New Years Eve Miracle

It has finally happened!  Last night, both girls slept through the night on the same night!!!  Both have been sleeping through the night here and there but not consistently and never on the same night as her sister.  I kept telling them if they were going to wake up to wake up the same night as their sister so they can sleep the same nights as their sister.  Well, they finally got the message.  For the first time since they were born both Shane and I got 8 hours of sleep straight.  We've both had nights of continuous sleep individually but it has usually been in a separate bedroom, separate floor of the house from everyone else in order to do it.

Here they are this morning after they got up and ate.  I kept telling them they were my New Years miracle.

We've been working hard to get them sleeping through the night as next week I am going back to work.  It's going to be a very hard, long week but if they keep this up even a few nights here and there, then it's going to make it a lot easier on all of us.  There has been a lot of sleepless nights this last few weeks as we have been trying to get all of us on a schedule in preparation with many tearful nights and mornings when it hasn't worked.  But maybe, just maybe it's going to pay off.  And if you want to know, yes I'm dreading going back to work but it needs to be for now.

Wish us luck and lots more sleeping through the night!

And here is a little bonus picture of the girls watching the BYU Football game yesterday.  Shane and I both think they look like little hoodlums, but cute little hoodlums they are.

Raise your fist

Siena has started this new little habit that Shane and I think is hilarious so we take a picture of it each day.  She does this about 90% of the time she's awake and when we go to swaddle her for naps, I sometimes have to put her arm down just to get it in the swaddle.  And as you'll see in one of the pictures, even Aria has started doing it a little.

Gaining and losing

Someone is getting more hair....

And someone is losing a lot of hair...

Aria is so funny in that she moves her head back and forth constantly.  It's always moving.  So much that not only does she have a bald spot, but she has a whole bald ring around her head.

Siena on the other hand, although she moves her head, she prefers one side of her head much to the dismay of her parents who are paranoid about her getting a flat spot.  However, the top of her hair is growing in a lot more and thickening up.

People are telling me more and more that they look more alike than they used to.  They are evening out in size and hair which has a lot to do with it I think.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas day.  It started early but was so much fun.  We officially started the day at 7am, although unofficially we had been awake since 4am settling girls back to sleep.  So at 7, we got up fed the girls and then opened up our presents.  Santa brought the girls an exer-saucer and a bumbo like chair with a toy tray.  The girls are loving it so far.  Aria has a little work to do to keep her head up all the time but can sit in them for a few minutes and enjoys it when she does.  Siena is doing great and will stay in the exer-saucer for quite a while before her head gets tired.  She's not a big fan of the bumbo yet and tends to arch her back and want out fairly quickly.  They also got some fun toys from us, from Grandma and Grandpa and some books from all their cousins.  Our house has gone from having hardly any toys to all of the sudden being full of toys.  It's going to keep the girls entertained for a while.

After presents we got ready for church while the girls napped and then Shane's sister, Margene, came over for waffles and bacon and then we all went to church.  Church was really nice and I enjoyed hearing our bishop speak and singing Christmas songs.

After church we headed over to my parents house where we spent the rest of the day.  We ate a big turkey dinner, watched some old home videos and just relaxed and talked.  The girls didn't nap or eat that well with everything going on so by the end of the day they had had it.

After my parents house we stopped by Shane's brother's house for dessert and to say hello.

Although the day started early, it ended fairly early as well.  We put the girls down a little after 9 and I was in bed by about 9:45, exhuasted!

Merry Christmas, we hope everyone had as great of a day as we did.

Christmas Eve

This year for Christmas Eve, we went over to my sister Jennifer's house.  Everyone from my family was there except for Lori's family.  We did a different menu than our traditional roast beef dinner and had mexican food.  It was delicious.

The grandkids acted out the nativity as is tradition and this year we had two Mary's...and it just so happened we had two little babies for them to hold.  Avery and Abbey were so excited to each hold their own baby.

We also had our 'open one gift' for Christmas Eve, that always just happens to be pajamas.  So Siena and Aria got to open their first present.

It was a fun, low key evening.

All 3 cousins celebrating their first Christmas

Afterwards we came home and got everything ready for Santa to show up.  I was hoping the girls were going to give me one present for Christmas and both sleep through the night on the same night...it didn't happen.  Sad...It made for a tiring Christmas but I keep thinking next year they will sleep past 4...right?  Please tell me I'm right!

Merry Christmas

More details to come on our fun Christmas weekend...

3 months

Last week the girls turned 3 months.  I am loving their little personalities that are shining through more this month but at the same time sad they are already getting so big.

Here is some information about this last month. 

We separated them into different rooms to try to get them sleeping through the night.  Then they got sick...no sleeping through the night but they aren't waking each other up anymore.  Here's looking to next month.  They both kick their legs constantly.  So much for putting a blanket over them when their awake, it's kicked off in about 10 seconds. We took them out in public together for the first time.  We've gone to church, to my families, the doctor, etc. but never to the mall or to dinner, etc.  So one Saturday night we packed them up and to the mall we went to return something.  It's a little crazy steering a long, double stroller and in the actual crowded store it got even harder but we managed and although I saw some stares no one really came up to us which I was grateful for.  I was feeling so confident that afterwards we went and ate dinner at Jason's deli...it was nice and quiet there and the girls just slept so it was perfect.  It helped build a little confidence in taking them places...then they got sick and we haven't been anywhere else except to see Santa.

Siena

Siena decided to roll over from her tummy to her back this month.  Part of it was a fluke and she's only done it a couple times since but now every time we put her on her tummy she knows she can roll over and tries and tries and gets so frustrated that it's pretty much ruined tummy time.
She is lifting her head all the way up and is getting really strong at holding it up.  She also puts pressure on her legs to stand when I'm holding her.   All in all it's good but now when I try to burp her and cuddle her she just wants to lift her head up and look around.  Where did my cuddly baby go?  And as I mentioned before she got her first sickness.  We took her to the doctor and everything is fine but they offered to suction her with their suction machine.  Who knew about this and why don't they have one for adults when we get colds?  It was HEAVEN and she could actually breathe for a few hours.  Where can I purchase one?  ok kidding but seriously it made my day and you cannot believe how much came out of her.  Even the nurse was dying at how much came out.

Siena has some new friends...I'm still waiting for the girls to interact with each other but it's not there yet...anyways, her new friends are the butterflies on the bouncy seat.  I always ask her if she wants to go talk to her butterflies.  She'll sit in her bouncy seat and kick her legs which makes the butterflies sway and then she smiles and coos at them for a long time.  It's so cute to watch.

Aria

 Aria I call my little lizard.  She is hysterical with her tongue.  It's always going in and out of her mouth and if there is anything even near her mouth she is licking it. ( ie bath towel, sweatshirt hoodie).  I love it and think it's adorable.  Hence the reason for the picture of them together with Aria's tongue.  Even though it's not the best picture of Siena, I couldn't resist it with Aria's tongue like that.  She is also cooing and talks to me non stop after I feed her.  I imitate her sounds and without fail it makes her smile when I imitate her and we go back and forth making sounds.  She is also holding her head up pretty good and is getting stronger by the day.  She also got sick from Siena although it didn't seem quite as bad at first but has taken just as long to get over.

I'm excited for the next few weeks.  I know they don't realize it's Christmas but it's been so fun to get a few things for them and I'm tempted daily to get them out and just let them start playing with them early....they won't know the difference.  I haven't done it yet cuz I know I'll then be disappointed on Christmas morning.

I'm Over it

I'm over....

I'm over the sickness that has plagued our house this last week.
I'm over the girls deciding they don't want to eat.
I'm over listening to their raspy breathing in their nose.
I'm over the cough and tickle in their throat that makes them throw up the entire bottle we just finished feeding them.
I'm over having to suction them and listen to their very sad scream while I do it.
I'm over having to wake them up to suction them so they can breathe and sleep at the same time.
I'm over doing 3 loads of baby laundry a day.
I'm over seeing my sad girls faces knowing they don't feel good.

However, I'm NOT over seeing their smiles even when they don't feel good.  There is nothing that makes a mom's heart melt more then when after making them cry and suctioning them so they can breathe they break into a huge grin.

I love you my little sweeties, I'm not over you and never will be. Feel better soon.

PS We are on the tail end of this, I can feel it...just had to vent for a minute.

Meeting Santa

Siena and Aria met Santa yesterday!

A free Santa meeting at a grocery store, means you get what you pay for.  Hence, the milk and food in the background.  It was free and I wasn't about to pay the money the malls charge this year for a photo op.  However, props to Kohler's market in Highland for doing this.  Santa is there every Monday from 4-8pm in December.  You have one Monday left to go down there.  They even had fresh glazed doughnuts and chocolate milk for free.  Since my day had been too busy, it was my lunch as well.  And every kid got a little gift from Santa.  And...the Santa was really nice and not creepy at all.

Aria wasn't crying because of who was holding her, they could care less at this age.  Rather she wanted to be asleep with her pacifier. 

It's still a tradition

 5 years to the day that Shane and I went on our first date, we went on another first date...our first date since having twins.  It just so happened that Kurt Bestor was performing his annual Christmas concert sso at the last minute we got tickets and went.  We usually get tickets well in advance but not knowing what was going to be happening in December this year we didn't.  So there was some last minute planning but it all worked out.

The concert was great as always, it always brings back memories of our first date and the night we got engaged, etc.  It was fun for just Shane and I to get out together as well.  However, I admit towards the end of the concert I found myself getting a little anxious for it to end.  I was ready to get back and pick up our girls.  They did fabulous without us and I'm sure didn't even miss us, but I sure missed them.

The week before we went to the temple as well and then the night after Kurt Bestor we went to our ward adult Christmas party.  So in one week we left the girls with babysitters 3 times.  They did fantastic of course and so did the babysitters.  Jennifer watched them twice and Michelle watched them while we were at Kurt Bestor.  A big thanks to both of them for being so willing and excited to watch them.  And a big thanks to my parents for being willing to watch them one night only to have me cancel on them.  The next time we go out, you're babysitting!

Sleeping

Sleep and twins...it's an interesting combination.  How much sleep do we get, how much do the girls get, do they wake each other up, do you wake them up, do they sleep in the same room, in the same crib... etc. etc.  There so many different factors of getting 2 babies to sleep.

I won't go into all the details but here is where we stand.

Both girls are now in separate rooms for naps and at night.  This has not always been the case and will not always be the case but for now it needs to be to get them sleeping through the night and to not wake the other one up.

The other night, I went into Siena's room and found her like this:

 Yes she started on the burp rag.  It made me laugh....Then I walked into Aria's room and found her like this:

All I could picture were 2 little worms wiggling around.  Not sure where they were trying to go and why, but it looks like they found what they wanted and fell back asleep.  Maybe they missed their sister and were trying to find her.

And last night Aria slept until 5:00am and Siena until 6:30am.  We're making progress people.

2 month doctor appt.

I never posted about the girls 2 month dr. appt. and first set of shots.  The appt. was technically at 2.5 months.

Siena - Weighs 11 lbs 8 oz - 50%.  Height is 23.5 inches - 85%

Aria - Weighs 9 lbs 14 oz - 25%.  Height is 23 inches - 75%.

Considering they were barely on the percentile charts when they had their first appt. I would say they're growing really well.  I guess all those 3 hour feedings in the middle of the night at the beginning paid off.

The shots were very sad.  The poor little things didn't know what had hit them.  They screamed but luckily they took their pacifier and stopped pretty quickly.  Overall they were troopers and did really well.

I had come with a list of questions about each girl so it took a while to get through the appt.  All in all we were there 1 1/2 hours.  I guess I really got my money's worth since I do pay for the double appt. I might as well use the time right?

When we got home both girls went down for a nap and slept for a while.  Siena woke up first screaming, raging mad.  Shane gave her some tylenol and when that kicked in it settled her down.  Then we had to do the same with Aria.  After that though they slept fine and didn't have any other problems.

And what would a post be without some pictures.  These are my new favorite things...little hoodies on them.  They're so cute.  The only thing is Aria won't stop licking the side of her hood whenever she has it on, it's pretty funny.

Thankful

We had a great Thanksgiving this year and spent the whole day at my parents house.  We had 11 adults and all 17 grandchildren there...and actually although we thought it would be crazy, the kids were all very well behaved and it was such a nice day.  It was fun to just go over there and hang out for the day.

Of course my whole family died at how cute the girls looked in their little turkey shirts.  They were even more impressed when they found out I had made it!  Well I can't take all the credit, Brigitte found the idea and made one for Holland and helped me make theirs too.  They turned out so cute though.

I really am so thankful for our new little family we have.  I still look at both Siena and Aria and wonder how I got so lucky and blessed to have them as part of our family.  Not only am I grateful to be a mother, I'm thankful for their good dispositions.  I'm also so thankful for the rest of our family.   I love going over to my parents and just hanging out with everyone.  It's so nice that we all get along and have a great time together.  I'm thankful that my mom has been responding so well to Chemo...that it is working and that she hasn't had too many bad side effects.  It's nice to see some of her energy returning little by little.

Siena and Aria are catching up to Max.  When Max came over when the girls first got home from the hospital, he looked so huge next to them and now look at them...

Smiling

Finally!  I got a picture of both of them smiling at the same time.  I won't say how long it took me, but I snapped quite a few pictures trying to get this picture today.  Shane wasn't home so I was both the person getting them to smile and the photographer.  It was quite the accomplishment in my book.  Once again, not the best lighting...my camera battery should be here this week, until then you have to deal with my iphone.

Tomorrow they might not be smiling like this as they get their first round of shots...sniff sniff.  At least I'll have this picture to refer to.

And one other picture I couldn't resist posting...this is my dad playing with the girls tonight.  He loves these girls as he does all his grandkids and it's so fun to watch both him and my mom hold and interact with them.  I love that he is down on the ground talking to them.

 

One of these days I might post something just about me or Shane, but until then you get posts all about these cuties...our lives really do revolve around them right now, but one day...we might just go on a date and leave them with a babysitter!  I've had many volunteers so I just need to take someone up on their offer.

Mix Up

I get asked all the time if the girls are identical or fraternal.  To me it's very obvious that they are fraternal.  The obvious differences are Aria's dark hair, and she's darker complected.  But their faces are very different to me as well.

So the other day Shane and I had come home with Aria and Siena after being out running some errands.  We left the girls in their car seats in the kitchen and I walked into the other room to put some things down.  All of the sudden one of the girls started crying.  I looked over and saw that it was Aria.  As I walked over to get her out of her car seat I realized I had just mixed up my girls for the first time...it was actually Siena crying.  I had only looked at their profiles from across the room, but I still couldn't believe I had just mixed them up.

So it got me thinking if they look more alike than I realize.  I think there are times that they do look alike and when I look at pictures when they have a hat or headband on, they do look similar.

Today they are wearing cute little matching hats with their outfits so I decided to take some pictures and I took some of their profiles to see if they looked alike.  So take a look yourself, look at the first one only and decide if it's Siena or Aria and then scroll down to the other one.
 

They aren't the greatest pictures because my camera battery died and I'm waiting for a new one to arrive in the mail.

To me when I look at both pictures at the same time it's very obvious but when I look at just the first picture it's a little harder to tell.  In fact I showed this first picture to Shane and asked who it was and he got it wrong.  They definitely are not identical but I think they'll pass as sisters.

So...who's who?

Another Visitor

We had another visitor this weekend.  I love all the visitors I've been getting since the girls were born.  I want to say that they want to see me but really I know it's because of Siena and Aria.  That's ok, whatever it takes to get people to come visit me.

My good friend from high school, Konstantina, came to visit this weekend.  It was a short but fun and relaxing trip.  We really didn't do anything except talk and talk and hold the babies.  She is in love with the babies (how can you not be though...) and it was so fun to see her and catch up.  We talk on the phone a lot but it's not the same unless you have 2 whole days to get completely caught up.

She made us dinner Sunday night that was really yummy, Brigitte and Tyler came over to enjoy the dinner as well.  She taught me to text in Greek, saw my parents and just had a great weekend.

She says she is going to come more often now to see the girls grow! Thanks for coming Konstantina.

2 Months

2 Months!  Seriously?  That is crazy and yet believable all at the same time.  Here are some things that have happened this last month.

Together 

• Both smiled on the same day.  Aria smiled for Shane and Siena smiled for me and then we saw the other one smile later that night.
• Both have found their voices but Aria uses hers a lot more.  It's so cute to hear their little yells.
• Michelle brought over a play mat this week that Aria loves, Siena thinks it's ok and both move their arms and hit the dangling toys and then they just stare at it until they hit it again.
• Both are pretty good sleepers.  They go to bed by 10, Shane feeds them at 2 and then they usually sleep until 7.
• They are both in their own crib and don't wake up to each others cries
• Both are getting strong necks and holding them up more and more during tummy time
• Both are still in newborn clothes although I'm getting ready to transition to 0-3 month clothes soon.  In fact these pictures are in 0-3 months clothes and they were too big.

Siena

  

(Siena gets 2 pictures because this was the first picture we caught her smiling in.)

• Has gone from hating her bath to tolerating it...occasionally and even liking it once.
• Has had some feeding issues, maybe reflux, but we're still trying to figure it out
• Loves to grunt in her sleep in the morning for an hour before she really wakes up...soo not fun to listen to.
• Laughed out loud in her sleep twice, I can't wait for her to do it when she's awake but it was so cute to listen to.
• Graduated to size 1 diapers
• Is drinking 4oz at each feeding

Aria

 

• Has gone from tolerating her bath to liking her bath, even kicking her legs this last time.
• Is pretty smiley and talkative, especially in the morning.
• She got rid of her monitor and oxygen...yeah
• Still in newborn diapers
• Is drinking 3oz at each feeding

I don't want them to grow up and yet I get so excited when they learn something new or hit a new milestone.
Their doctor appt isn't for another 1 1/2 weeks, I'll post about their stats and stuff then.

Happy 2 months Siena and Aria.  You have brought such joy into our lives.  I love just holding and staring at each of you and sometimes hold you both at the same time so neither of you feel left out.

Blessing Day

 Siena and Aria were blessed on Sunday.  We had such a nice day.

It started out an hour earlier than normal since it was Daylight Savings and obviously the girls didn't remember that they needed to sleep an extra hour.

We had family from both sides here to support and celebrate the blessings.  Everyone in our ward seemed excited to finally get to see the girls and although this won't always happen, they were perfect the entire time.  They didn't even cry during their blessings.

Shane gave them both very nice blessings and some good things were said about each of them.  One of my favorite things that was said is that they each have already been given a companion and friend for each other.  I hope they always are good friends and stay close to each other.

Afterwards we had a nice lunch back at our house and enjoyed spending time with family and friends.  It was a nice day and I never once had to feed or take care of either girl as they were passed from person to person, mostly their aunts, all day long.  The girls were exhuasted at the end of the day but it was a good day.

Their outfits:
Dresses - Courtesy of Aunt Lori and us (we bought one to match the one Lori let us borrow)
Bracelets - given to the girls from Grandma Goold
Socks - Made by Aunt Michelle
Shoes - Made by Aunt Margene

They looked gorgeous and so fun that so many people contributed to their outfits.

I told you the girls were perfect for their blessings, well that ended as soon as we got out the camera to take pictures.  Nevertheless, here are pictures from the day.

Halloween Sweet Peas

We had a great Halloween this year.  No Trick or Treating yet, but we still celebrated and dressed up the girls.

They were Sweet Peas this year with these cute outfits from a girl in my ward.  I thought they looked so cute, and well, so did everyone else that saw them. It was our first picture capturing a smile on camera...love their smiles.  Now I need to capture one of Siena.

I went into work for the first time with the girls on Halloween.  It was fun to see everyone and introduce them to Aria and Siena.  It was good to see everyone at work.  I do not miss work at all but it was fun to see everyone.  They gave me a big basket full of a lot of different baby items, so nice of them.

After that we went down to my parents and just hung out for a while.

That night we passed out candy and we had a ton of trick or treaters.  We passed out 150 pieces of candy and ran out a little after 7:30pm.  That is so early, I think because of the good weather we had a lot more trick or treaters then we normally do.  So we turned the lights out and just relaxed the rest of the evening.  A funny thing that happened was after we turned the lights off, I was sitting on my couch directly down the way from the front door but in the back part of the house and the doorbell rang.  I didn't answer it because I had no candy.  All of the sudden I hear this boy's voice and he says 'but she's sitting right there on the couch."  lol...I guess he was looking through the little slat of my shutters.  Oh well, maybe he'll learn that no lights on = no candy.

So here are some other Halloween pictures of the girls.

ok this post has take me ALL morning to write because I keep having to go settle down both the girls...they are supposed to be asleep!  So much for their morning nap today.  I guess I'll go pick them up and get them to smile at me.  If they aren't going to sleep, it's the least they can do for me! :)  Good thing their so dang cute.