Brunch with friends

I've learned that having company means planning ahead. We prepared for this get-together all week. (Picked the menu Monday, shopped Tuesday, measured dry ingredients Wednesday, cleaned Thursday, did most of the cooking Friday, and finished up Saturday morning). I have never been this organized about having company. Too bad my math must have been wrong when I increased the muffin recipe by 1/2. Those were the driest muffins I've ever had - yuck. The sad thing is I even got the calculator out when I was measuring the ingredients. Nobody even said anything. What good sports. At least the breakfast casserole turned out - thanks, Mom. As usual, us girls enjoyed catching up. The twins loved watching the other kids.

Visiting Chris and Jeannie

Tonight we got together with our friends Chris and Jeannie. We don't get to hang out with them very often, so it was a real treat. Chris and his oldest daughter, Madison, just got back from a mission trip to Peru. It sounded amazing! Their group spread the message of Jesus using street drama. We saw a video of one of the skits - it was really powerful. One of the most touching stories Chris told us was of their team talking and praying with a group of homeless boys called the Parana Boys. They live in the dried river bed and are constantly sniffing glue to suppress the cold and hunger they feel. They are known to surround people and steal everything they have, which is how they got their name. There are thousands of homeless kids living in this area. We saw a video of the group praying with the boys. One of the team members is holding a homeless toddler. It was heartbreaking.

Riley and Colter enjoyed themselves. Riley was especially fascinated by their son, Andrew.

Here's Colter with Daniel.

Here's Riley with Jeannie.

Recap of 4 month appointment

Riley and Colter had their 4 month appointment on the 18th. We thought Daddy was going to get to go this time, but he had a last minute meeting he couldn't miss. So, Gram came to the rescue. Jeff talked to her literally 20 minutes before the appointment and she made it there to help us. Thank goodness. They got the regular 4 month shots and recovered pretty quickly. Dr. Gorvy said we could start solids anytime now, but that we can wait until 6 months if we want. We're waiting for now.
Colter is now 25 inches long and weighs 14 pounds 13 ounces.
Riley is 23 1/2 inches long and weighs 13 pounds 2 ounces.
We knew they were feeling heavy!
While it's easier to hold them at the same time because they are holding their heads up by themselves, it doesn't take long before my arms are tired.
Here's Daddy with his babies.


Jeff and I got to go to a movie this week. That was a huge treat. Gram and Papa Jim came over to babysit and put the twins to bed.
Jeff and I are enjoying all the chatter around here. Riley and Colter are both babbling up a storm. They love to have conversations with anybody who'll listen. It's great in the morning, because they'll entertain themselves by "talking" for almost 30 minutes before they start to fuss. It does make eating take a little longer, though. These two especially love to talk at mealtime!

More on cousin Alan

Alan is improving all the time. As of last night's email from Matt, his IV has been removed, they are weaning him from his oxygen, and Matt and Nicole have been feeding him from a bottle. All great news!! Nicole went home last night and we hope Alan will be going home very soon. Keep praying. We look forward to the three of them being home together.

Isn't he cute?!

Cousin Alan is here!

Cousin Alan was born Tuesday, June 17th. Please join us in praying for him as he is still in the NICU. We are hoping he can go home this weekend. Nicole is going home tonight, so please also pray for her and Matt since they can not yet bring their baby home. He's a strong little guy and we know God is watching over him. I can't wait until we can meet him!! We love him already.

Who needs clothes?!

Bath time is a great way to keep Riley and Colter happy in the evenings. They were in there for about 30 minutes tonight. At the rate they are learning to splash, we are going to have quite a bit of water outside of the tub.
Notice how Governor is "helping." Let the wrestling begin!

It doesn't look like it, but Colter is actually the busiest one in the bath.

They look a little wild here, don't they?

Governor: This is out of control. Who is in charge over here?

If they aren't in the bath, they are happy just being in their diapers. As you can see, they aren't missing any meals!

Uh oh, Riley's slipping.

And Colter's tipping.

We're praying for my brother, his wife, Nicole, and the baby they are in the midst of delivering, Alan. She's been in labor all afternoon and we're expecting to get the news of his arrival soon.
We'll keep you posted!

One last picture... The twins love their bug mobile. Grandma got it at a consignment sale before they were born. It's been worth every penny and more!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to Daddy, Grandpa, Papa Jim, and both our Great-Grandpas!! We're so lucky to have so many fathers in our lives!


We had a great first Father's Day. We went to church this morning. Riley and Colter did well during the service, although they are starting to want to "talk." Riley and I listened to most of the sermon while standing in the back.


After church, we picked up some BBQ and had Jeff's family over for lunch. We had a lot of fun seeing everyone and the twins got to entertain their family.


Uncle Scott was amazed at how big Colter has gotten.

Riley had a good long chat with Uncle Greg.

Here's Daddy with his babies.
Riley and Colter worked really hard on their Father's Day gift. They wanted Daddy to be sure he knew how much he's appreciated and how much they love him.

Jeff, I am so proud of what a wondeful Dad you are. Our children are blessed to have you for a father. We thank God for what you bring to our family.

Friends and fathers

Tonight we had dinner with some families from church. We all met before we were married, and have stayed friends as our families grew. This was the first time Riley and Colter got to hang out with everyone. They had a great time watching the older kids and enjoyed being held by all the grown-ups.

We got a picture of some of the dads with their kids. You can imagine how busy Jeff and Sandy's house was!

It's hard to believe, but the twins even managed to take a nap on the floor in the midst of all the fun. Jeff and I had a great time seeing everyone. Every social outing is a big deal to us these days!

General update

For those of you who are interested in our day to day details...

Bedtime these days is usually around 9pm. They tend to have their last feeding at 8:30pm.

Evenings have gotten a little easier. Riley and Colter seem to do best when we don't try to play with them or get them too excited at night. Baths are great for relaxing them and we try to string these out as long as possible. They also love to hang out in their diapers before we put on pajamas. It also has helped to take them for a little outing after dinner. This week we went to Target and ran into another couple who has twins (now 4 years old). They said the same thing we've heard from others, "it gets easier!"

Nursing is going well. They usually eat every 3 1/2 to 4 hours during the day. Riley sometimes has a hard time focusing because she'd rather hold a lengthy conversation with me than eat. They usually end up holding hands before they're done eating, which is super cute. I am so grateful they hung in there for all the hard work at the beginning.

They've gotten up at 5 something the last couple mornings. I feed them, put them back to bed, and they sleep for a couple more hours. This is pretty doable for me, as I go back to sleep too.

Jeff and I have caught them trying to watch the television, so we're trying to be careful about this. It's kind of funny to see them staring at the t.v., but we definitely don't want to encourage it.

They have gotten to a point where they are looking out the window a lot when we're in the car.

They absolutely love their bug mobile. It's so cute to see them get all excited when I wind it up.

We are putting them in separate rooms for their naps since they don't always go to sleep or wake up at the same times during the day and they usually fuss a little bit as they are going to sleep. Riley tends to wiggle her way to the top of the crib each time she takes a nap. Colter finds his thumb pretty quickly.
They are enjoying sitting up on the couch with us. I guess it's a new view for them!

I can't believe how fast they are growing. I love them more each day!!

Governor

This post is long overdue. Our dog, Governor, is a huge part of our lives. He is not always sure what to make of his new "friends," but he sure does love them. When we play on the floor, he grabs a bone and hangs out next to us. When he comes inside, he checks the house to see where Riley and Colter are. When it's time for a bath, he comes running upstairs to help. When he walks by, he gives the babies a big kiss on the face. However, when they're both crying, he asks to go outside. Hey, he's only human. Kind of.

Here he is hanging out next to Riley.

If you're sitting on the couch, you're fair game for a slobbery kiss!

He went with us on our first walk by ourselves.

He loves to be by the activity mat when Colter is playing.

Now this is a cool boppy!

On most days, Governor can be found hanging out on his ottoman in the den. (Yes, he has a dog bed. He says it's not nearly as comfortable.)

Gov never misses a bath. Jeff and I decided he thinks he's one of the adults. He's usually right between Jeff and I at the side of the tub. We have caught him taking a couple of laps of the bathwater, but he's mostly just monitoring things.

When Riley and Colter were first home from the hospital, Gov would sit at my feet while I fed them. He's always been so supportive!

All the guys like to hang out on the green couch.

If we're in the nursery, Gov's in the nursery.

What can I say? We love this dog.

Reunion

Today Riley, Colter, and I got together with some very special friends. There are five women (including me) who have been getting together to support each other since long before we were all pregnant. We all waited years to have our babies and are thrilled to be sharing the experience of being mothers. We try to get together every month to catch up with each other. Only three of us could meet for lunch today. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures today, but I've posted some pictures from earlier in the year below. I can't explain how happy it makes me to look at us holding our precious babies.

Here we are in April with five of our six babies.

This picture is from October 2007. The fourth baby to be born in our group had just arrived and I was pregnant with the twins.

I am so thankful for these friends. I know God brought them into my life to help give me the strength I needed to try IVF. They gave me the courage to not give up on my dream to become a mom. They are such wonderful, strong women and are a huge part of our story.

Napping at Gram and Papa Jim's

Gram is usually coming over to our house to babysit, but today we dropped the twins off at Gram and Papa Jim's. Jeff and I had an appointment to get our wills signed (finally!) While our lawyer had said it wasn't a big deal to bring the babies, we decided it would be kind of difficult to concentrate with Riley and Colter there. (We don't think he knew what it would be like with 2 infants there!) Plus, they were going to be due for a nap.

They got to snuggle up on a really soft blanket instead of being cramped in the pack-n-play.

Don't they look comfortable??

We keep practicing tummy time. They'd rather be lying on their backs kicking at their toys, but they are definitely getting stronger.

What a trip we had!

We're back home, safe and sound. It was wonderful to see Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Shawn, and Aunt Rita. I'm a little tired because Riley and Colter didn't sleep as well in a new environment. Colter pulled it together for the last night and slept in the crib until 6am. Riley also slept until 6am, but spent most of the night in bed with me. Oh well. They were only rarely sleeping through the night at home, but they were at least making it until 4 or 5am.
The good news is that with Grandma's help, we tried some new things and are liking our new routine, or as Grandpa would say, pattern. The twins are now eating every four hours during the day instead of every three hours. We've also stopped swaddling them at night since it's gotten warmer. Colter really likes this because he has easy access to his thumb. Riley has a harder time sleeping on her back without her swaddle. She's getting better at it, though. We learned they love to lie on the table during meals and look at the light and fan. They like to stare at the fan so much that Jeff says he wishes his face looked like a fan. That's Dadddy, needing his audience to pay attention to him. Colter is babbling a lot more and is very generous with his smiles. They're moving around so much in their cribs that we have moved Colter to his own bed (for real this time!) And it looks like we''ll be doing bathtime together for a while.
Here are some pictures of our trip.

Grandma laughed at how full our van was. We're so glad we got a minivan!

The twins did really well in the car. Very few crying bouts or complaining.

Riley is busy saying that every other baby doesn't have to wear a bonnet. Uncle Shawn thinks she looks like an old-fashioned baby.

Aunt Rita and Uncle Shawn helped us take the babies to the park across the street from Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood.

Uncle Shawn liked to direct where Riley's head and Colter's head should be during dinner. I think he liked when Colter was closest to him.

Riley hopes Uncle Shawn will give her some strawberries.

Aunt Rita gives Colter a kiss.

Riley loved playing with Aunt Rita.

The twins dressed up for Grandpa's birthday party. Happy Birthday, Grandpa!!

Although they slept through presents, they weren't about to miss cake.

Just being outside helps keep the babies happy in the evening.

Grandma tries to get a smile out of Colter.

At least Grandma is smiling!

It makes Riley's day to have a long heart to heart.

Aunt Rita teaches Riley and Colter to play together.

Colter isn't sure about this...

but Aunt Rita makes it all better!

Thanks for having us. We're glad to be back with Dad, but we miss you already!