We are 6 Months Old!

Half a year. It's crazy to say it. The girls have been here half a year and home with us for 4 months.  Each day they show us how truly amazing they are. Seriously though? I have 6 month olds?

 We are starting to love REAL food! We have tried several different types of food and so far we are pretty impressed. Bring it on mom. We are hungry.

 Dad likes to spend his weekends with the Cowboys crowd. We like to show our support & tend to rock some cowboys slippers ever now and then!

 We are such happy babies. We treat our parents well.

Nothing is better than mom naps.

On the weekends we LOVE to play!

So mom bought us this ball. It is awesome. But she only bought one & that SUCKS, so here is our first bout of sibling rivalry. Good thing mom wised up and bought another ball.

No doubt that mom wants us to go to OWU. She's already started to save her pennies.

We are 6 months old & actually fitting into 6 month jammies!!

We love to play with our BFF Grace. She's so sweet. Here we are out for breakfast at Homegrown.

We love to go for walks. It only took a few minutes for Amelia to pass out.

A huge perk of the south is the fact that we can wear our summer clothes a lot longer than most! Check out our adorable rompers!

Auntie Rachel sent us the cutest leg warmers EVER.

Happy Birthday DAD!

Maddie loves to chomp. Bounce? Not so much.

Tomahawkin'!

Warm Clothes? Lame.

 Warm Clothes? Awesome.

Dad & his babes on his birthday.

Visiting the doctor!

Oh you aren't paying attention? Cool, I'll steal your ball.

5 Months Old

The babes at 5 months old.

Chatterbox

While Maddie has been chatting for awhile, Amelia would just sit back, relax, & take in the scenery.  This week however, she's been super chatty. Whether she is talking to us or just to the ceiling fan, she's having a good time.

The girls are also rolling all over the place now. I practically had to pull Amelia out from under the couch the other day! So it begins!!

We also started using their exercise jumper thing - that's the correct term right? At first they were a little unsure about it, but now it seems like they are really enjoying it!

And of course my favorite photo of the week. Amelia photobombing a cute pic of Maddie in the bumbo.

Along with lots of chatting, Amelia has become so much more social lately. It's so exciting to see her blossoming.

We got a package from England! Thank you so much Pat & Al for the awesome Olympic gear! They fit the girls perfectly & we have some shorts that match perfectly. The girls looked completely adorable.

The girls are starting to take notice of one another.

First pair of jeans!

Midday snuggles

This week was extra special! We got a new cousin named Alexander! We are so excited for Aunt Lisa & Uncle Josh. We are hoping to go visit all of them in England next year!

The girls graduated to medium flow nipples this week! Goodbye slow flow!

What southern belle's ensemble isn't complete without an obnoxiously large bow?

Dave ran in the Adams Realty 5k this morning. The girls & I took a jog while Dad was running. I knew there was so way I was ready for that course's hills!

Hope everyone has a great week!

This is how we roll...

And we have rollers!

Maddie figured out the back to front roll last weekend. She'd been rocking the side lay for awhile now & it was just a matter of time. She is still working on the front to back roll.

Amelia figured out the front the back roll earlier today. It was more like a graceful fall at the time, but since then she has been rolling back and forth! The girl is a champ!!

We are loving watching the girls reach new milestones!  We are supposed to go by their due date & not their birthdate for these things, but it seems like they are somewhat in the middle. Some are spot on with their due date & others they are achieving sooner. I'm hoping that this keeps up & that the girls won't need any special intervention in the future.

UPDATE: Both girls are rolling both ways...ahh time to baby proof the loft!!

Family

These past two months have been so amazing. All of our family either resides in the north or across the pond, so only a handful of them have met the babes.  However, both sides of our family have been able to finally come down and meet the babes face to face - no isolettes in between them!

Last time our mothers were here they weren't allowed to hold them (only Dave & I were). So we couldn't wait till they came to visit again!

My parents previously lived in Atlanta, so they really lucked out when a friend was able to offer them their house while they were at their cabin in Canada.

 

The next crew to come was my sister, aunt, & cousin! Lots of estrogen flowing & ooo-ing and ahh-ing ensued.

This weekend Dave's mom & brother are in town and the babes have had a blast! Not to mention Amelia is completely in love with Dave's brother Wesley.

We are so thankful for everyone that was able to visit us!

Adventures with Rice Cereal

When we got the okay from our doctor to try rice cereal, I had mixed emotions, but then I realized that my babes were ready for this next step.  So I cruised down to hipster kroger, bought some cereal, totally unnecessary kids bowls, & a few more spoons to add to our already large arsenal of baby gear. I'm well aware that there isn't much nutritional value in rice cereal, but i'm excited for the girls to learn how to eat with a spoon & to get some extra calories in during the day. I had dreams of baby led weaning, but with all our feeding issues & prematurity, I'm worried that the girls might not do so well with it. I haven't ruled it out just yet - but I wanted them to give this a go. Being a preemie mom you are constantly worried about weight & if the babes are getting enough food, so for now, for us, this works.

Our first attempt was quite hilarious & absolutely adorable. I expected the food to go everywhere {which it did} but both girls actually did really well. Maddie was pretty messy, but Amelia was a hungry little gal & was all about it!

not a huge fan of the bumbo

4 Month Doctor's Visit

Our 4 month check up went really well! Maddie was almost 11 lbs & Amelia almost 12 lbs! The doctor was impressed with their gain, so we no longer have to fortify breastmilk or use preemie formula. This in itself was a huge relief.  The constant fear of a preemie mom is that their babes aren't getting enough food or gaining right. We are happy to announce that the girls even made it into the 1st & 2nd percentile on the WHO charts - beasts right?!?!

They are also right on track with their milestones. We go by adjusted age in this department so they are similar to 2 to 3 month olds.  They lift their head when they are doing tummy time. Lots of smiles & coos. They have found their hands and are starting to reach towards toys and constantly are hands to mouth. We introduced toys this month & they are madly in love with their "woobies" (blankets/stuffed animal in one!) We are very happy that they are demonstrating growth both mentally & physically consistent with other babies their adjusted age!

We also got the ok to start rice cereal & in the next few months to expand their palates with more solid food.

The girls were champs during their shots & had their first little fevers that night.  Luckily they weren't too fussy. Just really tired.

All in all it went really well! Not worth all the worrying I was doing before, but then again, that's what mom's do right?