Look who is 2

Miss Isabelle turned 2 {well several weeks ago, but anyway}

It is a littler surreal. It was amazing to think just a year ago we were on a train to the south of France to celebrate her turning 1. Faith talked non-stop about how Isabelle put her foot in her first birthday cake and 'hopefully she won't do that again!"

The morning began with a very over the top decorated birthday chair {think lots of leftover random decorations attached to 'her' at the table} and what was the 1 thing she was MOST excited about on her birthday...

FAITH's VITAMIN!

{She finally got to have {half} a Flinstone/Faith Vitamin}

'

Then if was off to school. I headed back up to her class around lunch time for a pizza party! The kids were too cute, singing and sitting so nicely to eat their pizza. Faith was able to come down and join them. I believe some of my favorite moments were when Isabelle was 'telling' Faith how to behave in the classroom:
"Sit like this Faith"
"Eat your pizza, then you can have your juice"
"Wash your hands now Faith"

And Faith was played along wonderfully. Blessed.

After class it was off to the doctor. Her trip to visit Dr. G was outstanding. She was totally relaxed and couldn't wait to show him how tall she was. We had talked about the fact she would be getting a shot and she kept telling me : "One shot and then we are done. Okay mom?"

yes, my love, okay

So when Dr.G walked in their conversation went something like this :

Dr G : 

Hello Miss Isabelle. Look how big you are getting.

Isabelle : 

One shot and then we are done, okay?

Dr G : 

What was that?

Isabelle : 

One shot and then we are done.

Dr. G : 

What did you say Isabelle?

Me{thinking he couldn't hear her}: 

She said, 'One shot and then we are done."

Dr. G :

 Ya, I heard her. I guess her verbal skills are just fine.

Yup yup. I will never be anything less than GRATEFUL for my verbal children. Faith was an early/active talker and Isabelle is even more so. And it is wonderful. I truly appreciate the gift of communication. It is amazing to talk, but more importantly to listen to the precious, well-thought, well-planned, perfectly irrational rationalizations, and negotiations my girls tell me. "use your words" is a phrase OFTEN stated in our household.

So anyway here are her 2 year stats :

Weight : 

32lb 4 oz 

95%

Height:

36.8 in >100%

Head Circumference {I know you were just so anxious for this one!}

19.5 in 97%

Doctors Notes:

"Super Tall"

"Very Verbal"

"Smart"

All week was a celebration of Isabelle. Faith also was learning a bit about 'letting someone else have the limelight.' It was all a little new for her, watching her sister get all the attention and she only getting a little. But we aren't into the 'poor sibling, your other sibling is getting attention' thing, so we did what we do... we talked to her about it, listened to how she was feeling, and together came up with how to best adjust and celebrate Isabelle. And guess what... Faith was fine and if anything great. Of course, there were a few gifts directed just for her so I am sure that helped.

 Saturday we celebrated Isabelle with a PASTA BAR at our house, with our families. It was the first time I put in both extensions in our table to accomodate all 12 of us {14 including the twins}. We had a wonderful antipasta platter via my mom, 2 types of pasta, homemade sauce and meatballs {go Mom & Rao's too}, sausage, peppers and onions, and primavera... and some salted ciabatta bread from Whole Foods {our new addiction}, olive oil for dipping {Isabelles fave}, salad and of course, a homemade cake. Nothing too fancy, just lots of Isabelle favorites. She isn't a big cake person, more of an icing person, but she is in love with her pasta.  It was nice, relaxing and perfect to celebrate her turning 2.

Now, a moment for me to be super cheesy:

Dear Isabelle,  You are my sunshine. My light, my joy. There is nothing you can't do that won't make me smile. You may make me scared for a moment, or laugh, but no matter what, in the end, you have made me smile. You are our adventurer, our explorer. You push the limits, go right to the edge, you even hang out on the ledge, dangle there a bit, smile at us then come skipping back and say :

"i just joking. its okay."

We love you. We ALL love you. So many people were concerned you would 'get lost' when the twins were born. We were never concerned. Those people don't know you, don't know OUR Isabelle. There is no way you will ever be in anyone's shadow. 

You make your own sunshine and it pours out over all of us. 

You have the best big sister. She takes care of you, and you let her. You love her, hug her, kiss her and you terrorize her. You play your role as little sister perfectly and together, your bond is growing so strong. We love watching the two of you play, negotiate and argue. My favorite went something like this:

I: Im a princess. You are shrek

F: Im not shrek! Im a princess too. We can all be princesses.

I: No. Im a princess you are Shrek.

F: {clearly upset} Isabelle thats not nice. Im a princess too. Mom tell her we can all be princesses.

I: {without a pause} You a boy. Im a girl.

F: Isabelle, Im not a boy! Im a girl too.

I: No Im a girl. You a boy

F: Isabelle Im not a boy, look at my fancy shoes. These aren't boys shoes!

I: oh. okay I forgot.

My girls amaze me, and you Isabelle, You are my sunshine and I am going to keep you forever... okay?

i want to wear a sign

that says

"hi, we are a family. respect our choice to have children, lots of them.
you may look at us, you may be shocked, or thrilled. but do not stare.
it is uncomfortable for me and my children.
do not come tell me you exhausting story about how you knew someone who had twins who grew up to do whatever wherever and then proceed to tell me how 'it gets better.
you dont know me, or us, or anything about our circumstances.
i don't know you, either and my time is precious.
in all honesty, you are not encouraging me, or providing any useful insight into my own life by over sharing yours.
sorry. may God bless you and may you have a nice day.
now leave us alone."

can you tell i am getting a little frustrated with humans right now :)

honestly, i am totally cool with the handful who are just shocked and have that one line to share.
but i am so tired of every other person thinking our life is overwhelming or exhausting and feeling some overwhelming obligation to seek us out and tell us their thoughts. i don't know why people feel compelled to come up to complete strangers and think we want to hear anything about your friend who had twins or the person you grew up with who came from a large family. there is a time and place, but the time is not 'whenever' and the place is not 'wherever.' and just because you have a smile and good intentions does not make it 'okay'

it is uncomfortable for me to listen to strangers tell me their twin stories or how they know someone with 4 kids or 13 or whatever.  why? because they talk to me like they know my life, my family, our situation. it makes it sound like have 4 children is a 'situation.'

now don't get me wrong. I smile and listen. nod when appropriate and even say thank you. sometimes a manage a kind chuckle, but often I just want to swoop up my children and leave, or rather run in the opposite direction.

this is our family

respect our privacy or just let us be. having all these things happen has really forced me to think "do i do that? approach people and stick my nose, my life, my stories into their's?" i hope and pray i haven't and if i have - please forgive me.

today, DURING mass, i had two examples of this loveliness. While I am feeding Luke {who lately is starting to realize the more he fusses the more he gets to see the world} and while I am rocking Isabelle's carseat and listening to the Priest while the older two are sprawled arguing over crayons... {got the picture - and yes, Mr.D was playing defense keeping the older 2 calm} a woman walks over DURING mass, and tells me this, in a low whisper in my ear {ya, she had no personal boundries}
-"my mother had 18 children. i am number 15. and we were all happy. God bless you"
-.....
seriously. ya, seriously. apparently having 4 children means i can somehow relate to that. apparently the happiness of my children seemed to be a concern on my face. or maybe she knows God's plans for our family and I am supposed to always remember that somewhere out there God blessed a mom with 18 happy children. seriously.

then.... only minutes later, DURING mass, and just after COMMUNION, a woman who had been behind us and had several children around her came up to me, with a smile and made this statement,
-"we home school. i hope you seriously consider home schooling"
{and since I had about lost all patience at this point, i placed my arm on my husband and politely responded with}
- "we are products of public school and are very proud, happy and successful thank you."

hopefully she got my message

now on a brief side note: i have absolutely NO problem with home school or anyone who choose to do that. i have a lot of respect who take the education of their children seriously and wish to take on such a task. personally, i know i am not the best teacher for my children. Yes, there are things i can teach them, guide them, help them with, but I also know alone, i cannot provide them with all the educational challenges they need now and in the future. God bless anyone who takes that challenge. i just get a little frustrated when those persons approach me DURING mass.

so yes, sometimes i want to wear a sign. a sign that says, we are a family, just like yours. we may look  a little different, act a little strange, and maybe we look like something you have seen before, heard about, or maybe we are something you could never imagine. but we are a family, and we are so happy, so grateful and so blessed. just try to respect us while you stare, and if you have a story, please try to refrain from sharing, and treat us like you would want to be treated in public.

golly, and when i am out with 2 infants and 2 older ones, things are pretty calm. i can't wait to see what appends when I am out with 2 toddlers and 2 older ones later in life !

finally

i want to wear a sign that says

GO GIANTS!!!!

lots of love!

Our New Normal

is perfect.

no, not really, i am sure it could get better, easier, cleaner, more routine, less aggravation, more sleep, less tantrums, cleaner clothes, sooner, more regularly bathed children...

no, it isn't perfect, but yet it is

it works for us.

this chaos and craziness. it is our normal, our new normal. everyone is adjusting, finding ways to make themselves heard or discovering new talents to confuse, stress, frustrate me, but nevertheless, we are doing just fine.

i still rejoice in our family. how rapidly and unexpectedly we went from 4 to 6 and all the circumstances surrounding it. i still rejoice in God's plan for us. i rejoice and i give thanks, often and always, and especially when i am feeling overwhelmed. i rejoice in ALL circumstances, for I know and i find comfort knowing they are what He desires and i am right where He is, or rather He is right there, with me, as i move non stop all day, back and forth from the stove, to the pantry to put Luke's pacie in, back to the stove, to the fridge, to change Isabelle's diaper, back to the cutting board, then to Faith for help with something, back to the cutting board, then to get bottles out, back to Madeleine, changing 1 diaper, then the sink, than another thing and so forth. It continues ALL day, and ALL night

and i rejoice

i rejoice knowing it will not slow down or ease up

i rejoice knowing it will become harder and i am sure at some points the rewards, the joyful moments may seem few and far between

yet i rejoice

i am in love with the precious gifts God has given us.

our love
our marriage
each
and
every
precious
child

i rejoice in the 2 hours it has taken me to type this over 2 days and the 2 minutes of actual sitting i got while doing it.

He has created me to be this. a wife and a mom.

a friend


a daughter

and i am so thankful

so today, yesterday, and always

i rejoice

what do you rejoice in?

4 months old

oh me oh my ... the TWINS are 4 months old

Miss Madeleine has let her personality shine on through

She is constantly smiling and talking to herself, letting the world know she is here and at the same time, not letting anything get by her. Take her anywhere and her eyes are wide and curious. She has also starting rolling from her belly to her back .. in both directions {hence why she is leaning to her left in some of these}

Luke is just starting to show off his boyish charm. If you are one of lucky ones he will lock eyes on you, adore you and then grace you with his handsome grin. It wasn't until the French arrive that Luke's personality started to shine. I am beginning to think we should speak to him in French.

So our classic monthly photo opp was a bit off this time. Madeleine had just finished eating and Luke was anxious and ready {hence his stern 'feed me' stare}

they did tolerate each other for a good while

I tried to capture both of them, tummy time, head strength {see how she doesn't want to miss anything going on, and he, well, he was hungry and mad} but Madeleine was having a tough time refraining from rolling

 going, going, going, gone!

so then we propped her up on her brother, which then resulted in her rolling down his back

no harm, no fowl, all was back to normal in a few... though Luke was still hungry 

some general stats

Eating : 

You both eat about every 3 hours, sometimes stretching to 3.5 and the most at night is about 4.5
Dr. G said we get to take you guys of Premie formula and on to the 'normal' one!!!! yay

Awake Time:

Yay, you are nicely scattering your awake time, allowing me a chance to get our routine down and play time set {the house is still in its settling stage}

and the most important  individual Stats:
{note - they BOTH are on the NORMAL growth chart now}

Madeleine - precious petite thing

Food : 5.5 oz, and then some
Diapers: bumped up to size 2
Clothes: wearing 3 months, but in a week or so that may be 6 months

Head: 15.5 in (20-25%)
Height : 23 inches (3%)
Weight : 11 lb 10 oz  (10-15%)

Luke - hunka-chunka little man
Food : 6.5 oz, and then some
Diapers: just graduated to size 3
Clothes: 6 months, even more like 6-9month
Head: 16.5 in (50-60%)
Height: 24 inches (25%)
Weight: 15 lb  (50-60th%)


we are incredibly GRATEFUL for their health and their strength and their GROWTH. Dr.G is super excited about where they are, and he was very proud of their strength. The only recommendations we have are to get them in their bumbo seats and work more on sitting and rolling. Now those are things we can do!

Baptism

What a day, what a perfectly wonderful day.

First we were blessed, or rather Madeleine & Luke were blessed to have some of the coolest Godparents ever. Vic & Isabelle. For those who know us, you know Vic as my long-lost-French brother. For those who don't, here is a brief re-cap:

{when I was 4 {Faith's age, actually younger than Faith is now} my parents thought it would be a GREAT EXPERIENCE to have a young, French teenager come live in their house with their young daughter. {since becoming a parent, I am now thinking my parents were crazy} HOWEVER, Vic was my brother. I do believe I had somehow told myself he was always my brother, he just lived in France and talked funny. My greatest challenge was teaching him how to pronounce the letter "r"...  oh the French!  since is brief and exciting study stateside, my parents have made a very strong effort to keep Vic in their lives, and mine, too. They visited him a few times, and I did, for the first time, around 7th grade. Then Vic & his wife, Isabelle, came to our wedding and since then, we have all been seeing each other pretty regularly, and often in New York City. With our recent residence in Paris, Vic and his family were only a train ride away, in the beautiful southern France, in a gorgeous town called Grasse, only minutes from the well-known Cannes & Nice ---- oh living on the French Riviera must be awful! SO naturally our family has come to embrace our French family as one of us, as well, and I am ever grateful to my parents for being completely crazy 26 some-odd years ago!}

introductions in the back of the church before mass ; blessings after the Homily

Luke & Madeleine

Garments & Candles & photo ops!

Everyone who shared in this special day -THANK YOU- {thank you also for sitting through the notoriously crowded 10 am mass}

And some party shots...

{this is my favorite picture of my dad - classic Pop}

Vic & Isabelle as brought some very special gifts from France for everyone. In France, the Baptisms are celebrated like weddings, with lots of special things, like cakes, and favors.  Vic & Isabelle brought the most adorable favors for all of our guests and we were so blessed to be able to celebrate and share this day with everyone.

David and I feel so lucky to have so many people in our lives who are an extension of our family. They love and support us, reach out to us, pray for us and love to celebrate with us.  We feel very blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful friends and family. Thank you all for sharing this special day!