Happy Thanksgiving

Bennett and Lila were super excited about their Thanksgiving cookies!

Lila and G

Elise and Aunt Mo

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! Hope you all had a wonderful day filled with good food and family! I am especially thankful that I was well enough to at least eat some of my Mom's awesome food yesterday! YUM!

Obviously, much more importantly, we were feeling especially thankful yesterday for all of our family and friends..it was great to spend time with Grandpa and Virginia, Mo and Phillip, Jared and Erinn, Ms. Ann, Austin, and Shannon, and of course our three very special little pumpkins!

So much to be thankful for...

In other news, our special elf (elf on the shelf) arrived from the North Pole yesterday. Elise named him Red last year, but this year informed David and I that he is actually a she. Hilarious. So, we now have our little elf watching over our munchkins so that she can report back to Santa....

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

3 Little Tigers

Here are the three little ones decked out for the LSU game on Saturday...Too bad the cute outfits didn't bring the Tigers any luck!

Snowman

Not to be outdone by his sister, Bennett modeled his winter hat as well. Luckily I caught perfectly in the second picture his new big camera smile. Whenever he sees that I have my camera out, this is the look I get. These days Bennett is tons of fun...He continues to be a little investigator...always examining things closely to see how they work. He loves to play with push toys, trucks, and trains...He loves Elmo, rocking in his rocking chair or on his horse, and riding in the car. He is really starting to talk alot..some of his most popular words are outside, car, baxter, tiger, lise (elise), lila, bye-bye, and cracker...He gives great hugs and is already a professional flirt! His big bright blue eyes are captivating (I know, I am his Mom)...and although he is a typical boy and rough in many ways, he is also gentle, sensitive, and loving. He has a special bond with his Great Grandpa Ray (one of his namesakes) and when I mention that we are going to visit he gets ecstatic! He makes me smile for a million reasons every day, but one of my favorite things that he does is at bedtime...When we lay him down he lays on his back, stretches out his arms for his monkey, Mozart, and rests his feet up on the side of his crib...then, he just smiles and looks at you with the big eyes and off to sleep...So sweet...

I am pretty behind, so I am going to try to catch up. Aunt Mo is in town and we are so excited! We have had a few sleepless nights around here (night terrors for Elise, and now a touch of a stomach virus) and so I have been a bad blogger...

Will update soon..

Love, Nicole

Little Snow Bunny

If we ever do get some snow this winter, Lila Sue will be ready. I must say she was looking extra cute today in her white minky-dot overalls. I even tried her winter hat on her as we got ready to run a few errands. She was so proud. I hate to categorize my children, but Lila remains the quirkiest and spunkiest one of the three. Everything is an extreme with her...She can be the happiest baby on the planet, but when she is not happy everyone within a 15 square radius knows it. She has the best little giggle I have EVER heard, and loves laughing at her big sis and tickling people. She also loves to hum and sing (right now her favorite tune is ABCs) all of the time, LOVES to be held, and thinks it is hilarious to run away from me when I am trying to change her clothes or diaper (I crack up thinking about her looking over her shoulder at me with a devilish grin as she takes off..then I can see the adorable cellulite on the back of her legs as she runs away!). She takes care of her brother, both by helping him when he needs something (his sippy cup or monkey "mozart"), and by letting him know (unfortunately usually with a hit, push, or bite) when he is bothering her. She is still very into her accessories right now, turning anything and everything with a handle into a purse, and using anything that somewhat resembles a phone to make a call. I love the way she hugs my neck extra tight when she is sleepy, lays her head on my shoulder, and says "ahhhh"....I love my sweet Lila sooo much...life would be way too boring without her!

Learning...

My good friend Casey has one of the sweetest Moms you will ever meet. I love her! She recently replaced her sewing machine and she generously offered me her old one. I was so excited because I have been thinking about trying to sew for a while. She gave me a quick tutorial and showed me how to make this beginner dress (modeled by Elise above) using a t shirt and some fabric. I only had to call Suzanne once and my Mom once to come re-thread the bobbin for me (thanks guys!) and managed to finish up this little project without too much trouble. It is pretty obvious that it is "home-made", but I don't mind at all. Why? Because when I showed it to Elise, and told her that I made it for her, she immediately wanted to put it on and she was so proud of me! Made me feel sooooo good! That is enough to encourage me to keep practicing! Next, I need to make a matching dress for Lila...and then I am going to attempt some pants (no, not in this same flowery material) for Bennett. I have so much free time (haha) I needed another hobby!

On another note, quotable Elise had some more interesting stuff to say last night...We were playing trains and waiting for David to get home from work. Lila and Bennett kept moving the train tracks and taking them apart...I could tell E was very frustrated, but she was actually dealing with it rather well (or so I thought)....A few minutes later she said, "Mom, if we give Lila and Bennett to someone else, can we get a new baby? Lila and Bennett are an experience."

Finally, if you want to feel uplifted today, scroll down and read my update on the "Prayers are Working" post...Good news..prayers continue to work!

Sentimental

David found the following email this morning that I had sent out two years ago today to a few of my best college friends. He introduced it with, "Happy anniversary, of sorts.."

**Ok ya'll. I got some big news yesterday.
I won't beat around the bush. I am pregnant with TWINS!!!!!!!!
I have been really, really, sick and the dr wanted to check me for dehydration and then they ended up doing an ultra sound where they found the culprits!!! I had only recently found out I was pregnant, so we were still getting used to that!!! I am 7.5 weeks along, and there were two heartbeats in two separate sacks, so that is a good sign that the babies (can you believe it??) are doing well. We, of course, feel really blessed and thankful, and admittedly a little overwhelmed...But, I know everything happens for a reason....Just wanted to share our exciting news...Love, Nicole**

I've been thinking about that time two years ago all day long. It is funny, you forget so much about when you are pregnant and about those first few months (especially the bad things), and sometimes it takes something like this to bring it all rushing back...I honestly can remember these days two years ago like they were yesterday! I have never felt so many emotions all at once in my life. But, each time I look back I am overwhelmed with gratitude and am truly humbled by how blessed we were, and continue to be, by our two little monkeys that make us smile every day.

Just this week Bennett has started saying "Lila"...and when one walks out of a room and then back in the other one greets him or her like they haven't seen them in ages! Lila is calling Bennett "BB" or something to that effect, and they are starting to do a little of the "twin talk" that I have heard so much about! Don't get me wrong...this is often in between a wrestling match or a biting war, but the love is there! They both are starting to say "Lise" for Elise...and when I get my keys out they say "car, car and bye, bye"...They are changing so much and doing more and more each day...
I really love this age....

So pretty much my line in the email-- "we , of course, feel very blessed and thankful, and admittedly a little overwhelmed..." -- is still the same way that I feel today...Not ALL that much has changed in the past two years! :)

While I am being sentimental, I'll pass on some pictures...We finally had the "one year" and "three year" pictures taken of the kids that we had paid for long ago...I kept pushing it back waiting for Bennett to walk! I am so glad we waited..I feel like she was really able to capture their personalities...
www.bentzphotography.com/parnell

Miss Myrt

We had a nice walk yesterday evening with Kate and Myrt. Like most social butterflies, Elise never wants the party to end, so she insisted that Kate and Myrt come in and play (I was glad they did too!)...
This picture cracks me up because it looks like Lila is a huge giant compared to Myrt---probably because she is!! There was no editing to this picture. Kate kept trying to make me feel better and said, "it is just b/c Lila was closer to the camera"...well, not THAT much closer!!! I swear her head is 8 times the size of Myrt's and they are only 10 months apart! The kids had so much fun though! Myrt is such a good sport- poor thing was getting kissed and loved on by not only Elise, Lila, and Bennett, but by Baxter as well!



I had to include these other two pictures of Lila and Bennett as they are now starting to pose for the camera! I guess they are finally getting used to taking pics, and now they know to flash their biggest smile when the camera is out!





Hope everyone is having a good week!
Love, Nicole

Quoteable, Part 3 - PG 13 version

So Elise has been on a roll. As Nicole has probably mentioned, every night is a nightmare as far as getting this girl in bed and getting her to stay in bed. Every night she opens the door every 5 minutes to make up some new excuse as to why she should be out of her room. She loves to tell us about needing medicine for her mosquito bites. Last night she opened her door and yelled down to us that Baxter was on the couch and we needed to come get him. He was laying on top of Nicole's legs at the time. We had a laugh at that.
Well, about 10 minutes ago, and there is really no other way to put this (PG - 13 warning), she opened the door and yelled "Dad, I have a mosquito bite on my vagina. I need some spray.". I had trouble breathing and I think Nicole may have actually passed out.
Nicole told me that Elise has been mentioning this body part recently. Yesterday Elise asked Nicole if Nicole had a vagina. Nicole said yes, but Elise said that she didn't think Nicole did because she thought she saw a peanut down there.

I am now officially unable to fathom what will come out of this little girl's mouth.

By the way, if anyone is in the vacinity of Baton Rouge this saturday and can hit the side of a barn with a football pass, please report to Tiger Stadium.

Quotable, Part Two

Yesterday we were having a major "chore" day....Getting caught up on laundry, cleaning bathrooms, lots of fun stuff...David did a great job of entertaining the kids all morning so that I could get a lot accomplished. After naps, Kimberly called to say that she was on her way to the park near our house and wanted to know if she could pick up Elise to play for a little while. Of course, we said yes, and knew she would have much more fun doing that than hanging around the house...Anyway, I am dragging the story out...So, when Kimberly came to drop Elise back off after playing for a while, she told us that Elise said the funniest thing. She was talking and talking to K, and K said, "Elise, you are such a smart little girl...How did you get so smart? Your Mommy or your Daddy?"....Elise replied, "No, Jesus made me this way!"...

You can learn alot from a three year old.

Quotable

Elise and I had a rough night tonight when it came time for her to go to bed. She was trying to stall and stall, and so I finally just picked her up and carried her up the stairs. When I put her in the bed for prayers she looked right at me and said, "Sometimes I wish I just had a Daddy. I don't want you." Now obviously at this point I was fighting back the tears, because even though I know that she doesn't fully understand what she is saying, it still hurts. I told her that we were going to say prayers, but since she wouldn't cooperate I just said prayers of my own (mostly for her, since it seemed she was needing them tonight)....
When I came downstairs, I guess David could tell from the look on my face that something was wrong. I told him what she said, and he just shook his head in disbelief and headed up to her room. She came down a few minutes later and told me she was sorry. I asked her if she understood what she had said, and if she really meant that. She said no. Then I asked her, "Elise, why would you say something like that?"
She paused for a moment. Then looked me in the eyes and said, "Sometimes I just have a bad day."


I laughed! I know it was the completely wrong reaction, but I couldn't help it. She said it with such innocence and such a sweet little face....

10 more years until she is a teenager, and I am nervous already.

Thankful

Thanks to my family and friends I had a great birthday yesterday! I was lucky to spend time with both on my "big" day...Aunt K came over and watched Lila and Bennett so that Elise and I could go vote. She was so excited to help me push the buttons! It was a fun little outing....After that, we loaded everyone up into the car and headed to New Orleans to visit Grandpa and Virginia...







I wish that we could see them more often...the kids love playing with them, and the look on Grandpa's face when he sees them is so touching. He loves to hold "his babies", as he calls them...I don't know if it is that he is a twin himself, or what, but you can definitely tell he feels very sentimental when we are around...I am definitely going to make an effort to get over there at LEAST once a month with the kids...

Last night, my night was topped off with a great sushi dinner with a small group of my closest friends. Thanks to Suzanne for organizing such a fun night out! I was so thankful that we all got to spend a little time together hanging out! And, I LOVE sushi! What a treat!


I am also so grateful for all of the emails and cards, and all of the people that remembered that it was my birthday...So sweet and really means so much! I felt very loved yesterday, and that is a GREAT feeling!
David is taking me out on Friday night, so I must admit I am glad I get to drag out the celebration for a few more days... :)
Too bad birthdays can't come more often! (Although without the aging process??)

Feeling very, very thankful as I turn 32!
Love, Nicole

Prayers are working

Update 11/19-
Email from AC's sister, Memory:
**WOW...I have no idea where to begin...God is so amazing... Yesterday, AC went into surgery to fix what they could of the TTTS...there was a 1/100 chance her babies could have another RARE problem...and they did...Little Baby had no attachment to placenta other than what she shares with Big Sister. Separating all that connected them to fix TTTS would have ended Little Baby's life immediately. AC and Whitt chose to give Little Baby a chance, they want their girls. Dr. Quintero had only seen this case 12 times before. So he did Super Selective Laser surgery, and Little Baby now has one blood vessel connected to the placenta she shares with Big Sister. Big Sister had too many blood vessels causing strain on her heart, so he "took" some away (total lack of better term) from her. 24 hours pass, and we have 2 heartbeats, Little Baby's amniotic fluid has increased a bit, both dopplers are normal (which had been severly irregular), and no punctured membrane . Dr Quintero believes the babies are co dependent on each other, and had they lasered all vessels to save Big Sister, they would probably have no babies today. I praise God for the wisdom He gave both she and Whitt through their decision making process. HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD???? Needless to say, this is a day by day pregnancy, but we are convinced we will see these Wilson girls in the near future...To see how God has brought them through thier first 18 weeks makes me excited for the plans He has for thier lives... I NEVER THOUGHT I COULD BE SO ATTACHED TO 18 WEEK OLD BABIES!!!!! Ready for some names so they can be other than Little baby and Big Sister!!! Dr Quintero says he learned a lot from this surgery, and thinks he may understand more now...Digest that for a minute...God has used Amy Catherine's girls to teach him something!!!! I am so blessed to have a sister who praises God in the midst of such a terrible confusing storm...She has never once asked why, but only asked for prayers, and as of today, we know God has blessed her greatly. Keep praying...day by day, it is working! Thanks...Memory**




**I am in Tampa and have been at the hospital all day running tests and meeting with the doc. I am so happy that I don't even know where to begin. First of all, I have several signs of TTTS but it is not severe enough to be diagnosed as TTTS. This is great news b/c there is a 30% chance that I will walk this fine line, but never actually be diagnosed with the problem. There is also a 30% chance that I will develop TTTS in the next few weeks and come back to Tampa for surgery. And there is a 30% chance the smaller baby will develop growth restriction. I will explain all of that later, but only if I have to. Right now we just need to continue to pray that we remain in the 30% chance that we are okay just the way we are. We still have some issues with the babies, but at this point all we have to do is monitor them weekly until birth. I have several praises right now 1) praise the Lord for healing these babies 2) praise the Lord for healthy babies 3) praise the Lord for a successful trip to Tampa. 4) Pray that God will continue to watch over these babies for the remainder of the pregnancy. Can you believe all of the miracles God has already blessed us with???? The power of prayer ........ and I have all of you to thank. God is good! We are planning on coming home tomorrow and I will probably see my high-risk OB on Monday. I will keep you posted.

Love, love, love,
ac**

Yeah! The prayers are being answered!!!
What blessings....

I will post later about how my friends and family made my birthday a special one yesterday.
Thanks to all of you!
Love, Nicole

Prayer Request

I recieved the following email from a very close friend this morning, and I would just ask that you all keep this family in your prayers. Obviously stories like this just remind me how blessed I was with my twin pregnancy..I am feeling extra thankful today for my healthy ones as I pray for Amy Catherine and their two girls...I have only met her a handful of times, but I can't get her out of my head this morning..Please say extra prayers...
Love,Nicole

**Hey All...Just wanted to ask that you remember my sister, her husband Whitt, and Ava this week. For those who do not know...Amy Catherine is pregnant with identical twin girls and has been having pretty major complications...Over the past several weeks, she has been through much testing and has now been diagnosed with something called Twin to Twin transfusion...It is a complication where one twin basically takes all nutrients from one, causing harm on both...I will not go into details, but please see below email she sent earlier tonight.They are having surgery in utero (sp??) this week by a specialist in Tampa Florida. It has been done several times, but is still considered "experimental", and we have been told this is the only way to save either baby. There are definite success stories, but they will not know the extent of the TTTS until she is in surgery. We have been so blessed to see God's hand through this whole experience, and do not expect Him to quit hearing us now..."And we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will." 1 John 5:14
Thanks so much...mem**

Geaux Tigers

Kimberly and Ella invited Elise and I to a "girls night out" on Saturday night...location- TIGER STADIUM! Now, please don't compare my post to David's earlier and very touching account of taking Elise to her first LSU game. I definitely cherish any one on one time I have with her, but I cannot say that our trip to Tiger Stadium had as deep a meaning to me as it did to him....I was just thrilled to spend time with Elise and with the Barrois girls...We rarely finish any conversations we start because Kimberly is usually chasing Camille and I am trying to keep up with Lila and Bennett! In addition, it was soooo neat to watch how excited Elise was to be there and how tuned in she really is to all that is going on! Yes, girls love football too!

The girls singing along on the road trip to Baton Rouge...Erinn gave Elise, Lila, and Bennett these ADORABLE tiger shirts, so we lent one to Ella so that the girls could be "twins" for a day!



Dancing by Mike the Tiger's cage...



Looking for alligators!!! (We tried to tell them that Mike doesn't share his house with alligators, but they seemed determined to find one...)



Ella and Kimberly....



Elise cheering for the Tigers!



The funniest thing to me about the night was that their is apparently something in the air in "Death Valley" that makes Elise want to EAT! She tends to not really be concerned with food, and her brother and sister are basically the same size as her! So, I was thrilled when she ate an ENTIRE tiger dog (I know, not the healthiest!! But, hey- protein!) and some dippin dots ice cream! The highlight of her night was the Sprite..we only let her have it on "special" occasions and so she was thrilled!

My little girl is growing up sooo fast! I am so thankful for a fun night with her that hopefully we will both remember for a long time!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Love, Nicole

Happy Halloween

Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep...

And doesn't know where to find them...

Leave them alone, and they'll come home....

Wagging their tails behind them....