Happy Birthday Babies!

We did it.

We have survived.

Not only did we survive our 3 hour plane ride with all 3 kids (I was expecting the worst, so it wasn't all that bad), but we survived our first year with twins.

I cannot believe their first birthday has come and gone. When I stop and think about all that led up to these babies coming to our family, I am grateful and amazed. And I wonder where the last year has gone.

We celebrated big. Here are just a few of the MANY pictures from that day:

The cousins, who were so excited to celebrate with us.

Our cute cakes.

Carter and Brady--playing with their new cars and eying the cake.

My brother took this one.
I'm still mastering the whole depth of field thing.
I guess I need to stop blaming my crummy kit lens when it just won't work.

Love this! Sweet picture of Brady and Daddy.

Brady is not too sure about this cake thing.

Okay, we're getting into it now.

The lashes! I love Carter's lashes.

My new bedroom

It is finally here. I got the final picture in the frame, and now I have a master bedroom that I love.

At the beginning of April I posted my before shots. I had just set out to do a bedroom redo without spending gobs of money. Here is my before:

and here is my after (with a hidden Brady. Do you see him?):

You can go here if you want to see all the before pictures.

Here are the details.

The room color is Rocky Mountain Sky by Behr. In real life it seems just a tad more blue. The dresser and nightstands are the Hemnes line from Ikea. I love their clean look. The bedding is from Home Goods. I kept going there over and over until I found it. I found the comforter in one trip, and coverlet in a separate trip. The lamps are another Ikea find. Dan actually found them there, and I love them.


Over the bed I hung these 3 Target frames. The pictures are ones I have taken on different vacations. Not only do I think they are beautiful, but they have wonderful memories.

We just got the new tv, which will eventually hang on the wall. (We still haven't moved the old one.)

Here is the awkward 4th wall. I hung a picture I have had lying around forever and got the storage bench from Target.

Curtains from Ikea. Chair and table are my Cragislist finds. Both got a coat of paint, and I recovered the chair cushions.

When I got rid of the bookshelves, I condensed down my book stash. But I like that I can have a small one on my nightstand. And the one thing I don't like about the nightstands--nowhere to hide cords.

Close up of the photo shelves. The shelves were the splurge in the room. I showed Dan the PB catalog to give him an idea of what I wanted. He went out and bought them. I know if I waited I could have found something else that would work for less, but I do love them. The frames are mostly Ikea. One is Walmart, and one was on sale at PB.

I know a lot people say keep your kids out of your bedroom. I was planning on doing that. But as I searched for artwork to put in this space, I found nothing that I loved. I suddenly thought, why search for something I love when what I love most is my family? I am glad for my decision.


And finally, this is what was going on while I was taking pictures:
Gotta love it.

Happy Day

We went to the orthotics office today. Again. And oh happy day, we can go from this


and this


and this


to this.


March 4-June 15. 3 1/2 months. Rashes, dry skin, stench, difficulties in snuggling. But I do think it was worth it. I wish I had a good before and after picture for you, but just believe me that his head looks so much better.

When we met with the person there (I don't even know what his title would be--orthotic specialist?) I told him that I hoped we would be done today, since we are going out of town, but knew that might be wishful thinking. Lucky for us, Carter reached acceptable levels, and we were cleared to discontinue. He did say that we could keep the helmet on to try and get still a little more change out of him, but once babies hit one, growth slows down and any change will take longer. Between his age and our vacation, we felt that to discontinue would be just fine. Yeah, a clean head and a snuggle before bed--I loved it.

Two final thoughts:

1. If your child is in a Doc-Band/helmet, it will be worth it. And the best way to get the smell out is with a baking soda paste. Someone left this tip on my blog, and it is so true. I just mixed a little baking soda with water, rubbed it into the helmet with a toothbrush, wiped it out with a wet rag, then dried it with a towel. It also helped to wipe it out with a dry towel after it dried to get more of the baking soda residue out. And beware, your child will probably have baking soda show up in his/her hair, but hey--it helps with the smell.

2. Dan thought it was odd that I only posted about Brady in that post about bonding. I struggle finding the balance between being fair (and if you know me, you know I like things to be fair) and promoting individualism. Carter has definitely bonded with us. Brady just seems to be needy--always wanting mom or dad, so his attachment is just more obvious at those times. Carter is much more able to play/be on his own, but that also means when he wants his momma, it means that much more to me. He is such a sweet baby with a tender heart. I am lucky to be his mom. I am lucky to have all my boys.

Happy Almost Birthday

Over the weekend we had an almost birthday party. Since we will be out of town for their actual birthday, we had a few people over for cake and ice cream here. A huge thanks to my friend Ruth for making the cakes (aren't they amazing!) and a thank you to those who came.

I cannot believe that it has been one year. Well actually, exactly one year ago today we had no idea we were getting the twins. We found out they were ours on Father's Day. And now look at them. I'm sure I will have more to say on their actual birthday, so for now--aren't my boys cute!

Carter got into the cake. By the time he was done, he was green from the frosting.


Brady didn't like the cake quite as much. He really hates getting his hands dirty, and much prefers me to feed him. He didn't attack the cake with quite the same gusto, but he eventually ate his share.

My curtain catastrophe

We have spent the last few months doing some home decorating, namely our bedroom (which I have finally finished and will post pics of soon) and our family room. Here is my funny redecorating story.

One of the pieces of our re-do are these panels I made for our family room.

I wanted to tie them to the kitchen windows, since they are only 10 feet apart. My idea was to use a solid color and have a small strip of the striped material in it. In my mind it looked great. I even thought I was so smart because I used a panel from Ikea and cut it up to make the valance. Well, here it is:

Yeah. A problem. It looks like a before. Like 1990 called and wanted their drapery back. I told Dan if we moved in to a house and these curtains were up, I would take them down because they looked outdated. But I just put them up that morning!

So down they came, and I whipped up some new ones ala Nester. I found this cute fabric at Hobby Lobby that had the same colors as the panels, only more fun and casual for the kitchen. Then I used the hardware I already had up to loop up the fabric piece (using safety pins) and made the green ties, tied and viola! Curtains that I love.

My Brady

Yesterday I finally got the babies signed up for childcare at the gym. We trekked our way in, double stroller and all, got everyone settled, and I was able to put in a workout. When I came to pick them up, it was just what I would have guessed--Tyler was off on the jungle gym, Carter was playing with a baby toy, and Brady was being held by the worker. As soon as my Brady saw me, he reached out to me. I took him in my arms and kissed his head as he snuggled down into my shoulder.

I know it isn't a big deal, my baby recognizes and loves me. But as an adoptive parent, you have this subconscious worry, at least I have. Of course I'm their mom, they are mine and always have been--but still, will they bond like a biological child? Is there going to be a different feeling with the twins than with Tyler? So when Brady reaches out to me, or climbs all over me, or wants me and not someone else, it means the world to me. I love my sweet Brady.

Galveston Beach

I finally figured out how to upload my pictures. Really it was a matter of figuring out where my photos were stored. I know. When I was around 10, I thought I knew a lot about computers because I could turn my dad's on and play games. That's still all I know how to do, but now I realize I know nothing.

The point is, I can finally put up these pictures!

Last Monday we had such a fun Memorial Day. We were grateful for the invitation to head to Galveston. After all, we have lived here over three years and not once gone to the beach.

Tyler had a blast. He spent the entire time in the water or digging in the sand, except when I forced him to get a drink. A friend had brought his surf board and helped the kids ride it in.




A huge thank you to our friends who helped Tyler in the water (especially Gabe, but I know other people helped too), because Dan and I felt like we had our hands full.

Speaking of those two, they did pretty well. Carter liked it. He liked sitting right where the water was rolling in. He stayed in the shade and played with beach toys. He may have even helped himself to some sand.

Brady, not so much love for the beach. So far, he seems to have issues with different textures. He didn't like the sand. He didn't like the water. He spent his time either on a towel or a lap. I managed to get him on the sand for a few minutes, long enough to snap a few pictures, but then he was done.

I have an announcement

I bought baby wipes. For the first time since the babies were born.

Between what I had stocked up on way back at our first failed adoption, and what was so kindly given to me as baby gifts, I almost made it to one year.

Learning Curve

I was so excited to finally have a minute to post. We had a fabulous weekend. I have photos of my finally finished bedroom. I snapped a picture of that lizard in our house. (Your suggestions were great, but still required me to get too close to the lizard. I saw him on 3 different days. Finally, he showed up relatively close to the door, and I was able to shoo him outside.)

My problem is I feel computer illiterate.

Almost 2 months ago we needed a new laptop and made the switch to a MacBook. I finally got all my data transferred to it and was ready to start using it for my photos. But, I can't figure it out. I can't figure out how to upload through blogger. I can't figure out how to attach photos from flickr. And now I am tired and want to go to bed.

(And if you use a reader, you can see a few of my attempts. Sorry.)

You are just going to have to wait to see pictures until I become just a little more Mac literate. I will try again tomorrow.