Coming Soon...

Sorry I am so behind on updating the blog (yes, I have gotten y'alls emails requesting updates). I haven't been feeling very well this past week, so I haven't taken many pictures- but I fully intend on making up for it next week and updating the blog ASAP. I went to the DR this past Thursday and it turns out that I am anemic...therefore I have been extremely exhausted! The kids have both been teething the past week, and haven't been sleeping well- so it has been extra hard. But, I am sure things will get better once my iron pills start working. Eric and I started Lamaze this past weekend- and finish next weekend (we took the 2 weekend day classes instead of going every week for the next month). We actually get out early next weekend because they are doing Child Care Basics for the last half of the class...and Eric and I could probably teach it, so we have been excused from that part of the class. We learned to breathe- and I learned I can't keep a straight face while doing my "hee-hee-hoo's", hopefully I will be better at it when the real thing happens. It really made it real seeing all those birth videos and practicing breathing techniques!

Well...keep an eye out mid week for more pics. I hope everyone is doing well :)

Brother and Sister

Nikolas is always taking his toys over to where Brooklynn is and playing with them by her. He loves his sister / "sissy"- as he calls her. He gets so excited when she wakes up in the mornings or after naps and yells "sissy" and tries to open her door. He tries to help her with her bottle and occasionally tries to share his drink with her. He brings her toys and tries to put her binkie in her mouth. He knows how to make her laugh too- and loves to do it. There isn't much he can't do to her that doesn't make her crack up. They are definitely quite a pair & we are so happy to have them both under our roofs, no matter how long they have together (and hopefully it is forever), having time together is better than no time at all.

Pretty in Pink

Here is my happy baby girl ! She has been doing so well with scooting and

getting around places. She tried pears tonight for the first time, and loves them. She started saying "dada" the other day and hasn't stopped. I keep working on "mama" with her, and she says "nana" instead...almost there. She is such a sweetheart :)

I am getting BIG

Just when I think I can't possibly stretch anymore...I do! I am getting so big, I am really waddling now- and even have found that when I swing my arms and walk I get places faster! Walker has been kicking SUPER hard the past few days. Yesterday I thought for sure he was going to kick through my stomach, it actually hurt and took me by surprise. He does this bicycle thing where I feel tons of alternating kicks at once, it is crazy. It is hard to imagine I have a one foot human being inside of me, it is truely amazing- and exhausting at the same time :) I have a DR appointment on Friday, no sonogram this time- just an icky glucose test and a weight check (fun stuff). I am 26 weeks...nearing the final trimester, the end is near !!

Future Heartbreaker!

Brooklynn is such a happy baby. She is starting to sit up a little better (with the help of the boppy pillow). She will hold herself partially up for quite a while and play with toys.

It snowed in Austin...

You can't see it very well...but there were BIG flakes of snow coming down today in Austin. It is more icey around the house than anything right now, we have been getting plenty of freezing rain and snow- but it was exciting when it snowed (there is just something about snow). We should have 1/2-2 inches stick overnight, if so Nikolas will love it in the morning. We let him play outside briefly today while the flakes came down, he loved it, and got really mad when we made him come inside. I tried to walk outside...but quickly got told to get back inside by Eric, he didn't want me to slip (I guess I hadn't thought of that). It has been COLD & WET for days though- and I am starting to really get cabin fever. Eric was home from work today, and probably will for a little bit tomorrow too- we will have to wait and see what the weather does. It was nice to have an extra pair of hands here today, he even ran out and got me cheesecake (I have been craving it for days), he didn't know what flavor to get so he got a variety pack...MMMM!!

What a Cutie...

Here are a few more pics of Nikolas from his stay at Nonna & Grandpa's this weekend :)

Playing with Nonna...

The kids spent Friday night with Nonna and grandpa. Eric and I had a good time. We went out to eat and watched a movie at home. I stayed up past my bedtime, but I got to sleep in a little too. The next morning we went to breakfast before picking up the kids! We wanted to get them early because the weather hasn't been great here...it is supposed to ice and sleet tomorrow and Tuesday. It was raining quite a lot yesterday and it looked like our backyard was going to flood...it was pretty crazy.

Nikolas...

Nikolas was sick this week, I took him to the DR and they had to give him a nebulizer treatment...it took 3 people to hold him down, he was SO mad! Turns out he most likely has bad allergies to Cedar (and possibly mold). They gave him some allergy medicine and he is doing well now. He weighs only 20 pounds and 6 ounces...he is still such a little guy, his sister is going to catch up in now time - she is currently 16 pounds and 13 ounces. We tried to get Nik's haircut yesterday, it is getting really shaggy, it grows so fast (most girls would be jealous). They weren't taking walk-ins, so hopefully we can get it cut soon. His new big thing is HOT WHEELS, he loves them..and carries them around the house all the time. He says "vroom, vroom" and pushes them around, he is truely a boy.

Brooklynn

Brooklynn is doing really well. She is starting to roll EVERYWHERE now, and is definitely starting to get around (it won't be long). She tried Green Beans (in a jar) for the first time tonight, and loved them. I have a feeling there isn't going to much this girl won't eat...she is an eater. She is teething now...and is one big constant drool bucket (we have one getting her first teeth and one getting his molars). She is a very smiley girl and loves to be talked to. I got some cute girly stuff for her room- and am working on getting it decorated, it is going to be cute. I love having a girl !!We should know more on Feb. 13th about the status of her case...in the meantime we are just enjoying her.

Baby Walker (at 24 weeks / 6 months)

I had a sonogram on Friday to check Walkers heart. The last visit I went to they were able to check his brain and spine and confirm that everything looked perfect, but he kept moving around and turning his back so she couldn't get a good picture of the heart chambers. This time he could see them perfectly- and everything is fine! He checked to make sure Walker is still a boy...since occasionally they are wrong, but nope he is definitely a male- and a very wiggly one at that. He seems to constantly be moving around, especially when I lay down to get some much needed rest. He is now 1 pound and 4 ounces, and at 43% for his weight - 50% is average, so he is doing really well. We got some more pictures to add to the book. He looked much cuter this time and a little less like an alien- last time we got a lot of pictures that showed his facial bones and it looked a little odd. This time there are several profiles, a few of his hands right near his face (his favorite position), and yet another picture of his pee-pee. In 2 weeks I have to go in for the glucose test and give a lot of blood (fun stuff). I was sent home this time with iron supplements since I have had a history of anemia- we didn't check my blood to see my levels, she wanted to get me on iron as soon as possible to prevent another onset. I have been feeling sooooo incredibly tired lately that I wouldn't doubt if I am a little anemic, the iron pills always help though, so hopefully relief is near. I will try to scan some recent sonogram pictures to post, however they don't usually turn out very well so I don't put them up.

Too funny!!

Okay guys I will take these pics off if you ask me to...but I couldn't resist putting them on here, they are way too funny. We took a family picture during Christmas and my dad set up the camera to go off on it's own, when my dad was out of the room doing something the camera started going off, and when the pictures were downloaded this is what we found.

Eric and I

Grandpa's Buddy

Uncle Scooter

Here are some more Christmas pictures, I meant to download them a while ago but haven't gotten around to it.

It was great seeing Scott while he was here, he graduates soon and we'll hopefully be able to see him more often :)

Update on the Chunky Monkey

I have been keeping in contact with Casey's new mom, at least every other day. She seems really nice and very eager to keep us updated on his progress. He was sick for a little bit (she says with allergies and teeth), I have a feeling he is still having a hard time living with the ciggerette smoke. But, she says he is doing better and hasn't had to stay home from daycare for a little bit. When he gets tired she says he grabs the blanket I made him and goes in to his bedroom, he didn't do that here- he wasn't very into his blanket unless it was in bed with him. She said he hasn't bitten anyone at daycare...which surprises me. I bet he really enjoys daycare he has always been big on new places and staying constantly busy. I think he flourished from staying home with me, but is a very active and social child and does well in a daycare setting. He is learning new sign language signs, which is great that they are still doing that with him. Ironically Lori is taking some sign language classes to be an interpreter for the deaf and can teach him all kinds of words.

Eric thought he saw him and his dad get off a bus the other day, unfortunally it was raining & he didn't have an umbrella, he almost turned around to see if they needed a ride but didn't know fir sure if it was them. Turns out it was because Lori confirmed that their bus stop is near where Eric saw them, what a small world!!

I will continue to keep y'all updated as I hear more. She plans on sending me some pictures soon- I hope he has gotten a haircut :)

awww...baby!

Last week I let Nikolas listen to the baby's heartbeat on the heart monitor that my mom got me for the shower. I would lift my shirt up so he could see my tummy and rub it and say "aww baby". He loved it and now constantly lifts my shirt up and says "baby" or "aww", and rubs my tummy or lays on it. The funny part is that you never know when he is going to do it, and he tries to pull my shirt down from the top, not up from the bottom, so it always takes me by surprise. If you ask him where the "baby" is...he will point to my belly, it is really cute.

Big Boy...

Nikolas is doing SO many new things lately. I think it has helped him because I am able to work with him more on things (like body parts and animal noises), since I am not able to get around as easily as I used to and am doing less housework (too bad for the house, but my baby is turning in to a genius!!). He will sit on the couch with me for a long time and read books and point at pictures when I ask him where something is, and make animal sounds. He barks now everytime he hears the dogs bark or sees a dog on tv. He say's "doggy" too. He makes the "vroom" sound and pushes his cars around the house. He is combining his sign language words with verbal words, and is getting really good at communicating with us. When he fusses we tell him to "use his words" and most of the time he either points, uses sign language or just says what he wants. He mimics everything we say now, it is amazing. He is always babbling, and puts together long sentences of words we don't know and words we do- then repeat it when we don't do or respond to what he is saying...it is funny, because you know he is saying something- we just don't know what it is yet. He has started throwing bigger fits lately, and throws his hands down on the ground, and yells something we don't understand at us, sometimes it is hard not to laugh because it is so funny. We started doing 1,2,3 with him- and he sits in very, very short time out if we get to 3...he is smart though when we start counting he knows that if he doesn't do what he is supposed to that he will have to go sit down. I know he doesn't get the concept yet, but it at least removes him from the situation and he gets annoyed when we put him down in his time out spot and walk away. He has become quite the picky eater lately. There are days when he won't eat anything- and other days when he gets seconds and thirds. I think it has a lot to do with his teeth, he is getting 4 molars right now and at times isn't quite thrilled about it (and doesn't mind letting everyone know). I will be very thankful when they come in all the way, of course he still has many more that will be coming in after that (oh joy!). He does really well playing with all his toys he got for Christmas. He plays in his room often and I take bins out with his toys. He has gotten really good at building with blocks and recently enjoys playing with pretend food. He also cleans up after he plays when we ask him- it is great !!!

Nikolas loves his sissy!

Nikolas started calling Brooklynn "sissy" last week, it is adorable. He says it all the time and points at her. When she fusses or cries he goes over and sits by her and plays his toys. He really tries to interract with her, which is wonderful because he is by far her favorite person. Anything he does she is watching him, and cracking up. He does well with her, and has only had to be told a few times not to sit on her or pull her socks off (Casey used to do that to him too). He doesn't seem jealous of her...I think he is used to having another child around, and this one is more his size, not bigger than him, but then again it may not be long before she passes him up on the growth chart. She is 16.11 pounds and he is 21.6 pounds- she is in the 95th percentile for her age and him in the under 5th.

Too Cute for words!

I started sitting Brooklynn up with the boppy and giving her some toys to play with (This is how my boys learned to sit up). She does really well, and actually prefers to sit up now. She is also starting to scoot and is impossible to keep under her play mat now. She always has something in her mouth and is definitely showing signs of teething. She is a cutie, and I am having a lot of fun dressing a baby girl :)

Big Momma !!

Okay...the holidays weren't nice to me, I have GIANT now. I am trying to cut back on my sweets, even the DR says I am doing just fine as far as weight gain is concerned. She said since I started out small and with twins I was destined to gain more. I just know I have 16 more weeks to go and am supposed to gain 1 pound a week from now on till I deliver...I sure hope I lose it fast !!

Pretty girl

This baby is always happy (knock on wood). She has the biggest smile, and loves to smile at anyone who will talk to her. Just like her brother (and Casey), if you pretend to sneeze she cracks up, it is sure fire way to get a good picture of her.

MMMM Cereal !

Brooklynn tried cereal for the first time, she LOVED it...you can tell she is going to be quite the eater.

Nikolas sat there the whole time signing "more", so I finally gave him a bite of her cereal thinking it would keep him from bugging me anymore when I am feeding her...nope- he LOVED it to. Not sure what is in that rice cereal, but Nikolas has been a picky eater

lately and threw the biggest fit when I wouldn't give him more.

Jordan & Jaden

The pictures are a little small (I had to scan them to get them online). This is a current picture of Jordan & Jaden (Aka Victoria and Zachary). We hadn't heard from their family for quite a while and were very surprised when after our trip we came home to a letter and these pictures. Turns out the family moved to a great house in the country and lost their internet ability (along with our email). I have been in contact with her since we got the pictures and emails and the kids sound like they are doing well. Jaden has grown quite a lot and is doing well riding her bike and learning to write her abc's. Jordan has stopped turning his wrists all the time and now just twists his fingers, which she says is less obvious. He is still banging his head a lot though and has gotten quite stubborn and strong willed. She is still taking him to a DR and awaiting an Autism diagnoses. She says he is doing very well with his vocabulary and even says the Lords Prayer (now that is impressive). Jordan just turned 2 on the 3rd of December! We are very thankful that we have regained communication with them, it is great to see them so happy and doing so well.

For those of you who don't recognize them- in the first picture Jaden is the first in the bottom row, and Jordan is right next to her with his hands on his face (aren't they beautiful??).