Look who's talking too!

J has been babbling for a while, and L started to really babble a lot yesterday and hasn't stopped since. :)

Tom's heading off to work right now and I've got L and J will be up soon so I'm just going to post a few cute pics for now..

Here's a new thing J is doing.. making funny faces and raspberries:


We were trying to get a shot of L sitting up.. and she got tired of it..


Here is a shot of only the girls on the couch.

Kelly, Jen, Kendall, Laura and Lily (and Phoebe too!/)

Thank you guys for coming!!! It was so great to see you and for you to meet the `kiddos.

One year later...

Tomorrow is our one year anniversary of finding out that we were pregnant! I won't have time to post tomorrow so I wanted to post today! I can't believe it's been a year... a year since I was staying at Lynda and Larry's, a year since I was sitting wondering all day every day if I was indeed going to be pregnant, did it work?, is this journey finally over/just beginning? A year ago this very moment I'm sure I was anxiety ridden and nervous about going in the next day for my blood test. I believe that the morning after I dropped off my blood sample I went and had coffee or hung out w/ Julie hoping to kill some time. Lynda and I headed to Fred Meyer to pick up some things for our trip out west... things like gloves, a hat and down coat. I think we picked up some shoes too.

While we were shopping Tom called and I remember looking at my phone and thinking ... "oh shit, I'm in Fred Meyer, is this really where I want to find out whether it worked or not? Crying if it didn't and elated if it did. Is this where I want this to happen? It's too soon to know isn't it, what does he want?" I decided to answer it and he said, "geez, when are they going to call already?" I said, "don't do that to me!!!!!!! it will probably be a couple hours!" We hung up and I kept shopping. 10 mins later he called and I thought, "what the hell does he want now??? He can't keep calling me all day." I answered and he had heard from the clinic. I couldn't believe it.. that was quick. And here I was... going to find out while I was standing in the middle of Fred Meyer of all places. I couldn't wait! Wow!!! Lynda and I both cried. In Fred Meyer. Then we couldn't decide if we should keep shopping (going about business as if I hadn't just gotten the biggest news of my life!!!) we decided to at least purchase the items we had in our cart and headed out. I got on the phone immediately to share the news w/ everyone that was waiting to hear!

God, A WHOLE year ago that was. I just can't believe it!

I'm not sure if it's the nostalgia of all of that, but just the other day I was kinda missing my preggo belly and the baby kicks.. not the freakishly large preggo belly... the about half way there preggo belly where I was still easily mobile and looking all cute and pregnant not all "oh shit she could have a baby any moment" pregnant (which lasted a good three months)!!! Don't worry (mom and dad) there are no babies coming.. ha ha I would die I think.

All this being said things w/ the babies have gotten so much better over the last couple of weeks. It's amazing how much they have changed in that short time. I'm so glad Tom wasn't on a trip these last couple weeks (though who knows what the upcoming weeks have to offer). They have started to reach out and grab things, Jason is practicing rolling front-to-back and back-to-front. He's only done front-to-back on his own a couple times, but it's coming. He's also really trying to get his knees under him... but that usually results in a face plant. Lily has become a smiling fool!!! And it just melts my heart every time. I've loved them from that day on Oct 28th when I found out I was preggo... and really thought they were both in there.. I talked to them both just in case... as to not hurt anyone's feelings by leaving them out! ha But now.. God now.. I feel like I love them even more.. just in the last couple of weeks. Must have to do w/ them giving so much back.

Jason has started to hold onto me when I hold him and they are both burrowing in and putting their heads on my shoulder. It's the sweetest thing.

For those I've talked to about how much we DID NOT like the 0-3 months... 4 months is pretty darn cool so far! There were times during the first 3 months where I felt overwhelmed and wondered if I had known what I now know if I would have just put one back, but now... now I know I WOULD definitely still put two back ... I love them so much.. w/ all my heart... every second of torture in the beginning is worth every smile I get today! NOW I get why people do this again!! I haven't totally forgotten the pain of the "fourth trimester", but I get why you would put yourself through it again... AGAIN, no more babies here! ha

Much love to everyone.. and again a big HUGE thanks to you for going through the long journey w/ me... and for continuing w/ me on my new journey as parent! Wow.. PARENT.. MOTHER... MOM!! I'm a MOM... so many days I thought I would never get to say those words.. Son, Daughter.... MOTHER! Brings tears to my eyes. I truly am blessed!

Happy 4th Birthday Liam!

Wow, I can't believe you are four years old already!!! I remember when you were just an itty bitty little peanut of a thing. I used to hold you w/ one arm!!! then you just loved to bounce bounce bounce!!! You were the first baby to bless our little coffee group... and now look at us... four years later we have not one, not two, not three, but a whopping five babies w/ TWO more on the way!!! We'll be seven babies large soon... w/ more to come I suspect! (though not from me! ha)

Liam I miss you SO SO much and wish I could be there for your 4th birthday! We'll see you soon though in December at Grandma Lynda and Grandpa Larry's house! We'll have to party then! :) hee hee And now we get to go to see Santa w/ SIX kids! YIPPEE! Bring on the lattes!

Much love and hugs to you and Riley!

"Moby" - best I can do.

So I figured out how to use my "moby" (in quotes b/c it's not a true Moby brand) to front carry the babies so they can see.. kind of like a bjorne. I have L all tucked in for warmth in this pic. I had to take it myself in the mirror. By the time Tom got home last night the babies were READY for bed so no "playing" w/them. Tom reminds me they aren't toys. ha I used this carry to get J into the chiro while I carried L in her car seat. Was able to open the doors much easier than trying to wield both car seats. :) They are getting heavy. We were thinking about buying a bjorne (I have to return Julie's next month), but I'm good w/ this.. and it has the built in "blanket" ha. I'm working on learning other ways to use it. It's a bit cumbersome and you can't just "slip" the sleeping baby off like you can the sling.... anyway... better get the pic posted... babies waking .. gotta go.

comments

don't know what I was doing wrong before.. I was wondering why no one ever commented on my blog, but did on everyone else's.. um. Just found all of your comments. Thank you and sorry I never responded to them. Comments are now showing up in my email box so I know when they come.

Thanks to everyone for all of your support over this time.. :)

I'm really starting to enjoy the babies. I know that sounds just terrible, but now we are having whole good DAYS instead of just good moments mostly overshadowed by the bad ones. :( I'm so excited to be a mom for the last couple of days...

Probably has to do w/ Jason sleeping better and therefore being in a better mood! :)

Gotta run!

Big News for the Mad City Mounts!

We are so pleased to announce the grand opening of Trader Joe's.... just TWO blocks from our front door. I'm so happy that I feel like I died and went to heaven! We walked over for the grand opening on Friday and I am just so HAPPY! It's like a little piece of home in my own backyard! Being able to walk to the grocery store is SO huge. We feel much more urban now! No way could we afford a house two blocks from TJ's in Seattle! :) Propery value just went way up... for US anyway! ha Guess we'll have to figure out how to add onto this house when the time comes for a bigger one.. surely when these kids are older this place is going to get smaller and smaller!

Oh my God!

So Jman went to bed around 5:30 or 6 last night.. up once or twice, before I went to bed at 8pm (shh don't tell anyone how lame I am, but I knew he'd be up early and I was zonked) He got up at 6am. We played a bit and Tom brought Lily down... she got tired faster so I wrapped Jason and put him in the pack n play while I fed Lily. J was in the PNP babbling while I nursed L. L fell asleep so I took her upstairs, and when I came back down to put J to sleep he had fallen asleep on his own. That was about 45 mins ago and he's still asleep... all by himself in the PNP like a big boy! I just can't believe it! I'm so proud of him. :)

She smiles...

and I finally caught it on camera.... I'll post more of an update later, but here's pictures in the meantime... before the babies melt down on me. :)



and another.. this a.m.

Chiropractor

I had a chiropractor appt yesterday and I took the kids w/ me. The doc asked how they were doing and how Jason's back arching was doing .. I told her not great. He still arches all the time. When we lay him down on his back, when we put him in the sling, when we try to make him sit up, when he's mad. (Notice the 4 month pic below.. Lily is sitting up so you can see her face and Jason is kind of arching back... he's like that in most of the weekly/monthly shots) She had just gotten back from a seminar about babies and explained a whole bunch of stuff to me that I won't even attempt to really repeat here... cranial bones, covering around your spine or brain and down your spine being tight. Basically he's all tense and tight and his cranial bones are out of alinment (I'm sure I spelled that wrong). I guess being all cramped in my tummy sharing space w/ his sister than having a c section birth and not going through the birth canal can cause problems w/ the alignment (okay I think that spelling is right) of the cranial bones and the spine. Anyway. She adjusted him yesterday and said he's really tight - for a baby - so we are going to take him in a couple times a week for the next couple of weeks. She said babies respond really quickly so we should start to see changes quickly. Hopefully this will help him settle down. Oh she also said the cranial bone that is out of wack houses the pituitary which controls your hormones (and can affect sleep) and then your hypothalamus which controls your hunger...

I'll let you know how things progress... hopefully we will have a charming little boy soon. Okay, sometimes he's charming as is, but when he acts like (Okay turns out maybe he's not acting) he's in pain it's horrible. Poor little man may really have some issues. :(

UGH! Feeling like a bad mom today.

Jason and Lily are both SCREAMING right now and I am sitting here w/ ear plugs in. They will NOT sleep on their own. They wake up - most of the time - every 30 mins and I just feel it's taking a toll on them.. especially Jason. I don't know what else to do. Jason SCREAMS in agony (though he's not in agony).... the books say they should do this (cry in protest).. right?? UGH and at the last ped appt the doc said that by 6 months they should be able to fall asleep and stay asleep on their own.. that's only 2 months from now. The doc said it's an important skill for them to have... to be able to self sooth and go to sleep on their own.. but his CIO thing has yet to work on either of them. They scream for a while.. then calm down a bit...then get a second wind and go all out again. It stresses me out and pisses me off. Why do they have to do this? It's just sleep... I mean shit.. I would LOVE to sleep right now!

Then I feel guilty b/c I'm pissed off at my babies for, uh, being babies. I'm angry.. angry?? REALLY? How sad. I wish it didn't get to me so much. Why can't I be more zen... but damn they are both SCREAMING.. I know not at me, but in my ear while I hold them and Jason squirms so much that I just want to throw him. (don't worry I won't)

I love them so much and want to do what's best for them. And some suggest that this is what's best... giving them the gift of sleep. "they" say that if I continually go to them that they won't get the sleep they need and they will just get more and more tired.

If they were just one baby I would just lay w/ the baby and let it sleep, but laying w/ two just doesn't work. One is usually so upset and crying that we can't relax and fall asleep.

Will this go on forever.. I mean the - if it was one we could do this and this and this - w/ each stage I'm sure there will be the problem of it being two at the same stage going through the same things.. this works for one, but not the other so forth and so on. I'm so sick of the books saying "do this" and I think.. okay that totally won't work for two so now what?

Okay... there's my bitch for today. Sounds like Jman calmed down, but Lily is still fighting it. Need to go fold some laundry. Please PRAY that these kids work this sleeping thing out!

FYI.. there are days that this morning nap happens w/o all this screaming.. Lily generally goes down and stays down. Poor peanuts!

IRONY!!!

build it and they will come! Or dream it / see it and they will come!

Last year before we even started the IVF I made a collage of things I wanted to happen/do in my life and I just remembered this picture last night:



And look at me now. Not only did I get parenthood (which was really the objective) I got exactly what was in the photo... and they even resemble my own babies. The power of positive/suggestive thinking! ha

4 months and Julie's visit

Happy 4 months to us!!



Yeah Auntie Julie came to see us for our 4 month bday!



It was so great to see Julie though the trip was short!! We went down to state street for some lunch and walked for coffee and just walked around.. it was great to get out of the house ... especially w/ the great fall weather.

I must report that Julie's belly is growing, but still seems pretty small.. of course, my perspective is a bit skewed! She's definitely carrying higher w/ this one.. the girl thing?

Okay.. Jason is in my lap and doesn't appear to enjoy the typing process so I must run.. one more pic.

check out our new gizmo

Just got an exersaucer for the kiddos.. jason is currently enjoying new adventures:

4 month well baby visit

Jason and Lily had their well baby visit today. Tom had a meeting so he couldn't join us... and wow did it SUCK! We got out the door okay.. some crying, but not too bad. (certainly not their vbest effort!() The beginning of the appointment was okay.. then we took their clothes off and weighed them and all hell broke loose. They would not settle down. The doc came in and was having a hard time talking to me b/c they were so out of sorts.. it seemes to be stressing her out, but maybe she was just talking fast and acting panicked to get me out of there??? She has twins, but they are 18 or so now - she probably doesn't remember what this staage is like. the most interesting thing was that while she checked Lily out i WAS HOLDING jASON AND WHEN SHE WAS DONE SHE TURNED AROUND AND HANDED lILY TO ME SO i WAS HOLDING BOTH BABIES. i'M THINKING "I'M SURE I READ SOMEWHERE TO never CARRY TWO BABIES AT ONCE." tHEY WERFE BOTH STILL FUSSING AND i SAT DOWN AND TRIED TO GET THEM TO SIT ON MY LAP.. OF COURSE THEY BOTH WANTED TO STAND. aND SHE JUST KEPT TALKING TO ME WHILE i STRUGGLED UNTIL i ASKED HER TO TAKE ONE.. wHAT THE HELL???

I didn't realize that the babies got shots at 4 months too.. For some reason I thought it was 6 months for the next shots.. ugh. That just sucks!!! I hate holding their hands and looking into their eyes while they poke them. :(

Here are their stats. All loooks well. Jason is being treated for Reflux again.. we'll see if it helps w/ his back arching and what not.

Jason:
height 24 inches (18th percentile)
weight 14lbs14oz. (50th percentile) Holy Moly.. I think he's getting pleny of milk!!!

Lily:
height 23 inces (10th percentile)
weight 11lbs9oz. (15th percentile)

Here are some cute pics!!!

Lily apparently didn't like somethign here

Not getting any younger

Okay.. so I sent a plee to the girls regarding skin care! Let's face it, I'm not getting any younger and I should have been taking better care of my skin for the last 20 years... but I'm just SO DAMN CHEAP!

I decided it was time to really find something that worked for my skin. Unfortunately the girls have about as much "skin care regimine/routine" as I do.. whatever's on sale and looks like it will do the trick.

After having the babies my skin doesn't break out as much, but it gets really dry patches.. and I mean REALLY dry. BAD dry! I tried putting all kinds of crap on my face. I drink TONS of water and eat reasonably well... nothing worked.

Jennie mentioned that her SIL had used Philosophy with some success so I ordered a sampler pack to try it out. The first day I just LOVED it. The scents were nice - I don't usually like scented things - and it seemed to make my skin feel softer... then after a few days it got WORSE.. way worse. I looked like I had rosacia (shit I have no idea how to spell that and time doesn't permit me to look it up).. and my skind was so dry it felt lumpy. It was UGLY.. I mean UGLY!!! I'm thinking what the hell.. I spend all this money on this stuff and it's not working. Damn!

My mom came up shortly after that, and for those of you that don't know, she uses/sells Shaklee products. I didn't want to talk to her about it and I didn't want to use Shaklee (sorry mom, read on) I'm not srue if it was my stubborn pride or what. mom's been selling/using the stuff for years and telling me how great it is and I guess I just didn't want mom to be RIGHT, AGAIN. So I struggled on and it just wasn't getting better. So I asked her about it and she told me to use her stuff while she was here and see what happened. I'll be damned if it didn't start to clear up in a day.. overnight! I'm NOT kidding. I was amazed! So I used it all week.. and I've got to tell you my skin is SO much better.. it's on it's way to feeling like a baby butt! SERIOUSLY. I'm the biggest doubting Thomas when it comes to this stuff, but I'll be damned if this shit doesn't work!

For those of you that are interested you can check out the "system" I just ordered .. I got the anti-aging package for normal to dry skin... LOVE THIS STUFF! Here's a link: http://www.shaklee.net/naturally/product/AntiAgingSystem

It looks expensive, but when compared to buying other products piece meal it really isn't that bad.. and the stuff lasts a really long time! I can't say enough good things about it.. and believe me I REALLY DIDN'T want mom to be right!!! I wanted it to NOT work... and it did!

Anyway.. the stuff is only sold through distributors so if you are interested in more info or want to order some the link above is to my mom's site!!! They also sell many SAFE cleaning products. Mom said when some lady called poison control b/c her kid drank some cleaning product they told her that the kid would be fine... to just give him/her lots of water to flush out his/her system.

Anyway.. I told the girls I would share any findings.. and there you have it. I didn't try a lot of different products, but why continue when you found the one that works. i just wish I had a before and after photo for you.. it truely is amazing!

Babies' first road trip!

We're back from our road trip to Pennsylvania to visit my Grandmother!

All things considered it went pretty well... not that we didn't have plenty of these moments:




It's hard to see Lily's pic, but she's crying - neh SCREAMING - too! They liked to take turns. As soon as one stopped the other would start. My mom drove the whole way and I spent a good deal of time w/ my arm back w/ my finger or holding a soothie in someone's mouth. The rhythm went something like this.. First crack out of the box they would sit and stare or play w/ their hands, fall asleep for 30 mins (just 30 no more), wake up and play /stare a bit, then cry when they were hungry again. It usually went 2 hours from the beginning of one feeding to the next.. just like at home. We took a day and a half to get there and back. Strangely I really liked stying in a hotel w/ them. Probably b/c my mom would lay down w/ Lily and I would lay down w/ Jason and when they fell asleep that was it.. no trying to move them to the bedroom.

We stayed at my grandma's while we were there. She has two twin beds... that's it. So we borrowed a blow up mattress from my Aunt and intended to have both babies sleep w/ me, but that just didn't pan out so poor mom slept with Lily in a twin bed and I stayed w/ Jason in the blow up mattress. The good news is that Lily slept for almost 8 hours each night so mom and I could just switch places in the a.m. for the morning feeding.

We were so lucky to be able to spend time w/ my Aunt and Uncle, my cousin Denise and my cousin Deanne and her husband Chuck and their two kids Jackson and Carly. I hadn't Deanne and her family for two years... come to think of it I don't think I had seen any of them for two year. SAD! And I had never met Carly. It was a fun trip... though I felt pretty distracted dealing w/ babies.

I'm so glad we made the trip ... even though there were certainly moments of stress during the drive.

Here's a pic of four generations. My mom's mom, mom, me and the two wee ones.



Now we are home until our adventure to Seattle for Christmas. At least I will be able to nurse them when they get hungry... instead of trying to hold them off till the next rest stop.

Julie is coming this weekend... I can't wait to see her.. and her belly! I'll be sure to get some pics! After that my dad will be back.. and the next weekend my friends Kelly, Jen and Kendall (from College) are coming to visit! I'm so lucky to have such great friends!

Tom's headed out of town again on Oct. 30th... and Mom is headed back up to help me. Part of me feels like I should really just bite the bullet and do this on my own.. but WHY!? if I don't have to?? And it can't hurt for mom or the babies for them to spend some time together! :) Dad will be here over the weekends while he is doing some consulting in Kenosha!

Okay... gotta run. Mom and Dad are taking off today ... another day alone w/ the babies for me.