Time really has flown by lately.  I would be better at updating if we didn't have such slow dial-up internet.  We're over at my mom's right now working on taxes, so I thought I'd get on here really quick

The babies are busy exploring their world one bite (Ethan) and one lick (Abby) at a time.  It's so interesting to see two such different babies emerge.  We're getting better at sleeping, both at night and naps, slowly but surely.  Mom wishes it would all come together a little faster, but ah, patience is a virtue. 

Ethan is a very active, almost agressive baby.  He's still nice now, but you can see a spark of naughtiness starting to emerge.  :)  He is a hungry boy all the time and recently started on solids.  That keeps him happy.  He is showing interest in crawling, but not quite there yet.  Sitting up with minimal support and rolling from back to tummy and tummy to back.  Loves all kinds of toys, particularly books. 

Abby is very happy compared to her former self.  She's a more sensitive baby and thrives with routine and familiarity.  She is pretty solid at sitting, but shows no real interest in rolling or crawling.  She definitely still has tummy issues so I think that is why she avoids her tummy.  We still work with an occupational therapist with her once a week and her therapist is pleased with her progress.  She said even though she's doing things a little slower than normal, she's doing everything in the right order and that's what they like to see.  She doesn't see any long term complications from any of the development issues.  We are so thrilled to have an OT to work with on a regular basis.  I think it has really made a difference in the babies' lives due to their prematurity.

Two weekends from now we're going to attempt our first road trip with babies and venture over to Utah to see Kenneth's family.  Should be fun!

The first Christmas with the babies was lots of fun.  We wrapped up a few toys and clothes, though they enjoyed the wrapping paper and bows much more!  Thank you so much to Great Grandma & Grandpa Twitchell for the cute outfits, to Grandma Tammy & Grandpa Larry for the beautiful rodeo outfits, and to Great Grandma Ellen for the generous gift.  We will post pictures when they grow into them! 

Hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed their time together.  We can't wait to see the rest of our family soon!

Sorry that I have been so terrible about updating.  We're all doing wonderfully.   This is really such a fun age that the babies are at.  They act somewhere in between 4-6 month olds.  They are about 14 lbs each.  Abby is a bit bigger than her brother.  I think because Ethan is more active so he burns off the calories.  They have tons of new expressions and sounds.  They love to "talk", laugh, smile, play, and see new things.  They're going through a little bit of stranger anxiety.  They don't mind if people look at them, but they're not as open to people holding them until they are comfortable.  Ethan is rolling all over the place and starting to get his arms and knees up for crawling.  He can sort of worm forward if he feels like it.  Abby is not so keen on the tummy time, but she pulls her feet up to her mouth and rolls onto her side.  We're getting out a lot more which makes mom one happy camper.  I feel like I've been on house arrest for a year now.  But I am so blessed and proud to be their mother.  I absolutely love it.  One of these months we'll brave the 4 hour drive over the pass to see family and friends.  Until then, you all are more than welcome to come see us anytime.

We're here!  With dial-up internet since we live in the country now, so loading pictures is a bit time consuming.  The move went ok.  Poor daddy had to do all the packing, loading, driving, unloading, and unpacking mainly by himself.  I don't know if the move was responsible for the changes in the babies, but around the time we moved, they started being incredibly needy around the clock.  Ethan has now settled in pretty well, but Abby is still having quite a bit of difficulty adjusting. 

So the updates on the babies.  They have grown 2lbs since leaving Washington.  They are getting to be big babies.  They are now 11lbs each and growing daily.  They are about 2 months old adjusted and this is how they act, but there are a few things they do that are closer to 3-4 month age. 

Ethan is still a pretty content baby as long as he is allowed to eat all day long.  The trade off for this is that he sleeps a nice 6-7 hour stretch at night and then another 4-5 hour stretch.  Ah, if only Abby would do the same thing.  Mom has dropped him off the couch twice now  but he still continues to thrive.  He is very active and has taken to rolling.  Hard to contain the little fella even for a short period of time while tending to sister.  He smiles, laughs, coos and LOVES his daddy. 

Abby has had some sort of regression in the past month.  We are now seeing an occupational therapist who is helping immensely.  I am still not sure why she is going through this.  There could be a couple different reasons.  She may have initially been resorting to reflexes which are now starting to wear off and she is unable to follow through with learned behaviors so she is starting to panic.  Or she may have started to panic as she became more aware of the world around her.  If that is the case, our move did not help anything.  She is really starting to improve now, but requires a pretty rigid schedule/routine to feel safe.  It's been quite a challenge to figure out what she needs and I have often felt as if I am failing her as a mother.  It's been a rough month in that way.  The therapist says that we have a great foundation though and that her physical/emotional needs have been more than met.  It's just hard to watch your baby struggle so much and be so scared all the time.  She quit nursing completely so I haven't been able to comfort her in that way, but recently she has started up again, so I am quite hopeful to do away with the bottles still someday.  It's hard to keep up with breastfeeding one, bottle feeding the other, and pumping to supply the milk.  Anyhow, Abby is also smiling, laughing, and cooing, but on a little more limited basis than her brother.  She primarily acts as if she is 2 months old.  She is growing a beautiful head of hair that her brother likes to yank on from time to time.  It's a good 3 inches long, it's crazy!  I can't believe how much hair the child has. 

Well they're awake and ready to go.  Hopefully pictures will follow soon.  Can't wait to see all you Colorado folk!

Babies are getting pretty big!  They are 9lbs each now.  Abby caught up to Ethan and they seem to be staying about the same size now.  Still have nursing issues with Abby, but Ethan is nursing like a champ and both seem to be growing well in spite of. 

Ethan is a truly content baby.  He fusses when hungry, but spend the rest of the time looking around happily and staring at whoever is around.  He loves to be held and snuggle.  His legs and neck are getting pretty strong so he's starting to hold his head up more and more.  During tummy time he can scoot himself across the blanket or around in circles.  Not attempting to roll much yet, but eager to move around.  He has started smiling in response to our smiles which is a true joy.  Nothing like having your baby smile back at you! 

Abby has entered a phase of discontent.  She's pretty particular about who is holding her and is very clingy to mom right now.  In the evening/night hours she screams with a banshee wail despite attempts to calm her.  It's really fun!  She makes up for it though for her cuteness during the day.  She has very expressive eyes and mouth and does a lot of cooing as though she's really trying to tell you something important.  Her neck is not quite as strong as her brother's, but her lungs definitely are!  She has also started smiling in response to us and it is the most amazing thing in the world.  It'll be really fun when they both smile up at the same time.

Well, this'll be our last update before we move.  We leave in 5 days.  Thankfully we've been able to see a couple good friends before we leave, but we are still so sad to be going.  We know that Colorado will be a good thing in some ways and we look forward to not having the financial stress that we've been dealing with.  But it's still sad.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we are moving.  The babies and I will be flying out on September 25th.  Daddy will follow shortly after.  We'll be moving to Grand Junction, CO until we can get back on our feet. 

The babies are doing well.  Abby is now 8lbs.  She is a tall, thinner baby.  Ethan is 8.5lbs.  He is almost as tall as his sister, but quite a bit chubbier.  Amazing how different two babies can look.  Anyhow, they are pretty much over the sickness and never really got too sick.  Mom seemed to have bore the brunt of it.  Thankfully. 

Will try to post more pictures soon.

We are sick!    This is hard and very scary.  Mom and Dad are suffering a lot of guilt for not protecting our little ones.  One of the reasons this is so scary is the closeness to RSV season.  Any sickness is bad though and can be devastating even life threatening to a preemie baby.  Luckily Mom is sick too and so the babies are getting specific antibodies to fight this sickness.  Hard to take care of two babies while sick though.  Dad is being a trooper and only sleeping a few hours at night and working all day   Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we battle this.  So far, the babies are ok, just miserable.  We are watching for warning signs that we need to take them to the emergency room immediately. 

We are still here and doing ok.  It's been a pretty stressful last 3 weeks as we've battled mastitis, thrush, and nursing issues.  The babies are now 9 weeks old or 5 days old adjusted.  So we can look forward to another 6-8 weeks of nursing issues and then hopefully relief! 

The babies are getting pretty big, Ethan's 7 1/2 lbs and Abby's 6 1/2 lbs.  They look around a lot more alertly now, but still not quite ready to look us in the eye much.  They enjoy tummy time more now and like looking around at colorful things or light.  Light is very popular in our house. 

Grammie just left us again and we are very sad.  But very grateful that she was able to come stay with us for so long.  Very, very helpful.  Not sure if I'd still be sane if not for her =) 

So unfortunately we have some sad news.  This past year has been pretty devastating for us financially.  All well worth it because of these beautiful babies, but unexpected and difficult all the same.  Therefore we are probably going to have to be making a move in the very near future to return to the life sucking but very profitable oil fields.  Hopefully we will be back and we are still working on a miracle that would enable us to stay.  We have loved living back in the Northwest and hope that this is not the end of it for us.  Anyhow, I thought I'd let everyone know so those of you up here have an opportunity to come see these babies if you'd like to.  We'll keep you posted!