Talia's 1st day of Second grade!

Talia has been so excited about starting second grade--especially because she will be making her First Communion in May.  Here are some pics of my "baby girl" on her first day.

Stella and Lulu are 9 months old!

It is hard for me to believe that my baby girls are nine months.  I have been dreading them turning nine months specifically because I have to go back to work this month and am literally sick about it.  My maternity leave has gone way to fast!  I am thankful that I was able to be off of work for 9 months and that Annie will continue to watch Gigi and will also take on the twins, but I have truly LOVED being at home with all of my girls and wish that I could continue to stay at home...

The girls have again made some great gains this month!  Stella weighs 19 pounds, 1 ounce and is 28 inches long.  Lulu weighs 18 pounds, 13 ounces and is 27.5 inches long.  They are both in the 40th percentile for weight and height.  They are gaining so nicely!  

Both girls are sitting up on their own now and Stella has perfected moving from all fours to a sitting position.  She is still moving backwards to get what she wants, but has been rocking on all fours and can push herself forward too.  Lulu has perfected her army crawling and is getting faster and faster.  She is starting to rock on all fours, so I am sure she will crawl on all fours soon.  EEK!!!

While the girls have been "screeching" for some time now, they are finally starting to babble.  I've even heard Stella cry out "mamamama" and "babababa".  I've also heard "ha" from both of them, which I really believe is "hi!"  I'm looking forward to some words coming soon.

Their personalities are really starting to shine through and it is so wonderful to be with them every day!  It is not easy to get them to both sit and look at me--here are some funny pics of our photo session:

and I can't get them to lay down on their tummies any more long enough for me to take a pic,  so here is their butt shot

Stella

Lulu 

Kenny's Work Picnic

Kenny's annual work picnic was a lot of fun for the girls this year.  Since we arrived late, we had to park in a far away lot at Independence Grove, but then got to ride in a limo to get to the park location--very fun for Talia and Giana!  There were jumpy's, lots of food and ice cream, and fun games for the kids, too.  Talia was a bit disappointed as there were no paddle boats this year (and Kenny was relieved--it's hard work for him!)

I had these shirts with their names on them made on ETSY and thought this was the perfect time to wear them!  So cute!

Stella's awake and Lulu's asleep--story of my life! :)

Sweet sisters--see, they do love each other!

Me and my favorite girls:

Lazy mornings

I am LOVING being home this summer!  We try to make plans for the afternoons, but  I have not been making plans in the mornings so that the twins can take a good nap.  The big girls love watching tv, eating breakfast and snacks, playing games, etc.
in their pajamas!  Here's a sweet pic of all the girls watching TV in their jammies:

4th of July

We had a very low key 4th this year, which was just what we needed!  We headed over to Jason and Lauren's house--our good friends from Bradley, who also have adorable 5 year old twins.  They recently bought a house just about 15 mins. from here.  I am so happy that they are so close to us now!  

The girls looked so cute in their coordinating outfits-

-they really are "American Cuties!"

A "girls only" party!

Me and Lulu

Kenny and Stella

The girls are in their pj's ready for fireworks

at the end of the night...

We love to swing!

Stella and Lulu love to swing at the park!  I love hearing their little giggles as they go back and forth.
 

Lulu

Stella

They are seriously cute, right?! :)

Stella and Lulu are 8 months!

The girls are now 8 months, and they have been growing!  It is so fun to see their little cheeks, hands, bellies, and thighs start to plump up.  We are working on them sitting up all by themselves, and they are starting to get the hang of it, but the definitely still need some support.  Lulu has started army crawling with just her left arm to pull under her (thanks to Zio Russell).  She has the biggest smile on her face once she grabs whatever it was she was moving towards (like playing cards that he was placing in front of her!)  Stella is not moving forward yet, but has been on all fours rocking back and forth.  She looks like she wants to take off at any second, but then falls back and rolls to get what she wants. I am sure that they will both be crawling soon (although I am very nervous at the thought that they will both be mobile!)

They are enjoying trying all different fruits and veggies (still baby food) and honestly seem to like the veggies better than the fruits (even peas!)  They also like mum-mums--a soft melt in your mouth baby bar.  They are getting better at getting them in their mouths on the first try!

They are starting to get very connected to their blankies and pacifiers too.  If they are crying, you can hand them their blankies and put a paci in their mouths and they will calm right down.  It is very nice to see them self soothing with these items.  They have also really developed a morning and evening sleep schedule.  In the mornings, they will take a 6 oz. bottle and then have rice cereal and are back to sleep between 8:30 and 9 am.  They are mostly sleeping through the night from 7 or 7:30 to 6 am!  They may wake during the night, but mostly b/c they would have dropped their paci and can not find it--even though they have 3 or 4 of them in their cribs.  It has been so nice to be able to spend some time with the big girls after the twins go to bed and then get some time to fold laundry and go to bed before midnight!

They are also starting to have some favorite toys.  The love the stacking cups, anything musical, and anything that shakes and makes a sound.  They LOVE to jump in their jumpy exersaucers.  They love their feet too--and are constantly touching them.  SO CUTE!!!  They put everything in their mouths, so we are definitely baby proofing, and trying our best to stay on top of Talia and Giana and all of their small items.  With the summer weather here, they also love going for walks and swinging at the park.

Here are some pics of Stella:

and some of Lulu:

and, of course, their tushie pics:

and these close ups: