Twins

"As a parent of multiples, you'll often hear people say, "Oh, my kids were only eleven months apart. It was just like having twins." There's no easy way- and no good reason- to politely explain to someone that the two situations are nothing alike. It's easiest just to smile and nod agreeably."

Wise words from a friend of mine.

I don't, for one minute, think that I am better then anyone because I have twins, but I will say; there are a few things that someone who gives birth to one baby does not get to experience.

First of all, time to bond with your new baby. When someone brings home a new baby the whole family (or those that are old enough to understand) know that you are going to spend time bonding with that new baby. I had two new babies that I wanted to bond with at the same time. At times I wondered if I was going to have enough love to love both individually but the same amount. Treat them equally, but never compare one to the other.

Care for two newborns! There is a trial and error period when you first bring home the new baby where moms can try things to see if their new babies like this or that. You learn things like, they like to be rapped tight in their blankets and when they sleep they want their feet uncovered. They like there food very warm. I think people are surprised to hear that my girls are different. Yes, I have two very different babies. They may be twins but they are their own person. So when I get their milk ready everything is color coordinated. Izzy is green and Pepper is pink. Pepper gets this in her milk and this much and Izzy gets that in her milk with that much, and it is different! I had to learn two different babies preferences at the same time and remember it all.

Things you don't think about with one baby. I love my double stroller, but there are many places I can not go with it because it is too big. And I can't walk in holding two babies that both don't have complete control over their necks. Maybe if one could hold her neck I could prop her on my side and hold the other. Have you ever tried going to the grocery store with twins. You can push the cart and pull the babies behind you, or you can push the babies and pull the cart behind you. Either way, you look retarded.

The joy of twins. The other day Cory and I were driving in the car with our girls. Both of them sneezed at the same time and Cory and I started laughing, not even 30 seconds later they did it again. My girls will always have a special bond with each other. The bond between a set of multiples is unique. Beginning even before birth, it is one of the longest and most enduring interpersonal relationships that a human being can have. It surpasses that of regular siblings. The intensity of this relationship often makes multiples the best of friends one moment and bitter enemies the next. As I watch my girls grow and learn even at this age and know that they will be different then other children because they are twins. They already learn from one another and already they are best friends one moment and want nothing to do with the other the next moment.

I can't believe that my Heavenly Father blessed me with these girls at the same time. I can't believe I have twins! It is crazy! But I do, and I am so happy that they are all mine. I can't wait to see how fun twins are going to be in the next 18 years.

A day in the life of Pepper and Izzy

Random pictures are sometimes my favorite, but somehow I wanted to put them together so I could look at them with some rhyme or reason to them. So this is a typical day in the life of Pepper and Izzy.

We start our day waking up around 5 or 6 in the morning. (I know, Mom is soooo lucky!)

And yes, we like to sleep with our hands up above our heads. Sometimes mom comes in and we have our hands covering our ears. It is so cute.

After mom feeds us, we have our first round of tummy time.

Mom can't get over how much we look like each other sometimes.

After tummy time mom wants to run errands before it gets too hot, so she gets us all ready . . .

and puts us in our car seats. Mom took this picture because we kept watching her walking around us. Mommy would walk to the right and both of us would turn our heads together following her, then she would walk to the left and both of us would again turn our heads. I'm sure it's cute with one baby, but mom thinks it's cuter with two!

After our errands and another feeding we take a nap together. We love to hold hands. Mommy hopes that we never stop.

In the afternoon sit in our bumbos and sometimes watch TV.

We also practice planking (LOL)

On special days we get to go over to grandpa's house. He has a garden outside and we love to spend time out there with him.

We look around at all the plants and trees. Grandpa will spend hours out here with us if we wanted to.

He also will do tummy time with us. (I think we all fell asleep together this time)

Sometimes after a long day of fun we fall asleep.

Mom and Dad are never far away to take pictures of us when we look ridiculous.

In the evening we have bath time before we go to bed.

We LOVE bath time! In fact mom could probably wash us for an hour and we would not complain one bit.

After bath time we have family time. We read books and spend time with Daddy. We sit and talk. We laugh and make faces. It is one of the best times of the day. And of course, . . .

we hold hands as we fall asleep for the night.

Thanks for taking time out to walk through a day in our lives with us. Have a great day!

Bumbo Time

Don't you just hate it when parents show you the same picture over

and over

and over

and over

and over!

I just can't help it!

I love these girls.

Blessing Day

I have been avoiding blogging about their blessing day. Not because we didn't have a good blessing day, or because I have been too busy, or because I didn't have an idea on how I wanted to do it or what to say. I have been avoiding blogging because in these pictures, I look like crap! I know, I'm totally vain.

The day was great and wonderful. We really didn't invite tons of people either and yet it felt like we were surrounded by family and friends. Cory did a wonderful job giving the blessing and it was the first twin blessing I had ever seen. After he gave Izzy her blessing he brought her down and I walked up to meet him with Pepper. Our hand off of babies was very smooth, if I do say so myself. (we had been practicing) After he gave Pepper her blessing I started thinking about the different things that Cory blessed our beautiful little girls with and how the blessings were so different. Each one of the blessings fit each girl so perfectly.

(Izzy & Pepper)

Heavenly Father has blessed our lives so much with these girls, in so many ways too. Yes, Cory and I now have children and that has brought us closer as a family. And yes, we are now learning all the fun little things parents get to learn when we have kids, but they have enriched our lives in ways I didn't know they could. I want to be a better person for my girls. I care more about the things I say and do, because one day soon, they are going to start copying everything I do and say. My relationship with my family has gotten closer. I love taking them over to the grandparents houses. It is so much fun to see how happy these girls make our families.

(My mom holding Izzy, my dad holding Pepper)

(Four generation picture on Cory's side)

(Cory holding Pepper, Grandpa Jay, Sara Mae, Karla holding Izzy)

(Four generation picture on my side)

(Grandma Palmer holding Izzy, me holding Pepper, and my dad)

Each day I get to send with these wonderful little blessing is better then the last and they are teaching me so many things. I both love and cherish each day and also can't wait for the next. They are truly the best gift I have ever received from God.

One Month Old

I can't believe time goes by so fast and slow. It feels like I have had them with me longer then 30 days, but yet, they are already a month? Slow down girls!

Things I have learned about my girls in the first 30 days of their lives.

Izzy is very curious and likes to look at everything.

Pepper likes to eat.

Izzy falls asleep whenever you put her into her bouncer.

Pepper likes to eat.

Izzy is a morning person, wakes up first and stays up after her morning meal.

Pepper likes to eat.

Izzy learned to sleep for 6 hours through the night.

Pepper did too, as long as she got something to eat.

Izzy loves to have her hands held.

Pepper loves to eat.

Izzy looks up to her big sister.

Her sister is big because she likes to eat.

You get the idea!

Pepper

Izzy

It is funny how different but the same they really are. Izzy is so much like her daddy. She eats like him (slow and fighting me the whole time) acts like him (mellow but stubborn) and sleeps like him (she must have her feet out from under the blanket). And Pepper is just like me. She is a total spaz, can't ever get enough to eat, and already is trying to talk too much. They both have their fathers toes, which can tell you what mood they are in (weird, I know). They both love to ride in the car, and they both LOVE their bath. They could sit in that bath tub for hours!

They are the same in so many ways but completely different.

Happy one month old birthday, girls! Can't wait to see what comes next!

(as I write this they are actually two months old, mommy just fell behind in blogging)

Playing Dress up!

When I was a little girl I loved playing with dolls. Barbie was my doll of choice. My favorite part was dressing them up in all the different outfits. So why would that change when I had little girls and TONS of outfits to try them in?

All three of these pictures are of Pepper. It is not because I don't like Izzy! She was just too small at the time to fit into any of them.

These two were taken at my mom and dad's house. The first one is Pepper and the second is Izzy. I love Izzy's pose in this one. I guess she is just giving her fans what they want.

I got these hand knitted dresses at my shower. So sweet!

I hope that I never get tried of getting them ready in the morning. Dress-up time is the best!

Coming home from the hospital

I have really enjoyed posting tons of photos on facebook, but I feel like I am over loading it with all my photos. Not that my friends don't like seeing tons and tons of baby pictures! I just think that they will be better served on my blog. Plus, I need to blog more. It's a much better "scrapbook" then a social network. So here I am again saying that I am going to blog more and apologizing for my lack of dedication in the past. I am going to do better. (I hope)

Tonight: The story of coming home from the hospital.

My stay at Banner Gateway in Gilbert AZ was wonderful. The staff was so nice and helpful. They always made sure that I had everything I needed and even though my babies were in the NICU the whole time, they made it so easy for Cory and I to go and visit and be with them.

We were discharged on Father's Day and received the best news that morning; they were going to let us take Pepper home with us. Yay, I was so happy. I had spent almost the whole day, the day before, crying. I had been told that they were both going to have to stay. So, this news was music to my ears. Pepper was coming home with us! They also let us stay to whole day so as to spend as much time as we could with Izzy before we had to leave.

Bitter sweet.

I got to take my Pepper home, but I had to look into my sweet little Izzy's eyes and tell her that momma had to leave her there. As I write this now, almost two months later, I am wiping tears from my face remembering how much that hurt. I have never had to do something that hard in my life. How can a Mother turn her back on her child and walk away? I know that was not what I was doing, but it felt like it.

The next four days were hell, because I did it over and over to her, again and again. Cory and I took turns going in and feeding her while the other stayed home with Pepper. Every time I drove to the hospital the car would not go fast enough and once I got there it felt like the hallways got longer and longer as I half walked, half ran to get to my little girl, to prove to her that mom was not lying when she said she would be back soon. Not only did I feel bad for leaving Izzy everyday, four times a day, but I also had a newborn at home too. I felt guilty for leaving her too. Where was I supposed to be? I was so happy to be with Izzy but sad to be away from Pepper and so happy to be home with Pepper but hated that I was not with Izzy. Like I said: Hell! Every time I asked when Izzy could come home they said "maybe in the next day or two". I was told "maybe in the next day or two" so many times it made me sick.

I got to know the other moms and dads that had babies in the NICU pretty well, in fact it was the father of one of the other babies that told me I was gong to be able to take my Izzy home. I walked in and as I pasted their bed he said "I hear you get to take your baby home today".

I called Cory! He loaded up Pepper and came to the hospital as fast as he could. (within reason of course! He had a baby in the back seat of his car!)

I have only seen Cory cry maybe two times in our time together, but when he got there and we took those stupid cords off her and she was finally ours to take home, he cried. We didn't have to leave her there anymore! We didn't have to say goodbye! Our family was finally together again. It was truly an "oh happy day" moment.

Pepper & Izzy

Home

We put them in bed together as soon as we got home. Izzy found the only inch of skin that was showing on her sister and touched it.

Twins are a special thing. They share a bond. I know how hard it was for me to not be with my baby, but it brakes my heart to think how hard it might have been on them to not be with their sister; their twin.

My girls are finally home, together.