14 Months

First we want to thank everyone who supported us in our walk for the March of Dimes on Saturday!  We walked in the pouring down rain, we tried to keep Quinn and Riley as dry as possible. Geoff kept the umbrella over the stroller and we had a blanket on their lap as well.  An attorney from his office, as well as his wife and son all walked with us.  We had a great time even if we were soaking wet!

We should have brought some towels :)

Catching up with Beth, one of our NICU nurses, and her oldest son, Taylor.

Daddy's girl.

It stopped raining after we walked so Quinn could actually get out and walk around!  Taylor helped run after him.

Quinn and Riley are 14 months old today!  It seems like they are growing up so very quickly.  We've been having lots of firsts...

First time trying cotton candy!  Riley loved it.  Quinn wouldn't even try it.  That's my picky boy :)  However, they also had their first snow cone and loved that! 

First time in a bounce house!  Not sure what to make of this.

Riley is a little uncertain as well.  I think it will grow on them!

They often try new foods when we are eating them.  Geoff was eating this oriental salad, that we didn't think they would like, but they kept asking for more bites.  Later I offered them some and they wouldn't have anything to do with it.  They are so funny about food these days.  They will love something one day and refuse it the next.  It keeps mommy guessing!

We went to the park to play and have lunch today.  Riley's first time in a swing!

Quinn's first time in a swing.  They are both looking the same way because there were big kids over that way playing.  It's so funny how they are just mesmerized by big kids!

My sister put them in the swing together.  So cute!

Our new twin friends, also boy/girl twins, just 2 months older than Quinn and Riley!  We had a great time with them today!

Riley decided to swing with her cousin...

...while Quinn was walking around playing with sticks! 

A few things about Quinn and Riley

1. They both have learned to blow kisses...and it's so cute.

2. They both will point to their noses when we ask them where they are, sometimes their finger goes in their nose...oh no!

3. They both are clapping a lot lately and Riley especially will smile a huge smile while she claps.

4. Quinn likes to carry something around with him while he walks.  The other night at a friend's house he carried their Easter bunny, which was almost as big as he is.  He also talks while he walks, usually "dat, dat, dat" not completely sure what it means but he has a blast talking and walking!

5. Riley signs "more" and says "ma" at the same time.

6. Riley is cruising around furniture and anything else she can.  She still sees her physical therapist once a week (mostly working on sitting correctly, not "w" sit, strengthening leg muscles, and standing correctly, not on insides of feet).

7. Quinn is in a size 4 diaper and Riley is in a size 3.
8. Quinn is wearing some 12 month and some 18 month clothing (he needs 18 months in the waist but they are long on him).  Riley is wearing some 9 month and some 12 month clothing (she needs 12 month for length but some of it is big in the waist).
9.  We are in the process of weaning, but I do still nurse them once a day.  Eating is hit and miss these days.  Some days they love something and the next day not so much.  Some new things they will actually try and others they won't even get close to their mouth.  Meals are interesting to say the least.  I'm open to suggestions, recipes your kids loved, any new ideas...
10. They had their first "hired" babysitter last week and it went very good.  Geoff and I went out for dinner and a movie to celebrate our birthdays.  We need to do this more often!
11. We have so much fun together.  They loved to be tickled, play chase, and thrown in the air!  They both have an adventuresome side and I love when we are playing and they laugh their deep belly laugh.  It's music to my ears.
12. They both still take 2 naps, but on Sundays and when needed they can get by on one nap.  They just aren't ready to do that everyday.  They go to sleep at night between 7:00-7:30pm and usually wake between 7:00-7:30am. 
13. Riley has turned into a cuddle-bug, but only right after she wakes up.  Daddy still gets them up in the mornings and just loves how she cuddles up on his shoulder when he gets her.  Mommy gets lots of cuddles after naps! 
14.  We are seeing their personalities more and more.  Riley has a very tender side.  She easily shares and gives away toys to others, especially her brother.  We had a play date recently where she was just handing out toys to the other kids.  She also has broken down sobbing when her daddy told her brother "no" in that stern daddy voice.  Quinn has a feisty side to say the least.  If Riley even comes close to a toy he is playing with that he thinks should be all his, he tries to push and shove her away.  We are working on this.  He also has a dramatic side.  If Riley happens to get a toy that he is playing with, he will start crying, sobbing, lay his head down on the floor and cry!  It is drama!  (We try not to laugh, that doesn't help things)

I love these two blessings.  They make my life so much fun and I thank the Lord for them everyday.  They both love to come and sit in my lap during the day as we play, these moments I just say quiet prayers over them, that they grow to love the Lord, and that the Lord will give me the wisdom to be the mother he wants me to be!  Happy 14 months Quinn and Riley!

So Much Fun!

Here's some pictures of my two cuties and all the fun we have been having recently!  Enjoy!

Practicing gymnastics

"Me too!"

Three little monkeys jumping on the bed!

Tackling the pillow...

...is so much fun!

Kelley and I got to see each other, with both our twins!  (This is the best picture we got, and Riley is mad)

Boys being boys!

Celebrating Daddy turning 30!

For Daddy's birthday Riley decided to be a "daddy's girl" again!

Having fun at Grammy and Pop's house!

Lovin' having all this attention!

First trip down the slide!

Riley too!

Quinn has made this toy into his seat.  He also loves to come sit on my lap when I'm on the floor.  I think we need to buy him a chair :)

Mommy's birthday, with the best presents ever!

Little musician :)

Another musician! 

Five on Friday

Our March for Babies is just 8 days away and you can give $5 today to sponsor us as we walk.  I sometimes feel like I have to have an extra $20 to make a donation, but I don't, and you don't either!  Just $5, with someone else's $5, and someone else's $5 will add up!   
Just click on the picture on the right side of my blog and you can donate safe and securely online.  It can't be any easier than that! 

Quinn and Riley are especially appreciative of your support and wanted me to share some cute pictures of them as a "thank you"! 

"Is it time to eat yet?" 

My little helpers "clean" the glass!

They have piano practice after snack in the afternoons!

They supervised mommy and daddy planting some new plants last Saturday!

Can you believe that a year ago my children were not even 2 months old yet, Riley weighed about 5.5 lbs and Quinn weighed about 9 lbs.  We were at the doctors on Wed. (allergies, trying a new medicine) and Riley weighed about 18.5 lbs and Quinn was about 23.5 lbs.  What a difference a year makes! 

We are so excited to walk the March for Babies next week and see many of our nurses from the NICU.  We think they will be happy to see how far we have come!  Thanks again for supporting us as we walk!

SUPERMOM!

NO...it's not me! (Remember I let my child sleep in his own puke all night)

Back in March I got to go meet Kelley's twin boys, Rhys and Owen.  I left my kids with my mom for the afternoon and went to see this sweet family.  I walked into their house to find Kelley baking oatmeal cookies with her girls!  I mean really, she has 4 children ages 3, 1, and two 5 week olds and she's baking cookies?!?  Her reply to my questioning this situation is that it's easier to have an activity to do with the girls than to not :)  She really is supermom!  I did take over the baking for her, got the girls lunch, helped feed the babies, and did whatever else I could to help out.

No, her house is not sparkling clean (I don't think she would mind me telling you that) and she may not make gourmet meals at night.  But she is taking care of her children (you know the basics like food and clothing and maybe a bath here and there) and she is loving them and enjoying her time with them.  In my opinion, what makes her supermom is how she isn't stressing over every little thing.  Sure she gets stressed sometimes, but life with that many dependants who are very dependant could be stressful every moment of every day...if she let it. 

She also knows that her source of strength is the Lord and she is dependant on Him to get her through each moment.  She recognizes that her children will not be young forever and she is determined to love them well, show them Jesus, and enjoy this crazy time in her life!  Sounds like supermom to me! 

Kelley with all four of her children!

If I remember correctly, this is Rhys.

And this is Owen. (I could be wrong :) 

I remember holding newborns like this very well, they do grow up so quickly!

Thanks Kelley for letting me come spend the day.  Can't wait to do it again!

Happy Easter & Other News

I hope you had a very happy Easter celebrating the resurrection of our Savior!  We read the kids the resurrection story from their children's Bible and talked to them about how Christ's death on the cross and resurrection gives us the chance to accept the free gift of salvation.  I'm sure they didn't understand all of what we shared :) but we'll keep sharing.  Deuteronmy 6:4-9 says  "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." So we will keep sharing with Quinn and Riley just as the Lord instructs us too! 

They got to dress up in the outfits Nana made for them for church!  Ever since Riley stopped wearing her helmet she has refused to leave a bow in her hair.  But I think they were pretty cute anyways.

Our 2nd Easter as a family of 4!

Quinn makes the cutest faces!

Such a pretty girl!

We had easter eggs with puffs and yogurt melts in them!

Who needs hands?

This was before they discovered the treats.

Other News:

To pick up with our sickness saga...We got Riley her 2nd antibiotic shot last Sun. and decided 2 shots would have to do because we were supposed to leave on Sat. to go to Fl. for vacation with my side of the family.  Everyone else was there Sat. so we wanted to get on down on Sun.  We swung by the dr.'s office to get Riley's shot and then headed out of town.  It was such a long trip!  The kids handled it great considering Quinn only took one 30 min. nap the entire trip.  Riley took two 30 min. naps.  Initially it was going pretty good and we stopped for a little picnic lunch on the way down.

Riley is checking out what's in the lunch bag :)

In Georgia was hit awful traffic that just crawled along.  We only went about 10 miles in an hour.  We finally got going again and things were going ok...until we hit Orlando and I-4 traffic.  We inched along again and should have been there in plenty of time for dinner (the kids usually eat by 6pm). About 6:20 when we were still in traffic, I crawled in the back and started digging food out of the bags, yogurt out of the cooler and started feeding them dinner, or what would have to do as dinner.  We finally got there about 7:20 and got the kids to bed by 8:00, which was late but not too bad.  Did I mention it poured rain for the last 2 hours of our trip as well? Not fun! 

Having fun at the pool.

We were outside of Orlando at this great resort with lots of pools and fun things to do!  We thought about going to Sea World but the kids still were pretty tired from their sickness and travel and all so we just hung out with family and had fun at the pools.  Oh, and everyone else got the sickness!  On Mon. my sister's husband got sick (we thought he had gotten away without getting it since she and her kids had it and were over it).  Tue. my sister-in-law was sick, early Wed. morning my brother got sick, late Wed. night my mom got sick, and early Thurs. morning my dad got sick. 

At this point we were staying in a condo with my parents and got scared of getting it again so Thurs. we packed up and when home, 2 days early.  It was not that great of a vacation to say the least.  We did get Quinn into the dr. on Fri. to recheck his ears and both he and Riley are free of ear infections!  That was a relief and Quinn finally got caught up on his shots. 

Our only family picture from our short vacation!

Mama's boy

Riley with Aunt Jana

Evan hung out with us the day my sister and her husband took their 2 older boys to Magic Kingdom.  The park was so crowded they had to close it at noon and not let any more people in.  I'm sure Evan was glad he got to hang out and play with Quinn & Riley instead of dealing with all those people and lines! 

Evan is one happy boy!

Do you like her leggings?

Quinn loved the water, especially these zero entry pools he could just crawl around in!

Riley liked the critter pool toys!

Since our vacation was so short, we took the kids to the zoo for some family fun once we got home!

Quinn loved being up high!

Quinn just studies everything, this was the Tigers!

Riley was so cute riding around just holding onto her cup at the zoo!

I was a little bummed about vacation ending up like it did and said we need a vacation "do over".  However, one of Geoff's co-workers just lost his 18 year old niece in a car accident and when we heard the news it just really brought things into perspective for me.  This family has lost their precious daughter, what's a little vacation getting cut short in the grand scheme of things?  I also have to remind myself to count our many blessings when the kids are both teething like they are right now.  They get very fussy and cry at the littlest things.  

However, they do some pretty cute things too and I just have to keep my perspective in check. 

Quinn is walking all over the place!  He is so cute and proud of himself.  Today I had to tell him to stop touching a cord that was plugged in and I put him on my lap and handed him some easter eggs.  He took a half of the egg and placed it on top of my head.  It was so cute and funny and I just had to laugh.  He also waves with both hands so he looks like he is driving a motorcycle and he vibrates his lips like a motor is running.   

Ever since Riley got her helmet off she crawls on all fours, no longer the army crawl.  She also likes to mimic the intonation for "thank you" so without actually saying the words it still sounds like she is saying "thank you."  She loves to pull up on everything and also loves to shake her head back and forth for "no."  She does it all the time and just smiles while she's doing it.  She also likes to say "uh oh" and she does tons of "talking" all day long!

I just burst into tears this morning when they were playing after breakfast.  It just hit me how very grown up they are getting (especially with Quinn walking so much) and I just can't believe how fast time is flying by!  They are so cute together and often will just make each other laugh.  We are having to work on sharing and not just taking something out of the other's hand...it's a work in progress. 

I love these children that the Lord has blessed me with and pray that I make the most of each day with them!