Friday Update

First, I have to show some love. Do you see that little follower section over there to the right?? Do you see 19? Thank you...I knew there were steady readers, but to have that many actually put up their picture to publicly say "I like your blog!" means so so much to me. There are Nest friends, friends in real life, relatives, old friends, and new friends. There is even someone in Puerto Rico, Australia and a few in Europe. Wow, is all I can say. Thank you! I hope I can add a little smile to your days you come hear to read.

AND I have to say a huge jumping up and down congrats to my special friend Kathy. She just found out she is expecting again. If you remember she and I "met" on The Nest when we both went through IVF at the same time and ended up with the same due dates. We dubbed ourselves Due Date Twins. Her little Doodles, Noah and Talia, came when they were 23 weeks and died the same day. It was a truly horrible time for her. I cried and grieved her twins along with her and a wealth of other online supporters. As hard as it probably was on her, she continued to support me and offer congrats on the girls. She is an amazing women and I am proud to call her friend. I am tearing up just writing this because as joyous as it is, she is a nervous wreck and probaby will be until she is holding her little one safely in her arms at 40 weeks. So I ask my readers to remember her in your thoughts and prayers for a peaceful, uneventful pregnancy.

Ok now for the Friday update

First this is how Olivia looked when I was out of sight from her this week. (I had to be sneaky to get a picture of her without her seeing me.)

And then this what would happen the very instant her little eyes would see me...


The biggest smile I have ever seen her smile.

She has been Miss Cranky Pants the last few days so I am sure her teeth are bothering her as well. Ahhh...teething with 2 is the best.

Here they are in their little My First Halloween Outfits

I had to put two on here to get them both smiling

And here they are in cute little putfits with jeans on.


We went to our friend's girl's birthday parties this past weekend.
Remember Mackenzie from a few weeks ago?
It was both her and her sister's birthdays this past weekend so we went to celebrate with them.

See her doll? That is "Applgail" or as we found out Abigail. Isn't she the cutest little thing to have named her baby after mine? She even laid in the floor next to her mom. She covered herself witha blanket and started whimpering and told her "I'm Applgail"

And finally here is a pic of them in the Bumbos "talking" to each other.

Coming soon is the videos I spoke of last week and Halloween pictures

Sara

4 Month Check Up

Information packed appointment on Tuesday at their four month check up.

Abigail - 14lbs 14 oz 75th percentile in weight
Height is 24 1/4 in which is in the 50th percentile
Head circumference is 40.5 cm which is in 55th percentile (surprised it wasn't bigger)

Olivia - 13 lbs 1 oz Just under 50th percentile
Height is also 24 1/4 - same as Abby
Head is 39.5 cm - 35th percentile - she just has a petite little head.

Yes! That is almost 2 lbs difference in them! I feel it every time I pick them up, but I was surprised it was that much. They did get shots. Abby got all of hers, but we broke Olivia's up because she had a slight reaction to them last time so we wanted to pinpoint which one was the cause. Olivia went first and cried and cried and cried and cried. Big crocodile tears rolling down her face. It was heart breaking. She took a long time to calm down and then when Abby got hers it was like she remembered how bad it was and started crying all over again. Poor thing. Abby cried a little then settled right down.

Our Dr put Olivia on Prevacid as well to help with her reflux so we have 2 girls on the same meds. Hopefully the fussiness will get better now. We also started Abby on cereal!! Yay!! She drinks 10 oz more than Olivia every day. 10 oz people!! This girl is hungry! So we fed her some last night and she didn't know what to think at first but then she loved it. We got pictures of course and I will share them with you on Friday. Olivia doesn't really need cereal right now so we are holding off on her.

AND Abby is cutting teeth!! So that's why she has been so fussy! Poor thing got SO upset when the dr was showing us her little red gums. There are almost little nubs from her teeth so it may still be a few weeks. Fun, fun!

Our 4 month photo session went a little better thins time. Guess who was fussy?? I know what you are thinking. Olivia, right? Wrong! It was Abby this time that just wasn't feeling it.

We tried it with a white background

Will they ever smile??

The best ones of them by themselves


The Out-takes

Stay tuned for the official Friday check-up.
I have some great Halloween outfits and a priceless picture of Olivia.

Sara

Parenting Blunders

You know, I don't feel old enough to deal with a 6 (going on 10) year olds issues.

Last week, Gary caught Z doing something we have told him not to do before. We asked him about it and were amazed at the stories - i.e. lies - that came pouring out of his little mouth. He was down right convincing, people!! We told him, "you are not in trouble" (first mistake) but if he lied then he would be. Well, we realized that once he started telling the truth then as long as we reassured him he wasn't in trouble, he kept talking.

There's that line. The line of wanting your child to talk to you but know that if they tell you something they should get in trouble for, it may clam them up. The truth is he should have gotten in trouble for lying in the first place. He knows not to and we told him right then not to!! We ended up just talking to him. Zachary is the kind of kid that you can talk to and give the 'ol guilt trip to and he won't do it again. Period. We are pretty laid back parents because of this.

Today, he did it again.

::sigh:: really?? come on!!

I am so let down. At us for not being harder on him last week, at him for disobeying, at the world we live in where I have to discipline my child. I know it is my responsibility to raise him up to be a man full of integrity. It is just so hard to know what to do! Spank or no spank ; too young for grounding?; was it too harsh to have to miss the Fall Festival tonight which broke his ever loving heart?? enough for him to have to stay in his room all evening and tomorrow evening as well???

Who knows what is best? We just blunder through, you know? Hoping that we are making the right decisions regarding his punishment.

::sigh::

Sara

Follow Me

Hey, if you read me regularly, please sign up to follow me so I know who is reading. I know more than 7 people read this! And if you know me in real life, then it is very simple to get a google account just to follow me :-) Ha!

Sara

Friday Update

Oh, I have just spent the last half hour playing with Olivia. She laughed as I pumped her arms! This is the first time she laughed for a reason other than me tickling her. Abby was snoozing in her swing. She is a sleepy head today.

I really think Abby may be teething. I know it is early, but had a few fussy fussy days where she was just not a happy baby. She would wake up crying and did not want to be put down. And that's just not like our Abby. OR...maybe she just figured out the nosier you are the more you get held. Hmmm...have you been talking to Olivia, Abby?? I have been meaning to say this about Abby. She's my live Cabbage Patch Doll. Look at this...

And especially when she sucks in her lips like thisDoesn't she look like one? With those huge cheeks that sink about an inch into her mouth? I could just kiss those cheeks all day long. And I do :-)

We went to my family's this past weekend and had a great time. The girls wore the cutest little outfits! Did I get good pictures of them?? Nope! But I did get a few.

Olivia with Grandad

Abby with Uncle Jonathan, Cousin Collin,
Cousin Cameron, and of course, Zachary

Abby with Aunt Hollie
Olivia with Collin and Cameron

Abby fell asleep on Daddy

Plus, I think we've turned another corner. We look like this in the car now. No crying!

I think I have told how Olivia likes to have her face buried in her blanket to sleep. Well, this past week she has fought drinking her bottle to the point where I have started putting her into the swing or bouncer with her bottle propped. This is what I looked over and saw the other day. She did this on her own. See the bottle sticking out? She is still drinking it even though her little face is covered up. Right after I took the picture I uncovered her, much to her disappointment.

Abby will be rolling over long before Olivia. She already turns onto her side all by herself. When she figures out how to kick that leg over, she'll have it made.

And they see each other!! And they love each other! They just look and talk and coo to one another when we put them next to each other. I can see what great friends they will be. I have a video of this but it's dark.

And neither are tummy time fans but Olivia is doing pretty well. This is one of my favorites of her yet. See poor Abby behind her? That is how she was the whole time. She was not into tummy time AT ALL that day. Well, come on she has a slightly...ahem...heavier head to lift, right?

I have videos of both of them cooing and will post them in the next few days if I can figure it out. It is low quality but you will get the picture. And stay tuned for 4 month pictures!! Holy Crap, 4 MONTHS!! I know, where has it gone??

Sara

Way Back When-esday

Cheryl over at Twinfatuation hosts a trip down memory lane every Wednesday. So I am playing along today.

First is my Zachary. Can you tell where the girls get their chubby cheeks from? He is about 15 months here I think. He loved books and being in his diaper.

Here the girls are about a week old.

I thought about this picture the other day when I saw both my girls in their own swings. I wish I could go back for just a day to hold those tiny babies. I was just so tired and hurting from my c-section, trying to pump and breast feed and so over-whelmed. It was hard to enjoy them. So can I have them back for just a day? With their Preemie size clothes that are too big? Tiny enough to share the same swing?

Kinda funny that Abby is the one that has the pacifier in. She hardly ever takes hers now. Olivia wouldn't then, but now she's the one that likes hers the most.

Be sure to visit Cheryl and play along with Way Back When-esday!

Sara

Yay! I got another award

Look! I got an award! I have to admit, I have been watching this award be passed around for weeks now and just waiting for it to be passed my way...and waiting...and waiting. I knew there was someone out there that loved my blog :-)

Sarabelle at Mommy of Twins passed it to me. Thank you!! We belong to the same network of Moms that converse on The Bump. It used to be The Nest, now it's The Bump...and we don't like the change. Anyhoo

My duty now is to answer the following questions with a one word response and then pass the award along to 7 other blog friends. This was hard, people. One word answers are not my specialty, but here goes....

1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? priceless
5. Your father? loyal
6. Your favorite thing? kids
7. Your dream last night? vivid
8. Your dream/goal? better
9. The room your in? office
10. Your hobby? reading
11. Your fear? loss
12. Where do you want to be in six years? beach
13. Where were you last night? mom's
14. What you're not? rested
15. One of your wish list items? Lamborghini
16. Where you grew up? Texas
17. The last thing you did? diapered
18. What are you wearing? sweats
19. Your T.V.? off
20. Your pet? Allie-Cat
21. Your computer? beckons
22. Your mood? resigned
23. Missing someone? yes
24. Your car? Kia
25. Something you're not wearing? makeup
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your Summer? best
28. Love someone? passionately
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
31. Last time you cried? Saturday

Now I need to pass along the award to 7 others...Tag You're IT! I love your blog!!
In no particular order:

Silioquy at She Just Had To Say It
Kathy at Busted Babymaker
Pam at pyjammy
Rachael at little bites of heaven
Jody at Hyperfertile Infertile
Linda at Twice the Love
Wishing4one
Jenny at Flawed and Disorderly
Monica at The Jonas Family

And yes, I can count, I was a teacher. But I couldn't narrow it down any further than this so just deal with it :-)

Now, people, listen. The whole point of these fun awards it to pass them on. Make someone smile today like I did when I received mine. Good for you! Now get to it...

Sara

Friday Update

Happy Friday everyone!

We decorated for Halloween this week. I love fall decorations!! You see that big spider? That's Zachary's. We get it when he was 3. He wanted it so bad when we were in the store but when we got home he was so afraid of it we couldn't put it out! But he loves it now.

We went visiting this past weekend again at Gary's family. His sister Jamie was here with her family and she saw the girls for the first time.

Aunt Chastity and Olivia

Uncle Jeromy and Abby


Cousins on the trampoline

Cousin Lex with Grandma

Lex with his dad Tony

The biggest news this week is Abby has reflux. She inhaled some of her milk a couple of weeks ago and developed a rattle in her chest. We called our Pediatrician and they asked us a bunch of questions about her breathing all of which were fine. They said that if her congestion didn't get any better to bring her in. After 2 weeks in hadn't gotten any better so we took her in on Monday. Remember 6 weeks ago when I said she had turned into the stamp monster sounding thing especially at night? Well, that, apparently is due to reflux. We watched Olivia so closely for reflux that we didn't even think of Abby having it because she doesn't spit up. But she does cough and grunt and make all kinds of noises after she eats, so she is on medication for that and an antibiotic for the inflammation in her lungs. She is already tons better and she is sleeping better :-) Yay!!

In other news, both girls laughed for the first time this week. And Olivia is getting her voice! Not just her whiny voice, but her talking voice. She has started talking to us and she just wiggles and wiggles when she does. Abby continues to jabber and jabber. They are noticing each other more and more. Olivia is especially interested in Abby. She will lean toward her and just smile and wiggle at her.

Another piece of big news in that we moved Olivia to sleep in her crib. We wanted her to get used to it first because she is the one that lays down about 8:30 and falls asleep in her bed on her own. She has done so so good!! No problems what so ever! It's like she is actually more comfortable in her own crib. She just snuggles her face into the blanket and falls right to sleep. Yes, she has to have her face partly covered up by a blanket to sleep. She loves it and it worries us to death! We always go in there after she falls asleep and uncover her a little more. We will start putting Abby in there with her tonight. We'll see if they will be able to sleep in the same crib or not. Olivia still gets swaddled and put in positioners. Abby is all over the place so they might just have to have their own cribs. I hope not. I really want them to sleep together for a little while.

And look at these cute outfits!!
Abby on the left, Olivia on the right

And now for my sweet Zachary. He just went through a huge growth spurt. We bought jeans for him when we went school clothes shopping in August. He went to put them on for the first time this week and they were too small! So I got the next size up and they just fit him. Sniff sniff. Were did my little boy go?

I will tell you where he went...

He went running ( he takes it very seriously)

His school does a Boosterthon Run Fundraiser. He gets sponsers to pay him $1 per lap. The cap is 35 laps. Last year we assured people he would go about 15-17 laps. I mean, he's 5, right. Yea, he went 28. You should have seen us telling him to slow down, take a break, don't you want another drink, etc. Nope, he trucked along. Here are a few pics from last year.

Look at his red face!

He's waving at me :-)
Gary took this picture and I moved a little further down.

So this year people were a little more wary about pledging. They asked him how many he was going to run this year and he confidently said, "35!" So they knew what they were getting into, right? Yep, he ran the max. He actually ran about 37 but the most you can ask people to pay is $35. That's my little runner!

Here he is this year in the black shorts

Here is his shirt all filled up!

Way to go, Zach!!

I got tagged by a few people this week so those will be coming up soon :-)

Sara