3 - 6 Months

Ahhh, what can I say. They finally started sleeping through the night and I started sleeping through the night. It's a wonderful thing! This time period brought so many new things.

Pictured above is Grandma Sherry with Jill. Dovie, the girls, and Eli. Jason and Kate. Jason's dad John giving Kate some love.

We traveled to Dallas for Thanksgiving and spent time with Jason's family. It was the first time Great Grandma Dovie got to see the girls and Eli all in the same room. It was also the first time Jason's father John got to see the girls. As he would say, "he's all tickled pink about them."

Pictured above is Grandpa Glenn with Jill. My sister Glenda and Kate.

A few weeks after Thanksgiving I traveled to Austin to visit my family and have an early Christmas. We spent lots of time eating and catching up with each other. It was great to introduce the girls to all of their cousins: Taylor, Camden, Shellby, Lilly, Avery, Ryland, and Spencer. One of the funniest stories of the weekend came from Spencer (almost 5). He and his older brother Ryland were watching the girls while I fixed their bottles. I hollared, "Are the girls doing ok?" Spencer hollared back, "Yeah, one is still breathing." See Jill has Stryder which is the c-rings in the esophagus are floppy and not full of cartilage yet. So when she breathes sometimes it sounds raspy or like she is congested. He was just letting me know that she was still breathing. Too funny!

After all of the traveling we did to Austin and Dallas during the holidays, we decided to stay home for Christmas. When I was a child, the whole family would sit around the tree or fire and read "The Night Before Christmas". I was able to find the exact book (illustrated by Grandma Moses) on e-bay so we can pass this tradition on to our new family. Christmas was quiet and nice. It was great to relax with Jason and the girls.

The girls also got their first taste of rice cereal. As usual, Kate eats like a champ and loves cereal. Jill needed some convincing. It took her a week or so to get the hang of not pushing out the cereal with her tongue. When I was teaching them to eat with a spoon I would close my mouth and go "hmmmmm". Now Jill has picked this up and everytime she eats she goes, "Hmmmm" as if she is really enjoying what she is eating. "Hmmm momma these are the best carrots ever!"

Along with all the milestones the girls began to recognize each other. I know it sounds odd, but when they were little it was almost as if they had no clue another baby existed. During floor time they would inspect each other's faces and talk to each other. Now let's be honest, Jill isn't real thrilled with Kate's inspections. Kate likes to poke, prod, and pull. Jill usually hollars at Kate and Kate just ignores her. Twins, let the arguing begin....

The girls have also started to really enjoy playing. Some of their favorite things are the exersaucer, the johnny jump up, and their bumbos. They especially love the johnny jump up. They also really enjoy tummy time and have started rolling. They are captivated when you read to them. It doesn't matter whether you are reading the newspaper or Brown Bear, Brown Bear. It's all the same and they love it.

Towards the end of 6 months Kate started teething. The screaming, drooling, running a small fever kind of teething. It has been creating havoc with our sleep schedule. Unfortunately, the long sleepy nights have ended. Kate has been waking up several times a night and fussing. I am hoping that the tooth fairy arrives soon and lets us get back on schedule. Jill has just been drooling and chewing on everything. There isn't anything she won't put in her mouth. I caught her the other day trying to chew on Bailey's tail. As soon as she put it in her mouth she made the most horrendous face as if to say, "Well, hairy dog tail isn't what I thought it was." She keeps trying every now and then and it still tastes like hairy dog tail.