The Gates Girls: The Phenomenal FIVE

FIVE months. Wow. It took FIVE months for me to feel some sense of normalcy in my life, and I am so thankful it is here. When I look at all these chair pictures together (HERE) I don't feel like the girls look that much bigger, but when I realize the effort it took previously to get them to sit properly (blankets stuffed behind their backs, standing there to reposition them for every shot) then I know they are HUGE now!

Erin and Halle are just getting more cute (if that is possible!) with their adorable chubby cheeks and amazing belly laughs. I can't get enough of these little munchkins.

Here's what they are up to!

Sleeping through the night! This is the BEST thing to report right now! They happily go to bed at 830 and sleep until 6. We may have a bout of binky hunting around 430/5am, but they quickly go back to sleep.

Witching hour seems to be a thing of the past! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The hardest nap for them is the short evening nap, this takes mega effort from Todd and I to get them to sleep - but, if they don't take it, they are falling apart tired at 7pm - which (as we discovered) is too early for real bedtime because then they are up at 430am thinking it is morning.

Eating 6 oz every 4hrs

The back of Erin's head was noticed to be flatter than preferred at her 4 mo checkup. We have been working hard to keep her off the back of her head during awake time and have already noticed a big improvement. One more month to go before we will know how much it will change.

ROUTINE! Sleeping through the night means we can get on a routine FINALLY

Erin is rolling from her front to her back and Halle can roll from her back to her belly. Erin is trying SO hard to roll from her back to her front, but has yet to accomplish this feat.

Both are really trying to move while on their bellies but Halle is the only one who actually makes any ground. Erin lays on her belly, puts her head down and kicks her feet like mad only to look up with extreme frustration that she is in the exact same place. It is really hilarious - if you can put up with the screeching.

Full belly laughs from both!

Erin loves to buzz her lips and tries to fit her entire hand in her mouth. Halle explores more with her whole body and holds her feet while rolling from side to side just for fun.

Favorite things right now are the bouncer, big sister, mama, dada, and "crunchy" toys

Still in 3 mo clothes, but the footy sleepers are starting to get small

Halle seems to have longer arms and legs than Erin, but they still measure the same height... not sure how that works exactly.

Everyone says they look like identical twins - even as they develop more. And I can see it too - it would just be pretty unbelievable. We decided we would test out of plain curiosity if they continue to look very similar. I think it would be fun to know for sure.

So, Lia was a little jealous of Mama taking time away to take pictures of the babies only - so here is how many of my photos turned out...