Updates on Abby and Isaac

Wow! I can't believe how long it has been since I wrote anything on here. Part of it is that I basically spent the last month on the road, visiting family, etc. Part of it is that we have an inconsistent internet connection. My old roomie lives upstairs and lets us "borrow" her internet. However, they turn it off when they go out of town, and sometimes we just plain don't get a good connection.

Anyway, just a little post on the babies. They have grown so much in the last month! They are like completely different babies!

We just started them on solid foods, which is messy but really fun! Isaac will take my finger in his hand and help guide the spoon to his mouth. It's actually really nice because when he is done, he simply stops and turns his head away. Or sometimes he will stick his tongue out with the cereal on it and just hold it there and look at you. It's really funny! Abby hasn't gotten as involved in her feeding (I actually just try to keep her fingers OUT of her mouth when we're trying to get the food IN), but she will sit and talk the whole time she's eating -- until she's done, and then she pinches her lips together as tight as she can, and if you still don't catch on she just cries. Sounds easy enough, right?

Isaac weighs almost 15 pounds and is 24 3/4 inches long. Abby weighs 12 1/2 pounds and is 24 1/4 inches long. They are just discovering their voices, and Isaac loves to sing!!!! I'm not kidding. You can sing anything to him and will soon be singing with him. Abby is a talker extraordinaire!!! Sometimes it takes everything in me to get her to stop talking and eat! So there's no fear here of either one of them talking for the other one -- they both have lots to say.

Isaac giggles a LOT!!! Sometimes I'm just talking to him, and he thinks it's the funniest thing he has ever heard. Abby makes you work a little harder for her laughs and smiles, but she gets excited really easily and will kick her legs and blow bubbles at you to let you know how happy she is!

They are both working very hard to be UP all the time. Abby has some of the strongest stomach muscles ever! If you lay her down when she wants to be up, it's like World War III until she can either get herself up or get you to sit her up. An incline isn't good enough! Isaac also wants to sit up, though he's a little less vocal about it. They both love the excersaucer my friend Shawna gave us for them. They LOVE it! Which means that we also love it, since happily playing babies means time for mom and dad to eat, shower, do dishes, do laundry, etc. It's fantastic! They also like this little barn my mom gave them for Christmas. It's got lights on the top of it and a star, sun, and moon hanging from it. When you swing the sun just right, the lights light up and it starts to sing all these songs. They love it! Until they're sick of being down and want to be up. Then it's over!

Isaac loves his sleep. He gets really cranky when he is hungry and when he is tired. And until you fix whichever thing is wrong, it sounds like he is dying; and you feel like the worst parents that ever lived. Abby also likes her sleep -- but it has to be when she wants it and not before. You don't try putting that girl down when she wants to be up and playing; you just don't. And if there is something else wrong and you don't figure it out and fix it -- like she's hungry when you thought she was full or she has an air bubble or gas or the hicups or any number of things we haven't figured out yet -- she gets really worked up, frustrated I am sure that you don't understand what she's trying to tell you. It's hard being an infant! We decided after a frightening episode last week that we need to start teaching them sign language. At this point they might not understand; but at least we'll be in the habit of it for when they DO understand.

People have told me that Abby looks just like me and Isaac looks just like Dave. People have told me that Isaac looks just like me and Abby looks like Dave with my nose. I guess time will tell. But one thing is certain -- they have created chambers in my heart that did not exist before and could never be filled by anyone or anything else. We celebrated our one year anniversary December 15, and our babies celebrated their four-month birthday December 22. I can't believe how quickly life changes. If anyone had told me a year and a half ago that I would be married now with two children, I would have laughed at them! Now I can't imagine life any other way.

It's amazing how the Lord prepares you and blesses you when you least expect it. At church last Sunday, one of my friend's moms got up and shared her testimony of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in these days and eternal families. She commended everyone that has chosen to have children even with the difficult financial crisis the world is currently in. It reminded me of a Worldwide Leadership Training our church did last year. One of the speakers said that having children was a lot like paying tithing (one tenth of your income returned to the Lord each year): It's not about money, it's about faith. Dave and I have experienced miracles as others have opened their stored boxes of clothing and other items in order to help us take care of our babies. My cup runneth over every time I think about it. So thank you -- family and friends -- for all you have done to make this miraculous time in our lives possible and -- better still -- manageable as it otherwise would not have been.

Well, that's really about all. Dave starts classes tomorrow -- and with three labs and 15 credits, I have no doubt it is going to be a tough semester for all of us. I also have no doubt I am going to be spending a lot of time alone with the babies. So I'm trying to get them as much on a schedule/routine as I can. Otherwise I am going to go crazy! I'm a big enough person to admit that the routine is for me, perhaps more than it is for them. But it's necessary at this point. And, hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! ;-D