Jazzy's 3rd Gotcha Day

We've been pretty focused on Archer and Lyla lately, but we made sure to take some time to focus on Jazzy for her 3rd Gotcha Day.  I love Jazzy so very much and she holds such a special place in my heart.  I know I've gone on and on about what she means to me, but I feel I must reiterate some of those sentiments on her special day.  

(Photo Cred: anthem-photo.com)

I still remember when we went to "just look at her."  I convinced Adam that we could just go see if she might be a good fit for us.  We both knew I had already fallen in love with her and that she was coming home with us.  

Adam and I still can't believe our luck with Jazzy.  She's the sweetest, most well-behaved dog.  And now she can add the best big sister to her resume.  Seeing her interact with our babies makes me love her even more.  There's not a day that goes by that I don't tear up watching Jazzy with her babies.  

(Photo Cred: anthem-photo.com)

Whenever we take the babies somewhere, Jazzy is right by the door to greet them when we get home.  She sticks her head in each car seat and gives each baby kisses as soon as we set them down.  Then she'll greet Adam and I.  Several times a day, she'll wander over to wherever the babies are and stare at them while wagging her little tail.  She so badly wants them to play with her!  She'll get in her playing stance, but they can't play just yet.  In a few short months I have a feeling she'll be trying to get away from them!  

To make sure Jazzy knows how much we love her, we wanted to make her Gotcha Day special.  Ever since the twins arrived and even before when I was restricted to activity while going through IVF and for the latter half of my pregnancy, Jazzy hasn't gotten to go on her walks with me like we used to.  Now when we do go on walks, I have to bring the stroller along.  Jazzy does not care for the stroller blocking her way.  So Nana came to watch the babies so I could take Jazzy on a nice, long walk.

It was actually a really nice day and am so glad Jazzy got to enjoy the beautiful weather and my full attention.  I let her stop and sniff wherever she pleased.  I let her pick the route to take.  I even let her eat a random apple slice she found, though I drew the line at the dead bird carcass.  Sorry, Jazzy.  

In addition to her walk, we made sure Jazzy got lots of special treats.  Jazzy showed off all her tricks to her babies, in exchange for some training treats.  

And Adam brought home some salmon jerky for her.  Not what I would choose to eat, but Jazzy was a fan.     

Jazzy ended her day sleeping with us in our bed.  She has gone back to sleeping with us in our bed at night.  When we brought the babies home, she would sleep on her perch on the couch at night.  I think she wanted to stay on patrol and make sure the babies were safe.  I kinda missed her snuggling up with me and stealing half my spot.  So I'm glad she's back where she belongs, with her Mom.  

I love you, Jazzy!  

Four Months!

How the heck are my babies four months old already?!  Perhaps what's more unbelievable is how on track I am with this post.  Archer and Lyla turned four months old on December 3, 2017.

They are so stinking cute!  I swear they get just a little bit cuter each day.  They are definitely getting more interested in each other.  When I need to take a shower or get something done, I've been putting them both on a blanket next to each other with a few toys.  They babble and smile at each other.  Unless one of them smacks the other in the face or kicks too hard, they are content to be around each other.  Then they act like it's the end of the world.  But most of the time they like each other.   

Both Archer and Lyla are starting to grasp their toys, my hair, my face, my shirt...you know, whatever else is near their hands at the moment.  I can tell Lyla's fine motor skills are a bit more refined than Archer's at the moment.  They can both roll from their backs to their bellies.  It's kinda funny because they both hate being on their bellies.  So as soon as they roll onto their bellies, they are like "crap, what'd I do this for!?" and start to fuss.  We've gotten the Bumbo seat and exersaucer out for them to play in.  They both enjoy sitting in both.  Lyla likes to be in them for longer stretches of time than Archer.  Archer tends to get mad at the toys around the exersaucer after awhile.  I guess they don't do what he wants them to do.    

I finally got a picture of Archer smiling!  He is generally very generous with his smiles, but for some reason stops whenever I try to take a picture of him.  He is still pretty chill most of the time.  He is getting louder when he talks to you, especially first thing in the morning when Lyla is still trying to sleep.  He likes new environments, but is a bit cautious of new people.  It takes him a little while to warm up to people he's not familiar with.  Archer likes to have books read to him and play in the bath.  His legs are super strong and loves to bang his heels on the ground when he's laying down.  He generally goes to bed around 8 or 9 in the evening and wakes up around 5 in the morning.     

Lyla loves to suck her left thumb.  I am a big fan of this because it helps her soothe herself.  I think this is a big reason why she's been sleeping close to 12 hours at night!  She's able to suck her thumb to help put herself back to sleep if she wakes up during the night.  She loves to be out and about and meet new people.  She's our social butterfly and is quick to warm up to new people.  She still has her moments when she screams, which I think might be due to her acid reflux.  She hasn't been spitting up as much, so I'm hoping her acid reflux symptoms are starting to die down.  Lyla likes to be held and walked around the house.  

Jazzy is still doing remarkably well!  She loves her babies and tries to divide her attention between Archer and Lyla equally.  

I've managed to take all three of my kids for some walks.  Jazzy hates the stroller and would prefer to walk in front of it.  I can't see what she's doing or when she stops so I prefer her to be behind it.  We've compromised and Jazzy now walks beside it.  Jazzy's such a good girl!

I've been on two outings with both babies and only me.  The first one was to take them to get weighed at my breastfeeding support group.  That involved completely undressing each baby and then dressing them again.  It took a bit of thinking on my feet to make it a successful trip.  There are just so many little details to figure out.  Getting them ready to get out the door is a feat in itself.  Making sure they are fed, dressed and have clean diapers takes quite a bit of effort.  Then I have to, at the very least, take a shower and brush my teeth.  I also have to make sure Jazzy's been let outside and let back inside.  Next comes strapping them into their car seats, which they both hate.  I have to remember to bring the diaper backpack and extra bottles and check to make sure the stroller is in the trunk.  From there I load everything and everybody in the car.  Once we get to our destination, I have to get the unreasonably heavy stroller set up, add both car seats to it and remember to grab the diaper backpack and extra bottles.  Whew!  

The babies are still eating every 3 hours, so I try to make our outings fit within a three hour window.  Cutting it too close to their feeding times makes for some cranky babies (and mom).  

The second outing I took was to visit the school where I taught last year.  I wasn't as worried about this outing because I knew there would be lots of people available to hold the babies.  One of these days I'll work up the courage to take them to Target.  I have a tentative playdate set up with a friend for Monday.  Hopefully we'll make it out the door and to our destination without any meltdowns!  

Despite all the hard work, I truly love all the time I get to spend with Archer and Lyla.  Each day we make it through gives me a little more confidence as a mom.  I'm looking forward to what the next month will bring!  

A New Home for Our Books

I have a bit of a problem when it comes to books.  I like to buy books and read books and not get rid of them after I read them.  Sometimes I just buy them without the intention of reading them because the spines look pretty.  That means I have quite the collection and am running out of space for them to live.  I talked about my little problem in this post.

The post shared the hot mess that was our bookcase in the living room.  What started out as a jam-packed little bookcase...

...turned into a more organized space to keep our books once I took some time to clean it up a bit.  

In order to make the little bookcase more presentable, I had to store some of our books in the basement as a temporary solution.  I wanted a more long-term solution in the form of a bigger bookcase.  That's where Adam's woodworking skill-set comes into play.  I told Adam that I wanted to buy a bigger bookcase to put along that wall in our living room.  His response?  "I'll just make you one."  I love him!

Since Adam was going to make me one, that meant we could have it built to our own specifications.  He could make it the perfect size to fit the space.  And the shelves could be customized to fit not only all of our books, but also the Bose speaker, a file box for all of Adam's piano music that has lived on the floor of our living room in a corner since we moved in and all the decor items we want to showcase.  

So Adam went to work designing and building the perfect bookcase for the space.  We decided we wanted it to fill most of the wall to the right of the fireplace and be side table height.  That way we could utilize the top of the bookcase as a side table for possibly a lamp and a place to set a drink.  We decided to paint it white so it would contrast with our dark chocolate brown walls and allow all the books and accessories to pop.  I let Adam design away because whatever he makes always turns out fantastic.  I know, I'm very lucky!    

Jazzy made sure to check in on Adam while he was using the nail gun.  The silly girl is terrified of the thing!  As soon as she hears the compressor filling up with air, she starts to panic.  She becomes my shadow and if I'm not around, she looks for a good hiding spot.  I've found her under our bed and behind the toilet in our bathroom.  We can't really figure out why it scares her so much.  She could care less about loud storms and she completely ignored the fireworks that were being shot off around our neighborhood during the Fourth of July.  

I almost wonder if she thinks Adam is getting shot by the nail gun.  So every once in awhile, I would let Jazzy in the garage so she could see for herself that her daddy was just fine.  

Adam worked very hard on this beautiful piece of furniture.  He used an assortment of poplar, pine and birch plywood to make the base and shelves of the bookcase.  (I'll get to the top in just a minute.)    

He used wood glue and pocket hole screws on the plywood frame and finish and brad nails on the trim pieces.  Some temporary diagonal bracing helped keep everything square while it was still being assembled.  

Once the basic frame took shape, Adam got to move onto the fun stuff.  He added trim around the base, the edges and along the sides.  He even used his router to design some of his own trim!  He thought of everything, like rounding out the edges of the shelves.  

 

He also added some beadboard along the back that was leftover from our half bathroom project.  It's all the special little details he adds to each of his projects that make me love them all the more.  

After all of the base was completed, Adam painted it white.  It sounds rather simple to say he just painted it white, but it was actually quite the process.  First, he sanded the whole piece to make sure it was nice and smooth.  From there he primed the piece.  The coat of primer helped prevent the knots from showing up in the final paint coat and prevented the wood from soaking up too much paint.  Once the piece was primed, he painted on the final paint color.  He ended up using 3 coats!  All those coats ensured a nice, even finish.  Adam tells me the key to successful painted furniture is to sand in between each coat.  I'm a believer because it turned out flawless!    

Next came a final coat of General Finishes High Performance Gloss.  This final coat sealed the piece, making it durable for years to come.  

Now it was time to move onto the top.  Since the base was white, Adam wanted to showcase some sort of wood for the top.  He wanted some wood with character and an interesting grain pattern.  It's a bit tricky to use stained wood in our living room because the wall color is so dark.  So we wanted to make sure the final wood selection didn't just blend into the wall.  Adam ended up selecting several pieces of ambrosia maple.  It gets its name from the ambrosia beetle.  I guess these beetles bore into the wood and bring along a fungus, which discolors the wood.  It all sounds pretty gross, but you actually end up with really pretty wood.  

He bought several pieces of ambrosia maple that were only surfaced and planed on two sides.  This makes the wood cheaper to purchase, but requires a little more work on the user's end.  Wood sold at box stores is typically surfaced and planed on all four sides.  Adam ripped the larger boards down into smaller boards and then laminated these pieces together to create the top of the bookcase.  To laminate wood, you essentially glue the pieces together.  I do believe Adam used every single clamp he owns to keep the pieces in place until the glue dried.  

Once the glue dried, he used a bench plane to smooth out the wood by hand.  After he planed the wood, he sanded it to get it even smoother.  Next, he "raised the grain" by spraying distilled water on the wood; a necessary step prior to using any water-based stain or finish.  The water makes the wood fibers stand up, so you have to sand them off to ensure a smooth finish.  This is called "de-whiskering the wood."  (Bet you didn't think you'd learn so much about woodworking in this post, huh?)

Since the wood was so pretty, Adam decided not to stain the wood.  He simply added three coats of General Finishes High Performance Gloss (a water-based top-coat).  Again, he sanded in between each coat with higher and higher grits to ensure the smoothest, most flawless finish.  And let me tell you, that top is buttery soft!  I find myself wandering over to the bookcase in the living room and just running my hands across it from time to time.  

Whew!  I'm tired just writing this post!  Adam put so much effort, attention to detail, time and love into this gorgeous piece of furniture.  The fact that he made it makes it so much more beautiful to me.  This will be a piece that will end up in Archer or Lyla's house one day.  (I might be wiping away a tear right now...)

Let's move onto some before and after pictures!  

Here's what our living room looked like before we added the new bookcase.  

And in honor of full disclosure, here's what it looked like with all the baby crap.  

Here's a shot of the corner of the living room that I tend to ignore.  There was an ugly plastic file box and basket crammed in the very corner.  Definitely not my proudest decorating moment.   

Now here's what our living room looks like with our gorgeous new bookcase: 

I am in love with this wall now!  The photos really don't give the piece justice.  It truly is a massive piece and offers up so much storage.  But it's also so very pretty!  All the detail Adam added to the trim and the top really is stunning.  

I love how the white of the bookcase ties in so nicely with the white frames in our vacation gallery wall.  The bookcase stands out beautifully against the dark walls.  I also like how we tweaked the furniture arrangement on that side of the living room.  Placing the chaise in front of the window cozies things up.  And clearing out the clutter in the corner by the keyboard helps streamline things.  Putting the keyboard on the diagonal helps bring that corner to life, as well.  

I have to show you how the top of the bookcase turned out.  It's a stunner!  Look at how pretty the wood is with all the grain popping out.  I'm so happy Adam decided to keep it as its natural color.  It is a nice contrast to our walls, but still adds some warmth since it's a wood tone.  

We don't want to add too much stuff to the top of it because we don't want to cover up all the pretty wood.  We still might add a lamp or some other accessories.  But for now the kids' piggy banks add some charm and whimsy to the living room.  (Thanks for the piggy banks, Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob!)

I can't really say all the rest of the kids' stuff in the living room adds any charm or whimsy.  But I must admit it doesn't bother this Type-A gal as much as I thought it would.  It's certainly a small price to pay for two sweet babies!  

A Quick Tip for Twin Moms

As someone who adores organization, I am finding more and more practical uses for organization being the mom of twins.  One easy organizational tool that I have put to use is masking tape.  I had this tape lying around; I think I got it on clearance after Christmas one year.  The official name is Scotch Expressions Masking Tape.  I like it because it comes in different patterns so I can assign a different pattern to each baby.  In this case I use the blue tape for my boy and the green tape for the girl.  B for blue/boy and G for green/girl, get it?  Clever, right?   



It doesn't leave any sticky residue and can be written on with a Sharpie very easily.  I use it to keep track of the differences between Archer and Lyla.  It not only serves as a helpful visual reminder to me, but also to Adam, our moms and anyone else we've managed to convince to help us out.  I can make the blanket statement: "Anything with green tape is for Lyla and anything with blue tape is for Archer."  

I use it to label their car seats.  Since Archer is bigger than Lyla, the straps are in different positions on his car seat than on hers.  I just wrapped part of the handle with tape corresponding to each of their car seats.    

They also each use different diaper cream.  So I stuck some tape around the bottom of each tube to designate who gets what.  Archer does well with A&D.  Since Lyla has switched to formula her poop has been more irritating to her.  Our pediatrician recommended using Calmoseptine with every diaper change and it has cleared up her little bottom.  So the tape helps whoever is changing diapers know what to use on each baby.  

Finally, I use the tape to label each baby's bottles.  We used to have the same bottles for each baby, so it was a little more confusing when grabbing a bottle from the fridge.  We switched to a different kind for Lyla after trying out a sample.  Archer likes the Dr. Brown's bottles (and the millions of parts that go with each one) while Lyla does better with the Avent bottles.  When we would wake up in the middle of the night to grab a bottle, it was helpful to just look for the correct tape color when the bottles were the same.  I still use the tape on the bottles even though we use different bottles for each baby.  Since Lyla has a dairy allergy, I don't want anyone to make the mistake of giving her Archer's breast milk.   

Who knew tape could be so handy?!  

Things They Don't Tell You About Motherhood

To say the first three months of motherhood has been a blur is a huge understatement!  The range of emotions and feelings I have felt have been vast.  I have been ecstatic and thrilled, but also overwhelmed and frustrated.  I knew it would be incredible to have two sweet babies to call my own, but didn't realize just how incredible it would be.  On the flip side, I knew it would be hard to take care of newborn twins, but I didn't realize just how hard it would be.  For some reason, moms don't always talk about just how hard things are in the beginning.  But I'm going to discuss them now.    

Mom guilt hits fast and hard.  

I had always heard about "mom guilt" and knew it plagued all moms.  But I never knew how quickly it would set in and just how all-consuming it can feel.  I felt guilty almost immediately after my babies were born because they were born a month early.  I knew that making it to 35 weeks with twins was quite the feat, but I still felt guilty that they had to spend time in the NICU.  Then I felt guilty that the fact that my milk took forever to come in extended their time in the NICU.

When we eventually brought them home, the guilt kept piling on.  I felt guilty when they would cry and I didn't know how to comfort them.  I felt guilty that I decided not to cut dairy from my diet when we found out Lyla had a dairy allergy and gave her formula instead.  I felt guilty when Adam or one of our moms would be on the night shift and I heard one of them cry.  I felt guilty for trying to sleep instead of getting up to take care of them.  

That's just the tip of the iceberg.  I feel guilty on a daily basis for even the smallest reasons.  But I'm also getting better at accepting this guilt.  It just means I care immensely about my babies and want to do everything in my power to give them the best life possible.  I know "mom guilt" is now a part of my life.  But it's a small price to pay in exchange for being a mom.    

Sometimes it takes awhile to truly connect to your babies.  

I expected to instantly connect with my babies.  I thought as soon as I laid eyes on them, I would be consumed with love and affection for them.  That wasn't exactly the case for me.  Of course I loved them from the get-go.  But it took awhile until I felt the kind of closeness I had always imagined.  

The first thing I felt when I saw my babies was shock.  I was just plain shocked that these sweet babies I had hoped and prayed for were finally here.  I was shocked that they were in the flesh and so big and healthy.  I was shocked that I could actually say I was a mom.  

When Archer and Lyla were in the NICU, I still didn't feel like they were really mine.  Sure I called them my babies and the nurses kept saying they were mine, but I still didn't really feel like they were mine.  I knew I was supposed to, which caused "mom guilt" (see above).  I think it was hard because I didn't feel like it was solely my responsibility to take care of them.     

When we got to take them home, it still didn't feel like they were my babies.  I don't know whose babies I thought they were!  But those first few blurred weeks when we made it home were challenging.  I think both Adam and I were so wrapped up in the basic care of the babies (eating, changing diapers, etc.) that it was hard to find the time to just sit and stare at the wonder of them.  

Eventually we all got to know each other better.  I now know what each Archer and Lyla like and what their different cries mean.  They are finally more content so we have more time together to just stare into each other's eyes and soak one another up.  I definitely feel fully connected to both of my babies now.  I love them immensely and completely!  I love to smoosh my cheek up against theirs and just breathe in their sweet baby scents.  The look up at me and smile and I just melt.  I would do anything for either of them.  I now feel like a mom.  But it took awhile.  

Some people don't really like the newborn stage.  

Once again, I feel a bit guilty admitting this, but I didn't really like the newborn stage.  I thought I would just feed them and then hold them and then lay them down in their cribs and they would drift off to sleep.  Then I would have time to go put on makeup and cook dinner.  Hahahahahaha!!!!!  Boy, was I in denial!  I barely had time to function in those early days.  

And the screaming!  There was so much screaming!  I felt like my babies, especially Lyla, screamed way more than was considered "normal."  And they both needed to be in constant motion.  We either had to rock them in the rocking chair or jiggle them while standing.  I think the fact that they were born a month early had something to do with that.  I remember Adam and I went to a family reunion where there were two other babies.  They seemed so content compared to our babies.  At one point my cousin put a blanket down on top of a table and put his baby down on it.  She was content to stay on that blanket for an hour.  I looked at Adam as he was jiggling a screaming Lyla and said, "Just lay out a blanket for Lyla on the table."  We both got a good laugh out of that one.  She would have lost her cool if we tried that.

But as soon as Archer and Lyla turned 3 months old, I feel like we hit a sweet spot.  They are so much more content and easy to soothe.  They are sleeping well through the night.  They are so much fun and smile and coo at me.  I love this stage so, so much!  

It takes a metropolitan city to raise twins.  

Forget the village, it takes a whole entire metropolitan city to raise twins!  Our moms have been the biggest helpers and we are forever indebted to them for all they have done for us and our babies.  Thanks to them taking over the night shifts for us, Adam and I were able to get some much needed sleep.  I don't want to even think about the crabby zombies Adam and I would be if we hadn't had their help.  We owe them BIG TIME!!!!! 

 

As if our moms' help wasn't enough, we had lots of friends and family help us out in lots of other ways.  My dad, brother and Adam's dad helped take care of Jazzy while we were all in the hospital.  We were bombarded with so many sweet, thoughtful gifts.  Friends visited us and brought us food and held the babies for us.  And we can't forget all the thoughts and prayers everyone sent our way while I was pregnant and after the twins arrived.   

I also wouldn't have survived this far without all the messages and texts I've sent back and forth to my friends who have little ones right now.  I wasn't able to get out of the house very often and they were my link to the outside world.  They've all been a wonderful source of advice and support that I am truly grateful for.  

The hormones are no joke.  

I thought the hormones while I was pregnant were crazy, but the ones that came after giving birth were something else entirely!  I cried so much!  I cried at happy moments and frustrating moments.  I cried for absolutely no reason at all.  It's a good thing I didn't have the time or energy to put on mascara.  

Amidst this already emotional time, my grandmother passed away.  It broke my heart that she never got to meet my sweet babies in person.  She had battled Parkinson's Disease for a long time and I am grateful she didn't have to suffer or be in pain any longer.  But it was still a sad loss.  

Then Adam's best friend died by suicide.  Adam was obviously hit the hardest by this sudden loss.  But his friend had become a part of our family and I was pretty devastated by it, as well.  Becoming a mom made me ache for Adam's friend's mom.  When we went to the funeral I couldn't even talk to his mom.  I just burst into tears and hugged her.  I couldn't even think of any words to say to her and I certainly couldn't get any words out.  

Dealing with all that loss while still taking care of our babies was difficult.  We both wanted to just lay on the couch and cry at times, but we had to keep up with our babies' needs.  It was both a hardship and a blessing to have the distraction.   

Some of "the rules" go out the window.  

I'll end on a more lighthearted note.  I remember when we first brought our babies home, Adam and I followed every "rule" to a T.  We were terrified of our babies dying of SIDS or doing anything wrong.  So I religiously followed all the American Academy of Pediatrics' guidelines.  We put Pack N' Plays in our room with the intent of the babies sleeping in our rooms.  We always put them on their backs to sleep.  The only thing allowed in or on the car seats was the baby.  The only thing in their cribs was a fitted sheet.  We would only keep them in their car seats while in the car.  We wanted to do everything the right way.  And I'm sure we drove our moms crazy with all these newfangled rules.

Fast forward 3 months and we've definitely broken some of "the rules."  After trying to have them sleep in our room for a few nights, we booted them to the nursery.  They are noisy sleepers!  Every little peep and breath made us bolt upright in bed.  We decided that we wouldn't be good parents if we didn't get any sleep, so now they sleep in the nursery.  To be fair, we have a baby monitor and their room is directly across the hall from our room.  They are only about 3 feet away from being in our room.  

I also remember how I would make Adam take the babies out of their car seats as soon as we got home.  Since then they've been known to take an hour long nap in their car seats.  I still check on them every 10 minutes and they've survived so far.  I've also put some burp cloths in Archer's car seat to help prop his head up and some toys on Lyla's car seat to keep her entertained.  I've realized, as all parents probably do, that you plan to follow all the rules.  Then reality hits and you just have to do what you have to do to survive.  

I'm sure I'll learn many, many, many more lessons as time goes on.  And I'll be humbled all along the way!

Three Months!

Time continues to fly by at warp speed!  Archer and Lyla turned 3 months old on November 3, 2017.  I seriously don't know where those last 3 months have gone.  I know they happened, but it's still hard for me to wrap my brain around them.  

I feel like we turned a corner as soon as Lyla and Archer hit the 3 month mark.  They have both been more interested in doing things that don't involve someone holding them.  That makes it remarkably easier for me to eat and go to the bathroom and take showers.  They are content to lay on a blanket on the floor, sit in the bouncy seat or take a ride in the swing.  

I've just now spent a few days with just them and me.  I have to admit, I was slightly terrified to be alone with both of them.  I feel awful when they are both crying at the same time!  I want to be able to console each of them, but when I try to console both at the same time usually no one ends up happy.  But I think they have both taken pity on me and agreed to be good when it's just me around.  Here's Archer planting the seed for Lyla.  

They are so much more fun now too!  They both are generally happy now and love to smile.  In addition to smiling, they are also cooing more.  It's absolutely adorable!  They've even paid attention to one another lately.  While they still manage to smack one another in the face fairly regularly, they are having more fun together.

I always figured they would have this bond from the get-go, but they really couldn't have cared less about each other up until this point.  Now they like to look at each other and have darling conversations.  Adam caught one of these conversations in the video below.  

Archer loves to kick these days.  He kicks his little heart out in the bath and while laying on the activity mat.  He smiles all the time, but always seem to stop when I'm trying to take his picture.  He is sleeping longer at night, but still wakes up for a feeding around 3 in the morning.  He still loves to be swaddled at night.  He used to fight us when we tried to swaddle him and work his hands up to his face.  So I left his swaddle off one night and it was too much for the poor guy!  His startle reflex is still going strong, so each time I checked on him his arms and legs were flailing around.  The following night, and every night since, he lays his arms by his sides when I put his swaddle sleep sack on as if to say, "Please wrap me up tight!"  

Since he still hasn't outgrown his startle reflex, loud noises scare the crap out of him.  I had him in a bouncy seat in front of the couch when I was going to pump the other day.  I undid the Velcro to my pump and you would have thought I set off a firecracker.  It took a good 5 minutes of consoling him before I was able to pump!  Adam has a particularly loud sneeze and that also sets Archer off.  Poor boo boo!  

Lyla seems to be much happier these days!  Now that we have her on formula since she has a dairy allergy, she enjoys eating.  We also give her baby Zantac to help with her acid reflux.  The combination of the two has significantly cut down on the amount of screaming she was doing.  She smiles lots and coos.  She loves to stare up at the mobile on the swing we have and the mobile above her crib.  She gets bored easily and likes to change up the activities she's doing on a regular basis.  She's also discovered her hands and likes to suck on her fingers.  She's even got her thumb in her mouth quite a bit.  I think she's going to be a thumb-sucker.     

They each grow so much from month to month, even day to day!  Heck sometimes I feel like they've grown when they wake up from a nap!  I am so in love with them both and am so freaking lucky to get to be their mom.  I can't wait to see what the next month will bring!