3 babies

I thought that would get everyone's attention! =) Nope...not another bun in the oven, but Dan is now my 3rd baby since he has a broken bone in his left foot. We aren't really sure how it happened, although we think it was when we were out for a run a few weeks ago. His foot has been bothering him ever since and he decided to get it x-rayed today. He has to wear a boot for 4-6 weeks and then have it re-examined to determine if everything is healing properly. Luke and Olivia are very intrigued by his boot and the funny noises the velcro makes when opened. It should be an interesting few weeks all around!

Now Luke is on the move!

I guess Luke got tired of Olivia getting to play with toys he couldn't reach, so after watching her for two weeks, he decided to join her on the other side of the room...and crawled for the first time! Poor little guy has been getting so frustrated after getting from his booty to his arms and knees and then falling down like an airplane stuck in neutral. We thought he would rock like Olivia did and then tenatively move an arm and knee. It ended up being quite the opposite. This afternoon it looked like he was going to get brave and move, so we grabbed the video camera and camera and got ready. We put the phone and remote on the floor and all of a sudden he was on the move!!! We clapped and cheered and kissed and hugged Luke, and Olivia seemed to cheer him on as well. We now live in a baby obstacle course of play yards, baby gates, exersaucers and pack-n-plays, but we wouldn't change a thing! We are so proud of Luke and Olivia for all they have already accomplished, and we know there will be many more firsts right around the corner. Now I just have to get used to the fact they can reach ANY corner without me having to put them there!

Look who's on the move!

We knew it wouldn't be long, and today Olivia crawled for the first time! I told Dan we better invest in some new running shoes now. She started the morning playing as usual and getting up on her hands and knees and rocking. Then she started to move an arm. I told Dan to grab the video camera because it looked like she was about to be on the move. We put her favorite singing turtle in front of her, and then left arm, right arm, left arm, right arm...she was crawling!!! She is still a little unsteady on the balance aspect, but if she sees something she wants, she definitely knows how to get there now. We have found that anything electronic (cell phone, camera, video camera) is particularly enticing and causes her to move a little faster than normal. Luke is starting to get up on his arms and knees, and we think it will only be a few short weeks before he takes off as well. For now, I'm glad only one baby is mobile. I can only imagine how crazy it will be once they are both on the move! There have been SO many changes over the past month, and every day now seems to hold something new and exciting!

Happy 4th of July!

This was Luke and Olivia's first 4th of July outside of my belly, and we wanted to make the day special for them. After going for a morning run with them, I dressed them in their red, white, and blue and started our busy day.

First we went to MauMau and PawPaw's church cookout so everyone there could meet the babies. They had a great time seeing everyone, and look forward to playing in the grass next year! Then we came back home and got ready for a cookout with some of Dan's family.

After Luke took a nap, we grilled ribs and fresh corn by the pool and spent some time swimming with Luke and Olivia's cousins, Hailey and Paige. Olivia was too interested in what was going on around her, and refused to take a nap from 12:30-8:30pm...when she passed out from exhaustion after her last bottle!

It was nice to have Monday off so we could just lounge around the house and play all day. It was great to celebrate Independence Day with our dependants. =)

Two completed nurseries!

It only took 6 months and two houses, but I have finally completed the nurseries for Luke and Olivia's room! They have been a slow work in progress since we moved, but we are happy with the way they turned out. We added a lot of personal touches, including curtains made by my mom, cross-stiched birth announcements made by me while I was on bedrest, and a personal poem framed from Aunt Lara. There are a few baby pictures and their handprints/footprints hanging on the wall, as well as their names hand painted by me hanging above their cribs. I'm sure we'll be changing and adding things as they get older, so we didn't want to do too much right now. Here are a few pics of their completed rooms:

A half-year update

Our lives changed for the best just over 6 months ago. It is so amazing how quickly Luke and Olivia are growing, and it is getting more and more fun everyday! Olivia plays hard and sleeps hard, while Luke is more laid back and catnaps. They smile and laugh when they see each other, and trade toys back and forth. They have also recently taken to pacifiers at night and tend to chew on them during the day. It never fails, though, that each with start out with their own paci, and by the end of the day they have traded a million times! They both love the "abc" song and "one, two, buckle your shoe" and they each have a favorite book they like to look at, talk to, and chew on!

Luke loves to lay back and play with his toys, and he thinks rolling over is the greatest thing ever! Olivia loves to sit up and play, and has recently learned how to rock herself forward onto her knees. We think crawling for her is just days or weeks away. They both scoot around on their booties and roll from one side of the room to the other. Olivia talks A LOT, while Luke talks when necessary (or when Olivia lets him get a "word" in every now and then!). They laugh and smile all of the time, and love to be tickled!

They are doing great eating solids now, and open their mouths when they see a spoon, even if it's an adult spoon! They have had rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas, yogurt, carrots, zucchini, squash, sweet potatoes and green beans. We will be introducing them to sippy cups with a little water soon, and we have already increased the amount of solids they are eating every day. They also recognize their bottles now, and Luke can hold his for the most part.

Luke and Olivia are teething as well. We think one day we'll just wake up and Luke will have 6 teeth, he's been teething for so long! He likes the teething rings, while Olivia won't touch hers because it's cold. It's so funny to see her touch it and immediately move her hands back as if to say "excuse me, I'm princess Olivia and you may hold it for me!"

Olivia is a great sleeper for the most part, while Luke still stirs quite a bit. It seems as if he is a little restless, but usually a quick pat on the back puts him back to dreamland. They typically fall asleep around 9pm and Luke starts to stir around 5:30-6am, Olivia a little later. They usually play for a little when they wake up before their first bottle around 7am. Then it's solids around 9am, bottle around 11am, 2pm and 5pm, followed by more solids around 6:30pm, a quick walk, and then bath, bottle, bed.

We have moved the coffee table out of our living room and into the sunroom so they have lots of room to roll around and play. Between the two exersaucers, the tummy mat and several toys, our living room definitely looks more like a daycare, but we wouldn't have it any other way! Each day they learn something new, and it's nice to just lay on the floor with them and see the world as they do. They are amazed to see a leaf blowing on a tree or Piper walking by them. Now if I could only slow down time just a little bit...

Splish, splash, we were taking our first bath!

I remember when Luke and Olivia barely fit in the net on top of our infant to toddler tub, and now they are almost too big to fit into the base of the tub! After our walk last night, we thought it would be a good time to see how they would do sitting in the tub without the assistance of the whale tub! They really like the pool, so we thought they would enjoy playing with some of their tub toys as well.

They sit up pretty well on their own, and seemed to do even better in the tub. They had such a fun time playing with their new toys and the rubber duckies. It's always funny, though, how there can be 6 ducks in the water and Luke and Olivia want the exact same duck! They are learning early the value of sharing. We will still probably bathe them individually sometimes until they get really good at sitting up, but it's fun to see them enjoying the water so much.

Father's Day

We had to travel to Atlanta for my first Mother's Day, so it was only fitting that we were traveling on Dan's first Father's Day. This time our destination was the beach...way more fun than work! Dan enjoyed his first Father's Day. Olivia gave daddy a golf towel with their picture on it, and Luke gave daddy a plush baseball glove and ball set. Dan said you can never start them too early with baseball!

It was a nice family day as spent time playing in the morning and getting ready for vacation. The we left around lunchtime, had a Father's Day lunch at Bojangles (no ChickFilA on Sunday!) and headed to SC. Here is a picture of Dan with the babies:

Ready or not, beach, here we come!

This past week we took our first family vacation with Luke and Olivia. We went to North Myrtle Beach with Dan's folks, and Dan's brother's family was there as well. It was nice to have a MUCH shorter drive from Charlotte than Atlanta (4 hrs vs 7 hrs), and Luke and Olivia travel really well. We left mid-day on Father's Day, stopped half way to feed Luke and Olivia, and got to the condo around dinnertime. We spent the first evening just getting settled and unpacked, and Monday morning it was time to hit the sand!

Seeing Luke and Olivia in the sand for the first time was quite the sight. Olivia took immediately to eating handfulls of sand, while Luke wasn't too sure what to think about this new texture. We also dipped their feet into the ocean, which neither seemed to like very much! I think they'll stick to the pool for now. By the end of the trip, they both loved playing and napping on the beach, and we loved this new adventure with them.

We got home late Thursday evening, and even though we had a great time, we were all happy to be home sleeping in our own beds once again. We really enjoyed our first family trip, and we look forward to many, many more!

6 Month Pics

Check out Luke and Olivia's adorable 6 month pics at:

www.boldimpressionsphotography.com

bottom right: view photos
code: bartlett2

Candi is an amazing photographer, and we had such a fun time with the shoot. Thanks to Shannon for making the super cute diaper covers! Hope you enjoy the photos!!!

Here are a couple of our favorites:

Time to swim!

Since we will be taking our first family vacation soon to the beach, we wanted to see how Luke and Olivia would do in the water. They like taking baths, but have never been in a pool, until tonight!

We decided to go once it was "cooler" outside (if that's really possible) so we decided instead of our evening walk we would go to the pool instead. We got them suited up (so cute!) and off we went. Luckily the pool is a short little stroll from our house, and the pool wasn't very crowded when we got there. I took Olivia in the water first, and she took to it like a fish! She kicks and squirms so much already; she looked like she was practicing for the Olympics! Then Dan got in the water with Luke. He wasn't too sure if he liked the pool at first, but then he warmed up to the idea. We also put both babies under water, and after the initial "hey, what the heck just happened" they laughed and splashed some more. Then Dan and I switched babies so we could have some fun swim time with each of them. We stayed for about 45 minutes, then it was time for their evening bath, bottle, bed routine.

We are really looking forward to the beach, and lots more fun times in the pool with Luke and Olivia.

Half Year Birthday

Where has the time gone? Just 6 short months ago, we welcomed our little Luke and Olivia into the world. Now they are each thriving and growing so much each day. We couldn't be prouder of them.

They also had to get their 6 mth shots (2 shots and an oral medication) and check-up today. Here are their measurements:

Luke
17.4 pounds; 50%
26.5" long; 50%
Head circumference: 44 50-75%

Olivia
13.13 pounds; 10%
25.25" long; 25%
Head circumference: 40 3%

Even though Olivia is quite a bit tinier, they are both doing great. Dr. Colyer said she was impressed with how well they are sitting up, rolling over and trying to talk. We are going to pretty much stick to their same eating schedule, but take the rice cereal out of their bottle and give it to them in the morning with a spoon. Dr. Colyer said if the reflux returns, we can return to putting the cereal in their bottles. We really don't want to have to put them back on Prevacid. So for now, they will stick with 5 bottles a day and now 1/4 cup of solids total, once in the am and once in the pm. If they still seem hungry, we can certainly adjust as needed.

We have fallen into a great evening routine of feeding them a bottle around 5pm, solids around 6:30pm and then a quick walk around the neighborhood. Then it's the 3 B's: bath, bottle, and bed (hopefully by around 8:30pm).

Happy Half Year Birthday, Luke and Olivia. We love you so much!!!