The Singleton Boys

Day 4

2011-11-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

Thankful for my four healthy boys!

Day 3

2011-11-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

Today I am thankful for our awesome camera! I took this picture with my cell phone which makes me even more thankful that we have a great camera. I know this is a material item but with the four little boys we have running around I LOVE having a camera that takes great pictures of them!

Day 2

2011-11-02T10:48:00.000-07:00

When I decided to blog for 30 days posting something I am thankful for everyday I thought wow....what I am going to post each day. How embarassing for me to think like that I HAVE so many things to be thankful for big and small. I should be able to post AT LEAST one a day all year long! Well when I got up this morning I knew exactly what I was posting for today.

Today I am thankful for.....

SLEEP! ZZZzzzz

Yep you read that right today this Mama is thankful for sleep. Although we are not getting what we would like to everynight we are getting some and last night the boys ate at 8:30 went to bed by 9:30 and slept until 2:30 and didn't wake up again until 6:30! Woohoo!! Heres hoping to a FULL nights sleep soon!

30 Days of Thanks

2011-11-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

I am going to try to blog for each day of Novemeber and post about something that I am thankful for.

Up First: My Husaband. I am so thankful for him and all that he does for our family. Blessed that we have been together for over 13 years. Thankful that he is the provider for our family willing to go to work and work hard everyday. Thankful that as soon as he walks through the door at night he helps around the house with laundry or cooking cleaning whatever needs to be done he is always willing to always help out. Thankful that he is the father of our four little boys. I think he is the best Daddy around. Thankful that he helps with feeding the little guys in the middle of the night. Thankful that he takes time from work to go on field trips with our big boys.Thankful that he is still cancer free. This list goes on and on.....

What I am saying is that I have an AMAZING Husband and I VERY thankful for him and all that he does for our family!!

Pictures of My Biggest Boys~

2011-10-31T11:00:00.000-07:00

When we met my friend Pam to take the pregnacy pictures she also took a few pictures of the boys.

This boy is michievous and you can see it written all over his face!

Hello Handsome...can you stop growing for just a minute!

Love this picture....Benjamin looks like he giving us a preview for when he is 16 sporting around with his hand in his pocket laid back stylin. Christian looks like he is already 16 I can't believe how tall he is!

Benjamin and Christian are holding the stuffed crabs that we got at the beach for James and Joshua's room LOVE everything about this picture- its perfect!

Pregnancy Photos

2011-10-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

One of my sweet friends Pam is an A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. photographer. Before we had the boys she met up with us at Joyner park and took some maternity shots for me when I was around 33 weeks.

L.O.V.E.

LOVE the boys in this picture!! Can you see the excitment on their faces?! =)

I ADORE this picture of me and my hubby. My boys are BLESSED more then they know with the most WONDERFUL daddy!!

Yep, we knew what we were naming them I even painted and hung the letters on the wall before they were born.....

This one is definetly a framer....along with a few of the other ones.

I dont usually like pictures of myself but as I look at this picture it speaks volumes to me. It takes me back to the awe and wonder of my pregnancy with the twins. One of the most amazing blessings God has given me in my life.

Pam not only are you an amazing friend you are a phenomenal photographer. Thank you for sharing your talent with our family these are pictures we will treasure for a lifetime!

One Month Update~

2011-10-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

One Month:(a few days late as always they were a month last Friday)

It is hard to believe that a month has already gone by. The boys are growing and changing so much. It is amazing to watch their little personalities and prefrences come out. Parenting twins is an absolute amazing blessing. It is HARD I'm not going to surgar coat that part of it but the joy it brings is so totally worth it! We LOVE them to pieces!! They are great babies and we have them on a semi-schedule at this point. They are eating every 4hours and taking right around 3 1/2 ounces although the last three nights they have given us a 5hour streach of sleep at night A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.! =) They have been eating at 10 2 and 6. Most people can't believe that we are up and out but if you know me I dont sit around the house much. They have had their first trip to Church, big brothers soccer games, Marbles, the state fair, the pumpkin patch, the mall, and a few other places already. I am hopeful that I can post some pics of those outings but for now we only have a few that I attempted to take at home. I did just get back some newborn pictures that a friend of mine who is a phenomenal photographer took but I can't post them yet...I am working on announcements =).

Joshua~ One Month Stats: 7lbs 3oz 21"

He is our little spit fire just like Benjamin you can already tell he has some spice in his personality. He doesn't like to wait and he will tell you about it in a heartbeat. When he cries he gets LOUD and MAD when you dont rush to get to him. Of course he is learning patience as we all are around here with 6 people. =) He still doesn't care for his carseat- he cries for a few minutes and then for the most part he gets over it but if he remains in it for any length of time he starts back up again. He already adores his big brothers and loves to watch them and listen to their voices. When he sleeps he loves to have a soft blanket wrapped around him and up near his face if he is sleeping and wakes up crying sometimes all he wants is to feel the blanket closer to him and he will calm right back down and go back to sleep.

James~ One Month Stats: 7lbs 8oz and 21"

He is our Mellow Mushroom so laid back and easy going! James doesn't get upset unless he needs a diaper or is hungry and even then its a soft cry. He does love to snuggle which we dont mind one bit. He adores his big brothers as well. He has the biggest brightest eyes and have even given us a couple of smiles but we haven't caught them on camera just yet! The boys love to snuggle together and we are letting them sleep in the same bed right now. Its so sweet James just turns his head next to Joshua and gets as close as he can and goes right to sleep. When he is awake he loves to just look around and take it all in. One of his favorite places is the bouncey seat where he can sit and watch everyone and eveything going on around him.

All of our boys- they are so smitten with each other and we are very smitten with all of them!

Two Weeks~ (posted 3 days late...)

2011-10-08T04:58:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that 2 weeks have already passed since we had James and Joshua. They both are really good babies we are def. blessed in that department!! Here are a few pictures of them hanging out.

James(L) and Joshua(R)

snuggle time

It has been interesting to watch the boys grow and change over the past two weeks. They are alike in many ways and yet so different. We have been asked a lot if they are identical..they are not they are fraternal twins.

James (supplanter) Isaac (he will laugh)- James is as close to Jamie as you can get and Isaac is a name that my Grandma has always loved.

James has the lighter hair and skin. He looks a lot like Chrisitan did when he was born. James has already shown us that he is more laid back. He doesn't cry often and when he does it takes him a little while to get really worked up. He is a s.l.o.w. eater he loves to take is time. He is long and skinny.

Joshua (God rescues) Edward (wealthy protector)- Joshua-is a name that we love and Edward is after Ed
Joshua has a full head of dark black hair and darker skin tone he looks a lot like Benjamin when he was born. Joshua has a little spunk to him he doesn't like to wait and when its time to eat its time to eat!! He H.A.T.E.S. his carseat and when he is mad about something he doesn't mind letting you know.

Both boys are pretty much on a schedule. They are eating every 4 hours and sleeping well in between. We took them for their two week checkup on Tuesday and they both weighed 5lbs 13oz. Joshua is 19 3/4 and James is 19 1/2". If James doesn't watch out Joshua is going to pass him in the weight department and for now is still holding on to his 1/4" lead with height. It is amazing to watch them when you put them together. They love to cuddle and be next to each other. When you lay them down together they instantly get quiet snuggle up and go to sleep.

The Tooth Fairy

2011-10-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

Christian came home last Wenesday from preschool and said he had a loose tooth! What?!? I couldn't believe it the first thing that went through my mind was hes not old enough to have a loose tooth is he? I called the dentist to make sure...we were just there less then two weeks ago and they didn't say anything about a loose tooth!

Here he is...you can tell that it is REALLY loose!

Sunday after we got home from church before we had lunch Ed asked him did he want to go ahead and pull it out.... Chrisian said yes and sat right down and let Ed pull it out- he was so excited!!

Love this picture...but I must admit the first thing I see are his long eyelashes before I notice the missing tooth =)

Stop growing up for just a minute PLEASE!

Christian and Benjamin checking out the tooth

Here it is...

He was so excited about the tooth fairy coming....that was until it was time to go to bed he wanted to leave his tooth for the tooth fairy so he could see what she would leave but he was also really sad that he wouldn't get to keep his tooth. The next morning when he woke up and found 5 bucks he was ok with not having his tooth. =) Yes, I know $5 is a bit steep for the tooth fairy but when you have newborn twins and not a lot of options you go with what you got. The best part of him getting 5 dollars is that he said he wants to buy something for his brothers and then maybe something for himself. I though that was awesome that he is putting his brothers before himself. I also see this as a great opportunity to teach him how far 5 dollars really goes...

The Difference a Week Makes

2011-10-01T00:49:00.000-07:00

(I originally wrote this when they were 1 week old on Wed. just now getting to post it!)

38 Weeks Sept. 21, 2011 4:30am....on the way out the door to the hospital to have the boys!! I can't belive that we made it to 38 weeks. This is one of the last pictures of me pregnant with the boys. I am sure glad they are here but must admit that I will always cherish the kicks and hicups and crazy feeling of being pregnant with two!

Welcome to the world baby boys!!

Baby Boy A- James Isaac Singleton

5lbs 11oz 19" 9/21/11 7:56am

Baby Boy B- Joshua Edward Singleton

5lbs 5oz 19 1/2" 9/21/11 7:56am

The boys were born via c-section. We scheduled it a few weeks out because both boys were breech. I was really hoping that they would turn and we could try for a natural delivery but that didn't happen. I was very nervous about having a section espeically after our induction with Christian and the hard time we had getting the epidural that ended up not working. I was dreading getting a spinal. It was difficult to get the spinal in they were on the last try before actually putting me under for the section. It was the 6th attempt which was acutally the 12th shot because they have to stick you twice once for the numbing medicine and one for the needle. I was estatic when they finally got it in and it took effect immediatly. Once the spinal was in place they let Ed come into the operating room. He was in the room maybe 4 minutes before the babies were born. I LOVE the Dr. that delivered. Dr. Segal- he actually got both boys out in the same minute!! So James is only about 45seconds older then his brother! =) I think thats amazing usually they are a couple of minutes apart. When they were born they did a drive by and I literally got to take a glance at them. Thankfully Ed got to go with them to get cleaned up and checked out while I got stiched up. It felt like it took forever. The boys checked out great and had awesome apgar scores. Another thing that was really neat is that when they tested their bloodsugars to make sure they were in normal limits they both had the exact same bloodsugar. I was in the or until almost 10 and then had to go to recovery for 1 hour. Once I was done with all of that I FINALLY got to see my boys at around 11am.

Proud Daddy!

Mommy getting to hold the boys for the first time! Amazing feeling to hold two baby boys at one time!

First Photo with Mommy and Daddy

BLESSED- so VERY VERY blessed my heart is full!

Dr. Segal- LOVE him so glad that he was able to deliver our boys!!

One Week Old- cuddling at home- they love sleeping next to each other head to head. Most of the time when we had our ultrasounds this is how they were head to head against each other.

One Week Later- Mommy and her boys

It has been quite an adventure this far and is truly amazing having two little ones at one time!!

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father

My Soccer Star~

2011-09-08T03:48:00.000-07:00

So a few months ago we started asking Christian if he wanted to play ball this fall. Of course his answer was YES he has been asking for awhile since we live right by the ball field and see kids playing all the time when we are coming in and out.....well when I started looking in to it I found out that fall ball for his age close to our house didn't seem to be an option but soccer was. So we gave him the option of playing soccer or waiting until the spring to play t-ball. He said he wanted to try soccer (he has played once before at the factory). So here he is all ready to go to his first practice!

I can't get over how BIG he looks in this picture!!

and...here is Christian with his coach Daddy....yes you read that right Ed is coaching the soccer team (like we dont have enough changes coming! =) Ed wanted to help and take part in his team and then we found out they really needed a few more coaches so here is Christian and Daddy.

First Practice! Looking forward to his first game on the 17th! Love how cute he looks and that he is actuallly paying attention....at least while I was snapping the picture =)

Benjamin watching them practice he is not quite old enough to play but aside from Mommy and Daddy he is def. his brothers biggest cheerleader!

Looking forward to a great soccer season and welcoming fall and cooler weather!

35 Weeks~

2011-09-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

35 Weeks Pregnant with the boys....

Almost there!! 35 weeks and still holding out! =) We are excited that we have made it this far. It has been busy around here with Dr. appointments and the big boys heading back to preschool. Monday we had our last appointment with the specialist at UNC. Both babies are still doing great and growing like little champs. They both weigh between 4 1/2-5lbs. At this point it's really crowded so that makes it hard for them to get exact weights but the estimates were Baby Boy A weighs 5lbs (20%) and Baby Boy B weighs 4lbs 10oz (10%). We are still looking at a C-section Baby A is breech and Baby B is breech transverse. We are also going to the OB and Rex twice a week now for monitoring and non-stress tests. Aside from all the dr. visits I am just trying to take it easy and rest when I can.

Here are a couple of pictures of the nursery. We still have a few more things to do but its painted and the furniture is set up.

TWO CRIBS....sometimes its still hard to believe we are going to be having twins! We plan on putting the names on the wall above the cribs

The dresser and changing table

Part of the closet it is stocked FULL thanks to the wonderful showers we had!

Now that its SEPTEMBER we just wait for the littles to make their arrival!

33 Weeks

2011-08-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

5 Just FIVE more weeks at the most until we get to meet our boys!! I am so excited yet nervous. Its hard for me to believe that we have made it this far with only moderate rest and not full bedrest. Totally BLESSED!! Just this past week I have started moving pretty slow and having pregnancy pains that I'm not really used to but I guess when you are carrying twins at 33 weeks and measuring well over 42 weeks thats going to start happening. I am so grateful for friends that have been willing to help out with the boys during the day and when I have doctor appointments to make life a little bit easier. I am also greatful for a husband who comes home after working all day and picks up the rest of the duties for the evening with the boys so that I can rest as much as possible.

33 weeks and counting down:

Totally blessed to be carrying twins....amazing that God has called me to carry two babies at once an extra special blessing that this mama is happy to experience!

32 Weeks

2011-08-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

So as the Dr. said yesterday we have reached another milestone with the pregnancy 32 weeks. I can hardly believe that we are down to 5 weeks and a few days before they will be here. We have been working hard on the to do list! We have the nursery set up just need to get a few more things done but its painted and has all the furniture set up. I will hopefully post pictures in the next little bit of the progress. Both boys are being pretty stubborn and are not in position so as of now we are planning on a c-section. We have one baby that is transverse (laying across my stomach) and the other one is breech. I am still trying to hold out hope that they will turn but as the weeks go by the chance of that happening goes down.

We have been blessed with two showers to help us prepare for the babies! I will try to post pictures from the showers soon. I really dont want to post any pictures of myself I feel HUGE but I am posting two just to make me feel better......

The first picture was taken in January just a couple of days before we found out we were pregnant I was so excited about all the weight I had lost! =) The second picture was taken this week 32 weeks. I definetly feel like I look like I am having twins although I have been hearing quiet a bit- you really dont look that big! I can't wait to meet our little men but know that they need to cook a little bit longer before making their grand entrance!

Ready for Kindergarten

2011-08-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

Christian says he is ready for Kindergarten...he asks all the time when he gets to go since he is going to be 5. We have the conversation weekly talking about him going to preschool one more year and having another summer break before he starts kindergarten. He seems ok with it at the time but then it comes back up in converstation again in the next couple of days.

He loves writing and is starting to read. Here are a few pictures of him practicing writing his letters. We have two books one for capital letters and one for lower case letters. I think he is doing a great job!

Total concentration- more then one person in this house makes faces when concentrating but I will leave them nameless :)

Proud of his hardwork- can't believe he is so stinkin big!

Pretty Awesome if I dont say so myself!

I can hardly believe that in just a few weeks he will start his last year of preschool and we will celebrate his 5th birthday! The time has flown by...whats the saying the days drag by but the years fly-- S.O. T.R.U.E. He amazes me with how smart he is. We have been working on different things with him. He is reading some, knows his full name, phone number, full address, birthday, days of the week, 12 months, can add and subtract (love this since Math was always my fav.subject) more about dinosaurs, and cars then I could ever think possible.

I know that he is anxious to start Kindergarten but I'm glad that he has one more year at home!

31 Weeks~

2011-08-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe we are 31 weeks!! We are down to single digits until our little men arrive!! I have my check list going and need to finish the last couple of big things that I want to have done before they get here. Sorry I haven't posted any pictures to be honest I dont have many that of myself that I am willing to post. We went to the OB last week and the UNC specialist this week and we have two healthy boys growing! I am measuring just over 40 weeks (although I must admit I feel MUCH bigger =). We are hoping to make it to 37/38 weeks which means we have 6/7 weeks left. When I think about that I get a little nervous.

We were at the specialist yesterday and both of the boys look good and are gaining weight like little champs. Baby Boy A is weighing in at a whopping 3lbs 11oz (35%) and Baby Boy B is weighing in at 3lbs 5oz (25%). Its hard for me to believe that when I combine their weight they are right at 7lbs! We got to see quite a bit of baby boy B he was very active and moving all around. He LOVES to have his hands in his face and even had his eyes open a couple of times! Now Baby A was not as cooperative he didn't want to show us much at all yesterday. He was facing my back so we couldn't see very much but it wont be long =). I was a little upset that they are not in postion and we are running out of time and room for them to get ready. One is breech and the other is pretty much transverse. There is still a little bit of time for them to move I really dont want to have a c-section but God already knows what is going to happen.

Right now each baby is about the size of 4 oranges and 15inches long!

How Far Along: 31 weeks

Clothes: Maternity once again I dont think that will change

Movement: YES! All the time they are quite active =)

Food/Cravings: I would love to have a cup of sweet tea from Chick-fil-a....but that can wait just a few more weeks. I will say that Mexican has been a favorite throughout this pregnancy

What I Miss: Being able to get the clothes out of the washing maching without my belly getting in the way =)

Being able to get up from the couch or a chair in less than 5 minutes

I will try to post pictures later this week.

Wordless Wednesday~

2011-07-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

26/27 weeks

2011-07-12T05:58:00.000-07:00

I guess its about time that I post for weeks 26 and 27 now that we are close to looking at 28 weeks. Things are going well. Last week I had to take the glucose test again...failed. We knew that was probably what was going to happen but the good news is that it seemed to be borderline. This past week we had 2 visits one to the specialist and one to the OB. We are going to the specialist every couple of weeks for a growth ultrasound and right now that boys are doing great! Baby Boy A was 2lbs 3oz and Baby Boy B was 2lbs 2oz. Baby Boy A is headdown and has been for weeks Baby Boy B however is up in my ribs....transverse. I really hope that he flips. In order to even try to have a natural delivery both babies need to be headdown. I really would like a natural delivery since things went well with both Chrisian and Benjamin. I am not to keen on having a c-section but we still have a couple of weeks to worry about that.

Here is a picture right about 26 weeks.

Right now the babies are about the size of a head of cauliflower.

Fourth of July

2011-07-06T04:05:00.000-07:00

We really didn't do a whole lot this weekend. Pretty much stayed around the house had a lazy weekend and tried to get a few things done in preperation for the arrival of the babies.

Daddy did make homemade icecream with the boys to have before the fireworks. Helping Daddy get the mix ready. Strawberry was the flavor of choice.

Milk

The boys decided it would be a treat to add white chocolate chips

Watching Daddy add the rock salt and ice

Patiently watching the ice cream churn

After dinner we had friends over to watch the fireworks. They haven't seen each other since preschool let out everyone has been on vacation. I think they were excited to see each other.

Playing with sparklers we had to find something to do to pass the time. Even though we could see the fireworks from our house they still were not scheduled to start until 9:45!

This is as close as Benjamin would get to the sparklers and to say he didn't care for the fireworks is to put it lightly. He cried and went in the house he HATED them. He didn't even want to watch from a window inside the house. Hopefully in the next few years he will start to enjoy them because for the past couple of years he has wanted NOTHING to do with them.

Enjoying the sparklers

This picture makes me think of a firebug we may have to keep our eye on him =)

Enjoying the homemade icecream!

Taking a little break before the fireworks start watching a movie. Benjamin & Jackson (6 months apart) Christian & Aidan (both 4)

YAY!! Time for the fireworks you know you live close to where they are setting them off when they shake your whole house and debris lands in your driveway/yard. They are amazing to watch that close up and my hubby got a couple really good pictures!

The big kids watched them outside while the younger two decided it would be best to stay in the house.

Hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July!!

Wordless Wednesday~

2011-06-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

A Morning Walk on the Beach

2011-06-27T05:41:00.000-07:00

One Morning while we were at the beach Christian decided to get up early so in an effort to let Benjamin and Daddy get a few more minutes of sleep I took my biggest boy out to the beach for a little bit.

It was a beautiful morning

He LOVES the ocean. He looks so small to me in this picture standing out by the BIG ocean

It was early but he didn't have a problem with the water being a little less than warm...

He took off running right into it!

Mommy and her biggest boy- Love this picture of the two of us on the beach!

Beach Part 1~ The water Slides

2011-06-25T05:08:00.000-07:00

As soon as we got to the resort the first thing the boys wanted to do was hit the water park and the slides. Here they are getting ready to go!!

Christian enjoyed the water slides for a little bit....

However our little Monkey L.O.V.E.D. every water slide and would have rode 100 times a day if we let him. Love this picture...He started out on his back and ended up coming down like this.

Whew!

Benjamin again

This picture shows you the height of one of the slides

and here come Benjamin again...

If Benjamin was just a little bit taller we would be heading to a water park because this boy is a daredevil and is not afraid to try A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G. Christian is a little more on the cautious side takes it all in before he decides if its worth the risk or not. =)

24/25 Weeks

2011-06-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

Well I dont have anything big to update this week. We are still plugging right along. I really dont like any of the pictures from this week but I decided to post this one for those of you who are interested. I can't believe we are already 25 weeks if we make it to 37/38 weeks we only have 13 weeks left at the most. WOW!! I have alot to get done in the next few weeks. We did start on the nursery this week. I will post pictures when we are further along- we are painting with blue/sand colors and going with a boat theme. I am super excited and can't wait to get it finished. Next week we have our second glucose test for gestational diabities. I would love to pass it again with flying colors but we shall see. Until next week.....

This week the babies are the size of a rutabaga guess I have two rutabagas in there =)

How far along: 25 weeks!!

Clothes: Still maternity some are getting a bit small

Names: Still thinking about it

Movement: YES somedays it seems like they are moving all day long other days I have to stop and wait for the movements.

Food/Cravings: Not really craving anything....but I still enjoy my pretzels and ranch dip

What I miss: Being able to bend over/squat down and get back up easily

Vacation Part 1~ Tennessee

2011-06-16T05:09:00.000-07:00

I am finally starting to post about our vacation....at least the first part. We started our vacation out with a trip to visit some of our friends in Tennessee Adam and Candace who just had their first baby a little girl in Feb. of this year. Here we are on Friday morning getting ready to head out...the boys are packed in the back and ready to go.

Anagrace was a hit as soon as we walked in the door they boys were ready to hold her

Looking at these pictures make me excited to see all four of our boys together in just a few short months.

To say she was the star of the weekend is to put it lightly

Two peas in a pod...Chrisitan and Adam looking at the menu at Cheddars. We had never been to a Cheddars before but let me let you the food was delicious and the prices were very reasonable.

Feeding the little princess

Playing Adam in Thumbwar

What else do you do after a big meal at a nice restaurant but go next door to Marble Slab for icecream!

The breakfast of Champions fixed for the boys by Adam...Poptart Chocolate doughnuts and Powdered doughnuts.

Outside working on the Truck with Daddy and Adam

In Erwin where Adam and Candace live there is a fish hatchery so Ed and Adam took the boys here they are feeding the fish.

Anyone that knows Adam knows that he is just a big kid looking to get into trouble. Here they are with waterguns trying to cool off.

More love for Anagrace

The Gang- its really hard to try and take a picture of seven people....we used the automatic setting and aside from all the extra stuff in the picture it tuned out pretty well. We are so glad that we got to spend the weekend with them and look forward to the next time we get together when there will be nine of us!

23 Weeks

2011-06-13T04:51:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't make it by the end of the week but Monday's not to bad. We had our appointment with the specialist on Friday and both of the boys looks GREAT!! They were able to get the additional pictures they needed of the each babies heart that they couldn't get the last time due to their position. They said everything looked GREAT and they are both growing well and right on track. Both of the boys were VERY active today and were moving all over the place arms and legs just going to town. They look like they are already so big! Baby Boy A weighed in a 1lb 4oz and Baby Boy B weighed in at 1lb 5oz. Baby A has moved and is head down but that could change B is still transverse (we have time they can still move around at least for now=). I can tell that they changed positions becuase movement has picked up A LOT!! Sometimes I think I can tell the difference between baby A and baby B but not always. Here is my 23 week picture less than attractive but the best one I got...the sun was out and it was HOT.

How far along: 23 weeks

Clothes: Still Maternity

Names: maybe we will share soon =)

Movement: YES daily and now I am able to tell them apart some. Also, this weekend we have been able to watch my belly move when they move or kick. =)

Food/Cravings: I actually ate hamburger for the first time this weekend since right around the time we found out we were pregnant I know my husband has hope that he can now have some big ol burgers this summer..lol I dont know that I really have any cravings but I have enjoyed a little bit of chocolate pie which typically is not a favorite of mine.

What I miss: Cooler weather!! It feels like we are already in the middle of Summer its HOT! We are spending a lot of time at the pool or inside!

22 weeks

2011-06-06T08:11:00.000-07:00

Of course by now we all know my weekly pregnancy posts are usually a few days late so here is my 22 1/2 week post =). Maybe just maybe I will get to post 23weeks later this week. We were on vacation this last week. We had an amazing time at the beach. This picture was taken at Ripleys Aquarium (if you can't tell by the fish that looks like he is about to bite my head off..lol) We have two appointments this week one with the regular OB and then one with our UNC specialist. I definetly feel like I am growing!

How far along: 22 weeks

Clothes: Still Maternity..lol

Names: we have a few

Movement: Yes, daily

Food/Cravings: nothing specific although we were on vacation and I did eat...probably more then I should have....I acutally had dessert and seafood and it was YUMMY!! I am sure the scales will not tip in my favor this week. =)

What I miss: right now the beach

21 Weeks

2011-05-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Better late then never...lol Here are a few pictures of me right around 20 weeks. We had our OB apt. last week and things are moving right along! Both of the boys looked great! Its really awesome that we get an ultrasound each time we go even though its just a for a few minutes to make sure they are doing ok its still great to see them and see how much they have grown. Everything looked good and we are right where we should be. Our Dr. was very honest with us letting us know that the next few weeks are going to be our "honeymoon" period so to speak. He said we need to enjoy them and get as much done as possible...that is our goal! This week we are preparing to go visit some friends and then take a short family vacation to the beach. Our last "big" trip as a family of four!

Right round 20 weeks

Me and my FOUR boys!

Me and My awesome hubby

How far along: 21weeks

Clothes: Maternity my favs are shorts and comfy shirts

Gender: 2 boys

Names: Still deciding....

Movement: Daily little flutters and kicks can't tell them apart yet but hopefully soon

Food/Cravings: Nothing really but I have ventured back into eatting a little bit of red meat...steak not hamburger...yet!

What I miss: sleeping comfortably I knew it would get to the point where it ws uncomfortable but was hoping not this soon. =)

Happy Anniversary!!

2011-05-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday we celebrated 10 years of marriage! I can't believe it has been 10 years. It has been a truly wonderful journey thus far. This picture from our wedding day is one of my favorites. I have posted it a number of times and absolutly LOVE it. Two lives joining together for better or worse through all of lifes trials and celebrations!

This picture was taken on Thursday night before we went out to dinner to celebrate. There are so many events that have taken place in the ten years that lapse between these pictures....buying and selling of our first house, a cancer diagnosis and treatments that cured, a move from VA to NC, buying a second home, having two boys with two more on the way, and a few gray hairs to prove that we have lived through it all. =) This list is just a very very small list of what we have been through and the blessings that we have had. Looking forward to celebrating many many more years with my amazing husband. I could not be more thankful for the husband that God gave me.

End of the Year Art Show

2011-05-18T06:18:00.000-07:00

We had the boys end of the year art show at preschool last night. It is always fun to go and see what they have worked so hard on throughout the year.

Benjamin was so excited to show us what he had been working on. He ran straight to the bulletin board to show us his butterfly and flower first.

He was super excited to show Daddy the kite that he made. He did an awesome job. Red is by far his FAVORITE color.

Showing Daddy where some of his artwork is on the wall. He is so cute he can pick his name out and knows that it starts with B.

Love those little hand prints and finger prints

Benjamins two teachers from this year Mrs. Peggy and Mrs. Joanne. They have both been wondeful. Its has been a blessing that both of my boys have had the opportunity to be in Mrs. Peggys class she has been teaching for YEARS and has such a passion for working with little ones. Her talents and her patience amaze me! Mrs. Joanne was her assistant this year and just loves on all the little ones in the class. I can only hope Mrs. Peggy is still teaching when the twins are ready for preschool.

This by far has to be one of my FAVORITE pictures ever with Benjamin L.O.V.E. it...I am going to print it out and frame it ASAP!

Next stop was Christian's room. He could hardly contain himself while we were in Benjamin's room. He was so EXCITEd to show us all of his artwork. He had A LOT it is one of his favorite things to do.

Holding up his calendar that he made can you tell he is proud.

Here is my Firetruck!

Some of the artwork focused on books they had been reading. Here is his version of the very hungry caterpillar.

His winter Penguin fingerpaint.

His snowman. I love to see his creativity. He tends to lean towards the stripes and patterns when he is making things.

His tye dye thanksgiving turkey

Me and my biggest boy. I cannot believe that he only has one more year of preschool until he starts kindergarten. I am thankful that his birthday is in October and it gives me one more year of having him at home. His picture is behind me on the right. He did an awesome job gluing his name. He amazes me by how smart he is. He can write his name with no help at all. I loved finding his pictures and seeing his name written on the bottom.

Mrs. Diane his lead teacher for this year. We LOVE her so glad that my boy was in her class. She is a treasure that is for sure. He adores her!! She is wonderful with all of the children and encourages them each so much! I am so thankful that next year Benjamin will be in her class!!

Christian and Mrs. Shelia. Chrisitan lucked out Mrs. Shelia was Mrs. Peggys assistant last year and then moved to Mrs. Dianes class this year so he has been with her two years in a row! He loves her! I can only hope she doen't play musical classrooms next year so Benjamin can have the opportunity to be with her!

Daddy and Christian Christians Pigeon is to the left of Eds arm its covering a little of his face.

Our Family at the Art Show. I can hardly believe everyone is looking at the camera! YAY!! We had a awesome night looking at all of their hardwork!!

My Little Guitar Man

2011-05-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend when we were in Richmond Benjamin got to play with his cousin Aiden's Paper Jamz Guitar. He was one happy little guy. He has his own real guitar but he is not allow to just pick it up and play with it so he had a blast with this one. Out of the two boys this one has a LOVE for music if he even hears his Daddy cracking open a guitar case he goes running as fast as his little feet can carry him waiting for his turn to play. He can name e.v.e.r.y. s.i.n.g.l.e. p.a.r.t. of the guitar. He LOVES it. I hope that he can learn to play just like his Daddy.

Can you tell hes excited!

Struming with the music

Just look at the faces he makes while he plays....to say he gets into his music is putting it lightly.

PURE HAPPINESS

My First Video on the Blog....I recorded him playing once he knew the video was going he didn't show off as much but the song choice was perfect. Born To Be Wild! Enjoy~ (Sorry its sideways I dont know how to roate it =)

19 Weeks

2011-05-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are already 19 weeks into this pregnancy hard to believe that we have at the most 19 more weeks until we meet our two little ones! I have so much to do I guess I need to get my list going and get on with it. I have been trying to decide what to do in the nursery but we haven't officially decided on anything just yet. Last Thursday we had our first appointment at UNC with the specialist. It was a long ultrasound where they take lots of measurements and see how each baby is growing. They both looked great and they measured exactly the same for everything. They both weighed about 8oz. Since we are having twins we are going to have quite a few ultrasound but thats fine with me....more pictures of our littles and getting to watch them grow from one appointment to the next is amazing. They change so much! I have been feeling them move for a few a few weeks. In the past week they have turned from little flutters into small kicks. Ed got to feel them move for the first time on Saturday night. I can't wait until Christian and Benjamin are able to feel them moving!

Mothers Day 2011 (almost 19 weeks)

Twin A- looking down to the left (the thin line in the picture coming out from behind Twin A is the membrane that is between Twin A and Twin B seperating them).

I think this picture is self explanatory...

This is the profile of Twin B

and this picture is self explanatory as well. It is definetly 2boys!

How far along: 19weeks

Milestone: Since they are not going to let us go 40weeks knowing we are half way there

Clothes: Maternity

Gender: 2 boys!

Names: We have not decided 100% yet

Movement: Yes for the past few weeks Ed can feel them kicking from time to time now

Food/Cravings: NOTHING! I'm still really only eating grilled chicken as far as meat is concerned and the only thing that I have really enjoyed lately has been snyders pretzels dipped in ranch...interesting I know

What I miss: not having to get up in the night to use the bathroom

Weight Gain: I dont mind sharing this now but as we get closer to the end I may not be as willing to share..at this point only +3lbs.

What I am looking forward to: setting up the nursery x2!

Pregnancy 18 weeks

2011-05-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

I know I am the worst at blogging. I mean I haven't updated in over a month. At this point we are almost 1/2 way through this pregnancy. It is amazing to me that in about 22 weeks we will have two more little members in our family! I haven't posted any pregnancy pictures anywhere so I thought I wold go ahead and post a few.

First here are two pictures of me from last fall (one in Aug. and one in Sept.). These two pictures were taken before I lost weight (otherwise I would probably not post them).

This picture was taken in January 2011. I wish I had taken a few more while I was losing weight to see the progress along the way. Its amazing to me to look at the pictures and see the difference. I still had a ways to go...but little did I know 8 days after taking this picture I would find out that I was pregnant and then with twins!

Here I am Easter Sunday (not the best picture but you can def. see the rapidly growing belly=)

The Story of the TWINS~

2011-03-14T16:22:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write this down so that I would remember and could share it since so many people have asked. The first question we got a lot was were you guys planning on having another baby. Well I guess the answer would be yes and no. We have not really been trying or not trying and it just had not happened so in the fall I went to a new OB just becuase I felt like something was wrong at my first visit I was diagnoised with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) after talking with the Dr. and having a ultrasound done. After meeting with the Dr. a few times we agreed on a weight loss goal (being overweight is a factor in having PCOS) I had for myself and then we would discuss pregnancy options if we really wanted to have another baby. I was well on my way to my weight loss goal only about 9lbs away from where I wanted to be. I went in for a follow up visit and told him I felt like I had hit a wall and we had a discussion about what I would do next.

It was that very next weekend that I found out I was pregnant. When I took the pregnancy test I thought it was pointless and that my cycle was just off but it was POSITIVE!!! Three tests later I believed I was pregnant! It was a Saturday morning and I had to go to work so I was trying to figure out a creative way to tell Ed. I mean I knew that if I was in shock he would be to. We were downstairs getting breakfast for the boys he called Christian and Benjamin to come eat he said alright Snickers and Milkway come eat breakfast. I responded and said if they are snickers and milkway is the next one going to be twix?? After he picked his jaw up off the floor he was very excited. I think that we were both in shock not thinking that it was going to happen anytime soon.

Fastforward to the first doctors apt. we went in and had an ultrasound they saw one sac and a possible fetal pole but no heartbeat yet it was still really early. The ultrasound tech also saw something else but said it was probably just a blighted ovum. We left hoping that at our next visit things would look good and we would have a healthy baby growing. We went back at 7 weeks and a few days and saw one healthy baby growing with a stong heartbeat. We were very excited! We had a due date of the end of Sept. first part of Oct.

Over the next serval days/weeks I was SO SICK I couldnt eat or drink nothing was staying down. I was napping everyday every chance that I got I felt HORRIBLE to put it lightly. I did what I had to do to make it through the day and that was it. This past week I still was not feeling well and was really worried that something might be wrong so I called and they said they wanted me to come in. I went in and met with my Dr. he has to be my favorite and I am SOOO glad that we changed practices. He told me it was fine to be worried and I was not the first women to come in and feel that way it was perfectly normal that we would just check everything out. Well he started the ultrasound and of course I couldn't see...I have not been wearing my contacts when I am pregnant they give me headaches and in a mad dash out of the house didn't grab my glasses. The next thing I know I hear Dr. C say Dad do you see that....to which Ed does not respond I can't see and I say is everything ok do you see a heartbeat?? Dr. C moves the screen and says can you see mom...ummm not yet he moves the screen again and I said oh my is that TWO?! Yes mam' do you see TWO heartbeats?! Yes mam' everything looks great you are having TWINS!??!??! (They are fraternal twins two seperate eggs both fertalized so each baby is in his/her own sac and has his/her own placenta) We were both in a complete state of shock to say the least. We are very excited about these two little blessing and I guess I def. choose the right candy bar when I asked Ed if the next baby(babies) is going to be TWIX seeing as they only come in sets of 2!

We are soooo excited and go from excited to shocked and are looking forward to welcoming two little babies in the fall!! So far we have gotten a lot of opinions on the gender of the babies...Benjamin has said from the start he was having a girl and if you ask him if its a boy he will give you a very firm NO its a girl...now that we are having two he says its a boy and a girl and Christian's answer is generally the same. My vote is that it will be a boy and a girl or two boys... we will see.....and yes for those of you wondering we will be finding out this time since we are having twins. We are just praying for a healthy pregnancy and the babies to contine to grown strong and heatlhy.

Something to....

2011-02-14T09:26:00.000-08:00

~~brag~~ blog about. I know that it has been ~~over 5 months~~ a while since I have blogged. I am making no committment to keep it up on a regular basis but did want to share how far my biggest boy has come with his writing recently.

Love the concentration on his face in this picture with his tongue sticking out...just like his daddy!

Look at how well he is holding the pen!

and TADA! The finished product after a lot of hard work my boy finished every single valentine for his class at preschool.

Here is a close up of two I am so proud of him!

Wordless Wednesday~ (almost)

2010-09-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

Don't you know its hot outside?!

I wonder if sleeping like this is really comfortable?

Zac Brown Band~

2010-08-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago I got to go away again (yes two weekends in a row) with one of my closest friends Emily. We went to see the Zac Brown Band in Charlotte. We saw him in concert last year at Kooka Booth and decided to take a girls trip to this year to see him in Charlotte.

Last Year at Zac Brown

We started our morning off heading for Concord Mills I mean really who sends two girls with no husbands or kids to Charlotte and dosen't let them go to Concord Mills. We had a blast walking through the SEVEN yes 7 neighborhoods of stores that they have.

Now where do two Moms go without kids for dinner...You guessed it Chick-fil-a and we enjoyed every single bite (not to mention that we didn't have to feed anyone else)!

We drove by the raceway and took a few pictures...but didn't have time to stop Zac Brown was waiting for us.

We had an absolute BLAST!! We laughed and laughed and just enjoyed the night! IT WAS SO STINKIN FUN!

CRAZY KID FREE MOMS ON THE LOOSE!

LOOK LOOK--there he is we got our picture taken with Zac Brown!!! =) Well he is in the picture he's the teeny tiny little guy between our heads on stage. lol

This was his largest concert so far 19,000 people. He is amazing to listen to in person and puts on a great show I LOVE his music.

A little bit a chicken fried.....

We had a great time shopping and hanging out. The concert as you can probably tell from the picures was crazy fun!! Thanks for going with me Emily I can't wait to see where our road trip takes us next year!

Many Miles~

2010-08-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

Many Memories.

It has been 3 years this month since we bought our minivan. I LOVE it! There are a lot of other cars I dream of driving but with a family this is the perfect vehicle to have. As you can see we have put a lot of miles on it. It had 30,000 miles on it 3 years ago and now its over 100,000. Lots of trips to see friends and family.

Heres to going another 100,000 Miles!

Moments Like These~

2010-08-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

are hard to come by when you have two rowdy litte boys running around.

but we'll take all the calm peaceful moments like this that we can get!

Proud Mommy Moment~

2010-08-24T10:45:00.001-07:00

Of course as a Mom I have lots of proud Mommy moments but this is one of my all time favorites watching Christian write his name for the first time (poor thing he has 9 letters to write). He did AWESOME and was so proud of himself. Here are a few pictures of his great work!

YAY!!

CHRI

STI

New Addition~

2010-08-17T10:34:00.001-07:00

Meet the newest addition to our family: Rocket

Beach Weekend~

2010-08-15T18:29:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I had the privelage of going away with some of the ladies from our Sunday School class to Myrtle Beach for the weekend. We had the BEST time. It was the first time that I have left both the boys and Ed for the weekend. The boys had a awesome time with their Daddy they have been telling me all about it since I got back and they were quite sad to learn he had to go back to work today and wasn't taking them for another polar bear swim (more on that to come later). I enjoyed so much this weekend while I was gone so I made a short list of my weekend blessings:

*Getting to share and learn more about some of the wonderful ladies I was with (19 of them!)

*not having to take care of anyone else for three whole days!

* staying up late and sleeping in until after 9am!

*eatting my dinner when it was nice and hot

* reading part of a book

* shopping without pushing a stoller

*going to the movie sand seeing an adult movie (Inception)

*going to the bathroom and showering all by myself (hey its the little things! =)

*laughing with other Moms

*Swimming in the ocean

*Riding in the car without handing over toys or listening to veggie tales

I could go on and on. I am so thanful that I was able to sneak away for a few day and greatful that my wondeful husband took care of the boys and even cleaned the house and had all of the laundry done when I got home. It was a much need break and I got some great R & R.

Wordless Wednesday~

2010-08-11T04:52:00.000-07:00

Not exactly what I was trying to capture...

Zoo

2010-08-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

This week Aunt Rhonda came in for a few days with Kayla and Aidan. We usually try to get together when the kids are out of school for a few days and this Summer was slipping away so we threw it into this week! We didn't take a lot of pictures but here are a few from the day we decided to head to the Zoo when it was 100+ degrees.

We got a picture of all 4 kiddos looking at us after taking about 20 of them but hey its worth it right.

Christian 3 Aidan 6 Benjamin 2 and Kayla 9. Love this picture of Benjamin grinning as he is "flying" the plane he is soooo mischevious! Another picture of all the kiddos climbing up on the JeepBenjamin and AidanBenjamin and Kayla Kayla & Aidan- they acutally like having their picture taken now.
It was a HOT day to be at the Zoo but the kids had a blast and we got to see a lot of the animals. We look forward to all going back again...when the weather is much cooler.

Homemade

2010-08-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

Pizza!! This past weekend we made pizza at home with the boys. The LOVE when they are able to help in the kitchen.

I have come to realize that ordering pizza is not nearly as fun as making it at home (not to mention a lot less money). Here are the boys with our pizza crust super excited to help make dinner!

Spreading the sauce- he looks so big to me in this pictureBoth boys adding some cheese Pepperoni- they put some on the pizza but they also enjoyed a few pieces =) Waiting for it to bake Love this picture of Benjamin even those his mouth is full of delicious pizza My big man enjoying his pizza as well MMMM Good! Cheese- I cannot believe this boy is only 3 months away from being 4!!

Role of Love in Mothering~

2010-07-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I am "stealing" this from a friend of mine (Thanks Pam). She posted it on her website and it stepped on my toes just a little bit. I felt like it was worth sharing. Enjoy~

"As I've thought about the role of love in mothering, I've been stimulated by 1 Corinthians 13, which I have paraphrased:

If I keep my house immaculatley clean, and am envied by all for my interior decorating but do not show love in my family-- I am just another housewife.

If I'm producing lovely-things --sewing, art; if I always look attractive, and speak intelligently, but am not loving to my family-- I am nothing.

If I'm busy in community affairs, teach Sunday School, and drive in the carpool, but fail to give adequate love to my family-- I am gain nothing.

Love changes diapers, cleans up messes, and ties shoes-- over and over again.

Love is kind, even though tired and frazzeled.

Love does not envy another wife-- whose children are "spaced" better, or in school so she has time to pursue her own interests.

Love does not try to impress others with my abilities or knowledge as a mother.

Love doesn't scream at the kids.

Love doesn't feel cheated because I didn't get to do what I wanted to do today--sew, read, soak in a hottub.

Love doesn't lose my temper easily.

Love doesn't assume that my children are being naughty because their noise level is irritating.

Love doesn't rejoice when other peoples children misbehave and make mine look good. Love is genuinely happy when others are honored by their children."

Wordless Wednesday~

2010-07-28T05:11:00.000-07:00

365.....

2010-07-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

days ago we sat in an office in Cary and signed a mound of papers so that..... we could once again be home owners!!
It is so hard to believe that we have already lived in our house for a year. We love our house and the memories that we have made, looking forward to creating many more this 2nd year!

Reason # 5,190,608......

2010-07-20T00:19:00.000-07:00

I love my husband. He brings me flowers and on top of that gets a great picture of my boys with them!

Hot & Ready!

2010-07-19T01:30:00.000-07:00

While we were at the beach the new Krispy Kreme in Wake Forest opened up! Its a Hot & Ready store!! So of course we made it one of our first stop Monday morning to give it a try.The boys were excited about their chocolate doughnutsLook at that excitment! MMMM Good! Love those chubby cheeks and big ol' brown eyes!Watching the doughnuts come off of the beltbut.....of course we celebrated by having doughnuts one morning at the beach =)

As he takes a bite...how many doughnuts did we get??
We have been fans of dalight doughnuts but I must say we may be in trouble now that Krispy Kreme has arrived in Wake Forest!

A Little Extra Fun~

2010-07-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

I took Christian with me to run a few errands Sunday one of our stops was the mall. We had never been to kidfest I had seen signs about it but never knew exactly what it was. As we pulled into the parking lot we saw all kinds of fun things going on...bounce houses, side walk chalk, a man making balloon animals, face painting, train rides and more. We went over and stopped for a few minutes. Here are a couple of shots of the fun Christian had.

He was beside himeself with excitment about riding the train the first car looked like Thomas! Here he is already to go! He made it very clear he was riding by himself.
Heading out The whole train- Christian is in the red car in the back.The balloon man he asked Christian what he wanted him to make and right away he said an orange dog.
and an orange dog is what he got =) The sad part was when it popped and we had to get back in line for another 20 minutes to get a new one! It was a lot of fun and we now know that it happens every second and fourth Sunday through Septemeber. It is all FREE so you can bet we will be going back again! If you have never been you should try it.

Wordless Wednesday~

2010-07-14T05:23:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

2010-07-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

We got back from the beach on Saturday and then celebrated Ed's Birthday on Sunday. I wont say how how OLD he is.....

Daddy and his boys after church (love how you can see how tan they are from the beach).

Daddy's cake Christian picked it out- (It was yummy but I must say those candles were horrible by the time I got them all lit the first ones were melting all over the cake)
Why would he be smiling like this?? Only because one of his gifts was for a 1hr. massage and he is SO EXCITED! Enjoying some cake!

The Birthday Man

and he did enjoy his cake too but this is his attitude face.... =)

We hope that you had a great Birthday Daddy!! We love you and are so thankful for all you do for us!

2010-07-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video of the boys jumping in the pool while we were at the beach. So glad they are water babies!!

Myrtle Beach~

2010-07-06T18:11:00.001-07:00

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from the beach so far there will be more to come....

So excited to finally be at the beach!

Benjamin took a spill and as you can see didn't like it too much but I LOVE the picture! This is a great picture of the boys playing together in the water they were having a blastSweet Boy enjoying some icecreamOh my word...love this picture of my "baby"

Favorite Quotes

2010-07-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

Christian said two of the cutest things today:

The family that we are at the beach with arrived this afternoon and Christian said lets go to the beach you know its 100 miles long

The second was as we were getting ready to put the kids to bed (Benjamin and Christian are sharing a room and Cael is in a room by himself.) Christian stopped and told Cael Benjamin and I are going to be right here in this room just let us know if you need anything at all. Lol so sweet for him to be willing to help.

M. E. S. S. Y.

2010-06-24T19:48:00.001-07:00

This boy is super cute and adorable......

BUT....

he can make the biggest mess! There is not a snack

or meal dessert included that he can eat without getting M.E.S.S.Y. SERIOUSLY- you couldn't just use your spoon?!and playing in the dirt...well thats a another whole story =)

but the good news is he cleans up REALLY well! There is just something about this little boy who looks and acts so much like me. Dirty or not I love him to pieces!

First Movie

2010-06-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was a very exciting day at our house....TOY STORY 3 was coming out and we were going!! Ed and I took Christian out on a date with us while Benjamin stayed with a friend. He was beside himself with excitment! It was his first full movie in a theater. (I tried to take him and Benjamin to a free movie last summer and it didn't work out).

Our Family getting ready to go to the movie- can you see the excitment!TOY STORY 3!! Check out his shirt =) He was checking out the theaterEnjoying his first taste of movie theater popcorn and a drink a special treat and Yummy!!! The movie was suppose to start at 11:40 well at 12:00 it still had not started! We were not paying to see the movie in 3D it was going to cost more plus I didn't think Christian would really care. So the previews started and then they stopped and started again in 3D. So long story short we actually saw the movie in 3D which was neat. Here he is sporting his 3D glasses so cool!

Family First

2010-06-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

Before we had littles we used to go camping from time to time....Ed has been wanting to take the boys camping for awhile. So we celebrated Fathers Day one week early and went Camping for 1 night.

The van packed for O.N.E. night of camping (insert oh my how are we going to pack for the beach for a whole week!?!)The Tent- TADA as Benjamin says =)Christian was beside himself to finally be camping!! Benjamin was just a ball of sweat he is very hot natured like his mama- oh and thats ice in his hand he was eatting on to help cool down. So excited to help Daddy cook the hotdogs! Watching the fireBenjamin's turnYummy! What camping trip is complete without Smores? When we were done with dinner we fixed smores and Christian loved them Benjamin could have cared less he was not interested at all!Testing out the water at the lake before bed! My boysSnuggles with Daddy before bed there were no pictures after they went to sleep because lets just say it took them awhile to get there =) Playing in the lake Christian LOVED playing in the lake and floating around...he thought he neeed his life vest and his swim ring plus hes got his bucket in his hand.

We had a great time camping and look forward to going again. The boys keep asking if we can go tomorrow.

To Blog or Not to Blog...

2010-06-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

So I must be honest I have really let the blog S.L.I.D.E. I have not kept up with it at all like I thought I would. A lot of my friends have amazing blogs that they keep up with at least daily if not weekly. I dont know why I find it so hard to blog, if I am honest I would probably fall into the catagory of a blog stalker always looking to see who has updated or if there is anything new out there. I have really just gotten into a rut with mine. So at this point I am trying to decide~ blog and keep it up or not blog at all. Any thoughts or suggestions out there??

Now I couldnt leave without posting a few pictures....ENJOY~

Christian at the Zoo LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture of him! He looks SO BIG!!

I did some editing with the picture and I think I LOVE them both! My big boy playing in the pool- Benjamin my little tuff guy
and he definetly has a W.I.L.D. side~

Awana's

2010-05-16T14:27:00.001-07:00

This year Christian was able to be a part of Puggles at church. He has loved every single minute of it! Here he is with his amazing teachers and his certificate of completion for the year. Benjamin didn't get to particpate in puggles this year but he did get to hang out with some amazing kids and these two wonderful ladies were his teachers. When we started going in the fall he would cry everysingle night when we dropped him off but as we got a couple of months (yes a couple of months) under our belt he started going in with no problem at all. Chrstian is looking forward to the fall when he will be in Cubbies and Benjamin will be in Puggles but for now we are going to enjoy our Summer break!

Wordless Wednesday~

2010-05-05T04:20:00.001-07:00

Christian got some new buzz and woody cowboy boots.....Benjamin thought he would try them out

Wordless Wednesday~

2010-03-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

Spring is in the Air!

2010-03-11T06:09:00.000-08:00

We have been anxiously awaiting warmer weather and since we have had a few beautiful day you can bet that we have been OUTSIDE!! At the park and at home. Here are a few pictures

Benjamin trying to ride Christians scooter he did great!!

Go Christian Go He LOVES his scooter
This Boy....

loves to

Be OUTSIDE! Benjamin was so excited he got to slide down the pole for the 1st time! Christan was jumping off of the step- good thing he didn't bite his tongue off Doing the zip line with Daddy

One Two Three....JUMP

Benjamin's turn to do the zip line

LOVE this boy!

Dare Devil

He loves to climb

My monkey swinging on the bar before going down the slide

MaRbLeS

2010-03-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

We went to Marbles Museum on Sunday the 28th Benjamin's actual birthday. We had a ton of fun!!

The kids Christian, Aidan, Kayla & Benjamin before we started playing The Birthday Boy!!

Uncle Michael and Christian building Daddy and Benjamin putting boxes into the mail truck

Big Box Kayla serving up some veggie in the fruit standBenjamin pushing his shopping cart full of goodsPutting his groceries away what a good helper! My 2 year old! Aidan and Benjamin working in the kitchenThe Greatest Performance put on that day at the museum..... Aunt Jamie and Kayla getting down Go Kayla Go Kayla Go Aunt Jamie Go Aunt Jamie Yah Yah! Take a bow Poor Benjamin he was not impressed...he hates when we get dressed up it scares him. He even hates to see Ed with shaving cream on to shave.... Grandma and Grandpa decided to get in on the action toAll Aboard....Benjamin climbing the steps up to the top of the ship Daddy and the Birthday Boy! Mommy and the Birthday Boy! Uncle Michael keeping watch on the ship. Aidan strutting his stuff on the ship Kayla Kayla and Christian working with the anchorAidan's turn Mommy and Aunt Rhonda even took a turn on the ship well at least for the photo op Mommy and Uncle Michael in the ship Ha! What else is there to even say......At one point while we were playing on the boat Christian was "missing" we found him over at the water table playing he put on a smock and was going to town. He LOVES the water!Grandma & Grandpa were there....Our little submarine driverJump Jump Hold On......Daddy is taking you for a ride! Love the look on their faces.They had the new area open at Marbles and it was a TON of fun. It was all about money. We didn't take very many pictures we were too busy playing I can't wait to go back and play in the new area again! Benjamin found a dog and he played with it for a long timeKayla did tooBenjamin walking through the money....you could walk on it and it would light up when you stepped on it. Racing his carPlaying marblesBirthday kisses from MommyCheeseThe whole gang (except Uncle Michael he was taking the picture)After Marbles we went to get something to eat at the Mexican restaurant here is our big boy drinking from a big cup
By the time we left he was a MESS...and VERY VERY tired can you tell? We have a AWESOME weekend celebrating Benjamin's 2nd Birthday and look forward to the adventures that await us on the way to 3!

The Birthday Bash!

2010-03-07T01:54:00.001-08:00

We had Benjamin's 2nd Birthday party on the 27th. He picked Elmo and he partied with Elmo from the time he got up until the time he went to bed. =)

When he got up on Saturday he was so excited about all of his decorations! (Like the Elmo PJ's)

I went out EARLY and got Daylight Donuts he loves the sprinklesLet the PARTY begin...his friends all arrived and we started things off with a game of Pin the Nose on Elmo! Then it was time for Pizza and juice boxes... he doesn't get juice boxes often this is maybe his 3rd one ever and he sucked it down in like 2 seconds. Opening his gifts yes he has A LOT to work through if you look at the table behind him...he was taken with the banana's. Eww...while I was reading the card he took a huge bite out of one of the banan's peeling and all! The banana's came with a gift card to Monkey Joes incase you were wondering =) He loved opening his gifts and didn't want any help at all. He was great with his manners he told everyone thank you after he opened their gift. He was really interested in his new clothes which I found funny since most of the time they just get thrown to the side and he told Aunt Rhonda thank you at least 10 times for them! This was at the end of the gift opening Christian wanted to help and as you can tell from the picture Benjamin wanted to do it himselfNow onto the cake the WONDERFUL Elmo cake and cupcakes. (If you ever need to have a cake made I can give you the name of a GREAT cake decorator and she is really reasonable!) He wasn't quite sure what to think when everyone was singing Happy Birthday to him. Blowing out the candles he needed a little helpA red cupcake!!He went straight for the icing love that little red face! Napkin please he doesn't really like to be messy which is funny considering he is just one big mess =) The Elmo pinata- the pinata's are alwaya a hit! Pulling the string!! Putting some of the loot in his bag Playing with his balloon that is one of his favorite things to do...he is actually still carrying it around the house Daddy Mommy and the VERY HAPPY Birthday boy! Our Family! Oh wait though the party wasn't over when everyone left it kept going at least for Benjamin- Playing Mr. Potato Head with Grandpa Trying on Uncle James hat and glasses- HEART BREAKER! and playing peek a boo from under the Thomas Gift Bag while wearing his new shirt he couldn't put down.... and what birthday night would be complete with out "driving" Uncle Jame's truck before he headed back home!

Benjamin definitely had a fun filled day of partying from the time he got up until the time his head hit the pillow that night he was SPOILED. He had a blast!! He was a little overwhelmed at first when we had 30+ people standing around the house waiting to help him celebrate but he finally warmed up. We were so thankful to have so many friends and family here to help celebrate with us. This year was a little different because Benjamin has made his "own" friends and Christian wondered where some of his friends were we had to explain that we couldn't invite EVERYONE we wouldn't have enough room for them all! We can't believe that he is already 2 working on 3. He is a blessing to us and we are so thankful he is part of our family!

The Artic Cat~

2010-03-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

We were not sure what we were going to get Benjamin for his birthday but then we decided to go in with Grandma and Grandpa and get him a Power Wheels Artic Cat~

Getting buckled in ready to take it for a drivechecking out all the controlsLOVE LOVE LOVE this picture of his face the first time he hit the gas pedel =)Just cruising He looks so serious.....but he was REALLY having a ball. Both Chrsitian and Benjamin LOVE this jeep looking forward to the hours of entertainment this is going to provide. Wonder who the first girl is Benjamin will be taking for a drive?

The Big Bed!

2010-03-05T11:04:00.000-08:00

Benjamin has been wanting to have a big boy bed for awhile. So we took the bunk beds apart and now he has his own twin bed (we will bunk them a little further down the road). Here are a few pictures of him in his big bed.

He was so excited!!

Checking it out to see how well its going to sleep He gathered up all of his blankets and was smiling from ear to ear about having a big boy bed. Sound asleepI could not get over how "small" he looked in this bed. My baby is not so much a baby anymore.

Wordless Wednesday....

2010-03-03T12:43:00.001-08:00

Wow maybe I should have given him a little more to drink at dinner that night =)

Potty....

2010-02-16T07:43:00.000-08:00

~~TRAINING~~ TRAINED!! Yes that is right! No more diapers for the singleton house!! Benjamin has joined his big brother in the world of wearing underware and is VERY happy about it. It is so hard to believe that he is trained already. He was ready much sooner than I was. He has been asking to use the potty for awhile and I have pushed it off and not really encouraged it until...about 2 weeks ago he ~~kept asking~~ was DETERMINED to wear underware so I ~~gave in~~ negotiated and let him wear underware over his diaper. Creative I know. That was only good enough for a couple of days he kept telling me no diapers no diapers so on Saturday the 6th we decided to go ahead and give it is shoot we made it through the day with only 2 accidents!!! To say that I was excited is a understatment. Since then he has only had a few accidents and has been wearing underware since the 10th! He is such a big boy!! I am sad that I wont see his little chunky legs hanging out of a diapers anymore. I dont expect him not to have any accidents but I can say that potty training him has been a BREEZE!!

Here is a picture of him wearing underware (he was opening his V-day card from Grandma =)

Trip to the Dentist!

2010-02-09T06:56:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Dentist for the boys to have their teeth cleaned. (we were originally suppose to go the morning that Benjamin fell and ended up getting staples.) The boys did AWESOME!

Benjamin the look he had when they called his nameBenjamin did not like letting her check his teeth but he finally warmed up after a little bit.Christian always sits in the big chair now and is not nervous AT ALLGetting ready to clean those teeth! He loves wearing their sunglassesBenjamin stood at the bottom of the chair just watching look at his face I think he was scared enough for both of themBenjamin decided he wanted to sit in the big chair to and wear the glasses and then he laid back and let them work on his teeth he LOVES to do what his big brother doesChristian got his 2nd set of x rays done here he is checking them out on the screen. I could not have asked for the boys to do any better than they did. They were troopers. Dr. Johnson said that their teeth looked wonderful and they had a low risk for cavities WOOHOO!!

The EXCITMENT

2010-01-19T04:47:00.000-08:00

Christian got a Thomas Umbrella for Christmas. You can imagine how happy he was on Sunday morning when he woke up and saw that it was raining. He said I can use my umbrealla yes sweetie you can!

That smile on his face says it all

So thankful that the rainy Sunday morning made his day!

A New Do...

2010-01-18T04:36:00.000-08:00

Benjamin got another haircut..this time we went with a ~~bull~~ bowl cut. I think that it turned out great. I just wish that he would stop growing for a minute!

This is the before picture look how long his hair was in the front so sweet still had a tiny bit of that baby look in him...

Snip Snip...he did really well I couldn't get a after picture of him right after she was done but this was in the next day or so... Hello where did my baby go?My two boys...could I be any more blessed..I think not!

Welcome 2010

2010-01-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe that we are now in 2010 and halfway through the month of January. I look back at the last 10years and I am amazed at all the blessing we have been given here is a very short list.

2000 Ed and I got engaged

2001 Ed and I got married in May and purchased our first home in September

2002 Ed and I took a trip to Europe

2003 Ed was diagnoised with Cancer

2004 Ed was declared Cancer FREE!!

2005 We sold our house and moved ot Wake Forest NC

2006 In Fed. we found out that we were expecting our first baby and in October Christian was born

2007 We found out that we were expecting baby #2

2008 Benjamin was born!

2009 We were blessed with being able to purchase our second home

As I read over this list I am amazed at how the Lord has blessed us and provided for us. He chose to heal my husband of Cancer and bless us with 2 healthy happy boys. As we start 2010 I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for our family!

McKMama Giveaway

2009-12-10T10:47:00.000-08:00

I love to read www.mycharmingkids.net I am hooked and right now they are doing a HP Touchscreen GIVEAWAY go to the link above to read about it and throw your name in the hat to win. Also it wouldn't hurt to look at the ADORABLE pictures of her kiddos and read about the amazing things God has done and is doing in their lives!

Curly Q....

2009-11-22T18:16:00.000-08:00

No more... Thursday night we made it offical and took Benjamin for his 2nd but first REAL haircut. Here are a few pictures from the event and it was quite a event **sniff** sniff**

Before they started cutting I took a couple last pictures of his long messy hair....

Look at those curls.... Snip snip he really did well Look a that sweet face! Being so patient he was the best little boyChristian blew bubbles to entertain him well maybe more to entertain himself =)He LOVED it when she squirted the water on his hair look at that face So fun! Then he got to try and do it himself.My what a happy happy little boy we haveAll done time to clean up all that hair and throw away the tissues....Yes I did cry just a little.... he looks like he aged 3 years in 15minutes! I must say I have also been asked quite a few times since his haircut if they are twins
Oh my....what a big boy!

Nap Time....

2009-11-21T18:04:00.000-08:00

On the couch....

There have been a few times when Christian has gotten to skip his nap. A couple of weeks ago we had some friends in from out of town so we decided he didn't have to take his nap he could sit on the couch and watch a movie.... I guess he was just a little to wore out because in just a few minutes he was sound asleep! Look at that sweet little face =)

Wordless Wednesday~

2009-11-11T04:11:00.000-08:00

Pictures~

2009-11-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we met Kaitlin at Joyner Park to have her take some pictures for us. The weather was gorgeous and the boys were WIDE OPEN!! Her website is http://2point5d.com/. Check her out she is very reasonable and does a GREAT job! The boys were all over the park running and having a blast I am sure it was quite a challenge to be on the other side of the camera but I think she did an excellent job. Here they are....

Yes- I could just eat him with a spoon he is ADORABLE!

Yes I LOVE his messy hair and curls....not quite sure I am ready to get my "baby" an official haircut. My 3 year old....talkative, imaginitive, wide open little dare devil....my heart overflows! WOW...this is my son he is growing way to fast

Love this picture of him just running

He wanted to make sure he took a picture of Kaitlin as well =)We were on one of the paths and saw a grasshoper my curious boy getting a closer lookBenjamin getting in on the action too LOVE this picture Kaitlin snapped of Ed and the boys- I am BLESSED! Kaitlin also snapped a couple of picture of the two of us- I LOVE my hubby

Pooh Elmo and Lots of Treats...

2009-11-05T19:56:00.000-08:00

I know that Halloween has come and gone but I thought I would still post a couple pictures of the two cutest boys this side of the moon =) Enjoy!

Our Pupkin that we (Mommy) carved and the boys watched Daddy took pictures....I think it turned out pretty good! My Pooh Bear the cutest one I have ever seen....Can you tell me how to get how to get to Sesame Street....My chunky little ElmoFriday night we went to the factory...here they are heading out to get some treats...He was so excited everytime he got a piece of candy!!I could eat him up! HAHA!!Talking about all the loot in their bags =)Once he got his outfit on he loved it but getting him to try it on was lets just say a CHALLANGE! Getting ready to go out on Halloween night!

Christian and Olivia one of our neighbors holding hands from house to house...

We had a great Halloween and it didn't take the boys long to figure out how to get that candy they were smiling and saying trick or treat...they were winning over all the ladies.

PaRTy TiMe~

2009-10-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday we celebrated Chrstian's 3rd birthday! It is hard to believe he is already 3. When I asked him what kind of party he wanted he said diggers and Bob the Builder and every time I asked him he gave me the same answer so that is what we went with.

Saturday morning I put this Banner up over the fireplace before he came downstairs and when he saw it he was so excited! He said Mommy I am so proud of you for hanging that Banner for me. =)

When Iasked him what he wanted to do at his party he said play games and have goodies...Well we planned on having goodies but I hadn't really thought about any games so I had to come up with something....Pin the hat on Bob the Builder. (I probably could have been an artist HA!) The kids loved it and had so much fun playing. I am just glad that it did scare any of the kids.

Benjamin enjoying some of the balloons.
Playing in the backyard. It was such a blessing to be able to have the party at our house this year I had so been looking forward to it. We actually had the space for everyone (30 people) what a treat!

The weather was wondeful so the kids were able to have a picnic with their pizza in the back yard.

The Birthday Boy!! He had sooo much fun celebrating with all his friends.
Getting a ride in the wagon from his cousin Kayla
Getting ready to pin the hat on Bob...Good Job! Benjamin didn't miss a beat he was right there doing everything with the big kids
Pinata~ We had one last year and the kids loved it. It was a lot of fun this year to. The only thing I worried about is what if the first person pulled the right sting and all the candy came out...thankfully that didn't happen. I love his face and how hard he is trying to pull his string.Joshua's turn I love Christian's face in this picture he is saying PULL PULLHere comes the candy! Opening presents: It was much different this year he loved opening his gifts all by himself and was thankful for all of them. He was so excited to get a remote controlled truck from Grandma Connieand matchbox tracks to drive his cars onHe was so excited for his big gift from Grandma and Grandpa--- A Melissa & Doug Art Easel!! Our Birthday Boy! He LOVED his cake
He really enjoyed having everyone sing to him...He sat there and swayed back and forth as they sang with the biggest grin on his face! Precious! Enjoying some cake and icecream
Benjamin and Mrs. Jennifer
Testing out his Cars Scooter from Kayla & Aidan this definetly ranks as one of his favoritle gifts! Getting some help from Kayla he was so proud of himself.
He was asleep in probably 2.5 seconds that night and he had to sleep with his new cars sleeping bag.
What a wonderful day celebrating with all of our friends and family.

We are so blessed!

2009-10-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

On Christian's Birthday we went to Hillridge Farms to get our pumpkins and have some fun. We have gone to the same pumpkin patch each year we took Christian here when he was not even 2 weeks old. Here are some pictures of the fun we had!

Christian and Benjamin with Christian looking

Christian and Benjamin with Benjamin looking =) Look how tall we are!
Coming down the slide with daddy Mommy and Benjamin FUN!

Racing his duck
Hey I am 3! Precious boy I love how he is sitting with his hands on his lap so patiently
LOVE
READ MY SHIRT: I MAY BE CUTE BUT I BITE.... ready or not....
CHOMP!Look at all those pumpkins!Taking a break Me and my big boyHa- the best picture we got of both of the boys
Our FamilyLook mommy here is the pumpkin I want!and this is the one that I want! What a great day celebrating Christian's 3rd birthday. After the pumpkin patch we took naps and enjoyed a great dinner our with friends!

Makin' Muffins

2009-10-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

Christian got to take snack to school last week for his birthday. We decided to made some pumpkin muffins we have a delicious recipe given to us by a friend. These muffins are sooo YUMMY!! Here are a few pictures of my boy cooking it up in the kitchen.

He loves to help cook maybe he is going to be a chef?

3 Years Ago Today....

2009-10-09T11:59:00.000-07:00

We became a family of three! Christian Samuel Singleton look how much you have grown.

You are becoming such a handsome little man but you will always be our little pumpkin boy! We are so thankful that the Lord choose us to be your parents you are such a blessing. A strong healthy little boy-such a treasure to our family!

M.E.L.T. my heart...

2009-09-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday I knew that once I dropped Christian off at school I was going to have some one on one time with just Benjamin, I really didn't know what I wanted to do but then it hit me. I have seen a lot of pictures friends have taken from Joyner Park and I decided to dress my littlest up in his overalls and head over to take some pictures of him. We had so much fun and will definetly be going back again! Here are a few that I took. I think they turned out pretty good I still have some more photo editing to do but in general I was very happy with how they turned out. Which one is your favorite??

I'M A BIG KID NOW!

2009-09-24T08:21:00.001-07:00

A couple weekends ago we went outside to plant some flowers. Christian asked to ride his bike and ride his bike he did. All by himself!! It was the first time he was able to actually pedal and ride down the sidewalk all on his own! Here are just a couple pictures I snapped.

Yes that helment is too small he just got it last year for his b-day-- talk about growing!

Look at that concentration!He was so excited after all the flowers were planted that he got to help daddy water them.

Mr. Wordy

2009-09-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

I am making myself type this post up so that I dont let it slip my mind or forget. Yesteday Benjamin took a super early nap so he was up way before Christian. We were downstairs sitting in the living room playing and he crawled into my lap. We were "talking" and I just started spouting off animals and sounds that the make and he immediatly started repeating them. A LOT of them. Here is the list that I can remember. I am hoping to get it on video and then learn how to post it. It was just precious and amazing to me how much he knows!!

Doggie~ Ruff Ruff

Duck~ Quack Quack

Kitty Cat~ Meow

Cow~ Moo

Bird~ Tweet Tweet

Lion~ Roar

Handsome and Smart!

2009-09-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

Christian is doing amazing it is wonderful to watch his little mind work and see all that he is learning. He has taken on a growth spurt latley and is really busting out of his clothes especially with his height. I can't wait to see what his stats are when we got in for his 3 year well check next month! He is also the family comedian and sometimes he says the funniest things here are a few of his most recent statements/milestones:

*I picked Christian up from school and he asked to go to Chick-fil-a as we pulled into the drive thru he said he was really thirsty today and proceed to say I think I want a large apple juice today

*Benjamin was doing something that he really didn't like and he said Benjamin Samuel you better stop that right now (the funny part is its Christian Samuel and Robert Benjamin) lol

*I tell him I love you to the moon and back his response right now is I love you from the front to the back =)

*He can totally dress himself and wants to he started doing this about 2 weeks ago. He gets really frustrated when he can't get things on by himself.

*He absolutly LOVES music- he can't get enough of it. He will sing in the car in the house anywhere.

*He still adores cars, trucks, trains, diggers, and planes pretty much any type of vehicle. He loves when we go by a store that has diggers working and we stop and watch for a few minutes. He also enjoys watching the trashman come through the neighborhood and pick up trash =)

*He has started asking to take a shower and not a bath

*We are working on recognizing letters and numbers but he can sing the whole alphabet and can count to 20!

*He tells me I love you sugar mama

I know that there are a million other things that he is doing/learning but these are just a few. He loves going to school and Puggles he has so much fun. He is a little sponge soaking up all that he can! Such a sweet age...can it get any better he's handsome and smart!