Sunday, May 16, 2010

Nothin' Much

Not a whole lot has been going on around here; other than taking care of kids. The girls are growing well and eating like crazy! For a while they were the best sleepers. Usually it was between 8 to 12 hours before they woke up. It was amazing to be getting a good amount of rest. But, once I admitted to the pediatrician, they began to wake earlier in the morning, and then more than once. So, now I am back to waking up every 3 hours. I guess a part of that is due to the fact that I had them sleeping in their car seats (propped back a bit, so they couldn't fall forward and suffocate). I did it for a number of reasons: they were having tummy troubles and I didn't want them to choke on their excessive spit up; then they caught colds and were congested and coughing a bunch; most importantly, I needed some good rest. Hopefully, they will begin to sleep well, again.

They are such fun girls. Both of them are starting to laugh. Lydia giggled for the first time on Tuesday. Before her bath, we let her stand in front of the bathroom mirror and play. She got excited and kicked over the hand sanitizer into the garbage can. Mack thought that was pretty funny, and so did Lydia. They were both giggling pretty hard. It was so cute! Addie is getting to where she laughs softly. Such a sweet sound!

It is fun to watch their personalities develop.

Lydia: She is very social and has been since day one. She smiles at anybody who looks at her. BIG. Not just a little grin, but a smile so big that her eyes close and she looks like she is about to bust at the seams! She isn't very cuddly and likes to look out at everything. Most of the time she arches her back; which means she is already mobile. When I place her on the ground, she arches her back and pushes herself all around. Sometimes it creeps me out to find her in a different place from where I left her. I had her laying in a bouncy seat tonight while fixing dinner and she almost fell out the top of it! I even had her strapped in. Mack likes to laugh at her when she is in the tub, because she jumps around and makes big splashes.

Addie: She watches people with really big, curious eyes. Once she warms up to a person, she smiles and coos. She really loves Chad and I and always smiles for us easily. She loves to snuggle up and be held. Most of the time, she is the one who moves around the crib until she is cuddled up to Lydia. I have to keep a wedge between them, though, because they wake each other up by trying to eat the other one's head. It's funny to get them up in the morning and their hair is all matted down from slobber.

They are getting to where they recognize each other. A lot of times when I am nursing them, they hold hands and watch each other. It's so cute! They usually coo and smile when they exchange looks. It's funny to watch them reach milestones together, for example, most babies this age are beginning to notice their hands and will scratch at their clothing. When they are holding hands, they watch. And they reach over and scratch at each others clothing and bodies. So fun.

Mack has been keeping us on our toes. He is doing better with things. I have been making him do things on his own more, but take time out of the day to spend doing "really fun" projects. We also go on a date each week. He is funny. The other day while giving the opening prayer in primary, he blessed that "the naughty kid in his class won't be naughty and will be nice." We always tell him that Heavenly Father wants to know what's in his heart and how his day went. So, we get some pretty funny stuff. He usually talks about what he's done through the day. Sometimes he tells Heavenly Father that I say "stupid" which "is a really bad word" at our house. A lot of times through the day, if he becomes upset at me he threatens that he is going to tell on me to Heavenly Father. I love that Mack has that sort of relationship with Him. One time he invited Heavenly Father to take a bath. In his prayer, he said, "Heavenly Father, we have a bathtub at our house and if you'd like, you can come take a bath with me. My mom will even put bubbles in the tub!" Ah, the faith of a child.He wouldn't hold still long enough for a great picture.

I hope you all enjoy the pictures. I took them at my house on Friday and it was an all day project! It started at 8:00 a.m. and I finally had everything cleaned up and jumped in the shower at 3:00 p.m. It was fun to play with the lighting.

Just for fun...

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Another Blessing



We blessed the girls, today. Chad was nervous he'd give the wrong name to the wrong baby. Luckily, he got both the first and middle names right! It was great to have all our family and close friends get together and celebrate the babies' lives. Mary (my amazing step-mom) brought my mother-in-law down from Washington and then surprised everyone my bringing my dad with her. I know that sounds mixed up, but... Last month, my dad was on a ladder when it collapsed. He landed on his elbow and basically turned it to dust. He was hospitalized for two weeks and had major surgery where the bones where replaced by titanium. I was told he couldn't come, because of the pain and risk of getting hurt on the ride. Gullible me completely believed them. Boy, was I surprised when he showed up at dinner the night before! It meant a lot to have him there to help bless my girls! I love my family and good friends who came to support us today. It was a beautiful one!

So, my pictures didn't turn out that well, because my camera was on the wrong setting. I am going to take more pictures (hopefully tomorrow) to send out to people. It was hard to get good pictures, too, when I had a few little girls standing around trying to do bunny ears and get in the frame.



So, Mack has a new girlfriend, Mia. According to what Mack had me record in his journal, Mia and he are getting married in the temple. Mack will steal Chad's church clothes in order to do so. He is excited that they will finally be able to sit in the front seat of the car. After a while, he will go to work everyday and Mia will have a baby in her tummy. When the baby is born, Santa Claus will be there, so they can finally meet him at their house. Santa will bring their baby all kinds of fun toys and Mack will play set up the toys and play with the baby. This picture was during a play date. They were drawing pictures on the fridge. Don't worry... I encouraged it! I love, love, love crayola washable markers! They come off with a baby wipe!


MackMan! Na na na na na na na na Na na na na na na na na. MackMan!
This is how he dresses most days when leaving the house, minus the mask and "bat ears." The cape and matching Thomas boots are a must! We were trying to get an action shot in this photo.

So, Mack is a very good big brother. He is having a difficult time with sharing attention right now, though. I feel so bad for him. He does stuff a lot to get attention, but the wrong kind. I can't just ignore his behavior and still need to put him in time out. However, I think I need to try to give him more attention, somehow, while I am taking care of the babies. When I do set time aside for him, he doesn't want it, or does things that land him in time out. Also, he's been overly teased a bit by an older cousin. He frequently talks about how much it bothers him. I think between the babies and being teased so much, he is beginning to feel unwanted, or something. What do I do? Suggestions are very welcome in the comments...

Otherwise, life is good *sigh*