Official Half Year Update

Macy and Makayla have spent 6 days with Mrs. Bonnie and her daughters over the last 2 weeks and seem to have fallen in love!  :)  The first couple of days were hard for mommy, but Bonnie has been awesome to send pictures and texts throughout the day to give me an update and help me to be more comfortable.  The girls get LOTs of attention and have enjoyed time with the other 2 babies and Bonnie's puppies!   Unfortunately, Bonnie's gotten a good chance to see how reluctant our busy babies can be to nap as well, and I think it's compounded there, since they get so much attention and have so much fun!!  Next week is their last week there, and I'm sure things will go perfectly just in time for us to uproot them again to start daycare at Goddard School the following week!  I'm NOT looking forward to the transition, but we've decided it's still best, if, for no other reason than just to save us the time of driving all the way to Mooresville, since it can take up to an hour to go there and back from home!  I have vowed to take a few pictures of the girls with their new friends this week, since I haven't been able to remember my camera before now!

Besides that major transition, the girls are fantastic.  Macy is still very fixated on watching her hands, and, as usual, makes this funny grunting sound whenever she's concentrating on anything, especially her hands!  She still loves her Door Bouncer and Exersaucer, but we also still have to turn her around if she spends too long looking at the Alligator toy that is part of the saucer.  She can't quit figure out how to "work it", so she concentrates for a while, then ends up getting REALLY mad.  It's really funny, but we're sure she'll eventually make peace with it, so we usually let her fumble for a while before we spin her around!  :)  Macy has also figured out how to stick out her tongue, and thinks it's a hoot to do that and smile.  We know it's a habit we'll have to break eventually, but right now it's too darn cute to stop!  Macy LOVES Marley, and we've been surprised at how tolerant Marley has been!  Macy's still just got one tooth (she doesn't really teethe on corn cobs, but we had to take a picture just for old-time's sake!), but I'm pretty sure I can see the gum getting whiter right beside of it, so we expect a new tooth any day.

Makayla still likes to squeal, and sometimes does it with pure delight, and other times out of complete frustration. It's amazing how fast she can switch gears, so it can be tricky!  She is also very fixated on pulling her paci out of her mouth and chewing on the back or sides.  When she's really tired, this can be kind of frustrating, since she'll pull it out just to get mad that it's not back in there...and doesn't seem to get it that all she has to do is spin it around!  She sits up like a champ, and seems so proud of herself because of it!  While we know it will likely be a little while before she crawls (and hope so!) it seems like she'll be mobile any day!  She gets on her tummy and can wiggle much further than you'd ever expect...and is ALWAYS fixated on whatever the next object is that's just outside of her reach!  While it seems like she has ALL of the symptoms, we're still waiting on Makayla's first pearly white to make an appearance.

We've started letting the girls sip water from our cups, as well as to do some experimenting with a sippy cup, and they LOVE this new feat.  I'm not sure if it's just something new and exciting, or if it's the cold water that they're enjoying, but they can't seem to get enough...even when they wet the entire front of their shirts!

We finally went to an opthalmologist last week to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong or that we could do to fix their poor little eyes, and, as expected, the doctor thinks it's blocked tear ducts that will most likely take care of themselves within the next 3 months.  I know the girls are so sick of us cleaning their eyes, and they get so red and sore, so we're really hoping that the issue goes away quickly!

Friday we went for their 6 month checkup and the girls checked out great!  The girls seem to be exactly where they should be on all of their developmental milestones, and we found that we have some big girls!
Here are the stats:
Macy - Weight - 16.7 lbs - 80th percentile
             Height - 27 inches - 90th percentile
             Head - 43 cm - 65th percentile
Makayla - Weight - 16.4 lbs - 60th percentile
                 Height - 27.5 inches - 95th percentile
                 Head - 44 cm - 75th percentile

Unfortunately, between this round of shots (including H1N1) and teething, something has really taken a toll on the poor babies and they had a couple of rough days between Friday evening and Saturday.  They've never had any problems with shots before, so we were surprised when they seemed so fussy and lathargic, and, unfortunately, it seemed to last just long enough for Grandpa and Mimi's visit.  Saturday night they started getting back to normal, and they were completely back to their happy little selves when they woke up this morning!

We had an awesome little Sunday, having the unusual luxury of having Daddy home!  We went to church, then headed to Davidson to have lunch on Main Street at our favorite little spot, the Soda Shop.  After a quick escape attempt by Macy, we took a nice long walk on the greenway.  The weather was beautiful, so it was nice getting the whole family out for some fresh air! (even Marley!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day came a day early in the Ernst house this year, since Daddy had to fly until late on Valentine's Day!  Macy and Makayla enjoyed the celebration (and even got to do it in their "snowman" jammies!!), and loved "reading" (i.e. chewing on) their cards, feeding their piggies, and "cuddling with" (i.e. chewing on) thier stuffed animals!!  Thanks to Grandma and Papaw, Mimi and Grandpa, and Great Grandma and Grandpa Wibbenmeyer for our gifts and to our Uncles and Aunts for the cards!

(Notice that Makayla's SITTING UP on her own!  Small intervals for now, but she gets stronger every day!)

The red and black thing is their new puppy!  It's almost as obnoxious as our real puppy, Marley!  :-) This puppy sings really loud and dances around.  I showed this to them in Walmart and realized it was a must-have!  They are more perplexed than amused by it now that it's home!

I didn't get a picture, but today Macy also loved touching the roses Daddy got for Mommy and staring in fascination at the floating balloon that was attached! Daddy's going to have to buy 3 sets of roses and balloons next year!

Happy 6 Month Birthday Macy and Makayla!

Just a quick shot before going to bed on our 6 month Birthday!!  Mommy was slack and didn't take pics today while we were happier, but we're still CUTE, if we do say so ourselves!  :)

It's UNBELIEVABLE that 6 months have already passed! We're having SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Our First Pearly White...

SNOW...The girls got to see their first snow last weekend, which caught us all by surprise since, even though it was predicted, we don't usually get anything like what we had!  After a few days of hanging out in the house or at the neighbors, we were a bit stir crazy and all happy to see the snow melt! 

TOOTH...Macy started getting her first tooth last Sunday!  While we know there are LOTS of teeth in our future, and Macy's been a little more cranky than normal, it really hasn't been as bad as it could be, so I'm hoping that's a pattern for things to come as well. Given the excitement that the girls have over most every solid that we've fed them, I can't wait to watch them try all of the things that will be available once their little chompers are in!

AND BLACK BIRTHDAY CAKE...(only to look at, for now!)  The girls and I took a trip to Greensboro this weekend to celebrate our cousin Grant's 1st Birthday!  The "cow cake" was a hit with Grant, and Makayla tried her best to get her fingers into it as well, but mommy held her back just far enough!   While at the party, we got to see lots of aunts and cousins, including little Kensleigh, who's just a couple of months younger than the twins!

The girls seem to learn more and more every day.  Some of their new interests and abilities are:

• Both girls can roll to their fronts and their backs, and can get across the room before you know it! 
• They know their names and will look when called. 

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  They're getting very close to sitting up. They are spending more and more time in their boppy pillows and bumbo seats!
 
• They smile a LOT;  Makayla probably smiles more than Macy these days, although the pictures might make it seem otherwise...Makayla's just more intrigued by the camera, and changes from a smile to a stare more quickly than her sister. 
• They like to eat ALONE...their bottle slings and bouncy seats are all that are required!  Of course, we have to be on hand to help, but they're even getting pretty good at getting the bottle back to their mouths once it falls out! 

• They've taken a greater interest in Marley, and would love to hang onto her eyes, nose, and ears if she'd let them!  Macy is especially enchanted with her!
• They love being naked (or diapers only) and get a big kick out of taking baths.
• They LOVE solid foods! Some things upset their stomachs at this point, but we're just continuing to try new things, and will cycle back to the "riskier" things after a little bit of time has passed. Sweet Potatoes still seem to be a favorite, but other than that, we've tried Oatmeal, Butternut Squash, Carrots, Apples, Pears, Peaches, and Bananas. The next items ready in the freezer are peas, spinach, and green beans. We'll see how these less sweet vegetables go over after enjoying all of the sweet stuff first (going by doctor's orders!) They also enjoy chewing on cold celery and carrots!

On top of all of that...

We went to church again to stay with Ms Libby, who we're quickly learning to LOVE, and later that day attended our first Superbowl Party at the neighborhood clubhouse!  Mommy and Daddy forgot to take pictures, but we all had a great time! 

Last Monday, mom headed out for her first day back to work, and boy was that a weird feeling!  Dad was able to stay home with the girls, and I don't think I've ever been so happy to walk back in after a day at the office!  Luckily, there was NO traffic, due to the weather, so it didn't really turn out to be as long of a day as it could have been.  After Monday, I spent the rest of the week hanging out with the girls and trying to work at home as much as possible.  I think I ended up squeezing in a decent amount of work for the week, but boy was it a TOUGH week!  Normally the girls nap peacefully at least some during each day...but this week was a challenge!  We've decided it's finally time for Makayla to adjust to life outside the swaddle blanket (for numerous reasons), and she's done pretty good at night, but boy is she having a hard time settling down for a nap...and, not only is Macy getting to hear plenty of whines from the next crib over, but between that and her new tooth, she's been pretty uncomfortable herself!  While we had some fun times, we definitely didn't have a week full of our usual smiles and giggles!

Starting tomorrow, the girls will join their friend Taylor at a new sitter's home 3 days a week while I get on a more consistent part time schedule.  We met "Mrs Bonnie" for the first time Friday, and while I know she'll take good care of the girls, and it's only a few days a week for now, I'm still pretty nervous at the concept of not being with them all day every day, so it may be another rough week...and Daddy's out of town, so that makes it extra challenging!  Next month the girls will start at thier new daycare, and I think I've planned that long enough that I'm almost excited, so this month is definitely a month of transition for all of us!  I'm very blessed to have been able to stay home as long as I have, and I feel like working will allow me to get some time away to do something of my own, then I'll be able to truly enjoy every second that I do spend with my family.  Deciding to go back to work has been a very difficult decision to make, and I am very grateful to God and my husband for being able to make this choice, rather than being forced into something I'm not ready to do...and to my managers for taking me back after my long "hiatus"!  God seems to be opening the right doors in all directions, for both me and the girls, and I have come to feel very confident that the girls will be able to learn a lot of emotional, physical, and mental skills that I wouldn't be able to figure out how to teach them on my own! That being said, I think the anxiety is probably the worst part, and I'm boiling in that right now!  I'm sure it will be great, but all prayers are appreciated as we make this HUGE adjustment!

The Happiest...and most Stressful...place on Earth

As most everyone knows, we recently took a trip to Disney World with Gary's entire family to celebrate Mimi's 50th birthday!  As the title indicates, the trip was a little bit stressful for mom, but we had an awesome time, and it was so good to see everyone and for the girls to meet their cousins, Reganne, Riley, and Connor, their aunts, Tonia and Jen, and uncles, Jason and Jared!  We also spent a lot of time with Mimi, Grandpa, Aunt Sabrina, Uncle Clayton, Haley, Aunt Melissa, and Uncle Whit!  Unfortunately, only Aunt Sheryl and Uncle Ryan were unable to attend!

We started the trip off with our first commercial airplane trip, and boy was that an adventure!  After being "disassembled" and searched by security, we lugged all of our gear and made it safely onto the plane.  The girls both SLEPT, which probably doesn't seem like much of a surprise, but, considering that we've never held them to go to sleep, I was pretty nervous!  After we arrived, we went to our hotel and let the girls and dad have a quick nap before heading out to meet the family at Downtown Disney for dinner.  The girls did great, but were getting obviously sleepy, and finally passed out in their strollers while we did a little bit of shopping and ate ice cream! 

The next day started out kind of dreary, so, after a restless night in the pack-n-plays, we all slept in a little.  Once we got up, we headed to Sea World to meet up with the family!  We went to the Shamu show and then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring what Sea World has to offer.  The girls had their first carousel ride, and Mom and Dad had an awesome time riding the 2 roller coasters at the park while Mimi and an assortment of others (:-))helped watch the girls!

After leaving Sea World, we headed straight over to City Walk to attempt to catch the reservation for all 18 of us at Margaritaville...not surprisingly, we were late, so we had to find food elsewhere, and ended up at Bubba Gump's for Mimi's birthday dinner.  The girls were EXHAUSTED and fussy, so mom spent a good portion of the meal in the gift shop "bouncing" them to sleep...only to have Makayla wake up the minute I put her in the stroller...thankfully, Uncle Clayton had finished eating so he took her for a quick stroll and was more successful than I, since she stayed asleep long enough for mom to finish her meal and have her much needed margarita that she ordered at the beginning of the meal!  :)

The next day, we woke up much earlier and made it out to join Haley, Sabrina, Clayton, Melissa, and Mimi for breakfast with Chef Mickey and friends.  The girls watched in amazement (or confusion!?) while the various characters came by for visits, and Haley had an awesome time getting everyone's autographs and pictures!  Besides watching Haley enjoy it so much, the best part was watching Makayla as she tried her best to get a good chew on Pluto's paw and Donald's beak!

After breakfast, we rode the tram in for some fun at the Magic Kingdom!  We took the girls on their first ride, "It's a Small World", and they decided that it was 11am and needed to eat ON SCHEDULE...and the ride wasn't going to distract them like we thought it might!  :)  Luckily, Aunt Sabrina helped make bottles and we started their meal right there in the boat! 

After that, we spent much of the day walking around and trying to keep the girls occupied.  The poor babies were exhausted, and did a great job of catnapping in the stroller, but just couldn't catch up from their 3 day adventure! Grandpa and Mimi watched the girls while mom and dad rode a couple of rides, we all met up for lunch, and then finally got everyone in the same spot for a group picture before it was time for us to head out to catch our flight home.

The trip home was similar to the trip out, except that we started out with a good scream from Makayla...the poor girl was EXHAUSTED!!  She finally passed out and I don't think she woke up completely until Monday!  Macy slept through the flight as well, and both girls went right to sleep happily in their cribs as soon as we put them down!

Over all, it really was a fun trip, and it was so good to see everyone!  We hadn't seen Reganne and Riley since May, and Connor since July, so it seemed they had grown into completely different people!  It was so much fun watching them and Haley enjoy Disney the way it's meant to be!  We were also really excited for the girls to meet their aunts, uncles, and cousins!  I think Mimi really enjoyed time with the family, and we were all really happy to be able to help her celebrate her big day!  We look forward to making the trip again in a couple of years when the girls can appreciate things as much as their cousins did this time around!

Now on to the next adventure!!!

More Food, Please!

The girls are still loving their solid foods, and today had their first taste of bananas (we did eventually mush them up, but they loved sucking on the whole thing!) Here are a few additional pics!

Roly Poly

(Unfortunately, due to some technical difficulties, this post is already a little bit out of date...hopefully we'll have new updates to cover our big family trip to Disney World soon!)

We've rolled right into the new year doing our favorite thing...rolling over.   Both girls have mastered the art of rolling from their backs to their stomachs, and have become pretty good at going the other direction as well...unfortunately, they often still think they're "stuck" on their stomachs, but, amazingly enough, when they're not trying, they can roll all the way across the living room without any trouble!  Their head and neck control is fantastic, and they love to prop themselves on their arms and look around.

Macy has finally broken free of the swaddle blanket for the last time, and now prefers sleeping flat on her face...a trait she must have taken straight from her mom.  Makayla's had a nap or two without her swaddle "protection", but somehow, she usually ends up wrapped tightly in her "miracle" blanket.  I think she's still just not quite comfortable letting her little arms and legs relax!  As long as she sleeps, we're not complaining, although it will be nice when swaddling is a thing of our past!

The girls are getting more and more interested in their new toys from Christmas, and we're finally figuring out the best way to play with the toys is by sitting in our bumbo seats. As they get stronger, their duration for this type of play gets longer.  I'm pretty sure they'll both be sitting up before we know it, so play time will only get better! 

The girls have also developed an affection for the exersaucer and the door bouncer...especially when they're close together so that they can "talk"!  We've temporarily set up the bouncer so that it can hang in the kitchen, so the girls have a grand ole time hanging out while mom and dad eat lunch!

And speaking of "talking", both Makayla and Macy have started finding different parts of their voices, and it's pretty funny to watch them entertain themselves practicing.  Here's a snippet of some of Makayla's new sounds (unfortunately, you can't see Macy's face that well, but you get a good view of her crazy, patchy hairdo!)

Other than that, we've spent a lot of time indoors trying to get completely over our round of colds and staying out of the ridiculously cold weather.  It's finally gotten warm enough this week that we've bundled up for a couple of quick walks, but we'll all be SO glad when spring arrives!

Aside from all of the rolling and bouncing, the biggest news is that the girls have begun the switch to solid food and they LOVE it (they're not really eating celery just yet, but they do like chewing on mommy's celery and carrots!)!  We started with rice cereal a week or so ago, and, while the spoon feeding itself was a change, the girls have been eating rice in their bottles for over a month, so it wasn't too much of a surprise to their taste buds.  Over the last 2 weeks, we've tried sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and carrots.  The girls LOVE what they've discovered...except for the carrots, which didn't seem to agree with Macy very well.  Those have been stashed in the freezer to try again later!  We'll be progressing through a variety of new cuisine options over the next few weeks, so it'll be interesting to see what turns out to be their likes and dislikes!