Our Party of Five

We are so ready for Spring!

2011-03-12T23:22:00.001-05:00

We find lots of ways to have fun inside during the chilly winter days but the glimpses of warmer days and sunshine make me eager for Springs arrival. More so now then ever I think with three little ones. We spend our days playing with cars and trucks, blocks, baby dolls, bouncing on the couch, coloring, practicing letters and writing, reading and looking at books, playing tag, hide-N'-seek and Whoosh (Lucas' fun made up chase game where we end up jumping onto the couch) and of course watching a little Nick Jr. or Disney too! We venture out for a walk/bike ride every now and then when the weather permits but that is challenging with everyone bundled up I must admit.
But I am so ready to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. Let them run wild in the yard,have picnics, play in the sandbox and on the swingset. And venture to the park more for playtime too. With the time change today I know it will be here soon and this lady is HAPPY about that!

Especially since both Peyton and Kayleigh are officially toddlers. Yep, over the last three weeks Ms. Kales has tried to catch up to her sister. She isn't running with Peyton just yet but I think she will be in no time at all!

Here's to Spring being just around the corner!!!

Buds

2011-03-12T22:31:00.005-05:00

These two are buds. Two little boys who are the epitome of BOY. Wild, boisterous, energy filled, car/truck lovin', outdoor junkies. Lucas and Russell only get to get together a handful of times each year. Yet just like their daddy's (and mommies too!) they get SO EXCITED when they know they are going to get to see each other. Even if just for a few hours on a sunny cool late winter day...they are over the moon to.. run, jump, and play

swing, slide, and glide.

Trek hand in hand through the woods on fun-filled adventures.

And pose on a stump or rock with one of their favorite buds.

I think these two are going to be lifelong friends. I know our lives have been blessed by the friendships we all share- young and old! :) Love you guys!!!

Furbabies

2011-02-14T15:54:00.002-05:00

A good friend just lost her doggy this weekend and my heart hurts for her and her hubby. This wasn't any old doggy but it was their first baby- their furbaby. They have gone on to adopt another sweet pup into their family and have also welcomed a sweet little girl since Neo joined their lives, but he was their first baby. Does this sound like another family you know of? ;)
Yes, I know he is a dog and not a human, but we love them just as much as our human babies and they love us- UNCONDITIONALLY. There are not many beings are on this Earth that we can say that about. Furbabies are such a blessing in our families. We as humans tend to hold grudges, have crummy days when we take it out on others, are cautious in our relationships in fear of getting hurt. But not these sweet puppies, they are always ready to dish out a kiss or love you no matter what.
I remember vividly the night before Hunter died laying on him crying about missing my mom and he never moved. He just let me sob on him and that brought me such comfort. After the tears slowed he picked up his head and gave me a wet, sloppy, warm kiss and I loved him that much more for it. Little did I know that about 24 hours later he would leave this world and our family forever and enter into Heaven to pass those warm, sloppy, wet kisses onto Mom.
We were supposed to go see the movie Marley & Me the day after Hunter died, which was also my mom's birthday. At that time we were both off for the day and looking forward to our daytime date while Lucas was safe at school. I was so excited to see the movie after reading the book, even knowing how the story ended. I love my furbabies so much and am a sap for good pet stories. Needless to say we never made it to the movie theatre. We instead spent that day saying goodbye to Hunter and in tears over his sudden loss.
Well, we finally watched Marley & Me over the weekend and it was so great. It was such a wonderful family movie that Todd & I completely identified with through our life together growing our family along side our furbabies. Especially Mr. Hunter, the first one to fill such a special part of our hearts. I'm sure you can guess that there were LOTS of tears in the end as we watched them say goodbye to their beloved Marley as we relived that moment with Hunter. But it was so wonderful to be reminded just how special these furbabies are in our lives. Much like many other families with many small kids running around- the pets can sometimes live in the shadows and still love us, nonetheless. So we are not taking another day with sweet Bailey for granted and Nala too of course.
As they say- "Pets come into our lives and only stay for what seems to be a little while. But the footprints they leave on our hearts last a lifetime." We love you and miss you Hunter and we know you are romping with sweet Neo over that Rainbow Bridge! I know his family is hurting now but I hope they will hold their memories of their first furbaby so close to their hearts and know he had the best doggy life ever with them :)

She did it!!!

2011-02-13T20:53:00.001-05:00

Here is our first little walker! She started the last week of January with the four steps or so and then BOOM..Well here she is last week :) I love to see her get so excited about her big accomplishment. She beams as we cheer her on- I love it!!!
Let the real fun begin around here- well, guess we better wait for Kayleigh to get there too. I don't think she is too far behind in that department. She is getting braver by the day...
Look out momma!!!!

Bows

2011-02-08T15:34:00.000-05:00

I knew that once I had little girls that I would put bows in their hair once it was long enough to stay. I say that because I had barely any hair as a baby so I had no idea when I would get the chance with these two! But they have quite a bit of wispy, kida curly locks to adorn. So their bow collection started with the typical store bought variety. We even got some really cute ones for their birthday from a good friends mom. I too have made a few for them to wear in my "free time" for special occasions like Christmas and their birthday. They are so stinking cute whether it is just in their hair or if I pull it into a little crazy top of their head ponytail. If only I could get a cute picture of them together with the bows IN!!!
Or so I think...
So I have taken the time on occasion to brush their hair, and put it in a cute little bow helping to clarify the fact that yes....
they are two little girls(I actually got this question when they were dressed in pink with PINK coats on..)and yes....
they are twins...do people really wonder? :)

But sometimes these two have their own opinion about the subject....

It is a game called how many bows can I take and eat?

Sigh...maybe one day they will stay in for that perfect photo opp???

A Birthday we will never forget

2011-01-31T22:02:00.007-05:00

I can't believe my sweet girls are one!!! This year has to be the fastest (even on somes days that went by about as slow as molasses in terms of accomplishment) one so far in my life. Three sweet kiddos 3 and under is a fantastic blessing that I am forever grateful for but my feet rarely stop moving. That would explain the speed in which 2010 blew by I suppose ;)

Our littlest munchkins are not so little these days. At their 12 mo. appt. Peyton measured in at 22 pounds and 6 oz., and Kayleigh was 22 pounds and 10 oz. I can't seem to find the paper with the stats (imagine that) but they were in the 50-75th %ile for their height too! This would explain the 18 month clothes we are rocking out these days! And even some of those are snug :) Very different then there big bro, keeping us on our toes...
They are great sleepers and eaters. Nighttime is around 11 hours and naps are 2 for about 1.5-2.5 hours. Kayleigh will eat ANYTHING and lots of it. Peyton is a little pickier and seems to love her carbs, fruits, and most meats. Veggies are already a struggle for us with her. That is a new one around here at this age...They are switched over to whole milk now (love the savings in that dept!) and we are working on the sippy cup. They love juice and water in it, milk is another story. I just got some Nuby cups that I will try this week and hopefully that will go better than the Playtex..Let's just say they FLIPPED out and threw them down with my first attempt..
Peyton is walking these days- short distances- we haven't made laps around the house or anything but she beems with pride as she toddles over to see us or pick up a toy. So sweet to watch, I need to get it on video soon before she gets much farther. Bad momma..Kales is watching her for pointers and has attempted walking between furniture pieces that are a step or two apart. I had to sneek to watch her yesterday but she bravely let go of the couch to get to the train table and made it. If she would have seen me she would have got down and made a beline for me. That girl is a SPEED crawler- bulldog style. She balls up her hands and flys to her destination, sometimes even putting her head down to ram it into you or something. So silly but so sweet! I give her a few more weeks and she will be moving like homo erectus too!
Both girls are saying Ma-Ma and occasionally Da-da. I think we are working on Dog, Meow, Nala, and baby. You know how they are at this stage... Sometimes it sounds right on the money and other times you just hear jibberish...but they pick up on things we ask them pretty quickly, pointing or going to get something like their baby to feed it the bottle... So much fun at this stage!
I just can't believe that they are so far from the helpless little newborn that wore those teeny little clothes and easily fit in the nook of my arm. I just wish I could stop time every now and then and soak it all in. Before I know it they will be running to get on the bus!;)

Here are some pictures from my attempted birthday shots, please note that photographing two babies is NOT an easy feat! I need Photoshop ;)

Kayleigh had a cute little bow but our little tomboy kept ripping it out...So I gave up!

They can tag team and unload a drawer in no time flat!

They LOVE their ride on's!

Here are some birthday party pictures, I am so sorry that all of this is late but I am trying to catch up. My only excuse these days is LIFE HAPPENS and TIME is precious...I wasted a whole heck of a lot of it before we had these babes ;)

Erica's sweet little girls- can't believe they are almost two!!!

Sweet Kales and Ne-Ne

Peyton was super excited about her special birthday cake ;)

Kayleigh was too, she ANNIALATED it!!!

Crazy birthday girls

Singing Happy Birthday, we sang it twice so they each had a turn...

Their giant cupcake birthday cake

complete with special smash cakes for each birthday girl :)

Some if the birthday festivities

It looked like Christmas all over again, these two girls are so loved and we are so thankful for such loving and wonderful friends and family! We slowly opened their gifts over a few days to enjoy each one of them. That was a great idea suggested by a good friend. Especially since they are so little and really didn't know what was going on :)

Daddy and his sweet little girl, well one of them ;)

Ahh, relaxation at the end of a fun day!

Christmastime

2011-01-05T15:27:00.009-05:00

Best buds enjoying posing for their rivalry picture! We love you Scarlett- VT and all!!!!

Christmas around here was full of fun, love, family, friends, and laughter! And obviously it was all a "little" hectic but we have come to expect nothing else around here these days. I know one our house is quiet one day I will miss it and all of the chaos that goes along with threee little ones. All in all the tree stayed standing with most ornaments on it (Thanks P & K- I was really forseeing disaster here)...The presents stayed wrapped until the big day...and Santa's arrival was eagerly anticipated by all! It is so much fun to "live" through your child's eyes at this time of year and I have to admit, Lucas brought so much joy to the season for us. I have a hard time this time of year especially but Lucas reminded me of the joy and innocence. We enjoyed many Christmas stories, homemade Christmas cookies, and slowly unwrapping the gifts throughout our lazy Christmas day. Peyton and Kayleigh even seems to enjoy to fun and special time together :)

Everyone loves Stinky the Garbage Truck around here, this was one of the Santa requested gifts from Lucas.

The girls enjoying a leisurely dinner with their BFF- Shelby :)

Playtime!

Lucas jamming on his cat piano, another Santa hit!

Loving his new garbage truck from Ne-Ne

Crusin babies! Minus the silly face from Kayleigh :)

Who is taking who for a ride???

Boxes make the BEST ramps!

We love our new hats Aunt Jean!!!

sharing snacks with Bailey

Pretty girls :)

I had more pictures but Blogger is driving me nutz recently, I tried adding the pics SEVERAL days and didn't get to far. But hope this gave you a glimpse into our fun festivities. Lots of love!

So lucky :)

2010-12-24T15:55:00.000-05:00

Growing up I always wanted a sister. Someone to play barbies with, goof off with, tell secrets to, talk about boys with, grow up with and have families together....All of those wonderful things sisters do together. I am sure part of this stemmed from the relationships my mom had with her "little" sisters. They were all friends for life, no matter what differences they had, or how far apart they were. They were sisters and nothing could change that!

Don't get me wrong. I love my big brother, he is great! We had our YEARS of tormenting each other but we have grown past all of that and are great friends. I know I can always count on him and he's always there. I also have a life blessed with many great girlfriends throughout all ages and walks of my life. From the special ladies that I grew up with who were like my sisters, to the ones I have met over the past decade and have grown close to. All of these women have been fantastic and I can't imagine my life without them. But none if this is like having the REAL thing.

I am so happy that these two sweet girls will always have each other. They have a built in best friend for the REST of their lives, how awesome is that!!??! They have a pretty special big brother too who will always love and protect them I'm sure. We love to watch them play together each and every day. They already have their own little language and special giggles reserved only for the other. Hearing them chase each other and giggle down the hallway is so funny and brings smiles to mine and Lucas' faces. One of my favorite times of the day is when they are going to sleep or waking up at nap time. They talk up a storm with each other, stand up and swap paci's and blankets :) SO sweet, if only I could sneak up there with my camera! But they usually catch me after a few minutes. They are SO LUCKY to have each other and I hope they will always be the best of friends.

Thanksgiving Fun

2010-12-20T12:45:00.000-05:00

Here is a look at the fun we had over Thanksgiving. Yes, I am well aware that it is almost Christmas but you know me- better late than never! I loaded the picutures for this post on Dec. 6th, so sad....
Speaking of Better Late than Never, that statement also applys to:

1) our holiday cards- I can't seem to call them Christmas because well, they won't make it out people!!! So New Year's cards it is for us again ;) It's fun to get mail after the Christmas holidays have passed too, right?
2) the girl's birthday invites- holy cow! How in the world did this sneak up on me so fast? Well I had grand intentions of "making" them- being all crafty and creative like I love to. BUT...I am my mother's daughter and like every other working momma of a brood out there other things kept popping up...so...Evite it is! Call me the slacker of the century, I know...but it is the "green" option ;)
3) SO many people I want to catch up with. I have been so out of touch recently with so many wonderful friends and well, I just hate it. I am a victim if the rat-race of life, and feeding schedules, and nap schedules, etc. So much so that I feel like I have missed out on so much over the last year but unfortunately that is how this family of five has had to work for now in attempts to keep us sane. You should see me when I try to take all three of them to a MOP's playdate AM...HA! So jealous of the mommas that are there with just one getting that one on one time. That is another post entirely ;)
But I am looking forward to what is on our horizon and the changes that having 2 One year old's will bring- mainly more flexibilty- I am hoping! ;) So enjoy these and I WILL be back with more much sooner...

Enjoying their first Thanksgiving meal :)

Sweet cousin Kellen playing in the ball pit

Buds having a great time!

We TREID to get a kids picture but needless to say, the girls were DONE!

Will, Kellen, Lucas, Peyton, and Kayleigh Take 2...

Our best attempt at a family photo

Cousins making their own mini cakes! Note that Justin's was a VT football and we still love him ;)

and eating them :)

look it's Rudolph!!!!

Fun videos from the last month....

2010-12-05T17:19:00.002-05:00

Here is a peek at the fun we had around here in November....
Lots of laughs, some tears, another little crawler (look out world!), and a busy month topped off with Thanksgiving fun. These are a few videos I took of the kids. Hope that you enjoy :)

Peyton showing us how you "really" use a bouncey chair!

Lucas playing with the "geezer"- we love you Uncle John!!!

The girls playing in the hallway just after Kayleigh started crawling.

A little taste of what is to come for Lucas ;)

15 days later....

2010-11-16T15:52:00.004-05:00

Are you wondering just what our cuties were for Halloween?

Well here you go!

This was actually post trick-or-treating and look at those grins! Love it! :)

Can you guess what these two were? Yep- Spaghetti and Meatballs courtesy of momma. I had fun making them for these cuties.

Peyton

Kayleigh

This was the original design, but as you can see...they didn't "dig" it as a hat. so we went with the alternative. It became a vest! I think that was some pretty great ingenuity on my part ;)

As for Lucas, I think his costume speaks for itself. Although he could have used some kryptonite and a tall building to leap off of... I take that back we get enough of that around here on the furniture!

Our favorite Superman :)

Don't mind the decapitated Spiderman, that was going to be his costume so his bucket would have matched but he switched it up on us last minute. Thanks to Ne-Ne for the sweet bucket though, he LOVED it!

Flying Superman

Don't you wish you had those abs? ;)

Hope you all had a great one too!!!

Balance....

2010-11-15T11:33:00.001-05:00

This is something that is a work in progress for me...

Prior to having the girls I had been told that having multiples is like getting on a rollercoaster ride and not having the option to slow down or get off. Others told me stories of friends that were still just trying to SURVIVE day to day and the constant struggles and tears. I heard all of these words and thought...I am sorry that they are going through that but I don't think it will be that way for us. We see these two as a blessing we have been giving, and God would not give us more than we can handle.

Well I still believe that wholeheartedly, BUT looking back now, I see where these wonderful women were coming from. I cannot believe that 10 months have gone by SO quickly. Actually the last year....It was just a little over a year ago that I spent a weekend in the hospital followed by 11 LONG weeks on strict bedrest to assure that these little angels were going to stay put, cookin' as LONG as they needed to. Our rollercoaster ride started last October and seems to be slowing down, some.

The mental journey I have gone on is unreal- from:

During pregnancy-Are these babies going to be healthy? Did I do something AGAIN to cause this?- I thought I was being so good, and taking care of myself... , I don't want to stop working yet!, let me just make it to 28, 30, 32, 34 weeks, I am going to be OK having a C-section...How can we support everyone with mainly just Todd's salary?, and so many others.

To...

After their arrival- How in the world an I going to take care of these three by myself? How can I possibly nurse two babies, what was I thinking- I had a hard enough time with one!? but I feel like a failure... I hate needing Todd to help at night but I can't do this alone, Severe sleep deprivation, dare I say colicky babies...twins can be difficult enough to bond due to the intense demand of two newborns, so when you throw in breastfeeding issues and very upset, uncomfortable babies-WOW! Does Lucas feel left out or unloved? How can I make cakes and take care of everyone? Will I ever make it out with all three by myself or will we be destined to just stay in solitary confinement at home? I could keep going but you get the point..
So the point of all of this is my life was thrown completely OFF BALANCE. In a good way but still, shaken to the point where I think I had forgotten so many things that were/are important to me.

Well I have very slowly learned that life NEEDS balance. And I am trying to walk that fine line. I need to balance my life in so many facets. I have to give enough of myself and my time to all of the kids, my husband, my work, my home, and MYSELF. I capitalize that because, well- as you other mommas out there know....This area tends to be the last on the totum pole and is most often completely neglected OR very seldom visited. If I don't take care of myself then I can't take care of all of the other areas very well either. I say this but believe me- it is a constant struggle to remember it. So I am trying to carve out time in the day for ME amongst the other things and I have found that I am a much better person for it. And other things-communication, blogs, facebook, etc. seem to take the backseat pretty frequently out of necessity. I wish this wasn't the case!

If you know me well you know that I struggle to ask for help or unload my thoughts-feelings-hurts, even when I am drowning- emotionally, physically, mentally...That is just a stubborn, independent quality I was born with. I know it isn't good, but it is me- I am trying to change that. I know that is not how God made us, we are to lean on others and ask for help, we were designed to live in community with one another. I am not sure why I function this way- maybe it is a deep hurt from my past. I dunno.... I do miss my friends and family very much and wish I had more contact with everyone more often. Phone calls are so hard to make during waking hours with the kids and taking out brood to someone else's place takes lots of effort and planning. We love it but sometimes I feel like a burden too...But things seem to work out.

So I am trying to achieve this overall balance and seem to be getting better at it as we approach the girls first birthday. Some days are great others, well- not so great...I can only hope that things continue to improve and I start feeling even more so that I am not just treading water but living each day to the fullest and enjoying all of the moments- even the crazy ones!

Wahoo Wa!

2010-11-01T14:49:00.006-04:00

We took a much needed break last weekend and spent a wonderful day in Charlottesville with wonderful friends. Todd has always been a Cavs fan and I jumped in once we met as most wives do ;) And since Longwood didn't have football, we really missed out over the years on all of the fun! We made up for that in other ways but still, nothing beats tailgating for the afternoon followed by some good ole' football. We had a blast tailgating and cheering on the Cavaliers. I don't think we could have asked for nicer weather. Wearing the mommy and daddy hats consumes us most days, but I have to admit it was nice to relax and enjoy adult company for a few hours. :) The kiddos were back at home being spoiled rotten by Ne-Ne and Aunt Kristi so we knew all was well on the home front.

Heather and Erica
Justas and Jamie planning their next cornhole move...

Heather and Jamie

The Bryants

Todd and Erica

The Blacks

The rest of the gang including Susan and Justas

us girls enjoying the game

cheese!

It was a great day and we are looking forward to next season :) By the way, I think I forgot to post about this too..but can you believe we have been married 10 years already???!!! We can't!

It's the Great Pumpkin!

2010-10-31T14:00:00.000-04:00

We ventured over to Ashland Berry farm with the kiddos after church a few weeks ago for a fun afternoon at the pumpkin patch. This and apple picking are two of my favorite fall family days and have been since I was a little girl. They are trips that I remember fondly with my family and hope that our kids will look back and enjoy it just as much! We didn't make it to the mountains for apples this year with our busy October but Grandpa was gracious enough to bring us some fresh apples back from Graves Mountain and even threw in some of our favorite- homemade applesauce!! Thanks!!!
Ashland Berry Farm is quite a popular spot around here so it was no surprise to see the LONG lines for the tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch...50 minutes total actually...

but for this little boy who is obsessed with tractors and machinery, we will gladly wait :) We found plenty to do to keep ourselves entertained....

Dig in the dirt and gravel (with one of the babies spoon) ;)

While the girls enjoyed their lunch in the comfort of their cadillac stroller

Who could ask for more?

We made it to the hayride and everyone jumped right in!

As always, the hay was a big hit!

Attempting to get a good family shot where EVERYONE is looking is near impossible these days, but some nice folks were gracious enough to attempt it and we were very grateful. This was better than me holding out the camera and trying to capture us all...

Lovin' the hayride!

picking out the perfect pumpkins for everyone, we ended up with 6- not too bad for two adults carrying babies, and a backpack, and a toddler?!?

Peyton and daddy

Kayleigh and mommy

finding the right one...

The girls were done at the end of it all, I think I took this one just in time, I'm pretty sure we had a major meltdown right afterwards. But I think they too enjoyed the outdoors and the great pumpkin adventure. :)

Another year with another great memory for the Bryant clan!

The Birthday Boy

2010-10-30T15:30:00.000-04:00

Yes, it has been almost a full month since his 3rd birthday....guess that makes me a bad mommy :( My camera died just after people started arriving so needless to say, I hardly had any pictures of the birthday party fun! So thankfully several friends and family members donated some to us :) Note to self- always charge the camera before the big events!!!

Lucas had a wonderful 3rd birthday bash surrounded by so many family members and great friends. He is very lucky to have so many great people in his life who love him so much! The kiddos all had fun playing outside, chowing down on yummy snacks and birthday cake, and "helping" Lucas open all of his birthday presents.
Of course I am in complete disbelief that my sweet little boy is already 3. I know that EVERYONE says it but life had really flown by since he entered our lives. We are trying our best to soak it all in and enjoy every minute (yes- that includes the good and the not so good)that we are blessed to be his mommy and daddy. Here is a little look back at the last few birthdays for a good comparison followed by pictures of his special day!

Second birthday

First Birthday

Fresh out of the oven :)

His dump truck cake per his request, by far the trickiest cake i have done yet!

Ne-Ne and Peyton

Lucas' favorite big cousin Justin!

Making a wish and blowing out his candles

The girls enjoying a ride

Climbing Uncle John

Lucas and his favorite little cousin, Kellen :)

Uncle John being silly

Opening birthday presents- wow, I think even Lucas got overwhelmed with this process too! He looked at me once and frantically and asked if we were done yet. But I know he loved having everyone there, maybe we'll institute a special birthday chair next time :)

Kayleigh playing with baby Olivia

They seriously attacked the food!

Lucas taking Scarlett for a ride on his motorcycle
while Kaden pateintly waits his turn...

Hanging with his buddy Kaden :)

Thanks to everyone for helping make this such a special day for Lucas!!!

On the move....

2010-10-19T23:55:00.000-04:00

We have a crawler! She actually started when we were at the beach the last week of September. Yeah, I am a little behind on here, nothing new! ;0

It is actually really quite a coincidence. Lucas started crawling wehn we took him to OBX as a baby. Guess she had to go for it then too! There is just something about that place...Now she is into EVERYTHING but loves being able to go where she wants, when she wants to. This all makes for a much happier Peyton, and that makes mama VERY happy! ;) She has apparently motivated Kayleigh to get rolling too, on the move that is. She has made great strides in the last two weeks but I think we still have a few more weeks to go. She gets into the right postions but then belly flops. So sweet :) Just enough time to get my hands on one more baby gate!

Here is a cute video of all of the kiddos, I was trying to catch Peyton in action but her siblings decided to "steal" the show. There is never a dull moment around here!

State Fair Fun

2010-10-18T21:51:00.000-04:00

We ventured up the road (literally) to the state fair the day after we got home from the beach. Lucas had such a great time last year we had to go back! We spent the day with the Smith family. Lucas and Scarlett love one another and we love hanging out with them any chance we can get! Plus all of the baby girls got a "play date", if you can call it that, out of it too :)

I hoped that we might make it over to the ride side so he could try some out. But leave it to Lucas...we spent 75% of our time on the agriculture side. Looking at all of the animals and of course, "driving" all (seriously....almost all of them!) the BIG trucks (AKA farm and construction equipment). They knew what they were doing putting all of those out there....Our kiddos weren't the only ones taking advantage of the wide open tractors and combines! So we went along with the flow and enjoyed our day out in the sunshine with great friends and good fun! As for the ride side...we passed on the rides but we did enjoy some yummy fair food and watched the dog show. Guess that is why we got the passes to Busch Gardens.... There is always next year! :) We had a great day full of family fun and enjoyed our time with wonderful friends!

Vacation!

2010-10-18T21:49:00.000-04:00

Well if you can call it that ;) We headed down to the Outer Banks of NC the last week of September for a little rest and relaxation and some quality family time. At least we were free from work, the computer, the majority of phone calls, etc. I was nervous planning this endeavor since we had three little ones under three, how in the world would we manage a trip to the beach????
Just thinking about packing for everybody- not the clothes part, but the "accessories" made me shudder...But we did it and somehow we managed to get it ALL packed into the inside of the minivan, including the five bodies!! We had bed rails, 2 pack and plays, a travel swing, toys galore- both inside and beach, floaties for all, an inflatable pool, 2 booster seats, beach chairs, beach umbrella..the list goes on....but Todd methodically packed the van with Bob precision (my dad is the ULTIMATE packer), Todd would have made him proud! ;) and we were off.
Well let's just say the only sunshine was the evening we got there and the following day, the rest of the week was rainy, windy, and chilly. But we did try to make the most of it, what else can you do? We made it to the outdoor pool once, the playground a hand full of times (this was Lucas' obsession since you could see it from our balcony- he LOVES climbing anything), and even the beach twice. The OFF season really was in full effect so lots of touristy stuff was closed- Todd was really looking forward to taking Lucas on the go-karts :(. But we did get to the aquarium, played at Kitty Hawk Kites, enjoyed the rec center and the indoor pool (when it wasn't storming), and even made it out to dinner twice! We tried to find budget friendly options. It was definitely a bummer with the weather slump but we did have fun just hanging out too. We watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (cute :)) and played Memory, took some walks, read some books, painted and colored, played with cars and trucks,and watched a little Dora and Diego :) Peyton did hit a milestone that week, she finally ventured out on her knees! I have another post about that one ;)
All in all it was a good week, I think next time we'll aim for either early summer or maybe around Labor Day ;)

And a video of Lucas loving the beach :)

Who is getting SO BIG!?!?

2010-09-22T10:08:00.001-04:00

These two are! The girls are so much fun right now. They are at such a fun baby age, not that any are bad. But they are chatty, smiley, bouncing, exploring little babes. Yes they are demanding at times but overall we are having so much fun with them! I can see a difference between girls and boys. Lucas was much more laid back. Maybe it is a sex difference or maybe it is because they are twins-competing for my attention. Not sure on that one... Kayleigh has a BIT of a temper when she wants something, otherwise she is such a happy, easygoing baby. Peyton is my shadow and always wants attention from momma. She can take alot though without getting too grumpy. So their personalities are definitely different!

We need to get on the ball with baby gates. Lucas was almost a year old before he was crawling and Peyton is already getting into things. She makes it up on her hands and knees but doesn't move just yet besides rocking, she bellyflops and scoots to where she wants to go. I caught her yesterday going from her belly to sitting up. She loves her lovey as you can see :) How are they growing up so fast???!!!

Kales is a reacher, just like her big brother was. This girl could put a hurtin' on the sit and reach test!!! She is also the chatterbox and gets SO EXCITED if you sing to her or when she hears music on TV. All I have to do is start singing "We did it" (Dora the Explorer's music) and she beems and starts to "dance" around. I love it! She will definitely be a paci kid like her big brother :)

They love to play together and LAUGH at Lucas. They smile and get excited for us but they ADORE him, and I think it is safe to say that the feeling is mutual :) For the most part....umm, except for when he knocks them down occasionally, or I caught him trying to sit on Peyton the other day, she only grunted a little bit. Poor girl!

They have blessed our lives in ways that I can't even imagine and we are enjoying every crazy, hectic, exhausting, minute with these two little girls :)

Growing up so fast

2010-09-08T11:39:00.007-04:00

This little boy is growing up so fast! We have had another hectic month in our busy household, that was for sure ;) But it was a month of MANY milestones for Lucas. One of his greatest accomplishments was saying goodbye to diapers!!! We decided he was finally ready to go for it about a month ago. we had been working hard at it for awhile and his school is FANTASTIC at working with the kids to go potty. But he just wasn't ready to go all of the way before. He would pee in the potty pretty regularly but no poop. We did get a few episodes every now and then but not consistently, I didn't want to push him cause I knew that would backfire with Lucas... We did undies some evenings for practice sessions. Finally one weekend we just went for it with the big boy undies and he hasn't looked back! He even does it pretty much on his own, probably out of necessity around here! We are so proud of him :)

His other BIG step was ditching his paci. He has been a paci kid from the get-go so I was dreading this one! He has only had it at bedtime now for a few months but still...I figured there would be LOTS of tears and tantrums. BUT we had been talking up being a big-boy and told him he was almost there, we just needed to wear our big boy undies and not use a paci- for quite awhile. He would come and tell us all about it...Well one night before bed he came down from his bath for books and brought it to me and said "Mommy, I'm gonna throw my paci in the trash, I don't need it anymore, I am a big boy!" So that was that. No tears!!! Wow, I was completely shocked but so amazed at how much has has grown up over these last few months, really this past year.

Then, we headed to Busch Gardens a few weeks ago with Shannon and Scarlett for a little mommy toddler time. We had a BLAST spending the day with our first borns and watching them experience so many fun firsts yet again. I have always been an amusement park junkie and I was hoping my kids would join me. We will have to see with the next trip...Lucas did great on some rides and heights were not an issue at all. But the motion stuff didn't seem to be his favorite. This was us on the roller coaster BEFORE we took off, half way through he was ready to bail! Looks like he takes after daddy here ;) I couldn't get him out of the water play areas, slides, and the big tree fort. But we had a wonderful day and actually stayed until almost 8 o'clock- dragging the kids out!!!

This was one of the last nights with the paci, he loves for them to get in his bed. He was trying to get Kayleigh to sleep there for the night ;)

He LOVES to play in his sandbox and enjoyed a fun date with Scarlett after playing in the sprinkler on a hot summer day. This month he also started school two days a week and staying home with us three days. I am loving the extra time with my little man, and the girls are really enjoying their big brother. We have squeezed in some playdates and ventured out a couple of times. It does make for some hectic evenings working on cakes though!!!

What an exciting month for our favorite little boy! We are really such blessed & lucky parents to have him in our lives :) We love you Lukey-Luke!!!

Well they call me the Fireman!

2010-08-10T09:20:00.002-04:00

Lucas got this hat at Firehouse a few weeks ago and absolutely loved it! That doesn't suprise us though because he is obsessed with fire trucks and other emergency vehicles, just like most little boys :) He lights up and points them out all of the time while we are driving down the road or when he hears one in the distance. He is VERY specific in telling us what type it is (ladder truck, small fire truck, etc.) and wants us to imitate the sirens...Too funny!

He also loves policemen. When we see the cars on the road or at church, or the policemen eating in Chick-Fil-A, he gets excited and asks "what day doin' mommy?" Last week he came home and suprised us when we were playing by saying " da policeman gonna lock you up!", apparently he plays this game with his little friends at school! So now we threaten him when he is being bad or not listening that we are calling the policeman and he is gonna come to the house and lock him up!!! ;) It helps sometimes....He actually pulled out his play phone in the van on the way to church Sunday and "called" the policeman and told him "daddy's being bad Mr. Policeman, come lock him up!" We had to turn our heads to laugh, gotta love toddlers!

jumping beans

2010-08-02T08:10:00.000-04:00

These two LOVE their jumpers, especially our little ball of energy, Kayleigh. She plays so hard that she typically falls asleep a couple of times a day. It is so much fun to see them liht up and discover new things and each little accomplishment :) We love them to pieces!

here is a little dinnertime action...

2010-08-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

Kayleigh's growl is hilarious!

Our little piggies

2010-07-27T15:58:00.006-04:00

These little girls LOVE to eat! And boy, can they be messy too :) This was after lunch today...Needless to say they got a wipe bath, bath night was last night- they must have missed that memo...

Yummy cereal and sweet potatoes!

They haven't turned down anything yet! We have tried rice and oatmeal cereals, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, prunes, peaches, bananas, apples, pears, and squash. I just made m first batch of baby food last week. So far, so good... I hope they continue to eat this great! Ha, who am I kidding...toddlerhood will strike one day and they will begin to revolt, just like their big brother. But until then, we will enjoy our little happy girls with appetites that match those precious big smiles!

Peyton LOVES to stick out her tongue, she is a silly girl...

They also have been trying to hold their bottles. These were from a few weeks ago when they started trying. Now they get it up there pretty good. Just need to work on holding it still, obviously there are much more exciting things going on around here to distract them from bottles these days...

These were their first tastes of yummy solids, we started right around five months because Kayleigh decided she need much more to make her little belly happy. And it worked great! So far they are eating at lunchtime and dinnertime. I tried breakfast last week and they really weren't digging it yet, so we are happy with our little schedule and the doc says it is working great! So much for our little girls, they weighed in at 17 pounds and 17 1/2 pounds last week at their 6 month checkup. They are growing and changing so fast. I cannot believe they are already 6 months old, almost seven now...I don't remember it going by this fast with Lucas...is that just how it goes with baby #2 (&3), or is it just me? But they are doing great in every way, and I am so thankful for that!

Wow...they even look little in these and that was only about a month ago!

Summer heatwave

2010-07-27T15:37:00.004-04:00

This summer has been ridiculously HOT around VA. And I am NOT a fan of summer heat, especially with three little ones..I long for fun trips to the zoo, amusement parks, parks, etc. but not in these dog days of summer, where are you fall??? Oh, how I miss playing outside. This past weekend it was 105 both days- YUCK!!! I'm gonna move to Canada I think... ;) I digress.. This little boy still wants his outside time so we have to find ways to make it happen. What do you do when it is really hot outside?
Well you play with water in any way you can! ;) Lucas helped daddy wash the car and mommy's swagger wagon (HA- those commercials crack me up) in the yucky summer heat....we have to find inventive ways to have fun in the summertime around here! So when the temps rise, we break out the hose and cool off.

The van also apreciated the bath, go figure...we hadn't had any rain in weeks before that. Well, that evening and the next day- it rained 3 TIMES!! ;) We'll take it when we need it so badly...Really the rest of our yard is not that green. Speaking of green, don't you love his little tie-dyed shirt? He made that at school a few weeks ago- I was impressed!

Such a big boy and such a great little helper, thanks Lukey-Luke!

Sisterly love

2010-07-22T21:36:00.003-04:00

I love my sissy.... She is my bestest friend in the whole wide world!

We LOVE to play and talk together, we even roll on top of one another to chat....We...hey, wait a minute...what are you doing to me? That is NOT NICE!!! Oww! That really hurts, please let go of my cheek! Mom, can you help me out here???!!!OK, that is much better, thanks mom ;) My sissy is the the bestest!!!

4th of July Fun

2010-07-18T13:23:00.007-04:00

We celebrated the 4th the way we have for a few years now, spending great time with family that came for a visit. My aunt and uncle have been coming to VA for years now over the 4th of July weekend. They always helped mom and dad volunteer at the Heritage Festival Run in Fredericksburg, and then we all got together for a cookout and fireworks. Well, the run was on the 3rd this year so that was a no go for them since they were traveling but dad enjoyed himself! The fireworks fizzled for us since the closest were at KD, and I'm not really sure how that works from the parking lot + three little sleepy kiddos. Maybe we will be brave enough to give it a shot next year?

As you can see, we had a great time catching up, playing in the sprinklers, riding tricycles, playing ball, and eating some yummy food! John, Karen, and Justin joined the rest of us for the fstivities. We alway have a great time when we all get together even though it is only a couple of times a year :) Lucas has so much fun with everyone, and I'm pretty sure the girls loved the attention too ;) We just needed a longer holiday to keep celebrating!

A day in the life of...

2010-07-16T10:54:00.006-04:00

Welcome to our daycare center! ;) I thought since we have been hit or miss with posts I could share with you all a little about our daily routine around here. We have gotten lucky the last few weeks and the girls have been sleeping much better. They have been sleeping without getting up to eat since around 9 weeks but they are much more restless than Lucas ever was, even when he was sick! Guess we were blessed with our one great sleeper first :) But they have been waking up and needing a little assistance getting back to la-la land, typically just a paci plug. Don't think we have picked them up unless they seemed to be in dire straights. But anywho, even that has worn down to just a couple of times a night, and really after 4:30 am. We are very thankful for the consecutive hours of shut eye- it makes the world of difference!

She is our little gymnast in training :)Some playtime with Scarlett and Shelby :)When you play this hard, see what happens?

So our real day usually starts around 6:30. Dad and Lucas are getting ready to head of for school and work- but not before checking in to give hugs and kisses to us girls :) Lucas also loves to run in and tell me " I went pee-pee in the potty!" after his morning potty break( This is still a WIP, we aren't pushing it but slowly working on it, he really does go then- that is another story ;) The girls enjoy their morning bottles while we relax with the Today show, diaper changes, mommy eats breakfast, and then we all lay back down for another hour or so. I really need to give this up soon, but it is so nice to have a little extra quiet time :) One of them usually sleeps about an hour and the other will go for two or so...go figure! So I get some one on one time with someone and get dressed for the day. Next we make bottles for the day, get cake supplies rounded up if I need to work, and settle in for breakfast. Time for bottle #2 and another diaper change! Then we have group playtime and move into our independent playtime/ mommy heads to the kitchen to work or do some chores. The early waker typically meltsdown and needs a nap around 11am. So I get some one on one time with the one that is still awake. Then they are both out for naptime until about 12:30 or so. Next is lunch for everyone! Bottle # 3 and solids for the girls- I thought this was gonna get hectic but we have worked ourselves into a good routine- I can get them both fed and changed in about 45 minutes. Then we have more playtime, worktime, clean-up, & naptime for the babes until daddy and Lucas come home around 5 pm. From there time flies! Between catching up with Lucas, fixing and eating dinner,feeding the girls dinner, bathtime for the crew, books, dishes, and bedtime, and sometimes back to work for momma, then bottle #5, and finally some shut eye, I really don't know where the evening goes! Well the whole day really....

That is just a glimpse into our day... If I included all of the nitty gritty details it would be a little longer to say the least! Just wait until Lucas is here three of those days too, lookout momma!!! Needless to say this job is the hardest, most time consuming one I have ever had BUT completely worthwhile and I wouldn't change it for the world! I feel very lucky to be here and a such a big part of their lives each and every day :)

2010-06-18T12:00:00.000-04:00

Here is a quick little video of Lucas pedeling his tricycle all by himself! Notice we started him out on the deck and in the cul-d-sac- NOT on our driveway!! ;) He loves it and asks to go get the mail just about every day so he has a chance to ride it. Such a big boy :)

Giggles

2010-06-17T21:22:00.002-04:00

We love tickle time around here! Here is a fun video of daddy and the girls, Lucas joined in the fun too! Happy Birthday Todd- we all love you very much and appreciate all that you do and the wonderful husband and father that you are :) Happy Thursday everyone!

We're Here! UPDATED*

2010-06-08T13:14:00.005-04:00

We really are alive and well here. Just trying to soak in every spare moment (ha- what are those?) with all of these sweet kiddos and keep our house somewhat maintained, bellies fed, and cakes baked and decorated! Time is SO precious nowadays and I wish I spent more fleeting moments on here keeping you all up to date...but...I have failed! :(
Peyton and Kayleigh are five months old now...YIKES..time has flown by way too fast! They are doing great and we are all loving every baby grin and giggle we can get- even Lucas loves to tell us- "look mommy she is pileing at me!" followed by hugs of course. They are growing so fast- both are in 3-6 month clothes which probably won't fit too much longer. Peyton is losing her long locks and Kayleigh seems to be growing some, go figure ;) They have both begun rolling both ways but not to the point of traveling around just yet. For the most part they like their tummy time and LOVE playing on their playmat. Kayleigh is working on sitting up, she practices in the bathtub now. They can both do it with a little support otherwise. I just cleaned up the exersaucers and the jumper to break in some new baby favorites. Seriously...our house looks like a daycare center! If you know anyone who needs a sitter, let me know, it is baby heaven around here these days ;) Not a shortage of toddler toys too!
Lucas has stayed busy with school during the day and playtime with mommy and daddy in the evenings and on the weekend. He has been busy planting flowers with mommy, helping daddy cut the grass, running through the sprinkler, playing with fun water toys, riding his tricycle and scooter, and so much more! He loves to be outside so much so that we usually have to beg him to come in for dinner, or when it is just too hot out there. Silly boy! :)
As for me I have been working on cakes like crazy! I feel very blessed that things are going so great and I am enjoying it. I need to work on balancing work and mommyhood though. Some days when I am up to my elbows in fondant and icing, a little one will need lots of extra TLC which of course takes precedence! So I work so pretty strange hours but get it done. But you do what you gotta do, right? :)Especially once Lucas is home most of the week, that will make things interesting BUT I am really looking forward to spending more time with him too. Once he gets transitioned to his new teachers at school we hope to cut him back to just a couple of days a week. I did get a special treat a few weeks ago and spent the better part of a weekend and an overnight down in Williamsburg with some great girls. We shopped at the outlets, went out for a nice dinner, and even to a Martini Bar! Such a treat!!! It was nice to have some "me" time, and girl time at that. I think it needs to become a biannual trip!
That really catches you up with us for the most part. Hope things are great in your lives and to be back on here much sooner! ;)

Busy month catchup

2010-04-26T21:28:00.010-04:00

Yep, that is exactly what it has been around here. Busy but good. We have all been healthy and have spent our days working and playing hard, the best way in my opinion! Easter was lots of fun with several Easter Egg Hunts and time spent with great friends and family. We went to Pole Green Park's Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza and Lucas really had a blast playing with Scarlett while the rest of us enjoyed watching their excitement. Easter was low key at home but nice to visit with Grandpa and Ne-Ne. Easter weekend was a blast celebrating Scarlett's 3rd birthday at the Jump Zone, a huge room full of GIANT inflatables to bounce and play on and big slides to go down, they showed no fear for the most part, especially after the daddy's showed them the way!So much fun for kids, wish they would have had those things when we were little :) Yet another egg hunt for the little man... and he caught on real quick that the candy inside the egg was the best part!...He hunted with chocolate running down his chin!

That week we got to have a mommy son day at the circus with great friends Shannon and Scarlett. Since these two are best buds and new big siblings we thought it was the perfect way to show them just how special they are to us. It was really the first fun thing just Lucas and I have got to do together since I went on bedrest back in October, very overdue. We had a ball..of course the added sugar of a sno cone slurried with popcorn (yummy?)helped with the missed nap time that afternoon ;) I myself love to watch the acrobats and all of the exciting circus performers, it was a great time capped off with some outside playtime while we waited for the ridiculous traffic jam- fine with us, it was beautiful outside! I think the rest of the month has been busy with cakes for mommy which has been a blessing. I am really enjoying it and finding ways to work it into the girls daily schedule. What doesn't get done during the day I do in the evenings once Lucas is asleep and they are napping. Being a full time momma is much harder than working a full time job but so rewarding, I wouldn't trade it for the world and I'm very thankful to get this opportunity. It is the one job I knew that I always wanted growing up, just like my momma!!! ;)

The kids are all great, growing like weeds and keeping us on our toes. Lucas always has a comment that cracks us up..literally on a daily basis..like the other day when he told me he was gonna give me a kiss, he quickly followed that with "psych!!!" ;) Peyton and Kayleigh are so sweet. They give the biggest grins and giggles. Both are chatting up a storm and have very distinct little voices. Kayleigh is so soft and really sounds out her tones..Ahh, ohh, oohhh at all different pitches as she "practices talking" and smiling as she boosts her little confidence with each sound. Then there is Peyton who squeals with delight and smiles after she hears herself- we think it sounds reminiscent of a pterodactyl ;) They too are doing great! Here are a few pics. Not sure why some won't rotate correctly but I can't see to figure it out! I will be back with more soon :)

Just had to share!

2010-04-16T12:23:00.002-04:00

It has been a busy few weeks in our house so I have lots more to share but wanted to post this sweet picture of two of our three wee-ones. I am busy today with cakes but needed a short break, especially with a baby in my arms. I hope they always love each other this much ;) I won't mention that poor Kayleigh got her first smack from her "loving"big brother the other day. A combo of a sugar hyped toddler and maybe a twinge of jealousy? But most of the time, this is what we see... He actually asked last night if Kayleigh could sleep in his bed...

Happy Friday everyone!

The many hats of Lucas

2010-04-01T20:46:00.000-04:00

This little boy wears many hats...

He is a fantastic son, big brother, great-grandson, grandson, friend, cousin- you name it!!

He has been such a joy to see grow up. Some say that the two's are "terrible". Well like all toddlers he has his moments when testing mom and dad, or trying to defy authority. But, those other moments of sheer joy, happiness, love, exploration, conversations, comprehension, etc. all outweigh the "terribles" in my opinion. Toddlers are so much fun!

His little brain is constantly turning. He loves to go outside and play baseball now when he gets home. Yes, this often includes a giant kickball/dodgeball and a super skinny baseball bat, not to mention the bike helmet is his-"baseball hat". He loves to tell us to "put up the garage door so I can get my bafeball hat!" And out he runs with all of his gear. It actually resembles golf a little too. And as you can tell from the video, we might have a little anger thrown in with that golf swing! Not another Tiger I hope- well at least in the realms of his personal life. We also play ball with Bailey- making her run up and down our hilly driveway.

He also loves to "be silly" as he says and run around in circles, run laps around the downstairs while we chase him, dance- yes I downloaded the cupid shuffle just for him!-A sidestory- They have dance party at school in the afternoons and they play all of those fun dance songs for the kids. Well last week he was coloring and singing "apple bottom.....fur...got low, low, low..." I turned around and laughed out loud. Yup, you read that right- that was "Apple Bottom Jeans" sung by my two and a half year old!!! Apparently "das Ce-Ce's song momma". ;) Hilarious... Really his daycare is wonderful- I'm sure this was the G rated version of the song!

We are still obsessed with cars and trucks nowadays- he lugs the smaller ones around in his Easter Basket when we go upstairs to feed the girls or get ready for bathtime. Gotta steal that from him this weekend so the Easter Bunny can get his hands on it ;)

Here is that Leprecaun hat I promised. He made this beautiful creation at school a few weeks ago. Don't you love the gingerbread men? It really sets it off I think!

And this beautiful outfit...ahem..dress...is what happens when your dear son runs out of a change of clothes at school and they put him in their spares...Poor baby. I felt a little better when Todd sayed there were 4 of them in their at pickup time dressed like that! Wish I had a picture of that one.

And here is his donkey ears hat that he made at church for Palm Sunday....

Oh yeah, he will kill me for this one one day, but hey, it is a HAT!!!

Happy Thursday!

Sweet girls

2010-03-31T11:20:00.005-04:00

These two have definately captured our hearts in so many ways. Their unique little personalities are precious and I cannot get enough of their smiles and our "chats" throughout the day. I feel so lucky to get to be here to soak it all in- even through ALL of the bottles, diaper changes, rocking, fussy moments, it is the truly is the best job in the whole world. I cannot believe they are 12 weeks old tomorrow!!! Three months is right around the corner. Time really flies by so fast...We learned that with Lucas!

These were some pictures of the girls that my brother took a few weeks ago when he came down to visit. Happy Wednesday to you all- get out there and soak up this sunshine, we will!!!

Update

2010-03-18T10:55:00.015-04:00

I really have every good intention of keeping everyone updated much more frequently but other things always seem to creep up and take precedence over the blog. Like precious baby girls, a sweet little boy who wants to play with his trucks, a lonely puppy, laundry, dinner, never-ending bottlewashing, etc. So if anyone still even reads this anymore, I apologize! ;)

We are here and doing good. The last two months are a blur to put it best. A wonderful blur overall but seriously, how is it already March, and springtime? Going from 11 weeks of bedrest to hitting the ground running to take care of twins is insane to put it best. Factor in recovery from a C-section and that makes it a little more interesting. I did pretty good for the first 6 weeks, even had a good 6-week follow up, BUT ended up with an infected hematoma in my abdomen that was pretty big and VERY painful for the 7th week. After more ultrasounds and a round of antibiotics and pain meds I am feeling better and hopefully my body will do its "job" and eventually reabsorb this thing. That was the general consensus, sounds much better than surgery to me! I have had a little more pain over the last two days but i am hoping that I just did too much lifting, or something for my extremely weak muscles...Time will tell...I have to remind myself that I did have major surgery.

Enough about me, I know you really are here for the wee-ones ;) All three are doing great. Lucas is still a fantastic big bro that loves to kiss his sisters and help with bath time and diaper changes. He is my official "stuff gatherer" and "rinser"- gotta watch him with that cup of water! He can clean a bathroom in no time at all! He is still loving school and brought home the cutest leprechaun hat yesterday, I need to try to get a picture of him with it on ;) He loves to ask us now "who driven that truck/van/car? I guess since he has it down pat what they are specifically, we are more concerned with who does the navigating... Very cute! This also transcends into the grocery store and walks....who is dat man? What's he got in his cart? He got Cheerios and chips! What's that man doing? (Running)....A sweet moment a few weeks back was at dinner, he was eating his supper and just looked at me and said "thank you for making dis momma, it's yummy!" ;) He also runs up to us and gives us hugs with " I love you momma/daddy", no prompts at all!! Such a sweet boy. We are excited about getting outside more for fun finally after all of the snow this winter.

As for the girls, they are growing and changing so fast! We just had their two month appt. Monday which went great, minus the 4 shots each! Poor babies, I had erased that part from my memory with Lucas, guess it was the trauma. They screamed briefly and calmed down rather quickly this time around, hope they all go that smoothly! They received glowing reports from the Dr. thus far. Their nicknames are chubs and chunk :) Peyton weighed in at 10 lb and 3 oz, and Kayleigh was 9 lb 11 oz. both were almost 23 inches. I didn't expect them to be that big, I was thinking around 9 lbs. This might not seem to big to those of you who popped out 8 pounders but remember, they started at 5.15 and 5.6 so we see them as chubs and chunk! Some fun things they have been up to:

Both are:

-napping much better these last few weeks- on their own, this is a big step!

-Sleeping 6 hours at night, a few nights were a little longer... ;)

-Love their bathtime.

-Don't mind tummy time.

-Holding their heads up great.

-Like to suck on their hands. Peyton could be working on sucking her thumb...

-Eat every 3-4 hours during the day, about 4 oz. at each feeding. I stopped nursing at 6 weeks because I think I was going crazy...literally, two babies can wear you down quickly and I was on the verge of requiring medication. I had good intentions but it just didn't work for us. It would be different if I could sustain both of them but that just isn't the case...So now I pump and they get formula and breastmilk from a much happier momma! As the doc says- That is so much more important than what they drink-regardless of what you are meant to believe/feel guilty about. They are healthy and doing great. At twelve weeks we will switch to straight formula since the pump is a rental and we have spent enough on that with three months.

-A problem is-They have been really gassy and therefore fussy as a result since about 4 weeks. We tried it all, I adjusted my diet, we switched formulas, gas drops, gripe water, colic calm, Karo, tummy rubs, bicycles, etc. Not much really helped. Poor Kayleigh gets down right miserable at times and is inconsolable. They were getting constipated and gas just kept building up in their poor tummies. The only way they would go to the bathroom was if I used the thermometer to "probe" them, poor babies! Well I think we have even managed to turn that corner, we added a special tea brew thanks to a friend's suggestion and upped their Karo and they actually pooped on their own yesterday!!! I was so excited!!!:) So sad that I am that excited about poop, but true!

As for each baby-

Peyton:

-still has her head FULL of hair, it does seem to be a lighter brown now...

-loves to coo and smile at you- she is so sociable already;) It really melts my heart to see that big grin.

-watches me wherever I go in the room and uses that as her cue when she needs her momma time. She was pretty needy for awhile- AKA- always in my arms, but this last week or two had really become a happy girl most of the day, no matter where she is!

- loves to grab my hair- OUCH! or shirt, etc.

- has the cutest cry/pout when she starts to get upset about something. But still can go from 0-60 in no time flat, especially when big girl wants to eat!

- really only likes her paci when she is sleepy.

- likes to snuggle and root when she is sleepy.

- starting to fall asleep on her own once she is swaddled and comfy. This was NOT the case for MANY weeks, so we are excited!

Kayleigh:
- one of the most observant, bright eyed, babies I have ever seen. She has been this way from the get-go.

-very relaxed, and easygoing for the most part. Happy to hang out on her own and watch what goes on around her.

- Loves the swing!

- quite the cuddler when she does have one-on-one time (this is much harder with two!)

-reminds us so much of her big brother, they look so much alike at this age!!!

- Loves her paci! Once again, she is a little Lucas...

- Coos and smiles too, but makes you work a little harder for it!

- Has the sweetest expression and eyes :)

- Likes to blow bubbles.

- Stretches out her long fingers and waves them around.

Sounds like enough for this digest. Sorry for the ridiculous amounts of pictures in this post, I realized it turned out to be a bit excessive but hard to dwindle down so many weeks worth! I will try hard to get on here more often and have lots more to share. But wee ones are calling! ;)

Miss you mom...

2010-03-02T21:49:00.002-05:00

Today marks three years, actually it has been about three years and one hour since I lost my mom from this world. I have to say that because I know that she is in a much better place and I will see her again one day in heaven BUT it still doesn't bring that much comfort to your heart when it hurts. And after three years it still hurts.

She was such a great mom, we were truly blessed to have in our our lives. Her warmth, compassion, smile, laugh, silly ways all made her so much fun to be around. She was a fantastic mom, wife, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, volunteer, role model...the list goes on and on. She always did the sweetest little things to let you know she cared. From a little card/care package, impromptu shopping/lunch trip, bringing Hunter puppy all the way down to Longwood once a month for a picnic with his mommy & daddy (me & Todd), a phone call just to check in, a day at the craft show or Garden Ridge on our shopping excursions, taking the doggies for walks, wine tasting fun :), movie nights, yummy brownie sundaes when we would come stay over, scrap booking classes, planning our wedding, helping with home stuff- painting, fence building, etc. Laughing hysterically at Larry the Cable Guy on the trip to PA :) The list really goes on and on....We shared so many special times together over the last 10 years of my adulthood, let alone childhood. I just have to be selfish and say that I wanted her here so much longer than that.

But I would be lying if I didn't admit that I am so sad that she has missed out on the last three years. Over the last three years our family has grown from 2 to 5 and I know she would have LOVED her 3 new grand babies. How? Because she was such a great grandma to Justin, she loved him to pieces and thoroughly enjoyed every moment that she got to spend with him. From the moment she knew he was on the way until the last time she got to see him in the hospital she LOVED him so much and I know she still does. What "little girl" doesn't want her mom around to see her kids grow up? That is so hard for me. To know that they will never know her, and what a WONDERFUL woman she was. I talk about her all of the time to Lucas and he knows her pictures and that she is Grandma and she lives in heaven with God and Hunter :) But I wish so much that she was here to love these sweet angels. Especially now that I have these two sweet girls. Not because I think she would love having granddaughters- I know she would but just as much as her grandsons- but, because now I know just how precious the relationship is between a mom and her daughter having traveled this road, and I feel so blessed that God gave me the opportunity to experience that again, even if it is on the other side of things. (Me playing the "mom" role this time around).

Sorry I have been MIA here for awhile. There is so much on my plate and I am just trying to soak these little girls in before they get to big too fast! Not to mention we do not have wireless Internet anymore so I have to be in the kitchen to get on the PC and that is a rarity, well at least without a baby in my arms! Two is a challenge at times but I don't feel like we have "double trouble" or "our hands full" like so many strangers point out to us...(that is another post in itself, public attention with twins goes hand in hand...and you all know me I am pretty much an introvert ;) ) Instead I feel that we were doubly blessed and our hearts are what are full. Minus that little ache that still misses my momma :) I will try to update again soon. Love to all!!! :) Here are a few new pictures of the little ones...

Welcome to the world little ones!!

2010-01-28T13:57:00.004-05:00

Peyton Grace and Kayleigh Jane arrived on Thursday, January 7, 2010.

We got the call Tuesday evening that the C-section was scheduled for Thursday afternoon. YIKES!! We were excited but nervous at the same time. I was not looking forward to surgery and I was hoping that the girls would be OK at 36.5 weeks for delivery. Well Wednesday afternoon I had to follow up with Dr. Love, the MFM specialist I have been seeing all along for the final ultrasound. The girls were looking good BUT the fluid was low on baby B so he followed that news with " what are your plans for tonight? You might be having a baby!" AHH!!! I was sent to labor and delivery to get settled in and hooked up to the monitors. If the girls behaved and their heart rates looked good after three hours we were dafe to wait until the scheduled time the following day. Well, thank goodness, we made it! I was really bummed that I didn't get to spend that last night with Lucas though, I was really lookign forward to it, especially since I wouldn;t get to see him for 4 days after that.
So Thursday was the big day! We patiently waited and the wheeled me back finally around 2:15 pm. I have to admit, the whole process was surreal...I hopped up on the table, got the spinal(not too bad I must admit! I was very anxious about that part), and they started cleaning my belly, put the catheter in, and the drapes up. There were 13 peaople in the operating room along with me and Todd, two sets of specialists for rhte two babies plus the usual crew. They were all joking and taking bets on how big the girsl would be. No one thought they would be near the size they ultrasound had predicted (5 lb. 7 oz. the previous week) based on my belly size. I always seem to fool everyone, goess I have good genes!! ;)They brought Todd in and got to work.
The girls were out in no time at all it seemed. First Peyton at 2:40 pm and Kayleigh followed right behind here at 2:41. Wow, very different than Lucas' entrance...
I felt nothing during the C-section but saw my body rocking back and forth as they were tugging them out- very strange feeling! They were absolutely adorable when we got to see them, of course tears of joy were shed, it was still so surreal that we had TWO new beautiful daughters! Todd held up until they were cleaning up the girls and putting me back together. The anesthesiologist noticed that he wasn't looking so good, so out he went while they finished us girls up. I think I was only in the OR for 45 minutes total and then back in my room to recover and meet the girls face to face.
Looking back on that experience still seems so overwhelming wonderful. Bringing life into this world is such a precious journey that I hope I never forget. I have to admit, I am really sad that this is the end for us. But we are so blessed with three beautiful children that are all precious gifts from God!

Peyton Grace

2:40 pm

5 lbs. 15.2 oz., 18 inchesKayleigh Jane

2:41 pm

5 lbs. 6.0 oz, 19 inches

Christmas fun

2010-01-04T15:54:00.011-05:00

Christmas was a little different in our house this year because of my bedrest situation BUT it was nice to be able to stay home and celebrate most of the day in our PJ's enjoying some quiet family time! I think we need to adjust our plans each year to actually get to enjoy the holiday like this every year, especially since there will be 5 of us next year!

John and Justin came down Christmas Eve and I snuck out with everyone to enjoy Christmas Eve Service at church, it was so nice to get out in public and celebrate what this holiday is really all about- Jesus' birthday! ;) It was also nice to spend the evening with the two of them :)

Christmas morning was quiet and we took our time- getting up, fixing a yummy breakfast, and watching Lucas enjoy his gifts. No rushing around, just soaking it all in- from the couch of course!

My dad, John, Karen, and Justin came down that afternoon to celebrate Christmas and we all had a great visit. Lucas adores Justin and really enjoys any time that they get to spend together- I remember how much I looked forward to seeing my big cousins when I was growing up. We all had a great time and enojoyed the wonderful company.

The following day Todd's family came down and joined us for another Christmas celebration. We hadn't seen Kristi, Barrett, and Kellen for almost two months so it was great to catch up with them and see how much sweet Kellen had grown! Once again the cousins had a blast together<>

I'm dreaming of a.....

2009-12-21T23:01:00.004-05:00

White Christmas! ;) I always hope for one, especially since we ALWAYS had one when I was growing up and we spent our Christmases in PA with family. But the reality is- it RARELY ever happens in VA, especially in Richmond! Well, our wishes were answered this past weekend. We ended up with 11-12 inches of the beautiful white stuff from a nor'easter. This is actually the second big storm we have had here this year- super shocker!It is still here since it has been really cold still this week so at least we will get to wake up tomorrow morning and see the pretty scenery.

Lucas and Todd did get out for some playtime in the winter wonderland twice over the weekend. I missed the actual first reaction and play session since I was confined upstairs. I did catch them with the camera on Sunday! He seemed to really like the snow and playing in it with the exception of getting stuck since it was so deep! It came up to his knees if he happened to fall through it-there are downfalls to this much snow with toddlers. Poor guy ;) He spent most of his time Sunday "helping" daddy shovel snow and entertaining Bailey with snowballs. We always love to see the pups (RIP Hunter) play in the snow, they instantly turn into puppies again! This was no exception for Bailey, from the minute the flakes started falling Friday night she was so excited and begged to go outside every 30 minutes ;)

I guess I should mention that we were slackers in the Christmas card dept. We took a family shot a few weeks ago but I also knew that I wanted to send birth announcements for the girls in a few short weeks. So I decided to forgo the holiday card this year and opted for a "full family" greeting that should be arriving in a month or so! We do love you all though and hope to see you soon!!!

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and be safe if you are traveling!

Christmas Carols with Lucas

2009-12-21T20:18:00.002-05:00

Enjoy Lucas' rendition of some Christmas favorites :) He was on a roll so I had to grab the camera to catch it...Sorry for the messy house, it was a lazy, snowy Saturday morning with a little boy who has a cold ;)

Let the celebrations begin!

2009-12-21T18:01:00.007-05:00

Lucas had a fantastic Christmas party at school Friday! Everyone brought goodies and shared in the festivities at TLC. As you can tell from these pictures Lucas really loves his teachers and all of his friends! We have really been blessed with a wonderful daycare ("school"). I can only hope that he will have this much fun at home with mommy in a few months ;) We are going to keep him at TLC part-time I think so he still gets the social interaction and learning experiences too ;) Plus mommy can get errands run on those days- two kids is manageable when three might be a bit crazy. But I can't wait!

Lucas and Ms. KeishaLucas and Bri (same little girl he was trying to kiss when they were 8 months old)Lucas and Tyler, his best little buddy! They are one day apart in age..Lucas and Gabby, a new friend in the 2's room

Hey shaking hands is a start, right?
Party time!

And we even got presents that he made at school especially for mom and dad :)

A homemade Christmas tree

A really cute homemade book with lots of pictures and artwork

Hope that you all are having a great week before Christmas!

Pre-holiday fun!

2009-12-17T15:11:00.008-05:00

We have all been staying busy these past few weeks in our own ways.

For me, busy is a little different- as busy as a bedridden momma can be! I have spent my time working on lists of things to get done, online shopping for Christmas, searching Craigslist, folding laundry, sorting through baby stuff and figuring out what we still need to be ready for these two girls, and what few nursery preparations that I can do.

Todd has been making great strides getting the girls furniture put together, I think after tonight we will have a dresser ready to be filled with clothes and blankets! And the cribs are ready for their bedding. Maybe by Christmas we will have a completed nursery? He even got a chance to run out and get some Christmas shopping done last weekend while good friends Scarlett and Shannon came to babysit Lucas and I! On top of all of this he had also been shopping for our new(used) mini-van. He found a great deal last weekend and brought it home Tuesday afternoon. I love it and know that it will be a lifesaver to tote around our family of five, and Bailey too of course! I would be lying if I wasn't a little sad to say goodbye to my 4-Runner- I loved my SUV...but the Sienna drives great, so much smoother than a truck! Not to mention the fact that we had outgrown it...;) All of this on top of work and taking care of the house and Lucas, I know that I have said it before but I will say it again- he is such a fantastic husband and daddy- we are VERY lucky!!! Who else would get up at 6:45 to clean bathrooms and counters before heading off for breakfast with Santa, a day of shopping, and vehicle test driving?

As for Lucas, he too has had lots of fun getting ready for Christmas and spending time with family and friends. He continues to LOVE school and comes home every day with another cute story. He tells us about hugging and giving kisses to his little girlfriends- Bri and Ce-Ce. "M0mmy, I gave Ce-Ce a kiss" You did honey? Where did you kiss her? "On her cheek!"...He and Scarlett walked around the corner in the hallway with their arms wrapped around each other the other day, SO cute! Maybe we should be worried about this at his age? Naaa... He loves to sing Jingle Bells and fill us in on his painting and drawing adventures for the day. His fantastic teachers really work with them on potty training by trying the potty every time they change their diaper. He has peed on the floor in front of the potty a couple of times now, which we did not realize is a GOOD thing. It is a big step in the right direction to not peeing in his diaper. Well, yesterday daddy got a great report that Lucas "pee-peed in the potty!" He was so excited to tell us and Todd treated him to a special treat at Bruster's to celebrate :)

As for the saying...I get by with a little help from my friends, it is so TRUE!!!

Ne-Ne, Grandpa, and Uncle John have been down helping us get things ready for the girls arrival-painting, hanging trim, picking up furniture, shopping, washing baby clothes, etc. And playing with Lucas of course! Along with family help we have enjoyed visiting with the Webb family, the Edmond's, and The Smith's. Rusty, Wendy, and Russell came to visit a few weekends ago and the boys had a BLAST while Wendy and Rusty helped get our Christmas decorations down from the attic and up around the house. It was so nice to catch up with them and spend some time together before the holiday rush got here :) Russell and Lucas played trucks, colored, watched Bob the Builder, and ran around like mad men on a rainy Saturday before they tuckered out for some good afternoon naps :)The Edmond's clan stopped by one evening with yummy dinner and the kids got to play while we chit-chatted and caught up. Shannon and Scarlett have come to play a few times over the last few weeks. They enjoy playing together too, he even chased Scarlett around and gave her lots of hugs and kisses this past Saturday! If she wandered off on her own he quickly tried to wrangle her back up "C'mon Scarwet, run wif me, come get me!" Shannon and I really enjoyed some girl time while the kids played and napped and she also helped so much in the nursery and fixed us three yummy meals- we were truly spoiled!!! ;) We really have been blessed with such great family and friends and cannot thank them (YOU ALL) enough for all of the help you have given us! Be it a sweet phone call or email to check in, running to the store, spoiling Lucas, meal, card, giving Todd a break, everything- WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Some of our fun adventures:

Lucas and Aubrey- smooches! Well worth the removal of the paci ;)

Two little monkeys jumping on mommy's bed!

Russell and Lucas-"We didn't do anything!" Don't they look guilty in this one?

The Webb Family

Scarlett and Lucas acting silly on the couch

Hugs for Bailey!

We pulled out the old car seat and Lucas took advantage of a new "rocking" chair

Helping Daddy decorate the tree

The finished product, minus my bow that they can't seem to find in the attic! :)

Daddy and Lucas had breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus last weekend. I think he was more excited to tell mommy that " Santa rode in on a yellow fire truck" :) It was at the volunteer fire dept.

Merry Christmas!

The newest addition- my momvan!

My sweet girl

2009-12-04T13:42:00.004-05:00

During the last 6 weeks we have spent most of our time together in about the same fashion. Although not cuddled together, Bailey has kept me company in a way that only a sweet doggy can. All she asks is that I give her a few cuddles, pats, and maybe an open door to the outside each day. That's all! I know Hunter would be fighting her for the comfiest spot in the family room if he were here too ;)

Yes, Nala is here too. But in typical cat fashion she has better things to tend to. When she is inside (which is rare during the daytime) she ventures upstairs, eats a little, and then finds a cozy place to curl up and nap. She doesn't seek out affection much during the daytime, she saves that for later in the evening.Not Bailey girl! She is my buddy from the time I wake up and even through the night, rarely leaving my side. I even caved over the last few weeks and started putting a blanket on the couch for her to sleep on at nighttime. As if her padded doggy bed isn't good enough ;) I knew she was a momma's girl from the moment I picked her out ;) And that has pretty much held true. Hopefully she won't feel displaced when the girls arrive..She always has, and always will, hold a special place in my heart as my first little girl.

Note the fact that she is NOT laying on the blanket! This was after I woke up from a nap yesterday afternoon:

But, who can be upset at that sweet, helpless face?

Toddler Fun & Lucas-isms

2009-12-01T08:04:00.006-05:00

We have been having lots of fun this fall with Lucas. It never ceases to amaze me how much he has changed and grown up in such a short period of time. Our little two year old is a heap of energy, curiosity, wisdom, and endless love all rolled up into one!

A few of his favorite things:
Trucks- of all kinds!!! Construction and rescue are by far at the top of his list. He has lots now and plays with them all of the time. Not only does he play with them like a mad man- running up and down the hallway and through the "1st floor loop" but, he LOVES to talk about them and tell you every detail about the type and use of each. For example, here are some Lucas-isms (AKA- phrases we here quite often that only a sweet toddler could come up with!)
- "Mommy, I saw a front (with the biggest F sound) loader, it pick dirt up!" after he gets home-they drive past construction on the way home.
-"go see digga truck?"- if you happen to not drive past the excavators.
- "I'm gonna go fast with my dump truck!", " see mommy I go fast!"- as he tears down the hallway!
- "fire truck gonna go help somebody", " fireman climb up ladder", as we play with his new fire truck.
-he also loves to correct us and friends on the correct truck type- which is hilarious! He apparently caught poor Shannon at school when she was trying to play with him- "no, das a front loader, not a dump truck!" :) and he caught me last night while we were watching Bob the Builder. me: "Look Lucas there is the tractor!" Lucas: "No mommy, das da rolda truck (that's the roller truck), not a tracte!(tractor). Well then! :) I had been trying to teach him that the other day but he kept calling it a tractor, so I figured- we'll go with that for now...Proved me wrong!! Geez mom!

Books: he will bring me LITERALLY- like 20 + books a day to read. And this just isn't at bedtime folks, it is ALL DAY. See, when you are confined to the couch or a bed, you are in the perfect position to read books with your little one! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love it and snuggling with him. But I must tell you, I can read Go Train Go, Elmo on the Farm, Let's Be Helpful, and Go, Go Fish without even looking at the page!!! He can too actually!! He tells me what is happening and repeats the words- SOO FUNNY!
- I am pretty animated with most of these so he really gets into that- "look mommy, the storm is coming!", "he got out of da boat" (as Jesus walks on the water), etc. I'll have to try to get a video of this....:)
- "sheep are not nice, day (they) not listening, bad sheep", "milk comes from cows mommy", "dare are seven eggs in da basket- 1,2,3,4,5,6,7...(pause)8,9,10"- yeah, he can get a little carried away! :)

It just amazes me how much he has grown up, what his little brain has absorbed, and how much he LOVES to talk!!! There is more favorite things and Lucas-isms to come, but I am sure that you are tired of reading at this point! I'll be back with more soon ;) Promise!! But to wrap this up, here are a few pics:

I haven't been the best at having the camera around and ready to capture all of our fun times but I did manage to get a few.

Thanksgiving FunOr...not so fun! He was worn out and wanted his paci back, but I insisted at least one picture without it!

he made these hats at school during their Thanksgiving fun. Mockingbird was his Native American name-mommy didn't know this.. The week before I asked him what his name was (we have been working on that) and he looked at me with such conviction- "Mockingbird!" Huh??? Turns out they all got Indian names while they were learning about Native Americans at school. Oh, now I get it!enjoying some "choc-et" with Uncle John

having lots of fun with big cousin Justintwo worn out little guys! Can we say "Turkey"?

Lovin Grandpa's homemade applesauce!!!YUMMY!!!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Week 31 update

2009-12-01T08:03:00.000-05:00

We have now embarked on our weekly Dr's visits which means the end is quickly approaching! I went yesterday for my 31 week appt. I saw both docs as usual and got the normal ultrasound to see how the girls were doing. Once again I almost passed out/got sick during the exam from the sheer weight of my uterus, so they had to roll me on my side for the rest of it. That is not a fun feeling!
It was a growth week this time around so they measured them to see how they were doing. Well folks, I now see why I am getting so uncomfortable and having a hard time sleeping. I already have over 7 pounds of baby in me! And that is just baby, not counting the fluid, placenta, etc. "A" was measuring at 3 pounds 7 ounces, moving all over the place, and still grinding head down on my cervix and bladder. "B" was 3 pounds and 10 ounces, also active, and transverse/breech- her feet are downward on "her side" but she is laying sideways at the top- AKA- my reason for breaking out the Zantac again to deal with the heartburn :). So these girls are feisty and growing like weeds! Woo Hoo!!!
My cervix had shortened some but Dr. Love wasn't concerned with that anymore since we are heading into the final stretch. All of my other tests came out great and I have already scheduled the 32 and 33 week appointments. I did ask what our game plan was from here and was a little shocked with his response...keep up the bedrest, niphedipine, and whatever you are doing to keep things looking this great! (I figured that was coming)...And, recent studies have shown that mono/di twins (AKA- the type of identicals we are having) do best if they are delivered between 35-36 weeks if things are still looking optimal. The closer you get to term the higher the chance for a spontaneous stillborn- we don't want to go there!!! So, you do the math.... Today I am 31 weeks and 3 days, and it's Dec. 1st.....
In the words of Annie's orphan friend- "Oh my goodness, OH MY GOODNESS!!!!" these wee ones will be making their grand entrance around the holidays which is only 4-5 weeks away! So we are kicking it into high gear to get ready for their arrival -nursery, van, car seats, clothes and bottles washed and ready, etc. Hopefully we can get some Christmas cheer worked in there somehow...;) I do LOVE a lit Christmas tree and holiday decorations!!! We still have pumpkins on the steps and sad looking mums, so we will see. It will be a quiet celebration for our family this year, but I am sure that this is the only year I will be saying that! I do want to make it special for Lucas though so we need to get rolling! Don't worry, I won't be doing much more than directing but once again Todd, is a busy man-But such a great hubby and daddy ;)

So here's to another 4-5 productive, restful, joyful weeks of baby cooking! :)

another update

2009-11-24T16:11:00.008-05:00

this one is short and sweet :)

The results came back from all of my tests- THEY ARE ALL NORMAL!!! Yeah, thank you God for answered prayers. And, thank you all for all of your prayers and support! ;) I go back next Monday for the next check-up (31 weeks) and then I will go weekly until they arrive. I cannot believe it is already almost here! Time has really flown by so fast. Just think, one month from now is Christmas eve-YIKES!!! Oh how I wish I could get out there on Black Friday for the good deals, maybe I can find some online?

And here are some of the latest ultrasound pics- I had to weed through them and pick some of the better ones of each. We have LOTS considering the number of times I am in there!

This shows the super thin membrane seperating the two of them:

Baby A:

Sorry that there is only one! She is super low and smushed up against the placenta so getting her picture is tough for the ultrasound tech's. We'll try again next week!

Baby B:

Dr. Love was even nice enough to give me a 4D last month of B!these are the ones that really remind me of Lucas:she has her arm resting on top of her head in this one ;)

Double Trouble

2009-11-16T16:33:00.003-05:00

on the body....
Apparently that is what these girls are for me ;)

I realized that I had not posted a baby update in awhile on here so I apoligize that this is a little overdue! Since being released from the hospital three weeks ago I have been at home on bed rest, behaving and following all of the doctors orders. Yes, boredom sets in but I know that every day is worth it and hopefully in the end we will have two healthy, beautiful additions to our family. That is what keeps me going...I must admit, I was really bummed to have to go through this again. I felt cheated of a "normal" healthy pregnancy free from complications, frequent trips to the doctor, and bed rest. Although I did realize that my chances of accomplishing that were being put to the test at week 8 when we learned there were two in there. I think that was one of my biggest fears upon hearing that news...pregnancy complications...I just want healthy babies!!!

So this time around at least part of that wish has come true thus far. We have two healthy little munchkins in there. Week after week they look fantastic. They are growing great- two weeks ago they were measuring in at 2.2 and 2.4 lbs (right on track for their gestational age-they only measure growth at every other visit); have great amounts of amniotic fluid to "swim" and practice breathing in; and look healthy overall-heart rates, movement, blood flow, etc.; not to mention I think they are pretty darn cute if I may say so myself! They remind me of their brother. (I know that updated ultrasound shots are long overdue, the scanner is upstairs though and I don't make it up there too often. I will try and get those up here in a few days-PROMISE!) A has been head down and overall the calm one this whole time. Minus the fact the she is the one that gives my bladder some serious grief ;) While her sister, B, is the wild child-she flips all over the place and jumps from my ribcage laying sideways while kicking here poor sister in the head, and giving me some serious heartburn...next thing you know she flips around and ends up head to head with A again! Wild I tell you! If this personality persists I think we know who will bring out the grey hairs for mom & dad ;) And...if you are wondering, no we haven't decided on names yet, we do have a list of ones we like but haven't made any decisions. I am guessing this won't happen until we are in the hospital to have them! So A & B munchkin it is for now ;)

As for me, well my poor body is the one that is falling short this time around. First was the preterm labor scare which started this whole bed rest. Since then the doctors have been watching my cervix closely for signs of shortening and I'm on medication to keep contractions away. So far so good! The last three weeks have been thankfully uneventful and things continue to look good in these departments. Not to mention that my belly is measuring at 36 cm, typically your belly measures the number of weeks you are pregnant when it is one baby in there! So 36 is pretty big :) Well, today the doc noted that I had increased protein in my urine-JOY! So...I am currently collecting urine for 24 hours and praying that those results show that I do NOT have pre-eclampsia (pregnancy induced hypertension). My blood pressures have all been good, but, I am taking Niphedipine to keep the contractions at bay which lowers your blood pressure- so this could be masked... I also had to do the glucose tolerance test today. That stuff is horrific and that is coming from a girl who likes sweets. I don't remember having any issues with that when I was pregnant with Lucas but today was a different story. After chugging the fruit punch concoction I headed off to ultrasound...about 5 minutes into the exam I thought I was going to pass out, vomit, you name it....Holly could see it on my face and quickly had me roll over and take a breather for a few minutes. My poor body went into serious sugar shock! So I am also praying that those results come back OK as well. I'll keep you all posted!

So...there you have it- the three increased risks for moms carrying multiples- preterm labor-CHECK, pre-eclampsia-TBD, gestational diabetes-TBD. God please, can this excitement end here? All I am asking for is 5-8 more weeks of uneventful gestating....is that really too much to ask? But in the end, just give me two healthy girls!!

Blessed

2009-11-09T12:50:00.000-05:00

I am such a lucky girl! These are two of the greatest men in my life, if only I would have snapped a picture of dad when he came to visit me in the hospital :) Todd and Lucas are handling my bed rest like true champs. It has been tough on all of us but we know that the final outcome will be worth every day, hour, etc. In some ways it had been so great to get to see these two become even closer and share that special father/son bond, especially since Todd pretty much takes care of Lucas. I miss bath and bedtime, heck- even diaper changes! I do still enjoy our special time to read books(LOTS), color(LOTS), and snuggle(LOTS). It melts my heart when he comes home and says he missed me and "wuv wou mommy", who can resist coloring the 100th digger truck for that sweet little boy? I also love when he cuddles up in bed with me and proclaims " I'm going night-night with mommy!" Mommyhood is the best gift that is worth every difficult moment, toddler tantrum, and newborn sleepless night :) God, help me remember that in a few months....

But Super Daddy is really the one who deserves all of the credit!
I feel so lucky to be blessed with such a wonderful husband who takes such great care of bedridden me, Lucas, and the rest of our family; along with keeping up with the never ending laundry, doggie entertaining, house cleaning, shopping, and cooking- not to mention working full time!!! He is gonna need a vacation after these little girls arrive! Thank you Todd for your time, love, patience, and understanding. Lucas and these girls are SO LUCKY to have you as their daddy and me....

I truly am so blessed :)

My dad and brother have also helped spoil me these last few weeks :) They were kind enough to come down and paint our hallways and foyer for us AND keep me company! Plus, dad made my favorite fall treat, homemade applesauce- YUMMY!!! Just another example of the wonderful men in my life ;)

I couldn't resist this sweet picture of my buddy during the day, sweet Bailey girl. She snuck up there, we don't let her on the couch ;)

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Halloween Fun

2009-11-03T15:25:00.011-05:00

Both Friday and Saturday were full on fun and excitement with Halloween celebrations for Lucas. On Friday they had a costume parade and party at school. I really wanted to go and be a part of the festivities, but as we all know, plans change... His teachers were great and took some pictures to capture the fun just for us! We love them and were sad that this was also Lucas' last day in the toddler room but he sneaks in hugs with them still whenever he gets a chance! These are the toddlers and young two year olds playing during the parade time :)These two faces were too priceless to not share! Plus that sweet little pumpkin is Kaden, Lucas' little buddy outside of school :)Back to the toddler room for a little party time! Note the hand holding going on here ;) That sweet little Robin is Ce-Ce, Lucas' little girlfriend. She is a sweetheart!

More Ce-Ce lovin!

Todd and Lucas headed off for some trick or treating fun Saturday night with two other families in our neighborhood that have little ones around his age. They all had a great time and really got it this year. We were a little nervous before the actual night since every time we tried on the Franklin costume, there were tears! But with a little coaxing and a cute pumpkin in hand, he got it and did much better! We worked with him Thursday night on saying "trick or treat" to get candy in his pumpkin- of course he LOVED this part!!!They went to each door and even tried out the "trick or tweet" :) Not too many houses this time around, about 8-10 but that was plenty considering the humidity and warm temperatures! All in all it was a hit! I was bummed to have to miss out but I know he and daddy had a great time while us girls vegged inside. The crew did come by to visit and let me see the rest of the cuties after their adventures. Now we gotta hunt down another great deal on next years costume!

Hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween Weekend!

Babies AND Mama update

2009-10-28T11:36:00.002-04:00

I had a very eventful long weekend to say the least. I had grand plans to update everyone Friday afternoon about a great ~26 week appt. Well, apparently, plans change and we are reminded that we are not the ones in control!

I had my routine Dr's appt. Thursday afternoon (Almost 26 weeks). I always get an ultrasound of the babies and my cervix each time(every two weeks). Well my cervix had shortened 0.6 cm- down from 3.2 to 2.6- in 2.5 weeks! And I had been having braxton hicks contractions quite a bit the last few weeks. Apparently these were regular enough and strong enough to cause the cervical change. So after an NST that confirmed the mild contractions, they whisked me over to the hospital and put me on meds-Niphedimine/Procardia- to calm my "irritable uterus" and IV fluids in case I was dehydrated. I stayed until Monday afternoon and was treated for preterm labor so they could monitor me, run more tests, and do a follow up ultrasound to check my cervix again after the bedrest. Well, I passed the FFN and the ultrasound and was sent home on strict bedrest for the rest of our time. I am pretty much restricted to the first floor. I can get up to go to the bathroom, grab a bite to eat-AKA frig. or microwave reheat (no cooking, or baking), shower- and get back in bed. I did plead to scoot up the stairs for a shower every other day since we don't have one on the first floor. They OK'ed it :)

Through all of this the girls have looked great! They monitored them pretty closely in the hospital and they performed like champs. There heart rates are fantastic, fluid looks great, and they are a bunch of jumping beans! This time around it isn't the babies, it's the mama-go figure! We just can't win can we? No, we have won because we are so thankful that we are all OK and able to be at home. The nurses were fantastic but that hospital bed and room left a little to be desired along with not being able to see Todd, Lucas, and our furry kids. New hospital restrictions went into effect this week that no visitors under 18 are allowed due to the swine flu. That means that if I was on hospital bedrest OR when these little girls do arrive- NO Lucas in the hospital! That breaks my heart...I am praying that we get to remain home for the duration of the pregnancy and that maybe the hospital restrictions are re-evaluated. Time will tell!

That is far more excitement then I would like and hope to lay low for the next few months. We were directed to take baby step goals- 28, 32, 34 weeks and every week from there is FANTASTIC :) We will shoot for the stars and would like to get to 34-36. So here I lay and will continue to do so in hopes for a quick 8-10 weeks to fly by! Lots to do but I know we will get there will the fantastic support of our amazing family and friends. I'll keep you all posted I'm sure since the TV, computer, books, and magazines are my daytime friends :) Looks like the nursery setup will be up to Todd and family/friends and the baby showers are coming here!

Fall Fun

2009-10-21T14:22:00.015-04:00

We took advantage of the last sunny weekend this month and visited one of my favorite places- The Pumpkin Patch! As you well know, I LOVE fall and all of the fun and beauty it brings and couldn't think of a better way to enjoy our Sunday afternoon then taking a trip out to Ashland Berry Farm. There are actually LOTS of things I can think of to do this time of the year since it is by far the most superior season (ahem..I sense a slight bias there?). But, this one fit perfectly in our schedule and we were in need of our festive fall friends to prepare for Halloween! So off we went, after nap time of course :)

Lucas LOVED it this year, last year was fun but this year was GREAT! It certainly helped that he got to indulge his large machinery affection and go for rides on the tractor. That was of course the highlight of his day BY FAR...

I'm not sure what was more fun- riding in the hay wagon or playing with the straw? Regardless we had a blast!

As for the actual patch...Well I would have loved to have gotten more cute pictures but this little boy hit the dirt RUNNING! And we were chasing him all over the place! He ran up and down the dirt paths, cut through the pumpkin vines- albeit, occasionally (well really quite often) tripping over the tangled web of vines and pumpkins. Laughing hysterically the whole way and loving every minute of it! I should have got a picture of the aftermath with the red clay all over this little boy but, like I said, he was a handful-especially when I'm not supposed to be picking him up and Todd was manning our collection of pumpkins. We had a great time in the end and brought home four big pumpkins to celebrate Halloween this year. One for each of us and one for the "munchkins" :)

Trudging through the vines was a feat!

Helping pick out his pumpkin...

And he's off again!

A quick break to pose with Daddy
What trip to the Pumpkin Patch would be complete without a little look at how much Lucas has changed over this past year? ;)

2009:
2008:

What a difference a year makes! ;)

Now all I need are some yummy apples and hot cider- Did I mention that I LOVE fall?

For those that are chomping at the bit ;) I will give a twin update at the end of the week! I go to the Docs again tomorrow. And yes Carrie, I might even give you a glimpse ;)

Celebrating two great years!

2009-10-13T20:15:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we celebrated Lucas' 2nd birthday which still manages to blow my mind. It really seems like we just brought him home, changed LOTS of diapers each day, fed a hungry little boy around the clock, swaddled our little babe and tried to figure out this wonderful world of parenting. Now he is a running, jumping, chatting a mile a minute, fiesty two year old!!! What a whirlwind fantastic adventure with such a sweet little boy.

We scaled things back quite a bit this year not to leave anyone out but to manage a smaller get together during our chaos of life! Lucas really seemed to enjoy himself and all of the wonderful company that came to share in his special day. He really understood presents this year and reminded me that he was going to "Open my presents, mommy?" He did good with that part but had a few new hang-ups this time around- he wanted to OPEN each gift from their box, etc. and play with it ASAP, and he also had a few issues with sharing his spotlight during present opening. I guess all in all that wasn't too bad for a two year old, right?

We ate yummy food and enjoyed the fire truck cake. It was a beautiful day so the kids got to run around and play outside and enjoy some of the new toys- all in all a fantastic birthday to remember! Thanks to all who joined us to celebrate our special little man!!!

To Lucas- We love you so much and cannot believe two whole years have flown by. You have brought so much joy and happiness to our lives in those two short years and we are extremely blessed to be your mommy and daddy! We thank God for you each and every day :) May you have a lifetime full of health, faith, happiness, and abounding joy.

State Fair Fun

2009-09-30T22:30:00.011-04:00

Yes life has been hectic and crazy for us but that seems to be the theme with so many these days! I know that in a few short months (three actually-YIKES) things will slow down dramatically and I will welcome those changes with open arms. We will be BUSY just in a whole different way…Right Carrie?
We took a quick breather on Sunday afternoon to enjoy the State Fair on such a beautiful day. Lucas was getting over a nasty cold this weekend so the fresh air did us all some good. I am loving this fall weather we have had, and try to take advantage of it every chance we get. This was Lucas’ first trip to the fair and our first trip back there in several years. I must admit that VA did a great job with the new fairgrounds and atmosphere. It really was nice and family friendly. We started on the agriculture side since we figured this would be the most exciting for Lucas at this point and boy were we dead on! This little boy LOVES big trucks and farm equipment so seeing TONS and TONS of tractors, digger trucks, bulldozers, etc. was the highlight of his day for sure…. I think we lost count how many he actually sat on and "drove"- there were so many "I go sit on dat one over dare"- "no daddy, the dig-ga truck", "na-er one daddy(another one daddy)?", "honk da horn", "da BIG one!" in reference to the BIG trucks. It was so cute to see his excitement and curiosity! We managed to pull him away from the trucks every so often to sneak in and see all of the animals too. He tried to feed everything he saw in a pen hay because that is what all of the big kids were doing….Little does he know that not every creature likes hay, but I bet he wasn’t the only one making the attempt!
We eventually made it over to the ride side of the fair after stopping to watch the Canine Stunt Show (that was fun too ). By then supper time had arrived and fair food was on the menu! We all enjoyed our corn dogs and cheese fries (Low Cal I know- apparently we are ALL on my diet) while we watched the pig races. Lucas LOVED this part and cheered and danced along with the big kids. Needless to say by the time the last pig had won- it was 7 O’clock and we needed to get home in time for a bath and bedtime. So we called it a day and decided to save the ride excitement for next year!
If you get a chance this week or weekend you really should go check out the fair with your family, I don’t think you will be disappointed. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Here are some more fun truck pictures and videos :)

Girls Night Out and Family Fun

2009-09-30T22:28:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from earlier this month. We got to spend some great time with lots of family and friends!

"Hey man, whatcha doin down here?"

cousins :) Lucas and Kellen

Ne-ne and Lucas hamming for the camera

What a big boy! He has grown up so fast. But still such a cutie :)

Ne-ne (as Lucas as lovingly named Grandma Scheligh), Lucas, Todd, and Kellen

Todd and Kellen

Fun at the Kenny Chesney Concert!

I got to enjoy a girl's night out with Kristi, Lorrie, and Sara to see the best country performer ever. Yes, I am a little biased! We went to celebrate Kristi's 26th birthday- I can dispell her age since she is a youngin' ;) But I love me some Kenny Chesney and it has been way too long since I made it to a show! Thanks for the fun evening ladies and for letting this old lady tag along!!!

Yeah, so we were WAY back in the lawn seats, it still was a GREAT show!!!

me, Lorrie, and Sara

me and Lorrie

Kristi and me

The ladies!

What a Big Boy!

2009-09-26T15:10:00.000-04:00

Don't let that paci and blankie fool you. This little boy is growing up FAST!!! In just one short week he will be two years old. I won't go into just how much that blows my mind...I know that you all know exactly what I mean! He is all boy and FULL of energy, but he knows how to love his mama, play games and tickle with his daddy, terrorize Nala and Bailey (ahhemmm... love them...), and now seems to enjoy making my skin crawl by picking up "spidies". Have no fear, they are gran-daddy longlegs, but spiders none-the-less! Oh so much more excites this little man and I will follow up soon- PROMISE! For now I'll leave you with some pictures of us playing with my cowboy hat (courtesy of my sweet mama) and a few pictures showing off his new big boy haircut. We took him last weekend to get it cut. Needless to say I had to hold him and he watched as daddy got his cut at the same time so we couldn't get pictures during the process!

Good times with Great Friends!

2009-09-01T12:45:00.000-04:00

OK, so August is gone-YIKES! :( I started this post last week but just wrapped it up today-=BUSY!

We have been making the most of our summer and these last few HOT(think the past few weeks), sticky days enjoying time spent with each other, family, and friends. A few Sunday's ago- Grandma Ne-Ne (Todd's mom-Anita), Paw-paw(my dad), John, and Justin came to play and have dinner with us. We all really enjoyed each others company and Todd loved fixing everyone ribs on his smoker! Give that man a reason to BBQ and he is ON IT!!! Seriously- I think he has smoked SOMETHING every weekend since it arrived in our house, unless we are out of town of course. Trust me, I am not complaining at all! I will gladly eat all of the yummy food he prepares!

Lucas LOVES any chance he gets to play with his big cousin Justin!

The following weekend we headed south to visit our good friends the Webb's. On the way we got to catch up with another good friend from college and her family. Carrie is having their second little one this Friday! Addie is going to be such a great big sister. She took good care of Lucas during our time with them ;) If you remember back from one of my posts in Feb. this is the sweet little girl who planted a big kiss on Lucas' pacifier during our mommy and toddler weekend. She is a doll..We are excited for their new little addition's arrival and hope to see them again soon!

We try to get together a few times during the year with the Webb's and catch up either at their place, ours, or in between. Lucas and Russell are so much fun to watch and we enjoy our time together no matter what we do! This time around we made the most of our time- while the dad's took the kids to the park, Wendy and I hit up a great yard sale for some great finds! Of course, I always leave spending more money then her- Todd says this is a common shopping pattern for us. She gets us on these shopping excursions and I am the one who shows up with all of the bags ;) I did great though! LOTS of fall clothes for Lucas, some DVD's, a new Boppy (we need two now!), bibs and a second potty chair for Lucas, and even a few little things for the girls :) Not too bad I would say! All for $83.00 :)

Next, we thought it would be a great idea to take the boys to the zoo...UMM....can someone tell me WHY we thought this? It was AFRICA hot out there that day as the tropical storm made it's way to the coast. But we went and rode the train, checked out a few of the animal exhibits, had BIG cups of lemonade, and called it a day :) It was a nice zoo and I think we would love it- in the FALL or SPRING...not a 95 degree AM with no wind whatsoever! ;) Even the poor animals could barely move around, they found shade wherever they could and laid around...not that I blame them at all. Even the elephants mud bath was looking pretty good to me! The company was great though and in the end, that was all that mattered!

We did get to see these new lion cubs up close, that was great! I think they were the only playful animals that morning....We vegged the rest of our time with the Webb's , which was perfect considering the yucky weather! We had a yummy supper from the grill and chatted for the evening. Russell tried to introduce Lucas to the wonderful world of cartoons, he watched some but still would rather play or read...We have noticed that he likes Thomas the Train and Bob the Builder...We'll go from there. Lucas got sick that weekend though so he stayed dopped up on Motrin to keep the fever at bay! Here are the little monkeys playing with the daddy's who I might add are big kids themselves!

Our weekend went by so fast but we loved every minute of it, even when we had two boys awake at 5 am because of our grumpy sick little man :) We can't wait to do it again!

The verdict is in...

2009-08-18T20:50:00.002-04:00

PINK IT IS!!!!

It is official. Two sweet little girls will be joining our family. The ultrasound techs and docs have been speculating since week 11 but we were nervous to accept it and tell everyone so early. But technology is AMAZING and they can tell on just a little 5 oz. baby without a shadow of a doubt at this last appt. 15.5 weeks....WOW! They are growing perfectly with no signs of twin to twin transfusion (they watch identicals closely for this-one can start gettign the majority of the nutrients, oxygen, blood,etc. and they both suffer ill effects) and measuring right where they should be. Fluid looks good, babies look great, and momma is starting to feel better and the belly is in full effect! Love it :) So I continue on my bimonthly ultrasound schedule for the next few months.

SO girls...I must admit that I would have been happy either way. Looks like Lucas will be the solo big bro, and strangely enough I think this might be the best scenario. Time will tell! I am so excited to see how my amazing husband will completely melt over his little girls. Just thinking about it makes me smile... I know the special relationship Lucas and I have and I really think that is what lies ahead for Todd and the munchkins. I just think it tends to work that way for the most part- Momma's little boy, and Daddy's little girl, in our case- girlS ;)

No doubt Lucas will be such a good and protective big brother. Can you picture them all in school together? Who will rat on who? Will they have similar circles of friends or be polar opposites? I just think it is great that they will be close in age and get to experience life together.

Justin can help teach Lucas how to be a great big bro to twin girls :)

God is so incredibly good and we are so incredibly thankful! Here are some recent pictures for your viewing pleasure. Can you beleive they are only 5 oz. and 4-4.5 inches in these? AMAZING!

Trip to PA

2009-08-14T12:02:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago Lucas and I headed off to West Middlesex, PA with my dad to visit family and go to the annual Bateman family reunion. Todd had already made plans months back to go to a concert with good friends so unfortunately we had to leave him behind. Both of my parents are from this quaint little town about an hour north of Pittsburgh. Growing up we travelled up there several times a year to visit and spend holidays with family from far and near. John and I used to spend a few weeks up there in the summertime when we got a older and really loved it! Well, we don't make it back up as often anymore do too our growing families, work, etc. So when we got the opportunity to go I was excited! Especially since our lives will be pretty hectic next year. Can you imagine travelling 7 + hours with THREE under THREE and then staying in a hotel....I can't....So we jumped on the trip this year!

We had a great time visiting with Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and even Great Aunts and Uncles! Lucas loved seeing everyone just as much as I did and was thoroughly enjoying his extra time with Pa-Pa (Grandpa), Ge-Ge (Uncle Gary), Jean(Aunt Jean), Yess-e ( Jessi), my seat (Aunt Wendy), and Ann-e (Danielle). The my seat name was actually really cute! Wendy played games with Lucas "stealing" a chair, after which he would quickly respond, "no, my seat!" and therefore I guess "my seat" was easier than Wendy.... They are too funny! ;)

As always we were sad to go and wish we could do this more often and for a longer time period. But we were ecstatic to get the time that we did :) We love you all!!!!

Lucas coloring with some of his distant cousins at the family reunion:Cousins - All those pictured here are my mom's first cousins- well except for her hubby(Dad in the middle) and her sisters- Wendy and Jean(they are on either side of my dad) ;) Don't you think the lady all the way to the right looks like mom with lighter hair? That is Jo....;)

This one adds in the previous generation- my Great Uncle John and Great Aunt Janet. They are my Grandmother's siblings.
We had an adventurous day at a zoo/petting zoo. It is a great place with TONS of animals nearby- Deerpark...
Here are some pics from that excursion:

A donkey/zebra blend, very strange but cool, none-the-less:

Feeding the mountain goats:

Lucas found a familiar friend, a sweet little kitten!

Aunt Jean feeding a silly goat, obviously it had figured out this was a great ploy for getting treats! Really sweet baby (twins I might add ;) ) goats. They were super soft too...

Feeding the deer (these are Asian deer)

Lucas pointing out the ducklings he wanted to see, he was willing to get close but wanted NO part in actually holding one!

Jess and I were brave enough to pick up and cuddle the ducklings, they were so cute! But, there was some serious hand washing afterwards...

These guys had some pretty crazy hair! They didn't mind at all if we touched it, it felt like really soft down...

A really pretty leopard:
Who is this scary creature ;)???? It is the paci lion!!!!We had a blast watching this guy swing all over his cage. That was great entertainment!

Jean and I made crafting part of our weekend adventure as well. We both made flower pieces for mom's grave. They turned out pretty good I think...I know she would love them!

Summertime fun with family and friends

2009-07-30T11:57:00.028-04:00

Some of these pictures are "old" at this point but I figured what the heck! I have had nothing but good intentions to get them loaded on here but needless to say I have lacked in the spare time and energy department! ;) I cannot believe that it is already the end of July and Fall is just right around the corner. I had to go into Ben Franklin a few weeks ago and was shocked to see all of the fall/Halloween decorations out already. Not to mention the fantastic summer clearance sales on clothes and bathing suits everywhere you go!

We have been enjoying ourselves, taking it easy enjoying the "dog days" but finding time to catch up with close friends and family as well. Here are some pictures from "recent" (AKA June-now) get-togethers for your viewing pleasure!Blowing bubbles with Grandpa- AKA- "pa-pa" :)Celebrating Justin's 7th (right? can you believe that!!!) Birthday! It was his momma who put the candle on backwards, no I do NOT have dyslexia.... ;)playing with Ellie during a cookout at Brian and Johanna's. Lucas LOVED her slide/fort!Riding in the Jeep (courtesy of the broom handle, Todd, and Kevin) with Kaden. They loved this thing! It wore the daddy's out I think ;)Chowing down on some YUMMY chocolate peanut butter pie with best bud, Preston while Aubrey played with the blocks and hammed it up for the camera ;)Posing on Uncle John's motorcycle. Lucas is OBSESSED with motor vehicles, cars, TRUCKS, bikes, buses, planes, helicopters, motorcycles, boats....You name it, he LOVES it and wants to talk about them ALL OF THE TIME!!! So this was perfect for him to check out on a trip to Grandpa's house. Typical little boy I guess...Playing tee-ball with Uncle Gary and Daddy, Justin and mommy were playing the outfield :)

Trying to steal Uncle John's Pepsi

Gotta love those faces! ;) Having some cuddle time with Aunt Jean.

And Uncle Gary....;)

Visiting with Kristi, Barrett, Kellen, and Grandma Schleigh for a rainy cookout. Look how big Kellen is getting!

Playing with Madison and Kendal in the big bathtub during their overnight visit....

Watching Horton Hears a Who before bedtime... Too bad they are "cousins", aren't they super cute together?

So that in a nutshell is what we have been up to these last few months, lots of fun, family and friends!

Announcing.....

2009-07-24T21:00:00.002-04:00

our family will be expanding at the end of the year! Lucas is proud to announce that he has not one but TWO little siblings on the way!!! OK....I will let you all digest that info. for a moment......

So apparently God has some really BIG plans for our little family. We found out at the end of May that we were expecting and were thrilled, things were so different this time around for us. It all happened very fast and we were still in shock I think. Well, things were great and we were keeping our little secret just that- a secret for a few more weeks until we could see that sweet bean and hear that little heart beat at the ultrasound appointment. So we continued with life for a few weeks- enjoying time with friends and family, and a fantastic vacation to Aruba :) But it did seem a little different to me, I was REALLY nauseous and felt very bloated so quickly BUT I know that all pregnancies are different and especially after your first... So June 22nd arrived and we happily set off to the Dr. for the first visit and ultrasound. They proceeded with measuring "the bean". The tech told us to give her a sec to get some measurements and then she would show us everything. OK, totally normal routine. What felt like forever went by and she announced with a turn of the monitor.

ultrasound tech (sweet Holly :): "OK things look great! Here is baby A.....and here is baby B....." SEROIUSLY, those were her exact words...

in my head, and Todd's of course: "HOLD ON HERE... WHAT!!!!!!" we both laughed out loud and I think she got the shock and awe looks we had plastered to out faces at that moment. "Twins, really?" "How?"

Holly: "Yep, and they both look perfect, measuring just as they should with perfect little heartbeats" Probably thinking we are crazy and ready to run out of the room at this point....

us: "But twins don't run in our families...." totally dumbfounded......OH MY GOD!!!!

(and yes this happened completely naturally, they even mentioned that they thought they were identical . That happens in about 1 out of every 285 births! Identicals do not run in families, those are fraternal twins, and are due to "chance, coincidence, or plain good luck" )

After a moment to digest, I flipped out a little, OK a lot.... but Todd was the best husband ever, as always, and calmed me down right away. I blame it on the hormones :) Really there were so many things running through my head- how are we gonna do this?, 3 under 2.5!, high risk pregnancy AGAIN, please God no more small babies- especially two!, pre-term birth, etc.

But we talked and we prayed and really this is such a blessing! God knows what he is doing and I have complete faith in that. He has grown our family how he sees fit and we will enjoy this beautiful-crazy at times I'm sure- ride. Yes, our lives will be different-very much so- but SO worth it and I can't wait. I am doing my part for the time being- taking the best care I can of me and the beans. Eating lots, drinking lots, no exercise(brief walks only), no stress, resting lots, and loving my little man and Todd of course lots too! ;) I know I am in great hands at VA Women's Center- back with Dr. Love and crew AGAIN :) Todd has been phenomenal as a husband and daddy through this all. So after this has all set in for us all....

I can't even think what it would feel like if it was just one :)

Without further ado...we are SO excited to share with you, our newest additions!

This was the day we found out:

And one month later:

Estimated to arrive around the first of the year :) (That is the 36 week mark)

Some fun adventures in paradise

2009-06-30T15:20:00.053-04:00

While in Aruba this time around we decided to check out The Butterfly Farm. I thought Lucas would enjoy seeing the pretty butterflies and was hoping to get some cool pictures while I was at it! Plus, I guess the Biology major(AKA-science nerd) in me came out with the educational portion of our trip. They spent about 20 minutes explaining the life cycle of butterflies and the various species they had- most were not native to Aruba- but instead were shipped in and they have to keep a special tent contained environment to support them, really cool!

This is a monarch butterfly caterpillar: This guy has toxic spines-BEWARE! They won't make you really sick, just really itchy and sore. That is his mode of protection from predators (again science geek):Just some cool pictures of various butterflies, moths, and tropical flowers:Butterflies at happy hour :) Seriously, they are drinking the nectar from rotten fruit=WINE! Me showing Lucas the cocoon for the HUGE mothAll of the pupa's and cocoons formed by the caterpillars:Newborn butterflies!:

Followed by a little more fun at the beach....

" Hey mom!, look at that big truck up there!"

Yep, we even are mesmerized by these things in foreign countries! They were working on the new sidewalk around the resort.

We had grand plans to check out the Donkey Sanctuary and the Ostrich Farm as well-thinking Lucas would enjoy seeing more animals :) But, after talking to the resort concierge we decided against those outings due to the rocky road conditions. He suggested only going there via Jeep, rugged SUV, or 4-wheeler. What, the Toyota Yaris couldn't hang? Ha! If only I would have taken a picture of that thing. Hey, at least it did have four doors though!

We did venture out to see the Water Fireworks show at the new mall one evening. They do it every night so we thought it would be fun. They had fountains and water works that were in sync with lighting and music, pretty cool!

Wednesday was Todd's 32nd Birthday- so he got to pick our activities for the day :) We spent the day at the beach and pool (are you noticing a trend here?). Later that evening we went to his favorite steak place down there- El Gaucho's Argentine Grill. I am not a huge fan of steak but I have to admit it is the best I have had! Everything was yummy and even Lucas thoroughly enjoyed it! He actually polished off his french fries, about 1/3 of my steak, and almost a whole small ear of corn on the cob! He did not want me to cut it off, he wanted to eat it like us off of the cob.

We spent Thursday at Baby Beach after breakfast with the kitty at Dunkin Donuts :) Really, they are drawn to us I tell you! Baby Beach is the calmest, shallowest beach area in Aruba. So pretty! And perfect for little ones or others who are looking for some good snorkeling. There are literally NO waves because it is an inlet so the water gradually drops off to about maybe chest level for an adult if you really venture out there. Lucas pretty much RAN in and loved it. I had to hold his hand to get him stopped. We have gone here before on our other trips to Aruba for a couple of hours but it was nice to spend the better part of the day there and enjoy it!
At Baby Beach:

Why do vacations have to end so fast? We were bummed by Friday because we knew it was our last day to enjoy Aruba. But of course we made the most of it! We soaked up the last few rays of sunshine, ate a yummy dinner downtown at Iguana Joe's, and got ready for our trip home. Lucas was bummed too!

I love the little footprints :)

Goodbye beautiful Divi, thank you for a FANTASTIC week in paradise :) We will be back someday..... SIGH

The flight home was great, smooth sailing for the most part. Due to bad weather there were LOTS of delays along the east coast so we ended up at JFK for a longer layover. Which was a little scary since we were already scheduled to be there until 10:30 pm. I thought Lucas would have never made it, boy was I wrong! He was a one man show for everyone patiently waiting for their flights- running around saying "Hi!" with a wave to EVERYONE, begging for drinks from the water fountain, eating, drinking, and RUNNING some more. Not to mention climbing and declaring where he, mommy, and daddy needed to sit. "Momma's seat, my seat, daddy's seat..." :) Thank goodness everyone ate him up!!! Remember- this is about 10pm! Check out our little acrobat:

So as the pilot said at 12:05 am when we landed in Richmond- " BACK TO REALITY FOLKS!" :) So sad, but oh, so true....

Ahhh...this really is the life!

2009-06-29T15:34:00.003-04:00

Yes, I am back after a serious hiatus apparently. June is now gone (well, except these final 2days) and we have done lots with our apparently LOST TIME-so much in fact, that I haven't had the opportunity to update this, sorry. Well we will just skip over the end of May and beginning of June for times sake and focus on our WONDERFUL, RELAXING, vacation to ARUBA!!! :) That is what everyone wants anyways right? Pretty water pictures, funny stories, and a telepathic transport to the most wonderful place in the world (Ahhem....guess I just inserted my opinion there :)- Although I must say if you really could pick your own heaven when you get there, this is SO what I am headed for one day-Fine by ME!

We were psyched to go but must admit, a little nervous as to how Lucas would do on the trip. We flew from Richmond at 6am (we were at the airport at 4:30am) to JFK- that was about an hour. NO problems here- he fell asleep when we were taxiing out to the runway and woke up just before we touched down! We had a 3.5 hour layover there and he played hard, made lots of friends with strangers, and toured the terminal, all the while completely infatuated with the airplanes! He loved talking about them and how they went UP in the SKY :) SO on the next leg of the flight (4.5 hours) he was super excited to be in the plane and did rather well! We did have about 15 min. of grumpiness due to lack of personal space, I totally understood - I think we all feel that during long flights, and he got it together pretty quickly...;)

So when we got there we were wisked to our rental car (Daddy's SWEET RIDE as we taught Lucas to say) and headed off to the Divi Phoenix Resort not knowing what to expect, this was our first time staying there. Well lets just say we LOVED it at first sight! This place was just renovated and expanded. We were in a brand new building overlooking the awesome pools and the beach was in the background-what more could you ask for? You name it they had it!

A beautiful view on top of the always super friendly Divi staff. We are slightly partial since we bought our timeshare there but seriously these people are great and will do anything to make you happy. Well Arubans in general are some of the nicest, happiest people I have ever met, but really, wouldn't we all be if you lived there? We quickly grabbed dinner from Tomato Charlie's and apparently the pizza was a hit, according to Lucas. We ate outside every chance we got since it was absolutely beautiful down there. We even got to see the KuKu Kanuku Bus picking up guests from their hotels heading out for a fun night or dancing and partying! Ahh, yes we have been there twice- not this time around though and that was OK by us :) If you go- you gotta do it, so much fun!

We spent the better part of our week relaxing, playing at the beach and pool, going for walks, eating at some yummy restaurants, and just having a fantastic time getting some great QUALITY family time in. No rushing around, phone calls, work worries, traffic, etc. Ahh, just time with each other, the waves, and the sun. As I said before- PARADISE! I did seem to get a bad sunburn on day 1 so I suffered a little for a few days and hung out with Lucas lots in the shade to heal some. So "chocolate" Heather did not appear this trip. I think it was Shannon who gave me that title after our trip in 06' :) We lathered Lucas up in SPF 60 so he barely even left there with a hint of color- that is my pasty little white boy ;) Better for us all to enjoy the sun that way anyhow,right?

The pool was 3 "layers" The first was a huge kiddie pool at 1ft. deep complete with fountains, this was where all of the munckins lived. This kept Lucas entertained for quite a while. He wanted us to stop the water from coming up with our hands and feet. After a while he gave it a try, he really turned it into a game. The second level of the pool was the normal 4-5 feet, and the 3rd was complete with a swim up bar! Which sad, but true- we never tried out. After getting two drinks from the bar one day and hearing $14.00, we decided our blender in the room was just fine...Guess we are a tad spoiled from our previous all-inclusive trips out here! We could have added days of it but wanted more freedom this time around.

Mornings were often spent at the beach, playing in the sand and water. Lucas loved sifting through the sand looking for little treasures or sea shell pieces. With little to no waves he really had no fear of the waves so the water was great! We also took lots of long walks on the walkway along the ocean that lines all of the high-rise hotels and even found some great play areas along the way for Lucas to enjoy. Man, a playhouse with one hell-of-a-view! ;) After he would get warn out and we all ate lunch, Lucas would go down for a nap and Todd and I took turns heading back to the beach to enjoy some extra sunshine :) It worked out great!

As always, being the animal lovers that we are, we even found 4 legged friends in Aruba! :) A flat coated retreiver at the Butterfly Farm named Oscar, a very fat cat that was apparently VERY loved by the tourists, and of course all of the little lizards and iguanas....

I'll be back with part two, hopefully tomorrow! There is way too much for one post :) Stay tuned......

Eating machine!

2009-05-29T10:31:00.002-04:00

For your viewing pleasure this week we have some new videos of our little eating machine. Well, I guess I should say SELECTIVE eating machine! He went from being a little boy who would eat ANYTHING to being a little picky, but I hear that is pretty normal for toddlers. So we will continue to look for the things he loves and work with it. These are from the past week. We made our weekly trip to the produce stand for fresh fruits and veggies and Lucas has quickly learned that mommy and daddy buy apples there! So as soon as I got back in the car he was asking for his apple :) Of course I obliged....I tried to get him to "chat" with me during our ride/snack....

Whenever I have cake class in the evenings I pick Lucas u from school and we go have our special mommy -son dinner out. We frequent Chick-Fil-A (of course!) but decided to switch it up this week and try this great new place in Mechanicsville- Noodles and Company. Well, the menu sounded yummy and Lucas LOVES noodles so I figured it would be a perfect fit! And it was a hit with us both, definitely recommend it! We had the mac and cheese and the pesto cavatappi with parmesan chicken that we shared. He chowed down most of his and about 1/3 of mine! As you listen, "doodles" is noodles for all of you out there who don't have a chatty toddler around! :) I remember friends having to translate their kiddos for me in the past. I love to hear him talk and want to catch it all on tape cause I know it will change so fast...these are my attempts.....

I'll be back with fun pics and stories from Memorial Day weekend. I try to take advantage of the faster PC to get the video's loaded...emmm..at work... SHH! ;)

Happy Friday everyone!!!

4 Wheelin' fun!

2009-05-19T16:15:00.005-04:00

Thought that everyone could use a good laugh :) We sure got a kick out of Lucas' first attempt at driving his fun new outside toy a few weeks ago. I am sure this will bring endless hours of entertainment for us all this summer. He gets it out just about daily now as soon as we get home. I got a great deal on it from Craig's List, I love that site! Used toys are absolutely fantastic I must say....Look out cousin Casey, here he comes ;)
Sorry that it is a little dark, this happened at dusk! ;)

Is May really half way over ALREADY???

2009-05-15T08:51:00.016-04:00

In case you haven't noticed, I seem to have a running theme here...Take a look back at the last few months and you can see that life is freakin' nutz!!! How can it possibly be almost summertime already? Didn't we just send out Christmas cards? (Oh yeah, ours were New Year's cards..)... Now school is over in 4 short weeks....Didn't we just have 10 inches of snow on the ground?... Now it is 80+ degrees and the humidity is creeping in...

So I guess we have been super busy running this rat race that is called life. I am most definitely ready for a slow down as are most of you. Work is insane (I could say many more choice words BUT, who knows who might read this ;) ) Let's just say 6 missing bodies equals way too much workload on the remaining poor souls, and with government....NOTHING happens fast....maybe we will have at least one new hire in the upcoming weeks, I am not holding my breath or anything! Plus every time I turn around an instrument has issues and needs repair, etc. Not to mention meetings, playing with blood, extra responsibilities, etc. Oh yeah, did I mention-no raise AND of course parking is going up, insurance is going up.....Gotta love it!!! :) Don't get me wrong, just like I said before I am thankful too...Really I am...

Hmmm... I wonder if this is all explains why my visit to the neurologist last week ended with a betablocker Rx in hand to help control my horrible DAILY headaches. She seems to think that I have classic symptoms of serious stress and or depression (???) and that these will help alleviate the pressure in my brain's blood vessels. I think I will go with the stress option. When she was asking me all of the questions and stress came up as a possibility I thought, well let's see- I am working at a crazy busy job full-time, and I am a mommy to a wonderful 19 month old (umm, toddlers?!?!..) not to mention all of my other responsibilities- attempt to keep a clean house, food in the fridge and our bellies, be a good wife, daughter, etc. Well you get the picture- I can see that possibility at the moment! So far the medicine has worked great but don't think I didn't mention this to my boss ;) And I hope to try to control the other aspects some on my own. If only I could find a few more hours in the day to take care of me ;)

Ahem.... I think that is enough venting for now... on to bigger and better things :)

We got to spend the first weekend of the month visiting with Dad during his recovery and the rest of our family in Fredericksburg. Todd helped his mom move into her own townhouse which is really nice. I know she is excited about this new journey in her life and we are happy for her! Kellen is growing like a weed, well a heck of a lot more than that! He is a big boy but so stinkin' cute or so his Aunt Heather thinks! Lucas is really starting to check him out and seriously protested me holding him, he does not like to share his mommy- how do you break that? I guess time.... I fixed some yummy Brunswick stew for Dad and John in hopes that they wouldn't have to cook to much throughout the week. ;)

Mother's Day weekend was fantastic!!! I was off for 4 1/2 days straight!!! It was a mental health break that was so deserved. I decorated cakes, played with Lucas LOTS, cleaned, did laundry( I actually saw the bottom of the laundry basket-that is SO very rare in our house...), got beautiful azaleas and hydrangeas for around the deck and got them planted!!! Not to mention Saturday Kristi and I went shopping and then we all went out for a yummy dinner to celebrate Mother's Day with his mom. Todd did a great job spoiling me too :) He and Lucas took me out for breakfast, then we headed over to Ed's Nursery and Pole Green Produce to get my plants and spent the afternoon together at home relaxing and planting the bushes. Even Lucas helped! Todd fixed a scrumptious supper of seafood, and yummy banana pudding for dessert :) He capped it off by doing complete daddy duty that evening and allowing me to get some much needed R&R. I am so thankful for my fantastic family and feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to be a mommy ;) Thanks guys!!

A special message to my mommy:

We love you and miss you so much each and every day. Mother's Day is bittersweet for me. On one hand I am so blessed to be a mom, and I thank God for that amazing blessing everyday. On the other hand I don't have you here to celebrate these everyday joys with and honor. Thank you for being the best mommy and role model in my life. There are days that I get upset at the fact that you aren't here and are missing so much of this wonderful life, sharing so much with you, and seeing you be a great grandma to Lucas and Justin, but-I try to remind myself that you are still here in spirit and watching over us and all that we do. We are blessed to have you as our angel looking down from heaven. I am so thankful for the 28 years we did have together in this world and know that one day we will see each other again. Happy Mother's Day- I love you!!!

"All that I am or ever hope to be I owe to my Mother"

I love these days when you can see the suns rays poking through. One of my closet friends and I always say that these are our loved ones in heaven looking down on us. I love to snap these pictures whenever I get a chance. I took these pictures when we were in Fredericksburg(yes, that is the mess that is Route 3) visiting Dad after he came home from the hospital. We know you are there mom! :)

Utter craziness!

2009-05-10T15:30:00.001-04:00

That about sums up the last uhhmmm month?!?!

But we have come out of it unscathed for the most part, so for that I am UTTERLY GRATEFUL :) So much to update on and so little time...

We spent the first half of April enjoying our weekends and making it through the work weeks as usual. It seems like that it was we do these days, live for the weekends and the few hours that we share in the evenings. I try to remind myself to be thankful that we do have jobs to go to since there are so many who are experiencing the awful rocky road of the poor economy and job loss. So we will continue on our journey and LIVE for the weekends AND BE THANKFUL FOR OUR BLESSINGS... There are lots of fun pictures to share from the Spring Fling at Lucas' daycare in which he thoroughly enjoyed himself playing games, trying out the big kids playground, and playing with his friends :) We also had a great Easter weekend in Fredericksburg spending time with family and friends. Lucas was spoiled by several Easter bunnies apparently ;) but did not object to say the least! We also got to catch up with some other great friends for Tracy's surprise 30th birthday party. They too lead a crazy hectic life and we really enjoy the times that we do get to spend together! Plus Todd rounded out the month with a run to support kids with cancer- what a fantastic cause! :)

So that is the highlights in a very brief summary....well, with one major part left out...

Most of you know and have been following the last few weeks with us via email, phone, Facebook. My dear sweet dad had a VERY scary spell back on April 26. He was having a really hard time breathing(I guess that is an understatement, he told us that he rather would have died then to feel like that-of course we are glad that that was not the case!) and he and John ended up calling 911 at 2am. They got him there and after evaluating him- discovered he had congestive heart failure (CHF). He was sedated,put on a ventilator, and given Lasix to get rid of all of the fluid that had built up around his heart and in his lungs. His heart was enlarged and the ventricles were only functioning at about 15% when they should be about 50-55%. The doc met with us and explained that he needed a defibrillator implanted to help his heart beat the way it is supposed to in a normal sinus rhythm vs. scary fast or slow arrithmyias. But he needed to recover some under observation and get rid of the blood thinners that were still in his system before they could operate. So he spent that Sunday in the CICU and a few days on the regular cardiac floor. They performed a cardiac catherization to assure that there were not any blockages. (He has had 3 heart attacks in the past and a quadruple bypass back in 1998, plus a pulmonary embolism only two weeks later). Not to mention the poor guy has a blood clotting disorder which is why he is on blood thinners. That weaves a very sticky web with him for these procedures. Although either one is not major surgery, they still need to get into his vessels which means working in the bloodstream. Well, if his blood is too thin, he could hemorrhage. If it gets too thick he could end up with another clot- a heart attack, embolism, or stroke = all are BAD! So they had to get him at a good point (his INR-blood thickness measurement) in order to move forward with the two procedures. The did both successfully and he went home last Thursday. I spent Sunday through Wednesday up there and John was also around alot. He really scared us all but seems to be recovering great thus far. All of his doctors and nurses were fantastic and I must admit modern medicine amazes me... This nifty little device is a miracle and will help keep his bum ticker in check! God has given him so many extra lives already, guess that means he still has lots to do here, I know we think so!!!

I think that just about sums up the rest of April for us. I'll be back hopefully tomorrow with updates on May thus far! Stay tuned :)