pumpkin is good, but MESSY

Our new food this week is pumpkin. The girls LOVE it, but made a huge huge mess and had permanent orange stains around their mouths even after their much needed baths. I decided to just let them have fun, go for it, and get it all over themselves.

Caroline

Olivia

Liv enjoying her pumpkin

And this is why Rob and I have to work as a team when feeding them.

Double Stroller Giveaway Contest!

I entered in a Giveaway contest for a super rad double jogging stroller from Bumbleride, which retails for $659! Another mom is featuring this giveaway on her blog, and the winner will be chosen randomly this Friday. I know it's a long shot, but wish me luck!

Ooooohhh...preeeeetttty!

Weekend

Today Grandma & Grandpa Krupa came over to babysit so Rob and I could get some much needed errands done. Thank you Mama Diane and Papa Bede!

Grandma & Livi
Mommy & her girls

Oh, and I tried to capture Caroline's infamous backbend pose. You can't really tell from the picture, but her back is ALL the way off the floor. This girl will not lay flat, she's always squirming and flipping and backbending. It's funny, but not when you're trying to feed her.

And here's our happy girls after they had their peas and rice tonight.

6 Month Check Up

We took the girls to their 6 month appointment this morning. They are doing great! Here's their stats.

Caroline:
13lbs, 8oz (10th percentile)
24 1/4 inches (5-10th percentile)

Olivia:
15lbs, 6.5oz (25-50th percentile)
25 inches (25th percentile)

Here's some shots I got of them when we got home from the doctor. I'm including all the out-takes too because I think they're so cute! (Caroline in pink shirt, Olivia in the brown)

On the mend...

The girls have had this bug for a good 9 days now. Blah. But the good news is that I'm pretty sure they're starting to feel a lot better. They both still have this awful cough and snotty crusty noses, but yesterday was the first time I saw them smile and heard them laugh in days. Coincidentally, we already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for tomorrow (their 6 month check up) so maybe their pediatrician will let me know what else I can do for them.

Here's my little booger butts with daddy after their baths tonight.

Daddy took a picture of me and Liv after I FINALLY got her back to sleep at around 4am this morning. Poor babies keep waking themselves up with all the congestion they have.

My poor little snot-nosed kids

The girls officially have their first colds. =( We've been very fortunate that they've been so healthy for the last six months so we can't complain. It started a few days ago with little Caroline. I was noticing that she was so congested in the mornings when she woke up, but it seemed to clear up as the day went on and she'd be back to normal. Then she started waking up several times during the night which isn't the norm for them anymore. Her little nose would be so stopped up that it was waking her up every hour or so. And without surprise, Livi caught the cold yesterday. Poor little babies. They both have these awful sounding coughs and runny noses, and they just aren't themselves. I stood with them in the shower last night for a while, hoping that the steam would help to break up some of this crud. The only thing we can give them is saline nose drops and then use the nasal aspirator (aka - the "Booger Sucker") which they absolutely HATE! Hopefully this remains just a cold and doesn't turn into something else. And hopefully they get better soon! Until then, our nights are filled with babies fussing and booger sucking!

6 Months Old!

Wow! I can't believe that my little babies are half a year old. Time flies! Rob and I cannot even express how much joy these little girls bring to our lives. It has been truly a blessing to watch them grow and learn and hit new milestones. Both girls are doing wonderfully and surpassing the expectations (or lack thereof) placed on preemies. They are so interactive, talkative, and mobile! No crawling yet, but they sure are little scooters! And we've been practicing every night with our solid foods. So far the girls have had rice cereal, oatmeal, applesauce, pears, sweet potatoes, peas, bananas, and avocados.

Miss Caroline is able to roll over both ways and loves to flip herself over when placed on her back. She's our little tummy sleeper and squirms a lot. When she gets excited she does a back bend, kicks her little legs and smiles so big. She is super ticklish on her feet, knees and tummy, and has the sweetest little laugh. Liners also loves to straighten her legs and try "standing" (with our help of course). She doesn't like to sit and is always pushing herself up. I have a sneaking suspician that child might skip crawling all together and go straight to walking. She holds her head up very well and is working on sitting up by herself, but she LOVES to be held (all the time, which I've been told is just like her mommy was!). And since we've switched her to the reflux formula we've seen a drastic change for the better, and she is working hard to catch up to her sister. Her favorite foods so far are sweet potatoes and pears.

Miss Olivia also rolls both ways, but mostly stays put how you put her down. She is a VERY good eater (can't you tell from those cheeks!) and is a VERY good sleeper. She is out cold for a good 11-12 hours a night, and usually sleeps through her sister's crying fits with ease. She is so close to sitting up unassisted! She loves to talk to us all the time and as of late has been screeching a lot. I think she likes to hear her own voice. She is just a happy baby and can entertain herself for a good 30 minutes at a time with her toys (Grandma Diane says that daddy was like that too). Liv loves to smile and laugh, and is ticklish on her tummy and crazy ticklish on her neck. She thinks mommy is the funniest person ever! I think she'll be cutting a tooth first because she is constantly gnawing on anything she can get her chubby little hands on... and drooling like crazy! Liv's favorite foods thus far are applesauce, pears, sweet potatoes, and avocados... well, there's really nothing that she won't eat!

Our pediatrician couldn't get us in for their 6 month appointment until next Wednesday, so I'll have weights and other stats then. And I'll try to get a 6 mo. picture of the two of them this week - it's hard to find the time for it now that I'm back at work. Squeezing in a nap, veggie/fruit high chair session, bath time, and then bedtime bottle all in 1.5 hours before they go to bed is quite challenging!