My Twins

Kelly's Korner is linking Mom's of multiples. I am so glad she is doing this because it always helps to hear from other M.O.M's. I don't belong to a multiple club or anything but, sometimes I wish I did.

Our boy/ girl twins are 27 months old (yes, they are fraternal;)). My pregnancy was great, especially for a twin pregnancy. I did have to be on home rest, then bed rest and was admitted to the hospital for a short time and then released with daily visits from a nurse. All that was due to Charis being small and it was extremely difficult to feel her move. Both babies were breech and standing up in me. Drew moved constantly and I never really worried about him but, even from in the womb Charis was making me worry. My doctor is AmAziNg and didn't want to take chances. We thought Charis was going to be scary little but, at birth she was 4 lbs 11 oz and Drew was 5 lbs 9 oz. I know those are little babies but it was bigger than anticipated. I got preeclampsia and delivered a few days early. They were healthy and able to go home 3 days later.

I think motherhood is the great equalizer. No matter how many kids you have moms always have something to talk about. I do love talking to other twin moms though. It is fun to relate to trying to football hold two babies to eat at the same time, guilty feelings that you can't soothe them both like you want to at the same time, the disciplining starts earlier because they have someone to annoy and fight with right away, the sweet kisses or hand holding between the two, or sleep in general.

My fabulous OB told me right away... "get on schedule, no matter what other people say, and it is okay if they cry". Those two tips were all I really needed to know about twins. I didn't want to let them cry but, if I had to in order to take care of another it was okay.

I never thought about having twins. Ever. That was something other people did. Then when we went through infertility all I wanted was ONE baby, ever. So the twin thing is still wild to me. Also, have a boy and girl I don't really think of them as twins. It is really special though and I love seeing them together. I am thankful for them and can't imagine life without these crazy twins.

Things about Charis:

1. She is strong willed ( a blessing and a curse at times)

2. When she tries to say more than 4 words at a time her little eyes get big and she stammers to get it out.

3. She loves to pray , sing, and wear pigtails

4. She is a quick learner but says her name is "Charis Apples"

5. She puts her own shoes on and sometimes they are on the wrong feet

Things about Drew:

1. He refers to himself as "Drewby"

2. He says "Don't fall down, Drewby" about 8 times a day

3. He cuddles

4. He eats (that is a blessing to me)

5. He has dimples when he smiles

Mayhem

This morning the kids played so well together while I got ready. Our playroom adjoins my bedroom/bath so we have a gate up and they play while I quickly get ready. Usually I get ready between disciplining and putting out fires (not literal ones, after these pics I needed to clarify) but today the kids played so well that after I got ready I thought that I would take advantage of this opportunity to pay some bills. After I finished they were still playing well and I checked in again and they were both sweetly interested in a toy but around them was MAYHEM. They had turned the table and chairs over, pulled out every toy and made a crazy mess. They were completely oblivious to the mess and I was thankful for the time with happy kids playing .

Yesterday they finger painted in the bath tub and had a blast. We did it in the morning because after painting it was time for another bath.

A Decade Of Kisses

As of tonight it has been 10 years since Stephen and I had our first kiss. I remember because we had all gone out to celebrate my roomie's birthday and then Stephen kissed me on the couch. It must have been a pretty good kiss because we were engaged a whole nine WEEKS later.;) Which totally shocked me, especially since we had been on about 10 dates before our first kiss.

I decided we needed to celebrate our Smoochiversary. I asked my mom to keep our papooses while we went to dinner. I wanted to surprise Stephen but he had been sick, so this morning I had to tell him to make sure he felt up to it. It was such a great night. We went to Kobeya in Southlake and then picked the kids up. They had a blast. They had an egg hunt and got to pick up coins and put them in a baggie. They loved their loot. This is what my kids do when I say to smile. I worry that if we get professional pictures done we will look uber cheesy. I am glad I got to celebrate with Stephen and I can't wait to see what the next ten years will bring.

PARTY ANIMALS

We were party animals this weekend. I wish I took pictures but I never remember that. On Friday we had very sweet friends over that we met while I worked at Liberty. I was Gage's kindergarten teacher. Gage is a PRECIOUS, now 10 year old, boy. When I met his Dad, Luke, at Parent Orientation I thought I had met Stephen's brother from another mother. They both love Jesus, the Aggies, and hunting. Then I met Gage's Mom, Christy, and she is my sister from another mister. Gage was baptized while in kindergarten and we were privileged to be a part of it and have been great friends ever since.

Then on Saturday we had some friends over to celebrate Mike's birthday. He is the big 33. It is always fun to hang out them and it was great to see the kids run around and play. Mike is a student minister at our church and is fabulous, just like the rest of our staff. We are so thankful for our church and the staff. AND, this weekend is our DNOW and we open a brand spankin new youth building!! It is beautiful.

On Sunday evening we went to Cason's AMAZING 3rd birthday party. It was so cute and the food was yummy. Once again I didn't get pictures but, hopefully Catherine will put some her blog because it was so cute. She has the gift of party throwing.

Spring Break

We haven't been doing much lately. It is Spring Break and so we were able to meet my BFF, Brandy who is a teacher, for lunch. I wish I had pictures but, I don't. We ate at Central Market and then talked while our kids napped. Speaking of napping, errr. Charis has had ONE nap since the time change. Therefore, we will not be participating in any further time changes because they are stupid. There I said it.

We have gone to the park a lot because Charis says, "I park please" or "I shwing(swing) please" every day. She told me "I ocean please" today. It is Spring Break, we should be at the beach.

Drew has started to love legos. He likes to make trucks and then try to sit on them. He will sit and focus on it for a while. My kids are into "big kids". They talk about what big kids do and that they are big kids. While we were at Central Market Charis stood up in her high chair and frantically cried out "I wedgie". She has always been sensitive to sensory things and wedgies really get her in a bind (ha).

I can't believe these two babies are now my big kids. There is never a dull moment with them. I love seeing all that they are learning. They make me laugh a lot.

For Grandparents Only

Okay, I am sharing this because I want to remember but, you may gagola unless, maybe, you are a grandparent to Drew and Charis. Everyone else can click off and no hard feelings.

Today I put Charis' mullet in a ponytail. It was so stinkin cute. She is still growing out the sides, hence the mullet. I love the back of that little neck.

Drew is sick this week with an ear infection. Poor guy was up last night with a high fever. About 2:45 I heard "Mama, help". Poor baby laid with me until his fever went down and then fell back asleep. We have had one child (at least) sick for 5 weeks. That is the reality to having twins, they share everything. This is Drew's super cheesy smile even though he doesn't feel well.

Friends

I love this picture so much! Jack came over to play and Michelle and I looked over and all three kiddos were stretched out eating a cookie. I love these kids.

Blowing Smoke

Marcus built Stephen a new smoker. Stephen is so happy right now. The smoker is shaped like a golf ball and has a hole 13 flag on it because Stephen got a hole-in-one at a hole 13. He LOVES his new smoker. It is even personalized for him. I asked Marcus if he was starting a new business and he said no, that this thing was way more time consuming than he anticipated. I know Stephen is very thankful to Marcus for all his hard work. These two guys are Bar-B-Q buddies. It is fun to have it just in time for Spring/Summer cook-outs, so come on over.

A birthday and bear hunt

Charis had strep this week. Poor girl, but she is tough. Today I took her to the store while Stephen took Drew on another errand. It was fun to have a little one on one time. On weekends we try to trade off and get some time alone with them. Today though I had Charis in the check-out line and she loudly exclaimed "I tooted". Thanks for sharing.

Today is Stephen's birthday. He is 32! I am thankful for him a lot. I feel bad he didn't do much for his birthday. For our big celebration we went to dinner at Pappadeaux. We love that place and usually only go once a year or so. It was fun to go on a date. After dinner we stopped by Lowes because we are party animals.

The kids have been loving going on bear hunts lately. Before bed we turn all the lights off and hide a bear and then take the flashlight and go from room to room shining the light on things and saying what they are until the very cool moment when we find the bear. My children are true Aggies so if we do something more than once (sometimes once) it is a tradition. Every night Charis says "hunt" and so we go on our bear hunt.