Sunday, August 17, 2014

4 Months Old


I know it's cliched, but time really does fly by when you have little ones!  I still feel like I just gave birth to them, but they've been with us for a quarter of a year already.  I can't imagine what life was like without them around.  They are bringing so much life and joy into our home and lives.  
We are loving this. 

Their 4 month appointments are not until this upcoming Friday, so I will go back and update their stats after we get them weighed and measured :)

Benjamin


  • 15 lbs 9 oz (75th %ile)   26.5 ins (95%ile!)
  • He is our talker!  He loves to babble and coo.  His favorite words are "la-ah-ah"  I wonder when he'll start saying "Mama"?  :)  He's a pillowtalker--when we put him down for nap or bed, no matter how sleepy he is, he needs to talk for a few minutes before falling asleep.  
  • He's rolling over!  He was a little slower than his brother, but he can now officially roll from back to belly and belly to back.  He's definitely better going from back to belly, but he can do both.
  • He has started to prefer sleeping on his side/stomach.  Usually during his naps he goes to his side/stomach, but he still sleeps on his back overnight.
  • He has a big, gummy smile with a sweet little dimple on his left cheek. 
  • He loves chewing on his right index finger.  It's like he's teething, but I don't think he is yet. 
  • He's generally a very content, easygoing baby.  When he does cry, it's pretty blubbery and pathetic.  There is no crying it out going on over here with him!  It makes me too sad when he cries!!  He cries if he's overtired or really hungry.
  • He has started to notice his brother more than before.  Sometimes he just stares at him for a little bit during playtime.  So cute.
  • He's eating 4-5 oz every 3-4 hrs.
Here are my silly boys chewing on fingers and talking.

Zachary



  


  • 14 lbs 11 oz (50th %ile)   24.5 ins (50th %ile)
  • If Benji is our talker, Zachary is our mover!  He is so strong and only getting stronger.  He wants to stand all the time and sometimes gets frustrated when he's not standing.  He's been rolling over both ways for a couple of months now.  When he's on his tummy, you can tell he knows there's more to it (crawling) and wants to move.  I won't be surprised if he starts crawling on the early side.
  • He does talk, too, but sometimes it comes across more like grunting because he's so busy :)
  • He has had a full out belly laugh a few times now.  He's a big smiler.
  • He's a pretty good sleeper.  Once he falls asleep, he barely moves.  BUT he has been waking up a lot at night again.  I'm pretty sure it's his reflux.  I know he's gained weight so I think he needs more Zantac.
  • He's eating 4-6 oz every 3-4 hours.  
Their schedule (rough):
4-5 am:  wake for a feeding, right back to sleep
7:30/8:  up for the day, 4 oz bottle, play time
9/9:30 : Nap #1
10:30/11:  awake, 5 oz bottle, playtime
12/12:30:  Nap #2
1:30/2:  awake, 5 oz bottle, playtime
3/3:30:  Nap #3
4:30/5:  awake, 4 or 5 oz bottle
5-7:30:  extended playtime with a lot of fussing in between :)  sometimes there's a catnap in there, sometimes we can go for a walk, sometimes we're out (and they do well then)
7:30:  start getting ready for bed, PJ's, 5 oz bottle
8 pm:  Bedtime
{10 pm:  dreamfeed}

We flew to Boston the first weekend of August!  My mom and I took a redeye with the boys, Andy flew from Dallas, where he was at a pastors' conference, and met us there the next day.  I couldn't have done it without my mom!  She has been a huge help watching the boys when I work and helping out all the time. It's such a blessing to have her and my dad and brother here in Phoenix.  The redeye was an interesting experience and one that I don't want to do again with twin infants for awhile, BUT it wasn't horrible.  My mom had Benjamin in the Bjorn, who slept mostly the whole way.  I had Zachary in the Bjorn, and he had a little bit of a rougher journey :)  But overall, they were pretty good babies.  And we got to Marblehead in one piece and got to meet a lot of friends and family!  It was a great trip.  Here are a few pics from that time and recently:
Meeting our cousin, Nolan!
I love Grammie!

Meeting Auntie Ann
Daddy and his brother Ben with Nolan

Nanny, Bo, and Abbey

Benj could pass as Auntie Melissa's son!


Listening to Grammie read Make Way for Ducklings
Big boys in our umbrella stroller!

Mr. Zachary loving to stand
best buds
Celebrating Uncle Nick's 23rd birthday today
(a day after we turned 4 months)
                                          

Saturday, August 9, 2014

5 Year Anniversary // 1 Year Celebration

5 years ago today this happened:


I married my bestie!  


Marriage has been FUN.  Andy is truly my best friend, and I love living life with him by my side.
I am honored to be his wife and partner.
Marriage has also been challenging, humbling, and revealing!  
I can be quite stubborn... these 5 years (and many many more) have allowed God to shape and form me to be a little more like Jesus... but I still have a LONG way to go.
Andy helps me to be more
patient, 
calm, 
trusting, 
joyful.

And we have tons of fun and laughter together.  5 years have flown by.

August 8th will now also forever be another anniversary of sorts.
This day last year, we suited up to go into the OR and have our 3 precious embryos implanted into my womb.  
We were so expectant for God to move in miraculous ways.
This was a day of excitement and hope, 
despite all of the setbacks and pain we had endured leading up to this day.
Here we are waiting and ready :)


Little did we know that these little guys would soon turn into our sweet
Benjamin and Zachary!  


One of the perks of IVF, if you could call it a perk, would be that your baby's 
first photo is taken when they are literally seconds old...
Here are the sweet little embys as they were just nestled into my uterine lining.
Crazy!  I am still in awe of medicine and science and the way God moves in creation.


What a full 5 years we have had... looking forward to many many more!