Daddy and Grant and BTTF

Grant and Daddy watched 'Back to the Future' today. What a father/son bonding moment!

Smiles and Laughs

This week, Grant has really started to smile a little more, real smiles, not just gas.  Reese has been smiling the past few weeks already, but she did something amazing and beautiful last night...she was laughing ALOT at me.  We tried to capture the beautiful music, but not sure how much we got.  Grant was crying in Michael's arms as he tried to get the video.  I guess he didn't want to be left out! 
These babies are so amazing, learning so much and changing so much every day.  They really watch us when we walk around and are making excellent eye contact when we talk to them.  They are both getting so strong and holding up their heads more steady every day!  Last night I got 6 hours of sleep in a row!!!  wow!!!!  Well I guess that makes up for the night before when I only got 2 hours at a time...Grant has been really congested though, so I think that is why he was waking up so much.  And if he wakes up to eat at night, so does sister...whether she wants to or not!  LOL  I paid the price for not waking them both up in the beginning, now if one eats, they both eat!
I can't believe I have to go back to work in a few weeks.  boo hoo! 

Holiday Photos

We had some Christmas photos done at Olan Mills, but we were not happy with them.  The props they used were old and scratched up.  So we didnt really get too many copies of those pics. 

But we did get some pic at home and also went to the mall to see Santa!
Reese and Grant were really good in the mall, even though we had more than an hour's wait in line. They both told Santa what they wanted this year....MILK!!  HAHA!

Shots

Grant and Reese had their 2 month shots today.  They didn't like the visit very much.  Probably because they started out bundled up so much because it was 13 degrees out today!  They were hot little babies when we got to the office, and then it was warm in the room, so mommy and daddy were hot too.  Always an adventure taking them anywhere, especially to the doctor.  Get them undressed and try to keep them calm while we wait for the doctor to come in.  He is very quick so we don't wait long at all...problem is, he is always in there too fast, we NEVER have time to fill out the forms!!  So we juggle babies, try to get them undressed, keep them calm and try to fill out forms..talk about multitasking!  Today we filled out some sheets on their development, and they are both doing great! After their shots, they both were crabby and we gave them small bottles to help soothe them after their shots. Thank goodness the doctors office is very understanding and lets us stay in the room as long as we have to, to get them calmed back down and ready to go.  The car ride home was good, they slept and were calm.  But when we got home, Reese was really crabby.  Doctor said we could give them children tylenol, so we did.  Reese loved it, and so did Daddy!   Grant was good at first, he ate then he slept...but when he woke up, he really woke up and was NOT happy(he finally got some tylenol also).  Neither of them have fevers, just very fussy tonight.  But no real bad reaction to the vaccines thank goodness!
They both have gained weight, Grant is really sneaking up there, only 4 ounces behind sister!

Reese:  12 lbs; 23 inches long
Grant:    11 lbs, 12 oz ; 23 1/4 inches long

Poor Grant

Mommy took and then sent Daddy this picture...



She then sent a message saying:
"Obama talking made Grant cry!"

Ahhh...my 'Lil Weepublican'!

Madeline's Birthday/Thanksgiving Continued

We went down to Aunt Connie's for Thanksgiving on the Friday after, and also celebrated Madeline's birthday.  She enjoyed helping out while her mom fed Reese.  She brought all of her babies over to let Reese lay with them.  Madeline is two this year and really growing tall, she had a good time playing and eating her RED elmo cake!

Reese with cousin Mel

Cousin Laura feeding Reese with all Madeline's babies

Great-Grandma Duck feeding Grant

Madeline helping out

Madeline with her Grandpa and her Red Elmo Cake

Reese in her pretty bow

YUM!  Red icing everywhere!

Grandma Rhein holding Grant

Gobble Gobble!!

Michael got to wear the turkey hat, even though he resisted because he didn't want to mess up his hair! 

Gobble Gobble

Sorry this has taken so long to post!  happy belated Thanksgiving!
We went to the Phelps family get together in Marissa on Thanksgiving for lunch, Then we went to the Whitaker family get together that evening.

The babies slept almost all day, being passed around from person to person...needless to say that night was a long one, as the babies just didn't want to be put down!  PHEW!

Fun Times

The White's came by to play!  Sydney had a good time entertaining all the kids and the dogs...and the parents! 

Reese and Grant had fun wearing their stripes at home with mommy!

2 Months Old!!!

Reese and Grant were two months old on Wednesday December 8th!

They are both growing so much!  We weighed them at home, but not sure how accurate the scale is.  It says Reese is 11.6 lbs and Grant is 11.4 lbs.  I think it is wrong, because I still think Grant is a little smaller than Reese.  We go to the doctor on the 13th, we'll see what their scale says!~

* We are both holding our heads up a little better each day
* We both like to grab and pinch, sometimes if we lay next to each other we pinch each other!
* We like to grab on mommy's hair and shirt and not let go. 
* We also like to grab at daddy's beard, it sure feels weird.
* We are eating 4-7 ounces every 3-5 hours, sometimes mommy and daddy get 6 hours of sleep at a time, if we are swaddled really tight.
* During the day we are staying awake longer, sometimes with no nap between feedings.
* We are both out of all NB clothes and wearing 0-3 and 3 month clothes.
* We like to look at the ceiling fans, and we are also starting to really follow voices.  We don't like it when mommy leaves the room.

Candlelight Vigil

Michael and I, and my parents went to the Angel of Hope in Fairview Heights on December 6th at 7pm for the annual candlelight vigil in honor of our son Chaffin.  It was a nice service, very cold of course and windy.  The candles didn't stay lit for too long, but it was a nice service.  We have been going the last 3 years since we lost our first born.  This is a service that is on the same day and time every year.  T
We did not bring Reese and Grant this year with us, it was just way too cold for them.  Aunt Gen and Aunt Suz came to watch them while we were gone. 

Meeting our big brother

We took Reese and Grant out to meet their big brother!  It was a nice sunny day in November.  It was a bittersweet moment for all of us. We miss our first born Chaffin, but are blessed with two miracles!

Dress Up

Michael had a good time dressing up Grant the other day in his DJ gear and as "Chippendale Grant"!  So I put Reese in one of the dresses that I wore as a baby!  She didn't really like the rubber pants, they made her really hot! 

7 1/2 Weeks

Today the babies are 71/2 weeks old, and mommy is 6 weeks post delivery.
Reese and Grant are doing great, starting to really make more noises(Grant sounds like a little Chipmunk) and really lifting their heads during tummy time.  Reese isnt as impressed by this tummy time, but Grant really seems to enjoy it...for a short time anyway.  They are both really just so strong!

The babies are eating 4 to 6 ounces every 3-5 hours.  Sometimes at night, mommy even gets 4 hours of sleep at a time! (as of 6 weeks).  Last night, I actually got 6 straight hours of sleep...wow!
Reese has a little bit of baby acne on her face, but it doesnt bother her.  Grant has a few places where he gets it also, but not as bad as Reese.  It seems to clear up if we dont let her get too hot.  The babies still like their baths, but getting out is no fun for them...its so cold!!!


Mommy got released from the doctor a week and 1/2 ago and has  passed her glucose test with flying colors.  The incision is healed up and I am feeling pretty good. 

Uncle Bart came in town to visit 2 weeks ago, and has had a good time posing with the twins!  Everyone still says that Grant looks like Uncle Bart sometimes.

Also, Thanksgiving was last week and we had a good time being passed around and around at all of the family functions.  Of course once we go home, we didn't want to go to bed, or be put down to sleep.  Looks like these babies like the structure of their routine and when they get off it, Mommy and Daddy have to pay! 

We are still getting lots of visitors, it is slowing down some, but we still have several a week.

1 Month Birthday

HAPPY ONE MONTH BIRTHDAY REESE AND GRANT!! 

Wow, the time has gone sooooo fast; Reese and Grant are growing so much!  They went to see the doctor today for their one month check up.  Dr.Norman was very pleased with their weight gains!  Reese is now 8 lbs 15 oz, and Grant is now 8 lbs.  He is catching up!  We think the nurse messed up on Grant's height measurement because it made him longer than his sister...which is NOT the case.  She measured Reese at 20 1/2 inches, and Grant at 22 1/4. 
Both of them were very good at the doctor visit, they didn't mind hanging out in their diapers.  They both passed the hearing test with flying colors and seem to be developing at the right speed.  They both have wakeful periods of more than an hour at a time, and seem to be grasping their hands.  They also seem to follow our movements and voices just fine.
Both babies are eating 4 - 5 ounces every 3-4 hours, there have even been a few times that Reese went 5 hours. 

Thing 1-AKA-Reese

Thing 2-AKA-Grant

Mommy and Daddy are adjusting to the new schedule OK.  The nights when Daddy has to work the next day, mommy only gets an hour or two here or there, the weekends and days when Daddy can share in the nighttime feedings are much better!  We are just so blessed to have these two precious babies, that those sleepless nights don't seem so bad.

This last Sunday was the first day we made it to church!  Thank goodness for the family room behind the sanctuary, so we could sit in there and listen to the service.  Reese and Grant did really well, but of course it was feeding time during the service.  Everyone at church was very happy to meet them, Pastor Drew had us come out to the Sanctuary to show them off during the service.  We had roses on the Altar to welcome them, and Reese's name was misspelled in the bulletin, but Pastor Drew made sure to tell the congregation about the mix up. 

Happy Halloween!!

 Happy Halloween!  Sorry no costumes this year, but we make up for it by how cute we are!!

We had a busy week this week.  We had lots of visitors stop by, I think at least one a day!  Aunt Michele and cousin Ashlynne stopped by one evening before gymnastics. 

Ashlynne holding Reese and Michele holding Grant

Great Grandma Rhein stopped by to see us and was just thrilled to meet Reese and Grant! 

The babies had a busy day on Saturday with two outings!  We first stopped over to see Aunt Jessica and their new cousins, Jaleigh, Josh and Jordan!  A lot of excitement!

Grandma Duck

Jaleigh, Jessica feeding Reese, Jordan and Josh

 

Jaliegh holding Reese

Josh holding Grant

Jordan really enjoyed holding Grant!

Then we headed over to see Sydney and Morgie(and Beth and Bryan too)!  They were so wore out, that they slept most of the time!  Morgie was the only one who had the energy to stay awake and play!

Grant, Reese, Sydney and Morgan

 Sunday we went to Grandma and Gramps house to visit.  We had a good time in our Halloween gear again!  Good thing the babies are photogenic! 

Grandma holding Reese and Gramps holding Grant

Halloween wears us out!

 When we came home, we decided that it was such a nice day we should take them for a little ride in the stroller!  Check out Dad with the limo stroller!  We stopped across the street to say hi to the neighbors Gail and Ray.  They were so tickled to meet Reese and Grant!  What a nice day today!

Daddy the Limo Driver