All about Jack and Braley

The funny thing is - Jack is much, much heavier than Braley. But when you get them in their diapers, you can't see much if a size discrepancy in them. Jack is just a lot more dense.
Getting in some tummy time before our bath

Braley:

Nicknames: B Money, B Money Maker, Braley no legs (he likes to curl his legs up in a ball by his stomach)

Good eater, but not like his brother. I am nursing the boys, but when I pump and give them a bottle, he eats around 3 ounces. He wants to eat every 2-3 hours during the day, and every 3-4 during the night.
He has the sweetest little face. I love him.

Jack:

Nicknames: The Fat Jack, Jack Attack

Excellent eater. He downs 4 ounces from a bottle like it's nobody's business. He nurses for about 5 minutes longer than Braley. He is happy to eat anytime it is offered. He is a bit of a better sleeper. Braley normally wakes first, and we have to wake Jack to keep them on the same schedule. Jack is a beautiful little boy and looks like his big sister.

Both boys like to be held. Unless they are sleeping or doing tummy time, they want to be up with me, looking around. So I bend down, pick up, set down, pick up the other...many times a day. Their cries are very unique. Jack lets out a heartbreaking little scream, where as Braley has the more traditional baby 'wail.' Both break my heart and I instantly run to them. The good news is that they only really cry when they want to be fed or held. They are very good babies.

They are both in size 1 diapers, although Braley could still easily fit in newborns. If I did that though, I would be buying: newborn, 1, 4, and 5 overnights. Good grief.

The same goes with clothes: Braley fits much better in a newborn size, but Jack doesn't. I like them to coordinate/match, so I have them both in 0-3 now. I can't believe in just 6 weeks, we are finished with newborn clothes.

I'm excited to see their personalities come out in the coming months.

I've said it before

and I'll say it again! Paige and Jack are twins.

Freaky.

Home on break!

Not me - I'm always home on break (insert sarcastic eye roll from me...I NEVER get a break!). But really - David took this week off of work and we are loving having him home!

He took Paige and my grandfather (Jack original) out to breakfast so I could stay home and love on my baby boys

He let me go get a pedicure! Hadn't done that since the babies were born and it was much needed.

He is home to get to enjoy his boys while they are still tiny! Wait - back up...Jack is not tiny any more. I don't know how much he weighs, but it is a lot more than his brother. We call him The Fat Jack (lovingly, of course).
Look at that little gorgeous chuncker! I love it!

And he is getting to love in his mini-me! Braley is the spitting image of his daddy.

Goofy girl

Paige is hysterical. Her latest thing is dancing. She loves to do the hokey pokey (spelling?) and any time she hears music, she puts her hands in the air (and waves them like she just don't care). David tells her that she dances like a white girl. Unfortunately for her, she probably always will. I have NO rhythm and look ridiculous when I dance.

These Pittsburgh Steelers jammies she has on were a gift from David's aunt and uncle. They live in Pennsylvania and are big Steelers fans. We got this last October. I remember looking at them thinking - these are huge! There is no way my baby will be that big! Well the time has come. She is that big. Cherish your babies. They grow very fast.

Merry Christmas from our family

to yours!

I am enjoying a wonderful Christmas with my family. Today, we hung around the house and enjoyed some relaxation (well - what little relaxing you can do with 3 kids...) time. We went to mass at 4 (where this picture was taken) with my mom and dad, then headed back to our house for some grilled sandwiches and BBQ. We are doing presents and a steak dinner at my parents' house tomorrow.

Right now, David and I are eating ice cream and preparing to watch Christmas Vacation. I can quote every single line (not exaggerating here), but it is tradition and we must watch it every Christmas Eve!

Edited to add: yes, I cut 7 inches off my hair last night. I went to get highlights and told my long-time stylist, Melissa, that I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to cut all my hair off. That was a lie. I had really decided about 20 minutes before I left for the appointment, but knew she wouldn't cut it if I hadn't "really thought about it." But I love it. I needed a change.

ETA one more time:

Paige bug "coloring" in church. Don't worry, this was just a Christmas program that she defaced.

What a big girl!

Paige eats apples like a big girl and can wear her hair in a full-on pony! I can't believe it! She walks to the fridge and says, "apple!" I cut it into 4ths for her and she eats the whole thing with no problem. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She is a GIRL now. There is very little baby left to her. : (

Look at that pony! Crazy!

Mouth full of apple
Wishing we could play outside but it is way too cold.

I love her.

Beautiful Paige

First, our cute stockings. We didn't do a tree this year. I was so sad about that, but it was the best decision. I don't have time to keep a curious toddler away from it. One day we will have tons of presents under a great big tree...but this year, we just have stockings.

All 5 of them : )
I know I am biased, but I can't get over how beautiful Paige gets every day. She has the most amazing eye lashes, big, red lips, and such a lovely smile. She is going to be a heartbreaker!

And I couldn't resist throwing in sweet baby Braley.

I got a new camera, and am having fun playing with it. Too bad I have zero time to learn about all the settings. Some day.

Laundry

Just in case anyone was wondering -

newborn twins + a toddler who is learning to feed herself with a spoon/fork + a mom who gets peed/puked on often + a mom who is lazy and likes to change the babies on her bed instead of getting up and walking to the pack n play + mom and dad who exercise almost every day + anal mom who doesn't like to wear her nursing bra for more than 1 day =

a crap ton of laundry. I have hired help and a grandmother who likes to help with all of this stuff, and I STILL can't keep up with it all. I'm nervous to get our water bill this month.

Perspective from a stranger

Allison gave me the full disk with all 41 gorgeous edited photos yesterday. I am in love with them. Thank you, Allison, for your hard work!

David and I took the kiddos out to Johnnies last night. For those not local, Johnnies is a family-friendly fast food ish place here in town. I'd say it is one step above a fast food place. I love their burgers, fries, and shakes. It is a great place to take kids, and has been around for a long time! I have many memories from my childhood there.

Anyway, all evening, David and I could not stop bickering at each other. I know all married couples have nights like that. I couldn't even tell you what started it all. Oh wait- yes I can. But it is so stupid I am way too embarrassed to repeat it. But once that started, we were just in crappy moods and being snippy with each other.

We were sitting down at our table with our gorgeous daughter enjoying her grilled cheese, talking, singing, just being adorable...and our cute baby boys sleeping in their carseats next to us.

A lady came up to us and was asking us all about our kids, telling me how great I looked, and what a happy family we were. She said, "wow. Yall* are very blessed. You are lucky to have each other. God bless and Merry Christmas." She was so sweet and seemed to genuinely mean it.

David and I sat there in silence for a few minutes after she walked away. We both felt so guilty! I know we will have nights where we forget how lucky we are to have each other and our children - but it was nice to have this reminder!

*Yes - she said yall. We live in Oklahoma.

1 month - and thank you, Kim!

First, a funny story. On Tuesday, I came home from Christmas shopping to find a Titleist box on the front porch. Of course, I was instantly pissed at David for ordering golf clubs and not telling me. But I had 2 infants to feed and didn't have time to open the box, let alone call him and bitch him out.

He got home from class that night and was like - hey - did you order me some clubs for Christmas? We opened the box and found this:

Engraved putters with the boys' birth information. One for each. How freaking cool is that!?! We LOVED them and were so excited for our boys to have this awesome thing. I come from a family of serious golfers and married someone who also have a love for the game. I picture Jack and Braley playing golf with their dad and it makes my heart so happy.

Anyway - the only problem was - there was no information as to who this came from! I called my mom and she had no idea either. Finally, I had to call Titleist. I needed to thank this person for such a sweet, thoughtful gift. It turns out, it was my friend Kim who works for Titlesist. I am so glad I called because I would have NEVER put those two and two together and figured it out : ) Kim - David and I are so thankful for your thoughtfulness. We can't wait for Jack and Braley to hit the links for the first time, and they will always have this keepsake. When they win the Masters here in 30 years or so, they will thank you for giving them their first putter.

How is it possible that my babies are 1 month old already?

Jack is a rockstar at tummy time. He can lift is head so high and leave it there for several seconds. Braley is getting better. I try and do tummy time twice a day.

But they start fussing after 3 or 4 minutes and I turn them over.

Jack is a beautiful baby. He looks exactly like his big sister.

Braley has a precious baby face. He really is one of the cutest babies I have ever seen. But I'm bot biased or anything...
And Paige is still a hot mess most of the time : ) This morning, her two incisor teeth had popped through, so that explains a lot. It is crazy that Paige now has almost all her baby teeth.

An acquaintance yesterday commented on how much hair the boys have. I said, yes, all of my kids have a lot of hair. It sounded so strange coming out of my mouth. "all of my kids."

Tuesday night baths

David is in grad school on Tuesday nights still, so I decided to give the boys baths on those nights. I have developed a little system! The kitchen sink is by far the easiest way for me to bathe the twins, and it seems to be their favorite bath spot as well.

First, Braley chills out in the bouncey seat on the counter...

...while I get Jack ready and let the water warm up.

Notice I lay out both towels, jammies, lotion, and diapers.

Sweet little Braley

Jack - all clean in his green towel

Jack gets his jammies on and then replaces Braley in the bouncey chair.

Little Braley waiting for his water to warm up

Braley in his blue elephant towel.

Lotion time!

Sweet, clean baby feet.

I love the smell of a freshly bathed baby!

We all need a little nap after bath time!

4 weeks and 1 day in - and I think we are all starting to settle into our new normal.