Sean's Girls

Dear Sean, 

I hear that you check our blog every day to see "your girls". Well, I put lots of pictures on here for you to see your girls. They are so cute and they will LOVE to play with their big cousin Sean! 

 We visited Dave at work today to show off Anna and Audrey. I loved this shot of the 4 girls…two little babies with their grown up sisters reading magazines.

 So wonderful to have Grandma and Grandpa here to visit!!! It was a lot of work to get the "grandma" and "grandpa" visible on their shirts. The older girls can't get enough of fun headbands and bows and dressing up their baby sisters.

 Audrey and Ash with Grandpa

 I looked over at Nate and (can't tell who from this pose) and he was teaching punching moves while making punching sound affects. I love it.

 Audrey was so wide awake today! We all gather close when they are awake and ooh and ahh over their cute expressions.

 Love Anna's cute eyes in this picture.

 Nate had the camera in his hands at this point.

 Grandpa was surrounded with kiddos as soon as he stepped foot in the house.

 Audrey was clearly dressed up for the day and I was still in my pajamas.

 Nate said "Babies are more fun than I thought because you can build trains around them."

 Audrey after her punching lesson with Nate.

 Don't scratch your sister's face! Bath time is too relaxing for these girls.

 Anna stretching after a good nap.

 Dave took the kids out for a beautiful hike.

 Sadie and Nate put a show on for us. They made invites that said "Come to the dual with Sadie and Nate". They had all sorts of "matches" to play, and this one was their roller blade hockey with broom sticks. We had seats we had to pay for to watch. Reminded me of my field hockey days and I wanted to join in. I need to get me some roller blades.

 Grandpa and Nate hiking the hill behind our house.

Audrey sure looks tiny next to Sadie and Nate.

All dressed up for church

We finally ventured out with the babies and took them to church today. The girls (older girls) already had outfits planned for their little sisters' first big outing!

 So wonderful to have Grandma and Grandpa here! They are a great help and tons of fun, too!

 They wanted and "all girls" shot.

 Nate wanted his own picture with the girls. So sweet. Then he wanted to pretend to be asleep like them. :)

 I dreamed of two babies in my arms for a long, long time. I love it.

Sadie put Audrey in her "I love grandpa" outfit for the day Grandpa arrived.

And for the record, for the first time in a while, I got the babies mixed up today. It's a game we all play…to guess who is who. Sometimes it's just too hard to tell. Usually I claim to have them down pat. But not today. Sometimes they look soooo much alike!

I'm with Nate.

The first time Nate held Anna and Audrey, he said "I love them a lot more than I thought I would."

Even with night after night of not being able to sleep because I was daydreaming about my life with twins and how much I would love them, I'm surprised at how much MORE I love them than I thought I would. The love came the second I saw them, but it has grown exponentially since then. 

Last night both girls were crying in their bed after we put them down. I got out of bed to comfort them and the second I held Audrey, she quieted in that way where there is such relief to have mom snuggle you tight. I about melted. They were both wide awake and not sleepy enough for bed (although we were sleepy enough for bed!). I held them both in my arms as I sang to them. I was in heaven. Two darling babies looking up at me and loving the lullabies. I felt the sweetest spirit reassure me loud and clear that they were meant to be in our family. Oh how I love these little girls. Each day I'm so thankful they were sent to our family. Whenever I feel the overwhelming feeling of wanting to somehow repay or adequately thank Heavenly Father for these precious gifts, I just vow over and over to do my very best to raise these sweet girls. 

Nate was looking for a playmate to play games with him. No one was available this morning. So he got his dragon out to play. It really made me laugh. He just stayed in that position for a long while.

3 Weeks Old

 Sleepy little girls...

 I think this is Audrey. Yep, I'm pretty sure.

 I love how they were doing the same thing…just mirroring each other. This was super fun awake time with them this afternoon. I love watching them interact.

This post is for you, Julia!!

This post is for our most devout blog follower…who I have heard checks it a couple times a day for updates. Julia, you need to come over so you can hold them and not just look at pictures! :) Ash would love it, too. 

 Sadie loves any chance to do ANYTHING with those babies. I must say, this is a heavenly position to have both babies snuggled up on your chest. Heavenly.

 The girls taking their morning nap. They had a 5 hour window of sleep last night! They are great sleepers so far…lets hope it continues!

 Fuzzy picture from my phone but I thought it gives an idea of how small they are. Although most people who first saw pictures and then saw them in real life say that the pictures just don't do their small size justice.

Speaking of size…they are getting to be chunks! They had their first doc appt today and they are both about 5 1/2 pounds and they each grew about 2 inches. That's a lot of growth in just a few weeks! They are looking a lot bigger to me and less of the doll size.

Waiting for the doc to come check them out. They loved squirming around together.

The Best Bath Ever!

 Nate took Anna (I think it was Anna) on a roller coaster ride around the house. He held her in a cute way and walked around the house telling her about the different things that go on in different parts of the house. I love watching him love the babies.

 Sadie and Ash continue to have a blast dressing these girls up! Today they were coordinating with the polka-dots and both had a little flower on their top.

Look at Audrey's long piano fingers! Wow!

 Last night we gave them a bath. Mom had the fabulous suggestion to put them in together. This was definitely a highlight of the last almost 3 weeks. They were so content and happy. Neither of them hardly moved a muscle and it almost seemed like they were hypnotized or something. They just loved it. It had to remind them of the womb with the water all around and a sister so close. I Think we will do that every day just for them because they love it and for us to love watching them! If we waited much longer, both would have peacefully fallen to sleep in the bath. They were so happy and comfortable.

Fraternal?

When Dave got home from work he came up to Audrey and said "Anna?". Nope. Sometimes we can so tell them apart and other times (especially when they aren't next to each other) they look a lot alike! I think I need to get Dave to come to the computer to make sure I label them right.

They are sleeping well and are just super good natured little babies. It's pretty amazing to think about how much we love them. And to think we've only known them for 2 1/2 weeks. Then again, we've been praying for them a lot longer than that.  

 Audrey

 Audrey and Anna snuggling

 I love Anna's arm touching her sister...

 Anna

 The big sisters have sure been having some fun with their little sisters. Dave's cousin made these cute burp rags but did she know they can turn into dress up? 

 Sadie and Ash had so much fun getting them dressed for the day. We've heard that twins can be pretty tough…but when you have two big helpers who want to do EVERYTHING it's not so bad!!

Anna