Uh-oh mobility is coming.

The monkeys have been making a lot of motor skills progress over the last couple of weeks.

Isabella is getting her knees up underneath her. She is so cute when she is sitting there on all fours with an expression on her face that says I know there is something more to this but I'm just not sure what it is. A few times she has maneuvered herself over to her super seat and pulled something off of the tray. She is mostly just reaching, but she is showing some signs of starting to pull herself up. She is also doing a great job of standing on the floor with some assistance and unassisted when she is in the exersaucer. She does a great job of sitting and is working on learning how to get back to the floor from a sitting position. She still hasn't figured out how to roll from her tummy to back. The little Houdini has figured out how to roll over within the confines of her sleep positioner. Now it's back to repeatedly going in and turning her over during nap time.

We are so thrilled with the major progress Caitlin is making! We bought a jumperoo to try to get her to put her legs down and start putting some weight on them. It has worked so much better than the exersaucer. We all work with her everyday on the floor too. She is finally starting to stand on her legs a little. She is also starting to roll all over the place on the floor. She is really good at rolling onto her stomach and is pretty good at rolling back over to her back. She does such a better job of staying on her stomach for awhile before she gets upset. She is also starting to put her knees underneath her. She has not really figured out the pushing up on her arms part yet though. It is so great to see her moving around instead of just laying in one spot!

They both reach for everything they can see, especially Isabella. She doesn't give up when she sees something she wants. It's really fascinating to watch the wheels in her head spin as she tries to find new ways to reach her goal. We are going to have to do some serious childproofing soon!

Moving on up.

I have been feeding the monkeys in their super
seats for the last couple of months. In the beginning it worked out very well and was easier than getting their highchairs out. The feedings over the last few weeks have been much more of a chore as they have been distracted by toys and bending all over the place. Yesterday they moved up to eating in their highchairs. It is so much easier to feed them now that they are strapped into place. The only downside to their cool new chairs is that the straps are made for bigger babies (even on the smallest setting) so they still have a lot of wiggle room.

Today was an eventful day. We are in the middle of a spring snow storm. Fortunately, the snow is mostly melting or we would be buried right now. The flakes were huge and really pretty for a good part of the afternoon.

Isabella's bangs were getting pretty long and straggly so I trimmed them today. If they are not straight, don't blame me. That little monkey will not be still for me! On the funny side, the girls were playing on the floor and Isabella worked her way into Caitlin's space. Caitlin wasn't too happy about Isabella's head being in her way so she gave her a few get-out-of-my-space kicks to the head. Don't worry, the kicks weren't hard enough to hurt - they were just enough to motivate Isabella to move.

Play time with Daddy!

The monkeys had fun playing with daddy today. First daddy flew Isabella over Caitlin.

Then Caitlin got to fly over Isabella. If you look closely you will see that Isabella apparently thought Caitlin needed some help getting a bat out of the cave.

Then daddy took a breather to admire Caitlin's peacock hair.

I can't believe I own a mini-van.

We bought a mini-van this week! I always said I would not be a stay at home mom and that there was no way I would ever own a mini-van. Now look at me. I feel like a suburban stereotype. Now I just need a cashmere sweater set and a pearl necklace to wear when I take the girls to soccer practice. :) Alright, so it is not really that bad. I loved my Accord. It was so fun to drive and it was such a sweet looking car. It just was not right for our family. Caitlin's car anxiety was a big motivator to finally give in and make the trade. There just was not much room between the car seats and it was only going to get worse when we made the transition to the convertible car seats. At least now we will be able to take one car when we have visitors. Road trips will be a lot easier too. It took a lot of creativity to pack the Accord for four people for a week, especially when two of them are infants. We will be able to take the kitchen sink with us now :) Seriously, the new van is really nice. It is a 2009 Honda Odyssey. It is a dark blue, although the paint is kind of iridescent so it looks like a Barneymobile in some light and kind of teal in other light. So far, Caitlin seems to be doing much better in it than she did in the car. We think she is able to see out of the windows more, which might be alleviating some of her anxiety.

Here is a picture of the girls from yesterday. The little monkeys are making their momma a bit crazy. I have been sure they are teething for about two and half months now, yet there are still no teeth. If those little buggars do not come through soon, I might have to take a long solo vacation. The monkeys have started drooling excessively the last couple of days so I am hopeful that we are finally getting really close. Please let me be right!

Busy, busy.

I know, I know, I am slacking on my posts. It has been a really busy week. Trying to balance time with the girls, taking care of the house, my broker classes, car shopping, a meager social life and some contract work is wearing me down. There are some fun things happening that I will have to start catching up on tomorrow. Right now, though, my comfy bed is calling my name.

8 Months!

Our little monkeys are 8 months old today! I just cannot believe how fast time is passing by.

Isabella

Caitlin

Long day.

I know that there are rough days for all moms of infants. For a mom of multiples those rough days can be extremely challenging. Today was one of those days. Another mom of multiples once told me that some days simply surviving the day is a success. We survived the day so it must have been a success. Thankfully, every single day the monkeys do something to make my heart burst with joy. Even on the hard days.

A thought about those mythical super wives of the 50's occurred to me today. They always had the perfect martini waiting when their husbands came home because they spent the whole day drinking themselves. If I really thought it would make my house clean, keep my monkeys happy, put dinner on the table and make my appearance polished at 5:00, I would take up the fine art of martini mixing myself :)