Sunday, January 31, 2010

on the road again...

Barry is sleeping until around 4 or 5 and then we'll get up and pack. We'll leave whenever we're ready to leave. I've got the kid's clothes put aside, but nothing else. The list is on the table so hopefully we won't forget anything important... like the IPod and noise maker. :)

There's less stuff this time than last. No swing, no tub of toys (just a few), more cups than bottles, etc. There is still a lot though. We're finishing up 2 loads of laundry before packing... the kids love to press the start button for me.

I had a dream the other night that Barry and I got to our ski resort and had left all his ski gear at home... ugh! So that definitely went on the packing list the next day.

Ryan took a good nap today after a couple weeks of screaming tantrums when he wakes up. I love his cuddly ways when he doesn't seem mad at the world at the same time. It's just off and on. The screaming toddlers are leaving their mark on my eardrums.

So we're off tonight... I may have internet or not during the trip, we'll see. Pray for our safe travel through this winter season. I'm very thankful right now for a husband who grew up in Colorado and knows how to handle snow and ice.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

busy week

This is one of the busiest weeks we've had in a long time. I'm so glad it's also the week before we go on vacation for 2 weeks.

Sunday of course was busy: worship, class, lunch out, nap, WalMart, life group.

Monday we had a full play day: outside, inside, at a friend's house, and we even took a long walk with our dog. When the kids were ready for bed I had to go meet a couple women to practice songs for a program on Thursday night.

Tuesday: I taught Ladies Bible Class while the kids played in the nursery with about 4 other kids. After lunch out with the Ladies the twins fell asleep on the way home. This evening the ladies I'm singing with are coming here to practice again.

Wednesday: hopefully a day of rest and playing at home... we'll probably have to practice singing again in the evening.

Thursday: in the morning some friends with young kids are coming over to play, Then in the evening a babysitter is coming so I can go the Ladies Night Out to sing our songs and have fun with the ladies.

Friday and Saturday: playing at home, while Barry sleeps all day for night shift... I have to start packing for vacation

Sunday: worship, teaching Sunday school class, then home to nap and pack for the trip

Since Barry will be coming off night shift, he will sleep all day Sunday and then we will drive to Colorado during the night. It's about 10 1/2 hours, and hopefully the twins will just sleep the whole time.

The best part of this visit is that Barry and I will leave the twins with Nana, Papa, and Aunt Robyn for 4 whole nights to go to a ski resort. This was planned before I became pregnant, and now only Barry will be skiing, but we are still looking forward to the time away. I have lots of books to read and will enjoy just being quiet, and sleeping a lot.

So if I don't blog again for a while it's because we're enjoying our family vacation. We need it...

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Our Growing Family

We will be adding a new member to our family in August. I am currently 9 weeks pregnant with a single baby.

I added a banner to track the pregnancy on the right side of the blog page just above the twins' age.

The official due date is August 23, two days before my birthday. The odd thing about that is that when I had the twins I had just turned 29, and I will still be 30 when the baby is born. Crazy! The twins will not turn 2 until several weeks after the baby is born. It will be a hectic life around here for sure.

(The likelihood of the baby being late is very low since we will probably schedule a c-section for this one. The hospital here is just not equipped to handle the possible complications of a VBAC.)

The other nice thing about another summer baby is that I still have my summer maternity clothes. I did have to go buy a few longer sleeve tops and new pair of jeans, but it is a minimal amount.

The biggest difference so far in this pregnancy is that I have been nauseated, but have not actually been sick. With the twins, I was very sick every day until about 2 pm for weeks 8 through 14, and then periodically after that. I am very tired because I have two toddlers to care for, but I try to nap when they do and not worry too much about the other things I could be doing during that time.

I had said it in my review post of the last decade that God is already blessing our family greatly for 2010. While this will be a difficult blessing, it is still a welcome one. As our family grows so does our love for each other.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Learning their parts

The twins know many of their body parts now. When asked they can always find the following: eyes, ears, head, hands, feet, and belly button.

I credit this to multiple sources of body part education. The cradle roll class on Sunday morning sings lots of songs about how God gave us "2 eyes to see", "2 ears to hear", etc. A couple of the videos we watch on a regular basis talk about or sing about the body parts. I often repeat all of these songs when we are eating or playing.

They have been sleeping better at night the past few weeks because we've had a reprieve from the teething. I do wish they had more than 4 teeth each though. They love to eat so many different kinds of food, and it will be even easier to feed them when they get in some teeth to chew with.

Our winter has seemed back to normal this week with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. That's normal here... at least periodically. It's so nice to be able to play outside multiple times a day. Even with all their different toys and a large living area, the indoor activities become tiresome at this age.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Cousin's Visit Pictures

Here are some pictures with the twins cousins from their visit here in January. Sean is 10, and Joshua was still 6. We had a birthday party for Joshua's 7th birthday while they were here and his mom made him a Lego cake. As you'll see, the twins thought it was yummy.






They also enjoyed playing with their cousins' golden retriever, Lily.





The cousins brought a Lightning McQueen car from a box in their garage for Ryan... it is now his favorite. He doesn't like for Alyna to play with it.



They played with Ryan's new blocks.





Joshua had a tea party with Alyna and Ryan.




Joshua isn't too big for the tunnel either... that was fun.


Monday, January 11, 2010

Family Fun

This last week we had lots of family visitors in our house. My sister flew in from Boston, and is still here until later this week. My brother, his family, and their golden retriever drove over from Austin Wednesday and left Sunday morning.

My nephews (Sean 10, and Joshua almost 7) immediately started playing with the twins. Ryan of course showed Sean his cars, and often during the week was seen sitting in Sean's lap. Joshua sat down at the picnic table and had a tea party with Alyna. It was very sweet. All week long, the twins followed the boys around. They got upset when the boys got to go play outside in the snow without them. It was also extremely cold all week until Saturday, and had snowed on Wednesday night.

I enjoyed playing board games and watching movies with my family members who live so far away from us. On Saturday we all went for a long walk through the neighborhood. 5 adults, 2 kids walking, 2 kids in a stroller, and 2 dogs. My nephews stopped all along the way collecting the leftover snow for snowballs.

Barry is back at work now, but my sister is here to help me out until the end of his shift. Today we made a small WalMart trip and ate out for lunch. Tomorrow we will attend the MOPS meeting, and Wednesday we have an appointment to get pictures taken of the twins.

I've been thinking about a verse this week...
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

That peace... it's beyond our understanding. Like Job, we must have faith that God is God. We cannot always understand the ways of the world. May God's peace fill your heart this week.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

twins update

Alyna loves to play with the musical tea pot she received for Christmas, and she loves it when we get the puzzles down for her to play with. Ryan often carries 2 cars around the house, one in each hand.

Yesterday I noticed Alyna crossing her fingers. It's really funny. I showed her that I could do it too, but I don't think she even realized what was going on. It's just her new trick.

They love to bounce on my knee while I sing "Yankee Doodle". I stop and tickle them when I say "macaroni" to get big laughs from them. I always tire out before they do.

Alyna's absolute favorite game right now is "I'm gonna get you". She runs away and waits for you to chase her all the time. Her most opportune moments are when she's getting dressed. As soon as you take her shirt off and reach for the new one, she runs away. You have to go get her and force the new shirt on. Such a fun game for her... not so much for the parents.

Ryan continues to find new places to climb onto or into. Our high chairs are boosters that strap to the dining room chairs, and he can now climb up into the high chair and sit correctly waiting for you to strap him in. We received a new toy storage shelf for Christmas but I had to put the shelf away yesterday because he kept climbing up the poles.

Every little thing is so new and fun... but it's always in line with their same tendencies and personalities. They will turn 2 later this year, and that will bring a whole new set of joys and challenges.