Sleeping Beauties

It happened last night - Mary and Sophie went to bed as usual around 7:00, but this time I did not have to go in their room until they woke up at 7:00 this morning. Will it happen again? I probably just jinxed it for tonight, ha, ha. That's OK. Usually someone wakes up and needs a pacifier or something in the middle of the night. I could probably just let them get themselves back to sleep when that happens, but then I might have 2 babies that are awake.

The girls just had their 4 month Doctor's appointment on Friday. They have grown a good bit and are closer to full-term baby weight now. Mary weighed 12 lb 5 oz and Sophie 12 lb 3 oz. Both girls laid on their bellies and rolled over for Dr. Wong. Sophie also showed off all the vowel sounds she can make now.

We are all doing great! The girls are more fun than ever. I'll post these pictures and write more later - Dad just got home from work.

Sophie: Can't a girl get some privacy after a bath?

Explorer Mary

Babies with Babies... and a NEW Baby!

Mary and Sophie are starting to play with the baby dolls they got for Christmas. They are starting to use their hands more now, which is pretty cool. And they are starting to put things in their mouth, as you can see from Sophie with her baby doll.

Closeup of Mary with Sophie in the background


Funny Face Sophie


Cheerful Mary

Things get more fun as the girls are growing. They're just able to notice and do more things, which makes them easier to entertain and keep awake during the day. They enjoy watching and sometimes mimicking each other. Sophie loves watching her mobile, especially the octopus. Mary likes bouncing and looking out the window. They get to watch TV now too and usually watch the Hoobs on Sprout TV at 5:30 before they have dinner and go to bed.

Both girls are sleeping well at night now. We started a 7:00 bedtime around 3 months, and they are sleeping now until 7:00 in the morning with little interruption. So we are all sleeping better at night now. I think the long stretches of sleep are helping them grow more too. We'll find out at the doctor's office in 2 more weeks how much they weigh. Peter thinks it's around 12 pounds. They certainly feel heavier.

Palmer O'Neal Edge has arrived!

Baby Palmer

My cousin Jeffrey and his wife Susan just had a baby named Palmer O'Neal Edge. He was born on January 11 and was 7 weeks early. Mary and Sophie were 5 weeks 2 days early. But since Palmer is a "singleton," he was a little bigger than they would have been - he weighed 3 lbs 15 oz at birth, which is 1 oz less than Mary. He had to stay in NICU for about the same length of time as the girls and is now at home with Mom and Dad. I can't believe how much hair he has!

Mary is starting to get some hair, but nothing like Palmer. It's a little thicker though, and I could really tell when washing her hair during bathtime last night.

The girls look forward to playing with Palmer when we go down to visit family in Georgia!

Happy New Year!

Mary and Sophie before the Sugar Bowl - Go Dawgs!

Sophie, I'm hungry!

Dinnertime for Sophie!

Mom, Sophie and Mary

Mary and Sophie in their Bumbo seats

Sophie Sleeps Through Night

I will count this as sleeping through the night - Sophie had her last bottle around midnight last night and woke up early this morning - I think maybe around 6:00... but Dad gave her her pacifier and she dozed until time to get up, which is 7:00. Sophie is pictured above with Grandpa - this was taken just before we left Georgia on Christmas Day. We are so proud of her for sleeping at night! She is getting better at being awake during the day too and is smiling a lot. So she must also be pleased with the progress.

Both girls are doing better with sleeping at night - I think they are starting to get the concept. They wake up in a good mood when they get a lot of sleep too. Mary slept last night from 8:30 PM to 7:00 this morning. Actually, she stirred about in her crib until about 9:30, but that was still the longest stretch of sleep she's had. I woke her up this morning and she was all smiles. Which is especially nice, since she is just getting over a cold.

The girls and our two dogs did great on the trip down to GA and back to VA. We were all road warriors, stopping only to get gas and for Mom and Dad to use the restroom. Simon and Bailey stayed in the backseat of our rented minivan the whole time. They could not really get out of the van w/ the car seats in the middle seats anyway. Before you go thinking that we are cruel to animals and children for leaving them in the car the whole time - we made our voyage at night - leaving around 11 PM and arriving around 7:30-8 AM on both trips. The girls pretty much sleep as long as the car is moving. So either way we would have lost a night's sleep - better it be making progress on the road then up all night after driving w/ 2 infants all day long plus stopping to feed them.

Sophie and Mary had a nice first Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Forsyth. Santa came to see them and brought them some fun toys that make noises. They can't really play with them yet, but they enjoy listening to the sounds and looking at the bright colors. It won't be long before Mary will be playing her little toy piano and Sophie will be beating her drum.

Turns out that Sophie is the #1 name for 2007. Grandpa heard it on the radio while we were down visiting. We did not know we were so trendy. But that's a cool little fun fact - think I'll write it in the baby book. Once the girls are sleeping at night I'll get right on top of that.

There's Something About Mary

I'm dedicating this post to Mary today because I am so proud of her - she slept through the night last night! She went to bed at 12:30 AM and woke up at 7:00 this morning doing just fine. Sophie on the other hand drank like a fish around 2:00 in the morning but then she slept until Mary decided to get up. We have to work on keeping Sophie awake and eating better during the day.

Hopefully a similar post dedicated to Sophie will be coming soon??

I think it helps to stay optimistic.

Holiday Outtakes

Isn't it the law now that all parents of newborns have to feature their picture on the family's Christmas card? In order to retain our status as upstanding citizens, we've been working on capturing that perfect photo (not pictured here!) to mail out to our family and friends. We finally got it I think. Well, close enough - before Sophie spewed her milk all over Mary. But just thought I'd share some outtakes on the blog. Thanks to Grandma for the Christmas outfits.

Sophie's on the left and Mary on the right in each photo.

Fun with Babies

Sophie

It's been a while since the last post so here are some more baby pictures. Today we all went shopping together at Whimsies - it's a cute children's clothing store but kind of boutique, so we've never been there. We had a gift certificate from Peter's boss and his family so we bought some winter hats for the girls.

I'm not sure how much they weigh now but they've been growing and must weigh much more than they did last doctor's visit. Unfortunately, I weigh about the same - I know it will take time to get off the baby weight but they really talked up breastfeeding in all those books and childbirth classes. It's supposed to burn 500 calories a day and that's just for one baby. But enough about me. Besides if I go somewhere with the girls, they get all the attention. And they are much more fun to buy clothes for! I think Grandma Carol would agree - we just received more outfits in the mail from her today. :)

So since we bought some cool hats we had to take pictures of the girls wearing them, of course. We got Sophie's picture first. I took Mary's picture after some play time and the next feeding, by that time she was already tuckered out, but still cute in the hat.

Dad, Sophie and Mary

Playful Mary

Sleeping Mary