The TWINS are THREE.

THREE. Can it really be...? My chunky babies are now three!! They are no longer referred to as "the girlies". They each have their own little personality and opinions and have moved on to much more fitting names,

Paypay & Deedee

Nicknames are pretty common in the Payzant family. It's just what we do. I suppose we just like to get creative with the ones we love. And it makes perfect sense that my own children now do it with one another. My nickname as a child was Lala. My dad still calls me lala at the age of 31. And I LOVE IT. It's a way of expressing our love and unites us.

Anyways...paypay. That was started by me...somehow, one day. It actually started as Pay and went to PeiWei but that was weird to me. So then I doubled it up...PAYPAY. It seemed to be perfect for her. Deedee was started by Paypay. She came up with that on her own. Obviously Brooklynn is too hard for a little girl with a speech delay to pronounce. So, Deedee it is! And it goes perfectly with Paypay. And they have both stuck! We no longer call them Payton and Brooklynn really, unless they do something really, really NAUGHTY.

 Their birthday was pretty low-key. As are most holidays and birthdays around our house. We have learned to be flexible and accommodating with dad's doctor schedule. We always celebrate as a family (sometime), but usually days later when dad is home and well rested.

Which brings me back to THEIR birthday. It was low-key because well I'm a single parent most of the time (at least when Evan is on his trauma rotation) and when you're a single mom, doing everything, going none stop for days...weeks...months...and even years at a time...you just can't do it all.
That being said, I tried to make it different from the norm in little ways.

The girls woke-up to balloons tied to their beds! The boys and I actually tip-toed into their room early so that we could witness their reaction. Priceless, I tell you!

 Pure joy and happiness written all over those sweet, sleepy faces!

We sang happy birthday to them A LOT that day. Their reaction: lots and lots of giggling.

The girls being goofs. Monkey see, monkey do. Always.

Enjoying their favorite breakfast on their special day: maple pancakes with syrup and whipped cream on top.

Opening presents in pajamas. Sounds good to me!

To make them feel special and loved, I pampered them by painting all 20 toenails and 20 fingernails! Which is something that doesn't happen as often as they would like, because it is NO easy task. But fingernail polish we did. And we fancied them up with the curling iron. Throw on a ballerina shirt and skirt...and these two little girls were in their own personal birthday heaven.

And because of all the fancy-ing, we had to take some 3 year old pictures to document.

Trying to take pictures of these two together is a joke! 

Happy 3rd birthday to my little princesses!!

I LOVE YOU GIRLS. ALWAYS HAVE...EVEN BEFORE I MET YOU HERE ON THIS EARTH. THANK YOU FOR BLESSING MY EVERY DAY.

.....

Look at that good-looking bunch! They are my loves and my greatest treasures on this earth. The awesome thing is...I get to take them all to Heaven with me! What we've got...money can't buy! 

happy birthday grills!!

 to the TWO cutest little grills around...happy birthday!!

WE LOVE YOU.

a year ago...

one year ago (to the day...jan 19), i posted this as my facebook status:

‎

35 weeks
dilated to a 4
having the babies on Friday (possibly before)!
Now, that's a complete shocker.

that was posted on a wednesday evening...and due to evan's school/test schedule and my doctors i had to lay in bed and keep the girls from coming until friday evening. and i'll have you all know that the girls were delivered at 6:53 and 6:54 pm FRIDAY EVENING. It was all in the LORD's hands. and now...here i am...preparing for the BIG day...their FIRST birthday. i can't believe how fast that year went!! the girls turn ONE on SATURDAY, JANUARY 21 (a day I will remember forever and always).

every single day.

this is how we start our every day. an 8 oz bottle of warm formula.

hello monday (you snuck up on us)! 

bouncing babies.

Just because THESE pictures make us laugh...I thought I would share. I know kansas grama and grampa will appreciate them. It's hilarious to watch them in the bouncers together...once one starts jumping...the other one jumps in and then they just compete to see who can jump the fastest.

two low riders.

I am absolutely lovin' the stage the girls are at right now! I think this is my favorite... around 9-14 months. They are so stinkin' cute...and their personalities truly shine! And boy, are these two complete opposites. You'll notice from the pictures that we have one that loves hair accessories and one that can't stand having them on. Bummer for me. I love hairbows...a little too much maybe. But I'll take what I can get. And I'm thinking that our crawling days are coming to a close here soon (if you remember, the twins turn ONE on Jan. 21)....which I'm a little nervous about...they're really going to be all over the place then. I'm counting my blessings that they have yet to discover the stairs. I have yet to purchase any gates for the stairs. I'm sure that day will come...for now...I am very much enjoying having two GIRLS and watching them explore and discover the world around them.   

A favorite pastime.

The girls LOVE the bath...even when it's empty! They giggle whenever they see a tub and crawl over to it quickly...which turns into lots and lots of screaming with excitement (mostly from brooklynn)!! I have a new love for bathtime...seriously...because it means happiness all around. 

The girls' stats @ 2 months

Brooklynn

height: 21.46 inches (16%ile)

weight: 11 lbs 5.7 oz (64%ile)

head circum: 14.37 inches (4%ile)

Payton

height: 22.01 inches (35%ile)

weight: 11 lbs 11.3 oz (73%ile)

head circum: 14.57 inches (9%ile)

Recognizing my blessings.

Oh these two! They are two of the sweetest boys I know. I have had a rough week. Several days I just wanted to hide (from everything and everyone). Preferably in my bed! Ah yes, my bed. Am I the only one that experiences this?? Please tell me it's normal every now and then. Anyways...these boys do anything and everything to get me to laugh and smile. One day in particular this week, we were outside enjoying the weather. The boys were riding bikes. In the middle of all their fun, they picked some flowers and came running to me and said that they were for me and the girlies (their favorite women). Ahh...they truly know how to melt a woman's heart!

Love my boys. And how could one not love these two?? They are pretty sweet too. I have so much to be thankful for! And tonight, I am SO thankful that this weekend we have the privilege of hearing this WONDERFUL man during General Conference...

President Thomas S. Monson.

Did you know that he is one of the most powerful octogenarians in America??

This could not come at a better time for me...I am in NEED of a spiritual boost..."a renewed determination to live the gospel and to serve the Lord"!!

Kisses!

The girls LOVE giving each other kisses...especially when it's time to eat!

Sometimes they suck on each other's head and hands.

These are for you, Aunt Lacey.

The End.

Favorites from today.

The girls in their car seats! I'm still in shock that I have twins, believe it or not.
The little ruffles on the girls' bums! Love it!!

And just to note: they have just recently outgrown size NEWBORN diapers and clothes...but are still a little too tiny for size 0-3 months. My itty bitties are growing.

My little monkeys! The weather was absolutely gorgeous today and the boys ventured outside to play with chalk. Cardston is still in his funny jammies (don't judge me...heck...I'm still in mine). And Brampton...well...he has started to cheese it up for the camera. I love that Brampton is trying to keep the sun out of his eyes and has placed his hand on top of Cardston's head. And Babers has a wipe that he was using to clean up the chalk. Silly kid. I love that his knee is popped. Can we say GOOFBALLS. Brooklynn
This picture captures their personalities perfectly! Brooklynn has major attitude!
Payton bug!

Today.

Yesterday (Monday) was a poopy day. I laid in bed last night thinking of all the horrible things that happened and wanted to take them all back.

But I can't.

And so...I promised myself to do better today. And well...today I tried REALLY hard to be a good MOM.

I want my children to remember the fun times I share with them...laughing...dancing...singing...playing...pretending...and talking. Most importantly, I want them to remember that there was and is LOVE and LAUGHTER in our home. I want them to know that I truly love them EACH and EVERY day.

And since I have been such a horrible blogger lately...I thought I would share some recent pictures of the girlies. Proof that they are growing and filling out...love me some chunky baby cheeks!

Payton

Brooklynn
And I had to sneak this one in! Payton lookin' oh so precious.

Their first two weeks.

I'll have to admit...the first two weeks were a little hectic. But, that's normal even when you have one baby. The boys were trying to adjust to less attention. Time-outs happened quite frequently. But overall...they handled it very well. The girls are little angels! They eat and sleep and sleep some more. And that makes life all the more better for a mother. We were extremely blessed to have Texas Grandma stay and help take care of US for 3 weeks. She was my saving grace...taking care of the boys and helping with the girls...cooking meals...cleaning...pretty much everything! Thank you Annette. Evan was on a rotation that allowed him to be home quite a bit and THAT brought me much comfort. We spent the first few days trying to figure out a schedule for the girls...learning how to nurse two at once...adjusting to now having four kids...bonding...and feeling super sleep deprived. I was still in quite a bit of pain from my incision and VERY swollen in my legs and feet. We were enjoying the first few moments with our babies...life slowed way down for us and we realized what was MOST important. Here are some pictures to prove it...

Brookipoo
lil P
...........................
Girls' stats at TWO WEEKS:
Both were EXACTLY the same.
6 pounds, 4 ounces
19.5 inches

They're gaining weight! Yay. That means we don't have to supplement (for now at least).