"T" is for Tractor

Tractors, tractors, and more tractors....our house is filled with little tractors, big tractors, Lego tractors, John Deere tractors, tractors for the dirt, tractors for the sand, tractors to pick up rocks, tractors to haul lumber (aka crayons), tractors to dump, tractors to plow, tractors to tow, and tractors to ride. Hudson loves all things tractor! This little love affair began quite some time ago when his GoGo came by with a small present for him...it was his very first John Deere tractor. Well let's just say that the excitement and huge smile melted his GoGo's heart and Hudson now has him forever wrapped around his little finger. For a while, with each new week came a new tractor. GoGo even had to build him a two-story tractor garage with ramp to store his tractor treasures. Hudson takes a tractor or 2 or 3 everywhere we go. He has tractor books and tractor jammies. He had a tractor birthday party. He has even started to name things Tractor....he has a puppy named Tractor, a doll named Tractor (his YaYa gave him one of my old dolls before the twins were born), and a resident lizard on our patio now affectionately known as Tractor. It is precious to see his eyes light up while playing with his tractors, while watching out the window to see the tractors drive by, and especially while riding with his Daddy or GoGo on one of the big tractors. He even knows which one is the "old" one and which one is the "new" one...they look the same to me...but he politely corrects me every time I guess wrong. He is even sweet enough to let Isabelle and Sophia play with some of his prized possessions, but with the stipulation that they don't spit up on them. I just love that he loves something so simple so much, and what better thing for a little boy to love than tractors!  

 Working with Daddy

 Ready to cruise...

This is the life...being pulled in the tractor holding his very first tractor from GoGo!

May my little man always be this happy!!!

GoGo calls them gladiators...

After one long day in Austin with my sweet sister (who probably didn't realize what she was agreeing to when asked to tag along to help out), our adorable twins are now outfitted in the most fabulous little DOC bands! We arrived at Cranial Technologies a bit early to feed the hungry little birds and after Amy made adjustments and fitted them in their helmets, we ventured out to have some lunch...at a restaurant...a first for us with the twins! It is so funny when you walk in places because everyone literally does a double take. It is even more amusing when they ask "are they twins?"...of course they are, do the matching outfits and the fact that they look exactly alike not make that pretty clear?? Cracks me up! Anyways, the girls were great right up until the food arrived and then they both decided to wake up and require immediate and undivided attention! Thank goodness for Auntie KK!!! The cute older couples around us just smiled and stared at them....partly because they are twins and that in itself is fascinating, partly because they are so stinkin cute, and mostly because they had these strange white looking helmet things on their heads! The bands still had the DOC band stickers on the back of them and I could see one older lady look to her husband and ask "what is a DOC band" and he replied with a "hell if I know kind of stare", but they were never brave enough to look over at me to ask. We just smiled and the girls just laughed while we played with them and attempted to eat a quick bite. After our lunch date, we went back to feed the birds again and also for a helmet re-check so that Miss Amy could make sure all was well with the little crowns...yes she called them crowns because after all, every princess needs a crown, right? I thought that was so adorable. Well, leave it to my dad, affectionately known by children as "GoGo", to turn my vision of little princesses in crowns to gladiators. Yes, he thinks the DOC bands make them look like gladiators. The bright caribbean blue shade Hudson picked out for me to paint them doesn't help. So sadly, I must admit that he is right! Oh well, they are super cute little gladiators and Hudson thinks it is really cool! Thank goodness for a website called "BlingYourBand" devoted to making it easy for mommies to decorate the bands for their little ones. They created the cutest vinyl decals for the helmets...so by the end of the week our little blue gladiators will have their names and precious little birds in the most fabulous shades of pink, yellow, and purple on their "crowns"!!! Pictures to come of them fully decorated, but we had to share the memories we captured as the girls were "crowned"!

 Miss Sophia

 Just any other day...

 Miss Isabelle

Must pose like my sissy!

We were worried about how they would react to the bands, how they would sleep with them on, how  Hudson would react to them, and how we would deal with all the people who just "stare" at them. So far I am totally impressed with my girls . They have been champs with their helmets and are not bothered by them one bit. The first night they slept in them and did beautifully! Hudson thinks their helmets are awesome and doesn't like it when I have to take them off! The next couple of months will most definitely be interesting!

Special Visit

Though the circumstances which brought him to Texas for a visit were certainly not ideal, we were happy and grateful for the time we got to spend with such a dear friend! Our modern-day nomad, fly fishing guide, true wilderness man, soon-to-be nurse, life-long friend, known affectionately now as "Uncle" Garrett, came to town to help out his sweet mother, Mama Faye, during her recovery after heart surgery. A little bit about our Mama Faye ...she is one special lady who loves my children like they were her own grandchildren and has so graciously helped out with Hudson and the twins.....so we are truly thankful that her recovery is going well and are so ready for her to be, as Hudson would say, "all better"! As for Garrett, normally, we get to see him a couple times of year, mostly by surprise, as he hasn't really embraced the use of technology including the phone...so it was always fun to come home from work to find Garrett and Drake (the adorable dog) on the porch waiting to hang out and reminisce upon old times and his latest adventures. Needless to say this "bonus" visit so to speak was nice and thankfully Mama Faye is cruising along in her recovery process like a champ. She was even up for an evening and dinner amidst the craziness at the Bird House!

A gathering with the Sullivans would not be complete without pictures...

 Yes, Hudson sweet-talked Mama Faye into playing on the floor in his "office"

 Uncle Garrett and our little Birds

 Really...how long do we have to sit here...

 Uh Oh...

 So Sweet!

 Love him!

 Sophia and Mommy

 Isabelle and Mommy

Precious little girls!

Plagio What???

Plagiocephaly: a condition characterized by an asymmetrical distortion of the skull. Sounds so much more sophisticated than saying "flattening of one side of the head", right? Well, this condition is commonly the result of a restrictive intrauterine environment. Considering my substantial sized twins were just tad bit cramped for nearly 38 weeks, it is not too terribly surprising that both have been diagnosed with this condition. Basically, the right sides of their precious little heads are flattened, their foreheads are angled, their ears are slightly misaligned, and one of each their cheeks appears slightly fuller. Interestingly, their heads are the exact same shape, crazy, but oh so fitting for identical twins. Sooooooo, after trying the recommended conservative methods to correct without much success, we have decided to proceed with treatment using a cranial orthotic device called a DOC band...yes, a baby helmet of sorts. We had our imaging appointment this week and we will go back in on Monday for the fitting. So for the next 6-8 weeks or so, my little birds will be sporting the latest in fashionable headgear! Ideal for our kiddos to be in helmets during the summer...no!...are we going to make the best of it and decorate them oh so cute...you bet!!! Pictures to come soon... And just remember what your mother always taught you...it is not polite to stare:)

"Work" on hold...

My husband is getting to spend some time with a dear friend from Colorado and the children are sound asleep, so I actually have time to myself ...time to think, to reflect, and now to blog. 
So my random thoughts start here:
 It is official...my leave from work is extended. Though my job security ends in a couple of weeks, I will still be able to remain an employee of AZ and will have the opportunity to post for a spot when the extension ends. I feel so fortunate to work for a company who prides itself in work-life balance and the philosophy of family first. I am even more fortunate to have a hard-working, loving, dedicated, supportive husband and family! I am so very thankful for the gift...and I mean precious gift...of being able to stay home with my children during this crucial time. Everyone has always said that you will never be able to get that back, and you don't realize how true that is until you take a moment to pause and see how much time has already passed! I wake up each day thankful for the simple pleasure of staying home with my kids, for being a mom, for being the "home engineer" so to speak responsible for "raising the kids", for ensuring their well-being, for teaching them, for comforting them, for loving them....oh, and for attempting to be a better wife, to clean, to wash bottles, to do laundry, to organize, to cook...and you all know how much I love to cook....about as much as I love to run...a necessary evil...which I have been doing every day for the most part! I have traded in my heels for my running shoes, my suits for t-shirts, my computer and detail bag for a diaper bag, my clinical discussions with professionals to the most wonderful conversations with a 2 year old, my accessories for spit up on the shoulder, and I absolutely have love, love, loved every single minute of it!!! Is it harder work than I have ever known?...you bet!...but so much more satisfying!!!

Baby Bliss

So often I find myself wishing for time to stand still, for just a moment more to marvel. I want this sweet innocence to last forever, for those magical moments when your children look at you and smile to never end. I honestly do not know where the last five months have gone...or for that matter, the last two years. Hudson is no longer a baby, but a "too smart for his own britches", tractor and dirt-loving little two year old who constantly makes me laugh, who melts my heart with his loving kindness, who impresses me each and every day, and who brings the kind of joy that I never knew existed. My sweet girls are growing like weeds, rolling all over the place, desperately trying to inch their way across the room, laughing and giggling all the time. I absolutely love their precious smiles, their chubby little cheeks, their beautiful blue eyes, and most of all the warmth of snuggling with them. I know with each day that passes, I am one day closer to not having baby babies anymore...very bitter sweet. So we treasure each and every moment, even on the most difficult of days when the score is Mommy-0 and Little Birds-10, because I know I will continue to look back yearning for those moments again. We deeply cherish every second, every sweet grin, every laugh, every tear we wipe away and replace with a smile, every boo-boo and ouchie we fix, every hug, every snuggle, every kiss, and every "I Love You"!!!

A glimpse of our little birds as itty bitty babies...

 Hudson Michael

02.18.09

7lbs 13oz

 Proud Big Brother

 Isabelle & Sophia

Isabelle Cecilia

12.18.10 at 9:58AM

5lbs 6oz

 Sophia Elizabeth

12.18.10 at 10:00AM

7lbs 2oz

We are abundantly blessed!!!

Happy Mother's Day

Motherhood is truly one of the greatest gifts and I am truly blessed to have the most amazing mother! How do you adequately put into words what a mother has done for you, what she has sacrificed for you, what she means to you, what she has taught you over the years, and how much you love her for all of the aforementioned? In simple terms...I thank her for teaching me how to love, how to be patient, how to be grateful, how to be giving, how to be persistent, how to work hard, how to stand up for what I believe in, how to trust in God and have true faith, and how to want more for my children than I myself can imagine...I thank her for leading by example and for constantly making me want to be a better person, a better daughter, a better wife, and most of all a better mother. So to my mom I am grateful and to God I am ever so thankful for my three little miracles and for the gift of being a mommy. I hope to be the mother to them that my mother is to me. I love them to the moon and back and wish for them a perfect world where all of their hopes and dreams will come true!!! Here are pictures from a most wonderful Mother's Day....

  It is like the popular twin video on youtube...they love to "talk" to each other!

Hudson is ready for the Kentucky Derby....bring it!

Miss Sophia and her YaYa

Miss Isabelle and Daddy

"Cheese"

My precious little girls!!!

 Happy Mother's Day to everyone!!!

To blog or not to blog...

Well, this has been the question since we became a family of 5! “To blog”...a way to document this most amazing journey of parenthood we have embarked upon...a journal, so to speak, of special moments and milestones…a glimpse into our lives with a toddler and twins: the good, the bad, the funny…a modern-day memory book for our children to one day read that will remind them of the joy and abundance of love that they brought into our lives. Sure our children have their baby books and if you know me at all you know we have tons of pictures, but the time has come to embrace technology and hop on the blog bandwagon. I must give a disclaimer for all those who will read: writing is definitely not one of my areas of expertise, so please don’t expect anything eloquent or poetic, but know that my words will be genuine and from the heart. So here it goes…life as we know it....not filtered...totally fun!