Crabby Pants

Here is puffy-eyed Addie after a particularly draining scream fest.

Here is her brother trying to cheer her up.

Mission accomplished.

Brothers

Eli tried to comfort Alex and tell him not to be afraid. It was one of those moments when Mama's heart swells.

Are we going to the movies???

I mentioned when we started potty training (again) a few weeks ago that Alex was having some "fears". Well, to help him overcome this said fear we had to pull out the big guns. You see, Eli was such a sweet brother that when he went and it was time for a prize from the box (I bought two of each thing) he'd just get the same thing twice in a row and give one to Alex. Really sweet but REALLY not helping the cause. SOOO instead of telling our son who was doing a nice thing to NOT SHARE (we thought that might send a mixed message ;) ) Jared said that if Alex "went" (I cannot believe I am discussing this) he would take them both to the movies. Needless to say Alex did it and they had a boys night out that night. After that night however we went right back to the "problem".

We had a talk with him (after 3 accidents) and explained that now he knows what to do and he needs to do it, etc., etc. I told him this morning that if he and Eli had accident free days Daddy and I would have to do something special for them. So again NO ACCIDENTS!! Aw yeah. The funny thing was after this major victory Eli ran in and yelled "Good job Alex, .....are we going to the movies". :)

AND now the real reason that I wrote this whole post was so I'd have an excuse to share this adorable picture of one of the times he was successful.

He was very proud!

my sweet boy

deep in thought

6 weeks old

Addison was 6 weeks old yesterday and she weighs 4 lbs. 2 oz. She has turned a corner as of Friday and is taking her bottles better. She still has a way to go but Jared and I are hopeful that she may be home by the weekend.

The boys visited her on Saturday and I am surprised by how much they have warmed up to her, especially Eli. Alex is our lovey boy and he generously gives out hugs and kisses but Eli is a little more reserved. He, however is very generous with Addison. Last night he told me that she needs to come home and she needs that bandaid off of her "mouf". He also said that she needed some chocolate rabbit, Eli's first true love, which, is actually milk with Nesquick in it. :)

We continue to get things in place for her homecoming and pray that her feedings continue to go well.

Hola!

In honor of my lack of posting I thought I would share a snippet of my evening. The boys are laying side by side on this crate of maternity clothes, eating lemon wedges and watching Toy Story. I'm gearing up to do the dishes from our yummy, middle-eastern, food that we had for dinner (take-out, of course) and listening to Eva Cassidy's soulful voice. Jared and I are getting ready to watch a movie once the boys go to bed in exactly 17 minutes. It is a good night. A simple one that I am unbelievably grateful for and that I needed. Now the clock is ticking and I have to get those dishes done. :)

Brothers

The boys are at a really funny stage. They are either best friends or mortal enemies. I sometimes think how easy this is getting (for about 2 seconds) and then I hear screaming evoke and remember that "easy" has NEVER described parenting. :) Today for instance I managed to walk 4 miles WHILE THEY WERE AWAKE and they played beautifully BUT we also started potty training (again) and I had to clean up a few messes, none of which landed NEAR the potty seat. Yeah, not a big success. It definitely has its ups and downs but like I mentioned so does their relationship. I thought these pictures beautifully displayed their love/hate relationship.

This sweetness......

led to this continued sweetness....

which inevitably led to a take down by Alex.

I regularly hear "Come on, Eli" and then moments later "NOOOOO ELI, NOOO!" Yesterday I told the boys to go and get in their beds while I finished picking up the front room and then I'd tuck them in for nap. I walked in Eli's room to see Alex rubbing Eli's head and singing lullabies. PRECIOUS! Moments like these melt my heart while the other not so sweet moments usually end up making me laugh (later, that is, much, much, later)once I am over the pure frustration of it all.

Thank you for all of the congratulations on our upcoming arrival. :)

Simply Saturday

****Posting this early in case you want to join in on Sat. or Sun. If you choose to join in you click at the bottom of the post where it say "you are next" "Click HERE"****

The simple things in my life that came to mind this week are :

Sons who aren't afraid to plant a great big kiss on one another (yet).



Eli's curls.



Alex's smile that starts with his eyes.



Flowers in bloom.




A good long nap (hopefully) after a long week.



What are some of the simple pleasures in your life?

Feel free to join in. This week I included several examples but most weeks (as seen here) I stick to one or two.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Raiding the refrigerator after bath time. These boys are OBSESSED with YoBaby Yogurt.

Additions to the Alex and Eli Dictionary

"bat yard"~ backyard
This is mentioned each and every time we pull into the driveway. They LOVE their "bat yard" and would live out there if I didn't make them come inside every once in a while.

"I cubba you"

They want you to put their covers on them for nap or bed time. I always say lay down and I'll cover you and I guess that is where the phrase was born.

"hop"~help

Usually repeated over and over until you give them a little bit of assistance.

Alex has started addressing me when he speaks and it melts. my. heart. Example: I love you, Mommy. Thank You, Mommy. I sorry, Mommy.

Eli is constantly curious about the moon's location in the middle of the day. "Where's moon? Where's moon?" Me: It's on the other side of the world right now. "Where's moon?" Me: you can't see it right now honey. "Where's moon? where's moon?" Me: The moon is taking a nap! Would you like to take a nap???

It also amazes me how they look out for one another. I have heard them several times lately ask each other: "You, O.k.?"

Eli also was looking for Alex in the back yard and said "LEX, where are you?" This is a good thing since he has been calling him Li-Li for quite a while now. As I mentioned before that is Eli's nickname and Eli KNOWS Alex's name he just chooses to call Alex by his own nickname.

So I am keeping track of all these things for my boys to see someday. They are probably not exciting for the average reader but this blog is really all about them :) Love you guys!

That's Mommy to you!

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.)

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

Where oh where...

can my little boys be oh where oh where can they be?

The boys are definitely at a stage where they like to explore and part of this involves "hiding" behind and under things, such as doors, chairs, tables. I find myself shouting to Jared "do you have a visual of Eli or Alex?" whomever the missing child may be. Well yesterday, while doing dishes, I could hear the boys playing in the living room but when I finished and went to go find them I didn't see them I just heard them. I followed their giggles only to find them both playing in our basket of throws. They had a blast until they realized that is was too close for comfort and then it was an all out war. Here are the "peaceful" pictures.

Me and My Baby Brother

I believe that in this picture my son was having an "I wish I were an only child" moment. I too remember having moments like these as do my sisters but for the most part I am sure that Alex and Eli will appreciate their bond as they get older as we all appreciate our's. I have to add these pics to their memoirs though because they display his "moment" brilliantly.

Alex playing contentedly with his letters.

Eli joining in on the "fun".

This picture needs no explanation ;)

"What? I am innocent! I only added this picture to show Eli's new "camera smile".

Yikes!!! It is very "Chandler Bing" of him isn't it?

Flashback Friday~My Little Readers

8/10/08 (15 1/2 months old)

6/12/08 (almost 14 months old)

12/16/07 (8 months old)

10/6/07 (5 1/2 months old)

I've read to Alex and Eli since they have been home from the hospital and I love that they both thoroughly enjoy being read to and that they love to just sit and "read" books by themselves. Alex's favorite is "Hands, Hands, Fingers, Thumb" and he has loved to repeat the "dum ditty, dum ditty, dum, dum, dum" part for months now. I think Eli leans towards "I Love You Through and Through" as his favorite but this doesn't stop him from stealing Alex's favorite book and making a "run" for it. The boys are catching on to the "who had it first?" rule and Alex crawled around carrying his book for about a 1/2 an hour a few weeks ago. It was so funny because you could tell he was not about to let Eli gain control over his prized possession. The funny thing is, much like when Eli steals his brothers paci, he is interested in it for all of 5 seconds and then he moves on to other things.

Signs of Summer

Jared and I went to the farmer's market yesterday and picked up some corn on the cob (among other things) for the boys to enjoy. They LOVED it! We are not surprised that they literally ate it up because it seems to run in Jared's family. Teddy has been know to throw down more than a few ears of corn in a single sitting :) I must give credit to Mindy. She told me that Alli loved eating it this way also or else I probably wouldn't have thought to try it. I have to say it is much easier to clean up than those messy biter biscuits that turn into cement on the boy's faces and hands and it still occupies as much of their time.

We also picked up this new toy for the refrigerator that keeps the boys busy when we do dishes, cook, or whatever else needs to be done in the kitchen. It teaches them letters, the sound each letter makes and the alphabet song. Alex does well with putting the letter into the proper place. The first one he put in was the letter Q and it sang the "the Q says kwa the Q says kwa all the letters make a sound the Q says kwa". Eli shocked Jared and I by repeating "kwa". Very funny. I love the toy so far. They also love to throw all of the letters on the floor so I am hoping that we don't lose any. Oh and I don't want to forget while we are talking about my verbal little guys Eli also said Alex this week. He prounounces is AHH-EX! I am truly thankful for their progress. Having former-preemies I definitely don't take anything regarding their development for granted. We actually have a developmental assessment coming up so I am hoping all goes well.

It amuses me in this picture how it looks as though they are graciously taking turns. This is not the case. They are definitely beginning to have some knock down-drag out's over toys.

Flashback Friday 9/21/07 (5 months old)

Eli peacefully sleeping. Oh how I miss it.

Alex not throwing a tantrum. Ahhhh!

So happy together!!!

This is from yesterday.

I love that I captured Eli laughing at his brother. I love these moments and once I get this nap thing under control I think we will all be a bit happier. Today it worked for Eli to take one and Alex two. This means not much peace and quiet but I do get to spend one on one time with each of them and maybe that is what they are needing. Jared is watching the boys tonight so that I can go out so that is VERY exciting and VERY necessary.

More Back Yard Fun

We haven't been taking the boys out too much due to them still getting over their sickness so I have had to get creative with their entertainment. They thoroughly enjoyed playing outside today as usual. Who knew so much fun could be had with a water hose and a little gladware. Who needs gymboree? :) You may notice the third child. I have been watching Alli. It is much like having triplets and although Jared says we totally could have handled it I think the Lord knew what we were capable of when he gave us twins. We have had a lot of fun though. I purposely added the pic of the boys sitting on top of each other playing because this is pretty typical for them. They more commonly sit back to back but I think it is such a funny twin thing that they do.