Family Lake Day

Poor Kate had reached her limit! ;(

We headed up to NWA this past weekend for several reasons, but ended up timing it perfectly for a family lake day! It was a gorgeous day, especially for July in Arkansas! 

Could these two look more alike?!?

Maddie Grace and I 

The girls LOVED the boat and have always enjoyed water! 

Maddie taking it all in

Cousin Stuart teaching Kate to drive

We were so thankful for some time away from home, time with family, and a beautiful day outside!

Aunt Emily playing with the girls

Kate LOVES Uncle Scott

Happy 9 Months!!

Happy 9 Months Kate and Maddie!

Kate and Maddie have both developed and changed greatly this past month: growing mobility, curiosity, and individual personalities! They interact with each other more and more! So MANY joys of having twins! They get ALOT of attention wherever we go! It's hilarious/crazy sometimes what people will say or ask! (My favorite lately is..."She must be the nice one"...seriously?!?!) 



Kate:
-Weight:15 lbs. 4oz (almost 5%!!!!!) 
-Length:25 in
-6 teeth (4 top, 2 bottom)

"ba,ba,ba"

-You my dear are FULL of energy! Lots of squealing, babbling, climbing, and crawling
-We hear a lot of "ba ba ba ba" from you! 
-Pulling up on everything and started to figure out "cruising" a little! I could bet on it that you will walk first, and probably before you are 1. You are just way too active to sit around! 
-Sitting up from laying down
-Still doing your funny army crawl on the wood floors, on rugs you usually "real" crawl
-Our early waker...usually start talking between 6:30-6:45...and try to get Maddie to talk to you!
-You love finding shiny things (knobs, shoes, mirrors, etc)...then you talk about them..
-Maddie makes you laugh so hard! 
-Favorite toys: books, balls, medicine droppers (ha), anything that isn't a toy  

Maddie:

-Weight:16lb 1oz (10th%!!!)
-Length:25 1/2 in
-6 teeth (4 top, 2 bottom)
-You love to shake things holding your arms up, and say "ah, ah, ah, ah, ah"
-You are much more sensitive than Kate. You cry more when "hurt" or if Kate takes a toy. You are more of a snuggler too!

She said, "sit down!"

-Pulling up on everything...you are more hesitant though and sometimes are afraid to let go
-Sitting up from laying down
-Do the same funny army crawl as Kate!
-You wake about 6:45...I think you would sleep more if Kate didn't wake you up talking!
-You love getting under things...tables, curtains, chairs, etc
-Dad makes you laugh the hardest! 
-Favorite toys: chewing on pacifiers, stacking cups, anything that shakes, Jumper-roo

Sleeping:
We continue to be thankful that despite teething and viruses they both continue to sleep 11-12 hours at night! We have been trying to figure out bedtime a bit, because both were struggling to stay awake during bottles at 7. For a few days we tried bottles at 6:45, then down about 7:15...but earlier riser Kate was waking about 6:15. So we are back to 7:00 bottles and down about 7:30. This seems to work best for both girls! Maybe one day they will get back to sleeping closer to 12 hrs..instead of 11! ;) When at home they usually wake and just talk to each other before fussing. We start our day at 7. 
Naps...same ole, same ole...good days, and bad days! ;) Morning nap at 9:00 (1hr-1hr 1/2). Afternoon nap is now at 1:30...It's a "good day" if they sleep 1hr 1/2! I've learned to just be content with this! We've tried about everything to get long sleep...they awake happy most days!

Feeding:
GETTING OFF EXTRA CALORIE FORMULA!!!!!!!!!!! (Mom and Dad are happy too because they were using a can a day...$17/day!)
It was good news to hear that the girls' pediatrician was pleased with weight gain over the past 3 months! Their length is what is lagging behind more, and extra calorie formula won't change length much (so odd since Matt and I are tall!). Anyways...We will be switching to regular formula this week (wish all that frozen breastmilk hadn't gone bad now!!). I'm a little nervous about it and the change on their fullness. Hoping that they will begin to take in more volume (25-30oz instead of 20-25oz). 
Both girls are starting to become more and more interested in solids. Kate prefers finger foods...and Maddie would prefer to sit and be fed! haha 
Favorites are cheese, banana, avocado, squash, mango, and pears. 
Getting off Prevacid again too! Yeah!

The 4th and 4 years!

We had a great 4th of July at my parents! Matt and I also celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary! Time has flown by!