Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend 2008

The summer finally arrived and the whole Ash family has a cold! We were still able to make it up to Jeremy's parents lakehouse on Lake Tippecanoe about 2 hours north of us. The girls were troopers and managed to make new friends regardless of feeling pretty crappy. We also had a blast spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Sadler again! We are back to the doctor today to get to the bottom of this thing, so hopefully it will be resolved soon. The only way Lilly went down last night was a drive around in the car. We've never had to do that before and at 4 bucks a gallon, dad won't let it become a habit! We went on our first boat ride and the girls hated their lifejackets (Addy especially), I'll have to post pics of that trauma later b/c it is on Grandpa Dave's camera. Here are other pics...

Grandma Linda and Lilly hanging out on the pier
Addy playing in a blow-up ball pit that Grandma Jody and I found at a garage sale--it was a steal and the girls loved it!
Lilly showing off walking with mom
Addy and Lilly hanging out with David and Mike Wiley, you can tell they weren't feeling well, but they loved flirting with their new boyfriends...

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

My Lilly

I started calling her My Lilly when we were in the NICU, for no other reason than I think I was still in shock that I had babies all my own. We also call her Lilly Bug, Lilly B'Dilly or Lilly Pie. She is a Daddy's girl in every way. She's never met a stranger, smiling at anyone that will give her the time of day. She went to the grocery store with me a couple weeks back and sat in the cart like a big girl. Each time someone would come toward us, she'd make eye contact, give that big smile, and wait for them to tell her how cute she was. If they passed by without a comment, her head was on a swivel, following them past us, then quickly returning for the next passerby.



I laugh most of the time I spend with Lilly because when I laugh, she laughs and when she laughs, I laugh, so it's a circle. You can't really help but laugh when you're around her, she's got big blue eyes, a full head of red hair, chunky cheeks and the cutest little nose you've ever seen. She's a great eater, as you can tell by her stats below. She only occasionally takes a pacifier when she goes down for a nap. She's definately a diva, as I type this, we are having a match of wills. She's screaming, not wanting to nap and thinks that if she screams long enough, I'll go in and sit with her...she typically wins. She also does this at night. We've had nights where we win and she crys back to sleep, but other nights she ends up in the guest room with Dad. I'll go in to wake him in the morning and she's soundly sleeping, perfectly content, like there is no where else in the world she'd rather be. Our pediatrician has warned us that if we don't break her of this habit now, she could be sleeping in our bed until elementary school. When we think about that, it's horrifying, but in the moment, at 4 a.m., it doesn't seem so bad.


The other thing we discussed with our ped last week was her not rolling to get anywhere yet. As soon as Addy was rolling, she was rolling across the room. Lilly rolls to appease us, as if to say, "See, I can do it, leave me alone." She doesn't use it to get to toys or anything like that. I was concerned about developmental delays and our pediatrician assured us that she was just spoiled...excuse me? Is spoiling your diagnosis? But I couldn't argue, she was right, why should Lilly waste that energy moving across the room when we typically bring her what she wants/take her where she wants to go? I'll tell you, I had a lot of concerns when I found out we were having twins, but spoiling wasn't really one of them. Shows how much I know.


That's My Lilly, she's got a lot of Jeremy in her (big feet, big smile, big heart) but she definately got my strong will and I have a feeling she and I will go head to head a number of times in the future. I sure hope she lets me win every once in a while.


9 Month Statistics:

22 pounds, 9 ounces (94th percentile)

28 inches long (62nd percentile)

46 1/4 head circumfrance (95th percentile)




"Who me?"



"If only I could talk to my sister, we could plan our escape."





"Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness, I can't believe it."





"But Daddy, I want the golden ticket and I want it NOW."




Saturday, May 17, 2008

All About Addy

After all the initial questions people ask...fraternal vs. identical, boys vs. girls, age, etc. The next question is usually, "Are they alike?". My answer, honestly is I'm not sure I could have had babies 10 years apart and had them be any more different than Addy and Lilly are. In honor of that, this post is going to be all about Addy. I'll do another this week about her sister.


We call her Addy, Addy Grace, Addison Grace, Adders or my little energizer bunny. She's a ball of energy right now and into EVERYTHING. She's not exactly up on all fours yet, but she's inchworming her way across the floors. She can pull herself up on kitchen chairs, coffee tables, bookshelves, etc. We are going to have to step up our babyproofing game. Yesterday, she climbed into the first shelf of the tv stand, got her whole body crammed into it and then turned her head around as if to say, "Mom, get me the hell out of here."


She's makes the funniest facial expressions, from a big WOW look that I think she got from her dad because it's the same face he makes when he walks in from work. When she smiles, she scrunches her whole face and squints her eyes to show her toothy grin. Her cheeks are big and her eyes are the prettiest blue, I'm not even sure the camera catches how pretty she is. She's long and lean as you'll see from her stats below. I think she'll be a brunette, her hair is slowly coming in, one strand at a time. She's a messy eater, fighting for the spoon to do it herself, certainly a sign of an independent woman, she also prefers to feed herself her own bottle. No coddling for her. She's loud--making noises and grunts to anyone that listens. Jeremy thinks she grunts like Monica Seles as she fights her way across the room.


She's stubborn, she likes what she likes. Right now, she isn't interested in her toys, she wants whatever she shouldn't have--magazines, cameras, remotes, cell phones and everything goes into her mouth. When you take something away from her she'll scream at the top of her lungs until you cave and give it back or quickly distract her with something else. She doesn't like to be confined and shows her emotions through holding her breath (the doctor even warned us this could lead to her passing out, but not to be alarmed--what?). This only happens when she's confined and frustrated--car seat, high chair or stroller. I have to stop myself from laughing, because it really is funny, but I don't want to encourage this habit. She's a wonderful sleeper, putting herself to sleep as she burrows into the corner of the crib, snuggling with a blanket or soft toy. No pacifier either. I'll check on her at night and she's often asleep on her belly with her butt up in the air. I tell people she might be into yoga, she's already doing a fabulous Downward Facing Dog. Never a peep from about 7 p.m. to 6ish a.m. She is certainly a joy, the kind of baby that tempts you to have a couple more (but don't worry, I'm not falling for it).

9 Month Stats:
20 lbs, 12 ounces (80th percentile)
27 3/4 inches long (54th percentile)
47 cm Head circumfrance (99th percentile)--not sure why I find this so funny, but I do...


"By God, I'll hold my breath until someone pays attention to me around here."

"Look at me GO"

"CHEEEEEEEEEEEESE"

Sunday, May 11, 2008

9 Month Birthday / Mother's Day



We took the advice of many and I accompanied Jeremy on a conference trip to New Orleans. So, yes, it's my first Mother's Day, but no, I'm not spending it with Addy & Lilly. I'm sure that knocks me out of the running for Mother of the Year and most reading this are probably casting judgement. I just figure this is something they can throw back at me when they are 16 and going on some weekend trip with their friends and I'm nagging them about being home for Mother's Day. So, yes, Addy and Lilly, this can be your "Get out of Mother's Day free card", just don't expect to use it more than once.

Here's some pics we took to celebrate the 9 month milestone. The color on my scanners a little fuzzy, but the cuteness shines through. They weren't easy to keep in one place, so my props to the photographer. We then drove home from the mall and they were talking to each other in the backseat...Da Da....Ga Ga...Ba Ba...Da Da....you get the idea. No "Ma Ma" yet, but I'm just enjoying the sounds.

I'll be back from New Orleans on Monday, so my "Stay at Home Mom" duties begin on Tuesday. Anyone in Indy want to do lunch?

Sunday, May 4, 2008

The Many Faces of our Twins....

"I can't believe she finally did it! I thought it would never happen!"--Addy
"Soap in my eyes, soap in my eyes, someone help me, I've got soap in my eyes." --Addy

"Get me the h#$& out of this thing"--Addy (this is also the face she makes when you put her in the grass
"Let's just get this over with so I can go to bed, I'm SOOOO over you guys."--Lilly
"Yep, you're right, there is no way I can get any cuter."--Lilly
"FEED ME-I'M STARVING"--Lilly
But, even without making any faces, the pure innocence shines through.
And, one of the things we've been waiting for her to do on a consistent basis, it happened this weekend! Here's Lilly's rolling debut...