Stella 6 months

Stella- You really are one of the happiest and most alert babies I know. You love, love your big sisters something huge and watch everything they do very closely. You love that Lucy holds your hand and sings to you in the car and really missed her the week we rented a van and you were in the middle row alone. You're getting so much better at sitting and can stay up independently without toppling over for a few short minutes. You've even started to catch yourself when you fall to one side or another. You roll back to front and front to back consistently and have started to rotate your body like a little clock, turning all the way around while playing on your back. You've also started bridges or "butt bumping" as we called it when Lucy was a baby. You are wearing mostly 6 month clothing but aren't huge. Your weight is similar to your sisters at only 12.9, but your head is in the 83rd percentile! You've recently changed up your napping routine and only nap about twice a day, maybe three times. Your naps are longer, but it's much more exhausting with you up all the time and harder to predict when you will sleep. You babble "dadadada" all day long but haven't figured out the lip closure for the mama sound. It's all about that little tongue of yours! You're getting a little better with the drooling and open mouth posture and I think food has helped a lot. You have no idea what to do with a pureed food, but anything with a little texture gets munched right up. You've tried sweet potato, acorn squash, pinto beans, zucchini cakes, and puffs. You still have fluid in your ears but will hopefully get tubes placed soon. You light up and smile when you see me or your sisters and you're generally very friendly with strangers. You got baptized in an April snow storm. Getting there was crazy stressful and then the priest was having balance issues and nearly dropped you. I'm so glad you were okay. You're still not a great sleeper and never want to miss a thing. Getting you to fall asleep is often a challenge, and you're really not going any super long stretches at night. You're generally up 1-2 times a night to eat. This month you took your first plane ride and felt the sand in your toes for the first time. You really are a joyful and wonderful baby and I can't imagine our family without you. 

St Patrick's Day 

Looking down from the top of the stairs. Such a cute little face!

We are ready for a mini van!

Eating some mum mum crackers. 

Trying out our bathing suits. 

Fri-yay!!!

No one cried! 

A new hat from Grandma Becky!

Hanging with Togie. 

We had to stop swaddling with muslin blankets are start using this. Muslin was getting too tough. 

Easter Sunday. 

This! This is why we need a van. To keep the baby safe from eating things like napkins in the car. 

Piggy back from Lucy. 

Baptism

Love this photo. 

#MicroblogMondays- Treat Yo Self

I'm not great about putting myself first anymore. I put Lucy and Clara before myself almost always. When we go shopping I tend to buy cute things for them rather than myself. It had been at least a year since I had gotten my hair done. 

My sister was out this weekend and I decided to take advantage of the fact that she's a cosmetologist. I had her cut and highlight my hair for me and I love how it came out. Despite my perms in middle school I've never actually dyed my hair. I've had a ton of new hair growth since having the girls and I practically have bangs without ever cutting any or trying. My sister did a nice job of cutting my hair to better mask all of my crazy little hairs growing in the front. 

My new dew!

My crazy hair last weekend. 

I've also been making an effort to buy clothes for myself. I love buying stylish clothes for the girls but I realized it was silly they always looked so great and I was wearing the same things as always. Comfort was winning out. So lately I've purchased some items for myself. I realized I feel better about myself when I put a little more effort into my appearance. 

I've totally cut processed foods from my diet. We bought the book 100 Days of Real Food and have been following the recipes and guidelines there. I've started making my own bread and other items like hummus. We are still eating dairy (organic) and bread (whole grain) so I'm not dieting. I'm just trying to make a lifestyle change for everyone and so far it's going great. I'd be happy to share recipes or meal plans if anyone is interested. 

W and I started PiYo a few weeks ago as well. It was tough to stick to the schedule with my sister in town this past weekend, but otherwise we've been doing well with it. We've only done 3 different workouts so far and they definitely range in difficulty. I had been wanting to try PiYo for quite some time and love that it's just a video to pop in. It doesn't require motivating to get to the gym and arranging childcare. 

I'm making an effort to put myself first more often and it really does feel nice. I've gotten some new clothes, cut and dyed my hair, changed the way I'm eating, and started exercising regularly. Already I feel so much better. I hope it lasts!

Birthday Party

Even though I'm totally behind on some of my posts, I still want to add them to this blog. I want to remember them (as clearly as possible when writing them a month or two late). So, even though we celebrated Lucy and Clara's birthday party over a month ago, I'm still going to add my post.

The party was on August 30th, the saturday of labor day weekend. The weather was gorgeous although a bit windy. We served BBQ food with pulled pork, beef brisket, macaroni salad, fruit salad, rolls, and salt potatoes. We had friends cater the food. They gave us such a great deal we couldn't say no. We had the cakes done by the local grocery store and we had lemonade, iced tea, beer and lime-a-ritas to drink Apart from the bees stinging two friends (one on his tongue), it was a great day! Clara got upset when we sang them happy birthday and didn't get to enjoy her birthday cake until later that night. Lucy got stuck in her new swing because of her cast, but luckily I missed that one. All in all, we had about 40 adults and 18 kids. It was so fun celebrating Lucy and Clara's first year.

A little out of focus, but I love her face. 

Lucy in her new swing (before she got stuck). 

Cake time!

Poor Clara wasn't into it. 

With Char the LC from the NICU. 

So serious about her bow. 

Birthday banner I made hanging outside. 

Balloon wreath. 

Looking so fancy in her new tutu. 

She loves getting dressed up. 

Clara's headband was looking a little rough, lol. 

Hanging with their buddy Carmine. 

Clara enjoyed her cake later that night.  

Beautiful day. 

Lots of babies!

Monthly photos hanging up. 

Guess I only got a picture of the fruit salad. The other food was amazing too!

1 year old

Playing footsie in the stroller

Finally able to play together again after Lucy got her cast off. 

Good morning cuties.  

One last swim in the lake for the year. 

A little over a year ago my life changed in ways I was unable to comprehend at the time. After years of infertility and heartbreak I gave birth to perfect twin girls. When I was pregnant I tried to picture my life and how it would look as a mom to two girls, but I honestly had no idea.

"I wanted you more than you ever will know, so I sent love to follow wherever you go." This is the first sentence in one of our favorite books to read to the girls. The power of those words aren't lost on me. It's so true.

I cried so many tears, we drove thousands of miles, I injected my body with countless medications and went through several surgeries, and we spent our savings and an inheritance check from W's grandmother just for a chance to be parents. Unlike everyone, we got lucky and were given the 2 most perfect little girls.  I'll never regret anything I went through for it.

As much as getting them here was difficult, I had no idea how difficult the first year of raising twins would be. Everyone says the first 6 months are the toughest and that it all becomes a blur. It's true. While we were living it it didn't feel too blurry, but looking back it sure does! But, we made it. We kept 2 babies alive for the year and they are thriving. We are falling into our roles as parents and embracing all that it means.

One of my biggest goals was to make it to a year breastfeeding. I wanted to give up so many times. Lucy was so difficult for months to feed and her lack of weight gain was a reflection of that. Despite how difficult it was, I had heard to never quit on a bad day. The bad days were the only days I ever wanted to quit. So, I persisted and never gave up (thanks also to a good friend who was in the breastfeeding twins trenches at the same time). I'm so proud of myself and my girls. I regained so much confidence and love for my body from the experience. Unlike getting and staying pregnant,  I realized my body could succeed at something from the get-go.

Lucy- Your blue eyes sparkle and light up your little chubby cheeked face. You're still so little for a one year old, but I think petite will be a word to describe you for a long time. You are such a mama's girl and I love that. You are one of the toughest little babies I've ever met and that was apparent from the start.
You are trying to imitate and talk but won't do it around anyone else. You've said, "hi, bye-bye, yup, no, Pepper, Pop-Pop, and stop" as well as imitated animal sounds for the kitty, dog, sheep, and lion. You have perfected different expressions and I love your little looks of wonder, excitement, uncertainty, or confusion. The last month of your life you spent stuck in a huge cast. You rarely complained and you became so chill and relaxed. You really were such a trooper. When the cast came off you complained out of fear, but then were so happy and relieved to be able to move around again.
You love your sister and think it's hilarious to pull her hair while she's trying to eat. You watch her so closely and imitate a lot of what she does. Your bond is already so close and I can tell how much you love each other. Having a sister is one of the best things!
 You had a rough month with eating but I don't blame you. I'm sure your appetite wasn't the same in the spica cast. Despite your lack of eating solid foods, it didn't slow down your nursing at all. Although uncomfortable for both of us, we still managed in the cast. You love to eat greek yogurt though and often have to also use it as a moisturizer while eating it (aka rub it all over your hands and face). You also love watermelon and raisins. You missed a month of baths with your sister and are so happy to be able to splash with her again. We even got some new bath toys during that time so you're extra excited about those.
You still aren't a great sleeper, but don't tell daddy, I love snuggling with you in bed. Your daddy said one morning he found us both sleeping with your hand on my face. I guess we both like the closeness of another body in bed for sleeping.
You're a happy girl that loves music and dancing. Even when I sing horribly, you get into it and start bobbing your little head. You love to clap your hands and are starting to learn a few body parts. I love you so much little Lucy. Thank you for being such an amazing daughter and for teaching me how to be a great mommy to you this past year.

I often said the only cute part about the spica cast was the way her buns looked in it. 

Trying out a chair at Mashall's

Waiting at the dr's office

The same size as a 2 month old baby!

What nursing in the spica cast looked like.

Just hanging out in her beanbag chair.

Cast free and sitting up!

Jamming out.

Clara- Every time I look at you I see so much of myself. You look just like me (but with hazel eyes) and you're a little wild and outspoken, just like your mama. You started crawling this month and nothing can stop you. When grandma dukes came over one morning and she yelled upstairs to try to locate us, you squealed and screamed back and crawled towards the gate at the top of the stairs to alert her to where you were.
You are big on equal treatment and advocating for yourself. When your sister gets something, you make sure you get it too. When she gets picked up, you make it clear you want it to. We joked when Lucy first got the cast that you wanted one too since she was getting extra attention and you were getting jealous. For this reason I know I won't have to worry about you. I know you will be direct and clear about what you want in life. Hmmm...I wonder if I know someone else like that....
You love playing and take it very seriously these days. I'm amazed by your attention span and persistence. You love to put things in and out and will do this for hours every day. It's so awesome to watch you play with toys as they were intended rather than just mouthing everything.
You're so silly and love to giggle and laugh. I often hear you giggling to your sister when I'm in another room. You love books and even if you are upset they always calm you down. You haven't started to really talk or imitate much yet, but I'm sure once you start there will be no stopping you. You're understanding so much more and are starting to show us that.
You're a great sleeper but with learning to crawl, your have a harder time falling asleep. When I put you down in your crib you like to sit back up and chat. You used to just roll over and fall asleep but now it takes you a little more time. You started pulling to stand in your crib so we had to lower it down. That means your shorty mama had to buy a stool so she didn't have to drop you from a foot above the mattress to put you down.
You love eating and still prefer carbs and sweets. You love watermelon and blueberry pancakes. Your favorite foods seem to change often. You still love nursing but recently bit your mama. When I told you it wasn't okay and stopped you you got so upset. I felt horrible, but it really hurt. You still seem to have a sensitive stomach and spit up from time to time. When I try to give you water you almost always chug too much and then throw up. You can't help it that you're enthusiastic.
You're such a happy, lively, and persistent little girl. I love how much you remind me of myself, and although I know you will be trouble at times, I can't wait to watch and see what kind of person you become. I know you'll do great things! I really am the luckiest mama around.

So cute!

Modeling her tutu skirt mama made for her birthday party. 

Wait, that doesn't go there!

Crawling to mama in the bathroom.

Sitting in her new chair.

Looking like such a big girl!

Blueberry picking

I can't believe Lucy and Clara are a year old and we are officially into the second year of their lives. It's been the best year of my life and I'm so grateful for my beautiful daughters.

Hanging with our friends Quinn and Kensi. They are 2 weeks older.

At the zoo. 

When daddy first assembled their new chairs/birthday presents.