Back To Work

Time's up.... for Michelle's maternity leave :( I had to go back to work this week - something I've been dreading, especially in the past few weeks! It was so tough to leave my babies & just felt completely wrong! I cried on the way to work and couldn't wait to pick them up at the end of the day, but the next day did get a little easier and I know I'll get through it. I'm trying to focus on the positive things... My parents are watching the kids for us at their home, so I don't have to worry about the care they receive. I'm also really lucky to be able to work Wed/Thurs/Fri then stay home with Casen & Collins Mon/Tues. We were especially lucky this week to have Bryan's mom ("Nana") come visit. She helped watch the babies during the day, got up for the nighttime feedings so I could get more sleep, & made up a bunch of meals for us to freeze. Thanks Nana - you're the best!! Casen & Collins are 2 months old!

We decided to see if the twins could sleep a little longer at night this weekend. We hoped they would be able to make it 5 hours instead of our usual 4 hour schedule. They ended up stretching longer than 6 hours the first night! We are loving the extra sleep at night & hope it continues!

My college roommates came to visit this weekend & see the babies. It was so fun to see them & they were so sweet to bring/make us meals & help feed the babies. Our kids are so loved... we are very blessed!

Karen feeding Casen.

Karen & Collins.

Karen holding Case & Collins.

Laura holding Collins.

Laura holding Case & Collins. Laura is expecting her own little blessing... due in July!

Laura embroidered some adorable bibs & burpies for the twins - we especially love these two:

Karen gave the twins this fabulous diaper bag & cute stuffed elephants - handmade by her mom-in-law. Thanks Karen & Lois... we love them!

Smile!

Casen & Collins are 11 weeks old now. We took them to the doctor last week for their Synagis shots - Collins weighed 7.6 lbs & Case weighed 8.2 lbs! They are growing SO big!!
Collins started socially smiling this week (if you smile at her she'll smile back - sometimes). It's so cute!! Casen isn't smiling responsively yet, but he is still very alert & curious about everything.

We took Case & Collins to get their pictures taken this week. Our session lasted 2 1/2 hours! The twins did great & cooperated beautifully until the very end. I can't wait to see how the pics turn out!!
We have FANTASTIC news!! Michelle's sister, Suzy, found out her IVF was successful - she is pregnant with twins!! Congrats Suzy & Stu - Casen & Collins are looking forward to meeting their cousins!
Michelle's family came to visit last weekend. The twins got to meet their Uncle Mike, Aunt Lori, great Grandpa Jay, & great Aunt Judy. We had a blast!
Uncle Mike was quite a natural with his niece & nephew. Mike's girlfriend, Caitlin, came to visit, too. Collins decided to play target practice & spit up on her several times. Poor Caitlin! Good thing she brought lots of shirts!
Casen's crazy for Aunt Lori!
Lori getting the hang of feedings with Collins.
Great Grandpa Jay & Great Aunt Judy meeting the twins.

My grandpa holding the twins. I think he must have done something very similar 30 years ago with me & Mike!

Great grandpa Jay & Collins.

March 1st

It's amazing how personalities are so distinct, even from birth. Collins is quiet & content most of the time; Casen is very vocal & to be quite honest pretty demanding. He's gotten into the unfortunate habit of waking to scream during the night before feeding time. We increased the volume of their feeds to 4oz, and last night we had a peaceful sleep... until 11:30 when he woke up screaming :( It's tough to keep them on a feeding schedule when Casen doesn't abide by the rules! Bryan & I are both exhausted. Hopefully we can keep him satisfied without giving into his demands & encouraging bad habits. I can't imagine going back to work like this!

Our friend, Hannah, let us borrow her bouncy... Collins is LOVING it!
The camera caught Casen with his eyes crossed... too funny!

One of our favorite times of day - daddy's home from work & it's story time!
Casen & Collins lounging in their "little sister" and "little brother" onesies - how sweet!

Aunt Suzy & Uncle Stu

The day Casen got so sick & had to be flown to Dallas Michelle's sister, Suzy, & her husband, Stuart, drove through East Texas for a visit. We unfortunately missed the majority of their stay, but a few weeks later they were on their way back to Florida & went out of their way to come see Casen & Collins! We absolutely LOVED seeing them... what a treat!
Suzy & Stu just completed their own IVF & are anxiously waiting to find out the results of her pregnancy test this weekend. We are praying big time for them, and Case & Collins can't wait for some cousins to play with!!

Mommy with Casen & Collins in their super cute hoodie sweats!

Aunt Suzy with sleepy Casen & Collins

Aunt Suzy feeding Collins

Aunt Suzy holding Casen... sweet boy!

Uncle Stu feeding Collins Collins thinks Uncle Stu is really comfy!

Suzy's & Stu's sweet dogs, Sammie & Buster - they did really well around the babies!

Welcome!

Casen & Collins got a brand new set of 2nd cousins today...

Emma & Ella McCaskill

Congratulations Sam & Charlotte!

We're going to have so much fun with our twins! :)

February 20th

We are happy to report that things have been quite peaceful at the McCaskill house over the past 2 weeks! Yay!! We welcome the change and certainly do not miss the sick babies nor the hectic hospital stays! Casen & Collins are growing well. They now fit better in their newborn clothes than they do in their preemie outfits - especially Case with his long arms and legs. I have to admit that I already miss their tiny little preemie clothes, but really I just can't believe they're growing so fast! However, they have a lot of really adorable newborn clothes, too. Here's Case sporting his CUTE newborn dinosaur outfit for the first time...

Casen is Dino-mite!! :)

We knew that time would be hard to come by once we had the twins. On their 3-hour feeding schedule, my day pretty much consisted of feeding & pumping with little time for much else. Now that they have grown, they're able to stretch a little longer between feedings & we LOVE the new 4-hour schedule!
We are very blessed to have such wonderfully supportive parents! Bryan's mom & dad basically took off 10 days of work to stay with us & help out while we were in Dallas, and my parents have spent almost every night at our house to help with nightime feedings since we came home. I don't know what we would do without them! Of course, as kids you don't realize how much your parents actually do. As a mom myself, I honestly don't know how mine did it. She had my 3 and 4 year old sisters at home when Mike & I were born. Wow! My mom's a rock star!!

We often find that Casen & Collins wiggle closer to one another after we put them down to sleep. Here's how I found them after their nap yesterday... too cute! The only problem is that Lainey has reflux, so poor Casen has been spit up on more than once!

February 14th

Bryan's co-workers planned to throw a baby shower for us the day Casen got sick and we had to cancel. They were very sweet & rescheduled the shower for us on Valentine's Day. Cheryl even made another fabulous cake - YUM! It was so nice to meet everyone that my hubby works with.

Thanks everyone - you're the best!!
Cake #1... Sorry we missed it!
Cake #2... It really is as good as it looks!

Charla had onesies embroidered for the twins with "Maverick" and "Mavette" so they can show their Marshall pride! Aren't they cute?!?!



Lainey loves her Marshall gear... especially the hair bow!