Parker & Jolie: 6 Months

We are 6 months!!  1/2 of a year has gone by since my sweet baby girls were introduced to this world, and I am in awe at the thought of having two baby girls that are already 6 month old.  Where has the time gone?

June 6th was the girls' actual 1/2 birthday, but I wanted to wait to post the update until after their 6 month appointment (yesterday).  These girls are growin, growin', growin'!  Way too fast if you ask me.

Remember what they looked like 26 weeks ago?

The day we brought them home from the hospital

Parker at 5 pounds, 8 ounces and Jolie at 4 pounds, 4 ounces 

Now..

Parker @ 6 months: 
Weight: 14 pounds 3 ounces (4th %)
Height:  25.8 inches (23rd %)
Head: 43.2 centimeters (32nd %)

Jolie @ 6 months:
Weight: 13 pounds 5 ounces  (6th %)
Height: 24.8 inches (16th %)
Head: 42.5 centimeters (52nd %)

Both in size 1 diapers, size 3 month clothes (although the shorts/pants are a little too big), and even though Jordan and I think these two are SO big, they are still petite little bits at just 4th & 6th percentile on the growth charts.  Dr. Butler is very please with these beautiful girls and their progress since the first day we brought them in at just a week old. 

What's New

SO many things happened this month!  I have started to make note of things (whether is be writing it down, or texting it into my phone) when they do something fun and exciting. I think there has been more change in these two than any other month to date. 

Most days of during the week are spent with their BB (Jordan's mom) or their daddy, and they love their time with them!  This month we experience our first real sniffles.. lasted almost two weeks and I must say these girls were so miserable with their stuffy heads- couldn't breathe well, coughing, sneezing, constant runny nose.  Thankfully no fever ever, but momma and daddy were still so sad to see our girls this way. 

The girls now will reach for Jordan or myself when we walk in the room.  The emotion I feel when either of the girls reach for me completely takes me be surprise everytime.  That feeling is like no other.  She wants me, because I am her mom.  Love it.  

Jolie is very busy.  Early this month she started to roll from back to tummy and it wasn't long after that she started the 'rocking' on all fours.  The moment you lay her down, she flips over to her tummy and there she will remain to play, and play, and play until she has worn herself out.  Jolie is ALL over the place with her head scooting and rolling and the froggy/bunny hop. That girl.. if she wants to get somewhere, she is going- no stopping her. Very intuitive and studies everything- definitly more aware of her environment. 

Multiple times I have found her (head) wedged under the sofa, in the television cabinet, under the bouncer (with Parker in it!) and down the hall.. laughing/cackling/babbling the entire time. She finds it to be hilarious, apparently.  I turn my back for 4.7 seconds and she. is. gone.  Busy is an understatement. When she does begin to actually crawl, we are in trouble.   Stay little, baby girl.

Miss Parker has yet to roll from back to tummy, but she is really close.  She will play longer on her side rather than solely on her back.  She sits very well on her own and can brace herself and play with her toys within arms reach.  Jolie isn't as strong as Parker when it comes to the sitting up on her own, but she is getting much better with practice every day.  She spends more time on the move than Parker, thats for sure.  I do think that when Parker finally masters the roll from back to tummy, she will be ready to crawl in no time.  Jolie has been attempting the arm/leg coordination for about 2 weeks now, and I don't think it will take Parker that long to figure it out once she gets there.  For now, she adores her momma and sitting in my lap is where she is most content #spoiledtothecore

We have gotten more use out of toys and books this month than ever before.  They are interested in colors, shapes, lights, and sounds.  We have a Leapfrog piano (hand-me-down from a friend), and Jolie has figured out the buttons to push to make it sing to her.  Smart cookie, I'd say.

This last month they have become much more interactive with one another- Jolie will actually get tickled by Parker's silliness and belly laugh at her sister.  It is too much fun to watch them together.  Toy envy is upon us, in particular, miss Jolie Grace finds Parker's toys to be so much more interesting than her own.. and by toys, I mean everything.  Jolie is a routine pacifier stealer, and she doesn't even take a paci hardly at all anymore.  Parker is a great sport about it and never has a problem with her paci being ripped from her mouth.  Sweet girl. 

My favorite is when Parker laughs to get your attention, and her cheesy grin and wrinkled nose make me laugh out loud.. and therefore makes her carry on even more.

How can I be so lucky with these two?  I am writing all these fun things and can honestly go without a single complaint.  Not one.  I'm a little tired, but no complaining from this momma:)

On June 2nd we had our first (of many, I'm sure) rough day of baby tears- teething has commenced in this house and Jolie spent a few 45 minute stints in tears with no consoling.  I thought for sure one was busting her gums, but there hasn't been any revelation of a tooth showing just yet.  She's stingy with letting me or her daddy see, but yesterday's check up with Dr. Butler confirmed that there isn't a tooth just yet, but her gums are rough around the area, which is a sign that a tooth will errupt soon!

EAT

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to my little piggies.  Feeding time reminds me of those big black hawks that come squalking at you with their beaks wide open (scary) and wings spread wide, shoulders back.  Have the visual?  Yep.  That would be my children. 
I mean.. look at that beak.. and no, she did not taste the donut.  Not yet.  How 'bout we try a sweet potato first?  You'll hate it (gag, choke, spit it everywhere) and we will laugh..

More on that later this week..

I have continued with the girls on the same schedule during my work week and nursing them at 4am, 4:30pm, and then before bed at 7:30pm. They take bottles for three feedings (7:30am, 10:30am, and 1:30pm) while I'm at work.   We have continued with 5 ounce bottles and show no desire for an increase at this time.  I think the addition of oatmeal has helped with this. 

In the evening about 6pm I fix up about 1 cup of oatmeal mixed with about 6 ounces of warmed breast milk between the two of them.  Last month I totally doubted ever being able to get to this point so soon, but we are there.  Jolie out eats Parker, any time.  She loves her some oats!  This next weekend we'll be adding in another cereal feeding and start incorporating more veggies, too.  We decided to start the second feeding in the morning while I'm off on my 4-day weekend so we have a few days to get used to it before Dad or BB has to do it solo.  Trying to figure out nursing, solids, playtime, and naps has got me all kinds of anxious!  Any suggestions on making this easy are totally welcome!

I've ventured out and purchased, with the recommendation of another twin mom, the Baby Brezza for making my own baby food/purees.  I made sweet potatoes and carrots over the weekend- it was very easy and I have a TON.  I'll be writing a post on this, soon! 

SLEEP

We are sleeping so well these days!  The girls, for the most part, will sleep 12-14 hours through the night.  At the beginning of the month we were in talks of moving their bed time from 9:30pm to 7-7:30pm.  I reached out for some recommendations from other momma's and ultimately decided to go cold turkey rather than 15 minute increments like some moms suggested (impatient, much?  Maybe.)  The girls did great and went down without a fight!  We dropped their cat nap in the late afternoon evening and stretched them between their last feeding (4:30pm) to 6-6:30pm for oatmeal, bathtime, and finally feeding at 7:30pm.  At first they had a hard time staying awake until 6:30pm, but we play and keep them busy until then and they don't seem to have a problem.  The evenings are left to me and Jordan for enjoying dinner and catching up on the day together.  Even though it would seem like I wouldn't have as much time with the girls by putting them down earlier, I feel like I have more than ever.  Now, Jordan and I eat dinner after the girls go to bed and rather than spending our time messing with getting dinner prepared and eating all while juggling babies, we sit and hold/play with them for two solid hours without worrying about dinner or other things.  Much more quality time with my girls.  Loving their new bedtime.

Jolie has turned into our super sleeper.  She is solid and hardly moves when she sleeps.  When she started to roll from back to belly, she also started to sleep on her tummy.  This is also when she started sleeping all night through.  Parker sleeps well through the night for the most part.  She will wake up once or twice just for her paci and monkey wubanub (she doesn't suck the paci, but adores the stuffed animal!) and then goes right back to sleep without a problem.  Jolie doesn't budge! It is funny how much thinga have changed in a few short months between these girls and their sleep habits. 

Their naps are pretty regular these days - They have two, one mid morning, and one about mid afternoon, and they last between 1 and 2 1/2  hours.  Jolie is more consistent with the 2 1/2 hour nap and Parker sleeps much less.  Her longest naps are usually an hour and a half- and if we are lucky she'll hit that 2 hour mark.  I can only think that Jolie is just wiped out from the constant go, go, go that when she hits the crib she is out cold.   

This month I decided to mix it up with the letters to our girls- got the idea from my sweet friend Meredith and love it!

To my Jolie Grace,

Your Favorites: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, your giraffe Wubanub, reading books, Sophie, crawl ball, anything that lights up and sings, smiling, conversations with momma and daddy, blowing raspberries, oatmeal, rough housing (Your FAVORITE to play rough with daddy), bathtime (You LOVE bathtime), physical therapy with Suzan, tummy time, playing in the mirror, playing with your feet (the greastest form of a paci ever invented), naptime, afternoon walks, tummy time.

Your Not-So-Favorites: Neck stretches, fighting sleep, being in your carseat for too long, finding a comfortable position to sleep in, your paci (you would rather suck your thumb!), getting dressed (always a fight these days.. who has time for getting dresses, anyway?).

You are one amazing and spunky little girl! You have such personality and show it off all the time. I remember the moment I saw you. You were so little and I was so worried about you. You just barely escaped a visit to the NICU, beating the weight cutoff by only 1.7 ounces. I will never forget when I first held you and saw those beautiful eyes looking back at me. You have come so far since that day. You are now trying so hard to crawl and I know you will at any moment. Even though you once hated tummy time, you absolutely love to be on your tummy now and have mastered rolling over to it. You smile all the time and laugh constantly. You bring such joy to your mom and I making us laugh often. You have become a pro at sleeping even though for the first five months you were not a very good sleeper to say the least. Your mom and I love it when you snuggle into us and give us "sugars." You absolutely love to rough house and play, but sometimes you reach those sweet little arms out and just want to be held. How can we resist that sweet gesture with those stunning blue eyes? I think your gonna be our sneaky little one who isn't afraid of anything. You notice your sister a lot now and try to talk to her, even though it sounds like your yelling at her. You even pick on her some by taking her paci to suck on, which you never want a paci unless it is Parker's. you have begun to bury your face in my neck and fall asleep as long as we are cheek to cheek. I can rock you like that for hours. You are so special to me and melt my heart every time you bat those eyes at me and give me that happy grin.

To my Parker Jane,

Your Favorites: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, your monkey Wubanub, your paci (can't sleep without it!), Sleep Sheep, chatting it up with momma, babbling and smiling, any toy that lights up or plays music, sitting up, afternoon walks, crinkle paper, watching momma blow dry her hair, do makeup, and cook, oatmeal cereal, looking/touching the iPhone, bathtime (finally!).

Your Not-So-Favorites: Sweet potatoes, Sitting and playing alone, being in your car seat for too long, tummy time, loud noises, fighting sleep, the dark, being left out, getting dressed .

You are such a ham! You are so sweet and have such a gentle demeanor. I remember when I first saw you, you came shooting out of mom with the chord wrapped around your neck twice. I was so thankful mom had planned to do a c-section. I remember when you were first laying on the table and your were screaming your head off like you still do when you are tired and mad, you were so beautiful. I remember holding you for the first time looking into your blinking eyes, immediately thinking you look just like your momma. You already had a calm and gentle look about you once I laid you on your momma. You have always been such a strong girl, always outweighing your older but smaller sister by at least a pound. You are able to sit up so straight on your own. You were the first to roll over to your back, but haven't really cared about rolling over to your stomach. You will roll half way and decide its not really worth it. (I have no doubt you will master it when you are ready.) While your sister is always so busy, you are always wanting to be near us. You love to sit in our (mom's mostly) laps and just be loved on. You have the sweetest desire to have us cover your face with our hand while you fall asleep. Wen we can't stand anymore you graciously take your monkey wubbanub instead and twirl the tag in your fingers while you fall asleep. You always wake up before your sister and are always so happy to see us at your crib. you start to grin and kick your legs like crazy. I love watching you cuddle with your mom during church and watching you fall asleep face first in her chest while we sing praise songs. You are so special to me and you melt my heart every time you smile at me.  Love you, baby girl.

To my girls,

I wanted to take a second chance to make some promises to you. I have always wanted a family and have always wanted my daddy's little girl. Who knew The Lord would give me two of them! I never knew I could love two precious little girls so much. I am tearing up right now as I write these letters to y'all. You two mean the world to me and I am so blessed to be your dad. I promise to always love you unconditionally. I promise to be your Father and not your best friend. I promise to always be tender, to listen, to guide, and to lovingly discipline. I promise to teach you that I first love The Lord, then love your mother, and then love y'all. I promise to continue to pray for the both of you for the rest of my life. I will continue to pray for your salvation until the day you accept The Lord as your Savior. I promise to teach you about your Lord and all the ways He has affected our lives. I promise to date you and to show you how a lady should be treated. I promise to be an example of what kind of man you should look to marry. I promise to pray with you and to talk about the hard questions in life. To encourage you and to always make time for you. Improvise that you will always be and know that you are a priority in my life. In promise to always love your mother and for our marriage to be an example for you of a Godly marriage. I promise to tell you everyday that I love you and to always kiss you good bye, even if its early in the morning before I go to the fire station.  I'll never miss a day.

I love the way he loves them.

Happy 6 months, sweet girls!  Being your momma is the most fun, exhausting, AH-mazing, challenging and rewarding thing I have ever done in my entire life.  I am more than just thankful for you two- I am truly blessed to have you call me 'momma'. 

And what would be fun without a few outtakes!?