Summer is here!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Father's Day!

Jack and Maddy's new room--daddy painted a tree for them!

At the park near our new house--first time on swings

Two baby swings side by side-perfect for us!

8 months old!

It has already been a month since my last post.  We have been busy packing, moving, unpacking and Jack and Maddy have been keeping their mom and dad on their toes!  Jack is SO close to crawling.  He likes to spend most of his time on all fours, wiggles back and forth and sometimes scoots forward.   He rolls all over the floor, reaches for whatever he wants to grab and is so interested in exploring things.  Maddy is getting stronger as well, though she has mostly been impressing us with her verbal skills.  She has several sounds...ta ta ta, g g g, and something that sounds like "uh uh."  Uh oh.  They are still great eaters and their diet has been expanded to include cantaloupe, blueberries, broccoli, and black beans.  They are adventurous little eaters.  They are also learning how to drink water from their sippy cups.

We can't believe they are 8 months old already, where has the time gone?  They are no longer infants but are intelligent, entertaining, adorable little babies.  They are both so sweet, and so entertained by one another.  they love their dog Chloe and stick out their hands for her to come lick them after they are done with their meal.  They sit up strongly--much less tipping over.  Their giggles are the best sound I've ever heard.

I will post some 8 month pictures soon! 

A day in the life of Jack and Maddy...

Playing and sitting together!

 Serenading us.

 Little feet.

 It has been a long day...

 Playing on Mom and Dad's bed.

 Entertaining each other.

 Beautiful Maddy.

 Chubby, perfect baby legs.

 Sitting!

 Rolling around the living room floor, rolled himself up in the blanket.

7 months

Jack and Maddy are seven months old today.  Where is the time going?!  I was going through some of their clothes yesterday and came across the preemie onsies and pajamas they wore in the NICU.  I had already forgotten how small they once were, I can't believe how much has changed in only 7 months.  I will always miss those early days, but every new day they show us something new, some new piece of their personality.  They are rolling all over the place, front to back, back to front, along the living room floor.  The time has come when we cannot let them out of our sight for even a second.  They laugh and smile at each other and reach for each other, and of course reach for whatever toy the other baby has :-)  Madelynn is our little alarm clock, she wakes up at 6 am every morning and talks or sings to herself.  Meanwhile, Jack just keeps snoozing.  They are sitting, for brief periods of time, on their own.  They seem to love that little bit of independence. They are eating three meals a day now and boy do they love their food!  Their favorites are sweet potatoes, peas and bananas.  They love to watch Chloe run around and they reach out their hands for her to come lick them.

Madelynn is up from her nap now, I will post some pictures soon.

Mother's Day

My first mother's day was wonderful!  Brad gave me TWO whole nights of continuous sleep (he got up each time they cried) AND he did the early morning feeding both Saturday and Sunday.  I feel so refreshed...my first 8 hours of continuous sleep since, well, maybe when I was 4 months pregnant :-)  We also went on a cruise on the Willamette river--the babies first boat ride.  They were great.

here is a poem my mother shared with me today:

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
before I was a mom.

The babies have been eating more foods--they love peas!  Madelynn's new talent is putting her toes in her mouth and sucking on them.  Jack continues to "talk" to us in high pitched squeals.  They had their first play date on Friday with 8 month old twin boys. I think it was more fun for me then them, but they are starting to play and interact with each other more every day.

6 month bday pictures

6 months old

Hard to believe Jack and Maddy are six months old!  They went to their six month check up this week and are both now 26.5 inches long and Jack is 17 pounds 9 ounces and Maddy is 16 pounds 9 ounces.  They are such a delight...Maddy has found her feet and is fascinated by them.  Jack is trying to roll all over the place and almost sitting by himself.  I spent last weekend making all kinds of baby food and so far they have had avocado (not such fans of that), sweet potatoes (love them!) and bananas (love them also!).  They are such good eaters.  They have started to interact with each other even more than before...if one of them has something the other wants they reach out and grab for it.  Jack has tried to grab Maddy's bow off of her head and they are fascinated with each others bibs (not interested in their own bibs, just each others).  They are still teething and drooling everywhere, but no teeth yet!  Below are some pictures form Easter and their 6 month Hawaiian themed celebration.