Somehow (seemingly overnight) I'm now the mom of six month old twins.
No longer newborns, the baby stage is slipping by me faster and faster. Will and Nora are both sleeping through the night (that started around 3 months, bless their souls!), eating rice cereal (when I can find the time, honestly you guys, it's not often.), putting their own binkies back in their own mouths, smiling, laughing, babbling, rolling all over the room, teething, paying attention to books, idolizing their big sister, beaming at Mom and Dad, and embarking upon "stranger danger".
I want to throw all the cliches at you. "It's gone by too fast! In the blink of an eye! I turned around and half a year had passed!" And it's true. But it's not. It has been fast, but it's also been slow. Life with twins is strange that way. A month flies by like lighting, but a day can be excruciatingly slow. I've learned so much about myself in the past six months, and I've been pushed to my physical, emotional and mental limits. It has been a big experience in my life, one that I know I'll look back on fondly but also with a deep sense of "how the hell did I survive??" because at times, it has been really rough. Truth be told, I could use a full-time mother's helper, or nanny. I could use a cleaning lady (oh my gosh, I need a cleaning lady). My husband works long days and I run up and down the stairs in my house no less than 200 times a day and my kids NEVER all nap at the same time (never, ever, we aren't getting back together, IT DOESN'T HAPPEN.) My kids are all really little and really needy and they all poop their pants and sleep in cribs and are down right exhausting.
But even still, it's a JOY.
I can honestly say that everything about having twins has been better than I expected. Everything has been happier, been brighter and sunnier and I have found myself to be more capable than I ever thought I would be. I really don't mean to toot my own horn here AT ALL, I just want to offer up my perspective. Having multiples is really hard and you will find no shortage of people who'll tell you just how hard multiples can be, so I just want to throw my own little voice into the mix and chime in to say "it wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be!". Because so far, it's really not as bad as I imagined it would be (but that said, I imagined that it would be REALLY bad. Like, I was barely even excited and mostly just terrified). I know that most of this is due to the fact that I love babies. I've always liked babies, but having babies (and especially have two babies simultaneously) has made me realize that babies are my sweet spot. Babies are my jam. So, give me TWO adorable, smiley, squishy, cuddly, drooly babies, and most days I'll really love it.
My life didn't end, the way I thought it would. Today I took all 3 kids to Tracy Aviary and things were fine, and Greg and I take our kids out to dinner and it's fine, and really, the last six months have been so good in so many ways. I have also been so blessed to be surrounded by so many loving people who've made all the difference during this time. My Mom has been an angel and spent so much of her time during these past 6 months helping me and babysitting for me and cheering me up and cheering me on. We've received countless dinners from friends, ward members and neighbors. Greg's mom has a heart of gold and wants to visit and babysit anytime she gets the chance. I have the sweetest sisters-in-law on planet earth who've helped with the twins and with Evie and been such a source of comfort and support for me. I don't have the words to thank everyone adequately. I have been so humbled and touched by the service we've received and I wouldn't be as happy or sane or okay as I am today without each of you. It means the world. So, thank you.
We are 6 months in, and we have 6 months to go. I know that these next 6 months will be just as challenging as the past 6, albeit in different ways. And I know they will be just as happy and exciting as well. I am up for the challenge. I am lucky to be their mom. I am so lucky to be a Mom, period. It is the biggest blessing I've ever known. It is hard and exhausting and wonderful and I hope it won't pass me by too quickly.
My life didn't end, the way I thought it would. Today I took all 3 kids to Tracy Aviary and things were fine, and Greg and I take our kids out to dinner and it's fine, and really, the last six months have been so good in so many ways. I have also been so blessed to be surrounded by so many loving people who've made all the difference during this time. My Mom has been an angel and spent so much of her time during these past 6 months helping me and babysitting for me and cheering me up and cheering me on. We've received countless dinners from friends, ward members and neighbors. Greg's mom has a heart of gold and wants to visit and babysit anytime she gets the chance. I have the sweetest sisters-in-law on planet earth who've helped with the twins and with Evie and been such a source of comfort and support for me. I don't have the words to thank everyone adequately. I have been so humbled and touched by the service we've received and I wouldn't be as happy or sane or okay as I am today without each of you. It means the world. So, thank you.
We are 6 months in, and we have 6 months to go. I know that these next 6 months will be just as challenging as the past 6, albeit in different ways. And I know they will be just as happy and exciting as well. I am up for the challenge. I am lucky to be their mom. I am so lucky to be a Mom, period. It is the biggest blessing I've ever known. It is hard and exhausting and wonderful and I hope it won't pass me by too quickly.
A picture's worth a thousand words, so here are a thousand of pictures to say all of this better than I can.
THEN:
AND NOW:
And there you have it. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
PS. This random assortment of pictures are essentially from the first 2 weeks of Will & Nora's life and the most recent 2 weeks. And I really narrowed it down. The other day I was saying to Greg that I worry I don't take enough pictures. Let's all have a good laugh.
