We live in FL!

I can't believe it's been about a week since I update! :-) Mom, the kids, and I flew to FL last Thursday. The flights were great. The boys slept most of the time and hardly made a peep. Elliot was good, but is at the age where she likes to be doing stuff....and sleeping isn't one of those things. :-(

We've had lots of fun since getting here. Elliot has gotten to spend time with her cousins (and my cousins kids--who I guess we'll just refer to as cousins) and even got to pick oranges at our house. She also went on her 1s 4 wheeler ride! We're staying at my parents until mid-April. By then our wood floors will be finished in our house (YIPPEE!) and our stuff will arrive from AZ. Wes is driving out with his friend Sean starting today. Hopefully they arrive by Friday or Saturday. Wes will then be leaving for VA to inprocess for his new job on Sunday. Busy busy

The Skinny....

So, I had my postpartum check-up today and apparently these boys are sucking the life out of me! I weigh 2 lbs. LESS than when I even got pregnant. Rediculous. I thought I was too skinny then. I guess 8 months of no exercise does mean I lost a lot of muscle weight too. All I do is eat these days. I was thinking if I worked out I would gain some muscle weight...but then I'd also have to eat even more because I'll be burning more calories. Goodness Gracious!

ER

Elliot had her first trip to the Emergency Room yesterday. We were enjoying our last day at church and when she went into her Sunday school room, she ran right into a table and split her lip open. It was so deep and went through to the outside! ICK! We got to the ER at 11:30am and waiting until about 3. There were still a bunch of people in front of us so I decided we should come home. We were having a party/potluck at our house at 4, so we got ready and enjoyed the company. We went back up at 6:30, thinking it would be our turn soon, and we still didn't get called back until 9pm! Isn't that rediculous?? The doctor did come right in and suggested we just do a round of antibiotics to prevent infection and not stitch it. He said it would heal okay and didn't want to traumatize her with doing a stitch. I think she's pretty brave, but I do appreciate the fact that he was also concerned with her emotional well-being. Her lip looks pretty gnarly today, but she seems okay with it. It kinda turns my stomach to look at it, but she is eating well and is a lot tougher than most of us would be.

The boys are doing well. Saturday and Sunday nights they woke up EVERY SINGLE HOUR!! So after feeding each of them, I'd get about 30-45 minutes of sleep before someone woke up again. It was KILLING ME! Last night they got their feet rubbed down with some lavender and were back to their every 3 hour eating schedule. MUCH BETTER!

Gaining Weight

The boys had their one month check up today. Can you believe they are already a month old??WoW! Levi is now 6 lbs. 11oz and Ezra 6 lbs. 15.5 oz. The doc. acted like Ezra should be gaining a little more weight, but I think he's just fine right now. He seems very satisfied after he eats and never cries for more. I think Levi is going through a little growth spurt. He's been wanting to eat a LOT (every hour or so). We even had to get a bottle of milk out of the freezer last night because those 2 dried their mama up!! That was a first. I'm chugging tea that's good for breastfeeding today! :-) Gotta keep those two guys happy.

We're off to our Infant Massage class in a bit. We had one the other day. Levi doesn't enjoy it nearly as much as Ezra. Can you tell he's our "fussy" baby? (He really doesn't cry that much either!) Elliot has also been loving it. She doesn't go to class with us, but I've been giving her a massage before nap and bed time and she enjoys it. It's a nice way for me to be able to spend special time with just her too.

We have 2 more classes next week too. We're pretty busy right up until the day we move! Elliot has her last day of school Tuesday and I have a doc. appt. on Wednesday. We're also having a potluck at our house on Sunday so that we can see all of our friends before we move (So...if you're reading this and live here, feel free to drop by on Sunday around 4pm!--we'd love to see you!)

Bike Riding

This is Elliot on her bike ride today! HAHAHA! Such a sassy little Princess!

Look Alikes

I think Ezra looks just like Elliot when she was a baby! Granted Elliot was over a pound bigger than Ezra is now :-) Check this out:

ELLIOT:

EZRA:

.....and I think Levi looks just like my little brother, but I don't have any pictures of him as a baby.

Our Little Photo Shoot

We took some pic's of the boys today. ....

Feet Touching:

Holding Hands:

Sweet Boys:

Feet in Mommy & Daddy's Hands:

HERE's A LINK TO SOME MORE PICTURES!

Daddy Having Picture Fun......

( You may have to click the image to make it large enough to read)

DUE DATE!/ 3 weeks old

Well, today was my official due date. I'm so thankful that I'm not in labor, not pregnant anymore, and that we've had these little boys to enjoy for 3 weeks now! I can hardly believe it's been that long already. They are sooo easy going. You seriously wouldn't know there was a baby in the house, let alone TWO! They usually just give a little grunt or fuss when they are hungry and that's it. Plus, they always have a buddy to keep them company. It's fantastic.

Mom, Elliot, the boys, and I had a big day today. We drove to Tucson (a little over an hour), went to lunch at Olive Garden (our first real restaurant outing with the babes) and then went to Babies R Us. We then went to the mall for a bit and then to Kohl's. All the kids were wonderful! I even got to try on some clothes and get a few new things!! :-) I laid the boys down in the back of the stroller and they snuggled each other tight (see pic) and Elliot got to sit in the front. It was kinda nice b/c they were super cozy and no one knew there were 2 babies in there. Believe me, when people know there's 2, I feel like we are a show--they always want to see and ask a million questions. It's nice, it just gets old.

I promise I will post pictures soon!

Their Growing....

Today we weighed the boys and Levi now weighs 5 lbs. 15 oz and Ezra weighs 6 lbs. 6oz. This means they have both gained 14 oz since they were weighed 2 weeks ago. This is absolutely perfect! The doctor said most babies gain about 1 oz/day and that is exactly what they have gained!! yea!! I'm so glad nursing some 20+ times/day and waking up every 2-3 hrs at night is paying off!! :-) It makes it so worth it when I know we have healthy little boys.

I'll try to post some more pic's soon. We've been taking them, I just haven't had time to upload them to the computer....wonder why? haha

Army Reserves

Wes has signed up for the Army Reserves. We (okay, I) was hesitant about this at first, but he found a unit that seems great. One of his friends from college is actually in it too. The unit is out of Patrick AFB (10 minutes from our FL house!!), is non-deployable, and just seems perfect for us. They have the chance of being activated, but just within the U.S. and for a couple months. No big deal :-) This will allow us to keep our great insurance and still have other benefits such as the commissary, PX/BX, etc. It's a great gig!

Why I Am Cloth Diapering Twins.....

.....because we spent over $40 in diapers in just 2 weeks!!! That doesn't count wipes (which I will also be using cloth of). Can't wait for these boys to be big enough (7 lbs) to fit in our cloth diapers!!

The Pledge

Elliot was walking around the other day and I hear her say "...and Justice for All." I then asked if she knew the pledge and she totally did! Here's a little video:

Thanks!

I've been thinking a lot about the whole birth of these babies. I even found a copy of my "birth plan" the other night and was reading over it. I was thinking that about 50% of it happened as we had planned. For a second there was a little disappointment, then I realized that 100% of it could have been what we did not plan! Then, I had this overwhelming feeling of thankfulness. I have many thanks for all of you who prayed for us during this pregnancy and delivery. Believe me, I KNOW there were lots of you. I know that prayers were answered the day we showed up at the hospital and both babies were head down! Amazing! The labor was quick (very intese...but really, what is 3 hours in pain in the long run?) Now, the babies have incredibly put themselves on the same feeding schedule and breastfeed without any problems at all. I know that alot of people (esp. with multiples) have a really hard time with this. I am thankful that we have been lifted up in prayer, that God has watched over us, and that these sweet children are thriving out in this world and in our family. THANKS! THANKS! THANKS! We love you all and appreciate your support of our family! :-)

First Bath

Levi's 1st Bath:

Ezra's 1st Bath:

...and I swore I'd never dress twins alike:

Sweet boys zonked out together on their Mommy after some tandem nursing! :-)

For all the pic's in between CLICK HERE!

More Pic's

Having Mimi around is like having our own photographer. I can't seem to take pic's, but she's always on it. We had our first trip to the park today. The boys took a little snooze on the blanket, then each had to eat. Elliot had fun playing in the dirt and walking around with her Daddy. Click HERE for some more pic's of that last few days.