Can you say accident prone?

As we entered the world of toddling one year-olds I didn't realize we were in for so many bumps and bruises along the way! These kids are so accident prone it's not even funny. Even with baby proofing the house they seem to constantly find ways of getting hurt. They fall, hit their head on the furniture, scrape their leg on the sidewalk, or pull each others pony tails when I'm not looking. It's so sad to see them get hurt but it almost seems inevitable unless I dress them in some type of full blown protective gear. Anyone have any spare bubble wrap?

More Cheese Please!

"more"

We taught the girls a few things in sign language because we thought it would help them to communicate, and to be honest it's just so darn cute to watch! Brenna caught on pretty quick and would eagerly sign "more" by hitting her two fists together, Brooke on the other hand thought that growling and throwing her hands up towards the food was sign enough. Now they can sign "more" or "please"(Brooke's version of "more") and "all done." Yesterday I was giving them some cheese to tide them over while I was preparing dinner. They both LOVE cheese so they gobbled it down and signed for "more"/"please". I gave them each another piece and Brenna shoved the whole thing in her mouth and then went over to Brooke who was still working on her piece and began signing "more" hoping her sister would give her the rest of her cheese. Brooke was not impressed and declined to Brenna's dismay. It was the cutest thing though, I wish I could have gotten it on tape. Brenna also tried this on some strangers at Joe's BBQ Wednesday night, and unfortunately had the same result. Sorry Bren, unfortunately your cuteness and knowledge of sign language doesn't work on everyone.

What if.....

I went brunette?

I saw this on my friend's blog and had to try it. I've always wondered what I would look like with dark hair, fake eyelashes, plump lips and glowing green contacts. Now I know, well minus the blond hair in the background. No support from the hubster on this one, but oh well.........

Free virtual makeovers at www.taaz.com

WoRdLe

I saw this on another blog and thought it was kinda cool. It's called a wordle (word cloud made using your blog or another word source). You can make one too, just click on it:)

Brenna's Latest Discovery

A Wonderful Sunday

Sundays are my favorite day of the week. Some weeks it's the only day Kevin has off of work so I enjoy being able to spend more time with him. I love dressing the girls in their cute church dresses and shoes, not forgetting the little bows

on their pig tails. It's like wrapping a beautiful present. I love being able to go to church and be spiritually fed, this last Sunday was particularly filling. I thoroughly enjoyed each talk and lesson that was given and felt uplifted. The girls went to church with my brother Anthony and his wife Robyn. They enjoyed a little toddler-sitting practice as they described here. After seeing Hannah Johnson with a purse a few Sundays ago, the girls now consider it a MUST have accessory. Grandma Patti was kind enough to donate this fancy handbag which the girls took with them to church and most likely fought over. I made a batch of honey wheat bread which turned out well considering it's been a few years. There's nothing like the aroma of bread baking in the oven. Hope your Sunday was wonderful too:)

DNA Results!

I got the DNA Test results today via my e-mail and this is what it said..........................


Drum roll please!


From the following samples supplied by Kevin Johnston we have obtained the following results to 99.9% accuracy:


Sample Reference-Relationship-Status
Brenna Johnston-Twin Sister-Identical DNA (Identical Twins)
Brooke Johnston-Twin Sister-Identical DNA (Identical Twins)

THEY ARE IDENTICAL!

HOLY CANOLY!

So what does this mean? Obviously it means that they were one fertilized egg that split into two, so I can't consider myself Super Fertile Myrtle anymore. This means that the chances of me having another set of twins is very unlikely because having identical twins is not hereditary. This means that all of our children won't necessarily look just like Kevin, some might resemble me:) This means that if for some reason one of our girls have any medical issues that now we know they have the same blood type etc. This means that those of you that are able to tell them apart are genius and that the rest of you that are struggling can give yourselves a pat on the back because it's not your fault:)

A First Birthday

How do you make a 1 year old's birthday special? Well ,we started the day off as we always do, the girls slept until 830am and woke with smiles on their faces and hair in every direction.

I made them a special breakfast of waffles topped with bananas and squirty cream, yum! They both kept trying to take off their diapers when I was attempting to get them dressed so I decided to let them roam naked for a little while since it was their special day. This lasted until Brenna peed on the carpet, I figured I shouldn't wait to see what else might happen! We had a little get together last night with family and some friends. The theme was watermelon so we had cupcakes and ice cream that looked like watermelon and they turned out really cute.

We had a twin trivia game, opened gifts and then sang happy birthday. Unfortunately, their DNA test results were not ready for the party but don't worry, I will keep you posted. I don't think the girls understood what was going on at their birthday party, but they seemed to enjoy stuffing their faces with cake and ice cream.

Happy Birthday Brenna and Brooke!

We love you!

Birth Story

Today is Brenna and Brooke's first birthday and for the last 24 hours I have been remembering the events of that special day as best as I can. Since I didn't start my blog until they were 6 months old I will share their birth story. It's kinda lengthy so grab a snack to tide you over cause this might take a while:)

Tuesday, Sept. 4th 2007 I was in my Dr's office for a routine NST (non-stress test). Brenna failed the test so my Dr. decided to send me to get an ultrasound done just to be sure that everything was OK. So off to Banner Desert OB Triage I went. It was about 12 noon when they got me back, they did an ultrasound and another NST and everything looked good. I was still strapped up to monitors and thought I would be going home soon when I started to feel contractions. The nurse came in because she noticed them on the monitor and wanted to check me. I was dilated 1cm which was something considering I wasn't dilated at all a couple days ago. They decided to keep me there for a few more hours to see if I progressed. At this point it was about 5pm and I was starving. All I ate that day was a nectarine because I knew I was going to be weighed at my Dr. Apt and I desperately wanted to weigh less than Kevin. It made me feel better if I could tell him that I still weighed less than he did because he always teased me about my weight gain. It was my way of sticking it to him and luckily I weighed in that day 2lbs less than Kevin:) HAAA-haa ! Ok so back to the story. At about 6pm they check me and I had progressed to a 2 so they decide to admit me to the hospital. They take me up to a L&D room and stick an IV in me for good taste, gotta love those! Oh and by the way I'm not allowed to have anything to eat or drink until they decide if the babies are coming or not (c-section rule). Apparently an IV is drink enough and my horse of an appetite will have to thrive off of that. They kept me strapped to monitors charting my progress and told me that the Dr. on call will make a decision by midnight. The contractions were uncomfortable but bearable. We waited and waited for 12am to come and lo and behold although I progressed to a 3-4 cm the Dr. on call didn't feel comfortable making some sort of a decision, so he had us wait for my Dr to come in the morning. I was pretty ticked at this point and just wanted to go home. Don't they know not to mess with an extremely pregnant lady with an empty stomach? The nurses were on my side, they were sure the girls were coming that same day and didn't know why the Dr on call was being such a weenie.

So we spent the night at the hospital, me on the bed and Kevin on a cot. I can't say that we slept very much, the babies kept moving and the monitors would lose their heart rates, so a nurse was in moving the monitors on my stomach every hour or so. At about 8am the next morning my Dr. came in and without even checking me to see my progress he simply says "How does a 9am c-section sound?" FINALLY!!!! It made all the wait seem worth it. They prepped us, I said goodbye to my lopsided belly and they wheeled me into the operating room.

I was nervous all of a sudden, freezing and shaking. I knew everything would be ok (I had a blessing previously) but nevertheless major surgery scared the heck out of me. I hummed a Child's Prayer in my head to keep myself calm. I didn't even feel the spinal, my mind was somewhere else. I held Kevin's hand as they began and we looked at each other, anxious and excited. I heard the first cry at 941am, it was Brenna who came bum first as Kevin witnessed. The cry was surreal to me but it was so amazing to hear. I think they showed her to me briefly and then she was gone along with Kevin who was wildly snapping pictures. I was suddenly alone on the chopping block.

Brooke came a few minutes later at 943am and I laid there extremely sedated waiting for the next glimpse of my girls. Kevin brought them over one in each arm. They were wrapped in blankets with little beanies on their heads. I remember trying to touch their faces and then they were gone. I heard the staples going in but didn't feel a thing. Next thing I know I am being wheeled in to our recovery room and there were my girls.

I look over at Brooke and am amazed at the Johnston resemblance in her face. I remember thinking "Hello Reed" (my FIL) as I looked at her. Then I looked at Brenna and tried to distinguish who she looked like but I couldn't quite put a finger on it. They were both so cute and tiny, and had heads full of dark hair. I got to hold Brenna for the first time while they were bathing Brooke. A few minutes later they told me that Brooke was having a hard time breathing and would need to go to the NICU. As I watched her I could see that her tiny chest was heaving with each breath. My motherly instincts kicked in and I had a million questions but they would have to wait. Kevin followed as they wheeled Brooke away to the NICU. My Mom and MIL came in to visit, they hold Brenna and then left to see Brooke in the NICU. About an hour later my room was ready and they wheeled me to the NICU so I could see Brooke first. She was surrounded by small cords and had an iv. It was hard for me to see her this way. I finally got to hold her for the first time. I felt a whirlwind of emotions holding both of my girls for the first time, I realized that things are never the way you picture them to be. I was extremely exhausted, sleep deprived and consumed with these sweet little babies that were mine.

Water Babies

We're all ready Mom!
Brenna walking!
Brenna loved riding the whale.
Brooke searching for more diseased birds to chase after.

Today we went to the Tempe Beach Splash Park for the first time. My friend Makele and her daughter Keira came with us and we all had a lot of fun playing in the water. I couldn't get very many good pictures of the girls because they kept walking in different directions. Yes, Brenna is walking, thus I lost the bet:( Brooke kept running away from the water and towards some nasty birds that were in the grass nearby. She loves any kind of furry moving creature.Unfortunately they don't quite understand the concept of hot concrete on their bare feet, and they had to learn the hard way. All in all the girls had a fun time and we will definitely have to go there again!