Family birthday fun

I was very fortunate to grow up in the same town as most of my extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins, and both sets of grandparents). Still to this day my entire mom's side of the family all live within 15 miles of each other as well as my grandparents on my dads side. My cousins have always been more like my siblings and we love and disagree just like it too. Every single holiday and birthday and pretty much any event they can use as an excuse we all get together.



My 30th birthday was no exception so back on October 30 everyone got together over at my parents to help celebrate. It was a great relaxing evening full of delicious food and great company! The evening was topped off with yummy dessert and my families horrific wonderful rendition of singing happy birthday all off key, not together, and as loud as they can (this is a tradition that will be done no matter if we are in public or not so if you hear an insane happy birthday don't worry it's probably just us). We are definitely a crazy family and far different than most, but I am so thankful to be a part of it and even more excited that M and M will get to grow up with amazing family surrounding them!


(Of course the girls got gifts for my birthday)

A night of surprises!!!

After our nieces birthday party back on October 29 we headed over to my parents house to drop the girls off for the night. Carl let me know earlier that week that we would be going out for the night to celebrate my upcoming 30th birthday and the girls would be staying with my parents so it was no shock to me. After we dropped the girls off we headed home to get ready...Carl would not tell me anything that we would be doing other than to look nice and be ready by 7:30. So I did just that. While I was getting ready my first surprise arrived...it was one of our best guy friends from Wilmington! I was shocked to see him and he was honestly the last person I expected to show up here, but I was beyond excited! When it was finally time to go I walked out the front door to be surprised by a limo driven by my uncle for the night!!! We got in the limo and as hard as I tried they would still not tell me where we were going or what we were doing, but off we went. Next thing I know we are picking up a few of our closest friends along the way and then finally arrived at Jimmy V's for dinner! Dinner was absolutely delicious and perfect!!! This was exactly what I wanted to do. After dinner we got back in the limo where I was surprised by my cousin waiting in there to hang out with us. I still was not sure what we would be doing, but off we went again and picked up another one of our great friends who I was totally surprised to see. Then we headed downtown Raleigh. Carl had actually arranged for more friends to meet us downtown which I was unaware of, but unfortunately between our amazing dinner and taking a lot longer to get around in the limo than we had expected long story short we were unable to all meet up where he had planned. I felt horrible because I could tell how completely upset Carl was about it all, but we just went elsewhere with our friends and still had a blast! We ended the night with some drinks and dancing the night away!!!

This was exactly what I wanted to do...Carl had been asking me for a while what I wanted to do and I begged him to not have a big party. As much as I love to have a good time and see all of our friends things are just different these days and I needed a quieter birthday than usual. I told him all I wanted was to go out to a nice dinner with close friends and that is exactly what he planned for me; he just added to it and made it an amazing night full of wonderful surprises!!! I was a little worried he may not listen to me and do something crazy, but one thing I did know about that night was that a lot of our good friends were all going to be at a wedding so I think this may have helped me out a bit ;) Either way thank you honey for listening! And thank you to everyone who helped make the night so great!

I am beyond blessed with a wonderful husband that works so hard for our family and then to top it off goes above and beyond to always make me feel so special! Thank you Carl for being the most amazing husband and father and all that you do for us!!! We love and appreciate you!

So much has happened since I last was able to blog back on October 28 (the girls 4 month birthday) so I'm going to start where I left off and try and catch up throughout this week as I can...

Saturday October 29 we were all invited to Green Acres Farm to celebrate our precious Niece and Goddaughter Olivia's 3rd birthday. This was such an awesome place to take kids...they have all types of fun activities for families and this was the perfect place for a fall birthday party. The problem for us however was that when we first arrived there something scared Makayla so badly that we could not do anything to calm her down. Her little lip was so far puckered out and she was hysterical...it was so sad!!! I took her to the car and tried to feed her and spent quite a bit of time in there trying to calm her, but nothing seemed to work. (Carl took a picture of me in the car since I was out there so long)



We knew if she would just fall asleep that she would calm down. We did not want to leave though so Carl put Makayla in her car seat, bundled her up, put the visor up, and began to swing her with his arm. As long as she was swinging back and forth she was calm...hallelujah! So we were finally able to join in on the festivities just in time for the cake cutting and to sing happy birthday. After that it was time for us to pack up and leave...Carl had surprises in store for me that evening for my upcoming birthday and it was time to get the girls out of there. Unfortunately we were unable to enjoy all that Green Acres Farm had to offer, but we look forward to taking the girls there next year. It was great to see our friends and family at the party, but I really wish we could have spent more time together and enjoyed it more, but hey thats the way it goes and our kids come first! Thankfully Carl and Makenzie were able to enjoy the party a little more and Carl was able to get some pictures of things for me. All that matters is that the birthday girl had a fun party and she definitely did! I still can't believe she is already 3 years old?!?! She was such a cute little lady bug!


Makenzie says Happy birthday Cousin Olivia and share some of that cake with me!!!

Our sweet M and M's are 4 months old today!!!

It's hard to believe that 4 whole months have already flown by with our two little miracles! We have been so blessed by our sweet girls and learned so much already. Life is certainly different, but different in the best way possible! It has been absolutely incredible to watch the changes and growth in the girls from day to day. You two certainly have your own personalities and have been so different yet so alike at the same time since day 1...

• You both LOVE your daddy...when you hear his voice your little faces light up and it melts my heart
• Makayla you love your paci and Makenzie you could care less
• Makayla would rather have mommy over a bottle every single feeding and Makenzie as long as its food going in your belly that is usually all that matters
• You both LOVE to lay on your mat and play and talk to the animals and your favorite is when the lights come on and play the music
• You both have the most beautiful smile and can light up a room and melt anyones heart
• Makenzie you are my talker...you can talk and squeal for hours...you are going to be our little social butterfly I do believe. You especially love to have adult conversations...you would much rather talk about the day like a grown up then people baby talk or make noises at you...its so funny you get so excited to have conversations and I love it
• Makayla you are more on the quiet side...you like to sit back and examine things and take it all in...you are much more shy and you do not like when people get close up in your face at all. You seem to like your personal space...and random noises in your face scare you. It is so sad to see your little lip curl up and hear you cry when you get scared. 
• You both fart louder than any grown man I know
• Makenzie your cry is so sweet and pathetic...you truly sound like a little sheep baaing which is why I call you my little lamb. At times it even sounds like you are already saying momma (I have witnesses its not just me)
• Makayla your cry is fierce...you go from 0 to 100 in 2.2 seconds. There is no in between with you and you do not calm down until you get what you want which is usually your momma or your paci. Your daddy says you sound like a constipated tiger...not quite sure what that sounds like but you do sound like a tiger and or a pirate too
• Socks...Makenzie you hate them and do whatever you can to get them off immediately. Malayla you are obsessed with your feet and anything that is on your feet that makes them easier to grab you appreciate
• Loud sneezes scare you both
• Naps...well you both pretty much are not good at them at all. I think you are so afraid you are going to miss something that you refuse to fall asleep and stay asleep at times. We will continue to work at this until we get it. It is no fun to have two cranky babies I assure you
• Makayla you have a STRONG grip and love to hold on to things for dear life
• Makenzie you are just strong all around...you have been rolling over here and there for the past week and you absolutely love to stand (with some sort of assistance). Maybe you like standing so much because it makes your belly feel better and helps with the reflux. No matter why you like it it still amazes me how strong you are...sometimes you even flex like a muscle woman and it cracks us up.
• You both love the exersaucer even though you are still a little too short for it you love to be in it and you have both figured out within days that when you push certain buttons they light up with music. I love to watch your eyes and your facial expressions as you figure stuff out...it melts my heart and amazes me
• You are both so smart...sometimes I think too smart for your size
• You both love to watch tv...especially sports and have enjoyed the world series and cheering on the Rangers
• You both still love your swings and bouncy's but are particular about them doing certain things
• Makayla you are a wiggle worm!!! Changing you is already tough and I am sure it will only get tougher
• You would both eat all day if I let you...seriously it is insane how much y'all eat. And when you are ready to eat you want it immediately!
• Makenzie you are a drool and spit up queen and Makayla lately you have been trying to keep up with her
• Mornings are your best...evenings not so much
• You love to be out of the house and moving
• You love to ride in the car but can't stand it when we stop
• For some reason (my voice is horrible) you like when I sing to you in the mornings when you first wake up...your faces just light up 
• You love other little people and are very fascinated by them
• You have to hold your sissy's hand if she is close enough...I love that you love each other so much and pray that remains the same forever!

I could go on forever, but considering this has already taken me all day to write bits and pieces here and there in between feedings, playing, and napping I better stop now because its getting to be that time of night. Hopefully 4 months is going to bring changes with your eating and sleeping habits...oddly today you actually took one good nap and a second short nap. Either its the 4 month mark or maybe you knew it has been a super long week and I was up late watching the world series and needed a break today or maybe it's an early birthday present for me. Whatever the reason I hope and pray we can keep it up!

Thank you girls for the most amazing 4 months we could ever imagine!!! God has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams and we are so thankful for you two!
XOXO, Mommy

A year ago...

Hard to believe that one year ago today was our egg retrieval day and this was the email and picture that Carl sent out to update everyone on October 25, 2010...

Hello everyone this is Carl i've hacked my rock star wife's email to update everyone. Today went very well. As you all know today was retrieval day so we went to the doc. at 8:30 they took us straight back and prepped Traci. The procedure was only suppose to take about 20 mins but it def was longer than 20 min seems like a life time to me as I waited to hear the news it really probably took 45 min. But with that said we were very successful, they retrieved 21 eggs which is great they were very pleased and so was I. Traci has been recovering all day it was more painful than we expected due to the high number of eggs that they retrieved but my wife being the trooper that she is we made it through it. We will not get any news till wed. Knowing these people it will probably be 5 o'clock on wed. but its all good we can wait. I wanted to thank everyone for all of the nice emails and text messages that we both have been receiving all day we do appreciate it. I hope all is well and everyone have a great night and a good tues. Traci is starting her new job tomorrow so add that to the prayer list that she makes it through, the day. Thanks again we love all you guys Carl

(this is a picture of me before the retrieval)

15 weeks...

Last week the girls turned 15 weeks old! Now I know that 15 weeks does not have any major milestones or that its not really that big of a deal to most, but to me it is a HUGE deal. Why you may wonder...15 weeks is how long I was on bed rest!!! It is insane to think all that has happened in the girls 15 weeks of life compared to all that we went through during those 15 weeks of crazy and scary ups and downs. I cannot believe I went into pre-term labor at 22 weeks and PTL we made it to 37 weeks...I won't bore you with all of that went on during those 15 weeks because lets be honest its was A LOT and at the end of the day all that matters is that the girls are here and AMAZING! I would go through any amount of bed rest necessary a million times over and do whatever it takes, but I would take these INCREDIBLE 15 weeks with the girls here over the 15 weeks of bed rest and scary moments any day!!! God has truly blessed us with these 2 beautiful healthy babies who we love to the moon and back times a trillion!!! 

Another flashback moment...here is a video of pictures from July 2, 2011 the day we got to bring the girls home from the hospital! So many emotions that day...excited, nervous, blessed, and the list could go on and on and on. Hope you enjoy these photos!

Fun Fact Fridays

This has been a busy week for us, but in the midst of all the business we were able to capture a few new moments for the girls...



Last Friday I had another back procedure and was not suppose to carry/lift the girls or do anything other than rest for 24 hours (basically impossible with twins, but thankfully I have an awesome hubby and family to help me out and to remind me...thank you guys). So Carl decided to put the girls upstairs in their crib for the first time so that I would not be tempted to get up throughout the night to take care of them. (I of course made him take pictures since I could not go up there myself.) They surprisingly did GREAT...it took longer than usual to get them to sleep but once they did fall asleep they were great! They did way better than I did that is for sure. I literally stayed awake staring at the monitor until they woke up to eat at 3 am. Between the pain and side affects of the procedure and me not being inches away from them while they slept...I did not sleep until Carl brought them downstairs for me to feed them. So we will try again with the crib soon and I'll let you know how it goes.



Makayla this week has found her feet and her voice! She LOVES her feet...who knew feet were so funny?! She has also started to be a lot more vocal which is so much fun especially when the girls talk to each other like I interrupted in this picture below.





Makenzie can already hold her own bottle?! How is this grown up girl stuff already happening at 3 months old?! She is such a STRONG little girl for sure. She LOVES to stand all the time and she even flexes and growls like a body builder...it is the cutest little thing and I have got to get it on video asap! Here she is below showing off her standing skills and her cute little shoes :)



I also had a first this week and feel like an official mom now. Drumroll please.................Makenzie projectile vomited in my mouth!!!!!!!! Most disgusting moment ever!!!!!!!!!!!! I always wondered how people could let that happen and thought how I will NEVER let that happen to me...haha boy was I wrong. There was no stopping it. The best part is Carl stopped by just to say hello to us because we were not going to see him for dinner. So he had just gotten home and I lifted Makenzie up in the air and BAM there it was. I was literally in shock, but immediately spit it out everywhere and Carl busted out laughing so hard he was crying...I was crying because I did not know what else to do so I was trying to then laugh it off...Makenzie had no clue what was going on...it was a disaster! But thankfully he was here so I was able to take my time to get all cleaned up and Carl got the biggest laugh of his life. Welcome to motherhood...sorry no pictures of this one ;) 

Sneak Peak

Last week we had the girls 3 month pictures taken by the wonderful Tonya Mae Photography. Makayla was the star/model of the day for sure...Makenzie was just not really in the mood and I had to hold her for most of her pictures, but Tonya was still able to capture some great photos of both girls! Here are a few of my favorites from the day for a little sneak peak! Thank you so much Tonya for working with us!!! If you are in the Triangle area you should check her out...she is wonderful working with kids and all events!!! 

M and M 3 months old

Makayla Faith

Makenzie Grace being a BIG girl!!!

Our little Monkey (Makayla)

Our little Lamb (Makenzie)

                                Mommy and her girls!!!

Can you believe how big they have gotten?!?! They are growing so fast!!!

M and M days 2 through 4

Here is a look back at days 2 through 4 in the hospital with M and M!!! This seems like just yesterday, but at the same time so long ago. What precious moments and memories!!! Oh how I love you girls xoxoxoxoxoxo