2011 ...

January

I was 5 months pregnant and teaching! The boys' fluid levels were just starting to be a worry. I felt great and was enjoying the 2nd trimester! Dr's appointments every 10 days! Extra protein and water in my diet!

February

I was 6 months pregnant and still teaching! The boys were doing great, and we were thinking positive! I was still eating extra protein and drinking lots of water! Still going to the Dr every 10 days! I had my baby showers and my first stay in the hospital! I was released after 4 days! We were unsure of how severe the complications with my cervix were going to be on the pregnancy! Brandon had the Flu for the first time and I had to move out of the house for a week! He also celebrated his 25th Birthday!

March

WOW! I was no longer teaching, and put on bedrest at 7 months pregnant. I was admitted to the hospital for the long haul! I spent all of March in the hospital. Woman's Hospital of Texas became our home. We watched a LOT of the episodes of CSI and 24! We watched multiple seasons! We had ultrasounds weekly. The boys were growing well! I missed my nephew's 1st Birthday since I was in the hospital :(

April

I spent 28 days in the hospital this month. The beginning was spent watching lots of TV! Teen Mom, One Born Every Minute, Army Wives, Coming Home, CSI, and 24! We realized the carseats would not fit in Brandon's truck! He purchased a 2012 4 door Chevrolet truck! My beautiful twin boys made their debut at 35 weeks pregnant on Easter, the 24th! Our life was forever changed and we were in love with Drake and Hunter! We spent the last days of April in the NICU with our boys! I was released on the 28th, and going home was strange! I had not seen my home since February 28th! I had never seen all the baby gear put together, and it was overwhelming finally seeing it when no babies were being brought home! I would pump every 3 hours, and spend as much time as possible in the NICU! I would spend typically 10 hours a day with the boys!

May

My mom drove me to the NICU daily around noon. She would stay until 4 when Brandon arrived. My boys got to come HOME on the 4th! We were so ecstatic to bring these bundles of joy into our home! Brandon took 2.5 weeks off work to stay with the boys and I! This was a very sleepless month for me! The boys were eating every 3 hours, so they typically slept for 2 hours at a time.

June

Our boys were a month old and still eating every 3 hours! I was still not sleeping! By this point, I was asking for a night of sleep here and there. Brandon's mom would keep the boys so I could get a night of sleep. I was in my best friend Lindsey's wedding :)

July

The boys started sleeping 4 hours between feeds at 2-3 months! This made a huge difference in my sleep! I was so excited! They began sleeping in their cribs! They were much more alert and showing their personalities! I was in my best friend Cirby's wedding :)

August

I returned back to teaching 8th grade math! The boys began cereal in their nighttime bottle and sleeping 12 hours at night! It was AMAZING! My mom watched the boys while I was at work. They started to enjoy their activity mats!

September

I felt better about being away from the boys 10 hours a day! We were getting a set schedule and it was working well. The boys started eating cereal with a spoon! Their hair was really starting to grow!

October

Their first Halloween and their 6 month shots!! Drake is scared of the dark in the car! They really begin to giggle! Their hair stands up because it has grown so much! They begin to roll back and forth! Drake loves to bounce in the jumperoo!

November

Their first Thanksgiving! My daddy moves to California for work and is away from us for the first time in our lives. He will be gone for approximately 10 months! He can come home every 8 weeks for four days! They learn to sit up on their own! I have a week off with the boys and they are teething the entire time!

December

We had the boys first Christmas and their teeth finally appeared! They take a trip to Fredericksburg! They get on their knee's and rock! Hunter learned to bounce in his jumperoo! I was off 2 weeks with the boys! They had their first really bad cold and Hunter had a double ear infection! They went through a no sleeping period! I purchased a 2012 GMC Acadia that will be the perfect family car for us as our family expands in the future!

2011

This has been an unbelievable year! I know it will always be one of the most memorable years of our lives! I look forward to many more years that are as eventful and special as 2011 has been for our family ♥

1st Christmas with the Twins ♥

It was a very special Christmas in the Olive house because we got spend it with our baby boys! I did most of my shopping online and started in early November. I went to amazon.com and searched all the toys for ages 6 months to one year. The boys were 8 months on Christmas Eve. I added anything and everything to my cart that I liked. On Black Friday I went shopping with my sister and price checked everything with amazon from my phone! I got a couple of their toys that night at WalMart! Since Amazon does free super saver shipping, I did not pay shipping on any of the items. I only bought 2 of the same toy when it was small individual toys. Cell phones, cameras, taggies, books, etc! The rest of the toys I bought one of, and they will share! I found a lot of neat toys online that I had never seen in the stores!


We had 4 Christmas Celebrations!

The first one was with Brandon's Aunt Rhonda, his Dad's sister. Her family and Brandon's family all got together at his parent's house! There were 3 more babies this year at Christmas! His cousin had a son, Rex, December 26, 2010. She went into labor on Christmas. Our boys made their debut on Easter. We must have something with Holidays ;)

This picture was a year ago at the Christmas celebration!

This was us with our boys at this year's Christmas celebration :)

Rex, Drake, and Hunter

Rex was fascinated with putting his fingers in their mouth! :)

Drake, Rex, and Hunter

Our boys December 22, 2011

The next celebration was with Brandon's parents and sister on December 23rd! This was their first time really opening presents. Hunter was not really interested in it. Drake was more likely to grab at the paper. Once the toy was out, Hunter was more interested. Hunter likes electronics! Buttons, phones, etc.

All their gifts from Meme, Papa, Aunt Lacey, and Uncle Casey!

Adorable shirts from Meme and Papa

They loved their table from Aunt Lacey and Uncle Casey!

The next day was Christmas Eve. We spend the afternoon with Brandon's parents, grandparents, and his Mom's brother's family. This is also family picture day every year, so we all dress up :)

While we were getting ready, our sweet Hunter passed out in the Jumperoo! He just learned how to jump this week and he LOVES it! I had to order a 2nd one since both boys now love to bounce! This baby was tired from all the Christmas celebrations :)

 The whole family :)

 Four Generations!

After we celebrate with Brandon's family, we head to my sister's house to celebrate with my family! This is the first Christmas, and hopefully LAST, that we spent without my daddy. He is currently working in California. I sent him a package with cookies that I baked, and some presents! It was definitely strange, but we made the best of it. We chat on webcam, but it just is not the same. He opened his gift while on webcam with me!! He will be home the first week of January to spend 3 days with us, and we CANNOT wait !!!!!

This picture melts my heart! I made Brett play Pretty Pretty Princess when I was young! That is just part of having a big sister! Well, Aiden has older cousins, and he wanted to play dress up with them! Brings back so many memories of my baby brother and I!

We headed home to get our boys in bed and ready for Santa to bring gifts. We put them in the Christmas pajamas after their bath, and started the Christmas Eve traditions.

We left out homemade cookies and milk for Santa Claus!

We put water out for the Reindeer!

We took a couple pictures in front of the tree, and then the tired boys went to bed :)

We think Santa came around midnight because their was some loud hammering. We think he may have had to put the wheels on the wagon once it arrived!

Our boys slept until 10 AM !!!!!! They NEVER sleep that late! I woke up to Brandon bringing them into our bed! I don't wake up until I hear babies, and they had not made a peep! Brandon went to check on them and Drake was awake playing in his bed, and Hunter was sleeping. When Drake saw daddy he started talking, and woke up Hunter Paul. So, Brandon brought them to our bed. We talked for a few minutes with our babies, then headed to see what Santa had brought in their stockings!

Santa even spelled our last name with the puzzle pieces!

Hunter Paul

Drake Brandon

This lion has an inflated ball hanging underneath it, and they LOVED it! :)

Daddy and the boys playing Christmas morning!

Our boys had such an amazing first Christmas! They received so many toys from all of our family and Santa! Thank you everyone for making it so special!

It was neat to begin our family traditions and spend Christmas with our boys ♥

8 Months...

My boys are 8 months old!!!! 2/3 of their first year is done! WOW! I need to start planning their First Birthday Party!!!! :)

This was a big month in the Olive house!

They had their first Thanksgiving! We went to their Meme and Papa's first, then to Aunt Kitty's.

It was nice having a week off with the boys! They were teething the entire week, so they were not the typical happy boys I normally have!

Hunter finally got both his bottom teeth on December 11! I cried when I realized they were there! I am such a sappy mom ;)

Drake got one bottom tooth on the same day!

This is the first thing Hunter has "beat" Drake at!! He is typically a couple days after Drake with milestones!

Drake got his second bottom tooth a week later!

So, both boys have two bottom teeth now :)

They are getting on all fours and rocking!

They also get on their hands and feet! This is how I crawled, so I am interested to see if either of the boys crawl like I did!

They had Gerber Puffs for the first time! They like them, but struggle getting them to their mouth.

They had sippy cups for the first time. Hunter is able to get it to his mouth and suck on it. Drake will have NOTHING to do with it. He will not hold it, if I put it near his mouth he spits.

Hunter still refuses to bounce in the jumperoo! He will stand and play, but not bounce.

Drake is a bouncing baby!

Hunter is able to go from sitting up to laying down. Drake does not do this as well.

Hunter sits straight up.

Drake sits leaning more forward.

They went to the Deer Lease which was a 5 hour drive!

Lots of drool since they are teething!

They had squash and sweet potatoes! They loved both!

They are in size 3 pampers!

They wear size 6 months clothing!

Drake is going to be our baby that gets into everything! I sat them by a Christmas tree to get some pictures, and he grabbed the tree and the ornaments the entire time! Hunter was not phased by them at all. Hunter wants to get the AT&T cable boxes on the entertainment center!

They get on their bellies in their cribs in the mornings and look over the bumpers at each other!

Their hair still stands straight up, but seems to be getting some color and not as white as it originally was!


They attended Krystil and Jake's wedding reception on December 17th! They still had stranger danger, but did go to a couple people. They were up a little passed their bedtime, and this did not help with them being sick.


Hunter had bad Stranger Danger first, then it wore off. He will let people speak to him, but would rather you not hold him. Drake hit the Stranger Danger phase a couple weeks later. He does not want you to even look at him. He will turn completely red and cry crocodile tears in a matter of 20 seconds!!

They went to their second cousin Rex's first birthday with Aunt Lacey and Meme while I got ready to be a Bridesmaid in Krystil's wedding! They had stranger danger! No one could hold them, but I am glad they were there!


They got a cold that has lasted nearly 2 weeks! Lots of runny noses! Little Noses and a suction bulb have been my best friend! They freak when you suction their nose.

Hunter's sick face is pitiful...

Hunter had a smile for me at the doctor !

I took them to the doctor just to be sure they were not developing anything, and they are perfect! Just a cold with teething!


Drake was 19 lbs 3 oz a week before he turns 8 months!

Hunter was 17 lbs 15 oz a week before he turns 8 months!

They are staying right around a pound different in weight! It feels like SO much more when you hold Drake! He must be built like his Daddy!

The jealousy factor has started! If I pick up one of the boys and walk away, the other baby gets upset. If I leave one in the swing, and pick up the other, he gets upset. So, this will be a work in progress!

They are really playing with their toys since they are sitting up! They love to play with the sit-n-stand activity walker! They are getting a second one for Christmas and I know they will love it :)

I am off for 2 weeks for Christmas break and I am loving having time at home with my boys!!


All I can think is where has the time gone?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?


It seriously feels like yesterday I was praying for these babies to stay in my belly!