New York, New York

My mom and I took a trip to New York this past weekend. The trip came in to being when mom and I were both saying we really wanted to go somewhere and take a little vacation. I had never been to New York so that's how it got started. This was my first time to be away from the babies overnight. Leaving was the hardest part, but once we got to New York I had a lot of fun. And for the first time in 5 months I got a full night's sleep! (Although I did wake up one night thinking I heard a baby crying!) We saw two Broadway shows-- Wicked and The Lion King. They were both great, but Wicked was my favorite. We saw the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Wall Street, Canal Street, 5th Avenue, and Times Square. The Tony Awards were at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday so we tried to go to the red carpet and spot famous people. But it was too crowded, and we couldn't really see anything. It was supposed to be a 4 day trip but turned in to a 5 day trip when our flight home was cancelled. I lost it when we were told our flight home had been cancelled due to weather because I was so ready to get home and see my babies. But we left very early the next morning and were home by 10 a.m. And yes, Brent did keep the babies while I was gone. He did a great job and only called me once needing something (he couldn't find the extra wipes.) He's a great daddy!

A few of my favorite pics

Maddox hanging out while daddy does yard work.
I had the babies laying on the floor next to each other and when I came back in the room Maddox had grabbed a hold of Addison's hand. How precious is that?
This was a couple of nights ago during the rainstorm. They sat and watched it for an hour!
Maddox is getting a lot of hair. I don't know if you can tell, but it's in a mohawk here. This was after bath time.

Addi eating rice cereal. She is not quite as in to it as Maddox.
This was her sleeping the other night. She had a lovey under each arm.
This was the first time I put Maddox in the Bumbo. He did this the whole time. It was hilarious.
This was the baby dedication at church.
Maddox enjoying his rice cereal.

I know I said this on my last post, but the babies are so much fun and so precious! Addison has been sleeping through the night now for one week. She is going 12 hours through the night! Hallelujah! Now we just need to work on Maddox. They go to bed around 8 and Maddox is up sometime between 3 to 5 for a feeding. Then he usually sleeps until 8. I know that is still so great. But don't be fooled by the one feeding. I am still getting up at least 5 times a night to put pacifiers back in or to try and hold Maddox off until it's time to eat. I have had to let him cry it out a few times already. I love them both so much and am treasuring every day with them.

4 months old

Maddox and Addison turned 4 months old on May 14th! I can't believe it. Time is going by too quickly. They are getting to be so much fun. Addison will giggle when you play peek-a-boo with her and if you tickle her at just the right spot on her neck. Maddox will giggle when you sing "If you're happy & you know it, say Amen" and then raise his arms up in the air. He also likes the part of the song where you sing "then your face will surely show it" and I put his hands on his cheeks. He is also ticklish on his neck. It's so fun to see them get their personalities. Addison is still the easy and calm one (like her mommy, of course) and Maddox is the temperamental one (like his daddy, of course).

Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day was great! I felt so special knowing that I am the mom of these two precious babies.

It was a rough week, but we're recovering now!

Well, last week was a rough one. Maddox got really sick last Sunday, and it has kind of lingered on even up until now. Then Brent got some kind of stomach bug on Wednesday and is still not feeling well. Maddox has been super fussy and clingy and I had been doing everything by myself because I didn't want Brent to get near them. Also the babies are still not sleeping through the night, and I was trying to let them set their own schedule. So a typical night had begun to look like this: Put the babies down for bed around 8:30, Addison would get up at 2:30, Maddox would get up at 4, Addison would get up at 5:30, Maddox would get up at 6:30, Addison would get up at 7:15, Maddox would be up by 8! Sounds fun, doesn't it? Needless to say the sleep deprivation had been getting to me, and I had just started feeling overwhelmed. Then on Friday night Jenny and Carrie (Conway small group girls) called and said they wanted to come down and keep the babies while Brent and I did something. That was exactly what I needed. Since they are both mothers, I asked their advice and they really helped. Since then we have turned a new page! Friday night the babies went to bed by 9, and Brent got up with them at 3:30 and then I was up with them by 7:15. Saturday night they went to bed at 8:30 and slept until 5:30!!! Yes, that is 9 hours straight! Then they were up by 8:30. Last night they were in bed by 8:15 and woke up at 4:15 (8 hours) and then were up by 8:15. I feel like a new woman. So I'm going to hold them to this new schedule since I know they are capable of it. But here are some recent pics and a video of Maddox giggling! They are growing up so fast and are just so precious.

Maddox James

Maddox and Addison turned 3 months old on April 14th. Maddox is my cuddle bug. If he had it his way he would be held 24 hours of the day. Thankfully his sister seems to be understanding of this. :) He loves to eat. It's hard to believe he started out at 5 pounds, 5 ounces and today he weighs 12 pounds, 10 ounces! Even though he was 6 weeks premature, he has about outgrown his 3 months clothes. He's very smiley and is trying really hard to talk these days. One of the funny things he does is if he starts crying while he's not being held and you go to pick him up, his lip will quiver while you are getting him from wherever he is to yourself (very dramatic!) He (and Addison) love hanging out on the changing table. I have hung these little toys from their mirror, and they love looking at them and trying to talk to them. Maddox also loves the swing, but he's not that into the bouncy seat. He likes floor time but does not like tummy time. He loves it when I sing "Silent Night" or any made up song that is in a high pitch. He also likes it when I play and sing a silly version of "The Hokey Pokey." One of the cutest things he does is snuggle up to his "lovey" (lion blankie, see above picture). He reached a major milestone last night-- he slept 7 hours!!! So I am hoping for more of that. I love this little man so much!

Addison Blakely

Addison is already Miss Independent. There are many times when she'll be crying or upset and if I just lay her down she's fine. She has the sweetest smile and looks at me with the most adoring eyes. She already has the most beautiful eyelashes, and she is my little princess. She doesn't eat quite as much as her brother, and it shows by her little body. She is definitely still wearing her 0-3 months clothes and probably will be for a little while longer. She weighed 4 pounds, 6 ounces when she was born and today she weighs 10 pounds, 3 ounces. She could spend at least 10 minutes (which is a lot for any one activity) lying on the changing table and smiling at me (or whoever for that matter) and looking at her little toys. She also loves hanging out in her bouncy seat. She's not that into the swing. She likes her floor mat, and she bats at the toys hanging down. She, like her brother, does not like tummy time. She likes it when I sing "You Are My Sunshine", and she loves patty cake. The funniest thing she does right now is right before she sneezes she lets out a loud WAH and you think she's going to start crying. It's hilarious! I love my sweet girl so much! I can't wait to see what the next 3 months hold.

Happy Easter!

Addi with Brent's mom

Makes my heart melt!

Our new family
Everyone (except Brent)
All the girls and two boys

We had a great Easter this year with the 3 new additions to the Tapson family. We went to church with Brent's parents then had lunch and a Easter egg hunt with my family. Notice that Brent is missing from the big family picture. That's because he had tickets to the NCAA tournament and he had to leave before everyone got there.

The Greatest Thing Ever!

Maddox always does this with his hands. We say he's praising the Lord!
Maddox looked so cute in this shirt. This is one of daddy's favorite pictures.
Addison always does the cutest things with her hands when is sleeping. She is just precious!

Another cute picture of Addi!
This was taken at Mimi and Pops (great grandparents) house.

I had been getting little grins at random times from the babies, but Brent did not believe me. On Monday my mom came over and she really got Maddox going, so I ran and caught it on the video part of my digital camera (that's why the picture is kind of dark). Brent was so jealous he wasn't here! :) (Note: The smiling part occurs within the first 40 seconds or so.)

Meet Preston and More Pics of the Babies

Maddox's and Addison's cousin was born 3 weeks after they were. Here is a picture of the cutie (top pic)! Here are also some newer pictures of the babies. They turned 8 weeks old on Monday and are doing great. They have started sleeping for one 5 hour stretch at night. That has been really good, and I feel like I finally have a feeding system down. It is now under 1 hour! They are just precious and so much fun.