July 2014 - 18 months old

7-1-14 Lily loves Elmo from Sesame Street! She's always saying, “Emmo, Emmo, Emmo!" We bought them each a small Elmo doll and now we hear Emmo even more! Haha!

Last weekend we went to Gordman's looking for one thing and left with two new toys. Lily got a little choo choo train with a little conductor. She loves that thing! Choo choo, choo choo! We put up their kitchen last week too and she puts her choo choo and Elmo in the cabinet on the left. It's her spot. When she wakes up from nap before Violet, I'll bring the monitor down with us. She wants to hold it and then put it on the shelf in their kitchen. I'll ask her if Violet is awake yet and she'll get it out look at it and show me, then put it back in the cabinet. First she usually gives Violet a kiss through the monitor though!

I was watching the weather forecast and I said, “It's going to be hot, hot, hot!" Lily ran into the kitchen and pointed to the stove and said, “Hot, hot, hot!"

We usually walk up and down the street after dinner and tonight Violet was walking without holding my hand! We always have the girls walk for a few houses then they get a little tired so we'll carry them for a few houses. They like to look at the flowers, bugs, rocks, and see the doggy barking at the window.

7-2-14 The girls and I went to Book Baby/ToddlerTime at the library today. Lily is so funny. She gets so excited to sing and listen to stories that she claps her hands, smiles, and says “yeah” or giggles a little. The librarian said, “Well you can just stay with me all day!" This time we played with a parachute at the end. They loved that! I bought a water table today and we tried it out after nap time! They loved it! They were splashing around and giggling! It's a great way to cool off on these hot summer days!

Lily's been saying, “no no no." It's so funny because her little lips go in a round little o and her voice is a little deeper. Now we use it on her when we want her to stop doing something.

7-3-14 My girls are 18 months old today! It’s hard to believe a year ago they were only 6 months old and starting solid foods! Now they eat pretty much everything! They’re working on using a spoon on their own. It’s fun, but messy!! When we pull out any fruit for dessert, they get so excited! They scream and Violet waves her arms around. They are such good eaters!

7-4-14 Lily is an escape artist! She was having a hard time falling asleep at nap time. I walked back in to check on her and she was standing at the rocker footrest reading Goodnight Moon! I looked for Ryan, but he was outside washing Bella, so Lily must have climbed out on her own! I didn't want to put her back in without lowering her crib all the way (it was on the second lowest), but since Ryan was outside I decided to rock her and then put her back down when she was sleepy. She was pretty much asleep when I put her in the crib. Five minutes later, I hear a loud bump/crash and scream. That nerd! I ran in and she was fine. It scared us both so much! Ryan came up and lowered the crib. It was a surprise she could even get out of it because the top rail was up to her armpits! Now her mattress is lower and we have a pillow on the floor. She's quite determined sometimes!

Violet is so funny! Lately, she's been blowing raspberries when she's mad or irritated or doesn't want to do something, like wash her hair. Imagine her in the tub blowing raspberries while daddy is washing her hair!

7-8-14 The girls are getting some attitude! Lily whines a lot, “ah noooo, ah noooo,” especially when something doesn't go her way. They'll pull toys out of each other's hands then Violet hits. Mostly they are really sweet, but these attitude moments are tough on me. They really wear me out some days.

7-11-14 Lily peed in the toilet twice today!! We're not really starting potty training, but we have their froggy potties in the bathroom. They usually sit on them fully clothed. Today Lily told me, “I poop.” I said, “Do you want to go to the bathroom?” and she said, “Yeah.” She already pooped in her diaper, but I thought I'd put it in the toilet so she sees where it goes. I took off her pants and diaper and she peed! She was happy to dump it in the big toilet and flush her peepee and poopy and wave bye-bye. At bedtime, Ryan was putting on her jammies and noticed that she was dry and didn't need a new diaper. It had been a few hours since we changed her. I suggested that they go in the bathroom and sit on the toilet. He said as soon as she sat down, she peed! Wow! Maybe we should start potty training this girl!

I bought a little cloth thumb-guard bracelet for Violet to stop her from sucking her thumb all the time. Already in the few days we've had it I think she's talking more! She actually likes it because it has pretty butterflies on it. We mostly use it in the car and stroller. It's funny because she'll be sucking her thumb and I'll show her the bracelet, and she pops her thumb out for me to put it on. I want to use it for naps and bedtime too, but I think I'll wait and increase the amount of time she wears it slowly.

7-13-14 Lily pooped on her potty!!!!!!!! She told daddy that she had to poop so he asked if she wanted to go to the bathroom and go on the toilet. She said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah," as she ran down the hall. She sat down and went right away! Wow!!! We are so proud of her! She's so adorable. When she flushes, she always waves bye-bye as it goes down. In the tub, she waves to the bath water too!

7-14-14 I bought some kitchen stuff for the girls at IKEA and they love it! Violet stirs in the pots and pans and Lily tells us all about the banana and kiwi (kiwi is her new word). She still loves her little train and the “duc-dor” (conductor). They both love Choo Choo Soul and get so excited when we put it on!

7-17-14 Now Lily says “kwiwi" for kiwi! She thought the limes at dinner were kiwis. Violet has the cutest sound she makes when she's concentrating! It's hard to describe, but it's part grunt and part total cuteness! She loves flowers and rocks. It's hard to get her to walk when we go out after dinner! Today a neighbor had a sprinkler on and Lily went right up to it and was giggling and having a great time getting wet!

I'm in the process of weaning the girls from nursing. For the past week we've been doing every other night and it's going well. I think I'll nurse just once or twice more and then we'll be done. It's definitely bittersweet.

7-19-14 We went to Brighton for Kris' wedding tonight. It was so nice to go up to the mountains and get out of the heat! (Our AC broke on Friday night! New one comes on Monday!) Violet is such a great walker now! They were both going around and around, through the kitchen and dining/dance area, outside one door and through the outdoor patio, and then back into the kitchen. Ken was having a great time chasing Lily around! They had yummy Greek food and the girls loved it! They especially loved the falafel! Violet is walking so confidently now! What a big girl!

7-22-14 We went to Red Butte Garden for the Tedeschi Trucks Band concert! We went with Grandpa Doug and Mindy, Demi and Danny, and Liz, Rusty, and Jack. The girls had a great time! They were dancing and running around, getting lots of attention. We almost made it to the end and left at 9:30.

7-23-14 Violet has only been down the little slide on her own a few times. She'll sit at the top looking nervous, and then go down the stairs or down the slide with help. Tonight we were playing and she was holding my fingers as she went down the slide. After 4 or 5 times she'd go down by herself. I'd pick her up and plop her at the top again. She was laughing and being so silly! She probably went down the slide another 25 times! At first her legs would be stiff and she'd plunk head first into my lap! Then she got the hang of it and landed on her bum. Her laugh is so contagious!

Sometimes when I'm holding Violet, we'll hum together, always in the same breath. It's kind of a cool connection we have!

Lily's been somewhat of a stinker with all the No's and attitude, but then she'll run up and hug you! She is so good at sharing and taking turns! She's always looking out for Violet and sharing her water out getting her shoes. They've both fed each other a few times. It's so sweet! Have some bread, sissy! I'm so glad they are sharing and not fighting over things (too much)!

7-24-14 We went to Red Butte Garden this morning. It was a free day at the garden! 

Tonight was my last night of nursing. I had them on for about 5 minutes and I just knew that this was it! It was easier than I thought it would be! I guess we were all ready to be done! I made it to 18 months. That’s crazy!

7-25-14 We have a fun midday routine to get the girls down for nap. We eat lunch and I always serve veggies first, followed by their protein and starch, and then fruit for dessert. I get them washed up and down to play while I clean up. Then I change diapers and open the gate to the stairs. Once I see them give signs that they’re ready for nap I sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow and they head straight for the stairs! It works every time! They know that song means nap time!

7-28-14 Sometimes Lily's hair goes in three long ringlets down her back. Boing! They both have such long hair! People can't believe how long it is for their age. Violet's will curl and flip out to the side when it's a little wet or she's sweating. It's been so hot, we've all been sweating!

Violet says “Uh-oh” now instead of “Uh-uh!”

The girls still go in to the bathroom and sit on the toilet, but Lily hasn’t been going on it too much lately.

7-29-14 Lily grabbed a wipe and washed her hands and face, which is pretty much licking the wipe! Then she wiped her feet with it, then right to her mouth again before I could stop her! Then she wiped Violet's feet! I tried to grab her, but she's too quick! Back to her mouth again! Ew! Then I said, “All done! Take it to the trash!" and she said, “Ah done!" and put the wipe in the trash!

When Violet is tired, like she was today after Mary's, her favorite spot to rest is in my arms with her head on my right shoulder. I could hold her there all day!

7-31-14 Violet put the sock to her foot and said, “Sock, sock!” Her favorite spot is at the lion pillow chair. She leans back and then puts her right ankle up on her left knee. We got a play set last week and they love going out back to swing. They don’t want to come back in! They could swing all day!

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June 2014 - 17 months old

6-4-14 Today is mama's first day of summer break! We went on a hike with Auntie Demi up Millcreek Canyon. I took the carriers and Lily rode on my back and Violet was on Demi's. The girls were great! We saw some doggies and some pretty wild flowers. We heard a lot of birds singing and sang a few songs ourselves! It was super fun!!! At dinner, we had asparagus, pork, and quinoa. Violet looooves asparagus! I cut the top and bottom off of the stalks and she ate about 10 of them!

6-5-14 We went to Liberty Park this morning to walk with a friend who is moving to Georgia. We went to the playground too and Violet liked the swing but Lily wanted nothing to do with it. She was interested in the water spraying and got a little wet!

6-8-14 Swimming! We went swimming for the first time this morning! I found some super cute swim suits at Old Navy and we were given two floaty saucer things. Some friends invited us to a relative's condo to swim. It was a little cold with the breeze, but the water was nice and warm. Violet held on to mama and Lily to daddy. After some time, we tried the saucers. Lily hated it, but Violet was chill with it as long as I didn't let go! After swimming, we went to the condo and had a lovely picnic on the balcony facing the warm sun and the mountains up Emigration. Mimosas for the parents made the morning complete!

Lily loves dancing! I sing, “Dance, Lily, Dance!" and clap my hands and she dances in a circle. Then she'll get a little dizzy and stagger and laugh! Violet is talking so much! Most of it is baby babble, but she says baby all the time! A few weeks ago I bought the girls sandals. Of course Lily loved them and wanted to wear them all the time (still does). She got a little blister on her left foot. She must have learned “owie" at daycare because now, weeks later, she points to it and says, “owie." It's almost faded. I wonder if she'll keep saying it after it's gone!

The girls have had allergies and runny noses. They actually don't mind when I wipe their little noses! Lily will even take a kleenex and try wiping her own nose!

6-9-14 This morning we went to Liberty Park to walk with our friends Kim and Amelia. After we walked, we went over to the playground. This was our third time trying out the swings and Violet loved it! She was smiling the whole time this time! I tried to put Lily in and she screamed so we'll try again another day. I held their hands while they each went down the slide and they really liked that!

6-11-14 Lily will shrug her shoulders a few times when she walks around. This morning, Ryan was holding Violet's hand and bringing her to me for morning mama milk and Lily walked over and held her other hand! So sweet!

Violet's been saying uh-oh! She's really been talking a lot the last few days!

Lily is very task oriented. She likes taking her diaper to the trash, putting on her shoes, turning on the air filter in their room, and taking things to mama or daddy.

I put a little froggy potty in the bathroom because they've been following me in and acting a little interested, even though it's probably too early to start potty training. They can sit on it with their pants on to get used to it. Lily sat on it twice but now is unsure about it, but Violet loves sitting on it!

6-12-14 Violet said bye bye today. She's still talking all day long! She waves hello and bye bye with her silly wave. Her hand is pretty limp. Lily walks around with her bear under one arm in a football hold. It's so funny!

In the car Lily is always taking off her shoes. Then I hear her say, “OwieOwieOwieOwieOwieOwieOwie.” She is hilarious!

They've been great eaters all week for me at lunch and snack time. We always start with a veggie, usually a purée. We've had carrot & strawberry, spinach & zucchini, and broccoli & golden beet. Those are all homemade. We had some soft whole wheat pita bread left so I gave them small pieces of that with yummy hummus on top. We've also had turkey meat and cheese, one of their favorites! For dessert this week, we've had small pieces of kiwi, plum, banana, and pear. They are such good eaters!! Even when they don't like something, they usually try it. Sometimes we'll start with small pieces of tomato. Lily doesn't really like it plain yet (she loves cooked tomatoes in sauce), but she loves it in cottage cheese! Violet loves veggies! Asparagus, peas, green beans, tomatoes, all soft and cut up small.

We went to Grandma’s work this morning and when I got home I had an email from her. It said, “The girls are delightful, full of life, energy and happiness.  I love them to pieces!  My family makes me the happiest.” 

We'll be heading to Chicago in a few days. We're really excited! We hope the girls have fun and do well on the flight. I've been continuing to nurse just for our trip. It might come in handy on the plane and at bedtime. After that, I'll probably start weening them completely. It's bittersweet, that's for sure. I NEVER thought I'd go this long! I didn't know if I'd last 6 months when they were born! It's more special than I ever imagined it to be. I'm sure it will be harder on me than them to finish.

6-15-14 We got up early to get to the airport and fly to Chicago! The girls were pretty good on the flight. Violet got a little fussy so I nursed her a little and she napped. Took the train into the city and Lily slept for a while on the train. A woman at the train station said, “Gorgeous! You have the president and vice president all in one basket!" That was so sweet! Were able to check into our hotel early, which was a relief because normally check-in isn’t until 4:00. After we settled in our room a bit, we went to Trader Joe’s for some breakfast and snack foods and whole milk for the girls. Violet and I had a quick nap while Lily and daddy went out and explored a little. We had snack in Grant Park which is right across the street from our hotel, and then we walked around the city. We ended up at Millennium Park. It was really crowded! We saw “The Bean” which is a big stainless steel sculpture, and the Ghery Amphitheater. We shopped a little around the park and had a quick dinner. The girls had their own little playpen/crib to sleep in. They did well! We brought sheets from home so at least they’d have that familiarity. It took Lily a little longer than usual to go to sleep since we were all in the same room. So far the girls have done amazing! We hope the rest of the trip goes this smoothly!

6-16-14 This morning we took the Metra train to the Museum of Science and Industry. They have a lot of cool, interactive exhibits. The girls’ favorite was a big incubator with about 30 baby chicks! Violet was making all sorts of cute noises and they were both smiling and pointing at the chicks! It was so adorable! We also saw a Disney exhibit which had a bunch of original Mary Poppins movie stuff. That’s our favorite Disney movie! Afterwards, we walked over to see the beach and then took the train back. If the girls were older and didn’t need a nap, it would be a fun day to go to that museum and then hang out on the beach. They were pretty tired though. They both napped a little at the museum. We missed the train back by about a minute! We waited at the station and they got a little antsy. Luckily Ryan has Choo Choo Soul on his phone! That saved the day! Once we finally got back to the hotel we decided to rest for a bit. I wanted to go to The Art Institute of Chicago, but they close kind of early and there wasn’t enough time so we'll definitely go tomorrow.

6-17-14 This morning we went to the Shedd Aquarium! It was so fun! The girls were great and loved seeing all the marine life. They had lots of opportunities to get out of the stroller and walk around, which was nice. As we were walking back, we started talking to a woman who lives in Chicago and loves it. She took her little boy to the aquarium. He was a little younger than our girls. She said the restaurant Yolk would be a nice place for lunch and she was right! It was delicious and the girls were well behaved and ate really well. We planned today a lot better and made it back to the hotel in time for nap. Yesterday we got back later than we wanted to, so they didn’t nap as well. We then went to The Art institute of Chicago. There is so much great art in that place! One of their special exhibits was on glass paper weights. It sounds silly, but they were so incredible! The whole time I thought of my Grandma Flo because she collected paper weights. They were so intricate and displayed vertically so you could really see the details. We decided to take the subway up to Chicago Avenue where there’s the Magnificent Mile shopping. We had a great view of the river and enjoyed the other end of the city. We’d have loved to take a boat tour, but we’ll have to do it next time when the girls are older. For dinner we went a pretty fancy place! Again, we were pleased with how well the girls were at dinner. We think a lot of passerbys were surprised we took kids there because Ryan said he noticed people’s faces and they seemed surprised we took kids to this restaurant! I was oblivious to that! I was just enjoying my wine and my yummy Mahi dinner. We sat outside and got rained on for about 30 seconds! Luckily no more than that. Today was a pretty perfect vacation day!

6-18-14 We went out this morning looking for a park for the girls to play on. With all of our exploring we hadn’t seen one around! Google maps showed a few that looked closer than they really were. It was too hot and humid to search too far so we didn't end up finding one. We packed our bags and had to check out at noon. It started pouring rain when we checked out so waited in the lobby for about 15 minutes until it let up. We walked to the Field Museum, which is next to the aquarium (both about a 10 minute walk from our hotel). We thought this would be a nice place to hang out for a few hours since we had to check out at noon and our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until about 8:00. There were lots of fun things to look at and the girls walked around a lot. Violet walks well when she’s holding one of our hands, and now Lily goes to her and hold her other hand. Violet likes it as long as Lily doesn’t pull her along too fast! At one point we sat down to rest in a big lobby area downstairs. They had four big comfy chairs and lots of space for the girls to toddle around. Plus not many people go down that way. There was a woman pregnant with twins right there with us! She was nervous but excited and asked us a bunch of questions. She seemed less stressed when she left so hopefully we gave her some peace of mind about having twins! It’s pretty great, if you ask me!

We then walked around the pier and the lake. It’s so relaxing by the water. Daddy had a polish sausage and I had a chocolate ice cream cone that I shared with the girls. They were so funny! Usually they have ice cream with a spoon so this was new to them! They ended up with chocolate ice cream all over their lips and a little on their noses. When we got back to the hotel to get our bags we found out that our flight was delayed 45 minutes. Luckily the girls fell asleep in the stroller so we hung out in the lobby for a while and they slept. It was a nice rest for all of us! It started raining again, but not really hard. We got out the umbrella and the rain cover for the stroller because it was time to head to the train to go back to the airport. The girls said, “Choo choo,” the whole way there! Check-in and security was quick, but the food court was super busy! I finally found a table after waiting for someone to stand up and leave! I had a delicious chicken gyro with peppers and zucchini and yellow squash. I’ve never had a gyro with all those veggies and I loved it! We put the girls’ jammies on at the gate. Lily was screaming and we were worried. Luckily, we sat next to some sweet black ladies from Ogden that sang soulful baby songs to her. We didn't take off until almost an hour after our delayed time! Those two women saved us by entertaining the girls so much! She didn’t fuss at all! Once we were in the air, she had some mama milk and slept on daddy the whole time. Violet fussed just a little, trying to get comfy. She had some milk too and then slept. Wow they were good! Demi picked us up and we were in bed by 1:00!

6-19-14 Today we were recovering from our trip, and trying to get back on our normal schedule. They napped well, but early, before lunch. By dinner time they were so tired. Violet took a 10 minute catnap before dinner, and Lily fell asleep at the table in her highchair! We tried to wake her up, but she was out like a light! Violet was super hyper at dinner! She was being a little goofball!

6-21-14 Lily loves Violet so much! As soon as she wakes up she stands up and looks for Violet in her crib, she gives her hugs and kisses all the time, and says her name, Bi, holding out the I sound. When we are walking with Violet, Lily walks over and holds her hand. Violet loves Lily so much too. She smiles and laughs with her and touches her hair. She’s usually gentle and doesn’t grab it. She holds her hand at the table. She doesn't say Lily's name yet, but when you say, “Where's Lily?" she points to her sissy!

Violet let me paint her toenails on her big toes. They're purple, like mine. Daddy loves them! Lily wouldn't sit still long enough for me to even try!

6-23-14 At bedtime, they always blow me kisses and wave night-night. I don't even have to ask them to! Such sweet girls! How did I get so lucky!?!? They are both starting to wave by opening and closing their hands.

6-24-14 We had an appointment with Margaret, the dietitian today. Violet weighs 17.2 pounds and Lily weighs 18.5 pounds. They’re still making good progress and following the curve. They’re both in the 2% for height! They’re way under the curve still for weight, but I really don’t care anymore. Margaret is so pleased with their progress that we don’t need to see her anymore! She is so sweet, I will miss her.

6-25-14 I love being home with my girls!! They are so sweet, so smart, and so funny! We have a blast every day! Today Lily was scooting down the stairs on her bum. Violet got some of her confidence back and was walking quite a bit. We went to Book Baby at the library today! It was a lot of fun! We read books, sang songs, and danced around! I hope I can take them every week!

6-26-14 Lily's been telling us when she has to poop. She says, “I poop," or “poopy." So today I took her into the bathroom and took off her pants and diaper, and then put her on one of the froggy potties. She peed a little and pooped just a little! Then Violet came in and sat on the potty too! I'm not sure if I can start toilet training before they can pull their pants up and down and before Violet is walking steadily! I am looking forward to being done with diapers though!!

We went to the park earlier today and of course Violet loved the swing and didn't want to get off. It's just like when she was really little and loved the baby swing. My parents said that I loved it too. We would both be in there for hours if we could. Lily even helped me push Violet a little bit! I think Lily thought about how much fun the swing is because after Violet got out she walked over and started touching it with her fingertips and then pushed it a little. I picked her up and she didn't fight me this time. She just sat there a minute, not swinging then I pushed her a tiny bit. That was ok. Then I pushed her a little more. That was not ok so we stopped. She liked it a little and was even smiling!!

6-27-14 Lily is definitely right handed. Violet seems strong with both hands. She always eats with her left, but today was throwing balls better with her right! We think left is her dominant side though. Ryan and I are both right handed, but I can do quite a few things with my left. Violet's a lot like me! Lily's a lot like Ryan!

This week I put the slide we bought them for Christmas out in our living room. I needed something new for them to play on to release energy when it's too hot outside. I put balls in the splash area and there's a little ladder and a red slide. They absolutely love it! Lily is fearless on the slide going down on her bum or feet first on her tummy. Violet loves climbing in and out of the ball pit and tossing out the balls one at a time, or climbing to the top of the stairs and looking out, standing at the top. They bring their stuffed animals in the ball pit and then lie back, relaxing in the balls. They have such a great time playing together!

6-28-14 Violet finally decided that she's brave enough to walk! She was walking all afternoon! I called my mom to tell her and she said that she's just like I was. Cautious and likes taking her time. She said, “You weren't in any rush!" I also called her to tell her that Violet loves rocks like I did as a child. We went out back to play with Bella and Jimmy, and Violet played with the rocks almost the whole time.

Later I showed Lily a picture of Sarah's daughter, Charlotte, on Facebook. They are friends and go to Mary's together. She said, “Jibberish, jibberish, Char-wotte. Jibberish, jibberish, Char-wotte,” and didn't want to give me back the phone! I think she misses her friend! We went upstairs for bath time and Violet was still walking after bath! She was walking down the hall naked and I said we'd better get her jammies on so she doesn't pee in the hall! She wanted to walk more and more with me on one end of the hall and daddy on the other with Lily walking too. She paused and even totally turned around without falling! She fell down and then stood up all by herself!!!! That was the first time she’s done that! She was able to do that over and over again! I think we've made a lot of progress today! Lily has been so supportive of Violet. She holds her hand and helps her up and gives her hugs and kisses. Ah, sissy love!

6-30-14 We went to Liberty Park this morning to walk with our friend, Giulia. At the playground Lily loved the swing! At first she didn’t want to move that much. She was happy to just sit in it, but soon she was swinging almost as high as Violet! Both girls were smiling and laughing! They didn’t want to stop!

I can’t believe they will be 18 months old on Thursday! They are growing so fast!!! 

Not an update and a few pictures!

Well, I'm not doing so well at updating this little blog. Every day is so full and by the evening, I want to crash on the couch. Luckily, I'm great at writing little notes of happenings on my phone, and then I email that to myself and put it in a word document every few months. For their first year I have 18 pages of memories! I'm planning on posting those here once a month. Then I won't be doing two separate writings; just a copy and paste. It might be boring and repetitive, but I guess it's better than nothing! As for pictures, I'll try, but I'm pretty good about posting a few on Facebook every week. Here are a few from earlier this week:

What did I just say?!

When you're a mom, you get a whole new vocabulary. You say words and phrases you never thought you'd ever say. 

Here's how it went down:
poopy diaper
fast hands
washed her twice!
nursing babes
faint smell of poo
grabbing nipple
"DON'T TOUCH MY NIPPLE WITH YOUR POO HAND!"

Doctor Visits and Milestones

We took the girls to their one year appointment last Monday. They only cried a little when they were jabbed! Shots are no fun! We are always so nervous about getting their weight checked. We work so hard at feeding them a lot and fattening them up, but they are always so small. Violet weighed in at 14 pounds and Lily at 14 lbs. 11 oz. We were sure Lily would weigh 15 pounds, but she's pretty close. They've pretty much tripled their birth weight, which is expected at a year. Dr. Cox wanted us to take them in to see a dietitian and wanted us to take Violet to physical therapy since she's not crawling. We also want to check her head shape. That's a lot for this mama to take in! 

We went to the physical therapist two days later, on Wednesday. She showed us a lot of ways we can help Violet strengthen her arms, many of which we were already doing. She also measured her head because it's a little flat on one side (only I notice, of course). She thinks it will round out as she grows so we don't need to worry. She wants us to go every week, but with insurance not covering until the deductible is met, we'll see how she progresses and then go from there. 

We worked on the play/exercises and so did Mary at daycare. By Friday, Violet was able to go from her tummy to sitting up! Woo hoo! She's been so close for so many days, and now she's finally done it! I'm so proud of her!

We started a food journal on Sunday because we had an upcoming appointment with a dietitian on Wednesday. It was hard to figure out how much food they actually ate! We had to subtract what was left on their face, in their bib, on their tray, and on the floor! Their appetites were a little smaller too, we think because they're both getting their top teeth in. Oh well! We took the girls to the dietitian on Wednesday, and she started by weighing and measuring them. Violet is still 14 lbs. and Lily is 15 lbs. 4 oz.! We think the old-school scale at Dr. Cox's office was wrong on Lily's measurement! Margaret, the dietitian, compared their weight to their height. I really liked this comparison because it doesn't take into account their age, just their weight and height. Lily is at 91% of her target weight (90-100 is the goal), and Violet is at 80% of her target weight. We knew she was a string bean! We always offer her the same, or even more food, as Lily. She eats slower and is a little pickier. Margaret made a lot of good suggestions to help them gain weight. We're already doing a lot of things we should! That's nice to hear. The biggest change for us will be to make sure they do not have any milk between meals and to wait 3-4 hours between meals so they're really hungry. I'm going to try to wean from nursing in the next month or so, too. They need to fill their bellies on high-calorie foods and drinks, and I don't think the milk I produce is very fatty. We're going to put some heavy cream in their cups of milk and butter on their crackers! We'll keep trying to fatten these girls up! We have a follow-up appointment in April, but Margaret said we can call her anytime we need to.

After school on Thursday, I went to Mary's to pick up the girls. Mary was thrilled to tell me that Violet crawled to a toy! I started jumping and screaming, I was so happy! All the kids stopped playing and looked at me a little scared. Haha! I'm just so proud of my little Vi-Vi! At home she showed off her crawling skills some more! She's pretty slow and careful, but she is definitely crawling. She'll go about two paces and then sit. That's a great start. She's also able to pull up to her knees, almost to standing! We're pretty sure we're going to cancel the other physical therapy appointments now. She's met most of her goals in 8 days! I'm not so worried any more! We're so lucky Mary and Val are on board with everything. They've been working with Violet on her arm strength and tummy time, and have always supported us with any diet changes we've needed to do for the girls. They always say how much they love Violet and Lily. They spend so much time with them each day, they're like family! 

I'm so proud of both my little girls! Today they were standing at the coffee table, playing side-by-side, and I couldn't help but think how lucky I am! 

First Birthday Girls!

Wow! We all made it to ONE! We had a fun birthday weekend. Ryan took a half a day off on their birthday. After the girls' afternoon nap, we went to the planetarium. Violet and Lily loved standing at the ball contraption and watching it send the balls all around, even on the ceiling. We looked at all the models of the planets and at the meteorite samples. Our favorite part was walking on Mars and on the Moon! Violet LOVES walking (holding on to mama or daddy) and she did great over the bumps and rocks! Lily wanted to crawl all over, but it was not the best place for crawling! 

Mama and the birthday girls!

Proud Daddy!

The big birthday party was the next day, Saturday, January 4th. We put up First Birthday banners the night before and Ryan picked up the balloons that morning. First Yia Yia (Grandma), Ted, and Isaac came. Yia Yia was so excited to see the birthday girls! Andrea, Matt, and Addy came, as well as some friends: Amy & Sam, Cathey, and Sarah, Rob, Maddie, & Charlotte. We had pizza, salad, fruit, and CAKE! It was some yummy carrot cake! The girls ate a big lunch of avocado and banana, some chicken noodle soup, raspberries, and grapes. We opened presents, well I opened presents and Violet sat on my lap while Lily crawled around. They got some clothes, books, toys, and puzzles. The card from us has a mirror in it and Lily kissed herself just like we thought she would! Then it was time for cake! Violet cried when I put the birthday hat on her. (They had the hats on earlier and didn't cry, so I thought I'd put them on again.) We sang the birthday song and blew out candles. Lily dug right into the cake and loved it! Violet stopped crying when I put some cake in her mouth! Haha! (Ooo, this is good!) They ate A LOT of cake and were so happy! Grandma was cleaning the floor and Lily threw cake on her head! Twice! Naughty girl!

 Cutting the cake!

 Yummy!

 

 

After everyone left, they had some milk and went down for a nap. They only slept a little more than an hour! Maybe all the sugar kept them from sleeping longer.

We went to The Dodo for dinner. We usually take our purple high chairs that hook onto the tables, but this time we tried the wooden ones. The girls were so good! Lily ate so much! She at some of my bruschetta topping, tomato soup, turkey from my sandwich, some wheat bread with avocado on it, plus the food we brought for them! We used the pink place mats that have a pocket hanging over. A puff rolled into that and she laughed her little laugh. Ha ha. Violet ate about half as much as Lily, but still tried everything. She was more into being social and smiling at EVERYBODY around us! She kept turning in her high chair away from daddy. She was entertaining everyone at the tables around us. They were soooooo good! What a great day! Now they are officially one!!