October 7th

I have two prayer requests for October 7th. 

My friend Barb who I used to work with is having surgery to remove a mass and have a hysterectomy. Please pray for calm nerves that day for her. Pray that the mass has no signs of cancer and pray that she recovers quickly from the surgery.

My second request is for a fellow blogger that has really touched our hearts and many others. I'm asking for prayer for her and her family over the next few days leading up to October 7th as well as the day itself. Her blog is He Will Carry Me. It's hard to even summarize their story, we hope that you take the time to read her blog. Their unborn son Isaac is going to be born by c-section on the 7th. The doctors say he will only live minutes to an hour. She writes a letter to her son every day at this blog. Dear Issac. Their faith and love of the Lord is inspiring and incredible. We are asking you to pray with us for them in the coming days. 

My Men

Luke's got Daddy's lips!

Nick's trying to make a boxer outta my baby already.

A Day of Discovery

It was a good day today. It reminded me to post these pictures from a few days ago. The babies are just getting so cute. They are copying each other now. Luke is doing his own version of Taylor's squeal. He's also smiling at her a lot which is adorable. When Luke cries, Taylor screams along. Not crying just making noise like Luke. Taylor discovered humming and hummed all day.It made for hilarious facial expressions, especially when trying to smile and hum at the same time. Luke discovered his thumb this morning and sucked on it all day. He favors his left thumb so I don't know if that means he'll be left handed or not but it was cute never the less. Taylor is a rolling maniac now. She's getting better at rolling back onto her back after she's rolled onto her belly. It's cute to see her on her elbows kicking her legs. In these pictures she was rolling and reaching for me. Was cute. Today was a good day. 

Like Father like Son

I couldn't pass up this hat. Taylor and I got it at Old Navy when we went shopping. How cute is it? He looks like a little man in it. Nick always says that clothes for them are a waste of money...but this purchase put a big smile on his face. :)

Nick's visit with Liam

Nick visited his cousin's son Liam. Here's a picture from his phone. 

Liam has a blog too. Miracle in the Making.

Entry from Nick

As I sit here this morning and admire all of the beautiful pictures of our children, I'm reminded of how blessed we really are. There are very few memories that have a steadfast place in my heart then the birth of our children. The only one that stands above that occured on May 8th 2005, the day I married my lovely wife. The Lord has shown us countless blessings that I can only begin to recount, if only they knew how awesome it was to be living in the grace and love of our God. If you don't know, ask us, we'll tell you how awesome it can be.

Photoshop Babies

Photoshop babies. With all the baby magazines that are out there, I'm sure you've noticed the perfect "soft" skin. If I had all the time in the world, mind you it's now past 11 pm and everyone is asleep but me...I would photoshop those special pictures like I did this one. Notice how soft their skin is and how their features pop. It's a technique I came up with to "soften" the skin and "sharpen" the features. I became obsessed with it and used it on many of the last design projects before I left the corporate world. Don't get me wrong, I don't want a history of fake pictures but as a graphic designer, I love photo editing and look how cute this one turned out. :) It makes their cute little features pop. I do find myself fixing the spit ups and any scratches on their faces. I can't help it. I've always looked at photo editing this way...especially for weddings...is that zit or those tan lines gonna be there forever? Then why should it be on the photo forever? lol I love to draw attention to the eyes, nose, lips and hair that make a person unique. I haven't done as much portrait photo editing as I'd like freelance wise. I'd love to get some work retouching portraits..it's fun.

Pictures After Church & Shopping for the Girls

I take soooo many pictures....and I don't have time to go through them. I love them all too....it's not like I can get rid of a bunch......I love the ones that tell a story like these of Taylor. You can just see how much she moves in a matter of seconds. 

Speaking of little miss...she did really well eating today...I can't move fast enough for her with the spoon. It's cute. She's also been rolling over all the time now and sitting on her elbows. She was in the playpen on her belly, looking in the mirror talking to herself today...was cute. I have pictures and will post them once I have time to get them off my camera.

Last night I decided to take Taylor shopping with Mommy. I tell you what, I don't know why I never thought to do this before. I guess because I'm so ready to be alone when I get the chance at night to run errands but I had a ball and so did she. I just wanted to run to Old Navy because I had a coupon to use. I carried her in her car seat and then put her in a cart and wheeled her around. I didn't realize until I was in the store that she had her "Born to Shop" bib on...I seriously didn't plan that. She loved the lights and colors and she "talked" throughout the store. She was wide eyed. I basically just walked around a lot because I was having fun and didn't want to leave. I had to get her back for her feeding though and she fell asleep on the way home. That was a piece of cake...what a world of difference 2 babies make when going some where. Luke has one more pound to gain before he's out of his car seat and then into a big boy seat without a carrier....and let me tell ya... at this point he's so heavy in that carrier, I think it will be easier...minus the unbuckling that is.

My little man

I found this bib at Target..oh sooo true..."might bite when hungry" 

(or pinch & scream)

Look at those chins!

He's getting more hair.

Her eyes look so blue in these.

This one is one of my all time favorites.

Her hair is getting longer and lighter.

I wish I could get her full grin captured, it's so cute.

She's so animated with her eyebrows...my little sicily.

Rice Cereal

I tried giving Luke some rice cereal yesterday and it didn't go so well. He stuck his tongue out and let it run down his face...then he started sucking on the spoon. lol. So I thought I'd try again today. I thought maybe it would help Taylor gain a little weight. I read some tips. Feed them some bottle first so they don't get frustrated when they are hungry and then don't force them but if they refuse to let them go and try again another day. I gave Taylor 1/2 of her bottle them put her in the highchair. She caught right on. She was even opening her mouth for the spoon and seemed very pleased. She ate all I made for her. I only made a teaspoon of cereal with 5 teaspoons of formula but she downed it and then finished her bottle. I was thinking that giving Taylor her medicine has helped her with accepting the "foreign" object in her mouth and it's taught her to swallow what I put in there. Luke on the other hand....not so happy. Nick fed him 1/2 his bottle and then we put him in the high chair. He didn't want to have anything to do with the spoon and he started crying...very upset......he wanted his bottle. He's just not interested at all in that spoon. I'll let some time pass before I try again with him. Honestly...I think it will work out better if I can get one of them eating well before trying to feed both of them. Why? It's time consuming. Right now, there are many times when they are both wanting to eat at the same time, leaving one baby very unhappy (crying and screaming) while I feed the other. Until they get the hang of the spoon, it makes the process of feeding them longer making everyone a little more frustrated. lol As soon as I get that schedule working well..it's time to change. I'm still trying to formulate my plan of attack but I'm excited at how well Taylor picked it up and I'm hoping it helps her gain some weight and keep that formula down. I'm having visions of the mess of food they are going to make. Taylor was trying to grab the bowl and of course she was sticking her hands in her mouth with the food. lol I'm also excited for the day that I can sit their high chairs side by side and feed them together. Nick took some pictures and video of them "eating" tonight, so I'll add them to this post once I get to it. I've been staying awake at night to get stuff done which is really nice...when Miss T doesn't wake up at 2. Last night she only woke up once, so I'm hoping she keeps getting better.

Baby Dedication for Luke & Taylor

All are invited to Luke and Taylor's baby dedication at our church October 12th at the 11:00 service. :)

Blog

If you follow this blog, I'd like to know. You can add yourself on my page as a "follower" on my page by creating an account. You can also leave comments without having an account. Anyone can comment. This blog was meant for Taylor and Luke, so that they can look at it someday, but I've been surprised at how many people enjoy the pictures and video to keep an eye on them. At some point when I have tons of time...lol ...I want to make a printed book of this blog with pictures and it would be neat to add comments as well.

How to post...anonymously...for those who need directions. lol Enter your message. Make sure your name if you're posting anonymously. Type in the "word verification" (the letters above the box, just repeat what you see (like my sample).....then pick anonymous and the publish button.

Mom, I set up an account for you. I'll email you the password. Just "sign in" at the upper right.

Pictures!

Luke When Tired . . .

Taylor Squealing

Luke Laughs Too!

4 Month Docs Visit and SHOTS!

Can a 4 month old remember? Well it sure seemed little Miss Taylor remembered. She was fine UNTIL I laid her on the examination table to undress her. She screamed and cried! Picked her up....she was fine....laid her back down on the table....screaming. They got their shots, Polio, Pneumococcal Disease, Diphtheria, Rotavirus and Hib.

Luke was first for his checkup. He laid there smiling, staring at the light all happy. Dr. Zelis examined him and then gave him his oral vaccine and shots. The shots brought on his whimper escalating to a cry and then as soon as Nick picked him up he was fine again. Luke is a BIG boy. 95th percentile for weight! 18lbs 14oz. He's actually not even on the chart that I have for weight. 75th percentile for height. 25-3/4 and 50th percentile for his head circumference. 42. And we thought he had a big head. His head is the only thing that's not big. lol

Then, it was Taylor's turn. As soon as I laid her on the table, she started screaming....and screaming...and screaming. The whole building could hear her little lungs. Dr Zelis laughed and said, so do you notice any difference in their personalities. lol Just a little. I asked him if she could possibly remember and he said you'd be surprised that some babies do seem to. The screams turned to whaling with the shots...she didn't want her pacifier...she just wanted outta there! She didn't calm down until we left that room and she pouted in protest the whole way home. I talked to the doctor about how she's doing feeding wise and we're gonna up her medicine a little and see how she does. He wants to see her in a month because she seems to have lost weight. I say it like that because Nick and I both thought last time that they wrote her weight down wrong. We thought they verbally said 12lbs 9 oz and wrote down 13lbs 9oz. Either way she's not gained much even if she didn't lose. I kinda thought she might not gain as much since she's off the high calorie premie formula. Today she weighed 13lbs 2oz. which is in the 25th percentile. 20th for height, 23-1/2 and she made it to the 10th percentile for her head circumference, up from the 3rd. I am glad her tiny little head is growing.

He told us a fever at this age is 100.5 taken either way. If they have a fever for more than 4 days to call the office. The doc asked how they were sleeping and I told him about Taylor's new pattern of waking at 2am and, 3 and 4 and wanting her pacifier. He gave me a article with some suggestions and said his 2 year old at one point woke up every 1/2 hour. Hopefully we can get her diverted and able to console herself back to sleep. I'll love when she can put that pacifier back in herself! The article talked about using a blanket or stuffed animal to comfort them but at this age they really aren't supposed to have "things" in their crib. We'll see...she's been trying to put the pacifier in herself, she just can't get it in the right direction and she's been sucking on her fingers a lot too. We shall see.

Coupons

I've really been trying to learn how to save as much money as we can. I've dived into coupons and I'm learning how to make them work for us. This may sound silly to someone who knows how to use them well.......but I never really used them much before. I mean I'd cut things out and use them from time to time but I never really planned ahead and I'm learning that's what you have to do to save money. I go through my Sunday paper and clip the coupons of the things we use. This I've done before, no biggie. BUT then, if you then take those coupons and match them up to the grocery store weekly flier of sales items or a stores coupons....you really can save. For example...I had a coupon for Hamburger Helper (I know it's gross but once a week it's a cheap meal)...buy 3 and get a $1.00 off. I then looked at Kennies sales flier and saw that they had a sale on Hamburger Helper. Buy 5 for $5. So by buying 5 Hamburger Helpers when that sale was running and using that coupon, I got 5 Hamburger Helpers for 80 cents each. Get it? I did that with several items. BabiesRUs is another good deal. Use their store coupons coupled with manufacturer coupons. It adds up. Last week at the grocery store, I spent $150 and I saved $40. At BabiesRUs, I spent $112 and saved $30. I don't know why but I didn't think you could double up coupons like that. But you can. I'm getting excited about it. With Taylor's formula costing $25 every 5 days, we need a break somewhere. I was so upset my Sunday paper wasn't there this past Sunday. I missed all my coupons and sales flyers. ahhhh.......anyhow, I thought I'd share what I learned and hope it helps someone else save too. It does take some time and planning but I think it's worth it.