Zoo Lights

I'm a little behind on posting about our trip to zoo lights, but here it is. A couple of weeks ago, the twins had their first trip to the zoo; it just happened to be at night. For those of you not from Arizona, every year the Phoenix zoo puts on what is called "Zoo Lights." They have a staff that works on it all year long and they end up putting up more the 2.5 million lights around the zoo. This was our first year to go..and it was well worth it.

It runs every night from 6-10.. We arrived a little after 6 o clock, just as it was getting dark. I sort of figured once we put the girls in their stroller it would be lights out for them, but not so. They must have been really enamored with the lights, because they stayed wide eyed the entire time. We circled the zoo twice, before we headed for home & they were perfectly content the entire time.

It's so funny walking around with twins...they certainly get a lot of looks and the "ooh, look it's twins" from all the passer-by's. My favorite is when people ask, "Are they twins?" I always want to respond by saying, "No, we just have babies REALLY close in age that happen to look alike." HA!! Of course instead, I smile & say "Yes, they are."

6 Months

Well, it's hard to believe the but the babies will be 6 months old on Tuesday. They grow up so fast!! It seems as though everyday brings a new development. I spent the first 3 months wishing they would hurry up and get out of the newborn stage. Now I'm wishing they would just put on the brakes a little bit.

They are well on their way with solid foods. They've now tried sweet potatoes, cereal, avocado, & bananas. So far, they eat everything with a smile. They haven't rejected any foods yet. They also got their first sippy cup of milk. They both did fairly well.. However, Ellie always seems to catch on to things a little faster when it comes to eating.

They hadn't had a bottle in quite some time, but when I went to have my hair done I had Justin give them a bottle. All of a sudden, Audrie grabbed the bottle and started feeding herself. Now, she also thinks she needs to hold the spoon.

Audrie now has her first tooth. It seems unreal that my baby can have a tooth!! She hasn't really been fussy; just putting absolutely everything in her mouth and a little drooly.

They are both sitting up pretty well on their own. They are certainly giving crawling a shot. I swear I'm going to look over one day and they're just going to take off. The both get their little rear in the air and scoot around, but just can't quite figure out the arms yet. We will be in for it when they do figure it out. Baby gates, here we come!!

Happy 6 months Ellie & Audrie!

Our 2 Little Turkeys

Well, I must say we had the best Thanksgiving with our 2 favorite little turkeys. How is it that having kids makes the holidays so much more fun? Ellie & Audrie had a big day!! I woke early, fed them & then started preparing dinner. As I was making the sweet potatoe casserole I soon realized I had way too many sweet potatoes. Lucky day for the girls!! I decided instead of waiting until next week to start them on cereal, they would get their first taste of "real" food on Turkey Day!! I was able to freeze 4 trays of sweet potatoes for the girls from the extra that I had. I had so much fun, I think I'm really going to dig making baby food for them.

They did SO good with their first meal...yes, it was a bit messy; but I think they managed to get some food in their bellies. Ellie started opening her little mouth and slurping down the orange goo right away. Audrie, on the other hand had a little more unique way of eating. She opened wide and then would try to lick the food off of the spoon. Both ways seemed to work for them though!! Oh what fun!!

Their bellies were full & they went for a nap. When they awoke, Dad had brought back the Christmas tree. We turned on some Christmas music and decorated their first tree. Their busy day much have tuckered them out because they had their best night of sleep yet. Normally we put them down at 8:30 and they wake up a couple of times throughout the night. Last night....not a peep until around 6:30 this morning...YAY!!!

AND can I just say, I think I have the BEST husband. He kept the kitchen clean while I cooked, cleaned up dinner and kitchen, put away left overs & wrapped packages. What a man and what a great Thanksgiving!!

The Greatest Gift

Well, now that I can truly look at nursing twins as the "Greatest Gift" I've given my girls; I'm going to blog about it. My hope is that maybe this story will help any mother who is getting ready to start nursing or maybe having a hard time with breastfeeding and is ready to stop.

My goal from the moment I found out I was pregnant was to breastfeed exclusively. Even when I found out I was having twins I never waivered on this. People said it would be difficult and it might not be the ideal situation with twins; depending on if they were born early. Boy, were they right!!

I had read every book and I had decided NO bottles or pacifiers would be given for the first 2 weeks until they were established nursers. HA!! With a picture perfect start, your baby would be put on your chest after delivery and you would be allowed to nurse within a very short time. This was not the case for us. Because the girls were born at 34 weeks they were taken straight to the NICU. My first trip into the NICU and they already had binkies in their crib and were started on bottlefeeds. I about flipped but then realized they were doing what they had to in order to care for the babies. So much for that idea...at this point I knew it was going to be a struggle to nurse them later, but the nurses assured me it could be done.

Preemies are born without a good suck reflex and for this reason I wasn't allowed to try and nurse them until day 5 to make sure they were getting the nourishment they needed. Let's just say it was a long road...I was engorged like you wouldn't believe and was pumping 8 times a day to bring milk for them into the NICU. Once they came home I was pumping, allowed to nurse them a few times and day and then also bottle feeding. Every feeding took about 2 hours, so basically by the time I was done it was time to feed again. I thought I would never make it!! Many days I wondered why I was trying and thought about how easy it would be to just give them a bottle of formula.

Now, granted every mother doesn't have all of these challenges and setbacks. Preemies can be particularly difficult, but I know many mothers who struggle to nurse only to eventually resort to bottle feeding. I can't tell you how glad I am that I stuck it out. In the beginning it was so painful..everyone who says it isn't is lying. I used to dread every feeding, but then eventually it just got easy!! Now at 5 1/2 months it is a piece of cake. I look forward to every time I get to nurse the girls and now dread the day when they no longer want to nurse. To this day, I am proud to say they have not gotten a single bottle of formula!!! I truly feel like I have given them the best start to life!!

Well, this post turned out to be much longer than i planned, but I wanted to share my story. Who knows...maybe it will help a first time mom who is ready to throw in the towel!!!

5 Months ( 3.5 Adjusted)

Well, last week was another week of firsts. Both girls have been rolling over from their tummy to their back since they were just a couple of weeks old, but they've now mastered the "full roll over." Usually when they tried to go from back to tummy they would get an arm stuck and just couldn't "quite" make it over. On Thursday of last week Ellie was the first to do it and by Saturday Audrie had it down too. I love that they are rolling over, but it makes nap time a little hairy sometimes. Now that they are good at it, everytime I lay them down on their back; five seconds later they have rolled to their stomach...then they get mad until I roll them back over. Fun times, HAHA!!

Also, it's been really fun having Audrie find her voice. All day long she talks just to hear herself. She'll squeal and draw out all of her sounds, just to test out the old vocal cords. I was thinking it was extremely cute, however her dad was trying to get some work done so I knew he wasn't quite as amuzed. Oh well, squeal on Audrie!!

What Big Girls!!

Ellie & Audrie turn 19 weeks tomorrow and my how time flys!! We've hit a couple of milestones over the past couple of weeks. First off, neither girls are being swaddled to go to sleep. I can finally just lie them in their crib and they fall right to sleep. Okay, give or take 10 minutes!!

Also, last week I mentioned that it was about time for them to stop sharing a crib. Well, we did finally have to make that leap. I think I was obviously more sad about it than they were. I just love having them share a crib and be able to snuggle together. It was getting to the point though that they were really kicking each other and rolling over on each other. It was funny the first morning nap they took in their own crib. I think they were finally like, "Wow, my own space." I went in to check on them and they were both sprawled out taking up the whole crib, so I think they like having their crib to themselves.

The other "biggie" is that they are finally sleeping through the night. They've been doing it for a couple of weeks. I feed them at around 8:30 and they sleep until about 7AM. They do wake up a few times a night, but we just give them a binkie and they go back to sleep. So while Justin and I do still wake up a few times a night; it is worlds away from where we were. I'm sure before long they'll be sleeping through the night without a peep. Well that's all for now!!

I'm Back

So you'll notice I haven't blogged in awhile, but I do have an excuse. My laptop crashed, so I've been without a computer for several weeks. Today I'm using my husband's computer, but mine should be back in a few days, YAY!!

It's been crazy busy at the Rollins house. Last Friday we moved to a new house which is "sort of" challenging with 2 babies. We aren't completely moved in yet, but we are getting close. We just keep going back to the old house to pick up small loads.

The girls have recently turned 4 months old and they are really growing & changing. They are super smiley. I think my favorite part of the day is putting them on the changing table. I know, right...changing a diaper is the best part of the day? It really is though because it's like they immediately get bit by the smile bug and can't stop smiling. It's so cute!!

They are still sharing a crib, but I'm not sure for how much longer. They are both little wiggle worms, especially Audrie. I think it's time they have their own space. Audrie is no longer being swaddled for naps or at night and Ellie is getting close. Ellie now sleeps with one arm out. What big girls!!! Well that's all for now!!

We have their halloween costumes and will be taking them to the pumpkin patch soon. You know we'll take lots of pictures.

We're Home From Our First Trip to Kansas

Well, we are back home from our trip to Kansas and are once again settling into our routine. The last couple of days have been a little challenging since the girls got accustomed to being held all of the time. I'm not sure they were put down all week. At home unfortunately Mom doesn't have enough hands to hold them both all of the time. I finally invested in a second swing. That thing is like magic...I try not to put them in there much, but it really is a life saver sometimes.

We had a great trip. The flight was a breeze.. Justin and I each put one in a Baby Bjorn carrier and sailed right through the airport. They loved the little carriers and slept all of the way minus waking up to eat.

We spent most of the time at Justin's parent house since they didn't have the opportunity to come to AZ when the girls were born. The girls had a great time. They finally got some time outdoors and experienced several Kansas rain storms. One night the power even went out and they had their first feeding by candelight. Too bad they were eating when Uncle Kenny and Justin delivered a calf, but I'm sure they will get to experience many calves being born as they get older.

At my mom & dad's I bet we had 30 people come see the babies. I also got to see some old friends. My brother kept joking that he didn't see what was so hard about having twins....they were so well behaved. HAHA!! That's because they were getting held the whole time. Uncle Kenny said the same thing so we showed him. We made him hold both twins and then left for just a few minutes. When we came back, they were both mad and Kenny looked flustered. I think he now understands why twins can be so hard :)!!

Oh by the way, the girls also turned 3 months old this past Tuesday. They are growing so much. We sat in front of a 4 month old on the plane and he weighed 16 lbs. There was such a huge difference between him and our twins. Totally different babies, but I'm sure ours will catch up soon enough!!

While we had a wonderful time, it is always nice to get back home to our routine. I think the girls were glad to be back at home ,too. They didn't say so, but I'm pretty sure they were. All in all..a fantastic time. See you all at Christmas!!!

Getting Ready to Head to Kansas

Well, we leave Tuesday for our first trip home with the babies. I don't think I've ever been so excited to go back. Since I was on bedrest for a good portion of my pregnancy and unable to travel, I haven't seen my brother and his family in well over a year. Needless to say, I can't wait to see everyone.

This will be the first time that Grandma & Grandpa Rollins meet the girls. We will be heading out to the Rollins farm on Tuesday. I'm sure the twins will have a great time playing with Grandma & Grandpa and also meeting Uncle Kenny. I'm sure Kenny will have them as farm hands by the end of the week.

Later in the week, we will be heading to Lyons to see my side of the family. I think my mom has pretty much invited the whole town to come see the babies on Saturday. It should be a great weekend there!! My Aunt Paula will also be coming to meet the twins. OH, what a big week Ellie & Audrie have in store!!

We are of course a little apprehensive on how the flight will go, but I'm sure they will behave themselves. However, I can't imagine trying to fly home without Justin. Maybe someday!! More about the trip we get back.. ( if we survive,HAHA!!)

Uncle Bret & Aunt Chelle's Visit

This past weekend Ellie & Audrie's Uncle Bret & Aunt Chelle came to visit with their 2 girls Madison & Molly. This was the first time they have met and we were so excited to have them in town. We had a great time...spent most of the time in the pool. The babies didn't of course. Madison & Molly were soo helpful with the girls. However I do think that Ellie & Audrie may have gotten a little spoiled. Now that we are back to normal they expect to be held ALOT more!!

The one thing that we did figure out is that twins would be much easier if we were closer to family. For the first time, Justin and I got some alone time. We dropped the girls off with them frequently just to go home and get a shower. Plus, we had them baby sit on Sunday for a couple of hours and we went to RA for lunch and at sushi.. I hadn't had sushi since I got pregnant..YUM!!! Since I'm nursing we couldn't be gone long, but the short break was much needed. We can't thank them enough.

We will be seeing them again in just a couple of short weeks when we take our first trip to KS with the girls. That should be an adventure and I'm sure I'll blog all about it.

The Girls are 2 months old!!

So I've decided to start blogging primarily to update our families and friends who live many miles away. Also, I think it will be a really fun way to document the lives of our beautiful twin girls.

So first a little bit about how Justin & I have arrived at this point in our lives. I met Justin in 2003 in Wichita, Kansas. Just a few short months later I moved to Arizona to go to graduate school. We survived a long distance relationship for about a year, before Justin moved to Phoenix. We married in March 2008 and in November of 2008 we were pregnant!!!!

In December we received quite possibly the biggest shock of our lives...we would be having twins!!! It totally took us by suprise, especially since we found out the news in Kansas while visiting our families. Strangely enough our Dr. in Phoenix had told us that there was only 1 baby. Once we got over the initial shock, we couldn't have been more excited. We knew it would be a lot of work, but we felt extremely blessed....We welcomed our little baby girls, Ellie Grace & Audrie Lee on June 16th, 2009. More on their entrance into the world in later posts.

The girls are now 8 weeks old. It has been a bit of a blur...much harder than I imagined but we have our shining moments. They both have already rolled over. In fact, Ellie rolled over the first week home from the hospital. She is tiny, but feisty. The doctor always comments on how strong she is. They are sleeping 4-5 hours at night, which is pretty good considering technically they are 2 weeks old adjusted, since they were born at 34 weeks. We are trying to enjoy every moment as times goes by so quickly. They are certainly giving us a run for our money...but it's worth every minute.