World's Best Big Brother

I had one task to finish tonight, getting the 6 loads of clean laundry folded and put away.  I asked Isaak to help me watch the girls so I could get all of this done.  I would say these photos show just how great of a brother these two precious girls have.  He had taken them into their bedroom to play dress up and when I went in to put laundry away, this is what I found...these two girls are so lucky to have a brother who will play dress up with them, dance like a ballerina with them and helps put them to bed each and every night.  I am sure that when they get older, he will be their protector.  I can already hear the girls on the playground telling the other kids, "be nice to me or my big brother will kick your butt!"

On another note...my poor Azlyn is sick AGAIN.  She really just has a cold, but with her asthma is makes her so sad.  She is miserable simply just because she can't breathe.  So we are again on high doses of steroids.  They make her so crazy. When she isn't just on edge though, it makes her really silly!!!

My Little Fashionistas!!!

 If there is one thing these two girls love it is when new clothes come in the mail.  They love to try them on and show them off...tonight two packages came, both with new clothes all for them...and of course we had to put them right on and show them off.

 And we are always so proud once we get them on.  I can usually get both of them to sit and let me take a few pictures when we get new stuff, but tonight they treated this mommy to a little dose of a sweet medicine...a silly photo shoot right here on our kitchen table, which by the way, is the only place where they will sit still as they are sort of stuck in a small space!

 (I just love how you can see how proud Azlyn is in this picture...and Jayda is so focused on checking herself our in her new outfit!)

 And it only took seconds until this photo shoot got serious and Jayda pulled out her hair styling supplies.  So needless to say, we spent our night getting new hairdos, trying on new clothes and taking pictures.  It was just what this mama needed after yesterday. 

 some silly smiles...

 and funny faces...

 and lots of lovin...

 (I had to add this picture of Isaak and the girls...the way Jayda is laying on Isaak is so precious...love only a sister can have for her big brother)

 So, after a silly photo shoot, and lots of laughs, we ended our night in our new Elmo pj's, watching Elmo and snuggling on the couch.  As I sat there with my two beautiful princesses, I realized how silly my doubts were yesterday.  I have such amazing children, the three of them give me life.  And two really is better than one.  For each of the times one had to wait for the other one, or one got something the other wanted, or even when my attention has to be unfairly split between them, comes a time when they hug or smile, a time when we all laugh together, or a time like tonight when Jayda went potty and Azlyn so lovingly said to her, "job, Deda" I can rest knowing that no matter what life brings them, these two precious girls will always have eachother.  No matter who hurts one or what happiness one has, the other will always be there to walk life's journey with them. 

And as this night ends, I am certain of two things...I am one lucky mama and God would not have given me the challenge of twins without full confidence that I have endless amounts of unconditional love for them!

Just one of those days...

My poor Azlyn is sick again.  I think Jayda has a touch of something too, but she just plays right through it.  Everything makes Azlyn so much sicker.  So our day was filled with fevers, headaches (for mama) and crying.  If Azlyn wasn't crying for me to hold her, Jayda was crying because I wasn't sharing my attention fairly to her standards.  These are the days that are a struggle.  The days where I wonder if having twins somehow "neglects" my children the constant love and attention they deserve.  It breaks my heart to know one of my kids is sick, but not be able to just snuggle them because the other is "sicker".  All Azlyn wants to do is snuggle and read, and all Jayda wants is for me to pay attention to her.  So I will say that this is not one of our better days...Jayda was neglected attention she rightfully deserved and Azlyn was left many times to read by herself on the couch when she should have been able to just snuggle with her mama.  And my poor Isaak got left in the dust while the two little ones battled for my attention...tomorrow will be a better day.

Potty Training

Last Saturday Jayda went potty on her potty chair for the first time.  We have had the potty chairs since the girls turned one, but they have never actually gone potty until then.  So what does this crazy mama do?? I decide at the last minute to potty train my two less than two year olds!!! So, the next three days were filled with wet underwear, constant potty runs, and even a couple tantrums.  We would go potty, only to have an accident 5 minutes later.  We had to sit one night and read books on the potty for a half hour so Azlyn could poop.  On Thursday night we went to a program at Isaak's school and of course being proactive I put pull-ups on them so we wouldn't have any big accidents during the show.  We took two potty breaks in the middle, and much to my surprise, both of my big girls were DRY when we got home.  After that I decided that we had made the transition from potty training to potty trained.  Since that day, we have had two accidents!!!! Don't get me wrong, the first three days sucked, and it is still me taking them potty every couple hours, but three bags of skittles and a couple undies in the garbage later my less than two year olds are POTTY TRAINED!!!! I am so proud of my big girls and their determination.  Last night they each got to go to the store and pick out a new pack of underwear.  Jayda picked Minnie Mouse and Azlyn picked Tinkerbell.  As I type this they are wearing them proudly!

This is my favorite picture from this last weekend.

My Three "Babies"

I am going to start by introducing my three beauties! Each day of my life I spend loving the family God has given me.  I could not imagine one of my kids being any different than they are.  I love everything about them.  Each of them is individual and has a personality of their own.  I will start with my biggest. 

Isaak is a precious boy. He came to me when he was four years old, after his mother had passed away in a car accident and his father was unable to care for him.  He is sweet, loving and the best big brother I could ask for.  After the girls were born he became my right hand man.  Chris had to go back to work right away, so it was me and Isaak and these two tiny precious babies!  He is the most hilarious person I know, he can bring an entire room from quiet to laughter with just one sentence.  He is smart, and quick witted.  He is creative and I could not imagine a single day without him as my child.  Watching him grow into the young man he is has been an extreme pleasure and a privelage!

My sweet Azlyn Mattie.  Azlyn is my twin 1, alpha, the boss.  She was born first and plans on keeping that status throughout her life.  She is a happy, sweet girl, but when she wants her way she will get her way.  She is sassy, but a cute sass.  She is so much like her mama, it is almost scary.  She gets her middle name from her uncle who passed away while I was pregnant and man does she live up to it.  She is a spicy little peanut and I love every moment of it.  She loves to give kisses and hugs and we put her to bed every night bouncing off the walls.  Her smile lights up a room and her kisses melt hearts.

And my little Jayda Marie.  Jayda is twin 2.   ( some of you may not realize why I am pointing this out, but it really does make a difference).  Jayda is quiet, a little shy, but once you know her she will talk your ear off.  She is a daddy's girl at heart, but needs her mama when she is sad or hurt.  She is sensitive and caring.  She attacks life with a little pep in her step and has very strong feelings.  Her smile makes me happy.  She loves to color or do anything quiet.  She is already too smart for her own good. She loves to sleep like her mommy and to be silly like her daddy.  Her upbeat personality makes it hard to ever feel down or unhappy when your with her.

Together these three little lives give me meaning.  They have each taught me things about myself that no one else could have touched on.  They are everything that is important in my life.  They make me a complete person. Simply put, they are true gifts straight from God himself!

New Blog

I have decided that each day I spend so much time reflecting back on my day as a mom of twins.  I am actually bummed that I didn't decide to do this sooner, as I have many funny, heartwrenching, stressful stories I could tell from my early days as a mom of twins.  No matter how much reading you do or how many other moms of multiples you talk to, there is nothing that can actually prepare you for the work involved in raising twins.  There are days where I say, "what was I thinking?" Each of those though is matched up with countless moments of love, beauty and sillyness from my beautiful girls and their big brother.  I wanted to find a place where I could log the memories and also share them with others.  As I mentioned, they are sometimes funny, sometimes heartwrenching, sometimes funny, but always moments I wouldn't replace with anything else in the world!