If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that we have been on vacation for the last week and a half, and I have to be honest with you -- it was a struggle to find a moment each day to post for my #100happydays challenge!

As in the past, we jammed lunch down the girls' throats and threw them in the car right at nap time, to try to make the most of their time asleep in the 2.5 hour car ride.  I had just gotten Jane and Emma into a new routine to match their new day care schedule (more on that in a future post), so of course, they did everything to buck that routine the second our feet hit the shores of Avalon.


We quickly settled into a vacation routine, which actually means NO ROUTINE AT ALL.  Sleep when they want (which was hardly ever), do whatever we could to try to wear their energy down, and then wake up 6-8 times each night, at least 3 of those wakings being Hershey and I trying to calm them both down since they woke up scared shitless since there were other people in the room with them...and then starting all over again between 5:45-6:15 every morning.











It also didn't help that on day 2 of vacation, both girls started getting in every tooth that they didn't already have when we left for vacation.  I mean it.  Every.Single.Tooth.  We should have taken out stock in baby Tylenol and infant Motrin before we left.  Who knew?

That all being said, there were glimmers of hope in those 10 days.  First of all, we are LIGHT YEARS from where we were this time last year.  Last year, the girls were still on apnea monitors, and we were still getting up every 3 hours to feed them, and we didn't even step foot on the beach.  And right when I thought I was at my breaking point between exhaustion and patience, Hershey and I got to sneak out for a night for dinner after the girls went to bed.  It was so nice to reconnect and decompress, especially since it's been forever since we've been on a date!

The bonus to being in Avalon for the week and a half was that there was constant entertainment there for Jane and Emma.  That constant entertainment was a mixed blessing - we were really happy that the girls got to spend time with everyone in Hershey's family...BUT...the girls also then fought sleeping and eating because they were so excited (although they DID eat a LOT of sand/rocks/shells/baby clams), which was frustrating for Hershey and I because we wanted to enjoy our family, the beach, the girls, and our vacation, too!  We just kept on looking back at last year and thinking of how far we've come, and hoping that next year will also be better!

We were also really super happy that Jane and Emma finally got to know everyone!  Up until last week, the girls were so scared of every stranger they met, and weren't retaining who people were, so they would cry hysterically every time they saw Hershey's father.  By the time we were about halfway through vacation, they really latched on to their grandpa, and were loving every second that they got to spend with him.

Life has been busy over here in Jane&EmmaVille.  We have been busily back to the house hunt, and the girls have been growing in leaps and bounds as we quickly approach their ONE YEAR mark!!!

First and foremost, the twincesses have been giving us a run for our money.  Literally!  They are allllll over the place.  No longer happy in their exersaucers, they now cruise all around the living room, and have both begun pulling their knees up under themselves to crawl, and they get from point A to point B with a quickness.  

They also now pull themselves up to standing every chance they get.  This week, Hershey lowered their crib mattresses all of the way to the lowest setting, which means that I have to actually take my feet off of the floor to reach them if they are backed up against the back of the crib.  But that's better than them falling out of their cribs, which they were close to doing.  We also had to take down their adorable mobiles, which felt like the end of an era.  But they were cruising on over to the mobiles and grabbing the little animals and ripping away at them, and I kept having visions of the mobile flying off of the crib and smashing them in the face.  No mas mobiles.






Jane's top right tooth is all of the way in, and both of Emma's teeth have presented themselves.  Emma blows raspberries and makes stank face, and Janey smacks her lips and babbles up a storm.  I just purchased a good crib rail cover since they are chewing up their future foot boards, and my bestie is giving me her daughter's old cover to save me a couple of beans.  



We have also decided to move Jane and Emma's baptism back.  We are hoping to be able to purchase a home and close before their first birthdays, and so we are going to move their baptism to the end of June so that we can hold a reception and have all of our friends/family there.  Our little group of friends is multiplying by the DAY it feels like, so it is so important to us to have everyone there. 

Speaking of lots of babies, we got to have an awesome play date with baby Olivia yesterday.  We have been working on wearing the girls out, since they are learning new skills every day now, and I've had them out every single day since Saturday.  Saturday my sister-in-law and I took them shopping to buy them some sneaks and then to the diner (which they did GREAT at!); Sunday I took them to a good friend's baby shower (another little girl to add to our group!); Monday we went to look at a house; Tuesday I took them for a little walk to see the ducks and geese at a nearby park.




And yesterday we went for an hour and a half walk with Erin and Olivia.  It was awesome!





This leads me to our next big change:  BED TIME!  Last week, Jane and Emma started waking up 15 minutes earlier every day, until they were waking up at 4:15 a.m.  Part of this I contribute to the teething.  They are like little rabid babies right now.  But you know I was NOT HAVIN THAT ISH, so we are now putting them to bed at 8:00.  Which is a double-edged sword. 

First, I'm so stoked to have the extra hour with them after work.  Before, it felt like I was coming home to feed them, bathe them, and put them to bed.  With the days lasting a little bit longer, it's nice to have that extra hour to get outside with them and see the wonder on their little round faces as they hear a goose honk for the first time.

HOWEVER, I now find myself staying up LATER.  Which is no bueno, considering I still have to get up at 5:45 a.m. to head them off before they wake up leaving myself enough time to get a cup of coffee down my craw.  That's the most important part of my day. 

Today Janey exhibited her knowledge of waving bye-bye, and wowed us all with her hand-clapping trick (video is posted on Facebook).  We have been having so much fun teaching them things and watching how fast they can pick up new skills.  It's unbelievable!



Hope you are all enjoying this B-E-A-YOOOOTIFUL weather that we have been having.  Today was a rainy day, but we always need those April showers to bring May flowers.  And boy, am I ready!  

Bye-bye!

Please don't forget to vote!  xoxo

This week has been yet another one for the books.  Daddy came down with another stomach virus (same strain that MUTATED...ugh!!!), and the girls fought it for about a day and a half, which was fun.  My mom and I spent an entire night giving Pedialyte every 15 minutes for 4 hours until Jane and Emma could hold everything down, and then we gave them 4 whole ounces and put them to bed.  I now live in constant fear of being soaked in throw up every time one of the girls puts something in their mouths.  Awesome.

Some cool stuff happened this week, though.  Now that the virus has cleared the girls' systems, they are acquiring all types of new skills.  The organic puffs that I posted about on my Facebook page were a little hard and terrifying (for me), so I went and got them some Gerber puffs, which have been a big hit.  Emma even learned how to feed them to herself!


We gave them sippy cups for the first time this week.  


They have learned how to pull themselves up to standing, and they are dabbling in standing on their own (which has resulted in a couple of scary crash-landings, but we survived).




This one was taken just prior to Jane falling straight backwards onto her back, and pulling the walker right down on top of her.  I'm now 10 years older after hearing the crash and turning to see her lying under the walker, screaming her little face off.

They have also finally started trying some CRAWLING!  This means more independence for Jane and Emma, and less for Mama and Daddy.  Time to start baby proofing!






What babyproofing methods do you use?  We live in a small apartment with lots of fun corners and fixtures for them to smash their heads on, so I'm trying to figure out exactly how far I have to go and what products work best.

Hopefully we are all over the worst and I'll be able to post more frequently and regularly now.  We got some great weather this weekend, which made me yearn for spring even more than ever!  I am in full-blown spring/viral cleaning mode, and am beginning to purge our apartment to prepare for our biggest news of the year -- we are starting our home search!  I hope that you will all follow along as we search for a home to raise our little family in.

Have a great Monday everyone!  xoxo

Please don't forget to vote by clicking the links below!  Jane and Emma THANK YOU!!

Just when we thought that the girls were all set -- off of the apnea monitors, off of the reflux medication, sleeping through the night, rolling over, sitting up -- dun dun DUUUUNNNNN... enter TEETHING!  Yes, that's right, our little ladies are trying to break their first teeth.  And you know what that means...

A List of PARAPHERNALIA we are PASSIONATE about!

Jane and Emma are miserable.  Absolutely miserable.  Emma has adopted this gutterel, primal screech whenever she doesn't have something in her mouth.  And Jane has all but fallen in love with her pointer and middle fingers on her left hand.  I'm surprised they haven't turned into two little shriveled stumps at the end of her hand by now.