The chicken pox

Last Wednesday afternoon I noticed Lily had a few spots on her back. I thought she was having an allergic reaction to a new food I was feeding her. They started to spread so I took her to the doctor Friday- she has the chicken pox! Somehow Kate has managed to be clear of them but we're pretty confident that spots will be popping up any day (any minute) now. Most kids don't even get chicken pox anymore because they have a vaccine for them now but you can't get it until 12 months. So far Lily is still her happy self and they don't seem to be bothering her too much, except for the occasional itch behind her ears.

Since it's so contagious we had to stay home all weekend. We went out and got a baby pool and spent a lot of time outside yesterday. It was a wonderful day and the girls had a lot of fun. I bought a cheap baby pool that is a piece of junk so if anyone reading this has any recommendations for a good pool, let me know!

Lily and Kate playing in their new bath tub

 Playing with Daddy

The girls in their pool- Kate sticking her tongue out

Cabo for Mother's Day

Devin and I left for Cabo at 7 am Thursday afternoon. My parents drove in to babysit and my Dad dropped us off at the airport. It was so hard to leave the girls but we had such a good time! We got to Cabo at noon and immediately hit the amazing infinity pool overlooking the ocean as well as the swim up bar. Devin asked me before we left if I wanted to do anything. I let him know that all I wanted to do was eat, sleep and drink...and that was the order of my priorities for the weekend. I ate Sea Bass, Hawaiian Butter Fish, Red Snapper, fish tacos. I also had sushi from their amazing swim up bar restaurant every single day for lunch. And don't forget about the best margaritas with fresh lime (all day long!) with some pretty amazing fresh guacamole and chips. I'm sure Devin is laughing right now because for some reason I like to tell him what I eat everyday!

It was such a fun trip but we were definitely ready to come back Sunday morning to see our sweet girls...plus it was my first Mother's Day! We woke up at 5:30 am to catch our flight and were back in Dallas for lunch. I got to spend the rest of the day with Kate and Lily after an amazing vacation. It was the perfect Mother's Day. Lily has even sprouted a tooth! There were several babies at the resort with their families and it definitely made me miss my girls. Normally I would be irritated that parents would bring their babies to a really nice resort, but I look at it totally different now. None of the babies were as young as Kate and Lily, they were between 12 months and 2 years, but they were all so well behaved and having a blast in the pool. We talked to one couple about bringing children on this type of vacation and they said they always travel with a set of grandparents. Sounds good to me! I can't wait until the girls are a little older and we can take them on family vacations. But for now I would like to freeze them in time at this current age and enjoy them being the perfect babies they are, and 100% reliant on their mommy!

Special thanks to Gigi and Papa for babysitting. Happy Mother's Day, Gigi and Happy Birthday, Papa!

The infinity pool overlooking the ocean

The first day I got to meet Kate and Lily! Happy late Mother's Day!

Kate and Lily are 7 months (30 weeks)

We're officially at the 7 month mark. Lots of new things have been going on with the girls and they are so happy and curious right now. We started eating solids at 6 months and the girls are just now starting to enjoy eating. So far I've made all their baby food and it's so easy and even tastes good! We've had sweet potatoes, bananas and avocados. Unfortunately the avocados were not a hit and they're supposed to be the brain food. I'll try them again next week. Next on the menu is pears and peaches. Yum.

Lily has been crawling for a few weeks and she is into everything. Her favorite discovery is the dog water bowl. She loves to stick her hand in it and then lick the water off her hand. Gross. She also started sitting up last week. I mean straight up. Another first for Lily!

Kate has mastered a one arm scoot. She drags herself throughout the house using her right arm. It's pretty funny to watch. I'm convinced she knows how to crawl. I've seen her go a few feet the traditional way, but I think she gets around faster with this one arm so that's the route she has chosen.

It looks like our girls are going to keep their gorgeous, bright blue eyes. Most babies eye color changes as they grow but by 6 months their permanent eye color should be set. I LOVE their electric blue eyes! It also looks like we might have a couple of brunettes. Their hair is slowly but surely growing in and it looks like it's going to be light brown. Both girls like to feel their hair, especially when they're sleepy.

They are both very happy babies, sleep very well and we are very lucky that they are so healthy.

Kate and Lily: 7 months

 Look how far we've come. They look more and more alike each month. Gigi made this fun collage. Love it!

 Lily sitting up

Kate in the jumper

Miss Kate after bath time

Miss Lily after her bath

Kate and Lily's 6 month check up

Kate:
Weight: 16 pounds and 2 1/2 ounces; 51%
Height: 26.5 inches; 75%
Head: 42.5 inches; 50%
-Kate said mama at 6 months
-She is starting to "scoot" everywhere
-She is wearing size 6-9 month clothes and still in a size 2 diaper

Lily:
Weight: 16 pounds and 3 ounces; 52%
Height: 26.25 inches; 73%
Head: 43.7 inches; 75%
-Lily crawled at 6 months
-She is wearing size 6-9 month clothes and still in a size 2 diaper

Both girls have started eating solids and really aren't very impressed with the new food. They are now sitting in their high chairs and ate bananas for the first time yesterday. They liked them more than rice cereal, but really just prefer their bottles over anything. They are really into toys right now and it's so much fun to watch them get excited about everything around them. Now that they're able to move around, they are much happier babies and are enjoying their new found freedom.

We were so surprised to find out Lily weighs more than Kate. Kate is visibly larger than Lily, but Lily's head seems to be the majority of her weight! It looks like both girls will be tall, but we all figured that!

We asked about the DNA test to find out if the girls are identical or fraternal and we found out they really don't administer the test unless something were to happen and we really needed to find out if they shared DNA. I noticed a few weeks ago that the lines on their hands and feet are exactly the same, and our doctor said that he's leaning towards them being identical because their percentages are so close at all our check ups. He said most of his fraternal twins have very different numbers. So we're going with identical for now! Keep in mind the chance of having identical twins is 0.4% or 1 in 250. Pretty crazy!

28 Weeks- LILY CRAWLED!

Yesterday we went over to Aunt Melissa's and got to play with our cousin Sloane. While we were over there, Lily officially crawled. Not a scoot, or a crawl/fall...it was a crawl. And it continued when we got home. She actually made it the length of her bedroom.

Our other first is from Kate. Two days ago, Kate said MA-MA. She was in her swing and I went to pick her up and she very clearly said mama. Devin was in the other room and heard it loud and clear as well.

Lots of fun things at 28 weeks. We have our doctor's appointment tomorrow that I'm excited about. Who gets excited about doctor's appointments?!?

 Kate and Lily

Kate growling at me

Lily in the front and Kate in the back

The view of our living room..I mean playroom

Lily

 Kate

Your babies are the most active 6 month olds we've ever seen!

The girls and I went to our bible study this morning. We meet once a month and the teacher is a child development specialist and it's so nice to get her perspective on things. The girls went to the nursery for the second time in their short lives and it was great to have some me time. They seemed to have a really good time-no tears when I left them and no sign of tears when I picked them up. Another success! The nursery workers said that Kate and Lily are the "most active" 6 month old babies they've ever kept. No kidding! I glanced around the room and all the other babies their age were in swings or bouncy chairs, just chilling. Meanwhile, Kate and Lily are scooting all over the place trying to eat things. After the bible study we met Bryanna, an old friend from Staff Care, at Mi Cocina for lunch. The girls were so good! I, of course, had anxiety about going out to lunch with them, but they really surprised me. They pretty much slept the whole time. We sat outside because the weather in Dallas is amazing right now. After that we came back home for a bottle and a long nap. It's been a really great day.


Backtrack to Saturday.... We took a field trip to Fort Worth for a going away party for Susanna at Courtney's house. It was so nice to see everyone but the girls were tired and fussy and Kate's diaper had a minor malfunction. It basically didn't work and I had to have a quick wardrobe change. Needless to say we left the party after an hour. Oh well....it happens!

 Lindsey and Kate

 Courtney and Lily

 Lily

 Kate

Kate attacking her dolly and Lily loving the camera

I love how happy Kate is in this picture

This picture cracks me up. The girls are ALL over each other right now. Love the chubby legs!

Kate and Lily's first Easter!

What a very special weekend we had with our family in Shreveport. We drove in from Dallas and Jeff and Jenny met us there from Memphis. The girls were so much fun this weekend and were definitely showing off for their grandparents and Aunt and Uncle. No stranger anxiety with the family. I think they must just know how much these people love them. The girls did a little boutique shopping around Shreveport. There are so many cute children clothes stores and there was one super cute boutique with housewares. We all three shopped and didn't spend a dime. Lots of self control! Mom however bought us a little special Easter present that Jenny and I picked out. It's called Eyestea. I'll let you know if it works! We went to church Sunday..during the girl's nap time. They were pretty good but towards the end we had to step out. They were so tired and not too happy about so many people coming up to them to say hello. They looked absolutely beautiful in their dresses. Little angels! Both Kate and Lily had a few firsts on Saturday. They ate rice cereal for the first time and they also crawled a few inches. Kate is obsessed with the solid food and cries when I switch to Lily to give her a bite. She hasn't caught on that there will be more coming her way. Lily is still a little skeptical. She eats it but makes a funny face every bite. Looking forward to feeding them bananas, avocados and sweet potatoes next.

Here are a few pictures of the sweet girls from this weekend. Hope everyone enjoyed their Easter!

Devin feeding Kate who is grabbing the spoon and bowl to get some more of that yummy rice cereal. I'm feeding Lily who was a little unsure of the whole thing.

 Kate reaching for more food. She is very serious about eating.

 Lily wondering why she can't just have her bottle.

 Papa and Lily watching basketball.

Lily with her Daddy.

 Aunt Jenny and Kate with Uncle Jeff and Lily after church. We discovered that Lily LOVES getting her picture taken.

 Gigi jumped in the picture.

Me and my sweet girls!

Lily once again excited about getting her picture taken.

Kate showing us how crawling is done.