One month from today our girls will be a old! It seems like only yesterday that I woke Geoff up at 2 am informing him that "uh, I think we have to go somewhere." To think that it was almost one year ago that we first looked into our beautiful girls' eyes. It just amazes me how quickly time flies, and just how much the girls have changed in the last 11 months.
Abby and Emily both enjoyed their first Christmas. They were much more in to it than I thought they would be. Emily's Christmas started a week early, as she quickly discovered the colorfully wrapped presents placed under the Christmas tree. As our more mobile girl, she found herself quickly under the tree, poking her fingers and tearing bits of paper off of one of the toys for her and Abby. Geoff and I didn't have the heart to shoo her away, but rather watched with delight as she tore through the paper (and enjoy that more than the discovery of what was inside).
On Christmas morning we pulled their gifts out from under the tree and let them each open a couple of gifts. Again, the novelty quickly wore off once they realized that we would not let them eat the bits of paper that they were able to rip off. However, once all of their toys were revealed (and all of the annoying twist-ties and plastic do-dads were removed) they really seemed to enjoy having new toys to play with. The especially enjoy their Fis-her Pr-ice Stage!
Speaking of being on stage, Abby is our little dancing girl. She will jam to the music, rocking back and forth and up and down with a big smile on her face. Abby has also made many discoveries in the last month. She has figured out how to rig her piggy bank to make it sing it's song (their is a little button on the inside of the coin slot, that makes a sound when the coins pass through it). Several weeks ago, she stuck her finger in there and figured out how to trigger the noise. Now she will just sit there and push the button and smile as if she has discovered the best kept secret of the world. She also quickly learned how to pop open many of the levers on her pop-up toy; and seems to have some form of OCD as it seems like she cannot stand the little doors to be open. As soon as they are open, she immediately must close them all. She really seems to have the mind of an engineer -- much like her daddy (ie: her "mini-me").
Abby still is not as mobile as her sister -- we are still working on getting her moving. She will not initiate moving to her tummy from a sitting position, even when motivated by a toy. She will however, scoot around on her butt to get to something she wants. The item does have to be close enough to her, but at least we are making progress. If she is on her tummy, she will scoot herself backwards, and even move herself around in a circle -- but she is still unable to navigate forward. Over Christmas break, I placed her on the floor several times and surrounded her with her favorite toys, positioned out of reach. She cried and eventually moved her self in circles until she got a hold of something to make her happy. I know that I must be patient with her and I know that eventually, she will learn how to move, pull up and eventually walk -- and when that happens, I will be endlessly chasing her and Emily around and wonder why I was so worried...
While Abby is discovering how the world works, Emily is out discovering the world. She is so close to both crawling and pulling herself up; I made a prediction that she would be crawling by today that sadly did not come to be. Over the weekend however, she did add a new move to her repertoire. As she sat next to Abby playing with the FP Stage, she got excited, and pulled herself up to her knees (see pictures attached of this event). She seemed very pleased with herself as she rocked away with her sister. Abby however, did not appreciate this move as much, as Emily shoved her way in front of her sister... Emily has also perfected the army crawl and boy, does she move!
Emily has also become much more comfortable eating solids. She really enjoys eating her puffies and enjoyed her first biter biscuit. Her second one ended up on the floor and almost became a big Roxie treat, but we quickly snatched it up before that could happen. Speaking of Roxie, Emily's mobility has allowed her to play with her furry buddy Roxie. She and Roxie have started playing a weird game of keep away with Roxie's rawhide bone. As gross as it sounds, it is a very cute game that gets Emily squealing with delight and Roxie happy that someone is finally playing with her again. I have posted a video of the girls playing -- you will hear just how much fun Emily is having (you will also see Abby playing by herself in the background with her socks -- that girl LOVES to play with her socks..).
Geoff and I were both home with the girls for almost two weeks. I really enjoyed spending time with them -- it was the longest period of time I've had with them since going back to work in April. Being able to put them to bed at night and be greeted by their smiling faces every morning was amazing. I had time to teach Abby how to clap her hands (I'm still working with Emily on that) and see them do new things. I realized that I cannot take a moment with our girls for granted because time just fades away too quickly. One moment they are preemies in isolettes in the Special Care Nursery - the next they are on the verge of turning a year old. Where did their first year go? They have accomplished so much and come so far from where they started, but yet I feel that we have barely scratched the surface of what I wanted to accomplish in their first year. I know that this is just the beginning for them and we have many years of joy to spend teaching them and watching them grow; but I do wish I could freeze time and enjoy each stage of their lives a little bit more than I am able to do now.
Abby and Emily both enjoyed their first Christmas. They were much more in to it than I thought they would be. Emily's Christmas started a week early, as she quickly discovered the colorfully wrapped presents placed under the Christmas tree. As our more mobile girl, she found herself quickly under the tree, poking her fingers and tearing bits of paper off of one of the toys for her and Abby. Geoff and I didn't have the heart to shoo her away, but rather watched with delight as she tore through the paper (and enjoy that more than the discovery of what was inside).
On Christmas morning we pulled their gifts out from under the tree and let them each open a couple of gifts. Again, the novelty quickly wore off once they realized that we would not let them eat the bits of paper that they were able to rip off. However, once all of their toys were revealed (and all of the annoying twist-ties and plastic do-dads were removed) they really seemed to enjoy having new toys to play with. The especially enjoy their Fis-her Pr-ice Stage!
Speaking of being on stage, Abby is our little dancing girl. She will jam to the music, rocking back and forth and up and down with a big smile on her face. Abby has also made many discoveries in the last month. She has figured out how to rig her piggy bank to make it sing it's song (their is a little button on the inside of the coin slot, that makes a sound when the coins pass through it). Several weeks ago, she stuck her finger in there and figured out how to trigger the noise. Now she will just sit there and push the button and smile as if she has discovered the best kept secret of the world. She also quickly learned how to pop open many of the levers on her pop-up toy; and seems to have some form of OCD as it seems like she cannot stand the little doors to be open. As soon as they are open, she immediately must close them all. She really seems to have the mind of an engineer -- much like her daddy (ie: her "mini-me").
Abby still is not as mobile as her sister -- we are still working on getting her moving. She will not initiate moving to her tummy from a sitting position, even when motivated by a toy. She will however, scoot around on her butt to get to something she wants. The item does have to be close enough to her, but at least we are making progress. If she is on her tummy, she will scoot herself backwards, and even move herself around in a circle -- but she is still unable to navigate forward. Over Christmas break, I placed her on the floor several times and surrounded her with her favorite toys, positioned out of reach. She cried and eventually moved her self in circles until she got a hold of something to make her happy. I know that I must be patient with her and I know that eventually, she will learn how to move, pull up and eventually walk -- and when that happens, I will be endlessly chasing her and Emily around and wonder why I was so worried...
While Abby is discovering how the world works, Emily is out discovering the world. She is so close to both crawling and pulling herself up; I made a prediction that she would be crawling by today that sadly did not come to be. Over the weekend however, she did add a new move to her repertoire. As she sat next to Abby playing with the FP Stage, she got excited, and pulled herself up to her knees (see pictures attached of this event). She seemed very pleased with herself as she rocked away with her sister. Abby however, did not appreciate this move as much, as Emily shoved her way in front of her sister... Emily has also perfected the army crawl and boy, does she move!
Emily has also become much more comfortable eating solids. She really enjoys eating her puffies and enjoyed her first biter biscuit. Her second one ended up on the floor and almost became a big Roxie treat, but we quickly snatched it up before that could happen. Speaking of Roxie, Emily's mobility has allowed her to play with her furry buddy Roxie. She and Roxie have started playing a weird game of keep away with Roxie's rawhide bone. As gross as it sounds, it is a very cute game that gets Emily squealing with delight and Roxie happy that someone is finally playing with her again. I have posted a video of the girls playing -- you will hear just how much fun Emily is having (you will also see Abby playing by herself in the background with her socks -- that girl LOVES to play with her socks..).
Geoff and I were both home with the girls for almost two weeks. I really enjoyed spending time with them -- it was the longest period of time I've had with them since going back to work in April. Being able to put them to bed at night and be greeted by their smiling faces every morning was amazing. I had time to teach Abby how to clap her hands (I'm still working with Emily on that) and see them do new things. I realized that I cannot take a moment with our girls for granted because time just fades away too quickly. One moment they are preemies in isolettes in the Special Care Nursery - the next they are on the verge of turning a year old. Where did their first year go? They have accomplished so much and come so far from where they started, but yet I feel that we have barely scratched the surface of what I wanted to accomplish in their first year. I know that this is just the beginning for them and we have many years of joy to spend teaching them and watching them grow; but I do wish I could freeze time and enjoy each stage of their lives a little bit more than I am able to do now.
Emily showing off one of her many talents!
Abby, showing off one of her amazing new talents!
The girls enjoying new toys on Christmas morning
Abby and Emily, before they opened their presents on Christmas morning
Emily and Abby in their Christmas dresses on Christmas Eve
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