one year and counting!!

so here is a look back at the crazy ride it was to get the twins here and their first year!!

when i was 26wks and skinny....i got so so big, 

one of the very few times i was up....look at all those pillows behind me")  

           spence showing our count down to a successful and healthy pregnancy/delivery, each morning i was so happy to still be pregnant and was able to rip one of those chains down..besides the price is right ripping those chains down was the highlight of my day while on bedrest.

 spences' sleeping courters...don't feel bad for him he actually could sleep through the night. i couldn't sleep when i was pregnant cause i had such a hard time breathing and getting/staying comfortable as i lay in bed all day and all night...i seriously got so huge i took up our whole bed:)  so glad that i am no longer on bedrest.....i still get a little nauseous when i think of how hard and how horrible all the bedrest was.

but i'd do it again hands down to get these cute babes here!!

 graffic i know, and i didn't even post the huge pics of my belly...i think i would make you all sick.  this pic was at 33wks i was prego for 3more weeks and got even rounder....everywhere:)
our goal was to make it to at least 34wks and we made it all the way to 36wks to the day!! spence and i went to our dr's visit for the week (we went once a week after 26wks, i didn't really mind because it was my one and only outing for the week and it was always reassuring to see the babes growing and kicking) -i was pretty much miserable but still taking my contractions meds because i was so nervous to have premature babies and all the complications that come with delivering early.  needless to say at 36wks the babies were coming.  (the amazing dr. marv erickson ph 623-414-3500. if you live in phoenix and need an amazing dr he is the man.) dr erickson said there wasn't much we could do, they were one their way and he told us to head to the hospital!! i called my mom and told her to hop on a plane and she did the next day:)
when we got to the hospital i was having tons of contractions and was nervous and excited to finally meet our babies. (more nervous than excited...working in the ob/gyn field for 8yrs prior i somehow always thought of the worst case scenerios, thank goodness for spencer's mellow and calm demeanor through the whole experience.)  anyways by the time we started the c-section (quincy was breech so we had to do a c-section) i was dilated to a 6-7 and the nurses laughed at me because i was having so many contractions and didn't really say much or need anything...and i thought to myself well i've basically been contracting since 19wks so i was use to it:)  then it was time to operate,


 i remember thinking couldn't they have gotten a bigger table to lay me on i was huge. and then they strapped me to the bed, i could barely breath and spencer says, "they are cutting you open now. and i looked at him with that look that wife's give their husbands and told him to stop giving me a play-by-play.  seriously who wants to know that they have just been cut open with a 2in scalpel! not me!  and then in no time at all baby a: tenley magnolia, was out and i could hear her cry 5lbs 11oz. spence told me she was looking good and then she was handed off to one of the 10people in the room, then baby b: quincy joanna, was pulled out and she was crying too, 4lbs 10oz!!! perfect!! i didn't get to see the girls for several hours(4hrs) because of some complications i was having but, spence did a great job running back and forth from the nicu to tell me how they were doing...and they were doing perfect they were only in the nicu for 2hrs just to be monitored and then they were sent to the happy and healthy nursery!!  it was  a great and successful delivery both babies arrived in the world without any problems!! thank goodness!! and that is pretty much the story of how the twinners got here!
i can't believe that they are 1year old. it is hard to imagine that its been a whole year that i have been able to snuggle, laugh, hold, feed, cry, wrestle, read, and love them!!! i am ever so grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me this wonderful experience of being a mom. there is really nothing better...i knew i wanted to become a mom, but i never could have imagined how wonderful it is, and how grateful i am to have this amazing opportunity.  i love them so much!!

 first week home with the littles....oh so tiny tiny tiny!!

even the premie clothes seemed huge.  but they were such good babies...especially because i had no idea of how to be a mom.

 this picture says it all, "how are you going to take care of 2 babies....me laughing i have no idea!""

 poor tenley has always been the easier, self-sufficient baby and was bottle propped since birth all 5lbs 11oz had to be brave from the get go!  don't judge me, i was only one and there were two of them.  and those days when i wanted to just cry because i couldn't do it all, especially running on only 2hrs of sleep total a day,  i would think of what laurie martin told me (aka my saving grace here in az, she is mom of 14yr old twins) "Heavenly Father sent me two babies at time, and if He thought i was capable of taking care of two babies then by-gally i am. (i still tell myself that)

 so tender....need i say more:0

 bottles, bottles and more bottles.  feeding every 3-4hrs 24hrs a day times 2= one tired mamma!! diaper changes every 3-4hrs 24hrs a day, times 2 =12diapers a day!! if not more:) the first 8months are just a blurr of bottle feeding and praying that they would sleep.  but we all survived it!
and now that they are 1yrs old we get to say adios to the formula!! (since they were born early our dr said to wait 2more wks but i'm so excited)  we went through 24cans of formula a month at $15 a can...you do the math!! and i would pre-mix the formula and have 12bottles ready to go in the fridge at all times (12bottles really only last 6feedings) so now we are going to just buy ourselves a cows and get these girls chubby with some whole

 side by side...forever and always!!

amanda the amazing mom of twins...she taught me everything i needed to know...especially how to relax and just enjoy the babies!! amanda is really an amazing mom, she makes taking care of 2babies look so easy, so glad that she had twins first so i could learn from her!!

quincy's first bath...i love that face she is our little spit-fire red head:)

our trip across the boarder to mexico with friends.  5months old and still not sleeping a wink. 

but we had fun anyway

spencer is such a good dad.  i am so lucky to have a husband that enjoys being a father and all that goes with it. i had a friend tell me that i am so lucky i had twins because spencer has to help.  and she is right i am so lucky i have twins, but spencer really is the kinda guy that would be helping and complete hands on even if we just had one baby.  he is such a good dad, and loves the girls so much.  i love watching him play and talk with the girls.  he is such a great dad and the girls light up so much when he walks through the door! this next year with him away will be tough.  good thing for skype and cellphones!

eating rice cereal....the girls didn't so much like it, it took a lot of patience and time, but finally by 8months they decided they would swallow and eat squash for every meal:)

tummy time was so fun.  it was crazy when they started rolling over, then crawling, then standing, and soon to be walking...wow the first year has flown by and so has each little stage in their life!

tenley and quincy are such good friends, i love seeing them play with each other and look around the room for each other.  i do enjoy and relish one-on-one time (when one is still sleeping) i try to make up for all the time that they have to share me.  it is my biggest fear that one day they will be sad

 that they had to share my attention.  so i really try to make sure that i am equal in everything that i do...oh goodness i hope they know that.

everything is double when you have twins. double at the exact same time.  which is hard and tasking sometimes, but it really means that there is double the love, double the laughter, double the fun, double our enjoyment.  -i often find myself singing that double mint gum song: double your enjoyment oh no single baby can freshen your life like double babies can!!

and even though they look totally different, and people are shocked when i say that they are twins, born just 2minutes apart.  i think that it is great they can be different because the rest of their lives they will have to share so much!

these girls are exploring everything! and if one finds something fun and new then the other is right behind to discover it too!! the cupboards and our bedroom are great for exploring!!

they are growing up so fast!! and both have such fun personalities!  and now that they are 1, i can say that maybe i can have another...but i really am enjoying these twins and soaking up every moment i can.  we might not do a lot, and running in the jogger or going to grocery store are our big adventures, but i find its the simple things in life that allow us to play and enjoy each other.

tenley is pretty talented with this walker...she will turn on a dime and run over anything in her path...even if its her sister! she is cruising and she loves how much Independence she gets from this walker.

easter is my favorite holiday (and yes its because of all the jelly beans) and i love that the girls get to share a birthday close to easter! its such a fun time of year, there really isn't anything better than spring time.

gotta love those bums!! and the amazing arizona sun! the girls are becoming more aware of grass but would still prefer to eat it than anything else.

...share everything, even a swing!!

happy birthday girls, thanks for coming into our lives and making them so much brighter!  spence and i both prayed and tried so hard to get you here safe, and now that you are here 

we want to love you and take the best care of you that we can, because you are ours for just a short time, and time keeps flying by.