- Harper has had a clogged tear duct in her right eye since she was born. Of course, she has a lot of gunk that is constantly coming out of it. The doctor said they don't do anything about it until 9 months so we are waiting to see if it clears up on its own (which I'm doubting with happen). However, we did need to take her to the doctor because that same eye was really red (the eye lid) and she rubbed it so we needed to check it out and make sure everything was okay.
- At that doc appointment we were able to weigh the girls. Emmy was 14lbs 14oz and Harper was 14lbs 10.5oz. Harper is trying to catch up since they were 5oz apart at their 6 month check up.
- We have 2 mobile babies! Two!! Both girls can officially crawl. Harper learned it first, of course, but Emmalyn was only a week behind her.
- We have upgraded the girls from using their infant tub to putting them in an actual bath tub. I started out and put them in laundry basket so they don't fall over and they can have a few toys that stay in a centralized location. However, that was a little bit of a hassle and they were sitting right on top of each other so we stopped using it.
- They are doing well with their baby foods. No fruits yet. Only veggies. They haven't had any turn-offs either. They eat them all very nicely! However, it makes for messier diapers.
- Harper still growls. At what? We have no idea. It's hilarious though. She also loves to hear her voice do strange noises.
- Emmalyn loves to collect pacifiers.
- Harper also seems to catch onto things a little more quickly. Not that Emmalyn is far behind. I think that Emmy seems a little more content with life than her sister who is constantly on the go.
- Both of them are trying to pull up on things. It's really neat to watch them learn each new task, but things like Pulling Up come with a lot more boo-boos because they fall over. That part is not so much fun.
- They recognize the sign for MILK and get really excited when we sign it to them.
- They love the Mickey Mouse clubhouse show. I don't like to let them sit and watch TV, but if times get tough and they're fussy, and that show is on...Lord knows I use it! It can buy about 10-20 minutes of quiet.
Sadly, I cannot keep up with pumping and how much they drink at home during the work week. So, we have to supplement with formula a little bit at night. I hate it. I know some people won't think it's a big deal but formula is freaking expensive, first of all. Secondly, we have to buy for twins. Thirdly, breast milk is the best thing for them and I want to be able to feed them that only! (other than the baby foods of course). It just makes me sad that I can't pump well and therefore they have to get the supplements of formula. We do have a little stash in the freezer but I'm trying not to use it all up because on weekend days when I'm gone or we have a babysitter for the girls, I want there to be enough milk in those situations to give them, too, instead of just formula. As much as I hate to give it, I will do whatever I have to. I'm thankful that I've been able to give them breastmilk as long as I have! I'll keep pumping, too, unless I dry up. My new goal for breast feeding is 1 year and I have no doubt we'll make it. The girls seem to enjoy nursing too much for me to stop any time soon.
The girls and I had the privilege of meeting Baby Ana this month, too. She's one of my best friends (Kristi) baby girls who is almost exactly 6 months younger than the girls. You don't realize how much 6 months makes a difference. For adults, 6 months is nothing. For babies, it's a huge difference. Baby Ana is such a doll baby and I wish I had a picture from our trip to visit them.
Kyle and I had been house hunting this month. We'd seen quite a few homes in the Richmond and Berea area. Kyle is also still job searching. I know that everything in his job area hasn't quite worked out, but we are trusting that everything is in God's plan. Right now, Kyle is such a good stay at home Dad. I mean seriously. I think he does better at taking care of the girls, cooking, picking up the house, etc. than I ever did. Kudos to you, Super Dad. I wish I had your patience and skills.
Anyway - back to the house hunting. We found the house we want! The only problem is...it hasn't been built yet. We worked with a builder, and came up with a slight modification to the model the builder already had in place. We have even signed a contract for it. Talk about scary. Buying a home is such a huge investment and commitment. We are excited though. We had to do it all on our own though. Of course I wanted Mom and Rainer to come look at the model first and let me know their opinion...unfortunately they were traipsing around Tahiti for 3 weeks and we didn't feel like we could wait until they got back to make a decision. We will hopefully be closing and getting the keys to our new home on Jan 5, 2015. =)
We took the girls to Evan's Orchard and Cider Mill one weekend. We had a great time. There is a section of the area that you can pay and it's primarily for kids to do all sorts of things. The girls are way too young to participate in those kinds of activities so we didn't pay for that. We did walk around the orchard, the pumpkin patch, and the corn maze. It was a good time. They wore typical fall apparel (jean overalls and pumpkin hats) and we had a lot of comments about how cute they were (specifically the hats). Maybe next year we can actually participate in stuff...we'll see! This is my favorite time of year so I really enjoyed going. We enjoyed some apple cider flavored donuts, apple pie, and some hot apple cider which was to die for. Seriously.
They have started sleeping better at night. It seemed kind of all of a sudden that this occurred. I'm definitely not going to complain though. The girls really only wake once a night. Maybe one of them will wake up twice. I'm averaging about 7 hours of sleep every night which is fantastic! Now that I've tasted a little bit of more sleep...I'm hungry for more!!
It's fun to watch them interact with each other...which they seem to be doing more and more. One of Kyle's favorite things is to notice them smile and laugh at the other. It really is precious to see it. My goal is for them to grow up being best friends. I realize that twins are siblings and some siblings just do not get along, but I hope my girls don't experience that dislike for one another. It's cute because when one is crying, sometimes the other will reach other and hit them. Of course, it isn't meant to be mean to add salt to the wound...we think it's their way of trying to console the other but they haven't quite learned the act of gentleness so instead of trying to console them, they in fact make them angrier, hah! It's especially fun to watch one tackle the other. This is becoming much more frequent since they're crawling and being more mobile. It usually ends with one crying, being pinned to the ground by the other.
Since it's October, the Fall weather has settled into place for the most part. That means it's sweater weather. I love this time of year. October and November are 2 of my favorite months. It's a little funny that even though the girls were born in February (prime winter month), this has been the coldest weather they've ever experienced. Fall clothing is super cute, I think, for adults and kids. It's fun to get to dress the girls up like little mini-mes and put them in jeans and cardigans :) Their hats are ridiculously cute, too. In the picture below, Beth (Kristi's mom) made the hats and they look so good!!
I can't believe they've grown so much in just 8 short months. It's crazy how much you love your children. Kyle and I love them more than any other person on this planet possibly could (other than Jesus of course). We are so blessed that God considered us worthy to have such a wonderful job as being twin parents to these girls. We will do everything we can to teach them how to be God fearing, and loving people.
I can't wait to see what all they decide to learn this month.
