Our Preemie Princesses

2010-11-07T21:04:00.003-05:00

We've Been Gone Too Long...

It's hard to believe that almost a year has passed since I last updated everyone on what's been going on with us.

We've been very busy. Since my last update, the girls have grown in so many ways. They had their second dance recital this past Spring, turned 5, and are now enjoying their days in SK.

I recently returned to work full time this past summer and it has been a HUGE adjustment for everyone. Finding a job was easy but, finding Daycare for the girls was a job in itself. I interviewed a million different people and finally managed to find the perfect person to care for the girls. They LOVE going to Daycare!! which has made the decision to go back to work a lot easier on me.

We spent some time this summer up at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The girls cousin Jack was also up for a week. They all played so nice together and just had a lot of fun.

We also headed to Pittsburgh this past Thanksgiving to attend Brian's cousin's wedding. The girls were so obsessed with Lindsey that they kept calling her "Cinderella" They were in awe with the wedding ceremony and could not get enough dancing in at the reception. They managed to stay up well after midnight and enjoy all the fun with the adults.

My two beautiful girls...

They also had a great time hanging out with all their American cousins. What I loved the most is that they are all so close in age and they get along great. Their cousins were a little confused trying to figure out how they were twins, but didn't look the same at all.

Avery and cousin Brianna

Olivia and Brianna

I am going to do my best at keeping on top of my blogging. I have so much more to update on but seeing that it's been so long, and it would probably take days or even weeks to catch up, I will leave it at this. I do promise to be a little more on top of things as of now.

2010-02-16T15:05:00.001-05:00

Two Peas In A Pod

2010-01-14T08:46:00.001-05:00

Christmas 2009 / New Years 2010

I was really hoping that this year with the girls being a year older and understanding the whole "Santa" experience more that I would be able to tell everyone about how great our Christmas was this year.

The holidays started off great, we had the girls mini Christmas concert at their dance studio which was so cute. They had been practising for a few weeks and during those weeks the parents were not allowed to watch. It was suppose to be a surprise for us all. It was really sweet to see all these little girls dancing around for us while we took pictures and videotaped them to all the famous Christmas songs.

We also spent a day over the holidays at Auntie Nikki's house with all the girls cousin's. They always have such a great time together. The plan was to take all the kids skating and then head over to an indoor play ground. The play ground was a huge hit, whle the skating was not. One foot on the ice and both of them had a complete melt down. We'll have to give it a try again soon.

Olivia with her cousin Tori, aren't they adorable!!!!!!

Avery and cousin Sierra, so sweet!!

I just love spending time with all my family and I love watching all the kids play and be silly together. They are all growing up so fast. Yes that's a hampster in Avery's hand. She has been trying to convince me to get one. She has even mastered the puppy dog eyes at me.

Christmas Eve was even a blast with them. They were so excited about Santa coming that they were bouncing off the walls all day and night.

Around 7p.m both girls asked to go to bed which was a little strange seeing as it wasn't even close to being their bedtime. We thought that maybe they were just really excited and thought that the sooner they got to bed the sooner Santa would be here.

Around 6a.m came Avery into our bed saying that she wasn't feeling too good. Soon after Olivia joined her but did not want to go back to sleep. So Olivia and I headed downstairs and to my surprise she had no desire to open any presents that Santa had left. She preferred to lay on the couch and just look at them. After about an hour, I went to get Avery up to see if she was ready to get into her presents. She got up and was excited but once we got downstairs everything changed.

That was when all hell broke loose in the house! Both girls began vomiting and this continued on and off for about four hours.

These are the only good pictures I managed to get of them. All the rest, they have pretty sad faces.

Our little Bella was very tired by the end of opening presents. She played with every bow and piece of paper she could get her little paws on.

Things turned around by the next day. The girls both had runny noses but the vomiting and fevers were gone.

We kept up our tradition of taking the girls to Riverside park this year on New Years Eve. This year was much more exciting than last year. Not only did we ride the Merry Go Round, but Avery for the first time ever did it all by herself! Usually anytime we take the girls to a fair she always wants one of us to hold her. This year, I guess she decided she was ready to do it on her own, and she did. It was exciting for me because normally to get a picture of her one of us has to duck out of the way so it looks as if she's doing it by herself. BUt, this time she really is!!

We also stayed at the park a little late this year. Since they were feeling so much better we decided we would play in the playground and stay to see the fireworks.

New Years Day we headed over to Baka & Dida's house for dinner. We had missed Christmas dinner with them since the girls were sick. Here are the girls with their cousin Nicholas enjoying their favorite thing in the world, ice cream!!

2009-11-23T22:04:00.006-05:00

Finally An Update!

So it's been forever since I've updated everyone on what we've been up to and how the girls are doing.

The girls are almost 4 months into their first school year. Their first week of school was great, but from then it seemed to go down hill. We had a really hard time for awhile getting the girls off to school without lots of tears. I too was getting frustrated because when they would come home, I would find FULL lunches in their lunch bags. Finally after a few weeks I contacted their teacher and told her that things had to change. They both were coming home starving, and seemed as if they would eat anything in sight. So of course dinner became a write off on school nights. She told me that she would monitor them more during the lunch hour and try to get them to eat. Since then, they have been coming home with almost next to no lunch and are not as hungry after school.

This week we have the girls "parent -teacher" night and I am so excited to hear what she has to say about them. Especially since they are enjoying going to school more now. I recently met a few of their little friends at a Birthday party and they are a really sweet group of kids.

Since I am so far behind with an update, I thought I'd post some pictures that have been taken this fall.

Our first Fall outing was to Fruittogo. This year, I swear it was about 5 minutes into apple picking and the entire basket was full! They love picking apples and always look forward to getting out to the orchard.

We also took the girls to the Rockton Fair this year. All I can say about this fair is AWESOME! we will be heading back every year. The girls both really enjoyed the pony rides, the dog show, and of course the smash up derby at night. They got a big kick out of watching the cars smash into each other over and over again.

We also have a new family member named Bella. Olivia and Avery have been bugging me for so long to have a kitten and of course I always knew I would get them one since I love animals, but I wasn't planning on getting one this soon. But I completely caved when I saw this sweet little face.

Bella is now 12 weeks old and I have to say she is the sweetest little thing ever! She loves to play like most kittens do, but she also really loves to cuddle. She could be in full play mode, but once you pick her up and hold her for awhile she falls asleep right in your arms and will actually stay there.

Her favorite place to sleep is in Avery's bed. And of course Avery is loving it. There have been a few occasions I've had to go in to Avery's room and take Bella out because she will wake up Avery by playing with her hair and jumping on her toes.

We didn't have the greatest Halloween this year. The day before Halloween was when the H1N1 clinics opened their doors to start the vaccines. After a three hour wait, we finally got in, got our H1N1 shot in one arm and the seasonal flu shot in the other. Both girls developed fevers and my poor little Livvy was vomiting most of the night and into the next day. She wasn't fully up to going out trick or treating, but she was such a trooper and stayed out for about an hour.

Avery only developed a fever that lasted a day. She tolerated the shots very well. Just complained of a very sore arm for a few days.

These last set of pictures were taken at the first Santa Claus Parade they girls went to. This was an evening parade in Cambridge, I didn't make it to this one with them , and from what i hear it didn't even come close to the parade in Waterdown that we also go to every year.

See they haven't changed since my last update, still as silly as ever!!

2009-11-18T11:30:00.003-05:00

New Designs & A Giveaway!

Right now Priscila at "Little Miss Heirlooms" is giving away one of my custom designs. Check it out here

There are also lots of new designs on my other site. If you haven't been over in awhile check them out here

Giveaway ends November 24Th!!!

2009-11-05T21:46:00.002-05:00

GIVEAWAY AT GROWING YOUR BABY!!

Right now over at www.growingyourbaby.com one of the best giveaways is going on!!

Having two little girls, I know how exciting it would be to win this awesome play kitchen. So....if you would like an opportunity to win this, Growing Your Baby has one to giveaway. Head on over and enter.

2009-09-06T22:32:00.004-04:00

First Day Of School!

This past week the girls started their first day of school. I got them up early Wednesday morning and boy were they excited. So excited that they were jumping and singing around the house when they were supposed to be eating their breakfast.

I had always known this day would come and I had expected it to be a very emotional day for me. But I think seeing them so excited that morning about starting school just kept me smiling.

Here they are posing for a picture just before we left. The princess backpack was a MUST! I had my eye on other one's but they wouldn't let up about having the "Princess" backpack. When I was walking them to their class all I saw going down the hallway was about a million of the same backpack's. And not only did the other kids in other classes have them, almost every little girl in their class also had the same one. It's a good thing I put their names on everything!

When we got to school we had to wait outside for a bit for their teacher to come and get them. Both were pretty impressed with the big park and playground that was there.

This is probably the only good picture of got of them inside their class. They were both still very excited about being there until one other little girl in the class became hysterical. I think it caused a bit of a chain reaction because my two very excited little girls all of a sudden wanted to go home. So I thought for sure me having to leave would not be good. But with a little distraction from the teacher's helper, I did manage to sneak out. Halfway down the hall is when my sunglasses had to come out because for the very first time ever I was leaving them with a complete stranger for an entire day! By the time I got into the car I had pretty much pulled things together and I kept telling myself they would be fine.
I spent most of the day cleaning parts of my house that have been neglected. I actually was so busy that day, that before I knew it, it was time to go and pick them up.

As they walked out of the school, they both had huge smiles on their faces and asked if they go back the next day. They LOVED it!! They have talked about school everyday and can't wait to go back.

2009-08-20T19:01:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know about a fun and exciting giveaway I am having right now over at my other blog

Little Bits Of Me!

Contest ends August 24Th

2009-07-16T14:03:00.005-04:00

Adventure's In Strawberry Picking!

One of our favorite places to take the girl's in the summer time is Springridge Farms. I thought that taking them this year would be even more fun since they were at a perfect age to go strawberry picking.

Well my fabulous plan ended up being a huge flop! about 5 minutes into it both girl's decided they had enough of picking strawberries and wanted to go and play in the hay. This is what we usually do at Springridge but to our surprise this year the farm has decided to charge entrance for everything! Not that I mind paying for the girl's to play there but it really isn't that big of a place and their playtime usually only lasts about 10-15 minutes at the most and then they are ready to leave. So I think we'll be spending a bit more time at the other farms this summer playing.

Here we are on the tractor on our way to the strawberry field!

Olivia before she realized picking strawberries was actually work!!

We managed to get quite a few strawberries picked in the little time we had. The girl's were so eager to get out of there.

Avery enjoyed eating them more than picking them!

Maybe we'll have better luck next year.

2009-07-02T13:28:00.004-04:00

IMAGES OF SUMMER!

Scooter Rides...

Playing in the dirt...

Enjoying an ice cream cone...

Exploring Nature...

Feeding the ducks & Being cool

These two really are the coolest kids ever!

2009-06-15T16:06:00.007-04:00

LOOK WHO'S 4!

Time has really flown by since that bittersweet day four years ago. We've been through a lot over the past four years with our girls, and honestly every bit of fear, worry and doubt has all been worth it.

Usually on their Birthday I find myself getting a little teary thinking of how their life began, but this year I am actually focused on the two little beautiful girls they are. It has taken a long time to get past those three months that the girls were in the hospital as well as the year after, wondering what the future would hold for them. I don't think we ever will get over that, but at least it is getting easier to deal with. It changed our lives forever in a lot of ways.

So I know it's been forever since I've updated and now I am at a point where it would take days or even weeks to upload pictures and update everyone on the different things that have been going on. So I decided that I would post some pictures of one of the most exciting days of our lives recently. Olivia & Avery's first dance recital! It was the sweetest thing ever. Both Brian & I expected all these little girls to be going in all different directions and of course it turned out to be the complete opposite. All of them did a great job at remembering their dance moves and the words to the songs.

Here they are all done up for the big recital, showing off their roses they got from Baka & Dida for doing such a job!

One of my favorite pictures of the night. Avery belting out the words to Baa Baa Black Sheep.

Waiting backstage and getting a little silly.

Posing for a pic with friends Brianna & Megan backstage

I've also been busy lately stamping up a storm!

I am having so much fun doing this that it's all I think about now.

Here are a few of the pieces I have done so far, to see more check out my new blog this is also part of the reason I haven't had time to update here.

There are lots of different designs and I am planning on having some fun giveaways from time to time!

The girls and I spent the day shopping today. I took them out and let them pick out something they wanted for their birthday. Of course we came home with Barbie. There's a surprise! I swear some days I think our house is being taken over by Barbie and the millions of little shoes, combs and any other little bits the Mattel people can throw in the box just to drive a parent insane! Honestly why is everything so small? Do they not realize that kids hate to pick up their toy's and because of it, us parents are injured in the process. If you've ever stepped on one of these tiny pieces like a barbie shoe, you know exactly what I am talking about.

This year I went against my own beliefs. I always swore my kids would NEVER have a scooter. Well I caved. So tonight after dinner we gave the girls their presents to open and the first was this scooter. Of course they loved it! We put it together right away and headed out. All the other kids on the street are cruising by us, some even without a helmet. While I had the girls all done up in full gear from head to toe. They both really did a great job on them for it being their first time. I will post picture's of it as soon as I upload them.

I am excited to see what the age of four brings. Three was a great age, so eager to learn and try new things. I have heard from a few parents that I know that four is even better!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL'S WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-05T11:14:00.003-04:00

I'M A

VERY PROUD MOMMY!!

Last week while we were strolling through the mall, Avery turned to me and said "Mommy I want to get my ears pierced" I asked her over and over again if she was sure she wanted to do it and every time I asked she said "yes" so off we went. I was a little worried because only one girl was working which meant that one ear would have to be done at a time. She was such a little trooper she cried a little just before the second ear was about to pierced but other than that she was fine. I asked Olivia if she wanted to get it done next but she wanted nothing to do with it. She told me that she would do it when she was bigger.

If you look really close at the picture you will see Avery's new little diamond earrings that she is so proud of and I am so proud of her for being such a trooper!

2009-04-22T14:18:00.000-04:00

EASTER 2009

I am very late at getting our Easter pictures posted this year. We had a great Easter but were hit Easter Monday with some kind of stomach bug. Poor Avery got it first, then me and then it was Olivia's turn. The only one spared from it was Brian. And he's lucky because this bug was not nice.

Saturday night we got all ready for the Easter bunny by putting out some carrots and a glass of water for him. The girl's thought he might need a snack since he had so many kids in the world to deliver all the yummy chocolates to.

Easter morning seemed as if we woke up it it was over. It was a completely different experience this year than last. The girls were running around the house so fast that I didn't have enough time to take many pictures of them during their egg hunt. Before I knew it it was over!Showing off all their goodies. The Easter bunny also brought them some new Barbies for the bath. Barbie is a huge hit in our house right now. We had Easter dinner at our house this year. The girls were even excited about that! They are at such a great age right now, understanding more and more how each holiday works.

They love spending time with their cousins and always play so nice together.

My little Easter Bunny

Being silly at dinner

After dinner Grandpa spent some time with the girls teaching them how to hit a golf ball. I think we may just have to get them a golf club each to keep practising with, and hope that our backyard survives the divots!

My favorite picture of the day, Jack & Avery.

2009-04-07T19:35:00.002-04:00

ADDING SOME EXCITEMENT TO BATH TIME

2009-03-17T14:06:00.001-04:00

WERE BACK!

From 10 beautiful days in sunny Florida with Grandma & Grandpa. We had such a great time travelling with the girls that we are all ready to do it again.

We started our vacation off by swimming and relaxing by the pool. The first day both the girls clung to me in the water but by the second day Olivia had figured out that swimming on her own was lots of fun. Avery wasn't so sure so she stuck close to me the entire time.

Olivia swimming on her own

Teaching Avery to swim

Our next adventure was the beach. The girls were in awe with the ocean and sand. I was a little disappointed that the water was very cold because I really wanted the girls to be able to experience a swim in the ocean. They did go in up to their knees without a complaint.

Soon we were off to the magical land of Disney World!! There are not even enough words to describe how much fun we all had. We all LOVED watching the shows with Mickey & Minnie, Donald, Peter Pan and of course all the princesses. Whenever the show started and we were near the castle the girls wanted us to stop for it. And believe it or not they actually sat still from beginning to end.

We toured Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Each park was beyond amazing. I wish we could have stayed forever!!

On our second day into Disney we had a HUGE surprise for the girls. We spent the day at Epcot and then met up with Grandma & Grandpa at the hotel where we surprised the girls with two new beautiful princess dresses to wear for dinner that night with Cinderella. That was our first surprise. Our second surprise was taking them to the Bippity Boppity Boutique to get all done up like a princess for the night.

On our way to the boutique on the Disney Bus

The girls were so excited to get their hair, make-up, jewels, and for a final touch lots and lots of pixie dust in their hair. Avery didn't stop grinning from the time we got their until the time we went to bed that night.

This place was incredible!! This picture only shows all the little girls on one side, there were about another 10 seats on the other side as well. All were full with little princesses and they were many more little girls out in the waiting room waiting for their turn. We heard nothing but lots and lots of little giggles.

Sleeping Beauty & Belle!!

Every little girls dream is to meet Cinderella, and these two have not stopped talking about this moment ever since that night. Avery tells me at least twice a day how much she misses her and wants to see her again. Olivia had just as much fun as Avery did but I think she would prefer to be splashing around in the pool. That's the one thing she has not stopped talking about.

The next morning Grandma & Grandpa headed over to Magic Kingdom with us. They enjoyed the race cars, the famous tea cup ride and a train ride around the entire park with us.

Not only did we meet Cinderella but the girls also got to meet Belle and Sleeping Beauty. Both princesses are very popular in our house now. But will never be a popular as Cinderella.

After Disney we headed back to Grandma & Grandpas house. We took the girls to one of the most beautiful beaches around. Siesta Key beach. The sand on this beach is so white and it is as fine as talcum powder. The weather by this day was in the 80's so of course the girls played a lot in the sand, made some new friends, and even ventured into the water a lot more than our first trip to the beach.

I had to do it... and she loved every moment it!!

Having a blast at the beach!!

Our second last day in Florida was when Avery decided she was ready to let go of me and swim all by herself in the pool. She did just as great of a job as Olivia and the two of them swam from one end of the pool to the other.

Olivia decided she was ready for even bigger and better things. Swimming around the pool wasn't exciting her anymore so she decided jumping off the side of the pool and requesting that I dunk her head under the water was much more fun.

Hopefully we will make it back very soon to the sunshine state. We had a great time and hope that Grandma & Grandpa will let us come back again very soon.

Thanks for having us Grandma & Grandpa it was great!!

2009-02-10T14:01:00.007-05:00

ICE CREAM SUNDAES

Making ice cream sundaes is another favorite in our house. The girls love making their own sundaes with all their favorite toppings. Right now their favorite topping is little candy hearts for Valentine's Day and Nestle strawberry syrup which usually goes in milk but is also really good on ice cream. Little chocolate chips and sprinkles of any colour are also a must have in our house!

Showing off their masterpiece!!

When all the ice cream has been consumed it usually takes at least a half an hour to clean up the teeny tiny sprinkles that make their way across the kitchen. Well, that's if the girls don't find them on the floor first which has always boggled my mind. Why is it that a child will not eat the majority of their food at the table but yet they have no problem eating off the kitchen floor?

2009-02-07T16:19:00.002-05:00

Has anyone seen my two little babies??

Where does the time go?
I cannot believe that in four more months they will be 4 years old! I find myself feeling sad at times when I think about the girls turning 4. Up until now I have always looked at their birthday as part of another milestone. This one just depresses me. I feel as if my babies are gone and now I have two little girls. It doesn't help that this past week I registered them for kindergarten. The thought of them being gone all day come September turns my stomach. But at the same time I know they will enjoy it. It will be good for them to be away from me, make some new friends and have a teacher to listen to. And I'm sure once I get used to it I might just enjoy a little more time to myself. But then again, the good thing about junior kindergarten is they don't have to go, so if things don't work out they can always be pulled out for another year.

2009-01-31T19:59:00.002-05:00

BIG GIRLS!

We have now graduated to big girl scissors and I thought the transition from plastic scissors to metal ones was pretty stress free until it was time to clean up, as I looked under the table there I found a chunk of blond hair approximately 3 inches in length. When it happened I have no idea since I was sitting right beside them the entire time. I am only thankful that Avery didn't decide to get as creative as I did at her age and do the sideways cut to the bangs.

After I finished my little lecture on "why we don't cut our own hair" I left the room and had a good laugh to myself.

Whoever said the "two's" were terrible has not spent much time with a three and a half year old.

2009-01-29T15:13:00.002-05:00

2008-12-30T14:49:00.003-05:00

CHRISTMAS 2008

Christmas Eve at Teta Nancy's

Always more fun to play with a bag full of garbage than new toys.

Christmas Morning...

New BIG GIRL Bikes from Santa!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! We hope everyone had just as much fun as we did. We have lots more picture's to post but I have to figure out how to upload them from my new camera Santa brought for me this year!!!

2008-12-17T14:08:00.009-05:00

BAKING, CHRISTMAS LIGHTS & BIRTHDAY'S

If there is one thing the twins love to do is help mommy, especially when it comes to baking yummy goodies. It is probably the only time I can take them away from doing other fun things. Their favorite thing to bake is muffins and their next favorite thing to do is eat them all!

We now have a new yearly tradition. Last weekend we took the girl's down to Riverside park to check out all the beautiful Christmas lights and displays they had. The park also had the Merry-go-round going for free. I have never experienced so many beautiful lights in one place and to ride a Merry-go-round in the middle of December was amazing! Something we'll be doing every year!!

Our good friend Elizabeth recently celebrated her 4th birthday which we were so happy to be a part of. The girl's have not stopped talking about it at all especially about the fact that they got to go right into a chicken coup and pick out an egg for their baskets they had made.

Christmas is coming very quickly this year it seems as if I have blinked, and it's now only a few days away. This year I want Santa to bring me something to keep the germs away from the girl's. In the last 2 months the girl's have been sick twice. Olivia is VERY sick right now. It came on a few days ago and seems to be getting worse by the day. Avery has now started sneezing quite a bit so I'm sure the germs have infected her too. I only hope this doesn't last for Christmas I would hate for the girl's to miss out on all the fun things I have planned for them over the holidays like they did last year.

2008-12-10T14:24:00.004-05:00

SANTA!!

The girls got their first Christmas present this weekend by the one and only Santa Claus himself. Every year Brian's company has a children's Christmas party with lots of great food, entertainment and of course a visit from Santa. We missed last year's party due to being sick but this year we were all healthy and the girl's were so EXCITED about going.

Olivia showing off her puppy and candy cane

Avery shocked both of us this year. She told us on the way to the party that she was going to sit with Santa "all by herself" I honestly didn't think she would do it but to my surprise she came out of her little shy shell and when her name was called out I took her hand and started walking up with her but she quickly pushed me away and said "I'm okay Mommy go" and she did all by herself. She sat on Santa's knee and before he could even ask her what she wanted for Christmas she said "I want a big girl barbie bike." We had been coaching them a couple of days before by telling them that when Santa asks them what they want they have to tell him something special. She was a little upset that Santa handed her a little present and not her big girl bike. I guess she'll be super excited Christmas morning when she sees her big girl bike!!

Avery & SantaI had no worries at all about my little Livi. When her name was called out she marched right up on stage and got right up on Santa's lap. I think if there weren't any other kids for Santa to give presents to she probably could have stayed there all day chatting up a storm with him.

My two beautiful girls And of course no event would be complete without Livi being her silly little self. She is such a little comedian.
After the Christmas party were off to the mall to meet up with Santa once again. Last years picture was a disaster, but this year was great! Two completely different kids. Last year we had kicking, screaming, and of course crying. This year pure calmness.

2008-12-05T09:57:00.007-05:00

WINTER IS...

Helping mommy put up the Christmas tree...
Building a snowman...

Enjoying the Santa Claus parade with friends...
Dressing up like Santa...

Christmas is almost here!!

2008-11-10T13:13:00.002-05:00

ENJOYING THE FIRST SNOWFALL OF THE YEAR

2008-10-28T13:57:00.007-04:00

FINALLY AN UPDATE!

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we spent lots of time with family. First we had Thanksgiving at Grandma & Grandpa Schiller's house, next was Uncle Mike's house, our house, and our last thanksgiving dinner was at Baka & Dida's house. Now that the girl's are getting older they love to spend time with their cousins. It's also nice for us to be able to sit back and let them all be kids and play together. They had so much fun playing with their cousins Jack & Noah that when it was time to go we dealt with a bit of a tantrum. I guess running and jumping into a pile of pillows is much more fun with your cousins then having to go home with mom and dad.

Olivia and Avery also had a great time with their cousin Nicholas. It's hard to believe that Nicholas was born just six weeks after the girl's and he towers over them!We also had to say good bye to Grandma and Grandpa Schiller. They will be enjoying the next six months in sunny Florida. Christmas won't be the same this year without them. They have spent the last two years staying at our house and waking up with the girl's Christmas morning. They have enjoyed experiencing the girl's open their presents from Santa just as much as we have. Although we won't see them over the holidays, we will be seeing them in February. The girl's are so excited about going on an airplane and are even more excited about going to Disney World! I'm excited about seeing the looks on their faces when we actually get there. Even though they may never remember going, Brian and I will have the most precious memories of taking them.

We also recently had our three year check up with the Growth & Development team at Mac. This was probably the most interesting appointment we've had since the girl's have been born. Last year the girl's were put through some testing (Bailey's)at the appointment that to me was an absolute waste of time. This year they wanted to do the same type of testing on them only this time I refused! The therapists and docs weren't too happy with me and after a 15 minute fight with all of them they finally backed down. So the appointment consisted of the Developmental Ped asking me a million questions about the girl's. During her questions she kept telling me that none of the questions or testing are used for stats. So during her questioning she asks me if my husband and I attended college, huh?! After answering her question I looked at her and asked what that had to do with my children? her response was that they have found that preemies do much better developmentally with parents who have attended post secondary education than to those who have not. So my next question was I thought this had nothing to do with stats? I guess she wasn't too impressed with my line of questioning because she ended the appointment pretty much soon after that.

Hmmm... and they wonder why I get frustrated with them.

So we are all done with Mac for the time being. The girl's are still being followed by a Urologist there, but as far as G&D goes we are all done!! I guess the next big step will be school in September.

The girl's also had their Halloween dance party at Ballet class this past Saturday. All the kids were dressed up for the day in their costumes. They all looked so cute! Another class with older girls joined their class half way through and they all danced together. The little ones really enjoyed having the older girl's in the class.

Olivia, Abby, and AveryAfter dance class we headed off to Toronto for the rest of the day to go see the girl's favorite group of guys, THE WIGGLES!!

They were so excited to be seeing the Wiggles live that by the end of the show they were completely exhausted.

Posing for a pick with dad before the concert

The Big Red Car!As most people know Avery is a true little girl. She has taking a HUGE liking to lip gloss lately and she's only three! From the time she gets up in the morning to the time she goes to bed she has her lip gloss in hand and puts it on at least every 5 minutes. Even at the Wiggles concert she had to take a break and add some fresh lip gloss.

She's a real princess!! Our two little sweethearts after the show. As tired and exhausted as they were Olivia still managed to give me a silly face. She's such a little ham!!

2008-10-16T14:20:00.003-04:00

What we've been up to...

Well for starters, the girls are loving their Ballet class. They are so excited on Saturday mornings to go that they must ask us at least a hundred times if it's time to go. They have also made some new friends in their class who they talk about all the time when we are not at dance class.I just had to post this picture of the girls. One of the other mother's pointed out how cute it was that they stick together all the time. When we are here at home they pretty much fight like any other siblings do. But it's nice to see that they really do need each other. I hope they are like this for the rest of their lives.We spent our first thanksgiving celebration at my parents. It was a great time especially since two of my Aunts, my brother and his wonderful girlfriend Robin were visiting for the weekend. Auntie Robin's attempt at getting us a decent family picture. Thanks Robin!!Of course a visit would not be complete without the girl's cuddling and being silly with their grandpa. The twins absolutely adore him!We are also all ready for Halloween. I took the girl's to pick out their pumpkins. They were so excited to see all the pumpkins that it took an hour and a half just to pick one! They also enjoyed some fun playing in the hay.My two LOVES!

I have lots more to update on but time is limited so I will try to do it soon!!

2008-09-25T14:40:00.005-04:00

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN...

Picking apples in the orchard...

Playing in bails of hay...

Adventure's in a corn maze...

And of course being silly!

It's Fall!!

2008-09-09T13:18:00.004-04:00

3 Year Check up!

Yesterday the girl's had their 3 year check up with the Pediatrician. I had many questions for him but only seemed to either get no or very vague answers regarding their health. So after this appointment I have decided that they will no longer be seeing the Ped. Instead I will be taking them to my own doctor for future appointments. This guy is amazing! He is young, knows his stuff and was also a graduate from Mac, so he has some experience working with preemies. The nice thing about him as well is that if he doesn't know something he searches for the answers. He doesn't just tell you to wait it out and send you on your way.

The only thing I have to report on from yesterday is Avery now weighs 29 pounds and is 38 inches tall. She is now in the 50th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height in kids her age. Olivia weighed in at 28 pounds and is 37 inches tall. She is now in the 25th percentile for weight and 50th for height.

Their getting big!

2008-09-06T22:49:00.003-04:00

I Remember...

As if it were yesterday. I remember her smell, how tiny she was, the way she felt when I cuddled her. I remember how scared, nervous, and excited we were. It remember it was the first day of school for many kids.

Tuesday September 6th 2005. I finally got to bring my Avery home after 3 months. No doctors, no nurses, no tests, no monitors. Just Avery.

This was Avery & Olivia today. They enjoyed a morning of ballet dancing, giggles, and just being a kid.

Aren't they just so darn cute!!!!

2008-09-02T15:33:00.010-04:00

LAST LONG WEEKEND OF THE SUMMER

It's hard to believe that this summer is almost over. It seems as if I've blinked and it's now time to get ready for fall.

Despite all the rain we've had, the girl's have enjoyed themselves and I've enjoyed the fact that they haven't been sick at all this past season. It makes me wonder if I'm in for a crazy sick filled winter.

I have some VERY exciting news. Olivia & Avery are POTTY TRAINED!! It took a long time but we are finally there. During the day they are in their BIG girl underwear and at nap time/bedtime I have been putting a pull up on them. Most mornings and after nap they are still dry.

This past long weekend I took the girl's to see Grandma & Grandpa Schiller. The girl's wanted to go and hit golf balls so off we went. They took a couple of swings with the clubs and realized it might be more fun to go and collect all the golf balls rather than try to hit them.

On our way home from Grandma & Grandpa's I had my first potty training nightmare. About 15 minutes into the car ride Olivia starts to tell me that she has to go potty. I asked her if she could wait and her response was "no" so then I asked her if she wanted me to pull the car over so she could go on the side of the road. I was hoping would say "no" but I was wrong. So I pulled over and out we get. It's now almost dark and the mosquito's are everywhere! after a few seconds she looked at me and said "I don't have to go potty anymore" I'm not too sure if it was the bugs or the transport trucks wiping by us that changed her mind on that one. Amazingly though she was still dry by the time we got home.

Their first attempt at swinging a club.

Collecting golf balls was way more fun!

Grandma & the girl's before we headed in for a quick drink.

Monday we headed out early to take the girl's down by the river to a new park. They had a great time playing and seeing all the ducks in the water.

The best part was teaching them to make a wish and then blow it away. It was so cute to see them running around collecting all the wishes. I'm sure all their wishes were for all sorts of new toys from Santa. Every time they see something now that they want, I tell them that they have to make a list for Santa. It seems to be a good way of getting out of buying every toy they see.

After the park it was back home to enjoy the beautiful afternoon in their pool. I'm hoping this weather sticks around for quite awhile because the thought of being stuck inside with two little girl's who love to be outside is already stressing me out.
I almost forgot, the girl's are starting ballet class this coming Saturday and we are all very excited about it. I have a feeling I will be having a few teary moments for the entire 45 minute class.

2008-08-28T19:21:00.003-04:00

Prayer's Needed For Our Little Friend Ashton

Our little friend Ashton is in hospital tonight fighting pneumonia. Please say a prayer for him and his parents.

2008-08-06T13:38:00.004-04:00

SOME MUCH NEEDED FUN!

Is exactly what we all needed this past long weekend. Two weeks ago my family was hit with not one, but two deaths in our family in less than 48 hours. So needless to say I needed to have some fun just as much as the girl's did.

We spent our Saturday of the long weekend with Elizabeth, Angi & Ivan at Marineland and had a great time. We didn't go on all the rides but we did manage to get on quite a few. Avery even joined us for all of them. After some she said " I don't like that ride" and the others her response was "that was fun!" both girl's had a great time, they fed lots of different animals. First was the deers...

Then all three girl's made a new friend. A little fuzzy caterpillar crawling around the ground caught their attention. I am not too sure if the little guy survived his new friends or not. Something tells me he may not have. These girl's were not afraid of him at all.

This year both girl's got to enjoy feeding the Beluga Whales. Last year Olivia slept through it. Again they both loved it! Since our trip to Marineland, Olivia has role played it over and over again, and if I don't get it right by her instructions she is very quick to correct me.

On Sunday we had some more fun meeting up with some of my cousins and their kids for a picnic. The girl's had a blast hanging out with their cousins at the splash pad and park. They even experienced fishing for the very first time.

Both girl's caught a fish and were very proud of themselves. Olivia was so proud that she walked around and around showing everyone her fish. Needless to say all the handling of her prize fish didn't have a very good end result. She was really good about it and decided she would give her fish to the seagulls for a snack. Later I over heard her trying to convince her cousin Bryce to give her his fish. It was very cute.

Avery was also proud of her catch but wasn't as excited about holding it as Olivia was. She would hold it until it wiggled a little and then she would fling it away. Hers was quick to expire so again, the seagulls had another easy snack thrown their way.

Olivia and cousin Bryce showing off their catch. All the cousins posing for a picture with their fish. Except Avery!!

2008-07-15T10:37:00.010-04:00

PLAY DATES, BAPTISMS, WEDDINGS & SAFARI!

PLAY DATE WITH MIMI, COCO & KAITLYN

BAPTISM

WEDDING

AFRICAN LION SAFARI

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!

2008-07-03T10:49:00.007-04:00

CANADA DAY LONG WEEKEND!!

I can hardly believe that this is our second long weekend this summer and we managed to escape any sickness. Last year it seemed like every time a long weekend would roll around the girl's ended up sick.

This year the girl's and I hung out while daddy took in four days of fishing with the boys. Even though I am home with them all day, it was nice to have them all to myself. We spent lots of time outside (when it wasn't raining) and lots of time shopping (when it was raining). At night we all cuddled up on the couch together with a big blanket and a big bowl of popcorn.

Rylie all cuddled up in our blanket. Avery decided to cover him in her blankie. TOO CUTE!

On Sunday Grandma & Grandpa came down for a visit, so of course we left Grandpa at home with the dogs and headed out to do some more shopping! Grandma bought the girl's a new Dora bowling game which they LOVE! I've had to put it away a few times due to the lack of sharing on Olivia's part.
Lot's of cuddles for GrandpaOn Tuesday Brian was home just before noon so after feeding the girl's lunch we took them over to Riverside park for some Canada Day celebrations. These by far are my favorite pictures. Avery actually got up the nerve to join her sister in some fun on the rides! We didn't even have to talk her into this she told us she was going on the car ride. She didn't want to participate in anything else after that which was fine with us, we were just so proud that she finally joined in and realized it's not as scary as she thought it might be.

Two hot chicks in a convertible, look out boys!
As most people know our little Livi is up for anything. After the ride in the car she wanted to take a ride on the motorcycles. About a minute into this ride Brian & I realized that she was probably a bit too small for it. She stayed on quite a long time but then realized herself it was time to come off. The man running the ride noticed her getting a little scared so he stopped the ride right away and got her off. Jumping in the bouncy castle!!Does this surprise you? Mommy having to sit with Avery while Olivia jumped all over.
Avery & daddy on the merry go round
Riding the Riverside Express!

2008-06-19T13:56:00.003-04:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2008-06-16T13:56:00.003-04:00

OUR PREEMIE PRINCESSES ARE THREE!

Yesterday was the girl's third birthday. On Saturday we celebrated with lots of family & friends. We were a little worried in the morning that the weather was going to give out on us and rain, but as it turns out the skies cleared up and it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon for all the kids to enjoy some time outside.

Pizza party lunch

Ashton soaking up the sun

Splashing in the poolCourtney hanging outElizabeth playing in the pool Princess birthday cake

Opening gifts

Avery taking a turn at the pinata
Cousin Jack

Collecting all the goodies from the pinata
Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate the girl's birthday with us, we hope everyone had just as much fun as we did!

Sunday was the girl's actual birthday. We spent the morning opening up a few more gifts and then we all got ready to head to a Father's day picnic.

I always get a little emotional around this time when I think of how the events of this day unfolded three years ago. As we were on our way to the picnic we drove by the hospital the girl's were born at and a million emotions began to surface. Brian & I looked at each other and we both said that three years ago on this day we never imagined that we would be taking the girl's to a picnic. Emotions were also a little high because I can clearly remember Brian's first Father's day. I was still in the hospital and around 3a.m I decided I would go down to the NICU to see the girl's. When I walked in I saw two little cards that said "Happy Father's Day". Both cards were stamped with the girl's little feet. I instantly broke down because of how special the nurses tried to make this day for a very special daddy. This year having father's day on the same day as the girl's birthday was probably the best gift anyone could ever give him.

Olivia & Avery with cousin NicholasHaving a dance with daddyBirthday girl's!
Happy 3rd birthday sweet girl's, mommy & daddy are so very proud of you!!!

2008-06-10T13:28:00.004-04:00

ENJOYING THE HOT WEATHER & A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

It's been so hot here lately that spending time in the girl's pool has become an every day event. It's great to be able to get them out of the house everyday but getting them in for lunch, or trying to get them to eat a snack or have a drink has become somewhat of a fight. I know they don't understand why they have to be pulled away from their fun to hydrate themselves so I just keep forcing the liquids in to them every second I can. Even if it means holding their cup for them to have a drink while they continue to play in their sandbox, or hand feeding them crackers in their pool. The last thing we need is a trip to emerg for dehydration!

We all have a BIG Happy 3rd Birthday wish for one of our favorite little guys. Ashton is celebrating his third birthday today!!

We spent Sunday afternoon at Ashton's Grandma & Grandpa's house for his birthday party. The girl's had a great time and so did we. Ashton is so lucky to have not only a great mommy & daddy, but WONDERFUL grandparents as well. Thank you so much for having us!!

The Birthday Boy So much excitement!
Daddy & his birthday boyYummy cake
Thanks again for having us. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHTON!!!!!!!!

2008-05-29T22:16:00.006-04:00

SPRINGRIDGE FARM & THE LOCAL FAIR

Last Friday we met up with Elizabeth & Angi for some fun at Springridge Farm. This place was really awesome! It had so many things for the kids to do including mazes, bails of hay to climb on, and tractor rides. They even had a cow for the kids to milk! which they all loved doing.

On Saturday morning the girl's and I were up pretty early so we had breakfast and headed out. I thought we would give daddy a few more hours sleep since he had worked really late the night before. While we were out shopping we came across a fair. Since we had been out for quite awhile I decided we would go home get daddy and head back over.

As you can see in the picture's Olivia was the only daring one. I did manage to get Avery on a train ride but she clung to me the entire time. Olivia has no problem doing crazy fun things all by herself.

I wonder what were in for when she hits her teen years?!

2008-05-20T11:01:00.009-04:00

LONG WEEKEND FUN!!

We had a very busy and fun filled long weekend. Saturday we spent the day at Baka & Deda's house. The girl's love playing at the park, so much that at times it is really hard to get them to go home.

On Sunday we met up with Elizabeth, Angi and Ivan at the racetrack for some more fun. They had so much for the kids to do. Olivia took her first pony ride and loved it! She was so excited to be on the pony that when it was time for her to come off, she almost started to cry. I think we might have to do something like that again soon.

Avery on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the pony's. It's times like this that the differences in their personalities come out. She's a lot more cautious of things and usually needs to see her sister do something first before she'll do it.

After the pony rides we headed inside got the girl's something to eat, and then we were off to the craft room. All three girl's LOVED using the sparkles to decorate their Elmo picture's. I don't know about Elizabeth but we were picking out sparkles from the girl's hair the next day. Even after they had a bath!Then came the bouncy castle. Again, Elizabeth and Olivia were right in there having a blast while Avery watched from the sidelines. Next the girl's got a chance to feed some animals. They all LOVED doing this even Avery.Next the girl's all got their faces painted. Elizabeth & Avery decided they wanted a little critter on each cheek. When Olivia sat down for her turn she told the lady that she wanted to be a kitty cat. "Nothing else" she said.Look at these three cuties!!Then came the fireworks! This was the twins first time seeing fireworks so of course Brian and I were really excited to see how they would react. Olivia laid back in my arms with her face up to the sky watching them, and I noticed that Avery covered her ears a few times because of the noise. We probably should have brought the girls ear plugs. Something we'll have to remember for the next time.

To end off the long weekend on Monday we drove up to Grandma & Grandpa's house for dinner. Uncle Mike, Auntie Jennifer, Jack and Noah were all there. The girl's had a lot of fun playing with their cousins. Jack taught the girl's how to hit a baseball, so now all they want to do is play baseball!! We hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend as much as we did!!

2008-04-24T22:39:00.001-04:00

TWO LITTLE COOKIE MONSTERS

2008-04-18T22:35:00.005-04:00

WHAT WE LOVE TO DO THE MOST...

SPEND TIME WITH OUR GIRLS

2008-04-15T07:34:00.009-04:00

A WEEK IN PARADISE!

That's right, we spent a whole week in Cayo Coco Cuba without our two princesses. Can you believe it? we were actually apart from them for an entire 7 days! It was heartbreaking to leave them but they had a great time with their grandparents for the week. I'm sure their Baka needed a few days vacation after having the two of them.

We arrived in Cuba last Sunday morning to beautiful blue skies and crystal clear water. We spent the day relaxing and sleeping on the beach. Our plan was to sleep in as much as possible since we really haven't slept in almost three years. No such luck. I was up every morning at 7:30a.m. We did manage to sleep in one day until 8:30a.m but that was the latest my body would allow me to sleep.

The beach at our hotel

We saw many interesting creatures while we were away. The only one I didn't get a picture of was a bright green snake we saw which was about 4 feet long. When we first saw it we thought it was a garden hose until it started to move!
Enjoying a quiet dinner togetherSome nightly Cuban entertainment in the lobby barThe Saturday before we left, we decided to go on an snorkeling excursion. We headed out in the morning on a Catamaran. After an hour on the boat we started our snorkeling adventure. We had done some snorkeling in the past in Cozumel and had an amazing time. We had expected to have the same experience as we did in the past. We did see a few fish but not as many as we did in Cozumel. We snorkeled for about 45 minutes then we were back on the boat and headed off to another spot. Before getting off the boat the second time, they had warned us to not touch anything because of the many sting rays that were in that part of the water. After hearing that I decided that I would just hang out on the boat and enjoy the music and beautiful weather. If I didn't have any children I probably would have gone in the water. But, I over heard a group of people who came back on the boat after only being in the water for about 5 minutes say "If Steve Irwin couldn't handle a sting ray I'm not about to take a chance." Good point!

Brian however did go back in the water but didn't see anything other than a star fish.

Drying off after snorkeling

Our trip included an AMAZING lobster lunch on the boat. There is nothing better than fresh seafood right from the ocean.

We then headed out again to the beautiful Pillar beach. It is a beach in Cayo Coco that has not been disturbed by any developers. It was truly breathtaking!

Captain Brian enjoying a nice cold cervasa

We had a great time away but of course missed the girl's. The resort we stayed at had many families with kids the same age as ours, which at times made us miss them even more. We both said that it was definitely a place we would go back to with the them. It had lots of things for kids to do. Even the shows at night included all the kids on the resort.

So we are now finally getting back into our regular routine. It is nice to be home and even nicer that the weather is starting to warm up. It is going to be so nice to spend our days outside, instead of being couped up in the house all day. Grandma and Grandpa will be home next week from Florida and the girl's are super excited about seeing them.

2008-03-24T13:23:00.011-04:00

HAPPY EASTER!!!

We hope everyone had a great Easter. This year Brian & I had an absolute blast getting the girl's Easter bags ready, and hiding all the Easter eggs for them. We decided to keep the eggs at eye level because although we knew the girl's were excited for the egg hunt, we didn't know whether or not if they would look under things for their eggs from the Easter bunny. Of course we were wrong! As soon as they saw their baskets and the eggs that were left on the stairs, they were off!! Especially Olivia, she was looking everywhere for Easter eggs. Under cushions, behind doors. We now know that we will have to get a little more creative for next year.Here they are showing off all their Easter goodies After the Easter egg hunt was over we all got ready to head over to Baka & Dida's house for Easter dinner and of course another egg hunt.

I was only able to get Avery in a picture with her Easter dress on because Olivia was just not co-operating with me on having to wear a dress. She actually threw a tantrum and the went to hide behind her slide and would not come out. After a little bribing on my part, she finally agreed to come out. The deal was that as soon as we got to Baka's house she could take her dress off. It worked but she still refused to take a picture.

As you can see by the time we got to Baka's house, the next Easter egg hunt was on as soon as we walked through the door, and she forgot all about the deal we had made at home about her dress.Not only did the Easter bunny bring chocolate eggs to Baka's house, he also brought some new princess dresses.

Lately the girl's LOVE to dress up. Every morning after breakfast we come up stairs put in a CD and dance around for about an hour. Before I start the music they have to be dressed up from head to toe in what they call their "wedding dresses". Especially Avery. She is obsessed with anything that has to do with a princess, ballet, Barbie, dancing, and singing. A true little girl.

Olivia enjoys getting dressed up too but not as much as Avery. She will at least dance to the music in whatever she is wearing, while Avery on the other hand will make me stop the music until she feels she has enough of my clothes on her to dance around in. The real funny part about her having this fascination is that even when the music stops she still continues to wear all these clothes around the house for the entire day!

Two little princesses
Waiting for her Prince...

Who at this point is Daddy!!

2008-03-20T08:08:00.003-04:00

GETTING READY FOR EASTER!!

2008-03-09T08:11:00.010-04:00

FIRST HAIRCUT!!!

2008-02-24T21:03:00.003-05:00

THEY GROW UP SO QUICK!

It is really hard to believe that in only 4 more months the girl's will be 3!

I have no idea where the time has gone, but I do know that by the two of them getting older it's making me sad in a lot of ways. It seems like yesterday they were tiny lifeless babies lying in an issolette, and today they are two little girl's who are so incredibly smart and just so sweet.

One good thing about them getting older is how we can all have a conversation now. I love to just sit and talk with them, listen to their ideas of what we should do next, and to see them using their imagination puts a HUGE smile on my face. They love to play hide and seek and dress-up ALL THE TIME!

They spent the entire afternoon yesterday out with daddy and came home with some really cool freebies they got while they were out at Home Depot of course. Daddy said he has never gotten so much attention before like he did when he was out alone with them.

Guess what he's doing again next weekend?

2008-02-17T23:31:00.006-05:00

ISN'T IT AMAZING....

How much our world has evolved over the years? Except one thing......human kindness.

I don't think that there has ever been a time when I have been out with the girl's, that a complete stranger hasn't noticed that I have twins. Some are very nice but most have some type of negative comment to throw my way. Over the past two and a half years I have heard "I don't know how you do it" more times than I can count. Or "I'm glad it's you instead of me" or the famous "double trouble".

When I first started to venture out with the girl's and I would hear these remarks from people I would simply smile and keep walking. Then it became very old to me after awhile. So old that eventually I began to ignore them or I would throw comments back at them.

Here are some of the comments I've heard, and how I handle it now when I hear them.

Strangers comment - "Double trouble"

Me - "No actually double blessing"

Stranger's comment - "Better you than me"

Me - "Yes I'm glad it is me"

Stranger's comment - "God bless you"

Me - "He did actually twice"

Stranger's comment - "Which one do you love more?"

Me - I actually just waked away when I heard that one.

The latest comment that was said to me by a complete and total stranger came recently while I was out enjoying the day with an old friend. I was in the public restroom changing the girl's and a women stopped and asked me how old they were. Here is how the conversation went....

Stranger - "How old are they?"

Me - "Two and a half"

Stranger - "Oh they are are twins"

Me - "yes"

Stranger - "Oh poor you" (with a sad look on her face)

Me - "Poor me? Why poor me?"

Stranger - "Well they are twins that's a lot of work"

Me - "Yes it is but I wouldn't say poor me. More like lucky me"

Stranger - "Well I have a three year old and a 7 month old and they drive me crazy!"

Me - "Oh poor you" (in a not so pleasant voice)

I won't even begin to describe what was really on the tip of my tongue to say to this individual, who for some reason thinks that it is a huge damper in life to have twins. I have to wonder if maybe she see's her own life as being interrupted by her 3 year old and 7 month old so everyone else must feel the same.

I think my life has been very blessed because of my girl's and I wouldn't have it any other way.

2008-02-07T20:48:00.000-05:00

BATH TIME FUN!

2008-01-30T13:58:00.000-05:00

OUR NEW FAVORITE THING TO DO...

PUZZLES!!!!

2008-01-22T08:19:00.000-05:00

DADDY'S BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!

Not much time for a complete update on the girl's, once again they have decided that they do not need a nap. They have been doing lots of new and exciting things which I will update everyone on soon, I promise!

This weekend was Daddy's birthday. We spent a quiet day at home and then the four of us all went out for a nice dinner.

Helping Daddy open his Birthday presentA little Birthday kiss for DaddyShowing everyone how much she loves her DaddyHelping Daddy blow out the Birthday candles

One of Brian's birthday requests was that we take the girl's to see the Monster Trucks in Toronto. I have to admit I really wasn't crazy about the whole thing. All I kept thinking was how loud it would be as well as all the germs floating around. I finally gave in, but the agreement was that they could go only if we got them proper ear plugs to wear to block out some of the noise. On our way down we stopped to pick some up and they worked great!

To my surprise the girl's had a blast! They weren't scared at all by the loud trucks. For the past couple of days they keep asking to go back and see the "Big Trucks" so I guess this means when Monster Trucks return next year, we will too.

Avery sporting her cool earplugs

Daddy & his girl's

2008-01-10T20:50:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when you THINK you are a big girl and do not need a nap....

You sleep right through dinner.

2008-01-02T13:20:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2007!

We hope everyone had as good of a Christmas as we did. The girl's were super spoiled this year with lots of toys and clothes from both of their grandparents and of course Santa.

My parents came home again for Christmas this year and the girl's loved every minute of them being here.

Grandpa Schiller hanging out with the girl's Christmas EveGrandma Schiller and the girl's Christmas EveChristmas morning being two little mommy's with their new baby strollers from SantaAvery playing with her new guitar from SantaOlivia and her guitarBob the Builder look out!!Christmas night at Baka & Dida's houseTaking a milk break with cousin Nicholas Just looking so sweet!Olivia, Nicholas & Avery being silly in the cribGrandma & Grandpa didn't stay with us the entire time they were home. They went home for a few days so we decided to visit them. The girl's had a great time playing and being very silly. It is over an hour drive to their house and Olivia fell asleep about half way there, while Avery decided she would stay up the entire drive. I thought for sure we were in for a very fussy girl but she was actually pretty good considering she hadn't slept all day.

When we left, it only took about five minutes in the car and she out!

Running around at the restaurant

Grandma & Olivia being sillyWe also had a nice visit from our friends Angi, Ivan and Elizabeth. We missed Elizabeth's third birthday party since the girl's were sick. But as it turns out Elizabeth ended up sick too so the party had to be rescheduled. I am keeping the girl's under close wraps until the party. We aren't missing this one!New Year's Eve cuddling with Grandma Olivia & Grandpa
My crazy girl's
Grandma & Olivia
Grandpa & Avery
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2007-12-21T20:01:00.000-05:00

FEELING GOOD AGAIN!!

Life is certainly back to normal again around here. The girl's are feeling much better and are back to their silly old way's.

I think over the past two and a half weeks we have managed to watch every Christmas show that has been on television. This truly is a great age. I am having so much fun teaching them about Christmas and what is involved as well as getting to re-live some of my own childhood. Watching these Christmas shows brings me right back to when I was a child, and I remember being so excited for the big day! They are understanding so much more about Christmas than just ripping paper off of boxes. They know that Santa is coming here in a few days and will be dropping off presents under the tree while they sleep. The only thing they haven't grasped yet is exactly how many days. I'm sure that will be next year. The other great thing about them understanding more is I can bribe them now to go for a nap because I keep telling them that "Santa is watching to make sure you have a nap for mommy". Now I just have to figure out what bribe I'm going to use after Christmas.

When I asked them the other day what they thought Santa might leave for them under the tree Avery said fruit snacks and Olivia told me he was going to leave her some raisins. It was very cute. Something I'll have to remember a little later on in life to share with them.

I received an e-mail from my sister-in-law who lives in New Orleans this morning. She shared a little Christmas tradition with me that she and my brother started years back with my nephews. Every year each of my nephews receives three wrapped gifts under the tree along with their stocking. She said it is to symbolize the three gifts from the wise man to Jesus. It is an honor to have three because it shows Santa that they understand the meaning of Christmas. I have been thinking about this all day, and I think I might just start the same tradition around here. Especially since buying for two can become very expensive! Thanks for the tip Connie, now all I need is a tip on how to get both of them to behave at Christmas mass this year!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

2007-12-13T13:10:00.000-05:00

TWO SICK KIDS = A VERY TIRED MOMMY

My lack of posting lately isn't due to the fact that I'm chasing two very active little girl's around. It is because we have been battling a pretty bad illness. But then again when isn't one of our sick times pretty bad? Just dealing with two of them sick at the same time is physically and emotionally draining.

It all started last Tuesday, with sneezing. Wednesday the coughing started. Thursday I was blessed with diarrhea and vomiting. All of the above continued into Friday with the addition of a low grade fever, and by Saturday their fevers got so high that we spent most of the night in Emerg.

After answering a million questions and having to go over their birth history once again, the doctor ordered chest x-rays for both girl's. Olivia was a little trooper as always. She sat like a big girl on the stool and said "cheese" for her x-ray. Avery on the other hand was terrified! I really don't blame her after her last x-ray episode in the summer for her VCUG test. So after failing to get two x-rays of her I told the technician to get out the bicycle seat and take the x-ray. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is a nifty little contraption for children like Avery who refuse to sit still. They are placed on a seat and pretty much enclosed by a plastic shield with their arms up in the air to keep them super still. I didn't want to cause her more stress then she was already going through but, at the same time I didn't want her exposed to unnecessary radiation. Out of the two of them she had so many X-rays taken during their hospital stay, so I only allow them during the most necessary of times now.

After the x-rays were complete we met with the doctor again who began to tell us that Olivia's x-ray was a little fuzzy but that Avery's lungs clearly showed a thickness to them. I knew right away what he was going to say. Pneumonia! He figured that since he couldn't give a true diagnosis of pneumonia for Olivia he would still have her start an antibiotic just to be safe and and due to the fact that they both have had pneumonia in the past.

They are slowly on the mend but not soon enough for my liking. The fever is gone but the cough they have has kept all of us sleep deprived since this started. They are both also down 2lbs! With all the vomiting, diarrhea, and just not eating I'm not surprised.

This is pretty much what life has been like around here lately. Lots of lounging as you can see. The only good thing that has come of this is all the snuggling I've been able to do with them. We have cuddled up on the couch and watched the classic movie Rudolph the red nose reindeer and Frosty the snowman so many times that the girl's are actually starting to sing the songs.

2007-12-04T07:55:00.000-05:00

LITTLE MISS FIX IT!

2007-11-27T12:08:00.000-05:00

HANGING OUT WITH ELIZABETH & OWEN AT THE SANTA CLAUS PARADE

2007-11-23T14:19:00.000-05:00

FUN IN THE SNOW!

2007-11-19T11:45:00.000-05:00

HELPING MOMMY GET READY FOR CHRISTMAS

2007-11-12T14:57:00.000-05:00

LONG TIME NO POST!!
It seems like forever since I've posted anything. The days are just flying by and there is just never enough hours in the day to entertain the girl's, get everything done around my house, catch up on my blog reading, and of course,up date my own blog. I have to get better organized I think.

Anyway in Olivia and Avery news, both are doing great and are keeping me more busy than ever. I'm getting geared up for potty training soon so wish me luck, I have no idea what I'm doing so any helpful tips would be great. We had our yearly eye appt. at Mac on Friday. They are both farsighted which the doctor says is fine. I was really hoping they would have been discharged but she wants to see us again in a year.

Saturday night we had our NICU roommates over for dinner. Meredith, Courtney, and their older sister Kaitlyn. All the girl's had a great time together, they played so nice and it was really great for us parents too. We actually got to have a conversation!! Avery absolutely shocked me with how she took to Kaitlyn. She has been such a mama's girl lately that she won't let anyone including Brian, do anything for her. But Kaitlyn stole the show!! Avery wanted to be everywhere she was, they were hugging, holding hands, she even let Kaitlyn pick her up!! I only wish Kaitlyn was a little older because I can tell you she is my first pick for a babysitter when the time comes.

Here's the gang, aren't they all so cute!

We had a bit of a tragic Sunday morning here. I have been trying to get the girl's room painted for the past two months, so since we didn't have any plans I thought I would do a little painting while Brian and the girl's cleaned out the fish tank.

We recently purchased a 3 gallon tank for our goldfish "Elmo" and since it's a little bigger than the bowl we had, Brian thought he would use the tubing that we use for our 26 gallon tank to remove the water. As he was removing the water I guess he wasn't paying attention to where "Elmo" was and he sucked him up into to the tube! He called me downstairs and the girl's just kept saying "Elmo" and were looking into the bucket. Brian looks at me and whispers "I think I just murdered Elmo" I asked him if he was sure and he said "yes, he's gone" So I had to do some quick thinking. I told the girl's that Elmo had a belly ache and he needed to go to the doctor. Thank god they've watched parts of the movie Nemo because there is a part in there where Nemo goes down the toilet to escape into the ocean. I told them that Elmo had to go down the toilet to the doctor's and we would pick him up later.

So later that afternoon we headed over to Walmart to pick up our new Elmo. Well, all the goldfish they had looked as if they were ready to expire. So once again I told the girl's that he still wasn't feeling well and we would check back tomorrow to see if he could come home.

Last night we headed over to a local pet store close to us and sure enough there was a healthy Elmo!! they were so excited to have him back that when we brought him home along with two other of his buddies, all they wanted to do was watch them swim around and around. I guess my story worked because they both kept saying "Elmo all better now" until the next time something happens. Hopefully with three goldfish now they won't notice if one goes missing.

I think we'll leave the tubing for the bigger tank, and just clean this one the old traditional way.

I have also been tagged by Shannon in the game of Crazy 8's. It is actually difficult to do something that is focused on myself when I haven't thought about myself at all in the last two and half years.

CRAZY 8'S

8 THINGS I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT

1.Olivia & Avery

2.My husband

3.My family

4.My friends (new & old)

5.Being the best mom to my girl's

6.Staying positive in this crazy life

7.The simple things

8.Being myself

8 THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE

1.See my girl's grow into beautiful strong & confident women

2.See my girl's have a family of their own

3.Show my kids how big this world really is

4.Know I did the best I could for both of them

5.Sleep a full night

6.Eat a meal slowly & enjoy it

7.Take a vacation with my husband

8.Take a vacation with my girlfriends

8 THINGS I SAY OFTEN

1.I love you sweetie

2.Do you know how much I love you

3.No

4.Don't touch

5.Don't hit your sister

6.Don't bite your sister

7.That's an outside voice

8.Uh Oh

8 T.V SHOWS I HAVE RECENTLY WATCHED

1.The Wiggles

2.CSI Miami

3.The Wiggle

4.Dr. Phil (never an entire show)

5.The Wiggles

6.Everybody loves Raymond

7.The Wiggles

8.Oprah (again only bits and parts)

Are you seeing a pattern here?

8 SONGS I COULD LISTEN TO OVER AND OVER

1.Big girl's don't cry (Fergie)

2.Hips don't lie (Shakira)

3.Want to make a memory (Bon Jovi)

4.Misunderstood (Bon Jovi)

5.Were here for a good time (Trooper)

6. Suddenly I see (KT Tunstall)

7.Far away (Nickelback)

8 THINGS THAT ATTRACT ME TO MY BEST FRIENDS

1.The way we can laugh and laugh for hours about nothing

2.They do not judge me

3.They are there to listen when I need them

4.They just simply understand

5.They are supportive

6.How months can go by, and when we see each other it was like yesterday

7.How I can call them and talk about nothing

8.How I know they will always be there

8 THINGS I'VE LEARNED OVER THE PAST YEAR

1.How to take a shower in under 5 minutes (that includes shaving my legs)

2.How to be a mother and a referee

3.Patience

4.To ask for help more

5. Stop being so independent

6.How amazing my husband really is

7.How being a mother just gets better and better

8.I still have a lot more to learn

8 PEOPLE I THINK SHOULD DO THIS

1.Angi

2.Stephanie

3.Lisa Leonard

4.Jennisa

5.Michelle

6.Aiden's mommy

7.Vickie

8.Angela

I know the last two don't have a blog, but you guys could put something together!

2007-11-03T10:09:00.000-04:00

HALLOWEEN 2007

MY TWIN POODLES

2007-10-30T14:04:00.000-04:00

GETTING READY FOR HALLOWEEN

Olivia wanting to help mommy but soon realizing things inside the pumpkin feel a little too mushy for herNot very happy at all with cleaning out the pumpkin. Look at that face!After a little convincing she tried again and had a lot of fun
Avery decided she would just read the newspaper instead of getting her hands dirty. She's such a girl!
Our final result!!

Can't wait for the real fun tomorrow night!!!

2007-10-21T20:37:00.000-04:00

PREEMIE FRIENDS...

AVERY, ELIZABETH AND OLIVIA THREE AMAZING LITTLE GIRL'S

2007-10-14T20:40:00.000-04:00

AS THE SEASON'S CHANGE, THEY CHANGE....

OCTOBER 2005.....

OCTOBER 2006.....

OCTOBER 2007.....

2007-10-10T13:10:00.000-04:00

THANKSGIVING.... THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT

SPENDING TIME WITH FAMILY

2007-10-08T15:43:00.000-04:00

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIT

I recently received an e-mail about my previous post in regards to "preemie moms verses full term moms".

I am writing this post because I feel I need to clarify with everyone that when I wrote of these "full term moms" that I had met, I was not referring to ALL full term moms out there.

I know a lot of mother's who have given birth to full term babies and they are exceptional mother's. I spoke of this because this was what I had witnessed on this particular day and on other occasions as well.

I'm sure that even a woman who has given birth to a perfectly healthy term baby has had encounters with other mother's that were not so pleasant. I guess I just notice these type of people more because of the experience I have been through with my own children. I can also say that I'm sure I have been judged on several occasions as well and labelled as being "Too over protective of my girl's". I AM AND I ADMIT IT. I am actually extremely overprotective of them. If their birth had of been different, maybe I would be different.

But...

-I am a mother who gave birth three months too soon.

-A mother who watched their children fight to stay alive night and day.

-A mother who spent hours pleading with God to give them a chance at some type of life.

-A mother who was asked if I wanted to have a DNR signed if Olivia crashed because they didn't think she was strong enough to make it.

-A mother who had to donate blood so both of my children could receive a blood transfusion.

- A mother who two years later is still dealing with my children's prematurity.

A mother who is waiting an Autism/Asperger's assessment due to prematurity.

-A mother who has lost friends because I had too many "rules and regulations" about visitors at my house.

-I am a mother who has been through a lot!

As Billie recently wrote in her most recent post "I cannot pick and choose my audience of readers" I now know exactly what she means by that. This does not mean that I will stop saying my opinion if I have one.

Like I said before at the beginning, WE have all witnessed parent's handle a situation in an inappropriate way, and every time I see this I always think to myself "I wonder if they would scream, yell, and roll their eyes at their child if they went through what myself and many other's have gone through". I appreciate every single breath that my children take because I know the other side of things. I know the feeling of possibly losing my child to prematurity. This doesn't mean that a full term mother doesn't appreciate their kids less than I do. It just means that I see certain things differently than others. If I had insulted ALL full term moms than I would be insulting women who are a part of my family as well. But that's not the case.

I honestly don't think that what I said was offensive. It was what I saw and how I felt. Once again, I never said ALL mother's of full term babies are inattentive. I said the one's I saw on that particular day were.

So I'll leave it at that. I think I've set the record straight!

2007-10-03T21:50:00.000-04:00

PRESCHOOL, TEARS & FULL TERM MOMS VERSES PREEMIE MOMS

Over the past month I have been checking out different Preschools in the area. Most of them were not taking any kids and others were just way too expensive. Can you believe some parents pay $40.00 a day for one child! If you double that for someone like me with twins that's a lot of money. Putting the girl's into Preschool was a suggestion made by their Pediatrician at our last visit. He suggested it because he noticed how attached they were to me and of course how attached I am to them. So after a lot of searching I finally found one that I liked and that I knew the girl's would like.

So today was the big day for them, I got them all ready to go and had all these wonderful plans for myself. I figured since I didn't have any kids I would be able to get a million things done. WRONG! I dropped them off, stayed for about 15 minutes while they got settled in and then I quietly walked away. I wasn't even in the car for 5 minutes and my eyes began to well up with tears. When I walked in the door I honestly didn't know what to do with myself. There's so much to be done around here and I just couldn't do a thing. My house was so quiet that it felt so strange.

When I arrived back at the school to pick the girl's up, I waited patiently for them to come out, and what I expected did not happen. I expected to be greeted by two little girl's who were anxiously waiting for me to return. Not really the case. They were happy to see me, but they acted as if I never really left. Which is a good thing I guess.

I got to meet some of the other mother's today as well. I have never compared myself to a mother who delivered full term before. Really if I did it would be like comparing apples to oranges. They are two totally different experiences. But I'm going to admit that today I did. I got to observe a lot of the other moms and see how they handle situations with their child. I noticed that a lot of them walked in, said hello dropped their screaming child off and left. I myself could never do that. No wonder these kids are crying, to them it's the place that their mommy's leave them at. One poor little guy was crying so hard he ended up throwing up all over. I watched his mother as she rolled her eyes and walked out the door. To me this child needed some type of reassurance that he was going to have fun and mommy would be right back. I know that's how I would have handled it. It doesn't really take that long to distract a child away from something that they are upset at.

So all in all the girl's survived and I survived. Maybe next week I'll be able to get some things done while they are at school and not worry about them as much. I still can't believe they are in a Preschool program.

Where have my preemie babies gone?

Some cute artwork from their first day of Preschool

2007-09-27T21:54:00.000-04:00

THIS KID CRACKS ME UP!!!

2007-09-23T21:32:00.000-04:00

A GREAT WEEKEND!

On Friday the girl's and I met up with Angi and Elizabeth at Frootogo Orchards. This place had everything! A great play area, a huge sandbox, some farm animals, and of course lots and lots of fruit to pick.

All the girl's did really great at picking lots of Apples, and even sampled a few along the way.

After we had finished our apple picking we purchased our apples and a few little pies, and headed off to lunch. By this time all three girl's were really exhausted. Olivia & Avery started to get VERY crabby, while Elizabeth had to fight to keep her eyes open at the table. It was really very cute.

Playing with the toys

Elizabeth in the sandboxTrying out the slideSome crazy goatsAgain having fun in the sandboxBig girl swing!Olivia picking her first appleElizabeth having a little sampleAvery picking her first apple

On Saturday we all got up early and headed out to Baka & Dida's house. We dropped the girl's off for the night and headed out. This weekend was our fourth year wedding anniversary, and since we haven't done ANYTHING together in two years we decided it was time for a date night.

We drove across the border and shopped all day, we headed back around 7:00p.m, had a nice dinner in Niagara Falls and got in some gambling at the Casino. We actually didn't make it home until 3a.m in the morning! I can't remember the last time we stayed out that late. Were usually in bed in this house no later than 11p.m.

Even though we had a great time being out on the town, enjoying a nice dinner and a few drinks, we both missed them like crazy. We spent most of our time talking and laughing about them.

Even though they were on our minds we still needed one day to ourselves just to reconnect with each other again. It was great!! I think we just might have to do it again, sooner than later.

I almost forgot to mention something very exciting, Olivia went pee pee in the potty yesterday at Baka's house!!

2007-09-20T11:56:00.000-04:00

ANGERED BY FAKE PREEMIE MOM'S!

The other day I came across a blog about two former preemie girl's and a little boy born at 23 weeks just two weeks ago. This mother described her daughter's as both having CP and that her 23 week old son was in hospital fighting for his life. This woman's story broke my heart and also brought back many unpleasant memories of my own children's NICU stay. I had been so intrigued by this woman's strength to be raising two special needs children and having another preemie fight for life, that I added a link to her blog on mine.

This morning I read a comment left on my blog by another mother (claiming to be a former preemie mom) and when I went over to her blog, her story sounded very similar to the one I had just added a few days ago. Only her story consisted of a set of twin girl's, a one year old son, and a two week old daughter fighting for her life in the NICU. She discusses how her twin girl's and son all have GJ feeding tubes, how her son will be blind by the age of three, and how her most recent preemie in NICU is fighting off an infection, is vented, had a chest tube placed, as well as a PIC line.

Seeing as these stories sounded so similar and their blogs are very new, I decided to do some investigating myself. I was told that this woman is a FAKE and she has recently joined a support group for former preemie moms who have children with CP. I am absolutely outraged that someone would do this! Having a preemie is not a joke. Having a child with a disability, is not a joke. It is an experience for us parents of former preemies that is horrifying to say the least. Reading her description of her child fighting for their life brings back a lot of unpleasant memories for myself and I'm sure a lot of other mother's.

People like this should be ashamed of themselves! Of all the things they could be doing with obviously a lot of spare time, they choose to "mock" as I see it, an experience that none of us ask for. But one that we all still re-live on a daily basis.

I have removed the link to this blog, and hope I never come across this again!!

2007-09-15T07:15:00.000-04:00

TWO YEAR'S AGO TODAY SHE CAME HOME....

Not being able to bring home the girl's together was so hard on us, but once we had both girl's home we realized we had more of a challenge than we ever expected. Not because we were dealing with two babies on our own, feedings that would take four hours to complete sometimes, and reflux but, because Olivia in reality was not ready to be released from the hospital when she was, which was partly my fault. I was just simply sick and tired of hospital life. I wanted both of my kids home and I wanted to start to live as a family. Meaning, I didn't want to deal with doctor's everyday, or nurses watching over me as I shared a quiet moment with my daughter, endless beeping sounds of monitors going off, and sounds of mother's crying because they had just delivered their baby prematurely.

On this day two year's ago I begged the doctor's to let me take Olivia home. The reason she had not been released with Avery was because she was not waking on her own to feed. But at the same time, the NICU nurses weren't giving her a chance to wake up hungry because every three hours they came in and pushed her feed into her stomach through her NG tube. How was she ever to feel hungry on her own? So I promised the doctor's that I would wake her every two hours to feed her. They agreed, and within a few hours we had our discharge papers in hand along with our other baby.

Once she came home I did as I promised, I woke her every two hours for a feed, but all she wanted to do was sleep. Sometimes her feeds would only consist of half an ounce. Which even that was a struggle. Then when you add reflux into the equation it only became harder. That half an ounce that I would have struggled with to get into her, would sometimes come right back out of her. So we would have to start all over again. Not much fun when it's the middle of the night and mommy hasn't had much sleep as it is.

We reflect back on those times a lot and remember wondering if that time would ever change. Well it has changed in some ways, the reflux is gone, but she still continues to be a picky little eater. One thing that hasn't changed is the fact that I would do it all again for her if I had to.

On September 15th 2005, we were finally a REAL family.

2007-09-06T21:35:00.001-04:00

MY LITTLE AVERY....I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE'S BEEN HOME FOR TWO FULL YEARS!!

TWO LITTLE MONKEY'S

2007-08-31T07:26:00.001-04:00

2007-08-24T10:43:00.000-04:00

JUST BECAUSE THEIR CUTE!

2007-08-19T21:16:00.000-04:00

WHAT WERE YOU DOING 2 YEAR'S AGO TODAY?

Two year's ago today, I was excited, nervous and had a lot of anxiety because as the girl's were now around the 3lbs mark and it was time for them to start to learn the suck and swallow technique. They were both doing really well with their breathing, only needing to be on a little oxygen at this point so it was time to start preparing them for their homecoming. I always said from the start I would breastfeed, and from all the reading I had done, I wasn't planning on it being easy. Every article I read reminded new mother's of the importance of it as well as the difficulties they may have. What I didn't plan on was how difficult a time emotionally I would have gearing up for the moment when I would actually get to bond with my children like all mother's do. I was so nervous the girl's wouldn't latch or that they just wouldn't be physically ready. Which would mean we were not going to get to go home anytime soon.

Avery was such a trooper right from the start ,she caught on almost instantly so I was able to alternate breastfeeding and gavage feeding's with her. Olivia on the other hand was not so easy. I called her my "lazy baby". She preferred to sleep and be gavage feed rather then breastfed. I remember getting so frustrated at times because I knew that if she didn't catch on, Avery would be coming home and Olivia would have to stay in hospital.

This was also really stressful on me because Avery had tested positive for the Psedomonas bacteria and Olivia tested negative. Which meant that in between feedings I had to drive back to Oakville, shower then drive back to Hamilton to make it in time for Olivia's next feed. A lot of driving and a lot of showers!

During this time I was also putting together the girl's birth announcement for the newspaper. I figured we had waited long enough, things were heading in the right direction so now was the time to share with everyone we knew and the rest of the City the birth of our two precious girl's.

This is what the announcement said....

TWINS

Barcic/Schiller- Brian and Shannon Barcic are proud to announce the safe arrival of their precious twin girl's.

Olivia Donna & Avery Ana

On June 15th 2005 at 7:06 & 7:07a.m. weighing 850grams & 907grams

Olivia and Avery are the first addition of grandchildren to Matt & Ana Barcic and the latest addition to John & Donna Schiller.

A special thanks to both our families for all their support. Many thanks to the staff at McMaster Hospital for all their hard work. Especially the girl's primary nurse Janice, who has shown sincere compassion from the day the girl's arrived.

"Thank you Auntie Janice"

To Brian my husband, best friend and sole mate, in all the panic you were amazing. You are my rock. The tears you shed when our girl's were born made me fall in love with you all over again.

You are the greatest husband, and will be the perfect father. Our girl's are so lucky to have you as their dad.

Cheers to us, and our beautiful daughters.

2007-08-14T22:00:00.000-04:00

EXCITING NEWS!!

We had our two year check up today with our new Pediatrician. We have had A LOT of doctor's appointments over the past two years but, this by far was the best. Our previous pediatrician would always brush off any concerns I ever had with the girl's which was extremely frustrating, or would dance around a question I would have which would then leave me completely confused and always asking myself why I bother taking the girl's to her.

Well different outcome today. Our new doc listened to everything I had to say, answered every question I had. Gave me some great suggestions on where to go from here now that the girl's are two years of age, and most importantly made me feel confident and comfortable with him looking after them medically. VERY IMPORTANT.
So for the exciting news.... Avery weighed in at 27.5lbs 34.5 inches in length. Olivia weighed in at 24.5lbs and also 34.5 inches in length. WOW my girl's are finally in the 50th percentile for height but are still in the 25th percentile for weight. I actually don't pay much attention anymore to the charts, I stopped worrying a long time ago about that. I am just so happy that they are both gaining weight and are healthy.

Now for more exciting news, when he was going over what the "typical" two year old (term) should be doing, one of the questions he asked me was are they saying at least two words? I told him they are talking to me in sentences now. He kind of looked at me a little strange until Olivia looked up at me and said "Look mama, a lady bug" he was in complete shock. Of course I just started laughing because of the expression on his face. He was really impressed with all the things they were doing and told me he had no concerns about them developmentally. YIPPEE!!!

Once again girl's we are so very proud of you!!!

2007-08-07T13:16:00.000-04:00

FINALLY....A FUN FILLED & SICK FREE LONG WEEKEND!!

This has been our first long weekend this year that not one of us was sick.

We first have to wish our nephew Nicholas a BIG Happy 2nd Birthday. He turned two yesterday. His birthday celebration had to be put off until next weekend since he has a little bit of a cold. See you next weekend buddy!!

We also have to wish Cole a BIG Happy 2nd Birthday!!!! He also turned two yesterday.

Saturday we headed over to Meredith (Mimi) & Courtney's (Coco) house for some play time and a barbecue. All the girl's had a great time playing together as well as Mimi & Coco's older sister Kaitlyn.

Courtney and Olivia are so sweet together. Courtney is giving Olivia a push on her swing.

Courtney (Coco) decided she was going to indulge in some butter for an after dinner treat. Too funny!!

Anyone who has ever had a preemie knows the feeling of letting your child eat just about anything to get the extra calories they need. I guess you could say we'll take them any way we can get them.

Mimi & Coco sat very patiently with Olivia & Avery while they had their bottles. They even helped them out a little by holding the bottle for them.

Having their spaghetti dinner & dessert together.

Silly Girl's

Sunday afternoon we headed over to Baka & Dida's house for another barbecue dinner. The girl's were so exhausted from being out the night before and all day Sunday that on our way home from Brian's parents, they fell asleep as soon as they got in the car.

Playing catch with Baka

On Monday Grandma & Grandpa came over to visit for the day. They brought the twins some real fruit popsicles, which they loved!

I only took a few picture's of the girl's. Didn't manage to get any of the girl's with Grandma & Grandpa. We'll have to make sure we get some next time.

Too much talking and chasing the girl's around.

Enjoying their Blueberry/Lemon popsicles

2007-07-27T07:49:00.000-04:00

THANK GOODNESS FOR WASHABLE MARKERS!