July Goals

Setting goals helps me to get things accomplished, so I decided that beginning in July I would set a few monthly goals and then re-evaluate where I am at the end of the month with them. Maybe this will motivate me to stick with a few things that I've been "meaning to do" but always slip off of my to-do list.

1. Blog More
- I really want to keep our family blog updated. Even if it's just a post or two each month, I think the girls will really enjoy reading about what life was like for them when they were little. Plus it's fun for me to reflect on the past and just how much things change. My goal this month is to post two more times other than this one. I hope I can find the time to do it!

2. Master Bedroom
- I read somewhere about a lady who focuses on one room in her house each month to deep clean, organize, and re-decorate (if needed) and then she moves on. Our master bedroom could definitely use some TLC in all of those areas. Not that I think it can be totally magazine-worthy by the end of the month, but I want to be moving in that direction (or maybe just the direction of being a space that makes me smile).

3. Beach Prep
- We go to the beach with George's family for five days in early August. I want to make sure we all have what we need -- swimsuits, hats, sunscreen, accessories ,toys, etc. -- so that packing is easy and simple.

4. School Prep
- August means that school isn't too far away. Although the girls don't start school officially until September (and I go back for training August 21st), I would like to have lunch kits and backpacks ordered and monogrammed so that I am not scrambling around last minute. I feel like August will fly by!

5. Eating at Home
- I want us to eat at home 5 nights a week. It's so much easier to eat healthy (and a lot more cost-effective, too) when eating at home. Plus there are so many new recipes that I want to try out. Once we stick to this routine, I think it will be easy for it to become our new normal.

6. Early Bird
- I want to be up no later than 5 at least four days a week. My days go so much smoother when I am up early and have my quiet time (with coffee of course) and get a few loads of laundry done and chores complete before the girls are up for the day. Plus there's something so peaceful about being up all alone in a quiet house.

7. Books
- I am trying to read three books a month -- one about marriage, one about parenthood, and then a fun read. Ideally, one of those "topics" will be a devotional. I need to finish up Power of the Praying Wife and then hope to read Love and Logic for Early Childhood along with something fun and light.

8. Baby Books
- I need to get the girls baby books FINALLY caught up. This has been a goal of mine for a while. Let's hope I can finally cross it off of my to-do list this month!

9. ENJOY Summer!
- We made a summer bucket list and it has helped us to have so much fun. Most of the things on there are simple, like eating Popsicles, going on a road trip, etc. but we also have things like going to the zoo and splash pad and going to the beach on it, too. It has helped me to have a more intentional summer with the girls and make fun memories for me. I think so often as moms, we worry about them not remembering things but I have decided that some things are for my memory and that it's fine if they'll have no recollection of them whatsoever. I want to enjoy my little family and friends as we finish out summer and start looking towards fall.

Life Lately...

I've had the best of intentions to play "catch-up" here and then start writing again, but those intentions kind of got pushed aside and then I blinked and it had been a year (or almost) since I posted anything! I have loved reading back over the happenings of the girls' first five months and hope one day they will, too. Hopefully I can stay on track this time...and hopefully I will go back and summarize all of the greatness between months 6 and 17! For now, I want to document the "now," because we are having so much fun!

The girls and I finished up school/MDO in mid-May. We are lucky enough to get to go to school together every morning, and they attend a pre-school (a cribs class last year) and I teach a half-day kindergarten. Then we get to spend the afternoons together. It's pretty much the perfect situation for us--it gets us up, dressed, and out of the house every morning, we all get to socialize, and then we still have so much time together. Although transitioning from working full time has not been completely seamless, I feel so lucky to have this opportunity. I am so thankful for George and the great provider and hard worker that he is for our family.

What a difference a school year makes!

The girls have changed so much in the last month. Just today I was looking at them playing and saw two little girls instead of two babies. Since they've turned one, I have said how they seem more like toddlers than babies but today I saw it for the first time. It's amazing and miraculous...and a little sad for this mama. Although we've had our challenging moments, I really have loved every stage of their sweet little lives. Our struggle to get pregnant really helped me to savor and appreciate every moment, even the tough ones. I have loved being Ashley and Annabelle's mom more than I will ever be able to tell them.

They started walking about a month ago, and seem to get faster and braver every day. Annabelle is running and Ashley is a lot more cautious, but isn't slowing down. They each have around ten words (give or take on either side of ten), and Ashley is definitely more verbal. I have been surprised at how much more verbal Annabelle has become since she started walking. They can both say each other's names, which I think is just the sweetest thing ever. It's so funny the words that they pick up. We taught them the sign "all done" for when they are done with their food. Now Ashley says "all done" whenever she doesn't want to do something. So if I am changing her diaper, she immediately says, "all done" or washing her hair, "all done." It makes me laugh! Annabelle is always so worried about her sister. If she gets up first from nap and Ashley is still asleep, she will reach for her and say, "Asha." One day, we were downstairs playing while Ashley was finishing her nap. Annabelle got so upset and started reaching towards the stairs. She was fussing and I couldn't really understand her, but as we climbed up the stairs she calmed down and I could tell that she was saying, "Asha." We went in their room and she just wanted her sister. It was so incredibly sweet! I'll go ahead and leave out the biting, hitting, pushing and screaming stories, and we will just pretend that things are always that sweet around here!

Sisters and best friends!

The girls are so into playing pretend. They love to act as if they are talking on the phone, carrying purses around, drinking and eating out of pretend cups and plates, brushing their hair, putting on lotion and even sneaking one of mommy's make-up brushes and pretending to put on make-up. The last thing puzzles me because they've maybe seen me put on make-up a dozen times. They are just so observant! They also love dancing and flipping. We may have two little budding ballerinas and gymnasts on our hands! They also love being outside, especially on our side patio. It's so fun to be one!

Reading books -- one of my favorite things!

I love dancing to the music on my old exersaucer. 

We've had a fun first month of summer. We've played outside, enjoyed our swings, gone swimming, gone to the zoo and the park, played lots with our best friend, EV, had lunch with Daddy, eaten ice-cream and popsicles, taken a road trip to West Columbia and showered Baby Reese, played with Cousin Blaire, spent the weekend in Granbury, had Aunt Dixie and Uncle Matt to visit (with Nonnie and Pawpaw), celebrated Father's Day with Daddy and both Pawpaw (so special), and played with our water table. We can't wait for even more summer fun!

Our Little Ladies are FIVE Months Old

In the blink of an eye, spring was gone and we were into June and summertime! School was out for the summer and this meant that I got to spend each day, all day, with my favorite little ladies! As sad as I was to let such a wonderful group of kindergartners (and parents) go, I felt such relief and pure joy knowing that I would get to spend the summer days watching, learning and playing with my babies. As happy as I was to have this time, the fact that school was out meant something big -- Laura would no longer be staying with us during the week. 

Her last official week was Memorial Day week -- May 28 - 31. I know she was feeling sad and I was too. She had been with us since the very beginning, like driving-me-to-the-NICU-when-I-couldn't-drive-to-see-the-girls-everyday beginning. She had been right there with me for the middle-of-the-night feedings, exhaustion, and just figuring this whole twin/baby/breastfeeding/new mom thing out. I know my mom would have given anything in the world to be here with us, too, and I know she is so thankful for Laura. I will never be able to repay Laura or express my gratitude. Although some wives would cringe at the thought of their mother inlaw spending four months with them, I enjoyed every second. And I know George enjoyed the time with his mom too. I may or may not have sobbed like a baby when she left on Friday, May 31st. It was silly because she was coming back that very next week to give me a day to run errands and get things done, but when she left that day, it was the closing of a chapter in all of our lives. My preemie newborn twins were no longer that. They were thriving in their fifth month of life. We were on a schedule and starting to get the hang of this twin thing (sort of--ha).

We are so thankful for Grandmother. 

The girls' personalities continued to blossom in month five. Something I have failed to mention is that we spent a whole lot of time with Lindsey and EV. I can't express how nice it is to have a close friend (and neighbor) with a daughter just 11 days older. Lindsey and I have bounced so many thoughts, ideas, joys and frustrations off of each other and I think kept each other fairly sane. Most days ended with all five girls (two moms and three babies) sitting on the front porch visiting until the Dads got home. We also took the girls to the club just the two of us for lunch. They did so well! It was funny because we saw a girl there with three week old twins. She seemed so tired and commented that we seemed to "have it all together." I laughed to Lindsey that if she could have only see the three ring circus at my house of babies laying on pallets in the bathroom while I got ready and me singing every nursery rhyme in the book, she would retract her statement. 


Month Five Stats:

Annabelle 

Ashley

Annabelle - 15lbs, 6oz (45th percentile)
Ashley - 14lbs, 8oz (27th percentile)

Milestones/Development:

Month five was big because on Monday, June 9th, Annabelle rolled over (back to front) for the first time! She was so proud of herself. She had been close for a while and finally did it! Ashley wasn't as interested in being on the move like her sister, but she rolled back to front on June 28th. She was in shock when she did it and it was so cute! We had our four month shots this month and they were no fun. It took us about a week to get back on our sleeping schedule. We had to make a trip to Dr. Worsley because we had an icky cold and cough and mom wanted to make sure our lungs sounded fine. Bonus was that we got our weight checked! The girls continued to be so charismatic and show us their sweet and playful little personalities. This is such a fun age! They also continued (and probably the frequency increased) grabbing EVERYTHING! Teething was a big, not-fun happening this month. Although we never saw any teeth, our girls seemed to be pretty uncomfortable, which prompted mommy to buy not one but two Sophie the Giraffe teething toys at $20 each. Daddy was not as impressed by the expensive "chew toys" (his words) as I was. However, I reminded him that I was the one here with two fussy, miserable little girls all day and I was DESPERATE for some relief for all of us!

Annabelle rolls over!

Ashley rolls over!

Other Happenings:

The second weekend in June was Crestival, which is the annual member/guest golf tournament at River Crest. The girls had their first overnight stay without Mom and Dad at their grandparents' house in Granbury. George and I celebrated 6 years of marriage on that Saturday. Of course, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Dom, Kathy and Charlie all joined in the fun at PawPaw and Grandmother's house.

On June 11th, the girls made their first big road trip down to West Columbia to visit Nonnie and Pawpaw. We put them to bed in their car seats and they slept until Pearland. They did great the whole weekend and were showered with lots of love at a sip-and-see at Nonnie and Pawpaw's house. They loved meeting their West Columbia friends! They went swimming for the first time at Aunt Coco's parents' pool and loved it.We also got a big surprise from Aunt Coco and Uncle Matt--we will be getting a COUSIN in February 2015!!!! WOW! How exciting! Oh what memories to be made and trouble to get into! We had a great time and the girls did pretty well on the right home until we were about 30 minutes away. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend!

Ashley snoozing on the way to West Columbia. 

Annabelle snoozing on the road trip. 

We are going to be BIG cousins!

We love swimming!

The girls made more trips to church this month and did great. We have fallen in love with Arlington Heights Methodist Church and look forward to joining and having the girls baptized there in the fall. 

Daddy and Annabelle before church. 

Mommy and Ashley before church. 

We had a fun swimming day at the club with Aunt Rachel while Daddy and Uncle Dom played golf. Even though we were only in the baby pool about 20 minutes (after a couple of hours of preparation), it was totally worth it and everyone took a nap afterwards. 

Week By Week

Week 18:

Week 19:

Week 20:
Father's Day in West Columbia

Week 21:

Ashley says that being five months old is tiring.

Annabelle says she is NOT tired!

Week 22:

Ashley loves her new friend, Sophie!

This is how I found Annabelle one day after nap. We are in trouble!