Our Weekend in El Dorado

Well, we were not planning on going to El Dorado this past weekend, but one of my best friend's growing up, Emily's, grandfather passed away and so we headed there for the funeral on Friday. He was such a sweet, sweet man that served many and I got to know him growing up as a little girl at church! I was sad that this was our reason for going home, but it was great to see everyone!

We got to El Dorado around 8:00 on Friday night and I worried that Griffin and Bailey would be fussy because it was bedtime, but they were SO happy! Some of my parents good friends were in town, so they came by and I just knew that they were going to be little grouches, but they weren't at all...they were so good! I feel like we are finally getting to a time of contentment, which is really nice. Bailey slept until 7:30 Saturday morning and Griffin slept until about 4:30 before waking up...are we getting closer to a normal nights sleep???

Bailey and Aunt Hannah

Saturday, we woke up and had Spudnuts....all of you El Dorado people know how special that is! :) I have missed those good ole' things, and can't wait to introduce Bailey and Griffin to them! Then Mom and I ran some errands around time and I got a few Christmas presents...I have got to get going on my Christmas shopping. Mom, Dad, and I went to the funeral that afternoon while Jacob and Hannah babysat. Dad grilled out Saturday night and it was SO good!!

Sunday we went to church and everyone was so happy to see the babies...we haven't been back since August, so they've changed just a little bit...and we made it through church! I really think that's the first time that they have both made it. After church, we had a little photoshoot in their fall outfits, which I LOVE!

 IMPOSSIBLE to get a good picture...our Christmas card picture is going to take a miracle!

My sweet girl!

Love that gummy smile...and Daddy makes him laugh ALL THE TIME!

I love these babies!

Griffin is always chewing on his hand!

Poor things...someone is always getting hit or kicked! :)

After heading back, I have realized how much harder it is to get back into the swing of things when I have to get up and go to work on Monday morning. I had a FANTASTIC week last week...I even had a student's Dad come back early from Iraq and surprise her at school...it was amazing! I miss my babies so much during the day, but I am so busy and they are so well taken care of, so that makes it much easier to be away from them. Bailey is the sweetest and most content baby...she normally wakes up while I am getting ready in the morning and she will sit in her bouncy seat the whole time and "talk" to me. Griffin, on the other hand, has been a little fussy....BUT....HE HAS A TOOTH!!!!!! I have thought he might be teething for a little while now, but everyone acted like I was crazy to think that my barely four month old could be teething, but this Mommy was right! He has a sharp, little, white object poking through those sweet gums. He is also quite the eater and is loving some rice cereal and applesauce...Bailey is not quite as excited, so we're working on her!

Alright, off to bed...I feel like such an old person going to bed at 9:00!! :) Daylight savings time is rough on babies!!!

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Off to Work I Go!

My office that I've been away from since April...I have begun covering the office with pictures of Bailey and Griffin...the kids LOVE it! 

Well...today was the big day! I must say that I wasn't looking forward to it, even though I LOVE my job! I feel so blessed to have my wonderful job, but I knew how much I would miss Bailey and Griffin...not to mention working with sleep deprivation! :) Last night, I had a hard time going to sleep with so many emotions about going back to work! This morning, I woke up, thinking that Bailey and Griffin would sleep until 7:00, but as soon as I got out of the shower, Bailey was awake. Luckily, she sat in her bouncy seat the whole time I got ready and we "talked." Jacob took them to our sitter, Chelsea, this morning, which made it much easier to leave them...I had more time to regroup after leaving them!

Bailey and I this morning...she was confused about why we were taking pictures so early! :)

Griffin and I before heading out this morning!

This morning as I headed to work, I thought "Where in the world do I even begin???"...especially considering that I haven't been there since the beginning of APRIL! I missed my sweet babies, but everyone was SO SO SO sweet to me! My friend, Alyssa, greeted me with a Sonic Sweet Tea and my parents sent me flowers! When I walked in this morning, I had kiddos waiting at my office to say hi, so that made the transition much smoother! One student came running in my office and I asked if everything was okay, she replied "YES, I just needed to see you and say hi!!" Another little boy looked really hard at me and said "Well, I guess you had those babies!" It was so sweet how many of them asked about them and knew them by name...I have such sweet kiddos at my school! My principal is also so sweet and periodically checked on me during the day...everyone's support meant so much! I was so busy all day that the day flew by and it was time to pick up my sweet babies and they did great!!! Chelsea took some pictures of them today for Halloween, but I will have to do another post about that....and Chelsea, I am still going to do a post about you, so just get ready!!! :) It makes it so much easier to leave them knowing that they are so well taken care of! Here's to hoping that the rest of the week goes as smoothly! Thank you for all of your sweet facebook messages, text messages, and phone calls encouraging me about today!

4 months!

Bailey and Griffin were four months on Thursday and I really can't believe how fast their little lives have gone by! We had their four month appointments yesterday and they are looking great!

Griffin has gone through a growth spurt for sure, and I am so proud of my growing boy! He weighs 15 lb. 9 oz and is 24 1/2 inches long. He has really developed a personality lately and coos and giggles all the time. It is one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard! He is our more active baby and is moving all the time! Our doctor asked if he can put any weight on his legs, and I just laughed! He doesn't like to sit down, he wants to stand up assisted as much as possible. He loves our jumper toy because he can stand up in it and pushes off the ground. Right now, he is hogging this toy because Bailey's little feet don't touch the ground yet. We have put her in it a few times and he will stare at it and whine...we're going to have to work on sharing! :) He LOVES to watch Baby Einstein...he will watch it while I take a shower and it's so nice to have something to entertain them and keep them happy and it's amazing watching his little facial expressions change as he watches it. He has had rice cereal a few times and loves it! He has also slept through the night the past couple of nights, but I'm trying not to jinx ourselves! :) I love my sweet boy so much and am so proud of how he is growing and developing more everyday. I can already tell that we're going to have so much fun with this little boy!

 Headed to my four month appointment...I wouldn't have been smiling as much if I had known I would get shots! :(

My first cereal!

Bailey also had a great four month checkup! She has had a hard time though since getting her shots...her first fever and VERY fussy! It breaks my heart to see her not feeling good...this is our first experience with this. Let me just add, watching your babies get shots is TERRIBLE! They were so happy and smiling, then were shocked and SCREAMING two seconds later! Luckily, my mom was in town to help me love and console after this traumatic experience...I thought I might need consoling too! Bailey is now weighing 13 lb. 14 oz. and she is 23 /4 inches long. She is the sweetest girl! It cracks me up to watch her with all of our facial expressions. Lately, she has become much more selective about who she wants to smile at and it is so funny! The majority of the time, she is so content and will just sit, watch, and coo at others around her. She was sleeping good, but has taken a few steps backward! We're hoping to get back to sleeping better. She is beginning to get a little hair and it's so cute and fuzzy! I am so lucky to be this sweet girl's Mommy and I know that we are going to have so many "girl days" together. 

Heading to my fourth month doctors appointment!

Not sure about the camera flash

"Mom, what is this thing you keep putting on my head??"

My dad was feeding Bailey and poor thing couldn't even stay awake to finish!

My first cereal...and yes, I did get some in my mouth and licked my lips after I was done!

They are staring each other down! I still really wonder what they think of each other!

Sweet babies...I really hope that they grow up to be best buddies...I know we'll have our "moments", but I hope they know how lucky they are to have such a sweet sibling!

On a funnier note, Jacob had an annual meeting this past week and it was the first time that I had to attempt to put them to bed by myself. This is quite a process, so I was very nervous about it! He has been on a few trips, but I've always had someone here to help me. First, I sent Jacob a text with these pictures and said hope you're enjoying yourself :) ....

He thought this was very funny, and we were glad we could provide him with a good laugh. However, they must have sensed that I needed a little help! This was the only time they cried the whole night and they went down the easiest that I think they have EVER gone down. I must admit that it was quite the accomplishment and I did pat myself on the back after it was over!!

Say a prayer for me this week, I go back to work on Monday. I LOVE my job, but I sure am going to miss my sweet babies! This is going to be an adjustment for all of us, so please pray for my emotions and my sanity as we get used to our new normal. I am so excited and blessed about the sitter arrangement that I have, but I will do a post on that another time! I'm going to be needing LOTS of caffeine in this new routine! 

Prayer Request

I have a very special prayer request for all of you who read my blog! My freshman year at Harding, I had the most precious suitemate, Chelce. She and her husband just had their fourth child, who was born at 26 weeks. This situation touches my heart so much, especially considering that we very easily could have been in this same place. She has such a positive outlook and her sweet baby, Cohen Grace, is just beautiful! She still has a long road ahead of her and could use lots of prayers!! Here is a link to Cohen's blog if you would like to keep up with her progress!

Daddy's Home!!!!

Jacob has been gone this week on a pheasant hunting trip in Kansas that he won for work! He had a blast, but we sure missed him! He didn't get home last night until 10:30, so he didn't get to see Griffin and Bailey before they went to bed (he saw them during the night, but that's not the same). This morning, we decided we would go visit him at work since we missed him so much!

On another note, I decided yesterday during their nap time that I really wanted to make some taco soup...I checked the pantry and of course, didn't have all of the ingredients...so, what's a mom to do?? We loaded up after they woke up and went to Wal-Mart...I have to admit, it made me REALLY nervous, but my thought process is that if I get them used to doing the things that I need them to do, they will get used to it. It would be really easy to stay cooped up all of the time, but that's just really not the way that Jacob and I are. So...off we went and I was contemplating the logistics of this the whole way there. I arrived and decided my double stroller would be the best option and I would use one of the hand held baskets to get my groceries. We got to Wal-Mart and guess what...they no longer have the hand held baskets, so Griffin and Bailey got to "hold" the food for me! :)

Griffin holding the Fritos for Taco Soup and Bailey obviously saw something she didn't like! :)

The checking out part made me the most nervous because we weren't moving, but they did great! Of course the girl ahead of me had a bunch of coupons, which made it take longer and my heart started beating faster with each passing minute, but they were perfect!!!! Love my little Wal-Mart Babies! It's so funny the reactions that I get when I'm out in public. I think I have forgotten that twins aren't a normal thing, so it's never  boring with people stopping me to look, pointing at us, talking to the babies, etc. Maybe there is hope for the future and we will be able to get out and about after seeing how well they did yesterday!

They are also getting really good at sitting in their bouncy seats while I cook supper and staying content. I'm not saying that there's not an occasional whimper, but I have gotten pretty good at entertaining them (even singing and dancing to Father Abraham at times)...whatever works! :) 

Bailey is much more entertained than the cooking than Griffin is...he was ready to eat at this point!

Bailey kicks her feet CONSTANTLY!

Such a big boy!

Yay for Friday! Hope you have a great weekend! We are going on a date tonight, so I'm very excited about that!! :)

Reunited and it feels so good!

Well...big news for Griffin...he went on his first road trip away from home! My parents offered to take one of them for the weekend and I really debated it, but decided it will be good for each of them to get individual time and attention every now and then, not to mention it makes it a little easier on us for a few days....but man, did we miss him! I had the hardest time deciding which one got to go because I didn't want to feel like I was "getting rid" of one or choosing one over the other to get to go. Jacob had the brilliant idea of whoever "talked" first got to go...and Griffin won. Jacob likes to use this technique a lot with bath time, diaper changing, etc. Griffin had a great time and even got to go to the El Dorado homecoming parade! Bailey really missed him though, so we skyped each night with him! For some reason, it won't let me add our skype pictures :(

While Griffin was gone, Bailey and I went shopping and she did FANTASTIC! Everyone commented how good she was and how beautiful those eyelashes are! I see many more shopping trips in our future!

Taking a nap in Target

I really do wonder if they notice that their brother/sister isn't around! They both did great, but I'm sure they were glad to be back together!

Cuddling in the bed on Monday morning

I was getting the bath ready for our nightly bath and turned around to see this...

Daddy thinks he's so funny, but that is a sweet face!

Bailey having some tummy time...that head is getting strong!

Those sweet eyes!

Terrible picture of me, but I love it of my sweet girl!

Sweet boy is so good at cuddling!

Bailey is in LOVE with her blanket and pacifier...I really do call it our "magic blanket" because if she's fussy, I put the blanket next to her face and she is OUT!

Griffin wasn't interested in napping, so we just talked and played!

Welcome to the Fox daycare!!

In other BIG BIG BIG news.....

We sold our house!!! The papers are signed! I'm still a little in shock about this, but we are very excited about it. I will keep you posted with more news on our living situation!

This time last year!

I was doing this...

Yes, I really did complete a half marathon! 

Notice the ambulance in the background...thought I might need it! :) 

Somewhere around mile 10 

Those are my arms raised...Jacob made fun of me, but I have never been so glad to be done with something in all of my life! I saw that I was almost to the 3 hour mark, so I sprinted to make it under that! ha 

 Waiting patiently for me to finish!

Jacob's sister, Jessie, had this "fantastic" idea to run a half marathon as a family as a Father's Day gift...proud to say that I did it, proud to say I never want to do it again! :) I will admit that it was fun to do though! 

Jenna, Me, Ruth, Jessie proudly displaying our running distance 

The boys weren't quite as proud of their magnets...it wasn't as challenging for them, considering that David ran cross country at Georgia Tech, Jeff runs all the time, and Jacob could not run for a year and take off running without much of a challenge.

We had "Team Fox" shirts made, so we had a photoshoot the next day...if we only knew in this picture that three weeks later, we would find out we were pregnant...

WITH TWINS! :)

I must say that my life is so much different this year than it was last! Sometimes I feel like having Bailey and Griffin is about as tiring as a marathon, but it is so rewarding! It felt like such an accomplishment to finish the half marathon, but I am already feeling the rewards of being a Mommy and learning that I really can do this. It's so tiring, wearing, and stressful, but it is the best feeling in the world (even in the middle of the night). My life is drastically different now, but I wouldn't change it for anything...although it prob wouldn't hurt to start running again! :)