turning a corner.

it seems we have turned a corner, my friends. 

i thought that the day would never come but it seems we have finally arrived at the day where I can say that things are getting easier.  the girls have started sleeping through the night.  

can I get an amen?  

actually, can I get a double amen?  

they slept through the night for the first time 2 weeks ago and they are consistently sleeping through most nights.  and when i say sleep through the night, i mean about from about 8pm-4am.  then i feed them and they go back to sleep until about 7-7:30.  

but about 8 hours straight?  

that is basically through the night.  i will drop their middle of the night feeding at closer to a year.  since they are so small still, i don’t mind feeding them one extra time for a little while longer.  

but once they started sleeping through the night, i decided it was time to stop pumping in the middle of the night too.  see, for 7 months i woke up in the night to pump at about 1:30-2am.  it allowed me to really store up a lot of milk in the freezer and it was totally worth it.  

but I am done.  

after months of every night getting up to pump, feed the girls and put the pacifiers back in their mouths several times a night, i am getting my sleep on these days and I am loving it!  

the girls are also playing more independently these days.  

they like to play with their toys a lot and are entertained more easily.  they love to play with cole too!  the three of them will take turns screaming and laughing at each other, which is hysterical and too cute!  but their ability to play by themselves has freed me up so much.  i no longer have to do everything with a baby (or two!) in my arms, on my hip or in a carrier. 

and since they are crawling everywhere, and taking their 1^st steps (hold me), they are able to get their own toys, follow me and Brenner around, follow cole, and find their own pacifiers, all of which is actually helpful.   i think that with them being more active all day long and moving so much is helping them sleep better too!  people keep telling me that once they start moving things will get crazy, and i know what they mean in a way, but for right now, it is helping a lot.

as hard as it is to think about leaving the first year behind, that sweet precious first year of life, the closer we get to that landmark the easier things are getting.

i feel like I can breathe a little bit more these days.  

with a little bit more sleep and more independence for all, we have turned a corner.  

and here is my favorite new photo that completely sums up my life right now.  laughing, playing, tackling, naked hineys.  

life is good.