More laughing

Since the last video I posted mainly showed Marshall laughing, I had to get one of Presley. And yes, at the end that is a burp. Enjoy! :)

Lately

Well incase anyone had any doubt, the babies have definitely fully recovered from the small birthweight category. They each weight about 16 lbs!!! Granted, that is from me getting on and off the scale with them, but in the past it's been accurate when we have gone to the dr's office. Presley is really working on rolling over. She hates tummy time, and the madder she gets the more her body moves, and the closer to rolling over she gets! She can push herself up pretty far off the ground with her hands. Marshall is getting better and better with his neck. Now when you put him on his tummy, he doesn't just lay there, he actually moves his neck around. Presley likes her bumbo chair, and while Marshall can hold his neck up and sit in it, he doesn't really like it all that much. They are also both starting to mimic us, but with different things. If you stick your tongue out at Marshall, he does it back. Kyle will howl like a wolf (no judging people!) at Presley and she will shape her mouth like his and sometimes almost mimic the noise! It's pretty cute, one of these days I'll get it on video. Both babies have also discovered their hands, and constantly have their fists in their mouth, along with drool coming out of the mouth!

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks. I think they are definitely starting to notice each other!







Ready for football season!



such a strong girl!



Presley is more interested in Marshall than he is with her

Video!

I finally figured out how to use and upload our flip video camera, with Kyle's help of course!

I took this video yesterday of them laughing. Of course Presley was laughing out loud just like Marshall, but then stopped as soon as the camera turned on. Presley lifts her neck up now when you go to pick her up. She is getting so strong! Marshall is doing his "adult" laugh that I mentioned in an earlier post.

Please excuse the annoying voice in the background...me, and the spit-up on Marshall's onesie. It was a rough day for spit up around here.

Enjoy!

Stay at home teacher?

Today the babies and I went up to my "old" school so my coworkers could see the babies...and if course so I could see my coworkers. I knew I would miss them, but I just didn't realize how much until this week. Some people like to keep their professional and personal life separate. I, however, am not one of those people. The people I teach with are also my friends. One of them carried my children for goodness sake! I am very lucky to have some pretty amazing women who work at my school, not all of whom are teachers. Office staff, teachers, custodians, I have a wide range of friends, all whom I will miss. Working with the type of kids we work with is not easy on your emotional stability, and my friends at school and I lean on each other a lot. It felt strange being up there today, I felt very out of the loop, as over half the sixth grade teachers are new. It was hard seeing my old room with someone else's stuff in it!

Even though I have never been able to picture myself as a stay at home mom, I am very happy that I can stay home this year with Marshall and Presley. It's very hard work, and there are times I question if I can do it for a whole year. However I will not take one second that I am home with them for granted. Teaching is the only career I can imagine myself having, but I'm not giving it up this year. My students will just be a lot smaller than I'm used to!

Comparing

All moms do it, even if they don't/won't admit it. How can you not compare your child to another? I hope that you only compare them to a child of the same age, and if you don't and are comparing them to a child a year older because you hope your kid is a genius, then that is just plain strange.

When you have twins, you don't have a choice but to compare! Presley and Marshall are both more advanced than the other in different ways. Presley can hold her neck up and stand, while Marshall can't (we think partially due to the fact that he has a long neck and bigger head...harder to hold up). However Marshall "talks" more than Presley does. The last time I took Marshall to the doctor (couple weeks ago, he has eczema) I brought up the fact that Marshall didn't have the "neck skills" that Presley does. She told me that he is doing just fine, and that most mothers don't have another baby with them 24/7 to compare their child to. Oh yeah, I forgot about that.

Now, I have to take into consideration that my children were born a month early when it comes to their developmental milestones, but I have to admit they are right up there with what "normal" three months old should be doing (pretty much). Here is where I have a problem...when I hear or read about mom's who say things like, "my daughter rolled over at three weeks!" Really? Is that even possible? Are you trying to make me think that your child is super baby? Your child probably only weighs like 7 lbs if that how the heck are they rolling over? Another one, "my child knows their name." Um, I don't think so. They recognize your voice, but they don't know what their name is at one month old.

I am not saying it's not okay to brag, BUT some people take it to another level. Can we not have a conversation without you telling me all the super human things your child is doing? I think some people don't realize that while they want to shout from the rooftops that their child is the next Albert Einstein, they have to be careful not to make others feel like their child is behind, or slow, just because they are the same age and not doing those things. (disclaimer: I was not talking about myself there, I think my kids are right on track)

Survivor luncheon

Yesterday I went to the FW Komen "In the Pink" Survivor Luncheon. There were women of all stages of breast cancer there, newly diagnoses and going through treatment, ladies in remission, and ladies that have been in remission for decades. Having breast cancer is such a huge part of my life, for more reasons than just the obvious. It has allowed me to meet some of the most strong and amazing women I have ever met, hands down. You would never know by looking at them now just what they have been though. Some of the women are no longer with us, and others are only here by a miracle.

When I was going through treatment, and shortly there after, people could look at me and know that I had cancer, and believe me...I got lots of stares. People staring at you like you are some freak of nature because you are wearing a scarf on your head, and wanting so badly to yell out, "Hello!!! I see you staring at me!". My situation was also different because I was so young. There aren't a lot of 27 year olds with cancer. Even at my oncologists office, I was known as "the 27 year old" among all 12 doctors! They all knew who I was, and some of the nurses would actually say "Oh YOU'RE the 27 year old with breast cancer". They were not ugly about it, they were very sweet. My case was talked about because like I said, it's not every day you come across someone so young with breast cancer.

Looking at me now you would have no idea that I had cancer. My scars are fading and my hair is back to normal...thanks to highlights of course. I always meet new people at breast cancer events, and hearing these women's stories always get to me. You would not believe some of the things these women have had to go through, and you would never know by looking at them. I am a member of a survivor group, Young Survivors of Tarrant County, and it is all women that were under (or around) 40 when they were diagnosed. I love this group and our monthly meetings! Support groups aren't for everyone, and I totally respect that. But when I was diagnosed, the one thing I said is if one person hears my story and does a self breast exam, or tells their friends, then it's all worth it. Having the lumpectomy, getting a punctured lung from my port surgery, losing my hair and having to wear a wig at my wedding, days where I couldn't get out of bed, losing my eyebrows (that never came back), delaying my honeymoon because I had to start radiation two days after my wedding...it was all worth it. The survivor group allows me to share my story with others and hopefully offer some comfort to women that might be in the same shoes I was in. I might not ever know if my story made an impact on somebody, but I hope in my heart that it has, or will in the future.

I will never say that I am "thankful" that I got cancer, that is definitely not the word. But I can't imagine what my life would be like without it, and unfortunately I will never be able to completely shut it out, as recurrence is always going to have a small place in the back of my mind. And to be honest, I don't want to know, because I am so happy with where my life is right now and wouldn't have it any other way.

Remember something good ALWAYS comes out of something "bad".

Three Months Old

Where does the time go? Three months,already? I have to say that I LOVE being Presley and Marshall's mommy. They are sweet, playful, funny, adorable, the list goes on and on! They are laughing so much these days, and it still gets me every time. Watching another creature(s) discover the world is hands down the neatest thing I think I will ever see.

Presley is sleeping about 7-8 hours at night, while Marshall is eating about every four hours. We put them to bed between 8-9, then I usually get up with Marshall around 1 and then 4:30ish. Presley usually sleeps till 4:30...which is just before Kyle's alarm goes off. He's determined to teach her to sleep an extra 30 minutes. :) I am reading BabyWise (and taking it with a grain of salt, mind you) and I am going to start trying different tactics with Marshall to try and get him sleeping longer at night. It's certainly not that he is lacking in the nutrients department...he weighs a little over 14 lbs! Presley weighs about 13.5 lbs.

They are both laughing and talking so much! Marshall loves it when Kyle does his own version of "patty cake", he laughs so hard every time. Presley and Marshall both really enjoy "playing with the fishies" (as I like to call it), or sitting in the Happy Aquarium bouncy seat and watching the fish and bubbles. It gets Presley every time, granted that she is in a good mood of course. :)

I'm always wondering who will crawl first, or who will talk first. It changes daily. :) Marshall is quite the little mover, as he always has been. He kicks his legs constantly whether it be laying on his play mat, or in the bouncy seat. This is one reason why we don't put them on the same blanket and play mat. We don't want them to hate each other already!

They are both everything I could have ever hoped for, and more. I love them more than I could ever put into words, and they truly light up my life. (corny, I know) I am so proud to be their Mommy!




kicking away!





L-O-V-E this one







ruh-roh



the spit up ruined our sticker




wasn't in the mood



pouty face!