It has finally dawned on me that if I wait for a decent chunk of time in which I have two hands free and my wits about me, I may never write on this blog again. At least not for several years. If I'm not clutching a babe to each breast, changing diapers, securing a binky, cleaning a binky, or looking for a binky-- then I'm probably playing Lightning McQueen with Lincoln. Scratch that. I'm doing all those at once! I'm learning that if there's something I want or need to do, I better do it right here right now, or it'll remain in the ever-growing "undone" category, gnawing and festering in the back of my brain. So if we're ever out to lunch and I jump up to put the laundry in the dryer, just understand it's a symptom of having 3 kids... under 3.
Yes, the twins are here! I'll briefly summarize what has happened in the last few months. Tyler was laid off from his job right around the time I was put on bedrest. We had savings but didn't want to waste it all on rent so we moved into my family's house for the last two months of our time in Utah. Tyler collected unemployment and was able to play with and care for Lincoln. So really, it worked out perfectly. At 37 weeks and 3 days, I was pushing the boundaries of my tolerance. My skin was so stretched it was shiny, like a red, marbled bowling ball. Only bigger. Much, much bigger. I was aching from the sheer weight and pressure of two full-term infants residing inside my body. My doctor thankfully agreed to induce me a little earlier than planned, because I was also at my mental limit. My family was wonderful and catered to our every need, while I laid around and tried to survive.
Hazel Eyre Metcalf was born on July 9, 2011at 6 lb, 11 oz.
and Ezra Oakes Metcalf arrived 12 minutes later, weighing 7 lb, 3 oz.
I love them. It's hard with two, though. I can't fully relax and dote on one for too long, because there's always the other one who's not being held. This is so different than it was when Lincoln was born, because they are only 7 weeks and already I feel like they're growing up too quickly-- "Slow down!" I keep thinking. And it will probably continue this way. Tyler and I will try to catch up as everything happens all too fast.
Our home is awesome. I considered it almost blasphemous when Tyler declared he liked this place better than our apartment in Salt Lake City. I adored that home. It was our first as a family and it was beautiful. But now, I'm beginning to see what he means. This is the same size as the old place, but it's a 2 story townhouse. The bedrooms are bigger, the kitchen/living area layout is better, and there's a playground right outside the back door. I've been slow to decorate the walls. Winter will be here too soon and I'll have PLENTY of time to dawdle around indoors. Right now I try to make sure we all get outside as much as possible. So if Lincoln asks to go to the playground (which he does as often as any two year old would, with the enticement just feet away and nearly visible from the living room), I try to oblige. I've also found that my spirits inevitably plunge if I don't step outside at least once a day. And the fix is almost instantaneous! My heart drops whatever emotional load it was carrying, and breathes a gentle sigh of relief as soon as my feet touch the grass.
I'm so glad our families helped us to get here. I can't thank everyone enough. We make a decision, and our parents do everything in their power to help us follow through. Lucky ducks, indeed.
Now I'm just going to post a bunch of pictures, which is really what you want to see!
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| Ezra bathing in the sink. |
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| Hazel in the sink bath (6 weeks). |
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| Hazel happy to be clean. |
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| Tyler and Linc in the pool. We have a small fitness room too! |
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| Hazel, poolside. |
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| Smiling at Daddy. |
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| Making cookies in the new kitchen. |
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| Ezra and his father. |
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| Twin bibs! From our friends Tiffini, Hal and Iris. THANK YOU! |
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| Ezra, wearing his older brother's 3-6 mo. clothes already. I love how he's chunked out! |
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| I have had my best friend pluck my eyebrows for months now. I have to manage it on my own now! Getting better at it. :-) |
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| My sweet girl, sleeping through Hurricane Irene. |
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| My happy toddler. |
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| Adjusting the sand bags. Thankfully, this is as close as we got to flooding. Hurricane Irene ended up effecting us very little. |
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| Burp cloth buddy. |
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| In a state of undress. |
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| Oh, the living we do in this room. :-) |
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| This is my friend Jessica. We met in fifth grade and haven't seen each other in 13 years. Now we just happen to live 10 minutes apart, so of course had to meet up! |
Posts will be haphazard, but I know it would be nice to see updates more often, now that we live so far away from family and Utah friends. We miss everyone! And as Lincoln says, "I loves you!"
