Happy Thanksgiving!

The holidays are upon us and this gal couldn't be more excited! I just love Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love the hustle and bustle of buying gifts, wrapping presents, large meals with family, watching friends and family open gifts, baking cookies, making candies, decorating the tree, and the love that everyone shows for each other.

We have always had our own traditions as a married couple. I am so excited to now see how we will introduce the holidays to Max and Harper. I can't wait to start FAMILY traditions with them.

For example, they both helped decorate our tree.

Sweet Boy

What? I am just helping Mom.

Hanging out...you know.

Big Girl.

Finished.

We know that they won't know what's going on this year but it isn't stopping us from trying to make the holidays great for them. We already got one of their gifts and are going to put it together for them now. They love their jumper at daycare so we got one for them when they are home.

Last weekend, we took their holiday pictures for our Christmas card. Of course, as soon as we got them dressed their smiles disappeared. They are still precious, of course. We probably should have got a professional to do them but thought we could handle a couple shots. Here are a couple outtakes we didn't use. We did some good ones for the card. I will post that when they are done. 

Not interested

It is so much fun to put my hand in Sissy's mouth.

No smiles.

Are we done here?

I am in the process of baking for Thanksgiving. We have THREE, yes three locations to be in one day. We start off at my in-law's house (they live a mile away) for a brunch at 10am. Then we drive an hour to my parent's house by 12:30pm. Then we drive another hour and a half to my husband's whole family at 4pm. So...we are crazy! I think we will discover that days like that are too hard on the babies. By next year, we may have to cut down our visits for sure.

Here is my Pinterest dessert find. It is an apple cranberry crisp. I am also working on cranberry sauce and cheesecake pops.

Thanksgiving is so much more than driving all over the place for WAY too much food. But it is about being thankful for what we have. We are so blessed. Last year, we found out that we were pregnant the day after Thanksgiving which was 11/23. Our BETA was 45 at 12dpiui. We were so surprised and even more thankful that our doubling times were amazing. 15dpiui it was 351 and then 17dpiui it was 943.

 I finally peed on a test 14dpiui...even though we knew were pregnant, I was afraid of pee sticks!

I wish all of you an amazing Thanksgiving filled with love and family. 

-Lisa-

Growing...growing...growing (oh and SLEEP!)

Four month appointment was Wednesday. It went well. Shots suck but I didn't cry this time. They didn't really cry too badly either.

Then, poor Harps got her ears pierced while we were there. Our doctor's office does ear piercing which is great! I feel like everything is sterile and safe this way. Plus these people know what they are doing instead of a teen from the mall! She cried but again not for long.

They are growing like crazy!

Max weighs 14 pounds, 9 ounces. He is 24 3/4 inches long. He is such a big boy! I can't believe how little he was now. I look back at pictures and he doesn't even look like he used to.

Plus...don't want to jinx anything but they slept 11 hours last night! We got 7 straight, uninterrupted hours ourselves. It was just what I needed. Hopefully, they are back on track!

Daddy loves bath time just as much as we do!

I weigh what?!

Harper weighs 13 pounds, 2 ounces. She is also 24 3/4 inches long. She is just the sweetest snuggle bug. She has changed the most, I feel. She looked like a preemie with no fat on her at all and now she has the chunkiest cheeks ever!

New bling

Soap beard!

-Lisa-

Sleep{ier} Frustrations

I posted about sleep deprivation due to sleep regression here a few days ago. Well...somehow, Max has gotten worse about sleeping at night.

My sweet, precious little boy doesn't cry. But he definitely has been waking every hour or so to yell at us. He just wants to play. We go in and he is kicking his little feet, talking, and giggling. It is so hard to be upset at that! After a couple nights of 3 nonconsecutive hours of sleep...we are tired. Luckily, Harper is unaffected. She still sleeps through the night just fine.

So, I just know when Max's phase is through...Harper's will start. Thankfully, it is just a phase. Most say the sleep regression lasts a few days. So there is an end in sight.

Harper is still growing two teeth. They have broken skin but not growing too much beyond that.

Max is an excellent roller and never stays in the same place or position long!

We go to the doctor tomorrow so I will have an update later on growth and shots.

Mom, you don't need sleep! Look how cute we are.

I may not sleep but look, Mom, I hold my bottle.

-Lisa-

Sleepy Frustrations

So I am beyond frustrated with this stupid BLOGGER!! I am not a computer person. Leave me alone with a computer and something awful is bound to happen with a few clicks of the keys.

So...trying to recode my HTML. Holy crap!

After hours of frustration, this is as good as it is going to get for now. I wanted to redesign all parts of the blog but have given up for now. I wish I knew how to do more. But I am lame and somewhat miss the days of AOL where I was a "G".

Anyway...let's talk about sleep regression...and teething...and how that means we are NOT SLEEPING!

I have read about it and heard about it but nothing has prepared me for the deprivation.

Max and Harper have been really great sleepers their whole life. Granted, I do not miss the days of newborn 3 hour stints. But they slept and went back to sleep fairly easily.

Flash forward to nearly a week ago...they were consistently sleeping 10-12 hours IN A ROW. This meant I had a good 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I love those little guys!

Still love them but we need to have a serious talk. A couple days ago they started waking up in the middle of the night. Mainly just Max. When we knew for sure that he was not going to be soothed...we woke up Harper too. (We still are afraid to get them off the same schedule. I am not in the mood for tempting fate. I have fears of being up all night because they are off.)

I know that their "regression" is not bad. I have heard horror stories. I am hoping that this new sleep plan doesn't get any worse. They still go down pretty smoothly. They are asleep by 7 on most normal nights. They have been getting up around 1. Then they want to be up for an hour or so and go back down until 7. I know! Why am I complaining?

Well...I got accustomed to a certain level of restfulness. And it isn't happening anymore. It is going to get worse. I know. We cannot be this lucky. Many mommies are experiencing newborn-like regression. So I will stop complaining (out loud).

Harper is still cutting those teefers. She has the tip of her two bottom front teeth showing. Max just has extremely white gums. Our amber teething necklaces work. No kidding. I don't know how and it seems odd to some people but they are magical beads! Daycare doesn't allow those wonder necklaces so we take them off while they are there. Amazingly their fussiness ceases within a half hour of getting the necklaces back on them. Now to just get Max's necklace exchanged. His clasp broke. Jeremy swears it was fine when he took it off this morning but it was broken when I got home. Hmm...not so magical!

We go to their four month appointment next Wednesday. We are also getting Harper's ears pierced at this doctor visit. Should be great for the whole sleeping thing, huh?

Sweet Dreams!
-Lisa-

Under Construction

I am working on making my blog cuter and better! Bear with me as I am working on it.

Real post soon!

Lisa

4 Months of Awesome

Max & Harper are four months old!!!

They are growing and changing everyday. Here are some random happenings of the last month:

• They giggle out loud and on purpose. Max loves when we hold him in the air. Harper loves when we blow raspberries on her tummy. 
• They talk A LOT. I crack up at their babbles. I swear they talk to each other. One will wake up in the night and chatter to wake the other one (not so awesome!) and it is so cute.
• They eat like champs. We went through a bout of stomach bugs in our house but when healthy they eat 7 ounces every 3-4 hours. 
• At night they sleep a pretty consistent 10 hours. They are asleep in bed around 7pm each night. This is great for getting grading and things done around the house...but sad that I lose cuddle time, especially when I have to stay late at school. 
• They are teething. In fact, Harper has her first tooth barely poking through. We got them the Baltic amber necklaces. They are great! So far, it has really cut down on their drooling. They were drooling so much that they would puke up clear fluid. Gross!
• They love play time. Tummy time doesn't last too long anymore since they roll everywhere. Max has even mastered the scoot. He will spin and turn until he gets where he wants, which usually means to see the TV to watch sports (just like his dad!). Max is super close to being able to roll from back to tummy. 
• They pull out their pacifiers to smile and talk and then put them back in! So cute. 
• They notice their hands and are completely mesmerized by them. Max laid in his crib for a good 30 minutes watching his hands. He didn't cry but I stood out of sight watching him. Hilarious!
• Max holds his own bottle. We don't quite trust them to hold them completely but we are getting there. 
• They love to be in the sitting position but can't quite do it with their awkward balance. The Bumbos are their favorites right now. 
• They love their daycare teachers and their teachers love them too. I have to say picking them up in the evening is my all time favorite part of the day!
• They are starting to realize that Bella, our beagle, is there now. They reach to touch her or stare at her. I have to wonder what they think she is. 
• They wear mostly 3-6 month clothing. I packed away all 0-3 and some 3 month too. Max is even wearing some 6  month clothes. So sad how fast they are growing!

Now for some pictures. Sorry for the rushed post but baby snuggles await me...

Sitting pretty

The tongue is always out!

Tiny beauty

Near rolling to tummy from back...

You did what?!

I love you, Mom!

Using the Bumbo so they could take a bath together for the first time

Notice our pretty Amber necklaces to help with teething

Loving the tummy time

Our favorite boy cousin!

We have lots of cousins to help us!

No way!

That's hilarious!

I was loving the camera!

They woke me up for this?!

Muscles!

Tired baby

Four months old!

Daddy is doing funny things but we aren't amused

-Lisa-

The Best IUI Ever!! (Oh and some Dirty Thirty)

I know that I keep reminiscing about the last year. I have had quite a few "OMG" moments lately. I can't help but be in complete and utter awe of God.

On Friday, November 9, 2012, I was feeling uncomfortable all day. After my follicle check at Dr. Kim's office, I was cleared to trigger the next night and have our IUI the next Monday. However, with my IVF debacle of early ovulation...I knew that the uncomfortable crampiness meant that I was ovulating. So, I peed on ovulation sticks with every pee that day. I soon found out that I was right. Here is my post from that night (I was devastated!): click here. 

I thought for sure our chance of parenting was over for a bit longer. I then got a little more positive when I focused on God's plan here. Then here is the post from the actual day of the IUI.

We had our IUI on Sunday, November 11, 2012. The IUI that brought us Max and Harper. The IUI that wasn't supposed to work. The IUI the doctors thought wasn't possible. The IUI that was "ruined" by natural ovulation. 

I love that the day our babies were "conceived" is also their FOUR MONTH birthday! Eight seemingly long months after the IUI, my babies were born. 

I plan on posting about the babies four month birthday next week. I can't believe they are four months old! 

By the way...my 30th birthday was a blast! I quickly realized that I am old. Skating was fun but a lot more painful than I remember. We lasted about an hour before we ready to move on. Still a great time reliving my childhood. (Yes, I need to lose the baby weight which is seen in the pictures but I am so TIRED that I don't even have the energy to try and work out. I will eventually get my crap together.)

My brother is funny (or funny looking!)

Praising God that I made it through Limbo

I fell after making it through Limbo bar...I'm old!

My gorgeous sis

One of my Best friends!

-Lisa-

First Halloween & Holy Cow I am 30!

Halloween...for many a time of scary masks, too much candy, fall leaves, and for teachers...hyperactive students!

Well, for me growing up, it meant my birthday was tomorrow! So, I looked forward to November 1, not October 31. Today, I am thirty. 3-0! It was a marker of being officially "old" for so long and now that I am officially 30, it is so YOUNG! But seriously, how did this happen?

Tomorrow, I am having an old fashioned roller skating party. For my tween years of 11-13, I had a roller skating party. So I figured it would be the best chance to recapture my childhood. I am hoping I don't break an arm or throw out a hip. It also means that I am going to be out without the babies.

My mom is going to watch the babies for us while we party like it's 1995. I was going to initially leave them overnight but I just can't. We are going to pick them up after the festivities but leaving them on a weekend is a big step for me. Weekends are sacred time for a working mom!

Speaking of babies...Max and Harper celebrated their first big holiday. They had two costumes because that's how they roll. They were adorable glow in the dark skeletons at daycare yesterday for their "school" party. Then they changed into adorable tree creatures...a monkey and koala. They seemed to enjoy their day and costumes. Seeing all of the adorable toddlers trick or treating made me so excited for next Halloween when they may actually have a clue about what is going on!

They were also 16 weeks old yesterday. More craziness! Time seriously needs to slow down. I feel like I blink...then they look older and are more mobile. (Max now rolls both ways! They are starting to teeth. And they both laugh out loud which is by far the most adorable thing they have done so far. And that's a tall order considering they ooze cuteness!)

Enjoy the pictures and will post about my 30th birthday party soon.

We love tummy time!

My cute bags of bones

Seriously cute

Looking stylish for church

Love pats and fat bellies

My tree creatures

Sweet Koala Harper

Monkey Max

My MIL doesn't mess around when it comes to Halloween!

Gosh I love these two so much!

-Lisa-