Nine Months of Double Loving

My sweet Gracie and Bailey turned 9 months old on May 2nd. I feel so blessed to have been able to love them these past 9 months. It is amazing to watch them grow and to witness their love for one another. This post is a little late because our house was attacked with an icky cold virus and so we are just getting back into the swing of things. I am relieved that my babies are feeling better. If you want a challenge then try to take care of two sick babies at one time. When babies are sick they want to be held and when there are two of them and one of me then things get a little difficult to say the least!

We had our nine month checkup and Bailey stats were as follows: weight 18.11pds 20%, length 27 3/4 in 30%, and head 18 1/4 75%. Gracie's stats were: weight 16.3 pds 20%, length 26 1/2in 15%, and head 17 1/8 30%. It was kind of funny going into the apt because we all thought that Bailey had really outgrown Gracie. He seemed to be eating more and just felt heavier. We were surprised to find that they are in the same percentile and that the difference is made up in him being a boy and her a girl. I try pretty hard not to compare the twins and this taught us our lesson and that Mrs. Skinny Minny as we call her is doing just fine!

"Bailey Boy" as we call him is always busy. He is constantly looking for something to play with or is rolling across the floor. Rolling on the floor seems to be his new hobby. He can get from one side of the room to the other in 5 secs flat by rolling. His favorite toy is now his laptop and he has discovered the taggies on things. He goes straight for the tag on most of his toys and he is content. Bailey continues to love bath time and he likes to try to grab his sisters toes while in the tub. He has been enjoying his swimming pool and loves to fish for his pool toys. Bailey now has four teeth and his fifth tooth should be in any day now, needless to say he is chewing on everything in sight. Bailey eats anything and everything that we give him and he doesn't really seem to have preferences. He is still on the number 2 foods and has had some "real people " mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, apple sauce, croissant roll and mac and cheese. Bailey is quickly outgrowing his swing but it is still is favorite place to nap and he is sleeping a very consistent 11 hours every night! I have the privilege of tucking Bailey in each night and my favorite part of the day is having him fall asleep in my arms, Daddy usually wakes us both up in order to put him in bed. Bailey still seems to be a mama's boy and is easily scared by his sister when she screams at him. He prefers to sit in his carrier while in the stroller so that he can be close to me. Bailey still has the biggest and sweetest smile and I love when he reaches for Gracie, he is constantly wanting to hold her hand, foot, head... well really any part of her.

"Crazy Gracie" as we call her, seems to be into everything and has become even more independent. She has discovered how to stand and hold onto things and thus wants nothing to do with sitting or crawling. She still enjoys to watch Bailey play but now she has learned how to steal toys away from him. Her favorite game to play is to throw everything off of her exersaucer and to have mommy pick it up numerous times. She absolutely adores her puppy, Dixie and she looks for her every morning. Gracie's favorite toy is a stuffed soccer ball that she can actually catch and somehow throw pretty good. Gracie loves to kick and splash in the pool and the bathtub. She is our outdoor baby and loves being in the sunshine. She recently discovered the slide on our playground and giggles when mommy goes down it with her. Gracie is more picky about what she eats and she prefers fruits but turkey and rice is one of her favorite meals. She doesn't really seem to be into "real food" and wants nothing to do with it. We haven't discovered any teeth yet but hopefully she will get one soon. Gracie is a wonderful napper and goes right down. She sometimes wakes up at night time with belly aches but is doing pretty good. Daddy tucks Gracie in each night and she loves her special time with him. I love watching Gracie in the car, she will lean forward in her car seat to make sure that her brother is on the other side of the car.

I grow more and more in love with my Gracie and Bailey each day. I can't believe that they are 9 months old and it makes me want to hold them tight, hug them and kiss them as much as I can because they are growing up way too fast!

Nine Month Moments...

We have been working on sharing our toys and we play great together.

Bailey loves to sit up and play with his train.

Gracie loves to play catch with her soccer ball.

Bailey prefers to ride close to mommy on walks.

Gracie like to ride in the front seat with her feet propped up on walks.

We are discovering lots of new foods and we love to watch mommy dance while doing dishes.
We chew on just about anything these days!

Bailey loves to take naps in his swing.
We love to splash each other and play with our pool toys.

Miracle Baby Reunion

I was SO excited to attend the Emory at Johns Creek NICU reunion today. Unfortunately, Preston had previously planned on going to a PGA golf tournament before we knew the date of the reunion and so I was grateful to have granny accompany us to the party. On the way to the reunion as we turned on the road that the hospital is off of I told my mom that I had the same "anxious/excited" feeling that I had after turning on that road for so many days when visiting my sweet babies. I was excited to see the nurses who cared for me for seven weeks and also the nurses who cared for Gracie and Bailey. I think of these nurses as more of family or really angels!

The first nurse I ran into at the reunion was Cathy and she was my night time nurse who took excellent care of me. Night time was the hardest for me because I usually always had contractions and Cathy was great at staying on top of them although it meant lots of shots for me. It was great to get to show her the little ones who she used to chase around my belly with the heart monitor for hours each night while trying to trace their heartbeats. We also were able to visit L&D were we saw Linda who was one of my daytime nurses who delivered the twins. Linda was always so sweet and caring.

We saw so many of the NICU nurses who cared for Gracie and Bailey. Each nurse brought back special memories. Like I said before these nurses mean the world to me. Most new moms can't leave their babies for an hour or day so to have to leave your babies every night for 6 weeks is very HARD. What made it more comforting was to know that I was leaving them in the most loving hands. Pervell and Karen were two of Gracie and Baileys night time nurses who we kind of became attached to. Pervell would always "teach" us how to care for our sweet little ones and would challenge us by making us do more and more with each visit. We always had fun with Karen who was the first nurse who allowed us to hold our babies for the very first time, what a special moment! I can remember her saying "I'm a mom and I know how important it is for you to hold your babies and so I am going to let you do this tonight even though it isn't exactly on the care plan yet." We also were able to see the twins' Neonatologist, Dr. Narayan who visited me just about every other day before Gracie and Bailey even arrived just to check in and cheer me on for keeping them in for another day. By the time Gracie and Bailey came it was so comforting to have him caring for them because I felt like I new him so well.

At the reunion, I was able to make a scrapbook page for Gracie and Bailey that they keep in the NICU and they also had a table to make prints of their feet. Looking at their prints now compared to when they were born is simply amazing as their old prints could probably fit into their toe prints now! It was a wonderful day celebrating with some of the most special people in our lives.

I brought this pic for our scrapbook page, can't believe how tiny they were!

Nurse Pervell, our night time nurse

Nurse Karen, our night time nurse

Dr. Narayan, our Neonatologist

Lions and Tigers and Bears.....

Gracie and Bailey's First Trip to the Zoo

One of our favorite things to do at the beach is to visit the zoo. Gulf Shores has a great little zoo that seems like not a whole lot of people know about. Preston and I discovered it a few years back on a cloudy day when looking for something to do and we have gone back each year when we are at the beach. The zoo is right off the main highway and you would never guess that they have lions, tigers, bears, crocodiles, giraffes and just about anything you can imagine. This zoo is fun because it is usually not crowded and you can get pretty close to the animals. Part of the zoo is reserved for animals that you can pet and feed. We were so excited to take Gracie and Bailey to the zoo for the first time. We started with them in their jogging stroller but by the time we got to the first animal we already had them out so we could hold them up to see the animals and tell them all about the animals. We would make the noises that the animals make and they would just giggle and giggle. Some of the animals would make their own noises which really made them laugh. It is such a fun day and a great family memory.

Feeding the animals.

Our Friend is asking Bailey for some food.

Pay attention Mommy so the Donkey doesn't eat Gracie!

Daddy telling Bailey all about the tiger.

Sand and Sunshine

This past week we spent our first sunny vacation at the beach house. We went to Obsession earlier in the year but we were not able to enjoy to true beauty of the beach because it was still chilly and windy out. We were blessed with beautiful weather. Preston's mom came with us and we invited my best friend, Jessica and her husband, Rick to join us as well. Jessica and Rick were a wonderful help with the twins since Jessica has twins herself. Preston's mom helped to make our vacation even better by keeping Gracie and Bailey in the morning time so we could enjoy sleeping in which makes any vacation great! Preston and I were also able to enjoy a beautiful sunset dinner to celebrate our 5 year anniversary.
Preston and I learned quickly that vacations will never be the same now that we have Gracie and Bailey. We used to just lay out in the sun all day and enjoy evening cocktails and dinners out. Now our vacations look a little different....they take tons of organizing to pack everything, bottles still have to be washed, laundry needs to be done daily, babies still wake up in the middle of the night trying to adjust to a new setting, and we learned it is much easier to do take out and go to bed at about 9! With all this being said I would not trade our new vacations for anything! It is so fun watching Gracie and Bailey discover God's beautiful creations. I loved seeing Bailey watch seagulls flying by for the first time and hearing Gracie giggle at the crashing waves was priceless.

Our blessed family of four!

Mommy and her Gracie!

Mommy and her Bailey boy! The cutest twins ever!Grammy helping the twins swim for the first time in the pool!

Jessica and Rick enjoying the beach. Our little spot for the week.
Gracie enjoying watching the waves.

Gracie is trying to get Dixie to go swimming. Bailey discovering that sand doesn't taste so good.
Bailey and Dixie laying in the sun.
Bailey found his toes.

Mommy and Gracie enjoying some seafood.

Priceless!
Celebrating our 5 year anniversary with a sunset dinner!

When can we return???

Weekend FUN !

This past weekend it was nice to be home again and to be able to spend some family time together. By the time Friday comes around I am usually ready for the twins and I to get out of the house and go. Gracie, Bailey and I always look forward to Daddy coming home and being able to spend time with us. On Friday night we went out to a local Mexican restaurant. The restaurant usually has a live band and so the twins love the music and all the bright colors.

Gracie and I getting ready for our Friday night date!

On Saturday we did our morning chores and then all headed out to one of our favorite parks, Windermere park which is just down the road. We love the park because it allows dogs and it even has a doggy play area where Dixie can meet new friends. The twins love watching their doggy fetch sticks in the water. Gracie giggled and giggled every time Dixie would jump in the water. Daddy talked to Bailey about the outdoors and how he looks forward to taking him camping with him as soon as he gets big enough!

Mommy and Gracie watching Dixie fetch sticks!

Daddy talking to Bailey about the great outdoors.
Sunday was very exciting because it was the first time that we all went to church as a family! We have been very thankful for Preston's parents watching the twins on Sundays so we could attend church service. We were encouraged to wait until the official flu season passed before we brought the twins to church. We were so excited and nervous at the same time to take the twins to Waumba Land. Waumba Land is our church's environment for the youngest children up to four years old. It helped so much that I had volunteered in Waumba Land for a few years and I knew that we were taking Gracie and Bailey to a wonderful and loving setting. The goal of Waumba Land is to teach children that God made them, that God loves them and that Jesus wants to be their friend forever. It felt great to start teaching Gracie and Bailey this very important message. I have to admit that walking into church service my hands felt so empty and a part of me want to go back to get the twins. After walking into the service, I saw some of the girls in my women's small group and it was so nice to have familiar faces to take my mind of leaving my little one's for the first time. The twins teacher said that they did great and we are looking forward to many more Sundays.

Happy 1st Easter

Holidays are SO fun with little one's and especially with two to dress up. I am blessed to have the best of both worlds with having my handsome Bailey and sweet Gracie. We were still in Gatlinberg, TN for Easter and so we were able to celebrate it with our expanded family which was fun. I loved seeing all the little one's in their Easter attire and to hear them talk about their Easter goodies that the bunny had amazingly left at the hotel. Preston's dad and his dad's first cousin, "big Parker" did a wonderful Easter service where the Easter scripture was read and they talked about the importance of knowing our savior and also about the importance of family.

Our First Easter together

Gracie and Bailey holding their Easter Baskets.

The Bunny had left them each an outdoor swing when they arrived home.
McFarland Family Easter with our two newest members, Gracie and Bailey!

Our First Family Reunion

This past weekend we attended the Parker Family Reunion in Gatlinberg, Tennessee. The name "Parker" comes from Preston's side of the family and was his grandmother's maiden name. It took lots of organizing while packing for our four day stay in a hotel. With having twins it means we have to pack just about double everything and bring somethings along that you might could do without if you just had one baby. We had so much cargo that the twins actually stayed in their own hotel room that adjoined to our room. I guess I would consider our babies a little spoiled since they are only 8 months old and already are getting their own hotel room. Some may think their own hotel room was a little much but when you stop and think about two pack n plays, an exersaucer, a highchair, toys, changing station, and a place needed to wash and sanitize 10 bottles a day, then having their own room really was needed. Gracie and Bailey did wonderful on the car ride only requiring one stop in NC at McDonald's for a quick bottle. It is fun to see the reaction of people when we stop as just about all the workers stop working and make goo goo eyes over our sweet little one's. I have learned to bask in these moments as a reward for all the hard work that the twins require on a daily basis.

The first thing we did upon arriving at our hotel was take the twins for their very first SWIM! They loved the pool but both had expressions that they were not quite sure about this over sized bathtub.

We enjoyed some really good dinners in downtown Gatlinberg.

The twins turned 8 Months old during our stay. Happy Birthday Gracie and Bailey!

We enjoyed a family picnic at Chimney Tops camp ground although it was really windy. The river was beautiful and the woods were peaceful.

Preston and his brothers, Parker and Brian and his sister,Kara.

Uncle Parker and Aunt Nicole loving on their nephew.

Bailey is not too fond of his stroller and prefers for this form of transport. "Yes this would be why his mommy is so skinny!"

Our little tourist all ready to hit the town!

The Parker Family!

Family is a gift that I always hope that Gracie and Bailey will keep close. Their Daddy Bob has done such an excellant job at researching our family and documenting it through pictorial slide shows. Gracie and Bailey are lucky that they were have pictures and discriptions of their "roots." We are very blessed to be a part of an amazingly supportive and loving family.