The girls seem to grow and change every minute. Their personalities are still so different and distinct. Grace started "talking" first and has been chattering away ever since. Her stomach issues have eased up slightly and she is a much more cheerful baby (though she certainly has a set of lungs). She is smiling like crazy and loves to turn her head and flirt and smile at you (or anyone who comes into her frame of reference). She is still a great eater and a good cuddler, though she is very insistent on sitting up now. She likes to sit in your lap and look around the room. She seems to be taking it all in. She is big enough to sit in her Bumbo, as well. Yesterday, she rolled over half way, so we think the full roll won't be too far behind.
Zoe caught up with Grace quickly on the talking and smiling, and she's just so adorable. Kate calls her smile the "goofy grin," which is very apt. She is a big talker now, and is generally a tad lower in decibels than Grace, with the exception of the occasional shriek. She is still a very content and easygoing baby, who typically only tends to cry when she's hungry (knock on wood). She is also able to sit in her Bumbo and likes to sit on your lap and look around, though perhaps not quite as much as her sister. She has been eating much more lately and seems to be growing like a weed.
I cannot remember when they started sleeping in their cribs, but they are regular night crib sleepers now. They are doing pretty well with falling asleep in the evening. The nights themselves seem to be hit or miss. They wake fairly often and cry, which is a change from the past, but hopefully they are maturing through that. We've had a few "good nights" lately, so we shall see. They are still getting up to eat around 1 or 2 am each night and then are back awake between 6:30 and 7:30 am.
We went to the beach at the end of September, which was very fun. The girls were amazingly good on the car ride, with only a few crying spells from Gracie. We stopped once each way to feed them and they really were troopers. The beach itself was great -- we got in lots of walks to the beach and into the town of Duck. We are looking forward to next year when the girls are more aware of their surroundings. At the beach they also started facing forward in their Bjorns. This is really fun -- they seem to be able to take in so much more when facing forward!
We had a lovely weekend this past weekend. The girls' Aunt Nicole & Aunt Katy came for a visit and we went up to Graves Mountain Apple Harvest Festival, which is a big festival about 40 minutes from our house. We had a great time. The girls slept through their first hayride, while us adults got to eat a lot of good food and browse all the vendors. It was a lovely day and the trees were absolutely gorgeous. We're so glad that Nicole and Katy live in Maryland now and can be a part of the girls' lives. Kate and I also love seeing them and catching up on what's happening with them.
I returned to work a couple of weeks ago, which has been difficult, but has gone well. I certainly miss Grace and Zoe while I'm gone, but I'm lucky that I have Kate and my Mom to care for them while I'm away. My employer is also very flexible and has been letting me work from home on Wednesdays, which is really nice, as I get a chance to see more of them on those days.
Overall, time just seems to fly by. I spent this past Sunday sorting through the girls' clothes -- we had to bring down the 6 - 9 month bag for Grace! I already have two big bags full of clothing they've outgrown (and that doesn't count what we've already donated back). I look at the pictures of them as babies and am just floored by how they grow. I feel so incredibly lucky to be their mother, and I couldn't ask for two better kids.
Three Months!
Us at the beach
13 weeks in their Bumbos
Smiles all around
Sleeping Grace
Watchful Zoe
At the Graves Mountain Apple Harvest Festival
We took about a million pictures of the girls at the beach, so if you're bored and have a few hours (haha, joking, sort of), you can find them all here.
Pictures of Grace and Zoe from October can be found here on flickr.
