2 months

I can't believe my sweet babies are two months old! I feel like I'm loving them even more now that I'm working again - I appreciate every snuggle and feeding just a little more since I miss so much when I'm gone. Here's some info/stats about the twins at two months.

Major

-This boy has completely stolen my heart. Sometimes I feel sweet Harpy is neglected bc I just might snuggle Major Man a little more.
-Major is such a laid back baby. I've reported this before, but it's even truer these days! He'll fuss when he's tired, you swaddle him up, and he falls almost right to sleep. He hardly cries - he may cry out when he's hungry & fuss when he's tired.
-He loves to watch the fan & lights. I remember Maddex did this, too. He's definitely become more aware of his surroundings and will be perfectly content to stare up at the fan for his wake time entertainment.
-Nicknames: Major Man & Buddy Boy
-Weight: 11 lbs 5 oz (50th percentile)
-Height: 22 inches (10th percentile)
-Head: 90th percentile (typical)

Harper

-Sweet girl is still the more high maintenance twin. I think this has to do with the volume and pitch of her cry! You will KNOW if Harper is unhappy!
-Harp does not go to sleep on her own quite as well as her brother. Usually she will fall asleep if held, or we will let her cry for a little while. I'm not a proponent of cry it out at this age (for an extended amount of time), but Harper will cry off and on for 5-10 minutes and then go to sleep. I can handle that (although she usually does her crying in the back bc it does make me sad to hear!).
-Harper loves a pacifier most of the time. Thankfully, her daddy fashioned our awesome homemade wubbanubs AKA bub rubs (read about that here).
-She is still just a little clone of sweet Maddex. I do think it's possible Harper's eyes could end up being blue. Her eyes are much lighter than Major's.
-Nicknames: Harpy Harp & Angel/Angel girl/Angel face
-Weight: 11 lbs 8 oz (50th percentile)
-Height: 21 inches (5-10th percentile)
-Head: 95th percentile (typical again)

Here are there 2 month pictures. I'm not sure it gets CUTER than this!!!

sitting together

we are two months old!!!

kissing brother

A Virtual Complaint

I'm tired. That should be no surprise to you if you've considered my life these days :) I need a little caffeine to make it through my day. Since I made it through my first full week back at work, I thought I'd treat myself to some CC's coffee and a bagel this morning. Unfortunately, that didn't happen due to a very disappointing experience.

Let's back up a little. I love a CC's drink. I often treat myself on the way to school - as much as my budget will allow. It's a little Monday pick-me-up or a Friday treat at the end of the week. I even continued trips to CC's during my pregnancy to get a drink (with the allotted amount of caffeine). I hadn't gone back to CC's after the babies were born until Christmas Eve. I'm sure I've mentioned that I have tried to cut dairy from my diet because I believe it irritates the twins. On Christmas Eve, I tried a latte with soy milk instead. I knew that they could have some of the same issues with the soy proteins, but I felt it was worth the risk. A peppermint mocha was just so Christmas-y. I got my drink made with soy milk, but found that it irritated me and the twins had a pretty fussy Christmas day, sooooo no soy for me either.

Fast forward to this morning. I'm tired after a week of going to bed around 10 and waking anywhere between 1 & 3 times a night to feed babies. Then getting up at 5:00 for another feeding and a full day of work. I'm tired. I deserved a treat :). I thought I'd go to CC's with some almond milk. We keep almond milk around all the time because Maddex has a milk allergy, so this is her source of calcium. I've also been cooking with it instead of milk the last few weeks. I figured they could easily replace their soy or regular milk with my almond milk to make my drink. I have since learned that there is some steaming and a little extra work that goes into a latte, so I realize this is not as simple as just pouring the milk into the drink. Here's what happened...

I went in to the store and greeted the barista with, "I have a question." I then explained that I can't currently drink regular or soy milk, but almond milk instead. I told her that I brought some with me and asked if they could make my drink with the almond milk. Her response? "I don't know the answer to that. I've never had anyone ask me that before." I kinda stood there awkwardly & said "Oh okay." She told me the manager would be in at 7:00 (it was 6:25), and she could ask then. I said I guess I could just call later to find out the answer to the question. Here's my disappointment - it's cool that she didn't know the answer to the question, but she did absolutely nothing to try to find out and please her customer. Y'all, I was so excited about having some CC's this morning and my dreams were just crushed. Okay, maybe slight exaggeration, but I was bummed. Is it too much to ask for her to have questioned her fellow workers? Perhaps they have been asked before and could help us out. Or, if her manager was due to work in 35 minutes, maybe she could have placed a quick call to get the answer. He/She was probably awake and soon to leave for work. I know the answer to the question could be a big fat NO...maybe there are some allergy or contamination issues. I just wish the answer could have been established while my tired, yet anticipatory, self stood in front of her, longing for a hot, steamy, delicious beverage.

Maybe I'm overreacting...maybe it's hormones or exhaustion, but I just wish this morning had gone a little different. Next time, I will be the proactive one to suggest she check with her fellow baristas or call the manager. I guess I'll make that phone call later today to determine the answer to my question. Unfortunately, I'm still tired. And if, in fact, they can't make my drink with almond milk, then, well, it's going to be a long year!

UPDATE 1/19/13 : I went to CC's this morning for a meeting. I didn't even ask about the almond milk, but the girl who did not help me was there again today. She remembered me and asked if I had ever gotten my answer. I told her no and she said they cannot use outside milk because they have pitchers designated for soy milk and regular milk. No big deal. I was disappointed in her lack of effort last week, but I am impressed she remembered me and checked to see if I got my answer. Also, fun fact: if you get a super grande tea at CC's you get unlimited refills on the day of purchase as long as you have your receipt!

2 months

I can't believe these babies are 2 months old!!! What a fast couple of months it's been. We are doing a quick feeding before I leave for work since they ate around 3:30 and I'm struck with sadness to leave them today. I was really ready to return to work yesterday, but today, I'm tired. And I'm sad. I would love to stay home and snuggle these little babes all day long. I'm realizing they won't be babies much longer :(

On the topic of work, say a prayer for me. Yesterday was not bad, but I woke up this morning exhausted from moment one. And there's still 4 days left to work! Please, Lord, continue to give me the strength I need for each day! I am hoping for a nap today. If the babies are on schedule, they shook go to sleep soon after I get home. This would be the ideal time for me to get some rest before Mitch brings Maddex home.

I hope that I'll get some time soon to do a more detailed post about the babies. We go to the doctor Friday and I'll try to snap a 2 month picture of them later today. Perhaps that will make for a lengthy weekend post...we'll see! I've had trouble getting my pictures to update on my computer, and I'm blogging from my phone this morning so I'll include a few recent ones today.

Grocery store

Just thought I'd share my view at the grocery store these days. If I don't have a huge trip I try to take the babies with me since they will usually sleep. Harper gets the sleepy wrap and Major gets the carseat in the buggy.

People often don't realize that I am wearing a baby or that I have one in the carseat and love to share their shock over the twins. I get lots of comments :)

On this particular trip, Major man did a bit of crying. It wasn't so bad though because his cry is not very loud. He quieted down while we stood in line to check out.

So, here's my new reality...

8 weeks

I can't believe the baby twins are 8 weeks old today! Everything is still going by in such a blur! We are on our way to being on a schedule, but not quite there yet :)

The babies have slept about 5 hours between their night feeding and first middle of the night feeding the last 2 nights. Let's hope this is a pattern because I am really needing the sleep! This mama is tired! Unfortunately they are still a little hard to settle after that middle of the night feeding and we seem to be up a good bit for the next few hours. This could prove very tough when I head back to work on Monday.

What else is going on? Hmmm...

-Both babies are starting to smile some. I can usually catch a smile during the day, but not incredibly often. Sure does brighten my day when I see one!
-We are starting to figure out what works for each baby. Major can often be put down when it's time to go to sleep and he'll just drift off, maybe fuss a little. Harper can be rocked, bounced, and walked all around and will stay wide awake, but put her down in her bed and she'll cry for a few minutes then be out. Sometimes she'll wake off and on and cry, but will eventually go to sleep pretty easily.
-I just had a miracle & put both babies down awake in their beds and they were asleep within 10 minutes with NO crying! Their favorite place to sleep right now is in our bathroom w/ the heater running. I think they enjoy the white noise & there's not the other noise of a TV or toddler running around!
-We are at that stage where the babies stop pooping as much. Sorry if this is TMI. Harper especially will go a few days without pooping and then have a big one. I remember the days of Maddex's massive blowouts. I'm not looking forward to that times two!
-I'm not sure there's much else to report! We are working to get into a routine & schedule. I really believe when I head back to work on Monday, we'll see that schedule come together a little better.

In other news, Maddex has been doing pretty great over this break considering she stays at home inside most of every day. She's been playing well and it's been nice for her to have a few new toys to hold her attention. Mitch and I had a day date on Sunday and it was fantastic. We went to our favorite place - Chimes & to see a movie. Thoroughly enjoyed our time together!

I'm in the beginning stages of planning Maddex's birthday party. The theme is Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star & it should be a fairly simple affair. I bought the paper for decorations & invitations yesterday, so I just need to get it all put together!

Before I end with a slew of pictures, I have to give a shout out to superdad. I had a dentist appointment this morning, so I left Mitch with all of the kids around 8:00. They were asleep when I left and I think he was able to sleep for about another hour. I got several picture updates to show everything was well & when I came home, every baby had been changed (diapers & clothes), fed, and the twins were sleeping in their swings. He had also squeezed in a bowl of cereal for himself. Seriously, I don't know if I could have done all of that! Way to go superdad :)

OK - the pictures aren't working right. I have tried since yesterday...will try again soon!

Take that wubbanub

So we spent a glorious day out yesterday to run a few errands with the twins (thanks Nana for entertaining Maddex)! One of those errands involved a trip to Babies R Us. Harper enjoys a pacifier every so often and Major will sometimes partake. They seem to prefer those round ones like the hospital gives that bounce and roll everywhere. We have lost several pacis due to such bouncing and rolling. I decided it was time to invest in one of those little animals that holds on to the paci, so off to BRU we went. I had a couple things to return and some store credit to use, so Mitch stood in line while I went to grab the furry creatures.

Lo and behold, to our luck, they had 2 red wubbanub dogs left! They even came with a pacifier! Awesome. I headed to meet Mitch and showed him my find. He asked how much they were and I told him $11 each. He promptly informed me as to how utterly ridiculous that was! He claimed he could make something similar for way cheaper and was not OK using our credits for this invention. I laughed at his passion against the wubbanub and went to put them back. We did our returns and simply bought a new pack of pacifiers.

Sidenote: I used the mother's room to nurse the twins. It was very convenient, but nasty. The walls were covered in dust and the rocker was all stained. We sat on the small couch instead.

Fast forward to today: Superdad kept all the kids while I went to the dentist. I came home and he was hard at work on his creation. We had discussed using some lovie blankets one of my sweet dance team girls gave me and some little tigers our friends gave us. Mitch secured a round, bouncy pacifier to each lovie and tiger. Tada! Homemade wubbanubs! I must say that ours are much cuter and cheaper than those small red stuffed dogs.

Pictures below of Mitch's creation.

3 of Mitch's creations. There's one more tiger w/ a green paci.

Harper enjoying her paci attached to lovie. We have decided to call them "bub rubs"

13 goals for 2013

I'm not usually a "New Year's Resolution" kind of girl, but I thought I'd follow up my post from the other day with some goals for 2013. Thirteen is a lot of goals, but I'll try to make it.

1. Plan a fantastic party for Maddex's 2nd birthday and actually enjoy myself :)

2. Survive this semester: working full time, my final graduate class (which is supposed to be a doozy), and baby twins. I just may not make it :)

3. Graduate with my Master's degree.

4. Find at least one new way to be generous and give out of what the Lord has blessed us with.

5. Continue to blog amidst the craziness.

6. Have a short vacation or getaway with just my baby daddy.

7. Determine the best course of action for my job. With the completion of my degree this spring, my credentials & experiences may open some doors for other positions. However, I really enjoy my job right now - I teach with great people and love the 1:1 program. I'm really comfortable - which may be the reason I need a change.

8. Invite at least 5 people to our new campus at Fellowship Church South Ascension. I know 5 is a low number, but this is something I struggle with, so gotta start somewhere, right? If you're reading this, you're invited! Boom! Goal met! Just kidding :)

9. Lose about 10 pounds. I am fortunate to have almost immediately lost most of my baby weight, but there are still some pounds to go. I'd like to fit in my clothes!

10. Build up our savings account and emergency fund.

11. Develop a consistent and disciplined time with the Lord. I'm embarrassed that this goal is so low on my list! I'm going to set it as priority in my mind!

12. Plan an awesome first birthday party for the twins. And enjoy myself :)

13. Invest in one friendship for the purpose of accountability.

Wow, that was easier than I thought it would be! Now that I've put these goals out in cyberspace, I will be held accountable! It will be fun, or not, to look back at the end of the year and see what I've accomplished!