Pics by popular demand!

I am just posting pics!

Paul andCorinne hanging out on the couch. Donovan in his bouncy seat.

The boys about to eat some rice cereal.

Drew is all smiles!

Babytime!

Corinne posing with her princess picture.

So the boys are 4 months old now, and we can't believe it! At their dr. appointment, Donovan weighs almost 15 lbs and Drew weighs almost 14 lbs! So they are big boys. It is hard to believe since they started out so tiny in this world. They have little leg rolls and arm rolls and it is so cute!

They had a bunch of vaccinations in the appointment and they didn't really like those. As for new activities, they are rolling over to their side really consistently. They still have pretty wobbly heads but they are getting stronger each day.

Corinne is still a great big sister and likes to entertain them all the time, even though we have to watch her "entertaining" of them. It is fun watching all 3 of them interact, and I can't wait until the boys figure out the other one is around!

Drew sitting in the boppy. He is kind of leaning.

Donovan playing on his matt.

kiddieland...

Well, sorry once again it has taken me forever to update this, but as usual things are a little crazy, but in a good way. The boys continue to grow and are getting so big! Corinne is really into Spongebob, so that is her new hobby. She especially likes Gary, for those of you that watch it. I will have to find a toy one for her.

Eating and sleeping are pretty much the same around here. Just when we think we have turned a corner with sleep, the next night is bad again. We think tonight we are dropping the swaddles cold turkey. We are doing it for their naps right now and the boys seemed to like to put them selves to sleep by sucking on their fists, which is there new thing. Even though at this point I think Paul and I could start a professional swaddling business, they are still managing to shimmy out of them, and we don't know if this is affecting their sleep. Since we are tired and desperate,we will try it tonight. Wish us luck!

Last weekend Corinne and I went to a wedding, and she had a lot of fun. I need to upload pics so I will do that soon. She was a great "date", even though most dates wouldn't want to be carried around everywhere they went. She loves to get dressed up and she even wore pearls!

I will post some pics later and do a better job of updating this!

The sleep deprivation is getting to us...

Paul and the family at the zoo! Notice our gigantic stroller....

So if I don't post a lot of updates it's because things are so crazy around here that I literally don't have time. Which is probably why I have laundry to do, thank you notes I still need to write (sorry everybody), and baby books to read that I never seem to have time for.

The good news is that Corinne and the boys are all doing well. The bad news is we don't seem to be making much progress on sleep. We kind of keep waiting to turn the corner and not much is happening. I know that we just have to hang in there and this time will pass, but right now we are just tired! They are on a great schedule with at the babysitter and we are grateful for that. It is hard to know what to expect from them because they have an "adjusted" age of only 8 weeks, so they are sleeping well for 8 week olds. So anyways, let's just say that I now am a coffee drinker.

The boys had their 3 month pics on Sat that I will post later, they turned out really cute. As for other updates, Corinne is hilarious. If we are eating something she wants, she will come up and say "I can have some of that", more of a statement. She says a lot of funny things that I need to start righting down.

Pics!!!

So I am officially a blogging slacker. But I finally have uploaded some pics! The kids are doing great. The boys get cuter and cuter and are starting to have pretty good head control. They are even starting to sit in their bumbo seat for small periods of time. They definitely have a fussy time in the early even, and we have times where we struggle to entertain them.

Sleeping is about the same with them. Every time I think we are in a pattern they switch it up on me. Drew seems to be the cuddlier of the two. He always wakes up an hour before Donovan in the morning and sleeps on one of us until his brother wakes up. Sometimes we think the boys look so completely different that they can't be identical, and sometimes I get them confused! It is very crazy. So onto the pics:

Corinne cramming herself into the bumbo seat!
The boys all dressed up and no where to go! Drew is on the left, Donovan on the right.

Corinne giving Drew (I think it's Drew) a kiss.

10 weeks today!

So the boys are 10 weeks today, and it has gone by pretty fast! Here is what they are up to:

-They are now eating more consistently 4 ounces at a time, which is a big deal for them.

-Drew rolled over from his stomach to his back yesterday, which Donovan has been doing for 6 weeks, so he finally caught up!

-My babysitter said Donovan laughed yesterday. Of course I had to miss that. :(

-The boys are going to sleep at 7 and then up to eat around 11, then 3, then 6. I am glad they are pretty consistent but I am looking forward to them dropping one of these feedings. Corinne just started dropping one feeding without help when she was a baby, so I am hoping these guys do the same.

I really really need to take and upload new pics. Things have been busy around here. On Thursday night it was just me and the boys since Paul had an overnight business trip. It was definitely a lot to have everyone, but we did it. Corinne helped, and even helped feed her brother with me! She is a big help, although I have to keep an eye on her "helping" sometimes.

This pic is about 2 weeks old, like I said I need to take new pics!

Back to Work!

On Wednesday I officially went back to work. I have mixed feelings about going back and being away from the boys, but it is also nice being able to eat lunch without interruption! Plus we are lucky to have a great babysitter that does a great job with all our kids.

The boys also celebrated their 9 week birthday on Friday. It has really gone by fast! Paul and I took all the kids to the mall yesterday and they were great. Just when we got our confidence up we took all 3 to Target, Drew cried the entire time for no apparent reason other than he didn't want to be at Target. So that was a fast trip.

The boys are up around every 3 hours in the evening still. Our new goal is to get them to take naps in their cribs instead of their bouncy seats or on us. I will keep everyone posted on how this goes.


Some pics: Corinne after a bath....

Donovan and Drew after their bath. In most of our pics, you will notice that Drew is in blue. This is so our babysitter can tell them apart!

Two months stats!

Corinne entertaining her brothers. After a bath....I think they look really identical in this pic.

Me trying to catch a smile from one of the boys.....

The boys turned 2 months last Friday. They had a good doc appointment. Donovan was 9lbs 15 oz and 22 3/4 inches tall, Drew was 9lbs 4 oz and 22 inches tall. They got all their shots too and handled them as well as to be expected.

I go back to work on Wednesday which should be interesting!

Finally some pics!

I found my camera, the cord, and my computer, so here are some pics!

Here is Donovan, our friend's Tracy and Nick's baby Andre (7 months) and Drew. Here is Donovan looking cute and just kind of staring into space...

Here is Drew in his bouncy seat. He can fall asleep in the craziest positions. Here he is with his arms straight out sleeping.

And here is the same pic as up top, but Donovan crying.

And finally, I will end this with something funny Corinne said.

Corinne: I went fishing.

Me: Did you catch a fish?

Corinne: No, I caught a worm!

Sorry the lack of updates!

This is Drew in his blanket from Catherine!

I have been in Michigan for the last week since Paul had to go out of town. It was so great to have help for a week, I feel so lucky! I even got to go to a movie and out for drinks with my sister in law, which was totally fun!

The boys are doing great. I have been taking pics but apparently having my camera, the cord, and my laptop all in the same place at the same time has become some sort of black hole in my house. So, sorry for the lack of pics.

The boys are still up at night every 2-3 hours. It's still exhausting, especially since I go back to work next week. However, now they are both smiling on occasion which makes the tiredness all worth it! They kind of switch off daily on who is the crankier one that day. Our 2 month doctors appointment is this Friday and I can't wait to see how much they weigh. They are finally out of most of their newborn clothes and are wearing their 3 months! I think Corinne was in her 3-6 month at this point so it's pretty crazy.

Corinne is doing well and had fun at "Papa's house". She likes to say that things are "pretty cool" and is now 99% potty trained! It is great.

It's Official...

We got the pathology report back...they boys are identical! It is really neat to have it confirmed. Identical twins are pretty rare and only 3 out of 1,000 births!

Just some identical facts: identical twins happen when a fertilized egg splits into two, while fraternal are when two eggs are fertilized. Identical twins have the same dna, fingerprints, everything! They do not run in families because it is just a random act of nature.

I know some people never find out if their twins are identical, so I feel lucky to know. And while I can easily tell them apart now, I still get tripped up now (like when they are in their car seats and I can't see Drew's crazy hair, which is how I tell them apart usually).

Anyways, no pics today. I am slacking this week.

Well, it has been a crazy last week and a half. The whole family went up to Paul's parents lakehouse for Memorial day. Getting up there was interesting....I'm sure most people can picture nothing more fun than being in a car with a 2 year old, 2 5-week olds, and a dog who gets car sick, for a 6 hour trip. But we made it! Paul and I stopped at McDonald's and we were like machines...feeding all the kiddies and then going through the drive through for ourselves. Corinne was great and so were the boys, who slept most of the time. We weren't sure what to expect since we fondly recall a trip when Corinne was about 6 months old where she cried for 2 hours straight in a car trip!

The lakehouse was very fun and we were so lucky to have help from "Pamma", "Papa", and Aunti. The neighbors came by and all held the babies too. The boys got held most of the time we were there! Paul's parents even babysat one night and we went out for some much needed cocktails. Good times!

Corinne had a blast swimming in the lake with Paul, fishing, and just running around. She is a great big sister and loves her brothers so much. Here she is looking silly with them!

We are back to reality now and back at home. I am trying to get the boys on some sort of schedule, but that might be wishful thinking since they are still so young. I can't believe I go back to work in 3 weeks!

Here is Donovan posing with some hats I got them. He is pretty gangsta..holla.

First day on my own!

So today was the first day I was officially "on my own"...all of our help has left and Paul was working all day. It was a really interesting day, and it was harder than I thought it would be! Both babies wanted to eat around the same time, every time...thank goodness for Boppy pillows. All of a sudden it was 3pm and the day had flown by. We did manage to go for a walk to the Walgreens which I'm sure was very exciting for everyone. They were kind of fussy and in a sleep deprived stupor I only brought one pacifier. I had to keep switching it between them....I figure they share enough germs to begin with.

Donovan also rolled over again before his bath, so I am guessing the doctor's appointment was not a fluke! Apparently he only does it when he is extremely angry...because during his normal tummy time he just lays there like a sack of potatoes.

Corinne continues to be a great big sister to her brothers, and loves to give them lots of kisses. Here she is patting one of them on the head.

One Month Appointment!

The boys are one month old today! I can't believe how fast this has gone by. We had our one month doctors appointment today. The boys are doing great! They have gained 2 lbs in the last month, which is great since the doctors said they only expect them to gain 1 lb in their first month. Donovan now weighs 7 lbs 11 oz and Drew is 7lbs 2oz. I am so happy that they have gained weight, and now they are the size of most newborns. The doctor also said they don't need to eat every 2 hours like they have been hustling me into doing, so we are going to work on getting them to eat every 3 hours. I'm sure this will be easier said than done.

Donovan also randomly rolled over for the first time in his doctor appointment! So he was totally showing off, and I couldn't believe how strong he is!

Now for some pictures....

Here is "Pamma" with one of the boys....

Me with Drew. He looked like a little old man in this outfit, but I really wanted to put some pants on him.

Drew before our doctor appointment today, just wide awake and ready to go!

Both of the boys before we left in their Boppy seats. They wore coordinating outfits. And looked very stylish if I do say so myself.

Twin time.

Well, things continue to be busy. "Texas papa" has returned to Texas and "Pamma" from Michigan is here this week to help. With Paul gone all week on business, we will be very busy here! The boys are eating more now in the last three days...but still like to get up every two hours at night. We are hoping they start sleeping a little bit longer soon!

Here is Corinne dancing for the camera...

Here is Drew in his swing...he looks like he is parachuting or something.

We also went to the grocery store with the babies today. Someone asked if they were boy/ girl identical twins. I was too tired to explain the whole biology thing and how that is impossible to her. And it also made me wonder which one looks girlie since they look exactly alike!

More pics!

Today I went for a long walk with just me and the boys. It was awesome to get out of my house, and luckily it was a really nice day here. We went to the fruit market by our house...and people were very interested when they noticed I was walking around with twins. I did here someone an aisle over say to their kid, "twins, I feel sorry for her." I wanted to yell that I could still hear her...

I also recently read a baby book that suggests that babies should eat and then have some sort of activity period before sleeping. The only problem is that they don't really suggest what sort of activity I should be doing with them. I mean, they are almost 3 weeks old, they don't really have a lot of hobbies yet. So, this is what I tried...laying them on a blanket. As you can see, Drew was pretty into it but Donovan was not feeling it. If anyone has any baby activity suggestions, I am all ears.

Tummy time.

The doctor said at our last visit we should start tummy time. So here we go....as you can tell they are extremely active during it. Below is Donovan really working it out. And Drew also enjoying his tummy time.....

Some how the days fly by...even though at the end of each day I'm not quite sure what I accomplished. Corinne wanted me to take some pictures of her...she posed for a few of them. This one she is looking really serious. She loves the camera!

Bath time and Boppy time!

We are busy and sleep deprived here at the Mitchell household. The boys are awake a lot more of the time and it is so neat to see them looking all around. Above is Donovan chillin' on his boppy pillow. They are still up every two hours ready to eat which is a bit exhausting!

We also gave them their first bath (until now they get a sponge bath). They didn't hate it as much as we thought they would and only screamed 80% of the time. Corinne was very eager to help and did a great job with them.

The boys, myself, and "Texas Papa" also took them for a long walk around our hood in our stroller that is the size of a small SUV. I feel a little bit like a crazy baby lady walking around with it. All in all we had a busy day and here's hoping they are tired tonight. Whoever came up with the expression "sleep like a baby" didn't hang out in our house.

Two weeks old!

So the twins are officially 2 weeks old today! They are both doing great and already have their little personalities. Drew likes to be cuddled and held, and Donovan is content to just hang out most of the time, unless it is time to eat.

Corinne is doing a great job as a big sister and loves to kiss her brothers, although sometimes she is a slightly aggressive kisser, so we have to watch her. Grandma "Mimi" from Texas left yesterday and "Texas Papa" arrived to stay with us until next Saturday. We are lucky to have the help since it really does take a village with all these kids!

We are starting a blog! I am so modern.

That's right, I am totally blogging now. I thought it would be a good place to update with pics, updates on the kiddies, etc, even though there will probably be like 5 people who actually read it.

So to start off with my first post, I will introduce our latest editions. Donovan James and Andrew "Drew" Michael were born on April 17th, 2009. Donovan weighed 5lbs, 8.2 oz and was 18 inches long. Drew was the peanut and was 4 lbs, 15 oz and was 17 1/2 inches. While we don't know if they are identical yet, we are starting to suspect that they are. Drew has caught up to his brother's size in the last week and now we just aren't so sure.

Corinne is doing well and isn't really sure what is up with the two random babies that have shown up in her house. She likes to give them the occasional pat or semi-aggressive kiss, but otherwise pretty much ignores them.