Christmas 09 Part II

Christmas 09 Part I

Here are some pictures of our first Christmas as a family of 5. Hopefully I will write more about our Christmas later. Lots of good stories to share, especially of Abby.

Identical Twin Boys!!!

Today (December 22) we found out the exciting news I have been waiting for since they were born- the boys are IDENTICAL TWINS!!! That question has been haunting me because I could never answer it when asked. I think the science nerd in me and working in Human Identity for 4 years got the best of me. Here is how it went down:

Yesterday morning I e-mailed Joellen (my friend still working at MPL) and asked her how much it would cost to get the DNA test done and when I could get it done. She e-mailed me that it was my lucky day and Dr. Miltenberger was out of the country and Patsy was going to ask Dr. Hubbard. She then e-mailed me that Patsy asked Dr. Hubbard and all I would have to pay is the supply cost!!! Love Dr. Hubbard!!! That evening Patsy came by with the collection kit and I collected the boys (brought back lots of memories) and she took it back to MPL the next day. I was hoping to get the results back by Christmas but Joellen had e-mailed me saying she was leaving tomorrow for vacation and it would be New Year's when I would hear something. That was OK- I told her not to feel rushed. Well, this afternoon around 2pm Joellen called me and said she had some free time today and ran the test. She said 'they are identical' that she had just pulled the data off. I would get an official report next week but she wanted to go ahead and call me!!! I am so excited because that was my Christmas wish. It would cost a little over $1,000.00 to get the results in one day!!! It's great to have connections!!! I did not care if they were fraternal or identical, but I just wanted to know either way. We are so blessed.

Basketball Practice

Abby has started Basketball on Saturday mornings. It is an instructional league, so they do not play games against each other. They have one main coach and then they have local high school players teaching the kids the different skills. It is so much fun to watch all of the kids and the high school age kids interact with the little kids. Abby looks right at home with the teenagers because she is so use to Uncle Nick and playing with him. This league just teaches them the basic skills and next year she will be on a team.

Merry Christmas!!!

Drama Queen!!!

Here is our story of our little drama queen. The other day I had to get after Abby for not doing what she was told. She then proceeded to get an attitude and mouth off to me (yes, she is not perfect by any means). Anyway I got after her and she started crying and crying. Here is some info you need to know for this to make sense. Apparently Abby believes she has a heart for everyone she loves inside of her (I don't think she thinks they are real). Anyway, she opened her door and said the heart she has for me has broken into pieces, caught on fire and is now ashes. Ouch!! She then told me all of her other hearts are whole and listed who they are for. The list ranges from Mamaw, Mom Mom to Piper and every pet and family in between. I quit talking to her and that drove her nuts, but it worked. She then came in and picked up what she was supposed to. That evening she told me 'my' heart was whole again. Yay!!! Too bad the next day it was in pieces once again. Some day it will hopefully stay whole. What a drama queen.

She has also started talking about her BFF's (best friend forever). She has 2- they are the twin girls at church Anne and Lydia. Abby and Lydia are real drama queens and are a lot closer together. One day Abby told me she had hoped that her BFFs would like her shoes and purse. Well, tonight she told Lydia that she was no longer Abby's BFF. Lydia was crying and so was Abby. I had to play mediator between the two and the hugged and made up while still crying some because they were glad to be BFF's again. Whew!!! I was worn out.

One last story. Tonight in the car we were listening to Christmas music and a song came on from Polar Express. Abby started crying saying that it reminded her of Mamaw Kincer. She then told me she decided she was going to ask Santa to bring Mamaw down from Heaven and that was all she wanted for Christmas. She said she didn't need a toy just Mamaw coming down from Heaven. That broke my heart!!! What a sweet little girl. I love her so much.

Let It Snow!!

This is a little late, but better late than never. It snowed last Saturday and luckily Ben was off work. He and Abby went out and played in the snow and made two snowmen. One was Ben and the other was Abby (at least that is what Abby said). They had so much fun together. The past times it has snowed Ben was at work and wasn't able to go out with Abby. Here are some fun pictures from the snow.

Our Little Monkeys 15wks

Thanksgiving

Our first Thanksgiving with the boys. Too bad they were a little sick. It was crazy trying to get out of the house Thanksgiving day. All 5 of us had showers/baths (what's it going to be like when they are in middle/high school?). Ben made some delicious sausage balls and we gathered the food, tea, baby stuff and kids and headed out to my parent's house. Whew!!! As many of you know, this time last year is when my grandmother past away. She past away the morning after Thanksgiving. Abby still talks about it and remembered this. She said she was going to cry all day Friday (thanks to mom for distracting her by taking her shoe shopping and buying her lots of shoes that she needed!!!). Bless her heart, she really loves her Mamaw Kincer as do I. It was a bittersweet Thanksgiving this year. The first Thanksgiving with the boys but also the first without Mamaw Kincer (eventhough last Thanksgiving she was not there either but she was still with us). I was very thankful that Abby got to know Mamaw Kincer. Abby and I hope to go by her grave and put flowers this weekend. We really miss her tremendously.

This is a wonderful time to be grateful for all that we are blessed with. I know I am truly blessed with family and friends.

My husband is wonderful and the most patient man alive (some say he has to be to live with me- I don't see it that way!!!!). He works hard and is the best daddy to our children. He helped so much while I was in the hospital and recovering from the C-section. He had to take care of all 4 us which was a difficult job. I am so grateful to him and love him more each day.

My parents have also helped so much. They take Abby and keep her occupied when she needs some one on one attention and I need a little break. They gave Ben and I our first date night since the boys were born, which was much needed. I can't thank them enough for all they do, especially all of the meals we bum off of them.

My mother-in-law- she has helped tremendously along with Papa John. They also take Abby and helped a lot when Abby was sick and the boys were new. I am blessed to have such great family and in-laws.

I am thankful for the help that Papa Dan and Nana Lou gave me while they were in town. I actually got the house in decent order, too bad it has slipped again.

I am so glad that my children have such grandparents that they adore. I am also so thankful that God has blessed me with 3 beautiful children (the most beautiful in the world).

Preparing for Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year I was planning to cook more for the family; however, the boys and I got sick. This did not allow me to cook like I had planned. Thank goodness Ben was off Wednesday which allowed me to go shopping and do the cooking. I decided to bake a Glazed Chocolate-Pumpkin Bundt cake from scratch. I am not much of a baker (to be honest I have never tried a cake from scratch). Abby helped me and we had a blast. It turned out pretty well. I made that and my traditional sweet potato casserole. Maybe for Christmas I will be able to do more.

Advent Chain

Abby and I made an Advent chain together. Abby wrote the date on every link and then wrote something she was thankful for. Starting December 1st we will tear off a link and thank God for whatever is on the link. The things she wrote down ranged from the stars, moon, God's love, presents, and herself. She was real excited about it. A tradition I would like to continue.

Hanging of the Greens

Last Sunday, November 22 was the annual Hanging of the Greens at the church. I really can't believe we are starting the Advent Season already. Our church is beautiful this time of year with all of the decorations. Unfortunately we do not have a 'final' picture of the sanctuary, but I hope to post one sometime. Better yet, you can come visit the church and see it in person. This is my favorite time of year, celebrating the birth of our Savior. My favorite service is the Christmas Eve service, it just isn't Christmas without the Christmas Eve Service. Back to Hanging of the Greens. We had a delicious lunch of vegetable soup then got busy decorating the church. We had a great group and it was a lot of fun.

11-19-2009

Nick's 18th Birthday!!!

We all got together for Nick's 18th birthday, November 13th. We had some homemade crab cakes, meatballs and spaghetti. It was yummy. Shanae painted his car windows and mom, Shanae and Matt decorated the living room. It was lots of fun. I can't believe he is 18. WOW!!!!!

3 months old

The boys are 3 months old. I truly can't believe it. Time if flying and it is already the week of Thanksgiving. I'll be back at work before I know it (which will be hard). The boys are growing big. I have not had them weighed lately but I can tell they are growing. They are getting more and more responsive. They are smiling at us and trying to talk. Blaine seems to be our little talker. Christian has become a little more demanding of our time. It will be interesting to see their little personalities develop. They love to move A LOT. They move their legs and arms constantly. They sometimes like tummy time but fall asleep during it. I'm afraid they won't learn to turn over. Sometimes they scream a lot when they are on their bellies. They like their bouncy seat and love to hit at the toys. They are so cute and adorable. I really hope to get some pictures of them. It seems like they just get bigger and older every time I blink. We are feeling a little sick today. Christian is full of snot and Blaine seems to be a little congested. It is making for a fussy day, it doesn't help that I feel pretty yucky. I just hope it passes before Thanksgiving. I am supposed to start cooking soon!!! AHH!!

Abby is doing well. We are starting a new reward system. Let's hope this one works. She made 1/2 hr TV coupons that she has to earn enable to watch TV. She can turn 3 in for a Movie Pass which then she can watch a movie. It seems to work pretty well. I think it helped that she made them herself. The first night she was fixing me water without me asking and sweeping and picking up. It was great. Unfortunately, that lasted 1 night. But she is still doing pretty well with it. It is difficult trying to find something to work with her. She wants Clean House to come in and clean for her and doesn't mind when we take her things away because she doesn't have to pick them up. She is too smart for her own good. We are going through her stuff and will be selling or donating a lot of her toys that she has out grown. We have too much stuff in such a little space. We also rearranged her room to give her some more floor space where she can play. Well, that is an update. Hopefully I will do better and have some great pictures. We are thankful for our beautiful family.

Our big helper!

The other night it was time to give the boys a bath. Abby really wanted to help me. I got the bath ready for Christian and she came into the bathroom. I told her she could wash his arms and belly. She did a great job. When it was all done Abby drained out their bathtub and filled it for Blaine. I was getting Christian into his PJ's and came into the living room to put him in his swing. I saw Abby sitting on the couch talking to Blaine telling him it was his turn for his bath. She had picked him out of the swing and walked over to the couch with him. She is so big. I then put him on the changing table to get him ready for the bath and she wanted to change his diaper. She wiped his little dirty bottom and was talking to him so sweetly. I then carried him into the bathtub and she helped wash him. She then emptied the tub and washed everything out. She was such a big help. I am so proud of her.

Funny Abby Stories!

I have debated on putting this story on the blog and I have decided to share it to make you laugh. Abby has already asked me if I put it on Facebook (smart little girl). Here it goes:

Last week Ben and I were sitting on the couch each holding a baby. It was about 9:30pm and Abby had been asleep for maybe 45 minutes, which is great for her. (Thanks to the time change). We were watching TV and just had fed the babies. I heard Abby coming down the hallway and watched her head into the kitchen. I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was going potty!!! I told Ben that he better get up quick because she was heading into the kitchen, NOT the bathroom. He got up and headed into the kitchen and I saw him pause and about to bust out laughing. I got up and went into the doorway. The image I saw was the funniest thing ever. I was half expecting her to be peeing in the floor but nope that's not what happened. She had pulled the dishwasher door down and sitting on the door peeing into the dishwasher!!!!! I have not laughed that hard since in the hospital. Ben and I were laughing in the hallway and I grabbed the baby he was holding (it is sad when I can't remember who was holding who). Ben talked to Abby and she woke up and was really confused as to why she was peeing in the dishwasher. The next morning she did remember what had happened and that is when she asked if I had put it on Facebook. I will not forget that image of Abby sitting on the dishwasher peeing asleep!!! It still makes me laugh so hard. Poor little girl!!!!!!

I think that is the only funny story I have right now. She never ceases to amaze me with her wittiness.

Long Day!!

Today was a very long day out and about. We gave the boys a bath and went to church this morning. Then we went to our first sit down restaurant as a family of 5!!! We ate at Red Robin and the boys slept the entire time and Abby ate pretty well. We then did a bit of shopping. I stayed in the van with the boys though, feeding them. Then we went back to church to wrap shoe boxes and fill them full of fun things to send over seas for Christmas time. Abby was so excited to do this. She has been talking about it for a couple of weeks. We were in Walgreens buying stuff for the shoe boxes and Abby told the cashier we were going to a 'pack and wrap' party at church. We wrapped and packed the boxes and ate chili. We got home around 8pm. Abby kept asking us if w were going to take the boxes to the poor tonight or next Sunday. We had to explain to her that we send them overseas to kids in a different country. She really wanted to take the boxes to the kids herself. I was proud of her that she didn't want to take the stuff for herself. All of the kids did well. I was half expecting for some to 'pocket' some of the things for themselves or at least ask us for the stuff, but they did great. I just can't believe we are entering the holiday season full force. I am not ready!!!! It was great to get out and do some normal activities that we haven't been able to do in such a long time. We are getting a hang at this twin thing and family of 5!!! God has truly blessed us.

10-29-09

Pics 10-30-09 (10 weeks old)

Here are some pictures of the boys. We tried to recreate the pictures after their bath at 4 weeks to see the comparison. Blaine's face stays roughly the same, but Christian's is different in every picture. This is only a fraction of the pictures taken and Christian had a different face for each. It was very amusing.

Tummy Time!!

Blaine really likes tummy time but Christian does not. I finally turned Christian on his back while Blaine slept on his tummy. They were too cute. It's neat to see the differences already. Their personalities keep changing. As soon as I think I know one, their personality change and they usually switch. Blaine used to be so impatient, but now he is more laid back and Christian is becoming more impatient. They keep going back and forth. It will be so much fun watching them grow up together with their big sister. They both love her and love to be held by her.