Enjoying a good book!

The girls love these books. They have sound and different textures. They love to hold it and listen to the animal sounds. I am getting a head start on helping them to love books and reading.

We also have this cool activity center with lots of toys all around it. Thet can sit in it and turn themselves and play with everything. Alyssa really likes it and especially likes to grab and eat the sunrays. Isn't she so cute!!

Happy Hannah

I think these pictures are too cute not to share. Hannah was in a great mood and smiling so big for me. I had put the headband on her and thought it was so cute. Jim doesn't like them because they leave such a bad indention when you take them off. I love these pictures though.

Pretty in Pink

The girls are so pretty in pink! Hannah in light pink, Alyssa in dark pink. They are usually dressed in something pink or purple. We got new bedding for them. It is pink and green and white with little flowers all over it. It really makes the room look great. They are getting so big now that they can't both fit in one crib. They will bump into each other while rolling around. Usually Alyssa will get a hold of Hannah somehow and scratch her. You can see Alyssa's hand on Hannah's head in the picture. :) They sleep in their own cribs, but sometimes I like for them to play together. It is so cute when they see each other and smile and reach for each other. I just know they are going to be best friends.

They love their new seats!

Two Happy Babies

They love to laugh. They wake up happy and cooing, they laugh and smile when you play with them. They are happy babies. I love it when they smile. My heart fills with so much joy when I look in their sweet faces. (Hannah in blue boppy and purple hat, Alyssa in pink boppy.)

Big Changes

The girls are growing so much. Hannah weighs 15 lbs. now and Alyssa is close behind weighing in at 13 lbs. They are awake much more during the day and they like to play with rattles and look at books. They are sleeping through the night now! They have been sleeping between 6-8 hours every night since they were 14 weeks. (Now they are 19 weeks) So we have been feeling much better and are finally getting some much needed rest. We discovered sleep sacks and they are really worth buying. They are really just a blanket that the babies sleep in. You put them in it and zip it up. That way they stay warm through the night, they don’t kick the covers off and wake up from being cold, and the worry about them choking on the blanket is gone. Since the first night we put them in these sacks, they have been sleeping great. We dress them and feed them a bottle and they drift off to sleep. We put them in their cribs and they sleep away until morning. It is heavenly. When they do wake up around 6 or 7, they eat another bottle and then go back to sleep for a little bit longer. That is when I can get things like blogging done. (Hannah in sack, Alyssa sleeping on Daddy's lap)

Getting Stronger

Both of the girls are now holding their heads up when they lay on their bellies. (Alyssa facing right, Hannah facing left). It is so amazing to watch them do something new each day. One day this past week, Alyssa was lying on the jungle play mat and reached up for the hanging toy. It has a ball that makes music when they spin it. I was in the kitchen and heard the music. I turned around to see Alyssa reaching and spinning it. It was awesome. I grabbed the video camera of course. Another amazing thing I was able to catch in tape was Hannah rolling over by herself for the first time. She has been practicing for a week or two rolling to her side and we would help her over a little. This night, she rolled to her side, got her leg and bottom over and then with a little more effort she got the top half over. She looked up and smiled at us. I was so happy I cried. I know all babies do these things and all babies are an amazing miracle to behold, but to me, my babies are especially amazing. J

Our Family

Here are 9 of the 10 girls that are in our family now (one was on a home visit). They are terrific. Each one has a special place in our hearts. We are loving this experience, and really feel that we are making a positive difference in their lives. This picture was taken at the VA Hospital in Asheville when we took them to help in a service project for Memorial Day. Our ward had a picnic for the Veterans and the girls helped to serve them and just talked with them a little. It was a nice day and a good learning experience for them. The girls names are (top left to right) Chelsea, Jessica, Andrea, Jamie, and Carrie. (bottom left to right) Jimbo, Taylor holding Alyssa, Staci, Tori, Beverly holding Hannah and me.

The Big Girls

We call them the big girls and the little girls. The big girls are so great with the babies. They play with them, feed them, hold them, walk around with them when they are fussy, and even paint their toenails. It is really nice to have 20 extra hands when you have twins.

Sisters

Gidget is a part of the family too. She is good with the babies. If they are on the floor for Tummy time, she will lick them and smell them. When they are asleep in our arms, she will lay on our lap with them. If I leave their activity mats on the floor, she will lay down on them. I don’t think the babies are aware of her yet. The other day when Gidget was sniffing Alyssa she reached out and grabbed Gidget’s ear. Gidget squeaked and ran away from her. She is a little skiddish of the now. Hopefully, she will be fine with them as they continue to grow and play with her more.

They should be on the big screen!

Our beautiful babies! They love photo sessions! I have so many great pictures of them it is hard to pick which ones to post. I hope you are enjoying them. Check often for updates. (Hannah has the bracelet on)

Beautiful angels

They are growing and changing so much everyday. Jim and I are so blessed to be able to watch all these little mirables everyday. They are starting to laugh and play peek-a-boo with us. They are starting to recognize each other too. They stare at each other and smile. It is so amazing. They were worth the wait.