What a Year

I was just sitting her thinking of last Christmas and everything that has happened to this Christmas. Last Christmas we were with family in South Carolina and Georgia enjoying a warm break from Canada. I was finally pregnant with our 2 precious babies after years of infertility, countless doctor's appts, numerous and costly procedures, many heartaches, and a very emotional experience. We had no idea at the time what this year was going to bring last Christmas. Shortly after we found out that Lilly had stopped growing and was in danger. We turned our worlds upside down to do whatever we needed to do to ensure the pregnancy went as long as possible to give BOTH babies the best outcome possible. With the help of our doctors in Connecticut, we made it to 32 wks, and had 2 beautiful babies. We did have a long road after they were born, and they both faced many ups and downs, especially Alex. But they proved to be strong, and came home after 7 wks. Then Chris had interviewed for a new job, so that we could move closer to family and back to the US. We then moved our new family of 5 to Pennsylvania. Things have "calmed" down a little since we moved in, and we are starting to getting into a rhythm of having 3 children and mostly on our own. We love it when our moms have time to lend us a helping hand. We welcome the extra hands.

The babies are doing great, and Lilly is finally starting to eat a little better. Julian is growing into such a bright little boy. He makes me smile and laugh daily. we couldn't be more blessed this christmas to enjoy our family to what is has become this year. I can't wait to see Julian experience Christmas again this year. I also can't wait to see the babies experience their first Christmas!

I look forward to what the next year has in store for us as well. This past year was difficult but brought many blessings.

Well, another weekend is over and time to start the new week. I really hate when sunday is over, especially when Chris is going out of town. I made it this past week by myself, Chris had a meeting in Bridgewater with late dinners and early starts. He was here, but not here. I did have a nice treat from a visit from my parents on their way to South Carolina/Georgia for the christmas holiday. It was so nice to have some extra hands for the night and early morning. Julian was thrilled to see them, and I was sad to see them go. We look forward to seeing them again on their way home.

This past week, Julian enjoyed the left over snow, and we even got a few more inches Tuesday night before it started to rain. One day they had a snow delay at school, which really shortens a half day kindergarten, so we called it a "rest day". Julian like that. It was funny having a snow delay, after being in Canada where they never shortened school because of the snow. I think I drove Julian to school in blizzard conditions.

Alex has cut his second tooth, and is doing great eating. I am thankful I have at least one good eater in the house. One child I won't have to worry about eating. Lilly still has her good days and bad days eating. And when she doesn't want to eat, it's not going to happen. She is really taking off on crawling. She is really fast, and you have to watch her every second. I've weighed her lately and I think weight isn't gaining as fast because she is such an active child.

I've done a lot of online shopping and have gotten away a couple of times to do some christmas shopping. A few more things, and I think I'm done. Then, I just have to find time to do some wrapping.

well, I'm just going to pray i make it through another week.

I did find some time this week to do my christmas cards, which I should get soon and send out. I'll show you my pictures on the card, but you will see them again. I think they turned out pretty good, especially if you were here and heard the background noise going on.

more snow day pics

First snow in PA

Today we had our first snowfall. Julian has had so much fun playing outside. It has reminded me so much of our time in Canada. I had to go to Target today to get him a sled so he could go down the hill in the backyard. He and Chris were having a ball, and Duke was enjoying chasing them down the hill. They even built a snowman in the front yard. It is times like this when I am glad that we have taken advantage of the moves for Chris and have gotten to experience things we wouldn't have gotten to if we had stayed in South Carolina. ( Don't get me wrong, I would still move back in a heartbeat) We will enjoy these times and look back and cherish these memories one day.

We have decorated for Christmas, and have started the "Santa" buying. I have a feeling Christmas will be here before we know it.

I forgot to mention also that Alex has finally cut his first tooth. He wasn't very comfortable during that but hopefully the others won't be as painful. (Wishful thinking on my part)

Lilly's follow with GI

Friday, Lilly had her f/u appt with our GI doctor. She weighs 13 lb 11 oz. She gained on avg 19 gm/day over the last 7 wks. (15-30 gm/day is where they want her). Not as great as the last visit, but she is much more mobile and active now to burn calories, but they are extremely happy with her progress. Developmentally she is doing great. Weight for her height she is in the 25%. We still have better eating days than others, but overall I think she's doing good for my little 2 lb baby at birth. We are going to keep things the same, make no med changes and they want to see her back at her birthday. Can't believe they will be 1 before I know it. The year is flying by. It's been a busy, hard at times, year. But, I can't imagine my life any other way. I look at my 3 children and think how lucky I am to have each one of them. They are all so special, and I just melt when they smile at me.

I forgot to mention the other day that we now have a "stander". Lilly has started crawling to things and pulling up on them to standing. It's so funny watching my little girl do that. I don't know if I mentioned earlier this week they went to PT and OT to check for developmental status. They said they were both great for their age, doing just what they expect them to do.(They only expect them to be at 6 months because they were 2 months early.) Alex is starting to try to crawl. He can scoot around a little.

Decorating for Christmas

Julian was a big help hanging the ornaments. He also like being able to climb the ladder.
Attempting to get everyone together. (Notice my foot trying to hold Alex up)
A family of 5's stockings this year.
Lilly attacking Alex. She is all over the place and he actually doesn't care when she climbs over him.

Thanksgiving

We had a great time spending thanksgiving at my family's house in Connecticut. The babies did well being away from home. It is always helpful to have extra adults to hold babies. We did figure out that Lilly hates to drive for long distances. She gets very upset being tied down to her car seat, so we had to stop a couple of times to give her a break. We enjoyed seeing everybody and friends came over to see the babies and Julian. Julian had a great time getting to play with my mom's neighbors twin boys. He played all day long and hated to leave them. I wish we would meet some close friends for Julian to play with here as well. He loves to play with other kids. We had to convince him to leave by telling him his frogs missed him and needed him to feed them.

Once home, it was time to do the unpacking and getting things put back together from being out of town. We put up our christmas trees and Julian did a great job helping mommy hand the ornaments. Now, we are getting ready for Christmas. It will be so exciting to spend christmas with our "big" family this year.

Big Events Today

Today is a milestone. The babies are 8 months old today. They are doing great. Lilly is finally over 13 lbs. That makes mommy so happy. I know it seems small for an 8 month old, but she started at 2 lbs, so we are making good strides. Alexander is over 17 lbs, and a little more needy than his sister. He would be very happy if someone would just hold him and feed him all day long. Lillian is crawling and little independent. She is such a happy baby. Alexander is starting to copy is sister. He gets on all fours and tries, but not quite there yet. They have started to eat solid foods, and actually doing very well with that. So far, we are up to bananas, applesauce, sweet potatoes, and peaches with rice cereal. We just pray this streak continues.

My big boy Julian, lost his first tooth yesterday. Such a big event in his life. He is no longer my baby anymore. The tooth fairy came last night. They leave much more than when I was little. It made me a little sad to see his tooth gone. The baby teeth are on the way out. I also had a great parent teacher conference yesterday. He is doing great, and makes me smile everyday.

At the bird house, Julian raised his hand every time she asked a question, and he got to be the one she demonstrated on. He loved it. Chris and I were wondering where he got his personality trait that is so NOT shy.
So hard to get a natural smile these days.
I love my big boy. Mommy and Julian. It was just he and I for so long.
Posing on the bear statue.
Posing outside the reptile house. Julian's favorite.
Notice he wanted a picture of him with the crocodile behind him.

We had a great weekend this week. Friday, I met Chris at our pediatrician's office because the babies had to get part of their 6 month vaccines and the flu shot. I made him go with me to help, so that both babies could get comforted after the shots. Chris dreaded it all day, and had to sit down while the nurse gave them to the babies. But he got home with me at a regular time which was nice. Saturday, I got out for a little therapy shopping and a trip to target and chick-fil-a. That was the best day for me. Then Sunday, we woke up and got ready to head to Philadelphia. Anne graciously agreed to watch the babies while Chris and I went to the zoo with julian. We had a great time. It was a beautiful sunny day(in the 70's) and Julian got one on one time with both of us at the same time, which is rare these days. He had a great time, and it reminded us how easy a family of 3 was (especially with an independent 5 yr old) We'll take those special moments when we can get them. We then had a great dinner at Anne's and spent some time with Lorena and Joey also.

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. So much coming up.

Alex's serious look. He is trying to put this toy in his mouth and getting frustrated.
Going to pick Lilly up after a nap. Makes me so happy to be greeted like that.
Waiting for the bus. Julian's not into pictures anymore.


Well, Lilly has said "da da" I tell chris it is just the next set of sounds that is coming out and she is not using it to directly refer to him. I hate to burst his bubble. They continue to keep progressing and doing new things. I love to go pick Lilly up after a nap or in the morning. She is so happy when she wakes up and just sits there and smiles at you. Alex on the other hand is a little more cranky when he wakes up and wants to be held immediately. Julian continues to amaze us with some of the things he says. I also know more about dinosaurs than I ever thought I would. He even corrects me most of the time with pronunciations of words. Too smart.

Well, Chris comes home late tonight, and we survived another week on our own. We do get into a grove and it does get easier the longer we are by ourselves. With the time change, the babies are ready for bed by 6 and are getting up by 5-5:30 am. As you know, I am not a morning person, so this time is very hard for me. Thank goodness, they are very good in the morning and will play some without being entertained by me the whole time. Night time is still a challenge alone. Getting babies fed and put to bed when they want it at the same time is interesting. Julian really is a big help and does the best he can to help me out during that time. He really is a good big brother and loves Lilly(sister) and Alex.

Both babies are working on crawling. Lilly does a good job of getting to where she wants to go, and Alex is on his way. I am excited because Lilly is finally in 3-6 month clothes. That makes me feel better. Now she just needs some new clothes to fit her slightly bigger size. Alex continues to get bigger by the day. I am just working on getting him used to eating solid foods with a spoon. He is doing much better with that.

Julian is doing great in school. Everyone that talks to him comments on how smart he is. We have our parent teacher conference next week, that will be interesting to see how he does for the teacher.

We have had a busy few days this weekend. Started Friday when I picked Julian up at the bus stop to go try to get the H1N1 vaccine. I got a babysitter to come help while chris worked from home. I knew that wasn't going to work from the minute she walked in the door. Lilly has started to not want any part of "strangers", even though she had kept the babies several times before. Chris said he ended up having to take Lilly for her, that she wouldn't stop crying. No one is going to watch my kids if Alex starts that too. Julian and I got to his doctor's office for the flu clinic. They had 200 doses to give out and we were there an hr early and were 117 in line. I feel sorry for the people who waited for hrs for it and didn't get it. I had been on the fence for so long about the vaccine and was leaning toward not getting it, but I got scared into it. I've had the sick kids before, one on a vent, and NEVER want to have to go through anything like that again, so I did it. Scare tactics worked.

Lilly is still trying to crawl and is pretty effective getting to where she wants to go. Alex finally started to TRY. I guess watching his little sister do it was motivation. He is starting to get on all 4's. It will be so nice when the can sit on their own and crawl. A little independence on their part will make things a little easier.

Julian had his last soccer game today and he had a lot of fun. It was such a nice day to go sit in the sun and watch him play. Hopefully it the sun recharged me for my week ahead of me. It's been nice having the help this weekend. 2 adults is much better than 1.

videos

Do you know what a whole bottle of bath bubbles and a Jacuzzi bath does?? This equals a whole lot of bubbles and a big mess!! It started his new love for showers because it was the only way to get the bubbles off.

Chris and I are learning to not take our eyes off Julian. We left unattended there is no telling what that little guy can get into. He is so curious now, and loves to see how things work. He may actually grow up to be a scientist.

Well, halloween didn't go off without any hitches. I think I'm still trying to figure out how to be the mother of 3, and twin babies, and how to organize my day. Trick or treating here started at 6, so I started to get the babies in their costumes at 5:30 after bath and pj's thinking they would go to be right after. Mr. Alexander was extremely irritable. I don't think I got a single picture of him not crying. We even tried to feed him and take away the bottle quickly and snap a picture. The costumes were really cute, but the little hat didn't fit around Alex's head, so it kept falling off. We did the best we could with them. I'm glad I didn't waste alot of money on their costumes, because they were probably only in them about 10 min. Then Chris decided to stay home with the babies to pass out candy(probably because UGA was still playing), but I think he would have preferred the other. The babies cried mostly till I got home. Julian and I met up with a bunch of people and there was 3 other kids from his class we went with. We were doing good for awhile until it the rain came and we got soaked. Important thing was though that Julian had a good time with his friends.

Pumpkin Carving

Julian's masterpiece. He was very pleased with how it turned out.
Lilly attempting to crawl on all fours. She looks like a little doll
Julian looking at his pumpkin
Watch out, daddy has a big knife

We finally carved our pumpkin yesterday that Julian picked out at the pumpkin patch. Julian designed the face. He drew out what he wanted it to look like and Chris did his best at making that happen. We didn't have any fancy pumpkin carving knives, just the big kitchen knife, made it a little harder. We just haven't been as organized or planned this year. I need to get more motivated. I just bought the babies their halloween costumes yesterday. I had been taking to my best friend and said I didn't have them anything and she pushed me to do it, and I'm glad I did. I would have been sad if their was no costume pictures from their first halloween.

Everyone is finally feeling better including myself. I was really hit hard, but hopefully this will be our last cold for awhile. Although, I'm not so sure.

Happy Halloween