Food, food, and more food

So now that the girls are 9 months old, our pediatrician recommended that I start focusing more on the 3 solid meals they've been eating a day and nurse only 4-5 times a day. Right now they have been nursing 5-6 times a day. She wants them to get the bulk of their nutrition from those 3 meals. They can now start eating just about anything, as long as I slowly introduce it to them and make sure of the obvious - that it is mashed up and puree'd, or chopped up for finger foods.

This stresses me out a little bit! I am so excited about now opening up the door to all sorts of new foods, but it has been such a carefree feeling to know that by simply nursing them, I was giving them all of the nutrients they needed! This, for one thing, just means my baby girls are growing up. For another, it means that I really need to think and plan out what I'm feeding them now at these meals.

So, for the past several days, I've slowly introduced them to eggs - which has been a big hit at times, not at others - as well as avocado and toast. The toast was classic. They loved it. We'll see how the rest of the foods go!

Madeline and her gigantic piece of toast

Savannah with her gigantic piece of toast!

And Bailey just waiting for another piece to come flying his way!!

Update: September 28

THEY ARE GIRLS AFTER MY OWN HEART!!
Today I let the girls eat peanut butter. Yes, peanut butter! I would have never done so had my doctor not told me it was ok, but after she talked to me about the latest studies, I decided not to fear the allergy of all allergies and just let them try it. The longer I am a parent, the longer the list of controversial subjects arise, whether it be vaccinations, sleep, or food. But peanut butter seems to be one of those controversial subjects: how soon do you introduce your children to peanut butter? So today, I just put a small dot on my fingers and let them taste it that way. Savannah immediately lit up!! Madeline did too but just kept smacking her tongue (her newest discovery as of late!). My plan is to keep letting them having tiny bits of it for the next 3 days and see how they do.

And an update on the breast feeding. I am continuing to nurse them 5-6 times a day. I do believe that until they are ready to drop back, I'm not going to drop a feeding just yet. They are eating a LOT at their three meals, so I am not afraid that it is interfering with them getting a good solid meal. And as long as I'm ok with it, and they're ok with it, we'll keep nursing the same way we have. It is a great goal to strive to really keep them nourished this way for their first full year.

Daddy's Birthday

So this year was Chris' very first year to celebrate a birthday as a father. The girls did everything they could to make a special day! They started with surprising him with his new Beatles Rock Band game for the Wii...drums, microphone, guitar and all. This was not only from the girls but from all of their daddy's extended family too!

Madeline bringing her daddy her card!



Madeline trying to eat her daddy's birthday card...

Savannah so excited to give her daddy her birthday card!!

Savannah saying Happy Birthday Daddy!

Playing the Beatles Rock Band Wii game!

Next the girls surprised him with a golf shirt....they knew that blue was a stunning color on their daddy, and they were right. One day soon they want to go out on the golf course with him and learn the game....but for now, they just wanted to be sure their daddy looked good when he went out to play without them!

Daddy lookin' good in his new blue golf shirt!

Finally, Uncle Jon came to visit for the weekend, and the girls surprised Daddy with a bunch of his former youth from Greeneville as well! Allyson, Cassia, Christopher and Rochelle all showed up at our church in Cartersville to surprise him on his birthday! Afterwards, they all came over as well as their Aunt Robin who drove down from Greeneville that day. We celebrated with birthday cake and ice cream....all while the girls snoozed away back in their room. Let's be honest here, planning their first birthday surprises for their daddy would wear anyone out! So, Happy Birthday Daddy! The girls sure do love you and are sure happy you are their daddy!!

The big birthday lunch with Allyson, Christopher, Jon, Robin, Rochelle, and Cassia


And there I am!! Glad I could make it to the party. :-)

After the big birthday celebration, the girls, my sister Robin, Chris' brother Jon took Chris to Atlanta for the Braves game. It rained the whole way down....in fact, it rained so hard the next two days that there was flooding in this region like there hadn't been in a very long time. However, we made it. The girls sat through their second Braves game and were little troopers. They are amazing travelers and adventurers. I know their daddy was happy they were there with him to enjoy his favorite team play!

After the rain delay, Chris and Jon scored some pretty sweet seats......








I would say all in all, Daddy had a great first "I'm a father" birthday!!!

The Talking Twins

I love how my girls talk to each other. As I write this, I am watching them sitting in each of their activity jumpers just watching each other and "talking" away. They speak their own language...I had always heard this about twins, and it is so very, very true. Madeline says "uh! uh!" and Savannah just smiles at her when she says it and then just screams back and claps! Then Savannah says "eeaah!" and Madeline smiles back at her! It is the most precious thing to watch. They truly love each other and are so happy together. I hope and pray their sisterly love only grows with each passing day, each passing year! There is nothing like sisters...and these girls get to start that bond at the earliest, earliest days.

Happy 9 Month B-Day!

My little angels turned 9 months old today. Nine months old. Each day brings new discoveries, new adventures, and so many new laughs. With each passing day, our girls personalities become more pronounced and intense! They "talk" to everyone, and make they funniest facial expressions! They love to laugh. They simply LOVE to laugh! Not a day goes by that the girls don't giggle and smile at not only me, but a stranger passing by. Well, to be truthful, they haven't met a stranger yet. They will go into the arms of anyone that wants to hold them and will intently study their faces and then do the inevitable: grab their face. They have to explore and feel everything now! They are just such happy girls - unless they are tired or hungry. Then it's game over. But if those basic needs are met, they are just SUCH happy girls!!

They're sitting up completely on their own now - they can go from a tummy down position to sitting up now and vice versa. They are still just not that into crawling yet. It just doesn't seem to interest them, although Madeline has been the closest to crawling. In fact, I can safely say she is crawling, she just scoots along and then rolls over or sits up. When she goes down in her crib to sleep, she'll move around on all fours before going to sleep. Savannah will scoot forward if she's feeling up to it, but again, she's just not a huge fan of it. For now, they just love playing with their toys together and getting into "paci wars". They steal each other's paci's right out of their mouths. It is sooo funny. I just LOVE these girls.

They love to clap and they love to play with each other! I can now leave them sitting up in one of their cribs for a long time and listen to them just coo at each other. They light up when the other is placed in front of the first. Bath time has become a riot. They absolutely love playing with each other - they suck on their washcloths and fight over toys, it is hysterical. I love bath time! Finally!




Madeline has two bottom teeth, Savannah has one. It is so cute now when they smile and I see those precious tiny teeth shining!

Savannah loves the piano! She pounds and just laughs at the sounds she makes! She just might be our little piano player one day!


Both of the girls are saying "Da Da" consistently. The other day I listened to them scream "Da Da" in the car for several minutes just after Chris climbed into the back seat and sat in the middle of them. He beams from ear to ear. It is just too precious.

I'm just waiting patiently for "Ma Ma"....any day now would be nice.

They had their first real finger foods earlier this week. They tried organic puffs and love playing with them. Savannah still isn't sure about the taste - she makes such an awful expression! But it gives them something to play with off of their high chair tray!

This newfound finger foods has now brought about a newfound love from their doggy, Bailey. He finally knows what the girls can do for him: drop him treats!! These girls LOVE Bailey. They adore him. They laugh hysterically when they spot him, and now he runs to them when they get in their high chairs. He knows.


We find out Monday more about their growth when they go to their 9 month appointment, so I will post more then. Until then, Happy 9 Month Birthday, my sweet baby girls! I love you more than I could ever, ever have imagined.

Tiny Travel Bugs

Our girls are such the little travel bugs. Early this week I had to make a very quick trip to Nashville for business and yes, I brought my babies with me. Nursing makes it very difficult to go out of town without having the babies with me and my very supportive husband came along with me to watch them while I attended the meetings. Besides, I'm really not sure I could handle being away from them for two nights anyway. With everything packed into two short days, I barely had enough time to catch my breath, but it was an extremely productive trip. I must say making the transition from being a full-time around the clock Mommy for the past 9 months to getting back into professional mode was a little difficult at first, but I finally felt like I picked right back up where I left off.

Thankfully, one of my very dearest friends Courtney attended the same meetings I was attending, and we were able to catch up and watch our little ones meet for the very first time. I cannot begin to put to words the emotions I felt seeing our three babies together...Courtney has had a long journey leading her to her sweet Jake, and seeing her with her special gift from God was breathtaking. Her handsome baby boy is only two weeks younger than our girls, but so much bigger than both of my tiny girls! It was too fun watching them play together! We caught a few moments on camera.

Swappin' paci's while hangin' in Jake's crib

The girls loving their new friend!

Jake's Mom and Dad, Courtney and Jason

Oh if it were only that easy to take such sweet pics....here are the outtakes!

Not only did the girls have a great time with Jake, but they made another friend with their mommy's good buddy Daniel, another dear friend of mine who is about as close to a brother as anyone could be. So being in town was finally his long awaited chance to meet our girls. Here's how the evening went:

6:30 PM - Dinner with Daniel at Courtney and Jason's so the girls could get a bath (our hotel room had no bathtub).
7:00 PM - Bath time with Jake!
7:10 PM - Madeline leaves a present in the bathtub. Embarrassing moment #1 for Mommy.
7:20 PM - Mommy scrubs the bathtub with Clorox Cleaner w/ Bleach.
7:25 PM - Daniel, holding Savannah, comes running into the bathroom with a complete look of utter shock on his face and quickly places Savannah in the empty tub.
7:26 PM - Mommy looks down at Savannah making sure she's ok, then up at Daniel and see's sweet potato spit-up all over Daniel's nice clothes. Embarrassing moment #2 for Mommy.
7:27 PM - Mommy scrubs Daniel's clothes with Shout laundry stain remover.
7:45 PM - Mommy comes to the realization that we are in a different time zone and my wild babies are waaay past their bedtime. In the midst of chaos thanks to my two precious girls, we leave Courtney's house, all the while she's holding a quiet, chilled baby boy who's ready for bed after the wild night he's had with his new twin friends.

So that was our free time while in Nashville, and the way our girls truly painted the big town red! Such the funny little travel bugs!!

Savannah trying her first finger food - some of Jake's Organic Puffs

She just wasn't that sure about it!



The girls hangin' with Daniel

They were pretty smitten by him!

And he was fascinated at their baby abilities! "Look at me Uncle Daniel! I can put my toe in my mouth!"



Oh dear. And all I can say is that after I took the picture, he asked "Do the spots show up in the picture?"


And this is how we left Courtney's house. I'm not sure if we'll ever be invited back....

Twin Comments

One thing I truly find intriguing about taking my girls out is the many, many different comments we get from onlookers. The most common is, of course, "are they twins?" Then, I get the occassional "are they identical?", and of course "boys or girls?" not that the pink outfits aren't dead giveaways. I also commonly get "do twins run in your family?" they do now....and then there's the "boy you sure do have your hands full!" as if I didn't know. One of the worst that is commonly said is "better you than me!" as if I have been handed a bad card for having my baby girls. Or, a particular favorite is "do they have different personalities?" "which one is the good one and which one is the bad one?" Really? However, the best comment is "did you know you were having/did you plan on having twins?".......um.......

One observation I have had is in the comments made based on the way I dress my girls. The day I found out I was having twins, I immediately said "I will not dress them alike!" We went shopping right after, and my sister and sister-in-law bought a couple of outfits for the girls that coordinated, but did not match. That was my game plan from the get-go. Up until the day I had them, and brought them home from the hospital. I suddenly wanted to dress them alike. It was just a strange, unexplainable intuition that came over me. I attribute it to the fact that in the midst of all the double duty I was trying to sort out in my mind, it was just easier to only think once about what outfit to dress them in. If one was cold, I knew the other would be cold. If one was too warm, I knew the other would be too warm. It is so much easier to grab two of the same outfits out of the drawer when you're in a hurry, than grab one and look for another that will be equally appropriate for the day or occasion.

My reason for blogging about this comes from my recent observations. When I dress the girls alike, I get "Oh, so do you always dress them alike?" or "Oh they will hate being dressed alike one day." or "So, is there an unspoken rule that all twins must dress alike?" I usually just smile and go about my business.

But, when I dress the girls different, I get the exact opposite. "So, do you always dress them different?" Can't win. Then, I get this comment almost every single time. "So is it a girl and a boy?" It doesn't matter if they are both in flowery pink pastel colors, it's always "Oh! You have a boy and a girl!" I'm sorry?

I've decided it is imperative to take each comment with a grain of salt and just smile. After all, that's the only way to survive the craziness that is being a mother of multiples anyway, right? This is just one more thing to add to that list of craziness and just smile and go on about my business. :-)

Teething

These sweet little girls have finally gotten some teefers in....I mean teeth. Pardon my language, mommyhood is in full swing! We were clued in to the teeth when the girls went from sleeping 8 - 12 hour to sometimes even 13 hour stretches at night to waking up 4 times in the night. The persistent cries were helped with the aid of cold, wet washcloths and teething tablets. I would run a washcloth under the cold water and the girls would immediately stop crying as soon as I put it on their little gums. They would just chew and suck away at the cold cloth. Another trick I used was running their pacifier under cold water then putting it in their mouth. That worked too.

When I say all of that, it sure makes it sound like this has been an easy ordeal. Um...no. I haven't had sleep in over a week, and I leave Sunday for a business trip. Yikes. But the beauty is coming in the pearly white, sweet little tiny baby teeth that have appeared on their gums!

I did my best to take a pic.....Madeline's was taken with a camera phone, Savannah's with our camera. But here's the best I was able to get. You'll have to look close...and maybe you'll see them. And yes, I know, this is only the beginning....

Savannah's bottom tooth.

Madeline...ok I see now that I'm really going to have to work on getting a better pic of Madeline's teeth...I promise they're there! She has 2...will work on that pic later!

Myrtle Beach

Well, it was all fun and games...until the water came in! Bless their sweet little hearts....