The McEwans: Festivities & Five Months

Let me just start off by saying I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!! I love it so much more this time around because we are getting to spend it with our little girlies. Also, I love it so much more this time around because last year I was newly pregnant and fairly miserable (i.e. running to the bathroom in between trying to decorate the tree, not eating much at Christmas Dinner, falling asleep at Chadbourne Bingo, etc.). So this year we have spared no detail-involving the girls in every little thing and maxing out the space on my camera memory card :-)

We took the girls with us to pick out a tree, letting them touch them all and freaking out when Olivia shoved a whole handful of needles into her mouth. When it came time to decorate the tree we brought the girls' chairs into the room so they could watch and listen to Christmas music with us. We let them play with some ornaments but they mostly enjoyed the tissue paper all the ornaments had been wrapped in.

The girls experienced their first Chadbourne Bingo Party (the annual Saturday-before-Christmas event composed of yelling, accusations of cheating, drinking & eating, and all-out-war over Bingo). They did fairly well considering they missed a nap and stayed up 2 hours past their normal bedtime. In typical fashion, they showed off their happy screaming all through dinner and part of Bingo (more details on happy screaming below). Olivia took a liking to cousin Nick (5 years)--I think it's because they both have the most adorable smiles and just kept feeding off each others smiles , hehe. Emma is my lovebug and quite attached to Alex and I and therefore let few people hold her for any length of time. Small steps baby girl, small steps.

Finally, on Monday night, we walked with our neighbors from across the street (whose daughter Reaghan is 6 months older than the girls) to see the street that always wins number 1 in our city for Christmas lights--Wakefield Court. We are so fortunate to have this street right across from us because as the girls get older they will enjoy it so much more. Daddy held Emma who took everything in with wide eyes, as I pushed Livi in the stroller. Livi got excited a few times but until we can move them into the forward-facing stroller I imagine she gets pretty bored facing me! Reaghan was hilarious--she waved the entire time (like she was in a parade) switching arms when one got tired. When we got to a part of the street with music she danced in her stroller. I absolutely cannot wait for this group of little ladies to be a little older and see how they interact with each other.

In the midst of all our festivities the girls have been experimenting with food. At our 5PM feeding they sit with us in their highchairs at the dinner table. They really only get a few spoonfuls as the whole experience is really just to get the hang of sitting up and eating, taking a spoon, etc. However, they have shown they are very much like daddy--enjoying almost everything we've given them. So far they've tried bananas, squash, prunes, and sweet potatoes, with squash being the only one they didn't care for (both of them did fake gagging, how weird huh?).

5 Months

As we've had no doctors appointments this month I don't have stats for the girls :-(

However...we've had some fun milestones:

*Emma finally decided to roll from back to tummy and now that she's figured it out she does it over and over and over and you get the idea, right?

*Combined, E & O are rolling machines. Sometimes they roll so much they make themselves sick...not fun for me, ehhhh. I've instituted a new rule: no playtime until it's been at least a half hour since they've eaten.

*Now that Emma can get to her tummy whenever she wants, she is eager to crawl. She does this thing where she scrunches her butt up and pulls her legs under her and sort of wiggles but she just can't make herself go forward. It's bad but I enjoy watching her struggle because she is just so darn cute with her butt up in the air!

*Olivia is now a spitter thanks to my little sister who, in just TWO hours, managed to teach Lu-Lu to blow spit bubbles. Now whenever she is near your face you have to be careful or she blows her drool bubbles all over you...

*We've been practicing "kisses" with both girls and for some reason they both open their mouths wide when we say "kisses" and come in for a smooch.

*We expect teeth anyday now as both girls are heavy droolers, constantly suck on their hands, grab their ears, and neither want us to touch their gums anymore.

*We are starting to wrap the girls with less strength as it is recommended that babies no longer be swaddled by 6 months. I'm glad we've started slowly weaning them because it appears this process will take some time as both girls are pretty dependent on their swaddles for sleeping.

*Both girls are also getting pretty good at finding a paci in their lap and attempting to put it back in their mouth so we've attached all their pacis to those clippy-strap things...so much easier for mom!

*They both have also started happy screaming...just when I thought angry screaming was as noisy as it gets happy screaming came along--and it is louder, longer, and embarrassingly cute (I just smile at strangers odd looks because honestly there is no way to get two 5 month olds to stop, the word "no" does not exist yet). I have termed their "tag team happy screaming" as dolphin talk because that's what they sound like to me!
*Livi has FINALLY moved out of 3 month clothes and is filling out her 6 month clothes quite nicely. Emma is daddy's girl and will have outgrown her 9 month clothes by the time I finish writing this :-)

*Obviously there are a ton of other things the girls are accomplishing but these are just the highlights :-)

Enjoy my numerous photos (I had to restrain myself from posting even more):