The Weekend

Last night was kindergarten round up.  I cannot believe that my babies are ready for school, however, time is against me and declares it to be true.  Anyways, I will spare you the mello-drama for the time being and share the basics with you.

We went to their classroom and toured the school, met the teacher (who taught my kindergarten class her first year teaching in 1981 so it was just a formality), and asked any questions.  The kids played in the kindergarten/1st grade playroom while we had our meeting.  The boys think school is the. greatest. thing. ever. because it consisted of playing with a bunch of kids.  When we walked in they ran away from us and towards the other kids and the toys.  No anxiety about being away from their parents, that is FOR SURE.

I only teared up once and all in all Jared and I feel comfortable starting them in the Fall.  We plan to do 1/2 days on Mon-Thurs and all day Friday because they have specials that day.  They'll start Mid-August.  It is a reading kindergarten and I was in awe of how fast they will begin to read.  Alex actually read a few pages from one of the Bob books that I got from the library this morning and blew. my. mind.  I think they are ready for all the phonics stuff and even math.  My concern of course goes back to their fine motor.  I don't want them to be frustrated with the writing process SO we will be working on that A LOT this Spring/Summer.  

In this picture I said "Eli be STILL".

In this picture I had to say "Alex, be still".  I swear photographing 5 year old boys is impossible.  By the way their boots were a birthday gift from my sister and rain or shine they want to wear them.  

First Soccer game this morning.  "Spring" soccer started off with a bang and we froze our tails off.  The boys are the young ones of the group again.  Alex played goalie and stopped a ball.  His face was PRICELESS. He was a very proud boy.  Eli continues to love to play also.  I must have said Eli/Alex find the ball, watch the ball, where's the ball, kick the ball about 5,000 times.  They'll get it.  :)

Tonight we head to Target for some necessities and tomorrow church, assuming Addie's feeling a bit better.  A typical weekend here at the Rodd house. 

The Weekend

We are spending a lot of time at home this weekend trying to get well.  We all have some semblance of a cold.  Addie has had a 5 day dose of steroids and still sounds gross.  SO we cancelled our weekend commitments and we are attempting to rest.

The boys HAD to get outside for a bit because we have been cooped up on and off for about the past 3 weeks with these colds/coughs (and because steroids make Eli CRAZY!).  This is how they entertained themselves while Jared cleaned up the leaves.

Addie has been standing up a bit but ONLY on our bed for whatever reason.  Today was the first time she stood unassisted on the floor.  Apparently, contacting early on and setting up a plan was all that she needed for motivation because she has stood and is cruising furniture despite the fact that I haven't done a single exercise with her yet.  Now onto walking!
She is ALWAYS watching us to make sure we are watching her.  She is so proud when she hears the "Yay, Addie!"

Moths to a flame

I have to laugh at the boys and their reaction to Jared's phone. He has had it for almost a year now and they have their favorite "apps". They are big fans of angry birds and cut the rope. They BEG Jared to play games on it. Poor guy. :)

After a year he is definitely still loving it, although I haven't had to refer to it as his mistress in a while which means some of the newness has wore off. Thank goodness.

I love Alex's eyes in the pic below.

I also love that I caught an example of what it is like to read a book to twins. You have to constantly remind them that you cannot see through their heads. :)

And while these picture are really cute we have MUCH bigger news in our household.

Bigger than the iphone you ask.........

YES

Addie is sitting for long periods of time with control ALL BY HERSELF! Yay!

Still no hair but the girl ROCKS the bald look. In her Mom's opinion anyway. :)

Flashback Friday

Alex and Eli Halloween 2007 (6 months old)

Addie (3 1/2 months old) Ryan/My sweet nephew (2 weeks old)

Due to the fact that we got rid of most of the boys stuff and the fact that we now have a girl, there are few things that they passed down to Addie. That made this even more fun. I loved seeing these two new babies on their 1st Halloween in the same thing the boys wore for their's.

The day is here.

This is going to sound crazy but I have been anxiously waiting for this day. I have fond memories of my AWANA days and still remember verses that I learned as a 5 year old. Crazy, how that works, huh? :) Anyways, the boys are officially starting "Cubbies". It is AWANA for 3 & 4 year olds. I got the letter in the mail with emergency forms and sat right down and filled them out. Yes, Miss Procrastination takes a back seat when I am excited about something. Anyways, the boys got a letter with a cubby bear on it but there was just one so I made a copy, put it into separate envelopes and they got their first piece of mail also. They were so excited. Alex slept with his letter and then quickly grabbed it before getting out of bed the next morning.

Every day since they ask when "cubby church" is. On Sundays they ask "is this cubby church or regular church?" Since I started this post (3 weeks ago) Alex came home from the first night of cubbies with a vest and I didn't think much of it but Eli didn't have one. Jared just assumed he left it in the car but upon searching we came up with nothing. I asked my sister if Alli came home with a vest and she said no. Upon further research (I made my sister Missy investigate) no one not even Miss Shari (his cubby teacher) knew why he came home with one because they still have to be ordered but Shari did say there was an extra one there and "someone" must have given it to Alex. Knowing my Alex I am assuming he thought "Wow, that vest is cool and there is a bear on it. I think I'll take it home." You see when Alex puts his mind to something LOOK OUT! So he has since slept in it and wore it to play outside. I finally washed it and hid it because I was afraid Eli would get a bit jealous and I didn't want to have the "you have to share your awesome vest with your brother battle". Since then they both have recieved vests and all is well.

They both said their verses the first week and got stickers. The next weeks verse was "all have sinned" which, led to a lesson on sin, which, has led to some pretty funny discussions with my little boys. So fun. One of the cool "bonuses" of all this is that Mommy is unable to get these little verses out of her head. This week I keep repeating to myself "everything He had made was very good, CHA CHA CHA". (Cha, cha's added by Mama so that it sticks in the boys heads.)

This past Spring they also started Sunday School and they have lessons. I ask them regularly what they learn and I hear nothing but "crickets" (complete silence). When I ask them what they did they say "puppets" and they sing "twinkle, twinkle, little star", EVERY WEEK. Hmm... so, recently, I decided to mess with them and ask them some specifics; "Did you learn about Jesus?" Alex responded "yes". "Did you learn about monkeys?" again "yes". "Did you learn about clowns?" "yes" "The circus?" "yes", etc., etc., and on it went. I said, "wow you learn a lot in Sunday school" to which Alex responded "yep, Jesus LOVES the circus."

Despite their inability to tell Mommy and Daddy what they've learned I am overjoyed and thankful at being able to pass on this heritage to our children and hey, who knows, Jesus very well may like the circus. :)

Big news!

I fed Addison a bottle! Her nurse tried yesterday and she took the whole thing. Today I asked the nurse whether she would be doing a gavage feeding or from a bottle and she said "we could try a bottle again if you'd like" and then she said "are you ready?" To which I replied "No, but I know I need to be." I had flashbacks to feeding the boys for the first time and due to their breathing issues it involved a LOT of desats, choking and spitting up. I remember the first time I fed Alex I just wanted to quit and go cry in a corner. It was traumatic and nothing like what a child's first feeding should be. I braced myself for this experience again and Addison decided she would take it easy on me. I am telling you we women stick together from the womb. :) She also has not had one big nasty diaper for me however she gives Jared quite a mess to clean up on a regular basis.

She took the full 9 cc's which is her new feeding amount since her belly was distended. She didn't choke or desat or spit it back at me! It was a truly a beautiful experience. It tired her out completely though and she had to be put right back in her isolette. I was bummed not to be able to hold her longer but I knew she needed the rest. I "held" her in the way any preemie parent is used to doing. I had my hands in her isolette one on her head and one on her little butt. I would love to show you pictures of the feeding but I completely forgot to have the nurse take one. I will try tomorrow. I am hoping we will move up to 2 bottle feedings a day so that Jared can give her one at night when he visits. As I fed her it all kind of came back to me except the burping part. I had to call a nurse over and have her remind me how to hold a 2 lb. baby and burp her. I have burped the boys a million times but something about a "fragile" preemie makes you question pounding on their back for a burp. I did fine after a brief reminder and she burped like a good girl. Mission Accomplished!

It is getting hard to just see her once a day but we want the boys to have a somewhat normal life at home too and that is a sacrifice Jared and I are both making. I hope to see her more this weekend and I think Nani and Papa will come so that we can both go together to see her a couple of times. I miss her the moment I hit the elevator each day and from that moment on I want to go right back to the NICU but when I am there I am thinking of the boys and what they are doing. I hope this goes by quickly so that we aren't quite as torn but in the mean time I am SO thankful that she is doing so well again and that is what I will try and focus on.

30 weeks (tomorrow)

Weekends at the hospital are LONG. There isn't much of the usual routine. I don't go down for testing. They do everything bedside which means little time out of my room. Weekends, even when I was at home on bedrest, were always the hardest. I think because when life was a bit more normal I always knew that Jared would be home and we would plan fun things to go and do and right now that is not reality.

Jared and the boys aren't coming up today. Jared took them to see Toy Story 3. We have been looking forward to taking them to their first movie for quite a while and we thought this movie would be the best to start with. They had fun. Eli was mesmerized and anyone who knows him will not be surprised by this. He is an avid tv watcher and if I'd let him he'd watch it all the time. Alex got a little antsy and told Jared he wanted to leave and come see me. :) You gotta love that. They went to church tonight which makes for a full day for a couple of 3 year olds.

I filled my day with some movies and magazines and a shower. Now I decided to make a video of the boys trips to the "hos-a-bull" as Alex calls it. Enjoy!

Oh as far as me and Addison. We continue to do well and they watch her closely. The doctor who rounded today said that their written goal continues to be 34 weeks. YIKES! That is another month but I am thankful to continue to carry her. I really am. It is just difficult to wrap my head around 4 more weeks without my husband and boys. I will do what is required of me but this is a whole new challenge I must say. Jared and I have always said that the boys being in the NICU and born at 27 weeks was the most difficult time in our lives but I think we have a new standard. This is tough but I first started having trouble at 22 weeks and here I am 8 weeks later. I find myself saying "Thank you Lord but how in the world am I going to handle this?" As is the theme for this current challenge I truly can't think of more than today. And today, I am pregnant and safe, Addison is safe, Jared has managed to keep his sanity and Alex and Eli are healthy 3 year olds.

Enjoy the video. Alex is front and center for most of it. He just tends to cooperate with the camera a bit more while Eli will just tell me "no" when I ask him to sing or talk. It all depends on his mood. :)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Soccer

Soccer has officially begun. We had a little trouble at the beginning when our coach backed out. We missed a couple of practices due to this and the mama bear in me was feeling a bit nervous about my son's lack of ability compared to kids who had had 2 extra practices. Yikes, it sounds even more ridiculous as I type it out. Needless to say after a round of e-mails the boys are on a different team with a coach (always a plus) and last nights practice went quite well.

Jared and I expected VERY little. We aren't the parents who put a basketball in our son's hands at birth or any other type of ball as the case may be. When the coach first lined them up to kick the ball to the other end of the field Jared and I smirked at one another like "good luck with that one, lady". MUCH to our surprise both boys accomplished this task. Then they did a passing drill that went o.k. also, other than the breaks that Eli needed to use the orange cones as a horn. Jared and I were the parents who were on the sidelines coaching the boys and trying to help them focus but overall it was a surprising success and we have some cute pictures to show for it. I don't expect that this will make them the next David Beckam but they are learning to follow instructions from an adult other than Mom and Dad and gaining some coordination to boot. Not to mention the adorable outfits. It think it is a win-win.

...a little unsure at the beginning of practice

Eli wanted to kick it into the goal from the moment we arrived and this was his BIG moment! (Notice the smile!)

After his long, hard, practice Eli was ready to head home for dinner.

Alex's turn to score a goal!

Heading home but not until Alex shares his new camera smile with us. This is actually the adorable version. I plan to dedicate a post to the more scary ones. :)

Simply Saturday

Alex and Eli discovering how refreshing a drink from a hose can be on a warm August day

life doesn't get much more simple than that

Ode to the Binky

BIG NEWS!!!!

Today marks one.entire.week. without a binky. We survived, he survived, the sun continues to rise! I waited to post about it in case we turned back. I was determined not to but then they got colds, of course and I doubted my determination. So here's the scoop: Alex was what some might call completely addicted to his binky. He didn't only like to have one in his mouth but his preference was to have one in each hand. They got him through the troubled times of his youth. ;) They comforted him on rainy days. They nursed him back to health if needed, etc. etc. etc. Truly they were his first love.

The Pediatrician told us at his two year well visit that we needed to get him off the pacifier. As you can see in the pics he was still addicted to his newborn binky which is not orthodontically correct and was causing crowding due to the roof of his mouth conforming to the binky. Anyhoo, we agreed and then decided a few more months (approximately 6 or 9 more if I had anything to do with it) wouldn't change the future of his mouth too much. Fast forward to now and he (after weeks of staying in bed) has been hopping out of bed during nap and at night which leads to us putting him back approximately 3 million times AND then having to grope around for his binky in the dark. Well, Monday night I was exhausted due to the fun day we'd had with Stacey and her boys and the fact that they skipped nap, and we couldn't find the blasted thing. We searched and searched and searched. Mind you we have 3 and not a single one could be found. I decided he was going to go it alone. We'd gotten him down to just using it to sleep MONTHS ago and just dreaded the next step.

So long story slightly shorter, he is binky-less. He isn't napping as well at all (total bummer) and it takes him a while to fall asleep at night because he has nothing with which to "pacify" himself, but he hasn't even asked for it since the 2nd day. He is a trooper and I am a proud Mama! I get a little sad when I think of him being completely done with the thing. I am always reminded of the excitement we felt when he first started using it in the NICU. This meant that he was learning to suck and that he was even closer to leaving there and joining us at home. Oh well I guess they need to grow up sometime. I was beginning to think he'd take it to kindergarten with him. Now they are out of cribs, off binkies and you know what that means...dum, da, da, dum, dum potty training is next.....in about 6 or 9 months from now, that is! :)

The Transition I've Dreaded

Don't worry it is not the binky because that one takes an emotional toll both on Mommy AND Alex so let's move on K? Alright! The transition of which I speak is the one from cribs to big boy beds which at this point is actually the crib with the front off and an added bar. So far it is going well but it is 8:16 and we put them down at 7:40. I will finish this post tomorrow and tell you how the entire night went but I have to say, for the record, that I am betting Jared that it goes well and he says I am delusional. He admits that this bet is one that he hopes I win! Isn't that sweet??? ;)


Well, the boys did quite well last night, as expected. ;) They were wound up from the excitement of a "new, big boy bed" but they relaxed and fell asleep by about 9 without getting out of bed the entire night. I consider this a success and when we went in this morning they were up and babbling but they did not get out of bed once again. Hooray!


Right now they are in bed for naps and have been chatting for about 20-30 minutes. I am not sure if they will relax or not. I may go in and try and calm them but when I did that at the beginning of the nap it seemed they were just set out to defy mommy. In fact, I was tenderly rubbing Eli's head and his blond curls when he kept trying to stick his finger up my nose. This only made me laugh which in turn made them both laugh and on and on it went. I finally decided to let them be silly and come back if it didn't end soon. It's not ending so I will probably head back in there.

These didn't come out very clear but here they are in their big boy beds. This morning they insisted up having their milk in their beds and reading books. So cute!

And here is Alex giving BIG hugs!!!

Our First Trip to the Zoo

Wow, guess I should post this since I started it over a week ago! We had a great time at the zoo and two of my sisters and their husbands and their kids were all in tow. We all kind of laughed at how much easier a trip to the zoo used to be. Now we have to schlep our kids and all their gear. OY! We stayed approximately 2 hours which is almost equivalent to the drive time. :) So here is our day in pics!

They have the most AMAZING petting zoo!!! Can you believe this???

Eli and Alex enjoyed their freedom the most. Jared and I really tried to let them run around as much as possible.

Bella insisted on pulling all 3, 2 year olds. She is a determined little lady!

According to the scale Alex weighs as much as a male orangutan. No, I had absolutely NO idea his pants were falling off. Poor kid.

and BEST of all Allie and Alex made a truce and got along beautifully the entire day. It was truly miraculous!

BTW the top pic is just a cardboard cut out in case someone was concerned!

The boys and I had a "first" this week. I had to bake some Amish Friendship Bread that my sister Mindy gave me and Jared had to go in to work so I thought "hey, I should let the boys help". In the back of my mind I knew it would take double the amount of time to make the bread and 10 times the mess but I pushed on and I am SO glad I did. They had so much fun and each time I handed Eli the measuring cup full of flour or sugar he giggled enthusiastically. Alex just quickly dumped the contents into the bowl and was ready for his next task but he too LOVED doing this. I actually felt guilty that I didn't wait until Jared was home because although he is not one to want to help in the kitchen he would have loved to see the joy on his son's faces. I am now determined to involve them more often which will obviously involve slowing down and taking in the moment. This is ALWAYS a good thing when I surrender to it.

On a funny note, I would allow them to put in what I had given them and then move the bowl away from them while I loaded up the next measuring cup, however, one of the times I didn't factor in Eli's long reach. He grabbed an egg yolk from the bowl. I quickly screeched and said "Eli, you could get salmonella" and he dutifully repeated as I was scrubbing his skin off "salmonella?". He cracks me up!


I can't take the credit for realizing this is something that I needed to experience with my boys. Ever since I read this post by Tuesday's Mommy, whom I don't know and will never meet, it affected me. She and her husband give an extremely honest account of losing their sweet daughter. Despite how I often act and the fact that the boys drive me to my wits end, time is fleeting and there will never be enough days to make pancakes with your kids ;) I feel blessed that we will be together in eternity but because our days here are numbered, as are the days they will be willing to stay home and bake with mommy on a Saturday night, I suggest you hand your kids some measuring cups and go bake something!!! What's the worst that could happen?

Well, they could grab an egg yolk. :)

Such a busy week!

The boys have been partying like rock stars this week. We went with Aunt Linda on Wednesday to shop for Easter outfits. The boys had a blast. It was the first time I ever attempted taking them in dressing rooms to assess the fit of their clothes. Alex loved the 3 sided mirror (I guess that is what you call it?) and just stood there and made faces in it. Eli enjoyed the mirror when he wasn't trying to squeeze past Aunt Linda who was blocking him from exiting the store. We were victorious in our search and for the first time it was necessary for me to purchase two different sizes for my boys. Alex 18 months; Eli 24 months. I have been asked a couple of times lately how far apart they are and it takes a minute for me to understand that people don't realize that they are twins anymore. Alex is eating like he has a hollow leg but Eli still wins in the weight dept. Last time we checked he weighed over 28 lbs. and Alex was 22 lbs.

Thursday, Mommy planned to work out and the classes are held at Daddy's school so he took the boys and let them play in his class room. At this point open spaces that allow them to run are like Disney World for these boys. We also got to sneek a peak at all the girls in their Junior/Senior (the private school version of prom) dresses because they all met at the school for a photo op that had been set up. The boys got to see their babysitters in big, fun, poofy dresses which I am sure would have thrilled them more if they were little girls. I told them we were going to see princesses. Eli loved it and wore his sunglasses in the pictures, looking like a stud, and Alex was a little frightened by the bright, protruding, tool surrounding him therefore he refused pictures unless Mommy was holding him. This was "great" since I was in my workout clothes with my hair in a ponytail next to girls who had just had their hair and make up done and were in gorgeous dresses. Ah well, Motherhood can be a humbling experience ;) All kidding aside, it was really cool for me because I grew up babysitting these girls and I remember them coming to see me in my dress before Jr./Sr. and now it was my turn to bring my kids over to look at them. It reminded me how awesome it is to be part of my church/school family.

Friday, we attended our Good Friday service and it was a blessing. I cannot say much more about it than that. In an attempt to not use flowery words and diminish the effect it had I will simply say it was exactly what I needed to help me focus on Christ's sacrifice for me. I am truly humbled by His love for us, His children.

Tonight we head to our friends house and Sunday we have church and then dinner with my sisters! I am looking forward to it!

I tried some clothes on the boys at home in order to avoid the dressing room but as I mentioned we had to do it anyways.

Alex tried on the shirt first and I told him how handsome he looked. He DID NOT want to take it off so the pouty face was his response to handing the shirt over to his brother.

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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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!