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Happy Birthday, Jackson!!

It's hard to believe that our big boy is already turning 4! Jackson is growing by leaps and bounds. He played rookie baseball this past Fall, loves to go to preschool, has started spelling names and words, and is a great big brother to William and Maggie. He is a funny and sweet boy, prays nightly for family and friends, and tells me daily that I'm "the best"...who wouldn't like that?!?! Below is a short walk down memory lane. As I started looking through pictures I initially came up with 45 of my favorite...it was hard, but I've narrowed the list down :)

Megan's Handiwork

This is too funny!! I wish I could dance like that :)

ELF Yourself Video - click here

Happy Holidays!

It's way past time for an update...sorry to those that have been faithfully checking the blog. Life is busy and has a way of getting away from us at the Norris house. :)

We spent the week of Thanksgiving in Dothan visiting family...Jackson was actually there a week before the rest of us soaking up some grandparent time. He had so much fun, as always, and we were really glad to hug our sweet boy on Tuesday when we got to Dothan! On a sad note, my grandmother unexpectedly passed away Wednesday. She was 86 and had lived a long life - I think she was just ready to be with my granddaddy in heaven. The twins had a great time playing with their cousins and exploring Mimi's house. In fact, one night the twins were too quiet. Mimi and I looked all over for them. Eventually they were found in Mimi's bathroom playing in the toilet. They were having a great time! Laughing and soaking wet - they had even gotten water all over the walls. it was pretty funny (in a gross kind of way). We had to change their clothes and when I set William on the floor he took off back towards the toilet!
The twins are full of personality and lots of fun. The say mama, dada, hi, bye and William just started saying uh-oh. Maggie doesn't talk as much, but follows instructions better. It's interesting to see their differences and to know that though one may do something before the other, they're both "normal." We haven't seen any "twin-talk" yet. They are happy babies and LOVE mealtime better than any other part of the day. They've gotten into a bad habit of yelling/squealing when they want something so I've started doing some simple sign language with them. It seems to be helping!
While we were in Dothan Brandon and his brother Trey decided to camp out at Circuit City Thursday night to be the first in line for Black Friday sales...never mind that we weren't trying to get any big ticket items :) They were number 1 & 2 in line and had a great time hanging out together. They did get some good deals which made the long, cold night worthwhile!

Monday was grandmother's funeral in Montgomery. It was a really nice service. My dad made the comment that our family was getting smaller, but Brian and I were quick to point out that we'd added five new family members in 3 years time :) I have many fond memories of grandmother that I hold close to my heart. She was loved by us all and loved us back...I think that signifies a pretty good life!

About a month ago Brandon was given a promotion at McKesson. I am very proud of him and the work that he does. He has a great reputation as a go-to guy and really puts his all into the job that he does. Congratulations, Brandon!!
This past weekend we put the Christmas tree up and wreaths on the windows. Everything looks so pretty! Jackson hung the stocking in his playroom since we can't have them on the mantle for fear that the babies will pull them and their holders down. Jackson has had a great time with Christmas this year. We have "Frazzle," our Elf on a Shelf out and he's watching Jackson to make sure that he's a good boy...what a great behavior modification tool :) Jackson loves to come down in the morning to see where Frazzle is sitting (he changes places every night after he gets home from reporting the kids behavior to Santa at the North Pole). Brandon is taking tomorrow off and we're going to Jackson school Christmas program. We plan to also get a couple projects done. We've finished all our Christmas shopping and now the presents just need to be wrapped. I hope that we'll have our Christmas card picture taken this weekend so I can get them in the mail. Lastly, Jackson is turning 4 on 12/16!! I'm making a Pirate Ship cake for his party (gulp!). :)

Hope you all are well. Pictures coming soon :) If you join Facebook you can see pictures of our family - it's not just for high school/college students!! :)

My first update in two months is a sad one...Uncle Bill (49) passed away early this morning after a short (3 mo.) battle with colon cancer. We rejoice that he is out of pain and has a new body in heaven, but are overwhelmingly sad that he is no longer here with us. Please pray for his wife Bonnie and their kids Will (14) and Lauren (8). Please visit his CaringBridge page (link is to the right of this post) if you'd like to leave condolences or a message of love/encouragement for Bonnie and the kids. Thanks for praying the family through this hard time.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY!!!!

It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since Maggie and William were born! I'll reflect more on our first year later, but wanted to give a special shout out to my ONE year olds! Daddy got up and made blueberry birthday muffins for us this morning, which we decorated with a candle. They didn't quite know what to think about the candle/singing and truly were only interested in eating the muffins :)

Kissing Babies

Date Night :)

Brandon and I had a very fun date last night! For our anniversary (back in March) we bought tickets to the Jack Johnson concert at Lakewood Amphitheatre. What a great concert! We got tickets on the lawn so we could sit, lay down or dance as we wished. The weather was perfect and the music was awesome! What a treat to get out of the house with just my sweet husband!

Wall Art

I'm not sure it would be considered "art" but William finally has his name above his crib. I've been going back and forth about what I wanted to do. Maggie and Jackson both have wooden letters in their rooms (well, Mags aren't on her wall yet...it's only been 6 months since I bought them!!), but I couldn't find any letters for William's room that I liked. I compromised and decided to paint his name on canvas. It didn't turn out exactly how I planned, but I think it's pretty good for my first time painting!

Go Mets!

Jackson's first baseball practice was last night. He was so excited! Brandon and I practiced some questionable parenting and let him go even though he'd had a fever earlier in the day. He used his own bat and didn't get too close to the other boys, so I think we're pretty safe as far as spreading any germs goes. They practiced hitting in four different stations...the batting cage was my favorite to watch. One of the coaches pitched to each boy 10-15 times and gave them pointers on stance, how to hold the bat, swing, etc. It was nice to hear the coach compliment Jackson on his swing/contact with ball. We have practice again on Saturday...the boys will spend 45 minutes on the field and 45 minutes in the cage. I'm interested to see how he is on the field, since we've really practiced more on hitting that catching the ball. The fun has begun!

If you need to find the Norris family from now through October, you'll need to check the baseball/softball fields! We'll be at one or the other 3-4 nights a week for the next several months (oh my!). Between Jackson's baseball practice/games and Brandon's softball games we're gonna be BUSY :)

Jackson's team is the Mets and his first practice is Monday night so we drove by the ballpark last night to show him the fields. He got so excited and kept asking where baseball team was.

Brandon and Jackson will have the same jersey number...22.

Peanut Allergy

If you remember last week I wrote that William had some sort of allergic reaction that necessitated him being tested for common allergies. We thought that the test may come back to show an allergy to egg. Imagine my surprise to find out that he isn't allergic to eggs, but has a peanut allergy. The allergy is mild and we'll test him again at ages 2 & 3 and hopefully we'll find that he's outgrown the allergy.

After doing some research last night, I'm overwhelmed by all the products that do/could contain peanuts/peanut products...it's almost everything! If anyone has been through this with a child, I'd love some advice and guidance on how to change our lifestyle to accommodate this allergy. How do you keep your kids safe? Do you have an epi pen? I need a recipe for cupcakes...or to know what bakery to order from that doesn't use any peanut products. I know that ice cream is off-limits now, but what about frozen yogurt? Is Chick-Fil-A now a thing of the past (they cook in peanut oil)? Are there any "must have" books that I should get? I've found about 6 websites last night, but are there some that have better info than others? I'm completely overwhelmed and need practical guidance.

Anyone that wants to join us in praying that William will outgrow this allergy is much appreciated.

Thanks

Please continue to Pray!

Uncle Bill had surgery yesterday to remove the tumor and a significant portion of his colon. He has been diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma (colon cancer) and through the PET scan found out that it has spread to the liver and lymph nodes around his collar bone, chest and colon. He will be in the hospital for the next several days and will undergo aggressive chemo. Please pray for healing, comfort and peace for Bill, Bonnie, Will (14) and Lauren (9). Please also visit Bill's CaringBridge page and leave an encouraging message. Thanks for supporting and praying for my family!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

YUMMY!!

The month of July flew by in a flash! We were so busy with traveling and sick kids...it's hard to believe it's already August!

Beach Trip
We started July out with an 11-day trip to the beach...it was awesome!! Jackson is at an age where everything is exciting to him, which is very fun. When we got to "Mimi's beach," Tonya, Cassidy, Coleman and Mimi were there to help entertain/corral the kids while we unloaded the van (which was slam-full, including the cartop carrier!). With their help we were able to take all the kids down to the beach the next day (4th of July). Jackson loved the sand and waves. Maggie thought the sand was a tasty snack and William wasn't too sure about it at all.

My family was in town for the 4th of July. Mom, Kim and Megan stayed at a new hotel right around the corner from us and Brian, Jen, Morgan and Matthew stayed with our cousins Trey, Steph and Lily. It was fun to hang out with everyone at the beach and the kids had a great time in the pool together. The kids slept great and were really good the whole trip. There were only a couple days that we didn't have any family with us. On those days we'd get up in the morning, load the kids in strollers and take a walk through Carillon Beach. When the babies went down for a morning nap, Brandon and Jackson would head to the pool while I stayed in the condo. During their afternoon naps, I would get to lay out by the pool. So even with 3 young kids, we had a very relaxing and fun beach trip.

Jackson especially loved the pool and is now quite the little swimmer. It took him a couple days to get over his fear, but by the end of the trip he was swimming to the deep end by himself (with swimmies and an adult close by). It was fun to see him emerge from his shell. Maggie and William loved swimming in the pool, too, though Mag thought she'd like to drink the pool as well as play in it. We had to be extra vigilant with her because she put her face in the water every chance she got.

Mimi and Doff spent the last 4 days with us which was really nice because it gave Brandon and me some hands-on help with the kids. We were able to meet Julie and Lane at Bud & Alley's in Seaside one night. It was fun to have some adult time and hang out with friends.

The weather was beautiful, except for the last Saturday we were there, which worked out well...we spent most of that day at the outlets shopping. :)

All in all it was a fantastic trip!!
****************************** iHealth Family Picnic
Brian and Dad both work at iHealth Technologies and we were excited to be included in their 1st annual family picnic at Stone Mountain. It was a fun (hot) day! We rode up to the top of the mountain which the big kids loved. I'm sure Jackson and Morgan felt like they were on top of the world. I could have done without riding through the air in a little box, with only a small wire holding us up, but that's just me! The company rented a hilltop pavilion and served dinner, played game (think: school field day), raffled stuff off and had an inflatable for the kids. When it got dark we went to the Laser Light Show. I hadn't been since I was a kid. It was very crowded but we were able to find a spot to spread blankets and watch. Jackson hated the fireworks (too loud), but enjoyed the rest of the laser show. Maggie and William both seemed to enjoy the show also. All 3 were asleep before we pulled out of the part. Ahh...silence! :)

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Sick Kids
The twins both had a nasty stomach bug, which resulted in the need to replace the carpet in the family room (aw, shucks!). The carpet has needed to go for a long time, but we were trying to get through the kids messy years before replacing it. We're planning to put in hardwoods, though, so whatever messes they make in the future can just be wiped up.

Then came the colds...all three had runny noses, but we noticed that William was being pretty fussy and pulling his ears. I made a 2:30 appointment for him at the doctor and arranged for Jenny to come watch the other two kids. I fed them lunch around 11:30...scrambled eggs (which they've had before). After William was finished I noticed his chin was red. He was so fussy that I was snuggling him in the chair while counting the minutes until I could leave for the doc. Around 1pm, I noticed that his face, head, arms, back and chest were completely red and it was spreading to his legs. Obviously an allergic reaction. Jenny rushed over and gave him benadryl while I got our things in the car. There were two times that I thought he was wheezing and it looked like his tongue was swelling. It was a very scary drive to the doctor. Thank goodness I had mom, Jen and Brandon on the phone so I wasn't so "alone." The color/rash didn't present like a typical allergic reaction to food, so we're having William tested for an egg allergy, but the reaction could have also been caused by the pain he was in due to the double ear infection. Thankfully, the antibiotics have done their thing and William is back to normal!
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Lake Martin
We took the kids to Lake Martin last weekend and stayed at an amazing lake house with Mom and Kim. As an added treat, Nana came up on Saturday and hung out with us for the afternoon. Jackson learned to fish with Kim and Brandon, which was great fun! By the end of Saturday he was even touching the bait (worms). They caught several brim and a bass (?) and threw them back into the lake. I love being out on the water and it was lots of fun taking the boat out for little trips around the lake. Jackson loved the hot tub which he called the "big bath". It was a relaxing and fun weekend.

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Camp Mimi
On the way home from the lake, Mimi called to ask if she could pick Jackson up on the way home from North Carolina and keep him until Friday. Heck, yea!! That's a no-brainer! So, I met Mimi and Doff at IKEA on Monday afternoon and he went to their house for the week. He had a great trip, talked the grandparents into treats that we don't normally let him have (lucky charms and sprite) and got lots of undivided attention. Mimi and Doff raved about what a good kid he is, which I love to hear. He is a great kid and a joy to Brandon and me.
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Almost 1 year old!
Maggie and William are going to turn ONE on August 20!!! Hallelujah!! They are so funny and into everything. We have so many gates up that our house looks like Fort Knox. William has been taking several steps on his own since we were at the beach. Maggie climbed all the way up the stairs at the beach condo, on her own...and anytime at home that we forget to lock the gate she starts climbing our stairs as well. They are both very physical babies. William is relaxed and chill (as Brandon says) and just like his daddy. Maggie is happy, wild, and determined to do what she wants to do...just like her mommy. It's funny to see their similarities and differences.

William (somehow) climbed into this basket but couldn't get back out!
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Rookie Baseball
We got an email this weekend about Jackson playing Rookie Baseball! We should hear from Jackson's coach this week and practices will start very soon. Before the season starts there will be a weekday and weekend practice each week. During the season, there will be one weekday practice and games on a weekday and the weekend. Should be busy and fun, especially since Brandon is also playing on his company team. We're all very excited! If you're in town, please join us for a game.
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School
Jackson starts preschool on September 3rd. He will go 4 days a week and is so excited! We passed his school yesterday and he asked when he was going back, then woke up this morning saying he wanted to go to school. I'm glad that he loves school so much and is looking forward to going back.

Prayers Needed

Uncle Bill, my mom's younger brother, was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma (colon cancer) last week. He has a tumor in his large intestines that makes it nearly impossible for him to eat and as a result he's lost a lot of weight and is in a great deal of pain. He has had a CT scan and biopsy and there is some inflammation in his lymph nodes as well as a suspicious spot on his liver. He is scheduled to have a PET scan on Wednesday so the doctors can get a clearer picture of his cancer and to know whether it has spread. In the meantime, he'll meet with a surgeon today to discuss removing the tumor. I ask that you please join us in praying for Uncle Bill...that the surgery would be soon so he can have some relief from pain and get some nutrition. Please also pray that the cancer hasn't spread and can be removed with surgery. If further treatment is needed, please pray for the doctors wisdom in suggesting courses of treatment, strength for Uncle Bill, Bonnie, Will and Lauren, and most of all healing.

William apparently decided he'd had enough time in his crib this morning and if mommy wasn't going to get him out, then he'd do it himself! That's right, sweet William, the laid-back twin, threw himself out of his crib after his morning nap. I was doing dishes and heard a loud crash, thud, scream and immediately knew what had happened. I ran up the stairs as fast as I could to get to him (Jackson was running up right behind me!). William was on the floor crying. After looking him over I figured he was okay, but he still needed some major comforting. Jackson, the sweetest big brother in the world, went to his room and picked out his favorite book for me to read to William.

I called Brandon to let him know what happened...and to remind him that we would be lowering the crib mattresses tonight. I asked which baby he thought had climbed out and knew he'd say Maggie since she's pretty strong-willed (and it just seemed like something she'd do). He was pretty surprised to hear it was William :) No worries, the mattresses have been lowered and bumpers removed.

Tonight as I was putting Maggie to bed Jackson gave her a hug and kiss and said "bemember, i always wuv you." Is that not the sweetest?!?!

As promised...

Here's a snapshot of what we've been up to the last 4-6 weeks...
*Jackson's last day of school was May 14th. He had a great year with Ms. Kim and Ms. Ali and loved all his friends at school. Because I was a room mom, I was invited to come to the class party on the last day of school. The kids had a great time being silly and I've got the pictures to prove it!

*We headed to Dallas on May 16th. What a fun trip! The kids were awesome in the car...thank goodness! We split the drive up into 2 days on the way there and 3 days on the way back. The twins had their first stay in a hotel on the way out. It wasn't the most restful night since they seemed to play "musical beds" all night. We arrived in Plano late afternoon on Saturday. Brandon and I had so much fun looking at all the buildings and pointing out what has changed since we moved, but also recognizing what has stayed the same. It was a bit bitter sweet to go back, only because we know that we would love to live there again if our immediate families were there as well. But, since we have young kids and we want them to have close relationships with grandparents, aunt, uncles and cousins we've got to stay in the SE for now! We spent Saturday through Wednesday at Uncle Woody and Aunt Gail's house. It was a lot of fun. Jackson had a great time getting to know Woody, Gail and Wil. The twins definitely ate up the attention, too. Gail was our secret weapon to get the twins to bed at night...since they were in an unfamiliar place we couldn't just lay them down and walk out of the room like we do at home. We went to Woody's new restaurant, Willy's, on Saturday night and them back with friends on Sunday night. We had so much fun catching up with old friends on Sunday night...total of 6 couples and 12 children (we had the most)! On Monday we went to the Wiggly Play Center with our friends the Polanco's. It was so much fun for the kids to run around and it even had an area for kids 18 months and younger. After that we headed to the Polanco's house so the kids could play even more. Being typical boys, Jackson and Benjamin ended up in the backyard, playing in a kiddie pool with only their shirts and underwear on.
On Wednesday we drove to Wichita Falls to visit Julie and Lane. They have a Jackson also which was a little confusing for the boys. Julie and I have always referred to them as Jackson #1 and Jackson #2 (theirs is #2 as he was born almost a year to the day after our Jackson). The boys had so much fun playing with each other and got along really well. We're going to see them at the beach in a couple weeks and the Jackson's are already talking about playing together! Julie and Lane welcomed Ava Claire in March...the twins were pretty interested in her and her bouncy chair. They pretty much made themselves comfortable and roamed all around the Odom's house. After stopping in Shreveport Thursday night we headed to Meg's new apartment in Hattiesburg, MS. She's got a great place and is settling in really well. We went to dinner Friday night, then just hung out and talked after the kids went to bed. Jackson woke up vomiting the next morning so we were a little late getting back on the road. We stopped through Auburn on Saturday to pick up George from Mom's house then got home at 9pm. We were all ready to be home, but the funniest thing was to see how excited Jackson was. He literally danced around the living room, laughing and carrying on until almost midnight. I guess he had a lot of energy stored up from being in the car for 3 days.

The trip with so much fun for us and the kids that we've decided to take a road trip every year. Next year I'd love to head towards the east coast.

*Brandon and I went to the Alicia Keys concert at the end of May with our friends, Colleen and Rob. It was a very fun date night and thanks to McKesson we had VIP passes/tickets...very nice!

*The first week of June, Jackson went to "Camp Mimi" for a week. Meg happened to be in town so she took him to Peppy and Kim's on Sunday and then to Montgomery to meet Mimi on Monday. He had so much fun!! We talked to him every day and loved hearing the joy and delight in his voice at being surrounded by family and getting everyone's undivided attention. He cried when I met them on Friday to pick him up...he wanted to go back home with Mimi!
*June 9-13 we had Vacation Bible School at church. I was one of the crafts leaders which means I have 125 kids come through my room each day in groups of 25-30. I was very apprehensive, but it turned out to be a fun week. There were 500+ kids at VBS and I know they were exposed to God/Christ in an effective way and had fun while they were at it! Jackson was in the 3 y.o. class with 4 other boys. He was so excited to go every morning and had a blast while he was there! The twins were the only babies in the crawlers room so they had a teacher, Liz, to themselves. They did great and I was very impressed with how she managed both of them...she even fed them lunch! After VBS each day we participated in Lunch Bunch...meals that were homemade and pre-packaged for volunteers and their children. We would pick up our meal each day and find a place in the sanctuary to have a picnic. For some reason this was one of Jackson's favorite parts of the day. All in all, I'm glad that I volunteered and plan to do it again next year.
*During the week of VBS, Jackson also had swim lessons in the afternoon. Miss Brittany came to our pool and taught Jackson how to blow bubbles and eventually got him to put his face in the water. He's no swimmer yet, but he is more comfortable in the water. I expect that by the time our beach trip is over, he'll be a little fish. :) Brittany is going to come back and work with him next Monday and Tuesday for a refresher course before we go out of town.
*Brandon took Jackson camping for the first time at Lake Lanier the Friday of Fathers Day weekend. They went with our friend Adam and his son Cole. Jackson had so much fun and was very good for Brandon. It looks like a Father's Day camping trip may be one of our family traditions from now on. Jackson did great sleeping in the tent...I took him to the store to get a new sleeping bag/backpack which he loves! The dads cooked breakfast the next morning then took to boys to the water to throw rocks in.

*William and Maggie turned 10 months on the 20th. I'm amazed at how fast this first year is flying by. They are crawling, cruising and getting into everything! They both babble pretty much non-stop and eat like little pigs. Their schedule is awesome! They are up between 7:45-8:15 in the morning. Take two 1.5-3 hour naps a day and are back in bed by 7:30 every night. It's great! They are very happy babies and pretty easy (knock on wood!). I'm really enjoying being home with the kids. It's been a process to get to this point, but I can finally say that I am very happy to be home and know that I am blessed to be able to do it. I know that eventually I'll go back to work, but there are no plans for that in the foreseeable future. Notice Maggie ever so gently "helping" William out of the seat :)

*I'm meeting Margaret and Tonya at a Beth Moore conference tomorrow and will stay down in Buckhead with them. I'm looking forward to the conference and to spending time with adults! It should be great. Brandon will be home with the kids until sometime Saturday afternoon and I know that it will be a change of pace for him, but he will do a great job! I'm sure he'd love your thoughts/prayers, though. :)

*Jen and I took Jackson and Morgan to Kangaroo Bob's for a Mommy/Big Kid date last weekend while the Dad's stayed with the babies. It was lots of fun and the kids wore themselves out jumping, running and climbing all around. I hope you are all well and as always will try to update the blog again soon!

How Do You Do It??

This is one of my favorite blogs to read. It's written my other moms of twins/multiples and does a good job putting our daily lives, challenges, etc. in writing. If you have a minute or a few hours check it out. It gives those without multiples a good insight into our lives...

http://howdoyoudoit.wordpress.com/

Enjoy!!

A lot to catch up on...

Don't give up on me yet!! I've finally gotten motivated to update the blog with the latest happenings in our families life. I will post an update with pictures this afternoon.

The Seal has been Broken!

Jackson's FINALLY a toilet pooper! He's been peeing in the potty for several months, exclusively wearing big boy underwear, but had some kind of mental block about pooping in the potty. We decided to just wait it out and let him decide when he was ready to finish this last part of potty training. When he needed to go he used to say, "Mommy, I need a pull-up," and we'd take his underwear off, put a pull-up and shorts (???) back on him and he'd run to his playroom to take care of business. Last week I started bribing him with matchbox cars if he would poop in the bathroom instead of his playroom (he'd stand in the doorway so he was "technically" in the bathroom). This past Monday he asked for a pull-up and we ended up with a bit of a mess (he'd eaten lots of fruit for breakfast :)) so I told him that I was finished with pull-ups and that from now on he'd need to poop on the potty. Yes, I know this is way TMI!!! So on Tuesday morning he asked for a pull-up. I reminded him that we weren't using pull-ups anymore and that he'd need to go sit on the toilet. He said "ok, I sit on the potty and then I get my train table!" (We've had the train table in the garage for 6 months waiting for him to poop on the potty). After about 5 minutes, and a bit of reluctance/fear, he did it!! I was so happy I almost started crying :) After we got home from the gym Tuesday night, Brandon and Jackson put his new train table together. On Wednesday he asked for a pull-up twice and when I said no, he'd just say that's ok, I don't have to go anymore. Then this morning he asked for a pull-up again and I said no, but I'll give you another car if you poop on the potty. Apparently, bribes work because he went to the bathroom and within 10 seconds had pooped. This afternoon, he said "Mommy, I need to go poop on the potty!" Mission Accomplished...whew!! :) I am now very proud to say that we are officially 100% potty trained. Can you hear the angels singing?? :)

My Reason to Relay...

Jackson with the luminaria in Honor of Doff and in Memory of Granddaddy Scooter. What a profound impact these two men have made in the life of Brandon and in turn our kids. Much love to you both.

This past weekend was the 15th anniversary of the Gwinnett County Relay For Life. It is a huge event and this year has already raised well over $2M dollars. It was fun to go back to the event as a participant rather than a staff member...you certainly see the event from a different angle. The staff and volunteers did an outstanding job, once again, pulling off the largest Relay For Life in the world!

Brandon stayed all night and helped Randy (my old manager) in the accounting room. Randy loves for Brandon to help because it means that the spreadsheets will match to the penny. Brandon got home about 9:30 on Saturday morning and had a couple well-deserved naps! Peppy came up on Friday to visit and we celebrated her birthday and Mother's Day on Saturday with her. She took Jackson the Chick-fil-A on a lunch date which he loved.

Happy Mother's Day to Peppy, Mimi, Nene, Nana and Grandmother (as well as the Aunts). We love you all!

Dual Crawlers!

Maggie started moving her hands and hopping her knees forward yesterday. Something must have clicked while she slept last night, because this morning she is officially crawling! So now I'm running after 2 crawling infants. We ordered a baby gate last week that would go across the 12 foot opening between our kitchen and family room. Two of these gates can be configured to make a "baby corral" so the order was placed for a second gate last night! We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll have both gates before we leave for Dallas next week. :)

Rookie Baseball!

Jackson is finally old enough to play baseball!! He'll be in the "Rookie" league this year which is the step before t-ball (I had no idea there was a step before t-ball!). The season runs from early August through October. We play baseball almost every day in our front yard, which is one of Jackson's favorite things to do. Jackson bats and throws left-handed, though he writes right-handed. Just wanted to share our fun news...we're all so excited!

Da-da-da-da-da

The babies have been babbling for a couple weeks now, though William is in the lead so far using consonants and stringing the sounds together. It kinda irks me (j/k) that Brandon and I heard him say da-da-da-da-da yesterday afternoon instead of ma-ma-ma-ma-ma. After all, I say the "mmm" sound to them pretty often in the hopes of hearing a distinct "ma-ma." My efforts seem to have failed since William said "da-da" first. At least with two babies I can hold out the hope that Maggie will say "ma-ma" first!

Twins are notorious for having their own language and being a bit delayed in the speech department. I wonder when the "twin speak" starts...or if it's already started?!?!

Time Flies...

when you're having fun...and when you have a 3 year old and 8.5 month old twins! I look at our blog often and wish that I had updated it when the twins reached certain milestones or we have done something exciting as a family, but I never seem to find the time. Today is the day, though! Jackson is at preschool and the twins are down for a nap. Bills are paid, house is picked up/fairly clean and I've just gotten home from the gym. Seems like a perfect time to let you all back into our lives! We are all doing really well. This is the last full week of Jackson's school year before the summer break. Previously, I had been dreading the summer and having to entertain 3 kids 24/7. I think I am finally relaxing in my role as a stay at home mom (it will have been a year on May 31). I joined the gym about 5 weeks ago which has made a significant difference in how I feel being at home. It gives me a chance to have some "me" time, get in shape, take a shower(!) and just clear my head. The kids stay in the childcare center while I'm working out and they all seem pretty happy there. Jackson goes to a kids exercise class on Monday afternoons and really enjoys it. Brandon and I are working with a personal trainer 2 days a week...he's a former NFL player and definitely pushes us past what we think are our limits! William and Maggie are pure joy. They have the sweetest smiles and expressions. We are very blessed that they are such good babies. They sleep from about 7:30p-7:00a every night and take 2 good naps during the day. William crawls about 90 MPH and is pulling up to stand and even walking a few steps. Maggie has been pretty content to just sit and look pretty, but in the past several weeks has begun the rocking on hands and knees which will soon turn into a crawl. Jackson loves the babies and they light up when he walks into the room. He loves to go into their rooms (we moved them into separate rooms about 4 weeks ago. Better sleep for everyone!) in the morning to be the first to say 'Hi'.


Coordinating outfits made by our friend, Julie. So cute!
We have lots of fun planned for this summer. Jackson gets out of school next Wednesday and we leave on Friday to go to Dallas for about a week to visit our old stomping grounds, plus see friends and family that we haven't seen in a very long time! We'll also spend a couple days in Wichita Falls with friends. We are pretty excited! On the way home we are planning to stop in Hattiesburg, MS to visit Megan (she was accepted into their Psychology PhD program and moves there this week). In June, I will be one of the crafts leaders at church for VBS, which means Jackson will get to attend the 3 y.o. VBS class (twins will be in the nursery). Then in July we head to the beach for a little over a week...we can't wait to go since we didn't get to go last year while I was on bedrest with the twins. Jackson will be going to a sports camp in July, also. Each day they focus on a different sport: football, baseball, basketball and soccer. He is really excited as are Brandon and I. He is such a great little athlete and we can't wait to have him play team sports. In June I'm also going to see Beth Moore in ATL and will spend the night away...it will be Brandon's first time with the kids to himself overnight. I'm sure he'd appreciate many, many prayers :)

Brandon's job is going very well. He was instrumental in leading his business unit to success in sales in '07-'08 (fiscal year just ended). I am very proud of Brandon and love to see the congratulatory emails/calls that come from his upper management. McKesson had a family day last Friday. Jen and I took all the kids to Brandon's office for the day. Jackson and Morgan had a blast in the blow-up jumping thing, getting their faces painted (Jackson got Superman, Morgan got Hello Kitty) and playing carnival games. Maggie, William and Matthew hung out in their strollers and napped off and on! Twin mannerisms...notice the position of each ones right foot. :)

Jen and I took all the kids to the zoo last week. It was a perfect day...beautiful weather and kids that listened and minded us pretty well.
Sorry for the picture and detail overload. I know I've left a ton off stuff off that happened in the last month. As I say almost every post, I'll try to post again soon :)