Fairy Tales

Some days just aren't good ones. Today has been one of those at our house. I hate being a grown up. I liked when I lived in my own fairy tale of a perfect world, with a perfect family, perfect people, and perfect happiness. 

The days I realize I live in reality are sometimes hard to handle. 

And then, I start thinking of all that I have to be grateful for. 

My life may not be a perfect fairy tale, with a less than perfect family, people who disappoint me, and imperfect happiness...

But there is happiness at least.

I'm discovering that not everyone is lucky enough to know what that is like. Or at least some people are not  able to appreciate things enough to know what happiness is like.

SO, I have resolved to NOT be one of those people! I refuse. My life is filled with too many wonderful and amazing things to let the few that might not be so great bring me down. 

1. I have an amazing husband.  

(It's no secret, he's practically a saint to put up with me)

2. I have two wonderful, adorable healthy baby boys.

3. I have incredible friends.

 4. I have a testimony of the gospel.

5. I have wonderful parents.

Which brings me to the REAL reason I started a new post today...

Remember when we talked about the AMAZINGness of my dad? Well, I began to fill you in HERE on the cribs he was planning on making for the boys. 

And a little bit of backtracking...You know, since I'm a slacker and haven't updated the blog much. You now get marathon posts, with extra back story and rambling from me! :)

When my parents came for Thanksgiving, Grandpa had the truck loaded down with furniture. We couldn't wait one more second, so we hurried and moved out those pack n plays and made some space and Grandpa and Nona went to work.

And the finished product?! OH so fantastic. No real words to describe how much we love them. They are gorgeous. 

 

And on a side note...Before we got the cribs, anytime we put the boys in the flat part of the pack-n-plays, they didn't sleep. They'd wake up spitting up like crazy or would just fuss until we put them back into the little napper part. Our guess was it was because the pack-n-play was so flat, whereas the nappers were inclined a little. So we were a little nervous to put them in the cribs.  

This picture was the first time they slept in the cribs...

and they slept, well...like a log. 

(Not like a baby, because whoever came up with that expression clearly never had children. Babies don't SLEEP!)

They have slept in them ever since, without a problem.

Okay, SO, back to the real story...(blogpost on cribs, CHECK.)

When I put the bumper pads on the cribs, I decided I didn't want to put them down the middle. Not only did it mean we used one set of bumper pads instead of two (and saved some $$$), but I didn't want to defeat the purpose of having the cribs share a middle rail. I wanted them to still be able to see each other, even if at the time they didn't really care. 

And today, I realized...Best decision ever. 

Otherwise, when I hear babbling over the baby monitor and go to check things out,  I would never come in to see this.

Looking for his brother...

 ...Just talking like crazy to each other back and forth.

 

More than once in the past couple of days I've gone in and found they have both migrated from the center of each crib where I laid them down to the middle where the cribs meet.

And this picture just makes me melt...

Today more than any other, they seem to want to be close to each other, something I'm sure is no coincidence. A tender mercy to make my heart melt and make other things a little less overwhelming.

 I had Everett in the exersaucer today and he was playing just fine. Then all the sudden, screaming! I looked over and he was peaking over the edge at Beckett lying on the floor on the playmat. So I picked Beckett up and held him to the edge of the exersaucer, and Everett was just fine. He just needed some brother lovin. They played like that for quite a while.

 

And then, when I laid them both on the playmat together... 

 

 

The little cuties shared toys.  

They love each other.

The fact they love each other melts my heart completely into a big giant puddle. They are just what I needed to make my day better. Because it has been a little bit of a rough one.

Good Intentions...

How is it that we really have TWINS?! Does it ever become reality? As real as these two nuggets are and as big as their smiles and as loud as their screams are, it still blows my mind to think we are PARENTS. The parents of TWINS no less! Even more of a shocker than that...they are FIVE months old!!! Holy goodness.

I'm not sure that shock will ever wear off. Even after 7 months of being pregnant and 5 months of them being here, my mind is still blown every time I think of the reality of it.

BUT, I wouldn't have it any other way. They are the perfect little squirts. So smiley and so happy...and BUSY! So if you wonder why there haven't been loads of posts about their wonderfulness...it's because I just don't take the time! Plus I always have good intentions of catching everyone up. Getting you gradually up to speed - going from being born, to NICU, to home, to our first moments, to a day in the life of a mommy with twins...and then BAM, five months have gone by!

And as much as I would love to knock out all those posts and fill you in on every detail...if I start clear back there, at the rate of one post every month or so, I will never catch up! (Heck, I still haven't finished posting belly pictures!)

SO, to get ya'll up to speed, these nuggets are the bees knees! They are the happiest babies. We cannot get enough of those toothless grins.

 Beckett
Weight: 12 lbs 4 oz
Height: 22 3/4"
Loves to chew on his hands.
Momma's boy!!

Everett
Weight: 11 lbs 2 oz
Height: 22 3/4"
Loves to babble
Biggest smiles for Daddy!

How do you not just look at those smiles and melt?! Because I do every time I see them! And I don't get much done in a day because I want to play with these cutest little boys.

And on the occasion I do want to get something done, they are great to hang out together. Even when they are tormenting each other. Yep, all those fun toys to play with hanging there, and they pulling on each other instead.

 Truth is, you put them next to each other and they will always find each others' hands to hold.

They love each other. We still haven't gotten it on video (because it is difficult to each hold a baby and work the video camera at the same time!) but perhaps my favorite thing is to sit them up facing each other and watch them interact. They smile SO big at each other, babble back and forth, try and reach for the other one or put their hands in each others' mouths. It just might be the cutest thing you'll ever see! 

Other fun tidbits from our days at home...

The boys have started eating rice cereal! Already. Yikes. How has time gone so fast?!

Beckett's initial reaction...

 

"Hmmm...okay."

That was about it. No real big thing from him. He did, however, get impatient QUICKLY. He wanted that bottle and food NOW.

Everett's reaction...

 

"What is this junk?!" 

And then, the screaming ensued.

Since the initial screaming match at trying to feed them cereal, we have learned a few things. First, everyone told us to feed them the cereal before bedtime, that they'd sleep longer. Well, by the time their nighttime feeding rolled around, they were HUNGRY and TIRED. Two things that do NOT mix well for trying new things. They just wanted that bottle and to sleep. Besides, these little nuggets are already great sleepers. Seriously. At least nine hours every night. Sometimes 11 or 12. It's glorious. 

SO, I decided to try cereal in the mornings when they are just getting up. They are always even more smiley then. The first day I tried it, they LOVED the stuff! Smiles all around. I grabbed the camera to take pictures and send to Tadd at work. After they were down for a nap I got the camera out to upload the pictures...only to find the SD card was not in the camera! FAIL. Luckily, they were just as happy the second day so you can all get the gist of it. Just imagine it was a day earlier, and the smiles were just as big.

Everett kept putting his hands in his mouth, trying to figure out just exactly what was going on.

But ultimately, he decided this stuff was pretty okay.

 Beckett on the other hand, is just a little piglet. He'll eat anything. No issues for him. He instantly loved it.

 OH, and do you remember that post about the anxiety over how Tadd would be with the boys? (If you missed it, you can read about it here!)

Well, he's a natural! Okay, NOW he is a natural. That first few weeks...painful. Just as awkward with babies as ever before. Except on a whole new level, because our babies were HALF the size of the any of the other ones he'd ever been around.

But boy oh boy do these little nuggets LOVE their daddy. He can walk in from work and say two words and they are both looking around trying to figure out where he is. The second they can see him, the world's BIGGEST smiles for Daddy.

They are quite possibly the happiest babies I have ever seen. I will probably regret putting this in writing, but they really are just happy. Always. They fuss a little if they are hungry, or need a diaper changed, or get overtired - the usual baby things. But other than that, it is smiles, coos, squeals and giggles. We are blessed!

Whew! There you have it. A little bit of a marathon post. But at least you got to see some good pictures of the nuggets. (It's okay, we all know that's why you really come back to check out the blog!) Don't give up on us. I will try and keep up a little better with them. Goodness knows I have PLENTY of pictures to share. FIVE months worth! Because they really are that big already. Wow.

Regardless of whether I can believe it is reality or not, truth is that being the mommy to these to lil nuggets is simply the best. We can't get enough of them. We will try and be a little less selfish and take a break from keeping all of their smiles to oursleves and share more of them soon!

DO's and DON'Ts

Having babies in the NICU was an experience I truly am grateful for. However, that being said, I would never wish it on another living soul on the planet! 

After the boys were born, they were immediately whisked off to be cared for by the wonderful team of doctors and nurses at McKay Dee Hospital's NICU 

(which for anyone who didn't know stands for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). 

We literally saw them for about two seconds. Tadd didn't even get to cut the cords because they were in such a rush.  

(Not that he really minded...to be honest he was kind of freaking out about doing it!)

From that point on, things were a little strange. We were parents, but had no babies in our room. We had twins, but didn't see them for the first time until almost 12 hours later. And even when we did get to go and see them, we were told when and if we got to hold them, for how long, and given a list of do's and don'ts to go along with it.

DO...scrub in like a surgeon every time you entered the NICU.

DO...make sure you have a hospital gown over you clothes before you hold them.

DO...wipe down your cell phone and camera with alcohol wipes before you enter the NICU.

DON'T...touch the baby after using your camera or cell phone before you clean your hands with sanitizer.

DON'T...touch your baby after touching anything without using hand sanitizer.

When holding your baby...DON'T...rock him, pat him, rub him or stimulate him in any way. You can hold him. That's it.

DO...come anytime you want, but DON'T..get to touch him or open his isolette unless it is at the scheduled 3 hour care time.

DO...snuggle your baby and help them develop by doing skin-to-skin, but DON'T...hold him more than twice a day. And since he has IV's...DON'T...hold him for more than 15 minutes at a time.

DO...have family members come to visit, but DO...only choose four people who can come to see them the entire time you are here...and DON'T get to change the list at all. 

Maybe you get the idea? 

Don't get me wrong, I am truly grateful for the amazing job that the NICU staff does. And I know that all of the DO's and DON'Ts were for our own good. It was because of their extra care and attention that our boys are alive and healthy, I know that. It was just a strange world to get thrown into. 

Especially because I always swore I would not be that first time mom that was paranoid about germs...well, like it or not, I am now that mom. I have to worry about every person that breathes around these babies, let alone touches them or comes to visit. 

So in advance, please know that we LOVE visitors! 

Please DO...come and visit us, but please DON'T... be offended if we ask you to wash your hands. 

And please DO...be considerate about how fragile these little guys are and DON'T...come if you or anyone in your family is sick, even with the sniffles. 

One thing we learned from five weeks in the NICU, it doesn't take much to set these boys back. As perfect as they are, they are still only supposed to be two weeks old, not two months. So yep, we are a little protective. We didn't like being in the hospital, and we just don't want them back there!

We would much rather have this...

Beckett

 

 And this...                               

Everett

       Than this...

Beckett

And this...                                        

Everett