Ellie likes to play with her pop bowl

6 months and counting!

Everyone used to say "they grow up so fast".  I never understood the meaning of that until having children of my own.  We are coming up on 6 1/2 months and I find myself thinking to myself, "they are growing so fast!".  I want it to slow down. 
Their 6 month check-up revealed that their heads are in the 90-95th percentile!  And Ellie's height is in the 90th percentile, while Grey's is in the 75th percentile.  Their weights are a bit lower, 50th for Elle's and 25th for Grey. So they are long and lean, with giant heads.  The doctor said that head size is genetic so if one of the parents has a large hat size....um....I'm just saying...Dad has a pretty big head. :)

This is such a fun age.  Ellie and Grey are eating their solids and initially we thought Grey was going to just eat everything in front of him.  However, surprisingly, Ellie has been the bigger chow-hound!  They are eating their purees great.  So far, they both love their fruits and veggies, although I think Ellie doesn't quite care for bananas.  We haven't tried any meats yet, so that will be next.

We are working on sitting unassisted.  Grey-Grey does pretty well, but still topples over.  Ellie requires a bit more support.  We are actually thinking Grey-Grey is going to learn to crawl soon.  He can get his knees up under him but hasn't yet figured out what to do with his arms.  Ellie seems content to play on her back or stomach.  We figure that once she sees Grey make a move, she'll learn pretty quick after that.

I started back to work for the first time after a 9 month hiatus.  I had to dust off the cobwebs in my head.  It was good to be back, but it was so hard to leave the twins.  Coming home and seeing their faces light up was the best welcome.  Their faces show pure joy and innocence and I am reminded of how much my viewpoint and priorities have changed since having them.  I am proudest and happiest just being their mom. 

Yay for #3 Fast Flow Nipples!!!

What an amazing day!  We changed out the nipples to the #3 nipples and feedings just went from challenging to downright pleasant!  What used to take up to 45 minutes of fighting and struggling just became 10-15 minutes (or less!) of pleasant feeding!!!  Where were you all my life, #3 fast flow nipple???

The twins are happier now.  I think they were fussy eaters because they were frustrated with the slower flow nipples.  So the question now is - what am I going to do with all my time now??!!!

I LOVE YOU #3 NIPPLE!!!

Good job Ellie and Grey!!

Love, Mom

New Tricks

Some new tricks that the twins are doing...Grey is blowing air into his bottle.  It's the opposite direction we want him to be doing while feeding but it's hard not to laugh.  He is so cute when he does it!  Ellie is sucking on her lower lip.  I guess it's like sucking her thumb and it must bring her comfort.  Both of them are working their core and enjoy doing V-sit position when they are in a recliner bouncy chair or nap nanny.

Best Friends

Mommy keeps telling us that we will be each other's best friends. 

Right now, it seems like Grey notices Ellie more than Ellie noticing Grey.  I wonder if that will be how it is when they get older.  Grey will reach out to her with his arm.  Sometimes Ellie will watch him and smile.  But they've never been apart, and I want them to know from an early age that they will always be there for each other.  They have a built-in playmate and a best friend.

New toys!

We have graduated to new toys!!  Time for the jumperoo and exersaucer.  We're still a little wobbly because we haven't learned to sit up yet, but these new toys are pretty fun and interesting!   We have to learn how to make it bounce with our legs.  Right now mommy and daddy do it for us.  It's pretty cool.

Ellie beat the Miracle Blanket

So I have been sleep-training Ellie for the past couple of weeks.  We are using the Ferber method loosely, and letting her cry it out for short amounts of time.  She was doing great, some nights better than others, but then she figured out how to flip over onto her stomach IN her swaddle!  Ay mamacita (as my nanny would say).  It scared me because Ellie would flip over and face-plant into the mattress without turning her head to the side.  So we decided it was time to wean her off her swaddle so that if she flipped over, her arms would be free to help her push up.  Well, as it turns out, Ellie loves her swaddle and wouldn't sleep without it.  She cried for 1 1/2 hours when I removed her swaddle. :(  So now we are slowly trying to wean her off of it for her naps during the day by leaving one arm out.  At night, we are loosely swaddling her so that she can get her arms out.  But we're sleeping her back in her bouncy seat until she doesn't need her swaddle anymore to sleep.  Then back in the crib she goes.  This is a picture of how I found her one morning...pretty much the swaddle was just a fashion accessory.