Santa is Coming to Town!

We took the kiddies to see Santa this weekend and they were excellent. I was a little bit worried because for the past two years, Tyler has freaked out when we got him anywhere near Santa. First we waited online for about an hour before the kids finally got to sit on his lap. Tyler ran right up to him first which was adorable. Then we brought in Cooper and Shea and I think maybe Santa was a little overwhelmed. Both Shea and Coop kind of just turned around and stared up at him in amazement which made for some really cute pictures. Then they both turned and looked right at the camera for some more. Neither one even frowned the whole time while they were on his lap. Tonight we have the Santa from the in town Fire Dept coming and we'll see how everyone is with him. He comes on a firetruck with the horns blaring and lights going so it can be a little scary for the kids. Jenene also took them today to get their Christmas pictures taken so we'll see how that turns out. She can be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to pictures so hopefully the photographer is really talented. All in all this Christmas has been pretty fun so far because Tyler finally knows who Santa is and is really amazed by him. It is so fun to see his face and the wonder in his eyes. Ah to be young again. I can't wait to see how excited he is in the morning to see all his gifts. The picture here is from when we were waiting on line to see the big guy.

Thanks

It's Thanksgiving Eve and we have plenty to be thankful for this year. 3 beautiful and healthy children and a wonderful family. Shea and Coop are doing fine and look like they are trying to weather their first colds. Poor Shea was sick last week after getting her flu shot and spike a fever of 103. she was throwing up because it was so high. She now has a cough and it sounded like Coop was getting it too. But they are their normal happy selves otherwise. Shea was a full two pounds heavier than Coop at the doctor last week and a little longer. Cooper though is the one with all the teeth and doing all the crawling. He is all over the place just using his arms like he is in the army. Shea is content just rolling around. If she does crawl, it is usually backwards. I am sure she will start soon though. She gets in position but just doesn't have the go yet. One thing she is better at though is sleeping. Coop has been up every night still and will not stop until he gets picked up. Hopefully that will stop once we move home. I think they are going to be starting to eat yogurt this week as well. If it was up to Sito, they would be eating chicken wings by now. The pictures I attached here are two of my recent favorites of them. Coop hadn't napped all day and when he got home we put him in his chair for his bottle and he just passed out. I love the way he is leaning on his hand. the picture of Shea I love because she is so cute with her hair up like that.

The kiddies are doing very well and are progressing fast. Cooper has 4 teeth and started to crawl for the first time yesterday! He was slow at first but is definitely getting the hang of it now. I guess we are in trouble as he gets mobile. He has been a pain sleeping though and has been waking up every night. He doesn't go back down either until you pick him up. Last night was the first night in some time he slept through. He is also a total Mommy's boy. If Jenene is holding him and someone takes him away he screams for her. We have to put a stop to that.

Shea is also doing beautifully and is my gorgeous girl. She hasn't started crawling yet and has no teeth but she certainly has a ton of hair. Jenene has to take her soon to get a haircut because it is hanging down in her eyes now. She is as happy as can be though and just smiles and laughs all the time.

Halloween is coming up and Jenene decided not to dress them up because with everything she has going on, it would be more of a pain to find costumes and get them dressed than it was worth. I'm sure they will be mad at her someday for that. It's amazing that these kids are 8 months old and have never even been in their real home! Hopefully soon we'll have it ready for them. Then they can have their own room and own crib each! Here is a recent picture of them.

One of the issues we have had is that while we are waiting to have our house addition done, we are living at my in laws. It has been great and I am really lucky to have such wonderful in laws. It is so helpful to have people around for support and my in laws adore the kids and love to see them every single day. That being said, it does present some challenges. One of those is that Cooper and Shea were still in the same crib up until six months old. The doctor said it was really time they each got their own place and then one day we woke up to what you see in the picture and figured it was time to separate them. So now one sleeps in the crib while the other sleeps in a pack n play and we rotate them each night to be fair. It has been working out pretty well. You can also see from this picture that Shea is going to have some issues with her hair as she gets older. It looks like it has a mind of it's own. Cooper doesn't have any problems and is having his struggles just to grow any right now. But they are both as cute as can be as you can also tell from the picture. they are getting so big so fast and will probably start crawling soon here. That's when it get really tough, when they are mobile and going in two different directions.

6 Months Already!

The duo went for their 6 month checkup yesterday and all was good. Aside from cooper only being in the 10th percentile for the size of his head. She was over 19lbs and Cooper I believe was just under it. By holding them or looking at them you would thing Shea was about 5lbs more. They both grew about and inch and a half. Both of them got shots and both of them were not happy about it. other than that, the doctor told Jenene that they looked great. Though she does think it is time for them to get their own cribs. Unfortunately we are still cramped in one room and one of them will have to be in a pack n play. Cooper looks like he is getting his first tooth and has been chewing and drooling all over the place. He has also started saying da da da which is very cute. Shea has just learned to scream and boy can she scream. It is piercing. they are enjoying the solid foods they have started on and this week they will be going over to veggies. It is all going so fast. they are getting so big so fast and are really happy kids. The one thing Jenene would like would be for Coop to sleep a little more. He just doesn't nap and by late morning he is a real crank.Hopefully we can get him on a schedule here soon. Shea has no problems with sleep at all.

It has been a wonderful couple of months for Cooper and Shea. they are both getting very big now and are all smiles all the time. Cooper is rolling all over the place and especially likes rolling over by his sister and kicking her in the gut or face. Shea just rolled over the first time the other day. She is quite a bit heavier so it's tough to move that body but she is doing it now. They have been sleeping wonderfully. We just got back from vacation in the Outer Banks and the kids had a great time with all their cousins down there. they were spoiled rotten and constantly passed around from arm to arm. Shea even slept away from us for the first time and stayed in Sito's room. Cooper was lost without her. they were both also excellent on the ride down and the ride home. It was a long way but they just slept for the most part.

Both Cooper and Shea absolutely love their big brother too. they smile whenever he comes by and just think everything he does is the funniest thing ever. He enjoys showing off for them too.

This week has also been a big week for the two of them. they started eating cereal this week. So far they have done great and are really getting the hang of it. Shea wants to suck on the spoon more but has no problem with the eating part. Next thing you know they are going to be crawling or walking around. Then we are really in trouble!

Well the kiddies are 4 months old today and Jenene had them to the doctor for their checkups. Now Shea has been looking like she is adding more weight than Coop. Not that Coop wasn't gaining, but Shea is just getting porky. So last time we had them there was two months ago and Cooper was 10lbs 14 ounces and Shea was 10 lbs 10 ounces. this time however Shea had passed him up. Coop is up to 14 lbs 13 ounces and Shea weighed in at a healthy 15 lbs 10 ounces. She is in the 90th percentile and Coop is in the 50th. Everything else the doctor said was great and they should start on cereal in the next few weeks. they got a shot and were not happy about it, Luckily Shea went to sleep shortly after. I'll try to get some pics up so you can see just how big they are getting.

I don't have any new pictures right now but these two are getting big! Shea especially is a little porky. She'll probably kill me when she is old enough to read this. They have been doing great although life with twins is tough. She is awake all day and Cooper generally naps well during the day. then Shea sleeps all night and coop is up several time during the night. He's not hungry, he just wants to be held. hopefully soon he'll be going through as well. They are eating well and are now interacting alot by laughing and almost giggling when they see you. Absolutely adorable. they love watching their big brother Tyler as well. We are just waiting now for the first one to roll over. cooper looks like it is going to be him as he gets up on his side and then gets really angry when he can't make it all the over. But if she gains much more, she may just roll.

Shea and Cooper are getting bigger and better with each passing day. I have them both to the doctor last week and Shea was 10lbs 10 ounces and Cooper was 10 lbs 14 ounces. the doctor was very pleased with the progress they have been making. They are both getting ready to roll over and Cooper even did it once. they get that really frustrated look and get all ticked off when they roll onto their side. As far as sleep, Shea is sleeping through the night fine right now. Cooper usually wakes up around 4am or so and just likes to come into our bed and goes back down for a while. The funny thing is that they don't sleep during the day much at all. It stinks because Jenene is back to work now and so her parents are watching the kids and it would be good if the kids went down for a bit for them. We feel so bad because Jenene's parents are exhausted from taking care of them all day and it's really not fair to them to ask them to watch them all the time. We have had people coming over to help them everyday but there are just too many moving parts. The reason why Jeneneis still working is because we still haven't closed on our loan or started construction and part of the closing is they need verbal confirmation of employment. This whole process has turned into a nightmare. Hopefully we'll get it taken care of soon and I can give these kiddies their own place to live.

Other than that, they have started smiling and can really see us now so they are much more fun than they were. I know it is only a matter of time before they are crawling all over the place.

Well Shea and Cooper celebrated their first Easter in style yesterday. I should have pictures in the next few days. I dropped our camera and broke it so we are struggling to get those out right now. The twins were a bit small to take part in the egg hunts at Sito's and Grandma's but Tyler happily took care of their share. They are both getting very big and starting to sleep alot better, at night at least. they don't really dig naps during the days because they don't want to miss anything. this of course keeps Mommy on her toes all day. Shea is definitely the more vocal of the two and I see her speaking on Cooper's behalf in the future. Other than that, they are just enjoying life at Sito's and all the attention they are getting. They adore their big brother as well.

The kids are doing great and will be one month old tomorrow. I can't believe how time flies. We had them at the doctor last week and everything was great. They had each gained more than a pound and Cooper is 7lbs 9 ounces and Shea is 7 lbs 6 ounces. The hardest part right now if the eating every three hours. If they don't go right back down, one feeding runs into another and you get no sleep. They are also having some trouble sleeping. They will be out cold in your arms and then you put them down and they start screaming. I guess it's all part of the process. Jenene dressed them all up for St. Patricks Day in this picture. It came out adorable. You can see Tyler is a very proud big brother. He loves to hold them and peeking in on them when they are sleeping. He also will not go to bed at night without kissing them good night. I am sure that will change as they grow and there will be plenty of wrestling before bed.

Finally!

They are here! After 37 weeks and about 7 hours of labor, at 3.04 and 4:18 pm each Shea Therese and Cooper Louis Carlon arrived on February 19th. Shea was 6lbs even and came out first. Cooper was 6lbs 6 ounces and came out as the baby. Shea was delivered naturally and even after a wonderful job by Jenene pushing for an hour and the doctor turning cooper to good position, they needed to go and get him to be on the safe side. Both babies are happy and healthy and home now and enjoying life. Tyler John is a very proud big brother and loves holding his brother and sister. Jenene has recovered wonderfully and was really amazing through the whole delivery and recovery process. People could not believe that she was up and walking around the next day after all she went through. I don't even think amazing sums it up enough.

Now comes the tough part. They have been sleeping ok but have had a few nights where they were up for a few hours. It's tougher this time around because Jenene and I can't give each other a break when there is two of them. Luckily we are at my in laws because we are getting work done on the house so there has been a lot of help for us. I am finally back to work today too and it seems like they are managing without me. I'll try to keep this going with their updates and accomplishments as much as possible but for now, here is a good picture of them and their brother.

Well it looks like this Thursday February 19th will be the day the twins are born. that is unless they decide to come sooner. Jenene and i went to the doctor yesterday and they confirmed they will induce her then. The babies have been in plenty long as Jenene is 37 weeks as of today and they don't want to let her go much beyond that. I am just now starting to get nervous as I just want them both to be here and be healthy. Hopefully she isn't in labor as long for them too as she was for Tyler. It took her like 17 hours to have him. I don't think they would let her go that long this time around though. I guess my next post will be the welcoming one with pictures!!

It's been about a month since I last posted so I wanted to put in an update. Jenene has been doing great and is just ready to give birth to these two wonderful kids. She has been diagnosed with a disease called Cholastasis which causes her to itch really bad. You can't scratch the itch though because it is in your blood. They gave her some medicine but she hasn't slept well and is marking herself up from all the scratching. I think we are going any day now as she is starting to feel contractions. We were even over at the hospital last night because she was having them and they wanted to check her out. They ended up sending us home, but she could very well end up going any time now. We have the stuff at her Mom's set to go but still have a lot of packing to do at our house because of the addition. Needless to say, there is a lot going on. I just want to get these babies out and have them healthy. They have been extremely active though so that is good as well. Hopefully my next post will be an announcement.

Well I really fell behind on this during the holidays and need to catch up everything. Since my last post, Jenene went to the doc and found out that she had failed her diabetes test and on top of that, was anemic. This came as a huge blow to her because throughout her first pregnancy and through this one, we had never really gotten any negative feedback. She had passed all her tests and all her levels looked fine. So this got Jenene very worried etc. On top of that, she had to go to take the three hour diabetes test which is a huge pain and start taking iron pills. The anemia was a worry because it could cause complications if she needed a transfusion from losing too much blood during delivery. The risk with the diabetes among other things is that it slows the lung development on the babies. I am happy to report that she went for and passed the three hour test so that was a huge weight off her chest. Now we are just getting to crunch time and feel like we have nothing in order. I guess a lot of it is tough to take care of because we are going to be putting the addition on so there isn't much we can do as far as a room. But we need to get the car seats fitted in the truck, we need to get some more clothes and nothing has been done at her parents house to get ready for us cause that is where we will be for the next several months. We better get started though because things are happening fast and she could go at any time now. Our next appointment is tonight so we should know more then.