Fun Facts about our girls

My parents came in town last week and spent a couple of days with us. They couldn't believe how big Natalie & Kennedy had gotten in the short five weeks since they were last here. We really enjoyed having Nana & Papa around and they got to love on our babies and spend some quality time with me and my sister. Glad they aren't too far away!

Our sweet girls are 2 1/2 months old now, hard to believe! They are a lot of fun and are doing new and cute things all the time! I thought I'd share some things about the girls, their personalities, and what they are doing...

Miss Natalie ~

Her nickname is bright eyes

She is very laid-back

She likes things that light up

She has a whimper and a high pitched squeal that is too cute

She is kind of a night owl and likes to wiggle out of her blanket and keep Mommy up

She weighed 9 lbs 6 oz at her two month check up last week

She has gorgeous dark, long eyelashes

She can be a picky eater & will stick out her tongue or tighten her lips if she doesn't want any more

She can roll from her tummy to her back

She loves being in the swing

Miss Kennedy

She is a fireball

She is a great eater

She is very alert and will turn her head to look at you and follows things with her eyes

She does NOT like bath time (yet)

She likes being held

She is a good sleeper

She loves looking at the ceiling fan and will find it in any room

The first time she smiled was at the fan

She weighed 9 lbs 12 oz at her last check up

She can hold her head up really good and likes to look around

N on left, K on right

Papa with a sleeping Kennedy

Nana with Kennedy

Natalie sticking out her tongue

N watching her mobile

Nana with Natalie

Papa with Natalie

Our little lamb, Kennedy

Joel with Natalie - she always falls asleep like this

Kennedy punching Natalie - ha ha ha

Mims with her granddaughters

Our baby love bugs

We had a very special Valentine's Day with our two sweethearts... they slept and let mommy and daddy enjoy a nice dinner out. Our little girls are now eight weeks old and just getting more fun everyday! Natalie rolled over about a week ago, and Kennedy sure is trying, but not quite yet. They both are more and more alert and aware, and notice all kinds of things, and will watch you with their eyes and follow you as you move around the room. They hold their heads up really well and like to try and "dive" off me and Joel when we are holding them. Natalie especially loves the swing and Kennedy likes to be sitting up in the bouncy seat looking around or watching tv :o) They are on the same eating schedule and eat about every four hours and sleep 3-4 hours a night between feedings. The first part of the night is still crazy, Natalie just does not want to go to sleep until 1:oo in the morning, usually. But it's getting better and we plan on moving them to their own room pretty soon. Here are the latest pictures of Natalie & Kennedy - they are getting so big!!!

Joel got poop on his hand from K's diaper that leaked... ewww!!!
enjoying a walk around the neighborhood

girls napping together

Natalie

cutie pies

K on left, N on right

Kennedy

Video of Natalie rolling over for the first time - YAY!!!!

My twin did it!

We went to the doctor last week, just to do a weight check and the doctor was really impressed - Natalie weighed 7lbs 15oz and Kennedy weighed 8lbs 2 oz. Yay girls! Kennedy defintely is a good eater and nurses 20-30 minutes and then will always finish off a 3 ounce bottle. Natalie eats a bit slower and not quite as much as her sister. They are staying awake more and holding their heads up and pushing off with their legs. We are so proud! They are going a little longer between feedings and usually (the key word) sleep longer too. We still have hard nights but we're making it and know that each day just gets better. I'm still getting really spoiled by having Joel home with me every day and he is such a big help! His work should pick up in a few weeks and we will really miss him when he goes back to work. We like to get out a few days a week and grab lunch, go to Target, or visit Grandad and Mims. Natalie & Kennedy are just so sweet and we truly enjoy being their parents. We've also had a few more visitors, including Emily Herrick (who brought me yummy food from Baja Burrito!), Lindsey Purifoy (who gave me some good advice), and Dianne Moore (who had been studying the pics of N & K and was the first person to be able to tell them apart, having just met them!) Thanks for bringing us food! And then on Saturday, I finally got my hair done (had to cancel my appointment earlier b/c of bad weather) and got to visit with Pamela McClure, who also has twin girls. She brought us dinner too! Overall, we are doing great and thankful for all God has given us. Here are some more pictures for you to enjoy!!!

Daddy & Kennedy

Kennedy

Looking at Kennedy

Holding Natalie


Me and my girls

Blame it on your twin

Don't you love the headbands?!?!?

Joel, Kennedy, Mims

Cuddling with each other in the boppy

Natalie on left, Kennedy on right

Daddy & Natalie

What's happening at the Bane house

Things are going great with the four of us! This past week I got to have a "Girls Night Out" with some ladies from church - dinner at Demos and then over to the Ryman to see Christian comedian Chonda Pierce. I had never heard of her before and didn't really know what to expect, but seriously, she was hysterical!!! I needed to just get out and have a good time, and we laughed a lot! And yes, Joel kept the girls all by himself, which some of you think he should with ease, but it is NOT easy to keep six week old twins by yourself for five hours and to do one, maybe two feedings. It's even hard for me to do, but thankfully Natalie & Kennedy were good for daddy and mommy was able to enjoy her night out and not worry a bit. Here is a picture of the scene as I got ready to walk out the door -

Joel feeding the girls

We also had 60 degree weather today, so Joel & I decided to take the girls on their first walk outside around the neighborhood. Oh, and we took our dogs, Jacob & Hilton, who have been slightly neglected. It was so fun!

Joel walked the dogs, and I pushed the girls in their stroller

Natalie slept through it

Kennedy was awake and enjoyed it

The girls in their angel nightgowns

(and they even slept like little angels last night... yay!!!)

K on left, N on right

Me holding both my girls

close up

Kennedy saying, "Please, no more pictures!"

Natalie sleeping in the boppy

happy together

N on left, K on right

(can you tell them apart yet?!?!?)

awww, so cute!

Aunt Laura stopped by for a visit this week

We also got to go to church this morning for the first time. It was Natalie & Kennedy's debut at New Hope! People loved checking them out and commenting on how pretty they are. We told the girls last night if they wanted us to go to church, they had to sleep good and have a good night, and they really did! Probably their best night so far... I'm afraid to actually say that cause the next few nights will be horrible, but N & K did so great! And church was awesome, I'm so glad we got to go :o)

Life with twins

As you can imagine, being the parents of newborn twins is incredibly fun and sweet and rewarding and also incredibly challenging. I can't say it's easy all the time, but I will say it's all worth it. We love these girls so much and want to enjoy each day, even when it's rough, or they're fussy, or we're so tired. I love this little bitty age and want to treasure this time, while they can still lay on your chest, have the teeniest hands & feet, and you can hold them at the same time!
But I do want to give you a "sample" of some of the crazier times around here - maybe just for my own need to vent, but if you're curious, please - read on!
It was about 10:30 and we'd gotten both girls fed and to sleep. Joel headed off to bed and I was not far behind (ha ha ha) I decided to take a few quick minutes to clean up before I had to pump and then go to bed, expecting to wake up again around 1:30 or so. I put away the dirty dishes, cause I really don't like having them laying around. Dishwasher loaded. Then I see that we have no clean bottles, so I take another ten minutes or so to clean those. Oh yeah, and then I remember that I have clothes in the washer that had been soaking (Kennedy had a major blow out, so needed to deep clean those things!) so I was just gonna throw them in the dryer, but when I opened that, I saw the clothes that I had dried yesterday were still in there! Go to find a laundry basket, but they're all full of clean clothes from the past three weeks that still haven't been put away. Ugh. I do NOT have time to fold clothes, so I dump out some of the clean ones in the girls room and put the "new" clean clothes in that basket. Laundry done for now. Then I sit down to pump for about 15 minutes. Finish that and then hurry up to get in bed. Now it is 11:30 p.m. Lay down for about ten minutes and then Natalie wakes up and is ready to eat. Since I hadn't fallen asleep yet, I still felt decent and thought maybe I could handle this feeding without waking up Joel and was actually kind of excited. And Kennedy was still asleep, so I geared up for another feeding. Took Natalie over an hour to eat. Was about finished up with her when I heard Kennedy cry. Once she is awake and hungry, she does not want to wait. Natalie was awake but content so I put her in the boppy (I LOVE THE BOPPY!!!) and started feeding Kennedy. By the way, I nurse and supplement with formula for every feeding. That is what we have found works for us right now. Anyway, after about five minutes, Natalie is getting fussy, but I decide to let her fuss. I really don't want to have to wake up Joel, cause I want to try and give him the "gift" of a few hours sleep in a row. After ten minutes, Natalie is crying and Kennedy is fussing while she eats (she does this sometimes, I don't get it) so I decide that Natalie is probably still hungry, so I go get Joel. He makes a bottle to give her, but she acts like she doesn't want it and keeps crying. An hour goes by. Joel doesn't feel good and I want him to go back to sleep, so I tell him to get back in bed.
* I would like to say here that Joel gets up with me for EVERY feeding, b/c he is wonderful and knows that I need his help. I could NOT do it without him!!! *
I am gonna try and give Kennedy a bottle and breastfeed Natalie some more, because this usually soothes a fussy baby. But then I see Natalie has pretty much fallen asleep, so I lay her down in her bed. Finish feeding Kennedy. She isn't acting sleepy at all, and is looking at me with wide eyes. It's almost 3:00 a.m. and I really want to get in bed (I haven't even gone to sleep yet, remember!) so I lay down with her in bed. We both are almost asleep when Natalie is up again. No!!! I think maybe Kennedy will let me put her down in the bed and I'll try and comfort Natalie. No way, Jose. Two fussy babies. One tired mommy. They've already eaten. It's 3:30 and I do not have the energy to start the feeding process all over again. I mean, aren't they tired??? I try and comfort both, but it's hard. I am losing my cool now and feel really overwhelmed and don't want to have to wake Joel up. So at 3:30, I call Cathy (my mom-in-law) and she comes over to help me and let me get some rest. Great gift - four hours of continual sleep!

Anyway, today has been a really good day and hopefully tonight will not be quite so crazy, but if it is, I know we can get through. I can't call Cathy every night! God gives us all that we need, and I will rely on that.

For now, here are some pictures of the girls for you to enjoy...

The girls together

Pics of Natalie

Pictures of Kennedy