The Little Gym

We starting taking the girls to The Little Gym in Friendswood when they were almost 19 months old. I really wanted them to be around other kids and get some energy out! We have to go on Saturdays so Nick can go with me and help. They are just too hard to watch by yourself. They seriously LOVE going! When I mention it they get excited and start hopping around or signing "ball" which I think it their favorite part. I kept forgetting to take my camera or cell phone into the gym to get any pics but the last couple weeks I finally snapped some. The semester will be over soon and I think we will take a break for the summer. It's pretty expensive for 2 kids and with us proabably traveling on the weekends here and there it's not worth it if you miss too many. Hopefully we can afford to put them in again next year!

Hope in Heaven

I have had so much on my mind the last couple weeks that I feel like I just need to write about it and maybe it will make me feel better. A lot of these emotions started a little over 2 weeks ago when I heard the news that a friend of mine's little girl's heart had stopped. This little girl's name is Addison and she is just about a month and a half older than our twins. Her mom is Susie and we taught together at my last school, Landolt. Little Addi's heart story begins last year when her older brother Cade passed away suddenly playing soccer. He was 4 and a half years old and passed away the week of Easter. I will never forget hearing the news from my friend Lindsey about Cade. While I wasn't that close to Susie then, Lindsey was because they had both taught 5th grade together. My girls had a fever that week and I was so exhausted from taking care of them but as soon as I heard the news my perspective changed. I think most moms felt the same way. It just isn't supposed to happen this way. Come to find out, Cade had a heart condition that his parents never knew existed. They got Addi checked and she had it too. Over the past year her parents have had to grieve losing Cade and worry about how to help their precious daughter.
So a couple weeks ago, when she was at the dr. for a check-up her heart stopped. She was on life support for 48 hours and miraculously woke up and was starting to heal. We thought things were looking good until her poor little heart failed her again. She went to heaven to be with Cade on March 30th. I happened to be at the school that day because I was on Kindergarten field trip for a teacher who couldn't go. When we got the news about Addi, I just didn't want to believe it. No one did! We all thought that she was going to get her new heart and be all better.
When I heard about Addi being in the hospital and on life support my heart just sank. I kneeled down and prayed and prayed harder than I think I ever have. I think a lot of people did and that's why she got to get better for a few days and hug her mommy one more time. I went with some friends from school to see Susie on Sunday before she passed away. We were all so excited and full of hope for her. She was waking up and doing so well, just a miracle little girl!! I do know that all of this has happened for a reason, and Susie and Darrell know it too. Their faith is strong and they know they will see their sweet babies again someday. Susie's blog is such a testament to her faith that all who read it are inspired by her.
At Addi's memorial service our pastor Greg even said that he was humbled by them. I had been praying for him all weekend because I knew that no one wanted to be the one to try and comfort all these hurting people but you know what? God did. He spoke through Greg and gave us hope in our grief. He reminded us that because of Jesus we can see our loved ones again and that what we are feeling is okay.
I remember when I was younger I used to be scared of dying and not wanting to think about it. When I was in 4th grade my aunt and uncle lost their little boy who was only 6 months old due to a heart condition. They did surgery and tried to fix it but it was unsuccessful. This was 20 years ago so who knows what would happen now. I remember I was sad and I missed Michael but mostly I remember how sad my aunts and mom were. A couple years later I think, my mom's cousin lost her husband in a tragic car accident. I remember going to his funeral and being really scared. He was so young and left young kids behind. Was my dad going to die too?? Then, when I was a freshman in high school my other cousin passed away suddenly at 3 and a half. Caleb's death was hard. He was such a precious little boy and everyone who met him loved him. I babysat him and his older sister Kendra often so it was really hard not to see him anymore. My other cousin Matthew (Michael's little brother) was the same age as Caleb and they were "best buds". He didn't understand why we couldn't just get a ladder and go see Caleb in heaven. All these unexpected deaths really made me have mixed feelings about God and my faith. I was so young and still questioning so many things. I lost my Grandfather my senior year of high school and that was the first death that seemed somewhat "normal". He had been in the hospital and he was getting older so I was more prepared for him to go I guess.
I read the book Heaven is for Real about a month or two before Cade passed away. I immediately thought of my cousin Caleb and how I was kinda mad that he didn't get to come back to Earth and tell us all about heaven. But I was so happy to learn things that I didn't know about before and dig into to the Word to double check some things mentioned in the book. I had done bible studies over the last several years and I was less scared about heaven but still didn't really understand. After reading the book God revealed to me how wonderful it will be and that this life is only temporary. I read 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper right after that and God worked on me some more to get rid of the scary thoughts and be excited about an eternity with Jesus.
Then Cade passed away and this time it was so different because I was a Mom now. I knew where he was and I was happy about that but heartbroken for Susie and Darrell. We ended up doing a bible study last summer and God taught us all so much. Susie showed us that God's grace can cover us in all situations and He really does love us no matter what. She showed me how strong her faith was and even strengthened mine.
Yesterday, the Easter message was about our faith and what we believe. I feel like it was the perfect reminder that because of Jesus, we have hope. We have hope because of his death on the cross and Resurrection. If we don't have Jesus in our lives, we have no hope and this world looks pretty grim. But because of our Saviour we are forgiven and get the privilege to meet him in Heaven. There are so many things in this world we don't understand but I feel like God is working on me through all of this to focus on him and HIS word. If nothing else, all these things happen to draw us closer to Him.

20 months

Just wanted to do a quick update on some things the twins are doing now. They have both started talking a lot more the last couple months and copying everything we say. Sloane says adi-adi for water and I think it's so cute. Also they say pep-up for Ketchup. I think it's so funny that I go along with it. I know I am supposed to correct them but it's just so sweet to hear their little voices.
We went and stayed in Uvalde with my mom for a week while Nick was in Baton Rouge and they started calling mom Ga-ga. Her grandma name was Grammy but Sloane just couldn't say it so she says Ga-ga. Grammy ga-ga is pretty funny isn't it??!!
They still say muh for milk but they can say juice clear as day. Sloane can say Stella and she says it ALL the time! If she isn't saying Mommy or Dadda, she is saying Stella. Sounds like "Sella".
Nick and I went to Colorado skiing and let them for 4 days. It was the longest we had ever left them. I missed them so much! When I got back it was hard though. They had been used to having 2 people here (my mom and Nick's mom) and then going back to just me wasn't fun. They had a little trouble getting back into the routine and then the time changed and things were really off. It's been hard to get them to go to bed but we are finally getitng there. Sloane has learned how to almost climb out of her crib. She can get her leg up and almost over the rail! It's so scary but she's pretty strong and holds on tight to the top part. I tell her no and put her leg back down when I see her trying to pull up. The beds are convertible beds so we can get toddler rails to go on the side. I am just not ready to have them getting up and down on their own yet. I need to do a little more baby-proofing to their room and I want to break the pacifier habit. I am thinking I will do the cutting method soon. Our pediatrician recommended it and I've heard it works well from others too. Just a matter of breaking down and doing it! I know they really don't need it anymore and it's just a comfort thing so it's time to go.
We started them at The Little Gym a week before they turned 19 months. They were the youngest in the class but that hasn't stopped them! In just a month or so they have learned so much and LOVE going to class. Their teacher Ms Karlie is a twin too so she is always good about calling them by name and treating them as individuals. It's a mommy and me (or daddy and me) class so we always have 2 adults go. They are just too busy to only have one of us there. My mom went with me once, Nick's mom went with him once and Karen went with Nick one time when I was hosting a baby shower here. (What an awesome friend right?? She's the best!!) It was the perfect thing for them to do while I was having the shower. They got to go have fun and stay out of my way here. ;)
They recently have started letting us actually read to them. Usually they would bring us a book and flip the pages so fast you couldn't read anything. Now they will sit in your lap and listen to you quietly while we read. It's such a small thing but such a big thing too! You know me, being a teacher, I've dreamed of reading my favorite books to them. Of course I've been reading all along, but now they are finally engaged. It's awesome!
Here is a pic of them swinging. The weather has been nice and finally a little break in the rain so we are enjoying it while we can! Yes, I said rain! We had one of the rainiest starts to this year in history. Rained more days than didn't and that's saying something for TX!

Worst Shopping Trip Ever

So it happened, we had the worst trip to HEB last week. We needed groceries and I had a meeting that evening so I decided to push through and take the girls with me. We get to the store and luckily there is a racecar shopping cart in one of the shopping cart corrals. I park right by it, get out and grab it then load one baby then go to the other side and load second baby. Lock the car and we're off. Not even in the store completely and Sloane stands up in the seat. Strap must be too loose. Sit her down mess with buckle, try to tighten but doesn't budge much. Oh well, I'm going to be quick, lets just start moving. Grab grapes, strawberries, and bananas. She's up again. Stop, buckle her back in, head to the meats. Pretty much every time or every other time I stopped she was trying to stand up. I had crackers in my purse so I tried to bribe her with that but she wasn't hungry since she had just had snack. So I proceed to carry her and push Stella in the cart. Do you know how hard those darn things are to push?!? And one handed??? I had to put her back in before my arm fell off and Stella was crying because I wasn't carrying her. Oh ya, I was THAT mom. The one they all look and say, Awww you have your hands full. Yes I do, now get out of the way!!!
Finally get to checkout line and there are only a handful of checkers today. This is the worst part of the shopping trip on a good day much less when we are near meltdown. I glance around for anything that I can give them to make them happy for 5 minutes while I unload the cart and pay. (Or wait several minutes for our turn to even get up the little belt to unload) I see some little plastic easter eggs with Hello Kitty and Princesses. Score! I grab 2 and hand them to the girls. Happy for a second then Stella wants the one Sloane has. Geez! I give them both another one. So now BOTH girls are banging eggs together and having a great time. I get some of the groceries unloaded then Sloane stands up and holds her hands up "Mommy, Mommy!" No Sloane, Mommy can't hold you. Sit down. Where are the eggs?? Oh ya, on the ground under the basket. Geez, just get the eggs (which are A DOLLAR a piece) and be quiet for a few more minutes! Please just a few more minutes!
So we get to the checker and I tell him I need to pay for the eggs but I only want two not four. So I hand him 2 and he scans them and hands them back then I grab the other ones and I say I don't want these. He gets confused and starts hitting void. I said no I want the first 2 just not these. I smile and say I promise you will get it when you have kids. (I am not paying $4.00 for 4 little eggs! come on!)
So we're not done yet, no, not even close. Walk out of the store and some guy and his wife/girlfriend are arguing. She is carrying a middle aged baby on her hip abnd he is pushing the cart. He keeps stopping in front of me to bug her about what is wrong and why she's mad. I try to steer away from them and not make eye contact so he doesn't get mad at me but before I know we are on the same aisle again, then they are parked 2 cars away. He is cussing and yelling at her and making me very uncomfortable. I just want to get the stuff in the car and go. HEB is usually great about helping me out with the groceries when I am by myself with the twins but I think this day they were a little short staffed and didn't offer. The one time it would be really nice to have someone who works there outside with me for protection, assistance, moral support! haha
I open the back hatch and start loading groceries. I am holding Sloane so she won't fall out onto the concrete because she keeps standing up. I can't load the stuff fast enough and of course being "green" like they are, the little checker didn't bag my milk, liter of diet coke, dishwasher detergent and something else(I forgot what it was now) But anyway several items that could have gone in a bag to make it easier to load and unload at home.
I start to lower the back hatch and realize the cart is in the way. I try to push it back up thinking if it senses my hand it will go back up. (That was what our Acura did, not the Expedition apparently!) All the sudden it is getting close to squashing Stella in the cart. I'm one handed still holding Sloane so moving that tank of a cart is work! I push it out of the way just in time. Oh and in case you are wondering, white trash guy is still yelling at her. They have the baby in the car and are loading groceries but I can still hear him saying all kinds of inappropriate things. I see a man standing by his car a little ways down who looks like he's just waiting for someone to come out of the store and I thought about saying something to him, but I didn't know what. Um can you come help this girl? Or get him to stop using terrible language in front of my daughters? But I just decided to get in my car and mind my own business. I just felt bad for this girl. If he is this bad in public what does he do at home? All I can do is pray that she is safe and that she gets help if she needs/wants it.
Get home and pull in. Now that we have the huge car that barely fits in the garage I cannot pull in and unload because then the back won't open. So I have to take one girl out of the carseat and inside the house then come back and get the other one so they won't run in the street. Took Sloane inside and went back to get Stella. When I come back with Stella, Sloane is climbing up on her highchair. Newest very dangerous trick. I run and grab her and try to distract them with something. I know I need to at least get the cold stuff out and Nick can unload the rest when he gets home. I go out and grab the handle to open the back. As soon as it lifts open out come the gallon of milk. $5.00 organic busted on the driveway. I grab it and try to maybe save it and it just keep spewing out from all kinds of cracks. I toss it in the grass, grab a couple things that have milk on it and run in. Girls are on top of the coffee table about to knock each other off. THey stop and look at me and Sloane says "Muh" (milk) Yes, I have milk all over me and some sprinkled on my face. I call Nick and he thinks it's wildly hilarious. I know it will be at some point, that's why I am writing about it, but in that moment and even now, it gets my blood pumping!
If you ever wondered what it was like to go to the grocery store with 2 very active toddlers, now you know. Usually if I have to take them, I take snacks or toys and they are fine. That day just wasn't our day. So now you see why I leave them at home every time I can when I shop or Nick and I go together so one can actually shop and the other mans the babies. I know one day I will read this and laugh and remember how crazy our life was but until then I just say a lot of prayers that God gets us all through the day. :)

Love Story

Since I am feeling happy and lovey I thought I would post about something other than our adorable daughters. They might sneak into to this post a little bit but mostly I want to focus on my sweet hubby. I like to reminisce about years past and try to keep the memories of our life events alive in my head. As some of you might know (my husband definitely does) that I don't have the best memory. I forget things ALL the time! It was bad before I had kids and now it's just terrible. Anyway, I want to write about our love story and just some of the memorable times Nick and I have had over the years.
Our story starts in October 2006 when Hillary (a teacher friend of mine at the time, we are both SAHM now) says that she has a good guy friend she would like to introduce me to. Nick lived in Colorado then and I wasn't sure I was up for a long distance relationship. But I met him for a blind date in Houston (The Woodlands to be exact) on the first weekend in November and we've been together ever since. We spent our first Valentine's day ('07) together in Midland for Hillary and Sean's wedding. He got me a Tiffany chain necklace and I thought he hung the moon (well I still do!) Our second Valentine's day ('08)we closed on our house here in League City. (Yes, we moved fast! Our first dance song at our wedding was Elvis' Fools Rush In. But we knew we were meant to be together and we just went for it!) I was still living in my apartment of course so I made Nick dinner and I can't remember what he got me, I guess a house! :)
Our third Valentine's day (09) Nick made us a wonderful steak dinner at home and even had chocolate covered strawberries! I can't remember 2010 (see I told you I have a bad memory) but I know last year (2011) we had a nice heart shaped pizza from Papa John's! HA! The girls were little and it had been freezing all that month. We decided a nice evening at home together was better than going out, or cooking!
Which brings me to V-day 2012. Nick had planned to take me to III Forks in Houston. Of course he sprained his ankle last week so I really didn't think he would feel like going on crutches but he did. Mom was here to watch the girls so on Saturday we both got dressed up for our fancy dinner out. I wish I would have gotten a picture but we were just trying to hurry up and leave before the girls noticed and then at the restaurant we were too busy eating! Oh my word! If you haven't eaten III Forks, you have to go. It's pricey so probably for a special occasion but worth every penny. I won't even say what all we ate because you will think we are pigs but the steaks (melt in your mouth!) and the mac and cheese with crab meat were our favorites.
Today the girls and I baked cookies for Daddy and we are planning a nice evening here at home. We might even order a heart shaped pizza again! I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's day with your special someone!
(The picture I posted is from our Engagement photos in Galveston)

Toddler Cuteness

I just have to blog about a few cute things the girls are doing before I forget. While we still haven't been back to our normal sleeping, it is a little better and I am hoping that after this little cold is fully gone they will be good as new! Other than being exhausted lately, it's been fun watching the girls change everyday.
Now when you ask Stella "What's your name?" She will say "me". And we say no, it's Stella, she smiles really big and says me again. Just precious. She has also started going in for kisses pretty often now. I love when I am in the middle of something else and she just leans in for a kiss out of nowhere. It's just too sweet! She just learned how to say the sound a dog makes, woof woof. It seems like I was trying to get them to say it forever and now she is finally doing it. I think the w sound was hard for her. Sloane is trying to copy her but you can't really tell what she is saying. We taught them both to say "Go Texans" and that was really fun to have them shout at the TV during playoffs! Too bad we didn't get to the Superbowl this year, but I'm still very proud of our team!
Sloane is just climbing up everywhere!! She can climb the back of the couch and peek her head over the top. We're not even sure how she is doing it, she's just so strong! She can get up on the coffee table and now is trying to climb the baby gate in front of the TV. Her latest words are mow (rhyme with cow) for what a cat says and shoes. She can say shoes pretty clear and she knows where to go to get them and that if she wants to play outside she needs them. ;)
They also can saw Mamaw now instead of just signing it and they can say Bo-bi. A nickname Sloane made up for her cousin Mikalya. I know, we have no idea how she came up with Bo-bi but it's what she started saying so we go with it. They did try to say Maddie last time and it sounded like Mimi. We'll see if that sticks. They do love their older cousins and I love seeing them interact. Precious.
Their latest game is grabbing a throw blanket and wanting to hide under it. They want me to put it over them then get under with them. They aren't really satisfied playing alone, we ALL have to be under there. Then they just giggle and pop out. Then back under, then out, about 10-15 times till I have had enough and walk away (they cry and fuss at me and sometimes I go back for a few more rounds then I say, really I'm tired, you play, which only works sometimes).
My grandma got them a gift card to Wal-mart for Christmas for books. I took them yesterday and when I got the book aisle I let them look at the books. They both immediately said Dog-dog and reached for the same book. It was a really cute one that has little sound buttons you can push for several different animals. They LOVE it! They also got another book that has sound buttons that says different words they should learn like car, boat, ball, dog, cat, shoes, apple, etc. I was so happy that they knew most of them already and were able to push the button when I asked them to find certain ones. They are just learning so quickly these days. The teacher in me wants to be more intentional with my teacher and start working on more things but then again, I know that what I am doing already with them is working and they are learning everything just fine. I have plenty of time to teach them to read. haha
I am getting ready to register them for Mother's Day Out next fall. I can't believe I am already planning for this but it will be here before I know it. And I know that they need to be around the other kids (and away from me) for a little bit. Especially since they will be 2 by the time it starts.
I feel like there was more I wanted to say but of course I can't think of it. Going to go spend a little time with the hubby before we both crash.
Girls will be 19 months next week!!

A year and a half

A year and a half really doesn't seem that long but then again it does. It seems like forever ago that we brought the girls home so tiny in their car seats and just sat there staring at them and taking a bazillion pictures. Now here they are 18 months old and they won't hold still for a second so picture taking is pretty much out the window. That's why our Christmas card has only pictures of Nick and I holding them. We tried and tried to get them to sit in front of the tree, on the stairs or anywhere together for a second to snap a picture but they just wouldn't. Oh well, I still think the card turned out cute and I'm sure I will get many more of them sitting in front of the tree in the years to come.
So I wanted to update on some things they are doing lately....
Talking so much more! Since Christmas now when Sloane sees a Santa face she says Ho, ho, ho. I didn't know what she was saying at first then one time I saw her looking at a Santa and I understood what she was trying to say. I don't know where she learned it because I really didn't talk much about Santa but I do think it's cute.
They still say dog-dog for dog, ba-ba for baby, and nack for snack. They have recently started calling each other sissy. I always have called them sister but sometimes sissy would slip out too and I guess that is what's going to stick. I don't have a sister but I know most girls who do tell me that they called their sister sissy at one time or another, or still do!
Sloane says D-da for grandad and calls for him often. They sign for Grammy and Mamaw often too.
They try to copy lot's of things we say now so it's really fun to say something to them and try to get them to say it back. Especially names of friends. :)
Because of the nativity scene they now really know their animal sounds. They can say Baa for sheep, moo for cow, neigh for horse, and hee-aaw for donkey. We didn't know a sound for camel so Nick made a spitting noise. That stuck so now they do that for camel. They also say ssss for snake and quack quack for duck. We were going to the park the other day and some duck were crossing the road in front of us. All the sudden Sloane starts quacking in her carseat. I was so impressed! I didn't think she could even see them much less make the connection. So smart
Speaking of the park, she loves it! I took them yesterday by myself and there were tons of people there. I wasn't thinking about all the kids still being out on vacation. I would have just left but they already knew where we were so I went ahead and let them play. It was a mistake! When there are so many other kids you have to watch for all of them too. Make sure the girls are walking in front of the swings or slides or climbing up too high or chasing dogs! Sloane ran after one so fast I almost thought I wasn't going to catch her. Yes, picture me carrying Stella and sprinting full speed after my other run-away one year old! I got home exhausted and told Nick "I don't know why I thought that would be fun".
The girls are also getting all of their incisors at once! They have all four front top and bottom and four molars, now just filling in the gaps. This has been the hardest set of teething yet. They have been waking up at nights, sometimes several times each and these past few mights they have been getting up and staying up. It's so frustrating because I don't know what to do. I give them Tylenol I try to comfort them back to sleep then as soon as I walk out they are screaming again. I know what you are thinking, let them scream. No, you don't understand, it's not an I don't want to go to sleep cry, it's the I'm in pain cry. These girls are good sleepers, been sleeping through the night since 4 months and really not needing much help to sleep then. They go to sleep fine normally, and still do at the beginning of the night, it's just once they are up they can't go back to sleep. I know it's just a season and it will be over soon (hopefully) but some of these seasons are really hard to live through. I'm so thankful for healthy babies and the privilege to stay at home with them no matter how hard it is. I count it all as joy! On that note, I'm going to try and go take a nap while they are. The rack full of ironing, sweeping, and cleaning the bathrooms can all wait.