Wow! Really?

So, its been a while. Quite a while. Obviously having two babies is a full-time job. But oh-so much more fun than I could ever have imagined!!

Miss O is now 18 months old and completely grown. After a rocky first few weeks of adjusting, she LOVES school...friends, buggy rides, a play ground and we can't forget the snacks. Ahhh, snack time! She IS her mother's child. Although we're still officially in diapers, Miss O is pottying each morning after waking up, each night just before bedtime and three or four times throughout the day. We're getting close. At her February follow-up visit at UNC...oh, wait I think it's been so long since I blogged that I may not have written about the huge scare Miss O gave us in November. At her 15 month check up, her iron count was really low. Since she and I both have a form of anemia called thalessemia, I wasn't completely shocked by this news. My iron count usually hovers around an 8...Olivia's was a 2.9...WOW! Her pediatrician immediately sent us to UNC for a blood transfusion, which on its own is pretty scary. BUT words like "oncology" and "leukemia" were being used and I was petrified beyond belief. Finally in December leukemia was eliminated as a possibility. Whew and PRAISE GOD!! But a huge question remained...what the heck is going on with Miss O? Finally in February, her counts rebounded to close to 10 and she was given supplements. Our next follow up will be in July. Nowadays, Miss O is 100% chatterbox and borderline "wild as a buck!" She eats nonstop from the time we pick her up from daycare until bedtime. No kidding. HUGE prayers of thanksgiving for so many blessings!

Hudson is a whopping 5 months old and is nearly the size of his sister. He's huge. Length and weight. He's wearing 9 month clothes and even many of those are too short for our Tank Tieman, as his daddy has so proudly named him. Beyond his size, he is THE sweetest baby ever created. Yes, I am a little partial, but 'tis true! He smiles all.the.time. Never fussy and has been sleeping through the night since he was about 2 1/2 months old. Niiiice. He, too I am afraid, is becoming quite the chatterbox. He babbles from the time he wakes up in the morning, in fact that's how you know he's up...he's not crying like most babies, he's talking...and does so all day long. In between smiles.

Both babies are pure joy and life is good.

I turned the big 3-0 a few weeks ago and can say I weathered it. My hubby treated me to a full day at the spa. What a good hubby! Shane is still busy with home improvement, either at our house or various "side jobs." Most recently he and his dad added a beee-u-iful slate tile backsplash to our kitchen and it looks sooo good.

Those of you who really know me will be shocked to hear that we're already planning our annual Bloomington trip (gasp!). And although I have a running list of things we need to pack, nothing has been committed to paper...yet. This year for Christmas we surprised Shane's parents with plane tickets to join us since they haven't been back to Bloomington since moving here in 05. And my mom and aunt have heard and seen such great things, they are planning to come too...Brown County here we come!! Having the whole family in town will really make for a great trip!

Here are a few photos of the babes. I'm committed to being a better blogger from now on ;)

Our Christmas card














Liv's 3rd day of school...see the excitement.





Liv's 1st snow!

















Pure sweetness!



LOVES dress up!


















Tank Tieman is Leon Phelps. Don't worry...I will not let his daddy call him Tank much longer