Friday, January 17, 2014

15 Months!


Best age ever! :) Kate and Maddie are SO fun, always making us laugh, learning, and life seems to be "easier" in many ways! Enjoying the no attitude/no talking back time! ;) 
This stage with twins has been the easiest and most enjoyable! Yes, there are tough days where they fight all day over a toy, or both want to be held all day. But, they have come SO far! I mentioned to Matt the other night (as we dropped the last bottle with no fuss about it), that this time last year feedings were taking FOREVER and the girls were screaming! So different from now! 

Two things have changed in the past few months that have seemed to make life much easier!
1. Walking to the car to load up, or walking into the house! Life changing for a twin mom!
2. Nodding yes and no! :) 

My heart might burst sometimes when I see their love for each other. Now when they wake up, they must hug or pat each other! Nothing sweeter!!!




Maddie Grace
-18lb 4oz! Made the 5% ;) 28in. below 5%...but you have a good sized head! :)
-16 teeth...yes that says 16! May be small, but we are overachievers in the teeth department! ;) 
-You make yourself laugh. It's the cutest thing. You squint your eyes, wave your arms, crouch a bit, and just chuckle at yourself. 
-LOVE to hug! You love to hug Kate. She isn't always a fan, but sometimes you hug a little too hard and she falls over! ;)
-when you are doing something you shouldn't or really want something I have (food), you wave and say "hi" with your cheesy grin...I almost give in! ;)
-Animal sounds, you have those down: dog, cat, fish, cow, chicken, monkey, and my new favorite an elephant! :) 
-You and Kate like to walk like ducks around the house! (hands behind back, saying "quack," which sounds nothing like quack! ha)
-favorite book is the Bible...okay it's a really cheesy version with animals on EVERY page...so we must identify every animal...multiple times a day! (I do hide it some). ;) it's a little odd with the animal choices...ducks at the manger scene, rats at the tomb, cats and dogs in the temple...
-nothing makes you happier than to carry around a wet wipe and "clean." 
-favorite foods: mashed potatoes, broccoli, grape tomatoes, bananas, and Puppy chow!
-Least favorite foods: ground beef, spicy food, strawberries



Kate:
-Up to 17lb 12oz...now down almost to 17lb again due to not eating from a fever virus turned first ear infection! Can't catch a break! We are really praying about running some tests in the next weeks to determine if the slow growth is caused by anything...or just the way it is. 
-15 teeth! Number 16 is about to crack the surface! 
-the first born personality is more and more apparent in you each day! Dad calls you "line leader." Which is his nickname for me...you like to get to things first! :) When we ask you to point to animals, you like to be the first! ;)
-talk ALL day long...with inflection and hand gestures! At a furniture store recently you walked around pointing and jabbering the whole time, pretty sure you could have helped sell a couch or two!
-LOVE stuffed animals..your new favorite is your Raccoon and Maddie's bobcat (thanks to a Cabellas trip)
-a daddy's girl! Always sad when he leaves for work, and immediately want to be held when he gets home
-newest words in Your vocabulary "wow!" and "There it is." Don't know how or why those became some of your first words, but it's funny to hear!
-VERY particular about what books are read before sleep! Your likes/dislikes change daily! Always a guessing game for us
-favorite foods: any chicken, broccoli, pickles, crackers, pasta, grapes, Dad's eggs, sauce!
-Least favorite: ground beef, ANYTHING sweet (ice cream, chocolate, etc), sweet potatoes 

Everyday Matt and I praise God for how far they have come! I find myself laughing most of the day at something new they are doing. It seems like every morning they wake up, they have grown and changed overnight! Once baby #3 arrives, Kate and Maddie will no longer be the babies. Hard pill to swallow some days! ;) 

Friday, January 3, 2014

Baby #3

When you have twins first it is difficult to know how to refer to the next baby! Technically it will be baby #3, but my second pregnancy, and feels like it will be the second child in many ways. Poor thing will hopefully not hold it against me that I have hardly blogged about this pregnancy, and probably won't much. Two toddlers keep me busy! 

For our memory I want to write about from the beginning...

-We found out the week of the girls' 1st birthday. I was barely 4 weeks along. Never thought I would be pregnant at their birthday! 

-Only told parents until 8 week appointment. Matt looked up the statistics of having twins again. Since Kate and Maddie were considered identical, the odds of having twins again were 1/10,000...:) Our sweet doctor double checked during the ultrasound to assure us there was just one baby! :) 

-The first trimester I was nauseated ALL day long. Never threw up...just sick all day. I NEVER felt like that the first time around.

-As a friend said..."your body just knows how to stretch." I'm showing much more than pregnancy 1! I'll be honest and say I have only worked out twice with this pregnancy...with Kate and Maddie I did Crossfit until 7 months. Recovery might not be as quick this time around! ;)

-We told close friends around 12 weeks, then made it public about 16. I'm almost 18 weeks. Anatomy scan/gender reveal on Jan. 22!

-I forget I'm pregnant...haha I had SO many doctors appointments and ultrasounds with the twins that I always had it on my mind. I was able to see the girls through ultrasounds about every 2 weeks. This time around I feel a little disconnected at this point, I know as the baby grows and I start to feel movement things will change! 

-My prayer from day one of finding out...BIG, healthy baby that gets to come home with us!!! I don't know why that makes me emotional to type, but it does. Something so normal for most, is a dream for me. To hold my baby after they are born as long as I want...visitors to hold the baby...and to leave with the baby. I've never experienced that joy. Just the sadness and heartache of being distanced. I just can't wait for those moments, oh how I pray I'm blessed to experience those moments, the moments many take for granted that I will cherish forever.