My Christmas Wish...

I've been keeping a secret... this year I asked Santa to bring me something for Christmas.  And guess what?  I must have been an extra good girl this year, because he brought me what I asked for.  The present that I asked for did not come in an extra large box.  It did not require any wrapping paper or ribbon.  In fact, it's quite likely that no one else knew that I received my wish but me (unless possibly if you've attended Christmas or seen my Christmas day photos for the past 2 years).  What you may ask was this seriously awesome gift that I was lucky enough to receive? 

2 HEALTHY, happy little 3 year olds! 

2 years ago, Miss Summer was sporadically vomitting and had a high fever and then the next night an extremely low temperature and we wound up in the ER with her.  Which amounted to just be teething apparently.

Last year, Summer had ear infections and what we thought we sinus infections that would not go away despite weeks of antibiotics from the first week in December through the end of February when she had tubes put in her ears and her adenoids removed.  And not to be outdone, Cole spiked a 104 fever 2 days after Christmas during a huge snow storm and didn't eat for almost a WEEK (this kid is usually an eating machine) and wound up having pneumonia (he would have pneumonia 2 more times before winter was over)!  Last winter's illnesses seriously took their toll on me.  Each year since the kids have been born, I have been making a photo book of that year as a gift for our families (and to ensure that I have an album summarizing the year).  In making this year's book, it caught me a little off guard to realize how swollen Summer's face was all of last winter from her constantly being so sick. 

Can you see those fevers last Christmas?

When the pattern of illnesses started again in September & early October, I was seriously crushed.  I had been promised by everyone from the daycare director to my pediatrician that the first winter in daycare would be the worst and that this year would be better.  In the beginning of November, we visited an allergy/asthma specialist (recap here) and I couldn't be happier with the results so far.  We have settled into our medication routine each night before bed.  Summer has taken to her nose sprays like a champ and Cole does his daily nebulizer treatment at school.  We just had a follow up with the doctor and he was happy with the results as well.  I'm hoping down the road to find out what they are in fact allergic to, but for now I'm happy with the fact that both kids were HAPPY on Christmas morning.  And that they were neither white as a ghost or feverishly red in all of my pictures.  They were playful and full of energy and able to make it through all of our planned festivities without any major meltdowns.

An added benefit to this wish that I wasn't expecting, Summer is a beaming, happy, lovably different person.  Not that she wasn't ever happy before, but there is a notable difference in her since starting all of the medications and her actually being able to breath out of her nose and not have what must have been so much pain and pressure in her face.  Her teachers have even commented on how much nicer she is being to her friends.  When I look back at all those swollen faced pictures of last year, I can't imagine the amount of pain she must have been in.  No wonder she had such a short fuse and was constantly snapping at those around her.  Not to say it never happens now, but much less!

Thank you Santa and Dr. Toci for bringing me my Christmas wish!

My Christmas Wish come TRUE!!!

A Holly Jolly Christmas Eve...

What a fabulous month we have had.  The kids have been excited about everything Christmas related.  They get excited to see Christmas lights, Christmas trees, candy canes, etc! This is the first year that they have been so interested in all the details of Christmas.  They've been singing Christmas songs and telling me for 2 weeks that we need to buy carrots for the reindeer and to leave out cookies & milk for Santa. 

Christmas eve began early... since it was a Saturday and we had the whole day off we decided to head over to Jim's parents' to exchange gifts to try not to overwhelm the kids on Christmas day.  Well Cole decided that he would start off the day by sleeping in until almost 8:30 (the time we planned to arrived at Jim's parents')!  I can't even tell you the last time that he has slept that late!  While we waited for him to wake up, Summer helped me put the finishing touches on the french toast casserole... she was so proud of herself.  She then decided that she wanted to get changed instead of wearing her pajamas to Mom-mom's.  I took out pants and a Christmasy top, but she decided that she wanted to wear a "fancy" dress!  And that is what she wore...

Don't you love the ensemble?!

We finally made our way to Mom-mom's when Cole got out of bed.  Under her tree were a pile of presents from Mom-mom, Pop-pop & Aunt Chele.  The kids unwrapped all of their gifts... Cole then wanted to open everything to play, while Summer decided she'd rather open Mommy & Daddy's presents.  While we ate breakfast, Summer served us all tea with her new Tinkerbell china tea set and Cole chased his talking and moving Chuck the Truck around the house. 

Princess Aurora dress

Cole loved his zoo

We told the kids that when we got home that they could exchange the gifts that they got each other.  They were so excited about this that they started ripping into the packages before Jim and I finished unloading the car!  


Cole got a Chuck truck ramp &
Summer got a Cinderella doll

After a nap... we started getting ready to go to Mom-mom's annual Christmas eve dinner.  Summer said to me "I wear my Princess Aurora dress to Mom-mom's Mommy?"  And in the spirit of Christmas, I just couldn't say no to this request.  She was just so excited to wear it. 

Cole, Aunt Chele & Princess Aurora Summer

We had a great time enjoying both of our families' traditions.  First at my mother-in-law's traditional Christmas eve party and then at 7:30, the kids were still fairing pretty well so we decided to all venture over to my aunt's.  We have not all made it to my aunt's in 3 years so I was extremely happy that we made it together as a family.  Christmas eve was always a HUGE night of traditions in my family.  One such tradition is that we all received new Christmas PJs to wear to bed on Christmas eve.  (I have since adapted this to actually break out the pjs early to do our Christmas card pictures).   

Cousins in the Christmas PJs

Once we got home, we set out carrots, cookies & milk for Santa and his reindeer.  Said goodbye to our elf, Pepper Minstix who has been watching our behavior since just before Thanksgiving.  Then we took a quick trip outside to sprinkle the reindeer food that the kids brought home from school on the lawn so the reindeer would find our house.  Once upstairs and all of our bedtime medicine and brushing teeth routine was completed, Jimmy read Twas the Night Before Christmas to the kids.  A pretty jam packed day.... but truly wondeful! 

The loves of my life!

Breakfast with Santa

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
This past Sunday was my SJMOMS (South Jersey Mothers of Multiples) club's Holiday Breakfast.  It's an awesome affair in a hotel ballroom with over 200 people in attendance.  This year Mother Goose was there to tell stories to the kids, there was a magician that performed a magic show and did balloon art, a professional photographer, crafts, good bags, breakfast and if you saw the title of this post.... the man in the red suit himself! 
This is our 3rd year attending and we take my parents & Jim's parents to join in the fun.  (Last year I even ran the entire event).  The kids had a ton of fun and so did the grandparents.  And I really love watching the interactions between them.  It really is such a nice gift to spend this time together as a family. 

Me, Summer, Jim & Cole

With Jim's Parents (Mom-mom & Pop-pop)

With my Dad (Grandpa)

Enter Santa...
Previous encounters with Santa have not gone so well.  In fact, I believe I had to be in a few of the pictures to keep my little ones in the shot.  This year we've been talking about him and practicing what to say to him (this worked in gearing up for our Disney trip, so I keep using this method).  We've been talking about Santa for probably at least a month.  Our elf Pepper Minstix arrived shortly before Thanksgiving and brought us a few new Christmas videos and a behavior chart.  The chart has a block for each day until Christmas and Summer and Cole both are working to earn a sticker per day from when Pepper arrived until when Santa comes to show how hard we are working.  So far they are doing great and we have only lost a total of 3 stickers.  The week leading up the event, we started practicing what we should say to Santa.  We would practice telling that we were trying to be really good and that Summer was working really hard on being nice to her friends at school and was doing pretty well, but could probably try a little bit harder.  And then we would practice a few items from each of their Christmas lists.  We had made Christmas lists with pictures of the items that they were asking for cut and pasted onto one sheet, which they really seem to like.  I also told them that when it was there turn, they could sit on Santa's lap but that they didn't have to.  They could choose to stand next to him and look at Mommy so I could take a nice picture.

We were first up this  year to see Santa and they were so excited.  Cole decided that he would sit on his lap and Summer decided to stand next to him.  We made sure to tell him how hard we were trying to be good.  And I asked Santa to tell Summer how important it was to be extra nice to our friends... and she told him she would be.  Cole asked Santa for more choo choos, a truck that talks, cars and the Toy Story landfill.  Summer asked for a Leappad and clothes & shoes for her babydoll.  I think Santa can handle that if they keep earning all of their stickers for good behavior.  Especially after donating all their stuffed animals to kids in need like such little grown ups. 

Missing her at Christmas time...

Christmas was always the hap-happiest time of the year in our house growing up.  Each year after Thanksgiving we would begin digging out the boxes and boxes and boxes of decorations.  The Dicken's Village adorned the windows with plumes of cottony "snow".  The tree was trimmed with bubble lights and tons of ornaments.  Right near the top of the tree where the star was went my Dad's Christmas monkey ornament.   While the inside of the house was transformed into a winter wonderland, the outside drew many to slow down their cars as they drove down the street.  We had a huge Christmas tree (my parents' first tree in our house) in our front yard that my dad would decorate with huge colored bulbs.  He also strung matching bulbs along the house.  The piece de resistance was a plastic light up Santa's sleigh with 5 reindeer that my dad would string from the tree to the house so it looked like they were running onto our house!  Christmas music was played religiously as the preparations were made.  My favorite part of the season was dragging out the Betty Crocker Cooky Cookbook.  My sisters and I would parooze the pages as we selected the types of cookies that we would bake that year.  We would bake and bake and bake the month away.   A big portion of this season revolved around my mother and how much she enjoyed the season.  The shopping, wrapping, baking, decorating, etc.  Once the magic of Santa was gone, Mom and I spent more time together during the holidays.  I took over a lot of the cookie baking.  I would shop with her for my sisters and stay up at night and help her wrap. I never knew that 13 years ago was the last Christmas season that she would be here with us. 
Since she's been gone, Christmas has been a lot different.  Some years are rougher than others (the fertility treatment years were the worst).  New traditions have been started.  New people have come into my life.  I do not bury my head in the sand and wait for Christmas to be over.  I listen to the radio and sometimes cry when her favorite songs come on, but mostly sing along happily.  Christmas is still the happiest time of my year and it brings me the most memories of the things that she and I used to do together.  As the kids get older, I hope to do the things with them that I did with her. 

Thankful for Jim

10 years ago this month I went on my first date with Jim!  I won't stand here and tell you that it's been perfect the whole time.  We've had some ups and downs over the years, but mostly ups.  I'm glad I said yes for that first date and glad that I kept going on every date after that.  Here are ten reasons why I am most thankful for our life together!

10. I'm thankful that he said yes when my sister told us about the perfect kitten at her work that we just had to adopt (and then to the 2 more that we later brought home), even though he never had a cat in his life prior!

9.  I'm thankful that he doesn't expect me to be the "perfect housewife", because let's face it... I'm NOT!

8.  I'm thankful that he has a wonderful family that took me right in and accepted me as their own.  His mom even hung a Christmas stocking for me after we had been dating for a year!

7.  I'm thankful for his sense of humor... because sometimes you just need to laugh!

6.  I'm thankful that he is a very hard and competive worker and takes very good care of our family.

5.  I'm thankful that he is extremely supportive of me being very involved with my local twins club, because I have made some great friends, have received great advice from other moms of multiples and have attended some great events through this group.

4.  I'm thankful that he took me on my very first trip to Disney World and that it is a place that we both really enjoy going and plan to continue taking our kids.  It is our special place. 

3.  I'm thankful that he asked me to marry him in front of Cinderella castle and then married me on a beautiful August day in 2004.

2.  I'm thankful that he loves being a dad and while no one is perfect he strives to be great at it! 

1.  I'm thankful that he loved and supported me through all of our fertility treatments that were especially difficult for me to deal with and in the end made me the mother to our beautful twins!

Thankful for my Summie Lou...

My baby girl (again... only by a minute), Summer Louise or as she asks me to write on everything... Summer Woo (how she pronounces Lou) Hazlett.  My bossy but delicate pink princess. 

I love that she needs 3 kisses and 3 hugs every night at bedtime and when I leave for work in the morning

I love that she believes that she is Cole's mother (even though I'm pretty sure he is not too happy about this) and how she mommies her baby doll who she recently named "Summer"

I love that she is a strong willed, determined little girl that already wants to do everything for herself, because I think this will be very important for her later in life (even though she can become a bit violent when her friends when they don't comply... but we are working on this and she is doing much better)

I love that she are beginning to accept other colors into her wardrobe because it is not as easy as you would think to stock a closet with only pink dresses! (currently pink, purple and orange are allowed)

I love that she already wants to be a teacher at the age of 3 (and already knows just how to be one) and will pull a chair to the center of the room to review your colors with you or read you a book

I love how she would much rather play with cups and bowls and spoons then actual toys.  She is constantly asking "whatchu want Mommy?" and then serving me pretend coffee and food after she rings it up on my big calculator.

I love how she can already give me driving directions and can actually accurately navigate me to certain places like school and Mom-mom's house. 

I love reliving my childhood through watching her grow up (it is just amazing to me that by mixing mine & Jim's DNA together we got an exact replica of me!)

I hope you remain Mommy's big helper and best girlfriend forever!

Thankful for Cole

My first born child (by a minute anyway!), Cole James or "Superman" as he prefers.  He's literally my little bull in a china shop and I love him to pieces!

I love that he loves to kiss and snuggle with me (I wish that this could last forever)

I love that he wears his heart on his sleeve, but hopes that he will loosen up a bit (Let me tell you how he refuses to talk to his previous teacher that he LOVED because he moved to the next classroom and is mad at her)

I love that his favorite activity is to run laps (and hope that his newly diagosed asthma will never prevent him from being able to be athletic)

I love that although just a little over a year ago he could only say 2 words and through the help of early intervention (which after 6 months of service he had improved so much that he no longer qualified for services) and beginning daycare you would now see no signs of that.  He is even able to SPELL his first name!

I love that he has an awesome relationship with his doctor and is such a good boy when he needs his breathing treatments.

I love that he has such a passion for animals, especially those that live in the zoo (he was even the cutest little zoo keeper for Halloween).

I love that he has been potty trained for over 6 months (except at night) and was able to move up to the big boy 3 year old room and is learning new things every day!

I love that you made me a Mommy and that we have been bonding since the moment you were placed inside me... my little pumpkin!

Sick again!

Well we made it through Halloween remotely healthy.  Then at about 11pm on Halloween night (after trick-or-treating and dressing up were finished), Cole awoke with a fever!  I was immediately in a panic because in just a little over a day was the appointment with the allergy/asthma specialist that I had made over a month ago and didn't want to have to miss it.  Since starting daycare last September, it has been a constant struggle to stay healthy.  We did have a rather long stretch of wellness over the summer and were hopefully that it would continue, but no such luck.  Now we are looking for a better answer then the common answer of last winter, that it is normal for this to happen when daycare is started. 
Cole has had pneumonia 4 times in the last 10 months (most recently in the beginning of October) and Summer has chronic sinus infections that do not respond to antibiotics.  Last winter she was also having ear infections, but had surgery in February to put tubes in her ears and remove her adenoids (which I will add was supposed to STOP the sinus infections).  Come the beginning of September though and she has had a sinus infection ever since.  Despite 3 rounds of antibiotics!  Ugh!  We have a major invasion of the boogie monster and I was desperate to find out how this could be.
Wednesday Jim and I took both Summer & Cole to the allergy/asthma doctor and he is WONDERFUL.  Unfortunately, Cole has been diagnosed with asthma and allergies.  Summer has also been diagnosed with allergies.  We do not know their exact allergies as they are too young to skin test accurately.  For now, we have been given a very rigid medicine schedule including daily nebulizer treatments for Cole, nasal sprays for Summer & oral allergy meds for both children.  We have also been advised to replace carpets especially in the kids' bedroom and main living areas with hardwood flooring so we are looking into that.  I also need to change my laundry detergent to the free & clear variety and stop using fabric softener and dryer sheets.  It has been a little overwhelming to take in, but we are hoping that if we follow the doctors instructions that we have a less sick winter this year. 
The saddest part of the process so far was that we were told to rid our house of all stuffed animals and that each child could choose just 3 to keep.  I sought out some advice from the moms of my multiples club and on Thursday when i came home from work we did the job.  I told them on the way home that the doctor said our animals were making us sick and that we would need to pick just 3 and we would give the rest to children who didn't have any toys.  As soon as we walked in the house they wanted to go immediately upstairs to get started.  We piled all of the stuffed animals on the floor and they were each allowed to put 3 on their beds to keep.  Then we said goodbye to each other friend as it was tucked into a big trash bag to be donated.  They were amazingly brave and didn't shed one single tear.  You could really see the decision process happening and every once and awhile they would swap one in their hand for one on their bed. 
Cole decided to keep: Odie (the dog that his last teacher Miss Paula gave him), Black Cat (given by Aunt Denise, Uncle Jimmie & Emilie) and Lotso from Toy Story 3 (purchased after returning from our most recent trip to Disney World since he was sold out there).  He also kept his dog pillow pet, since he uses it as a pillow he wasn't considering it a stuffed animal.  Since they were so good with the whole process I let this slide.  He received 2 for Christmas, one from Grandma & Grandpa & one from Aunt Judy & Uncle Bob so this way I can keep one constantly clean.  Anything stuffed animals that remain need to be washed, dried and placed in a ziploc bag in the freezer overnight to kill dust mites.
Summer decided to keep: Pink Bear (received at my Baby Shower from Aunt Judy), Baby Tinkerbelle (received on our most recent trip to Disney from Daddy), and Baby Minnie (received with flowers on our Disney trip while expecting the twins).  She also kept her Tinkerbelle pillow which isn't the same material as a stuffed animal so I think we'll be ok. 
I was so proud of Summer & Cole for not fighting with me on this and for being so grown-up and willing to give away their toys!  As a reward when we were finished, I took them to the book fair at school the next morning and let them each pick out a little book. 
With the holidays coming up, I need to ask that no additional stuffed animals are given to the kids.  Thanks for understanding!  I don't want to have to take any new friends away from them :)

Never dreamed of a white Halloween!

I have sung the words, "I'm dreaming of a white Chistmas" many, many times through the years.  Wishing for much more as a child then I do now of course.  However, never in a million years did I ever think that I would see snow on Halloween weekend! But we did this year!

On Saturday, my multiples group had a Halloween Parade (which luckily had an indoor option because of the weather).  The kids had a great time doing crafts and playing with their twinnie friends before the got to parade around and trick-or-treat!

With our 6 year old twin friends Joseph & Bella

Then on Sunday, we went around trick-or-treating to some of our close family so they could see our costumes.

Aunt Sis

Nonna



Mom-mom & Pop-pop's (note snow on railing)



With Mommy & Daddy

Grandma & Grandpa

On Monday, the kids had a Halloween parade & party at school.  I was happy to be able to go see it before heading to work for a half day.  Then I was able to leave a bit early to come home and take them trick-or-treating.  I don't know if I have ever had so much fun trick-or-treating.  Summer & Cole quickly got into the routine of walking up the doors that were open (a lot of people aren't home in our development so the people who are have the big door open with just the screen door shut), ringing the door bell and waiting for our neighbor to come to the door.  When the person came to the door, they would say trick-or-treat and then thank you very much after receiving said treat.  Then the best part was as they turned to me to walk down the stairs they would hold open their bag and say, "Mommy, look we got treats!" will these huge smiles and glowing eyes filled with such excitement and appreciation.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching them have all of this fun!

Cookies, a Bonfire & Boo at the Zoo

The Haztwins just keep having super busy weekends this fall.  Last weekend was no exception! 

It started out with the kids going to Aunt Judy's to bake and decorate Halloween cookies and play for a few hours.  Jim and I were able to run a few errands and have a nice breakfast at a diner while Summer & Cole their own fun.



Cole with his cousins, Noah (6) & Hannah (3)

 Saturday night we went on a family hayride that my step-brother's girlfriend set-up.  The hayride took us back to a private area towards the back of Springdale Farms with 3 bonfires and some picnic tables.  We spent 2 hours eating and enjoying the very warm fires.  The kids were so excited to make hotdogs & marshmallows over the bonfires.  Summer & Cole had a blast playing with their cousins Noah & Hannah.  Afterwards we got a nice shot of my dad & Lenora with all the grandkids.

Summer (3), Hannah (3), Grandma, Grandpa, Cole (3) & Noah (6)

On Sunday, we got up and got out nice and early to head to Boo at the Zoo with Uncle Chris.  We have never gone to this before, but the kids had so much fun!  I'm sure a big part of this had to do with the fact that they got to wear their Halloween costumes. 



Cole got a ton of extra attention for his zookeeper costume as they trick-or-treated throughout the zoo.  One of the zoo workers even made sure to tell me that she knew where he'd be working one day and that they start accepting volunteers at age 14!  The highlight of our day happened at the tiger exhibit.  Cole had brought his stuffed tiger with him and as he stood up against the glass the real live giant tiger walked up to the glass 2 separate times and smacked his paw up against the glass right at Cole!  Cole & I decided that the tiger thought Cole's toy was a baby tiger and was trying to get it.  Cole decided to change his favorite animal from the Puma to the Tiger.  We will see what he says on our next visit! 

A wedding and a birthday party

This past weekend was a 3 day weekend for me & Jim!  Woohoo!!! Dare I say that every weekend should be that long at the very least. 

Friday afternoon Jim and I headed to the wedding of my cousin's cousin (so practically family), Eric & his beautiful bride Sarah!  It was a small but fabulous affair at a historical park and museum in Delaware.  It was so much fun to get together with our family and dance the night away.

Saturday morning we headed to our friend's house for their daughter Bella's Abby Cadabby 2nd Birthday Party.  The kids LOVE Abby Cadabby so they were super excited.  Summie had received Abby Cadabby wings from a previous goodie bag, so we paired them with a pink dress with a ruffled tulle skirt.  Quite the princess!  She was oh so delighted when guess who arrived??? ... you guessed it!  Abby Cadabby herself!  She was instantly in love!



Summie showing Abby her wings



The kids had such a magical time at the party.  They got to play with their cousins and the other kids there.  Summie got a fairy crown and wand (hand made by my crafty friend and mother of the birthday princess!)  They played playdoh with their Daddy, which was really cute for me to watch.

Playdoh with Daddy!

We all had such a great time together and I got to see my friend Aurie for the second time in a little over a month and got to see my big sister for the second time in the same weekend!  Now onto this weekend's fun!  Hopefully I'll update sooner :) 

We fell into FALL...

Well here it is fall already... where does the time go? 

September finished up with a business trip which led right into a pre-planned vacation with just me & my hubby in the fabulous VEGAS!  Unfortunately that meant I was away from my pumpkins for 8 long nights!  It was very nice to get away and be by myself for a few days though.... I didn't turn the TV on once during this time!  Then Jimmy arrived and we got to have some much needed couple time.  We also had the added bonus of spending time with my Las Vegas family.  It was great to visit with my Aunt Kathleen, Uncle Kevin and my cousins, Kevin & Cheryl.  I even got to meet my cousin Cheryl's 7 month old GORGEOUS baby girl, Kylie!  This was defintiely the highlight of my vacation since we are so far away and do not get to see each other very often. 

Jim & I at dinner on our last night in Vegas

The weekend after we returned from Vegas we were all scheduled to go pumpkin picking withkin my twins club.  Unfortunately Cole was too sick to attend, so he stayed home with Jim and Summie & I headed out to the pumpkin patch for a one on one date.  She and I had so much fun.  Of course, we wished our boys could have been there, but the kids really seem to revel in the one on one time when they do get it. 

Summie picked a pumpkin for her and a pumpkin for Cole.  

Tuesday I took my sick kiddos to the doctors and half thought I was panicing and taking them too soon, but Cole was just not acting himself.  One sinus infection (Summer) and a walking pneumonia (Cole) later, we left the doctor's office and heading to the pharmacy with 4 prescriptions in hand!  Oh how I'm hoping that this winter is better then last, but it's not off to such a good start so far!  Luckily we are on the mend for now (fingers crossed!). 

This weekend, we decided to spend some quiet time together at the beach.  We headed down Saturday morning to Sea Isle City where Jim's Aunt Sis has a house.  We decided to check out the Seafood Fest that was happening in the next town over.  It was AWESOME!  They had an entire tent of food (mostly seafood of course).  We settled on a vendor that was selling grilled lobster tail... delicious and I got some of my favorite... Lobster Bisque! It was a fabulously de-stressing weekend.  The kids loved playing with their special toys at the beach house, playing at the playground, feeding the birds on the beach.  And did I mention that the weather was gorgeous!  Some of my family was coincidentally staying 1 street over so we met up on the beach and spent some time relaxing together.  Sometime life is just too busy and the beach is so calming to me more recently.

Fun with Daddy on the playground

another family had a Cole and we posed with their shells :)

The princess of the beach!

We blinked... and they turned 3!

So it has been one crazy busy month and some how writing about it as gotten away from me!  Summer (my daughter) has been telling me all summer (the season) long (hehe) that she is 2 now and will be 3 on her birthday! I just can't believe they are really 3 already!

The month started out with the 3rd birthday of the haztwins!  The kids have been counting down to their birthday all summer long.  We have a lot of July & August birthdays in our family, and by the end they could recite the exact order of everyone's birthday that was before theirs.  And then the day of the party was upon us.  We have had EXTREME amounts of rain here in the past 2 months and luckily the day of the party was not one of them.  We had perfect weather for the half inside/half outside party.  The kids had a blast with the bounce house that I'm so glad that we invested in earlier this summer.  We were so lucky to have so many great family & friends join us for the celebration! 

I let the kids pick their theme from a few choices.  Summer picked Tinkerbell and Cole first picked Cars and then changed to Toy Story!  Aunt Chele made t-shirts for the big day.  Summie's had Tinkerbell on the front and said "Tinkerlou" on the back (a play off her nickname "Summie Lou" short for Summer Louise) and Cole's had Buzz Lightyear on the front and said "Cole Lightyear" on the back. 

What a great day we all had!  I have to take the time to say again as I have from when I was pregnant with the twins (although probably not had the opportunity on here since I didn't start my blog that long ago).  I am constantly overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and family.  I quite often get teary when I see the piles of gifts bestowed on our children and the help with the food, setup and cleanup.  I hope you all know how truly blessed I feel to have you all in my life!  Kate & Liz who came the night before to help me clean up, which worked out especially well since Summer decided that she needed Mommy to hold her all night!  My Mother-in-Law who watched the kids the hours before the party so that Jim and I could get the last minute stuff done.  Aunt Patti who came early to help and cooked the pulled pork.  Aunt Judy, Mom H, and Aunt Sis for bringing food.  Juli for making all of the beautiful cupcakes and spinach dip.  It was truly a team effort and I want everyone to know how much I appreciate it.  I love that all of our friends and family were able to spend a beautiful day with us and make lots of precious memories!  I wish we could see each other more often! 

Summie Lou in the bounce house

Cole in the bounce house

Singing Happy Birthday!

A visit to Sesame Place...

I've had tickets sitting around all summer to go to Sesame Place!  My cousin, Juli and I set the date to go for today and then Irene decided that she would visit.  She was a very unwelcomed guest over the weekend, that decided she would wreak havoc on the region.  Luckily for us she passed by a little quicker than expected and the weather today wound up being PERFECT! 

It was a little chilly when we arrived at the park... so we opted to begin on the dry rides.  First up was Summie's favorite, the Carousel! Then the balloon ride, the teacups, and the flying fish ride were next.  After changing into our bathing suits we headed for the water areas.  We started with the Count's Splash Castle which Cole absolutely loved and Summie absolutely hated.  In her defense, Juli & I both cringed at the temperature of the water upon stepping in and there were so many jets spraying water in every direction.  She started crying and told me that she didn't want to play anymore.  I saw that Cole had grabbed Aunt Juli by the hand and was dragging her up to the water slides so I quickly guided Summer out of the water trying to avoid as many of the geysers spraying on her as possible.  She decided she would be happier wrapped up in her pink princess towel sitting in a lounge chair then playing in the water.  Cole on the other hand, would have stayed plunging down the frigid water slides despite his almost blue lips all day, but Juli assured him that there were other water rides to get to.  Summie liked the lazy river a tiny bit more and then we went on the Sky Splash, which the rest of us thought was awesome and Summie cried the whole way down.  Cole quickly decided he wanted to go on Slimey's Chutes and Summer was having none of it.  Juli happily took Cole to stand in line while I comforted a crying Summie.  She decided that she wanted to sit in her stroller and she wasn't in there very long before getting stung by a BEE!!!  All of the sudden, she was screaming about a bug and I had no idea what had happened.  Once I realized... I stopped a very nice worker who sent me to the First Aid station.  They put something on her finger to numb it up nicely and gave her a special ice pack and sticker and she was over it quickly! Thank goodness. 

We had a nice little lunch and went on the carousel one more time and the kids were starting to get cranky, so we got some t-shirt souvenirs and headed out of the park.  We were lucky to get on all the rides that we wanted in such a short period of time because the park was not crowded at all!  On our way out we saw Zoey and the kids wanted to stand in line to meet her.  Funny enough when it was our turn they decided that they couldn't go near her on their own.  Once Mommy met Zoey all was ok and we were able to get this great shot!  The kids slept all the way home! 

When I told the kids tonight that we had to get ready for school tomorrow... Cole told me that he wanted to go back to Sesame Place tomorrow! 

My twins story

This tab has finally been written and updated :)

Birthday Sunday & 7 years of marriage...

Sunday we celebrated both of my sisters, Kim & Liz's & my stepmom, Lenora's birthday that all fall this week.  It was so nice to see everyone and for the kids to all play together.  Here are some pictures...

Unfortunately we didn't get to stay too long and missed the cake because Jim & I had reservations at Ruth Chris for our 7th wedding anniversary which fell on Sunday.  I'm so thankful for this guy, who actually gets (usually) the way that I work and is ok with that.  Unfortunately for him, Summer is my clone so he now gets to deal with two of us.  But at least he's had lots of practice already with me.  On one hand, I can't believe that it has been 7years since that gorgeous August day that we were married on and had such a fun time with all of our friends and family.  And on the other hand, we had had so much happen in those years... sicknesses, we have lost some important people in our lives, disappointments, milestones, awards, vacations, great memories, our beautiful nephew & niece, and so much more.... and of course best of all... the last nearly 3 years have been consumed by our precious gifts, Summer & Cole!  Before they were here, I had no idea how much they would fill our lives with happiness and now that they are I can't imagine not having them in my life.  Thank you Jimmy (even though I joke that I didn't really need you to make them b/c the doctors did all the work) for loving me through all of our struggles and our happiness and for giving me above all else those 2 little babies that are growing up before our very eyes.  Here's to the next 7+!

A beautiful Saturday at the beach...

This past Saturday we headed back down to Sea Isle City for the day.  The kids LOVE the beach and ask constantly when we are going to Aunt Sissy's house.  They love the whole process of getting their bathing suits and sunscreen on.  After you spray her whole body, Summer puts out her hands and says now faces time. She wants you to spray it on her hands so that she can do her face by herself.  My girl is so grown up! Or thinks she is anyway.  They love getting their toys out and their beach chairs all ready to go.  Summie had fun this time packing a bag of snacks with Aunt Sis to bring to the beach.  She was so proud of herself and they immediately wanted to eat the snacks when we arrived at the beach!  Jim and I are definitely enjoying the beach ourselves more now that the kids are around. 

Multi-tasking

Double fisting the buckets of water for the sand castle

Eating ice cream on the steps

Wearing Uncle Len's helmut

Dutch Wonderland

At the end of the July we took a 2 day trip to Lancaster with our friends and their kids.  We had SO much fun!  The first day was spent at Dutch Wonderland.  We spent 1/2 the day in the water section which was so perfect for them at this age.  Summer stuck mainly to the toddler section, but when on the water slide that Jim could take her on a few times.  Cole was a maniac when he go to the water slides and was going on them for several hours all by himself!  He would have probably stayed their all day if we would have let him.  We had a nice dinner at Cracker Barrel (it was our first time there!) and then went back to the hotel for some pool time.  The next day we went to Kitchen Kettle village for a bit and the kids got to decorate their own gingerbread cookies.