New Baby Pics

Here are a few new baby pics!  I was playing with photoshop and trying to decide on a picture for her birth announcements! There are also a couple fun ones!

Is is a Girl or a Boy???

This is the question I can't wait to find the answer to!  My sister was due 3 weeks after me and she is getting induced tomorrow!  Unlike most of us, she and her husband decided to wait to find out what they were having, which is killing me!!!  I can hardly stand it!  I spoke with her moments ago and asked if they were going to find out the sex on their next child, and she said it had been so much fun not knowing and speculating that they wouldn't find out with the next one either!!! 

My parents, grandparents, Ashlin, and I are driving to San Angelo at 7:00 in the morning to be there for her delivery!  She wants to have me in the room, so Mema and Pepa will stay at her house and take care of baby Ashlin.  I will drive back and forth between her house and the hospital to feed Ashlin!  It should make for an interesting and exhausting day, but it will also be exciting!!! 

The first Two Weeks with Two babies!

The last two weeks have been super busy, but so much fun!  Ashlin is sleeping well!  At night I wake her up to feed her and she goes right back down!  Today we went to the doctor for a weight check and to get Ashlin's eye looked at (she has a clogged tear duct that has caused an eye infection :(  )!  Last week at our one week checkup she had regained her birth weight and was back to weighing 6lb, 8 oz.  This week she weighed 7lb. 8oz!  She gained a whole pound in one week! 

Mary has been a great big sister!  She loves Ashlin, but seems to be a bit frustrated with Kevin and me.  She goes from being very clingy to frustrated because we don't always understand what she is trying to communicate to us!  And boy is she trying to communicate!  She knows so many words, but sometimes we just can't tell what she is trying to say, and her little finger is working overtime pointing to everything!  This morning she went from throwing a fit (didn't want to get dressed) to running back and forth between Kevin and I kissing us on our knees and kissing Ashlin on her head!  Tomorrow I am keeping Mary home from daycare.  She has a doctor appointment with her allergist and I think she needs some good Mommy time!  It will be interesting having both of them home together for the first time by myself!  I know that sounds lame, but I don't know how people with twins do it!!! 

Ashlin in her St. Lukes onesie from cousing Rachel!

Please, just let me sleep!!!

Sisters

Both my babies :) 

First Bath

All Clean!

Meet Ashlin!

At 9:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 4, 2010 we checked into the hospital so that they could induce labor.  I was told that second inductions are usually quick and easy by my doctor, and he was exactly right!  I only had about an hour of painful contractions before they gave me an epidural.  Once I got ready to push, the nurse said lets do a practice push while we wait for Dr. G to arrive.  As soon as I started pushing she told me to stop, that if I pushed anymore, the baby would arrive before the Dr. ... So after waiting for 10 minutes the doctor arrived.  I pushed through four contractions, and on the fifth Ashlin Jane arrived with one easy push! 
Baby Ashlin made her debut into the world on Wednesday, May 5, 2010!  She arrived at 8:34 am weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 19.5 inches long!  I am so lucky and blessed to have had two easy deliveries! 

Wednesday went by in a blur!  We had several visitors including my grandmother, two aunts, and two cousins.  We didn't get any sleep, but thouroughly enjoyed getting to bond with our new daughter.  My parents brought Mary Emma up to meet her new little sis and she wasn't quite sure what to make of her.  I actually think she was more concerned about being in the hospital again, not one of her favorite places (she has been in twice for pneumonia)! Thursday morning we were informed that we could probably go home sometime that day.  Ashlin was in perfect health and feeding fantastically!  About 12:30 we were discharged and we were home by 1:00p.m.

Since we arrived home, Ashlin has been a pure joy!  She rarely fusses, eats great, and is very alert!  She stayed awake for 2 straight hours today!  Mary has also adjusted well to having a baby sister.  She loves patting and kissing Ashlin on the head.  Today she brought Ashlin her blanket, a dolly, and her favorite stuffed animal.  She also walks around saying "baby are you?" (Baby where are you?).  Last night my sister and her husband came in town to meet their new neice.  It was a quick visit because my sister is pregnant and due in two weeks!  We are looking forward to meeting our new neice or nephew (I can't wait to know) soon! 

I keep thinking I need to get ready to go back to work (like I have been on vacation), and then I realize I don't have to be back until August!  I love being a teacher!!!  Almost as much as I love being a Mommy!!! 

It will be hard to top this Mother's Day, I have been blessed with the most beautiful, precious daughters and the most wonderful, supportive husband!  Tomorrow he is going to cook steaks for my mommy and my grandmother! Four generations together!!

Here are some pics from the last several days:

Welcome to the world!!!

Daddy holding Ashlin

Here is your new sister!

Cousin Emily visiting

Ready to go home!

Mary and Ashlin

Baby Update!

I just got back from my 37 week OB appointment, and we have a scheduled induction date!  Unless she decides to make an earlier appearance, Ashlin Jane should be born sometime on May 5!  Also known as Cinco de Mayo, or as Kevin informed me, the anniversary of the death of Bobby Sands, an Irish hunger striker (not quite as happy an occasion, but apparently a well known anniversary in Ireland)! 
We are hoping that Ashlin will at least make it through this weekend and my grandmother's 80th birthday party!  According to the dr. it doesn't look like she will be making an appearance that soon!

Easter at T-Square

We decided at the last minute to go to my Aunt Shirley and Uncle Richard's ranch, T-Square, for the Easter weekend.  We haven't been there with Mary since she was walking, and we knew she would love the outdoors! We were right, she kept saying "outside! outside!" and had a blast running all over the wrap around porch.  The bluebonnets in front of the house were beautiful and made for some great pictures!  Mary also got her first tricycle while we were there and had fun being pushed all around (her feet lack an inch reaching the pedals)!  Here are a few pics from the weekend.

In front of the tank where Daddy caught a great big fish!

Bluebonnets in front of the house

On her tricycle

Looking for Easter eggs

Mary in the bluebonnets

The whole family (Ashlin is hiding in my belly)

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny and Fancy Nancy Birthday Party

We had a super busy day on Saturday! The Lion's Club (Kevin is a member) hosted Breakfast with the Easter Bunny at the mall Saturday morning.  So at 7:15 am we were at the mall eating breakfast and waiting for the big bunny to arrive!  When Mary saw him, her mouth opened really wide and she said, "ooohhhhh!!!!"  She was very fascinated with him, but wasn't too sure about how close she should get.  She waved at him several times, but would shy away if he came too close!  This is as close as she would go! 

They also had a balloon man and a face painter.  We decided not to get our face painted, because we had a birthday party later that day, but we did wait in line for the balloon man.  Here is a picture of Mary with her butterfly!

 

After our breakfast, we went to visit Babo and Nanie (Bo and Janie).  Then we went by my grandparents, Mema and Pepa.  Mary was already exhausted and fell asleep in the car on the way home. Slept through me getting her out of the car, laying her on the couch, giving her a breathing treatment, and moving her to her bedroom!  It was probably a good thing, because she still had a birthday party to go to!

After her nap and lunch, we got ready for our first Fancy Nancy Birthday party!  One of my longest and dearest friends, Christi, has two daughters that have birthdays in April.  Her mother in law is a gourmet cook, and they came up with the most darling party!  They had makeup and fingernail painting for the older girls and a whole tea party set up in the dining room.  Hayley, the oldest, is stunningly beautiful and was dressed to the nines!  Reagan, the younger daughter, is about 6 months older than Mary.  It was so fun to get to see them play together!  For food, they served giant pink marshmallows, fruit, heart shaped sandwiches, mini cupcakes with pink sparkly icing, and of course parfaits (the fancy nancy way of ordering ice cream)! Here are some pics from the party!

Getting ready for the style show!

Dancing

The "big" girls tea party!

The "little" girls tea party!

Yes Mary, there is a little bit of icing on your nose!

This was not one of the mini-cupcakes!  Isn't Hayley gorgeous!!!

It looks like we are praying, but I believe she was dancing!