How are things going? Pretty great! The routine is settled and the kids are all doing really well. The babies have been sleeping through or almost through the night most nights now (haha, I know, for now, knock on wood!??!). Last night they actually slept almost 12 hours straight without waking up AT ALL!!! That was incredible. . . . Don't worry. I made sure they were still alive. ;)
So here's a little update on us all:
OL & IZ
The twinners are doing awesome. They're happy, smiley, and ticklish!!! It is the funnest thing ever. They are really good sleepers at night and so-so during the day, and they're great eaters. Oliver loves his food and is downing 6 ounces a feeding at 4 months old (and has been for a while already). Isabel drinks while looking around and smiling, taking breaks after every few gulps. Haha. Eat to live vs. Live to eat, eh?
They're both making progress on tummy time! Hooray! Neither of them fancy the whole exercise thing, but they're able to last longer being happy and enjoying looking around and reaching for things... before they tire out and face plant, crying. I've been trying different ways of tummy time throughout the day to give them variety and help (like across my arm, on my chest, over a rolled up towel/blankie, on my lap, etc). That's been helping them, and they like that more.
Isabel is ROLLING now! She's quickly turning into a rolling machine. :) And with all her reaching, toe pushing, pivoting, and rolling, she definitely moves around the floor or her crib! Not "mobile" but definitely not stationary. :D It's a fun stage! Except when she rams her head into the crib bars and cries in the night. That's no fun.
They're starting to grab toys and play a little bit! Especially Izzy (notice the trend? haha). Iz is cruisin' when it comes to gross motor development. Ollie is making progress, just not as fast in that area. He's developing other areas. :) Though he's started rolling from belly to back a ton! Now he gets out of tummy time early haha. Lil stinker! Both babies are very vocal and jabber a lot, and Ollie laughs and squeals a lot more when he's tickled. Love it!
LU
Lucy is doing great. Her stages of big sisterness have taken a much more positive upwards swing of late! She's always been a good big sis, very careful with the babies, etc. But she hasn't always loved the idea of these little people sticking around and taking mommy and daddy time from her sometimes. However, lately she's become such a little mommy herself, and is wanting to feed them, wipe their spit up and drool, and is often right in their faces making them smile and coo. :) She LOVES her siblings now, and is patient and caring with them.
Some of my favorite moments include when she goes into their room in the morning and greets them as they wake up. It's a happy time! :D
Entertaining herself is a skill of this toddler. It has been a major blessing. She is SUCH a bookworm! I LOVE IT! She loves books and reading, being read to, and looking at books quietly by herself. Reading together has always been such a special and wonderful time together. Books are friends, and they foster great memory-making moments, both at home and out and about.
She also loves Little Einsteins, Winnie the Pooh, Frozen, and Daniel Tiger right now, and often uses phrases and words from those shows/movies. She loves singing and acting out scenes from Frozen, and has a remarkable memory for scenes and music in movies.
She loves her sweet ride, too. We've been trying to get outside here and there, going to the park, meeting friends, making a slurpee or ice cream run here and there, etc. Just plop all three kids on and off we go (Lucy on the glider board usually)! Lucy always gets excited when we announce "we're going strollin'!"
Lu is also a total puzzle whiz. Definitely one of her favorite pastimes, and she puts them together so fast all by herself without even looking at any of the boxes or pictures. We've taught her a few tricks to finding what pieces go together (colors, patterns, etc), and she totally picked it up! Her puzzles range from 6 to 48 pieces, and she does them all over and over.
Sam and I got memberships to the Rec Center here. It's amazing. And it also has this incredible gem inside it! (Pictures courtesy of Google Images). It's a waterpark/splashpark of amazingness. And Lucy is in heaven here! She loves it, and is so brave going down the little waterslides. There's also a big bubbly lazy river we can all float along together, and we like to play family chase down the current.
...which bring us to the update on us, I guess!
S&N
We're loving our Rec Center memberships. They've got us motivated to exercise regularly and often, and there is SO much to do there. Classes, pools, sports courts, gym equipment, and a track. It's been so fun going, and I already feel so much better.
Life is going! Sam is enjoying school and work (homework not as much, but who loves homework anyways, right??). He's had some neat teaching and coding experiences in his job. He's got about a year and a half to 2 years left probably.
We went on a date not long ago! It was such a blast. Swimming at the rec center (pools, rock wall into pool, mini cliff jumping, lazy river, hot tubbing), then to The Chocolate to split the most decadent Cazookie/Pazookie dessert. Yum! <3
. . . Post on our 4th of July fun to come!
