A Thankful Heart

Every morning I spend 10 minutes doing a devotional to try and set my frame of mind for the day and put the small things into perspective while I try and tackle the big things. The subject this morning was time and the idea that our time is fleeting, and we must thankful for every moment we have. The reading spoke about this world and declared that this world will take everything and every person that we love- at some point we will part ways and we will feel loss; we can't escape time and mortality. The devotions main point was that we need to be consciously thankful for the time we do have. I was reminded of a quote from Thoreau "time is but the stream I go a-fishin' in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. It's thin current slides away, but eternity remains."
(You can tell I've taught Walden a few times before).

When I was finished with my devotional, it was time to scoop Jack up out of bed and feed him his bottle and start my busy day. I decided to linger while I fed him his bottle and I watched the curl of his toes as he ate, and smelled the baby lotion on his forehead when I nuzzled him before watching him crawl away- he's already a busy guy with lots of books to read and toys to play with. I let myself snuggle with Harper a few minutes longer this morning and tried to memorize the rise and fall of her giggles. I can't believe one day we'll part ways. The thought that this time with them is already running through my fingers, makes me want to stop and document the small things, lest I should forget that all these small things are what make up the big things. So, here are some shots of Jack and Harper just enjoying a normal day-because these "normal days", these are the things that I will one day miss the most.

 

In other news, Tony and I were interviewed for a marketing video for The Mother's Milk Bank of North Texas. We did an on-camera interview and told our story and how we came to be both a recipient family and a donor family. It was bittersweet to tell our story and to explain what it was like to walk back in the NICU as a milk donor and not a mom visiting a sick baby (or babies). But overall, it was fun to be involved in something bigger than ourselves and to be able to give back to an organization that did so much for H&J so early on.

While we were being interviewed in Ft. Worth, Jack and Harper got to go to Great Granny's house and visit her and Aunt Becky, Uncle Rex, and Pop. The kids had a great time crawling all over Granny's house and discovering new things. I don't even think the kids knew Tony and I were gone and we got to spend the evening with family- something we don't do often enough. The kids were wiped out from all their playing and slept the whole way home- success!

One last piece of news to close the blog tonight. Not only have I been thankful for the kids and time spent with family, but Tony has been interviewing for a new position and we found out yesterday that he got the job! Tony's 3 month "vacation" comes to end on Sunday and he begins his new job on Monday. I want to extend a very gracious and heartfelt "thank you" to everyone who has been thinking about and praying for our family through this rough patch. We can't thank you enough!

February Goals and First Haircuts

Tonight my brain has been overrun with toddler eating plans, feeding rules, "do's and don't's" of dinner time, and a list of things we hope to accomplish in February with an eating overhaul for Jack and Harper. We are dedicating the month of February to exposing the kids to new foods. So far, Jack has tried toast with grape jelly, deli meat chicken, swiss cheese, strawberries, and pizza. Harper had one bite of all of these things, and then she refused to eat the rest- it has been a long day at our house. Harper will eat scrambled eggs like they're going out of style, so don't worry, she did get dinner. The goal with February is to expand her little palette. The nutritionist I talked to said that most kids don't become picky eaters until they're 2 or 3 years old and then said "you're in trouble." Great- so this is our first attempt at a solution- prayers are appreciated. Who knew that parenting and food could be so time consuming, frustrating (like rip your hair out frustrating) and exhausting. So, prepare to read a few food posts this month.

In different news, our family had a fun weekend. Friday night we took the kids out for a quick bite to eat and they did great at the restaurant. They split macaroni and cheese and ate some of our pasta too; they were happy and cute at dinner. I was so exhausted Friday night that I was asleep by 9, which was good because we had an action packed Saturday.

Saturday mid morning the kids and I made the trek to Arlington to  get my hair cut and to  see Nana and Pop. I had been talking with Tony about Harper's wild hair and Jack's hair was growing down over his ears, so my mom and I decided to take the kids to my hairdresser and see if she had a little extra time to trim up the kids' hair. Deb has been cutting my hair for over 20 years and I was excited that she'd be the first person to cut Harper's hair and Jack-man's hair too. They watched me getting my haircut first and Nana sat with them and occupied the little ones until it was their turn. Harper went first and did a great job. She was very unsure of her role in the haircutting process, but relaxed a little bit when Deb gave her a comb to chew on and Harper sat quietly while Deb trimmed up her bangs and cut her little rat tail. Overall, I think Harper enjoyed getting her hair cut. 

Jack had a little bit different reaction to his haircut; he wanted to watch Deb cut his hair and kept turning his head to follow her. Jack also settled down when he was given a comb to chew on, but he wasn't as still as Harper was. When Jack was finished with his haircut, he looked like a little boy and not a baby anymore. Deb was nice enough to collect some trimmings in an envelope for their baby books. 

 

After our haircut adventure,  we headed over to Nana and Pop's house. The kids showed off their new looks while they ate lunch (notice the plates- something new they'd never seen before), and then played with Nana and Pop before we headed home.  

 

 

We spent our day today inside avoiding the rain and cold weather. We're gearing up for an interesting week complete with a trip to Great Granny's and an on-camera interview for me and Tony regarding a marketing video for The Mother's Milk Bank of North Texas. We'll see how that goes; I'm not quite sure what to expect yet. I am thankful we had a good weekend, the kids got haircuts without shedding a single tear or having any whining or meltdowns, and we have plan for eating as we proceed into February. We will see how the next couple of days go! 

13 Months Old

This morning when I woke up, I knew that today would a day of thanksgiving. We have passed the one year mark with the twins; we have survived the sleepless nights, the days of being tethered to the house, the months of feeding issues and the feeling of sleeping walking through the day. The babies are now 13 months old and I feel like we are getting our feet underneath us (though some days the wheels fall off).

I have decided no more cute pictures of the kids sitting in the chair with a sign declaring how old they are- it is now much too hard to wrangle H & J into a sitting position and expect them to stay there. So, here are some pictures of the 13 month olds on the move and a little information about what they're into now.

Jack:
loves to read books and will sit and read by himself
really likes to watch tv (he stares at it all the time)
Thomas and Friends is easily his favorite show
likes music and recognizes songs like "ABC's", "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
enjoys being outside and going for wagon rides
now makes an annoying whining noise when he wants more food or a different food
still has a killer smile
stands well on his own and will take 1-2 steps
can hold his own bottle
gets along well with Abby and enjoys watching her play in the backyard

Harper:
loves to be on the go
really likes to play chase and climb
likes to dance and squeal
likes to read books and will sit alone and read
enjoys being outside and going for wagon rides
is learning names of "hair", "nose", "ears", "mouth" and "eyes"
can sign "more" in regards to cheerios :)
has some crazy hair!
stands pretty well and is getting more adventurous with walking- now takes 7-8 steps at a time
likes to play with Abby and gets along with her (especially interested in her collar and tags)

Both kiddos got toothbrushes this week, so we've been working on brushing teeth and they seem to really like it. They had watched Tony and I brush our teeth so often that when I put the toothbrush up to them, they both opened their mouths. We were also excited to have Nana visit this week. The kids were so happy to see her, and I think Nana was equally as happy to get to spend time with the kiddos. Here's a shot of Harper helping Nana cook dinner.

I am proud to report that both kids are growing and doing so well. We are blessed in so many ways; happy 13 months, Harper and Jack!

Spaghetti Sauce, Fundraisers, and Baby Showers

Every Sunday when I sit down to write the blog, I always feel like it's been a whirlwind weekend and Monday has snuck up on us too soon. However, this weekend really was jam-packed and I could use one more day to recover.

Friday night Tony and I decided to try something new with the kids dinner. We got the "no more pureed food" suggestion from the pediatrician at the beginning of January, and we've been working to eliminate bottles and add more "real food" instead. Honestly, this has been more difficult than we thought it would be (isn't that the truth for every stage of parenting?). People keep telling us "just feed them what you eat", but it seems to be much harder than that. Tony and I stay alive on turkey burgers with no bun, steak, and smoothies- none of those things are kid friendly. We also run into the problem that if one kid doesn't like the food and refuses to eat it, sometimes the other one does too- they feed off of each other (pun intended). So, Tony and I made some spaghetti on Friday night and the kids seemed to like it- they certainly made a mess with it. We also have run into the problem of feeding the kids when they're "too hungry", thus turning our little ones into whining, fussy, meltdowns waiting to happen. Gone are the days we didn't have to worry about dinner until 8pm; now I know why some families eat at 5. So, here's the spaghetti aftermath- kiddos went straight to the tub, and we even found noodles in their diapers! Yipes!

Saturday morning we loaded up and went to a Crossfit fundraiser for the son of our local gym owner. Tony and I have been both been hooked on the Crossfit fitness craze for a number of years (Tony a year longer than myself) and it was nice to put our fitness obsession to good use this weekend. The boy we were raising money for is a two year old in need of a life-saving liver transplant. The Crossfit community came together to participate in a workout held in this little boy's honor. It was gratifying to know that we could give to such a worthy cause, and it was fun to be able to see friends from across the Crossfit community that go to different gyms that we don't see on a regular basis. Tony was slated to workout prior to his ankle injury, but he's still hobbling around a bit, so he was on baby duty while I represented for the Collett Clan. Here's a picture of the Black Iron Crossfit/Frisco Crossfit crew on Saturday.

Sunday I was excited and happy to co-host a baby shower for my good friend (whom I met through Crossfit) and her baby due in April. I left the house at 11am to pick up my co-hostess, make some last minute stops, arrive at the venue and set up prior to the baby shower at 2. Tony had the kiddos and did a great job taking care of them all day long by himself. He gets extra kudos for changing four dirty diapers while I was gone and feeding them lunch, a bottle, and a snack before I could get home tonight. Thank you, Tone! I know that Chrissy was thrilled with her shower, and Heidi and I were thrilled to be able to throw her a nice party. After all the cake and cookies and punch and presents, we forgot to take a picture of us together all dressed up. So, here's a picture of the three of us back in our comfy clothes after the shower- smiling partly because we were back in comfy clothes.

So our weekend flew by and now we're getting to tackle another week. I'll close tonight with a couple of silly pictures of the kids just being themselves. Even when they days are long, the whines are grating, and the crying seems endless, I'll still take these two any day.