Trick or Treat

Today before our Halloween party
Dad and Maddie

Dad and his girls handing out candy

Our hats were too small, so we only wore them for a little bit!

Losing our locks

Apparently there are downsides to being born with beautiful dark locks...we are only twelve weeks old, and we have bald spots!

So, I have made this a blog about the kids, but every once in a while I add an update about mom and dad, too. I didn't realize I had not mentioned that I am now a stay at home mom. I'm sure with all of the posts and pictures you see on here each week, you probably assumed that was the case. It is such a change from going to work each day. While I miss my job (I worked at Abercrombie for over six years) and my coworkers, I love watching my girls grow each day. I am working more now than I EVER have. Who knew the most demanding job of my life wouldn't pay me a dime or give me days off! We send dad off to work each morning with big kisses, and look forward to him walking through the door every evening (he is sometimes the only other adult I will talk to in a day...unless Oprah counts). Surely sometimes he feels bombarded by conversation when he gets home, but I can't help it! I am starting to meet other stay at home moms, so I have others to talk to that know what my life is like now. While I am sure I will want to return to work one day, I feel very lucky I am able to stay home now! Here are a couple pics of the girls from today.

Sleepy baby

I hope Lena is learning to hold her own bottle

Maddie ALWAYS falls asleep like this

...and like this.

SMILES!!!

This is Maddie smiling on command! We are learning so quickly. Lena can do it too! It just takes forever to load these videos :)

Firsts

First hair bow- Maddie doesn't have enough hair in the front, so this only works for Lena.
First tear- if you look close, you can see it!
First smiles- Lena (of course I am not fast enough to get the actual smile)
First smiles- Madeline
We also had our first projectile vomit this morning. Gross. Thanks, Maddie. She totally soaked herself, her blanket, and her crib...then she smiled!

Just chillin...

Mom and her girls
Maddie fell asleep in the corner of the couch
She seemed to like it. These kids can sleep anywhere!

A day in Michigan

Great Grandma Parmentar with her hands full!
Chris with his Grandma and girls
Cousin Jeffrey
Cousin Janelle
Aunt Judy

We took the family to Michigan to introduce the girls to many of their aunts, uncles, cousins, and great grandparents they hadn't had a chance to meet yet. We spent the morning with the Pudrith family, and then headed over to finally meet the rest of the Parmentar family. Great Grandma Parmentar couldn't get enough of the girls. Lena gave her quite a few smiles... something neither of them have done many times! We spent the afternoon at Aunt Judy and Uncle Jim's house. The girls were spoiled by all of the attention!

Big day

This morning the girls played with their new toy. They are really focusing well. They love the colors and lights.
This afternoon we went in for our two month checkup. Both of the girls got 4 shots. They cried pretty hard, and they fell asleep before we could get out of the office. They have each put on almost two pounds since the last visit. Maddie is 12 lbs. 7 oz., and Lena is 11 lbs., 7 oz. Still exactly one pound apart, but it so much more difficult to tell a difference now. We made it home about an hour after our appointment. The girls took their bottles, and both fell asleep before they could finish them. Since I have come down with a cold, I took advantage of the down time and caught up on a little sleep myself!

They know...

I swear these girls know when their dad is gone, and I am home alone. They decided to bawl for two and a half hours tonight...for no reason. I finally gave up trying to get them to stop, and I let them cry it out. This is Maddie after she cried herself to sleep.

Big girls

Ralph found himself a new cuddle buddy.

We like to lay in the big girl bed.

Have a good laugh

I took this when I was about 7 months pregnant. I was wearing pants, my stomach was so big you just couldn't see them from this angle. I was getting some sun and relaxing while I could!

Almost ten weeks

I know they aren't very old yet, but look at how much they have already grown...it is unbelievable! We took the top picture this morning after church. They outgrew those older sleepers in the bottom picture a couple weeks ago. We are getting so chubby- chubby cheeks and chubby legs!

How did I not know about this???

Swaddling your baby helps them feel comfortable and stop crying. I had been swaddling them when they came home from the hospital, but they always wiggled out. So I stopped. After hearing about the Miracle Blanket (thanks Katy and Leah) I ordered two. It feels like I am putting them in a straight jacket, but they seem to love it. My girls have slept almost six hours the last three nights! They had been at three max prior to the magical blanket. I think I am in heaven!!!

Pumpkin Patch

Dad finding the perfect pumpkin
Cutest scarecrow ever
Cutest kitty ever
We thought this would make a cool photo, but apparently the pumpkins were a little too cold

Mom and Dad have some fun

We decided to head out for the first time without the girls on Monday (first time we left them with someone other than our mothers- thanks, Kim!). We went to an awesome concert- My Morning Jacket- with some good friends.

Go Illini!

Forgot to mention, we had to rush home from the zoo to catch the Illinois- Michigan game. We love to give daddy a hard time (huge MI fan). Go Illini!!

First trip to the zoo

They slept almost 6 hours...such good girls!


Dad with Maddie and the tigers
Mom with Lena and the bats