The boys film their first commercial!!

The boys had their first audition and booked it!  It was a lot of fun seeing what it's like to film a commercial.  The boys had their own dressing room with their name on it.  They casted Charlie as the lead and Ethan as the back up.  Charlie did so well that they didn't even need Ethan to film.

Here is the link to the commercial!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-Tw6Iw3qKA

One year ago today...

On July 29th, 2011 we found out we were pregnant.  At that time we were so happy to be bringing a baby into the world and starting our family.  We had NO idea that we would be blessed with two perfect babies.  It is so much fun watching them grow and become little boys.  Time needs to slow down just a little bit! 

It's amazing that these little gummy bears turned into...

THIS:

Charlie eating cereal

Ethan eating cereal

 Ethan was not happy with the spoon - although he loves it now! 

4 month check-up

Time flies!  The boys are already 4 months old.  They are looking great.  They got 2 shots and an oral vaccine.  Unfortunately, that night they were VERY unhappy and uncomfortable.  Then next morning they were back to new.  The doctor said we can start sleep training YAY!! She suggested we start with cereal and see if that helps keep them full longer.  As of now they are still waking every 3 hours to eat.  I didn't want to start solids until 6 months but I am willing to try anything to get a little more sleep.  

Here are their stats:

Ethan

Weight - 15lbs 11ozs (50-75%)

Height - 24 in (25%)

Head Circumference - 43cm (50-75%)

Charles

Weight - 15lbs 5oz (50-75%)

Height - 25.5 in (75%)

Head Circumference - 43cm (50-75%) 

Even at 4 months old we can't tell them apart - Thank God for that birthmark on the back of Charlie's head! Ethan (L) Charlie (R)

Coolest moment EVER

Today I walked into the kitchen to put some dishes away.  When I came out the boys were on their playmat looking at each other and talking.  This is the first time they have ever noticed and acknowledged each other.  It was by far the coolest moment of twin mommyhood thus far.  

Here are the pictures I was able to snap of them.  I also got a little video :) Charlie is the one on the left and Ethan is on the right.  

Charlie and Ethan's first 4th of July!

Grandma and Grandpa Prunty came out for the 4th of July.  We went to lunch at Lazy Dog cafe and ordered in P.F. Chang's for dinner :)  We didn't go to the fireworks this year, because the boy's would probably be too scared and it was way past their bedtime :)  

Ethan (L) Charlie (R)

On July 5th we went to Terranea Resort for lunch.  Love it there!  Here's grandpa keeping one of them warm - so bad but I have no idea which one! woops! 

Grandma and Grandpa let us go out to dinner for the first time in a LONG time alone!! :) 

July Firsts

July 14th - They both giggled for the first time 

July 17th - Ethan rolled from back to front.  Unfortunately, we missed the first time.  We were at the beach.  I was feeding Charlie and we were talking to some friends.  All the sudden Phil asked me, "How did Ethan get on his tummy?"  Yep, he rolled when no one was looking!  We got to see it that night though :) 

July 20th - Charlie rolled from back to front :) 

Smiles have started

I'll admit, the first time I saw a tiny smile I teared up.  It's amazing how fast they grow! 

 Charlie

 Ethan

2 month Check-up

So we switched pediatricians... THANK GOD!  We were NOT fond of the last one and now that we went through that I really wish I interviewed people before the boys were born.  Oh well, lesson learned.  Now we go to an awesome doctor that we both really enjoyed.  We were finally given (yes, she wrote them down for us) your percentiles!  The last Dr.would ramble them off super fast and by the time she was done I had no idea what she said! Here's the breakdown...

Charlie
Weight - 13lbs 8oz (75th-90th percentile)
Length - 24 in (90%)
Head Circumference - 40.5cm (50-75%)

Ethan
Weight - 13lbs 130z (75-90%)
Length - 23 1/4 in (50-75%)
Head Circumference - 41.5cm (75-90%)

So, Ethan is still a tad chubbier than Charlie, but Charlie is a bit taller!  :)

Oh, and they did GREAT on their shots.  They cried for a bit then they were fine.. They took a nap, we gave them tylenol, they woke up screaming like I've never heard them scream before.  Luckily Phil came home early to help me with them and the next day they were back to new!

Boys love the bath!

Here are some pictures of our boys enjoying bath time!  They love their Blooming Bath!  

Charlie

 Ethan wrapped up!

And we're rolling... ohhhh, rolling yea, ohhhh rolling on the carpets!

That title was obviously sung to the tune of Tina Turner's song.

Now onto more important news: WE ROLL OVER! 

Ethan was rolling over and I was trying to catch it on video.  Every time I tried he just laid there!  How dare he, right?!  Well, obviously he has spoken to Charlie and they wanted to do that together.  After Ethan rolled several times (without me catching him on camera) Phil placed Charlie on the blanket next to him.  I had my camera ready to catch Ethan and here's what happened: 

Are they twins?

What I really want to say when people ask this question:

Answer #1: Nope, born a week apart! 

Answer #2:  Nope, playdate! 

Answer #3: Nope, best friends! 

Really people?  Yes, obviously they are twins.  They look EXACTLY alike and who would be carrying around two babies if they weren't?  Now I realize this may make me sound rude, but after the first 10 times I've heard this question I feel like people should have a better opening question when they want to talk to a parent of multiples.  Also, I am always nice and politely say yes and answer their questions because just because this person is the 100th person to ask me, they don't know that and are just interested... :) 

Mommy Goes It Alone....

It has come the time where I must do this on my own without someone visiting to help me.  My biggest concern was what will I do when one of them is screaming and I'm feeding the other, or what if they are both screaming at the same time?! Well... the answer: you deal with it and most likely, one of them will just have to scream.  

Here are some pictures of my first week alone with the boys! Overall, they did pretty well.  The worst thing for me is not having enough hands for both of them and when I'm nursing one baby and the other starts crying because he's hungry.  I know they have to get used to waiting, but hearing them cry breaks my heart... and let's be honest, gives me a headache sometimes. ;) 

Life's so hard... ;)

Not kidding, right after I snapped this photo they both started crying... 

After juggling one after the other.... sweet peace 

Both behaving for mommy! 

First time playing on our playmat! Ethan on the left, Charlie on the right

Auntie Rachel and Uncle Matt comes to visit!

Rachel and Matt made the trip to come meet Charlie and Ethan.  I don't have any pictures of Matt, but here's one of Rachel!  Saturday, we had lunch at Hennesy's in Manhattan Beach and wandered around the Redondo Beach Pier.  Sunday, we had brunch at The Strand House in Manhattan Beach and hung out at Matt's Dad's in Rancho Palos Verdes.  The boys did pretty well, but we were out probably more than we ever had been so I had to feed them while being out.  That was new for me, but it was a success in the car!  

Janice the dog was very interested in the new babies!  So cute :)

Auntie Eileen Comes to Visit

My sister came to visit and meet the boys.  She stayed for 5 days!  We had lots of fun and took the boys to a real restaurant (actually 2!) for the first time.  We went to Island's and El Torito.  As usual, they were great and slept the entire time we were out.  

Parents of the Year

So I'm assuming Charlie is going to hate me for posting this, but they are still too little to object so here it goes.  They were about 2 weeks old and I was getting the sink ready for bath time.  Phil was changing Ethan on the changing table on the pack n play.  Charlie was asleep in the basinet under/to the side of the pack n play.  All of the sudden I hear phil yell, "Oh my gosh!  You're peeing on your brother!" 

I run into the room and see poor Charlie, still asleep, soaking wet from his brother peeing on him!  Phil, was looking to see if I was ready for Ethan in the kitchen and when he turned back around there was a flow of pee from Ethan onto Charlie.  So as the great parents that we obviously are, we laughed and took a picture. Notice Charlie's wet shirt and face :(  Apparently Ethan was not pleased that he may have gotten a bit wet too.... 

Parents of the year over here.  

One Week Check-up

Today we had our one week check-up at the pediatrician to see how the boys were doing. They still aren't up to their birth weight, but the Dr. said that's still OK. We go back in a week to check their weights again and they should be back up by then.

At 8 days old Charlie weighs 6lb. 11oz, measures 19 3/4" long, and has a head circumference of 13 3/4".

At 8 days old Ethan weighs 6 lb. 9oz, measures 20 1/4" long, and has a head circumference of 13 1/2".

When I look at them together I still can't believe they fit inside my belly!!

Here's Dad getting ready to head to the Dr.

Nothing could have prepared me...

For the insanity of having two babies. I have taken care of a lot of singleton babies and no matter how many years I did that nothing could have mentally or physically prepared me for being the mother of twins. Don't get me wrong, I am so in love with my little boys and I couldn't imagine only having one baby, but this is tough! I am running on empty, but very grateful to have help from my mom who is staying with us for the first 6 weeks of their lives. Currently, the boys are not on the same schedule and are feeding on demand. I will be changing this soon as it is pretty difficult in the middle of the night. An example of a portion of our night... Charlie is up form 2am-3am, Ethan wakes up on cue at 3am-4am, I go to sleep by 4:20 and Charlie is up again at 5. Sometimes they wake at the same time so I get a little longer stretch of sleep, but we are not on any sort of pattern yet so it's a toss up every night. The boys are very good and don't usually fuss unless something is wrong so I can't complain.

Although this is tough, it's never boring! :)

A few pics of the first few days home...

First test in the pack n play

They were put in the crib far apart but Charlie (left) moved closer to Ethan.

Going Home!

After four nights in the hospital it was finally time to go home! I was wheeled out of the hospital with the boys as Phil went to get the car. We met at the pick-up and Phil strapped them into the car seats, which was new for him. I've never seen him so worried driving home, since he thought maybe the straps were too tight. As soon as we got home he installed the mirrors in the car so we can see their faces while we drive and he re-read online how to safely strap an infant in our car seats.

Here we are getting ready to leave... please excuse my swollen body. It was amazing that I didn't swell when I was pregnant but after all the fluids in the hospital I had elephant legs for almost 2 weeks after!

Phil loading up!

All in!

In the hospital...

During our hospital stay we were able to start getting used to being parents of two babies and Phil was able to change his first diaper and probably 100 by the time we left. I was pretty much in bed the entire time, other than when I needed to walk to help my recovery so I wasn't able to do much baby care.

When Charlie and Ethan had to go to the nursery with daddy for a bit they came back with these cute hats. The volunteers at the hospital make them for the babies. They also bring chocolate chip cookies to the moms during their hospital stay daily :)

Ethan (top) Charlie (bottom)

Throughout our stay our families came to visit, along with cousins Noreen and Paige and family friends, Randy, Nancy, cousin Shawna and Laurie Beth.

Here's some pictures of our visitors!

Uncle Bill, Aunt Sarah, Cousins Jake and Sam

Grandma Losie

Grandma Prunty and Ethan

Grandpa Prunty and Ethan

Grandpa Losie and Charlie

The boys hanging out together :)

Overall, the hospital stay was OK. We got our first doses of not sleeping through the night and the demands of two babies. The worst part was whenever the boys had to get blood drawn, which was more in the beginning since they feared their blood sugar was dropping since they weren't feeding too well. We supplemented with formula in the hospital but have not needed it since we've been home. It's still a learning game for me and the boys, but it's getting easier every day.

Birth Day

On Thursday, March 22nd we were scheduled to have the c-section! We were 38 weeks pregnant and I was getting REALLY uncomfortable so I was definitely ready, but terrified to have surgery. My parents came into town on Wednesday and we all were ready to leave for the hospital at 1:00 for our 3:00 surgery time. Here we are just before heading to the hospital...

When we got to the hospital I was taken straight to pre-op and hooked up to an I.V. and monitors to monitor the babies' heartbeats and contractions. While waiting for the doctor to get there I started having a lot of contractions, so I am convinced I wouldn't have made it much longer than that date anyway. At about 3:30 (the doctor was late) the doctor came in and said there was an emergency C-section they had to do so we would be doing the surgery around 6:30. That was disappointing to say the least, as I was contracting and I already hadn't eaten for 8 hours, which is torture for a pregnant woman my size!

Finally, at 6:45(ish) I was taken back to the O.R while Phil waited in his scrubs outside. I got prepped and received my spinal block. Once my legs were numb they started surgery and Phil was able to come in.

Charlie was born at 7:03, weighing 6lb 15oz and measuring 18 in. long.

Ethan was born at 7:04, weighing 7 lb and measuring 19 in. long.

Proud Papa

All four of us

They both scored 9 on their Apgar score and came out screaming. After they were born, Phil was able to take them to quickly see our family in the waiting room on the way to recovery. I was still in the O.R. getting sewn back up...ew.

Phil introducing the boys...

Everyone