Twins at 5 Months

Every day's a great day when you're a twin!

Happy 5 Month Birthday to my sweet twins! They have made great strides in the last month in developing their personalities and their physical skills.

What-chu lookin at?

Miss August proudly rolls from her back to her belly with ease -- and then screams when she gets stuck on her belly and can't roll back over. Matt calls it the "reverse turtle" maneuver. Sometimes she rolls right on top of Sam - it's pretty funny to watch. Sam can roll from belly to back, but has a little more "heft" to manage and can't quite get from back to belly.  

August also has a new game she loves to play, and she actually initiates it with anyone that holds her. She starts spitting t them like crazy - people ask me what she's doing, and I just tell them to spit right back. She thinks it's the coolest thing ever that you can spit. She also mimics you a lot if you look at her and open your eyes wide and raise your eyebrows. She's becoming very attached to people and, unfortunately, a bit of a cry baby if you put her down. She still looks just like a little pixie or brownie and I'm pretty sure her eyes are going to stay a beautiful steel blue.

Mr. Sam is a "Man About Town" as Grandpa Judd puts it. He is constantly charming everyone he sees and is quite a flirt. If he is upset he is easy to appease and is truly the happiest baby I have ever seen in my life. He loves to talk, so much so that it's hard to feed him because he needs so many chat breaks. He loves to use his hands and feet and is constantly marching in place like a chubby little smiley soldier. 

Grandpa and The Man About Town

Sam is getting pretty good at "sitting up" when we prop him just right. He has a great belly to support him so it's kind of cheating... but we'll count it anyway. August is getting pretty good at it too, but doesn't enjoy it as much. 

Sammy so proud of sitting up

I'm sitting up, but I'm not sure if I'm comfortable.

Babies are outgrowing all of their newborn and many of their 3 month clothes. I try to take my mom's advice and not mourn this but be proud that they have grown so well, especially considering they were premature and had to work so hard to grow.

Time to retire these PJs...

Both babies sleep pretty well and get up around 4 or 5 for a feeding then go back down until 8-9. We have started last night feeding at 8pm in hopes of getting them to bed closer to 9 so we can have some peace and quiet and go to bed earlier. 

I found the babies holding hands in bed when they woke up one morning.

Claire remains a fabulous big sister - she is really good about helping feed the babies, entertaining them or trying to comfort them if they are sad. She also helps August out of her reverse turtle maneuver when she is stuck.  

Sweet sister feeding Sammy

Last but not least, there is a small army of people who help us keep our family machine running.. they make our lives easier, but they also make our lives richer and I am appreciative beyond words. Thank you to Grandmas, Grandpas, Cousins, Sisters and friends... We love you so much. I may not have pictures of all of you - please don't be offended, and know that every single gesture of support is priceless to us. These pictures are in no particular order :)

Auntie Erin loves her twinnies.

Grandma Tam and her posse

Grandpa Mike and his patented dual burping method

Saint Wendy - my cousin who helps every single week. She is like a sister, friend, nanny and mom all in one.

Grandma Becky!!!! The kids love to play with her and she has even taken them overnight so we can sleep. BLESS YOU!

Grandpa Judd helps Sammy hold his bottle and takes Claire to school for us to help out!

Halloween - Part Two

Part Two - We are on time and Claire gets plenty of candy

On actual Halloween Night, things went much more smoothly for the family. Everyone got into their costumes again, Matt still complained about the silver face paint (but wore it because Claire loved it... he's a softie), and we were ready to go. 

As I mentioned, we were the Wizard of Oz cast. I made the twins' costumes and had an absolute blast doing that. August was the world's tiniest scarecrow - I made her hat, booties and collar out of burlap. I think they were pretty itchy, but hopefully she'll forgive me. 

Sam was the cutest little Lion ever-- I just glued a bunch of crazy yarn to a hat from the dollar store, and made his paws out of booties that I put little paw pads on. Both babies got make up for the first time - what a milestone :)

Claire loved being Dorothy, and had a little black bear as her dog "Tuto / Pluto/ Toto" (different every time she says it). She adored trick-or-treating, but was much more selective about the houses she chose to visit, rather than the quantity of candy she amassed. If a house wasn't "spooky" enough, she wouldn't go to it... funny little set of rules she has for anything and everything she does in her life. (Wonder where she gets that...)

Halloween... Part One

Part One - All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

I got the family dressed to the hilt as the crew from The Wizard of Oz. Claire was a darling Dorothy, Matt was a VERY reluctant Tin Man, I was Glinda the Good Witch, Sam was a very Friendly (not cowardly) Lion and August was a teeeny Scarecrow. 

Finally ended up at Grandma and Grandpa Stout's for a family picture, at least.

I made everyone's costumes except for Claire's and had been preparing for a week. If you know me at all, I never miss a chance to dress up, or dress-up those around me. Now that I have twins, I have added greatly to my prop department and my cast in my own little Lauren theater, and I'm delighted beyond words.

After about two hours, the family was completely ready to go Trunk-or-Treating at our friend's church. We were walking out the door when we realized there was a serious mess at home that we had to clean up (long story, won't bore you with the details), but it made us an hour late and we missed the entire thing. I was desperate to make it up to Claire, as I heard her sitting in the back seat, all dressed up with tears in her voice, ask me "Mommy, is it over? Do I not get any candy? Did we miss it?" 

A big mess on our hands

Matt and I had to think on our feet quickly. As soon as we arrived to the parking lot, Matt said I should hurry and take Claire as quickly as I could to any cars that were still giving treats and he would handle the twins. Over and over people said, "Sorry, we're all out. You should have come earlier..." I told them it wasn't her fault and we were late and the sweetest thing happened. Children started coming up to Claire and giving her their candy from their own basket. As we all know, candy has quite high value, as your only currency when you are that young. So, to see these children understand that my little girl was sad and there was a need there, was precious. It is a simple thing, and I know people have much greater problems than this, but anytime I see someone show an example of love and kindness to my child I count it as a gem in her life path.

After only 10 minutes of "Trunk or Treating" we went over to Matt's parents so someone could at least see us all dressed up, and maybe we could get the family picture we didn't have time for in our rush to leave the house. We had a wonderful time with them and I was sure to make Claire recognize the example of love and kindness she saw tonight. Definitely not a loss at all.... 

Happy 4 Months to our Twinsies!

Sam and Daddy cheer for Claire

In the past month, the twins have had their first sleepover at the house without mom and dad. Grandma Tam watched them while we ran amok in Deer Valley for our 10th Wedding Anniversary. (read about that here). We had fun this past month spending Tuesdays and Saturdays watching big sister Claire "play" soccer... or, rather, attend the game. It was fun this season because her good friend Taylor is on the team too. 

Claire and Taylor on the Blue Dragons Soccer Team

Scotland, Sam and August: The Dynamic Trio

The twins met their new little BFF, Scotland Grace Turnbow. She is about a month younger but the three of them look like triplets! It is so exciting to raise these babies with our dear friends, Eric and Sarah. 

The twins went bowling for the first time. We were careful not to mistake Sam for a bowling ball.

Overall, the twins have been very healthy, however, Sam got a little flu bug and had to go to the ER. Poor thing had an IV and was not a fan of that at all... his little face was so red with a fever it was heartbreaking.  He is on the mend now, and luckily, August and Claire didn't catch it. August's hemangiomas are shrinking and there is no cause for medical concern - we are very grateful that she seems to be in less pain as well. 

4 Month Check-Up

Miss August tipping the scales at 10 lbs 9 oz

Mr. Smiley Sam has grown a LOT! Over 12 lbs now.

Little friends (most of the time, except during feeding)

Sammy's getting close to holding his own bottle.

Mr. Strong Sammy can hold his head up 90 degrees - just waiting for him to crawl away.

Happy boy in Daddy's arms

August LOVED visiting Great Grandma Helen. They got along very well.

One of the aforementioned mealtime altercations: Sam and August were nursing together, and Sam put his hand in August's ridiculously giant bow and yanked it down covering both of her eyes. She screamed and swayed her head back and forth (Stevie Wonder style), all the while still trying to nurse. Very sad and absolutely hilarious. Sam definitely sabotaged her.

August smiles almost as much as Sam these days. She's pensive, but loves to smile and is starting to laugh.

I can't tell if I'm keeping the babies warm, or if they're keeping me warm during a chilly fall soccer game.

Happy Birthday

It's come again... your birthday. Happy 31st to my sweet little brother. So much has changed in this past year.  You are now an uncle to a miraculous set of twins (a boy and a girl, of course -- thanks if you had anything to do with that). Also, your little sister is getting hitched. You would really like her fiance; I have no doubt he'd get the Elliott seal of approval. He's a fly fisherman, an eagle scout, and a fireman. Someone who spends his time helping others would surely have a piece of your heart. Most of all, he loves your little sister so genuinely. 

As I always say, I loved the two months in between our birthdays when the age gap was narrowed to only one year and we were that much closer to being the twins we really wanted to be. I enjoy it now as I enjoyed it then, finding every way I can to feel close to you.

It is a beautiful fall day here - custom made for you, I think. The mountains are starting to turn and the air is so fresh. I'm glad to be back in Utah to smell the fall air the right way (in California it usually just smelled of wet salt and that didn't remind me of you at all.) 

As if it were on cue, your oldest niece has a field trip today with her school. They are going on a nature walk. She's all decked out in gear that you would love - Columbia, head to toe (courtesy of Grandma Tam).  She asked me if you would be sad that you can't see the nature walk because I told her how much you loved the outdoors, and I told her that you would still be able to see it and enjoy it. 

We celebrated your birthday a little differently this year. I organized a fly fishing trip for Matty and Zach. They were doing something you would have loved, and, more importantly, using some of your precious gear. I wanted those pieces of you to live on and this is the best way I knew how to accomplish that. They even caught a few brown trout - couldn't have been more perfect. Matty kept saying he hoped you'd swoop in and help him not get skunked this time, and I said absolutely not. No one ever helped you catch fish - he was on his own. But you would have joined him for a celebratory beer, I am sure :)

Erin, Claire and I made yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting. We lit candles and blew them out to make a wish, but, of course, Claire had to sing Happy Birthday. You can't put a lit candle in front of a 4 year old and expect them not to sing with all their hearts. Without any prompting, she put her hands in prayer position, bowed her head and closed her eyes, and sang Happy Birthday to you in a prayer. I'll never forget it.

I love you every day and I'm keeping my promise to carry you with me so those unlucky enough to have never known you, may understand this exquisite person that graced our earth for just a short time. Thank you for crossing your path with mine.

Forever your little big sister...

Lauren