Month 1

I cannot believe that my girls are already a month old!

It has been a really fast month!

They are doing so great. I kind of wish that we had a one month doctor's appointment just so I know for sure how they are growing and what their weights are, etc.

They seem to be doing really well.

Sometimes, when I am feeding them in the middle of the night I really have to pay attention to figure out who is who. They are getting harder to tell apart. Maybe it's a good thing Lyla is smaller than Alya...it helps at night! They are finally starting to get some meat on their bones. Look at their little pudgy legs! (I know they aren't really pudgy, but compared to what they were a month ago, I'd say they are looking rather meaty!)

Mo is so good with them. When we brought them home, and had them laying in their crib - which is at the foot of our bed - he would just up on our bed and look into the crib to check on them. Now, when the babies are laying on my bed napping and I am in the kitchen or some other room, Mo stays really close to the room that the babies are in. He gets really concerned when they start to cry, and always puts his nose on Matthew when they start to cry at night. It's like he really needs us to know that the babies need us.

Lyla is pretty sassy. She is so impatient! She is usually the one to wake up hungry, but if I have to wake her up, it doesn't take her long before she starts yelling at me. She is still my little runt - if she stays smaller than Alya, I don't think she'll have any problem holding her own! She has a tiny birthmark on the small of her back. She does enjoy her bath times, but she hates getting dressed and undressed. At three weeks, she was sleeping for a 4 hour stretch at night, and now at 4 weeks she is sleeping for a 5 hours stretch.  Usually I can put her in her crib still awake, and it's not too hard for her to fall asleep. I think she'd prefer to be laid down already asleep, so we don't always get so lucky. She loves her binky - but it always falls out of her mouth within 10 minutes...and then she gets really mad and impatient. I try really hard not to give one to her at night. I can either hold her when she is fussy at night, or keep giving her binky back to her every time it falls out of her mouth. Either way, I'm up most of the night. (It's a fairly rare occasion that she doesn't sleep that well at night, though - so I guess I can't complain.) Everytime she sneezes, it's at least 3 sneezes. Sometimes or sneezes fake her out and it's the cutest sound I've ever heard. She also likes to talk a lot! She sounds like the little squirrel on "Sword and the Stone" when she's crying because Arther is turned back into a boy. She LOVES to cuddle. I like to unwrap her and lay her on my chest... and I think it's her favorite way to be held, too. She likes to stay curled up...I don't think she likes to stretch out too much. She would prefer to be swaddled. She likes to hold her head up and look around. She doesn't have the best control over her head yet, but she's working on it. She is becoming more and more alert, but I think she gets bored easily. She is focusing on me and Matthew more, and she is starting to notice Mo. I think she will be a pretty responsible little kid. I am so excited to keep watching her and getting to know her. She is amazing!

Alya is pretty easy going. She is starting to get more vocal. If she wakes up hungry, she makes sure I know she's hungry. She's more patient with me, though. She has a small birthmark on her upper lip, and I think it's SO cute! I think that she LOVES her baths. She doesn't mind so much getting dress and undressed...most of the time. I think she prefers to be naked. At 3 weeks she was sleeping for four hours at night...and I think she could have slept longer, but I wouldn't let her. Now at 4 weeks she is sleeping 5 hours at night. 98% of the time, I can lay her in her crib awake and she will put herself to sleep. She is also a binky baby...not as much as Lyla...but she does like her binky. Most of her sneezes are at least two sneezes, too. Alya is really quiet. She is so content all the time. If I put her in her bouncy seat, she is good to just sit and watch whatever I'm doing. It takes her a while to get bored. She has kind of a scratchy little voice, though...much different than Lyla's impatient high pitched scream. She likes to lounge. I frequently unwrap her and find her all stretched out...it looks like she's just chillin'. It's pretty cute. I think she would prefer to be un-swaddled, but she doesn't sleep well unless she is swaddled. She likes to escape out of her little mittens and socks. She would much rather have her hands uncovered...and she has the scratches on her face to prove it. She can also hold her head up enough to look around for a minute, and she is REALLY alert. Like Lyla, she is starting to pay more attention to me and Matthew and Mo. I am also so excited to continue getting to know her and learning her personality. I still can't decide what she will be like. Will she be a trouble maker, responsible but laid back...? I don't know. I have a feeling she's going to give me a run for my money, though!

I love these girls so much! They are just awesome! I cannot imagine my life without them! I am so happy to be a mom, and I hope that I do the best I can for them. They are so easy to love and they deserve the best! I hope that I can be patient in trying times, and that I can be fair always. I hope that they don't ever feel like I am favoring one over the other, and I hope that I can treat them as individuals. I hope they always know how much I love them!