Picture Tuesday, 17 weeks old

The baby girls acquired another stamp in their passports this week.  That makes three foreign countries visited in their short 17 weeks of life, not including the foreign country we currently call home, of course.  We spent the weekend in Dubai at the Atlantis resort.  We were lucky enough to have Nana and Grampa come with us and it was beyond helpful to have them there.  They even took Taryn and Kenna to have a sleep over one night so we could get a good night's sleep.  It was awesome.  The babies were pretty darn pleasant considering how much we messed with their schedules for a few days.  It was really hot but they didn't fuss too much and seemed to enjoy every moment we were able to get them in the water.  It looks like they're going to be little fishies like their brothers.

We spent a lot of time in the pool this week on Rakah too, after we got back from our trip and they had fun being snuggled and kicking their little legs in the water.  The only place to be when it's so hot out.

Nana and Grampa left late last night and we already miss them so much.  It was weird feeding both babies at the same time by myself again last night.  We've all been so spoiled the past week and a half and it may take us a bit to get back into our swing.

Here are my little girlies, at 17 weeks old.

Picture Tuesday, 16 weeks old

Our sweet ladies met their Nana and Grampa this week and have had so much fun being snuggled and spoiled by them.  Nana and Grampa arrived at 1:30 am Friday morning and we left for fellowship at 8 so it was a very fast turn around but we are SO glad that they made it for the little girlies blessing day.  It was such perfect timing.  The girls looked beautiful in their gorgeous dresses made by their Nana, and their blessings were so sweet and very individual.  Both girls behaved very well and just stared at their Daddy while he was giving them their blessings.  Kenna's blessing was first and my favorite specifics were that she has been blessed with great strength physically and mentally.  That she has great ability to be compassionate to siblings and others and a keen intellect that will be a great tool in her life.  Taryn's was sweet too and said that her happy demeanor and smiles are important and that she has been blessed with healing power that will enrich the lives of many many people and that she will have the strength to fight any infection and that her body will grow just as it should.  Both blessings also talked about the importance of relationships with their siblings and that they will know how loved they are by their family.  Their blessings were so sweet and specific for our individual girls and it was just perfect.  

It was a very windy day so we didn't get to take pictures outside but we did snap a few quick ones inside the building and a few more at home.  

 I guess we are now in the phase of not being able to get any pictures with all of our children making normal facial expressions.  So be it.  These faces are pretty fun too.

Kenna and Taryn have been very spoiled this week by Nana and Grampa.  It's been wonderful having two more sets of hands to help play with Finn while I'm changing babies or taking a shower or to hold crying babies while I'm doing ironing, folding laundry or prepping dinner.  They're going to be so mad at me next week when I'm the only one around all day and they have to cry once in a while for a few minutes before I can finish what I'm doing and get to them.  In the meantime, however, we're all loving having the extra love to go around.  Grampa has even been waking up at around 4 when the girls wake up to eat and he feeds one a bottle so Glenn or I can go back to sleep.  It's the best.  

Here they are, Kenna and Taryn, 16 weeks old at the pool today.  They weren't in the most smiley of moods at the exact moment that was most convenient for me to take their pictures, but we do what we can!  We sure love our sweet babies.

Picture Tuesday, 15 weeks old

We got our first giggles this week!  We have to tickle them quite a bit to get some little giggles and they have to be in just the right mood but we did get some little giggles.  Oh I forgot how beautiful those little sounds are.  They just light up the whole room.  Unfortunately, right now they don't last very long since we have to do a lot of tickling to get their little giggles, they get frustrated after just a minute.

Also this week they've started to drool and spit up quite a bit more than they used to.  It's still not super gross projectile vomit or anything, but we've started putting them in bibs ever day just so their shirts don't get constantly soaked.

We chickened out on letting them cry it out last weekend.  They've been sleeping until about 4 or 4:30 which is still a really long time so we're having a hard time letting them cry it out when we'll all be up in another hour or two anyway.  Once this week they slept until 6 and it was bliss.  Hopefully that will happen more and more but this week at least, I'm not stressing about it.  

They are both much happier this week.  It seems like London threw them off a bit and they seem so happy to be home and have some more normal structure.  They just smile all the time.  We all love it.  

Kenna and Taryn, 15 weeks old.

Picture Tuesday, 14 Weeks Old

These baby girls are pretty wonderful.  It's so crazy to see heads turn from across the street wherever we go because people notice the double infant stroller.  They're minor celebrities here on camp.  We get a little group of girls around us when they're awake to go to the bus stop to pick up Tate.  They gather around and oo and ah over our little babes.  There's also a little girl in our fellowship group who calls or comes over almost every day to see if she can "help with anything".  Which really means she wants to hold a baby.  It's pretty cute.
Kenna and Taryn have had a bit of a hard time adjusting to life after London.  They're feeling better now, thankfully, and they're just starting to get longer naps down again.  Their poor little clocks were just thrown all off by being in front packs all day long and going to sleep at night at different hours.  Today, for the first time since we've been back, they took a 2 hour nap.  Most of the time they're just sleeping for around an hour at a time a few times a day.  I'm trying to remember how I got my boys to take longer, predictable naps and I think I remember it just happening on its' own.  Hopefully that same will be true of the little girls as long as we try to keep things as predictable as possible.
I'm about ready to let them "cry it out" at night.  Probably this weekend so that Glenn and I don't have to be awake at 6 the next morning.  I know they can sleep all night because they've done it a couple of times and I know it will probably just take a couple of nights but I am very nervous about those couple of nights with two babies crying.  Dear me.  We'll see.  This world of two little babies is all very new to me.
Also this week, little Kenna and Taryn went swimming for the first time.  It's getting hot out.  Around a hundred degrees every day.  And our sweet Aunties brought our girls' swimming suits among many other treasures, to London with them for us so we brought out little ladies swimming for the first time last weekend.  They both loved it.  Neither one of them cried even a little bit while we walked around in the cool water.  It was so crazy swimming with four kids.  Glenn and I each holding a little baby girl and keeping an eye on our two swimming boys.  It was so fun so see the girls smiling at us and loving being in the water.  I'm so glad all our kids love swimming.

Here are my little dears, Taryn and Kenna at 14 weeks old.
Before swimming:

After swimming:

Picture Tuesday, 13 weeks old

Here are some picture of the girls as they spent most of the past week, in front packs traipsing around London.  The poor little ladies had a really hard time those first few days.  They were none too pleased to be strapped into the packs all day and they had a hard time drinking bottles with all the distractions of wind and noise and crowds.  They basically cried for days because they were uncomfortable and hungry.  And the tube made them so very angry.  They did not enjoy being on the tube at all.  By the last few days they were a little more content but then they both caught our cold and had coughs and sniffles.  Poor little ladies.  All in all, not their best week.  But they still look pretty darn cute!  And the sad times made their smiles and happy noises all the more exciting.

Kenna and Taryn, 13 weeks old.