Make a Smilebox slideshow

79 days until the girls first birthday. I know that seems way down the road but time flies when you are having fun. Seriously, weeks fly by when you are so darn busy. So we have started to plan for the big day. Josh and I decided not to celebrate their birthday per say. Instead, we are having an appreciation party for the family, friends and support that have helped with their first year. We know that in the future we are going to get tired of princess parties and/or character themed parties. So, we are having a Texas Luau. I am so excited that my parents and all siblings will be flying in for the luau. It has been 10 years since we were all in one place. So, it is going to be amazing. I have a sister in Alaska, a brother and sister in Oregon and my parents live in Washington state. Don’t get me wrong the girls are going to have their first birthday cake but birthday is not going to be the focus, appreciation is. Or should we call it, “Thank God we survived!”?

OK onto current info. Sandra got in her second bottom tooth not long after the first one. She now can stand (holding onto furniture) for about 30 seconds. She is so strong! One big achievement for her lately is that she has decided that she likes to cuddle. I used to say that if she were a singleton I would feel deprived of cuddle time. She is so active it was like holding (corralling) a wolverine. She now just loves to be held and cuddled. Sandra has also graduated from Occupational Therapy. However, Makaila was added to development and occupational therapy. She is so attached to her thumb that she is getting behind. She constantly has her thumb in her mouth. That is not an exaggeration either. She is so content with laying around and sucking her thumb that she doesn’t explore. I tried putting a pacifier in her month and she just stuck her thumb through it. So she was sucking her pacifier and her thumb. I’d appreciate any ideas or info!

Samantha is so close to crawling! She gets up on her knees and arms, lifts her head and moves her feet forward. She just needs to move her arms and she will be crawling. She gets frustrated and ends up rolling over. But she continues to try.

We added a third meal. They get three meals and a bedtime bottle now. Breakfast is cereal and a fruit, lunch is more fruit with/without a diary and dinner is a meat and veggies. They have decided to accept chicken. They are starting to understand puffs, and Samantha is doing the best with that.

Other than that, Josh and I have been bowling almost every day. I bolwed a 278 the other day. Alright, it was on the wii but I think it's still impressive. We took the girls to the mall on Saturday, since I had some shopping to do. I don't think I will ever get used to the public attention. At least this time there were no rude comments, they were all pleasant. However, one lady wanted to take their piture and Josh told her not to. It is just exhausting answering all the questions and comments after already being tired from loading them up and all that goes with it. But as always the girls did awesome.

3 down 205 to go

Sandra got one of her teeth today! Yeah! The poor girl has been fighting getting it through. With 20 "baby" teeth and 32 adult teeth we will be getting 208 teeth. So three down and 205 to go.

Miss Sandra Please Stand Up, Please Stand Up

Sandra is so strong! I know that is not a news flash considering where she started and where she is now even with hurdles. No obstacle is too large for her. She has been able to stand with our assistance for a while. But she can now stand on her own. Granted it is only for a few seconds. But she should not be able to do this. But do not tell her she can't do it because she will prove you wrong!

Props to Samantha and Sandra

Friday the girls celebrated their ¾ birthday. Yes, they turned 9 months old. Boy, is time flying by. They had a great visit at the pediatricians. They all got good reports. The new weights/heights are:
Makaila – 17# 2 oz, 25 ½ in.
Hannah – 17# 6 oz, 25 ½ in.
Samantha – 18#, 26 ½ in.
Sandra – 14# 8 oz, 24 ½ in.

Makaila and Hannah are in the 25th percentile. Samantha in the 50th % and Sandra is just touching the charts. These %’s are with their actual age not their corrected age (6 ½ months old). So, what that means is that they are doing awesome. Size wise they have caught up. We are so proud of them. They got the go ahead for dairy and meats. They love yogurt and hate chicken. And for their birthday, they got to enjoy a little vanilla ice cream. So I am going to be trying different recipes. Yesterday, I boiled and cubed 12 pounds of chicken. Chicken is the main meat that we eat here. So I freeze one pound bags of chicken for later meals. It makes life so much easier. I also chopped up a few onions and put them in baggies. Whatever makes life easier!

A huge accomplishment this week is that Samantha and Sandrahave held her bottle for entire feedings. So now they are without prop. Props to them! Ha ha The other two can hold their bottles and will put back into their own mouths if they fall out but prefer the prop to do most of the work. We’ve tried sippy cups several times. But they do great holding them but just chew on the nipple. So we will continue to work with them. Sandra and Samantha are all over the place. It is amazing! Poor Maxine gets a lot of hair pulling and tail tugging. She is so patient with them though! We also no longer put them in their swings. Does any one need four swings? They take up so much room but well worth it while it lasted!

We actually have a quiet week ahead of us. So who knows what will actually happen! We got some rain last night and hope to get more this week. We are still on water rations, our lawn looks pathetic.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The girls are doing well. They are eating good and growing lots (or is it eating lots and growing good?) We have tried baby biscuits with them. They really enjoyed them. I was surprised to see that they knew what to do with them. A couple weeks ago we gave them baby puffs and they didn’t completely get the idea. I just think they were too small of a piece of food. The only thing about the baby biscuits is that Maxine thinks they are dog biscuits and thinks the girls are eating her treats. It is quite funny.

Samantha and Sandra are really getting around. They roll, scoot and do whatever it takes to go places. I am constantly rescuing them from places. Sandra gets caught under the recliner and Samantha is constantly under a baby swing. It is a good thing that Josh put down the rest of the foam mats because Samantha scooted into the hallway. Makaila and Hannah are content with where we put them. They are all interacting so much with each other. They talk to each other, hold hands, roll over each other, get feet and legs tangled up, steal toys and pacifiers and just have a great time together.

We had the baby proofer proof our house. He did the appropriate gates, door latches, security doors, electrical outlets and cabinet latches. So we are as ready as we can be for when the girls are very mobile. I think having the girls downstairs except to sleep has worked out for the best.

We took the girls to Target last week. It went well until we were mobbed by the workers and we had to make a quick escape to another part of the store. Can’t we just do our shopping and not answer a ton of questions? The girls did amazing though. I am trying to get out a couple times a week while we can, since it is not flu season. It has been extremely hot here these days so we go out early after their morning bottle and are back before their lunch.

As for an update on me, I start my bladder shock treatments tomorrow. I have found a different Urologist and hope I get better care at the new office. However they can’t see me until August 5th. My symptoms are no different with my bladder. I still have numb tingly arms and legs and blurred vision (so please excuse the errors). Each day right now I am thankful I survived until Josh gets home from work, as he went back to work this week. Josh and I are counting the days until G Ma comes back for a visit!

The girls have their 9 month birthday on Friday. Can you believe it? They are getting so big and grown up! They will be celebrating at the pediatricians. They will not be getting shots this time but will be getting complete blood work ups to make show (sure) they are doing good.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Randon Tidbits

On Friday, we took the girls to see Dr. Palmer (the best Maternal Fetal doctor ever) for my post op check. The office was excited to see the girls and we all were excited to see them. This time, I did bring my camera but they were so busy I didn't want to interrupt their office more than we already did. Today, we took the girls grocery shopping with us for the first time. It is more work with loading them and the stroller but I wanted them to get out of the house and I need the experience of dealing with the public. The girls did great, I am so proud of them.

We had a quiet 4th of July! We watched the local fireworks from our driveway with a few neighbors. The girls slept through it all! Maxine hates fireworks so we had to calm her down after. The girls wore their holiday outfits to Dr. Palmers and they messed up their dresses before I got pics. So, you will just have to believe me when I say they were stinking cute in their red, white and blue dresses!

Some new things the girls are doing: Samantha and Makaila reach up to be picked up. It is so darn cute! It is going to get hard when they all are doing it and want to be picked up at the same time. But right now it is adorable. Samantha started kissing! She smacks her lips like a kiss and imitates me when I blow her kisses. I am trying to teach her now to kiss on the cheek. She absolutely loves to be smothered with kisses on the her face. She just giggles and giggles. She is starting to really get around on the floor. She gets up on her knees and pushes her head forward. She will probably be crawling soon. She rolls around the floor the most. Hannah loves to have blankets over her face and cuddle. I do not let her go to bed with a blanket so she has learned to pull her crib bumper and pull that over her face. She is so darn silly. Sandra has been blowing raspberries all day! She does it when she is tired, happy, hungry, playing, fussy, watching tv, mad, or for no reason at all. The girls have always noticed Maxine (the dog). But now they reach out to touch her and play with her hair. Samantha even "walked" over in her Jenny Jump Up to pet her when she was eating! It is fun to watch the interactions.


Samantha is all over her crib now!

Sandra wakes up so happy and grinning from ear to ear every morning!


Makaila playing with her teddy bear in the morning!

Hannah playing Peek-a-Boo with her crib bumper!

Sandra loves to have her arm behind her head when she is not sucking her thumb!

Samantha showing off how she can hold a bottle on her own!

The girls first time grocery shopping! Thank you Aunt Debbie for the cute outfits!