The Doctor, Pictures and Sisterly Love

Yesterday the twins had their 9 month check up. They are doing great - everything was right on track and within range. The vital stats are as follows:
Kamryn - 19 lbs 14 oz; 27 3/8 in. long
Kourtney - 19 lbs 7 oz; 27 in. long
They are both crawling but Kourtney crawls better and faster. Kamryn is pulling up and standing all the time. Kourtney had pulled up once or twice but she is content to sit and play. The are eating good and both are about average as far as weight and height percentiles. They both have four teeth - two on the top and two on the bottom. They did have to get two shots each but they were fine as soon as they had their bottles.

Today I took the twins to get their 9 month pictures taken. I thought I had planned it perfectly - I scheduled my appointment for 10:40. They napped on the way there and I fed them as soon as I got there so they should not have been tired or hungry. Kamryn did great - but Kourtney was another story. I really think that she did not feel well from the shots yesterday. We tried everything to get her to smile but nothing worked. We finally got her to stop crying but the photographer had to take the pictures while she was sitting in my lap. Kam laughed and hammed it up as usual so we got some really cute shots of her. You can tell from the pics that Kourtney isn't feeling well. I am posting a few of the shots but the do have the copyright symbol over them. (Kourtney then Kamryn)


Kami Loves Kourti -Tonight when I put the babies to bed, they fussed a little but settled down pretty quickly. About 20 minutes later I heard loud crying - the kind you hear when someone is hurt. I came up to check on them and Kourtney was laying on her stomach crying and Kamryn was laying across Kourt's back. I picked Kourt up and she quickly settled down but Kam started to cry. I took Kourt to my room to rock and I thought that Kam would settle down and go to sleep but she just cried louder and louder. I decided to put Kourt back (she had stopped crying) and see if I could get Kam calm. When I went in, Kam was sitting at the other end of the crib bawling. As soon as I started to put Kourt down Kam crawled towards her. Kourt turned away and went right to sleep. I took Kam to my room and she snuggled in with me and calmed down pretty quickly. She was still awake but I took her back into to lay down. I put her at the opposite end from Kourt so she wouldn't wake her but she started to cry and tried to sit up. So, I moved her up next to Kourt and she snuggled right up next to her. I went back in to check a few minutes later and Kam was asleep across Kourt's back. So, I have one baby who can't go to sleep with the other one and one baby who can't go to sleep without the other one. What do you do about that?

VBS - The Boomerang Express

The week that we came back from Philly was VBS week at our church. I was helping with the 2 yr old class - which was just for workers kids but we still had about 12-14 kids each day. They let Kendall move up to this class since I was working. I missed the first day because we were coming back from Philly, but we jumped right in on Tuesday when we got back. I was so impressed with us that we managed to get there on time everyday - 8:00 am is pretty early for us to all get up, shower, get dressed and eat. I had a great time teaching Kendall's class. However, I did learn that I never want to be a preschool teacher - you have to have an abundant amount of patience. Kendall loved it. She listened to story time, made crafts, played music went to recreation and made snacks. Because most of our kids were new to using the bathroom like big kids - we had a lot of bathroom breaks. In the older kids classes, the were collecting offering to be used for the area food bank. To up the ante, the boys and girls were competing to see who could raise the most money. The losing team would get a pie to the face of their leader "Mr. Chan" or "Ms. Christi". Karlee was pumped about the contest and came home everyday wanting money. Being the awesome mom that I am, I wanted to make the most of this teachable moment so I offered to match the money she earned doing various chores around the house. She worked very hard to raise money for her team. But when she came home the third day and told her daddy that the boys were still winning, he decided that he would have to help her out. So, he pulled out the box of change that we kept under the bed. We had so much that Karlee could not even lift the bag. She brought her loot in on Friday which also happened to be "Wacky Hair Day". I think the girls were extra motivated and they managed to beat the boys. Overall it was a great week and the kids raised over one thousand dollars for the food bank.

CHOP Family Reunion

I have so much to tell you all about since I have been on vacation (in real life and from my blog) for several weeks. So, I will just write a little bit each night and eventually get it all covered.


We arrived in Philly on Saturday afternoon to attend the Family Reunion at the CHOP Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment. This is an event for anyone who was a patient at the Fetal Center and their families. There are games, food, rides, music and fun for all ages.

We decided to fly on this trip since we have been traveling a lot lately and Ken can't miss too much more work this month. We flew out Saturday morning around 10:00 - I can't believe how crowded the airport was at that time. Luckily we were able to go through special security line since we had the twins and their big stroller as well as Karlee and Kendall. We made it to our concourse with no problem and even had breakfast while watching the planes. Ken went to double check on our seats and discovered a problem. For some reason, Delta had to switch planes - we were supposed to be on a plane that had three seats on either side of the aisle - and we were switched to one that had two on one side and three on the other. Our seats were scattered all over the plane. Remember that we had one adult per child - so Ken had to make sure that they understood we all needed to be together. It took a little bit of raising his voice to get them to understand - but finally they got the message and moved us all together. The girls did great - especially the twins and the trip was uneventful. Once we arrived, we headed to the rental car place. Ken had to call several places to find one that had a 12-passenger van that would be big enough to for all of us, our luggage and the stroller. We found one but had to pre-pay to reserve it. Well when we arrived at the store - they had given our van away!!!! They just told us they did not have one and offered no alternative plan. To make a long story short - we were in the store for almost TWO hours by the time we got our van. Needless to say I was almost in tears by the time it was over. The girls were so good - I really could not believe how good. The rest of the day was fine - we got a late lunch and checked into our hotel, did some sight seeing and then had dinner at Ruby Tuesday's (Karlee's pick).

Sunday - Reunion Day

The reunion always has a theme and this year it was an All-Star Theme since the Phillies are the reigning World Series champs. So, the day started with red and white sprinkled donuts. Once everyone arrived, we had a little assembly where the head of the center said a few words and we watched a slide show to honor the dads for Father's Day. Then the fun began - there was a blow up dinosaur slide, carousel, train, climbing wall, games, music, cotton candy, popcorn, bouncy house, spin art and more. Karlee and Kendall had a great time playing and eating. We got a chance to see the doctors and nurses - especially Dr. Bebbington - who was my main doctor while I was there. He was excited to see the twins and impress that they were doing so well. Then we had lunch and did a few more games and rides. The twins were getting tired so we decided to head out. We had promised Karlee the Children's Museum on Saturday but the rental car fiasco left no time so we promised (again) that we would do it after the reunion.

The girls loved the Please Touch Children's Museum!!! Ken had taken Karlee last summer but they had moved to a new location - a huge building that was ten times bigger than the old one. They explored the water zone, went shopping, build flying machines and played in Alice's Wonderland. Monday morning before we left we had time for a horse and carriage tour and a quick stop at Lore's Chocolates.

All that I will say about the trip home is this:

SIX HOURS ON A PLANE WITH FOUR KIDS UNDER SIX CAN NEVER BE A GOOD THING!!!!!

(We got rerouted to Birmingham, AL because of an airport closure in Atlanta and then sat on the tarmac for almost two hours. We could get up and move around - thank goodness - but we could not leave the plane. We were very close to running our of food for the babies (and the big kids) by the time we finally arrived in Atlanta. All the girls did great - considering!!)

Wedding Trip Pics

Jared's Wedding

Wedding Bliss

Well, Jared and Stephanie are officially married. It was a really nice ceremony (Stephanie looked beautiful) although I missed a few minutes of the end due to crying children in the nursery. The recetption was held at Ti Amo, in downtown Gainesville. After some good food and cake, they opened up the dance floor and then the party really started - at least for our kids. Karlee and Kendall had a blast. The DJ was really good - playing all kinds of music - and all the kids were out there dancing.

Karlee and Tanner preferred the slow numbers,

while Kendall was just a Dancing Queen!!

Little Miss Priss

Karlee was so excited to go get her nails done with me and Aunt Lynn today. She felt so grown up. She picked a very "glittery, sparkly pink" that is just perfect for a little girl. Now she can't wait to show them off to everyone tonight and tomorrow.

On the Road Again

Starting on May 22, we will be gone for 23 of the next 44 days. We are traveling up and down the east coast to New Jersey, Florida, Philadelphia, St. Simons and Daytona Beach.

We have just arrived in Gainesville, FL for Ken's cousin's wedding. Jared and his long time girlfriend, Stephanie, are finally getting married. Stephanie works for a restaurant company in Gainesville and they are doing the food at the reception - it sounds like it is going to be yummy. If you are ever in the area, be sure to check them out.

Our road trip down here was pretty uneventful - Kendall did not color on herself or eat any crayons. We did have a little crying screaming ok crying spell where 3/4 of the girls were crying for about 20 minutes. Finally they all settled down and went to sleep. Karlee and I are going to get our nails done in the morning and then we will let the girls play in the pool here at the hotel. Karlee is excited that the pool is on the roof of the hotel - she can't quite figure out how that is going to work. I should have some good pictures from the wedding and rehearsal dinner to post in few days.