Here a few new pics I took yesterday. Lucy's eyes always seem to make her look sleepy while Audrey has big bright eyes.

"Rock On Everyone"

Audrey & Lucy

new layout...

Soo, I'm trying to give our blog some personality. I searched and searched for a layout that wasn't too girly for German's sake, but I couldn't resist this cupcake one. German is the brown one with absolutely no pink. I'm the one with the strawberry on top and the girls are next to mom and dad. I guess we'll have to have another kid to be the one with red sprinkles. Oh, and I have to add all our bloggy friends again one by one. Some of you may be listed under an alias (just for fun). Tah Tah for now!

Tuesday Twin Tidbit

Instead of just pictures, I really want to make this more of a journal. Every Tuesday I'm going to post something about life with our twin girls, something I want to remember about the past week. And I've chosen Tuesday because the girls were born on a Tuesday. Last night I put the girls down at 8pm and both were quiet for awhile, so I assumed they were asleep, but then around 8:30 I heard some noises from their room. I peeked in and Audrey was sleeping, but Lucy was wide awake cooing and babbling to herself very loudly. German came in also and we both stood there together for a few minutes watching and listening to her goo and gaa. She's getting more and more social, always trying to get my attention and always rewarding me with her big toothless grin. Audrey on the other hand seems to be more of an observer. She listens intently to everything I say, but tries to avoid eye contact. Although, once in awhile she'll just randomly look at me and laugh. I love it!

Trying to change layout...

FYI: Temporarily Under Construction

My girls finally love to sleep

I have to give a shout out to Babywise, I started it just before Christmas and it took four days to get them both to sleep from 11pm-5am at seven weeks. Although, I don't agree with every aspect of the book, it really helped me get the girls on the same feeding and wake/nap schedule. I just dropped their 10pm feeding on Monday night. I fed them at 7pm, put them down at 8:30pm and they slept until 5am! I still woke up every few hours thinking they were going to wake up any second fightin' mad with hunger. I thought it was just a lucky break--ya know just a one night thing, but last night I bathed them, fed them at 7:30pm and put them down at 9pm. I slept a little better than the night before, but still woke up on my own at 4am this morning. They weren't awake yet, but I couldn't go back to sleep. I started cleaning and waiting for them to wake up hungry. German gets up around 6am to change diapers and help me with the girls, then he gets ready for work. But this morning he was shocked to find out that the girls were still sleeping (usually he wakes up to them crying). Finally, at 7am I heard Lucy stirring a little bit, so I got her out of her crib and then had to wake up poor Audrey to eat. I knew it was possible, but I didn't know how exciting it would be for me! 9-10 hours! Two nights in a row! I hope they keep it up, now I just need to reteach myself how to sleep through the night again.

Nothing sweeter than smiles from babies!

Today was a smiley day!

Baby blessings & two month check-up

I can't believe our two little bundles are already 9 weeks old. Their blessing day was beautiful and it was great to get together with family and friends. The girls are growing so fast and we found out today at aproximately the same rate. We thought Lucy would weigh more than Audrey (because of her cheeks and also because she eats more), but Audrey weighed in at 12.7 lbs and Lucy at 12.6 lbs. The 90th percentile isn't bad for premature twins, but we weren't too surprised--big babies run in both our families. German was 9.2 lbs and I was 10.8 lbs at birth.

They had their first round of shots and the girls were so brave, they only cried (screamed) a little bit. I hope they sleep well tonight, Oh and guess how many hours I slept last night---7 HOURS!!! I am one happier mommy :o)

playtime w/ music

Babies first Christmas

This is also our first family picture. I've finally got the girls on the same schedule, which means I am getting a little more sleep. Actually since Christmas Eve the girls have started to let me sleep 4-5 hours straight at night! It's amazing what an hour more of sleep can do for your sanity--def a great Christmas gift from our girls! We love them sooo much.

Bath Time!

You can probably guess from the pictures who enjoys bath time and who doesn't. Lucy is usually fussy right up to the point when we dump her in the warm water, after which she is happy as a lark. Audrey on the other hand, has grown to dislike the whole process (must have gotten that from me - I hated bathing until just a few months ago...ok, I was more like 9). I remember wetting my hair and pretending to have showered completely so my mom would leave me alone.

It's funny how parents indulge in trying to figure out who passed on a certain gene - big ears, big nose, blue eyes, brown eyes. I'm just as guilty of it. I catch myself saying "those are grandpa's ears," or "she's got my crooked toe."

Why do we do it? Parents have a hidden fear that their kids will not be "cute" and somehow that will mean a life filled with misery and heartache for them or something bizarre like that. Sure we all want cute kids, but if we give their looks a disproportionate amount of attention we may one day regret the finished product: a child bound by depression and low self-confidence, who probably struggles from some sort of eating disorder.

I can't tell you how many times people have asked me what color their eyes are. That's a simple enough question except that sometimes, I know that the person asking thinks that darker eyes are in some way inferior to light eyes. I have green eyes but I love the way my wife's soft brown eyes glow in the sun. They complement her freckles and auburn hair dramatically. Had it been any other way I may never have been struck the way I was when I first saw her. (Brownie points for me!)

Enough hot air for one night. I'll end by commenting on these two pics, and I choose my words carefully: I love the way Lucy's gentleness is captured by this picture. The way she looks into your eyes can be so subtle but completely penetrating it's impossible not to be stirred. Audrey's spirit is vibrant and capable of expressing a wide range of emotion. Thankfully for us, her "grumpier" moments tend to be the exception, but even then I love absorbing her little tantrums. I love my three girls!

German--husband and father

Daddy loves his girls!

I wanted to dedicate this post to my amazing husband...he just had foot surgery on Friday and he still spent the whole weekend hopping around on one foot trying to do things for me and the girls. He's been so helpful, patient, loving and supportive during the whole pregnancy and even more so these last 6 weeks. I love how he runs in from work to kiss all three of his girls and tells me he'll take over so I can sleep. I love him even more now than ever and our girls are so lucky to have him to call dad!

 Kisses for Lu

Feeding Ree

Naptime with dad...

Funny faces with Lulu

I think he's in love!

Daddy holds the girls at the hospital, so mommy can sleep.

Kisses from dad in the hospital just two hours before the girls were born (I can't believe I was sooo big, it's nice not being prego anymore)

Happy 4 weeks Lucy & Audrey!

The girls are growing soo fast. They weigh about 8 1/2 pounds and love to play with

mom and dad! We are loving every minute and getting used to functioning well on little sleep--although we can't wait until they start sleeping through the night.

Thanks Aunt Amy for the adorable onsies!

Girls first photo shoot

Thanks Nana Gail for the outfits.

Lucy was sleepy, but Audrey was rocking out on her air guitar!

 

Sister bonding time!


Look at those yummy toes...


The girls let us know they've had enough!

Sleeping babies

We've been swaddling the girls when they sleep, but they seem to hate having their arms confined and always manage to break loose. So we are now letting them have things their way, they have us wrapped around their fingers! (probably the first of many things we give into them about--we really are going to have a hard time saying no to these angels someday)

Mommy decided to fix their hair for the camera...

Lucy & Audrey's precious hands and fingers

Hooray Hooray for sleeptime!!!

Precious girlies!

Lucy and Audrey are one week old today. Mommy's working hard to fatten up the two little turkey's in time for thanksgiving. They've lost about 10% of their weight since birth so mom has become a 24-hour buffet - food on demand!

Can't get enough of 'em!

Got through the first night with the girls - the burping, feeding, diaper-changing marathon has begun! While we are both exhausted we can't get over the fact that our girls are home and our adventures in parenting have begun. No doubt there will be much more trying times as fatigue sets in and we become pooped. We'll definetly rely more on all you guys (friends and family) who are farther along than us to remind us of the joys and worthwhileness (is that a word?).

Day 5 and their personalities are already coming through! Audrey tends to be more independent and less needy. Most of the time she can soothe herself back to sleep and does not put up much of a fuss. I am positive it is due in no small part to her difficult first hours of life when she fought to get the fluid out of her lungs to be able to breath. When she's awake she's extremely perceptive of her surroundings. Her big eyes wander all about as she reacts to objects, sounds and daddy's long nose and big ears. I can't get enough of the tender look on her face when she sleeps. It brings back tears as I am reminded of Audrey's first critical hours as the doctors worked on her while I talked to her and she held my finger.

Lucy loves to be held. Usually she can fall asleep only if she's right next to mommy or in daddy's arms. She is a little more territorial and hasn't yet gotten used to the idea of having Audrey in her crib next to her. Her beautiful cheeks and dark hair are precious. We love them so much!
Audrey is on the left and seems to be having a great dream, apparently when she wakes up she realizes that dream isn't real. They are so fun to watch...

Our girls are home!!!

We've been home for a couple hours now. It's all really beginning to sink in. While the weight of having two new-borns at home for the first time is naturally overwhelming, it's nice to know there will be no more iv's, or heel pricks, at least for now. A big thank you goes out to all friends and family for your help and support. We love you all!

The girls are here!

Lucy is one minute older and weighed 6 lbs 12 oz--19 1/2 inches. Audrey weighed 6 lbs 14 oz--19 inches. THEY ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!!! More pics to come later...

C-section tomorrow

Soooo, that last post was me showing German how to make a new post under his name. He'll be doing the next post of our girls while I am still in the hospital. We have scheduled a c-section tomorrow morning. WE CAN'T WAIT! The doctor recommended it because I am not dilated at all, so if she were to induce me it could result in a VERY long labor, plus having both by c-section would avoid having one vaginally and the other by c-section. We don't want a double whammy. I spent today at home napping and reading the Twilight series (soooo good). It's surreal...I will meet our daughters soon! WOW! Thanks for all your well wishes and love. Love, OBM

FYI--We live right off the freeway in PG, so anyone who wants to visit next week (or help out...wink wink) is welcome.

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