Happy Anniversary...and some recent pictures

Today Dan and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary. It's hard to believe we have been married that long, and together for almost 10 years. We've lived in 3 houses, been through 2 moves, and most importantly, have 2 beautiful children together...not to mention the countless other memories we have made together as a couple. I know we will have many, many more!

Unfortunately, I accidentally ran over our outside kitty, Heidi, on Sunday, and I spent the day at the emergency clinic. She had very expensive surgery today to repair her broken pelvis and foot, but the vet is optimistic she will have a great recovery. Here is a picture of our new bionic kitty:



Now we have a "save Heidi" fund =) and decided to have dinner at home instead of going out for our anniversary! We sat in our pj's after the babies went to bed and had some homemade red velvet cake and toasted our anniversary with some wine. What more could we need, anyway?

Here are some recent pictures taken while Dan was in Japan. Luke and Olivia have such little personalities now!

Luke checking out his carseat from the other side

Olivia making a mess eating
Luke and Olivia's friends in Atlanta-Charlotte, Anderson and Ethan (Maddox was napping)
Cutie-pie Luke

In their overalls before the end of summer

Olivia and her "diva" face



Playing outside

Luke on the teeter-totter


Olivia enjoying the swing

Olivia posing for the camera

Home at last!

We survived!!! Over 260 feedings, even more diaper changes, the stomach bug that wouldn't leave-we made it 22 days without Dan. Today he finally came home, thus ending his first round of work in Japan. I don't even want to think about him leaving again in just 3 short weeks.

We were so excited all day Friday time just couldn't move fast enough. Dan was supposed to land around 7pm, so I fed Luke and Olivia dinner and gave them a bath early. I put them in their pj's and headed off to the airport. Dan ended up landing a little early, but we still made it to the gate just in time to see Dan coming through the terminal. What a happy homecoming! A few tears of happiness were shed and lots of hugs and kisses all around.

Here are some pics from our reunion. Just look at those smiles =)

The best laid plans

This past weekend, I decided to venture to Atlanta to visit some friends and their babies and help pass the time until Dan gets home. Little did I know what adventures were ahead of us.

Thursday night my sister in law and my nieces came over to watch Luke and Olivia for a little bit while I got the car loaded. It wasn't until that moment that I realized I had never taken down the pack-n-plays before! That was always Dan's job, along with doing all of the heavy lifting. I was able to get major things loaded (2 pack n plays, 3 bags for the babies, & 1 bag for me), leaving room for the last minute stuff to put in the car Friday morning (highchairs, food, the cooler, a bag of toys...). I wanted to stick to their schedule as much as possible, so I decided I would leave after they ate breakfast, which would be around 9:00am. I managed to get myself and them ready in time, and we were on the road by 9:30am. They usually don't nap until around 10:30-11am, but they immediately fell asleep in the car. Uh oh! I thought it would be a long trip once they woke up because they don't like being in the carseats. Luke woke around 11:30am, and I just started tossing toys to him in his carseat to keep him occupied.

I stopped around 12:30pm to use the restroom (which meant I had to get both babies out of the car just for one quick stop) and gave them their bottles. I got to Atlanta around 1:30pm and I have to say, all in all, it was a pretty good drive. I survived the first leg. Yay!

We had a fun afternoon visiting with Joni and her little girl, Charlotte. Our friends, Lisa, Dan and their son Anderson came over for dinner and it was wonderful to see all of our babies interacting with one another. It was a true playdate, no longer just a sit and drool date! Once all the babies got their last bottle, we headed to Lisa's house, which is where we were staying for the weekend. We got the car unloaded and the babies to bed without any problems at all.

Saturday was a big day! Jen and Marica came over with their twin boys, Ethan and Maddox. Joni and Charlotte joined us as well-6 babies all within 1 1/2 months of age and 6 parents. It was funny to see all our little people interacting and seeing the different personalities come to light. This day made me happy and sad at the same time because I really miss being in Atlanta with all my mom friends. But since I made the trip myself, I know I can do it again. And of course it will be lots easier to visit once Dan gets home, too! We plan on visiting lots!

Sunday we headed to my Grandma's house in Gainesville, GA. It was a short drive (only about 1 1/2 hours), and aside from a 20 minute detour, we arrived with no problems. My mom arrived a short time later. Olivia and Luke immediately took to Grandma, and it warmed my heart to see them together. We were having a great visit until we tried to feed them around 6pm. Then everything went downhill.

Luke started throwing up first, and then Olivia. I was feeling queasy myself. A few phone calls from my friends I saw on Sat, and we concluded we had picked up a stomach bug. Dan and Lisa went to an urgent care Sunday night, Joni to the hospital, and Maddox was throwing up as well. Since the babies were also sick, we knew it couldn't be food poisoning. A long night was ahead of me...

Mom went to Publix to get some pedialyte at 10pm, and I gave the babies a bath. What a waste of time that was because 5 outfit changes and many towels later they were still throwing up! I ran out of clothes for them and we had to do a load of laundry. Olivia finally drifted off to sleep and I laid down with Luke. Around 1am, he woke up throwing up and then I started throwing up. We laid down again and around 3:30am we were both up one more time. I managed to get him to drink some pedialyte and we dozed until about 6am. Then we all woke up and I tried to get more fluids in them. I wasn't having much luck and I decided I was going to head home and get them in their comforts of home.

Luke and Olivia slept for 3 solid hours during the car ride home, and when I got home around 2pm I tried to feed them a bottle. Olivia immediately threw up, so I called the doctor and she asked to see us. Luckily Dr. Colyer said they looked ok and to stick to the pedialyte regimen since they both had somewhat wet diapers. I did that most of the night, and we managed to get a little bit of sleep. Luckily Dan's parents came over for a bit last evening and I was able to take an hour nap since I had been up most of the previous night and had not been able to eat in over 24 hrs. Thank goodness for family!

Today has been ok, although neither of them still feel very well. They will take some of their formula and a little pedialyte, but no solids-not even their favorite: banana! Olivia also has diarrhea and had to get a "bonus bath" today as she had poo all over herself and her clothes. The fun never stop!

I am going to give them a bottle for dinner instead of solids in the hopes that they (and me) will be on the mend by tomorrow. Dan gets home Friday, and that day can't come soon enough for many reasons! We miss him so much, and he hates being so far away when none of us are feeling well. So much for a relaxing weekend visiting old friends!!!

T-10 Days

Dan will be home in about 10 days, and it can't get here soon enough! We are missing him like crazy, and I know he is very homesick. Since he has been gone, Olivia has started "dancing" and will turn her head to the side when I turn my head to the side. She will also clap and cheer for herself. Luke will crawl to me and hand me his baseball and laugh like crazy when I chase after him crawling. I know this doesn't seem like a lot, but these are the little things that I treasure so much. We can't wait for daddy to come home!

Another tooth for Olive

Olivia's second tooth is just beginning to surface on her lower gums next to her first tooth. Her first tooth is not even half-way in yet-it sure is taking its sweet time to arrive!

Luke has still yet to get any teeth. I think we'll just have to get him some dentures instead. =)

Link to 9 Month Pics

Here is the link for Luke and Olivia's 9 month pics. She was able to get some cute pics, but not as many as usual. Luke and Olivia were very busy taking in the outside scenery and could not be bothered to sit still for long! We took the pics at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, where Dan and I got married almost 7 years ago. They are sitting on my wedding dress, and that was why Luke and Olivia were so dressed up. Enjoy!

www.boldimpressionsphotography.com

code: bartlett3

It takes a village

I have always heard the saying "it takes a village to raise a child," and now I truly know what it meant by that statement. I am humbled by how wonderful my family and friends (new and not-so-new) have been while Dan is thousands of miles away. A neighbor brought me dinner the other night, and a friend from college that is happily moving in just a few miles away went shopping with me yesterday and then helped me get the babies ready for bed. Oma and Opa are coming over tomorrow to cook dinner and spend some time with Luke and Olivia, and PawPaw will be here this afternoon to help with their afternoon feeding. Even just an hour of help allows me to recharge some to get through the next couple of weeks, and I'm so grateful for everyone in my life! Thanks!!!

Dan is adjusting to Japan, and he said the guys he is working with are great. Hopefully he can get out and explore the city and surrounding areas during the weekends. Skype and the webcam have been wonderful-how did people communicate before all this wonderful technology? =) I think Luke recognizes Dan on the computer and cries when I put it away (partly because he misses daddy and partly because I took something away from him!) Olivia is too busy being Olivia to sit still and actually look at daddy, but she can still hear his voice, which is good. I miss our "family time" immensely, but will treasure it all the more once Dan is finally home.

I also discovered a playground in a nearby neighborhood with infant swings, and I hope to take Luke and Olivia swinging again tomorrow morning before it gets so hot. By the way, is it really over 90 degrees in the middle of September? I hope they enjoy the swings as much as they did last time. They are still growing too fast, but learning so much along the way. I have recently started teaching them to crawl up and down stairs, and they are getting brave and trying to stand on their own for a few seconds. I can only imagine how crazy it will be once they finally do start walking!

Just a swingin'

Today Luke, Olivia and I went with MauMau and PawPaw to a family reunion. My niece, Paige, also came and man, was she a big help! Unfortunately the rain put a damper on the day's activities, but we were able to get Luke and Olivia into the swings for their first time before things got too wet. Luke had THE BIGGEST smile on his face the entire time, and Olivia just laughed and laughed. I think they would have stayed in the swings for hours. Well, probably more like 20 minutes but for 9 mth olds, that's a long time!



A great time was had by all, and there is absolutely no better sound in the world than my babies laughter.

A new routine for 3 weeks

Today Dan left for his trip to Japan for 3 long weeks =( We can't believe this day is finally here, and we both hope time goes by equally as fast while he is away. I am used to taking care of Luke and Olivia during the day, but it is nice to have Dan's help in the evening for baths, night wakings, feedings, and being a great daddy in general. I am going to miss him so much! We are just hoping Luke or Olivia don't decide to take off walking while he is gone. I told Dan I would just push them over if that happens (just kidding!)

We got skype set up so Dan can see Luke and Olivia while he is away and they can see him, too. It will be interesting to see how they react to daddy via webcam tomorrow once he finally gets settled. Please think special thoughts for us as this will probably be our most challenging time since they were born!

9 Month Pics

Today we took Luke and Olivia's 9 month pics. Our friend and photographer, Candi, drove all the way to us from Atlanta and back home in the same day just so she could take their pics before Dan's trip. How awesome is she? We decided to take the pictures at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, where Dan and I got married almost 7 years ago. Dan's mom crocheted a beautiful white dress for Olivia and we got a tux for Luke. Too cute! There were a lot of distractions for our little ones (running fountains, people walking by and just being outdoors in general), but hopefully we were able to capture a few great moments. It was much easier to take their 6 month pics as they could sit but not yet move. It's tough to keep 2 little babies still when all they want to do is crawl, crawl, crawl!

Thanks so much, Candi, and we can't wait to see the photos. I will post the link as soon as I get it!

A trip to the middle of nowhere!

Dan and I decided to venture to my dad and stepmom's timeshare near Lake Hartwell for a couple of days. It was a much different trip from last year as then I was 26 weeks pregnant. Little did I know at that time that I would be on bedrest shortly following that trip.

This year I was able to play golf twice (thanks, Oma, for watching Luke and Olivia)and go for a run-two things I was unable to do last year! Oma and Opa were gracious enough to baby-sit one evening so Dan and I could go to dinner. As luck would have it, Luke wasn't feeling well and decided to poop in the tub during his evening bath. Other than that, the evening was pretty uneventful for them. Hopefully Oma and Opa will watch Luke and Olivia again! =)

Omigoodness-we had to take so much stuff for just a few days! Two highchairs, two pack n plays, the play-yard and baby gate, toys, pool stuff, clothes, toys...the list goes on! I don't know how people with triplets or more do it! We borrowed MauMau and PawPaw's big truck just so we could haul everything. We know as Luke and Olivia get bigger, their "needs" will get smaller, but it was nice to have everything we needed.

We really enjoyed our trip, and it was a nice little getaway before Dan leaves on Friday for Japan. More to come on that, and pics soon!


Our last swim in the pool for the summer

Opa showing Luke some "magic tricks"

9 Month check-up

Even though it's one day early, we took Luke and Olivia for their 9 month check up today. I can't believe our babies are already 9 mths old!

Dr. Colyer said both of our cuties are progressing very well. I asked her what I needed to be doing with them developmentally since I stay home with them and they don't have exposure daily to other babies, and she said to keep doing what I'm doing-talking with them lots, reading, playing, and singing. They seem to especially love to help me with the laundry. Their favorite thing to do is pull all of their clothes out of the basket and play peek-a-boo with each and every item. It's the cutest thing! Tasks seem to take much longer now, but they are never boring!

Here are the measurements from today's visit:

Luke
20.7 pounds; 50-75%
28.5" long; 50-75%
Head circumference: 45cm 50-75%

Olivia
16.9 pounds; 10-25%
26.25" long; 10-25%
Head circumference: 42cm 3%

We hopefully won't return to see Dr. Colyer until they turn one year old. She said at that visit they will get 4 shots and one finger stick, so we'll probably wait until after their birthday before we make them endure that torture! In the meantime, we are enjoying seeing them continue to learn new things everyday. Dan has recently taught Luke how to "throw" a soft baseball (with each hand, no less!) and I am teaching them to give hugs and kisses. Olivia has almost mastered clapping and Luke is working on waving hello and bye-bye. They laugh a lot each day, and talk with each other in their own special language. It's quite amazing to see what a close relationship they share with one another, and we hope it's one that endures their lifetime. Happy 9 month birthday to our precious little babies!