3 Months (Already!)

Three whole months since our lives were turned upside down and inside out. Three months with our sweet babies already. And truthfully, I can't really remember what our lives were like before. In the three months since April 2, our lives have become unrecognizable, as have we ourselves. I am not just Deanna or "the wife" anymore. I am "Mama." Jeremy is "Daddy."... and it is completely and utterly amazing. I could not even have imagined how this feels.

So, what are we up to at three months?

The smiles and even a few laughs are finally flowing freely around our house. In the mornings, instead of an angry baby demanding a bottle, we are greeted by beautiful, toothless smiles (which are soooo much better!). Jeremy and I will do anything to make the girls laugh, making total fools of ourselves on a daily basis. We sing songs constantly, sometimes entertaining the girls and sometimes annoying them. : ) Some favorites include Miss Mary Mack (get it? Mary Addison and Mackenzie Ross?? We found it amusing.), I'm a Little Teapot, and Jesus Loves Me, a staple carried over from my pregnancy days when I would sing to my belly every morning on the way to work. We also like to sing old hymns, and we keep meaning to borrow an extra hymnal from church to refresh ourselves.

They still love to be outside, and some evenings that is all that soothes the fussiness. A screened-in porch is high on our list of amenities to look for in a new house. Speaking of the evening fussiness, it has diminished significantly this month. Some evenings are really, really pleasant, and I don't feel like I'm walking a tightrope waiting for the screaming to start. The girls have also discovered the tv, which I can't exactly say that I mind. It is a good distraction for one while I try to bathe her sister or accomplish some small task. One thing I've learned taking care of two demanding babies...you do what you have to!

This month, both Addison and Mackenzie are moving out of newborn clothes and for the most part wearing 0-3 months. The actual 3 month clothes are a little big, but are fitting better every day. They have also moved into size 1 diapers over the past month. Such big girls! Mackenzie visited the doctor this week (more on that later), and she weighed 11lbs, 14oz!! I could not believe it. That's over 2lbs gained since her visit a month ago. I have not weighed Addison, but I know she's not far behind. I would guess maybe a half a pound smaller than her sister.

I read something this last week that perfectly sums up this feeling I have so often these days. The author of this blog expressed exactly what is in my heart that I can't translate into words. Here is what she says:

This is a truth about being a parent that nothing and no-one can prepare you for: that it is a continual experience of loss, a never-ending stream of moments of goodbye. That from the moment your children come into your life you are losing them. That the person your child is today is a person you will never meet again, a person that you will, in some ways, forget, as he or she is replaced by new people, bigger people, faster people, people with more words, people with more independence, people whose primary purpose is to move continually away from you.

As wonderful as it is to watch my babies learn and grow and change before my very eyes, there is a part of me that wants to hold on to those chubby little baby cheeks and toes and never let them go! But you can't stop time, and really, all I want is for my babies to be happy and healthy and grow exactly as they should...even if it seems too fast at
times. I will cherish every single moment of these sweet baby days while they are mine.

Happy 3 months, my sweet girls. I look forward to thousands
more!

**I apologize for the crazy layout of the last part of this post. I could not get it to go back to normal after the block quote.