6 months

Teething and solids and crawling--Oh my!! The sixth month has been filled with milestones and changes. Evie was the first to try crawling, and she will master it any day now. She gets up on all fours and rocks, then launches herself forward. It is really time to babyproof! Eli is doing the same thing, but reserves it mostly for when he sees one of his obsessions--the cat, the guitar, or a soda can. Eli was the first to get his two bottom teeth and was quite verbal about his discomfort, and then one day we noticed out of the blue that Evie's had poked through too. She never even seemed too upset about it. Just one more example of the two different personalities we have here. We have started cereal and a few veggies, a milestone that mom hasn't been all too enthusiastic about. Nursing has become so easy that I have been reluctant to embark on all the setup and cleanup that baby food requires. Fortunately Mister and Missy Toes are cooperative, if not enthusiastic eaters. When we start on fruits we may see more excited expressions on their faces. And finally, my favorite milestone of all...Mister has started babbling, and his exclusive phrase of choice is Ma ma ma ma. It melts my heart every time, and I will have to get over it soon or I could be very easily manipulated! For the record, we have lately been referring to Eli as: Mr. Cutiekins, Mr. Cutes, and the classic, Mister. Evie has become: Mrs. Cutiekins, Sugar Doll, and Missy Toes.

5 months

This fifth month has been so much fun with Eli and Evie! They are showing more of their personalities, becoming more active, and reaching new milestones rapidly. Between the fourth and fifth month both babies have rolled both ways, started grabbing for mom's and dad's faces, giving big wet kisses, experimenting with their voices, and creeping around. Both babies can scoot themselves in a circle on their tummies, and it is so rewarding when they work so hard to scoot just so they can face us. They love to play peekaboo and Pat and I are always looking for new ways to make them giggle, the most adorable sound I think I've ever heard.

Eli at 4 months

Evie at 4 months

Four months old

The past few weeks have been filled with the babies reaching new milestones. They both coo, blow bubbles, and make all sorts of interesting sounds, but my favorite is when they wake up and happily squeal at the farm animals on their crib bumber. Evelyn does this nearly every time she wakes up, and it sure beats the screaming they used to do immediately after waking! Another adorable habit is "thumping." They raise their legs up in the air and crash them down onto the crib mattress to render a loud, satisfying "thump." Sometimes we will hear this in the middle of the night and we know they have awakened but are simply soothing themselves to sleep.

Eli rolled over for the first time on May 31st. Evelyn started it. She was the first to kick her legs and roll over to her side from her back. Eli saw her do that and decided to give it a try. Pat and I watched and cheered him on as he slowly crept all the way to his tummy. Evelyn is getting very close but has not made it all the way up yet. Then on June 14th, Eli did a "double roll" from back to tummy and over again to his back. Again he was awarded with a hearty round of applause and kisses from mom and dad.

Evelyn is our little giggler, and she has always laughed when dad dances with her, but recently she giggled out loud when she saw mommy dipping Eli up and down next to her! She has always been so patient as mommy has tended to Eli's needs, and now we know just what a sweet and selfless little angel she really is.

Babies' Stats

BIRTH
Evie: 7 lbs ,0 oz 18 3/4 inches
Eli: 6 lbs, 4oz 19 1/2 inches

TWO MONTHS
Evie: 12 lbs 2 oz 22 inches
Eli: 12 lbs, 3oz 23 inches

FOUR MONTHS
Evie: 15 lbs 10 oz 25 inches
Eli: 16 lbs, 12oz 26.5 inches

SIX MONTHS
Evie: 17lbs, 11 oz 27 inches
Eli: 18lbs, 8oz 28inches

The First Month

The first month with Evie and Eli were filled with emotion: overwhelming love, fear of anything happening to them, doubt as to whether or not I could handle them by myself when Pat went back to work, and more overwhelming love. I had many weepy moments the first couple of weeks, and I wondered if I would ever feel normal again. Mostly during those times I felt vulnerable. There were just too many cherished people that I needed to protect, and it was scary to think that I couldn't control everything that could ever happen to them. Eventually the fears subsided and were replaced with the joys of watching them grow and change.

We started to notice personality traits instantly. Eli was intense, always staring at things intently as if to figure his new world out as soon as possible. He also wanted to work his body. It was as if he knew he was the little twin and had a lot of work to do to pass his sister up. Boys often can't handle being beat by girls. I'll eventually teach him to get over this, but it was helping him grow and learn, so I had to encourage it.

On the other hand, Evelyn was ALL GIRL. Her mannerisms, facial expressions, and cry were flowery, soft, and nothing but feminine. She always had her hands near her face or pinkies out as if posed to drink tea, and we began to narrate her movements, saying "Oh me Oh my, what is one to do?" in a very high soft feminine voice. It fit her perfectly. She had to be patient, as Eli would scream if he needed something and often got taken care of first, and she would quietly sit and watch and wait. She was also very content to sleep as much as possible in the first month, and we wondered if she'd ever begin to work those muscles.

When one speaks to infants all day, regular words take on prefixes, suffixes, and even extra words. For example, "bird" evolves into "Mr. Birdiekins," dog is "doggy-poo, and so on. And the babies' names change too. Evelyn soon became Sissy, then Missy, then Missy toes, which then changed into "Mistletoe." Then we all chimed, "Mistletoe, Mistletoe. She inspires kisses everywhere she goes." Eli soon became "Eli Patrick- Talk of the Town, replaced by the much simpler "Mister."

My Birth Story

On February 2nd I knew that my babies could come any time. Super Bowl Sunday was on the 5th, and I joked that that would be a good day to have the babies, because the Seahawks in the Super Bowl would be a great "focal point." However, on the evening of the 2nd, after lounging my huge body on the couch most of the day, I stood up and noticed that I couldn't walk normally, becasue the insides of my thighs had swolen so much that they were rubbing together. My doctor had expressed some concerns about pre-eclampsia, so I decided to go in to the hospital. There, the doctor checked my protein levels and decided to keep me on 24-hour watch. After the 24-hour period it was clear I had preeclampsia and we needed to induce labor. That night around 2AM we began the pitocin drip. I was nervous, having heard that induced contractions are more painful than natural labor. However, the contractions were not as painful as I had anticipated at all. Some hours later, my kidneys stopped functioning, as I was just not urinating, despite an IV and all the fluid I was drinking. 13 hours later, I was not dilated even to a 1, and everyone began tgalking about a c-section. My mom, Pat's parents, and the doctors were all hoping for a c-section. We decided this was the safest route. Evelyn Joanne and Eli Patrick arrived via c-section on February 3rd at 5:40 and 5:41 pm. Evelyn came out first and was screaming to beat the band. One minute later, Eli arrived, just quietly observing his new world. Pat and I called him Luke at first, because that was the name we liked most that day. Soon after seeing him though, we agreed he really looked like an Eli, which has been my favorite boy's name for years. They were more beautiful than I ever imagined. What I will remember most about my birth experience, besides getting my beautiful babies, is the deep bonding and support I felt from Patrick. I felt throughout the process like the luckiest woman in the world.