Quick Update

Not too much to report.  Life remains crazy but we are enjoying our little ones more and more each day as their personalities are really beginning to develop.  Paige laughs out loud ALL the time:)  She finds everything hysterical and is constantly smiling, screaming and giggling.  Andrew is into EVERYTHING! He is on all fours, rocking, and ready to crawl very soon.  Our PT who came last week predicted he'd be mobile by the time she comes back next week.  God help us all!  Mom and Dad have some major baby proofing to get done this weekend!

Last Friday was Daddy's birthday and we had lots of fun last weekend.  Friday, we celebrated with our family and had takeout with the kids, cake and opened presents.  Saturday, we went to the Old Town Farmer's Market in the morning and ended up having breakfast in one of the bagel shops.

Enjoying our first ever bagels!

Hangin' with Daddy in the bagel shop

Saturday night, we went out with Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate sans kids.  Andrew's Godmother, Katie, and her fiance Steve offered to come babysit.  It was SO nice of them and really made our night out comfortable and easy since they know the kids so well!

This week we had a gastrointestinal clinic doctor's appt at Children's to discuss their constipation.  As preemies with delayed meconium passage (first stool) and difficulty stooling, they are at risk for a couple of GI diseases.  We wanted a formal consult to see if we needed a workup for any of those and to get some advice on managing their stooling patterns.  Good news is that their exams were unremarkable and our problems aren't severe enough to warrant any invasive testing.  We will continue on two medications to help with stooling and now have an action plan for when things begin to "back up."  Really, most of their constipation can be related to their decreased muscle tone as preemies (especially Paige) and will take time to improve.

Our physical therapist came last week again and was pleased with Paige's progress.  They are both sitting beautifully and Paige may even be more stable than Andrew at this point!

Sitting and playing nicely together!

And having quite the conversation in Andrew's crib!

We do still need to work a lot on Paige's muscle tone and strength, especially in her legs, which she does not like to put any weight on. She also will not prop up on her arms much when on her belly.  I'm hoping that Andrew's crawling will motivate her to want to be active, too! But have you noticed from her pictures that her tongue protrusion is basically gone?!?!? I think she's just too busy smiling all the time for her tongue to be out!

Always our happy girl:)

Janice (our PT) will come again next week to work with just Paige.  We also have our 9 month pediatrician check-up next Friday.  Can you believe they are almost 9 months old?!?!

Fourth of July Weekend

We had a wonderful long 4th of July weekend.  We had lots on the to-do list that didn't get done....BUT we had lots of fun:)

Saturday, we went to a new farmers market and bought lots of yummy fresh fruit and veggies! We then spent the afternoon at home as Andrew was not a happy guy.  We screamed for several hours that afternoon and we weren't entirely sure why.  He broke his first tooth through last week (!) and we thought it could be another tooth but tylenol and his teething chillers didn't touch him.  We discovered it was definitely due to teething when we found his SECOND bottom front tooth Sunday afternoon!  Paige also got her first bottom tooth about two weeks ago - she beat him on this one! She may even have a second one...but its a little hard to confirm since she won't let you near her mouth! Saturday night we had a fun dinner with Andrew's Godmother, Katie, and her fiance Steve. The kids cooperated beautifully and went to bed by 8 so we could enjoy our adult night!

Sunday was Andrew & Paige's first 4th of July BBQ!  Alisa and Brian hosted a great party with SO much AMAZING food.  The babies were reasonably well behaved and lasted almost 5 hours there. When they both start to melt down, we've mastered a pretty quick exit strategy:) 

Very interested in EVERYTHING!

Matching t-shirts!

Cuddling back at home

And getting very annoyed at Mommy's pictures. Haha!

Monday was a day of relaxation at home.  Fireworks were not on the agenda for our 8 month olds:)  But we had a nice day as a family.  We tried our first "Stage 2" food today and we've both definitely mastered sitting without support.  Even Paige! Although she's still a little more likely to topple over on you. Our physical therapist, Janice, will be so proud on Thursday when she comes!

Happy 4th of July!

Andrew saluting with the kitchen brush. Haha!

Paige posing pretty, as always:)

Happy Fourth of July!

Beach Trip!

Yesterday, we got back from a long weekend in Wilmington, North Carolina at Nana & Papa's beach house. While the time away was not all that relaxing (how can it be with two infants?!?), it was nice to be away and be with the kids all day for five straight days.

First night in NC

Andrew got to see his GGM!

And tried to explore all over Nana & Papa's house!

Our cousins, Dave and Meghan also came down to visit while we were there.  Paige discovered her new best friend:)

Paige LOVED Meghan!

And especially loved her hair:)

We did make it to the beach once....and learned that our children HATE the beach! They screamed as soon as they saw the water, screamed louder when we attempted to dip their feet in, and Andrew continued to scream sitting under the beach tent on a towel with toys.  The pictures are lacking, as we were quite occupied with the kids, but I did capture the five minutes we were somewhat happy:)

Cute matching hats from Kathleen!

Paige did a little better....if she couldn't see the water!

Andrew hated the sand

And Paige liked to cover her feet in it and then eat them!

Really, we had a much better time at home playing and hanging out as a family.

Daddy and his babies

Paige & Mommy

And they did GREAT for 5.5 hours in the car.  They each took one long nap and then just required a little entertaining to make it through the rest of the ride:)

Taking a nice nap in the car

Being entertained by Mommy before we stopped for lunch!

Next trip in just a couple weeks - our first plane ride to Grandma and Grandpa's place on the beach in Florida.  We're hoping the babies decide they like the ocean by then! And that they take nice long naps on the plane...We are already dreading the dirty looks we'll likely get when boarding:)

8 Months!

Tomorrow will be 8 months since we met our two beautiful babies. We continue to be amazed by all that they have accomplished and how much they have overcome. Each day is a reminder of just how lucky we are:)

8 MONTHS!

And proud of it!

Sitting alone!

And already reading:)

Happy 8 Month Birthday!

Happy Father's Day!

We have adored our Daddy from the very first day we met...

Daddy holding Paige for the first time

And telling Andrew his first story.

First time he ever held BOTH our babies:)

He is very silly and is the best form of entertainment...

Crazy faces!

Silly poses!

He's sweet and kind...

Cuddly time with books

And lots of love and kisses

And he makes us laugh harder than anyone else...

Flying high!

Playing fun games!

Giggling at his jokes!

He's a very special Daddy and we couldn't be luckier to have him.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! We love you!

Life is Hectic!

When we were in the NICU, all the nurses warned us about how crazy our lives would be and many advised us to take lots of pictures.  Why?  Because they said twin parents say they don't remember the first year of their babies' lives.  I can totally understand that at this point.  Life is so busy that we barely have to time to breathe, much less take a step back and absorb what is happening.  Days run together and the lack of sleep, crammed meals, forever long to-do list, and nonstop baby entertainment make time fly.  How are they almost already 8 whole months old?!?

I'm up and ready to crawl soon!

And trying to climb out of my highchair!

Sitting like a big boy in the tub!

And playing hide-and-seek with my towel!

Discovering new things!

Like figuring out that Daddy's nose does not come off:)

Developing quite the personality:)

And SO happy and proud of all the new things I can do!

It is amazing to watch them figure out new things each day.  And even more fun to watch their relationship continue to grow. One of the first lessons we teach will have to be about personal space though!  They are now unable to be left unsupervised together in the pack-n-play!

Andrew beginning his attack...

And climbing on top of Paige...

Paige fighting back!

But he overtakes her in the end!

And she finds it hysterical!

This is all fun and games for a few minutes...until someone ends up either choking or hysterically crying.  Oh are we going to have our hands full!!!

**Many more new pics in the picasa album (link below)**