Ryan and Juliet

Countless times I prayed to Mary, mother of Jesus, to help me get pregnant when Dan and I were trying.  I prayed that she would intervene for us and help send us our baby.  Apparently she heard and sent us two!  Yay!  So this past Saturday our babies were baptized and I thanked Mary in my mind and in my heart for sending us our angels.

Father also spoke of how babies help to provide perspective in our material world and I have to say that hit home for me.  Recently, I have been surprised to find myself not really caring as much for the nice clothes I usually buy on a whim or the household items that I just have to have.  I guess this is what contentment feels like.  All I want are my babies and my husband and I have them!  Material things don’t include wine right?

And so the babies survived their first Thanksgiving, first overnight trip, first encounter with the entire Hatfield side of the family, and last but not least, their baptism.  You might say Dan and I just ripped the Band-Aid right off, but I think it was actually a bit more painful than that.  11 adults, 5 kids, and Ryan and Juliet were all together in one house to celebrate the holiday.  Surrounded by chaos, Dan and I scrambled to find a routine for the babies.  Looking back, that may have been part of our problem.  Even with my perpetual bouncing, naps were scarce especially for our little Jule.  She had things to do, people to see, and all new experiences to experience.  So that’s what she did for two days straight until finally she crashed and much to our amazement she seemed to crash happily!

However, reflection is a wonderful thing.  Now as I sit typing this, and am no longer immersed in the stressfulness of the situation, I realize a memory was made for my family and a nice one.

Click here for more photos

Movie produced by Uncle Marcus

Tuesday night Ryan and Juliet slept a seven hour stretch (9:45 – 4:45am).  Dan had been awake since 3am wondering if I had fed them or not.  At 4am I woke to find Dan a little frantic.  I went upstairs to check on them and both were sleeping peacefully.  Dan and I remained awake for another 45 minutes until Juliet finally put us out of our torture and woke up hungry.  And so that is the life of new parents I guess.  When our babies finally sleep their first long stretch, we lie awake worrying.

Ryan and Juliet are now just 5 days away from being 3 months old and so this event, sleeping through the night that is, marks the beginning of some major changes (at least that’s what we’ve been told).  Everyone told us after they were born that we just had to survive the first three months and then things would get easier.  Of course then, it felt like it would take a lifetime, and honestly it really did.  But now I find myself wanting to freeze time so that they stay our little itty bitty babies forever.  Soon there will be no more middle of the night feeding and I will miss those quiet moments I have with them when all is so peaceful and quiet.  Just me and my babies.  These are the moments when I see their smiles as they drift off to sleep, and if I’m lucky they will even let out a little giggle.  Juliet will sometimes reach her little hand up to touch my face just to make sure I’m still there while she eats with her eyes closed.  Ryan will smile when his eyes meet mine and it is more than enough to make my heart melt and I am again reassured of his love for me.  And now, as I write this, Ryan sleeps peacefully and adorably on my lap.  These are the moments when I thank the God above for sending me my little angel babies and I promise to love and protect them forever.  And while I wish with all my heart that time will stand still, I also find myself anticipating tomorrow with all eagerness.  I can’t wait for the first time they hug me, or when they run to their daddy when he gets home from work, or when we play arts and crafts together at the kitchen table, or when they get a boo boo and run to me for hugs and kisses (although I don’t really want them to get a boo boo, but unfortunately it will happen). There’s just so much to look forward to, but so much I want to stay the same.

One thing is for sure, anticipating my family’s future is one case where the anticipation will not be greater than the realization.

• Juliet
• Jewels
• Peanut
• Princess (sometimes used before her other names)
• Bugaboo
• Love Bug
• Goo Goo Girl

Check out more pictures of our little ghouls

Juliet has revised the pop goes the Binky game.  This is how the new version goes..

We pop the Binky in her mouth and a couple seconds later she pops it right back out but only just slightly.  Just enough so that it’s right in front of her mouth.

She then plays a game with herself to try and get the Binky back in. 

She tries…

and tries…

and tries…

until finally, EUREKA!  She gets it back in.

Isn’t she awesome!?!

Sound good to you?

1. I love her sounds (squeaks, machine gun sounds, her new goos and gaas, and sometimes she lets out a little cry and it sounds like she’s saing hi!)
2. I love her teeny tiny hands and feet
3. I love her very delicate, feminine movements with her hands and her very indelicate sounds (toots and burps)
4. I love her little round eyes and mouth and nose.  In fact you could draw her face using just circles.
5. I love her spiky hair
6. I love the million and one faces she makes (especially the Godfather face)
7. I love her touchdown move when she’s sleeping soundly and suddenly raises her hands like she’s calling a touchdown
8. I love it when she sleeps in a yoga position
9. I love her slow, feminine blinks
10. I love that sometimes she just needs to know we’re there in order to sleep.  She’ll let out a little squeel and Dan will hold her hand and she’ll fall back asleep.

Juliet is having a tough time going #2.  She went two whole days without doing poops this past weekend.  Dan and I pumped her legs and massaged her belly all day Saturday.  Finally, Sunday morning she worked really hard and got it out.  Poor little peanut.

Chapter 1

One day King Dan and Queen Elizabeth found that their babies, Prince Ryan and Princess Juliet, had magical powers.  Unfortunately, however, the evil goblins wanted to obtain their powers for their own evil deeds.  So the King and Queen stole away one day from the Kingdom of Chestnut to the Land of Gildairia where they could protect their own from harm.  To reach the safety of Gildairia they had to cross the treacherous forest of Lishakill.

As they traveled through the forest of Lishakill, they were mesmerized by the beauty of the trees and the golden shimmer of the leaves which reminded them of golden mountains of Gildairia.  Ryan and Juliet were secreted in slings for their travel across the unfriendly territory.  The King and the Queen kept a keen eye out for the goblin sentries they knew must be near.  As they rounded the bend (its always the bend!!), a goblin came out of its hiding hole to glare at the passerbys.  To the goblin’s excitement, he saw the seemingly defenseless family.  He stepped out into the path to confront the weary travelers.

“Avast ye!” said the goblin, “Move not, for I can have a hundred goblins breathing down your neck ere I count to three!”

The King and Queen were taken aback and were paralyzed by their fear.  Juliet, however, undeterred by the monstrosity blocking their path took a single, solitary slurp from her binky and the goblin was sent soaring into the air only to get caught in a thistle bush on his descent back down.  Hearing the raucous, a hundred more goblins poured from the hiding hole ready for battle.

End of Chapter 1

Chapter 2

The King and Queen stood staring a hundred goblins in the eye, not knowing how they would escape.  Ryan let out a soft, sad cry and at that moment, a flock of birds, a pride of lions, a herd of deer, and a family of grizzlies emerged from the forest.  The flock the birds swooped down and carried away half the goblin horde.  The pride of lions and the grizzlies ate their fair share.  And the deer, well, they cuted the rest to death.

Now that the goblin army had been destroyed, the path to Gildairia lay open.  They trekked on and as they crested the largest hill, the golden spires of Gildairia glistened in the autumn sun and they knew they were safe.

End of Chapter 2

Chapter 3

They lived happily ever after.  The End.  (Ryan is crying.)