Sleep!

We've done it! SLEEP IS BACK! We have listened to the girls cry themselves to sleep at bed time and nap time for a few days now and every day it gets a little easier. They are figuring out how to put themselves to sleep. YEAH! Last night they slept from 9pm to 6am without even a peep. Nap time seems to be lasting longer and longer each day too. I am so happy to be able to get a few things done while they nap or sometimes even nap myself. At nap time, I'm putting one girl upstairs in their bed and the other in our room in the pack'n play. This seems to work best for when they wake-up from their nap they don't wake the other one. At night time, they're both in their beds upstairs until 6am or later went they get up for the day.

Madilyn, Logan and Morgan

This past weekend we had some family come down. My cousin Kim, her son Logan who is 5 and my Aunt Elaine. We had a great time. Kim and Elaine went with the girls and I shopping on Saturday and we had a great time. When we got back to the house, Logan and Sam were mowing the yard and they were ready for a swim in the pool. Logan had brought his little air up pool and we decided to put the girls in too. They really enjoyed it!

Visit to the Eye Doctor

Yesterday was the girls final visit to the eye doctor. Preemie babies can sometimes have eye problems. The girls had seen the eye doctor 3 times before, once when they were in the hospital then twice before they were 2 months old. The doctor the last time said that everything looked fine but he wanted to see them one more time at 9 months. The appointment went great and the girls don't have to go back unless they develop problems later in life. The visit was pretty uneventful, but they did dilate their eyes so that made them a little cranky the rest of the day. Thankfully Sam was able to go with me to the appointment to help entertain the girls while we waited for their eyes to dilate and to see the doctor.

Last night was a milestone night for us. We decided that we would start putting the girls in their beds awake in hopes to help them sleep through the night. We've been waking up around 1am every morning and giving them a bottle. We had done a little research and talked to the doctor and she said we needed to break this cycle now, or it would continue FOREVER! We had been sleeping through the night a few months ago, but somehow we got back to waking up again. So last night we gave the girls a bottle right before bed then we put them in their beds. All was good until we left the room. They ended up crying off and on for 45 minutes! YES, it was the hardest thing. I kept telling Sam I was giving them 5 more minutes, but he kept us strong and we did it! They put themselves to sleep! After they went to sleep I went up and checked on them, then I went to bed. I was amazed that 7am was the first time we heard anything from them. WOW!!! AWESOME!! We'll see how tonight goes...fingers crossed.

I guess you guys are probably wanting some pictures of the girls too. They are growing up fast! Enjoy!

Madilyn cheesing at the camera and eating her cereal the other night. You can see her bottom two teeth. Morgan eating her puffs and squinting at the camera the other night. She love to try and fit as many as she can in her hands and mouth. Both girls have two teeth on the bottom and two coming in on the top.

Doctor Visit

Yesterday was the girls 9 month check-up at the pediatricians office. The girls are doing wonderful! Madilyn weighed in at 21 pounds and 27 3/4 inches long. Madilyn is in the 75-90% for weight and 50% on length. Morgan weighed in at 20 pounds 4 ounces and 27 inches long. Morgan is in the 75% for weight and 25-50% for length. Doctor Chandler said the girls were doing wonderful. She told us to start letting the girls try table foods. That should be fun...and messy!

The girls did not have to get shots yesterday but they did get their fingers pricked to check their iron levels. All was good there, but the girls of course screamed for about 10 minutes. The nurse put a piece of cotton and 2 band aids on each of the girls fingers to stop the bleeding. Immediately the girls put the band aids with the cotton in their mouths. I tried the best I could by myself to keep them happy while we waited for the results. When the nurse returned Madilyn had her band aid in her mouth and not on her finger. I took the mess out of her mouth and put a single band aid on her finger, which she put right back in her mouth. We proceeded to leave the office and as I was loading them in the car, I noticed Morgan's was no longer on her finger. I started looking around for it and of course found 2 band aids in her mouth, but NO COTTON! I freaked out! I hauled them back in and talked to the doctor. In the process I took Madilyn's off her finger to prevent anymore cotton eating. The Doctor said not to worry, I would pass and add a little extra fiber to her diet. Feeeeewww! That was eventful trip!

Meanwhile, this week Madilyn has really mastered the pulling up thing. She found the stairs on Wednesday so I know it's time to put the baby gates up. She crawled over to the stairs and using the first step pulled herself to the standing position. Morgan just laid back and watched her. Then Morgan traveled over to the front door and looked as though she was ready for someone to open the door and see her. We call this her "leg lift" exercise!

With Madilyn's new found climbing Morgan is taking the blunt of it. But Morgan knows how to maneuver her way out from under Madilyns wresting techniques. These pictures pretty much sum up my days as a referee. Enjoy!

9 Months Old

I have decided to adventure into blogging. I have several friends with kids who are doing it and it seems like a great way to share new pictures and info on the girls. I am hoping to do it at least once a week...but we'll see.

The girls, Madilyn and Morgan are growing up way too fast. It seems like yesterday we were bringing them home from the hospital and now they are starting to get into everything. I just told Sam this morning that my days of laying them on the floor and walking a way for a minute are long gone. Now they'll be in the middle of the kitchen pulling drawers open and I've only stepped out for a moment.

The girls are learning new things all over the house. Madilyn found the little black drawer pulls in the kitchen and figured out how to take them off the drawers. Sam found her playing with one unattached to the drawer just the other day. Morgan is really enjoying the door stops on the walls. I think she knows exactly where each and everyone is now in the house.

The girls are busy crawling. It's more of an army crawl still but they defiantly get where they're wanting to go. But I know this won't last long. Madilyn has figured out how to stand up next to her toy piano. Aunt Diane V. held down the piano so it wouldn't tip over on her yesterday, but she knows how to do it on her own today.

Things the girls really enjoy...riding in their red wagon...taking baths in the kitchen sink...

...and filling my days with big smiles and full diapers! Being a mother of twins is twice as fun!