Overload of Jack and Braley

I love getting a few hours alone with my boys when Paige is in school. She goes at 9:30, then the boys nap from about 10-11 - so I get an hour to myself in the morning to clean the kitchen and sit down and relax for a bit. It is wonderful!

Then the boys get up, I get to nurse them in peace, we can sing, read books, play with our toys...all without a bossy (adorably bossy...) 2 year old!

Of course, a little photo sesh is always included on the itinerary!

Jack's eyes are blue and fabulous. He will drive the girls crazy!

And Braley has this sweet baby face that melts your heart.

Nothing better than a little twin love. Makes me happy.

I started offering them lunch today, and they liked it. So they are eating 2 solid meals a day, and still nursing 6 times a day. I'm guessing they are just eating less at each nursing session? Not sure...but they are GROWING boys! So fat! I love it!

Naps are going lightyears better these days. I put both boys down awake in their crib. They seem to be able to stay asleep longer when they actually fall asleep on their own.

We are officially pacifier-free as well! None of my 3 children have been attached to a pacifier.

Life is just plugging along here.

playtime

It has been greater than 100 every day here. It always gets this hot in Oklahoma, but not normally until late July and August. With a high of 105 tomorrow, I am terrified of what our "hot" part of the summer is going to be like. Needless to say, besides going to the gym in the morning, I don't take the kids out much in this heat.

Luckily for us, we have a fun playroom upstairs and a fabulously air conditioned house.

But poor Paige now has 2 pretty mobile brothers who are all up in her bizness these days.

Sweet girl doing a little painting....

Then has to ward a curious Braley off...

When Braley grabbed the aquadoodle, she decided to move on and play with some stickers:

Jack saw that and made a bee line for her! (yes, big boy is crawling these days!)

I'll take those! Poor Paige says, "no sir, Jackers!" He doesn't listen.

No matter what she moved on to, Jack was not far behind ready to take what she was playing with and eat it.

She is a great sport though, thank goodness!

She had school today and the boys and I have a lunch date. Have a great day!!

Busy. Tired.

I put the boys in their usual spot for some pictures, and Paige was having none of it! She climbed in and made herself comfy between them.

Then she wanted to "Hold you, Jack!"

We have had a crazy weekend. David has been out of town, so we have invited lots of friends over and made lots of plans to keep busy.

Friday, Brooke and Amy took half days of work to come play : ) We had a 3 year old, 2 year old, 7 month old twins, and a 6 month old. 3 moms - one of whom is almost 9 months pregnant.

Paige and Beckham had a blast playing. They are super adorable.

We gave them a bath to get all the sunscreen off.

Bubbles!!

Today, I had a sitter come stay with the twins so Paige and I could have a little date morning. We went to a baby shower and out to lunch. We napped in the afternoon, then went and did some shopping. I'm so exhausted (said in every post here - I realize this). We don't expect David home until pretty late tomorrow : ( So I think I have one more night on my own. Oh - then he studies late Monday and has class Tuesday. Super.

Cowboy babies

Paige had school today and daddy took off for Dallas, so the boys and I decided to get cray cray! These hats are meant for a 12 month old plus, however my large headed 7 month olds can barely squeeze in them. They will grow in to their heads, right? ; )

These were a gift from their Texan of a great-grandfather, Jack. It melts my heart seeing how proud of his great-grandsons he is. He is so proud to have a little boy named after him.

I have been on my own for one day and I'm exhausted! Thank goodness our nanny is coming in the morning and we have playgroup in the afternoon.

Hope everyone has a great Friday and an even better weekend!

Difficult decisions

I got a letter in the mail last week that forced us to make a tough choice.

As many of you know, David and I struggled with infertility for almost two years before we did IVF and got pregnant.

If you aren't familiar with IVF, here is a little information. Doctors typically try to get as many mature eggs as they can, fertilize them with your partner's sperm, and hope that embryos form. Often, you have more embryos than you want to transfer. You can then freeze those embryos to use if your cycle fails, or if you want to try for siblings later.

Our first cycle yielded a beautiful girl, a miscarried twin at 10 weeks, and no frozen embryos.

Our second cycle yielded perfect twin boys and 5 frozen embryos.

We know our family is finished.

I had mastered the art of putting the whole situation out of my mind, until I got this letter. It is from my former IVF clinic. My doctor has actually left the practice to start his own, but my embryos are still frozen at the former clinic. They have started a new embryo donation program. All you have to do is sign a release form, answer a few basic health questions, and have a physical at their office. Then you are reimbursed for any freezing fee you have paid and are free from any further financial burdens.

Great, right? I mean, David and I said all along that we will 'pay it forward' and donate these embryos. God made them in His image, and we believe strongly that they deserve a chance at life. And what a wonderful gift. We make beautiful and healthy children together. How amazing to help a family get the child/children they long for.

This program is brand new. I am told it will be years before families start getting matched and transfers actually happen. We won't know if/when they are matched and if/when they are transfered and if/when that transfer results in a pregnancy/live birth. I'm leaving all of this up to God. He knows the best place for them, and I trust that He won't let anything bad happen. So please don't ask me if I'm worried that I'll be walking in the mall and see some lost kid crying and think it looks like Jack and then spend the rest of my life upset because I'm worried those embryos might not have gone to good homes. I believe God has prepared us for this.

So why, you might ask, is this a tough choice, if it feels so right for us? Well - if you have never done IVF, I'd never expect you to understand. Just as I can't understand what it is like to have sex and get pregnant, you can't understand what it is like to have frozen embryos you can't use. It is hard to part with them, when I see their potential breathing and laughing x 3 every day. It's just...tough.

Rub a dub dub

3 monkeys in a tub!

David went to the baseball game downtown tonight as a "team building" experience with his work group. Whatever. All I know is I had to do bath and bedtime alone tonight. I'll have to do it tomorrow night when he is in class. Then he goes on his guys golf weekend Thursday - Sunday. So...yeah. Not a whole lot else to say.

Anyway, I thought I'd make my life easier and bathe all three at the same time. It was NOT easier. But it sure was fun! The boys love the big tub and Paige had fun making them laugh by splashing and singing. I had tears in my eyes. These are the moments that I pictured when I was pregnant with the twins. This is why I wanted a big family.

The boys are really starting to notice each other. Especially Braley. He loves Jack! He is always reaching out to grab him.

Stick his hand in his mouth.

I die over these gorgeous boys!

I am exhausted. What is new? I feel like I say that every day. But my work is almost done for the day! I just have to water the flowers!

Happy Monday! xoxo