Friday, March 2, 2018

February 2018

February has been a month full of basketball, dress-up days, the flu, ear infections and so many changes for the babies!

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This guy is 5 months old and so big!  He finally learned to roll over and now has TWO teeth.  He still loves to eat and sleep and enjoys going for walks outside in the stroller!  He also got his first ear infection!
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This little lady is also 5 months old.  She is a rolling champion and is now up on all fours lunging forward to get things she wants.  She FINALLY started sleeping through the night also!  She likes to eat and loves her activity center.  She also got her first double ear infection!

The rest of our February has been full of Dress-Up / Theme days at school.  First it was the 100th Day of School!  Hudson loved it but Sully didn't want to dress-up for that one!

After that, we had a whole week of Dr. Seuss Themed days.  Crazy Socks, "Oh The Places You'll Go Day", i.e. Career day, Wacky Wednesday, Hat Day and finally book character day!  The girls loved it!
100 Year Old Hudson
Apparently she wants to be a Gymnastics Champion
 We also limped through February with 2 cases of the flu but managed to come out of it and not miss any basketball games!  The Green Frogs wrapped up another awesome season.  They learned a lot and played really hard!  We start the March Madness Tournament tonight, so fingers crossed the girls come out ready to play!
Undefeated Regular Season!
The weather is finally warming up which is nice.  After this weekend full of basketball, the girls move on to Tennis!  Then in a few weeks, all the big kids, even Thomas, kick-off soccer season!  

Here are the rest of the pictures from February:

Friday, February 2, 2018

January 2018

We survived what felt like the longest month ever!  It could have been the week and a day we had off of school or the cold weather or Tom being gone for 3 consecutive weeks....but either way, we made it!

The babies are so big!  They are officially 4.5 months old and it feels like they change so much every day.  They had their four month check-up yesterday and everyone is healthy and doing well.

Big Boy

Conner is HUGE!  He is 27.5 inches long (>98%) and 15 lbs, 5 oz (50%).  So he is super LONG and lean!  He still loves to sleep (12-14 hours every night) and also loves his bouncy seat and activity center.  He has learned how to suck his thumb and LOVES to eat.  He also started Baby food yesterday and is obsessed.  It was like has had been eating his whole life.  Not one drop was wasted and he polished off 2.5 bowls!  He can also roll from front to back and has gone back to front a couple times!
"Little" sis
 Tinsley is also big but not as big as brother.  She is 25.5 inches (88%) and 14 lbs, 9 oz (60%).  She is still working on the sleep thing but can usually string together 5 or 6 hours...although then she seems to think it is ok to be up for the day at 4:00am!!  She loves the activity center and her paci!  She also started baby food and it is a work in progress!  She got more on her bib, face and hair than she did in her mouth but she seemed to enjoy it!  She is a rolling machine and can go front to back ot back to front with ease!

We also enjoyed our first and second snows of the season within a weekend of each other.  MLK Weekend we were "lucky" enough to get a snow day on Friday - which was really just ice and a dusting of snow, followed by a real snow the next Monday.  I think we got about 3-4 inches.  The kids LOVED it and we were out of school for a whole week!  Of course Tom was out of town for both out of school days but we survived thanks to awesome neighbors!

Hudson and Thomas were obsessed with sledding and all things snowy.  They sledded and stayed out longer than anyone else!  Sobes did a little bit of sledding but was more content inside by the fire.
Ice Sledding
 The twins weren't huge fans of the snow but we did at least take the obligatory photo op!
Too Cold
This guy would have stayed out all day!
January also means that basketball is in full swing.  The Green Frogs are off to a great start and have 4 games left before the March Madness Tournament.

Other than snow, we have stayed busy with everything else too.  Hudson and I spent one night packing bags of food at Second Harvest Food Bank, SueSue and BooBoo made a visit for my Birthday and everyone is enjoying and doing really well at school!

We also enjoyed a good friend's birthday at Above All and I had to share this video of Thomas on the trapeze.  He insisted on doing it but then didn't know he was supposed to let go....so he just held on!!!  When he finally dropped off, he was upset b/c he thought he did it wrong...but I explained to him he did awesome!



Fingers crossed we are finished with the snow and it starts to warm up around here.

Here are the rest of our January pictures and we can't wait to see what February bring us!

Sunday, December 31, 2017

December 2017

Happy New Year to everyone!  Hope you all had a Great December like we did!

Hard to believe these two are 3 months old already.  They are getting so big so fast!
Conner is a BIG boy.  He wears 9 month clothes and is so long and lean.  He LOVES to eat and sleep.  He sleeps 12-14 hours a night but doesn't nap much during the day.  He has rolled over from his stomach to his back once and is starting to like sitting in his Bumbo seat that Santa brought us.

 
Tinsley is a big girl also...but not nearly as long as Conner.  She is still working on the whole sleeping thing.  She has done up to 7 hours at a time but usually its more like 4 hour stretches but she also enjoys a good nap during the day.  She also likes to eat and really enjoys rice cereal (which the doctor told us we could start b/c they are so big).  She is all about rolling from her stomach to her back and has even rolled from her back to her stomach once! She loves her swing and her bumbo and is super smiley all of the time.

We had a fun family filled Christmas for sure.  We got to join in on Frericks Family Christmas for the first time in a few years which was great.  All of the Frericks siblings, and most of the Frericks kids and grand kids came to Nashville for the celebration.  So it was nice to see everyone.

The weekend before Christmas, all of the Halters came to Nashville for a couple days of fun. We opened presents, toured Opryland, walked through ICE, drove through the Dancing Lights of Christmas and had lots of cousin time!

Santa was very good to everyone this year and we spent the rest of Holiday playing with our new things and trying to stay warm during the Arctic Blast that has decided to land on Nashville!
Seeing the Big Guy
Naughty and Nice?!!
Cousin Fun at Opryland
Ready for Church
Trimming the Tree!
January means the start of Basketball season and they girls are ready.  

We can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for us and hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!

Here are the rest of the pictures from our December of fun:

Thursday, November 30, 2017

November 2017

Well we survived another month!  The twins are now 2 Months old and doing great!
Conner
Conner is so big.  In 2 months he has grown FIVE inches!  Insane.  He is now 25 inches long (>98%) and weighs 12lbs, 14oz (70%).  So needless to say...he is LONG and lean!  He has started smiling, loves to eat and sleeps 11-12 hours every night!  He is a happy baby and likes to be upright looking around.
Tinsley
Tinsley has become the small twin after taking up all the room in my belly!  She is now 23 1/2 inches long (90%) and weighs 12lbs, 1oz (75%).  She also smiles a lot, especially in the mornings.  She sleeps about 5 hours at a time and is a little more high maintenance than Conner.  She loves to swing and loves her pacifiers!

All in all, they are both doing great!  We are really lucky that they are such good babies so far...since there are two of them...I'm not sure I could handle anything else!

Everyone else is going great also!  We had a pretty slow November which was nice.  We enjoyed some nice weather playing outside with friends.  Our days have mostly consisted of school and playing outside, riding bikes, raking leaves, etc.  All the fun Fall things!
Killing it on the balance bike
 We enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving at home this year!  We started our day off with the first Annual Aberdeen Woods Turkey Trot.  It was a little crazy but so much fun.  We all got together and ran/walked about 3 miles.  Nothing says Thanksgiving like 8 adults, 8 kids, 3 babies and 3 dogs clogging up the streets of Crieve Hall!

Grandma and Grandpa Frericks also came down for the day and our neighbors the Germains came over for a day full of food and fun!


 That is about all for now.  We are getting geared up for Christmas and the kids are dying to go get our tree and get the house decorated!  

Here are the rest of the pictures from our fun November:

Thursday, November 2, 2017

October 2017

October has become the Month of celebrations for us.  We spent the past month celebrating the End of another great soccer season, The twins turning 1 month old, Hudson turning SEVEN, and of course Halloween!

Hard to believe that the Twins are 6 weeks old already!  The past month or so has been full of no sleep, bottles, and diaper madness for sure!  But, they are both doing so great!  

Tinsley, who started as the bigger baby, is now 9 lbs, 7.5 oz (76%) and 21.5 Inches (90%).  She is the loud one for sure but is starting to get into a rhythm.  She has started to sleep more at night, usually 5-6 hours, which is nice!  She is also awake more during the day which is fun!  She loves to swing and ride in the car!

Conner, who was the smaller of the two, is now the big one!  I think he finally had room to stretch out!  He is 9lbs, 10 oz (75%) and 22.75 inches (>98%).  He is the more laid back one and seems to be very alert and awake during the day.  He sleeps well at night, usually going around 6 hours at a time.  He does NOT like to swing but likes to cuddle and bounce.  He also LOVES Tinsley and always tries to be next to her or hold her arm.....she doesn't always love it though!
Post Bath Snuggles
October is also full of fun fall activities.  We made our annual trip to Shuckles Pumpkin Patch.  We always have so much fun there with our neighbors, the Germains,  We spent a day playing outside, jumping, swinging, zip-lining, hayriding and of course corn mazing!  We even picked out our pumpkins before we headed home!
Our Pumpkins
We also enjoyed several other fall festivals including the Crievwood Baptist Block Party and PumpkinFest in Franklin.  It's always a good time when you get the have your face painted, sit on firetrucks, and play games!
PumpkinFest Fun
October also means the end of another Soccer Season.  I could not be more proud of this team!  The Purple Dragons, made up of 6 kindergartners, 3 First Graders and 3 Second Graders, played up an age group in the 1st/2nd Grade league and totally rocked.  They played hard every game and didn't back down against some much older/bigger girls.  It is so fun to coach such a competitive group of girls!  
Another Great Season, 5-1-1
We also had another big celebration - Hudson Turned SEVEN!  She spent about a week celebrating but it was so fun.  She had a great party at Above All which included a surprise visit from her favorite Aunt and Cousins - Eileen, PJ, Charlie and Reedo!  She chose to have Mexican for her birthday dinner and capped off the celebration with Cookie Cake at school!
Mazatlan Dinner Fun!
Above All 
Halloween Themed Party!
Of course, we end October with the biggest celebration - Halloween!  It is a huge deal in our neighborhood and everyone gets very into it!

We start the celebration with a Pumpkin Decorating contest!  It is so much fun every year to see what creative pumpkins everyone comes up with.  This year Hudson and Sullivan both got Second Place with their Racoon and Eyeball pumpkins!


We also LOVE dressing up around here too. 

Evie (From Descendants) and her Poison Apple
The Witch and her Black Cat
And of course Spiderman

Thomas got very into Trick-or-Treating this year.  He refused to take his mask off all night and made sure not to miss any house!  He followed Hudson around the whole neighborhood and hit every single house!


We wrapped up the night with pizza and a fire pit in the cul-de-sac!  Always a great night!

That is about all for now.  We are looking forward to a slightly quieter November before Christmas and Basketball season take over!!

That is about all for now.  Here are all the pictures from our super fun October:

Monday, October 2, 2017

September 2017 - The Twins Arrival

Well what started out as a not too busy, soccer filled September, got a little more exciting on September 18!  The Frericks Twins decided to make their arrival 2 weeks early!

Late on Sunday night, September 17th, I started having contractions.  We headed into the hospital around 1:30am (Big Shout out to Our Neighbor Maureen and Grandma and Grandpa who all came to our rescue with the big kids in the middle of the night!!!).  After a few hours of being monitored, my doctor decided I wasn't necessarily in active labor...BUT, since I was there and hooked up to an IV and clearly having contractions, we could go ahead and have some babies!  After some discussion, we decided that a C-Section would be the safest and best option.  At the time, Baby A (Tinsley) was head down, but Baby B (Conner) was transverse (basically sideways right under my ribs).  Since there was no guarantee that he would turn on his own, we all agreed to go ahead with the C-Section. 

At 10:50 I was wheeled into the OR and at 11:13am Tinsley made her appearance and 2 minutes later, we met Conner!

Tinsley Anne was 8 lbs, 3 oz and 20 inches long.
Tinsley Anne
Conner Edward was 7 lbs, 14 oz and also 20 inches long.
Conner Edward
This was the first time they were reunited outside the womb and the Twin bond is really a crazy thing!

Reunited Outside the Womb
 The big kids were SOOOO excited.  I am pretty sure Hudson told everyone she saw that morning that we were having the babies that day!  Here is the very first picture of the Frericks Starting Five!

The Frericks Starting Five
 With 2 weeks under our belt, we are kind of getting the hang of things.  The big kids are great helpers.  They all love to hold the babies. Hudson and Sullivan are great at giving them bottles when I need the help and Thomas is all about holding Conner....and sometimes Tinsley...haha! 
Tinsley Chilling at home
Conner Taking a Couch Nap
He loves holding his little bro!
 We are working on a routine (which is hard to imagine I'm sure).  The big kids are all in school which is helpful but mornings can get a bit crazy!  

The twins had their first check-up with their doctor at One Week old and are doing great.  They are almost back to birth weight which is awesome and they big and strong!

The twins are starting to work out their sleep/awake schedule and have had a few nights where they put 4-5 hours of sleep together!  Conner sleeps better than Tinsley but we're working on it!  

I don't think they look all that much alike but sometimes they surprise me!  
Sometimes they look alike
 Of course, having twins doesn't mean we get to stay in the house all day....being Number 4 and 5 means you are just along for the ride!  The twins have already been to 2 soccer games, a neighborhood cook-out and a block party!  

This weekend we loaded up everyone and headed to the Crieve Hall Block Party.  We love this event and never miss it.  Free face painting, balloon animals, snow cones and dinner....it's an annual tradition for us now!  
Block party fun
He was pumped for his spider
Snow cones and face paint
School is still going well for the big kids.  Both girls did great on their progress reports and continue to LOVE their teachers and classes!  The Purple Hearts Soccer team is having a great season also.  We had our toughest game so far last weekend, taking on a team of really big second graders and battled hard to a 1-1 tie!  It was great to see our team play so tough against some bigger older girls (half of our team is made of Kindergartners!)!

That is about all for now.  We are looking forward to a fun October full of Fall Break, the Pumpkin Patch, Hudson's 7th Birthday and of course Halloween!!

Here are the rest of the pictures from last month: