Happy Birthday Addison and Madelyn!

WE MADE IT! I've been telling everyone that I need to throw myself a party. Even though it has been a really hard year, it has gone by so fast. They are a huge blessing in our lives, and I am grateful for each moment I have with them. It was quite the roller coaster ride to get these two beautiful babies.
Since it took us about 3 years to get Jaxson, we decided we would go back to our fertility specialist after Jaxson turned one, not knowing how long it would take us again. When I went to see Dr. Andrews I had a feeling that I need to skip the insemination procedure and go straight to doing invitro. To find out later that Jaxson was a miracle. Anyway to make a long story short It took two times of doing invitro just to find out really what was wrong. After the second time the doctor still didn't know what to do. It was another big blessing when he went to some kind of doctors conference and found only one other doctor that has ever seen my situation. The doctor told him what my problem was and what to try. So when I went back for the third and last time he told me "if this doesn't work then there was nothing else left to try." After all the shots, medications, disappointment, money, out of control hormones, and so much more it was a huge success! I was pregnant with two beautiful babies.
The pregnancy was a little harder then being pregnant with Jaxson of course, but ever thing went a smooth as possible with a few hiccups. When 38 weeks came the doctors finally told me we could bring our two miracle babies to this world. Madelyn's head was down just right so I then had to make a decision. Do I just go with a c-sections or do I try to have them normally with the chance that Addison, after Madelyn was born could come down feet first and then have to have a c-section too. That would mean I would have to heal in two places while trying to take care of two babies. But if I didn't have to have a C-section then I would be better off taking care of my babies. After a lot of consideration I decided to go for it.
Madelyn was first born into this world on March 28, 2008 at 1:57 P.M. with no complications, then it was Addison's turn. After Madelyn was born Addison decided she liked the room and she wasn't coming down. 28 minutes later Addison worked her way down but decided to make it a little tricky. She came down with her head and feet at the same time.
A baby can't come in that position so we just had to wait. Will she come easy or will she decide to come feet first? My doctor then decided to pinch her foot in hoping that she would kick up. Whew it worked! Addison came to join all of us 28 minutes later, 2:25 P.M. A lot more happened after that but I won't bore you with all the details.
I could talk about raising twins for hours, but let me tell you this, they are two different spirits, with two different personalities, and two different needs. I Love it! Heavenly Father has blessed me with three healthy beautiful children and I am so lucky.
Happy Birthday Addison and Madelyn! I love you!














For all of you that would like to see how huge I got,
here you go. To my defense the gown adds
10 pounds

Addison on the left, Madelyn on the right.















Ryan a proud new father of two.

Got To Love A Warm Sunny Day!

It has been absolutely beautiful these last couple of days. I feel so happy this week. There is definitely something to say about getting your vitamin D in for the day. Here's a couple of pictures I took today.

Jaxson Always Suprises Me

The other morning Jaxson asked me if he could do some art, (Which means coloring, painting, etc...) Anyway he finished coloring and asked me to come see what he did. I looked at the scribbling page and told him, "Wow Jaxson that looks great! Lets put it on the fridge." He was all excited that I was excited and then we put his picture on the fridge.
Later that night when Ryan came home from work, I headed to the fridge to get dinner out when the picture Jaxson drew caught my attention. It had Jaxson's name spelled on it.
I asked Ryan, "Did you help Jaxson write his name this morning when he was coloring?"
Ryan replied "No."
So of course I asked him, "Are you sure? because I didn't."
"I'm sure Mandy."
I took the picture off the fridge and asked Jaxson "Did you write your name by yourself?"
"Yes Mom."
I still didn't believe it so I took out a piece of paper and marker and asked Jaxson to write it again. And he did! What the...

I knew that Jaxson was tracing his name at school, but I had know idea he could actually write it. Sometimes I feel like I have know idea what I am doing as a mom. I never know what Jaxson can and can't do. I would work with him more if I actually knew what he could do at what age. It's always a guessing game. I am so thankful Jaxson is healthy, happy, learning and growing. I love him so much and I am so grateful for every moment with him.

Boy Are They Stubborn!!!

After I posted last I decided it was time to quit feeding them the breast all together.
It has now been 48 hours of no milk and nothing has happened. They are hating the bottle or sippy cup more then ever. Instead of feeding them food 3 times a day and milk in between, I am feeding them 7 times a day of baby food.
It finally dawned on me today of what I should do. Instead of trying and trying to force them to drink something, (I even forced milk down them with a syringe) I am just going to feed them food when they are hungry, and always have something there for them to drink. No trying to force anything! They are getting some liquids from their food and they aren't starving. Maybe then they won't absolutely hate even the sight of the sippy cup coming their way. (They actually hide their face with their hands when they see the sippy cup.) They can't go without liquids forever.
After all who likes to be forced to do something. I think this route is going to work. Fingers crossed!

Help!!! Any Advice?

So my girls are coming up on there 1st birthday. It's a huge milestone and a lot of things change at a year like switching to cow's milk. So this is my dilemma, about 5 times this year I have trying to get them to take anything but the breast. I've tried every different bottle nipple, every kind of sippy cup, a plain cup, a straw, every kind of juice, formula, pumped breast milk, strawberry milk, and yes, even tried chocolate milk. Nothing!!! Absolutely nothing!!!
I finally called the nurse to ask what she thought I should do. She told me just to keep feeding them food but don't give them the breast. Oh and the best part is when she said, "That is why the doctor always says to give your baby a bottle at least once a day because when they become older it is a lot harder to get them to take anything." Oh really! I guess the doctor forgot to mention that one!
After I talked to the nurse I decided I would feed them the breast in the morning and at night and if they got hungry in the day I would just feed them baby food and keep offering the cup, bottle, or sippy cup. It's been two days now and nothing. They just keep holding out for the night time feeding. They have to be thirsty in the day wouldn't they? Now what? Do I just quit feeding them the breast all together until they are so thirsty? Do I wait a few more days? They are cranky and crying a lot, I will take any advice any one has for me. You would think that at least one of my girls would give in. Nope! Not one!
What do I do?

I Love This Stage!

I love this stage the girls are at right now, they seriously make me laugh a lot. I know I'm bias but this video is hilarious. I watched it like thirty times.

Jaxson's Latest Funny Quote.

"Mom, did you know the Holy Ghost is a snow angel?"

He told me after we got home from church last week. It was funny because the next morning Madelyn woke up at six o'clock to eat and so I have to quickly and quietly go in her room before she wakes up Jaxson. Well while I was feeding Madelyn I could hear Jaxson come out of his room. Why does he have to wake up so early? Anyway when I was finished putting Madelyn back down I shut her door and when I turned around Jaxson was right behind me sitting down. I asked him "Jaxson why are you up so early?" He replied, "Mom the Holy Ghost told me to jump out of bed." I guess he was listening in church this week. He must of came up with that one from one of the stories his primary teacher told him. Jaxson is super funny!

The Fighting Begins!

Addison and Madelyn are alomost 11 months now. They are so much fun these days!
Since Addison is just starting to crawl and Madelyn is trying to walk, Madelyn as you can see in these pictures has the upper hand. It can get pretty rough. Madelyn is constantly stealing every toy, or every cracker right out of her hands, and of course out of the top of Addy's lungs I hear about it. Addison is starting to defend her self and is getting very good at moving the toy right when Maddy tries to get it, or she steals the toy right back. Watch the video and see for yourself. Even though I don't like fighting, it is actually pretty hilarious to watch. I love my sweet sweet girls!

Jaxson's Quote for the Day

"Mom did you know that dinosaurs are Exstink? That means that they are no longer around."

What? Where did he learn that! I love it, Exstink! I asked him where he learned that and he told me "Mrs. Esparza told me." (That's his preschool teacher) I guess they are teaching my 3 year old things?

It's Picture Taking Time Again!

Please don't let them cry! Please don't let them cry! Those are the words I am usually thinking of when I go get pictures done. As long as they don't cry, I am okay with the out come. But look how fabulous they turned out, thanks to Caroline who is my favorite photographer.
The girls will be 10 months old next week. Can you even believe it! My little girls are getting bigger by the minute. Addison is just about to crawl any minute. For all of you who remembered she cried all day every day for about 6 months, and now she is such a peach. I just want to squeeze her checks all day long. Madelyn seriously wants to walk right now. She pulls herself up on everything. She is such a little smarty pants, always getting into things and follows me around the house every where I go. It makes me laugh, every time I look down there she is. I love my sweet little girls so much!

The other sweet baby in the first picture is Addy and Maddy's Cousin, Halle. She was born only 4 days before the twins came. How fun huh!

How fast do you type?

54 words

Typingtest

I thought I typed fast, But not 87 words per minute. I didn't know a persons fingers could move that fast.

Jaxson's Quote For The Day

"That Ahhh Chooo was the biggest Ahhh Choo ever!"
(Jaxson sneezed really loud.)

Madelyn's First Time Sick With The Flu

This was Madelyn's first time sick with the flu. Acctually it is her first time ever being sick. I seriously think it is one of the saddest thing to see your 9 month old throwing up until there is nothing left to throw up. Madelyn couldn't keep anything down for about 2 days. One of the hardest parts was to keep her from Addy and Jaxson. We'll see in a couple of day's if I did a good job of keeping her away. I seriously washed me and Jaxson's hands 50 million times. I'm crossing my fingers.

This was Jaxson's first time ever going sledding. I thought he would be scared (He is always scared to try everything) but he as you can see he wasn't. He actually had a lot of fun. Maybe next time we will take him somewhere that takes more then 1 second to get down the hill. lol

That's Ryan trying to be funny at the end of the video.

Ho Ho Ho! Good thing we left reindeer food!

Christmas this year was so much fun! Jaxson was so excited for Santa to come. We made cookies for Santa, and of course left a treat for his reindeer. When the morning came I could here Jaxson quietly whispering, "Did Santa come?" "Did Santa come?" Then as he quickly went to the Christmas tree and saw that Santa came he ran to our room yelling, "DAD SANTA CAME! HE REALLY CAME!" It was so much fun to see him so excited to open every present yelling with excitement. "SANTA BROUGHT ME A RACE CAR TRACK! SANTA BROUGHT ME A TRUCK! SANTA BROUGHT ME ANIMALS! SANTA BROUGHT ME EVERYTHING! I have the cutest little boy ever!

Madelyn Training For The Olympics

Madelyn will do this move all day long. I laugh every time!

Madelyn's Crawling

Madelyn has actually been crawling for about a month now. It has been the greatest thing ever! She just crawls around the whole house entertaining herself. The only thing is that she steals all of Addy's toy away from her. She definitely has the upper hand now. I have actually had to break up a fight a time or two. No seriously! Addy will just be rolling around on the floor minding her own business and Maddy will crawl over to her and start grabbing at her face. She even drew blood!

Let her? Let her not?

My sweet little Addy! What to do? It's official, Addison is a definite thumb sucker. I've asked about 20 different people what to do with my situation. Almost all of them have been mothers of a thumb sucker, or have been a thumb sucker themselves. Do I let her suck her thumb? Or do I do every thing in my power to stop the sucking? They all had different but strong opinions on this subject. So after all that talking and conversing, I'm still conflicted.
I decided for myself that I wasn't going to let her suck her thumb. Let's just say it hasn't worked out like I thought. At first, every time Addy would suck her thumb I would pull it out, but right from the get go she would cry about it. Well when you have another baby with needs, and a three year old with needs, the last thing I want is another baby always crying because I'm pulling her thumb out of her mouth. In my defense she has been such a happier baby since she has discovered the thumb. Anyone who knows Addy knows that she has been a tough little cookie these past 9 months. So when she finds something to finally sooth and comfort her it is soooo hard to take it away. She won't take a bottle or a binki. She doesn't have a favorite blanket, or stuff animal. She has nothing but her tiny little thumb. Trust me I know what will come if I keep letting her suck her thumb, bad teeth, years of sucking, people making fun of her, etc...
So is it laziness on my part? Is it that I just want little less crying in my house? Or is it that I just want something for Addy to make her a happier baby? I believe it's probably all three.
I value my doctor opinion so I decided in a little over a week when I go to see my doctor I will take his advice and try what ever he tells me to do. So wish me luck!

Thanksgiving with the Carroll Family

Thanksgiving this year was a little tricky for us. Both babies desperately need a nap right during our Thanksgiving meal. While everyone was dishing up their food, I was upstairs trying to put the girls to bed. Luckily I got done before everyone finished. Thanksgiving Day is about being thankful, and I have so much to be thankful for. A wonderful, absolutely fun and crazy family, a husband who has helped me grow into a better person, and the three most precious gifts anyone could ever ask for, Jaxson, Madelyn, and Addison. What else could you ask for?


















Jaxson had a blast playing BINGO thanks to Nikki.

I've Been Dazzled

Now this was a fun night! If you don't know already I love the Twilight Series. I've been looking forward to seeing the Twilight Movie forever. So I decided that me my sisters, and my fabulous mom need to make the most of this night. First we went and ate a delicious dinner at Tempanyaki's for Brittany's 24th birthday. Happy Birthday Brittany! After dinner we arrived at the theater to find an enormous line that trailed out of the theater and down 5 stores. I was freaking out thinking that we were the last to arrive, to only find out that they ended up opening 6 theaters for this movie. We stood outside for about an hour and a half till we got to go sit down. We all didn't get to sit by each other, but surprisingly we got decent seats. Brittany and I sat together with my mom right behind us. Nikki and Angie together a couple of rows up. At 12:01am the movie began. I can't say that I loved the movie. It wasn't all that I hoped and dreamed for, but it was definitely one of my favorite nights with my favorite people. (Don't forget that we couldn't go to Twilight opening night with out a Twilight T-shirt. As if!)






































































I made this shirt on my computer. I've got mad skills!