Viva Las Vegas

Our First trip with the boys.....what an adventure

Here we are at New York

Nothing like relaxing at the pool with a crab and turtle

What a wonderful weekend we had in Las Vegas for Memorial Day Weekend. We headed out on Friday with the boys and Natalie and Sean and also our friends, John, Carla and AJ Keller. The boys did so well in the car. They had naps, toys and lots of cheerios. We stayed in a two bedroom condo that had a pool and hot tub that everyone enjoyed.

On Saturday we hung at out the pool most of the day. Colby and Austin got to go into a swimming pool for the 1st time. The pool was a little cold so Austin didn't care for it too much at first. Colby did great though. Once Austin got used to it we put him in his turtle float and he loved it. We had the turtle and crab race which ended in a tie.

We were lucky enough to get to have dinner with Pat's Aunt Joyce, cousin Debbie and her son, Christopher. They loved seeing the boys for the 1st time and luckily the boys were pretty well behaved at dinner. After dinner we hit the strip for some sight seeing. We walked through several of the hotels and the kids were amazed at how big they were. One had a huge aquarium that Natalie and Sean both enjoyed. We got to see the dancing fountains twice which were really neat too.

Sunday was Carla's 3?rd birthday. I can't tell you how old she turned because ladies don't tell their age. Course I guess friends could. Pat and John headed out early for 18 holes of golf and seemed to have a good time. Abby, they said the course was awesome but I'm sure you'll hear all about it. Once they got back we headed back to the strip for awhile. We went to the M & M store that I think Carla and I loved the most. It was four levels. We also went to New York for Natalie and she loved it.

After walking around we went to the cheesecake factory for dinner and it was awesome. Oh my gosh they had two pages of different kinds of cheesecake to choose from. Pat went for the most popular strawberry cheesecake and I went for the snicker's cheesecake. It was delicious. As we walked out from dinner there was a Ford Excursion Limo outside and the kids were ooohing over it. A lady got out and opened the door and asked us to get it. Pat and John had rented it for us to take us down the strip. So we all loaded up and got the boys in their carseats and headed down the strip. The kids loved it. Actually so did I. Austin and Colby were just amazed at the lights on the roof of the limo and the lights outside.

The driver also had the movie Shrek 3 that she played for us while we road around. She had the bar stocked with sodas and Capri Suns that the kids thought was totally awesome. It was nice to drive down the strip and enjoy it without having to do the driving ourselves. What a great idea Pat and John had.

We headed back to Salt Lake yesterday and traffic was normal Memorial Day traffic. But we made it home safely from a wonderful weekend. I will for sure go back to visit but I don't think I would ever want to live there. Natalie is already asking when we are going back. She loved it and Sean said it more than he imagined. So we felt good as we crawled into bed last night knowing we all had such a nice weekend. The boys crashed pretty hard last night and slept until almost 7:00 this morning. Poor Heather has to try and get them back on schedule today.

1 Year check up

We were off to see Dr. Cox yesterday for their one year check up and shots. We got a lot of good news. I just couldn't take them on Monday and ruin their birthday so we waited one day.

The first good news we got was that RSV season is closed therefore they did not have to get their RSV synagis. One less shot.

My lil Colby weighed in at 16.9 pounds and is26.7 inches long. He still has not made it onto the growth chart but that's ok too.

As you can see he was very curious about everything in his wagon. He just wanted the paper I think. The boys did help open them and in one hand would be paper and the other the book or toy and every time Austin would look at the paper and say "ooooh".

Austin, our big boy weighed in at 18.3 pounds and is 28.5 inches long. He is still maintaining that two pound difference in weight and two inches in height.

Everything checked out well. Dr. Cox is very happy with their growth, motor development and our progress with early intervention and physical therapy.

We do have physical therapy tomorrow and I believe Miss Lisa is going to be very impressed with the boys. They are doing everything we were supposed to be working on plus more. We were supposed to work on going from the standing position to the sitting position without doing the Nestea plunge, going from the crawling position to sitting and back to crawling. Work on the proper crawling position with Colby instead of the Army lowcrawl. Both boys are doing all of these correctly plus walking around the couch holding on. Colby's big deal now is to let go, clap his hands and then hold on again. I should try to get that on video one day. He is soooo proud of himself when he does it.

Speaking of milk.......Dr. Cox also says we can move onto whole milk if want. Since we are using one can of formula, the expensive one for preemies, every 1 1/2 days I think we'll try the whole milk.

For those of you that saw how much milk I had stored, I used my last bag one week prior to their birthday. I wanted to say so badly that I nursed them for one year but I was one week short. For those that have no idea what I am talking about, we had an entire stand up freezer full of milk and we also had to store milk at Carla's house in her freezer.

This is why our family loves our Nanny, Heather so much. She loves the boys and the boys love her.

Happy 1st Birthday.....our precious lil miracles

Wow! Can you believe Colby and Austin are one year old today. My gosh, where has a year gone? I am so afraid I am getting ready to look up and they will be heading off to college. We had our family dedication at church today. It was great. Pat did an awesome testimony on how God and the power of prayer has touched our lives. It was a proud Momma moment for me to stand up there with my family and know that this is God's plan for me. I wouldn't change it for a moment.

Our lives have been a roller coaster this past year but with the support of family, friends and Southeast Baptist we made it. I wish all of you could have heard Pat speak today. It was very touching and I am very proud of him. He's a great husband and father and I am so thankful to have him. I will say there many tears in the congregation which shows me those were the ones praying for us when times were tough and those tears were seeing the power of their prayer.

As always Pat did manage to make everyone laugh too. I think he told the whole church that Jen called Carla to tell her I had delivered the boys and Carla said, "have you called Pat" to that Jen said oh no, don't tell anyone I called you first. Oh and I don't think he holds a grudge, but he loves bringing it up.

Our Utah Family, the Kellers, the Fontenots, Jen and Jefferson and Abby

We had a wonderful party for the boys. We had a house full and the boys were so good. They weren't wild about their cake. Austin didn't seem to like getting his hands dirty. They finally tasted it after I helped put their hands in it. They did love all their gifts.


They got a lil red wagon from Granny, Grampy, Aunt Alina and Uncle Jason and we filled it with all their gifts and they just kept crawling over and looking. I think they were a little overwhelmed but they handled it great and didn't have a melt down. Here are some snapshots from the party. I'll have a lot more thanks to our photographers, Heather and Nathan.

Happy Birthday Colby and Austin! I love you so much and look forward to many many more birthdays with you.

Mom

Happy Mother's Day

My Twin Boys

Wow, some days I still can't believe I am a Mom. For those years that Pat and I tried and tried to have children we came to realize it was meant to be, but in God's time not ours. I look back at our 1st ultra sound photo and now I look at Colby and Austin who are both trying to help me type and I just want to pinch myself to see if it's all true. Ok we'll Colby just pinched me so it must be true. I am amazed every day at what a joy children are. I never knew this kind of love existed and I am so thankful to God that he has given me the opportunity to be a Mom.

There are so many days while I work that I wonder "am I doing the right thing?" Should I be a working mother or a stay at home mom. Will the boys be mad at me if I'm not with them every minute of every day, will they forget who I am if I have to go away. Then I take a minute and remember my Mom. My mom is my hero. She taught me so much that I never realized that she had taught me until I had Colby and Austin.

Oh how I wish she were here to see the boys and to hold and love them like she did with Ann-Marie and me. How proud she would be to say "she is a mother of twins and a grandmother of twins" I wonder how many people in this world could say that.

I have relived this past year over and over again and most of the time it brings tears to my eyes when I realize just how blessed I am.

This weekend, my 1st Mother's day weekend I have come to realize how much I miss my Mom who died 10 years ago this August. Every year I do the Race for the Cure in memory of her and for it to be held yesterday in Salt Lake made for a weekend of memories for me.

As Pat and I pushed the boys for 5K I took time to think about all my Mom did for me and the fight against cancer that she fought with all she had. I thought about all the ballgames and track meets she attended. Staying every day after school so we could practice and still driving 30 minutes home and cooking dinner for us every night. I realize how much of her time she gave to her family and for that I am so thankful. How many of you remember "Hey ref, you're missing a good game!" That should bring a smile to your face. I plan to be that Mom who is always there to support my boys no matter what path they decide to take and I hope I am always there to show them how to love and to be loved and that as long as they live by what God wants them to do they will never go wrong.

My Mom was a strong Christian lady that taught me I could do anything I wanted if I set my mind too it and worked hard. (I'm guessing after I got into flight school she might have wished I wasn't as strong as she was.) She was always there regardless of the situation. She had a strong but loving hand and it is because of her that I am the way I am. I love when Natalie or Sean ask me "how did you learn to do that or who told you that and I can tell them My Mom taught me". I hope I can be half the Mom to Colby and Austin that she was to me and continues to be.

To all the ladies, who may not be Moms..yet,(Lou, Carla, Jen, Abby and Heather) I believe God has a plan for you and I am so grateful part of his plan is to allow you to love my boys as if they were your own. I want to say Happy Mother's Day to you and to thank you for loving and caring for Colby and Austin like you would your own children. You will always have a special place in their heart and mine.

Her love is like an island

In life's ocean, vast and wide

A peaceful, quiet shelter

From the wind, the rain, the tide.

"Tis bound on the north by Hope,

By Patience on the West,

By tender Counsel on the South,

and on the East by Rest.

Above it like a beacon light

Shine Faith, and Truth and Prayer;

And thro' the changing scenes in life

I find a haven there.

Happy Mother's
Day!