June bugs (continued)

The rest of our June was relatively eventful.  In addition to lightning strikes, Matthew's graduation and Baby Brockwell's gender reveal, I went back to work, we spent lots of time cuddling our babies, the girls LOVE the pool so we spent a lot of time there, and we welcomed a new nephew into the world!

enjoyed quite a few mornings with this view & my cup of tea :)

playtime turned naptime

I've found an awesome group of other twin moms.  I've discovered that other twin moms are like gold.  Their wisdom & experience is so helpful.  They understand that having two is way different than having one, or even having two close in age.  They help lift you up, make sure you know it's okay to cry, and give the best advice.  We had an annual picnic, which was lots of fun!

all of the moms of multiples and their twins!

<3

these Hokie babies are 11 weeks old! 

I've always struggled with tandem feeding the girls.  They've always been tiny & floppy, and really high maintenance - requiring lots of burping or spilling out of the sides of their mouths.  While I was on maternity leave, Daniel did a lot of teleworking and my mom came over often to help me.  After getting some good advice from other MoMs at our SAMOM picnic, I felt confident enough to try it.  Well - I was thrown into it and required confidence to try it.  We had people installing our new washing machine (which wasn't going very well...), the electrician showed up to inspect the lightning damage, and both babies were crying.  So there we found ourselves - successfully tandem feeding!  Woo hoo!  Right before this picture, we had an emergency bath, thanks to Ella and poop.  After this picture, we had another emergency bath, thanks to Sydney and poop. 

you have no idea how HUGE of a moment this was for me! yay!

All smiles from Sydney

Everyone says that Sydney looks like Daniel and Ella looks like me.  Personally, I don't see where Ella looks like me, maybe everyone is just being nice.  But - it was kind of cool - Sydney has my name but looks like her dad, and Ella has his family name but looks like her mom.  We were at Daniel's mom's house and she pulled out some baby pictures of Daniel.  And would you look right there - Ella looks an awful lot like him!  So now we have to say... Sydney looks like Daniel now, and Ella looks like Daniel as a baby.  All I did was carry these two babies.  Well that, and give Sydney porcelain skin and blonde hair ;)

hanging out at our favorite spot - on the deck.  Ella is fist-pumping in excitement

Sydney - always curious, looking around, and being nosy

and a big beautiful grin from our Syd-girl

Ella - always snoozing :) 

a beautiful grin & her gorgeous dimple, in her sleep of course

 After a fun day of hanging out outside, snuggling, changing diapers and feeding - we went to the pool for our first big dip.  The girls LOVED it!  So content.  I love having water babies

catching some rays

Ella punching Sydney in the phase, Sydney is completely unphased

Sydney the diva

Alright, enough of the sunglasses - time for a real snooze

sweet sisters pool-side

Sydney was done at this point :)  Sink family of four, pool edition
 

Sometimes you just have to stop what you're doing and hold babies

....and you have to be creative about how you get them in a comfy position :)

sweet girls holding hands

morning smiles

Sydney was just as happy as she could be!  looks like pure joy :)

The girls are starting to get flat spots on their heads, so I've tried my best to put them down on areas other than the back of their head.  I rolled them on their sides next to each other in a crib during one of their naps.  Doesn't get much sweeter than this

melts my heart.  twin sisters

love these sweet snuggles

Napping on the deck... have to be touching, of course

Happy girls, look at that grin in Sydney's face

The girls went and met all of my coworkers.  We were there almost all day, and the girls were loved on for hours!  I don't have many pictures, except #dannyholdingbabies

The girls went and met all of Daniel's coworkers.  They just loved them - and we love when people love on our girls!

Ella Bella was especially smile-y one day with her daddy, post-bottle

snug as two bugs in a rug

My amazing momma turned 60!  We celebrated by going out to Flemings with the family (sans twins).  We ate a delicious meal, and celebrated one of the kindest people I know.  I'm so thankful that I get to learn how to be a momma to my girls from one of the very best.

Sometimes I have to capture some of my favorite moments - including looking down and seeing what's in my lap.  A cute ruffled butt and two tiny legs.

Ella sitting in her seat like a big girl!  They often leave their arms up to rest on, or they just lay their heads on the side of the seat when they get tired, ha!

naked babies!  getting so fresh and so clean

getting ready for bed - happy girls

And just in the blink of an eye - our girls are 12 weeks old!  12 glorious weeks being at home, learning how to be a momma, trying to sleep & survive.  Begrudgingly, I had to put on my big girl panties and go back to work.  Staying at home is tough - so my hat's off to those who stay at home with littles.  I don't want to be a stay at home mom, which is why I was so confused about not wanting to leave my girls.  I was looking forward to going back to work - adult interaction, routine, eating a hot meal.  But, 12 solid weeks with my daughters tugged at my heart strings.  I was going to miss my girls terribly - stopping whatever I was doing to hold two tiny babies.  Drinking tea on the deck in the morning.  Hanging out with my mom.  Spending time with Daniel as he "teleworked".  I'm so fortunate to work for a company that truly cares - that gives a new momma 12 weeks off, completely paid.  That's why I was

all ready for work & daycare

of course I had to make cute shirts for their first day!  I made sure to include their initials, so their teachers could tell them apart :)

 And we survived our first day!  Swaddled and reading a bed-time book :)

I know I just said it, but I work for an awesome company.  The ladies in HR made meals for us my first week and a half back.  It was so incredibly sweet.  It made it possible for me to come home and snuggle my girls, without worrying about fixing a good meal.

because my lap isn't big enough for two, I make a pseudo-lap with a blanket in between my legs and the chair

look at those sweet faces

and who can resist an adorable crab-butt

Selfies with Abby

she LOVES her Guncle!

My first weekend after going back to work, Daniel worked on Saturday morning, so I spent the entire morning in PJs, cuddling our sweet girls.  I had really missed them!

hanging out with Sleepy Syd

while Ella Bella raises her fist next to us

sweet, sweet girls.  look at their arms :)

Below is a photo I posted on Instagram with the caption: "This image sums up life with twins in the very best way: perfection and happiness.  Not pictured: crying and mountains of diapers".  But really - when things get tough, the girls find a way to remind us how amazing life with twins is.


naps with daddy are the best!  I told you we stayed in PJs almost all day

we hung out with Ashley (Jake) and Jamie (Dan).  Fun night with work-friends!

Sunday morning snuggles on daddy's lap

Lean on me...

We spent Sunday afternoon at Stoney Glen pool.  The water was a little chilly for the ladies, but it was a perfect day to spend outside with good friends :)

snuggles with Sydney

pool-side snooze

Ella & KK

Daniel and his mini-me, Sydney.  Two out of the three of my favorites!

so peaceful

6.29
We went to the doctor for a three-month weight check.  Whoa, three months!?  When did that happen?  The girls weighed in at:
Sydney - 8 lbs 13 oz (less than third %)
Ella - 10 lbs 1 oz (8%)
Still tiny, still fierce

We're 13 weeks old!

And I'll finish up our June post with two beautiful smiles - caught on camera - at the same time!  The girls have been starting to smile a lot lately, but of course, they elude the camera.  Their smiles are good for the soul.