What's Been Happening

Whew - its been crazy around here.  I swear that, when the girls turn one, I will have aged 10 years.  Life is nuts around here, and many times, Ellis and I don't have a chance to catch our breath.  But just when I swear I'm going to lose it, Carter will give a big belly laugh at something Will says, or Catie looks up with me with big beady eyes and smiles, or Will throws his arms around me to give me a hug .....

This past week, the girls got pretty sick, and so did I. Not sure what kind of virus we all got caught up in - frankly, mine just might have been stress-related.  But the girls got a nasty cold that left them not eating well, throwing up once a day, having diarrhea and making Carter wheeze so that she was put on breathing treatments.  Its been fun around here to say the least.  And we just about canceled our Disney trip.  But they are slowly getting better - better enough that I feel okay about leaving.  And my parents are beyond awesome for being willing to watch the twins for 5 days while we head to Florida, especially because they aren't up to par.

But before we embark, I needed to get some info down on how the girls are, what's been happening, etc

The Girls

Catie now weighs a little over 13 pounds and Carter is a little over 16 pounds.  Catie is just starting to try and sit-up and Carter will be mastering it shortly.  Carter is also on her hands and knees rocking like crazy.  I'm afraid she might just be crawling when we get back from Disney!  They are very much enjoying their excersaucers and jumperoo, and Carter loves it when she holds onto your fingers to stand up on her feet.  Carter is quiet and independent while Catie is a sensitive little booger who will let you know in a heartbeat (with a might strong scream) if she is not happy with what you are doing!  The two of them are so different - I'm starting to get a little worried they are not going to get along!  They do not want to play together.  Carter is always taking Catie's toys and making Catie cry.  (Carter is a little more coordinated and get grab Catie's toys quicker.)  Yikes - I hope this improves as they get a little older. 

I picture that Catie is going to be the really girly girl who screams at the sight of a bug or cries hysterically when there is a stain on her new dress.  But she is also going to be super funny, sweet, and very loving.  Carter will be girly too, but quiet and independent, keeping tabs on her sister and Will.  I see Carter becoming the responsible "mom" of the group.  I wonder how right my predictions might be...I am already very wrong from what I predicted before they were born.

Catie loves her paci, her horse toy, her lovey, and she loves to chew on everything.  She is also a huge cuddler.

Carter loves to talk, jump, kick kick kick, and shake things like crazy (sometimes to the detriment of poor Catie who has been hit before by a toy or two).

Although lately its been knocked of kilter by this nasty virus, the girls have been eating solids really well.  Carter is eating all kinds of stage 2 foods and, surprisingly, really likes the ones that are mixed with chicken! Catie isn't quite as much into food like her sister, and I'm mostly giving her stage 1 foods that she tolerates better.  They get 3 bottles a day at breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Carter moved off of Neocate some time ago and on to Nutramigen.  When we get back from our trip, we'll see if she can tolerate Similac Sensitive and maybe finally move to regular formula.

Will

Will is such an outgoing, smart, talkative, hilarious little boy.  He does not sit still for one minute (unless his favorite cartoon or movie is on).  He is the happiest when someone plays with him, and his best, melt-your-heart question is: "Will you play wis me?"  (He has a little trouble with "th" sounds but it makes his voice just so sweet!)

Will loves his sisters, for which I am so thankful.  He is awesome with them, and is very good at hunting down a paci for Catie in a crisis.  If they start wailing, I will get Will to come talk to them and he inevitably makes them laugh at what he says or does or sings or dances.  They love him to death!

I am proud to say that Will really is just about accident free in the potty department.  He still wears a pull-up at night, but he is good at going by himself when he needs to go.  ... Thank Goodness!!! Hooray!!

He is almost dressing himself completely.  He knows some key letters, like "A" and "W" and "B".  He can count very well to 20 (sometimes missing a "teen" number or two).  He can recite any of his favorite books to you and can sing a zillion songs from memory.

He is still totally attached to his lovey - a blue bunny he got when he was born.  She is slowly starting to fall apart but he will not sleep without her.  Oddly, he prefers for her to be cold and will whip her in the air around and around till the air "cools" her at night before he snuggles up with her.  :-)

At almost 4 years old, Will is 40"high and about 32 pounds. 

Bye bye Buzz and hello superheros.  It is all about Spiderman, Batman, the Incredibles, and other superheros in this house now.

He came home from school with this about a month ago:

Most of it makes sense, but a couple things took us a bit.  His favorite subject shopping?  That is because one of the centers in his classroom is a little grocery store with a cash register and empty food boxes, etc.  Its a reward for the kids to play in that center.  I've since learned that he loves to play with the puppets in the puppet theater and is good about sitting down quietly with a book in the library center.  His favorite sport hockey? Yea ... he means "Cocky!"  It took us forever to realize he learned Cocky's name wrong and pronounced it "hockey."

Other goings on

Faith.  Awesome, life-saving, Faith.  Faith is our new babysitter who comes every night Mon-Thurs from 5:45 to about 8:30 to help us with the twins, Will, or whatever. She makes bottles for us, puts the girls to sleep...it is the best decision we ever made to enlist her help.  I only pray we might hang on to her for a while.  Coming home from a long day of work into the girls "hell time" (i.e. 5-7pm) is really really really difficult.  I guess some mom's can do it just fine, but I am totally willing to admit that I am not one of them.

We had an FOL at the Os that included the girls for the first time.  The girls had a wonderful time and were so well behaved - I was impressed with them!  For the first time, the kids finally outnumbered the parents.  And come springtime, we'll be outnumbered by one more addition.

Speaking of new additions!  HUGE NEWS!! I am going to be an aunt again and Will is going to have another cousin in Texas!  Yes, my brother and sister-in-law are expecting a baby in June.  I am beside myself with happiness for them.  They totally surprised all of us - I was pretty sure they had just decided not to have children.  And then my brother called me at work to tell me and I about fell out of my chair!  Mary had her first ultrasound last Friday and everything looked great!  I am not making any secret of the fact that I am hoping for a little nephew...purely selfish for Will.  He needs a boy relative close to his age...he has 2 sisters and 2 girl cousins!

Will had his annual Thanksgiving program at school.  He did wonderfully, sang all the words, and would look at Ellis and I when he sang the song or when it finished and laugh with excitement and pride.  Seriously, I love that little guy!!  (I mean, how could you not with that cute little face?)

Grandma didn't make it this year because she stayed home with the sick girls so Mom, Dad and Bapa could watch Will.

Carter had her first ride on a swing and literally giggled with delight the whole time!  And Will has finally learned to swing all by himself.

And yes, we told Will about Disney today.  He was so excited - I wish we'd videotaped it.  He jumped up and down and ran and gave me a big hug.  But then, alas, he was very disappointed that we were not leaving for Disney that. very. minute!