The Evans Family

Tiny Dancer

2012-01-23T14:50:00.000-05:00

Brooklyn had her first ballet/tap class today!

Ahhhh!.... CUTENESS OVERLOAD!

I had no idea how she would do so we've been trying to "prep" her to try to prevent a massive meltdown and her refusing to participate.

Having a new "ballerina dress" definitely started things off on the right foot because she was SO excited every time she got to wear it this past week. Last Friday night Mommy, Daddy, Nanni and Papa taught her how to spin, stretch, and even plie (that was entertaining!). Brooklyn couldn't have had more fun... she spun around and around ... to the point that we had to make her stop because she couldn't even stand up without falling over :)

And it WORKED! My sweet girl walked right into class all by herself. No tears. No throw-myself-down fits. No clinging on to me. She was such a big girl!

And she's the littlest one in a class of about 15 girls- ages 2-4.

She kind of stood around and watched at first, but she ended up trying to do everything her teacher did. I was one PROUD momma!

(The moms had to stand in the hallway and look through the blinds, so these are terrible pictures, but good enough to get an idea of what it was like.)

Ms. Emma is the teacher... cute, sweet lady with a beautiful British accent...
she was great!

Here's to hoping she enjoys the rest of the classes just as much!

Don't Forget ...

2012-01-18T20:39:00.000-05:00

One thing we've learned lately when it comes to Brooklyn...

don't tell her something "too soon" because she doesn't forget ANYTHING.

In fact, if she's looking forward to something after her nap, she often wakes up much earlier than she normally would and she's asking for whatever it is we may have told her about.

Today, that thing was "when Daddy gets home we'll go to the playground"...

I think she asked well over a thousand times, so even though it was really chilly, we bundled up and went...

and she loved every second of it! We all did :)

Twins ~ 5 Months

2012-01-11T23:03:00.000-05:00

Can you tell who's who in these pictures?!?

I never think the girls look alike, but every once in a while I'll see resemblances. Most of the time it's in their profiles~ like you can sort of see in these pictures.

They are definitely becoming more playful every day. They reach out for toys or objects. They love to grab your fingers and hold on. And they especially love to hold onto each other. If they're laying down together, you can bet that one or both of them is holding the other one's hand or clothes!

I started giving them baby food a few weeks ago. It's taken a while for them to get the hang of it, but now they know what it is and get very excited when they see a bowl and spoon headed their way. And it's quite messy!

The girls are sleeping all night consistently now :) That makes for happy babies, a happy Mommy, and in turn, a happy Daddy!

~~ EMMA ~~

15 pounds, 13 ounces
She's our roley-poley! Emma figured out how to roll back and forth last week and now she flips all the time.
I think her feet are her favorite toys.
She "talks" to herself a lot ~ she makes the sweetest noises.
Sleeps with her elephant blankie... she does just like Brooklyn used to do, she covers her face with it when she's sleepy. (Brooklyn has a ducky, and Sophie has a froggy blanket).

While Sophie was still napping, Brooklyn and Emma had some one-on-one time ~ "painting" and reading books.
Emma is so tolerant of Brooklyn tugging her in every direction.

~~ SOPHIE ~~

13 pounds, 7 ounces (not sure how she's going down, but I'm not too worried, she's got plenty of rolls to keep her healthy!)
Dare I say??? .... she might, just maybe, be having a little bit fewer crying fits!
I love this picture because it captures her personality... she acts so sweet, and shy, and cute.
SUCH a little giggler!!!
She likes attention... she doesn't like when you walk away from her, but if you sit with her, she's as happy as can be.
It's been hard to leave her because she's been absolutely refusing to take a bottle. But just this week we bought a different kind and she took it!

Nanni actually got her to take it. And she said that it was extra-special because she said I did the exact same thing and then ended up taking the same kind of bottle ~ the Playtex Nurser.

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this is how we have dinner as a family...

Luke often asks Kristen if I need to go to the grocery store and if the babies can stay with him! Isn't that sweet?! He and Hadley are so sweet with the babies!

New Year's Eve Picnic

2011-12-31T22:09:00.000-05:00

Who would've ever thought it would be sunny and warm on New Year's Eve?!?

Since it was such a beautiful afternoon, we decided lunch outside sounded like a great idea. So we threw a blanket down, grabbed some food and a soccer ball and had so much fun in some much-needed fresh air!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T20:00:00.000-05:00

Celebrating Christmas this year was B-U-S-Y, but wonderful!

We started off by leaving as soon as Jason got off on Thursday and headed to TN. That night we had dinner and presents at Nana Portia and Pa Mike's.

Jayden and Chase were SO excited with their new xbox games.

Kobe had asked for these boots for months... and he was a happy guy when he got them.

Jessie sporting her new North Face jacket... and looking adorable as always :)

Nana hanging out with her little buddy, Sophie Grace

Jason got a very special gift... most guys would never want an old bowl, but this one is VERY special to him.
His grandmother made his favorite banana pudding in this same bowl ever since he was little and then she gave it to his mom who has done the same thing for him.
So now his mom said she wanted to make sure she gave it to him so he'd always have it...
you can see he was quite happy with it!

7 grand~kiddos

a great picture of all the kids with Pa Mike and Nana

... and all that was just Thursday night!

On Friday we had another big celebration at Pa Jerry and Nana Char's house.

Jason and Casey

Presents galore!

Brooklyn and Sydney... such cute little cousins!

Saturday morning- Christmas Eve- we woke up, packed up, and headed back to GA.

These two woke up happy and thankfully traveled perfectly...
they slept the whole time both ways!

Christmas Eve night the Pastricks came over for our annual holiday prime rib feast... delicious!

Nanni and Papa joined us and then we got things ready for Santa Claus to come!!

I really didn't expect Brooklyn to "get it" completely this year, but was I wrong!

She was so excited about Santa Claus coming...

we left food for Rudolph and the reindeer
(and had to make her go back inside and quit looking in the sky for them)

we made cookies and left them on the fireplace with a glass of milk...
Brooklyn kept looking up the chimney and saying "Santa, where are you?!"
So while we were putting the cookies out,
Papa snuck outside and knocked on the house...
Brooklyn jumped in her daddy's arms so fast and yelled "I hear him!!!"

Christmas morning was so sweet and so fun watching Brooklyn get so excited with her new toys ~ which was really not even that much, but I guess to a 2-year old it looked pretty impressive :)

After opening presents, we went to my Nana's house for breakfast. I look forward to that each year... she makes it so special.

The ONLY picture I have from Nana's house... happy, little Sophie with Papa.

And normally, we would head to my Grandma's house for dinner, but unfortunately she was admitted to the hospital the night before, so we missed getting to do that. And I felt so bad for my Grandma, I know that she would have never gone to the hospital on Christmas unless she was really sick... I know it broke her heart to not be able to have her house filled with her family on Christmas day; but I'm glad she took care of herself and she's doing better now :)

And since we couldn't squeeze it all into one day, we had a small dinner with Nanni and Papa the day after Christmas. (And I don't have a single picture from that day!) But it was SO enjoyable. Such a nice way to wrap up a busy weekend of celebrating!

In the middle of all the new toys and big boxes and excitement, I want so badly to teach our girls that Christmas is about JESUS above all... and the blessing of being surrounded with such a loving family.

Singing her own birthday song...

2011-12-22T09:02:00.001-05:00

As you can see, we bribed her with a bite (or two) of cake to get her to sing for the video...and never mind the post-nap crazy hair :)

Christmas Jammies

2011-12-22T08:23:00.002-05:00

Brooklyn is constantly undressing the babies. I've walked into a room countless times to find them with out clothes and occasionally without a diaper!

Brooklyn ~ TWO YEARS OLD

2011-12-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

I truly cannot believe it.

She seems like such a big girl!

I keep trying to think back to the day we she was born and we held her for the first time, and I just can't believe that two short years later we have this

beautiful, smart, so funny, sweet, talkative, shy, stubborn, silly daughter.

There's so much to say to try to describe who she is right now that I don't even know where to begin. But I'll try...

Here are some of our favorite "Brooklyn" things:

weighs around 26 pounds, size 2T clothes, size 6 or 7 shoes, size 5 diapers.
how her imagination is taking off... she loves to play "go night-night" and "I go shopping... at Target... new shoes" (wonder where she's heard that?!)... and will play "kitchen" for the longest time, cooking us eggs, cake, and coffee... hot coffee :)
when she sings. She loves "Twinkle, Twinkle", "Jesus Loves Me", "You Are My Sunshine", and "All the Single Ladies" (she learned it from the Chipmunks movie). We LOVE to hear her sing to her sisters.
hearing her talk to herself when she doesn't know anyone is listening.
hearing her tell us her bible verse... "God is love. 1John 4:8". She likes to yell the 1John part for some reason :)
can count to 20 and say most of her ABC's.
knows her full name and all of her family's first names... and when you ask her what Daddy's other name is she says "Coach"!
likes to jump and climb.
horribly shy in most public... and can be a little rude because of it :) I guess it's a typical "2-year-old" thing. It takes her a good while to warm up to new people.
she finally does really well walking into the nursery at church and at the gym without crying.
she loves to act silly and goofy at home... runs around, dances and sings on top of the coffee table, and yells "WATCH ME!" over and over and over.
having a hard time learning to share... (how did she learn to say "MINE"? and now feels the need to say it all the time too.)
will come tell us when she has a dirty diaper, but then runs away so you can't change it.
when she's being disciplined, she gives the most flippant "mm-kay" answer... pretty much telling me, "just hurry up, I really don't want to hear this"... feels like what 16 is going to be like!
she'll do ANYTHING for a cookie.
loves barbies, princesses, Elmo, coloring, any kind of ball game, jewelry, books, every character on Mickey Mouse, and most of all HORSES.

There's so much more... I don't want to ever forget a single thing about how she is right now... but I don't think I could ever put it all into words. Brooklyn brings more happiness and joy to us than we could ever have imagined two years ago today!

Twins ~ 4 Months

2011-12-11T21:04:00.000-05:00

Check out these growing girls!

There's no "newborn" left... they're quickly developing little personalities, learning new skills, and becoming more active, alert, and aware all the time.

They are sleeping through the night now!

They usually go down between 8:30-9:00. Sophie gets up around 5am,

but Emma will sleep until 7:30am!

I can not for the life of me figure out how to make them nap at the same time. In fact, they're almost completely opposite! I try all of the "by the book" stuff, but I'm sure that it's because I'm constantly changing our daily routine trying to figure out how to get myself on a schedule that juggles three little ones the best way :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~SOPHIE~~

13 pounds, 13 ounces
Such a little stinker! See that smile??? ... it'll melt your heart, huh? Well, this girl can switch between that gorgeous smile and a pitiful, puckered frown, and then an all-out screaming fit in a split second (and then back to smiles again). She is funny... she's definitely our more dramatic baby :)
She gets overwhelmed in crowds and when she's around people she isn't familiar with. She's a home-body already... she likes to be home and cuddled up with Mommy or Daddy.
She doesn't take bottles well at all, has even refused to eat if she's not nursed.
She has rolled from her belly to her back once.
She busts out laughing for no reason at all sometimes... it's hilarious and adorable!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~ EMMA~~

15 pounds, 2 ounces
We just adore her laid-back, easy-going personality. (And we're extremely grateful for it when her sisters are being quite the opposite!) There are times that Jason and I feel so bad because Emma gets less attention when the other two are much more needy... she'll just quietly sit in her swing and watch... she's just about as easy as a baby can get :)
I think she's already teething. She's got all the tale-tale signs... drooling like crazy, eating her fists... so since she's so calm most of the time, you can really tell when she isn't feeling well.
She's got the best giggles.
Strong legs... kicks, kicks, kicks. Loves to play with her feet. Can roll to her side, but hasn't gotten any further. Loves to reach for toys when she's laying on her playmat.
Sucks her left thumb pretty frequently. I think it's the cutest thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Watching the babies pay attention to Brooklyn and Brooklyn so dearly love on them is the sweetest thing. She'll ask them to lay down with her, watch Mickey Mouse with her, and play with her. She hugs and kisses them all day. She's very protective over them... when people walk up to see the babies, she'll throw her hands in front of them and yell "NO! My baby!!". (We're working on that :) )

Birthday Party #2... Our Little Cowgirl

2011-12-11T14:18:00.000-05:00

Being shy at first, so Papa came to the rescue with some cuddles :)

Brooklyn LOVES "Trixie"

Giving Nanni "eskimo kisses"

This was probably my favorite part:
Brooklyn had the cutest grin on her face when everyone started singing
"Happy Birthday" to her...
she kept looking around at everyone with an "is this for me? what's going on?" look!

Nana checking out Jason's beard... with much approval :)

Playing blocks with Grandma

Our first successful family of 5 picture!

Santa Pics

2011-12-10T08:23:00.000-05:00

Brooklyn was NOT happy about getting this close to Santa Claus!
She was ready to see him, but for her that meant standing a good 10 feet away-
she said "I look"...
Later that day she told us "Santa scare me... Brooklyn cry" :)
Thankfully these two cooperated a little better.

Baby Giggles

2011-12-06T08:54:00.000-05:00

Some Of My Best Friends

2011-12-06T08:53:00.000-05:00

This is how we've been spending a lot of our time lately...

watching "Christmas" (aka the movie Elf) and playing with Barbie and horses-

Spirit and Pauline :)

Not Feeling So Well...

2011-12-04T08:56:00.000-05:00

Brooklyn had the flu this past week... poor girl. She's never really been sick (thankfully!). So to see her voluntarily lay down in the middle of the day was pretty pitiful.

But after several days of being quarantined at home and lots of cuddling, she's much better!

By Saturday night we all needed to get out of the house, so we went to see Christmas lights. That made for one very happy little girl!

Grandma

2011-11-27T08:55:00.000-05:00

So we have tried to arrange a day to have a picture made with my Grandma and her 6 great-grandkids. That day finally came and then Brooklyn decided to have an all-out, complete melt down!! She was happy to love on Grandma before getting pictures, but once the time came to sit still she was having NO part of it. The only picture she's actually in, she's screaming and my dad's hand is in the picture holding her in place!

maybe next time...

Emma was the best little girl that day... as always :)

Thankful for Parties

2011-11-23T22:09:00.000-05:00

Brooklyn got to begin celebrating her 2nd birthday almost a month early!

While we were in TN for Thanksgiving she got to have a pizza party.

The day before that we celebrated Pa Jerry's birthday and the day after we had a big Thanksgiving dinner... so at this point, Brooklyn thinks you should have ice cream and cake with every meal!

it's my party!

Daddy's so funny

baby sisters joining in on the fun

Aunt Casey and Madalyn

Wanna a bite, Pa Jerry?!

this makes me laugh!...
Brooklyn got tons of great gifts, but she danced around and acted so silly in her new Minnie Mouse hat!

Granny Johnnie lovin' on Emma

Twins ~ 3 Months

2011-11-11T14:52:00.000-05:00

So cute when they fall asleep next to each other :)

But that's just for the occasional nap; they're now sleeping in their own cribs at night.

And nights are getting much better!

In fact, they've actually slept ALL night long a few times!! It's not consistent yet, but we're getting there.

And they are starting to make little coo-ing noises... they LOVE to be talked to. They're very interactive. Their faces light up when you talk to them.

~~ EMMA ~~

13 pounds, 13 ounces
trying to be a thumb-sucker!
has such a laid-back, easy going personality

~~ SOPHIE ~~

11 pounds, 11 ounces
loves her pacy
has more of an extreme personality... she's either smiles from ear to ear (which is thankfully the majority of the time) or she's very mad/sad! She doesn't like to be away from her home or her Mommy... and when she gets worked up, it takes her a while to calm down. (I feel like I'm describing myself!... No comment, Jason!)

We love watching these three love on each other!

Brooklyn can be so sweet to them. She can hear them make the slightest whimper no matter where they are in the house. She'll tell me "I check on Emma-Sophie" (she likes to refer to them by one name even though she definitely knows who's who).

And she likes to love on them and say "you ok?!".

On the other hand, this is all based on her mood. If Brooklyn wants attention, she'll do anything to get it... including pitching a good ole throw-myself-down fit if need be!

Fire Station Tour

2011-11-09T12:15:00.000-05:00

Eleven kiddos + big red fire trucks + some very patient, nice fire fighters=

a very exciting adventure!

Brooklyn, Colby

Maddy

AJ, Luke, Caleb...
taking in every word about what a firefighter has to wear

like my hat?

Halloween Fun

2011-10-31T06:38:00.000-04:00

Meet Snow White and our TWO Dwarfs!

Emma is "Sleepy" because she's such a good little sleeper and Sophie is "Happy" because this girl loves to smile. And Snow White was thrilled with the $1.50 dress that Aunt Kristen found! (It doesn't get better than that for a halloween costume!)

On Saturday we went to our church's fall festival. Brooklyn was so excited about going, but she was pretty shy when we got there. It was very crowded and maybe a little much for an (almost) 2 year old. But as long as she had Momma or Daddy's hand, she was good.

Her favorite things were the hay ride, aka "big truck",

and getting to decorate her own sugar cookie!

she can spot a pumpkin ANYWHERE

trying to share her cookie with Emma!

this cracks me up...
the exact same face on both of them!

what little girl doesn't love princess shoes?

And here's Halloween in our neighborhood!
We have the best time...
all of our friends and their children come over, we cook out at the Chandlers' house and then head out to trick-or-treat.

really, how cute is that?!

Nanni and Papa with their girls

Colby and Brooklyn... first dinner date?!

this is one of Brooklyn's favorite houses to walk or drive by EVERY DAY...
Luke named it "spooky house" last year and the name has stuck!

here's another house we visit daily....
in fact, we can see Shrek out of our front window.
Brooklyn talks about him all the time, but she won't go close unless we're with her.
See the "I'm not so sure" look on her face?!

"Happy" isn't so happy...
in fact this picture may not show it, but all three girls had a GREAT night!

Happy Babies

2011-10-27T07:52:00.000-04:00

Jack-O-Lantern

2011-10-25T19:30:00.000-04:00

It's pumpkin carving time!

Brooklyn's beautiful design...

big helper...

"I do it"

And the finished product!

(plus a few tears and a runny nose from falling and scraping her knee)

(please ignore the pitiful mums)

giving her pumpkin night-night kisses!

Heart Walk for Baby Reese

2011-10-22T21:30:00.000-04:00

Today was the American Heart Association's Heart Walk, and we had the privilege to have our family be a part of "Team Reese".

It was a special day to honor and remember our sweet friend Jennifer's baby girl.

It was a chilly, but pretty, sunshine-y morning.

Walking with friends for such a wonderful reason is a great way to start the day!

Pep Rally and Parade

2011-10-21T21:00:00.000-04:00

getting all dolled up for Hillgrove's homecoming festivities....

"Look!"

Brooklyn couldn't keep her eyes off of the Hawk... she wanted so badly to go see him,

but, of course, as soon as she got to him she got shy.

But she's talked about him everyday since then.

After dinner, we watched the parade.

It was a little girl's dream come true... music and candy!

4Wheelin'

2011-10-15T14:56:00.000-04:00

This weekend Brooklyn took her first 4-wheeler ride up in the Tennessee mountains.

It was a beautiful fall day to get outside, so we made the best of it.

We rode for a good hour and she did great. She kept saying "whoa!" and "bump, bump!"

But I think she may have had more fun when we stopped to take a break and she got to throw rocks in a mud puddle!

{don't ya love my old-school UT baseball sweatshirt?!}

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-14T14:41:00.000-04:00

We love this time of year...

and this year Brooklyn LOVES pumpkins!

I tried my best to get a good picture of all three girls, but that just didn't happen. Brooklyn was way more interested in playing with pumpkins than sitting still for a picture.

Brooklyn and Hadley...

looking like twins themselves.

(Luke was also way too busy to stay put for a picture!)

Fraternal or Identical ???

2011-10-13T14:32:00.000-04:00

We get asked this question all the time.

And here's the answer...

we don't know!

When I was 8 weeks pregnant with them, they told me that they were fraternal. The doctor explained that they knew that based on the lining of the amniotic sacs (they were each in their own sac). We were also told that the best way to tell is early on in pregnancy because the further along you go, the more the babies push the layers of the sacs together and it makes it hard to distinguish.

But then when I was 21 weeks and had to start seeing a perinatologist, he said he wasn't so sure based on the shape of their sacs. But, again, he said it was hard to tell being so far along. We were told that after they were born they would send lab work on the placenta and we would be able to tell from that.

So, I had to wait until my 6-week postpartum check up to hear the results from the lab work. And my doctor read them over and over in front of us, and said she just couldn't tell!

She sent the results to the perinatologist to get his opinion.

She called me later and said that he said identical!

We were shocked to hear that because, to us, the girls favor, but look really different. Especially their size.

So I did what I always do... I googled "can identical twins look different". And I found several articles that explain that just because they're "identical" they may not look identical. It's kind of like splitting an apple in half, the two sides may not be exactly the same.

BUT, I'm still skeptical. I asked the pediatrician what her thoughts were. She explained to me that she has a hard time believing that with such a big difference in their sizes...

Emma is 2 pounds and 2 inches bigger than Sophie!

{and Sophie has a round face, Emma's is more square

and their skin-tone is slightly different.}

Her advice to me was to "go with my gut feeling".

And my gut feeling is that they're fraternal.

I may be wrong, but it's the easiest explanation to tell people. (Much simpler than going through this long story each time!) And, it really doesn't matter! It's just something interesting to know. Which we probably never will for sure. The only way would be DNA testing and I don't see us doing that!

Twins ~ 2 Months

2011-10-11T14:16:00.000-04:00

Look at those sweet faces! They're getting so big so quickly!

Having twins is very busy (especially with a toddler too) but we are super blessed that Emma and Sophie are really good babies. Don't get me wrong, they'll let us know if they need/want something, but overall they're both pretty laid back and happy girls!

Great news for Mommy and Daddy is that they're starting to sleep more at night!

They'll usually sleep about 6 hours, which is a dream compared to the up and down that we did for the first few months. I really think Emma would sleep longer, but for my own sanity I make them both eat at the same time

(maybe that's why she's so much bigger... Mommy is forcing her to eat!)

I didn't realize how much fun it would be to dress them alike :)

When people would ask me that before they were born, I'd always say "maybe sometimes" because I knew we had tons of Brooklyn and Hadley's hand-me-downs to make use of. And we are definitely using them, but I love trying to find things that are at least coordinating.

Let's just say we'd be in trouble if I had all the time and money to dress the three of them alike each day! (I'm pretty sure Jason's rolling his eyes as he reads this!)

I also didn't realize how much attention you can draw when you're pushing a double stroller and carrying a toddler! Oh. my. gosh. I can feel the heads turning as I'm sure people are thinking "bless her heart" or "she must be out of her mind!". And I probably am crazy for taking them out, but we've got to get out of the house or Brooklyn and I really would go crazy. So it's worth the extra effort.

However, I know most people just love to look at a baby, and when there's two, its even more fun; and we love it when our girls can put a smile on anyone's face.

~~ SOPHIE ~~

10 pounds, 5 ounces
such a smiley baby!
sleeps a lot during the day and then wants to play in the late evenings. she's gonna be a little night owl.
twists and turns... its especially cute that every time she's held, she turns to look up at whoever is holding her.

~~ EMMA ~~

12 pounds, 6 ounces ... she's our chunky monkey :)
EASY baby... stays on a routine very easily, great sleeper.
loves to be held up to look around.
she might be our soccer player... if she's awake, her little legs are kicking!

Big sister keeping an eye on them :)

25 Years of Friday Night Football

2011-10-07T22:33:00.000-04:00

Cathy. Aimee. Melissa. Kelly

Who knew when we were 7 years old that we'd still be good friends to this day?!

When we were little our families would all meet at Melissa's house,

eat Little Caesar's pizza, put pieces of pom-poms in our ponytails and shoelaces, and walk to the McEachern games.

Ten years after that we went to school there together and cheered at every game.

And another ten (plus!) years later, we were back at McEachern, but this time with our husbands and kids and on the visitors side cheering for Hillgrove!

How sweet is that?!

Evenings on the Front Porch Swing

2011-10-04T14:48:00.000-04:00

Fun at the Fair

2011-09-29T21:34:00.000-04:00

Have I mentioned that Brooklyn LOVES horses?!
Obsessed is more like it.
So, needless to say, she was more than excited to get to ride a real pony.
If you ask her if she had fun at the fair, the first thing she'll say is "ride horses!".

I think we're gonna need to get her a cowboy hat :)

Second to horses, Brooklyn loves any other animal.
She was thrilled to get to hold and pet bunnies, goats, baby chicks, and much more!

The baby goats kept bumping into her and she would say "'scuse me, goat"

Jason and I were not sure how riding a ride by herself would go over, but we thought we'd try anyway.
He put her in "Memo" and walked away and the second the ride started Brooklyn was giggling and smiling from ear to ear!
I think Jason and I enjoyed it even more than she did... watching her have so much fun was the BEST.
We quickly turned into the proud, dorky parents waving at her from the fence :)

She enjoyed the carousel almost as much as the real horses!

We figured a special day deserved a special treat, so Brooklyn had her first funnel cake!
(One of mine and Jason's favorite things...
and probably one of the worst foods we could ever give her, but once a year won't hurt!)

We had an amazing afternoon with Brooklyn.
Experiencing the fair with her was wonderful...
Now we're imagining what it'll be like when all three girls are big enough to go!

Brooklyn ~ 21 Months

2011-09-21T17:11:00.000-04:00

What she's saying: EVERYTHING. Brooklyn talks a lot. {Although you probably wouldn't know that because she's so shy, she won't say much around people until she's had a good, long time to warm up.} She's learning to put words together into sentences. And she is picking up words and phrases that we haven't even intentionally tried to teach her. She knows her name and how to talk about herself/what's "mine or Brook-yn's". She even knows how to spell her name!... well, her version is B-O-KK-L-Y-N, Brook-yn!" We hear "hold, you" about a million times a day- with her arms reached up to you. The answer to ever color question is blue. She knows to tell you that God made her, the trees, etc... and "God" is also her default answer to any question she doesn't know the answer to! We love to see her turn her little head and look at you and say "you like it?!". When she counts it's "2, 9, set, go!".
Still a picky eater. Especially when it comes to meats and vegetables.
Still a great nighttime sleeper (7:30pm-7:30am), and just an okay napper (1:00-2:00 or 2:30ish).
She still takes her pacy, but she knows it's for naptime and nighttime. Although, she loves to try to sneak Emma and Sophie's pacys and run away with them! (We plan to do away with the pacy for good in the next few months, but we're just not ready to fight that battle at the same time as bringing home two new babies!)
Loves to cuddle with Mommy in the mornings and gets so excited to see her Daddy walk in the door in the afternoons.
Brooklyn is quite the little singer and dancer. We love to hear her sing along when she hears music. She never misses the end of the Mickey Mouse song... she sings very loudly "cluuuuuub moooooouse" (not club house). And she can really go to town with her own dance moves when she hears music... she'll yell "dancin'!".
The girl has become quite proficient at YouTube. She will bring you the computer and ask for horses... and from there on, she can find/stop/start/change just about any video she wants. (Which has become very handy while feeding the twins!)
She is definitely almost 2 years old... we're seeing the beginnings of the terrible two's! She can pitch a fit, cry and throw herself on the floor, and then cut it all off in a matter of seconds. We are having to learn a lot about how to discipline lovingly, but effectively... which being consistent about is much harder than I ever anticipated (and I know it's just the beginning!). Hearing her say "sorry, Mommy/Daddy" will get to your heart in a second (when it's sincere, that is!).
She's been a wonderful big sister. The biggest fault she has is loving on them and trying to help too much... she literally smothers them with hugs and kisses. And she can almost choke them trying to get them to take a pacy when they're crying. She also likes to push them really high in their swings. Her intentions are good, but we have to watch her at all times with them! And, there are definitely times of jealousy... mostly when she wants to cuddle and Mommy or Daddy's arms are full with babies.
My prediction is that we're going to have "art" on our walls in the near future if we accidently leave any "colors" out... here's one of her favorite things to do if she finds a pen... color on her feet... why her feet, I'm not sure!
Brooklyn's personality is sweet and funny. She makes us laugh constantly. And she can melt your heart. She can also push her limits and try to see what she can get away with! But overall, she is growing into a precious, BIG girl!

Twins ~ One Month

2011-09-11T18:27:00.000-04:00

Our sweet babies are already ONE MONTH old!

In some ways it's hard to believe, but at the same time, I just can't imagine life without them!

They've grown SO much!

I know that the newborn stage goes so quickly, but when they were born so little (compared to Brooklyn) I thought they'd stay that tiny at least a little bit longer... not so.

Especially Emma... she was our smaller one at birth, and now she's way bigger than Sophie!

If you remember, when they were born, I said they were great sleepers. Well, I knew it wouldn't last!!

Turns out that just because they're twins, they don't do everything alike... who knew?!!

I don't know why I ever thought that they'd just automatically eat at the same time and sleep at the same time, but I was crazy enough to actually believe that.

No longer.

It is work, HARD WORK, to keep them on the same schedule.

(Much less, trying to figure that schedule around their big sister's!)

So, it's a work in progress, but the good news is we ARE making progress.

Usually their days are fairly predictable. Feedings every 2-3 hours, easy-going and happy for the most part. But something happens around 7:00-ish at night...

sometimes they are hungry every 30 minutes to an hour, sometimes you can't hardly wake them up!

Sometimes they're super fussy, sometimes they just lay as calm as can be.

If I get at least one 4 hour stretch between nighttime feedings, then I count that as a good night.

And, thankfully, the majority of nights are that way. But there have been a few exhausting nights where they just refuse to sleep and eat at the same time... those are rough!

{That usually catches up with me about once a week. I have a good cry, Jason hugs me and then takes the girls out to give me a breather, and then I'm back to feeling good!}

Everything takes a lot more preparation, patience, and planning ahead now. Just putting all three in car seats and taking them out somewhere is a pretty big adventure. (Thank goodness that the babies can both fit on one side of a double stroller and Brooklyn on the other!)

Every time we leave the house, Jason looks at me and asks (in complete seriousness)

"do we have all three?" :)

EMMA

I'm not exactly sure how much she weighs, but I'm pretty sure she's around 8-1/2 pounds.

Size 1 diapers.

Is just starting to fit into 3 month clothes.

Spits up after every feeding.

Tends to eat and sleep a little better than Sophie.

Emma now has a birthmark on her forehead. It just showed up when she was almost 2 weeks old. It's a little "strawberry" above her right eyebrow.

(It's a good way for us to tell other people how to tell them apart!)

SOPHIE

She gives us lots of little smiles!

But when she's mad, she will definitely let you know it!

Sophie has a harder time winding down and getting to sleep.

Size 1 diapers.

Clothes 0-3 months.

Probably weighs around 7-1/2 pounds.

This first month has been challenging, but we wouldn't change a thing in the world!

These girls have filled our hearts with so much love and happiness.

I love being their Mommy. I love taking care of them. I love watching them grow every day. I love how much they've already added to our family.

We are head over heels in love with them!

Oh, and, P.S. they've made us do something else we thought we'd never EVER do...

we've started to highly consider a minivan!!! :)
(Special thanks to Cathy Meadows for that!)

Emma and Sophie's First Trip

2011-09-05T15:55:00.000-04:00

Over Labor Day weekend, we took a trip to Tennessee. It was the twins' first ever visit ... and it was the first time I've been able to travel there since earlier this year! We were all looking forward to a chance to get out of the house for a few days as well as some time to spend with family and friends.

Of course, the other major event of the weekend was the kickoff of college football.

And our family was decked out in UT orange... well, four of the five of us were :)

Nana Portia

We all had a great time, but this little girl had a blast...

she got to go to a birthday party, ride on Pa Jerry's lawnmower, play dress up,

found herself a new pair of boots,

and go see horses... her favorite thing right now!

Game Time

2011-08-26T23:30:00.000-04:00

We may have all girls, but that doesn't keep Jason from taking them to a game.

Any game. Baseball, football, basketball... doesn't matter.

Our girls are going to think ball fields are their second home :)

Tonight, Jason and Brooklyn headed to Sprayberry to cheer on Hillgrove in the first football game of the season. And let me tell you, Brooklyn was one very happy girl to get to go with her Daddy.

She kept saying "football game, touchdown!" (See... she IS a little cheerleader!)

The game didn't start until 7:30, which is normally her bedtime. But was a trooper and did great.

Until she was just too tired... then she looked at Jason, pointed her finger, and said

"Daddy, home."

Sweet Photos

2011-08-24T16:29:00.000-04:00

Kristen took some fantastic pictures of the twins last week. This was our first attempt at trying newborn photography and we quickly learned that it is NOT as easy as it looks!

But I was thrilled with the outcome!

Our First Week as a Family of Five

2011-08-20T21:04:00.092-04:00

Our little sleeping angels...

Sophie and Emma have been the best babies!

They eat good, sleep good, hardly ever get fussy, and love to be cuddled.

(Although I'm holding my breath because I know that can all change at any moment!)

Emma

Sophie

And, YES, we can tell them apart :)

In fact, that's how they got their names...

We instantly thought that Sophie favored Jason and Emma favored me.

Jason had picked the name Sophie and I had picked the name Emma,

so we gave them names based on that.

It did take us several days to get comfortable with knowing for sure which baby we were looking at.

In fact, we left their hospital bracelets on for almost a week just to make absolutely sure!

(But I did paint Emma's toes just for peace of mind!)

Emma was our smaller baby at birth,

but at their doctor's appointment at 5 days old, Emma had already passed Sophie up!

Sophie was 5 pounds, 11 ounces and Emma was 5 pounds, 10 ounces.

Hanging out with the best Daddy ever!

Look how sweet... they're holding each other!

Daddy taking his girls for an early morning walk

Brooklyn has been such a GREAT big sister since the first time she laid eyes on the babies!

She likes to sit next to them, hold her arms out, and says "hold you, baby."

She loves to hold their hands and play Patty-Cake or Itsy-Bitsy-Spider.
She asks for "Fophie" and Emma as soon as she wakes up.
If they start fussing, she gets very concerned and yells "crying!"

And the first time Brooklyn heard the babies have hiccups, she laughed hysterically!
We have enjoyed every second of watching her love on her new sisters.

Sophie and Emma's Arrival!

2011-08-14T11:13:00.054-04:00

~ Thursday August 11, 2011 ~

Happy BIRTHday to

Sophie Grace ~ 6 pounds, 3 ounces ~ 8:06 am

and

Emma Faith ~ 6 pounds, 0 ounces ~ 8:07 am

Meeting big sister Brooklyn for the first time.

Brooklyn was SO excited! It was the sweetest thing to watch her instantly fall in love with her sisters. She wanted to hold them as close as she could and cover them with lots of hugs and kisses.

We are overflowing with joy!!!

The delivery of the twins was beyond our greatest expectations. They were both perfectly healthy!

No NICU, no medication, no monitors, no further hospital stay...

all of which we had prepared ourselves for over the past several months.

There are NO words that could express how blessed we are... how humbled we are by God's sweet answers to SO many prayers... and happy we are to fill our home with two more sweet babies!

"The Lord has put more joy in our hearts!" Psalm 4:7

It's Almost Time!

2011-08-10T22:38:00.000-04:00

In less than 12 hours, we will become a family of

FIVE!!!

I still can't completely wrap my mind around that.

I am so, so grateful to have made it to 37 weeks.

I never dreamed we'd make it this far. And with the privilege to have spent the past few weeks being "normal" again... enjoying being up and out and spending time with my family, friends, and my sweet girl.

I have soaked up every second I've been able to spend with her and take care of her.

I think she's going to be a great big sister. Although I'm sure she's not going to understand (or like) the fact that she now has to share her attention with TWO more.

She's been playing with her baby dolls... feeding them, putting diapers on them, and cuddling them saying

"Ok, baby, ok"... so cute it melts my heart.

So let's hope she loves her baby sisters the same way :)

The Twins' Nursery

2011-08-10T22:20:00.001-04:00

Here it is!!!

I am SO excited about how the twins' nursery turned out. It's adorable!

Brooklyn's a pretty big fan of it too :)

The day I got admitted to the hospital, this room was a spare bedroom. I had ordered the bedding and had drawn out an idea of what I wanted, but that was it. Jason and his mom worked hard for several days to take everything out of this room and get it ready to make into a nursery. And then Kristen helped to paint and make curtains, and my mom and dad painted to cribs and made sure they were in good condition (since one of them was mine and Kristen's old crib!).
I'm so thankful for everyone's hard work!

Right after we found out we were having twins, Jason and I saw this "two by two" sign and knew we'd want it in the girls' room. And while I was in the hospital I searched and searched the internet trying to find some cute art with two animals in each picture. I just couldn't find what I wanted so I asked my (super talented, super creative) friend Kelly to keep an eye out for something. Well she did far better than that, she hand-painted these pictures for us! It was exactly what I had in mind!!!

And to make it even sweeter, she incorporated all three girls' middle names.

It brought everything together perfectly!

HAPPY face! SAD face!

2011-07-30T12:35:00.003-04:00

Getting Brooklyn's Ears Pierced

2011-07-25T12:27:00.001-04:00

I have been wanting to do this for a long time, and now with my newly allowed freedom it was something I really wanted to do before the other girls are here. Jason wasn't quite as excited about the timing because it meant he had to be the one to hold her while they put the earrings in. But overall she did great. She cried for only about a minute, and got over it really quickly when she got to look in the mirror and see her own earrings! She looks so cute :)

34 Week Update

2011-07-21T20:09:00.025-04:00

Baby A - 5 pounds, 3 ounces (she's always been the smaller one, but today she passed her sister up!)

Baby B - 4 pounds, 14 ounces (and head down/sideways AGAIN!!!)

We got an overall wonderful report... as well as some exciting news... I am now OFF of strict bed rest!!!

The doctor told me that it is still very important to rest, but that he didn't mind if I spent half of the day getting out of the house or up doing something. That was music to my ears!!!

PRAISE THE LORD

for bringing us this far in this pregnancy!!!

We are so happy and so thankful!

The Past Few Weeks...

2011-07-19T11:50:00.002-04:00

After I got home from the hospital, I was feeling great.... better than I had in weeks. So I begged Jason to take Brooklyn to TN for the 4th of July weekend to spend some time with his family. I felt like it was the only chance that the two of them would have to get some-sort of a vacation this summer. He finally (very hesitantly) agreed. And I stayed with my parents for 2 days just in case. They had a GREAT trip. They were able to spend time with lots of family, swim in the pool, go out on the lake, and much more. I missed them terribly, but it gave me so much joy to know that they were able to have some "normal" fun!

Brooklyn LOVED chasing the poor cat at Mimi's house

See how Pa spoils me?!
It's never too early for a ride to the store and a push-pop in the morning!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is me at 33 weeks.

BIG difference in the past few weeks. I'm growing fast now.

I'm very thankful to still feel pretty good. In fact, better now than the past few months.

Well, except for the fact that moving around is slow and uncomfortable,

and I definitely have the pregnancy "waddle" going on :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brooklyn playing at Nana's house during my last doctor's appointment.

One of the very special things that Brooklyn gets to do at Nana's house is play with all her animals.

And these animals are definitely not toys, they're nice decorations,

but pretty much nothing is off limits at Nana's house.

In fact, they lay a blanket down and have a picnic lunch with all of them!

Each animal gets kisses, hugs, and bites of everything Brooklyn eats :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To say she's a daddy's girl is the understatement of the century!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have NO idea what this is...

I don't know who taught her to put her fingers in her ears, but she thinks it's hilarious.

(And, please note the bracelets. Brooklyn thinks the more, the better.

They're usually all the way up her arm.

She's got a little 1980s Debbie Gibson fashion sense!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And here's our cute friend, Will.

We had the best dinner with the Sims family, and these two had a great time playing together.

Brooklyn even managed to snag a dance with Will while she tried to sing "Ring Around the Rosie..."

(Will's mom, Susan, and I think this would be a great addition to the pictures for their "arranged" wedding rehearsal... but Jason doesn't find any humor in that joke!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And this past Sunday night I actually got to go out to eat!!!

Who knew that would be such an exciting event?!

Luke and Hadley had their birthday party at Fudrucker's and I begged the doctor for permission to go.

She agreed and I looked forward to it like I was going on some kind of extravagant vacation.

It was so nice to get out and spend some time with family without me looking

up at them from my couch :)

HOME SWEET HOME

2011-07-01T18:54:00.037-04:00

After 26 LONG days, I am finally HOME!!!

I never thought I'd be away from my home for that long for any reason. And as difficult as it was, it accomplished the purpose of keeping me pregnant for several more weeks, and these two precious babies are WELL worth it!

So as happy as I am to be here, it's still not completely back to normal. I'm still on very strict bed rest... Which means laying down all day except for meals and bathroom breaks and only coming downstairs once a day and upstairs once to go to bed. That may sound nice (and is is for about ONE day) but it is NOT fun. Some moments are just downright miserable and overwhelming and hard to get through. But, again, it's worth it to help our girls keep growing. God has reminded me over and over that His blessings don't always come in the way we think they should. And His love and faithfulness does NOT change in good or bad circumstances. One thing that I will never forget is that God has showed Jason and me over and over that He is very much with us in every detail of this. THAT is a sweet, sweet thing. We hold on to the promises of God's Word. Sooooo, in the hard times, after a few tears and hugs and LOTS of prayers, we're back to being hopeful, optimistic, thankful, humbled, happy, and REALLY excited to meet our girls :)

Right now we're just loving being home together as a family, enjoying the amazing family and friends that have been right there with us through all of this, and counting our many blessings!

A Great Day

2011-06-28T18:06:00.007-04:00

My day started bright and early seeing a little cutie walk through my hospital door still in her footie jammies and my sweet husband bringing me breakfast to celebrate our anniversary!

Brooklyn was in an extra cuddly mood and kept tapping my arm to get my attention and then saying "kiss"! She did it over and over... and I loved every bit of it!

Then this afternoon I had ultrasounds and tests repeated that haven't been done in over 2 weeks. And the reports were all really good. Even showing some improvement! Hearing such great news was very exciting and very encouraging.

Our girls are healthy and growing! The ultrasound showed that they're laying face to face.

Baby "A" is 3 pounds, 10 ounces

Baby "B" is 4 pounds, 1 ounces

It's amazing how fast they have gotten bigger. And it's very obvious in my rapidly expanding belly!

Brooklyn spent the night with Nanni so that Jason could stay the night with me and we could have an anniversary "date night dinner" together :)

Overall, a sweet, wonderful, and happy day!!!

30 Weeks

2011-06-23T18:15:00.001-04:00

We really didn't know if we'd make it this far, so today is a big deal to us!

God has heard and answered SO many prayers and making it to this point (and beyond) has definitely been one of them.

I had hoped to be going home by now, but that's no longer the plan...

I will go for days feeling great and then start back into contractions for no apparent reason. So because of that my doctor said she'd feel better too keep me in the hospital for at least another week. And as much as I miss home, I know that it's best to just stay put. In fact, I think I'm the only one in my family that even wants me to go home :) There is a lot of security in knowing that when things start to go wrong that it will be taken care of immediately.

(But when/if the time comes that I do get to go home I will be one VERY happy girl!)

Brooklyn ~ 18 Months

2011-06-21T08:49:00.094-04:00

~ Very little has changed over the past few months as far as Brooklyn's schedule goes... still naps once a day for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, still goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes up around 7 a.m. The only difference is that now she no longer fights it... if she's sleepy & you ask her if she's ready to go night-night, she says "yes" and heads for her bed!

~ Horribly picky eater. Fruit is her staple food group. Primarily blueberries. She stuffs blueberries in her cheeks like she's a squirrel storing away nuts for winter :)

Some days she barely eats and other days she does great. She is not much of a meat eater, just the occasional chicken nuggets. And if you try to bribe her with ketchup or sauce, she just sucks the ketchup off instead of eating whatever food it's on!

However she knows desserts when she sees them and very much has her Mommy and Daddy's sweet tooth!

She is starting to use a fork and spoon pretty well, and is very independent. She only wants to feed herself.

~ Brooklyn has a LOT to say... she likes to walk around and just talk. Well, more like jibber-jabber. We're not always sure what she's trying to say, but that doesn't stop her. If you ask her to read a book or talk on the phone she'll carry on in her own little language (that is, if she's in the mood!).

But her vocabulary is quickly growing. She can repeat most words & learns and applies new words very easily.

She can name several animals and tell you what each one "says".

I think what amazes us the most is how much she comprehends and how she can understand and follow directions so much more each day.

~ She can be the most cuddly, sweet, funny, active little girl. But that can quickly change to strong-willed, shy, and/or grumpy. And of COURSE that usually happens when she's around people she doesn't know.

~ Likes to dance, spin in circles, clap, and yell "yay!". She likes for everyone in the room to acknowledge her if she's proud of something she's done.

~ Diaper changes and brushing her teeth or hair can sometimes cause her to throw a fit.

~ Does a lot of Mommy stuff--Loves baby dolls, stuffed animals (she hugs & kisses them and puts their hands together so that they can pray!). Loves bracelets, necklaces, and will sit completely still to get her nails painted.

And a lot of Daddy stuff--Laughs hysterically when someone chases or tries to "get" her. Isn't scared to climb up or jump off anything! Recognizes ESPN or a baseball game on TV and yells "home run!". Knows how to give "knuckles" and head-butt :)

~ I'm guessing she weighs around 25 pounds. Wears size 5 shoes, size 18-24 month clothes, size 4-5 diapers.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T18:45:00.001-04:00

This is by far not the kind of day I wish I could give Jason for Father's Day...

A pregnant wife in the hospital and a baby sick with a fever.

Not the funnest thing ever, but if anyone can handle it, Jason can. In fact, he is far above & beyond anything I could ever want or ask for in a husband and daddy.

I wish I could do justice by trying to describe just how amazing he is...

ESPECIALLY during the past few months. He's been put through test after test and he's shown strength, wisdom, leadership, and incredible love through it all.

Two things I know for sure: I could not be happier or more proud to be his wife and our little girl thinks there's no one better in this entire world than her Daddy!

My Cup Runneth Over

2011-06-16T22:11:00.001-04:00

I don't know of many things that could have made me feel better than cuddling up and taking a nap with my Brooklyn!

It s a rare, rare thing for Brooklyn to sleep anywhere except her crib. But just maybe she knew just how much it would mean to her Momma to get some much-needed, extra-special cuddle time.

It reminded me of sleeping with her in a hospital bed the night she was born.

This weekend I've been able to spend a lot of time with Jason and Brooklyn and it has been so sweet... definitely the extra dose of "I can do this" that I was in desperate need of.

What Keeps Me Going...

2011-06-16T15:14:00.004-04:00

These pictures are just a FEW of the many visitors that help pass my time and make every day enjoyable in

not-so-fun circumstances.

Thank goodness for movies, coloring, baby dolls, balloons, and
computer games (you should see this little girl work Papa's iPad!)...
Anything that helps Brooklyn sit still with Mommy!

This is what family time consists of right now...
cuddled up to watch the "bear" movie.

Playing peek-a-boo with Papa

GREAT friends!
Willing to chage our plans to come to the hospital to hang out with me.
(Please note the mismatched pj's... can you tell by the bright orange UT shirt who has been packing for me?!?)

Thank you Kari for bringing me the Publix sub I was craving!

My little buddy, Luke
(So glad he made it past the front desk and snuck in to see Aunt Telly)

All 5 cousins... the 2 little ones know its best to stay inside and hide from the big 3 a little bit longer!

Misty, Madalyn, Jessie, Kobe, and Brooklyn
Brooklyn has loved having her big cousins come stay and play with her!

28 Weeks, 4 Days.... Because Every Single Day Counts!

2011-06-13T20:44:00.004-04:00

My girls are getting BIG! I got to watch them cuddled up together on the ultrasound. They look so sweet.

Baby A - 2 pounds, 12 ounces

Baby B - 3 pounds, 4 ounces (And once again, she's flipped and is head down)

Me and these two girls are just hanging out here in the hospital... Nothing new day to day. But actually that's a good thing. I'm hanging on to the glimmer of hope that I might get to go home next week- once I make it to the 30 week mark. We'll see...

Makes Me Smile

2011-06-10T15:14:00.001-04:00

Did I Say "Steady"?

2011-06-08T20:00:00.036-04:00

Well obviously things aren't/weren't quite as steady as I thought in my last post....

Because I'm writing this update from the hospital. AGAIN.

We had our routine doctor's appointment this past Monday. And, truth be told, I did think that something may be up because for about 3 days prior to that I had been feeling a little less than great. But I didn't think it was going to be quite as dramatic as it turned out to be.

Basically as soon as the ultrasound showed how thin my cervix was, I was told not to go back to the waiting room and to just lay down until the doctor came in. And a little bit later she walked in, handed Jason some paperwork, and said to head straight to the hospital.

In the process of getting admitted into a room I started to get pretty uncomfortable. And by the time I was in a hospital bed and on a fetal monitor, the uncomfortable feelings became painful. The monitor showed that I was having contractions every 1-2 minutes and dilated to 1 cm. I was started on Magnesium to stop the contractions. (Which is a MISERABLE medication, but thankfully it did what it was supposed to).

It wasn't until the next day that they told us that the contractions didn't slow down until about 11:30pm that night. We really didn't realize how close we were to meeting our girls that day! But we're SO, SO thankful that they stayed put!

So Monday and Tuesday were very long days/nights of feeling horrible from all the medication and having every extremity hooked up to something. But I'm back to "normal" now :) I feel really good and am only having a few contractions a day. BUT I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. At best, it looks like Kennestone Hospital is my new home for at least 2 weeks... They may reconsider letting me go home if I can get to 30 weeks.

I'm really hoping and praying for that.... The chance to (eventually) go home and still keep these girls safe and healthy and growing. But I also do know that this is the best place for me to be right now. As hard as it is, (so hard that i can't even really think about it) I'm very grateful to know that the twins and me are being very cautiously taken care of.

Im trying to focus on the MANY, MANY things I have to be thankful for right now:

healthy babies, feeling better, a husband who has loved me and taken care of me & his family better than I could've ever dreamed of, a family that doesn't hesitate for one second to go over & beyond to help us in every single way; as well as show us true love & concern in all they do, friends that have given us more encouragement than they'll ever know.... And the cutest, sweetest little girl who comes to sit in bed with me and watch movies, color, & play games each day!

27 Weeks and Holding Steady

2011-06-01T21:37:00.002-04:00

Every mark of a new week in this pregnancy is such a blessing...
and gives us encouragement and hope for strong, healthy babies.

We've seen a doctor every week (and will continue to unless something changes).
One week it's my OB and the next it's the perinatologist.
So far we've had good reports!
Basically they tell us that things with me are staying about the same (which to us is good news)
and both girls are growing and doing great.

As of this week:
Baby A= 2 pounds, 2 ounces
(She has slightly less amniotic fluid- something to watch but not worry about at this point.)
Baby B= 2 pounds, 3 ounces
(She is the one that I don't feel moving quite as much as her sister, but she must be fooling me because every other week she turns-- breech, then head down, then breech again.
Sneaky thing!)

We have SO much to be thankful for, but I will be honest that there are moments that it's hard to keep that kind of perspective. I start to think about what I wish I could do
(take care of Brooklyn myself, help others instead of always asking for them to help me, pack us up and head out for a vacation, ... just walk around the neighborhood or go shopping, ...)
But those moments go as fast as they come when I start to rearrange my thoughts to see that we are good.
We're more than good, we're incredibly blessed.
Even in what we consider to be so difficult, I know there are people who would much rather be in our shoes than their current ones.
I could list a million things that could be worse right now, but it's not even worth the time and effort of doing that.
So, all in all, I am staying positive, grateful, thankful, humbled,
and even happy to be right where we are :)

The Lord keeps laying these verses on my heart:

Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
James 1:2-4

I have learned (am learning!) to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:11-13

This Season...

2011-05-31T20:23:00.008-04:00

When Jason and I were engaged my mom talked to me about what it was going to be like to be married to a coach...

she said "it's like preachers and doctors-- the schedule can be crazy, so be sure you're ready for that".

I, of course, was more than excited to be a coach's wife and was ready for whatever that meant.

Well this year that definitely got put to the test.

Prior to being put on bed rest, Brooklyn and I would make it to almost every game. Even if that meant going before or after just for her to run around on the field with her Daddy. We all three loved it.

But now, since I've been on bed rest, we've missed the last half of the season.

And of ALL years, Hillgrove went all the way to the state championship game!!!

Although they didn't win the last game, it's incredibly exciting to know that they're the

AAAAA State Runner-Up!

That's so much to be proud of... especially for a school that's only 5 years old.

But, sadly, Brooklyn and I missed those exciting and intense games.

The closest I got was through friends texting me updates and scores. And sweet Kelly Sims sending video clips and even using FaceTime on her iPhone to show me the game live! :)

Jason would call me after every big win and let me hear all the crazy celebrating.

(The phone calls after the few losses were not as fun!)

I know that as a coach this is something Jason always wanted and always works toward;

but I also know it was hard for him to enjoy it as much as he normally would have...

knowing that Brooklyn and I weren't there, worried something would happen to me while he was at a game, and knowing that he had to spend a lot of long (and I mean L.O.N.G.) hours away from home.

But he does it because he really feels like it's where the Lord has put him--

he sincerely loves the guys he coaches and truly tries to teach them more than baseball.

I'm sure he can be hard on them, but I know he does it to build them into good men (even if they don't understand that) and would do anything in the world for any one of them.

And he was also able to do it because our families have put in a lot of LONG hours themselves taking care of Brooklyn and me so that he could be there. And also because he coaches with some amazing guys that have been so very, very understanding of our situation.

As much as I hated missing out on being a part of everything

and as much as I have missed Jason,

I wouldn't change a thing.

I'm so glad that he was able to do what he does best and what he loves.

And I am so very proud of him!

It's Been A Zoo Around Here

2011-05-19T23:30:00.007-04:00

These two needed a day like this...

in the middle of our crazy, turned-upside-down way of life right now,

Jason decided that he and Brooklyn needed their own little getaway time.

So they packed up early and spent half of the day at the zoo together.

(And, yes, it broke my heart not to be able to go with them... but knowing how happy she'd be to have her Daddy all to herself made it much easier.)

Brooklyn LOVES animals right now. She can tell you what each one "says".

Our favorite is hearing her roar like a tiger :)

This Is How I Feel About It

2011-05-16T13:19:00.002-04:00

We've seen a lot of this face lately.

My always sweet baby girl has grown a bit of an attitude.

The mommy in me truly believes it's because her world has been turned upside down lately. But I also know that part of it is the toddler age mixed with the lovely drama that comes with little girls.

It makes me so sad when we have guests come over and they're greeted with this face. But I have to say, it makes us laugh too. She's definitely beginning to show us her strong will.

It's hard not to give in to her when I feel like she doesn't understand what's going on, but we're doing our best not to...

So if Brooklyn gives you this face (usually with a mean grunt), I'm very sorry... we're working on it :)

What Are They Saying?

2011-05-14T18:55:00.002-04:00

This is somethinng I meant to post a while back, but better late than never. (So don't be deceived by the first picture, my belly is way bigger now! I was 17 weeks at the time.)

We asked Luke if he could hear the babies talking to him. And he put his little head against my tummy and listened so intently for the longest time. When he looked up, I asked him what they had been saying. He proudly told us

"Emma wants waffles and Sophie wants a sammich"!!!

I thought that was hilarious! Funny thing is, I was craving a sub sandwich from Publix... So I guess Sophie got what she wanted! I've asked him again several times since then. And he always listens (if he's not too busy). Most of the time he'll say that they're just sleeping. But the other day he listened and said "dey wanna see Luke!"

Be Careful What You Say...

2011-05-13T11:50:00.085-04:00

This past Monday I had a doctor's appointment and I was "cautiously optimistic" because I had been feeling really good. MUCH less cramping and pressure than before I had started bed rest. In fact when Jason and I were talking Sunday night I told him that I was not going to get my hopes up, but just maybe the doctor would lighten bed rest by maybe an hour a day or so... I told him that as long as we didn't end up in the hospital I'd be fine.

Fast-forward 24 hours and I was now the newest patient in Kennestone Hospital.

Unbelievable.

Back to the doctor's appointment...

The ultrasound showed a huge (bad) change in how thin my cervix was. Which was enough to make my doctor start to toss around the idea of admitting me, so while she called a specialist she put me on a monitor to watch for contractions. I still was feeling great and watched the strip print out thinking it looked pretty good too.

Apparently I should quit trying to figure things out for myself because when the tech stopped by to check on us, I said "it looks okay, right?". Her response, "well it's not really bad."

Ends up I was having small contractions (called "irritabilities") the whole time and didn't even realize it.

That sealed the deal for sending me to the hospital.

It was such an overwhelming feeling. Again, the same questions... what do we do with Brooklyn? What about Jason's work? How long? etc. etc. etc.

But, AGAIN, God provided every need for us and our families and friends INSTANTLY jumped in to encourage us and help us out.

WE ARE SO UNBELIEVABLY BLESSED!

Not that we don't know that, but we are constantly taken back by just how true that is.

We could NOT be more grateful.

Thankfully it was only a short 3 day stay. When we went we didn't know what we'd be in for...

3 weeks, 3 months, or teeny-tiny early babies or what...

I was started on medicine (and still am on it) to control the small contractions and

PRAISE THE LORD it seems to be working. The day that we were sent home the specialist checked me out and reported a small improvement to my cervix (which I count as a true miracle!) and no further contractions and good lab results. We were very happy with that news!

And I have to say that throughout the hospital stay God gave me the sweetest peace and strength. If you know me, you know that I don't handle anything out of the ordinary without a good cry. But somehow the Lord very much poured His Spirit over me in this situation. I love knowing that it was such a God thing, and definitely not anything of myself. I believe with all my heart that He's heard and answered the prayers over us. So if you have prayed for us, THANK YOU.... God is very much hearing your prayers and working things out His way. I love to see Him at work. Even when I don't understand it.

And please keep the prayers coming. This situation is a day-by-day test. Sometimes it's easy to let the worst-case scenarios and worries creep in to your head, but we know we can't allow those to control us.

So for now, back to bed/couch rest... :)

Two Weeks Down...

2011-05-06T13:06:00.000-04:00

Well this second week of bed rest was a little better than the first.

Last week was rough on me and Brooklyn (so therefore making it rough on Jason too!). I think Brooklyn knew that things were different... Someone constantly different getting her out of bed, feeding her, picking her up, bathing her, rocking her, etc. And she would come to me and want me to do it, and when I couldn't, we both got upset. On top of all the sudden changes, she wasn't feeling well. And for me, one of the hardest things is knowing that people are rearranging their daily life for me (mostly Mom, Nana, and Kristen-- THANK YOU!!!). So all-in-all, we both were not at our best for a while.

BUT I think we've both adjusted to the way things are for now and week #2 has been better. I'm really trying not to let myself get a bad attitude because I know things could be so much worse. (If I had to be in the hospital for a long period of time, I'd be heart-broken. So I'm very grateful to be in my own home right now!) And like I've said before, I believe God has a purpose even in this and I want to make sure that I'm looking to Him every step of the way to see all that He has to show/teach me in this time.

And I can tell you that we have been blessed SO, SO much by how quickly and consistently our house has filled up with loving, caring family, friends, cheery gifts, and yummy food! I'm overwhelmed by the sweetness of the people in our lives. THAT is the part of this not-so-fun situation that I'm really enjoying!!!

Easter Sunday... Just Me and Daddy

2011-04-24T13:10:00.008-04:00

And a little fun with my new toys!

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-23T14:52:00.011-04:00

The very first question I had for my doctor after being told to be on bed rest was

"Can I PLEASE go to the Easter egg hunt?!??"

And although she didn't love the idea, she allowed me one hour if I promised that I would do absolutely nothing else.

That was all I needed to hear. I did not want to miss my little munchkin hunting Easter eggs for the first time.

But it ended up that she almost missed it. Of all days to not be feeling great, she fell asleep super early on the way there...

But thankfully, we woke her up and she was happy and excited.

And she had a blast slowly picking up eggs and looking for candy!

This year cousin Chase and Nana Portia got to share in the fun with us

I would have NEVER guessed that Brooklyn would've loved the Easter Bunny as much as she did!

She went right to him and did not want to leave him.

She even kept running after him wanting him to hold her!

Seeing her have so much fun definitely made my "one hour pass" well worth it!

Hello Couch-- We're Gonna Be Good Friends

2011-04-22T21:39:00.032-04:00

Where to begin?...

Well I had a doctor's appointment today- it was supposed to be a quick recheck of a few questionable (way too early changes) that had been seen last time.

While I was sitting in the waiting room, I looked up & was surprised to see Jason walk in. I was not expecting to see him so I was very excited to find out that he had already made plans with my Mom and Nana to make sure Brooklyn was taken care of so we could have a lunch date after the doctor. So sweet and thoughtful!

We went in for the tech to do the ultrasound. And while our baby girls are doing great (HUGE PRAISE!) my body isn't holding up quite as well. But we were very encouraged to hear that things actually looked slightly better than 2 weeks ago. So we were feeling pretty good as we waited to see the doctor.

Dr. Robbins called us in and asked about how I'd been feeling. When I told her that I had been having quite a bit of cramping and pressure- everything changed She became very concerned. As we talked, she explained that we are at a very crucial time in this pregnancy. Being 21 weeks puts us too early for any medicine (to hold off my body from wanting to go in to labor) to work. So the only option is BED REST. Those are the words I have dreaded hearing all along and I REALLY didn't think it would happen this early. When I asked her what my day is supposed to look like, she said "well, pretty much get up, eat breakfast, lay down, eat lunch, lay down, eat dinner, lay down and go to bed. And sitting up doesn't count. I have to be LAYING. (At this point it was all I could do to hold myself together).
She went on to explain that there is a small glimmer of hope-- if we can make it a little further along there's a chance that we can lighten up on some of this. But because the best way to keep the babies growing healthy and my body as strong and healthy as possible, the only thing to do is rest.
So here's where a million questions of HOW??? come in ... Most of all Brooklyn.
But VERY THANKFULLY our families immediately assured us that it WILL work out. We still don't know how exactly, but I know that's where FAITH comes in. We KNOW that the Lord is with is in this and He will provide and He already has all of this planned out for His glory. We just have to do our part to faithfully look to Him every step of the way.
Now, although I truly do believe that, I did spend the majority of today with uncontrollable crying episodes. (Even a not-so-nice waitress at Shillings experienced it-- and I'm sure she's still talking about the "crazy girl who lost it when she was told she couldn't substitute her salad for a side dish." Yes, that was me!!) Anyway... There have been a lot of tears but i really do know and believe that God's hand is in this and I'm going to do my best to learn everything He wants to teach me throughout this time.

What a PERFECT day for Jason to show up! I'm SO glad he was there. I really needed him today. And I literally can't put in to words how my heart wants to burst with gratitude and love for how our families and friends have encouraged us so much so quickly. I hope and pray that I can in turn give back the blessings that they've given us.

19 Week Update

2011-04-11T21:47:00.007-04:00

Both girls are growing and doing great!
We are always humbled by such good news. It is truly miraculous to see these two sweet babies moving, waving, and kicking. And this is the appointment where they check each organ and limb in great detail... it's amazing to see... and even more amazing to be encouraged that they are doing so well.

Baby A:
She's on my left side and a tad bit smaller- about 11 ounces-
but she seems to be the more energetic of the two.
I have always felt kicks and movement a little more on that side, and the ultrasound showed us why... she's all over the place! She literally turned from top to bottom while the tech tried to chase her around!

Baby B:
She is on my right sided. She was a calm, laid back little thing. And slightly bigger- 12 ounces. The tech did see a small speck of calcium in her heart. However, she and the doctor assured us that since there were no other issues noted that it was not worth worrying about. So we're not! :) We trust the Lord to continue to create her perfectly in His image.

So, they do have names (beyond A and B)...

Emma Faith and Sophie Grace

Figuring out names can be hard enough, but especially when there are two! So how did we come up with these?...
Well, I have always loved Emma so that was definitely on the "list". And I had wanted matching names, so I thought Emma and Annabeth would be cute. But I could never sell Jason on Annabeth. Then one night he and I watched the movie "Life As We Know It"... well the little girl in the movie carried a ducky (just like Brooklyn's) and her name was Sophie. And after that Jason was set on the name Sophie. I loved it but still wanted the matching names. However after MY family agreed with Jason, it was pretty much a done deal :)
And their middle names...
it was our way of tying all three girls together... since we have Brooklyn Hope. And we felt like they were sweet, Godly qualities that we pray each of our girls will have.
{And we also decided that if it was cheesy that it wouldn't matter except for birth announcements and graduation announcements anyway!! :) }

And we've also decided to wait until we see them face to face to decide who will be who!

As for me:
I have to start watching my activity. I can't do as much as I was used to. Or even as much as I still feel like I can. That's harder for me than I realized it would be. I can't pick Brooklyn up every time she wants me to. I have to be mindful to sit down often.
So since my appointment my mind is swirling around with things I need to get done while I still can. But I know all that stuff doesn't matter in the least compared to keeping these babies healthy.

Beach Trip!!!

2011-04-07T12:47:00.000-04:00

Check out my little beach beauty!

We spent 5 days in Destin over spring break. Not only was I dying for a trip to the beach, but I'm afraid it will be our only chance this year because my doctor doesn't seem to think that my summer plans will include traveling :)

So this trip was VERY important to me. I prayed and prayed and prayed for pretty weather (because it can go either way in April) and God heard my prayers and blessed us with lots of warm sun!

Jason and I both just couldn't wait to see Brooklyn's reaction to the beach. And, as you can see, she LOVED it. She got so excited when she first saw it and yelled "bubbles"! That is what she called the ocean and the pool the rest of the trip. Her little feet would jump and dance with excitement every time we set her in the sand. It absolutely overwhelmed my heart with joy!

Part of the fun is that this is one of the sweet faces we woke up to each morning. My parents and Andy, Kristen, Luke, and Hadley went with us. I have always loved family vacations. They are some of my favorite memories of growing up and I hope to be able to give our girls the same kind of precious memories.

Brooklyn's favorite pastime in the condo... hide and seek in the TV cabinet

Playing in the pool with Papa

How sweet is that? Such a Daddy's girl.

Not such a big fan of her first bike ride. We thought she'd love it, but she cried pretty much the whole time. But of course, any time she saw a bicycle after that she got excited. Maybe next time...

Just a little girl time with Hadley

Dinner time was so nice... we stayed in Sandestin so we could walk to dinner and be back for bedtime without packing up too many baby supplies.

We spent the one cool day shopping and visiting the Bass Pro Shop to see the small aquarium of fish.

The view of the bay at sunset from our room.

So worn out every night that the closet made a great bedroom!

Birthday Breakfast

2011-03-26T12:43:00.000-04:00

One of the things I now love is that my sister and I get to celebrate our birthdays together each year since they are only 3 days apart. (But when I was little I hated that!)

This year was breakfast with our favorite girls at J. Christopher's.

It may have been a nasty, rainy day, but we had a great time together!

15 and 16 and Spring

2011-03-21T20:51:00.129-04:00

Today Brooklyn is 15 months old.

And our baby girls are 16 1/2 weeks into this pregnancy.

Definitely a great way to ring in the first day of Spring!

Brooklyn:

Every day we find ourselves talking about how fast she's growing, learning, and becoming a "big" girl. There's very little baby left and a LOT of toddler coming out!
She's a talker... she really has quite a large vocabulary for her age (at least we think so!). One of the cutest things she says is "thank you". Which definitely doesn't come out that clearly, but at least she does try. She also has her own rendition of "here ya go" and "oops". There's a long list of words she can say, but that doesn't mean she uses all of them regularly. And for some reason she will NOT say "please"... I know she can because she says Papa and pacy... I think it's just a strong-willed thing.
She follows simple instructions very well (when she's cooperating) and I'm quite sure she understands way more than we realize.
Nemo is by far her favorite movie right now. She grabs the remote control and points to the TV and says "fis, fis".
CHAIRS! Big ones, little ones, doesn't matter. If Brooklyn sees a chair, she will climb into it. Over and over and over.
She loves her books. Not so much to be read to, but to point at pictures.
The girl is obsessed with shoes. Every single day she goes through my closet and her closet and pulls all the shoes out and brings them to me to put on. And I love to watch her try to put her own shoes on.
I made the mistake of putting her up on my bathroom counter a few times while I put my makeup on. Well now she feels that if she is in our bathroom she should be sitting on the counter WITH a makeup brush to play with. Super cute, but super hard to get ready that way!
She loves to brush her hair and brush her teeth herself. But HATES for me to actually do either for her.
Takes one nap now. Usually 1-1/2 to 2 hours around 12:30. Still sleeps from 7:30ish to 7:30ish. And she's SO easy to put down. She's usually reaching for her crib.
Clothes: 12-18 months. Weight: I'm guessing around 23 pounds. Shoes: Size 4.

This Pregnancy So Far:

The first 12 weeks were rough. Morning sickness is a joke. I had 24-hour sickness. But, thankfully, it got much better right at 12 weeks, and is now 99% gone. SO thankful for Jason being very sweet and understanding even though I'm sure I was not fun to be around day in and day out. And for my sister who would call and say "I'm out front, bring Brooklyn to me, I'm taking her for a few hours". And my parents for giving me many much needed rest breaks.
I couldn't eat chicken for the longest time. In fact I hated the word. But I am starting to like it again.
I've craved salty foods. I did the same thing with Brooklyn. Normally I'm more of a sweets person, but for some reason salty stuff sounds great... chips, olives, pickles, fries, etc.
T.I.R.E.D. I don't know if it's having a toddler to chase around or if it's carrying twins or both... whatever it is my body has felt so tired since early on. I get frustrated with it, but I know it's all part of it, and I'm thankful to feel anything that means they are growing.
Believe it or not, I really think I felt the first little movements as early as 13 weeks. It was nothing more than a faint, occasional tap, but I'm positive it was the babies (and not gas like Jason seems to think!). Now I feel them lightly kick every once in a while, but still not consistently.
I go through phases of not sleeping well. Which I can't stand because normally I sleep great. But some nights I wake up at 1 or 2 a.m. and just lay there for hours. Again, did the same thing with Brooklyn.
Crazy dreams! Weird, weird stuff. And way more often than any non-pregnant time. (Again, I remember that with Brooklyn too... I guess with all these similarities I should've known it would be two more girls!)

Brooklyn's Bath Surprise for Daddy

2011-03-17T06:29:00.001-04:00

Be sure to watch until the very end!

Girls, Girls, Girls!!!

2011-03-14T15:44:00.000-04:00

15 1/2 weeks

That's right...

We are having two more sweet little GIRLS!

We are so happy... they are moving and growing and healthy. So very, very much to be thankful for!

And so far my body is staying healthy with this pregnancy too

(which is something I kind of took for granted when I was pregnant with Brooklyn, but my doctor has been very clear that carrying twins can affect your body differently and so I'm taking every day that I can go and do as I please as an extra special blessing.)

Jason has said from before we ever had babies that he knew he'd have all girls... I guess the Lord was preparing his heart for it. Personally, I think he truly has made Jason an amazing daddy to little girls. I told him that the one thing he knows for sure now is that he will be loved with the sweetest, most special daddy's-girls kind of love for the rest of his life!

Truly every single thing about this pregnancy has been unexpected, but in the most wonderful "God's in control" kind of way. I am very thankful for that and so excited to see His plan for our girls and our family.

Where's the Video????

2011-03-13T22:32:00.001-04:00

Believe it or not... I actually submitted it to America's Funniest Videos! :)
Which means I had to take it off of the public blog. So if you want to see it, email me or Jason and we'll send it to you.
We're hoping Brooklyn brings her first paycheck in before her second birthday!!!

The Hawks' Littlest Ballgirl

2011-03-12T20:22:00.003-05:00

It was the perfect day for a baseball game!

Beautiful weather & and good friends and family to share it with.

During the game, Brooklyn had a blast playing and running around...

playing with Nanni and her baby...

and watching Brodey, Brock, Lyla and Chloe swing on the fences...

... but as SOON as the game is over, Brooklyn runs straight to her Daddy!

She thinks she has full reign over the baseball field. Running around in the middle of all those big boys doesn't faze her a bit! (And thankfully they are all sweet to tolerate her.)

The hard part is making her understand that she can't be out there during the game.

Sometimes she'll see Jason coaching on the field and run to the fence and yell "Da-da-da-da-da!!!"

Sometimes it's literally a crying fight to take her away.

She truly loves going to the ball field!

February Break and The Georgia Aquarium

2011-02-22T20:03:00.026-05:00

I am a big fan of the new February break in the school calendar... although it seems that this year is the first and last, so I guess I better not get too used to it. Too bad because it has worked out great for us. This is by far the busiest time of year for Jason because it's baseball season. So instead of 12-14 (plus) hour days, this week he had practice in the mornings and was home in time to spend afternoons and evenings with us... we have all loved it!

So we've tried to make the most of this week with some special plans. Tuesday we took Brooklyn to the Georgia Aquarium for the first time. We thought she'd enjoy it, but you just never know for sure with a 1 year old! So we took our chances and we were thrilled with how much fun she had!!! The second we walked in the front door and she saw a hallway filled with fish, she squealed with excitement... and she stayed that way for almost an hour. She kept pointing and saying "fiss"! We had the best time watching her!

I definitely hope this is the closest she ever gets to a fish this big!

Looking up at the fish inside the tunnel.

Right before we left we tried to get a family picture...
Brooklyn was pretty worn out by this time, so no smiles for her!

12 Weeks and Growing

2011-02-14T19:25:00.001-05:00

Here are both of our sweet babies!

We were SO excited to spend Valentine's Day getting to see these cute little things and most importantly to receive a healthy report for both of them and for Momma too!

Baby A seems to be our energetic one so far... lots of kicking, waving, and stretching. And Baby B seemed laid back. It will be very interesting to see if those characteristics continue to be true :)
And they were able to tell us that they are fraternal twins.

We are so grateful for all of the many, many prayers from our families and friends for these little guys (or girls!) It means more to us than we could ever tell you!

What We've Been Up To Lately...

2011-02-09T15:53:00.001-05:00

Still Can't Believe It...

2011-02-01T13:36:00.002-05:00

We are having

TWINS!!

So let me back up and tell you the whole story so far...
Jason and I were VERY excited to be able to share with our families and friends that our biggest Christmas present was finding out that we were expecting baby #2. We have been thrilled since we found out. Well our first doctor's appointment was on January 6th. Jason met me there. And my wonderful, wonderful doctor always does an ultrasound at the first appointment, so we couldn't wait to see a tiny little flicker of a heartbeat. So being completely nervous, anxious, and excited we waited to see that little picture pop up... and here's what we saw...

TWO LITTLE BLACK CIRCLES!

My mind knew exactly what that meant, but I just couldn't get it to really register for some reason. It seemed like an eternity before the doctor said anything, and finally she said "Y'all would do that to me, wouldn't you?!". At that point I screamed. And Jason said that it was at that point his eyes were able to refocus and realize there were TWO things there!

Stunned ... shocked... it doesn't even begin to describe what we felt. The thought of twins had NEVER crossed our minds. The only twins in either family are his cousin's children. That wasn't close enough to ever hit home for us.

Anyway... of course, all we wanted to know is if both of them were healthy... and YES, we have TWO healthy little beating hearts that are forming perfectly so far!

We are completely overwhelmed with how good God is to bless us with such an amazing gift. So humbled, and so, SO thankful!!!

But we will both tell you that it has been the biggest surprise and it's come with its emotional ups and downs already. Of course we immediately think through the "HOW" questions... money, time, energy, supplies, etc., etc. In fact, the doctor even advised us to take a few weeks and keep it to ourselves-- for one, because we were still very early and in the riskiest part of pregnancy; and two, to let it really sink in. And we came to find out that that was very wise advice because it took some time for us to spend just with each other talking and praying through this.

So, we've now seen our little babies twice so far; and we had great reports both times. And we truly could not feel more blessed. We are praising the Lord for RICHLY blessing us with our growing family. And spending a lot of time praying over these sweet babies, my body during this pregnancy, and what God has in store for the future of our family.

We'll definitlely keep you updated! :)

Snow Much Fun

2011-01-11T16:15:00.001-05:00

Welcome Snow Storm 2011!

The snow is beautiful, but after a day or so we were starting to get cabin fever, so we all bundled up and went out to play a while. Well, Brooklyn and I played and Jason took a break from shoveling off the sidewalks and driveway to play with us.

Our driveway is just steep enough for a laundry basket filled with 20 pounds to slide down. And this little girl loved it! She had a blast.

Personally, I'm just happy to be home with my family. I wasn't sure if that was going to happen since I had to work at the hospital Sunday night. But thankfully my sweet brother-in-law and husband came on an early morning "rescue mission" to bring me safely home!

MERRY {WHITE} CHRISTMAS!!!

2010-12-25T22:48:00.000-05:00

Waking up with your own child on Christmas morning has to be one of the sweetest things ever!

The 3 of us opened presents as soon as Brooklyn woke up. She did love her toys, but I would say she had just about as much fun figuring out how to tear paper and crawl on top of boxes.

Shortly after, Papa, Nanni, Nana, Andy, Kristen, Luke and Hadley came over for breakfast.

(Brooklyn's the only one who hadn't quite made it out of her jammies yet)

Of course there were more toys than you could imagine, but I couldn't help but laugh at this picture:

My sweet Luke loved Brooklyn's Barbie 4-wheeler, even though he had a shiny new bike to ride.

I know when he's 16 years old, we'll all get a big kick out of that pitiful, sad face!

To her Daddy's GREAT joy, Brooklyn does love any kind of ball. And she was thrilled with this basketball goal from us (him!).

Who could ask for anything more fun than a beautiful, white, snowy Christmas?!

While we were at lunch at Grandma's house we got to go outside to play for a minute.

If it would've been up to Brooklyn, she'd have been sitting right down in it getting as messy as she could.

We had a wonderful Christmas! Completely overwhelmed with God's sweet blessings!

Christmas in Tennessee

2010-12-24T22:14:00.000-05:00

What is it with us and TN??? ... we ended up back in the same urgent care with the same nurse practitioner as we did last trip! This time for Jason and a hurt back. Thankfully after some good medication and rest he's doing well; but that is how we started off our Christmas trip to TN.

(And sadly where Jason and I spent pretty much all of Brooklyn's first birthday... thankfully her Pa Mike and cousins kept her busy and happy.)

After all of the medical issues, we did manage to have a fun time. Big dinners, lots of presents, and time to lay back, relax and enjoy family.

Side Note:

Lesson learned = do not take a 2 hour trip the first time the baby is in a new car seat.

Sounds like common sense, right?

Well I'm not sure why, but for some reason I thought Brooklyn would love her new car seat... after all, she'd get to watch a movie and see us...

SO WRONG.

It was by far the longest trip we've ever taken with her. She cried screamed for about 11/2 hours straight.

Which of course threw her off her normal schedule... which then made for 3 more rough nights. To the point where me, Jason, and Brooklyn had 2 midnight drives around town just to get her to sleep. That's never happened before.

Oh well, now we know!

This is her Pa Jerry playing guitar and singing to her which is one of the few things she'd lay down and almost fell asleep to!

Thankfully the ride home was WAY more peaceful (and quiet!).

ONE YEAR OLD!

2010-12-21T23:04:00.004-05:00

I truly can't believe it.

Everyone told me it would go by fast, but that was an understatement.

I look at this little girl and can not believe that she was a teeny, tiny newborn this time last year.

She seems so big and so smart all of the sudden.

Watching her grow day by day has been the absolute most amazing joy for Jason and me.

20.2 pounds, 27.75 inches.
Clothes- size 12-18 months. Shoes- size 3. Diapers- size 4.
Words: dada (most frequent), mama, papa, uh-oh, hi, dog, hot, and ball... which is more like BALLLLL! (she sounds SO excited about it every time she says it... her Daddy's dream come true.)
When she wakes up in the morning or from a nap, she needs to cuddle for about 15 minutes... but after that, she's wide open, playing hard until she crashes again.
She explores everything.
She climbs on anything she can. And if she can't, she'll still try to.
She' pretty much fearless... she'll try just about anything she sets her mind to.
Loves to brush her hair and brush her teeth.
Thinks it's funny to dip her pacy in your drink or plate to see what it tastes like.
Has all of the sudden become an incredibly picky eater. She turns her head to everything, even things she used to love. Her diet now includes only cheese, fruit, yogurt, and PB sandwiches. And she hates her whole milk. She just lets it dribble out of her mouth.
Somehow in all of her pickiness, she still knows desserts when she sees them (which I don't understand because she hardly ever gets them). But she's starting pointing and popping her mouth at ice cream, chocolate, etc. So funny, but so not the most polite manners!
Likes approval when she's doing something (especially from Daddy).
Loves a good beat! When she hears music, she starts bobbing her head and trying to "sing" along. Usually has her knees bouncing too.
Still loves bath time.
Gets sweeter, prettier, smarter, funnier, and bigger every day! And we fall more and more in love with her every day too!