So Grown Up

I really don't think I'm ready for this yet... It was just a month ago that I posted a picture of Amelia sitting by herself and now Penelope is pulling herself up. They are growing up way too fast!

Smiles and Smirks

So lately I’ve really started to notice the differences in the girls personalities. It’s pretty cool to think that while they grew inside me at the same time, they are still two very different and individual little people. Penelope is more active and on the go. She wants to be involved in everything and doesn’t want to miss anything or anyone. When she’s in a good mood, she’s quick to share a grin with you. Amelia is more likely to sit back and watch and just take it all in. She studies things and comes across as more reserved. Getting her to smile can take work. And even their way of smiling at you is different. Penelope likes to give you these big, open mouth smiles. It’s almost like she’s laughing, but no sound comes out. Amelia has more of a mischevious grin or smirk. It makes me wonder what she’s thinking… or plotting… Whatever it is, we think the jokes on us. ;}

When it’s play time, Penelope is everywhere and into everything. Now that she’s got rolling down pat and is quickly getting the hang of crawling, it’s hard to contain her. And Penelope usually wants whatever Amelia is playing with and isn’t afraid to take it. Yes, she’s “that girl”... Just last night Paul held Penelope up to Amelia (who was still in her carrier) and as Penelope reached out and I thought "how sweet, she's trying to touch Amelia " she proceeded to rip the binky out of her sister's mouth and stick it her mouth! The look on Amelia's face was priceless - stunned - like she didn't even see it coming. And Penelope doesn't even like the binky anymore but I guess she just wanted it because Amelia had it... Good thing Amelia is a little more laid back about play time. She is content to sit in the same spot playing with the same toys placed around her for 20 or 30 minutes. She doesn’t show much interest in crawling (yet…) and while she’ll sometimes roll around on the floor, she doesn’t seem to want to spend too much time on her stomach either.

What’s interesting is that how they act and play right now is very similar to their activities when I was pregnant with them. Amelia didn’t move from her spot for about the last 3-4 months and hardly ever kicked or punched or elbowed me very hard. I would worry the most about her and the fact that I was feeling so little movement. It was always a relief to see her moving on the ultrasound screen or to hear her heartbeat on the monitor. Penelope was the opposite. She could pack a good punch – or kick! I never had to worry about her activity level. She moved a lot and made sure I knew about it. I guess she’s been more active from the start. :D

Both girls are “morning people” though. They are almost always in a good mood when they wake up. There are lots of smiles and laughs and babbling – it makes the fact that they woke me up at 5:45am on a Saturday a little easier to take. Putting them down for their nap is another story. Most of the time, Penelope goes to sleep without a fight. Amelia, on the other hand, can have a hard time soothing herself and sometimes needs to be rocked (with her binky, a blanket to keep her from looking around and a little white noise). As for what soothes them – Penelope likes to suck her thumb and Amelia loves her Nuk binky. She’s going to be that kid in all the family pictures with a pacifier hiding half her face! Maybe that’s why I feel like I don’t see her smile as often…

Even how they sleep is opposite. Amelia usually sleeps on her back with her hands tucked behind her head. Sometimes she even crosses her ankles. It’s adorable and one of these days I should try to get a picture of it. Penelope prefers to sleep on her tummy though. As soon I as lay her down at night, she will immediately roll onto her stomach. All those evenings when Amelia would fuss and cry and then fall asleep against Paul’s chest, I thought for sure she’d be the one to like sleeping on her tummy. She proved me wrong again…

I’m sure these things will change over time, but I’m just fascinated by their differences. I love the fact that they are not identical in any way. I love seeing all their individual characteristics emerge. I can’t wait to watch them get into their own interests and hobbies and activities. (Although for Mommy and Daddy’s sake, hopefully they’ll share a few of those…) I even like buying clothes for them and thinking “this dress/outfit/whatever suits Amelia best”. Or “this will be perfect for Penelope”. Paul bought them dresses a while back and last week, I switched them so A wore P’s and P wore A’s and it just felt off. They didn’t look right in each other’s dress. I thought that just about every time I looked at them on Thursday. Silly I know…. :D

I keep thinking of more differences but it’s time for me to wrap this up. I’ve included a couple pictures from our 6 month sitting. These weren’t the best of either of girl, but I think they are so natural and such good reflections of who they were at 6 months old.

And I keep forgetting to mention – Amelia is the first to cut a tooth – 2 actually! Her two bottom teeth are making their entrance and she seems to be OK with it so far.

More Baptism

I was going through a different set of baptism pictures and found a few more that I wanted to share... The first two are in the church nursery, where I took the girls to put on their fancy dresses. They were in such good moods all day, especially Penelope. She can really turn her smile on when she wants to. :D The last picture is a better picture of the girls with their cousins. Something I realized when looking at these pictures - Paul and I were married at the same church where they were baptized and I got the girls dressed in the same room where I got ready for the wedding. Kind of special (at least to me anyway...)

Penelope

Amelia

With cousins Braden and Kendall

Baptism Pictures

The baptism was just about a month ago and I figured it's about time to get some pictures on here...

April and Amelia, Paul and Penelope

Amelia

Penelope


Pastor Jim, April and Amelia, Paul and Penelope, Pastor Brian

Lots more photos (baptism and then some) to be on SmugMug sometime soon. I know I keep promising that but our computer had a major overhaul and that has to be finished before Paul can get to all the pictures we've taken in the last couple of months.