A week of thanks

The twins first Thanksgiving was a success. We celebrated the entire week by,

seeing friends
(these are just a few of the friends we saw. We also caught up with Sarah, Liz and the rest of the Willie's. Also, don't mind my super ghetto hair. Imagine my surprise when I answered the door and I saw Hailey and Lacy's hot, artsy bangs.)

visiting family
(We obviously saw more than 2 cousins, but I have a hard time remembering to get out my camera. I wish I would have had it handy for the moment when my little sister made my mom laugh so hard at the dinner table that she almost stopped breathing...classic. )

Sophie learing to fly

and Lillian mastering the alien face

making/eating oreo turkeys
(how come the plural version of turkey isn't turkies?)
meeting the babies new BFF Jemma
(seriously, there isn't really an option for these babies not to be friends)
and of course, taking dozens and dozens of pictures of these silly little girls

Hope your thanksgiving was as good as ours!

Fro's had a birthday, shout hurray!

I'm not sure what to say about the person who's birthday it is today. I could talk about how we've been best friends since 2nd grade (don't worry, we hated each other in 1st grade), I could talk about how we've had more sleepovers than probably anyone I know (seriously, at least 3 times a month during school years and probably 2-3 a week during summer from the time we were 8 until we parted for college. That's not including our senior year when we talked our parents into letting us have sleepovers ON school nights. Awesome. AND being roommates for a summer.) I could talk about how we were with each other the night her dad almost died or how she was with me when I fell while walking down from seminary and bawled uncontrollably because I was holding in the fact that my grandpa had died. I could talk about how we've goon standby to countless events at the conference center in freezing temps or how we've gone on multiple vacations with each other. I could talk about our adventures in Tabiona or how I peed my pants while camping. Or about how we have a shirt with hundreds of inside jokes on it, or how we made up a rap about Jupiter for our planet project. I could talk about looking for prostitutes in New York or polygamist in St. George or how there are still stories from our childhood that we are scared our parents about.

People always told us that we might not be friends be friends once we went to middle school, but we still were. Then they told us that we might not be friends in high school, but we were. Then they told us that once we go to college we wouldn't be friends anymore, but even with me moving 2 hours away, we were. We're still friends even though I'm the married weirdo with two kids, we hang out often and I fully plan on forcing our children to be friends. I mean, the Fro & Brittany legacy has to live on, right? 2nd G? ;)

And for those of you who are wondering, her real name isn't Fro, it's Katie. However, as you see in the above picture her hair was rather full when we were younger and we had an art teacher that wanted us to come up with nicknames. Katie became Fro and I became Moe. I since dropped that name, but to a small circle of people Katie Chrystler will always be Fro.

Also, I only scratched the surface of things I could talk about. Remember, when I said we have shirts with hundreds of inside jokes on it? Yeah, we've done and been through a lot together.

Cloth diapering revisited

It might sound weird for me to say that I love cloth diapering, but I do. I love it. And I love it for many reasons. I love how much money we save (really, we only buy a pack of disposables every 3 weeks or so) I love how my babies have NEVER had a diaper rash while in cloth (they have had one or two but that was when they were really small and didn't fit into their cloth diapers yet), I love how adorable they are, and I LOVE how easy it is. Yep, EASY. I was worried about it being this gross and awful experience, but it honestly isn't. It's no harder than disposables.

Here's the rundown.

(I realized I didn't have any picture of the girls in just their Thirsties, so here's a generic internet picture of one of their diapers)

I've got two kinds of diapers. Prefolds/covers and pockets. I got both kinds in one-size, so they grow with the babies, saving even more money. You can buy sized diapers though and some say you get a better fit, but I haven't had any issues with our one sized diapers. The prefolds are the cloth diapers that your grandma used expect the covers are a lot better. I have Thirsties and have never had a leak that wasn't my fault (I say my fault, because if the prefold isn't tucked into the cover, it will get clothes wet). Seriously though, those things are tanks. I go about as cheap as you can get if you go this route because I buy the Gerber ones from Target or Walmart and simply trifold it and stick it in. No pins, no snappi, no mess. Easy. You can get 'better' prefolds from places like Green Mountain, or Cotton Babies, but the Gerber ones work fine for us. I like this system because when you change a diaper, you just dump the prefold into the garbage can and use the cover again. I don't have to touch pee or poo anymore than if I was changing a disposable.
Like I said, easy.


The second kind of diapers I have are pocket diapers. I have Sun Baby diapers. They're basically the same idea as the prefolds and covers, but there's a layer or fleece between the insert and the cover. You stick the insert into the pocket and you're ready to go. Some people don't like pockets because you have to stuff the inserts in, but it only takes me an extra 10 minutes, so it's no big deal. These diapers have to be entirely switched out with a new diaper at each changing. I usually use the fleece to pinch the insert, pull it out and then toss the whole thing in the garbage. Again, minimal touching of the nasty. Easy. People will use diaper pails or wet bags, but I use a good one garbage can. I'll admit, that it does get a bit stinky if it's time to do laundry, but so does our can of disposables when it's time to take the trash out so it's not much different.


Washing them is also a piece of cake. I dump the diapers in the washing machine straight from the can and wash them using a table spoon of Tide Original (or you can get the fancy stuff here) in a hot wash with an extra rinse. That's it! It's not like I have a ton of extra laundry either. It's a small load of diapers every other day. I'm not slaving away much more than I would if we were just using disposables. In fact, our dumpster is a down a flight of stairs and a little ways away, so it would be WAY more inconvenient to throw away diapers with two babies.


And that's that. Like I said, easy. The girls still wear disposables during the night and when we're out (unless we leave right after I put a cloth on) but the rest of the time, they're sporting their cloth diapers. We've spent around $100 on the cloth diapers and for sure less than $100 on disposables. We only bought 2 boxes of size 1 diapers the entire time they were in them (and that was from about 4 weeks old to last week) and hopefully we'll only have to buy a box or two of size 2 diapers. Like I said, they've never had a diaper rash since we used them and it feels good to not throw so much away (especially since moving to Midvale. Seriously, what does it take to get a recycling bin in Salt Lake county? I'm a bit disgusted every time I throw away cardboard. One major thing I miss about living in Logan.) When you consider that we'll use these diapers through out the twins pre-potty training years and use them for our other children, we'll be saving upwards of $5000 if we have 4 kids.
So, is it worth an extra 10 minutes of folding laundry every other day? It is to me!

Oh, and I don't mess with cloth wipes. I didn't want to worry about wipe solution, and going through a million of those a day. I happily buy the disposable kind.

Edited to add an answer to Jessie's question about nasty poop...
Since the babies' poop is still pretty minimal and very watery, it washes off really well. I have had a couple that have been stained, but bleach (or the sun) takes it right out. I sprinkle baking soda at the bottom of the can to help with the stink, but when you wash them every other day, there isn't a ton of time for stink to build up. Once babies start eating solids, I hear the poop is a lot more intense and that's where the diaper sprayer comes in. I haven't looked much into it because we're not there yet, but I think it's a high pressure hose thingy that sprays it off into the toilet. I'm pretty amazed at how clean the diapers get though. I think it would be pretty nasty to go more than every other day without washing them, so I make sure I do it on time. I once found a diaper that had fallen out of the can and left under the dresser for a couple of days and I thought I was going to die!! Other than that, it hasn't been bad at all!

If you only knew....

I am asked the majority of these questions/have conversations like this on a weekly basis. It's crazy how much attention two car seats gets you.

We love our little chubwallas.

I've held off talking about Christmas for this long....

Confession: I'm ready for Christmas. Confession #2: I was ready for Christmas in August. I love it. I love everything about it. I love the music, the spirit, the reason we celebrate, the lights on temple square, the jolliness of it, the smell of pine, the giving, the happy commercials on TV, the warm socks, the hot chocolate, etc, etc.

I'm so excited to spend it with these two little people. Last Christmas, I was sick as a dog (yes, morning sickness started about a week before I even took the pregnancy test) and it was a few days after Christmas that we found out our family was growing. Now, almost a year later, I have these 4 little eyes that greet me every morning.

Talk about an amazing year with LOTS to be thankful for.

(for the life of me, I can't get a picture of both of them smiling at the same time. Really, I have 26 variations of this picture and not a single one has both of them looking at me/smiling. In fact, I don't think I have a picture of both of them smiling on ANY picture. That's crazy since I've filled up a 4G memory card since these guys were born...)

Anyways, a HUGE part of why I love the Christmas season so much is the music. Back in 2007, my best pal Fro and I attended this concert in Salt Lake. One of her professors was Lloyd Newell and he kindly gave her a pair of tickets with REALLY good seats. We were lucky enough to be about 20 feet from President Hinckley and Elder Eyring. The concert was amazing, but one of my favorite songs (and definitely the most hilarious) of the night was this (it's long, but watch it. You'll love it.)



Not only did we see the concert once, but we went standby and saw it again. Yep, I love Christmas music. So much.

And although I realize that there is much controversy as to when one should start celebrating Christmas, I've secretly never really stopped celebrating it. I have a Christmas playlist on my ipod that I visit at least once a month during the year.

Here are a few more favorites from Tabernacle Choir concerts I've also attended.





Is anyone else as excited as I am???

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home.

I never really appreciated this primary song (did you know you could listen to them online? Awesome.) when I was a kid. Sure, I loved my Dad and loved when he came home from work, but it wasn't the relief like I feel now when the Daddy of this home comes home. The girls love it too. They go crazy when they see their Dad come in the door.
Take a look:

The pictures are from funny angles because I didn't want the camera to distract them. As you can see, Sophie is spots the camera every time and gets easily distracted.
(Just like the video I posted the other day)

Not only does Josh coming come mean that I can catch a break from having both of the babies by myself, but sometimes he surprises me with stuff like this:

And do you wanna know the real kicker? I was mean to him that morning before he went to work. Poor guy, I dumped out my frustrations on him and ended up getting a bit upset. What does he do? He brings me a chocolate/caramel apple.

Yep, I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

Sufjan + hymns? Yes please.

This is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.



Like I said, brilliant.

I just found it and had to share. Just in case you didn't catch my opinion on it...
Brilliant.

p.s. be sure to check out the post below. There's a video of Sophie's little giggle.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Two babies in a tub

The babies went to the doctor yesterday. Lillian weighed 11 lbs 9 oz and Sophie was 11 lbs 12 oz. That's the first time in the history of their lives that Sophie has weighed more than her kid sister. The nurse didn't give us an official percentile and I looked it up on several online calculators and got various numbers. Anywhere from 2 and 37 so...we just know that they're still small. However, if you help them when they were 4 lbs 15 oz, you'll agree with me when I say that they are chubs.

They're getting more and more interactive which we love. Sophie started laughing a few weeks ago (Lillian started last week) and I got this sample on video. It doesn't last very long because she noticed the camera pretty quickly and got a little shy.

Yep, they are cute.

Tummy time Hell

Yes, you read that right. Tummy time at our house is utter Hell. It goes from this:

to this:

in less than 30 seconds.
Also, don't you love how the camera focused on the hairball in her hand? That's what happens when you have a mama that sheds like a dog.

Today was day 1 of physical therapy (or baby rehab) for the girls. We've got lots of stretches and exercises we need to do with them (in addition to LOTS of tummy time. She wants them doing it at least 10 times a day for at least 3 minutes. Although double or triple that would be better.) We've got 3 months to fix their heads and necks or they'll be sportin' baby helmets.

I must say that I really enjoyed going to the dr's office today. There were lots of kids with various disabilities and felt like I was back in my element. I really do like our new surrounding area, but not being around people with disabilities drives me batty. There was a set of identical down syndrome two year old girls there and I really wanted to steal them. Josh (and their mother) probably would have noticed, so I decided that was a bad idea. I'd be lying to say I wasn't tempted though! They were BEYOND adorable. They loved my babies and had to sit next to us and tickle their cheeks. Their mom was a little apprehensive about it because sometimes (k, all the time) people don't know how to react to people with disabilities. She was relieved to hear that I had lots of experience and was more than happy for her daughters to touch and hold my girls. It was the happiest time I've ever had waiting for any kind of appointment.

I can't wait to find out who we'll meet next week!

Check it out now

My sister's new design blog. It's hot. For reals. That girl has talent.

Check it out and fall in love The Modern Sophisticate.

Oh, and do you see the Allied ASID behind her name? Try to look up how many interior designers have that title in Utah. It's a title given to very VERY few and I'm lucky enough to be related to one of them. ;)

I just don't get it.

How can a baby go from sleeping for 8 hours one night and then less than 6 the next AND refuse to take a morning nap?

Babies confuse me.

Who needs a La-Z-Boy?

Sophie

Lillian

Who ever said sleeping in a Bumbo wasn't comfortable?
{Also, can you guess who's the bigger drooler? ;) }

3 months

Can you believe that the twins are 3 months old today? 3 months ago, I was stiff as a board and still had several hours ahead of me until I could really meet the babies I had just delivered. It's weird to think of life before these little girls entered our world. How boring it must have been! These little ladies keep us on our toes, make us laugh hysterically, make us cry out of exhaustion, and make us love in a way I never thought possible. We're still getting up at least one (or two...or five) times during the night and they've FINALLY grown out of all their newborn clothes. They still have plenty of room to grow in most of their 0-3 month clothes and are going through about 15 diapers (10-12 of them are cloth) and 4 outfits a day (hopefully less now because I've got bibs permanently fastened to their necks. And it's not so much spit up, but a constant stream of saliva). They love to be held (makes it tricky for their mama to get anything done around the house because of it) and go crazy when Josh gets home from work (really, they loooooove him) and still love getting out of the house as much as I do.

My little babies went from this

to this
and this

to this

Crazy.

I've heard from almost every experienced mom that the 3 months mark is when it starts to get easier. I'm hoping that's the case. Even though the babies are comparable to 2 month olds in size, they are hitting all the 3 month marks as far as development goes. So, here's to hope. I hope they start sleeping through the night and I hope they start to get distracted by even the most simple of toys soon so I don't feel as guilty putting them down to shower or to grab a bite to eat.
(I think them playing would lessen the guilt as apposed to leaving them screaming)

Even if they don't do those things for another 3 months, I wouldn't change it for the world. We love our little buddies.

Rainy days and Mondays...

...don't get us down! This morning, the girls and I celebrated the rainy, snowy weather by falling back to sleep for 3 more hours after Josh went to work. When we woke up, we listened to Christmas tunes while I {finally} did the dishes, ate peppermint oreos {seriously, go buy some now}, and best of all, the babies got to try on their winter outfits. My babies make the cutest little bears. See what I mean?

Sophie
{out of focus, but still adorable}

Lillian

and both of them together. Don't worry, I laughed at this picture for a good 5 minutes. These little babies are hysterical.

On the other hand

Could someone tell the babies to stay little like this forever? Look how adorable Lillian is!
I love them.

This was taken on October 30th. We went to Logan to run some errands and arrived home just in time for the 4 trick-or-treaters we had. I have some pictures of the girls 'costumes', but just this one for now.

Also, we don't have a sweet Holga camera. We just have the photoshop action. Yes, we're poser. Maybe some day we'll get the plastic toy camera that takes amazing pictures.

And yes, the trash needs to be taken out. Thanks.

Also, my sister's interior design blog is up! Cheeeeeck it.

Happy Friday.

Perspective

I just wrote a negative post. I mean NEGATIVE, but I erased it. The babies are going through a growth spurt and have become unpredictable all over again. They are waking up multiple times in the night and I feel like I've got 2 week old babies. It's hard. However, (and this is super cheesy) I'm so grateful for the online community of twin moms I've gotten to know. I read a post from one of them today and it put everything in perspective. There will actually be a day when they can feed themselves, put their binky back in on their own if it falls out, entertain each other, live without being bounced for hours on end, sleep more than 5 hours at a time, and not go through 20 diapers in a day. Sometimes it's hard for me to look ahead to those days to come. It's easy to get wrapped up in two screaming, poopy babies. It's easy to focus on the fact that I haven't slept for more that 5 hours since July (the last month of my pregnancy was awful and I hardly slept). It's easy to have pitty parties because I usually don't shower before Josh gets home from work and don't eat before noon.

However, I should be grateful for all of these things. I have two beautiful, healthy GROWING (seriously, I can't believe how big they're getting) babies. There are people out there who would kill to be in my situation. They want the sleepless nights, the spit up hair, the poopy clothes, the bottle washing, the bouncing, they want it all. As hard as it is, I just have to look at these 4 beautiful eyes and know that it'll get better and it's all worth it.

Before you think I'm a rockstar mom or anything, know that I'm not. I've actually been compiling a post over the last few weeks over weaknesses and frustrations I've had. I don't know if I'll ever actually post it, but it's been good for me to get it out. I can't do it all and because of that, I've dropped the ball on a lot of things. I'm slowly learning to be ok with that though. Who cares if the laundry has sat in the dryer for days? Or that we're using paper plates because all of our dishes are dirty? I do feel guilty that I don't give each baby the attention that she deserves. I physically can't. If they aren't crying, they're in their bouncy seat or bumbo, just so my arms can catch a break. I hardly ever hold a happy baby. Lillian's fingernails desperately needed to be cut and I kept forgetting about it for... two weeks! One time, Sophie had a blow out (dang Huggies....) and I forgot to change her onesie for several hours. And remember when she pooed all over the wall and I left it there? Yeah, I'm far from an amazing mother, but I'm learning. And even though I feel like the babies and I are back at square one, I just have to remember that this too shall pass and look into these 4 little eyes and everything is perfect once again.

Laceee

{Sorry, Josh. I know Lillian's head is facing the wrong way. I'm just accepting the fact that a baby helmet is in her future...}

Today is Lacy's birthday. It's funny how close you can get to someone after only knowing them 4 years, but I feel like I've known her my entire life.

Not only have we investigated strange sock shops

eaten more sno cones than previously thought possible

{first in line on opening day=sno cone family feeling creeped on, but offering free sno cones in return. Also, look how small the babies were back in May}

and gone to Disneyland
{This is SO NOT from the trip we took, but the one she took with The Han. I just thought it was a lovely picture and wanted it to be on my blog}

but we've become best friends
(I know the term best friends might not mean much when you consider several people you best friend, but it's true. I'm lucky enough to have multiple bests)

She's been with me through everything over the last 4 years. Adjusting to college, helping me wash my hair when my arms were in casts {hilarious...}, and making me laugh in the midst of meltdowns {trust me, there have been many}. She'd skip class with me simply because it was raining, or we had a craving for brownie batter {and would sneak brownie batter in to movie theaters with me} . She's been with me through some of the most excruciating college classes, roommate drama {none with her. EVER.}, boy drama {heck, we even dated the SAME boy! That was the only point in our relationship where even a tiny sliver of drama occurred, and it didn't even occur, it's was just hysterically awkward for a few weeks. Still laughing about that...} She was with me to listen about my relationship with Josh. We've had random dance parties {just for fun or to the homework Gods}, and she is one of two people I know that truly appreciates Titanic {Fro being the other} She was there with me MINUTES after my c-section to cheer me up while Josh was in the NICU. {If that's not love, I don't know what is because I can tell you, I WASN'T pretty} She's always got a fresh perspective on what to do in virtually any situation and she's one of the most supportive people I know. So here's to you, Miss Lacy Davis. I hope you have a kick-ass {yes, I swore on my blog for you} 23rd birthday.

I can't promise your cake will be as good as it was in 2008 because I'll be making it instead of Josh. {Don't worry though, I bought candles that say 23 instead of 22. I promise I know we're not 21...}

Happy birthday, Lacy Lynn. I hope people are nice to you today. If not, let me know and I will stab them in the armpit.

{Bet you've never had anyone offer to do that for ya, right? Don't worry, I've got your back}