Bath Time!!!

Both girls umbilical cords f.i.n.a.l.l.y fell off! I had had just about enough of sponge baths, and we were trying to wait until both cords fell off before we did real baths. Anne Perry's fell off a full week before Audrey Kate's! They are once again showing us how very different they are!

But their reaction to their first bath at home was very similar.  Both girls were very serious and neither cried. As you saw yesterday, Addie cried through her first bath until we put her paci in her mouth!

I handed Paul my camera with the correct settings on manual mode with my external flash attached. But I failed to explain to him how to use the focus point...in the middle (unlike how things focus on the little automatic green box)! There were a few shots focused more on the sink faucet or the tray behind the sink than the baby; but I think he did a pretty good job, don't you?!?

Each top picture is of Anne Perry and each bottom picture is of Audrey Kate.

Seriously...just chilling!

Our little helper managed to soak her entire shirt, her shorts, the counter and the floor as well as unplug the bathtub stopper at random times!

But I love how she looks at and interacts with her two babies!

Addie has truly been such a sweet big sister. It amazes me how she tells everyone about her two baby sisters, where they are and what they are doing!  In addition to pointing them out to everyone at church, she randomly asked her teacher if her babies were ok after I dropped her off at Sunday School. She must be constantly thinking about them, which I think is just precious! She's learned how to give them their pacis and hold them in until the girls take them (although she periodically gets impatient and puts it in her mouth). And yesterday, I looked back and she was holding Audrey Kate's hand/arm while we were in the car...all of her own choosing!

Her behavior is night and day different than it was last week, and we are SO thankful! Obviously she is still a classic two year old, but God has truly blessed us with such a smooth transition! He just continues to meet all of our needs, from food to help to Addie's immediate love of her baby sisters!

Happy 1 Month Little Girls!

Part of me cannot believe these little girls have been ours for an entire month, and the other part of me feels like they've been with us forever! Time seems to both fly and creep by!

These little girls have been such a tremendous blessing to us! The pure exhaustion from such pieced together sleep is overshadowed by the sheer joy they bring to our home! I'm not going to sugarcoat it: caring for 3 girls under 3, 2 of which cannot hold their heads up and require feedings every 3 hours, and 1 of which is too independent for her own good is not easy! It's especially challenging when all 3 of them need to be held, fed, or changed at exactly the same moment. It happens! I can manage to accomplish things using only one hand; but when you have to hold two babies or a big girl and a baby, there's not much you can do except sit!

(we will not look at the camera! no way!)

But everyone gets fed. The clothes are washed whether they get put away immediately or not. Everyone is clothed, even if its pjs until after lunch. Naps are taken and life moves on!

(this was a miracle shot! Addie walked up and I just took as many as I could. Then the rest of the time she was bouncing on the sofa, crawling on the chair, and yelling DON'T take my PIcTURE Mommy alternated by TAKE my picture Mommy! seriously...)

Addie adores her two baby sisters and has proven to us what a wonderful big sister she is and will be...and yet she's still so tiny herself! She immediately goes to them when they cry. She loves to give them pacies (and take them for herself too). She loves to plant sweet kisses and rub on their heads (and she's managed to pop each of them on the head once or twice). But her concern and care for them outshines all most tantrums!

I'll be completely honest. I never imagined these girls could be so different. Sure, they are just siblings. They just happened to be in the womb and born at the same time. But seriously, could they be proving to us that they are any more different?

Anne Perry, our Baby A, started out bigger than her younger sister; but she is definitely the tiny one now.
 
She is a:

• finger grasping
• quiet observer  
• sweet cuddler
• breath holding crier 
• dribble spitter
• bouncy seat sitter 
• gentle eater
• laughing sleeper
• swaddle craver and escaper 
• usually first to wake up to eat and
• long and lean tooting queen!

Anne Perry still has beautiful dark hair, gentle round eyes, the tiniest nose, and sweet defined lips.

Audrey Kate, our Baby B, has grown much faster than her older sister. Even without weighing her, it's obvious that she weighs more than her twin now! She looks more like a baby than an infant!

She is a:

• sweet snuggler
• noisy grinning sleeper
• swing swinger
• funny face maker
• perfect pouter 
• intense feeler
• tiny squeaker
• vigorous eater
• long range spitter
• excellent sleeper...when asleep
• chubby burping baby girl!

Audrey Kate still has much lighter brown hair, deep set now very blue eyes, a cute pudgy nose, and soft lips.

Both girls are:

• gas enduring
• reflux experiencing
• diaper exploding
• hiccup hating
• head moving/lifting 
• loving to be held
• newborn size (clothes and diapers) wearing (still)!

I never could have imagined that I could love anything as much as I love Addie; but these little girls have captured our hearts, and we love them just as much! I remember asking my mom growing up who she loved more, me or my brother. Her response was always the same: she loved us both equally but just differently. I never understood it until now! I love each of our girls for who they are and who they will become, each of them precious individuals!

Happy 1 Month Little Girls!

See y'all people later!

Flashback Friday: Addie's First Bath

Splash Pad

A few mom's from our Kindermusik class have been getting together on and off throughout the past year. We've decided to continue this throughout the summers on Mondays. Last week, we went to the splash pad near the amphitheater/train station downtown.

I wasn't sure if we'd make it, given the amount of time I knew it would take us to get there and coordinate the little girl's feeding schedule...but we did it! It was our first uncontained outing (not the grocery store!)! That meant juggling all 3 girls in an uncontrolled environment. But thankfully, I knew the other mom's would help me!

We managed to pack a picnic lunch for Addie and me!

Addie had to take it all in before she ventured out. Her little friend Maddie is to the left.

And she started slow...

...and had so much fun running away from the water!

Once her friends (that's Allie Beth in the pink) got a little braver, so did she!

Hudson (in the orange), Addie, and Camilla.

Addie and Thomas are sweet buddies. I think they talk about each other when they aren't together more than they interact when we are together. But Thomas raced up to the stroller to see Addie and greeted us when we got there! It was precious! Here she clearly thinks he's the funniest thing ever! :)

He was much braver than Addie...then again, he's 3!

But she accidentally ended up in the water here and loved it!

The little girls slept the whole time in the shade in their stroller.

(Audrey Kate and Anne Perry)

Ya think she had a good time?

I think we will definitely be revisiting the splash pad on some hot summer days...when Mommy has enough energy to do it again! :)

Wordless Wednesday

Ellie's Party

My best friend, Diane's (aka DiDi), little girl turned 6 last week. SIX!

I vividly remember when Ellie was born. I more vividly remember the unending weeks of colic her parents endured. I even more vividly remember the 2+ years she added onto OUR birth control! 

She is now a precious, expressive, prissy, girly, albeit still quite dramatic, loving BIG girl; and we love her! 

Addie was so excited to be invited to Ellie's big girl make-up birthday party!

(Ellie and friends)

Addie was quite observant and shy at first, literally stepping all over my toes in order to stay close enough to me!.

Check out this beautiful table! DiDi did such an amazing job with the decorations and food!

Addie made sure to keep the party going!

I love Ellie's expression here!

Check out that chin. She had certainly NOT been eating M & Ms and consuming more chocolate in a 30 minute period than she has in her entire life!

After cake and opening presents, it was make-up time!

Addie could have cared less about the make-up and way more about the chocolate!

Beautiful!

This is one of Ellie's friends.  I just loved this shot!

Addie could have cared less until she saw something she knew about...painting fingernails! I love the story telling in this set! I wish I would have moved the box in front of Ellie's hands, but you can pretty much see through it to see she's having her fingernails painted.

That interest lasted all of 2.5 seconds, and she was off to play with the ball! Loving how she's cutting those eyes!

Our precious, expressive, prissy, girly, albeit quite dramatic, loving little girl! Hmmm...see a few similarities (minus the colic!)?

Happy Birthday Ellie!