fall in houston

its finally cooling off here...FINALLY!!! and by cooling off, today was 76, tomorrow is 80, but then the end of the week the highs are around 65. houston weather is seriously crazy bipolar!! but, our amazingly talented friend Christie Lacy got some awesome fall pictures for us almost two weeks ago. she has this great little park that we go to and no one has ever been around or bothered us. if you follow me on social media you have seen three of the pics. i am debating on how many christmas cards i really want to send out this year, but i will do a few, so some of you will see these in card form in a few weeks.

these pictures are by far my favorite that Christie has taken for us. it was pretty warm (82ish), just before dinner, and there were lots of mosquitos. not to mention the girls turned 20 months today, which means they are super mobile, vocal about what they want or don't want, and they have the attention span of a gnat. we are so blessed to have a high school friend/mentee that has started helping us out twice a week, so she was there to help wrangle kids/change clothes/grab attention/apply bug spray...thanks Breton!!! anyway...i loved that Christie didn't worry about posed pictures. these are my favorites because it was real life...laughs, lots of running, goldfish eating, giggles with daddy, a few tears, but over all shows how we all interact with each other. these girls are animated. they are serious characters in their own way. you will see, even in these pictures, that claire is bossy, loves to be in charge, loud, and acts a lot like mommy. annabel is sensitive, somewhat emotional and reserved just like daddy!

if you are in the houston area and need a fantastically talented photographer to capture your family, you have to contact Christie!!!

enjoy these...maybe help me decide what to put on the card. (ps. these are a few of the 72 that she sent me!!!)

Claire in mid "bull in a china shop" run

this is a typical expression for a lot of things, but i am pretty sure she was concerned about a bug here.

the moment Daddy got there and they saw him come around the corner. priceless

sweet annabel. she really wanted her minnie mouse

too many caption options. 

claire keeping us all entertained, I'm sure.

maybe if we throw them around they will stop fussing for a bit.

"WWWWEEEEEEEEEEEE"

daddy's girl (1 of 2)

every kid is infatuatied with their nose, right??!! Annabel was signing and saying "mo, mo" more, snacks dad!!

seesters

oh my...A, are you flipping Christie off??!!??

perfect...nice and naughty!

sweet girl, annabel

love

how are they so big already???

momma's girl (1 of 2)

melt my heart

<3 td="">

my loves

blessings,
ALo

Knocked the wind out of me

hi. my name is aimee and i used to blog.

so, i had been inconsistent and then i took a 1 year and 1 week break. there are reasons, nothing major, other than people stealing my kids pictures...idiots!! people, DO NOT steal my pictures, its rude and totally creepy!!! the other reason was i just didn't feel like sitting down and blogging for a while. i started my blog for me in the very beginning. then i blogged our pregnancy with Charlotte. then i blogged about our infertility issues and then my pregnancy and birth of our sweet twins, Claire and Annabel. at the time i quit blogging they were 6 months old. i can't believe it, but they are already almost 19 months old! so my blog had transformed into something i didn't really enjoy. i needed a break from it, to miss it and want to do it again.

so, here i am. my blog is entitled Alo's Place. this won't always be about my girls, it won't always make sense to any one but me. i need this to be my outlet...my processing spot. so, feel free to keep reading...or don't. its up to you. but either way here is my blog...

yesterday was a weird day. one of those days where grief creeps in and knocks the wind out of you. its been almost 4 years since we had Charlotte. four years!!!! thats just crazy to me. well, yesterday was one of those "normal" mondays in our house. i only do home hair on mondays (its gross to have hair all over my house with 2 toddlers more than just one day) so i was busy with people in and out, taking care of the girls, making dinner, etc. i really didn't have much time to think. when i sat down after putting the girls to bed, i sat down to respond to an email from a recent baby loss mom i have met through my blog. i was recalling so many things of our last days with Charlotte. typically, when talking about "our story" i am very factual, i rarely think about or explain the emotions. for some reason, last night was all emotional for me. that got me thinking about everything. i realized it was 4 years ago to the day that we found out we were pregnant with Charlotte. that gave me a huge smile. thinking back to before i had any fear of pregnancy, anxiety of doing something wrong, just pure joy in being pregnant. i was ELATED!!! i was so excited to tell Peter. i mean, we were pregnant after our first "try"!! (which is what made our journey for Claire and Annabel so confusing) anyway, that made me start thinking about it all. how our joy was stolen and our dreams for our daughter were crushed after our first ultrasound. our life took on a whole new meaning that day. then again on january 8th, i became a baby loss mom and had to leave the hospital with out my sweet girl. just typing that again brings me to tears, for the 2nd time in two days. the grief creeps in. my throat feels tight with tears.

of course God knows my heart, He knows my pain. last night, in the midst of my grief, my husband was there. he held me and let me cry. he let me talk and weep through it. we both miss her so much. we wondered how different it would be with Charlotte here...bossing her little sisters around. there is not a day that goes by that i don't wish things had been different, that i don't miss my baby girl. but this is our life...this is part of our story and sometimes there are parts that still hurt. sometimes the grief still knocks the wind out of me.

feels good to blog. thanks. also, i am sure there are plenty of grammatical and spelling errors, and i know i don't capitalize...i choose that. these are my vents and i will type as fast my fingers will let me with zero regard for rules!

blessings,
ALo

ps. i know a couple readers reached out (***Rachel :)***) and some of you found this through a search (usually my post on nuchal fold test). if you want to follow me on Instagram and see pics, just request me, its private..again because people are rude and steal images of my kids and pretend my kids are theirs...creeps!! my instagram name is aimlo. Facebook is Aimee Loeser. i will post a few pics here, but i need to figure out a watermark first.

4 months already!!

well, at least i am giving you the monthly updates!! lol.

in the last month it seems the girls have gotten so big! they are growing like crazy! life with twins is becoming much more normal for us. i have the girls on a great schedule...thankfully! i am not sure what i would do otherwise. i am super thankful for my husband who has been more than helpful/supportive/the best dad ever. we haven't done anything too major this month except sit at the pool at few times and we did go to our church middle school camp for a few days. peter went to help set up the tech and sound, so us girls went too...just for the weekend. it was so great being a small part and being with the students for a few days at one of my favorite times in a students' life...camp! i love being a mom and it is the most rewarding job in the world, but it is also the hardest and most demanding job. sometimes i miss being able to leave my job and come home and not get up at 3am for a feeding. :) so, being at camp, as a family, even for just a few days was the best of both worlds for me!!

so, we went to the doctor on monday for the girls' 4 month check up. they are hitting all of the milestones, right on track! annabel weighed in at 14lbs 9oz (75th percentile), 25 1/2" long (90th percentile) and her head is 16 1/4" around (75th percentile). she is a little ahead of the game...she is rolling over and cant be swaddled at night anymore. she is super strong and is really good at bearing weight and holding her head up. however, they both HATE tummy time!!! i mean, they pitch royal fits over it!! claire is still my little peanut. she was 12lbs 5oz (10th percentile), 24 1/4" long (50th percentile) and her head is 16" (50th percentile). she is not "standing" as much as annabel, but she is getting pretty good at holding her head up. i was encouraged by the doctor to not "baby her" as much...let her gain her strength. claire is not rolling yet, and still likes to be swaddled when falling asleep. she wriggles out of it pretty good, but they both like to be held tight when falling asleep! my girls are really good sleepers. we have had several nights of not getting up. the 3am feedings are becoming few and far between...thankfully! so, right now, they go down around 10 and get up at 5 to eat then sleep again until between 8 and 9. the last two days were off because they had to have 3 shots...that always really messes with things!! they both LOVE their hands...i mean eating them. they are also really figuring each other out. i love to watch them interact and have "twin time". they still both do great in the car, so we get out as much as we can. the texas summer heat is trying to kick our butts, but we do what we can! :)

each day has moments when i question if i know what i am doing...or if God was crazy in thinking i could be a mom to twins. then i will catch one of the girls smiling, or studying something, or a smirk while dreaming. thats when i stop and take a breath and say a prayer. i pray that i can continue to do my best, that the girls continue to grow and pass those milestones, and thank God for each moment that i have with them. these first 4 months have flown by and the awesome times way out weigh the hard moments! today was a good day...better than yesterday. we got out to run errands, stopped to see a few friends, did some laundry (this is everyday) and even made a batch of cookies. its a good day when you can sit and enjoy an almond joy cookie (recipe at bottom) while the babies nap! :) now off to start dinner!!

before i post the pics...please be praying for my mom. she had to have surgery today to repair her torn Achilles tendon and get rid of a bone spur on her heel. it has been an awful week for her awaiting surgery and now she will have to be in a cast for 3 months. if you know my mom, then you know this has got to be one of the worst things...especially this time of year! mom lives on a beautiful piece of land in michigan (michigan summers are the best!!!), so she wont be enjoying her tennis (which is how she got her injury), her horses, or the pool and lake. so sad!! she also cant drive!!! and lets not forget i have a 15 year old brother at home and she is a single parent...long thee months for both of them now! i so wish i was there to help her!!! love you, mom!! you are so strong and i know you can do this!! xxoo

here are a few pics from today... :) they are so big and starting to look a little more alike!

Annabel Marie

Giggles

Claire Mackenzie

she gets shy in front of the camera. glad she finally smiled!!

blue eyed babies!!

they love to hold hands, rub feet, anything to touch each other!

serious!

"Annabel, do think if i start crying she will stop??"

"Mom, Claire is serious...you might need to be done!"

i like big bows and i can not lie!! :)
bigger the bow, better the mom!!! lol
welcome to texas!

blessings, ALo

almond joy cookies, courtesy of my cousin Brooke Southwick

2 cups dark brown sugar (all i had was light, it worked!)
1 cup softened butter
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut
1 cup almonds
1 bag chocolate chips

pre heat oven to 325. cream sugar, butter, salt, and soda. add eggs and cream again. mix in the flour and coconut until well blended. mix in the almonds and chips until just incorporated. bake for approx. 15 min or until just golden. these are much better if not too done!!! enjoy with coffee or really cold milk!!

No Time

hi.

i cant believe i am sitting down to blog!! the last month and a half, or whatever it has been since my last post, has been crazy! we went to michigan for almost three weeks and i, obviously, didnt blog there and then when we got home, i have been inundated with life...raising babies, home hair, being a wife, trying to get some sleep! go figure...the mom of twins is busy! i used to blog at night, but family time has become very sacred!! so blogging has taken a back seat! sorry!

so, i probably dont have much time before one of the girls wakes up, so in short, things are good! the girls are both getting so big!! i weighed them just before we left michigan (june 10th)...claire weighed 12 pounds and annabel weighed 14.5 pounds! lol!! so annabel is my bruiser and claire is my peanut. we will see what happens when we go to the doctor in a few weeks, but i have a feeling not much will change between now and then! they are both in 3 month clothes. annabel can rock the 3-6month stuff, but claire is swimming in those outfits. they are almost sleeping through the night. annabel wakes up around 2 to eat so i usually get claire up too...she is the one that needs to catch up anyway. otherwise, they are going from 8pm to 2am then 2am to 8am. not too shabby!! we have mastered the eating at the same time thing, now we are working on nap schedules. today was not a good day. in fact, right now is the only time since 8am that they are both sleeping at the same time! needless to say, i didnt get a whole lot done today, but thats ok :) i will take some awake happy baby time when i can get it!!

so, i have been keeping up with my question a day journal that i started last year. it is so interesting to look back at where i was last year at this time compared to right now. last year, right now, i was really upset that we were not pregnant yet. that we were missing our window of opportunity to try that month. what a low point for me. but i specifically remember being at camp, teaching our high schoolers to trust in the Lord and getting a good swift kick in the pants from God, a true wake up vcall. not more than a month later we were pregnant!! God has so richly blessed us. my heart has been restored with these little girls. just this morning, as i was holding an upset annabel, i was so happy with my life. of course, i could complain about lack of sleep, not being in the shape i was before pregnancy (maybe more on that later), or so many other things, but i just wont do it! thank you God for these babies. thank you!

here are a few pics of the girls at 3 months! there are tons of pics on facebook from our trip to michigan if you want to see them. :)

Annabel Marie

Annabel needed her paci for a bit

Claire Mackenzie

Claire syas "who, me??"

TWINS!!

ps. annabel will be having her surgery july 22 to repair her hernia. i will hopefully be finding time to blog more often, but just in case, now you know! :)

i know it was quick...i will catch up more later!

blessings, ALo

Mothers Day 2013

i couldnt post yesterday. i was pretty tired. but thanks to my amazing husband (and babies, if you ask him) i was totally spoiled! peter helped in a huge way during the night by taking care of claire! all of her feedings and diaper changes, which was amazing because the girls somehow got way off schedule from each other! i woke up to feed annabel and found some amazing gifts from the girls! daddy helped them pick out a monogram necklace with the girls initials, and a kate spade pendant and earrings. so sweet! the gifts along with cards were in their bassinets. we took it easy that morning, sleeping in and what not...we went to church saturday night (sunday morning is still a little hard to get all of us ready, fed, bathed, and to church on time). i wanted brunch at a new breakfast place in town so we headed over there. the wait was crazy, but it all worked out because we were able to feed the girls while we waited. after lunch we went home to hang out and eventually went to some freinds' house out in the country. it was a great day of relaxing and enjoying our new family of four.

i, of course, couldnt help but think of my last two mothers days. i couldnt help but think of Charlotte. i miss her so much. i think about her all the time. i wonder which of the twins would look like her. i wonder if she would be a helpful big sister or more of the jealous type. i wonder what our lives would be like with a two year old and twins...well, i know what it would be like...it would be chaotic. but i also now know that Charlotte was SUPER sick. i mean, i have always known that, but when i look at my twins and i think about all the things Charlotte was facing/would have dealt with, it is just so overwhelming. Charlotte will always be our precious, perfect little baby, but i can say with full knowledge that God knew what He was doing, even though i still miss her so much!

i know that mother's day is hard for so many women. my heart ached for them yesterday. women who have lost their mothers. women who have lost their children, their babies. women who have lost hope of having children. women who have had to say good bye to too many things much too early. my heart aches for them. some of these women are friends of mine, family of mine. and i, unfortunately, know that there is nothing i can say to ease that pain, especially if this is the first mothers day after loss. but, does it ever really change for them? this mothers day was different for me this year because i was allowed to be celebrated. i had two babies to carry around. but not everyone can do that, many of them felt the same way i have the last two years and that hurts my heart. but they are still mothers. i like what my "fake mom", Caroline, posted:

"For EVERY woman today, a mother or not.... realizing women of all ages and stages of life may be experiencing different feelings today for various reasons.... YOU ARE LOVED, and your life is valuable and important in the lives of others. Many women who are not mother's have spoken immensely into my life, and the lives of others, and I am grateful to God for your life. . . . YOU are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are DEARLY LOVED!   Psalm 139:14"

i know that i am behind in posting 2 months photos. i am waiting until wednesday when we see the doctor for their visit...i will have their weight and height, etc. it got pushed back a week because we wanted to give the girls a chance to get over all their sicknesses before giving them shots, etc. so, i will post that this week :) 

here are a few pics from when peter's family was here the end of april and a few of me with my girls on mothers day and 2 collage pics to show how much our girls look just like us!! :) plus just a few others from here and there. enjoy! 

casual in their jeans and tshirts. annabel on left, claire right

claire all swaddled up at nap time

annabel was having a good dream

lol, claire was obviously totally relaxed

claire may not have been loving the ruffles

annabel wasnt sure either

all ready for bed! they wanted to sleep with mom and dad!

pretty sure those socks are 1/3 of her body! lol 

annabel's fit a little better

mothers day gift from claire

mothers day gift from annabel

claire was rocking daddy's shades while we waited for brunch

so precious! love you, claire! 

i am on the left and annabel is on the right. we are twins!

peter is on the left, claire is on the right! twins!

claire looks good in vera bradley!

so does annabel! starting them young!

annabel was so alert

claire may have been mid cough

aunt laura, mom with annabel, dad with claire, grandpa 

the LOtwins love their aunt Laura

babies and grandpa

mom, this sun is too bright!!! (ps. i remember saying this to my mom ALL the time growing up!!)

annabel smiling for me!! 

snuggles on mothers day with annabel

bed time kisses from claire on mothers day

blessings, ALo