Scott and I got some good laughs from this music video this morning (Thanks Gretchen!) -- What a crack up! This is for all the van families out there :)
Feeling emotional tonight that I won't be able to call them "the babies" for much longer ... what a sweet and crazy and amazing year it's been. So thankful for Luke and Amelia -- so thankful for their dad, who selflessly puts all three of us above himself again and again. He teaches me so much about what it means to love. So thankful for the generosity of so many. Every few months I pull out another bin of clothes that the babies have now grown into and I am aware of how thoughtfully and generously people have given to us. Our needs have been met and then some. So thankful to the One who has sustained us through it all -- the scary times and lonely months in the hospital, the joy-filled times of snuggling our babies, the moments where we've realized just how difficult parenting really is and just how much we need grace ... We are thankful.
Well, and the rain! We had two very rainy days during our week in Tucson but the rest of the time was beautiful -- high 60s and sunny. We had a rude awakening of 30+ degrees when we got off the plane today. Ouch! We had a great trip. I'd been a bit worried about how Luke and Amelia would travel -- especially given her ear infection -- but they both did so well. For the most part they are both such easy-going babies which makes traveling so much more fun with young kids! Tucson is where Scott and I met and fell in love so it will always have a special place in my heart. We spent the first year and a half of our marriage living there so it's always fun for us to reminisce, check out the hospital we used to work at, visit old friends.
We stayed with Scott's parents, who went above and beyond to make the house ready for the babies. They were so sweet to borrow/buy pack-and-plays, high chairs, toys, etc. so their place was ready for Luke and Amelia. And boy did they love it! I kept saying they weren't going to want to go home because of all the new fun toys and all the Grandparent love and attention :) That was probably my favorite part of the trip ... seeing the babies getting so much love. I've realized that I do feel a lot of mama guilt about the fact that there are two of them and one of me (obviously -- twin parenting, right?) but it's hard when they're both going through the same phases and needing the same things from me that I can't always give to them. When they're both wanting to be held, both teething and needing extra snuggles, etc. I feel guilt. I don't think it's all bad -- patience is something that twins learn extra early. They know their needs will be met, it just might take me a few extra minutes. But in those moments I wish I had four arms to snuggle them with! So for this last week, Luke and Amelia had their parents, Grammy, Gramps and GG Edna all around to play with them, feed them, snuggle, read to them and love them. It was fun to see!
Amelia with Daddy at the zoo
Enjoying the sunshine!
Reid Park Zoo -- the kids loved watching the animals
Riding the train with Grammy and Gramps
The Honeycutt kids and the Coyle kids all got to meet -- such a blessing and such a fun day!
Mama and Lukey
Such good little travelers -- yes, they're in their PJs since it was a 6am flight :) Wish I could have been in my PJs too! Probably wouldn't have been so cute though.
I love love this video because it captured how much fun we all had laughing together that night -- both babies were just putting on a show for us :) Traveling with kids is a LOT of work, but adds so much more joy.
... Three different flight itineraries to Arizona this week, that is. Due to a sweet sick baby girl, this week we've had to reschedule our flight twice now. I was fine with flying with the babies when they just had colds. But when Amelia's cold turned into bronchiolitis, an ear infection and three days of vomiting (poor love) we decided flying was NOT such a good idea. Thankfully we are flying Southwest which I've decided is the only way to travel with young kids (FYI: it costs five dollars to change a flight -- amazing!). We WILL get to Arizona eventually! This is the first vacation Scott and I have been on in three years and Luke and Amelia's first vacation ever ... we are definitely not going to miss it! Amelia is feeling much better after 24 hours of antibiotics (aka miracle drugs), not good timing for her first real illness.
The babies are eleven months old today. That means that next month they'll be turning a year old! They are pulling themselves up on everything and shuffling their little feet along. I think walking is not far off. They're feeding themselves finger foods now which is fun to watch. We have to be careful with Luke though as he's definitely not as coordinated as his sister when it comes to chewing and eating. He easily chokes or gags himself ... poor guy! And now for a few pictures ... I'll post more from the photo shoot later on but here are a couple :) I didn't give Rebecca Davis enough credit (she was the photographer with the challenge of capturing our two moving targets on camera) -- she did a wonderful job!
Bring on the soccer team tournaments (with a van full of stinky kids), the youth group retreats, the family camping trips, the road trips ... We've got a van! It was one of those perfect situations -- a co-worker heard me talking in the break room on Monday about how it can be hard to find a reliable used van and he said that he'd been hoping to sell his ... by Friday the papers were signed! We realized on our very first drive as a family (bringing Amelia home from the NICU) that the car situation was going to be an issue. Scott (who is almost 6'6") had his knees literally on the dashboard once both the car seats were in ... oops! Now we can go places as a family in one vehicle instead of two! Looking forward to many family adventures :)
