The Great Snow Storm of 2011

Earlier this week, our local weather folk were predicting THE STORM OF THE CENTURY was going to slam into STL. Monday, my office closed at 3 and Jeremy's closed around 11. He ran to the sitter's house to get the kids and hunker down at home until I got there. I, of course, went to the grocery store with everyone else in the county and bought all the necessary items we would need to sustain life for the 23 days we would be 'snowed in'..


Both of our offices were closed on Tuesday and we waited for the snow to begin.. and waited and waited.. We ended up with about 3 inches of sleet and that's it. I was so incredibly disappointed.


We had fun with the kiddos as we waited and watched radar. Tuesday, we finger painted- with pudding. They loved it, but gosh, were they sticky. Lyla had dried pudding up her nose later that night. They went from their high chairs DIRECTLY into the Bath!



The following day, I had to go to work.. not fun.. while Jeremy stayed home with the kids. I think Dad has a new found appreciation for our sitters because he was exhausted by the time I got home. They played and played and played and, from what I understand, didn't nap so well.. Oh yeah, Jack got a hair cut too.. I was a little sad that I missed it, but the kid really needed it.

We also marked the twins 11th month bday.. Where oh where have the last 11 months gone??

Just a few tidbits on the twins growth this month-


Lyla:

• Finally popped 2 teeth!! Yay!
• Can wave bye bye (adorable!)
• Crawls like crazy and can pull up very easily. She also is practicing standing without holding on to anything. This girl is going to walk soon!
• Talks a lot... a lot. We aren't hearing any words just yet, but if I ask her to say Mama, she'll say Dadadada.. nice.
• Her favorite toy.. hnmm, that's a hard one. She pretty much loves whatever Jack is playing with at the time. She also has a thing for Jack's old car seat toy. It's a bug that when you pull it, it vibrates. She giggles and giggles with it.
• Bedtime is so easy for her. After her bottle, she will play for a little bit and let us know when she's tired. Eye rubs and yawns and off to bed she goes with a paci and her blankie. We don't hear a peep out of her until about 5:45-6:00 the next morning.

Jack:

• Popped teeth # 7 & 8 in the past week
• Starting to wave, but he gets a little excited and ends up smacking mom/dad in the face :)
• Is a crawling machine. He's all over the place and wow, is he fast. He can pull up very well and loves to pull up and hang on mommy's pants. Especially when she's holding Lyla!!
• Starting to talk.. so far, he can repeat "Duck" or "Guck" and "Dog" or "Gog". He knows that Charlie is a "Gog" and will look at Charlie or follow/pet/smack him and say Gog Gog Gog.. I'm going to go ahead and say that Dog is his first official word. The PAT lady said that first words need to be said with purpose and meaning/understanding. All the dadaddad and mamamama blabbers aren't being counted. Dog is his first word.
• Favorite toy- BY FAR his favorite toy is his Pillow Pet from Uncle John. He LOVES to snuggle with it. We can pull it out and Jack will crawl right up to it and lay his head down and snuggle right into it. It's so freaking cute!
• Bedtime.. sigh.. this is a touchy subject. After the sleep clinic, Jack did great. Went down easily and would sleep through the night. He still sleeps through the night, but bedtime isn't as easy as it was. He'll give us the signs of being ready for bed- snuggly, eye rubs, yawns, etc.. but once he's put in his crib, he'll scream for a good 20 minutes. I guess it's just something we'll have to get used to..

Here's a little snippet taken last night.. I don't think we should spend money on big toys for their bday.. cups are cheap!

Once an infertile...

I am so incredibly blessed. I have two beautiful, growing, thriving children who are happy, healthy and make me smile everyday. When we first got pregnant and found out we were having twins, everyone would ask what we (a) thought we were having and (b) what we wanted. My answer was always the same- I didn't know and it didn't matter. Every night I would pray that God would keep the two growing babies inside me healthy and happy. When we found out that we were having a boy and a girl, I'd like to think that we would have been just as excited if would have found out that we were having 2 boys/ 2 girls. They were healthy and growing like they should be- THAT was the most important thing to us. Every step of the way, their health has been my top priority.

Fast forward to today- Jack and Lyla are the best kids a mom could wish for, I should know. I did lots of wishing on lots of stars. I am one lucky woman. Recently, I read a blog entry from a fellow infertile who now has one year old twins. A friend of hers just found out she was pregnant. She had gotten knocked up the old fashioned way- assistance free. The blogger couldn't help but feel the jealous pains, even though she has two beautiful children of her own. I know exactly what she's talking about. I swear there is something in the water these days- I know so many pregnant women. Celebs, friends, friends of friends.. it seems like everyone is pregnant. And with every announcement, my heart hurts a little bit. I know that when Jeremy and I are ready to try again, it won't be easy for us. We will revisit all the fears and anxiety. There will be more shots and discussions about money. The guilt will set back in.

Jeremy's cousin is pregnant with her second child. She has a two year old little boy and both pregnancies were accomplished 'the old fashion way'. When she announced her first pregnancy, I was in the midst of infertility hell. We had been trying for almost a year and had just begun looking into our options. She had announced her pregnancy at Christmas, something Jeremy and I had dreamed of doing but weren't able to do. She also announced that she "would not be having a boy.. " The family teased her and low and behold, she found out she was having a boy. She locked herself in her room and refused to talk to anyone. SERIOUSLY.

Well, she's pregnant again and again, having a boy. Jeremy's mom congratulated her and she said that she wasn't ready to talk about it. The woman is having a HEALTHY baby. Isn't that ALL that should matter? I am not sure what my response to her will be if she makes a negative comment about the child growing inside of her. Part of me wants to remind her just how lucky she is to have a healthy child. The other part of me wants to scream at her.

I am grateful for my family. I love my children more than I ever thought possible. I am a mother, but I'm also an infertile. I know that infertility will always be a part of me, I will never forget the pain it has caused. I also know that my infertility has allowed me to appreciate the miracle that my children really are.

Lyla & Jack 10 months. Taken 1/20/11

Recent Favorite Pictures

Lyla in her Christmas PJ's on Christmas Morning

Jack at 9 months, not happy with the newly installed baby gates

Lyla playing in Doobie and BJ's kitchen with her keys

Holiday Pics.. a little late

Lyla's First Christmas- 9.5 months old

Jack's First Christmas- 9.5 months old.. chewing on a gift tag.. with giltter...

We survived the twins first Christmas and immediately decided that it was time to move. Our little starter home just cannot hold all of the stuff that Jack and Lyla got for Christmas.

This year, Christmas was a little different than it had been in years' past- it spanned 3 days instead of the usual 2. On Friday (Christmas Eve), we had plans for a playdate/lunchdate with some friends who live on the way to J's parents' house, but that morning, we got a call that their daughter had just been diagnosed with RSV. SOOOO, needless to say, we weren't going anywhere near that house. We headed out to Troy early and had a great evening with family. The kids were spoiled rotten and had more fun trying to eat the wrapping paper than playing with the gifts themselves.

Jack had a minor mishap that could have been a lot worse, had Gpa Tony not been sitting with him. J's grandma insists that we use the highchair that ALL of her grandkids used growing up. Not a big deal, I get it. This particular highchair doesn't have straps or anything to really secure the kids into it. I was making the babies' dinner when I heard Gpa Tony going "Whooooaaaa". I turned around and saw just the top of Jack's head in the seat- he had managed to slide down, under the tray and was headed for the floor. Tony had caught him, just in time. Thankfully, J's mom had brought one of her high chairs and so the kiddos took turns in the 'safe' chair eating their dinner.

We had a FUN first Christmas at our house the next morning and video taped the whole thing. Again, wrapping paper was more popular than the gifts themselves, but we still had fun watching them. After presents, the babies ate and went down for a nice nap. I think Jeremy and I even got to take a nap. It was a fantastically lazy Christmas day.

That evening, we had Christmas and a great dinner at my parents house. Instead of a bunch of gifts, my parents decided that our big gift would be a family trip this summer- somewhere in Colorado or Wyoming. I'm already nervous about flying with the twins, but it's a gift that I would much rather have than a few sweaters or something. We're looking forward to it!

The following day- the day after Christmas- we celebrated with my mom's family, which was a little weird. Normally, it's really fun, lots of laughing, drinking and fun, but this year it felt like no one wanted to be there. I hope this was just a one time thing, because I look forward to that Christmas the most.