Who are they?

Annabelle Lily is curious young girl. She has the most expression filled sleep. She will go from a frown to a smile, to consternation, to a yawn all while in REM. Charles and I say that it is her way of practicing her emotions now so when she gets to express them more fully she will have the facial expressions down. She has the biggest almond shaped eyes and when awake, she is an observer. She looks at everything with great study. If she is this awake when it is time to feed, and if Abigail gets there before her, she will not latch on; Instead she will stare wide-eyed at this creature feeding beside her studying her every feature and position. She rarely makes noises when doing this as the goal is to take in all the information visually. That is not to say that Annabelle is not verbal. She is the more "talkative" of the two. She starts her feeding sessions with gurgles, oinks, grunts, and all kinds of sounds that I love to mimic for her. It is our little game. Once she does this litany of sounds, she usually settles in and begins to feed. Her feeding has improved TONS since we started. She was the more lacksadaisical of the two feeders. She would latch on, and then kind of sit there until a massage of the breast got her a little appetizer, and then she would start sucking. Her feedings would be short-lived as she would oftentimes quickly fall asleep so soundly that no offer of food or body massages would wake her up. Now, she has become more vigorous in her feedings and the distractions are less interesting to her. I had done some pleading with her earlier in the week letting her know I would not be happy to leave her behind another week while her sister got to come home. I think it worked! :-) But this lacksadaisical attitude suits her personality. She is very laid back and on her first day out of the womb, my friend Erica got a classic pictures of her with her arms behind her back and legs sprawled out like she was sunning herself. Everyday is a day at the beach for this beauty. Most nurses say that Annabelle looks most like me, although her features are not as distinct as Abigail's. I see it in her eyes mostly.

When Abigail came out of my stomach one minute after Annabelle, the doctor said, "She's a fighter!" And Abigail has not lived this label down since. Being the second born, and the smaller of the two, she has proved herself just as worthy of a good feeding! Once she got the hang of latching on, she never lets go. She feeds vigorously and continuously most times (no one is perfect!) and leaves with a fuller stomach than her sister most times. She also is very particular with her body when she feeds. She likes to lay her hand over the breast. As she gets closer to end of the feeding the arm slowly slides down and eventually covers her eyes, letting us know she is ready to sleep. She is very sensitive to the florescent lights in the NICU, and generally won't open her eyes when feeding because the position faces her head toward the ceiling. If we cover her head with a towel or our hands she will engage in visual observation much more. Don't be fooled by her strength and stamina in feeding. Once in Daddy's arms, she becomes a big flirt. She will stare into his eyes for hours on end, pursing her lips and flipping her eyelashes. She has the most interesting eyelashes in that they are sectioned into groups that form into a point. They almost look like falsies, they are so beautiful. Abigail likes to form her lips like she is about to give kisses. She will sit there with that facial expression and you can't help but kiss her back. I think she even has a dimple forming on her left cheek. Abigail's look is distinct; every person that comes into the room says she looks "just like her Daddy." I see that she has Daddy's eyes and eye expressions, and Daddy's nose. When Daddy rolls his eyes, he has Abigail's look in them and the two can imitate each other seamlessly. But Abby does have my mouth. I will bring my baby book to the hospital to prove it!

We are so blessed with these girls, and so in love. They are amazing.