2 1/2 days down, only 6540 more to go! : )

Can you believe we're all still in one piece!?!

My mom left at naptime tuesday . . .Ryan and I have been trying out afternoons/evening and nights on our own and so far, so good (yikes, I"m a little nervous now that I put that!).

This past month would have been hugely different without the help of both our grandma's. Ava got lots of love and fun at Gpa and Gma Prevo's and my mom was a superwoman taking on nights, babies, and a sleep-deprived, hormonal, post-partum daughter for one month straight.

That last bit is no small thing I tell you. Only a mother's love. : )

We are so blessed.

Thanks for all you did Mom . . .we love you!

Settling back into a "little" of a new normal has actually been really nice. We could not have made it without the help we had, but it's been so neat to be reintroduced to our new family as it is and to take some of the reins back ourselves.

Don't get me wrong.

I have had my moments that all 3 girls are serenading eachother with their tears.

I have glanced at the clock every 5 minutes on a given day to see how much longer until Ryan gets home.

I have craved a nap when a grandma wasn't around to give me the chance to take one.

But such is the life that now awaits us - and it's been such a gift to enjoy our little girls and the craziness they've brought to our lives.

That all said - I'm not sure if it's all your prayers combined with the mercy of God, but we've also had 2 of our best nights with the girls while on our own - they went 4 hours two nights in a row!

So getting some sort of "reasonable" sleep has made these past couple of days so much easier to handle as they come.

Please note that I just called a 4 hour stetch (which usually would entail about 2 1/2 hours of sleep) REASONABLE. :)

Gotta love life's new definitions with newborns.

Then there is this tiny additional factor that every morning, Grandma Prevo comes in to play with Ava and let me get a nap in. I'm not niave enough to think I"d be doing this well without my easy mornings.

I couldn't do it without her help in the morning.

It allows Ava to get some attention that isn't fully shared and me to gear up for the rest of my days.

Ryan is just working on scheduling meetings with himself at work so he can take a nap in a back room.

I"M KIDDING (not that he probably hasn't thought about it).

And my sister just came and took Ava for the rest of the day and for overnight. That provides a much more restful and relaxing evening and lets me have some time to just soak in the two girls.

I laugh at the times when I think, man . ..just having twins seems kind of simple.

The day I thought THAT would ever enter my mind! (It also helps that it's not 2:00 in the morning with two screaming babies).

I'm holding my breath and waiting for the night that completely takes the wind out of me. But mostly, I'm working on enjoying the good days and thanking God for them!

And as a little update, my thrush is HUGELY improved thanks to some diflucan and a great remedy of grapefruit seed extract (thanks Jen!!). I'd recommend it to anyone! So that helps in the day to day as well.

Well I"m off to enjoy a quiet house while I have one . . .here's a few more pictures.

My ready and able helper when it comes to ANYTHING needing washed.

I mentioned Ava likes to snuggle her sisters by laying on them? Case in point. At least in this shot she wasn't entirely crushing Olivia.

(disclaimer: no babies were harmed in the making of this picture)


During Ava's naptime, if the girls aren't eating, I'll often put them on their stomachs for this nap on the floor. Ava's ritual when she wakes up is she has to snuggle down in between them ("by you") and just lay there. It's pretty sweet until she then start harassing them after an inevitable while.



Sisters.

Ava is fascinated with the girls' swings. She'll push her baby dolls in them, and loves to "push" her sisters (as I hold my breath). The other day, I was getting some info off the computer and could hear her playing with the swing behind me. I didn't think too much of it since that isn't anything new and a baby wasn't currently occupying it.

That was when I turned around and saw this:

Ava had somehow managed to get herself up and FULLY into the swing ON HER OWN. Ryan and I have made the decision we're going to look into getting a gate to section off the office - we thought the safety of Kate and Olivia might be worth it as we can't leave the girls in their swings without being vigilant of where Ava is. and it helps protect them when I'm nursing one and the other girl is a sitting duck. She keeps us hopping!