life²

i thought i'd talk a little bit about life with cate+lucy.

cate left, lucy right

the twin life if you will.

we are having so much fun. i knew it would be fun. i knew it would be nuts. i knew i would be tired.

but i didn't know how AMAZING it would be.

lucy left, cate right

i also didn't know how many people stop and comment or point as they encounter us.

i LOVE that part. i'm a total people person and i love when people ask questions about my girls or want to say hi.

it's funny b/c i know so many people who have twins, but it's still definitely something that people find really miraculous and crazy when they meet you.

it makes me laugh to listen when we walk by groups of people. oh look! TWINS! or, are there TWO? look there are TWO!!!

hahahaha. it makes me giggle.

we still get plenty of odd comments, but i've found the perfect answer.

to the guy that told me he'd "kill himself" if he was me, a big old smile and "why???" totally did the trick. i've never seen someone hem and haw so much.

the "why smile" also works for "oh poor you", etc. it's genius i tell you.

they are looking SO much more alike as the days pass.

especially since lucy has started losing her hair and cate has gained more fuzz.

lucy left, cate right

they both eat really well, smile lots, are very active,

and sleep through the night.

they both stretch the same way, sneeze at the same time, need to be burped around the same time, laugh the same, etc.

but they are VERY different in some ways.

cate is tenderhearted and a bit of a crybaby. she cries at the drop of a hat about the silliest things.

lucy left,cate right

the funniest part is, she often gets lucy going too. lalalalala, lucy will be just fine and then BOOM cate starts crying,

so lucy gets the "sad face crumble" too and starts bawling.

cate is not much for snuggling, and lucy is a snugglebug.

lucy sleeps longer and harder than cate.

cate's the squawker, and lucy is more chill.

and clearly??

lucy is the one with the more chub.

cate left, lucy right

hahahahahahah! she's got thighs for days. and looks like a sumo baby in this picture.

i love fat babies. they=happy babies.

i'm doing great.

having the babies on the exact same schedule really works.

i've come to realize that though i feel like i've got it all covered, lots of little things get forgotten.

luckily, they are things that aren't crucial or important.

i laughed yesterday b/c i realized that all my words with friends games had expired. i also realized that i had to water the bouganvillea STAT. texts rarely get returned, and FB messages never ever get returned.

somethings got to go and those are the things that go. i figure if i keep forgetting about them, they can't be super important.

HA!

so if you are waiting on a FB message return from me, maybe email me. i can't forget about things if they are sitting right there in my inbox. heehheheh!!

so, simply put,

life is good. and FUN. i'm learning so much about having two babies. it's such a special blessing!

i hope your monday is beautiful.

xoxo

s

Comments

[melissa mcgregor]

Your girls just make me want to keep having babies. They are absolutely beautiful. I love how you cherish every moment, both the great and the difficult. Inspiring!

[Asha]

How could someone say "poor you" or "i'd kill myself"??? Because when I see twins, I ohh and aww and say how I wished I had twins!!
Your girls have the sweetest faces!

[Alyssa]

Before, I didn't think they looked similar, now I think they look SO similar! ( I can't tell them apart! :) )

[revlie]

I empathise with the chub. Wholly.

[TatumW]

oh gosh...the girlies are just too too cute...makes me clucky (and I aready have 4)...must.look.away.now! I so get the never returning fb messages thing...it's hard to get an email reply out of me even unless it rocks into my inbox when I'm in the answering emails frame of mind. Tatum xx

[Mary Jo]

I agree that the way to handle the "negative" comments is to answer with sunshine. I'm thinking that is really the best way to go.
I had a man say something totally inappropriate to me at the grocery store when my daughter was "lost" (meaning out of my sight and I had that little moment of panic) for a total of 3 minutes.
He said I was a terrible mom and shouldn't have children if I couldn't take care of them. Seriously crazy.
Anyway, just smiled and said, Have a nice day! I will :)
People don't know how to take it sometimes :)

The girls are absolutely darling :)

[Linda E]

Our precious baby girls are beautiful! Pat yourself on the back, Stephanie. Those chubby cheeks and beautiful smiles are all your doing!!! As for negative comments, you have mastered the perfect response. My son is a red head and my husband and I have brown hair. Clearly, recessive genes were working overtime. People used to ask me, " Where did he get his red hair? The mailman?" My response was, "No, the UPS man. He's much cuter!"

[michelle]

Can I have one of them, please? I don't even mind which one!

[Lyndsay]

Oooooh! That first pic is just THE CUTEST!

[stephanie p]

all of your girls are beautiful and i admire your ability to keep it all together. i have to tell ya, i could relate to the guy that said "he would kill himself." and as far as why... there's probably no real "valid" reason- but i just think it would be way more than i could handle. so to me, you pretty much rock & i envy your perspective!

[Stephanie Howell]

well hopefully you would phrase it in a kinder way. :) i totally get people thinking it would be a lot to handle!

[Amanda]

love these pics! such sweet chunky babes.

God never gives you more than you can handle :)

[MilliD]

Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!!! You SO make me want to have another baby with those pictures!! The faces, (especially sad crumble - bahahahahahaha!), the chub, the smiles, I could so go there! The problem? I'm 48 (no menopause yet, but like I said, I'm 48) and my youngest is 17 years old. Uh, no can do on the baby thing!

Soooo....I guess that leaves me to smile, laugh out loud, and soak up every little beautiful thing about your beautiful babies (and Bigs, too, of course)! :-D

[marcy]

You are a lucky girl! They're so adorable!

[Danielle]

These photos are absolutely adorable! Gosh, they are cute! Can't wait to see them scrapped a la "Steph" style! I admire your writing abilities so much too. What a cute post! :)
Danielle

[Jill]

I looked at the first pic and thought: they look so much alike, they couldn't have changed that much. . .I must be going crazy because I used to think it was easy to tell the difference! Really glad you mentioned they're looking more alike.

[Annie]

Just so precious and warms my heart. I love how much you love your children. I also love how much you share with us! Thank you!! Enjoy. :-)

[marlene gibson]

Whenever I bump into someone who has twins AND bigs, I always try and talk to the bigs first 'cause I sort of feel like they get overlooked sometimes with the specialness of twins. Not by the parents of course, but just with random folks :)

[k8]

they are just beyond beautiful........lucky you!

k8

[Pat]

Precious!

[Becca]

You are so right about twins. My sister has 20yr. old twin daughters, a good friend has 20yr. old twin sons and a very good friend, a twin herself is expecting twin grandsons this summer. We all still get excited when we see twins or someone has a story about twins. This just tickles me!

[SAMANTHA]

They look more and more alike everytime you post pictures. They're beautiful.

[Jenni Hufford]

lucy's sad face crumble kills me!!! they are too precious. indeed, such a blessing!!! xo

[Jennifer]

Scrumptious!
Thanks for sharing those photos. I am grinning ear-to-ear.

[NancyD]

Thanks for the delicious photos! What I love is that when people find out I'm a twin, it makes them so HAPPY. It's a small but wonderful thing that gives people joy.

[sarah savage]

I'm really starting to think you've got a set of identicals on your hands :) Do you ever think about/plan to get them tested to find out? I think the curiosity would get the best of me!

As for comparing them, it was the first thing our pedi told us NOT to do, lol. But, it's so hard NOT to! Especially as first time parents. Like Madison will not finish any of her bottles for a couple days, and I'll think, "what's wrong with her? Something's wrong...Ryan is eating all of his bottles, something has to be wrong"...and I've totally gotten better about this, but it is so hard. But, I do love to compare the personalities...that's the fun part...esp. when they are so different! We have a "sensitive" baby and a "serious" baby, too....and I LOVE that my boy is the sensitive one...total momma's boy ;) So happy to see how much you're enjoying it...it's a sweet ride :)

[Jennifer Camplin]

happy babies!!!

love first pix!!

so happy you have camera back.. to play with taking wonderful pictures..

[pegg]

Adorable adorable adorable!! You can really see your other daughters in their faces. Oh it must be sooo fun! I love chubby babies too - they are supposed to be that way right???? :)

[Heather V]

We just found out this morning that my boyfriend's sister will be having twin boys! Your post made me even more excited and happy that we will have twins in our lives. Have a great week!

[Ilona]

your post & the girls so adorable! My son (he's 10 and so super sweet) loves to point out babies to me all the time (he knows I am crazy for babies!) and I love when I spot twins to show him, we both think that twins are amazing!

[Marti Richards]

Seriously, those pictures give me baby fever! They are so cute!!!!! Thank you for sharing with us!

[Janet and Lisa]

They Are just adorable and they are blessed to have you and J as parents and of course Harper and Sadie to guide them along.
Love all the cute pictures of them.

[Danielle (vtpuggirl)]

Those are the cutest pictures ever! Cute cute babies. Stopped by to say thank you for your comment on my page at SC with the butterfly. Hugs!

[Carollee]

I love seeing pictures of the twins, I just want to reach through my computer and pinch their sweet little chubby cheeks!!!!! Its seems like just yeaster you were posting about cite maternity dresses and now they are here and growing up so fast. Where does the time go? They are so precious.

[Stacey]

so cute!!

[Carrielyn]

So cute!

[Keshet]

Oh, they are too adorable!! Love this post:)

[jacque]

They are just gorgeous girls!!!!

[Emily]

Love this post! I have a friend that, like you, has 4 girls (the youngest 2 are twins. SHe tired of peoples looks and rude comments, so now when someone asks " Are all of those girls YOURS?" She smiles and says " all but the youngest twin"! HA! I stops people in their tracks everytime! Thought you might add that one to your list of comebacks! Enjoy your blessings!

[Sandy]

Hi Stephanie:)
All your girls are beautiful! I can see Harper in the twins:) They are sooooo adorable.
I can't believe how big they are getting in a few short months. You are amazing mother and I love reading your blog.
I hope you, Jimmy, Harper, Sadie, Lucy and Cate have a great week.
Thanks for sharing.
Sandy

[Jill Sprott]

OH, my aching ovaries.

[kim S.]

Now, if THAT didn't make me want to have more babies...two of them, like right now!! They really are starting to look so much alike. Absolutely precious. God bless all of you.

[Katie Rose]

They are soooooo adorable!!

[Lara]

OMG they are SO cute and chubby!! I loved when my babies were chubby, it does = HAPPY!!!!! Keep on Keeping on Stephanie!! Keep smiling, poo on those anti children people...we do!! We have 4 and I get it all the time! I wouldn't have it any other way though!

[Kathy Martin]

So darling! I love Cate's cry baby face!

[k Everett]

I love following your blog and seeing how you and the twins are doing. It's a good marker for me. My twin boys are almost 4 weeks. I read your post from about the same time your twins were that age. I don't know how you accomplished as much as you did!
I love your heart and it inspires me!

[Corey Brock]

So sweet! You are truly blessed...double time! ;-)

[Tina]

cate sad face. classic.
your babes are getting so chunky..it's harder to tell them apart as they get older. so cute.

[Ginny]

Adorable, sweet, sweet babies! Next time answer the comments with I'm really so lucky to be their mother.

[Lisa Dickinson]

you = amazing. and those baby fat rolls SLAY me. and make me want to smooch them all over. :)

[Jodi Hoksbergen Murphy]

2 things...
1) you know I love me some chubby babies since I grow them huge! I want to kiss the heck out of those rolls! :)
and 2) Collin wants to know if Cate and Lucy plan on being bridesmaids when Wyatt and Caden marry Harper and Sadie? :) I think Collin has baby crushes on all your girls! He says he is SO happy we have boys, but I know he would take one of these cuteys any day! :)

[Christine Campbell]

Oh, I just want to squish those cheeks!!! funny how I'm proud of 'myself' that I can still tell them apart. lol. they are soo flippin cute!! All of these beginning stages are soo fun to watch too, all the changes, and newness for them. So amazing!!
You are amazing!!!

[Stephanie Howell]

They will totally be bridesmaids. Or maybe you could have boy twins to even it out. Hmmmm? Hahaha

Sent from my iPhone

[Leslie]

oh my goodness!! Those are the cutest !! I love how in the first photo Lucy is totally giving a look that reminds me of Sadie. :)

[AnitaP]

They are SO cute! Love the expressions on both of them in the first picture. I just want to snuggle up with both of them...they're absolutely adorable!

[Kristin]

I loved your post... I have twins as well and I know exactly what you mean about being a magnet for attention! I could not go anywhere without being stopped at least once :) Mine will be 5 soon and they have just started to realize that they are "twins" and they love to tell people. Enjoy your two little miracles :)

[Michelle]

Awww... I love the pic with Cate's pouty lip!!! Those little pouty pusses get me every time!!! Makes me want to pick her up and hug her!!! Gosh, they really are looking more and more alike!!! So, so adorable!! All four of them. Just like MilliD said... it goes for me too. You make me wish I could have another one!! I miss my babies!!! Ben is starting to pout, something he never did before. It is SO cute! Even if he is 4. He even gets the tears flowing and tells me I broke his heart.

[ScrappinA]

ohhhhh they are too adorable. their crumble faces!!! that's the saddest face in the world. lol.

[melbrewin]

love these photos. They are just gorgeous. Makes me want to climb through and kiss their chubbyness. Makes me miss when my littlies were little!!!

You are awesome.

Mel xx

[Laney]

Love this post, it makes me feel all fuzzy and warm inside!