Three years have almost passed since the girls were born. Life definitely has changed and what a roller coaster it has been! The girls came home just three short days after their birth and the sleepless nights, around the clock feeding, and sixteen diaper changes a day began! To keep our sanity, we feed them at the same time each day- 8, 11, 2, 5 and repeat (doctor's orders). The days seem to have no end and became very monotonous- thankfully, all the hard work paid off! The girls grew so quickly that by 2 months, Maddie was a whooping 12 lbs and Olivia almost 9lbs. I then decided waking them up to eat was NOT necessary.. we continued to feed them around the clock during the day, but let them wake us at night. I truly don't know how I would have survived without the help of our family and my amazing husband! Both sets of parents and my sister frequently stayed and did night feedings to give one of us a break. Todd, who was in grad school and had just started a new job, did every night feeding with me as it was too tough to do it alone (plus I would have never slept!!) He was a trooper!! Around 4 months, we got our official "no more night feedings" and rejoiced in giving an 8 pm bottle and then 5:30 or 6 am bottle : )

I decide after a few months that taking a year off from teaching would be the best choice for our family. I began the journey of a "stay at home mom"! My time at home was full of many "firsts"! Watching the girls grow and grow, sit, crawl, stand, eat solids, giggle and say "ma ma" and "da da". It was amazing and exhausting all at the same time! We were surviving and having some fun along the way : ) Around the girls' 1st birthday, I decided to go back to teaching in the fall. I found an amazing in-home daycare provider for the girls. I spent the next six months enjoying the time I had left at home with them.