Just some random pictures...

Caroline & Daddy checking email

Girls taking a snooze in mommy & daddy's bed

Fussy Pants!

We took the girls to church last night for Ash Wednesday.... stressful!!!! I was a bit apprehensive about taking them because they have both been really fussy the last few days. I can't figure out if they are just gassy or if maybe their little toofers are starting to come in. Anyways, the 7pm mass was of course packed and there was only standing room in the back left by the time we got there and found parking. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as the first quiet part of the service came around, Olivia started up with the screaming and wouldn't stop. After attempts of pacifiers, holding and bouncing her, etc we decided to just get our ashes and leave before the service ended. I'm sure this won't be the last time something like that happens!

A few pictures before leaving the house for church, they hated the collar on their dresses and kept kicking their shoes off so we just left them bearfoot:

New Toy!

We decided that we didn't have enough baby stuff in our living area, so we bought the girls an ExerSaucer. It's the girly tea party edition in all pink of course! The girls are still a bit too small for it because their little feet don't quite reach the base, but we had to try it out!

Caroline

Olivia

Weekend in St. Louis

We made the drive to St. Louis on Friday afternoon to see Grandma & Grandpa Smith. The girls are having fun getting all the attention. A few pictures from Saturday...

Liv & Grandpa

Caroline & Grandpa

Liv & Daddy

Hey - you look like me!

Sweet Caroline!

Liv

Caroline laughing

Awwwwwee

Starting to look a lot alike!

We've got Rollers!

So yesterday the girls were having their daily torture session (aka - tummy time) and Caroline flipped herself over! I think I scared her since I was clapping and saying, "good girl, Caroline!". And then I flipped her back over to her tummy and she immediately rolled over again to the other side! Both my girls are rolling over! We'll keep practicing so one of these days I can try to catch it on video.

Yesterday we also had our first play date with three other sets of twins and their mommies. The kids had so much fun playing together, it was so cute. My girls were the youngest at 4 months, then there were a set of 6 months, 9 months and 11 months. Liv and Caroline mostly sat in their bouncy chairs and watched all the other "big kids" play with the toys and just took in all the commotion. It was soooo nice for me to chat with the other twin mommies since they have gone through everything I'm going through. I got lots of advice and suggestions and it was fun to compare pregnancy and birth stories. We'll have to make this a regular get-together.

I thought this was funny this morning - I had the girls on their play mat to get in some kicking time and everytime I went to check on them, Olivia had scooted the top half of her body off the mat so she'd be able to watch the TV! I would scoot her back on the mat and then sure enough a couple minutes later she would have her head hanging off staring at the TV again! Hilarious. She's always wanting to watch TV while I feed her too. Here's a couple pictures of it and a video of them kicking away on their mat.

Sunday at Grandma & Grandpa Krupa's

We dropped the girls off at Grandma & Grandpa's house yesterday so Rob and I could go out to dinner and see a movie for a late Valentine's date. They got lots of Valentine's goodies from their Grandparents, Aunt Kari & Uncle Jay, and cousins James and Katie. Too bad mommy has to eat all of their treats since they don't have any teeth yet!

Caroline taking a nap before heading over to Grandma'sLiv fighting to take a nap

Bundled in the bear suits to head out

Family Photo!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My little Valentine'sTheir faces crack me up in this picture

In their Valentine's Nightgowns

It's next to impossible to get them both to smile in the same picture

Just being cute

The girls have decided that they absolutely HATE tummy time now, so they get mad at me for forcing them to do at least a few minutes of it each day. The other day during one of these torture sessions, Olivia worked herself into such a frenzy crying and tightening her whole body in a full out temper tantrum that she rolled herself over! She was confused as I was cheering her on and smiling while she continued to cry and cry. She hasn't done it since that one time despite my egging them both on each day during tummy time. Oh well, we'll get there one of these days.

Here are some pics I took of them just hanging out on the couch today. My girls are getting so big! Even little Caroline is starting to fill out I think.

Liney in white, Livi in pink

Outing

The weather this weekend was the nicest it's been in months here in Chicago! We even made it to the mid 50's! We decided to take advantage of this sure to be short-lived break from the snow and cold and got the girls out of the house for a bit. We took a nice little family Sunday stroll around the neighborhood and down to get some lunch and a starbucks. Believe me - this is the highlight of my week considering I rarely get out of my sweatpants these days! You should see the looks and attention I get from pushing around a double stroller. Everyone stops us and asks, "is it twins??" or "wow! twins??" I don't know what other scenario it could be when one sees two infant carriers a-top a double stroller, but oh well. I enjoy showing off my precious daughters anyways.

Here we are in front of our condo building.

The stroller pusher's point of view

Diagnosis: PFO

Olivia's appointment with the Cardiologist went very well this morning. She had an EKG test, and the results from that in combination with her previous echocardiogram have lead the doctors to believe she has a PFO and not an ASD (atrial septal defect). This is great news! Unlike an ASD, a PFO is NOT a permanent defect and generally causes no harm during the course of life and should close on its own by the time she is one year of age. We are due back to the Cardiologist for a follow up in 6 months to see if the murmur is gone by that point. Thanks to Mama Diane and Papa Bede for babysitting for us today!

Here's a cute video of the girls I took the other day of them just making baby noises.

4 Months Old!

My little girls are 4 months old today. We had our pediatrician check-up yesterday - each had to have three shots and an oral vaccination so they were not happy campers. The good news is that they both checked out great and the doctor applauded Rob and I since both girls are doing so well and gaining weight steadily.

Caroline:
Weight - 10lbs, 14.5 oz; 5th % on non adjusted charts
Length - 23 inches; 10th % non adjusted charts

Olivia:
Weight - 12lbs, 8oz; 25th% non adjusted
Lenth - 23.5 inches; 25th% non adjusted

Because the girls are at good weights now, we were approved to discontinue the high calorie preemie formula and start any regular formula of our choice. This is great because that other stuff only came in one small size (we went through one can in a little over one day) and was sooooo expensive! We also discussed Caroline's crying fits while eating and the pediatrician suspects she has reflux so prescribed her some medication to be taken three times a day to help relieve her of the pain. Hopefully this will help her eat faster and therefore eat more in one sitting so she can catch up to her sister. Olivia still has a heart murmur and has a follow up appointment with a Cardiologist tomorrow at Childrens Memorial Hospital for another echocardiogram. We're hoping this hole still closes on its own in time and that it does not become a life long issue.

My mom went home yesterday :( and she will definitely be missed! Thanks for your help Grandma Karen!

My little peanut Caroline
Grandma helping Liv with tummy time

Liv and her bed head look

We love Mama Karen!

My mom is here visiting for a few days and the girls are just loving it! They talk and talk to her and have been smiling for her like crazy. Here's a few pictures from the past couple days.

Liv and Grandma
Twinks in one of their cribs


Caroline reading a magazine with Grandma

Sleepy Caroline

Mommy with her girls after a long long sleepless night