Lock in

Thanks to the weather I've been under a self imposed lock in for the past week or so (don't want to work out how long it had been since I left the house!).

The babies have been a mixture of fantastic and frustrating. Frustrating in that since Christmas their sleep has been very broken. We've had many tears and much screaming. Beth seems to have decided that if I am not by her bedside when she wakes, at any point in the night, then I must be gone. She will then wail like a banshee. She will also only be comforted by me which has not been very nice for her adoring daddy.

The boys continue to be so excited by life that 4.30am-5.30am is the ultimate waking up time. They are wrong!

Once their day time naps started going haywire as well we knew it was time for a change! So I've changed nap times and tried to be an omnipresent force for Beth. In the past few days things have improved - long may that continue!

Now for the fantastic! Well Charlie said his first word 'da da' although his da da doesn't entirely believe me. Lex is continuing his quest to rise to his feet and Beth can sit up for brief moments.

On top of that they are now playing more together. This generally means stealing toys from each other but that's play isn't it? Lex decided today to stroke Charlie's face. Charlie was smiling away but he did end up with a scratch down his cheek! Lex also decided Beth was fascinating at lunch and stared at her the entire meal. It made feeding him tricky as he was not concentrating.

They are also hard to keep still and are rarely where I put them when I get back. Usually they move into head kicking formation.

All in all they are great fun but it'd be nice to get more sleep!

Pictures are:
Beth unimpressed with her tea
The babies where I put them
Where they end up
Lex and Beth playing
Charlie
Beth
Lex
Guess who isn't going to have that toy for long?
Beth and Lex
Charlie

Raspberries and the wall of death

The babies have been changing lots so thought it was worth recording.

All of them are loving bouncing frogs, animal noises, photos, rolling around on the floor and playing in the bouncer.

All of them hate being in the bouncy chairs, having their nails trimmed and sleeping past 5.30am.

They are interacting with each other much more. There is more smiling at each other and fighting. We are trying to get them to sit up but, at the moment, they are not sure of the point and tend to chuck themselves backwards.

Charlie

Charlie is getting more and more of a vocabulary. Unfortunately we think it might be Polish! He rolls around lots but is less keen on rolling back.

He has discovered that the bars on his cot turn and he squeaks them regularly.

Lex

Lex is a bit scary. He rolls over, gets on his hands and knees - and today then straightened his legs so we are now wondering if he is going to miss crawling and go straight to walking.

Lex has discovered that one side of his cot rattles and he does that frequently. He sees the cot a little like a 'wall of death' and throws himself around in it in an attempt to gain enough momentum to escape.

Beth

Beth is still obsessed with the bouncer and her daddy. She still hates drinking milk but loves her food. This week she learnt to blow raspberries and has done so frequently.

She is becoming much more vocal and is gabbling away in a gentle voice, unlike Charlie's shout.

Pictures are:
The boys with granny
When babies attack
Charlie and Beth (blowing a raspberry)
Charlie
Lex
Beth
Lex and his daddy

The Plague House

Since well before Christmas someone has been ill in this house. First Matt caught flu, probably somewhere along Division street on his Christmas do.

He was ill the week leading up to Christmas and took to his bed for a few days. Unfortunately this meant I missed my works Christmas do. Matt had to miss football as well.

Then the babies started to come down with it and expressed it in their own individual way.

Lex got it first and vomited but kept smiling. Beth wasnt so happy as some splashed her!

Then Charlie came down with it on Boxing Day and I've already recorded our trip to A&E. Beth was next and just cried for two days.

We thought we were through it but now they are coming down with colds! Argh!

One good thing over Christmas has been seeing lots of people, yes it does mean more bugs for the babies to catch but also socialising for them and us! Below are some pics as proof.

They are:
The babies all wrapped up
Auntie Elaine and the babies
Uncle Chris and Beth
Grandma Cunnington feeding Charlie
Auntie Julie and cousins John and Patrick with Beth
Charlie and Beth
Auntie Bex and the gang