Eli's off his hiatus!

About 2 weeks ago Eli decided that he would like to start walking again except that now it is not just 3 steps. He is WALKING! We are so excited because our other Dr.'s were suggesting that we reschedule with the neurologist to see if the delay is related to the fluid on his brain. So the joy we feel is indescribable. A couple of nights ago we were cheering for Eli and his walking and Alex decided he wasn't getting enough credit for his walking so he started turning circles. It was pretty funny because he would get a little dizzy, stop and then start spinning all over again. Here is Eli showing you his new found talent.

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My Day in Pics

This morning before the boys woke I was making my bed and discovered this:

In case you can't tell in the first pic take a look at the one below

I have a headless "twin".

Do you think the boys are trying to send one another "a message" like the horse head? Maybe I have seen "The Godfather" one too many times but this made me laugh once I got over the fact that my figurine was ruined.

The rest of my day consisted of watching the boys play with my sweet nephew Jackson. Look at all this chubby goodness! I miss when the boys had all that chub.

And now as the boys sleep I am making and laminating (b/c I am a dork and wanted a laminator for Christmas) colors for the boys to learn.

That's my day on this pleasant Friday. I am looking forward to a weekend with Jared and the boys. If anyone has suggestions about what they are teaching their almost 2 year olds let me know because I have no idea where to start.

This is what I found

The boys have been "sleeping" for the past 2 hours, or so I thought. Eli began to whine and I went in to check on him to find this.

He was pretty proud of himself. I carefully plan out their clothing in the morning to make sure they will be warm enough throughout the day. I am not sure why I bother because they strip out of their socks several times a day and now apparently their shirts and onesies. I am telling you this is getting interesting. Should I be scared??? :)

No soup for you!

Yes, I am posting about making soup but not because I want to brag and seem all "Martha Stewart" like but because I enjoy a good laugh at myself from time to time. OK AND I want to brag because I MADE SOUP!!! My friend Heidi laughs at me because I tell her that soup intimidates me. I am not kidding. It just seems like a LOT of work. Today as I embarked on this journey I went in with an open mind and lots of vegetable to chop. One hour later (I'm not the best chopper and I tend to lose some blood when doing so, therefore, I thought it best that I go slowly) I was ready to START. Besides I had to wash, take off the skins (potatoes and carrots) and chop. Sheesh!

I should back up a bit and say that I decided to double it because that's what Kate does. Who is Kate???? You know my girl, Kate Gosselin (Jon & Kate Plus 8)! Well, she takes a day and makes LOTS of soup so I thought "I can do that!" (Note: her soup involved boiling chicken carcasses and let's just say I will NEVER do that. I think maybe this is why she can be a little ...hmmm? what the word?... "high strung" I mean who does that?? OK I know a lot of people do this but let me re-iterate as for me and my house: NEVER!) Anyways when deciding to double I didn't think about the size of stock pot I would need. Let's just say that now I will be boiling 1/2 of the ingredients and then the other 1/2 which will probably add another 45 minutes. I figure when I am done I will have spent a day making 1 soup while I am pretty sure Miss Kate made enough for an army and has some left to freeze. Oh well live, learn and buy Progresso!

"Houston, we have a problem!" This is 1/2 of the ingredients.

Seriously I am excited to see how it turns out and I got bread bowls today at the grocery store which will make the soup even better. By the way, I actually DO make meals for my family almost nightly but prep work is scary for me! Just wanted to clear that up. Off to boil more soup!

Here is how it turned out.

Also in hindsight I now know why Kate made that much soup but when cooking for a family of four there is NO need to double it. I have enough left-over cheesy potato soup for 5 additional meals AT LEAST and I am not sure that throughout this winter I will want it that many more times! So I learned some things and now that it is all behind me (except for the blender that STILL has cheddar cheese stuck to it after soaking all night). I will make this once per year and that is only because Jared loves it. Part of the reason I am resistant to prep work, by the way, is because this is what my children are doing while I cook.

21 months old! (over a week ago)

My boys are dangerously close to 2! I cannot believe it. They are funny boys and every day something new happens that either makes me laugh or cry :) They are definitely becoming rough and tumble little boys while being tender and sometimes even polite. Sometimes their "thank you" involves someone almost losing a limb because they are violently pulling a toy that they want out of their brother's hand but hey we gotta start somewhere. They are still in love with Barney and all of his songs. They are starting to clean things around the house in their own way. Eli has a "mean" face that frightens us all. Alex continues to break sound barriers when he is upset. They are typical toddlers! And here are the "typical" chair pics.

I think last month I claimed that it was the last "chair pic" but now I mean it!

Alex "cleaning" his brother. Don't worry that vacuum was off.

This is while I attempt making dinner. Notice Eli "cleaning" the floor with a paper towel.

I did find the boys their own dust pan and broom set in the dollar section of Target. Score!

Am I an "older" parent???

I think I am! At story-time today I started talking with another mommy and I mentioned where my husband teaches and that my sisters and I graduated from there yada, yada. I told her that week after week I kept thinking she looked familiar. She mentioned the school she went to . This is where it gets interesting.

Me (presumably young mommy): We probably played sports against one another!

Other Mommy: Probably, what year did you graduate?

Me: 1994

Other Mommy: *chuckles* Oh no!

At this point my older sister Mindy and I must have been arrogantly thinking the same thing, she must be older, due to her chuckle and my sister quickly chimes in with:

Mindy: Oh well I graduated in 1991!

Mean (did I say that?) other Mommy: *chuckle* Oh, no, no I graduated in 2000.

Hmmmm! Isn't that special??? I awkwardly laughed with her and said "Oh well maybe you played against our younger sister". Yeah, that must be it.

So that is my lesson in humility for the day :) I am just kidding it was actually funny to me and Mindy and I had a good laugh about it later. I guess being 32 doesn't make me a young mom. It is just a weird realization because I think as you age you kind of forget that you are getting older. For instance my younger sister just turned 30 (Happy birthday Missy!) and it was like this realization that I realized "oh, that means I am no longer 30". Kind of funny!

Alex & Eli's 2009 Winter Survival Guide

We have been stuck in the house with our Mommy for 6 straight days. We figure that other children are enduring this same type of isolation which prompted us to right this survival guide. May it serve you as it has us.

Sincerely,

Alex and Eli

We are not sure why Mommy let us play with rice but (listen carefully) DO NOT ask questions! When cabin fever gets the best of Mommies they may let you get away with stuff like this. It was a lot of fun and afterward she may chase you with the vacuum which is an added bonus.

"This one is not for amateurs but an experienced milk drinker like me can pull this off." Eli

Play peek-a-boo with the place mats.

Invite your cousin over and get messy. Throw peas and carrots around. (Note: Mommy didn't enjoy this one and we got a lot of stern "no, NO's" but we feel it was worth it.

Make forts with your Daddy. It takes him longer to put up than you will want to play in it but he doesn't mind. Daddies are cool like that!

We recommend that you throw this one in after the pea and carrot throwing because Mommies love it. They even scour stores after you do this looking for brooms and dust pans of your very own. I am telling you everyone wins here.

Last but not least, close yourself into a cabinet or two. (Warning: Brothers may close the cabinet on you when you don't want them to. Don't worry though Daddy or Mommy will save you.

BITTER!

Not me. The cold. I have not actually left the house since Tuesday. No, this is not a confession from a hermit it is just that it has been dangerously cold so I thought I shouldn't parade about with my children. I will admit it is tempting. I have cabin fever and am trying to "man up" and make the best of it. Currently it is -2 degrees out and in case that isn't bad enough with the wind chill it feels like -17. Woohoo! I cannot complain (too much) because I am in my warm house but to say that we are all getting a little stir crazy is an understatement. I have literally used my car once this week and that was to go to the Dr.'s. Don't worry about us though tomorrow's high is a whopping 20 degrees so we will be heading out in our shorts and t-shirts to enjoy all that warmth. :) I am thankful that the past two freezing days have been sunny. I have been waking up and opening all the blinds and curtains so I can pretend to let the sun soak us in warmth. Not much else going on here. I am looking forward to a long weekend with Jared and the boys. I am also looking forward to my Girls Night Out on Monday. I'll leave you with a flashback Friday picture from a sunny day to warm all of us up. I hope it works! :)

These were the biggest bubbles EVER. This one pictured was actually one of the smaller ones. We had a lot of fun in Nana and Papa's yard. The boys were 14 months old here.

The Love Affair Continues

Alex continues to love his alligators and dinosaurs. He brought them to the table yesterday and I thought I would snap some pics when I realized he was feeding his carrots to them. I guess this means Alex's don't like carrots but alligators and dinosaurs do. Good to know. I am just glad he wants to bring these to the table instead of his books. Rubber reptiles clean up much more easily :)

Eli thought Alex had a great idea!

And this one is just because I love their chubby little hands!

Another one bites the dust!

*insert 80's music* Eli and Alex have been discharged from another specialist. Yeah, Baby! Today we saw the pulmolonologist and she indicated that we are on an "as needed" basis with her. She feels that they are doing wonderfully. I am very thrilled. This means that for specialists that we see regularly we are down to 1 and that is the neurosurgeon who will hopefully discharge us when Eli is 2. The pulmonologist did recommend daily breathing treatments to continue throughout the winter but other than that we are doing well. I added the pics below because I am STILL blown away by how well they are doing and how when they were in the NICU I could never have imagined this day.

On a much lighter note, we spent the ENTIRE morning at the hospital for this appointment. We left home at 9:30am and returned just before 2pm so I am hoping for an awesome nap from the boys. Other than that I am just sitting here blog reading and enjoying a warm cafe mocha. Ahhhh. I need it after a morning of fighting snowy downtown traffic and keeping twin toddlers busy in a doctor's office for hours on end. My head kind of feels as if it might explode.

In keeping with my resolutions, I am heading off to do some crunches and some other crazy exercises that make walking painful. :) I started an 8 wk session yesterday that involves exercising (exciting!!) and logging my food intake (not so "exciting"). A lady from church is an instructor and she does this absolutely free so I am thrilled to be a part of it and feel so blessed that my in-laws are willing to watch the boys so I can go there weekly. Although it is a blessing, as I was driving away from there yesterday I noticed that it hurt my legs to push the accelerator!! Did I mention that it is a blessing?? Yeah? O.K. Just checking.

Alex's New Best Friend

His new friend joins him at the table and when he is having his diaper changed. We have started leaving his binky (pacifier) in the crib when he is not sleeping. We give it to Mr. Bunny and it is Bunny's turn to take a nap. He has adjusted well and today marks one entire week of leaving it in the crib. Yay, Alex!!! I think his pacifier obsession has been replaced with his alligator.

I also let the boys dip their nuggets in ketchup yesterday. They made quite a mess but had a blast. It is definitely the little things that make them happy. I love it.

Sibling Rivalry

It is pretty typical in this house for the boys to be loving each other one minute and wanting to kill one another the next. It is sibling rivalry at it's finest and I thought this picture displayed the rivalry part beautifully. Alex is screaming and Eli is determined to unclench his hand from the top of the slide. Isn't that just so sweet? (I hope you hear the sarcasm there.)

Ramblings of a Toddler Mommy

On a scale of 1 to 10 how bad is it when you sit down to blog and have NO idea what it was you were going to blog about? Alex kind of through me for a loop this morning and my head is still a bit foggy. We had a great morning running errands. We did the recycling, grocery store for returns and purchases and returned bottles. I was feeling quite accomplished as I arrived home and settled Eli into his booster chair for lunch. One of my ongoing lessons about toddlers, however, is their complete and utter unpredictability. I picked Alex up to put into his booster seat and he was holding a book. I said "lets put the book down so we can eat lunch". BIG mistake, HUGE! He. completely. lost. it!! I mean he refused to eat and screamed loud enough to hurt my ear drums throughout most of lunch. At this point it becomes difficult b/c I am thinking "what is the big deal give him the book and he eats lunch and stops driving Eli and I crazy". It is a win-win...right? Well, yeah except for the fact that I would be giving into my toddlers demands which begins a slippery slope that I have no desire to be on much less careening down. One of my New Year's Resolutions was to be consistent with the boys and I didn't really want to blow it mid-January. So once I changed Alex he laid in bed and promptly fell asleep. Apparently he was pretty tired which brought out his horns. I should mention at this point that I did remember what I planned to blog and it had NOTHING to do with this story. :)

My "plan" was to blog pictures of the boys their first time in their high chairs and their last. Look how big you've grown boys! The bottom picture was just because I couldn't resist. They are six months old here.

Another Video

I guess I am in quite the blogging and video mood lately. Here is another fun one. Last week Chad, Missy and the kids came over and we got out the slide that is when Eli started being so careful going down and refused to let go for several seconds. We were cracking up. This is actually an improvement. Alex usually goes down like crazy but today he too decided that he was a bit nervous about it. Enjoy the video and if you have some more spare time hop over here,to Laura's Mommy Journal and enjoy another set of videos. They absolutely crack me up.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Early Mornings!

One of my resolutions was to get up about an hour before the boys wake and get things done (the main thing I wanted to do was read my bible). My eventual goal is to even squeeze in a work-out. I actually did today but that is only because Jared had to be up extra early (I will not speak of the hour. It is just not right!) and I couldn't go back to sleep. Anyways, don't be impressed because the boys have begun to sleep until 8 which means normally (not today) I am only getting up by 7am. It is not that early. I avoided it for so long because after the whirlwind that is infancy I reveled in sleeping until what was 7:15 and has since become 8 a.m. I felt as if it was the pat on the back God was giving me for the countless feedings, changings, etc., etc., etc., and actually I have NO guilt about that. That stage was awesome. Now, however I am actually sleeping at night (usually) and I have the energy to wake up. I am not seeing a downside to my "early" rising yet. (I know some of you are laughing at 7 being early. My husband works with some older men that get up and to work by 4 A.M.) So, as of day 3, (I know impressive, right?)the house is quiet, my coffee tastes amazing when it is hot and not re-heated in the microwave 10 times eventually to be left untasted and thrown into the sink. Mama is happy and it is great. I just hope their sleeping until 8 continues and that I can push towards....gulp!....6:30a.m. I am not going to push too hard though. Lets not get crazy.

Monday night entertainment!

The boys always rock to music like Barney and Sesame Street, praise and worship, etc., so we thought it would be fun to put on a little something with a beat to it. If for some reason you thought that you were hearing a song referring to "Rehab" you are mistaken. Nope, not in my house, no way! :) Enjoy the fun!!! You will want to pause the music at the bottom of my page.

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Big Boys!

Alex and Eli are doing so many things lately that make me realize that they are big boys. We retired their high chairs last week and they are now in booster seats. We had travel high chairs but I am still glad to see the bulky things go. I was not prepared however for them to be able to reach everything on the table during dinner. You definitely have to be a step ahead of these boys.



They also got cute new toothbrushes from Aunt Kim and they love them. They actually cry at night because they want to take the toothbrush to bed with them. Before this I was using the ones that you put on your own finger and brush with so I think the fact that after I brush their teeth they get to do it is thrilling for them.

Alex is still loving his big brother role and comforted Eli when he was having his diaper changed by bringing him an alligator this weekend. I mean what ailments aren't solved with a rubber alligator? :) Alex who's speech is a little behind chatty Eli has come a long way in the past week. He very clearly says "apple" and "I gonna get you!" I was really surprised by the phrase.


Eli has begun to state that the "S says SSSSSSS". He has decided, however, that he no longer wishes to stand and walk. He won't even try lately. I guess, he will pick it up again when the mood strikes.


They understand everything we say also. I made the huge mistake of saying the word "outside" before we bundled them up for the elements last week. This meant that Jared and I got them dressed for outside while listening to them wail into our ears. Oy!

Resolutions!

I've never been big into resolutions as an adult, or should I say I have never been big into keeping them :0. This year, however, it appeals to me. I have started such a new life in the past, hmm lets see, 20 and a half months, since I have become a mom that "stays at home". I have left the "work place", although this is the hardest job I have ever had, and completely changed my idea of what is "important" to me at the end of the day. So rather than spouting out my "usual", you know: get healthy, read my bible more, be organized, I got a bit more specific (althought the aforementioned are all on my list, again) and broke things down according to life areas. I not only made the serious goals, you know the ones that scare you as you make them because you realize that the changes will NOT be fun and will take more work than you care to think about, but also some small easier ones. For instance, read a book on photography, take the boys to the zoo, finish the boy's baby albums (yes, they are almost 2, don't judge me :) ).

The verses that are my inspiration as I take on these goals are:

Ps 90:13 (Moses' Prayer) "Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom"

and

Prov. 16:3 "Commit your every work to the Lord,...".

I am enjoying this clean slate that comes with a new year and I find it a beautiful realization that God offers us this clean slate as we confess our shortcomings to him, not only every year but every day and every moment. I will be honest enough to say that this year as my pastor spoke about the new year I fought hard against my flesh that was saying "don't bother, you can't change" and decided to believe what God's word has to say about it instead. I know it is difficult and I am right there with you but I encourage you to sit down, commit your works to the Lord and then allow him to guide you as you write out resolutions/goals for the new year. My pastor encouraged us, along with confession, to break our routine. Analyze you current routine and be honest about it's shortcomings. This was encouraging to me so I thought I would share. Don't worry I will be back blabbering about my kids soon enough. :)

Happy New Year!

Alex and Eli's 2008 in a Nutshell

If you are up for some "light" reading each Month (except for January b/c I started the blog in February) links you to the posts from that month in my blog.

January

They weren't getting around much at this point (8 months old)

February

Sitting pretty well....going going gone!

March

Enjoying a Winter/Spring Walk





The month they discovered Baby Einstein DVD's.


April




Turning one. They definitely had different reactions to the day.

Swimming in Florida.

Swinging with Daddy's hand close by.

Eli came through his surgery beautifully and he also discovered how much fun a cardboard box can be and this Papa guy!

May

The joy of biter biscuits. Alex is still my messier eater.

June

They discovered the "world" that is our backyard!

July

This was on our way home from Greenfield Village on the 4th of July. This is very typical of the boys. Alex sleeps the minute the engines on and Eli wouldn't dare because he might miss something.

August

August brought with it the discovery of corn on the cob and this fun girl named Alli! I watched her this summer and they all had a blast.

September

The boys' favorite thing to do with Nana and Papa is sing songs. They sing hymns, nursery rhymes or Barney and put on quite the show.

October

Alex began to stand unassisted while Eli got a lift from Daddy.

November

Eli dozed off while reading a good book and Alex began multi-tasking. He thought he would read while getting a work out on his zebra.

December

December brought with it a stomach virus and Daddy healing from ankle surgery so there was a lot of snuggling going on.

Here's to a New Year!