It's Been a While.

So it has definitely been a while since I have created a blog post! I'm hoping that now that the twins are older I will have more time to focus again on this. So lets play catch up?

The last blog post I made was in August 2014, since then a lot has happened. We celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, & Luke's 4th birthday, Madison will be 3 the end of this month, the twins will be turning one next month and have been hitting plenty of milestones.

We got some good snow this winter so the kids built a snowman with daddy!

Cold winter nights call for hot coca, pretzels, and a movie!

Maddie is obsessed with ballerinas.

She approves this message.

Madison has been potty trained (day and night) for a few months now. Thank goodness! 

MacKenzie can stand unassisted for a good amount of time. She will be walking soon!

The crawl around and get into anything and everything they can. 

The girls eat table food and love it! 

Riley pulls her self up and stands while holding onto things but not unassisted yet.

Riley is such a ham! She is the laid back one between the girls. MacKenzie is more serious.

Three Months!

THREE Months!

MacKenzie

MacKenzie

MacKenzie

This past month went by so fast with the kids. Riley grew into size 1 diapers & 0-3M clothing and MacKenzie has been smiling so much & grew into size 1 diapers. 

Peter's brother got a new swimming pool so we all went over to go swimming. Maddie is my little fish! The kiddos have those Puddle Jumper life jackets so Mad keeps trying to swim alone without our assistance. Luke was scared at first but was soon swimming on his own as well. 

Riley Girl.

Silly MacKenzie

The town fair came the last week of July. Peter & I went alone one night to have some adult time together. We grabbed some dinner & walked around for a little bit. Luke & Madison went another night with Peter's parents. They were able to ride the rides and grab dinner there as well. When they came back Madison was a princess (wand & crown too) and Luke was a warrior (his words haha) with a new toy gun. They both had a blast! I can't wait until we can take all 4 kids next year.

Riley.

We attempted to use Goats Milk as a supplement so I could get some me time. We used it one weekend & will never use it again, ha. The girls took well to it actually so well that when I went back to breast feeding them they made me so sore. I wanted to give up. The bottle milk output vs my output...the bottle won. I pushed through the pain & we have been back to normal again. 

The girls eat about every 2-3 hours and are wide awake for most of the day. I am attempting to get the girls on a better nap schedule so I'm using the 2-3-4 method. 

First nap 2hrs after waking up in the morning. Second nap 3hrs waking from the first nap. Final sleep is 4hrs after the second night & would be bed time.  

Starting to look identical. Mac(L) & Riley (R)

Riley

MacKenzie's first time in the baby tub.

The girls.

Riley's first time in the baby tub

Time For A Change.

I have been inspired. By whom you ask? By The Glamorous Housewife I reply. Her 'About' page is what hit me. Her belief that "Sweat pants is not the answer", "Being well dressed is a form of politeness", & "You should laugh and love with abundance" is what made me think. Those 3 things out of her list of several lit the light bulb in my head and made me think, things are going to change!

When I wake up I put on my boy shorts or sweat pants with a t-shirt and for the most part chill with the kiddos. I admit it, I find my butt on the sofa more then it should be. Ever since I hit the third trimester of pregnancy with Riley & MacKenzie I slacked off. Changes, they're gonna happen.

I find myself making excuses or getting more angry with people more then I should be. I am going to wake up & actually get dressed (jeans, shirt, make-up, everything). I am going to make a check list of things to be done for the day and get them done before I sit my butt down for some tv. I am going to spend more time focused on my children instead of my phone, computer, or the tv.

Happy Mommy/Wife = Happy Kids/Husband. 

It's not fair that when Peter comes home from a hard day of work outside in the 90 degree weather I complain to him about my day. "So & So is making me so mad!" or "The children are driving me nuts!" I might as well throw in "but I've been inside with full access to food, water, air conditioning, and more while you have been outside working for 8hrs with a 30min lunch break, limited water, and the hot sun beating down on you." 

I am going to make myself happier therefore making those around me happier.

Two Months!

Two Months Old!

07/05/14

We are still alive!

The second month has been a lot more demanding. During the first month all they did was eat, sleep, and poop. Now Riley & MacKenzie are more aware of their surroundings and have longer wake times. We had to bring out the swing which seems to work better then the boppy. The girls will sit in the swing wide awake just taking in the day. 

Peter and I are able to tell who is who by their looks. Riley (right) has a longer and skinnier head...overall she is smaller then MacKenzie (left). 

We have a great routine going and the girls have taken well to it..thank goodness! At 8pm I prep and begin giving the girls their bath (one at a time). I'll rub them down with some lavender lotion, put on their diaper, and onesie and then swaddle them tight. Next is feeding time, lately I have mastered the art of tandem feeding. For some reason when I tandem feed the girls seem to eat longer and get more milk. They usually pass out around 9pm or quarter after and then we take them up to our room to lay them down. That gives Peter and I some time to relax together. 

Speaking of tandem feeding, I can cross that off my bucket list. (: It really does make life easier. 

I finally ventured out to the grocery store alone...with all four kids. Luke and Madison held hands the entire time so they had a buddy. There were a few attempts to throw items in the cart like fruit snacks, cereal, and frozen pops but I caught them. haha! The more time I spend as a mother to four kids the easier it becomes. 

This past month the girls also got baptized. We asked their Uncle John and Aunt Cassie to be Riley's God Parents and Uncle Matt and Aunt Anna to be MacKenzie's God Parents. 

Riley, Aunt Cassie, Uncle John, and Father Mike.

MacKenzie, Aunt Anna, Uncle Matt, and Father Mike.

When they cry we can tell who is who. MacKenzie always starts high pitched and Riley has a tremble during her cry. They both LOVE to cuddle on my chest..I love it too. They each wake up once a night but will sometimes stay awake longer then they should (hour or two). They eat every two hours & on occasion more if they hit a growth spurt.

Oh yeah, did I mention that MacKenzie has her bottom two teeth coming already! The tops already poked through, no wonder why she has been drooling!

MacKenzie making faces while I talk to her.

Riley's First Smile.

A friend of the family hand made some beautiful hats for Riley & MacKenzie! I wish I had the patience and talent to knit like this, they're beautiful!

Peter & I are doing great. Haven't killed each other yet which is amazing compared to how it was during my pregnancy. Father's Day has come & gone and he loved his t-shirt the kiddos made. See a photo of it here. 

Luke & Madison are still great helpers. They fetch diapers, wipes, & pacifiers when asked. They love to hold the girls & give them kisses too. Maddie helps me give the twins their bath while Luke tries to help put them to sleep. He accomplished that once by singing a song from Cinderella to MacKenzie. 

The Fourth of July has come and gone, you can read about that here. So now we move on to their third month and see what else the girls have in store for us to enjoy.(:

Fourth Of July 2014!

 Happy Fourth Of July!

I hope you enjoy your weekend with family!

Thursday I took Riley & MacKenzie to their two month appointment. Thankfully my mom came along to help & it made the time there bearable! Luke & Maddie hung out with Pop & some family that came to visit. When we came back the kiddos played in the rain, mud, & pool. We had self-made pizza's for dinner & the kids loved them.

Splashing in the pool with cousin Wyatt & Gavin.

After swimming ice cream with cousin Wyatt!

Yesterday we all went to my brother-in-laws house to celebrate the fourth. We had a yummy food, games, & good times with friends and family. I got the kiddos dressed up in their red, white, & blue and I wore what I could. The weather was chilly, windy, & cloudy. I left at 7:30 to take the twins home so we could stick with their routine. Peter stayed at the party to hang out with friends which in return gave me time to relax by myself a bit.

The play mat filled with toys for all the kids.

Maddie sitting with her cousin Brooke.

MacKenzie

Riley