2 months old

This second month has just flown by. This month, the boys:

• are now wearing their 0-3 month clothes.
• eat 5 oz. at a time -- around 30 oz. per day (sometimes more before bed)!
• are less fussy during diaper changes, but Ellis is not afraid to give a good scream to let us know he has a poopy diaper if we haven't changed him fast enough after eating.
• sleep an average of 5 hours per night (at one time), with a maximum of 6 hours of 15 minutes at a time.
• are very smiley especially when we have exaggerated smiles on our faces.

• enjoy their baths a bit more. Now, they only sometimes scream as we transition them from the bath to their towel. I can't blame them though. I hate getting out of the warm shower only to be hit by the cold air in the bathroom.
• track toys and people even better than before. They are quite good at watching toys that move in front of them. They also stare at us quite a bit while we are playing with them or feeding them, and will watch us if we walk away from them or hand them off to the other person.

Ellis apparently also likes Elvis! =)

• LOVE their swing. If all else fails and they are resisting their nap, put them in their swing and they are good to go! They also like to look at the little turtles and monkey hanging from the top of their swing. It's almost like it hypnotizes them to sleep..
• MUST be swaddled to fall asleep. I fear the day when they start to roll over and can no longer by swaddled, because they really need it to fall asleep or stay asleep.
• are getting much stronger. They kick their legs all the time when they are playing and can frequently get their arms out of their swaddle, regardless of how tight we make it. Unfortunately this is what wakes them (and me) up at 2-3 am at times. Usually I can reswaddle them and buy myself another hour before feeding them.

• are doing much better at tummy time. They can lift their heads much higher now and for longer periods of time. We have even put a rolled blanket (or here you see their musical centipede) under them to lift their body and therefore help them look up a bit more. I read that doing this will help them transition into using their arms to push themselves up as they get older.

• grab onto things around them. Whether it is our finger as we feed them, their bib, our shirt collar when we hold them, or even a toy for a brief time, they are definitely using their hands and fingers even more.

• are awake for longer periods of time -- sometimes up to 2 hours at a time, and they are definitely more active. They don't just fall asleep after eating - they now enjoy listening to music (daddy even plays his guitar for them), listening to a few books at story time, going on walks, playing under their activity mat or on a quilt as we hold toys in front of them, and having tummy time.

• have been lucky to be around lots of people! Throughout the month, they've met my co-workers and students, as well as seen Grandma and Grandpa Frahm, the Reaves family, Derek and Val, Bryan and Erin, Shaun and Julie, Sky, Jim, Joe, and Caryn and Cole.
• have been good boys when we go out to eat. Instead of always getting take-out when we decide to eat dinner out, we've taken the boys out with us a few times and they've done wonderfully each time.

We have our 2 month appointment on Thursday so we will see how much they've grown, then. Unfortunately they will also be receiving their first round of vaccinations -- not fun! Thankfully my mom will be going with us to the appointment since Troy has to work. I would not want to try to console two unhappy babies all by myself. I will give doctor updates then...