Saturday, December 24, 2016

Babies' First Christmas Ornaments

In the midst of the crazy, I haven't had much time to work on craft projects. But I knew we wanted ornaments for Eli and Maddie's first Christmas, and I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. Or it was too expensive. So I decided to make my own! These were SUPER simple, and had to be, since I only had short bursts of time :)

I have collected snowflake ornaments for several years, but knew I wanted some sort of snowflake theme for babies' ornaments, since they are our little snowflakes :)

So, so thankful we have these ornaments to make this year!



{Back}

Materials: frosted glass ornaments, vinyl, ribbon
Tools: Silhouette Cameo, scissors
Total Project Cost: less than $5 each


Friday, December 9, 2016

High Five for Friday!

I'll be honest...all of my days seem to blend together now; I have a hard time remembering what day it is. I tend to operate in 2-3 hour increments. But Fridays are still a big deal around here because it means that Mike is home for the weekend! Which means reinforcements :) 

{one} Eli and Maddie had their one month check up today {a week late}. They have already grown SO much! Eli is now 8 pounds, 13 ounces and Maddie is now 9 pounds, 2 ounces. Definitely puts this mama's heart at ease, after they had lost so much weight at the beginning. It's crazy to think that they are already 5 weeks old. It has been the longest and shortest 5 weeks of our lives haha. Being parents to twins is definitely hard in so many ways, but we are still so thankful and loving this precious time. And just because they're cute...


{two} My dad's surgery went really well! He is home recovering, and I am so glad that he is taking all of December off to do that. The doctors are confident he is now cancer free, but he will go back in 3 months for more testing to confirm. Continued prayers for the cancer to be gone are very much appreciated. 

{three} So the cold weather has definitely arrived! We had our first freeze of the season last night. Crazy Texas going from 80 degrees to 20 degrees. I guess since it is December, it was about time.  I was actually telling Laura the other day that having babies in November worked out well, since I would want to hibernate in the colder months anyway. So being home bound right now isn't so bad! I don't mind staying inside where it's nice and warm :)

{four} So this is the first year since I was diagnosed that I haven't blogged for Crohn's Awareness Week. I have been a *little* busy :)  So this is my short PSA for this year...this year's theme is #IBDvisible. Because IBD is often an invisible illness, there is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding these diseases. By sharing my story, I can help give a face to the disease. I still hold out hope for a cure, but I am so thankful that I have been able to achieve and maintain remission now for almost 4 years. And I am thankful for the modern medicine that has allowed me to do that.


{five} There are 16 days left until Christmas. How did THAT happen?? We decorated the house, but other than that, I haven't really thought much about Christmas. We don't really have much planned, since babies are still so young, so it will be a low key, quiet Christmas. I have done zero shopping and am not really confident that it will happen this year. I mean, it will. This is just the latest I have ever started or thought about Christmas haha. Thank goodness for online shopping! :) 


Friday, December 2, 2016

Eli + Maddie :: 1 Month


Eli & Maddie, 

I can hardly believe that you are 1 month old! I have to admit that it has been somewhat of a blur, as your daddy and I have tried to navigate first-time parenthood and life with 2 newborns. But despite the lack of sleep and the countless diapers, we have enjoyed every moment getting to know you. Sweet ones, we prayed so long for you, and the fact that you are here and already 1 month old is such a sweet blessing. We know this time is going to go by so fast, and we want to remember all the precious moments that the Lord gives to us. We love you so much, and we are so thankful to be your parents!

Love,
Mama


E L I J A H      W I N N


Stats :: 8.4 pounds, 21.5 inches

Loves :: snuggles in the mornings, bath time

Dislikes :: tummy time, being cold, being wet/dirty, pretty much being uncomfortable in any way :)

Eat :: you were patient with mama while she tried her best to breastfeed you and your sister. when we realized that it just wasn't going to work out how we had planned, you were such a champ when it was time to take formula. once your belly was actually getting full, things were much better! you keep your sister on the feeding schedule, as you are always the one who wakes to eat first. unfortunately, you struggled a lot with gas, and your daddy and I did everything we could to try to help you. we never thought we would ever pray so much for poop! when we introduced a gentler formula, you finally started to feel better. you are eating about 8 times a day, 3.5 ounces each time.

Sleep :: once we got past the first crazy week where you were waking every hour, you started sleeping the expected 2 to 3 hours. every now and then, you make it 3.5 hours, which makes your daddy and I rejoice! your absolute favorite place to sleep? in my or your daddy's arms.

Play/Development :: you grasp our fingers, work really hard to focus your eyes, and have the strongest leg muscles, often pushing against or standing on us when we are holding you. you're not a fan of tummy time, and you definitely favor turning your head to one side. you do everything you can to try to avoid turning the other way, but you humor mama {to a point} when she makes you work out your neck muscles. but we're not too worried, because you have mastered the head butt when we are holding you :)

Unique to You :: baby boy, you have the most atrocious gas. it rivals Sasha and can clear a room! you get super frustrated, very fast...when you're wet, when you don't get a bottle fast enough, when your pacifier falls out. patience is not your thing right now haha. oh, but you have the BEST old man faces for just about everything :)





M A D E L I N E      G R A C E


Stats :: 8.6 pounds, 21.5 inches

Loves :: sleeping, having your arms free, bath time

Dislikes :: being wet/dirty

Eat :: you were patient with mama while she tried her best to breastfeed you and your brother, when we realized that it just wasn't going to work out how we had planned, you were such a champ when it was time to take formula. once your belly was actually getting full, things were much better! you were super great to always be on your brother's feeding schedule, as we always seem to wake you up when it's time to eat. you are eating about 8 times a day, 3.5 ounces each time.

Sleep :: once we got past the first crazy week where you were waking every hour, you started sleeping the expected 2 to 3 hours. since you are on your brother's schedule right now, we often wonder how long you would sleep if we didn't wake you up with him. you are our sleep champ right now!

Play/Development :: you grasp our fingers and work really hard to focus your eyes. you rock the tummy time! you don't seem to mind it as much as your brother and you turn your head all on your own. 

Unique to You :: baby girl, you have a distinctive girly squeal. you are usually pretty content, but every now and then, that shrill squeal comes out, and it is definitively girl. you have the largest, most beautiful eyes that just melt our hearts.



Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Embryo Adoption :: Our Journey {2016 part 2}

I wanted to be sure that our entire embryo adoption journey was easily accessible, so I placed the rest of the links for 2016 below. We still have 2 embryos waiting for us, so we'll have to see what 2017 holds for us! :)

** I only provided links for my first 12 weeks of a baby bump in the previous 2016 post, since we didn't make any public announcements until after that. The rest of my pregnancy weeks can be found here or further in the list below - though you will have to scroll back a bit to get back to my twin pregnancy :)  **

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June 3, 2016: Embryo Adoption Q&A



September 7, 2016: The Day I Miscarried- talking about my miscarried 1 year later

October 7, 2016: Our Rainbows After the Rain


November 1, 2016: Countdown to Babies- 1 More Day! {Because of the gift of embryo adoption!}

November 2, 2016: Baby Day!

November 14, 2016: Baby Bump- Week by Week // Month by Month {the twin baby bump with Eli and Maddie!}

November 25, 2016: Embryo Adoption Awareness Day

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We are beyond grateful for the gift of Embryo Adoption! We walked a hard road, but the Lord was gracious to us every step of the way. Every time we look at Eli and Maddie, we are reminded of God's goodness and faithfulness to us. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!


{iPhone Rewind} :: November

I apologize in advance for the baby photo overload...but it was their birth month, and they have pretty much been our entire focus this month...and I just couldn't help it :)

Sweet sleeping babes

The sweet moment before they started kicking each other :)

Daddy has been christened by Eli

With Aunt Lindsay...who was a lifesaver the first couple of weeks!

Sweet boy...granny was also a lifesaver the first couple of weeks

Baby girl...love her tiny-ness

Date #35: Sonic Date to process our first 11 days of parenthood #wcsavethedate16

Feeding time!

The many faces of Maddie...gotta send some love to daddy while he's back at work!

Eli meeting grandma

Paci partners...I mean, can you even??

Happy {?} babies :)

Men and babies...pretty adorable. They love their Uncle Michael!

Sasha made sure to sneak some snuggles in...sweet puppy.

Sasha overseeing tummy time...gotta make sure those babies lift those heads!

We actually made it out for a walk!

Soaking up some grandma and grandpa time

When you are overwhelmed by motherhood and your sweet husband brings you home flowers to encourage you #lovehim

Date #36: Boomer Jack's + Baskin Robbins for Mike's Birthday #wcsavethedate16

Eli and Maddie got their first mail! 

The gift that Nightlight sent to their newest Snowflake Babies {#496 and #497}

I finally tried my hand at baby wearing. I need some practice, but I think it will be great once I get the hang of it!

Sleeping babies are the best :)