Max and Clara are 6 weeks old today! 

I cannot believe that much time has gone by. As cliche as it may sound, in some ways I feel like they have been with us forever, and in others I feel like it was just yesterday I was in labor. But either way, I need time to slow down! We are trying to soak up as many of these newborn snuggles as we possibly can. 

Fun facts at 6 weeks:

Both Max and Clara are getting some major rolls on their thighs, arms and chins. I love all of them!

Clara still wears newborn diapers (although that is probably almost over) while Max has been in size 1 for about a week. We go through about 16-20 diapers a day. (!)

Their skin tone is totally different! Clara obviously lucked out with the more olive complexion from Russ's Hispanic side. Lucky girl. 

Max is our little smiley baby, while Clara is an amazing sleeper.

Max loves classical music. It soothes him to sleep almost every time. We call him "music Max."

Both are great eaters. Mom's milk is taaaaasty!

By the way, I have totally been loving our Milestone Baby Cards that I learned about from my friend Sada. 

And also, it is nearly impossible to take a decent photo of two newborns! Getting them in the same state of being at the same time is pretty humorous. At one point Clara was sucking on Max's arm as she thought it was her pacifier. Good times had by all.

A Gender Neutral TWIN Nursery!

 the view from the hallway/door

I'm so excited to show the twins' nursery today! This room has turned into one of my favorites in the whole house. It took a while to come together, but I am in love with the finished product. 

When we found out we were having twins, the room that had been intended for a future nursery was going to be way too small. We had to overtake the guest bedroom, move out Russ's office, and do all sorts of rearranging. I was sad to change the guest bedroom -- I actually really loved it! But it all worked out. The room started like this:

I was way overwhelmed by the idea of decorating for two genders in one room! I wanted to do more than just "gender neutral" -- I wanted to give each twin their own area that was obviously theirs. I think I achieved my goal. It's clean, simple and calming with enough personality throughout.

I started by repainting the room Edgecomb Grey by Benjamin Moore. It's the perfect "greige." I knew I wanted modern cribs, but dang those can be pricey! And when you're buying two of everything... well, you know. Anyway, I found these perfect grey cribs at none other than Walmart (they've actually gone up in price since I bought them).

I knew I wanted the bedding to bring out the different genders. It took a (long) while to pick out all the fabrics and make sure they coordinate with each other yet allow boy vs. girl to shine through. My amazing mother sewed the bumpers and made the quilts. (although I must add that my sister and I helped hand quilt the blankets while we were on our houseboat trip this summer, so there, I did do something :)) I absolutely love them!

The fabric is from www.fabric.com, although I don't think any of those fabrics are on there anymore. I think you can find some of them on etsy or other fabric sites! Here is a list of a few of the fabrics I used:

Blue zig zag: Indie Chic Woven Blue by Riley Blake 

Coral circles: Pearl Bracelets Peach by Lizzy House

Yellow stripe: Glimma stripe in Dandelion Yellow by Lotta Jansdotter

Flowers: Glimma flower pods in gold/grey/white by Lotta Jansdotter

The art above each crib also was a fun way to show different genders. I found the coordinating woodland creatures here. I also bought two coordinating prints from CinnamonInk. I stamped their little footprints and simply glued the piece of paper into an embroidery hoop. The remaining prints were gathered from around the house (i.e.: old Snow & Graham calendars). I made the "I Am a Child of God" piece above Max's crib using the same method I did here.

 Clara's wall

Max's wall

I bought the rug from Rugs USA during some huge Labor Day weekend sale (I think it was like 80% off or something crazy). It is super soft and plush. It's still shedding a little bit, but I can tell each time I vacuum it gets better. I love how it ties the whole room together. 

And the dots! Oh, how I love the dots. I call it the "confetti wall." I bought the 2" vinyl decal dots from Walls Need Love - best idea ever! Covering an entire wall with this method is super affordable and fun. Using the image from the website as inspiration, I just kept the dots a little more condensed in the corner to make it look like the confetti was literally "exploding." I love, love the end result. 

That recliner/glider has been one of the best purchases (we found it at Babinski's Baby, a local store in Utah). I had been looking at some other gliders that were perhaps a bit more "stylish," and then my wise sister encouraged comfort over anything else. I ended up buying the exact chair she has. Best decision ever! I have spent so much time in that chair already, and these guys are only 4 weeks old! 

And how have I gone this whole time without talking about the beloved dresser?!? I had been eyeing this dresser from West Elm for years, and then one day I saw it at DownEast Home (a local discount home decor store). It was my very first nursery purchase, I was just barely pregnant. It was a total splurge, but with it being more than half off of what West Elm had it for, I haven't regretted it one bit. :) And plus, it can be used forever as it doesn't scream "baby!"

(oh, the fun owl lamp is from Target)

The bookshelves are just spice racks from Ikea that I spray painted a sage-y green. They have already been used a ton. I am sure once we continue to accumulate more books we will need to figure out a system with more capacity, but for now the racks are perfect.

So there ya go! That's the nursery! Aaaaaaand... If you are still reading this you deserve a prize. :)

The Whole World In Our Hands

Just checking in. These two pictures pretty much sum up what we have been up to for the last 3 weeks 

(I can't believe the twins are 3 weeks! Tell time to slow down pleeeeeease!).

I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing better than a sleeping baby on your chest. I know I will be able to hold both babies like this only for a short time, so I am trying to live it up. They are too precious. I could kiss those cheeks all day long! And I love how Clara is staring at Max. I can tell that they already have a special bond. 

And then there's this picture of Russ and Clara. It kills me. He and I were tackling the midnight shift together and I was sitting on the floor with Max. I look up to see this moment, and luckily captured it on my phone before it ended. That little girl already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger.