First Time Swimming

Recently Matt had a trip to China and we decided to have me stay with my parents in Ventura. There were two things we really wanted to do for the first time while we were down south: take them to the beach and have them go swimming in the pool. Thankfully Matt was able to be there for both! My dad kindly heated up the spa and then had to run to work so Matt and I maneuvered getting us all in the pool safely. :) Thankfully my mom came home from work in time to help us get out and get the boys into the bath! They loooove the water so their first time in the pool was a huge success!

The boys were cranky but became all smiles once we got them in the water

I love their little swimsuits!

Andrew was not a fan of putting off getting in the pool for pictures

Even Hunter came out to join us...and then he fell in and needed a bath afterwards too!

Andrew was fascinated with the water and bubbles on his toes! (Matt had Lucas and the camera) 

Momma and her baby boys! 

Family picture!

A Big Announcement!

Matt and I are so excited to share that we have closed escrow on our first house! It's a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom single story home in San Jose. It has about 1700 square feet on a 6000 square foot lot. We can't wait to host family and friends for events and visits! We will be moving sometime in June and will update everyone with our new address then. :)

Our First Trip

They always say it's the one thing you don't plan for that happens... On our first trip with the babies we planned for everything except the dog throwing up in the backseat. Oops! That's never happened before but like they also say, there's a first time for everything!

For Matt's second trip to China post-babies I stayed at my mom's house (last time she stayed with us). Seriously, I love my mom!!! She spent so much time putting everything together and recreating her "grandkid" room to accommodate us and make us feel right at home. She got two cribs and bedding, blackout curtains for naps, a changing table and accessories, diapers, wipes, the special soaps and lotions the boys use, burp clothes, a video monitor, baby toys, a bouncy seat, a Bumbo seat, and even baby detergent! I'm sure I'm forgetting other things, too.

She got up at night with me, stayed home late or got home early from work, and she and my dad helped me at night when the boys are most cranky. My sister was also super helpful and came over a couple times to help me on days I only got 3 hours of scattered sleep. The boys had a really hard time adjusting and weren't sleeping or eating well but I think things are starting to be on the mend....hopefully!

Here are a couple pics. My sister said it looks like we have quadruplets! HAHAHA!

Two cribs and a set of bunk beds for four cute grandkids!

Changing table and accessories, and even a space heater to keep it cozy for the babies

The closet is organized full of toys for all ages of kiddos, and even extra clothes and blankets (and a bean bag chair for reading)

One crib for Andrew

One crib for Lucas

Baby toys and books galore!

This is a cross-stitch my grandma made and it's sentimental to my mom especially so she hung it in the room. I love having a piece of my grandma passed down to my kiddos' grandma :)

4-Months-Old

We are finally starting to find a routine and rhythm to life yet the days seem to fly right by. Life is crazy but amazing! I'm about to photo bomb your computer, beware! :)

4-Months-Old! (Andrew on L, Lucas on R)

In our church clothes, tennis shoes and all! (Lucas)

This last month Matt went back to China and my mom came and stayed. She got up for every night feeding, went grocery shopping, cleaned, cooked, and kept me company. My mom is the best!!! Here she is reading them a book while I got to grab a shower! (Lucas on L, Andrew on R)

These boys love to read! (Andrew) 

They also love the bath with bubble hats and even bubble beards! (Lucas)

(Andrew)

Guess who has found one another?? So cute! (Andrew on L, Lucas on R)

We also love our toys (Lucas on L, Andrew on R)

And dressing up in costumes! These Monster's Inc Disney outfits are all the way from our friend Phil in Hong Kong (Lucas on L, Andrew on R)

(Lucas on L, Andrew on R)

To give you a size reference: the boys posing for the first time next to Hunter, our 20 lb wiener dog. (Lucas on L, Andrew on R)

We like to bake cookies for our friends (Lucas)

We like to match sometimes. We are wearing 3-6 month sized clothes! (Lucas on L, Andrew on R)

Sometimes people say Andrew doesn't smile as much but really he does. He just gets too focused on the camera usually. :) Andrew smiles with his whole little body and Lucas tends to look bashful when he smiles. Too cute! (Andrew)

Lucas as a newborn versus 4-months-old (posing on the same pillow). He weighs 14 lbs and has grown 7 inches. 

Andrew as a newborn versus 4-months-old. He weighs 12 lbs and has grown 6 inches. (Lucas was accidentally getting all the hind milk for about a month...oops! We've fixed that so we'll see if their weights even out.)

We are soooo in love!!! This next weekend we will be making out first road trip down to SoCal and plan to have my family meet them. I can't wait to introduce them to their great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and baby cousins!

Quiet Moments

The room is calm and the only sounds are the gentle humming of the sound machine and the peaceful piano notes drifting out of my iPod as the Pandora station plays. I'm slowly rocking back in forth in the rocking chair handed down to me from my grandma, and in the crook of my arm is tucked the sweetest little baby boy. With my eyes I drink in his smooth skin, soft hair, and little lips. His beautiful face peeps out from the folds of a soft, blue blanket and there is a lovey tucked under his arm and snuggled up to his cheek. I cannot believe this little baby is mine. And his brother is sleeping soundly in the crib beside us. These are the moments that I cannot stop the tears from crawling down my face as I try to absorb the miracles I've been given. I stare at their little fingers, fingernails, eyelashes, noses, ears...every tiny bit of them...and I can't imagine having only one of them- or worse, neither.

A year ago I was devastated as I heard of yet another person I knew getting pregnant. "Why not me?!?!" I wanted to shout. I was still mourning my miscarriage and I was gearing up for another torturous round of IVF, unsure if it would even work. Then everyday of my pregnancy I felt as if I was waiting for something to go wrong. After the longest, hardest two years of my life I finally heard the sound I had dreamed of for so, so very long- the sound of Baby A's first cry. I didn't know it was coming but then all of the sudden it was there and the strong wail struck my heart and I knew that was MY son. I asked Matt to wipe the tears off of my face as we eagerly awaited the sound of Baby B's cry, and then that glorious sound filled the room too. His was softer and it took a moment for it to strengthen, in which time I could've sworn my heart stopped beating if it weren't for the monitor overhead beeping and telling me all was well.

Today when I hear those cries I celebrate a little inside because I am their mom. I'm a mom. That truth still struggles to sink in. But in these moments, in my rocking chair, it hits me. And all I can do is weep with joy. Then I grab a tissue from beside me, tuck my sweet baby into bed, and move on to my million other mom duties with a big smile on my face.

I am blessed indeed.

Top: Andrew waking up from nap today but I couldn't capture his smiles on camera
Bottom: Lucas still snoozing away

3-Months-Old!

Yikes!!! Can you tell I've been busy? My last post was for their two-month birthday! Maybe someday life will get into a routine and I'll be able to post more often but for now life is beautifully crazy.

The boys still don't sleep through the night but we're working hard on getting them there, as well as getting them on a schedule of some kind. While they are 3-months-old according to their birthday, it's really more like they are 2-months-old because they were born a month prematurely. Eventually they will catch up but for now they are a little developmentally behind. They recently started acknowledging us with smiles and wiggles which is SO fun and sweet!

Here are some photos from our last month! (You can click on any picture to see it larger)

Family Photos

Lucas

Our "Chunky Cheeks"

Lucas has found this little bear and has fallen in love with snuggling it for naps... he's certainly a child of mine! 

Andrew

Our "Little Andrew" aka "Squishy Cheeks"

This child definitely gets his pouty face from his momma! 

Friends

Good morning! We're in our matching wiener dog jammies!

We go together like peanut butter & jelly!

Middle of the Night Smiles!  

Lucas & Andrew

Family Visitors!

Matt's family and grandparents came to visit in February!

My mom and sister came to visit in March! 

My mom came to stay while Matt was in China and I cannot thank her enough! She got up for every night feeding and helped me get the boys on a schedule for working towards sleeping through the night! I love you mom!!! 

First time seeing Auntie Melissa since they were born!

Happy Birthday Daddy!