Vincelli: Party of 6

Vincelli: Party of 6

Saturday, September 29, 2012

MOMS OF MULTIPLES!



First of all, my belated apologies for this post. I was going to post it months ago, but one day I went back to do my final proofreading and it was gone. Ugghh...I know I can't remember everything I wrote and this one just isn't as good. I'm still upset about it. I'm not sure if I did something or if it was a computer error on the blog, but my post was gone. And I had to re-write it all over. Lesson learned. I will always save my posts to Word Document as well.

Jen, Stacy, Bree, Kelly, Holly, Heather, Heidi, and Nicole - this is for YOU!

There's a very special group of women out there. I am amazed at these women and I am humbled by them. They seem like super heroes to me. But deep down, I know they are just normal women...mothers who love their children with all their hearts. It's that simple.

BUT...

There is one part that isn't "that" simple.

Because, they aren't just mothers.

They are mothers...

of...

MULTIPLES!

These special women all birthed twins. Some boy/boy, some girl/girl, and some boy/girl. We all have twins because of different reasons. Some had twins with no medical assistance. Some have In-Vitro twins, after years and years of trying. Some have In-Vitro twins from donor sperm. Another has IUI twins from donor sperm. One has TWO sets of twins, with one set being step-children. And another is a mommy to angel baby twins in heaven, born at 24 weeks gestation, who both lived just an hour on earth, but live on forever in the hearts of many.

Some of these mothers of multiples are friends from college. But others I met in more interesting ways...

I met Nicole at the grocery store where I live and she later searched for me by posting on facebook to offer her help. She asked if anyone knew the couple who just had twin baby boys because she wanted to get in touch with them. Amazingly enough, we had a mutual friend and we connected. The power of facebook!

I met Heidi via Craig's List after selling her some of my twin items. Turns out we went to the same college for one year and she was in the same dorm as my husband and they were acquaintances. There are many other things we have in common and I'm so thankful to have kept in touch. Soon after we met in the summer of 2011, Heidi's baby twins were born at 24 weeks gestation and are now dancing in heaven with Jesus. After 5 ectopic pregnancies and the passing of her baby twins, Heidi and her husband are expecting a baby girl in December from their gestation carrier. Praise God!

But perhaps the funniest story of all is Heather. She was a pregnant mommy of twins in my neighborhood and saw us walk by with the double infant stroller. She proceeded to get in her car to chase us down and stopped to chat with us. Even though they moved out of town a year later, we keep in touch and share twin stories. We joke that her little twin girls, about 5 months younger than Eli and Will, would make great wives for them! If it's true love, the distance won't matter!

Some of our twins were born full term and were big babies. Some of ours were born premature and were little babies. And some were born very very premature and were the tiniest of babies. One set of twins was even born 2 weeks apart at 24 weeks and 26 weeks. Who says twins always have to be born on the same day?

Our experiences have all been very different, just as any mother with children. But there is one special thing that is exactly the same. We are mothers of twins. And that deserves an award all by itself. We have that "multiples bond" of knowing that we are a chosen few. And even though at times, it can really really rough and we want to give up, we push on. We just want a break and want to know what it's like to just carry around one baby. But thankfully, there are double the joys and we keep moving forward with the unconditional love for these precious little people!

These women have taught me to take it one day at a time. They've taught me it doesn't matter if your house is clean, it doesn't matter if you didn't put make-up on, and most of all, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. I've had to repeat that to myself many times:

It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks!
It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks!!
It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks!!!

There seems to be certain "rules" you should follow with children, but that all gets thrown out when you are dealing with multiples! And they reassured me that this is okay. People say, "Never wake a sleeping baby." But moms of multiples say, "Go ahead and wake up that sleeping baby!"

These women are AMAZING! I am so grateful for their guidance. Many of them have no idea how much they've truly helped me. I don't even know if any of them knew that I went through some dark times with post-partum depression. But they each helped me. I've picked their brains asking for guidance on anything and everything TWINS, even before the boys arrived. And they've all been more than willing to talk to me or email me, even though they were extremely busy with their own multiples.

Oh, the unending questions I asked:

How does double breastfeeding work?
Did you get them on the same feeding schedule?
Why can't they just SLEEP?
Did you wake up one twin when the other woke up to eat?
Did you get them on the same sleeping schedule?
How long did you let them sleep together in the same crib?
Will I ever get sleep again?
What double stroller do you recommend?
Am I going crazy?

Okay...you get the idea...

Well, we've survived the stares, the unwelcomed advice, and the lovely greetings of, "Double Trouble." We are warriors! We are moms of multiples!



Dear Jen, Stacy, Bree, Kelly, Holly, Heather, Heidi, and Nicole:

Thank you for giving me advice, supporting me, and encouraging me. You've all been honest and let me know it's hard, but you've also given me hope to know that each stage is different with new joys. And that day by day, God will give us the strength. You've believed in me as a mother especially when it was so hard to believe in myself. And I am forever appreciative for your kindness. Seriously, you have no idea! My heart overflows with joy each time I think of you!

We are a special group of women, we are MOMS: Mothers of Multiples.

Oh, and be excited ladies, because I'm pretty sure that God has a very special place reserved for us in heaven. :)



The Mother Of Twins

A meeting convened one day
in Heavens sacred hall.
The Ideal mother must be found
for twins so sweet and small.

She must be patient, first of all,
And kind and calm and wise.
And capable of chasing tears
away from little eyes.

She'd have to put her children first
And be so very smart
Have dedication and resolve,
A sweet and loving heart.

They all agreed you were the best
No other mom would do.
Yes, Heaven found the perfect one
And sent those twins to you.



And here are photos of our precious twins within their few weeks of life:



Josiah & Arielle



Audrey & Lillian



Carter & Logan



Marlowe & Greyson



Owen & Grant



Elijah & Will



And a special note to Heidi:

I think of your precious angel twins often. I picture them in heaven and try to imagine what they are doing. I'm not sure exactly what that is, but I do know they are in the most amazing place being held by the arms of Jesus safely waiting until the days they will be reunited with you and Aaron. Perhaps they swapping stories with relatives who have gone before you and they are playing with their other siblings! Charlie and Savannah are happy, they are safe, and they are loved. I know we'll never understand why they couldn't stay on earth. But we trust and we have faith. Our time on earth is so temporary. Your eternal lives together will be perfect.

Thank you for sharing this precious and private photo of your sweet babies.

Charlie & Savannah



Monday, September 24, 2012

2 YEARS OLD!


The boys had their 2 year well baby check this week.

We switched to a Family Practice Doctor because our Pediatrician moved out of state early summer. It was our first appointment with him. I guess now that they aren't "babies", they don't weigh them naked. So, the boys were weighed with their clothes and shoes on and also FULL diapers. So, their weights are a little off. Of course we weighed them again, naked, on our baby scale at home just to see how different it was. (Yes, I am a freak, I know!)

Elijah

28 pounds 1 ounce - 48th Percentile (But naked at home he weighed 27 pounds 5 ounces.)
34 inches tall - 31st Percentile
19.25 head circumference - 57th Percentile

Will

26 pounds 2 ounces - 26th Percentile (But named at home he weighed 25 pounds 4 ounces.)
34 inches tall - 31st Percentile
18.5 head circumference - 11th Percentile

They are fairly little dudes according to the charts, but them seem so big and grown up to me. They are still in 18 month clothing and now wear size 6 shoes.

I just have to share this video of the boys blowing out their candles at their party. It was so cute. They had never tried blowing out candles before so I didn't expect them to do it, but wow, they did great! But poor Eli got upset when we took his cupcake away to sing to Will. (My niece, Ava, is the beautiful opera singer in the background. HA!)



Sunday, September 23, 2012

TWO LITTLE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED



Two little monkeys jumping on the bed! Yup, they are definitely 2 years old now! Crazy, crazy, crazy boys...

















And of course a funny video of the little monkeys jumping on the bed!



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

2ND BIRTHDAY SLIDESHOW!

Happy 2nd Birthday Elijah and Will!

Here's a 24 minute slideshow full of precious photos and memories of their lives from 12 months to 24 months old!

Sorry, yes, but 24 minutes was the shortest I could get it. I can't help it they are so adorable!!

Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

2ND BIRTHDAY PARTY: THING 1 ~ THING 2



Thing 1 ~ Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss

What a fun, fun party theme this was! I'm so glad we did this for their 2nd birthday party!

And what a perfect theme for TWINS!

We had their party on August 26th (almost 3 weeks before they actually turned two) as this was the only date we could find that worked for family to attend. It was a beautiful day with beautiful weather!

And now, in 2 days, my little babies will turn TWO YEARS OLD!

So, here's a post all about their fun party!

I wasn't set on what theme to do for E & W's 2nd Birthday party and nothing was jumping out on my list of ideas. But finally I decided "why not?" and went ahead with the "Thing 1 ~ Thing 2" theme. And I'm so glad I did because a few days after, I walked into Target and was shocked to see they had many Dr. Seuss items in their dollar section, with many of them being "Thing 1 - Thing 2" specific! Jackpot! Right decision was made!

Two things I love are being creative and bargain shopping. So, of course I used both of those skills in the party planning! You don't have to spend a lot of money on a party! I made almost all of the decorations for this party (on my computer with a Print Shop program I often use), minus a few things that I bought as gifts that could also be used as decorations. (See next photo!) Win, win! And I bought red/blue paper plates, napkins, table cloths etc. at the Dollar Tree. So, that is very inexpensive as well.

I bought 2 of each of these items ($1 each in the Target dollar section!) to use as both gifts AND decorations! "Thing 1 ~ Thing 2" bags, plastic sandwich containers, cups, plates, dry erase boards, and socks. The cups and plates are really awesome because when you turn them they switch from "Thing 1" to "Thing 2"!


And here are the guests of honor: Eli and Will!


In this photo, I had asked, "Who wants cake?" And they both replied "MEEE!!!!" with their arms up high in the air! Funny little guys!


Thing 1: Elijah




Thing 2: Will



For those inquiring minds, yes, Elijah is "Thing 1" because he is ONE MINUTE older than Will. :) And Will is "Thing 2" because he's the 2nd born...that whole 60 seconds after Elijah.

Invitations: (The left side is store bought - 10 invites for $1! And the right side, I created and printed out.)



Invite reads:

"One birthday is fun, but this party is for two!
We're having a big celebration and we need you!

Why yes! yes, it's true! The Vincelli twins are almost two!
Please come dressed in black, white, red, or blue!

Please come and help us celebrate Elijah & Will's 2nd Birthday!"


And of course, one of the most important things at the party...the CAKE!

The Cake Table:



Cakes: (Made by Jodi O.)



Eli's Cake: (Thank you, Jodi, we loved them!)



Will's Cake: (Great work, Jodi!)



Cupcakes: I made these! They were white confetti cake with blue frosting in red muffin cups. (I food dyed the white frosting to blue.) It was supposed to be like "Thing 1" and "Thing 2's" hair! I also created the decorations on the cupcakes and just taped them to a straw to stick them in!



Guestbook Table: (With 2 Dr. Seuss books that everyone signed their name in, along with a special note for each Eli and Will.)



Last year, for their 1st birthday party, I also had guests sign a book as a keepsake for the twins. I had chosen "Oh, The Places You Will Go" by Dr. Seuss simply because we had received two copies of the book! My plan was to choose a different book each year with the idea that the boys would have a big collection. But seeing as they already have a HUGE collection of books, and since that book fit with this year's birthday theme perfectly, I chose to just flip the pages and use the same 2 books again this year. And now will EVERY year for their birthday. Now, all of their birthday notes will be located in one book as a special keepsake. Then, I can present the boys with this on their High School graduation day because the message of the book is just perfect for that! Win, win!

Here's the poem I wrote to describe the guestbooks:

"One book is for Eli and another is for Will.
Remember to sign both for yet another thrill.
Sign your name and maybe write a special note.
Cause Eli and Will shall treasure what you wrote.
This is a way to remember their birthdays.
A special keepsake they will treasure always."



Bookmark Party Favor: (Just $1 for all those bookmarks! Woo hoo!)



We had a 30 minute photo slideshow of the boys, set to music, playing over and over during the party. I put this together full of photos of them during the past year! (I made it on "Windows Live Movie Maker" on my computer.) It's a fun idea so people can see how much they've grown in one year. You can see Will looking at the photo of himself on the TV in this next photo. (I will have the slideshow uploaded to youtube and will post on here soon!)

Here's Will watching the photo slideshow! (Unfortunately, I didn't get a good photo of this table. But it has some decorations displayed and photos of the boys. Along with the TV playing the photo slideshow.)



My little family!



A few more decorations I made with photos of the boys in their "Thing 1 ~ Thing 2" shirts: (I bought the shirts used for $5 total and they've fit in them for almost a year! Score!)














Birthday Banner: I made this by picking one photo of the boys together from each month during the past year. I also listed their age underneath, from 12 months to 2 years old! (This was done on my "Print Shop" program.)



Here are some close-ups so you can see it better.







If you read the invitation, you will see it said to dress in black, white, red, or blue! These were the theme colors of the party. And as you can see, we all did look fairly coordinated. I don't care if people thought it was stupid, I thought it was super fun!

The Cox side



The Vincelli Side



The Food Table:



Napkins wrapped around plastic-ware: (I made the labels.)



Enjoying the Birthday Lunch:





Opening gifts:



Eli opening gifts:



Will opening gifts:





It's CAKE TIME!!

Check out these beautiful cakes!



Elijah eyeing his cake. "Is that for me?"



Will likes his cake. "That is for ME!!!"



It's hard to see, but their bibs are also "Thing 1 ~ Thing 2" bibs. I bought these used also for $5 total! We've been using them for over a year!


Eli was SO EXCITED to blow out his candles!



Blowing...



Here he is watching the smoke from the first candle float up! It was so cute!



He did it! Yippee! We didn't expect him to do it as he had never tried to blow out a candle before, but he did it!



Now it's Will's turn. As you can clearly see, Eli wasn't too happy when we took his cupcake away while we sang to Will!



Yup, still upset...




Will is getting ready to blow out his candles:


He did it! Way to go, Will!


They liked the cupcakes. Eli ate the whole thing while Will mostly just ate the frosting.


More eating of cake and icecream!


Grammy's Carolyn's sidewalk chalk greeting!



My poor dad wasn't feeling well for the party, so he was designated "the protector of the cakes."



The party: (As you can probably tell, we had it in our garage!)







My niece, Ava. (You can see some more decorations on the table behind her. The "Thing 1 ~ Thing 2" bags were $1 each! They are like little reusable shopping type bags. I also had a few photos of the boys in their "Thing 1 ~ Thing 2" shirts in frames on display.)



Auntie Corrie gets some cuddles in.



The handsome father of the twins:











It was a great party and a great time with our family.

We are blessed.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Elijah & Will!