A Christmas Thank you

The Christmas tree is still up, I still turn on its lights every morning when I wake up, the snowman is still lit up outside, and our little Christmas village is still up in the entryway. That being said, Christmas is over. It's been so much fun spending time with Courtney and the kids. Ty has been so helpful, and Ainsley seems to learn something new, and cute, everyday.

As I was changing Ainsley's diaper this morning, she asked me a question. (she does this when nobody else is around. It's our little secret!) She asked me if she could tell everyone thank you for the wonderful gifts that she got for Christmas. I thought it was so sweet of her, and told her that was such a nice thing to do. She handed me a flashdrive (who knew!?!?!) and told me that she had prepared some thank you notes during her nap yesterday. She even went as far as to get Ty to write some too. I promised her I'd post them, so here they are.

Dear Uncle Chris,
Thanks for the big legos. They are fun to build things with. The coolest thing about them is that they are so big. When I hold them, it looks like I have really tiny hands. I feel like that guy in the Burger King commercial who's hands are so tiny he can't hold a Whopper. Good times! You're probably wondering why I'm not in the picture. After I built this "dog", Daddy said it was really, "NEAT!" I thought he said, "EAT" and took off for the kitchen table. My Bad!!!!!
Gimme Knuckles,
Ainsley

Dear Nana and Papa,

Thanks so much for the pitching target. It is AWESOME! Dad and I set it up in the backyard and have been outside pitching everyday. Even in the snow. Dad said it was a little cold on Christmas day, and that he thought he was getting frost bite on one of his ears. I told him, "That's why God gave you two!" I hope you get to come down in the summer and watch one of my games. Hopefully this time it won't get rained out.

Love you,

Ty

Dear Nana and PeePaw,

Thanks so much for my Little People barnyard. I love my cow, my horse, my goat, my sheep, my pig, and my farmer. My favorite part is when you open the barnyard doors and it makes a cow and horse sound. I also like the sheep sound. Come to think of it, all the sounds are cool. Mommy and Daddy love to move the rooster over as it plays the beginning of Ol' McDonald. They get all giddy when I dance to the music. Gotta love em! Whatever entertains them I guess.

I hope to see you again soon.

Take care,

Ainsley

Dear Uncle Chris,

Thanks for the UFC cage. It's awesome!!!!! Dad and Courtney got me some dudes to go in there, so I can make them fight. Dad and Courtney let me watch a little WEC today on TV. I didn't know MMA stood for Mixed Martial Arts. Pretty cool stuff. I'm all fired up now and want to go wrestle Dad again. Of course, he'll get hurt like he always does and have to quit. That always seems to happen right when I've got him in a choke hold.

See you Sunday,

Ty

Dear Nana and PeePaw,

I love my new telescope. Thank you so much. I can't wait for a really clear day, so I can look up at the sky and see cool stuff. Courtney and Dad said they'll take me to the Planetarium, so I can look at the night sky and the constellations. Sounds pretty good to me.

Thanks again, and hope things are good,

Ty

Dear Granny and Granddaddy,

Thank you for my twin babies. I love them so much. I love their high chairs. I love their stroller. They like to eat eggs and bananas, just like me. The baby in the picture is eating a lemon. I like to feed them lemons because they make funny faces afterwards. I don't think I'd like lemons, but the face makes me laugh. Mommy and Daddy tell me that my babies are in her tummy. Did these guys come from Mommy's tummy? If so, why didn't her tummy get smaller? Does she have more babies in there? My little brain is SOOOOO confused.

Confused, yet so cute,

Ainsley

Dear Granny and Graddaddy,

Thanks so much for all the shirts that you bought me this Christmas. I really appreciate it. I'm gonna be styling on Monday, when I go back to school. Of course Dad is grumbling. He says that more clothes means more laundry, and more laundry means a higher water bill. Like HE'S ever done laundry. He opened the dryer one evening, and when the light came on, he thought it was a really cool, giant nightlight. Bless his little heart.

Anyway, thanks again. I love them.

See you soon,

Ty

Dear Nana and Papa,

Thank you so much for the shopping cart and grocery food. I've really been working on my grocery shopping. Daddy says that if I get good at shopping, he'll let me help him at the store. He just keeps telling me to, "stick to the shopping list!" He says this is why Mommy is banned from Walmart.

Stay warm in Minnesota,

Ainsley

There! I'm a man of my word. I let you read Ainsley's and Ty's letters, just like I promised her I would. The best part of Christmas for me, as cliche as this sounds, was spending time with Courtney, Ty, and Ainsley. I feel so blessed to have them in my life. I know i'll feel the same way about the boys, once they arrive.

I want to thank you all for the wonderful gifts you gave Ty and Ainsley, as well as the two of us. I also want to say thank you to all of you. Courtney and I really appreciate EVERYTHING you do for us.

Since I'm a man of my word, I really need to go pick up the kitchen, before I go to bed. Just like I promised Courtney.

Good night, God bless, and Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. I do laundry. I just prefer my clothes dirty and stained. It gives them character.

A busy December

It's been quite a busy December. We've had a pregnant woman put on bedrest, Christmas day, vacation from school, and ALL this snow. Let's recap!
Since we were off for Christmas vacation, we decided it was time to work on the boys room. We got the cribs up, the changing table arrived, we bought accessories, and put it all together. We're still looking for a bible verse that will go above the changing table, but we have a few ideas.

Here's Aiden's bed. The bedding is from Babies R Us. We fell in love with the colors and the monkey on the bed. With two twin boys, I'm sure a monkey is going to be an appropriate animal to describe them.

This is Colin's bed. The lettering that is above their beds was made by a friend of ours at work. She also made letters for Ainsley, which hang above her door. Thanks Pam for your awesome artwork. We really appreciate it.

About a week before Christmas, we took Courtney's Mom to the Gaylord Texan. Each year they have the ice exhibit, and she really wanted to go. This year the theme was, "The Grinch That Stole Christmas". Since it was so cold in there, they gave us these giant blue jackets to wear. Ainsley was NOT a fan of the jackets, the ice, the cold, or the grinch. After about 5 minutes in there, father and daughter made a quick exit. After we left, she had a blast running around the convention center, which is connected to the hotel.

Here's a picture of the Grinch, completely made of ice!

One of the final pieces was the nativity scene. Again, made of ice. St. Paul, MN would be SO proud.

Christmas morning we went over to Granny and Granddaddy's house. Uncle Chris was there too. Ainsley loves him so much, and was so happy to snuggle with him.

Ainsley had so much fun opening presents. I'm not sure that it had anything to do with the present itself. I think it was having everyone there, and ripping off the paper.

However...when you're nine years old, it's all about what's inside. Ty had a great time giving and recieving presents.

Later in the day, we came home, and opened gifts at the house. Ty really enjoyed himself, and really got into the spirit.

Ainsley, on the other hand, saw the shopping cart that Nana and Papa got her, and we basically haven't seen her since. She was MIA during the rest of the gift opening, except when she rolled by looking for the cereal isle.

This was Ainsley's other picture that we were able to catch of her. She didn't really stop to open the gift. It was more of a, "my hand caught the paper as I walked by" kind of moment.

Not sure what to say about this. This is like the second or third time it's snowed this year.

Ainsley would stand at the window and point to the snow. I finally decided to take her out in it. We got our winter sweater on, boots, jacket, hat, and gloves. After slipping on the driveway three times and being drug through the half inch snow in the front yard, she was DONE. She gets more and more like her Mom every day!

Ty on the other hand was born in an igloo. He can't get enough of the snow.

Courtney took this picture, and I love it!!!

As the weather is still cold outside (about 35 degrees) we've been stuck inside quite a lot. Ainsley had really enjoyed her shopping cart, double stroller with twin babies, and her farmyard. She's learned all the farmyard animals.

Ty on the other hand doesn't seem to understand cold weather. We were outside pitching with his new pitching target anytime that snow wasn't falling. And yes, we both had shorts on. He's getting more and more like me everyday.

All this, and Courtney has been put on bedrest. She doesn't have to go back to work, and her Doctor has mentioned to her about taking off the rest of the year. So she may be done teaching for the rest of this year!

My crazy little gingerbread friend.

We went to pick up Ainsley from school today, and hanging on her cubby was a cute little gingerbread man in a ziplock bag. Ainsley had done an awesome job of decorating the cute little guy.


Once we got home, Ainsley was very excited to eat her "little friend".

Halfway through her snack, she decided that her decapitated friend needed a sip of milk.

Right after the gingerbread snack, Granny came over to visit Ainsley. Ainsley's obsession with shoes quickly led her to put on Granny's boots. She couldn't walk in them, but stood still long enough for a photo op.

Even though Granny left, Ainlsey wasn't done. Her next find was Daddy's hat, which she proceeded to wear around the house for the next hour. As I write this, she is still wearing her hat, along with a diaper, as she prepares for bed.

Goodnight my crazy little gingerbread friend...goodnight.

Christmas Pictures

We had family pictures taken on Friday (since I'm not a Black Friday shopper) and it was the first time since Ainsley's birthday that she has had her picture taken. She didn't start walking until 13 months, so her birthday pictures were really easy - we just plopped her down where we wanted her and she would sit there and smile for the camera. Piece of cake. Now, she's all over the place and has really started to come out of her shell so it was not that easy. She did pretty well in the first room and they got several great shots, but when we moved over to the second room for another round of pictures she was not interested. They did get one picture of me holding her but after that she kept running out of the room or trying to check out the giant teddy bear in the corner. I'm pretty sure we didn't get our ten minutes in each room, but there were still more than enough good pictures to choose from. Here's a few of our favorites . . .

I hate pictures of myself and I can't get over how huge my butt looks here!

The jury is still out on who she looks like.

Although it's pretty obvious who he got his good looks from ;)

She looks like a little girl here instead of a baby. I can't believe how big she is!

Thanksgiving "Break"

We have not really had a break since we got out of school on Friday, but I wouldn't have it any other way.



Nana and Papa came to visit over the weekend (and I only got a few pictures because the batteries in the camera died) with hopes of watching our future pro play in a baseball tournament. The tournament was cancelled due to the rain so Ty had to show off his talent at the batting cages at Putt-Putt. We made a mega trip to Babies'R'Us and got a lot of stuff for the babies and then the guys put the cribs together on Sunday. Ainsley has been so sweet the last week or so. I think the giant top molars she has now were possibly the cause of her crabbiness a few weeks ago. Poor baby - it's too bad (for all of us) that she has quite a few more to come!
We're working on several projects (mostly related to cleaning/organizing) and I have very high hopes of getting at least our kitchen better organized after being inspired by Anjolee and Connie. I would like to post my pitiful "before" pictures for everyone to be shocked and mortified by, but unfortunately it sounds as though naptime is over ;)

24 Weeks

So I'm over halfway there and everything is going really well so far. I don't feel very different than I did being pregnant with Ainsley, but I feel now more like how I felt around 30 weeks pregnant with her. I am still going to the Dr. every 2 weeks but I'm not sick of it yet because I love getting to see the boys on the ultrasound so often. We cleared out their room today (which mostly just made a huge mess upstairs) and ordered their cribs yesterday. I still can't decide what to do about paint, but if I can make a decision Stuart might be able to paint over Thanksgiving break! We also took a new belly picture (cause I know everyone couldn't go a month without seeing one ;)

Here's one of me 28 weeks pregnant with Ainsley. I think I look bigger now at 24 weeks with the twins.

Play Ball...

Ty had a baseball tournament this weekend in Flower Mound. Ty's team was the only rec. team in the tournament, as all the other teams were either AA or AAA teams, who play these tournaments every weekend. It was a great learning experience.

The tournament was called the holiday classic, and the kids got to wear costumes. Being the Angels, they wore halos and angel wings. My own personal angel!

It was in the 50's in the morning, and there was a lot of dew on the field. I took this picture during warm ups, and I love how you can see their wings. That's Ty in the middle.

The coaches decided to dress as monks. So we had two monks and a team of Angels. We are blessed!

After their games on Saturday, they also had a league game to play. Courtney and Ainsley came to watch. Ainsley had a tough time as she couldn't tell which kid was Ty. They all looked alike in their uniforms. She was so excited when he came over to see her. She wanted to spend the whole game doing one of three things. Poking the players in the dugout through the fence, playing in the mud puddles, or running around the fields.

Ty had a blast, and loved spending the whole weekend at the ball fields. It was exhausting though.

When we got home, Ainsley wanted to play catch with Ty. We gave her an old glove of Ty's and she ran around the house with it on one hand, and a ball in the other. Ty was a great big brother and played catch with her. She loved it!

Playing Kissy Feet

We're working on table manners (for Ainsley and Stuart).

That Kid's Got "The Stuff"!

Today we had a little surprise at Ty's baseball practice. Benji Gil, who was the number one draft pick of the Texas Rangers, and won the world series with the Angels, was at practice tonight. He is a friend of Ty's coach. He was there today to help the kids with their pitching. I was excited for Ty to get pitching tips from a major league player, and hoped that he'd do well, and work hard on whatever Benji told him.

The evening started off great when I overheard Ty's coach talking to Benji about Ty, and saying, "That's Ty. He's the one I was telling you about."

Ty spent about 15 minutes working with Benji, as I watched him pitching from behind the pitching mound. It was like watching another kid. Ty has always struggled with his confidence on the pitchers mound, and hasn't always been the most accurate. Today, he threw strike, after strike, after strike. I was SO proud of him. Benji looked over at coach and told him, That kid's got "the stuff"!

Towards the end of practice, they had a simulated game with fielders, and batters. Ty was the last to pitch. Benji asked me to catch for Ty while he warmed up. The first pitch that Ty threw to me was so hard that I felt like he had broken my thumb. It had so much velocity on it, and was straight down the plate. I believed I cursed under my breath.

Ty was called up, and he was the last to pitch. What happened over the next 5 minutes was unreal. Every pitch that Ty threw was a strike, and he threw everything like it was a bullet. His coach commented early when his son was clocked throwing at 40 m.p.h. that normally kids in Ty's league throw around 30 - 35 m.p.h. Ty was clocked at over 50 m.p.h. The coaches were stunned and wondering what the heck had happened to Ty. One commented that they'd found their new number one pitcher. Another said that there wasn't a kid in the league that could hit those pitches.

It was like watching my little baby boy...on steroids! He blew me and his coaches away. Benji Gil was all giddy too. Here was a kid, who's never played baseball before this fall, throwing 15 m.p.h. faster than most kids in the league, and with great accuracy. I was one proud Dad.

I also just got a text from the coach saying that they can only protect 3 players from the draft in the spring, and he wants Ty to be protected, so he can be on the team in the spring.

WOW! Go Ty #4.

Half-Baked

I like that title. I have been waiting for (what feels like) a long time to say that. I think my friend used it as a blog title when she was 20 weeks with her last baby. Thanks!
I had my 20 week checkup at the Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist today. The short version of it is that is everything is going really well and he did say that the boys are identical. When we got home we took new belly pictures. Here's me 20 weeks pregnant with the twins. . .I think that this picture doesn't really do it justice, maybe because my arm is in the way or something. Anyway, here's a picture of me 20 weeks pregnant with Ainsley. I think that sometime (soon) we probably need to quit taking belly pictures with skin showing. Unless I can get real crafty with the photo editing and give myself a tan and cover up the veins. Gross!
The rest of the story about my appointment is that the doctor was awful. (and he's supposed to be one of the good ones of the bunch - I have even more sympathy for people who have had to see the "bad" doctor there) When I got on the table he asked me,"So are these old-fashioned twins or fancy twins?" I thought that was rude. Then he proceeded to mash way too hard on my stomach and tell me everything horrible that could possibly happen to my babies. It wasn't any new information, but it was still discouraging to hear. He also only spent about 5 minutes on me which is rediculous since the ultrasound tech at my OB's office normally spends at least that much time when I see him every other week. My every other week visits are supposed to be just to measure my cervix and do a quick check of the heartbeats, but my new best friend Joe the ultrasound tech is so nice and he always measures the babies for me and prints me a few pictures. This appointment was supposed to be the "big" one where he looks at and measures everything, and he was also supposed to look at their faces in 4D to check for cleft lip/palate. He didn't do anything in 4D. There's also something they can do to see the blood flow (he was either looking at the heart or the umbilical cord on one of them) and he only checked it on one of the babies! I don't know if he just forgot on the other one or really didn't care. So I was pretty disappointed with him and hopefully we won't have any complications so I won't have to go back to him.

Here's a picture of Ainsley doing what I wanted to do at the doctor's office. . .

(that would be throwing a fit, for those of you who may not have recognized it :)