A Special Thank You

Our whole family would like to say a special thank you to "Our Amy." (This is what the twins call her. No, they're not talking yet, but this is what we call her when we're talking to them).
Since my mom went home after Riley and Colter were born, Amy has been coming to our house two evenings a week to help with feedings and let us get some extra sleep. When she started, she'd do the 9:00pm feeding and the 12am feeding. Yes, we think she is crazy to be willing to stay up that late with our kids, but we're so grateful. As the weeks progressed, she stayed a little longer. (I'm not kidding!) She'd do a 9:30pm feeding and a 1:00am feeding. A few weeks ago she showed up with her alarm clock. She wanted to do the 9:30pm feeding as usual, but planned to stay and sleep on our couch until whenever the twins woke up so she could feed them again. Amazing. We couldn't believe it. They slept until 3:30am that night. This didn't phase her and she stuck with her plan of evening/night duty twice a week. We don't know how to thank her enough. I'm so glad she's gotten to spend all that time with our kids. She is definitely part of the family.

Here she is with Riley and Colter.
A bird's eye view of feeding two babies at once.

We also want to thank Michael for sharing his wife and doing the occasional feeding himself.

And we can't forget to thank Bryce. When Michael was out of town, Amy would put Bryce to bed in a pack-n-play at our house. He'd sleep here until she had done the middle of the night feeding. What a trooper.

Amy, I will be at your beck and call with your next baby. I can't wait to care for you the way you have cared for me.

Seven hours last night!!!!

The babies set a new personal best last night! I fed them at 9:30pm, we put them to bed just after 10pm, and they didn't get up to eat until 4:45am!!!! I was so excited when I saw the time this morning. I know they won't do this consistently yet, but it sure does give me a glimpse of how nice it will be when they do. We really worked hard at keeping them awake yesterday evening. Guess that will be the new routine. Thank goodness Jeff is so involved, I can't imagine trying to keep two sleepy infants awake by myself.

More on their sleeping...

I tried to put Colter down for a nap in his own crib. At first he seemed to like it.

Then he wasn't so sure.

They do their best napping on the couch. That's a really bad habit, but it's working for now. It allows me to keep a close eye on them while they sleep on their tummies (since that's not allowed these days).

First time to church

Today we took Riley and Colter to church for the first time. It took all morning to get out of the house, but we were only 5 minutes late for the 11am service. It was great to introduce the babies to more of our church family. Colter slept the whole time. Riley was awake, but quiet. All this "good behavior" is making us brave. Who knows where we'll take them next!
Here's a close-up of them in their church outfits. They've spent most of their lives in little sleepers, so it was a lot of fun to get them dressed up. Oh how I love our little cuties!


By the way, I'm barely walking after my little trip to the gym yesterday!

Finally back to the gym!

We live less than a mile from a Gold's Gym. Due to the fertility treatments and being pregnant, I hadn't been to our gym in over a year. Well, my sweet husband offered to take care of Riley and Colter without me so I could go to a Body Pump class. I had so much fun. Although I tried to take it easier than usual, I'm afraid I'm going to be moving rather slowly tomorrow...

Big day

Today was a busy day for us.

We met our friends Suzanna and Caroline this afternoon to go walking/shopping and enjoy the nice weather. Caroline is only 10 days older than Riley and Colter. All the babies slept for most of the time, but I'm sure the play dates will get more exciting in the future. I definitely enjoyed catching up with Suzanna.

We got home just in time to see Jeff pulling in the driveway. Jeff and I were excited because Jeff's parents and their family friend, June, were coming over to babysit Riley and Colter. They had also offered to babysit Amy and Michael's son, Bryce, so we could go on a double date. It had been a long time since the four of us had been out together, so we were really grateful.

June gave us the most adorable socks when the babies were born. Here's Riley with her Mary Janes on and Colter with his cowboy boots on.

When our babysitters arrived, Papa Jim had a surprise for Riley and Colter - a little red wagon! It's just like the one my brother, Matt, had when we were growing up. Bryce was kind enough to test it out and make sure it was safe for his younger friends. Thanks, Bryce!

Bryce went to sleep before we left for dinner, but I think Riley and Colter got to snuggle with June and Gram for most of the evening.

We had a great time on our date!

We got home in time to change the babies into their pajamas (these are Jeff's favorites) and put them to bed.

Twins on tour - Part 2

Today we went to Sarah's office. She is the acupuncturist I saw on a regular basis for a year during the IVF process. Approximately 50% of her practice focuses on fertility issues. I highly recommend her.

Here I am after a rare outing for a treatment during my time on bed rest.

Needless to say, she was very excited about Riley and Colter's birth. We went downtown to visit with her over her lunch break.

Leaving for this outing was a little less eventful. However, Colter did have another huge spit up incident right after I put him in his car seat. On Tuesday, I thought the timing had to do with the fact that he'd just eaten. Today I realized that he spit up immediately after I tightened his safety belt. Poor guy! I'd spit up too if someone squeezed my belly right after I ate.

Twins on tour - part 1

Now that Riley and Colter have had their shots, we're heading out to visit all the people who were hoping and praying for them along with Jeff and I.

Our first stop on the tour was the oncology clinic I worked at for five years before they arrived. I was very fortunate to work with a wonderful group of doctors and the best nurses ever. They were so supportive during all our attempts to get pregnant. All the waiting made it all the more amazing to introduce the twins this past Tuesday.

Here is Riley with a bunch of the nurses and administrative staff.

Colter got a grand tour of the office with Beth and Twanya.

Riley finally opened her eyes for Tommy and Colter got to snuggle with Kathy for quite a while!

It was an adventure to get there, but totally worth it. I am learning to prepare as much as possible the night before. For example, it's not a good idea to pick out outfits the morning of a trip that still need to be washed. If you do, the chances are high that the washer will fail to complete the last spin cycle, the dryer won't be able to handle the soggy clothes, and a baby (Colter) will spit up all over his matching outfit as you are putting him in his car seat. Riley was fussing up a storm at the same time of course. Notice that Colter wore his outfit anyway (after much dabbing). Isn't it sad when matching is more important than cleanliness? I never thought I'd do that, but...