Laughing Babies & Au Pair updates

We've never posted a video on here before, so hopefully it works! Last night, the babies really had some big belly laughs at their silly mommy.

We also decided to make a match with an au pair from Germany. Her name is Theresa. We've met a couple of times over the phone and skype, and have emailed a few times as well. I think it's going to be a great match for us, and we're excited to invite her into our family this August.

One last news - Will decided to roll over last night from back to belly! So, they've both accomplished the goals of rolling in both directions. They don't do these activities frequently, but at least they've done them!

April update

The babies have now passed their half-birthday! They were 6 months old on April 6. They had their 6-month check at the pediatricians last week, and they checked out well! They are really closing that gap with adjusted age vs real age. Will is now 16 lbs, and Liv is 14 lbs. They are both 26" long. Looking at percertiles for comparison, Liv is 54% for height, and 9% for weight, and Will is 28% for height, and 17% for weight (all up from their last check!).

They are both on a special formula now (Nutramagin), as they have digestion issues with milk-based formulas. I'm no longer nursing. Will continues to love baby food - we even have him eating chicken now! As I said in the previous post, I'm making my own baby food, which is continuing to go well, although I must say it was pretty disgusting to make pureed chicken. Liv is still not a big fan, so we're going a lot slower with her. So far she seems to like bananas, but everything else is a bit of a struggle. We'll keep working on it! Will is really good with his hands, so we've let him start to experiment with water in a sippy cup. He gets frustrated with it though, because he'll lift it to drink, but miss and instead hit his forehead. Practice makes perfect, little buddy!

Kiss me!

Liv has learned to roll from back to belly. She does it quite frequently now. Oddly, she's forgotten how to roll the easier way (from belly to back), so she'll get frustrated once she gets "stuck". Will is a bit lazier, and not trying this feat yet. He likes to sit, and even though he can't sit on his own yet, I think he'll do this sooner than Liv.

Marie leaves at the end of June, then her sister Elsa will be here for 8 weeks after that. At the end of August, we'll be getting a new au pair, this time through an agency. I'm in the middle of interviewing now. We were so lucky with Marie; I'm hoping we can be that lucky again with this new girl. I'm interviewing girls from Germany, Paraguay, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico. By the next post, I'll have more news on this! For any of you ever considering an au pair, it's really a great way to go. For two or more children, it's cheaper than daycare, and you have someone there so you don't have to transport to and from daycare. You can also have a flexible schedule. Brent and I are not private people, so we love having another "family member" here with us.

Since the last post, Mamaw and Aunt Amanda have visited on separate occasions! It was so nice to have them here. We really wish we all lived closer!!! Grandpa Nemo will be here at the end of next week. Aunt Christine will be back mid-May to help Marie watch them while we attend wedding festivities for Uncle Dave and Aunt-to-be Lauren.

Out for a walk with my friend, Ella!

Precious!