Life Since August

Life has been treating us well. My sister is coming to visit for a long layover early next week which I'm very excited about. The boys had surgery which you can read about at the bottom. They're both doing well and getting so big. Carter weighs just over 16 pounds and Weston weighs 17.5 pounds. They can both sit up for a little while when they're leaning over on their hands and they need to be eating solids but they're not yet. They won't open their mouths which makes it kind of difficult, and feeding two babies with spoons takes FOREVER. Weston sticks his tongue out a lot and his hair is growing long. He is getting a sweet double chin, Mr. Fatty Cakes! Carter cracks up when you dance for him or fake a sneeze or when we do pretty much anything silly. Basically, he makes us feel like comedians, which we are. We're pretty hilarious. I read the Percy Jackson series in about a week which kept me busy. It was entertaining but only for someone to read when they've got a fair amount of time on their hands. I did P90x for a solid month then got burnt out for a week or two. I've started back up again though and it's good to be exercising again. I think I'll only do it three or four days a week instead of six. It just was taking up a ton of time. Ryan got second in his state bagging competition which was so fun to go to. He's planning to win it next year! He'll be reffing high school basketball starting in a few months and I'll start coaching club at about the same time. We'll be busy! Picture time? I think so...

Just sitting out on the lawn. (Weston left, Carter right)

I came home to my son looking like this. Hobo, rockstar, gentleman, or Daddy's little all-star? (Weston)

He didn't like the glasses so much. 

Weston left, Carter right. 

Just laying on our bed after waking up. (Carter then Weston)

We tried to have Ryan's mom take some photos for us, but taking photos with babies sure isn't easy. So we have one with Carter smiling. 

And one with Weston smiling. 

With Grandma and Grandpa! 

Carter can hold his head up now!

Carter then Weston. Love these boys! 

They like each other. (Carter left)

I was changing Weston and Carter got hold of his brother's shorts. Tasty. 

Carter told Ryan he wanted shorts on his head. We sure do miss Chief Red Face. Wait...that resulted in his hernias. So no, we don't. 

We went to Cafe Rio with Terra a few weeks ago. We're so glad she got an awesome job with Walmart but so sad she'll be leaving us! 

Weston loves playing with his cousin, Bella. 

Weston loves football.

Weston acted like he knew what he was doing with this cup of water. But he grabs everything and shoves it in his mouth so that's not too surprising. 

Our boys had some pretty minor surgery this week. Both of them were circumcised and Carter had a hernia to be fixed. My three favorite boys.

Carter with Daddy. 

Weston's surgery was first and it took him over an hour to come out of the anesthesia. Carter went in after and they told us they gave him more anesthesia so it would take him longer to wake up. We tried to wake him but the poor kid was zonked.

Thanks for reading! 

New Year's Goals

I like to have my life planned out, but that has gotten a little hard to do recently. Not only have the last few months been filled with some crazy adventures, but I'm having a hard time getting over the lack of a tracking number on the shipment of these little ones. There needs to be a timer strapped to this belly of mine. If it weren't for this rather obnoxious lack of seemingly simple and feasible tools, I could have my life all planned out! As it is, I'm dividing my life into two sections: the calm before the storm and...the rest of my life.

Here is one goal from each of my four goal categories: physical, spiritual, family, and intellectual. They are in no particular order.

My body, it's my body:
I have no idea how big I'll be by the time these kiddos come and I have no idea how hard it is to lose pregnancy weight, but by the end of the year, I want to weigh less than I did before I got pregnant. I know that sounds like a lofty goal, but I've lost a lot of muscle and haven't gained that much weight at 23 weeks. If they come in the next two months, I'm guessing I'll have gained about 15 pounds total. That includes the 7 I've gained so far and an additional pound a week. Oh but wait...I'm having twins. So would that be more like two pounds a week? Ahh I don't know! Anyway, I think 20+ pounds shouldn't be too hard to lose. Also, if we're lucky, we'll make it another 3 months and I'll get to feel that much better after losing all that weight! I want to do this by the beginning of August.

Read scriptures every day on my own:
Ryan and I have been doing a much better job reading scriptures together every night but consequentially, my own scripture reading suffers. I find myself rationalizing that I've already read with Ryan or I'll read on my own later. I know it's important to spend time alone with the scriptures every day so this needs to be more of a priority. I need to establish this before the babies come and my life gets crazy. My goal is going to be small (10 minutes a day) but, like so many things in the gospel, the important thing is consistency.

Breastfeeding:

I'm a little anxious about breastfeeding two potentially premature babies. I know it will take a huge amount of time and patience, especially at the beginning, and I worry I'll just want to give up even though it's the best thing for them. I've read some horror stories and frankly, the prospect of getting so little sleep for months on end is just not that enticing. So that being said, I know it's POSSIBLE to breastfeed twins, but I just hope it's possible for me and that they catch on quickly. I want to breastfeed for at least six months and I'll reevaluate at that point. Speaking of breastfeeding, does anyone have recommendations for buying or renting a pump? I want to be able to make sure my supply stays up, especially at the beginning, and I'd like to not be bound to the house like I have been, by shoving some of this huge responsibility off onto Ryan...like he's not already busy enough! So any thoughts from someone with a little more experience than me? 

Reading:
I want to read a book a week for every week I'm on bed rest. This isn't much of a goal because I'm doing it anyway but I want to keep it up. I've read at least 6 in the past month and I liked five of the six. I also want to read at least 5 parenting books by the end of this year.

I can't tell you the number of times growing up that I've wished I could read whenever I darn well pleased. And now I can! I've been reading a lot of fantasy recently. I've read books from The Wheel of Time, Mistborn, and the Host in the past couple weeks. Of course Ryan likes to make fun of my nerdiness...not surprising! I know not everyone is as blessed as I am in having all the time in the world to read :) but if anyone has wanted to keep track of the books they've read or needs ideas of new books to read, USE GOODREADS. It's seriously awesome. Some people get really involved and write lengthy reviews but I use it for purely selfish reasons. So go me! Goodreads can be a little boring at first if you don't have many 'friends,' but even then, it's still a great way to keep track of your own books and look for new ideas. So check it out, and don't forget to add me!

Goodreads