Singing in the shower...

I think my all time favorite video of Darrian. He takes showers over baths, and loves to sing in the shower. The other week I recorded this. You won't see him, because I don't put naked videos of children on the web , but you will for sure hear him lol.



By the way I updated the blog with the help of a friend, it has a whole new look... if you can't see this video and want to check out the blog go here: www.dnmthornton.blogspot.com

One Month..

(Don't let this picture fool you Miles is bigger :))






I am on a ROLL! Lol. Ok last update for the moment, here are pictures I took of Quincy and Miles at one month old. (and big brother Darrian got in there).

Darrian and Quincy

LOL.. Ok Darrian sit very stilll...you can see though that Darrian and Quincy look quite a bit alike (Quincy is on the right)



Quincy and Miles. Both have a bit of old man hair going on.

Mr. Miles

Quincy

A little update about each:

Miles... Miles, I call him Smiley Miles. He has these HUGE grins, I must get them on camera. You can not help but laugh and smile right along with him. He is pretty mellow, except when he wants to eat. He is still on the every three hours feed me schedule. He feels heavier than Quincy but the weight difference isn't really that big. He likes the swing at times, and tummy time. He loves to snuggle. Right in your neck cuddles.

Quincy..He was more active in my tummy than Miles, and he is now too. He is awake long period's of time. He doesn't love the swing, or tummy time. He likes to sit and take in the world. He coo's a bunch, but not big on flashing a huge smile. He speaks a lot with his eyes, and has such a sweet. He loves it when Darrian comes around, and wants to watch what his big brother is doing. He will sleep longer periods at night, but doesn't like to go to sleep until about 10pm. Giving one long alert awake time from 7-10pm.

Homedays..

We have been spending a lot of time around the house, and I have been trying to take pictures. I won't post them all here, but you can look at them in this album. Here are some of my favorites.

Miles on the play mat

Keith and boys Christmas Morning..

Quincy after bath about 3 weeks old



Miles after bath about 3 weeks old

Quincy in the bath, what you don't see here is how he sprayed down the entire window and counter with pee, boys are fun :)

Miles showing off during tummy time, about 3 weeks old

Quincy






Darrian, we were on our way out the door to a playdate.

Darrian and Quincy, he honestly loves his baby brothers

Quincy

Darrian and Santa at his class event (meant to put in post below)

Darrian and his class, notice the worried look on his face!

Darrian and his Jeep..

Quincy (notice how not many pics of Miles, because he likes to sleep)

Let's go back a bit...

How about a Christmas update! Christmas was a blur because of the twins arrival but it was a fun time. Darrian was SO into it this year. He cried when we had to take the tree down. Santa was nice to threaten with, I kind of miss him. Just kidding (kinda). For me Christmas still feels odd because we haven't found the same tradition year after year... but we will. I am finding new tradition in our family, and the kids.

Darrian's school had a Christmas party where the parents were invited and I went. (less than a week after the twins were here) I was not going to miss his first school party, and the teacher promised songs. Darrian had been singing Jingle Bells and We Wish You A Merry Christmas for weeks beforehand around the house. However, when showtime came they didn't say that Santa would be in the room. Darrian likes Santa from afar although this year he did much better with him. When he showed up in the room though Darrian did not sing once and kept his eye on Santa the whole time. I have video it was pretty funny and I will have to upload it here soon. Leading up to Christmas we had Chris and Julie and Family over Christmas Eve, and then I took Darrian out with Auntie Devyn to go look at Christmas lights. He really loved that. We decorated cookies, and then went to bed. Christmas morning still doesn't start till 8 am here (nice) so we slept in (yea right) and Darrian opened his presents. He loved them all. He got a new jeep from Grandma, trains, and a tag reader.Auntie Devyn got him this book I LOVE that tells a story about Darrian and has Auntie Devyn in it. I then cooked Christmas dinner, that was not so smart. Trying to cook dinner with newborn twins... it turned out good but not worth the work really. Next year I won't be doing that.

Here are some pictures from Christmas...

I have bags under my eyes...

Seriously. I just looked in the mirror and I have bags under my eyes. In my almost 31 years of life I have never had bags under my eyes. Ever. I posted this on facebook last week :
is having one of those nights. Darrian down, Quincy down, Miles still up... Miles down, Quincy up, Darrian up... Darrian down, and both Miles and Quincy up.

This about sums up the last 7 weeks. Twins and a toddler are hard work, and I will be honest and say that there are moments where my patience is so thin. Often I feel like Darrian has to deal with it the most because he is able to verbally say what he needs and to hear a 3 year old say please please please please please please about a million times when one or both babies are crying is a test. However I only set ONE goal for myself this year and that was to think more positive. Not about my kids, but life in general. However, I see that I can apply it to my day to day easily. This is going to get better, really all it is going to take is sleep. I know we will get there, I just don't know when and that is hard.

I took Miles and Quincy to their 6 week (they bump the 2 mo. visit up so they get get vax in them sooner for whooping cough) appointment by myself. I know that sounds nuts. However, I am working part-time from home from 5 am to 10 am (turns into 11am and more.. again nuts) each day, and Keith trying to get himself and three boys ready and out the door on time with me has not been successful. So I thought I would try it on my own. Also Darrian is very protective of his brothers, and I thought I would try and save the nurse who is just doing her job from getting the evil eye and some words about giving his brother shots. So I decided I would go alone. In the middle of parking the HUGE stroller in the hallway, trying to figure out how to get both boys out of carseats and not leave one unattended on the table to roll off while getting the other out... then both undressed, weighed , dressed again..I made the comment "Well this is proving to have been a cake walk with one". The nurse said "oh you have another child" .To which I replied "Yes a 3 year old". She then said "Wow your lucky, I can't even have one". Yep. About an inch big is how I felt. Snap back to reality. I had no words to give her, and I felt so selfish. I know I am blessed, and I am thankful. I need to remember that when I am in the throws of hard work that parenting brings. I can't imagine my life without my children in it, and I had moments of loss where I thought maybe I would not have the blessings I do have. Reminders of how blessed I really am.

Both boys are doing great, all three really. I will fill in on weights and such soon. I need to keep this blog up to date because it is so precious to me to look back on for Darrian and I want that for Quincy and Miles too.

Hopefully someday (soon) I will have no bags under my eyes and be getting sleep. Throw your good thoughts my way.

My world is spinning a bit...

I have a ton to catch up on. Not just here, just in life in general. Overall the first four weeks with twins have gone pretty good. I am not going to say it is a cake walk, there are moments when I am very overwhelmed. However when I heard we were having twins, I really envisioned being in that state 24/7. I really thought I would loose touch with Darrian, and my friends. I know it sounds selfish but I have remained pretty close to my friends through marriage, and becoming a Mom. It is not always easy, but I made it happen because it is something I really value in my life. I thought when I was having twins this would for sure go away. I am happy to say I have still made some time for my friends, and even gotten out a bit which I did not think would happen. Granted just to target, or to take Darrian to play with friends, but I did not expect that.

I have pictures to share and show, here are some from Kelly that she took of the boys before Christmas.

Thornton Twins are here...

Well our family has grown, not by just two feet, but four. The Thornton twins came into this world on Friday Dec. 10th at 12:05 pm and 12:06 pm. I was so nervous, but everything went really well. We were suppose to be at the hospital at 7 am, got there on time and got checked in. Then the fun started, the IV, blood drawls, and countdown to our 9 am c-section time. We got word though that there was another girl who had come into an emergancy situation and had to go ahead of me. So we had to wait. Nothing like letting the nerves set in longer. Keith and I talked and hung out, we were in the recovery room by ourselves. I was trying to remember the last times I would feel the boys kicking inside me, and get into a zone. At about 11:30 am they came and got us and took me into the OR. They did the spinal tap in the room, and I was very nervous about it but it went ok. I was numb from the chest down, they laid me down really fast and got me all set on the table. Keith had not been brought in at this point, and I was asking for him. He really is my calming force and at this point nerves were very high. My blood pressure began to drop a bit, so they gave me some meds to bring it up a bit. I got an upset stomach and started to feel like I was going to get sick, and started gagging. Although since I had not eaten there was nothing to get sick on, thank goodness. They gave me meds for my stomach and I calmed down a bit. Keith at this point came in and I calmed down a bunch. Then they started the surgery. It went really fast.

Baby "A" came into the world but first, and peed all over the Dr. :)Keith's first words were "Wow baby he is BIG". That made me feel much better, I had been worried about their weights. I got to watch them clean baby up, and they began removing Baby "B". Baby B came out head first, and started crying right away. I got to watch them clean up Baby B, and they brought over Baby A for me to see. After they had B cleaned up, they put both boys together. It was really sweet they were holding hands, and checking each other out. They brought B over for me to check out. I can not describe how amazing it is to see your children for the first time. It is an instant connection for me, and a love like I can not explain in words.

I was really worried that they would mix the boys up, and we named them based on their personalities before they born. They had a B on baby B's hat. I went into recovery, Keith followed the boys to the nursery to get cleaned up. They then joined me in recovery. Such an amazing feeling to have my babies with me, to go full term with twins.. to have healthy weights. To know I did it. I am so thankful.

Baby A is Quincy Isaac Thornton he weighed 6 lbs. 7 oz, and was 19 1/2 inches long.

Baby B is Miles Jalen Thornton he weighed 6 lbs. 10 oz, and was 19 3/4 inches long.

My Friend and amazing photographer Kelly came to see us in the hospital and took some pictures of the boys on Saturday. What wonderful images to have captured. Here they are: ( you can click the link to see them bigger )

Darrian holding Quincy and looking in on Miles

Quincy and Miles:

Quincy Isaac



Miles Jalen :

Darrian has been doing really good, I am surprised at how well he has adjusted so far. I know each day is different, but he really loves his brothers. He is very protective and always wanting to help. His biggest problem was that I was in the hospital, he had a really hard time with that. So glad to be home with my boys. :)

I will update again soon.

A little update...

Life is crazy plain and simple. I don't think I need to be told that it is just going to get crazier. I think I am still in denial there are TWO babies joining our family at the end of this week. It doesn't even make sense. I am excited to meet them, I am excited to see who they look like and watch them grow. I am anxious about the future, balancing it all, and surgery. I will take all the well wishes and good thoughts that it all goes well.

The C-section is scheduled for friday at 10:30 am. We could get bumped either way. I will be 37 weeks and 5 days. Never thought that was possible, full term with twins. I got the stomach flu over the weekend, had to go to Labor and Delivery and get an IV with meds and fluids. I am feeling better, and got to go home. The boys were monitored the whole time and they did just fine. I had my final non-stress test today, again both boys looked good.

I am still working from home full time, I don't plan to stop ahead of time. It is hard for me to walk away. I am trying to get Christmas in order for Darrian so after the craziness really starts we are set to enjoy the holiday as a family of FIVE!

I will keep you all posted, thank you so much for your support over the pregnancy.

The Twins...

I can't believe I am in my final weeks of pregnancy with the twins. I also can't believe that I made it longer with twins than I did with Darrian. I really thought the odds of that were pretty slim. I had Darrian at 34 weeks and some change and now I am 35 weeks and 3 days. Things have been going pretty good, no bedrest at this point. I do listen to my body, and try to take it easy. I have been working from home since Nov. 1st to try and help my body rest some.

My c-section date is set right now for 12/10 at 10:30 am. I will be 37 weeks and 6 days.

I had my last growth ultrasound last friday I was 34 weeks 5 days.
Baby A was measuring 34 weeks 5 days, 5 lbs 5 oz, and heartbeat of 147 beats per minute
Baby B was measuring 35 weeks 3 days, 5 lbs 13 oz, and a heartbeat of 133 beats per minute.

My blood pressure was a bit higher at my appointment yesterday so they are going to kick my appointments into high gear. It is the fear of oncoming pre-eclampsia. I will have two non-stress test a week, one Drs. appt. with the perinatologist. I also had to do at home blood pressure twice a day, and urine screening once a day for protien. I keep track of all the results and a nurse calls me every evening to get the results.

All and all everything is going ok. That is not to say that it hasn't been painful at times, or that I don't have gripes.. I am just thankful they are still baking and wanting us all to be safe and healthy so I keep them to myself most of the time.

Here are the ultrasound pictures from our last ultrasound.

Apple Hill

In October Darrian and I went to Apple Hill with Chris, Julie and the girls. We met Debbie and Heather up there. I love Apple Hill. I have to say though this trip was a bit of a bust. The rain ruined our day :( . I don't love the rain, it is no friend of mine. We only made it to two farms before giving up. Darrian was bummed because he wanted to play more with his buddy Braxton. Next year I will have more time to go without the timeline of the twins cutting in on the time. Here are a few of the pictures I took. Darrian did have a blast playing it the mud with Braxton and Debbie. Debbie is such a natural as Grandma.

Darrian's first field trip

Keith and I went on Darrian's first field trip in Oct. it was at a local pumpkin patch. The parents were invited, and it was fun to see Darrian around his classmates. He really loves school, did not cry once this year at drop off or after we were gone. He has made lots of new friends. We are often told by other parents how often their kids talk about Darrian and the games they play at school. He had some problems going from one activity to the next this year, but the teachers said he has adjusted and it is no longer something he has a problem with.

The pumpkin patch was lots of fun. I was glad that Keith was there too because walking up the hills at this point was not fun for me. He could keep up with Darrian much more than I could. They got to pick out pumpkins, learn about the farm animals, how to make cornmeal, story time in the hay, and then play in the play area.
I did manage to get a few pictures :)



D's fav buddy at school

Picking out pumpkins

Making corn maze

milking the cow

picture time with Daddy

snack time with his class.