Happy 2 month birthday and other stuff...

Well the girls turn 2 months old today!! Seriously, the time has flown by so fast! They are getting so big and starting to smile, are becoming more responsive to our voices (in particular their mommy’s voice-LOVE IT!) love the outdoors (they are for sure our kids!) and are starting to coo when you talk to them. They had their 2 month check-up last week and weighed in at a petite 7.14 (Lily Kate) and 8 pounds (Ella). They are only in the 5th percentile on the growth chart for their weight. My kids are all light weights! We got the thumbs up on all their milestones – they are growing great! Thanks be to God! I also got good news from the pediatrician. She said that I was nursing twice as long as needed and that the girls were probably using me as a human pacifier(should have known that…after all this isn’t my first time at the rodeo!). She said that I could cut my nursing times down from 40-50 min to 15-20 min. That was the best news I have heard in a while!!! I cut their feedings down to 25 min. and got 4 hours of my day back!!!! It’s amazing. The best part is that I am no longer dreading nursing like I had been. The girls are also doing well for nap times and bedtime. They moved to their nursery for nap times (they had been in their pack and play in the living room) and are napping for 1 ½ - 2 hours after their feedings. We are getting into a routine at the Mad Household and for this Type A mama that is heaven!! They are still only doing 5-6 hour stretches at night, but that really only means that I have 1 feeding a night…not too bad! They are going to have to move to their cribs when Daddy comes home because they are getting too big for the cradle. Another reminder to enjoy this time because it goes by so fast! My twins are so cute and I am totally in love with them.

The boys are doing well also. They like to fight over which twin is “their baby”. One would think that since there are 2 of them they could each agree on one, but that would be easy and not drive their mama nuts so why would they want to do that? It’s funny though, neither one of them ever want to claim the baby that is crying so they will say that she is “Mama’s baby”. Caleb is really turning into a very helpful big brother. I really love age 5 so far. It seems like there really are less fights and battles than there have been in the last couple of years. Caleb is really maturing. Luke on the other hand is just starting more drama. It’s funny – I think I finally figured out why he isn’t interested in potty training. He thinks his “pee-pee” is BROKEN! Poor guy. I finally put the pieces of the puzzle together the other day after I heard Caleb telling him to stand next to the toilet and just “do this”. Then I heard Luke say, “I can’t. It’s broken.” That isn’t the first time I have heard him say that and it explains why he always says “he can’t” when I tell him that he needs to go in the potty like a big boy. My step-mom is coming on Monday with the goal of potty training Luke. More power to her. If anyone can do it, it’s grandma!

On a VERY exciting note…Daddy comes home next weekend!!!!! We are all counting down the days. It has been hard without him in so many ways. I have always been so spoiled by him. Up until this past spring Joseph had always given my boys a bath. I could count on one hand how many baths I had given Luke and on two hands for Caleb. Now I give all 4 kids a bath by myself!!! Joseph had always done the middle of the nights with the boys and now I do 2 babies by myself. I now take out the trash and pick up dog poop – this past couple of months is the first time I have done that in almost 6 years of marriage! I am growing up! It’s been hard and there have been many times where at the end of the day I have prayed for God’s grace to fill in the gaps of all the places I have failed. There have also been days where I have thought, that considering everything, I am doing a decent job and should be proud of myself. But every day I miss Joseph and know that we aren’t complete without him. We celebrate our 6th anniversary on Sunday and have accomplished a lot in the past 6 years. 3 major cross country moves, a career change, 3 years of medical school, and of course let’s not forget the 4 kids! We’ve been busy. And God has blessed us considerably!

Our sweet girls are getting too big to share their papasan chair anymore! It was quite funny to watch them trying to share it. I caught Ella sucking on her sisters ear.