Christmas Eve

This is my annual picture of the fireplace decorated for Christmas.  You can see links to all past years (so fun to look back!) near the bottom of this post from last year.

And the family in front of the fireplace, all dressed up for church.  It’s CRAZY what difference a year makes!!

A lot of the pictures in this post were taken with my new iPod touch!  This one has a much better camera.  It’s not DSLR quality mind you, but oh so much better!

The kiddos on the way in to the sanctuary:

I love having Rev. Chris back at KUMC.  Harold the Angel made an appearance at the 5:00 service.  Yay!

In recent years we’ve gone to the 7:00 service since I sing at that one with Sola Gratia.  It occurred to me this year that it might be nice to go as a family to the 5:00 service so I could sit with my peeps!  (And I’m not totally sure it would have been any kind of enjoyable for Matt to sit all by himself with five children!)

We were spread across three rows since that service is FULL and we didn’t get there early enough.

Joanna in front of me for part of the service.  There was musical chairs a-plenty.  :)

I had Michael, and he went to sleep pretty easily in my arms.

James was SO CUTE when he was in front of me.  He flirted with the baby sitting next to him, and sang “Angels we Have Heard on High” in a sweet, low voice.

Matt spent part of the service jiggling Thomas in the back.

Michael got a glow stick in his pocket when it was time for “Silent Night.”

Behind me:

I got up to take a picture of Natalie with a real candle for the first time and realized she was crying!  It scared her!  I took it from her and gave her Michael’s glow stick, poor baby.

Thomas got a glow stick too!  And Matt finally got him to sleep as well.  :)

After the service we made our way to the choir room so I could get ready for the next service and nurse the babies.  I nursed them on the floor in the choir room, tucked into a corner behind my stroller.  I wished I had my big pillow, but I was still able to sing and nurse at the same time.  :)

I also changed my shoes.  I love my tall black books, but it was about nine thousand degrees in the sanctuary, and I knew I would die with them on.

After I nursed the babes, I sent Matt home with ALL FIVE CHILDREN.  He’s Super Dad!  Our plan to attend 5:00 together and have me stay for 7:00 was pretty good with only two hitches: 1. I forgot to eat.  I felt pretty woozy during the service!  2. Natalie started throwing up as soon as they got home.  Fortunately Mamma and Pop happened to stop by and they helped out.  Yay!

Anyway, the 7:00 service was just beautiful and wonderful, and I had the best view for the candle lighting!

Watching the church fill with light while singing “Silent Night” is one of my favorite parts of Christmas.

I came back home and ate Natalie’s dinner that couldn’t eat and got ready for bed!  I just had to stuff stockings, and we lit the bayberry candle.

Whenever someone is throwing up, we always put them on the floor of our room, just in case.  Thankfully, she slept the whole night!

On that note, the boys gave me a very wonderful Christmas present – sleep!  They had their longest stretch yet.  I fed them about 6:20pm, and it was almost 4:00am before we heard them!!!!!

Merry Christmas indeed!

Here’s our Christmas card for 2013:

We’re feeling very blessed this year.  Merry Christmas to you all!

Christmas Goings On

Last week sometime I printed this Nativity for the kids to color and set up.  There were three pages.  James colored the stable, and the girls each colored a page of people/animals.

I set it up like this to take a picture:

Then Natalie set it up even better on the floor.  She’s got the holy family and their donkey in the stable; the angel above.  One wise man is riding the camel.  The little birds are off to the right, and the shepherds are out in the fields with the animals!

On Thursday morning I sat down to write little notes to James and Natalie’s teachers for Christmas.  When I got up, I found that Joanna was writing her teacher a Christmas note.  I LOVE HER!!

It says “Merry Christmas Miss Jessica, (which obviously she does not call me.  :)) I love you.”

Then inside: “I love my mommy very much.  She is pretty and brilliant.  Love Joanna”

And when you open it up, these little cuties.

Joanna’s not really one to draw pictures and spend a lot of time writing and coloring, so it means even more that she took a little while to make this for me.  :)  Best Christmas present!

Friday night my extremely wonderful mother offered to watch the babies so we could go to the live nativity at the Episcopal church up the street.  We love to go every year, and it was certainly easier without the babes!

Joanna up on a pile of hay:

Petting a… goat?  I think.

The camel!

Cutie tootie.

The live nativity!

I even let everybody get some cider and a cookie.  Yum!

Yesterday Mamma and Pop, Aunt Mindy, and Uncle Steve took the three big kids to the Really Really Big Christmas Show at Second Baptist downtown.  They’d been looking forward to that for forever!  James had been feeling a little punk on Friday, and Joanna started feeling not great on Saturday, but they all wanted to go anyway (and nobody was really sick) so we let them.  Everybody had a great time and even got to go to dinner!  Poor Mommy and Daddy had to stay home with the babies (and watch what we wanted on TV and eat without moochers and go to the grocery store with only two kiddos).  We didn’t have any fun at all!  :)

Today I locked myself (literally) in my bedroom while the boys were napping to wrap the big kids’ Christmas presents.  I moved the little tree over to the hearth and tucked the presents around it.  I think it’s very cute!!

I managed to put everything that wasn’t sort of box-like into a box and wrap with paper.  I knew bags with tissue paper would not remain wrapped until Christmas.  I’m not even sure these packages will – James is desperate to know what’s inside. :)  I didn’t label the packages with names; I put a sticker with a number on each one.  I have a hidden list that tells which numbers belong to which kiddo.  That way they won’t know which packages are theirs until Christmas morning.  I’ve never had a “system” before, (but I’m not sure there are usually presents under the tree until Christmas eve after the kids go to bed).  I needed to get them out of my closet though, and I really can’t be staying up late on Christmas eve to do any present work; I need sleep!!  I read about this way of labeling on a blog; I think I like it!

This morning Sola Gratia was singing at the two later services, and I was desperate to get back into singing with them!  I’ve been to the last few rehearsals, and I love singing Christmas music.  Anyway, it was a little difficult because of the sick big kids.  I don’t think the babies are quite old enough for the nursery, so I couldn’t just bring them and head over to nurse between services.  Matt had to have all the kiddos, and it really didn’t seem like a good idea to have the big kids at church.  Sooooo… the wonderful Matt loaded everybody up around 10:00 after the babies had a little nap and drove up to the church so I could nurse them in the front seat of the van.  :)  Yay for Daddy!  For the record, it was SO HOT in the Sanctuary today.  Oh, my goodness I was dripping sweat through each service.  It was yucky.  If it’s in the sixties outside and it was warmer yesterday, I firmly believe the heater DOES NOT need to be on in the buildings.  Nobody asked me though.  :)

Thanks for reading my rambling!  Merry Christmas!!

Time Passes

When I was recovering from childbirth in the hospital, I ate a lot of the snacks they had in the snack room.  I was so hungry all the time, and the meals just didn’t come often enough.  I had lots of cheese and crackers, cereal with whole milk, chocolate pudding, and juice.  I needed calories, and lots of them!  When I came home, I craved the same things.  I had my mom pick up cheese, crackers, pudding, and juice to keep at the house to grab and eat.  She also picked up yogurt and pre-made smoothies.  In the early days, she or Joanna or Matt would literally have to feed me the food or hold the drinks with a straw while I ate.  It took both hands (and then some) to feed the babies.  (And it seems like that’s all I did.) 

I want to write these things down while I remember them, even though they’re starting to fade.  It has been seven weeks since they were born and those first couple of weeks still seem so raw.  The memories aren’t smooth and pretty.  The edges are rough and there is pain there. 

We have come so far since then!

These days I can grab a snack (or a whole meal) and put it on the couch beside me before I grab the boys for a feeding.  They usually have a bit of a better latch when I cradle one or both little heads while they’re nursing, but I can also prop them very well on either side of me and nurse them hands-free.  I can eat (or read, or browse Facebook, or teach Joanna, or…) while nursing!

The boys’ routine is to wake up (if one wakes up first, I wake the other as well), then I change both diapers and take off their swaddle blankets.  I nurse them on the couch with the big pillow and burp them.  Then we snuggle or the big kids will hold them for the bit or I will lay them down on a blanket to wiggle.  This awake time is literally only minutes these days; they’re pretty ready to go back to sleep after they eat still.  I swaddle them back up and either lay them in the crib or in their swings for a nap.  Basically if they seem pretty tired but not super grouchy, I can lay them in the crib and they may fall asleep.  If they’re already pretty grouchy (and there’s a fair amount of laziness on my part here as well), I will put them in the swings to nap.  They typically settle better in the swings.  I do let them fuss.  I will go in and cuddle and rock if they’re really crying and can’t settle, but they do better putting themselves to sleep than they do if I try to settle them in my arms.  At night it’s similar but Matt changes their diapers, re-swaddles them, and brings them to me in the bed.  I still sit up to nurse them because it is logistically easier.  Matt snoozes while I do this, then we each burp a baby and lay them back in the crib.  They have done very well with going right back to sleep, though sometimes they need extra snuggles, rocking, or a snooze in the swing.  I think one reason they usually sleep so well at night is because they have a buddy with them.

I think it was between four and five weeks that things started to feel do-able.  Every week I feel better and more able to do things from my “previous life.”  :)

Last week I had my six week postpartum check-up and everything looks fine.  I got to show off the boys to my doctor and nurse.  I asked Dr. Torres to order lab work to check my thyroid and iron levels.  I don’t feel like they’re off, but these are both things that my body struggles with, and they get low before I realize it.  Because my insurance changed, I just had to go downstairs to the lab instead of down the street.  It still took a long time though.  It’s amazing how hard that would have been several weeks ago, but it just didn’t phase me last week.  I did feel bad for my mother for taking up so much of her day.  She loves me though.  :)  I haven’t heard back, so I’m assuming my levels are fine.

I think that’s probably enough rambling for now.  I have a whole Thanksgiving post as well as some miscellaneous fun pictures to share.  Another day.  The boys are sleeping, and I’m going to eat lunch and sit on the couch with my big girl.

You know… I have five children.

My youngest:

Speaking of him, I have recently discovered the very sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.  It happens when Thomas starts to sneeze but then doesn’t.  It is the sweetest cooing sound.  It would be wonderful to get it on video, but I just don’t think that is likely.  :)

This child is so happy to look at books all the time.  Yay!!

I did a (very small) photo shoot this morning of the boys because they were all wearing sock monkey PJs. 

Thomas is in focus in this one, but you can see Michael smiling in the background.

Thomas:

Joined by the big brother.  He was soooooo happy to be taking pictures with the babies.

Sooooooo adorable!  (Thomas looks very sad in the pic, but he was only slightly sad.)

And he couldn’t have been happier when he got to hold both the brothers!

The sisters couldn’t hold out one more minute – they had to be in the picture too!

I love this one!

Had to get a shot of the bootie!!

I laid the boys down on a blanket to wiggle around this afternoon.

Look how strong Thomas is!

They’re so cute!

We are adjusting to life with twin babies around here!  The days (and nights!) are not so hard all the time – yay!  I think we’re past the first adjustment phase.  We’re not quite to the “new normal” yet, since pretty much all we do is stay at home all the time, and that’s about all I can handle.  There are patterns for sure emerging in their schedules, and Matt and I routinely sleep alright.  Though we can definitely be heard being mean and growly to each other in the middle of the night. 

The babies will be 7 weeks tomorrow.  They’re not quite fun yet, but they’re super cute and snuggly.  We’re all looking forward to when they’ll really look at us and smile, then giggle and begin to truly interact. 

I have noticed their cries changing.  In addition to the “I’m a baby and I’m crying” cry, Thomas has a very sad pitiful cry, complete with a pouty face.  It’s a heartbreaker, for sure!  Michael has an “I’m mad and I’m going to scream with my red face and I might even hold my breath like my big brother” cry that really means business!  I think they’re trying different tactics to be the one who gets tended to first. 

Diapers and Bread and Shopping

My sweet Thomas, sleeping all swaddled up.

A peek through the bars…

Yesterday the boys were six weeks old.  Instead of taking lovely pictures of them, I took the opportunity to photograph my six week post-partum self.  I dressed in the same clothes I wore in my last preggo post and had my mom snap a picture of me.  It was chilly in no sleeves and bare feet!  (yay!!)

I also baked bread for the first time in forever yesterday.  It feels so good to be getting reacquainted with my kitchen!

Soooooooooo good!

Back on Black Friday and Cyber Monday and all that, I didn’t do any shopping.  I really didn’t have moments to sit at my computer and shop.  But I did do some shopping this week, just randomly.  I bought a few things online at Children’s Place for Joanna, a few things on Amazon, some diapers, Christmas cards… I could be in trouble.  :)  Anyway, one thing I picked up was a set of lens adapter thingies that let you get close-up and actually focus without a macro lens.  I’ve only played five seconds with them so far, but I think I like ‘em!

This is Joanna’s eye.

Also, updating my personal needs… I actually made a hair cut appointment for later this week.  I bought a pair of jeans (and fit into an old pair I already had!), and found a pair of close-toed black shoes to use while waiting on my feet to (maybe?) shrink back down to their pre-preggo size.  Feels good to be able to get dressed in not sweats.  I’m still working on the bra situation, but that’s the hardest thing.

I will leave you with a picture of most (but not all!) of our diaper stash, all folded and ready to go!