2 year Doctor Appt for the twins - better late than never!!

The twins had a great visit with Doctor Lopez today! He was very pleased with both of them! They got a flu shot and are cranky because of it. But, all the concerns that we had 8 months ago are no longer there except Adam's seasonal allergies and asthma which could be there for life or he may grow out of them. Hopefully, he won't have to deal with them forever like his dad and I do.
Adam's Stats:
weight: 31.2
height: 36
head c: 50.6 - he already has a big head so don't tell him how cute he is! lol! jk!
He is walking, talking, and learning just as he should be! He is a puzzle boy for sure. He could sit there for an hour putting pieces on his many puzzles. He is starting to say banana correctly about 1/2 the time. (if you haven't seen it yet check out his video on Jonathan's facebook page) He loves his alphabet toy on the fridge and has learned many of his letters from there. We can tell him to go find L for lion and he will walk to the fridge and pull out the L from all the letters scrambled on the fridge. He can do that with more than 1/2 of them. He also loves his alphabet game is Granny and Granddaddy Hensley gave him for Christmas. You can have it showing the letter and tell him to find fish and he will turn over the f and show you the picture of the fish. He loves to "read" books and pick out letters that he knows and also the pictures of animals and other items. He loves to go to the park with the family and go through the tunnels and down the slides. He is well on his way to potty training and will tell me when he has a dirty diaper.
Mia's Stats:
weight: 24 lbs
height: 35"
head c: 48 cm
Mia is a lot like her brother in that she says banana funny with her tongue going side to side instead of the normal up and down. She loves putting together puzzles, reading books of all kinds, and always wanting to learn new things. She also loves the fridge learning tools especially the one with the animals. I think the pig is both of their favorite. She is also walking, talking, and learning things right on track for their age. If I would let her she would color on every surface of the house and could do it for hours. She is very outgoing and loves to play with others. She seems to be a leader and hopefully that continues throughout her life.
She also is wanting to get rid of the diapers but isn't for sure exactly what to do in order to get that accomplished. She is the best at dressing and especially undressing herself and has been teaching her brother to do the same. We got a new stuffed lion that you can sit on and she is scared of it but loves to tell us that it goes Roar! Mia also has a word that she has been saying that we found out is ICE but it sounds like a bad word for butt. Hopefylly we don't see any ice in public until we can get her to pronounce it better. Mia is finally taking to the bows that I make her and will let me put them in her hair. She will ask for them now which makes Mommy very happy since I love to make them for her.
Both of them enjoy going on walks and playing at the park. They love their cousins and often say Emma telling me that they want to play with her. I love that they are so close in age and get along so well.
We are truely blessed to have such wonderful kids to raise and love. Mommy and Daddy love you very much Adam and Mia! Like our cousin says about her son, thank you for breathing!

1/2 The Man I Used to Be

After 4 ½ months of training, 19.5hr (38miles) swimming, 65.2hr (1100miles) cycling, and 35.2hr (220miles) running I finished my first ½ Ironman Distance Triathlon in Austin, Texas this past weekend. Overall it was a rewarding, humbling, and positive experience. Read on for a full race report

Swim (1.2miles - 37:48min) – Swim start was broken up into age groups and my age group was large enough to make to wave starts. My wave didn’t start until 8:20, about 50min after the first professional wave. There were probably about 30 people in my particular wave. The start was a water start (everyone stands in water about waist deep until they say go). The swim went exactly as planned. It was only mildly rough as far as kicking, elbowing and other contact goes. I felt good the entire swim, sighted well with only a few detours after rounding the last buoy, and came in 10-12sec faster than my goal time of 38min.

Transition 1 (5:47) – My goal with transition was to take them slow and relaxed which I did by my time. I have a new triathlon love…. Strippers! Now before you call Milina let me explain. They have a mat shortly after you exit the water with strippers, wetsuit strippers that is. Now if that still doesn’t sound appropriate let me explain further. After you get your wetsuit pulled off your arms and down to your waist a volunteer, known as a wetsuit stripper, will grab the wetsuit at your waist and pull it off you. This is far faster than trying to strip out of your wetsuit on your own.

Bike (56miles – 3:00:21 or 18.68mph) – My bike goal time was 3:15-3:30 with the idea that I knew the run was my biggest weakness and I wanted to take the bike slow and reserved. I felt great on the bike!!! Austin can be hilly, that is why they call it the hill country. I felt relaxed and comfortable the entire route no hill was really that challenging or difficult. About 48miles in I even backed off a fair amount to rest and prepare for the run, otherwise I would have easily averaged over 19mph.

Transition 2 (7:48) – Yes a very long transition. The plan was to keep my heart rate low in transition and be rested for the run.

Run (13.1miles 2:46:36) – This where the race went from the perfectly planned execution to a very challenging and somewhat painful process. The run course was 2 laps of 6.55 miles, very exposed with little if any shade, very hilly, and a mixture of paved and off road terrain. The first lap was great; felt good and even had to hold back a bit with the full intention of running a negative split. I finished the first lap in 1:13:47. About 1-2miles into the second lap I found myself walking through every aid station and often past each aid station, walking up hills, fighting calf/hamstring/quad/ and low back cramps, dehydrated, and nutritional empty. I did muster enough to run the last 1mile strongly knowing it was the last mile. That last 6.55 miles took 1:32:49, 20min slower than the first lap.

The FINISH!! (6:38:20) Despite the discouraged feeling I had the last 4-5miles leading up to the finish the joy and emotion of crossing the finish line after months of sacrifice and training was more than I expected. The best part of the finish was crossing the finish line to my waiting family who had sacrificed so much to allow me the opportunity to be ½ of an Ironman

Twins at 19 months!!!

The twins are growing up so quickly! They are already 19 months old! It seems like only a few months ago we were bringing them home from the hospital.
They had their 18 month check-up and all is well. Adam is about 28 lbs and 32 inches tall and at 74%! Adam is now walking and has been for a little while now. One night when we were going on a Buffalo Wild Wings date, the Perkins family came over to watch the babies. They brought their 3 pretty girls with them and within 5 minutes Adam was chasing them around the house doing 20 steps at a time. So, I was excited that he finally decided to walk. Well, come to find out it was only because he was chasing after the pretty girls! After that night he wouldn't walk but maybe 6steps at a time until we started trying something new. Instead of walking him holding his arms we started trying to hold his hips and this helped a little bit but then Jonathan decided to just hold on to the bottom of his shirt in back and pull just a little. He thought we were back there holding on and when we let go he would walk! Now he is practically running everywhere! He decided he didn't want to do it until he knew he could master it! It is so nice to have him walking now! Adam loves to read his books! He could read the many books he has for minutes - not hours but I can see him doing that soon! He loves to swim and they have been swimming with the Perkins girls twice in the last week! Adam loves his watermelon and strawberries! We can't put those in his sight if we want him to eat anything else. Adam has almost all of his teeth now. In fact, he is cutting an I-tooth now and isn't sleeping as much as usual because of the pain. Poor baby!
Mia is 20 lbs and 30.75 inches tall and only 2%! We are still working on getting Mia's percent up to at least 5%. She is just so active that she runs it off! But we still need to get her up to a healthy weight. Actually, you should see her running! She is so prissy in her run - up on her toes! It is the cutest thing! She if full of excitement, laughter, joy, and love! She loves to carry a purse or a bag around and put toys and other items in it! She also loves to put baby rings (ones that hold toys to bouncers and strollers) on her wrist like they are bracelets! I don't know where she gets this because I don't wear bracelets or hardly any jewelry at all! I am going to have to make her some bracelets, so she can wear them to church and out shopping. She is totally a girly girl! On the other side, she doesn't mind getting dirty! She and her brother make the biggest messes while eating. She loves beans, watermelon, strawberries, etc which all leave her very colorful after eating especially with the black beans! She also likes to dig in her diaper on accasion and paint art all over her crib! (no that she didn't get from me either!!!) Speaking of poo, last night was a first! The twins were getting their bath last night and we usually will let them play for a little while before we start bathing them. Well, Mia had decided that her daddy had taken to long to bathe her so she pooped in the bathtub! It was funny and groose all at the same time. We quickly got them out of the bath and cleaned it up and then had to start the bath all over again! This time we didn't let them play because you never know when round 2 will come! There's a first time for everything but hopefully that is also the last for that one! Mia has about 7 or 8 teeth now. She started late with the teeth but that is okay because I hear they are more healthy the longer they wait. Mia also loves swimming but when she is finished she will let you know as I found out yesterday!
Being a mom to these 2 wonderful little ones has been such a blessing in my life and well worth the wait! Hopefully, we won't have to wait as long for the next one though!
I will try to update this more often! Jonathan is the better blogger not me, but he is very busy training for a 1/2 Ironman in Oct and his new church calling as Young Men President.
New photos to be posted to facebook later today which will probably be titled Jonathan's sense of humor! You will see why!!!

Twins 1 yr old!!!

On Jan 7th, the twins turned 1 year old. They are both now crawling and surfing around furniture. Adam can stand and balance on his own but doesn't take any steps just yet. Mia will take a few steps but only from person to person and usually falls into them because she leans into them. (She does the leaning thing from While you were sleeping)

Saturday, they had their birthday party and many family and friends came. They loved all the attention, presents and really enjoyed the cake. They weren't as messy as I would have thought but they did get it all over them. They loved the bath afterwards with their new bath toys that Uncle Patrick and Aunt Kati bought them. We want to thank everyone for coming and celebrating this special occasion with us!

Today, was their 1 year check-up and they did great! Adam didn't cry at all when he got his shots. Mia did but more because I wasn't giving her puffs because I didn't want her to choke!
Adam weighs 21 lbs 6.4 oz - at birth was 4 lbs 9 oz
Mia is now 15 lbs 9.6 oz - at birth was 4 lbs 2 oz
The doctor said they are doing great and are very healthy little one! He tried to take them with him but I wouldn't let him!

I am so proud of my little ones for fighting hard the first 4 weeks in the hospital and becoming the healthy, strong, and loving little 1 yr old kids they are today! Jonathan and I are truly blessed with these two little miracles! We thank Heavenly Father for letting us care for his children while they are here on the earth and for the opportunity we have to be their parents forever. It was a long struggle to get pregnant and we couldn't even imagine the joy that these 2 precious little ones have brought into our lives! We have found our JOY in these two for sure! You RS ladies will know what I am talking about! We are so thankful for them and for all of you in our lives!

love,
Jonathan and Milina

The Price is Right Game Night! Milina is the Winner!!!

Since I haven't been called yet for my chance to go to the Price is Right in person, my sweet, awesome, wonderful, etc sister-in-law Jill surprised me with a Price is Right game night last night! She really did a great job preparing for it. She tivo'd the game show for weeks to get the ideas for the games...ha ha I secretly made you watch without even knowing! It was GREAT! My father-in-law Doug was Bob - not Drew - sorry Drew! He said he was Bob because he had the same color hair as Bob. My mother-in-law, Susan, was the Barker Beauty. Jill was Rich and said what everything was. Then all the rest of us were contestants. The first thing to bid on was a diamond ring which Darin won because he saw the card with the price somehow. He got to play hole in one...or two. He didn't win. Sorry Darin! Then the next prize was an I-Phone for 299. Everyone else overbid and I bid 199.00 so I got to go up and do the next game. I kissed Bob on the cheek! (my dream - to kiss Bob on the cheek) Mine game was Punch a Bunch! One of my favorites because I am a Taekwondo instructor and I love to punch, plus you win even if it is only $50.00. My other one is GAS MONEY because you can win a car and money!!! On my first punch I won 500.00 and I threw it back and got 50.00. I of course threw it back too and then the next one my father-in-law said that I could take that one or he would double the amount that I get on the next one so I took the double and the one I gave up was the 10,000 one. I won 2,000 though! Yeah! To bad it wasn't real money huh! Then, there was a bike to bid on and something else. Jonathan got to go up and so did Patrick. I can't remember what Jonathan played but Patrick could either win a car, a trip or money. He had to choose #s and under that number was either the front and back of the car, the top or bottom of the plane or $$. He ended up with money! But at the end of the day I was the one with the most money so I was the first contestant for the showcase and Patrick was the other one. The first one was 3 trips to great places but I passed because I could never find a babysitter for 3 long trips nor would I want to be away from my beautiful twins that long! So Patrick bid 23,???. My showcase was a Toyota and a 2007 Shelby convertable silver mustang. I asked the audience what I should bid and then came up with 107,318. My showcase was 147,000 but Patrick's was 20,800 and was over so I WON!!! I didn't get both showcases but I did win and it wasn't rigged! Wow!!! It was so much fun and I want to thank my wonderful sister-in-law Jill for thinking it up and preparing it and Michelle and Susan for their help with the games! I HAD A BLAST!!! Thanks Jill!!! Oh, I forgot, the best part was I got to win while holding Adam in my lap and having Mia beside me! I couldn't do that if I were really on the show! I am still waiting for the call and hopefully they will call soon! I don't know when or if I should give up but I know this whole experience has been a huge thrill and I would love the chance of a life time to go but if it doesn't happen I had a blast with the family last night!!! Do have a great family or what!?!?!? I am truly blessed! :)

I Survived the Triple Threat!!

Last weekend was the annual Hotter than Hell 100 bike race in Wichita Falls, Texas. This was our (Patrick, Kati, and myself) second year to participate. The main event is a 100mi road bike ride through Wichita Falls and surrounding towns. There are however 2 lesser advertised races during the weekend, a 12ish mile mountain bike race and a trail run consisting of 13.1 (1/2 marathon) a 10K and a 5K distance. Somehow we got the wild hair to compete in the Triple Threat which combines all the races into one event. Very few do all 3 races in fact out of 14,200 participants in the Sat ride there are only around 100 people that brave all 3 races. Friday 6pm you compete in the 12ish mi mountain bike race then wake up nice and early on Sat to ride the 100mi road race and if that wasn't already enough you get up early again on Sunday and run the 1/2 marathon trail run. All your times are combined and a total time is given. Here is the breakdown of each individual race.

Mountain Bike finish time 1hr9min - Fri 6pm 12ish mile Mountain Bike race - A great mountain bike trail consisting of some tight turning flat sections and some very near vertical drops and ascents of up to 8-10ft. There was also a bridge section which was a man made elevated platform/bridge up to 6ft high 4ft wide and extending for about 100ft. There were a few stream crossings and obstacles both man-made and natural to add to the excitement. I took a nice header into a tree while trying to duck under a large limb stretching over the course. I though for sure I would be buying a new helmet because the hit left me slightly dazed for about 10-20 sec. Overall a nice course and very fun and a comfortable pace as the next morning's 100mi was in the back of my mind.

Road Race finish time, pedaling 6hr6min, total time 7hr33min total - This year the race didn't live up to it's name of Hotter N' Hell, it was more like the Milder N' Hell. The high for the day was 92deg and it was probably in the low to mid 70s when we started. A perfect day for a bike ride, even a 100mi bike ride. The only negative side was that cool temperatures brought out more riders bringing the total entrants for all distance to just over 14,200 which is 2,000 more than last year. My goal for this year was to finish in roughly the same pedaling time but less total time and stop less often. Last year I stopped at 4-5 rest stops this year I only stopped at 3 and not for nearly as long. Overall a more comfortable ride than last year partially because of the weather and mostly because I was far better prepared both for the distance and as far as hydration and nutrition are concerned. I think I could have definitely pushed harder and only stopped twice, once at 60mi and then again at 90mi but I wanted to make sure my legs still had some life for the next day.

Half Marathon Trail Run (13.1mi) total time 2hr28min - I was pleasantly surprised that when I got up Sun morning I was not really sore. I did however have a very sore Rt knee that started on Saturday around mile 20 and persisted the rest of the 100miles. I was somewhat concerned Sat night that the pain would be worse the next morning and then coupled with sore tight muscles I would be unable to run. The race was supposed to start at 7am but due to a high degree of disorganization and confusion among the race volunteers and the race director it started at 7:30 with runners still scratching their heads as to where the turn around points for the shorter distances would be. Luckily for us you just keep running and never turn around, it was basically a big loop. This was my first 1/2 marathon distance run which coupled with doing it over rough terrain, i.e. the mountain bike trail we rode Friday evening, made me a little nervous. I was pleasantly surprised in that my knee tolerated the entire run as long as I did not make a long stride. The only time I stopped was at 2 aid stations to get a quick drink of cold water and a few wedges of oranges then right back to running. I finished just a few minutes behind Kati which always makes me happy when I am close to her when finishing a run.

Totals 126miles either pedaling or running in 10hrs total work time, 4500calories, and 29,800 pedal strokes.

Milina Stoddard, You're the next contestant on the Price Is Right!!!

Hopefully, my lifelong dreams will come true! Saturday, I (Milina) went to Carpet One in Hurst to audition for The Price Is Right game show which I have been watching since I was a baby. It started off with my Granny Hensley letting me watch it with her and now I watch it with Adam and Mia every day. I record it on my dvr every day just incase I miss something and need to go back. Almost, everyone that knows me know that I watch it all the time. That was one of the things I looked forward to the most when I left the work place to work from home. For Christmas, my sister-in-law, Jill, got me a t-shirt with their logo on it. Which turned out to be a good thing because I was able to wear it to the audition.
So, Saturday morning I showed up at 10:00 and there was already a long line waiting for them to open up the doors. I was the 311th person there. We waited in line for about an hour and a half and then got to go in and audition. They have chairs set up like you're in the audience with a stage up front. Then a guy from CBS11 TV would call out #s and when they called your number you got to very enthusiasticly run up on stage and talk to a camera and tell them why you should be the next contestant on The Price Is Right. This is really big for me because I get really nervous in front of people. I'm not a public speaker - at all!!! I really couldn't tell you everything that I said but I know I said that I wanted to spin the big wheel and win both showcases! I am good at that from home. I usually bid within 250.00 at least once a month which is what you need to win both. While I was auditioning the guy didn't ask me the questions that he asked others like what game to you like the best or how will you respond if you get a phone call back. While sitting there you could tell that people really didn't watch the game show because they couldn't even name any games and didn't know much about the show. Most of them just said that they wanted money, a new car, or to go on a trip to get away from their kids for a while. (which I think is really sad) My favorite game is a new one called Gas Money where you could win a car and money! I also would have said that I love Punch Out because I am a Taekwondo instructor and I wanted to show them how to really punch for money! Anyway, I had a great time even if I am not one of the 3 that get chosen and flown to LA. One of those gets to have their named called to "come on down." I so wish that could be me. I was very happy though because Jonathan brought the twins up to watch me a little while before I got to go up. That was amazing having them their and showing them off to the ladies that were in line with me. Thank you to my wonderful hubby for bringing them up there to watch me! I had a blast and I will let you know if I get "The Call" or not. Let's cross our fingers!!! I want to hear, "Milina Stoddard, your the next contestant on The Price Is Right!!!"

Disco Triathlon Recap

Fortunately the triathlon mishaps for the day occurred only before the race not during but a big mishap it was. My front wheel flew off it's rack while driving to the race at 5:30am. Too dark to look for it but tried with no success. Thankfully Patrick was able to drive up and put his front tire on my bike as the swim start began. Milina's parents came to town Sat to visit the twins and see the race but mostly visit the twins. This is the first race the twins have come to and I was able to carry them across the finish line, this highlight of the race.

Swim -500yd (450m) 9:25min 11th place out of 44. Lake open water swim with a mass beach start. I was a little worried after seeing the number of people in my division Males 30-39, which is typically a large division. I will often hold back a few seconds to allow the main group to start to avoid any needless kicks to the head but didn't this time. I only suffered a few small kicks to the arm. This was a relatively fast swim as the water was not all that choppy and the sandy beach made exiting more comfortable than concrete boat ramps.

Transition 1 - 3:20min Average time in T1, boy was it nice to see a tire on the front of the bike. I was imaging completing the bike portion like a unicycle. It was a long run from the beach exit to the transition area though which added a little time.

Bike - 17.6mi avg 19.2mph 55:02min 22nd place out of 44. Great road condition with mostly flat smooth road. There were a few hills and some of the descent or as bad as North Texas gets. The weather was near perfect for the bike ride. After 9 or so days of triple digit temperatures I was dreading the heat during the race even with a 7am start. It was low 90's with a slight breeze.

Transition 2 - 1:04min Probably my fastest T2 ever partially because it was only a spring distance race I didn't need to bring any gels or anything like that on the run and I knew the run was mostly shaded so no extra water either.

Run - 5K 3.2mi, 27:34min with a 8:54/mi pace 27th place out of the same 44. It only took about 1 mi to break into a good pace and get my legs used to running instead of cycling. From there it was actually a nice comfortable run, mostly shaded on paved running trails. Definitely felt like I could have repeated the run portion of the race a second time without difficulty.

Final Time - 1:36:23 placing 26th out of 44 in my age group and 155th place out of 420 participants

Leaps and Bounds

Sorry for another long drought of information on the twins and their progress. They are so much fun to watch as they learn new things. So here we go
They discovered their feet a few weeks ago which aided greatly in Mia learning to roll onto her stomach from her back. Adam took a little longer than Mia to learn the rolling from back to stomach trick I say because he has about 3lbs on her it takes more oomph to get than weight shifted over enough to roll. They are really just now deciding that lying on their stomach is really not that bad and will stay there for several minutes before the crying starts. Last week they started rolling back over onto their back but have not really mastered that enough to do so at will.
They make the most interesting and funny noises which is a personal favorite of mine. Mia has mastered the girly, squeally laugh that when coupled with a big smile and sparkling eyes would brighten anybodies day. Adam has perfected the art of the raspberry and especially mimicking raspberries. If you make a raspberry noise at him he raspberry right back at you just with a little more slobber and spit bubbles involved.
They are starting to put some weight on their toes and try to stand but still need someone holding them up.
We are going to Milina's family reunion this weekend and will have lots of new pictures to add to the gallery.

It's true! They grow up way too fast!

As of last Thursday, Adam found his feet and now loves to play with them usually when he is in his swing. Friday, Mia rolled over for the first time. I was on the computer with her beside me lying on her back and the next thing I knew she was not happy and I look down and she was on her tummy crying. She has since rolled over 2 other times, once yesterday and once today. Adam isn't rolling over just yet but if you put him in his crib on his tummy he will raise his head so high that when he shifts his head he rolls over onto his back. It is really fun to watch but only on a soft surface of course! I can't believe that our little ones are getting so big already. Time flies!
The twins have been enjoying their walks around the neighborhood at night. They usually fall asleep which is great for mommy and daddy so that we can get them to bed sooner. They have been eating around 10:00 to 11:00 at night and sleeping until 5:30 in the morning! They also have been sleeping in their cribs at night!!! Mommy and Daddy are happy to finally get some quality sleep in their own bed instead of one always being upstairs with the babies.
Adam and Mia have also become quite the talkers. Adam has learned how to mimic some sounds/noises, so we take turns making noises back and forth. In the mornings they are both very happy when they wake up and spend the fisrt 10 min or so talking to us and each other.

Fueled by TWIN POWER!!

5/25/09 was the Capital of Texas Triathlon in downtown Austin. I turned in a personal best time for an Olympic distance of 3:00:39, my goals was around 3:10.00 and my previous personal best was 3:06. Considering I put in far less training than I ever had leading up to a race I am more than excited. It was a fast course though compared to other races I have participated in. Here is the breakdown for the race.
Swim -29:14min for a 1500 meter swim which is slightly less than 1mi (.97miles). the swim was in the river than goes through downtown. 68deg water temp which is wet suit legal. I contribute a faster swim time to my first time wearing a wet suit and a friendly current. The first portion of the swim was against the current for about 600M and with the current for about 900m. This was also not as violent a swim as some in the past. For those of you who have never swam with several hundred people at a time swimming truly can be a full contact sport. I have never broke the 30min mark on the swim.
Bike: 1:18:23 for a 40K bike ride, avg 19mph. Very fast bike course, it was 4 laps of a 6~mile loop up Congress by the Capital. The first 2-3miles was either gradual or not so gradual up hill then about 2-3miles of nice fast downhill. Turns were a little tricky though due to congestion from countless other cyclists all making the same turns at high rates of speed (23-24mph on some). Good bike course for spectators because you can see your friends/family several times throughout the course. Unfortunately we didn't have a cheering section so I just imagined everyone was cheering for me. Only bad thing about a fast bike course is you have a tendency to race too hard which affects the run later on. This is about 4-6min faster than my normal pace
Run: 1:04:52 for a 10K, or 6.4 miles. The run was a 2 loop course of 3.2mi per loop also through downtown. A few moderately challenging hills which always seem to come when you are the most tired. The run course was fairly exposed to the sun. There were a good number of aid stations with plenty of water to cool you off. The nice thing about a 2 lap race is by time you finish the first lap and start the second you have a list of mental landmarks throughout the course to keep you motivated and pushing at the appropriate pace. This is exactly the time I was expecting on the run as I did not prepare as much as I would have liked to. This time is about 8min slower than my previous 10K race time of 56min.

Transitions: My only complaint about the transitions was the large size of the transition area. There was a several hundred yard run into transition from the swim and then again on the way out to transition to the bike. You can not mount your bike until you leave the transition area which leaves you running in you cycling shoes on sand and pavement for far too long which greatly slowed my transition time. That being said I had a 4:22 min transition from the swim to bike (T1) and then a 3:45 min transition from the bike to the run (T2). That was a respectable T1 and about a 30sec slower than I would have liked T2 time.

For race pictures click here http://www.asiorders.com/choose_name.asp?EVENTID=46372&LAST=stoddard&DIVISION==

New Found Respect for Batman

This weekend is the Captial of Texas Triathlon, CapTexTri, in Austin. Patrick, Dallas and Myself are racing and for the first time Patrick and I will be in the same age category. The water temperature is currently 68deg, yes that is cold. I knew it would be a colder swim so I bought my first triathlon wetsuit, an Orca Equip Tri Wetsuit. I put it on for the first time and must say I feel somewhat like a superhero, Batman in particular as the wetsuit is black neoprene. It took about 15min to put on and I even attached pictures for those of you that would like to see me as my superhero persona. I wearing it as I type, sweating like a pig and wondering how I will ever get it back off. So next time you see me if I am dressed all in black annd look like a less buff version of a superhero it is becuase I couldn't take it back off.

Hello Sleep, Oh How I Have Missed You!!!

The twins had their 2month appt this morning and they are doing great. Adam weighs 12.5lb and Mia 10.5lb. They are still underweight for a 4month old which is to be expected. Adam is in the 90the percentile for the preemie scale and Mia is in the 50th percentile for the preemie scale. Basically they have gained weight and are slowly catching up to what they should weight but have a little way to go. Best news of all is they can go longer at night in between feedings. I have been averaging 5hr sleep/day and Milina around 4-5hr/day. It is amazing we are not comatose. Now we will feed them at 11:30pm and then again at 5:30pm which means one of us goes to bed at 10:30 and sleeps until 5:30 and the other goes to bed at 12:30 and sleeps to 6:30. I am not sure how my math skills are since I am still sleep deprived but that is 6-7hr sleep/day, Hallelujah!!!!!
I have also posted some new pictures of the twins. Boy they are happy little babies. Not that they don't cry but only when they are hungry or tired basically. They both have smiles that can melt your heart. They love to go on walks and get to about 4X/week. When we go on walks they look around at everything they can. Mia is especially fond of her father and seems to like male voices over female voices, her mother is the exception of course. When a guy holds her she sill stare intently at their face with this adorable little smirk like she is in a staring contest.

Baby Blessing This Weekend

The twins will be blessed in church this weekend and there is an open invitation to all those who would like to attend. It will be on Sunday May3rd at 1:30 (best to arrive about 10min early) at the following address. Our Sacrament meeting which is the main service is from 1:30-2:30 and invite all who come for the blessing to stay the hour.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
7600 N Beach St
Ft Worth, Tx

Of course all those who have noticed sudden onset of the ability to seek out truffles, a desire to bathe in mud, recent espisodes of rooting in the ground, development of cloven hoofs, or other swine flu symptoms may come at your own risk. You may however become the main dish at a Luau in honor of the twins later that day.

All Smiles and Laughs

The twins continue to grow and learn new things. Mia has become quite the photogenic little girl as you can see from the new photos. She even looks like she is trying to push Adam out of the way to hog all the limelight. Both are becoming quite the happy little babies. They entertain themselves better. Last night Mia woke up around 11:00 when I was trying to get Adam back to sleep. Instead of crying immediately like they used to she stared at the fan smiling and laughing until she smiled herself to sleep. There is nothing like their smiles and laughs to melt a heart. Both are putting on weight, Adam is around 12 1/2 and Mia around 10 1/2. Adam is catching up to ideal weight and Mia is still underweight but it is good to see her closing the gap between her and Adam. Mom has been coming over each Fri night to pull nighttime twin duty and let Milina and I sleep. We have become soooo boring that when we have a night off to do whatever we want the first thing on the list is to go to bed at 9:30 and sleep until we wake up which is usually around 7:30-8:30.

Pictures with the Easter Bunny!

Today, the twins got dressed up in their cute little Easter outfits that Lana Lowry and her daughters bought for them. Mia's dress is white with pink ribbon details, a pretty pink bow in front, and a silky diaper cover. Adam was wearing a yellow button-up shirt with blue and plaid overalls. After they got dressed we took them to Walmart to have their pictures made. This was their 3rd trip to Walmart and probably many more to come since I love to shop at Walmart. The line to wait for the pictures with the bunny was only about 1 or 2 other kids in front of ours, so not long at all. They did very well with the Easter Bunny unlike me with Santa Claus when I was younger. They even looked happy to be there. The fuzzy bunny probably felt like their really soft blankets that Aunt Audrey bought them which they love! We will scan the pictures tomorrow night and post them on here also. Tomorrow they get to find their Easter baskets at their Grandma's house. Grandma will hide a bag or basket of goodies for everyone to go find. Of course, Jonathan and I will help them find their baskets as we look for our own. They also get to see how many little peanut m&ms they can find hidden around the house. What fun huh? Thank you to everyone for keeping up with the twins! They are very precious to us and we love to share them with you. Happy Easter Everyone!!!
Yea, I have learned how to post! I am not as funny as Jonathan is though, so mine won't be as fun to read. oh well!

3 months old and all smiles

I realize that I am very slow to update the blog and will be showing Milina how so maybe there will be more consistent updates. The twins continue to grow and reach new milestones. The news we are most excited about is that Adam's feedings are now every 5 hours and Mia's are ever 2 1/2 hours. Mia was on every 4 but she would spit up so much we had to feed her more often and at least the 2 hour split kept her with Adam every other feeding. Mia does go 5hr in between the evening feedings which has been great for our sleep.
Both are starting to smile more and even starting to coo. Adam smiles and coos more than Mia does but she is finding her nice voice as well. They are also much better at entertaining themselves. They can lay under their mobiles or just look around for a little while instead of immediately crying when unattended.
We have also started taking them out more often. They have been to church 2X and have done very well. Adam is well on his way to bishopric material because he can sleep through sacrament meeting like he has been in presidency meetings all morning. We have also taken them on several walks in the neighborhood and they love to look around when it doesn't put them to sleep.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The twins will be blessed in church the first Sunday in May which is May 3rd. It will be at 1:30 at the following address. Everybody and anybody is invited.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
7600 N Beach St
FT WORTH, TEXAS

2 months old

The twins are just over two months old now and doing great. I know it has been a little while since we have updated our blog so here is the last month of news condensed. Both Adam and Mia are putting on weight, Adam more then Mia. Adam now weighs 9-91/2lbs and Mia weighs just over 8lbs. Fortunately we have been able to move from feeding every 3 hours to ever 4 hours which is wonderful. They still have their nights and days a little confused and are awake most often from 10pm to 2 or 3pm. Milina started back to work this last week and she is still trying to figure out the best arrangement. She works from home 4hr/day and will have a friend from church come over and help with one feeding during the week so she can get her work done. They are not too far behind the developmental milestones for a 2 month old according to the pediatrician. They are starting to hold their head up on their own but resemble a bobble head and are fond of head butting you in the chest. They track noises and visual cues. They have even started to smile more, and real smiles not the accidental smiling they did as infants. I am especially proud of Mia who appeared to chuckle a little while I was singing a made up song to her called Super Mia ( I make up random songs to sing to the twins). Mia has restored my faith in the fact I am as funny as I think I am despite what Milina tells me.

3 Rounds of In-Vitro $?, 1 month in the NICU $?, Twins - Priceless (or are they)

Last night I went to a college planning seminar that our financial planner put on. It was just another reminder of how much kids will cost over time. At the same time the hospital bills are starting to trickle (or rush) in. I have told Milina on several occasions that if the Twins ask us where their college/mission funds are I will explain to them how much it cost to bring them into the world and their tab is overdrawn. In that spirit I am holding a poll/guessing game.
Here is the premise. How much is the total twins cost from conception to homecoming? I will give you a brief synopsis of the everything building up to homecoming to help you make an educated guess. I am adding up total charges not our total cost. For example the doctor may bill $200 for a procedure and the insurance only pays $75 and then we only pay our $25 copy. So when you make your guess you are trying to guess the total charged amount to the insurance company, it is more fun that way plus everybody's insurance varies too much. I will be using our EOB's to add up the total charged amounts.
1) 2 full rounds of In-vitro (full round is more expensive, it is where you get the eggs to work with and then freeze if you have enough)
2) 1 frozen cycle In-vitro (less expensive because you use frozen embryos)
3) 7 months pregnancy (office visits, ultrasounds, medications, i.e.)
4) Delivery (twin delivery in a operating room, natural birth)
5) 1 month for twins in a NICU

Good Luck, I have an initial amount already but I am not finished adding up yet. I will post the final amount and the winner in a few weeks.

2wk Homecoming

The twins have been home for 2wks now and we are surviving just fine. We have had a great deal of help from church in bringing meals and helping Milina with a few feedings. And of course from elated grandmothers who you can't pry the kids away from. It is amazing how either of us can function on less than half the sleep we are accustomed to getting. We have developed our own routines to make sure the twins stay on a schedule. The twins are growing and now weigh 7lb 5oz and 6lb 2oz for Adam and Mia respectively. They are becoming more animated and interactive but still are content to mainly eat/sleep/poop. I will download more pictures probably over the weekend.