July in a nutshell

Another month has flown by and the girls are now 4 months old! They are doing new things everyday it seems. Just the past few days Madison has started giggling and Audrey has been babbling! SO cute! They are sitting up with support, rolling over and jumping around in their bouncy. Our living room is quickly transforming into a daycare with plenty of gadgets to entertain little ones! Life is good!

I returned to work mid-July and have survived! It has been a challenge to find time to pump at work but it's working out so far. My co-workers have been so supportive and it has been nice to come back! Right now, I am working on the day shift and night shift twice a week. I am working per-diem which means a minimum of 3 days a month, one holiday a year and no rules when it comes to which days I choose to work. Unfortunately, it also means I am first to be canceled when we are overstaffed. This may end up being a problem as our unit recently hired 30 new staff. I'm hoping things work themselves out!

4 years after graduation from college, we finally paid off our last student loan. Not a week later, our indoor a/c unit revealed it was in need of major repair. We decided to replace it. So much for getting ahead! Ha! At least now our a/c is covered under guarantee for the next 5 years! If it's not one thing, it's another!!!

At the end of the month, Rusty finally got to dive someplace other than Jaws!! We took the girls to Blue Springs and Rusty went diving with our friend Charlene. We got rained out but that didn't interfere with diving :) He had a great time and is looking forward to his next diving trip!!!

Change 3 Things

It all started out as a way to save money but it has evolved into so much more. The choice to cloth diaper our babies seemed insane when I first thought of it. When Rusty agreed to try it it was plausible. But when we started diapering Madison over a month ago it seemed like second nature! I knew it was good for the wallet, the babies and our planet.

Recently I found the "Change 3 Things" campaign. It challenges parents to replace 3 diaper changes per day with cloth diapers instead of disposables. If 100,000 parents make the switch it will result in up to 50 MILLION POUNDS less waste in our landfills. Waste that, by the way, won't biodegrade for over 500 years! In just one day, the 9,000 people who have joined the project so far, prevented the amount of diapers 19 babies use in a year from entering our landfills!!!

In the time it takes our girls to be potty trained we will have saved our wallets over $3,000, our planet 14,000 disposable diapers in a landfill and saved our girls' cute little butts exposure to chemicals! So for all the skeptics out there: it is easy and it is possible! If you know someone having a baby, challenge them to consider using cloth diapers instead of disposables! (And yes, I'm ready to get off my soap box now!)

Besides, who could resist these cute diapers :)

Happy 4th of July...

...a few days late! Here's a pic of the girls from Independence Day! The girls didn't get to enjoy fireworks this year but they got to enjoy their mommy. We had friends over to celebrate and shoot off fireworks. The girls, who usually go to bed about 7 and sleep until 1 or 2 am (yay!), changed up the routine and kept me sequestered in the nursery feeding them until about 10pm! Although I'm sad I missed fireworks, I can't really complain about extra snuggle time with my girls!!!

In other news: Audrey. Is. Mobile. She rolled over for the first time on her 3 month "birthday." Now tummy time is almost impossible because she has figured out how to get into a more favorable position! Madison remains content to hang out and just smile :)

Sunday will be my first night back to work. Nervous and anxious to leave my girls. Happy to be going back into society. Hoping like hell I can remember how to do my job after 5 months on bedrest/maternity leave!!! Daddy will be taking over childcare on the days I am working...I know he'll be great!

3 months old

Is it really almost July? How did that happen!? Pictures from this past month are uploading now! Audrey and Madison are 3 months old! Here are some smiles to brighten your day.

First beach trip!

This past weekend we took a trip to the Tampa area to visit our friend Savanah while she is home from California for the summer. We even took the girls to see the Gulf of Mexico for the first time! They really loved it and are already beach babes!!!

It wasn't long before the sounds of the ocean put Audrey right to sleep. We've never seen that child sleep that well before!!!


Here's a shot of the 4 of us enjoying the waves. The sun did some damage that day and fried daddy to a crisp. Luckily the girls got off with just a touch of sun on their cheeks. All in all we had a great trip and enjoyed getting out with the girls and catching up with friends!

Have twins? Will travel!

Since the girls have been born, our outings have become few and far between. When we do get out it is planned and executed like a small military operation. But that hasn't stopped us! We have been to Sea World twice, to a bridal shower, a wedding, an overnight stay in a hotel, out to restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and across town to visit friends and family for day trips. I hope as the girls continue to grow, we will still be mobile an expose them to many different things and places!

This weekend, we attended my friend Jen's wedding. It was beautiful and I got to catch up with a lot of my high school buddies. This is where the picture was taken :) Today we introduced the girls to their great Aunt Kathy and Uncle Nate! Soon (hopefully) I'll be posting more pictures to our photo album!!

Growing up!

It's official! Slowly, but surely the girls are growing up. These days they are napping in their crib and last night was the first night in their crib! They can hold up their heads and no longer like being held like "babies." They want to be held in a sitting position facing out to see the world.

We have started Madison in cloth diapers and Audrey will be soon to follow! Can't wait to see what the next few months have in store for us!