Time

I have spent a lot of time looking at pictures of the twins since their birth and find it hard to believe how much they have changed and grown. Both babies have doubled their weight in the eleven short weeks they have blessed our family. It seems impossible that they have only been here eleven weeks because it seems they have always been a part of us. They smile often and love to be talked to. The most precious moment of the day for me is when the twins awaken and I greet them with a "Good Morning!" and they each greet me with a huge smile as they wave their arms and wiggle their body! They also love to play "Patty-Cake." They can't clap on their own of course but when I hold their hands and recite the rhyme the give up a continuous smile. They love when we read them nursery rhymes. I am sure its the sound of our voices
I have noticed that the babies have united our family. Most of you know that we are a family of yours, mine and the twins make ours. We weren't certain how a baby or two would affect our family but they really have been a blessing. All of the girls really enjoy interacting with the twins and they help out so much; from changing diapers to talking to them or helping feed them. it really has been nice to share this experience with this family.
I feel like I have been given a second chance to correct the mistakes I made the first time around as a parent. I hope I take the moments to appreciate the small milestones in their lives and not take one second for granted.....

Two babies go through so many clothes in one day! I do a large load of baby laundry every morning. So it has been necessary to have more things than I thought they would need. Thankfully we had a lot of things given to us. I thought we had too many things but I have been glad for those items. The babies are ten weeks old today and we already have a tote full of clothing they have outgrown. I haven't had to purchase much. I do a lot of sale shopping, second had clothing shopping and I love online ebay shopping for the babies. I have purchased some really cute name brand clothing at bargain prices on ebay. The outfit in the picture on today's blog is one I purchased on ebay. I love the challenge of finding things at a really great price and it makes me feel good to be able to find cute and stylish things at a bargain.
I am excited that the babies are only getting up one time a night at this age. I am sure my older children didn't sleep this well when they were ten weeks old. Their day time schedule is pretty sweet, as well. They usually wake up for the day between six and eight and are up for two hours then down for an hour or two and up again for an hour and then they take a long afternoon nap of two hours. They wake again for two hours and sometimes go back to sleep but often they are awake until its time for baths at seven then around eight thirty we try to start reading a book to them and feeding them so that they will be asleep for the night by nine at the latest. I feel pretty lucky to have babies that sleep so well. I am sure this will change many times in the future but for now I am just thankful!

tots n teens

It hard to believe today is my daughters fifteenth birthday. I think about how it seems like only yesterday she was the size of Renley and it reminds me of how quickly they grow up. Needless to say this morning I have spent extra time holding the precious babies in hopes of making it last a little longer.
I enjoy the teen years, most of the time. Last night was a particularly memorable moment....Abby and I spent a lot of time just chatting. The hard part about having teens and babies is making time for them....as any mom of teens know they only talk when they are in the mood which is usually when you are busy doing something else or very very late at night..which was the case last night. I think our chat began at eleven thirty and ended somewhere around one, just in time for Roman to wake up for his middle of the night feeding. When we began talking I thought of how I would need to get up in an hour or so and my first intuition was to tell her I needed to get some sleep but I didn't and I am so thankful I stayed up and spent that time with her...this morning I am tired but it was worth it.
Then there is the fun of taking the babies to ballgames to "cheer" on their older sisters. As you can see, Roman and Renley are sporting onsies with the last name of their sisters and their basketball jersey number. In my opinion they were too cute!! I look forward to seeing how they interact with there siblings!
Today, for the first time since the twins were born, I actually sat down and ate a lunch that didn't consist of a handle full of cereal or chips. We are actually getting some kind of routine going.
I do love being a mom!!!!!!

Jan. 17,2012

Today has been a rough day! With Jessi back in school the twins and I are working on a schedule that works for us. Well, I should say I am working on a schedule and the twins are working on not following the schedule! Needless to say my morning coffee was a necessity which lasted throughout the day....four cups of coffee by noon might be a little much!
We had a good early morning which consisted of a series of what I call play centers so that it gives me time with each of the twins individually. I modeled this after my reading centers in my class. It worked really well. I had four centers: activity mat, the swing, bouncy seat, and reading with Mommy. I had them spend ten minutes at each center. This worked well and I plan to repeat these activities tomorrow.
After several futile attempts to put Roman and Renley down for a nap at the same time I decided to throw the twins in the car and drive to Lamar. The twins fall right to sleep when they are in the car and the didn't disappoint me this time. Thinking a diet Coke from McDonald's sound like a nice treat I decide to go through the dirve-thru. Since we aren't moving as I order, the twins wake up and make their presence known. Thinking a trip to Wal-Mart might be in order I unload the babies and thankfully they quieted down while we shopped. I love walking through Wal-Mart talking to the twins and telling them about all the things I see or buy. I know they can't understand me but they give me a lot of smiles. They fell asleep on the way home and I mistakenly thought they would stay asleep for their final nap of the day. They woke up the minute I brought them in the house. At 6:45 I decided to give them a bath thinking they looked so tired and early bedtime might be in order. They love their bath and give me lots of smiles as they kick and coo. When they are done with bath time I love the smell of them.....I forgot how good little clean babies feel in your arm.
I decided I would try to put them in their bed to fall asleep but this mommy didn't make it very long. After making sure they were dry and fed I put on their sleep sacks and placed them in their bed and turned on the musical lighted mobile. The liked that for about five minutes and then began to cry intently. I really wanted to leave them in hopes they would fall asleep but two minutes seemed like an hour and Ashton told me it was so sad so of course I had to cuddle with them! Going to sleep on their own can wait till they are older.
They finally gave it up at 8:00 and fell asleep. What precious little babies they are....especially when they are sleeping!

Activities to do with a two month old.

It is so important to me to spend time interacting with my twins daily. They are only two months old and it is hard to know what to do with them because they do not respond to a lot of stimulus. Some of the things we do on a daily basis include:
* I talk and sing to them often. Just chat about what I am doing throughout your day.
* I play a variety of music for my babies to listen to. It's like food for the brain!Renley loves this
and will stop and listen intently.
* They are gaining more control over her hands so I lay down under a baby play gym
and hang some fun objects for them to try and touch and swipe at.
* I place them on their tummy for short periods so they can continue to strengthen their
necks. We refer to this as tummy time~!
* When the weather has been nice we go outside in the stroller. (Twice so far this winter-lol).
* We read books every day. Our favorite is "I Will Love You Forever." They are never to young for books!
*We "talk" to each other often and I make sure to smile at them and maintain eye contact,
which is a challenge when you have both babies in front of you. I just try to take turns.
* We cuddle a lot. I look at raising my babies as my job and that means spending lots of
quality time with them. The housework waits until after bedtime!

Two months

It is hard to believe the twins are two months old. The time has gone by so quickly. This morning it occurred to me that having twins is really a juggling act. This thought came to me as I was holding Roman and bottle feeding him at the same time I was bouncing Renley in the bouncy seat with my foot immediately following changing both babies and taking turns playing peek-a-boo with them. Don't get me wrong, I love this juggling act.
Having twins has been bitter sweet, it is twice the smiles and love but ten times the work of a single baby. I mentioned to the pediatrician that the babies were really fussy and she began asking me questions about their behavior. As I answered her questions I realized the babies weren't really overly fussy but having two babies means one is always in the need of your attention for something. Realizing that has made my job much easier. I am not sure why it but just knowing that their needs are normal makes it more manageable.
I have decided today to create a photo counting book for the twins using items they are familiar with such as toys and clothing. I am looking forward to this creation and will share it once I complete it.