First Thanksgiving

We had our first Thanksgiving as a family of four yesterday.  We were in Kingsport and had the full DeVault family there:

Poppy
Mimi
Uncle  Jarett
Aunt Janet
Cousin Kate
Cousin TBM (to be met in the future)
Craig
Heather
Jack
Mark

With the baby dedication at church in Raleigh on Sunday, and then my parents getting caught in a storm flying back to Kingsport (arriving home in the Tri-Cities at 12:45 AM instead of 8:50 PM...they spent about 5 hours in the wonderful Atlanta Hartsfield airport), and with Heather having a little cold, we left to come to Kingsport on Tuesday afternoon.

We had a very uneventful drive to Kingsport.  The boys slept the entire way.  We woke them up in Mt. Airy to feed them and then they quickly went back to sleep and didn't wake up until we were in Kingsport.  The boys had fun with their Mimi and Poppy on Tuesday.  The next day, Aunt Janet and Cousin Kate came up from Knoxville.  Kate, who is four, really enjoyed hanging out with the boys.  She helped some with changing their diapers and really loved to hold them.

Thursday, Uncle Jarett came up.  He had to work on Wednesday and today, so he just was there for the day. 

Since my parents just finished their house renovation a couple of weeks ago and are still getting things back in place, (and with all of the traveling everyone had done in the past week), we all decided to get Thanksgiving dinner from Cracker Barrel.  We picked it up and brought it back to the house.  It was very, very good.  We had turkey, ham, dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes, corn, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, biscuits, and apple streusel pie.  We had good food and good fellowship.

We drove back to Raleigh today, and yes, the boys slept the entire time...well, almost.  We stopped and fed them at the visitor center at the North Carolina/Virginia border.  And then, less than one mile from our exit, Jack woke up hungry.  So in a span of about 560 miles round trip, we had only about 1 mile of one of our kids crying.  We were so proud of them.  They are the best.

Here are some pictures of our trip to Kingsport:

Poppy and Jack having fun

Poppy holds both grandsons

Mark getting a bath

Jack getting a bath

Jack and Mark sitting on the couch wondering when is football going to come on.

On Thanksgiving, Jack is prompting Mark to ask the question they both want to get answered:  "When is dinner?"

Cousin Kate is somehow trapped in the Christmas tree box.

Whew!  She is going to make it out of the box.

The 3 grandkids all together:  Mark, Kate, and Jack

Dedication at Trinity

This past Sunday, the boys were dedicated at our church, Trinity Baptist. It was a really good moment. We dedicated to raise them in church, and to show and teach them about God, Jesus, and what it means to be a Christian. The boys were able to wear a new outfit for the ceremony. We were one of 7 couples who had their children dedicated. We were very happy and glad to have so many friends and family at the service. After the worship service, we went to our house and had a luncheon.

Here are some pictures in front of the church after the service:

Here is the family with Dr. Roberts.

The happy family:  Craig, Jack, Mark, and Heather

The DeVault family:  Poppy, Mimi, Craig, Jack, Mark, Heather, Kate, Janet, and Jarett

The Dills family:  Granna, Grandpa, Craig, Jack, Mark, Heather, Mama, and Papa

4 month appointment

Wednesday we had the boys 4 month appointment.  Before we went to the pediatrician, we went to SAS for lunch and to stop by Craig's office to let his co-workers see the boys.  At the doctor, the boys were weighed, measured, and got their head circumference.  Here is where the boys stand:

Jack

24 inches (2 feet)  30% percentile
14 lbs 5 oz   40% percentile
Head circumference  85% percentile

Mark

22.25 inches <3% percentile
12 lbs .5 oz  5% percentile
Head circumference  45% percentile

The doctor was very happy with the progress of the boys.  They are doing very well and the doctor said that very soon the boys should be starting to sleep from 7 PM to 7 AM.  We would be very happy for that to happen.  The boys got some shots as well.  However, they didn't like the shots they received and it wore them out for the rest of the day.

They slept really well last night.  They started rustling about around 5:15 AM, about the same time that Heather woke up and realized she needed to either feed or pump.  We hope for another good sleep tonight.

Today for the first time, the boys smiled at each other.  They have started noticing each other in the past few weeks but today was the first time they smiled intently at each other.

Early November happenings

We went to the doctor on November 2 and had the boys weighed to make sure that we had the correct amount of Prilosec for them.  Their weights are:

Jack 13 lbs 13 oz
Mark 11 lbs 1 oz

Also on November 2, the boys went to their first banquet.  Granna, recently retired from Queens University, was getting honored at the North Carolina Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators for her years of work in the association.  As a surprise to Granna, we were asked to take the boys to the banquet.  She was very surprised.  The boys did very well during dinner and made it through about 15 minutes of the program.  When they started getting antsy, Craig walked the boys around the lobby and first floor of the North Raleigh Hilton for the remaining 50 minutes. 

In the past two weeks, the boys have recently been playing more with toys. Mark really loves his activity mat. He will play on it for about 45 minutes at a time. Jack is starting to play on his activity mat more and more.


We are looking forward to going to their four month appointment to see how much weight they have gained.

Halloween

This past Saturday was Halloween. It was the boys first Halloween. The boys dressed up as two peas in a pod. Check out some of these pictures. They are so cute.

They are thinking what in the world are you doing dressing me up as food?

But we are really cute, aren't we?

Look at our hats.  We surprised Mom and Dad by keeping these on for the entire morning.

At 11 AM, we had a neighborhood parade where all the kids in the neighborhood would dress up in their Halloween costume and a fire engine from the Cary Fire Department would lead the kids around our block.  Then, we would have the fire fighters discuss fire safety with the kids before everyone would eat hot dogs or bratwurst.  As a treat, the kids were able to shoot the fire hose into someone's yard.  As a result, my yard got a lot of water yesterday.  I tried to get them to shoot my siding so my house could get powercleaned by the city of Cary, but to no avail.  Here are some pictures from the parade.  The boys did so well.  They were the hit of the parade.  People would come up and take pictures of the boys...and we didn't know 1/2 of the people who took these pictures. 

The boys are decked out in their costume ready for the parade.

Everyone is getting ready for the parade as the fire truck is all ready to go.

The parade is halfway done.  Note that we are near the back of the parade.

A better view of the fire truck.

Here come the twins!!!! And Mom and Dad.

The kids in the neighborhood all get a chance to use the fire hose...on my grass.

Here is the happy family yesterday!

The 5th commandment

The other day Mark let us know that he already knows the 5th commandment. For those of you that don't remember, it is: 

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Watch this little clip:

Mark hanging out with a friend

Earlier this week, one of Heather's best friends, Valerie Short, brought over her newborn daughter, Emilia, over for a playdate.  Here is a picture of Emilia and Mark, both in their own bouncy seat.