Football and Turkey

Saturday, December 20

Devyn and Kinley are 18 months old now. I don't know where the time goes! I'd say they've changed a bit over the past year!

1/2 Birthday!

One year ago

November was a busy month for the Marsh Family. We traveled to Atlanta for the annual Marsh Family Football Trip, enjoyed Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Bjerke, and found out the gender of our two new additions due in April. 

Devyn Marie, 18 months

Devyn is still our wild child! She loves to climb and has now learned how to come down the stairs by herself. It's her favorite thing to do right now, aside from torturing her sister. She is into everything, and knows exactly what she is NOT supposed to play with, so naturally those are the things she prefers. Even though I have a gate around it, our Christmas tree has a big bare spot in the middle where she has so politely un-decorated it. Although she can easily make her desires known, she still isn't saying much. She will repeat "Momma," but that's about it. 

    

Kinley Grace, 18 months

Kinley has made some great improvements over the past few weeks! She is finally able to army crawl, so she can get herself around a bit better than just rolling. Her physical therapist has prescribed braces, much like those Devyn wore to straighten her club feet. She will be getting these in the coming weeks. The goal of the braces will be to keep her heal flexed to lengthen the muscles and tendons in her legs and ankles. Her brain condition causes a lot of tightness in her muscles, which makes standing very difficult for her. Kinley loves to "talk." Her favorite word is still "No," but she also says Momma, Dadda, tickle, and uh-oh.   

World of Coca-Cola

Atlanta, GA

We had a blast in Atlanta on the Marsh Family Football Trip! We visited the World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, and best of all...watched the Browns beat the Falcons! 

Daddy and Devyn tried to break into the vault that stores the only written copy of the Coca-Cola recipe--they did not succeed. Then, they headed to the tasting room to try Coke products from all over the world. I hope he was giving her caffeine-free sips!

Waiting for our Coca-Cola adventure to begin. Daddy with Kinley, and Devyn with Uncle Curtis.  

After Coca-Cola World, we headed over to the Georgia Aquarium. Kinley slept through much of it, but we still had a great time!

 Grampy with Devyn

 Grammy, Devyn, and Mommy

 When Kinley finally woke up, Daddy took her on a speed-tour to catch her up on everything she'd missed. 

Devyn with Aunt Shannon

Saturday was a fun day of playing tourist, but of course, Sunday means business. The Marsh family travels to watch the Browns play every year, and we've NEVER seen them win.

I was pretty nervous about taking the girls to the game. Devyn doesn't like sitting still, and Kinley absolutely hates loud noises! I figured it would be a disaster....

 Getting ready for the Browns game!

 Turns out...Devyn is a great football fan! The crowds, noise, and lack of leg room didn't bother her one bit. She sat with Grammy pretty much the whole time, and even took a nap during the game!

Kinley, on the other hand, did not enjoy the game very much. No, I wasn't sleeping. I was probably praying that the loud speakers would malfunction. Even with ear plugs in, she spent a lot of time upset about the noise.   

 Our family received an early Christmas miracle...the Browns actually won!

Do we look surprised? Because I think we were....

After returning from the football trip, we had our 18 week ultrasound appointment to find out the genders of our second set of twins (I still can't believe it)! I know we were both hoping for boys, but it turns out we are destined to be surrounded with pink, dolls, and dresses for the rest of our lives.

 Baby A and Baby B (or C and D, as Dadddy calls them) are both girls!

A perfect end to a great month was enjoying Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Bjerke, who came down from Minnesota. It was great to enjoy our annual traditions: big turkey dinner for all, black Friday shopping for Grandma and Mom, and of course a trip to Ethel M Chocolates to load up on chocolate and take a walk around the gardens with thousands of Christmas lights. 

 Family Photo

Grandma and Grandpa Bjerke with the girls

Trick or Treat!

Sunday, November 2

Our cat (Devyn) and mouse (Kinley)!

Happy Halloween! What a fun weekend we had! Devyn and Kinley participated in their first Halloween traditions: first costumes, first trick-or-treating, and first pumpkin carving experience. Grandma Carol bought them their first costumes when she was here last week. I didn't think they would last 5 seconds with those hoods on, but surprisingly they didn't seem to mind at all!

They LOVED trick-or-treating, but not because of the candy. Devyn just loves to walk/run free, so it was all one big adventure to her. And Kinley just enjoyed being out and about, soaking up the sights. Our friends Will and Joelene came with too. I was a tad unprepared and didn't buy any candy buckets, so we had to improvise. Yes, that's Devyn trick-or-treating with a sand/beach bucket:-) 

 The first house....

Success! 

The wrappers probably don't taste as good as the candy. 

Ridin' in style!

 "Where to next, guys?"  -Devyn

Pumpkin carving 

Mom had to do all the work!

We found a pumpkin big enough for them to fit in!

My favorite part of the weekend was the weather. We finally had temperatures that made it feel like fall! 

 I think someone wants to go outside...
OK, off to the park!

 We love to swing!

 It's a workout chasing this young lady around!

How typical...my rule-follower and my rule-breaker. 

Only took me 16 months...but I finally finished the girls' NICU keepsake boxes.

And one more pic just because I love it (and her):

I hope she enjoys doing dishes this much in about 10 years!

Big News!

Sunday, October 26

As most of you already know...the Marsh household has big news! We're pregnant. With twins. Again!!! Yes, I can still hardly believe it myself.

 

Our journey to parenthood was not easy. We spent years trying on our own with no success. We then spent another year or so working with my regular doctor trying out some "low-tech" medical options. Eventually, we ended up working with a fertility specialist to attempt in vitro fertilization. Our first round of in vitro was unsuccessful and completely devastating. We figured that was the end of the road, but our doctor convinced us to give it another try with a slightly different approach. Imagine our surprise when, not only did it work, but it worked almost too well! We ended up with our wonderful twin girls!

Well, if that was a surprise, there are no words to express how shocked we were to find out we were pregnant again. While undergoing fertility testing, we learned that we had almost no chance of conceiving naturally on our own. "Less than a 1% chance," was what the doctor told us. Well, either we hit the baby jackpot, or our doctor was seriously mistaken in his odds, because here they are!

Current Ages: 16 months (although these pictures are much older)

15 weeks (pictures taken at 9.5 weeks)

Due Date: April 18th

 

And just to be clear, we were absolutely NOT trying! Assuming we had basically no chance at conceiving on our own, this possibility was far from our minds. Even when I found out I was pregnant, it took me about a week to get over the shock and to wrap my head around the idea that we would have three children under the age of two.

After hearing a heartbeat in the doctor's office, Justin asked, "There's just one, right?" The nurse laughed and said, "Yes." When the doctor agreed to a quick ultrasound to confirm the gestational age of the baby, I think Justin and I were both just eager to make sure there was just one baby in there. As soon as the ultrasound tech said, "Surprise!" my heart stopped because I knew what she was going to say before she even said, "There are two in there!" I don't recall our exact reactions, but it's safe to say it was pure disbelief. So...make that FOUR children under the age of two. Lord help us!!!

Devyn Marie

Devyn is as wild as ever and constantly keeps us on our toes. She has learned how to climb, so everything from our couch to her activity table has become a jungle gym.

Devyn Fun Facts:

• Weight: about 23 pounds
• Teeth: 6
• Favorite Hobbies: reading books, walking/running, climbing, destroying things, bath time
• Dislikes: sitting still, sharing
• Newest Skill: giving hugs

Kinley Grace

Kinley is doing great with her therapy! She has made a lot of progress over the past few weeks. She now opens her left hand on her own to play with toys and grasp things. The tightness in her left side has lessened allowing her more flexibility in moving. Although she can not get to a seated position by herself yet, her sitting is improving weekly. She practices crawling, kneeling, and standing in therapy and at home.

Kinley Fun Facts:

• Weight: about 20 pounds
• Teeth: 3
• Favorite Hobbies: rolling, waving, watching the baby channel on TV, bath time
• Dislikes: Devyn stealing her toys, loud noises 
• Newest Skill: saying, "No"

Grandma Carol came for a visit last weekend. We took the girls to a pumpkin patch to try to get a few fall photos. It didn't exactly turn out as I had hoped. Devyn spent the entire time literally running around. She did not pause once to look at the train, the petting zoo animals, the rides or any of the other attractions. All she wanted to do was run!  I was so busy chasing her around, I didn't even realize we left the pumpkin patch without a single picture with Grandma!!! Ugh!

Fall Family Photo 

 

 Daddy and Kinley

 

We tried selling these two "Minis" to make room for the next two:-)

A few more photos:

 Devyn found her nose. Gross!
 

 Kinley wore herself out messing up the living room.
 

 A little love from Devyn instead of her usual torture (smacking, squishing, etc.).
 

 Kinley loves to sit up at her activity table!
 

 Devyn figured out the fastest way to get food into her mouth.
 

 Devyn playing in the splash pad. She loved it!
 

 She got a little wet. Poor Kinley didn't get to enjoy it much. I was too busy chasing Devyn around. Next time we'll bring Daddy so everybody can play.
 

"Can I help you, Mom?" -Kinley
 

Kinley gets lots of free rides, although they're a bit dangerous. Devyn runs her into a lot of walls!