Back to Work

Westminster classes start next week so Katy's back at work, at least part-time. This fall she'll teach one class (Tuesdays & Thursdays) and watch the girls two days a week, while Mike takes advantage of the lull after the summer program of Real Food Rising to work 4 days and watch the girls one day a week. The other two days the girls are at daycare!

Today is their second day at St. John's Community Child Development Center (CCDC) a few blocks from our house. Ms. Benilda and Ms. Cecilia are taking wonderful care of them (and a handful of other munchkins) in the "Honey Bees" Room, with the bonus that they fall asleep early and sleep soundly after a full day at "school." We made each girl a "family poster" with photos of all their family members and pets so they could say hello to everyone, even while at school.

All ready to go to school on their first day (complete with labeled pacifiers)

Making Zora's family poster

Zora and Katy checking out the finished product

This is how tired they are after daycare

Twin Olympics!

In honor of the summer Olympics, the girls have gone head to head in their own series of competitions:

Swimming 

(our first time - in the pool at the hotel where our friends Doug & Carrie were staying)

 

 

Napping

Sitting up in their Bumbo chair

Boxing (Zora taking one on the chin)

Just kidding - we're best friends!

And a video of them in the hardest event of all: TUMMY TIME! (Noemi is getting closer and closer to rolling over just because she's so not excited to be on her stomach).

Photo Shoot

When Oma was in town she snapped some family photos with us looking all spiffy. The dresses and bonnets the girls are wearing were made by her and feature their names embroidered on the chest (so cute!). Not that we're having any trouble telling them apart -- more and more people are saying "Those aren't twins, are they?" But I was there and yes, I can vouch for their twinsiness (twinnerness?).

Getting ready

Twyla wants in on the action

In front of the raspberry bushes in our yard

The fashion designer herself!

Twinsiness

Any Resemblance?

Mike and I were curious to see if Noemi and Zora looked like we did when we were babies. What do you think?

First Mike as a baby:

Mike at 7 days

Mike at 10 weeks

 

Mike at 2 weeks

 Now Katy:

 

Katy as a newborn

Katy

Katy with her Grandpa Spencer

 

 

And now the girls (since they were 5 weeks early, their sizes & ages don't match up entirely with ours):

Noemi and Zora as newborns

Noemi & Zora at about 5 weeks (right around their due date)

Noemi & Zora at 13 weeks

Noemi and Zora at 15 weeks

Some 3-Month Milestones

Zora and Noemi are almost 4 months old, but because they came early they're developmentally somewhere around 3 months. They have been hard at work gaining more control of their bodies and beginning to come into their own personalities. Some things they can now do:

• Make eye contact and follow objects with their eyes and by turning their heads
• Smile and (sort of) laugh (Zora especially)
• Notice each other
• Hold their heads up when on their tummies
• Hold their heads and upper bodies away from our shoulders when we're carrying them
• Push against our legs or the ground to "stand up" with us holding them
• Open their hands (but they still get lots of finger lint!)
• Bring their hands together at the mid-line of their bodies and bring them to their mouths (Noemi especially)
• Start to reach out and touch/grab things (although you might not be able to tell that's what they're trying to do)
• Stay awake for a couple of hours at a time
• Sleep for several hours at night
• Coo, gurgle, and squeal to try to communicate
• Get all their nutrition from breastfeeding (no more prepping/washing bottles and pumping!)

Some of these might not seem momentous, but they're all big steps. I'm sure they're doing a bunch of other new stuff that is so subtle we don't even notice it. (Thanks to Oma for some of the pics below.)

Zora pushing up on Oma

Zora laughing

Noemi smiling

Noemi lifting her head

Zora making eye contact (and a funny face)

The girls checking each other out under Mowgli's watchful eye

Noemi bringing her hands to her mouth

Newborns No More

I just finished clearing out the newborn-size clothing from Zora and Noemi's dresser and am feeling slightly nostalgic for their days as wee peanuts. They're both solidly in 0-3 month clothes now (with Noemi pushing on into 3-6 month clothes any day now) and it's hard to remember when they were still too small to fit into their NB onesies. Funnily enough, my mom just happened to have this video of the girls from her visit in April, back when opening their eyes was a major accomplishment. Now not only are they opening their eyes, they are really into making eye contact, smiling, and responding to your expression and voice. And they're twice as big!

More Oma!

The girls can't get enough of their Oma. She's quickly catching up to Ceiling Fan for favorite thing in the house. In between soothing babies and playing peekaboo she's also been a huge help around the house with cooking and cleaning. Good thing we have her for another week and a half - don't know what we'd do without her!

The cutest booties that a co-worker knit for the girls