Precious One

Precious one,

So small,

So sweet.

Dancing in on angels feet.

Straight from Heaven's brightest star,

What a miracle you are.

Some people were shocked. Other's said they were wondering lately and others said they had been expecting this. I'm not sure what that really means because how can you really be expecting this kind of news? No one knows what the Lord has in store for any of us. 

After the twins were born we weren't really sure how we felt about having more children. For a long time we didn't want more. We were satisfied with our little family the way that it was and besides, who in their right mind would be thinking about having more babies while you are in the throws of dealing with two at one time?! Another reason Jon and I never really thought about having more was because of the trouble and pain we went thru trying to have James and Audrey. Perhaps some of you didn't know that. And perhaps some of you don't know that we eventually turned to a Fertility doctor. I had surgery for Endometriosis and after 6 months of still no baby, we started fertility treatments. Thankfully we didn't have to do anything too invasive (we did IUI, for those of you who are interested you can look that up! I don't think it appropriate to give you the details on here!!) and we only had to do it once before we were blessed with the two little miracles that are James and Audrey!! But after all the emotional pain and stress of the fertility issues and then the premature birth of the twins, we knew we would never travel down the fertility path again. We were blessed with healthy children (and one of each to boot) and we definitely feel like there is a fine line where fertility treatments are concerned. And we felt like we'd be crossing that line if we tried it again. And we also did NOT want to be the next Jon and Kate Plus 8. They did the same treatments we did......

As I was telling a friend earlier today, during the Summer we started to feel like something or someone was missing. And I realized that I was not ready to say goodbye forever to that infancy stage. To the countless diaper changes and 2 a.m. feedings. Or to the teeny tiny fingers that grasp yours in the middle of the night when you can barely hold your head up and then you feel that little hand and suddenly you are wide awake again.

Just in case you are wondering, Jon and I are expecting our third child!!!!!!! The Lord is so good and wonderful and merciful. And it was only divine help that we had this time!!! We are beyond excited. It's still a little hard to believe really. I mean, we waited 2 years for James and Audrey and honestly never thought it possible to have more. This time we didn't really have to wait. The Lord is so good. So good.

It's still really early, I am only about 5 weeks. But I don't go to the doctor for another month and we couldn't contain our excitement. We had to share our news. So, we ask to be remembered in your prayers. For the Lord to continue to bless this new little one to grow strong and healthy and NOT COME OUT TILL IT'S TIME!!!!!

Of finger pricks and shots

On Monday I hauled my little no-neck-monster's down to Tallahassee for a visit with our beloved Pediatrician for their 3 year check up. They were measured and weighed as usual. But this time we added having their blood pressure checked, their fingers pricked( to which they didn't shed a tear!), their eye sight and hearing tested and they got to urinate in a cup. Well James did, he thought it was cool. I had to bring Audrey's cup home with us and am waiting for the right moment to collect! They can see and hear! It was hysterical watching them hop around the nurse's station in their skivvies like such big kids. They also had to get 2 shots, each. That was not well received. At all.

James:
Weight: 27 1/2 lbs
Height: 35 inches

Audrey:
Weight: 27 1/2 lbs
Height: 36 inches

And no, their weight isn't wrong. The nurse weighed James twice to be sure! They both checked out great. Even thought they are small for their age, they are right on target for their growth pattern and growing nicely. Not that I was concerned but it's always nice to hear that they are strong and healthy. It's also time for them to go to the dentist so I will be making that appointment in the near future. I'm not sure how that's gonna go. But I do know I will NOT be going to that doctor's appointment by myself. I may be brave but I ain't stupid!!

For all the grandparents

James and Audrey received a brand new swing set for their birthday, courtesy of their grandparents whom are scattered throughout the Southeastern United States. I figured since they are the reason for all the excitement around here over the last few days that they would like to see the reactions of the wee little ones upon discovering the reason they weren't allowed to venture into the back yard for almost 3 days!! This swing set couldn't of come at a more perfect time in their lives. It's been a great expenditure of energy for their tiny bodies that seem to have more energy than Speedy Gonzales these days! So on behalf of the Mizell's in Georgia, THANK YOU GRANDPARENTS!!!!!!

Batten down the hatchees

Arrrgggg, last week James and Audrey both had a little cold virus that made them have horrible stinkin attitudes, runny noses and a couple trips to the bathroom.......
They had the exact same thing but James' asthma really does a number on him in cases such as this. Audrey never coughed the first time and James started couging on Monday. In an attempt to keep out of the doctor's office and off prednasolne, I started with Pulmicort and albuterol treatments 2x a day. But by Friday he was not any better and actually a tad worse so, to prevent a trip to the ER over the weekend, I went ahead and took him to our Pediatrician.  But this time in addition to the Prednisone, he got a referral to an Allergist! Yay!! Hopefully we will make that trip in the next few weeks!

We didn't do anything big for the twins' birthday, on their birthday. We are going to Disney World in November instead. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about this and have been for months and months. And as the time gets closer Jon is getting just as excited! We've told the kids we are going to Disney World and they get so excited hearing about it! They have no clue as to what they are about to experience but you would think they go every week from the way they react when we talk about it!!

Our transition from the age 2 to 3 has been a bit of an adjustment around here. Everyone talks about the terrible two's and how that is like the worst age for a kiddo. Not the case with us. The age of 2 was a magical year for us! They were getting more independent and talking more and it was fun to hear their vocabularies explode and not have to do every thing for them. They enjoyed hour upon hour of just playing together, hardly ever getting into a squabble. They didn't even know HOW to back talk. Yeah, that started to change as their 3rd year approached and once their birthday came around, I've been asking the magical year of 2 where it has gone and begging it to please come back!!

Now their vocabulary is better than mine most days. They are so independent that they get into trouble with their new found independence. (Yeah, that's not foreshadowing or anything.) They still get along for the most part but James isn't so quick to do as his sister instructs him these days and that always ends in a show down that usually gives me a headache. James seems to be getting more and more joy out of aggravating the living daylights out of Audrey which usually ends up giving me a headache. James is getting more "OCD" as he gets older. And yes, this too, usually ends up giving me a headache. He's a creature of habit, as most humans are, but he totally freaks if his "routine" changes. For instance, he usually asks for a drink of water before he goes to sleep and last night he forgot. He remembered after I had already bedded down for the evening on the couch and since Jon had not, he got the water. Well, lets just say that you would of thought that the devil himself brought that youngin that cup of water.

Audrey is usually my compliant child but over night the girl developed one of the sassiest tongues I've heard since I was her age. (Yes, Mother and Daddy, I know. What goes around comes around.)

It feels like we've back slid about 2 1//2 years ago. I am totally wiped at the end of the day and sometimes I feel like a pressure cooker just waiting to explode. Seriously, twins can be a great asset to us the parents in the way they entertain each other, among other things. But they can also suck the life right out of you when they tag team you with all their shenanigans! Of course I say all this as light heartedly as possible. I certainly don't want any of you to get the wrong idea. I have to find the humor in this or that pressure cooker might just explode. I know I am telling Noah about the flood to all you who are reading but, parenting is hard and you go thru up phases and down phases and we currently are on a downward phase that feels like the drop on the Jurassic Park ride at Universal Studios. But this one lasts for weeks and weeks instead of seconds!!

In an attempt to adjust to our "new" children, we are battening down the hatches around here and trying some new routines, activities, schedules and *gasp* discipline techniques. We've been slack on some things lately. I can be quite the detail oriented person and it can be a hindrance in my daily life. Especially when it comes to blogging. It can take me all day to write just a few paragraphs sometimes and that can take away from household things I need to do or time I need to spend with the chillins. But it is such a good outlet for me to be able to write about my exasperation's with these little no neck monsters! So, I reckon I said ALL that to say this: my blogging will probably be sporadic over the coming weeks and months. One week I might blog every day and the next just once. JSYK.

Lost Minds

Well, it's not a bday post. Sorry. When I said that I was way behind on their birthday post and video, I really meant I don't have any thing at all done." It somehow got away from me this year and I had hoped that I would be able to "throw" something together by the early part of this week but, alas, it is hump day and I still haven't done anything. It has just been that kind of week and weekend for that matter. We spent it at my sister's while Jon was away on a preaching trip. Well, Jon was gone part of the weekend. Any who, I said all that to tell you this: My children have been off the chain this week, completely and totally 100% insane. We spent the morning "pickin grocery's" in Tallahassee and I have sworn off ever taking them shopping with me again.(okay not really, that's just a pipe dream) After we had been home for awhile I hear, "Mama!!!! I just pooped on meself." Ugh. That's 5 words no mother ever wants to hear but at least Peachy waited till we got home to do that. I finally got enough of the hooping and hollering of these 3 year olds and sent them to their rooms for our new favorite part of the day....Quiet Time. Of course, they had to come out immediately and go to the bathroom. Soon I hear a faint "Mama, Mama, Mama" so I wander back to my bathroom to find my daughter standing in front of the toilet in a large puddle of urine. (what's up with her today?) I must digress for a moment. A few times in the recent past when one or both of the kids has done something outrageously ridiculous, (i.e. spit at me or take a swat at me when I tell them no) I have asked them the simple question "Have you lost your mind?" Fast forward to a few minutes ago: I asked Audrey what happened, how did she tee tee all over the floor? I wasn't really looking for an answer so I quietly started to clean up. A few moments passed and she looked at me with a really sheepish grin on her face and said "I lost my mind."

Just in case your Friday has been dull and boring....

p.s. I am seriously behind on their birthday post and video so you blog stalkers, don't check tomorrow. More like Monday....maybe even Tuesday!!!