Penny and Isaak at Play

It's been a while since there was an update on the munchkins. Chalk that up to being insanely, crazily busy at all times.

ALL. Times.

For now, let it suffice to say that Penny and Isaak are doing great, running us ragged, running their preschool teachers ragged, and being 100% 2 years old. I hope to have more pics and highlights up in the not too distant future (hopefully not 6 months or more!).

Ollie's Park

This post won't be long, but I thought I'd take a moment to highlight something that means a lot to us. My parents live in, and my Dad is the Operations Manager of, a community called Powder Horn Mountain outside of Deep Gap, NC. It's in a beautiful spot in the northern mountains. During the many (but at the same time, far too few) days of Ollie's Tale and the early, terrifying, days of the twins, many of the members of this community were incredibly supportive with time, effort, money and love. They supported us and even more so they provided love and care for my parents (and still do).

Not long after Oliver passed away, it was decided to name the playground at Powder Horn in his memory. This was an incredibly touching gesture and means more than Bekka or I can clearly communicate. To know that the little guy will be remembered and that many children over many years will get to play in a way that Ollie never could, warms our hearts. Two of those children are, of course, our own.

Penny and Isaak at Ollie's Park

The playground is currently in the process of being upgraded thanks to donations of equipment and supplies from my parents and Bekka's parents (check out the very, very orange crawl tube!) and a major donation from the Powder Horn POA. Just as import was the contribution of time by local volunteers and the efforts of the maintenance staff to do the work. This little park is looking spiffier than ever.

Last weekend Penny and Isaak christened the park with a play date, just before we hit the road to come home. As you will see in the photos and the video (especially the video), they had a blast.

Thank you everyone.

4 Years ago Today

After 36 hours of labor, this little guy finally showed up via c-section:

The next few months were so unbelievably happy.

The memories of those times are overshadowed in many ways by the last 8 months of Ollie's life, but he was and always will be our first child. And he was a delight.

We miss you little guy. You brought a lot of smiles into the world and paved the way to for a beautiful sister and handsome brother.

4 years since you were born, 3 years since you moved on, yet so many moments are laser-etched in our memories. You were a special one.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Happy Birthday Day Two You!

I noticed traffic is up a bit today and I want to pop in to acknowledge that, yes, our little ones are TWO.

TWO-TWO year-olds running around like crazy.

Being happy.

Being cute.

And yes, being mean.

We love it, but it is about to kill us (Note that 2x2=4 - I think they are about 4 times the work).

This weekend, we'll hopefully have a longer post with pictures, status updates and the latest vitals. Let it suffice to say they are doing well. Penny is turning into quite the talker, picking up words everyday. Isaak is a bit behind on that front, but he knows how to get what he wants with signing and gestures and just enough words to help.

Both show no fear and are climbing/jumping/running/falling/going boom with the best of them!

What a long way to have come since that crazy day 2 years ago...a long, long way.

Pictures? Pictures? Wait, what?

And VIDEO!?!

What could possibly be going on here.

It's been months since we've put anything up on Picasa so tonight I took a bit of time (precious, precious time) to put up a few pics AND a few videos. I know, it's crazy.

The twins are growing gangbusters right now.

They are rambunctious.
They are crazy.
They are hilarious.
They are running amok.

In short, a lot of fun and a lot of work. Mommy and I are mostly keeping up with these nutty kids, but it's not easy. Penny is picking up a couple of words a day while Isaak is more the strong, grunting type. He definitely knows what is going on and is starting to try to talk a little bit. I'm sure they will both be jabbering away in no time.

We hope there will be more soon, but in the meantime, enjoy the pictures and the video. The video is from our point and shoot (it was at hand), and it's not edited at all. One day I will find the time to do that.

For kicks, go take a look at the February 2011 Album. Just wow. It's amazing how fast the changes come at these young ages.

First the pics! These include Isaak's first professional haircut and playing in the park. As well as some really, really nifty pictures that Bekka took in the kitchen.

Penny and Isaak - February 2012

The short videos can be found below. We have a ton of video that will probably never see the light of day and I hope to edit things together a bit next time, but for now, enjoy it for what it is!

Penny and Isaak - 2012 Video

New Blog Name?

Hi Everyone - I'm not sure how many regular readers we have due to lack of updates, but we have been really thinking about moving posts regarding the twins and our crazy life revolving around them to a new blog. Ollie's Tale will forever remain as a source of info on SMA and the suck thereof, of Ollie's life and related, but it really seems like the twins and our current life should have it's own existence...any ideas?

Thanks for all the support of the years!