Here we go

Kirsten officially returned to work full-time yesterday, which means I've now started in full-time as stay at home Dad. The girls definitely miss Mommy and Mommy is certainly missing seeing the girls all day too, but we're all doing pretty well.
Katherine is officially sleeping through the night now, which is pretty amazing, and boy are we grateful! Annabelle isn't too far behind, but is still getting to have one small middle of the night feed.
We had some great adventures last week including a few days staying at a friend's beach house on Whidbey Island. We also made it to the zoo for the first time with the girls. We immediately bought a membership, so we'll definitely be going back frequently. The girls seemed to like the zoo I guess, though they slept right through this visit. After a lovely run this morning, we'll maybe head to the library for some stories this afternoon.

Katherine Laughs

Katherine Laughs from Sam Thompson on Vimeo.

4/28/2010

Morning Time

We've found that morning time is one of the most fun/playful times with the girls, and they are extremely happy and giggly just after they wake up and they get fresh diapers and outfits. Here are a few pics from this morning;

2 Months... Plus

Wow, time is flying by! Just like everyone warned us and continues to warn us about waking up one morning and realizing they're just not babies anymore, we're amazed at how the girls are growing! Not to worry, our girls are still very much babies, but they are definitely growing like crazy and changing a lot. My apologies for no recent updates (and this one will be short), but the hours in each day just seem to evaporate.
Our 2 month checkup was last week, and the doctor said both girls looked "absolutely perfect." We of course already thought that, but it was nice to hear a medical professional confirm it. Katherine was over 10 lbs and pushing up toward 11, and Annabelle was just an ounce shy of 10 lbs, so she'd definitely hit the mark by now. Annabelle had a blocked tear duct a few weeks ago, which was strange and a bit alarming. She had a really goopy eye and looked like she was always crying, but she's all cleared up and doing great now. The girls also got their first round of vaccination shots at this checkup. It was hard to see the girls cry so much, but it was over quickly and they did just fine.

Our sleep schedule is a little more normal now, with Kirsten usually taking the first shift and me taking the second shift. Some nights we get more sleep than others, but the girls are getting more used to their crib now and seem to understand that night time is for quiet sleeping and quick, boring feeds. We're down to feeding only every 4 hours during the day now too, which makes it easier to go out for lots of walks, taking them to run errands, etc. The girls are both smiling a lot these days, and cooing a bit too, so that makes Mom and Dad's hearts melt. I was running at Greenlake a few days ago with the girls, and a lady said, "those girls are gonna have their daddy wrapped around their little fingers." I laughed and replied, "I'm pretty sure they already do." I'm sure I've missed a lot in this update, but I'll write more again soon. Gotta go catch a few winks before my night shift starts.

Easter Bunnies

Just had to share a quick photo of our little Easter bunnies - more of an update coming soon!

Here we go!

Well, we're officially on our own now. My mom returned home last Wednesday and Kirsten and I have been figuring out life with the girls by ourselves now for about a week. Certainly feels like jumping into the deep end of the pool with no arm floaties on. It's definitely tough, and we're definitely getting less sleep, but it's been fun getting more settled in as our own new little family. Yesterday was our 3 year anniversary, and Kirsten and I managed to go out for a wee date to celebrate. Some good friends came over and were perfect babysitters. Kirsten and I shot pool, ate burgers, and just relaxed. After a few hours we couldn't keep our eyes open though, so home we came.

Annabelle's been having some weird congestion stuff going on, so Kirsten took her in to the doc today. Turns out, she's totally fine and looks incredibly healthy and it's just normal baby congestion. That was nice to hear and puts us at ease. She got weighed while at the doctor and is already up to 8 lbs. 13 oz.! Katherine didn't go in, but she is definitely heavier than Annabelle, so she's got to be over 9 lbs. Wow, these girls are eating well and growing quick. I filled out our Census form, and it was fun/a little strange to count 4 humans living here instead of just 2.

With our little Prius, carrying the girls around quickly became totally unreasonable so we unfortunately are selling the Prius and we already bought a monster SUV to carry us all around. Tough to go from a fuel efficient Prius to and SUV, but it just had to happen. I was game to get a minivan, but Kirsten just couldn't go to minivan world just yet. Tomorrow we're embarking on our biggest trip yet with the girls- headed up I-5 a bit to Bellingham, as I'm doing a 50k race up there on Saturday. Lots to pack and get ready, even for a short trip. Here goes!

1 Month Old!

My oh my, how time flies when you're hanging out with babies! With feeding every 3 hours, we aren't getting a whole lot done (not that we're supposed to), and the sun is going down again before we're even sure what day of the week it is. It's hard to believe it, but today the girls are officially 1 month old! Kirsten's mom went home about a week and a half ago after being with us 2 weeks, and we were on our own with the girls for a night. We did pretty well, but still weren't brave enough to trust the baby monitor. We tried it, got everything set up, went to bed, and within half an hour, old dad caved and was in the babies' room. Ah well, someday we'll use the monitor. Thankfully, my mom came the next day so we weren't on our own for long. Having our moms here has made the transition to parenthood far more manageable, and I'm not sure what we'd do without them.

Katherine and Annabelle are both eating really well these days, and we can see them filling out the little folds of skin in their arms and legs. We're not totally sure what their weights are these days, but our estimates (using a bathroom scale) are that they're both pushing 8 lbs. Both girls are beginning to show their own fun little personalities, and we have them awake a little more during the day now for playtime and exploring this big new world. When they're hungry, they sometimes get confused by noses and latch on. Oh, and Lucy thoroughly enjoys the Boppy pillow too.