Happy 1/2 Birthday!!!

Tuesday, December 17

Devyn and Kinley are 6 months old today! Where has the time gone?!?! Words cannot express how blessed we feel for how well they have done since being brought into this world almost 12 weeks early. I know all parents get excited when their little ones start meeting milestones, but each time one of our girls does something new, I say another prayer of thanks for the progress she is making. Tonight the girls had a little party with Mom, Dad, and Nana to celebrate their 1/2 birthday!

 Blow out the candles girls!!!

(Turns out 1/2 birthday candles are harder to find than I thought....we had to improvise!)

Proud Papa!

The girls have loved spending time with Nana these past few weeks. We are so lucky she's been here to get to know the girls and take care of them while Mom and Dad were working. It will be sad when she leaves us this weekend to head back to Minnesota.

Twins?.....no problem!

 

The girls continue to do well health wise. Devyn is so big compared to her sister! At her most recent appointment she weighed 15 pounds 3 ounces (and that was a week and a half ago!). She is now wearing 6 month-sized clothes. Devyn has great head and upper body strength, and loves to play in her exersaucer. She is always on the move, constantly kicking and wiggling. She has recently learned to screech and scream...I'm hoping she learns a new trick soon!  She is very interactive now, and will smile and laugh when you talk to her.

 

She is growing so fast, she no longer fits in the leg/foot braces the doctor gave her. So, Dad took her in last week to be refitted. She will get new braces in a few weeks. Although I know she needs to ....it will be a bummer when she has to start wearing them again. She has been such a happy baby now that she doesn't have any uncomfortable casts or braces on her legs and feet! Her feet seem to be doing well, so hopefully she won't need to wear them much longer.  

 

 Devyn loves her exersaucer!

 

Look how high I can hold my head up!   -Devyn

 

Today Kinley had a checkup with her neurologist. She weighs 14 pounds 1 ounce, although she feels much lighter compared to Devyn.  Having twins, it's hard not to compare their progress. Devyn is bigger and stronger, but so far, all of Kinley's developmental assessments have come back in the normal range for her age and prematurity. Hopefully sitting up and rolling over won't be too far in their future.

 

Kinley isn't quite as verbal as Devyn. But, she has recently started to giggle. Such a wonderful sound! She loves to coo back and forth with Nana!

 

 Who needs a bottle when I can suck on my fingers?  -Kinley

 Kinley looks thrilled to be a Padres fan!

A few photos from the past couple weeks:

 The girls still don't notice each other much, but we're working on it!

Devyn looks jealous!

 Playtime

Devyn is such a big girl!

 

"That lamb is looking at me funny!"   -Kinley 

 Who's the tired one?

Devyn is taking over our bed already!

Thankful

Monday, December 2

Our family has so much to be thankful for this year! Our two little turkeys continue to do amazingly well! They are growing like crazy and are learning new things every day. Both girls are starting to reach for toys and grasp things.  Devyn has even started playing in her bouncer although she can just barely reach the bottom. Kinley doesn't sit up quite as well as her sister yet, but she twists around like crazy and we think she may be the first to roll over.

Play time!

We had a great Thanksgiving celebration with our family and friends last week. Followed, of course, by some Black Friday shopping. Yes....we're THOSE people:-)

 Devyn and Toni on Turkey Day!

Kinley and Mike

 Two little turkeys!

Off to find Santa!

 Devyn and Mommy

 

Christmas lights at Ethel M's

 

Meeting Santa

5 Months Old!

Sunday, November 24

Devyn and Kinley are already over 5 months old! I was just looking at some of the blog pictures from back in July. I can't believe how much they've grown! Both girls are doing great and growing like crazy. At all of their most recent appointments and evaluations they have been right where they should be in their development...which is somewhere between their actual age (5 months) and their adjusted age (2.5 months). They both are communicating, mostly with smiles and gurgles. And they're just starting to reach for and grasp some of their toys.  

 Rolling Over class with Professor Dad

 

Devyn loves to watch football with Daddy

Nana, the girls' great-grandmother, came in last weekend to meet her first great-granddaughters. I think she was surprised just how busy these gals can keep you!

 Kinley and Nana are pretty in pink.

 

I think the girls wore Nana out!

 I survived my return to work. I was sad to leave the girls, but it was much easier knowing they were home with Nana. Plus starting on a Thursday, and therefore having only a two-day work week, helped a bit too.

Grandma Carol and Keith are here for Thanksgiving too! So Devyn and Kinley have all sorts of people around to spoil them. Today we went to have our pictures taken (yes....again!) of the four generations. I didn't plan on taking, or buying, any photos of just the girls, since they've already had three sets of professional photos taken, but of course I couldn't turn them down once I saw them!

Grandpa Keith got right to work!

 Four Generations!

 Devyn was very cooperative today!
 

 Kinley was not in the mood!

Until.....

...the shoot was over!

 

Flower Children

Wednesday, November 13

Devyn and Kinley are 21 weeks old and doing great! As a matter of fact....maybe too great! Devyn has been put on a diet. Well...ok, maybe not a diet. At the pediatrician appointment this week she weighed in at 13 pounds 2 ounces. She's gained almost 10 pounds since birth! Even though the girls only get a small amount of formula (in addition to mom's milk), the pediatrician agreed that she no longer needs to be on the extra-calorie preemie formula.

"Just in case you didn't know.....I'm the favorite!"  -Devyn

Kinley now weighs 11 pounds 8 ounces. She's gaining weight well also, but the pediatrician is leaving her on the extra-calorie formula until she makes it onto the growth chart for her age group, which is currently 5 months (even though their adjusted age is more like two months).

Kinley's smile...along with a bit of drool!

Our recent doctor's appointments have gone very well! The ophthalmologist said the girls' eyes look very healthy and we don't need to see him again for 6 months. I'm sure Devyn and Kinley will be happy about that! We visited the lung doctor last week for the girls' first RSV vaccination. They didn't like the shot, but the doctor said their lungs are in great shape! Devyn has a visit with her orthopedic doctor to check on her feet and braces next week....other than that I think we're free from doctors for about a month!

The countdown has begun...I will be returning to work in 7 days:-( I can't believe how fast the time has gone! I am so thankful that I was able to be with the girls all summer while they were in the hospital and then for another 12 weeks once they were home. Thankfully Nana, the girls' great-grandma, is coming this weekend. She will be staying with us and watching the girls until Christmas break, so we won't have to figure out a daycare situation for another few weeks. We are so lucky she's coming!

Pictures from the past week:

 Making funny faces after dinnertime.

Daddy's little flower children

 

 Dad is explaining football to Devyn. She has been really interested in the TV lately.

 

Just relaxing....

 

 Devyn loves it when you make faces at her!

Kinley with her Wubba Nub.

Devyn (left) Kinley (right)

 

 

 

Family Photos

Tuesday, November 5

Devyn and Kinley are 20 weeks old already! Although I can't claim to have them on a set schedule, I can finally say that we are settled into a routine at home. The girls take after their Daddy and are quite the sleepers! They go down for the evening around 10 or 11 pm, and usually sleep until 5 or 6 in the morning. Devyn usually falls back to sleep after "breakfast" for another couple hours, while Kinley prefers to come to our bed to watch early morning TV.

Both girls are smiling like crazy now! And Kinley likes to have cooing conversations with us. They can easily hold their own heads up. They have such different personalities....Kinley is laid back and normally just goes with the flow. She is content to sit in her bouncy seat and look around. Devyn, on the other hand, continues to be the demanding daughter. She loves to be on the move! She prefers to be held, and especially carried around, but will settle for swinging instead.

A couple weeks ago we had our first family photos taken. What a mess! Between myself and Kinley, we ruined about half of the pictures with our eyes closed.  I had envisioned these intimate newborn pictures, and instead we got awkward family portraits. Ugh! These were the LEAST awkward photos....

   

So, last night we made another attempt with a different photographer. I am much happier with the results...which is good because I'm pretty sure another photo shoot would be out of the question with the husband!