March, March!!

Here is a video of the boys. Blaine is marching in the jumperoo which he loves so much. Christian prefers the jumper that hangs on the doorway. They both love to jump- Blaine likes to march while Christian jumps with both feet. Christian also loves to play with his feet and toes!!! These boys never stop moving- just like their big sister. We are in trouble when they start walking (running). I guess I'll be getting my exercise. The boys are 6 months old now, which is incredible. We are so blessed with such healthy strong boys. They are so cute and happy. They do however have a little temper when it is something they want and they are not getting it!!!! They let us know when they are upset with us. Blaine loves to talk to animals- Sadie, Bailey and the cats. It is really cute. He is our strong brute that can rip is toys down with ease. Christian is our talker. He talks to us all the time especially in the car. He is also our little smiler- who loves the morning.

March, March!! (not the month)

Here is a video of Blaine in his jumperoo. He loves to march in the jumperoo. Christian likes it as well, but likes the jump-up thing that hangs in the door way more. They have so much fun. Christian is playing with his toes which his has found and loves them. They are 6 months old and are very active!!!! I can't imagine what it is going to be like when they start walking. They never stop!!!!!!! They are so cute and busy.

March, March, March, March!! (not the month)

Here is some video of Blaine marching in the jumperoo. He loves it!!! So does Christian, but every time Blaine gets in it, he marches. It is so funny!!! Our boys love to move- just like their big sister. They are extremely active boys. I can't imagine what it is going to be like when they start walking. I better get in shape- I'm glad I'm walking with a fellow teacher after school. Christian is also grabbing his toes- his favorite thing to do right now. They are 6 months old!!! I can't believe it!!!!

The boys Feb 2010

Abby's 6th Birthday

These are some pics from the family get together. Lots of fun!!!

Abby's b-day bowling 2010

On Abby's actual birthday Wednesday- Abby got out of school early for snow- that actually melted away as soon as they got home. I was let out early too because of 'snow' which was great since it was Abby's birthday. Ben made spaghetti at the request of Abby and we just hung our. She also got balloons and a teddy bear sent to her from a couple from church. She was so excited. For her birthday party we decided to do it small since money is tight and it's hard with the babies. We asked her what she wanted to do and she decided she wanted to go bowling. So Ben and his sister Marrion took Abby and her 2 BFFs (as she calls them) to Thunderworld and then to Mr. Gattis. They had a great time- except for some minor girl drama which is pretty usual for them. Other than that- they said they had a lot of fun. I stayed home with boys since the bowling alley isn't a great place for two little babies. That afternoon we went to Ben's mom's house for the family get together which I will post a second batch of pics of that. It was great fun. We had Wii bowling tournaments, lots of good food and family fun. We also looked at Ben's babies' pictures and compared him to our boys. They are little Ben's!!! Just like Abby- although she was a lot prettier than handsome. What a day.

Sweet Abby

Last night Abby asked Ben (at about 9:45pm) what mommy was teaching in her class tomorrow. Daddy said he didn't know. She then preceded to tell him if I was teaching about the inside of the body she had a book about the body that I could read to my students. Well, this morning Abby woke up by herself and got dressed without us telling her too (a rare thing by the way). She then came and told me that she put the book in my bag to take to school and I could read it to my class. I did read a page to my Anatomy students- they loved story time. What a sweet smart little girl- who is about to turn 6!!! She amazes me all of the time.

Snow!!!

Yesterday afternoon we went to Corryton in hopes that there would be a great snow. It started snowing some which was exciting. It was hard to get Abby to bed because she was hoping she could go sledding last night. The boys slept in their Eddie Bauer travel beds all night long!!! Well at least till 3 for Blaine, but Christian slept till 6- I think. It is hard to remember sometimes. The boys love those travel beds!!! They are great. Anyway, after breakfast Abby, Ben and Papa John went out to play in the snow. Abby and Sadie were playing hard together. Abby kept throwing snowballs at Sadie and Sadie was running wild. They tried to sled but it didn't work too well. Mom mom, the boys and I stayed inside and enjoyed watching from the house. We had some hot chocolate, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches thanks to the request of Abby. It's been a fun lazy day, even though I have lots of stuff to grade.

Update on the boys- the boys are getting bigger and stronger. They are rolling over both from back to belly and belly to back. When we put them in their crib Christian ends up on his belly sideways where Blaine ends up kicking him. We are going to have to put them in separate cribs, probably this week. It will be interesting how we will arrange the nursery for 2 cribs. Our house in not big enough for twins!!! Blaine is really pushing up and almost getting on his knees!! He is all over the mat when we lay him down. He is going to be so mobile I'm afraid. They both are giggling and love watching their big sister. Christian is the happiest baby in the morning, while Blaine is more like his mommy- it takes him a little bit. We are having lots of fun.

Some pics of the kids

The start of a New Year

What a way to start 2010!! Started out that I had an ear infection and had to go on amoxicillin the Wednesday before New Year's Eve. Then Blaine started feeling sick and I thought he had what I had. By Saturday both Blaine and Christian were sick and Ben took them to the doctor that morning. He found out they both had RSV and their respiratory rate was up. Blaine also had an ear infection and was started on amoxicillin. That Sunday, Ben was going to put gas in the Saturn for me to take to school and the car would not start. Ben had to take the boys to the dr. Monday morning (after rescheduling it from 11 to 8am) so I could take the van to school after he got back. So my first day of school I arrived 2 1/2 hours late. When I got to school I found that all of my files were not on my computer any more so I could not do any work because my back up was at home. I also learned that I was to be evaluated on Thursday which is the 3rd day of having students. I got home and Ben went and got a new battery for the Saturn so I could drive it to school. We were up most nights with the boys watching them and making sure they were ok. We kept them in the living room on boppies and Ben and I sept on the couch and recliner for about a week. Luckily, my evaluation went well.

The following Sunday, Ben went out to the van to go get our Christmas boxes from storage. (We have yet to take Christmas decorations down.) The van would not start and once again we were down to one vehicle. He spent most of the afternoon trying to get the van jumped but it wouldn't. Luckily my parents could pick up Abby from school otherwise she wouldn't have been able to go because Ben could not have picked her up. On Tuesday, my dad fixed our van and we had bought another battery in a span of 1 week. On Wednesday, I started losing my voice and it is still gone today (Thursday) and we had open house. Thankfully the boys are better and Abby has gotten better too. She had developed a cough too but we kept her hydrated and she has gotten over it. Ben was also sick- so we had a house full of sick people. This has definitely been a crazy way to start the year and the transition of Ben staying home while I go to work. I keep saying that God will not give us more than we can handle. I am very thankful for our family, church and friends. We are truly blessed and we will get through these rough times.

On the mend

We are finally getting better. The boys have defeated RSV on their own without a trip to the hospital, which we are totally grateful for. Unfortunately, Ben and Abby are now sick too and I feel that my ear infections have come back. At least the boys are better.

It has been a rough start for me working. The car would not start last Sunday and the boys had a dr's appointment that Monday which was my first day back. That morning we rescheduled the boys appointment for that morning at 8:15am and I went to work late. I got to work at around 10:30am and found out that my computer files were lost. I had a back up, but it was at home which did me no good. I did not get much accomplished at school that day. I was flying by the seat of my pants on Tuesday. Ben got the Saturn fixed Monday afternoon (which was a new battery). Abby and I had our first morning of getting up early Tuesday and I took her to school then went to work. I had a great first day making stuff up as I went along. I am so glad God gave me that gift. I also found our I was going to be evaluated/observed that Thursday. Only 3 days in with the kids and it has been 7 months since I have worked. Talking about jumping in feet first!!! Might as well get it over with. Luckily I have the best department head who helped me out and it turned out to be a great lesson which I will continue to use. My students seem pretty decent so far. Then we got out early Thursday and were off Friday for snow/ice. What a week. Not to mention we have been sleeping in the living room all week with the boys and up almost every 2 hours with them. Exhaustion!!! Glad we have had a long weekend to relax and recover. What a week!!!

RSV

Today Ben took the boys to the doctor because they were coughing pretty badly and sounded congested. I have been sick all week and thought I gave it to them. We are glad he went because it was worse than we expected. Both boys ended up having RSV and Blaine also has an ear infection. We just have to watch them closely to make sure they are breathing OK and not breathing too rapidly or turning blue. Blaine is real fussy and he talks to us telling us he doesn't feel well. It is so pitiful to hear him. Christian isn't as bad and hopefully he won't get worse. It is tough taking care of two sick babies, especially when we have so much to do around the house. I start work Monday and have nothing ready yet. Whew!!! It's going to be a long week. I just hope they get better before their baptism next Sunday, plus I just want them better. We don't like sick babies.

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