Week in Pictures

Its been a few days since I've had a spare second to pick up the computer and actually turn it on...there have been days when I've had the computer in hand and never completed the "sit down, turn on & use" process...I've had one, or BOTH kids hungry, needing diaper change, or just wanting to cuddle with momma -
So while they are both swinging away in the "magic swings" (listed in previous post!! - they really are magic) I can keep you all up to date with a few pictures as to what has been going on in our world!

 We all know how hard it was on my mom (Gma Janet) to retire....here she is changing Layla's  #2 diaper on her "former" desk...take that employment ;)

 Last week we had major storms in our area...The Miles' decided to make it a "Storm Party" at Gma & PaPa's house...here is daddy chillin with his babies! Jax is rockin the diaper and no clothes look!

 Friday we headed to Coulterville to meet up with some family that were only in town for the weekend...Callie wanted to take a picture of us all by her self....ok ok I helped a little!

"Princess Danielle" with her new friend Julie checking out Layla

All in all we have had a busy week!  But hey it's SUMMER! We are enjoying every second!!

We're not in Kansas anymore!

Well like everyone in Missouri & Illinois today we had to duck and cover for the storm. We spent the day at moms and decided to ride the storm out over here. A hour in the basement and a few lost limbs later we survived! Our house across town on the other hand is without power...looks like the miles'4 will be holding a slumber party at Gma & Papa Gerlach's.

We drove over by the house to check things out and wow was there damage on Market street.(across from auto-zone for those of you familiar with town)a HUGE tree down across the highway....but before it fell it took power lines down along the way! Translation...no power all around the area INCLUDING Wal-Mart,McDonald's,and everything out that end of town....crazy!

I will post pictures of our tornado party as soon as I get a chance!

Stay safe out there tonight is looking to bring more storms!

Pic of the day -

With all of the graduations going on this time of year - I thought I would share with you all a little graduation we had here at our house.... the tearjerker.....


Ms. Layla has officially BUSTED out of her "newborn" clothes - including this sleeper!  

Hope this made you smile today!!

Weekend Recap

Saturday 
Date Night!

Stephen scored some amazing Tim McGraw tickets for Saturday night - Where did the kids go you ask? They had a slumber party at Gma Patti & Papa Marks (Miles).  Since we brought the babies home over 2 months ago they have slept fairly well! 
9pm - bedtime bottle
-sleep-
1am - midnight bottle
-sleep-
5am  (or so)-breakfast bottle


These babies are pretty regimented.....Layla was unaffected by the change of scenery at Gma&PaPa's she slept like a log...Jax on the other hand slept until 11pm and was up ready to party!!  Poor thing...and even more Poor Gma & PaPa who were up all night.


Now about the concert - Tim McGraw was amazing!! The Band Perry & Luke Bryant were his opening acts and they were great too!
We actually bought chairseats at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater for fear of rain...and Im glad we did... although the rain stayed away it would have been tough to find a seat on the lawn - the place was PACKED!!


To open the show Tim came right in the middle of the crowd and sang a few tunes!

We had a great time on our first official "Date Night" after babies! and we are so THANKFUL to have so many family members willing to drop everything and watch the babies so Mommy & Daddy can keep our sanity! 


Sunday
We picked the babies up and had a lazy day - I woke up with Layla on my chest sacked out...looked over at Stephen holding Jax...BOTH sacked out...even Diesel the dog was out!


Maybe Jaxon partying it up at Gma &Papa's was a good thing ...last night both L&J slept from 9pm-4:30am...for all you parents out there you know my elation with this long sleeping span! For all you non-parents think of me when you wake up well rested every morning!  But I definitely would not trade it for the world!! 


Well were off to grab some much needed lunch! Enjoy the day - 

Sleepy - Rainy Thursday

Daddy worked last night so he is sleeping.....Jaxon & Layla didn't want to miss out on snuggle time with Daddy they are sleeping....

My loves!

Now its time for this momma to get some stuff done around here!!

End of an Era

This week wraps up an Era at Sparta High School - My parents Roger & Janet Gerlach are retiring. They both have touched so many lives both in the classroom and on the field/floor as dad has over 1,000 career coaching victories in Volleyball, Football, Softball, Baseball, Boys & Girls Basketball. Love him or hate him the man can coach! Sparta High School will most definitely not be the same!

I can speak for myself and my sisters Kelly Gerlach & Katie Gerlach and say we are lucky to have parents that are so inspiring - They have taught us how to excel in the face of adversity...making us realize not everyone will agree or even LIKE you at times but if you know who you are and know you are doing the right thing good things will happen! We definitely would not be the people we are today without them!! Love you guys!!

I know there will be a bit of adjusting but we will have an AMAZING Summer filled with lots of trips ;)...and both of you will have a seamless transition into "retirement babysitting" next fall!! 

Love you guys more then you will EVER Know!

Thanks for being wonderful parents and fantastic GRANDPARENTS!!

 PaPa, Gma & Jaxon

PaPa, Gma & Layla Jo

Much Love

Abbey, Stephen, Jax & Layla!

Weekend Recap

Where to start.....The weather was BeAuTiFuL Friday  - We have two babies that LOVE being outside.

Relaxing before a BUSY weekend!!

This weekend we celebrated with Aunt Katie on her Graduation from College.  Saturday morning we loaded up the car and headed to Cape for the Graduation Ceremony.  We had NO idea what we were in for....2 1/2 hours later the Graduation was FINALLY over...whew!  At one point I believe everyone of my family members were nodding off -

Jax VERY interested in the ceremony ;)

but after 1,100 graduates and a 35 min. speech we were FREE!

So proud of Aunt Katie!!

Before leaving Cape we headed to Logan's Roadhouse for a good meal with the family!

After a LONG day - we headed home ....J&L were so good all day I was sure they would make it up to me during the night....and boy did they ever!  When all was said and done Jaxon slept from 9pm-12am...and then was ready to party!  

We had Katie's Graduation party Sunday afternoon - we all had a good time and the cake was FANTASTIC!  Absolutely not on my diet (more info on my next post...I will definitely need all of your support to lose this 50lbs - thanks to J&L)

Emily holding "Baby Girl" for the first time!

 Hope you all had a good weekend  - Enjoy the beautiful weather!

Growing babies!

We weighed the twins last night at 8wks 3days drum roll please................

Jaxon     

10lbs 11oz.-22 in.

(5lb 7oz. - 18 in.)birth wt.  

Layla      

 12lbs - 19 in.

(6lbs 4oz. - 19 1/2in.)birth wt.

Lets just say they are not missing any meals! ;)

 Getting ready for Daddy's Birthday Party

Chillin' after a long day!

Happy Birthday Stephen

Things have been crazy busy around here the last few days...yesterday I had a dr. appt  - that was my BIG outing alone with the babies!  (Stephen worked Tuesday night so he NEEDED sleep yesterday morning!!) Jaxon & Layla were great at the Dr. it was the trip to Target that took them over the edge!  After feeding them "appetizer" bottles in the cart at the same time  - I checked out.  I ended up sitting in the back seat of my car double fisting bottles.  Whew! O the things I've learned in 8 short weeks!  Once "freak-out #1 and #2 were over we were on our way back home!  They were passed out before we got back on the highway!

Well today is the day - Stephens BIG 27th Birthday!  Yes...yes I will always be at least a year older then him and believe me he reminds me of that simple fact ALL THE TIME! aghh

Well we're having a birthday party this afternoon so I better get to cleaning my house - When people tell you how much of a wreck your house gets with a baby...First of all they are telling the truth - MULTIPLY that by 2 - I need a few DAYS to pick up ooopppppps

Take care and enjoy the BeAuTiFuL weather!!

My Mother's Day Gift

Yesterday was my very first Mother's day...it was a CrAzY day - When the dust settled I had a chance to play with my Mother's Day gift.  It is so much fun!  Stephen, Jax & Layla gave me a Kodak Playsport handheld videocamera.

It is so easy to use and small enough to throw in my purse.  It is made essentially for a video camera but also has a camera feature - I have only had it 2 days but have taken such fun videos - of bathtime, our nightly walk with the fam, and lots silly stuff in between!

Mothers Day Weekend Recap

Whew what a weekend - My very first Mothers Day and it was WONDERFUL! Jaxon & Layla were the best mothers day gift I could have ever received this past year.  Every day they change and every day we love them more and more.

(Miles Family - Mothers Day 2011)

Lets see ...what a crazy weekend- it always seems we go weeks and never have ANY plans or places to be and low and behold this weekend I felt we were stretched in a million different directions.  Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL day!  We went on a poker run for Aunt Linda and the "Mueller Maniacs."  Had a great time with Ben & Jessie touring the FINE establishments of Southern Illinois lol.  Saturday evening the benefit continued with a concert by Midnight Run - Like most Miles/Mueller family events the 3 Amigos were back in action.  Aimz, Jess and myself always have a great time together!!

Where were the twins you ask....spending the day/evening with Gma Janet & Papa Rog I think a good time was had by all!!

I guess Jaxon and Layla wanted to give me a mothers day gift  - and let mommy and daddy sleep! They slept until 4:30am.  It felt like I had slept an eternity!! It was a good thing because today was a BUSY day.  We had Mothers Day lunch with my mom, it is always fun to get to eat and hang out with the family!

After lunch we were headed to party #2 Miss Maddies 13th Birthday party - I can not believe she is a TEENAGER!  She is such a cool kid I wish we all lived closer and we could all get together more often...(and maybe hire her to babysit ;)

 I must share my LoVe for purses and accessories with her! It is so much fun to shop for her these days!!

Layla enjoying the party with Aimz - and Jr. hammin' it up in the background!

On to Party #3....we drove to Carterville to celebrate Danielle's 5th Birthday!  Gma Patti & Papa Mark bought Danielle, Callie, Layla & Jax outfits to match on a special occasion - and guess what this was it! They all looked Soooooooooooo cute!  I have a feeling this will not be the last time all 4 cousins match!

It was such a beautiful day and great Princess Party!  Danielle opened a ton of gifts and was playing on the playground until her bangs were stuck to her face!! That is always a sign of a good day - On a 5yr. old its cute on a 28 year old its not so much lol  At one point in the afternoon Danielle told me she was a burnt as toast ...I love that girl she is so funny!!

Wish we weren't so busy and could have spent more of the day at EACH party but there is only so much time in the day!!

And now as Im typing this we have given both babies a bath, a bottle and had snuggle time. They are currently sleeping in their cribs! Shhhhhh I find myself typing a bit more quiet these days

Now I have a bit of momma time...the shower is calling my name!

Happy Mothers Day to all the mommys out there - it was a special day for me!

Mom-to-be Must Have

Love these things! They are MaGiC!
The Graco Sweetpeace "Cuddly Bear" swing is amazing!! It has

• 6 speeds, 
• several soothing sounds, 
• vibration in the seat and 
• even a Ipod jack! 

Just when you think it couldn't get any better ...the seat can be taken off and our Graco car seat pops right in! After a long car ride resulting in sleeping babies we set the car seats on the swing and waaa-la the sleep fest continues!

we got ours from wal-mart.com
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Graco-Sweetpeace-Newborn-Soothing-Center-in-Cuddly-Bear/13227373

Im convinced this swing is a MUST for new moms..especially MoMs (mothers of multiples)

Love these kids!

 Layla Jo

Jaxon

Looking at these two I dont know how you could have a bad day!  

Have fun on your "new adventure" Aunt Kelly & Uncle Ben

We Will Miss You!
We took this picture to document how much Jaxon & Layla will have grown the next time they see their Aunt Kelly & Uncle Ben -

 Well they are off!  - Kelly and Ben (Dexter & Mosley) took off for there new jobs in Washington D.C.

 Good luck, have fun and get ready for visitors!!

New to the blog scene - just getting started!

I've been meaning to create a blog since my twins were born (March15, 2011)... but considering it took me weeks to finally get motivated - should give you a little insight on the craziness that is having newborn twins!

Yes, in fact life is much more crazy then it was 2 short months ago, but we would not trade it for the world.  Jax & Layla are amazing.  We could spend hours just watching them both.  At 7 weeks old (Tuesday) they change and grow every day.

I am starting this blog more as a journal of the first few years of J & L's life - (somewhat like a wal-mart list...If I dont write stuff down I usually forget) But also I want to give Aunt Kelly & Uncle Ben a way to keep up on the twins from their new home in Washington D.C.  You guys havent left yet and Jax & Layla miss you SOOO much already!  Hope you are ready for visitors in the next month or so!!

We are headed out for Kelly & Ben's birthday party today - should be a good time with family before their big MOVE! :(

much love