Ketchup

A really busy week, coupled with our laptop dying on us, makes for no blogging. We're down to the ol' desktop in the spare room...the non-baby proofed room, which means it can only be accessed during naps and after bedtime. Which is when I tend to be the least thoughtful (also known as most fried=) )

I'll admit, it was a teensy bit liberating not to have easy access to the Internet all week. It can be addicting, and it's an area I am constantly needing to discipline myself in (which is why I am not on facebook, from what I hear, that's WAY too addicting). But, I missed it enough that I had to drag myself into the spare room tonight and catch up a bit.

We took the babies to an aquatic center this week for their first official time in a big pool, which they thought was pretty cool...



We played PLENTY of our favorite new game, which is see-what-can-fit-through-the-cat-door...


Turns out? Lots of things can! David and I have had to train ourselves to be very careful when we go through that door to the utility room, since there is almost always a plethora of toys on the other side.


We've also practiced our Downward Dog:



And ridden our toys up and down the hallway...



And pet our kitty Lucy (upper right corner)...


My sister Emily was in town for a brief visit this weekend, and the kids soaked up some good Auntie Em time...


This morning I needed to take Em to meet her ride right during the middle of Church, so my plan was to just keep the kids home so we could take her. But then David offered to take one with him and just wear the sling while he ran the sound during the service. He ended up taking Luke with him, and it was SO WEIRD to be at home without my baby boy! I know I leave for 5 hours stints 3 afternoons a week to work, but to be home with one baby and not the other was strange! But, one-on-one time with the twins is something we want to be purposeful about as they grow up, so I suppose no time like the present to get started.

And as much as I missed my sweet boy this morning, it was good to have time with just my baby girl...

...who is growing up SO fast by the way...

Pictures

We had some warm, sunny days here last week and filled up the pool for the first (and second) time!


The twins were actually not all that interested in it, which really surprised me, being that they love bath time. So they spent the majority of their time throwing things in and then expecting us to fetch them out. Which was just as awesome for Dave and I as it sounds.

But they also chilled poolside in style...


GrandDad and Grannie Annie bought this ADORABLE umbrella table and matching chairs for their birthday, and they thought they were seriously hot stuff sitting there!

(I know it's hard, but try not to covet the beautiful scenery of trash and recycle bins. It's a sin)

Our backyard's grass is a little too spotty for a pool just yet, and our front yard is too close to the street for my comfort, so we set this up in our driveway around the back of our house.


Indoors we've been having some fun too...

Our happy boy. He loves riding on toys, and then sitting on them while continuing to play with things below him. I think he likes to feel superior =).

And this is a face we can't get enough of:

Luke comin' at me for a hug and a kiss. He assumes the position miles away, and holds it the entire time he's coming towards you. Hilarious, and downright adorable. I love that boy.


And this cracked us up as well...

I was in the nursery closet putting away toys after rotating out some new ones, and Abigail saw the Kelty Backpack and wanted to get in. I explained to her that we couldn't go for a walk at that time because Momma was in the middle of a project, but that there was plenty of fun things to do inside the house. She then smiled respectfully, nodded in understanding and moved on to something else.

Just kidding, because she is one.

She threw herself down on the floor in a tantrum and pretty much let me know her world was ending at that very moment.

I told her that I was sorry, but we could not go for a walk right then. She got up and just kept reaching and grunting towards the Kelty. I finally asked "do you just want to sit inside of it?" and she got all happy and started clapping. So, I put her in, buckled the straps, and there she happily sat for nearly a half hour! Just chillin' on the floor.

Whatever works.


And lastly, the babies and I stayed home from Church today due to some runny noses, and this was the sight when Daddy came home...


My cup runneth over.

Momma & Me

And they're off!

Abbey started toddling awhile ago, and was slowing walking more and more each day. Luke was really not showing much interest. He would walk along just fine if you held his hand, but he had only taken one or two steps all on his own.

Until Mother's Day, that is.

That afternoon, I was sitting on the living room floor playing with the babies and watched as Luke pulled himself to a stand and took three or four steps from the chair to their play house. Then, he let go of the house and took four steps towards the kitchen. Then, he took off and walked the entire length of the hallway. And he's been walking ever since! It was one of the craziest things I've seen and if I hadn't watched it with my own eyes I probably wouldn't have believed it!

One really fun thing about that was seeing how happy Abbey was for her brother. She followed him all around clapping and laughing - it was SO CUTE!!

Here's a glimpse at our world lately:

A whole lot of nothin'

I don't really have a whole lot to say (shocking I know), or at least nothing of real value...but tonight is my designated blogging night, so I figured why not just spew a bunch of random information floating around in my head?

I know, you are excited.

Did you hear that Meredith Vieira is leaving The Today Show? I am so sad I could cry over it. Second only to Tina Fey, she is my favorite woman on television. I remember when I was pregnant, I would trudge downstairs to eat breakfast, and then have to rest for a bit and watch TV before making the hike (while carrying a litter) up the stairs to finish getting ready for work. It would always be about 7:00am, and I would always watch The Today Show. And then towards the end of my pregnancy I wasn't working and had weird sleeping patterns, so I almost always missed it. Then after the babies came, I pretty much spent a good three months sitting on the couch breastfeeding all day (and night) long, and most mornings I would watch the entire 3 hours of the show. During those days it would always strike me as odd when I talked with someone who hadn't heard of the latest news story (or even the not-so-latest, end of the hour news stories), and I constantly had to remind myself not everyone was glued to their couch with a giant EZ 2 Nurse on their laps (and two babies on that pillow) rendering them unable to move for hours on end.

Not that I am complaining, I loved breastfeeding.

But I digress. (Which, dear readers, you should prepare yourself for a lot of if this post keeps going nowhere likes it is headed.)

Anyways, I am so sad she is leaving. But props to her for wanting to spend more time with her family, and a big hooray to Ann Curry for movin' on up.


Speaking of women on television, I have recently been introduced to Jillian Michaels. I know. I am one of the ten people left on the planet who doesn't watch The Biggest Loser. Never even seen an episode. But she's come into my life nevertheless, after a conversation with a friend in which I was relenting the fact that my remaining baby weight flat out refuses to just fall off on it's own. So, she recently loaned me her "Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism" work out video. Gotta say, not loving Jillian Michaels. She is mean. But, I am red faced and sweating when finished, so hopefully it's getting something done (like banishing fat and boosting metabolism) besides feeling like I need to yell at the TV while she taunts me.



Let's see...what else?

I think the twins may be trying to tell us they are ready to reduce to just one nap. I am pretending not to notice. Because if I were noticing, I would have to acknowledge that Abbey has maybe been ready for a few weeks now, but we've been putting her down at the same time as Luke (around 9am and around 2pm), and she's just been playing and talking and turning on her soother and whining for awhile before eventually giving into sleep. It's been working. Luke's been snoozing right through it all. Baby boy loves his sleep. But then yesterday morning her playing reached a level where it kept her brother up, and he managed to catch a second wind, and they both were still up 45 minutes after I had laid first laid them down. Abbey was wide awake and stimulated. Luke was over tired and fussy. Bless her heart. Bless his. Bless mine.

So, we may be making the transition to being a one nap household soon.



Aren't you all glad I am not on Facebook or Twitter? Can you even imagine the riveting status updates and tweets I would be producing tonight?


Tomorrow we (and by "we" I of course mean David) are finally painting our master bedroom. We bought the paint back in October when we painted our living room and kitchen, but then we all got sick and the holidays happened and then...well, we just didn't feel like doing it. I HATE when my house is in disarray, and the idea of pulling all our pictures and art off the walls and moving our dressers and nightstands into the spare room stressed me out. But tomorrow "we" are biting the bullet and getting it done.


Our babies have BOTH slept until 6:30am every morning this week. I know. I can hardly believe it either. 6:30 is just so...civil. It's early, but it's no 5:15am, or 4:45am. Now I better wrap up this post so I can go knock on some wood, because you know I'm afraid I've jinxed it now.

Happy Friday all.

UnPolished

There is something to be said for a beautifully posed family photo. This one is proudly displayed on our entertainment center:

I love it. I love seeing our little family in our Christmas best, posed for a picture. Sure, I could (and have) critiqued how my hair is falling over my eye. How Luke isn't smiling. How you can see the Adidas logo on David's sock. How the "plan" was for me to hold Lucas and David to hold Abigail, so our clothing colors would compliment each other better, but our daughter wanted only to be in Momma's arms that day, so we went with what worked.
Whatever. The bottom line is it's a professional, polished photo of our family. And it captures a time in our life, when our babies were 9 months old.

And looking at it makes me smile.



And then this weekend, in an attempt at family photo, my mother in law captured this moment:

And it makes me smile more.

"Are you a mother?"

I couldn't believe I had almost let the words slip off my tongue.

There I sat, at work, chatting with a patient while we waited for orders from the physician. I was scanning my brain for things to make polite conversation about to pass the time, and remembered it was Mother's Day this Sunday, and nearly asked her that heavy question.

I caught myself before those words poured out, and instead asked simply if she had any plans this weekend.

She went on to answer my question, and the whole time she was talking I listened, but was in disbelief that I had almost done such a thing. Had I forgotten???? Had I forgotten how such a small, seemingly insignificant question can be salt in a wound? Had I forgotten what it can be like to be on the other end of that question, stammering for a response while trying to bite back tears?

No. I had not forgotten. I have not forgotten. I had just been flippant in the moment.

I know this to be true, because I really believe I will never forget. And I thank God for that, really, because it keeps me on my knees for so many who are still waiting. It keeps me patient (or perhaps, at least a measure more patient) than I would have been in trying moments of parenting. It keeps me grateful for all that I have been given.

Mother's Day can be a hard day for many, many people. Those who have lost their mother. Those who are estranged from their mothers - or mothers from their children. Those who have lost their children. And those who are waiting, still, for their children.

I can close my eyes and remember how hard this day used to be for me.

Two years ago, I wrote this post. And as I reread it tonight, tears streamed down my cheeks. I remember.

And in that post, I mentioned that we had been referred to a specialist. And several of you commented that you would be in prayer for us, and said something to the effect of "you never know what next Mother's Day might look like..."

And by the next Mother's Day, things were QUITE different in my world.

Thanks be to God.



I thought a lot today. I thought about my life. Seasons. God's timing. Blessings. Trials. Answered prayers. I thought about all my friends who are hurting today. I found myself thinking about last Sunday, when I dressed my daughter in this adorable pink dress...


I thought about this girl and this post. And I thought about what I always think about when I dress one of my babies in an outfit I purchased long before they were conceived...about a future time when I recall to them how special it was to finally put them in these outfits, and they ask me why I continued to collect baby things for so long, even though there was such a question as to if I would ever get to use them. In that moment, I picture myself cupping their precious chin in my hands, looking them deep in the eye, and saying "because I knew you were coming".

To those of you out there waiting today, keep the Faith.

Catch up

Thought I'd get on the ball and post some Easter pictures already. Ya know, cauz it's May.


We were sick Easter Sunday, but on Saturday we went to our Church's Easter Egg Hunt. We had a blast! Well, Abbey didn't love being set down in the grass. She HATES the feeling of grass.

She was much happier up on Daddy's shoulders...



Luke was so excited to find eggs and put them in his basket. He wanted to show me each one first =)

We dressed him in his Blazer's tracksuit that day because it was game 4 of the playoffs, and boy did they have a killer game that day! Guess we should have dressed him in this for games 5 and 6...oops.



And then some more pictures that are just too cute not to share.

Dave and Luke grilling up some chicken and pineapple so I could make these. They were sooooo delicious. Heavenly I tell you.

Some play time in the backyard...

My sweet friend Inna got them these outfits when they were born and I have been waiting FOREVER for them to 1)fit and 2)be warm enough outside to where them. We made it happen this week!So stylish =)


And lastly, my sister Natalie took this video capturing Luke's latest thing. He has been absolutely cracking us up! He will scowl at you, and then when you start laughing (because it's so funny to see!) then he starts laughing back. Then he'll do it over and over and over again. One year old's sure love to entertain!

Ecclesiastes 3:1

You probably know the Scripture without even realizing it...if you know the song that is.

I told you before at the beginning of the year I joined Beth Moore's Scripture Memory Team and committed to memorizing two Bible verses a month. Last month I didn't select my second one until later than I was "supposed to", but it's one that I gave a lot of thought to. I felt an urging from the Lord to ponder Seasons.

And Easter weekend it became apparent as to why.

That was the weekend the twins weaned themselves.

I hadn't really been ready to talk about it yet, mainly because I was (am) still processing it.



Saturday morning Abigail woke up around 4:40am. She's been doing this lately even though I've told her I'm not really a fan of it. She is not "ready" to be up - she's incredibly whiny and not easily pleasable - but yet not able to fall back asleep on her own or be put back to sleep. Anyways, David went and got her and went out to the couch with her. I thanked him (he's a good man) and rolled over and went back to sleep.

A little while later I rolled back over to look at the clock and saw it read 9:14am. What??? Why hadn't he come to get me to nurse the babies?

I got up and went out the living room to find David sitting alone. The twins were down for their morning nap. I asked him what had happened, and why he hadn't come to get me.

It turns out nothing had happened. Abbey never really settled back in. Luke woke up shortly after 6, and he had given them both (whole) milk. Then they played, ate breakfast, played some more, and went down for their nap...never once acting unreasonably fussy or signing to nurse.

"Are you mad I didn't come get you?" my husband asked me sincerely.

"No...." I wasn't mad. Just lost. For nearly 13 months the first thing I had done every single morning was nurse two infants.


I thought for sure when they awoke from their naps they would be desperate to nurse. Nope. Both were happy to see me and gave me kisses and hugs, and then we went about our day. Neither asked to nurse.

We went to the Easter Egg Hunt at our Church, came home for naps, and then that afternoon I started feeling really crummy.

We did our regular dinner, bath and bedtime routine, which included nursing. But neither baby really seemed interested. They nursed for just a few minutes, and then both just wanted to get up and play.

I told you before that Luke had been showing me he was ready to wean for awhile now. And that night I realized I needed to just let him. I couldn't chase him around the house like one of those women in the African villages in the documentary "Babies" any longer. But Abbey hadn't seemed anywhere close to ready to giving up nursing. And then suddenly she was. She just seemed to lose interest. I am sure my supply hadn't taken a hit (in fact, it hung around awhile after they both were weaned, which surprised me greatly, being that I had SO much trouble in the beginning with supply) and she wasn't cutting any teeth or ill or anything. She just simply was ready to be done.


That Saturday night I got really sick with a sore throat and congestion and a fever, so I was up most the night tossing and turning. Sunday morning -Easter- neither baby asked to nurse when I got up with them.
And just like that, we were done breastfeeding.

I kept them home with me while Dave went to Church, and then when he came home I went straight to bed and slept until he woke me for dinner. I hung out with the family for dinner, bath, and bedtime, and then took some medicine and went to sleep for the night.

At first, because I was sick, it felt liberating to be done breastfeeding. I could go into the bedroom and disappear into a sleeping stupor while I didn't feel well. I could take whatever medication I wanted. It was freeing to know I wasn't needed first thing in the morning Monday.

And then as the week went on, my cold got better, and it began to sink in how very sad I was to be done with that chapter of my life.

I have loved breastfeeding my babies.

I have missed it.

Luckily, David was ready for me to grieve this (I had warned him many times over the last year that I would be very sad when it was time to be done) and he has been SO supportive and thoughtful.

I'm sure I will still have sad moments to come as I process our special nursing time being over, but at this time I just feel grateful. I am so grateful we made it. I am so thankful my sweet little babies hung on with me in those early days, and we succeeded. I breastfed twins successfully for 13 months...and hey, that's more than super-mom Angelina Jolie can say =). I am also proud. It took a lot of endurance. A lot of sweat and a LOT of tears. And it was totally worth it. It's one of the best things I've ever done.

Then & Now

May 1st, 2004






May 1st, 2011



There was kissing on that day...

...and there were kisses today as well...