Baybay & Baybee: Week 59 (9/19-9/25)

59 weeks old!

Brett and I did something this week that we haven't done in over a year -- we went away for the whole day together, without the babies. We were gone from 6:30 in the morning until 9:00 at night. We spent the day at the Newmarket Heritage Festival, teaching juggling! Selena and Kathy stayed with the girls and it was a surprisingly relaxing and positive experience for me. Leading up to the day, I had been so nervous and wasn't sure how I would manage a whole day away from my girls. While I did miss them (A LOT!), I was able to mostly let go, not worry too much, and just be at the festival with Brett.

Here I am showing some kids how the diablo works.

Brett juggling clubs.

This little girl had a blast decorating Brett's hair with the juggling scarves.

It REALLY helped me knowing that the girls were with two of their favorite people. They didn't even cry when we left in the morning. We all got up around 5:30, after snuggles and nursing in bed. Selena came over shortly after that and Brett and I said our goodbyes as the girls were sitting down to breakfast. They gave us hugs and kisses and we left. They knew we were going to be gone for the whole day (we had told them a few times that morning) and they were excited to see Selena and eat their food. The lack of crying when we left helped me relax so much! Selena played with the girls and put them down for their first nap in the morning. Kathy came over while they were still asleep (around 9:00) and spent the rest of the day with them. I left a little milk in bottles and they did drink some of that during the day, but were mostly just happy to play with their Grandma.

Swinging and watching people at Maines Field.

I'm so thankful to Kathy for taking some pictures so that I could see how happy the girls were while we were away!

Maya and Ella like to put this colander on their head and peek through it. It's a funny game we play together and they decided to shared it with their Grandma.

We had an odd mix of warm and chilly days over the week. One sunny afternoon found us outside playing in the garden in short sleeves, while the babies wore nothing. Then the next day we were all bundled up in long sleeves and socks just to go for a walk. I'm not sure I am ready for winter just yet.

Picking tomatoes.

Warm sunshine on little bodies.

I want that one!

Got it!

The babies and I went on a few adventures on our own this week, giving Brett some alone time for a few hours. Brett also took the girls on a couple bike rides and I got to spend some time on my own at home. I realized after doing more of it this week, that it's not as difficult to take both girls out on my own as it used to be. It's still tiring and a lot, but, if we have time and aren't in a rush, outings can be fairly relaxing and fun for all three of us.

On Tuesday, we had a picnic lunch at Childs Park.

And rode on the swings in the YMCA playground!

Ella wasn't sure what she thought about the sand all over the ground.

On Sunday, I took the girls to a play group while Brett stayed home. It was nice out, so we played in the grass outside the Midwifery Center. I brought our fabric tunnel for the babies to crawl through. In this picture, Liz watches as Maya, Lexi, and Ella all try to make their way through the tunnel at the same time!

Ella comes out the other side!

Getting out of the trailer to play at Maines Field with Dada.

Ella shows off her climbing skills.

Maya's turn.

Both girls, though especially Maya, have been fascinated with sitting and standing on things. They try to sit on everything: toy boxes, cups, books, hats, stuffed animals, etc. It's hilarious to watch! Another new thing is that Ella has decided she is in love with cats. She gives them kisses when she sees them in books and shrieks with joy when one happens to wander by while we are outside or looking out the window. Maya yearns to share Ella's love, but she's also afraid of the cats, so clings tightly to us while eyeing the furry creatures whenever they come around.  Also, though most of the pictures this week are of smiling, happy girls, we had our share of crankiness and tears. I think more teeth are coming soon.

  

Maya is working on being able to sit down on the potty on her own! 

And a more succinct video.

Oh the joy to get to stand on the table!

Ella playing near the window to best be on the lookout for cats that might walk by.

In the boat with helmet.

Bath time bubbles.

Hugs are a somewhat recent and adorable development. They also sometimes give each other kisses.  

Baybay & Baybee: Week 58 (9/12-9/18)

58 weeks old!

Looking through all the pictures from this week had me a little teary-eyed. Maya and Ella are growing up too fast! They are starting to eat food with utensils and are working on running. Ella now signs "nurse" and Maya learned the sign for "water" this week. They understand just about everything we say to them and love to "help" put things away, carry their dirty clothes to the laundry basket or bring us shoes to put on. Throwing things into the trash/recycling is a work in progress, as they like to take the thrown away item back out again most of the time.

Outside is the place to be right now. Swinging, riding on the rocking horses, climbing the wood-chip pile, looking at the bikes in the garage, exploring the yard and picking/eating cherry tomatoes from the garden are a few favorite activities.

They enjoy handing things to each other while on the swings.

Maya takes tomato picking very seriously.

Hi there!

For me? Yum!

A new thing for us is taking a stroller walk half way around our block, then letting Maya and Ella walk the rest of the way around. That second part of the walk takes a LONG time.

Maya had fun dropping stones from the little bridge into the stream one day.

Ella was more interested in eating her apple.

In hot pursuit of a squirrel.

"How come they always climb up the trees?"

We had a great visit with Chris, Kelly, Olivia and Evelyn at their place in South Hadley. The girls were shy of each other at first, but they warmed up by exchanging sippy cups. By the end of the visit, they were friends. I saw Evelyn and Maya "sharing" a toy at one point, and Oliva and Ella played together for a few minutes.

Evelyn and Maya share a grape.

Oliva (with Maya and Ella's sippy cup), Evelyn, Ella and Maya, getting ready to crawl through the tunnel!

Ella (with Evelyn and Olivia's sippy cup), and Maya about to enter the tunnel.

Fun!

Big smile!

Here comes Ella!

Chris and Evelyn.

Brett spots girls for step climbing.

Yogurt is one of Maya's favorite foods. Ella likes it too, but Maya LOVES it. Sometimes we go through two tubs in a week. I don't eat any, and Brett maybe has a little once or twice. 

Checking to see how much is left.

"There's still some in here!"

"I can get it."

Bliss.

So, the girls can pretty much reach the stove knobs now. We tell them it's not a toy and they mostly listen.

Hugs for Dada.

Baybay & Baybee: Week 57 (9/5-9/11)

57 weeks old!

Now that the girls are feeling better, it was back to life as normal this week -- except for night time sleep, which pretty much was just horrible. I am pretty sure they are both cutting more teeth, but I think mainly their patterns got thrown off while they weren't feeling well (we nursed at night for a few days), so now they have to re-learn how to get back to sleep on their own. Needless to say, we've been tired. Disrupted sleep is even harder now that we're used to getting a good night's rest. 

On the other hand, the going to sleep part has been easier than ever. We have a nice routine for naps and bedtime, where we say good-bye to things on the way into their room. Most of the time, they happily lay down and go to sleep. It's so easy and very sweet.

We hadn't been using this pillow for the past few months, and were planning to return it to Becky (who so thoughtfully has let us use it since the babies were born) at the multiples meeting this week. Maya and Ella saw it sitting out and got so excited. We might be borrowing it for a while longer.

At the Montessori playground for the multiples group meeting. The slides are one of the girls' favorite things to play on there.

I tried to get a shot of them both going down at once, but Maya went first.

Apples have been an exciting new snack around here. I am impressed how well the girls do with eating them. Apple slices are good, but what they really love is getting a whole apple all to themselves. I usually bite into it for them, just to get it started, but after that they are on their own. It takes them a while, but they will hold onto that apple until it's mostly gone. 

How Maya eats an apple.

I wish this video weren't so dark, but it was evening time and I didn't think to turn the light on. I made this toy out of an empty cottage cheese container and some poker chips. Ella, especially, loves it.

We had an amazing tag sale find on Saturday. Brett and I wanted to go to around to tag sales that morning, so we put the girls in the car and they slept while we drove from tag sale to tag sale. There was nothing even remotely good until the very last one, but there we hit the jackpot! We got a couple children's books, some boots for the girls to grow into, a crawl through fabric tunnel (I have been wanting one of these for months and it was only $1!!), a double stroller that is light and easy to fold up and fits in our car trunk, plus the best wooden rocking boat ever!

Captain Maya takes her sister for a spin in their new boat.

We are so happy with how well the potty seat we got for the toilet has been working out. Both girls are using it more than their little potties. They adore flipping through our Adventure Cycling magazines and pointing to all the bikes and helmets.

A few of our sunflower plants were blown over in a rainstorm so I picked a huge bouquet. I also baked this whole wheat rosemary bread in the dutch oven and it was delicious.

Brett and I have done well taking time out on our own this week. We've also given each other breaks a couple times by taking both babies and letting the other person spend time alone in the house. I took Maya and Ella to see the animals at the Northampton Vocational School barnyards on my own, Ella and I had a fun grocery shopping trip together, and we've been using the stroller again to take many walks around the neighborhood.

Brett found these blocks out for free while taking the girls for a walk!

Ella snacks on a banana and waves "Bye!" to the grocery store after our shopping trip.

Coming back inside after playing.

Pretty sunflower and Fall asters blooming in the backyard.