Christmas and 9 month pictures

My dear friend Ann Marie does AWESOME work!  Check out her blog for more information:  http://www.beautifullyblessedphotography.blogspot.com/ 

1st Thanksgiving

Tayden

Brooklyn trying to escape from her bouncy seat

In bed watching the parades with daddy

Cousins' 1st Thanksgiving

Brooklyn in Payton's walker

Brooklyn in daddy's hat

waiting on flu shot

twins' 1st fire

The twins' 1st Thanksgiving was absolutely perfect!!!  We started the day by watching the parades on tv and then went to my sister Jamie's house for a huge feast.  The babies got to play with cousin Payton, the guys watched football, and the girls recovered from cooking.  Going back to work today was super hard!  I had already gotten used to spending every minute of the day with the twins.  I am looking forward to Christmas Break, when I will have two weeks off with them and Tim.  Brooklyn has pretty much mastered crawling and is everywhere, into everything.  She pulls up on everything even if it is not stable - causing a few ouchies.  On Saturday she uttered her first mama!!!  She now says it quite frequently and hearing it never gets old.  Tayden has started trying to pull up on things as well.  He now reaches up for us, stands while holding our fingers, and moves from sitting to his tummy.  They are both super active and keep us extremely busy.  I got the Christmas pictures from Ann Marie today and they are GREAT!!!  I will be posting several later this evening. 

So Much to be Thankful For!!!

I am absolutely enjoying every minute of my time off!  We have been quite busy the past few days.  Yesterday we took Tayden to his 6 month cardiologist follow-up appointment.  The first time we took him (at 3 months) the doctor saw an extra vein or vessel in his heart that should not have been there, but she said it was pretty common in preemies.  She wanted us to bring him back one more time to make sure it had disappeared.  SueSue came over to keep Brooklyn so that Tim and I both could go to the appointment and give Tayden our full attention.  I must say that packing the diaper bag for only one baby and having only one baby in the backseat felt very strange.  I am so used to two of everything.  Dr. Hess did an echocardiogram and then came in to tell us that the vein or vessel is no longer there!!!  She said that he has a great heart and is no longer in need of a cardiologist!!!!  This was amazing news!  We spent the afternoon with my friend Ann Marie at various spots in Grapevine as she snapped countless photos of the twins and our family.  It was extremely hard to get both babies to smile at the same time.  Everytime we put the babies on the ground Brooklyn would grab whatever she could find and put it in her mouth.  This included leaves and rocks!  We had a great time and the twins really enjoyed being outside.  Ann Marie is a twin herself, and she said more than once, "I don't know how my mom and dad did this!"
Today we took the twins for their 9 month check-ups.  Tayden has not only caught up to Brooklyn in weight - he has passed her.  He was 19 lbs. 15 oz. and she was 19 lbs. 13 oz.  I have been concerned that Brooklyn was not gaining weight as rapidly as before, but the doctor said that this is due to her increase in activity and that it is perfectly normal.  She was so impressed with how both babies have grown and their development.  She gave us the good news that we can now move the babies from their preemie formula to normal formula!  She does want to monitor their weight for the next month or so to make sure they continue to do well with the new formula.  My other concern has been Tayden's head.  He has always had a good sized head and I wanted to make sure the doctor was okay with it.  She did some measurements and it has grown 2 inches since his 6 month check-up.  She doesn't think there is anything wrong at all, but did offer us an MRI to give us peace of mind.  They should be calling us to schedule within the next few weeks.  The funniest part of the visit was when she said, "There is no easy way to ask this, but did one of you have a large head as a child?"  The answer is yes - Tim did!  He finally grew into his head and we are hoping that will be the case with Tayden.  The twins did get their flu shots and they also did the finger stick test to check them both for anemia. 
That made for a rough afternoon, but they both took good naps on the way home.
Brooklyn has made her first crawls.  She will only go a crawl or two and then get frustrated and scoot to where she wants to go.  She is pulling up on anything she can find, including Tayden.  She loves to be standing up holding on to your hands and checking everything out and also gives kisses.  Her gums are extremely swollen and we think that teeth are going to be coming through any day now.  Tayden is getting extremely vocal.  He is always babbling dada and I am quick to reinforce him with mama.  He still loves to laugh and listen to anyone who is singing.  His gums are also swollen and he chews on his hand.  Surely the won't both start teething at the same time!!!!!!
We hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We are definitely going to enjoy our first one with the twins!  Thanksgiving will take on a whole new meaning for us this year.  God chose us to be the parents of two amazing children and has spent the past 9 months working miracles in all of our lives.  We continue to stand in awe of the God we serve!  We are also thankful for our precious family and friends who have stood by our side, held our hands, prayed for us, cried with us, and celebrated each small victory with us.  You will never know how much your love and support mean to us!  I am also extremely thankful for Tim.  I don't tell him near enough how much I admire him for the dad and husband he is.  He proposed four years ago today and I don't think he had any clue what he was getting himself into.  He has always taken the co-parenting approach and we function as a team - man to man defense.  He lets me be me and he makes me feel loved, happy, and appreciated every single day.  He is truly a gift and I thank God for him daily.         

9 Months Old

I am a few days late on my posting - my computer has been acting up!  The twins had their 1st Synagis shot last Wednesday.  They were having a great time playing before the shot.  Who knew that the paper on the exam table could be such a great toy!  When they came in to give the shots, the fun was over.  They had to stick both babies twice - once in each leg!  Tim and SueSue said that it was awful.  The babies were looking at them like - PLEASE HELP ME!!!  We haven't any terrible side effects.  The babies have been a bit more fussy and at times they don't eat as well as normal.  At the visit Brooklyn weighed 19.8 and Tayden weighed 19.2.  He is closing in on her!! 
Each day the twins seem to have more energy and be more active than the day before.  Brooklyn is on the verge of crawling.  She pulls up on us constantly and loves standing up.  She will walk quite a ways holding onto our fingers.  She is very verbal - always screaming or laughing.  We often play in the playroom and she will scoot over to Tayden and grab whatever toy he is playing with.  I will give him another toy and she does the same thing.  We will be learning how to share very early on!  Tayden had his monthly session with the occupational therapist last Tuesday, and she was again amazed at his progress and how well he is sitting up by himself.  He loves playing with his red hammer and his crinkly book.  He is becoming more and more verbal and laughs out loud all of the time - it is precious! 
SueSue and Mimi (my sister Jamie) kept the twins on Friday night so that Tim and I could have date night (thank you!!!!). When Jamie came in, Brooklyn was convinced it was me and got sad when she realized it wasn't. Even after we got home she would look at Jamie and then at me, very confused. I went grocery shopping on Saturday and seeing all of the holiday baking displays, it hit me that it is almost Thanksgiving! I am so excited!!! I have all of next week off and will cherish every day at home with Tim and the babies. On Monday, Tayden will have his 6 month check-up with the cardiologist and then we are having their 9 month pictures taken that afternoon by my dear friend Ann Marie.  I cannot believe that the twins are already 9 months old.  I wish there was some way to make time move in slow motion!