11 Month Old Twins

We are only one month away from the girls' birthday!!! Does that seem nuts to anyone else? A year ago Nate and I were hanging out in the hospital in Little Rock thinking our babies would be here any day. (Of course, they built up a whole lot of suspense before they finally made their debut a month later.) I would never want to repeat my experience in Little Rock, especially not my exorbitant helicopter ride, but I'm so grateful to now have two healthy 11 month old babies!

I made these adorable pillowcase dresses using some cute fat quarters my MIL gave me. 

Eden: Sweet little Eden has a pair of lungs on her! She used to not care when sister stole her toys but now, she lets out a shriek anytime Lydia touches whatever she is holding. That's great that she's standing up for herself, but perhaps it would be better if she expressed herself a bit quieter! She loves stuffed animals and we always have a small one in the crib with her. (I know, I know, suffocation hazard.) It's nice when she wakes up to hear her babbling to her little friend rather than crying for me to come get her. Eden also loves waving at people. She waves at Grandma when we video chat so she's gotten a little bit confused and will wave at people on the tv sometimes. She also waved at a picture of Jesus at church on Sunday but I don't think she was confused when she did that. She cut her two top teeth this month as well so she has four teeth now.

Lydia: As mentioned above, Lydia still likes to steal Eden's toys. It doesn't matter if we have two of the exact same toy, she wants the one Eden's holding! I don't want to paint Lydia as a mean bully, because she really is still my sweet Cuddle Bug. In the mornings after I nurse them, I usually bring them into bed for some time with Daddy before he goes to work. Eden usually crawls all around, but Lydia will lay her head down on your chest and just snuggle! Lydia loves books! She always gets an extra story before nap time and she is often found flipping through the pages of a book on her own. Still no sign of top teeth for Lydia so she still just has her two bottom teeth.

It's never a good sign when things get quite in the nursery!

Pre-Walkers: Both girls pull themselves up on the furniture. Lydia has started doing some "couch surfing" and taking a few steps while holding on. I thought walking was a ways off for us, and it may still be, but it could be right around the corner.

Sleep: I am thrilled to report that we have seen a dramatic improvement with naps. Don't get me wrong, they still (frequently!) only take short power naps but we have had quite a few days were one or both of their naps are at least an hour long and sometimes an hour and a half! I feel like we've had enough of those good days to declare it's not a fluke; the girls are learning to take naps! It's nowhere close to perfect but it's also no where close to the mess it was before. They've also figured out that I will not be getting up with them at 5:30 AM, so we've thankfully moved our wake up time closer to 7:00 again.

They LOVE the water! We've had so much fun taking them to the water park, splash pad, and the backyard pool all summer long. 

Birthday: With their birthday right around the corner, I'm wondering how to celebrate such an occasion. I don't want to make a big fuss, but at the same time I think it's a very big deal that all four of us have survived this first year!! I'm curious to hear what other people did to celebrate their baby's first birthday.

Summer Fun in the West

Vacationing with little ones can be exhausting, but it is definitely worth it when you get to visit your family. We just got back from a trip to Utah where we were lucky enough to be able to visit both sides of the family. We had a busy vacation trying to fit everything in and traveling from Logan, to Bear Lake, to Spanish Fork, to Cokeville. We were able to do quite a bit, and the trip was full of many firsts for the girls.

First Camping Trip: Nathan and I have always enjoyed camping, but since having the girls, we haven't been able to convince ourselves that it would be quite as enjoyable. I worried the girls would wake the entire campground up with their cries, or crawl into an ants nest, or have to sleep on the airmattress with mom and dad, or we'd run into some other unforeseen catastrophe. But I'm pleased to say our first experience with camping went rather well. We camped with my family at Bear Lake and had a great time! The girls loved being outside and there were plenty of people around to entertain them. We borrowed my parent's 3 room tent so we had more than enough space to set up two pack-n-plays and an airmattress. The girls actually slept really well and I've even contemplated setting a tent up out back for them to sleep in all the time......

Mommy and Eden showing off our spacious accommodations

Daddy-daughters bonding time in the tent

We also got a chance to camp again later in the week with my extended family in Wyoming. We didn't exactly "rough it" though because my Grandparents let us borrow their camping trailer! Both camping trips were really successful, and Nate and I were even considering a camping trip this fall until we realized the only reason we enjoyed camping was we didn't have to do anything! No packing, no set up, no planning; we just showed up and had a good time.

First Swim in a Lake: Although the water is a bit chilly at Bear Lake, the girls had fun splashing in it and eating sand! Nate and I had a blast playing on the jetskis my family rented. We rode together once but discovered we were both happier on our own jetski. What can I say, we both like to be in control and drive.

Cooling off in the shade with Gramps and Gran

Playing on the beach with cousin Jaxton

Nate fell off the jetski and lost his glasses in the lake!

First Call to Poison Control: I must confess I had a Mommy-fail moment on the trip. Lydia somehow got into some medicine and we had to make a call to poison control. Luckily, she only ate one tablet and she ended up being fine. The funny thing was it was a pill for urinary tract infections and it turned her mouth, tongue, and urine orange!

Lydia

 First Backyard Swim: The girls really love the water and the backyard blow up pool at my parent's house was no exception! My favorite cousin Betsy and her family were able to come spend the day with us in Logan one day. We went to the zoo, got ice cream, and finished the day off in the pool. The kids loved it!

Eden

First Family Reunion: Nate's parents live in Seattle, so we were so excited that they were in Utah for the Smith family reunion and we could spend time with them as well. We spent a few days staying at Grandma Smith's house in Spanish Fork. It was fun to see many of Nate's extended family members at the reunion as we haven't

Nate and Shane being manly!

seen many of them since we got married.  The reunion was at a park so the girls enjoyed the water games and playground, Nate enjoyed playing football and volleyball, and I enjoyed visiting and eating good food!
We also went to the Feuz family reunion in Cokeville, Wyoming. My grandparents have a huge yard so everyone always "camps out" for the reunion. We had a great time and the highlight for Nate was going 4-wheeling up in the mountains. 

First Parade: We were actually able to see two parades on our trip. The first was celebrating Fiesta Days in Spanish Fork. This parade is intense! You have to save your spot on the sidewalk at least a day in advance and then you still have to go early the morning of the parade because someone will steal your spot! The girls were enthralled with all the people and noise.

Watching the parade with Uncle Brady

Grandma and Eden having fun at the parade

Nate chased down Cosmo to get a picture with him

The second parade was in Cokeville celebrating Pioneer Day. This parade was a tad smaller. And by a tad, I mean the whole parade goes down main street, turns around, and comes back down the street for a second round! We enjoyed both parades.

The Cokeville parde

First Taste of BYU Creamery Ice Cream: I worked at the Creamery on 9th all through college. I have so many good memories of that place not to mention the ice cream is divine! I loved working there and met some of my best friends there. Plus Nate and I went there on our first date. So naturally we had to revisit and let the girls try some of the best ice cream! While in the Provo area we were also able to eat a Brick Oven (delish!) and meet up with two of my dearest roommates. I almost felt like I was back in college again. You know, other than the two munchkins in the high chairs.

Reunited with Erin and Tess!

We had such a fun time visiting everyone, and I'm afraid the girls are already bored with me so hopefully someone will come visit us soon!

Family selfie on the flight. Luckily, the flight wasn't full so we could sit by each other with an empty seat in the middle!