Do you want the good news or bad news first?

I'm a good news first kind of gal, so that's what I'll give. It snowed!!! Only 2 or 3 inches, but enough to get the kids out in the snow and do a little sledding. The twins also got to meet snow for the first time and were quite intrigued by it, until they got cold, then they just cried.














And the bad news. One kids is missing from these pics- well, this is because he was inside throwing up. We recovered from lice just in time to get the stomach bug... oh boy!  (and now anyone who's hung out with us lately is concerned, here's an early apology)

Evening sun and backyard fun

(taking notes on how to wrestle dad)

(I hope it's true that "a picture says a thousand words" because on a scale from 1-10 I am at a "0"for how inspired I have been to write. I'll start writing again... maybe in 5 years or so).

Comparing and Contrasting

Boy, blogging is a bit more difficult these days. I'm pretty good at checking my e-mail and blogs because I can do that one handed while nursing, but it takes a long time to type one handed. However, I feel the need, because I am quite certain this whole time will be a blur and if I don't write it, I won't remember it.

The babes are almost 2 months now- can't believe it. This time has really zoomed by at an incredible speed. I must announce that they slept 8 hours last night - wahoo! The last few nights have been wonderful and I have been quite rested, only by God's grace. They are in sync at night time and I am a happy mama. Having twins has been quite an unique experience. When you have one baby you don't have anything to compare to, but with two, their individual character traits really stand out and I find myself continually comparing and contrasting. I've found that chunky Henry has ended up thus far being the more laid back guy. He loves to cuddle, be held and does quite well just staring at the ceiling. He also loves to eat! He's in his zone when he's eating.

As for Molly, she is an extreme girl. She'll smile and then let out a (what seems to be) random wail. I think some of it is gas related as she is constantly farting and burping. She is less cuddly and kind of pushes away and is a little more stiff I would say. She also is not as thrilled about eating. It seems like sometimes it still takes her 5 minutes or longer to get latched on and to be convinced that she wants to eat. All this makes her sound a little more high maintenance, and maybe she is, but she really is sweet and I think her characteristics stand out so much because I have something to compare it to. Oh yes, and did I mention she makes the saddest face and pouty lip ever?

As far as nursing goes, it's a going. To be honest, I haven't enjoyed it all that much, I mean, we've got constant stimulation going on and the result is quite tender breasts. I feed them at the same time about every 3 hours and it seems to be working out well. I also haven't needed to supplement at all which is great. With breast-feeding I'm just kind of playing it by ear and don't have any long term plans. It is a bit isolating and makes it hard to get out, so come spring I probably will start some modified breast-feeding, or if my body follows it's typical pattern, be done with it all together. I am thankful it's gone so well so far.

And how are the other kiddos doing? I would say overall doing great. It seems for the last 2 months we have had some kind of sickness or ear infection off and on which has been a bit trying. For the last week and a half or so Ada has been teething which has been hard. Her sleep pattern has been disturbed and she is just overall grumpy which is especially hard because she is typically so joyful and laid back. Today I did see some smiles and laughing, so that was refreshing and I'm hoping she'll have a little teething relief. Will is doing really well. He is unexpectantly sweet toward Henry. The only reason I wasn't expecting it is because he wasn't all that interested in Ada as a baby. He still isn't even all that interested in Molly (in fact I think he finally learned her name just a week or so ago). The boy bond is strong though. It's very sweet, I go in there and see that he has put his special blanket on Henry. He likes making him cozy and I like that he likes doing that. And Lucy, she's doing great. Her philosophy in life has always been, "the more the merrier". She isn't phased.

And mama? How's she doing? I would say overall well, but it might depend on the day you ask. I feel like I'm constantly holding someone and that my body isn't my own. The Lord is teaching me that I am here to serve and that is good. The biggest thing for me has been to remember to take things a day at a time. When I just think about the moment or day to come, I do fine. But when I think about the weeks, months, years ahead I can start to be anxious. And then I need to remind myself that the Lord has generously provided for me for the last 2 months of being a mom of twins + 3 and there is no reason he won't continue to do so in the future. I think I remind myself of this like 12 times a day- probably more.

The Eve of Christmas

We had a wonderful, peaceful Christmas Eve. It started at church, followed by a meal with a couple friends and Maz and Papa, with some White Christmas mixed in and ending with a gift for each kid (new Christmas Pj's).

Santa called and talked to Lucy and Will. They were thrilled and for much of the conversation Lucy had a look of disbelief.





This pic was about as good as it got. Sure, it's not the peaceful, sweet pic I might have been going for, but at least it's a little bit more entertaining to look at.



Nicole and the kids. Squirmy Ada.

Maz and the kids reading the book Nicole got Lucy.

Yes, and the twins were there. They made appearances every once in a while, but spent much of the time in slumber. (FYI: Henry on left, Molly on right).

1st Outing

I made it to the pediatrician with these two with the help of my friend Nicole. The babies are doing quite well. Henry's growing like a champ and Molly is doing just fine as well. She had shrunk a few ounces when we went to the pediatricians, but since then she has been gaining and is pretty close to birth weight.

Little and Littler

I finally did it, I took more pics. My fear was that I would blink and I wouldn't have taken many newborn pics of the twins- this stage is so precious. My friend, who is a photographer, is actually coming up from Seattle to take pics of them on Monday, so that will be fun too. But for now, here are some I took today.

How priceless is this one? She put her arm around Henry on her own.

Sir Henry in the front

Molly (littler), Henry (little)

Little bums and footsies

Little everything.

Let's get real

Let's get real for a moment, to ensure that one might not be deceived into thinking that our house always looks like this:

Well, folks that have been over and helped out while I was on bedrest, say... "duh"! This picture was taken when we first moved in and I happened upon it last night. It was quite entertaining for me to look at the picture and then look around our house and see how much can change in a short few months. Initially when we moved in I had this idea that almost all the toys would be upstairs except a few down here. Who was I kidding? Kids want to be where you are. I started looking around and thought, I want our kids to think of our house as a fun place to be, not an orderly place to be. So one afternoon out came the toy box, the book shelf stacked with books and puzzles, the coloring books, and coloring table. I also don't just want our kids to be up in their room when they're playing, I want to be a part of it, watching, interacting. It's only so long that we will have our kids at home with us, and then they'll be at school and some decluttering will happen, but for now, I'm ok with the stuff down here (most the time).

Then, whatever space wasn't filled with their toys we've managed to pack with twin stuff. Every corner seems to be taken up. I'm ok with it now though. It took me really embracing the fact that this is just a phase of life and also embracing this phase of life. Below are some pictures of the changes...

Our dining room table has been converted into a changing table

Our living room is now a play pen, blocking off fireplace use- we really need to do something about that. Pillows and blankets are on the floor, how ridiculous would it be to actually have them on the couch?

And stuff packed in every corner...

This is not all either, more toy boxes, bassinet in bedroom, pack 'n play in kitchen, bouncer in LR, the list goes on....


I think Cutzi might have called it when she guessed that pictures might slow down once we got home. Thus, twins pics have not been taken. I'm still healing and trying to take it easy, but I look at the little bundles and am so motivated to take out the camera. I want to be a little obsessive in documenting as they are only so little for so long. I see them cuddling up against eachother and next to each other and I am totally taken. All this said, more picstures will come, trust me. Little one crying, must go rescue...

Why not?

Why not just tack on a little ER trip? Poor Ada. She was walking and slipped and boom, lip open. We got a call from Edie about an hour before we were planning on leaving the hospital that they thought Ada needed stiches. I was actually quite relieved that it was just stitches after watching Nate's face while he was talking to his mom. Poor Ada. Nate ended up going to get Ada and spent the next 5 hours with her trying to get her in with the plastic surgeon. Nate was with her during the surgery and almost fainted. It was harder for him to watch Ada get stitched up than it was to watch me get cut open- a loving father (a loving husband too, but for some reason the sheet they put between my face and where the cutting is happening actually makes him think it is not me they're cutting into.) Anyways, Ada is doing well and doesn't seem phased. We are all at home now which is nice. At first it was a bit overwhelming because Lucy was catching me up on all that I missed while Will was doing so in the other ear, and then there were the twins and Ada... but this was a good overwhelming, filled with a lot of joy and excitement.

Miss and Mr.

Things are going really well here at the hospital. We will be going home tomorrow. I am really excited to see the kiddos, Nate has been able to see them a bit here and there, but I haven't seen them for four days now. I just breastfed the twins at the same time for the first time and it went really well (Nate took a picture, but I'll spare you and not post it). We actually have been getting a decent amount of sleep- surprised us! These two are utterly spectacular.

Excessive?

(Henry top, Molly bottom)

(Molly left, Henry right)

(Henry back, Molly front)

This might be getting a bit much, but I feel almost guilty enjoying such sweetness without sharing some.

M & H

These two are just wonderful, real gifts and doing so well. People are shocked at their sizes. I talked to a pediatrician yesterday, who has been a pediatrician for 20 years, and she said she can count on one hand the amount of twins she has seen this big. Mr. Henry is quite the eater and really looks like a boy (he has a thick neck, looks a football player Nate says). He is quite laid back and has been very easy. And Miss Molly, well she is dainty and girly. A true beauty, and has been a little higher maintenance (is this a look into the future?). They are quite the duo.





Me and my mom and the babes

Here are Edie, Tony and Ada meeting the twins. With the hospital policy, this has been the way visitors can meet the wee ones, a drive thru baby viewing. It's for sure not ideal, but at least it's something. Thank you for all your prayers, the Lord has heard them. We are overflowing with gratitude and amazed at His goodness to us.

So happy to introduce...

Molly Alice and Henry Anthony.

Molly was 6 lbs. 8 oz and Henry was a healthy 7 lbs. 9 oz. Molly is 1 minute older. They are both absolutely beautiful and doing well.

Birds of a Feather

I've been looking on Etsy for a print to put in the twins room on a shelf (love that website), but I've discovered I'm quite cheap, call it thrifty if you want to put a better spin on it. Whatever you call it, I couldn't justify buying anything. I wanted some kind of print that represented 2. While I was in the shower I remembered the picture below I took. Anyways, I played around with it a bit and think it's cute.