In honor of Sydney & Carynne

Today would have been Sydney & Carynne's 6 month birthday, but instead Brook & Jake are celebrating their lives at their funeral.

In honor of their memory, we have chosen to wear pink (or red, in some cases for they guys) today. These sweet girls have touched so many lives. Please continue to keep them and their family in your throughs and prayers. And if you'd like to help out even more, please sign the Petition to Cure SMA, in the hopes that a cure can be found for this horrible disease. SMA is the number one genetic killer of children under the age of 2.

Here are some pics of us & our friends sporting our pink (check back later . . . I hope to have more pictures to share!):

Will & Sam looking studley this morning. :)

Liz and her beautiful daughter Lexi:




Super cute Millie and her mommy Kenzi

No words

As a follow-up to my post yesterday, we learned late last night that little Sydney lost her battle as well and is now with her sister. Words cannot describe how deeply sad I am for Brook and Jake and their family. Would you please keep them in your prayers?

So PROUD!!!

Ok, here is another one I have been meaning to write about for a while, too (on a much happier note)! Speaking of said multiples group (see below), remember a while back I wrote about my friend Megan and her quest to raise money for breast cancer research?? Well I am so proud of Megan for so many reasons:

1. She is a wicked awesome mommy to Aiden & Brody.
2. She is a fabulous coach to her college women’s basketball team (they are ranked and everything – yay!).
3. She is in the process of moving & looking for a new job in the midst of doing #s 1 & 2
4. SHE SHAVED HER HEAD BECAUSE HER TEAM REACHED THEIR GOAL!!

Yep, you read that right . . . as promised, she let her team shave her head in center court because they reached their fund raising goals. She blogged about it here and posted pictures of the whole event – including her new super sexy fabulous hair do!

I have told her this a million time already, but I have such mad respect for what she did! I am so proud of her and think she is such a great example – to her team, her boys and to fellow moms like me. :-)

Way to go Megan!!

Devastated

This is a sad one. I have been meaning to write about this for some time, but now my entry will take on a totally different tone.

I’ve mentioned here a few times before that I very fortunate to belong to an amazing group of multiple mommies – many of which I have never met in real life (remember the Oprah blog??). In January, one of our fellow mommies learned the devastating news that her girls were suffering from a rare illness called Werdnig-Hoffman disease (you can read more about it here). Our group started a site to raise money to help Brook and her family with some of the medical costs and to be able to take the time needed off of work to spend whatever time remains with their sweet girls, Sydney & Carynne. As of yesterday we raised over $4000 and we were able to send a huge chunk of that to Brook last week, just in time to lift the family’s spirits a bit. Sadly, though, we learned that Carynne lost her battle yesterday; she would have been 6 months old this week.

I am beyond heart-broken for Brook and her family – I just could not imagine what they are going through. Brook started a blog and you can see pictures of her beautiful girls here. May I ask that you please keep them in your prayers? If you would like to help out, please click on the picture below and it should take you to the donation site. And please go hug & kiss your loved ones today . . . it shouldn’t take something like this to make us all realize how truly blessed we are.

Thanks.

Presenting B-Diddy

Funniest videos ever. . . B & K playing with one of their new b-day toys (thanks again to the Daniels clan -- I'm pretty sure this one was from them). I mentioned in my last post that Bennett likes to sing (and Tabasco likes to howl). I present to you, B-Diddy and T-bone:

And not to be outdone, Miss Kendylishious, trying her hand at this singing gig, too:

Updates & such

Ok, time for the “what the hell are B&K up to these days” update:

Bennett (aka B-man, B-dude, B-fence, Benji (don’t ask), Bennihana and little man) will melt your heart with his smiles, which he will give you with just a glance. He has the.best.giggle.ever and is SUPER ticklish. He loves to sing and bang things (which is why the Leap Frog drum from his friends Jarrett & Jackson is a HUGE hit). He is more vocal than his sister and says mama, dada, baba, yeahyeah, and a variety of other consonant sounds. He loves to repeat what others do and say and loves to take things apart. He is getting so much better every day at using his skinny little arms to pull himself up while on his belly and we know he will grow into his smart big brain head very soon. He is also getting better at putting weight on his legs and will stand for a period of time. He has inherited long eye lashes (not sure from where) and is starting to get curly hair like me. His eyes have been dark brown from the start and we’re pretty sure that isn’t going to change any time soon (one of the NICU nurses told me eye color can change up to 2 years of age). He will eat just about anything, but can be picky at times. He LOVES to pick things up and loves to feed himself. He is very good with the sippy cup and a pro (FINALLY) at holding his big bottle on his own (even to the point where he will put it down and then put it back into his mouth – what a smart boy!). He has 8 teeth (4 on top and 4 on the bottom) and after a weird fever this week we suspect he may be getting ready to cut a few more.

Kendyll (aka Kendy, K-Force, Kendylicious, Chickie Monkey, Banana and sexy mama (yes, I call my 12 mo old daughter sexy)) has always been our on the go girl and that is no exception now that she is crawling everywhere. And let me tell ya – the girl is fast. And strong. I mean SUPER strong! She can pull herself up on to anything (like the TV tray set up with my dinner on it or the dog – she loves to pull herself up while Tabasco is laying on the floor). Normally she is repeating her favorite word – dada dada – over & over again as she is on her mission to get to wherever she is going. She loves to open & close door (or even just push them back & forth) and she LOVES to look through the windows in the French doors separating our living & family rooms. She will eat anything – normally by the fistful into her mouth. She sometimes pulls out her “diva” ways when it comes to holding her own bottle – she start out holding it, but then if you even motion like you might be putting your hand in the general area of her bottle she’ll get go and scream until you pick it up and put it in her mouth for her. Yeah, we’re working on that. She will take a few steps if you hold her hands, but she unfortunately has inherited the coordination and grace of her mother (read: she is quite clumsy). So often times as she pulls herself up on something or tries to walk behind something she’ll fall flat on her face (and gain a new bruise or scratch in the process – lovely). Guess that comes with the mobility territory. While B is into singing, K is into dancing. She LOVES to dance & sway to the music . . . and let me tell ya, with all of these new noise making toys in the house there is a lot of the “ABC song” and other nursery rhymes to jam to. Her hair is coming in poker strait (and finally starting to lay flat vs. spikey) and her eyes are a different color every day -- sometimes blue, sometimes gray, sometimes green, sometimes hazel. Who knows where they will end up, but the concensous is that they are HUGE. K still only has three teeth -- two on the bottom and that snaggletooth on the top.

Both B & K are really starting to play & interact with each other. K loves to crawl around, near, on and over B all the time and of course they love to take each other’s toys (thankfully B has finally grown some balls and will yank stuff right back from K – or even steal it in the first place. Yeah – that’s the spirit!!). Every once & a while they will crack up at each other (over what I’m never really sure). They have started to do some sympathy cries when the other one is crying (I think they’ve learned this from Tabasco because he still cries whenever one of them cries, too). Good times. They share their food – the funniest was when Kendyll took a puff thing off of Bennett’s high chair tray and B gave her the nastiest look. He proceeded to swipe the rest of his food to the other side of his tray away from her. :-) They both will clap their hands (prompted or unprompted) and are VERY good at shaking their heads "no" (I even caught B saying "yes" the other day).

Still no new pictures . . . a demon has taken over our laptop. But I will try to post some soon (maybe sneak them on my work computer).

Big kids now

B & K survived their 12 month pedi appointment . . . and their round of needle pricks (barely). Yah, heads up to mommies who haven't yet experienced the 12 mo appointment -- it.is.not.fun!! And poor B&K -- they had to endure further testing b/c we live in a really old house . . . they will be tested for lead, too. Fun times.

Updated weights are to the right. We're a little disappointed -- we thought for sure they would both be over 20 lbs, but they are close. We'll probably flip around their carseats in soon regardless (shhh, don't tell, but they've already been riding around this way in Lauren's car -- she drives a little 2 door and we gave the go ahead to make the flip). Now when they get in my car they're like "hey mom . . . what's up with the backwards riding? we're big kids now!".

As we suspected B is getting referred for PT/OT. Little dude just isn't where he should be in the crawling/pulling up/moving around category. Can't really blame him -- he's still incredibly disproportionate (weight 6%, head 97%), but we know he'll grow into that darn head soon (which the pedi informed us will still grow a bit . . . his fontanel is not yet closed). He needs to build up strength in his arms & legs and hopefully the PT will help.

K is doing great. She is crawling all.over.the.place and pulling.up.on.EVERYTHING! Sigh. Honestly I'm a little glad B isn't into the mobility thing yet . . . the longer we can hold off the better in my book!

Both babies can have whole milk now and have been given the green light to eat whatever they like (insert TI song hook here :) ). They have been pretty good eaters so far . . . last weekend they ate some guacamole and refried beans (blech!).

Our computer has an illness, so no new pictures tonight.

Party Time!!

Whew, we had a super fun, super busy weekend! Thank you so much to all of our family & friends for coming from near & far to celebrate Bennett & Kendyll's birthday!!! The theme was Bees & Lady Bugs (in line with their nursery -- see pics here). I'm still a little too exhausted to write up a full report, so I'll just include a few pictures (click on them to make them larger).

Bennett & Kendyll sporting their birthday shirts (made by Savvy Sarah) -- B with Papa W. and K with Uncle Mark (check out her coordinating lady bug shoes & jeans -- perfect timing at Gymboree!).

Super cute b-day hats designed by etsy seller itsy bitsy bunny (highly recommend her -- Christy was wonderful to work with . . . I gave her our theme and a couple ideas and she ran with them!!). :)

Some of our decorations -- balloons & M&Ms with B&K's picture on them.

The super cute cakes!! We had them made at our local bakery and they turned out AWESOME!!

Super cute b-day gifts . . . the choo-choo wagon from Nana & Papa W. and two wheely bugs (notice the theme!) from Grandma & Grandpa Z.

All of our party guests. Four -- yes 4!!! -- sets of multiples and a singleton all under the age of 16 months. Avery, twins Will & Sam, triplets Anna, Ava & Alexis and twins Jarrett & Jackson. Whew! Everyone had a blast!!

Hey Shorties, it's your birthday . . . .

Happy Birthday Bennett & Kendyll!!!

We all survived the first year -- YAY!!! More updates to come . . . the big par-tay is tomorrow and then they have their 12 mo appointment next Tuesday. I’ll be putting together “a what are they up to these days” proper post soon!

Thank you!!

I so honored to share that I received my first blog award - A Friend Award - from my friend Monica. This award so made my day (she actually gave it to me a few weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to blog about it). I am so grateful for this award and I'm so grateful to have found Monica's blog -- her boys are adorable and she is so sweet to leave super nice comments about B&K.

This award represents this: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind blogger's aim to find, and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers."

I am suppose to pass this award onto 8 blog friends. I am made so many friends through blogging this past year! I now pass this award on to (in no particular order):

Simi at Welcome to Insanity
Liz at Martelle-isms
Marie at Thornhill's Triple A Team
Megan at The Wilson's
Wendy (her blog is private, but she is one of my favs!!)
Sara at Twice as Nice
Rachel at Little Bites of Heaven
Kenzi at The Adventures of Millie T

If you have already received this award just know that you are a great friend too many people. Thank you for all your advice and comments that you have given to me.

Way back When-sday

In honor of B & K's big 0-1 later this week, here is a little look back at the past year. Enjoy!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Pay It Forward

I am taking on a great idea by two of my favorite bloggers, Rachel & Monica:

Here are the details + rules:

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their own blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenter's on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

SO, REMEMBER... Pay it forward!I can't wait to see who my three commenter's are - and start making their special homemade item.

Play time!

We had a very busy weekend. We went to Will & Sam’s birthday party on Saturday and had a blast. Well actually B & K were sooooo excited about it that neither of them took a nap in the morning (actually Miss K had been on a nap strike most of the week). But thankfully they didn’t really have any major meltdowns at the party and both were on their best behavior. Will & Sam looked super cute, they had a blast smashing their cake and B & K were drooling all over looking forward to doing the same thing this weekend (ok, the drool is probably from the constant teething, but I’m pretty sure they are looking forward to their own cake this weekend).

On Sunday we did a bunch of running around. We have started “project family room to play room”. I listed Tim’s beloved leather rocker/recliner on Craigslist on Saturday and received a crap-ton of responses on it immediately (and for my friend Patricia, who I know will ask how much is a “crap-ton” – it is a fricken lot!). : ) Have you checked out my friend Marie’s blog lately? She recently posted about how her family room has turned into baby land. We are on the same path (we even purchased the same baby gate at baby hell, I mean Babies R Us, this weekend). I had a grand idea to totally transform our family & living rooms, but we’re not quite sure if that will be possible yet (and it probably won’t happen before a million people descend on our house for the party this weekend). So we sold the recliner to make a little more room in the family room for all of the baby crap for now. I’m still trying to put on my HGTV hat to jazz it up a bit and I will be sure to post a picture soon.

Speaking of BRU and outings yesterday, I haven’t lamented on stupid people comments lately, have I? Yeah, I guess I haven’t really taken B & K out much lately. So at the grocery store I was stopped about 4 times (not many in my book) with the best one being this little old dude telling me I made his day just by letting him look at my kids as I was chugging my Starbucks looking for Tim. But the best was the little old lady (and I mean OLD lady) who was checking us out at BRU. Tim had our cart full of baby crapola (how is it that we just go into that place for a flippen gate and come out with a ton of other stuff, too??) and I was behind him with the double stroller. K was getting royally pissed off because B kept hitting her and trying to hold her hand so we were sort of in a hurry to get out of the joint. The old lady asked “are they twins” and we answered yes. She asked what they were (aliens? dogs? cats? reptiles?) and we answered a boy & a girl. She insisted they must be identical because they look so much alike (wha???) and we politely told her they were not identical (didn’t really go into the details). She proceeded to tell us she had 4 children who all moved out and she was quite bitter about it. Um, yeah, could you just ring up our stuff lady? We could not get out of that store fast enough!!!!!

We hope everyone had a nice weekend. I of course forgot to bring the camera to Will & Sam’s party and given that neither Bennett nor Kendyll slept that morning they really weren’t into the picture thing much before we left the house. This was the best I could get. (note: check out B-man’s sexy belt. Yeah, it is braided. That is all I could find in his size. Poor little dude. His legs are so long that he needs a 12 – 18 mo, but his waist is so tiny the pants fall right off. Reminds me of this picture from when he was really little).

Breakthroughs

Just a quick update. Kendyll is officially full-on crawling. And she is wicked fast if she is heading towards something she really wants (or shouldn't get or be near). We are now in lock-down process. We've been contemplating ways to create a play room / area and we will be creating baby jail very soon.

Meanwhile Bennett has made some progress as well. It used to be whenever we'd put him on his belly he'd instantly (and I mean INSTANTLY) roll over to his back. We noticed one day this week when I put him on his belly he just chilled there. For several minutes. Yeah, like at one point I rushed over to him when he was laying there like a slug for a good 3 - 4 minutes because I thought maybe the shock of being on his belly was causing him not to breathe or something. But nope, he was just chillin. He even rolled over onto his belly one morning and freaked a little bit, but was OK. So I'm taking this as a sign that he is finally ready to get on the mobility bandwagon, too. Poor dude, though -- his scrawny little arms need to bulk up a bit -- when he tries to push up his head he tires out after a second or two. He still has a really, really big head. So we're working with him.

I think he's going to catch up pretty quickly. Kendyll has taken to stealing his toys and then crawling off. I don't think he's going to like having his little sister walk (or in this case crawl) all over him for very long. :)

We're off to Will & Sam's 1st b-day party. It should be a very fun time. Happy First Birthday, Will & Sam!! :)

Here are a few pictures -- one of Bennett looking sad b/c he can't move around like Kendyll (don't worry, he was smiling 2 seconds before I snapped this picture) and the 2nd me catching K getting into something she shouldn't be.

Sneak Peek

Remember the great pics our friend Sarah took of B&K last year? We asked her to snap a few in honor of the big 0-1. She had some great ideas and now we know NOT to give them an entire "smash" cake on their b-day. :) Kendyll LOVED hers and couldn't wait to destroy it. It took Bennett a few minutes to get what he was supposed to do, but once he tasted the sweet goodness of frosting it was all over. And yes, they wore their super cute shirts by yet another Sarah. And they also wore their super cute babylegs (or the "queer leggings" as Tim calls them. . . I think they are adorable -- even on Bennett!).

Woo-hoo!!

Yeah, I know . . . there were a few missed / bad calls, the team is full of thugs and many will say they didn't deserve to win, but I don't care. The STEELERS won!! Woo-hoo!! We had a little par-tay for the Super Bowl and B & K (and me) were all decked out for our team. My friend Jodi even came to the gig in black & gold (even though I know deep down she wanted the Cardinals to win -- what a nice friend!).

B & K's friend Avery came over too. I love her to pieces, but she always makes me soooo fearful for our future. She is a few months older than B & K and I know whatever she is into is right around the corner for us. Well, what she is into these days is walking all.over.the.place. We all had a fun chuckle at this event (and we all felt a little bad about laughing at a 16 month old!). Jodi was blocking the entry to the kitchen trying to contain Miss A and she didn't like that very much. Too cute!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Aside from the big game it was also a very busy weekend for us. We took B&K to get their bday pictures taken. Stay tuned for a sneak peak of that! :)