The Murray Family of Five

Picture update for August!

2010-09-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

Oh, Grace! She is my wild child, as loud as can be and always pushing the limits to see if we are serious or see how much she can get away with! She keep us on our toes and is great at keeping us busy! She absolutely loves her brother and can't get enough of him, she will play peekaboo with him and is always trying to make him laugh! This girl also loves to sing... she can sing itsy bitsy spider, twinkle twinkle, abc's and happy birthday!

My Kaylee! She is just a blast! She love to dress up and loves to talk. Infact she loves to talk so much she can barely get all of her thoughts out. She is really starting to understand the emotions she is feeling and lets us know when she has... ie... she will say "I am happy", she tells us "You hurt my feelings", she says, "I'm scared" or she will say "I don't like that" ! Its so wonderful not to have to quess how she is feeling at the moment. She is also a really great artist and loves to color in all the eyes and circles on pictures and she can draw her own pictures too like: flowers, jelly fish, balloons, circles, spiders and smilely faces ...

Gavin also turned 7 months at then end of August! Seriously he is going to be going off to college soon! Right now he has mastered the baby army crawl... don't think he will be walking by 9 months like his sisters but you never know... i will keep you posted on that one! He is still the happiest baby I have ever met! He is down to two naps a day anywhere from 1-3 hours at a time and continues to sleep through the night (thank you Jesus!) Other than that he is happy, healthy and terrific!

Early August my Dad comes for a visit with my little brother Micheal(6) and sister Ellie (9) and my stepmom Yvette! Now it's been almost 20 months since we have seen my Dad and the rest of the family (execpt for a short 3 hour visit last November, don't think that counts as quality time).

I would post some more but blogger is being a pain in the ... you know what and I am to frustrated to post anymore... if I find some more time I will update you on Reed and I ... like you care... lol

Diaper Giveaways!

2010-08-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

Crazy House blog site is doing a huge giveaway for a Doospy Diaper

http://lewiscrazyhouse.blogspot.com/2010/08/review-and-giveaway-from-doopsy-cloth.html

Now I am trying to win this diaper b/c I love cloth diapering and do truly believe it is one of my new favorites! I love their AOI (all in one) diapers and the colors are fabulous!!! Click on the link above if you wanna win to!

Go Shop Momma is also doing a great cloth diaper giveaway! Bummis Super Whisper Wrap Diaper Cover- review and giveaway , check it out!

Totally In Love!

2010-08-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

I am totally in love and addicted to all these online stores for baby cloth diaper, inserts, babywearing, breastfeeding covers and mommy cloths etc... I want to buy it all and trying to find the right online store to make my selection!

my favorite so far in Cloth diapers is www.doopsy.com
and 2nd is www.gdiapers.com

In the Good Old Summer Time

2010-07-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

The girls are also, like their brother Gavin, are growing like weeds right before my very eyes! We are in the trenches of potty training and they are both doing really well, even though we have accidents here and there they are my "Potty Rock Stars" as I like to call them. The picture below is after their first hair cut (more like trim) I gave them... I figure as long as it is just a trim I can save some money and do it myself.
And like I mention before the girls are really enjoying the local pool here... Once they are done and we are in the car they pass out before we get home, and we live like 2 miles from the pool... so cute!

Also against my own advice I started Gavin on solid foods and I must admit he is really enjoying it termindously... I can't feed him fast enough.
Mr. Man (aka Gavin) is already making his first attempts to crawl! Now this one is a phase I have been dreading as that means he can get into everything and have access to more then the little area around him... it's going to be a trip w/the girls and him running are around ...
Mr. Man has also decided that he can now sit on his own and he is loving every minute of being a big boy!
Oh, and here are Mr. Man's stats from his 6 month appointment this week:
17lb 5oz (47th%)
27 inchs long (65th%)
Healthy as a horse and happy as ever!

News Flash!

2010-07-21T09:18:00.001-07:00

Gavin turned 6 months, today! Wow, where did half a year go, as Reed put it? My little baby is growing up fast! He can roll all over the place and he has his first two bottom teeth, and laughs at everyone who talks to him. He loves his toys and being tossed in the air and his naps! We haven't started him on solid foods yet, because feeding babies this young solid food is just a long production and a huge mess, so we are going to wait until we feel it is more necessary than just another stage to go through.

The kiddo's and I have been enjoying the local pool at the Frisco Athletic Club up the street, and at some point they will get to enjoy the daycare center and let mommy have a break.

My mom came in for a visit and that was wonderful to have her so close again that she can come over more often, even if she is 2 hours a way, it beats 22 hours away. She brought me some delicious farm fresh eggs, we love it!

And that's about it! Sorry our life isn't any more interesting than that.

Its Been a While... Sorry About That!

2010-07-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

Let's see... I left off with Gavin turning 4 months old... well now he isalmost 6 months now and still such a beautiful addition to our brood! We weighed him the other day and he is a manly 17.5 lbs and has his first tooth already in! He is rolling over both ways now and he is all over the place! He loves his sisters and laughs at them every time he sees them! He is also already trying to sit up on his own but I think he a still a few weeks off from mastering it!

Gavin @ 5 months

Also on June 10th we moved into our new house in Frisco, TX! We have been unpacking and getting settled in for a while now. We couldn't be any happier living closer to all of our friends and family again. Makes me wonder why we ever moved in the first place.

The girls are also growing like weeds and loving being close to their grandparents and their aunts/uncles/cousins again! They have been having a blast!
Kaylee, Lilly, Gavin and Grace

The twins are also on our second attempt, as it had to be halted the last time b/c of all the stresses of moving to Texas, to potty train and things are going really well. We have a few accidents here and there but overall they are potty training champs! GraceKaylee

Sorry I wish I had more time to post more pictures and give more detail, but life is going at such an incredible pace I just can barely keep up.

Gavin is Now a Whopping 4 Months old!

2010-05-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

Well I can't believe it, my little man is already 4 months old! Like I have said a million times before he is such a joy to have and truly is an easy going baby. I don't know how much he weighs right now or how tall he is (his 4 month appointment isn't until June 3rd), but he is up to a lot! He is how ever just up graded to size 3 diapers! (the twins wear size 4). Oh, I forgot to put his weight: 16lb 1oz and 25.5 in tall, both around the 65th %tile

Gavin at four months is rolling over from front to back, vocalizing a lot; as in he talks in a high pitch voice and his low growl that he does. He laughs at everything and recognizes Reed and I at a long distance and will smile at us when we come in the room and whine when we leave. He is grabbing at his toys, and he is still sleeping from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.! He just rocks my world and is just the cutest Little man in my book!

Home Sweet Home!

2010-05-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

Well, on May 2nd the Murray Family of five with their things packed up returned to Texas! And man are we ecstatic about that! We are currently staying with Reed's parents until we can move into our new house in Frisco on June 10th! It's tight here at the Murray's but we are making due and the girls are enjoying being able to make up for lost time with their DD and Granny Gwe!

Needless to say we are enjoying ourselves in the Texas weather once again. Oh, and if you are wondering where Gavin is he is coming in his own post next!

My Kiddos!

2010-04-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

I know how fast your kids grow up, I feel it and wittiness it everyday with the twins! Some days it feels like my children have been in my life for as long as I can remember and at the same time it feels like I just found out I was pregnant yesterday!

When we found out we were pregnant with Gavin we were shocked and worried how will we be able to handle another little one? But that's where life is amazing... at first it seems like it is an impossible daunting task to have three kids, but really its no harder than it is to have two! Gavin blends right into the routine and is the a wonderful addition to our family, wouldn't change a thing!

Speaking of my Little Man, Gavin has grown so much and his little happy personality is starting to really come out! He is turning 3 months tomorrow and I can' t hardly believe it at all! Here are some of the things he is up to now a days!

3 Months:
15 lbs 80th%tile
25.75" long 95th%tile
blow spit bubble/raspberries
making lots of sweet cooing noises
wears size two diapers
fits 3-6 month clothing
laughs at his mom/dad making silly noises
love so smile at his sisters
holding his head up really well while on his belly
sleeps from 9:30p.m.-6/7 a.m.-ish

Simply put, this little man is amazing and a true joy!

Family Portraits!

2010-04-16T08:41:00.000-07:00

We went out to Target Portrait Studios on April 5th and had some pictures taken of our family. It has been almost 2 years since we did this and with Little Man in our live we didn't wanna be a cliche by not having enough photos with/of him! It is really challenging to get the twins to sit and smile at the same time but we managed to get some good pictures...

What a Cutie!!!!!!!

2010-04-10T19:44:00.001-07:00

I really don't like to brag... well okay I do a little, but only about my kiddos! But seriously he is so cute, right!? He is starting to talk, smile and laugh a ton and he is just a true joy to have around! I love this little dude!

Easter 2010!

2010-04-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

Easter this year was a blast! The girls had more Easter eggs to hunt than their baskets could hold! I also carried on my family's tradition of saving dozens of egg and filling them with confetti, called cascarones in Spanish. They are a Mexican tradition that my side of the family does every Easter and this year I made 4 dozen and we all had a blast breaking them over each others heads!!!

This year we decided to also fill all the plastic eggs with stickers instead of candy. And I know what you are thinking that I am no fun and the kids should have candy on Easter and I agree with that... I went out twice before Easter and bought candy and proceeded to eat it all myself... oops... bad Mommy! No, the girls did eat a ton of candy with me before Easter and I just thought it was enough...

P.S. We did get family photos taken on the 5Th so be looking out for those!

Fun in The Sun!

2010-04-06T10:32:00.001-07:00

I have to apologize for the lack of posts lately but I am so busy with the whole family and trying to get us moved that I barely have time to post pictures! This is from the middle of last week as we were hang out in our backyard for the afternoon!

Kaylee is not scared of worms...

What is going on with us!

2010-03-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Me, I am just rocking out the mom thing and getting us packed and ready to come home to Texas! Life with twin two year olds and a new baby isn't always easy but I seem to keep it all together somehow day by day, sometimes minute by minute but I love my kiddos and couldn't ask for better kids! I have also decided that I am going to go through training at the end of this year to become a Bradley Method Teacher (teaches natural childbirth) and I couldn't be more excited. I have personally practice this and I truly believe in it and look forward to encouraging and motivating more women to also believing in themselves and their God giving natural ability to go through childbirth as natural as possible.
Reed is very enamored with his new son, and loves to spend as much time with him as possible. Reed is working really hard to help his boss close up things with the sell of his branch to Terminix. Reed has to go in to the office super early in the morning, but luckly he gets to come home earlier than usual. Also, Reed was rear ended by a guy, who does not have any insurance by the way, at a red light about two weeks ago and now that car has been totaled, but Reed was 100% okay. He is ready to come back to Texas and see his old friends and family!
Kaylee likes having a little brother around and she likes to kiss and hug him and cover him up with a blanket! She is also developing a very large vocabulary and talks to us 24/7! She has so much to say and although I only can understand 40% of what comes out of her mouth it is fun and interesting to listen to all she has to say! Kaylee has also decided that it was time to start using the potty and not use diaper anymore. She also has helped her sister come to the same conclusion and insisted that she take off her pants and diaper and use the potty! I mean Kaylee literally took off Grace's pants and diaper and told her to sit on the potty and go pee, and Grace has been using the potty ever since! She did my job for me! lol
Grace is enjoying her little brother and loves, more like demands, to hold her baby brother! Grace is also starting to learn and sing songs all on her own, her favorites are "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider", it is so cute to hear her sing! She has also started to potty train with encouragement from her big sister!
Gavin is growing big and strong and is starting to smile and talk to us some more! He is also noticing his mobile on his swing and the fans in the ceiling. He is still sleeping through the night for the most part. Reed would say that him and I are inseparable and that I hog him all the time, which is true. He is just a wonderful addition to our family! Seriously couldn't ask for a better son! And it doesn't hurt that he is so darn cute, right!?

The Men in My Life!!!!!!!

2010-03-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Ah, I truly love the men in my life! They bring such joy to my life...

Gavin is doing well, he just turned 2 months on the 21st of March and he is growing like at weed and weighing in at a healthy 13.5 lbs! Reed is doing well also and he is also weighing in at a wopping... ... ... just kidding! We are all getting ready to move back to Plano, Texas and in the mean time just enjoying East Coast Spring weather!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo Blog... Enjoy!

2010-03-12T11:26:00.000-08:00

6 week appointment w/the Midwives

2010-03-07T10:36:00.000-08:00

Gavin now weighs in at a whopping 11 lbs 14 oz and is 23.5 inches tall now! Gavin and I are both in perfect health!
We also said goodbye to the wonderful women (midwives) who helped me with this pregnancy and who delivered my son! I can't thank them enough for the wonder expecience and gift they gave me and my family!

(left to Right) Kim Perkin, Me, Peggy Franklin, Gavin, Parveen Kelly

Twins Turn Two!!!

2010-03-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from the Girl's 2nd bday party. Sorry for the lack of text, but life is getting hectic now that we are on the move to Dallas!! enjoy the pictures!

Gavin is ONE Month Old!

2010-02-23T17:56:00.001-08:00

Factoids about Gavin at one month old:

22 inches long
11.5 lbs
wearing size 1 diapers for over a week now
still sleeps all the time
reconizes Mom and Dad's voice and looks our direction
starting to sleep 6+ hours most nights! God bless him!
Sisters love to hold, hug and kiss on him all the time.
oh, and Reed and I are just in love with our little man!

Grandparents and Aunt Meggie come for a visit!

2010-02-23T17:52:00.000-08:00

For now just enjoy some pictures from the visit, I will write about the wonderful visit later, holding Gavin right now and can't really type well right now!

Valentine's Day Pictures!

2010-02-14T18:44:00.001-08:00

3 weeks old!

2010-02-10T16:41:00.000-08:00

So Mr. Gavin just had his first appointment with the midwives this past Tuesday and he is looking great and he weighs in at a whopping 9lb 14oz! Needless to say he is a wonderful eater and is thriving! He still is a wonderful baby to take care of and pretty darn easy to get along with.

I have learned a few things about him though. One of which is if you stroke his cheek with your fingers oh so very softly you can get him to smile 90% of the time! He loves to sleep with his Mommy and Daddy all day long if he could but he will also sleep all on his own just fine too. Also changing his diapers is like playing a game of hot potato and you never know when the buzzer is going to go out on you and your left with a hott-mess of pee or poop, sometimes both, all over you before you get the new fresh diaper on! He pees on me everyday and has squeezed out a poop or two all over me! oh well! I love him anyways!

Also I always thought I would be happy with only having daughters, but now that I have a little boy I have to admit I really, really love having him in my life! He brings a new feeling to our home and family and I love him for that! Having a son is amazing!

Gavin is 2 Weeks Old Today!

2010-02-04T11:09:00.001-08:00

Okay, seriously where does the time go? My little man is amazing and fits perfectly into our little...errr... who am I kidding, little-big family! He is such and easy baby from day one! All he does is eat, sleep and poop! And he does all three really, really well! He is a natural at breastfeeding and only wakes me up once at night to eat! Now you may think, yeah but I bet he is not eating as much as he needs to... well when he was born he weighed 8lb 8oz and lost 8oz of that in the first 2 days, until my milk came in and now he is almost 9.5lbs in two weeks! That's right he loves that milk!

He also has a darker complexion than both Reed and I, and maybe that is due to the fact that he was conceived on Cinco de Mayo, and has black hair and blue eyes! He also makes Daddy fall asleep every time he holds him and Gavin like to fall asleep every time I hold him, so basically the men of my house are sleeping 24/7! loldaddy passed out

You know people always tell you that good thing come in small packages and with Gavin that is so true! Now most of you know we didn't exactly plan to have a third kid so soon after the girls were born but I tell you what I really couldn't be happier to have my son in my life at this moment! He really does make a great addition to our family.

Now I am sure you are wondering about the girls and how they have reacted to baby brother. Well Kaylee just loves him to death and is completely enamored with him and wants to hold him, kiss him, and touch him all the time and has from day one. Grace at first really didn't want anything to do with him at all and she was throwing huge temper tantrums and just acting out but over the past few days she has begun to love her brother and kiss and touch him and since has stopped all her acting out and back to her old self!Kaylee loving on brother

My Birth Story

2010-02-04T11:05:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, January 20th at 12:30 a.m. Reed and I head off to bed and I lay down and with a few tears streaming down my face I ask God to please let this little boy come into the world soon, I don’t think I can stand being pregnant and uncomfortable one more day. Later that night at 1:00 a.m. I get up to go the bathroom and lay back down in bed on my left side and Gavin started to move in my belly for a solid hour and I could not go back to sleep for the life of me. So at 2 a.m. I decided to roll on over to my right side figuring that he was moving so much because he didn’t like me being on my left side. Well, he squirmed and wiggled for the next hour again after I rolled over, and again I couldn’t go to sleep. At this point I am thinking to myself “maybe he is packing his things up for the big move?”

So somewhere between 3-4 a.m. I finally fall back to sleep and at 4:00 a.m. I slightly adjust the way I was laying and I felt this slow wet trickle, and I wonder to myself, “did my water just break or am I peeing myself,” so I slide out of bed and walk to the bathroom where a huge gush of water came running down my legs and I knew that this was it! I cleaned up and tapped my then sleeping husband and said, “You ready to have a baby today because my water just broke!”

Reed gets up and says “Okay, so what do we need to do?” and I look at him and say, “Well, we left the kitchen a mess and we need to get set up for our home birth!” I call my midwife Peggy and tell her what just happened and she tells me to call her when my contractions start! So we change the sheets to the bed and head down stairs to tidy up the house a little. Yes, at 4:00 a.m. Reed is unstacking the dishwasher and I am sweeping the whole house. At this point in the night I am thinking that labor will start at any minute and we would have the baby in the next 12 hours. Around 4:30 a.m. I look at my tired husband and realize how tired I am myself and thinking to myself “why in the world am I cleaning, I want to go back to bed!” So I look at Reed and tell him that we need to go back to bed and get as much sleep as possible and like a good man he agrees!

Reed went to bed and I took a long shower and I tried to go back to sleep but I just had to much going through my head and I just lay there waiting for the first contraction to start. At 7:30 a.m. the girls woke up and we carried on our day with no sign of labor starting at all. So after lunch I call the midwife and she tells me to just take it easy and try to get some sleep, so I do.

At 3:00 p.m. Reed and I go for a short cold walk around the neighborhood with the twins to see if that would help get things going and I think I had 2 very small contractions during the walk. So at 4:00 I check in with my midwife and she tells me to drink 4 oz of castor oil (is a strong laxative) and hopefully within 3 hours that will do it’s job and get some contractions rolling on top of it. So, I throw back the castor oil, which I would mention is the vilest stuff I have ever swallowed, it doesn’t have any flavor but it has the thickness of drinking motor oil and it’s really hard to swallow something with that kind of viscosity. Reed took a small sip of it and immediately started gagging and had to run to the bathroom to vomit… I on the other hand drank all 4 oz… I told Reed, “That’s why women have the babies not men!”

So, around 6:30 p.m. the castor oil hits me and so do my contractions. At this point they are about 10 minutes apart. I call my midwife and she tells me to call her when I am ready for her to come. At 8:00 p.m. Reed and I put the twins to bed and call the midwife to come on over. Reed and I spend the next 2.5 hours sitting in front of the TV watching Myth Busters, while I am sitting on my exercise ball and Reed timing my contractions and waiting for the 3 midwifes to show, they all got there around 10:00 p.m.

From 10:30-11:30 p.m. Reed and I relax/sleep upstairs on our bed and the midwives make themselves comfortable in our living room chatting and sleeping them selves. Around 11:30-12:30 a.m. I get out of bed because I am just ready to get this show on the road and I know if I get back up onto my exercise ball things will move a lot faster. So, I decided to sit on the side of the bed on my ball and Reed lay on the bed helping me relax and remember to breathe during each of my contractions.

At 12:30-1:30 a.m. the midwives thought it would be best if Reed got some rest while they helped me through my contractions for a while. So during this hour while Reed rested some of my strongest contractions happened and I started to vomit and I knew things were changing and I was getting close.

At 1:30 a.m. I had one really big contraction and I called for Reed to wake up and I knew it was time to push. At this point all the midwives were in the room and they set up the birthing stool to see if that would be something I would want to use during the pushing phase and after trying to push one time on it, I just knew that it wasn’t the way I wanted to be positioned to push so I got off and dropped to my hands and knees on our bedroom floor and continued to push like that until baby Gavin was born into his Daddy's hands at 1:51 a.m.

When he came out he had his cord wrapped around his neck 6 times, but it wasn’t a big deal and from the moment he was born he was with me and in my arms which was amazing and beautiful to have that time to bond with him before anyone else touched him. Then Reed got to cut the cord when it had stop pulsating and from there I got to breastfeed and hold him until I was ready to let them evaluate him.

It was a beautiful and amazing birth experience and it was better than I had pictured it would be. It was quiet, relaxed, loving, calm and easy. There wasn’t a single intervention done to me or baby, I just labored and gave birth to my baby safe and sound. I can’t thank Peggy, Kim and Purvine enough for giving me this gift of a beautiful birth that I knew was possible without hospitals and doctors.

Gavin Patrick Murray!

2010-01-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

8lb 8oz; 21.25in long, born at 1:51 A.M.

The short and sweet (birth story will come later) version: water broke at 4:00 a.m., the next day at 6:30 p.m. my first contractions started, at 1:30 I feel the urge to push and he was born 21 minutes later with the umbilical cord wrapped 6 times around his neck!! It was an amazing and wonderful home birth and I feel great!!!

Waiting... ....

2010-01-19T08:35:00.000-08:00

So I am sitting at 39 weeks and 3 days, just praying for Mr. Baby to get here! As you can see by the picture below I am tired and just getting bigger and bigger all over!!! I am ready to get this on the road and have my body back!

I had an appointmetn with my Midwife today and she still feels him high in my pelvis so she said that it might be a while longer... grrrrrrrrrr is all I could think. Well I hope you enjoy the picture hopefully something will happen this week!

Giving a Helping Hand

2010-01-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

We finally had a good weather day here in VA for the first time in like a month and Reed took the girls out to the playground on the corner of our house to get some new pictures of them! (I stayed inside and did some much needed cleaning w/o messy kids getting in the way!)

So here are some shots of your favorite twins!!My Beautiful Daughters!!! Grace
Kaylee

Oh, and the video is of Kaylee pretending to fall down and Grace helping her up! My girls sure do love each other... ... well most of the time! lol Enjoy!!!

Update?

2010-01-14T10:20:00.001-08:00

Yeah, I got nothing... no signs that labor will start soon or that anything will happen early... ah, well! I have my weekly appointments every Tuesday morning with my midwife and so far everything is going well with me, no swelling, good blood pressure, all test are clear! Mr. Baby is also doing very well, he is in the ideal head down position and we are working on making sure he moves over from a posterior positioning (sunny side up) to an anterior (face down towards my back)position. He more often than not is laying with his back along my side or he is completely posterior, so I am wearing a huge abdominal binder to help position him better and to help carry my large tummy around all day...

Other than that we are just waiting to see when he will arrive...

Christmas 2009

2009-12-28T10:12:00.000-08:00

It was another wonderful simple holiday that came and went way to fast a usual. Reed and I wanted to thank all of our friends and family who spent the time and extra money to mail us Christmas gifts, we appreciated all you did for us!

Reed and I tried to make this Christmas as special as we could with our girls since this was our first Christmas with them (if you remember last year we spend it at Reed's parents house) creating and starting tradtions of our very own! We opend up our stocking on Christmas Eve and the rest of the presents on Christmas Day! On Christmas Day I mad a ham dinner for Reed, every year he asks for ham and he always gets turkey, with just a few homemade fixings!

Oh, and "Santa Clause" a.k.a. Reed, stayed up until nearly 3 am putting together the girls toy box and kitchen set! I cleaned and watched him do it all from the comfort of the couch!

Enjoy the pictures!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow... ...

2009-12-20T09:41:00.000-08:00

Reed and I estimate that we got atleast 18inches to 2 feet of snow this weekend! It was beautiful and breath taking! We just sat and watched it snow for over 24 hours and saw our little world outside our house change!! The girls enjoyed watching the snow fall and eating it as well! Here is what it looked like for us this weekend... the girls crawling through the snow! reed's car

Holding Hands!

2009-12-19T09:53:00.001-08:00

A few days ago the girls decided that it would be okay for them to touch each other in a kind way that didn't involve any hitting or pushing... yes, they walked around the house holding each others hand. I almost cried. In the video you will see them try to hug also and Kaylee ducking Grace's attemts at giving her some sisterly affection! Enjoy!

Kaylee/Grace: The Cowardly/Cute Lion!

2009-12-19T07:30:00.001-08:00

Kaylee
Kaylee
Grace

Mr. Baby and Me at 35 weeks!

2009-12-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

Today is Reed and I 5Th wedding anniversary and since I was dressed up we took a picture of my and Mr. Baby at 35 weeks along!

I am very uncomfortable at this point and will be sending Mr. Baby his first letter to "vacate the premises" come New Years! I must admit I am not one of those women who love being pregnant, not at all! I love my children but I think I have physically hard pregnancies and I don't like being big and uncomfortable at all.

I had my 34/35 week appointment yesterday at my midwife's house and everything is going well with me and baby, no problems at all! I am having my first home visit from my midwife on the 28Th, so that she knows how to get to my house and the layout of everything! I couldn't be more excited about this home birth! I have all of my birthing supplies bought/ordered and ready to go! We also have Mr. Baby's stuff all set up and ready to go in our room and all of his clothes washed and put away... now we just need the baby! We are ready to meet him!

35 weeks along

And just for comparison this was me pregnant at 35 weeks with the twins!

The Hulk(s)!

2009-12-18T18:12:00.000-08:00

So last weekend we let the girls play with their finger paints and well they both decided that painting on paper was too old school so they went for something better... their faces! So finger paints became face paints! lol
Grace decorating her face w/her finger paints!
Kaylee decorating her face w/her finger paints!

Our First Visit to See Santa Clause!!

2009-12-09T13:42:00.001-08:00

Today we went to the mall so that we could get the girls photo taken with Santa Clause! There was no line at all, thank God!, and we walked right up put the girls on his lap and walked away! Grace sat there looking terrified and Kaylee just screamed! So, we let two more families get their photo taken and we decided to that the only way we are going to get the shot is if Reed and I sit with the girls on our laps. Now keep in mind Reed and I were not expecting to be in the picture at all and were not dressed for the occasion at all but our $20 that we would spend on two photos needed to be worth the price so here is the Murray Family Photo with Santa, enjoy!!!

What a Yummy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-30T10:09:00.000-08:00

First off I want to say that I am grateful for my wonderful husband and my two (soon to be 3) healthy/beautiful kiddo in my life! But above all I am grateful for my Mother who all the years past has cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for her family, her six kids, plus their children, significant others and friends. I cooked for the first time this year all by myself for my small family of 4 and it took me 2 long days and I was tired to say the least and my mom would always do it all and I don't think she ever got the credit she deserved. So mom this blog is dedicated to you and all that you have done for us and all the meals you made me!

We couldn't really go anywhere this year for Thanksgiving due to me being so hugely pregnant, so we decided to stay in and make our own turkey for just ourselves... My menu was bigger than my stomach and even 5 days out we still have enough leftovers to feed another family of four! The T-day menu was: Turkey, mac & cheese, rolls, olive salad, mash potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, stuffing/dressing, fruit salad, pumpkin & pecan pie, cranberry bread, cranberry sauce and gravy. All the foods I cooked my self and were homemade except the pie crusts and the French's onions on top of the green beans. It all turned out delicious! Like I said I now have a whole new respect for my mother and all those years she did it!

Reed and I spend our 4 day weekend doing nothing but chasing the girls around and relaxing which is what we needed after all of our travels during the previous weekends! I think we made it out to the park on the corner a few times and to toys r us one day and that's all! Oh, but we did get our tree up last night and the girls have been pulling off ornaments all day long (it's not driving me crazy at all... no... not at all... I swear if they do it one more time.........) So here are some shots from our wonderful weekend together!

Grace is wanting pie insteadKaylee not so sure about what is on her plate

It's not very often you can get the girls to share in their personal space, but when they do they are just plain adorable!

Nesting Like a Mad Woman!

2009-11-22T19:12:00.000-08:00

Over the past few days/weeks my nesting instinct has gotten stronger and stronger. I think I am nesting this early because I know the longer I wait the harder it is for me to move around and get things done... Like the other night I just couldn't take it any longer so I, by myself, rearranged all the furniture in our room to make room for the baby and the rocker. I probably shouldn't be moving furniture all on my own but I did. I also went to the store and bought everything I needed for the first few months for Mr. Baby! He is all set! Now all I need to do is order my home birthing kit and get my house ready for the birth! Oh, and buy my mom's plane ticket!

On another note I had my 30/31 week appointment this Saturday with my midwife and things are looking great! I am measuring 33 weeks but I think we all know that I am just huge. I will try to get a picture posted with this blog tomorrow... (no promises) I love going to her house for the appointments, I get to sit on a comfy couch and chat and lie on a cozy bed for my exams, and she has a ton of toys for the girls to keep them occupied... no stupid doctors office would have that! I am so excited to have this home birth! It is going to be amazing! Now I just need to brush up on the Bradley Method a little bit! I can't believe we only have 9 more weeks, or 62 more days, or 2 months left... what ever works for you... i am a little nervous but I am ready to meet this little boy of mine!

We are just getting ready for Thanksgiving! We spent all weekend buying groceries and doing a ton of shopping. We are not going anywhere or having anyone over this year it is just going to be Reed, the girls and I. I am totally cool with that because it gives me a chance to cook a full T-day meal and see how it turns out. I have done this twice before with some help but never on my own... less pressure.

Oh, if I hadn't mentioned it before Reed's boss just informed us that we will be moving to San Antonio, Texas at the end of February!!!! We are so excited to be back in Texas again!!! Although the thought of moving a month after Mr. Baby gets here is a little overwhelming but I am always up for a challenge... Anyone wanna pitch in and help?

Because of the move Reed and I have decided to hold off on buying Mr. Baby any furniture or anything other than necessities right now, in order to avoid extra stuff to have to move! But we did decide on a theme for his room, we are going to get all of Reed's old boyscout patches and memorbillia and frame them all aroud the room... We don't want a camping theme but more of a wilderness theme like trees, animals, nature... things along those lines! But all that planning will have to wait until we get to our new place in San Antonio...

Halloween 2009... What a blast!

2009-10-31T19:26:00.001-07:00

This Halloween was so much fun! I started out by making orange rice crispy treats in the shape of pumpkins, scary cat, ghost and moons... all with black and orange Halloween sprinkles on top of course! Then I made orange colored pancakes for the girls, kinda wonder what color their P**P will be in the morning. Then we decided to let the girls help us gut and carve pumpkins which was a huge mess but the girls had a blast! Grace just loved playing in the guts and Kaylee liked pulling them out and sticking the guts and seeds to her!

Then Reed and I cleaned up the girls and baked our pumpkin seeds and decorated our front porch for the trick or treaters.

After dinner we got the girls dressed and went around the neighborhood and collected our candy. We were not sure if the girls would understand what we were doing or enjoy walking around but they did. They would walk up to the doors and ring the doorbells and say "treat, treat" and "hi" and hold out their bags and get the candy then they would say "thank you" and then "bye-bye" we did it for an hour and this is what we came home with!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Happy Pregnant Lady!

2009-10-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

Reed and I have figured out how to go back to working with my midwife to proceed with a homebirth! We couldn't be happier! I love the idea of being at home during and after the birth of my son, I hate hospitals! Don't get me wrong, I love them when I need them, but for my birth I don't feel like I need them!

Oh, and my mom agreed to come and fly out a week before and stay some time after the baby is born! I am so happy to have my mom by my side once again!

Goodbye hospital and HELLO being in my own bed at home!

It's Begining to look a lot like ... FALL

2009-10-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

The season has most definitely changed here in VA! We are now in the mist of fall colors and beautiful weather! As you can see:

Reed, the girls and I are all doing well. We all just got over some small sickness but other than that we are just enjoying each others company. Reed and I have also figured out that we are 99% positive we will be moving back to Texas come March/April. Reed's boss is most likely going to open a new Houston branch for Reed to run or there is a small possibility that he might open it in San Antonio, but whatever the case we will be in home in Texas once more! Now we could have a choice in Houston or San Antonio so if you would like to give your two-cents as to the city you would prefer us to live in let us know!

Baby boy Murray is also doing very well and is very active inside my tummy, most day's I think the is either moving furniture or practicing for the gymnastics team! Like the forgetful pregnant lady that I am, I completely blanked the fact I had a doctor's appointment today so hopefully I can reschedule that soon. I am feeling well, just uncomfortable and fat... lol... here are some pictures of baby boy Murray at 26.5 weeks along!

26.5 weeks 10/21/09

Pumpkin Patch 2009...

2009-10-21T09:10:00.001-07:00

We went to the pumpkin patch this Wednesday afternoon and it was such a perfect weather day and there were no crowds! Last year the girls were to small to do anything and this year they could do it all. We played on wooden trains, hay bails, lot and lots of different slides, we did a hay bail ride, ate kettle popcorn and saw some baby piglets and calves. Overall the day was a blast and I wish we could do it everyday!

We let the girls wear their Halloween outfits so we could get actual use and photos out of them. Kaylee is the fairy and Grace is the pretty witch because she loves the hat, and no that does not mean we think Grace acts more like a witch or Kaylee more like a fairy it is just the costumes we bought and the ones they picked to wear that day, we liked them, we bought them and they wore them.

Enjoy the pictures!

Just some pictures!

2009-10-01T21:01:00.001-07:00

Mom and Dad in search of a new toy for the girls, too bad it's not a double seater!

Twin and Baby Boy Murray Update

2009-09-21T16:12:00.001-07:00

This Friday I had a prenatal appointment with the doctor and they said everything was looking good and I was measuring 22 cm and the heartbeat sounded great! I have only gained like 2 lbs since i found out I was pregnant and she wanted to see me gain more than that but I still had some previous baby weight on me so I just figure I already had some meat on these old bones and no need to gain much weight yet... lol

The girls also had their 18th month appointment and as usual they are off the charts in height and weight.

Grace is 34.5" (off the charts) and 26.5 lbs (90%tile)
Kaylee is 34" (97%tile) and 24.5 lbs (50%tile)

The doctor said that she was noticing that Grace is slightly knocked-kneed and that we need to keep her from sleeping on her knees at night and keep her sitting during the day with legs out strait in front of her or crossed leg. She also noted that Kaylee is very very flat footed and that we just need to watch her as she got older to make sure it didn't cause her any problems.

Other than that they are healthy and happy toddlers...

National Zoo

2009-09-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

On Sunday to continue our birthday celebrations we went to the National Zoo in D.C. We had a blast seeing elephants, gorillas, gazelles, cheetas, etc. I think the next time we go we will go early in the morning and observe the feeding times of all the animals b/c we got there mid afternoon and they were all sleeping... oh well, the girls loved seeing all the animals!

Daddy's 29th Bday w/the Twins!

2009-09-21T11:44:00.001-07:00

Well Reed turned 29 this past weekend and we celebrated it simply like we like to do it. Friday we went out to Buffalo Wild Wings and had dinner and Saturday we let Daddy get some much needed sleep and relax all day and had dinner at home with some homemade cupcakes. We love you babe and happy birthday!

Dad enjoying his cupcake!
kaylee enjoying her cake
Grace enjoying her cupcake

dad's cupcake-cake we made for him!

Labor Day Weekend Fun w/the Twins!

2009-09-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

Just enjoy the pictures!

playing in the rain! Daddy's teaching them to catch rain water in their mouths!
Kaylee way to excited about being dirty!
Grace way to proud of the mess she made!
Kaylee finger painting
Grace enjoying finger painting!

It's a healthy baby....

2009-09-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

BOY!!!!!!!!!! We couldn't be happier and more excited! I posted all of the images below of our baby boy! At the end of the blog I posted a picture of me when I was pregnant with the twins at 2o weeks and me currently pregnant with one baby at 20 weeks, and I have to say I don't notice much of a difference... let me ask for some prayers that I don't get to be 52" around again with one baby! lol

Enjoy

Profile

Baby boy's foot

It's a Boy! "The Money Shot!"
Me at 20 weeks 9-8-09
This is me currently 20 weeks pregnant with our baby boy 9-8-09

and just for comparison, this is me pregnant at 20 weeks with the twins! 10-22-07

xoxo

Update on Baby Murray # 3

2009-09-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

I am 20 weeks now and have been feeling better this past month, well better than the first 15 weeks! I am still having a hard time finding food I can eat without making wanna vomit, and I am already uncomfortable unfortunately and having a hard time sleeping and my hips/shoulders hurt all night long when I sleep. We are feeling the baby move more and more everyday and now Reed can feel baby murray all the time! Other than that everything is going well.

We have decided to use the hospital here for our delivery due our health insurance company refusing to pay our midwife at all, we are not particularly happy about that but who know it could be for some other reason God has for us?

We are having a sonogram done on this Tuesday, September 8Th to find out the sex! We are so excited!

Weekend of fun Part III: Bush Garden

2009-09-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

The morning after we were done at the beach we left to Williamsburg, VA to Bush Gardens to go to a corporate gathering there for Reed's work! We got there around noon and spend five hours at the park and all we got accomplished was lunch, one ride, 30 mins on the Sesame Street playground, a 15 min 3D show and a long trip to the First Aids office because Grace took a head dive out of the stroller and busted about a 1/4" gash in her forehead... And we were done... but we were glad we tired something new with the girls...

Enjoy!

Grace
Kaylee

Weekend of fun Part II: VA-Beach

2009-09-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

The first night we were there we finally got out to the beach 1/2 hour before it got dark and tried to get in some beach fun and just to get the girls feet wet! Grace loved the waves coming into shore and we had to hold her back from just diving head first into the water! Kaylee didn't like it as much so she just played in the sand and built sandcastles!

The next morning we ate breakfast and went and played in the Ocean! It was a beautiful day and the waves were huge, at least 6-8' high!!! Me and Kaylee spend most of the morning playing in the sand with other kids and Dad and Grace played on the shoreline and let the waves crash and hit them!

It was fun playing on the beach and in the ocean with the girls but cleaning sand off of two 18 month olds and yourself is not so much fun... lots of tears from everyone... lol

Enjoy the pictures!

Kaylee being Kaylee
Grace giving us her best end!

Grace throwing sand in the air

Dad and Grace enjoying the ocean!

Weekend of fun Part I: VA-Beach Aquarium

2009-09-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

Reed and I took at two day mini vacation to Virginia Beach two weekends ago! One of our first stops was at the Aquarium there by our hotel. The girls had a great time running around the place and looking a live animals instead of seeing them only in books or on TV! But mainly I think they just like running around! The aquarium it self was okay and had some neat stuff to see in there like sharks, huge sea turtles and lots of fish, but about a 1/3 of their exhibits were "under construction" so there wasn't a lot to see... I think we should of gotten a discount for that! Oh, well.

Enjoy the pictures

Do you see Kaylee's sweet reflexion in the glass?
The girls spent 15 minutes running/laughing going back and forth pressing the two black button... we paid $30 to let them press buttons!

K & G enjoying the fish tanks!

I got kicked off my own couch!

2009-08-18T10:27:00.001-07:00

Kaylee & Grace really love Sesame Street, so much that they will sit still for an entire hour and just watch it! Yes, that's right folks I have children who will sit still for a solid hour and be quite... Now yes I realize that they shouldn't love TV that much, but some days...er... everyday I need an hour break where I know they are entertained and being good...

Well most day's when it is time to watch Sesame Street, that's when I sit/lay on the couch and sip my coffee uninterrupted. Well today while I was in the kitchen making coffee the girls on their own decided that they wanted the couch, and they were going to lay and relax and watch their program. And well Mom had to sit and enjoy her coffee on the floor... ...

Seriously, they got the pillows and covered themselves up all on their own... I did none of this...

One thing we can all agree on!

2009-08-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, there is one activity that the whole Murray family enjoy's and that is playing in the pool! Enjoy some of our end of summer pictures!!

Kaylee being splashed by Daddy!
Kaylee
Grace being splashed by Daddy!
Grace

Our First County Fair!

2009-08-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

I am learning more and more that whatever we do with the twins it is really hard to find something to do that they both love at the same time. So this past weekend we went to the County Fair a few miles up the road to see if the girls would enjoy the animals/shows! As soon as we got there Grace decided that she wasn't going to like/enjoy any part of the fair, not the food, animals or shows, oh well. On the other hand Kaylee enjoyed herself immensely! She loved playing and petting all the animals, she would clap and giggle at the magician and safari shows and ate all the food she could get her sticky hands on!

So if you are wondering why there are no pictures of Grace in this blog, it is because she wasn't in the mood.

Finger Painting!

2009-08-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

Lately we have noticed that the girls have been enjoying spreading their food around on the table especially if it has a sauce, so we thought it about time to buy them some finger paints!

Kaylee jumped right in and put paint to paper!
Kaylee hard at work
Kaylee Kaylee

Grace on the other hand had to be encouraged to put the paint on the paper and then when she realized she was covered in paint she freaked out and was done! She did try but she only lasted like 5 minutes!
Grace done being dirty!
Grace learned that her pacifier makes a bad paintbrush and a bad pacifier when covered in paint!

My Texas Tornados!!!

2009-08-10T09:51:00.000-07:00

Well, Reed and I conquered another long road trip with the girls and survived! The trip down there was great and the girls did rather well for having to be strapped in the car for two whole days! Grace still was a little sick and had diarrhea off and on and that made for lots and lots of pit stops along the way but we all had fun being together on a new adventure!
We left VA around 6:30am and arrived in our hotel room in Jackson, TN at 9:00p.m.! As you can see Reed had a blast tossing the girls around from bed to bed in the hotel! GRACE KAYLEE

The next morning we left Jackson, TN around 8:30 a.m. and finished up our trip at 7:40 p.m. in my home town of Stephenville, TX! It was so wonderful to see all my brothers and sisters and my nieces/nephews that I haven't seen in over a year! We stayed at my Mom's house the whole time and just relaxed and played with the girls! Reed only stayed from Thursday (the day we left town) until Monday morning and I stayed the rest of the week by myself at my moms! It was a great visit and something I needed to do, because I miss my family so much. Then my two best friends' Ashley and Jacklyn helped me drive the girls back to VA where we got to spend a few more days together exploring D.C. Thanks you two from the bottom of my heart!
The girls playing outside with the farm animals on my mom's property!My mom holding up a chicken so the girls to pet it!my mom eating watermelon with the twinsThe girls playing with Grammy's water hose with their cousin Gracie

We also got to visit with Reed's parents for a day in Granbury, TX! We met at the lake were the city had built a public sandy beach area where you can play in the lake and a small little water fountain park! We had a blast!

BONUS PICTURES!!!
The girls destroying Grammy's little defenseless tree limb by limb
Kaylee in her baby cage! lol
Grace
Grace
Kaylee chewing on grass

Baby Murray # 3

2009-07-18T19:49:00.001-07:00

Reed and I went to get a sonogram done of our newest bundle of joy growing in my belly and we found out we are only expecting ONE baby this time. We are very excited about knowing we are only having one baby!!!

I am 13 weeks along with a new due date, based on the sonogram, of January 21st, 2010. Baby had a strong heartbeat of 160-155 bpm. Baby Murray only has one good shot of him/her because every time the technician would get close Baby Murray would move and twist away from the wand. My kids tend to be feisty in utero but they come out sweet (the twins would do the same thing)!

Over all I am feeling still very nauseous and tired all the time, but I am hoping that will all stop in the next few weeks.

My Family if Famous... Well 1/2 of them are

2009-07-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, my handsome hubby and beautiful daughter Kaylee got a snapshot of them put in the local paper. We were all dancing under the gazebo at the Manassas down town 4th of July celebration and even though Grace and I were also showing off our mad dancing skills only 3 feet away, Reed and Kaylee made the paper! I am so proud of them...

4th of July Pictures!!!

2009-07-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here are are a few of our pictures we took on the 4th! We had a blast and the girls loved the fireworks, they were tired and cranky when 9:15 finally came around but when the first fire cracker when off they sat in our laps and just watch them. The girls went dancing for a solid hour and ran around the rest of the day in a big field while we waited for fireworks! All and all it was a great day and we all enjoyed it very much! Oh, and we will find out next Friday if a picture of our girls showing off their dance moves made it to the local newspaper, all we know is they took their pictures and asked our names and where we were from!

I would type more and tell you everything that is going on but I am tired and pregnant and I wanna go to bed. So enjoy the pictures!

Update and More!

2009-06-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to meet my midwife, Peggy, for the first time and I immediately fell in love with her and her office assistant Kim! Her office is cozy and nicely set up in her basement (I know that sounds weird but her basement is really nice). Reed and I plan on having this baby at home. We couldn't be more comfortable and happy about this decision. We also plan on not having any sonograms done unless it is necessary, but we might get a 3D/4D one done later on just to have a look, maybe.

Also we are not planing on finding out the sex of this baby, we think it would be fun and make that day even more exciting (I am going to need some motivation to push this baby out!)to wait. Also we are going to keep the baby names we are thinking about to ourselves. Yes that means everything that day in January will be a surprise to all we know! Now if you are close to me you might already know some of the names we have thought about in the past, so to those of you who might have some idea of our baby names you better keep your mouth shut! cough**Ashley**cough...

If you wanna check out my midwife and what she is all about here is her website- http://www.birthbydesign.org/About/Default.aspx

Also if I have previously mentioned it before Reed and I are pretty sure now that we will be moving to Houston, Texas come March 2010! Yea!!!

Other than that the girls are just getting bigger and bigger everyday and learning to talk more everyday. I have some new pictures I need to upload but we have been so busy at home I am way behind on that! I will try later this weekend to get those up!

Surprise!!!!

2009-06-01T12:56:00.001-07:00

On Memorial Day Reed and I found out we were expecting again! Man, were we suprised ourselves by this news. We are very excited and nervous at the same time. We always planned on having a third child so we are very excited about that. I am feeling that this time it will be a boy. And no I have no idea if we are having twins again or not. We have only a 5% chance of conceiveing twins again so we will have to wait and see. We are just hoping for one though. Wish us luck and I will keep you updated as time passes!

The Murray's Come for a Visit

2009-05-27T08:26:00.001-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but for the last two weeks we have had Reed's family in visiting us here in VA! It was a great visit and a lot of quality time spent with them and them with the twins! I want to thank Kipp for flying everyone out here and I want to thank Gwen for spending two weeks with me and Megan for taking time off to visit! I love you guys and hope you enjoyed your visit!

I will let the photo's do the talking about our trip!

Kaylee and D.D. smelling a pine cone

the Murray clan at the National arboretum

Grace just playing at the park

Girls swimming at our local pool!

Auntie Megs playing with the twins

Gen-Gen swinging the girls at the park

Kaylee being her adorable self

Gen-Gen reading "Cookie See, Cookie Do" to the girls for the 100th time that day...

What Joy They Bring to My Life...

2009-05-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

This Mother's Day was perfect! Reed told me I could sleep in, so I tried and only lasted until 8:30. I usually get up at 8, and I think my body is so used to that i can't break the habit. I got up to Reed making my omlett I asked him to make me with spinach, mushrooms, onion and peppers, with toast and honey, and rasberries and strawberries... oh and coffee! He did a great job! For lunch we packed a pinic basket and went to a park and just played with the girls. I wish that they would make playgrounds for one year olds... I can't tell you how many times they came close to falling off the edge of the gym. Then we went to Carrabbas for dinner! Reed also when all "Martha Stewart" on me and made me a frame with the girls hand prints on it(picture to follow).

This Mother's Day I came to realize how incredibly blessed I am with two beautiful, smart, funny, healthy babies and a most perfect husband/daddy. I love them with all my heart and soul and look forward to many, many more hoildays together.

Enjoy the pictures...

Great Weather = Lots of Outdoor fun!!!

2009-04-29T08:10:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we all enjoyed some terrific weather, here in VA it was 90-95 degrees all weekend. I think we tried to make the most of the good weather and spent all of our weekend outside, and the girls just loved every moment of it.

Kaylee filling up her bucket

Grace drinking from the bucketBoth girls drinking from the bucket

this was my favorite shot of the day!

The girls trampling throughout the back yard!

Digging up the backyard

Easter Fun!!!

2009-04-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderfully simple Easter with the girls and our very dear friends John and Kelly Kent! They came over with lunch and Easter treats for the girls and they helped the girls hunt Easter eggs! thanks Kelly for taking pictures of us!

This is John and Kelly practicing for kids of their own! Someday I am sure, but for now I think they will just borrow ours!
Grace enjoying the mess she made with her Easter grass!

Kaylee giving us a cute smirk!

Yep, it was a mess in the back yard, and thanks John for gladly picking up every strand when we were done!

The Murray's Take on D.C.: Part 2

2009-04-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

Our day started off at 7 a.m. and we were out the door by 8 to get on the Metro to go to the Cherry Blossom Parade and Japanese Festival in D.C. Our ride on the metro there was the worst experience we have had, we were suck standing holding the girls packed in like sardines! The girls were so squished that they just screamed... and screamed. We finally got off the metro just to stand in line for 15 minutes to get off the platform and get up the one and only escalator. But we finally made it to the parade route and well lets just say that the parade was less inspiring (the worst parade I have ever seen...) ... it pretty much sucked and we left and had to stand in line for 45 minutes to get lunch. I am sure you could imagine how much fun that was with two 1 year olds... we ate and determined that there was to many people to push strollers through the crowds around the Japanese & Cherry blossom festival, so we went to the war memorials and the Lincoln memorial/reflecting pool!

Overall it was nice just to get out with the family and try something new... but Reed and I both agree that we have earned some major Parental Kudos for braving the Metro and 100,000+ people in D.C. this weekend... but some of those kudos should be taken away because we all got sun burned, even the babies... bad mommy/daddy I know...

The girls were very, very tired after being out all day! This was them on the way home...

The Murray's Take on D.C.: Part 1

2009-03-30T07:38:00.000-07:00

So this weekend we decided to be brave and do our first trip as a family and head off to Washington D.C. on the Metro! We set off to visit the National Aquarium, which was a sorry excuse for an aquarium if ever I saw one. I think they said, "hey we have some extra room in this building's basement lets put an aquarium down here and charge people to see the kind of fish they could see at the local pet store! So we were disappointed it the exhibit (if you couldn't tell) and didn't want to just head off home so we walked to the Washington Monument and did half of the Cherry Blossom festival (which was beautiful). We are planning on going back this weekend to see the Cherry festival parade and walk the rest of the Cherry tree path along the Potomac river.

As, always enjoy the photos!

Kaylee smelling the flowers!
the most beautiful cherry tree I saw all day!

Grace and Reed enjoying nature together!

The girls waiting on Dad to get some directions!

The girls playing with an alligator at the aquarium

P.S. If you don't already know by now there is a really good chance (about 95%) that we will be moving back to Texas by the end of this year. I don't have many details to tell you other than the fact that Reed's boss has decided to open a branch in Houston, Texas and he asked us if we wanted to move back and run the branch. We said yes, so now we are just working on the details of when we will go. We will keep you posted!

It's Summer already?

2009-03-25T20:54:00.001-07:00

Yep, that's right folks we braved 40 degree weather and went to the local indoor pool to give the girls a taste of the summer to come. I was not very happy to have to get into my bathing suit in March but it was so worth seeing my girls love the water.

Kaylee was very timid and cold the whole time, even though it was like 85 degrees in the room and the water was really warm. I think she was scared b/c there were so many people/kids around her splashing her and not giving her a chance to figure things out before she tired it. So she just hung around our necks and shivered.

Now, Grace, on the other hand loved the water. They had a kid pool that was only 1 foot deep and it had lots of fountains and things to play with in the water. She didn't want us to hold her hand all she wanted to do is run in the water! She would go under every 30 seconds and she drank like a gallon of pool water but she loved it and is a true pisces!

Twins take on the Gym!!

2009-03-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

For the last 3 weeks I have been taking the girls to a little gym class twice a week at JW Tumbles. This is the first activity the girls and me have done on our own. It is hard getting all three of us out the door and on time but we do it! Our Monday class is really small and we are the only ones who attend, but on our Wednesday Class three other babies attend. The girls get to climb on all different slides, play with bubbles, learn new songs, push a big rolling mat across the room (aka- "the hotdog"), play in a ball pit, learn to go up/down inclines, swing, and play with lots of new toys. They do well and it's nice to see them enjoy themselves. Now the pictures I am posting are not all that great because it is hard to help the girls do the activites, keep you eye on both of them and take a picture all at the same time but they will give you some idea on what they are doing...

P.S. Swimming pictures comming soon!

Snow Day!!!

2009-03-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

About 2 weeks ago we got about 5" of snow on the ground. So we put the girls in their little snow suits... the funny part is they felt like they couldn't walk so they would just lay on the floor and cry... it was really funny.

Grace would just sit in the snow and taste the snow and Kaylee was crawling through it:

Right now the girls have just started their first gym class that they go to twice and week and they are loving all the new activities they get to do like: walking up ramps, climbing up ladders, playing with bubbles, sliding down slides and lots of music. We are loving it and having a ton of fun together.

We also are on our search again for a new church and we went to one this weekend that could work, but we need to go a few more times just to make sure it's the one for us. The girls go into a daycare there and they seem to love it.

The girls also just went to the doctor for their 1 year appointment last week:

Kaylee: 22lb(55-60th percentile) and 32" tall(above 100th percentile)

Grace: 24lb(75th percentile) and 32"tall(above 100th percentile)

so yes the girls are little monsters and growing like weeds. They are starting to talk and they are saying small words like "up", "hi", "mama, dada", and "baba". They are really good with commands such as "come here", "can I have it", "stop"... but we are still working on the big one "NO"... they just smile and laugh at me when I say "no", I am in so much trouble. They are also starting to give out hugs and kisses when you ask them for one... of course the kisses are more like fully opened mouth/tongue facial assaults... but it's still wonderful to get them from the girls, slobber and all.

We are getting ready for spring and looking forward to all our activities we can do with better weather: swimming, visit more of downtown DC, and the other million historical sites here.

Oh, and there is also some talk of moving to Houston by next summer!!! Keep your fingers crossed. Lastly our camera is broken so there isn't going to be any pictures until they mail it back to us.... ugg...

Kaylee & Grace's First Birthday

2009-02-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

Well their first birthday has come and gone but we had a lot of fun. It was just us on their birthday but we had a lot of fun. Reed and I decorated the house the night before and when the girls woke up that morning they were very surprised to see all the stuff hanging in the dinning room. After lunch I put them in their birthday girl shirts that their Gen-Gen had bought them and the tutu's way back in early October!

Dad came home early with some dinner from Chili's and I made the girls homemade cupcakes and ice cream! The girls had fun diving into the icing and smearing it everywhere. Kaylee loved it more than Grace, I think Grace reaches a point where she is to dirty and she doesn't like it. Both the girls loved the ice cream and enjoyed staying up an hour and a half past their bedtime (I think I didn't want the day to end, so I let them stay up late).

We spent the rest of the night taking pictures, dancing and eating food...

Becareful what you wish for: It just might come true...

2009-02-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

Wow I can't believe it's been a year since my precious babies were born. I remember the day we found out we were pregnant! We were so excited and yet scared to death at the same time because we didn't want to miscarry this pregnancy like the two we suffered in the previous 8 months before that. On August 5th 2007 I thought I had lost the pregnancy and we went to the ER, only to find out the best news of our lives that not only was the pregnancy fine but we were also pregnant with twins!!! Over the next nine months Reed and I would pray and hope that those babies would say alive and well in my tummy. We were so thrilled and scared at the same time but more happy than scared. Then before I knew it at 38weeks and 3day my two babies were in my arms. I have never experienced this kind of love and joy in my life and I am so proud to call Kaylee and Grace mine. They are the most beautiful, smart, sweet, loving, carefree and perfect children I could of ever asked for. I love them and I am so proud to be their mom!

When I was a girl I used to dream (wish) that one day I would have twin girls, maybe because my mother was a twin, or maybe I just always knew that's what I was destine to do, but now I realize that dreams really do come true and I am truly blessed!!!

Valentines Kaylee & Grace Style

2009-02-16T08:19:00.000-08:00

We all had a great family Valentines... Reed and I would of spent it alone but it was the girls first Valentine's Day so we wanted to be with them. Reed cooked dinner and me and the girls made cookies and decorated them. Well I decorated them and the girls ate them while decorating them...

Enjoy the girls decorating ("eating") their Valentine's cookies...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!! XOXOX ALEX, REED, KAYLEE & GRACE

The Twins Slide...

2009-02-13T12:33:00.000-08:00

Picture Fix!

2009-02-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

Not to much to report here on the Murray home front. We finally had some warmer weather so we were able to take the girls out more comfortably to the park for some good play last weekend! The girls loved it. Kaylee love to play in and eat dirt and Grace is kinda scared of her own shadow but we had fun anyways...

On the corner of our house is a little play yard/tot-lot for the girls to play in and they learned to go up the stairs and down the slide all by themselves. They loved it!

Other than doing their baby things the girls are just eating, growing and getting more teeth to eat more with... We are doing great! Enjoy the photos.

11 Months Old! Where does the time go?

2009-01-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been a while since I have posted an update but things have been very busy in the Murray house! The girls are both running all over the place now and getting into everything. There is now no safe place to put anything that they are not supposed to be into b/c they are into everything. They also love to taking their baths. They are also starting their sibling rivalry already, they fight about toys and who gets to sit on our laps. But they also have a ton of sweet moments playing together and when they are they are always laughing at each other. But no matter what they always play side by side never apart I am so glad they have each other.

Things new with Kaylee: Lets see... She has learned to shake her head back and forth when I tell her NO! She has learned how to get on the couch all on her own and how to get up on her activity tables and stand on top of them. She loves for me to stack blocks/cups just so she can knock them down and she is so close to saying so many words like "cah" is for cat and "baa" is for ball, she can get the first syllable down but can't get the last part of the word. She loves to sit on our laps and cuddle and suck her thumb... She is also a great eater and eats anything and everything that she can feed herself. She will not allow me to feed her anymore... her favorite thing to do is dance... she loves the theme song to Star Trek: Enterprise... (NOTE the video)

Things new with Grace: Lets see... she is getting good at running and climbing the stairs... they both refuse to let me carry them anymore up the stairs they want to crawl... she can also climb onto her activity table and stand up... She also has this fasination with hitting everything to her forehead, it's almost her way of figuring it out instead of putting it into her mouth. She is also my best eater of all she loves all food and eats it as fast as she can shovel it into her mouth. She likes to stick her tounge out at you and make all sorts of noise with her mouth... and she is also saying the same words as K is we are working on the last syllable.

Other than that we are enjoying our first snow days and we are getting their 1st birthday party together. Enjoy the photos and video clips

Christmas in Texas!

2009-01-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

We flew out of VA on the 18th and it was a long trip but the girls did great! I swear I have the best two kids ever! They absolutely love flying... everyone told us it was going to be hell with them and that take off and the landing would be the hardest b/c of thier ears popping... well not my girls... they either laughed looking out the window or fell asleep... Not to say it wasn't hard having two 10 month old constantly in your lap/arms for 8 hours straight!

When we got to TX we were greeted by all our friends and family for a little party for our 4 yr anniversary and our return to TX!! Later on Reed's Grandparents (Kipp's parents) came in for 4 days! This was the first time they had ever met K&G it was so nice seeing them.

I also had my mom, dad, sisters crystal and lisa and mary come in to visit since we did not get to make it down to S'ville b/c Kaylee had her first cold! My girls had never been sick before... I blame it on the plane or sick visitors!!! But all is well now and they just have runny noses!

The girls had a spectatular Christmas and were showered with gifts from all sides of the family and a ton of my friends! I can't thank you enough!!

The girls are happy to be home and so are we. So enjoy the pictures and hope all of you received your Christmas Cards!!!

Christmas Time in the Murray house!!!

2008-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

I don't have much to report but I do have some Great pictures for your viewing pleasure!! Enjoy and Merry Christmas from the Murray's!!!

It's Kaylee's Turn!!!

2008-12-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

Well just yesterday Kaylee decided that she had had enough of her sister getting all the attention so she let go of daddy and took her first 3 steps!!! We were so proud. Then, as if that wasn't enough five minutes later she was standing at the coffee table and she let go and took like 10 steps...

I just knew she would just one day let go and walk across the living room. I am so proud of my baby girls...

As soon as I can catch it on camera I will post it!

7 more days and I will be in the Big D!!!

Video!!

2008-12-04T13:16:00.001-08:00

Here is some video of Grace waking and Kaylee playing. Sorry I shot them sideways, I was using my digtal camera and wasn't thinking. Enjoy anyways...

9 month Appointment!!

2008-12-02T07:12:00.001-08:00

Well the girls are growing like weeds and their 9 month appointment confirmed that! Here are their stats!

Grace: Wt. 20 lbs 1 oz, Ht. 28 in.

Kaylee: Wt. 18 lbs 15 oz, Ht. 28 in.

Grace has also mastered the art of walking this weekend. This past Sunday she took 2 steps all on her own and today she is up to 8-10 steps... She is walking now... I think that Kaylee is not to far behind. Man I am in so much trouble... but at the same time it is so exciting b/c walking means more freedom for them and less having me having to carry them around all the time... but I also think that that means the word "NO" is going to be our new vocabulary word!

The girls are also both able to climb the stairs all by themselves, they just fly up and laugh and giggle the whole time. We are also in the process of teaching them to wave bye-bye and hi, but for the most part they just stare at us with a blank expression on their face like we are crazy! But Grace and Kaylee are starting to wave their hands a little.

Granny Gwen & Grandad Kipp Come for a visit!

2008-11-27T02:29:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we were blessed with a wonderful visit from Reed's parents (a.k.a. Granny Gwen and Grandad Kipp!). They flew in on Thursday afternoon and stayed till Monday morning. It was such a wonderful visit and I know that the girls really enjoyed being spoiled rotten by them and not having just to play with mommy all weekend.

During the weekend Grace sprouted 2 more teeth (that makes 8 in all now) and showed off her mad walking skills by pushing her lawnmower to help her walk for the first time and Kaylee started that the day after they left...

We had our own Thanksgiving feast (everything Gwen and I whipped up from scratch in 6 hours) and the girls loved their candied yams, mashpotatoes, stuffing, turkey and for desert homemade ice cream! They were in food heaven!!!

We also all made it out to the Manassas battle fields where the Battle of Bull Run was faught. And we made it into D.C. and viewed the space museum. Other than that we just chilled at the house and tried to stay out of the cold and wind. Here are some of the moments we caught! Enjoy!

A week of firsts!

2008-11-18T11:12:00.001-08:00

I finally got the girls bathroom done and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out!!!! It was a lot of fun. I finally got on it b/c Reed's parents are coming in for a visit and this is also the guest bathroom.

Also the girls had their first trip to church this past Sunday. Our new friends across the street, Pat & Neil, invited us to thier church. It was nice getting out and having someone else take care of the girls in the nursery for once. The church was nice, relaxed and small but I don't think it will be our church, it was a little evangelical for me and not enough of a message. We are going to be looking for another one to attend.

Otherwise we are all just enjoying the cooler weather and looking forward to our first visit from our family back in Texas and our first Thanksgiving with the girls! I have been letting them practice self-feeding so that they will be ready for Turkey Day!!! Yum Yum!

Reed and I just finished being sick with some sort of bug so I am sure the girls are about to get it any day now... Not looking forward to their first cold but it's gotta come sometime I guess.

I have also finished the girls room. I had a hard time decorating it before they were born b/c I was so big and decorating is not really Reed's forte, so when the girls were born I thought I would get their room done then but we found out we were moving so we stopped any attempt to decorate. But now 18 months later, since we found out we were having twins, their room is done... What do you think? I think all it needs is a rug and it will be 100% done!!!

Fall Fun!!

2008-11-03T13:24:00.001-08:00

Things are cold but beautiful around here. As you can see from the first picture fall is in full bloom! The picture is what I see when I look out my back door... pretty good view huh? I am sure the trees will be bare soon and full of snow hopefully.

We hope to take the girls out one more time to get one last fill of the fun leaves! For now we are busy getting our house really ready for it's first guest come mid November, Reed's mom and dad, and we couldn't be more excited!

The girls are just growing like weeds and popping out teeth like there is no tomorrow. Kaylee is getting her second set of bottom teeth and Grace is getting all 4 of her top front teeth all at once. They are handling it like rock stars and not even complaining about the pain (lucky me, I know). And they love testing them out on our new coffee table... poor thing doesn't stand a chance.

They are both now standing for up to a minute all by them selves and they get really excited when we clap for them! They also love, love love the camera. As you can tell in the pictures we took of them this weekend that they are big hams in the camera. Also they have finally graduated from the baby tub to the inflateable tub to the big tub! I hope to get pictures of that soon.

Other than that enjoy the pictures...

Pumpkin Patch 2008

2008-10-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Well we did it folks! We got out of the house and met some friends at a local pumpkin patch! It was so much fun seeing an old friend from high school again and getting to meet her 2 year old son! But best of all we got some great pictures of the girls! The costumes they are wearing are ones made by hand by the one and only me! What do you think. I didn't get to finish the wings but I think that they look good anyways. Grace is a ladybug and Kaylee is a bumble bee!

The girls are just so much fun to be around right now! They amaze us everyday with the things they can do. Kaylee just got her 2nd front tooth in this weekend and Grace is starting to let go and stand for 10-15 seconds on her own! I bet they are walking before Thanksgiving... I am in so much trouble.

Here are some more photos... Enjoy!

7 1/2 months... from the begining till now

2008-10-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

I used to be able to hold them with one arm and they fit on my chest side by side. Together they weighed no more than 13 lbs then now they weigh 40 lbs together. Wow what a difference 7 months make.

The girls are more and more amazing every day. They are eating all sorts of food from meat, yogurt, all veggies, oatmeal, pasta, rice, teething cookies and fruit. They love it all... but I think like most babies they love the fruit the best. When Kaylee eats her fruit or anything that tastes really good to her she goes yumm yummm uhmmm uhhmmm all while eating it... its so funny.

Kaylee has her top front tooth coming in and it doesn't seem to bother her at all, and she loves to rub her tongue across her new tooth all day. Grace just talks and talks all day and never quits making sounds (she is so my daughter). They are both crawling & pulling themselves up on furniture (and have been for some time now). Kaylee is also starting to let go of the furniture and stand/balance on her own... I swear she will be walking before the end of this year.

We are going to a pumpkin patch this weekend with an old friend of mine from high school who lives out here with her husband and son. So hopefully we will have some new pictures to post from there... Maybe I will have there Halloween costumes done and they can wear them there. We shall see!

Dedication of this blog site...

2008-10-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

So you wanna know things about me, huh? Well, I am a
mother to the best kids in the world Kaylee & Grace. They were born on Feb. 26th 2008, just 8 minutes apart.

this was me 5 days before I gave birth--->

Reed and I decided in October of 2006 we would start trying to have kids. A month and a half later we found out we were pregant but we lost that baby on our 2nd year anniversay. Then in Feb. 07 we found out we were pregnant again only to find out in April during an ultrasound that there was no heartbeat. We were devistated yet again. Then on July 3rd on my last day of college classes that I would ever have before I graduated we found out we were pregnant again. We were super cautious but very excited. On August 5th I woke up and just thought something was wrong so we went to the ER and there not only did we found out that everything was okay with the baby but that we were having TWINS!!! We were so excited and scared at the same time.

See ever since I was a little girl I had dreamed of having twin girls. Yes I have always truely wanted to have twins. I think I felt that way because my mom was a twin and I just thought that that would be the neatest thing in the world to have. Needless to say "be careful what you ask for"... So I was scared but way excited when we got the news.

Now when Reed and I said we wanted to start our family we never dreamed we would be having two children at once.

I had a great pregnancy and carried the babies full term at 38 weeks 3day gestation. I was as big as a house, measuring in at 57 inches around (that is alomst 5 feet around). I was induced due to high blood pressure and was able to give birth to the twins vaginally and without any pain medications... it was a wonderful experience. Kaylee was 6lb 15oz and Grace was 6lb 6oz.

My girls are beautiful and wonderful and I look forward to getting to know them, teach them and love on them for the rest of their lives.

Oh, and If you want to know if Reed and I plan on having any more kids... the answer to that is yes. We can't figure out if it would be better to spread them out (and if so by how many years) or to just get it all over with and knock them out one right after the other... We are not going there anytime soon b/c we are just enjoying the twins right now and plus we just got new insurance and so we have to wait 6 months before they will cover a pregnancy... (stupid insurance...) so for now we have put off discussion on more kids until Feb. 09. We are hoping for a boy next that way if we want to stop we have a complete family of boys and girls but who knows... (secrectly we want twin boys... we think it would be great but what are the odds of that, I mean the odds of natually conceiving twins is 1 in 80 but the chances of you concieving a 2nd set of twins (faternal) is 1 in 20) so the chance is there...

Stay tuned to more about the twins: