Happy Huberts!

Happy Birthday Lo-lo Bean and Tuck Tuck!

2012-01-22T19:58:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late with the twins' birthday post, but it's been busy at our house! (Always!) The twins turned ONE on December 28th, 2011. It was a great day! Graham went to play at Gigi's house for a while so Adam and I got to spend some quality time with our birthday girl and boy. We took them to the mall, ate Chic Fil A, and (birthday tradition) gave Loey and Tucker each a ride on the carousel. We then raced home for naptime and Adam and I bustled about getting everything ready for the big party! We did a winter ONE-derland theme and it was so much fun. We invited family over and it was just perfect. I wish we took more pics but I always forget to take pics when I'm hosting a party!

Pre-cake pics

Ignore the lady holding the hats on their heads in the background!

Someone LOVES all this attention...you should have seen everyone, each with their own camera out and ready. Paparazzi!

I'm ready!!!

What is that? Hmmm..

I think I'll touch that light thingy...good thing Mommy didn't let me.

Getting a little help. The only thing I know how to blow is my hair and food out my mouth!

Not sure what to think but excited about his big moment. Each kiddo got to bask in their own birthday song.

LOVING his first cake!

Why oh why did Daddy teach them a game where they bonk their heads? They ALWAYS play it when their hands are messy!

Bonk!

Serious concentration, folks.

Ummm....I think it's bath time!

We had a wonderful day, but we were exhasuted! By the end of December, we feel a little "celebrated out." Between Graham's birthday, Mimi's birthday, Jesus' birthday, and the twins' birthday, we are ready to not have a birthday party for a while. Who am I kidding though??! I LOVE DECEMBER and I LOVE celebrating Jesus and my wonderful family.

I really can't believe that the twins are one now. Last January, I was thinking, "Will I make it to next January?" This past year has brought on so many joyful-heart-exploding with love moments, and so many cry-my-eyes-out with exhaustion moments. God is good, and he picked me to be their Mommy. I wear that title very proudly. I seriously think it's the hardest job I've ever had, certainly the one with the most rewards though.

Loey Kate, you are my GIRL! My sweet, spirited, Mama-obsessed, snuggle bunny, beautiful, dream come true baby girl. I honestly think all the time about the fun we are going to have as Mommy and daughter. You have been a challenging baby, but oh do I love you with everything in me. I love that you dance everytime you hear ANY amount of music. I love that your first clear words were Mama and Mommy. I love that you have a huge appetite and will eat almost anything! I love that you snuggle and give me kisses. You are already so verbal and melt my heart when you say, "Hi Tuck" in your cute little voice. You love your Daddy and brothers so much. I can already see what a special girl you are.

Tucker James. You are my BABY boy! I will forever call you my baby (even if only by 4 minutes) because you are so little, dear, innocent and precious. You are my angel boy and your little heart blesses me daily. You are so smart and I love watching you think things through. You love to imitate the things Daddy and I do. When you giggle you make everyone around you smile. I always say that you make two sounds that we could record and sell. Your giggle is the epitome of "adorable baby laugh", and your high pitched happy scream is honestly the loudest sound I've ever heard any baby make. I plan to record it and send it to the producers of a horror film. I think they could use it. =) I love having you as my son. You are so easy going and I think the perfect match for Miss Loey Kate. She needs a brother like you! Daddy and I can't wait to see what you become when you get older. Just not too fast, my sweet baby Tuck Tuck.

Daddy+Graham+snow=FUN!

2012-01-15T19:47:00.000-08:00

Graham's snowman drawing. =) I love it.

We got to spend the whole week after Christmas at home with Daddy! It sure was a treat! It snowed for a few hours one morning and Graham and Adam didn't waste anytime making a snowman...just to have it melt that afternoon.

So proud of their hard work! (He is a muddy snowman on the inside!)

Hooray!

Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas!

2012-01-01T15:16:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!! Christmas morning started at our house.

Santa came!!!

He even left a note!

Oh boy! It's time. =)

Christmas morning is so much fun with kids!

Loey enjoyed ripping paper. We call her "shredder" so this was right up her alley.

A train for the babies. It has definitely been a train year.

Next we headed to Mimi and Pop's house to open presents and have Christmas brunch. Such a tasty treat! Twins loved the food!!!

Go Colts!

Pretty girls

Pop kept teasing Graham that he was going to give him stinky diapers for Christmas...he did! Thats ok though bc he gave Pop "Monkey Fart" soap. It smells like bananas. =)

Loey's first cabbage patch doll! She kept kissing her nose all morning.

We jetted home for afternoon naps and then headed to Gigi and Gpa's for Christmas dinner and more presents. We are abundantly blessed with loving family members and GIFTS galore!

Pool anyone?

Choo-choo!!! Thanks Santa for the wagon.

My mom had this rocker in the basement just waiting for this Christmas pic!

Graham was obsessed with Gigi's electric train set from when she was little.

Gigi taught him how to work it all by himself.

Christmas was such a fun, family filled day. My sisters and their hubbies were missed a lot. "Skype Christmas" just wasn't the same. We hope to see you in Evansville for Christmas 2012!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-31T13:45:00.000-08:00

Zippy is riding Rudoph back to the North Pole! See you next year Zippy. =)

Doesn't Graham look just like the Elf of the Shelf???

The pic is a little dark but I love snuggling with my girl.

I like my pink dinosaur! One of my first pink toys. =)

Julia, Curt and their sweet 2011 blessing, Elise

A special Christmas Eve at Granny and Grandad's house. Here Granny is singing Christmas carols. It's amazing because she can mouth all the words to songs, yet she can barely speak when talking to her.

Cousin Julia holding Tucker

Beautiful girl

The Hubert five Christmas Eve 2011

Me and my babies! Not so little anymore!

Wow, Uncle David. Looking good in the Stratman family sweatshirt that gets passed around each Christmas Eve.

Laura, Luke and David

I got an early Christmas gift...a sleepy, snuggle Loey!

Tucker's first haircut!

2011-12-31T13:37:00.000-08:00

I figured it was time to do a trim for 'ol Tuck-Tuck since his bangs were in his eyes. Here is a before pic:

An after pic! (PLEASE excuse my pj's and no make-up)

Handsome fella! One of these days, Loey will grow enough hair to need a a haircut; not for another 2 years or so. =)

Twinsies!

2011-12-30T07:57:00.000-08:00

Tuck Tuck! Happy boy with his morning face.

Oh Daddy, you are so silly!

I don't encourage smoking, but as long as it's a veggietale I guess it's ok. =)

Buddies!

Two peas in a pod.

We ADORE kittygirl! Tucker's first word was kitty. =)

Kittygirl is thankful there is a door between her and these goobers.

"Tucker, don't worry, I'm a good driver."

We sure do have our arms full...

... full of LOVE!!!

"Can I have a turn, Tucker?"

Happy 3rd Birthday, Graham!

2011-12-30T06:47:00.000-08:00

Last picture with my TWO year old!!! Nighty night big boy. =)

Good Morning from Zippy our elf! He made Graham a birthday cake, ;)

Graham's train cake (made by Mommy). He loved it!!!

"Gingerbread Man Train" (that's what Graham called it) made by Daddy and Graham

Birthday dinner with friends

Excited to tear into that cake!

Opening presents was a little chaotic. Graham was SO into trains that once he opened a box of trains, he didn't care to open any other gifts. Little did he know his last present from Gigi and Gpa was a TRAIN TABLE!!!

True train obsession. It was like the rest of the world disappeared and Graham was in train heaven.

I LOVE MY TRAIN TABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe you are three years old, Graham! What a year it has been! You became a big brother and grew into such a handsome, sweet, spirited, smart, and loving boy. I love spending each and every day with you. You are my treasure, for sure!!! Right now you ask me to snuggle you each night before you go to bed. I dread the day you stop asking me that! I love you.

Random pics of my Dec cuties

2011-12-10T09:41:00.001-08:00

We decide to be creative with our broken picture frame. =)

One sock, sticky hair...yup! That's Tucker!

All cleaned up and ready to melt some hearts!

Look Mom! I FINALLY got a tooth. Only took about 6 months of "teething". =)

Breafast with Santa and our Mothers of Mulitples friends.

No tears! Feeling pretty succssful =)

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

2011-12-08T19:53:00.001-08:00

Last week, we had the most beautiful snow! Our first one of the season, and the snowflakes were GIANT! Graham and I were amazed by it and Graham could hardly wait to get outside to make a snowball.

When the babies went down for their morning nap, Graham and I got all dressed and spent a few minutes outside. We made a snowball and threw it at the bush. Good times. ;)

Having kids makes normal events SO EXCITING! So glad to experience life's fun events through the eyes of my kids. Graham couldn't wait to tell Daddy about the snowball we made.

It's That Time of Year!

2011-12-06T15:20:00.001-08:00

Decorating for Christmas is a big, family event in our household. No scrooges live here! Graham was SO EXCITED to decorate for Christmas. His favorite parts were hanging the ornaments on the tree and finding the Christmas stockings. He had been talking about decorating our house since Halloween and the day finally came. The day after Thanksgiving we spent at home (potty training) and making our home merry and bright. Our firstborn gift from heaven got to put the finishing touch on our Christmas tree. (Loey and Tucker were napping) I'm sure it will be a fight to see who gets to do it next year.

Who needs a Christmas angel on the tree when you have one (or three) at home? ;)

Memories in the making! I love traditions, especially holiday ones!

Let the month of merriment begin! Celbrating Jesus' birthday, Graham's 3rd birthday, Mimi's birthday, and the twins' first birthday!

My BIG potty trained boy!

2011-12-03T14:50:00.001-08:00

Oh my word! If someone had told me that potty training was going to be this easy, we may have done this months ago! Actually...no we wouldn't have because I think our sucess with potty training came bc we waited until this little boy was good and ready. I'm so super proud of Graham and how well he has adjusted to his big boy underwear. We tried to potty train this summer and it was a disaster. He just wasn't ready. Screaming for diapers and just peeing down his leg on purpose. This round was a WHOLE LOT BETTER! Thank you to Erin Herrenbruck for some great potty training tips and ideas. =)

Here is a picture of Graham in his LAST diaper! (Night before potty training begun)

Graham picking out his favorite pair of big boy underwear to wear in the morning.

And the winner is...Thomas the Train!

Adam and I are getting hopeful...this might actually work?!

Graham's outfit for the day as we trained. Notice the underwear he is wearing was the not the underwear he picked out ;) Only 2 accidents on day 1 and this boy had it down!

Only 1 accident on Day 2! And by Day 3 our boy was peeing and pooping in the toilet like a big boy. We even felt brave enough to visit the mall on Day 2, and church and the circus on Day 3. The book we read recommended not going anywhere for 3 days, but our little guy just had it down. We had to document the moment that our son did #2 in the toilet. Hooray for a sucker! This might be TMI, but Graham now tells me I get a sucker after I go #2. hahaha

Potty Training was a success! We started the day after Thanksgiving and spent the day at home decorating for Christmas. It was a wonderful day! A very PROUD day for this Mommy. My baby is really not a baby anymore.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-26T08:36:00.001-08:00

We started out Thanksgiving by celebrating a week early at Mimi's house. I'm a fan of spreading out the Thanksgiving festivities so actual Thanksgiving day isn't too crazy. I love living in Evansville and being able to see family from both sides of the family for the holidays.

There's Graham, hamming it up!

Graham has entered a LOUD phase and everyone at our table was probably regretting their seat choice once he got revved up!

Thanksgiving Day 2011
Nothing says Thanksgiving better than zebra print...or so my mom says.

Thanksgiving at Gigi and Gpas house

I'm so thankful for my children this year, but more than anything I'm thankful for my husband! He truly is a gift to me and being a parent to our three blessings would be imaginable without him. He has grown leaps and bounds this year in his business and I've watched him blossom into such a great Daddy and husband. I'm so proud of him! Too much to be thankful for...I feel blessed.

Happy 30th Birthday Adam!

2011-11-25T19:37:00.001-08:00

Like...we had, like, a TOTALLY rad 80s party for my hot hubby. ;)

Loey was a huge fan of my 80s outfit. Every time she saw me, she would smile and clap.

Channeling my best Madonna look.

Oh man...That's my hubby folks!

Nothing like having a party in your parents basement while they are out of town. It felt like the 80s (or 90s)...haha!

Laura, David, and Lauren

The crew

I can't believe we are 30! I mean, we live in a house, have 3 kids, we have jobs (yes, being a stay at home mom is a job and a privilege), so I guess that sounds like 30 years old. It's just strange. I'm excited for the rest of our 30s. It's going to be an exciting adventure with our kids and I'd choose to be with no other person. Adam, you are my best friend and I love that we can still rock an 80s party together. I'm so proud of you, babe! Happy birthday. =)

I.Love.This.Boy.

2011-11-25T19:22:00.001-08:00

I can't believe my sweet, first baby boy is going to be 3 years old in just 2 weeks! Words can't express my love for this curly-headed gem.

Silliness oozes out of him and makes me laugh daily!

That smile melts my heart and I want to snuggle him forever.

These toddler days are hard but I know they are short and won't last forever. You better believe I will look back on these days when he is off to college and yearn for the sweet times with my Graham.

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

2011-11-24T20:21:00.001-08:00

We try to take pictures outside when our one tree changes color! I love our tree. =)

But I love my Tucker James more!!!!

10 months old and doing so well!

Loey and Mommy are buddies!

Loey, I hope you always look at me with love in your eyes!

The twins were big fans of the leaves. I think they only ate one or two. ;)

What wonderful boys!!! I love these two Hubert men!

We've got spirit, yes we do!

2011-11-23T15:00:00.001-08:00

We've got spirit, how about you???

Colts may be struggling this season, but we don't care! True blue fans! ;)

This fan is a little scary...Colts might need him on their defensive line.

Someone is SO over this photo shoot!

Go Colts! Maybe you could win ONE game this season???

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-23T12:59:00.001-08:00

We had to wake Graham up from his nap to go trick or treating and he doesn't like to be woken up! After several tears, we got our lion to smile!

The Crown Prep (clever dentist), minnie mouse, mickey mouse, smarty pants, and a lion.

After trick or treating we had our family over to eat dinner. Grandma Rosie was a cowboy.

A beat up little boy hillbilly?, The Toothfairy, and Princess Belle!

Aw. =)

They look so funny having a serious conversation together dressed up like that!

Just a normal look for Dr. Stiver after surgery folks...

I wish this dish cleaning fairy made a visit to our house every night after dinner!

Graham and Aunt Laura watching trick or treaters outside.

We love HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!

Pumpkin Carving!

2011-11-23T12:54:00.001-08:00

Aunt Laura with our littlest pumpkin!

Our first Hubert Five pumpkin carving session. =)

Icky, sticky, ooey, gooey!!!

Graham could not have been prouder of his jack o lantern!

Fussy-pants Loey went to bed, so here are the happy Huberts.

Thanks for helping with my pumpkin, Aunt Laura!

I LOVE PUMPKINS! Seriously...Graham loves anything to do with holidays. My kind of boy. =)

Let the Halloween weekend begin!

2011-11-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

Happy 10 months!!! This outfit makes me enjoy having a daughter. =) A flower hat?! I want one!

10 months is so much fun! Don't you feel happier just seeing that smile on his face?

We started the Halloween weekend off by visiting with Granny and Grandad. The kids were a huge hit at the nursing home.

Grandad, Minnie Mouse and a lion

Me, (George in the back! ha!), Granny and Mickey Mouse

Many more Halloween pics to come!!!

Zoo!

2011-11-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

These pics are from a few weeks ago...playing upload catch up for October!!

Adam trying to get the giraffe to lick him. =)

Two cute monkeys!!!

Tucky Bean!

Fun at the zoo with Gigi and Gpa

Loey is quite proud of herself for opening the lid drawer.

What, mom???

The month of October was a lot of fun! I just LOVE fall! And I really enjoyed my 9 month old babies. Such a month of growth for both Loey, Tucker and Graham too. Tucker is still a skinny bean rankng only in the 3rd percentile for weight! Loey is in the 50th. =) They both are doing so well and really thriving. I'm so grateful to have healthy babies. A few funny things about Tucker: He shakes his head on command, loves to clap, is delighted by pretty much anything. He is very easy going and content to entertain himself a lot. He melts my heart with his sweet spirit and perfect baby sounds. He is still the softest person I've ever felt in my laugh- we call it butter skin. His hair is just like my dad's- super fluffy and fine.

Loey Kate is my snuggle bug. She LOVES her Mommy and Daddy but mostly prefers Mommy if I'm available. She can be very delightful or very fussy. She makes her requests known. She is very into people and I know she will be my social butterfly. She likes attention! She is a mover and a shaker! She is very active and crawls circles around Tucker. (Literally) She is also a poop machine! I think I change her dirty diapers at least 8x a day. She also loves to clap and laugh at her big brother. =)

Graham is seriously the most verbal 2 3/4 year old I've ever met! He loves to talk and his vocabulary is very extensive now. He likes to learn new words and use them. He recaps the times when he gets in trouble to Daddy when he gets home. He is really into reading his kids Jesus Bible at night and will happily share his favorite stories. He is still a songbird and sings in the car a lot. Trains, trains, trains! He is SO into trains right now. He's hoping Santa will bring him a Thomas the Train table. He loves the one he plays with at Tri-State so he has high hopes! Christmas can't come fast enough for him already. ;)

Can anyone else believe it's November?!?! Almost the most wonderful time of the year!

Proud

2011-10-02T13:40:00.000-07:00

Baby dedication was last weekend. So proud to call Tucker James and Loey Kate my son and daughter. I pray they grow up to love the Lord and serve Him.

Proud of my twin babies, even when they are fussy.

Proud of my hubby! He was nominated and chosen as one of the "20 under 40" up and coming business men in the Evansville area for 2011. He truly is an amazing dentist and I'm proud of how well he is doing. Way to go!

Way to go Adam!!! You deserved it!
Love my hard working BABE of a Man. =)

Too cute not to post...

2011-10-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

Graham taking a nap with his best buddies! Monkey and Monkey! He really treats these monkey's like they are his babies.

Graham truly loves his brother and sister.

Can we say DROOL? Loey and Tucker are drool monsters right now. We totally need to forget about cute clothes and invest in cute bibs.

Someone's within a hairs breath of being on the move "crawler style".

Babies just turned 9 months on Sept 28th and I'm loving this stage! My kids just get cuter and cuter and my love grows daily for these three squirts. =) It still hits me sometimes that I'm a Mama to THREE blessings! Pretty lucky...

Graham makes us laugh so much these days! His language skills are out of this world and I forget that he is still "2" some days. This morning I dropped the high chair tray on my foot and yelled really loudly. Graham looked up and said, "It's a miracle!" Umm?!?! I think he meant accident? BUT it was really funny anyway...

My beautiful sister and her handsome husband! Mr. & Mrs. Clark!

2011-09-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

Bachelorette Night! We started out at Eclipse Spanish Tapas Bar and had a GREAT time! Could my sister be more beautiful?!?!

Her ballet shoes with her converse sparkly laces.

The weather was sketchy all week, even a few hours before the wedding started it was drizzling, but by 4:00pm on Sat. Sept 10, 2011 it was perfect for an outdoor wedding.

Me with my gorgeous sister, Anna.

Show off that sexy leg!

Walk like an Egyptian...

A pic from the rehearsal dinner.

Me and my hubby =)

Waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Dressed and ready for the show to begin! A little cranky...but still cute.

Thank goodness for Mimi and Pop, who held the twins during the ceremony.

Aunt Becky with her cutest, twin niece and nephew.

This picture was taken during their vows. Becky and Jason both wrote some incredible vows to one another.

My sweet Graham and his bestest buddy, Monkey. Monkey got to walk down the aisle with Graham and his bell. Here he is sitting with his "prize" for walking down the aisle: a Lightning McQueen toy.

Ceremony pic! They got married outside of an old chapel at Camp Reveal. It was so special because my grandfather has donated countless hours and over 25 years of his time and money to this camp. Becky and Jason both have a passion for young people to have a relationship with Christ and their mission fits perfectly with that of Camp Reveal.

The Bride's side

Stiver Clan

The reception was in Heston Hall, a building just recently name after my grandfather.

Our family! My favorite people in the world!

Becky (Becca) and Jason's wedding was just wonderful! We look forward to many years of happiness for them. May God bless their marriage and give us LOTS of cousins (all in due time, of course). ;)

Rub-a-dub-dub! Cute kids in a tub!

2011-09-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

Graham and Loey have such a special bond! I can tell this big brother is going to always love his little sister.

Toy time!

Best buddies forever (at least I hope so!)

8 month cuties. LOVE THEM. Could they be any different? Loey is the epitome of "girl"; loves attention and pretty things. Tucker screams "boy"; is really into toys and too busy for extended snuggles.

Bathtime is always a happy time of day!

Our soon to be brother in law!

2011-09-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

My sister, Becky, and her fiance, Jason, are getting married this Saturday, Sept 10th at 4:00pm! We are excited to be adding Jason to our family. =) He compliments Becky very well and I can't wait to celebrate their big day in a few days. Congrats you two!

Curly, Snuggly, and Spike!

2011-08-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

Good Morning World! Isn't it grand to always have a buddy?

What?! I'm not doing anything...

Loey doesn't mind if I bite her foot...

My rolly polly snuggle bear!

I'm a kewpie doll!

Tucker: "Did you see her? Watch what she can do...."

Here she goes! Feet are yummy!

So happy!

Not so happy...my tummy hurts ( or I just wanted a reason to hold my warm ducky)

Fair Time, Sweaty Time, Good Time!

2011-08-18T18:46:00.001-07:00

It was a HOT July, so why not go sweat it out at the local fairgrounds? We enjoyed both the Warrick County Fair and the Vanderburgh County fairs this year. Graham LOVED the rides. He asked us if he could ride the Zipper, but we told him maybe next year. ;) Graham and Drake! We love spending time with the Blackard Family!

Not going to lie...I think we got some air going down this slide!

Future drivers of Evansville. Watch out, here they come!

The fair worker decided to hitch a ride with Graham. Graham wasn't too sure what to think of this hitch hiker.

This ride was right up his alley! "Look at me! I'm like Gpa!"

My good sports, sweating it out as we watch Graham do his thing. SO HOT OUTSIDE!

Graham's first "roller coaster"! He liked calling it a train, but realized it was a dragon later on. YOu would never know that Graham is a cautious fella if you were watching him at the fair.

A cool pic of Graham and his cute riding buddy.

Bye fairs! We sure had fun this summer!

Vacation!

2011-07-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

We spent a week at one of our favorite vacation spots...Mountain Air! It's a beautiful golf, tennis, mountain community and my parents own a condo. We survived the 8 hour drive with a toddler and 6 month old twins without any hitches! Phew! Graham was a champion traveler and the babies were as good as could be expected. We spent the whole week just enjoying family time and the ammenities on the mountain. I love our 4th of July family traditions! We missed Aunt Becky this year, but look forward to next year.
Here is a pic of Graham's sleeping arrangements! He slept on the floor of my parents closet on a special bear sleeping bag, with a stuffed bear, in new bear pajamas. He thought he was pretty cool and Adam and I were grateful to not have him in the same room as the twins and us.

The nice part about vacation is the sharing of kiddo time! My mom and sister and I were up at the top of the mountain working out while the boys went on a walk to the trout pond. It does my heart good to see my Dad like this...haha!

Enjoying the view with Miss Loey Kate!

The coolest treehouse ever! Graham could have spent hours upon hours in this! It was connected to a playground. It had play food, furniture and toys upstairs.

I got to spend some one on one time with Graham on vacation. I loved having special time with just me and my buddy again. This trip we went on a golf cart ride and fed the trout. Here is a pic of my sweet 2 1/2 year old watching the water wheel at the pond.

Every little boys dream come true! Multiple golf cart rides every day made this boy HAPPY!

A very sleepy Loey watching fireworks with Gigi.

Tucker, on the other hand, was mesmerized and energized by the fireworks! He loved them!

Aunt Anna and Uncle Andy with their niece and nephews.

The babies first swim! Graham's first real swim without being afraid ofthe water. Swim class at Bob's gym really did help...

We "wore" our kids everywhere we went! It was the easiest way to transport these little people around the mountain on golf carts.

Training early to be a Mountain Air golfer!

Thanks for showing me the ropes G-pa!

We say a BIG thank you to my parents for such a wonderul, relaxing week. Vacationing with you is FUN!

Happy 4th of July from the Hubert clan!

The loves of my heart!

Graham "holding" his siblings. They love it, can't you tell?!

I can't believe my babies are 6 months old! Their personalities are shining through. They are so different and special. Both melt my heart like a popsicle on the 4th of July!

We are proud to be Americans!

Special June

2011-07-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to the best father I know! HE IS AN INCREDIBLE DADDY!!!
Happy 7 years to the man of my dreams. =) He had an extravagant night planned, including a nice hotel stay, but it just wasn't realistic with the babies STILL not sleeping through the night. I took a rain check and we decided to go out shopping (new outfits below) and to go see a movie. We had a fabulous anniversary "Adam and Sarah" style. My mom also blessed us with more sleep that night by spending the night at our house and "manning" the night wakers.

Tucker is way more finicky when it comes to eating solids, but here is a picture of my boy eating his prunes! He has to eat prunes in order to help his bowels along, but at least we have mostly outgrown the suppositories this month. Hooray Tucker!

A pic of my beautiful, hungry hippo! Loey LOVES to eat. She is also open mouthed and ready like a baby bird.

5 1/2 month old babies are just plain CUTE! I eat them up during their awake time. I have a super similar pic of Graham that I need to find in this same outfit! Sure looks like a Hubert baby, huh? Oh, this boy melts my heart. =)

So special to be a twin! Deer in the headlights look is a face that Tucker sports often. haha Smiley Loey is pretty typical! These babies are so different in every way- looks and personality. So much fun to watch them grow and change.

They are way more aware of one another now. Especially when Loey falls over! Their faces made me laugh in this one... "A little help here, mom?!"

Sunshine Loey Kate

random

2011-06-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy month! I've been HORRIBLE about taking pics and even more horrible about posting them. I don't have any good ones of the twins to post...It just goes to show how little free time I have these days. My twins and Graham keep me on my toes at all times. (Even during the night still, ugh) I really thought the babies would be sleeping through the night by this point, but so far we still get up to replace pacis and nurse one time in the night. We go on vacation this week and the twins turn 6 months, so I'm thinking it's about time to wean off that night feeding if possible...SOON! Tucker still refuses to drink from a bottle so I haven't left them for longer than a few hours. One of these months I'll actually get to escape! Sleep (or the thought of it) consumes me these days. The lack of sleep during the night and short day time naps wear on me. Good thing these babies are SO sweet and melt my heart. Loey had really been gaining weight lately and had totally taken over Tucker, but she has had bout with the big "D" this week so she is shrinking. Tucker has taken over and is really blossoming! He is a SQUEALER! LOUDEST. Boy. I've. Ever. Heard. Seriously...He is very aware of everything going on around him. He likes to roll around and chew on his left arm. He does the "Tucker" dance where he grabs his ears and wiggles his body back and forth. So funny! Loey has the twistiest neck of anyone I know- seriously, like an owl. She has beautiful eyes and smiles so easily! She is very interpersonal and connects with people easily while Tucker is the opposite and would rather watch cars driving by. They are opposites in almost every way, and I like it! They hold hands whenever they are close and chew on each others fingers. Loey smiles at Tucker all the time. Loey LOVES Graham so, so much. She thinks he's hilarious. I know they will be buddies. Graham couldn't be a better brother to them. They turn 6 months old in 3 days. Where has the time gone? It gets better and better each month. I love getting to know the personalities of my children.
Two little deer at the zoo

Mommy and her little monkey since there aren't any monkeys on the monkey boat anymore

Finn and Graham enjoying the locker room almost more than swim class!

Look! I grew a strawberry!!!

So yummy!

A building at Camp Reveal named after my sweet grandparents, Phil and Edna Heston. They are special people!

Aunt Kathy, Grandad, Granny, and my Mom at the building dedication for Heston Hall.

Tiny Peanuts

2011-05-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

We had Tucker and Loey's 4 month check-up and shots today. Both babies are doing really well and growing on their own little tracks, but they are SO tiny. Tucker weighed 12 pds 5 oz and he is in the 6th percentile. Loey Kate weighed 12 pounds 3 oz and is in the 16th percentile. Tucker is an inch longer than Loey and his head is bigger too. He's my lean machine and Loey has a little more chub-a-wub on her, but not much I guess! I've been exclusively breastfeeding the twins and I believe their small size and need to share "me" when eating is keeping them waking up at night 1-2x still in order to get all their needed calories. We were down to 1x for about a month but they are kicking it back up to 2x. Trying to grow so I will feed them, but I'm so tired. Being a breastfeeding mom to twins really is exhausting. I am grateful though that I have been successful at giving them the heathiest option. I'm trying not to compare to other babies since our situation is so different, but it's hard when I so tired still.

I LOVE these babies so much and cherish their differences (even though the differences drive me bonkers at times). People are always telling us how blessed we are and it's always a good reminder to hear that bc we have our frustrating moments and days where we complain a lot. Graham also is really loving "his babies". He is wanting to hold them more and more, which is scary and sweet! Graham always asks where the babies are. He tries to help them when they are fussing by singing in their faces (!). I can tell Graham loves his brother and sister. I hope they all grow up to love each other and be friends.

Loey is very aware and wants/demands attention. She watches my every move and protests if I leave the room. Her smile lights up her whole face and it is very easy to get her to smile. She gets giggly in the afternoons. She is down to business when it's time to eat, sometimes finishing in 5 min! She's got strong abs, dainty feet, and such a sweet angel face. She is a light sleeper and struggles with taking a full nap sometimes. She sleeps better at night and likes to sleep in. She has a very angry cry but can quickly get over it. She still likes to be swaddled right now but this weekend we plan on making a move from the swaddle to sleep sacks. (Wish us luck!)

Tucker is my sweet, content little man. He plays so well on his own and rarely fusses in the bouncy seat. Sometimes I have to be intentional in giving him his fair share of attention because he is being so good. The one thing he demands is to be fed immediately after waking up. Tucker refuses a bottle so I feel a little "trapped" to this boy, but he's worth it! When Tucker smiles at me, I melt. Adam and I feel like he'll be our sensitive soul. We call Tucker "X man" because when he stretches he shapes his body into an x. He has the longest, skinniest feet- total opposite of Graham! Tucker has been waking up lately at night-our hungry little bird. I think he will transition to the sleep sack easier than Loey. We'll see!

Strong abs! SUPER GIRL

I love you so, so much Tucker and Loey Kate! We've made it 18 weeks!!!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Look what the Easter bunny brought me! I'm SO excited! (Now the baby gate won't need to be the soccer goal anymore)

Post-church picture. We smile because we survived!

The Hubert Family

Who says you have to wear pants on Easter?

Egg hunt at Grandma Rosie's. QUICKLY finding eggs before the rain.

Love my big Easter bunny

Grandma Rosie with 4 of her great grandkids.

Loey Kate enjoying her afternoon nap with Daddy.

Tucker enjoying his nap with Pop.

We hope everyone had a glorious Easter celebrating our risen Lord!

Oh the faces we see...

2011-04-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

You are funny Daddy!!!

This picture just cracks me up...

I want to bite her cheeks when she smiles!

"Ah-goo," said Tucker. He's our little chatter box.

The side grin melts my heart.

Trying on her sun hat. Looking pretty cute!

My snotty, chapped-cheeks toddler!

Graham "loving" on Loey.

I'm digging everyone's face in this one...

My helmet heros. =) And the Christmas lights are down. In APRIL...finally. We decided it was time when our neighbor asked us if we were going to make them "4th of July" lights. We have twins people...we are doing good just to brush our teeth each day!

My beautiful, angel girl!

Getting these twins to smile at the same time ON CAMERA has been a challenge!

Graham is proud of his little brother!

Being sweet with Loey Kate.

We have turned a corner! The twins are 14 weeks and are now consistently just waking up to eat one time. Phew! =) They have gone a few nights with 8 hour stretches and we are hoping to extend that each week. Naps have really improved this past week. They are not "perfect" naps, but I don't have robot children either so I'll take what they are doing. Right now they take 3 1/2 naps. The 3 naps are about 1 1/2 hours each and the 1/2 is a 20 min powernap around dinner time. All naps start out in the crib and sometimes one or both twins end up in the swing if they wake up too early. They are heading to bed between 7 and 8 each night (unless we have them out with us at small group or something) but that has been working well. I'm learning to run errands during the 2nd nap time frame, that way if they don't sleep very long while we are running errands, they still have a 3rd nap to make it up. I know this will all change next week, but it's going well now! We have also started to call Tucker "Houdini". We swaddle the twins still and he is daily busting out of his. The problem with this is that he cries and wakes himself up when not swaddled. The swaddle and the pacifier are my saving graces when it comes to sleep and I don't want to give either up yet. I know I can't swaddle them forever, but for tonight, that is still the plan! Since they have turned 3 months, I am finally to that point where I could just eat them up. I have loved my kids from the second they were born, but for those first 12 weeks they were just WORK. Now I'm getting some fun times mixed in with the work. I love feeling like I can do this, even though I have daily challenges that arise with a toddler and twins. My house is messier than it ever has been (and stays that way longer than I would like) but I figure I'd rather sit and do puzzles with Graham while cooing and singing with babies than clean up the family room. Again. Plenty of time for that!

Graham is my buddy and I love having my days with him. He challenges me daily, hourly, but he is my child. That boy cracks me up too! The sentences he comes up with now are precious.

He's into identifying what belongs to girl and boys. He love to sort laundry with me and make piles for Loey Kate, Tucker, and himself. He cracks up when he puts something of Tuckers in his pile and holds it up. "Nooo...too small for Graham". He refuses to take a bath in my bathroom bc that bathtub is for "girls".

He says in the funniest voice, "Babies can't walk". Which is what I tell him all the time when he wants me to carry him when I have to carry the twins.

He's been telling Kittygirl that she's a good boy.

He tells us that he misses us and gives hugs and I love you's on his own now. He asks me to snuggle with him in his bed. (Love that!)

He's obsessed with the book, "Where do Balloons Go? An uplifting mystery" by Jamie Lee Curtis.

We sing "God is Bigger than the Boogey Man" before bed each night (from Veggie Tales)

3 months

2011-03-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a big week! I turned 30! Adam had a little surprise shin-dig for me with family and some friends. I really was surprised and I think I am hard to surprise, so good job hubby. I had accidentally left the camera card out so we don't have any pics. Boo. It was a nice birthday and I love where I am at in life right now. I feel like an accomplished 30 year old. =) Tucker started laughing and 2 days later Loey Kate laughed too. (12 weeks old) Tucker likes to have little "conversations" with me right after eating. Love his coos and ahhs! He has the creamiest, smoothest skin in the world! Tucker is still heavier than Loey, even though he is skinnier. Loey smiles with her whole face. Her cheeks are squishy and edible! She has dainty feet and almost no neck, haha. She's my tiny girl, but looks bigger than Tucker bc of her rolls! Loey rolled over 2x tonight! I thought Adam was kidding me at first, but I ran to get the video camera and she did it again! I think being a little squirt helps her out. Quite the strong abs 13 weeks They are improving ever so slightly with their nap schedules, but the night time is still random. Some nights they go for 6 hour stretches and others they want to eat every 3-4. I've made it my "rule" that I'm not feeding them before 4 hours. Here is a our "schedule-ish" right now for 3 months: 6:30/7:00 wake up and eat then bouncy seat time while Graham and I eat breakfast 8:15 back down for morning nap 1 1/2-2 hours 10:00 eat and usually run errands so napping in car seats out and about 1:00 eat 2:30 nap 1 1/2-2 hours 4:00 eat 5:30 short 30 min nap 6:00 awake time while we eat dinner 7:00 feed, bath 7:30 or 8:00 bed time! 10:00 dream feed Up one time to eat between 2 and 4 am I have worked hard to get them on the same schedule and they mostly are! We follow the rule of one up, both up. Or one gets sleepy, then both go down. It is working slowly. The days that are off really drive me bonkers. There are only so many times I can run in and replace pacis before going nuts! Graham knows the drill: If a baby keeps crying before nap time is over I run in to give that baby a paci or put him/her in the swing. He'll tell me, "Mom, baby crying. Go get paci." Graham has upped his two year old temperament lately. He is in time out daily. I have to pick him up off the floor, crying daily. He is either good as gold, or in melt down mode! Luckily, if we are out, he is usually good as gold! He likes to save the tantrums for home, which is better. Today he put himself in timeout bc he hit me while I was nursing the babies and I told him that when I finished he was in time out. (Automatic time out for hitting) He went ahead and walked over to the corner on his own. When he is not acting out, he is SO DELIGHTFUL! HE is so incredibly verbal and knows about 100 songs. He sings all the time. He loves to read books still and likes to read to me and the babies when I'm feeding them. He is addicted to TV and we plan on "weaning" him off of it a bit this summer. He got used to it when I couldn't move while pregnant and now with nursing. His favorites are still Barney, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Blues Clues, Chuggington, and The Cat and the Hat. He also newly likes Imagination Movers! Well I'm off to bed! Just wanted to document a few things before my children grow up on me! Pics to come...

What's better than being 10 weeks old? Being 11 weeks old!

2011-03-19T13:27:00.000-07:00

Still might be a tad early for the bumbo seats. =) They lasted a few minutes though!

The first weekend of March was great! Aunt Becky came to visit us. Becky lives in CO so we rarely get to see her, so it was a treat. She got to enjoy her new niece and nephew. =) We love you Aunt Becky!

Mr. Graham really loves his Aunt Becky and wishes she lived closer. (tug at your heart, Becky!) =)

Graham had to show Aunt Becky how he knows all 26 letters and sounds. Graham is very interested in letters these days and always asks us to spell out words. He is really good at picking out the beginning sounds in words as well. I'm so glad he loves to learn!!!

Melt, my heart sweet, Tucker! Love that smile!!!

My boys

Its kinda like a sleep mask...hahaha!

Sleeping makes Mommy and I happy!

Happy 11 weeks babies! This week I have seen a big improvement in your pleasant awake time, your ease in falling asleep at nap time (now STAYING asleep is another story), finding a good consistent bedtime, and only waking up 1 time at night to eat. That makes me happy!

Here's to making it through the first few months! Not going to lie...glad we survived and are looking forward to spring.

February Pics

2011-03-02T04:52:00.000-08:00

My sleepy, hairless monk/Christmas Elf. =)

Bible reading time for Graham and Loey Kate. I think they already have a special bond...

Love Loey's face in this one...she's like, "Excuse me!"

SWEET Tucker

Posing like a twin in my car seat...

Posing opposite of Loey Kate

Matching boys

They look ready to be parents to me! =) Can't wait to meet Baby G SOON!

Excuse the look of the Mommy. Holding my sweet, sick Graham. Enjoying the snuggly time.

Another smiley pic of Loey Kate. Tucker smiles too, but NEVER when the camera is out!

Look! His hair is growing back. Only took a few weeks- phew. =) Mommy guilt is going away...

Melt my heart!

Daddy and Graham's first snowman- it might be small but they had fun! (This pic is a few days later from when they built it- it had melted a little and the snow on the ground was almost gone, but we forgot to take a pic when they made it.)

So long winter! Hello March and soon-to-be-here Spring!

Amazing bubbles

Have an extra bubbly, good day!

venting...

2011-03-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

Oh. my. word. I used to be such a good blogger. I want to be better but...

Life right now is SO difficult. Probably the hardest it's been for me when it comes to no sleep, feeling at a loss on how to handle twins + a toddler, and just giving up all free time to other things. I DO feel blessed to have my 3 children, but twins are certainly not a cup of tea. It probably drives me more nuts than some mothers, but getting these kids on a schedule has been a challenge! I give up many days after running in to put the pacifier back in a baby's mouth for the 10th time during a nap so they don't scream and wake up the other baby I just put back to sleep lie 5 minutes ago. We have tried it all- cry it out, rock, swing, bouncy seat...and everything works at different times and everything doesn't work at different times. I have to stop comparing how things were with Graham bc I've realized one thing; Being a parent to ONE child was a PIECE OF CAKE. My life was centered on that little being and Graham had every need met exactly when he wanted it. That's probably why he seemed like the dream baby. He was an amazing sleeper and eater. Nursing twins is tricky logistically and on the timing.
When I step back and think about my life, I do feel blessed and I love, love, love my kids. But when I have a toddler screaming, "Hold You" and two hungry, crying babies I sometimes think that spring will never come- that the babies will never sleep through the night-that I've got to shower or the neighbors might smell me. I've been called "super mom" for being seen out at the mall with all three kids, but they don't know that it's purely for my sanity; that if I stayed in my house for another hour that I might not make it.

Seriously.

The twins are 9 weeks old, Graham is 26 months old. I'm a mom and it's HARD folks. I'm jealous of Adam on Monday's when he gets to go to work sometimes and talk to adults and have a lunch hour. Moms out there...wouldn't you love a lunch hour? THEN I remember that my dream was to be a stay at home mom and I would not give it up. Do I want my teaching job back? Seriously? Heck no! Would I bawl my eyes out if I had to leave my kids? Oh man...it'd be bad. I really wouldn't want to have lunch with any other people than my kids. So, after all that venting, I'm back to being grateful for my little family of five, my REALLY, REALLY great husband, and the blessed life of being a stay at home mom. I'm living my dream (even if my dream did have a showered, make-up me in it).

Phew.

On a funnier note, I need to document some of the funny stories Graham has said lately...

While at CVS, Graham saw some canes and yelled out, "Pogo Sticks"! He definitely got a few chuckles...

I DVR shows for Graham to watch, so he really has no concept of "waiting" to watch a show. He asked to watch Curious George but we didn't have any recorded. I was trying to explain it to him that I needed to tape it first and then we could watch it later. He was getting frustrated and then smiled and ran off into the kitchen. I had no idea what he was doing until he came running back with the tape! =) "Tape it Mommy", he said.

We have a lady named Julie that comes to clean for us 2x a month right now (AWESOME christmas gift!) and she was cleaning the kitchen while I was getting ready in the bathroom. I had just showered and was getting dressed. Graham has become very aware of my boobs lately since they are out daily feeding his siblings. We've talked about how just girls need bras (since he was tryinig to put one on the other day). He was playing with a box of nursing pads and I asked him to give me 2 and put them away. He then said, "For Mommy's Boobs. She a girl. Julie a girl. I give her some." My son was about to go take nursing pads to the cleaning lady!!! hahahahaha She's a girl too, so of COURSE she needs some. I like his heart. =)

Sorry no pics...hoping to download some SOON! Smiling twins melt my heart...

5 weeks and we are still alive!

2011-01-31T09:47:00.000-08:00

So...I have both babies napping and Graham is off at a friends house having a playdate. Phew...
Being a twin Mom sure is exhausting but we are STARTING to get into a pattern (sort of) that is working for us. The twins sleep 3-4 hour stretches at night and will usually go back down, which is a major improvement from the first few weeks of maybe 2 hours of sleep a night. Adam is an amazing helper to me. He's the Daddy Diaper champ and I wouldn't be sane without him. People keep asking how Graham is adjusting, and I think he is doing well. He is VERY clingy to Mommy right now, but who can blame him. I'm super fun, right?! Actually, quite the opposite, but he spends all day, everyday with me, so we are best buds. =) Love that boy so much. I'm tired but he continues to bring lots of joy! He is my songbird and Adam and I are loving all of the songs he is singing. His new favorite stories right now are Peter Pan and Jonah from the Bible.
Two peas in a pod...or a bouncy seat. Love Tucker's face in this one...

My sweet little elf!

My snuggle bug. She loves to snuggle and sleep like this.

These pics crack me up...Super girl!

Buddies for life!

Super boy- oops...sorry Loey Kate. Won't be the first time Tucker whacks you in the face.

This was a few weeks ago. They don't fit in the seat together anymore!

Sleeping in their bed together.

All three of my babies playing on the baby mat. Or "Babymap" as Graham calls it. =) He always wants the babies to play on here when they are awake.

Pretty girl!

Sweet face!

The "before Mommy decided to scrub the cradle cap off of my head" pic...

The after pic... :( Sorry Tucker! Mommy will NOT scrub your head anymore! I feel so bad! He looks hilarious-total old man hair do. Hair, please grow back quickly! I didn't scrub that hard, but the fresh baby sprouts on top of his head came off. oops.

one month!

2011-01-26T07:53:00.001-08:00

Happy to be one month old. :) mom is happy to be one month closer to more night time sleep!

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Graham and Baby "Woewy" and Baby "Cucker"

2011-01-17T17:26:00.000-08:00

So...blogging has taken a backseat to a few new people in my world. I will probably be playing "blog" catch up for the rest of the year! Here are some pictures of my sweet Graham with his little loves. He really, truly loves Loey Kate and Tucker. He's been wonderful and not too many signs of jealousy have been displayed (yet). Today we had a few moments where all 3 children were in tears, but we made it! My mom is here right now giving Graham a bath, twins are sleeping and I'm furiously typing before the next feeding begins!!! Life is a total "ground hogs" day, but we are making it. One. Day. At. A. Time.

Graham, riding around on a towel with Gigi and Gpa!

PJ's all day!

Graham "helping" fix Loey's hat.

Mommy has Tucker all wrapped up so Graham wrapped up his monkey in his sleep sack. =) Melts my heart!

Continuing the love for his monkey...monkey needs a diaper.

Nighty night monkey!

My sweet babies! I would have bet money that they would have come out before Christmas, but we'll take December 28th. Merry "late" Christmas.

Graham and Uncle Luke-twins!!!

Kisses for Tucker...

Kisses for Mommy...

Graham relaxing in his new chair from Mimi and Pop!

My three jewels. =)

Graham's first (and only) time holding Tucker. He got scared when Tucker started crying. =)

December 28, 2010 The BIG day!

2011-01-05T15:39:00.000-08:00

6:30am All checked into the hospital and ready for my induction. I just had to document the twins in the "cocoon" one last time. Adam was out parking the car so I had to do the honors.

Whoa Belly! I'll be happy to have you shrink in the coming days, weeks, months...years. =)

7:00am Pitocin drip started on the lowest level to get some real contractions going. I started at 3 cm.

8:00am Dr. Ramsey came in to check my cervix and I was 4 cm. She broke Baby A's water bag and attached an internal monitor to her. (This was the most painful part of the day until my epidural wore off later.)

9:30am Contractions are getting more painful, so I called for the epidural! Praise God it worked!!!! Graham's labor turned into natural labor when my epidural didn't work. SO glad it did this time.

Here is a pic of me, happy as a clam, in pain-free bliss. I'm even laying on my side for the first time in months! Epidural=no hip pain either! I was SO sleepy and the nurse kept saying it was because I was comfortable and pain free, probably for the first time in months and my body was just relaxing. So, I took a nap! Who takes a nap during the last few centimeters of dilation?

12:00pm- Fully dilated and ready to go! Adam put on his suit for the operating room and I had my hair cap on. We had to move to the operating room to deliever just in case I needed an emergency c section. Funny story: Adam first put his labor suit on backwards and we were all laughing at him. Then on TV, 5 mintues later, Mario Lopez was putting on the same operating room suit for his baby to be born and he put in on backwards too! It was so ironic! We told Adam to not worry- he was still cool if Mario Lopez did it too. =)

Mom, Becky and Anna- Anxious to be Gigi and Aunts again!

12:30pm Before we headed down to the operating room, they had me do a practice push in the room. I did one push and we could see Baby Girl's head! Woo hoo! This was soooooooo exciting to me since I had to push for 2 painful hours with Graham. Dare I hope it was going to be that easy this round?!

12:50pm Once in the operating room, we rolled my big self onto the table (no grace involved since my legs were like dead tree trunks) There was a big crowd of drs and nurses and everyone was scurrying around preparing for the twins. I started pushing when they told me I was having a contraction, and 3 contractions later, Miss Loey Kate Hubert popped out into the world at 1:04 pm. She was 6.1 pounds and 18 in long. I bawled my eyes out with relief and joy! It was the most surreal thing in the world because I felt no pain! I could not believe that my baby girl was here. The best feeling in the world. =)

After baby girl came out, the ultrasound tech did a quick check to see if baby boy had his head down still and he did! Everyone in the room cheered and Dr. Ramsey "went after him". She told me to quickly push and not let that little boy get away! At 1:06 she broke his water bag and 2 minutes later Tucker James Hubert was born at 1:08pm! He was 6.6 pounds and 19 3/4 in. Oh, it was such a special moment! More bawling and a busy Daddy trying to video tape me crying, and 2 newborn babies getting checked and weighed.

1:30 They wheeled me back into the regular delivery room, holding my fresh babes in my arms! Adam let me share their names. They quickly bathed Loey Kate and gave me her to breastfeed. Success! Then after she was done they gave me a cleaned up Tucker and he had a little more trouble nursing bc he was "tuckered" out. =)

Happy Family!!!

Happy Birthday Loey Kate and Tucker!!! I love you!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

Ready with his backpack for a busy Christmas Eve with family!

Sadly, our only family picture taken on Christmas Eve. A foggy one!

Christmas Eve with my grandparents.

Graham giving Grandad his special present.

How much is that Kitty in the window? Meow, Meow.

Christmas morning, Graham checking the babies' heartbeats with his stethoscope. Dr. kit was big hit!

Mega blocks! Let the tower building begin!

Wrestling with Daddy. The best!

Silly Uncle David. Merry Christmas!

Sword Fighting Mimi! On guard!

Peace, yo.

Gran and Grandma at Christmas brunch.

Cool boots! Thanks Mimi- went out to play in the snow with Daddy and Uncle David.

Opening presents Christmas evening with Aunt Becky, Aunt Anna, and Uncle Andy.

Cute onesies from Aunt Becky! Can't WAIT for the little boogers to be out and in those outfits. Merry Christmas...and still pregnant!

Our growing 2 year old!

2010-12-19T19:12:00.000-08:00

A few more pictures from Graham's firetruck birthday! He LOVES to blow out candles! He's been practicing for weeks...He got to blow out his birthday candle with ice cream. Grandma Rosie couldn't make it to the birthday party because of the winter storm, so just ice cream and cookies!

His firetruck birthday cake made by Great-Grandma Rosie. She is "famous" for making tasty, cute birthay cakes. Thanks for making Graham's cake! We loved it...so tasty!

Excited for another round of happy birthday and candle blowing!

Go Colts! We think the Colts won their game today because we were all decked out in our Colts gear! .

Are you impressed with my "large-ness"? TWO almost full grown babies in there!

Tomorrow I go to see Dr. Ramsey...again. I see her more often than I see most of my friends! We have an ultrasound appt and then "the talk" with Dr. Ramsey to see what she thinks about the timeline of this pregnancy. We are all thrilled with how everything has gone, and now we wait. How much longer??? We will see! Trying to be patient for God's timing on this one, but maybe He wants me to use the help of some meds to get things moving.

This weekend has been a funny weekend though. Productive Friday (thought process,"I can wait a few more days", SUPER GROUCHY SATURDAY (thought process,"For the LOVE get these children OUT", and a productive Sunday (thought process, "Well if I have to wait, I have to wait". No/little sleep equals a Sarah even I don't want to be around. Sorry to anyone who interacted with me on Saturday- ha! I got great sleep on Saturday night though and today has been good! Go figure. Makes me nervous for the next several months of no sleep again...sorry hubby, in advance.

I keep telling Adam that I'm the one that's supposed to be nesting, but I think it's his turn! He has been Mr. Organization. He cleaned our kitchen thoroughly today, reorganized our entire pantry/laundry area, got rid of expired spices and cleaned out the junk drawer. It's pretty cute; he keeps walking into the pantry area and saying, "Dang, that looks good!".

Graham has also been showing off his smarts to us! We were in the car on Friday night and Graham kept talking over and over. We finally listened to him and he kept saying, "Daddy, Adam. Mama, Sarah." He learned our names and wanted us to know it. =) We also wanted to note that Graham's first time to use the word "mean" came out tonight. Graham hit Adam when Adam told him no about something, and so we decided to instill timeout for the first time. It took several times of Adam putting him back in the same spot for him to get it. He was crying for me, but after about 45 seconds decided that it was worth it to say "sorry" to Daddy. Then he wanted a snack, so I put him in his high chair. He looked at Adam and as serious as can be said, "Mean. Daddy mean." Oh man! How does he know that word? Graham also knows how to use scissors already! Crazy! I've shown him how a few times with my craft scissors because he has been interested, and then tonight at my parents house I watched him make cuts in paper with the bubble scissors! So big, my two year old. He loves to learn. =) 75th percentile for both height and weight at his check up on Friday. Healthy as can be! We are proud of you buddy, even if we get called "mean" every now and then. =) I guess that means we are doing our job, huh?

36 weeks and ready.

2010-12-15T13:47:00.001-08:00

Getting your cervix checked should be against the law. Definitely on my list of top 10 HATED things in my life.
According to my calculations, I am 36 weeks today! Last night, I truly thought that we were headed to the hospital. At 10:00ish I started having some painful contractions and I timed them for an hour or two. They were 7-8 min apart for about an hour and then were a little more sporadic. At 11:45, I told Adam we should just try and sleep and if they were real contractions, then I wouldn't be able to sleep. Well, I slept in spurts and figured it was a false alarm since they weren't getting any worse. JUST ANNOYING BRAXTON HICKS. I never really had those until the night before I went into labor with Graham. Not a fan of them. So, at the dr appt today we found out I'm 2 cm and 70% effaced, so at least the contractions are starting to do a little work. Baby girl's head COULD NOT get any lower. Dr. Ramsey thinks she should come out fairly easily since she is already as far down as she can be. Her head is like a cork on my cervix, so most likely no huge "water breaking" moment, possibly a trickle if that.
So, we wait. I waddle. I get stared at. I still get to shock people with the answer, "No, we are having a boy AND a girl." I like to tell people that and watch their face go from "dang, she's huge, to Ohhhh I get it!". I bought Graham a big brother shirt today at the hospital.
Now, we wait! Christmas babies are becoming a larger reality as each day passes!

Happy Birthday Graham

2010-12-13T20:05:00.001-08:00

A blast to December 11, 2008. On our way to the hospital! Giddy to meet our baby boy! Not so giddy anymore, but in pain! Hello contractions...all worth it though, to get our prize. =)

Graham Heston Hubert! Born at 6:07 pm, 8 lbs 10 oz, 20 inch long. True love...

December 11, 2009 Happy 1st birthday baby!

My baby is 2!!! Ready for a day of fun! (This is a pic from my phone, but we have LOTS of other pictures to post from the birthday weekend. Adam just bought a nice new Nikon camera but we have not figured out how to get the pics off the camera and onto the computer...Soon though!)

Graham's 2nd birthday fun began on Dec. 8th when Gigi and Gpa took Graham to Barney's Birthday Bash Live at the Centre. My parents said he was in a "Barney trance" of awe the whole time. Then Friday he opened birthday presents from my parents and we went out to dinner. Saturday morning (Graham's actual birthday) we opened up presents, headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, went to Tri-State to visit with Santa and eat some more, home for a family nap, back out to attend Christmas at Crossroads concert, then Gatti Town with the grandparents! PHEW! Can you tell I'm not on bedrest anymore? Then Sunday we spent the day getting our house ready for Graham's birthday party that night! It was a crazy day of weather and snow!!! Most of our party guests braved the weather and came out to celebrate. Graham was in heaven! We had a firetruck theme (which he picked) and he loved all the attention. I drove Adam crazy all day, but the party was a success! Needless to say...today I felt like I could have slept the day away. Luckily, my good two year old was happy to have a jammie day at home with all of his new toys. I think we have had at least 10 "concerts" today with his new drum, courtesy of Mimi and Pop. =)

Could I love Graham Hubert anymore than I do? Not possible! Does his Daddy think he is the greatest thing to ever walk the planet? YES! He really brings out a whole new level of love I didn't know existed! Being his Mom is something I will always treasure. He will always be my baby. Always. As I think about how our lives are going to change in a few days or weeks with the birth of twins, I sometimes get really sad. Sad, just thinking that this special one-on-one time with Graham will be over most days. BUT-SO excited to meet these 2 new people that will change my heart and life again! You just can't imagine how much you will love your children until you meet then. Then it's all over... =)

Graham- you truly hold Mommy's heart! I love you, I love you, I love you! You are my favorite 2 year old in the world! I can't wait to watch you transform into the most amazing big brother. I can already tell you love baby brother and baby sister. Today, while eating lunch, you told me that if baby brother and sister were crying you would give them a "sassy". Your favorite thing in the world! You are sweet already big brother.

35 weeks

2010-12-10T06:02:00.000-08:00

35 weeks and growing! Man! My stomach is so unbelievably big. Just had to say that...

I had my last dr appt on Wednesday and we headed to ultrasound first. Adam didn't have a patient during that hour so he got to come with me since it will most likely be the last ultrasound at the office. I was anxious to see if baby boy would still be head down or not. Well, he is still head down and so is his sister. Their heads were so low that the ultrasound tech eventually just had to guesstimate their head size. They both had their heads shoved way down in my left hip. It's always amazing to see where they have moved to. I'm always guessing who is kicking me and with what body part. The tech was amazed at how big they were and how much baby I actually had inside. Both babies still had hair floating around! They checked out beautifully though- plenty of fluid, good breathing motions, swallowing, heart, kidneys...everything was great! We just have never been able to get good quality pics of their faces. They are always hiding. I guess they both want to be a surprise! Since she had to sort of guess at their measurements, we are thinking they are both in the 5-5 1/2 pd range. Dr. Ramsey would love for them to both reach 6 pds. We talked a lot at my appt this time about logistics of the labor process with twins. She really wants me to try and deliver vaginally since both are head down (and I agree!). I'm very happy about this and pray that I'll be able to. I did it before and was SO proud of myself! I want the "high" feeling of "I did it" x2! I will labor in my normal hospital room, but when it's time to push they will move me to an operating room just in case of an emergency c section for one or both. She called it a dual set-up- ready for both scenarios. I asked if I should wait until contractions are 3-5 min apart and she said, "NO!". Come in as soon as I think I am in labor since I'm considered "high risk". So, no calm baths at home and movie watching- it'll all be done at the hospital. I remember going into labor with Graham like it was yesterday- we'll see how this compares. I was GIDDY with excitement when I went into labor the first time. It's strange that 2 years ago, I was VERY pregnant and waiting to go into labor and then that night, I did! I don't expect to go into labor tonight, but it would be quite ironic, wouldn't it? I'm having so many uncomfortable Braxton Hicks that I never know if it's a real one or not. Obviously, they aren't real ones yet. It was so clear to me when I went into labor with Graham- I hope it's clear again this time! I've been very uncomfortable, to say the least. Two sets of feet are literally IN MY RIGHT RIB. I can push them out, but then they just go right back. Can't wait to kiss those feet...

I'm determined to succeed at breastfeeding both twins, but I know that not all babies are eating champs like Graham was, so we will just see. I start to laugh whenever I think about the logistics of nursing 2 babies at the same time. Pretty sure it's going to be a 2 person job for quite some time. I think we are ready??? But who knows...I'm sure I'm naive about how it's really going to be with twins...but that's ok! I couldn't be in a better situation with support and help. If you know me and you live in Evansville...be prepared for the "HELP ME" phone call that might come your way soon!

Yesterday I had random energy and wanted to clean...? Nesting? Oh, and I think we finally decided on a girl name last night. We'll see if it sticks! We both were liking the same name for a few days and so Adam decided to "call" it. I still reserve the right to switch at the last minute if she really looks like the other name, but I think we are set. =) Their names are pretty darn cute...can't wait to share them!!!

Sorry for the long post...just wanted to jot down my thoughts for myself while I have the time! =)

The "fun" in my life!

2010-12-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

For being on semi-bedrest, we have been able to do some very fun things in the past week and a half for my "outings"! 34 1/2 weeks currently and holding strong! For a month, I've been worried about going into labor too early. Now, I'm worried I'll be pregnant forever!!! =) Actually, so grateful to still be pregnant. People ask me what week I'd like to make it to and I guess my answer is past 36 weeks, since that is "full term" for twins, even though the longer they are in there, the better! Graham turns 2 on December 11, so how about sometime at the end of that next week? My older sister claims December 18...we'll see! The Hadi Shrine circus- a Thanksgiving classic for our family! Graham loved it!

34 weeks pregnant and ready for the Carrie Underwood concert! Dr. Ramsey cleared me to go as long as I stayed hydrated and off my feet the rest of the day. =) Worth it!

Me and my HEAVY babies!

Go Carrie! She had a cool set with lots of tricks. =)

Right before we left the concert...made it most of the way!

At Kristyn's surprise 30th birthday party! Thanks to her parents for a fun night!

Anyone with a Christmas Eve birthday deserves a few special parties to make up for getting jipped the rest of the birthdays! (Might be the twins...)

How are we growing?

2010-11-23T21:06:00.000-08:00

Preggo update week #33

Today I headed in to see good 'ol Dr Ramsey again. =) I am so glad I like my ob! She is so caring and always on the cautious side when it comes to protecting me and these babies. I headed to ultrasound first. I was a little nervous b/c last week I was told she saw a few calcified spots on the boy's placenta, so we were checking growth measurements a week early to see if he was getting proper nutrition. He sure is!!! Both he and his sister weigh 4 lbs 8 oz each! Man...that equals 9 lbs of babies. I thought I felt bigger than when I had Graham and now we know my belly has stretched to new levels. Graham was 8 lbs 10 oz when born. And to think I have the potential of 5 more weeks...Wowza!
When she checked my cervix, it had shortened from 2.9cm to 2.6 and from 2.5cm to 2.3 when I bear down. Dr. Ramsey's line of concern has always been 2.5. She asked if I would be okay to get a steriod shot to help the babies' lungs develop a little faster just in case my water decided to break this week. She said she is pretty darn confident that I'll make it to at least 36 weeks, but wanted an "insurance policy". We'll see! That would be a little over a week before Christmas. =) What a gift they will be.
So I scheduled my appt for next week and headed down to triage for my lovely steriod shot in the booty. If you haven't had a shot in your booty before, it makes you feel like you really worked out your butt. Odd. I go back 24 hours later for the 2nd shot and then we watch me grow.
I know the uncomfortableness of this time in my life will fade away, kind of like the memories of sleep deprivation will fade. You can't truly remember it until you experience it! But just to help me remember...tonight I decided to lay down in our bed on my left side and hug a body pillow to get some back relief. It felt pretty good so I laid their for an hour or so. THEN I had to pee. I called Adam to help me up. In a weird way, I wish we had it on video of how crippled I was! It took a few minutes for me to slowly let myself get pulled up and swing my legs to the floor. My hips are as loose and sore as they have ever been. Makes me not look forward to walking in my 90s. =) Adam had to be my "walker" all the way to the bathroom until my hips remembered how to work. Pretty humorous. After that Adam forbid me to lay down in our bed again until after the twins are here! hahaha I am recliner bound according to my husband (and my body). I think I need one of those "I've fallen and I can't get up" buttons if I am going to lay in my bed again these next few weeks. Maybe a forklift would help???
Seriously though, we are praising God for how these babies are growing! Dr. Ramsey is in awe that they are growing just like a single baby would be growing. She came into my appt today just bubbling happy about that fact. I am very relieved and ready to become a Mama whale in the next few weeks. People are telling me that I don't look pregnant with twins, but I always say being 5'10'' can hide a lot, along with a few good wardrobe choices. I have the outfits that make me look pregnant with twins...don't you worry. =) Please continue to pray with us that these babies will come in their timing, fully able to sustain life once out of the womb.
My next decision is whether I will try a vaginal delivery or opt for a c section. Baby girl has always been head down and Baby boy has always been sitting on her head! (so like a brother!) and is head up. She said she will let me decide if I want to attempt to deliver or have surgery. I would love to deliver them myself, but I'd rather not mess up my whole lower half with a vaginal delivery and a c section. Just praying for clear direction on the right thing to do for us. Oh yes, and it looks like both babies have a little hair on their heads! Bring on the bows for baby girl. =)

32 weeks

2010-11-20T19:11:00.000-08:00

We are getting out some new baby supplies and old stuff too! Graham helped me put together our new bouncy seat, or should I say infant to toddler rocker (thank you Elly & Ryan!!!). He immediately ran to get his monkey and rock him. Graham will tell you who these new items are for when asked. We'll see if he lets the babies really have them once they are here. =)

Graham's baby...Monkey!

Me...comfy in my sweats...sporting a 32 week preggo belly!!!

Ay caramba! And to think we have the potential for another 6 weeks of growth!

Today was a BLESSED DAY! 5 of my friends from high school showed up at 9:00am with cleaning supplies and equipment ready to tackle our dirty home. I can't tell you how humbling it was to sit on the couch and watch my busy friends take their family time on a Saturday morning and spend it deep cleaning my dirt. Adam and I are soooo grateful. Adam and I have different ideas of a "clean house" so it was wonderful to get some amazing worker bees in here and tackle it together. I mean we are talking, all baby clothes=clean, baby equipment=brought out from garage and attic and cleaned, floors were swept, mopped, vacuumed, AND steam cleaned, new sheets on all beds, baseboards, windows, fridge, ceiling fans, pictures in nursery hung...you name it- it got cleaned!
I will forever be grateful for such a kind act!!! Don't I have amazing friends? Not to mention all of the meals that have been brought by friends, friends of our parents, and other amazing, kind people! We are being well taken care of. Operation "keep the twins in as long as possible" is in full swing and has been supported by my great husband and our friends and family. LOVE YOU!!!!

In other news...the baby nursery is almost ready and Graham's big boy room is complete! We decided that tonight would be the night to let Graham sleep in his big boy room. We've been talking all week about how this weekend Graham would get to sleep in his big boy bed. Most of the time he would shake his head no and say, "No, sleep baby room". Well last night and today he was so proud to show off his big boy room to our friends that I think he liked the idea. He is in there rolling around in is new bed as we speak. He didn't fuss at all, so after his bedtime routine we laid him down in the twin bed and we are keeping our fingers crossed. I love the video monitor! So far, so good. I'll let you know how it goes!!!

My baby is a big boy now...

Sesame Street Live!

2010-11-19T06:43:00.000-08:00

Well it was Daddy's birthday weekend and Adam's wish came true! He got to see Sesame Street Live. =) OK, so maybe it wasn't Adam's b-day wish (since I caught him looking at his i-phone during the show!!!) but we had a great time. Graham loved it! It was fun to take him to the show together as a family of 3. The show was in Owensboro, so we had about an hour drive there. I'm supposed to be resting, so I laid down in the back of our van in the 3rd row with a million pillows and got dropped off at the front of the theater. haha! The things I'm willing to do in order to get out of the house for a bit!

Graham enjoying a sucker pre-show!

We got some good snuggle time since Graham could see better sitting on our laps.

WOW! It's starting! He was yeling out the names of all the characters as they came on stage!

We had pretty good seats too. It's funny attending a show mainly for toddlers. SO much talking and screaming! Pretty fun.

Hi Oscar! He is really into Oscar the Grouch this week. It changes weekly who the favorite is.

He's a pretty big Ernie and Bert fan too...

Second half of the show...getting a little sleepy...

It was a very well done show! I recommend it to anyone who has a child that likes Sesame Street.

Graham loved the "stars" and the "moon" on the ceiling during a nighttime song. He kept asking where the moon went after that song.

Sweet boy!

Um...

2010-11-15T05:20:00.000-08:00

Words can hardly explain this HILARIOUS set of pictures, but I will try to explain. We are all for doing things early this Christmas season, since we have no idea when our babies will decide to make their big debut, so I suggested we put up our Christmas lights (but not turn them on yet). It was super warm this weekend, so on Friday we bought Christmas lights and the hooks to keep them on our roof. I sent Adam out during nap time and expected to see them all done when Graham and I woke up but alas, he didn't get too far. He decided he wanted to wait until he had some sponges to sit on (like he used when he did roofing work one summer job). So Saturday morning he borrowed some sponges and told me he was going to put the lights up before it started to rain. When Adam came out of the bedroom dressed in his "outfit", my reaction was as you would expect. =) I've loved this man a long time and somehow he still surprises me with the things he chooses to wear sometimes. THEN he told me he was going to wear his bike helmet in case he fell off the roof!!! hahahahahaha I told him Graham and I would most definitely be outside for that. We rushed to get our clothes on and the spectacle began. Adam did a great job and the lights are up and look great! Honestly, I'm glad Adam is cautious, but something tells me that if he were to fall off the roof, the bike helmet wasn't going to do too much. =)

Happy Birthday Adam!

2010-11-13T11:18:00.000-08:00

Happy 29th birthday, Adam! What a crazy, beautiful day for a birthday. I think the high was 75! We enjoyed the day together as a family since it was Friday and Adam had the day off. Graham was so excited to go wake up his Daddy with a birthday balloon and card that he colored for him. The night before his birthday, when Adam came home from work, Graham went running to him and kept repeating, "Daddy! Birthday! PResents! Card! Upstairs! Come on Daddy!" We were "hiding" his birthday things upstairs and Graham was quite excited to celebrate right then. He was a little sad when I told him that we had to wait until the morning. I think it's becoming a birthday tradition to wake up the special birthday person with presents in bed! What a fun way to wake up!

First thing in the morning! The best present helper around!

Adam reading my cheesy card. =)

Adam and Graham in their pretty fall shirts by our one and only tree! =) What a beautiful day it was for a birthday!

Our house in the fall!

Dinner at Dave and Joyce's house. Graham was so excited to sing happy birthday to his Daddy! We practiced all day but when the big moment came, he was a little shy. =) That's okay- we got to hear it about 10 times during the day- SOooooooo cute! He loved that it was his Daddy's birthday!

The best part! Blowing out the candles- he thought the smoke was pretty funny...

Preggo Update

2010-11-11T05:19:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday, I had my regular ob appt and ultrasound to check the babies' growth and my cervix. The babies were growing beautifully! Baby girl was 3 pds 4 oz and baby boy was 3 pds 3 oz, 54th and 52nd percentile. She said they were growing just like 2 single babies would be growing in there. I wasn't too surprised at their size, since I had seen my own belly growing signficantly lately. It was amazing to think though, that at only 30 weeks of pregnancy I already had 6 1/2 pds of children inside of me...plus all of the extra stuff too! No wonder I'm the waddle queen already. =) So that was the good news!
The bad news was that my cervix had shortened to 3.1 cm and when I bear down it shortened to 2.5. I knew the magic number of 2.5 being what she had told me would require bedrest, so I nervously waited to see the dr. She wanted to see me the very next day to do a fetal fibronectin test. This is the "glue" that helps bond your baby inside your uterus and shouldn't be seen in your fluid until after 35 weeks. If the test was negative then that would mean I had a 95% chance of NOT going into labor in the next 2 weeks. If it was positive, she was going to stick me in the hospital overnight to monitor me and my contractions and possibly do some steriods to stop them. Thank you, Lord, that the test was negative! No hospital stay for me! So let the rest begin. I'm definitely resting as much as possible, but I do have this little person in my life named Graham that keeps 100% resting impossible. I feel guilty with the amount of TV this child is getting to watch, but I know it's just for a season.
Yesterday I had my cervix checked again and it had shortened a little bit more- 2.9 and 2.5 when I bear down. She told me these next 3 weeks are imperative that I rest as much as possible that I can for sure make it past 34 weeks. I'm very aware of the contractions that are happening if I am up too much. Adam has been super supportive of me resting and he has taken over pretty much every job around here. I do what I can, but that's not too much! I remember when moms of twins warned me about the last few months being difficult, and now I understand! What a huge physical job to undertake! I'm so worn out but, grateful for each day they are in my belly. I don't want to wish away my alone time with my sweet Graham, but I'm getting more and more ready to meet these TWO babies!!!

What is my son wearing, you may ask?!

2010-11-09T15:51:00.000-08:00

Well, according to Graham, he is wearing a "helmet". (Please don't tell him its a red, satin headband of his mothers.) He loves to ride his "motorcycle" around the house and he MUST have on his helmet to be safe. =) Cracks me up...

You might also be wondering what happened to my baby's curls? Well, the lady who was supposed to do a little "trim" decided a big boy haircut was what he needed. I think he looks cute but there was a grandma that wasn't too happy about it! =) Good thing they will grow back! I love his curls.

Creativity at it's best...

2010-11-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

We had a small Halloween shin-dig at our place this weekend with family and a few friends and it was great! Nobody got in without a costume =) and there was a prize for the best one! We hope to make it an annual thing. Other family members have the other holidays so we've claimed this one since we will have all the cute kids in their costumes. These next pictures are a combo of funny, creative and disturbing! (Mainly the grandparents for the last adjective).
Graham always laughs that my tummy is like a ball...well we took care of that!

29 weeks preggo! That "ball" was moving and squirming all night long!

Scariest bunch I know...in-laws and parents!

Cutest monkeys in town!

Elmo's Mama and the male version of Lady Gaga. Joy won for the most creative costume! I mean come on, she cut up an elmo doll and had him hanging out her belly!!!

An old church lady (yikes) and the mutant Mary Kay lady (Adam came up with that name Joyce!)

"Roger" and Joan of Arc

The Burger King, the Dairy Queen and their baby Monkey

Jermaine Oneil, Darth Vader and our Monkey. Now which of us do you think Graham would be scared of? He LOVED Darth Vader and kept telling Mommy "off". He did NOT want me to have that basketball jersey on. Odd?!

Happy Halloween!

Boo at the Zoo

2010-11-01T01:51:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we headed to Boo at the Zoo for our first Halloween event of the season. We were unsure if Graham would like wearing his monkey costume or not, but was glad to have a chilly night to try it out on! We put it on him in the zoo parking lot by convincing him it was a monkey "coat". haha For some reason that worked! He wasn't going to wear it if we called it a costume.

Not sure what to think of the characters...

Preggo Mommy waddling through the zoo.

An overly warm monkey in the indoor section of the zoo. And Graham, too. =)

It was funny... "scary" things were totally not scary to Graham. He really wanted to go into a haunted house at the zoo for kids 6 and older but, of course he didn't quite make the cut off. It was the first time we heard, "I want to go there!" though.

More Halloween fun to come...

Cute.

2010-10-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

No pics, just 3 cute things I wanted to jot down...and I realize they might just be cute to me! But I wanted to document some sweet things since I've been slacking on blogging lately...

While fixing (or taming) Graham's hair this morning he turned around and started to play with my necklace. He said, "pretty necklace", "balls" (because it had these 2 pewter balls on it), and then matter of factly declared, "Like it." I said, "you like Mama's necklace?" and he replied, "yes". =) Already making his Mama feel special. He also told me my hair was "pretty" the other day.

Yesterday we spent a good hour or two in the nursery organizing baby clothes 0-3 months and folding and hanging it all up in the closet. Baby brother has a lot of clothes- baby sister, not so much...yet. =) Anyways, I showed Graham some of the baby clothes and was telling him they were so cute. Later that night he was playing in his room and came running out with one of baby sister's outfit, hat, and booties, and he said in his highest pitch voice, "SO CUTE! Baby Sister!" I think Graham is getting excited!!! He talks about brother and sister now and prays for them at dinner and bedtime.

This morning on the way to Bible Study at church, Graham asked for some juice. I brought milk instead of juice so I said, "Buddy, Mommy brought you milk instead of juice." Usually I would say sorry, but I didn't today and he noticed. He took the cup, looked at it, and said, "Sorry. No Juice. Just milk." Sometimes this would have caused a fit, but today he just told himself how it was. =)

fall fun with mommy

2010-10-16T21:30:00.001-07:00

This boy melts my heart. Simple smiles and mommy/son dates are pretty special. Trying to cherish my alone time with my first baby love.

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No, no. I do it.

2010-10-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

My big boy has reached 22 months and what was the first thing I heard??? "No, no. I do it." Yes, we have entered (or should I say) continued into the major independent phase. He's a smart boy and I'm glad he wants to be more independent, but it definitely requires more patience on my side. No one dares put him in his high chair, he must climb. He wants to climb into the van, climb on the lawn mower, climb up the stairs and jump back down (scary) and so much more. This past month he learned how to open the doors in our house that have round door knobs so now he can get into pretty much anything he wants. That boy is too tall...Time to childproof the round knobs!

This past month he started putting his phrases into complete sentences. His first sentence was "I want some bubbles". Now it's I want this and I want that for everything! Another thing that cracks me up is he is in love with my chapstick. He calls it "mastick" and likes to lick it. We've discussed over and over how it is for lips and not tongues, but he usually gets a good lick in there before I can swipe it from him. He's into coloring more, loves anything that has to do with hoops, balls, or sports in general, and Sesame Street. He is pretty well balanced with his love for music, sports, and trucks. He's all boy and that pleases his Daddy to no end. Parenting does become more tricky as each month passes and more discipline is required, but we are learning consistency is the key and WE WILL WIN! Meltdowns are a daily occurence that wear me out. Being pregnant with twins and having a rambuncious toddler sure is tiring. Adam is such a wonderful daddy and helper to me. I have no complaints about that! Thanks for stepping up to the plate. Gone are the days when he comes home and just gets to relax. =)

Here are some pics from this past month...
25 weeks

The guest room is painted...and the big boy furniture arrived! Graham's big boy room is slowly but surely coming together. Adam and Graham had so much fun putting this bed together. Graham LOVES to help his Daddy and had many jobs...hold the tools, pass out the screws, make sure someone can crawl under the bed...things like that.

Helpin'

Important work going on here with us men, Mommy.

Hmmm...what can I "help" with next. =)

Looking sporty and ready for church!

Have a great day everyone!!!

Baby Dedication

2010-09-21T05:36:00.000-07:00

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him."

Baby Dedication day was on Sunday at our church and we were finally in town and able to dedicate our sweet boy. We've always given thanks to the Lord for this gift that we waited over 2 years for, but today we commited to our church family that we will raise him up in a Christian home to hopefull one day choose to love the Lord. We are so proud of our big boy, Graham Heston Hubert.

"Let the little children come to me...for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

Will all my children be curly heads???

2010-09-16T16:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the odd title...Just a random thought I was having. =)

Hiding from Mommy!

Surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A little raspberry bedtime snack, and he discovered the "hole" in the berry!

22 1/2 weeks pregnant and just starting to really feel uncomfortable...

Much better with the shirt DOWN. =)

Graham's first experience with playdough. HE LOVED IT! I'm trying to think of more activities to do with him that involve me getting to sit. =)

UH-OH- Mommy's guitar fell apart. Guaranteed Daddy will make much better guitars. =)

Well, as of today I am 23 weeks pregnant. As I look ahead to the next 3ish months, I get so nervous about the changes my body is going to go through. I feel at least 30 weeks pregnant. My back hurts. I have vericose veins that throb on my lower right leg. I'm not able to carry Graham anymore without feeling pain. I feel a little trapped inside because it's no fun to go out and walk around anymore; so much pelvic pressure. I have a LOVELY back brace and leg stocking that my husband laughs at. Exercise classes have diminished to just aqua classes; Me and the old ladies. Ahhhhh. I know I am whining and I will stop because I really want these two little babies and can't wait to meet them! It's just going to be slightly more physically challenging than I guessed it would have been. I need to call the dr. tomorrow because the past 2 nights I've been having painful tightening in my lower abdomen. My guess is Braxton Hicks because it's always neear the end of the day/dinner time and they stop mostly when I sit down. It feels like the baby girl is trying to push her head directly out of my stomach and my ligaments aren't liking that feeling!

We might possibly be buying a used mini-van this weekend and my next goal is to order Graham's big boy bed. It's getting too difficult for me to get him in and out of the crib so we need to start this transition more for me than him! The Mothers of Multiples yard sale is also tomorrow so I'm making a list of things I'm hoping to find. It's funny how with the first child, everything is new and pretty and matchy-matchy. Now....it's whatever we can get our hands on! Used, new, old, borrowed...you name it. We are so grateful for the help from so many people already. It's kinda like once you are having twins, mothers of twins come out of the woodwork to help you out. It's a club. Not a club I expected to be in, but one I'll gladly be in! I do feel so blessed to be getting TWO babies at one time. =)

If you think of it- please say a prayer for my husband too! His life is about to change even more now that I'm dwindling away to basic jobs around here. He's such a good helper and wonderful Dad.

How does Octo-Mom do it???!!!???!!!

20 months of Graham!

2010-09-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

So proud of himself for putting on my swimsuit. I wear it a little differently though...

Must watch the garbage truck pick up our neighbor's trash. There are few things in life that are more exciting. =)

Mommy: Are you playing with the sticks? Graham: Nope! (As he quickly runs back to put the stick in the vase he's not supposed to play with.)

Loves to brush his teeth. Sometimes he'll "brush" for 15 minutes straight.

Doing his funny face, which I happen to think looks like Stevie Wonder!

Good times at Gatti Town!

If Graham is sticking his tongue out like this, he is either ignoring you or being shy. =)

Ready for the zoo! Had to wear his hat "cool" like Daddy.

This month has been so much fun and full of laughs. Graham has turned into a repeat machine! You can get him to say just about anything and it's hilarious how some words come out. This month he has been saying a few phrases and putting 2 words together. Some of my favorites include brain freeze, snot bubble, aw man, nice truck, and there you go. He is going to kindermusik again and he LOVES it. He is busy singing the "Up" song and the "Dust" song. He is the youngest in his class but he is bold and loves to try whatever Mrs. Julie wants him to. His memory is crazy, good. He loves to tell stories, one word at a time. He pauses so you can fill in the unimportant words like, "and then he said...". His best stories are when the turkey bit him, how the shower door brusied him, and when Gran fell. His passy has been quarantined to the bed only and so he wants to spend big chunks of time in his bed just playing. He asks for books and I can leave him in there for 20 minutes at a time! He loves books and has many favorites. Right now he's into "Barnyard Dance, Cats, Bulldozer goes to the zoo, and so many others. He likes the If you Give a Mouse, Pig, etc. books too. Graham is very particular and has a special way of doing everything. He also categorizes different activities with different people and really wants to do those activities with those people only. Graham learned his colors this month and is very good at pointing them out. He is learning to spell his name and it sounds like he is Indian chanting. haha Graham likes to help me do any chores around the house. I'm hoping this helpful spirit will continue when the twins arrive! I know I can count on him to entertain the twins. =) I think they will think their big brother is pretty cool.

It's already September and we had a great labor day weekend. We all have colds, but we had lots of fun with Laura and Luke and the Hubert family anyway. I'm feeling very pregnant already with backaches, stomach ligaments stretching, varicose veins...going to be a fun next few months! =) We've been HORRIBLE about documenting this pregnancy. All I can say isthat my tummy is definitely bigger this round at 21 weeks than last round! Hello belly. I think I finally look pregnant with twins. (I think my food choices have helped with that lately.)

Women of Faith

2010-09-01T14:36:00.001-07:00

A few weekends ago my mom, Darlene, and I headed up to Indianapolis where my friend Brooke met us to attend the Women of Faith conference. It was a great conference, but I had the most fun hanging out with my pregnant buddy from up North. Brooke is due with her baby girl on Halloween and she looks FABULOUS! It was so funny to walk around Conseco together- our bellies got a lot of attention; Made me miss her even more and want to live in the same town again. Want to move to Eville, B???

What you can't see are the lumbar pillows we have stuffed behind our backs! ha!

We had wanted to be pregnant together the first time around, but that didn't happen. We are blessed to be able to have fun this round together!

Thanks for a great weekend Mom!!!

Darlene and Mom

It was a great weekend full of FOOD, laughs, and Christian women! Don't think I'll be heading to the conference with 2 eight month old babies next summer... =)

this season of "Mama" life

2010-08-25T11:37:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it just hits me that I'm going to have 2 more little peanuts SOON in my life. I love Graham with a fierceness that I didn't think was possible and I can't wait to have TWO more little people to love like that. I know the last few months of pregnancy are going to be hard. I know that the next few months after that will be even harder, but shame on me if I ever start to complain. I LONGED to be a mother for so long before Graham. God blessed us doubly (and quickly) this time with the twins and I want to always be so grateful for them. I would do anything for my Graham and I know it will be the same for Baby A and Baby B. So for now...I will not get overwhelmed with the amount of things I need to do in th next few months. I will relish this time and remember to count my blessings each day. God has provided for our family again and again and again and again and.........!

This is my life and I love it!
-Good looking, hard working, VERY loving husband and father
-Adorable, smart, Mama's boy, FUNNY baby Graham
-2 peas in the pod!
-Amazing sisters and sister and brother in laws
-Parents and in-laws that provide unending help and unconditional love that live nearby!

I could go on and on...I am blessed, and Lord I do not take this for granted! Thank you!

It's a...

2010-08-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

BOY and a GIRL! WE ARE SO SO THRILLED! If we could have picked, we would have chosen this combo. =) What a blessing to see both of our babies growing so strong and healthy. They both weighed 8 oz, which was slightly small (but normal due to my stomach flu week). Back to eating lots of good food and gaining weight.

Below is a picture of me at 17 weeks 6 days.

As you can see, Graham is THRILLED about being a big bro. =)

This past weekend we headed to Barkley Lake with the Huberts, my parents, and David and his girlfriend Lauren. We had a great time, even though our child is as far from a little fishy as he could be. That boy just does not like water all that much. He enjoys his bath and that's about it. I would say he tolerates the pool and was downright scared of the lake. So...it made a hot weekend even hotter sitting in the boat trying to convince Graham to GET IN THE WATER! We made him a few times just to cool him off, but he was always happy to get back in the boat. Luckily naptime gave us both a good excuse to go back to the house and take a nap. One early morning, Graham was sleeping in my twin bed with me bc he woke up too early and I wasn't ready to get up!!!! I realized that there were 4 people in that bed: Me, Graham and the twins! =) I'm sure that won't be the last time I have all 3 kids in bed with me. Below is a picture of the party animals! Like father like son.

Graham loved to drive the boat with G-pa!

Dad attempted to ski and torn a hamstring muscle. He could barely walk at first so the guys had to use a wheel barrel to get him off the dock and up to the car.

Waiting for Daddy to turn on the air conditioning in the car. Heading back for naptime! I think it took (literally) 20 sec for him to fall asleep in the car.

Friday night we headed to Patti's to eat! Oh yummy in my tummy. Makes me want some steak and shrimp right now. =) Graham had a blast walking around outside and found a teeter totter. He rode it first with Uncle David and Lauren and then with Mimi and Gigi. Belly laughs!!!

This picture cracks me up bc it describes a lot of our weekend! Nooooooooo! Graham is so in a "no" mode right now. I'm thinking he got quite spoiled during his bout of diarrhea and now we are having to break some bad habits.

New jammies! Graham picked them out- thanks Gigi!

New jammies for me! Adam told me the night before that I looked like I belonged on that people of Wal-mart email with my mis-matched pjs. Punk. So I got a foot massage and new jammies. =) He's got to like these, right?

Happy in his bed with a passy. The passy are banned to the bed (hopefully from now on) and so he is enjoying some passy time.

Reading the Bible before bedtime. Graham likes to spot Jesus and the "man". The man is Paul. haha. My lap is getting smaller!

First thing I thought of...

2010-08-11T06:06:00.001-07:00

Holy Moly! Today is the day we find out the sex of the babies!!! Check back this afternoon... =) I am mentally preparing for 2 more boys to be added to the troupe, but hoping for a little girl??? We'll see! Graham has his Big Bro shirt on and we are counting down until 11:00am. Have an exciting day!

Rounding out 19 months

2010-08-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

And here's why making the bed is pointless! (Besides, it's naptime for me after lunch anyway.)

Sweet face. Cozy bed. Sesame Street!

Opened up one of Graham's Christmas presents from Grandma Rosie (from last year-finally big enough). It's a guitar and microphone!!! Oh the concerts we are having at our house. Yea-Yea! Is his favorite "song" to sing into the mic. And of course if Graham is singing, then Monkey gets to sing too!

Yea! Yea!

Happy Birthday Pop!

Mommy finally convinced Daddy to put the bike seat on our bike. Once we got over the

helmet trama, then life was good! I think we will be having a nightly bike ride for a while. =)

Graham decided to end the night with a mega-fit!!! OH MY WORD! Often, we have tears when we have to come inside to end the evening, but they are brief and end almost immediately once inside. Not tonight! This boy stood at the front door crying for 10 minutes in hysterics. Then I managed to wrestle his clothes off of him for bathtime and he refused to sit down (while screaming the whole time). So I washed him standing up! He was begging to get out, but as soon as I let the water go- he started chanting, "bath, bath, bath" between hysterical sobs like I just let his best friend go down the drain. ! Oh man. So I let a naked boy lay in his bed while I put his jammies on and bid this pitiful boy goodnight. Phew. Time to up the parenting discipline. Smacking the hand has been our armor and that has worked beautifully, until tonight (usually just a threat does the trick!). Time outs here we come!!! Ahhh terrible twos; I see you!

Break out the sprite!

2010-08-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

Back to blogging again! Ever since becoming pregnant this round I've struggled to find the time to blog. (I know that's not going to improve much once these babies arrive!!!) Another round of sickness has hit the Hubert household. Graham is going on a week of diarrhea! Poor guy. I think teething combined with a virus has left him very irritated. We are working on it! Lots of toast, starch, bananas and water! Poor boy keeps asking for berries and milk. :( Unfortunately I got the virus but the stomach virus version 2 days ago. Starting to eat again today. I feel bad for my twins :(. No food for a while! It's crazy- this pregnancy I'm working on gaining weight for these 2 babies and with Graham I had enough weight to feed 3 babies!!! =) After throwing up through the night my stomach was getting so thin- I really can see each baby moving now when laying down. Truly amazing! Only 9 more days until we find out what they are. Adam has been such a wonderful help and luckily surgery (which went as well as it could go) and this sickness has fallen on weekends so he has been able to help out A LOT. Graham loves his Daddy and I love watching them play together. Not many Daddy's get more joy than this one in their son!
Graham loves to jump on a pile of pillows and tackle his monkey!

Graham LOVES his "nunkey" and takes him all over. Recently he has been taking very good care of monkey and sharing his passy and sippy cup with Monkey. So sweet to watch him take care of him. =)

Too cute. Ready to play outside on one of the non-scorching days.

What is this, you may ask? Graham's favorites! He carries around Adam's belt, a maternity belt from one of my shirts, his monkey, and this rainbow thing from his exersaucer. ?!?! Graham might be playing and then he stops and claps and runs to get his "gear". He can play with just about anything for the longest time! Such a good boy. He lets me get a lot done!

19 months has been a joyful month! He is so, so creative with his play. I could watch him all day. (I do!) Recently he LOVES to do the motions to his favorite songs: Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. He's so proud! Graham is also learning to count! We count all the time and recently while reading a book with Adam, they started to count and Graham just kept telling him what was next! We were shocked! His favorites are 2,3,7,8,9,10. Who needs 1,4,5, or 6? He can say them in the right order if in the mood though. Right now he is talking so much, with so many new words that sometimes we are having a hard time figuring out which one he is saying. He will keep on trying until we get it though!

Graham has a cool baseball potty chair that he sits on now but still now real trying yet. He likes to sit and read books when we are using the restroom. Good company! ha! He is now telling us when he goes #2 in his diaper so that is progress! I'm not going to push potty training but will see how it goes as he gets older. I could see him making it a power struggle and I SO don't want that to happen, so for now, no big deal!

Haha- I just looked over (Graham is watching Barney) and it's the Hawaii episode and Graham is learning how to hula with Barney and the kids. So funny!!! Well- it is naptime! Hooray! Naptime ALWAYS means for both of us. I luck out when he decides to take a 3 hr nap. I'd say average nap these days is 2 hours.

In the words of Graham- ni-ni, ov-oo.

Night-Night. Love You!

Tomorrow

2010-07-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

5:00am.

That's what time I will show up at the Women's Hospital tomorrow morning. Yikes! I feel like I should be going to bed right now!!! My surgery is scheduled for 7:00am Thursday morning. Should be a smooth procedure and I'll be home in the afternoon. Please say a prayer all goes well with my cervical polypectomy. Thank you!!!

Scary Weekend

2010-07-20T07:48:00.001-07:00

Phew.

That's all I can say about last week! Let's start from the beginning...

I volunteered to help out with a first/second grade class at the Arts Smarts camp at our church. I was really excited to get a week of "teaching" back in my system, but knew it would be a little harder than I thought now being pregnant with twins. Graham attended his own "nursery" camp and came home each afternoon with the cutest crafts and new words to share with me. Overall, I think he had a great time, but was wondering why I kept dropping him off every morning at church. I've been exhausted from camp and Graham and I would take a nice nap when we got home everyday. My ligaments in my stomach were getting sore, but I thought rest each day would be enough.
Well, Thursday morning I had a little bit of spotting. I knew it was probably from overdoing it, but I took it easy at camp that day. Luckily we had a guest so I got to sit down all morning. I was fine the rest of the day, but Friday was a crazy day at camp and when I came home I had another episode of spotting. ANY blood in pregnancy is so scary!!!!! So I called the dr around 3:30 in the afternoon and an hour later, they told me to head into the Triage area at the Women's Hospital. I was freaking out a bit but Graham and Adam were with me to keep me calm. After a very thourough ultrasound and exam, we found out the babies were fine and my cervix was not shortening! PHEW! A maternal/fetal specialist came down and did an exam and did find a polyp on my cervix though that is causing this bleeding. He told me to get an appt with my OB next week and we would most likely schedule surgery to remove the polyp in the next few weeks. I rested all Friday night, but Saturday I went to a baby shower and sang at church- mainly on my feet again from 3:00-7:00pm. Bad idea. Sunday at church (right before I was going to sing my solo at the 2nd service) I found more blood- more than before. Yikes. I sang my solo and then went and found my dad in the service. We decided to go back to the hospital to get it checked out because I was cramping a bit. So scary. It was a little deja vu-ish. Same results- babies were fine and polyp was causing bleeding. I was so relieved to see heartbeats and two dancing babies. The positive side of this was that I got to see my babies for a LONG ultrasound on Friday and on Sunday. They are already such little tiny babies- all perfectly formed at only 14 weeks. Did make me wish they would pass that law that would have every woman who wanted an abortion get an ultrasound before. I'm sure many babies would be saved!!!
So now we are waiting to hear from the dr when the surgery will be. It's supposedly an easy procedure but I'm a little scared. I know it needs to come out bc of continued bleeding and this is a better choice than leaving it bc of risk of premature labor. I'm just glad this was all bc of a polyp and not something more serious. So, please say a prayer that this will go well and our babies will continue to grow and mature into the little people God has planned for them to be!

Thank you to the nurses and drs at the Women's Hospital. I can't say enough nice things about how I was treated and the good care I received.

Here's to "taking it easy" with a 19 month old?!?! =) Blessed to have a GOOD little boy.

Summer sweat!

2010-07-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

Even at 8:00pm at night- it's still H.O.T. outside and my 2 boys that live at this house SWEAT like there's no tomorrow. Graham is truly like his Daddy in so many ways.

Our neighbor left their powerwheels car in our yard so Graham took advantage of that and decided to play "open, get in, close the door, get out, and repeat" game. Pink car? Doesn't bother this boy! He knows a stylish car when he sees one. =)

Proof of the sweat! Look at it rolling down his face!

Our neighbor Mick- Taylormade men.

Sooo thirsty. Sooo sweaty.

And...

On a sadder note...

Graham's first experience with death. His 1st birthday present from his Daddy. Alas, "fish" has died. RIP little guy. Huberts are going to take a break from fish for a little while. (Daddy got tired of cleaning out the tank and I won't do it!)

I'm sure there will be dozens more in our future!

Do you think this club is a little big?

2010-07-08T06:03:00.000-07:00

Fun at Mountain Air!

Whoa Baby! Whoa Baby! and VACATION!

2010-07-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

We finally made our pregnancy "facebook" official a few days ago so here it is on our blog! We are pregnant with TWINS!!! And here is the proof! The pic is a little grainy but you can see 2 little babies in their 2 separate sacs. We are so excited to become parents to more children. We know full well children are a blessing from the Lord. We have so many friends who are struggling with infertility, miscarriages, and other problems and so we are counting our blessings, as we have experienced both as well. Thank you Lord for these 2 precious gifts!

(ultrasound from week 9)

Here I am! 12 weeks pregnant!

We headed to Mountain Air for the 4th of July weekend to spend it with my family. What a great vacation we had relaxing, shopping, playing with Graham and riding golf carts!

Feeding the fish at the trout pond.

Uncle Andy and Daddy taught Graham how to play "hockey" with 2 golf clubs. I know, I know. Hockey does not involve 2 golf clubs but hey...

Happy 4th of July!

Me and my younger sis Becky.

We joined the 1.55 million other people and ate hotdogs for dinner! Only AFTER we ate them did my Dad admit to dropping one.

Waiting at the top of the mountain for the fireworks to begin!

Sister Sister!

Getting a little bored...

Bad smile picture

Hope you had a great weekend with family and friends!

Big Boy!

2010-06-29T05:49:00.000-07:00

I did it all by myself! Graham loves to play on his play house (or fort as Daddy calls it). He is quite proud of going down slides by himself.

Gearing up to help Mom! If Mom has gloves, Graham needs them too. =) He is such a helper!

Got one!!!

Hmmmm...can't get my broom though...

Figured out he is tall enough to reach the light switch! Loves to turn it off and on.

Going to be brave mom...no hands!

Thinking this process out...

WHOA! Big boy.

So proud of himself. =) I'm proud of him too! I love watching him learn new skills.

DADDY!

2010-06-21T05:36:00.000-07:00

To say Graham was excited to give Adam his Father's Day gifts is a big understatement! He couldn't wait to give them to Daddy and help open them. =) It was an exciting way to wake up Daddy in bed. Daddy got a new shirt/tie combo for work, some workout underarmour gear, and (of course) a Star Wars shirt from threadless.com.

After presents and pancakes, off to church and naps at home and then family time! What a great day! Graham and Adam even got to sit in a HUGE "guck". So much fun!

Daddy- I love you more than Mommy has the words to type for me. If I could choose anyone to play with, I would choose you everytime. You take such great care of Mommy and me. We can feel your love everyday. I feel it when we wrestle, I feel it when you play guitar for me and I dance, I feel it when you get me out of my crib and have my monkey "get" me, I feel it when we read books, I feel it when you choose me over anything else! I just know you love me and I love you SOOOOOOO much Daddy! You are the best Daddy in the world! Mommy thinks so too!!! I can't wait for all of our fun to continue for years and years. You are my buddy. Love you Daddy!

It's been a month! WHoa!

2010-06-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been almost a whole month since my last post! Slacking Mommy! I have many reasons for this, but more about those later. Here are a few last pics of my 17 month old boy because now he's a big 18 month old! My BABY is a year and a half old. It sure is a fun age, full of new words, sweet hugs and kisses, more laughs, more sports and wrestling time, and creative play! It's also full of extreme emotional outburts, but those just show me what a passionate little fellow I have. When he's excited HE'S EXCITED! When he's mad, HE'S MAD! He is dramatic and sweet and my precious boy. He is very particular about things (hello, Adam?) and has special things that he does with each person. He loves to play at Kids Club at Tri-State Athletic Club and is a ham in the nursery at church. He asks to go see the drums at church IMMEDIATELY when he's picked up. He's obsessed with drums, guitars, and pianos and loves to DANCE! He has a special time with Daddy every day that he comes home. Graham runs to Daddy and says "Datch". Which is his blended word for couch and guitar. Daddy plays guitar while Graham runs/dances around. Graham melts my heart when he says "Love You".
Playdate with friends!

At the zoo with Mommy and Daddy. Looking at my favorite...Monkeys!!

Graham liked the giraffes and was pretty good at saying giraffe. He also learned how to say "cock", hehe peacock that is.

As Graham gets older, the mischieve level raises!

I was hungry Mommy!

NOTHING like snuggles from my baby. Even if they are snuggles with a nudy patooty!

Still addicted to the passy, but I don't mind. This kid has got some passy skills! Think Maggie Simpson with her passy. =)

Creative seating...

One of his favorite things to eat by himself...apple on the core! Much tastier on the core!

Summer is great! Cheese!

At Bosse Field with friends Niki & Tony, Emily & Greg

I've been horrible about taking pictures so far this month, but promise to be better! Emily and Brad Rockwood were here last weekend and we got to meet adorable Lorigrace, but sadly I don't have any pics! Bad Sarah! Now just a week and a half and it's time for family vacation to North Carolina! Mountain Air here we come. =)

My silly boy & outdoor fun!

2010-05-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

Pastry brushes are tasty! (One of his kitchen toys!)

Someone realized he was getting his picture taken.

Just the beginning of the wonderful ear tricks Daddy is going to teach him. =) Hubert ears are special I tell ya!

What?!?!

Playing at the 4-H park. One of our favorite things to do on pretty days!

This boy could swing for HOURS!!! I think the longest we pushed him was 45 minutes and we finally got him to play with something else.

Do you see how tense I am? I was so freaked that the fish was going to touch me. Not a fish-touchin' kind of girl. =)

My husband MADE me stand closer to my prize fish. =) At least I caught one...hehe.

They days have been SO MUCH BETTER now that Graham is healthy. I can't emphasize enough how different this child acts when he doesn't feel well. I was breaking out "The Strong Willed Child" book (not knowing he had an ear infection) before he got some antibiotics. He loves amoxicillin and asks for more everytime he takes it.

Graham really has taken a jump this month with his language skills. He is starting to repeat a lot of words when we ask him to. His creations for a few words are so stinking cute and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who knows what he's saying alot of the time. Some new words this past week are Bible, boy, Barney, balloon, couch, juice, bubbles, bra (Adam's mad I taught him this one) and blackberries (this one is funny to hear!). I'm noticing a "b" pattern, but the funny thing is he calls a bus "dus" and some other "b" words with d's. Go figure. He's proud of himself and I'm so proud of him. Most birds are ducks except for the "cock" we saw at the zoo, peacock that is. He loves to do animal sounds and sounds of anything with a motor. He's obsessed with lawn mowers, trucks, guitars, and drums.

Graham weighs 25 lbs and is wearing size 6 wide shoes! He's a tall boy but still pretty trim. His curly hair gets comments from most check-out workers at grocery stores and shops. I'm a proud mama. Most people don't realize his curly hair comes from me! (I straighten mine most days). 17 months has been a good month (minus 2 weeks of sickness!) It's strange to think June is around the corner and my boy will turn a year and a half!

Life is good.

Where have we been?!?

2010-05-12T15:21:00.000-07:00

Conked out at 7:00pm after a dinner of grapes!

Watching Barney with Daddy. Can you tell the right side of his head hurts?

Soooo tired from being up all night with croup.

We've been dealing with our poor, sick baby! Last Monday night, after Uncle David's b-day party, Graham spiked a random fever and then it was all down hill from there. Tuesday he became really hoarse and had a drippy nose and still a persistent fever. After he woke up from his afternoon nap hysterical, I knew something really wrong was up! Needless to say, Graham and I were up all night with episodes of 20 minutes of sleep here and there. The barking cough that comes with croup is so strange! He was having a bit of trouble breathing so that was scary to me. We called the late night dr and they gave us home remedies to do. I've watched enough Barney to last me a looonnnngggg time. We headed to the dr in the morning and confirmed that he had croup! Steriods and lots of motrin for the next few days and I thought we had made it through. All weekend Graham was EXTREMELY clingy. Those few of you that saw Graham know how true this was. He did not want me to put him down. Ever. Phew, and that boy is getting heavy! Well just when I thought I was needing to break out "Strong-willed Child" book he spiked another fever. Luckily he slept through the night but woke up so so sad this morning. Tears, oh my! We headed to see wonderful Dr. Cocharan again and Graham freaked when we got there. He was worried they were going to swab him for strep throat again, I think. Found out his right ear is very full with an ear infection so he got some Tylenol with codine and a prescription for amox. This afternoon has been great, so I'm hoping my sweet boy is coming back to me. So sad for my sick baby!!!!

challenges and joys

2010-04-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

Wearing his Air Force shirt!

"Graham, wear is the falcon?" He likes to point out whatever is on his shirt. He can "caw caw" like a falcon too!

Daddy and Graham. Buddies for life!!!

Just needed to say my son is entering a whole new phase of crazy-man!!! I knew it was coming and I know I have about 1o more crazy-man levels to reach before he enters school at some point. haha He is just turning into this ball of energy and wearing me out at times. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but just needed to document that 16 months is a doozy! I think this post is occuring during teething time as well and teeth have always made Graham a little on the sensitive/frustrated side. As I look over at him now, he is trying to sit in his old bumbo seat with a pastry brush. Finally gave up and is now trying to put shorts on his head. He is very much into trying to dress himself, which he is not capable of yet. A few things that have driven me a little bonkers:

-shaking the tub with sprinkles (for decorating) and they came open! Yellow sprinkles are still hiding in places in the kitchen.

-He found yellow food coloring and decided to try and eat the lid off. He succeeded and turned his mouth, hands, knees, and ankles yellow. Wish I had the mind frame to take a picture, but I was cooking for a friend and running late, so it wasn't funny at the moment. Now it's funny. =) Still has yellow fingernails a few days later.

-Opened the package with 10 soap bars and opened up each individual package. Now they are all in a ziploc bag and he is determined to slide it open!

Graham has been saying "Mama" and "Mom" for a while now, but now he is beginning to add "Mommy" to the list, and that ones my favorite! He is learning that when he says my name he gets my attention quickly, so he is saying Mama, Mommy, all day long! I like this one!!!

When he is thankful for blueberries or cookies he says thank you in sign language. I love that he is communicating with me. He just fell down and did a little "fake" cry so I would come and get him. I asked him if cookies would make him feel better and he giggled. =) He wanted to go eat them in his special chair but remembered to turn around and say thank you.

He loves to pray before every meal and remembers to tell us to pray before we are all even sitting down at the table!

He knows pretty much every body part that you typically name and loves to point them out on other people. (Don't worry- he doesn't point out certain specific, private body parts on other people. =) )

16 months!

2010-04-12T12:10:00.000-07:00

Oh boy oh boy! Let the playdates begin at our house!!! Thank you Gigi for my wonderful table with an umbrella.

I love it!

Just planning all the fun things that I want to do on this table.

Relaxing in my Colts chair, watching my favorite show, Barney. All he needs is a snack and you are seeing a pre-nap occurence! It's rough work being a newly 16 month old boy!

The spring weather here in Evansville has been just gorgeous this year! We are loving our house and yard this first spring for us. We have been very busy the past few weekends doing yardwork, weeding out flower beds, and planting new flowers. Looking better each week! (pics to come). Our robin, Petey, is even back and has built her nest again above our front door. Graham loves being outside, especially now that he has a play-fort (as Adam calls it) and a shaded spot to rest. He also makes himself at home on our neighbors baby swing. Graham is a friendly boy and loves to wave and talk to all of our neighbors. We are so happy with our neighborhood! Anyone want to come join us here in Carrington Meadows? We love it!

Graham is growing, and growing and my left arm is paying the price! I have done something to the tendons in my shoulder/bicep region from carrying this boy always on my left. oops-I don't switch it up very much! Moms- be sure to switch arms that you carry your baby in!!! So, taking a break from lifting weights and having fun doing cycle/group spin class. I hated it at first but now I love it!!! Such a great workout.

Graham has turned into a little kitty cat recently. He is meowing all over the place. =) He has also added "sauce" to his list of words along with "motorcycle" and "yipee". He's getting so big and is so good at communicating what he wants, either verbally, with sign language, or body language. He likes to follow directions and do "jobs" for us. He is an independent little guy until he is sleepy and then he wants his Mommy. He loves to dance and listen to fast-paced music. He plays with his antique kitchen cabinet and little tykes car. He waves bye bye to anything that goes away- TV shows, people, birds, trucks. He is the uh-oh police and likes to eat food off the floor (after he has thrown it there!). He finds joy in putting his feet in the sink and turning the water on. He loves to eat and definitely has his preferences for snacks. He craves milk in the afternoon. He loves to try and touch my tongue. He likes to blow on his food in case it is hot. He likes to watch me put my makeup on- he loves to put on chapstick and thinks its a game to try and lick it! Silly boy! I could go on and on. I wish I could capture and remember every little cute thing he does, but this will have to do. I love my little buddy and the person he is becoming!

He is Risen Indeed!

2010-04-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday started out nice and early at Roberts Stadium for the Hubert family. Adam was one of the thieves (the bad one!) on the cross during the sermon. Very powerful!
Bad thief, Jesus, Good Thief

Dress Rehearsal

Easter Morning during rehearsal. Being silly with Gpa!

Hi Buddy! Looking studly in their Easter duds.

Figuring out the egg hunt

Watch out folks-here comes Graham and Easter Elmo!

Daddy and Gpa having more fun with the Easter toys than Graham.

Petting the stone garden bunny =) Don't tell him its not the Easter bunny.

Gpa and Gigi- thank you for my Easter egg hunt!

Trying to get Graham to laugh- it worked but what happened to Adam!?!

29!

2010-04-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the homemade birthday sign I saw when I went to the fridge for some breaksfast on my b-day. Wouldn't be a special day without something homemade from Adam!

The sign out of the fridge...

Graham making his "funny face". Will do it on command now. =)

Birthday wish! Not telling what it was. =)

29!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The random gifts Adam tried to tease me with from Wal-mart...

Hooray! The real gift!!! Massage here I come!

I am now the big old age of 29! Next year will be my golden year (turning 30 on the 30th), but this is my last year of being in the "twenties". It's strange to think of those "old" 30 year olds that I THOUGHT were old when I was a kid,. Now I see how young 30 is going to be. =) So true that your soul can feel young but the body keeps going up in age! I'm asking God for many, many more years to come!!!