The 4th of July in iPhone pictures

So since I rarely seem to actually pull out my camera today my iPhone is responsible for about 90% of my pictures on a day to day basis, so 4th of July wasn't much different, I did take some real pictures but by the time I actually upload them at the rate I'm going it could be next July...

So here is our 4th of July.  We went to our hometown parade, BBQ'd with some great friends which included the best ribs ever, potato salad, fresh pineapple, strawberry shortcake, and s'mores!  Our summer here in the PNW has officially started and our weather has been BEAUTIFUL the last week or so, this is the time when we all stay outside ALL DAY!

Hope you guys all had an amazing 4th!

The 12 things I learned about MoMmyhood in the first 12 months!

1.  You will still buy too much crap, even if you think you need a lot of crap, especially with twins, I thought I needed double of EVERYTHING...turns out, I didn't. I should have returned all recieving blankets, bottle warmers, and half of the clothing....

2.  Two babies is hard work.  Especially when those two babies both had to be woken up at 4 am after coming home from the NICU to be fed, burped and changed...all by myself since my hubby and I split shifts. 

3.  Boppy pillows are necessary, they serve many different fuctions, first as a feeding support, then a resting spot for the non-mobile baby, then a back prop for the almost sitting baby, now sadly we don't need our boppy pillows any longer.

4.  The first few months are easier then right now, at the time I never thought I would see the light at the end of the tunnel with newborn twins.  It turns out I now miss the days that they would lay there under their playmat and stare and the flashing light and animal mobile.  Now one goes       <------this way and the other------> that way.  I am now always chasing someone.

5.  Plan at least an extra hour when running errands, little old ladies love to stop and ask you a GAZILLION questions about your babies...for example my favorite
 old lady: "Are those twins"
 me: "yes they are"
 old lady: "o boys or girls"
 me: "a boy and a girl"
 old lady: "identical?"
 me: "um...no"
old lady: "wow, you must have your hands full" (like I have never ever heard that before)
 me: "yes but its lots of fun"
old lady: "well they are just adorable"
 me: "thank you"...walk away
 ***rinse and repeat about 5 times per store...***

6.  Its true once you have babies that your friends change, you now identify with the "moms", even if those moms are 10+ years older then you, you have the biggest thing in life in common, you both have children.  The friends you once had who don't have children yet may still come around to play with the babies, but don't understand your priorities any longer.

7.  My once clean and spotless HOUSE has now become a toy infested, cluttered HOME, while some days it still irks me to my core that the bathroom or bedroom literally look like bombs went off and I contemplate the fact that buying new clothes might be easier then washing the ones on the ground.  I have to remind myself that no amount of cleaning is worth missing out on precious baby time!

8.  Time really does speed up.  I've always heard people say that after you have kids time just flies.  Its true it does, our first 4 1/2 years of marriage felt quick but we were in a very comfortable routine, once the twins were born its like someone hit fastforward...everyday is different, there is a kinda/sorta routine regarding the twins schedule but everything else has just been set aside.

9.  Can someone remind me why I thought I needed every baby book there was, every book on multiples or the first year.  I have opened these books, but motherhood is natural and not one book out there is going to identify with your exact situation...EVER. 

10.  I'm now a sappy sappy person, I used to be the "I don't cry at the dying anything in a movie" gal.  Now I see anything remotely emotional and I tear up...the worst being the Grey's Anatomy episode where Callie gave birth... I just started crying as I saw what was happening, NICU terms, APGAR scores...etc. 

11.  Being away from your babies suck!! I know I HAVE to work, its just not an option for us at the moment for me to be a stay at home mama.  I used to never ever ever think I would want to be a stay at home mom but now its all I can think about on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8-5!

12.  And last but not least...I never knew that a love like a mother's love for her child actually existed, sure I had been told, but I did not truly understand the meaning until I was wheeled into the NICU and held their teeny tiny little hands, if I could I would never let that little hand go.

Well those are the 12 of many many things I have learned this first year. 

PS...It took me 2 weeks to write this, hence the mobile twins thing in # 4....

Blissful

Finally it feels like summer is trying to make an appearance!! Its been a busy week in our house but I am sure it is just the beginning of busy weeks. Our good friends had their baby girl on Saturday June 26th!! Baby Scarlett weighed in at 8 lb 4 oz and she is now officially Ava and Landon's new best friend. We are all so excited to have babies so close in age, the funny thing is that Scarlett was due on July 4th and the twins on July 6th but now the twins are 6 weeks older then Scarlett. We can not wait to take strolls around Capital Lake with our strollers and enjoy the sunshine!! So we are just super excited to all have our babies here safe and sound.

This next week I am sure will be a busy one, the twins have another pediatrician appointment to make sure everyone is still gaining weight which judging by my mama scale they both are. We are looking forward to Grant's family reunion this coming July 4th weekend! The twins outfits are washed and ready and they are ready to make their appearance as the newest little Echols' family members. We are excited to see everyone, we have not seen everyone since the last family reunion in 2008!

The twins are just growing and growing these days. We are waiting for them to start smiling at us, we see smiles but we are both convinced its still newborn gas...

I have learned what moms meant by don't feed into the hype of all baby products, of course I bought everything that looked like a good idea to have around for a newborn baby. So far the most helpful thing that I never thought of was a sterlizer for all of their bottle nipples and pacifiers, instead of keeping a pot of water on the stove this saves time and money since its a small amount of water and takes only a few minutes to complete a cycle. I definitely bought too many clothes so I am lucky that the twins are small and will fit into most of it for a longer time then most babies. I am still waiting to use our cloth diapers, they do not fit them quite yet but I excited to see if I actually like the idea of cloth diapering two babies. It definitely will save us some serious cash if I can do it.