The Schmitt Family Happenings: 5 month honey badgers

note: i started writing this to be a quick update and it some how became a novel. feel free to skim.

what have the little girls been up to the last month?? mostly – fussing. actually they have been up to a lot of things, but in between doing activities they fuss because they want to do more. this would be just fine if either one had arrived solo, but it complicates things when there are 2 babies and 1 toddler who all deserve attention. even with the fussing, we love ellie and claire so much and they make us smile (and me cry sometimes) every day. claire and ellie both love personal inteaction. they just light up when they see you and squeal with delight when they are picked up. I wish I could just lay over them and “chat” with them all day. they definitely want to engage in real conversation and only like to talk when they are being listened to.

as the girls get older they are beginning to really notice each other. often times they will make eye contact and flash each other big grins. the other day, my dad was holding ellie and I was holding claire and the house was quiet (c was outside). they were just staring at each other and my dad and I were both just letting them be. it was so sweet because ellie starting talking to claire – just sweet little noises. then ellie got quiet and claire was looking like she was going to form some words when charlie busted through screen door and came running into the living room. it definitely broke up the moment, but it gave me a taste of what is to come. I can’t wait.

claire and ellie are determined to be just as motivated as charlie. they love being on the move and seeing what is going on around them. which is why this is our new setup. one of the girls in the bjorn, one on the hip or facing out. my shoulders and upper back ache by the end of the day. but it is what they want to do 85% of the time they are awake.

they still LOVE their brother. anytime they are “fussin’” charlie will say “don’t fuss baby sister!” or “mom! they are cryin’ ree (real) hard!”. then he runs over to whoever is being fussy and they almost always gets quiet and become super interested in charlie. it warms my heart and makes my ears happy. in this picture charlie was showing them this toy. they are just enamored with him.

charlie greeting his baby sisters. every morning when I bring him upstairs he jumps off my back (he gets a piggyback ride upstairs) and runs over to them.

on the way to the farmer’s market on saturday charlie was ecstatic when claire stopped screaming and held onto his hand. my mom was in the trunk because there was not any spots left in the car so she could snap this sweet picture. when the girls are screaming in the car charlie will sometimes bust into “away in a manger” to try to calm them down. I try with all my might to not start laughing. he is the sweetest big brother.

ellie and claire are both really strong. here is ellie working on her standing. she looks so little to be standing! but she loves it.

and so does her sister. claire is in green.

from the front. bill was catching them when they started falling. claire didn’t care about holding on she just kept trying to go for the books on the bookshelf.

chewing is another favorite activity these days. the drool has picked up so teeth will probably be making an appearance in the next month or two. I wish the girls were better about actually holding on to these toys while chewing. I think they would be a bit more content. ellie is in white.

while they were rolling around I found claire sucking on ellie’s foot. too funny!

I cannot wait until claire and ellie can sit unassisted!!! they are actually getting pretty good at it – with support. here is claire showing off her typical fussy face while sitting.

this is honestly how claire likes to sit. at an angle! it makes us crack up laughing!

don’t forget ellie! she looks like a pro in this picture.

oh no! the fall back, with the leg up to catch herself. they have great abs.

rolling, rolling, rolling. both girls are really good at getting places. you can set them down some where and turn around and find them in an entirely different place. claire was stuck the other day and I found ellie up forearms checking her out. they move the most when they are mad. claire will dig her face into the ground and use her feet to scoot forward. ellie does more of a plank move and then flops forward. both are successful. rolling is really how they get places.

sleep. things are great when it comes to getting the girls to bed. we start baths at 6 pm and by 7 both girls are asleep. occasionally they cry, but we quickly soothe them and let them figure it out. one of the hardest things about having twins is night time sleep. one will sleep great one night (6:30/7 pm to 3-4 am) and the other one will be up at midnight, 1 am, 3 or 4 am, etc. it is quite exhausting. claire has slept the longest at 6:30 to 4:45am! however ellie was up a ton that night. usually claire is a better sleeper, but just last night they changed it up on me. they still take a pretty long afternoon nap, but it often requires a lot of management to keep them down. we are working on getting them to take a morning nap if we are home, but currently they just cry for 45 minutes. thankfully i am getting more comfortable with letting them cry, but it doesn't always seem to help.

solids. for most of the last month they have rejected anything I have tried. on their 5 month birthday I tried this gerber oatmeal, apple and cinnamon concoction and they actually liked it. they didn’t scarf it down like charlie, but they were actually interested. I would have assumed they would each have decided to like something different or at least shown different levels of interest on the same day. but not really – they both seemed to like the oatmeal mix the same and consume equal amounts. weird. I wonder if it is an identical twin thing. either way – here is claire showing us her eating skills.

ready claire?