My kids are advanced ;-)

Jackson rolled over from belly to back yesterday and Madison did it today!!
Is that early??

Photo of the day

June 21, 2007 again

Here is a video of Madison talking.

June 21, 2007

I guess I'm a little behind on posts and stories. Below are a bunch of my favorite photos from the past few days.

The red bird in the photos below is all of a sudden my kids favorite toy. Jackson will just lay there and stare at it and smile and coo completely unprovoked. It's just about the cutest thing I've ever seen (how many times will I say that in the next few years??).
Madison started really smiling a lot yesterday. Before we could get some out of her if we really tried hard, but now it's a lot easier and this morning she was cooing up a storm!!! Both of my babies are "talking" now!

More joys of motherhood...
This morning for some reason madison woke up at 6:30 (they've been sleeping until 8, 9, and even 10!) so I went in to get her to bring her into bed with us so she didn't wake up Jackson (who ended up sleeping until 10!). I was trying to cuddle her to get her to go back to sleep but she wouldn't have any of it. So I got up and made her a bottle. she only drank about half then started to fall asleep...fine. I cuddled up to her face to face (just a few inches between us). I was looking at her in awe as usual when I saw this white stuff headed my way. She projectile vomited all over my face!!! (and the bed). Chris was quite pleased with the view. He was congratulating Madison on a job well done.

I guess I can share exciting news now. My friend Gia is pregnant! She is as pregnant as my kids are old! (13 weeks now) She's feeling exhausted but can't sleep. I certainly don't envy her! But I'm so glad she's going to have a baby and in the same year as me!

Here is a video of Jackson talking to the birdy. You need quicktime to view it.

"Stop looking at me!"

"Mommy, make him stop looking at me!!"

This is Chris as a baby

Jackson in his bumbo. He's still not quite ready for it but it gave him a nice "birds eye view" of the birdy.

Apparently Madison is a fan of tummy time! How cute is that smile??

Jackson likes it too. God, I have cute kids!!!

Daddy and Madison in the morning.

Lounging on the bed.

3 months old

Today was an exciting and multi celebrational day. 6 years ago today Chris and I were married (Sunday, June 17th, 2001, father's day, and US Open final round), it's father's day, and the babies turned 3 months old today. Above are the pictures I took today then uploaded to snapfish and picked up at walgreens to put in frames for our dads. Our parents came over and we had a bbq. They had fun with M&J then Jackson had to poop. He has this weird habbit of pushing SO hard that he projectile vommits while pooping. And no he's not constipated or has hard poops...they're totally smushy. He lovingly projectiled on Grandpa this time. What a nice father's day present.

Letters

I get so many great ideas from reading other people's blogs. This idea is actually in the baby books I have for M&J and when I saw it Chris and I said we didn't want to do it but then I read someone else's letters to their kids and I knew I had to do it. I know it will be so nice to have for them to read when they are older.

Dear Jackson,

You are now 12 weeks old and so amazing to me. Up until about 4 weeks ago you pretty much just ate, pooped, cried, and slept. Now you are a master at smiling and cooing at staring at whoever is making you smile and coo. The cooing is the second sweetest sound I've ever heard in my life (first was your first cry when you came out of my belly). I ask you to tell me stories and you will coo and smile and your eyes light up. Then I say something back and you reply again. You are learning to have a conversation.

You are also now determined to get your fist in your mouth. It's so funny to see you concentrating so hard on getting it to your mouth and then trying so hard to keep it there. It doesn't usually stay too long. You will often look at your fist intently staring at it. It seems to be only your left hand that you are working with so we wonder if you will be left handed like your grandpa.

You have such an animated face and everyone loves it. I just beam when I look at your picture. It makes me so happy!

You now love to lay on your play gym/matt. You didn't like it back when you used to cry a lot (you used to cry a lot...). You enjoy looking at the toys hanging and the photograph of Tiger Woods in the picture frame. You don't try to grab at anything yet but I bet that's coming very soon. You also smile when you see your reflection in the mirror that hangs from it. It's too cute for words. Looking at you makes me smile too :-)

You drink 6 oz of formula now. You look like you're in heaven while your eating. Your eyes close and you are so peaceful and calm....then I try to burp you. It's like a river of formula that comes gushing out of your mouth. I have learned tricks to catch it all but sometimes it still manages to get all over the side of me and onto the couch and sometimes even onto the floor! You are gaining weight like a champ so no one is worried about the spitting up. But our washing machine sure does get a workout washing all of your clothes and burp cloths.

Dear Madison,

You are so very precious to me. You are like a little doll...so well behaved. You rarely cry and even when you do it's really more of a grunt (nothing like your brother's screams that could shatter glass!). You are my little cuddle bug and during the day you generally nap in my arms which I know is a bad habbit but you're easily transported once you're asleep. I just love that you feel so comfortable with me that you can't help but fall asleep. Although you really will snuggle and fall asleep with anyone.

You are working very hard on getting your fist in your mouth. It doesn't seem to want to stay there though. You are using your right hand so I wonder if you will be right handed.

You are just starting to enjoy laying on a play matt and looking around. Pretty much all the time I can put you down anywhere and you are content to just look all around. You also work on your Stevie Wonder impression where you look back and forth from side to side over and over again. Not that there is anything wrong with Stevie Wonder but it just cracks me up that you do this.

You are very serious with me. You rarely smile for me even though you do smile more for other people. A little girl was singing "row row row your boat" to you the other day and you were almost laughing! It was so cute because I had never seen you smile that much.

You drink 5 oz of formula now. Sometimes if someone else is feeding you (even Daddy) you won't finish the bottle, but usually if I try to get you to finish you will do it for me. You are a champion burper! Just like a truck driver. It cracks people up because you are so pretty and girly and then you let out a belch that would make a sailor blush. It's very ammusing.

You have the prettiest clothes and I love to dress you up.

Dear Jackson and Madison,

I can't even say how happy you make me. I wanted children for so long that I knew they would make me happy once they were finally here. I knew I would feel a love that was deeper than anything I had ever known, but what I feel now that I have you is just overwhelming. The love I feel for you both takes my breath away on a daily basis. I am forever grateful that you have been brought into my life.

I love the time we all spend together. I think my favorite is in the morning after I have fed you at 6:30am and we go in bed with Daddy before he has to get up to go to work. You both are very alert. Jackson tells us stories of what I presume are the dreams he had during the night and Madison listens intently while she cuddles with me. After 30 minutes or so we're all tuckered out and fall asleep right there together. Jackson always wakes up after another 30 minutes when Maddie and I are NOT ready to get up so I get his car seat and put him in that with his binkie and he goes right back to sleep. We stay there until about 10 or 11 unless we have plans that day.

You are both amazingly easy to take out places. People are always saying how brave I am to go places with you but it's honestly not a big deal AT ALL. You mostly sleep in the car seats while I'm shopping at BJs etc. And if you do wake up you are happy just looking all around. People have actually accused me of slipping you drugs to make you so calm! The only challenge is carrying both of you in the car seats at the same time. You weigh over 20 lbs each including the weight of the seat so I can't walk long distances without getting you in a shopping cart.

Some days we go for walks in the double stoller and you always do well with that too. If one of you does start to cry for some reason you will always take a binkie and calm right down and usually fall asleep.

Bedtime is a breeze for Daddy. Daddy swaddles you up in your blankets and puts you both in the same crib right next to eachother at around 11pm. You are both out like a light and I don't hear a peep from you until 6:30 on the dot! It's amazing how your brains have internal clocks...you're so consistant!

Siblings

Courtney doesn't like this picture because her face is screwed up. I think the photo is adorable!!! Plus there are enough good pictures of her on this blog for everyone to know she really IS pretty.

Baptism story

I suppose I should write about the baptism...put a story to the pictures.

The forecast all week was rain all weekend. Luckily, as always, the forecast was dead wrong. We woke up to a beautiful sunny day and it stayed like that all day. My parents had a brunch at their house before the ceremony that was very nice. Mimosas, french toast, eggs, danish. The best part was the mimosas :-)

When we got to their house it was time to feed the babies. Chris was dressed in a navy suit and I in a black dress. I figured since his suit costs more to dry clean it would be smarter for me to feed Jackson. Normally Jackson drinks half the bottle, burps/spits up a good amount but it's a controllable amount. This time (of course) he wouldn't burp half way through, or 3/4 through, or even at the end. Just when I least expected it he burped and spit up what seemed like half the bottle...way too much to control. It went all over the side and front of my dress and all over my mother's chair. I knew it wasn't his fault but I was SO mad. If he had just burped half way through it wouldn't have been all over everything. Formula on black isn't easy to clean up. Basically I had to soak my dress with water and walk around in a wet dress. It was too close to the ceremony to throw the dress in the laundry.

Anyway it was nice to spend time with my family before the baptism and my parents did a great job with the gathering.

When we got to the church we got the kids dressed in their gowns and made our way to the pew. We were right in the front row which I thought was very special. Our kids were the best behaved babies out of the 6 that were there. They didn't make a peep (Madison mostly slept) until the Deacon (more on that later) SOAKED Jackson's head with water. He let out a huge cry but by the time I handed him to someone he was done. Poor Madison was sound asleep when she got her head slpashed with water so she let out a cry too but was also done as soon as I handed her to someone.

At the beginning of the ceremony when the Deacon started to introduce himself all I could hear in back of me was the whispers (or what they thought were whispers) of Chris's grandmothers saying "why isn't there a priest???". They were horrified. The Deacon did a great job and I was very happy with him and the ceremony. He even blessed the beautiful cross that Rachael bought for Madison.

I am not Catholic but I was baptized Catholic. My parents obviously didn't follow through on their "Promise" of that day back in 1973...no sunday school, no first communion, no confirmation. In a way it was good because I feel like I was able to learn about religion on my own and figure out what *I* believed not what my family wanted me to believe. Basically until 1997 I didn't believe in anything...just focused on believing in myself and relying on myself. Eventually I learned to pray and be thankful of Jesus for everything I had in my life. The past 4 years were full of my prayers to bless Chris and I with a healthy family...for my "sunny someday" to come. Well, it has come and it makes me happier than I ever imagined. I love my children so much it makes me cry when I think about it. So during the ceremony I felt like I was personally thanking Jesus for answering my prayers. I know our family wasn't randomly placed together. The two eggs that became Madison and Jackson were chosen for a reason and I know that deep in my heart. They are more special than I ever could have imagined.

After the ceremony we stayed at the church and took lots of pictures then headed to Chris's parents' house. My mom made delicious lasagna and fruit salad. Eileen got chicken, broccoli, and ziti which is Chris's favorite! And we had rollup sandwiches, cake and cookies. Lots of people came to celebrate with us and Madison and Jackson got some very nice and generous gifts. We need to open a bank account for them now!

My boy and his big smiles. He just makes me so happy.

I just took a look at the kids social security cards and was thrilled to find that the numbers are one off from eachother! I don't know why I didn't think that would happen but I was definitely taken by surpirse.
You other twin moms...are yours one number off too?

Jackson

Madison

Pictures from the day starting here

Baptism

Links

Here are the rest of May's pictures.

Here is the link to the new June gallery.

June 9, 2007

Meeting Uncle Mike

See, Rae, even Jackson knows the Yankees suck!

Isn't Jackson so hip?

Polite Auntie

Silly Timmy

No pressure, Jackson.

June 8, 2007

Here is one of the christening gowns I had made by a lady in texas who has an ebay store. The other one is identicle which is why I didn't photograph both of them. I just got them in the mail today and I had started to worry that I wouldn't get them in time!! They're both cotton and very simple which is exactly what I wanted. Now we just have to hope that Jackson doesn't spit up all over his (which I know is impossible).

The kids have been in the care of my parents for well over 24 hours now. Chris wasn't going to make it home yesterday in time for me to get to work at 6pm so I brought them to my parents house. With all the confusion of what car needs to be driven by who in order to get the kids home...it was just too much to think about plus I needed my mom to watch the kids in the morning so I could go to a couple appointments so we were trying to figure out what the least confusing thing was. So they just stayed there overnight. I got to sleep til 9am!!! Then I had physical therapy on my hip then went to have my stitches out. After that I went to meet my future sister-in-law, Kristen (getting married to Chris's brother, Mike in September, 2008). She came up from Atlanta this morning. Chris's brother is getting here tonight. They are in town for M&J's baptism. I spent some time with Kristen and even brought her over to my parents house so we could hang out with the kids (I missed them!!). Chris called and said that he was going to be late again today so the kids ended up staying at my parents house. My aunt was having a BBQ tonight so my parents brought them there and will drop them off at our house with Chris later. He hasn't even SEEN the kids since yesterday morning!

Pictures

Cute outfit although I think it looks like a hospital gown.


Cute outfit.

"Cat Nap" Don't worry, when the babies are asleep in the crib the door is closed so the cat can't get in there.



This is the picture I have on my desktop at work. I love the look on Jackson's face (left). I just want to kiss his cheek!!!

"2 month" check up

M&J are 12 weeks old in two days but they just had their 2 month checkup today.
Both babies eat 5oz 5 times a day but Jackson spits up a lot (or what seems like a lot) at almost every feeding so I was very surprised to find out that Jackson weighs 2oz MORE than Madison!!

Jackson

• Birth: 5 lbs 18 inches
  
• 12 Weeks: 10 lbs 2 oz 22 inches
  

Madison

• Birth: 4 lbs 15 oz 18 inches
  
• 12 Weeks: 10 lbs 22 inches
  

It's really hard to imagine that they are literally twice as big as they were when they were born. They had to get 4 separate shots each!! They did Madison first and she screamed so loud that it made me sick to my stomach and I couldn't hold back the tears. I actually thought I would do ok this time...I wasn't nervous, but it's really difficult to hear her cry like that when she hardly ever makes a peep. Jackson cried too but I'm used to that. They both fell fast asleep as soon as I put them in the car seats to go.

I'm behind on pictures again. Maybe I'll work on that now.

Maddie and Mommy

I really don't think Madison looks like I do now even though everyone says she does. But now I know she WILL look just like I do now when she is my age...

Rings

Before Chris and I got married I was having a conversation with his grandmother. She was telling me how her wedding ring has never left her finger since the day she got married. Sadly her husband passed away about 35 years ago but there the ring is, faithfully, lovingly on her finger. I knew then that I wanted to make the same commitment with my own wedding ring when I married her grandson. Chris also agreed to make the same commitment although he likes to tease me and casually say he took it off while golfing.

I have had 5 major surgeries (general anesthesia or spinal) and 5 minor surgeries (sedation) all of which I have been asked to take off all of my jewelry. When I tell them that my wedding band has not left my finger since my wedding day they always say "AAWWW...you can leave it on...we'll just tape it on".

This was the case up until yesterday...

The nurse said I had to take it off because the procedure was on my left hand and they didn't want it to get in the way or for the finger to swell and have to cut the ring off. I warned them that I was going to cry but all they could do was give me sympathy. I put my face in my hands and just sobbed at the thought (I'm welling up now too) of that ring coming OFF my finger. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and took the ring off. I immediately put it on my right hand which they said I could do.

I didn't get a chance to tell Chris what had happened until after midnight that night. I said to him, "Things didn't all go well today." I showed him my hand that was all distractingly bandaged up but he immediately noticed the missing ring and said "OH NO!" I told him that I hadn't put the ring back on that finger because he is the only one I want putting the ring on my finger. He sweetly, unexpectedly asked me to marry him, I said yes, and the ring went back on the finger where it belongs.

Then we both joked that that was his opportunity to not be tied down anymore and that he ruined his chance! HAHA

We will be married 6 years in 16 days.

Back to work

After being out of work since the first week in January I went back to work last Friday. M&J were 10 weeks old and it was time for me to start making some money again...apparently it doesn't grow on trees. Chris gets home around 5:30 and then I head out the door to work (at the same company) from 6-midnight. So far it's going very well. The kids have been very good about keeping a great schedule that really fits in.

This is our day...

• 6-7am kids wake up and eat



• 7am we go into bed with Chris as he's waking up



• 7-7:20 we smile and coo with Jackson, cuddle with Madison (she's not smiling as much as her brother and has only cooed a couple of times)



• 7:20-11ish snooze on and off in bed with M&J



• 11 eat



• maybe go for a walk



• 1-2 Chris comes home for lunch



• 2-3 kids snooze a bit



• 3 eat



• 3:30 official nap in crib



• 3:30-5:30 I make formula for the next 24 hours, maybe make dinner, get ready for work and clean up



• 7 Chris feeds them and plays with them



• 11 Chris feeds them and swaddles them and puts them to bed'

This week has been crazy for me though. I have had an appointment the last three days. Wednesday I had minor surgery to remove an out of control wart on the top of my foot and some weird purple lump on the palm of my hand that has been there since January. I have stitches now but the worst part of the pain was the fact that my hand was so numb it hurt (if that makes any sense). I had to work that night too but I couldn't type because I couldn't feel my fingers touching the keyboard! Luckily it was my left hand and I really only use the number pad at work. Auntie Courtney watched the kids all day for me...even after I got back so I could take a nap to let the sedation wear off before going to work. Thursday I had to go to Boston for a follow up OB apt so I dropped M&J off at my mother's on the way. I would have taken them with me but I really couldn't carry both of the car seats with my hand in stitches. Today I had PT on my hip and my mom came over to watch M&J. We went for a walk after to my friend Stacey's house who lives in a neighborhood near mine.

It's actually very nice to be back at work. The office is nice and quiet at night and i can just sit and plow through my work without being bothered. I know the kids are in good hands so I'm not constantly thinking about them. Everyone always asks me if I'm worried about the kids or how Chris does with them. I feel bad that everyone thinks that men are so incompetent that they can't care for their own children. Chris is in love with them as much as I am so I know they are in just as good care as if they were with me. Since we have two I really needed his help maybe more than someone who only has one so he really has been "hands on" with them from day one.

What do you mean you don't want to see my babies???? Are you insane???

Last week on our weekly walk, Michelle was walking Gianna, I was walking Jackson and Madison, and my mother was walking Tillie (the dog). We approached a woman getting out of a car. She immediately walked up to the group of us with a big smile on her face. Michelle and I for sure thought she would gush over our amazingly perfect children so we in turn had big smiles on our faces. We all said hello and she proceeds to say, "Is that a greyhound??"

Needless to say we were crushed. We all had a good laugh though when we explained to her that we were sure she was coming to see the babies.

Talk about bursting a bubble...