Thanksgiving

I never really bring up serious stuff on the blog, but with the holiday coming up, I have been feeling very thankful. I have so much to be thankful for this year that it is amazing to me that some days I can't see the forest through the trees so to speak. Most people close to Matt and I know that getting pregnant was not easy for us. We miscarried twins before getting pregnant with these twins. I had to wait nine months to get pregnant again after the miscarriage, and it was hard. I always wanted to be a mommy. When I was nineteen, I found out that it might not be as easy for me as some people. But at nineteen, it isn't something you really worry about. You just file that away for later. When Matt and I finally decided to try for kids, I was excited the first month that we did get pregnant. A close friend was also pregnant, so we were excited to share our pregnancies together. But it wasn't meant to be for me. She has a beautiful boy now, and it is funny to me that if I had stayed pregnant, I would also have a two year olds. It was hard all of those months. I seemed to see pregnant women and babies all around me. I felt defective. I kept hearing things like, "Oh it will happen eventually," "It just wasn't meant to be," and "Some people aren't meant to be mothers." It all stung. Even it was said with the purest of intentions. I clung to the fact that God had given me this desire, and he would fulfill it in his own time. While discussing this with a friend who had her own son, she told me, "there are people that God doesn't make mothers." I was upset, and shocked. I did realize though, that it might be true. So I fell back on just trusting him. I let it go. I know it is so cliche that the cycle you let it go you become pregnant, but that was the truth for me. I spent all this time counting days, taking my temperature, worrying. But I just stopped it all. We became pregnant that cycle, and I just trusted in the Lord like crazy. I held onto the knowledge that he was in control. I always liked Proverbs 3:5, and it seemed to fit. He was in control. Now we have two amazing children. And someday soon (I HOPE!) they will call me mommy. What an amazing answered prayer! That God decided to trust me with the care of these amazing children. So during this time of giving thanks, I am thanking the Lord for these two amazing children, and the knowledge that they have made me a mother.

Winter Clothes are so Cute!

A Typical Day

Here a few things that might see on an average day in our house:

• The twins get up between six and seven in the morning. (I won't mention the 4:00 wake ups that Jack has occasionally, because I am trying to black them out so that the twins have an opportunity for a sibling.) They nap at nine and two for an hour and a half each time.
• When the twins are not napping, they are ransacking the house. From one end to the next. We let them out of the living room about a month ago, and now they run everywhere and get into everything. Jack loves to run. Sophie is more content with letting people carry her around. We have seen tons of crusing from her, and pushing all the push toys, but no walking. When Matt and I try to get her to walk between us, she lifts her legs so that they stick straight out from her body! One time Matt and I tricked her into taking a few steps, but after that...NOPE...she wasn't going to do it!
• We don't hear a whole lot of words yet, (I feel terribly guitly, because I didn't talk to them enough in the first sleep deprived six months!) but they are making tons of sound, and sounds that are specific to things. If Sophie wants something, she says "Yeh, yeh". If she sees something exciting its "uh, uh". And sometimes she gets really excited and says things over and over.
• We go through about three gallons of milk a week. I'll give you a hint as to who drinks it...Matt and I don't.
• The twins are remarkably picky eaters. I wonder if my mom wished on me to have a picky eater when I gave her trouble about eating? One day they like something, and the next day they throw it on the floor as if to say, "Are you crazy? I'm not eating that." This morning they each ate a waffle, and half of a pear. Who knows, I just feed them as much as I can. I should buy stock in Yogurt Puffs(freeze dried yougurt) with amount my kids eat.
• Jack had always been aggressive with Sophie. If she finds a really cool toy that he likes, he tries to take it. We correct him everytime we see it. I also will offer them different toys to diffuse the situation. Sophie has picked up on this, and now she offers Jack a different toy, so that he doesn't take hers. It is too cute! She is such a smart little cookie! HA! And let me tell you, sometimes it works, and he doesn't take her toy.
• The twins are GREAT at helping me clean. Well, no not really. They walk behind me like tornados and make everything messy again. The other day while cleaning the bathroom, Jack tried to stick his hand in the toilet, he unrolled the toilet paper, tried to climb in the tub, pulled over the laundry basket. You get the picture. Sophie is content to watch him wreak havoc.
• We had friends over Saturday night, and the twins were so funny! Sophie convinced more people to carry her around the house and name the things she pointed to. (I think she is getting a little bit of a princess complex.) And Jack flirted away! It was too funny! The twins are stingy with their kisses, and don't give them out a whole lot. Jack kissed Lindsey many times, played with her hair, and climbed all over her. It was so darn cute to watch! He was just smitten with her!

We still love these kids like crazy. Same as always. Matt and I remark everyday how much fun they have become. The more their personalities creep through, the more fun they are! Sophie is the strong willed, loving, gentle baby. Jack is the wild, inquistive, loyal baby. We love them both so much!

I caught the kids in the corner, in the semi-dark, taking turns kissing the duck.

The twin's favorite thing to do it look at the window. They like to be held, but will settle for looking over the chair.

Praise God for Answered Prayers!

Thank you for everyone who prayed for Sophie all of these long months. God answered our prayers! Sophie is a healthy little baby! I didn't realize how much I wanted to hear that she was healthy, and that we could put these problems behind us, until the Dr. said she was. I immediately started crying and kissing her little face! We had an ultrasound and VCGU on Monday, and the poor little baby started crying as soon as she saw the ultrasound tech. One of the nurses at the VCGU did say that she didn't cry as hard as normal kids, but I can't imagine that! I really don't know what I am looking at on the X-rays, but I do know it looked different from the VCGU that she had at four months. This time, her bladder was one big black circle, and when she urinated, all of the dye moved out of her system, and her bladder got smaller. No reflux! Yay! Which means no antibiotics! Double Yay! I threw the bottle out, and celebrated because I don't have to give her that stuff anymore! Yay! There was a small amount of leftover hydrophrenosis, so maybe if you could just spare a few more prayers that that completely goes away. We have a check again in April, and we pray to see that everything is normal at that point. PRAISE GOD! Jack spent the hour hanging out with Dad in hospital, and running the halls. Here are a few pictures Matt took on his phone.

One-year Appointment

The twins had their one-year appointment on the 17th. It took me this long to write about it, because it wasn't the greatest appointment. I guess I was sort of feeling like a bad mommy. :( I got lots of pep talks from loved ones and friends, so I am going to stop beating myself up and move on! There were a couple of big things to worry about...ahem, I mean work on. Sophie was 15 lbs. 4.1 oz. And Jack was 19 lbs. 5.4 oz. Sophie is not on the charts at all, but the problem is that she is not keeping her curve. Her weight gain has slipped in the past few months. Jack has also slipped a few percentiles, but he started walking, running, and getting into everything, so some babies slip a few percentiles at this time, and then pick up thier gain again later. Both babies also were borderline anemic. I should have had them on vitamins, but the Dr. didn't mention this at nine months. We have been making a few adjustments to thier diet, so hopefully we will see some major changes. Moslty, I add butter to everything! Even thier prunes! HAHA! They have finally started drinking milk (we now go through about 2 1/2 gallons a week!), and I now make everything a little more fatty than before. And lots of that butter! I now forcefeed them the grossest vitamin I have ever smelled. Jack gags everytime he eats it. I don't know why we couldn't just feed them Flinstones vitamins? The Dr. told me to keep the vitamins out of thier reach, which we do, but in the world would possess a child to eat that stuff by choice? We have an appointment on the 20th to do a little wieght checkup, so hopefully they are packing on the pounds! I think they are, as thier bellies are starting to stick out a little more each day! I don't think either one will ever be really chubby, but if they start gaining, I'm sure the Dr. will be happy! On a side note, Sophie's stats for 9 mths, and 12 mths were both within four ozs of what I weighed at those appointments. Also, her height was the same...hmmm...maybe genetics does play in a little bit here. ;)

The Big Day!

Jack and Sophie must have known it was thier birthday last Friday, because they woke up bright-eyed and bushey-tailed at 5:30 am, sharp. Matt and I were too excited to be tired, so we rushed into the nursery and sang "Happy Birthday." Then we let the twins open the presents we got them. Matt picked out little stuffed dolls called "Blahblahs." Jack loves his, but Sophie only has room in her arms for her lovey right now. We also gave them this little toy with gears on it, that they had played with at a friends house before. After that, we ate breakfast, hung out and played with our new toys, and then took a nap. When the twins got up we went to the mall. We picked out some clothes, and walked around. We had lunch at T.G.I.Fridays. Jack and Sophie had pizza, broccoli, and manarin oranges. They did really well for thier first time out at a resturaunt. I however have never eaten a meal so fast! After lunch, we let Jack run around the mall a little. Matt was following him, and he kept walking up to strangers and cheesing at them. Of course they smile back, which only encourages him! We came home, took another nap, and then woke up and went to the park to enjoy the nice weather for a little bit. We got home just in time for both sets of Grandmas and Grandpas to get here. The twins opened presents, and got things like dolls, a stroller, a playhut, little people toys, books, and of course clothing. After that we had pizza from dominos, which the twins love (silly me, I was supposed to order something else for lunch and got confused!). Then we had cupcakes, which Sophie ate a few bites of, and then smashed all over her face. Jack wasn't too crazy about the getting messy part! Of course after this they had a bath, and then to bed! It was a great day, and I really can't believe they are a year old. What a year it has been. All I can say, is thank God for the amazing, wonderful, special, babies that we have been blessed with. I thank him everyday that he made me a mom to these two little people.

We Partied Hard

What a gorgeous day we had last Saturday! We had the twin's birthday party in a local park, outside under a pavillion. We had yummy food, meatball sandwiches, panini sandwiches, pasta salad, apples and caramel dip, hot chocolate, and cake and cupcakes (Thank you both Grandma and Grandpa's, and Uncle Greg and Aunt Theresa for helping me with the food. I turned around and the sandwiches were made!). Lots of our friends and family were able to come join us, and make our day special. I made both of the cakes for the twins, and was rather proud of them! Here a few pictures I snapped, but there are more to come because I assigned my sister the job of photographer, and she hasn't given them to me yet...hint, hint. Such a fun day, and I think I was more excited for this party than I have ever been for any of my own!

One Very Blessed Year

This post is a little late, but we have been incredibly busy. First we were planning for the party, then cleaning up from the party, and then this week the twins got Croup. Yuck! Jack has been one coughing mess, but he actually likes to talk and hear the gravely sound of his voice. Sophie, thankfully hasn't suffered from very many symptoms. She is just very crabby. So anyway, all of those things together, with the addition of a sick Daddy, make one tired Mommy!

Here are a few things about each of the twins, and what they are up to right now. I would love to keep them here in this moment forever! They are so much fun, and they are discovering everything around them. It is amazing to watch them become little people. Alas, they must continue growing, so I will record these things here to look back on later.

Jack David

He is a wild man! He gets into everything all of the time, and completely surprises me each and everyday. Today I left the twins in the living room to get thier coats and shoes for a walk, and he comes waltzing out of the living after me. He broke the gate! And man was he proud of himself. He is starting to run now, because what could be better than getting somewhere fast? Also, he has begun to climb. He tries to get his leg up on everything. He crawled up our four outside stairs after our walk today. I didn't even have to help him. I showed him the other day how to do it, and then he did it. Amazing. And a bit sad...I mean he is growing so much everyday, it is hard to take it all in! Throughout this entire year he has been such a happy little guy. He loves people, and loves to cheese for them. He knows how to be cute, and loves to make people laugh. Sometimes, if Matt and I are doing something, or are playing with Sophie, he does something he knows he shouldn't just to get our attention. We are working with him on this one, but he is just so social, he wants to be near someone. Jack loves Sophie. He gives her toys and her lovey all day long. The other day I was helping Sophie walk, and he got so excited. He just wants someone to tag along with him. We went to a party last week with two-year-old boys, and he chased them all over the house. He thought it was the greatest thing ever when Quinn shared a cracker with him. He also chased a dog all over the house! He loves to eat his veggies, and rarely eats fruits. He is much more adventurous with his food than Sophie. He has five and half teeth, as one is about half way in. His nickname is still "Noodle," and he responds to this as much as Jack. We also call him "Monkey," which is pretty self explanatory. He says the words "Mamma" and "Dadda." We love this litle guy so much, and he makes my day happy everyday with his smiles, hugs and kisses.

Sophie Grace

Little Sophie. She is such a piece of work! She knows exactly what she likes, and what she doesn't like! When Matt and I try to get her to walk between us, she folds her legs up and refuses to stand. She laughs and giggles at us as we try to make her straight. If I try to feed her a food she doesn't like, she spits it back out and blows raspberries at me. If I try to sneak little pieces of it in with other foods, she moves it around in her mouth and spits out the piece she doesn't want. Like I said, she is a tough cookie. If you give her fruit, she eats it like crazy! Fruit is her favorite. She has two teeth on the bottom, and two try to poke through on the top. She is discovering everything. She looks around the room and says "dat" which means, "name that for me." She can say "Booomb," and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," (Ok, it doesn't sound exactly like that, but it always sounds the same, and has the exact cadence of the book) as well as "Momma" and "Dadda." If you ask her where certain things are, like balloons, she will point to them. Sophie also loves Jack. She crawls up to him when he is laying on the floor getting his diaper changed. Both babies laugh at each other, as Sophie plays with his hair. She loves his hair. Sophie is cruising around the room, bending over to pick things up, and pulling up. We haven't seen any steps yet, but she did stand on her own one time with purpose. She is a little bit scared of falling, Ok, a lot, and I think that is holding her back. I am sure one day she will just start walking, but probably once she is completely ready. Matt calls Sophie, "Sophie-Wofie" most often, and I call her "Miss." I am not sure where that came from, but it just stuck. We are so in love with this giggly, happy, strong-willed child. She is absolutely amazing. She makes us laugh everyday with all of the silly little quirks she has, and her amazing spirit.

One Year Portraits

Matt and I weren't impressed with the six month pictures of the twins that we had taken in a studio, so we decided to take our own one year pictures in a local park. Plus, we were too cheap to pay all of that money again! I loaded the kids up, and we met at the park. Jack was all boy, and found sticks, rocks, and mud. Sophie, being the little princess that she is, really wanted one of us to hold her, so she would only sit or stand for a few minutes at a time. These were the ones that Matt and I really liked. You can make any of the pictures bigger by clicking on them. So here they are, the pictures of our one (OK, almost one) year olds.

A Walk with Fall Leaves

I am so happy that the twins love fall as much as I do! Here are a few snapshots of our walk!

Birthday Photo Shoot

Now that everyone has received their birthday invites, I can share some of the pictures that didn't make it onto the card. Matt and I dressed the kids up, and took tons of pictures as usual. We used the one corner in our house that doesn't have windows in the way, but Sophie kept crawling away, so that didn't last long. Next we used the "double camp chair" with blankets draped on top of it, but Sophie fell off onto her head. I could see it happening, but I was behind the camera lense, and couldn't do anything to stop it. Poor baby. After that she had a bruise, and we cleaned up shop because comforting her was more important! Matt and I can be a little picture crazy, so we endend up with a ton of pictures to choose from. I'd say that we did a pretty good job, as it is extremely hard to get two one year olds to sit still for even a minute. Here are a few of the good and the bad.

The invite pictures.

Jack looking at her bow so that he rip it off.

I love that I have a daughter so I can dress her up in pretty dresses and bows!

Holding hands. Sophie is getting dangerously close to the edge!

Post fall with their loveys.