Welcome to the world little ones!!

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

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.....

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

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!

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!

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!