4 months

Ayla and Evie are 4 months old. The doctor was impressed by their size and their development.

Ayla: 11 lbs 5 oz, 24 in

Evie: 10 lbs 14 oz, 24.3 in

sweet brother

people ask about braxton's role as big brother all of the time...they expect wild stories of jealousy and outbursts...but braxton is quite the opposite. he is so loving and sweet to his sisters! i catch him all the time going to lay with them or kiss them or touch them. just yesterday after their shots, they were crying and he said, sissys - i want to kiss my sissys. i am so proud of him! what a blessing he is to me and to ayla and evie. braxton, you are amazing!!!!

bathing beauties

GREAT DAY

Today started out a little slow, frustrating and tiresome! But, I prayed about having patience and being the mother that God has called me to be... lo and behold the day turned around. Evie is now rolling over from back to tummy! Braxton pooped in the potty, again... these moments are few and far between. We got new cabinets installed in our bathrooms. AND...best of all... we received the twin test results! Ayla and Evie are IDENTICAL! This is what I thought all along, what I desired and what is!!! After researching information on twins, this is what I ran across. "Identical twins don't 'run in families' except by coincidence. No hereditary influence for identical twinning has been identified. Not caused by fertility treatments, birth control pills or maternal age. No one knows what causes identical twinning." Which means there is only one reason an egg splits - it's a precious gift from God. How blessed I am! ALL children are gifts from God, but this is truly an indescribable double blessing. What a great day!!! Psalm 118 vs. 24 "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

(This is the song I sang to Braxton during nap, which was just before my day turned...God is good)

not much

i've been asked why i haven't blogged often, but there's just not much going on (besides the routine of my life). i mean, how many people really want to hear about my nursing/bottle feeding, diaper changing, tv watching, tutoring, cleaning, playing, coloring and sleeping? this stage of life is pretty mundane. don't get me wrong - the kids do new things everyday and they make me so happy! so, i guess i can just update you on those tid-bits.

* evie and ayla are both about to roll from back to tummy - they make it about 3/4 of the way over.

* the twins are both grasping toys that hang above them on their play mat.

* braxton talks more each day - his new sayings are: no problem, mommy. yes ma'am. i'm thirsty. i'm hungry. oh goodness. (and much more)

* he can and does count to 8 and really knows what the numbers mean...he will look at a picture and say for example, there are three ducks.

* he knows the following shapes: circle, triangle, diamond, star and we are working on square, rectangle, oval.

* he knows all of the colors of the rainbow.

* he has a huge appetite and eats properly with fork and spoon (for the most part...unless left unattended...not that i would ever do that...it's a safety risk by all means)

* we are still working on potty training (enough said)

i think that pretty much covers it.

:)

braxton makes me smile (most of the time)

the other day we were playing trains (surprise)

i suggested one of them take a nap in the shed

braxton decided that was a good idea

i asked him to sing a song to the train (like mommy does at night)

he started singing "jesus loves me"

he makes my heart smile

winter (part one)

so, the snow was falling...this was about 9am yesterday

comparing my footprint to braxton's my sweet babies...ayla is definitely not a fan of the cold!

braxton got to play in the winter, as requested

i tried building a snowman with him, but he kept knocking it over

so, i built this one while he napped

check out the size of some of the flakes

winter (part two)

it didn't stop snowing until about 1am...

approximately 21 hours and 11+ inches of snow fall later

i just love this tree!

view from the front door...our poor little live oak tree collapsed & notice the street and sidewalk can't even be seen

bumbo babesgrandmother shields...her late husband, joseph morgan shields, is who ayla was named after...

ayla morganmy aunt, angela shields bricker, with eviesweet sisters

am i biased?

i believe i am to some extent - but, man, my kids are BEAUTIFUL!

pops

my dad spent the day with us last thursday...it was wonderful!!! the kids were very happy to see him (as was i)

happy birthday, hayden

braxton really enjoyed this party at jump'n land...

he watched hayden and rylen play air hockey

he played skee ball with dadhe was enamored with the lights on this 'thing'and finally he got to jump! he spent most of his time in this bounce house jumping away by himself...until he mustered up the courage to - - climb up the ladder & ride down the big slide. thanks for the fun time, hayden!

time with grandma & grandpa

grandma and grandpa chaplin came to visit us at the end of january! here are a few photos from their stay!

...and this past weekend we went to killeen to visit them!

this first picture is for Aunt Bev and Uncle Mike. they bought braxton this sweatsuit a year ago and david said if the colts made it to the superbowl and dallas didn't - this would be the one and only time for braxton to wear it...so, here it is! it must have been bad luck :( sorry.

sweet boy