Giggling Girls

Apple Picking at Eckert's Farm

Healthy Sleeping Habits

Wow, it has been a while since we wrote anything in the blog. I kept thinking that we need to put pictures up when we write something. But it's to a point that I think updates on the girls are more important than pictures. We just haven't taken many pictures of the girls lately. Anyway, today I'd like to talk about healthy sleeping habits. Our girls started sleeping through the night shortly after 6 months. They have or had very good sleeping habits. However, since the girls got moved to the big kid section of the infant room, the teachers cut down their naps to just one in the afternoon. Both still take 2 naps on the weekends and it seems like they really need their morning nap still, especially Mia! Mia is a cranky monkey when she doesn't get enough sleep. Needless to say, Mia has been really cranky lately. She doesn't eat her dinner well, even though she is the better eater. She just sits in her high chair and cries. She also started to wake up and scream several times at night! These are not just ordinary crying sthat happen with usual sleep cycles. She would cry for a long time and couldn't sooth herself back to sleep. Keith and I are exhausted from having to go to comfort her several times at night. The thing is, she would go right back to sleep in our arms, as soon as we pick her up. But she wouldn't stay asleep very long. Maddy would usually sleep through all Mia's crying but she doesn't seem well rested in the morning. So this new nap schedule is affecting both girls' sleeping habits.

I know kids usually drop their morning nap anywhere from 12 to 18 months. But they usually do that on their own. To force the girls to take only one nap (and low quality nap, mind you, since daycare is so distracting) is just sooo hard on them. So what I read was that in order to encourage them to drop their morning naps without overtiring them, it's better to move up their bedtime so they can catch up on their sleep. So that's what I did last night. For the past two nights, it seemed that Mia hasn't waken up and screamed. But I don't know for sure, because I realized that the baby monitor had a volume too low to hear. Oops.... Keith and I had great sleep though. :) Well, let's see if we can correct the girls' sleeping habits. The bottom line is...healthy sleeping habits are sooo important in both their physical and emotional development!

Weekend Fun

We had a great weekend with the girls. It was pretty low-key. We started using the wagon as a stroller, taking the girls around the grocery store in their Radio Flyer. Saturday we took the girls to the park. Mia and Maddy didn't really enjoy the slide so much but they did enjoy doing a lap around the park in the wagon. I got a chance to update the photos and videos as well, including more video from the park (with Maddy on the slide too!)

Double the Trouble

Sorry for not updating the blog for a while. Keith and I went to San Francisco for our 3rd anniversary this past weekend, while Grandma Barb came to watch the girls. When we came back on Monday, Maddy got sick. Apparently she had a sore throat and was running a fever. Well, she got better the next day...and Mia started to throw up. Now we got two kids both throwing up, not able to go to daycare. It just seems impossible to keep one kid healthy while the other is sick. I guess that is what we get for having twins. Double the trouble, people always say to us!

Splish Splash

Tuesday is one of the bath days. The girls love to take baths. We put both of them in the bath tub and they would try to eat the bubbles and end up having a bubble beard. Before getting in the tub, we usually strip them down completely naked then let them crawl from their room to the bathroom. Well...we did that today and Maddy decided to pee on the carpet before getting on the bathroom floor. Can't say that we were surprised since she has done it in the past. Not sure why we keep trusting her on the carpet. :) Anyway, they had so much fun and splashed water everywhere!

Updated Pictures!

We had a pretty quiet Sunday.  We didn't have as much fun as Saturday because the girls didn't nap as well, making them a little crankier than usual.  I updated the pictures on the 13th month page.  The Seuss list is also updated too.  Mia and Maddy's second cousins sent the girls some books for their birthday.  The Rau twins have there own blog too!  Actually, we started this blog after checking out theirs.