Klean Kanteen and the Mullet-ectomy

We finally got our shipment of Klean Kanteens for the babies. I was worried about the weight of them, but the babies LOVE them.. probably b/c they are new and like mommy's bottle. :)

Here is a pic of the enjoying some water:



in other news Jason got a mullet-ectomy today. He looks like a big boy. I trimmed a little bit off to save in his baby book and we decided to just use scissors instead of clippers. He did really well, but freaked out toward the end so it still needs a bit of evening out, but it looks much better:




And here's Lily in her very cute skirt.. which I think came from her cousin Riley ... she also loves to play w/ Tom's hat. (ignore the fact that she doesn't match)

Smartest baby on the block.

After a long day where I felt pretty much like this:



Jason and Lily were being so fun tonight. They were laughing like crazy and Jason took 4 steps all by himself before he dove on me.

In other exciting news we were playing and Tom was playing w/ a duck and saying 'Quack, Quack" and Jason responded "Quack Quack" clear as day like he'd been saying it forever. He then was able to choose a duck over a frog.... here's video of him picking up a duck and saying quack quack.

11 month comparison

Okay... so this pic was taken when I was 11 months... does she look like me?

Third nap coming to an end???

What will I do when they are done taking their third nap? Lately they don't seem too into it. Today they seem a bit tired and I think I put them down more because I needed a break and need to figure out what the hell I'm going to feed them for dinner... My never ending battle.

And I didn't realize that bananas and cheerios would become staples in my house when I had kids. We are at critical mass on these items and I feel like I JUST bought them... am I really going to make a trip to the store just for cheerios and bananas??? YES! I'll have to!

Maybe the babies will just have what we're having for dinner... burgers and fries. ha! They can also have their left over Quinoa from lunch... I wish they could just open the fridge and pick something themselves... of course when they are that age they will probably just complain that we never have the right foods stocked! ha ha

I can't wait to take them to their 1 year appt to see how much they weigh. Lily is finally feeling like she's got some heft to her!! :)

Okay was this post random enough. I think I need a snack! Cheerios anyone? Just kidding I have to save what's left of those for the kiddos.

11 months and counting...

I can't believe we are only one month shy of the ONE YEAR mark. So far I am lame and haven't made plans for the big bday... I'm sure we will at a minimum do something w/ gpa and gma... something that includes first cakes. So don't worry you will at least get those photos. In the mean time here is the 11 month pic w/ 10 month to compare... they are growing up so fast!



and the 10 month romper room photo.. it's getting harder and harder to get their pic.. they are beyond BUSY!



at least their wardrobe has changed to the warmer climate attire. It's supposed to be 86degrees today and when they wake up from their nap we are headed out for a bike ride... go mommy go!!!! Don't forget - while I'm out there huffing and puffing and SWEATING pulling my TWO babies that weigh 40+ lbs - you can donate to the cause by going to: http://www.active.com/donate/tntwi/tntwiLMount

I've got $100 raised... need $2600.... quite a ways to go!

Bang Trim

I couldn't take it anymore so I took a scissor to Lily's bangs... Just enough of a trim to keep them out of her eyes...





Jason could use a mullet trim, but I KNOW I'm not talented enough to tackle that sucker so we'll wait for either a buzz cut from daddy or a visit to the barber around his first birthday.. GULP - in a month!

Lily climbs some more...

so Lily climbed up here herself. I just put my arms up in case she fell.... she's one little monkey.



We went on a bike ride to the farmer's market today. Jason and Lily seemed to really like it. It's super busy so they got to see a lot of people. Man if I could learn to love or even just appreciate the winters this place (Madison) would be the best. I went out for an hour long ride the other day and was basically out in the country the whole time. It really reminded me of the Burke Gillman out in Woodinville. I wound through the Arboretum, out into cow town and ended up back in town close to the house. Then today I ran through heavily wooded neighborhoods then back on the bike trail that runs right by our house.

Anyway.. so far spring has been pretty sweet! It's great to be outdoors again.

Jason's turn...

seems all the posts have been about Lily. :) Here are some photos of Mr. Man. The first one just cause it's cute and the second one of him standing. The quality isn't great because I had to hurry and he was really close to me, but you get the idea. :)

My happy boy:


So proud of himself!

Lily wants more!

Lily signing More:

I just can't stop....

taking video of these cuties. Here's them playing... I love the sound of their laughter. They did this for a good thirty minutes. Twins are great (when they are acting like this. ha ha)



And here's a photo of Peanie standing all by her big girl self.



And one more video for today... Jason says ball. Look at the funny face he makes.



Life is good in the Mount household. It's so amazing to watch them!

Caught in action...

we caught little monkey - I mean Lily - climbing up the gate last night... :) She's usually so cautious! :) Yesterday she climbed up to the third stair on the landing and sat there holding onto the gate and cried until came to get her down. Thank goodness she didn't try to get down herself.

Some video and some firsts

So here are a couple videos.. the first is of Lily walking w/ her walker.. then Jason pushing Lily on the walker.. .Listen real close to see if you can tell why I'm laughing at the end.





Two firsts happened today. Lily tried to climb the old record player. I couldn't get the camera fast enough to catch a picture. Jason started throwing the ball... on his own w/ no prompting. I did manage to get a short video of it:

Great news!!!

Well, two pieces of great news.... 1. (and more important/exciting than 2.) my brother and sister in law, Andy and Karen, are expecting their third child! She announced it on her blog so I suppose it's okay for me to announce it here! They aren't finding out what it is... jerks! ... and she's due on mine and Jesus' bday! :) 2. I don't HATE swimming anymore. I had my third swim work out today and felt quite improved thanks to my coach Chris! :) I actually felt like I was swimming.. as opposed to just flailing around w/ hopes of making it to the other end of the pool w/o drowning. Granted I used either a pull float thing (don't even know what it's called, but it makes your legs float so you can focus on your arms) or swim fins (which are AWESOME.. now if I could just grow some big gigantic feet I'd be in good shape). Anyway... I'm feeling much better and hopefully won't dread going to my next work out. I've also been instructed to do some strength training b/c .. well my triceps are like noodles.

Told you #1 was more important/exciting than #2. :)

The magic of YOUR own children

so.. not to say that I don't think it's amazing when other people's kids do stuff.. don't take this as "i don't want to hear how great YOUR kids are"... ha

Over the years people have told me about the GREAT things their kids have done... like first steps and first words and all that jazz. I would respond w/ the normal.. wow, so cute/smart/talented etc. Of course I'M not as excited about it as the PARENT is, but you know it's neat. Well, now that MY OWN kids are doing these things... oh my God it's AMAZING! Now I get why parents tell of FIRSTS w/ such exuberance. How exciting is it the first time your kid smiles, laughs, walks, talks, signs etc!?

Jason and Lily are entering the explosive stage of development where they turn into little people right before your very eyes. There babyhood is quickly coming to an end as they approach their first birthdays. Here are some of the things they have recently started doing.

Walking: They both LOVE their walkers. Jason has been into it for quite some time while Lily seemed disinterested. She is now all over it. She gets so frustrated/mad when she pushes it against something and can't go any further or when Jason decides he is going to claim the walker - b/c after all it is HIS. Both have taken a few steps on their own before lunging at me. (Oh, better get that written in the baby book before I forget!)

Babbling: Oh my gosh these kids have A LOT to say! They babble babble babble... non-stop. It's so adorable to watch them make faces and expressions w/ hands as they 'talk'. They talk to each other all the time!!! Sometimes they screech (okay a lot of the time) at each other... mostly when one takes something from the other.

Games: The like to crawl around after each other and peek behind things.. LAUGHING in hysterics the whole time. Lily just found her belly button and likes to compare it to mommy's. They will both go get a hat or ball if you ask them for it. Lily has started taking things then handing them back and now they are both starting to put things back in instead of just taking them out - anything and everything. They love kisses and tickles, playing on the exercise ball and they both LOVE their daddy. When he comes home the screech and crawl super fast laughing toward the back door.

Signing: Lily has really got the sign for milk down. She uses it for milk, hi/bye and GIMME. She got really frustrated walking and sat down crying, it was close to nap time so I looked at her and asked if she was ready for milkies (nap time) and she signed milk w/ both hands just looking at me. (she stopped crying) My heart about melted. :) Jason also signs milk, but mostly just on the way up for milk/naps.

Emotion: The other day Noah and Xander were over and Noah was having a little melt down sitting and crying and Lily grabbed his pacifier and kept trying to hand it to him. (he wasn't really interested, but she kept trying) It was so cute I about cried. Jason still loves to snuggle and will snuggle pretty much anyone (I thought it was a mommy thing.. oh well) including Lily and his little friends that come over. Some friends appreciate it while others not so much.

Teeth: Lily still has just her two bottom teeth (though I think more are in the works) and Jason is cutting his first tooth right now. It has yet to make an appearance, but he has the big lump on the bottom indicating that it's coming...

They are growing up SO fast!

1.5 hours on the bike

Had our first 'group' ride today. I rode 1.5 hours w/ our coach Chris and my mentor Gena... I am happy to report that I was able to hang in there. I really am amazed at how the body remembers. Laying down that base is so important and even when it's been over a year since you took your body to task when the time comes it remembers and your endurance comes back pretty well. :)

I did take a nasty beginners fall in the beginning.. okay maybe it wasn't that nasty, but it was pretty embarrassing. My chain came off when I was shifting up a hill (something you shouldn't really do too much of) ... well here I am clipped into my bike (is that even how you say it... for those of you that don't ride... my feet are attached to my bike pedals)... I spazz out and as I'm trying to get one foot out I lean to the other side and well... I fell over. So it really wasn't like a crash or all that nasty, but it didn't feel good.. on my elbow that I landed on or my ego that didn't do a very good job of cushioning my fall. Thankfully Gena had a multi-tool (brand new) w/ her and Chris is a bike mechanic so we got me all straightened out and I managed to stay upright for the rest of the ride.

I guess I should just be glad that I got it out of the way b/c it was bound to happen eventually... and will probably happen again. :)

Tomorrow I hit the pool again... I got some new goggles... at least I'm excited about that part. I'm mostly nervous about looking like an asshole.. when will I get over that.

We're "walking"

The kiddos are "walking" all over the house these days. They love their walkers.

Lily walking (and Jason crying in the background b/c Lily is using HIS - everything is his - walker)



And Jason gets a turn.

Um, swimming makes you SORE!

When I do a long run or ride I KNOW during that event that I will undoubtedly be sore the next day... I can feel the tired burning sensation in my muscles. Yesterday (was it really just yesterday?) I never felt any muscle pain while swimming.. fatigue yes, pain no... so I am just SHOCKED at how stiff and sore I am today! It really started yesterday.. We'll see how my run goes tonight.. good thing I don't have to run on my arms! :)

1st swim... Check

Okay.. so I did it.. I showed up, wore my swim suit, goggles and cap and swam. Turns out there are two people on the tri team.. me and a guy that started training in January just to get back in shape and decided to set a goal... so well, he knows how to swim pretty well. We worked a lot on my stroke (or lack of) and I do feel like I have a clue now or at least know what I need to work on. (everything)... swimming is way harder than it looks for anyone that is wondering. It's pretty cerebral in the beginning.. not the put your shoes on and put one foot in front of the other of running. Sure there are things about running that you can do better and improve your time and endurance, but you won't drown b/c you don't know what you are doing. ha ha I feel annoyed by the fact that I have to breathe while swimming.. hello I'm TRYING to think and pay attention to my form! I go so slow that it pisses me off and makes me feel like I might just sink... but I'm working SO hard.. oh yeah, BREATHE! I think I got the length of the pool three times w/o stopping and using the breast stroke. I did use flippers for a while to help w/ my kicking (b/c when I tried to kick w/ a kick board I didn't go anywhere.. GEEZ!) and using the flippers I actually felt more comfortable and could work on my stroke... so I'll have to remember that for practicing, but going back to no flippers SUCKS ASS! ha

I know I'll get there and it will just take practice... and I didn't feel like a TOTAL dork. Gotta swim on my own on Sunday.. it's so involved.. drive to pool, change clothes, shower, submerge, swim, shower, change clothes, drive home, HANG wet stuff..... running: put on shoes, go outside.... so much easier! ha ha

Okay.. now I have to go parent.... I feel good having gotten that first swim out of the way. Oh, and I need some new goggles ... my 7 year old, never used old school goggles just fill up w/ water. Helps w/ my 'sweet' factor. I look super cool!

TNT Tri - 1st meeting

Okay... just got back from my initial meeting w/ TNT for the Tri... uh, we start training next Tuesday at 7am.. in a SWIM SUIT!!! Way to make me show up for the 'first day of school' in a swim suit!! Can't we uh, run or something? I know how to run... I'm not so sure I'm going to look like an athlete 1. in a bathing suit, 2. in a pool. ha ha Do I wear my goggles and swim cap?? ha ha I'll let you guys know how it goes.

We are going to try out a trailer/stroller from Schwinn tomorrow... I HOPE the kids like it and I HOPE we can keep it... I've got to go for a 1 hour long ride next Wed.... maybe I'll be doing that when Tom comes home. Hope Tom's ready to do some serious baby duty!!! ha ha He'll be alone w/ them for two hours next Sat while I'm out on a group ride. Hope I can hang...

Did I mention that our coach has done TWO Iron Mans and an Ultra Marathon.. oh and he's 23 years old.

I also got information about my honored patient her name is Savannah Lynn Figgy – she is 8 years old and was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) on June 6th, 2005. She is currently in the maintenance phase of chemotherapy. She receives chemo and gets blood tests once a month, every three months she has a lumbar puncture and she takes medication daily, weekly and every weekend. Savannah’s treatment is scheduled to end on August 16, 2007… just ten days before our big race. This will be a big day for Savannah and we will be excited to celebrate this great milestone by completing our race. As I write this letter Savannah is getting reacclimated in school after a round of treatment. I am thinking about taking on something new and different and it is a bit scary… reminding myself of what Savannah is going through will help to inspire and motivate me to stretch and challenge myself.

The mission of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. 75% of the total expenses of the Society’s audited annual report are spent on this mission. The Society provides support to families who are battling the disease through patient educations programs, information resource centers, peer and family support programs and patient financial aid and supports research to improve the treatment, drugs and survival rates of all blood cancers.

My first fund raising deadline is June 1st so please send your donations in as soon as possible – you may mail me a check made out to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (put my name on the memo line) or donate online by going to my fund raising site: http://www.active.com/donate/tntwi/tntwiLMount


Plugging my nose and jumping in!

She's clapping

so cute... look what I caught Lily doing on her own. They are growing up SO fast!!

Team in Training and Accenture Chicago Triathlon

I'm Back ... and I'm here to let you know... I can REALLY shake it down. (some song - love my quoting skills?)

So I'm back in the saddle and running regularly. I've always wanted to do a Tri... I love TNT and definitely need the support of a team and coach to get ready for this thing.... so here we go. I'm plugging my nose and jumping in. TNT and Tri here I come!

We will be completing the International distance of the Accenture Chicago Tri on August 26th, 2007. I will be starting fund raising immediately and have a required fund raising goal of $2600. I won't cap at that... I'll raise as much as I can. As soon as I get my fund raising site set up I will link to it here. I will also do updates on my training for all that are interested in my progress. I'm sure the swimming entries will be quite comical - who knows, maybe I'll surprise myself. HA!

If you've never heard of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or their Team in Training program please check it out. I started my involvement with them way back in 1998 and I must say by extension that is how I met my husband. My best friend (met her through TNT) is married to Tom's brother Andy. Anyway - along w/ my husband I have met some of my very best friends through this organization. It's a great way to meet like minded people... both in regard to giving back by supporting LLS, but in regard to leading an active lifestyle.

I'm so excited about this opportunity for my mental wellness and to be giving back to such a great cause. I'm also excited to do my own 'trial' of the Shaklee endurance products... I'll let you know how it goes. If it helps fuel this mom of twins to complete a triathlon w/o killing herself then I would say it's GOOD STUFF!

Stay tuned for updates. I hit my first meeting tomorrow night at this cool new store in Middleton: Endurance House.

Make new friends and keep the old...

"Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold" - some girl scout song.

My friend Steph hosted a get together of my highschool friends at her house this past weekend. I'm so sad to not have been able to attend. You can see some sweet 'before' photos of us in HS along w/ a nice 'after' shot from the weekend on her blog HERE.

Her post got me thinking back on all of the great people that have both come in and out of my life and those that have stuck around for the long haul. We're all spread out all over the place, but thanks to email and blogs we are able to keep in touch pretty regularly.

These people have helped form and shape me into who I am today and many have seen me through some pretty ugly (and I'm not just talking the "ugly phase" of junior high) times. I'm so thankful to those that stuck by me through dark/ugly times and recognized that 1. it was a phase and that 2. I really NEEDED them more then than I did when I was my 'normal' self. (you know who you are and what I'm referring to! THANKS)

I can see pockets of time and groups of people from each of those times in my life... some overlap... like the girls above... some dating back as far as elementary school, then to junior high, then high school, college and now today ... via email mostly, but hey we do what we can.

Then there are my college pals that I still talk w/ frequently and get together w/ as often as I can... then my "seattle" friends... some of which aren't currently in Seattle. Also called my 'running' friends. I still "run" with them every time I'm out there reliving different runs and using them - still - to pull me through tough runs.

And today in my new home I make new 'mom' friends (I REALLY promise I don't intentionally label my friends... I'm only referring to pockets of my life as things happen... now a lot of you have joined the 'mom' friends too).

I make new friends, but I do my damnedest to keep the old... I hold so much value in each and every one of your friendships and I go to each and every one of you for support, laughs, tears, hugs and inspiration ... so forth and so on.

Thank you for being you... for being great... and for being my friends! I love you all!

(Shannon, can I start crying now!? ha ha)

I found myself day dreaming about a big party where I could get all these great women together in one spot... maybe my big 4-0!? ha ha

58 degrees!

It was 58 degrees today so we returned to the zoo to see what we missed yesterday! It was great fun.. kids got their Vit D for the day, mom and grandma got some 'sanity' fresh air and much needed coffee! The kiddos decide to wake up around 4am (Lily) long enough to wake me up then again at 5:10am (Jason). Jason was up for about 30 mins before I finally caved and nursed him. Then back to bed until Lily woke up again at 6:30am.

I'm so relieved that the sun is out and temperatures are pleasurable. Here are some photos of our day. First Jason working on escaping our barricade and then a couple of our trek then our time at the zoo. There are a few more photos in our album.

dog door and sharing...

thanks to Grandma Jason figured out how to go out the dog door.. He discovered it himself, but Grandma encouraged his exit. And SHARING.. we're still learning that concept. (Katie/Michael, sorry about your Xmas card - I guess J and L wanted to play w/ the girls.)

Happy 10 months!

Okay.. so getting 10 month photos was TOUGH. And we didn't really get a good one, but I think the following captures the 'essence' of 10 month olds... and trying to get them to sit still for a photo. and a couple more pics of my hair.. shows the color. :)









and the hair... :) Not sure how I feel about the color yet. :) It seems like it's "not me" to have my hair colored like this. :)





Karen, have fun w/ your hair. You better post pics for us to see. I really like your hair short! :)

Shorter...

I promised Julie pictures of my hair after my next cut. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I was thinking about going shorter for the summer instead of growing it out in the hot humid summer months. I still wasn't sure what to do today so I talked w/ the hair lady and this is what we came up w/.... I'm not sure if you can tell by the photo, but I also got it colored.. red and blonde 'highlights'... I wanted to do something fun for summer.







I'm happy w/ the way it turned out, but damn is it scary while you are doing it! :)

Happy April!

Here's the view out my windows.....

Um... it's snowing.

Is it April or is someone lying to me!? Just wanted to let you know that it is April 11th and it's SNOWING outside... the high was around 44 yesterday... hmmm At least (hopefully) it won't stick around too long. I think the temps will be back up tomorrow and the snow will be melted and we can all move on w/ our lives and forget this ever happened. Hopefully the sun will stay and the temps will continue to rise on into the summer months w/ no more backslides into February weather!

Jason is trying more and more to stand on his own and is a walking champ w/ his walker. Some older boys (13months) were over yesterday showing off their walking skills... wait did I already mention this??? anyway Jaosn was watching them like a hawk. He'll walk pushing anything.. his table on the hardwood (how he gets it there??) the baby yard... whatever he can get his mits on.. the second shelf is now his favorite. He doesn't even mess w/ the first shelf ... it's SO last year!

Lily is still pretty content just crawling around and standing up at things... she's not real interested in walking at this point. We'll see how things change over time.

Babies call gotta go!

teeth, walking and jealousy!

So I took the video below (the last post) last night and today Jason is pulling up on the walker and walking by himself!! AH!

Here is a pic of Lily's teeth (can you see them???) It's been really challenging to get a shot of them so this is as good as I could get..



And while I was taking her photo Jason got jealous so I took his:

walker ... walker... walker

And they are enjoying their walker here and there... so ladies.. give me your experiences... how soon till they are taking steps on their own? ha



I'm considering carrying my video camera around w/ me for a while to document a 'day in the life' ha ha

some videos

here are some cute videos.. :) I've got no words right now.. sorry. Just beat. ha
Some playing...

and the EVER EVENTFUL diaper change... Jason is going a mile a minute these days!

Midwest Spring

Why can't I remember spring from last year? My turn to have a little hissy fit over the weather....

So i ran on Monday... wore light pants and a light shirt and felt overdressed.. this afternoon I wore heavy pants, a "warm" shirt, a jacket, a hat and gloves and FROZE MY ASS OFF! It's freakin' 26 degrees out!

I am thinking back to easters of my youth wearing dresses albeit w/ tights, but NO hats, NO gloves, NO freakin' ear muffs and down jackets.

It IS April, right? According to all of my sources it is April and NOT December.

Here I am left reassessing my definition of quality of life.. is it - as I have always felt - being able to afford to live in an urban area where I can walk to the store and a coffee shop or is it JUST being able to walk to WHEREVER (my mailbox or to the car) w/o freezing my butt off!!!!

Okay.. I'm done - for now - at least Tom enjoys his job (not something most can say) and we are blessed to live in an area we like (despite the weather). I'm going to sign off now and go have a piping hot cup of tea then a nice warm shower (provided the babies sleep long enough to do all that).

Getting back in the swing..

so far Jason is staying healthy and Lily is working through her croup/cold. Her nose is runny now and she had a semi-rough night last night between the croup and the major thunder / lighting storm we had last night.

Here are some fun pics I got today...

the future executive...


or maybe Lily is the Executive and here she is giving dictation to her assistant! ha


And a video for good measure:

Our first trip to Urgent Care

Last night/this a.m. around 3;30am Lily woke up crying and was making this weird barking/coughing noise. I didn't think much of it at 3:30am and wasn't sure if it was her or Jason b/c it was dark in the room.. and well, it was 3:30am. I thought it might have been Jason snoring. Anyway... fast forward to the end of our car ride today. Lily was sick of being in her seat and started crying and started the barking/coughing thing again. I leaned over the top of her seat to check on her and it looked like she was having trouble breathing and she was wheezing a bit. After she calmed down she flashed me a big smile and seemed fine.... until she got up from her next nap. She started crying and when I got there she was doing the barking/wheezing thing again. We called the on call doc at her pediatrician's office and she said she was pretty sure she had croup from what she could hear over the phone and what I was telling her and that we should take Lily to Urgent Care and that she might need some Steroids.

We headed over...at first I was just taking Lily then we thought it might be a good idea to take Jason too... so they could check him out if need be. Turns out the doc was right and Lily has croup. It's most likely Viral, but could be bacterial and is caused by the parainfluenza virus. There is inflammation of the wind pipe and upper air way which causes the barking.. you just have to wait it out, but can do steam rooms (bathroom w/ shower on), cold wet outdoor air or steroids to help ease the inflammation. They wanted to give her an injection there that is stronger and lasts 48 hours, but we opted for the oral steroid since her case - right now - seems somewhat mild. Of course tonight as we were getting ready for bed she started wheezing a lot.

Anyway... we are fine... she should be over it in the next 3 to 7 days. :)

It's good to be home...

We are HOME! It's in the 40s and that pretty much sucks, but it's good to be back. We had a great trip to Papa and Grandma's and had a nice relaxing day w/ Todd, Julie, Cooper and Anna yesterday. Jason and Lily did a great job on the trip, but they were ready to be done in the car. :) They are up to new tricks already. Jason is pulling up on the gate on his tippy tippy toes and acting like he wants to climb it... oy vey! I think he will be walking before I know it.

I'm working on uploading a bunch of photos... more to come.

All good things come to an end...

we are packing up to make the trip back to Wisconsin. I can't believe that three weeks have gone by already. We will be making a pit stop in Savoy to see the Sweets again... it will be fun to see how much Miss Anna has changed in the last three weeks.

I'm signing off until we get to Madison (where I've heard it's 60 degrees). Here I am again logging off and shutting down.. and feeling like I'm removing my right arm.

I'll be back online soon ... hopefully to report an uneventful trip.

happy birthday to Lynda!!!

WElcome Jameson..

Jameson William Perry was born on Tuesday 3/27/07 at 12:51 pm weighing in at 7.1 lbs and measuring 20 inches. Mom and baby are doing well! The surgery went great w/ no complications for mom or baby... though mom reported that it was like ordering up a baby. :) Jameson is figuring out the nursing thing and mom and dad are getting some sleep here and there.

Here is a picture of the cutie pie!

some cute video!

Here are some cute videos of the kids..

playing:


eating:

Oh my gosh I can't believe it!

BOTH babies slept THROUGH the night last night... down at 6pm (they didn't nap well in the afternoon) and up around 6:15am. Lily whined a bit around 10pm, but that was it. Thank goodness... since I've been sick as a dog for the last two days. Thank goodness for grandma!! I was able to get a 3 hour nap (don't remember the last time I did that) today... I haven't put anything in my mouth yet so we'll see, but I feel a bit better.

She slept through the night!!

And I mean through the night... 7pm to 7am... one little peep at around 6am!!! Amazing! Then she went down for a 2.5 hour nap from 8:30am to 11am.... sleep begets sleep! Jason did pretty well too only waking up at 10:30pm. YIPPEE! Unfortunately I didn't go to bed until 11pm, but hey I still got 7 STRAIGHT hours of sleep!!

The kids are growing up so quickly right before my eyes... as far as their development goes they have just taken off... it's so funny after the first... was it 5 months?... you just wait and wait for them to at least roll over or SOMETHING.. then BAM! They are eating food, crawling, then standing, now transitioning from one spot to another, starting to grab things off table tops, figuring out how to take things out of things (w/ their toys).... it just EXPLODES! They are babbling up a storm too! I feel so sad that Tom hasn't seen them in a few weeks.. he's going to be amazed at how big they are and how much they've changed. They've gotten much more adventurous and curious.

back by popular demand.

I haven't posted any video in a while. Here's a funny one of the kids eating... Like I've said mom and I are astounded at how much these kids can put away! Jason gets quite upset when you make him wait. Lily is a bit more patient! Enjoy.... "Dinner w/ the Mount Kids"... I'm off to have my nightly glass of wine and unwind.

Happy 9 Months kiddos!

I can't believe they are 9 months already! Getting the pictures is getting more and more difficult... $70 later and I've got the battery charger (what a racket), but couldn't miss the babies 9 month photo op. Here is their 9 month photo (w/ 8 months to compare) and a photo of them on the swings... we're having fun in Texas!

9 months: (Lily is doing SO BIG)


8 months:


and the swings:


And fun w/ a Huggies box (don't judge me)

Feeling a bit better...

okay.. so my energy seems to have come back a bit. Marie pointed out that it might have been my plugged duct. I think she was right.

I've started adding a bit of running to my walking routine and will ease back into this running thing. I've committed to Marie that I will run/walk this thing... I can get my mind around that. So end of May we'll be out there. I really do want to do this and every time I'm out walking I think about it... along w/ about a billion other things.

We've got internet at mom's now.. not sure what happened - I was checking to see if I could read my old email messages offline and low and behold the internet was working.. don't know if I'm poaching off the neighbors or what. The sad news is that my camera battery is about shot and I forgot my charger at home. Need to go out and buy another... damn! Or I could just go two weeks w/o pics of my sweeties...eeek, that reminds me.. I have a problem.. tomorrow is their 9 mo bday and I've got to take photos.

ugh... taking it out of me...

so that half marathon might have to go on the back burner!!! I'm just ZAPPED!! I'm not sure if I'm fighting a cold or what, but I'm am just getting the crap kicked out of me by these babies. I've run once since I've been here and I've been walking the dog every day.... surely walking the dog about 2 miles a day isn't taking it all out of me. the babies are all over the place and we are chasing babies like crazy so I'm not sure if that's part of it.

And as you mom's know.. I NEED my energy to parent (read: COPE) babies.

All-in-all things are going well. The babies are eating like gang busters.. I can't believe how much these kids can pile in.... I've read that they have the natural mechanism that tells them to stop when they are no longer hungry.... is this true or do they just enjoy the novelty of self - feeding??

They've been napping and sleeping fairly well.. though Jason wouldn't give it up until around 10pm last night.... not sure what that was all about. He would just scream!!!! And when I got him he was fine and wouldn't fall asleep on me... a new trick he learned... here he is at Aunt Cheryl's crashed out on me... I was ASTONISHED the he fell asleep.. no fussing.. and in a new place w/ new people. Poor buddy must have been tired!



And here is Lily doing a new trick.... she only does this when supervised.. hasn't tried it while cruising past anyway. She was only interested this time b/c she just saw me come down the stairs... and I had to put a toy on the step to entice her. (why am I encouraging this behavior?)



Okay.. must run back to the house to rescue grandma!

We made it...

We're here in Texas at Gmas.. it's sunny and warm and we're loving it. It was a long trip, but the babies did great! We had a rough night at the hotel and a rough first night and day here, but we're on track now.. I think.

here are some photos at Gmas.. gotta run.

It's almost time..

We're headed out to Texas tomorrow (sunday) morning. I can't wait. It's been snowy, cold and frozen tundra like for the past week and a half or so. I'm so ready to get the ... out of here! ha Hopefully by the time we return in April this will be over.. the snow will be melted and we'll have sunny warm days ahead!

The kids had their 9mo appt yesterday and they are doing great... growing just fine. Jason is about the 30% and poor little Lily is about 7%. They are both consistent in their growth. We are apparently super parents doing everything just right... ha ha The doc even used the word 'advanced' while talking about them. I think it was something along the lines of "they may walk soon b/c of their advanced muscular development" - I think because they've been crawling for a while.... but who cares all I really heard was advanced. ha! We're proud of our little ones. Doc did say we could start giving them lunch (not REAL excited about this) and meat.... and here I am toying w/ the idea of going back to a vegetarian diet (shh.. I haven't told Tom yet). You can stay tuned at the Green Girl's Guide for more developments on that front! Think I'll go out and have a burger or Carne Asada taco salad before I take the plunge! :) Not that I"m even that big a fan of red meat anyway.

Here are some pics to tide you over for the next couple of days... hopefully there will be short sleeves and/or diapers only in the next round of shots!