Seeing Double: 4 Months Old: Giggles, Grins, and Baby Babbles!

The twins turned 4 months old on September 4, 2012!! And boy has this been an exciting month for them!! They had their 4 month doctor visit complete with 2 more shots for them and an oral vaccination. They handled the shots about as well as the last round! Luckily my mom came to the appointment with me and helped console them after their shots. Cameron was super sleepy after we got home and Lucy developed a fever again. As for their stats, drum roll please....Cameron has finally surpassed Lucy in weight!! When they were born Cameron weighed 5 lbs 1 oz and Lucy weighed 4 lbs 15 oz. They both lost a fair amount of weight while in the hospital and Cameron has stayed behind her in weight. Until now that is! He weighed in at 12 lbs 8 oz and Lucy weighed in at 12 lbs 6 oz!! Lucy is 22 inches long and Cameron is 23 inches long. Both of their heights put them at less than 2%. For weight Lucy is at 15% for girls and Cameron is at 5% for boys. Dr. Emm said they both look great and are doing well developmentally. He gave us the okay to give them rice cereal and then vegetables shortly after that. Our plan is to give rice cereal a try on Sunday since both Jeremy and I will be home at dinner time and we'll have time to have fun with it. Things are about to get real messy during Bradley family dinner time! ;-)

Sleeping arrangements have definitely taken a turn for the better. Jeremy is almost never in the nursery recliner any more after getting the twins down. Most nights they sleep from about 8:30 p.m. until somewhere in the 2 to 3:00 a.m. hour. We feed them and put them back down to sleep for a couple more hours. Only twice have they made it to 4:45 a.m., which we consider sleeping all the way through the night since my wake up time is 4:30 a.m. We have random moments of fussiness from Cameron in particular but he's usually consoled with his pacifier and quickly returns to sleep. Lucy sleeps like a champ most nights. According to the doctor's office, most babies start to sleep through the night between 4 and 6 months. I feel like the twins are so close!! I have to admit though, I don't mind getting up to spend a little extra quality time with them. I'm going to miss the extra time with them once they really do sleep through the night every night. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than a little tired some days but I know being tired is something I will soon forget. Lucy had her first cold about three weeks ago and is finally over the runny nose. I thought it was never going to clear up! We have been running the humidifier in the nursery and put saline in Lucy's nose several times to combat the stuffiness. Cameron had a day or two of stuffiness but for the most part has been fine. It will be interesting to see what the winter brings!

The twins "talk" lots now and have so many tales to tell. Lucy gets so excited to share her stories that she feels the need to practically yell them! Cameron is much softer spoken but gets to going with his tales as well. Some of his stories sound quite sad and it seriously sounds like he's saying mama over and over again. The best is when he wakes up and lies in his crib half fussing and half "talking" saying mmmmaamma quite pitifully and babbling. Obviously he doesn't know what he's saying but I have a hunch mama will be his first word! They love to smile and coo while someone talks to them. The best update for the month is they both learned to laugh!!! Their little laughs are the sweetest sounds in the world! Their laughs are probably best described as giggles at this point. Cameron giggled for the first time on August 26 while Jeremy was tickling him. Lucy giggled for the first time on September 2 while Jeremy had her laying on her back tickling her. It's so cute to watch their faces light up and hear their little laughs come out! So far, Jeremy is the best at getting laughs out of them. They both have really discovered their hands. Previously they would suck on their hands when they were hungry but nowadays their hands have become something more. Cameron puts them in his mouth frequently and they both have started grabbing objects with them. Over the past month Lucy has learned to love her bouncy seat and kicks her legs like crazy while bouncing. Cameron is most fond of his little travel swing (that my friend Staci lent us actually) and swings away while holding onto his little monkey blanket or talking to Max the monkey who we hung on the side. One of mine and Jeremy's favorite things to do is sit on the floor with Cameron and Lucy for activity time. This usually includes a variety of activities including time on their play mat, tummy time, practicing standing (which they're quite good at) talking, singing, and reading books. They actually pay attention and seem to enjoy being read to. They look at the pages particularly if they're filled with bright colors. Barnes and Noble and I have become very well acquainted since the twins arrived!

They were baptized on Sunday, August 19. Earlier that week they had an outing to the church for the first time when we went to meet with the pastor to discuss the baptism. They did really well during both church trips and only fussed when we brought them up front for the actual baptism. Can you blame them though?! Who wants to be on stage in front of a few hundred people, bright lights shining down, and have water sprinkled on your head? The service was really nice though and afterwards we had a small gathering at our house to celebrate. Other adventures for the month included a play date with their new friend Jameson Weber, 18 months old. The best part of the play date I think was when Jameson pulled on Cameron's shirt to get him to get up and go with him. Not sure where he thought they were going but it was pretty funny! The twins attended a pool party with us at Matt and Gwen's house but didn't go swimming. Pool time is going to have to wait until next summer I think!! Cameron and Lucy joined us at the dinner table in their high chairs for the first time on August 26. We gave them their bottles and then pulled them up to the table in their high chairs while we ate. They sat contently with some toys. As their uncle Ben says, they look like 2 little old people driving who can barely see over the wheel!! Picture below ;-) Uncle Ben and Aunt Andrea got to spend some time with the twins while Jer and I went to my friend Ally's wedding. It was the first time someone watched them from late afternoon on and put them in bed. They did great (Andrea and Ben did, too! ;-))!

The twins have a cousin now! Her name is Cora Nichole Lang and she was born on August 28. They didn't go to Chicago with us to meet her but will hopefully get to meet her very soon. When they're all a bit older, I'm sure they will have a blast together.

I think that pretty much covers the highlights for the month! If I have time, I'll do a special blog post on how trying food goes for them. I can't wait to see what they think and see if any actually stays in their mouths. Dr. Emm laughed at us and said it would probably be best to try food immediately before bath time. Our dogs can help with clean up (of the floor not the twins). Maybe we have finally discovered Charlie's real purpose in our home!! :-)

First time in high chairs at dinner!