Me, TX State Fair, Halloween, 9 Month Stats...

Texas State Fair
This year we took E to the Texas State Fair for the first time. Her school gave away free tickets and a day off, so to the Fair we went. I am not so good with the rides, so the twins and I mostly watched and took pictures. She rode some of the rides (with her Papa) and played a few games, but was pretty overwhelmed by it all. But the next day she was asking to go back, so I think next year she will enjoy it a little bit more.

Halloween
For Halloween, my sister-in-law landed us a butterfly outfit for M and a bumble bee outfit for F. We thought it would be super cute if E went as a flower, and she was agreeable to the idea, until she saw M's costume. Then she wanted to be a butterfly too. No problem! She was a beautiful Purple Butterfly! We had some fabulously fantastic bugs for Trick or Treat Night! :-)

9 Month Stats
M and F went in for their 9 month check up this month. F weighs 18.12 pounds and is 29 1/2 inches long. M weighs 18.04 pounds and is 29 1/4 inches long. They are basically the same weight and height, but they are not built the same. You would swear that M was way bigger and heavier than F. She is a well built little girl! :-)

M can sit up and stay that way for quite a while. She likes it. F, on the other hand, is Greatly Offended at the THOUGHT of sitting, and will promptly throw himself backwards if you try to sit him up. He is just lazy, and prefers to lay down and roll around to whatever it is he is wanting to see or get to.

M has attempted to crawl a few times, and is dangerously close to completing it. Again, F is just not interested.

They have both cut two teeth on the bottom. M's two came in crooked! :-P
They are both gradually getting more hair.
They both babble a bit, and I'm am working on getting them to say Mama :-) F will say it, but I think it is just part of his babble.

They are still very good babies, and very happy the majority of the time...Thank you Jesus!!!

Me
Well, to say I have been 'under the weather' for the past 2 months is putting it mildly. I've been depressed...I guess I'm still working on that too. I have some really good days, but then I have a few bad ones. I'm getting better now, or at least I think I am...

I had to go and see my hematologist again. One of my last tests in August came back too low/bad. After meeting with the doctor, the game plan for me going forward will be taking low dose aspirin every day; and not to sit for long car rides or plane rides. I'll take this over being on coumadin again! Basically, I am trying to avoid situations that would cause me to throw another clot, because evidently, now I am susceptible to them.
{sigh}

Also going on, I have been fighting really bad vertigo with headaches and nausea...and general exhaustion. At first I thought it was side effects to the different meds I had been taking, or possibly a sinus infection. But after a while, I began to wonder if something was really wrong....jury is still out on the final verdict. I have, however, now acquired reading glasses to help with the headaches / eye strain. I have switched the time I take some of my medication, and changed out others altogether. The next doctor visit is looking like an ENT....and then maybe a dermatologist....I -have- met my deductible for the year, so I may as well get everything checked out before January 1st!

And October was Awful in Texas, weather-wise. It was cloudy and dreary or raining at least 3 weeks of the month....I'm seriously Sun Deprived. This proves I could never live in Buffalo (sorry Kimmy....just give in and move here!).

I'm happy with my kids and my hubby, but just not quite happy with me yet. I'm working on it, and getting there, but not quite there yet. I know I will be back to my sarcastic funny self soon enough, but in the mean time, keep me in your thought and prayers.

For now, I will end by giving you happy baby pictures and a few videos! :) And yes, the videos are not high quality....we need to get a new video camera....maybe Santa will bring us one ;-)

Love to all,
Cherise

Baptism, Friends and Potty Training Updates...

This past weekend we had the Twins (M & F) baptized at St. Joseph Catholic Church. It was a great event! We had asked two sets of our friends to be godparents and they graciously agreed! It was a beautiful ceremony, and the twins were great! They were not freaked out by the water or anything...the priest was a little concerned when we asked him to hold both of them for a picture, but he mustered up the courage and complied :)

Our friends from St. Louis came in with their crew and we had a great weekend with them, cooking out and swimming. The hubby commented that any reservation he had about the return on investment on installing a pool was completely washed away with this visit.....their kids wanted to stay in the pool morning, noon and night! :) Glad I talked him into a house with a pool! HA!

The twins are moving around a little more everyday. They have both discovered their hands....and (unfortunately) how yummy their own fingers are ... especially to suck on.....LOUDLY. We have started calling M "Col. Sanders" when she starts to slurp loudly on her hands ('cuz she's "finger lickin'")....which we immediately remove and try to substitute with a binky. Sometimes it works, other times not so much. They have both started 'trying' to roll over....they end up on their sides, but have not completed the roll as of this post. But they are VERY close to doing it!

E is very close to being what we would consider 'completely' potty trained. She has even started to let us know when she has to poop....which is a REALLY big deal.....we were not making any progress on that front, but the hubby worked his magic, and now she let's us know so we can scoop her up and run to the potty. She even gets out of the pool to go 'pee pee on the potty'.....which is really funny, cuz I snatch her out of her suit -before- I run with her into the Air Conditioned House to go potty....yes, that's right: she is streakin' at age three! :)

Speaking of swimming, we have been doing a lot of that this year also. E has decided that the latest flotation device we purchased for her is 'acceptable'. This is like number 5 or something, but she Loves It! So she is all about swimming this year. And she insists on floating around without you holding on to her. She will even Jump Into The Pool!! She has figured out that when she kicks her feet she does, in fact, move. Yes, it is true. We were not lying to her about all that. :) So we are hopeful that this summer when we sign her up for swimming lessons, it will take this time! [said while crossing fingers and saying a little prayer]

The twins have turned 5 months and I'm attaching the 5 Month Blue Chair pictures to this post. They both are getting better at sitting up in the chair, and don't fall over as fast. They are babbling and smiling and drooling and in general, lovin' life!

And finally, I cut my hair short. The twins kept grabbing it and trying to basically snatch me bald...so I gave in to the scissors. When E saw it, she stared at me for a very long time. Then this exchange occurred:

E: "What happened to your hair?"
Me: "I got it cut. Do you like it?"
E: "Why?"
Me: "Because the babies kept pulling it. Do you like it?"
E: "...{staring blankly at me}
Me: "Well? Do you like it?"
E: "You look funny."
Me: "Thanks."

Love to all,
Cherise

Twin's First Cereal Event

Remember in the last post, I mentioned that we were given the 'green light' to start the twins on cereal? Well, we started that today.

I must admit, the hubby and I found it hysterical! I'm sure, based on their initial reactions, the kiddos did NOT find it as amusing as we did... hehehehehehe!

I am attaching a video we took of the event. It is 3 minutes long. Enjoy!

Love to all,
Cherise

4 Month Blue Chair Pictures, the Coston Women Visit, Potty Training E and Mother's Day

So the twins are now 4 months old! Yay!! At their doctor appointment today we found out that M is now 24 1/2 inches long (in the 50th percentile) and 13 lbs 12 oz (in the 50th percentile); F is 24 3/4 inches long (in the 25th percentile) and 13 lbs 8 oz (in the 25th percentile). Isn't it interesting how that all works out! The average height of an American woman is 5'2" and for an American man it is 5'8". So even though he is 'taller', she is farther 'up the chart' than he is! WEIRD.

At any rate, they are GINORMOUS to me!!!! M is getting to be so ROUND....her little cheeks and her little thighs!!! F is getting to be so LONG....he is like a bean pole to me. They are virtually the same weight, but they do not look like they are...it is just spread out differently on each baby....and we love every inch and every pound of them!!! :)

Today we were told we get to start them on Cereal too! So hopefully, this will use a little less formula....right now, they are drinking 6 oz each, 5 times a day....that's 10 bottles.....which means the BIG can of formula lasts about Three Days!!!! Yikes!! Can't wait for the 'you may now begin to feed them food' portion of this event starts! :)

We started Potty Training E about 2 weeks ago. It is going pretty good. The first day we went through 13 pairs of panties but by day 2 that was almost cut in half! She only occasionally wets her pants now, and it is usually during nap time at school, night time if we let her drink too much after 7pm or if she does not want to stop playing to go. We are optimistic she will be 'completely' trained within another week or so. And what a relief that will be! One less Butt To Change!!! HA! Two is enough!

Last week we had an excellent visit with Grandma, MommaJo, Aunt Gail and Aunt Kaye...all the Coston Women came to visit us and hold babies! We had a great time with them, and E really enjoyed her visit. This was her first time to meet Aunt Kaye, and it had been too long since we had seen Grandma or Aunt Gail. Aunt Kaye had lots to share with us on E, M and F's cousins (her daughter's twins) Ike and Sophie....they are 2-3 months older than M & F, but M & F are bigger! We had a good time comparing stories about the sets of twins and like and dislikes....kids are just so different and charming! Or at least, they CAN be! HA!

We also took advantage of them being in town to stage a 'delayed birthday celebration' for E at school. Since the twins were born basically right before her birthday, we only did a low key party at our house....well, all the other kids in her class were celebrating their birthdays at school, and it became a glaring absence in her mind....evidently, they do a 'little presentation' for the birthday recipient....yeah, that was working against us :)

So we brought muffins and strawberries to school for the morning snack in honor of E turning 3, and bought a cake for our celebration at home that night. She has two friends that she really loves: Uriah (which she calls "My-riah", as opposed to "Your-riah") and Sarah. Ms. Loren told us that she and Uriah are inseparable during playtime and if left unattended will begin to wrestle! HA! But we are not surprised....her best buddy outside of school friends has always be Elliott!!!

For Mother's Day, E's school put on a little program for all the Mother's. Her class did a group song in sign language; it was "Wind beneath my wings." It was too much for her too early in the morning....she was so excited and was waving to us and very happy, but about 2 minutes into the song I noticed she was no longer doing the signing, and was rather glassy eyed....and yup, you guessed it, she zoned out and fell over / fell asleep while standing up....PLOP! Fell right over! And she was in the middle on the front row, baby!!! YEAH! THAT'S my Kid!!! The sad thing is that the hubby had -just- stopped filming and then she fell over.....classic! Oh well, it was still funny to everyone there....and chances are *somebody* got it on film! ;o) I'll start combing thru youtube.com starting tomorrow....

That was Saturday....on Sunday we went over to Aunt Lisa and Uncle Alan's place for lunch....he always puts on such a spread! It was -way- more than we could eat, and it was all so yummy! E had huge fun playing with her cousins! We are going to try to have them over -this- Saturday for a shrimp-crab-and-crawfish boil, barring any bad weather....Alan is from Bay St. Louis, and he eats crawfish, but no one else in the family does....so the hubby and I are trying to decide how much to get for just the three of us.....do you think 30 pounds will be enough??? :oP

We are excited about the Deaton Memorial Weekend Camping Trip to Lake Ouachita Arkansas. We will be 'camping lite'.....staying at Grandma's in Hot Springs Village in the evenings, and then driving into the campground during the day. Still, it should be fun! Just a little too soon to go full fledged camping with the twins....but next year should be good!

The twins are staying awake more and more during the day, and are consistently sleeping thru the night. F is our 'smiley boy.' He has been smiling and cooing for a few weeks now. M has finally caught on this past week and is equally cute and smiley. I have tried to capture some of their smiles and 'conversations' on the videos attached.

E just loves them to death! She is very concerned whenever they cry or are upset. And she loves to have her picture taken with them! Right now, they still do not intentionally grab things, so we are still in the 'honeymoon phase' of this sibling relationship.....and we are lovin' it......but this too shall pass {sigh}

But for now, just enjoy the pictures!

The hubby took the kiddo's to a British Car Show down by White Rock Lake a few weekends back....I had to work at the Antique Mall that Sunday, so he just loaded everyone up and headed out. E had such a good time....she declared that she liked all the RED ones....she still talks about 'all the cars in the park'....I think the addiction to British Sports Cars has begun :) Like Father, Like Daughter!

We also have the 4 month 'Blue Chair' pictures of the twins.....and I don't know if I sent out the 3 month ones or not....someone should let me know if I need to post those or send them out....

Also, my dad, "Pa" is headed to Africa for about a month to do some Missionary Work....please keep him in your prayers!

We are baptizing the Twins on June 6th.....so if you want to come, let us know! Pa will just be returning from Africa this weekend, so we are really excited that he will be able to make it! Our wonderful friends the Korson's and the Selligman's have agreed to be their God Parents. We are so Blessed!!

Love to all!
Cherise