And A Happy New Year

Welcome 2016! I am hoping for great things this year! I could go on and on about goals and reflections but I will keep it short ;)


2016 we will face some big challenges and changes, but I am hoping to keep a positive spin on things around here! I am excited to celebrate Benjamin turning 3 soon, Eloise will be 1 before we know it, and the twins will be off to Kindergarten! I don't even want to talk about it.

I have taken on some new projects over the past few months and I'm hoping to grow those projects and push myself out of my comfort zone. I'm hoping it will all work out but we shall see ;) I'm a little nervous to invest in some things but i know all you wonderful people will support me.

I know this, because you guys really all pulled through to make the end of 2015 super awesome! I didn't post about this much on my blog but thanks to friends and family near and far we put together some pretty awesome NICU baskets! We put together 15 gift baskets for families at the NICU the twins were born at including baby toys, clothes, gift cards, snacks, hygiene items and a keepsake book to deliver right before Christmas. We also got a cookie tray and a ton of drinks from local businesses, so big thanks to Ritchey's Dairy and Mamie's Cafe and Bakery in Martinsburg, PA! I used to scoop ice cream at Ritchey's so it was awesome to have them help us out with this! We made the kids walk and it took our triple stroller to lug everything up to the NICU. While we couldn't deliver everything personally to the families, I am sure we made a lot of people really happy with our gift baskets and it wouldn't have been able to happen without everyones donations so really, I couldn't thank you enough!

Overall, 2015 was pretty awesome, despite some little bumps in the road. 2016 has some bumps in it too but I'm hoping and praying for some big things this year for me and for all of you!

So Happy New Year and if you get a minute, say a prayer for our family as we go through our little bumps this year.

The twins turn 3!

I posted that the twins had turned 3 last month, but I never got to share what we did for their birthday!

 Since it was in the middle of our move, we couldn't throw a big birthday party, like we've done in the past. It was at the end of our road trip though so we were lucky to be able to celebrate their birthday and my mom's birthday with all of our family at my parent's house.

Amelia has been telling me for MONTHS that for her birthday, her cake will be a Cinderella cake. I asked her if Jackson would have a Cinderella cake too and she told me that they couldn't have the same cake. Jack would have a Lightening McQueen cake. Isn't someone opinionated for a 2 year old? A few days before her birthday, after much pinterest searching and deliberating, we started the great scheme of their cakes.

Oh, another fun detail, Amelia's cake had to be chocolate.

Ready to see a pinterest fail? Yea, I don't see the picture making it into the pinterest world ever.

Don't judge me. It took me 2 days to make this masterpiece!

Jack's train worked out a bit better with the help of a train cake pan. I know it's not Lightening McQueen, but I thought Jack would like this one better and Amelia can't always have everything she thinks everyone else wants ;)

That's a lot of cake!

And to make things even cakier(?), my mom also wanted her own cake so we had 3 birthday cakes for 1 party.

I was a little nervous she wouldn't be so impressed with my sagging castle cake, but luckily, she loved it. The expression tells it all!

 All the birthday kids and their cakes!

 We had a great celebration with the entire family.

Someone else was super excited about all the cake. This boy never misses a chance to eat ;)

It was a nice quiet birthday but it was nice that this was their first birthday they could celebrate surrounded by lots of family. I think we'll like this living closer to family business ;)

And how are the twins doing for their 3rd birthdays?

Amelia weighs 27lbs and is 38" tall. Jackson is 31lbs and almost 40" tall. Jackson is going to have a 2nd opinion from a neurologist and an ENT to figure out what to do about his developmental delays and hearing. I'm hoping we'll be able to get some clear answers and be able to get him on the right path to "catching up" soon. Amelia had a follow-up with a cardiologist who says her heart murmur is very innocent and she's cleared to do all activity. We will start therapies and things soon and we'll get back in our normal routine. They're overall healthy and you'd have no idea what a crazy birth they had.

Amelia's favorites: All princesses, playing dress up and tea parties, doing things "I do myself". She likes to fill her own water bottles, make her own food, and go to the bathroom by herself now. Luckily, she still asks for help if she really needs it, but we've had a lot of messes to deal with from her next step of independence. She can dress herself and put on her shoes and socks so that's been really helpful in getting the gang ready for the day! She loves to help me change Ben's diaper and "feed the baby", even though he doesn't really need help being fed. She controls who eats and when and will distribute the gold fish to make sure everyone gets a fair amount. As long as she's in charge, she's happy. Luckily, the boys are happy to fall in line.

Jackson's favorites: Robots, legos, and trains. He has really gotten into legos and robots lately. He loves to watch them on netflix (usually old school transformers, I blame Tom) and play with the different lego things him and Tom have built. He is definitely a little engineer. He loves to play in water and has really enjoyed all the splash pads around Ohio. He still has some fine motor issues and obviously is much stronger on his right side than his left. Being left handed, he struggles to hold things and write/color. He is still very active and always into exploring things. He won't sit still if he can help it. He's just a busy busy kid who needs to keep his little mind busy 24/7. He's also my sweet boy though, and loves to cuddle and tell his mommy how much he loves her.

Happy happy birthday to my darling little twins! We love you and all of your crazy antics!

Parents of Preemies-3 years later

"We saw something on your son's head ultrasound..."

I remember hearing those words almost 3 years ago. We had been in the NICU for a few weeks. Jackson still wasn't keeping his oxygen up without the help of CPAP. For the first time since the twins were born, I cried, not because of what was happening right in that moment, but because I realized that this preemie journey wouldn't be over soon. It wouldn't be over the day we left the NICU. It wouldn't magically disappear when they "grew out of it" at 2. It was going to be something we were going to have to deal with for a very, very long time, if not for the rest of their lives.

The bleed in his brain was very mild, so mild they had missed it during an earlier ultrasound, but it was still there, threatening his development and leaving us with a wide array of unknowns. Would it cause cerebral palsy? Would it cause other development delays? Would he ever be able to come home? I had never questioned if the twins would be coming home. They were strong, they were fighters, they were doing better than anyone expected, but now...were they going to come home was a serious question I couldn't quite shake.

That day sticks out in my mind more than any other day the twins were in the NICU. I remember crying and holding Jackson. I remember the nurse letting me hold him for a few minutes longer, even though his temperature was dropping, because I wasn't quite ready to let him go yet. She brought over a warmer blanket, dimmed the lights, and let me just lay there with Jackson, my tears dripping down on his arm he had wiggled under my chin.

 3 years later, we do have some answers. We know his bleed really was mild, we were very lucky, but I don't think it's made this preemie journey any easier. We followed up with several specialists and spent a few months making sure his low muscle tone wasn't anything more serious. His developmental delays are pretty obvious, and we go to therapy 3 days a week to work on things. He has made tremendous progress and I am so grateful for that. I know these challenges presented to him have not only showed me what a resilient kid he is, but what amazing things he will be able to accomplish as he grows.

And now that he is almost 3, we have a new set of challenges. Jack is going to have to go off to school soon and have to communicate with teachers and classmates. I'm worried he won't be able to do well in school because he can't understand and they can't understand him. I'm worried he won't be able to make friends because he can't keep up with his classmates. I'm worried I'm going to have to fight every day to make sure he gets all the help he needs to excel, because so many people in the world think he should just "grow out" of his prematurity.

 But prematurity really doesn't go away when you leave the NICU. It is a long, hard road for these kids, and their parents. It's driving all over town to different doctors, then spending hours sitting in waiting rooms, hours at therapy, holding your child while the doctors poke at him yet again, or watching your child try to keep up with kids his own age at the playground. 3 years later, prematurity is still a daily part of our lives.

Whether you're a brand new parent of a preemie or a preemie parent for 25 years, I think this road we have been on is something that we can all relate to. It is a hard path for all of us, regardless of the specific outcomes with our preemies, and one that leaves us crying over our babies far too many times. But that resilience you've seen in your little preemies is in you too, you just might not always realize it, or want to take the credit for it. Preemie kids have to overcome a lot, and so do all of their parents. That is why Parents of Preemies day is there, to celebrate, not just your preemies, but you too for all that you've done, the fights you've fought, and the tremendous spirit you've shown through it all. Parents of Preemies Day is on Sunday and remember, that day especially, to take a minute to give yourself a nice pat on the back (or a nice massage?). Not everyone may understand the struggles you've been through as a preemie parent, but there's a big group of us out there that do, and we want to celebrate with you!

You can find Parents of Preemies Day on Facebook and Twitter to connect with other parents!

This preemie journey for the past 3 years has been a rocky road. That little baby that was barely able to breathe on his own can now run circles around me. It is a hard and rewarding experience, but I am so proud to be a preemie mom.

Parents of Preemies Day

Parents of Preemies Day is coming up on May 4! I will do a proper post on my thoughts and feelings about being a proud preemie parent on the actual day, but for this post, I just wanted to throw awareness out there about what's going on and how you can be involved!

Are you a parent of a preemie? Graham's Foundation sponsors a wonderful day that is just for YOU! I have been blogging about this special day since it all began 2 years ago, and every year it has gotten bigger and better. 

Please support Parents of Preemies Day, a worldwide day of awareness produced by Graham's Foundation. Parents of Preemies Day recognizes the courage and commitment it takes to stay strong and resilient when premature birth turns a family's world upside down. Each year, 13 million babies are born prematurely across the globe and though medical breakthroughs continue to improve outcomes for preemies, experts are only now beginning to understand the intense psychological effects that premature birth has on moms and dads.

Here are just some of the ways you can celebrate Parents of Preemie's Day, whether you're a preemie parent or someone who cares about a family with a preemie:

• Check http://parentsofpreemiesday.org/events.html to find out if there is an event happening in your area and if so, register. May 4th is going to be a great time!

• Share your family's story on the Parents of Preemies Day Facebook page.

• Connect with other parents of preemies at the next #ParentsofPreemiesDay Twitter chat! Jump into the conversation using hashtag #ParentsofPreemiesDay to talk about how moms and dads can celebrate being parents of preemies.

• Bloggers, visit the Parents of Preemies Day website and grab a badge for your sidebar – then create a Parents of Preemies Day post to tell the world why you're proud to be a preemie mom or dad. Email a link to your post to christa @ grahamsfoundation.org and we'll post it on the website!

• Visit the Parents of Preemies Day website for ideas about what you can do to support moms and dads of preemies.

If you have any questions, please let me know. I'd be happy to help you get in touch with someone from Graham's Foundation if you wanted to start your own event or have issues finding an event near you. A few days before the event, I'll be sharing my story of why I"m a proud preemie mom and what being a preemie parent means to me.  

A Long Week

Well, I'm almost all caught up with everything going on in our house lately. This update isn't quite as fun as the Disneyland update though, fair warning.

My kids have all had colds all winter long, especially that baby of mine. I figured he was building up his immune system and being around toddlers 24/7, he was getting hit pretty hard. He was diagnosed with asthma in January and since then has been on breathing treatments daily to help fight off all of these chest colds he's been getting, or at least keep them from getting too serious. The most recent sickness that plagued our house wasn't started by him though...it was that other little boy in the house.

So go back 2 weeks ago, between Thursday and Friday, I noticed Jackson started to get really grouchy. Like REALLY grouchy. He was so upset about everything and nothing could calm him down. Friday evening I took his temperature and sure enough, he had a fever and I knew then he was coming down with something. He seemed alright though and the fever wasn't too high so we settled in for a quiet weekend at home.

Well the sickness came on quick because by the next morning, all 3 kids were down and out. And by out, I mean OUT. I have never seen them so quiet and still for such a long time.

No one's fever was very high and everyone was breathing alright so we continued on with a quiet weekend of movies and relaxing.

Monday morning, things changed. I made a doctors appointment for around 10am and by 9am, Jackson and Ben both started breathing really heavy. I went into the doctors early, and luckily, we have a great pediatrician who got them back and taken care of quickly. Jack's oxygen saturation was in the 80s, numbers I hadn't seen since his NICU days, and Ben had a fever of about 103 degrees. Amelia just sat there quietly, too sick to move. The doctor gave Jack and breathing treatment and kept him there for a little bit. His oxygen went up to the low 90s but she still wanted to get a chest xray and keep a close eye on him. So we went off to xray and the doctor told us to come back in a few hours after we'd gotten something to eat and the kids had rested a bit and she wanted to see him first thing that afternoon when we'd have the xray results in. So we did all that and about 2pm, we headed back to the pediatrician. Jack's xray showed pneumonia and his oxygen was back in the 80s so at that point, she said she had to send him to the ER, he needed more help then we could give him here. Again, being the awesome pediatrician's office, the nurse helped me take the kids all over to the ER (Tom was at work for all this, I REALLY didn't think it was that serious and would escalate so quickly). By 3pm we were checked into the ER for Jackson, getting breathing treatments and oxygen, and about 30 minutes later, after just seeing Amelia and Ben sitting there all sick and pathetic looking, the ER doctor insisted we check the other 2 in to make sure they were taken care of too because she didn't think they looked well at all either. And here's where things got really crazy,

We assumed Jack would be admitted for the night since his oxygen levels were so low, but after checking Amelia and Ben out and seeing their chest xrays and RSV test come back positive, the ER doctor decided it was best to admit all 3 kids! Yikes! There was no pediatric unit in the hospital we were at (which is our small neighborhood hospital) but luckily, there is a children's hospital not far from us in Long Beach so we were transferred over there on Monday night.

As you can guess, with 3 kids in the hospital, we got very little sleep and were busy taking care of them all. They were really, really sick. Amelia tested positive for RSV in the ER and later Ben tested positive on another test at the hospital. All 3 kids had pneumonia and were having trouble keeping their oxygen saturation in the 90s without help. I was hoping we would only be in the hospital for a day or so but it took until Saturday to get everyone home! Saturday! Wow what a long week! Luckily, my mom was able to fly in on Wednesday to help with everyone as they started coming home. We spent all of last week relaxing and recovering from our long week in the hospital. It wasn't until last night, over a week after their discharge, that I finally let them out and near other kids. Another cold would have sent them back to the hospital quickly, and they were still very tired (and so was I!) from the long week.

We have had lots of friends bring us meals and help us out through all of this so a big thank you to everyone who has helped us! We really appreciate you all taking care of us while the kids were so sick! I'm so glad they got better because after 2 years of synagis shots and the fears beaten into me of preemies getting RSV, I was quite nervous when they told me it was RSV and pneumonia. But we are all home, doing well and hopefully that will be our last sickness for a VERY LONG TIME.

From NICU to Now

 

What a difference 28 months can make ;)

 

Jackson

 

 Amelia

 

 

A Special Memory

I'm not sure I have ever shared this story with many people before. It happened right after the twins were born, there was so much going on, I'm not sure it was a top priority story. I started this blog later, after I had some time to collect my thoughts and emotions about the twins birth and their time in the hospital so I don't think this story has made it's way onto the interworld. But it's a special memory, at least to me.

The twins had to be born because I got an infection which meant Jackson, baby A, baby with the broken water, would also have the infection. I know I mentioned that in their birth story and I mentioned how sick I was after they were born. I fought through the pain and infection to go see them a few hours after they were born because I had only gotten to get a quick glimpse of them so far. I was wheeled down to the NICU and spent a few minutes with each one before I had to go back to my room.

Well the next day was even harder on me. I was recovering well from the c-section, had gotten up and showered, but the infection had me down and out. I was feeling awful. I was on several IV antibiotics, pumping around the clock every 2-3 hours, and had a very high fever. Tom wasn't getting in until that night and hadn't even seen the twins yet. I wanted to badly to go visit them and sit there with them but I just couldn't get down to the NICU. It broke my heart. That was the only day out of their entire hospital stay that I wasn't there with them.

I called the NICU frequently to check on them. Every time I pumped I'd call and make sure they were doing ok. The doctor came down to see me once or twice, mostly to get me to sign forms of consent to do different treatments and things with them (they needed blood transfusions, bili lights, medication, special IVs, etc etc etc). But towards the evening, when it became clear I wasn't going to get to see my babies that day, the nurses brought down pictures that they had taken and printed out for me of my babies.  They said it would help my milk supply to be able to look at them while I pumped, but really, it just made my heart smile to see them. Tom got in late that evening and went to see them so I was so glad that one of us got to spend some time with them that day and they didn't have to feel too alone. I know they were in good hands with the nurses and doctors but they were so tiny, they needed their mommy and daddy too.

My mom actually framed the pictures and I see them as a read my babies their bedtime story and I'll always remember how far they've come.

Amelia on CPAP is on the left and Jack still on the ventilator is on the right.

It may not seem like much to anyone else, but the small gesture of someone taking a picture and bringing me a picture of my babies when I couldn't be with them meant so much to me. The nurses at the hospital took such good care of my babies and I'm so grateful to all of them for everything they did for us.

These pictures are a reminder at why we're doing the March for Babies and will do it every year. Even though the twins look so healthy now, they are truly miracles. They were very very sick and needed a lot of specialized care. The care and treatment they received were made possible by research funded by the March of Dimes. The treatments they received made it possible for them to live. 60 years ago, they might not have survived, just like my mom's twin brother who died the day after they were born prematurely. $.76 of every dollar you donate goes to research for new treatments and prevention, programs to support parents while their little ones are in the NICU, public health campaigns to make sure babies aren't born too soon, and so much more. So please help our team, help babies, and check out our fundraiser that is going on until tonight. You have no idea how much it means to families like ours.

Winner Winner!

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to our March for Babies team...even if I know you did it just for some cupcakes ;) I don't blame you.

With your help, we raised over $200!! You are all so amazing and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Without people like you and without the money that has been raised by people before us, my sweet little babies might not be here today. Your donations will help even more babies live and it's such a great feeling to be a part of that.

Oh...no one cares, you just want to know who won?

Fair enough.

So without further ado....the big winner of a dozen cupcakes from the wonderful Ashley is...

Sara!! Even far far away in Florida, Sara is still supporting our March for Babies team and I couldn't be more grateful. I'm so lucky to have such supportive and generous friends. Thank you all so much!

If you missed this fundraiser or didn't give because you think there might be a better fundraiser in the future, you might be right. There will be more fun stuff going on at the blog to fundraise for our team over the next few months so stay posted!

March of Dimes Fundraiser-CUPCAKES!

We're kicking off my March of Dimes fundraising in a very sweet way today...

with a dozen cupcakes!!

My good friend and sorority sister makes amazing cakes and cupcakes...

 She has oh so graciously offered to make a dozen cupcakes to a lucky person who donates to our March for Babies team!

 And don't worry, she will ship them ANYWHERE over night to you so you don't have to live near her to win this delicious treat :)

So how does this work?

Simply donate $5 to our March for Babies team and I will enter you into the drawing to win a dozen of Ashley's delicious cupcakes! She's been so kind to let the winner pick the flavor of cupcakes they would like and here are some of the options she threw out to me...(prepare to drool)...

  Raspberry-vanilla cupcakes with raspberry butter cream frosting
  Strawberry shortcake cupcakes with a vanilla cream filling and strawberry butter cream frosting
  Blackberry cupcakes with lemon filling and blackberry butter cream frosting

or if your sweet tooth isn't quite up for those options she could make you a chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache and cream cheese frosting or vanilla cupcakes with butter cream frosting.

Can I win? Pretty please? I would eat a dozen of those by myself...am I too far removed from being pregnant to do that? whoops ;)

 Want more chances to win? For every $10 you donate, I'll throw your name in the electronic hat 1 more time. So donate $5, get 1 chance to win. Donate $10, get 3! chances to win. Donate $20 and you'll get your name added 6 times! So the more you donate, the better your odds of winning!

Notice all the eye candy I'm dopping every few sentences to entice you even more to donate to our team ;)

Don't forget what you're donating to...with the help of the March of Dimes, hopefully we can put an end to prematurity and no more itty bitty babies like ours. So much of the technology used to save our childrens' lives was made possible from research funded by the March of Dimes. You really are saving lives by supporting the March of Dimes.

So the logistics one more time broken down for you.

• Fundraiser will be open until Friday at noon PST (so 3pm for you east coasters). I will announce the winner Saturday morning and notify the winner by email so please include your email when you donate, if not, make sure you comment on this post so I have a way of getting in touch with you!
• Every $5 donated to our March for babies team will get 1 entry, for every $10, you will get an additional entry.
• Want 1 more entry? Share this fundraiser on your facebook, twitter, pinterest or any other social media site. Leave me a comment to let me know you shared this post and I will give you an additional entry.
• I will put everyone's entries onto a spreadsheet and let random.org do the hard job of picking the winner.
• You will receive 1 dozen cupcakes, flavor of your choosing, mailed to you overnight for you and your family and friends (or just you...there's no judging here) to enjoy :)\

I'll make it super easy for you to enter...click on this picture!



This year, our team goal is $1890, the combined weight, in grams, of the twins when they were born. To give you some perspective on that, little full term baby Benjamin was 3300 grams when he was born, and he wasn't even a very big full term baby.

Please help us help babies and donate to our team! I'm super exciting to pick a winner on Friday! Good luck! Thanks for supporting our team!

1 Year Homeiversary

Can you believe this time last year I was getting ready to bring the twins home from the hospital? After 54 long long days of traveling to Johnstown every day and going to sleep without my babies, I finally got to bring them home and luckily, they've been home for good ever since! :)

It's hard to believe they used to be so tiny! Now they're so long they've outgrown those car seats all together and have been in their "big kid" car seats for awhile now.

They can stop growing up now...it makes me sad reminiscing!

We went to Santa Monica a few weeks ago when my brother was visiting and they loved love loved riding the merry-go-round :)

Amelia actually would push me away so she could ride herself.

It's crazy how much they've changed in a year. I don't even want to think about how big they'll be next year! But I'm so glad they've been home with us for a whole year. It's been so much fun :)

Some 7 Month Stats

Well I already told you what they're up to at 7 months old but here at some numbers for you!

Jack, as of about a week ago was 12lbs 13oz and 26 1/2 inches long. This was about 3 weeks from our last weight check, so he's gained about a pound and an inch since then! He's not getting too chunky but he is going to be tall! He's in the 28 percentile for a 7 month old baby in height. Not too shabby kid ;) He's barely on the 4 month old growth chart for weight though, and not even close to the 7 month old weights.

Amelia is 12lbs 1oz and 25 1/2 inches long! She's going to be tall I think too! She gained 22oz last month! So she's finally starting to catch up with Jack! She's about 5th percentile for height for a 7 month old. And just like Jack, doesn't get close to any charts for her weight. They're skinny babies.

We have an appointment with the GI doctor next week to go over their eating and weight gain. That will be the only weight check that we have scheduled until well into February so I guess we'll have to go weigh them at the super market to get an idea of how they're growing ;)

They're not chubby kids but they're long and healthy so I guess I can be ok without them being skinny little things :)

4 month olds!

The twins are 19 weeks! Can you believe it! I know I sure can't! We're going to make a video one day when I can get them both to be awake and cooperative ;) so I can show you how well they're holding their heads up, sitting up (well Mia is) and looking around like big kids :)

But here are some 4 month stats!

Age: 134 days, 19 weeks, or a little over 4 months

Weight: 9lbs 7oz...it read 9lbs 7oz and the tech read off 9lbs even...odd? I can't imagine he's only 9lbs so I'm going with what I saw. We go back next week so we'll get a weight check then too (Jack)
7lbs 14oz...bounced from 7-14 to 8-1 and the tech took the lowest weight...lame (Mia)

Length: 22in (Jack)
20in (Mia)

Favorite entertainment: Jack loves country music and his swing and Mia's thing is lights. When it's dark and there are lights on, she is in absolute awe. It's adorable. She's going to love Christmas and the Christmas tree :)


Fun tricks of the month: Jack sits up if you support him pretty well, but he's still a bit wobbly. He has these eyes though that attract any female from about 1 year old up. He gets all the ladies with his big pretty eyes. And my favorite part...he smiles a lot more! So stinkin cute!

Mia will still roll when she feels like it, will sit up (when she feels like it) almost completely unsupported and will lift the top half of her body way up when she does tummy time...again, when she feels like it. Baby girl is a little umm...moody ;) She's not quite as smiley as Jack, but she'll shoot you a grin or 2 when she feels like it ;)


Health concerns: Both were given great health reports at their appointments yesterday! The doctor was super impressed with how well they're doing. He really loved how well they hold their heads up! They took their 4 month shots like champs and we had several nurses and techs in the office comment on how we have some of the most well-behaved babies they've seen :) I told you they were perfect ;) The eye appointment today went just as well, no baby glasses for either of them! Mia's ROP is totally resolved, Jack's eyes are great, and they should be right on track with their vision! We do have an early intervention eval next week to look at any possible developmental concerns (as well as checking for early signs up cerebral palsy or developmental delays). Jack is seeing a pulmonologist at the end of November and Mia is seeing a gastroenterologist soon because of her digestive issues and awful reflux. So a few little quirks left to work out but they're heading in the right direction!


Best moments: Realizing Jack might be smiling on purpose when he grins when he hears my voice :) And having the xray tech say Jack was calling for his mommy when he was saying "Ma" during his chest xray. Gosh that boy melts my heart! Every time Mia will be upset and flailing all her limbs around but as soon as I pick her up she just curls up on my chest and the world is ok again :) Can these kids get any cuter?

So overall, things are going really great :)

 

Most of the time ;)

Falling In Love

with these 2...over and over again :)

A friend from...oh gosh..elementary school? I don't even remember when we met it was so long ago...came over to the house a few weeks ago and took a few pics of the twins. Her and her husband run Mountainside Photography and did such a great job despite having one very fussy baby. Can you tell from the picture which baby was the sweet one and which was being fussy? I'll give you a hint, the sweet one slept through almost the entire event ;)

It's crazy that this was done just a few weeks ago and already, they both look so different and so much bigger. I'll get some more recent pictures soon so you can see what a chunker Jack is becoming ;) Mia is getting there, we're still working on her eating better.

Happy first day of fall! I'm off to make something pumpkin! :)