William & Henry Turn ONE!

On June 16th our perfect little boys turned one.  Many people comment to me about how hard twins must be and if I can survive the first year, I can survive anything.  I certainly see the truth in that and honestly feel like the last year was mostly a blur.  A blur that left me happier, and more exhausted, than I ever could have imagined.  I had a lot of anxiety during my pregnancy with the twins, worrying about everything from the difficulties of a multiples pregnancy to the challenge of managing three children born within less than two years.  How will I grocery shop? Will I ever get sleep?  How do I take care of all three at the same time?  The questions are never ending and always evolving.  BUT.  While it has been crazy, it has been more lovely than I ever could have hoped.  The pride I feel when I look at my family is the most rewarding thing in my life and I express gratitude every day that these are my children and I have the gift of being their mother.

Back to their actual birthday.  We jam packed their birthday with all their favorites, starting with their first donut for breakfast, and then a few presents. 

 

After the twins woke up from the morning nap my mom came over and we took the children to Washington Park to play and have lunch.  Reese and William had a blast and Henry eventually warmed up to the water.  It is so fun seeing the beginnings of the relationships with one another emerge and watching them become true friends. 

 

 

One thing I have learned in my nearly three years as a mom is to quit while you're ahead, which is exactly what we did. We made it home in time for afternoon naps and Tom surprised the kids by leaving work early.  We treated the children to Alagamesis Ice Cream and a stroll through the toy store.  Alagamesis is a special place for us; we used to take Gouda there and also took Reese for her first ice cream when she turned one.  It was only fitting Henry and William got to try it as well!

Turns out, they weren't too impressed with chocolate ice cream 😀

Happy Birthday to the dynamic duo!  You keep me on my toes in the most wonderful way and you are so, so loved.  I hope you had the best day. 

Weekend Update

We had another great weekend for the books!  We kicked off Friday with a trip to the Red Balloon Play Cafe.  Now that the boys are getting older and more mobile they can join in on the fun instead of watch big sister from the stroller.  This is where things get a little easier for me!

Reese was too busy playing/eating/making friends for pictures but she had a great time!

After the boys woke up from their morning nap on Saturday we packed up and headed to the zoo.  I usually take the kiddos there by myself during the week so it's super nice to have an extra set of hands when Tom can come. Plus who doesn't love when dad is there??

I think we saw 3, maybe 4 animals, before our own little zoo started to lose it and it was time to head home.  My current parenting motto is "quit while I'm ahead" so I always try to wrap it up right before the first sign of meltdowns.  The rest of the day consisted of kid naps, a trip to the grocery store that wrapped up with an epic public tantrum, and everyone in bed early!

Sunday was spent hanging out on the porch and an afternoon date for me and Tom while his parents (who also made us dinner I might add!) stayed with the kids.  We have really come to love day dates because a) it gives the kids quality grandparent time b) it eliminates the stress of having someone else handle dinner/bath/bedtime c) we're honestly too tired to hang late night like we used to so we can really enjoy being together during the day. Ah, the life of parents with young kids! 

 

Catchup: Christmas 2015!

For no reason other than my own record keeping I wanted to document our first Christmas with Henry and William...even though I'm six months late!  We had a truly wonderful Christmas with our little ones and spent Christmas Day opening gifts, juggling babies, eating delicious food, and hosting our families.  I am so grateful for holidays spent with all the people we love.  The twins loved the holiday and like all six month olds, were completely enamored with the wrapping paper!  We didn't get a "real" tree this year, just a three foot artificial tree that we already had. While those goes against every feeling I have about Christmas, we were honestly just too tired and too busy to make the effort.  Next year we will do it up for sure!

W&H// Months 5-10!

Month 5:  

Month 6:

Month 7:

Month 8:

Month 9:

Halloween 2015

We had a fantastic Halloween!  This was Reese's first time trick or treating and she had a blast.  I was skeptical she would get into it but after the first one or two houses she was off! Our neighbors arranged a block party and we all had a great time.

 

Unfortunately it was a little too chilly to take the twins out so they snoozed inside with my parents.  I was so proud of myself for buying their costumes ahead of time, but it just didn't work out.  After a treacherous bed time (sugar, late naps, general crabiness) we stole some of Reese's candy and hit the hay in anticipation of my least favorite time of  year...DST.  We had a fantastic time with our little Curious George and can't wait to trick or treat with all three kiddos next year!  

That's A Wrap: Summer 2015

I think it is safe to say we will never have another summer like the summer of 2015.  We rang in the new year knowing that this summer would mark the birth of two more children as well as Reese turning two, but nothing really could have prepared us for all the monumental shifts we experienced in our family. Since my brain exists in a fog these days, I want to recap this for my own records as I will likely never remember it otherwise.

May:  I know May isn't technically summer but in my head it always marks the beginning of summer for me so I'm going with it.  My third trimester was in full swing and I was feeling rough.  This month brought about a slew of contractions and "maybe babies" trips to triage that left us scrambling to get coverage for Reese just in case the babies came. Not fun.  I cut back on work significantly and we celebrated several birthdays in the family. Tom completed his fourth Flying Pig Half Marathon and we were in major twin prep mode.  I didn't know it at the time but my last day of work was May 29th, our fifth wedding anniversary, as I would go into premature labor just a few days later. 

June:  I kicked off the month of June by promptly going into labor at 33 weeks on June 1st.  This earned me a week in the hospital where labor was thankfully stopped and I was sent home on bed rest.  That week was terrible for a myriad of reasons I won't go into but suffice to say the first half of June was brutal waiting for our boys to arrive.  Any mom who has experienced a twin pregnancy knows what I'm talking about!  

On the evening of June 15th I went into labor again and we dutifully headed to triage hoping this was it.  A few hours later in the wee hours of June 16th our sweet little men were born and our family was complete.  Hands down the highlight of the summer!

July:  July marked Tom's return to work and us settling into our new normal.  This month was a blur of the newborn life x2 and if I didn't have the pictures to prove it I'm not sure I would even remember it. This month also marked my first outing with all three children (music class for Reese) and looking back I have no idea what I was thinking taking that on three weeks post-partum! We got by with a lot of help from family (hi mom!) and if it weren't for them I'm not sure I'd be standing today.  Three children under the age of two is no joke and not for the faint of heart. 

We wrapped up the month with our very best girl's second birthday and celebrated with family. 

August:  Things got a little tough this month thanks to some unwelcome colic and other difficult transitions. We powered through and found joy where we could.  I had my first outing away from the babies (a friend's bachelorette) and Tom held down the fort like the champ he is. I became a lot more confident in taking all three children out by myself and we frequented the park, the library, and made our usual Target runs.  I figured out a configuration of baby wearing/toddler hand holding that works for brief trips to the store which I'm pretty proud of :). Overall we enjoyed our time together and just took it one day at a time. 

That's a wrap on an epic and most life changing summer!