Anniversary Video

Stephen and I just celebrated our eight year anniversary. It was so great! Stephen made me a video of our marriage this far. It was so sweet of him because he only has about an hour and a half of down time each evening and he spent it making this video. It begins when we were dating goes to this past year. Please forgive me for the overalls in the video. I promise they were socially acceptable back then. Our first year of marriage, all in one week, I turned Stephen's underwears pink and made pancakes that were runny inside and burnt outside. I have learned a few things in the past eight years.

On our anniversary we spent our first night away from the kids! It was supercalifragilisticexpialidoschis! My mom kept our kids for the night and we hot footed it to Dallas. We had dinner and then checked into the Hotel ZaZa. After checking in we had massages and relaxed. It was so great to wake up on your own without a little precious crying. I love those little preciouses but, a night away was wonderful! The babies slept great for my mom and the whole event was a success! I think we may start celebrating half anniversaries!

For a laugh...

I don't mind questions about our babies at all. In fact, Stephen and I both know that God gave us this story for a purpose and we are willing to share it anytime. It is really His story anyway. However, this video is hilarious because I have this conversation several times a day.

1 Year Old!!

Drew and Chris turn one on Wednesday the 22nd but, we celebrated this Saturday. It was such a wonderful and blessed day! The babies did great and loved having friends and family here. We did a Thing 1 Thing 2 theme. Charis is one minute older and so she was Thing 1 and Drew was Thing 2. They loved their smash cakes. It was so fun to see them try cake for the first time.

Charis was not a fan of her flower headband. That really breaks my heart, I NEED her to wear bows and girly things. Oh well, it was her birthday.

At one year they are SO fun! They love to wave and clap. Charis tells us "bye bye" when she is ready to leave and if I am on the phone and say bye. Today she was clapping like crazy to Oprah's "My Favorite Things" show. I think she wanted the VW Bug, too. They are both walking! Drew has 3 teeth coming on top and has 2 on bottom. Charis has 2 on bottom. They sleep from 7:30 to 6:30am. Charis is still not taking bottles but will drink a little at a time from a sippy cup. We are taking her at the end of the month to the ENT to see about her breathing and eating.

Charis dug in face first

Drew loved the cake

Charis resisting the flower

twins

food table

cute cookies from Nicki in College Station

11 months old!

My babies are toddlers! In a few weeks we celebrate their first birthday! That means I have kept them alive for 365 days! They are asleep now and so I will have to take pictures later.

The highlights this month have been that they each have taken a s few steps and Drew is walking, not like we could go to the mall and stroll but like 8 steps at a time. They are funny. Drew learned to play peek-a-boo and just randomly hides his face to play. Charis pushes everything across the floor as she walks. Drew learned a sippy cup!! Charis has turned into Miss Piggy with her solids. She loves to eat pasta, cheese, and yogurt.

I can't lie, this has been a hard month! The babies were sick back to back so for over 2 weeks someone was sick. Prayers would be much appreciated at this point because Charis quit taking a bottle 15 days ago. The problem is she doesn't know how to use a sippy cup. I have tried EVERYTHING to get liquids in her. We tried cups, sippy cups, straws, syringes, different nipples but she screams and spits it out. This began because the poor baby had an ear infection and the bottle hurt her ears. Now she still won't take it. We have been to the doctor twice and urgent care the last 15 days. She is still on antibiotics. I pray all day that the next feeding she will take one and so far no progress. I am worn out. I have to sneak liquid into her food to keep her from getting dehydrated. I also don't want her lose weight because she is teeny. So PLEASE pray for her to either learn and LOVE the sippy cup or submit to the bottle. The good news is that she is happy and precious, just a major character builder for her mommy.

What did you do today?

Today I took a journey to Oklahoma, our friendly neighbor to the North, to see the medicine man about a toothache. Not really a medicine man but, kind of. I am 1/8 Chickasaw Indian (can you tell?). The story is that our tribe has made so much money on... you guessed it CASINOS that now we can get free medical services from the Chickasaw Nation.

This is all true.

So bright and early I left my papooses (or babies as the white man says) with my mom and I drove to Oklahoma. I got a free checkup and a referral for a root canal, crown, and wisdom teeth all for FREE! I am so excited! Don't laugh. Should I feel bad that I am benefitting from my ancestors oppression by the white man?

10 months old WHAT?

Where has the time gone? Drew and Charis are ten months old! Only 8 weeks until their first birthday. I say it every month but, this is such a fun stage. So here is what they are up to:

Drew is standing on his own and may walk soon. Everyone says to watch out when that happens but, I am already going full throttle so we will see happens next. They eat four times a day and Drew will eat most anything. He still is totally devoted to puffs. He waves bye bye and says mama, dada, bye bye and grunts when he wants something. That last one I am trying to break with some baby sign language but it is funny. Drew loves to put his mouth on Charis' head to kiss her.

Charis crawls like a big girl and can stand a few seconds. She laughs at herself while she stands. She is a PICKY eater or noneater I should say. I stress. She loves sweet potatoes, peaches, yogurt and bagels. She says mama, dada, bye bye, and blows alot of bubbles. She is a little ham and loves an audience. She makes me laugh all day.

My block idea didn't go so well this time. They don't lie still unless asleep now days.

At the Patch Again

Yesterday I met Dina, Anna, and all their kiddos at the Pumpkin Patch. It was a beautiful day and we all had fun. I dressed my kids in their cute John Deere outfits that my aunt got them. My original plan was to take their picture by the tractor in the John Deere clothes but, then I saw the tractor. It is huge. We got other cute pics though.

Charis has a MAJOR crush on Jackson. She laughs so hard at him and flirts. We have our hands full with her but we love her choice of boys. Oh, funny story: the night before we were all having dinner and Hayden was watching me make a bottle and he asked "what is that" and I told him "it is called formula" and Hayden said "Oh, I love California". Close.

Sweet Katie Belle

The Gang

Show us your...

nurseries. On Kelly's Korner she is hosting us a show is your nurseries. This is Drew and Charis' nursery. I had a hard time coming up with a gender neutral room. I put the bedding together at polkatotdesigns.com. They were great and got it to me fast. I was in heaven when it came!

My super talented friend Jenn painted the silhouettes over their beds and the verse over the changing table. She free handed that! That verse was special to us as we were going through infertility and so I wanted it their room. I thought maybe it would be a good pick me up for 3am feedings- ha.

Stephen painted the room and did the bead board, or beat board as he calls it! He did an excellent job!

The rocker was my parents and they used it to rock me. We painted it (against my Dad's wishes- sorry Dad) and recovered it to match the bedding. I really enjoy their room and hope they love the bright colors. We were so blessed to have gifts from family to set the room up. All we really spent money on was the bedding. HUGE blessing! My mom got us the changing table and my Dad got the cribs

Sweet brother

As we showed you below Charis LOVES her a good bath. Tonight she was so excited she kept sticking her face in the water and then choking (at least she's pretty). Stephen was patting her on the back to help her get it out and Drew watched and then scooted over and starting patting her back too, Stephen stopped and Drew kept patting her and then rubbed her back. It was so sweet. I wish we had the video on but, we missed it so I have to write these moments on here so I don't forget. It is fun to see them interact with each other.

Pumpkin Patch

We took the babies to the Pumpkin Patch tonight and they loved it! They loved being pulled around in the wagon and touching all the hay and pumpkins. I tried to get some good pictures but it was all so exciting that I couldn't get them to look at me. Here are some of my favorites.

It's a trim

My little man has been sporting a mullet. The sad thing is he doesn't have much hair but the hair on the back of his head grows nicely. I didn't take a before picture but, imagine Billy Ray and you get the idea.

So when I went to my friend, Pam's, she helped give the back a little trim. She cuts her cute son's hair and so I knew she could help. We pulled him outside and snipped the back. He did great! He looks very handsome and more professional.

Help!

I am raising a little clepto. He isn't even sneaky about his stealing, he just out right does it. I have tried everything I know of to stop this criminal behavior. Drew steals everything from Charis. I will give them both a measuring cups and he takes hers, two sippy cups = he has both, he takes pacis that aren't his. I have tried saying no over and over and redirecting him one thousand times in a row and I have even tried swatting his little hot hands (gasp, I know totally not pc). Today I even gave hers back and took his away, that was mean of me but I was desperate.

So, do any of you have any solid advice and how to turn my wayward child back to the straight and narrow? Poor Charis and I are tired of this behavior.

Bath Time

Drew and Charis love baths! Charis has a party splashing around and Drew is our inspector/ engineer. Last night he took the drain apart.

We have moved to Bedford and love it! It is such a great location. We love having visitors, before we were so far out nobody stopped by but now we can have people over. We are closer to church and Stephen's work also. We are still decorating and getting settled but, we are almost done (I think).

Nine Months

Drew and Charis are nine months old today. It has been an amazing, fun, hard, and blessed nine months. We are so thankful for them. They each such different and wonderful personalities. We go to the dr on Thursday and I am excited to see how much they weigh.

Charis is now sleeping 11 and a half hours a night! She loves baths! She is a little picky about textures for food but, loves anything sweet tasting (I don't know where she got this). She love to play with Drew and laughs at him. Charis is still army crawling but, can move fast and pulls up on everything. She is a funny baby and makes us laugh alot. They both have just started only having four bottles a day and eating solids 3 times a day.

Drew sleeps about 11 hours at night. He is fast and into everything. He puts everything in his mouth (gross). He is a good eater and will eat most anything but, his true love is puffs. He loves puffs, he may have to go to baby Betty Ford for his addiction. He literally shakes when we pull the container out. He cuddles by putting his face on yours and his mouth on your cheek.

I have some catching up to do. Well, we sold our house and bought another one today. We will close at the end of the month and then have about 2 weeks to transfer everything over. On the day the people came to see our house we had to leave and so we took the babies to Cabella's. They loved the dead animals. They wore their safari outfits that Honey got them and were so good. This picture is after we got home and it was nap time.

email

Well, I am a little embarrassed that my hotmail account was hacked into. The hacker sent an inappropriate link advertising a certain medication to everyone I have emailed. It sent the link to MY PASTOR, FORMER EMPLOYERS, and friends/family. Nice. So, if you received this email just know it wasn't me.

Shopping and Sonic

Last night we went to the JBF sale. It is a consignment sale in Grapevine that happens a couple of times a year. I usually get some cute clothes for the wee ones. My friends Pam and Michelle met me there and then we hit Sonic. It was so fun to sit and talk with them for a while. Pam taught high school before her cute little son was born and still teaches Summer school and subs sometimes. She always has hilarious stories about her students and knows pop culture stuff I don't know. Last night she informed us that Sonic has a secret purple drink. So being the mature moms out for the night that we are- we dared her. Actually Pam dared me, I dared Michelle and Pam stepped up. I don't know what reaction we wanted them to have but, all they said is that they don't know what we talking about but we can have a grape slush- boring. Maybe the secret purple drink is only in Frisco. Here is a picture of some of my loot. I love a good deal!

Hookey

Well, it is Sunday morning and my whole family is at church sans me. Stephen wouldn't let me go. He said I had to stay home to rest to get better. I sure hope he meant my throat getting better and not my attitude. I get ulcers bad. They go down my throat and in my mouth. When I was pregnant I didn't get ONE, is that a good enough reason to be pregnant again? Stephen just gave me a look when I suggested it. I am very thankful for my rest time. I took a nap and now I am chillin on the computer.

Yesterday we thought it would be great to get out in the evening and drive around to look at some neighborhoods. That is not a good idea. It is very bad. I brought bottles but, when we got the furtherest point from our house the screaming began. We stopped to feed and they weren't interested because when the bottle is in their precious little mouths they can't scream. SO we drove home through the yelling. I crawled in the back a few times to entertain them with my songs, hand, and tickles but it didn't last long until they would tell me what they thought about that. I heard somewhere that the CIA plays a CD of a baby crying to torture suspects. Genius! Don't get me wrong we love them a ton and are very thankful for them. When we got home we fed them and as their punishment they went to bed without a story. They didn't mind a bit, poor little things were so tired.

Chef Drew R Dee

Our neighbor is doing invitro and we made them dinner on her surgery day. Who knew a simple meal could turn out to be so crazy. I haven't cooked real meals in a long time. Drew helped me in the kitchen. He is into everything right now and I hoped that measuring cups were a safe alternative to all the other stuff he found to get into. He had fun banging them around for a while. I got over half way into this project and then had to put them in the car and go to the bank. Did I really need to go to the bank? No. Why did I go? Because I was pretty sure if I didn't strap Drew in something like a car seat that he was going to get hurt. I can barely keep up with him. We left the kitchen a mess and drove to the bank, even Isabelle came. She jumped in the car and I had no energy to get her out so off we all went.

Peaches

Charis has been making some funny faces lately. While she eats she has started to smack and blow bubbles, she has no table manners. This video shows her enjoying her peaches.

The babies have 2 new friends. Precious Katie Belle Watson was born July 14th! Sweet Ella Kay Word will be born tomorrow at 6:45 am. I am so excited for both families. I wonder which one Drew will marry, those are his only options.

Baby Love

The babies had such a sweet moment last night. They are really starting to understand and acknowledge the other baby. Last night after they ate Drew was really fussy and wanted out of the high chair so he was crying. Charis looked at him and started making sucking sounds, he looked at her and stopped crying and starting laughing so hard. Then she blew bubbles at him and he stared and laughed at his silly sister. It was so sweet to see them interact.

Drew is crawling EVERYWHERE and stands in his crib. He crawls on top of Charis and sucks on her head while they play on the floor. Sometimes she laughs and other times it hurts and she cries. He pulls up in the crib to play with the monitor and laugh at Charis.

At five months I wanted them to stay that age because it was so great but, now I LOVE this age. They are learning something new everyday and it so fun to see their personalities. So bottom line: we think they are pretty great!

Fifth month

Our babies are six months old. Wow, half of their first year is over. We are soo thankful for them and have loved watchingthem grow. In their fifth month they grew so much. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for each of them. This last month the babies have started eating a little solids. Drew sleeps like a champ and Charis is getting better as she gains more weight. My favorite things about this month have been Charis rolling over and Drew starting to reach for you. I know I better hold on tight because the next six months will be wild

Charis has skills

Yay! After much prayer my baby girl is rolling over. She did it for the first time on June 19th but, then wouldn't do it again for a while. I started to get worried and now she is rolling like crazy. Her new skill threw her for a loop for a bit. She couldn't sleep for a couple of days because she is a big fan of the swaddle and we had to ease her out of it now that she is such a big girl. She woke every 45 minutes screaming. She is not a CIO baby because she throws huge tantrums for something so small and kicks her little legs so hard the mattress comes up. Now we use a sleep sack and put her on her tummy (don't tell) and she sleeps better, only waking a couple of times at night. We are so proud of her new little skill!

BCS in DFW

Our Fightin Texas Aggie Class of 2032 babies got duded up in their Aggie gear. There was no game and we weren't in BCS but, it would be awful if they outgrew their Aggie gear with no pictures so we are sporting it today. They are going to love their 4, okay probably 5, years at A&M.

declined

In the words of Dwight K Schrute, "Identity theft is not a joke". For real. I have been embarrassed all over town because as I drag my babies through a store just in time for one to start crying in line (strike one against me), my card is DECLINED (major strike two- people are way judging now). So when that happened yesterday I thought it was a fluke, like God was just needing a laugh. Today I did all my Father's Day shopping and got up to pay and the same thing happened again (minus the crying). So I hot footed it over the Chase and apparently they froze my account because there was "unusual activity". Someone got a hold of my info and used my card to buy, get this, a table tennis set and a body building set to the tune of $500. I am guessing it was Forrest Gump. So I am now waiting a week to get a new card and writing checks like in the 90's. I need to break out my Dooney and Burke wallet to go with my checks.

Zoo Day

My Mom and I took the babies to the zoo last Friday. It was really fun. We rode the train, saw some animals and ate ice cream. Charis loved looking at everything go by on the train. We had fun!

Nappy Kids

Today was almost relaxing. I didn't have to work and the babies were super duper nappers. They took an hour nap this morning and then (get ready) a 2 and a HALF hour nap this afternoon. THEN after being awake two hours after that they were tired again and are taking a quick nap now. I can get on board with this kind of growth spurt. We have been really busy lately and they haven't had a full day home in a long time, so I think they were plum tired. Poor babies! I didn't know what to do with my free time. I took a 45 min nap, read Francine Rivers new book, and did laundry. I also killed about 40 flies. Sick, I know. I sometimes sit on the back porch with Baby A while Baby B is napping and leave the door open so I can hear Baby B. I guess I will have to use the monitor for now on because the flies snuck in.

Oh, by the way, our house is for sale. So if you want it come and get it. Otherwise, please pray it sells super fast because I hate cleaning and I really want to move to Bedford.

Dr. Evil likes green beans

Poor Drew scratched himself when he was playing. With his little bald (but beautiful) head and the scratch he looks like Dr. Evil's child. I made some green beans in my new food processor and it was easy, even for a microwave chef like me. I froze it but, Drew tried a little and he was interested. I need to put a little water next time to get it to a smoother texture for him.

Today we are heading to the zoo. I am praying for a breeze to follow us all day, because you can pray for anything.

Granddaddy

My Dad took us shopping at Target last week. He got the babies high chairs, some toys, and me a food processor to make baby food with. It was so sweet of him to bless us this way. He pushed the stroller while I pushed our cart. Now we are all set for some solid food. Drew is getting pretty good at taking it. Charis is not quite ready. This is Granddaddy in the parking lot with the babies.

Showers!!

Last Saturday was super fun because I was able to help to host two showers for two of my most favorite people. The morning shower was for Dina and baby Katie. Dina is such a great friend and has given a bizallion showers so we wanted this one to be special for her. It was at Anna's house and Anna decorated super cute! We can't wait to meet Miss Katie and she got some cute things.

The second shower was for Brandy. We have been friends since we were 5, that is 26 years. Side story: The first time Brandy came to my house to play her mom told me that I had to tell her when it was time to go home because she couldn't tell time yet. I took this responsibility very seriously so at the appointed time I told her ," you have to go home now". When we were on a double date in college we told this story and her date felt bad for her. He made her the "timekeeper" for the evening and kept asking her what time it was all night so she could feel special. Okay, back to the shower. We were so happy to celebrate Ella. This was Brandy's first shower because her son came too early and had complications every time we rescheduled his shower. So Brandy finally got her shower and lots of cute things!

I just found out I was adopted

I just found out I was adopted. My Mom says I wasn't and she has a scar to prove it but, I know I was. Ever since I had these babies I have known I am really Italian. There is a big Italian momma in me that comes out. The most important thing to me now days is that my babies eat. It determines my mood, outlook on life, and cheery dispostion. When they don't eat I get upset and when they do eat I feel so happy. I am like a big Italian momma saying "Manga! Eat!". I know I need to relax but, I can't. I am happiest when my babies are full.

Perspective

Today was one of those rough days that momma's have with babies. Neither baby would eat and we were off our routine so I begged a baby to eat all day while the other slept or cried. Finally about 5 pm I had been trying to feed Drew but he was doing backbends and chewing on the bottle so in desparation I told him "No" in a stern voice. He just looked at me and smiled so big that my heart melt. It broke my heart how innocent he is. He doesn't even know the difference between a stern tone and a loving tone yet. All he knows is his momma was talking to him and so he smiled. I love that boy! That changed my perspective of the day.

Speaking of perspectives, Stephen's boss told the best story. One day when her now 28 yr old daughter was 3 she was alone with her dad. They went to run an errand and ran out of gas. This was in the day before cell phones (remember that day?). Me either. So her Dad had to carry her on his shoulder to the store and back and forth several times because it wouldn't work. Finally they got home and her Dad was in a very bad mood. That night it was her time to pray and so little 3 yr old Jessica prayed "Thank you God for the best day ever with my Daddy". She thought it was great to ride around on his shoulders all day and be with him.

Four Months

The babies have made it through their fourth month of life. This month has been fun and full of growth. Drew learned how to roll over and Charis has started to eat alot more. Drew sleeps pretty well and only gets up once. Our little girl is a hungry thing and eats twice through the night. They have done well with all their shots and dr appointments. They were dedicated to church this month also. We are introducing rice cereal slowly. Drew is warming up to the idea but Charis does not like the spoon. They are slowly realizing that there is another baby around. Here are some pics of them exploring the strange baby beside them.