To Sleep or not to sleep.....

As many of you know our precious little boys have given us much difficulty in the sleep department. We still have someone crying for extended periods every night, and they wake up at approx 5:30-6:00 AM, every morning! We have had them puke they cry so hard, and attempted every sleep method known to parenting! We co-slept until they were 6 months old, then transisted them to share a crib. We thought they weren't sleeping because of each other so then we put them in their own cribs in the same room. However this didnt achieve more sleep, so we moved them upstairs to their own rooms at 13 months! Now at 19 months we still arent sleeping well, so as a desparate last move, we moved them back into the same room in their individual cribs!! We will see the outcome!

The moving beds and changing bedrooms was a huge Saturday afternoon project. However we had plenty of hands trying to help, they were just little hands!





















Joseph's Dug Out! This is his old room, with no crib! Now it has the big boy bed...I am glad we aren't to that phase yet! That will make me cry for sure!



















The final product, after their nap....all pacifiers, blankets, bears, and pillows thrown in the middle on the floor. We watched this happen on video monitors! Johnathan fell asleep first, and Joseph called to him and made every farm animal sound possible trying to wake him up! It was so funny! One thing is for sure- they had a good time together in the same room!


Note: We welcome any potions, songs, dances, or sleep technique suggestions!! Just remember, we now have a newborn in the sleep situation!

Mrs. Becky!

Mrs. Becky deserves an exclaimation point behind her name!! She is amazing!! She is our neighbor and also a good friend to us! She appeared at our front door the first day I stayed home with the twins alone, and she ended up staying at our house that day trying to assure me and calm babies! I thought we scared her off that day, but she has been coming over regularly since then! Mrs. Becky has two amazing boys of her own, and both are away at college. I listen close to her advice, and love her visits! I am so thankful that she is close by if ( and when ) we need her! Thanks Mrs. Becky!! Come see us soon!!

Birthday Cake!

Thank you for all the cards and birthday wishes! Over the weekend we celebrated my 31st Birthday! Yay!! It was a great day. Anthony and I even snuck away to Knoxville without the kids! We had a birthday pound cake and steak dinner at Grandpa and Grandma Holmes' house! Uncle Clay even made fried squash! yummy. Although I think the boys enjoyed feeding us the cake the most!

Rubber Boots

Being raised on a dairy farm you learn many things. There are no weekends or holidays to the cows, hard work is a must, long days are inevitable, it is a family business, fresh aromas found everywhere, and rubber boots are must have in your wardrobe. Even though our family is no longer in the dairy cow business, since then Dad has moved to Tennessee and operates a beef cattle farm, the boys are proud owners of their first pair of rubber boots! It is so cute to see them march around at my parents farm wearing their rubber boots! Joseph loves all boots, and brings Johnathan his boots to wear too! Also note the boys spiffy monogrammed "Phoenix Farm" jean jackets! Watch out Grandpa Holmes and Uncle Clay-- the boys will be driving the tractor and feeding the cows soon!





THANKS JACK AND JAKE FOR THE RUBBER BOOTS!! CHECK OUT THEIR BLOG!!

Grandpa's Girl

Grandpa Holmes went hunting in Alabama this week! Whenever Grandpa goes hunting he always calls us and talks about how he can't wait for the twins to be old enough to go with him! However Jayne Elizabeth wanted to make sure that Grandpa knew she would fit right in one day too!




Lacey has matching camo with Jayne Elizabeth...her Dad has two girls and they wanted to make sure Mr Ronnie felt right at home too! These girls and their Dads, Grandpa's, and Uncles.....it is going to be fun!

An apple a day...

An apple a day keeps the doctor away!! The boys are now enjoying eating whole apples!! They like apple slices, but recently discovered how to bite into a whole apple!! Also the news at our house is that I am discharged from the doctor!! Yippee!! It has been years since I have not had a follow-up appointment at the OB office! I am so happy to now be a full-time, with no restrictions mother of three!! ( however still welcome company and help!! ) Everyone has been so sweet to help us throughout the surgical restrictions. We are thankful for all the help and a quick recovery with no further complications! Johnathan and Joseph better keep eating their apples to get big and strong.....Mommy's back!

A snow day...

See, we do have snow in the south!!!! Today was a snow day! Lacey was here and we bundled up the kids and headed outside. The boys loved it! They had fun making snowballs, eating the snow, and playing on the swings! Jayne Elizabeth stayed outside less than a minute, then back to the heated playroom. It was nice to enjoy the outdoors despite the freezing temperatures.

Our weekend

"Aunt" Kim was here this weekend from Nashville. Kim and I met while I was working at Vanderbilt Sports Medicine as an athletic trainer, she was my first friend there! Since then she has been a big part of our family, all the while she lived in Nashville! Our boys will always have a special place for Aunt Kim in their hearts. When we delivered the boys in Nashville at Vandy, she was there! But then Johnathan and I moved in with her while we waited the seven weeks for Joseph to be healed in the NICU at Vandy! We will never forget her support and love during those days! However this weekend the boys kept Aunt Kim running....literally!! She played with the boys and helped out while Anthony began his one week on-call stretch! ugh! This will be a long week! It was nice to have Aunt Kim here to start us off right! Mommy also enjoyed the girl talk and time! We had a great Sunday afternoon! We enjoyed having our good friends of Joe Lowe Photography take some ADORABLE newborn pictures of Jayne Elizabeth!! I cant wait to share them with you! They are so cute! Thanks Joe and Dana!

Congratulations Tiffany and David

We are so excited at our house today! My best friend Tiffany delivered a precious baby girl last night! Tiffany and David live in Gainesville,FL and are dear friends. Lauren is welcomed home by big sister Sarah! Mom and baby are doing well!

Lauren Anne 01.15.09 5 lbs 11 oz 19 in

shhhhhh....

Again, Baby Jayne Elizabeth sleeping. She is doing some better with sleep. We still have a night owl on our hands! She sleeps most of the day, then wakes up bright eyed about 9 PM. We usually convince her to return to sleep around 11 PM, then up to feed her about every 4 hours at night. She is on a great 3 hour feeding schedule during the day. Jayne Elizabeth is a great baby!! She is so content, and beginning to show her personality. The funny story today was when she was sleeping in her bouncy seat. Joseph could not keep his sweet little body and hands off of her. Anthony and I kept reminding him "be gentle" and "your sister is sleeping." But we finally figured it out!!!! Jayne Elizabeth had cows on her pajamas! Joseph wanted to point out each cow on her pajamas and say "moo." It was so cute!


P.S. What color hair does Jayne Elizabeth have?? Leave us a comment, and let us know what you think!!! strawberry blonde??? red??? brown??? auburn?? light brown??

brrrr...It's cold outside!

Wow! We live in the south, but that doesnt guarantee warm weather!! We have had snow flurries and tonight expect single digit temperatures! School is cancelled in the morning, and I think most of us will be staying indoors. Yesterday the boys were able to go outside, and enjoyed running in the backyard. It was a very short play time outdoors, but they sure were cute! The boys are so adorable at this age!

Our house

Brothers!! Johnathan and Joseph have discovered how much fun it is to pull each other in the wagon. They started this on their own, and it is so cute. Johnathan is very good at tugging Joseph around in the wagon, however Joseph needs a little help to pull Johnathan!

























Sweetie Pie Jayne Elizabeth, a sleeping beauty!




















Double Trouble!! When Joseph was quiet for more than five minutes, I went looking for him! I found him sitting in our closet on the shoe rack! He was kind enough to remove all the shoes and then have a seat! Johnathan found this location fun too! Monkey see, monkey do!

Jayne Elizabeth's First Date!

It is love at first sight!! A match made in heaven! Jayne Elizabeth and Briggs met at their first Music Academy Kindermusik class last night!
Top 7 Reasons Briggs and Jayne Elizabeth are meant to be!
7. Briggs loves her bow!
6. They are validvictorians of Crossville Kindermusik ( their first class )
5. Jayne Elizabeth has an affinity for blue eyes
4. Big brothers Brody, Johnathan and Joseph are friends
3. Briggs' Dad is a photographer and his Mom is a southern living consultant--heaven!
2. Briggs' Grandpa has a farm!
1. The inlaws approve!
**Note: The only reason Jayne Elizabeth cried on the first date was because Briggs said no dessert after dinner!























Check the blog archive on March 31, 2008 for the boys Kindermusik pictures!