Merry Christmas

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas!!! We had our own celebration at home on the 23rd ... Graham left out cookies and milk for Santa before his nap. He seemed more excited about the half of a cookie that Santa left than his presents :) We drove to Memphis on the 24th and spent Christmas Eve with Kevin's family ... Graham had a blast with his 3 older McCalla boy cousins!! We had lunch on Christmas day with my parents and Wilson's family ... we missed Jackson's family, but we'll all be together in Sea Island next week. All of my boys were great and enjoyed being spoiled by their grandparents!!

Graham passing out presents

Gigi and the boys

Opening presents with the McCallas

Big smiles for Bet Bet

This could get dangerous :)

Graham, the Shepherd

Graham was a shepherd in his school Christmas program at church on Sunday morning. He didn't actually sing the song, but he looked awfully cute up there :) My big boy continues to bring me so much joy and does or says something everyday that cracks me up ... today it was a toss up. It was either when he said "poor Graham" multiple times after I had to pick him up early from school because he has pink eye OR when I had taken Luke to change his diaper and I return to get Carter and find Graham sitting in Luke's Bumbo seat facing Carter and having a full-on conversation with him ... so sweet. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!!

Graham is in the middle

Diapers, part 3

No, my friends, your eyes are not deceiving you, I only have 2 boys in the picture because now I only have 2 boys in diapers!!!!!!! I have been reluctant to blog about this because now that I've put it out here he's going to revert, but my big boy, Graham, is potty-trained :) About a month ago he saw some friends getting treats for using the potty at school and came home wanting some. We had our fair share of accidents (I'm not going to sugar-coat it, cleaning poo out of underwear is rough stuff), but I feel that we are in the clear now. Yipee ... 3-4 less diapers to change a day for this mommy!!!!

Carter (L) and Luke (R)

p.s. Click here for a little Christmas cheer to brighten your day: http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/ML7Uj21uk8Ap9S9R

3 Months Old

My sweet baby boys are already 3 months old. I made a big decision to stop swaddling them and putting them in separate beds for their naps. Carter has adjusted easily, but poor little Luke seems to be missing his brother and his blanket. Hopefully he'll get used to it soon ... he has been sucking his thumb now that he's not swaddled :) Carter is pretty consistently sleeping through the night (10:30-6:30 or 7) and Luke usually wakes once or twice for his paci. They are both smiling and cooing lots and pretty content little guys. I guess our next big thing will be starting cereal next month ... we'll see how that goes feeding 2 of them!!

Prison Break

I had not left the city of Nashville since July, so Sat. the 21st I finally broke free and went to Memphis for 8 days. It was great getting to be with family and friends and getting to show off my precious baby boys!! My mom hosted a Sip and See at her house for people to come over and see the babes ... they were great and it was fun. We took Graham to a Memphis Tiger basketball game ... he was mesmerized and sat so still - I was shocked. We pretty much just spent almost all of our time with all 4 grandparents ... I LOVED having the extra hands!! Gigi cooked a HUGE Thanksgiving feast and we enjoyed celebrating with her family. Kevin and I got to get out most nights which was nice but actually exhausted me a bit since I'm so used to just chilling at home. It truly was a great week and I really loved (and needed) the change of scenery.

My 2 angels - Carter (L) and Luke (R)

Graham cheering on the Tigers

Snacks holding Carter

Graham and Bet Bet swinging at My Big Backyard

Fun with Kevin's cousins

Vandy Game

Kevin and I took ALL 3 boys to the Vandy vs. Kentucky game yesterday. We stayed for the first half and had tons of fun except for the loss. Graham was eating something about 95% of the time we were there ... it was the only way to keep him still :) I was telling Kevin the other day how much joy Graham has been bringing me lately. I am absolutely loving his stage right now and our conversations ... he says something everyday that cracks me up. Earlier this week, I gave him a snack (veggie cruchers) that he doesn't really like very much. He pulled one out of his snack trap and looked at it and said "Doggies eat these." I mean, where does he come up with this stuff!?!?!? The babies are doing great ... smiling tons and simply being sweet baby boys. I am a very blessed Mommy!!!!!

I had Carter in another Baby Bjorn

My 3 sons

Arnold and Danny

Since birth, my brother, Jackson, has ever so sweetly refered to Carter as Danny ... as in DeVito from the movie Twins. I guess the reference is going to continue since sweet little (and I mean little) Carter is still not quite catching up to Luke. I took them in for their 2 month check-up this morning and Luke weighed 11 lbs. 9.5 oz (45%) and Carter weighed 9 lbs. 12 oz (5%). The doctor is happy with his weight ... after all, he has gained 4 pounds since birth. I am not concerned one bit about Carter, it is just weird to me to have such a small baby since Graham was anything but small. I checked back and Graham weighed 12 lbs. 12 oz. at 2 months, but he started out at 8 lbs. 2 oz. Who knows, maybe one day Carter is going to be bigger than Luke AND Graham!!

2 Months Old

Our boys are already two months old ... time is flying!! We go to the doctor for their check-up next week, so I don't have any stats right now. Carter slept from 10:30 to 5:30 last night and Luke awoke at 3:45 but went back to sleep, so I'm hopeful that we're getting close to sleeping through the night. God sure has blessed us with 2 precious baby boys!!!!!

Trick or Treat

We had an absolute ball on Halloween!!!! The weather cleared up for us and we were able to go trick-or-treating. I wasn't sure what to expect with Graham, but it was pure joy watching that little boy run from house to house, pick a treat, put it in his pumpkin bucket, and run on to the next one. Watching his excitement gave me a small glimpse of how God must view us when we enjoy his blessings. Our highlight of the night was seeing Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman out trick-or-treating with their daughter :) Graham ran right in between them and I had to dodge them!! The babies were perfect again by sleeping the whole time. Who know what next year holds in store with all 3 of them running everwhere!! Click here if you want to see more pics of the night and other fall pics: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?albumId=839463374805&ownerId=679943604105

Graham was a farmer, Luke a duck, and Carter a cow

Luke and Carter

We had fun with Jake and Evie

Fun Fall Family Weekend

We had a really fun weekend enjoying fall activities as a family. We went to a pumpkin patch on Saturday morning ... it was a bit chilly but Graham had a ball and the twins slept the whole time. Of course we watched lots of college football - what else do you do in the fall? - and were pleased with Alabama's outcome but not Vandy's :( On Sunday afternoon we went to a Halloween function at the zoo, and again, it was a bit chilly but again Graham LOVED it and the babies did what they do best - sleep!! We went with the McFarlands and Madisons, so we had 7 boys ages 2 and under with just our 3 families alone!! Luke and Carter are doing so much more at a young age than Graham ever did. I have found out that when you have an older child, your baby (or babies, in my case) just has to tag along and be adaptable.

At the pumpkin patch

The only shot we could get of the whole family

My little pumpkins - Luke (L) and Carter (R)

Mac the Monkey and Farmer Graham

His little duck and cow were sleeping, but we'll get pics of them on Halloween

Diapers, part 2

First off, I have spent WAY too much of my precious all 3 boys are napping time trying to figure out how to make this first pic horizontal, so you'll just have to turn your head. Secondly, my final diaper count was only 13 in 24 hours a couple of days ago. I was pretty excited ... better for the environment and for our wallet!! Graham is helping out by actually going in the potty a lot lately. I don't truly think he's ready for potty training and I'm not sure I have the energy for it right now, but he is definitely showing some interest. Luke and Carter have skipped their 2ish feeding the last 4 nights, so we're going from 10 to 5ish which is wonderful. They really are such great little baby boys!!!

Carter and Luke are getting SO big

Visitors

We had a great weekend full of visitors!! Bet Bet arrived on Thursday afternoon to stay the weekend since Kevin went out of town on a golfing trip. Then Pops and Gigi pulled in around 5 on Friday ... they stayed with all of the boys while my mom and I got to go shopping and go to dinner - what a treat!! Sally and Elizabeth Moore stopped by to meet the new additions, as well. Then on Saturday, Matt and Emily Menendez and their new baby, Becker, brought over lunch and stayed to watch the Vandy game. My cousin, Katherine, and her new husband Adrian came over to get their hands on the little guys on Sat. afternoon. And finally, my uncle Spence and aunt Becky popped in for a visit on Sunday a.m. We sure do feel loved over here with so many people wanting to see these precious babies. We LOVE visitors, so everyone feel free to come on over ANY time!!!

Shellye, Luke, Emily, Becker, Carter, and Matt

Katherine holding Carter and Adrian holding Luke

Spence holding Luke and Becky holding Carter

Smiles

MY BOYS ARE SMILING!!!!!!!

Carter

Luke - his face is SO much better :)

All my boys chilling in the playroom

Change

I feel like we've been going through a LOT of change lately. To state the obvious ... having twins and adding to our family, Graham starting school, being around the house a lot more, even the weather is changing. So I decided to make a major change myself and cut off all of my hair ... I'm donating it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. The cut feels good, but it will definitely take some getting used to. In baby news, Luke and Carter are doing great!! They are sleeping from 10ish to 2:30ish (sometimes even past 3) and then up again around 6. They are really good about going back to sleep pretty quickly, so that is heavenly. Luke is definitely chunking up and even getting a bit of a double chin ... he also has HORRIBLE baby acne and I think excema all over his face. I'm trying really hard not to let it bother me, but he just looks SO pitiful :( Carter is gaining weight, too, just not quite as much as his big brother ... he still has adorable chicken legs!! Graham is still being a great big brother and very helpful ... getting diapers, burp cloths, holding bottles, etc. I feel truly blessed to be the mommy of these precious 3!!!!!

Before

After

At the zoo

Tummy Time ... Carter (L) and Luke (R)

1 Month Old

Well, we have survived the first month :) Kevin and I just got home from a great dinner out (thanks Pops and Gigi for staying with the kiddos) where we reflected on the past month. Kevin said it's been a bit easier than he expected, and I said that it was pretty much what I expected. I'm extrememly grateful for all of the help ... I'd really being struggling without it, and I'm really happy that I don't feel that Graham's world has been totally rocked. Luke and Carter have been really good babies and I'm loving our nights when Graham is to bed and I just lay on the couch with one or both of them. I'm trying to cherish each moment of their infanthood since they are probably my last babies. Ok, I'm off to feed and put them to bed so I can get some sleep.

Carter and Luke

I LOVE it when they snuggle up to each other :)

Books of the Bible

I have been working on the books of the Bible with Graham and the first day, he said "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Carter" It cracked me up and I wanted to get it on video, but of course, now he won't say it again. All is well with the 3 Geshke boys ... can't believe Luke and Carter will be 1 month old tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Graham

I know every mother says it, but you're going to hear it from me, too ... I can't believe my baby boy is 2 years old!!!!! Where has the time gone? They truly have been 2 incredible years, and I love my big boy with all of my heart. He seems especially big to me lately with these tiny little babies I'm holding all of the time now. He really is growing up, and I'm loving his stage right now with his endless energy and how he is a true sponge learning new things daily. I feel so blessed to stay home with him and would not give back a single second of all our time spent together over the past 2 years. I love you, Graham, and hope your birthday was special!! Click here to see more pics from his birthday and of the twins: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=8od0v6o9.bq2134ot&x=0&y=-oowzd2&localeid=en_US

Eating birthday cake

At the fire station riding in the big fire truck

Spraying the hose

Our family of 5

Off to the Vandy game with Daddy

Robin's Visit

My college roommate, Robin, came for a quick visit to get her hands on the boys. It was wonderful having her here and she really was a big help. We decided that her daughter, Anna, who turns 1 next week will have her pick of boyfriends in just my family alone :) All 3 of my boys are doing great ... Graham is enjoying school (he goes Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-2:30) and still very interested in his baby brothers and MOSTLY gentle with them. Luke (the bigger one) is a bit more feisty and almost always the first one to wake in the night ... they are typically down by 10:00 and up for feedings around 1ish and 5ish. And Carter is my sweet, content baby boy and very patient. They go for a check-up next week, so we'll see how much they weigh and get a report on them ... I'll keep you posted.

Anna, Graham, Luke, and Carter

Robin and I did a little photo shoot of the boys ... how cute is this one?!?!?

Bet Bet

My mom left yesterday after being here with us for 13 days. I really don't know what we would have done without her. She cooked, cleaned, held babies, got up with and played with Graham, and so much more. It truly was such a special time with her, and I'll never forget it and never be able to thank her enough for all she did. You're welcome back ANY time Bet Bet ... we LOVE you!!!!!!

Diapers

Well, we have oficially gone through 21 diapers in the last 24 hours at the Geshke house :) That is almost one an hour!! Things are still going well over here and my mom is staying through the weekend. I sure will miss her next week. Here is an album of pics I put together of our first week in case some of you haven't seen them: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=8od0v6o9.8fwwma79&x=0&y=-nxzsrp&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_button

Carter, Graham, and Luke