Birthday Boys

It has already been a month since my boys birthday and I have not had the chance to post it yet.  It think that more than celebrating their first birthday it was a celebration that we had actually made it a year.  Life took a crazy turn for us when they came into our lives and I think around every corner we will continue to find new adventures with our family.  Kade has decided that walking is too scary and is very content to crawl.  Kyler has decided that he can now run and is a big tease.  Kade wants to be held and cuddled and Kyler wants to explore.  Even though Kyler is the bigger more aggressive of the two, when it comes to strangers he is extremely shy and will sometimes cry if strangers just look at him.  Kade on the other hand will let strangers hold him if mom is not around because he likes to be held.  They are starting to interact more and so far are pretty gentle with one another.  If one takes a toy away from the other they will just find something else to play with, for the most part, we do still have some crying over toys being ripped out of hands.  Cody and Hallie Jo love their brothers so much and will always lend a helping hand when asked.  This year mark was a celebration for Cody and Hallie Jo as well, as it was a rough year for the whole family, so they got to finish the little cakes I made for Kade and Kyler.  Kade and Kyler did not seem too interested in their cakes and did not even want to eat them.  But I did get some cute pics.  Yesterday we had to buy two new car seats because they have outgrown their infant seats.  Even after buying lower end seats we still ended up spending over $300.  I still can not believe how much it costs to raise two babies.  Luckily we have switched them both over to whole milk so we no longer have the cost of formula, if only we could get them potty trained in the next couple of months :)

 Kade

Kyler

 



 

 A Water Table for Summer

This was our best Easter Pic

Hello Again
Wow, a lot has happened since my last blog entry almost two years ago. I do not even know
where to begin. I have felt impressed lately to be more vigilant in writing blog entries. I am
going to try to write an entry at least once a week and will try to begin sharing my thoughts on
more personal subjects. If it is not something that interests you please feel free to just skip over
it.

The biggest change in our lives over the past year has been the birth of our twin boys. Yes, that
is right I did say TWIN boys. As you can imagine our lives have been flipped upside down in
ways that we never thought could be possible. With the twin gene running in my family I always
knew that there was a small chance that we could have twins but never really imagined it would
actually happen. In fact, my OB did not even notice signs of twins until I was 20 weeks along
and he was looking for it. On the day I found out there was a possibility that I could be caring
twins I told my husband that I would be ok with twins as long as it was not twin boys. Ha Ha.
Sure enough two boys and boy are they different in every way possible. But we sure love them
to death and could not imagine life without them now (ok, who am I kidding, I long for a vacation
with just me and my husband which I am afraid we will not get for a very long time). I know that
these two boys belong in our family and they have been such a blessing in our lives. Many of
my blog entries will be about our journey in raising these two munchkins. It is a journey that we
never dreamed we would be taking but here we are already almost a year gone. I can honestly
say that the past year has been the hardest year of my entire life and we have had some rough
years. I am told that the first year is the hardest so hopefully it will just get better from here. My
husband works with a man that had twins a few years back and apparently had a few phone
calls from social workers. I can proudly say that we have made it through this year without any
calls from social workers and the boys are healthy and growing. Not to say that there were not
times that I felt my feet could not carry on and I just wanted to die inside. It was in those
moments that I could feel someone watching out for me and lift me up to keep on keeping on.
My sweet Grandmother had two sets of twins and in her words, "sometimes you just do it
because you have to". But I know that I have not been alone. I have made a pledge to myself
that if ever I am in a position to render some kind of help to a mother of multiples that I will not
hesitate to just knock in the door and ask, "what can I do?" So here is an update on my sweet
family.

A Family Meant To Be. . .
Kyler
The youngest by only one minute, Kyler is my little black sheep. My only brown eyed child with a
body built to be a football player. He is solid, not just in stature but also in strength and
persistence. He knows what he wants and goes after it. He is very active and can move
quickly. Walking already at ten months and into everything he can get his hands on. But boy do
his dimples melt my heart.

Kade
The older of the twins but definitely smaller than his brother. He looks a lot like his other
siblings. So very different in temperament. Kade is content with just crawling and has no desire
to walk or run. He tries to figure out how things work and how they go together and will sit for a
while just trying to fit pieces together. Loves everyone and is so happy. He will smile your
troubles away and gives the best open mouth kisses. With Kyler's strength and Kade's brains, I
am afraid that these two will get into more trouble than I can even imagine.

Cody
Struggling a little to find a sense of self worth as the birth of his brothers has thrown him for a
loop. He is still not sure how he fits into this family but he sure loves his brothers and can make
them laugh harder than anyone else. He is in Kindergarten now and seems to be doing well in
everything but writing. We fight over homework every night but not because it is too hard, in
fact I am not even sure what it is. He does not like homework. We are in search of an activity
that he can really enjoy and be passionate about. We will be trying swimming next. He can
really be a sweet loving boy and treats everyone so kind.

Hallie Jo
Can not believe she will be ten this year. I do not know if I could have made it through this past
year without her. She will just step in and take over caring for one of her three brothers when
she sees that I need help. She sure wanted a sister and cried with me when she found out the
twins were boys but she adores them. She has been a much happier girl not doing competitive
gymnastics and just doing classes although I think she would gladly quit gymnastics altogether if
I would let her. She has found a passion in ballet and is really starting to excel. What a gem
she is.

Hal and I
A few months before we were expecting our babies, Hal decided to find a new job.  The hours he was working at his old job were insane and I do not think we could have made it through the last year if he was still working there.  He now works in Alpine with only a 15 minute commute and can come home to help me at night and even when I am desperate.  Looking back, I know that him getting a different job was inspiration.  I am still trying to find balance in raising my family and coaching gymnastics as well.  It has sure been a struggle for me but whenever I pray about making a change I always get the feeling that I need to just Keep On Keeping On for now.  I am wearing down and burning out but somehow I still make it through every day and at the end of each day can say that my home is a happy home and my family is healthy.  My dad continues to struggle with his cancer and is at a point where the insurance will not approve any further transplants, which is the last option he has.  If he can not get into a trial then it will only be a matter of time before his cancer cells mutate and there will be no other treatments they can do.  This makes me very sad.  I love my dad so much.

A few more fun pics. . .

My mom and dad

One example of one being strong and the other being smart.  Kyler will push Kade all over and Kade will just let him.

It is getting harder and harder to get a picture with these two right by each other because they are so busy.

These pics were taken when the twins were five months

They still love each other so much and get along so well.

Cody was Skylander's Crusher for Halloween

The rest were monsters

That is all for now!

So Far So Good

Life is going along smoothly for us.  Just the usual everyday routine trying to survive.  I love my kids to death and wish that they did not have to grow up.  Cody had a birthday last week.  It almost makes me sad that he is one year older.  I think that it was a great birthday.  I was extremely busy trying to make all of the necessary preparations for our annual gym recital but was able to spend an afternoon with him to celebrate.  My parents opened their pool a little early this year so he was able to go swimming with his cousins.  I love my Cody.  He has such a tender, sweet personality and is always telling me how much he loves me. 

Hallie Jo has been very busy the past few months.  She competed as a Level 5 gymnast this season and did very well.  She was also in an amazing Peter Pan Ballet put on by her studio.  Jenny Barlow does an amazing job with choreography and providing an entertaining experience.  What fun!  We also held our annual gym recital this month.  Glad that it is finally over and I can take a quick break before summer starts.  Cody did participate in the recital this year.  He kept telling me that he was NOT going to do it but he ended up doing most of it.  He is talented in the sport but has no desire to join in.  Maybe that will change someday and maybe he will use the skills he learns to help him in other sports, we will see. 

 My favorite gymnast!

She was very happy for taking first All Around but whether it is first or last she is still pretty happy no matter what. 

The theme of our recital was "I Can Fly" so all of the leo's had angel wings on the back and then we had some real angel wing that we took some amazing pics with some of the gymnasts.  I will post a few of those pics a little later because they are amazing!

She was part of the Silver Mist Fairy Court in one routine.

She also had a small solo at the beginning of the ballet in a storytime medley.

Her cousin has started to take ballet at her studio and it was so fun for them to be in the same show and in the same storytime medley.  What cute Girls!

She had a Pirate Day at school and this was the outfit that she put together.  She LOVED pirate day and asks every day if she can dress up like a pirate.

We do have some life changing choices that need to be made this year but hopefully we can take them one step at a time.  I had my toe operated on in March and am doing well.  It is healing very slowly but it is healing and I am so pleased with the outcome.  Hallie Jo is having her tonsils removed tomorrow in hopes that we can prevent any Sleep Apnea issues.  She has already started to hold her breath when she sleeps.  There are a few other things that we need to figure out but all in good time.  I will try and keep you posted :) 

My Christmas Wish

I did not send out Christmas cards this year, in fact I did not even attempt any homemade projects and can honestly say that it made a world of difference for me.  This year seems to have flown by.  I can remember last Christmas so clearly because it was last Christmas when my dad was in so much pain not sure what was going on and then only a couple weeks after Christmas we learned of his cancer.  What a ride this year has been.  We did get the greatest gift this Christmas.  We learned that dad's cancer is now in remission.  He will still have six more months of chemo, but it was the best gift I think we could have all hoped for.  I want to wish all of my dear friends and family a very Merry Christmas and let you know that I am thinking about you.  I wish for you all a year full of health and happiness.  I hope that this Christmas will bring many joyful blessings. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Nutcracker

Hallie Jo was able to participate in the Nutcracker again this year and landed the roles of the "Party Princess" in the first act and was the tumbler in the Buffoon number in the second act.  She did an amazing job.  She seems to be a natural at the acting part of ballet.  It was really a struggle for her this year because she has been suffering from severe anxiety so she was a mess in the weeks leading up to the performance because she was so nervous and anxious.  I am so proud of her for overcoming her fears and doing such a good job.  You would have never known that she was so nervous watching her on stage.  She performs like a pro and her tumbling was amazing.  What a special little girl!  These are the only pics I have right now but I am hoping to have some more soon. 

The Party Princess

With Clara and all the Party Girls

Waiting for Stage Call

Enjoying a little down time.

All her Buffoon Fiends

The best Buffoon Tumbler I have ever seen.

Halloween

So I decided to try and make Cody's Halloween costume this year.  I love the fact that my children are still young enough that I can help them decide what they would like to be and I can encourage them to do a pair costume.  This year Hallie Jo went as Little Red Riding Hood and Cody was the Big Bad Wolf.  I found this great wolf hat and made the rest of his costume.  He loved it at first but it did not stay on him very long because he could not move as fast from one door to the other so piece by piece his costume came off.  At the end of the day they were extremely exhausted.  Cody is my little sugar boy.  He loves sugar and would eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner if I let him.  Hallie Jo on the other hand doesn't really care for it which is great except for the fact that she will give her candy to Cody.