Big Week for Babies!

This week was quite eventful! My older brother Jay moved back to Houston and was finally able to meet the twins. It was so great to see him and watch him with his niece and nephew. I am glad he will be close to us as they grow. I've missed him all these years while he lived in Atlanta! Clara, George, and I survived our first two outings. First we went to Walmart to test the waters. Both of them slept the entire time and I didn't have any trouble maneuvering the double stroller in and out of the car or through the store. We took our second outing to Target. While George slept Clara was interested in what was in the store...imagine that! I feel like I can rejoin the human race again. When we are out I feel like a celebrity though. Everyone stares at the double stroller and makes lots of comments to me. It is really strange to get all that attention when I am just trying to shop!! We also successfully took Bailey on a walk. Bailey was really good. She stayed right by the stroller while on the leash. It was great!

George is sleeping through the night now. Yeah! He typically sleeps from about 10 pm until 5 am. This is such a great relief to John and I. Every other night I get a full night of sleep which does wonders for my state of mind. George also repetitively rolls off our chest into our arms. While this may sound dangerous it's not and he loves it. It makes us laugh! Such a silly boy. Speaking of laughing George laughed for the first time yesterday. We were playing with his little stuffed dog and he giggled. Such a great sound! I think this little guy is going to have a big personality!

Clara is also sleeping better. She typically sleeps for a five hour stretch from about 7 pm until midnight. After that she is up every three hours ready to eat. There is light at the end of the tunnel! Her colic seems to be slowly improving. Clara's best hours are first thing in the morning when she likes to play and interact with me. She still listens intently when I talk to her and seems to enjoy the activity mat more now then ever. Clara also seems to love music and move so we dance every day! She is getting stronger and holds her head up while we support her sitting up. We think she is just a beautiful little girl!

Each day is getting easier and easier as we get the hang of parenting two babies. It is such a blessing and we think they are just amazing. We have so much love for them!

George and Daddy

Clara and Mommy

What a sweet girl! Her shirt says it all.

What is this thing called? Oh a hand...it tastes good.

Uncle Jay feeding George

Clara don't mind me. I just need to lean on you for a bit.

You know you are a mother of multiples if...

you get crying in surround sound!!

Happy Two Month Birthday Clara and George!

George and Clara had their two month check up yesterday. The doctor said they look "fantastic." Both weigh just under 10 pounds and are still considered small for their age. It will take them awhile to catch up in size but they are putting on weight every day! They got their first round of shots and did really well. They definitely cried but calmed rather quickly. Unfortunately they were really fussy all day long. I could tell their little legs were sore from the shots. Clara was officially diagnosed with colic...poor baby. She is doing much better on the lactose free formula though. She also has her first cold. I am glad my husband is brave with the aspirator. I hate suctioning her little nose and mouth! She is sleeping longer stretches too but once she is up she generally keeps us up for two hours before going back to sleep! I hope this is something she is going to get over because it gets exhausting! She also has started pushing her bottle away if she doesn't want it. She is definitely our strong willed child! It's really fun to watch her smile and interact with toys more and more. George is doing so well. He is sleeping longer stretches too. He is also cooing more and more. Tossing him around makes him smile so big! He also found his hand which went straight in his mouth. He is such a happy baby. It's fun to watch him figure out the world. The doctor told us that we can finally take them out in public. I can't wait to go on our first adventure. It will probably be somewhere exciting...like Target. :)

George two months old

Clara two months old

Clara during play time

Handsome George

Bundled up in the unusually cold weather

Bundled up in the unusually cold weather

Happy New Year!

As I am sending our weekly update George is sitting on my lap. He has become such a busy boy wanting to see the world...who needs to nap during the day anyway right? Some great things happened this week. They are eight weeks old today and growing growing growing. George is over 9 pounds and Clara is just under 9 pounds. George and Clara moved into their own room at night and I must say it's nice to have our bedroom back! They are both smiling which is possibly the best thing I've ever seen in my life. They both also recognize my voice which amazes me. If someone else is holding them and I say something they will turn and look. We are pretty sure Clara recognized my mom too. When my mom came to the house she said hi to Clara and walked away and Clara started pouting and didn't stop until my mom came back. It was adorable! Clara also found her hand which went directly into her mouth. She is learning to soothe herself by sucking on her fingers which is a great thing when that pacifier falls out of her mouth! George is more vocal this week making all kinds of noises during play time. He is so strong! John and I say that George wants to be done with this baby stuff and is ready to get up and walk. It's hilarious.

John and I slept through New Years Eve this year. Quite a change of pace from years past! We celebrated the twins first New Years with Grammy and Grandpa Quinn. They came over on New Years day and Grammy Quinn cooked tons of appetizers for us to munch on while we watched football. It was a great day! Clara was able to sleep on her favorite shoulder too! Clara is still having tummy problems so her formula was switched to lactose free this week. We hope this will do the trick and make the poor girl feel better. Also, I have mastered the art of feeding both babies at the same time. So now we will work on a daily schedule and routine for these little guys. We have our two month doctor's appointment next week and I am not looking forward to the shots. Thank God John took the day off to help with the appointment and any resulting fussiness.

Clara sleeping on Grandpa Quinn

George holding his head up for Daddy

Bundled up ready to go on a walk after eating

Clara bundled up ready to go on a walk

Feeding both babies

Growing so fast!

George and Clara are seven weeks old today. We had some major accomplishments this week! George slept through the night for the first time. It was wonderful to go to bed at 11:15 and get up at 6:30. Of course I kept getting up to check on him during the night. He isn't doing this consistently but we'll take it when we can get it! He is staying up more and more during the day wanting to interact and play. He is tracking objects with his eyes and turns his head toward sound. He also rolled over for the first time from his tummy to his back on Christmas day! It was amazing. I will try to capture it on video and post it for everyone to see. George almost weighs 9 pounds now!

Clara is also making so many strides. She is holding her head up well even though she doesn't really enjoy tummy time! Clara is also tracking with her eyes and turns her head toward sounds. She bats at the hanging toys on the activity mat too. She makes more and more cooing noises every day. We also discovered that she loves sleeping in our baby swing. While in the swing she may sleep from 4 to 5 hours at a time! She really enjoys dancing with Mommy to Christmas music too. This past week poor Clara developed some tummy problems which can cause her to be quite fussy. It seems that her favorite place to sleep when she doesn't feel good is on Grandpa Quinn's chest, who comes for a visit and lunch once a week. Too bad I can't convince him to move in with us! :) Clara weighs just over 8 pounds now. If you can't tell from my gushing about their development I think these two are just a joy to watch grow!! They are so loved!!

We had a great visit from my cousin Tarala and her husband Tim with my Aunt Pam and her husband Jack. They brought us yummy Maggiano's for lunch and met the twins. Tarala and I grew up in Pennsylvania together and now we both live in Houston. The best thing is that she is seven months pregnant with a little girl. I can't wait to have play dates with the cousins!

A peaceful Clara

Meeting Cousin Tarala

A quiet moment with George

George 7 weeks

Clara 7 weeks

We love each other!

Our First Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas! My parents spent the night on Christmas eve and we had a wonderful fondue dinner, made cookies for Santa, and watched Christmas movies. We woke up the next morning to a million presents under the tree. George and Clara must have been very good for the first six weeks of their lives because Santa Claus certainly spoiled them. A real hit with the two of them was the glowworms they received from Grammy and Grandpa Quinn. We had a great breakfast before saying goodbye to the Quinn clan and welcoming the Hadjioannou clan. Bianca, George, Christina, and Sayed spent the night for the Hadjioannou family Christmas celebration. We also enjoyed meeting Christina and Sayed's puppy named Riesling. She added a little excitement to the family gathering! George and Clara were once again spoiled. A favorite gift was a beautiful quilt that their Aunt Christina and Uncle Sayed gave them with their names and birth date embroidered on it which is now hanging in the nursery. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner prepared by Bianca and John. It was a very busy 48 hours but we have many great memories from the twins first Christmas!

Me and Clara on Christmas Eve

John with the twins on Christmas Eve

The Quinn Clan

Grammy and Grandpa Quinn

Ready for bed on Christmas Eve

Santa was here!

Waiting to open presents

Reindeer butts!

Grandma and Grandpa Hadjioannou Christmas Day

Aunt Christina and Uncle Sayed Christmas Day

Pretty girl Riesling

The Hadjioannou Clan on Christmas Day

Time Flies!

It's hard to believe that George and Clara are 6 weeks old today. They have grown so much in the past few weeks that I barely remember what they were like in the NICU. George is over 8 pounds now and Clara is about 7 1/2. George is really strong and holds his head up by himself. I think he will be rolling over before we know it. Clara has found her voice and makes all kinds of noises. She gets really chatty when she is in close proximity to George. I wonder what she is trying to tell him! John and I keep saying that George will be running circles around Clara while she is asking him where he is going! They are more and more alert every day. Our favorite thing to do is lay on the Baby Einstein Activity Mat and watch them interact with each other and the toys.

Sleeping continues to be a challenge but the past two nights George has slept for about 5 hours straight. Hallelujah!!! Unfortunately Clara is not quite there yet but we keep hoping she will turn a corner soon! George, Clara, and I have our routine down during the day when it's just the three of us. It's definitely a challenge being outnumbered by babies but I wouldn't have it any other way. We've enjoyed many visits from our friends and family. John's sister Christina and her husband Sayed are in for the holidays so George and Clara met their Uncle Sayed for the first time. We really look forward to spending Christmas at our house around the tree with all of our family. It will be a special first Christmas for George and Clara. We will see what Santa brings them.

My good friend Jenn with her daughter Greyson and son Rory and the twins

The best Christmas present ever

The other best Christmas present ever

Baby Einstein Mat

George with Uncle Sayed