The Twins at 6 Months

Half a year?! Has it really been that long? In many ways it seems like Scarlett and Shayla were just born yesterday, but I also feel like they've been with our family forever. A little over a year ago I found out they were in my tummy, now they are growing and thriving every day on their own. 

They are still captivated by Kinsey. It is my favorite part of the day to see the twins watching Kinsey and Kinsey saying "hi" while shaking her head in their faces (yes, she copies me haha). They reach for toys like crazy, which Kinsey is not a fan of. She takes all "her" toys away from the babies and says "Kinsey's." We have a long road of sharing ahead of us.  

If they are well rested they will play on the floor really well by themselves. However, any other time (hungry or tired) they must be held. Lately, outside has been our savior. They love the fresh air and calm down more easily when outside. I sometimes even take morning walks so they'll fall asleep in their carrier instead of on me!

I was so happy they finally grew into these sleepers aka I still roll up the sleeves twice. Scarlett and Shayla look like little angels in them. 

SHAYLA

For the most part, Shayla has always been more welcoming to strangers holding her than Scarlett. However, now if she is even a little bit tired she requires mommy. She will even reach for me, which just melts my heart!! Don't worry, daddy still gets plenty of snuggles in. 

 Shayla has discovered her feet. I believe it's one of the cutest baby habits in the world. She can also roll from one side of the room to the other in a few seconds. I have to really watch her to make sure she doesn't face plant into furniture or toys. She also goes on her hands and knees now. Crawling is going to happen before we know it!

They are getting so big!! When I go on walks with all three of them, a baby and Kinsey will sit in the stroller while I hold the other baby. It's pretty exhausting when it's hot out, but I do what I gotta do. 

I've always been obsessed with Shayla's cry and the face she makes. It reminds me so much of Eric!!

Exhibit A

SCARLETT

Scarlett is still the ultimate mama's girl (yup, I have two of them now)!! She hates strangers holding her still. Basically she only likes me, Eric, and Grandma Walker. And of course, Kinsey. 

Scarlett rolls and moves around a lot, but she is a few weeks behind Shayla in the mobility department. I don't have to worry about her moving to the other side of the room if I look away for a minute. She either finds a toy to play with or cries to be picked up.  

 They've been putting their pacifiers in and out of their mouths by themselves. So cute!!

 If one baby is crying and I go to pick her up, the other gets jealous and starts crying. They are both vying for my attention all the time. Add Kinsey to the mix and that makes for a crazy mama. I maintain some sanity in the brief moments Scarlett will fall asleep while playing. In this picture she grabbed my nursing cover and snuggled up to it in her sleep. 

 Some days I want to pull my hair out (mainly thanks to Kinsey entering her terrible twos), but they are definitely worth it. As much as I want time to stand still, I can't wait to have 3 little "Walkers" running around the house. 

Cousin Love

My sister, Wendy, and her family came to town for the 4th of July. They drove down to Provo on Kinsey Day (also known as July 5th) to hang out with us. Our first stop was the Bean Museum to check out all the renovations they made!

Me and my baby on Kinsey Day!

Savannah was sick so she had to stay home with Adam. 

All of us

Amora is at the sweetest age! She could seriously babysit Kinsey if I let her.

Believe it or not, Kinsey was having fun. She is slightly afraid of animals so the museum may have overwhelmed her at points. 

Kinsey absolutely loved following Amora around the museum. I don't think Amora could get rid of her if she tried. 

After the museum, we went to the BYU Creamery for some ice cream and hamburgers. Kinsey continued loving on Amora by copying everything she did. 

Aren't these cousins so cute!?

Amora loved her newest cousins too! 

 

Wendy and the girls came back down a couple days later to hang out with us at the house. Savannah wanted to hang out with Scarlett and Shayla, but she kept her distance. 

And then she warmed up a little more!

 Love my sister!!

 From the words of Amora, "I like Shayla the best because she likes me." Apparently Shayla's enormous smiles made an impression!

Shayla and Amora

 That night we went out to dinner with my mom. Kinsey and Savannah had time to bond some more. Even though Savannah is younger, she's definitely taller!!

The next day we went to the pool and swam with all the babies before my sister had to drive home to Idaho! I love how much Wendy loves her nieces. 

It's nice being in the same time zone with at least one of my sisters again. I wish I could see them more, but I'm glad Wendy could come visit us!

Independence Day

We didn't do much for the 4th of July this year. For starters, why go to the parade or see the hot air balloons when we have years and years of Utah living ahead of us to enjoy those activities? So we took it easy while the kiddos are still young. 

The most important part of this holiday for us was...coordinating outfits!! 

Then we needed to take a family picture of us looking so cute. Countless photos later, THIS was our best. The kids were not being very cooperative. 

But of course Kinsey had to sneak a cute little face in there. I just love that girl!

 After wasting away the morning, we decided it was time to get out of the house and go to the outlet mall. But first, we were hungry. Too bad the mall only had two places to eat at and the food took FOREVER, so we didn't squeeze much shopping in. 

 I pinned a TON of cute treats for the 4th on Pinterest, but didn't get around to making any of them. Eric, however, perfected his July 4th drink. So cute!

And his mom made a festive cake. 

 

Kinsey, of course, loves anything with the word "cake" in it. 

 Once the sun went down, it was finally time for FIREWORKS!!

Scarlett wasn't impressed. 

 Kinsey loved watching the fireworks (after warming up to them for a second)!! And probably just staying up WAY past her bedtime.

Pointing out a firework. 

 It was another successful holiday with our three angels. I look forward to when they are a little older and can ALL enjoy the fireworks, parades, and Stadium of Fire!

The Twins at 5 Months

Remember when these babies were as big as Kinsey's doll? They sure have grown!

2 weeks old and 4 months old

 The girls had a check-up a few days before they turned 5 months old. Scarlett wasn't even on the charts at 9 lbs 3 oz and Shayla barely made it on at 10 lbs 2 oz. They are small but healthy! The doc gave the okay to start feeding them solids, but I'm hesitant because they are still so small. I think I'll wait another month. 

Playing at the doctor's office

We bought the babies new toys to play with. It makes our days much smoother since they have something to do with their time besides being held by me. 

They also went to Seven Peaks for the first time this month! The only issue we have is keeping their hats on since Scarlett and Shayla have such small heads. Other than that, they enjoyed basking in the sun. 

Scarlett and Shayla don't pass out all the time like they used to, but when they do, it makes for a happy mama!

SCARLETT

After 2 sets of ultrasounds a couple months apart, we finally got the good news that Scarlett does NOT have hip dysplasia! However, we are now on the lookout to see if she has pectus excavatum, which causes a caved in appearance in the chest. It's too early to tell for sure, but we're hoping she is just tiny and her chest will grow normally. If not, she would need surgery when she's about 12 or 13 years old. 

Scarlett took a 2 month break from rolling over but has finally started up again (front to back)! She loves blowing spit bubbles and can balance in sitting position a little better than Shayla. Stranger danger has already started, so Scarlett seeks out a familiar face if someone new is holding her. If she's fussy, she'll quiet down when Kinsey comes to play with her. She loves smiling and is a morning person. 

Kinsey sharing her toys with Scarlett. 

Shayla is definitely my chatterbox, but Scarlett finally started talking this past month. She used to be completely silent unless she cried. This is one of my favorite pics of Scarlett this month. It's like she's screaming "Party over here!" 

SHAYLA

Shayla has a crazy arm. She's constantly hitting, grabbing, or swinging with it. She has great hand/eye coordination and can pick up almost anything. I still think she'll be my future athlete. 

Grabbing sister's face

 Shayla rolls both ways all the time. You can tell she wants to crawl, sit up, and walk. She's just ready to move and has actually been trying to pull herself to a sitting position since she was a month old. When she scoots she leaves her head on the ground, so she gets frustrated with the lack of movement. Once she learns to lift that head of hers to scoot, I think she'll be crawling in no time. 

Rolling into Scarlett as usual aka giving kisses!

 I love this picture of Shayla! She's so sleepy and mellow (which is not her norm). 

We spend lots of time together as a family! We try to go on a family outing at least once a week to get out of the house.

Kinsey loves her sisters getting bigger. They'll actually take the toys when she hands them over and they'll smile and watch her. 

Daddy enjoys how interactive they are, too!

And let's not forget, Scarlett and Shayla are still BFFs. They constantly reach for each other and hold hands. 

 They are such happy little 5 month olds! Scarlett and Shayla are very different but both so sweet. We are thrilled they are a part of the family.