I'll get to it!

5 months old!

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I'll get to the post! Hopefully before 6 months! I've still got time!

I've done it.

I've applied. We'll see what happens, whether or not I get an interview.

I don't even know if it was the right thing to do. But then again, not applying didn't seem right either. Ugh!

**See previous post to understand!**

Torn

I have another opportunity to promote with my job.
And no, Erica... it isn't a BUT position.

In June of this year, Marriott started a new point based system allowing owners to travel to other Marriott Resorts that they don't own through us instead of an exchange company. Because of the new change, we now have Senior Advisors who deal with the enrolled owners. This is the position that I'm thinking about applying for. I mean, this is the direction the company is going. Might as well get on board now, right?

One big draw back.. scheduling! Because it is a new position/new program, it's 40 hours a week including weekends. They aren't offering any part time, job shares or 4 10 hour shifts. So, it's not as flexible as my position now. Especially because I will have to work weekends in order to get a day off during the week to watch the girls. They've mentioned that they may offer more flexible hours and job shares in the future, but I should apply now because they may not be hiring at that time. I guess it will be nice only working 8 hours instead of 9... Call me crazy, but I seem to miss out on so much just because of that extra hour.

I'm just so torn between applying or not. Right now, my team is very flexible and I'm allowed to only work 36 hours a week with a guaranteed day off during the week and also weekends off. Do I give that up? Do I sacrafice my weekends to earn more money? But I don't even know if I'll be making more money! Yes, it is a raise when I get it, but I no longer have the opportunity for unassigned bonuses quarterly.

I HATE THIS!!

But I better make a decision fast. Position closes end of business Monday. Might have to work on a resume and cover letter this weekend, just in case.

Video Post!

We introduced rice cereal a couple of weeks ago and it went over okay... I followed the directions on the box for "Babies First Feeding" and it ended up being very runny. We were able to get some in their mouths, but not too much! Here is a short video of how it went down.



Second we introduced the new motion activity jumpers!! Grandma Karla spoiled us and the girls and bought one for each of them! We put them both in for the first time this morning and shot the videos below. Ella really started to like it once she threw her body forward and found the toys but Avie just wanted to sit back and relax! I love how she refuses to look at the camera. I think she is telling me that she's upset I took her swing away! Poor Avie!

And yes, I say suck its in the first video. We are referring to their little blankies. I know, it's a terrible name... but that's all they do, suck on them. So it kinda stuck! Sorry! I think they call them tag blankets or something...



After filming the first video, Ella really started to bounce and enjoy herself! I caught that on camera, however Avie was done. She wanted out! She ended up falling asleep in Daddy's arms as soon as he took her out. Maybe we'll try again after her nap! They need to grow just a tiny bit more so both of their feet will touch the ground! It's so cute to watch though!

Ella's First Giggles!

Erica and I were playing with Ella and we started to hear some small giggles! So we ran for the camera and got this video!! Sorry about the noises I'm making, she seemed to like it!! I can't wait for Avie to join in, then this can be a regular thing!

{ 4 Month Stats }

Avie

13 lbs 9 oz - 51%

24 inches - 42%

Head 16.5 inches - 79%

Ella

13 lbs 3 oz - 42%

24.5 inches - 62%

Head 16.3 inches - 67%

More vaccinations today and even Kelly and I joined in! The pediatrician recommended, that since the girls are not allowed to get their flu shots because they are under 6 months, that Kelly and I get ours. Kelly wasn't too thrilled about it, never having got a flu shot before. Plus he's all "my body can heal itself" thing.. not taking any pills for anything. But he was willing to do it for the girls. So all 4 of us left with our dinosaur band aids!

Dr Lynch is very impressed with the girls size and strength! She has even given us the green light to start solid foods, rice cereal first! I'm always pleased to hear that the girls are great size! I get so nervous that I'm not producing and they aren't eating enough. But their pot bellies and thunder thighs prove otherwise! I think we'll test out rice cereal this weekend! Can't wait to see how that goes!

We also were told something that we kinda already knew. Dr Lynch classifies Avie's behavior as an "intense baby." Meaning, she's very intense no matter what the emotion. Happy, sad, hungry.. all intense. She said that our parenting will have to be a little different with Avie. It's going to be hard to handle two different personalities and two different parenting, but we'll try our hardest! We mentioned to the doctor about the girls recent fussiness. She doesn't think it's colic, she's leaning more on my diet. She says that dairy, wheat and eggs can be bad for the babies. She's recommend that I stop one for 2 weeks and see if it makes a difference. If it has then we'll know what the problem was. If it hasn't, try eliminating something else. First, I'm going to eliminate wheat. Even though I love cereal, wheat has been what I eat most of lately. So starting today, no more wheat... for 2 weeks! Let's see what it does!

It's crazy to think about how big the girls are getting with every milestone they pass. Tonight will be the first night sleeping in their OWN cribs! I'm having a hard time with it, because I want them to stay together. But for the past couple of nights Ella has moved so much that they run into each other and wake up. We're also going to try a new swaddle blanket that my Dad and Nancy bought us. The girls haven't liked being swaddled in the past, but we tried it today for one of their naps and it worked beautifully! Hopefully being snug, warm and free to roll will allow them to sleep through the entire night!! Can't wait for those days! They were doing really good for awhile. Getting to bed around 9/9:30 and then waking me up at 6 AM. But for the past couple of nights, they've woken up at 3 AM and 6 AM. Not so much fun!

How are we doing? Well, Kelly's on disability until December or whenever his neurologist clears him to go back to work. So for right now, Kelly is on his maternity leave. He's staying home with the girls, cleaning house and cooking dinner and doing a great job! It's nice to come home from a 9 hour day to have dinner ready! Work for me has been okay. The first couple of weeks, I wasn't on the phone since I didn't have access. So the days kinda dragged. It's getting better though. I just hate being gone all day. I'm leave right when the girls are waking up and get home just an hour before bedtime. But, it's what has to happen for now. Once Kelly gets back into work, I'm going to look more for a job share and maybe shorten my work week if we can afford it.

I'm not going to lie. The last week or so has been really hard. I've wanted to just get up and leave so many times, just escape somewhere by myself! With having two babies, it seems like one of them is always crying. Thankfully, Kalie watched the girls for a bit last Saturday so Kelly and I were able to go have dinner together. It may have only been for a couple of hours, but it was nice. I had the 24 hour flu yesterday and it was hard to take care of myself, when the girls needed tending to. Definitely have to get used to that... no more time for me thing.

But things are going okay! We're managing to get through with the help of our family and friends. Everyone has been so amazing the last month, I can't thank them enough. We'll see how things go the next couple of months. We figure, as long as we have 2 healthy little girls, we can get through anything!

Hope all is well! Love to all!

I'M IN LOVE!!

- 4 Months Old -

Ella

-Definitely the talkative one! Lots of Ooh's and Aah's!

-Getting better at taking a bottle now that I'm back to work.

-She's even becoming more regular, which is a good thing.

-Fascinated with Avie. She loves staring at her.

-Loves to suck on her pointer and middle finger.

-She hardly ever performs for the camera, just like her Dad!

Avie

-Loves the camera!! Stares at it whenever it's in my hand.

-Loves to suck on her fists.

-Drama Queen!! She has this fake cry, I'll have to try and tape it. It's hilarious!

-One of the happiest babies in the morning!

-She's starting to get her voice, slowly.

They both:

-Drool and blow bubbles constantly!

-LOVE sucking on their clothes, blankets and hands. Their clothes are drenched!

-Both have a very firm grip. Be careful with earrings and long hair!

-Starting to notice each other more. They stare at each other and smile.

-Sleeping better at night! We've even had a few all nighters!

-Enjoy the outdoors! They love the sounds and looking at the trees.

-Wearing 3-6 months clothes. We still have a few 0-3 months, but they're tight!

It's been really hard to get back into work with the girls getting bigger! They are so much fun to be around whether they are cooing back at you or just sucking on their blankets! I love being with them! I can't wait to hear those giggles for the first time!! We're working on getting them stronger so they can be sitting by themselves soon! Ella has a flat spot on the right side of her head, so we're trying to work on that. Having more tummy time and moving her head while she's sleeping. Tummy time is getting better. The girls can last longer before getting frustrated and they are rolling over more! It's definitely been a rough couple of weeks, but seeing their smiles in the mornings make it all worth it!

LOVE the video below! We were able to tape Ella talking and smiling! Avie just stares at the camera the whole time and even leans in for some close ups!

Tummy Time - Video Post

Erica came up to say Hi to the girls last night and to see what we were up to! I had just got done feeding them, so Erica recommended some much needed tummy time and shot these short videos for us.

Video # 1: Avie does well on tummy time! She even rolls over!

Video # 2: Ella joins in the fun, but Avie starts to get frustrated. While we find Avie's cries of frustration funny, Ella rolls over.

Video # 3: Avie's really frustrated and Ella soon joins her! I'm sorry, but I find their little cries hilarious. But it's sad, because you can tell they are really frustrated.

Scared, Worried, Lost, Etc.

For those of you that do not know, Kelly had a seizure on Monday, during a BBQ we were having over at my sister Kalie's.

It was by far the scariest moment in my life and it all happened so fast. Kelly followed me into Kalie's spare bedroom to hang out with me while I nursed the girls and shortly after he laid down on the floor, it happened. I couldn't do anything... I couldn't move or reach him unless I wanted to drop the babies. The next thing I knew, I was screaming for help and everyone was running into the room. Mom was able to grab the twins and Erica tried to calm me down. Calming down wasn't happening, so Kalie decided to move me into the living room, but I collapsed in the hallway. All I could hear was my step dad saying that Kelly was bleeding because he bit his tongue and he was trying to swallow it. The actual seizure lasted about 45 seconds but Kelly didn't come around until the paramedics arrived about 10-15 minutes later. He doesn't even remember my step dad or Joe talking to him.

You can't imagine... Seeing a loved one in pain, hurting and you can't help them. I felt so helpless. I can't stop replaying it in my head... But as terrible the situation was, it couldn't have happened at a better time or place. Like I said, he was already on the floor, so he didn't fall. The room was pretty empty so he didn't run into anything or hit anything. Plus we had the entire family there, so there was enough people to tend to him, me and the babies.

The paramedics took Kelly to Emergency by fire truck and they didn't have any room for me. So as I was histerical, Kalie took my car and followed them to IMC. The paramedics took the LONG way to the hospital, so I knew he was okay. They even had him call me on the way there, just to say Hi. When we got there, Kelly had a CT Scan, EKG and blood work done. Everything came back normal. So what did this mean? What happened? They didn't know. They kept us there for awhile and gave Kelly some medication and recommended meeting with a neurologist for follow up. We didn't get home until about 1AM Tuesday morning and the girls ended up staying with my Mother. As much as we missed them and just wanted to be with them, we needed to get some rest, Kelly mostly.

We met with a neurologist this morning and he has ordered an EEG and a MRI for Monday afternoon. Hopefully it will tell us something, but the neurologist isn't optimistic. He says that 99% of the time, we don't know why people have seizures. Great! But what happens now? The neurologist informed us that by state law, Kelly is not allowed to drive a car for 3 months. He is also to avoid heights, swimming and bathing. Obviously this means that working as a bill poster with Reagan is out of the question for the next little while. However, the Dr is optimistic that after the 90 days, if Kelly is seizure free he'll be able to get back to his job and Reagan is holding his position for him. In the mean time, he may see about going back to Ream's, maybe joining the stock crew or something. We also need to decide whether or not to put Kelly on medication. The only thing is, is if you start the medication you have to take it for the rest of your life. Taking it and then stopping could lead to a seizure. The Dr recommends that if the tests on Monday show nothing, we should wait the 90 days and if Kelly doesn't have another seizure than he won't get on the medication. However if he does, he should definitely take some. What? Another seizure? I don't want to see that!

Scared, Worried, Lost, Etc... Thankfully we have an amazing support system at home. THANK YOU FAMILY for always being there for us! I'll keep everyone posted as to his test results and where we go from here. I hope all is well!