6 Months Old

I am a bit behind on the blog. We have been very busy. Needless to say the girls are changing by the minute. I look forward to each day because I know something new or funny is going to happen with Sophia and Claire. We have had many great moments over the last month and I am excited to share them with you.

The girls had their six month doctors appointment on December 2nd and the stats are below. Sophia continues to be our chunky monkey. Claire moves around so much I think she works off her weight. Both girls are tall and we are super excited about that. We are thinking tennis, volleyball or basketball players.

Sophia
- 15lbs 13 oz (48th percentile)
- 27 inches long (90th percentile)
- Head is in the 67th percentile

Claire
- 14lbs 15oz (30th percentile)
- 27 inches long (90th percentile)
- Head is in the 38th percentile

We have started fruits and vegetables. I am making all of the baby food which has been fun. The first thing the girls ate was sweet potatoes and it didn't go very well. Claire made a funny face similar to a reaction you would have by eating a lemon. Sophia just gagged and vomited (twice). We tried again the next night with a bit of oatmeal mixed in and the girls were begging for more. They got bananas this morning and loved them. We will be trying butternut squash tomorrow. It is hard to believe the girls are even old enough to be eating fruits and veggies.

I introduced the girls to cups at 5 months and they love drinking water on their own. They took to it right away and don't want Mommy or Daddy to help (it is already starting). They look like such big girls drinking by themselves.

Sophia is sitting up on her own and is loving her new view of the world (November 25th). I believe last month I told you she was rolling one way but soon after was rolling both ways and all over the place. Claire is not interested in sitting up. She is too busy and prefers to be able to roll around and get to her toys. She really wants to crawl so I assume that won't be far off.

Both girls have been sleeping on their stomatch's. It streses me out and I check on them constantly. I am starting to not worry as much about it. Before I went to bed last night I checked on the girls and Claire was sleeping on her belly with her butt in the air and her arms tucked under her sweet little face. It looked really uncomfortable but so cute!

The teething has begun. The girls normally get fussy towards the end of the day and had a couple nights of waking up due to sore gums. We haven't had any teeth come through yet but I don't think it is far off. Thank goodness for the all-natural teething tablets. They work wonderful...a lot better than orajel.

The girls have begun fighting over toys. They always want what the other twin has. They are so strong and don't give up. One of the girls always ends up crying because they lost the battle. I am sure this is only the beginning of many fights and quarrels over toys.

The girls and Matt were baptized on November 15th at Locust Grove Church. This is the church I grew up in and where almost all of the Anderson grandchildren have been baptized. It was such a special day to see my husband and girls baptized at the same time. I pray that it is only the beginning of an amazing relationship they will have with God going forward. The entire Sorrells and Anderson clan as well as both great grandmothers attended which made it very special. The girls got their first bibles and bible story books. Nanna and Pappaw prepared a lunch for everyone after church to celebrate the wonderful day.

Matt and I prepared our very first Thanksgiving for the entire Fitzpatrick family. We had 30 people at our house and it was such a great day. I love entertaining and having people filling the house with laughter and noise. The turkey and dressing turned out wonderful. I was so worried because Grandma Stella always does it so perfectly. The girls sat quietly through the entire meal and enjoyed being passed around from person to person. This was the first time some of the family had met the girls. It will be fun to see the girls next year at Thanksgiving since they will be able to eat with us.

The day after Thanksgiving Matt and I began a tradition with the girls I hope we continue for many many years. My Dad always took my sisters and I to the tree farm and cut down our Christmas tree. It is one of my best memories. Our first adventure was good. I bundled the girls up (they looked like the little kid from a Christmas Story) and we picked out a beautiful tree. The girls don't seem to notice the Christmas lights but do like touching the tree.

I have two picture frame ornaments I purchased 4 years ago which say "Daddy and Me" and "Mommy and Me". The past two years I cried each time I got the ornaments out and realized I couldn't use them but this year I had no tears, just a HUGE smile. Our family is complete and wonderful!

We are looking forward to Christmas morning at home and opening gifts with the girls. I am sure they will like the wrapping paper and ribbon more than the gifts. It is just amazing to know that we get to experience this Christmas as a family.

Lastly, and some of our most exciting news.....the girls will have another cousin arriving in June. Aunt Shannon and Uncle Chris are very excited to be adding to their family. We could not be happier. YA!!! It will be nice to have our girls grow up with their little girl or boy.

Sophia and Claire are 5 Months Old

WOW....I can't believe the girls have been with us for five months. It has been 5 months filled with many amazing and wonderful moments. I would lie if I said we haven't had any difficult days or stressful moments. It is all part of being parents of twins!

The girls are growing and changing by the minute. Every morning I look forward to walking in the nursery to see the girls beautiful smiles and how much they have changed overnight. I am still amazed that they can change so much with one nights rest. Sophia and Claire now wake up babbling...it is so sweet and fun to listen to but the best is seeing their instant smile when Matt or I appear above the crib. It is one of those things that makes being a parent amazing!

Sophia and Claire are doing new things every day. Claire has been rolling over since she was 4 months old and she hasn't stopped since. She rolls all over the place. One day she rolled at least 4 or 5 times across the floor and bumped her head on the entertainment center. Claire can't stop moving and has to be doing something at all times. Sophia rolled over for the first time on November 4th just past her 5 month birthday. Sophia is so layed back I was wondering if she would ever want to roll over but she surprised me and did it right when all the books said she would. The first time she rolled over she got a huge grin on her face and was so excited. I think she was excited to get out of tummy time!!

I can't lay the girls on the floor together unless I am right beside them. They pull eachother's hair, grab at their sisters face and throw in many kicks. The fighting has already started. HA! Right now it is done out of curiosity and love but I am sure that won't be the case in a few years.

The girls love to giggle and Mommy has figured out their tickle points. It is so funny and gets me laughing. Sophia gets to the point where she is uncontrollably laughing. Claire loves to laugh but not quite as hard as Sophia because she is too busy and has to move onto something else.

Both girls have favorite toys they like to play with. Sophia loves her pink elephant that cousin Teri gave her. Claire loves her squeeky Pooh from the Gross family. We don't go anywhere without them. Beyond that, both girls love to listen to music and play with anything that lights up.

We have been giving the girls cereal for over a month and it is getting better every day. About a week ago Claire finally decided she liked the cereal and wanted to participate (meaning she would finally open her mouth and happily take spoonfuls). Although cereal time is still messy, it has become a fun time for Mommy and the girls. They just wish I could soley focus on them individually...they don't like when I have to give a spoonful to their sister. The girls are now eating in their highchairs. It is so cute!!!

Sophia and Claire's hair is getting so long. I can't believe how quickly it has grown. I am excited to soon be putting bows in the girls hair. I have had a hard time finding barrets and bows that will stay in their hair. I refuse to tape anything on my childs head. HA!!! Sophia's hair is so fluffy....I comb it nicely and within minutes it is sticking up.

Sophia's club foot is looking great. You would never know she had a club foot when she was born. The doctor has been very happy with her progress. She continues to wear her orthopedic shoe (although Mommy takes it off for a better looking shoe when we go out) to keep her foot in the correct position. We will continue to do that until she is a year old. Her physical therapy is going great and she loves her therapist.

Great Grandma Stella finished the girls quilts. They are beautiful. Grandma Stella took so much time to make the quilts perfect for her perfect little grandchildren. Some day the girls will know how meaningful the quilts are. I cry just thinking about it. I am so thankful my girls have this special gift from such an amazing woman. Grandma Stella is so talented and put so much detail work into each quilt.

We continue to change our schedule to accommodate the girls. We are now down to 2 naps a day...one in the morning and one in the afternoon (sometimes a small cat nap in the evening). We have swaddled the girls since they were only weeks old. It has been very helpful in comforting the girls during naps and night time sleep. Now that the girls are moving around, rolling over, etc. we felt it was time to slowly take away the swaddles. Last week we started with one arm out of the swaddle and it went very well. This week we took both arms out and so far the girls sleep has not been affected. Thank goodness!!! Next week I plan to eliminate the swaddle all together. Everything with babies is a step-by-step process.

Lastly, the girls had a great Halloween. We went to the Pumpkin Patch at Stony Creek Farm in Noblesville. Thank goodness for the Baby Bjorn's because I don't know how Matt and I would have done it without them. We went on a hayride to the pumpkin patch and picked out two mini-pumpkins. It was a beautiful day to have the girls out. As you can see in the pictures the girls were fashionable and wore their shades (thanks Nanna) just like Mommy and Daddy. So cute!!!

On Halloween morning we carved pumpkins and as you can see in the pictures we did something a bit unusual.....we put the girls in the pumpkins. It was so funny to watch their reactions as they sat down in the cold mushy pumpkin. I think the pictures are priceless!!!

The girls dressed up as pumpkins for Halloween and I think they were the cutest pumpkins ever. We trick-or-treated at the Ortoleva's house first where the girls got a bag of candy and Colts onesies. Damien and Owen loved seeing the girls and showed off their Halloween costumes. Next we went to visit with our friends the Stornetta's. The girls loved seeing their friend Noah and wondered why we had to take so many pictures. The girls also got to meet our friends Dave and Mary for the first time. They loved all the attention. After that we went to Aunt Shannon and Uncle Chris' house where they also got to see Grandpa Benny. It was a full day of fun and the girls slept so well that night. They were wiped out.

As you can tell, the last month has been full of wonderful memories. Sophia and Claire are amazing little girls. They make Matt and I so happy. It is hard to remember life before them. We are so thankful that God blessed us with these amazing little angels!!!!

~ The Sorrells Twins are 4 Months Old ~

I have been so busy lately and haven't had time to update each of you on our beautiful little girls. It is hard to believe but they are 4 months old now. As you can tell by all of the pictures I have uplodaed, a lot has gone on in the past month.

The girls have definitely revelaed their personalities to us. Our Sophia Bug is very laid back and quiet. She continues to analyze everything around her which is why we have named her the "thinker" She is very serious until she catches something that brings a smile to her face. Her smile is enormous and lights up the room. She loves to sit and watch her sister who is the active one. Sophia has a difficult time getting in any words/sounds because Claire doesn't ever stop.

Claire Bear is always on the move. Not a second goes by where at least one body part isn't moving. She loves to kick her legs and throw her arms around which often times leaves Sophia on the receiving end. Claire can say so much through her eyes. They sparkle! She uses her voice all day long. She is pretty loud but becomes louder if you aren't giving her the attention she wants.

Both girls notice each other more and more every day. They hold hands all the time and are always sucking on the others hands. It is precious to watch and still brings tears to my eyes.

The 4 month doctor visit was exciting for Matt and I. We love finding out how our girls are progressing. Both girls got an A+ again which makes us both very very happy. They are now on the growth chart and accomplished all of the things expected at 4 months. The girls stats are below.

Claire
11 lbs 15 oz (25th percentile)
24 3/4 inches long (75th percentile)
30th percentile in head size

Sophia
12 lbs 1 oz (25th percentile)
24 inches long (50th percentile)
25% percentile in head size

Dr. Freeman gave me the ok to begin rice cereal. I was excited to begin giving them cereal just for a change of pace. The first feeding was so funny. Neither of the girls knew what to do except spit the cereal out. We had cereal everywhere!!! Since then, the girls are getting better. Sophia now screams for more. Claire still gags when it gets to the back of her throat. She has not figured out the swallowing concept. I have tried blending a small amkount of peaches into the cereal for taste but it hasn't helped Claire. I am sure they will begin to like it more...at least I hope so.

Claire is now rolling over. The first time was September 27th. She first rolled from tummy to back but now is rolling over from back to tummy. It is so cute to watch her figure out these new things. Sophia watches her sister but doesn't seem to have a desire to do the rolling. That is fine by me. She will do it on her own time.

Sophia's foot is doing wonderful. She got her cast off again. We tried using the brace again at night but the blisters began causing problems. We had to go without it for a couple weeks and only use Sophia's special shoe. Thankfully it is doing the job and we don't have to use the brace at all now. She will wear the shoe until the age of 1. I have met with a therapist and we will begin weekly sessions soon to make sure her foot does not regress. We are so thankful her foot is healing!!! The bad part about her shoe is that it can be a dangerous weapon. I have bruises on my chins from her kicking me with it (she is starting early) and her cousin Will found out the hard way that an orthopedic shoe in the eye does not feel good.

Uncle Chris and Aunt Shannon babysat the girls a few weeks ago so that Matt and I could have a date night. We got to go see a movie (The Hangover) and have dinner. I knew we needed a night out but I didn't realize how much. We had a great time! Chris and Shannon did a great job with the girls. Chris even got to change his first poopy diaper. Claire had saved up for it all day. Aunt Shannon got it on video tape...needless to say Claire pulled out all the stops for Chris. She decided to poop a second time during the diaper change. Little Sophia was much nicer to him the weekend before when he changed his very first diaper. The girls had a great time!!

Unfortunately Claire and Sophia lost their great grandpa Anderson this past week. We are thankful that Grandpa was able to meet the girls before he went to be with the Lord.

I will finish this with a funny story involving Sophia. I went to kiss Sophia on the lips and simultaneously she spit up directly in my mouth. I didn't even know what to do except try to spit it out. Matt and I were laughing so hard. The life of a Mom!!!