Walking for Babies

Sunday turned out to be a rainy, cool day :( We were so excited to participate in the walk for babies, and I was disappointed that the weather did not hold. Too bad, since the location was so beautiful --scenic Fairfield Beach. I bundled the Peas up and off we went with the intention of greeting our team and turning in a donation. The Peas were both recovering from colds, and I came down sick last weekend, so I didn't want either of us to risk walking in the rain. As it turns out, most of the team members were unable to come to the walk, which I totally understood. Mrs. B braved the weather and came out with the boys and me and it was such a blessing to have her with us. Here she is with the Peas!

Thanks for joining us Mrs. B:)
I was one happy mama!

The Peas all bundled up! We thought we were done with the "Bundle Me's" for the year...

Checking out Mrs. B

Even though we didn't actually walk it was an amazing experience to just be in the midst of other families who were marching for babies. Premature birth affects so many people, and the fact that I was there with my children and not in memory of them was not lost on me. I am so glad that we participated. Team 2Peas exceeded our goal of $200!! Thank you so much for your generous donations. Your support means that other babies will be given a fighting chance. On this cold and rainy day, I showed up not just for R & E, but for these babies too. I also want to acknowledge some of the other precious babies that were on my mind and in my heart on this day:

• Baby E, the Peas' NICU buddy, whose 1st birthday party we will be attending this weekend!
• Baby A who we love and can't wait to meet in July
• Babies R & J (NICU buds) who will surely be the Peas' brothers from another mother:)
• Baby G whose mommy was such a blessing to me when the Peas were in the NICU
• Babies R & S whose mommy and daddy were able to see the Peas and have some hope
• Baby Z who was hopefully discharged on Sunday
• Babies J & J who were recently born and are in our prayers
• Baby J who went home to be with the Lord

We plan on participating in the walk next year as well. I pray that the walk will not be on a Sunday next year though. I want to do it big next year--an increased fundraising goal for Team 2Peas, t-shirts for our team members, posters and pictures of the Peas, and last but not least, two Peas WALKING in the walk themselves!

March of Dimes 2010

Tomorrow Team 2Peas will be participating in the March of Dimes Walk for babies. Stay tuned for a recap and pictures. A very special thank you to those who will be walking with us tomorrow, to those who sponsored R & E with financial contributions, and to those who will be thinking of us and walking in spirit. Your support means more to us than you can ever know. Here's to all babies getting a full nine months.

Playing with the Peas

He may be under construction, but he's still a cutie!
Wanna know what he was up to in this picture? He was making his way to Ryan so he could snatch the toy that he was playing with. **sigh**

Contemplating his next move...

and he's off! I caught him in mid-crawl!

Happy Thursday:)

Baby Dedication

On April 18th Ryan and Evan were dedicated to the Lord. My favorite part of this ceremony was listening to our Pastor say that these children may have come through us, but not from us. These are God's children, and He has certainly kept them with His righteous right hand. It was a wonderful occasion and we were blessed to have the babies' godparents come into town to be there with us.

The Peas were darling in their dedication outfits. Ryan kept his hat on all day long! Of course, this may have been because it was little snug on his head. Ha! Evan kept snatching his off, of course.

A Parker family photo---finally!

Love this picture!

Here is a picture of the boys' godmother, Erika. Erika and I have been friends for over 15 years. We met our very first day of class freshman year at Tuskegee, and the rest is history. I hadn't seen her since our wedding almost three years ago, and it was wonderful to be able to hang out, even for a little while. Before the Peas I used to be a shopaholic...now not so much! Erika, though was determined to get me back in the swing of things and she helped me get nearly our entire house decorated! We shopped, and shopped, and laughed, and shopped some more! I told E she should audition for an HGTV show, 'cause she whipped me and the house into shape:) Good times, good times I tell ya'! We get to do it again in June when she comes back for the boys' party.

Sean is the Peas' godfather and this is his fiancee' Keisha. Love her! We had such a blast with them. Sean was in our wedding, and he will be tying the knot in July. July is a fabulous month to get married, if you ask me! We were so glad that Sean and Keisha were able to come up for the dedication.

I don't have any pictures from the dedication itself yet. Some of our church members took pictures, so hopefully I'll get to see those. It was truly a beautiful day that we'll always remember.

All ABout Ryan

Take a look at this sweet boy. He has learned to pull up on every single thing now! Sometimes he gets brave enough to stand while holding on with only one hand. He also cruises a little!! Yep, this little guy is starting to cruise. Can you believe it? He is not only determined, but he's also a daredevil too! He's not afraid to try anything. And the dog? Poor Badge is being terrorized by the Ry-Guy. Ryan goes for him every chance he gets. We've had to resort to blocking the dog's area with the recliner just to keep Ryan away from him. Does it work? NO! Ryan still finds a way to get to the dog! I know you love reading this, Cousin Betty:)

Check Him Out!

This was Evan's first day wearing the band. The clinician had told me that babies often cry during the first fitting. Well, once again the Baby One proved everybody wrong. He didn't cry at all...nope not one time! He was so sweet and such a trooper. He was only supposed to wear the band for two hours the first day, but since he fell asleep on the way home he actually wore it a bit longer. I have decorated the band since this picture was taken, and he will sleep in the band overnight for the first time tonight. He doesn't seem to mind his new head gear at all, which makes me feel a lot better about it.

A New Look for Evan

Pretty soon you'll be seeing Evan's new look. Today we will be picking up Evan's cranial band. Evan has a flat spot on the back of his head that we want to get corrected, and now's the time to do it before it's too late. They think this probably started in utero, as they see this condition in many multiple pregnancies. Plus, Evan used to favor his right side and this is the side that is flat. I have struggled with this decision for awhile. I don't want my baby to wear a helmet. I don't want people to stare at him and think something is "wrong" with him. I don't want to answer a million questions about the helmet. I want to see my baby's sweet little head at all times. But most of all, I want what's best for Evan. If there is something we can do to help him, we'll do it. Chances are his head may have rounded out completely on it's own. But what if it doesn't? This is not a chance I want to take. How can I explain to Evan that we could have changed your head shape when you were a baby, but your mama had issues with the band you would have had to wear?

So today, I'm putting on my big girl panties and I'm dealing with it.

They think Evan will only need the helmet for 3 months. Hopefully we'll be done this summer. Since we elected to get the helmet, I had to find a way to make it cute, right? I found a blog called Bling Your Band and I contacted the owner about making some decals for Evan's. The pictures below are not of Evan's band. I chose the design and asked Coree if she had any actual pictures of this design on a band. Lo and behold, look what she e-mailed back to me. This design had already been made for another little Evan! It must be meant to be:) Evan's decals will be customized to fit his particular band. Today I'll get the measurements of his band and forward them to Coree so she can make his decals.

So, to anyone who sees Evan in his new head gear, there's is nothing "wrong" with him....he's just Under Construction!

EDITED TO ADD: You'll also see that Evan has TWO teeth now:)

Catching Up with the Peas

I didn't realize that it has almost been a week since our last post! My, how time flies:) I am on Spring break this week, and I've been busy enjoying the Peas. My computer time was limited and that gave me more time with the boys. There were many days when I didn't even turn the computer on. I really wanted to just spend time with R & E. Of course, they don't give me much time to do anything other than tend to them anyway! Now that they are mobile, they really keep us busy. Seriously. You have to watch them at ALL times now--especially Ryan. He pulls up on every.single.thing. now! His new favorite thing to pull up on? Evan! If Evan is lying down Ryan sees this as a perfect opportunity to use him as an anchor. This scares me to death, but Evan finds it funny. He actually laughs when his brother is pressing down on his chest/back/face! Boys, I tell ya'! Here are a couple of pictures from this week:


Daddy P and I took the boys to the zoo on Monday. I've really wanted to go to the Bronx Zoo for awhile, but since we moved to a new town we decided to check out our local zoo first. It was ok, but I'm still holding out for the Bronx! One good thing about living so close to NYC is taking advantage of all the City has to offer. As the boys get older, we'll be sure to do just that. Right now, they aren't too impressed as you can see from the picture:)

Look carefully at this picture. Do you see the totally mesmerized looks on the Peas' faces? This is what they do when Yo Gabba Gabba comes on! They love the intro to this show. They stop whatever they are doing and stare at the TV when this show comes on!

We got a ton of work done in our house this week too; things are slowly coming together. I have also gotten some planning done for the Peas' 1st birthday party! So hard to believe that these two will be a year old soon! Yikes! More info on that is coming soon:)

Dear Ryan,

I got a chance to spend some time with you before I left for work this morning. You woke up early, which almost never happens! I scooped you up and kissed your sweet little head. Daddy fed you a bottle, but then I got a chance to get you back! Holding you this morning and rocking you as you drifted back to sleep was the highlight of my day today. The only thing that can top it is when I come home this afternoon and see that big grin spread across your face. I am very proud of you son, and I love you very much.

Mommy

Dear Evan,

Last night (April 8th) I noticed that you were making a different movement with your mouth. It was kind of like you were tasting something tart. It had me stumped for a bit, so I decided to put my finger in your mouth. I was so excited to feel that you are cutting your first tooth! It hasn't quite come through yet, but I felt it all the same. My Baby One is growing up!! I am so proud of you and I love you so much. How much is so? Way, way more than you know.
Mommy

Easter 2010--It got better!

After we got home from dinner, we all needed to relax after such a long day. The boys were finally able to get their hands on their basket full of goodies.
Ryan wasn't too sure what to think of the grass...Evan took this as an opportunity to swipe his brother's basket!

You see, he had already destroyed his own...

I am loving this boy something serious!

The Peas had their "stuff" everywhere!

Evan seems to be enjoying his basket.... BTW, Ev can sit up, but he is so wild that he starts grabbing for EVERYTHING in sight and topples over. This boy is a mess:)

A re-post, but who cares since he is so stinkin' handsome.

Let me see what's in this thing...

I got a new book!

And this was our Easter. Hope you had a blessed one--we certainly did!

Easter 2010 Goodies

One of the most vivid memories I have of my mother is Easter time. Mommy always made Easter baskets for my sister and me. None of that store bought stuff! Mommy bought the baskets, the goodies, and the grass, and dyed the eggs. I am so looking forward to doing the same thing with the Peas. Since they are infants, I couldn't go all out, but it was a start. Cousin Betty sent the boys their very first Easter cards. Thanks, Cousin Betty!

A close-up of Evan's basket. Evan always gets blue...

And Ryan's color is green.

Two baskets for two Peas!

Easter 2010--Behind the Scenes

We had a glorious Resurrection Sunday! The weather was beautiful and best of all we celebrated a risen Savior! We were blessed to have this first Easter with our precious baby boys.

Having said that, I'm going to keep it real:

This is the best picture I have of the Peas on their first Easter.

A shame; I know it!

You see it all started when I realized the elevator was broken at church. The plan was to use the elevator to take them to their Dad's office and feed them their breakfast and then come back in the sanctuary. Simple, right? Not so much when the elevator is broken and you can't use the stroller! You see, the stroller doesn't just help me move them from place to place, it helps me contain them in a safe place. Daddy P helped me take the boys to his office, but he couldn't stay there to help me feed them since he had to go back to the pulpit. So what do I do? I say, go ahead Babe, I've got it. I sat them in the chair, put their bibs on, and got their food ready. They sat there just as patient as you please, and I was thinking this is great--I can do this. Who needs a stroller to feed two babies? Well apparently I do, because after 5 short minutes of eating this is what happened:

My sweet little boys went wild on me! This ...quickly became...

This! Good thing I took their bibs off at the first sight of trouble, because they literally had pears everywhere, and I was trying my best to salvage Daddy P's chair! Not to mention their cute little outfits that I... ahem... snuck and bought them! What was a mama to do? Why, grab the camera of course! I couldn't leave them there and grab help...I couldn't scream for help...nobody was coming to help since everyone was in service...YIKES! Finally it hit me: Kick off those heels, girl and grab those babies real tight so you won't trip going up the stairs, and pray that the usher can get someone's attention inside the service to HELP you! Good Lord! It was an ordeal, but we made it. You see, it ain't all easy-peasy having twins. Sometimes you find yourself in a jam, but why oh why did it have to be on Easter Sunday!!!

Good thing I "followed my first mind" (like the ol' folks say) and took a picture of their perfectly pressed linen pants and darling vests that I scored at Janie and Jack. I was only supposed to walk out that store with some navy blue crib shoes, but I just couldn't leave this outfit there! I mean really! :) Note to self...head back to Janie and Jack and pick up those crib shoes...........:)