realize that I now get very excited about things that I completely took for granted before we had the babies.

Yesterday was a very good day.  As each of the babies woke up, I pulled them into bed with me.  They actually slept with me in bed until 9 am.  I couldn't believe it!  They usually wake me up around 7 am when the sun comes through our window.  It was so nice to get a couple extra hours of sleep.

Then we went on our walk together - the usual 2.5 mile walk on the trails in Cary.  It's so nice that the weather is getting just slightly cooler.  The highs are still in the 80s, but in the mornings, it is crisp and pleasant outside.  I can't wait until the leaves start changing.  Fall is my favorite season here.

When we got home, I fed the babies again and put them down for their nap.  Miles slept in the swing and Vivienne slept in her bouncey from 11:30 to 2:45.  What in the world is going on?  Our babies went almost 4 hours between feedings.  They have never done that during the day before.  While they were asleep, I got everything ready to go out - ate breakfast, got the car seats, the diaper bag, the stroller in the car, a fresh bottle of water, my wallet and cell phone... the list just goes on and on.  They woke up at 2:45 and I fed them again before going out to run errands.

Then we went to Target, PetSmart and Harris Teeter.  We've never tried to go to three different large stores in the same trip before.  Miles and Vivienne were great.  One of them was asleep the entire time, and I would usually carry the other one in my Maya ring sling.  By the time we got home, it was only about 30 minutes until Daddy (Jason) came home.

It was a great day.  I got to spend quality time with the babies and had some time to myself for laundry, email, cleaning, etc.  We successfully ran all our errands (the kitties will be so happy to have fresh cat food), and now Jason doesn't have to go to PetSmart after work to pick up cat food.

Happy 8 Weeks!

Miles and Vivienne are eight weeks old today.  Miles is over 10 pounds and Vivienne is still working on cracking 9 pounds.  We are so blessed to have them in our lives.

Happy little birthday, babies!  Your Daddy and I love you to pieces!

Viv Bear and Miles' Mug

This morning during our walk, it was a bit cooler, so Vivienne wore her adorable bear footed sleeper (with matching bear hat).  Miles was jealous, so we put a little hat and some socks on him, too.  This was actually the first time our babies have worn socks.  (Funny that I celebrate things like "first socks" now.)  =)

Cutest Little Bear I've Ever Seen

Our Little Thug

Rhonda Visits

On Thursday of this week, my friend, Rhonda, came to hang out, chat and hold babies.  It was great to see her and to have an extra set of hands to hold the babies.  Miles really enjoyed falling asleep in her arms, and I really enjoyed her company.  Thanks for visiting us, Rhonda!

Vivienne's Post-Bath Photo Shoot

We often bathe the babies around 7:00.  At that time, we get some nice light coming through the bedroom windows, and I occasionally decide to take advantage of it and snap a few photos.  Here is a beautiful baby girl sporting her new cloth diaper cover.

And here's how it usually ends...

She has quite the little frown.

Vintage Vivienne

My mother gave us an outfit that I used to wear as a baby back in 1979.  Here is Vivienne in her first (and probably last?) vintage look (unless she goes to the Emmys someday or something, you never know):

Miles is a Ten Pounder!

On Thursday of this week, Miles reached the 10 pound mark.  Jason has been eagerly weighing him each day in hopes that he would hit the double digits.  Congratulations to our little bruiser!!

Jason also wants me to mention that we zeroed out the scale to compensate for the burp cloth that he's lying on and the enormous cloth diaper.  ;-)

Supermom

Today I felt like Supermom.  I went to the grocery store again with the babies, and this time I went for it... I pushed the Double Snap n Go while wearing Miles in the ring sling while pulling my shopping cart behind me.

 The babies were fussy in the car on the way there, so I was nervous that this was not going to be a good trip.  When I pulled into the parking lot, Miles was still fussing, so I decided to try wearing him in the ring sling.  I still took the entire Double Snap n Go stroller, because sometimes he doesn't like the sling and will demand to be pulled out of it.  If that happened, I needed to have the extra spot in the stroller to put him in.

While I was going through the store, I got stopped by at least 5 people to talk about the babies, tell them how old they are, how much they weighed when they were born, how many weeks I was when they were born, etc.  It's really sweet that people want to talk about the babies, but at the same time, I'm trying to get out of there as quickly as possible so that Miles and Vivienne don't have a meltdown.

Luckily we were in and out without any crying at all.  I couldn't believe it!  I stocked up on bread, milk, cereal... life feels somewhat normal again.  And I feel like Supermom.  =)

First Grocery Store Solo

I just got back from the grocery store.  I went with the twins by myself.  Whoohoo!  While this may not sound like a grand accomplishment to you, it is a huge step forward in my world.  I only got as much stuff as I could fit in the bottom of my Snap n Go stroller.  I couldn't get up the guts to push the stroller in front of me and pull the shopping cart behind me.  Maybe someday I can master that.  (Lynn, you inspire me.  I am in awe of you.)

Anyway, just had to share my latest little victory.  Go, Team Fox!!

On an unrelated note, here's a picture of Miles that I took on our walk this morning.  I try to walk about 2.5 miles with them every morning.  Today Miles was a little fussy, so we cut it about a half mile short, but I wore him (in the Maya ring sling) for a good half mile or so, so I'm betting that I made up for the calorie burn with his added weight.  =)

Happy 7 Weeks!

I nearly forgot to post a "Happy 7 Weeks" post for today.  The babies are 7 weeks old today.  We celebrated by taking them to church this morning and then taking them to Bond Park.  We walked around the lake and on a path through the woods.  The weather was perfect this afternoon.  It was nice to be able to walk in the middle of the day instead of early morning.  The babies lasted a good hour at the park before they started getting hungry.  I opted to bring them home instead of finding a place to breastfeed them there.

It's been a fun day to celebrate their 7 week birthday.  I can't believe that they will be two months old soon!

Mommy Pics

Here is a sweet shot Jason took last week of me and Vivienne.  One of my favorite things is feeling my babies asleep in my arms.  I like listening to their breath and seeing their little bodies move with their breathing.  They are so warm and cuddly and sweet.  I wish I could feel this feeling forever.

Since I switched from software product manager to full-time SAHM (stay at home mom), I have really honed my multitasking skills...

I'm wearing Vivienne and changing Miles' diaper.

Daddy's Hands Are So Big (Or My Head Is Small)

Every night, Jason gets the babies out of their crib (currently in our room) and bring them to me to nurse them.  After they eat, he burps each one of them, changes their diapers, and puts them in bed.  I always love the way Miles' tiny head looks in Jason's big, gentle hands.  I kept saying that I needed to grab a picture of it so that I could remember exactly how sweet this looked someday far in the future.  Here is one of my favorite sights (though this is downstairs in our family room):

Smiles!

Here is a picture of Miles smiling this morning.  I'm glad that I caught it!!

Not to be outdone, Vivienne shared some cute faces as well...

Vivienne's First Skirt

Miles and Vivienne wore some matching overalls that their Grandma Smith got for them.  They looked ridiculously adorable, if I do say so myself.  This also marked Vivienne's first skirt.  It was so darn cute that I think I'm definitely going to have to buy more skirts. 

This is an incredibly attractive picture of the babies.  Notice how I incite the sweetest expressions out of my dear babies.  I'll share my baby photo secrets with you in a future posting.  ;-)

We Wear Pants

Lest you think our babies never wear more than their diapers, here is photographic proof.  It was a little chilly one morning, so we actually put them in long pants.  Then we realized it was their first time wearing pants.  We had to take pictures, just to note the occasion.