Eden and Everly are 8 months

We missed the 8 month birthday. We got the picture, but I couldn't do the post because we were moving into the new house and I had no internet access. I hate that I am posting this a couple days late, but with all the moving chaos I think it is lucky I am getting it up at all! 

Eden and Everly are so much fun! We are just in love with them! Despite having regressed a little during this move they really have been troopers. We have thrown a lot of changes their way, and they are really doing okay with it all. Their personalities are coming out more and more, and they are continuing to change all the time. They have really started noticing each other now. It is like they woke up one day and started seeing each other for the first time. I think they always sensed each other before, but now they are really seeing each other. One will do something and the other one will laugh and laugh. They share and steal toys from each other too. They can be content to play for quite a while on the floor together. It is pretty cute to see. We had a couple of goals this month: To get the girls unswaddled, to drop the 10 PM dream feed, and to separate them into their own cribs. They are totally separate to sleep now, Eden has dropped the 10 PM feeding, but Everly hasn't yet, and both go unswaddled for their morning nap. 

Our goals for this month are to finally drop that 10 PM feeding for Everly and to have the girls unswaddled for all sleeping. 

Here are some things we notice about the girls together:

*They can both sit up without assistance 

*They both laugh a lot

*They both love to be held 

* They both take two naps a day 9-11 and 1-3

*They both go to bed at 8 

*They both get up around 7

*They are sleeping in separate cribs

*They are sleeping unswaddled during the morning nap

*They both have one tooth, on the bottom

*They eat baby food and oatmeal three times a day 8,12,4

*Both can say "Mama" and "Dada"

*Both girls prefer to sleep on their stomach

Here are some things we notice about Eden:

*She nurses 4 times a day (7,11,3,7)

*She really prefers sitting up to rolling around

*She has dropped her 10 PM dream feed

*She prefers baby food to nursing and will eat 2x as much as Everly

*She weighs about 15 lbs we think

*She does not like to be alone

*She has a hard time self soothing and can get really worked up

*She prefers to say "Mama" over "Dada"

*A paci will hold her off of a feeding for up to 30 mintues

Here are some things we notice about Everly:

*She nurses 5 times a day (7, 11, 3,7, 10)

*She prefers rolling around to sitting up

*She is super close to crawling

*She prefers nursing over baby food

*She weighs about 17 lbs we think

*She has really big hands we call paws

*She is perfectly comfortable alone and can entertain herself for a long time

*She can usually put herself back to sleep within 10-15 minutes

*She is starting to say "Mama' more, but still says "Dada" as a default

*She can easily put her paci back in her mouth

*She will not take a paci if she is hungry. Nothing but nursing will do

These girls continue to be a blessing on our lives, and we are so thankful to have them! We can't wait to see what is in store  for them in the next few months!

Ellasen - Kindergarten

Ellasen started Kindergarten this week. Yup, kindergarten. Does that sound crazy to you? How did this happen? I am not a minute older, but somehow she is starting school...like real school...like all day every day eat the lunch she is given, go without a quiet time, learn tons of stuff real school. Sigh, but also Yay! I am so excited for her to develop a love of learning and a lifelong appreciatation for education after snack time and Play Doh of course.

Every year we ask Ellasen what she wants to be when she grows up. This year she said Orthopedic Surgeon, but then changed her mind to teacher because she said "Orthopedic surgeon sounds like hard work and a teacher doesn't." I am not sure which I am more disappointed in: the fact that she thinks teachers don't work hard or the fact that she doesn't want a job that requires hard work! Either way, that is what she chose for this year.

This year Ellasen wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

At the start of this school year Ellasen can write all her letters, tell you what letter words start with, count to over 100, count backwards by singles, fives and tens, do simple addition and subtraction in her head, and read a few sight words. Her school does, math, science, social studies, reading, writing, yoga, physical education, Spanish, cooking, and much more! She goes to school Mon-Fri from 8-3. We are so excited for her! 

We Made It!

I feel a little like I have been through a war. I know that is sort of a terrible thing to say given that I actually don't have the faintest idea of what war is really like, but I imagine it is pretty dirty. We went a week without a washing machine, and more days than I care to admit without showers or baths because we couldn't find anything to bathe with like shower curtains, soap, towels etc. I also imagine war is exhausting. We have three children and a dog who really don't understand what is going on at all. They have been bounced around here to there and have really just decided they are over it. Therefore, we are all getting a lot less sleep. I also imagine war is frustrating.  Our wonderful packing crew labeled everything we own bags and shoes. That's it. Bags and shoes. 78 boxes of bags and shoes. Needless to say it was overwhelming trying to dig through all those boxes and still feel like we couldn't find anything we needed. While I am dirty, and exhausted and frustrated, we have a lot to be thankful for already. Our WiFi was installed today! My washer and dryer came today too! We have a lot more space with room for everyone to spread out. We also had a very excited 4 year old who got to start Kindergarten at a brand new school that she seems to love. We have seen some good friends. The twins each got a new tooth which seems to be a fun new development and life in general just keeps plugging along...

First bath together!

Playing with new friends!

My mom watching three of our babies in the hotel room

Our moving truck

Ellasen and Gunner in front of our new house!

I didn't take a ton of pictures because really who has the time, but now that things are settling down we will get back in the swing of things!

Babies, Baptisms and Buddies

Whew! This has been a whirlwind few weeks. We packed up our little house in New York City, and headed to my parents' house in Michigan. We had high hopes of many family get-togethers and lazy days at the beach. Our reality consisted of some very fussy babies, many sleepless nights and a lot of hard work putting the girls back on a schedule. This was especially hard because Tim stayed behind to finish up work and facilitate our move and my mom had to work the first two weeks. My dad is retired and worked really hard to help me but three kids is a lot for anyone, and it made for a very frustrating time. We have to turn around and move all of us again to Atlanta in a couple of days, and while we are getting back on track somewhat here I am pretty sure I shouldn't have high hopes of maintaining that in the days to come. While the last few weeks have been difficult we managed to squeeze in some fun.

Here are the pictures of our apartment with the boxes all packed up!

Here is our set up on the plane!

My twins meeting Gigi and Gramps (my grandparents) for the first time.

Reuniting with Gunner!

First time in the shopping cart!

Gardening with Papa

Cousins!

A ride in Nana's convertible!

New haircut!

Hammock and Pool Fun

Cute sisters

Sleepy sisters

Goofing with Papa

Fun in the Sun

Camel ride at the zoo

More cousin fun!

Horses!

Eden and Everly Get Baptized! 

Bedtime Selfie

All in all it has been a challenging couple of weeks with more challenges swiftly on the horizon, but we have enjoyed our time here, and we look forward to our next chapter! On to Atlanta!