one highly motivated individual

lately, bill and I have been reviewing charlie’s pictures and videos from when he was a baby and we are amazed at how motivated charlie was. we will sit and go through iphoto and crack up laughing at his shenanigans. here are just a few of the things charlie was doing at 4 months – the same age as the girls are now…

• when watching charlie take his first bites of rice cereal he couldn’t get enough. he was literally attacking the spoon. I definitely didn’t realize how unique that was.
• he instantly went to 3 meals a day and was scarfing down food
• he was really interested in the camera and would try to grab the camera when being recorded.
• he loved holding our cell phones and watches
• sitting up unassisted at 4 months
• practicing standing along side the couch
• riding his rocking horse
• could stand alone when holding the bars to the activity mat
• playing with lily by holding out rings for her to grab

it is quite amazing to see his personality shine through at that young of an age. the kid was a machine. I am so glad to have the videos and photos to look back on. I am also SO thankful God blessed us with two sweet girls who have different personalities (and hopefully a bit less motivation). How wonderful that we are all created differently. to the girls credit - charlie was born 6 weeks later than them, which is a lot of time in baby days.

e & c - 4 months old!!!

yeah! our littlest babes are 4 months old! the girls have changed so much these past 2 months. the last three weeks they have really changed from newborns to active little 4 month olds. at their appointment today ellie and claire are proving that they really are identical twins. ellie weighed in at 11 lbs 13 ounces, 59 cm long with a head circumference of 40.20 cm. claire weighed in at 11 lbs 15 ounces, 59 cm long with a head circumference of 40.10 cm. pretty crazy. especially if you remember that ellie was 1 pound smaller than claire at their 2 month appointment.  both girls are around the 16th % for weight and length, 26th % for head circumference. we absolutely love these two girls and it is really funny when people ask me if I have twins. I almost hesitate because even though they look a lot alike I really don’t think  of them as twins. to me they are two very different little girls and I can’t wait to watch them grow up. here are some of the things that make ellie– ellie and claire – claire….
ellie:

• was previously labeled as our drama queen and I think she might be growing out of this title. I actually think claire wants the title most days.
  
• is definitely the more patient one. she is more content laying on the floor playing and does not escalate as quickly as her sister, which means she sometimes gets the short end of the stick. if claire is freaking out and ellie is just frustrated I will often have to leave ellie and tend to claire.
  
• is really strong on tummy time, but often rolls to her back when put on her tummy. she can roll from back to front, but is content on her back so doesn’t flip over often.
  
• if you just give her a bit of quiet time she will really start chatting. it is so sweet to listen to her “talk”.  when she gets excited she revs up and then blasts out a SQUAWK. I don’t think she has mastered a squeal yet.
  
• when she smiles she sticks her tongue out and her eyes close.
  
• could possibly sleep through the night if it wasn’t for her sister. whenever claire gets up we just pick up ellie and feed her too. more often than not claire is the one who wakes up first.

claire:

• is really extreme. when she is happy she is really happy and when she is mad she is really mad and when she is hungry well watch out because she is a honey badger!
  
• up until about 1 week ago claire barely would lift her head on tummy time. then out of no where she started rolling from her back to her tummy. she now almost instantly rolls from her back to her tummy when she is laid down.  
  
• when it comes to eating claire is really opinionated (or maybe she will just be very opinionated in general). she will only nurse when SHE wants to. she also prefers to be rocking while eating so it is sometimes hard to calm her down and get her to eat if there is not a rocking chair nearby.
  
• loves to be standing and seeing what is going on.
  
• is also chatting a ton and when she is really happy she squeals over and over. adorable!
  
• loves to sleep in like a teenager. she loves to nurse sometime around 5-7am and then be laid on her tummy to sleep another couple of hours. even then, if I go check in on her and rub her back, she’ll stir momentarily and then bury her face in the covers as if to say “come on mom!  I never get to sleep in on the weekends!  leave me alone!”  in keeping with her 17 year old tendencies, she’s more of a night owl than ellie.

both:

• LOVE their brother! they just light up when he comes near them and they definitely try to keep their eyes on what he is doing.
  
• are grabbing and reaching for things constantly. I don’t remember charlie being as interested in getting “toys” or links, but I also have to remember charlie wasn’t abandoned on the floor as much as these two.
  
• have gotten increasingly more interactive and want to “see” everything.
• are getting more interactive with each other. it is so sweet to see them smiling at each other. most often you will catch one of them smiling really big at the other, while the other is staring off into the distance at something else. i have caught claire pulling up her legs (which she loves to do) and landing them right on ellie. i think she was trying to kick at her.
  
• we will be starting to feed them solids and I am hoping they love it. our kids are always hungry and anyway to help satisfy their cravings is great.
  
• wearing both 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes
  
• wearing size 1 diapers
  
• they still often begin to stir at the EXACT same time. it is so weird. they can even be in different rooms and both begin to wake up.

I am not really a hard core schedule mom, but we do have a flow that we follow every day. the girls get up around 7 or 8  (ellie eats and claire usually had already eaten earlier) and are usually happy and play on the floor for a bit while I get charlie up, etc. then they get fussy and need to take a catnap in the bouncy chairs. usually the catnaps are short and they wake up and need to eat, play and repeat. they will do this throughout the morning whether we stay home or if we go to friends houses or the RAC. I am really glad they don’t have a set morning nap. it makes for a fussier morning, but it is much better for our schedule because we are never going to just stay home in the mornings for their particular nap time. around 12:30/1 we are usually home for lunch time and the girls usually fall asleep for their long nap of the day. it is wonderful because it lines up perfectly with charlie’s nap time (exactly what mom needs – some alone time!). most of the time the girls nap until 4-5pm. they do the best in the evenings if they sleep until 5, but this is hardest when charlie is around because he gets up around 3:30/4pm and is pretty loud and often wakes them up. then they eat, play and fuss a lot until they take their last catnap of the day (this is really short). when they get up I give them a bottle (and I pump) of about 2-3 ounces at most (they were overeating a few weeks ago and would spend hours fussing and pulling their bellies up, etc). it is then bath time and then ellie will usually nurse and claire just wants to be rocked. they are getting up around 2/3 am (usually claire because she doesn’t want to nurse before bed!) and then ellie will sleep until around 7/8 and claire will want to eat again between 5/6am. and the cycle repeats itself day after day!

charlie playing with the girls.

enjoying their floor playing time.

ellie working at the office.

claire’s chubby butt (yes – I know someday she is going to be mad at me for this picture…she will get over it).

for comparison – here is charlie’s butt at 3 months. these pictures crack me up.

you taste good!

I will often find the girls sucking on each others hands or arms. too funny.

story of my life

this is me bouncing the girls to get them to fall asleep during one of their cat naps in the mornings (more to come on their routine in their 4 month post coming up next week). they love being smothered with blankets and fuzzy lovies. we cover their eyes and it helps them crash. charlie is usually running around pushing his dump truck or playing cars or I am reading him books.

“running” with 3 + dog

well I finally did it. last week (when the temps were a bit cooler) I took my clan out for a walk that turned into a run. it was surprisingly easier than I expected – my huge stroller is quite smooth. I by no means went out for a 6 mile run, but instead I went out for a walk with the fussy crew and decided to run because it kept the girls quiet.  it went so well I did it a few more times that week. the girls are now strong enough to be jostled a bit so going out for a quick walk/run is a great way for me to get some activity on my non rac days.

charlie enjoyed the faster pace and would shout “run real fast mom” and “play I spy!”. so in between breathing and yelling at lily to keep up I was shouting “I spy a big red truck! or I spy a flag”. oh how my running has changed. either way it was great to get out of the house with everyone and the girls enjoyed their little cat nap (of course they screamed in the beginning).

ellie and charlie.

claire’s side and the “big yion”

thanks nana!!!

this past week, bill was in chicago for 4 days for a conference so my mom volunteered to come help me. it was wonderful to have her around and it is such a joy to watch charlie soak up his nana time. ellie and claire were extra thankful nana was around because she was always reading to them, picking them up and showing them new things, etc. if you have ever met my mom you know she never stops moving, which is an extra plus with our crew these days. thanks mom for all your hard work. I loved spending time with you!!!

here is nana reading to ellie and claire. eleanore was really happy before this, but decided to freak when I started taking pictures. apparently she had had enough!

although charlie doesn’t have a smile on his face – he loves nana’s breakfast creations. this was a delicious waffle with peanut butter, syrup, strawberries and a bit of cool whip. mmm.

charlie is practicing taking pictures with nana’s phone. it is hysterical to watch him do this because he puts the phone up to his eye and then he still does his “smile” (which is really him closing his eyes really hard and forcing a ridiculous smile) over and over.

ellie and claire sitting up for a picture. nana and charlie were off running some errands.

we had torrential rains all day friday so we had to come up with some indoor activities. the girls love watching charlie do anything. here they are watching him play with his new curious george coloring/sticker books. he is definitely most interested in playing with the stickers than coloring.

finally a picture of me with two of my sweet children. I am reading to claire and charlie.

my loving mother knows my favorite thing to do is work out so she made sure I got out of the house each day. I was actually out running errands during this blow up, but either way I got a call that I should probably come home because the girls were losing it. here is how my mom managed them. when I walked in the door they were actually both quiet. then I started talking and they both lost it again. don’t worry – I fed them right after I snapped a few shots.

mom – you are a pro!

charlie was begging to go outside during the day with the crazy rain. it finally let up enough after nap that we could let him go outside to play in the rain (his new favorite thing). he was so happy to be out of the house and outside. this boy has a lot of energy!

yes – my son drinks the disgusting pool water. I have tried to stop him – it is not worth it.

 

we were trying to get one good picture with my mom and the girls. of course it couldn’t happen. in this one it is claire who is being a fussbudget! and ellie is munching on her hand.

bill came home around dinner time on saturday night and showed up with a curious george book and little george stuffed animal for charlie (he is obsessed with george right now!) and this ridiculously cute swim suit for the girls. they only had one at the store in their size, which is why he only bought one.

I {heart} ruffle butts.

ellie modeling.

the serious heat wave that we are now in started on saturday. so after my mom left we put the girls in their suits and sat on our deck.

bill is looking pretty rested after a few nights away from home.

claire (left) is not too sure what to think. this is the scowl look they give us sometimes. linds – is this her sassy look??? the camera actually fogged up a bit from coming outside. it is so stinkin’ hot! (heat indexes in the 100s!).

mmmm…

one of charlie’s new favorite foods. kale chips! I love our CSA!

biking with 5

today we took our first bike ride as a family of 5. I am impressed we made it out of the house and biked for about an hour. here is our crew.

the girls close up. of course ellie is freaking out and claire is just sitting there. ellie screamed for a bit and claire joined in occassionally, but then after a bumpy part they both settled in and fell asleep.

coming home we always have these huge hills to bike up and bill and I were both seeing stars when we arrived back. I am just happy we actually made it out. we are hoping to take a family vacation in august and use our bikes a few times so we have to keep it up.

charlie’s first baseball game

the saturday before the 4th of july bill took charlie to his first baseball game – a honkers game (the local rochester team). charlie and bill left for the game around 8:30pm (c usually goes to bed around 8!).

me and charlie before he left (yes – I was pumping).

while at the game charlie and bill munched on some hotdogs. charlie apparently loved learning about the game. he would yell out - strike! ball! you’re out! foul ball! another favorite activity is when the players would pop the ball way up high. he was too involved in the game and hotdog to even look at the camera.

charlie got to meet slider – the honkers’s mascots (don’t you just love the names??). apparently, he loved slider and went to visit him twice. he especially liked when slider picked him up and had him sit on his lap.

before charlie left I told him he might be really bored by the game because it is the same thing inning after inning. according to bill, the honkers were getting killed, but charlie was totally entertained through all of the innings. after the game there were fireworks. everyone went on the field to watch the fireworks that were directly overhead. at this point it was about 10 pm. bill recorded a video of charlie saying how much fun he was having and that if he had to go home he would be sad. it is so sweet. charlie is totally the kid that rallies when there is fun to be had. he LOVED the fireworks and was again stunned and just soaked it all up.

charlie on the field before the fireworks started.

he doesn’t even look tired! it was probably past 10 pm at this point!

after the game charlie was on bill’s shoulders walking to their car and he was just rambling all about the events of the night. the video of him rambling is so precious. bill got home with charlie just before midnight. charlie didn’t even fall asleep on the car ride home! he is such a champ.

swoopin

on the weekends if the girls get up early (6:30ish) to eat. I will feed one and then put them with bill so I can feed the next one and we can both try to get a bit more sleep. this morning it worked for bill and ellie, but not for me and claire. at least I was able to snap this sweet picture of the bill and ellie swoopin.

it’s back…

the office! the girls are starting to like standing so we busted out the office and padded it up so they can sit/stand in it. they both seem to like their office time. 

claire trying out the office.

 

charlie loves showing his sisters the ropes. 

4th of july

what another great 4th of july. we spent our holiday in hudson on the st croix. the beach was really just a sliver this year because of all the rain and flooding down south so the dams have kept the water levels really high. it was probably a good thing because with all of the new babies this year we spent most of our time in the house using the upper deck. still beautiful. we all still got out on the boat and charlie and bill went to the afton parade. charlie also had his first tubing experience. sadly I didn’t get to witness it, but apparently bill was with him and they were going in and out of the wake.

ellie and claire spent a lot of time in the bouncy chairs (normally – not together).

we were able to catch up with ryan, kate and their two girls – eva and elise. always fun to hang with them. although I have to say that this year I didn’t do much socializing with anyone. whenever we get in a new environment the girls get off of their little schedules and I spend most of the time on baby management duty. next year though we won’t be sitting at all with a 3 yr old and 3 – 1 yr olds running around (the girls and paul).

lynn with claire and ellie.

charlie catching up on some george after a busy busy day. ellie was not happy about it.

the girls chillin with paul. paul is a perfect angel!

bill’s uncle bill was there taking pictures. here is claire’s close up. gorgeous!

the girls both had their first measurements taken. ellie…

then claire…

then both…

june randoms

I might have already mentioned how much I love our deck, but I will say it again. charlie loves playing out there. he spends countless hours pouring water in and out of the little pool. are you jealous of his hat?

when charlie is on the deck I don’t usually have him in a swim diaper. the best part about that is that you get a view of a little butt crack. it is too cute.

to attempt to make our evenings smoother I am now bathing the girls daily. it is a lot of work, but it seems to shorten their fussy evening time and get them to bed earlier. totally worth it in my eyes. they do great in their baths. here is claire enjoying herself.

more reunion pics

my lovely cousin ashley sent me some more pictures from the green bay reunion. I had to include them.

my cousin sara’s girls – caitlyn and ella loved bouncing ellie and claire. it was precious.

bill and charlie on the jet ski again.

I love love love this picture of charlie. so handsome!

and this one!