Aunt Shanny Visits!

I'm not really sure where I left off or what else has gone on around here since my last post - getting 1.5 hours of sleep at a time will do funny things to your memory - but the most recent (and FUN) thing that has happened is Aunt Shanny came for a visit.  She was able to spend almost a full week here visiting and we loved having her.  

We weren't so great about pictures but here are the ones that we did get.

We gave the twins their first bath!  Rylie was her typical laid back self, she acted like it was a dip in the hot tub and was relaxed and calm the entire time.

Here's my clean littlest girl

Jon Jr. was his typical red-headed self - he screamed like we were dipping him in battery acid.  :)

He found his fingers for comfort once we got him out to dry off

 Shannon was great fun for all the babies, including Natalie who was treated to a special shopping spree but Jon Jr. was the one who I think enjoyed Shanny the most.   This picture pretty much sums up how the entire week was for Aunt Shanny.  She held Jon Jr. nearly every waking (and napping) moment!  He LOVED it!

Junior's favorite place to nap :)

 Natalie is still proudly carrying her banner as best big sister and just before bed asked if I would put Jon Jr. on the floor next to her so they could lay together.  I think they are going to be great friends!

Shannon also spent a good bit of time trying to catch the fleeing smiles of both babies.  Here's one of Junior!

Such a sweet face!

Sweet Rylie's wide awake face.

 Jon did a little hunting but a lot of baby holding in the evenings.  Here he is with both his wee ones.

We had such fun with Aunt Shanny here and are very much looking forward to Aunt Leslie, Uncle Josh, Katherine and Delaney's visit this Friday.  We will have FIVE babies under the age of THREE under one roof for the weekend.  It's going to be so much fun!

More pictures!

Things around our house are going along.  We are settling into a routine with the babies and doing what we can to enjoy the Fall weather and get out of the house a bit here and there.  I made my first trip out of the house by myself with the twins - just to Target, but let me tell you it was no small feat!  Here is a picture of my cart BEFORE I started my grocery shopping!

Jon Jr in the front and Rylie in the basket below

Natalie has settled in as an awesome big sister.  She is in love with the twins and is generally very patient with us as we try to take care of everyone's needs in the evening.  She got an awesome big sister gift from our friends Kate and Mandy - the picture says it all!

Its a baby (doll) carrier for Natalie to wear!

She did ask if we could put Rylie in there (and she is about the same size as her baby doll) but she was okay with the baby doll in the end.

We also got some of the final prints of the photo shoot with the twins. Here are several more pictures of our sweet babies!

I need a POSTER sized one of these.  I LOVE this picture!

Our sweet, big girl

She is growing up SO FAST!

My sweet boys - and look at Jon Jr.'s RED hair!

Sweet, beautiful babies

Mommy loving on her little ones

We are looking forward to Aunt Shanny visiting this weekend and Aunt Leslie and family visiting in early October.  Lots more fun to come!!

The twins are two weeks old!

Or at least that's what the little ticker on the right hand side of the blog says... :)  Some days it feels like they've always been here and others it feels like we are just meeting them.  We are all working hard to get settled into some sort of routine but that expectation might be a bit ambitious given that we've only been home with them a little over a week. :D

We did have a newborn photo shoot with Tania Grab this past weekend (thanks to the generous gift from Leslie and Josh) and she got some great pictures of Jon Jr. and Rylie as well as their big sister!  I was thrilled with the pictures of Natalie and can't wait to see all the proofs later this week.  Tania was kind enough to provide a sneak peek - check it out!

The turtle costumes were made by Aunt Delores - aren't they adorable!?!  Tania was SO patient with the babies and I think she got some great pictures.

Yes, they are holding hands.  No, I don't remember Tania doing that on purpose. :)
Jon Jr. is on the left, and Rylie, the right - with her full head of hair.

I love this one of just their sweet faces.  You can see a lot of Natalie in both Jon Jr.'s round face and Rylie's mouth and chin.  They both have such sweet expressions on their faces in this picture. So peaceful.

And she also took some beautiful pictures of our big girl.  Her sweetness just comes right through, even in photos!!

And one of the whole family!!

I'll also be taking their 2 week old photos as well but for now I'm busy feeding, burping and typing with one hand :)  More to come as we adjust to being a family of five.

The first week...

Our discharge day was a bit hectic with non-stop action right up until they wheeled us out to the car.

Mommy admiring her sweet babies just before we left

 

Sweet babies in their "going home outfits". 
Thanks to Aunt Delores for the beautiful sweaters.

We came home from the hospital to a crowd waiting to welcome the twins.  Mamaw and Papaw had been staying with Natalie, Pops and Auntie Erin were in town and on Saturday afternoon Nana and Uncle Ryan flew in from Alaska!  It was quite a scene but definitely a warm welcome for two sweet babies.

Nana had made quilts for Jon Jr. and Rylie as well as a brand new "big girl bed" quilt for Natalie.  They are so beautiful!  I just love the bright colors.

Jon Jr.'s Quilt:  This one is called "Little Mister"

Rylie Emma's Quilt: This one is called "Little Sister"

Mamaw and Papaw had been busy entertaining Natalie and bringing her to and from the hospital every day.  I just loved seeing my sweet girl and having my Mom and Dad so close for this wonderful time.  Mom and Natalie made DELICIOUS peach ice cream on Saturday for everyone to enjoy.  Natalie got the first bowl and she shared it with everyone.

Sharing with Mommy

I'm trying to take it extra easy during my recovery, so we aren't venturing out of the house too much but we did take our first walk as a family - Just up to see our neighbors - and you can see from the picture, its already a bit of a circus! :)

TINY little babies in the stroller!

Jon and I are blessed with such wonderful families to help us with anything we need and Uncle Ryan was the first to stay with us and help out with cooking, cleaning and serving as playmate for Natalie - a tough job but he's up for the challenge ;-)

On Monday Natalie and Uncle Ryan played in the sprinkler while Jon Jr. and Rylie enjoyed the warm sunshine.

They had SO much fun.  I just LOVE this picture!

Rylie enjoying some outside time

Jon Jr. was SOAKING it in!

While I'm out on maternity leave I'm trying to keep up with weekly pictures of Jon Jr. and Rylie.  I did the same for Natalie so here is the first installment :)

Jon Jr. - ONE WEEK OLD

Note the orange tint to his hair... I wonder if it'll stay that way?!?

Rylie Emma - ONE WEEK OLD

Little Sister!

We are so thankful for a blessed first week and good reports from the doctor on Rylie and Jon Jr.'s first visit. 

And now we are a family of five!

The twins have arrived!  

On their own schedule the twins decided to arrive on 8/28 (one day ahead of their scheduled, "eviction date" of 8/29).  Jon Jr. decided that he'd rather make a break for it than to wait around on the doctor's schedule so off we went to the hospital after my water broke that morning.  They were both born THE SAME MINUTE at 10:41 AM, healthy and beautiful.  Jon David Jr. weighed in at 6 pounds 1 oz, and Rylie Emma weighed in at 5 pounds 3 oz.

Mommy meeting her babies! 
Jon Jr. on the left and Rylie on the right

Daddy with his babies. 
We were SO HAPPY to have them in our arms!

Mom and Dad picked Natalie up at school that afternoon and brought her over to the hospital to meet her baby brother and sister.  She was very happy to finally see them in person!

Natalie meeting Jon Jr.

We spent a total of 3 nights in the hospital getting rested (as much as you can in a hospital!) and ready to take the sweet babies home.  Most of the pictures we took have the babies with hats on in order to keep them warm in the hospital but I have to tell you that the topic of conversation for both was the color of their hair!  Jon Jr. appears to be our red head and Rylie's hair is still a bit of a mystery... the pediatrician thinks it will end up being VERY blonde :)

My strawberry blonde little boy. :)

In true red-headed fashion, Jon Jr. tends to be a bit more "vocal" than his quiet little sister but both are very content little people.  On the rare occasion that they did raise a fuss, Natalie responded in her own special way...

"He's LOUD, Mommy!"

Rylie is the quieter of the two and for the most part just likes to observe everything around her.  But one of my favorite things about my tiny girl are her BIG YAWNS.  This wee one yawns with her whole face.  It is the sweetest, funniest thing to watch.

That's one BIG yawn for such a little girl

 

Auntie Erin and Pops came shortly there after to meet the babies with Nana and Uncle Ryan flying in from Alaska as fast as they could. :)

In awe of our precious little people

Natalie helping Mommy feed Rylie

More to come about their first week but for now we can just say that we all feel INCREDIBLY BLESSED to have these sweet little people in our family.