Social Butterflies

We spent the whole week with Mom and got to see lots of our friends.  On Tuesday, Teagan - our NICU friend - and her mom Brigette came over to play. She fit right in with us.  We're all about the same size, and we even sound the same when we talk.  

The next day Jack and his mom Melissa came over.  It seems like whenever we see Jack, we're either asleep or fussy.  This time we were fussy.  Sorry, Jack.  We just can't help it.  We'll get better with age. When we can sit up and move around like you can, we'll feel better. 

Today Mom took us to University Village to meet her friend Cecile, and her daughter, Ava.  We had fun being outside and walking around the mall.  The Starbucks was loud but we handled it pretty well, as long as Mom was holding or feeding us.  Ava helped us by putting our pacifiers in our mouths too.  

Thank goodness it's Friday because we're exhausted! 

Em & M

Teagan, Mia and Emma at 5 months

Mia, it's not polite to eat our guest's hand!

Just the girls. 

Emma & Mia at 5 Months

Em and M's 5 month old birthday photo.

Today Emma and Mia turned 5 months old!  It's amazing to see how far they've come in such a short amount of time.  When we look back at pictures when they were first born, they are so tiny. Now they are three times that size and register on the growth charts with other babies their age.  

We are so grateful for all the help and support we've had along the way to get us to this point.  Although we've been without night nursing care for a few weeks now, last Thursday was the first night the four of us spent alone in our house.  We needed the help we had a long the way, but it is nice now having just the four of us, and getting along with life as a new family.

This is my last week at home with the girls before I return to work. As much as they exhaust me by the end of the day, I know it's going to be hard to be away from them.  So we're going to enjoy our time together this week! 

Mia and Emma are tummy time champs.

 

California Girls

We took advantage of my time away from work to take a family vacation to San Diego.  It was a great opportunity for the four of us to spend time together, visit with family and for the girls to meet even more family and friends.  They had many visitors while we were there! Enjoy these photos from our trip.  

Emma and Mia dig their feet into the sand on their first trip to the beach. 

The Lund Family in Solana Beach

Mom got a break while all three kids played. :-)  

It was great to have Matt on vacation with us for almost two weeks. 

Grammy and Bob were troopers to babysit the girls to give Mom a break. 

Mia and Emma love their Auntie Courtney.  And so do we!  She dove in and helped with feedings, changing diapers, and rocking the girls to sleep.  Now we just need to get her to move to Seattle...

Grandpa's girls - Emma and Mia

Mia and Emma got to meet their Great Grandparents, George Sr. and Rose. 

Mia and Emma's new friend, Sofia, towered over them.  While the 6-month difference looks like a lot now, it'll be no time before all three girls are about the same size. 

Emma and Mia really got into vacation mode, spending a lazy morning lounging in the rocker chairs. 

Mia's checks out the view out the window during her first airplane ride!

Emma could hardly contain her excitement!  Both girls were excellent travelers.  

They slept, played and charmed flight attendants and fellow passengers. 

Tricks and Traits

Emma and Mia are developing all kinds of new tricks and their individual personality traits are beginning to show.  We continue to watch them with amazement and pride.  Here are a few observations of each of the girls. 

Emma...

...has discovered her thumb. She's enjoyed putting her hand in her mouth for a while, but now she can zero in on just her thumb.  She's doesn't go overboard with the thumb-sucking, but it's great to see her fine motor skills developing. 

...loves to talk, yelp, hoot and holler!  All of a sudden, she is very vocal and gets very excited to tell us everything.  And she's loud!  Especially in the middle of the night when her sister is trying to sleep but she wants to play.

...is a skeptic.  She frequently has a furrowed brow and thinks things through thoroughly. 

...has developed a small strawberry mark on the right side of her face which makes it easy for us to tell who's who!

...created a game where she sits on the very edge of my lap facing forward, and while I'm holding her hands, she flings herself backward onto my lap and her feet fly up in the air.  The first time she did it we were sitting on our front porch and Grandpa Lund was with us.  Once she figured it out, she'd give him a big smile each time before she leaned backwards.  She thought it was hilarious, and still does!

Mia...

...rolled over! Once, anyway.  She was on the upstairs changing station (actually a co-sleeper bed) where both girls like to stretch  out.  One time she stretched and turned over from her back to her tummy.  With some prompting, she rolled back the other way. She hasn't done it since, but we continue to practice.

...coos and smiles sweetly at everyone she meets.  She smiles back when you smile at her.  She has a big, sweet grin, and lets out a few soft coos. 

...is our little monkey.  She likes to move around all the time - arching into a backbend on our laps, trying to flip over, kicking and stretching.

...is very busy.  Sometimes when we're holding her against our shoulder she gets this very intense, busy face. She focuses her gaze and deliberately touches or pulls at our clothes. She also likes to feel and scratch different textures, like the couch, her playmat, burp cloths, etc.

...likes grabbing and pulling hair. Ditto for Emma. 

Together...

...they are starting to interact more, and we can tell they know the other one is around. When one cries, the other one becomes very concerned.  It is becoming more common for them to reach out and try to grab the other's hand or pat them on the head or arm.  I was holding both girls and Mia was particularly upset.  Emma was very worried and kept touching Mia's arm to make her feel better.  On our recent plane trip to San Diego, Emma and I sat in front of Matt and Mia.  We let the girls look through the seats at each other, they caught each other's gaze and just smiled and laughed. These moments are so special and we can't wait to see more of them. 

...both of the girls continue to work on rolling over.  We can tell they want to as they try over and over again. They're very close!

..they love to smile and laugh, especially when you smile and laugh with them.

...they melt their parents' hearts day after day.  

Big smiles (and drool) from Mia...

and Emma! 

Emma wants Mia's attention.

The Training Wheels Come Off

For Mom and Dad, that is. Tonight will be the first night without our wonderful nurse, Linda.  While that is a good thing because it means the girls are doing well, it will be nerve-wracking for us, and sad to not see Linda every night.  She has been a huge help and like a member of the family.  We had a farewell breakfast after her shift this morning.  Lucky for us, she lives in the neighborhood, so we don't need to say goodbye. 

Mia and Emma get to play with Linda - something they aren't allowed to do overnight!

Mia and Grandma are on the left; Emma and Great Aunt Carol Kay are on the right

The girls got to meet their Great Aunt Carol Kay today.  She and her husband, Bob, and two of his grandchildren stopped in for a visit during their day in Seattle.  While Emma and Mia love meeting new people, they seemed a bit overwhelmed, perhaps due to some sore gums.  So it was a very nice, but quick visit. 

Teething Time?

The girls have been especially fussy this week. They have also been chewing on anything and everything, and drooling all over the place.  Although it seems early for them to be teething, we consulted our pediatrician and our baby's first year book, and when you take a look at the various symptoms, they have all of them!  They're only 4 1/2 months old, so it's probably early, but if this is any indication of how the next several months will be, we could be in trouble! 

Mia and Emma during a happy morning play session.

First Fourth

Emma chills out in the shade. 

Mia enjoys the best of both worlds - toys and fresh air. 

We had a relaxing Fourth of July weekend at home, enjoying the sunshine.  Great Aunt Janis visited and gave our backyard a makeover.  Last year for my birthday she offered to beautify our yard, and we continued the tradition this year.  Only with the addition of the girls, Janis did the bulk of the work. (Who am I kidding...she did all of it!)  The girls kicked back in their cabanas (aka bouncy chairs) on the lawn for a little while, but couldn't sit still for too long when there was so much to see. Thanks to Janis for our lovely new flowers and well-groomed yard!

Sleeping Beauties

Emma and Mia are starting to sleep for longer stretches at night. They've been having some 5, 6 and 7-hour stretches over the last month, but it seems like it's been more consistent since they've been in their own bedroom.  It makes sense as it's a much calmer environment. 

Mia holds the record so far.  The last two nights she has slept from 9:30pm to 7am!  Emma has been getting some long stretches too, but the time range hasn't been as ideal (9pm - 4am).  If we can just adjust that by a couple hours (11pm - 6am) we'll be set. 

New Photos Posted!

I finally carved out some time to call Apple yesterday to help me fix our photo program. After 20 minutes, I was back up and running. I started filling in our photos from the last month so take a look back through June's postings.