Our first Christmas

I never thought I would say that I enjoyed watching my 2 girls open up their gifts MORE than I enjoyed opening up my own gifts! Even though they are only (almost)6 months old, it seems like they knew that these things were for them! At one point, Addison shook her arm uncontrollably at one of her toys because she was excited. I took SO MANY pictures and TONS of videos, but its a moment that I want to remember forever so I felt like I had to catch a shot of everything. Here are some of my favorite ones...

A picture of the family before we open up our gifts



Addison enjoyed eating paper until it was her turn!



Addison was excited to see her new rattle(and so was I)!!!



Addison and Ashlyn looking at their new stuff



Our new overnight bags from MomMom (my mom)



Addison all wrapped up like a present



Our new Dr. Seuss books from Cousin Beck...with Daddy's eyes cut out--OOPS!!



Ashlyn wasn't too excited about the new clothes from Grammie (Ryan's mom), she liked the toys the best....actually she was crying through most of the gift opening!!!



Addison looking at the new flamingo puppet that the dog thought was HER toy!!



Addi checking out her new Glow Worm....I used to LOVE mine as a kid!
Then things turned really bad, very quickly!



Ashlyn taking a ride on her new pillow pet lion


Overall it was a great Christmas. I can't wait until next year when the girls will know a little more about what is going on. I didn't even put up the Christmas tree this year because it seemed like a lot of trouble for a lady with twins!!! LOL, I plan on doing it next year though! Throughout 2010, I hope the girls are really good so Santa will bring them even more loot next year!

the many attempts of a family picture

1. Ashlyn found her feet...RETAKE

2. Trying to take the attention off Ashlyn's feet, the hand of the make shift "rattle" got in the photo....RETAKE!!

3. This one is blurry...RETAKE!!

4. We weren't ready...RETAKE!!

5. Back to the feet for Ashlyn! RETAKE!!!

6. We finally get a good "blurry" picture of everyone--except me....RETAKE!!!

7. HEEEELLO FEET(again)...RETAKE!!

8. Here is the end result--when we accepted that we weren't going to get a good shot of the 4 of us! BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!!
*Ashlyn's bow went "Rambo", Addison is not looking, and Daddy is smiling like a big goof...MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

First Christmas is a white christmas

I can't believe that we got this lucky!! It is so rare that we get snow in Texas, nuch less on Christmas Eve!! I think it is so special that the girls got to experience snow for the first time on the same day that they get to experience their first Christmas celebration! I took them out to "play" for a second(literally a second because it was SO cold!)








My little snow babies...they look like little Russian girls!!


The hat was too big for Ashlyn's head!

BIG changes...

I'm not going to lie....these last several weeks have made a BIG difference in the way I view twins! When the babies were younger I could just let them sleep and continue on with my daily routine(which consisted largely of getting on facebook). These days, my day is consumed with entertaining 2 babies that want to do completely different things!! I cry almost everyday out of frustration. I feel like I'm not doing enough to help them learn the things they should be doing(like rolling over, eating cereal, etc.) I'm just alone all day and its hard to teach 1 baby those things, much less 2. Addison is so patient and she can entertain herself, so I feel like I usually just leave her sitting by herself all day long while I take care of the high maintenance diva I call Ashlyn!! I keep telling Ryan to hold onto his hat, because Ashlyn is going to give us T-R-O-U-B-L-E!! She is so nosey and she never sleeps during the day. She wants to be with me no matter where I go or what I do. She sees EVERYTHING that goes on in this household. She stares at strangers intently. She makes friends no matter where we go...as if we need any more attention when we go out in public! As of the babies 5 month birthday...THIS HAS GOTTEN HARD--VERY VERY HARD!!

It is getting close to Christmas. When they were first born my goal was to have them rolling over(from tummy to back) and eating real food. Neither of which has happened yet. Addison has rolled over about 5 times but I have yet to see it. They still arent really laughing yet. They chuckle here and there but I am just dying to hear a real belly laugh! Addison has also eaten a little bit of cereal and sweet potatoes but Ashlyn screams when the spoon comes near her face. I bought them jumpers for Christmas and I put them together a few days ago...then I spoiled everything by letting them play in them(they won't remember!). Anyway, their poor little legs are still about 3 inches from the floor so we can't even use those yet! I just laugh about all of this. I know all of these things will come with time and I have to consider their corrective age(which is really 3 1/2 months). I think I stress myself out too much about things.

I am going to try to get better about blogging, but I don't want any of you to count on that! Ryan is taking from mid December until the new year off, so I am hoping that it will help having someone here 24/7 to help and give me some free time to do stuff like blog and facebook! For now(as I listen to Ashlyn screaming for attention in the living room) I just type really fast and hope they stay asleep for another 5 minutes so I can finish typing this sentance!!

Friday the 13th is a good day for Addison

She pushed up for the first time! I have been worried that they were falling behind of their tummy time skills. It seemed like everytime I put them on their tummy, they screamed and drooled all over the blanket! But today when I did it, Addison just popped right into position like it wasn't any big deal! I was so proud of her...she typically is the slower baby as far as the physical development goes but she beat Ashlyn! She has done it 3 other times since then...she's becoming an old pro!


HELLO, Peggy Pig!!

4 months have come and gone

We have survived our first 4 months as parents. It surprisingly isn't as hard as I imagined it would be...in fact you would think I was crazy when I told you I would like to have twin boys! My girls are growing so fast and learning so much everyday. They are still so tiny(about the size of a 2 1/2 month old) but to me they are HUGE and it makes me sad to look back at pictures from the day we brought them home! Their personalities are developing...Addison is going to be the dramatic one and Ashlyn is going to be the cuddle bug who is always in our lap. They are both pretty goofy and I think they will have a great sense of humor.

We went back to the doctor for our checkup and shots. The girls did good as usual! Addison is now 11 pounds 15 ounces and 23 1/4 inches(17th percentile). Ashlyn is 10 pounds 7 ounces and 22 1/2 inches(3rd percentile). They told us to start cereal from a spoon, so my mom and I rushed out and bought all kinds of baby food as well as rice cereal. The doctor said that we could start food after they have gotten used to the cereal. Anyway, long story-short--they gagged at the cereal and won't eat it! I have tried several days in a row and they just won't do it! I called the doctor to see if I could try a new approach and he said that since they are preemie's to give it another couple of weeks and try again. Here are some pictures from our visit with Dr. Davidson:

Addison



OUCH, THAT HURTS!! Addison


Ashlyn


OUCHIE!! Ashlyn might be the tiniest one but she's a trooper!


My mom and I are going to start a new tradition after every doctor's visit....Wendy's frosties and shopping!! This was our first time and Ash was taking it all in!

Night out at Lone Star Park

Ryan had a business event at Lone Star Park on Friday night so we left the girls with my parents. We usually eat at Silk's, which is up on the 3rd floor of the track and it overlooks everything...so knowing that I was going to get a good meal I was looking very forward to the evening! We got there and ate and started watching the races and I decided that I wanted to pull a "fast one" on Ryan. I told him that I wanted to start doing my own betting on the horses that I chose and he started giving me money for all the races. I don't know how he didn't notice and catch on that every time I would go bet, I would leave the table and never come back with my ticket in hand. Actually what I was doing was sticking the money in my pocket! He did ask me a couple of times what horses I bet and where my ticket was but I just told him that I lost and the waitress must have taken my ticket away with my dirty plate...and he believed me! It was a fun night and I ended up with about $60 in my pocket....in the end I was the only winner of the night!!