Holding hands

Love that these two seem to have a special bond already.

Another milestone...just like Wyatt

Wyatt is a good kid. He was a good baby too but he was my first so I thought he was hard. Or maybe it's the fact that I didn't know what I was doing.

I still don't. Sigh.

But one thing is for sure. All of my kids are the same when it comes to newborns and schedules. The twins eat every 2 1/2-3 hrs and have finally reached a new milestone....11-12 hours at night. Wyatt did this exact thing too. But he reached it a little sooner (few weeks sooner). And I will add Liam and sometimes Elizabeth still wimper/cry at night but we usually let them be and they go back to sleep. Or we reswaddle/binky. Depending on how tired and nice we are that night. :)

Maybe it is in the genes or something that I do. Not sure. I know the daytime naps will come because Wyatt got on a good schedule so until then the daytime naps will drive me crazy! I know I shouldn't complain because I read somewhere that someone's 10 month old has only slept through the night once. Yikes! I guess it could be worse for me.

I just love sleeping milestones! And I love my kids.

Homework help

As a teacher I wanted kids to do homework on their own or mostly on their own so I could see if THEY knew how to do it not their mom or dad.

Now, I'm the parent. I want my son to do his best. I'm finding I want to help him if it's just not right. But I step back and see what happens. (the teacher in me)

The other day Wyatt had preschool homework. After seeing him struggle a bit to write the letter Z, I said, "Do you need help with your homework?"

Wyatt said, "No, mom. Mrs. Dieu said no parents can help big boys do their homework."

Oh boy! Not bad for a 3 year old. He is obsessed with writing letters and numbers. Thanks to the Letter School App. :)

Birthdays, Bumbos, and Births

The twins are three months old. Hooray! We have made it past the fourth trimester. You know, where everyone is trying to figure their new life out. :)

Elizabeth and Liam are both so sweet and cute in their own way. They have completely different personalities so it's fun to see them shine in their own way. But around here we are trying to do many things the same still. :)

-Both are on pretty much the same schedule (feedings/sleep). Can vary a bit.
-take 4-45 minute naps during day. Sleep about 10 hrs at night. Eat then go back to sleep. Sometimes one will wake up but nothing a little reswaddle and binky can't fix.... Okay maybe a few of those per night, usually for Liam.
-Smile a lot and adore their older brother
-sit in Bumbos #operationgetridofflathead
-bottle-feeding like champs (mom kinda likes it too). Ha!
-size 2 diapers already!  We were getting low on size 1s and we had tons of size 2 laying around so I moved them up.  On average, we go through about 14 diapers/day.  That's about 98 diapers a week.  Can you guess what the twins are getting for their birthday and Christmas every year?

And Aunt Becca thought it would be fun to give the twins a present for their three month birthday..... a new cousin.  Baby Everett was born on August 21st.

Happy Three Months!

The Truth About Twins

****Warning: if you are looking for an upbeat post just skip on by to the next entry in Google Reader. I needed to get some frustrations out and writing is therapeutic.

Some people who talk to me in stores say they have always wanted twins. Really?! Now we all know how I'm so not a fan of newborns so I'm just waiting for it to be "double the fun and joy" instead of just double the diapers the sweet Hallmark cards talk about. Maybe in a few more months.

Here is the ugly truth:
Trying to get two separate individuals with totally different personalities on the same schedule is quite challenging. In fact, it's safe for me to say that sometimes I feel like I'm living in my own type of hell. The days are LONG and sometimes the nights seem even longer or not long enough. But in every book and all my friends with twins say that this is crucial. Having them on the same schedule will save your life! But I might just die trying because it is killing me.

-There is always someone awake when they shouldn't be. This bugs me the most!

-During feeding time there is usually someone needing burping but the other one is still chomping and will scream if you think about taking bottle away. So one of them is bound to spew all over me.

-There is always someone crying. And if the babies aren't then it may be the 3 year old or the mom. Just sayin'.

-Not as much bonding with babies. After I'm done changing, feeding, burping, sleeping,etc. The very last thing I want to do is hold a baby.

-Each baby is so different and is reaching milestones at different times.

-It takes forever to load the car up.

-Church! Let's just not go there.

And if you have any older kids they just might get the best of you. My patience is thin and my Love and Logic ways have been thrown out the window. I don't even think Jason likes being around me anymore.

You are always tired even if you go to bed once all your kids are down. Forget about spending time with your husband at night.

One of my friends who has twins shared with me that she wears spanx every single day (even in the summer). I told her that I couldn't believe it because she was so thin. But she told me she has a "twin belly." Crap! This thing isn't going away? Ugh!

So, I'm going to be crazy, crabby, tired, and fat the rest of my life.

It's not always fun and easy having two babies, but we are surviving. I have found I have to go somewhere every day even if it is to the Sonic drive-thru for a Diet Coke. As crazy as I may look lugging three kiddos out and about, it keeps me from wanting to shoot someone. Who am I kidding?! Every day around 3 pm I want to pull my hair out but I can control myself better if I've been out. Ha!

There you have it. The ugly truth about twins. The truth and nothing but the truth.

Wyatt's First Day of Preshool

Wyatt started preschool and LOVED every second of it. He said his favorite part was the treat. Of course! As for me, I was equally excited for his new adventure to start. Plus, I don't feel so bad taking care of babies while he is away.

He was so excited that we were ready way before carpool so he had extra time to wait and watch for their car. :)

Not enough hands

You know when you come home from the grocery store and start unloading all the groceries, somehow I always find like ten bags on each arm. Because I hate making a second trip out to fetch more bags.

Same rule applies for a two-story house. Once we go downstairs we are there to stay. That is unless I'm taking someone up to sleep.

Each morning I carry downstairs:
Phone
Two formula dispensers
Two bottles (sometimes three)
Two blankets
And two babies
All in one swoop!

Two trips are for wimps!

Miraculous Day

Whenever someone has good news and bad news which one do you like to hear first? Well, in my case I'm going to tell the good news.

Just when I've been dreaming of my next post about how life with twins isn't all that "double the fun" they talk about, I have the best day in 3 months with my kids. Seriously! Can today be like the movie Groundhog Day?

Night time was like any other night. Then I went to the gym and did my first Rx Crossfit workout (meaning I didn't modify anything in the WOD). Got ready before any of the kids woke up and still had time to myself.

Wyatt started the day off on the wrong
foot but quickly turned it around. It
was his first day of Preschool so everyone was excited. (post to come) Then just as I sent Wyatt on his way I put the twins down.

Here is where the magic began. They slept for 1 1/2 hrs! A mother's dream! Okay, my dream. One of them woke up but with a little soothing went back to sleep. Due to preschool carpool I even had to wake the other one up.

Picked kids up at preschool. They looked happy and said it was a lot of fun. After preschool we met some cousins at Chickfila.

The twins ate and were content. Then had another long nap. Loved it! Wyatt was in his room jumping off his couch and reading stories during quiet time but I didn't care because I actually had time to lay down. I may not have fallen asleep but it was nice just to relax. And after quiet time the twins were just fun to be around and Wyatt played by himself and with babies beautifully. I couldn't have asked for more.

We topped the day off with a nice family dinner and all the kids were in bed by 8:15. And I may have had a little ice cream because the day needed to be absolutely perfect. Ha!

I realize that tomorrow will probably be different and that there will be short naps and tantrums but I needed this tender mercy. I needed the hope that it indeed does get better.

The Olympic Spirit 2012

In our house we really love the Olympics. We watch it day and night (on DVR of course) and will probably be catching up with a few events even after the Olympics are officially over. Let's be honest, I can't stay up all night watching it.

But that doesn't seem to stop my Olympians. Wyatt is always doing somersaults and high jumps off the couch, lots of fencing (swords), basketball, and making huge improvements in the swimming pool with EVO swim school.

Don't forget the twins. They have been extending their night sleep to 7-9 hours and then another 3-4 or so. Love it! I think they just made the podium with those stats. Just wish their daytime sleep would earn at least a silver. Sigh. At least they go down for naps at the same time now instead of overlapping twenty minutes. They definitely earn a gold medal for that and for just being so darn cute.

I for one am trying to not sink in the pool. I'm keeping my head above water so that deserves something. Ha! Im improving in my Crossfit workouts and have lost 2 lbs since my initial 30. We can thank weaning for that. Slow and steady is my motto. Definitely not a gold medalist in sprinting but I'm making some progress.

Jason is once again going to great lengths to helping me and providing for our family. Seriously, he is the best! He definitely gets a gold medal for all that he does and for putting up with my obsessions over schedules/times/etc. I'm really surprised he hasn't checked me into a facility yet.

I'm not sure of our overall medal count but it sure has been a team effort for all our gold medals.

Go Team Winsor!

Making the switch

I lost my milk with Wyatt at 4 months. I knew I probably wouldn't be able to go too long with the twins because I've had to supplement with formula from Day 1. I've been okay with that.

My body just doesn't produce tons of milk. Supply and demand?! Ppft! No really, if all babies were like Elizabeth we wouldn't have a problem but, alas, not all twins are created equal or at least nurse equally.

From the start of pregnancy to this day I've been telling myself that no matter what I shouldn't feel guilty when I have to stop. It's easier said than done.

It's been rather annoying to have to breastfeed and then top Liam off most feedings. He would cry even after a bottle but I would stick binkie in thinking he just wanted to suck. Elizabeth seemed content after feedings but we would top her off in the evenings just to make sure.

Feeding the twins became an ALL day affair. Seriously! (Poor Wyatt is right....unless he was with cousins or friends). It was becoming harder and harder to get them on same schedule and feed them. By the time I got done with the feeding process it was time to put down for a nap. Needless to say i was/am going crazy.

Liam has been much happier now. The feedings I have switched to bottles I've noticed he doesn't cry and actually smiles more. That helped confirm my decision. :)

I will definitely miss it and so will the twins (especially Elizabeth). But we have to do what's best for the ENTIRE family.