6 months old

A LOT has been happing in our house this last month

the twins had their first play date {2 sets of twins, 1 set of triplets}

they were the youngest & had the least trunk strength ;)

Madeleine was having a particularly challenging moment

they started rice cereal

we enjoyed lots of time out & about

started exploring our exersaucer/jumper things

they also decided they really like each other

Here are some more highlights:

teething has begun

everyone likes to roll from belly to back & back to belly

Madeleine loves to wiggle all around

they are doing a whole lot of grabbing, pulling, reaching, hitting, etc.

most of this is directed at each other

sleeping through the night is wonderful

Luke : 17 lb 15 oz & 25.8 in.

Madeleine : 14lb 2 oz & 24.5 in

Developmental:

We had our big 'developmental' checkup last Friday. Basically, the nurse who was working with them in the NICU met with us to 'observe/interact' and see how they are growing. Technically, they 'have until they are 2' to 'catch-up' to their actual age. Adjusted Age is the age they would be if they were born on their due date. So on the day of our visit {March 16th} here were their ages:

Actual Age : 5 months 27 days

Adjusted Age : 3 months 18 days

After a lot of interaction the nurse did some 'calculating' and determined they were behaving like 4.5 month olds!

So---- they are doing GREAT! Progressing and growing and 'catching up'. We have another appointment late this summer and she is 'not concerned' one bit with how they are doing. She said they are 'ahead' for their prematurity.

Overall, life is GREAT. They are doing wonderfully and we are all HAPPY! The best quote from the nurse was :

"It is a shame you have only happy children"

*wink *wink

Today we had our normal Pediatrician visit and had GREAT remarks. Luke had a bit of a cough, no fever and Dr. G had us all nervous about RSV {since they don't have to get any more of their synergist shots I was particularly nervous}. But his RSV test was negative so we just have to watch him, keep the humidifiers on, the nasal passageways clear and watch to see if there is a fever or other 'worsening symptoms.' Luckily we have had no fever, no behavior/feeding/sleeping changes so lets keep our fingers crossed it passes and Miss Madeleine doesn't get anything.

Happy 6 months to our little surprises!!!

5 months - oops

I figured I should post some pics of them at 5 months before they turn 6 months old!
Way to be on top of things :) at least I took the photos, it just took several weeks to get them out to the blogging world!

Reaching for each other is a common happening now

Luke finally found his silly grin

Mom!!!

Her serious face

Often followed by her precious smile

Two peas in a pod

i want to wear a sign

that says

"hi, we are a family. respect our choice to have children, lots of them.
you may look at us, you may be shocked, or thrilled. but do not stare.
it is uncomfortable for me and my children.
do not come tell me you exhausting story about how you knew someone who had twins who grew up to do whatever wherever and then proceed to tell me how 'it gets better.
you dont know me, or us, or anything about our circumstances.
i don't know you, either and my time is precious.
in all honesty, you are not encouraging me, or providing any useful insight into my own life by over sharing yours.
sorry. may God bless you and may you have a nice day.
now leave us alone."

can you tell i am getting a little frustrated with humans right now :)

honestly, i am totally cool with the handful who are just shocked and have that one line to share.
but i am so tired of every other person thinking our life is overwhelming or exhausting and feeling some overwhelming obligation to seek us out and tell us their thoughts. i don't know why people feel compelled to come up to complete strangers and think we want to hear anything about your friend who had twins or the person you grew up with who came from a large family. there is a time and place, but the time is not 'whenever' and the place is not 'wherever.' and just because you have a smile and good intentions does not make it 'okay'

it is uncomfortable for me to listen to strangers tell me their twin stories or how they know someone with 4 kids or 13 or whatever.  why? because they talk to me like they know my life, my family, our situation. it makes it sound like have 4 children is a 'situation.'

now don't get me wrong. I smile and listen. nod when appropriate and even say thank you. sometimes a manage a kind chuckle, but often I just want to swoop up my children and leave, or rather run in the opposite direction.

this is our family

respect our privacy or just let us be. having all these things happen has really forced me to think "do i do that? approach people and stick my nose, my life, my stories into their's?" i hope and pray i haven't and if i have - please forgive me.

today, DURING mass, i had two examples of this loveliness. While I am feeding Luke {who lately is starting to realize the more he fusses the more he gets to see the world} and while I am rocking Isabelle's carseat and listening to the Priest while the older two are sprawled arguing over crayons... {got the picture - and yes, Mr.D was playing defense keeping the older 2 calm} a woman walks over DURING mass, and tells me this, in a low whisper in my ear {ya, she had no personal boundries}
-"my mother had 18 children. i am number 15. and we were all happy. God bless you"
-.....
seriously. ya, seriously. apparently having 4 children means i can somehow relate to that. apparently the happiness of my children seemed to be a concern on my face. or maybe she knows God's plans for our family and I am supposed to always remember that somewhere out there God blessed a mom with 18 happy children. seriously.

then.... only minutes later, DURING mass, and just after COMMUNION, a woman who had been behind us and had several children around her came up to me, with a smile and made this statement,
-"we home school. i hope you seriously consider home schooling"
{and since I had about lost all patience at this point, i placed my arm on my husband and politely responded with}
- "we are products of public school and are very proud, happy and successful thank you."

hopefully she got my message

now on a brief side note: i have absolutely NO problem with home school or anyone who choose to do that. i have a lot of respect who take the education of their children seriously and wish to take on such a task. personally, i know i am not the best teacher for my children. Yes, there are things i can teach them, guide them, help them with, but I also know alone, i cannot provide them with all the educational challenges they need now and in the future. God bless anyone who takes that challenge. i just get a little frustrated when those persons approach me DURING mass.

so yes, sometimes i want to wear a sign. a sign that says, we are a family, just like yours. we may look  a little different, act a little strange, and maybe we look like something you have seen before, heard about, or maybe we are something you could never imagine. but we are a family, and we are so happy, so grateful and so blessed. just try to respect us while you stare, and if you have a story, please try to refrain from sharing, and treat us like you would want to be treated in public.

golly, and when i am out with 2 infants and 2 older ones, things are pretty calm. i can't wait to see what appends when I am out with 2 toddlers and 2 older ones later in life !

finally

i want to wear a sign that says

GO GIANTS!!!!

lots of love!

4 months old

oh me oh my ... the TWINS are 4 months old

Miss Madeleine has let her personality shine on through

She is constantly smiling and talking to herself, letting the world know she is here and at the same time, not letting anything get by her. Take her anywhere and her eyes are wide and curious. She has also starting rolling from her belly to her back .. in both directions {hence why she is leaning to her left in some of these}

Luke is just starting to show off his boyish charm. If you are one of lucky ones he will lock eyes on you, adore you and then grace you with his handsome grin. It wasn't until the French arrive that Luke's personality started to shine. I am beginning to think we should speak to him in French.

So our classic monthly photo opp was a bit off this time. Madeleine had just finished eating and Luke was anxious and ready {hence his stern 'feed me' stare}

they did tolerate each other for a good while

I tried to capture both of them, tummy time, head strength {see how she doesn't want to miss anything going on, and he, well, he was hungry and mad} but Madeleine was having a tough time refraining from rolling

 going, going, going, gone!

so then we propped her up on her brother, which then resulted in her rolling down his back

no harm, no fowl, all was back to normal in a few... though Luke was still hungry 

some general stats

Eating : 

You both eat about every 3 hours, sometimes stretching to 3.5 and the most at night is about 4.5
Dr. G said we get to take you guys of Premie formula and on to the 'normal' one!!!! yay

Awake Time:

Yay, you are nicely scattering your awake time, allowing me a chance to get our routine down and play time set {the house is still in its settling stage}

and the most important  individual Stats:
{note - they BOTH are on the NORMAL growth chart now}

Madeleine - precious petite thing

Food : 5.5 oz, and then some
Diapers: bumped up to size 2
Clothes: wearing 3 months, but in a week or so that may be 6 months

Head: 15.5 in (20-25%)
Height : 23 inches (3%)
Weight : 11 lb 10 oz  (10-15%)

Luke - hunka-chunka little man
Food : 6.5 oz, and then some
Diapers: just graduated to size 3
Clothes: 6 months, even more like 6-9month
Head: 16.5 in (50-60%)
Height: 24 inches (25%)
Weight: 15 lb  (50-60th%)


we are incredibly GRATEFUL for their health and their strength and their GROWTH. Dr.G is super excited about where they are, and he was very proud of their strength. The only recommendations we have are to get them in their bumbo seats and work more on sitting and rolling. Now those are things we can do!

Baptism

What a day, what a perfectly wonderful day.

First we were blessed, or rather Madeleine & Luke were blessed to have some of the coolest Godparents ever. Vic & Isabelle. For those who know us, you know Vic as my long-lost-French brother. For those who don't, here is a brief re-cap:

{when I was 4 {Faith's age, actually younger than Faith is now} my parents thought it would be a GREAT EXPERIENCE to have a young, French teenager come live in their house with their young daughter. {since becoming a parent, I am now thinking my parents were crazy} HOWEVER, Vic was my brother. I do believe I had somehow told myself he was always my brother, he just lived in France and talked funny. My greatest challenge was teaching him how to pronounce the letter "r"...  oh the French!  since is brief and exciting study stateside, my parents have made a very strong effort to keep Vic in their lives, and mine, too. They visited him a few times, and I did, for the first time, around 7th grade. Then Vic & his wife, Isabelle, came to our wedding and since then, we have all been seeing each other pretty regularly, and often in New York City. With our recent residence in Paris, Vic and his family were only a train ride away, in the beautiful southern France, in a gorgeous town called Grasse, only minutes from the well-known Cannes & Nice ---- oh living on the French Riviera must be awful! SO naturally our family has come to embrace our French family as one of us, as well, and I am ever grateful to my parents for being completely crazy 26 some-odd years ago!}

introductions in the back of the church before mass ; blessings after the Homily

Luke & Madeleine

Garments & Candles & photo ops!

Everyone who shared in this special day -THANK YOU- {thank you also for sitting through the notoriously crowded 10 am mass}

And some party shots...

{this is my favorite picture of my dad - classic Pop}

Vic & Isabelle as brought some very special gifts from France for everyone. In France, the Baptisms are celebrated like weddings, with lots of special things, like cakes, and favors.  Vic & Isabelle brought the most adorable favors for all of our guests and we were so blessed to be able to celebrate and share this day with everyone.

David and I feel so lucky to have so many people in our lives who are an extension of our family. They love and support us, reach out to us, pray for us and love to celebrate with us.  We feel very blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful friends and family. Thank you all for sharing this special day!