Hi Ho, Hi Ho....

It's been two weeks... back at work... and really hasn't been THAT bad. Just no time to update the blog!  Miss Elizabeth who is keeping Silas and Avery at home (yes, AT HOME!! - SOOOOO thankful!) is doing a great job on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays... and of course, there is no comparison to Mimi on Wednesdays and Thursdays!! :-)  Many have been so nice to ask about Silas and his reflux issues - he is so much better!! The Zantac has worked wonders. I'm telling you, this is a different baby now!  He is happy and alert - much less hurting. Thank goodness!  

Ladies and gentlemen... we have a night owl on our hands! When the sun goes down, little miss Avery comes alive! haha. Those big eyes just get bigger and she is ready for the party... so funny. Especially considering her mother has been going to bed when the sun goes down for a long time! haha.

Sleep update:  you will hear me scream around the world when we do. ha. They really are getting better - they're eating once or twice during the night and sleeping a little better in-between:-)  I know any day we're going to wake up and be shocked... probably worried too... when they sleep about 6-8 hours!

Ok... on to the pics!

Going to church!  Somebody is happy to be all "g'd" up, somebody is not...

Avery in a dress that Mamaw smocked for me:-)

He just has no idea how cute he is!

No caption needed.

Sally and Vera Kate came to visit!  VK is absolutely precious - so hard to believe she's 4 months old already! She had so much fun playing with her best friend and future boyfriend:-)

Silas and Avery LOVE their Aunt GG and Uncle Micajah!  We even call Micajah the 'baby whisperer' - he is often the only one with the 'magic touch'!  

Micajah and Silas talking business. Asset Management.

The little serious bookworm. Studying.

We found out Silas is enamored with Wheel of Fortune!

 Check out this video of Silas watching Wheel.

Avery doesn't care about Wheel. She just wants to party.

This is what makes the night shifts worth everything...

Yes, Silas loves to smile too... only, like most men I know... he tends to refuse smiling for the camera!  

You don't always get what you ask for...

Rebels, Halloween, GG's Birthday and more!

Silas and Avery made their first trip to the Grove and watched the Rebels play!  They loved all the people, lights, sounds... but found the 2 1/2 hour drive a little hard... (at least the last 30 minutes!), but we all had a blast... just wished the Rebels (or bears or whatever we are) had won the game!  Oh well. 

So, this is funny.  My dad is the only person I know that sits in his recliner and rubs his bare feet together as he relaxes. It's always been something he's done, and I've never seen anyone else do that... UNTIL... 

Silas started rubbing his feet together while he's eating!  SO FUNNY!  He gets so worked up when he's hungry... and immediately is happy when he gets his bottle...and rubs his feet together. HA!  I sent Dad this picture explaining and he replied "well, I used to sleep with one sock on and one off with one foot out of the covers..."  So I sent him this one!  Hilarious.

Silas and Avery have both started smiling a little!  Not quite on cue yet, but every smile is just precious!  Look what I saw one morning...

They've both been sitting in the bumbo seat for short periods of time... oh my, what a whole new perspective on this world!

I thought I was being smart by buying all our Halloween candy the week before Halloween.  I had it all in a basket ready to go... BUT, it never occurred to me that people would be trick-or-treating the night before Halloween!  Guess I missed the memo. And now, I have all this candy that I must eat myself... oh darn.   

Silas and Avery were ready though! Boo!

Aunt GG celebrated her birthday at our house last Thursday:-)  Mimi was already in Jackson for her weekly visit... Papaw was in town for work and stopped by on his way back home to Grenada!  We ordered take out and had a big time!

Happy Birthday Aunt GG!!
Avery helped her blow out the candles

Silas says he's ready to ride on Papaw's tractor!!

Just put his boots on and he'll smile for the camera. Ha!

Bruce has done such a good job getting them dressed and ready for church this morning... he even took a picture of cute Avery wearing one of my old dresses - pretty sure Mamaw made this one - so special!  (.... notice the button in the front... heehee.)  We explained that just because his clothes buttoned in the front doesn't mean everybodys' clothes do. ;)  When I met them in the nursery this morning, we all had a blast with that!  I can only make fun because he's doing such a good job:-)

I think Avery is laughing at him. 

Tomorrow morning... it's back to work for me. I can't believe 9 1/2 weeks has already flown by.  Just don't know if I'm ready for this...  but I guess I'll never be. But this must happen at some point... here we go...

Faux Photo Shoot

So Mom and I tried to take advantage of some "happy awake time" yesterday and snapped a few pictures... I just had to post the different attempts to show their cute personalities... they are so funny!  

Avery:  Yay!  Photo shoot!  I just LOVE the camera... don't I look cute in my bow?
Silas:  Oh good gosh, are you kidding me?  

Avery:  Silas, why don't you have some fun. You're supposed to smile for the pictures.
Silas:  At least they don't have me dressed like a girl.

Silas:  Now this is better, my big man's chair.
Avery:  I love pictures, yes I do. These puppies are taking up too much room. And my bow is prettier. 

Shirts Mimi bought for us in Hawaii!
Avery:  Why did y'all take my paci?  (Avery is obsessed with her paci)
Silas:  Ok, t-shirts much better. I'll sit here.

No caption needed.

You're wearing me out, sister.

Cheesy smile.

Tummy time!  

Again, Avery loves her paci. She started trying to suck on this toy. Wish we had video so you could hear the sound effects! 

Big boy!  Look Mom, I can hold my head up!  (for about 1 minute...)

I'll keep updating about how precious Silas is doing at night... I'm sure we'll wake up one day soon and all problems will be solved...  we're still trying to find the magic cure. He does seem to be feeling slightly better during the day - which is great!

Recent Updates

I just can't believe they're 8 weeks old today!  They're growing... changing every day.  We started the transition to formula last week, which proved a little hard at first, but now we think their little 'systems' are ok with it. They still get one bottle of mom's milk every day 'til the freezer is empty...

Big outing last weekend... Silas and Avery spent the night with Papaw and Mimi in Grenada!  Bruce and I went out to eat Friday night - and just laughed as we stared at each other asking "and who are you again?" Ha.  We so enjoyed dinner and then went straight home for precious uninterrupted sleep!  We sure missed them, but are sooooo grateful for Papaw and Mimi - and Aunt Gay Gay!! for taking such wonderful care of them:-)  They can't wait to do that again!

Sleep is still a little hard to come by - which is why I haven't been able to update this blog as much as I'd like!  Avery is pretty predictable - sleeps between feedings every 4 hours at night - can't ask for much better than that at this point!  Silas.. well, I just hate to see him hurting - he seems to be having some serious reflux issues. After calling the pediatrician multiple times and trying just about everything we can think of, we're finally on Zantac and hoping for some relief. Sleep will come - I just wish we could figure out what is bothering poor precious Silas. Bless his heart. It's in the middle of the night when little tears are coming down his face (and mine too) and we've changed him, fed him, rocked him, swaddled him, unswaddled him, held him close... that I think "if only I could understand"... I just hope he feels my love for him and my desire for him to feel safe in my arms. I would do anything for him to just rest as I hold him close.  I realize as a new parent we get to experience God's love in ways we could never do before. If I feel this way about my children, how much more does God feel this for us?! We don't even have to tell Him what we feel - He already knows. If only I would just rest in His arms and accept His perfect provision for me.

Silas and Avery get their shots at their checkup Friday... Mom and Dad will be glad when that's over!  :-)  We're excited about taking them for their first Grove experience Saturday at the Auburn game!  :-)

Ok, on to the recent pictures... first, you've GOT TO SEE THIS!  Avery has figured out how to roll from her stomach to her back! 7 weeks...

I can't forget Silas:  he is just so much more comfortable on his stomach - of course, we won't let him sleep that way unless we're in the room with him... but I went into the nursery one night when my "shift" started and saw him on his stomach - Bruce swore he left him on his back... hmm.  There's no telling what they do/think when we're not looking! :-)  

Good Morning?

Much better now, thanks.
"Milk drunk"

Out to lunch with Mimi

With Gay Gay!!  At the lakehouse for the first time:)

6 weeks!

Ok, so my emotional tendencies are getting better (I think... may want to ask Bruce:-)... now I find myself using the phrase "momnesia" more and more for excuses as to why I do the crazy things I do! HA. The other morning, I realized about 11am (of course, I still have on my pajamas for some reason...) that I'd been up and around since 5am with a burp cloth on my shoulder.  You should see me trying to do simple things like count out change to pay for something... it's like my brain doesn't work like that anymore:-)

We celebrated Dad's birthday at our house - Happy Birthday Papaw!!

Last weekend, we ventured to Grenada for our first overnight trip!  Silas and Avery loved being at Mimi and Papaw's house:-) They knew something was different... but sure loved all the attention:-) Even Aunt Gay Gay came for the weekend - and was a lifesaver!  You should have seen DingDing and GayGay... I don't think I held my children all weekend:-) Ha!  kidding... SO GLAD for a few nights of GREAT sleep!

Bruce and I had fun at my 10-year high school reunion!! I loved walking the halls of my elementary school, showing Bruce my old classrooms and telling stories of wonderful memories!  What great friends and great times!  We had a picnic at the school that Saturday at lunch and all our kids played - so fun!  Here's a picture of our class at 333 that night after supper...

Elizabeth and Kayla, sweet friends

Laura, best bud since preschool!

I just can't believe Silas and Avery are 6 weeks old already!!  

They are still eating about every 3-4 hours during the day and night... Bruce keeps asking when they'll sleep longer (translation:  when will we sleep?)... We're hoping in a few weeks....

Silas weighs 9 lbs now and Avery is 8 lbs!  Bulking up:-) Or "rounding out" or "fattening up" as some of my patients would say:-)  

They LOVE their Mimi visiting several days a week...

She reads to us...

And sings us to sleep...

Ha!  At this point, Avery was sucking on Silas' arm...he began to get upset. She already knows how to aggravate her brother...

Shopping with MiMi and Aunt GG!!  Stylin'

Bruce's cousins stopped by after their swim meet last weekend - They loved seeing Lisa again and meeting Andy and Adam!!!

After they eat, Silas usually takes a short nap (like his Papaw's "coma" after Sunday lunch...:-)  and Avery becomes WIDE AWAKE... seriously, I don't think she blinks for several minutes! HA!  I was worried about the coffee I've been having (lots of it..) in the milk, but Silas seems not to be bothered by this:-)  Just tell me how to resist this:

Squeeze me!!