Special Treats

2015 Recap!

2016-01-10T11:12:00.002-08:00

I love writing these yearly posts to recap our year. I almost didn't do it this year, but then decided I must. They are fun to look back on and I knew I'd regret it if I didn't. 2015 was a busy year, but truly one of the best to date.

JANUARY:

January was a relatively calm month. I honestly don't remember much from this month, but Daniel and I did take a trip to New York City the end of January to celebrate a co-worker of mine getting her Lexus with Rodan + Fields. We had a great time celebrating, and we also enjoyed touring NYC (in the FREEZING cold) for a couple days. We really ate our way through NYC. We went to one of the best restaurants I've EVER been to and will ever go to as long as I'm alive. We were very pampered and the food was exquisite. My parents watched the babies so we could have this time away...we enjoyed it!

FEBRUARY:

A month of horrible sickness for our babies. It was a month I truly thought would never end. I think Abby and George were sick the whole month. It started with some horrific colds for them....George's eye was swollen shut from an infection and Abby ended up in the ER after what we thought was an allergic reaction scare. After dinner one night she started choking, Daniel had to give her the hymlic and that did help, although she was still choking. I called 911 and even though it felt like ages, the ambulance did get to our house and whisked her and Daniel away. It was terrifying. They did allergy tests on her and found nothing. We though it was from the shrimp dip we had that night that she was eating, but now we really think it was from the mucus and sickness that she had. We think she choked on her mucus and it got caught in her throat. SO glad she's ok, but phew, very scary moment as parents. The end of February we celebrated my birthday and I got a pedicure.

MARCH:

Another sick month. George caught a nasty respiratory virus and it got so bad that he was admitted to the hospital. His oxygen levels were scary low and his little body needed some extra help to fight this virus. We were in the hospital with him for about four (long) days. Also in March, our new house was beginning to be built! We put a contract on a house in November of 2014 and it was starting to be built. Daniel and I ran the Monument Ave. 10K and both had a great run!

APRIL:

So thankful that the weather is (slightly) starting to get warmer. Also thankful for healthy kids! I honestly don't remember much that happened this month...I don't think we went anywhere or did much!

MAY:

Gosh, my memory is failing me now that I'm going back to write this now! I drove up to PA to visit a great friends of mine in their new home. I really enjoyed touring their adorable town and spending time with them. We also did the CF walk there which was great! We put our house on the market this month! Talk about STRESS. But the house sold in 10 days so we were thrilled!

JUNE:

Abby and George's 2nd Birthday! We went to Holden Beach for a week with Daniel's family and celebrated there. We had a small, laid back birthday party for them with pizza to eat and of course birthday cake for dessert. It was fun and a nice to be at the beach! We closed on our (old) house this month. Felt good to have that part of the equation done. We rented back from the owners until our house was ready to be moved into. We also spent a lot of time on Papa's new boat this summer. We love Mimi and Papa's boat, it's so much fun!

JULY:

Drove up with the kids to Buffalo, NY to celebrate the 4th with my Dad's side of the family. This has become a tradition for us! It's fun to be up there in the perfect weather and with family. They have boats and pools up there so we always get lots of water time which is nice. When we came home from this trip, we started packing up our house.

AUGUST:

MOVING MONTH! We moved mid-August. Phew, what a rollercoaster. I wasn't sad to leave our old house but always leaving the memories is a bit hard. The biggest memories of that house is bringing our babies home to it! It really was a great first house and we really did transform it and put so much love into it. The move went pretty seamless for as far as moves can go. Late August we went to Pawley's Island with Mimi and Papa. It was a nice treat to go there for a week and relax after our move.

SEPTEMBER:

We got some pool time in our new neighborhood pool. The pool is very close to our house, so it's nice to be able to walk to it. Spent some more time going through boxes, but really got through the boxes quickly. We really enjoy having so much more space in our new house....loving it! At the end of this month I flew off to Austin, TX for Rodan + Fields convention...it was so much fun.

OCTOBER:

This was a fun month! Daniel and I were given a trip to San Francisco and Sanoma courtesy of Rodan + Fields. It was the nicest trip we've ever been on! We were spoiled with amazing meals, snacks, wine (lots of wine!) and more. I've never been on a company trip before but all I can say is wow....this company truly knows how to do it. They had everything planned to a tee...it was perfect. We had a blast and it was so nice to get away for a few days. Mimi and Papa watched the twins and had just as much fun with them! Elise and Sush came to visit us in our new house! Elise brought her new baby, Loralei...Abby (and George) is soooo in love with her. For Halloween, George was a cowboy and Abby a cowgirl...they were the cutest cowboy and cowgirl around! We had fun trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood. They got the hang of trick or treating VERY quickly. I had to moderate them on eating the candy...they thought you could eat the pieces you got right away, after getting them from the house. I told them that they need to put them in their pumpkin baskets and save them for later. That's a hard concept to tell 2 year olds.

NOVEMBER:

The holiday craziness starts! I try to get a head start on my Christmas shopping. Thank God for Amazon and online shopping! Shopping these days is extremely difficult with the twins so I'm thankful we are able to do it online. We went to Raleigh for Thanksgiving. It was nice and fun for the twins to be with all their cousins. Scott and Erin so graciously hosted Thanksgiving and lots of food and fun was to be had.

DECEMBER:

We had a fun, festive month. Abby and George talked non-stop about Santa. So much that I thought maybe, just maybe, they'd truly enjoy sitting on his lap (HA). We went to my parents Country Club for their annual Christmas brunch with Santa....A & G didn't cry, but they wouldn't let go of us and had fear in their eyes...like "you better not put me on that man's lap!" lol. But still, improvement from last year! Christmas Eve, we had an early dinner at my parents house and then went to Christmas Eve service at their church. Christmas morning, Abby woke up at 4 am and would not leave my side. She never does this, so we are 99% sure it's because she was afraid that Santa was still in the house. We ended up bringing her back to bed with us (which we never do) and she thankfully fell back asleep in the bed with us (after much tossing and turning). Once the kids awoke, we came downstairs and opened stockings and gifts. They were SO excited! Then we had my parents and Uncle Stephen over for brunch. We cooked an overnight egg casserole, bacon, fruit and Daniel made delicious biscuit/cream cheese/chocolate monkey bread...it was a delicious meal! Then the kids played with their new toys (including a kitchen from Mimi and Papa!), napped and then we went over to Mimi and Papa's house for more Christmas festivities and present opening. My brother and his wife and kids were there too, so that was fun to see them.

All in all, it was a great year! Oh and business was very good for both Daniel and I. 2016, bring it on...let's make this one even better than 2015!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Abigail and George!

2015-06-09T10:40:00.003-07:00

TWO! No way. George, I love how you hold up one finger on each hand, shrug your shoulders up and say "two" when we ask how old you are now. You are too cute for words. Abby, I love how silly you are when asked how old you are...you are already a jokester (wonder where she gets that from??) at a young age. You turned two on June 4th, 2015. We were at Holden Beach for a week with Dad's family and it was fun celebrating your birthday there. You so enjoyed playing on the beach, and oh, the pool, you are BOTH little fishes! You both love, love, love to swim. For your birthday dinner we had pizza (your fav!), salad and birthday cake. Of course I think the birthday cake was your favorite part of the meal.

I swear this last year has flown by. You learned to walk at 15 months just shortly after your first birthday. Your talking....wow...you amaze everyone with your vocabulary. People constantly say that twins can sometimes be delayed in their speech, but not you two, not you two at all. I love how you will now repeat anything we ask you to repeat, it's so cool. And you are putting many words together to form sentences. My little babies are growing up!

George, you are all BOY. You are definitely a little athlete. Watch out world, I have a feeling you are going to go far in sports when you get older. Your top two favorite sports are golf and soccer. You have a golf swing like no other two year old I've seen. My jaw drops every time I watch you swing that club. Daddy has already taught you well! And Soccer....you are a left foot kicker. Your kick also amazes me. You have talent, sweet boy!!!! You also love to swim, blow bubbles in the water and put your head under the water. You really are a fish...I swear you have gills. And last but not least, you love to ride bikes. And you are great with that as well. Your favorite thing is to get to the top of the driveway and fly down it fast with no one helping....you little dare devil, already making Mom nervous. You have definitely started some tantrums, but all in all you are a super sweet boy with a precious smile. I love how we cuddle in the morning while you wake up. I hope we can always do this!

Abigail, you, my love, are all GIRL. You are happy as a clam with your purse and your baby dolls. Every.single baby you see when we are out and about you get so excited about. "Baby! Baby! Baby!" You are my fiesty girl, you know what you want and when you want it. But you are also my super sweet and loving girl. I love how you say "Bless You, Momma" after I sneeze. You started saying this not too long ago and it warms my heart every time I hear it. You are also good with your pleases and thank you's. You are very sensitive, like your Mom. You never mean to do bad (unless you are fighting with your brother!) and get really upset when you are yelled at or scolded. You constantly want to be held by Momma, which is definitely getting harder these days. You must be around 33 pounds by now, and this makes Momma tired carrying you everywhere. You also love to help me cook. Every time I'm in the kitchen (which is a lot), you are right there beside me. And you LOVE to have your Daddy tickle you. You tell him "more! more! more!" when he stops. And my favorite thing at the end of the day when I'm so tired is rocking you before you go to bed. You say "Momma, rock rock" and that's what I do.

I love you both so much. You make your Momma tired, but you are mounds of fun these days. I'm so looking forward to the memories we all make in your second year of life!

Twenty-Fourteen

2014-12-30T19:30:00.002-08:00

Twenty-Fourteen...you started off a little shaky, but ended good...very good.

On January 4th, 2014, Abby and George turned 7 months old. Getting a tad bit easier, but still hard. Sleep was getting much better, although not consistent every night...we knew things were turning a corner in the sleep department and boy, we were ready for that!

In February, we celebrated my 31st Birthday and rejoiced in the fact that I was not in the hospital like I was for my 30th birthday in 2013! The hubs took me on a surprise trip to NYC for my birthday while Mimi and Papa took great care of Abby and George. It was a wonderful get-away...just what we needed. I could have done without the round-the-clock pumping while being gone from my babies, but Momma does what's best for her littles! I am so thankful for my husband who realizes the importance of family, but also how important it is for us to have our alone time too. When we make time for ourselves, we are better parents and better to each other. This month, I also went to Asheville with Abby and my Mom to celebrate Charlotte and the soon to be birth of baby-Clay! We had a wonderful time showering Charlotte and Clay with gifts.

My memory is escaping me with what we did in March. I know it was still quiet busy with two, 9 month olds. I was still nursing and pumping, and that, my friends, still took up a big chunk of our day. We also had a decent snow in March, so had fun taking the babies out for that. They didn't quite know what to think of the snow, so we didn't stay out for long. They also started to get the hang of solids more this month which was fun for me. I made all their food and enjoyed that from day 1.

They are crawling everywhere and keeping their Mamma and Dadda busy!

April came, and I was looking forward to the warmer weather coming so we could get outside more. A few times I met friends at a local gym that has an amazing indoor pool to swim there. My friends helped me with Abby and George and it was so much fun! At 10 months old, Abby and George are really starting to play with each other. It is the COOLEST thing ever to sit back and watch. Gah, how lucky are we to be parents of twins??? We went to Raleigh for Easter and had a nice time celebrating Christ and spending time with family.

(Abby wanting to walk!)

Easter!

May, oh May, thank you for your warmer temps! May was a busy but very fun month. My sister in law got married in Raleigh so we went there for the wedding. It was such a beautiful, perfect and very fun wedding! Mim and Papa were there to help with Abby and George...they hung around for some dancing at the reception and then headed home when they were getting tired. They stayed up the latest they ever had that night and went to bed around 9 pm. Tired babies! We all had so much fun though. The day after the wedding we headed to Pawleys Island for a week at the beach with Mimi and Papa. As always, it was glorious.

The bride the day before her wedding!

In June, my sweet, precious babies turned ONE. I had a very hard time believing this. Where did the past year go? I'd say the first 6 months of Abby and George's life were a blur and seemed to go by slowly (perhaps b/c we were in a constant state of exhaustion?), after that it started getting easier but then time just seemed to FLY. We had a small birthday party for them with mainly family. We didn't have a theme because I thought I'd make this party simple...well as simple as my Type A personality could ;) We had a blast and they both LOVED their first taste of cake! Abby killed her cake and wanted more...George was happy with the one small piece he got and was ready to move on. Very typical of both children! Unfortunately, Abby woke up that night with a high fever. I knew something was very wrong because she was burning up and crying like she was in pain. She wouldn't sleep unless she was sleeping on me...this is not like her or George. I know something is very wrong with my babies when they don't sleep well at night as they are typically great sleepers. We took Abby to urgent care on Sunday and found out she had hand, foot and mouth disease. :( She was absolutely pitiful for a few days...the sickest she's ever been. Just as she was getting over it, of course, George got it. The glory of twins. If one gets it, the other will get it. No rest for the weary. I was exhausted and felt so bad for my babies. Not a fun way to spend their birthday. I missed my god-son, Clay's, baptism because of this nasty hand, foot and mouth disease. I was so sad! After they got over this, the hubs and I headed to Greenville, SC for a sorority sister's wedding. Another get-away for Mom and Dad. It was much needed after caring for two very sick babies! We had a wonderful time and have to thank Mimi and Papa again for taking care of our precious ones. I also became a consultant for Rodan + Fields skincare this month. You can read more about my decision to join this company in my post below, but it has been the best decision ever. I am so happy with it and glad I can make money while staying home with Abby and George.

First taste of ice-cream...loved it!

Poor sick girl on her way to the doctor :(

For July 4th, we took the babies (can I still call them babies after they turn one??) to Buffalo, NY where my Dad's family lives. We took them on their first plane ride with Mimi, Papa and my brother and his family. It was an adventure to say the least. Not because of Abby and George, they were PERFECT. But, flying was a nightmare. Delayed after delayed flight, then finally our flight was canceled. I won't go into it but it was a nightmare. Thankfully Abby and George just went with the flow of things and were happy and content as ever doing whatever we needed them to do. That was definitely a blessing otherwise I'm sure we would have turned around and came back to Richmond! We had a great time in Buffalo visiting family, especially my Grandmother. We also enjoyed lots of time swimming this summer. Abby and George LOVE water! At the end of the month we went spent the weekend at a picture-perfect Ranch house with my side of the family. We had a great time swimming a lot, soaking in the sun, and resting as much as we could.

Abby going to work ;)

This is what two adults plus two babies looks like traveling!

Abby with her Uncle Stephen (her god-father!)

If my memory serves me correctly, we had a quieter August. At 14 months, Abby started walking. We had more fun going to the swimming pool and playing outside.

September. At 15 months, George started walking! Go George! I went to my first Rodan + Fields convention in Atlanta. It felt weird to be away from my family but I enjoyed the break and learned so much. We also went to Asheville, NC to shower my best friend who got married in October.

In October we went back to Asheville for the wedding. It was a lovely time!!!!! George and Abby got their first hair cut at 16 months old! Abby didn't really need one but got a small trim anyway. We had fun picking out pumpkins this year. Halloween was a BLAST. I wasn't sure how it would go, but it was so much fun. They caught onto the whole idea pretty quickly and loved walking up to the homes and getting candy put in their baskets. Abby was a pumpkin (recycled costume from last year that still fit!) and George was a monkey. I call him my little monkey and he is curious, just like Curious George, so it was fitting. She was the cutest darn pumpkin and he was the cutest dang monkey you've ever seen! What a fun month!

In November we went to Pawleys Island with my side of the family for a week for Thanksgiving. Even though it was rainy for most of the time, it was a nice change of pace and the kids had SO much fun with their Mimi and Papa, cousins and Aunt and Uncles!

Ahh, December, we made it. I am happy to report that we are ending this year on a good note. My business is picking up as is Daniel's. We are in a really good place with Abby and George. I can't even stand how much fun these are these days. I love hearing their little voices put words together and seeing their little minds work. They are like little sponges these days just taking everything in. Have I mentioned how much fun it is? Yes, we do have our hard days and days where I want to throw in the towel, but overall, things are really, really good. We celebrated the hubs Birthday at the beginning of the month and ended the month with a wonderful Christmas in Raleigh. Before Raleigh my Grandma and Auntie Liz came to visit. I loved spending time with them. I hate that I don't get to see them both more often as they are so very special to me. It was so fun watching Abby and George open gifts and get so excited to see what was inside the boxes. Their eyes truly lit up. They did NOT enjoy sitting on Santa's lap, but that was to be expected.

We truly have so much to be thankful for this year. It was a very good year. We are looking forward to seeing what 2015 will bring. We are so thankful for our health and our families health. We are also appreciative of our very supportive family and friends. May you and yours be healthy, wealthy and wise in 2015! Blessings abound!

2015: I've "got my mind on my money and my money on my mind..." Bring it.

Why I chose to work for Rodan + Fields skincare

2014-10-30T11:17:00.003-07:00

I first saw the opportunity on a sorority sister's Facebook page back in April of this year. It read something like this: "My friend ___, has partnered with the doctors that created Proactiv and their NEW company Rodan & Fields. What the Drs. did for acne they are now doing for aging skin. She is expanding her business and building her team across the country and Canada and is looking for excited people interested in working part time/full time around their current commitments. It doesn't matter where you live or what your background is...you will be well coached! While Proactiv made $850 million in 181 countries, Rodan and Fields is positioned to make 3 billion. Needless to say, this is a fantastic opportunity! If you are interested in learning more please let me know and I will put you in touch with her." Interesting I thought, and went on with my day.

You see, since having the twins (almost 17 months ago!), I have truly missed making my "own" income and having a business outlet. Before children I always longed to be a stay at home Mom. I truly and honestly do love it, but I'm also not going to lie. I really never knew how hard it would be, and I didn't realize how much I would miss my paycheck! A year ago, my husband ventured out on his own and started his own company. While I am so proud of him and he has done very well, toward the end of last year I started playing around with some ideas with how I can help our family make more money. "Wouldn't it be nice to have a lot more savings?" I would always think.

Toward the end of last year I started personal training a woman at her home. I did this once a week at 5:30 am. It was perfect because I was doing what I loved and we didn't have to pay for a sitter...I made $50 and got home before the babies woke for the day. At this point Abby and George were around 5 months old. I didn't want to pack too much into my schedule, because let's be real, twins ain't easy and my schedule was packed as it was. Even though I was only training once a week...it wasn't much money, but it was still something.

Fast forward back to April of this year. I heard of the Rodan + Fields opportunity. I got on the phone with Sarah who told me all about it. I had never heard of Rodan + Fields before, but I had heard of Proactiv and knew it was a great and successful company. Ahh, no thanks, this was not for me. I'm just not into "that kind of stuff." I've done direct sales before and I wasn't successful with it, so yeah, no thanks. My husband was even very skeptical, yeah...next.

But the yearning and deep desire to make money was still inside of me. I thought, "maybe I can work part time?" But then again, working part time and putting TWO in daycare just didn't make sense. Plus, I do LOVE being home with them. Children are only small once. They need to be around their Momma just as much as I need to be around them. A huge part of me wanted to go back to work, but then another huge part of me cried at the thought of leaving them. I thought more about personal training, but then again came up the child care issue. By the time I was paid for my training, I wouldn't make much extra with paying child care. Ugh! What gives?

June came around, and Rodan + Fields was still in the back of my mind. After hearing that I had 60 days to return my initial investment and get all my money back if it didn't go as expected, I decided to take a leap of faith and do it. I sent Sarah a FB messaged and said "I'm in, let's do this!" I was shaking as I bought my starter kit. I was SO scared I would fail at this. I told my husband I signed up, he laughed...he totally thought it was a joke.

Shortly after I started, a good friend of mine, Lindsey, decided to join as well. I am so happy she did because we have really gone through this together...we have been such the perfect team to support each other through this adventure. I know it sounds so clique, cheesy, and whatever else...but this truly has been the most amazing adventure I've ever been on. I am SO glad I jumped on board. This opportunity has allowed me not only to make good money, but I do it on MY time and around my children. I am my own boss and I love that. The fact that I have only been in this business for 4 months and I am almost making what I made at my previous jobs all while working very part time around Abby and George makes my heart happy. And folks, this is just the beginning. Oh, and my husband is a total believer now! Who would have thought? I am proud to say I took the leap of faith to have partnered with incredible doctor's who have incredible products. Thank you, Rodan + Fields! Now I better run because two little toddler's are waking up from their nap and calling for "Mamma!"

12 months…1 year old!

2014-06-04T06:34:00.001-07:00

Dear Abby and George,

Today you turn 12 months…one year old…I am honestly having a hard time believing this. I remember as if it were yesterday that I met your Daddy at the doctor's office for my 34 week check up. My feet and legs were terribly swollen, I felt tired and very large. I kept wondering when we would be meeting you. Your Dad and I met at the doctor's office as we didn't think you were quite ready to make your arrival into this world. Sure enough, I was admitted into the hospital around 5:00 pm on that June 4, 2013 day. I was developing signs of preeclampsia. The doctor's decided you needed to come out before things got worse.

Abby, you were born first at 10:44 pm. I felt so much tugging and pulling and then there you came. The doctor's were surprised at how big you were for 34 weeks…5 pounds, 2 ounces! I heard your scream and a tear ran down my cheek. A long two minutes and lots more tugging later, out came George. It felt like an eternity until we heard your cry…another tear ran down my face. George, you were 4 pounds, 6 ounces…such a cute tini-tiny thing.

Little did we know the next six months would be the hardest months of our lives. The constant feedings, diaper changes, bottle/pump cleanings, laundry, etc. consumed every single second of our lives. All of this on little sleep was hard. Even with so much wonderful help, there were times we wondered if we would survive.

Once we hit the six month mark, life started to get a bit easier…although, let's be honest, easy and twins don't go together. :) You both were smiling and laughing. You were sleeping through the night. This alone made everything better. Abby, you were a pro nurser and George, you loved your bottle of pumped breast milk. We were able to get out of the house more. We went to music class, to the gym, out to eat, to play group and on trips.

Now that you are one year old (did I just say that??), you are so.much.fun. You both are crawling everywhere…and fast. You are pulling up on everything and wanting to walk. Just when I say you are at such a fun age, the next day is even better. I love watching you learn and discover new things every day.

Abby, you are my sweet, silly, wild, woman in charge. One of my favorite times of the day with you is nursing you before bed at night. I love holding you close to me and snuggling with you. The one time of the day you are quiet, still, and wanting to be held. I love how you like to dance when music is on. I love how you giggle so hard when I tickle you on your neck. I love how you crawl up to me and get in my lap and hug me really tight when you get scared, sad, or when you just want love from Mommy. I love you so much sweet girl.

George, you are my precious, little, curious boy. My most favorite time of day with you is in the morning. You are always up for a good snuggle in the mornings (and after naps). Other than that, you don't sit still for long so I enjoy these sweet moments when I can get them. I love how you do a ADORABLE little head bob when you are happy. I love how you giggle…it's so contagious and makes everyone laugh around you. I love how sweet you are with your sister. I can tell you love her so much. I love how you are all boy. When we are out of the play room you crawl super fast for the dog's water bowl and then for the stairs. You LOVE water…Dad and I joke that you will be the next Michael Phelps. I love you my sweet boy.

I never thought this whole Mom thing would be so hard, yet so glorious at the same time. I pray every day that God keeps you both healthy and happy your entire life. Here's to many, many more years of birthday celebrations. xoxo

11 months!!!!!!!

2014-05-09T07:53:00.002-07:00

11 months. No possible way. I am working hard at planning their first birthday…it is going to be so much fun. I am loving 11 months so far.

Abby has four teeth now. And George! His teeth have decided to come in at once! But thankfully it hasn't affected him much. He got his first tooth on Easter, and then his second bottom one the same week. He's just about to cut his top two teeth. Both are eating their solids great. George has recently gotten a bit pickier about what he eats, but I'm still pretty happy with what and how they eat. We just went down to two nursing/bottle feeds a day! Man, it feels so good for me. So much more freedom. I was worried about how the babies would do with it, but it didn't phase them one bit. Instead of the middle of the day bottle/nursing, I'll give them water and a snack if they want one. We've been doing an earlier lunch instead and that really helps (around 11:30/12 instead of 12:30/1 lunch).

Sleep is going great! And the even better part is that these babies are starting to take awesome naps! This makes me a HAPPY momma!!! They typically have a long morning nap (sometimes 2 hours!) and then a 45 minute to an hour nap in the afternoon. I think all their crawling around and never sitting still anymore tires them out. People ask what I do when they nap. HA. I never sit down. There are always chores around the house and things to get done. I typically prep our dinner in the morning so that come dinner time it's easy for me to throw in the oven or do whatever I need to do to have a yummy, healthy dinner on the table at night. I also try to clean, do laundry, and a million of other things while the babies are asleep. When they are awake they want Mom to be near so it's hard for me to get things done when they are awake. Much less I have to keep my eyes on them all of the time b/c they get into everything!

They are fast little crawlers. Abby still wants to walk…seriously girl is going to be walking soon. She is "couch surfing" as we call it and pulling up on everything. George has no interest in walking yet, but that's totally fine! No rush, son! :)

Both continue to love their bath time…esp. George. We joke that he's going to be a future Michael Phelps. Boy LOVES the water. He loves to lay in the tub on his belly and put his face in the water. I have taken him swimming a few times already and he loves it. He is such a water bug. Abby is too….it's so much fun.

We have enjoyed our walks, going to the park to swing and even going to the children's museum on rainy days.

We had a fun first Easter with the babies. We went to Raleigh when all of the hub's family lives and had a nice time.

We have a busy end of this month before their first birthday. My sister in law is getting married (!!!!) so we are looking forward to all the festivities that her wedding will bring. After her wedding we are headed to the beach in SC for a week with my family. When we get back from the beach it'll be their first birthday. We are really looking forward to the fun ahead.

The other night after the babies were in bed I plopped myself on the couch and told the hubs that I was so exhausted and that I couldn't move anymore. Then I reminded myself that this time last year I was on bed rest and could not WAIT to be able to move and get on my feet. Oh how things have changed! :) Wouldn't change it for the world. Love our sweet babies!!!

Double digits…10 months!!!!

2014-04-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

10 months! We are in the double digits…this is insane. Our babies are getting so big and get more and more fun each day. At their 9 month appt. (which was really when they were about 9.5 months old) Abby weighed 22 pounds, 3 ounces (!!!) and George was 17 pounds, 14 ounces. Abby is in the 95th percentile for weight and height. George is in the 15th percentile for weight and the 25 percentile for height. Both are in size three diapers, although I'm starting to get size 4's for Miss Abby. Abby is in size 18-24 month clothes and George is in 12 month sized clothes (some 18 month too).

Both babies are eating only solids foods now. Horray for no more purees! They feed themselves now and let me tell you, that makes my life a little bit easier!!! I love this and they love it too. For breakfast they typically eat pancakes (their fav!), buttered toast with cinnamon and some fruit, or cheese toast with fruit. For lunch they usually have cheese toast with fruit and veggies, or turkey/ham and cheese with fruit and veggies. Dinner is usually whatever we are having. There is really not many foods they don't like. They don't love hummus, but other than that they will eat just about anything. They are my good little eaters! They even will pick out the veggies in their dinner and eat them first. I know this may change the older they get but so far it's awesome. :) When I was a baby my brothers called me the "hurricane eater" because I was very big like Abby and ate EVERYTHING. Like Mother, like Daughter. Abby is just like how I was and now I totally understand why that was my nickname. haha.

I am still nursing Abby. I just stopped pumping for George (well except for my one morning pump). Mainly b/c it's just getting too hard to pump with mobile babies. All they want to do is crawl the opposite direction and get into things or try to pull the pump off of me. It's very difficult. The only time I'm pumping now is in the morning after I nurse Abby. Only b/c I'm super full. The good thing though is that that morning pump makes a full bottle so George gets that at his noon feeding. They are still taking a bottle 4 times a day. In the next month or so we will most likely go down to 3 times a day and do a snack in the afternoon instead of a bottle.

Both babies are sleeping great at night. Is is so wonderful. If it's a pretty day and they are happy we will push their bed time routine back to 7 pm so they go to sleep at 7:30 pm. If not, we keep their routine at 6:30 so they are asleep by 7 pm. They wake up anytime between 7 and 8 am. It's glorious! Naps are still hit or miss. Some days they are great and other days they are awful. They usually take their morning nap around 10 am and their afternoon nap is around 2-3 pm.

Abby and George are MOBILE! Crawling everywhere and pulling up on things. Abby loves to walk when you walk with her. We think she will be walking by her first birthday.

We are more than happy that the Spring weather is here. We are getting outside as much as possible! A & G love to go swinging. There is a park in walking distance from our house that we go to or we go to a park in my parents neighborhood for this. So much fun! And hooray for getting out of the house! What a rough winter it was.

Abby with her Mimi

George with his Great Grandma

A & G met their Great Grandmother this past week. She so enjoyed getting to meet them and play with them…as did we. It was a lovely week and we miss her already!

A & G with their Great Grandma and their cousins!

Both love their bath every night. They giggle, splash and have the best time in their baths. They are going to love the pool and ocean this summer! Abby HATES getting her pi's on after bath time. She screams and screams until I feed her. She's always been like this…she knows bed time is coming. Once I feed her she calms down.

We are enjoying watching the babies interact. It melts my heart when they play and laugh together. So much fun. We are working on sharing and gentle touches.

I am starting to plan their 1st birthday party and it is blowing my mind. It really is. I feel it was just yesterday that they were born! We are going to have a fairly small birthday party for them with mainly just family.

Happy 10 months, Abby and George. You both bring more joy to our lives than we ever thought possible!

Disclaimer: I was totally going to get this post out earlier, but then I caught the stomach bug and then sweet Abby did! Her first stomach bug, it was awful. Thankfully she was a HUGE trooper (best little sick baby I've ever seen! Even smiled in between throwing up as you can see in the pic below) and got through it quickly. We first noticed her throwing up in her crib at 4 am Sunday night. I had just stopped throwing up myself but thankfully God gave me the strength to feel better enough to care for her. I cleaned her up and then she and I slept in the guest bed together the rest of the night and well into the day. She threw up about 5 times, but the bug only lasted about 7 hours and then she was back to normal. Thank goodness it didn't last long. I have to thank my breast milk for that and all it's antibodies! The hubs got the bug a week ago…so far George hasn't gotten it and I'm praying he doesn't…only time will tell!

9 months!

2014-03-11T18:04:00.001-07:00

Again, I'm late on this post, but better late than never. 9 months, how the heck are we here? 9 months sounds so old!!! I am starting to plan the twins 1 year birthday and I absolutely can not believe it. I almost refuse to believe that they will be ONE in a few short months. Time is flying. I am really cherishing every moment (well, most of them, haha).

So far 9 months is my favorite age. The babies are just so much fun these days. Their little personalities are so cute to see and it's so cool to watch them develop into little people. They crack us up with their big smiles and belly laughs. We love when they laugh…it's the cutest.thing.ever.

They are still loving their solids. We are doing more finger foods these days b/c they love to feed themselves. To heck with the spoon, Mom! Their favorite foods to eat are Cherrios (this is a top fav!), of course puffs, toast, cheese, crackers and avocado. Just in the last couple days they have started to get picky. It's like it just hit them that they could eat peas or a cracker and so they go for the cracker. ugh. I've had to start offering veggies first so that they aren't allowed to have the fun stuff until after they eat all of their meal. Mean Mom I know.

I am trying to find places to go with spaces in the cart for two babies. So far Costco and Target are the winners. I haven't found any other place yet, although I haven't looked very hard! The babies love riding in the cart and it makes it much easier for me to shop and get around.

I am still nursing Abby and pumping for George. They are getting four bottles/nursing a day. They have their bottles/nurse around 7 am (or when they wake up), then around 11:30 am, 3 pm, then before bed at 6:30 pm.

Sleeping is going well and naps are getting a bit better. They sleep 7 pm-7 am with no wake ups. On occasion one baby will wake up at night but that is rare. Although, every freaking time there is a full moon BOTH babies sleep horribly. I SWEAR it has something to do with the full moon, I'm totally convinced b/c it's happened a few times. I dread the next night when there is a full moon. Both babies have started to take one "longer" nap a day which has been great. Longer typically means a 1-1.5 hour long nap. They will take one short nap a day (30-40 minutes) and then one long nap. The craptastic thing is that they RARELY seem to take their longer nap together. So say Abby will take a 30 minute nap in the morning, and George will take his long nap. Then in the afternoon Abby will take her long nap and George his short nap. This kills me! If only they'd be on the same page and take their long naps together. When it does happen, boy it is glorious! I can actually get things done around the house! Although I really can't complain b/c for 9 months old they are good sleepers.

Abby has two teeth and George still doesn't have any. We are waiting! Both babies aren't crawling yet but we keep saying any day! They are getting around though by scooting and rolling everywhere. I turn my head for a second and they are into something. :) I call George, curious George b/c he loves to explore! So cute. For the past couple weeks they have been getting up on all fours and rocking so it really is any day that they crawl. Life is surely going to change when that happens!

Babies had fun playing with Ben, my sorority sister's baby boy! (cracks me up of George!)

Both babies LOVE their baths. Part of our bed time routine is to give them a bath before bed time. They just love it. They love to splash and play with their toys. We are so looking forward to taking them to the pool this summer! Both babies also love to go on jogs and walks with us. They also love when we go out to eat. They so enjoy going out in public and watching everyone…they think it's hilarious and such a blast.

First bath together at Pop and Sush's!

The hubs and I spent my birthday weekend in NYC without the babies. My parents watched them for the weekend! We missed them so much but had a nice weekend away. I was def ready to come home to see them though.

Happy 9 months my sweet lovable and fun babies!

Snow!

2014-02-16T05:31:00.002-08:00

We had fun taking the babies out in the snow for their first time. We've had a couple small snows so far this year, but nothing too exciting. We had not taken them out in the snow yet so thought we would for our recent snow. We didn't stay out there too long because it was lightly sleeting and very cold, but it was fun to take a few pictures. Abby is wearing snow bibs that are hand-me-downs. They are toddler size but we still used them for her, a bit long, but they worked! Abby and George didn't know what to think of the snow. There were not many smiles nor cries…they were in awe!

Just for fun...

2014-02-06T04:44:00.001-08:00

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months (crap I messed up on this pic and put G on the left, oops!)

7 months

Currently, 8 months!

8 months!

2014-02-04T10:46:00.003-08:00

8 months…holy cow. My babies are quickly growing out of "baby" status. Me oh my! So many people have told me that babies get to be more fun the older they get and that is so true! Each day A & G do something new and it's so fun to watch them and see them learn.

Sleep is going pretty well for both of them. Abby is *usually* sleeping through the night from about 7 pm until 7:30 am. George has been waking up for a bottle in the middle of the night, but then goes back to sleep. He sleeps 7pm until around 3 am (or so) and then wakes up again around 7:30/8 am. He hasn't been taking as much bottle during the day so I know he wakes up hungry in the middle of the night. Hopefully this won't last too much longer.

Naps are getting a bit better. We are starting to have some days where they take longer naps. We still have our 30 minute naps from time to time but not as often. I think they are moving in the right direction. We are FINALLY getting into a schedule/routine during the day and it feels good. Now the trick is to get them to BOTH nap for a couple hours at the same time. That would be glorious! :) One of the tricky parts of having twins!

As for eating…

They are taking 4 or 5 bottles/nursing a day. We have been doing four a day but just depends on how the day is going. If our schedule if off or they seem extra hungry I'll will feed them 5 times. I am still nursing Abby and pumping for George. They are eating three solid meals a day and continuing to thrive with their solids. They LOVE their solids. Esp. George…he could just eat and eat and eat the solids. So far there is really nothing they don't like and they have tried pretty much all veggies and fruits. I also started giving them chicken (pureed) at night for more protein before bed…they love this too.

Abby is in 18 month clothes, in fact I just bought her some 24 month sized clothes and they fit her. INSANE. George is growing out of his 9 month size clothes and will be in 12 months very soon…some of his clothes are 12 months.

Abby is pretty much sitting up on her own. I still keep an eye on her just in case she falls back wards but that's getting more rare these days. George sits up on his own but he still needs pillows behind him b/c he will fall backwards. He's almost there though! Both are getting VERY close to crawling. The hubs thinks G will be crawling by the end of this month and I have to agree with him. G is starting to get up on his hands and knees in the crawling position. It doesn't last long, but he's getting the idea. He's already got the scooting down so it's just a matter of time. A is close to crawling too. She'll be right there along with G in no time.

Abby is just cut her first tooth, as in this past Saturday! Happy 8 months to her! I was wondering when these pesky teeth were going to come in. Finally! But I do have to say I shed some tears…my babies are growing up too fast. George doesn't have any yet but I know it'll be soon as he is definitely teething.

We started our Kindermusic class today and it's so much fun. A and G loved it! So excited that we have this every Tuesday for the next three months.

They are just now really starting to play with each other. It is the cutest thing ever. Just yesterday, Abby was cracking up at George. He would look at her and she'd just laugh, it was the funniest thing ever. So cool to watch them start playing together.

A and G both got their first bad colds and fevers this past month. It was not fun at all for them or the hubs and I! Both didn't sleep well at night b/c they couldn't breath well on their backs and it was so pitiful. A had the cold first, then the next weekend G did. I hated seeing them with their first sickness. Thankfully though it didn't get into their lungs or get any worse. I have to thank my breast milk for that! The doctor said this is a sign that they are very healthy babies to have fought these bad colds and to not get a cough or anything else along with it.

Here are some more pictures…

A day in the life with 7.5 month old twins...

2014-01-21T04:46:00.001-08:00

6:15 am: G starts stirring, I pop the paci in his mouth

6:30 am: G stirs again, I put the paci in his mouth and he falls back asleep (so do I)

7:15 am: both babies wake up

7:15 am: run downstairs to heat up G's bottle

7:20: bring G downstairs then go up and get A

7:20: get G's bottle

7:22: nurse A and feed G his bottle at the same time

7:30: snuggle with A while G is finishing up his bottle

7:45: change A's diaper

7:50: Burp G, change his diaper then time for snuggling with him while A plays on the floor

8:15 am: get my pumping supplies ready/set up

8:20: feed the dogs and let them outside to potty

8:30: make my coffee and breakfast while babies play on floor

8:35: pump and eat my breakfast

8:50: make babies breakfast, either oatmeal w/bananas or homemade applesauce w/oatmeal

8:52: A has a poopy diaper, change her

8:55: put babies in high chair and feed them while I drink my coffee that is now cold

9:15: clean them up and put them on floor to play

9:20: put on their clothes for the day

9:30: change diapers again if need be

9:40: more play time. If I can I sneak upstairs to change out of my pi's and quickly brush my teeth and wash my face.

10:00: bring G up for a nap, put him down.

10:05: bring A up for her nap, put her down.

10:30: babies wake up. yes, that was a 30 minute nap, that's what my babies do.

10:35: let babies wake up and pray that they would maybe sleep longer.

10:40: go get babies. change diapers, let them play.

11:00: give G a bottle and nurse A

11:30: change if need be, get a snack for myself.

11:35: haul the two babies and a diaper bag out to the car to head to the gym.

11:45: workout and time for myself…ahhh, glorious!

12:45: pick up babies from the childcare at the gym and head home.

12:55: give babies solids while making my lunch in pieces. Typically they will eat a veggie at lunch.

1:15: let them hang out in highchairs while I finish my lunch and do a couple things around the house (if they will let me)

1:30: change diapers, bottle for G and nurse A

2:00: nap time. Try to get them down for a nap.

2:15: I send a couple emails, fold some laundry, pay some bills...

2:45: both are up!

2:50: let them play for a bit in hopes they will fall back asleep.

3:00: get babies and think about going to the store with the babies or just staying home. I decide to stay home.

3:00-4:00: play time and story reading time.

4:00: bottle for G and nursing for A.

4:30: more playing to try and wear them out before bed time. They are tired and are fussy.

5:00: I quickly whip up a dinner for the hubs and I. Last night it was whole wheat pasta with chicken meatballs and a salad. Tonight is soup in the crockpot…thank goodness for the crockpot!

5:30: solids for A and G. Usually potato and beets or something of that sort. Feed them while the hubs and I eat. Already eating our dinners together as a family of four…it's crazy but I love it.

6:00: take the babies up to our bed to get them ready for bed time. They love playing on our bed with just their diaper on. We always have a fun time doing this before bed with them :)

6:15: make their bottles and get the bath water ready.

6:30: start G in his bath, the hubs gives him a bath, feeds him and puts him to bed.

6:40: I start A in her bath, give her her bottle and put her to bed. Our routine is to give A a bottle at bed time, that way it's easier for us to go out to dinner or go away if we want b/c others can feed A at night with a bottle and plus this makes it so I can pump after we put them to bed and that gives G a full bottle of breast milk for the next day.

7:15: Both are asleep. Phew. I'm exhausted. Go downstairs, put some clean clothes away, put another load in the wash, straighten up the downstairs from our day.

8:00: crash on the couch. Pump, eat some dessert and catch up on blog reading and emails.

9:15: heading to bed…

*As I've said before we try to have one outing a day…otherwise I go nuts. Outings are not easy with these two but they are worth it.

*Obviously not every day is exactly like this but they are pretty similar. We are working on dropping a feeding for the babies and going from 5-4 bottle/nursing feedings a day. They do so well with their solids which I think is causing more G to not want his bottle as much.

*The hubs and my parents are HUGE helps! I didn't mention them in this daily post, but the hubs is a massive help to me. He is soooo good with these babies and loves them so much. My Mom and Dad are also huge helps. My Mom will stop by and watch them while I go to the gym or go run errands. She will also bring over meals for us. Both of my parents watch them overnight about once a month so the hubs and I can have a date night and a night "off" from parenting. It really is wonderful and we couldn't thank them enough. It really gives us time to recharge our batteries and get some house chores done that we can't normally do with the babies around.

*Two babies are TONS of work but we really are enjoying it. I can't believe they will be 8 months old soon…time sure is flying.

7 months!

2014-01-10T17:18:00.003-08:00

7 month post...a little late. I've got to muster up the energy to write this. Twins are so exhausting. So worth it though, but man, this Momma is super tired after we put them down for bed!

Sleep:

-Still pretty much the same as 6 months. We still have our good and bad nights. George pretty much sleeps perfectly every night (knock on wood!) but Miss Abby has her good and bad nights. Naps are still another story. Although I do think we are turning a corner on their morning naps. Lately they have been napping in the morning for 1-2 hours...at the same time...it's the most glorious thing ever. I actually have time to change out of my pj's, throw some clothes on, maybe some make up if I'm lucky, fold some clothes, wash some bottles and respond to a couple emails before they are up again. It's pretty stinkin awesome. We are still working on their afternoon nap which is pretty non existent right now. Poor babies are EXHAUSTED by the time bed time rolls around at 6:30 pm. It will be nice when they take two solid naps, but for now, I'm happy with one as the days they don't nap well makes for an unhappy Momma!

Eating:

-Abby is still nursing and George is still getting some of my pumped milk (and some formula) in bottles. We tried giving them 4 bottle feedings/nursing a day (were doing 5) but we are back to 5. They took to it well during the day but Abby stopped STTN from it. ugh. So who knows. We will try again when they are 8 months. I'm pretty sure they are ready but I won't rush it for now. A &G are still loving the solids! There really isn't a food they don't like. I have enjoyed making their food but have really been having to start making it in mass quantities b/c they are eating so much more these days. I typically feed them three times a day. They have oatmeal and a fruit for breakfast, typically a veggie and maybe a sweet potato for lunch and then dinner can be anything from beets with mashed potatoes to squash, avocados, etc. They just tried puffs and were fans! I had fun feeding this to them too. They are slowly getting the idea of how to put them in their mouths...fun for them to practice.

Weight:

-Not sure as we don't have another ped. appt. until they are 9 months! They are growing super fast though! Abby is officially in 12 month clothes and George is in some 6 month but mostly 9 months!

Development:

-Man, they are changing every.stinkin.day. I truly see something different/new every day. George just rolled from his back to his stomach! Something we have been waiting for him to do. Now he is Mr. rolley polly! I put him down on the floor, turn my head for a second and he's half way across the room. Oh boy. And Miss Abby likes to move too. I swear both are going to be crawling oh so soon. They are both scooting and rolling. They are both doing really well at sitting up. Abby is pretty much sitting on her own! I am near in case she topples over but she is doing so well. George still needs a little help but he's not far behind! Also both are starting to notice the dogs. They'll grab them and smile at them...it's cute. And they are REALLY noticing each other. It's really neat to see!!!!! Built in play mates :)

Random:

-We try to get out of the house at least once a day...if this doesn't happen Momma and the babies go nuts. We have been going to the gym a few times a week which has been wonderful. We have childcare included in our membership and it has been a life saver. A & G really enjoy it too which is an added bonus.

Play group buddies at our Christmas party. Abby is wearing my old Christmas dress!

-We are working on their "play room" which is our current living room. We are baby proofing it, putting down a softer rug for them to crawl on, putting some baby gates up, etc. It will be nice for them to have this room once we are finished with it.

That's all I have the energy for tonight. Happy 7 months my sweet babies. I wish you wouldn't grow up so quickly. I love you SO, so, so much.

Here are some pictures a good friend of mine took when she was visiting recently...these are my favorites, she is an amazing photographer!

Twenty-Thirteen

2013-12-31T18:16:00.002-08:00

It was a good year. In fact, the best year of my life so far. The birth of Abby and George makes this year so extra special and so wonderful. I don't remember life without these two precious babies. They are my world and I love them more than I ever thought possible.

Here's a quick recap of 2013...

January: Welcome to the 2nd trimester! Work was busy this month with training lots of clients at the gym as I tried to keep down my breakfast from some morning sickness. I would come home from work and crash from being so tired.

February: The hubs took me to Spain for my 30th birthday! We had such a wonderful trip. It was his first time to Europe and both our first time to Spain. Such a lovely place it is! On my actual birthday, February 28th, I was in the hospital for pre-term labor. I was in the hospital for almost 3 weeks...not fun. I had a cerclage put in at 21 weeks and was told I was going to be on bed rest the rest of my pregnancy. Ho-hum. Thank god the babies stayed put for a few more weeks!

19 weeks pregnant

20 weeks pregnant, right before I was put into the hospital:

Abby

George upside down!

March: Not much happened this month...I spent it on the couch and in the bed! For a very active person this was hard, but I knew the end result was worth it and boy was it ever. I had lots of fun doing crafts and planning the babies nursery.

April: Again, a pretty "boring" month. Two of my very good friends came to visit me from SC and this was such a sweet surprise. I was supposed to have a baby shower in SC this month but I had to cancel it due to bed rest, so instead, they brought the shower to me. I'm so thankful for these sweet friends!

May: My pregnancy was going well and even though I was still on bed rest I was out of the danger zone so was now allowed to have one small outing a day. I had a baby shower this month and it was so much fun. It was so nice to get out and get gifts for the babies!

June: June 4th, Abigail Elizabeth and George James were born! Best.day.ever. It was a whirlwind of a day but ended with these sweet babies who were healthy as they could be. At 34 weeks pregnant they were great sizes. Abigail was 5 pounds, 2 ounces and George was 4 pounds, 6 ounces. My little itty bitty miracle babies :) The hubs and I also celebrated our 4th anniversary!

Here we go!

First bath!

July: The hubs and I were in the throws of very little sleep and just trying to survive. My parents watched the babies as they so generously let us go to their country club for a 4th of July dinner. It was so nice to get out of the house, just the two of us. We were exhausted, but getting by. Babies were eating every 3 hours at this point and it was SO hard. We got through it though!

August: Again, just trying to survive. My parents were huge helps, along with my mother in law who came up numerous times to help. We could NOT have done it without all this help! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Also at the end of this month my cousin came and stayed with us for a week to help out. She was a saint. She helped cook, cleaned our house (!!!), took a few overnight shifts with the babies and helped during the day...she truly is a gem.

September: We went to the beach with the hubs family. We had such a good time and it felt soooo good for me to get out of our house and have a change of scenery! Even though we didn't leave the house much, it was still nice to be there. The house was on the beach so every day I had beautiful views of the ocean. It was glorious! I kept reminding myself that the next year we'd be able to be outside more and would be chasing after these two. :) This month also held the twins baptism. It was such a special service. These two are the biggest blessings ever and I know God has such big plans for them.

October: Babies started sleeping through the night!!!!! Horray! We also celebrated their first Halloween. George was a lion and Abby a pumpkin. My Mom was out of town, but my Dad came over and handed out candy while we took a quick walk around the neighborhood to show neighbors the twins dressed up. My Dad also helped us put the babies to bed that night so that the hubs could hand out candy.

Starting solids for the first time!

November: We celebrated my Mom's 60th birthday and had soo much fun. We also went to Raleigh for the babies first Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful time getting together with family, as always.

December: This was such a fun month!!!!!! We celebrated the hubs birthday and went out to a good dinner while my parents watched the babies for the night. We also went to my parents country club with them and the babies sat on Santa's lap. They did great! While we were there we also had an amazing meal. We spent the week before Christmas in Raleigh celebrating Christmas there. We spent actual Christmas here with my family. Christmas is much more special when you have children! Even though they don't get it yet, it's still so much more fun. The twins were spoiled this Christmas and really enjoyed watching everyone open their gifts, playing with the wrapping paper and sticking it in their mouths.

Here's to a HAPPY and HEALTHY 2014. I'm looking forward to seeing what this new year brings!

(picture taken 12/31/13)

6 months!

2013-12-09T17:25:00.004-08:00

This post took me about a week to write...it is not only LONG but I have very little time to blog these days!

6 months...half a year. Holy cow, I can't believe it. People said time goes by really fast when you have babies and man, they weren't kidding. It really saddens me yet makes me happy to watch them grow. I never used to be much of a cryer, but ever since babies I can tear up at the drop of a hat just watching them and thinking how special they are to me. I really can't believe in another 6 months they will be one year old, omg! But let's not rush to that quite yet. I'm still enjoying these baby snuggles for a bit longer!

I'm going to break up these posts a little different into categories of Sleep, Eating, Weight, Development, Random Facts for each baby.

Sleep:

-Miss Abby went through a rough patch this past month with getting her to bed, but for the last week has been doing much better. She would scream and scream for a while and put up a big fuss before bed time. It was awful for everyone. But once she got to sleep she sleeps pretty well. She still wakes up 3-5 times in the middle of the night for her paci but typically if you stick it back in her mouth she is good to go. She goes to bed around 7 pm and wakes up around 7 am. George on the other hand is a freaking incredible sleeper. He goes down like a charm and sleeps through the night so well...7 pm-7 am. He wakes up for a paci 1-2 times during the night, but other than that, he's easy-peasy. They both (esp George) like to sleep with their hands behind their heads and it's the cutest thing ever!

-Naps have all of a sudden gotten shorter for both babies. The 45 minute intruder has made it's way into our house and I just have to say it pretty much sucks. I really can't get anything done around the house and that stresses me out! But I'm trying to remember this is just a phase and this too shall pass. No sense in getting in a huff about it as it won't last forever. They still take about 3 naps per day. I think in 1-2 months we will transition to 2 naps.

Eating:

-Abby is still my great nurser and nurses all the time except before bed time. It's our little tradition to feed her a bottle at night and that way I can pump and give my pumped milk to George the next day. George is eating from a bottle and gets about 50% breast milk from my pumping. We have also started solids which they LOVE. Right now I'm feeding them breakfast (oatmeal or rice cereal) and lunch. I am making all of their food (so far) and having so much fun with it. Their top favorites are squash, avocados and green beans! They have also tried carrots and peas. Next up I'll try spinach then maybe I'll start adding in some fruits. I'm so happy they are loving the solids! Around 7 or 8 months I'll start doing meals three times a day.

First time trying food!

Weight:

-At their last check up (6 month), Abby was pounds 17 lbs., 1 oz., in the 75th percentile (!!!) and 26.5 inches long. George was 13 lbs., 14.5 oz. and 25.75 inches long. They are both doing well with their weight gain and right on track.

Developement:

-Both rolled from their bellies to back at 4 months but the day before Thanksgiving when we were in Raleigh, Abby rolled from her back to her belly! Now that's her preferred way to be. George hasn't done it yet but he is close! They are both grabbing EVERYTHING and everything goes in their mouths. They are also drooling everywhere. Abby is most definitely teething (I think this has been causing some of her sleep issues). I'm not sure if George is or not. He probably is but being the laid back baby that he is he may not have issues with it. Both babies are sitting up in the bumbo great and their core strength has really improved within the last month. They both can kind of sit up on their own...they lean way forward and support themselves with their fists...it's cute. I don't let them stay that way for long though b/c they are extra wobbly! I have to remind myself that although they are 6 months they are really about 5 months old adjusted since they were early. Our pediatrician thinks they are right on track developmentally. The neonatolgist we see for their developement thinks they are right on track for their adjusted age so who knows. Whatever it is they are doing great and thriving.

Random:

-They both just discovered our dogs, Zeus and Zoey. They love watching them! They also love grabbing their fur.

-George rarely gets fussy...like barely ever. The only time he typically lets out a scream is if you take is bottle away in the middle of feeding him when you are trying to burp him. It's pretty funny. He's SUCH a good baby!!!

-We tend to call Abby miss fussy pants sometimes b/c well, she can be, haha. She is sooo cute though and has the biggest smile ever, but she is high maintenance! We love her to pieces though. She is starting to get easier during the day though which is nice. Instead of "cooing" she squawks like a bird, it's hilarious. I love when she's nursing she will stop and look up at me and give me a huge smile, it melts my heart.

-George is my good snuggler in the morning. It melts my heart. Moments like that I wish would last forever. Abby is my good snuggler at night. There is nothing better than a baby falling asleep in your arms.

-They both love the bumbo and do great with it. Abby never wants to be on her back anymore. She either wants to be sitting up or on her tummy. It is getting VERY difficult to change her diaper and dress her...she is sooo wiggly these days. I call her Miss Wiggly! haha.

-They both love their walks. Thank God!

-They also both love toys that light up and play music.

-They love to be out and about. Being at home is starting to get boring for them so I try to get them out of the house about once a day. We just signed up for a Kindermusic program that starts in late January. This is once a week for 15 weeks...we are all looking forward to it!

-We celebrated my Mom's 60th Birthday. It was so much fun and such a wonderful celebration for a very special woman! The cousins also enjoyed each other.

-We traveled to Raleigh for Thanksgiving. We had a great time and the babies were on their best behavior :) They love "playing" with all of their cousins!

Let's be real here for a minute. Having twins ain't easy. There are times when I want to scream to the top of my lungs and pull my hair out. There are times I long to be able to run an errand without it being a marathon process to get ready for that one errand. Although life sure has changed these pass 6 months, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Abby and George's gigantic smiles, their belly laughs and coo's makes my heart skip a beat. I love how every morning they wake up happy and ready for the day. It's so exciting to see what new things you do and discover these days. I love you both with every itty bitty morsel of my body. Happy 1/2 birthday!!!!

5 months, a little late

2013-11-18T06:07:00.003-08:00

Oops, where did the time go? I totally missed the twins 5 month update. Their 5 month birthday was on November 4th and here it is November 18th. Whoops. Time is flying and the days are busy. I won't say too much in this post but instead post pictures. I will give a better update for their 6 month post. They both have been sleeping through the night for the most part. We still have our good and bad nights but lately the good are outweighing the bad. I love to see their little personalities flourish. They are the cutest and sweetest babies ever...I am a little biased though ;) Abby and George had their first Halloween. Abby was a pumpkin and George was a lion. We were a little disappointed in George's costume b/c online it was sold to us as a newborn costume...when we got it in the mail it was more like a 9 month costume...way too big. Oh well! We had a Halloween party with our play group where the babies wore their costumes and then we went to a few houses in our neighborhood on Halloween to show our neighbors the babies. It was fun...at least for Mom and Dad. ;) George is still our laid-back, easy-peasy baby and Abby is still our super smiley yet wants/gets her way baby. Love them both to pieces, they really make our lives complete and we don't remember life without them in it.

Happy 5 months, Abby and George!

First time I think they really "noticed" each other :)

I don't have many pictures of me holding both babies but here is one...all in our pj's!

Our bed time ritual...baths before bed. Abby with Daddy!

George getting clean :)

Happy Halloween!

Quinoa Chili

2013-10-30T07:13:00.003-07:00

Are you looking for a cheap, healthy, easy, and deliciously satisfying meal? This Quinoa Chili is where it's at. I suggest you go make it ASAP. It is so darn good! The only thing different I did was to add about a 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast into the chili. I love that nutritional yeast not only adds in the flavor (tends to have a cheesy flavor) but amps up the nutrition of foods. Add avocado, plain greek yogurt and some cheese on top of your chili and you've got a delicious meal!

Chicken & Spinach Pesto Lasagna

2013-10-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

Quick post before babies wake up from their morning nap. I made this yesterday and it was an AMAZING take on lasagna. I actually got the recipe off a bag of cheese, but I've made some revisions so it's healthier...and just better overall. It is melt in your mouth delicious...perfect for a cool, fall evening. :)

Ingredients:

12 lasagna noodles (I used the ready to go ones that you don't have to pre cook, just put them in the pan and they bake in the oven, I wish they had these in whole wheat though...)
2 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 packages (12 oz. each) frozen chopped spinach (thaw out a bit before cooking with it)
3 cups cooked diced chicken
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt (if desired, I actually didn't use any)
2 cups low-fat ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 1/2 cups prepared pesto sauce plus 3 T. (I used our favorite, Bertolli's pesto)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (you don't have to use this if you don't have it on hand)
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray 13 x 9-inch casserole or lasagna pan with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir onions and garlic until transparent. Add spinach; cook and stir about 10 minutes. Add chicken and stir about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
4. In a large bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, egg, pesto, nutritional yeast and parmesan cheese until thoroughly blended. Add chicken and spinach mixture to bowl and stir to combine.
5. Spread 3 T. pesto in bottom of prepared pan.
6. Layer lasagna noodles slightly overlapping. Top with one third of spinach ricotta mixture and one third of mozzarella. Repeat layers twice.
7. Bake about 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Serves 8.

*I paired our lasagna with broccoli and home made drop biscuits.

A couple recipes! Finally!

2013-10-08T08:40:00.001-07:00

It's been a very long time since I posted some recipes. Even though life has been crazy with the twins, I have still found some time to cook. I usually do something super easy and quick, but 1-2 times a week I do something a little more involved. Not too crazy involved, but something that takes a little more prep time. Most days I use the crock pot (love!) or throw something in the oven. I tend to prep or make dinner during the babies afternoon nap. If it needs to stay warm I put it in the oven on the warm setting until we are ready to eat. This way after the babies 5:00 pm feeding the hubs and I can eat before we put the babies to bed.

I made this chicken recipe yesterday and it was a hit! It cooks for a while in the oven, so if you are busy (who isn't??), I'd recommend making it ahead of time or having it prepped so you can throw it in the oven once you get home from work or whatever. The recipe calls for 1/3-1/2 cup of Sriracha sauce, but because I'm nursing I only used about 1/4 cup of Sriracha sauce and it still had a kick! I can't imagine using 1/3 cup of the sauce, but if you like your food super spicy, go for it. I got the recipe from a local blog that I love. Here is the recipe for the Firecracker Chicken. It won't disappoint :) Tasted like PF Chang's! I served it over brown rice and paired the dish with acorn squash and sugar snap peas...yummmo!

I also wanted to post a pumpkin "cookie" bar recipe I made that I found off Pinterest. Man oh man do I LOVE pumpkin!!! Ahh this time of year is the best for pumpkin, but I always wonder why I don't just make pumpkin things throughout the year?? Anyways, try these "cookies." They are healthy and so good. The hubs would eat them for breakfast, they are great for a snack or dessert as they have lots of good nutrients in them. I followed the recipe, however I did not use gluten free or vegan products, just regular and they still turned out good to me. These bars were demolished in about two days...

4 months

2013-10-07T06:56:00.002-07:00

I sat down to write this post and a sweet girl named Abby wanted some cuddles. So I put the computer down and there we sat on the couch as I watched the Today show and snuggled. She fell asleep in my arms, I love when that happens. Such a peaceful feeling that comes from holding a sleeping baby. Time with these babies is so precious and time is going by oh so quickly. I am trying to get in as many snuggles and cuddles with Abby and George as much as possible.

How are they already four months olds? I can't believe it. This is really my most favorite month so far. The hubs and I had a date night on Saturday and we kept talking about how we can't believe we survived the newborn stages with two babies. It was SO hard but now we feel things are really so much easier and so much more fun. I do have to say (and I am biased) but we have two pretty awesome and good babies on our hands. I think God figured he put us through enough with the pregnancy that he'd give us some good babies...and He did! That's not to say they don't cry and have their fussy times because they def. do, but all in all they are really good.

George rolled over (front to back) for the first time at 16 weeks at the end of September. I got it on camera and was soooo excited about it! Now he loves rolling over. It is so cute! He also is a HUGE talker...or coo'er if that's a word. He just talks and talks and talks and talks. It is the most adorable thing EVER and we can't get enough of it. George has really been smiling tons lately too. He is the most chill and happy baby you have ever met. As long as he has food in his belly, he's generally pretty happy and easy. George also loves to stand while being held. At the babies four month pediatrician appointment George weighed 11.8 pounds. They got their four month shots and did great with them.

Abby rolled over at 17 weeks, but I have yet to see it! She rolled over for my Mom once when she was watching the babies but hasn't done it since. She is a mover though and scoots all over the play mat when she's on the ground. I have a feeling we are going to have two crawlers by Christmas. eek! Abby's smile will light up a room...she has the biggest smile ever, it is so adorable. She also does this shoulder shrug when she smiles and it looks like she's a huge flirt. We will be in trouble when she is a teenager. Abby also coo's and "talks" but not quite as much as her brother. She is a sweet girl but always has her bewitching hour in the evenings. Dinner time is not fun around here as she is usually pretty fussy. We tend to put her in the swing that time of night and that usually does the trick so we can eat our dinner before putting the babies to bed. Abby weighed 14.5 pounds at their 4 month dr. appt. She is a great eater...just like me when I was her age. I could just eat up her cheeks and thighs.

George and Abby are definitely starting to notice each other. They will look at each other and "talk" back and forth. It is precious. George gets worried when Abby is upset, it is so sweet. Both baby's are also grabbing things and holding their rattles. We were given two super soft Little Giraffe blankets and George really loves his blanket. They love the feel of them and snuggling with them.

Both babies rarely spit up anymore and no more of throwing up...thank goodness that stage has passed. Abby is still on her reflux meds but we have stopped them with George. I don't think Abby will be on them much longer. Abby is still exclusively nursed, and I nurse George most of the time. He still is a bit of a "lazy" eater so doesn't always do the best with nursing. We give him a bottle a few times a day of breast milk to make sure he is getting enough. Overall they are super easy to feed these days and feedings don't take nearly as long as they used to. Phew!

Both babies are good sleepers. I really think it's because of the routine we started when they were about a month old. Our routine is around 7 pm to give them their baths, then swaddle in their sleep sacks, feed them, then bed. They love this routine and usually go to sleep pretty easy. They wake up once in the middle of the night anywhere between 2 and 3 am. I feed them together, put them back in their cribs to sleep and then they wake up for the day usually sometime between 6:30-8 am, just depends what time their middle of the night feeding was. We have a light dimmer in the nursery so for the middle of the night feedings we don't change their diapers (unless they are poopy which is rare), we don't talk to them much and keep the lights dim. This way they eat while half asleep and fall back asleep easily once fed. Hopefully in the next month or so they will drop their middle of the night feeding. For now it is not too bad though and I feel like I'm getting good sleep these days. We put them to sleep with their arms swaddled down, but lately they have been getting their arms out and wanting their arms out. That is fine as long as they don't startle themselves and wake up from that. They have been doing pretty well though with their arms out. We transitioned them from their rock n'plays to the crib a couple weeks ago. They did great with the transition although I was worried about. They have had no problem with the crib. They were sleeping in the same crib but getting too long for that so last night we put them in their separate cribs. They did great. They are growing up!

Mimi watches the babies about once a week so I can run errands and get things done. It is very nice and Mimi loves the time with them. This is a picture of Mimi taking them for a walk in the stroller that my Mom used for my twin brothers. My parents have also watched the babies overnight twice for me and the hubs. It has been hard for me (I always cry) but it is a nice break and nice to get some uninterrupted sleep (well besides getting up to pump).

Papa and Abby

I think those are the main updates for now. We are so blessed to have these sweet babies in our lives! What joy they bring to us! My love grow more and more for them everyday.

Abby and George's Baptism

2013-09-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, on September 22nd, Abigail and George were baptized at Salisbury Presbyterian Church. George wore a gown from my side of the family that is over 100 years old. In fact, the very first person to wear this gown's name was George! Abby wore a gown that is 90+ years old and from Daniel's side of the family. Both were so beautiful and so precious! It was so special for both these babies to be wearing such special and meaningful baptism gowns. The babies did great while the water was poured over their head and didn't make a peep...phew! All of our family was in town for this event which was fun. We had everyone over to our house (20+ people!!!) for lunch after the service. We had hamburgers, pasta salad, chips and dips, grapes, chicken nuggets for the children, a delicious cake, etc. It was a hectic, but fun time! Thankfully the weather was picture perfect on Sunday so everyone spent a lot of time outside in our back yard. Such a great day for these two very special blessings. I can't believe these babies are almost 4 months old! I will be back soon for their 4 month post. Happy Fall, y'all!

Abigail getting baptized

Beautiful flowers my mother in law made for our home!

Godparents :)

My favorite picture of the day! George and Dad

George getting baptized

3 Months!

2013-09-04T07:00:00.001-07:00

Happy 3 Months, Abigail and George!

Month two started off very difficult with these two, but I do have to say by the end of the month things started to get a *bit* easier. I am happy to report that both babies have now slept "through the night" meaning 8 pm to 4 am (yes, this is sleeping through the night in baby language!) a few times. Now, the trick is getting them to do it together! George still typically gets up for a feeding around 1:30 am. Abby *usually* (but not always!!!) sleeps until 3:30 or 4:00 am. Then George will wake again around 5:30 am for another feeding (although this morning he slept until almost 8 am!). If we only had one baby, this schedule would be great...esp. Abby's schedule...although with two, it makes for little sleep! I go back and forth on wanting to wake one in the middle of the night if the other wakes to keep them on the same schedules, but I know Abby can sleep longer stretches b/c she is bigger. I know that once George gains another pound or two he will be there too. So we don't wake a baby in the middle of the night if they are sleeping, although this does make it harder on Mom and Dad. During the day we do wake them to keep them on the same schedule. If I did not do this it would lead me to feeding a baby at all times during the day and that makes for a crazy Momma!

Also to do with feedings, George used to throw up his feeding about 1-2 times a day, but this hasn't happened for the past 2 weeks which makes us happy parents! I think his digestive system is getting more mature which makes feedings easier on him. I also have to note that both are on reflux meds which have seemed to help them a lot. Lately, George been nursing about 90% of the time! Abby exclusively nurses and has been SO easy to nurse, but George has been my tough one. I have been working on it so hard with him as I knew he would do it. I kept wanting to work on it with him because of how much I love nursing Abby and wanted this bond with George. He is finally turning the corner and turning into a good nurser just like his sister! Thank goodness! During the day if I'm by myself I will usually nurse one baby while bottle feeding the other, or I'll tandem feed and nurse both at the same time (talk about feeling like a cow), or I'll nurse one baby on one side, then nurse the other baby on the other side. Thankfully both babies will take bottles as well, so the hubs or family and friends can always help out. Their feedings are definitely easier these days as they eat better, quicker and I can do them both at the same time which makes my life a bit easier!

We don't really have a schedule yet during the day of napping and what not. I think the babies are still too young for this. Probably in another month or so we will start more of a napping schedule. For now, I let them dictate when they wake and sleep during the day. I have to remind myself that since they were born premature and their due date was July 15th, that they are more like 1.5 month olds instead of 3 month olds. Soon enough they will be ready for a napping schedule. We do have a nightly routine of bathing them (not every night with soap though as it would dry out their skin), pj's, feeding, then bed. They seem to really like this routine and the bath really relaxes them and lets them know that bed time is coming.

Both babies are growing like WEEDS! Abby is in some 0-3 month clothes and some 3-6 month clothes. She just graduated into size 2 diapers! I'm not sure how much she weighs now, but my guess would be about 14 pounds. George is still in some newborn clothes and some 0-3 sized clothes. He is still wearing the size 1 diapers. He weighs about 12 pounds now.

I love that their little personalities are starting to show and the smiles are starting to come. There is nothing better than happy, smiling babies! George and Abby are happiest in the morning. I love mornings with them!!!! They have the biggest, gummiest smiles that makes my heart melt. They are also "talking" more and making sweet cooing noises...love this! Abby is definitely the girl in charge and George is our laid back/go with the flow baby. Both are so special and so wonderful in their own way.

During month two, we took our first trip with the babies! We went to Raleigh to visit Daniel's side of the family and to celebrate our nieces 4th birthday and our nephew's 9th birthday! We had a 2.5 hour car ride there and the babies did fabulous...rarely made a peep. We had to time it so we got right in the car after their feeding, but we did and it went well. The drive also went well on the way home. We had a great weekend away! I really enjoyed seeing everyone and getting out of Richmond since it had been a while that I'd left the city since being pregnant and on bed rest.

On Saturday we are taking our first big trip and heading down to Holden Beach in NC for a week! My parents in law rent a big house on the beach every year and we are soooo excited for this trip. It is about a 6 hour drive for us, so it may be interesting to see how the babies do on this, but once we get there it will be a glorious time. Lots of relaxing, snuggling with babies, family time and enjoying the beach.

We are so much enjoying these babies...they are TONS of work, but we wouldn't have it any other way. We defiantly have our good and bad days and nights, but these little ones are so worth it.

Happy three months my precious angels!

2 months!

2013-08-01T06:32:00.001-07:00

Here comes a scatter brained post...

Abby and George will be two months old on this Sunday, August 4th! I can't believe it! Where has the time gone already?? Wait, I know! Life is crazy, crazy busy here. Not going to lie and make this a fairy tale sounding post. Twins are hard, very hard and extra extra hard at night. But we love them SOOO darn much and even though it is the hardest thing we have ever done, it is so very much worth it.

The babies still eat about every three hours...maybe every 3.5-4 hours on a good day/night. I am exclusively nursing Abby and am LOVING nursing. It really is the best thing ever!!! Now I understand what a special bond it is. George is nursing about 50% of the day and getting so much better with it. Yay George! I tried tandem nursing a few days ago and it worked! Best.thing.EVER! Surely makes me feel like Bessy the cow, but it makes life sooo much easier!!!! It takes less time, I don't have to pump, no cleaning bottles or pump parts, and it's such great bonding time for all three of us. Pretty cool as I never thought I'd get to this, but I'm so glad it's working. Once the babies get bigger we will be tandem nursing a lot more. The tricky part with tandem nursing is burping. One baby is always finished before the other so I have to unlatch the other baby who is still nursing and then burp the other. What makes it so tricky for us is that A and G are both big spit up babies, and both throw up their feedings 1-2 times a day. This is not fun and what makes tandem nursing tricky right now. Never fun to feed your babies and then watch them throw up EVERYTHING threw their nose and all. So sad. :( But we are still working on the tandem and once these babies get a bit bigger we will all be pro's. Thank goodness my milk supply is great, b/c these babies are taking it all! I have to make sure I get enough sleep (HAHA), eat enough calories and drink enough fluids to keep this supply. So far the eating and drinking haven't been too much of a problem b/c I'm ALWAYS hungry and thirsty! Now the sleep is another story. When I feed the babies by myself it takes anywhere from 1.5-2 hours depending on if anyone throws up, if I have to pump, etc. Then I have about one hour (maybe) where I clean bottles, do some laundry, take a QUICK shower, before I have to do it all again. Thankfully I've had lots of help w/the hubs, my parents, the hubs parents, etc. and when I have help it makes the feeding process only take about an hour (again longer if someone throws up b/c we have to start all over again). G is eating about 4 oz. now and A is probably eating about 5 oz. We had a pediatrician appt. yesterday and G is 8 pounds, 10 ounces and A is 10 pounds, 1 oz.! The Dr. was very pleased with their weight gain.

Abby was having some tummy issues, so the past couple days I've cut out dairy to see if that helps with her tummy. Honestly, it does seem to be helping. I'm not being super strict with my diary, but cutting out the majority of it. I still want her to get some dairy from me since she is solely nursing, but cutting back on dairy does seem to be helping. George doesn't seem to have the tummy issues that Abby has so that is good. Just wish they both wouldn't throw up...would make feedings much easier! But I know this is just a thing babies do especially wish such immature digestive systems. Poor little babies!

Here are some of my favorites from our professional photo shoot of the babies. These were taken when they were about a month old. I better run as the babies are getting hungry. I'll try to be better about posting more pictures!

Happy 4th (a day late)

2013-07-05T17:37:00.002-07:00

I had all intentions of getting this post up yesterday, but life got busy (shocker!) and instead, here it is a day late...

Happy 4th of July for a couple reasons! First, Happy one month to our precious Abigail and George!!! That month has gone by so quickly, slow down time! And second, happy 4th to celebrate America! My parents are going to babysit tonight so the hubs and I can have our first night out since the babies were born. My parents have so generously offered for us to go have dinner at their country club. The food and beautiful scenery are awesome, so we are looking forward to a nice dinner that we can enjoy just the two of us.

Abby and George are doing great. We have so enjoyed our first month as a family of four. Here comes my bragging...sorry, I'm warning you. :) I have to say (and I probably need to knock on wood here) that I think the hubs and I are taking life to twins very well. I have felt great, zero signs of depression and/or baby blues, I feel pretty relaxed and have not been TOO crazy tired. I have my days that I'm more tired than others, but overall, I'm getting used to the less/broken up sleep and feel generally pretty good. Having two newborns is tons of work, but I really enjoy it oh so much. I do owe my saneness to my INCREDIBLE husband and mother/father in law and my parents who have all been huge helps. The hubs has been hands down sooo very helpful. He never sits down and is always washing bottles, cleaning the house, changing diapers, holding and loving on a baby, or doing something helpful. He loves being a Father to G & A and I love watching him with them...such an amazing bond. I love how I'll come in from another room and he is reading them a story or giving them a massage (something we learned in the NICU from a Occupational Therapist--very cool). The hubs and I went through SO much to get pregnant as you all know by now, and then with all the complications of my pregnancy, it is just so good to have them here in our arms. Every time I look at them I explode with happiness. They really brighten our lives and complete our family.

Last week Abby was 7 pounds! Baby girl is getting big! She is really getting some meat on her bones (as my Dad would say) and her cheeks are really filling out and our nice and chubby...too cute. She still has light brown hair and dark blue eyes. I wonder if this will change or stay the same?! She is a true sweetie but def. knows what she likes and doesn't like. She doesn't like to sit in a dirty diaper...I don't blame her though, who does? And like her brother, they let us know when they are hungry! I love how she looks in my eyes when I feed her...like she really knows who her Mommy and Daddy are.

Last week George weighed in at 6 pounds, 6 ounces. He is getting so big too! He has always been our little peanut, but he is catching up. It's so crazy how every ounce when you are this tiny makes such a big difference in weight. George has very light blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He is a true sweetheart. Now I know why Momma's love their little boys!!!! He likes holding my pinky finger when I feed him his bottle...it melts my heart.

The babies are almost 39 weeks gestational age, which means we can start taking them out in public in one week! Not that we'll be taking them many places, but it will still be nice to be able to if we want. Both babies are HUGE grunters. In fact, they are SO loud at night that they only lasted one week in our room before they were kicked out, haha. They now sleep in their nursery in their Rock N'Plays (which we love!).

Well, I better go hop in the shower while the babies are sleeping. Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July! :)

My Mom made these cute 4th of July outfits and Abby's headband. Her headband cracked me up and her facial expression makes me laugh in this picture...she's like "what in the world are you doing to me Mom??"

Life with twins

2013-06-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

Is very busy...but we are loving every single second and moment. It is no joke taking care of two newborns, but we couldn't imagine it any other way. It is currently 12:45 pm and I'm still in my pj's. Writing this post as I pump with two sleeping babies by my side. The babies eat at 11, 2, 5 and 8 am/pm, so our day consists of changing diapers, feeding, putting babies down for a nap, pumping, cleaning bottles and pump parts, and going through that cycle all over again. There is rarely any down time for the hubs or I...we are getting used to our new life but man is it ever a huge change! We were ready for it though and truly love our little boy and girl so much. We have been so thankful for the help from the hub's mother who came down to stay with us for a while, for my parents who have been helping and for friends who have been bringing meals by. Without this help we would be going crazy. So thank you to everyone!!! I will do my best to keep up with posts, but may just do more picture posts as my tired mind can't take much more on right now. We had our newborn photographer come yesterday and she was amazing! It will take a few weeks to get the pictures back but we can't wait! Thank you all for your support and love. No matter how tired the hubs and I are, we look at these little miracles and smile....

While the photographer was taking pictures yesterday, the hubs took some with his phone...