Happy Nine Months!

I can't believe there are only 3 more months and the girls will be one year old!  Wow!  We have been busy going places and meeting new people.  I'm feeling more and more confident about taking them places and getting out of the house.  They love to ride in the car and are well-behaved when we go somewhere.  I've met some moms from MOPS and hope to have some play-dates soon.  I found another local mom's group on Meetup.com and look forward to more get-togethers.

Here's some recent pictures:

Jenna trying to drink from a stacking cup

Rachel scooted over to see Jenna

We had a little photo shoot with the wicker rocker:

I tried to see if they could both still fit...they couldn't!

 It's getting harder and harder to get the monthly pictures.  They don't want to look or smile at the camera at the same time.  It's fun to see them with the bears, especially when I compare how big (or small) they were several months ago. 

Happy Nine Months, Beautiful Girls!

Halfway through September

I've sat down several times to write a blog entry and usually one of the babies woke up from a nap earlier than I expected.  It's been 3 weeks since I last updated and so much has happened since then!
What happened at the end of August:

• I attended a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting and met lots of nice moms.  It was the first time I left the girls in a childcare setting.  Rachel did great!  Jenna fussed and cried and they had to come get me.
• My 31st birthday was quite memorable.  On August 23rd, we had an earthquake with the epicenter about 60 miles from here.  It was a 5.9 earthquake and did quite a lot of damage in Louisa, VA.

• Rachel had her first cold and ear infection.  Two antibiotics and 2 weeks later, she is much better!  

• The girls turned 8 months old!  They are getting so big! 

• Back to the doctor's office we went. It was our 3rd time in 2 weeks. Jenna had an awful case of conjunctivitis (pink eye). The doctor even commented that he hadn't seen one that bad in a while!

  

What's new with the girls?
Jenna:

She has 2 teeth poking out.

She babbles all the time. I think Rachel taught her how to scream and squeal!

She loves her sippy cup and little puff snacks.

She loves her blankie and goes to sleep without crying.

She's not crawling yet, but on her belly, she turns herself in a circle.  

She'll roll to get what she wants.

Rachel:

She has one tooth all the way out and another poking out.

She still screams, squeals, and grunts.

She has started babbling.

She hums and makes noise when she's eating something she likes.

She has some separation anxiety with me which has made naps difficult.  

Some days are better than others!

She has started scooting/army crawling across the floor.  

She pulls with her arms and pushes with her legs. 

My girls are growing up!

Sitting and sharing a book.

They LOVE Touch and Feel books.  

 Jenna and Rachel had a lot of fun playing in the water.  I love that they can sit up and play now!

Splish, splash!

"Hi, Mommy!"

Distracted by Fiona

 On Saturday, August 20, we went to the park.  Who knew that these swings worked so well for twins?  I want to go back again when it isn't so hot.  They loved it, but it was hard to get a smiling picture because the sun was so bright.

Jenna playing in the shade

 Since the girls were born, I've been taking them out in their car seats snapped into the double stroller.  On Saturday evening, we decided to try taking a walk with them sitting in the stroller.  They needed to be able to sit well because this stroller doesn't have the shoulder straps (5-point harness).  They look so grown-up in this picture.

Rachel and Jenna

Various Videos

 July 14, 2011: Sibling rivalry begins! 

August 2, 2011: Rachel LOVES to "razz" and blow bubbles

August 11, 2011: Jenna and Rachel sitting and playing together

Playing with the wipe bag.  

August 19, 2011:  I put water and some toys in a container and let the girls splash around.  

They LOVED it and had so much fun!

Wordless Wednesday :-)

First Family Vacation

Last week, we went to Georgia to celebrate Kenny's grandparents 60th wedding anniversary and 80th birthdays.  It was the first time we had traveled further than about 30 minutes in the car.  Because I'm breastfeeding, I usually plan outings so that I can be back home before the girls are hungry again! I was so worried about an 8+ hour road trip!
Part of Kenny's family met us at our house and then we traveled together to Georgia (stopping after 4 hours for the first night).  The girls did so well...sleeping in the pack-n-plays, riding in the car, and visiting and meeting all the new people.  They went swimming for the first time in the lake and LOVED it!!  Next summer, I'll definitely have to get a little pool for outside.

They loved kicking in the water!

Beautiful babies

I was so worried about feeding them in the car, but it worked much better than I thought.  I used a boppy and tandem-fed them in the front seat of the car.  It gave them a chance to get out of the car seats and stretch a little too.
Overall it was a successful trip. After all my anxiety and worry about traveling with two 7 month old babies, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the trip went.

Rachel meeting Kenny's cousin and her husband

Rachel and Great-Grandpa R.

Rachel and Great-Grandma R.

Jenna meeting Great-Grandpa R.

Jenna and Great-Grandma R. 

 

It's August already??

I think a blog update is long overdue.  It took a little while, but I'm definitely doing better when I talk about Charlie.  Occasionally, I would find a clump of gray hair or one of his favorite toys and get sad again but I am positive we made the right decision.
July was a busy month (especially with all the vet visits).  My mom and dad came to visit on the 22nd.  Dad left the following Monday and mom stayed until August 1.

With Grandma and Grandpa

We LOVED having Grandma here to visit.  The girls always had big smiles for her when they saw their grandma.  We always joke about my mom and her camera.  She loves taking pictures but every time she tried to get a good pictures of Jenna or Rachel smiling, they would just stare at the camera.  Oh well.  This is one reason why I think she should get a digital camera (Yes!  She still uses film.  But...we got lots of pictures developed while she was here!)

Grandma reading with Jenna

The girls have been changing so quickly.  It seems like they're doing something new every few days. 

Happy 7 months, Jenna!

New Milestones:

      Jenna:

• Buzzes and blows raspberries.
• Rolls easily from her tummy to her back
• Sits up unsupported for short amounts of time
• LOVES to eat solid foods and gets SO excited to sit in her highchair
• Says "Mmmm" while I feed her

    

 Rachel:

Happy 7 months, Rachel!

• Makes lots of noises.  She has found her voice!  She screeches, squeals, growls, and yells.
• Blows raspberries and pretends to cough
• Rolls easily both ways
• Sits unsupported and plays with toys
• Also LOVES to eat solid foods.  We haven't found anything she doesn't like.
• When she's on her belly, she kicks her feet like a frog.  Soon she'll learn to move forward.

Thanks for our cute dresses, Grandma!