Stephanie Howell

78 days old.

how is that right? how does it go so quickly?

they are smiling, laughing.

sleeping through the night some nights

they are staying awake for longer stretches of time.

cooing, really looking at us.

holding their heads up. trying to roll.

they make us so happy.

and so tired.

and so excited to see what the future holds.

i had NO idea that having twins was going to be so fun. and so different. and so interesting to people.

we get stopped everywhere we go. i love that.

i love them. i love each of them so much and so strongly. and in different ways.

they are so beautiful.

how is it that the heart has the capacity to love so much?i thought i'd have to divide my love by four. but instead it's multiplied four times.

thank you lord, how could i ask for more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this and that thursday

first, i want to share our announcement for cate and lucy. my beautiful friend lisa dickinson made these as a gift for me. she is so talented, and these are so very beautiful!

since i can't send one to each and every one of you (and i totally would if i could), i wanted to share it here.

thanks again to jill for the gorgeous photo.

 

 

and i'm thinking about making thursdays regular video days. because they make me laugh. and hopefully they will make you laugh, too.

this one is one of my all.time.favorites.

i swear, i laugh until i cry every time i watch it.

I'M OKAY!

cuz she FWEAKS me out!

TOOOOLLD YOU!

WHAT HAPPENED?

i also consider it not my finest moment as a mother that i don't even ask her if she was okay until the very end.

too busy laughing. heeeeee!

Untitled from stephanie howell on Vimeo.

 

happy thursday everyone!! xxo

 

 

 

 

2 months old

well, almost. they will be on the 24th.

they are smiling all the time now. and it makes me yelp with excitement every single time. it never gets old.

lucy is holding her head up like a champ.

cate? not so much. but to be fair, her cranium is way larger. HEE!

not sure of their weights, but their checkup is next week. they are getting so big.

they really are such good babies. they eat well, sleep well, and are starting to get on a routine.

cate always squawks at us to let us know she wants to be held.

lucy, on the other hand, is content to be put in the swing and fall asleep on her own.

that's not to say she doesn't LOVE a good daddy snuggle.

lucy is more the daddy's girl. i think cate prefers to eat from mommy instead of a bottle, and to be held by her mama as well. it's hard to ever get her to let me put her down. she's my sweet mommy's girl.

lucy eats so much more/faster than her sister. it takes cate SO long to finish a bottle. ridiculously long.

lucy sleeps longer...i think because she is bigger and eats more. cate is usually the one waking both of them up at night.

c+l are both sleeping from about 9 or ten until 2 or 3 am. This has been SO appreciated by mama!

i can't believe they've been in this world for 2 months.

they are so beautiful, sweet, and precious to me!

happy saturday!

xxo

s

 

 

six weeks

 

 

 

 

lucy:

 

 

 

 

 

cate:

 

yes i'm reusing this one b/c i LOVe it:

 

 

i think we are having a growth spurt. eating ALL the time, grumpy/cranky.

the other night we slept FIVE hours in a row. when mommy woke up she felt like a new woman! she said her eye finally stopped twitching and she could finish a sentence! (whatever that means!)

we like to scream really loudly at the same time when mommy is driving. or when we are in the checkout line at babies r us.

mommy had 35 dollars in toys r us rewards and daddy isn't around, so she had to go use them for diapers, etc. we screamed all the way through the store. mommy was sweating LOTS and looked like she was having a mini nervous breakdown. plus side? everyone felt sorry for her and helped her. :)

i (cate) weigh over six pounds.

i (lucy) weigh over seven pounds.

we are masters of busting out of the swaddle. but if we are NOT swaddled we smack ourselves (or each other) in the face with our hands and will not sleep for longer than 5 minutes at a time. it's time for mommy to invest in a miracle blanket. or two.

we love bath time. we scream, but when mama pours the water on us we LOVE it.

newborn diapers fit us perfectly right now.

we are starting to smile and make kiiiind of cooing noises.

happy wednesday!

xoxo

 

 

five weeks

five weeks? how is it possible that these little ones have been here for five weeks?

i feel like it was five SECONDS ago that i was waiting for them to come!

they are so so cute and funny. it makes me laugh that they always have a startled look on their little faces.

like they are saying "WHAT???" "What are you looking at mama?"

speaking of faces, please look at lucy's here. HAAAAAAAA!

oh my gosh, i can't stop laughing at it. bless her heart.

 

miss cate

catie

catie lou who

cate the great (some of the bigs names for her) is growing bigger by the moment. those chicken legs are less scrawny and those cheeks are filling out. the eyebrows are so serious. always.

very grumpy lately. always squawking at me and letting me know she is not happy at me.

i think she's jealous of her sister's hair.  teeeheeeeeee.

 

miss lucy

lucy claire

lucy goosy

lucy loo

spits up lots. rocks the faux hawk b/c i swear her hair is greasy about 2.5 seconds after we wash it.

is very serious when she eats. balled fists, intense stare.

can fuss at me but the MOMENT her daddy holds her she quiets. i call him the baby whisperer. he's also the baby burper. so jealous. :)

 

we are doing well. still learning. but doing well. survival mode and all that. as evidenced by the photo below:

one more thing, i finished a layout early this morning that has been coming together in bits and pieces for a week or so.

i am SO proud of myself for using this stamp. i've loved it forever and never had the nerve to use it.

 

happy wednesday, friends!

xxo

hi.

what?

what are you looking at?

before you ask, yes we are twins.

everybody asks everywhere we go!

did you know that we cry in sync? i mean, exactly at the same time? it's like surround sound.

 

the way that people tell us apart is that i (cate) am smaller.

and i (lucy) have way more hair.

people like to ask if we are identical, the answer is we don't know.

when we were in my mommy's tummy we shared one placenta, which can be an indicator of identical twins. but it can also mean that we are fraternal, and our placentas simply fused.

the only way to know for sure is a DNA test.

sometimes we look EXACTLY alike,

sometimes we look nothing alike.

it's hard to tell because i (cate) am SO much smaller.

 

we have the same clefts in our chins,

the same angel's kisses (birthmarks) above the same eye.

we have the same ears and belly buttons that look like they are going to be outies.

 

we don't really like to snuggle yet. we suck on eachother's noses and heads and claw eachother (spazzy arm movements+sharp baby fingernails aka talons).

 

we eat at the same time, pause eating at the same time, and even poop at the same time!!

when one of us wakes up from a nap, the other always stirs.

 

i (lucy) like to make the dr.evil pinky

ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARSSSSSSSSS!!!

i also look EXACTLY...i mean exactly like harper looked as a newborn.

(evil finger tap)

i (cate) look a lot like daddy. he even jokes that i have his hairline. ehehheheheh!

 

we love it here in the big world,

even though our sister sadie keeps aggresively trying to shove binkies in our mouths, and has a bad habit of doing this while we are trying to have a peaceful meal:

and we love our biggest sister harper, too.

life is good.

thanks nonna for the adorable pajamas and thanks to auntie shara for the GORGEOUS quilt!!

p.s. did you hear about pantone's color of the year for 2011?

pink. we agree with that choice here at the howell household!!!

xoxo,

s,h,s,c,and l

 

My cup runneth over

My heart is so so full today. And I can't think of a better day to welcome these beautiful girls into our family. Thankful doesn't even begin to cover it!!

Introducing Lucy Claire Howell (to right in photo)
6 lbs 4 oz
Born at 6:42 pm

And

Catherine "Cate" Bennett Howell
4 lbs 12 oz
Born at 6:48 pm

No c-section necessary and that's another thing I'm so grateful for.

We are all cozy in the mother/baby unit, all healthy, all deliriously happy.

Tomorrow the bigs meet the littlest, and I just know it will be a beautiful sight to behold. And will also probably include some classic one- liners, knowing miss h.

Thank you all so much for your prayers, love, and friendship!!

Happy, happy thanksgiving!!!!
Xoxo

36 weeks

* i look like i'm smuggling a bouncie castle under my dress

* when the lady at WalMart said "YOU ARE HUGE!!!" the other day, i briefly debated saying "and you are rude...at least my problem will be remedied in a few weeks!!" but i didn't. i just smiled.

* not sleeping at all. pretty big braxton hicks every night.

*taking LOTS of baths. LOTS. the water bill will be interesting. HEE!

*working on not being so grumpy. remembering that these babies will come when THEY are ready. not when I am ready.

*feeling so sad that i can't hold my girls really at all any more. i can't pick them up and there's no room left in my lap!

*watching modern family season one on dvd

*reading and resting lots

*i had a complete nervous breakdown tonight (ugly cry and all) b/c i couldn't get the dinner i was trying to eat to my mouth. i literally could NOT get it over my belly. i dropped the bite a few times and then had a meltdown. feeling much better now, actually. it was ridiculous. i was laughing at myself as i was crying. hahahaha!

*so happy with the nursery, my mom worked hard on it today and it's precious.

*listening to lots of cee lo green

*enjoying the time that is left with our family of four. remembering to be grateful, not grumpy. trying my hardest not to worry. it's all in God's hands!

patiently waiting

to kiss these sweet toes.

to smell that beautiful new baby smell.

to see clenched fists and bent legs,

to hear wails and mewling cries,

tiny fingers and toes,

heads of hair.

waiting to meet them.

to hold them. to feed them. to swaddle them, spend sleepless nights with them.

to introduce them to their big sisters.

the other day, a lab tech was drawing my  blood and asked me what i was having. the girls and j were with me.

i said two more girls. she said "oooohhhhh" and harper said "i KNOW!! isn't it WONDERFUL????".

sigh. i love that girl.i was SO proud of her in that moment!

at the doctor several days ago i was 3 cm. i've had a night full of contractions since and sporadic day contractions...so it's only a matter of time.

my mom comes back tonight just in case.

it could be tomorrow, could be a couple more weeks.

but i'm ready.

and patiently waiting.

xoxo

s

i am also so very happy and excited for my sweet friend tina as she awaits the LONG anticipated birth of her first son, tyler. maybe our babies will share birthdays???? :)

 

(nearly) 35 weeks

 

 

black is my best friend right now.

tunics.

leggings.

my size ll/12 black faux uggs (and brown too) that i got at target and walmart. j calls them "fuggs". hmmmph. don't judge me and my ski feet.

they are the only things that will fit my feet these days. HA!

last night we had a hail and farewell at kevin barry's...it gave me a chance to do my hair and makeup and get out of the house. it felt nice. but i was TIRED and ready to come home by 8. haha!

at 35 weeks:

i have about one day a week where i can't get out of bed. i think it's my body adjusting to the new weight. then i get over it, get accustomed to it, and i'm fine the rest of the week

i have been craving crab legs

i get up twice an hour at night to pee. it's fun. i can walk to the restroom and back without opening my eyes.

i have to take zantac twice a day for the heartburn.

lucy (i can tell b/c she is on my left side), constantly has hiccups.

almost all of my shirts are too short at this point. i also can't tolerate wearing anything other than leggings on my bottom half.

i'm wide awake for most of the night

i'm ready to have my body back to "normal" and meet these babies, but also scared half to death. the other day j and i were out to lunch and i started crying (hormonal mess much??) wondering if the two "bigs" are going to feel neglected. and how i'm possibly going to give them the love and attention they deserve.

oh, i want to thank you all for your sweet words on my post from yesterday. we are having so much fun decorating!!

happy happy tuesday. hope you have a beautiful day!

xoxo