I am thankful

The long Thanksgiving weekend has now come to an end. Royce has been off since Wednesday and we had a wonderful Holiday. We went to my Parents for Thanksgiving on Wednesday night and then went to Royce's Grandmother's house on Thanksgiving day where all of his extended family gather each year. Being around all of our family is such a beautiful reminder of how much we are loved and cared for and also how much family is out there that we love and care for. The girls enjoyed being around the other kids especially.

Since this was the girls first Thanksgiving we decided to start a couple simple traditions. The first is to verbalize all of the things we're thankful for in the past year (Thanks..). The second is to bless someone else each holiday (..giving).
We don't need Thanksgiving to come for us to look in our hearts and remind ourselves that we shouldn't take anything for granted.

My wish for my family is gratefulness for what we have, hope for what we don't and many blessings given this season.


Adia & Rasa Thanksgiving Night 2009 on Great Great Grandma's chair



Ephesians 1:16
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

Bath Night

Usually those two words are enough to fill me with dread but bath night is starting to become the highlight of my week. Yes I said week, don't judge, we still give the girls a weekly bath. I used to bathe them everyday when they were newborns because they would drool or get messy eating and their neck wrinkles would get nasty. Now we're back to doing a bath every 5 days which, by the way, is the recommendation for babies so hmm.

Bath night started in a plastic tub basin and moved to the kitchen sink and now, thanks to Rasa's splashing and almost flooding of our kitchen, has moved to the big tub. Not to get off track here but I just had the visual of the girls first baths we gave them when they were in Special Care. Adia loved it - her eyes nearly popped out of her head when Royce lowered her into the water. Rasa arched her back in horror and her tiny slippery body almost flopped right out of Royce's hands! Fast forward to now - things have changed some. Adia is a maniac in the tub! She stands, she crawls she dives under the water! She never stops swimming. Rasa developed a love of the water despite her rocky introduction. She splashes and kicks and gets anyone her in path drenched but likes to stay in the same spot and concentrate on getting all of the toys into the floating boat. If you take one out, she puts it back in. She's a very detailed and organized girl, even in the tub. Talk about the ying and the yang!

I used to hate bath night because it's a mess, takes forever and adds another hour to our already hectic good night routine. The worst part used to be that Rasa didn't like getting out of the water so she would scream bloody murder the entire time you put lotion on her, got her diapered and dressed and combed and conditioned her hair which, if you're fast, takes about fifteen minutes. Last night was different. We put both girls in the tub together, much to their delight! Adia was already in and when Royce put Rasa in both girls faces light up, all smiles, and they started splashing each other right away. We've learned that if we use a big towel and hold Rasa for a while after the bath she doesn't scream the entire time you're putting lotion on her. Royce got her ready for bed while I chased Adia around the loft trying to get a diaper on her.

I love this stage that the girls are in right now. It's a blast! We have so much fun as a family on a daily basis. Royce and I love music and we'll play our favorite songs and dance and be silly and the girls laugh and dance along with us (literally). We all have fun doing whatever we're doing. We all belong together, we all fit together perfectly and we all love being a part of this family. What a marvelous blessing.

The good, the bad and the ugly

Babies are very powerful little people. They can make you laugh, they can make you cry. They can make you relax, they can raise your blood pressure. They can make a day wonderful, they can make a day from hell. Ok I won't be dramatic but I do admit to fantasizing every once in a while about hopping a plane to a tropical paradise and never coming home! Well the thought is fleeting...some days faster than others.

I knew the moment that Rasa woke up crying and didn't want to stop that it was a bad sign yesterday. When Adia awoke minutes later, stood up and hit her head I was concerned. A dozen falls and spills later, one resulting in a bruise and goose egg, I was no longer in denial. This day was going to suck. I fed them oatmeal in the living room on the floor and while Rasa spit out every bite I fed her across the room Adia enjoyed rolling around in it. By three o'clock I was spent, Adia was crying and angry that I put her in the jumperoo to contain her, Rasa still wouldn't stop crying and with one hand plugging one ear the other was typing an email to Royce saying I quit! I admit last night after we put them to bed that I was afraid to go myself because I knew I'd have to wake up in the morning and do it all again!

At the same time I do realize I'm very fortunate. I do believe that it's these trying days that make the others that more joyful. Even the days when I only make it to the bathroom one time, I miss breakfast and lunch, I can't make it out of my pajamas and when Royce comes home he tries to tell me I'm beautiful with a straight face all the while seeing the spit up, baby food and other identifiable things on my shirt, I know that this is where I'm meant to be. It's not glamorous, not at all, but even on my worst day I'm blessed. I get to spend 24 hours a day with my precious daughters. I get to watch them learn from me and watch myself grow from them. I never had rewards like this sitting in an office all day. I never woke up with a real sense of purpose working for a big corporation. I never got to see something new develop right before my eyes at work. You couldn't pay me enough to miss this. Even yesterday.

Rasa B B B....

as we call her, sometimes just bbb (like baby Bea). She's brightening my world every minute. Brimming with energy and joy and laughter! We played in the tub for about an hour last night while Royce and Adia napped. She was in heaven splashing and banging toys around. She has always LOVED the water. I remembered how much fun I had when I was little pretending the tub was my swimming pool. I loved water too. Watching Rasa made me excited for her because soon enough her little head will be full of imagination. Remember imagination? Where any and all things are possible and anything you can think up can be real in your exciting world!

She's asleep on my lap right now and thinking of her sweet smiling face made me want to bubble over so I decided to write this....and smile.

10 months!

Wow the last month was eventful in great ways and not so great ways. We're really happy November is here and the Holiday's are getting closer and closer!

Both girls hemoglobin levels are very close to the normal range so we don't have to do weekly testing any longer. They'll get tested at their 12 month appointment and then every six months after that. Their skin is pink and they have a glow to them now. Adia has always had more energy than she ever knew what to do with and now Rasa is almost as busy.

Rasa:
Rasa's personality is really showing lately. She's smart and funny. When I get silly with her she'll try to ignore me and then look over at me and flash a smile and belly laugh. She gets really excited and laughs and squeels while kicking her arms and legs.

Her fine motor skills are getting more advanced. When we read a book together and get to the last page she closes it, flips it over and will turn is right side up if she needs to. She's been turning the pages herself since she was five months old. She LOVES being read to so much that after reading her the same book ten times (she loves a particular one) I will have to hide it because I can't take it anymore :)!

When she wants something she's able to make it clear what she wants. Adia will sometimes steal toys out of her hands and Rasa will look over to Royce or I and whine and point (little tattle tale).
She still signs puppy/dog and will sign milk when she wants to eat. Sometimes she signs milk when she wants more too but we're working on it - lol! When Royce calls I put him on speaker phone and Rasa will say Dadda or Daddy right away. To my delight she's also now saying Mum and Mom while reaching for me.

Rasa delights in Adia. She watches her from across the room and if Adia's laughing then Rasa will laugh and smile watching her. She will rest her head on Adia when they're playing on the floor and will pat her head and touch her face.

This girl is all about hugs and kisses. She will kiss teddy bears, Royce's tattoos, faces in books and of course us. She'll kiss you and then give you a hug after while pressing her cheek against you. At first I was surprised by this but then I quickly remembered that she is hugged and kissed a million times a day by us and everyone else she sees. It's only natural for her to have picked up that behavior. It's so sweet.

Here's Rasa at 10 months. It's harder than you would think to get these pictures each month now that they're moving around.





Adia:
Oh my busy busy girl! Adia's been moving and grooving. She does the military crawl across the floor so fast I can't keep up with her. At 8 months we were standing her on the couch and she was holding herself up by hanging on to the cushions. She's now pulling herself up on EVERYTHING and walking while assisted. She figured out how to climb stairs last month and made it up five stairs because I left a toy there! Can you say more baby gates needed! We're spending more time on the loft because it's carpeted and our main level has hard wood floors. She's a daredevil and loves to pull her self up on the jumparoo while Rasa is jumping in it. No fear - scares Momma on a daily basis! I AM SO TIRED! I'm really in big trouble when her sister starts walking!

Adia has spent so much time being independent and exploring over the past couple months. She's now reaching up for me a lot more and wanting to spend more time cuddling. It's such a sweet balance and I hope it lasts.

The past week or so we've been noticing her being more affectionate towards Rasa. They will play together and Adia will put her arm around her. At night they sleep about two feet away from each other foot to foot but Adia will wake up and move closer to Rasa. If I'm sitting on the floor with Rasa on my lap Adia will climb up on me and want to be included.

She's saying Dadda and Daddy and other random words. Her first word was Hi! I guess I must use that one way too much. Adia understands signs but doesn't sign back yet. I'm trying to be more diligent in signing because she's not as easy to read as Rasa and sometimes we have to guess what she's asking for. It was funny though because in the middle of the night a couple weeks ago Adia woke up and cried for just a second before hollering in the sweetest more desperate voice "vavoo, vavoooooo". I have no idea what vavoo is but it meant that she wanted to eat - LOL!

Adia gives kisses but not as freely as her sister : ) She waves to us and even strangers. She laughs constantly and has a smile that could melt anyones heart. She is the happiest baby I've ever met.

Here is Adia at 10 months.





Every month we think the same thing; we are more blessed than we ever could have imagined with two beautiful, bright, happy and healthy little angels. We are such lucky parents.

Pumpkin Patch Halloween Party

Last weekend we brought Rasa and Adia to a Halloween party at a pumpkin patch about 20 miles north of us. It was a lot of fun to get them dressed in their chickie costumes and to see all of the other little ones dressed up. The girls always draw a lot of attention because there's two of them and this was no exception. Gramma Carol and Grandpa Greg came and everyone had a really good time.

Ok so there was a brief upset because Rasa didn't want to sit in the cart.

Rasa happy again.

I spotted a red barn off the path and it made a perfect back drop for this picture. Oddly enough the hay and grass caused both Rasa and I to break out in hives later - lol













On the hayride to the pumpkin patch. Rasa feel asleep so we didn't get any pictures in the actual pumpkin patch. Maybe next year :)



There were a lot of different animals to see and touch. Rasa's favorite were the goats and a Holstein calf and Adia was really into the llama's. Currently the girls favorite book is a touch and feel farm animals book so I was sure they would love to see them in real life.



It was a really fun Halloween this year with the twins. Next year is sure to be even more fun as the girls will likely go trick or treating for the first time.