Summer of changing is causing "change"

The "Summer of Change" is going strong here at the house. And since we are doing change we have all kinds of change going on with the twins. Such as.....



Learning how to use the basket and toys to get up onto the coffee table and


Flushing the potty (maybe this will come in handy next summer with the potty training goal I have already set)



As well as drinking "bottles" out of our sippies! Yes!



Kristin and her 4th of July sippy!





Lara and her 4th of July sippy!

So 2 "goals" done- I am "off the pump" and feeling good about having that time back!Girls drinking all drinks from a sippy ALL day! Even the "nite nite" bottle was gone on the 3rd- they took the sippy cup before bed and I washed the bottles and we are D-O-N-E with bottles!

I am still doing South Beach- a little disappointed with losing only 7 lbs in 2 weeks. I did SO much better the first time and I PROMISE I haven't "cheated" at all- not even once. I have set a goal to exercise 4 times a week. So far I have met that goal too, and I have found if I do it right after I fed the girls lunch, they will play and I can do my 35 mins of aerobic activity and a few sit-ups. I am "lucky" to get that time of exercise so I don't know what more I can do. Just frustrating... it is SO much easier to gain weight than to lose. I HATE PCOS!

Can't believe they will be 11 months old tomorrow! My babies aren't "baby babies" anymore... makes me sad...kinda.

Summer of change has commenced

School is out for summer! YAY!

I have made a "To Do List of Changes" for the summer:

1. Get off the pump. I have enough frozen milk in the deep freezer to last them for MONTHS. My deadline was July 1st to be pump-free. I am proud to say, I have not pumped since June 28th at 10am... boobs hurt but I am glad to not be tied to that thing every 3-4 hrs everyday. I am glad I did it for the girls' health... and for our wallets. I can check this off as DONE!

2. Get my fat ass on South Beach Diet and lose the 35lb I have left from being pregnant (started June 21st with some pals and family). I am 7 lbs down so far. I need to step up on the exercising though...need more hours in the day. 28lbs more to go!

3. Get the girls off bottles and onto sippy cups all day! I am ready to be done with washing bottles too! They LOVE to eat and I swear they eat ALL day! Getting onto sippies with milk will be awesome!

4. Break the paci habit- if we can, this is the least of my concerns right now, but I want to do it sooner than later.

Today my family went with my good friend and her twins to the Botanical Gardens. Compared to the 100 degree weather here lately, the 80 degree day was BEAUTIFUL! It was fun. Here are some pics of the girls having fun in the little kiddie water area. (FYI- they are required to wear shoes at all times- the girls don't have sandals/shoes for that so they wore socks)



Aren't they cute?




Kristin was content to sit and play with the water coming up out of the fountain. She just splashed and played. She has turned from such a colicky, fussy baby to such a happy, laughing baby.




Lara was ALL over the place. She crawled through all the fountains and
"played" with the bigger kids. She had NO fear.... not sure how I will deal with this in the years to come.

As summer progresses, I will let you know how the "Summer of Change" is going!

Oh, their birthday party supplies came today! I am SO excited to plan the party... I will save that for another blog though so you'll have to wait to hear the "theme". To be continued.....

Fun times

I come up with some nice blogs in my head. Do I ever write them... ummm... not so much. Someday. I won't promise but just maybe.


Here's some pictures of the girls in the last few days. They are 10 months old! I can hardly believe it!

After a good meal of sweet potato fries, roasted zucchini and squash, and chicken. They were all smiles and playful. Who isn't on a full belly?





Gonna getcha Mommy!



Hey Soul Sista! Whatcha doin over there?




Kristin squealing in the bathtub!



Lara splashing her sister!

Lots of cruising and moving going on here.

And lastly...

I miss you Reese ALOT! Not a day goes by that I don't think of you! Love ya pup!

Sorry, but I feel like if I put it out in blog sphere he'll know somehow. Just missing my dog alot right now.

4,000

Used Diapers! Well... roughly. I have kept a "count"- the boxes have uneven numbers like 204, I just count that as 200. So we have used 4,000 diapers so far not counting the diapers in the hospital and the "left overs" people gave me in size NB and 1. Cause I didn't think to add those in when I decided to keep count for a year!
9 1/2 months old yesterday and I consider myself a "Master of the Diaper" cause I have changed an ass load of diapers!

Now that Lara is doing a "baby lock jaw" and not accepting spoon feeding/baby foods. Here are some pics of my girls getting their grub on! As you can see they shovel it in by the fistful!



Kristin loves zucchini!




Lara does too!




This is them taking turns riding the pony that they start cracking up as soon as you set them on it!

"Oh baby"

Or "Oh babies" in my case

We had the girls' pictures taken again... I spent WAY TOO much AGAIN! But damn, they are SO cute I can't help it! I went in only planning on spending a certain amount and came out spending twice that- as usual! I can't help it! They are changing so fast and they won't be "babies" much longer!

The place we take them to get their pictures done is awesome. This lady made some weird noises and Kristin wasn't too sure and made "my" wth face. Even I couldn't tell if Lara was about to laugh or cry. But then I said hold on let me get them to smile and voila!



I love this one of Kristin cause she was cracking up!



Kristin has the WTH face here but they are still so cute!



These are actual individual pictures of them, but in order to get the picture of the picture to come out right I had to put them together, in my pictures their dresses aren't cut off.



Kristin lifted up in the "airplane"



Lara in the "airplane"

I just can't believe how fast they are growing! It is going by in a blur!

The past few days Lara does "baby lock jaw" and refuses to open her mouth for spoon feedings. So I decided to try letting them feed themselves more than just cheese and Cheerios and goldfish and Gerber snacks, I cooked up some zucchini thinking I would have a few days worth but NOPE, they ate it all in one feeding!

Little new milestones:

Kristin is cruising like crazy! She moves all the way around the room holding on to the furniture. She even turns from the love seat and takes one to two "steps" not holding on until she gets her little hands on the coffee table! Dear God! Help me!! I can't believe my little baby is going to walk sooner rather than later! She plays "So big" with me (which is raising her hands up over her head). She also bounces and dances (I guess that's what she is doing).

Lara is pulling up on everything! She has learned how to get up but getting down isn't as easy for her yet! She claps her hands and I swear it sounds like she is saying "YAY" (cause that's what I do). Lara and Kristin's cribs are down one wall in their room and they met now and reach over to each other and cry and hold hands! So cute... even if they are crying! I got to get a picture!

Whenever I am having fun someone has to...

Poop in the tub!

Every time we are having fun in the tub and everyone is all in a good mood and playing- someone (usually Lara) poops in the tub! And EVERY time I am taking pictures of the girls splashing and laughing and do little videos with the camera and then I see a red face and poop. (Yes that is my tub and yes I had to scrub down both bath seats and baby toys and all)! How come they don't poop in the tub when Bobby is home?

Took the girls for their 9 month check up today-

Kristin is 26 1/2 inches (10th) and 15 lbs and 4 oz (5th)

Lara is 26 inches (5th) and 14 lbs and 9 oz (less than 3rd)

My little petite babies! Dr said they were nice and healthy and everything looked good.

This weekend

I am alive. I am just not as good at this blogging thing as I am constantly wiping honeys, washing babies, getting snot off cute little faces with my shirt, pumping (yep still pumping... can't say I will be sorry to stop that)or doing something for others. But anyway... We went to Bobby's parents this weekend and the girls go to




Swim for the 1st time! Aren't they cutey-patooties!?!?



I love their little sunglasses.



And we had the girls christened. It was a beautiful day and we had the ceremony in Bobby's parents garden that they had built after his sister's life was cut short defending our nation. There was some cool things that happened during the day that day. As I was getting dressed, I found 2 of Reese's dog hairs in my travel jewelry pouch (damn I miss that dog, but he managed to be with me). During the ceremony 2 butterflies flew through... my dad and Bobby's sister ... perhaps?? I guess you could say it was coincidental. I choose to believe it wasn't.. cause I like to feel that spirits can be with us on important days.

And of course today was my 1st Mother's day. It was a beautiful day. Bobby and the girls gave me a beautiful set of earrings (I LOVE jewelry). And I consider myself to be lucky. In the back of my head, for a moment, I thought this should have been my 3rd Mother's day. But it was my first. It is weird for me. 2 years ago I should have had a brand new baby on Cinco de Mayo 2008. But May of 2008 I was dealing with HUGE cysts from Clomid and I wasn't getting pregnant instead and I was pissed. And here it is May 2010 and I have been through alot and I have two beautiful girls so why should I think of what could have been? Cause I am super lucky to have what I have. I am lucky. I am happy. I am a Mommy!

Happy Mother's Day to my mommy followers, and the mommies- to- be and those that are going to be mommies in the future.

OMG I just previewed before I hit publish and OMG I look like a big fat purple people eater! WTH? Ugghhh... I've got to do something. Can you do South Beach while breastfeeding? I look like Barney! BLAH! I am going to go throw up my dinner now!