QOTW: How I Chose the Twins' Names.....

Twins, Part 1!

These are 4 year-old twin girls named Caitlyn Renee and Charlotte Alayna.

Did you stick with family names?

For these 2, not really. Charlotte was named for my granddaddy, Charles, who had passed away the year before. I was an absolute Granddaddy's girl, so I felt like I needed to honor him in my life. Charlotte's middle name was for "Alan". Alan was my husband's youth bowling coach and a huge influence in our lives. Alan also had a son named John Alan who was a few years younger than my hubby. They had been friends pretty much their entire youth. He was killed in an auto accident in 2000, so we used Alayna as a way to honor the 2 Alans. Caitlyn was a "C" name we could agree on. At the time I was pregnant, we said that these 2 were going to be our last 2. Picking out a 4th C name wouldn't have been such a big deal to me if it wasn't for the fact our oldest 2 also had C names. We got to thinking, "Either this baby will thing its an odd ball and that's why we didn't give it a C name or the other kids will think this is the special kid and got a special name." So, we settled on Caitlyn and after much debate, I told hubby to just pick a darn middle name. So, we got Renee.

How do you feel about "matchy" names?

That is completely up to the parents. Who am I to judge? I had considered naming these 2 Arabella and Isabella. LOL But, I wanted to honor my granddaddy more so I went in a different direction.

Did you worry about their names "coordinating?"

Not really. As long as they sounded good as a whole, it didn't matter to me.

Did you name your babies before you met them, or wait until you saw them to assign names?

Baby B was the first one that we found out the gender on. She became Charlotte. Weeks later we found out girl for Baby A and she became Caitlyn. We got Charlotte's name dead on! It means "womanly" and she is pure prissy!

What were your second choices?

For boys, Charles Alan and Christopher John (or Christopher Michael, Jr). If it had been boy/girl twins we would have had Christopher (Michael Jr or John) and Charlotte Alayna.

Did you consider the popularity of a name as a deciding factor?

Nope. I have no idea where these names are on popularity for 2005. Ok, I went and looked it up just because I have a curious mind. And, well since you asked, I wanted to know! In 2005, Charlotte was ranked #97 according to Baby Center. Caitlyn (or Caitlin) was not on the top 100 at all. According to Nickelodeon's Parent Connect, Caitlyn was 182 and Charlotte was 134 for 2005.

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Twins, Part 2!
These are 2 year-old twin girls named Cheyenne Elyzabeth and Courtney Michelle.

Did you stick with family names?

Nope. Not really at all. Chris actually named these 2. I had chosen an A and B name for them if they were girls. He decided that no, we had begun the C tradition (our names are Chris and Crystal and our 4 oldest children are also C's) that we were going to continue the tradition. He had originally chosen Cheyenne and Courtney, but we had no middle names chosen yet. One day he came home and said Cheyenne Michelle and Courtney Elizabeth? I said to change them to Cheyenne Elyzabeth and Courtney Michelle and he said ok. My older sister's name is actually Elizabeth, although it never crossed my mind when I was thinking of names. I changed the spelling, because honestly, I like odd spellings. Michelle is a variation of Michael, which is hubby's middle name.

How do you feel about "matchy" names?

See above for Twins 1.

Did you worry about their names "coordinating?"

Again see answer for Twins 1.

Did you name your babies before you met them, or wait until you saw them to assign names?

They were given their names prior to birth.I can't find a meaning of Courtney that I understand. LOL For Cheyenne, all I found was "brave warrior".

What were your second choices?

For boys, Christopher John and Charles Alan. For boy/girl twins Charles Alan and Cheyenne Elyzabeth.

Did you consider the popularity of a name as a deciding factor?

Nope. Again I looked it up and according to Baby Center, neither name was on the Top 100 for 2007. According to Nickelodeon's Parent Connect, Cheyenne was 148 and Courtney was 233 for 2007.

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Don't forget to stop by Multiples and More and see what how other great moms of multiples chose their multiples names!

Common Twin Questions

I got this idea from Twin-Spiration, who got it from Simply Blessed with Chaos. I figured these are questions many people have for me when they find out that I am a mother to not one, but two sets of twins.

Caitlyn and Charlotte are 4- year- old twin girls (identical? we don't know and don't care about right now). Cheyenne and Courtney are 2- year- old twin girls; very obviously fraternal twins.

1. Do they have a special 'twin' language?
A: Yes. Both sets have their own language. I do not understand it, nor am I going to try. They communicate with me in English and each other in twinspeak.

2. Does one cry when the other gets hurt?
A: Nope. As a matter of fact, and this goes for both sets, the other twin tries to "mother" the one that got hurt.

3. Do the girls share a room/crib/bed?
A: Yes, they share a room. Caitlyn and Charlotte still share a bed. They prefer it that way and that is how it stays. It doesn't matter if I lay them down separately or not, they will end up together touching hands. As for Cheyenne and Courtney, they do not share a bed. Cheyenne prefers to sleep with me and Courtney prefers to be alone.

4. Can I tell them apart?
A: Yes, I can. I can tell Charlotte and Caitlyn apart by face. From the back, I haven't got a clue if they are dressed alike. As for Cheyenne and Courtney, no one believes they are twins based on how they look to begin with. They look nothing alike; there is no way to confuse them!

5. Why do you (don't you) dress them alike?
A: Caitlyn and Charlotte, I do dress alike sometimes. For special occasions or if I see an outfit I really like, I will dress them alike. Otherwise, they choose their own style. Caitlyn is a tomboy. She prefers jeans and T-shirts. Charlotte is prissy. She prefers dresses. As for Cheyenne and Courtney, it is extremely difficult to dress them alike. Its hard to find 3T and 18 months outfits that are identical.

6. Do you have a favorite?
A: No. This is a dumb question. No real mother chooses one child over another. I love them all equally.

7. Which one is older?
A. Caitlyn and Charlotte will be complicated to explain when they are a little older. They honestly have different birthdays. They are only 20 minutes apart, but it was around midnight. Caitlyn was born at 11:42 pm on 10/19 and Charlotte was born at 12:02 am on 10/20. There is only 30 seconds separating Cheyenne and Courtney (born via c-section), so it really makes no difference. However, Cheyenne did come out first so technically she is older.

If anyone has any other questions...just ask! It's actually kind of fun!

Looking Back -- When did Charlotte begin sucking her fingers?

Well, from what I found -- as far back as 6 months old! This is a picture of Charlotte from a couple months ago. She was playing shy girl, but notice the fingers she is sucking on.



Now, this was Caitlyn and Charlotte from our Corpus Christi, TX trip in April 2006. Caitlyn is on the left and Charlotte is on the right, sucking on her fingers. They were a little younger than 6 months old then. I guess she started that habit young!




And, this was a picture I found and I consider it one of my favorites. I love how they are looking at each other. They have their moments now, but they are pretty much inseperable.

The Same? Or Different?

The first thing I hear when I introduce my 4 year olds as twins is "Are they identical?" Now, really what do you mean? Do they look alike? I guess in a way they do. They don't really look much alike to me but I guess to strangers they do. Do they act alike? NO! They are as different as night and day. Caitlyn, the older by 20 minutes, is a tomboy. She loves wrestling most of all and wants a car bed. Charlee, the younger one, is a girly-girl. She loves dresses and princesses and even claims to be a princess. Sometimes she'll do the rough and tough playing, but mainly she's the "Oh, no! My hair is messed up!" one. Do I dress them alike? Majority of the time, no. They both have their own taste and choose their own clothes.

Caitlyn and Charlotte


Now, the younger set of twins, age 2, even look as different as night and day. It's hard to see in the picture (below), but Cheyenne has dirty blonde hair and Courtney has dark brown hair. Cheyenne wears a size 2T-3T and poor little Courtney doesn't even have the waist for 12 months yet. Cheyenne is the lovey-dovey Mama's Girl and Courtney is the "Don't touch me unless I come to you" one.



So, honestly, twins does not = identical. They are each their own little person.

Looking Back -- October 19 and 20, 2005

Charlotte and Caitlyn on October 23, 2005 when they were 3 and 4 days old.

I am sharing the birth story of my 2005 twins, which were babies number 3 and 4 for us.

I began labor at 30 weeks. I had been hospitalized several times and been given steroids and magnesium. I had been having a rough time. Every time I went in for an appointment, they kept telling me to wait until my body was completely ready to labor. I was frustrated. I couldn't walk, sit or lay down I was in so much pain. I had already moved to sleeping on the sofa because I couldn't get myself on the bed! I had scheduled an appointment with another doctor hoping they could do something for me. I had gone to my regular doctor's office to have my file sent to the new doctor. Later that night my regular doctor called me and asked what was wrong. I flat out told her that I couldn't take the pain anymore, it was time for them to get out! And since she wasn't going to do anything, then I would find someone else who would. I was at the time 35 weeks, 6 days. She said to come in for an appointment the next day (October 19th) and we'd see what we could do. I went in and was still contracting and had dilated to 2 cm. Based on previous ultrasounds, the babies were good sized. The only thing they were worried about was their lungs. She admitted me to the hospital at noon. She agreed to induce me since I had the steroid shots weeks before. By 3 PM when she checked on me, I had not progressed much even with the inducement. She was going to break my water but wanted to wait until after her office closed so she could devote all her attention to me. The hospital had already called in extra staff since 2 women had given birth prior to me, and another had come in that was in labor. She broke my water around 6 PM. By 11 PM I had had enough and asked for an epidural. The anthesiologist (sp) came in and got the needle in my back and about the time I laid back down so they could start the dang thing I had gone from 4 cm - 10 cm! They never started it, but left it there in case of an emergency c-section. I had in the room with me: Chris, my doctor, my L&D nurse (who I had grown up with; she was like a sister to me), 2 nursery nurses, the OR nurse (they had the OR staff there in case of an emergency c-section), the anthesiologist, and sometime or another my mother showed up (uninvited but I was in pain and really didn't feel the need to argue at that moment). I began pushing and at 11:42 PM Baby A entered the world. She weighed 5 lbs, 12 oz and was 19.25" long. The doctor did a quick ultrasound to check Baby B's position. She was head down and ready (they also panicked a bit because after Baby A exited, Baby B moved and they lost her heartbeat for a few minutes). She broke Baby B's water, and I started pushing. Chris and my mom told me to push harder but I told them to shut up and they could push as hard as they wanted when they were the ones giving birth! Baby B was born at 12:02 am on October 20th! She weighed 6 lbs, 8.5 oz and was 19" long. They were both just as healthy as they could be. I even remember telling my doctor "Told you they would be fine." as she was stitching me from where Baby B's big head ripped me (I was fine with Caitlyn). LOL

Baby A was named Caitlyn Renee. Baby B was named Charlotte Alayna. Charlotte was in memory of my granddaddy, Charles and Alayna was in honor of our best friend who was killed in 2000, John Alan.





Caitlyn and Charlotte in 2009.

Charlotte turns 4!!!!

For those that know me, I had twins in 2005. The oldest was born on October 19th at 11:42 pm and the second on October 20th at 12:02 am. So, today the youngest - Charlotte Alayna - turns 4!

Here she is through the years:

2005 -- Birth


2006 -- 1 year old


2007 -- 2 years old


2008 -- 3 years old


2009 -- 4 years old


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY PRINCESS CHAR CHAR!!!!

Caitlyn turns 4!!!!

For those that know me, I had twins in 2005. The oldest was born on October 19th at 11:42 pm and the second on October 20th at 12:02 am. So, today the oldest - Caitlyn Renee - turns 4!

Here she is through the years:

2005 -- Birth


2006 -- 1 year old


2007 -- 2 years old


2008 -- 3 years old


2009 -- 4 years old


So, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY KITTY CAT!!!!!

New Haircuts for 3 of the Kids

I decided it was time for a change for 3 of the kids and their hair. I am posting their before and after pictures. I actually did these haircuts myself. Not too bad for someone who has no clue how to cut hair! LOL

Crystina's Before (12/25/08):


Crystina's After (01/20/09):


Caitlyn (L) and Charlotte's (R) Before (01/01/09):


Caitlyn (L) and Charlotte's (R) After (01/19/09):