Christmas, etc.

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone. Our Christmas season actually began a couple of weeks ago. Since I've been horrible about taking pictures, here's what I have. I'll start with a picture of the blue room. For some reason, I cannot find the pictures of the green room! Those will have to come later.

Madelyn with her cousins.

Of course, we have to show off our Christmas outfits.

This is a picture our little photog took her daddy. She definitely shares her mommy's love of photography. Pretty good for a 2 year old!

Christmas morning - trying to figure out what daddy is doing on the other side of the door. He was putting together one of her Christmas presents.

She loves her presents! I love that my child, no matter what it was, greeted every present with "I love it! I'm so happy!". I hope she always stays that sweet & innocent about presents.

Casper's present. Yes, it's a bow. He's a bow klepto...which is why we can't have presents out. And Lily's just a klepto anyway.

Apparently, Madelyn has joined in the tradition of the bows on the head. Oh my =)

Sitting at my new table, playing with my IXL.

Me & my girly.

This may be my favorite picture. Ever. Taken with our new camera from my parents =) That made for a happy mommy (daddy too).

So in short, that was our Christmas. In other news, we've all been recovering from some weird little virus. Just when you think you're getting better, you get worse, or get hit with another symptom. The cleaners have been well used the past 2 weeks. I ended up pulling a muscle in my stomach from coughing...really painful when you're pregnant! We all have to get well & stay well soon, because...we finally have a baby date! Unless the twins come before then, they will be here on January 11th. It was a relief to finally get that scheduled, and on top of that having the entire house ready & finishing up some shopping of things we desperately needed for them. There are still a lot of things that we want (and a few we need), but they'll have to wait. So, I may not get in another long post before then, but know that I have a good reason!

Fall Festivities

So, it's starting to become the time of year where things get busy. Busy in the sense of holidays & activities. Since blogger is being uncooperative & won't let me move this picture to the bottom, this picture is from our Fall Festival at church. Madelyn had lots of fun...except for the fact that she got too hot & we had to leave abruptly because she started to strip down. Oops.

The day before our church Fall Festival, we went to the pumpkin patch at Old Baker Farm. Despite the fact that she got up too early and said once we got there that she wanted to go home, Madelyn had a lot of fun. She loved the swing, of course.

The pumpkin search was intense. I never thought we would find the "perfect" one!

After finding pumpkins that were too big, too small, or too green, she finally picked the perfect one. She liked it because it looked like Cinderella's pumpkin.

She got to pet a baby chicken. My child loves animals!

She actually loved the horses this time too. Last year she was terrified of them. She pet several of them, and one of them kissed her on the head. She was amazed, and told David as we were leaving, "Daddy, I want a horse." Oh my, we're in trouble already.

Beautiful little girly. I can't wait to get this one touched up.

The trip wasn't complete without getting lost in the maize.

After an exciting day, MJ fell asleep in the car. We had planned on getting lunch out, and waking her up was not the best idea, but she survived.

The past couple of weeks, we have been in major cleaning/reorganizing mode. It feels like we're never going to get it finished. We will hopefully get the rest of the furniture moved out this week, any maybe start painting this weekend. I think once we get one of the rooms done, it will be a lot easier to get the other one done. We know what we want to do, it's just getting it done that's difficult! I need about 5 more hours in the day, plus Madelyn's energy...then it may get done. Only 10-11 weeks to go!

Bad...

...is what I have been about blogging. It's been so busy around here! Work, every day activities, doctor appointments, trying to get baby things ready...I don't think we'll ever get there. The only start we have on the rooms is bedding. One will be green in frogs, and the other will be blue in turtles. We still need to clean out & paint. We still have so much to buy! It's quite overwhelming. There isn't much new to report. Madelyn is doing great & is oh so smart. She knows all her capital letters and most of her lower case letters. She can count to 20. She recently decided that she wanted to learn how to write her letters. So far she can do A, T, C, K, O, & Q consistently, and L, M, W, S, V, & U inconsistently. I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting. She tries to spell words and sound out words. She also decided a few weeks ago that she no longer needed to sleep. That was rough. This week we tried something different, and so far it seems to be working. Hopefully it will keep working, because I cannot handle 3 kids who don't sleep! She is still quite a monkey (considering as I sit here typing she's hanging onto David's back as he walks around). I am now 24 weeks, which means 13 or less to go, since they don't let twins go past 37.5 weeks. It's hard to believe that there is that little time before our family of 3 becomes a family of 5. A lot of people say I still don't look like I'm having twins. Here's my 24 week picture, so you can judge for yourself.

I have also been requested to post the latest ultrasound pics. Here are the ones from my anatomy scan at 18 weeks. Oh, and if you don't know yet (which I think most people do), we're having 2 little boys!

The first one is baby b. He tends to be the uncooperative one. It was hard to get pics of him because he was (and I believe still is) face down. Both are head down, which makes it a completely different feel from Madelyn since she was breech. The second one is baby a. He is generally the less active one, although sometimes they'll kick/punch in the middle & I can't figure out who it is.


This is a frontal shot of baby a when I went to the maternal fetal specialist (I know it says baby b, but she was confused apparently because b was still face down). This is the only picture we got from them =( While I'm glad I don't have to go back, their equipment was so much better. This looks like just a skull view, but on the machine you could see actual details - eyes closed, little nose & mouth...he looks just like Madelyn.

That's all I have for now I suppose. I have another ultrasound and appointment on the 17th...hopefully they'll give us some new pics. It will be interesting to see how they've changed.

10 years

It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since the events that occurred on 9/11/01. I doubt I'll ever forget that day, like anyone else old enough to remember it. That day, I woke up at the exact time the first tower was hit. I didn't know it at the time of course, but I remembered the time & thinking it was odd I woke up before I needed to since I didn't have class until later that morning. I turned on the tv as I got ready, and it was of course all over the news. I watched as an amature camera recorded the 2nd tower being struck and as both towers fell. It was unbelievable. My cousin had spent the night before, but she had already left that morning, so I called her on my way to school to see if she had heard. Of course she had. I think everyone I came in contact with that day was rather unnerved. My classes pretty much canceled for the day. Many people stayed around & talked through the events. My cousin & I met for lunch that day. When I got home, it continued to be the story...for the next few weeks in fact. I remember going to Joe Muggs & finding a special edition of the New York Times that day. I still have the paper. Just as another reminder. David & I talked about how we will share this with Madelyn when she's older. I honestly don't know. Most of my elementary aged kids were not even born yet...those who were born were at least under 2. I'm sure it is an event that our generation will never forget. Where were you that day?

Getting back into the swing

Sorry for the lack of updates. Our internet was going in & out up until last week, so it made it difficult to do anything online. Obviously, summer is over for me. Similarly to last year, it feels like it never started. If you remember, last summer I fractured both of my elbows, and spent the summer in occupational therapy to rebuild strength and mobility. Thankfully, they are mostly back to normal, with the left one occasionally still giving me problems. So...I can now share the news.

We are expecting twins in January! My official due date is 2/1, but they will be here beginning to mid January. I actually found out 2 days before school ended that I was pregnant, but an ultrasound 2 weeks later showed 2 little babies & 2 little heart beats. I am still in awe I think. It was a pretty rough start...bed rest from 7 weeks to 11 1/2 weeks, then again for 4 more days two weeks later. I did manage to get to do a few things with Madelyn, mainly story time at the library, which she loved. We also took a trip the week before school started back, but I was pretty limited on what I could do still. Here are some highlights from our trip.

We actually made a stop in Atlanta (I needed an IKEA trip) on our way back from North Carolina, but for some reason Blogger won't let me move around the pictures. So here are a couple. Madelyn loved the fish! Of course, she thinks it's a treat to go see the fish at PetSmart. She did have a rough time that morning (my poor baby & her tummy issues, coupled with the fact that the fire alarm in the hotel went off at 4 am), and we almost left not long after getting there because of a fit (welcome, terrible 2s), but overall it was a good trip.

She spent a lot of time "touching" and "kissing" the fish.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures. This is Madelyn & my cousin Sophie, who happens to be one of Madelyn's favorite people. So sweet.

We found a children's museum downtown. It's similar to CHOM in Tuscaloosa. Madelyn had lots of fun there! Her favorite things were the babies, the vet clinic, the rice table, and the grocery store.

She did enjoy brushing teeth for the "monster".

After taking care of the babies for quite a while, she stuck one in the stroller & it didn't leave her until we left. She loves babies!

Me & my girly outside one of the restaurants downtown, downtown Hnedersonville, NC.

Going to see our first movie (other than the IMAX at McWane Center)! Winnie the Pooh (see the marqui below...it made me laugh). She saw a commercial one time for it, and ever since she was been obsessed with Winnie the Pooh. She liked it though =)

More downtown.

Something else that made me laugh.

It has been very difficult for me to get back in the swing of things. The second trimester did not bring the promised "energy boost". Each day is a struggle. My doctor thinks I'll be fine until Christmas break, with the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas being monitored closely. I truly hope things start looking up soon, and that there are no more issues. Madelyn has adjusted pretty well too. She has definitely hit an independent streak. She decided she had to wear her big girl panties to school the other day, which I generally don't let her do because for some reason she hates to go to the potty there. I was sure she would have an accident, but of course she proved me wrong & did great. She's getting to be such a big girl, and I know she's going to be a great big sister!

Madelyn's quote of the day

David: Come here a second.
Madelyn: I don't want to play with you right now.
Me: That's not nice!
Madelyn: I'm sorry...I'm just telling you!
*muffled laughs*

More changes

Our next project after the pool/computer room has been Madelyn's room. We've been working on it since we moved the twin bed in there. Now, we finally have the finished product. It was actually just finished today (had to clean out the closet), but these pics are from a few days ago. It's already changed since then! We bought a black out shade, which is green, and put the pink valance on top of it (since everything in her room is pink & green). I also got her a new lamp, because her night light just wasn't cutting it when you're trying to read at night.

Here is her bed, complete with the pictures I painted for her.

We miraculously found a dresser that matched the headboard & night stand we already had! I was super excited (especially since it was on clearance!).


Her new book/toy case. Everything is now in white instead of espresso!

And my pretty little princess. She has REALLY wanted pictures to be taken lately. And my favorite yet...

Playing dress up! Wow this child is a mess!

World's Worst Blogger

Yup, pretty sure I win that title. I know updates have been few & far between. I'll try to be better. So let's see...what have we done so far? We've hit up story time, which is one of Madelyn's favorite things. We've also gone to the pool. We're working on learning how to swim. Surprisingly, this year, she has LOVED the float! And we've ventured away from only climbing up & down the stairs, which I've loved! We've also had a few play dates. This one is from a couple of weeks ago, with a friend from middle/high school's son.

A couple of weeks ago, we moved her into twin bed from her toddler bed. I could not believe how excited she was about that. We left the toddler bed in her room just in case she wasn't ready, but there was no going back. Actually, I used the toddler bed as punishment one day when she refused to take a nap & chose to play instead. She was so mad at me! When I went in to get her up, she was asleep in her twin bed, with all the stuff from her toddler bed in there with her. We got a dresser & some white cubeicals to match. Hopefully we can get her room finished this weekend.

And here is my pretty little girl. She's been having some tummy issues lately, which has really killed potty training. Hopefully with all the stuff we've given her, it will resolve soon...if not, we'll be heading to the doctor in the next couple of days =( More coming soon (hopefully) as I figure out how to use this new computer!

Oh, and I almost forgot! Our house is undergoing some furniture renovations, in addition to what's going in Madelyn's room. We got a computer armoire and moved all that mess into the pool room. Dangerous, I know, but I figure with it being wood and the location it's in, it has a less change of getting hit with a stick...hopefully =/ So here is furniture piece 1 of...5 so far. I think there's 1 other piece we need...hopefully that will be all, because I really hate putting furniture together!

Checking In

It's been far too long since I've checked in. Partially, it's due to the fact that I fear my laptop may be approaching its deathbed. David wiped it out, hoping it was just a virus or something, but it is still having issues. So, I'm sittig here typing on the iPod. Which really isn't the easiest. Oh well. Anyway, soooo much has been going on lately! Hopefully I'll be able to get on a real computer & share it soon. One big thing is that, as of last Friday, I'm officially off work. I have greatly enjoyed spending the week with my little love, and I'm pretty sure the feeling has been mutual :) we've been working hard on potty training. She has gone 2 days in big girl panties & stayed dry all day...even through nap...well, until we tell her it's time to get ready for bed, and then she purposely pees on herself. So frustrating! I think what's more frustrating is that she purposely pees in the pull-ups, which is why we've been using real undies. Last night was our 10 year high school reunion. It doesn't seem like it's been 10 years! It was good to see a bunch of people, although there are many who didn't come that I would've liked to see. Well, I suppose that is all for now. Gotta get Madelyn's toys away from klepto-kitty (aka Lily) before she punctures something with her claws.

Easter

Easter weekend was super busy for us! I was off, and that time was spent running errands with my lovey. We took some time to have lunch with David, and then tried to have a little more relaxing afternoon. Saturday, we had to take David's car to get new brakes, then we stopped to get breakfast super quick, then off to our church Easter egg hunt.

You can see a little on her arm - she got a Cinderella tatoo at the egg hunt. It was mortifying that we had to take it off that night, but I didn't really want Cinderella along with her pretty dress.

Poor baby only got 2 eggs at the egg hunt. It really ended up being the parents of 2-4 year olds instead of the 2-4 year old egg hunt. I wanted her to do it independently...oh well. Madelyn was quite ill, so we only got to stay about an hour. We took her home, fed her, and then it was nap time. The afternoon ended with us going back to get his car, and a bit of shopping. Sunday was equally as busy. We got up, went to church, ate, and then went to the lake. This meant no nap for the midgy...which made for another long day! We decided to let Madelyn watch a movie when we got home so she could veg for a bit...she fell asleep, poor baby.

My gorgeous girly in her Easter dress.

Our sweet little family.

Madelyn's Easter basket.

I found an egg!!

Some little girlies scored some eggs!

Only have 4 1/2 weeks of school left...can't wait to spend some good time with my lovey! Especially since she's been soooo clingy lately!