Not to be outdone...

Mairead has had the cuteness market cornered for the past 21 months, but now that she is sharing the spotlight, she has been doing even cuter things lately. For example, I left an empty bottle in the living room after a feeding yesterday, and when I came back in to get it, this is what I found...

Elmo is very lucky to have that bottle- and you can see that she has her juice cup propped up on the other side of him. She is so cute- she is always giving a bottle to Elmo or to her doll. Yesterday while I was changing her, she picked up the hand sanitizer we keep on changing table. She pretended to squeeze it out, and then she wrung her hands together- I guess she sees us do that many times a day after changing diapers!

Yesterday was a big day for Mairead- she had her first real haircut. She and I went to Snip-Its where they only cut kids' hair. They were great- super fast! Mairead was a little wary at first, but she did really well. She was friendly and well behaved... until I wanted her to leave. That, she didn't like so much. There were a million toys, etc, at this place, and she could have stayed there all day!

We'll be sure to keep updating you as the cuteness continues...

Cutest. Thing. Ever.

Part of our routine each day is for me to put the boys down on the floor together so that they can have some 'tummy time.' They seem very comfortable down there and they sleep very well. Anyway, I always put them down the same way- Jack on the left, Ben on the right. And, I always leave about 5-6 inches of space between them so that they can stretch out and not hit each other. Well, yesterday I did the same as I always do. After about an hour, this is how they were.

How cute is that? They inched closer to each other to snuggle closer together. They are only 8 weeks old (that's three weeks adjusted) and they are able to more closer to one another. So sweet- such a twin thing!

In addition to being cuter than ever, they are bigger than ever! VNA came for the last time yesterday and Ben was 9lbs 14 oz- he gained 13 oz in a week. Jack was up to 9lbs 4 oz- that is a whole pound in one week! They are doing awesome and now we only have 'regular' doctor's appointments. We are so thankful that they are doing so well!

If you don't like the weather in New England...

Wait ten minutes... right? This past weekend definitely brought us some crazy weather with temps hitting 90 degrees. Right now, I have the heat on (Author's note- if it were just me, I would certainly not have the heat on, but with two preemies at home, it's a necessary evil for just a little longer. The gas company must love us). Anyway, we were totally unprepared for such hot weather. Dave and I still have all of our summer clothes stored in the crawlspace in our house, and Mairead has no summer clothes since her clothes from last year certainly wouldn't fit her now! I did manage to scrounge up enough outfits to get us through the weekend while we were visiting in Lowell.

Mairead needed to update her Facebook status.


I had to run to Walmart and buy her an outfit because it was too hot for anything she has. She definitely noticed the temperature as she was very tired on Sunday. She never does anything like this, but she took her juice and was toddling around the house as she always does, but then she just lay down on the floor to rest. She was exhausted!



Jack and Ben have plenty of onesies, so it wasn't a problem to dress them. It was strange to see them without five layers of clothes, hats, and blankets!

Jack apparently did not like the heat. He is my more, shall we say, demanding, child. He always has something to say. We have several pictures now in which Ben is looking at Jack like, 'what's that guy's problem?'.



They are very comfy when they are together. Jack is passed out here, but Ben has a little half smile even though he is only half awake.


You can see that they are both getting much bigger- especially Jack (on left). When they are wearing only onesies, you can get a better idea of their size. They are looking more like 'real' babies and less like newborn preemies. I know that some of you have babies who were bigger at birth than mine are even now at almost 8 weeks- that is unbelievable to me!

Thanks to Theresa for these adorable outfits- they were perfect for a sports filled weekend with the Celtics in the playoffs and the first Sox-Yankees series of the season.

A trip to the park with Grandma

Grandma Dorothy made the trip out from New York this weekend so that we could all spend time together. It worked out perfectly that we had some beautiful weather to enjoy! On Friday morning, we piled the kids into the van and visited a nearby park. Mairead LOVED it! She liked the swings the best, and Grandma did a great job with the pushing.

She was watching us closely when we were swinging, and she started to mimic the pumping motion- she's a smart one!

Almost as high as Daddy!

The slides were lots of fun, too. Daddy picked her up and helped her slide down over, and over, and over...

Thanks to Grandma for coming to visit! Mairead had a lot of fun, and Mommy and Daddy appreciated all of your help around the house. We are usually outnumbered here, so having another adult is always a huge help to us!

All Good News

I have a couple of updates to report- and they are all good! First, Early Intervention came to the house yesterday to do an assessment on both boys and determine whether or not they had any delays that would require therapy. They do not! The boys are 6 weeks old chronologically, but only 2 weeks old by adjusted age. They are responding to light and sound, as well as to my voice and Dave's. They are tracking objects well and supporting their heads very well. The physical therapist doing the assessment thought they were performing nearly as well as full term babies, which is great!

Also yesterday (it was a busy day), I took the boys to Children's Hospital in Boston for hip ultrasounds. Both boys were breech, which sometimes causes hip dysplasia, so this test was to rule that out. Neither boy has it, which is also great news! Surgery is often required to correct this, so we are thrilled to avoid that. They were very well behaved during the ultrasound- they didn't even pee on the table like their sister did when she had the test.

Today, VNA came to check on the boys and their weights. Ben is up to 9lbs 1oz, and Jack is 8lbs 4oz. Granted, some of you have babies who were born at those weights, but for us, those weights are fantastic! I have already put away the preemie clothes, and now I am starting to put away some of the newborn clothes in favor of 0-3 months. I never thought they would get this big this quickly, but I am so glad that they are growing so well!

The best news of all is that Jack smiled at me for the first time yesterday! It was amazing- he looked so cute! This was a real 'social' smile, not just one while he was dreaming, etc. Social smiles are a typical milestone for 6 week olds, but I didn't know when they would do it since they are not 'really' 6 weeks. Now I can't wait to see Ben smile, too!

Mairead is at her all time cutest lately as she is saying or doing something new every day. When EI came yesterday she was showing off for them and was adorable while doing it. Dave thinks she tried to say 'I love you' back to him when he put her to bed tonight- I think that when she says that to me for the first time I might just cry because I just love her to pieces. We are so luck to have these three amazing kids!

Surprise!

This past Sunday, our entire family and lots of friends gathered at Brian's favorite place to surprise him for his 30th birthday. His actual birthday was April 2, so he didn't see this coming! The Old Court is an Irish pub in downtown Lowell. For all of you life-time Lowell residents, it used to be the Press Club. Brian is a regular at the Old Court- Once, he was even on the menu when they created a special called "Monaghan's Favorite." The owners helped us to set up a party for him in the perfect location.


Christin was in charge of getting Brian there on time- no small feat! When they walked in, Brian headed over to say hello to the owners and other regulars before he realized what was going on.

Katie made this fantastic cake to celebrate the occasion.

Mairead must take after her godfather because she loved it at the Old Court. There were tons of places to run around, lots of people, good food, and even balloons.

I have to admit that yes, I did bring all of my babies to a bar. And sadly, this was not Mairead's first time in a bar... not even close. I will say that it Ireland, it is completely customary to bring your children to the pub on Sundays-- so I am just raising my children in proper Irish custom.

Jack and Ben were very well behaved- they spent some time with their cousin, Beth.

Even Nana made it to the Old Court to spin some yarns.

Mairead had a lot of fun playing with Jen. Jen even let her climb up and stand in the big windows.

Ben had to belly up to the bar for a drink. Since our friend, Krystle, works at the OC, we were able to ask her to store some baby formula in one of the refrigerators. Probably the only bar around that had formula in the fridge.

Here's a nice shot of Mairead's grandmother and great-uncle giving her some beer. She wanted more!

Ok, I know this looks bad, but I swear he was drinking Coke.

Ben and Jack were sporting new outfits- thanks to Erin from Probation (my dad's work) for the adorable little shirts!

Everyone had a great time and we were all happy to come together to celebrate Brian's birthday. He is a great brother, son, uncle, boyfriend, and godfather. We are all so happy for all of the great things he has going on in his life- here's hoping the next 30 years are even better. We love you, Brian!

Real Easter

First- good news from our pediatrician appointment yesterday- both boys are doing great! They are both gaining weight very steadily. Ben is now 8lbs 60z and Jack is up to 7lbs 10oz! Even better news for me is that we don't have to go back for a month! We are so happy that they are doing so well. The pediatrician explained that with a lot of preemies, they use a separate chart for height and weight than they do for full term babies, but they don't need to do that for our boys since they are doing so well. Granted, they are in 3rd and 5th percentile for weight, but at least they are on the 'regular' chart! It's such a contrast to Mairead who has consistently been in the 90s for height and weight percentile. But, I think the boys will get there, too!

For 'real' Easter Sunday, we went to Lee and Jean's house- thanks, Lee and Jean! Both boys had their very cute little while outfits that my mom bought them, and they each a cute Easter bib from their aunt, Katie. They were very well behaved for our visit. Can you guess which one is which?

(If you said Jack first, then Ben, you are right!)

Mairead was also dressed up for the occasion in an adorable dress that my mom found. And, of course, she had to have a hat to match. She LOVES the hat. She was wearing it around our house prior to Easter, even with pajamas, and insists on wearing it still. She looked very 'Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm' in these pictures. She is just beautiful and we are so amazed by her every day.

Once again, we have messy pictures of Mairead eating. This time it was cake. Also, she said the word 'cake' for the first time on Sunday... she has a lot of new words lately including cake, hat, hot, car, and bubbles. Also, she is saying 'thank you' all the time, which we are very proud to see. She is learning to use 'thank you' to get what she wants, though. For instance, she will bring me her empty juice cup and say, 'thank you,' which means that I am supposed to fill it up again. How can I say no?

These pictures are from the day after Easter when she went out to play with Dave, but would not go without the hat. Looks cute enough from behind, right? Well...

How about now?

It was chilly so she needed to wear her warm hat, but she wouldn't go without the Easter hat, so she put it on her head on top of her winter hat and wore it that way. She is so damn cute!

Thanks to all of you for checking in! Enjoy the nice weather this weekend- we definitely will!