2 Year Anniversary - Disneyland!

Robbie and I celebrated 2 years of marriage on the 13th! What a happy day. We both feel so blessed to have each other!

A few months ago, Robbie surprised me by telling me we were going to Disneyland for our anniversary this year. I burst into tears because, first, I had had a really bad day and this was THE happiest news and, second, he promised me a year ago when we went with his family that he'd take me back because I couldn't ride any of the rides (pregnant) and it was kind of depressing.Okay, really depressing. I didn't expect it at ALL and it was the best having it to look forward to all summer long.

We left the girls with Robbie's parents, which worked out perfectly because we've been living with them for the past couple of months. All the girls' stuff is here and we had some good opportunities to train them and feel comfortable leaving them and not worrying while we were gone. His parents are rockstars and I didn't worry one bit the whole time we were gone. They did such a great job and the girls loved it. But let me tell you, leaving your babies for the first time as a new mom is tough!! You get so excited thinking about leaving and getting a break, and then you miss them the second you're gone. I guess it means we love those little chunkers.

We left on Monday afternoon and came back Wednesday night. It was the perfect little getaway. After almost 9 months of sticking to a demanding schedule every day with babies, we enjoyed just relaxing. We ate at some delicious restaurants, watched movies, and crammed Disneyland/California Adventure all into one day (Tuesday). We tore it up and made a plan beforehand of which rides we were going to hit and at which times. We walked crazy fast and it was fun to do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. It rained for about an hour while we were at the park, but cleared and actually may have helped as far as crowds went. We went at a perfect time in the year and didn't have to wait longer than 30-40 min for a ride. We rode a lot in the single rider line and used fast passes as often as we could. We were exhausted by the end of the day, but had a total blast.

On the plane about to take off!

 Cute husband with our cute little rental car.

We took a selfie on almost all the rides we went on. Robbie's poor hair suffered from the morning rain, haha! Still such a handsome guy.

Dayna occasionally sent us pictures of the girls. Gah we love them!!

My only regret from the trip is that I didn't get to go on California Screamin, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise. I got cut in line and was just about to get on the ride when they shut it down because it got STUCK. This is a picture of the people that cut in front of me stuck on the ride. I'm so grateful it wasn't me. Tender mercy right there.

 We're currently watching all of the Star Wars movies right now before #7 comes out in December (currently on #5). Love my Star Wars nerd.

Disneyland in the fall is a dream!

It was the perfect trip at the happiest place as the happiest couple. I love my Robbie! And the reunion with our girls? It was the happiest thing ever. Can't wait to take them with us someday. Thanks to Robbie for an incredible trip.

8 Months

Kate & Olivia turned 8 months last week! They're just over 6 months developmentally and we look forward to the day (hopefully around 1 year) where we don't have to adjust their age!

The girls are sitting up more and more on their own, which is so fun. They still have the occasional crash landing, but they're gaining strength quickly. It's amazing watching their bodies learn to do new things. They have always been happiest upright, so it's nice that they can do it on their own now.

They are doing well with baby food and I really get a kick out of feeding them. We're all a mess by the end (Olivia likes to spit her food all over whoever's feeding her), but they love food. I've been making all of their baby food and it's nice to know exactly what's going into their bodies. Their favorite combination is avocados and bananas. Kate will eat anything, but Olivia has shown a preference to sweet foods. Like father, like daughter! If she doesn't like it, she'll stick her tongue out and the food will just sit there. She'll often gag as well. Silly girl.

They take a bottle 4 times a day and baby food twice (after morning nap and at dinner time). They take 3 naps, a long one in the afternoon and short ones in the morning and late afternoon. They take a bottle at 7:30 pm and then sleep until 7:30 or 8:00. I've been weaning off the pump and they've transitioned great to formula. I'm very thankful it's gone so smoothly. It's such a bittersweet process.

Olivia has so much personality in her little body. She loves to suck her thumb whenever she's going down to sleep or to self soothe. She spits a lot to let us know she's sick of waiting for her milk, or any other time she's frustrated. She loves wrastling with Robbie and being really close to people's faces. She's ticklish on her feet and tummy and lets out the cutest giggles. She loves moving around and has especially loved walking around in the the little walker Robbie's parents have. She kicks her legs whenever you lift her up in the air. She loves getting her diaper changed and loves her stuffed elephant.

Kate is a very easy going baby. She loves sucking on her toes and can keep herself entertained with toys for a long time. She is amazing at focusing and loves to just stare, especially at people. She notices small details and will play with the pattern on her sleeve for 5 minutes. She won't let anything pass her by without grabbing it with both hands and bringing it straight to her mouth (including Liv's head). Kate likes to mimic the faces we make. She's also ticklish on her toes and loves being surprised by noises or actions, but she does get startled really easily. It's pretty easy to make Kate belly laugh. She has the saddest, most tragic face when she cries.

I love the stage they're in so much. These girls are our world and we love how much good they bring into our home!

Olivia in floral, Kate in polka dots.

Banana Bread and Blow Outs

Ya know those short pockets of time in your day where everything is complete chaos and you have to make a thousand small decisions and by the time it’s over you’ve used all of your energy for the day and are ready to jump in bed for the night?

I was making banana bread downstairs and had to watch the loaves closely because I hadn’t set a timer. I had both girls in bumbos on the counter and picked up Kate to put her in the walker on the ground. I quickly discovered she needed a diaper change stat (didn’t even need to see the poop leaking out of her diaper, you can smell that girl from a mile away) and I knew I had to go fast because the bread would be done in just a few minutes. But then I looked at Olivia and knew I couldn’t trust her on the counter in her bumbo all alone because she’s sneaky and can practically bend her way out of them. So I’m holding Kate in a manner where I don’t get poop on my shirt and have to use my other arm to get Liv out of her bumbo. Not easy, but successfully got her out without pulling her arm out of her socket. I went up two flights of stairs as fast as you can while holding two babies and I put Olivia on the floor in the playroom with some toys while I changed Kate’s diaper on the floor in the nursery. It’s basically choosing between breathing and passing out at this point. I finish and put Kate next to Olivia (they babysit each other, naturally) and ran back downstairs to pull the bread out of the oven just in time. I came back upstairs and the whole nursery smelled like poop because, once again, daaaang that Kate is a stinky girl. I hurry and make bottles because it’s lunch time and run in to check on the girls, who aren’t as fussy as I thought they’d be. Kate is sucking on Liv’s head and Liv is sucking her thumb. Typical story. They’re such good little girls.

This life is a beautiful one. Am I right?