It's almost been a month.....

I haven't been doing so well in the blogging department so I thought I'd start small with these pics of Addie.

We discovered a certain little girl likes canteloupe.......



A LOT!




In this last picture Eli was showing me his tap dancing moves while he was still in casts (the sound is better, duh?).  It was entertaining.  I think he saw Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck do it on his Looney Tunes DVD.

Eli- He's a funny one.

I really can't put into words the joy Eli brings me.  He is the quirkiest, funniest boy without EVER trying to be.  His latest thing is wearing ties.  We watched a video of when they were 3 and he had a tie on.  He has since wanted to wear one on most days.  Thankfully, my friend Kristina, JUST gave me a bag full of ties that were her sons because I was "tie-less".


Other than this tie obsession we are just dealing with life right now; the good, the bad, the ugly.  The bad involves Jared and I trying to get the Christmas weight gain off and get back on track...or is that "the ugly".  Not sure.  Wish us well!  :)

FINALLY some snow.

We really still didn't get much but it is only the 2nd time this Winter, that I recall, we have had any. Neither were REAL snows. If this sounds AT ALL like I am complaining, I am NOT. There is a sweet little boy though who has been waiting and waiting for that glorious white stuff to fall from the sky.

 

Eli and I were driving to OT yesterday and the weather guy said that they were calling for snow. I said "ELI! DID YOU HEAR THAT? Their is supposed to be snow tomorrow!!" He chimed in from the backseat in his excited little voice "Was he talking to US?!!!"




Needless to say he was really excited and like I said we got a little bit. Enough to appease him for a little while at least.

It has been a nice day home with my kids. One of the things I like about Winter in Michigan is the slower pace. The pace is not always slow, that is for sure, but there are days like this one when it is just me and my babies home together. I love it.

A Glimpse into Motherhood

One on one time with the boys. Since the boys were babies I try to make the limited time that I have alone with them special. As babies it was during diaper changes. I added lots of rhymes and tickles and hugs and attempted to make them feel like the only baby in the world with ALL of Mommy's attention.

Now, I'd like to say that we take them out individually on a regular basis but we do not. It does happen here and there. Alex is always asking "Am I going with Daddy? Not you and Eli and Addie?" He LOVES his alone time (with other people). Eli doesn't seem to mind being with the whole crew, however.

I try and continue to make each of the moments I have with them individually, special. On this particular night it was 10 o'clock (2 hours past his bedtime) and he was scared of "the shadows". I was cleaning the kitchen and said he could come and sit with me while I finished chopping a pineapple and cleaning.

He thoroughly enjoyed it. And I could tell he thought it was really special.

Jared came home during our snuggle time and I asked him to snap a picture.

You gotta love a 4 year old boy. He told me "Mom, I love pineapple. It is so sweet. Just like you."

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. :)

Another small glimpse: Alex is in bed right now singing "though no one join me still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back". So sweet.

Eli the talker

The past couple of days here have been PERFECT napping days. Typically I don't nap when the kids nap. Since Addie I have gotten over the guilt of it and try it from time to time. I tend to get frustrated when the boys seem to not sleep on the days that I decided to rest. Anyways, Eli, my sweet son doesn't turn off the talking during rest time. He goes on and on and on. Today while feeling a bit frustrated with my child who doesn't understand the word QUIET I also thought of all of his sweet little boy qualities that I love.

The boy LOVES a good book...

almost as much as he loves is Teddy bear....

almost as much as he loves a good kitchen dance party and his brother and sister...

and then of course there is the dirt that he refers to as his garden.

He loves Winnie the Pooh and Rabbit gardens therefore Eli gardens. His favorite character though is T I double G RRRRRRRRR, as he says.

I love this guy chattiness and all. What I do not love are how long and lanky those legs are getting. He is growing up SO fast.

Shopping for Glasses.

Alex tried these

Adds tried these

Eli tried these

and this is what we ended up with

Pretty adorable.

My babies are 4! (part two)

The birthday boys were none to happy to wake to snow on the 18th of April. They got past it and the snow did melt before the actual celebrating started. We didn't have a party this year, just Mom, Dad, Alex, Eli and Adds. We did of course have ice cream and cake and took them to McD's.

Here are the iphone pics taken with the hipstamatic app that is so popular right now. It is kind of a fun, funky, vibe.

FOUR!

My babies are 4 today. Jared and I have been thinking a lot about 4 years ago. A lot. So many words rush into my mind. So many words that previously bore no relevance in our lives.

Viability

Preemie

Quality of life

Disabilities

990 grams

27 weeks

Fragility of life

"if they go home" being said rather than "when"

Fear

Dark, deep, fear

And thank God there were other words.

Hope

Faith

Love, Intense Love

Marriage

Friendships

Family

Prayer

Sweet, precious babies

Alex

Eli

I cannot speak words that explain what they've done to me, to Jared. For me, For Jared. They've changed us.

This day will not be taken for granted. Their kisses and arms around our necks will be cherished. Those candles being blown out will be monumental. A monument to what we got to keep on April 18th, 2007. A monument to what God had planned for Jared and Becky, Alex and Eli and now Addison. A monument to His Grace poured out on us.

I love you guys.

Thanks for making me a Mommy 4 short years ago.

You can quote me

Some of the entertaining things they've said in the past few weeks.....

"Daddy, I love you and sometimes I may get angry but I just have to get past it." Eli (Wisdom taken from one of their Larryboy videos).

"nagget!" Eli (I think this is swearing, little boy style. He says this when frustrated. A combo of dang it and darn it, if you will.)

"I'm on it". Eli (Ex. "Eli, go potty before nap". Response: "OK Mom, I'm on it".)

Are you seeing a trend here on who these quotes are mainly from. He talks all.the.time.non-stop. My brother in law was in town for the past couple weeks and stayed with us. He referred to it as a running commentary.

Recently, Jared and the boys came home from "Cubby Church". Jared threw me a bag while getting the boys out of the car. It was the "pre-school bag of shame". You know, the wet pants and undies due to an accident. I felt bad for Alex and worried about whether or not he was embarassed at having to wear the "extra pants" provided by our nursery. All this running through my head in 5 seconds. Meanwhile Alex bounds out of the car......"MOM, I got new red pants at Cubbies AND sponge Bob undawear!!!!!!" Ahhhh, crisis averted. Maybe it is a boy thing but he could not have cared less.

After their cashew reaction Eli says to me "Mom I don't eat nuts". You are right Eli, you don't so if anyone tries to give you some or asks that is what you tell them. "Mom?" Yes, Eli. "I don't eat poop either." Yep, Li-li you don't eat poop either. I walked away from this conversation a bit grossed out and strangely, relieved.

One more poop story. The boys came in from playing in the mud, which, has been there favorite past time, although, I wish my floors could say the same. He went to the bathroom and after several minutes I went to check on him. I asked whether or not he was alright and he replied "yeah, mud makes me poop".

To the squeemish, sorry about the poo stories. I have avoided them mainly on the blog but that is IMPOSSIBLE with 2, almost 4 year old boys in the house. Trust me.

Their favorite line in a book right now is "and to the tigers in the zoo Madeline just says pooh-pooh." Herer are a few more pics from the hands on museum...

Back to Blogging

Just needing to get my feet wet in the blogging/computer world again. I have been absent for a bit due to.... well, LIFE. Mom to 3, wife to 1 can be busy enough, right? So in honor of just throwing something on to the ole' blog that I LOVE, I really DO, here are some pictures. My awesome sister Mindy got a new camera because her husband has to upgrade electronics like the rest of us upgrade well I can't think of a comparison but he likes his gadgets and due to this I have her old camera while we save money for my future camera.

Updates:

Alex- is getting sassy (God give me strength) and I think 4 is going to be the year of questions. OH MY WORD. We watched a movie together and he asks the kind of questions you can't answer. I can't think of an example but trust me there are no answers to these questions and they come at rapid fire speed.

Eli- is more manageable currently but every time I say that they decide to pull a 180 so tomorrow he'll probably wake up and be a different kid. He is really big on showing us love lately. He seems as if he might burst if he doesn't tell you he loves you. It is adorable and he has captured many a heart. Jared's brother Steve is here visiting and Eli told him something along the lines of "you're great to hug".

We took him to get glasses tonight. He has REALLY bad vision in his right eye. He was on oxygen for 6 months which can cause vision problems. The eye doctor said if you covered his good eye he wouldn't be able to see accross the street. Insert: preemie mom guilt. It is ridiculous but it rears it's head periodically. Glasses pictures to come after they come in.

Addison- did really well at her developmental assessment and they already discharged her. Yay! I have pics of that too. She is eating solids and loving it. She is tipping the scales at 13lbs. 8oz.

Jared & Becky- Celebrated their 8th Anniversary on March 21st. We had a slightly odd waitress that asked what our "secret" is (consequently this made me feel kind of old) and we were both sort of speechless. Actually Jared said "leave the kids at home". But, after she left we discussed it and I said (as cheesy as it may sound) "marry your best friend". No matter how crazy things are or even how mad I may get at Jared from time to time he's the one I want to talk to and laugh with. We were best friends almost from the time we began "hanging out" and our friendship has only grown. I know his love and friendship is invaluable.

Wow, long post. This is what happens when I stay away from the blog for too long. And I still haven't posted pics. OK here goes.

In this lighting you can see the peach fuzz on top of her head. It's coming!!!!

Eli giving Addie some love. (LOVE this picture.)

Addie getting a little TOO much love.

Me and the boys on a random afternoon. It is possible that that little glimpse of snowflake you see in the corner are my pajama pants. Just keepin' it real, just keepin' it real. I am not a "dress to your shoes" kind of mommy and some days call for pajama pants past noon. :) They just do.

A Big Snow

We got snow this past week and the boys responses, as usual, were quite different. One morning we got a good amount of snow after Jared had already shoveled and left for work. I decided it would be good exercise and good fun for them to get out there and use their new snow shovels. Alex decided he did not want to. He held his resolve until Eli was in his full snow gear including his "sergeant" pants (snow pants? not sure why, but whatever)with shovel in hand. Suddenly Alex wanted to go too. They had a great time and so did I.

This past weekend Jared went out to shovel again and I geared the boys up to join him except Alex wasn't into it. Luckily, for him he would get the luxury of staying in today because Mom and Dad were home. You see twins rarely want to do the same thing but often they have to in order to accomodate the other. I am sure it is the same with all sibling relationships. Anyways, it is nice when they get to be their own little person and decide which activity they prefer.

Everyone was happy!

Remember this....

I remember as a child when the Christmas catalog came in. Now it is a flimsy toy catalog but Jared and I both remember it being a thick whopper of a book. My sister Mindy thinks it was a Sears catalog. She is probably right. My grandma would sit us down with a marker and tell us to circle the things we wanted for Chrismas. I remember as a little girl circling a ton of toys thinking for sure that I would get every.single.one of course. The funny thing is I was never disappointed after Christmas that I didn't. I am pretty sure I forgot what I'd circled and was just thrilled to have shiny presents in front of me.

We received the toy catalog in the mail last week. Eli was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. He has "read" it every day since. This series of picture was of him telling me a story about what he was looking at. He thinks it is a book. :)

Don't worry Nani and Grandma Lores we are getting his bangs cut tonight! :)

I LOVE THIS PICTURE. Believe it or not he is not scowling at me he was actuallly asking me a question about his book. :)