burritos | twins

it really seems just like yesterday, you two were these tiny little things, 

kicking, rolling, hicupping inside.

but you get bigger everyday.

it's almost time to drop the swaddle. you two are just getting too good at rolling.

i will miss the sweet little burrito babies...

sitting | milestones

Guess what we learned today?

oh yes, the little miss is officially a sitter!

5 months, 2 weeks

oh babies, slow down, don't grow too fast!!

poor little brother is still confined to the bumbo, he likes to stand too much, he won't bend his legs/hips to sit down!

this much [5 months] | Joelle and Jonah

this month, the twins just get instagram photos :)

Jonah:

My sweet Jonah bear! He is now wearing all 6 month clothes and some 9 month ones! He rolled for the first time 2 weeks ago. He still loves to talk and his favorite chew toy is his own fingers. Verbally he is more advanced than his sister, although she is more advanced physically.

It's a LONG story, and not worth going into the details, but after some recommendations and research, we decided to take Jonah to a chiropractor. Pediatric chiropractics are a hot topic right now, and to each their own, but we decided it was worth it for us. After just one adjustment, Jonah was able to hold his head higher than before and he rolled!! These were both a big deal for Jonah bear. 

His disposition has gotten even better since the 3 adjustments and he is such a smiley baby. He seems much more comfortable in general. Sleep-wise it hasn't helped that much, but we also have been traveling. We shall see if it helps him find a more comfortable position to sleep in. 

He has fairly good hand control and can bring toys to and from his mouth. He is still VERY ticklish and has the sweetest giggle. His favorite thing to do is watch his brother, he will lay there for an hour straight and watch Jarvis, it's adorable!

Joelle:

Oh my goodness, this girl. She is such a little charmer! Joelle has the biggest smile and she loves being around other people. Although she decided on our trip to fuss anytime she saw someone new, I think she got a bit overwhelmed. 

She can hold her head up so well and loves the bumbo or exersaucer. She rolls like crazy from front to back, and can nearly roll back to front. She can now grab ahold of her feet and is trying her hardest to get them to her mouth. She has excellent hand/arm control and is always reaching out for something. She can hold her own bottle some of the time and it won't be long now before she will want to all of the time. She does NOT like you to take her food away!

She has started talking alot more, mostly when she is angry! She has a very loud fuss/screech when she can't get whatever toy she wants in her mouth. When she talks, she always sticks out the end of her tongue, it's hilarious! 

She is now in 6 month pajamas, but they are still too long in the arms and legs, she's just so little! Her eyes are still a very light blue, but I'm not sure they will stay... She still adores sleeping and gets super angry if she doesn't get her 'beauty' sleep!

and just a few more pictures for your enjoyment!


this is what Joelle does with her tongue when she's talking! silly girl...

Twins | 2 months stats

*Project 52 will be posted tomorrow*


I can not believe my babies are 2 months today! They went to their 2 months checkup today, and I am so thankful daddy was home to watch the big boy so I only had to take 2 of the 3... it's hard enough with 2!


waiting in their carseats to be called back...

sweet little babies!

So here are their stats:


Joelle: 
weight- 9lbs 10ozs  22nd percentile
length- 20.25 inches  0th percentile
height vs length ratio- 95th percentile


So basically, Joelle is not even on the chart for height because she is so short, but she is nice and chubby and  weighs alot for her height! Her little legs are so short! Greater than 95th percentile for height vs weight means they are overweight, so she is right on the border, lol...


Jonah:
weight- 10lbs 5 ozs  21st percentile
length- 22.5 inches  35th percentile
height vs length ratio-  15th percentile


Jonah is pretty much average although he is just a bit small. Nothing of concern though and he is gaining well.

legs

these little baby legs are getting chunkier and chunkier!

TWELVE | p52 | 2012

Remember when...

Laundry day was once a week.

Instead of four loads a day.

Sweet babies. So much laundry.

Someday I will miss it, but right now

I'm the laundry queen.

Check out other Project 52s at:

styleberry BLOG | The Carter Family | Bugs & Boo-Boos | What We're Sayin' | Moments & Impressions | Our First Little Bundle Of Joy | Phreckle Face Blog | Aubrey My Love | Wicked Kate | Living for Love | Our Lil Story

And if anyone else wants to link up- let me know!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Not only is today St. Patrick's Day, it's also our cat's 4th birthday!


So Happy Birthday to the snottiest, most unfriendly cat ever!


We love you Juliette, despite your standoffish ways!

The rolly polly little leprechauns!

The bigger leprechaun!

Month 1 | TWINS

So I realized I had not shared the photos or stats from the babies 1 month shoot...


Joelle:
7lbs 4 oz
19 inches
11th percentile for weight (adjusted for 38 weeks)
4th percentile for height (adjusted for 38 weeks)
80th percentile for her height vs weight ratio



Jonah:
7lbs 12 oz
20.5 inches
13th percentile for weight (adjusted for 38 weeks)
12th percentile for height (adjusted for 38 weeks)
30th percentile for his height vs weight ratio

Both babies have started cooing some, and it's quite adorable! We have gotten social smiles out of both of them, no longer just the gassy, sleepy smiles. They are both still in newborn clothes, but Joelle is filling out the stomachs of her sleepers a little snugly. She's still too short for most of them though! Jonah is starting to max out the length in newborn sleepers. 


Joelle is still using the blanket swaddlers, but we have upgraded Jonah to the Woombie swaddlers because he does NOT like when his arms get out. He startles much more than Joelle does. Joelle actually seems to prefer to have her arms out; if she gets them out, I leave her that way, but we still put her down swaddled. Jonah is a pacifier-fiend, just like his big brother, and right now Joelle is doing a better job of settling herself at naps without a pacifier. However they seem to trade off having trouble, so it's always a toss up!


At one month, they were still eating at a very predictable 3 hours, even through the night. (They have since stretched out at night and will go anywhere between 4-5 hours at night between feedings.) Both of them went through a growth spurt at one month, Joelle was eating 5oz and Jonah was eating 4oz. They have both backed off of that since then and they each eat around 3-4 oz at a feeding. 


They are both a joy to have around and we are truly loving their addition to our family. 




This job isn't easy, but I wouldn't trade my life for anything.

this much [1 month] Joelle & Jonah

Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of your face next to a one month old's when you are alone in the house??? Yeah, apparently very hard, especially when there are two, and they only are awake for 45  minutes and it takes 40 minutes to feed/change them both... 

so yeah, you get what you get... but I still love them...

and by the way, who said my babies could be a month old??? TOO FAST!! Slow down sweet babies!

(check for Jarvis' *this much* post tomorrow!)

Horrible lighting in the nursery and missed focus, but I love this one of her :)

Ahhh, Mr. grump face!

Linking up with styleberry blog for her *this much* project!

The Twins | Individually

With fraternal twins, you basically are just getting siblings who happened to share a womb and be born together. I knew that, and I expected them to be different from one another, and from Jarvis, but I have honestly been surprised just how much of their little personalities have been showing through.


Let me be clear while it may seem that this post 'compares' my children, it's more just observations on characteristics and behaviors. I love all of them and their quirks equally :) I'm writing this all down, because I know the haze of newborns will eventually fade it all away, it did with Jarvis.




Joelle. (Which by the way, is pronouced 'joe-l', in case anyone was wondering) My middle girl, squished between two boys. Oh, how mama knows how that feels, my poor girl! At first, I would have said she was going to be my laid back child, but she's showing more and more gumption every day! From day 1, she has latched better while nursing than either of the other boys, but she's super sleepy and a lazy nurser. She requires most of my attention to keep her awake and eating. She's going to be the natural snuggler of the bunch. Jarvis never was much of a snuggle boy, but with the hub's influence he's becoming more of one every day. She adores being held and rocked though, and fights being laid on her back. She'd rather be held, but sweet girl, there just aren't enough mama arms to go around, sorry.


She has these little crinkle ears, that are flat on the side and top. I love them, they look like little elf ears. She has all these little petite features. She's a little squeaker, just like her big brother Jarvis was. She's still so tiny, and I imagine she will stay that way. She's like a little squeaky mouse. She has light brown hair that is nearly long enough for clips already, and her eyes are still a dark blue. 

And Joelle, my sweet Joelle. She looks like her big brother, Job. There's been a little sliver of recognition in my mind every time I look at her, and the other day, I placed it. She and Job have the same bone structure in their faces. Job was so tiny, at the time, I thought his features just indicated he wasn't completely grown yet, and it was hard for me to picture his face full grown, as a infant, or a toddler. But it's clear, looking at Joelle, that he would have resembled her. While Jarvis and Jonah share more similar features and bone structure, Joelle and Job would have looked more alike. However all three boys, Jarvis, Job, and Jonah, have Daddy's cleft chin, and lucky little Joelle doesn't!




Jonah. Ahhh.. our little grumpy old man. We've taken to calling him Jonah-bear, because he has quite the frown and scowl, but it's all just an act, he's a big sweetie. He, just like his big brother, Jarvis, had a HORRIBLE latch initially and really fought breast-feeding. We are doing much better on that front, but he still has bad habits to work on, but overall he is much more aggressive at nursing than Joelle. Because of this, I thought he was going to be more high maintenance than his sister, but since he's been eating better, he has chilled out quite a bit. He's very observant and really watches what goes on around him. He's also the better sleeper in general and has a bit more flexibility than Joelle in his wake time length. Hopefully, this will allow me to be able to synchronize them better when I am alone with all 3 kids!

Jonah is extremely expressive. I've never seen so many facial expressions on a newborn! Jarvis had quite the grumpy face going when he was a newborn, but Jonah easily beats him out. This kid has at least 4 or 5 forehead wrinkles most of the time. And he can raise one eyebrow all the way up while he furrows the other one. He makes this face most often when he starts nursing, it's hilarious!! He's also quite the gassy little boy and we are working on getting good burps out of him. 


Like I said before, Jonah really resembles Jarvis more than Joelle does. He has Jarvis' nose and eyes and forehead shape, and of course, the cleft chin from Daddy! Jonah also inherited Daddy's double cowlick, whereas Jarvis just has a single one. He still has loads of hair, but it's a much darker shade than Jarvis' or Joelle's. And his sweet little eyes are still a dark blue, we will see what they turn out to be!

Hmmmm, so that's all my new mama brain can come up with for now! Be watching for a link to our studio and in home lifestyle newborn sessions tomorrow!

Insta-Friday | The First Week

It took me three day to get this post written... my computer time has dropped off significantly. Which is kinda awesome... Three kids are so much work, but so much fun!


Lots of pictures this time- but if you are on Facebook or Instagram, you've probably already seen them... oh well!

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

1. Last picture as a family of 3 as we head to the hospital!
2. Taken the day before the twins were born, holy cow, big babies! We love us some family reading time!
3. Jace holding both the babies for the first time.
4. Me holding both the babies for the first time.
5. Joelle and Jonah!
6. Heading home, exactly 48 hours after they were born- we are so blessed!!
7. Joelle's first headband! Made by mama ;)
8. Silly sleeping babies- this is pretty much how it was in the womb, Joelle in a little ball, Jonah taking up space!
9. The best big brother EVER!
10. Grandpa's here!!! And Jarvis is thrilled to have a new playmate, since Gammie heads back to Texas tomorrow! So thankful for tag-team grandparenting!
11. Their first night home... I have waited so long to see a baby in that bassinet again... The Lord is SO GOOD.
12. Getting their sun on to fight some light jaundice...
13. Snuggling my chunky boy, Jonah...
14. My current lifesavers- featuring the stylebabyLOG- which is AMAZING!! It's the only way I am keeping my brain straight right now!!




We took their newborn studio pictures yesterday- 6 hours in a *hot* studio, haha! But our photographer, Stacy, was awesome and the babies did so well!


So far they have both had ONE bath, haha, and are both really liking eating every 3.5 hours and being swaddled. We have been able to get latching and tandem feeding down about 80% of the time, and that saves me A LOT of time! It's definitely an art form to be able to tandem breastfeed twins, but I'm excited it's working so much better than breastfeeding Jarvis ever did- I'm so much more informed now!

Overflowing | p52 | 2012

This is the first time I have even touched my computer since the babies were born. I've been checking in online on my phone a couple times a day, but I was shocked when I get up this morning and there were links to project 52- is it really Friday? How did that happen?


The picture up above- the first one of my hubby with our 3 kids. Wow... how do we have 3 kids?? It's still so surreal!


Overall we are all doing very, very well. We were able to all go home only 48 hours after the c-section, which is amazing in and of itself, but even more so with twins! They are sweet, sweet babies and are growing. We are still learning to breastfeed, and every day/feeding is a new challenge, but overall they are doing so much better than Jarvis was at this time. Let me tell you though... nursing twins, tandem or separate is TIME-CONSUMING!! Sometimes it feels like I don't get out of the nursing chair for hours, which is true. They are still sleepy little newborns, but are just the sweetest things to cuddle. Unlike their big brother, who never slept as newborn and didn't like to be held, they both sleep pretty well and love being snuggled into anything, especially one another!


I am healing very well and expect to be back to normal in just a couple of weeks. Besides the actual surgery (which was a horrid experience, sigh), healing from the c-section has been much easier than the complications with Jarvis' birth. I am mobile and moving around, but still limited in how much I can do. Luckily, between Gammie and Jace, I am being well-taken care of. THe hubs has off for several weeks, which boy, do we need! For some reason, these babies sleep better in the middle of the day, so I am taking up napping when they do, because I've been getting less than 3 hours a night of broken sleep. Feeling a bit cut off from my normal social world, which is sad, especially since I know my friends are dying to meet and hold the babies. But I'm trying to remind myself that this will all go easier if we hunker down, get healthy, get feeding down, and figure out our routine as quickly as possible. And unfortunately, my dear friends are going to have to wait a bit longer for an open invitation. 


Jarvis has been AMAZING with the babies. This kid continues to blow me away. Things are crazy and out of routine (which if you know us well, you know we all like routine!) and the normal attention he gets from mommy and daddy is nowhere near being met. But he is behaving like an angel. He adores the babies and calls them 'my babies' and he loves to pat their heads and be around them. He loves to read them books and share his toys. And he's doing such a good job at attempting to control the 2-year-old noise level (although really, we don't expect him to- he's 2! and they have to get used to sleeping  through it all anyway!)


My dad flies in tomorrow to take over for my mom, who leaves the 14th. I'm excited to have my dad here, but boy does he have big shoes to fill with Gammie leaving. She has been absolutely amazing, and it has been such a blessing physically and emotionally to know Jarvis is well-taken care of and getting his attention and love while we work to include the babies in our family. 


Of course, the wonderful postpartum hormones swing throughout the day. I go from wondering how in the world I am going to handle 3 kids, especially 2 newborns, by myself when everyone else goes back to their normal world. A couple hours later I am crying in complete joy over the amazing blessing we have been given. 


We are so, so, so blessed and thankful for our little family and the love and support we have received. 

Baby Stats | The Fishies

I'm writing up a big post about delivery day and our hospital stay, but I wanted to get their stats up on and on the blog for all the curious people out there!


Baby A- Girl, was born first at 1:52pm. She weighed in at 5lbs 9ozs and was 18.5 inches long. Her head was 13 inches, and chest 12.25 inches. She has a full head of dark hair and blue eyes, that will likely turn brown too! She is sweet and dainty, and is the first of our 4 kids to NOT have Daddy's chin. Although she resembles her brother quite a bit, we all think she will end up looking more like me- can't wait to see!


Baby B- Boy, was born just a minute later at 1:53pm. He was a hefty 6lbs 11ozs and was 19.75 inches long. His head was 13.25 inches, and check 12.75 inches. He also has a head full of dark hair and blue eyes. He seems amazingly larger than her, although the weight difference is only a pound. He is an exact carbon copy of his older brother from Daddy's chin to his personality!


As far as mama goes, I am healing really well- every nurse has been very impressed with the job my doctor did on my incision! I am up and walking and free of any more tubes. I can now eat whatever I would like and move around freely. I am definitely sore and can't lift anything heavy or do any bending for a bit, but overall I am feeling good. 


In fact, we are all doing so well that we will most likely be heading home Wednesday afternoon! Can't wait!


My good friend Stacy gave me a baby gift in the form of a mini-session at the hospital to capture the babies in all of their day old glory. Here's some of the pictures.




In the hats Gammie made them and the shirts I made them :D

Joelle

Jonah

Daddy with Joelle

More to come later!!