9 months

It's been awhile since I've blogged...and for good reason-we've been quite busy around here.  We all survived the holidays-thank goodness!

Now it's February and the year continues to move on...quicker than I would like.  Don't get me wrong, I want warmer weather, but the girls are growing up so fast.  3 more months and they will be 1 year old. 1!  I can't even believe it!

They both enjoy bathtime-especially when they take a big girl bath without the baby tub!

And, they celebrated their first Valentine's Day!

They are busy rolling around on the floor, not yet crawling, but soon.  They still enjoy jumping around in their exersaucers and sitting on the floor, playing with their toys.  They are busy and learning more and more everyday.  Both girls can feed themselves finger foods, especially Puffs and Cinnamon Maple  bites, and are drinking from sippy cups!  They babble and scream and cry when they aren't getting what they want.  This week I am off on Winter Break and am just soaking in the time I get to spend with them.  :-)

6 months!

I truly cannot believe that the girls are 6 months old now.  It feels as though I just had them!  At their 6 month check up Cali weighed 16lbs. 15ozs and was 24 3/4 inches tall.  Adison weighed 16lbs. 2.5ozs. and was 24 1/4 inches tall.  I can't believe how fast they are growing!  You would never know by looking at them, that they were premies! 

Both girls are busy learning new skills.  They are both babbling and laughing a lot.  They definitely let you know how they are feeling, glad or mad!  The both also enjoy watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney Junior.  Cali can roll from her stomach to her back, and has started to sit up for a few seconds independently.  She is not too fond of the baby food that we are giving her, especially the cereal portion of it.  She does like apples and sweet potatoes though.  Cali would much rather eat what you are eating and will stare at your plate of food or whatever you are eating.  She is also very curious and likes to play with toys that she has to "figure out", like things that spin or move.  Adison on the other hand, has figured out how to roll from her back to her stomach and vice versa.  She is constantly on the go and just wants to move, move, move! She has loved every kind of baby food we have given her- sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, apples, bananas, pears, and peaches!  Adison loves to jump in her exersaucer and just be crazy!

The holiday season is coming upon us-a bunch more firsts in store for the girls.  Next week is Thanksgiving...and then it's not long until Christmas.  We want to take the girls to see Santa at the mall.  It'll be interesting to see if they actually sit on his lap for a picture. 

Well-more updates in the near future.  Stay tuned!

10 weeks!

Yup, the girls are 10 weeks old today! They are growing so fast and are movin' and groovin'...their arms and legs!  At their 2 month check up, Cali weighed 10lbs. 1oz, was 21 inches long, and had a head circumference of 14 7/8 inches.  Adison weighed 8lbs. 13ozs, was 20 1/2 inches long, and had a head circumference of 14 1/2 inches.  They have both found their hands and are kicking their feet like crazy.  They need one of those play mats where they can kick things.  They are both starting to grab onto the toys hanging from their Baby Einstein play mat more and are watching their mobiles move.  Cali is very much an observer and is constantly taking in her surroundings.  Adison likes to look at herself in the mirror-she smiles at herself, which is super cute.

They are continuing to nap quite a bit during the day, but are definitely up more than they used to.  While they are up we sing songs, read books, play on their play mat and do some tummy time.  I lie them on their Boppy for tummy time and you would think they were going to take off.  They like to push with their legs-so I constantly need to be right in front of them so they don't push off the Boppy!

We are also sleeping every night in their crib.  They are doing very well with it and seem to enjoy being in their with each other.  I try to give them room and separate them a bit, but when I come back to check on them, they are right next to each other!  I caught Adison reaching her arm out to touch Cali the other night.  I guess I put her too far apart from her sister!

On another note, to prove that they are growing, they no longer fit in their newborn clothes :-( The girls have moved on to 3 month size clothing...which means they get to wear all of their adorable summer clothes I received at my baby shower!  That also means I have to pack up their newborn clothes.  I can't believe how tiny they were!

Well...until next time...here are some recent pictures of the girls.

Adison

Cali

Adison- birth to 2 months

Cali-birth to 2 months

The girls

Adison

Cali

7 weeks

...Yes, the heading says 7 weeks! Amazing how fast they are growing.  I was looking back at pictures yesterday from when they were born.  They were soooo tiny! They look like giants now compared to those pictures.  In development news, they are making more eye contact with us and with things around them.  They love to look at the painting over our couch!  Cali enjoys laying in her crib, watching the mobile, and looking at the owls & flowers on the wall.  Adison doesn't really enjoy the crib too much, but little does she know, she is going to have to like it soon.  I think we are going to try to put them in their crib next month to sleep.  We will see how that goes.

Both girls are holding their heads up better and enjoy being held and looking at their surroundings.  They enjoy playing on their Baby Einstein play mat and listening to the music it plays.  They also enjoy being outside and riding in the car.  They fall asleep as soon as the car starts moving!

On the sleeping front, the past week or so they have been sleeping 3 hours or so between feedings at night.  It's getting better.  The pediatrician says that by the time they are two months old, they should sleep 6 hours at night.  I am not holding my breath! Keep checking back to see what else is up in the world of our little monkeys.  We are excited to see what else is in store before they turn 2 months old!

Cali and Adison- 7 weeks old

Newborn Photo Shoot

On June 1, we had a photographer, Crista Acosta, come and take the girls' newborn photos.  This week, we got all the prints and I am blown away.  They all came out amazing...below are just a few of my favorites.

Cali Maria

Cali Maria

My little monkeys (Adison and Cali)

Adison and Cali 

Adison Ellie

Adi

Taken just for Richie

Other news with the girls...they are much more vocal as of late...making cooing noises all day and night! They have begun to hold their heads up more, are making better eye contact, and reacting to our voices more.  They enjoy snuggling with us (especially at bedtime) and are continuing to eat 2-3 ounces of formula every 2-2 1/2 hours.  The pediatrician says that they'll begin to give us longer stretches of sleep at night...we'll see about that!  The girls are also beginning to stay up more during the day, which means more funny faces and expressions! 

Yesterday, we had their 1 month well visit at the pediatrician.  Cali now weighs 7lbs. 7oz. and is 19 3/4 inches long.  Adison is 6lbs. 11oz. and is also 19 3/4 inches long.  It's exciting to see that they are making great strides with their weight and the pediatrician said we can have them outside more and take them places in moderation. We don't have to go back until July 12th, so I will be interested to see how much they grow in the next month!

Baby Updates...

In 4 days, our little monkeys will be 1 month old.  Wow! How time flies when your having fun-or a lack of sleep!  We are still working on feeding them every 2 hours...last night though they actually gave me a stretch of 2 1/2 solid hours of sleep.  For someone who could sleep until 8-9 am, I think I am fairing pretty well with the lack of sleep I am getting.

Good news...
The girls are still packing on the pounds! On Monday, I brought Adison to the pediatrician because she had a rash on her face (happened to be heat rash...heat rash? It hasn't even been warm!).  When she was weighed, she finally hit 6 lbs!!  We go back on the 14th for their 1 month check up, so we will see how much they both have grown then.

On Friday, June 1st, Crista Acosta, a photographer, came and took professional newborn pictures of Cali and Adison.  The sneak peek of the pictures went up on her blog yesterday (Crista Acosta Photography) and I love them! BTW- just click on Crista Acosta Photography in the parentheses, and it will take you to her blog where the pictures are posted.  Here is one that I saved...

Cali and Adison (3 weeks old)

And here is a group of the pictures...I couldn't save them separately, but if you go on her blog, you can see them bigger.

collage of pictures

A look back at the past 3 weeks...

The past 3 weeks have been a whirlwind experience...3 weeks ago, I went for my weekly doctor's appointment (36 weeks).  My blood pressure was high and I had high levels of protein in my body, so they decided to do a blood test.  Before the results came back, the doctor decided that she wanted to keep me on 24 hour observation and informed me that we may be meeting the girls earlier than expected.  About an hour or so later, I was told that the girls were being born that night!  I was nervous, scared, freakin' out, anxious...all of the above!  Richie showed up at the hospital and no lie, about 45 mins later, the girls were born via c-section.

May 10, 2012- our lives changed forever!  We now had 2 beautiful little girls to take care of...born at 6:22pm and 6:23pm. Cali Maria was born 5lbs 5oz and 18 inches long, while Adison Ellie was 5lbs 2oz and 18 inches long.  They were taken off to the NICU for a short amount of time (I saw and got to hold them the next day)...Cali because she was wheezing and Adison had low blood sugar.

Richie with the girls right after being born

Cali Maria

Adison Ellie

We spent 4 days at Norwalk Hospital.  The nurses and doctors were great-very helpful and knowledgable.  I ended up being a mother for Mother's Day! 

The next few weeks were filled with doctor's appointments, lots of feedings, lack of sleep, snuggling, cuddling, loving, and trying to get into some kind of routine.  I would not change it for the world.  As of this week, Cali is now 6lbs 1/2oz and 18 3/4inches long and Adi is 5lbs 4oz and 18 1/2inches long.  They continue to grow and change every day...

Adison 

Cali

snuggled in their bouncy seats