A few firsts

Since everything is new to infants, it is not surprising that this week has included a few firsts for Hope and Jack. However since both of these firsts are a big deal to Mom and Dad as well, I figured I would share them with you. Wednesday night we went out to dinner as a family for the first time at a restaurant! Our 3rd anniversary was Tuesday and we celebrated at home with a yummy home cooked meal. Because he knows I never like to end celebrations after one day, Kevin suggested we go out on Wednesday to continue the fun. We ended up at JP Dawsons - a steak/rib place - which worked out great as they have these koala slings which hold car seats perfectly. Dinner was timed for after the twins' feeding and Jack didn't open his eyes once in the restaurant. Hope was a little more startled by the noise, lights, and commotion, but settled down quickly once we adjusted the canopy over her seat. Mom and Dad enjoyed ribs and our return to restaurants as a couple/family. As I watched some of the tables around us who had small children with them, I soon realized that taking two infants out to a restaurant was a breeze compared to what it will be like as Hope and Jack get older, louder, and more mobile.

The second first came today as the twins took their first ride over the river to Jersey for dinner at my dad's. We were finally able to introduce the kids to our good family friends Helen and Rick. Prior to this, we have made trips to Kevin's parents, his brother's house, and up to Allentown for Nick/Melissa's son Nate's baptism. But Hope and Jack's first trip to the Garden State obviously needs to be mentioned! Again, it really was not that difficult and I am surprised it has taken us this long to get over there. But regardless, I am happy we went and look forward to our next visit.
Emma is ready to take the new stroller out for a test ride.
Showing off her big belly and a little baby drool for added effect
Just relaxing

Almost 3 months old . . .

Hope and Jack are doing great and as their parents we cannot complain. As of two weeks ago, Hope weighed 9lbs6oz and Jack weighed 8lbs3oz. The doctor was pleased with their weight gains and does not want to see them again until their 4 month checkup at the end of August. Our routine is pretty much the same - eat, play, sleep, repeat. Both babies are great sleepers and are allowing mom and dad to catch up on some zzzzs as well. Kevin and I even got our first night away this past weekend so we could attend the wedding of my college friend Liz in DC. It was a whirlwind 24 hours away but it was wonderful to share in Liz/Mark's special day and catch up with my Colby crew. Kevin's parents stayed with Hope and Jack and it sounded like everyone behaved and had a blast. Sadly, because of the wedding, we missed my family's annual Pool Party on Saturday, but according to my dad, Hope and Jack were the talk of the party and my blog was opened so that everyone could check out the pictures! Tomorrow is Kevin and my 3 year anniversary - last year we celebrated with a fancy dinner in Philly, this year, we will have a special day spent with the kids at home -- cannot wait! I can't believe its already almost August. I set my return date for work as September 9th so the countdown has begun. It will be quite the transition as I will have been away from the lab for 7 months by then. Crazy. :-)
Hope being cute
My attempt at 4th of July outfits and a posed shot together. Not the easiest feat.
Jack after a bath
Hope looking stunned in her tummy tub bathtub
Hope post bath - much happier in the ducky towel
The first cousins shot. Hope had just fallen asleep so we opted to not take them out. Hopefully we'll get a better shot soon.

Chilling with their giraffe snugglies at Grandmom and Pop's house.

Two vs. Two is great!

This is the end of the first week with Kevin home for summer vacation. I keep thinking it is the weekend as it is strange to have him home, but I am loving it. We are working on keeping the twins on a consistent eating/sleeping schedule and I'm hoping that will lead to the coveted "sleeping through the night" sometime soon. They are already good sleepers and usually sleep in 4-5 hour chunks at night which is not terrible. All of the books say that we have to go off of their adjusted age (subtracting ~5 weeks from their actual age to account for the fact they were born early) when looking for milestones - that would make the twins 5 weeks old. The book I am currently reading during my pumping sessions targets 7-9 weeks for when they might sleep through the night. I'll keep you updated on our success. :-)

Kevin and I got another night out this past weekend and attended the wedding of one of his basketball coaches. It was a lot of fun, though I learned how exhausting it is just getting out the door - getting the bottles prepared for the babies and myself beautified took a lot out of me, so that by the time we got to the wedding, I was already beat.

We have been enjoying the daily changes in our babies. Both are more alert and awake. They smile more and make all sorts of interesting noises. We took our first walk as a family the other night as Philly is enjoying a break from the heat/humidity for a few days. Today we are planning to take the kids over to Kevin's parents for another mini-adventure. We haven't gone many places with them yet so this is a big step for us.

Here are some new pictures:

Hope hamming it up in one of our bouncy seats.
Above, Jack in his tie onesie for the last time (it is too small for my growing boy!). Below is Jack chilling after a feeding.

My dad and his grandbabies right before a nap.
Someone else likes the activity mat as much as Hope and Jack! Below is my first attempt at video clips/iMovie - Kevin caught one of Hope's new noises as well as some other cute shots of both kids with our camera.