HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hope the weather is just as wonderful where you live. Enjoy your Halloween and eat some candy for us!

Or enjoy a tree...

Maybe some leaves...

1 Year Check Up

So in the midst of all the chaos, I had to take the kids to the Dr. on Monday, alone, for their 1 year check up and shots. Let me start by saying...that will NEVER happen again. Dr. Cadle & I were both sweating by the time the check ups were done (before the shots even started)! She said they will never gain weight because they are SO active. She was laughing but told me before she left the room that I was in her prayers. And yes, that is my kids on the floor of the exam room. When you have two and you are by yourself, this has to happen. They got good baths and I was assured that the floors are mopped with bleach so no negative comments about how I am a horrible mother. It keeped them semi-quite and me semi-calm!

Let me back up. So say you just finished reading all that happened over the weekend. Monday is going a little bit better other than the normal fussiness that accompanies sickness in our house. I go to get the kids up from a nap early since their appointment was right during their naptime, and Elliot is waving something at me. I take note that the object is white and know for a fact that her blanket and silky in her bed are both pink. I get closer and see that she is waving her diaper in the air. Surely she had just taken it off and played with the cool velcro sides right? NOPE. Surely she has only, maybe tt'd and I can just take off her ultimate crib sheet and be good right? NOPE. The child has #2'd and once again has showed us her artistic side by fingerpainting in her bed...WITH HER POOP!

(BTW...she has taken her clothes off 3xs this week! If she turns up to be a stripper I am totally blaming her father!)

Since we were running late, there was no time for full on bath. I attempt to give her a good 'ol HUF bath (quick wipe down with wipes) and we head for the Dr.

So you see, I technically was already sweating before I even made it to the Dr!

Here is the Year Old breakdown for each baby. Although we are full blown toddlers now!

Miss Elliot (which means "the naked one"):

• WEIGHT: 16lbs 14 oz (we think this might be higher since she had gone a full day on Saturday without eating)...still below 5th percentile.


• HEIGHT: 27 3/4 inches...10th percentile!!!


• All healthy except for a stubborn cold.


• 3.5 teeth


• Great eater!


• Able to move to whole milk with either heavy cream or a scoop of formula added.


• Size 3 diapers


• 9-12 months in clothes, unless its PJs, we can still do 6 month stuff.


• Starting to walk


• Can do several animal noises


• Says...momma, dada, bubba, bye bye, hi, and we think Allea maybe. Loves to wave and blow EVERYONE kisses.


• Loves her blanket, new baby doll Ellen, her momma, animals and playing outside.
• KG

• WEIGHT: 18lbs 4oz...still below 5th percentile too. They will never turn around in their car seats. Dr. Cadle is hoping by their 15month check up that they can.


• HEIGHT: 28inches...also 10th percentile


• All healthy other than a double ear infection...this child NEVER complains! We thought he just had a runny nose!


• 2 teeth with the top 2 just about to come through.


• Good eater but LOVES fruit and yogurt and is starting to figure out if he doesn't eat much he gets these instead!


• Able to go on whole milk to...YEA...NO MORE ENFAMIL AR!!!


• Same size diapers and clothes as sis.


• Starting to walk.


• Says momma, dada, byebye, hi, loves to yell, clap, wave & blow kisses.


• Loves his blanket, his daddy and papa G, all cars & balls (such a boy!) and his momma when he is tired!

There is our update. More on walking and weaning off bottles to come. Happy Friday everyone! (I am getting to go out on a date with my husband...yahoo!!!)

She Finally Did It!!!

My good friend Shannon (above with Keaton on Xmas Eve) finally started a blog that will bless you tremendously. She and her husband Michael are the ones I blogged about a while back who are starting the adoption process and have recently been matched ! Please check out her blog and keep them in your prayers. God is good and He is going to use her in ways we cannot imagine. I can't wait to follow along on the journey and to have you guys go along too via her new blog. Check it out when you get a chance!

The Party That Almost Was...

I will start by saying that the actual birthday was a great day.

Friday we woke up to the kids in a great mood and I went down and made them a special birthday breakfast of blueberry pancakes and bananas. I let them open their 1st gift which was a music set that they love! We then got ready and headed to Tuesday Morning to find a specific doll that mom wanted to get Elliot. She had seen in their add that they had the exact doll that I had for my first baby doll and she had to get it for her. We get there and after some digging...we find it! Baby Elen had now joined our family!

After our big find, we headed to craft fair at Embassy Suites. For those of you that aren't from around here, craft fair is a big deal here and there are many of these scattered throughout 4 cities and every woman of shape and size (and her poor, sweet husband if he is so unlucky) come and load up on more stuff that they probably actually need. Affectionately known as "Crap Fair" to many here, you can find a good booth or two that aren't just painted, hot glued junk! We found Elliot a couple of cute bracelets and then the kids began to melt down. A combination of hunger and hundreds of over eager women wanting to see my kids caused us to bail out early. Again, for those of you without multiples, we could not get two feet ahead without being stopped and asked..."Are they twins?" "Are they identical?" "Are they a boy & girl?" "How old are they?". Of course when we told them they were 1 that day...OH LORDY! Watch out for the screaming and the sudden urge to pinch their cheeks! Needless to say, Keaton WAS NOT into this form of strangers affection. See pic below for his sentiments...

We finally headed to Olive Garden for lunch with Nana and Grammy (what more could two kids want on their birthday?) and then home for much needed naps!

The afternoon started just as sweet. All the kids were outside playing after school so we joined them for some good play in the great fall weather. Uncle Adam & Aunt Bethany called to wish the kids Happy Birthday and we got their reactions on camera...see guys...told you they recognize your voices!

THEN IT ALL WENT DOWNHILL!!!

Mom was swinging with some of the neighborhood kids, singing songs and making up stories about what they would be doing if they were at the beach. Mom was in heaven. Then, our porch swing fell....right on my mom's leg! Swelling started immediately and she could not put any pressure on that leg. It was not looking good. I headed in to get the kids fed & bathed while mom made some phone calls and we decided to go ahead and head for the after hours urgent care clinic. They only confirmed what we feared...she had fractured her tibia!

Ok, so we can make this work. No big deal right?

This is only the beginning!

We got mom home and moving around in our office chair that has wheels which is WAY easier than a wheelchair if you ever need that option. Mom would temporarily have to move downstairs and set up shop there. (All our bedrooms are upstairs!). After getting her settled and doing a little bit of set up for the party, I got to bed around 1:30 AM thinking...we can do this!

Saturday morning. We get up and all is well. I am starting to get things set up and decide to bring the kids downstairs from their playroom so they can play in the living room where mom is. We suddenly notice that Elliot is eating something. We hadn't given her anything so we know whatever it is, she is NOT suppose to have it.

There it was, in her mouth, one of my mom's medications. We pull out a small sliver of what is left of a Mirapex (a drug used to treat restless leg syndrome). Luckily my mom is on a very small dose but we still did not know what this would do to such a little girl. We call poison control (1-800-3POISON...WRITE IT DOWN!!!) and they have had only one confirmed case of a child taking this before. They suggested we monitor her and take her to the ER if we see any changes other than sleepiness. Within 20 minutes Elliot was out. Mom rocked her and I went back to decorating. A couple of hours later, Elliot woke up. She wouldn't eat or drink anything. No juice, no milk, no water, no popsicles...nothing. When she woke up, she threw up and could not even hold her head up. We knew it was time to cancel the party and head to the ER.

My poor sweet baby girl...

ER obviously stands for something else besides EMERGENCY! We get there and the nurse said they would take us back and observe her for two hours. We were in the waiting area for two hours without being seen. There were two other families in front of us, one of which was a lady who thought she as having a heart attack, and no one was being called back. We finally went back up to the front and told the nurse that we were leaving since it had been two hours and they had done nothing. She gave me a look I will never forget. One that said, you are the worst parents I have ever met. How dare she!

We took our baby girl to the urgent care clinic...yes, same one I spent the night before at with my mom...and got in right away. By this time it had been 6 hours since Elliot had taken the medication and she was starting to wake up and get mad! Which was good that we were seeing her show any signs of life as she had literally been lifeless all day. The Dr. went ahead and checked her real good for her cold symptoms and sent us home to treat her cold and follow up with our Dr. on Monday when the kids were scheduled to get their immunizations.

SO, we head home and have a small little party with just the family, put the kids to bed and crash! What a day. Happy 1st birthday huh? All that planning, preparing, anticipation out the door. Once again, we do not know what tomorrow will bring! Thank you God for my sweet husband who was there along the way. Although he had to leave Sunday AM for San Francisco til Wednesday night.

*Thanks Trae & Tori for the new pony & tricycle!

Here are the cute invitations...

Here is the partially decorated house...

My parents headed home on Sunday and Ryan had to fly out at 3pm for Cali. The kids and I hoped in their new wagon and went around the neighborhood delivering the party favors to the kids who didn't get to come to a birthday party. Monday, I had the task of taking the kids to the Dr. by myself, which will never happen again! I will post on their one year check up tomorrow!

So...to sum up this ridiculously long post...

• Mom is fine and got a permanent hot pink cast today!


• Elliot is fine other than a cold and cranky.


• Keaton, believe it or not, has a double ear infection.


• Ryan will be back tomorrow night!!!

Sorry for the long post but this is why I haven't blogged about the big 1st birthday yet.

...IT'S CALLED "MY CRAZY LIFE" FOR A REASON!!!

Final Frames...I took these of Keaton the other day and just love them! He loves playing on the front porch right now!

Happy Birthday Precious Ones!

We knew it would come. We knew it had to happen. We just didn't know that it would come this quickly.



When you struggle with fertility issues, time stands still. A year of trying seems like an eternity. Multiply that by 4 years and you've got our lifetime of pain and heartache. Then that silver lining comes. You hear those famous words from your Dr. to confirm your deepest desires, and if you are blessed beyond belief like we were, you hear the sweetest phrase of all..."It looks like twins"!



This year has been a whirlwind. Once those famous words are spoken, your life moves full speed ahead. Little did we know that once are precious ones arrived, our life would forever move at mock speed...and we wouldn't change it for the world!



For those of you who have not meet our sweet ones, they are our everything. They can make your day with their two tooth grins and melt you heart with their cuddles and wet kisses. And today, they are 1.



What happened to our year? Trying to savor every moment and yet it has still gone by too quickly. Hanging on to every sound, every milestone, every sip of every late night bottle and yet, time does not stop. It keeps on going, seeming to rob us of every precious moment that we long to drown in.



But we know it is for something better. To watch these wonderful children grow into toddlers. To begin to say "I love you momma & dada". To begin to walk. To go to school and grow into the young adults God has already designed them to be. This is what we have to long for and look forward to. And again...we can't wait!



Happy 1st birthday Keaton and Happy 1st birthday Elliot. You are our favorite two people in all of the world. We are so crazy about you that we can't stand it sometimes. (Even when you won't settle down and end up sneaking into our bed for some late night lovin!) You have grown so much in 1 year and we can not wait to see how your life stories begin to unfold as you grow into God special creations. You are and forever will be miracles and gifts to us from God. He is so good. Always, ALWAYS remember that! God is so good.



We LOVE you! Momma & Daddy



*Enjoy this look back at the 1st year:

Dinner with the Girls

After much teething and party planning, a dinner with some of my favorite gals was definitely in order. Holly, Shannon, Amanda, Kathy & I went out to Abuelo's tonight for a belated birthday celebration for Kathy. It was great and just what we have all been needing.

Hope you enjoyed your dinner Kathy! Great food and even better conversation, what more could you want? Don't forget gals...NOVEMBER 7!

(Since I forgot my camera, please check out Amanda's blog for pics, especially of Kathy's new fabulous clutch!)

The Big Winner Is...

KEATON!!!

Keaton took 5 steps today walking to his Grammy in the playroom. They were perfect steps, without wobbles or falls! We just tried it and lured him with his new toy puppy (thanks Barb) and he took off! Two days before his birthday and finally did something before his sister. If she would slow down and not try to run, she would be on her way as well. I know, I know...we are in trouble now!

Way to go buddy! We are so proud of you!!!

Here you go Ry...

Ryan said he was tired of opening my blog and reading & seeing pictures of himself. So I am finally back with an update of where we have been...

First of all....Teething+Ear Infection+Rosiola (?)=DO NOT MIX!

We have been battling with a double dose of teething (both kids are cutting the top two front teeth) and finally had to take Keaton in because he was running a fever, just wasn't himself and then broke into this horrible rash. Come to find out, he had rosiola and once the rash comes out, he is not longer infectious and should be fine. THANKFULLY, Elliot has had no signs of this pesky rash but she has struggled so much more with her stinkin teeth! Poor thing cries HARD at least three times a day...and this has been going on for 3 weeks now!

Since we were having such a tough time last week, we forwent the gym and headed to the lake one day last week to do our exercising for the day. It was incredible to be outside in the gorgeous fall weather and just walk outside in nature. The kids loved it and enjoyed all the interesting sounds of bugs, ducks and other kids riding by on their bicycles. The highlight was getting to feed the ducks some of our peach puffs. They seemed to like them and didn't try to attack my kids as I have heard stories of them doing this to some of our friends kids when they are really wanting your snacks! Elliot of course loved it as she is my big animal lover!

This past weekend we headed to Benton to see the fam and have a pre-birthday party with all of those that won't be able to come this weekend for their birthday. YES...the kids turn 1 on Friday! More on that in a future post. We went Saturday morning with my cousin Linsey and her husband Joe to the zoo for the kids, and their cousin Liam's, first time. The kids all loved it and were so good walking around and looking at all these strange creatures they had never seen before. It was funny how each child seemed to have a favorite. Elliot loved the tigers (and even growled when she noticed them), Keaton loved the monkeys & Liam loved the giraffes. It was great and we can't wait to keep taking them back over the years as they grow to be great buddies and cousins! Thanks again Linsey, Joe & Liam for joining us on such a fun trip!

Saturday night a lot of the family came over for the family birthday party for the kids. The kids loved seeing everyone and LOVED having a party. Keaton dug straight into the cake like he had been doing this for years and both kids tore into the presents like pros! Of course we got lots of noisy toys and their GG & Grandy got them duel sit&spins. I can't wait til they can try to outspin each other. For now, their little hineys can both fit on one together!

My mom is coming up as I type to help out this week so we can get ready for their big party on Saturday. I have SO MUCH to do to get ready for the big day. I hope I can get it all done!

Oh, I almost forgot...the kids got their big boy & big girl car seats! They are still facing backwards of course but the day they hit 19 lbs, we have been told they can turn around! They seem to love the extra room and being able to sit more upright. Sure wish we could have had these the whole time Keaton was refluxin'! BTW..that has almost completely vanished...PRAISE GOD!!! In fact, I have had a white T-shirt on all day and I am not even going to have to use the Spray & Wash on it! God bless all you mom's out there dealing with reflux. I know after a year of experience...it gets old! Hang in there because it really does just one day vanish.

Now that I am caught up, hopefully I will keep yall posted on the birthday week festivities. Our computer is also messed up so I will try my best to keep pictures posted for yall. Ok, now back to our crazy life (I have a weeks worth of Beth Moore homework to do by tomorrow...for all of those that have done a Beth study before...you know that is a lot to get done during the kids nap time!) . Talk soon!