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Thursday, September 24, 2009

a little of this and a little of that

although my brain has felt it lately!

It's been a whirlwind of life the past couple of weeks and we've been slightly lost in our own little world.

Here's a couple random snapshots . . .

We took Ava to the Pumpkin Festival last weekend in Morton and she was so much fun. I potty trained her 2 weeks ago today, so I was a little nervous how she would do. But she did great and stayed dry the whole time. She's been a trooper and I've been so proud of her. I say we're 90% there. Ava just had fun having mommy and daddy to herself.
Her favorite ride. We went down this MORE than a few times.


Daddy and his little girl

I'm still waiting on a few pictures, but here's a snapshot of me, the girls and my grandma maibach from our time up in michigan the other weekend. It was so special to be with her. Grandma is holding Olivia Mae (after her). Can you tell our first visit was after a car ride across the state?! : )


Grandma actually began her radiation treatments today. The results of her biopsy showed an aggressively growing tumor, that without any treatment, doctor's said gave a 3 month prognosis. With optimal treatment (sugery, radiation and chemo), 12 months. So our family is cherishing moments, staying prayerful and continually amazed by a woman whose faith, courage and stedfastness inspires us all. Our family did set up a caring bridge site for her that Grandma can read peoples' notes to her. If you're interested in sharing your heart, feel free to visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lorenemaibach/mystory. Please continue to keep her and Grandpa in your prayers.
And last but not least, my two sweet munchkins!


Ryan and I head off this afternoon for 5 days away WITHOUT kids. We're slightly excited. Although if you think of it, say a prayer for my parents who are holding down the fort with the 3 girls. Somehow, I think we'll come back to slightly spoiled little girls (and knowing mom, a cleaner house). But that's the fun of it - right! I wonder if it's possible to catch up on 6 months of sleep deficit in 5 days?!?!

I'll be finishing more of my "If I had twins again . . ." posts when we get back. Although due to alot of questions I've gotten, my next one will be for family and friends. Let me know what questions I can answer for you!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Come this spring, our family is expanding!

And it's not because I'm pregnant! : )

Wedding bells are in the air . . .


We're so excited to share that Ryan's brother, David, is engaged to an incredible girl called Tara. Ava decided she liked Tara long before it was official (and truth be told, we did too). She is even more excited now that she gets to call her Aunt Tara!

David and Tara - we praise God for His faithfulness in bringing you together and trust Him to be faithful in the years to come. Love you both!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Part Two - If I was having twins again: The first few months

I almost have to pause to write this post as, truth be told, there are much of the early days that are just one big fog.


You other twin mommies know exactly what I'm talking about.

When the twins were around one month old I went to write in their baby book.

As I started looking at the questions I kind of thought in panic, "I DON"T REMEMBER."

It's actually been one reason I've been so thankful for this blog as it holds a lot of memories and details I doubt I'd recall otherwise and have been able to transfer to the girls' baby books.

So on that note - on with the post! : )

I have good news and bad news about life with brand new baby twins.

Bad news first? The beginning months of having twins were more exhausting than I was prepared for.

The good news? Life reached a level of function much sooner than I anticipated.

I believe in being realistic and honest.

Newborn twins are hard.

There is no way around it.

Twice the babies.

Twice the feedings.

1/3 of the sleep.

Equation doesn't quite seem right - does it!
I have no idea how octomom does it.

And since many newborn twins are smaller than your typical newborn, the transition to better sleeping takes much longer to accomplish.

I don't say any of that to panic you.

But I guess more than anything, I want to help any new mommy-to-be accept that it is ok if it you can't do it on your own for a while.

Newborn twins are constant and exhausting but with the right help and expectations in place, you CAN and WILL do a great job!

I'm going to share some of things Ryan and I did as a part of our life with twins and what worked/didn't for us.

Please read all of it through a filter of "this worked for us."

Every family and every baby(ies) are different and we all have different philosophies when it comes to babies.

And much of our experience with twins came alongside the fact that I was breastfeeding, which does add a whole new element to the experience.

But I'm saving all that for my next post.

So with that said . . .

First?

The hospital experience.

Eat it up.

Soak it in.

Enjoy it.

Much of me feels like when it came to Kate and Olivia as newborn babies, my time in the hospital was largely the only time I had nothing to do but snuggle, soak them in and marvel.

Ava was taken care of.

Undone household chores weren't staring me in the face.

Moving from the upstairs to downstairs after a c-section wasn't an issue.

It was just Ryan and I and our babies (and fun visitors!).

So use that time to snuggle and get acquainted as much as possible. You won't regret a second of it.

Second? Coming home holds lots of dynamics (or did for me).

The miracle of two is both a wonder and a hardship.

I had read, in many of the books I'd gone through, that bonding can sometimes be an issue for moms with twins.

I wasn't prepared for that to be true for myself but it was.

From the instance I saw my little girls I loved them without a doubt.

But I wasn't quite prepared for this dynamic of feeling like anytime I picked up one, I felt like I was "choosing" to not pick up the other.

Or the fact that the caring would feel so constant at times or that I didn't have that constant desire to snuggle them like I had with Ava (which was emphasized with feeling like one twin always got the "rough end of the stick").

Or even just the fact that I didn't really have the opportunity, time or energy to snuggle them like I had Ava.

On top of it all?

Put a 19 month old and two newborn babies together and a 19 month old will win every time in the fight for attention.

And a lot of that is ok and completely normal.

The twins were not hurting if it was daddy, a grandma, aunt or cousin snuggling them instead of mommy while Ava was.

I can remember long ago, when my sisters were having their kids, my mom telling them that a baby will not remember having to cry for a little bit. An older child will.

So I did make a conscious choice to, as much as possible, to spend available downtime with Ava if I could.

But a realistic consequence of it?

While I knew I loved my girls, I didn't feel as much of that lovey, dovey "in love" that I had experienced with Ava.

About month into the twins being home, I was talking to my sister about it.

A month of constant help, lack of personal space and no sleep was catching up and I was finding I was much more emotionally vulnerable, snappy and just resenting anyone in my way.

We are being honest here - right?

I had an "AHA" moment.

I realized that for a month solid, I was doing "all" the work when it came to the twins.

Because I was breastfeeding, no one could take a feeding for me.

I had been on a 24 hour, 3 hour feeding cycle for a month straight that looked like:

feed babies, change diapers, pump, stuff food and water down, try to give Ava 10 minutes of quality of time (if she was home), occasionally shower, until I finally crashed into bed to try and sleep for an hour/hour and a half.

Repeat.

On a really good stretch I got 2 hours of sleep. : )

So I felt the exhaustion of the twins, but none of the sit down, snuggle and soak them in fun.

Don't get me wrong.

I chose to breastfeed and given the choice, I'd choose to again.

It just definately adds a dynamic of further exhaustion when it comes to twins.

But if I had to do over, I think I would change some things.

I think I'd try and take one baby to bed with me for a nap every so often to snuggle instead of being so dogmatic they had to be in their cribs.

Given, I still wouldn't let them be snuggled for all their naps as I am a big believer in getting twins to self soothe early.

But one nap a day for each of them wouldn't have ruined it.

I'd be a little more intentional of asking to keep a baby after I fed them instead of handing them off to whoever was over helping.

After a while, at times, I almost found myself resenting others for being able to enjoy my babies more than me.

How's that for honest?

Yet the bonding and feelings do come.

But you quickly get a picture of why help is so essential with newborn twins.

Because no where in that daily routine do you hear time for laundry, cleaning, cooking or rational thought.

Ok, I added that last one in there.

But it's kind of true.

That all is one reason I couldn't be more thankful for two incredible grandma's and a world-class, hands on daddy/husband.

They were a constant source of help and support while absorbing my emotional rollercoaster rides.

That is no small feat and I have tears in my eyes as I try to imagine my life without any of them.

They have, and continue to, bless me and are the biggest reason my life is as functional today as it is.

But you see the need for grace.

LOTs of grace.

Enough with the emotions - practical stuff?

1. I needed help with Ava as much, if not more, than I needed help with the twins or the house.

She was my wildcard as, at 19 months old, she was still very needy and constant energy. So having help with her was my biggest need especially with my level of energy/functioning.

So if you are expecting twins, and have older kids, having them taken care of would be my greatest priority if help is limited in any way. While I tried to keep Ava's life somewhat routine, she did spend many nights or days at Gpa's and Gma's.

It was kind of funny, the days I just had the twins, felt almost easy.

The day I would have thought twins seemed "easy." : )

It's all in what you know - huh?!

2. Sleep WHENEVER you can.

It becomes a bit of a two edged sword because me needing to sleep as much as I could (and NEEDING the sleep) was part of why I didn't get as much quality time in with the twins or Ava for that matter.

But it is essential.

Sleep doesn't return to you as fast when you have twins in the house and you need to give you mind, body and heart the chance to rejuvenate as much as possible.

Your children, husband, and family will all thank you.

I'm sure my whole family shudders to imagine me with even less sleep than I got. : )

The bonding will comes, the fun is there, and YOU WILL get to a point you aren't constantly needing to catch up on sleep. So for now, you need to take care of you so you can care for others.

3. Get your babies on a schedule as soon as possible.

I'm a HUGE believer in Baby Wise.

The whole idea behind Baby Wise is establishing a routine that creates stability and content babies (and mommies!) who understand what to expect from their day. If babies know what's going to happen next, they transition well, sleep well and are happier. And if mommy knows what to expect - well we all know that makes a happy mommy AND home! : )

Baby Wise encourages you to create a distinction between day and night. So during the day, you wake the baby up and keep them on a schedule. At night, you let them sleep and they learn a routine.

It also encourages helping babies learn to put themselves to sleep which, while it blessed me with Ava, has been a HUGE blessing having TWO munchkins needing to go to bed.

Trying to rock two babies asleep for each nap and at night would take time from my day I don't have.

Baby Wise also has a small multiples sections that helps addresses the extra dynamics involved.

One applicable reality of our situation?

Since I was breastfeeding and wanting to build my supply up, I wasn't wanting to supplement with formula.

So for close to 2 months, I kept the twins largely on a constant 3 hour schedule, often even during the night, so I wouldn't have to supplement with formula.

I wasn't wanting to do this at the expense of their weight so I did it at the expense of my sleep. (Brilliant - huh?! : ) )

After their weights, and weight gains, were more solid, I started really letting them stretch at night.

They have always slept in the same room and we did not run to get a crying baby out.

As a result?

Unless it is the end of a nap, they have rarely ever woken each other up.

It is SO tempting to do that in the beginning.

You are exhausted.

And the thought of another baby waking up is excruciating.

Yet as much as you are able, let them go.

There are exceptions and we definately made some (nothing is black and white when it comes to parenting).

But overall, we kept an idea of what we wanted, self-soothers to sleep, and I am so blessed by it today.

It took longer than Ava took but we did get there.

So see - while the beginning is rough, you CAN and WILL get there.

Around 2 months old I remember thinking, "I can't function like this any longer."

I had once heard someone say around 3 months is a big turning point for twins.

It is.

It was shortly before then the twins started settling into longer chunks at night where I would get functionable stretches of sleep.

Glimpses of a routine started appearing in my day.

Ava knew what to expect.

The girls started acting like they knew what to expect.

Ryan and I had more of a system down.

And we started to move from wondering if we were going to be able to do this to knowing, by God's grace, we could and we would.

At 6 1/2 months old, the girls sleep all night from 8:30 - 7:30 with good naps during the day. They are happy to go in their beds, go to sleep on their own and wake up happy and content. I am SO blessed.

How your twins sleep will hugely impact your days. It's worth pursuing.

Keep a schedule when it comes to feeding as well.

In our home, anytime one twin woke up to eat, the other girl got woken up as well.

With as time consuming and constant as taking care of twins is, I can't fathom trying to maintain two different eating/sleeping schedules.

Even to this day, the girls always eat and go down for naps at the same times.

Kate is a better sleeper than Olivia, so many times, Olivia wakes up first and I do get her up. I don't expect them to sleep the same length of times always. But with the rare exception of one very fussy twin, they always go down together.

It's just one more way of keeping routine to our days and giving me periods of planned down time.

4. Start getting out.

If I had to pick what has been the hardest part of twins for me it is by far being limited in going out or connecting with others and Ryan.

In the beginning months, going out really isn't an option at all outside of doctor's appointments and church.

For health reasons AND logistical reasons.

You don't have time to chat on the phone or spend long amounts of time emailing.

Between exhaustion, kids, and others in our home, alone time with Ryan was largely non-existent with the exception of sleeping next to eachother.

So I, pretty quickly, felt pretty cut off from the world and others.

I think I was cut somewhat off guard by this so I want to be forthright.

It's never fun to feel like the world goes on without us but it is true.

And it was hard for me.

Yet my point in sharing this is to tell you that it will improve and much quicker than you think.

But some of that will be up to you.

I can remember around 3 - 4 months realizing that we didn't have any big obstacles standing in our way to go out and about anymore: health, schedule, exhaustion.

Ok, exhaustion can still be an issue sometimes. : )

Yet facing the thought of going out with two babies can be daunting.

It's alot of gear, alot of supplies and alot of attention from random strangers.

Please emphasize alot of attention from random strangers. I'm still not used to that.

Yet you need to do it.

Ryan and I made a decision pretty early that we were making a choice to continue to participate in life as much as was healthy for us.

Ava needed life to go on.

I needed life to go on.

We needed life to go on.

So while it takes much longer to get out and can be complicated we do it.

Both when I'm with Ryan, as a family, and on my own.

And I promise the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

And the more you do it, the more adaptable the kids become in going along.

Plus, what it does for you mentally is fully worth it in itself.

That said - Ryan and I still refuse to take the 3 kids out to eat by ourselves (although we do love the rare opportunity to go out to eat WITHOUT them ; ) ).

And I don't have any plans to take all 3 kids grocery shopping by myself anytime soon.

I think we'll wait on that one for a LONG while yet. : )

5. It is ok to express yourself honestly . . .even if it feels like what you want changes daily : )

With the demands of twins and lots of extra bodies in your home, it will be hard at times.

But you will bless those helping you, and yourself, if you can be as honest as possible with what you need.

Some days, I was so exhausted, it felt like a huge gift to have someone entertain and have fun with Ava as I slept whenever I could.

Other days?

It felt hugely emotional and hard to finish feeding the twins and watch someone else go off and have fun with Ava instead of me.

It took me a while before I finally learned to start expressing that I occasionally wanted to be the one to head out on a walk with her, take her to the park or read books with her.

Poor Ryan would get a phone call with an emotional wife on the other end.

People can't know how to best help you unless you tell them.

So be willing to be honest.

It made such a difference for me when I started pushing myself to share my needs, for that day, more often.

6. BE WILLING TO LIVE WITH A LOT OF GRACE FOR YOURSELF, YOUR SPOUSE, and YOUR KIDS.

I was just re-reading over what I've written and thought, "Good grief, I sound like a know-it-all who thinks she has it all figured out." : )

Please know such is not the case.

My favorite story to tell is how one day, Ryan came home from work to find Ava had been sent to her room, the twins were playing with their toys and I was all tears.

He quickly proceeded to ask me, "Was Ava rough today?"

no.

"Have the twins been crabby?"

no.

"what's wrong?"

To what I promptly sputtered out between tears, "IT"S . . .just . . . my. . . life . . ."

Don't smile.

Ok you can. It's kind of funny.

There are days that seem long, constant and exhausting.

Life with twins is constant.

Yet in between it all are many days that now seem blissfully "normal."

Whatever normal means that is. : )

We do have more good days than bad around here.

So having grace to give yourself and each other will make the rough days much fainter in your memory and help the good days stand out.

Sorry for yet one more novel.

And as always, if you have more specific questions you'd like me to answer directly, please feel free to email me at shineon915@yahoo.com

Blessings!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Part One - So if I was having twins again: Pregnancy!

Wow - I just uploaded the picture of myself 37 weeks pregnant with the twins and just had to stop, pause and take a moment. : )
There is absolutely NOTHING in the world that can prepare you for finding out you are expectings twins.

And I even joked about it/half suspected it with how I felt and looked.

You still never think it will happen to you (I can't fathom what it feels like to hear triplets/quads or anything else for that matter too!).

It's the most extreme of all emotions.

Disbelief.

Overwhelmed.

In love.

Panicked. : )

In the matter of minutes and over the next couple of weeks, the entire guantlet of emotions gets traveled.

Yet one thing remains for certain as I look back on the experience.

Carrying twins was, by far, one of the most unique, miraculous, difficult and unforgetable experiences of my life.

I like to say it was a ONCE in a lifetime experience. : )

Very quickly, in our twin pregnancy, I was blessed by those around me.

Why?

I come from a church/family/friends that has known lots of twins.

So while, yes, I heard quite often, "Oh, poor you . . .etc" when someone discovered I was pregnant with twins who would be only 18 months younger than my daughter, I also heard lots of "HOW EXCITING" from individuals who truly meant it.

I can't tell you how much that blessed me.

It helped me choose joy, choose excitement and choose thankfulness even in the times I could feel overwhelmed by the prospect of 3 kids 2 and younger, the financial costs, or the extra worries/work that accompany twins and the pregnancy.

I can remember a conversation with Ryan when I shared, "I have a choice. I can choose to dread the next couple years of my life or I can choose to embrace it. I am determined not to just "grit and get through" years I will never get back. I don't want to live that way."

This helps me set up my #1 encouragment for if I was having twins again.

Enouragement #1: Choose Excitement.

Why?

When it comes to multiples of any number, there is always something to overwhelm you.

(although isn't that true about mommyhood in general?)

But how hard the coming months of pregnancy may feel will have a lot to do with your state of mind about it.

Carrying twins isn't easy.

But few people get that experience and I wanted to do everything I could to be grateful and proactive.

That said, let me deal with some realities and what was helpful for me! : )

A twin pregnancy accelerates and exaggerates the entire pregnancy experience.

You grow faster.

You tire easier.

You gain more weight.

You get more looks (and not the "oh, how cute" type).

You cry more. - oh wait, maybe that was just me.

Yet we live in a world that doesn't slow down.

After having a very active pregnancy with Ava, I realized pretty quickly this time around was different.

And that was hard on my "I do it my self" pride (ahh, maybe 2 year old Ava and I have lots in common).

I didn't want to have to slow down or accept help.

Yet you have to.

So encouragement #2?

Slow down.

Encouragment #3?

Educate yourself.

When I found out I was having twins, I dove into books (although that tends to be my personality).

Friends gave me some, I found others and I didn't stop my entire pregnancy.

I am a personality, though, that can get through most anything, if I feel like I understand it.

So knowing what was healthy for my body, my babies and how I could best prepare for them helped me so much when the process seemed just hard, overwhelming or never ending.

If I had to pick two books to read before your own twins arrive?

1. Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding & Caring for Twins or More by Karen Kerkhoff Gromada (third edition). If you are considering breastfeeding EVEN A LITTLE, you need to buy this book. I call it the bible for breastfeeding multiples. I knew I wanted to try and breastfeed and after quite a few "mediocre" books, I noticed this book kept getting referenced. So I finally bought this one myself and never looked at another. It's fully informative and encouraging without the dogmatic push that some breastfeeding books can have that leave you feeling like a failure if it doesn't work out.

2. When You're Having Twins, Triplets, or Quads by Dr. Barbara Luke. I really liked how this helps a mom understand what she CAN do about taking care of herself while carrying twins. It provides lots of helpful advice without the doomsday approach I felt some books had as far as preterm labor and twins. It really helps with nutrition and weight gain which is important since the bulk of weight gain with twins needs to be in the first half of pregnancy as opposed to the back half for optimal baby growth.

Although when looking up this last book I found this site with a longer list of recommended books that could be helpful too:
http://multiples.about.com/od/toppicks/tp/aatpbooks.htm

Encouragement #4?

Listen to your body.

Putting everything else aside, carrying your babies as long as possible is your NUMBER ONE goal.

Overall, I had a very healthy and "easy" twin pregnancy.

Yet my doctor cut out all unneccesary activity around 24 weeks, I believe it was.

It was also shortly after that when he told me he didn't even want me on my feet for cooking beyond absolute essentials.

Yet when the guilt came as I looked at a messy home or our carryout/simple freezer meal, I had to keep reminding myself what my goal was: babies coming home with me from the hospital.

Over and over, that is what I'd have to remind myself.

By the end, I was so uncomfortable on my feet that even though I wasn't "officially" on bedrest, I half lived like I was. : )

Bottom line? eat when you need to, lay down all you need to, and accept help whenever it is offered.

So what practical things can you do to help the process/prepare?

1. Invest in a maternity belt. I pretty much lived in mine the entire last half of the pregnancy. It helped so much with carrying the extra weight around and with my back.

2. Make lots of freezer meals during your second trimester. These are NOT for after babies. These are for the end of your pregnancy. I had just happened to start making them for after the babies and had my meals pretty well cleared out by the times babies arrived. But it helped us eat a little more nutritiously and inexpensively when I didn't have the ability or energy to cook in the end.

3. Nap whenever you can and let someone else do what needs to be done. Your job is carrying babies. Period. If during this period of your life, your husband or someone else does all the cleaning, cooking, laundry . . ..IT IS OK.

4. Start talking through expectations/visions for after the babies come with the people you know will be your largest support/help at home now.

We had people scheduled at our house SOLID (24/7) the entire first month, pretty much most of the second month, still 3 days a week the third month and 2x a week the fourth (Aren't I spoiled?!?! I'm so thankful). That isn't everyone's experience but with Ava being 19 months old and me nursing, I couldn't have nursed without that kind of help.

However, that isn't much personal space. So talking through some of the details now will make it easier then. Even just who can do what/when or what you would prefer. Starting the dialogue now will make it easier for when changes come or are needed after babies come and you're tired and emotional. : )

5. Last but not least? ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT PROGESTERONE SHOTS. My doctor's practice is to give these shots to all high-risk pregnancies every week starting at 18 weeks because he has seen such a huge difference with them in his patients. They help relax your muscles, prevent pre-term labor and are a HUGE help with ligament pain.

I got my shots every tuesday starting at 15 weeks due to awful ligament pain. Without fail, by sunday night or monday before I would get my shot, I'd notice ligament pain and braxton-hicks contractions. I'm convinced the shots played a huge part in me carrying the girls to term.

Not fun, but oh so worth it. : )

I could go on and on (and already have), but more than anything I want other moms carrying twins to know you can do it, even enjoy parts of it, and survive it!

I'm more than happy to answer more specifics from my own experience. Leave me a question or feel free to email me at shineon915@yahoo.com.

Michigan Part One

For most of Labor Day, we were in Michigan with Ryan's family. His parents found this home that worked out great - it even had a pool that Ava LOVED to put to good use.

I think the pool and the fact that Ava got to share a room with Aunt Callie might have been the two favorite things about the whole trip for her. She thought she was pretty cool.
Kate was just excited to be out of her car seat and stretch.
Olivia checking things out.


Ryan and David intensely concentrating. Right.


There was a train track right near by the home and Ava DID NOT like how noisy it would get. Whoever she was nearest to got quite the snuggle as the train would go by us.


There's something about this picture I love - it kind of sums up how Ava feels about her Aunt Callie. She just loves to be around her . . .and doing whatever she does!


Kate hanging out at the bonfire.
Olivia just wanted her bottle.



Doesn't Ava look so grown up in this picture!

Daddy and Ava roasting her first marshmallow.



Kate and Olivia watching the pool action. If Olivia could have dived in herself, she would have.


Ava had LOTS of fun swimming and got pretty daring.


In action!


Kate and Olivia ready to try this swimming thing out.

Kate was happy as long as someone snuggled her close and played with her.


I love this "sister" shot.


Olivia pretty much just loved it. I don't think her arm stopped splashing once she was in the water.


Ava's first "real" pony tail.



"riding" Grandpa's bike.

Playing Candyland with Daddy and Grandma


Doesn't she look so diligent here?


Crosswords with Grandpa.


Playing with Grandma and Callie while we packed up for Detroit.


My sweet girls.


Thanks for a great weekend Mom and Dad!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

6 months old!

6 months old - unreal. But since I say it all the time - enough! : )

At their 6 month checkup:

Kate:
Weight: 13 lb 15 oz (25%)
Height: 25" (50%)
Head: 41 3/4 cm (50%)

Olivia:
Weight: 13 lb 11 oz (25%)
Height: 25" (50%)
Head: 42 cm (50%)

For the curious who like to compare click here.

Life is a constant adventure when you're 6 months old.

Getting ready for the first taste of cereal.
Kate was not impressed.
Olivia was indecisive.


Loving their big girl toys! Happy Kate in action.


My bouncy, wiggly Olivia.





Since Ava started sitting around 5 1/2 months/6 months old, I decided on a whim to see how the girls would do.
So far, the pattern has become our nosy, wiggly Olivia likes conquer the world first. Kate is usually content to happily sit back and watch Olivia's trial and error process for a few weeks before jumping fully into whatever fun is to be had. It'll be interesting to watch them as they continue to try new things!
Kate's try at sitting.


Olivia's turn.


As much as they are wiggling, rolling and reaching, I have a feeling my days of a somewhat controlled area of play are rapidly dimishing. The positions/spots these girls get themselves into at times always manage to make me laugh. They keep me hopping! I'll try to snap a fun picture of the two to post.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

so life with twins?

Eversince I was pregnant with the twins, and even more so since they came along, I have known SO many others who are expecting twins or personally know of people expecting twins.

I've considered writing a couple blog posts on "if I was having twins again . . ." and share some things I'd do/wouldn't do again, items I've found extremely helpful/useless or just over all nonsense about life with twins.

After all, having 6 month old twins does make me an expert - right?! ; )

HAH!

Far from it.

I learn from lots of failure and succeed with lots of help.

And if you want expertise from those who are much further ahead of me, I can send you to some FABULOUS people whose lives are inspiration to me in my current stage of twinhood!

So the point to this post (there is one, I promise)?

Are there any questions you have or things you've wondered but never dared ask?

I'd love to know!

It's one of those days

Mommyhood feels hard today.

In fact, today just kind of feels hard.

It's one of those days.

Nothing comes easy.

Emotions easily flow . . .and they tend to be negative.

I can blame it on life circumstances.

I can blame it on some situations I've encountered/am dealing with and have been for a while.

I can blame it on hormones.

I can blame it on kids . . .really anything!

Yet the reality is, life goes on.

This afternoon was one of those days I sat down at my desk, just sat there and thought, "Lord, my hands and heart fill empty today. And on my own, I can't."

And in that moment, the simplest of memory verses I've known since a child was whispered to me:

"I can do EVERYTHING through HIM who gives me strength."


Praying your day knows HIS perfect strength today too.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

a prayer request

I'm not up to lots of details right now, but a little under a week ago my Grandma Maibach was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Doctors have currently given her 6 -12 months.

Grandma goes in tomorrow morning for surgery to take a biopsy of the tumor which will allow us to learn more. It is then that Doctors, Grandma, Grandpa and family can determine a course of action.

Please pray for the doctors.

Please pray for my grandparents.

Please pray for my aunts/uncles.

thanks