Happily Ever After...

Today as I was french braiding Aria's hair, she was lamenting the pain and agony that women have to endure just to have cute hair. Drama much??? HA! I asked her if she would have just preferred to be a boy, and then she could have short hair and never need it detangled, brushed, braided, flat ironed or curled. She said, "No way Mommy! Boys like to play with action figures, they watch Super Heroes cartoons, and they like to sit and stare at girls." AHEM, EXCUSE ME!!! Did you just say, "SIT AND STARE AT GIRLS?????" She is ONLY S-E-V-E-N (well, almost) How is it that she has boys almost figured out??          "So Aria, just why do you think all boys do is sit and stare at girls?" I not-so-nonchalantly ask. "Because Mommy.....The boys in my geography class sit and stare and Gianna and I and tell us we're beautiful all the time. It's weird." Oh really?!? Hmmm..... We may need to invest in a shotgun. Yesterday.

~Went to VA for 3 days..... BY MYSELF. {GASP!} ~Celebrated a beautiful life with my two best friends, and came back to her house to sip tea one more time. We will miss you Mrs. H. ~Saw one of my dearest friends for coffee- entirely too short but at least I got to see her. ~Stayed with my mom and step-dad for a night and got to chat without interruption. Until 1 AM. (Never gonna happen again. I have 4 little chatter boxes that LOVE to talk and bed time around here for ALL of us is earlier than most children I know.) ~Saw my 103 year old Aunt. She is AMAZING. She told me stories of when she was a 4 yr old little girl. It was a precious time with her, just sitting there holding her hand and hearing her reminisce about her childhood. ~Stayed with MY SON!!! We had a wonderful time together and he spoiled me by taking me out for a belated Mother's Day to my favorite restaurant ever. And shopping. And gelato. And a movie. And Starbucks. Yes, I'm spoiled. Best. Time. Ever. ~Saw my fav...

Well, we have all the tests results in and the plot thickens. It seems that our sweet princess is a bit more complicated than the top neurologist in Atlanta feels she can handle. We are off to see a geneticist to see if they can unlock the clues to all these skewed blood tests. I wish I could say that I am thrilled but the reality is, that I am a bit scared. We may have 3 or more months until we actually get an appointment, so I have plllleeeennnnttttyyyy of time to stress. Yay Me! Actually, I plan to stick my head back in the sand and ignore the whole thing until I have to deal with any other diagnosis than CP. So yeah. Fun times..

Our sweet amazing, complex Celia... Where do I begin? The good news is always a great place to start: ~She is saying about 25 words now: Eat, more, bite, water, up, please, cookies, all done, I did, Aria, Nite-nite, bathtub, bubbles, are just a few...  "DADDY" is her favorite person/word ever. :) And I acquired a new moniker: MAH- NAH. It's growing on me. ~She is a whopping 20 lbs. Given that just 6 months ago she was 16 pounds with clothes on, we are pretty thrilled. ~She has distinct preferences. She will only take food from her daddy or mommy. She used to let anyone hold her, but now? notsomuch. I love to see her attaching to us more and more. ~A really exciting advancement for Miss Celia is that she got her bath chair (think lawn chair with straps) and her wheelchair will be ready in June. Her gait trainer is going to be "all work all the time", and we were concerned that she would become frustrated with her new-found independence with her ...

When I started blogging, I had no readers, so I had no worries about who was reading my blog, and looking at my children's pictures, etc. Then, as my readers and contacts grew, it became a little disconcerting to find yourself linked through another person's blog, albeit slightly flattering. When my friends from Iceland kept coming back daily, I made my blog private, and intended to stay that way. However the twins stirred up such a ruckus, that I eventually went public so people could bask in their cuteness. And forgot about it. (Although I have 3 tracking devices so I can monitor who comes and what they read) Then I had a few things that happened that made my skin crawl. ~People seeing us at the store and exclaiming, "I'm so glad you didn't move to Tampa!" OR "I would know those twins anywhere!" "Ummm... excuse me, do I even KNOW you?" Nope, but you read my blog, so you FEEL like you know me. Granted, most folks are normal, law abiding a...

Six months ago, two frightened babies were handed to us. They had NO IDEA who we were or what was happening to them. They have both overcome hurdle after hurdle, and we couldn't be more proud. While it's hard to believe we have only had them 6 months the changes in them have been dramatic in such a short time. They are happy. Content. Joyful. Know and trust Mommy and Daddy. Communicate. Feel safe in the boundaries. Love their sisters and brothers. And accept our love in return. It's amazing. Here is a sampling of their beautiful transformations... Then: NOW: Then: NOW: Then: NOW: Then: NOW: Then: NOW: Then: NOW: Then: NOW: Then: NOW: Then: NOW: Okay, so some things haven't changed.  HA! Celia and Sofia, Mommy and Daddy couldn't be more proud of you both. You have learned to trust and love, You have opened your hearts to your family. In just six short months, You both have blossomed in every way. You have surpassed each and every mi...

I NEVER post links to videos, but this is hilarious and oh-so true!! So watch it will ya? And Happy Mutha's Day!!

I'm just sure no one is bored with everyone's Easter pictures, right? Yeah, that's what I thought. Still, I feel the need to share a couple more. Bear with me. First we tried the "toe touch" method for Celia. She made it known that Princesses don't allow their royal feet to touch the grass. Lesson learned. Our little diva likes to twirl. And twirl. And twirl. That's all. This little gem was a gift from Easters past. Not sure what year. All I know is, last year we had the egg hunt out back. Yummy. This is my ALL TIME favorite. I mean seriously . If this doesn't depict our life, I don't know what does: Someone's screaming. Someone's bored. Someone needs help. And only one is lovely and charming. Gotta love it.

We had a really fun belated Easter. Unfortunately, getting four girls to be adorably photogenic at the same time is next to impossible. Still, I felt the need to give it a good ol' college try. How bad could it be?? Photo Number One. Three out of four with cute smiles. This isn't as bad as I anticipated. I'm feeling really hopeful. Aria is holding the wrong twin's head up. Sofia is none too pleased. Gianna thinks that's funny. Celia is getting grumpy. This is only the second picture taken. Photo number Three. We've lost three. It's going downhill FAST. Aria is bored. Sofia is screaming. Celia has fallen and can't get up. Gianna is still adorable. We are SO. DONE. Our after nap attempt went sightly better. We still only have three out of four. Ugh. Let's move on to the egg hunt. Our neighbors may or may not think we are strange. I think we're okay with that. Gianna designated herself Celia's buddy without being asked. She sweetly pulled h...