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.