Happy Halloween!!

Picture time! It's been a fun-filled night...

Brandon is very proud of his pumpkin carving abilities!

This is the view of Jackson we see most often (him running away).

Best pic of his pirate costume. Taking a rest after running his little legs off during the neighborhood pizza party.

Jackson and Cole stop for a drink.

Maggie showing off her double-chin!

William just waking up.

Smiley Maggie

William talking

At the end of the night, Jackson had a blast handing out candy to the big kids.

The Perfect Weekend

Thanks to my sweet family, we just had the perfect weekend!! Saturday was my 31st birthday and to start things off, I received 2 dozen roses from the kids (including George!) on Friday. They are gorgeous and are still in full bloom. (thanks, Brandon!)

The babies slept nine hours straight on Friday night :) They've been sleeping through the night for a little over week...what good babies they are! We are very blessed. SO, we woke up Saturday morning well rested and after everyone showered we headed out to breakfast. After breakfast we did a little shopping then ate lunch at one of my favorite places. After lunch we went to the park and played soccer with Jackson while the babies hung out in the tent. By the time we were finished playing it was dinner-time so we headed across the park to a burger restaurant - 3 meals out in one day...we haven't done that in a long time (and don't plan to do it again anytime in the near future!).

Brandon surprised me with a beautiful necklace for my birthday (and for having the twins). The necklace matches the ring he gave me after having Jackson. The jewelry are pieces that I will treasure forever as they signify the love that Brandon and I share...the love that brought 3 precious babies into the world.

On Sunday afternoon we took the kids to the Kinsey Family Farm to pick out pumpkins. Jackson had a blast and kept singing E-I-E-I-O (Old McDonald had a Farm). We rode on a hayride and Jackson got to feed catfish in the pond, then we picked our pumpkin and headed home. That afternoon we got together with neighbors to carve the pumpkins...somehow our ended up with three faces on it?!?! Go figure...Brandon's creativity at work.

The babies turned 10 weeks on Monday...I can't believe how fast time is flying with them! At their 2 month check-up, William weighed 1/10 of an ounce shy of 11 pounds (if we're getting technical) and Maggie weighed 10.5 pounds. They are both meeting their developmental milestones which I was glad to hear! We are getting tons of smiles out of both of them and lots of coo's, too. This week has been their first week in their cribs (they had been sleeping in their swings). We went ahead and put them in separate cribs because they flail their arms and wake each other up. We are glad to have them in their room and to be sleeping in our own bed again (we were camping out downstairs for about a week). Thankfully the transition from swing to bed has been really easy.

On Monday the twins and I went to the Fall Festival at Jackson's school. Jackson had a blast running from station to station (lots of games set up), but his absolute favorite was the blow up jumping thing. He must have gone through it a dozen times. Monday afternoon, I dressed Jackson in his costume and we met Brandon at his office for trick-or-treating. We are lucky that McKesson is such a family oriented company. They do a lot for their employee's and their families. Each person on Brandon's floor had candy bowls at the desks for the kids. It's nice, safe trick-or-treating...I'm all for that!

We are having a neighborhood pizza party before the kids start going door to door tomorrow. We borrowed costumes for the twins...2 pea's in a pod. Jackson is a pirate...argh!!!

We are still getting used to the stares and questions from perfect strangers about the twins. It's really pretty funny. We were in Costco on Saturday and must have been stopped 20 times for people to ask questions and peek at Maggie and William. Later, we were walking through the park and I was wearing William in a sling while holding Jackson's hand and Brandon was pushing the stroller with both carriers...I heard someone nearby whisper not so quietly to her friend..."Look, they have 4 kids...two are in the stroller, one is in the sling and the other is walking!" I quickly let them know that we only have three kids, not four. :)

I think the above picture is funny because if you look at their arms you will notice that they are in the exact same position. I guess it's a twin thing!

That's all I can think of for now. The babies are awake more during the day now so it's hard to find time to update the blog.

Jackson spending time outside with his brother and sister. Check out his new Rice hat (thank you Great Uncle Woody and Aunt Gail! Now he can cheer on his cousin each time he plays)

I've been trying to find the time to sit and write a blog to detail the last 2 weeks of our lives. That's easier said than done with 3 kids! I'll bullet-point some highlights...

*William and Maggie are little butterballs!

*William has slept 8 consecutive hours at night 2x in the past 2 weeks

*Maggie has been cooing

*Neither baby likes to sleep in their crib/s...they've slept in their swings the last two nights (any suggestions?!?!)

*I had a great girls weekend with my friends. Brandon kept all the kids so I could have dinner out Friday night and pedicure time on Saturday. Brandon made brunch for all of us "girls" on Sunday morning. I look forward to girls weekend 2008 when I don't have infants and can spend uninterrupted time with my friends, though it was fun to show all my kiddo's off!

*We spent last weekend in Dothan - great visit!

*Ross went back to Houston this week for a check-up. After a little scare he was sent home in good health. Thank You, Lord!

*Extended family has had hard health news this week. Please pray specifically for healing.

*Brandon (Bronchitis) and I (Sinus and Ear infection) are both sick so Jackson got to spend the day with Marianne, his old babysitter. They had a great time and she has offered to keep all the kids for a day (when I'm ready) so Brandon and I can have some down time. Hallelujah!! We can't wait!

6 Weeks!

Six weeks feels like a huge milestone. A lot of people ask me how things are going with the twins, how they sleep, eat, etc. The short answer is that things are really good. The long answer is that, yes, things are good...the babies are sweet...sleep is hard to come by some nights...some nights we're pleasantly surprised because the babies slept 5 hours in a row...William has fussy time for about an hour some nights...Maggie is the more content baby (though as soon as I say that, she'll start fussing!)...having twins is not nearly as hard as I expected...but it is a lot harder and busier than just having one baby...William is a good eater, but Maggie is better...William loves his binky, Maggie isn't very interested in hers...Brandon and I are tired...William looks like his big brother...I still can't figure out who Maggie looks like :)...I'm surprised to say that I really like my mini-van (shock!)...Jackson is an exceptional big brother...

I'm sure there's more. Things really are good and I'm enjoying being home with the kids. I like to get out of the house at least once a day for sanity sake...today we met Brandon at his office for lunch. Tomorrow Jackson has school and I'm going to Yoga/Pilates at church (I'm writing this on our blog to keep myself accountable!). On Thursday I'm taking the kids to Jackson's old babysitter to let Marianne see Jackson and meet the twins...she's pretty excited. This weekend is my Annual Girls Weekend...I'm looking forward to spending time with good friends from high school and college.

I promised stats from the twins doctor visit last week...

Maggie:

Weight - 8 lbs, 0.4 oz (16%)

Height - 20 1/4" (17%)

Head Circumference - 13.8 (7%)

William:
Weight - 8 lbs, 12 oz (20%)
Height - 21 1/4" (30%)
Head Circumference - 15.25 (51%)

We got a great report for both babies at the appointment!! They have both gained 3+ pounds since birth...little porkers! A PPS heart murmur was detected in Maggie that should resolve on it's own and is not a major concern. We go back in about a month for their next well-baby check and their first round of shots :(

William has been making "cooing" noises for about a week. I love to hear his sweet voice...the first noises are so special! I was talking to Maggie today, tickling her double chin and she smiled in response to me...I loved it! It's so fun to watch their personalities develop.

That's it for now...here are some recent pictures...

Jackson and Daddy at an AU game. He likes to say "Go Auburn, HEY!"

William and Maggie holding hands

Jackson in a fall outfit embroidered by Aunt Fran (thank you!)