#41. Lucky Seven

Happy seven months, Luke & Clare!!

Still getting along....for now! (Note...yes, this is an
accurate representation of their comparative sizes!)

Thanks for the knitted sweaters, Aunt Robin!!

Pre-bedtime play time on the couch with Papa

Happy belated Valentine's Day from the Heartbreakers Club!

Well, we all survived another month. Before I discuss happenings from the last few weeks, I want to first share some exciting news (for those that may not already know).  First, we are 'officially' (using quotes because we never needed a formal court order to tell us this) a family.  As of the end of 2014, Clare and Luke are both legally children of both Chris and me.  Additionally, the twins are formally now known as Clare and Luke Knapp-Heald.  We feel so fortunate to have gotten through the adoption and name change process quickly and with such little hassle (unlike what it took to get home from Thailand!).  Thank you to Jill Metz and her office here in Chicago for your help.  We feel privileged to live in a country/state/city where there is so much support for us to have a family. After Luke & Clare had 'official' names declared, we took them to order their social security numbers.
  

Waiting...they were more patient than me!

The woman at our counter (who carried the typical government worker 'I am an expert at this one thing you know nothing about so I will hold that over you and intimidate you' chip on her shoulder) seemed like she didn't want anyone to have an easy time obtaining a social security number that day. First, (before looking through my documents) she criticized me for not having everything I needed (despite the fact I had everything I needed) and then said (as if Luke and Clare would be denied numeric existence) 'We'll see how far this gets us'. Fortunately, two weeks after our visit, the cards arrived. Next step is setting up checking accounts for the twins (good thing we haven't spent all of their money yet!).

They are officially numbers now (pinked out, of course)!!

A few weeks ago (though Clare had to go back later because she was sick the day of) the twins had successful 6 month check-ups.

                    On the left is the 4 month check up...and on the right is 6 months...more hair and what happened to Clare!!

Luke tipped the scales at 17 lbs and 7 oz (up 2 lbs and 12 oz in 2 months and 12 lbs 4 oz since birth),

4 mos vs. 6 mos...More weight, more hair, more alert, and more perpendicular legs!

and Clare at 15 lbs and 4 oz (up 3 lbs and 7 oz in 2 months and 10 lbs and 4 oz since birth).

4 mos vs. 6 mos...Sister's starting to pack it on!!  We couldn't be more proud of her chubby(er) cheeks!

Around the house it's still smiles (mostly),

Clare on Papa's lap                                                                     Luke in the walker            

teething (where Luke is a pro),

         Taking down a rainforest                                             Yes, that's a drop of drool...see video later

and a game of who can stray furthest away from the playmat (where Clare excels).  Movement is more of a scoot for now, but I imagine they will be crawling by the next blog post!

After kicking herself out of her PJs (upper left), Clare makes her way to the fireplace (upper right),
under her rock n' play (lower left) and almost outside into the snow (lower right)

Even Brother is finally getting the idea

Sometimes, the twins play to the point of pure exhaustion!

      Victim #1                                                                           Victim #2

We survived a bout of colds.  Clare had it worst (low fever, and sick for almost a week),

Look at those tired eyes...we were proud of how
tough she was during a very difficult week

followed by Chris (4-5 days), Luke (2 days), and then, me (1 day...phew!).  When everyone is healthy, we are really enjoying this stage 'hanging out' with the twins.

Chillin' with my three babies

Papa provides a nice shoulder to cuddle up to

 

Our diapered dapper dude hanging with Aunt Amy

Clare and Trig share some down time on the couch

Finally, for those who have survived the post this far, here are a handful of videos showing the twins in action at seven months:

A typical view of the corner of our living room (if bottled drool were a commodity, it would pay Luke through college....and not sure what song is going through Clare's head here....or anytime she's going to town on the jumper!).

Luke performing his newly popular spit & scream act (usually indicating its nap time):

Clare getting lazy in the jumper:

Luke enjoying some floor time with the elephant ball from Uncle Jeremy and Uncle Steve:

Clare doing what she does best...scooting EVERYWHERE!  Here she is pushing her walker:

We know our days are numbered but we are going to try to enjoy the final stage of immobility in our household!

#40. 6 Milestones For 6 Months

Clare and Luke hit 6 months earlier this week.

Brother and Sister at 6 months

Clare's happy to be a half year old

Luke wondering 'where did 6 months go?'

Celebrating six months with a twin pile up!

We won't have their measurements to see their growth until our 6 month check-up next week, but we are starting to observe their day-to-day changes happening exponentially faster. Clare is already learning to read. 

Who's reading to who here?

and Luke is working on solving equations.

When do we start Calculus?

Maybe we are getting a little ahead of ourselves, but this post is dedicated to showing some of the actual 'milestones' the twins have reached in the past month or so.  (There are quite a few videos in this post, so I apologize for those trying to view on a device that can't show these.  This post is best viewed from a computer.)

Milestone #1:  Chewing (which essentially means TEETHING)

Everything is going in the mouth these days.

It started with the hand...

which then became the hand inside of the sleeve.

Soon the walker became fair game...

and anything attached to it.

Busted!

The amount of drool is unreal!!

We haven't seen the physical presence of any teeth yet, but we know its only a matter of time.  May our experience be less eventful than some others we have heard.

Milestone #2:  Jumping and Walking

The twins are both loving their 'Jumparoo' and walker.  They spend quite a lot of time in both contraptions each day.  Clare has been jumping for weeks, while Luke took a little longer to figure it out.  The cutest thing is the differences in their 'jumping' techniques.  Clare prefers jumping with alternating legs,

                                          

and Luke likes to pound it out.  Good thing there are no neighbors below us in our townhouse!

The twins are also starting to take bigger steps in the walker.

Which way should I go?

                       You can't keep me in this thing forever!                                 

Luke gets his legs going and is making good progress,

                                          

and Clare is already navigating past the dog (until she finds something to chew on and promptly stops forward progress).

Milestone #3:  Rolling Over

Again, Clare is a little ahead of her brother,

Typical play mat view...Clare up and Luke down

and is days (maybe hours) away from crawling (she's 'scooting' away from the play mat and towards me as I type!).

Luke isn't quite there yet, but he sure gives it a good shot!

Luke has, however, mastered forming a right angle with his legs and torso (currently his favorite position on the floor and in the car seat) which maybe counts for something?!?

Somehow, he finds this comfortable for hours a day

Milestone #4:  Eating Solids (more like blended foods)

Finally, a category where Luke dominates!  

Hey, 2nd born doesn't always mean 2nd place!

We recently introduced rice cereal to the twins, which was met with mixed results.  Clare gave us dirty looks,

                                          

but Luke is enjoying being spoonfed.  He really likes it...

                                          

and we really like the recent diaper changes (I'll leave the picture of this to your own imagination)!

Milestone #5: Grabbing (and reaching...for everything)

Both of the twins have an obsession with grabbing things, especially our faces.  (We have learned the importance of regular fingernail grooming because of this.)

Clare's got dad by the nose

Luke touches his mirror

The twins will reach for anything and everything that catches their eye (and sometimes its quite a stretch!),

Must. Grab. That. Bird.

Luke reaches for the paparazzi

and the game of Peekaboo is officially on (we were bored during the President's SOTU Address)!

Milestone #6:  Talking (more like squealing)

We aren't quite sure what to make of this stage of voice development.  Both of the twins have definitely turned up the volume lately.  Clare is starting to sound more and more like a dolphin (we hope she never gets that full shriek out),

and Luke, I'm not sure what he is, but he sure is loud!

We know we'll see crawling, walking, talking, potty training (we are in no rush for the first of these three!) and more milestones in the future, but for now, we are enjoying watching these babies grow and start to enjoy large portions of their daily life.  It's been a great 6 months for Clare and Luke!

#39. A December (and late November) to Remember

Happy Holidays from Luke and Clare!!

As the end of the year has arrived, the twins have remained all smiles.

Clare enjoys another flying lesson

Photogenic Luke teases the camera with a half-smile

It's only a matter of time before the holiday season (we can't wait to 'play' Santa Claus) will be even more exciting with the twins, but we certainly enjoyed having Clare and Luke around this year to celebrate some special November and December days.  We spent Thanksgiving visiting Aunt Lisa and Uncle Paul in Naperville, where the twins had a chance to meet more of their 'Heald/Fisher' family.

Clare sitting comfortably on GP's (her great grandfather) lap

10 Cousins...and counting?!?

Aunt Tonia finally gets her hands on a twin

Another photo for the 4 generation files...this time a Heald family 4 generations shot

Next up was celebrating Papa Chris' birthday on December 1.  Papa was treated to a surprise birthday cake.

Christmas-themed, of course

We even sang 'Happy Birthday' at the table!

Papa's first 'Dad' card

Happy Birthday, Papa!

Soon, the house became (over) decorated leaving virtually no room to walk in our already congested living room (see post #35. 'What the He$$ Happened to Our Living Room?!?').

Luke, Trig, and Clare squeezed in front of the Christmas tree

As December rolled on, the weather became colder and our bundles of joy learned how to 'bundle up' for trips outside of the house.

It all starts with the hats

Clare says 'what's the big deal?'

We now know Luke can't hold on to a pacifier in both warm and cold conditions

One Sunday afternoon we bundled up the twins and headed out for the twins' first (of surely many) trip to visit Santa. They looked like naturals during their photo shoot.

The twins were not intimidated by the fat man in the red suit

Luke auditioned for a reindeer opening

Clare enjoyed her first Santa experience

Christmas week began with a visit from Grandpa Dan and Grandma Steffie.  The twins were spoiled with gifts and enjoyed opening their first Christmas presents.

You gotta learn how to unwrap a present sooner or later

Fun light up toys from generous grandparents

Grandpa and Grandma Knapp arrived later in the week,

The twins back in Grandma Knapp's arms

Grandpa checks out Clare's new moves

followed by Uncle Jason, Aunt Leia, and their cousin Keira.

It's tough separating these two girl cousins

Uncle Jason steals a selfie with Luke

Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

Family Ginjinha (cherry liquer in chocolate cups...from Obidos, Portugal) shots

On Christmas morning, Clare and Luke donned their gay apparel 

Daddy and the little prepster, Luke

Papa and the dashing Clare (with a Trig photobomb)

and collected their loot from under the Christmas tree.

Luke helps unwrap his pile of presents

Clare opens a heart-drenched sweater to wear for the next big holiday

Too cool for school in these shades...sorry Luke for poking your eye when I put them on!

Pajamas and monkeys for our two little monkeys

On the day after Christmas we trekked out to the mall to have family photos taken.  

Our first professional Knapp Family photo

The Knapp cousins

Our first Knapp-Heald family photo

From our family to yours, Happy Holidays!  It will be hard to top 2014, but we are looking forward to our first full year with the twins in 2015.  Happy New Year!