Akens Family: April 2013

Life is crazy, hectic, and wonderful here in the Akens household! The twins are getting so big and are really starting to laugh and even jabber some. It's crazy how fast this is going. I know I say that all the time, but I feel as though they were newborns for such a short amount of time. They have grown so fast! It makes me happy and sad all at the same time. I love each new phase and joys that come with each new thing that they do. I also love that slowly we are getting in more of a routine at night. But I am also sad because a part of me will always miss those first few days of life. I love newborns! Except for the no sleep part...otherwise I think their tiny, precious bodies are so amazing! I say I miss those first few days of life because I think that sometimes Moms are sort of robbed of the ability to enjoy them because of how exhausted we are. At least that's how I feel. Good Lord....I don't think I slept for days after they were born. Every time I feel like I am at my breaking point, or when I am so tired that my eyes literally sting...I think to myself...these times will be a memory far faster than I can imagine. I look at Scout bouncing off the furniture or sitting at the kitchen table coloring just as vigorously as she can (she does pretty much everything with a sense of urgency) , and I say "gosh, it seems like she was the twins age like yesterday!" When I say to Kris "we will miss these baby days" he always laughs and says " I won't miss the lack of sleep!" I guess I won't miss that part either, but something tells me that one day, a day that will come way too quickly I'm afraid, he will look at his baby girls only they won't be baby girls...they will be going to prom, or leaving for college, or walking down the aisle, and he will long for these sleepless days. I know I will. So whenever the exhaustion attempts to get the best of me...I remember...it won't be like this for long. I just want time to go slower sometimes. Is that too much to ask?

I fall in love with these two more and more every day. Especially the more their personalities come out. Colton loves for you to talk to him and he tries to talk back. He loves cartoons, especially Mickey Mouse and Bubble Guppies. For whatever reason he gets real excited about those two shows. I think its the bright colors and the music. He can be pretty mellow most of the time, but he has a temper too! I never would have thought that he would be the one with the temper but so far I would say he gives Scout a run for her money. Colton has recently started following me with his eyes everywhere. He will almost break his neck to find me in a room. I love it! He has a devilish grin and I think he is going to be a lot of fun. He and I spent some lengthy time in the ER recently. He was projectile vomiting one day so I took him to the ER so they could test him for Pyloric Stenosis. Thankfully he doesn't have it! It's not an extremely serious thing, but it would have required surgery asap. I didn't think he had it since he has been gaining weight but we needed to be sure. He does, however, have some pretty bad gastroesophogeal reflux. He will hopefully grow out of it, but for now we just have to feed him less, more frequently, and keep him sitting upright after feedings for a while. This seems to help, but he still spits up. As long as he continues to gain weight and doesn't seem uncomfortable we should be ok. What's a few extra changes of clothes right? Anyway, we spent 8 hours in the ER at Cooks. I got home at 2:30 AM and had to be up for work at 5 AM . It was a LOOONG day to say the least. He seems ok though and I am thankful that his belly looked normal on the x-ray and sonogram. I told Kris that while being in the ER with only one baby I realized how easy it is to only have one baby to take care of. Don't be offended Mothers of one, I know having one baby is a lot of work...trust me...I know...but after having two babies and a two year old...man...just having one is a lot easier then I remember :) It was a little weird though. I missed the other two, but it was nice spending some one on one time with my boy, even if it was in the ER.

Abby has such a sweet soul. She smiles constantly and she is only typically fussy when she is tired, hungry, or wants to see someone. She likes to know your around :) She can be crying or fussing but as soon as you start talking to her, she lights up! She has the sweetest smile! I love it! Her cheeks!! Oh her cheeks are the best! I could kiss them all day! She has crystal blue eyes and her hair is getting thicker and I think it's going to be very blonde like Scouts. Colton's hair is falling out and getting lighter so I'm not sure what his will end up looking like. We also aren't sure what color his eyes are going to be. In some lights they are dark blue, in some lights they are dark gray, and in the middle they have flecks of brown. He and Abby really couldn't look more different considering they are twins. They have really started to notice each other and one of my favorite things they do is when you lay them down next to each other sometimes they hold hands. It's precious! I feel so blessed to be their Momma. They are absolute joys and they have made me realize I can multi-task in ways I never thought possible!

Scout is also growing and changing every day! Well growing in maturity that is. She is still tiny and is wearing many of the shorts she wore last summer (18-24 months) She has gotten taller but she only weighs 28 pounds. Not that it's shocking she is so small. She eats all the time but the.girl.just.doesn't.stop! Her energy I swear is unparalleled to anything I have ever witnessed. My family says I was the exact same way when I was her age. My Dad says I didn't get the nickname "fireball" as a child for no reason. Every time I talk to my Mom or Dad about how Scout wears me out with her constant energy, they really don't give me much sympathy! Ha! She is great with the twins and she calls them "her babies". When we go places she will say to a complete stranger "see my babies". Her personality cracks us up! Also...she repeats everything. This has been a lesson for Kris and I. I don't know if she is going to be an athlete but she certainly has the endurance. Yesterday she was begging the neighbors to race her but they were busy playing so they told her to race her shadow...so she did...for about 20 minutes. She has also learned how to be a little manipulative. I don't know where she learned this but when she gets in trouble she will say "but mom, your my best friend" or if Kris gets on to her she will say "Daddy, I love you". Little stinker! She has also recently had issues with whining, which is apparently very typical for her age. It drives us crazy though! Its not every day...but enough that she gets sent to her room a couple times a day usually. Other than that she is a lot of fun and I love talking to her and watching her imagination run wild. She comes up with some funny things!

As far as the rest of our life goes...Kris and I are both pretty busy with our jobs and then we are always busy at home...so not a lot of down time. Life is good though. We are very blessed. I am 8 weeks post knee surgery. I go back to the Dr. next week so I will update on how he says I am doing. I have started hitting the gym pretty hard at least 3 times a week. I am finally starting to see some results...slowly...but until I can do everything I want to do like squats, lunges, sprints,...I don't know that I will get the results I want. I am attempting to go about 70-80% paleo too. Meaning I am limiting my sugar, bread and grains significantly. This is a challenge for sure but I really want to get to the healthiest, fittest, version of me and lets face it...what worked 5-10 years ago doesn't work anymore. The days of eating what I want and just simply running it off is in the past. As I age I have to be more conscious of what I eat. It's a work in progress but Kris and I have both made pretty drastic changes in the last couple years. Not that we don't cheat and enjoy bad foods, we just do it pretty rarely these days. Kris has lost 15-20 pounds since Christmas. Anyway...we are getting there.

I will end with a ton of pictures I have taken over the last couple months, including Easter pics. If you just click on the first picture and make it bigger it's a lot easier to just scroll though them that way. Hope everyone is having a blessed day!