...but I didn't make their cake or sing happy b-day to them til Jan. 31!! Good thing they're young enough that they dont know the difference.
The twins have graduated from the infant tub and now take baths with their big sister. It's quite a feat to keep them from slipping and sliding all over the place, but is such a joy to watch. They enjoy "swimming" in the tub and splashing around. I have to keep my eyes peeled when I bathe them, but the joy that fills my heart as I hear them squeal is more than worth it!
(I'm not sure who wrote this poem)
Would you nurse her in the park?
Would you nurse him in the dark?
Would you nurse him with a Boppy?
And when your boobs are feeling floppy?
I would nurse him in the park,
I would nurse her in the dark.
I'd nurse with or without a Boppy.
Floppy boobs will never stop me.
Can you nurse with your seat belt on?
Can you nurse from dusk till dawn?
Though she may pinch me, bite me, pull,
I will nurse her `till she's full!
Can you nurse and make some soup?
Can you nurse and feed the group?
It makes her healthy strong and smart,
Mommy's milk is the best start!
Would you nurse him at the game?
Would you nurse her in the rain?
In front of those who dare complain?
I would nurse him at the game.
I would nurse her in the rain.
As for those who protest lactation,
I have the perfect explanation.
Mommy's milk is tailor made
It's the perfect food, you need no aid.
Some may scoff and some may wriggle,
Avert their eyes or even giggle.
To those who can be cruel and rude,
Remind them breast's the perfect food!
I would never scoff or giggle,
Roll my eyes or even wiggle!
I would not be so crass or crude,
I KNOW that this milk's the perfect food!
We make the amount we need
The perfect temp for every feed.
There's no compare to milk from breast-
The perfect food, above the rest.
Those nursing smiles are oh so sweet,
Mommy's milk is such a treat.
Human milk just can't be beat.
I will nurse, in any case,
On the street or in your face.
I will not let my baby cry,
I'll meet her needs, I'll always try.
It's not about what's good for you,
It's best for babies, through and through.
I will nurse her in my home,
I will nurse her when I roam.
Leave me be lads and ma'am.
I will nurse her, Mom I am
Nursing our children has been such a joy and a blessing. I wish more people could experience it. I love it for many reasons and some are: b/c it creates such a special bond with the baby, is oh so convenient, and is FREE!!! Before having the twins, I thought that I would nurse and bottlefeed b/c afterall nobody is crazy enough to nurse twins! LOL. I purchased bottles with gift cards from my showers and thought they would be used. I have to say however that the bottles have been used maybe about 4 times. Sounds crazy and unbelievable, I know! With Halley, I pumped milk, but b/c we didn't give her a bottle early on, she never really learned how to use one. My supply of frozen milk was mixed with her cereal and given to her around 9 months when she started on a sippy cup. I pumped a few times when the twins were born, but didn't keep up with it b/c I really don't have time to pump. With the twins it has just been easier to pop my breast in their mouths and keep on truckin'. They are 7 months now and I still nurse them simultaneously sometimes as it saves time. I would love to be a lactation consultant and encourage women to nurse their babies...the benefits are GREAT!!!
I'm sure this is the first of many fights to come! And it looks like Rae Rae will be walking in her sister's shoes with all that biting she's doing...Lord, help!
The other day, I decided to go out with the kiddies to cash in on the free KFC. I packed up all the kids up and off we went. When I got to the drive thru, I was told that I had to get a raincheck for the chicken b/c of the "overwhelming response." What did they think was going to happen...after all they advertised on Oprah!
I got the raincheck and had to put it in the mail that day. But alas, I had no stamps! Since the post office was close by, I decided to go. However, there was no way I was going to get the double stroller out, unload Halley, snap in the twins, run inside for 1 stamp, push the stroller back outside while getting Halley to hold onto the stroller, buckle Halley back in, lift the twins back into their seats, put the double stroller away, and get back in the car! Aren't you tired just thinking about how much energy that would take?
So here was my solution: I backed the truck up from where I was parked to get closer to the door and asked a complete stranger something like this, "Excuse me ma'am, I have 3 very cute but hard to transport children in my car. Would you please find it in yourself to help a sista out?" Of course she obliged. I even got express service b/c her son was with her and ran the stamps and my change out to me! Like mama said, "You have not because you ask not!"
Dear Rae Rae,
Today you are 5 months old. You are such a sweetheart and full of personality. It seems to me that you are growing out of your nickname of Baby Set It Off. You have mellowed out some and aren't quite as demanding. It's easier to soothe you and meet your demands these days. In the past 2 months you started rolling over (you accomplished this feat about 3 weeks after Max). Most people say it's because you have so much baby fat on you that it's harder for you to roll over! However, you were able to bear weight on your legs before your brother. I attached a mirror to your crib and it keeps you occupied and cooing for good lengths of time. You can clasp your hands together like you are praying and push up on your arms. Your hair is very curly and I adorn it with one or two barrettes to add to your cuteness factor! You are an excellent napper and night time sleeper. At your last Dr's appointment you weighed 13 lbs 1 oz. You had to get 3 shots and you were quite the trooper...barely cried at all. Your skin is still so soft and I love rubbing my face against your cheeks. I wish I could bottle something to keep you a baby forever! However, I know that you will get even sweeter and more precious to me with time...so, I guess I'll let you grow up!
Rae Rae, Mommy loves you!
Macky Boy,
What a sweet little boy you are! It is amazing how much you look like your Daddy. This month, I put a baseball cap on you for the first time and I absolutely love it. You look so cute in it. I think wearing a hat will be your signature look. You are very active and quite a squirmer. You are a very happy baby and full of sweet laughter and cooing sounds. You and Rae Rae both started sucking your thumbs last month. I had vowed not to let anymore of our kids be thumbsuckers b/c Halley's thumb is in terrible shape. However, I let you and Rae Rae have your way! You can bear weight on your legs, push up on your arms, and recognize familiar voices. On Mother's Day, Auntie Erika and Oma gave you your first taste of rice cereal. After about a week, you were keeping most of it in your mouth and not pushing the majority of it out. You are still pretty laid back, but not hesitant to let out your high pitched shrill to let me know how you are really feeling! Most nights you sleep all night and wake up around 6:30. At your last Dr's appointment you weighed 13 lbs. Even though you are only 1 oz. behind Mariah, she is in the 45th percentile and you are in the 15th b/c the boys growth curve is different from the girls. I am really proud of your progress and I think you will be bigger than Mariah in no time! But, oh what I wouldn't do to keep you little forever!
I love you Macky Boy!
The twins have brought on much curiosity from people. Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions:
1. How do you do it?
Well, I just do what I have to do! When I had Halley, I always wondered how people with multiples made it through the day. Now that I have a set myself, I see that it's possible to make it through the day and stay sane! As God promised, He has given me grace for each moment of the day. I didn't need grace to raise 3 children when I only had 1...He gives us what we need as the situation requires. 
2. Are you getting any sleep?
Actually, I am. The first 6 weeks were pretty rough. But herein is God's grace again. I did not sleep much during my pregnancy and I think that just prepared me for being up at night with the twins. My body was already used to a small amount of sleep so that helped a lot. For the last week, Mariah has been sleeping 8 hours at night! Wow! Max had a few nights where he did 6 hours, but in the last couple of days he has been getting up once a night after his 11 o clock feeding. He's a fast nurser, so I'm back in bed within 15 minutes.
I used a plan called Baby Wise with Halley and the twins. It teaches parents how to put their babies on a schedule. With this method, most babies are sleeping through the night by 12 weeks of age. This way, I guide their eating and sleeping schedule, instead of the babies ruling me. I highly recommend it.
3. How is Halley handling the babies?
Well, she loves them a lot. She gives lots of hugs and kisses. Sometimes, she is overly eager to help and I have to watch her closely. She calls both of the babies Mac! One day she will learn that each have their own name.
Her behavior has not been so good, so we are having to discipline and instruct her a lot. I'm sure this has to do with not getting as much attention and the fact that she is 2. Being 2 is not an excuse, but we are definetly seeing some behavioral problems. Please pray that she will obey and that God will give us wisdom in training her. 
The babies still sleep together. When one cries, it does not wake the other. That's amazing. I don't know how that works, but it does! We pretty much stay in the house, all day, everyday! This past weekend we had great weather, so I took all the kiddies to the park. If you know me, you know I love warm weather and walks at the park. It took me 4 hours (including bathing, eating lunch, and putting the stroller together) to get myself and everyone ready, but we eventually made it out and enjoyed the sunshine! The babies went to the doctor on Feb. 2 for a check up. Mariah weighed 9.5 lbs and Max was 8 lbs. 10 oz.! They have changed so much since birth. I'm trying to soak in the baby days, because they go by way too fast!
I've set a goal to blog atleast once a week. Hold me to it, ok?
In some ways it's hard to believe that the twins are 30 days old! But when I think about all the sleepless nights, it definetly feels like 30 days have gone by! Our Mariah and Max are such a blessing and have brought joy to our lives. When Halley was born, it was hard for me to tell what her personality was like. I had nothing to compare her too, so I just thought she was a typical baby. This is not the case with the twins. I can see huge differences between them.
Max is VERY laid back and easy going. He loves his paci. Though we were told throughout the entire pregnancy that he was the bigger twin, this was not the case. He is about 7 pounds now, which is great, but he still has some work to do to catch up with his big sister! Max snorts when he cries which can be so funny. We love our sweet Max and are so glad to have him in our family.
Mariah is a typical girl...full of drama! She screams bloody murder to get your attention. As soon as she is picked up, peace comes over her and her emergency is over. Mariah has a double chin and full cheeks. She continues to put on the weight and love, love, loves to eat. She is not into the paci or bottles...she wants the real deal! Mariah looks just like Halley looked as a baby. She likes to swing and definetly wants to be held. Our 2nd born gives us lots to smile about.
The twins are sharing a crib for now. The amazing thing is that they don't wake each other up when they cry. The sleeping twin is not phased by the screams of the other...that just amazes me. We are working on getting them on the same schedule. This is easier said than done. It's only been a month, so I trust that with time things will get better.
Here are some of our first pics taken on our last day at the hospital and when we first arrived home.
On Friday, Dec. 19, 2008 our twins entered the world! What an exciting time. Mariah Brielle was born at 1204 p.m. weighing 5 lbs and 13 oz. Maxwell Eddie arrived 2 minutes later weighing 4 lbs and 13 oz. They are PRECIOUS and greatly loved! Here is a slideshow of pics from our hospital stay.
The babies are scheduled to be here in 4 days!!! That's soon, don't ya think? In preparation, I have done a little sewing and LOTS of cleaning. We are also working hard on our budget and getting business stuff in order.
Here are some pics of a few things I have made. 
I thought this apron was super cute. Apparently, Halley did not! Here are the directions for this super easy-to-make apron. I taught my friend Nicole how to make one for her daughter, Kaiya.
I made this quilt for Max. I took it to be embroidered and will pick it up today. I also did one for Mariah, but I did not take a picture of it yet. 
This is a "hooter hider" aka nursing cover up. You can learn to do anything on the internet. Here are the directions for this item. I changed a few things to make mine a bit nicer. I sewed two fabrics together to make it a little thicker, added a decorative stitch to the outside, and put on a pocket as suggested. I saw this same cover up here on sale for $19.95. Maybe I will go into business making these! 
I taught myself how to crochet when I was pregnant with Halley. She has a nice sized blanket now. I decided to do one for the twins. So far, only Max's is done! I learned how to do this "granny square" on the internet. Click here, to learn to do one yourself. I do have one for Mariah, but it looks more like a cape than a blanket! Oops. I am going to start over using this same pattern that I used for Max. My goal is to get hers done in time so that they can come home from the hospital with them. I would love to have them as a keepsake to pass on to their firstborn.
I just went in the nursery and noticed that I need 2 curtains for it. My plan was to make them, but I think I will have to purchase them...time is of the essence. I also need to get something to put on the wall over their cribs. So much to do, so little time.
I have my last MD appointment as a pregnant lady at 815 this morning! If all goes well, we will have the babies Friday. I'm so excited, I can hardly contain myself! When I get done with that, I have lots phone calls to make and a few errands to run. I have to get it all done now, because by Friday I will be milk distribution center ONLY! Well, not only...I still have responsibilities as a wife, mother, domestic engineer, accountant, delegator, friend, daughter, sister, organizer, etc, etc, etc!!!
Have you looked at my baby ticker lately? Take a minute and scroll down...looking to your left for the 2 babies floating in the womb.
Go ahead.
Obey.
I'm waiting.
Did you see that? 23 days (as of Nov. 26) to go! The babies are moving around like crazy. I can look down at my belly and see body parts doing the bump in there! It's hard to believe that by Christmas, Lord willing, we will have 3 children. Boy, did we catch up with some our friends very quickly. Their names are Mariah (she still needs a middle name) and Maxwell Eddie. It has been such a joy and privelege to carry them. I thank God for giving me the joy of bearing children. What a delight and honor.
The other night at our Thanksgiving service a man shared that he delivered their 7th child at home because the midwife did not make it in time! You all know my husband is quite the businessman, right? He got the mic and said, "Scott, they are charging us $10,000 to deliver these babies, can we cut a deal?" The church went into an uproar! Afterwards, someone told me that I gave Eddie the evil eye...oops!
Seriously though, we are having to pay out of pocket for this pregnancy. We have medical insurance (which we pay nearly $400 monthly for) but we did not sign up for maternity benefits when we got the policy. We had just had Halley and weren't "planning" to get pregnant for awhile. Since this pregnancy, our thoughts on "planning" pregnancies has changed. We believe that God is sovereign over the womb. It's not to us to determine how big our small our family will be. God knows what's best. He declares in His Word that children are a blessing from Him and that the fruit of the womb is a reward. We don't think that we should say, "No,God don't give me any more blessings. We are going to use "wisdom" and cut off the blessings that you want to give us." The world sees children as a bother, a hindrance to your career, and anything but a blessing. But as Christians, we know that Christ is opposed to the world (He is on the extreme end of the spectrum to what the world says)..."feed your enemies, bless those who curse you, the first will be last, the greatest among you is your servant, etc." To give control of this area of our lives over to the Lord is a huge step of faith for us. After all, I was just a few days late picking up my pills and we got pregnant...with twins! But we trust that our God truly knows what is best. We want to have an open hand to His will for our lives.
As for Halley's thoughts on the babies...she doesn't have much of a clue what's going on! When asked where are the babies, she does lift up my shirt and point to my belly. And she knows that we have been keeping her out of the nursery, but I don't think she knows why! She is a great helper...really. She carries her stool to the sink to help wash dishes and to the washer and dryer to help with the laundry. She loves to get the clothes out of the dryer and put them on the couch and even tries to help me fold them. When I get the broom, she immediately gets the dustpan. She helps to vaccuum. My parents bought her an iron and ironing board, so she does that as well! What a domestic diva! I hope this continues when the babies come. She is going to the potty on her own these days...#1 and #2!!! Praise the Lord. She wears panties all day and has not had an accident in a couple of days. Even in the church nursery she has used the potty. I am so thankful to the Lord for this! My goal was to have her potty trained before the twins arrived. She has met and exceeded the goal! We are still working on her staying dry at night. She just turned 2 on Nov. 7, so I really believe her progress is excellent. I just hope she won't regress when they get here.
Well, keep praying for us. I'm having Braxton Hicks contractions...especially at night. We are shooting for Dec. 19 to become a party of 5!
No, not time to have the twins...time to update my blog! Gotcha!! So much has gone on over the last 6 weeks or so. I'll try to give you a quick run down. Let's start with family first... Eddie and I spent the whole week together last week. Just. the. two. of. us. He is working really hard on some new projects (building 3 townhouses, trying to sell houses he built earlier this year, managing rental properties, and looking at a new business venture). He's such an entrepreneur! He also has been teaching Sunday School. He is great at engaging others to join in the discussion. I really enjoy his class.
I was put on bedrest last week because the babies were growing at different rates. The boy was measuring 25% bigger than his sister. Twins should not be more that 20% different in size. Plus, I was having contractions every 3-4 minutes. We sent Brie to my parents in Atlanta, becuase who can really rest with a 2 year old?!! We prayed and prayed for the babies. When I went back this Monday, things were great. The twins are only 8% different in size now. I was taken off of bedrest and declared a low risk patient again! Oh how my heart rejoiced! I believe that the mishap last week was due to operator error on behalf of the U/S tech. She was not as skilled and I think her measurements were way off. However, God is in control (even over "mistakes"). He was testing my faith and all things worked out for His glory and my good. 
Brie turned 2 on Friday! Wow! Before I went to bed last night I peeked in her room. She takes up half the toddler bed with her length now. She is becoming more verbal. Her speech is not that good, but she can definetly communicate! Everyday is an adventure with her. She mocks lots of things that we do...which is scary and funny! She loves music...anytime she hears it, she starts to sway to the music and swing her head back and forth. She loves to pray. We sing "God our Father, we thank you..." before meals. It's nothing for her to take a few bites and then say again, "Wan pray." So we do it all over again.
I've had 2 baby showers...one in Atlanta and one in Montgomery! What a blessing. Here are a few pics: 
That's enough for now. Please keep us in your prayers. I am 32 1/2 weeks preggo. We are shooting for Dec. 19 for the due date. Pray that our buns stay in the oven on 400 degrees until bubbly and brown!
After having Halley, I realized that I didn't have very many pictures of myself from my pregnancy. I'm doing much better this time. Here are some pics of my progress.
Not one of my faves, nevertheless, it is me.
My mom bought me that dress for about $10 at my favorite store in the whole wide world, MACY'S!
This is me about 5 days ago at 18 weeks. I got that shirt for $8 at JCPenney! The regular price was $36. I also got about 5 or 6 other shirts and a pair of capris for $3 each at the same sale! Now that's the way I like to shop.
A precious boy and a girl!!! What a blessing. We will have 2 girls (including our sweet Halley) and one boy ages 2 and under by Christmas, if the Lord wills! The ultrsound we had on July 21, was so exciting. The babies were moving around a lot. Our little girl had her legs crossed for awhile, so it took some time to figure out her sex. But alas, it was a girl. Eddie is very thankful to have atleast one boy to share the house with. I'm doing fine and steadily growing. Please continue to pray for ALL of us!
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