Bye Bye Cribs

That's right.....David took the cribs down today, and we put a "big bed" up in the twins' room. We have been talking about doing this for awhile now. Thomas and Elizabeth had a "dress rehearsal" while in Arkansas for Christmas. They slept in cousin Caroline's bed while we were there. They did fine so David and I decided that after Christmas we would change their room from nursery to big boy/girl room. They are sharing a bed that was David's and belonged to his grandfather a long time ago. Why are they sharing a bed? We knew Thomas and Elizabeth weren't ready to separate yet, and since we combined two households when we got married we have plenty of bedroom furniture sitting in our storage room. We chose to use furniture we have rather than buy new furniture. We still have to rearrange the furniture in their room, but the bed was ready for bedtime tonight. Thomas and Elizabeth were so excited about their new bed. They actually went to sleep much more quickly than I thought they would.

I can't believe I won't pick them up out of their cribs anymore or zip them up in their Grobags anymore. They are growing up so fast. I'm a little sad tonight.

First Snow!

We recently had snow here, and the twins got to play in it for the first time. They had a great time playing while David and I enjoyed getting some pics and video. Afterwards we went inside to warm up with T and E's first cup of hot "cococo." They weren't fond of hot chocolate. I'm not sure if it was the temperature or the sweetness.

The Christmas that Wouldn't End

I know it is a little late for a Christmas post, but I have to have a record of it. Christmas 2008 was AMAZING!! Elizabeth and Thomas were so much fun. Their excitement about Santa Claus, reindeer bells, Christmas carols, opening presents, making cookies,the tree was unreal. It made the season magical to me. I could not get enough of their excitement. They are already talking about next Christmas....."it won't be long," says Elizabeth. If she only knew how true that statement is. The twins are growing up so fast. As hard as it is to deal with toddler behavior I still wish I could freeze time right now. They are so much fun with the things they say and what they remember. I am blown away each day.



We went to Arkansas for Christmas and had a blast in spite of some illness. T and E arrived in Arkansas with sore throats, runny noses, and nasty coughs. Even so they really enjoyed their cousins. This was the first trip they weren't overwhelmed by the number of cousins they had and actually played without me being in sight. Thomas and Elizabeth loved going upstairs and playing in the playroom with the other kids. Santa Claus came to visit Aunt Jojo's the night before Christmas Eve. All of the children were in the kitchen, and as soon as Santa came in the front door saying, "Ho, ho, ho" they all ran to him with Thomas leading the pack. Both Thomas and Elizabeth sat on his lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas....a train table is what each of them said.

Christmas Eve was quite an event....the definition of Christmas in my humble opinion. There was four generations of Culloms at Jo's house that night. In the past.....for as long as I can remember...we have always celebrated Christmas Eve at Franny and Grandaddy's house (my paternal grandparents). However, our family has grown so big that there just isn't enough room for everybody at Franny's house anymore. In all, there were 20 adults and 19 children, all of whom were under the age of 8 except for three teenagers. Present time was wonderfully chaotic...the children always go first. I will forever have the twins imprinted in my mind. They were so excited with each gift. At one point Elizabeth raised her hands and said, "I yove my pwesents!!" It was priceless. The adult cousins drew names as always.....none of us need anything really....and the season is about the children anyway.

Christmas Day was quite an event as well. Thomas and Elizabeth were so excited and couldn't wait to get downstairs to see what Santa had left them at Aunt JoJo's house (he came to visit us two places....Jo's house and at our house). Thomas was thrilled with "power" tools, and Elizabeth loved her new baby stroller. They looked for their train table, and we reminded them that Santa was still going to visit us at home. Santa came through and delivered a train table at our house.

We were scheduled to head back to SC a couple of days after Christmas, but the stomach virus hit David and the twins the same evening. That nasty virus started with my mom on Christmas Eve and moved on from there taking out one or two of us at a time. This was the twins first experience with throwing up, and let's just say they didn't like it. I got in bed with them and took care of them as they took turns throwing up every 15 to 30 minutes. Poor Jo washed sheets, blankets and towels all night long. Poor David was on his own. I think he was probably the sickest. I got the virus a couple of days later. So what was supposed to be a week in Arkansas for the Christmas holidays actually turned into two weeks. I'm never ready to leave my family when we visit, but this time I was ready to get home. We still had Santa coming to our house....we have named Christmas 2008 "The Christmas that Wouldn't End."

Elizabeth and Thomas still ask to watch their Rudolph movie at night and sing Jingle Bells, and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer daily. They loved Christmas......so did we.

Preschool Christmas Pajama Party

Thomas and Elizabeth had a Christmas pajama party at school. David and I both went for the festivities. I think our presence seemed to confuse them a little. They sang Jingle Bells and quickly sat down to eat. It was fun to see them with their little friends.

Christmas Cookies

Thomas and Elizabeth helped me make cookies for their preschool Christmas party. They loved putting red and green M&M's on the cookies and kept asking for "more cookies to decorate." I'm pretty sure more M&M's made it into their tummies than on the cookies. I loved baking with T and E and plan on having them help more in the kitchen.

Parties, Parties!!

Just trying to play a little Christmas catch-up. This Christmas was a blast! We went to several parties. The first pic is at a fellow twin mama's play group Christmas party. T and E had a great time and played well with children they had never met before. The second pic is at the Mothers of Twins Club children's Christmas party. We had lunch, met Santa, and made cookies. Fun, Fun!