Little things

Today we thought we would catch you up on some of the little things we tend to take for granted, but are worth mentioning.

Caleb and Joshua are very musical babies. In addition to their nightly guitar lessons with Daddy, they also love it when we sing to them... it even stops their crying (most people would probably start crying!). Their favorite songs are John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, Jesus Loves Me, and We Will Rock You.

Both twins love to suck their fingers. Joshua prefers his thumb while Caleb opts for his index and middle fingers. We just have to wash their hands a lot, since friendly (but not necessarily germ-free!) people are always coming up to them and touching their chubby little hands. The boys have been pacifier-free for over a month, which is fine with us since fingers don't fly across the room when they're spit out!

The boys have recently become really shy around people whom they aren't familiar with. Caleb is especially shy, while Joshua is a little more tolerant of unfamiliar faces. Both boys seem to be especially terrified of people with blonde hair, probably because they're most accustomed to people with dark hair or no hair! So if the boys scream bloody murder when you try to hold them, please don't take it personally! If you stick it out while they scream in your arms, chances are they'll eventually warm up to you and you'll have them smiling and maybe even laughing in no time!

Caleb and Joshua are super talkative. Every morning we wake up to the sound of both boys jabbering "aaa ba maaa ga da waa" etc. They're always in such good moods first thing in the morning!

The boys have also been practicing sitting up on their own. Yesterday Caleb hoisted himself up into an upright sitting position all by himself twice- while reclined in the swing and then again while in the papasan chair!

Who's your Mommy?

Today the boys went on an outing with Mommy and Megan. The boys get sooo much attention whenever they go out. Their admirers always tell Katie how cute they are, followed by "whose are they?" or "are they yours?". They probably think Megan is the mommy and Katie is the nanny... See, this is why Hamloni was hoping their eyes would turn brown!

Road trip

This weekend the boys hit the road to attend their Great Aunt Mary's funeral in PA. While there, they got to meet their baby cousin Chris who was born exactly 2 months after them! On our way home, we drove through Pennsylvania Dutch country and the boys saw Amish people for the first time. We also introduced the boys to the Weidman tradition of driving out of our way to eat at the Round the Clock Diner in York (twice)!

Joshua's fuzz

The boys are 20 weeks old today. Joshua's hair started growing back this past week, and he now has a soft coat of light brown fuzz. Meanwhile, Caleb's locks are still thinning out, except for a persistent patch on the back of his head that makes him look like a monk. When the boys wake us up in the middle of the night (as they've been apt to do lately) and we're not sure who's who, we simply rub their heads to find out!

Supernappers

Today I took the boys to Springfield Mall. "Your mommy took you to the ghetto mall?" Halmoni asked. Yes, she did, and the boys successfully avoided exposure to any sort of gang-related activities by sleeping the entire time! I was so pleased- it was probably their longest nap ever!

Caleb's culinary courage

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, we gave the boys their first solid food: pureed corned beef and cabbage! Just kidding, we actually gave them some organic rice cereal mixed with milk. Caleb was more open-minded than Joshua about eating from a spoon. We first he had to pry his mouth open and he gave us a look as if to say "ew, what's this?". Then he thoughtfully smacked his lips as he contemplated the new taste and texture. By the end of the meal he was opening his mouth wide when the spoon touched his lips! This wasn't the first time the boys had tasted something other than mommy's milk, though. A few days ago we touched a piece of orange to their lips and watched them pucker!

Four month checkup

We took the boys in for their 4-month doctor's check-up this morning. Caleb now weighs 15 lb. 12 oz. (75th %tile), is 26.5 in. long (94th %tile), and has a head circumference of 16.75 in. (74th %tile). Joshua is not far behind, weighing in at 15 lb. 5 oz. (65th %tile), measuring 25.75 in. in length (85th %tile), and like his brother has a head circumference of 16.75 in. Not bad stats considering they both started out so small! Caleb did not enjoy being handled by the nurses and cried the whole time he wasn't in Mommy or Daddy's arms. Joshua, being the more outgoing twin, didn't seem to mind having strangers poking around at him. All in all, God has truly blessed both boys with excellent health, having survived their first winter without even a single cold!