It's been a while since I've posted an update, so we've got lots to share. Abby and Emily are getting so big. Abby started out at 4lbs even and got as small as 3lbs, 10 oz. She now weighs 7lbs, 3 ounces! Emily Started out at 3lbs, 10 oz and got down to about 3lbs 5 oz. She now weighs 6.5 lbs! Below is a picture of Emily's legs from about a week ago, she has since gained almost a pound. They may look scrawny compared to the average newborn, but they're HUGE compared to how she started.



We went to get some pictures taken a couple weeks ago. That same week the girls started to smile - not the gas smiles anymore, real smiles! The pictures below aren't great resolution, I'll eventually update them with higher quality images.

Family Picture


Abby and Emily in their Christmas Dresses - As usual, Emily seems to be quite happy


Abby with a small smile


Emily


Abby and Emily


Abby


Abby got a cool new toy for her bottle that makes it so she can suck on the nipple like a pacifier but it's attached to a straw in her bottle so she can drink on her own without having to wait for Emily to finish eating.


The girls have been very active during the day taking only short naps now. Abby is very interested in the lights on the camera




Sometimes the girls hold hands when they're getting ready to take a nap together


Emily likes to watch tv with me. Here she is sitting propped up on the floor.


Here are all the kids of people in our small group on Christmas Eve. On the left is Anna and Ella is holding Abby and Emily.

The girls have been busy since the last update. They've been working on getting stronger and doing lots of tummy time. Unfortunately Abby seems to think that tummy time is nap time so she's been falling asleep during it. The problem is that without the pacifier she screams but with it she falls asleep.





On Friday we had some errands to run and we decided to go out to eat while we were out. We were a bit nervous about how the girls would behave in a restaurant. Two of the couples were seated around us were not thrilled to be seated near two infants. Well, a few other families came after us and their kids screamed and cried while Abby and Emily sat in their car seats and silently through the entire meal!

Abby and Emily in their stroller at Outback Steakhouse


Today I put the girls together for their afternoon nap (they normally sleep separately). When I went to check on them I found Emily all snuggled up next to Abby. She had to move about a foot and a half to get to her sister, but she somehow found her way there.



Normally if Abby loses her pacifier she screams and cries, but she was so comfortable with Emily that she didn't seem to mind.

On Wednesday I took Abby and Emily to visit with their great grandmother and their uncle Bret for the day. Here they are ready to leave the house. They're getting good at sitting together on the couch.


This morning Abby and Emily were very awake - They normally sleep all morning and stay awake for a bit in the afternoon. Whenever they're both up I try to have them lie down together so that they start to recognize each other.

They started out nicely lying together.


Then Abby decided that she wanted her pacifier back but Emily wasn't going to let it go without a fight. She tried to bite the pacifier out of Abby's mouth, then she tried to bite Abby's face off.


Then Abby got mad and she started kicking and screaming until she busted out of her pajamas. Yes, she was kicking so hard that she popped all of the snaps on her pajamas open.

Abby and Emily watched their fist Patriots game with us today! They got to wear the cute outfits that Beth, Scott and Ella gave them.









The girls were laying nicely together one minute and then Abby rolled herself around and started kicking Emily.

Abby and Emily are 1 Month old!

It's hard to believe the girls have been around for one full month already. At their most recent appointment with their doctor they were both doing well, and Emily finally stepped up her game and started gaining weight. She gained 9 ounces last week and now weighs 4lbs, 10 ounces - that's 22% more than her birth weight! We thought Abby was getting a little heavy and looking a bit chubby and sure enough she has been bulking up quite a bit - she now weighs 5lbs, 4 oz...that's 31% more than her birth weight! The doctor said that the girls are doing very well overall. She noticed that they were finding their pacifiers on their own, putting them in their mouths and holding them in and said that was very advanced for their age.



I guess I forgot to post pictures from their first baths. The girls really enjoy the water, which is a good thing because they are going to have to spend a good portion of their lives on vacation in the Caribbean with us.

Abby loves baths


Emily tries to drink the bath water


MVI_3624.AVI

Abby loves to snuggle when she dries off


Emily is still trying to suck as much bath water off her body as possible



On Sunday I decided that the girls were going to have to put themselves together a little better for church and wear something other than pajamas. Their outfits looked so cute, but their little legs are just not big enough to hold socks on yet so I think they'll be wearing pajamas for a bit longer.

Emily ready to go to church


I tried to get them to snuggle and look like they like each other for the camera but they weren't really interested in helping me out.



Every afternoon one of the girls comes into bed with me and takes her nap there. Before bed time we read Bible stories. They seem to be happy sitting there and letting me read to them.

Emily loves reading


Today we went to visit Byron at work. This was their first trip out of Massachusetts. They were very happy to get away from the liberals of MA for a little while :)