Happy Memorial Day!

Rodney and I have just put Brady and Owen down for the night (hopefully the only time!) and can't believe our long weekend is already over.  It's been fairly quiet around here since both boys have decided to bring home their first "cooties" from school.  We officially have ear infections :(  This meant that Brady and I stayed home sick on Friday and then Owen came home sick on Friday night so we spent all weekend resting and recouping for Tuesday morning.

We all enjoyed some much needed rest but did get a little playtime mixed in between eye drops, medicine and interupted sleep patterns.  I hope we are on the upside of this and sleeping returns to a little bit more normal.  We also got a quick visit from Aunt Martha and Uncle Chinh.  They came over with the "big truck" to pick up some stuff for the Payne twins that will be arriving any day now!  We are grateful to Rachael and Doug for lending us a few of Max's things over the past couple months.

Here's some pics of our weekend.

Sure looks sick to me.....

Brady was practicing standing on his own

"Would you just listen for a second...I have an idea!"

Been Busy!

It's amazing how quickly time flies now that I'm back to work.  The days start at 5:00 am and end with my exhausted self crawling into bed about 11:00 pm.  It's not nearly enough sleep for one person but I guess this is just the start of the rest of my parenting life!

With that being said, we have managed to have some fun over the last couple weeks....we celebrated Easter/Mother's Day/my birthday with Grandma and Grandpa Stoneman, we celebrated Cousin Max's 2nd birthday and my first Mother's Day!



Our first trip to The Little Gym for Max's birthday



The boys have discovered their hands and that they should put them in their mouths all the time!  They are also becoming much more aware of things around them, like toys and ceiling fans.  We are loving their interactions with us and all the smiles that we are now getting.

4 Months Old & Happy Easter!

Brady & Owen went in for their four month check-up on Tuesday.  For those of you on facebook, you have heard of the awful visit that we had to the doctor but for those of you that aren't I will sum it up in a few words.........5:00 pm, 2nd day at Day Care, 2 sleepy and hungry babies (one with a very fiery temper).  We will leave it at that....

In spite of the parenting fail by mommy (or as Rodney likes to call it a learning opportunity), the boys are doing great!  Here are the current stats:

Brady:  Head 39.5cm (3%)
            Length 23 3/4in (10%!)
            Weight 11lb 1oz (0%)

Owen:  Head 39.5cm (3%)
            Length 22 1/2in (0%)
            Weight 10lb 10oz (0%)





They are intently listening to me talk

 Even though they aren't really on the charts yet they are growing so fast and doing amazingly well in all their milestones.  They are both "talking" up a storm, smiling all the time and just starting to take notice of ceiling fans, mobiles, etc. 

We also celebrated their first Easter with Grammy, Papa and the Paynes.  We had a nice lunch followed by some napping by Brady and Owen and cousin Max hunting for Easter eggs.  It was a great day.

Aunt Rachael and cousin Max (and the next two Payne cousins!!)

Brady loves to look at you and smile

Owen is always a little mischevious!

Our first day of school (and mommy returning to work)

It's been a busy week for us but we have all managed to survive!  Now on to tackle week number two....

Tons of Fun!

Brady and Owen are officially 16 weeks old today and will be 4 months old on Sunday.  I have to go back to work on Monday so I thought I would share some pictures from the last couple weeks of our fun activities.

Lots of smiles from Brady

Laying on "the magic table" -- that's what we call our kitchen table which is our downstairs changing station.  For some reason any time you put him down here he smiles and gets very happy!



Owen loves to smile too!

Owen was watching a little tv



The boys and I met our dear friend Tammy and her daughter Payton at Chick-Fil-A once a week for lunch and playtime with the kids.  Every week Tammy tried to sneak a baby into her car to bring home (she figured I wouldn't notice!)

I brought the boys over to Grandma and Grandpa Stoneman's house after their 3 month pictures.  They got to meet their Great Uncle Walt and Great Aunts Marvene and Earlena.  Owen got some good snuggles with Grandpa.

Clover Cox was showing Brady how it was all done :)  They will be great friends.

Great Uncle Dan and Great Aunt Nancy came all the way from Arkansas to visit Brady and Owen.  Dan is ready for the boys to visit and start playing some golf!

I'm going back to work on Monday.  I have very mixed feelings about it.  I know the boys will do great with Miss Stacy at school but it will be hard to leave them every day.  Thank you all for your support of our family during the last 4 months and we can't wait to share all our other new milestones in the coming months and years!



Two Months Photos

We are getting professional photos done of the boys every month for their first year.  I got this idea from a co-worker of Rodney's and really liked the idea.  Their first month photos were in the NICU so when they hit two months I wanted to get some pictures done of the entire family.  Our friend Lindsay Baronoski generously gave of her time and amazing talent to take these photos.  She is a mother of twin girls and a beautiful boy so has a little experience trying to get 2 babies to cooperate.  We are so pleased with the way they turned out and can't believe how much they have grown.

Lindsay even managed a good one with Ike :)

Thank you so much for giving us this wonderful gift.  They are amazing pictures!!

We are out and about!!

Now that the weather has gotten warmer and the boys have gotten bigger we have started venturing out into the world as a family!  For the first 3 months of their lives the boys had only been out of the house for doctors visits and shots....not a good reason to leave if you ask me!

Our first non-medical outing as a family was over to the Cox's house.  They so graciously invited us (and all that entails) over for pizza and beer.  The boys were able to meet and play with their friend Clover.  We are so blessed to have amazing friends in our lives and hope that Brady and Owen share a friendship with Clover throughout the years.  Thanks for having us over!!

Our friends Scott, Jaime and Drew came out to Denton the same weekend to grill out burgers and meet the boys.  Scott was so brave and held both the boys at the same time!  Jaime and Drew weren't so interested in holding the boys but are looking forward to our Disney Cruise in the coming years.  They figure Brady and Owen are a good excuse to check out the new boat!

Brady and Owen also got to attend their first race expo and then cheer for daddy and Papa in the Rock N Roll Half Marathon at the end of March.  We drove downtown to pick up Rodney's race number and ran into Papa.  The boys got a few looks and didn't cry the whole time!  Grammy helped me with the boys on Sunday morning while we went to watch our runners on Sunday morning.  The weather was quite chilly but we had plenty of blankets!

Our future runners!

Owen waited patiently for Daddy!

Grammy and Brady were great spectators!

We are starting to get the hang of going out with the big stroller, diaper bag and two babies but it's not easy.  I haven't been anywhere alone yet as I'm a little concerned about how to get that big stroller into a bathroom for diaper changes or the logistics of trying to feed one or two of them at the same time....BUT at least we are starting somewhere.

3 Months Old!!

I know I'm a little behind on this one because they are actually 13 1/2 weeks old but things have been quite busy around here! 

Brady and Owen have grown so much this last month that we are constantly having to find clothes and diapers that fit!  Brady now weighs (or did as of March 18th) 9 lbs 11 oz and Owen is a hefty 9 lbs 2 oz.  They have both more than doubled their birth weights and are still packing on the pounds.  I hope on their next visit to the pediatrician we can stop giving them iron supplements and adding calories to their milk.

Here's a few pics from the past couple weeks....

Cousin Max came to visit!

Grandma and Grandpa stopped by for a visit

Grammy and Papa got in some snuggles too...

Discussing politics and such

Mom! Seriously another picture....

It's been a busy couple of weeks around here so I hope you are anxiously awaiting my next post...it should be sooner than later :)  Blogging usually falls behind feeding babies, changing babies and a shower!

Love to all.