July update

I guess I’m a little overdue updating everyone on our lives. A lot has happened since the last update.
First, and most important, are the twins. They are doing great! They just turned 5 months old on the 4th of July. They’re rolling over, grabbing toys, laughing, and starting to entertain each other. They can almost hold their bottles now, and they’re just starting to grab their own pacifiers. For the most part they are still immobile, but we’re not far away from chasing these little ones around the house. As far as sleep goes, they’re doing better. Maddy is our star performer, she sleeps all the way through the night now in her crib. Thank God! Mason usually sleeps in his crib until 2 am. Then he wakes up hungry and sleeps with us for the remainder of the night. He always wakes up at 5:30 am and is done sleeping, and daddy gets to get up and make a big pot of coffee!!! We can’t complain though, we’re getting a lot more sleep than a few months ago.
Some good news; I accepted a position with Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue for a Firefighter/EMT. I start my training September 1st and I’ll be in training for 16 weeks. We feel so incredibly blessed to get this position, considering the economy, and it couldn’t come at a better time, we’re looking forward to the paychecks. Plus, I’m really excited to do the job itself, it’s going to be a lot of fun.
This job also means that Amanda gets to go down to 2 days a week at work starting in September, which is the ideal schedule for her. She’s excited to be home with the kids five days a week and still be able to work a couple days.
In other news, our condo is on the market. We made a contingent offer on a home in Keizer, and we’re hoping to sell soon. We know how slow the market is, however, so we have no illusions of moving anytime soon. We might get this house in Keizer, or we might not be able to sell, and therefore lose it. We’re leaving it up to God. Maybe we’ll be here another year and then buy a home in the Portland area. I’ve learned that the easiest way to make God laugh is to tell him all of your plans.
Well, I think I covered all of the big things. Babies, job, moving, etc. I hope everyone is having a great summer. Don’t wait to enjoy it…it goes by too quickly! Thanks for checking in with the Needhams.
God Bless.

It's all smiles at the Needham House

This Picture was taken at 6 days old

This one was taken at 4 months... quite a difference!

The kids at their 4 month check up. Clean bill of health! (except for Mason's acid reflux)


For a kid who spits up as much as he does, you can't get him to stop smiling!

A new swimsuit for our little girl, she's ready to hit the pool!

They like to watch us make dinner in the kitchen.

As you can see, they just keep getting bigger! They really are a lot of fun now, giggling and smiling at everything. They talk to each other and smile at one another. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of how well they're doing.

Life continues to roll on by around here. Amanda is working four days a week, and missing the kids every second that she's gone. She's getting ready to turn 28 years old on June 26th. I'm starting to remind her that thirty is just around the corner :-) She, of course, is so happy being a mommy. And it's no surprise that she's very good at it!

I had my interview at Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue and passed. I moved on to the background check along with 22 other candidates. We're competing for 16 positions in the September class, so I stand a pretty good shot. I'll know if I made it on July 8th.

That's the news around here. Thanks for checking in with us!

God bless,

Chris

What's new with us

We actually have both of the babies down at the moment and I have a second to write. I thought I would give everyone an update on what's going on with the two of us for a change.

First up... Amanda. She's just about to finish up her first month back at work. Things are going pretty well on that front, she enjoys being back at work and seeing all of her clients and co-workers. She desperately misses being home with the babies though. Her first two days of work during the week are tolerable, but by day three she just wants to be with the kids.

She's looking forward to being a bridesmaid in her good friend Julie's wedding in August, and enjoying being part of the planning process with her. She's also getting ready to have a birthday here soon. A month from tomorrow in fact, June 26th!

I've become a full time Mr. Mom, watching the kids through the week with the help of Grandma's and Nana's. I'm also wrapping up a full load of classes I'm taking as pre-reqs to the paramedic program I'm preparing for. This past week I passed the Physical Agility Test for both Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue and the Port of Portland Fire Rescue. I already have a Chiefs interview next week for the Port of Portland, and I'll hear from TVFR this week. They (TVFR) are not going to interview all of those who have passed the PAT, so I'm crossing my fingers and praying I'm selected to continue with the hiring process. The goal is to be hired by a fire department as soon as possible, and, in the mean time, continue working on the Paramedic Certification.

Well, that's the news from us. Everything else is all about the kids. They are growing up so unbelievably fast! We just acquired a camcorder, and I've been recording them non-stop. I'm still working out the kinks, but I hope to have some small video clips on our blog soon. Until then, here's a few more pictures!

Maddy drinking and driving (notice the bottle)

Here she's making sure daddy stays right where she wants me.

Big enough for the bumbo chairs!

These pictures don't even do justice to how cute these kids are in these chairs!!!

They wobble around smiling in these chairs, and they look sooo funny!

More Cute Pics!

This is the Mason we know at 6am after being fed. He's such a morning boy!

This is the Maddy we know at 6am after being fed. She looks like such a big girl!

I love Mason's face here! He's watching TV!!! We do everything we can to keep them from watching the TV but they'll crane their neck and contort their body to watch it. In this case, he was being a pill until Grandma gave him a couple minutes of TV time!

More Pictures

Hey everyone! Here are some of our pictures of the past few weeks of our lives. Things are going pretty good, we're getting decent sleep most nights, and the babies just keep on growing!

The Babies at the tulip festival in Woodburn.

That's Maddy hangin' out with Auntie at George Rogers park on a warm sunny day in April!

Quincy has learned to deal with the fact that he now has to share mommy.



The little man hangin' out on daddy's lap, check out his cute little toes!

Our little cupcake showing off her beautiful eyes to mommy!

Mason loves the bouncy chairs! We think it's because he can sit up and see what's going on.

These kids make us laugh everyday!

So much has changed!

Well, another few weeks have past, and things are continually changing. These kids seem to do something new every day. It's amazing to watch them learn and grow! Mason is doing significantly better with his acid reflux. It hasn't gone away by any means, but his medication has limited the frequency and duration of his episodes dramatically.

As you can see, he has moments when he's a pretty happy little camper! He's our little Mr. Intensity... When he's happy, he's all smiles and cooing. When he's upset, he's a little tornado! Watch out! He's developed a special bond with his mommy, and sometimes she's the only one

Who can calm him.

Of course, then we have our little sweet Maddy girl! She's the easy baby! Well, most of the time!

However, when she screams, put some ear plugs in! This little girl can yell!

She has the cutest cry too! It's hard not to laugh a little at how dramatic she can make her cry sound!

Daddy stuck his tongue out at her last week and she thought that was so funny! What cracked us up was when she started doing it too!!! Now she'll instigate the game. We'll be changing her diaper at 2 am after a feeding and she'll stick her tongue out at you and then get this huge smile on her face! It maybe the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life.

Life with them is getting a little more manageable. They're sleeping at night a little more. We'll get 5 hour stretches of sleep pretty consistently, which is like gold to us. We've also figured out some of they're likes and dislikes, which makes life a little easier. Example; Maddy loves her swing while Mason prefers the bouncy chair.

Still, it's difficult raising two! As you can see in the picture below, sometimes you just need more hands!!! I love Mason's face in this picture, he looks like he's saying "What is going on????"

Having two, it's a rare occasion to not have a baby on you. We've been forced to learn how to do everyday tasks with one arm. Amanda hasn't mastered eating spaghetti one handed yet!

Luckily, mason was out cold and never knew what hit'em.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for checking in with us.

Enjoy your day and God Bless,

The Needham Family