Pumpkin patch

Today we made our first trip with Natalie & Leah to the pumpkin patch. We picked out a small pumpkin for each girl. We also bought some sweet potatoes and apples so I can continue to make up some baby food for when the girls are ready.

April & Leah

Today Leah saw April and decided she wanted to "pet" her. I use the term pet loosely because she was really trying to grab her fur and pull it into her mouth! It was cute and I was able to snap a couple pics.

Halloween is approaching

We couldn't resist these cute outfits from Carter's, quite a steal!

Four Month Update

Both girls:

• You've discovered each other! We sat you on the couch next to each other this week and you looked at each other intently for about 5 minutes.
• You both love to talk and spend a lot of time jabbering at us about everything. You are also giggly girls and like to laugh at your Mom & Dad.
  
• You had your first ear infections this month. It was no fun giving you medicine every morning and evening.
• You made your first trip to the zoo and saw lots of animals. We bought a family pass so we will be spending lots of time at the zoo between now and next September.
• You both grab toys and put them in your mouth.
  
• Completed your second month of drinking just Mommy milk!! We haven't had to supplement in 2 months. Mommy has had a bit of a dip in supply but we are working through it and will rent the hospital pump again if we need to.
• You continue to light up our world. We cannot imagine life without you!
  

Leah:

• You weighed 13 lb 11 oz at your 4 month visit and are 24.5 inches tall. You were close to the 50th percentile for each. You are in mostly 3-6 month clothes and still wear some of the bigger 0-3 stuff.
  
• You are close to rolling over from your belly to your back. You can get about halfway there. It will happen soon.
• You are amazingly good at tummy time. You can spend about 30 minutes on your belly before you get ticked off.
  
• You hate getting in your car seat and you let us know it!

Natalie:

• You came in at 11 lb 2 oz at the 4 month visit and are 23 inches tall. I continue to be amazed by how tiny you are but as long as Dr. J is not worried neither am I. You are still cruising along in the 0-3 month clothes.
  
• You rolled over from your tummy to your back. Now I have to find another way to encourage tummy time since you can get out of it!
• You still sleep best when swaddled and we will keep it up as long as we need too.
• You are still a happy spitter. We are amazed at how much you spit up sometimes.
  

Four month pictures

Our girls are 4 months old today!!

Pregnancy reflections

As I've been reflecting about this past year over the last few weeks I've come to realize that strangely I miss being pregnant. I dealt with a lot of aches, pains and discomforts with my pregnancy since there were two babies in there. However, I miss knowing that my girls are safe inside and protected from the outside world. I miss feeling them kick and watching Leah's head pop out of the right side of my belly as she stretched to get more room. I believe there is nothing more natural than feeling a life growing inside of you and they are right when they say all of the discomforts fade away after you've had your baby.

We are also asked whether we intend to have more children fairly frequently. If you'd asked me this in the springtime I would have told you HECK NO, not after this pregnancy!!! But, I've always wanted 4 kids and I actually think since I've had the girls that desire has been further solidified. Hopefully, Greg and I will be blessed in the next couple of years with 2 more children - just maybe not at the same time? :)

One thing I won't miss is feeling as huge as I did. I debated posting the last pregnancy picture week took when I was 36.5 weeks pregnant and decided against it for now. I still cannot get over how big I got. Maybe in a few months I will do a before and after. Would I change any of it? Not a chance, I have the two most wonderful precious gifts a Mom could ask for.

Hanging out with Daddy!

Sisters

Cute story from daycare:

The other day L & N's daycare teacher was having a hard time calming L down, she was clean, fed, burped, etc - just a little cranky. N was sitting in the boppy watching. Their teacher ended up putting L down next to N for a moment to tend to another child and N started talking to L and she calmed right down and got quiet. These girls already have an unspeakable bond. I am enjoying watching it grow.

The Girls First Trip To The Zoo!

Today we took the girls to the Cincinnati Zoo!  For the first 1/2 hour the girls were asleep but then we they woke up and we saw a lot of animals.  First, we went into the reptile house, where we saw a lot of creepy looking animals and something that made Melissa fearful for the girls and she made me move the stroller away from the area where the animals were, crocs.  We then went to the cat house where we saw some funny looking felines. We saw some monkeys, lions, flamingos, bears, elephants, and the giraffes. Melissa and I like the giraffes and we hadn't been able to see them last time we went to the zoo since they were not at the zoo yet.  We took the girls to the gift shop and got them a toy to help them remember the day, L got a stuffed lion and N got a giraffe.  We brought them home with us and they are so lovable and fun to play with that April even wants to play with them!  Here are some more pictures from the day!

 

Three month pictures

Three Month Update

Both Girls:

• You both have really come into your own and are starting to really show pieces of your personalities. You are very smiley girls!
• You are both very chatty girls. You love to tell stories and "talk" a lot!!!
• You are adapting well to the day care routine and really like your teacher Miss Betsy. She is starting to figure out your routines and temperaments.
• You spent a whole day by yourself with daddy and everyone survived and even had some fun.
• You made a trip to the dog park with April.
• You watched your first ND game with Daddy in your bumbo seats and they won!!!

Leah:

• Our little ham, you spend a lot of time trying to catch Mommy's eye when I am busy just so you can smile!
• You reach up and grab for toys on your exercise mat.
• You enjoy tummy time and have rolled up on your side but not quite over yet.
• You love the bumbo seats your Dad bought you. You just sit there and take everything in.
• You still nurse like a champ and Mommy loves our time together!

Natalie:

• You are a bit fussy this month, if you want to be held you let us know it.
• You've discovered your hands and you are fascinated by them to no end.
• You do not like tummy time and one of these days you are going to roll over out of spite.
• You are starting to drool a little and you blow bubbles with your mouth.
• You are a little peanut. Mama is always worried you aren't growing fast enough.
• You were officially nursed by Mommy! I much prefer that to all this pumping!
  

Notre Dame 23, Purdue 12

A Year Later, Oh How Things Have Changed

As I sit here watching the WEBN Fireworks on TV I have to think how our lives have changed from a year ago.

2009  Melissa and I were vacationing in the Smokey Mountains of TN. We very rarely went a day without running. We had only 2 dependents (April and Penelope - our dogs). We hadn't ran a half-marathon. My days usually centered around finding a way to go run.	2010  We are in Cincinnati as we cannot go out of town since it will be very difficult with two babies and we have no vacation time. We very rarely run, yet at least. We have 3 dependents (Natalie, Leah, and April - Penelope returned to her owner). We ran a half-marathon last October. My days now center around the girls Natalie & Leah and keeping them on some sort of schedule.
It's even evident in the pictures we take.
2009	2010
We however wouldn't want it any other way!

Go Irish!!!

!

A Day Alone With The Girls

Leah, Me, & Natalie Hanging Out!

Sorry, it has been so long since I have blogged. Today, our day care wasn't open so I had to take the day off to watch Leah & Natalie.  I have never watched them for a whole day, all by myself, so I was a little nervous.  Everyone got up early, I made breakfast for Melissa and myself, fed the girls, changed them, and got them dressed.  Melissa left for work and the day began.  We hung around the house for a while I would get the girls up change, feed, and play with them and then put them back down for a nap, their usual routine.  Leah, took a 3 hour nap which surprised me!  Around, 9 Melissa texted me and asked how things were going, I told her they were going fine and that I was heading out in a while to go to Target to get our quick shopping trip done.  Around 12:15 I packed up the girls and we headed out to Target and Chick-fil-a for lunch for me.  While at Target we picked up a few things but one of the things we picked up were 2 Bumbo Seats.  These seats are designed to help babies practice sitting up.   While in the store we had a mini meltdown but everything was quickly returned to normal and then we went up to pay.  The cashier at the front said: "Why are they with you today?"  I said, "Well, our daycare is closed today and mommy couldn't take the day off so it's me and the girls!" We paid for our items and headed to Chick-fil-a. I picked up lunch and headed back to the house.  Leah was fussing until I got the car moving and then she slowly fell back asleep.  When I got home I kept the girls in their car seats and fed them while I ate my lunch, I even gave April some chicken nuggets! After lunch, I played with the girls a little bit and then put Natalie down for a nap and Leah fell asleep in the swing for a little bit.  The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful.  I would say we had a pretty successful day and I took tons of pictures!