thank yous, pics, and videos

Every day feels more and more like we're a family. There's more bonding and less worrying with every moment they are here.

And I'm happy to report Madison is adjusting...or she's moved from mad to depressed...either way, she's really calmed down these last 2 days. For those of you who've met Madison know that she can be a little demanding. She is 10 years old and it has been a 10 year long struggle. When it's just the 2 of us, she's great but she never did really handle visitors very well. Now that we have two new additions to the family, she just won't calm down. When we're feeding them and have our hands VERY full, Madison will beg and beg and beg. She'll want to be in our laps or up as close to the babies as possible. With a baby in hand, it's very hard to push her down or yell at her. Very frustrating. We keep giving her lots of attention between feedings and maybe it's finally paying off. We'll see.

I talked with my big sis for the first time in a while today and during the conversation, I realized I never took the time to thank her...and many other people...for the gifts that we received. We haven't taken enough time to thank everyone for their generosity and prayers during the pregnancy and since our girls have been here. You ALL have been wonderful. We sincerely appreciate every dollar you've sent or spent on our behalf. We have received literally thousands of dollars worth of gifts from all of our friends and family and we could not have done this without you.

Most of you know Lisa most likely (...I say most likely because she hasn't made it official yet) will not be working next year. We'll be living off of one salary for the first time and it will be quite the adjustment. Since Lisa had to stop working a little earlier than we had hoped to go on bed rest, we took a bit of a financial hit right when we needed it the most...to prepare for our girls' arrival. Thankfully we have such incredible friends and family that opened their hearts and wallets and gave, and gave, and gave, and continue to give. Thank you thank you thank you! We love every one of you and thank God every night that we are surrounded by such great people.

We have a stack of thank you cards that have been written and addressed but haven't been sent (darn 41 cent stamps!).

If we don't say it enough, thank you! I started this blog as a way to share our pictures and stories in Alaska and has evolved into a way of keeping friends and family up to date on the pregnancy and now our day to day lives with our premature twin girls. But when I stay up an extra hour or so posting at night before I go to bed, I'm thinking about all of you that have prayed for us and let us into your lives. These updates are my way of thanking every one that has opened their hearts.

...and to show really cool pictures and videos!


Here's Alyssa and Kaitlyn showing their outfits we received from our dear friend Vanessa.

In eating news, Katy has developed a bit of a spitting up problem. I hinted at it in my last blog and it actually got worse yesterday and today. She has been spitting up a little after EVERY meal. Alyssa still is pretty quiet and rarely spits up but Katy is going through a bit of a phase right now where she has a hard time not keeping her meal down. Thank goodness, it isn't much that is coming up but like I said before, it is disconcerting putting those girls down to bed on their backs and having faith that they will turn their head when they spit up. This is me still carefully feeding Alyssa...I say still because they choke if we're not careful. They are still mastering the suck/swallow/breathe thing but are getting better. If you remember, they're due date isn't until June 6!!


and then snuggling afterward

I love having my girls at home!

Movie time!!! Here is a funny sequence of videos from the late night feedings. The first one is Alyssa and I waiting for the milk to warm up. Kaitlyn makes a brief appearance.

The second is a quick shot of Alyssa letting us know how unhappy she is about waiting.

And the final one is the 5am feeding. Lisa dropped off Kaitlyn so I had both babies while she warmed up the milk. Alyssa, again, was the more vocal one. And yes it is that bright at 5am in Alaska. The days are getting loooooooooooong.