Twenty-Thirteen

It was a good year.  In fact, the best year of my life so far.  The birth of Abby and George makes this year so extra special and so wonderful.  I don't remember life without these two precious babies.  They are my world and I love them more than I ever thought possible.

Here's a quick recap of 2013...

January: Welcome to the 2nd trimester!  Work was busy this month with training lots of clients at the gym as I tried to keep down my breakfast from some morning sickness.  I would come home from work and crash from being so tired.

February: The hubs took me to Spain for my 30th birthday!  We had such a wonderful trip.  It was his first time to Europe and both our first time to Spain.  Such a lovely place it is!  On my actual birthday, February 28th, I was in the hospital for pre-term labor.  I was in the hospital for almost 3 weeks...not fun.  I had a cerclage put in at 21 weeks and was told I was going to be on bed rest the rest of my pregnancy.  Ho-hum.  Thank god the babies stayed put for a few more weeks!

19 weeks pregnant

20 weeks pregnant, right before I was put into the hospital:

Abby

George upside down!

March: Not much happened this month...I spent it on the couch and in the bed!  For a very active person this was hard, but I knew the end result was worth it and boy was it ever.  I had lots of fun doing crafts and planning the babies nursery.

April:  Again, a pretty "boring" month.  Two of my very good friends came to visit me from SC and this was such a sweet surprise.  I was supposed to have a baby shower in SC this month but I had to cancel it due to bed rest, so instead, they brought the shower to me.  I'm so thankful for these sweet friends!

May: My pregnancy was going well and even though I was still on bed rest I was out of the danger zone so was now allowed to have one small outing a day.  I had a baby shower this month and it was so much fun.  It was so nice to get out and get gifts for the babies!

June: June 4th, Abigail Elizabeth and George James were born!  Best.day.ever.  It was a whirlwind of a  day but ended with these sweet babies who were healthy as they could be.  At 34 weeks pregnant they were great sizes.  Abigail was 5 pounds, 2 ounces and George was 4 pounds, 6 ounces.  My little itty bitty miracle babies :)  The hubs and I also celebrated our 4th anniversary!

Here we go!

First bath!

July: The hubs and I were in the throws of very little sleep and just trying to survive.  My parents watched the babies as they so generously let us go to their country club for a 4th of July dinner.  It was so nice to get out of the house, just the two of us.  We were exhausted, but getting by.  Babies were eating every 3 hours at this point and it was SO hard.  We got through it though!

August: Again, just trying to survive.  My parents were huge helps, along with my mother in law who came up numerous times to help.  We could NOT have done it without all this help!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!  Also at the end of this month my cousin came and stayed with us for a week to help out. She was a saint.  She helped cook, cleaned our house (!!!), took a few overnight shifts with the babies and helped during the day...she truly is a gem.

September: We went to the beach with the hubs family.  We had such a good time and it felt soooo good for me to get out of our house and have a change of scenery!  Even though we didn't leave the house much, it was still nice to be there.  The house was on the beach so every day I had beautiful views of the ocean.  It was glorious!  I kept reminding myself that the next year we'd be able to be outside more and would be chasing after these two. :)  This month also held the twins baptism.  It was such a special service.  These two are the biggest blessings ever and I know God has such big plans for them.

October: Babies started sleeping through the night!!!!!  Horray!  We also celebrated their first Halloween.  George was a lion and Abby a pumpkin.  My Mom was out of town, but my Dad came over and handed out candy while we took a quick walk around the neighborhood to show neighbors the twins dressed up.  My Dad also helped us put the babies to bed that night so that the hubs could hand out candy.

Starting solids for the first time!

November: We celebrated my Mom's 60th birthday and had soo much fun.  We also went to Raleigh for the babies first Thanksgiving.  It was a wonderful time getting together with family, as always.

December:  This was such a fun month!!!!!!  We celebrated the hubs birthday and went out to a good dinner while my parents watched the babies for the night.  We also went to my parents country club with them and the babies sat on Santa's lap.  They did great!  While we were there we also had an amazing meal.  We spent the week before Christmas in Raleigh celebrating Christmas there.  We spent actual Christmas here with my family.  Christmas is much more special when you have children!  Even though they don't get it yet, it's still so much more fun.  The twins were spoiled this Christmas and really enjoyed watching everyone open their gifts, playing with the wrapping paper and sticking it in their mouths.

Here's to a HAPPY and HEALTHY 2014.  I'm looking forward to seeing what this new year brings!

(picture taken 12/31/13)

6 months!

This post took me about a week to write...it is not only LONG but I have very little time to blog these days!

6 months...half a year.  Holy cow, I can't believe it.  People said time goes by really fast when you have babies and man, they weren't kidding.  It really saddens me yet makes me happy to watch them grow.  I never used to be much of a cryer, but ever since babies I can tear up at the drop of a hat just watching them and thinking how special they are to me.  I really can't believe in another 6 months they will be one year old, omg!  But let's not rush to that quite yet.  I'm still enjoying these baby snuggles for a bit longer!

I'm going to break up these posts a little different into categories of Sleep, Eating, Weight, Development, Random Facts for each baby.  

Sleep:

-Miss Abby went through a rough patch this past month with getting her to bed, but for the last week has been doing much better.  She would scream and scream for a while and put up a big fuss before bed time.  It was awful for everyone.  But once she got to sleep she sleeps pretty well.  She still wakes up 3-5 times in the middle of the night for her paci but typically if you stick it back in her mouth she is good to go.  She goes to bed around 7 pm and wakes up around 7 am.  George on the other hand is a freaking incredible sleeper.  He goes down like a charm and sleeps through the night so well...7 pm-7 am.  He wakes up for a paci 1-2 times during the night, but other than that, he's easy-peasy.  They both (esp George) like to sleep with their hands behind their heads and it's the cutest thing ever!

-Naps have all of a sudden gotten shorter for both babies.  The 45 minute intruder has made it's way into our house and I just have to say it pretty much sucks.  I really can't get anything done around the house and that stresses me out!  But I'm trying to remember this is just a phase and this too shall pass.  No sense in getting in a huff about it as it won't last forever.  They still take about 3 naps per day.  I think in 1-2 months we will transition to 2 naps.

Eating:

-Abby is still my great nurser and nurses all the time except before bed time.  It's our little tradition to feed her a bottle at night and that way I can pump and give my pumped milk to George the next day.  George is eating from a bottle and gets about 50% breast milk from my pumping.  We have also started solids which they LOVE. Right now I'm feeding them breakfast (oatmeal or rice cereal) and lunch.  I am making all of their food (so far) and having so much fun with it.  Their top favorites are squash, avocados and green beans!  They have also tried carrots and peas.  Next up I'll try spinach then maybe I'll start adding in some fruits.  I'm so happy they are loving the solids!  Around 7 or 8 months I'll start doing meals three times a day.  

First time trying food!

Weight:

-At their last check up (6 month), Abby was pounds 17 lbs., 1 oz., in the 75th percentile (!!!) and 26.5 inches long.  George was 13 lbs., 14.5 oz. and 25.75 inches long.  They are both doing well with their weight gain and right on track.  

Developement:

-Both rolled from their bellies to back at 4 months but the day before Thanksgiving when we were in Raleigh, Abby rolled from her back to her belly!  Now that's her preferred way to be.  George hasn't done it yet but he is close!  They are both grabbing EVERYTHING and everything goes in their mouths.  They are also drooling everywhere. Abby is most definitely teething (I think this has been causing some of her sleep issues).  I'm not sure if George is or not.  He probably is but being the laid back baby that he is he may not have issues with it.  Both babies are sitting up in the bumbo great and their core strength has really improved within the last month.  They both can kind of sit up on their own...they lean way forward and support themselves with their fists...it's cute.  I don't let them stay that way for long though b/c they are extra wobbly!  I have to remind myself that although they are 6 months they are really about 5 months old adjusted since they were early.  Our pediatrician thinks they are right on track developmentally.  The neonatolgist we see for their developement thinks they are right on track for their adjusted age so who knows.  Whatever it is they are doing great and thriving.  

Random:

-They both just discovered our dogs, Zeus and Zoey.  They love watching them!  They also love grabbing their fur.  

-George rarely gets fussy...like barely ever.  The only time he typically lets out a scream is if you take is bottle away in the middle of feeding him when you are trying to burp him.  It's pretty funny.  He's SUCH a good baby!!!

-We tend to call Abby miss fussy pants sometimes b/c well, she can be, haha.  She is sooo cute though and has the biggest smile ever, but she is high maintenance!  We love her to pieces though.  She is starting to get easier during the day though which is nice.  Instead of "cooing" she squawks like a bird, it's hilarious.  I love when she's nursing she will stop and look up at me and give me a huge smile, it melts my heart.  

-George is my good snuggler in the morning.  It melts my heart.  Moments like that I wish would last forever.  Abby is my good snuggler at night.  There is nothing better than a baby falling asleep in your arms. 

-They both love the bumbo and do great with it. Abby never wants to be on her back anymore.  She either wants to be sitting up or on her tummy.  It is getting VERY difficult to change her diaper and dress her...she is sooo wiggly these days.  I call her Miss Wiggly!  haha.   

-They both love their walks.  Thank God!

-They also both love toys that light up and play music.  

-They love to be out and about.  Being at home is starting to get boring for them so I try to get them out of the house about once a day.  We just signed up for a Kindermusic program that starts in late January.  This is once a week for 15 weeks...we are all looking forward to it!

-We celebrated my Mom's 60th Birthday.  It was so much fun and such a wonderful celebration for a very special woman!  The cousins also enjoyed each other.

-We traveled to Raleigh for Thanksgiving.  We had a great time and the babies were on their best behavior :)  They love "playing" with all of their cousins!

Let's be real here for a minute. Having twins ain't easy. There are times when I want to scream to the top of my lungs and pull my hair out. There are times I long to be able to run an errand without it being a marathon process to get ready for that one errand. Although life sure has changed these pass 6 months, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Abby and George's gigantic smiles, their belly laughs and coo's makes my heart skip a beat. I love how every morning they wake up happy and ready for the day. It's so exciting to see what new things you do and discover these days. I love you both with every itty bitty morsel of my body. Happy 1/2 birthday!!!!