so I forgot?!

So, guys, I'm pretty sure that whole "pregnancy brain" thing is a lie... I never got my brain back apparently, because remember how I told you that there was a "Maternity Pictures pt.3"?? Yea, I didn't lie about that, but I did totally forget to post it! Hashtag crazy lady with a 3 kid circus. So... I won't babble on anymore... and don't judge my bare belly mmmkay?

Photos by Adore You Photography

Do you see why I couldn't share these before? I mean, besides my oversized belly out there for all of you to see. When we were living up in Brian Head waiting for these girls to arrive, I wanted some way of putting their names in a picture... so one Sunday we were driving around in the mountains and I got the idea to carve their names in a tree... cause you know, I'm soo original. Hah. So, we did just that... And now their names will forever be in Brian Head :)

We had decided on our names pretty early on after finding out we were having two girls. And if you know Austin and I, you know that we are TERRIBLE at picking girls names... Boy names? No prob... if we had any of those. So, we actually liked Ava for Chandler, but I always hated growing up being "Ashley T." since Ashley was so common... and I know that Ava is pretty popular right now. So I was pretty adamant about not naming my girl Ava. So, Chandler it was. And I'm so glad because Chandler totally fits. So with these 2, I was certain we were having a boy and a girl, so I had all these little duo names for them... and then I found out that my husband only makes girls... so Kannon & Kenna, Jake & Jane, Porter & Paisley (don't steal my names!! ha ha jk) all went out the window with a super sad face. Back to square one.

So, Austin brought up Ava again... and we could NOT think of anything to go with it... I originially wanted their names to go together... I know what you all are thinking, and no, not rhyming... Bill & Jill, Bailey & Shailey, Kyle & Lyle (Vickie I know you're reading this!)... but maybe the same first initial? We didn't like any other "A" names so I kinda tossed Ava aside... I was trying really hard for Dillyn & Dru (cause I'm a sucker for boy names for my girls... hence Chandler. And I secretly wanted all boys... and look at me now!) But Austin was NOT having it... like wouldn't even talk about it. So, we went on... then I saw that one of his friends had named their baby girl Indiana Marie (Ash & Brian: if you're reading this, we LOVED it, obviously :) ... and your little girl is so stinkin' cute!) So I said, "Oh cute, they will probably call her Indie." And Austin totally ran with it. So next I'm thinking, what's another "I" name?? Yea, I got nothin'. So he said, "What about Ava & Indie?" And we never looked back.

Now. Middle names. Great... Not only did we have to come up with TWO first names... but TWO middle names. Girl names. We suck. Okay... so, we put our thinking caps on... and we thought what about our moms middle names? My mom's is Jeanette, my grandma's was Jean... and Austin's mom's middle name is Mae. Ava Jean & Indie Mae. Perfect. Aaannnnnddddddd... we're done! And I'm crazy and keep our names secret until the baby is born... and then also tell all of you that there is a part 3 to my maternity pictures and never post it. Or post it 3 months later. Whatev.

And I said I wouldn't ramble... Hah!

sister stats

It's that time again! I have to keep notes in my phone to keep up with all that these girls are doing!

Chandler Kate

23 months

• This girl... She keeps me on my toes! She is such a fireball... always going, going, going!
• Her vocabulary continues to grow every day. She is now on to 3 word sentences. She said things like, "Baby car seat buh-bye." or "uh oh TV off!"
• She's starting biting through all of her binkies. I keep telling her that when she bites through one that I'm going to throw it away and once she's out of binkies we aren't getting any more. Heaven help me when that really does happen. That girl looooves her bink.
• She's still obsessed with "Fia" (Sofia the First) and Mickey Mouse. She can name all of the characters for each as well. Fia, Mommy, Daddy, Ambuh, Jame... and Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Dono Duck, Gufy, Doggie (not so sure about Pluto yet)... she's getting there.
• She loves to look at herself once she is all dressed and her hair is done. Her hair is finally long enough to put into a ponytail so that's been an every day thing. She makes sure that I put a "ponytail" in her hair. Then she'll point to her pants and say, "cute pants!"
• She loves playing with a "bassetball." Any ball to her is a basketball. Unless I tell her, "no, that's a soccer ball." Then she'll say soccer ball. or baseball. or football.
• When she gets in trouble, she goes to timeout in her booster seat with no binky or toys. She actually asks to go to timeout but once she is there she hates it. And when I go to talk to her to get her out of timeout, she won't say sorry, but she'll give me the sweetest little hug. Good enough for me.
• We have been working on colors lately. So far, everything is "geeen" but if I tell her to pick up the purple crayon, she'll find the purple crayon and pick it up. She can say all the colors as well: geeen, boo, peeple, yeeooow, onge, whiiite, bak, wed. So cute.
• Chan loves to organize. The other night, I went into her room to pick up her toys for the night and she had organized all of her little toys by shape and color. So smart, that girl.
• Stuffed animals and babies are still her favorite to play with.
• Her Mickey, Minnie, blankie, and binky go everywhere with her. It's pretty crowded in her car seat.
• She is getting really good with a spoon. She can now eat applesauce and cereal all by herself. She still calls a spoon a "fok."
• She still takes 1 nap during the day for 2-3 hours.
• She's in 2T clothes and size 4 diapers.

Ava Jean

3 months

• Ava is still our sassy girl. Her nicknames are Sassy Pants or Miss Ava.
• She's growing out her "crazy eyes" phase. It was pretty funny while it lasted but I'm glad we don't have to worry about her cross eyes being a problem.
• She will usually sleep through the night. She goes down around 9:30pm and will get up between 6 and 7am.
• Ava has to perfect little outie belly button. It's the perfect little circle. I'm sure she'll hate it when she is older but right now it's so darn cute.
• She eats 4-4 1/2 oz. every 3-3 1/2 hours every day.
• Ava has rolled over from her tummy to her back twice now. I'm pretty sure it's just a fluke, cause she first did it when she was about 2 weeks old... what?!?
• She's got a quirky little smile and loves to be talked to. She'll "ohh" and "ahh" right back at you like she's having a conversation.
• She's almost out of newborn clothes and almost out of newborn diapers as well.
• Ava is our little go getter. She's always kicking and squirming around. She loves tummy time and perks her little head up like a turtle to look around.
• She is still a little smaller then Indie but her face is starting to fill out making it a little tougher to tell them apart.

Indie Mae

3 months

• Indie is still our sweet little girl. Everyone calls her Sweet Indie.
• When she looks at you, she has the sincerest look in her eyes. She loves to be snuggled and just stare at you.
• She also loves to be talked to. She gets the biggest open mouth smile on her face and the minute you turn away, she knows it. The smile is gone and she'll usually start to whimper. That girl loves to have all your attention.
• Indie usually will wake up once at night to eat between 3 and 4am.
• She eats 4-5oz every 3-4 hours.
• Indie has the fastest growing fingernails I've ever seen. I swear I cut them and 2 days later, they are so long again.
• She is still a tad bigger then Ava but Indie will often sleep through feedings so Ava is catching up quick.
• She is still super laid back. We put her on her tummy and she'll fight for a few minutes and then just lay her head down and stare.
• She is also about grown out of her newborn clothes and newborn diapers.

To see more of these precious faces, and some of what's going on in our daily lives, follow me on instagram: @ashleyhunt5

November Recap

Every time I think I'm going to do really good with keeping this blog up to date... Life happens. Someone needs to be fed. Or spits up. Or needs their diaper changed. Or maybe... just maybe, I need to shower. And then after I do all of that (x3) I have a mound of laundry needing to be done. Or maybe I should actually empty the dishwasher instead of just grabbing things out of it when I need it. And then before I know it, it's time to start the process all. over. again.

And then, just like that, another month is gone.

So... November was full of birthday dinners, dr's appointments (and shots. yuck.), and yummy Thanksgiving!

• My mom's birthday was on the 7th... and every year she likes to shop til we drop (literally) and eat at all her favorite spots. So, Austin stepped up for all-star dad duty (all 3 girls all day. yikes!) and off we went. We only made it to 2 of the 3 malls we wanted to get to, but we had fun and found some good deals. 

• Both girls started sleeping through the night! Hallelujah! And then both got sick. Not hallelujah. Can I just tell you that having sick babies is  the worst. The "friggin' worst" as Austin would say it.
• Both girls also started smiling. Be still my heart.

• We started house shopping... Yay! and Yikes! As exciting as it is, it's also super scary... hello hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. But it's got to be done at some point, right?
• We celebrated Thanksgiving with both families. Ah the perks of having both sides of the family right here next to us. The day was filled with football, the turkey bowl, pumpkin cinnamon rolls, omelets, prepping Thanksgiving dinner, eating waaaay too much, then eating pie cause of course we weren't that full, and ended the night with some shopping. My mom and I discovered that the new mall that opened right by our house was open. Score! Only I was a party pooper and needed to go to bed. Ha... I'm lame.
• Austin's birthday was the day after Thanksgiving... he went golfing in the morning (his only birthday request... and no, I did not go with him. Golf isn't my thing.) and then we went to lunch and did some black friday shopping and ended the night with pizza, presents, bundt cake (because... duh) and then went to see The Hunger Games.

Oh. I forgot to mention... Austin got into a car accident on his way to work last week. It was a small one and everyone was okay... But the person who hit him #1 didn't have a drivers license. Great. And #2 put a good amount of damage to his front right side of his truck. So... his truck has been in the repair shop for the last week and a half. He also managed to drop his phone in the toilet (TMI I know) the day after his birthday... so we've been dealing with that mess too... his phone is unfixable. Also great.

So... we're hoping December brings us some good news!
Up next: Sister Stats :)

Ava & Indie: a double blessing

These sweet girls.

I just can't get enough of them. Ava and Indie were blessed in church at the beginning of November. I've never been to a "twin blessing" and I don't give the blessings... but I couldn't help but wonder if both the girls would get similar blessings... you know, one going right after another. But I was so wrong. Both girls blessings were very different. Ava's was short but sweet, and Indie's was a little more lengthy but both fit them and their personality's so well. 

I still find myself a little in shock that we have twin girls in our family... and yet I wouldn't have it any other way. I wish I could tell everyone how fun having twins is... and on top of that, having 3 little girls. I often get the sympathy looks, the "are you crazy?" stares, the "oo you've got your hands full" comments... and yes, I do have my hands full (literally), I may be a little crazy (only because you caught me in public with 2 car seats and a toddler by myself), and I'll take all the sympathy looks I can get... Not because I want sympathy (cause I don't need it) but because it really is so fun. These 3 girls are the biggest blessing to me. They are constantly teaching me something new and I love that I am able to be their mother.

October Recap

This whole family of 5 thing is really throwing me for a loop! I'm still trying to adjust to having 3 kiddos at home... and simple things like showering or making lunch... or heaven forbid leaving the house takes us for-e-ver. Hence why it's half way through November and I'm just now getting around to posting October/Halloween pictures.

We don't get out of the house much these days (que awkward stares and even worse comments. Do people really think about what they say before they say it? I don't think so.) so when we do, it needs to be documented. There is a cute little pumpkin patch right around the corner from our house and some of our friends invited us to go with them (they also have 3 girls... not quite 3 under 2 but pretty close). They have little rides and things for kids so we knew Chan would love it. I'm pretty sure she made Austin go down the slide with her oh maybe 50 times... Poor Austin always gets talked into this kind of stuff... and then there is me, "Hey babe, Chandler wants to go on that slide... you go with her and I'll stay with the twins." And I'm pretty sure Chandler prefers going with her daddy anyway. Dad's are just more fun like that.

We also decided to be brave and go check out the new mall that just opened right by our house. We decided to let Chan walk instead of bringing 2 strollers. She was super good and held on to the cup holder on the twins' stroller.

Have I also mentioned that my child is a hoarder? When we are at home, she'll seriously grab all the toys and/or stuffed animals she can hold in her little arms and she will carry them all around the house. And if we're at a store, she does the same thing with anything she can grab... and then it's a fight to put it all back.

She had that ball too, but wasn't quite talented enough to hold it and top for the picture.

We also went to Disneyland with Austin's family. Call us crazy but the twinners went too. And I'm a super good mom and got 2 pictures... of Chan only... at the end of the night. Mom of the Year right here. She has a current obsession with Mickey Mouse right now so at the end of the night we bought her her very own Mickey... and she hasn't let him go since. He goes everywhere with us and has to go to bed with her.

that's Disneyland success right there.

And the next day we took Chan to the beach... A girl after my own heart... she loved the beach. She played around, got into the water, ran from the waves, dug holes in the sand, and cried when we had to leave.

Aaaannnnnddddd Halloween. 

If you know me, you know that I love love love Halloween. It's my favorite. And every year I dictate what costumes we will be wearing... but have any of you tried to find coordinating costumes for you, your husband, and three girls?!? Impossible I tell ya! So, we went with Grease. Austin and I were Danny and Sandy...

and my girls were the Pink Ladies.

We took Chan trick or treating... I don't think she really knew what was going on, but that girls knows her candy. After a few houses, she realized what was going on and would reach her hand right into their buckets of candy and pick out what she wanted... sometimes going back in for seconds. And then of course she wanted to hoard all the candy in her hands as she walked from house to house.

I'm so excited for next Halloween... Chan will probably know more of what she's doing and the twins will most likely be walking (yikes!). I love love love these girls. So much fun!

Up next: Ava & Indie's blessing.

Ava & Indie: newborn's

Ooo you guys are in for it now! We just got Ava & Indie's newborn pictures back and I'm dying over here! I could literally sit and stare at them all. day. long. So precious. Chelsy at b couture photography did these and I'm so in love. If you live anywhere near St.George, Utah (or like to travel) you seeeeriously want to book your next session with her. One look at her photos and you'll be hooked... Here I am on my third session with her and I'm not quitting any time soon!

First are some of my sweet girls together

Miss Ava

Sweet Indie

all images from b couture photography

sister stats

Chandler Kate

21 months

• Chandler's vocabulary is growing by the minute. Seriously. Some of my favorites:

- "Diet Coke." She seriously asks for diet coke when she wakes up in the morning. Should I be embarrassed? Probably.

- da-bow-da-bow-da-bow. Translation: Bows. Like the bows that go in her hair.

- "Baf." Bath. Duh. And she still hears the word bath, literally runs to the bathroom and starts taking off her clothes.

- "Baby binky. Baby blanky." She lets us know which binky is hers and which ones are her sisters. Same with blankets. Such a good little helper.

- "hot dog." She knows what they are in the grocery store (and yes she loves them) but she's usually referring to the "hot dog dance" on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

-"dipsss." As in anything you can "dip" your food in... ketchup, ranch, yogurt, applesauce, bbq sauce. I'm pretty sure she doesn't care what it is or what she dips into it, as long as she has her dips... With every. single. meal.

-"fork." Without the R. I promise we're not teaching her swear words.

-Along with the last one she's picked up the word "sit" with the occasional H in there.

-"No way." I have no idea where she got this from... But ask her if she's done with her dinner? No way. Does she need help putting her shoes on? No way. Chandler, please come over here. No way.

-"Pease." Melt my heart. We've been working on saying please for a long, long time. And she's refused to say it for a long, long time... But that cute little girl now says please when she wants anything. And after she says it, she gets the biggest smile on her face. And I give in (almost) every single time she says it... I mean, come on?!?

-"snacks." She asks for these every day when she wakes up from her nap. It's usually referring to fruit snacks.

-And my favorite: "Ava & Indie." She goes back and forth between the two girls, "Ava. Indie. Ava. Indie." And when one of them cries, she says, "Okay, Ava. Okay Indie." I love.

• She loves helping with her sisters. She's always trying to give them their binky's, putting blankets on them, and giving them hugs and kisses.
• Her favorite shows: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sofia the First. She calls Sofia "Fia" on repeat.
• She's gotten really good at giving hugs and kisses. So much that she does it on her own now... and if she's in one of these moods and you're in the room, you're getting a hug and a kiss too.
• She has to dress herself every day now... or at least attempt to. She gets really mad if you don't let her try to do it herself first.
• We have moved her out of her high chair and over to the table in a booster seat. She's also completely off her bottle before bed. Next to go: the binky.
• We're trying to teach her how to drink from a cup. Right now she puts her whole mouth inside the cup and tips her head back so that everything that was in the cup is now all down her shirt. We're working on it.
• As of recently, Chandler has been my sourpatch kid. You know those commercials, right? The sourpatch candies that do something mean and then turn around and do something nice? Yea, that's Chan. She'll do something naughty like hit one of her sisters and then turn around and kiss their head and say, "Hi Ava."
• She's fitting into a lot of 2T clothes, size 6 or 7 shoes, and size 4 diapers. 

Ava Jean

1 month

• Ava is the older of the twins, but the smaller of the two.
• She's my little sass. She wants what she wants and she wants it right then. If she's hungry or wants to be held, she lets you know.
• She wants to eat every 3 hours. And at 2 hours and 45 minutes, she starts fussing.
• Ava is a champion pooper. And a loud one. She may be small, but she is a machine.
• She has the funniest facial expressions I've ever seen.
• Ava looks like me when I was a baby. Hallelujah. At least one of my kids will look a little like me. Not that looking like Austin is bad, but come on, I grew those suckers!!
• She loves to be swaddled and laid down in the boppy.
• She sleeps in the pack n play on Austin's side of the bed.
• She loves to nurse and would lay there and nurse all day if I let her.

Indie Mae

1 month

• Indie is the sweetest little baby. When she's held, she just looks at you with the sweetest little face.
• She's usually awake the most in the morning and likes to just lay on the floor and look around.
• She's got chubby cheeks like Chan did when she was a baby.
• Unlike Ava, Indie is very ladylike when it comes to doing her business. She's very quiet, but you can smell that she did something.
• She's a spit up girl also like Chan. Sometimes she'll keep her whole feeding down, and other times it all comes back up.
• She is a quick eater... 10 minutes tops and she's done.
• Indie also loves to be swaddled, but likes to be in the swing.
• She sleeps in a bouncer next to me at night.

• Both girls are being breastfed for the moment. It's a lot having to feed 2 babies (not at the same time. I'm not that talented) every 3 hours. I'm also pumping and giving them bottles to make sure they are getting enough to eat. 
• Both are in preemie diapers and preemie clothes. Although, I don't have many preemie outfits so they drown in their newborn things for now.
• I put them in the same pack n play during the day to kick around and no matter how far apart I put them, they always end up touching in one way or another.
• Sometimes they tag team me and when one cries, the other feels the need to cry as well.
• When I take one out of our room at night or out of the pack n play during the day to feed, the other one seems to know they are alone and they start to wimper and fuss around.
• Both girls love bath time, but don't love lotion time.

These girls are some of the biggest blessings. The twins have been so good and Chan is adjusting really well. I still wake up every day trying to wrap my head around the fact that I am a mom of 3 kids! Ah! But they really have been so much fun and I can't imagine life any other way!

Up next: the twin's newborn pictures!

the day we became a family of five

Yikes!

Did I just say family of five??!!

Yes. Yes I did.

I made it past my goal of 36 weeks and actually made it to 37 1/2 weeks. I seriously thought my belly might burst at that point. Growing two babies in there is serious business. I was set to be induced on September 16 at 7:00 am. My parents and Austin's mom and sisters came up the night before and my parents came over to keep Chandler while we left Brian Head at 6:00 am.

We got to the hospital and they started me on IV's and got me all registered. By the time everything was ready to go, they started me on Pitocin and my Dr came in and broke my water.

Nastiest. Feeling. Ever.

I highly recommend an epidural before they break your water if you can help it. It's like involuntary peeing. And peeing. And peeing. Yuck.

Anyway... When I got to the hospital I was already dilated to a 4, so I kinda knew I would move pretty quick... but I was not prepared for how quick.

I decided to wait on my epidural for a while. Partly because I hate the way I feel when half of my body is numb, and partly cause I wasn't feeling any pain at this point. I actually didn't want an epidural at all, but Dr's recommend getting one in case of an emergency c-section. And I didn't want to feel anything if that were to happen. So about a half hour later, my contractions were rolling in pretty good, so I called in the anesthesiologist for my epidural only to find out he was doing someone else's which was fine. I wasn't in that much pain. Yet.

Eh, maybe 15 minutes goes by... and I'M DYING. Every time a contraction would hit it would last for 1-2 minutes, give me oh a 10 second break and start back at it again... I was trying to breathe (but not really) and gripping the sides of the hospital bed thinking to myself, "Seriously, Ashley? You've got to be maybe to a 5 or 6... are you really that big of a wimp?" I went to a 7 with Chandler before my epidural and it wasn't that bad... But this time, oh man I was in some serious pain. I toughed it out until he finally came in and hooked me up. I thought I was good to go when Annie (my nurse) went to put in my catheter... WRONG. I could feel everything. I don't recommend that either. So she decided to check me and see how far I had progressed. Since I was having twins, and attempting to have them natural, I had to deliver in the OR just in case of an emergency c-section. I was supposed to go in the OR when I was dilated to an 8. So i was pretty surprised when Annie checked me...

And I was at a 10. Complete. Ready to go.

Umm... excuse me?!?

The next 10 minutes were a little chaotic. Nurses running around suiting up in their surgery gear and making phone calls to the bajillion people who would be in the OR when I delivered. Calling over to the OR telling them I and the twins were a-comin'. Dr's running over. Austin suiting up in his surgery gear. Just call him Dr. Hunt. And me, laying my hospital bed. Crying.

I was not ready for this. Not this quick. Before I knew it I was being wheeled into the OR. I don't recommend delivering in the OR either. Cold and white and everyone ready to cut you open at any given second. Yikes. Oh, and let me just tell you, there really were oh probably 20 in there with me. Talk about zero privacy. My Dr, my 2 nurses, Austin, the babies' Dr, the respiratory therapist, the anesthesiologist, a whole surgical team, some random (probably not really random, but to me) people just standing in the back, and little did I know there was a window behind me where people could watch. What is this, a movie?? And don't mind me while my legs are up by my head wiiiiiide open. No biggie.

But really, none of that mattered. 

MY FREAKING EPIDURAL WASN'T WORKING!!!

Well, that didn't matter either because when your Dr says push, you listen. 

Hello, it's eviction day for you, Dip and Dot. Everybody out!

So, I pushed for eh, 3 minutes... out pops my sweet, oh so tiny, Baby A.

She was laid on my chest for a minute before she was taken to be seen my the Dr.

I could feel everything with her birth. And one thing I do recommend is that. Actually birthing a child without an epidural is waaaay better then going through the contractions without one.

Game time Baby B. My Dr broke my water (again. yuck.) and had me start pushing. Well, by this time, I was SO numb, I could't feel a dang thing. Sorry 'bout it doc, but I don't know if I'm pushing or not.

But, about 30 minutes later, my Baby B unwillingly joined her sister in this world. She came out with her feet up by her head (glad my epidural worked for that one. Ouch.)

Introducing:

¸c  jn bj jlk0-opoppp

Ava Jean Hunt                       Indie Mae Hunt

September 16, 2014               September 16, 2014

11:36 am                               12:12 pm

5lb 9oz                                  6lb 9oz

18 1/4 inches                         19 1/2 inches

Both girls came out strong and healthy. We had to stay in the hospital for a few days to make sure their blood sugars were regular but other then that they have been so good. Good eaters, good sleepers... I honestly can't complain at all. For having 2 babies at once they have been angels and I'm so lucky to have them.

Our first family of five picture. And no, I'm not showing my swollen, busted, cry face... so you get to look at the top of my head instead.