End of July...and some August

I am SO ready to be caught up, so I'm going to try to really get on it so I can be caught up! It's time to be able to blog about current events! Hopefully I can persevere and get it finished fast! Some of the blog will be old information mixed with current information. That'll help us get caugh up, too!

On July 23rd, the boys slept from 10-6:30AM with no wake ups whatsoever! This was very exciting, especially for Josh, who was home alone with the boys. Yep, it was my first night away from them. I slept at my parents' house because I was taking the Praxis early the next morning and wanted to ensure a good night of sleep. Little did I know the gift the boys would be giving us! The afternoon after the Praxis, we went swimming w/ Joshy. (Daddy)

On 7/26/10 JH rolled from his back to his belly and H rolled from his belly to his back. (pic from that day below) It is also the first day they slept in separate beds. I think it was harder on me than it was on them. It makes me sad to have to separate them, but I felt like with all of the rolling going on, it just wasn't safe anymore. I've thought about maybe, in the future, letting them have the option of special nap times where they can sleep together if they want. Obviously, this will come when they can communicate w/ me lol.... so, it'll be a little while. It will also just be a special treat unless they can behave really well and, more importantly, SLEEP really well when they do it! We'll see :o)

The rolling over was the beginning of about a month of hard nights for us, on and off. It pretty much lead us into the 4 month sleep regression. Whew. We would put Jack Henry on his back to go to sleep and he'd spend the whole night squirming while practicing his new trick, waking himself up, and wanting his paci. So, I got to the point where I said, "He can do it on his own, so no harm done..." and I went ahead and put him on his stomach, prayed over him, and started sleeping better again... for a few nights, at least. Eventually, we started putting Harrison on his stomach, too, even though he's not rolling to his stomach yet. I pray over both of them for their safety, and we all sleep so much better. I know that it's controversial, but I feel like I would have less peace about it if it wasn't the right thing for my kids. No?

Although this picture is from a day or two before, I officially started the boys on a nap schedule on Thursday, July 29th. They responded really well, and that first day is still, to date, the best nap day they've ever had! haha The sleep regression has hurt our nap times, too, but they seem to be getting better a little bit at a time, just like our night times.

Being silly with daddy 7/31/10 before going to swim with Laura

Poor, sweet Miley girl. She doesn't get as much attention as she used to, but she's still well-loved. She is VERY sweet with the babies and has grown up so much since they were born and she also turned 2 in May--I think that made a huge difference! This puppy who used to sleep in her crate every night is now so trustworthy that she basically has free roam of the house at night. She usually starts off in our room and sometime during the night she will work her way out to "her couch." I am incredibly proud of her!

On July 31st, we took the boys over to Aunt Sharon's to swim with my cousin Laura. Laura was so excited about them swimming with her that she and Aunt Sharon went out and bought the boys swimming outfits, complete with hats. It was so generous of them and they picked out some cute stuff!

Jack Henry and "Captain" (Uncle Ira)I wish the shadow wasn't over his face, but JH just looks like such a ham in this pic. I look forward to the years of entertainment and joy these boys will give/share with us :)

HAHAHAHA I know it's blurry, but H makes some of the best faces! LOL

AUGUST 2ND-----Just a little play time with Mommy (yay! I've made it to August! We're almost caught up... )

On August 3rd, I went to Oak Street over in Crestline for one of my former Camp Winnataska campers, Mallory P., to cut my hair.... for the first time since last Fall! Crazy. That morning, I also caught this cuteness on my cell phone camera. Sigh.... :o)

We started the morning of 8/3/10 with the boys' first stroll in the jogging stroller their Gigi got for them at a garage sale for $35----what a steal! That morning's stroll is definitely filed in my mind as a learning moment. Josh and I thought that leaving at 7:45AM, the weather would be cool enough for us to walk to Panera, eat breakfast, and walk back. Weeeeell.... As new parents, we are in a constant state of figuring out what works and what doesnt AND... that morning just didn't work well. LOL. It was too hot in the first place, but we also kept the boys in their long-sleeved pajamas.... Clearly it just wasn't thought through very well. You live, you learn. When we got to Panera, we stripped them down and cooled them down w/ some cool paper towels and AC. On the way home, we hustled and discussed what we learned from the experience Ha ha....

Before leaving.

Here is how we left....

....and here's how we returned.

Talking with Daddy on August 4th

Bath time that evening..

Most of the time I bathe them in the sink, but they are really too long to do it anymore, so I've been doing it in the tub some, too. This AM (8/31/10) I actually put their sponge pad that I use in the sink in the tub for them to lay on and it seemed to work really well. They were easier to keep from sliding all over the place than they are in the bath chair. haha...

I think I'll wrap this up for the evening. I actually see the end of "catch up" in sight! I've made an outline for myself of big days in August, so the next post should be an easy one to whip out. Maybe I can get it done tomorrow? Hmm.... No promises Ha ha.

Sweet dreams, y'all!

I can't help it...music to my ears!

Ok.... I know I'm not caught up, but I can't help but post some of these "present" things... such as the sweet laughter of my sons, which is..... music to my ears. Btw... it's still crazy to me that I have "sonS" haha...

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..." Eph 3:20

We are.... SO BLESSED!

Those are MY toes, Daddy!

Even though I'm still not caught up, I just HAD to share this precious picture I got of Josh and JH while we were waiting for our dinner at Flip Burger. (Which was delicious, btw.) LOVE this pic!...and of course I can't leave out my sweet baby H :) Snoozin' like a sweet boy!

Part 4 July

The first weekend of July was 4th of July weekend and just like we do every year, we packed up and headed to beautiful Lake Martin! Except this year, we had two little love muffins in tow! Needless to say, it was quite a different 4th for the Gambles. We did not go to the fire works and I don't think we'll be going next year either b/c the boys will only be 15 months old then.

Originally, we were going to have to leave that afternoon, but Josh got his Monday shift moved to working in Sylacauga (close to lake house) so we could stay longer. He didn't have to work until 11am on Tuesday, so we were able to stay through Tuesday morning. We love getting as much time in at the lake as possible!

An exciting event of the weekend was the boys' first play date with Sawyer Scott, who is actually only 4 days older than they are! I went to school growing up with his daddy, Keith, and actually met his mommy in a breastfeeding support group when the babies were 2 weeks old. I saw Keith at our 10 year high school reunion and we are planning to all get together soon. Josh and I are really excited :) I'm hoping Keith and Josh will hit it off as buddies b/c I really like his wife Lindsey!

Gigi (Josh's mom) bought the boys their patriotic onesies when she was visiting the weekend before. Here are some pictures from the weekend...

To begin.... some of Harrison's many faces.... He is so expressive!

Aunt Podge, you are so funny!

Um..and then what?

NO WAY!

Love that H sugar!

A little smirk from JH

Napping on the swing bed on the dock

Soon-to-be Uncle Brent with Aunt Podge. They are festive!

PRECIOUS baby boy!

Another little smirk.

Hanging out with their daddy and watching a little TV

Love those chubby thighs :) At this point, JH had 2 lbs on H.... but he's pretty much caught up now~
H's hand

JH's hand

Someone once commented that the boys were sleeping in all of the pictures that I took of them.... insinuating that all they do is sleep. Ha ha. Well, clearly I've caught them awake in some pictures, too, by now.... but the reason there are so many sleeping pictures is that they are actually still! Ha ha.... It's also because they are so preciously peaceful when they sleep. I love to take pictures of it. Maybe I should make a picture book of all of their sleeping pictures for them. :)

July was a bittersweet month. My sister, Paige, moved to Texas on July 14th, 2 days before the babies turned 3 months old. She will be there a good 6 or so years (Boooooooooo) because she is getting her PhD in Psychology with an emphasis in forensics. She will be a wonderful Psychologist and we are so proud of her! At the same time.... we are so sorry to see her go and miss her so much! It was also bitter for me, b/c my whole family went out to TX to help her move in, but I couldn't go b/c the boys and I would not be much help and actually more of a distraction. Brent (fiance), his twin brother Robyn, my sister Grace (Paige's twin), and Paige all drove out to Texas and my parents flew out there a few days later. I know that was a long drive, but I also think that road trips can be so fun, especially with the right group!

Before they headed out, they stopped by our house to kiss us goodbye and take a picture that we'd been wanting to take for a while: the Womb Mate picture! Back story---- G and P had called each other womb mates for a long time, so when I saw womb mate onesies on my trip to see BFF Eden in CA last Fall, I just had to buy them! They were actually the very first things that I bought for the babies. (At that point, I knew that there were 2 babies, but not their genders yet. Wow, that seems like yesterday!) My family loved that I found the onesies and I decided to have shirts made for G and P for Christmas. Knowing that the boys were growing like weeds, we'd been trying all Summer to find a time when both G and P were in town to take the picture. So, we grabbed this opportunity! Here are a few of the shots.

My 4 favorite womb mates!
Podge and H

Love this shot of Grace and JH

3 sets of twins! Robyn, Grace, JH, H, Paige, and Brent!

3 months old today!

Turning 3 months old is exhausting!

On July 18th, we went to a NICU reunion up at Brookwood Hospital. We enjoyed getting to see Dr. Mena (the neonatologist) and some of the nurses. It was disappointing that some of our other favorite nurses couldn't make it, but we still had a good time and were glad that we went. Josh and I particularly liked checking out all of the other twin strollers Haha.

The boys went swimming for the first time on July 22nd at my Aunt Sharon's house. Then, we went again with Daddy on Saturday. The boys really seem to like it and even naturally kick their sweet little chubby legs. :)

JH's first dip :)

Sweet little snuggly water babies

Happy H swimming with Daddy

Just loungin' in our new boat that Uncle Ira got us!
Sweet happy baby :)
Proud Daddy :)

The BIGGEST news of all is how GREAT these precious babies are developing!

July 2nd: Jack Henry rolled over to his tummy to his back.

July 26th: Jack Henry rolled over from his back to his tummy.

Harrison also rolled over from his tummy to his back that same day!

July 26th: The boys started sleeping in separate cribs (sad for mommy) because of all of the rolling around in their cribs.

(In July) They have gradually been "chatting" and smiling more and more. Harrison is particularly vocal and is my little wild man :) Jack Henry is so sweet and laid back. He doesn't talk as much, but when he does, it is the sweetest, soft little voice. They just melt my heart!

Ok... I think that will wrap it up for now. There is a little bit of July left, but I'm a tired girl and heading to bed! I'm so ready to be caught up on the blog so I can tell y'all about what's been going on lately!