The Twins' Nursery

We've had the twins' room complete since just before they got home, and I finally got around to taking some pictures of it.

I'm very pleased with how it turned out and it's almost exactly what I envisioned. I knew I wanted to go with gray, yellow, and teal and I love the splashes of color throughout the room.

I used a few different shades of the colors for dimension and to make it more interesting. And let's face it, it's impossible to find the same exact shades of yellow and teal in every accessory you want to use. I tried to make sure they all coordinated together though.

Their room is very different from Hudson's. His is much more traditional, with espresso furniture, and more pieces of it. It's a set he can use for many years. I wanted to go more modern and simplistic this time around, especially once I found out there'd be two babies in there. I didn't want wall to wall furniture taking up all the space. Their cribs convert into toddler beds so they can use them for a few years, until they're ready for a full-size bed. By then they may want to be in separate rooms and we can upgrade them to whatever kind of "big kid" furniture they want for the long-haul.
Ideally, we would've gotten a different chair for their room but we weren't about to spend money on another one when we can just use the one from Hudson's room. It doesn't exactly match the way I'd like, but hey, it works.

I'm not going to take the time to list where everything came from and the links, but I will be MORE than happy to share that info with you. Just let me know. I'll respond to your comment email (if you're a no-reply blogger, I cannot) AND in the comments on the blog so the answers are public for all to see. :)

I was able to save a LOT of money with some of the artwork by making it myself. You can do a lot in picmonkey and Picasa. Cheap white frames from Target and boom!

My mom was a lifesaver and made the curtains, which also saved TONS of money! I priced them at some places, including the site I ordered the bedding from....insane! We got the same fabric that's on the bedding so we knew it'd match, and she whipped 'em up in no time. She even added blackout fabric to them. Awesome! Thanks a million, mom!

I'm super happy with the room and it's such a calming space. Even though there are splashes of color, all the gray keeps it very neutral and soothing. I love being in it and the twins do too!
Once again, if you'd like any info about something in the room, just send me an email or leave a comment.

5 on Friday

1. We had some awesome visitors this week....Nana & Papa came to see us and met the twins for the first time.

A couch full of love!

2. These sweet angels turned one month old!

3. A little silliness in Target with my big boy. We had to try on almost every one they had.....

4. I'm certainly not a morning person and I love my sunsets, but I'm quickly becoming a fan of sunrises(thanks to a couple newborns, who shall remain nameless). It was super foggy this morning and when the sun finally broke through, it was glorious!

5. Hudson continues to be obsessed with Darius Rucker and "Wagon Wheel". It's not quite as intense as it used to be, but he still insists on listening to it a LOT! My mom ordered him a shirt from his website and he loves wearing it around the house. It's more like a long dress on him right now, though. ;-)

I hope you've had a great week and your weekend is fabulous!!

 

1 Month!

 These two little blessings are one month old today!!! Craziness! 

 I still can't believe they've been in our lives that long....and I still can't believe I have twins!! HA! When will that sink in, anyway?!?!?! ;)

 Grayson was not having it, in case you couldn't tell. He was hungry but I wanted to take pictures while they were both awake and the lighting was good in their room. He was, even though he has his eyes closed in almost every single picture.

 I guess, given the fact that he's got some catching up with sister to do, I shouldn't make him wait too long to eat. HA!

Gotta love a good outtake. Sibling love at its finest, already coming out. ;-)

I think he was trying to eat her hand and she was trying to punch his face!

Grayson & Raegan, you have so many people in your life who love you. Mommy & Daddy are so thankful for you and your big brother loves you to the moon and back already!

Happy 1 month birthday!

Making It.

We have been home with the twins for just about a full 3 weeks now. They turned 3 weeks on Monday and will be a MONTH old in just 6 days. Goodness, that doesn't seem possible. 

Having a baby is probably the most life-changing event there is. Having TWO babies...well, nothing can fully prepare you for that. Twice the feedings, twice the diapers, twice the crying, twice the EVERYTHING....twice the LOVE!

Things are going pretty well around here. We've been blessed with wonderful help (my parents and Joseph's parents) and could not be more thankful. Until I'm able to lift Hudson and other things (another week or so), they've been here during the week to help out around the house so I can rest, recover, and take care of the twins.

Grayson and Raegan continue to do wonderful, are eating great, and are falling into a routine. For the first couple weeks, they were sleeping in our room in the pack 'n play and we'd have them nap in their room. We've had them sleeping in their room at night for the last week or so and they've done great! I didn't plan on moving them so soon but they seem to sleep better in there, and so do we since we're not hearing every little grunt, moan, and whine. They sleep in Raegan's crib together for now, and they will until they're rolling over and bothering each other in their sleep. I imagine by 2 or 3 months, they'll be in their own cribs.

They eat every 3 hours and sometimes they'll sleep a little more at night and go 4 hours. That's the most we've gotten so far. I've noticed that they're not eating as much during the night feedings so that could be a sign that longer stretches of sleep are coming soon. Momma and daddy would welcome that. ;-) Joseph and I have worked out a nighttime routine that seems to work well for us. He will let me go to bed and stay in the living room to do the midnight feeding, sleeping on the couch for a couple hours beforehand. Once they're back down after that feeding, he'll come to bed and I'll get up to do the next feeding, so he can do the feeding at 6 or 7, since he's already getting up for work anyway. This gives us both a few hours of continuous sleep so one or both of us aren't zombies from getting up for each feeding. I was against this idea at first because I wanted him to get a full night's sleep since he's the one who has to work, but it's been working out great. With Hudson, I was the one who got up at every feeding, but there was just one Hudson. :) It's a whole new ballgame with twins.

This routine has worked out pretty well, but of course there are crazy nights when one or both of them want to have a little party for a couple hours. I was up entertaining Raegan the other morning, who was restless and just wanted to be awake for a while...then she just couldn't go back to sleep after the THREE diaper changes that ensued! Yes, THREE!! Hey, "stuff" happens, ya know? We ended up snuggling on the couch and she finally fell asleep. Me, not so much, but hey....ya gotta do what ya gotta do!

Our good friends, The Baileys, came to visit us on Sunday. We were so excited to see them and glad they got to meet the babies. They've been our friends forever and they love all of our babies so much. For that we are so thankful! Don't they look so natural with them? ;-)

We decided to be brave and took our first trip out with the twins AND Hudson! We went to Target (where else?) and just made it a quick trip there and back home. It went very well and the twins slept the whole time! We probably won't attempt a restaurant for a while...like, maybe 3 years? HA!

Things are crazy, that's no lie. We're definitely still trying to balance it all right now and I know at some point the help I have right now won't be here and I'll be going it alone. That's kind of scary to think about, but I've gotta handle it on my own sometime. I've had all 3 kids to myself a few times for short periods and some times it's been easy and others it's been a challenge. I know as they get older, it will get easier and this crazy newborn stage will pass, although I certainly don't want to rush it since they're my last newborns. Yes, they're my last. Done and done! :)

I'm thankful for the awesome man I married, who just happens to be the best daddy I could imagine for my children. Hudson continues to show me how great of a big brother he is and will be. 

He just loves them so much and I hope he always does.

I find myself in awe of these two tiny miracles we've been given. I still can't believe I have twins. 

I'm not sure when it'll sink in. Maybe when they turn 16 and make my insurance rates go (double) up! Haha!

I never thought I could love anyone the way I love Hudson. To be honest, I was worried about whether or not I could love two more children as much as I love him. It's true what they say, though. Your heart splits into equal parts for each of them and you're just filled with so much love for them instantly. If you had asked me even just 3 years ago if I thought I'd have 3 children, 2 of which are twins, I would have said no way! I never thought about the possibility of twins and I really never intended on having 3 children. 2 was my number. But things happen the way they should and I'm SO grateful!

Sometimes what you think you want isn't what you want at all. Now I see how perfectly complete our family is and I wouldn't change one thing about it!!