Circus!

On Friday we took Sloane and Stella to the circus for their very first time. We weren't sure what to expect or how they would react but we really wanted to try it and if it was too much, then we would just leave. We were pleasantly surprised by their behavior and they absolutely LOVED it!! We met up with another friend of mine in BAMOM (bay area mothers of multiples) and her twin boy and girl who are just a couple weeks older than mine. It was great because we were able to take pictures of each other's families. We got there early and were able to take the girls "backstage" to see the animals. I wish I had a video of how excited they were. Their faces and squeals with delight were absolutely priceless! They had been talking about seeing the elephants all week and once they saw them they couldn't get enough! We also saw horses and tigers too and they said "look Mommy!" "look daddy!" over and over at every animal we saw. Next we went into the main area and saw some clowns and dancers performing before the show. It was pretty crowded so we just headed up to our seats and the girls could see much better from there. They just sat there in their seats and watched intently on everything below. It was so fun to see them enjoying every little detail. In just a few minutes all the pre-show people cleared out and it was time for the show to begin. The girls had been watching the commercials and teasers on you tube for the past week of the circus intro so once the announcer started talking and the music started they were so happy and started clapping along. The grand intro is impressive with all the performers and animals (minus tigers) coming into the arena at once. There's so much to see it's hard to even focus on just one thing but they loved it all! The first half was an hour long and about 45 minutes in they wanted snacks and started to get ansy. It was their lunch time anyway so at intermission we decided to leave. Sloane was sad to say Bye-bye to clowns but luckily we got out quickly and they were fine. I wanted to get them a stuffed elephant but it was $23!! That would be $46 for the girls to both have one!! Highway robbery!! Luckily they didn't really ask for anything so we just bolted it out the door before they realized we wouldn't be buying a souvenir. I'm sure next year when they are 3 we won't be so lucky. And yes, I am already planning to take them again! They haven't stopped talking about it since we left and I feel bad they have to wait a whole year. :( Here are some great pictures my friend took. Thanks again Heather!

Sloane and Stella's Second Birthday!

Okay so I am a bit late posting here, but I had to write about our twins 2nd birthday weekend! They turned 2 on July 6th which was a Friday. We had a party planned for Saturday, a "giraffe party" to be exact but I wanted to do something on their actual birthday too. I asked them a few days ahead what they wanted to do for their birthday. After they talked about the party and I prompted them to think of something else fun we could do on their birthday, the day before giraffe party, they mentioned the "choo-choo". Of course we could do that! Perfect! Take them for a train ride and lunch and maybe the carousel too. I let my parents know the plan so they left really early to get here so they could spend the day with us too. The girls were so happy to have them here and I was too! Thanks for coming early Grammie and Grandad! Here are some pics at Kemah on Friday

Friday Morning we decided to let them have a donut and put a birthday candle in it. They loved it! But luckily they really didn't eat that much of their donut and just wanted to eat strawberries instead then play. YEAH! I let them open their card from their great grandma and it had money in it. They were excited but really didn't know what to do with it. I'm sure they will figure out what to do soon enough if they are anything like their Momma!

Saturday was "Giraffe Party" day at Jump N Jungle. It's an indoor bounce place where you can have parties. I mostly picked it because I knew that with their birthday being in July it's just too hot to do anything outdoors. We had their first birthday at our house but it was crowded and HOT for the kids and people outside. So I knew I would be happy having it at an indoor place where the weather wouldn't be a problem. I had heard that the staff there did a great job taking care of everything and boy did they! I was very happy with the service and how easy it all was. Stella and Sloane had a great time over all but Stella was a little clingy. Not as bad as her first birthday but she didn't really get too far from Me, Nick or her grandparents. It's funny because she LOVES playing there and was so excited but once it started getting full of friends she got a little shy. Oh well, Sloane had a blast! Their cake was made once again by my talented friend Diane. She made these precious little giraffes out of icing to go on top. And it was delicious too! I would love a piece right now actually! My friend Emily made their shirts and they were so cute! I'm so glad we did them in different colors so you could easily tell who was who. It's really hard to tell from the back these days and especially in pictures. They got so many great gifts and again I will say the staff did a great job helping us open and organizing everything for the girls. You can tell they had done this before and probably even twins by how they separated it all out and kept track of whose was whose. Here are the pics from the party. One of the friendly staff members took the ones of the room for me after they got it ready (seriously, the were awesome!) and my friend Tamara took the ones of the girls opening their presents. I meant to get one of the four of us at the party but missed that opportunity again! Oh well, I will try again next year! It was a great weekend with family and friends and we are so blessed! Happy Birthday to our darling "baby" girls!!

Happy Father's Day!

Wow! It's been a month since I posted! I feel like I haven't had time to sit down much less get on the computer. The few moments I did have lately I read the Hunger Games Trilogy. I read the first book in just a couple days. It's such a suspenseful book that I just flew through the pages. The second and third I didn't read as fast but still with in a week. I figure since my only reading time is when the girls are napping or asleep at night, that's pretty good. My next book will be a parenting book. It's a christian book about what the bible says about child-rearing and I can't wait to see what it says. I NEVER in a million years thought raising kids would be this hard. Or that I would love them so much either!! It's a crazy combination that still I can't explain. Which brings me to why I really wanted to post today. My husband has been the best Dad our girls!! We didn't know what we were getting into when we found out we were having twins and we never thought it would be this hard but we are a great team. When the girls were little my sister-in-law mentioned how in synch Nick and I were. She said it was like we were reading each other's minds and knew what the next step would be. I hadn't really thought of it then, but I know how true it is now. When he is gone on business, I REALLY miss him. Not just because he's funny and I love being around him, but he's my parenting partner. We have this ying and yang thing going that I know was all planned by God. Even if I have his mom or my mom here it still isn't the same. Nick and I just have this way of taking care of the girls that is our own. No one else understands what it's like but that's what makes our relationship so special. I know probably everyone thinks their hubby is great or is a great Dad but I know that I couldn't make it without the support and love of my man!! Here are some of my favorite pics over the last 2 years. We love you so much "Daddy"! Also one of my dad and the girls. They love their "dad-dad" or Grandad. :)

Lindsey's Baby Shower

This past Saturday I hosted a baby shower for one of my best friends, Lindsey. 3 other ladies helped me throw her the most wonderful shower! She does know she is having a girl but is keeping the name a secret. I totally understand wanting to make it a surprise and I am just glad that we know what she is having. It made for a really pretty shower. We asked everyone to bring a book instead of a card and write in it so Lindsey could share with the baby who had given it to her. We also had books for decorations and passed out bookmarks for favors. One of the other hostesses, Julie, is great at creating things on the computer so she made these little labels to go with all the food. Pinkalicious cupcakes and Madeline french toast casserole were my favorite;) We (hostesses) bought her the pack n play so we used that for presents and it turned out so cute. I didn't get a picture of it but I loved how it looked! I did get a few other pics that I will add for your viewing pleasure. Wish I had a good camera so I could make it look beautiful like Pinterest but I know how wonderful it looked in person. ;) Lindsey has been my friend for over 10 years and I love her more all the time! We have laughed, cried, and talked through so many different life moments. I can't wait to see her change into her role as a mom. I know she is nervous, like we all were before we had babies, but once that sweet baby girl is here she will be an expert in no time! I love you Lindsey and am so excited to share this new chapter in our lives...Motherhood!!

22 Months

Sunday, May 6th, the girls turned 22 months old!! I really don't know where the time has gone. Their first year went by fast but I feel like this second year has gone even faster! I think I've said before that I feel like the days are long and tiring but then all the sudden another week or month has gone by. So here we are knocking on the door of 2 years old. I feel like I have been saying "they will be 2 in July" for a while. Something about 20 months, 21 months and 22 months just sounds weird to me. I guess I don't have to worry much longer because I will be saying 2 soon enough. No more "month" birthdays, just years. SO crazy! One of my favorite blogs, Dallas Moms Blog, had a post recently about how parenting is so different than any other job. She said you finally figure out what to do with a baby and they become a toddler. Then you start to get the hang of a toddler and then they are a pre-schooler and so on and so on. So true and what makes it even harder for me is I don't have one to learn with first. We are going through every stage double time and it really is double the trouble a lot of the time. People ask me all the time if we will have more kids. I would always say no or not anytime soon and I still feel that way but I understand wanting more about this time(when your first child is about 2). Your babies really aren't babies anymore and you kinda feel like you miss that stage. We are NOT planning on anymore kids but I know that God is more in control of that than we are. I feel like I would love to have another "baby" but I am not ready for another toddler, pre-schooler, etc. And I guess that means if you don't want another kid, then you should't have a baby right?? Okay, I got way off track! This was supposed to be a 22 month post about Stella and Sloane. Here goes: They can climb up into their highchairs and get snapped in with almost no help. They LOVE Barney! Everyday at 11:30 I look forward to turning the tv on or changing the channel to PBS for 30 minutes of bliss. They don't stay engaged the whole time but they watch this show more than any other and it's great for me because I am usually making lunch or cleaning up from lunch and need them to be distracted for a few minutes. They are saying tons and tons of words now, and we're on to phrases. "I love you" is my favortite! They also say "gotta go potty" when they come with me to the restroom. Stella loves oranges and she will say "more oranges" over and over till she gets more. They can also say "bye-bye Daddy" or Mommy or friends. The worst part of this age is the discipline. I feel like all I am doing is correcting. No, don't throw that, No, don't hit your sister, No don't bite your sister, No screaming, Inside voice, shhhhh quiet, no jumping on the couch, etc, etc, etc. I try to spin it all as positive as I can by saying Sit, walk, hold my hand, but they are still so active and wild that the NO's just slip out. Nick and I are trying to work on what the best solution to help their behavior is going to be. Time-outs really aren't that effective yet and with 2 of them the one who is not in time-out is usually getting into something while I am talking to the other. It's just a back and forth game to them. I think I need to get some more books or do some more research on this 2-year-old stage. I have a feeling it's going to be pretty terrible if we don't get a handle on it soon. They are still beautiful and adorable little girls and get compliments where ever we go. That part makes all the yucky Mom stuff better. Nothing makes you feel better than hearing good things about your babies! Here are a few pics from this past weekend. They got new swimsuits and played in the water both days!

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.