Haircuts

Janna got her hair cut today and Kennedy & Courtney seemed enthralled by this. They watched her in the chair and chattered at her the whole time.

Kennedy was there to show her support.

I knew Courtney desperately needed a haircut. She has this one piece of hair that is so much longer than the rest of her hair. She's had it since birth, hence her first nickname of Courtney Cockatoo. So the lady put her up in the chair and trimmed it for me. She didn't move, she didn't wiggle or anything. She smiled really big and sat there like it was no big deal. Her first haircut at 9 3/4 months. What a big girl!!!

Here she is in the chair waiting her turn. You can see what I mean about really needing this cut!!!!

This one was taken just for daddy as he loves to put their hair in mohawks.

The finished product. Courtney in her little top knot that mommy likes so much!!

Trip to the wolf sanctuary

Janna has an amazing Daisy Scout leader. Everything they do has some way to earn a badge. In her short time, they have done some wonderful events. Most recently we went to a wolf sanctuary out in Montgomery Texas (see link for details). It was so cool, I had to add a few videos & photos to share. For various reasons none of these graceful animals will ever be allowed to return to the wild. Therefore, all the wolves are rescued and brought to this place to live out their lives in peace.

http://www.wolvesofsaintfrancis.org/

The girls would line up at the fence and howl to get the wolves to howl back at them. As you can see the wolves were accommodating.

On Saturdays all the wolves are walked. It gives them a chance to stretch out and roam. Their cages are good sized, but this definitely gives them a chance to exercise a bit more. Three volunteers will take two wolves out at a time. One of the volunteers wore perfume and it seems that the wolf, Mystery decided she liked. Check out this video. They are spraying perfume onto the fence then the wolf rubs it on herself.

They have guides who can give you all the details of each wolf and adults are able to get a little closer. There are two nine month old wolf cubs joining them soon - we'll be heading back once they are there. We were able to meet the lovely woman who owns all the land and lives there. She told us some great stories and we had an amazing time.

Happy birthday to ME!!

Yesterday was my birthday and I received a great present. David went to visit the back specialist and it turns out he doesn’t need surgery!!! Instead he will be getting transformational epidural steroid injections while continuing his visits with the chiropractor. A friend of ours had this and said it worked wonders. He should see a drastic improvement after the first one. He has a consult with the doctor next Tuesday and they will set up a time to do the first injection that same week. We are all just plain relieved he won’t have to do surgery. I couldn’t ask for more – well, a healed back for him would be nice.

The other great part of my birthday was being with my family. We had a lovely dinner with my in-laws the night before my birthday. Then Tuesday night we went out with my sister Tina, Bill & Lynn. They brought me my favorite cake & ice cream (which was a complete surprise) I received some lovely gifts and we all had a great time. Although I should say we were enjoying ourselves until the end of the night.

Right as we are getting everything together to leave the restaurant Janna starts playing around. She wound up falling flat on her face, hitting her chin and biting her tongue. She’s screaming, crying and bleeding while I do everything I can to calm her. It was pretty traumatic. Tina & Lynn loaded up the car for me while Bill carried everything out. David can’t lift anything due to his back so he was feeling pretty helpless. During all this Kennedy decides that big sister can’t be the only one crying so she starts wailing at the top of her lungs. As we are getting everyone in the car and Janna begs me to sit in the back with her. So David drives while I sit in the back feeding Janna ice and cuddling her. Kennedy cried most of the way home.

Once home I carry everyone and everything into the house and settle Janna on the couch. I put both babies in bed so I can tend to Janna. Kennedy screamed at being unattended – she kept at it until she cried herself to sleep. Once I finished with Janna I went back in, fed her, changed her diaper, got her dressed for bed and put her back down. While she had finally stopped crying she did kick her little legs a few times when I put her down just to make sure I knew she wasn’t completely happy with me.

Back to Janna: By the time we got home she had calmed down and I even managed to make her laugh. Pretty soon she is being VERY silly with me. She tells me, “I’m the goofiest one in this family.” To which I replied, “I don’t think so, who do you think you inherited your silliness from? That’s right me!!” She replied, “No I didn’t. I got it from the wildlife in Zimbabwe.” I laughed and asked her where she comes up with the stuff. She said, “duh, in my head mommy!” She definitely gives me a run for my money.

I feel the need to mention that through all of this Courtney was as good as gold. She smiled, played, cooed and was a little angel baby. She was a complete doll at dinner and went right to bed once we got home. After I sorted the other two out, I got her back up, fed her once more, changed her diaper, changed her into night clothes and put her back down. She smiled at me the entire time.

So thank you mom & dad for yummy Sweet Bella’s dinner & cake on Monday. Thank you David, Tina, Bill, Lynn & my sweet girls for a fun time at CJ’s my actual birthday. And thank you to all my sweet friends who remembered my birthday and sent me emails or called me to share in the day. I greatly appreciate you and you each made me feel special.

PS - Tracy – I love when you & your family sing!!!!! You need to have your own record deal!!!!

Wake me up

Janna asked for an alarm clock so she could wake up on her own. I was impressed but honestly didn't think she would actually do it. Turns out she loves it. She doesn't want me coming in to wake her up - she likes coming out to me. It's so fun to see her huge smile as she realizes she did it herself!!

When I set her alarm I set it to wake up to music but forgot to check what station I had it on. This morning she came out, gave me a cuddle and then headed back into her room to get herself dressed. I could hear the radio as I was making breakfast so I went in to turn the alarm off. I couldn't help but laugh as I walk in and she is jamming to Evanescence's Bring Me to Life. She told me, "don't turn it off, I'm listening to that!!!" She danced around her room and when the song was over she said, "now you can turn it off." Isn't she funny!?!?!?

Dinner

I made broccoli cheese soup & bread for dinner tonight. Everyone loved it. Janna told the babies, “we’re eating little trees, but it’s okay, these are the good kind.” The twins tried to feed themselves as I wasn’t doing it fast enough and made a HUGE mess. I had to put them in the tub right afterwards. There were bread crumbs & tiny pieces of broccoli all over my tub. I could have used their bathwater for soup stock!! I’m just glad they like my cooking.

Quick videos of the babies

Kennedy is hilarious and she knows it. We all love to laugh and consider it a major triumph if we can make someone else laugh out loud. Kennedy has learned this lesson early. See for yourself. The clicking is her trick her daddy taught her while I taught her the nose thing. She started to cry one day and I laughed at her and told her she was faking. In mid cry with her face all scrunched up she smiled at me as if to say, "yeah, okay mom, I'm busted." Since then I can ask her to make her "fake face" and she'll do this look for me.

This toy was a great Christmas gift from Grandma & grandpa. The girls have played with it every day since. Being a baby everthing goes in her mouth; as Courtney clearly shows in this video. She loves to stand up while holding onto it. She tries to get it to move so she can walk with it but that doesn't work so well. Kennedy has finally learned to pull herself up on it too. Although she just makes it to her knees and cries for us to come help her all the way up. Yesterday Janna helped her up to her feet and after a few minutes Kennedy started crying because she couldn't figure out how to sit back down. Poor baby, she's still learning. She isn't in much of a hurry to crawl or stand. She leaves that up to Courtney. She's happy and content where she is.

The Year in Review

I thought I'd give a run down on how we are doing since there have been so many changes this year. School, births, health issues - you name it.

David - He's truly enjoyed his job at Crown Cork & Seal. It seems he's found his niche. He's got great co-workers and good clients. He travels with work at times and works late, but he still manages time for his family. All the girls light up when he walks in the door each night (including me!!) I couldn't ask for a better husband and father.

Near the end of the year we found out he has three bulging disks in his back. Right now he's doing therapy with a chiropractor and has an appointment to talk to a back specialists. We're waiting to see how it all works out.

Even with the birth our our twins he's managed to get in a few guys nights out this past year. It's great to be around old friends and to meet new ones. We've done a family camping trip with some neighbors and managed to have a few dates as well. We trade off baby sitting with some friends of ours in the neighborhood. Janna wanted a new bed so he got the plans from a friend and built her a new bed. She has loved it and he got to enjoy one of his favorite past times - building things.


Janna - School has been the biggest thing in her life. She has a marvelous teacher and enjoys her classmates. She is an amazing big sister and completely loves that role in her life. The girls are the first people to get hugs and kisses every day. She never tires of playing with them and will often tell me they need Janna time. She reads to all of us and its so fun to watch this growth in her learning. She began Girl Scouts as a Daisy this year. She's enjoying that and has a great leader who has them doing so many fun things. In fact our troop is headed to a wolf sanctuary this weekend. She's pretty as a little picture, even with her two missing front teeth!! She was very concerned that her friends would laugh at her without her front teeth. She is extremely active, she loves to climb and play - we call her our little monkey!! There is a sweet side to her that she's always had that has only grown stronger. She's still one of my favorite people in the world and I never tire of watching her. She loves any kinds of arts & crafts and is forever drawing pictures.


Courtney - She has been crawling for a while and is into everything. She is so independent and wants to follow wherever Janna is. If Janna isn't home she follows mommy. She climbs on everything and seems fearless. She is enjoying exploring the house. She found the game shelf and the DVDs. If we forget to to close the door she heads to the shelf and pulls down her favorite game, Lucky Duck. She knows to push the button so the ducks will start quacking. She is always up for a cuddle. Every day she grows more beautiful. Her little eyes sparkle when she smiles and I just melt when she flashes that smile at me. She has the most irresistible smile. She got her first tooth and is endlessly fascinated with it. She loves to eat and will eat anything you give her. Of course she MUST hold the spoon!!! Give her a lap to sit in and she's content. All of our girls love to be read too! I do reading time every day with all of them and the twins will sit just as long as Janna if you are reading to them. Of course they want to help hold the books (and chew on them).

If she is near her twin she always tries to hold her hand. Kennedy of course always tries to pull her hair (she can't resist it). If they are near each other they must touch each other. They will be surrounded by toys and will pass one back and forth. They sit, watch and wait for the other to loosen her grip and then take it. Then the other will do the same. They can do this forever. It's really funny to watch. It's always makes grandma laugh.


Kennedy - Just this past week Kennedy has decided to crawl a few inches. Mostly she likes to sit and cry until someone comes and gets her. While she can do many things on her own she would rather be carried around then get there herself. She got her first tooth the same day Janna lost her first one. She now has two sticking out (which she will bite you with) and is working on several others. She's learned some new tricks (see the video) and loves it when she does something funny and makes us laugh. It's her favorite reaction. She is great with her hands and is very coordinated. She loves to clap and she also likes to put her feet in her mouth. I've always said that when she smiles she seems to smile with her whole body. She just lights up when she smiles and I love to see it. She's also mischievous!!

She also gave us a little health scare. Turns out she has febrile seizures, which she will grow out of. Basically if her fever gets too high she can go into a seizure. They aren't serious, just had to witness as a parent. We have to keep her fevers in check. She also has reflux in both her kidneys. She'll be on antibiotics for the next year and will get tested at the end of the year. Again, this is something she will grow out of. It was scary when all this was first happening but it's comforting to know none of her health issues are serious and that she will grow out of them.


Christina - I'm enjoying staying home with my sweet girls. I'm the co-homeroom mom for Janna's class so we spend a lot of time at the school. In fact at Janna's Christmas party three of the children had presents for me!!! I love being called "Janna's mom." I'm still involved in my book club, I love to read every chance I get. I've met some wonderful ladies there and enjoy getting together with my neighbors. The whole family has had fun with my Mothers of Multiples group. They have things for just me, couples and tons of events for the entire family. We've all enjoyed that group. I get so much out of it and I'm forever grateful my friend Shana suggested it. We are lucky to have some great neighbors and friends close by. Not to mention family!! I love that part of being back in Texas.


My sister Tina, her husband Bill live about 10 miles from us. We see them all the time and it's been wonderful. Bill's mom Lynn moved back to Houston this past year and she has been a wonderful addition to the family as well. We are both lucky to have great in-laws. My in-laws live that close to us as well and we spend as much time with them as we can. They live in Utah about five months out of the year and we always miss them while they are gone. Last year they left when the twins were two months old and came back when they were seven months old. So many changes had happened. Of course that's the entire reason I started this blog in the first place!! I couldn't send grandma videos - now I can! My cousin Joana and her family moved back to Houston (well, Sugar Land) and it's great to be near her again.


Tina & Joana split up and took all of our girls so David and I could have a weekend get away recently. It was so nice to be alone with David and renew that relationship. We are coming up on 12 years of marriage and he is still my very best friend.


Okay, I've rambled enough. That's our life in brief. I can think of a million more things to write but I need sleep. I hope you all have a wonderful New Year. Keep me updated!!! I love to hear from you.