Family Update:

It's been over two years since I've written anything for my blog!  Some sweet friends encouraged me to write a bit again so I thought I would.  It's pretty therapeutic to get things out and it's been a journal of sorts to look back on and see all that God has done.  While there won't be any "fertility" (NO more babies for us!) to my Faith and Fertility blog, I still thought I'd update you all on what's been going on around here.   

DH retired from active duty late 2021 and landed a job here in AL 11 months later.  Let's just say, 11 months is a long time my friends.  We had prayed (and MANY were praying for us) that wherever DH could get a job, that's where we'd go.  Most of the family (ahem, just not Skittle) wanted to move to TX to be closer to extended family, but if there was no job there, we weren't going to go.  DH got an offer here, so we've stayed.  We haven't ruled out going to TX but for right now, it makes sense for us to stay here.  

Skittle is in 7th grade. 7th! She plays the clarinet and bass drum for marching band and is still doing competitive gymnastics (going to level 8 next season!).  She somehow manages straight A's despite her crazy schedule.  She's SUPER excited and has been counting down the days to her regional gymnastics meet in NC coming up this weekend.  

Still after all this time, I'll look at DH and say "We have identical twin boys!"  We both will smile and just agree that it's amazing, and crazy, and hard to believe!  They are so full of life (and energy!) and are the sweetest little guys.  

A week old in the NICU

Back when we were even talking about transferring more than one embryo (as in, the years following Skittle's birth, 10+ years ago) the "risk" of having multiples was on our radar.  Granted, just knowing how hard it was for us to conceive ONE child, I didn't REALLY think I'd ever have twins.  But, we did have conversations about "what if" we had twins.  I knew, I'd need help.   My body just isn't like a normal persons (I really don't talk too much about it).  Anyway, we did hire someone to come in to help me, which allowed me to be able to rest some but she wasn't the right fit for our family.  We let her go in May of 2021 and hired, whom the boys affectionately call, Ms. Nell. I'll be honest here, I often feel guilty about needing extra help but since Ms. Nell has been here, I've only flared a couple times and I've easily been able to get the rest/sleep my body demands.  It's hard to admit that yep, I'm a SAHM (with a fun little eBay store!) and I have full time help.  But here we are.  She's been the ABSOLUTE biggest blessing we could have ever asked or hoped for.  

I'm going to write a bit of what the boys are doing these days, just so I can look back and it and remember some things.  They are 2 years and 9 months old.  AD is 28.4 lbs and 37.5 inches tall.  GW is 29.4 lbs and 38 inches tall. (Boy have they come a long way from 3.4 lbs and 15 inches and 4 lbs and 17 inches!) They've been about a pound a part for as long as I can remember!  Both are tall, but thin.  They still easily fit in 12-18 and 18-24 month shorts, but 3T pajamas!  

Both boys are obsessed with letters and numbers. Currently, they both know and recognize all upper case and lowercase letters, know all letter sounds, numbers up to 30, and about 40 sight words (which they've known for 6-8 months now).  They know addition math facts from 0-10 and around 100 multiplication facts. No joke.  They love to quiz me on random math facts too.  I'm running out of things for them to memorize! Ha! They know The Lord's Prayer in its entirety, and 10+ Bible verses (some with 5+ sentences!) Now, I say all that but the poor kids still struggle with using a spoon correctly, which makes me giggle.  It's made me realize that every kid learns at his own pace and these two focus on letters and numbers more than anything else. AD has taught himself how to do a headstand (most likely from watching his big sis) and both love to flip around pretending to do cartwheels. (I've started teaching them pullovers on our bar here and basic gymnastics stretches.)  Both are no where near ready for potty training (and that's OK!) although it would be great if they started to show some interest by this summer.  

One of my favorite things to watch is their made up games.  They have one called "Itty Bitty" and most of it is in their twin language, which blows my mind! I've tried to get it on video, but every time I start to record, they stop.  Typical!  

I know a lot of how they are playing together is maybe more of a sibling thing than a twin thing.  Skittle never had that built in sibling friend (not that she lacked for play-dates or friends mine you...but it's just not the same thing) so watching my boys play together is all new for me.  I absolutely love just standing back and watching them interact together.  

Here’s a list of their current favorites, according to them:

AD:

Favorite color: Purple

Favorite vehicle: Steamroller 

Favorite letter: F (he likes to go to bed holding a foam letter F. Such a goofball) 

Favorite animal: Cat

Favorite food: Watermelon 

GW: 

Favorite color: Green

Favorite vehicle: Fire Truck 

Favorite Letter: G 

Favorite animal: Duck (I think it’s really a cat though) 

Favorite food: Broccoli (umm probably not, more likely watermelon) 

Ok, this has gone on long enough.  Maybe I shouldn't wait another two years to update everyone :) I'll leave you with some pictures from over the past 6ish months.  All of us say it and know it to be true: Time is a thief.