And Then There Were Twins!

The twins made it here safe and sound!!!  It's hard to believe the twins are 5 weeks old now!  On September 27th, we welcomed Katelyn Elise (5lb. 13oz.) and Caleb Thomas (6lb. 7oz.) into our family!!

They are just perfect

What a crazy ride it has been so far.  We are so thankful that they made it here safe and sound and without any issues.  What a blessing!!  Having twins has been so wonderful and so hard.  We've had several weeks of help from family and friends and I have appreciated every minute of the help!  It's not easy to hold, feed, soothe, rock, change, etc. two babies at the same time.  Any extra set of hands is appreciated.

 

 Only a few minutes old

We got absolutely no sleep in the hospital. . . NONE!  We were so glad to go home.  Once we got the babies home, we figured out they liked to sleep closer together; like shoulder to shoulder.  That alone is not a recipe for sleep, but it's a start.  ;)

 

 

 They like to hold hands

 She loves her bubba

 

 They like to sleep close by each other

They take turns being the difficult (aka - awake) one.  First, Katelyn spent some time being hard to get to sleep, then it switched to Caleb.  Sometimes, they team up and put up a united front.  But slowly, the sleeping is getting better.  They've even gone 5 hours between feedings; which makes us VERY happy!!

 Cute Katelyn

 Handsome Mr. Caleb

They are great eaters.  I didn't haven't much trouble getting them to breastfeed.  I am feeding them both at the same time, which is more difficult than I thought it would be.  I'm doing this in hopes that if they're hungry at the same time, then eventually they'll be awake and sleepy at the same time.  That will hopefully equal a greater amount of sleep for momma!

 Sleeping Angels

 They actually have their eyes open

At one month old, they are still spending most of their time eating and sleeping.  They do have some awake time, but it doesn't last long.  They are working on holding their head up, both have rolled over to their side, and both have given us a few smiles.  Caleb likes the pacifier better than Katelyn and they both like the baby swing. 

One Month Old!

If you notice, there are no pictures of big brother with the babies.  Micah is not a huge fan of the babies; but at least he doesn't dislike them.  I'm sure he will warm up to them eventually.  ;)

Having three kiddos has been challenging.  Especially when they're all cranky or hungry at the same time. Good thing they are all three so adorable and wonderful!!!!  We couldn't been happier and more in love with our beautiful babies.  

 

One Day

It is SO mind blowing to think about how one day can change everything that you know.  In one day, you go to the doctor and find out you're having TWINS.  (What?!)  Then one day you go to the hospital and you actually have the twins; then your life is changed forever.  It's so surreal to think about how we have been preparing for something that really we can't understand until it happens.  

It feels like these twins have been a long time coming (especially since they've been kicking all my body parts for so long).  We found out so early that we were having twins, and we've had SO many check ups and ultra sounds and appointments.  It seems to have taken forever to finally get to the point where they are ready and we are ready.  Well, as ready as we can be.  I've had a fair share of anxiety about this life change, but change always brings anxiety, I think.  Even though it's scary, it's also so exciting to think about what life will be like with 3 kids.  What they will look like and what their personalities will be like, etc.

All we can do is prepare and pray!  We are so incredibly thankful that we have had a safe and healthy pregnancy and that the babies are safe and healthy.  Such a relief to make it to the end with no real concerns for them.  What an amazing blessing.

At this point, just days away from their birth, I can't be worried about what this new life will be like anymore.  I am just so excited to meet them and start our life with them.  I know that they will be a blessing in our family. 

Let's just get this show on the road.  :)  Plus my body can't take much more of this torture.  ;)

Come on babies - we are ready to meet you!

xo - Stef


P.S.  Dear babies, get here safely!

P.S.S.  I would like to thank every single person who has done SO much to help us.  I can't even begin to name all the ways that our friends and family have blessed us and REALLY helped me to feel more prepared and capable of doing this twin things.  We have the best people in our life!  WE LOVE EACH OF YOU!

Micah is TWO!

As I mentioned in my last post, Micah turned two in June!!  I can't imagine how so much time has passed with this precious boy in our lives.  He is such a big boy now.  He has gotten so much taller and is a so incredibly busy.

His favorite activity is climbing and jumping.  He climbs on the beds, the chairs, the tables, jumps off the couch, jumps off the toy chest.  All of course, with mommy and daddy telling him to "STOP JUMPING" every five seconds.  I'm so tired of telling him to STOP.  He is definitely testing his parents with obeying right now.

He is talking more and more.  He says Hi, Uh-OH, Ready-Set-GO!, Eat, a version of Thank you, night-night, a version of Amen, and some other words.  But his best word is BYE-BYE.  He's really good at saying BYE-BYE.  It's hilarious, because he practically yells it over and over again until we actually leave where we are.  Sometimes, he won't say it until the visitor is actually gone, then he yells BYE-BYE for a few minutes after they leave.  It's hilarious and adorable!

Micah is probably not too sure about what's going on with Mommy and Daddy and all the changes around our house.  We keep trying to tell him about his Bubba and Sissy that are coming soon.  We tell him every time we go into their room, and try to get him to say it to my belly, but he doesn't really care.  If I lift up my shirt and ask him to kiss bubba and sissy, then he comes over and pulls my shirt down and walks away.  LOL.  I hope he gets used to his new siblings pretty quickly.

Micah just started mothers day out a few weeks ago.  He is not a fan of being dropped off, but he seems to enjoy it.  They tell me he stops crying after a few minutes.  He even naps their sometimes.  He's not doing good at eating his lunch, but he's not really eating much right now anyway.  He just had a big growth spurt a few months ago, so maybe he's just not as hungry now.  Who knows. 

We definitely have our hands full with this busy, messy, wiggly, climbing little boy, but he is so precious and amazing.  I think he'll be a great big brother and he's so sweet that I'm sure he'll learn to love the babies very quickly.

We love our Micah Man!!!

Where Oh Where

Has the time gone?!  The thought of picking up blogging again is kind of overwhelming.  I'm sad that I let so much time go by without posting, but the thought of trying to find time to post regularly again is also overwhelming.  There are so many things all the time that I think about blogging about, but I just don't.  I'm sorry.  :(  I guess I'll just give you an update on what I have currently going on.

So, big news number one - We are having TWINS!!!!  Sometime in October or late September.  I still sometimes can't believe it.

We were pretty shocked (well at least I was!), but I think the news has sunk enough and now we are excited!  I've been working on the nursery. We found out we're having a BOY and  a GIRL!!!!  So exciting!!  Before you ask, no we don't have names yet.  We are probably going to have a hard time with names.  It looks us forever to come up with the name Micah, so who knows how long it'll take to come up with two more.  :)

I'm currently 24 weeks pregnant and I feel about as big as I was when I was near the end with Micah.  I have been taking weekly pictures, maybe one day I'll post them.  ;)

Big news number two - Micah is turning TWO!!!!  In a few short days, my baby boy will be a big boy.  :(  I'm excited because he is just changing all the time and his little personality is certainly starting to make itself known, but I'm also sad because my little baby is no longer little.  :(

So, our days are filled with spending time with our very busy two year old big boy, and prepping for our two new little presents plus sitting on the couch like a big uncomfortable preggo lady!!  We have a lot to do to get ready for the twins.  Then once they get here, we'll be busy surviving life with two newborns and a two year old.  Maybe since I'll be up all night every night, I'll start blogging again, huh?!

Big news number three - I'm an AUNT!!!  I'm so excited to have a precious nephew.  He was born in April and I love him so much.  I can't wait to spoil him rotten!!!

 Love him!!

Well that's all the updates for now.  I would like to send a special shout out to all you loyal readers who have been checking my blog even though I haven't been blogging.  If you have stopped checking regularly then I don't blame you, I understand.  I'll have to prove myself worthy of regular check-ins again, right?!  :)

Big fist bump to Aunt Callie who I know checks regularly. 
Love ya girl.

XOXO

-Stef

Sad

I can't believe I haven't posted in 2013 yet.  This makes me very sad. Very very sad.  I don't think I've ever gone one month without at least one post.  :(  What have I been doing with my life?  Oh yeah, just living it.  I have way too much to catch you up on, so I might not even try.  I may just start posting random things instead of trying to write one big recap of all that's happened in the last few months, cause that would be a super long post, like this sentence.  I hope you still love me even though I've been MIA.  What can I say,  I'm either being super busy or super lazy on any given day. . . so there ya go.

Another thing. . . where are all the pictures of Micah?!  Well, I'll tell you. . . there are none.  They are ALL blurry.  This kid will not sit still long enough to have a picture.  Even on my nice, expensive Canon; they are blurry because he's just too fast.  I'll try to post some blurry pics and videos soon. . . TRY being the key phrase.  :)

Let's just say that Micah has been a very busy boy.  Being SO cute at all times. . . well except when he's throwing a tantrum, which you know. . . he's coming up on two. . . so it's often.  He's climbing and running and throwing.  He likes to play with his car tower that Aunt Callie got him for Christmas.  He plays with it everyday.  He also likes Scout, a green puppy dog that sings and talks and says his name.  He sleeps with that thing now so that's what I hear in the mornings.  I'm starting to imagine I hear that dog, even when I don't.   Coo-Coo.

See Scout at the top?!

Well, I guess I'm done with this blog because Micah is not having it anymore.  Mommy needs to pay attention to HIM!

Love you!

Stef