Merry Christmas!

It was our first Christmas with the girls. We expeceted it to be hectic, going from one house to the next but it ended up being great! The girls were so good the entire day and loved being passed around from one family member to another. I was apposed to them wearing fancy shmancy dresses but Grammy insisted. I have to admit, Kennedy and Ava did look really cute. Here are just a few pics from the busy day!




As if we don't have our hands full already, we've decided to take the girls with us to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. We could never miss the game and can't even imagine leaving them for 5 days so they're off to the game with us! Should be interesting! I started packing their stuff today and it's complete insanity. Their clothes took up an entire suitcase (have to pack tons of extras in case of poo, pee or puke accidents) and we have a huge bin filled with their other things...diapers, wipes, carriers, toys, etc.! It's amazing to me that two little girls require that much stuff! I will probably post after the trip and tell you all how crazy we were for taking them but I suppose it's better to spend 5 crazy days with them than to leave them home and miss them like crazy!

So Sad

It's official...my maternity leave is over. I go back to work tomorrow and am dreading it more than I ever thought possible! I've cried several times today and I'm sure tomorrow will be even worse. The thought of leaving them makes me sick to my stomach! Luckily, Aunt Steph has them tomorrow so I know I won't have to worry about them. They'll get spoiled rotten! These past 10 weeks have gone so fast. The girls have gone from little blobs (cute ones of course) to sweet, cuddly, smiley little angels! They are so much fun right now. They smile at the sound of our voices and are starting to "talk" to us and to their toys. I never thought of myself as much of an infant person. I always thought I liked babies more when they could sit up and do more. But right now, Ava and Kennedy are proving me wrong. I love them more than ever and can't imagine them any other way. They're perfect!
When we found out I was pregnant with two girls, my dad and I looked everywhere for shirts that said something about grandpa and all we could find were boys' clothes. Yesterday I found shirts for Kennedy and Ava that say "grandpa's girl." They wore them to Grammy and G-pop's house today. I think he liked the shirts were a hit with G-pop!

2 months

It's hard to believe the girls are two months old already! Kennedy weighs 10 pounds and Ava is 9 pounds. She's catching up quickly and I have a feeling that Kennedy won't be the "big" sister much longer!
We left the girls overnight for the first time this weekend to go to Pittsburgh for the UC game. It was the BEST game EVER and we had a blast but we were more than ready to get home to Ava and Kennedy. We missed them more than we thought possible but Grammy and G-Pop took good care of them both and they were happy as could be when we picked them up! We're so lucky to have our parents so close and so willing to help!
On Sunday we continued our tradition of getting our Christmas tree with Jesse and Ang. For several years now, we've all gone to a tree farm to cut down our trees. It's crazy how fast things change. Two years ago, it was just the four of us and this year we had Spencer in the wagon and a double stroller to lug! The girls slept through the entire trip while Spencer enjoyed his wagon ride.

Another UC Victory

We went to the UC game and had a great time tailgating with friends and family! The bearcats beat Illinois and we're off to Pittsburg next weekend for the last game of the season.

Turkey Day

We had so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Mainly, we're just thankful to be parents. We realize how lucky we are to have two healthy, happy little girls and couldn't be more grateful! We celebrated turkey day with both Jon's family and mine. Ava and Kennedy got new outfits to wear. My goal was to get a picture of the four of us together because we don't have any. However, Ava had different plans. Before we could get a picture, she pooped all over her outfit and was in her pajamas by 3:00! SO, lessoned learned...get the pictures as soon as the girls are dressed!

Bottles and Beer

Jon and I have found the perfect solution for dealing with twin newborns....

Actually, the girls are really good but a little beer never hurt anyone, right?
Kennedy and Ava went to their first UC tailgate this past weekend. I missed the first game since my college days and took them home when the game started. They loved tailgating though. They slept right through the band playing and the cheerleaders yelling. The picture of Ava doesn't show it but she does have her UC hat on. We loved showing off our future bearcat fans and can't wait to take them to their first game. If the weather is nice, they'll be going to a game later this month. If not, they'll go to the bowl game with us! Go bearcats!!!

A Night Out/Family Fun

Jon and I went to the UC game on Saturday and left the girls with Aunt Steph. It was great to get out and know that the girls were well taken care of. We had a great time even though the bearcats didn't play their best game...Still undefeated though!!


On Sunday, the family got together at my parents house so everyone could visit with my uncle who is in town from Oregon. The girls got passed around from one person to the next and were loving every minute of the attention they were getting. They are definiltey two spoiled little girls.

Busy day!

Today is Jon's 30th birthday so the girls and I took him and his buddies lunch at work. I know it's hard for Jon to leave the girls every day to go to work. So they decided to get him picture frames and pictures of themselves so he can look at them while he's away. I think he liked the idea and was really happy to see the girls in the middle of his work day!
My uncle is in town from Oregon so after we left Jon's work, Kennedy, Ava and I took him to see my Grandma! She hadn't seen the girls since they were born because she'd been sick. She was really happy to spend some time with her son and great grand daughters! She said it was the best day that she's had in a long time. That made me so happy to hear. It was a good day for the girls and I too!!!
Here are a couple pictures that a friend of ours took of Kennedy and Ava! Adorable if I do say so myself! If you like them and are in need of having some pictures taken, let me know and I can get you her info.

Big Girls!

The girls had their one month check up today and all is well. Kennedy now weighs 8lbs. 5 oz. and is 21 inches long. Ava is 6 lbs. 8 oz. and is 20 inches long. That probably sounds so small but it's so big compared to where they started. Ava isn't on the charts yet percentile wise but she's close. The doc says she's just going to be a little lady! Kennedy is at about the 25th percentile for weight. We're so lucky to have healthy growing girls!!
The picture that I posted of Kennedy is of her hanging upside down. She has now decided that that is comfortable and throws her head back like that all the time. It's a little odd but she loves it!
The girls are now sleeping about 4-5 hours straight at night, which has been great! We're getting more sleep than we thought we would and thank our lucky stars that we have good sleepers! I'm actually getting more sleep now than when I was pregnant!

Our First Halloween

Kennedy and Ava celebrated their first Halloween with Jon and I along with Gigi, Grandpa, Aunt Natalie, Uncle Dave and Cousin David. We couldn't find costumes small enough to fit the girls but luckily Steve and Karly bought them ghost onsies! They looked adorable (at least we thought so) and seemed to enjoy their first family holiday! Spencer came by before trick or treat to see us and the girls. He looked so cute in his little giraffe costume! I love him!!!!

4 weeks old

It's hard to believe the girls are already 4 weeks old! My time off with them is flying by. I'm already dreading going back to work. Luckily, I still have 6 more weeks with them! They continue to do well and are changing every day. Ava is starting to smile a little bit when you hold a toy in front of her. She doesn't do it consistently but when she does, it's the best thing ever! Kennedy loves tummy time and could lay on her stomach all day long! Her screaming fits are becoming few and far between but when she gets mad or uncomfortable, she still lets us know. The other night, Ava was holding her ears as her sister was screaming. I posted a picture of it for you all to see! The picture of Kennedy is her "leave me alone" look that she gives when she's being messed with. Gotta love it. I love that Kennedy is looking more and more like her daddy and Ava is looking more and more like me. It's funny that even though Ava is becoming a mini-me, she is laid back like her dad. And although Kennedy looks like Jon, she's spunky and loud like her mommy.

Pumpkin Patch

Ok, so we're officially nerdy parents! Even though the Kennedy and Ava had no clue where they were and couldn't enjoy any of it, we took them to the pumpkin patch with Angela, Jesse and my perfect Godson Spencer! The girls of course slept right through the entire outing and had no clue that they were even there. But we were dorks and took several pictures of them while we were there. We'll be glad we have these pictures this time next year when they are running around the pumpkin patch. It'll be really cool to see how much they've changed in their first year!

IRH Visit/Go Cats

As most of you know, twins don't exactly run in our family. We went through several fertility treatments to get pregnant and are so grateful for Dr. Scheiber and the nurses at IRH for giving us the chance to be parents! We took the girls yesterday to see everyone and thank them for all of their hard work. The girls were on their best behavior and Dr. Scheiber was really happy to see them! We can never thank the staff enough. We think about where we would be without them and can't help but feel that we will forever owe them something more than a "thank you."

Jon and I have season tickets to UC football and are leaving the girls today to go to the game. We love going to the games and it has become something that we always look forward to. Gigi and Aunt Steph are going to babysit for us. We know they are in good hands but it is still going to be really hard to leave them. BUT, mommy needs a beer for crying out loud! It should be interesting...I haven't had any alcohol at all in about a year. Jon has agreed to be my driver today since he had me driving him around for the last 9 months! Wish me and the cats luck today!!!!

Settling In

The girls have been home for over 2 weeks now and we're finally starting to settle in. We're trying our hardest to keep them on the same feeding schedule to save our own sanity. Most days are successful, others not so much! Regardless of what the days bring us, Jon and I are so thankful for our two healthy girls. Ava continues to be the more content of the two. She is happy whether she's laying in her swing or in your arms. She just goes with the flow and will eat whenever we try to feed her. Kennedy has continued to be the spunky one. She definitely lets us know when she wants something, especailly when she's ready to eat. We'll just say that her lungs work REALLY well! I'm enjoying my time off with them. They are so much fun and I am really starting to see their personalities emerge! Jon should be named daddy of the year. He is SO good with the girls and is completely smitten with them. It makes me love him even more than before and I didn't think that was possible!

They're Here

I was induced on Friday, October 2nd! Don't hate me, but my labor and deliver were very easy. It went much faster than we expected and I felt great throughout! Kennedy Arden was born first at 4:24 pm weighing 6 lbs. 6 oz. Ava Naomi came into the world just 7 minutes after her sister at 4:31pm. She weighed 5 lbs. 3 oz. They are both absolutely perfect and such a blessing. So far, they are doing very well. They aren't keeping us up too much throughout the night. They only cry when they are ready to eat. We couldn't ask for two better babies. They are very much opposites in every way. Kennedy is fiesty and likes things her way. Ava is much more laid back like her daddy! It's as if God knew exactly which two girls we wanted! We feel so lucky to have them. It's only been 5 days and already, we can't imagine our lives without them.

Ready to go!

I'm 38 weeks now and our little girls have decided to make a permanent home in my belly. After being 3 cm dialated for over a week now and having my membranes stripped twice, they are still content and perfectly happy staying where they are. Because their growth is slowing down and mine is increasing by the minute, I am being induced tomorrow morning. It's so strange knowing that we'll leave the house tomorrow and the next time we return, we'll be a family of 4. We are more excited than words can say and of course, anxious too. We're hoping and praying for two healthy girls and an uncomplicated labor. This last picture of my belly is quite frightening. Sorry to those of you who are traumatized by it.

36 Weeks

I made it to 36 weeks. That has been our goal all along! I have been having contractions for a few weeks now but was on medicine to try to stop them. Today is my first day off of the medicine so hopefully the girls get the hint and come sooner rather than later. I'm finished working. I was doing half days but no matter how hard I tried, I wasn't getting to all of the kids and felt like I was letting them down. SO, I'm now home, just waiting for labor to start. Doc said today that the babies are about 5 lbs. 8 oz. and 5 lbs. 4 oz. and all looks good. We are getting really excited to meet the girls! Jon won't go too far from me for fear of missing something. He is going to be such a good daddy! I can't wait to see him hold our girls for the first time!

Almost 34 Weeks

We're getting close to meeting our little girls and Jon and I are so excited! In two days, I'll be 34 weeks. The doctor's goal from the beginning was to keep these babies in until 35 weeks. Just one more week to go and we've met our goal! It will be such a good feeling knowing that if the girls are to come, they'll be ok! I was on complete bedrest last week because I was contracting. Luckily, the medicine has stopped the contractions and I'm only on partial bedrest. I am working half days and enjoying my new 3rd grade position. All of the showers are done, the girls' room is ready and now we wait...