More pictures

The girls are growing so fast!! They are also developing their own personalities. It is wonderful to watch them develop.
The girls still share a crib. They will until they start rolling around. This might be sooner then we think. Melody already rolls onto her side. She has been doing that since week one.

Both Bethany and Melody like to grasp things. This picture is of Melody finding her own hands. We sometimes find them holding each others hands. We have not been able to capture that picture yet, they let go before we can get the camera.

One of Joe's favorite past times lately is laying on the floor just taking in the beauty of our little girls.

Laurie is getting use to having her arms full. She can now easily pick them both up to sooth them when they are both needing some snuggle time.

Pictures of Our 10 Little Girls

Okay, I know many of you won't understand my joke in the title. If you do get it, just smile to yourself knowingly, and say so in a comment to this post. Don't be bashful. If you don't get it, just roll your eyes and say "Joe is such a geek".

If you (like someone in my class who I sent a similar email to) ask me "Joe, do you really have 10 girls?" I'd have to say "Yes, and both of them are in the pictures".

That's enough of that. On to the good stuff.

The girls are doing well. Last night they only woke up twice, and slept in 3ish hour increments. With our track record, that means tonight they'll sleep in 30 minute increments.

A little more on their personalities. Bethany is all girl, with a higher pitched cry, and often giving girlie coos or squeaks. Melody on the other hand keeps us laughing with the most bizzare array of grunts and facial expressions. While Bethany's face has only 3 modes: Off, looking around, and crying, Melody has more expressions than my memory card can hold. She can do the following (among others): smile (only in her sleep), anger, confusion, "oooh what's that!", "oh no!", "gasp!", blue steel, and the dramatic chipmunk. We're trying to capture them all, but with the infant to adult ratio being 1:1, we don't have a free adult to run for the camera all the time.

Without further ado, here's some pictures.

Now what are we supposed to do with a 3 legged child!?  Melody here is our escape artist. She gets out of anything we put her in. Somehow she got out of BOTH hospital bracelets. She simply can't be swaddled, and here, well you can see for yourself...

This is Melody's ball.  It's her happy place.

Speaking of Melody being happy, here's one of her smiles.  Go ahead, dab your eyes - you know you need to.

Here's their cute little feet.  I wonder if Adidas makes soccer cleats this small?

The girls share a quiet moment on Mommy's lap.

Bethany enjoys the view from Grandma Yay's shoulder.  Bethany's neck muscles are amazingly strong and coordinated.  She can keep her head up like this for minutes at a time already!

Daddy and Melody together on the sofa.  Don't be confused by the amount of light.  This is probably 2 in the morning.

Playtime on the floor.  Bethany is unimpressed while Melody plays either a ninja, a sorceress, or a rap artist. 

Another quiet moment with Mommy, who's looking great so soon after delivery.

Enjoying a warm fall day in the back yard. 

Melody's a sucker for a guy in uniform

Bethany after a bath by her Granddaddy.  (Angelic glow augmented by a heat lamp)

Pumpkin Patch

Precious Gift

We are blessed to have two healthy beautiful girls.

Grandma Jutras

Laurie's mom, Cheryl Jutras, was able to fly out from Colorado Springs for the birth of our baby girls. She came out on the 9th of October convinced that they would be born some time the next week. The girls tested her patience by making her wait until the end of the following week. We are all so glad she was able to make the trip to share in this wonderful occasion.

Pictures of the Girls!

To those of you waiting eagerly for more pictures of the girls, I apologize. I don't even have a good reason for taking so long to post this. It's not like I've wasted time sleeping when I could be uploading. Even the 6 minutes of sleep I've had since the kiddos were born were spent doing other things. I woke up last night with Laurie asking me why we had one of the girls in bed with us. I said I didn't know. She said "do you have her"? I said I couldn't find her head. Turns out I was trying (in my sleep) to pick up one corner of our comforter that roughly resembled a swadled baby.

You might ask: "Joe, why did you mistake a lumpy comforter for one of your girls, even in your sleep? Do they look like lumpy comforters?"

I would reply: "No excuse Sir/Ma'am", "No", and "Here's proof"

Here are some pictures of the girls not looking like lumpy comforters.



Three generations of Jutras women/pumpkins

Smiling grandmas and screaming pumpkins

Bethany peeks out of her Halloween costume

Melody is trying to decide whether to be a pumpkin or a pirate

Miss Melody has made good use of her gorgeous eyes and has correctly identified her hand

Bethany getting dressed

Tired mama and girls enjoy a few winks

And me - words can't describe this feeling - nor can they describe the color of those scrubs (seriously, don't say red, you'd have to see them in person)

Here's a bonus video for you. This is the girls at an hour old or two. People keep asking if we can tell them apart. This will give you a good idea of how. Melody scowls, and keeps her lower lip sucked in. Also, she has more hair than Bethany, though you won't see it in this video.

Laurie said it best: "Joe, we make great kids!"

Enjoy