IM. DEAD. SERIOUS.

Well, my girls reacted differently to Santa Claus than I was expecting.  I was prepared for the all out scream from Millie, clinging onto my leg and not even looking at him from Rose, and the possible eye-gorge and beard pull from Maryn.  However, they gave quite the show.  If I ever have to worry if my girls will team-up in the future - here was my proof.  It was like a mighty force.  They all three simultaneously looked at him and gave the "eat poop and die" look.  It was quite frightening.  Even the other people in line noted that my girls thought Santa had the intelligence of a ringworm.  We sure hope Santa understands how these girls think and doesn't punish them come Christmas Morning for their lack of tact???

OUR LIFE IN A YEAR

STATS N' ALL

WOW!  WHAT A YEAR???  That is all I can say.
This past year has not been one I will ever forget.  Our little family has suffered some huge changes within the last 365 days.  Some good.  Some definitely not-so-good.  It feels like the babies were born yesterday; yet at the same time it feels like it was 10 years ago!  We have pushed through some of the toughest moments I hope we ever endure in our life.  We now have a new partially built home that we are rockin' this "three-kids thing" in every single day.  Life is finally starting to turn up for us.  I hope.  (At the very moment I type this I am crossing my fingers and knocking on wood so as to not jinx myself).  We have the home narrowed down to about 4 projects before I can start nesting in it.  That is HUGE progress!!!  The twins survived the first year of their life - also a HUGE success.  Rose, Mark, and I grew as a family and opened our arms up to these two little heart-steelers, leaving the only little life we have known as our family of three and stepping out on faith.  Well, actually, it felt more like a 100 yard plunge that turned out as a major free-fall, if you can catch my drift.  I wouldn't trade our life for anything in the world.  It has been a blur but its a total blessing, that to be honest, we didn't even know we wanted, yet couldn't live without.

So here is our 1 Year Update....

THE TWINS:

• The girls started Day-Care in August and are LOVING it!  The really do!  Lizzie now works for the daycare until noon and I pick her up when I pick up Rose and they go to my house for the afternoon.  I can definitely tell that the twins are more advanced than Rose was at this age just by constant interaction.  However, the down side is the sickness.  Daycare kids are SICK.  ALL. THE. TIME.  ugh.........
• Nobody can pronounce Maryn's name.  It drives me totally insane.  Mills started calling her May-May and it kinda stuck.  So 90% of the time our girls go by May May and Millie.  
• The best part of the entire day is first thing in the morning when they start jabbering back and forth at each other in their beds.  It sounds like a conversation in a foreign language.  Melts my heart every single morning.
• Millie has been easier the last few months.  She piddles and minds her own business.  She gets in trouble but mainly for meddling where she is not supposed to be.  
• May May is the cuddle bug of the group - always wanting a hug, to be lovable, seeking attention.  Her smile can bring a grown man to his knees.  
• Maryn is getting slightly frustrated that she cant walk yet.  She gets so upset when we walk into another room and she cant get there fast enough.  Mills used to wait on her but since her speed in walking has increased to running mode - very rarely does she wait on her sister these days.  
• Mills is turning into our tom-boy.  She would rather throw things and play with sticks in the mud than anything girly.  Rose would never have played in the mud for fear of getting dirty.  
• Words they can say:
• May - mama, dada, bye bye, hey, un uh (no), tata
• Millie - mama, dada, bye bye, daye (darly), may may, hey, no, okay, come on, yea, 
• Things they can do:
• May -  climb stairs, clap her hands, put blocks on the stick (actually does great with wooden puzzles), squat down flat footed and back up unassisted, fast crawling
• Millie - back bend, throw her hands up like shes cheerleading with Rose, climb stairs, run, squat down flat footed and back up unassisted
• Diaper size 5
• Favorite Foods:
• May - pretty much anything
• Millie - bananas, peaches, and cheese crackers
• Foods they dislike:
• May - squash 
• Millie - pretty much everything (she is our pickiest eater by far)
• adf

MARYN:

• WEIGHT:  23 lbs 6 oz. (88%)
• HEIGHT:  2 feet 7.5 inches tall (97%)
• HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE:  44.5 cm (32%)
• BMI:  16.56
• HEART RATE:  139
• Clothing Size - 18-24 months

MILLS:

• WEIGHT:  21 lbs 4 oz. (66%)
• HEIGHT:  2 feet 5.75 inches tall (57%)
• HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE:  44 cm (20%)
• BMI:  16.88
• HEART RATE:  131
• Clothing size - 12-18 months

Dont take the monkey...

***  A few side notes on the stats reports!  

1. Maryn has gone from <1% on the growth charts to 97% in length and 88% in weight.  I am AMAZED.  God is good.
2. Surprisingly to me, Mills' BMI was higher than Maryn's - Maryn is 2 full inches taller than Mills - which accounts for a large portion of her weight.  
3. Mills' head is smaller than May-May's....???  I have always thought Mills head looked big compared to her little body but it is only in the 20%.  (I had them measure twice).  
4. To be honest, we measured twice on most things.  I was just certain Maryn was significantly bigger than Mills, but she is really just built much different.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY MY SWEET SWEET BABIES

DOUBLE THE TRICKS, DOUBLE THE FUN
OUR CIRCUS PEANUTS HAVE TURNED ONE !!!

HALLOWEEN FUN !!!

BUT THIS MOMMA CAN ONLY CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAY SO MANY TIMES.....

Meet Gus-Gus, Jaq, and Cinderella....

First Baptist Church Trunk or Treat

Round ONE

3 kids X 3 costumes X 3 nights = way more than I bargained for - and we still never went trick-or-treating.....

Meet Elsa and Olaf(s)...  

FUMC Halloween Parade... 

Round TWO

I felt as If Halloween would never end....  Is there such as thing as the Halloween Scrooge??? Cause I might have been him.  Its just so hard for a momma.....I mean just the Costumes (thanks to Phyllis or they may not have had any).  These are a few of the arguments conversations we have had concerning this Happy Halloween:

"No, you may not eat tootsie rolls for breakfast"
"Don't leave gumballs out because Maryn and Mills will find them and get choked"
"Why are you chewing gum at 7am?"
"Where did you even find that gum.... I thought I hid all the gum"
"ROSE.  I SAID NO CANDY."
"Eat your supper and THEN you can have that dead blasted lollipop"
"You can not eat that - it has nuts.  Your not allowed to eat nuts"
"No Maryn and Mills can not eat a sucker"
"Who gave Millie a sucker?"
"Why does Maryn have chocolate on her face"
"Why wont Mills take her nap... Oh wait - she had a twix bar when I wasn't looking!"

I swear the candy multiplies.  Its like the two loaves of bread and fish.  And to make matters worse my own father bought all the sale candy at Wal Mart the day after Halloween.  Needless to say, my kids had a great Halloween.  I think they would have all had more fun (Mark included) if I had not been around.  Mark loves candy and he is the guilty culprit in almost 99.9% of every conversation above including "Eat your supper first" memoirs.  

JUST ELSA

HALLOWEEN AT THE COUNTRY CLUB

ROUND THREE

Lucky for me, Phyl happened to ride over to try on the twins' birthday tu-tus and volunteered to watch May and Millie while I took Rose to the Country Club activities.  That made all the difference in the world!  So, honestly, this was actually a lot of fun!  I Kinda-sorta (not real bad tho) feel bad the Duo missed out on such a treat!  

So....  ya see... thats just a whole lotta Halloween to not even make it out trick or treating on Halloween night!!!!  TOO MUCH....  We ate at Pea Soups and went to bed by 7:30pm anticipating the extra hour of sleep and awaiting the time change!  See ya next year Mr. Pumpkin.