We're Surviving!

For those who have not heard from us lately, Yes - we are surviving! It has been crazy, to say the least. The days fly by and I am constantly surprised that another 3 hours has passed and it is time to feed the babies again. There are times of total chaos when all 3 kids are crying and need my attention and I feel overwhelmed and exhausted. There are also times when I feel like I have things under control,and I truly think that having twins is so much fun! I am amazed at how well Dresden has adjusted to it all. He is so sweet with the twins and has found ways to entertain himself and help out when I need him. I would not be surviving without my amazing husband! We make a good team, even with no sleep! He is up with the twins just as much as I am and with as little as 3 to 4 hours of sleep still goes to work for 15 hours!

I can't say "thank you" enough to neighbors, family, and friends who have helped out and offered their support, it's made all the difference in getting through these first few months!

First Mall Trip in the double stroller (a.k.a. -- the bus)

Coen (a.k.a -- Cocos or Coco Puff)

Ciena (a.k.a -- Ena)

Dresden has come up with his own names for the babies -- Cocos and Ena. They are so sweet!

Just in the neighborhood...

Imagine my surprise when my best friend, who lives in New York, calls one night and says she will be stopping by in a few hours! I didn't really believe it, but sure enough Kamilah and her sis Kijuana who were on a "road trip" to Arizona went out of their way to stop by and hang out in Dallas for a while!

Family to the Rescue!

Seriously, what would I do without my family! Having them here to help has been the only way Chad and I have managed! My mom was here for a month and my sister and niece were here for a week helping out! I don't know if they know how much it meant to us having them here! I am excited to have more visitors in the next few weeks -- the invitation is definitely open to anyone else wanting to come stay with the Whitney clan! Although please be advised it is no vacation (I gave up trying to convince my mom she was on vacation after the first couple of days). Once here there will be NO sleep and you will definitely be put to work!

TWO CUTE!

I have heard that twins love to be near each other and it really is true! They seem totally at peace when they are together. Coen came home with us on Friday and we were sad to leave his twin sister at the hospital, but she was not far behind and came home with us on Sunday. I love the picture on top because it was the first time we put them next to each other and Coen reached out as if to grab his twin sisters hand. They are SO sweet and we are having fun with them and love being home together!

GOING HOME!

DRESDEN HOLDS HIS BROTHER FOR THE FIRST TIME

THE TWINS HAVE ARRIVED!

I knew I was in love the first moment I saw my babies!

Coen Ray Whitney ~ born at 8:34 AM, 6 lbs. 18 in.

Ciena Jade Whitney ~ born at 8:35 AM, 5 lbs. 10 oz. 19 in.

They're here! The twins were born five weeks early on July 10, 2007. The day before I had gone in for my regular check up and my OB said I was in "silent" labor and was dialated to a 4 and my water was about to burst! He did not want my water to break at home because with Coen breach it could be dangerous for the twins, so the next day at 6 AM we arrived at the hospital for the C-section. I can't believe it's already been a week! I was discharged on the 4th day and Coen and Ciena are in the Special Care Nursery (nursery for premie's) for a few more days. Coen is the stronger of the two and is doing great with nursing and everything else. Ciena is such a fighter! She was in the NICU the first two days but is now doing fine and trying to keep up with her brother! They are such a blessing and I still can't believe they are really here! So far Coen looks like Chad and Ciena has a lot of me or my side of the family. They are both covered with black hair and are the cutest babies (of course this is coming from the bias opinion of their mom)! I'm just happy the journey has ended with healthy babies and can't wait to get them home with us! Thanks for all of the love and support we have received from family and friends!

DAY TWO!

If you can't tell, the top two pics are of Coen and the bottom two are Ciena

Are these babies for real?

Poor Dresden, this is him asleep in my hospital bed. He has been so patient with us taking trips back and forth to see the babies in the special care nursery. The nursery does not allow children to come in, so Dresden has not got to see the babies yet. He must be wondering if they are even for real!

RE-UNITED (and it feels so good)!

Finally, on the fourth day Ciena and Coen are re-united and next to eachother in the same nursery! Coen is on the left and Ciena on the right.

No Comments, PLEASE!

Frankly, I am sick of the comments from the general public! I should just wear a shirt that says, "It's Twins and I'm due any day!" I decided there are two different types of people -- those who blurt out "When are you due" as soon as they see me, and others who you know want to ask but they stare and wait for a while until they finally approach me with the questions. Then there are those off the wall comments that I don't know how to react to. The best (or worst) was this man who made an effort to cut in line behind me in the grocery store to comment, "Whoa - you must have been attacked by Bee's" to which I replied, "excuse me?" and he said, "you know, the BIRD'S and the BEE'S!" He thought his own comment was hilarious as he walked off laughing and I just gave a half smile. Another man (notice it's men who make the dumbest comments) stared at Dre and I as we sat in Subway eating our lunch. He finally approached and said, "So I guess your suitcase is in the car." I didn't get it at first, but then just smiled and said, "yep!"

Twin Baby Shower!

On Friday we received a big box on our door containing a "Surprise Baby Shower by Mail"! It came complete with decorations, dessert, presents, and a yellow ducky pinata! Thank you SO much to Chad's family for putting this together for us! We had a blast at our party and really appreciate all the gifts and your thoughtfulness. THANK YOU!!

We decorated the house just like it said to do in the instructions - Dre was SO excited!

Let's get this party started!

Dresden's "Freddie Dog" got a surprise -- a baby brother and sister!

The Loot! We got the best stuff and are SO grateful to Chad's family!!

DRESDEN FAVORITES

I have been thinking a lot about how lucky I have been to have Dresden to myself the past 2 and a half years. I love our routine and things that we have gotten in the habit of doing during the day- just Dre and I. Although I can't wait for the twins arrival, it makes me sad that he won't be the center of my world anymore as my time will be slit with the babies. For some reason I'm into listing things out lately, so with that here are some of my favorite things I love to do with Dresden.

~My absolute favorite part of the day is in the morning when I hear the pitter patter of little feet coming on the hard wood floors. Next thing I know Dresden has thrown up his Freddie Dog, Blanket, and milk cup and is climbing into bed with me. We cuddle and play for a good 10-15 minutes before getting up to start our day.

~The bear game. This is something I made up and started doing when he was around 1 year old. I will act scared and do a growling noise to get Dresden's attention and then pretend there's a bear coming to get us. Kinda weird, I know, but he thinks it is fun and will run to me and hold on to me tightly. We then run and find a "hiding place" which is usually under some pillows or under the covers on the bed. We laugh and hide there until we decide the coast is clear and the bear has gone back to sleep.

~Meal time. I have always made a big deal out of us sitting down and having meals together. Whenever he eats, I sit next to him and eat too. I do this mostly to get the kid to eat, otherwise he would take one bite and run. It's turned into one of my favorite things mainly because of our conversations we have while eating. He'll bring up the most random things and I always get a good laugh out of something he says during our meals together.

~Dancing. I hate the TV on during the day, so instead I like to play music and every now and then when a good song comes on I'll turn it up and we dance! Sometimes I hold him and sometimes we both just run around, but it's always a lot of fun (although I haven't been dancing too much lately with my heavy belly)!

~Our trips to the mall, pool, parks. I try and get out at least once a day and he makes it so fun. We usually meet friends somewhere and Dre just makes it easy to go anywhere. I know "getting out" is going to be a lot harder in the months to come.

~ Cuddling! Dre has always been a little cuddler and I love that he has not grown out of it! We cuddle before naps and bed and at random times during the day. I truly cherish our cuddle time!

There is so much more, but how do you write out all the things you adore about your child - I could go on and on. The greatest part is I will get to start two more lists of "favorites" with each new baby. Mostly I wanted to have something written out so in the future when I'm having a hard day at home and feel helpless in the chaos of raising 3 small children I can hopefully read this and remind myself why I LOVE being a mom.

ALWAYS IN MOTION!

My sweet little boy is ALWAYS in motion! Even when he is watching a movie he always gets up and dances when any type of music comes on.

JUST WAITING...

Okay, how cute is their little closet! I will just open it and stare for the longest time - can't wait to meet my baby boy and girl! At this point the Nursery is complete and we are just waiting... Chad never gave me the go ahead on the names (we've mainly been debating his name), but I got sick of waiting so I went ahead and hung them anyway! We are pretty sure it is going to be Cienna and Coen - but nothing is final till it's on the birth certificate!

Baby Betty visits Dallas!

This last weekend Chad's sister Jill and her husband Ben and their 4 mo. old little girl Betty all came to stay with us! Jill and Ben are thinking they might move to Tyler Texas (about 100 miles away) so they came to check it out! It was great having them here and Dresden got some good "big brother" practice with Baby Betty!

WATER PARK!

A few pics from our fun day at the Hawaiian Falls Water park! Dresden gave it a BIG thumbs up!