Monday, September 12, 2011

Dear Jake and Luke,

It's hard to believe that you are one! Time seems to fly right by us, but I wanted to stop and reflect on what a whirlwind year it was! I vividly remember the day I found out there would be two of you. I must admit that I was terrified! Daddy was happy and calm the second I told him! He knew you would change our lives for the better right away! Mommy had to leave work early and be on limited activity since twins "typically" come a month early. Well....Mommy was home for almost two whole months waiting for you! Finally,at 38 weeks Lukey had had enough! Lukey's water broke around 1:30 am and we waited for Patti to come watch your big brother. Jakey, you were my mover of the two..always active. You were baby A throughout the entire pregnancy, which means you were supposed to be the first out, but Luke got sick of waiting so he ended up being baby A and came out first at 6:44 am weighng 6 lbs 5 oz. Jake came at 6:51 am weighing 6 lbs. 11 oz. Everyone in the maternity wing was pretty much there and so excited because twins are rarely delivered the old fashioned way and at 38 weeks! We got to bring you home in two days, also unheard of for twins! We had lots of help! Grandmas, Grandpa, Aunt Linda, Aunt Shanell, and Aunt Tiffany were all on hand to hold you! You looked so much alike that we had to keep your hospital bracelet on for a couple of days..just in case! You loved snuggling up together and slept in the bassinet together until you got too big! Then you slept in the same crib until you started rolling on top of each other. You didn't really cry too much..only when you needed something. Mommy was so thankful that you have such a good Daddy, because he would change and holdone of you while Mommy fed the other one. I initially fed you at the same time, but you both were so interested in what the other was doing it made the experience very stressful for Mommy. So, you would alternate who got to eat first, but I will admit it was usually whoever was crying the loudest, usually Jake! We were sleep-depreived, but you guys were actually good sleepers! The doctors made us wake you up in the middle of the night to give you extra feedings since the charts were never on our side! If we made it on the charts, we celebrated! They didn't see how much you ate, or how much you moved! Daddy heard a great saying, which fit us perfectly. "The days are long, but the years are short." How true this is! Some days seem to go on and on because we are feeding, changing, bating, etc times 2 but it is astounding that you are already a year old and almost walking! We've loved watching you develop...from learning to roll over, to crawling, to saying words. While we knew what to expect this time, it was an amazing thing to watch since you had each other to learn from. Lukey, you are so determined. You worked at crawling for weeks and weeks until you finally got it down. Jakey, on the other hand, waited to see what Luke did and then copied him! I can't wait to see how your personalities continue to develop, and if you end up getting back at your older brother! When we tell you stories later on in life about how we are surprised you made it out alive, know your big brother Ollie "hugged" you out of love ! :) Our lives are so blessed with you in them and I couldn't imagine it any other way. I can't wait to see what you do next!





Monday, September 5, 2011

Pool Party for The Brothers!!

Birthday Boy # 1-Jake

Birthday Boy #2-Luke




Enjoying some birthday cake


Having some friends help blow out candles

dinner outside :)



Great day for a pool party!



My ladybugs made from Babybel cheese




Pool cake!!














Sunday, August 28, 2011

Randoms

The good news: we found a device that gets the pictures from our phones to the computer!

The bad news: This is a bunch of random pics that have been on our phone for awhile!



July 4th...watching the "boom booms" with Daddy in the park


July 4th weekend at the Freemans.

Riding 4 wheeler with Daddy (don't worry it was only in the yard!)

Daddy built Ollie a swing out front and we hung the brothers' swings, which Ollie likes to push!

Lukey sleeping while sucking his thumb

The Hunts came to visit right before brothers' birthday! Ollie loved swimming with Ryan and Audrey!

Having blackberries for the first time! A tad messy, but gone!!

I bought this little pool thinking I could put them in it while Ollie was sleeping since it was so hot. Well, that worked for five minutes until they both tried to climb out!



They love this drawer

looking for trouble


Ollie helping daddy with the "cycables"

Ollie's favorite past time..lining things up!




We used to block the baby side from the big boy side with a soft chair, however as you will see that doesn't quite work anymore!




Ollie helping daddy take out the recycables


Saturday, August 6, 2011

Wedding Weekend

playing in Hogan's water


splish




splash




Ollie playing with his chalkboard (from Aunt Linda & Uncle Larry)







Michelle & Kristina
(Tiff had the camera most of the night ..thank goodness...so I think we forgot to get a group photo with Todd)




Kristina & William at Michelle &Todd's Reception 7-16-11





Joe, Kate, William, and Kristina at their wedding 7-15-11
Mr. & Mrs. Debarbierei



We had a crazy wedding weekend July 15th and 16th with two weddings! William was in his friend Joe's wedding on Friday night, and we had our friends Michelle and Todd's reception on Saturday, which just so happened to be our 6 year anniversary! And not to give out oo much information, but I stopped breastfeeding a little early so we could enjoy ourselves and have a few cocktails! Luckily, Grandma Kamery, Papa, and Aunt Tiffer came to help out while we were either away or recouperating! I did capture a few of their antics in between festivities :)

















Trouble





Just a little picture of how active these two are and why I keep them in the playroom as much as possible! Give them a few minutes and they are into something!! I have some videos on my phone to post, but can't quite figure out how to get them off my phone yet.

Pool fun with the Gildners

Ollie, Halle, Ethan, Ben


cooking up some smores



Checking out the plane






My man eating his smore






riding the whale



riding the whale with Daddy





Uncle Jason pushing Ollie & Benny in the boat







Jason & Ben





Gonna try out the raft





Halle




Halle hiding






Jason & Ben

(I'm not the photographer of the family, but I think this picture came out cool)





Ethan, J, and Ben





Daddy & Ollie





playing on the raft



Uncle Jason, Aunt Melody, Halle, Ethan, and Ben came to visit in early July. We had awesome weather and spent lots of time in the pool. Ollie loved playing with his cousins, but especially Uncle Jason. We even had a bonfire with smores. Ollie was so sad to see them go, and kept asking "where did my friends go?" :)


































Happy 4th!

Happy fourth of July!

We're almost 11 monts old!

Luke, Ollie, Jake