Back to Blogging!

After a long hiatus from the blog, I'm back up and running and updating about our little family. My last post roughly 4 months ago and our house has pretty much rolled along since then. We finally got a chance to celebrate Harper and Jack's third birthday with a small family party. We also spent many nights watching the kiddos do their "gym" classes, survived the hectic end of school year ups and downs, and we're now maneuvering through summer with Momma at home full time.

I think the best updates that I can put together are pictures of the kids. So, here they are...

Easter Egg Hunt and family Easter at Mom and Dad's house...

Showing off what the Easter Bunny brought them...

Harper and Jack went to their first baby shower honoring one of my co-workers. Harper was upset that she wasn't able to see the baby, but otherwise they both did great.

My dad was able to come home and is doing well at home and getting stronger everyday. I think he enjoys having the kids come and visit, and we always enjoy when Nana and Pop come and visit us.

Jack and Harper also got some basketball pointers from Grandad when he visited from Oklahoma.

Jack also traded in his toddler bed for a twin sized bed which caused a little furniture shifting throughout the room, but nothing we couldn't figure out. The kids were determined to keep their roommate status, so we let Harper get some new sheets for her day bed, and Jack got to pick out sheets for the trundle- Star Wars, of course.

We participated went out to Relay for Life with our gym this spring and got to walk some laps in honor of our family members and friends impacted by cancer. Harper also got her face painted- she was the only kiddo in our group who wasn't scared to do it, and she hopped right up in the chair and said, "I want a butterfly!" So proud of this little one :)

This is the same event where Jack saw someone dressed up like the Chic-Fil-A cow and yelled, "there's the chicken nugget cow!!"  Hahaha!

The kids are still doing gymnastics and enjoy their class and teachers. Here are some action shots- Jack is still not too sure about anything that requires him to go upside down.

We've gotten a few haircuts since my last blog, but I thought these pictures really showed how much Harper and Jack have grown; they look like kids now- no babies at our house.

Granny also helped us at our haircuts and I snagged this cute picture...

They've spent time playing outside (including getting into all sorts of mud- thankfully I was at work for that one, sorry Ms. Durinda!)

Harper and Jack went to their first baseball game this spring as well. We went to the local AAA game as a gym outing, and our group rented a party deck. This turned out to be great because the kids had some room to move around, and we didn't have to traipse all over the ballpark for food. Harper watched more of the game than Jack did (she actually clapped when we would get a hit or make an out). Jack couldn't sit still quite as long as Harper, but he did get a ball that the left fielder tossed into the stands (thanks for the snag, Dad).

We also took a trip to Houston to visit Papa. The kids really liked playing at the Children's Museum, going to the pond, riding Mimi's rocking horse (that Harper named Pico), and spending time with their Papa.

We have also had a couple of trips to the park- Abby even likes to tag along!

Mostly, the last few months were filled with family and friends and fun times together. Everything hasn't been perfect- we have had our ups and downs, but the good far outweighs the bad and these two keeps up laughing and thankful despite it all.

I'll close out tonight with a shout out to my big 3 1/2 year olds. It's amazing to me how much they have grown and changed since last summer. Here are some stats on the miracle twins.

Jack is now 34 lbs, and is a string bean. This boy is tall and skinny and is always on the go pretending to be a super hero, a Ninja Turtle, or some Star Wars character. Jack only seems to sit still to read books (which he does quite often), or to watch anything on TV. He is getting into the iPad now, too, and will watch all sorts of super hero videos.

Harper is now weighing in at  27lbs. This girl can still fit into an 18 month tutu, but wears a 3T shirt. I think she's going to be buying separates her whole life. Harper is big into Little People, playing with her dolls, helping out anyway she can (she loves to be praised as a "big helper") and dancing and playing with her brother. Harper has a great imagination and I love to sit and watch her play pretend; it's fun to see what stories she comes up with.

Happy 1/2 birthday, Harper and Jack! We love you!!

January

I am sitting down to write the post on a day that forever changed my life. On this day, Feb 23rd, 3 years ago, Jack came home. I vividly remember rooming in with Jack and while Tony and tossed and turned on that little couch bed, Jack slept soundly in his bassinet. I didn't know if Tony and I would be able to manage our little man at home, but he came home and started growing and thriving and he hasn't looked back since. Happy homecoming my little Jack-man! I love you!

On to other news...old news, but still news. The Frisco Colletts have been doing all sorts of things since the beginning of the year, and I thought I would update everyone on our January comings and goings.

We started the first week of 2016 with two sick toddlers...that didn't change much though the month of January. Jack battle bronchiolitis and Harper had a double ear infection and pneumonia. Between the coughing, nose wiping, breathing treatments, humidifier cycles, and endless doses of sticky sweet medicine, our house looked like an infirmary as we welcomed in 2016.

We were lucky enough to share a New Year's Eve dinner with some good friends, our "fam" before Harper and Jack got sick. The kids ate dinner and cupcakes and had a little slumber party with their friends. The adults were amazed that despite laying down and watching a movie, the girls ended up making it to midnight. After some quick "Happy New Year" hugs, we whisked the kids home and off to bed.

My big news for January was a trip to Walt Disney World and a challenge I never thought I would see myself completing. My wonderful sister-in-law, Jennifer, and I ran the Walt Disney World marathon- 26.2 miles. I had fun, I astounded myself with my determination, and I finished. After the race (and an ice bath), Tony and I got to spend some time with the Colletts in Florida theme park hoping and enjoying each other's company.

While Harper and Jack did not go to Disney World, they did enjoy the gifts we brought them :)

We rounded out the remainder of our January with some much needed haircuts, some visits to see Pop (who is doing very well) and we finally- woo hoo!- got well.

We got to visit Pop with Wyatt, Sloane, Aunt Kiki and Great Granny:

The next visit we got to play in Pop's wheelchair:

I got brave one afternoon and took the kids by myself to visit Pop. I was impressed with the kids and we hung out with Pop for about an hour- just the 4 of us, until Nana got there. Then we went outside to see the turtles in the courtyard.

Jack was so worn out after our visit, he crashed on the way home

Poor Harper had to take two shots a day for three days to finally get rid of that stubborn ear infection, but thank goodness that is behind us. I can't tell you how frustrated we were with the sickness running rampant and how excited we were when the last fever broke, the last cough stopped, and the kids both started sleeping through the night again.

So, that was our January- next post will catch up to present day and all the adventures we've been on- and here's to many more adventuresome days to come- check out a few extra pictures of January.

Going through hand-me-downs

A boy and his dog

Look who we found!

Dancing in the kitchen with Mom

First run post marathon with the crew- 4.5 miles and I got to be serenaded by two sweet voices.

Our first full month with three year olds has been wonderful- we love you, Harper and Jack!