The Mixon's are Redefining Normal

35 Weeks

2012-01-25T06:00:00.001-06:00

I have 4 weeks left in this pregnancy and it doesn't seem like it could go fast enough. I am faced with two major issues....1) I'm trying to enjoy this pregnancy and not take any of it for granted, but it is soo hard when you are huge and uncomfortable, 2) I'm trying to enjoy every moment of quality time I can with the twins, because I'm worried about juggling a newborn with 2 toddlers. All good worries/problems to have (:

We went to the Perinatologist at 34 weeks and he did another full growth scan on Ridley. We get growth scans done because of my Single Umbilical Artery (SUA). You can read about it here if you missed that post. The scan showed that she was measuring 1 week ahead of her due date and that she weighed 5lbs 15oz (which is bigger than Maddox when she was born!!). The doctor did stress that this could be off at this point because of formulas/measurement acuracies; however, when he switched to the 3d picture he said "Holy Moly, Look at those cheeks, she may have grown that much". She looks soo adorable and had chubby cheeks that I can't wait to kiss. I will have another full growth scan at 37 weeks and then we'll be ready for a baby :o)

Here is a picture from the sonogram:

Lastly, I'm tired of taking pictures because it makes me realize how much I've grown, but here is my picture for 35 weeks :o)

2nd Birthday Party

2012-01-19T06:00:00.002-06:00

This post is a month late because I have been lagging on my blogging. We went to A-town for the twins second birthday. We decided since we don't know many people here that it would be nice to have a birthday party with our family. Cody's mom, Ione, hosted the party at her house and she went above and beyond. From the food & drinks to the decorations, she put on an amazing party for the twins. Everyone had a really good time and we are so thankful we have such a wonderful family.

In lieu of a cake, I bought cupcakes from a local cup-cakery. We figured it would be easier for the twins to maneuver around when trying to enjoy their birthday treat. We actually could have split a cupcake between the two, because Lukas wanted the top part with the icing and Maddox wanted the bottom part with the cake only. They are too funny!

ICING!!!!

CAKE!!!

Here are some pictures from their big day!

They loved opening presents...but would get sidetracked with each new thing!

Lauren wrote & played the twins a birthday song!

Somethings never change between siblings....

Ridley Harper - 33 Weeks

2012-01-08T17:00:00.002-06:00

I am 33 weeks this week. Hallelujah! I am ready to speed this final 6 weeks up. 1) I want to see my precious Ridley and introduce her big brother and sister...2) I want my non-pregnant body back :) I love feeling my sweet darling's movements and kicks but they are getting pretty brutal AND carrying around 2 toddlers whilst lugging around a belly sure can wear a momma out!

I've also added a Poll to my Blog. It's time to make your guesses on Miss Ridley's length, weight & due date (we know my scheduled c-section is 2/22 but if you think she is going to come earlier you're more than welcome to say so :o)

Here is the Poll and I'm also including it on the side of my page, if you need to think about your guess :o)

We went to the Perinatologist the week before Christmas and Miss Ridley is doing great. She is growing right on track and everything looks good. Her are some pictures of her sweet face from our last appointment. She was opening her mouth and eyes and it looked like she was smiling. The doctor also said that she has hair :o) It is amazing what they can see on sonograms nowadays.

Crazy! I think she looks like Lukas :)

Eyes Open & Smiling :o)

Here are some pictures of me from the last couple of weeks...I've been bad at posting them :o)

31 Weeks

32 Weeks

I'll keep you updated as things keep progressing!

Don't Blink

2011-12-20T10:05:00.001-06:00

My babies turned 2 years old on December 18, 2011. I cannot believe that two years ago, we welcomed two of the greatest blessings we've ever received into the world. Here is our first family picture. This picture was taken when they finally brought Lukas to my room after 2 days of being in the NICU. The twins immediately held onto one another and we were finally complete.

I warn you that I'm probably going to get pretty sappy in the following lines. I could blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but anyone who is a mother knows that's a lie. I know that I have said this before, but when I held my babies together for the first time I told my mom that I felt like my heart was broken. I loved them so much that it hurt and that feeling has never changed. This quote sums it up completely "Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body". I can't explain the laughter, tears, frustration, and love that I have felt over the past 2 years. The time has flown by and all I can say to you mothers of young ones out there is Don't Blink, because one day you are caring for their every need and the next you are watching them slowly let go of all the things you once got to do for them. I can tell you this, I cherish the rare moments where I get to rock them to sleep these days. It doesn't happen often, but the feeling you get to watch your child fall asleep in your arms is still one of the greatest blessings of being a mother.

My Darling Maddox,
You are 35.5" tall (85%) and 26 lbs (45%). You are such a fire ball. You have so much spunk and personality. You are constantly testing your limits and pushing our boundaries. There is never a dull moment when you are around. Right now, you love to say "What's That?" & "Choo Choo"...we literally hear those two phrases 100 times a day. Sometimes, we hear it at the most frustrating moments (i.e. 3 o'clock in the morning when you won't go to sleep you softly chant "Choo Choo"). You love to give kisses and they never get old. You love music and you love to dance. Right now, you love when we sing the "Wheels on the Bus" & "I'm a Little Teapot". Watching you do the motions to these songs brings a smile to my face every time. Everyday watching you grow up makes me so proud that God blessed me with such a vibrant little girl. I'm enjoying every moment of watching you grow up and I can't wait to see what your future holds.

My Handsome Lukas,
You are my big boy at 37" tall (97%) and 35 lbs (97%). You are my "chunk of love". You give the BEST hugs ever and throw the meanest fits of all time. You wear your heart on your sleeve and I love that about you. You are very independent and are completely content playing with your toys and just hanging out. You love to watch movies and I'm convinced you could actually sit through a movie at the theater at the age of 2, but I'm not ready to test that theory :o) You love when I sing "There's an old bumblebee" and even before it's time for him to "sting" you...you are laughing so hard. You are all boy and you love to rough house and for us to "get you". Your laugh is still one of the best ever. Anyone within earshot can't help but join in. You are a big boy..the doctor's say you are going to be really tall when you are older, but I don't like thinking about that right now. I love the cuddle and loves I get when you are my little boy and I promise I won't mind if you want to continue them well into your adult years. I'm so proud that God blessed me with such an amazing little boy. I can't wait to see what your future holds, but for now I'm enjoying you being my little man.

Both of you are the greatest blessings in my life. We are about to welcome a new baby into our family and I can't wait to see what an amazing big brother and sister you will be. I love you so very much and look forward to every moment with you in our future!

Love,

Momma

28 Weeks

2011-12-06T18:00:00.002-06:00

Nothing really new to report this week, well not until my appointment on Friday at least. I can say that there are times where I feel like a decrepit old woman. Crawling in and out of my bed, bath or anything else that requires much effort seems to make me snap crackle and pop. I have gone to chiropractor who has magically found a happy place for that irritating rib that has been giving me fits. I still do the elliptical for 30 minutes everyday, but I'm unsure how much longer that is going to last :o)

In other news, We have been getting ready for Christmas and the twins 2ND birthday! I can't believe my babies are already 2. Where does the time go? I'm excited because this year they seem to be a lot more interested in the presents under the tree, so it should make for a good time watching them un-wrap gifts :o)

Speaking of gifts, I would also like to take this moment to say.....Hi, My name is Sarah and I am an Amazon-oholic. I LOVE Amazon.com for SOOO many reasons. First off, I am a PRIME member which means I get free 2 day shipping on almost every item in combination with the already tax free low prices plus I don't have to fight 1 crowd to Christmas shop. As a matter of fact, I am DONE with all my shopping and I only have about 5 more presents to wrap (those shipments haven't come in yet). I swear the UPS/FEDEX man knows me by name..he delivers something to my house EVERYDAY. I am also an Amazon Mom and I sign up for Subscribe and Save on all my diapers, wipes and organic snacks for the kids. It's free to sign up and I get an extra 30% savings on all the aforementioned while having them shipped straight to my door. I basically designate that I want 1 shipment 1 a month (or however much I need) and VOILA it arrives at my door every month on time! I haven't been able to find a better deal on diapers or wipes AND the organic snacks are always much cheaper than can be found in store.

Well now that I have let you in on my little addiction I will leave you with another self portrait...28 Weeks..

Family Picture 2012

2011-12-01T20:57:00.002-06:00

Since we moved, this year we had to find a new photographer in the area. After perusing the internet through photography sites, I finally settled on Artsy Phartsy Photography (and not just because the name is hilarious).

We worked with Erin for a mere 30 minutes one afternoon and to be honest I was nervous how the pictures would turn out beings that we were in and out in no time. Taking pictures 24 weeks pregnant with 2 two year olds is challenging. After we left, I told Cody I wasn't sure I ever even looked at the camera. However, Erin assured us that she wouldn't let us leave without knowing that she had several good pictures.

The pictures turned out amazing and we were soo happy with all of them that it was hard to pick our favorites. Here is a slideshow of our top 10. Enjoy!

27 Weeks

2011-11-28T19:00:00.000-06:00

I have exactly 12 weeks left (3 months) in my pregnancy. I love being pregnant during the holidays for several reasons..A) It is cold outside so I get to bundle up (or not...beings that your hot all the time while pregnant) B) There is a smorgasbord of food around at all times C) The time waiting to meet your little ones passes by so quickly because of all the things you have going on!

My next OB appointment is Dec. 9th, where I will be tested for Gestational Diabetes..ugh. I hate that test. Last time, I failed the 1 hour test (which is known to give several false positives) but I passed the 3 hr test. I'm unsure if that means I will most likely fail this one and pass the next, but we shall see.

I have been feeling good for the most part. I do suffer from that round ligament pain as well as having a rib that can't seem to find a happy place, but it is all worth it. I also think I have a little more round ligament pain, because I'm usually carrying another kiddo along with the one in the incubator. A 35 lb son does wonders for your pregnant body :o)

It's still surreal to think about having a new baby in the house. We are super excited, scared & nervous all at the same time. Lot's of people keep saying that it is going to be soo hard and it may be at first, but it will all be worth it in the end.

Here is a picture of me at 27 weeks...I've gotten to where I dislike taking pictures and my poor photographer (Cody) never realized what a chore it would be, so I lightened his burden for this week and took it myself!!

Family Pictures, Sonograms & So On....

2011-11-14T06:00:00.001-06:00

Last week was BUSY. I had 2 doctor appointments, family pictures and company :o) Since we had some worries in the beginning about our baby girl having a 2 vessel cord, my momma decided to come up and be with us for our next sonogram (because we all know everything is better when momma is here).

Cody and I weren't the only two super excited about their visit. The twins absolutely LOVE their Nana. Maddox has mastered the word Nana and that is the first thing she said every morning upon waking up. Nana is already a sucker for the twins, but when she hears her name they can pretty much do no wrong. Lukas doesn't say Nana yet, but he sure loves when she comes after him to "get him" and he always comes back for more.

My 24 week doctor's appointment and sonogram went great. Baby Girl is weighing in at 1 lb 8 oz & all of her body parts look perfect. We were given a tentative schedule C-Section date of February 22, 2012. It's crazy to think we are a mere 3 months away from welcoming a new member of our family. Here are some pictures of Little Miss:

One evening we had our pictures taken by Artsy Phartsy Photography. We needed to get a family picture taken as well as the twins 2 year pictures and after searching for a photographer we finally found one we liked. Erin was super fun to work with and really good at getting quick pictures taken of 2 VERY ACTIVE twins. I can't wait to share some of the pictures with you!

Painting Pumpkins

Paper Towel Roll Painting

Such a big helper

Noise Makers with Colored Rice, Pasta & Water Bottles

21 Weeks

2011-10-25T13:17:00.000-05:00

Nothing new to report. Little Miss has started moving around quite a bit and has even let her daddy feel her kicking and moving :o)

Cody's dad came up last week and spent the ENTIRE week being our personal handy man/child entertainment. He helped us out so much taking care of little things around the house and the twins were loving having their Papa at their disposal.

Here is my 21 week picture...I think I'm getting bigger faster this time :o) eeeeek!:

20 Weeks

2011-10-14T11:03:00.000-05:00

I am halfway through my pregnancy! Whoa...when you have two kids to take care of instead of getting to day dream all day about caring for two kids your pregnancy seems to zip by :o)

I am feeling really good. Since my morning sickness went away around 9 to 10 weeks, it has been smooth sailing for me. Don't get me wrong, I still get the occasional aches and pains from pregnancy such as when you move to quickly and feel this stabbing sensation or feeling a bit more tired after a day of chasing the twins around. God has a way of making you forget all the negatives about being pregnant. It seems like when they hand you your beautiful baby all the aches, pains, leg cramps, contraction pains...are wiped from your brains and then when you get pregnant again you're like "Oh yeah, I remember this."

I can feel our little miss move a little bit everyday. It is usually when I'm lying still or really focusing on feeling her move. We are 95% sure we have picked a name, but we aren't going to divulge it that easily. We are waiting a bit longer before we start monogramming burp cloths :o)

My appetite has picked up in the last week and the main thing I generally crave is salty. Yum! Anything salty generally makes me happy. I have the occasional sweet tooth, but mostly I want salty...or strawberries :o) I'm haven't had to buy any maternity clothes yet and can still wear/button my jeans, but we'll see how much longer that last

I have been terrible about taking pictures this pregnancy and I can also assure you that there will be un-clothed belly pictures this go around. Here is the first picture I have taken at 20 weeks.

I Just Wanna Dance...

2011-10-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

Here are some of my favorite videos of Maddox dancing...

Single Umbilical Artery

2011-10-03T22:00:00.004-05:00

In the midst of all this change, chaos and excitement, it has become exceedingly hard to "feel" pregnant. I'm at the stage in pregnancy where I don't feel the baby move often and I only look chubby NOT pregnant. I can still wear my same clothes they just fit a little, different. We have been so busy with a hundred other things that we haven't had time to sit down and enjoy the moment of expecting our 3rd child.

Cody and I had an appointment to receive a sonogram at 18 weeks. My new OB refers all his patients to a Perinatologist for their complete sonogram. It is crazy to me that with one baby you generally only get one sonogram. I had 1 every two weeks with my twin pregnancy. I had seen a Perinatologist & an OBGYN my entire twin pregnancy because I was "high risk" and it seems things haven't changed for this one as well.

Before I get into the details, I would like to start by saying we are having a little GIRL and couldn't be more excited. I know, I know, I know...we said we were NOT finding out BUT when the sonogram tech put the little tool on my belly she just so happened to be on the BUSINESS (or lack thereof). I immediately felt that we were having a girl. Like 99.9% sure it was a girl, because when we saw the area with Lukas....we knew immediately we were having a boy. The tech didn't tell us what we were having, but when she left the room and while we waited for the doctor, I told Cody I was sure it was a girl. He kept telling me I didn't know for sure and what if I thought this entire time that it was a girl and it turned out to be a boy then we were even more shocked because in my mind I was mentally prepared for a girl. When the doctor came in and asked us if we knew...we caved and said we wanted to know for sure! VOILA...we are expecting a beautiful baby girl.

I digress...so when the tech was doing our sonogram, I noticed that she kept going back to the heart over and over which made me really nervous. She said that little miss was laying in an awkward position and that she was having to look and listen to her heart through her spine, which casts shadows on the picture. She said that the heartbeat was 153 and was good and strong.

When the doctor came in he quickly told us that I have a Single Umbilical Artery (SUA)...also known as a two vessel cord. Generally, your umbilical cord has 1 vein and 2 arteries..mine has 1 vein and 1 artery. They aren't sure what causes the anomaly, it just "happens". We asked if this was common and didn't really get much of a direct answer. (Dr. Google would later tell me that this happens about 1% of the time in a singleton pregnancy) He told us before the use of sonograms the only way they even knew someone had a SUA was by inspection of the umbilical cord after delivery. He then went on to say since the use of sonograms they have been able to link SUA with other "complications". What complications? He told us that our baby girl is at an increased risk for kidney, heart or genetic abnormalities as well as an increased risk for Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR). IUGR is basically where the baby stops growing accurately because she isn't getting the nutrients she needs from the placenta (a term we are familiar with from our twin pregnancy). The doctor thoroughly checked her heart and kidneys and said that he didn't see any problems with them and they looked completely healthy. He even went on to say that he thought there was a less than 1% chance that there is something wrong with those two organs. He also told us that he didn't see any "markers" that would indicate that there was something genetically wrong with the baby girl BUT we would have to do an amniocentesis (think big needle inserted into belly) to be sure. He said plenty of woman with SUA deliver full-term healthy babies.

He will follow up with us my entire pregnancy and I will have to be monitored the same way I was monitored with the twins to ensure that our baby girl is growing as she should. Even though the news isn't terrible, in fact, it has been mostly positive, I can't help but burst into tears when talking about it. Mostly because I'm a worrier and this gives me something to "google" and worry about. However, even Dr. Google is pretty positive when no other "markers" are present on your sonogram.

Cody and I can't decide if we would like an amniocentesis or not. We see both sides of the coin. While the results wouldn't change anything for us, it would be nice to know for sure what we were facing or to know that everything was okay. Some of the genetic disorders that are linked to SUA are life threatening and it would be nice to know that ahead of time. At this point, we are going to discuss the issue further with my OB this week and wait until our next sonogram to see if anything has changed in our doctor's mind.

It now comes time for faith, prayers and patience. We know that our baby is the hands of the Great Physician and he wouldn't give us anything that we couldn't handle. We can't wait to meet our baby girl and if it takes extra monitoring, worries, & prayers to get her here safely...bring it on...because we have a faithful God who has had our backs in pregnancy trials before.

Thanks for listening and if you get a chance, send a prayer up in our direction. We could use a few extra shout outs right now :o)

"Cause what if Your blessing come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights is what it takes to know You're near?
What if trials in this life, Are your mercies in disquise?"

A Not so Quick Update

2011-10-02T22:00:00.002-05:00

Life here has been crazy. On September 16th, we closed on our new house and the next week the kids and I were moving up to finally be with Cody! It has been a crazy two weeks, but we have quickly decided that home really is where Cody is :o) Cody's family (mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, uncle, grandma, & nieces) all helped us with the move and helped us get everything to a manageable state of crazy. We are so thankful that they were here, we couldn't have done it without them!

In the weekend we moved houses, we also had our new house entirely painted (every room, kitchen cabinets, deck and a few ceilings)..not to mention that we had the carpet ripped up and replaced! We didn't realize how awful the carpet was until the previous owners had moved their stuff and it quickly became apparent a steam cleaning wasn't going to do the trick! The prior owners had several dogs and the carpet installer said it was so covered in urine stains that he slipped on the mat...DISGUSTING! So before we moved in, my Papaw told me to pick out the carpet I wanted and him and my mother would pay for it! THANK YOU!! If you can see a trend here, we are exceedingly lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive family!

Last week was a harder week for Cody and I. Lukas had been waking up every night crying but would quickly return to sleep when we rubbed his back. At first, we attributed the night wakings to the new environment. Maddox and Lukas have their own rooms and the change of environment on top of no longer having a bed partner probably made it a big adjustment. However, I couldn't shake that "mommy feeling" that something wasn't quite right. I made an appointment with our new pediatrician and sure enough Lukas has an ear infection. We started Azithromycin last week and let me tell you that has been a fun experience. Lukas HATES that medicine and we have to fight tooth and nail to get him to take it. Luckily, we are finished with it and hopefully on the mend.

My daddy & my Patti came to visit us this past weekend. Patti and I got to go shopping for the twins some winter clothes, while the boys watched the A&M game (gag) and the babies. It was a relief to get to get out of the house and enjoy some adult time with Patti. My dad cooked us some amazing steaks on the grill and the twins slept in until 8 am on Sunday. We were rejuvenated and were thankful for a much needed restful weekend!

THANK YOU GRANNY & GRANPA for the CUPCAKES...and cookies...and M&M's...and suckers!!

NEW CLOTHES..

Our new nanny, Michelle is AWESOME. We love her and feel truly blessed to have found her. She has a two year old son that she brings with her everyday. He is such a sweet boy and he loves Maddox. (Time to teach Lukas how to regulate...we figured he should learn early) I cannot tell you how nice it is to be able to watch the twins play outside as I type away on my lap top. They love Michelle and she is so good with them. When the kids are down for a nap, she picks up the house, sweeps, folds laundry...basically goes the extra mile to help out around the house which is something we could get used to :o) Takes excellent care of our children AND helps around the house = BIG BONUS for US :o)

We still have a TON of stuff to unpack and at times feel like our house is in shambles but we are slowly making progress and should have everything whipped into shape in no time!

We would like to send out a special thanks to several of our friends (not mentioned above) who helped us out in the move:

1) Katie J. came and visited me several nights to keep me company and help pack. I enjoyed all of our late night chats and miss them already!

2) The Durans' & The Pauls' were gracious enough to let me do laundry at their house when our washer gave out!

3) Richard, Royce, Jessica & Katie all came to my "packing party" and helped me pack up the final "little things".

4) Missy & Travis spent the large part of a Saturday morning helping us pack and breakdown beds. They also let Cody borrow an air mattress our last night in DFW.

5) My boss at work, Blake, has been super helpful letting me take time off from work as well as working with my crazy schedule the last month!

6) Anita watched the twins for 3 weeks during our transition time. Jonahs even gave up a Saturday morning sleep in to watch the twins so we could pack ;o)

7) English dog/house sat for us on every trip I had to take to OK, hetook my mom to the airport at 6:00 am & picked up Cody from the airport.

Ultimately, we feel truly blessed and thankful to have the set of friends we have in DFW. Several of our friends offered to help, but we were just too busy to come up with things for them to do. We miss everyone already and pray that we can make friends half as good as the ones we left!

Thanks for checking in on us!

A little note about new Baby Mix...

2011-09-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

As you know, Cody and I have been blessed with Baby Number 3. We are super excited! First off, I will clear some questions up that I know you must have.

1. No, we did not have to take Clomid or any other fertility drug to conceive!

2. Yes, we were planning on having another baby. Though we were "trying", we were surprised by the timing that it all happened (job change, move, 5 months of being off bc, etc.)

3. At this point, we don't want to find out what we are having. We have everything for a boy and a girl, so we "think" we are going to let this one be a surprise. Of course, we all know how patient I am, so this could be very trying :o)

4. The pregnancy has been good. I will say that I was miserably sick for about 3 weeks, which was new to me because I had very minimal morning sickness with the twins. This go around, I was pretty sure I was on my deathbed at least 2 or 3 times (a day). I'm sure it was worse, because Cody wasn't here and everything is just better when he is around. (♥ him)

5. I am close to around 14 weeks pregnant. They haven't given me a estimated due date, yet. I will be given that date at my next sonogram. If I go with the date of my LMP, I would be due February 28th. However, if I go with the date I think it will be more like March 4th.

6. I met my new doctor in OKC and I like him. He does have big shoes to fill, because I absolutely LOVE Dr. T here in FW.

7. I will be having a repeat C-section to be scheduled at 39 weeks.

Everything is moving smoothly as I head into my second trimester! We are happy excited, nervous and ultimately Blessed!

Thanks for checkin' in!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words..

2011-08-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

So Busy...

2011-08-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Life has been super busy in our house. We are preparing to make our move to Oklahoma in the next month, so you can imagine all the things we have been up to.

We currently have a contract on a house that we both love! After looking at, oh let's say, 50(+) houses in person, we finally found the one that feels like home and fits our family. Now we are waiting for our closing date in September so we can finally all be under the same roof again!

I have enrolled the twins into a Mother's Day Out program and I'm really excited for them to get to be around other little kids and a new environment 1 day a week. We eventually want to have them enrolled 2 days a week, but this was the only availability they had so we'll take it as a good place to start.

The twins are becoming really independent these days and are really changing. Maddox's favorite phrase is "What's that?" or "What's this?". She says that literally all day long. She has really been trying hard to communicate and gets frustrated when we can't understand what she wants (understandable). She is also still very into books and puzzles. Maddox loves to play in the water, but only on her terms (i.e. splashes from brother are not welcome) She is going through a "mommy phase" and I'm not allowed to do ANYTHING in her presence besides give her attention. This new phase makes trying to do anything difficult. If I am cooking her dinner, she pushes me away from the cabinets and crawls between my legs. If I'm snuggling with Cody, she gets in between us and pushes him away. You get the point.

Right now both of the kids have figured out the term Hot and if they touch something warm, see steam, or anything else that produces heat they both say "Hot, Hot, Hot".

Lukas has become very independent and likes to do things on his own. He loves to crawl into his high chair, stroller and car seat by himself without your help. He gets extremely frustrated if you offer your services, so we are letting him embrace this new found independence and just plan on leaving a little earlier to give him time to do it on his own! He is still all boy and I swear some days all I do is tell him "No!". He loves to climb, destroy and get into anything and everything. He loves to open the drawers in the kitchen a pull out cooking utensils and disperse them about the house. He has even opened a door one time by turning the knob (UT OH). He LOVES swimming and he is our water dog. He loves to dunk his head under water and come back up.

Thanks for checking in on us! If you get a free moment, say a prayer for our move and that we sale our house soon! Those are a couple of stressors right now that are on the top of our prayer list! I'll try to up date more frequently in the future to keep you updated on everything!

This picture cracks me up..."Hey sis, looky here"

Both love drinking out of the faucet!!!

Finger Painting

Changes

2011-07-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

Cody and I have some big changes heading our way. Cody recently accepted a new position and we will be relocating to OKLAHOMA in the next few months! This is an extremely awesome opportunity for him and our family.

We prayed on this decision and were originally hesitant to accept a new position, move our family and lose my job. However, my company offered me the opportunity to keep my job AND work from Oklahoma. Once all of these things just fell into place perfectly, we knew our path had been prepared well before we got there.

Right now, we are in the midst of finding a new place to live, selling our current house, and preparing to move states.

The hardest part of our move will be leaving all of our friends. We have made such amazing friends here in DFW and we can't stand the thought of moving away from them.

To all my friends that read this blog, we want you to know how much of a blessing your friendship has been in our lives. Since we don't have family here, our friends have become our family and leaving you guys will be one of the hardest parts of our move.

When you have a chance, Please say a prayer for our move and that the right buyer will come by and fall in love with our house! Thank you for checking in!

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart - Phillipian 1:3-7

18 Months

2011-06-30T06:00:00.002-05:00

If you haven't noticed I'm behind on my blogging and have lot's of catching up to do! Lot's has been going on in The Mixon household and some of it will have to be discussed in another post.

This post is all about L & M and their 18 month well baby. It is super hard for me to believe that the twins are already 1 1/2 years old. I mean it literally feels like yesterday that we were dreaming of what they would look like and I was finding out we were having a boy and girl. All I have to say is time sure does fly when you are having fun!

I took L & M to their 18 month well baby. First off, I requested all the paperwork that needed to be filled out for their 18 month appointment at their 15 month appointment. There were seriously like 15 pages to fill out PER child and there was no way this momma was going to be able to a) watch her children in the waiting room b) fill out the paperwork and c) keep any sanity I have left. The nurses were extremely appreciative of my preparedness, since we were the first appointment of the day we didn't put them behind schedule.

Maddox from the minute we took her back into the room she was an unhappy camper. I almost think that she knew the path that was unfolding in front of her. Also, since we were the first appointment of the day we had to feed them breakfast in the car. I don't know about your kiddos but mine like to sit down and have a big breakfast, if we have to do breakfast on the run it seems to throw off their whole morning.

Anywho, when Dr. B made his appearance Maddox was done. She was completely unhappy. I was able to calm her down for a brief time with a Strawberry Fruit Leather, but other than that Dr. B & I had to talk above her.

Since we're talking about Miss Priss I'll start with her.

Maddox was 25 lbs (75 percentile) and 33.5" tall (100 percentile). Dr. B said that she was on the top of her growth chart for height for her age. He said that she had a perfect height to weight ratio and that at the rate she was going she was on the path to being 5'8" to 5'9". Everything looked great on her and she was a healthy girl.

She has cut all of her teeth except for her two year molars. She is jabbering up a storm and is able to say the following: "What's that? What's this? All done" and many other words. She has gotten to the phase where she loves babies or stuffed animals. She is so good with animals. She loves on our dogs all the time and is quick to love on any animal around. She can identify and point to several items in a book such as: balls, shoes, flowers, dogs, cats, ducks, butterflies, zebras, sippy cups, teddy bears, airplanes and much more. She is also able to point out the following body parts: Nose, Eyes, Teeth, Tongue, Ears, Head and Belly button. We have to be careful because she will accidentally poke your eye these days trying to show you where your eyes are :o)

Lukas was 32 lbs (100 percentile) and 36" tall (100 percentile). Mr. Lukas is our big boy. He isn't even on his growth chart for his height and weight. Dr. B said that he has the perfect height to weigh ratio and that he is on the path to be around 6'3"! We had no doubt that he would be a big boy, especially after carrying him around for several minutes.

Lukas has all of his teeth except for his 2 year molars and he is still working on some of his I teeth (the pointy ones). Lukas loves electronics and phones. He is constantly "on the phone" everything from remotes to his hand become an imaginary phone. He has pretty comical conversations with himself. Lukas isn't really interested in identifying anything in a book. He will get things like balls and shoes, but only one his time. He will point to your nose, ears, teeth and tongue.

Here is Lukas having a phone conversation:

Both of the babies are growing up so quickly and doing some wonderful things. Here is our newest milestone that we are slowly obtaining...eating with a spoon!

I'll post more pictures in some of the upcoming posts!

The Good Life

2011-06-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

For those of you that didn't know, I just had my 27th birthday. Whoa. When I was in my early twenties I thought of people that were 27 as really having it together. I mean, they were well out of college (most of them), they had marriages, mortgages, kids and ultimately just had it TOGETHER. As I hit this milestone in my life, I have to admit that at first I was overwhelmed. How did I get here this fast? It seems like yesterday my parents were driving me to college.

When I look at the things that have happened over the last few years, I can't help but feel overwhelmingly blessed. Sometimes when we are in the moment, it is hard for us to see God's hand in our lives. We are only able to fixate on this one finite piece of our puzzle and we get so caught up in today that we aren't able to see the grand scheme of our lives. When I reflect back on the last few years of my life, I can't help but see that in times of hardships my path was well lit by my heavenly Father.

When I hear people talk about living "the good life", I have always thought of it as easy, carefree. But I'm here to tell you, the good life doesn't come to you as carefree and easy. You have to be willing to fight for that life. Everyday you will have to fight for your beliefs, your family, your marriage, your children and as long as you have something worth the fight...you have a good life.

I'm trying to learn to appreciate the gift of an ordinary day. The days that come and go and at the time seem so repetitive are actually days in which I should be thankful. One day, I will miss my kids wanting all my attention and hanging on my legs. I will miss the cuddles and kisses for no reason at all. I will be the one hanging on their legs trying to get a hug, just wanting a small piece of their day all to myself.

My life isn't always easy and most of my days aren't carefree, but when I really look at it I sure do have a good life!

Lukas living the good life with Snack & Drink reclining :0)

Love these Girls

2011-06-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

When I found out I was pregnant with twins, everyone told me "Join a Mother's of Multiples Group". I researched it, found one in Fort Worth..but then was kinda shy to go and then I got put on bedrest and then the twins arrived and then my life was too busy. When the twins were about 6 months old and Cody and I felt a bit more stable, I decided to go to my first meeting! After a few meetings, I could tell that I should have joined when I was pregnant. It was refreshing to talk to other mother's who had TWO babies. Don't get me wrong, I still love my friends that have 1 baby and value their opinions but they will never be able to understand certain things that come up while taking care of two wee ones at one time.

After the first couple of meetings, I met Eva & April and we immediately hit it off. Our kids are pretty close in age and we started setting up play dates. We quickly found out we had lot's more in common than each of us having boy girl twins. Here is a picture from one of our playdates...

Wow! Play dates grow quickly when multiplying by 2 :o)

And here is a picture of a Mommy only playdate...thanks to our fabulous husbands for watching the babies!

I love you ladies! Thanks for enduring CRAZY with me :o)

Will Blog for COMMENTS!

2011-05-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

I'm a very curious person. I always have been. I'm the person that when I would receive something from a "secret admirer", it would drive me CRAZY. I HAD to know who this "secret admirer" was and immediately!

This curiosity has fed over into my blogging life. I installed a nice little Blog Ticker that tells me when someone has viewed my page, what time they viewed, how many pages they looked at, how long they were on the page and what site directed them to it...oh and their "Out-Click".

So now I see that I have several re-occurring views from all around but I never receive comments from these viewers. So for today...if you follow my blog will you please LEAVE me a comment to help subside my ever growing curiosity? IF you don't know how there is a little comment button below this post, click it, write your comment and enter that crazy CAPTCHA to verify you are not some sort of computer spamming my blog ;o) ALSO, if you don't have a google account it will say it's from Anonymous ;o)

Oh and L & M say PRETTY please (yes, I used the children to guilt you into commenting) How could you say No to these faces?

Crafty

2011-05-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

I'm constantly trying to come up with new interactive adventures to show the kids. I mean we have a season pass to the museum and lot's of toys, books, & puzzles, but I like to find inexpensive ways to entertain the kids at home.

Cody went with his friend Eric to ride bike trails in Grapevine and I got a bright idea to make homemade finger paints. L & M are still in the stage where everything goes into their mouths, so I wanted to make finger paints that would be okay if they got consumed :o)

I used the Cornstarch fingerpaint recipe that I found here.

Cornstarch Fingerpaint

Ingredients

3 cups water
1 cup cornstarch
food coloring

You add the cornstarch to boiling water and heat it till it becomes a clear paste. It seemed like it took forever for the Fingerpaint to set up, but when it finally did I added some NEON food coloring and it was GO time.

I taped down some paper (in my dreams they would keep it solely on the paper). I don't know who was more excited, me or the kids. The rest of our experience can be seen in the pictures below:

How do you get the kiddos clean without taking them in the house....strip them down and nearly pop a lung blowing up this:

Overall...Such a fun day!

Easter

2011-05-16T10:22:00.004-05:00

We took the kiddos to Arkansas to visit my Papaw for Easter. Anyone that knows me, knows that I ♥ my Papaw! I talk to him at least 1 a week and send him pictures of the kids every couple of months. He is such a wonderful man and I want my kiddos and myself to spend as much time with him as possible. Since he is very set in his ways, he is not much for flying or traveling the 5 hour road trip down here. We decided to load up the kids and take them to Arkansas for Easter.

I should also tell you that my Papaw is 1 of 10 children and a large majority of his siblings live very close to him (not to mention all of their children, and their children - you get the point), so we knew we were in for some card playin', coversation havin', showin' those babies off kinda time! Of course, like any parent we always relish in the moments that we get to show off the twins! We love taking them around family and being at my papaw's house just feels like a second home to me.

The babies traveled extremely well both to Arkansas and back home. They were little troopers the entire trip, despite hearing the word "No" at least a hundred times because my Papaw has tons of breakables in his house.

We bought them Plastic Easter eggs and they quickly proved the quote "One in the hand is worth two in the ~~bush~~ grass". Once they got ahold of 1 egg, they were content at leaving the rest lying on the ground.

IT was great seeing my papaw entertain them with little things like his coin holder than he keeps in his pant's pocket or to give them a piece of candy he had hidden in his front shirt pocket. All of these little things remind me of when I was younger and how he would entertain me with the same old tricks. I sure do love him so and L & M were pretty fond of him as well!

They loved the John Deere Car my Papaw brought out!

Trying to get my Papaw and daughter to smile at the same time was harder than one may think.

Here are some pictures of us on Easter Sunday (a special thanks to Granny (Patti) for the Awesome Easter Outfits) and let's not forget HE IS RISEN:

My Family..

My life and heart are so very full...I feel truly blessed!

My Loves

Handsome boys...

Simply Darling..

Stud Muffin

If you were wondering where Maddox's orneriness comes from...see picture below...

My Daily Dialogue

2011-04-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

I had an excellent English teacher when I was growing up. While I'm not a lyrical genius, I think I have a rather extensive vocabulary. However, since my children were born my vocabulary has become limited (don't get any wise ideas that this is because I used to speak like a sailor...that's not the case). It seems as if my vocabulary skills have been replaced by the repetition of a few specific phrases. Here are a few phrases that you will hear me say at least once on a daily basis.

"What is that?"

"Put that down"

"Spit it out!"

"Give it here"

"That's Ucky" (I'm not quite sure why Yucky has become Ucky - I blame my friend Jessica D.)

"You're shoo wee"

"Ewwww...gross"

"Don't put that in your mouth"

"Coooooody!"

"No"

"Where did this come from"

"When did you eat (insert food seen in their diaper)"

16 Months

2011-04-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

My babies are getting so big. Literally, they are growing taller everyday. Maddox is a little string bean. She is long and thin. Lukas is very tall, but he is built. Seriously, he looks like a mini-body builder and he is solid. He has been wearing a 2T for a couple of months now.

They both love being outside and we spend a majority of our day playing outside with bubbles, water, going on strolls etc. We recently purchased a new jogging stroller and our babies love it. They recline whilst getting jogged around the neighborhood. I also purchased our family a season pass to the Museum of Science & History that has a Children's Museum inside and they love it!

We also are in the middle of swimming lessons and they really enjoy it too. They can both hold their breath under water for 4 to 5 seconds and they will jump off the side of the pool into us, blow bubbles, and hold their selves above water on the side of the pool.

We took them to the dentist for the first time and the dentist said their teeth and gums looked great. We will take them back at their two year appointment. They still LOVE having their teeth brushed. They open their mouths really wide and go "UHHHHHHHH" while we are brushing their teeth.

Right now, they love to test their limits. If we tell Lukas not to do something, Maddox runs over and does the same thing. I think she just wants to see if the answer is No for her as well. Little stinker. We have been doing "time-out" as a form of punishment and it works really well. They actually sit in time-out for one minute and give hugs and love when it is over.

They jibber jabber all the time! We definitely think that they have been doing a little bit of "twin talk". Sometimes when Lukas is crying, Maddox will walk over and jabber to him. He has also jabbered to her and she will bring him something (a sippy or a toy).

Lukas has started a yelling phase. I never lived when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, but I'm pretty sure his yell sounds exactly like a pterodactyl. He loves to yell/screech in stores to get people's attention, whilst they look at me like my child is having a minor conniption. He's happy..no really..HE'S HAPPY!!!

That is all that is happening in our world. WE are traveling to Arkansas to visit my Papaw for Easter so say a quick prayer for safe travels!

Expectations

2011-04-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

"I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, then it is beautiful" - Fritz Perls

Maybe it was the "all nighter" I pulled with Lukas last night or just a lot of pondering I do when given a spare moment, but something got me thinking about expectations last night.

Life is full of expectations. The way we are raised, our life experiences, the relationships we have all shape our expectations. I would like to say that my parents set reasonable but high expectations on me as a child and I, in turn, have always placed high expectations on myself. This can be a blessing and a curse.

I think it is very important that I maintain a set of expectations in my life. I even think it is important that we have expectations of our family and friends. I mean, if we never expected much out of the people we associated with what stops us from hanging around with a "bad crowd" or lowering our own expectations in response to our environment. But where is the line in the sand? What happens when my expectations on someone, don't come close to the expectations they have on themselves? What about when their life experiences have lead them to draw different conclusions and expectations on a situation that don't match mine? When does placing my expectations on someone else, become selfish?

As I have grown up, I have realized on several occasions that my expectations don't necessarily meet other's expectations and vice versa. This has also become blatantly apparent while parenting. How I expect someone to react in a certain situation doesn't always happen and it can generate conflict. I even set expectations on the small inconsequential things that happen during a day. How I want my work day to go, how I want a special night with the husband to go, how I want my children to behave. Then, I get upset if everything doesn't go as I expected in my mental plan. Am I setting up someone for failure when I set expectations on them?

Here are a couple of examples:

When I ask Cody to take out the trash and he says, "Yes", I expect him to take it out right then. When I walk by 30 minutes later and the trash is still in the can, I get frustrated. My expectations on the time frame that the trash should be taken out wasn't the same as his. Will the trash get taken out? Yes. Will it be on my time frame? Not always.

Since the kids have been sleeping through the night for several months, we have come to expect that they will sleep solidly through the night. When we have a night that they wake several times & need assistance going back down or a morning that they wake up at 5:45 AM, we get frustrated, because our expectations on their sleep habits didn't get met.

I sometimes have to set back and re-evaluate a situation, really mull it over in my mind. Would I have gotten upset if I hadn't placed this un-needed expectation on them/the situation. If I look at it from another angle, can the "perfect" (insert plan foiled due to expectations) still be salvaged? Most of the time the answer is yes and a lot of the time some of the best things that ever happen to us are unexpected.

They See Me Strollin'.....

2011-04-07T06:00:00.001-05:00

....They Hatin'

Scared...

2011-04-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

This weekend marked the scariest moment of my life as a parent to date. The weekend started out fairly low key, just a visit with some friends at the park, then a date night at the Ranger's game on Saturday evening. However, Sunday aged me about 3 years...I would say 4 but that would make me in my thirties.

It was around noon and I was getting things ready for lunch and preparing stuff for dinner. The kiddos had already eaten lunch and were playing outside on the back patio. Lukas, being a ornery boy, kept going to this part of the back fence that he is not allowed to go due to wasps trying to make their nests. I had given him a piece of a Summer Berry Muffin and he was eating and playing.

After telling him no for about the 5th time, Cody picked up Lukas and brought him in the house. This made Lukas super mad. I noticed as Cody was carrying him and set him down that he was crying, but wasn't really making a sound and had his mouth full of muffin. I walked around the counter to go pick him up and get him to calm down. As I picked him up, I realized he had not taken a breath and he turned blue and went limp in my arms. Blue limp baby = freaked out mother. I yelled "Babe" to Cody and he ran around the counter to me, but I was blocking Lukas so he barely caught a glimpse of what was going on. He also had to tend to a screaming Maddox, who knew something was wrong and was scared too.

I had heard of toddlers getting upset and holding their breath till they passed out but I wasn't sure if he was choking or that he had gotten so worked up that he had forgotten to take a breath. I immediately flipped him over and administered a couple of back blows, then held him up pulled muffin out of his mouth and blew in his face. When I blew in his face, he took a breath. I could see that he was scared and for a second he just took in short jerky breaths, I watched him closely and patted him gently while walking around the living room. This all lasted about 30 seconds, but it felt like years. Within a few minutes he was up and running around the house as if nothing had happened, while I was in tears.

I still get teared up thinking about it. Needless to say, neither Cody or I were able to finish our lunch. I also had a small discussion with Lukas and explained to him that if he wanted his mom to live to a ripe ole age, he need not do something like that EVER again. It's always nice to see that you can handle a situation, but I hope we never have to be tested AGAIN.

Understood

2011-03-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

Before I was a mother there were several things that I never understood. In fact, some things that I would see parents do would shock and appall me. Having twins has given me a new appreciation for things and I see now that what once shocked me was all a misunderstanding. I have a created a list of things that I now understand as a parent.

I understand...

...why there is a lonely shoe in the middle of the aisle in a restaurant/grocery store/ any other public venue.

...how a parent could think that a leash connected to their toddler was a brilliant idea (I've never done this, but when L & M part waters upon hitting the ground it has crossed my mind)

...that sometimes my kids are going to look like heathens no matter how many times I've fixed their hair, washed their face and changed their clothes.

...that it is okay to put things that were once in their mouth into mine if there is A) not a trash can in site B) it makes them happy to shove things into my mouth as I "pretend" eat or C) cleaner than carrying around sticky slobbered sucker in my hand.

...why there is a shopping cart full of groceries/clothes etc. left in the middle of the store with no owner planning to come back to claim it.

...that a screaming child flailing about on the floor is no laughing matter (if it's mine) =)

...how a child could have a runny nose that hasn't been wiped (it's a never ending flow people)

...why instead of knowing the Top 20 Hits of today, I can sing every Disney song known to man :0)

...that the driver singing obnoxiously/or speaking overly exaggerated may be trying to entertain a toddler

...the origin of a "bag lady" (she was a mother of twins...for SURE)

Well that's a few of the most recent things I've come to understand; however, I'm pretty sure I will have many more of these as the kids get older.

L & M Dance

2011-03-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Upon the request of Morgan aka "Super Nanny", I purchased the Barenaked Ladies "Snacktime" CD. Who knew that the Barenaked Ladies would actually write children's songs? It is actually pretty darn funny and I can attest that it is enjoyable for me and the kids.

A lot of the songs are very upbeat with crazy sounds and silly lyrics. There are songs about Allergies, Bad Days, not wearing your sister's coat because you're a boy, popcorn popping...and so on and so forth.

After shots, Maddox wasn't feeling up to par so Morgan took the kiddos outside and put "Snacktime" on the iPod. Maddox was getting into the Popcorn song and Lukas decided he needed in on the action and here is the footage she caught...

15 Months

2011-03-23T19:00:00.000-05:00

I'm not even going to say it, but you know what I'm thinking. I cannot believe we are almost in the month of April and that my babies are a month older. <---- Technically, that didn't count as saying what I always say every month. It's a love/hate relationship that I have with time. I love all the new things that L & M are able to do, but I hate that the more they can do means the less I get to do for them.

They are a complete joy to be around with everyday. Even on bad days (caused by teething, illness or just a cranky day), there is always at least a few moments that make my day that much better!

I took them to the Pediatrician on Monday and my babies are getting so big. Lukas weighed 29.4 lbs and is 33.3" tall. He is in the 95 percentile for height, weight and head circumference. Maddox was 24.6 lbs and was 31" tall. She is in the 80 percentile for height, weight and head circumference. Dr. B said that they were ahead of schedule on most of their developmental milestones and that he doesn't see any developmental delays at this time. We are so happy that the twins are doing so well. Twins are at a higher risk for having developmental delays, because they are generally born pre-term. We feel extremely blessed everyday that our twins have been so very healthy.

We gave three vaccinations on this visit and let me tell you...the older they get, the harder it is on Mom. I think it's because they know someone is holding their legs and inflicting pain. My heart broke this round of shots. Even though they were happily sucking on a sucker within seconds of the shots, the thought of giving them again make me feel nauseated.

In other news, the twins have their first trip to the dentist on Friday. This is a simple visit to take a look at their many teeth to make sure that everything is coming in properly. I'll let you know how that goes in my next post.

As for now, that is all she wrote...I wrote...hmmm..you get the point!

OREO COOKIES....

SO SWEET...

HANDSOME DUDE!!

MISS THANG

Who Looks Like Whom?

2011-03-11T06:00:00.000-06:00

When you have a new baby, you always hear comments on who the baby resembles. We constantly hear "Maddox looks exactly like Sarah", "Lukas looks just like Cody", "I can't tell who they look like" or "They are a perfect mixture of both Sarah and Cody". Depending on who it is, sometimes they see it opposite of what I said before. We always find it interesting to hear what people think. Since we see them everyday, it is sometimes hard for us to decide who looks like who?

While home for Christmas, we gathered up some pictures of us at the 1 year of age. We thought it would be neat to see if they resembled us at the same age. Take a look below and then place your vote so that we can see who you think Maddox and Lukas favor at 1 year of age.

Here is a couple of pictures of me as a baby:

Here is a couple of pictures of Cody as a baby:

Now it's time to vote...

14 Months

2011-02-28T19:00:00.000-06:00

I'm afraid that my babies aren't babies anymore. Everyday they are doing something or acting in a way that seems so grown up. Everyone has always said that once you have kids, you blink and time has passed you by. It is so true. While I have loved every stage of their development, I have to say that this stage is SUPER fun! They are constantly doing things that bring a smile to my face.

Maddox

Right now, Maddox is doing lot's of new things. She has become an expert mimicker. She loves to mimic everything...from the words you say, to the sounds you make, to the inflection in your voice. She uses this new found skill to tick her brother right off. When Lukas gets upset and starts crying, Maddox starts mocking him and he gets SUPER mad SUPER fast. She then laughs at his pain....

I'm constantly amazed at the things she says and does. For example, if I start humming the Aggie War Hymn...she will go get her Reveille dog that dances and plays the Aggie War Hymn. If I say "I'm so Thirsty" she will bring me her pretend tea set so that we can play that she is giving me a drink. Both Lukas and Maddox love this pretend play. They offer me tea over and over and over and I say "Thank you" and pretend EVERYTIME. After we brush teeth before bed, we go rock in their bedroom and read a story. Maddox will go get a book and wait by the rocking chair after her teeth have been brushed....so sweet.

When asked Maddox will give high fives, clap, and raise her hands in the air. She can identify your nose, eyes, teeth and tongue. She is very chatty, despite the fact that we have no clue what she is saying half of the time.

Lukas

Lukas is his own little person and that person is ALL boy. He answers most questions and requests with grunts. He grunts in approval and in disapproval. It is hilarious. Sometimes you feel like you can have a complete conversation with him and his grunts. You ask him something like, "Lukas do you want more chicken?" he grunts a Yuh. It's perfect.

He doesn't identify things as much or go and get things like Maddox does. I think this is a difference between a girl and a boy as well as it really isn't a desire of his to point to my nose. He definitely does what he wants to do. He has also gotten very good and going limp and allowing his arms to dangle when you try to pick him up and move him somewhere he doesn't appreciate. He loves to play in dirt and put dirt in his mouth.

Lukas will give high fives and clap when asked. He can identify your nose and teeth.

That's about all I have for you right now! I'll try to update more frequently!

Toddler Foods

2011-02-16T06:00:00.002-06:00

As most of you know, I decided to make all of the twin's baby food homemade. Before I was pregnant, I had never even given a thought to making baby food. However, once I realized how simple it was I was on a mission to make sure that I homemade all of their baby food. I'm pretty proud to say I started it and stuck with it and never had to buy one jar of baby food.

As my kiddos have gotten older, it has definitely become more challenging to make foods that are not only healthy for them but that adhere to their special needs such as: being easy to chew, not too tough, bite sized etc. It's also hard not to get into food patterns, where I end up making the same things over and again because A) it's Easy and B) a Lack of Options

At my shower, I was given a book called "First Meals" by Annabel Karmel. It splits the recipes up by Age from 6 months to 7 years, snacks & family foods. The author has become a favorite of mine when it comes to making L & M's food. I followed her book Top 100 Baby Purees and now I utilize my new book to make their toddler foods. I like that I can double or triple the recipes and freeze the extras in meal size portions. This makes it nice when I've had a busy day to set out the food for the next day. Ms. Karmel also offers neat ideas that not only make the food look appealing, but are healthy and tasty too! You can visit her website at http://www.annabelkarmel.com/ for recipes as well.

Here are some of the things that are Sarah tested AND L&M approved (not all are from this author):

• Colorful Diced Vegetables & Orzo
• Finger Lickin' Chicken Potato Balls
• Vegetarian Croquettes
• Pancakes with Bananas, Cinnamon & Maple Syrup(so good Cody eats it)
• Root Vegetable Chips
• Spinach Stuffed Shells
• Mini Veggie Bites
• Pasta Cartwheels with Cheese & Broccoli
• Pasta & Sauce with Hidden Vegetables (soo good)
• Bow-tie pasta with ham & peas
• Chicken Apple Sausage Snails
• Apple, mango & apricot muesli
• Annabel's vegetable fritters
• Homemade Spaghetti O's
• Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes & Cheese

Some of the foods, I had never even heard of before making them but they all get the seal of approval from my kids. If you have any tried and true recipes that your kids love, feel free to post the recipe on my comments. I love offering new foods to the kiddos.

"No Man is a Failure Who Has Friends"

2011-02-08T20:00:00.004-06:00

The title of this post is a quote from one of my all time favorite movies, "It's A Wonderful Life". Cody and I watch that movie every year around Christmas time and sporadically throughout the year as we see fit. I thought about titling it "Snow Day", "Snowlicious", or perhaps even "Snowtastic", but the true meaning of this post comes from the title above.

Last week, Cody was out of town for work for the entire week. This is the second trip that he is taken in the last month wherein he has been gone for the entire week. I feel very proud of myself that I am able to take care of my family/"hold down the fort", while my husband is away. We miss Cody tremendously when he is gone, but ultimately, "I GOT this".

This last week produced lot's of snow. I mean if you check Facebook, Twitter or any other social network that streams status updates you would see that everyone's post revolved around the weather. Where am I going with this? Let me tell you.

On Monday night, I snuggled into my lonely bed and went to sleep. I woke up to the sound of the power shutting off. Great! I move to the guest bedroom so that I can hear the babies (without the use of a monitor). Around 7:00 am the power is back on and the kiddos are awake, so I rush around to get breakfast ready. As I flip the handle to the water, I realize our water has frozen . After checking all faucets, I find that the bathrooms are only producing cold water, there is no water in the kitchen, and no hot water anywhere (and didn't have hot water until Friday).

Around 8:00 am the power is back off, around 8:15 am the power is back on, around 9:00 am the power is back off, around 9:15 am the power is back on....UGH. So in one of the many power outages, my heater quits working. At first I hear the fan going, but when I stand under a vent it is just blowing cold air. At this point, I try to shut off the heater to stop the cold air but it won't shut off. I tuck the babies snug into their rooms for their morning nap and plug in a nice warm heater in their room. I called a company, Air Squad, to come out and fix our heater. They arrived within 30 minutes and took care of everything.

How does all this relate to my title you might ask? Well, while trying to deal with all the little issues around the house, I was overwhelmed with calls of concern and support from our friends who knew Cody was away. Our neighbors and great friends, The Pauls, called me everyday to check in and make sure we were okay. They offered their home and any other thing that I needed to help out. I also received calls from people I work with and several other friends offering help! Also, my super nanny, Morgan, stayed the night with me every night so that she could let me get some work done and help me out with the kids.

I can't help but feel truly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives. We sometimes feel very sad that we don't have family very close, but it is times like this that make us realize we have a wonderful set of friends that are like family to us.

So I want to say a special thanks to all those who called and offered help. You are greatly appreciated. I hope that we can offer the same kind of support whenever you are faced with adversity.

"One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." - Proverbs 18:24

{this moment}

2011-02-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo/video - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember forever for it is etched on my heart ♥

{this moment}

2011-01-28T06:00:00.002-06:00

13 Months

2011-01-25T19:00:00.000-06:00

The babies are growing and changing so much! They are at an extremely fun stage right now and we enjoy every minute of watching them grow. They have a lot of personality and are constantly leaving us in awe.

Right now, Lukas is working on all four molars top and bottom at 1 time. He is handling it wonderfully and we are blessed that he is being such a champ. Lukas is walking around everywhere and has now caught the dancing bug from his sister. If it's got a beat, Lukas likes to shake it to it! Whenever my cell phone goes off (which normally has some sort of obnoxious ringtone), Lukas stops what he is doing and shakes his booty.

He can sign the following:

Please

All Done

Milk (though he is very stubborn with this one)

Hungry

He says the following words consistently:

Momma

Dadda

Night Night

Nanna

Bye Bye

Ga Ga (not sure what this is for yet, maybe Lady Ga Ga...no?)

Maddox is still very busy. She is always moving! However, she is still very sweet and lovey too! Maddox will "give sugars" upon request. She LOVES Lady and Bodhi and is constantly trying to give them "sugars" or her food! She has a pair of sunglasses that she loves to wear around the house and likes to wear hats. Maddox is working on her molars as well. She handles it just as well as her brother.

Maddox signs:

All done

Please

Milk

Food

Maddox says these words consistently:

Momma

Dadda

Quit

Thank you (pronounced Tuh Choo)

It is hilarious to hear Maddox say Quit. When the dogs bark at the door, I tell them to Quit Barking. Maddox has picked up on the word and now when she hears the dogs barking she points and says "Quit". Oh, I just can't wait to see what other little sayings I have that will be brought to my attention :)

Nana came down and visited this weekend. The twins LOVE their Nana! Maddox snuggled and loved on her all weekend and didn't want to let her go. Lukas was just as friendly with his love! She is such a blessing to have down. She always knows exactly what to do and helps with everything. I guess that's just a great momma for you!

Anywho, That's all that is going on in our world right now! I'll leave you with a bunch of pictures...your favorite!

My Snack Cup Hoarder

No pictures please...

Here sis..you can have some of my eggs

Two Words...SLOPPY JOES

A Distinguished Gentleman

We ♥ Nana!!!

Momma's Hat

Busy Bee

{this moment}

2011-01-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

{this moment}

2011-01-14T06:00:00.002-06:00

Sick Babies

2011-01-11T18:00:00.003-06:00

When we came back home from A-Town both of our babies developed a cough and congestion. I blame the change in climates (dry to humid) and allergies. After a week of coughing, I took the babies in to see Dr. B. Turned out Lukas had a double ear infection and his sister had lot's of congestion that was causing wheezing.

Lukas was prescribed a Amoxycillin (which he has had 1 before for a sinus infection) and Maddox was given a medicine for Cough and Congestion. Two days after giving Lukas his medicine he was still running a 103 temperature and all he wanted to do was cuddle and be held. While I love holding my sweet baby, it isn't like him to not want to play. So I called the Pediatrician and we headed back to see them. Lukas's ears hadn't improved at all. Dr. B said that he had an infection that was resistant to Amoxycillin and prescribed a stronger antibiotic.

We gave him his medicine this weekend and then on Sunday when I put Lukas in the bath..this is what I noticed...

UGH!!! I immediately called our on-call pediatrician and informed them of this breakout/rash. She told me to take some pictures with my iPhone, give him some benadryl and bring him in first thing in the morning. We took him to Dr. B yesterday. He took a look at the pictures and Lukas's current rash and determined that he was allergic to Penicillin! His ears were still infected, because he hasn't been on the right medicine!

We are now on Azithromycin and hoping that Lukas will be much better soon! He has handled everything like a champion and we are so proud of him. Maddox seems to be on the up and up, so we are hopeful that she stays that way!

I'm taking both babies to see our chiropractor Dr. Wright! Hopefully, we can get some adjustments to help get rid of these nasty ear infections!

Wish us Luck!!

Resolutions...

2011-01-06T06:00:00.003-06:00

I've never been a big resolution person. I feel that I should strive all through the year to accomplish my goals and goals change as new circumstances enter and exit your life. I feel that a resolution, especially in the New Year, is usually a set up for failure. It is something very broad or so specific that it can be unattainable.

This year I have decided to work on a "resolution" for myself. I'm not going to say that I want to be in better shape/lose all the baby weight I gained, be the perfect wife, mother, friend, or become a better Christian. Those are all things that I want and I will work towards everyday, but this year I want to do something different. This year I want to be happy where I am RIGHT NOW, not where I want to be when ..."insert desire here".

I'm going to strive to be happy in my own skin exactly where I am. I want to live in this moment. I want to enjoy everything that I consider an "imperfection" in my life, because that is, after all, what makes it my life. I am going to accept compliments, want less, give more, smile because I can, and love with everything I've got.

That's my "resolution"...that's my goal and that's my plan for my 2011!

"And don't be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there." -1 Corinthians 7:17

1 Year Stats

2011-01-03T06:00:00.004-06:00

Sorry that it has been a while since I updated, but with birthdays, travel and Christmas we have been super busy!

On Monday, December 20th, I took the babies to their 1 year well baby check. Dr. B was impressed with their stats and with their capabilities! As always, I will break them up so that you can see what they both can do individually!

Lukas

Lukas was 31.5" long and 25lbs 6oz in weight. He is still our "big boy". Dr. B says that he is still the ideal weight for his height and he is amazed that Lukas has grown so much.

I say this all the time, but Lukas is definitely a boy! He loves to rough house and bang things around. We have been struggling a little bit recently with him pulling hair and hitting. He generally starts out being sweet, but then he gets very rough. So we are having to work on showing him "gentle touches" and taking away toys when he hits his sister.

Lukas walks around everywhere and reaches things we thought were "high enough". He is still a lover and gets his heart broken when he is told "no" or "removed from the situation". He currently has 8 teeth and is working on his back molar. He loves when it is time to brush his teeth and is such a big help. Right now, Lukas loves when you "get him". When he walks away from you, if you make growling noises and hit the floor like you are coming after him, he squeals with delight and runs back to you laughing. Then wants to do it again...and again...and again!

Lukas says "Momma", "Dadda", Night Night (which sounds like Nigh Nigh), and Nana. His favorite foods are Mangoes, Mandarin Oranges, Enchiladas, Apple-Chicken Nuggets, Clementine's and Cinnamon Banana Pancakes.

Lukas Loved Nana's Pork & Beans!

Lukas & Daddy

Maddox

Maddox was 30" tall and weighed 20lbs 5 oz. She is still our "petite girl". Maddox is in the higher percentiles along with her brother, but comparatively, she seems alot smaller. Dr. B says that Maddox is the ideal weight for her height.

Maddox is running everywhere and climbing onto things like boxes, fireplaces, window seats. If she can climb it, she will! Recently, we have had to watch Maddox because she constantly steals Lukas's toys...that or she distracts him with another toy then takes the one she is really after! We watch her close and make sure that she doesn't take his toys as much. She is also going through a phase where she likes to bring things to you and then take them back. It's a game she likes to play. She brings me a toy and I tell her "Thank You"...then she quickly wants it back in her possession.

Maddox has 8 teeth and is currently working on another 1. She loves to brush her teeth, too. Recently, Maddox is able to identify things in books such as: point to the ball, etc. If I tell her to go get Elmo and bring him to me, she will bring me Elmo. She also loves to DANCE...if she hears music she "shakes her booty". See below:

Maddox likes to eat with a spoon, though she doesn't accomplish much with it. She usually puts the food on the spoon with her hand and then puts it in her mouth. Dr. B says that eating with a spoon is an 18 month skill, so I say it's a pretty good start!

Maddox can say "Momma", "Dadda", and "Hi"...much to our dismay, she also says what sounds like S***. We can't tell what she is trying to say it's like a mixture of "this" and it comes out as as "S***". Maddox's favorite foods are: Mangoes, Corn, Apple-Chicken Nuggets, Clementine's, any kind of bean, and ORANGE SHERBET!

Maddox loves Rocking Animals

Both of the babies are doing so well! They are both off of bottles and formula. They drink organic whole milk out of sippy cups! I can't believe they are already so grown up! Each day they do something that amazes me. Thanks for keeping up with us!

Maddox loves her new Car from Nana!

Making sure Lukas treats the car with Care...

"Here sis, let me push you" ***I'll teach her to steal my toys***

Grams & Popaw with the Grandies

A Week of Firsts....

2010-12-20T22:43:00.000-06:00

This week marked a lot of "firsts" in our babies lives. I will go in order!

1) Lukas & Maddox spent their first week with their new nanny, Morgan.

We recently hired a new nanny and her name is Morgan. After interviewing her, we immediately felt that she was the perfect fit for our family. She is high energy, loving and fun. The twins immediately took to her and so have we. It also helps that we have several strange coincidences, such as she was born and raised around our home town in the Texas panhandle, she is an Aggie (WHOOP) and her Uncle is the OBGYN that delivered both of our nieces! It is a small world let me tell you and we are super happy to have her in our home!

2) Lukas & Maddox celebrated their 1st Birthday!

On Saturday (December 18th), we had a huge birthday party for Lukas and Maddox. Several of our friends and family were in attendance and we had a great time! My sister, Courtney, came down and helped me get ready for the event and my friend Missy made decorations and cupcakes and the cakes too! My great friend, Richard, helped cater the event and made tons of great food!

Lukas was "all boy" while digging into his cake, while Maddox took the cleaner route and licked icing off of a single finger. We are soo thankful for all our friends and family that made it out and brought us a plethora of wonderful gifts. Everything turned out perfectly and we enjoyed sharing this special day with the ones we love most!

3) Lukas & Maddox had their first haircut (or trim, I should say)

After all the excitement from the birthday party, we decided to kick back and relax on Sunday. Plus, the children wanted to play with EVERY single new toy they had received. My sister, Courtney, took the opportunity to give our sweet angels their first haircut. I call it a haircut, but it was a simple trim to cut off little ends and help shape the hair style so that it wasn't in their eyes and so that it can grow longer and fuller. It makes me happy that their first haircut was done by their Aunt CoCo. We are soo thankful that she came down to visit!

We have been busy and it doesn't look like much is going to slow down in our near future. This week we are headed to A-Town to celebrate Christmas (and birthday) with all of our family. We are super excited to share these special times with our family and can't wait to see everyone!

A Birthday Letter for my babies...

2010-12-18T06:00:00.003-06:00

My dearest Lukas & Maddox,

One year ago today, God blessed me with a 7lbs 7oz baby boy and a 5lbs 13oz baby girl. You were a long awaited answered prayer. A dream that your father and I had from the time we planned our future together.

For 36 weeks and 4 days, I dreamed of what you would look like and prayed for your safe arrival. I enjoyed every moment of carrying you both. I would sing Coldplay to you in the bathtub (that was after all the first concert you both attended) and Cody would read you a story every night. Though we already had a bond so strong, nothing could have prepared me to meet you.

When I saw you both for the first time, I immediately felt a love that I had never known. As I held you both for the first time, at the same time, I knew then and there that my life would never be the same again.

Our first year with you has been the highlight of our lives. The joy you have given Cody and I is hard to describe. You give us hope, happiness, laughter, and love. We also have never worried about someone as much as we have worried about you both. Our lives are so full that we cannot imagine them without you.

Maddox - We love your independent personality and your ability to light up a room. You have often been described by our family and friends as a "pixie", because of your petite build and nimble movements. We love the way you dance around and laugh so sweet. You always have a smile on your face and a plan in your mind. We love the way you are enamored by the small details around you and how you never stop. You are everything we could want in a baby girl. We have such dreams for you in our heads and while we can't wait to see the lady you will become, we enjoy you being our baby girl.

Lukas - We love your sweet, loving nature. You love to give hugs and kisses to the ones you care for the most. Nana has always said you have "soulful eyes". Your boisterous laugh touches our hearts and makes anyone within earshot smile. You are soo playful and ornery at the same time. Everyone that meets you says you are "all boy". We love your out-going personality and your love of attention. You are everything we could want in a baby boy. We know you have a wonderful future ahead of you, and while we can't wait to see the amazing man you will become, we enjoy you being our baby boy.

Lukas and Maddox, I hope you always know that you bless my life. I hope I never forget to tell you everyday that I love you and that you are the world to me. I know I kiss you so much that you can't stand it sometimes, but you should know now that will never change. I thank God everyday for you. This first year of your life has been one of the best years of mine. I love you soo very much!

Mom

Family Pictures

2010-12-14T20:41:00.000-06:00

Anytime Cody and I need great pictures quickly, we turn to my good friend Missy Flint with Melissa Ellen Studios. Recently, we wanted a few family pictures taken since the kids are almost 1. Missy came through... again...and the pictures turned out wonderfully! Here are a few of our favorites...

{this moment}

2010-12-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo/video - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember forever for it is etched on my heart ♥

Recently, Maddox has been crinkling her nose and snorting. She thinks it is hilarious. I blame this new found trick on my friend, April. April has boy/girl twins also. She came over one day and was imitating how Charlotte, her little girl, "snorts" when she gets excited. Ever since Maddox has seen this "snort" she can't get enough it!

This also proves that I am a mother in love. No matter how silly the habit is...it is alway the cutest thing ever when my kids do it!

Enjoy..

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2010-12-02T06:00:00.001-06:00

This year, we decided that instead of driving 5 hours to A-Town for Thanksgiving we would fly. Yes, you read it correctly. Cody and I decided to fly with twins to A-town. We figured that this way we would get to spend more time with family and less time traveling.

We left last Wednesday at 8:30 am. Despite the "death stares" we received as we boarded the plane, the one hour flight wasn't too shabby at all. Lukas had a couple of fussy moments (that lasted a total of 1 or 2 minutes on the plane) then we were all a go. However, when we landed in A-Town before exiting the plane, Miss Maddox decided she had enough of sitting still and it was past her nap time. She proceeded to make me and EVERYONE on the plane aware of her unhappiness. This, however, was short lived as soon as we were allowed to stand she was a happy camper.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We spent it with Cody's family. Ione and Kylene prepared a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. They took care of everything all weekend and we were super Thankful because traveling had worn us out. We got to see our nieces, Lauren and Ally. They are soo good with the babies and kept them pretty busy the entire time. Brandon, Kylene's husband, cooked an awesome steak and shrimp dinner and prepared some awesome Chiladas.

We spent the evenings at my mom's house, so that we could put the twins down for bed every night around the same time. We loved getting to see my entire family as well.

The babies came down with a nasty cold on our trip and were super fussy, so Cody and I dreaded the flight home. Of course, our babies decided to nap early and ended up waking up at 10 am and our flight was at 12:30 pm. We got to the airport and checked in and were told our flight was delayed for 15 to 20 minutes. After making 20 or so laps around the airport letting Miss Maddox and Mr. Lukas do as much walking as they wanted, we finally boarded the plane.

We took off and things were going great, if Lukas started getting fussy a sweet guy behind us wearing sunglasses would raise them up so Lukas could see his eyes then put them back down...this "game" pleased Lukas very much and quickly cheered him up.

Towards the end of the flight we busted out suckers. We have only given our babies suckers once before, so you can imagine the delight they had when given this sugary treat.

**A word of advice when giving a sucker to an 11 month old, be prepared to look like plastic by the end of the sucker. Sucker slober kisses will make you and your babies look like you were made by Mattel. Maddox even enjoyed a game of put the sucker in Mommy's mouth and quickly pull it out (the aim and distance perception of an 11 month old isn't 100% let me tell you), but all that mattered is they were happy the ENTIRE flight. Happy babies = happy parents!

We got home around 3:00 pm and you could tell the babies were so much more at ease once we started playing with their toys in their environment.

After putting the babies to bed at 7, you would think that Cody and I would crash out. However, Cody and I are very impatient people and we have a Playroom design set up for our kids and couldn't wait to start our project. We ended up buying paint and painting the entire playroom that night! We are super excited to finish it up for Lukas and Maddox's first birthday present!

Anywho, that is all that is going on in our world. We are back to our home, our dogs, our schedule and our life. So blessed we are...

Next up...Family pictures taken by the fabulous Missy Flint!

Thankful

2010-11-23T06:00:00.001-06:00

In lieu of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I've decided to list a few things for which I am thankful.

I am thankful for...
1. My personal Lord and Savior
2. The love of my life, Cody Glen
3. My perfectly healthy, beautiful babies - Lukas Glen & Maddox Avery
4. The relationship I have with my mother, step-mother, and father
5. My siblings (blood related and in-law)
6. Our family (near and far)
7. The wonderful set of friends that we have (old and new)
8. The support we receive daily from everyone in our lives
9. Babies that sleep through the night.
10. Two sweet puppies, who tolerate ear pulls and ~~bites~~ kisses!
11. A new arrival (Finley) for some of our besties, Katie & Martin
12. Our jobs.
13. The home and life, Cody and I have built together.
14. Our health and wellness.
15. Our children's happiness.
16. I'm thankful for YOU...who continues to check in and take part in our lives!

I am soo excited for the upcoming holiday season. I know the babies won't understand gifts, Thanksgiving or Christmas..but I have ALWAYS loved being around all of our family and just enjoying each other. I love the feeling of snuggling up and just feeling cozy with the ones I love. We are flying for the first time with babies, so say a prayer and wish us luck! We get to spend Thanksgiving with Cody's family this year and we are super excited to see our nieces and Grams.

Anywho, here are a few pictures for you to enjoy! I've been bad on taking some recently so these are a bit old :)

{this moment} - Lukas's First Steps

2010-11-11T06:00:00.001-06:00

Today, I'm combining my weekly {this moment} with a post that gets me super excited!

Lukas has recently started taking an interest in walking! He stands on his own easily, but up until last week he hadn't shown any interest in taking those first steps.

He is doing a really good job and he is so proud of himself when he walks to us. It is so precious because everytime he walks to Cody or I, he turns and looks at the other parent to make sure they were watching! He gets the biggest smile on his face and even Maddox grins from ear to ear watching him.

Of course, the moment I get the video camera out he is hesistant to walk. However, after a bit of coaxing we got a small video of some of his first steps.

{this moment}

2010-11-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

BOO!

2010-11-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

Lukas and Maddox had their first Halloween! We didn't take them Trick or Treating, because they really aren't old enough to understand the concept. However, we did dress them up and let them sit outside and watch us hand out candy.

This year we decided to dress them as Pebbles & Bam Bam. I'm sure this is the first in a long list of ideas we can come up for a boy and a girl...at least until they start choosing what they wish to be. I looked everywhere for a costume but no one sold them in their size. Ione, Cody's Mom, offered to sew them their first costumes!

She did a super job. They fit perfectly and were so cute. I love that their first costumes were homemade for several reasons. 1) No one else has the exact same costume... 2) It is something special that will go in their baby book as made by their Grams!

The babies looked precious; however, they weren't fans of getting their pictures made once they were all dressed up..so here is what I got!

Pebbles

BAM BAM

PEBBLES & BAM BAM

10 Months

2010-10-30T06:00:00.004-05:00

It seems like yesterday that I was telling the birth story and now here we are 10 months later...only 2 months away from being 1 year olds!

What's been going on these days? A LOT! We were recently visited by Cody's parents, Ione & Terry, sister, Kylene and our nieces - Lauren and Ally. We were super excited that everyone got to come and visit and we got to enjoy our nieces for a few days! They, too, are growing up soo quickly! I remember vividly waiting at the hospital for Kylene to deliver Lauren...and now Lauren is in 1st grade.

Both of our babies are developing new skills everyday and are learning all about the world around them.

Lukas

Lukas is still our flirt. He loves attention and will be very silly/loud to get that attention. Everytime we go somewhere Lukas is making eyes with someone. I would say that he would be a heartbreaker, but he is sooo sweet. He is also a lover. He loves to gives kisses, hugs and just cuddle at times. Ladies be warned...you break my son's heart...I'm gonna break your... I digress.

Lukas has 6 teeth. He has three on the bottom and three on the top! His wide mouth grin looks soo stinkin' cute with those two front teeth showing. However, with this new development we have had to watch them both for biting. He has also started showing us a few temper tantrums (no clue where he gets that from) Sometimes he gets cranky and just lays his face on the floor and fusses. It is pretty hysterical and we have to try hard not to laugh at his "anger".

Lukas stands on his own, waves, says "Mama" & "Dada", eats pretty much anything he can get his hands (esp. if it's on Maddox's tray) and plays roughly with all of his toys. We took him for a shots only visit with Dr. B and he is weighing in at 23.6 lbs.

Maddox

Maddox is our busy bee. She is completely walking on her own now! At around 9.5 months she was taking steps, but now she is full blown walking. She goes EVERYWHERE in a hurry!

Maddox, too, is a sweetheart. She hasn't met a stranger and she is always loving anyone who holds her. She will melt your heart. I'm glad she will have a big brother to watch over her, though I think she will be able to take care of herself. It's nice to know they will always have each other.

Maddox has 6 teeth; four on top and 2 on bottom. She walks everywhere, eats pretty much anything, carries objects around as she is walking, waves, says "Mama" & "Dada" and is still very interested in jewelry/bling. When we took her to Dr. B, she weighed 19.6. She is our petite little girl.

When you pick Maddox up, she feels lighter than she looks as opposed to Lukas who feels heavier than he looks! Both babies are sleeping through the night and both are Pacifier free! Woo Hoo!

Attacking Aunt Ky..

Cousin Lauren was AWESOME with the babies...

Both babies are doing wonderfully and we couldn't love our family of four more!

{this moment}

2010-10-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

Triatholon Daddy...

2010-10-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Cody has always wanted to run a Triatholon. It is one of the things on his "bucket list". This year he decided to sign up and train for a Sprint Triatholon. Basically, you have to swim 300 meters, bike 12 miles, and finish with a 5k run.

This last weekend Cody completed his first triatholon. We couldn't be prouder of him. He did an amazing job and had his family there cheering him on the entire way. It is so refreshing when you see the one you love complete a life goal. I have to admit I got pretty emotional walking up to watch him compete. I cheered so loudly that I can foresee me being "that mom" in the stands for our children. Nevertheless, we were glad that we could share in this day with Cody.

Swimming 300 Meters...

Changing into his Bike Gear after the Swim....

12 Mile Bike Ride down...5K left to go..

Waiting for the finish...

DONE!!!

So Proud of our Triatholon Daddy!

To show their support...I made Maddox and Lukas shirts that said "Team Mixon".

{this moment}

2010-10-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

Bye Bye Pacies!

2010-10-20T06:00:00.002-05:00

Cody and I were never huge Pacifier fans. In fact, it took us a while to come around to giving our babies a pacifier at all. We knew of several of our friend's babies that wouldn't take a pacifier, so we weren't going to give it to them unless they seemed to want it.

At 2 weeks, we gave them a pacifier and had accumulated about 20 total over the last several months. Anytime one touched the ground we sterilized them and we were always loaded pocket to purse with a paci.

At about 7 months we started debating when to take away their beloved paci. We didn't want it to become a crutch for us or them, and I guess it's also a major peeve of mine when I see a grown child sucking on a pacifier.

We started giving the babies their pacies only at nap and nightime. During the day we would put the pacies away unless there was some sort of complete melt down that required extra calming assistance.

We decided at 10 months the pacifiers would go "Bye Bye". We decided this time because we thought it would be better to get rid of them before they had given it a name (and could ask for it) and before they would actually hunt for it if it wasn't around.

Saturday, October 16th, two days before they were 10 months old, Cody and I threw away the pacies. (We put two away in a safe place, just in case we needed it)

Our babies did and are doing AMAZING! We had a little fussing at nap time, but after about 10 minutes they were both sound asleep. At the second nap of the day, they fussed for about 5 minutes. Then at bedtime, there was no fussing just sleep and they slept ALL night without their pacies. The next day was even better!

We are soo happy that they are gone and that it went so well. I think we would have ditched them sooner had we known it would go so smoothly. We dreaded it more than the babies did. I think that also told us that it was a good time to "lose" them.

I'm soo excited because no more pictures will have a pacifier in them! YAY!

Here is Lukas showing off his crazy hair and two front teeth!

Sweet baby Girl...

My family ♥

------Hi-------

2010-10-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

Lukas and Maddox wave these days and it is sooo precious. Of course, they wouldn't both wave at the same time BUT I caught them both!

{this moment}

2010-10-15T06:00:00.004-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

Teething & Talking

2010-10-10T15:48:00.001-05:00

Lukas and Maddox are both in the middle of getting new teeth. Currently, Maddox has two bottom teeth and is working on getting all four of her front top teeth. If you notice in recent pictures, Maddox does this really odd looking thing with her mouth that looks like she is pouting! She is really grinding her teeth together! AHHHH the sound drives me crazy!

Lukas has his two bottom teeth and is working on getting his two front teeth. They look HUGE compared to the two bottom teeth!

They have both been a bit more irritable than usual and are experiencing some of the other wonderful symptoms of teething, but for the most part, they are handling it like champions!!! They have been a bit restless at night and it breaks our hearts when they wake up in pain, but we do enjoy snuggling and rocking them back to sleep.

Up to this point, Lukas has been our talker. He is constantly jibbering sounds. However, last week he started saying "Mama" and not just as a noise....if he see's me...he says "Mama"! Let me tell you, it is MUSIC to my ears! When his Nana visited after a lot of coaxing, she got him to say "Nana" too! She best be glad he had said "Mama" first, or she would have been in BIG trouble!

Maddox is was our quieter child. However, she has recently begun to scream and jabber very loudly. IT almost sounds like she is singing at times. It is precious. Cody got up with her the other morning and spent some Daddy/daughter time in the floor playing, while I got to sleep in. From the bedroom, I hear Maddox talking and then all of a sudden she starts saying "Dada"! I'm gone for 30 minutes and look what happens! Ugh!

I guess it is best that Lukas said "Mama" first and Maddox said "Dada" first, BUT I wouldn't have cared one bit if they both had said "Mama" first! :-)

Here are some recent pics of the babies...

{this moment}

2010-10-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember forever for it is etched on my heart ♥

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

Nana Visits!!!

2010-10-04T20:56:00.000-05:00

My mom, aka Nana, came down to visit her grandbabies. She got to stay with us for a whole week! I don't know about you, but things are just better when my momma is around!! Our babies were super excited to see her and she even had Lukas saying "Nana" by the end of her visit.

My mom always brings Lukas and Maddox a "Sussy". What is a Sussy you might ask? Well I had the same question when everytime she visited, she would mention that she was bringing a sussy. After some research, I found out that a sussy is a gift given for no reason. How cute is that?

When I think back to my childhood days with my Papaw & Mamaw (though I didn't know what it was called) they always had a sussy for me as well. It was usually something simple like a Werther's Original in his front pocket, but my Papaw was always prepared for my visits to his house or lap :)

I'm glad to know that the tradition will pass on to my children!

Here are some pictures from her visit...

I ♥ my Momma!!!

{this moment}

2010-10-01T09:52:00.000-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

9 Months

2010-09-27T06:00:00.004-05:00

Holy Moly where has the time gone?!?

Last week, I took Maddox and Lukas to their 9 month well-baby check-up. Dr. B was very impressed at how much they have grown. As usual, I'm going to split this up by baby so they each get their chance in the spotlight!

Maddox

Maddox weighed 17 lbs 5oz (50th percentile) and was 27.5" long (75th percentile). Dr. B said when looking at her height to weight ratio, she was the "perfect" weight for her height! WOO HOO!

Maddox's Milestones
• Crawls
• Pulls ups
• Stands alone unassisted (this is funny to watch, because she will let go of you and stand on her own then sit down and shake her head no)
• Shakes her head No
• Waves
• Uses a Sippy Cup
• Has two teeth on top and two teeth on bottom

Maddox's Food Faves
• Grilled chicken, Hamburger meat, Tilapia (or anything meat)
• Beans (Black, Garbanza, Pinto, Black eyed peas)
• Kiwi
• Sweet Potatoe Fries (Cinnamon, EVOO, & a little Sea Salt baked to perfection)
• Oatmeal with Yogurt
• Blueberries

Maddox has actually become really interested in anything that we are eating. This makes it very hard for me to eat, because anything I have she wants.

What's in your wallet?

Lukas

Lukas weighed 21 lbs 4 oz (75th percentile) and was 29.5" long (95th percentile). Dr. B again said when looking at his height to weight ratio he was the "perfect" weight for his height. WOO HOO (again)!

Lukas's Milestones
• Crawls (my iPhone was replaced so I lost the video :( I'll get one soon)
• Pulls up (however, once he is up..he isn't sure how to get down so he gets pretty fussy because he won't let go and actually sit down)
• Stands alone unassisted
• Waves
• Does the "More" sign
• Uses a Sippy Cup
• Babbles (Ma Ma, Ba ba Ba, Buh Buh Buh)

Lukas's Food Faves
• FRUIT (he loves, Peaches, Pears, Kiwi, Strawberries etc)
• Chicken
• Yogurt and Oatmeal
• Carrots
• Cheese
• Sweet Potato Fries

Both of the babies had to get tested for anemia. Which means they had to have their fingers pricked and held until enough blood could fill a vile. Lukas was a champion and it didn't take him long to fill the vile (and he didn't cry once). Maddox had to be pricked twice and even though it took a while to fill her vile, she didn't cry once either!

Dr. B and his Nurse J both commented on how happy and well behaved our children were.

I always recommend using Diapers.com . We have found that they offer the best price we can find for formula and diapers (Tax free and with free 2 day shipping) AND their customer service is outstanding! It also helps us to budget how much we are spending on diapers and formula. Their slogan is "We deliver everything but the baby"....hmmm.. Maddox and Lukas seem to be pretty big fans of the shipping boxes:

I found these SUPER cute Texas A&M outfits that I HAD to have for game days...after calling and locating..begging and pleading..I finally found them and had them shipped to me from College Station..

Lastly, my son found the Boudreaux's Butt Paste....ugh

{this moment}

2010-09-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

{this moment}

2010-09-17T09:26:00.000-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

My Testimony

2010-09-13T06:00:00.003-05:00

Cody and I are so very Thankful for our children. I've never really discussed our journey to Twins, so today, I'm going to give you a synopsis. I should warn you that this post may be TMI for some, but I'm ready to share our story and my testimony.

In June of 2008, Cody and decided that we were ready to start a family. We stopped all forms of birth control and went on a nice relaxing vacation to Puerto Rico (we figured we would need it, because we would be parents soon). Little did we know, the road ahead was going to be a bumpy one. After I stopped taking the pill nothing happened and by nothing I mean no period or ovulation. We waited and waited. I charted my basal body temperature, used ovulation predictors (OPK's) and every other thing you could think of to help the fertility process. Several of our friends became pregnant during this time. I'm not sure if it was our deep desire for a baby that made us notice EVERYTHING related to babies or if it really was everywhere. I started feeling sad, bitter, and emotional about everything. I prayed and prayed that we would get pregnant.

In October in an attempt to let my body regulate itself without the use of medications, we tried accupuncture for 12 bi-weekly sessions. At the beginning of November and my second to last accupuncture treatment, I started. WOO HOO. We were so excited. That excitement soon turned to heartache when the time of the month approached in December and nothing happened. I wasn't pregnant and hadn't started.

I called my OBGYN and scheduled an appointment. They would see me the end of December. I met with my doctor and explained everything. He told me it sounded like I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and gave me a shot of Progesterone to initiate a cycle and said sometimes it "resets" the body. He also told me "that it takes a 'healthy' average couple 6 mos to a year to conceive". I had read that...I had read everything. I was hopeful. I charted diligently and tested. January came and went....nothing happened. Two more shots of a higher dose of progesterone, several blood tests and a Hysterosalpingogram test later, we were in the month of March and it was determined that I had PCOS and I was not ovulating.

Emotionally, I was distressed. I'm not sure how Cody was able to handle me, because I was an anger ball. I was mad, sad, disappointed, frustrated, happy, tired, persistant, defeated and heartbroke. At this point, I felt that "trying" was pointless because I wasn't ovulating and there was no "chance" of getting pregnant. I convinced myself that I would be happy with a mere chance and I prayed for that.

I was mad at God. I prayed and prayed to conceive and it wasn't happening. Of course, I did the "why me?" and shook my fist at my God. My anger soon turned to despair and I realized that I could no longer handle the situation on my own. My emotions were getting the best of me and I had to let go and let God.

I started a prayer journal. Each day I would pick a bible verse that related to a certain emotion I was feeling and I would write about it. I thought this would be an awesome way to track my journey and to have something that I could show my kids in the future. In my journal, I prayed, discussed and really conversed with God.

The story I'm about to tell took me by surprise. I'm not one that really believes in signs or things to that affect, but something happened during my journaling that changed my attitude and my journey.

On Tuesday, March 24th I wasn't feeling any particular feeling so I did the ole close your eyes, flip to a page, point and read trick. (What? You don't do that?) =)

The first verse that I stumbled upon was Judges 13:5 "Because you WILL conceive and give birth to a son" I read the words over again and laughed to myself. Cody was standing in the kitchen and I read the verse to him and said wasn't it funny that I would happen upon that verse. I decided it was a fluke and I didn't feel like writing about that so I was going to pick another verse.

I closed my eyes flipped and pointed to Genesis 18:13-14 "Then the Lord said to Abraham, 'why did Sarah laugh and say will I really have a child now that I am old?' 'Is there anything too hard for the Lord?' I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

I still get chills to this day. I was called out...by name no less. Needless to say, I journaled about those verses. Call it strange coincidence, but I call it amazing grace. My hope/faith was renewed and I was ready to face my fertility journey. Bring on the rain!

After researching my condition and presenting a very convincing argument to my doctor, he agreed to let us try a fertility treatment. Usually, fertility meds aren't prescribed until you have been unsuccessful after a year of trying to conceive. We were at 10 months and I was adamant that we try something since I wasn't ovulating and I needed a chance! He informed us of the risks of the fertility drug Clomid (mainly ovarian cysts, irritability, mood swings). He also told us that it would increase our chance of having twins by 10% (I call that a reward not a risk). A normal person has around a 5% chance of having twins, so ultimately we would have a 15% chance of having twins.

We tried Clomid in April. I took one small white pill once a day for 5 days, charted my temperatures and used OPK's. Holy Moly! I got a positive OPK. That was the first time I had ever seen a positive on one of those tests. I prayed that we would get pregnant and if not, that I would at least cycle normally so that we could try again the next month. A week later, I started feeling really light headed when I stood up and working out was making me exhausted. I had read that Clomid side effects can mimic those of pregnancy, so I wasn't about to get my hopes up. This, of course, was only my first round of clomid and though I only prayed for a chance...it couldn't happen that fast.

Wednesday, April 29th; I took a pregnancy test...no surprise I'm not pregnant. I don't tell Cody about the test, because it was a few days too early to test. (I'm impatient okay? You know it, I know it...blah blah blah) Saturday, May 2nd; Cody and I lay in bed together talking about whether or not I should test (again). He knows me too well and finally said, "if you don't test your just going to sit here and worry about it." I go to the bathroom and take a test...nothing happens. I'm about to walk into the bedroom when I notice a faint positive. No way...not after 1 dose of Clomid. I quickly grab another brand and take another test (at this point I was a pee stick connoisseur..I had EVERY brand people) This one was even more visibly positive than the first.

I had thought of several neat ways to tell Cody he was going to be a daddy, but none of them happened. I walked out of the bathroom shaking and said "You're going to be a daddy". Cody, who was laying face down on the bed, lifted his head and said "Are you joking with me?" I told him I would not joke about that and he jumped up and hugged me so close. (I found out later he was laying face down praying over and over.."Please let Sarah be pregnant")

We were elated. At Eight Weeks ...we found out we were having twins. Fast forward to December of 2009 and we had two beautiful, perfect babies in our arms. So a year after reading that verse...I not only gave birth to a son but I also had a daughter. Prayers more than fulfilled! Hallelujah! We are so grateful!

We tell our children all the time how much we love them. I can't wait to share with them that they are living proof that prayers do get answered. Not only do they have a wonderful father here on Earth, but a heavenly father that will always see that they get exactly what they ~~WANT~~ NEED!

Thank you for sharing in my journey...

"Be still and know that I am God" - Psalm 46:10

{this moment}

2010-09-10T06:00:00.002-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

Giggle Boxes

2010-09-07T20:48:00.003-05:00

This weekend we had several visitors! My parents came down on Thursday and stayed with us till Sunday morning. We were super excited to get to see them and our babies loved the attention from their Poppa and Pappi! Patti walked Maddox around everywhere and I'm pretty sure she has jump started her into walking!

On Sunday, Cody's parents came up and spent Sunday and Monday with us. Needless to say, our babies were in attention heaven!

While I was cooking dinner Sunday, Cody's mom was entertaining the babies. She started singing "The Wheels on the bus go round and round". I'm not sure if it was Ione's lack of knowing the words or if I missed a line from the sheet music but the song ended up going something like this "the wheels on the bus go round and round and they all fall down go BOOM". Either way, Maddox was a HUGE fan of the BOOM part of the song! She thought it was hysterical. She got to laughing so hard, that she ended up getting Lukas tickled. Here is the video...

{this moment}

2010-09-03T06:00:00.002-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

Jumping Bean

2010-09-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

Maddox loves her bouncer. I always say she's a "jumping bean". The other day, while Lori was putting Lukas down, Maddox was jumping for all she was worth and here is the footage Lori caught...

Sweet baby jumped her little heart out!

Class of 2032

2010-08-30T06:00:00.007-05:00

Cody was given an old toy box that his great grandpa made him when he was little. It is a giant barn and it's roof opens up to hold toys. When I was on bedrest I loved to find things that would get me out of the bed but didn't break my rules too badly.

I decided to paint Cody's toy box like an Aggie barn that is located outside of College Station. After doing some math, I figured out that our babies (who are destined to go to Texas A&M) will be Class of 2032.

At my shower, we received the CUTEST custom made Aggie overalls (Red Ass Overalls for my fellow Ags). I immediately knew that the barn plus the overalls were going to make fabulous pictures!

The heat has been stifling this summer and we never found the time to try on the overalls. I finally decided that Lukas was getting pretty large and we had better try them on! HOLY MOLY...he nearly popped a strapped! I knew I needed to get someone over to take pictures ASAP, so I put a call into my good friend Missy with Melissa Ellen Studios. Missy is also an Aggie, so I knew she would be up to the task! As always, she did an excellent job and too fabulous pictures of Lukas and Maddox.

{this moment}

2010-08-27T06:00:00.027-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

8 Months

2010-08-23T17:30:00.001-05:00

As usual, things have been busy in the Mixon house! Our babies are changing soo much everyday. Since our babies are developing different skills than one another I'm going to split the post in half by kiddo.

LUKAS

Lukas has become our vocal baby. He jabbers, talks and yells...LOUDLY and OFTEN. He is soo much fun right now; however, he has developed a bit of "stranger danger". He usually wants to be in either mine or Cody's arms; however, he wants everyone to give him attention. If he feels that you aren't giving him the right amount of attention, he will vocalize very loudly to gain that attention.

Lukas is all boy. He is so rough with all his toys. He bangs everything around is very rowdy when it comes to playing with things. He loves to shove everything on his tray into his mouth...if you give him cheerios or puffs he will put them ALL in his mouth. He has also started growling. Yes, I said growling. I'm not sure where he got it from, but he loves it nonetheless. It is too stinkin adorable not to share..so see below!

Listen closely at first to hear him growling lowly at the table....then he growls at me =) (NOTE: You can turn off the music to my page by scrolling down to the bottom and hitting the pause button...I recommend watching the video in Full Screen - you can to this by clicking the button on the bottom right)

Lukas is almost crawling. He is on all fours rocking back and forth. He gets frustrated just like his sister did...it won't be long!

Lukas's Milestones
Sits Alone Unassisted
Transfers Objects from one hand to the other
Gestures when he wants something (the more sign is now used for ANYTHING he wants)
Bangs objects together (in fact..everything becomes a bat)
Feeds himself small pieces of steamed fruits and veggies

Maddox

Maddox is pretty quiet and very laid back. She has yet to meet a stranger and as long as you are walking her around or showing her new things she's completely happy. Maddox is always busy...she is constantly playing or figuring out how things work. She likes to put things in her hand and turn them a different angles with a flip of her wrist. Cody and I say that she is going to be a composer.

Maddox is all girl. She is very interested in the intricate details in things. She likes buttons, necklaces, or anything shiny for that matter. She's into the bling!

Maddox's Milestones
Sits alone unassisted
Crawls
Pulls to standing
Furniture "cruises"
Feeds herself steamed fruits or veggies
Transfers object from one hand to the other
Uses the Pincher grip (thumb and pointer finger) to pick up objects.

Pulling up in her crib...ready to get up from her nap

Sitting Next to Daddy

All the toys in the room and she wants to play with a hanger...

Lukas and Ellie (Ellie is almost 1 and Lukas is pretty close to the same size as her....)

Lukas wants to eat.....EVERYTHING

They are both growing so rapidly and changing so much. They have such different personalities, but that is what makes them soo much fun! I can't wait to see how things change as they grow up.

{this moment}

2010-08-20T06:00:00.001-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

My Friend, My Love, My Life

2010-08-19T06:00:00.015-05:00

Four years ago today, I married my bestfriend. I cannot begin to describe the love I have for him, but for today I'm going to try.

I've never been a person that felt truly comfortable in "my own skin". Don't get me wrong, I know who I am and I love the person I've become (& still becoming) but I'm also very aware of my shortcomings. With that being said, I never thought I would find someone that would love me, for me. Someone who could see me at my best and worst and love me just the same.

I met Cody when I was 18. I wasn't looking for a relationship. I had just started college and wanted to be single and free. Cody, on the other hand, had different plans. After numerous failed attempts at setting him up with some of my friends, we started dating. For 8 years now, we have been inseperable.

Cody is the peanut butter to my jelly. He is my opposite in so many ways, but my perfect match in so many others. I'm high strung and a worrier, he is laid back and seemingly care free (most of the time). He can make me the maddest I've ever been and with one smile make me the happiest girl in the room.

I know that God put Cody in my life, because a love like ours isn't found on your own. We have grown up together. I am a better person when I am with him and he pushes me to do and be the best I can. He gives so much love and support. I know that he will be there if I fall.

I'm not saying everyday is roses, because that would be a lie. If you know us, you know that we can fight with the best of them, but we always make up and we are always ready to make it work. I always say that marriage is waking up everyday and being willing to give 110% for the other person and on the days that I don't feel like giving 110%...Cody is there to give 120% and vice versa. With every valley we face together, we become stronger as a couple on the other side.

Parenthood has been so rewarding for us both. It is amazing that we can create these beautiful humans and they are and always will be a constant reminder of the love we have for one another. To create a life out of love is such a beautiful gift that God gives us.

So for today, I want to dedicate this post to my bestfriend, the man of my dreams, my favorite golfer, the ultimate snuggle buddy, the stealer of my heart and the covers, the father to my beautiful children, my proof that soulmates exist, the holder of my hand who is cooler than the other side of the pillow....Cody Glen!

{this moment}

2010-08-13T06:00:00.003-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

Maddox is Crawling!!

2010-08-10T21:25:00.002-05:00

Maddox has been entertaining the idea of crawling for a couple of weeks now. She started rocking back and forth, then progressed into scooting and sitting up...now she is full blown crawling!

It's on now...

Are they Twins?!?!

2010-08-09T06:00:00.017-05:00

Babies draw attention if you take them out. Everyone loves to point and coo at your babies. Twins, however, bring ALOT of attention!!!

Today I'm going to list the conversations Cody and I have almost anytime we take the babies out....In fact, we generally place bets on how many times we will get asked the following when we go into a store. This is just for fun...we love talking about our babies..but stating the obvious can get redundant.

S = Stranger
U = Us (Either Cody or Myself)
W = Smart Comment we're thinking in our head..NOT saying outloud.

S - "Are they twins?"
U - "Yup"
S - "A boy and a girl?"
U - "Yup"
S - "Are they Identical?"
U - "Ummm..No? (insert awkward silence)
W - "Do they look identical?"
W - "Two words: Penis and Vagina"

S - "Are they twins?"
U - "Yup"
S - "Do twins run in your family?"
W - "They do now"

S - "Are they twins"
U - "Yup"
S - "How did that happen?"
U - "Twice in one night" (Yes I actually say that...it isn't just a thought in my head :)
S - "Oh!?!?"

S - "Are they the same age?"
U - "Yes"
S - "Oh, so they're twins?"
W - "No, we met at a playdate and are having an affair"

S - "Oh you have twins...a boy and a girl"
U - "Uh Huh"
S - " You got it done in one shot"
or
S - "So you're done now"
S - "Perfect! You can be done now"

S - "Twins"
U - "Yup"
S - "My Aunt, Sister, Cousin, Nephew, Niece, Granpa, Mother, Lover, Best Friend, Friend of a Friend, Sisters husband's grandpa's father...HAS TWINS!!!
U - "Really?!?..."

Here are some random comments we have heard...

S - "OMG, you have your hands full"
S - "You're having twins...did you cry when you found out...cuz I would ball!"
S - "Twins!?!? I would just die if I found out I was having twins"
S - "Were you implanted?"
S - "Two for the price of one" (W - You don't have kids do you?")
S - "At least you got it all done at once"

If you would like to input some funny comebacks we are always looking for new ideas...leave us a comment with some good ideas :)

{this moment}

2010-08-06T06:00:00.001-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease

2010-08-05T17:09:00.002-05:00

If it isn't one thing...it's another. Lukas and Maddox have been hanging on to a low grade fever for around a week now. Now our pedi told us that anything below 101 can be attributed by teething, so we haven't been too concerned.

However, last night we went to dinner with some friends and Lukas felt warm when we got him home. I took his temperature and it was 102.6! This was not a number that Momma liked one bit. I gave him tylenol and motrin and Cody put him in a tepid bath. After the bath, Cody took Maddox to put her to bed and I fed Lukas and put him in bed. We checked his temp again a couple of hours later and it was at 99.9.

Since we have been having sleep troubles, Cody and I moved one of the cribs to the master bedroom and left the other one in the nursery. It seems like they keep waking one another up and we're willing to try something new. It hasn't been a vast improvement but we're making progress. Last night, however, neither of the twins slept well.

This morning I put a call into the Pedi, because they were both still running temp and Lukas started getting red bumps on his feet and face. We got an appt and took them in. After an examination, the doctor told us that they have a "summer" illness called hand, foot and mouth disease. It starts out with a fever followed by sore throat and rash on the hands, mouth and feet. It goes away on it's own without the need for antibiotics etc.

The doc told me to give them 1/4 tsp. Benadryl mixed with 1/4 tsp. Maalox to help coat their throat and make it easier for them to eat/swallow. I'm also to continue with Motrin and Tylenol to help keep the fever down.

For now the kids are still having fun and playing, but you can tell they aren't 100%. I hate to see them feel poorly :(

In more uplifting news...Lukas has gained ANOTHER pound. He is now weighing in at 19lbs 7oz....no sickness is going to bring him down :-)

"I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security" Jeremiah 33.6

Fevers & Teeth

2010-08-02T21:37:00.000-05:00

Things have been chaotic in the Mixon house. Starting on Tuesday of last week, Maddox & Lukas both had a nasty stomach bug with a fever. Normally, we would have chalked it up to teething but with them both having it simultaneously we treated it as a stomach bug. They were both not hungry, fussy and ready to puke for about 3 to 4 days. Everyone is now better and we have two happy babies!

Maddox wants to crawl REALLY badly. She rocks back and forth and it down right frustrates her that she can't do what she wants. If you help her, she gets mad...if you pick her up, she gets mad...if you leave her in the floor, well, you get the point. She is so close and I can't wait to upload the video of her crawling, because it will happen SOON!

What a LOOK...

Happy girl

Lukas has his FIRST tooth! Woot Woot! It cut through a couple of weeks ago and he is drooling and chewing like he is ready for another one to break through. Lukas has also discovered that yelling is a good way to get attention. If we go to the store or a restaurant and someone walks by without giving him attention, he yells. "Ahhh"..."Ahh" Once they shoot him a look, he is all smiles. Such a ham, that one is.

My attempt at being artsy with the bathtub drain...

Everything else is going great. We are enjoying the summer, but trying to stay out of the heat. We filled up our kiddie pool in the backyard and we take the babes swimmin' at least 2 to 3 times a week. They love the water! We visited Cody's grandma this past weekend. She enjoyed seeing the babies and they enjoyed having her attention.

I am constantly taking picture after picture of the twins. I'm pretty sure they think they are famous, cuz the paparrazi is crazy around our house. My camera will take picture after picture quickly in a row...below is 4 pictures taken one after the other. After looking back through the series of shots..I noticed Lukas's facial expressions...

Thanks for checkin' in...

{this moment}

2010-07-30T06:00:00.003-05:00

The idea for {this moment} was taken from SouleMama

Hefty, Hefty, Hefty

2010-07-26T17:30:00.000-05:00

Cody and I have been in agreement that Lukas feels quite a bit heavier than Maddox. At his 6 month appointment, he had taken the weight lead over from his sister but only by a few oz.

Recently, Lukas has been our eater. When he sees Maddox eating, he needs to eat, if he sees his bottle you better be ready to give it to him, and don't even think about bringing out his highchair unless dinner is being served. We are working on infant sign language and he has perfected the "more" sign..not to mention yelling "MMMMMuuh" (pronounced Muh). So with all this eating, we thought we would see some good numbers at his 7 month vaccination visit.

Cody and I placed our bets. Whoever was within 1/2 lb of Lukas's weight would win a 10 minute foot massage. So we start mentally punching the numbers, Lukas weighed 15lbs 10 oz at his 6 month appointment, he got a nasty stomach bug and lost a pound that same week, so he was roughly around 14 lbs 10 oz. Cody bets 17 lbs, not to be out done I bet 17 lbs 5 oz.

I lay Maddox down on the scale and she weighs in at 16lbs 4 oz...she has gained around a pound since the last visit. I'm starting to think that I have overbid...she has only gained 1 lb in a month and I wagered that Lukas would gain around 3 lbs...impossible.

I lay Mr. Man down on the scale and he weighs in at.....(drum roll please).....18 lbs 6 oz!!! Holy Moly...he smoked our numbers and neither of us were within 1/2lb. He has gone from >5th percentile to the 75th percentile!!!

On another note...I still think I deserve the foot massage, because I was the closest bid without going over (and it works on the Price is Right). Cody, however, disagrees! Boooo...

Here are some pictures of our "Skinny Minny" and our "Chunky Munk"..

vmawq284eju20489bjvn0w!!!!

2010-07-23T17:30:00.001-05:00

Why the obscure title? I had a little help...

And you wonder why it takes me soo long between posts...

Blueberry Banana Oatmeal...Yummy!!!

2010-07-13T17:12:00.001-05:00

I recently introduced the babies to blueberries. One thing I should note about introducing homemade blueberries is that they STAIN and make a huge mess...but the pictures turn out priceless! ENJOY!

Ohhh how I love them so...

What a Differece a Probe Makes

2010-07-09T21:08:00.001-05:00

Let me back up a little bit. Maddox has had clogged tear ducts since she was born. Her eyes would mat shut when she would sleep, water excessively, and always have gunk (that's right, gunk) in the corners of her eyes. She would constantly rub her eyes and it made her look, as Cody puts it, "Like she had gone a round with Mike Tyson" See Below:

These are just a few examples of her clogged duct. These don't even show the half of it, because we usually had cleaned her eye or given massages before pictures were taken. We had to give her tear duct massages several times a day and she had grown to hate it! We had also given her two different types of eyedrops to help with the redness and infection that the clogged ducts would cause.

At 4 months, Dr. B told us that the tear ducts usually correct themselves by 6 months and if Maddox's hadn't cleared up by 6 months he would refer us to a Pedi Opthamologist.

By her 6 month appointment her right tear duct had cleared up, but her left eye was worse than ever. We immediately took the referral and made an appointment.

We knew there was a big chance that Maddox was going to have to have her eye probed, so I immediately started researching the procedure. Basically, after some numbing drops are placed in the eye, a thin rod is inserted into the tear duct and it opens the blockage. If the procedure is done before a certain age, anesthesia is not needed.

On Monday, June 28th we took Maddox to the Pedi Opth. He checked Maddox's eyes and he gave us a couple of options: A) we could try another eye drop with a steroid in it (which he gave a 10% chance of working at this point) or B) he could perform the eye probing procedure in office and have a 90% success rate. We opted for the latter of the two.

He recommended that Cody and I stay out in the hall, but we aren't wait and see kind of parents. We simply told him that we would like to be in the room with our baby. Watching them wrap her snugly in a blanket then strap her in a little contraption was pretty hard. The procedure took around 2 minutes; however, when Maddox let loose a loud cry as they inserted the rod it seemed like FOREVER. Cody and I were both in tears, but it lasted mere seconds and then she was giggling in our arms.

Since that day, her eye has done AMAZING. It hasn't matted, watered or given her any troubles. We are soo happy that we chose to fix it. Her beautiful blue eyes are definately brighter :-) Thank you for all your prayers!!!

6 Months Old, Water Babies & Teeth

2010-06-21T22:04:00.000-05:00

Our babies are 6 months old! I know I say this every month, but I cannot believe they have been here for 1/2 a year. Everyday is a blessing and an adventure.

We went to our Pediatrician today for our babies 6 Month Well-Baby. Dr. B said that they had excellent head & neck strength. They have met all of their developmental milestones and are doing great.

Lukas weighed 15lbs 10 oz and was 27.75" in length. He has taken over the size lead from Miss Maddox!

Maddox weighed 15lbs 5 oz and was 26" in length. Maddox still has a clogged tear duct, so Dr. B referred us to a Pediatric Opthamologist. We take her in next Monday. He will evaluate her in office. If he thinks she needs it un-clogged, he will perform an eye probing in office. Of course, I'm a little apprehensive about her having to have this done, but I can't wait for her eye to quit matting and bothering her soo much! Please keep her in your prayers this upcoming week!

What else is new? Our babies are little water dogs! They love being in the pool. At first, Lukas wasn't sure he liked being in an uber big, bright blue, kinda cold bath tub, but he has quickly warmed up to the idea. They both love to splash and paddle on their bellies. My mom bought them some super cute swim suits see the pics below:

They look soo grown up :( Speaking of growing up, Maddox cut her first TOOTH. Her first tooth is on the bottom left. I felt something sharp when she was chewing on my hand in the pool, I looked down and saw it! I cannot believe it happened that quickly!!

Lastly, I'll leave you with some of our favorite pictures from the previous month :)

Feed Me!!

2010-06-17T17:50:00.000-05:00

In the beginning, we had trouble with Lukas wanting to eat. He never really showed much of an interest in food. He doddled with his bottle or fell asleep while breastfeeding.

Maddox has LOVED to eat from the beginning. She quickly caught her brother in weight and is very serious when it comes to eating.

I have decided to make all of our baby food homemade. Why would I take on such a task with two babies? Well for starters it is a money saver, not to mention the health benefits of giving them fresh fruits and vegetables. I know exactly what goes into their food, how it is prepared, and how long it has been in my freezer! I can also give them a more eclectic variety of foods AND I completely enjoy making it!

Before our kiddos were even ready to start eating, I had started making baby food. I bought two cook books "So Easy Baby Food" and "Top 100 Baby Food Purees". I follow the recipes in the books then I use a Green Sprouts Silicone Tray from i-Play (pictured below) to pour the pureed food into and then freeze it...

When it is completely frozen I pop out the frozen cubes and put them in a labeled Ziploc baggy! VOILA! Perfect 1 oz portions of baby food! I know you are all dying to know what foods I have created...thus far I have made

• Sweet Potatoes
• Gala & Fuji Apples
• Concord & Red Anjou Pears
• Butternut Squash
• Acorn Squash
• Summer Squash
• Zucchini
• Apricots
• Peaches
• Black Cherries
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Green Beans
• Sweet Peas
• Corn
• Carrots
• Sweet Potato, Apple & Chicken Medley
• Corn, Carrot, & Potato Medley

We started solid foods a couple of weeks ago. Lukas immediately took to rice cereal. He showed an interest from the very first time we gave it to him. Maddox on the other hand was a bit apprehensive. We never forced her to eat if she didn't want to, but we tried at least once a day.

Now, we introduce a new food every 3 days. Lukas LOVES to eat. We can't feed that boy quick enough. He grunts or slaps his tummy if you don't give him another bite when he is ready! I've started working on sign language with them both and I'm convinced he does the "More" sign!

Lukas eats EVERYTHING without a fuss; however, his favorite foods so far have appeared to be Pears, Green Beans, Butternut Squash & Sweet Potatoes.

Maddox has just started taking to solids. She was slower to come around and she still isn't as excited about it as her brother. She loves Pears, Bananas, Sweet Potatoes and Butternut Squash!

I've included a video of the first time Lukas ate Sweet Potatoes. He was eating them just fine, then all of a sudden it was like the texture got to him and he started making some Silly faces!!

Some Pictures of their first foods :)

Next Up...Pool Time :)

Maddox is getting so big!

2010-06-04T18:52:00.000-05:00

Maddox, unlike her brother, doesn't like to roll over. However, she does love to sit up and stand to play with her toys! My little girl is getting so big!

Maddox loves to stand up and play with her new toy that her Aunt Ky gave her!

She has also been sitting up to play with her toys....

They grow up soo fast... :(

I hope you enjoy the videos...next up...our babies 1st taste of solid food...

New Tricks

2010-05-23T08:40:00.001-05:00

Lukas has recently discovered his feet! He loves to hold them in the air and watch them. If you have seen his feet, you know he has an extremely long big toe! Both Cody and I could be the reason for this, because we both have long toes.

Much to Cody's dismay, I taught Lukas a new trick yesterday =)!

LOVE IT!!!

5 Months

2010-05-20T21:34:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe that our babies are almost 1/2 a year old. Time has been flying in our household. Each and every day our babies are doing something new and adorable. From Squealing and Lauging to new ways to fuss, our lives are soo full!

Our day to day has changed. We are constantly holding a baby, rocking a baby, laying in the floor with a baby...everything we do involves a baby! If we aren't directly with them, we are sure thinking/day dreaming about them. To be quite honest, I don't know what I did with all the free time I used to have...

Major Milestone

On Tuesday, May 4th Lukas hit the rolling over milestone! He rolled from front to back then back to front! He was pretty excited about his feat and has now become our rolling man! Here is a video of one of his first rolls from back to belly...(he has now mastered the task in a much shorter amount of time)

Upcoming Excitement:
I am starting to make home-made baby food..I'll detail my adventures in future posts.
6 Month Well-Baby Appointment
Starting Solids in 1 month

Maddox Talking

2010-05-13T17:46:00.003-05:00

Maddox loves to talk these days; however, she is a bit camera shy. We know she has been camera shy since her days in the womb. She was always hiding her sweet face from the camera. Things haven't changed much. As soon as I get out the camera, she stops whatever precious things she was doing and stares at it.

I FINALLY caught her on camera by coming in at an angle, so she wasn't distracted by the camera itself.

Enjoy!

Spontaneous Travels

2010-05-11T20:31:00.002-05:00

Cody and I have really wanted to make a trip to A-Town to visit our family. A lot of our family has yet to meet the kiddos because of work schedules, distance, etc. If you know me, you know I tend to be a very structured person that likes to plan things out. However, I briefly got a spark of spontaneity on Thursday of last week and suggested that we make the trip home. Not only did I want to make the 5 hour trek home...I wanted to leave THURSDAY night. Cody was super excited to surprise his family, so he was all for us leaving.

We rushed home from work on Thursday evening and in 1 hour we had our SUV loaded and ready to go. We left that evening and ended up arriving in A-Town at 12:30 am.

We have learned that our babies are not travelers. I've always heard that babies sleep in the car, but not our babies. They like to look around and play. This leads to fussiness once they decide the car seat is NOT the place to be.

We surprised my mother-in-law, Ione and my step-mom, Patti at their work. The look on their faces when we brought in their grandkids was worth every hour in the car :) We also got to go to our nieces 2nd birthday party! Kylene, Cody's sister, was super excited to see us and her husband, Brandon got to meet his niece and nephew for the first time.

We bounced from place to place and are totally worn out, but we wouldn't trade it for the world. We love our family so much and even though the visit was rushed and brief it was nice to get to see them all!

Here are some pictures from visits from friends and our trip to the Botanical Garden...

The New Sun Hats for the kiddos...

Tough Guy in his Skull Onesie

Maddox pretty in bows and dresses!!

Lukas and Martin sporting shocked looks and skull shirts!

Lukas's Weight Check

2010-05-04T19:05:00.000-05:00

Today I took Lukas in for his weight check. He weighed 12 lbs 9 oz!! He has gained 1 lb in two weeks. Dr. B was very pleased with his weight gain and said all his worries about his ability to gain weight have been put to rest.

We have decided to keep feeding him bottles since he is doing so well. We don't want him to regress, so I will continue to nurse Maddox and then pump for Lukas.

We are super stoked about his weight gain and want to Thank you guys for your prayers and concern!

LifeAsArt Photography

2010-04-30T20:58:00.007-05:00

At 3 months I told you I was SUPER excited about getting professional pictures taken of our babies. I am an artsy picture type of girl. I like seeing the beauty in our everyday life. Don't get me wrong, posed pictures can be fabulous too..but I really wanted some unique pictures of the twins.

I have been a huge fan of LifeAsArt Photography for sometime now, I can often be found perusing their social networks looking at their fabulous pictures. So needless to say, I was really excited when we had a reason to have pictures made.

We LOVED working with Jeremy and Amber Minnerick (aka LifeAsArt Photography). From the moment a bearded Jeremy walked in our door, Lady, greeted him as if he were a long lost friend. She yelped, licked and got extremely excited to see them. This was a good sign, because she only acts like this when she hasn't seen someone for a long time (ie one of our college roomies, our parents etc). Our babies were also HUGE fans of the beard..I hear he has gotten rid of it recently, but it sure was a crowd pleaser at our house!

They spent several hours at our house capturing everyday moments. We never felt rushed, flustered or the need to pose our children. They made the entire experience so comfortable, which is a MAJOR plus when you are trying to handle two babies. We worked through any fussy times and the pictures turned out beautiful!

Now I know you have been patiently awaiting their arrival and I aim to please...so I'm going to show a slideshow of some of our favorites!!! I am only posting our favorites, because they took a BAJILLION pictures. The best part of it all is...I get a CD with ALL of them on it - Holla!

4 Months Old

2010-04-23T20:30:00.002-05:00

Our babies are growing up..sniff sniff. Today we took the kiddos to their 4 Month Well-Baby check-up. I'll split the details up by baby.

Lukas

Lukas is our noodle. He is long and lean He is 26.5" long and he weighs 11 lbs 8 oz. Our doctor is a little concerned because his height to weight ratio is a little skewed. Lukas is in the 90th percentile for height, but he is only in the 15th percentile for weight. For the next two weeks, we are to feed him by bottle at every feeding so that we can monitor exactly what he is intaking. Our doctor said not to worry yet, because Lukas has grown, just not in the weight category. He is also right on for all of his developmental milestones. So in two weeks we go in for a weight check and we are praying that he has gained adequate weight, if not, our doctor wants to run some tests on the little guy. Other than that, Lukas did great at his appointment. He was able to lift his head up and look around while on his tummy and he also had very good head and neck control. Here are a few things Lukas does on a daily basis: laughs out loud, drools, looks startled, chews on toys, drools, puts everything in his mouth, drools, plays with his hands..and did I mention he drools?? Also, our doctor thinks his eyes will stay blue, although we won't know for sure until 6 months.

Maddox

Maddox is our growin' girl. Looking at her now, you would never be able to tell that she was once so tiny at 5 lbs. Maddox is 24" long and weighs 12 lbs 2 oz. She is in the 50th percentile for height and weight. She has also doubled her birth weight, which is something they look for at around 6 months. At our appointment our doctor asked us if the twins had rolled over front to back or back to front. We told him that they had showed interest in rolling over, but hadn't accomplished the task on their own. Our doctor then proceeded to put Maddox on her belly to observe her head and neck control. What does she do? Maddox immediately rolled from her tummy to her back as if she had been doing it everyday for the past week. Our doctor was pretty impressed and told us that most babies can't do that until 5 months. Here are a few things that Maddox does on a daily basis: talks, cooes, sleeps (alot), eats, and plays.

Our nights are still rough at times, but we are making progress. We get up once a night for a feeding and depending on the night, a few times to give pacifiers, turn them on their side and put them back to sleep.

All in all the twins are doing great. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful children. We can't imagine a day without them.

Here are a few of our favorite pictures..

Bath Time

Grams & Poppaw Visit

Thanks for checkin in on us! We'll update you soon!!!

Captured Moments Photography

2010-04-23T11:08:00.001-05:00

My sister-in-law, Stacy Godwin, is a woman of many talents! Not only is she a fabulous hair stylist; she has recently started up a photography business and she takes excellent pictures. Needless to say, when she came to visit her new niece and nephew, Maddox and Lukas, I had to take advantage of her talents. I am family, you know!

She set up shop in our house with minimal props and completely not in her own element and the pictures she took turned out AMAZING. Now with my beautiful babies, she did have ALOT to work with...(hehehe)

If you are looking for a Photographer in Missouri you should definately check her out at Captured Moments Photography by Stacy Godwin.

Here are a few of the pictures she took...

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born....

2010-03-29T16:49:00.001-05:00

...She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." - Rajneesh

I've always been described as having a "motherly instinct", but that instinct never prepared me for actual motherhood.

I never knew you could love something, someone so much. Don't get me wrong, I love Cody with all my heart, but the love we both have for our children is a different love. They are a piece of us, a part that can never be taken away. I cannot imagine life before them or without them. When my mother came into the room after they brought me into recovery, I remember telling her in tears, "I love them soo much it hurts my heart".

In that moment, I learned more about my mother than ever before. For the first time, I began to look at events that took place in my life and understand how she must have felt during those times. She shared in the emotions I had more than I knew. I now look at her in understanding and realize raising me was probably the most rewarding thing, and yet, the hardest thing she has ever done. She shared my first love, my first heartbreak, all my victories and all my defeats. She had to sit back and let me make mistakes that she knew would break our hearts and still be strong enough to help me pick up the pieces. Now, we have completed a circle and she has got to share in one of the greatest moments of my life, motherhood.

I have always appreciated and respected my mother, but now I'm simply awestruck by her. I hope to be the mother and the friend to my children that she is to me. I ♥ my MOMMY!!

I have to be honest, I wasn't intending this post to be so sappy; however, it turned that way quickly. Let's lighten things up...

I have composed a list of things that I've learned in the short time I've been a mother...

1. I will do things I once thought was disgusting...BEWARE of the EXAMPLES:

a) Smell my child's diaper to see if it was something or "just air"

b) Suction boogers and wipe them on my pants...or my husband

c) Put things in my mouth that has been in theirs (i.e pacifier)

d) Clean off their face by licking my finger and wiping it off

2. Poop happens, and it happens a lot. Also, it is completely normal converation between Cody and I to discuss: color, texture, smell, amount, etc.

3. The terms "blowout" and "all-nighter" have completely different meanings.

4. My refusal to pay $25 for a hairbow has made me realize that I'm pretty dang good at making them...

5. Sleep is overrated..

I can't think of any lessons right now, but I will get back to you in the near future. My next post will have a slideshow of the pics my sister-in-law took! Get excited!

Busy Weeks...

2010-03-19T15:54:00.006-05:00

The last couple of weeks have been super busy in the Mixon house. The weekend of the 12th, Maddox and Lukas got to meet their cousins Erin and Cole. My big brother, Zed, and his beautiful family came from Missouri to meet the babes! Stacy, my sister-in-law, took some awesome pictures of the kiddos! She is currently working on them, so I will dedicate a post in the future to the photos. We enjoyed their company and loved getting to see our niece and nephew, it had been way too long since our last visit!

On Wednesday of this week Cody's aunt and sister, Kim & Kylene, brought our nieces Ally and Lauren down from the Panhandle to visit us for a couple of days. They helped out and watched the twins while we were at work. Kylene also brought us a TON of super cute outfits for the twins. We feel we got a really good deal, because we got to enjoy their company and they enjoyed a taste of taking care of the twins! Lauren and Ally are getting so big, it makes us realize how fast kids grow up :(

Lukas and his Aunt Kim

Take 100...

Take 200...

Lauren and Maddox

This coming week our BusyNESS continues. On Monday, our sweet angels have to get shots, AGAIN. They did so well last time. I'm praying for the same result this time but dreading the appointment.

Now, I'm SUPER SUPER excited for Wednesday! I have been checking out/voyeuring this set of Photographers for the past several months and I love their work. In addition to their creative eye, this husband and wife pair also attended Texas A&M which is a total bonus in the awesomeness department. Life As Art Photography, composed of Jeremy and Amber Minnerick, is coming to our house on Wednesday afternoon to take our kiddos 3 month photos! If you check out their website, I'm pretty sure you will be as excited as I am about seeing the moments they will capture for us! I will dedicate a post to this in the near future...so keep checking in.

Anywho, I can't really think of anything else to post so I will leave you with a few pictures for you to peruse!