All Aboard!

Today is Good Friday and Wes had the day off. We decided to have a family day and experience something new with the girls. Last December, DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) opened a rail station close to our house. Wes and I had been talking for awhile about taking the train somewhere and we decided today was the day! Last night before bed, Wes told the girls we would be riding a train today and they were excited. This morning when they got up, they said they were riding the train today.

We didn't really have an end destination in mind, we were just going to get on the train and see what the girls would do. We got to the train station and bought our tickets. We then went up to the platform (3 stories high) and waited for the train. The girls could hardly contain their excitement. While we were up there, we saw a freight train and Gracie waved at it. She is so funny.

Anyway, the train finally came. We climbed aboard and the girls LOVED every minute of it. They looked out the window and talked about everything we saw. They bounced up and down in their chairs.

Gracie on the train looking out the window

Both girls looking out the window, it was hard getting them together they kept bouncing around

Lizzie looking out the window, I love her hair

We stopped in the West End and walked around. When I first moved here that was the place to be and now a lot of it is closed. This is also where we ate lunch. People always talk about where we live being a "bubble". When we were downtown, I realize what they mean with lots of different types of people. In fact when we got off the train, the police where intently "questioning" a man. We decided to not go that way.

Getting ready to get back on the train, don't you love the girls poses. They crack me up!

After lunch, we got back on the train and headed home. The girls still LOVED it. A man got on and sat near us. He was listening to music and had his eyes closed. The girls were convinced he was asleep and they needed to whisper, which worked out well for us. He finally "woke up" and they informed us of that too.

After we got off the train and headed to the car, they wanted to sit on the bench (did I mention it was a really windy day?)

It was a really fun day and the girls had a blast. They loved it and talked about it all the way home. It is so fun to experience new things with them and see the pure joy and excitement that they have.

Dancing Waters

Today, Amy and I took the girls to eat lunch and play in a fountain. We first ate lunch at a restaurant near by (it took forever to order and eat) and then we let the girls play. I brought swim suits and Amy brought extra dresses (we think differently which we always laugh at). Anyway, last year when we took all the girls to something like this; Lizzie was all over it, Gracie took some coaxing but then got in to it and Reese and Riley weren't too sure what to think.

Fast Forward several months and Reese, Lizzie and Gracie were all in the water and soaking wet within 10 minutes. Riley still took some coaxing but did get a little wet. Anyway, ALL the girls had a blast and there was a lot of laughing and squealing! We are definitely going to have to go again.

Here are some pictures (I only had my iPhone as a camera).

Lizzie, Gracie and Reese

Gracie and Reese

Lizzie and Gracie

March for Babies

Yesterday, we participated in the March of Dimes March for Babies. This was the first time for us to participate. With out many expectations, we woke up early on Saturday with the girls and head over to Amy's house to caravan to the walk. We are then on our way.

When we finally get to White Rock Lake, we start walking to the starting point for the walk. Again Wes and I didn't really know what to expect, we thought there would be 100s of people not 1000s of people including lots of strollers. So many people in fact, that it took us 15 minutes to actually start walking and we were in the middle of the pack.

With four sets of twins, we get moving. The girls did really well and stayed in their stroller. Wes pushed the entire time. We both had a great time talking to all the people on our team, including Liz and Chris.

Of course I had my camera the whole time, but I only got one shot and it wasn't a great one. Doing this walk was a great experience for us and a little emotional. Because of the research and programs of this organization, our girls are the healthy happy little girls they are today. We are very grateful for medical science and prayer.

They Look Sweet Don't They

See how sweetly these two girls can smile and look cute?

Lizzie saying "cheese"

Gracie looking cute

Well, they can look cute when they want to and then turn around and be little terrors. I took these pictures after we finished having lunch with my friend Shanon, where they acted like two little monkeys. They climbed all over her, jumped in the booth and tried to put something in a lady's hair sitting behind us. Finally, lunch ended when Gracie started screeching about something I took from her.

The next day, we met up with our friend Anna, Isaac and EJ for story time and playing. We got through story time with out trouble but when we went outside they were naughty. Lizzie would blatantly do something that I told her not to do. She was in time out a lot. Gracie was a little better and didn't go in time out as much.

Some other things they are doing:

• Gracie is fighting me about the car seat, I can't tell if its because she thinks she is in the wrong seat or not
• Lizzie likes to run in the other direction, usually when we are near really busy streets.
• Gracie is still fighting me about the potty. We are trying to bribe her with cute panties. I have to beg her to go when she wants to do something "more fun".
• Both like to hit. Lizzie hits Gracie when she is frustrated and vice versa. Gracie has a temper and tries to hit anything in her path.

We are trying to work on correcting all these bad behaviors. Its a little overwhelming when you have two at the same stage working against me. What keeps me sane and more calm is that they do have very cute moments. They are talking so much to each other. Some times I can't even tell what they are talking about (I think they are plotting against me sometimes) but they talk, laugh and play. Today in the car, they were talking and Lizzie was belly laughing so hard. It cracked me up!

Giving In

Since I started staying home with the girls they were pretty good sleepers. They napped when they were suppose to and went to sleep at night easily. When we switched to big girl beds, it was still the same until recently. Around a month ago, they started playing during nap time and getting out of bed. I would have to go in constantly to tell them to sleep. I knew there was an option of separating them, but I didn't want to do it. I liked the idea of them always being together.

In the last week, I have started separating them during nap time. We did it this weekend and it worked pretty well. I gave in and its actually been nice. They both took really long naps and were so happy when they woke up.

Bluebonnets

Today, I took the girls to get pictures in the bluebonnets. My friend Allison had a great idea for our twin group. To have the kids come out and she would take pictures. I thought to myself, this will be great, my girls love to model for Allison and take pictures.

I should have know that today was not going to go ok. Lizzie woke up cranky and didn't want to do anything I asked her. I finally got them dressed and in the car. We stopped for donuts (I was thinking the sugar would work in my favor) and headed to our field of bluebonnets.

In my crazy dream world, I envisioned beautiful girls smiling sweetly for Allison. In reality, we get to the field to find out it was soaking wet, not from rain but from sprinklers. Allison got some really good shots of all the kids until their feet got wet. Lizzie and Anna (one of Allison's triplets) were not happy about the wet feet and were crying. Gracie wanted to be attached to Allison's hip while she was taking pictures of other kids (thus making taking pictures difficult). Again, my girls LOVE Allison. I think they would live with her if they could.

Anyway, we finally bribed Lizzie and Gracie with Fritos (chili cheese no less, their daddy would be proud) to take ONE shot together. It worked! I just hope Allison got a good one to use.

This is how most of the shots went when I tried to get them together.

The Fritos worked! This is with Gracie stuffing them in her mouth.

In my disappointment, I stopped at a field closer to home after I got the girls McDonald's water and apples

Open Gym Play Date

Today, we went to open gym time at The Palaestra Gym with our friends Reese, Riley and Amy. We had a blast! It was suppose to be a play date for our Moms of Multiple, group, MPOM, but we were the only ones that could make it. All the girls had a blast. Amy and I even jumped on the trampolines to later find out adults weren't allowed on them, Oops. The only camera we had was my cell phone, so excuse the slightly cruddy shots. Also, the girls were never in one spot long enough to get a group shot!

Gracie being a monkey

Lizzie being a monkey

Moving shot of Lizzie and Riley on the balance beam

The only group shot I got, these girls move fast!

After we played, we went to Rosa's for lunch. Amy's sister Leah and nephew Casen joined us and even Wes showed up! We had a big long messy table. Fortunately, Lizzie and Reese pulled out a ton of napkins. All the kids were wiping the table before we even ate. Lizzie is an expert napkin puller outter. Today was a really fun day for us!

Pictures Please!

My sweet friend and fellow mom of multiples (sweet triplets) took our pictures a couple of weeks ago at the Dallas Arboretum. She did an awesome job like she always does! In 30 minutes, she got a ton of good shots! It probably helped that the girls LOVE to have their pictures taken and pose for Allison (they also love her).

Her are some pictures she took.

The family

My sweeties posing

Dancing away

Sweet Lizzie

Sweet Gracie

Aggression

My little Lizzie and Gracie have been sweet little girls. They have their episodes but tend to still be good. When we go to play areas or parks, they would play sweetly. But recently, they have become "those kids". You know the ones, the hitters, kicker or pushers.

Today for example, Gracie had something that Lizzie wanted. They started fighting over it and then Gracie opened her mouth like she was going to bite. I caught her and we talked about no biting. Later, I took them to the play area at the mall. In about 5 minutes, Gracie had made a younger girl cry twice, Lizzie made the same girl cry and then Lizzie pushed down a kid that was barely walking. The dad was right there, fortunately, he was understanding. Each girl had several time outs.

I guess it just a phase (hopefully) and we will learn to be nice.

Cheese!

We were in the car and Gracie had her play camera. She kept saying
"cheese!". Lizzie informed her, "eat cheese Gracie not say it".

The Wait is OVER!

Well, the results came back from my dad's tests. The good news is that he will be ok! All he needs are some antibiotics. As you may remember from this post, my dad was undergoing testing to see what was in his lungs. The two extremes were nothing to cancer and anything in between. The entire family was in a state of stress and wait. No one wanted to plan anything because we didn't know what was going to happen.

We found out today that he just has a little fungus in his lungs (probably left over from his pneumonia). He probably breathed something in, the allergens have been high, and it went into his lungs and started to grow. He just takes some antibiotics and he will be fine!

We found all this out on his birthday! It was a great birthday present to him!

Ahoy Matey

My nephew is really into pirates. He was a pirate for about 3 Halloweens straight. His favorite movie is Peter Pan. So, it was not surprise when he talked all the cousins into playing pirate with him. All 5 of the kids put on "pirate hats" and sailed in their "ships" around my parents house. It was really cute. All the adults were cracking up! What imaginations!

All 5 of the cousins

My sweet Gracie

My sweet Lizzie

Waiting.....

Waiting is one of the things that I am not good at doing. I'm not patient and I don't like the unknown, but the last 3 weeks has been full of waiting. My dad is waiting on the results of some medical tests. With each new test, comes a period of waiting. It's hard. I just have to keep praying and waiting. Hopefully soon, we will have answers and know what course of action we need to take.

Sometimes, God puts people in your life to make the waiting easier. In my case, its been getting back to yoga and connecting to an inner peace and its been some pretty awesome friends and my church that remind me what praying and God are really about.

We still have another week of waiting, but I know that my faith will help me through.

A Potter and Her Clay

I got the craft bug again. I started playing with my clay and came up with these necklaces.

The first day I played with hearts.


The next day, I free handed it. I saw a necklace similar to these but put my own spin on it. I really liked how these turned out. I think they look really sweet. Wes was impressed when I showed him.



It really helps when my kids decide to actually sleep. That means I can get some crafting done.

On Our Way to Church

The girls looked really cute this morning for church. They had pig tails and boots. What could be better!

My sweeties and I

Wes and the girls

Lizzie Jane

Grace Kathleen

The girls wanted to squat for their pictures.

Lunch Out

Yesterday, the girls and I had lunch with my friend and yoga teacher Shanon. The lunch started off normal. We ordered our food and drinks. The food came and we all ate and talked.

The girls did pretty good. Then they finished their food. So to entertain themselves, the crunched up all the chips left in the bowl. Broken chips were all over the table and floor. After the girls were done with that, they started to get whiny so I decided to let them out of the high chairs.

In the mean time, the restaurant started filling up and a couple of women dressed in business attire sat down next to us. We were pretty close together. Anyway, I could feel the women staring at us. Usually, we get the covert smiles and looks that the girls are cute. This was not the looks we were getting from these two.

Anyway, I let the girls out of the high chairs and put them on the booth next to us. The girls played there for a bit and then started crawling under the table and running around the table. Not too bad, but they weren't sitting quietly anymore. I gave the girls a wipe to wash their face and hands and my girls being the cleaners started wiping off the high chair and floor. The waiter came by and thought it was funny. However, the two women sitting next to me did not. They especially didn't like it when Lizzie decided to be nice and clean their table too (with the same wipe that was on the floor). She then left the wipe on their table. One of the women made a comment (a not polite one either). I grabbed the wipe and tried to ignore the looks.

Finally, we got up to leave and I noticed that the table next to us was empty. Then I noticed that the two women had gotten up and MOVED to another table farther away. Anyway, I decided I was glad that Lizzie put that gross wipe on their table.

Trouble

They look sweet, don't they?

For the last two days, these little cuties have tried everything they can get away with. Yesterday started off normal enough, we got up, we had breakfast and we got dressed. I had planned on going shopping to pick up a few things. So, I was getting everything ready to go and the girls were eerily quite and I should have known. They dumped an entire bottle of bubbles on their play kitchen and the floor. So, I had to clean it up before we left.

Our first stop was the Dollar Tree (because we are that fancy), it went ok. Gracie only grabbed a couple of things off the shelves. We then headed over to Target. This is were it got crazy. I found a double cart, but one of the buckles on the bottom was broken so I put Lizzie in the basket. With in the first few isles, Lizzie had kicked Gracie in the face. So Gracie started crying. I got her settled down so we moved a little further. I looked away at something and then back, Gracie had taken OFF her shirt. She was completely topless. A few isle later, Lizzie decided to try it herself. Fortunately, I caught her in the nick of time. We move to the clothes section, this is were Gracie got kicked in the face again and then TOOK OFF Lizzie's shoes and tried to throw them out of the cart. We finally get everything we need and head out the door.

So they may look cute, but sometimes they can be stinks......

Sleepy Time and a Big Girl

For the last three weeks my good little nappers and sleepers have turned naughty. They use to stay in their own bed but now they want to sleep together in one of the beds. I don't mind that they want to be together, I mind that they don't sleep. They usually pile all their friends (stuffed animals) in one of the beds. I have removed all the toys out of the room because one day I went in and they had flower headbands on and were playing with the toys. I tried not to laugh but it was funny. They have been some sleepy girls lately.

On an unrelated note, Gracie has decided that she is now a big girl because she can poop and pee on the potty. This means that she can now do everything adults do, like climb on her play kitchen to turn on the light and fan (which sucked up some balloons that Wes had to use a ladder to get down), serve herself at dinner (she stands up in her chair and reaches across with her fork into a hot pot) and gets herself water from the fridge (then pours the water on the floor). She tells us that she is not a baby and is now a big girl.

These girls are constantly changing on us. We never know what is coming next.

Snow! Snow!

Last night through this morning it snowed, we received about 6 inches. This is after the 3 days of being iced in. Finally, it was slightly warm enough to go outside. The girls love it! They liked picking up the snow, making snow balls and throwing them at daddy!

Lizzie in the snow

Gracie

Gracie trying to make a snowball

It's Potty Time!

It's been the cloud hanging over our heads for a while. Potty training two kids at the same time. We decided that this week we would tackle it. Since this weekend, we switched to training pants and asking if the girls want to sit on the potty.

Gracie has really taken to it and has even wore big girl panties for the last two days while we were snowed it. Lizzie is still happy going in the pull up and only sits on the potty when she feels like it.

Last night Gracie had a success in the potty and we were all congratulating her and Lizzie said "Yea, Gracie". She was jumping up and down and clapping. These girls are always happy for each other and their successes. I just would like Lizzie to actually go in the potty.

The Madest I Have Ever Been......For Now

Today, I was really angry with the girls. We went to church for my women's group. The girls stayed in the nursery and while I was in my group. I picked the girls up, Gracie beg for her sucker and they took forever to put on their coats.

We walked out of the nursery area and I stopped to talk to some of the women. The girls ran off to pay in the drinking fountain. I talked for a bit and then went to get them. They stalled to leave (a good tactic they have been perfecting) and of course I was begging them to leave. Finally, I picked up Gracie and Lizzie soon followed.

We finally get out of the church and are walking to the car. I have them both by the hand and finally get to the car. I put Gracie in and Lizzie starts going around the car and onto the curb. She starts running to the busy street. So, I'm dragging Gracie and my purse. Then I see a big SUV that wants to park. I panic drop Gracie in the dirt and finally catch Lizzie. At this point my adrenaline and embarrassment are flowing.

I drag both girls back to the car, give Lizzie and Gracie a stern talking to and deny them their sucker. I call Wes and tell him that he needs to come home for lunch because I am so angry. I lecture them the whole way home while Gracie is crying because she wants her sucker. Finally, she gets that the sucker is a no go.

When we get home, the girls act as good as they can. They know that mommy is very upset. Lizzie at lunch was trying to do all her cute faces to make mommy happy (ironically the face she was giving me was the mean face).

On another note, the girls are perfecting their silly faces. Lizzie has the mean face and Gracie has the surprise face.

The "Mean Face"

The "Surprise Face"

Playing and Changes

This weekend was crazy busy for us. On Friday, I started an in-depth yoga training. That lasted Friday night and Saturday and Sunday afternoon. I have committed to a regular practice and about 1 weekend a month of training. It will last for about 9 months. I have done yoga for many years and have wanted to do this for a long time. I was nervous the first night because I haven't had a regular practice since I was put on no exercise while I was pregnant with the girls (almost 3 years ago). This is also the first thing that I have done for myself since they were born.

I really enjoyed the class but wrestled with the "mommy guilt" of leaving the girls. Wes is really supportive of this and has been really sweet. He told me not to look at it as leaving them but as giving him time with them.

Anyway, on to the rest of the weekend. On Saturday morning, we met up with our twin club to have our Annual Snowflake Festival at Paradise Pond in Grapevine. Amy and I planned it as the children's social chairs. We had around 15 families show up with twins, triplets and siblings. It was great. The girls played pretty independently and even bounced in the bounce house! Then we grabbed lunch, I changed and ran out of the house.

On Sunday, we went to church and then ran home for me to eat and change. By Sunday night, I was exhausted!

Picture, Momma, Picture

Lizzie demands I take pictures of her and Gracie. She says, "Picture,
Momma, picture" and then they pose and say cheese.

Night night

The girls decided to play night night. Gracie pulled the sheets off
their beds and brought them to the living room. After they were all
settled, Lizzie demanded to have their picture taken.

Do we shop too much?

The other night, Wes and I went grocery shopping with the girls. When both of us go shopping, we put the girls in separate carts and push each around. The girls really love this because they get to see new sights and get one-on-one time with us. Anyway, I was pushing Lizzie and she was cracking me up. She kept pointing at different things and telling me to "buy it momma".

She has figured out what she likes. Both girls have figured out that it doesn't belong to them until we pay for it. They will pick up something and say "buy it".

Tales from the Potty

Tonight during dinner, Gracie told Wes that she wanted to go potty (I was at church at a meeting). She sat down on her potty for a little bit and tried. After awhile, she told Wes that her poo poo was broken and got up.

Our Christmas Vacation

Our Christmas vacation has been quite an adventure. We spent most of it in Oklahoma with my family. Christmas eve we spent getting the last of our presents and wrapping them up. We saw lots of family, except we didn't get to see my Grandma. She was sick and so we postponed our time with her.

Christmas morning, the girls opened presents and had a blast. They loved everything they got. The girls slept later than normal and everyone accused me of waking them up (I get really excited about Christmas morning). Later, cousin Sydney and Sam, with aunt Laura and uncle Paul, came over and gave them more presents. We then went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Potter. The girls had so much fun.

The girls opening presents with me.

The big sack of presents from Grandma and Papa.

The day after Christmas we spent with my cousins, Chris, Angie, Kassidy and Katlin. It was a great time! The girls loved playing and they even got cute little monkeys. Gracie was too excited at lunch and fell out of her chair and bumped her head. She was crying so hard she threw up all over me. That really cleared the kid table. It's a new Christmas tradition because last year, the day after Christmas she got sick all over me. I personally do not like this tradition and would like it to stop. She is better now, just a little bruised but still as active as ever.

Gracie with monkey and bruise. Lizzie with monkey

The next day Lizzie decides to catch some virus and had a fever. That lead to a trip to the urgent care because we thought it could be an ear infection. Fortunately, it was just a cold that we had to let run its course.

Wes and I did get a night out on the town. As part of our Christmas present, my cousin gave us a gift card for dinner. It was really nice to get out.

We did get to take the girls to look at Christmas lights. They were so cute, they would say "wow", "pretty lights" and "white lights". Lizzie talked the whole time and Gracie just looked.

Our last Christmas activity was over New Years. My dad's family has the tradition of meeting in a hotel, spending the night, eating dinner and playing dirty Santa. It is the family reunion that meets every year. My dad has 4 living siblings and all of them made it. Most of my cousins made it with their kids. All total it was around 35 people. It is always a fun time. This year it was in Wichita Kansas during a cold spell that the highs were only in the 20s. This Texas gal was cold!

The girls loved it and played, but that nasty fever came back on Lizzie. She was pretty yucky the first night but got better. Gracie tried to see how many laps and hugs she could get. Lizzie was herself and watched people from afar and made them work for her attention.

We finally came home after 10 days way and have to get back to reality. Most nights the girls went to sleep around 10:00 and woke up at 8:00!

Our Christmas Card

Well, here is our Christmas card for this year. Like last year, I decided to not print and mail the cards and just email them to my friends and family. Call it lazy or green, I'm fine either way because it is a little of both.

This year has had it's ups and downs but ended well for us. Wes is working, I am not and that's the way I like it. Since I quit my job back in July, I have loved my "new job" so much. Being home with the girls is so rewarding. They teach me so much and stress me out all at the same time!

Wes loves his job. He works with some great people. I know he misses being home with his girls, but he works 10 minutes from the house so we can see him at lunch (if we aren't out and about).

The girls are growing fast and learning so much. It's amazing what they pick up and say and do. I am still noticing what they picked up while staying with Grandma and Papa.

Hope everyone has a great holiday season!

Merry Christmas!

Visit with Santa

Today the girls met Santa. We have gone to see him the last two years but they haven't really liked it too much. But, today's adventure with Amy was to go see Santa with all the girls. There were four of us moms and six kids! It was crazy all the kids did really well.