Month 4

These four months have just flown by! And I'm pretty sure I have the cutest babies on the face of the earth! (I can say that on my blog, right!?) These little girls love their daddy's beard, and pull on it frequently! They are also really good at finding and pulling his arm hair. It's pretty funny! I love the way that they smile at him when he walks in.
I love watching the girls learning and making realizations. I can tell that they definitely know Matthew and I, and sometimes they just need their mommy and daddy! I love that they know who we are!
They love to get outside and get some fresh air...and by they, I mean me. I don't think they mind it at all either, though! It's nice to get a change of scenery, and they look SO stinkin' cute in their little winter outfits my mom got them!















Their pediatrician says they are very healthy! He has given us the go ahead to start the girls on rice cereal, which they are unsure about...but they are getting better at eating it. I think they might soon be ready to start eating it for breakfast and lunch. It's just crazy to me! Some days are pretty entertaining trying to feed them their cereal! They are just so cute!




















The doctor also tells me I should take them swimming...haha! I'm not sure I'm brave enough for that yet! But I am very excited to one day take them swimming. They do still really like their baths, though! We have a lot of fun at bath time!

Lyla has just recently started making lots of sounds. When they weren't even a month old she had her little squirrel talk (which I miss so much) but then she kind of stopped making noises once Alya started. Now, she talks a lot! I swear to you  they both say "mom" and I LOVE it!
She is getting really good at rolling from her tummy to her back. She used to have to really think about it, but I think it's getting a lot easier for her. Now it seems like I out her on her tummy and she is on her back before I even let go of her!
She has started to grab things. They got a play gym for Christmas and she loves to grab some of the parts that hang from it. She loves to put things in her mouth, especially her fingers! And she slobbers A LOT! She is starting to discover her toes. A lot of the time when I am changing her she is pretty intrigued by them. She even tried to grab them once.
She likes to sit and look at stories with me.
She is still pretty cuddly and likes being held.
She likes to tell me stories while she is nursing and if I am watching a show, or even sometimes when I am talking to Matthew she stops nursing because she wants to watch the show with me or be included in my conversation.
At their four month appointment Lyla weighed 12 lbs .05 oz and she is 24.5 inches long. She has passed Alya up in length!

 Alya is also making a lot of noises. She has been pretty "talkative" for a while now. She thinks it's so funny to talk to me while she's nursing. She'll stop nursing, tell me her little story, smile, and go back to nursing for a second, and then do it again. Lyla has started doing the same thing. It is so funny! They make me laugh so hard!
She has been trying to mimic one of the sounds that I make my pressing her lips together and blowing...kind of spitting...
She is getting the hang of rolling over. I think she would prefer being on her back than her tummy, but it's like she has to remind herself that she has the ability to roll. Lyla just kind of lets herself flop over, and Alya is a little more careful so she doesn't bonk her head on the way over!
She found her fingers at Christmas time, and now they are pretty much always in her mouth. She also likes to grab toys and things and bring them to her mouth. And just recently she has started chewing/sucking on her cheeks and lips! It's pretty funny.
At their four month appointment Alya weighed 12 lbs 15 oz and she is 24.25 inches long.

And again, I will leave you with some fun pictures of the girls! :) Enjoy!

Lyla

Lyla

Lyla & Alya

Alya

Lyla

Lyla

Alya

Alya (blue) Lyla (pink)
They love talking to each other!

Alya

Lyla

Alya

Lyla & Alya

Lyla

Alya

Alya & Lyla

Lyla

Alya

Christmas

 

I know this post is so late! Christmas was a whole month ago! In my defense, it's been a really short month...right!?

I am so excited about these! I made the girls their Christmas socks this year! I think they turned out so cute!!! I am so excited about them!

 

I also made my sisters Christmas presents...it was my first real sewing project, and I am so thankful for all the help that I had with them. I think they turned out pretty cute, too! I hope that my sisters liked them! (They are advent calendars...)

We first did our own little Christmas at home a couple of days before Christmas. Matthew got me a new fancy camera...it was my birthday/Christmas present, and I LOVE it! I am so lucky! Unfortunately for Matthew, he didn't get anything nearly as cool as he got me...*sorry honey!* We got the girls a play gym and a Johnny Jumper. They love their play gym, and I haven't put them in their Johnny Jumper yet...I'm sure they are almost ready for it...but I'm pretty sure I'm in denial that my girls could possibly be big enough for something like that! 

Then we went up to my mom's house for Christmas Eve and we were able to go over to my dad's to see my sisters. They got the girls some bouncer saucers. They can stand in them and the chair spins around so they can play with all the toys!

Christmas morning was spent with my mom. She got the girls some Christmas jammies and some Bumbos, and I love it when they sit in them! I can't believe how big they are getting!!! 

After visiting my mom, we went up to Idaho and spent a few days with Matthew's family. They got some way cute new Christmas jammies from them! And got to hang out with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma for a little while!

We had such a great Christmas! It was so fun to have my baby girls this Christmas! I am SO grateful for them! Having them around made it easier for me to remember the reason for the season. I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father trusts me with these two little ones! I am so grateful to my Savior for the sacrifice he made for me so that I could be where I am today, and do the things that I get to do!

Merry Christmas! I hope you all had as great a Christmas as we did!

Month 3...

Wow! These three months have gone so fast!!  Lyla and Alya got to meet Matthew's grandparents this month! That was pretty special for us! 

I am so excited for their first Christmas! We opened one of their presents early, but there will be more on that later! 

These two are doing so great! Matthew got himself a fish (luggage) scale, so we stripped the girls down to nothing and wrapped them in a blanket - stork delivery style - and measured them. As of December 12 Alya weighed 11.26 lbs and Lyla weighed 10.8 lbs! They are definitely getting so big! It's hard for me to remember what my little 5 & 6 pound babies looked like! I am SO glad the girls are healthy and growing but I wish I could remember the TINY babies a little better! 
We moved their bedtime up from 10 or 10:30 to 8:30!! They are doing so good! I am so impressed with how well they sleep at night!
These two LOVE their daddy! Yesterday they each snuggled on him for 2-3 hours! That's the best nap they've had all month, I think! They have not been liking their naps which makes for some pretty grumpy little girls some days! But it's so fun to watch them smile at Matthew! They definitely know he is their dad, and they sure do love him!

                                                 

Lyla is getting so big! You can see from when we weighed the girls that she is sure catching up to her little sister! She is such a sweet baby! She makes so many funny faces! I am thinking of doing a blog post entitled "the many faces of Lyla!" She loves smiling but for the life if me I can't catch those smiles in camera! 
She is weening herself out of her swaddle blanket. Every morning she wakes up with at least one arm out of her swaddle...the last couple of nights I have just not even bothered wrapping one arm anymore! 
Lyla usually wakes up before Alya (usually around 6) so she and I get to snuggle for an hour or so almost every morning! She likes to sleep on her side...I think she sometimes sleeps better on her side than on her back. It'll be interesting to see what she prefers once she can roll herself over.
She has discovered her hands! I caught her seriously studying them one day, and now they are constantly in her mouth. (Maybe this newfound discovery is the reason for no longer needing the perfect swaddle.) She chews on her little fingers as much as she can. I hope this is a habit that will break once she learns to grab onto other toys! She also really likes to clasp her hands together...which I think is one of the cutest things she does. She usually has such a concentrated look on her face, and when her hands are clasped, it just is so funny...like she's just sitting back and taking in the world around her!
She is really good at tummy time. She is getting so close to rolling over! 

Alya is so funny! Her mood can change from good to bad, and from bad to good so fast it'll have your head spinning! The last couple of nights at bedtime she is so smiley...it's almost like she is trying so hard to just play for a few more minutes...or get out of going to bed all together! She likes to smile and it's easier to catch her smiles on camera. 

She does not like to be held facing the person that is holding her. She wants to be turned around where she can watch everything that is going on! 

She is pretty good at tummy time, but I think she thinks that it's just easier to not lift her head up...I've seen her do it, so I know she can, but I guess I need to find something that will make it more worth her while! 

We got them a little play matt that you can hang the toys and stuff from so they can lay on their backs and play...anyway, it came with a mirror and it is Alya's favorite! (Yes, we gave them a Christmas gift early this year.) She loves to lay and look at herself. It's kind of like a carnival mirror so it is a funny version of herself, but she loves it! 

She loves her sister! Another one of her favorite things is when I lay her on the bed and then I hold Lyla over her so they can see each other really well, and Alya instantly starts smiling and talking to Lyla. It's pretty stinkin' cute!

She does not like it when I put things in her head. Every time I try to put a hat or a headband on her she gets so mad at me. It's usually okay once it's been in for a minute, but it can be quite the ordeal! 

I love their personalities...except when they are grumpy (just kidding...I even love them when they are grumpy) and it's so crazy how fast they grow! They are both really good at putting all their weight on their legs and standing with help, of course! I might have walkers before I have crawlers! 

I also think that they might be teething already! They get so grumpy and just want to chew on me, or their binkies, or their fingers. Sometimes they don't want to eat and boy!  can they be ornery! But they are cute enough they make up for being ornery!

Anyway, I have a bunch of pictures to leave you with, so enjoy, and have a Merry Christmas!

Alya & Lyla

Tears of Joy

Sometimes when I am holding my girls, or feeding my girls, or when I'm playing with them and get a great big smile from them, I can't help but cry. The love that I have for these two is so overwhelming sometimes. I am so grateful that they have chosen me to be their mom. I feel so lucky that they are mine and that they are healthy...and have been since day 1. Even throughout the pregnancy...we made it through the "is this pregnancy valid?" stage, and the "vanishing twin" stage and my worrisome blood pressure stage. They both stayed head down basically the entire pregnancy, so we knew we probably wouldn't need a c-section - and we didn't! And my favorite...they didn't have to spend any time in the NICU. Lyla was able to get the fluid out of her lungs just fine! I got to bring my sweet babies home from the hospital 2 days after they were born!

I watched this video:
http://thestir.cafemom.com/baby/164477/dad_takes_breathtaking_video_of
on Facebook this morning and couldn't help but be so grateful for my experience of being pregnant and giving birth to my two BEAUTIFUL and HEALTHY baby girls. I love watching them learn and grow...although they are growing way too fast. Before they were even two months old, we had to move them up to 3 month old one piece jammies. It's so bitter sweet! 

Favorites

 Almost every morning after my girls eat, one of them falls right back to sleep while the other stays awake for a little while. They are really good at alternating who sleeps and who stays awake. This is one of my favorite things, just because I get to spend time playing with my awake daughter and then cuddling with her and rocking her to sleep for her nap. I love this one on one time I get with them!!